The Hope of Azure Springs

by Rachel Fordham

  “Having Caleb back—truly back, seeing him smile. I feel closer to all my sons than I have felt in years.”

  Em could sense that change. They had been there only a day, but the house was brighter. Em thought of her own life—it had changed quickly as well. These two good people, Betty and Gideon, were stepping out of mourning. They may have traveled a sorrowful road for years, but they were on a different path now. It had started with just a single step.

  “It’s beautiful here,” Em said later in the day as she and Caleb walked over a lush green knoll.

  “It’s because of you.”

  “No. I haven’t done a thing. I wish I could take credit for the beautiful grass and perfect blue sky.” Em tried to breathe in the freshness of it.

  “The sky might be out of your reach, but you did change things. You asked my mother about the boys. Whatever you said or something about the way you asked her, it cracked the shell she’d built around herself. Look.” Caleb pointed to the front porch. There sitting in the two rockers were his parents. They had moved the rockers close together and were holding hands. “They don’t think we can see them.” Caleb put an arm around Em.

  His words brushed against her ear. “That is a sight I have prayed to see. I just had it all wrong. I thought if I was a sheriff and bought a big house, they would be happy again. But that wasn’t what they needed.”

  “It was having one of their boys return,” Em said. “Seeing you smile and living. Seeing you happy. They needed you.”

  “No. Well, that was part of it. But it was letting the other boys live too. All around us. It’s like they have been set free. I’ve felt them this time. The memories are all around us.” Caleb picked off a stalk of the long summer grass. “They’re here again. Just like they should be.”

  “But you were lost before too. Or so your mother says. She says you went with the others. Says her carefree baby boy changed. That the war took you away from her too.” Em put a hand on his arm. “You came home. And what a perfect home it is.”

  Brushing a piece of stray hair from her face, he said, “I’ll always be thankful that you came here. Abigail told me you answered her prayer and helped her heal. You’ve done so for me as well.”

  “Margaret told me that often we get so caught up in seeing our own prayers answered that we don’t realize we are blessing others. That is how everyone has been for me. Seems she is more right than I realized.” Then, letting her eyes travel across the property, she prayed the scene would stay in her memory forever. “We are leaving in the morning. Let’s go and spend time with your parents.”

  Leaving was harder than Em had expected. The Reynoldses had not given her the best welcome, but less than two days later they were embracing her as they said an emotional farewell.

  “Take care of yourself, Em. Write us and tell us about Lucy,” Betty said.

  “I will. I’ll tell you everything. Thank you for having me.”

  “Oh, thank you. Remember, you are always welcome here. We so hope to see you again.”

  Gideon patted Caleb’s back. “It was good having you home. I know you are a grown man, but having you back here felt like the old days. Like our boy was home again. I’m sure proud of you. I—I’ve never been good at saying what I feel. But, well. You’re a good man. A man who would make any father proud. You got a fine lady by your side. Bring her back sometime.” He stepped away from his son. “Travel safely.”

  Caleb put his arm around Em as they walked away. His voice caught in his throat when he whispered to her, “He’s proud of me. Did you hear it? My pa is proud of me.”

  “I heard. I know he meant it. I could feel it.”

  Loaded into the rented buggy, they were about to drive away when Betty came running toward them. “Em, thank you again for coming. And for everything.”

  Caleb slapped the reins on the horses and they set off. “I think my parents like you better than me.”

  “I didn’t know it was a competition.”

  “Everything here always is!”

  “Are you sad to go?” Em asked, looking back at the picturesque farmhouse nestled in the bluffs.

  Caleb looked too, then shook his head. “I know I’ll be back this time. It feels a little like the home I grew up in again.”

  Smaller and smaller the farmhouse became as they rode back toward Brigley.

  “I’ll talk to the ticket man about getting you on a train to Beckford when we get there,” Caleb said.

  “I’ll use some of my money and stay at a hotel again tonight and the next too if there is not a train tomorrow. If there is any time this afternoon, I’ll go and take a quick bath in the mud so I am looking my finest,” Em said, trying to keep the mood light.

  “I’d planned to spend the evening with you, but I suppose I’ll spend it alone instead. No mud for me.”

  “Since it will be our last evening together, I can change my plans. I pick you over the mud.”

  Caleb smiled at her. “You’d change your plans for me?”

  “Yes! I can give up a mud bath for you,” Em said, knowing she would be willing to give up much more for him.

  “I’ll telegraph Alvin as soon as we are in Brigley. If it’s still all right, I want to go to Beckford. I should know soon.”

  “With any luck, Alvin will only have Silas to complain about, and you will be able to come.” Em hoped this wasn’t their last evening together. Joking about their parting was one thing—actually living it was another.

  “What will you do when you find Lucy?” Caleb asked.

  “I don’t know. I picture her being seven. If she were seven, I would take her in my arms and swing her around. Then pull her in tight and hold her until she squirmed away. It’s hard for me to picture her fourteen,” Em said. “I wonder how she remembers me. Is she angry that I left her? I know how I want it to be, but I don’t know how it will be.”

  “What if the family is kind and loves her? She has lived half her life there.” Caleb reached around and straightened the load behind them.

  “Then I will move to Beckford and see her as much as I can. She’s my only family. We have been lost to each other too long for me to just walk away.” Em twirled the end of her braid in her hand. “If they’re not kind, I will take her away. Somewhere safe.”

  He nodded his head but said nothing. When the lull grew too long, she pulled the reading book out and practiced aloud. He corrected her when she stumbled, but most of the words came smooth.

  “You read so well. Have you thought of reading your mother’s papers?” Caleb asked.

  Em nodded. “I have thought of it. I nearly did the other night. But I’m so near Lucy, I’ve decided to wait. I’ll read them with her.”

  “That’s a fine idea. Even if she starts out angry over the past, it will not take her long to realize you have a good heart. I wouldn’t worry.” Caleb’s voice was confident. Em stared at him while he drove, alternating between watching his strong hands guide the horses and studying his face. His face was the perfect combination of angles and smoothness. How was it she had become friends with such a handsome man? And such a good man.

  Laughing to herself for staring, she said, “I think Lucy will take to you as well. She’ll probably be as smitten as Mae and Milly are.”

  Sticking out his chest, he said in a deep voice, “Well, I am the Prince of Azure Springs, and if she was raised on your stories, she will be looking all over for a prince.”

  Shoving him, she laughed. “In my stories, the prince is always humble and gracious.”

  “Humble and gracious. I can do humble and gracious.”

  “Besides, it is Mae and Milly who call you a prince. That was not my idea.”

  He pulled his lips into a playful smirk. “I was certain you thought I was a prince as well.”

  “Don’t look so smug.” Her comment only made him do it more, until she finally conceded. “Oh, all right. I have thought you look a bit like a prince. But it still wasn’t my idea.”

  A grin s
pread across his face. “I knew it. I knew you thought I was a prince.”

  “I want to use my third question.”

  “Better make it a good one—because it’s all you get. This prince never changes the law.”

  “Very funny.” She started to say more but stopped herself, suddenly afraid to hear the answer. Instead, she stared hard at an old barn they were passing. It looked like it was about to topple over, but other than that it was fairly unremarkable.

  “I was only teasing. Ask me whatever you like,” Caleb said. She turned her eyes to him.

  When she still didn’t speak, he pulled the reins—stopping the horses—and turned toward her. He looked her in the eyes and waited.

  “It’s nothing, really. I think I’ll ask later,” she said while fidgeting with the seat.

  “Ask me. I’m curious now.” Caleb looked serious. “You can trust me. I’ll give you a serious answer.”

  “I know I can trust you. That’s part of the problem. I know if I ask you, you’ll tell me the truth. I don’t know if I want to know the truth.” Looking away, she said, “Let’s drive. Forget I said anything.”

  He tapped his foot. “Em, if I have to return to Azure Springs, this could be your last chance.”

  “I’m sorry, Caleb. I can’t ask it.”

  He sighed, clucked to the horses, and set off down the road again. Em picked up the reader and read more. She stumbled over many words as she went, unable to focus on the book.

  Caleb reached over. “You don’t have to ask me your question. But if you ever want to, you can. Put the book away a minute and look over there.”

  Caleb brought the buggy to a halt and together they watched as a fox and several kits played. The little ones jumped back and forth and wrestled. One was so bold as to pounce on the mama fox. She snarled and nipped at him until he backed off. But then he came at her again. This time she wrestled him before walking off.

  “This is what I miss. As a sheriff, I’m always on guard. Always looking for criminals. Out here I can set my spade down if I want and just stare at something good.”

  “Don’t be a sheriff then. Fighting a battle with the earth seems like a plenty noble calling to me. Putting food on your table and on the plates of others—it’s a quieter way. But it’s a good way. Your ma and pa would be just as proud of you if you chose to work the ground.”

  Caleb started driving again. “Maybe I will. Of the two of us, you’re the landowner.”

  “I had forgotten about that.” Em didn’t think she would ever return to Azure Springs. She would live near Lucy, or with Lucy, depending on what she found in Beckford. Where they would go, she wasn’t sure. But living so near Azure Springs would be too hard if it meant watching Caleb with someone else. She would part ways with him and always remember him this way, as the dearest friend she had ever had.

  In Brigley, Caleb hurried off to send his telegram, while Em trekked over to the hotel.

  Caleb met her later in the day, note in hand. “Alvin wrote back. Things are fine in Azure Springs. Said the only excitement has been a brawl at the saloon. Just like you suspected.”

  “You can come!” Em said, nearly jumping into his arms. “We don’t have to say goodbye yet.”

  “Looks like Silas ended up with a broken leg from the brawl. As much as I’d enjoy seeing that, I hardly think it’s a reason to skip out on Beckford.” Then he waved two paper tickets in front of her. “I booked us both passage to Beckford. Let’s go and get Lucy.”

  Nineteen

  I never thought I would stand here again. It was right here that I saw her last.” Em looked at her feet. The boards beneath them were faded and worn but still the same. “For seven years I have wondered about her, prayed for her, and dreamt of her.”

  “You ready?” Caleb asked as the two stepped off the platform.

  “I’ve been ready all these years. Waiting for this day. And now I feel nervous and scared and excited and even afraid.”

  “Be excited. Your sister will love you. How could she not?”

  Raising her head high, she looked from left to right, scanning what she could see of the town. “Where do we begin? How do we find her?”

  “Let’s go and find the preacher. You said the town preacher often orchestrated the adoptions. There’s a chance he will know. If he is anything like our preacher, he knows just about everything about everyone.” Caleb looked about and spotted a whitewashed steeple high on a little hill on the edge of town. “The church is that way.”

  Grabbing her hand, he pulled her forward. “We may as well start there. If he is not in, he might live close by.”

  On the way to the church, they passed a school. A young woman about Em’s age stood on the steps ringing a bell. Children ran from the yard to the door. Was one of them Lucy? Did Lucy attend a school? A real school! Em walked faster, forcing her legs to move quickly up the hill. It seemed she could not get to the church fast enough.

  Caleb kept up with her swift stride. Once they were at the door of the church, he grinned and said, “Knock.”

  Em did. She knocked louder than was necessary and then waited, swaying back and forth as she stood on the step. Fighting a battle with her many emotions. Then she knocked again. No answer. She knocked even louder then, banging and banging. Caleb closed a hand over her fist. “We’ll find her Em, we will. This was just our first stop. Let’s walk through town and ask around.”

  Knowing he was right but still rattled by the delay, she turned and started back to Main Street. Everyone she passed looked as though they were headed somewhere. Who could she ask? Who would know her Lucy?

  She let Caleb lead the way as she clung to his arm. He got the attention of a man in a suit. “Sir, do you have a moment?”

  The well-dressed man nodded. “You new in town? What can I do for you?”

  “Yes, sir, we just arrived on the afternoon train. We’re trying to find someone,” Caleb answered.

  “Well, I’ve been in this town fifteen years now. If they live around here, I’ll know them,” the man boasted. “Who’re you looking for?”

  “This here is Em and she was separated from her sister, Lucy, seven years ago. They rode into Beckford on an orphan train. Lucy was taken in by a family in this town.”

  The man smoothed his suit, then took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his bald head. “I remember a train coming through. Every couple of years a train full of kids stops here. I think I know of your Lucy. Better head down Oak Street. It’s three streets that way”—he pointed to their right—“then turn left, and about a quarter mile on your right you’ll find a farmhouse. Look for rosebushes in front. That’s where the Oversons live. They should be able to help you.” He blew his nose into his handkerchief, then tucked it away. “I’ll be on my way then.”

  They thanked him and watched him go.

  “Overson. That must be who took her.” Em looked toward Oak Street. “It’s so close, Caleb. Only a little over a quarter mile away.” And then she cried. Right there on the street, she burst into tears.

  “I’m sorry,” she said as she wiped at her face.

  Caleb wrapped a strong arm around her and pulled her to him. “Remember when you told me you never cry?” he whispered into her ear.

  “I don’t. I mean . . . I didn’t, but now I do,” she said through her sobs. “It’s just that I’m going to see Lucy. Oh, Caleb, I have wanted this for so long.” She pulled away and looked him in the eyes. “This is what kept me going all those years. The dream of this very day. It’s here.” More tears. “I’m a mess,” she said as she tried to regain control. “I can’t let her see me like this.”

  “She won’t care. I bet she’s dreamed of this day too.” Caleb’s words only brought more tears to Em’s eyes. He guided her toward Oak Street then. “Come on, you weepy woman. Let’s go find your sister.”

  They walked in silence through town. The house was easy to find, just as the man had said. A quarter mile down Oak Street, rosebushes—neatly trimmed al
l along the front of a two-story house—shot into view. The siding of the house was a soft blue with white trim, which gave it a sophisticated look. But what caught Em’s eye was a swing hanging from a branch of a tall tree. Biting her lip, she again suppressed the emotion that was so near the surface. Had Lucy swung on that swing? Had she played in this yard?

  “What do I say?” Em asked Caleb as they walked up to the door.

  “Just tell them who you are. And ask about Lucy. You’ve had seven years to think about this, and you don’t know what to say?” Caleb sounded frustrated. Was he nervous too?

  Em thought of snapping back, telling him he just didn’t understand, but instead she took a deep breath. Waiting wouldn’t give her any additional confidence, so she knocked on the door. The seconds she had to wait felt like an eternity, but they passed and the door opened.

  A woman stood in the doorway. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a braid and then wound around itself into a bun. Em met the woman’s hazel eyes. “Can I help you?” the lady asked.

  No words came. Caleb nudged her side, prompting her to speak. “Um, yes. I hope you can. We are looking—we are here to see Lucy.”

  “Lucy,” the woman repeated.

  “Do you know her? A man in town said you would be able to help us. I thought she lived here. She’s my sister . . .” Em’s rambling silenced only when the woman’s arms came around her.

  “Emmy? Is it you? After all these years, you’ve come.”

  Emmy! No one had called her that in years. Not since Lucy. This woman knew Lucy. She must or she would not know her name. “You know Lucy,” Em whispered. Pulling away, she asked, “Where is she? Oh, please tell me. I’ve waited so long to see her.”

  “Come inside out of the sun,” the woman said, her voice soft and gentle.

  Em could hold back her emotion no longer. “No,” she shouted. “Where is Lucy? Tell me where she is.”

  Caleb put a firm hand on her shoulder. “Em, it’s all right. Let’s go inside.”