Still House Pond

by Jan Watson

  She was almost asleep, but her eyes jerked open. She thought she heard a ladder thumping against a doorframe and rusty hinges screeching. Mama’s arms tightened around her.

  “Don’t leave, Daddy,” she said.

  “I’m right here, Lilly.”

  She raised her head. He was sitting in one kitchen chair and resting his feet on another. Steady exhaled noisily, like she’d been holding her breath for a long time. Lilly ran the dog’s silky ears through her fingers and slept, as safe as safe could be.

  35

  As summer turned to fall, Copper felt her family was fairly back to normal. Lilly was taller and becoming a young lady. Mazy and Molly had adopted one of the barn cat’s kittens—thankfully they agreed to share. Kate Jasper took the other three, but she let Lilly name them. They were probably the only cats in the history of time to be named Verily, Inasmuch, and Cipher. It was good to know Lilly’s sense of humor was intact.

  Jack was even more rambunctious, if that was possible. He slept by himself now, probably because the puppy he’d named Brownie slept at the foot of his bed. Steady rarely left Lilly’s side.

  Much to John’s chagrin, the house had indeed become a zoo. As well as the dogs and the cat, a canary had joined the household. Lilly carried the bird all the way home from Alice’s. It sat beside her on the train, singing in its wire cage.

  Copper couldn’t imagine why she wanted the bird. It looked to her like it would only bring back bad memories.

  “But it wasn’t all bad,” Lilly said when she was questioned. “I learned lots and lots from my stay at the Stills’.”

  Lilly had told the story of her ordeal in bits and pieces over several weeks. Copper was amazed at her daughter’s fortitude. She and John and Lilly spent many evenings pondering the events, amazed at how God had worked everything for good. If Manda had not gone into the barn, she would have made sure that Lilly didn’t run off that day. And if Lilly had not gone to the pond near the Stills’ house, she would have been on the train when it wrecked. Copper still couldn’t bear to think about that.

  Manda was living with Darcy in Eddyville. It was for the best. Manda had asked for forgiveness, and of course it was granted. She was a good girl at heart but with much to learn.

  The middling man, as Manda dubbed him, had been arrested in a nearby town for a string of petty thieveries. He was serving time. They were all relieved Manda didn’t have to press charges to get him put away. Fair or not, it would have ruined her reputation.

  Isa Still was another story. Some of the same men, John included, who had searched so diligently for Lilly tirelessly hunted him the rest of the summer. It worried Lilly, and she was relieved when they gave up the pursuit. “What will happen to all the little boys and the baby if Mr. Still goes to prison?” she’d asked. “I don’t think the grandma can take care of everyone by herself.”

  Lilly told only her mother about the boy named Tern. He was her secret, hers alone, and Copper respected her wishes. But she hoped and prayed that Lilly would never see any member of that strange family again.

  Alice had sent boxes and boxes of books to Lilly—most of which had belonged to Simon and to Lilly’s grandfather. They’d turned the sickroom into a bedroom for the twins, and John had built beautiful bookshelves in Lilly’s room.

  After many discussions with John, Copper agreed that it wasn’t a good idea to bring her patients into the house. They would add a couple of rooms to the little house so Remy could live there. The walk from her cabin to the Pelfreys’ was becoming more difficult for Remy. Plus, she relished the idea of being caretaker of the small clinic. Copper would be only a stone’s throw away, but her home belonged to her family.

  At John’s request, Copper was training a couple of neighbor women to assist her in deliveries. They were bright and caring young women, quite capable of providing aftercare. Copper would not be away from home for such long spells, except, of course, for special cases like Emerald Morton and Cara Whitt, who was joyfully expecting a baby in early spring. Copper expected good outcomes for both women.

  While Copper and her children were visiting Alice Upchurch in late August, Copper had paid a visit to the doctor who had delivered Lilly. No twins this time. Copper had laughed at John’s obvious relief.

  It had not been an easy thing taking her children on a train to visit Alice. But it had been necessary. If Copper had learned one thing this traumatic summer, it was that Lilly did not belong exclusively to her. She was God’s child loaned to earth to accomplish whatever He wanted for her.

  Copper suspected He had great plans for Lilly Gray. It was time for Copper to step aside.

  About the Author

  A retired registered nurse of twenty-five years, Jan Watson specialized in the care of newborns and their mothers. She attends Tates Creek Christian Church and lives in Lexington, Kentucky. Jan has three grown sons and a daughter-in-law.

  Still House Pond follows Sweetwater Run and the Troublesome Creek series, which includes Troublesome Creek, Willow Springs, and Torrent Falls. Her awards include the 2004 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest and second place in the 2006 Inspirational Readers Choice Contest sponsored by the Faith, Hope, and Love Chapter of the RWA. Troublesome Creek was also a nominee for the Kentucky Literary Awards in 2006. Willow Springs was selected for Library Journal’s Best Genre Fiction category in 2007.

  Jan’s hobbies are reading, antiquing, and taking long walks with her Jack Russell terrier, Maggie.

  Jan invites you to visit her Web site at www.janwatson.net. You can contact her through e-mail at author@janwatson.net.