Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More

by Karen D. Badger

  Jordan grinned. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  Maggie squealed as she threw her book on the bedside table and stood on the bed. She danced around joyously as Jordan laughed.

  “Now who’s the goofball?” Jordan exclaimed.

  Maggie threw herself at Jordan and straddled her lap. She kissed Jordan soundly. “I love you so much, Jordan. Thank you for loving me, too.”

  “That’s so easy to do. I was gone the first time you visited me in my dreams.”

  Maggie looked confused. “You’re a complicated woman. You talk in riddles sometimes. I realize there are things about you I don’t know, but my heart is telling me to trust you anyway.”

  Jordan nodded. “Thank you.”

  Maggie grinned. “I’ll call the justice of the peace tomorrow and—”

  “Whoa,” Jordan said. “Slow down a bit. Why don’t we plan this out? I want it to be special, not just the two of us standing in front of a total stranger saying ‘I do.’”

  And besides, I still need to save your life before we can spend the rest of it together.

  “I don’t want to put it off forever.”

  “Neither do I,” Jordan replied. “Let’s wait until the weather breaks, say, maybe April or May?”

  Maggie nodded. “Okay. I’ll compromise. My birthday is April 16. That’s about a month from now. I’m still going to call the justice of the peace tomorrow though. It’s not too early to begin planning!”

  Jordan smiled. “What am I getting myself into here?” she teased. “I hear redheads are notorious for determination and hot tempers.”

  Maggie leaned down and whispered into Jordan’s ear. “I’ll show you hot, but it won’t be my temper.” “Oh, God!” Jordan exclaimed as she scooted down in the bed, taking Maggie with her.

  Chapter 35

  Jordan walked across the yard and stepped into the barn. She stopped short when she heard voices.

  “Did you hear the news?”

  Jordan recognized John’s voice as she waited for the reply to his question.

  “News? No. I’m pretty much out of the loop these days.”

  Jan. Jordan’s interest was piqued as she covertly listened to the conversation.

  “Maggie was in here about an hour ago to take Shawny for his morning ride, and she told me she and Jordan are getting married.”

  “What?” Jan shouted. “Say that again!”

  “I said Maggie and Jordan are getting married. Apparently, she proposed last night and Jordan said yes. Maggie was all smiles this morning. I haven’t seen her that happy in a long time.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Jan said. “Did she say when?”

  “She said something about having it on her birthday.” John replied.

  “April 16,” Jan whispered.

  John looked at the date on his watch. “It looks like we’re going to have a party in about a month.”

  “Damn,” Jan said.

  “Look, Jan. I know you and Maggie used to be together, but maybe you should just accept that she’s in love with Jordan now and let it go.”

  “I don’t have to accept anything, old man. I knew that Lewis woman would be bad news the moment I laid eyes on her. I won’t just sit back and let her take everything away from me.”

  Jan’s attempt to intimidate John apparently did not sit well with him. “Well, I reckon I wouldn’t be making an enemy of Jordan seeing as she’ll be your boss soon.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Jan spat.

  Jordan heard footsteps coming in her direction, so she quickly stepped out of the barn and pretended to enter for the first time, just as Jan was leaving. “Good morning, Jan,” she said cheerily.

  “Fuck you.” Jan stamped past Jordan and headed to the bunkhouse.

  Jordan watched her go as she continued to enter the barn. Stopping face to face with John, she asked, “What’s up with her?”

  “She isn’t very happy with the fact that you and Maggie are getting married.”

  “I see,” Jordan replied.

  “I think it’s grand,” John said and extended his hand to Jordan. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you John.” Jordan looked around. “What can I do to help you today?”

  “You don’t need to help me with anything, Miss Jordan,” John replied.

  Jordan put her hand on John’s shoulder. “John, I’d appreciate it if you cut the ‘Miss Jordan’ shit, okay? I’m still just Jordan, and I still want to pull my weight around here. So, what do you say you and I clean the stalls together?”

  John smiled. “You got it, Jordan.”

  * * *

  Jordan spent the entire day in the barn with John, cleaning stalls, stacking hay bales in the loft, and doing general repairs. When the sun began to set, she called it a day and sent John home. As she crossed the yard toward the house, she noticed a truck approaching the barn from the north pasture.

  The truck was soon close enough to read the name on the door. J. T. Robinson, Artesian Well Drilling.

  The well in the north pasture! Maggie, do you realize what you have just done?

  Jordan immediately went in search of Maggie. “Maggie, where are you?” she called when she entered the kitchen.

  “In here,” Maggie replied from the living room.

  Jordan found her in the far corner of the living room, sitting at the desk organizing paperwork. Maggie turned to face her, smiling broadly.

  “Hey, baby,” she said.

  Jordan forced herself to remain calm. She realized that there was no way Maggie could have realized the ramifications of placing the well in the north pasture. “Hi, love. I just saw an artesian well-drilling truck come out of the north pasture.”

  “They’re finished already? That was fast,” Maggie replied.

  “I didn’t realize you were having a well drilled.”

  Maggie shrugged. “I almost didn’t remember about it myself,” she said. “It’s been scheduled since last fall. It was supposed to be finished at about the same time the new barn was, but Jack Robinson fell behind due to some health issues. By the time he was able to get back to work it was winter, so it had to wait until now.”

  Jordan nodded. “I see. Where in the north pasture did you have it dug?”

  Maggie continued to sort her paperwork while talking to Jordan. “That’s the unfortunate part. It’s pretty far from the barn. Jack couldn’t find a spring to tap into any closer. I’m afraid we’ll have to lay pipeline between the new well and the barn for it to be useful.”

  “So, it’s out in the middle of the field?” Jordan asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes.” Maggie stopped what she was doing and turned to face Jordan. “Why the sudden interest in the well?” she asked.

  Jordan recalled the present location of the working artesian well on the property nearly one hundred years in the future as being within ten feet of the new barn’s location, and wondered if the contractor had even tested for springs closer to the barn. Claiming dry land in the immediate vicinity of the barn was certainly a way to make additional money off Maggie by laying pipeline.

  “Did the contractor produce evidence that the land is dry near the barn?”

  “No. I just assumed he was right. What are you implying?”

  “I’m working on a hunch here. Could I ask you to humor me by getting another opinion?”

  “I... I guess so,” Maggie replied hesitantly, “but I just paid $3,000 to have that well dug.”

  “If my hunch holds true, it will cost a lot less money to have the well re-dug than it will to hire Robinson to lay pipeline.”

  “Okay. You’re the boss on this one.”

  “Thank you, love,” Jordan replied as she kissed the top of Maggie’s head. In doing so, she glanced at the paperwork laid out across Maggie’s desk. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Ugh. Tax time. Every year I have to sort out receipts and bills in preparation for having the taxes done. I hate it.”

  “How about next year, I set up a spr
ead sheet on the computer so you can keep track of debits and credits as they occur? Then, at the end of the year, all you’ll have to do is print out reports in any flavor you want. Sound good?” Jordan asked as she glanced again at the paperwork. As she looked away, something caught her eye. It was a letter from Pritchard and Yeats law firm, the firm that handled Maggie’s father’s estate.

  “That sounds wonderful. But I’m afraid I’m not very computer literate,” Maggie replied.

  Jordan continued to stare at the paperwork—at one document in particular.

  Where have I seen that logo before?

  Jordan replied, “It’s easy. I wouldn’t mind holding your hand through it until you’re comfortable doing it yourself.”

  Maggie grinned. “I’m game. Any reason to hold hands with you is good.”

  Jordan committed the name above the logo to memory in the event it came to her later. “Okay. I’m going to leave you alone so you can finish what you’re doing. How about I start dinner?”

  Maggie was immediately on her feet. “Baby, no offense, but I think I’ll make dinner.”

  Jordan tried to look offended, but was secretly glad. The last time she tried to make dinner, they ended up ordering takeout. “I really don’t mind.”

  “The paperwork can wait. I’ll make dinner,” Maggie said.

  “Well then, let me help, okay?”

  “Only if you promise not to burn the water this time,” Maggie teased.

  “Deal.” Jordan chuckled.

  * * *

  As March 29 approached, Jordan became increasingly agitated. She felt very frustrated by the knowledge that Maggie was about to die. She had to find a way to prevent it, yet she couldn’t change the events leading up to it. All she could do was keep herself busy and hope she was prepared when the time came.

  Jan had made herself scarce since she discovered Jordan and Maggie were to be married. She spent a great deal of time training and exercising the horses and avoided the immediate area of the farmhouse during daylight hours. Jordan did, however, notice that Jan spent a significant amount of time in the barn after John left for the day and after Jordan and Maggie retired to the house. Each morning, Jordan rose early and went to the barn to search for evidence of what Jan was up to, but each time, she failed to find anything. Finally, on Wednesday, March 27, only two days before Maggie’s death, Jordan allowed her suspicions to get the best of her. She sought out Jan in the bunkhouse to confront her.

  Jordan knocked loudly on the bunkhouse door and waited for Jan to answer. After several moments of silence, Jordan knocked again. Still no answer. Finally, she reached down and turned the knob. The door opened easily.

  The bunkhouse was dark. Jordan stepped inside and turned the light on. Everything was neat and orderly. Jordan walked across the common room and pushed open the door to Jan’s bedroom. She stepped inside and turned on the lamp that was on top of a nearby dresser. Again, Jordan found nothing out of place in the room. With paranoia running rampant in her brain, Jordan began searching drawers for anything that appeared suspicious. A thorough search of each dresser drawer yielded nothing. She sighed deeply and was about to leave the room when she noticed the bedside table had a built-in drawer. She quickly crossed the room and pulled the drawer open.

  Jordan stared at the contents of the drawer for several moments before reaching in to extract an envelope. She held the envelope up and realized it was addressed to Maggie, but what was most disturbing were the return address and the familiar logo below it— Pritchard and Yeats, Attorneys at Law. Jordan’s hands shook as she opened the flap and removed the letter inside. The letter was dated October 29, 2018.

  Damn! That was more than four months ago.

  Jordan closed her eyes and tried to remember back four months and suddenly realized why the logo looked so familiar to her. This must have been the letter Jan was reading the morning after she moved into the bunkhouse. That’s where I’ve seen the logo before. She read the letter and became angrier and angrier with each line of text.

  “Maggie needs to see this,” she decided as she folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope.

  Jordan closed the drawer of the nightstand and turned the lights out behind her. She left the bunkhouse then charged directly toward the house. Maggie was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

  “Hey, baby,” Maggie said. “Good news. The new well contractor just called and said they hit pay dirt, or pay water as the case may be. They found a water source exactly where you told them to drill, just off the corner of the new barn. How did you know?”

  “That is good news,” Jordan replied. “I hate to minimize it, but I have some news of my own that’s more important, but unfortunately, not as good.”

  Maggie frowned. “What is it?”

  Jordan handed the letter to Maggie.

  “What’s this?” she asked as she opened it.

  “Read it,” Jordan encouraged.

  Maggie extracted the letter from the envelope and read it out loud.

  October 29, 2018

  Miss Downs, please find below a description of the information you requested relative to a recent change made to the deed of the horse farm in Shelburne, VT, based on the wishes of your father, Gary Downs.

  Based on the addendum, ownership of the farm is hereby transferred to Miss Margaret Michele Downs, with secondary ownership transferred to Miss Janneal Safford in the event Margaret Downs predeceases her. Since Gary Downs is the author of the above-mentioned addendum, any changes to the intent and contents must be requested only by him, until he is deceased, at which time, changes may be made by Miss Margaret Downs and approved by Miss Janneal Safford.

  Please feel free to call our office if you have any questions about this document.

  Sincerely,

  Jeffrey Pritchard

  “Oh, my God!” Maggie exclaimed when she finished reading the document. “This is the document I asked them to send to me months ago. I totally forgot about it. Where did you find this?”

  “In the nightstand drawer next to Jan’s bed,” Jordan replied.

  “Jan? How did she get it?”

  “She must have intercepted the mail, Maggie. That’s the only thing I can think of. She obviously has a vested interest in making sure the deed stays exactly as it is.”

  Maggie folded the paper and angrily shoved it back into the envelope. “Well, she has another think coming to her. I’ll call Daddy right now and insist he has this changed immediately. How dare she?”

  “Do you have any idea where she is right now? I have a thing or two I want to discuss with her as well,” Jordan said.

  “Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a couple of days. She’s visiting friends out of town. She should be back on Friday. At least that’s what she told me.”

  “Damn,” Jordan responded.

  * * *

  After dinner that evening, Jordan made excuses about a project she was working on in the barn and left Maggie to work through the tax papers. Jordan secreted herself in the hayloft and waited. She had a hunch that Jan was not really out of town. Near 9:00 p.m., as Jordan fought to stay awake, the door of the barn slowly opened. Jordan had positioned herself such that she had a clear view of the main area of the barn and sat as still as possible so as to not call attention to herself in the loft.

  Jordan watched as Jan crept slowly into the barn and walked directly to Maggie’s saddle. Jordan’s view of the saddle was blocked by Jan’s body, so she was forced to wait patiently until Jan covertly exited the barn before she could investigate what she had done. She wanted so badly to rush Jan, tackle her to the ground, then pummel her senseless with her fists, but she had promised Kale not to mess with any events other than rescuing Maggie from the edge of the cliff.

  When the barn door closed behind Jan, Jordan descended from the loft and approached Maggie’s saddle. She inspected it carefully. Jan had cut the right stirrup strap nearly clean through. It was hanging by barely a quarter of an inch of leather.

>   “Damn you, Jan,” Jordan said. She was shaking violently and had to consciously stop herself from going after the woman. Instead, she paced back and forth across the barn to calm down and think.

  Finally, Jordan made a decision. She took Maggie’s saddle and put it into the repair pile for the saddler to collect. She would call him in the morning and ask him to collect it right away and return it by the end of the day on Thursday. She decided not to tell Maggie what had happened. She hoped that by removing the saddle from use, she could also eliminate the possibility that Maggie would die. Satisfied that she had an effective plan, Jordan left the barn and returned to the house.

  Chapter 36

  On Thursday morning, Jordan dropped Maggie off at the new barn then drove the old truck across the north pasture. The sound of shovels rattling in the back kept time with each bump she encountered. Her mind was occupied with the events of the previous night when she had witnessed Jan sabotaging Maggie’s saddle. She was thankful Maggie didn’t argue with her about riding to the new barn instead of taking Shawny out on her usual morning run. She was hoping the saddler would keep his word and collect the saddle that morning and return it by the end of the day as he promised he would.

  Finally, she spotted a mound of dirt in the distance and steered the truck in that direction. After a few minutes, she pulled the truck along side the dirt mound, turned off the ignition, and climbed out. Jordan walked over to the mound and peered over it to see the hole that had been dug in the earth by the well drillers. It was approximately three feet in diameter and was so deep that she couldn’t see the bottom.

  “It’s not going to fill itself, I guess.” Jordan walked back to the truck to retrieve a shovel from the bed. Within moments, she was hard at work shoveling dirt from the mound into the hole. For the first hour she was unable to hear the dirt hit the bottom. Several hours later, the bottom of the hole became visible.

  Jordan pulled a bandana from her back pocket to wipe the sweat from her brow. She looked up and guessed from the position of the sun that it was near 2:00 p.m. She had been shoveling for five hours. Two hours later, she scooped up the last shovel of dirt and held it above the filled-in hole.