Liberty Ranch

by Temperance Johnson

  "So the only thing you did differently was cooking and eat all day." He looked like a man that was trying to figure out a mystery.

  "The girls ate." She corrected him. "I just snacked."

  "So could it be the food?" he asked. He looked puzzled and then a light came into his eyes. "She goes into a rage almost every mornin', and almost always around supper. What about lunch?" He was working most afternoons.

  She nodded, feeling his emotion. This was it. It could be the answer. “Sometimes, but not as often. I give her snacks when I am cookin’ lunch." Her eyes got wide. Feeling like this could be a breakthrough for the very first time with the youngest child. She stood up and threw her arms around Andrew. "So she goes into a rage when she is hungry. She doesn't know how to handle the hunger feeling. We have the answer."

  He hugged and pulled her onto his lap, smiling. "Yes, I think we do."

  She looked into his dark eyes. He kissed her and whispered, "Hey, darlin', this is a big step. We can keep her safe now."

  She giggled. "Let's go tell Izzy!" She jumped up and ran out to the parlor where Jesse and Izzy were talking. She felt lighter than she had in days.

  "THE PREACHER IS HERE," Katrina groaned, more like her children than herself.

  Andrew's jaw set. "It will be fine." He snapped. He saw the man ride up on his wagon.

  Izzy spoke up. "Why don't we take the girls fishin’?"

  Jesse nodded and winked at Carlissa. "You girls can help by looking for worms."

  Carlissa laughed. "I've been worm searchin’ with pa."

  Francesca eyed Andrew as she walked into the room, hearing Peter was there. She seemed to challenge him. “I slept with many preachers. One time this priest didn't want to pay me.” She walked, hips swaying. Andrew watched where his eyes landed. She started unbuttoning her dress. "He said he would forgive all my sins if I gave it to him free." She made a hard humorless laugh. "He really thought I got paid for anything. I told him I didn't want to pray to his God. Not for my sins." She was now right in front of Andrew. Her eyes challenged him. Her dress was unbuttoned to right above her breast.

  Andrew took a deep breath. His face showed no emotions. He never left her eyes. "How old were you?"

  Francesca gave him a smirk and put her arms around Andrew's neck like a young woman would in love. "Young enough to be fresh. Old enough to give him what he wanted." She swore. "You think that is bad, I had a doctor who liked me. He came often, and he liked his women hurt so he could heal them. So, the bouncers would beat us before he got there." She touched her cheek like she could feel his fist on her face. "He beat me so bad once my teeth became loose."

  Only decades of training could keep him from flinching at her words.

  Katrina swayed slightly like in a daze.

  Jesse held Izzy's hand. His other hand was in a fist. Izzy showed no emotions at all.

  Sara crossed her arms over her chest while Carlissa was getting her doll ready for fishing.

  Andrew buttoned up her dress. "Oh, honey. Sex is not love. Love is standing by someone when you don't feel like it. Love is real. What happened to you was wrong. Those men didn't love you. They abused you." He finished buttoning her dress and took her face in his hands, being extremely gentle, knowing the pastor might be at the door by now. "You are beautiful. Your beauty is far above rubies. I see your worth every day."

  Her eyes got darker. He could tell he had lost her again, but he had to try. He wouldn't give up on her. "I see you as a priceless beauty. You are so much in your mind and brain. You are my sarcastic, funny, caring daughter and no man will ever hurt you again."

  Francesca backed up, shooting daggers at him. "You might be the man that believes that. That pastor out there will tell you, I will be nothing but a whore because my ma was a whore. She became one at four when her mama died." She stepped to the back door, never taking her eyes from him. "I will never be wanted for anything other than my body. You will come to see it one day."

  Andrew gave her a fatherly snapping look. "I will never see you that way. Ever. You are a child. My child."

  Francesca hit the wall with her fist. "I was sold at seven years old! My mama told me I was older than her, so I was old enough to do it. Daddies would take care of me. Before that, they had hurt me in ways that would make even a man like you blush. I will be nothin’ more than a whore."

  Sara spoke up, looking sick. "If you believe that, death would be better."

  Francesca’s gaze never left Andrew's eyes. Her eyes almost went out, but it was more pain than Andrew had ever seen. His heart cried for her. "I have been dead since the day I was born." And with that, she slammed the door.

  Andrew turned to where the pastor was now knocking.

  Katrina kept it light. "Just ignore your sister, she doesn't know what she is saying."

  Carlissa shrugged like this was normal. Nothing would affect her fishing today.

  Izzy ushered them out the door.

  Katrina walked up to Andrew and looked into his face seeing tears run down his face, something she was not expecting. But he had to let go of his emotions. She did at night when she was alone with him or Izzy. He had to let go of his anger. They heard another knock. "I can't do it. I can't face that self-righteous man out there."

  "Ellen handled it when they did it to her."

  Andrew took Katrina by the shoulder and got close to her face, but kept his voice low. His face was full of rage. "Those preachers said it about us boys. Not you girls. Had we boys left we would have ended up dead from the war, in prison, or barely surviving somewhere. If our girls ever leave, they have one choice. One way or another, they will be abused. And that man out there doesn't care who has hurt my little girl. Everything Francesca said about him was true. And it makes me sick."

  Katrina cried as she nodded. "It is true. What if Francesca was his daughter? Would he reject her then?"

  Andrew took her deep into her arms. "I love you!" He felt so much emotion.

  He heard the pastor call to them. They had to go. He wiped his eyes and handed Katrina a hanky. Then he walked out to meet the man. The man, they were not ready to face.

  He greeted Pastor Peter, and then invited him to sit on the porch. Pastor Peter sat on the chair and Andrew took the swing. They talked lightly till Katrina came out and set the tray of coffee and cookies down on the coffee table. Pouring the coffee, Andrew could see the tension in her. Her back was straight; her lips in a straight line, and her hands were shaking just a little. Through all the Starrys, pastors had hurt her worst. He prayed it wouldn't happen again today. He took his teacup, and took Katrina's hand as she sat down. Katrina’s free hand held her skirt.

  There was some silence as Peter drank his coffee. Finally, he set it down and looked over at them, not seeming to read them well. Andrew had been trained to read people extremely well. He saw right through this man. Peter cleared his throat. "So you might guess why I am here. I am wondering how you are raising your girls, especially those two older ones. The Mexican child is way out of hand. What are you doing about that?"

  Andrew shook his head. "Well, the Mexican girl has a name. Her name is Francesca. We have gone to your church for about five months now and you still can't remember her name. It's Francesca."

  Peter looked at them like he didn’t care. "Well, she's foreign and could even be a half-breed!"

  Katrina moved in her seat. Andrew squeezed her hand and she bit her lip, probably all the way through. Peter was probably right, Francesca was half or full Mexican, but she was not Indian by any means. "What does that matter? Whether she is half Mexican or even Indian. Charles's grandson is Indian."

  "Adopted grandson, and you have become just like them. I have never liked Liberty House and all those younguns'. Now you are becoming just like them."

  Katrina spoke up. "I am glad to be compared with Mabel and her family. They get stuff done and they care for others."

  "And what are you going to do with your daughter that is out of control? All of them but yo
ur oldest. She is wild."

  Andrew made a hard, humorless laugh. "And I am sure no one in your church has done nothin’ wrong. They are perfect, or maybe they just hide it from you because of what would happen. What gossip you would spread?" He looked at him hard. "My daughter is a child. Yes, she gets disciplined when she does wrong, but you have never tried to teach a child how to do right when they have never been shown kindness or love. They believe what’s right is wrong and what’s wrong is right."

  "Every person knows right from wrong." Peter held his head up high like he taught that, so it had to be true.

  "That is true." Katrina squeezed his hand.

  Katrina spoke up. "Think of it like this. When a person is getting ready for a bath, they are so cold and have been so cold for so long, that when they get in the warm water it feels hot. And they can't handle it on their skin because they have never felt any warmth in the first place." She tried to spell it out for the pastor since he wasn't getting it. "When a child has never felt love, it feels like pain."

  "Now you sound like Charles and Mabel, all they do is give those sayings." Peter put up a hand. "I just say you need to get your daughters under control. Especially that oldest one! Discipline better. Spare the rod, spoil the child."

  Andrew squeezed Katrina's hand. She was shaking with anger, his jaw set hard. "My daughters have never lived a spoiled day in their young life. They have never known love, care, or kindness in any way. They have only ever known filth." He took a deep breath. He wanted to put his hand around the pastor's throat. No, he wanted to let the man live a day his girls had lived. Few men could. His girls were strong in so many ways. "Is that how God treated the woman at the well who had five husbands? He forgave her and told her to sin no more. My girls didn't have a choice of what people, especially men, did to them. God had mercy on that woman, and it was her choice to have that many men while my girls don't get a say much in life."

  "Don't you dare preach to me, boy." Peter glared at him. "This preaching is coming from building that chapel and taking my members.”

  Andrew would have smiled if he wasn't so angry. So the man had gotten to the point of his visit. "We are not taking any members. We just meet on Saturday night and Sunday night." They also met when a family member needed it, but that was normal at the house, not the chapel.

  "But when the rest of that family gets here, and those touched families come, you will meet on Sunday morning and take my people."

  "They are not your people, they are God's. They can go wherever they like."

  Katrina calmed down a little now. "One reason they want to come to the chapel is to be treated like an equal. Lucy can sing in the chapel. Timmy will do things in the chapel-like the boys his age do in the church. They won't be treated differently in the chapel."

  "You have listened to the Alexanders all too much. They told you those lies." Peter almost raised his voice.

  Andrew blew out a breath. "We have seen it for ourselves. Juan Jose is very good at teaching God's unconditional love and mercy." His anger almost got hold of him, but he thought if he could sit with a man who had sold his own mother into slavery, he could sit here with one self-righteous pastor.

  "What? And I fail at my teaching?" Peter's jaw was hard and set. "I can't have Lucy or Timmy do things in my church. What if someone new or even my members saw that? What would they think if I would accept touched people?"

  "Maybe they would see that you accept God's children? God's people. Oh, how could we accept that?" Andrew responded sarcastically. "We might even be following God's ways by not just accepting but loving the touched."

  "That is another thing. I have questions on why you took the girls in the first place." Peter accused him.

  Andrew couldn't believe his ears. He had never been accused like this to his own face. Behind his back, he wasn't sure how much everyone said. Still, no one had ever accused him of being immoral or abusive, as this pastor's eyes said. He put his arm around Katrina which to some might be possessive, but he was trying to get her to stop freaking out.

  "How dare you accuse Andrew of somethin' like that! He loves our children and he would never hurt them or me," Katrina yelled. Her eyes filled with fire.

  "Then why do you come to church with bruises?" Peter acted like he was back in control.

  Katrina's eyes filled, her hand went to her neck. "Somethin' fell on my face," she muttered.

  Andrew knew she couldn't answer with the truth. Sara had gone into a rage and hit her with a metal plate. It was better than glass. Ellen always said to look on the bright side of things. Peter would never understand a child that angry. "I have never ever hit a woman. I never have, even at the worst part of my life." He glared at Peter. "I wish I could teach my girls. Men are not always mean with a fist. But havin' men like you around, they will just have to learn it from the Starry, the Alexanders, and the touched families that come here. That men are good. Because there are always more men like you to say different."

  Peter stood up and looked over them, unrelenting. "How can you say that?! Your daughter has done immoral things with men in the past. Who knows she ain't doin' it now with men in my church or your family. It's in their blood."

  Andrew moved faster than he thought possible taking Peter by the shirt collar and holding him up to get his attention. Katrina stood next to him holding his arm but not holding him back. "If you ever talk about my girls like that again, I will forget I am a gentleman." He let him go with a jerk.

  Peter stood back. "You are an angry young man who needs to learn to respect your elders. I won't be coming back here till you learn some respect', young man!" He went down the stairs.

  Katrina still held onto Andrew's arm. "We do respect men who deserve it. I never thought I could respect such a Godly man again after my pa passed away. But Juan Jose came into our life. You're right, we do need help, but you are so limited in believing what God can do." She stepped closer. "But better you go, Peter, before my husband does get abusive."

  Peter got in his buggy, looking back at them.

  Andrew took Katrina's hand. "You will never know what God can really do believing the world's lie. The world believes we would be better off without the touched. But look in the Bible and see what God has done to move His kingdom with touched people. Then look in the Bible and tell me where God believes we’d be better off without them. Or in man's lie." He gave him a sad look. "You are missin' out on so much life."

  Peter shrugged. "It's my life to live and you are living in a world blindly." He slapped the reins and was out of the yard in no time.

  Katrina put her head on his head and cried. He wrapped her in his arms and let her cry. In some ways, he wished he could just cry all his pain out, but he couldn't. It wouldn't fix a thing.

  She finally wiped her eyes with her handkerchief and just leaned against him. "I don't know how Ellen handled self-righteous people like that."

  "She was a saint."

  "Nah, I think she was just like us. Trying to do what is right."

  IZZY LAID BACK ON THE sofa as she listened to Jesse read as the rain came down. It was a cool, rainy afternoon. After chores, Jesse read to the girls as Francesca and Sara sat on chairs and Carlissa played with her doll on the floor.

  By the end of the story, Izzy and the girls were all laughing.

  Izzy sat up from laughing so hard. Catching her breath, she took a sip of Katrina's sweet tea. Hers was better, Jesse always said. She enjoyed these times with him, even if the girls were with them. He had gotten used to them being around, he even enjoyed it some. Other times he just ignored them, though he wasn't good at it. So Izzy would tell him to stop arguing with an eight-year-old child who could argue over how to argue.

  Jesse’s gaze met hers. He had gotten so much softer in the looks he gave her. She was getting to know him so much more now. Something more than physical touch. He didn't touch her cheek, but Izzy knew he wanted to. It helped to have three sets of eyes on him, watching his every move. "I love you so, Angel.
You're so perfect..."

  Izzy knew he meant that she was perfect for him. She smiled, never thinking she would feel like this for a man. She wanted him to herself. She wanted to reach out and touch him. She never thought she would get that physical touch back. It had been hard for her cousins and loved ones to see how she had changed after it happened. She had seen it too, with Cole and how he had changed. She was getting back some of what she was before, but it didn't mean she didn't have fears. Just that maybe God was healing her heart. Giving back some of what she had lost. Like she had prayed for since it happened. Like they were patches on her heart and it was finally healing in the places that hurt the most.

  She heard Francesca clear her throat like what Jesse had just said was anything but true. "Jesse, you are just so naive." Francesca had been on the warpath recently, ever since Jesse had begun to stay there. Izzy was sure it was because she would move away soon. In Fran’s mind, she blamed Jesse, so whenever Jesse was around, she almost always lashed out in anger at him. Unfortunately, when Francesca was this bad, it made the other two girls worse.

  Izzy ignored Francesca. She would have to get over the fact that Izzy was leaving. Maybe it hadn't been good that they got so close. Izzy wasn't sure anymore.

  Francesca got louder. "How can you call Izzy perfect for you? She is about as perfect as any other soiled dove. She is about as used up as I am in that life."

  Izzy didn't look at Francesca but kept her eyes on Jesse, in disbelief. She stood up, needing space between them, though there was enough already.

  Jesse stood up in shock, shaking his head, his eyes trying to meet hers, but she couldn't look at him. She would tell him, but not this way. This wasn't how Jesse was supposed to find out.

  Francesca kept talking in a light naïve voice like she didn't mean any harm. Izzy rolled her eyes and stopped listening to what she was saying, just looking at the ground, then she finally looked at Jesse. She was unsure if Jesse was mad or still in shock.