by Emma Easter
“I should have known this would happen,” Rachel said. “I should have tried to do something to stop it all from happening.” But there was nothing she could have done. After she and Keith had revealed the whole truth to the elders of the town and showed them the evidence of her ownership of the place, the exodus had begun immediately, starting with the elders. They’d told her nothing. No one protested, as she had been sure they would and as her stepfather had said. No one threatened her, not even when she began to call for the reformation of the town. They all just started leaving. When some women began to leave their families to come here to take refuge, the exodus intensified, and within a few months, most people had left. There were hardly any men in town now.
Except for Mike, her ex. As far as she knew, he stayed more as a statement of defiance to her than anything else. Despite that, she was glad he was still here. She didn’t know what she would do if he upped and left one day, taking Emily, their daughter, with him.
Her heart twisted at the thought, and she drew a long breath.
Sharon sat beside her and put a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for burdening you with my problems,” she said. “You already have so much to deal with.”
Rachel could not speak. She felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
Sharon said, “I’ll keep praying as you taught us and believe that God will bring my sister back here somehow. But you shouldn’t blame yourself, Miss Rachel. You have done so much for the women here. You should know that.” Sharon smiled at her and then stood up and left the apartment.
Rachel pressed her lips together as she thought about Emily. In the past eight months, she’d only seen her daughter twice, and both times in secrecy.
“Thank you, Lord, for Olivia,” she whispered. In spite of Mike’s anger and the threats he’d made to teach her a lesson if she ever aided Rachel in seeing Emily again, Olivia had still found a way to help her see her daughter.
But it wasn’t enough.
Rachel cried out, pouring out the pent-up sadness she’d kept hidden deep inside her for months. Because of the great responsibility the Lord had given her, and because there had been so much to do, even though she’d been hurting because she couldn’t see her daughter, she’d buried her feelings in her heart. She’d done so in order to focus on bringing the change she believed God wanted in this community. But now she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Everything she’d believed God would do for her and Keith because they’d left everything they had and come here in obedience to Him had not materialized. Fallow Creek was a deserted town and she still didn’t have her daughter.
“Lord, why?” she cried out and began to sob. Tears poured down her cheeks like torrents of rain, all the tears she’d held inside all these months.
The front door opened, and Keith came into the living room. He blinked rapidly when he saw her and rushed to her side. He folded her into his arms and held her tightly. “Rachel, sweetie, why are you crying?” he asked, his voice ringing with alarm.
“Keith, it’s all falling apart. Everything we believed in hasn’t come true. Instead, I have done more harm than good in taking over the leadership of this community.” She told him what Sharon had said about Nathaniel Grover and her sister, Jane.
Keith rocked her in his arms. “Rachel, it’s not true, you know. A lot of things we believed in have actually come true. This place, for instance. Some women came here looking for refuge after you took over Fallow Creek, and many of them have already received Christ into their hearts. I mean, that is a huge miracle.”
She pulled away slightly to look into his dear face. He had been such a pillar of strength for her during the past months. She gave him a sad smile. “I just feel so responsible for everything that has happened. I would never have imagined that Fallow Creek would be almost deserted just months after I took over from Dennis Hamilton. Now many of the women here don’t even know where their families are. And, worst of all, I’m in the same town as my baby daughter, but I’m not allowed to see her. When God told us to drop the custody case and come here, I thought I would at least be able to see Emily often. But I’ve only seen her twice in eight months. With everyone leaving, it’ll only be a matter of time before Mike decides to leave as well. Then what will…?” She broke down again.
Keith pulled her into his arms and whispered words of comfort to her. But it did little to assuage her doubts and fears. They both could have gone to Mike’s a long time ago and insisted on seeing Emily, but it wasn’t possible. Even though all the squad guards had left town immediately after Rachel took over, Mike had hired goons from who-knew-where. Goons that kept everyone he didn’t want near his house away. And she wasn’t surprised, because people like Mike with a cupboard full of skeletons always needed men like that to protect him in order to feel safe.
She said more to herself than to Keith, “And to shut people like me out of my daughter’s life.”
“Rachel, I know it’s hard for you to still be away from Emily, but we have to keep believing that God is faithful and that He will restore all the time you’ve lost with her. I don’t know how God will do it, but He will bring Emily back to you — to us — in His time.”
Rachel snorted. “And when is that?”
Keith ran his fingers slowly through her hair. “I don’t know. But His time is always the best time. That sounds cliché, but it’s true.”
She shook her head. “I’m just so worried, Keith. What if Mike leaves Fallow Creek with Emily? Remember those dreams I told you about before God told us to move here? I told you I used to dream almost every night that Mike took Emily away and I never saw her again. I’ve started having those dreams again.”
“Shh… Rachel! Stop torturing yourself. They’re just dreams. What did you tell me God has been saying to you every time you ask about Emily?”
She sighed wearily. “All I hear is that He will work it all out.”
Keith gave her a wide smile as though those words were all the proof she needed that Emily would be returned to her soon, never to be taken away again. But they both knew it wasn’t the case. “See? The Lord will work it out, Rachel.” His face fell when she didn’t return his smile. “You know what? Why don’t we pay Mike a visit again today?”
Rachel frowned and looked at him. “You know there’s no point. We’ve done that so many times and it’s made no difference.” She remembered the last time she and Keith had gone to ask to see Emily. They had not been able to get anywhere near the house. Mike’s new guards had stopped them and refused to let them go any farther. Mike had come out of his house and taunted them.
“Listen, Rachel, I don’t care if you now own even the skies above us, you’re not coming near my house or my daughter. I suggest you forget about Emily.” He had pointed at Keith with a look of disdain. “You have your pastor now. Go and have a baby with him to replace her.”
Anger had boiled hot in Rachel’s heart, and she had tried to force her way past the guards but had failed.
He’d said, “The next time you try to force your way into my house to see my daughter, I will take her away from this town, and you’ll never see her again.”
“We can’t do that, Keith. Remember the threat Mike made the last time we went to his house to try to see Emily?”
“Yes, but remember how God worked a miracle and opened a door for you to see her after that day. Because we went, Olivia secretly brought her here to you so you could see her.”
“Still, it’s too risky. Olivia was able to bring her that day because Mike traveled and there were still shops open in the community. She convinced the guards she was going to buy some groceries and then came here with Emily. Now all the shops are locked and everyone else she knows has probably left Fallow Creek. I doubt she’ll be able to do what she did last time. If she’s caught, Mike will carry out his threat, and I will never see Emily again.”
“Yes. But this time, we will not be going to see Emily. We will go and see Mike.”
Rachel ti
lted her head and stared at him. “I don’t understand. Why would I want to see Mike and not Emily?”
“Just like you said, asking to see Emily will only anger Mike, and we don’t want that. We will send a message through someone and ask to see him to discuss something important.”
Rachel shook her head. “Mike won’t buy that. And he will never agree to see us. What important thing do we have to discuss with Mike except for Emily?”
“A business proposal.”
Rachel frowned. “What business proposal? And what does that have to do with my daughter?”
“Rachel, you own most of the houses in this town.”
She nodded. “Yes, but not the new ones like Mike’s, Taylor’s, or Dennis’s.”
“I know. But the land it’s built on belongs to you…”
“I can’t ask him to move out. He won’t even budge. Besides, I don’t want to… because of Emily.”
“I’m not saying you should ask him to move out. We know Mike loves his money and property. How about you offer him the land and one or two of the houses that were abandoned, including the lands they were built on? In exchange, all you ask is to be allowed to bring Emily here and take care of her as her mother. He can still see her anytime he wants.”
Rachel blinked. “But what if the owner of the one of the houses I give to Mike comes back? What will I do?”
“That’s unlikely. Aside from the fact that the houses actually belong to you, most of these men left because they didn’t want to be beholden to you. They fully expected you to take possession of the houses when they left. If any of them come back, we can give them another empty house. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Rachel bit her lip as she thought about what Keith was suggesting. He was right. In the years she’d been with Mike, she’d learned that he did like gathering property — both land and houses — but he had a special fondness for this house in Fallow Creek. But whether he would agree to their proposal was another thing. He was a terribly proud man. He’d said she had shamed him when she’d left him and married Keith. He had mostly kept Emily from her to punish her for disgracing him. That was why he’d stayed when others had left; to let her know that no matter what she now owned, she’d never get him to leave his beloved…”
She gasped. He did really love his house. Enough to remain here when others had left, even when the ultimate punishment for her would be to take Emily away to a hidden place where she would never see her daughter again. “You might be right, Keith. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s worth a shot.”
“Who should we send to deliver the message?” Keith said. “We can’t send any of the young women here or who knows what Mike would do with her. And we can’t go ourselves because the guards have been instructed to not let us anywhere near the house.”
“I know who we can send. Gertrude is Mike’s new wife’s sister. We can send her along with Cecelia, an older woman, and she can ask to see her sister and then send our message to Mike.”
Keith nodded and got a piece of paper and pen from the desk in their bedroom. He came back to sit beside her on the sofa, and they wrote the letter to Mike together. Rachel took the note and went to look for Gertrude and Cecilia. She found Gertrude and asked her if she would be willing to do her and Keith a favor. When she told the young woman her plan, Gertrude eagerly agreed.
She called to Cecilia as she passed by them in the hallway. Cecilia had worn the same scowl as Margaret the first day Rachel had met the woman, and she’d thought her assistant would be no different in character from Margaret. But Cecilia had proven to be loyal and dedicated to Rachel and had been a huge help to her since she’d been made the leader of the Restoration House. She trusted that Cecilia would help carry out her plan now.
After she told Cecilia what she wanted and her assistant had agreed to go to Mike’s with Gertrude, Rachel sent them along. She returned to the apartment she shared with Keith and sat beside him on the sofa.
“You’ve sent them to Mike’s with the letter?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I guess all there is to do now is wait for his answer.”
She nodded, unable to speak. Her future with Emily depended on Mike’s response. If he agreed to their proposal, she would finally be able to hold Emily in her arms after so many months. Most of all, she would be able to see her daughter regularly. It was all she wanted in this world.
But if Mike refused and their proposal angered him, he might leave Fallow Creek with Emily and smash her heart into tiny bits. Then, no matter how much Keith tried to love her back to normal, she was sure he would never be able to put her heart back together again.
Chapter 4
Lily finished cooking dinner and served it on one of Sofia’s favorite china plates. Today, she had not been in the mood to cook and had asked Sofia if she would eat the leftover omelet from this morning.
Sofia had pouted and begged her to cook. “I feel like eating that spinach pie you made the other day, and something else as well. Can you cook that? A lot of it, because I really like it.”
Lily had sighed and agreed to cook. She liked to cook, but she just wanted to rest this evening as she’d been cleaning the house all day. Sofia liked a spotless house even though she was kind of messy. She carried the plates of Italian spinach pie and the bowls of tomato soup to the dining table and then went back to the kitchen to get the big bowl of fruit salad she’d made.
Sofia came into the dining room dressed in a tight black dress that barely covered her behind and a low cleavage that showed way too much of what should be covered. Her dark hair was down and her blunt bangs hung over her eyes. She had on her bright red lipstick.
Lily gazed at her in confusion. “Where are you going, Sofia? You told me to cook because you felt like eating a big dinner and yet you want to go out now? And are you going out dressed like that?”
Sofia glowered at Lily. “Stop asking me all these questions! I’ll wear whatever I want to wear!”
Lily blinked in surprise. Sofia had never spoken to her like this.
“I’m sorry, Lily. I don’t know what came over me.” She looked down at the table. “You have done it again! It all looks and smells so good.” She sat down at the table and began to dish the food.
Lily sat across from her. “I thought you were going out.”
“No.”
“Then why are you dressed like that?” Sofia glared at Lily again, and she held up her hand. “I’m sorry. I won’t ask anymore. Let’s pray, though, before you start eating.”
Sofia ignored her and dug into her food.
Lily sighed and prayed over the food. She opened her eyes and dished out her own food and began to eat. They both ate without speaking to each other, which was rare because Sofia liked to talk. But Lily didn’t mind today. She had a lot on her mind… like the fact that she’d gone job hunting online for two days without finding anything at all and that Sofia had not cared to listen when she’d told her about it. Still, she’d only been searching for two days. She was far from discouraged. Hopefully, she would be able to find something soon and start planning her life the way she wanted.
Which is how, exactly? a voice in her head asked. She knew she wanted to get a job and one day find a way to convince her parents to leave Fallow Creek. By then she would have gotten an apartment, but for now she’d promised Sofia she would remain here.
But before then, what do you plan to do with your life?
She had not thought that far. All she knew was that she wanted to be totally independent, find a job, and then one day travel the world. But that day seemed really far.
“Lily!”
Lily looked up at Sofia. “Yes?”
“What were you thinking about? I asked you a question, but you didn’t answer!”
Lily shrugged.
“Are you going for your usual walk this evening? I need you to get some things from the store.”
“What do you need me to get for you?” Lily asked
.
“Umm, just a white T-shirt, a toothbrush, and boxers.”
Lily frowned. “Boxers?”
“Yes.”
“You wear boxers?”
“Will you help me get them or not?”
Lily sighed. “Okay. Let me finish my food and I’ll be off.”
“Thanks,” Sofia said.
Lily studied her. She looked slightly edgy, but excited at the same time. What was she up to, anyway?
After she finished eating, Lily cleared her plate. Sofia was still sitting on her chair, her empty plate in front of her, looking at the wall, a dreamy look in her eyes. Lily looked at her for a minute and then carried the plates into the kitchen. She went to her bedroom, a granite-tiled spacious room with a queen-sized bed and an ornate full-length mirror that had been what Lily liked the most when she’d first come to live in this house. In Fallow Creek, women were discouraged from spending too much time in front of the mirror, as that was considered vanity. There were hardly any full-length mirrors around.
She stopped in front of the mirror and looked at herself. She was wearing shorts and a green T-shirt, and her long, auburn hair hung down her back. She had thought Sofia’s dress was scandalous just now, but hers would be too in a place like Fallow Creek. She pulled off her shorts, and pulled on a pair of jeans and her boots. She grabbed her jacket and left the room with her purse.
Sofia was now sitting in the living room, the TV remote in her hand. Lily walked up to her, and Sofia handed her a credit card.
“So a white T-shirt, your size, toothbrush…”
“No, not my size. Large.”
Lily raised her brows and stared quizzically at Sofia. “Large?”
“Yes, large, Lily.”
“White T-shirt, boxers, toothbrush. Anything else?”
“Umm… maybe a box of chocolates. Any kind. And strawberries.”
Lily felt a slight discomfort in the pit of her stomach, but she didn’t want to ask for who or why Sofia wanted her to buy these things. She sighed and left the apartment.
As she walked on the sidewalk, she glanced at the buildings that lined both sides of the street. They were now familiar to her, but the first time she’d taken a walk alone after she’d moved in with Sofia, she’d been so busy admiring everything around her and marveling at how different the busy streets were from sleepy Fallow Creek, that she had lost her way. Thankfully, the buildings and stores she’d been intently studying and admiring when she’d gotten lost had also led her back to Sofia’s. Now she could probably find her way around with her eyes closed.