A Gathering of Memories

  “Don’t apologize, Carrie. You did interrupt, but it was for the best.”

  “Did he kiss you?”

  “Almost.”

  Mandy’s impressionable sister absorbed this in silence.

  “Is it wrong to kiss before you’re married?”

  “I don’t know,” Mandy answered honestly. “I don’t think it’s a good idea if you’re not committed to each other.”

  “And you don’t think you and Ross will be committed in some way?”

  “I thought for a time we might be, but my feelings are stronger than his, and every time I turn around I get hurt. Maybe I’m expecting too much. We can’t always control our hearts, and there isn’t much I can do about the fact that Ross doesn’t share my feelings.”

  “I’ll pray for you, Mandy.”

  “Thanks, Carrie.”

  “Uh, Mandy, did Mr. Culver say Pete was coming back tomorrow?”

  Mandy turned and stared at her sister in the lamplight. Carrie’s voice had been almost strained in an effort to make the question sound casual.

  “Carrie, is there something you want to tell me?”

  Carrie only looked back at Mandy and bit her lower lip. Mandy went over and sank down on the edge of the full-size bed where Carrie was already beneath the covers.

  “It’s awful, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” Carrie agreed.

  “I’ve fallen for someone who doesn’t feel the same. And you like someone who’s too old for you.”

  “He’s only 22, same age as Ross.”

  “And you just turned 15, Carrie.” Mandy’s words were muffled by the nightgown she was slipping over her head, but the logical tone in her voice came through loud and clear.

  When she emerged, she heard Carrie sigh. Mandy blew out the lamp and crawled into bed beside her. Carrie’s voice was a little frustrated when she spoke.

  “You’re too practical, Mandy. To hear you talk, you’re not bothered or hurt by any of this.”

  “I hurt, Carrie, believe me. I hurt.”

  47

  “Carrie, it’s wrong!”

  “Well I’m not the least bit tired, and we’d be back and she wouldn’t even miss us.”

  It was Sunday evening and the girls were having a whispered argument on the front porch. Grandma Em had claimed exhaustion and taken herself off to bed. Carrie, Mandy noticed, had energy to spare and was actually entertaining the idea of going for a walk at dusk without asking Grandma Em.

  “You don’t have to come, Mandy.”

  “I’ve a good mind to march right up those stairs and tell Grandma Em what you’re thinking of doing.”

  “And she’d probably give me permission to go. I’m not a little girl, Mandy.”

  Mandy threw up her hands in exasperation when she saw Carrie was determined.

  “Mandy, I’m glad we came in to stay with Grandma Em, and I’m glad that Silas and Amy were able to take a trip. But the whole family stayed so long today. I don’t feel like I’ve been able to do anything fun here in town. I go to school tomorrow and then we go home.” She walked down the steps and turned back to look up at her sister.

  “I’ll be back before dark. If it makes you feel better, you can wait here on the porch.”

  It took Mandy a moment to see that she was really going. She glanced back at the front door and then moved down the steps to catch up with Carrie.

  “How are your folks?” Ross asked Pete.

  “They’re fine. My sister is now engaged, but they’re waiting until next summer to get married.”

  “Next summer? Why so long?”

  “I don’t know. I’d tell her no if I was Donald.”

  “You and me both. The whole courting process is too painful to wait for the wedding once you’ve actually decided to take the step.”

  “Yeah, that’s the way I feel. Why are we sitting out here on the porch? It’s getting dark and cold.”

  “No good sense, I guess.”

  “Who is that coming down the street?” Pete said then.

  “It looks like Amanda and Carrie, but I can’t believe it would be.”

  “Carrie Jackson!” Mandy said furiously. “I can’t believe you’re taking us right past Ross and Peter’s. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. We’re turning back right now. It’s almost dark.”

  “Too late.” Mandy was too angry to notice that Carrie sounded regretful. Halting, the sisters watched as the men approached.

  Ross had to stop himself from asking if Grandma Em knew where they were. They weren’t little girls and the hour wasn’t exactly late, but it was nearly dark and he had a sneaking suspicion Grandma Em was completely unaware of their whereabouts.

  “What brings you ladies out this evening?” Pete asked casually, even as his own mind swarmed with questions.

  Mandy wanted to pinch Carrie for getting them into this and then standing there as if she had no tongue.

  “We’re just out for a walk. In fact we were just headed back, weren’t we, Carrie?”

  “How was your weekend, Pete?” Carrie completely ignored Mandy’s question, and even when Mandy pulled on her arm, she did nothing more than stare at Pete.

  “I had a nice time, Carrie, thank you. How are things with Grandma Em?”

  “Fine.”

  “Did you get your canning done?”

  “Yes.”

  There was a painful silence then, at least it was painful to Mandy, but she couldn’t help but notice how kind Pete was to Carrie. He didn’t treat her like she was some kid beneath his notice but talked to her in open friendliness.

  “We really have to be going now.” Mandy gave Carrie no choice this time but pulled her around until they were headed back down the street.

  “We’ll walk with you.”

  “No!” Mandy nearly shouted at Ross. She took a breath to try and calm herself. “Thank you, Ross, but we’ll get ourselves home.”

  Holding Carrie’s arm in a grip that would probably leave bruises, Mandy led her away from the men. Peter and Ross exchanged one very brief look before starting after them at an unhurried pace.

  They made no effort to hide their intentions to follow but kept a discreet distance between them. Every once in a while Mandy’s voice was heard rebuking Carrie. About halfway to Grandma Em’s Mandy figured their protectors were not going to go back, so she and Carrie came to a stop and let them catch up.

  Pete walked in front with Carrie beside him, and Ross brought up the rear with a steaming Amanda at his side.

  “I take it this little walk was not your idea?”

  “No, it wasn’t! I have no desire to come around where I’m not wanted!” She was just angry enough, her pride smarting at the appearance of coming to see Ross, to throw caution to the wind and say exactly what was on her mind.

  “Amanda, did you ever think that the way things are between us hurts me, too?”

  Not knowing what to say, Mandy didn’t answer. In all of her pain she hadn’t considered that Ross might be suffering as well.

  They were at the house now, and Carrie’s hand flew to her mouth when she looked up to see Grandma Em on the porch. She was thankful for the darkness because she could feel her cheeks burning with shame.

  “Are you girls alright?”

  The words were said in such anxiety that Carrie burst into tears. “Come on in, girls. You boys come in, too.”

  After many tears, apologies, and hugs, everyone found themselves in the kitchen with cheese and apples, waiting for hot cocoa. Grandma Em spoke in understanding.

  “You finally get a weekend in town and all you do is work. I’m not saying what you did was right, but I think I understand and wish you’d come to me. Now, no more apologies,” Grandma Em stopped Carrie from speaking. “It’s over and I’ll even leave it up to you to tell Silas and Amy.”

  The girls exchanged a glance, and Mandy knew that Carrie herself felt she should do the unpleasant task because it had been her idea. The guys stayed for a while and Carrie had a wonderf
ul time with Pete. Mandy noticed again how kind he was, but never once did he give Carrie a false impression, something for which Mandy was very grateful.

  There was no opportunity for Ross and Mandy to speak privately and finish the conversation they had started on the walk home. Because Mandy was upset about the evening, the air around the two of them was a little more strained.

  Mandy climbed gratefully into bed that night with one thought on her mind. Tomorrow was Monday, and Silas and Amy were coming home.

  48

  “I’m glad you’re back.”

  “Well, you can look a little more excited when you say it, Luke,” Silas commented dryly, and then became alert to the serious look on his brother’s face.

  “Thursday night I thought I heard noises over by your house, but when I stood at my bedroom window things looked quiet. It was a little windy and I blamed that. For my own peace of mind I came over Friday morning. Nothing looked out of order, but this was laying by your back steps.”

  Reaching to a high shelf in the barn where the men stood, Luke picked up a cigar stub and handed it to Silas.

  “None of our buyers ever go near your house, Si. If I’d found this by the barn, I’d have thought nothing of it. So I went on in, but nothing looked out of order and I’m sure I would have noticed with the way Amy keeps things.”

  Silas was praying as Luke spoke, his heart pounding at the thought of some stranger in his home. Something was not right. The cigar was certainly no reason to go off the deep end. But Silas had the most uncomfortable feeling that someone had been looking for the papers Mandy said she was taking to Grandma Em’s for Ross to see. He had no idea from where the thought came. It was just there and would not go away.

  Silas’ first temptation, to ride directly in and talk to the sheriff, was abating as he stood with his brother and continued to pray silently.

  “What will you do?”

  “For right now, I’ll wait and pray.” He put the stub in his coat pocket and looked at Luke. “I don’t want to overreact or scare anyone, but something isn’t right.” Silas then explained briefly about the papers Ross had said he wanted to see and how with the trip he hadn’t taken any of it too seriously. He hadn’t even asked Mandy if he could look at the papers.

  “Then Ross still has them?”

  “Just the document about the land agreement with this guy from Reedsburg. I heard Amy ask Mandy about it. Mandy said Ross returned everything but that. Amy also questioned her about the reading of her mother’s diary, and Mandy said she read some more on the weekend but was nowhere near through it.”

  “Amy doesn’t ask questions just because she’s nosy.”

  “No, she doesn’t, and I think I’d better check with her and see what she’s thinking.”

  The chance did not come for Silas until husband and wife had retired for the night. Silas told Amy about Luke hearing something Thursday night and then showed her the cigar stub.

  “Do you really think someone was in the house?”

  “I don’t know. Like Luke said, nothing was disturbed.”

  Silas watched as Amy checked her jewelry box. He’d already done the same thing this afternoon and told her as much.

  “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  “Because you and I haven’t been alone until now, and I don’t want to scare the kids.”

  “Are you going to report it?”

  “Not right now. Amy, tell me what you were thinking when you asked Mandy about reading the diary and her mother’s papers.”

  “It’s not very nice.” Silas’ brows raised but he waited without comment, watching her as she stood by the dresser.

  “Silas, I don’t like town gossip. I try never to get involved.”

  “Right,” Silas said carefully, waiting for her to come to the point.

  “I think Aaron Marks is a liar and a cheat!”

  Most people would have considered this mild, but Silas knew better. Amy was one of the kindest, least judgmental persons he had ever met. It was not her habit to call people names or be vindictive; in fact, Silas was sure this was the first time he’d ever heard her do so. She looked so troubled after admitting her thoughts that he held out his arms to her from the bed. She didn’t hesitate, and as always Silas’ heart turned over when she was cuddled against him.

  “Silas,” she continued after a few moments. “I don’t want anything for the kids that doesn’t rightfully belong to them, but if Aaron Marks cheated Ward Jackson to get that land—and I can’t help but think that he did—then I think we should do everything we can to get it back.”

  “Why don’t we ask Christine to take Becca tomorrow morning? After the kids leave for school, you and I can take Mandy in and see Ross. We’ll talk about everything we know to be true as well as the things we feel might be true. He’ll tell us if we should drop the whole thing and accept that the land is gone, or go to Rufus with our concerns.

  “It seems like I’ve taken more than my fair share of time off, but when Luke and I talked today he said that now is the time to get this cleared up. I can’t help but agree with him.”

  Just after Silas stopped talking there was a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” Amy called.

  “I heard you talking,” Mandy said as she came in, her words tumbling out faster than Silas and Amy had ever heard. “I needed a drink of water and I saw your light. I’ve been reading in Mama’s dairy, and I found something that clears up Pa’s letter to me, or at least part of it.”

  “Here, let’s see.” Silas held out his hand and Mandy scooted over to the edge of the bed to give it to him. She stood beside the bed, the front of her flannel nightgown clutched in her fists.

  Silas read—“We went on a picnic today out in the bluffs. Ward told the children their favorite story this time at butterfly rock. He lifted the girls up to touch the ‘butterfly’ and Carrie squealed in delight. I wish Ward could be here more. I think I might be pregnant again.”

  Both Silas and Amy looked in question at Mandy. “I remember now. Pa used to tell us a story about a beautiful butterfly who made a deal with the sun, a deal that the sun would shine on the butterfly every day and keep him warm enough to survive all winter. The sun agreed to the plan but warned the butterfly that he must always remember who it was that gave him winter life and give the credit where credit was due. If the butterfly broke the deal, he would be turned into stone.

  “Pa always dragged it out and made it really long but this day, the day Mama writes about in the diary, was the first time he took us to a place in the bluffs and showed us a rock that actually looks like a butterfly. Pa said the butterfly sat fluttering his wings and bragged to a fox who had to hibernate in the winter. He was instantly transformed into the rock, exactly like the ones he was resting on. It all came back as I read the diary. I remember it like it was yesterday.

  “My pa’s letter,” she opened her hand where she’d been crushing it in her excitement, “said to remember the stories around butterfly rock. He took us there about three times. The letter said the rock would help us.”

  Silas took the letter and read it himself. “And you know where this rock is?”

  “The exact spot.”

  “On Aaron Marks’ land.” Amy said the words quietly and there was a very definite look of defeat on Mandy’s face. Silas explained to her what their plan was for the morning, and Mandy agreed wholeheartedly.

  Silas kept the diary and letter with him in the bedroom that night. In the morning, the three of them headed for Ross Beckett’s office.

  49

  It was a terrible letdown to find Ross’ office empty. They swung by his house but it too was quiet. Silas stopped at the bank and asked Pete to tell Ross that he, Amy, and Mandy would be at Grandma Em’s for a while and hoped to see him.

  Mandy had turned into a bundle of nerves when Ross arrived 45 minutes later.

  “Mandy, why don’t you sit down?” Grandma Em suggested softly and Mandy did sit for just a few moments
as Silas explained why they had come into town. But she was up again in no time at all, pacing around the end of the living room.

  Ross’ face was grave as he read the diary and then the letter. When Silas produced the cigar stub, he came forward on his chair and reached for it.

  “This is the same type as those Amanda’s father smoked.” He said the words thoughtfully and almost to himself, but Mandy had heard.

  “My pa didn’t smoke.”

  Ross stared at her and then back at the cigar. “Not ever?”

  “No, at least not at home, and I can’t think why he would have kept it hidden from us.”

  “Amanda,” Ross’ voice was quiet, intense. “The day you drove the wagon home and then went in and found the picture of your mother, there was a cigar stub just like this on the floor of the bedroom. I didn’t give any thought to it because I assumed it was your father’s.”

  Mandy’s eyes had grown very wide. “I noticed a funny smell when I went in that day. I thought it was because we hadn’t been there and the air was stale. Also a letter that I know Mama got from Pa last winter was not with her things.”

  “Another cigar stub was laying outside the day we went to move the furniture,” Ross added to this new information. “But Aaron Marks had already arrived and I can’t remember if the cigar had been there before he was or not. And then, of course, I was still thinking they were your father’s, so I didn’t give much thought to it.”

  “Do we have enough information to take to Rufus?”

  “Yes, Silas, we do. But whether he’ll agree to a search warrant or an investigation of any kind remains to be seen.”

  Everything was laid out on the kitchen table after that, and Ross and Silas went over every inch of what they had. The document from Mr. Brooks, the letter, the diary, all of it was read and reread. They exhausted every avenue, Ross taking notes all the while. Then he gathered the papers and put them in a flat, black case. Mandy, who had paced through most of their examination, touched his arm.