Chapter 22
Settling back in the end of the couch, Emily let out a sigh. She felt so relaxed here. As long as she kept her eyes off the eight-by-ten glossy in the middle of the coffee table.
Blaze had a flare for decorating and color. Gold walls, upholstered furniture in burnt orange, gold, and splashes of cobalt blue, and a perfect balance of stripes, florals, old, and new. “You have the coziest living room.”
“Thank you.” Blaze tucked her legs beneath her on the opposite end of the couch. “Abby helped.”
“You must miss her so much. I can’t imagine what that kind of loss feels like.”
“I hope you never have to.”
Emily sipped her coffee and looked away. Her gaze landed on the one spot she needed to avoid. Redirecting brought her to a wall of black-and-white family pictures. One showed Abby seated in a rocking chair. Blaze’s arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind. Her face nestled next to her daughter’s. “Imagine living in a time before photography.”
Blaze nodded. “Memories fade. I’m so glad I have these.”
The silence that enveloped them was peaceful and reflective. After several minutes, Emily nodded toward the wall. “There aren’t any pictures of Jake the way he looked when I met him nineteen years ago.”
“They don’t exist. He burned them all when he ‘turned cool.’ His words, not mine. Believe me, there was nothing cool about him from my perspective. I was reeling from losing my husband and all I could do was sit back and watch as my sweet boy morphed into Dracula and then woke up one morning convinced he was Brett Favre.”
“You seem to have a good relationship now.”
“We do. I wouldn’t have made it through Abby’s death without him. He’s a good man.” The look she jabbed at Emily seemed laden with meaning. Smile lines sprouted at Blaze’s temples. “There aren’t any pictures of Topher when you first met him, either.”
Emily put her hand over her face. “Jake told you.”
“No.” The lines deepened. “Topher told me. I practically raised that boy. He calls me Mom Two. He tells me way more than my own son ever has.”
Emily shook her head. “I wish he’d quit acting like we were star-crossed lovers meant to be together for eternity.”
“That’s pretty much what he’s been telling Jake at every opportunity, I think. He’s harmless. He makes my boy laugh and I love him for that.”
“And I’m supposed to be making you laugh.”
Blaze closed her eyes, sighed, and stared down at Jake’s picture. “We got word about Ben today. He only has to serve twenty-eight days altogether. They charged him with disorderly conduct.” Blaze ran fingertips over her lashes. “We did some research. With the kids so close, and shooting across the highway, they could have slapped him with so much more. He could have been behind bars until after Adam and Lexi were out of high school.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I guess we need to be thankful for temporary guardianship. Every day we can keep that man away from those kids is a gift.” She grabbed a box of tissue from an end table as tears started in earnest. “Did you know that seeking permanent guardianship was Jake’s idea?”
“I gathered that.” She gave herself permission to linger on the framed picture. “You’re right. He’s a good man.”
“I’m so proud of that boy. He’s given up so much already.”
“For the kids?”
Blaze nodded. “He’d just finished remodeling his own house when we found out Abby was sick. He had a girlfriend I think he could have gotten serious about. He was on his way to having everything a guy could want. When Abby died, he sold the house dirt cheap and moved back home. At the time, we thought the kids would be living here.” She picked up her mug. Her lips lifted in a halfhearted smile. “In case you’re wondering, none of us are heartbroken that his relationship ended. On the one-to-ten scale of maintenance, she was a twelve.”
“Did he break it off?” The question put her at a thirteen on the scale.
Blaze gave an overly understanding smile. “Yes. Another reason I’m proud of him. To my knowledge he hasn’t dated in months.” She turned toward the window. Emily was sure she was fighting to keep the smile tame. “Anyway, a friend of his from high school is a lawyer. He’s agreed to cut way back on his charges, but if we ever get to court and Ben decides to fight dirty, I have no idea what it could end up costing.”
“Why is it taking so long?”
“There hasn’t been enough evidence. The kids claim he’s never hurt either one of them.”
“You don’t believe them, do you?”
Blaze shook her head.
“Won’t this latest incident help?”
“We’re pretty sure Ben lied to the police about how close the kids were when he shot Pansy. The neighbor didn’t actually see it happen, and the kids would go along with Ben’s story.” A shaky sigh rattled from her throat. “Ben’s threatened them with something to keep them from talking. I’m sure he has all along. If I press it, they both get mad. Too mad. They’re hiding something.”
“If Jake got guardianship, does he plan on living here or—”
The front door burst open. Adam bounded in, looked at Emily, and stopped in his tracks. His head cocked to one side like a puzzled puppy. “What are you doing here?”
“Having coffee with your grandma.”
“I thought you and Jake were going out.”
Blaze pointed to his shoes. “He forgot he’d promised Lexi to take her and her friends out after rehearsal.”
“Huh? I thought Mrs. Benner…” He kicked his shoes off and into the corner, shaking his head as he did. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Wait here.” He ran toward the back hall.
Emily smiled. “What I wouldn’t give for just an ounce of that energy.”
“You and me both. And a few of his brain cells.”
“He’s amazing.”
“He’s in advanced classes at school. That’s hard on Lexi. She gets good grades, but she has to work for them. Adam has almost a photographic mem—”
Adam bounced in, brandishing the thick pamphlet Emily had glimpsed in the van during their Pansy stakeout.
“Let’s do this. Right now.” He plunked onto the middle of the couch and put Jake’s picture facedown on the floor. Emily’s mood lightened. The pamphlet unfolded to the size of a road map. “The other side has all the stuff in Burlington.”
The BuR SPUR of Wisconsin’s Underground Railroad. The Burlington, Rochester, and Spring Prairie Underground Railroad Trail. Emily’s eyes traveled from the map labeled “Out-of-Town Driving Tour” in the center to the pictures of buildings and numbered paragraphs framing the page. “There are thirty-two sites on this. If we start now, we’d be lucky to make it to the last place by breakfast.” She ruffled his hair. The crazy waves invited it, and there was no sister around to get jealous.
Blaze shook her head. “It’s suppertime. Let’s wait till morning. I have a friend who volunteers at the museum. He’s working on a book, so he’s there on Saturdays. We can start as early as you want.”
Adam didn’t hide his disappointment.
“Well…” Emily stretched the word like a drumroll. “I suppose this means we should let your grandma in on our little secret.”
“Cool. But not till tomorrow. She’s making us wait, so we’ll make her wait.” He scrunched his nose and stuck his chin in the air. “I’m going to pack my camera and my digital recorder and my…” His voice trailed off as he ran down the hall.
Emily stood and picked up her cup. Blaze stretched to one side and then the other. “You asked about what would happen to the kids.” She bent down slowly, picked up Jake’s picture, and set it on a shelf. “I can tell you my plan for those kids.” Her hands folded and pressed to her chest. “I plan to find that boy a woman who can love him and those kids with all her heart.”
Lips parting, face warming under the direct stare, Emily froze.
With a loud whoop, Blaze clapped her on the back. “Told you I needed something to make me laugh! Your face did it!” Her arm slipped across Emily’s shoulder, and she drew her close in a one-armed hug much like the one in the picture on the wall. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. Unless you’re the one.”
On Saturday morning, Lexi crouched in the corner of her bed and grimaced at her friend Naomi. The door handle rattled. “Lex! Open up.”
Naomi, sitting on the floor holding Pansy, held her index finger to her mouth.
“Alexis! What’s going on? You hid my phone, didn’t you?” Something banged against the door. “Mrs. Benner just called. She was planning on taking you to the recital last night. What’re you trying to pull?”
Her door was locked, but all he’d need to open it was a paper clip. Pansy yowled and hobbled off Naomi’s lap. How could the poor cat know that the man on the other side of the door wouldn’t lay a hand, or foot, on her in a million years?
Lexi leaned over the bed and picked up Pansy. The bed groaned and she flinched. She should answer Jake. But she didn’t have an answer. When she’d heard he was going out on a date with Emily, she’d had to act fast.
“You’re grounded.”
She heard footsteps. He’d given up easily. “He won’t follow through.” With his head full of Emily, he’d forget he’d grounded her.
The plan was Naomi’s idea. Before Mom got sick, Lexi had never lied about anything worse than saying she forgot an assignment so she’d have an excuse to call Naomi. But even in the Bible people lied to protect somebody. Rahab lied to protect the two spies. Sara lied to protect Abraham. Where would the world be now if those men had killed Abraham? Her Sunday school teacher said those were “special circumstances.”
So was this. Lying to protect your family was a good thing.
She remembered how she’d felt the first time she didn’t tell the truth. Mom was in the hospital again and Ben was in charge. He made Lexi fix supper. Adam read to her while she cooked and she forgot about the macaroni. It burned on the bottom and Ben got crazy mad, madder than they’d ever seen him. He hit Adam with the back of his hand and Adam banged his head on the corner of the cupboard. It bled all over.
That was the first time Ben said if they told anyone he’d call the social workers and they’d split them up and put them in different foster homes.
Jake had come over after supper to get Mom’s hairbrush. He saw a streak of blood Lexi had missed on the white cupboard. She’d grabbed a napkin behind her back and wound it around her finger. “Cut myself grating cheese,” she’d said. “It’s not deep, but it sure did bleed.” She felt like an actress. Jake believed her. That was as good as applause at the end of a school play.
Now she could lie good if she had to. Under special circumstances. But that didn’t make her a liar.
The back door slammed. Jake wouldn’t be coming back tonight. But Emily would. Lexi bent down and buried her face in Pansy’s fur. “We need another plan.” Even though she’d kept Jake and Emily apart last night, things hadn’t worked out all that great. Grandma Blaze had invited her here. To stay. She’d kicked her own son out of his room.
Life was turning upside down. And it was up to her to fix it.
Rolling a strand of black hair around her finger, Naomi said, “You have to make Emily hate being here and think your family is horrible.” She grinned and the lamplight reflected purple on her braces. “Let’s invite her to our sleepover tonight and we can make up stories about how mean your grandma is and how Jake gets drunk and gambles and stuff like that.”
Naomi was serious, but it struck Lexi as funny. She laughed, deep and creepy. “And we’ll all tell seeeecrets.”
The purple lamp made Naomi look ghoulish. Her nose and forehead wrinkled and she laughed freakier than Lexi. “No. Wait. We’d be way more believable if she overheard us talking when she thinks we don’t think she’s listening.”
Goose bumps rippled up Lexi’s arms. “Perfect. Grab that notebook on my desk and let’s write it out.” Lexi rubbed her hands together. A giggle bubbled up from somewhere near her toes. “Soooo perfect.”
October 21, 1852
It felt good to laugh. They’d done so little of it together. Liam held one end of an eight-inch iron hook, Hannah gripped the other. “Tell Miss Baker the truth.” He touched the tip of her nose, leaving a black mark. “Tell her I am promised to another.”
“She’ll ask who.”
“A man does not so readily give up his secrets to a casual acquaintance. Especially one who is so cheap as to only purchase a two-penny pot hook. Tell her you pleaded on your knees but I wouldn’t relinquish the name of my green-eyed, copper-haired, fair-skinned beloved.”
Hannah giggled but her smile slipped away too soon. “Will we ever dance, Liam?”
He let go of the hook and looped his thumbs in the tie of his apron to keep his arms from doing what they longed to do. “This may go on for years, but our part in it will not. We’ll know when God has released us, and it will likely be at the same time I become Jim’s partner and can afford to support you in the manner to which you are accustomed. The Lord has been gracious to fill our days with purpose and not just longing. When that day comes, I’ll stand atop the grist mill and tell the world that Hannah Shaw has agreed to be my wife.”
Eyes misting, she looked beyond him.
“What are you thinking?”
“That you are a stubborn man.” A lone tear dropped to the hem of her skirt.
“I would agree. About what in particular?”
“If Papa knew we wanted to marry, he would open his arms and his home. You earn enough money to contribute a share and then we would all be there”—her voice lowered, her gaze traveled to the street where Jim stood talking to a man seated in a buggy—“to do what needs to be done.”
Oh Lord, how much more can I stand? He could easily imagine the three of them living happily together, but for however long he felt called to be involved in a cause that could find him nose to nose with the barrel of a gun, no one could know of his feelings for Hannah. No one could tie the two of them, the three of them, together.
His right thumb dislodged from its moorings and skimmed her cheek. “If, when I have a job worthy of you, it would help your father to have us live with him, I would be more than willing. He is more of a father to me than I have ever hoped for. Until then—”
Jim ran into the shadows of the shop, eyes blazing, a paper gripped in his fist. He thrust it at Liam. “I’m told I have to post this.” He spat on the ground.
The paper rattled in Liam’s trembling hand.
$2,000 REWARD $2,000
Offered by Mr. Jackson Harper of St. Louis County, Missouri for the return, Alive and in Good Condition, of his negroes:
George, 31 years of age, six feet, one inch tall, 180 pounds in weight.
He has very dark skin, numerous whip scars on his back.
Wearing an iron collar when he escaped.
He possesses the skills of a carpenter and wood carver and may have secured employment in that trade.
$1,500 reward.
and Mariah, his daughter, 11 years of age, five feet tall, 100 pounds in weight.
She has light skin and a very prominent chin.
$500 reward.
These two ran off March 5, 1852, and have been reported heading for this vicinity. Anyone having any knowledge of the whereabouts of either or both of these negroes is requested to contact
the nearest sheriff or federal authorities. Reward will be paid upon confirmation of identity.
Warning
Willful withholding of information pertaining to the apprehension of these fugitives is a violation of federal statute and is punishable by fine and imprisonment.
Tears streamed down Hannah’s face. Throwing the hook against the wall, she ran out.