“Grandma,” Brian said
as Elizabeth Quinn stepped off of the stagecoach onto Concord ground.
“Brian, hi,” she gave
him a hug, then reached over to hug Matthew.
“I got the
telegram. I came as soon as I
could. How is Rebecca?” the worried
mother asked.
“She’s still
unconscious. Dr. Mike, Andrew, and
Colleen are doing everything they can,” Matthew told her.
“She’s in good hands,
Grandma,” Brian tried to comfort her.
“Yes, take me out to
her, please,” Elizabeth said to the boys.
On the way out to Plumfield, she couldn’t help but think about when
Marjorie died. She regretted not being
there; not being able to say goodbye.
She hoped that she wouldn’t have to say goodbye to Rebecca, but she didn’t
want to take that chance of not being there.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
Elizabeth leaned over
the bedside of her unconscious daughter and prayed. That’s all she knew she could do. “Lord, don’t take my daughter away, not now, not when she’s
finally found love.” She looked over at
William, who was standing just inside the door. She liked this man. She
had met him a while back and he was perfect for her Rebecca. She just knew he was.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
“Hey, you look like
you could use a little bit of help,” Sully said to Nick as he walked over to
the horse pasture.
“Hi, Sully, Yeah, I
could use some help. I’m trying to fix
this fence before the horses decide to run free. I could use another hand or two.”
“Be glad to help,”
Sully took hold of the fence while Nick pounded the nails in. After a few minutes the fence looked as good
as new.
“Thanks for the help,
Sully.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Any more news on
Rebecca?”
“Nope, still no
change.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah, it is,” they
both leaned back against the fence and looked toward the house.
“Is there something
on your mind, Nick?” Sully asked him.
Nick looked over at
him, “Is it that easy to tell?”
“Yeah,” Sully smiled.
“It’s something that
I overheard William say this morning.
Something about taking advantage of the time you spend with the one you
love.”
“That’s true,
Nick. Because you never know when you
might lose them.” Sully paused a
moment, then continued, “I’ll always regret not spending more time with
Abigail.”
“Abigail?” Nick
questioned.
Sully looked at him, “Abigail
was my first wife. I loved her dearly.”
“What happened?”
“She died. She died during childbirth. My daughter, Hannah, died too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. It happened. Nothing could have been done.
It’s hard to lose a wife, or even a husband, I suppose.” He was now
talking about Jo too.
“I suppose it is.”
“I didn’t want to let
her go. I didn’t want to believe she
was gone,” he paused as if remembering her. “Then Michaela came to town.”
“What happened?” Nick
asked, thinking about when he first got here.
“I saw a woman that
wouldn’t give up. She was a city girl
that came from Boston; wasn’t ready for the rugged life out west. She never gave up, though. Even though people didn’t want her there,
she stayed. Forced them to like her, I
guess.”
He continued on, “There
was something about her; something that attracted me to her. However, it still took me awhile to realize
that I couldn’t hold onto Abigail any longer.
After I realized that, and realized she would want me to be happy again,
I was able to finally pursue a relationship with Michaela,” Sully paused to
look up at Nick. He was listening
intently. “I learned from losing
Abigail never to take love for granted again, and to take advantage of every
moment I spend with Michaela.” Sully finished.
They were both quiet
for a few minutes. “You want to marry her, don’t you, Nick?”
Nick looked out
across the pasture. “Yes, I do.”
“Then ask her. Don’t hesitate to ask her. You never know how long you’ll have each
other.”
“What if she’s not
ready? I mean she’s just gotten
comfortable with us courting, but what if she’s not ready for marriage again?”
“Comfortable? Nick,
once you get comfortable in a relationship, I’ve always found it best to shake
it up a little bit, change something, be spontaneous and romantic. Women love that,” Nick looked over at him. “In
other words, ask her.”
“Maybe I will.” Nick
smiled. “Maybe I will.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
“Hey, Jo,” Michaela
walked into the parlor. Jo was sitting
at the desk writing something.
“Hi. How’s your sister?”
“Still can’t
tell. No change yet. Mother and William are in with her right
now.” Michaela looked tired.
“Sit down. You need to rest.” Michaela sat down in a chair beside Jo.
“Where are the kids?”
“Matthew, Becky,
Colleen, Franz, and Andrew took them all down to Walden’s Pond for lunch. Asia packed them all sandwiches. I hope you don’t mind that they took Katie
and Amanda with them. Sully said it
would be all right as long as they kept a close eye on them. He thought it would be good to get them away
for a couple hours.”
“Yes, that’s fine,”
Michaela told her.
“We all hope for the
best, Michaela. She’ll get better. We’ve all been praying.” Jo comforted her.
“Thanks. We’re gonna need the prayer.”
“What do you mean? I thought you said there was no change?”
“There isn’t, and the
longer she stays unconscious, the less of a chance she has to wake up.”
Michaela looked like she was on the verge of tears.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jo
leaned over and gave Michaela a big hug.
“Jo, I lost one
sister under my care. I can’t lose
another one.” Jo continued to hold
Michaela as she cried on her shoulder.
