Chapter Six

Louise’s life took an unexpected upturn with the arrival of two new orphans. Stacy and Joseph Nelson came to the St. Joe orphanage after their parents were tragically killed in a stage massacre. Because of Stacy’s obvious beauty, Lila and her friends had an immediate dislike for her. Understanding what it felt like to be a social pariah for no justified reason, Louise found herself drawn to the vivacious girl. Joey was the same age as Flynn and fit right in with his wild and popular friends. When the four of them were together, they found an easy friendship as well as their fair share of trouble.

Sister Marie and Shannon Malone did their best to protect the children from the wrath of Sister Catherine, but the year Louise turned twelve, her happy bubble began to burst.

Just after the turn of the year and the celebration that welcomed 1855, St. Joe, Missouri found itself blanketed by a never-ending series of snowstorms. The harsh, cold winter was even harder on the orphanage as food, as well as donations, dwindled. The dormitories grew increasingly full as more and more families fell victim to influenza outbreaks. The Sisters feared they would have to close their doors to new children. When weather permitted, the children were allowed outside to enjoy the few hours of sunshine the constant storms rarely afforded.

One day in very early spring, it looked as if the snow had finally stopped and the sun would stay out. Louise, Flynn, Stacy and Joey snuck off to the creek to play on the frozen water. Having mastered their escape plan in the two years since they were last caught, no one saw the foursome leave.

“This is so much fun! I wish we’d thought of it sooner.” Stacy squealed with delight as she and Louise made snow angels on the bank. At the same time, Flynn and Joey played in the middle of the creek chasing and kicking at a frozen mass, as if it were a ball.

“It’s so good to be outside again. I thought we’d never be let out,” returned Louise as she stood to admire their work. “If I stayed in that room with Lila for another minute, I would’ve punched her in the nose!”

Stacy gave her a conspiratorial smile. “I would have held her down for you.”

Joey overheard their conversation and shook his head at them. “Just what the school needs, eh Flynn? A girls boxing match.”

“My money’s on those two for sure!” Flynn gave chase after the “ball” and edged closer to the bank. “Come on you two, come play with us. It’s me and Lulu against you and Joey? Stacy, what do you say?”

Louise and Stacy were both concerned about the ice melting and falling through, but they also knew they could never resist Flynn’s pleas. No one could. They became so occupied with their game that the four friends did not notice the sudden change in the weather. As they continued to shout and laugh, snowflakes began to fall again. The storm rolled over the orphanage first as it moved in from the north and it wasn’t until Sister Catherine called the children in from the yard that she noticed the foursome missing. Turning with a swish of her habit, she stormed off towards the Malone cottage to retrieve her three charges.

“They’re not here, Sister Catherine,” explained Liam Malone. Worn from several hours of clearing the heavy snow from the rooftops, he didn’t have the energy to tangle with her. “I figured Flynn was at recess with the others.”

“When those children show their faces, we need to have a talk with them about their wandering ways.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The old nun always made Liam feel as if he were back in school himself. Although he hated to squash Flynn’s free spirit, he knew he couldn’t have his son jeopardizing the other children’s well being.

At the same time as Sister Catherine was making her way through the raging storm back to her office, Louise, Flynn, Stacy and Joey were making their way off the frozen creek.

Afraid of falling on the climb up the steep, slippery bank, Louise moved several yards away to a lower point. Unbeknownst to her, the fresh snowfall covered a deep crack in the ice and with one step forward, she broke through and found herself completely submerged.

Hearing the telltale crack of breaking ice, Flynn and the Nelsons scrambled up the bank. Turning to look for Louise, Flynn was just in time to see her fall through.

“Lulu!”

Racing to the hole, Flynn started after Louise. He could see her trying to pull herself out with great difficulty.

Joey grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “You can’t go out there! You’ll fall in too!”

“I have to get her, she’ll drown!”

Shaking Flynn to get his attention, Joey spoke quickly and directly. “Run and get the longest, sturdiest branch you can find, we’ll have to pull her out.” Turning to a now hysterical Stacy, he sent her off to get Mr. Malone. Calling to her as she ran into the storm he reminded her to bring back blankets.

Waiting for Flynn, Joey knelt and started poking at the ice to find any sturdy spots. Seeing the fear in Louise’s eyes, he tried to calm her. “Hang on Louise! We’re gonna get you out! Just keep your head out of the water!”

Aware of the voice, but still panicked, she kept trying to pull herself out. The icy water quickly sapped her strength and she was losing her fight.

Flynn returned with a large branch, but it wasn’t long enough and Louise was too weak to grab for it. “This is ridiculous, Joey. We can’t wait for my father. You stay here and hold my legs, I’m gonna lay across and pull her out!”

“That’s crazy Malone! You’ll go under too.” Joey didn’t think he would be able to rescue two of them.

“It’s our only chance. I won’t let her die on me, so let’s do it!”

In one quick motion, Flynn was stretched across the thinning ice while Joey secured his legs. Louise was holding on with her finger tips and almost ready to slip below the surface when, after thanking god for his extra height, Flynn grabbed Louise by her arms and pulled her up and out. Joey used all the strength in his fourteen-year-old body to haul them to safety.

Slipping into unconsciousness, Louise’s lips were blue and her body convulsed involuntarily. Flynn pulled her limp, wet body to his and started rubbing her limbs. He knew they had to get her back to the school and before a warm fire or she would die.

“Nelson, give me your coat!” Taking off his own, Flynn wrapped the two around Louise’s motionless body and picking her up, they started the long journey back.

The wind was blowing into their faces as they trudged towards the orphanage. Disoriented by the blinding snow, they hoped they were still headed in the right direction. They couldn’t afford to get lost out in the storm for the night. It would be bad for them, but deadly to Louise. Within minutes of starting out, they heard Liam Malone calling for them. Calling back to direct the frantic man to their position, they were surprised to see Stacy sitting with him when he stopped.

Shane Malone, home on a break from Medical College in St. Louis, jumped off the wagon before it even stopped. Looking at the lifeless form he wasn’t sure if she was alive. “Is she breathing?” Shane reached to feel her pulse as Flynn nodded his head.

“Can you help her, Shane?”

“We have to get her home and changed. I need to check for frostbite and listen to her lungs. What were you idiots doing out here?” He didn’t wait for an answer and jumped into the back of the wagon so Flynn could hand him Louise. Climbing in himself he took her back from Shane and held her close. She was so pale it scared him. At the same time, he was angry with himself for letting anything happen to her. Kissing her brow he whispered to her unconscious form. “I’m so sorry, Lulu. I’ll never let anything happen to you again.”

Stacy sat huddled against Joey as Liam turned the wagon and raced towards home. “Joey, is Louise gonna die?”

“Not if we have anything to say about it. Don’t you worry, sweetie. Between Shane and Mrs. Malone and the Sisters, they’ll have Louise right as rain by morning.” Looking at his sister’s tear filled eyes, he hugged her tightly. “You did a great job of getting help, Stacy. I’m proud of you.”

Stacy curled closer to him and tried to share her coat. “I never got there. Mr. Malone and Shane were already on their way to find us when he saw me runnin’.”

“How did he know we were out here? No one saw us leave.”

“He said Kiley told him. She saw us sneak out, but didn’t say anything because she knew we did it all the time, but when Sister Catherine went to see Mr. Malone, she knew she had to tell him. I can’t believe she did it so we could get help, not so’s we’d get in trouble.”

Looking at Flynn, Joey watched as he silently cried and rocked Louise in his arms. “Stacy, people surprise you sometimes and today it wasn’t only Kiley’s turn.”

The Malone household jumped into action as soon as the wagon returned. Shane checked Louise’s fingers and toes for frostbite. Pronouncing them okay, Shannon and Fallon took Louise and removed her soaking clothes. They gave her a bath in hopes of warming her icy body. After dressing her in one of Fallon’s warm nightgowns, they carried her to the parlor to sleep on the sofa by the fire. Shane’s main concerns were that she had not woken yet, despite the activity around her, and her water logged lungs. He knew she would run the risk of infection or even influenza.

Sister Marie came to retrieve Stacy and Joey and requested that Louise continue to be cared for by the Malones. “I think your healing powers are stronger than ours. We will pray for her.”

The family barely spoke and eventually drifted off to their rooms for some much -needed sleep. Only Flynn stayed awake and sitting on the floor beside Louise he continued to hold her hand. “Lulu, come on wake up. You can’t stay asleep forever. What will I do without you? He received no response. After multiple attempts, he felt himself drifting off to sleep. Making himself as comfortable as possible on the floor beside her, he settled in for the night.

One night turned into several, as the fever Shane feared set in. Although confident in his abilities, he had no medicines to provide relief and called for the town doctor. Dr. Andrews provided quinine to make Louise comfortable and left the Malones to treat the fever. Delirious and disoriented, she had her eyes open, but did not see. She called Shannon ‘Mama’ and thought Liam was someone named Boggs. They did their best to keep her calm and Flynn spent many hours trying to keep her steady so she wouldn’t hurt herself. On the fourth day, the fever broke and slowly Louise’s breathing evened and finally, she slept peacefully.

Opening her eyes slowly, Louise could not place the room she was in. It wasn’t until Shannon Malone came into view that she realized she was in the Malone’s cottage.

“Well, look who’s decide to join us. How you feelin’, lassie?”

Trying to rise to a sitting position, she spoke, but found her voice horse. “Okay, I guess. What happened? Why do I sound so funny?”

Shannon smiled. Louise was back to twenty questions, which meant she must be feeling okay. “You fell in the creek and nearly drowned, but Flynn and Joey pulled you out. Then you got here and got awful sick, a fever and everything, but you broke it last night. You kept screaming when you had the fever. That’s why your voice is so hoarse.”

Louise noticed her sick bed, set up right in the center of the cottage’s parlor, and felt guilty for inconveniencing them. “I’m sorry I made it so hard on your family Mrs. Malone.”

“Nonsense child! We wanted to take care of you. You’ve grown to be like kin to us and family takes care of their own. Now, let’s get some meat back on those bones! Feel up to some soup?”

With a nod of her head, Louise had Shannon scurrying off to ladle out some soup for her lunch. She was still sitting up when the cottage door opened and Flynn returned from classes. His head down and his body worn from endless nights on the parlor floor, he nearly fainted at the sound of her voice. Kiley and Fallon, walking just behind him, immediately ran back towards the orphanage to alert the others.

“Hi Flynn.”

Eyes wide Flynn dropped his books and rushed to her side. “You’re up! You’re better! When? Why didn’t anyone tell me? Oh Lulu, I was so worried about you!”

Shannon Malone entered with a cup of tea and had to laugh at her son. “Slow down child. She’s only been up for a wee bit. Let her catch up. Now Louise, drink this, I added some honey to soothe your throat.” She left the two children to their reunion.

Louise sipped the tea before speaking, letting the warm liquid run through her body. “Your ma says I owe you and Joey my life.”

“No you don’t! You would’ve done the same thing.”

‘Still…Thank you.”

“You never have to thank me for that. I would do it again and knowing you Lulu, I’ll have to.”

Slapping at his arm, Louise laughed. “I hope not, but if you do, I’ll try to do it in the spring, okay?”

“Thanks. You know you really did scare me. I thought you’d died and I didn’t know what I would do without you.”

“Flynn, but I didn’t. It was an accident.”

He looked right at her and let his intense green eyes bore into her brown ones. He wanted to make her understand he meant his every last word. “I won’t let anything happen to you again, Louise. I love you.”

Pure shock and astonishment showed on her young face. Before she could even react to his heart-felt declaration or think of anything to say, the front door burst open and the room filled with her friends and family. Flynn saved the tea cup from certain destruction as Jeremiah and Teresa raced to their sister’s bed and he stepped back out of the room as Stacy, Joey, Sister Marie and even his own family crowded in to see the patient.

The next few weeks were hectic as Louise struggled to regain her strength and catch up on her schoolwork. Shane recommended she stay in the comfort of the Malone’s cottage before leaving to return to St. Louis and that she did until Dr. Andrews declared her healthy. Stacy brought her studies every evening and with the help of Sister Marie and Fallon she was up to speed in no time. Flynn was back to his old self and kept her entertained during her recovery. They never spoke about the day she woke up.

Sister Catherine never had her talk with the children. Believing the ‘incident’ had been a sufficient scare for all of them, she let Sister Marie make it clear to them that the next time would be the end of the road, for all of them. They remained on their best behavior in part for their own survival and in part because Flynn would not allow Louise to do as she pleased.

Flynn’s over protectiveness finally reached a head at the Independence Day picnic. Feeling strong and enjoying the beautiful day, Louise entered the horse race being run by the townspeople.

“What do you think you’re doing Lulu?”

“Racin’. I asked Sister Marie and she said it’s OK. Dr. Andrews is going to lend me a horse.”

“You’re being crazy! All those kids are bigger than you.”

“Flynn, I’m just as good a rider as any of them. My Ma made sure I could ride. Now, I want to race without you breathin’ down my neck and tryin’ to keep me from havin’ fun.”

“Is that what you think? That all I want to do is keep you from ‘havin’ fun’? Have you ever thought about the fact that I don’t want to have to rescue you again?”

“I never asked you to do it in the first place, Flynn Malone! Now get out of my way. I can take care of myself!”

“Fine! If that’s the way you want it, just race. But don’t expect me to be there cheerin’ for you!”

“Fine!”

Louise raced that day in celebration, not only of the country’s independence, but also in celebration of what she thought was her own Independence Day. Flynn was her best friend, but he was just hanging on too close. He wanted more from her than she wanted to give and she didn’t know how to make him understand that. Why was growing up so difficult?

Louise won the race, riding Dr. Andrew’s fastest horse, Thunder. Elated and joyous she raced to the Malone’s spot in the shade to show off her ribbon.

“That’s wonderful, lassie!” Liam Malone took the ribbon and pinned it on her dress. “You are a wonderful rider.”

Louise beamed with pride and basked in his praise. It was so nice to have the love of this family when her own was so long gone. “Where’s Flynn? I wanted to show him I was right.” Her sudden need for independence, forgotten.

The Malone women exchanged glances and Kiley spoke first. “He left. He said it was a stupid picnic and he and his friends took off. I though I heard him say something about girls being stupid too.” Kiley and Louise had grown closer in the aftermath of her accident and the child meant no malice. She just had a knack for being too honest.

Fallon looked at her sister to quiet her loose lips and rose to stand before Louise. “Come, let’s take a walk and find the others. It’s almost time for pie.” Steering the confused girl away from the celebration she tried to think of where to begin. “Louise, you have to understand something. Flynn, he’s a bit older than you and well boys at his age start thinking certain things.”

Louise always admired the beautiful, smart girl, but could not see where this conversation was going. “Fallon, what are you sayin’?”

Laughing, she shook her head. “I don’t know, Louise. I guess I’m just trying to make you understand some of this boy-girl stuff. Kind of like a sister would, but I’m not doin’ a very good job. You see, Flynn cares for you, a whole lot.”

“I care for him too. He’s my best friend.”

“Well, Flynn will always be your best friend, but now I think he likes you in another way.”

Louise hung her head and dropped the leaf she was playing with. “I know. I just don’t say anything about it. I’m only twelve, I can’t go courtin’ yet!”

“I know that, honey. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. He’s just older and he’s always been ahead of his age. You’re together all the time and he gets notions in his head.”

“What can I do? I don’t want him to stop being my friend, but I don’t love him like a beau. I just wanted him to stop trying to be so protective.”

“I tried to explain that to him and so did Mama, but he thinks you didn’t want him around anymore. He just needs some time. He’ll come around.”

“Why does growin’ up have to be so complicated?”

“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be growin’ up if it wasn’t! Let’s go get some pie before those town boys eat it all!” They raced back, hand in hand, and Louise felt a sense of relief wash over her. She now had Fallon as a confidante, as well as some hope that Flynn would eventually stop being so weird.

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Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five

Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter EightChapter Nine Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven Chapter TwelveChapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen Epilogue


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