Musing #76 - Chapter 16

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 16. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning. 

The days and nights whizzed together. Three train rides and several days later, Andi opened her bleary eyes as she felt the car pull to a stop.

          “Out! Out! Everyone out! Fresno! Fresno!”
          Fresno? The word clicked. Fresno!

          Andi pulled herself to her feet, collected her meager belongings and Jared, and, laboriously pushing back the car door, stepped onto the station platform.

          She looked about her, tears flowing. I’m here! I’m here! Finally! Thanks, Lord.

Musing #75 - Chapter 15

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 15. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning. 

Slowly one day dawdled by. Then two.

          Andi was weary and cold, but she concentrated only on putting one foot in front of the other.

          It’d been a miserable journey, short as it may seem. Both nights she’d barely slept a wink. Worse, the first night into the second day it poured torrents of rain, sending Andi to seek shelter beneath trees. Still, she became thoroughly drenched, and her baby was little better.

Press onward. Press onward.

Musing #74 - Chapter 14

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 14. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning.

Bags littered the room from roof to floor. Paper bills carelessly thrown about added to the clutter. Worse, at least one hundred wanted posters lay about, all of them screaming, “WANTED: $1,000 Thomas Chadwick,” with a picture of Luke Cornwallis on each!

          Andi’s mouth fell open, and Lily burst into tears. “Oh, my husband will do something dreadful for sure if he finds out—”

          “What is this?”

          Andi and Lily spun around as one. Luke—no, Thomas—stood, arms crossed, face red with rage. Andi clasped her clammy hands together to keep them from shaking. Who is this man?

Musing #73 - Chapter 13

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 13. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning.

The man, whose name was Luke Cornwallis, told Andi she’d never been far from Los Angeles. “That means it’ll take less than a week to get to my home,” he explained.

          They rode the whole way, and it was pure bliss to Andi. She continually thanked God for this huge miracle.

          The group arrived at a small cottage with handsome white walls clung to with ivy. The windows were clean and glittered in the afternoon sun. A red-tile roof, fully adorned with colored leaves, looked bright and cheerful. An old, wooden door that almost hung only by its hinges completed the homely scene.

Musing #72 - Chapter 12

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 12. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning.

Andi groaned as she placed a heavy load of firewood down and yet still felt the sting of burns on her raw, chapped hands. They shook with cold, yet burned with pain. Her cheeks were flushed crimson, and her teeth chattered.

          So much for us staying at the camp for only a little while, Andi thought bitterly, rubbing her hands together for warmth. That “little while” had turned into four long, work-filled months that felt more like years to poor Andi. The November air seemed especially icy this year.

          And yet as bad as Andi’s hands ached, and her neck and back screamed with pain, the ache in her heart was a thousand times worse. She yearned to be with Riley again. And hold her son in her arms. And be in her house.

          And be away from every bandit she’d ever heard of.

Musing #71 - Chapter 11

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 11. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning.

Benita firmly told Andi she would sleep with her in her own cabin so that Andi could not escape again.

          Ha! Benita fell asleep as soon as she laid her head on the pillow, leaving Andi wide awake.    

Musing #70 - Chapter 10

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 10. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning. 

“After those women!” shrieked Benita, and the mob gathered around her swarmed forward.

          Run! Andi’s mind shouted, and she forced her heavy feet into a blind run, no longer caring to be silent. In her arms, Jared wailed his unhappiness.

          Andi followed Lily’s auburn braid until finally she caught up with her, and the two ran together. When Lily stumbled, Andi held her up. Then Lily’s skirt caught on a bush, and together they yanked it free, not even noticing when it tore.

          But when Andi’s braid snagged on the same bush, they couldn’t get her loose. Panic and despair set in almost immediately. Andi practically threw Jared into Lily’s arms and then hacked at her braid with her dull knife. She couldn’t think straight.

          “Take off your ribbon and undo the braid!” Lily cried, sobbing.

          Too late. Andi knew they had no time to wait for her to undo her braid. The bandits’ shouts and footsteps were coming dangerously close. If they waited for her, they’d never escape.

          In that moment, Andi made her choice.