Musing #66 - Chapter 6

Andrea Carter Prescott and the Return of the Outlaws

CHAPTER 6. Go HERE to start this story from the beginning.

“Lily!” Vega barked at once. “Why are you dawdling here? There’s work to be done! Señora Rodendo needs you at her cabin right away.”

          “Yes, Señor Vega,” Lily muttered, shuffling from the cabin. But, unlike Andi, she did not appear to be the least bit fearful of Vega. Andi caught the withering glance she gave him just before leaving the cabin.

          But Andi also couldn’t miss the small shriek Lily uttered as she stepped oustide. A scared expression overcame her features, and she ran off, head drooping and hands uncurled in fear.

          What on earth? Andi stared after her, completly bewildered. Who or what could’ve scared her like that if it wasn’t Vega?

           Vega gave her little time to wonder. He was too busy rattling off orders.

          “Because of your current condition, you won’t be given any work that is beyond you. Thus, you have no reason to complain about anything, comprende?”

          Andi nodded.

          “All right, then. Here’re your chores.”

***

          The days dragged by. Andi did her chores, which consisted of washing dishes, cooking meals, feeding chickens and gathering their eggs, and sweeping the floors of cabins. During her frequent breaks, Benita shoved on her the mending that needed to be done.

          Andi had never been very handy with a needle, but she sewed so often that her seams slowly grew better.

If only Riley could see me now!

          Andi was indeed very busy, but still the hours seemed to crawl by. In the middle of something, Andi’s mind would wander, and her hands would slow. Where is Riley? She wanted her husband so much it hurt to think of him.

          She tried not to remind herself of it, but the thought that Riley didn’t even know where she was always seemed to sneak into her mind. Her husband didn’t know what’d happened to her, who she was with, or anything.

          At least when Procopio took Lucy, Sammy, and me, Riley knew who was behind it all. None of us were aware of Mateo Vega’s thirst for revenge. Here Andi always struggled to contain her sobs. It’d take a miracle for him to find me.

          Then a happier fact would pinch her thoughts. I have a miracle-giving God.

          Every day she hoped and prayed. Every day nothing new occurred.

          She was, however, quickly gaining a friendship with Lily. They were often able to sew together, and, when Lily brought her wood to stoke the fire for the cooking pot, Andi managed to snatch a little time for conversation. Sometimes Lily shelled peas or made bread with Andi, and their tongues moved faster than their hands.

          Besides that, they spent the nights in the same cabin, and neither could sleep well, so they filled the long hours with chatter.

          “When my husband comes, he’ll rescue the both of us. You’ll see.” Andi so often and so confidently said the words to her new friend that neither one could argue it.

          By the end of the second week, Andi was certain she had a deep friendship with Lily. Still, though, there were hurdles.

          No matter how hard Andi begged or pleaded, Lily would not tell her who or what had scared her the second day of Andi’s stay. Rather, the incident happened several times more, but Andi still found out nothing.

          While Andi was open and honest with Lily, her new friend was secretive and careful. She told Andi no more about her family, or why she was at the camp. She preferred to talk about more careless matters, and Andi went along with it.

          Lily was a beam of light on And’s otherwise clouded days. The other—and more greater—beam was God. During the night, when a scary dream wrenched Andi from a fitful sleep, or during the day, when she felt close to despair while she cooked and worked, she poured her heart and tears out to God.

          Her greatest worry was her child. The delivery date was drawing near, and sometimes babies came early.

          With all her heart, Andi wanted to be found in time. She wanted to have the baby in her home, at Memory Creek Ranch, with Mother and Dr. Weaver’s help. With Riley ready to be called upon to see his son or daughter for the first time.

          This was her most desperate plea, and the one she begged for so earnestly from God that it left her drained.

          But it was not to be.

          In the middle of the third week, Andi went into labor. Lily alone knew about it, for the Lord provided it to happen soon after they’d retired for the night.

          It took all night; the sun was just rising when at last a baby cried.

          Lily managed to creep out and boil water without being caught, which in itself was a miracle. She washed the baby as tenderly as if it were her own, then pinned on a soft cloth diaper Andi had sewn in her spare time from an old blouse Benita had supplied her with.

          Lily smiled as she gently set the newborn in Andi’s arms. “Your son,” she said softly.

          Hot tears of joy and gratefulness spilled down Andi’s cheeks. She fingered the baby’s tiny hands and fuzz of dark hair. A smile cracked across her face.

          “Thank you, Lily,” she whispered, cuddling the baby close.

          Then she turned pleading eyes upon her friend. “You won’t tell, will you, Lily? Please, please, please say you won’t.”

          “Oh, Andi. I—”

          “Just say I’m not well,” Andi poured out in a rush. “I’ll hide my baby for as long as possible, and Riley will come soon and rescue us all. But I simply can’t give Benita my baby. I cannot.”

          Her tone and eyes were so hopeful and desperate that Lily consented. “It’ll be hard,” she offered in caution. “We’ll have to keep him well-hid and very quiet, along with clothed and fed. Are you sure, my friend, that it would not be easier to allow Benita to care for him? As you’ve been saying, your husband will be here soon; we can retrieve him again then.”

          “No, no!” Andi shook her head so vigorously that stars danced. “Give up my baby? Never.”

          “You’re right. I’m sorry I even suggested it. It was hard giving up my son.” Lily’s eyes grew moist with tears. “Because I know the pain, I will do all in my power to protect your baby from these outlaws.”

          “Thank you, Lily.” Andi squeezed her hand. “I’ll rest today and be up and about tomorrow. My belly will still be big enough to convince everyone that I’m pregnant. No matter what, Benita will not get her hands on my boy.”

What do you think happens next? Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments below!

GO TO CHAPTER 7 >>>