Chapter Twelve

"I want to thank you for taking care of Lucy," Libby said to Colleen after Brad left the room. "I'm not sure I could nurse another person's child."

"Nonsense!" Colleen laughed. "We all do what we have to. I simply did what I had to so Lucy would survive. Besides, her crying was driving us all crazy."

"I'm sorry to have been such a bother to everyone." Tears burned behind her eyes. Her nose dripped as she tried to hold the tears back.

Colleen sat on the edge of the bed. "Now, don't you worry none, Libby. We're happy to help. If there's anything I, or Caleb, can do to help, just holler. Or at least let Brad know so he can send a messenger to our place. Oh, my goodness. You don't know who I am, do you?"

Libby shook her head.

"I'm Colleen Kemble. I'm married to Caleb, Brad's older brother. We own Winding Oaks a few miles up the road. We have four in our brood, the youngest is one."

"Nice to meet you, Colleen. I'm Libby Daniels. Ben was my husband and Charlie is my son." She glanced lovingly at Lucy. "You've already met Lucy."

"I've met Charlie, too. You have a wonderful son, Libby. You should be proud."

The two women sat in companionable silence. It was unusual for her to take an immediate liking to someone. But Colleen already felt like a sister. "Will Charlie be coming soon? I really need to see him."

Colleen rose from the bed, walked to the window, and glanced outside. "I don't see him or Brad. They must already be in the house. By the looks of my dirty bunch, I imagine Cora is cleaning him up before allowing him to see you."

"Would you mind if I had some time alone with him? Unless someone else told him about Ben, I will need to."

Colleen gave Libby a look of compassion and understanding. "I'm sure no one told Charlie about your husband. I'll leave you alone for now so you can collect your thoughts before seeing Charlie. If you need anything, pull the bell cord behind your bed. It rings in the kitchen where Cora or I will hear it. You rest a bit before they come up."

After Colleen left, Libby tried to ‘collect her thoughts,' as Colleen had put it, but her thoughts kept rolling around and around, not settling on any one item. She played with Lucy's small, soft fingers, marveling at their perfection. From the length of them, Libby knew Lucy would have her own long, tapered fingers and probably her tall, thin body. One she'd been teased about her entire life.

By the time she met Ben, Libby was so self-conscious she could barely string three words together. Somehow Ben had seen through her shyness and outer shell. His teasing centered on what was good about her. Her kindness to children and others less fortunate. The way her smile lit up her eyes. He had told her once how a smile led the way to a person's soul and she had to have the most beautiful soul in the world. She believed him and blossomed into a pretty, somewhat more self-confident woman. As she grew, the situation with her parents worsened. Ben wouldn't let them harass her. He convinced Libby it wasn't her fault her parents had to get married and had a lousy marriage.

When they finally made love for the first time Libby felt as if she'd shed an old, battered coat and slipped on a mink one. At first, she had been embarrassed to expose her bony, flat-chested body to Ben, but he kept telling her how beautiful she was. When she tried to cover herself and make a joke about her small size, he told her ‘what doesn't fit in the hand and mouth, is wasted.' Her laughter broke the wall she had made about her body.

Their marriage hadn't been perfect. She didn't know of anyone's that was. She loved Ben immensely and knew Ben loved her, but as her confidence in herself grew, Ben's need to take care of and protect her got on her nerves. Most times Ben had expected her to have the same opinions as his. When they didn't, he would stomp off by himself for a few hours. He would come back apologetic and life would get back to normal, but his need to be macho and have her be helpless caused a chasm in their relationship. To keep the peace, she learned to remain silent or agree with him in the presence of others. Sometimes Libby thought Ben liked her better when she was meek and mild. He was never mean, but she figured it probably gave him a feeling of power. But, why?

And now she never would. Instead, she was stuck in a generation where women had to keep to their place. Libby sighed at the irony. Just when she felt she was coming into herself and becoming more confident, she was somehow thrown into a situation where she would be suppressed. Anyway, it's what she had always read about women from the past. If only she had the strength to fight it. Right now, she barely had the strength to take care of herself and her children.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Libby turned toward the door as Charlie raced across the room, ready to leap onto the bed.

"Whoa, there young man," Brad grabbed Charlie by the back of his shirt. "You have to be careful around your mother for a while. I think she would get upset if you were to leap on top of your little sister."

His face going from smiles and joy to a frown, Charlie stopped by the side of the bed.

"Come here, sweetheart." Libby patted the side of the bed. "You can climb up here but be careful not to push on my tummy. Maybe Brad could help you up."

"What do you think of your little sister?" she asked Charlie once he was settled on the bed. He was kneeling by her side, peering over her at Lucy.

"She cries way too much!"

Libby laughed and poked him in the stomach with her finger. "And you cried even more than she does, young man!" She laughed even more as his eyes grew round and determined.

"I did not!"

"Oh, yes you did. And you wouldn't quit until Daddy or I picked you up, changed you, and fed you until your tummy was ready to explode."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh." As Libby shook her head, she glanced at Brad who seemed to be engrossed in Lucy. Was she evil for putting a man who was afraid of babies on the spot? She couldn't help herself. "Brad, would you mind putting Lucy back into her cradle? I want to be able to spend some time alone with Charlie. She's sleeping, anyway."

Libby wished she could see Brad's face at her request. She could have sworn she'd heard him gulp but gave him credit when he came to the other side of the bed, carefully, and rather professionally, scooped Lucy up, and laid her in the cradle. After tucking a blanket around the baby, he gave Libby a short bow and left the room.

"Doesn't he like babies?" Charlie asked. "‘Prob'ly thinks she cries too much, too."

"Come here, pumpkin, and lay down by me. I'm not sure if he likes babies or not. He probably hasn't had a chance to be around them much."

"He had a little boy once."

At Libby's questioning glance Charlie went on. "Uh-huh. He told me so. But he died."

"Did he tell you the name of his little boy?" Was it different from the one in the book?

"Nope. But he likes me. I can tell."

"And how can you tell?" Libby tickled Charlie's stomach making him giggle. "And tell me what you've been up to, squirt."

Charlie chewed on his bottom lip, then for the next five minutes filled Libby's ears with stories of Colleen's children, the creek they waded in, feeding the colts, playing in the haymow, feeding the chickens with Cora, and starting a game of baseball. "Do you know they never heard of baseball? That's silly. Everyone knows about baseball."

After reciting his actions for the past two days, he became quiet. "Where's my daddy? I miss him. When will he be back?"

Libby cradled Charlie in her arms and blinked back tears. How much would a three-year-old understand about death? Then she remembered Skipper. Hopefully, Charlie will, too.

"Charlie? Do you remember our dog, Skipper?" When he nodded, Libby went on. "Do you remember when he got sick?"

"Yup. He died."

"Do you remember what happened when he died?"

"You and Daddy buried him in the back yard, and I never got to play with him again."

"You're right. Well, something similar happened to your daddy. We had some kind of accident on the way home and Daddy got hurt. He died." Libby grew worried when after a minute Charlie hadn't said anything. "Do you understand what I'm telling you, Charlie?"

He solemnly shook his head. "It means I won't get to play with him anymore, doesn't it? I can't see him anymore, can I?"

Libby held him tighter as his small body shook. "That's right, honey."

Charlie's crying turned to sobbing. "I want my Daddy. I want my Daddy, now!"

"Shh, sweetheart." Libby rocked him back and forth in her arms, trying to reassure herself as much as her son. "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay." Oh, God, please let everything be okay!

In a flash, Charlie's face turned red. He punched the mattress. "I hate it here. I want to go home. Everything's stupid here."

Libby remained quiet giving Charlie time to vent his anger.

"There's no TV, no ‘tricity, no phones, no cars. I wanted to call Grandma, but Cora didn't know what I was talking about. There's no toys, no movies, no bikes. They don't even have pizza or ‘pasgettios! Where are we, Mommy? I wanna go home!"

Libby didn't know how to answer. Where were they? Somewhere in West Virginia? She wanted to go home, too, but it was better not to promise something she couldn't control to a three-year-old. He'd hold it to her forever. How on earth could she explain being shipped back over one hundred-fifty years to someone who had trouble understanding tomorrow, or next week? An hour from now?

"Charlie, I don't know where we are."

"Did Daddy take a wrong turn?" He snuggled against her.

Libby kissed the top of his head. I guess he did if it's what you call taking a right on sixty-four and ending up in 1870 . "We're a long way from home right now, and I don't know how to get back. Maybe Brad can help us."

Would Brad believe they were from another time? Would he think she was crazy and try to get rid of her? Somehow, she would have to convince him she was of sound mind before explaining her situation. She had no idea what would happen then.

Gradually Charlie's body relaxed. Thank goodness he was falling asleep. As she kissed him on his forehead she heard him whisper, "Is Daddy buried in the back yard?"