Paradise Falls (12 page)

Seeing them, he lowered his burden to the ground and got to his feet, shrugging into his shirt before wiping his hands on his pants and walking toward them.

“Looks like that axle’s broken,” Flem called.

Gray barely flicked him a glance before turning to Fiona. “How was your first day?”

“Oh, it was grand, Gray. I’ve so much to tell you.”

“You can tell him later.” Flem flicked the reins, causing the horse to jerk. “I’d say he has his work cut out.”

Gray had to step away quickly or be bumped.

As the horse and cart shot forward Flem shouted over his shoulder, “Better not dawdle, big brother. Ma won’t like it if you’re late for supper.”

Fiona turned, about to say something, but she was forced to grasp the back of the hard wooden seat after Flem cracked the whip, sending them flying, She swallowed back her disappointment. She’d so wanted to share this day with Gray. But from the stormy look in his eyes, perhaps it was just as well Flem had come for her instead. Gray seemed in no mood to listen to her silly prattle when he had more important things to deal with.

“Is a broken axle a hard thing to repair?”

“Not if you have the proper tools.”

“Does Gray have the proper tools?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Shouldn’t you have stayed and offered to help?”

“Help Gray?” That had Flem laughing. “Haven’t you noticed? My big brother likes to do everything himself. I’d only be in the way.”

“But it would seem that two could do the job much faster than one.”

“Not if the one is Grayson Haydn. Haven’t you heard? According to my father, Gray can walk on water.”

Despite Flem’s attempt at a joke, Fiona could hear the raw anger in his tone, but as if to prove her wrong, he shot her a boyish smile. As they drew near the barn, he leaned back and let the reins go slack. “I’d love to hear all about your first day at school, teacher.”

She glanced over shyly. “Would you really, Flem, or are you just humoring me?”

“Of course I mean it. I want to hear everything.” As they rolled into the barn he jumped down before reaching up to assist her. He allowed his hands to linger at her waist for a moment, until she stepped away. “Why don’t you stay and keep me company while I unhitch the horse?”

She sighed, feeling the need to tell someone. The excitement of this day was building until she feared it would cause an explosion in her brain.

“Oh, Flem.” She sat on a bale of hay and began telling him everything, from her first anxious moments, to the smile given her by Luther at the end of the day.

“If I’d known you were so keen on shy boys, I’d have shown you my true self. I’m really quite shy, you know.”

“You don’t even know the meaning, Flem. Now let me tell you about Edmer, I think he may turn out to be my biggest challenge of all.”

“Then a word of warning, teacher. Edmer Rudd’s father, Christian, is one of the richest and most powerful men in Paradise Falls. You’d be wise to treat his son with care.”

“I’ll not treat Edmer differently than any of my other students, Flem. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“Fair? Why would you think life would be fair?” Seeing the firm press of her mouth, he shrugged. “Suit yourself. But remember that I warned you. Now, tell me all about Edmer and the others.”

Fiona was still talking as they crossed the yard and entered the house. In the kitchen Rose looked up in annoyance at the sound of Fiona’s animated voice. At once her young houseguest fell silent.

Flem breathed deeply, turning all his attention to his mother to placate her. “Something smells wonderful.”

“I made your favorite.
Roggenmischbrot
, along with roast beef and biscuits.”

In an aside to Fiona, Flem translated. “That’s sourdough rye bread.”

Rose studied her son. “Where have you been?”

“I was heading back from town and offered our teacher a ride home. A good thing. Gray’s taking his sweet time out along the south road. If he’s not careful, he’ll be late for supper.”

Fiona shot him a look. When he didn’t bother to explain, she said quickly, “Gray can hardly help taking his time, since he’s working on a broken axle.”

Rose’s lips thinned. “Broken axle or no, I’ll not hold supper for him. Nor for your father. Where is that man?”

Flem shrugged. “He wasn’t in the barn.”

“I haven’t seen him all afternoon.” Rose moved around the table, snapping down plates, knives, forks, spoons as though they were too hot to hold.

Fiona felt a quick rush of alarm. “With his condition he can’t have gone far. Perhaps we should go look for him.”

“He knows his way home.” Rose set down a milk pitcher with a clatter.

“But he may have fallen.” Without a thought to where she might begin, Fiona was already out the backdoor when she heard Rose’s voice lifted in protest. Ignoring it, she raced toward the barn. Finding it empty, she hurried on toward the smaller sheds beyond, where pigs rooted in the mud and chickens clucked.

“Mr. Haydn. Mr. Haydn.” She danced from shed to shed, shoving open doors and peering around before rushing off to the next.

She was halfway across an open field when she heard the sound of a horse and wagon racing up behind her. Seeing that it was Gray, she paused and waited until he pulled up alongside her.

“No one has seen your father all afternoon.”

“I just heard when I got home.” He offered a hand, lifting her up beside him on the hard wooden seat. As they crossed the field, Gray kept watch in one direction while Fiona studied the other. Because the hay hadn’t yet been cut in this field, it was impossible to see beyond the wall of grain for more than a few feet in any direction. Fiona knew that if Broderick had fallen, he would be impossible to find, unless they should hear his voice.

“Mr. Haydn.” Cupping her hand to her mouth she shouted into the wind. It snatched her words away as quickly as they were spoken.

“There.” Gray pointed at a faint trail, barely visible in the tall stalks. “Someone’s been walking.”

Turning the horse, he stood up while holding the reins, then suddenly drew back, bringing the horse and cart to an abrupt halt.

They both spotted Broderick at the same moment. He was lying face down, cushioned only by the grain that lay crushed beneath him.

Gray was beside him in an instant, rolling the older man over and checking for a pulse. Fiona saw the relief on Gray’s face when his father moaned slightly.

“Where...?” Completely disoriented, Broderick struggled to see who was holding him.

“It’s me, Papa.” Gray wrapped his arms around his father, rocking him as though he were a child.

“Where are we?”

“The east field. How did you get here?”

His father shook his head. “I was... walking. Don’t remember.”

“When I discovered you missing, I came looking for you. So did Miss Downey.”

“Our teacher?” The old man looked up at Fiona, who was kneeling beside them. “I hope I haven’t spoiled... first day of school.”

“Finding you has just made it perfect, Mr. Haydn.”

Broderick gave a deep sigh. “I wanted to prove I could walk. Don’t remember anything else.”

“It doesn’t matter now, Papa. I have you. You’re safe.” Gray struggled to his feet, still cradling his father to his chest. When he reached the wagon he settled the old man gently in the back.

Without a word Fiona climbed in beside him and caught his hands in hers. They were trembling.

“You’ll be home soon, Mr. Haydn. Hold onto me until we get there.” She wasn’t aware that she was crying. Great scalding tears that rolled down her cheeks and dampened the front of her dress.

Only Gray noticed. He stood a moment, watching the two of them. Then he pulled himself up to the seat and caught the reins. Keeping the horse to a walk, so as not to jostle his father, he headed toward the farmhouse in the distance.

His eyes, narrowed in thought, were hot with a combination of fury and fear.

* * *

“Here, Papa.” Gray lifted his father from the back of the wagon and strode toward the back porch. Before he was halfway up the steps Fiona raced ahead to hold open the door.

Inside, Rose and Flem looked up from the table.

“What’s this?” Rose sprang up, nearly knocking back her chair in her haste.

Gray swept past her and carried his father to the parlor, where he deposited him on the sofa before tucking an afghan around him.

“Tell me what happened.” Rose stood behind Gray, who continued to kneel beside his father, vigorously rubbing the old man’s hands between both of his until he could feel some heat begin to be restored.

“We found him in the east field, where he’d fallen.”

“So far from home?” Rose glanced at Flem, who was standing at the head of the sofa, watching his brother minister to their father. “How can this be?” She pushed Gray aside and sat on the edge of the sofa. “Whatever were you thinking, Broderick?”

Gray closed a hand around her wrist. “Leave him be, Ma. He’s too tired right now. He needs to rest.”

“What about what I need?” Agitated, she gave her husband’s shoulder a rough shake. “You could have died out there, Broderick. Is that what you wanted? To die all alone, never to be found?”

“What do you care?” The old man’s eyes opened and he fixed her with a steely look. “Would it matter? Would you shed even one tear, Rose, now that I’m useless to you?”

She jerked back as though he’d struck her. Whatever she’d been about to say was swallowed back. She got to her feet, ramrod straight, and walked out of the room.

No one spoke as her footsteps sounded on the stairs. Upstairs, a door slammed, sending shudders through the house. And then there was silence.

Gray got to his feet. “I’ll get you something warm to drink, Papa.”

“No.” Fiona touched a hand to his arm. “I’ll get it. You stay with your father.”

In the kitchen, as she set the kettle on the stove, it occurred to Fiona that Rose and Flem had been enjoying their supper. Their plates were heaped with food. Platters of roast beef and potatoes were cooling in the center of the table.

As though it had been just another day.

Had this happened before? Had Broderick often gone off alone? And if so, had it been done out of confusion? Or was there something more here?

Rose’s accusation played through Fiona’s mind. Was Broderick Haydn’s life so painful, his situation so desperate, he would deliberately wander off in the hope of dying all alone?

The thought was too painful to bear. As she spooned sugar into a cup of tea, she pushed aside her fears. It was the stroke. Not only did it destroy his body, but it muddled the brain as well.

She stepped into the parlor and fixed a smile on her lips. She wouldn’t dwell on the possibility of anything right now, except the fact that Broderick was home, safe and sound.

But in a small, dark corner of her mind, she couldn’t shake the troubling feeling that this was only a brief respite from a terrible storm that was brewing in the Haydn household. A storm that could erupt at any time with such violence, it could strike this family to its very foundation.

“W
elcome, children.” As late summer slid into autumn, the days took on a familiar pattern. Fiona had begun to accept the fact that not all of the children were able to attend school on a regular basis. Some of the older boys were needed on the farms, especially during harvest time. Some of the girls were expected to stay home and help with chores around the house, or care for the younger children while their mothers worked alongside their men. Whenever a student returned, Fiona patiently went over the lessons that had been missed.

She picked up her slate. “Please take your seat, Edmer.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

His question was followed by a taut silence that had the other students shifting nervously in their desks.

Though Edmer Rudd had missed as many days as he’d attended, it had become clear to Fiona that he was considered a leader among the other children. Whenever he was in attendance, there was a sense of expectancy, as though awaiting the inevitable challenge to their teacher’s authority.

She met his stare with a smile. “If everyone did as they pleased, it would be difficult to learn.”

“Maybe I don’t want to learn.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because my mother said I had to come.”

“Your mother sounds like a wise woman. It would seem she wants her son to grow up to be just as wise.”

“My father never went to school. Why should I?”

“Many of our parents didn’t have the opportunity to go to school.” Fiona glanced around at the others. “That makes them all the more eager that we should have what they couldn’t have.”

“My father says it’s a waste of time.” Edmer put his hands on his hips and looked around with a sneer. “He said the money the county spends on a teacher would be better spent on a team of mules that could be used among all the farmers during spring planting, and again at harvest time.”

Once again Fiona was forced to choose her words carefully, knowing they would be repeated in every kitchen by day’s end. “A team of mules would be a fine thing indeed, Edmer. I hope the county will consider it. But eventually mules will grow old and will have to be replaced. If I do my job, I’ll instill a love of learning in all your young minds that will be passed on to your children, and your grandchildren, and their children.”

“How is that going to help us grow better crops?”

“Perhaps it won’t, but by mastering your sums, you’ll be able to determine if you’re getting the best price for those crops. Some of you may decide to become something other than farmers. Wouldn’t it be grand for Paradise Falls if some of you should become doctors, or ministers, or teachers?”

“What if we want to be farmers?” Edmer’s tone lifted in challenge. “Are you saying that isn’t good enough?”

“Certainly not.” Fiona glanced around at the other children, listening to every word of this exchange. “Education gives us the freedom to choose. My da used to say it is a key that unlocks many doors.”

While she talked, Fiona moved among them, holding the slate. When she came to Edmer, he held out his hand. She, in turn, glanced at his desk and waited until he’d taken his seat before handing it over.