Title: The Face in the Shadows 
Author: Bethany

Disclaimer:  The story of Christy is owned the
Marshall-LeSourd Family.  I am in no way seeking profit
or credit for her story. This fiction is written for our
own amusement only. This story uses themes from the book,
CBS series, and the PAX movies.

Summary: This story begins where the CBS series left off.

========== Chapter 1 ==========

David loved her.  He wanted her to be his wife.  She had
dreamed about this moment her whole life.  From the time
she was little and used to run around the house with a
pillowcase draped over her head, she had dreamed of being
a bride.  She had rehearsed this moment, what she would
say, how she would look, where she would be, thousands
of times!  But now that she was living the moment, she
was at a loss for words. Never would she have guessed that
she would be torn between two men in her life.

She looked down at the ring and then up at David.  The love
and desire in his eyes was obvious.  Then she looked over
at Neil, sitting breathlessly atop Charlie.  Christy saw
something in his eyes, too.  But before she could put her
finger on what, he looked away.

How she loved these two men!  They had become her
protectors, her confidants, her friends.  Now she was being
asked to choose between them.  Her heart was breaking as
she looked back and forth between them again.  How could
she hurt one of them?  They both meant the world to her!

Christy closed her eyes momentarily and tried to clear the
clutter from her mind.  David deserved an answer, one way
or the other.

As much as it pained her, she knew what she had to do.
She loved Neil.  Even though he could never be hers, she
was his.

Christy quietly closed the ring box.  "I'm sorry David,
but I can't marry you.  I"

Her words caught in her throat as a tear trickled down
her cheek.  She hastily brushed it away, unaware she had
even been crying.

"I do love you David.  Please know that.  But I have too
much I want to do before I become someone's wife.  I want
to teach here, I want to touch more lives, I want to make
a difference in these children's lives!"

"And you don't feel you can do that while being my wife?"
David spat back angrily.  He couldn't believe the woman
he loved was rejecting him once again.  And for what??

"No David, it's not that.  But right now the role I want
is teacher, friend, mentor.  I'm just not ready to add
'wife' to that list.  Please understand.'  She touched
his arm lightly.

"Oh, I understand"  David said as he harshly shook off
her hand.  "I understand that you'd jump at the chance
of adding 'wife' to the list of your responsibilities
if MacNeill was asking!"  With that, he stomped away
towards the schoolhouse.  The children scrambled into
their seats in the hopes Teacher wouldn't realize they
had been listening.

Christy remained frozen in her spot.  Taking a deep
breath, she started back towards the school when she
remembered Neil.  She turned to face him and thought
she saw the hint of a smile on his face.  But as quickly
as it appeared, it was gone again.  He nodded briefly to
Christy, a gesture that seemed odd and out of place to her.
He turned Charlie around and galloped away leaving Christy
staring after him before she could give it another thought.

Gathering up her courage, she headed back to the
schoolhouse.  Proposal or no, she had a spelling test
to give.

The Face in the Shadows - Chapter 2

Summary: Christy has rejected David's proposal yet again
only to have him storm off in anger.  Neil seems quietly
pleased...

============ Chapter 2 ============

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Christy.
David had agreed to teach a Bible lesson that day, so
unfortunately, they were stuck together for the remainder
of the day.  Christy sat at her desk diligently grading
papers, trying her best to avoid David's occasional
stares.  After his lesson, David loudly stomped out of
the schoolhouse before Christy could dismiss the children.
Even though Christy knew he was trying to prove how angry
he was, she thought it was rude to do it in such a way.

When the school day was over, instead of their usual
excited scurrying to get out of school, the children
seemed to linger in the schoolyard.  Many whispered
quietly to each other as they poked around in the dirt
with their toes.  It wasn't until Little Burl approached
her that she realized how many students were watching her.

With his little grubby hands, he pushed over a chair and
sat down next to Christy's desk.

"Teacher?" he began.  "We's all been wonderin if'n you's
alright."  His big blue eyes peered into her soul.

She couldn't help but smile, and leaned over to give him
a hug.  "Yes, Little Burl, I will be alright.  It was just
a big day, is all!"

"We saw the Preacher yellin outside, Teacher.  We's be
sorry.  We didn't mean ta look on at ya, but we'uns
couldn't help ourselves."

Christy stood up and patted the little boy on the head.
"Well, you know it's not nice to spy, but I guess what
was happening in the schoolyard was more exciting than
the words I told you to study for the spelling test.
Don't worry, Little Burl.  I'm right as rain" she said
more happily than she felt.  "Now go on, go tell everyone
else so they can get home.  And tell them thank you for
worrying about me."

Little Burl lit up and scampered out of the schoolhouse.
Everyone turned to him as he descended the stairs.
Whatever he told them apparently satisfied them, and with
a final look at Christy, the students began to leave one
by one.  She was grateful for the time alone.  Her mind
was reeling with the events of the day.  As she tidied up
the papers on her desk, her mind couldn't help but wander
back through the days events.  So much had happened in
the span of a few hours, and she still had so much to
sort out.  David, she knew, would need a few days to cool
off before he would talk to her, but maybe she could talk
to Neil first.

Neil!

Her heart leapt at the thought of him, and she felt her
stomach flutter.  "Get ahold of yourself" she said aloud.
"You're acting like you're 16 again!"   She couldn't
help but smile to herself as she thought of Neil, sitting
there on his horse.  But she wondered what he had returned
home to

-------------

After having made a few house calls, Neil knew going
home was his only option.  Sighing, Neil stomped up his
front steps, and readied himself for an angry and bitter
Margaret.  After all, he had not chosen the best moment to
go after Christy.  Margaret had been pouring her heart out
to him, and he just up and left her.  He rebuked himself
slightly for being so heartless, but caught himself.
He owed her nothing. She had left him when they were first
married, and in an even more heartless way.

Granted, two wrongs don't make a right, he thought, but
he still told himself that she was no longer his wife.
He loved Christy, and he wasn't willing to risk losing her
because he was afraid of hurting the woman he once called
his wife.

Neil opened the door and stepped inside.  Out of the corner
of his eye, he saw Margaret moving around in the kitchen.
She had three pots on the stove, and the oven was on.

"What on earth are you doing, woman?"

Margaret spun around, momentarily stunned.  But she
quickly recovered and plastered a smile on her face.
She had worked too hard all day to ruin it now.  She knew
Neil had gone after Christy, but she also knew Neil was
still a married man.  And as long as she was around,
Christy couldn't be.  So, Margaret decided to convince
Neil to let her come back.  She had slaved over the stove
all day, and even cleaned up the kitchen area a little.
But she knew it would be worth it.

"I made you dinner!  I figured you'd be hungry since you
left without lunch, so I thought I would have a nice hot
supper waiting for you when you got back."

She scooped some potatoes out of one pot and onto a plate,
then proceeded to fill the rest of the plate with chicken,
beans, and a piece of bread.

While he hated to admit it, everything did look and smell
wonderful.  He hesitatingly set his saddle bags down and
stepped towards the table.

"What are you waiting for?  It's going to get cold if you
just stand there!"  She held out the plate for him.

It had been a long time since had had a good home-cooked
meal.  The last time he had a meal like this was when
Christy tried to cook for him.

Christy!

A smile momentarily crossed his face as he thought of her.
She's no cook, he recalled, as he replayed the lunch he
had shared with the teacher.  Burnt chicken wasn't his
favorite, but he wouldn't have traded a minute of it.
He wasn't sure what she felt for him, but at least he
knew she wouldn't soon be David's wife.  He loved her,
and couldn't bear the thought of her marrying another man.
At least for now he didn't have to.

Margaret noticed the smile on his face and instantly
smiled back, thinking the smile was for her.  "Here Neil,
come on."  She led him to the table, and even pulled out
his chair for him.  He simply stood there gaping at her.
"I won't bite...promise."  She set the plate in front of
him and set to fix herself a plate.

Neil shook the thoughts of Christy from his mind and sat
down, but still couldn't bring himself to accept all this.
Margaret wasn't his wife, she had no place in his life
anymore.

"No Margaret."  He pushed the plate of food away and
stood up.  "You can't come in here and act like you're
Mrs. Perfect Wife.  This" he gestured towards the plate,
"This can't make up for what you did to me.  And to be
perfectly honest, I don't even want you to try to atone
for anything.  We're not married in my eyes."

"But we are still legally married, darling" Margaret said,
her words sickeningly sweet.

"I don't love you anymore!  Maybe I never did, I don't
know.  I thought I knew what love was.  But now..."  His
voice trailed off as he remembered who he was talking to.
Margaret didn't need the details of his love for Christy.
That would have been cruel.

"It doesn't matter if you love her, you know.  She's going
to marry the Preacher.  She told me so."

Neil chuckled.  "That's where you're wrong Margaret,
dear.  He asked her today to marry him and she said no."
He smiled again, and started to walk away then paused and
turned back.  The smile was gone from his face and she
noticed the deep circles under his eyes.  "You can sleep
on the couch.  I would never turn you away.  I'll take
care of you as best I can, but only until we can find
something more permanent for you."

With that, he turned and strode upstairs.


The Face in the Shadows - Chapter 3

Summary: Christy turned David down when he proposed.
Neil returns home to find Margaret trying to be the
picture of domesticity, but it has no effect on him.
He tells her she can stay with him until they find her
somewhere else to live.

============ Chapter 3 ============

When Neil awoke the next morning, he remembered what had
transpired the previous night.  Grudgingly, he made his
way downstairs only to find his couch empty.

His eyes searched the room and came to rest on a piece of
paper resting on the kitchen table.

Neil

It's clear you don't want me here, so I'm not going
to overstay my welcome.

I'll be fine, don't worry about me.  I got my girls
from the teahouse.

I'm heading to Atlanta, and don't bother trying to
find me.

And I'm still your wife.  Lucky for me, I know you
won' forget that.

-Margaret-

Neil crumpled up the letter and threw it against the wall.
Even when she wasn't anywhere near him she could still
manage to ruin his life.  She knew he would never act on
his feelings for Christy as long as he was married, if
only legally.

"Blast it!"  He yelled at the crumpled ball he had
just thrown.  He walked over and stomped on it, just
for good measure.  Satisfied that he had taken enough
aggression out on the inanimate piece of paper, he went
upstairs to get dressed.  He had slept later than he had
planned, and had to get a jump start on his house calls.
Zady had strep throat that needed checking up on, and
Toot McHone had a rash that Neil wanted to make sure was
under control.

After a hurried breakfast, he slipped some supplies into
his saddlebags and headed out.  All he could do now was
put Margaret out of his mind.  She could only ruin his
life as much as he let her.

Well, he thought, no.  She can actually ruin it a lot more.
She's keeping me from the woman I really love.

As he rode to the Spencer's cabin, he pondered whether or
not he should stop and see Christy today.  She might need
a day to sort things out.  Then again, maybe she needed
someone to talk to.  He decided he would pay her a visit
after he finished his calls.  Nodding at his decision,
Neil continued on his way whistling.

------------

The previous night for Christy had gone more smoothly than
she anticipated.  After a quiet supper with Miss Alice
and Ruby Mae, she retired to her room, saying she had to
grade papers.  She was thankful David had chosen to bring
his dinner to his bunkhouse, and even more thankful that
Ruby Mae could sense that tonight was not the night to
talk up a storm.

As she had gotten back to her room, Christy welcomed
the silence.  She walked to her window and looked out at
the moon.  That same moon that had led her to Neil that
night at the river watched over him now.  She smiled
as she thought of Neil.  He could never be hers, but at
least she had finally answered the questions in her heart.
And the Bible told her that God never closed a door without
opening a window.  "I just better not spend too long
looking at that closed door, or I'm going to miss my open
window!" she said into the night.  As if in response, the
stars seemed to twinkle a little.  Christy blinked hard.
I must be tired, she had thought to herself.  The papers
can wait til tomorrow.

With that, Christy had decided to turn in early in the
hopes of getting a fresh and early start tomorrow.

She awoke with a sinking feeling in her stomach.  The full
realization that Neil might really never be hers hadn't
hit her last night.  But now, the thought saddened her.
It wasn't enough that she had figured out who was in
her heart if she couldn't have him!

She got up and dressed in her favorite blue and
white-checkered dress and piled her hair on top of
her head.  There was nothing that perked her up more
than looking her best.  If she couldn't be happy on
the inside, she could at least look happy on the outside.
She smiled at herself in the mirror as she fixed the last
strand into place.

I can do this, she thought.  One day at a time.

She descended the stairs to find Miss Alice sipping coffee
and staring out the window.  She walked to her and placed
a hand on her shoulder.

"What is it Miss Alice?  You seem upset."

The older woman smiled at Christy and patted her hand.
"It's nothing really.  I just have a feeling Margaret
may have left for good this time."

Christy had told her the night before about her
daughter's return.

"You don't know that Miss Alice."

"No child, I felt it last time.  I knew when she
was leaving me.  I feel that way now.  Thee can't
explain it to someone, and I probably sound foolish
even trying!"  She smiled to herself almost as an
afterthought.  "But thee had better to get to class!
Those youngins won't wait!"

After grabbing a piece of bread and a chunk of cheese,
Christy thanked her and slipped out the door.  The sun was
beaming down on her, and lifted her spirits instantly.
All thought of Margaret left her mind as she tilted her
face up to the warmth that poured down from the heavens.

Cheerily, she continued the rest of the way to the
schoolhouse.  Thankfully, David wasn't due to teach
a Bible class until next week, so she did not have to
worry about that interruption thankfully.  She set about
grading the papers she had put off the previous night as
the students slowly began to trickle in.

At 8:00, she stood up and took roll.  As expected, Zady
was absent along with Zach Holt.  She knew Zady had been
sick the previous day, so the fact that she wasn't
there didn't surprise her.  Zach must have come down
with something.

She glanced at the back of the room.  Still no Lundy or
Smith O'Teale.  They had been absent for over 2 weeks
now, but every day she held out the hope that they would
return to school.  She hoped they were staying out of
trouble, but knew that wasn't likely.  Sighing, she
closed the book and began her lessons.

Unlike the previous day, today flew by.  Before she knew
it, it was time to let the students go and they had only
finished 4 of the 7 continents!  The rest would have to
wait until tomorrow she decided.

"Alright children, time to go!"  They scrambled out of
the school as fast as they could leaving Christy chuckling
to herself.  She knew they loved school, but she also
knew they loved getting out in the afternoon even better.
As Christy walked around the room collecting the few
geography books they had, she heard heavy footsteps enter
the school.

The Face in the Shadows - Chapter 4

Summary: Christy turned David down when he proposed.
Neil returns home to find Margaret trying to be the
picture of domesticity, but it has no effect on him.
He tells her she can stay with him until they find her
somewhere else to live.  The next day, Margaret leaves
a note telling Neil she's left, and not to follow her.
Christy notices Lundy and Smith are still absent.

============ Chapter 4 ============

Christy whirled around at the sound of the approaching
feet.  "Oh Neil, hello!  I didn't expect to see you
today, not after..."  Her words trailed off.  Don't
bring up yesterday, she reminded herself, that's probably
a touchy subject.  I mean" 

Neil couldn't help but smile at her.  The sight of her
made him deliriously happy.  On the way over, even the
mere thought of her had brought a smile to his face.

"It's just that..." she began again.

Neil held up his hand to stop her.  "You don't need to
dance around the issue with me, Miss Huddleston.  And while
I don't need all the details of what happened yesterday,
I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you if you
wanted to talk."

Christy smiled at him appreciatively.  How well he knew
her!  "I do want to talk, but I'm sure you have many
better things to do than to listen to my ramblings."

"Would I have offered if I didn't want to hear
them?"  He took a few steps towards her until he was
within arms length.

"Well, thank you Neil.  But right now, I'm fine.
How is Zady though?  Is she getting any better?"

Neil noticed the subject change, but let it drop.
"She's doing better.  She should be able to come back
to school on Monday."

"Oh, that's good.  And Zach?  He was out today, is
he alright?"

"Yes, he's fine too.  I saw Ozias this morning and
he said that Zach had a fall last night and cut his foot.
It's fine, it stopped bleeding on his own, but Zach just
didn't feel like making the trek all the way to school
with a bum foot."

"That's understandable."  Christy walked over to her
desk and began to absently trace her finger along the edge.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm?"  Christy's thoughts snapped back to
the conversation.  "Sorry," she said sheepishly.
"I was just thinking about Lundy.  He hasn't been
in school for almost 2 weeks now.  I know that's not
unusual, but he was doing so well, I thought we were
finally making progress after he came back the last time.
When he left two weeks ago, he said something that at
the time I hadn't found unusual.  I don't remember it
exactly."  She scratched her head.  "It was something
like 'Nothing you've done can't be undone' or
something, I'm not sure.  I thought he was referring
to the math test I had just given back to him with a C+
on it.  I thought maybe he meant he was going to work
harder or something.  Now I just don't know.

"I'm sure it didn't mean anything.  You're probably
just reading into it because he hasn't come back.
If he had, you wouldn't have given the comment another
thought."

"I'm sure you're right."

"Christy...Margaret left this morning.  She left a note
saying she was headed to Atlanta and that I shouldn't
bothering trying to find her, or something to that
effect."  He paused as he shrugged his shoulders sadly.
"Every time she leaves manages to remind me that
we're tied together."  More like my hands are tied
behind by back, he said sadly under his breath  "It's
just that with her out there somewhere, I can't...I
can't...have the life I wanted.  And I can't tell
you..." He couldn't bring himself to say that he
loved her.  But he did, so much.

Christy closed the rest of the gap between them.  She
reached up and put a hand on his chest.  "You don't
have to say anything Neil.  But answer me something.
Why did you come after me?"

"Because you came to tell me something important.
I know you well enough by now to read you, and I could see
that you had something you desperately wanted to get off
your chest.  And you left without saying a word!  I've
never known you to leave without saying something."
He jokingly elbowed her, then said seriously,  "I
figured whatever you had to say you couldn't say in
front of Margaret.  That was enough of a reason for me to
follow you."

She blushed.  He was right, as always.  "I had just
been talking to Fairlight, and she made me realize that
I..."  She paused.  He had just finished telling her
he was still married, and here she was about to tell him
how deeply she cared for him.  She chided herself on her
inappropriateness.  "...she made me realize who mattered
in my life" she finished instead.

Neil shook his head in agreement.  "Fairlight's got
that annoying way of making you see what's right in
front of your face, doesn't she?"

Christy laughed.  "That she does.  And she has to do
it in such a way that in the end, you can't believe you
didn't see it yourself!  Like one time, she and I were
..."  

Christy's sentence was caught short as a rock came
crashing through the window.

The Face in the Shadows - Chapter 5

Summary: Christy turned David down again. Neil returns home
to find Margaret there. He tells her she can stay with him
until they find her somewhere else to live, but she's gone
by the next day. Lundy and Smith are still absent. Neil
visits her at the school, but they're interrupted when
someone throws a rock through the window.

============ Chapter 5 ============ 

Neil and Christy stared
stunned at each other for a moment before springing into
action. Neil ran out of the school and around the side
to where the rock had been thrown from. Christy preceded
to walk to the corner of the room to grab the broom
leaning against the wall. She bent down to carefully
pick up the big pieces with her hands, and then swept
the remainder into the dustpan and dumped it into the
trash.  Neil came back into the school panting and out
of breath. 

"I chased whoever it was, but he got away
too fast. I saw brown pants. That's all. But he was
pretty quick whoever he was. Or he was far away and
just has a really good arm." Neil plopped down in
the nearest desk. "Whew! Well, that's my exercise
for the week." 

Christy crossed to him and put a hand
on his rapidly rising and falling shoulder. "Do you
think it could have been Lundy or Smith?" she asked in
a timid voice.  The same thoughts had been running through
Neil's mind, but he didn't want to worry her. 

"I'm
sure it was an accident. Probably someone playing, and then
they got afraid and ran away when they saw they broke the
window. You know how kids are." Christy started out the
broken window. Neil followed her gaze to the broken window
and knew that the incident would weigh heavily on her mind.


"Don't worry, Christy, really. We'll get the glass
patched up, and then we'll put this whole thing behind
us. I'm sure it was nothing. You'll see." Christy
nodded but something tugged at the back of her mind. She
sent a little silent prayer up that she was mistaken
and that it was just an accident.  

"Come on, you look
shaken. Gather your things, and I'll walk you back to
the Mission." Christy started to say something, but
Neil help up his hand.  "I won't hear any objections
now. As your doctor, I'm ordering you to go get some
fresh air. Let's go." He helped her put her things in
her schoolbag and together they headed out. Christy glanced
back at the window one last time before Neil gently took
her hand and led her down the steps.  

"I'm a big girl,
Neil, I don't need you to hold my hand." 

"Who said
I was doing it for you?" Neil said over his shoulder as
he winked at her. "You don't think I was frightened by
the rock? Maybe I need comforting!!" 

Christy laughed out
loud. "Neil MacNeill!" She let go of his hand in mock
disgust. He never failed to brighten her day, and today was
no exception.  She continued to laugh as the walked down to
the Mission. When they entered, they found David sitting at
the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and his sermon. He
looked up as they entered.  The smile fell from her face as
she saw him. Christy thought she hear him mutter something
like "why am I not surprised," but she couldn't
quite be sure."

 "David, someone threw a rock through the
window of the school. I'm hoping it was an accident. Neil
chased whoever it was, but they got away. I'm hoping it
wasn't Lundy because if it was, he won't stop there,
you know what kind of child he is." Christy felt herself
rambling and stopped herself. David had yet to say a word,
and just continued to look at her.  

Finally, sighing, he
pushed himself up from the table. "I guess I'd better
go look at the window since I'll be the one who has to
fix it, won't I? That's all I'm good for around here
it seems: handiwork and fixing things. I should just have
that branded into my forehead maybe, then there won't
be any confusion!"  

"David, I didn't ask you to fix
the window. Neil, or even I could" but before she
could finish her sentence David had huffed and walked
out the door.  "What bit him this afternoon?" Neil
asked as he walked over and looked at David's sermon.


"Neil, you shouldn't be reading that. That's
David's."

 "He won't know, and besides, he's
just going to read it out loud to everyone anyway on
Sunday."

 "Yes, that's true, but I just don't feel
right. Please don't read it?" She gently pulled Neil
away.  

"So, now you're the one leading me? Haha."


"Would you maybe like to stay for dinner? Since we'll
probably be eating in a few hours anyway, you're more
than welcome to stay." But as soon as the words were out
of her mouth, Christy regretted them. How would David and
Neil manage to eat a civil dinner together? She secretly
hoped that he would say no.  

"I'd love to. I'm done
my rounds for today, and I nice home cooked meal sounds
good. I haven't had one in a while." He recalled the
nice dinner Margaret had made him the night before that
he had left uneaten.  

"Oh, good. I'll just make some
extra tonight. I'm sure Miss Alice and Ruby Mae won't
mind." 

"And what about David, you failed to mention
him." 

"Oh well" Christy stuttered. She turned
her back to him and began fiddling with the pots and
pans. "I'm sure David's going to be in a bad mood
no matter who's here." The excuse sounded lame even to
her.

  "I won't if you don't want me to stay Christy,
really." 

"Don't be silly. I want you here." She
turned to face him. "That's all that should matter I
guess. You helped me today you help all of us all the
time. And I want you to eat supper with us. It's the
least I can do to thank you for calming me down after the
incident today. And for chasing after whoever did it! So,
we're agreed? You'll stay for dinner." 

"I guess
you've twisted my arm and leave me no choice" He
smiled. "Although maybe you should let someone else
do the cooking. We don't want to go hungry!" Christy
laughed and threw a wooden spoon at him that had been
resting on the counter. He swatted it away with his hand.


"Oh, my hand, oh oh!" he cried jokingly. "It's
broken! Oh, the pain, the agony!" Christy walked over
to him and put her hands on her hips.  "You're worse
than my students, Dr. MacNeill! What am I ever going to
do with you? Come here, let me see." He held out his
hand and pouted his bottom lip. Then he sniffed, just
for good measure.  "You're right, it looks like this
is going to have to come off!" Christy said with mock
seriousness, but she couldn't keep up the charade any
longer and burst out laughing. Neil soon, too, was laughing
loudly. David was on his way back the Mission when he heard
their laughter echoing from the kitchen. Anger bubbled up
inside him. He composed himself as best as he could and
walked inside.


The Face in the Shadows - Chapter 6

Summary: Christy turned David down again. Neil returns 
home to find Margaret there. He tells her she can stay 
with him until they find her somewhere else to live, 
but she's gone by the next day. Lundy and Smith are 
still absent. Neil visits her at the school, but they're 
interrupted when someone throws a rock through the 
window. They clean it up, and Christy invites Neil to 
dinner as a thank you.


============
Chapter 6
============
Dinner that night was awkwardly quiet. But Christy 
was thankful for Ruby Mae’s constant chatter; at least
there was some noise at the table. Finally, after what 
seemed like eternity, everyone was finished their meal, 
and she stood up to help clear the table. Miss Alice 
stood up as well, but Christy quickly grabbed her plate away. 
“No Miss Alice, I’ll clean up tonight. I know you’ve had your 
hands full lately with the Mission in Big Lick Gap, and this 
is the least I can do.”
“But Christy, thee cooked tonight as well. Thee shouldn’t 
have to clean up as well.”
“It’s my pleasure, really.”
Neil stood up. “Then, I can at least help too then” he 
said, and lifted his plate off the table. Christy snatched
 it away from him as well. 
“Oh no you don’t! I told you today this was a thanks for 
helping me with the rock situation, and I meant it.”
As Christy cleared off the plates, Miss Alice turned her 
attention to Neil. “Rock situation?”
Neil sat down in his chair. “Someone threw a rock through 
the school window. We don’t’ know who it was, and they ran
away before we could find out. But I’m sure it was an accident. 
Christy, on the other hand, isn’t so sure.” Then more quietly he added, 
“I think she believes it’s Lundy Taylor. But I know she’s 
holding out hope it’s not. Let’s hope this was an isolated incident.”
David, who had remained silent for most of the meal, stood up
and excused himself, saying he had to go finish something in 
his bunkhouse.
“Well, have a goodnight then David. Is thee sure thee 
doesn’t want to stay around for a while?”
“No, I have some things to do. But thanks. Goodnight.”
With that, he hurriedly left. When Christy came back, she 
noticed David’s absence and gestured to David’s seat. “Where 
did he go?”
“He be sayin he had things ta do. But he left so fast, you’d 
be thinkin his pants was a flamin!”
“Now Ruby Mae, it’s not nice to talk about someone who’s 
not present.” Christy chided the redhead. 
“Sorry Miz Christy.”
Christy finished clearing the table as Miss Alice, Ruby Mae, 
and Neil chatted. As expected, Ruby Mae did most of the chatting.
 I caught Neil’s eyes secretly asking me to rescue him as I made 
my trips back and forth, and had to laugh. He wasn’t as used 
to the redhead as we were, even though he had known her her whole life. 
When she was finally finished, she joined the trio at the table.
 As they caught up on each other’s days, Christy found herself 
growing tired. She wasn’t sure why, she had slept fine the night before. 
It could be the rock thing, she thought to herself, but that 
really wasn’t that scary that I would be exhausted from it. 
Christy came back to the conversation as Neil stood to leave. 
“I’d best be gettin back before it gets too dark. Charlie 
already doesn’t like the narrow paths, and hates them even 
more at night. Thank you for a wonderful dinner ladies, and
 for wonderful company.”
They all wished him a safe trip. But as Neil reached for 
the door handle, it swung open, nearly knocking him over. It was a frantic David.
“Christy…the school! Someone’s completely destroyed the place.”
In the blink of an eye, the five were out the door and running 
for the schoolhouse. From the outside, everything seemed normal. 
But as they neared the front, Christy saw the door banging 
back and forth in the wind. Her heart dropped into her stomach 
at the thought of what she might find inside.
As they approached, Neil held his arm across Christy and 
motioned for Miss Alice and Ruby Mae to stop as well. 
“You three stay here. I don’t know who, or what, could be 
in there, and I want you safe.” He directed his comment to 
all of them, but looked at Christy as he said it.
Together, he and David walked up to the school. As they did, 
Christy noticed a whole in David’s shirt near the elbow. An 
entire piece was missing! She hoped he hadn’t hurt himself, 
and made a mental note to ask him about it later.
Alice, Christy, and Ruby Mae stood in the yard looking at the
 figures disappearing in the twilight. 
“This is my school” she whispered. “I deserve to see what’s 
happened.” And with that, she started after Neil and David.
“Miz Christy, come back!” But it was no use, Christy had made
 up her mind. Alice and Ruby Mae then followed in suit. 
As Christy reached the open doors, she let out a shriek. Her 
school! Her beautiful school!
Tables were overturned, some with the legs broken off. The 
books lay tattered on the floor. Christy’s mind flashed back 
to the horrible incident with Lundy and Birds-Eye in the 
first weeks she taught her. And this situation was too similar. 
She felt sick to her stomach and grabbed onto the door frame 
for support. Neil was instantly by her side.
“Lass, I told you to stay back.”
“I had to see this, Neil, you know that.” She regained her 
composure and slowly pushed past him. David lit the fire, 
and it cast eerie shadows that danced over the walls.
The room was a disaster. She walked over to her desk and bent
down to pick up a drawing Mountie had given her the previous
 day that now lay torn and trampled.
As Christy surveyed what remained of her beloved school, 
something caught her eye. There, stuck under one of the 
overturned desks, was a ripped off piece of white cloth. 

=======================

============ Chapter 7 ============ 

Summary: Christy turned David down again and Neil returns
home to find Margaret there. He tells her she can stay 
with him until they find her somewhere else to live, but 
she's gone by the next day. Lundy and Smith are still 
absent. Neil visits her at the school, but they're 
interrupted when someone throws a rock through the window. 
They clean it up, and Christy invites Neil to dinner as a 
thank you. Dinner is tense and David leaves hurriedly only
to come report the school has been vandalized. Then Christy
finds a piece of David's shirt under one of the desks...

Horrified, Christy bent over and picked up the piece of
fabric and studied it. It looked like the same material
torn from David's shirt. She didn't know what to
say. It didn't make sense, why would a piece of David's
shirt be in here?  

She stood up and brushed dirt off the
hem of her skirt. "David." He turned to face her as
she gingerly stepped over piles of books and made her ways
towards him. She held up the piece of fabric. "What's
this? And why was it under one of the desks?" Her glare
was accusing.  

Silence. Every eye in the room was now
on David.  "I was coming back from the bunkhouse when I
saw the door open, so I went to close it. But I saw one
of the outline of an overturned desk. So, I came in and
looked around. I bent down to turn a desk back over, and
on the way up, I ripped a whole in my shirt. That's
all." 

Christy narrowed her eyes at David. His excuse
seemed plausible, and she couldn't possibly believe David
would do something this mean.  She banished the thought
from her head and smiled. "I'm sorry David. I think
my nerves have gotten the best of me. I didn't mean to
accuse you." 

He shrugged in response. "It's fine."
He turned his back to her and went back to turning the
desks right side up.  Christy immediately felt bad for
accusing him so harshly. Of course he didn't do it. She
reproached herself for her tone.  "David,really. I'm
sorry. My nerves got the best of me." 

"I said it was
fine." Christy decided to let the matter drop and started
to gather the now shredded books. Tears came to her eyes
as she thought of the children. Twice now, they had had
to endure the loss of their prized possessions. They had
always been careful with the pages, making sure not to
turn them too quickly for fear of ripping them. Now their
efforts were for nothing.  A tiny sob escaped her chest
and Christy covered her face with her free hand. How would
she explain this to the children?  And who could have done
this? Her mind raced through possibilities, but seemed
to keep focusing on only one person: Lundy. As much as
she didn't want to admit that he could do something so
horrible, she knew in her heart that he was capable of
it, no matter how much progress he had made since coming
back to school.  

Little by little, the school started to
resemble a normal classroom. The books that were damaged
beyond use were set aside in a pile that they would use
at the Mission for kindling. She would hate to see her
precious books burn, but she knew they'd never be able
to use them again.  By the time they had to room ready
for school the next day, it was pitch black outside.

"Neil, it's much too late for thee to travel back to
thy cabin tonight. Stay here tonight, and thee can ride
back first thing in the morning. Thee can stay on the couch
if thee would like." 

Neil lifted his arms above his
head and stretched. "Sure, that sounds fine. I wasn't
much looking forward to heading back anyway. And this way,
you will have someone else to watch over the Mission. An
extra set of hands is always helpful in situations like
this." Wearily, the five trudged back to the Mission.

"Miz Christy, I's be scared. What if the people who
did that decide they'uns want ta come back agin?"

"Shh, it's alright Ruby Mae. I'm sure whoever did
this was just looking to scare us. They won't hurt
us, don't you worry. And besides, we have Reverend
Grantland and Dr. MacNeill who would protect us." 

"I
guess you's right." As they made their way back to
the Mission, exhaustion once again took over Christy. She
had forgotten her earlier weariness in the apprehension
of the schoolhouse. But now that that was mostly over,
the wave of tiredness once again threatened to knock her
over. Neil noticed her fatigue instantly.  "Christy, you
best get yourself ta bed. You've had a hard day, and
an even harder night. I want you washed up and in bed
in 15 minutes, you hear?" 

Christy tried to laugh, but
a yawn escaped instead. She smiled at him. "I guess I
can't argue with your orders." Ruby Mae and Alice
yawned then too. "Ya know what they say about yawns
bein catchin and all. I'm gonna turn in to. But I'm
gonna sleep with one eye open, jist ta be safe."

 "Ruby
Mae, thee can sleep in Miss Huddleston's room. There are
enough blankets, I'm sure we can make thee a comfortable
bed. Would thee feel safer there?" Ruby Mae nodded her
head enthusiastically. With that, they headed upstairs to
see what they could arrange.  

"I guess I'll head back
to my bunkhouse for the night. There's enough people
crammed into this house as it is." 

"David, why don't
you stay here? I'd hate to think of you in your bunkhouse
by yourself. I don't even like the idea of you walking
back to your bunkhouse now, let alone staying there."
She gestured towards the living room. "You could try to
sleep in that chair. It's not the most comfortable thing,
but it will suffice. Or if you want, you could just sleep
next to the fireplace. We could make you comfortable."

"Like you've ever cared about that." 

Christy was
stunned by his harsh words. "David, you know I care
about you and your well-being. I still consider you one
of my best friends." She stepped closer to him and
whispered to him. "I'm not ready to marry anyone
David, Neil included. I'm sorry you think I was trying
to spite you by saying no, but I wasn't. I'm just not
ready. Please, just stay here tonight. It'll make me
feel better." With a sigh David agreed. The three of
them set about arranging the living room for the added
guests. Christy placed one of the blankets on the couch
and then absently walked over to the window. Her eyes
were drawn to the direction of the school, even though
she couldn't make it out in the darkness. She didn't
hear Neil come up behind her.  

"Christy, can I talk to
you?" He glanced over his shoulder to see if David was
paying attention. Thankfully, he was too busy stoking the
fire to notice.  Christy nodded and Neil led her by the
elbow to the kitchen. He started to speak, but Christy put
a finger to her lips and motioned for Neil to come outside.
Once outside, Neil began.  "Christy, I know you think
Lundy did this. But I don't think he did." Christy
rubbed her hands up and down her arms to keep herself
warm. "Who..who do you think did it then? Smith?"
"No..I think it was David." 

============ Chapter 8 ============
Summary: Christy turned
David down again and Neil returns home to find Margaret
there. He tells her she can stay with him until they
find her somewhere else to live, but she's gone by the
next day. Lundy and Smith are still absent. Neil visits
her at the school, but they're interrupted when someone
throws a rock through the window. Dinner is tense that
night and David comes to report that the school has been
vandalized. Then Christy finds a piece of David's shirt
under one of the desks, but he presents a valid excuse
why it's there. Only Neil doesn't believe him...

 "What? Why? Why would
you think that?" 

"Well, first off, he doesn't have to
pass the school to come back to the Mission. So, how would
he notice that the doors were swinging open? Hmm? And
secondly, how would the piece of his shirt get under
the desk? If he had really caught it on the corner
like he said he did, it would have been on the top of
the desk, or on the floor, but it shouldn't be caught
under anything. For it to be under something means that
the desk had to be overturned after the piece was on the
floor." His jaw tensed and his voice rose a pitch as his
anger grew. He couldn't believe Grantland would stoop
so low as to destroy the schoolhouse to get back at her
for turning down his proposal. That's low, even for him.

"I don't think David could have done such a thing!"

"And why don't you? He had the time to. He got up from
dinner and left in quite a hurry, you didn't see him. And
besides that, I just don't trust him." 

Christy put her
hand on Neil's arm. "Neil, I know David isn't your
favorite person in the world, but I'm almost positive he
didn't do this. He doesn't have it in him. I believe
him. I'm sure there's a reason why he would be passing
the school, or how the cloth got caught the desk. He
wouldn't do this to me, I know he wouldn't..." Her
eyes began to fill with tears and she willed them away. She
didn't need to cry in front of Neil. And besides, she
had been crying enough in the past few days! Christy
step past him and stared into the night.  

"I'm sorry
Lass, I didn't mean to upset you. I probably let my
dislike for Grantland cloud my judgment. You're right,
he would never do this, especially not to you." He'd
be a fool to hurt you, Christy. No man who claims to
love you could ever do something to make you sad. He
should live for your smile.  Neil stepped up behind her
and put his hands on her shoulders, but she did not turn
around. "Christy, come on, it's cold out here, why
don't we go back inside. I'm sorry I said anything,
really. It was stupid of me." Christy nodded, and dropped
her head.  "Lass..." 

All of a sudden, Christy turned
and buried her head in Neil's chest. She didn't care
how inappropriate it was to embrace a married man in the
dark; she just needed to know someone cared about her.
Momentarily stunned, Neil quickly recovered and wrapped his
arms around her. She seemed so tiny, she seemed to just
fit right into the crook of his arms. They stayed there
for a long moment until Neil broke the silence, his words
thundering after the silence of the past minute.  "What
is this?" Neil gestured to his side.  "What?" Christy
looked where he was gesturing and found her fist tightly
wrapped around a now very wrinkled handful of his shirt.

"Oh," she blushed. "That's a comforting thing
I used to do all the time when I was little. Whenever I
was scared, or tired, or upset, I would take a handful of
something that meant a lot to me. More often than not, it
was my daddy's shirt. He used to pick me up to hug me
or to rock me to sleep, and I used to ˜gather' some
of his shirt and just hold onto it. That's what he used
to call it, ˜gathering." I don't even realize when
I do it anymore. But sometimes I find myself holding on
very tightly to something that I know would make me feel
better." She blushed again. "I can't remember the
last time I did that! Wow, I haven't even thought about
that in years." 

Neil smiled. "I guess I'm honored
then that you've chosen to well gather me." Christy
laughed. "Sorry about that." She tried in vain to
smooth out the wrinkles she had put in his shirt until
Neil took her hands to stop her.  "Leave them, I kind
of like the reminder." Christy blushed again. My, you
are blushing a lot tonight, Christy Huddleston! She felt
her face growing hot as she realized Neil still held her
hands. She brought her gaze up to meet his.  He gently
leaned over and kissed her forehead then nestled his head
against hers. "I love you, Christy Huddleston. You
know that, don't you?" he whispered in her ear.

She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, letting her
head rest against Neil's. Nothing else mattered at
that moment. How long she had wanted to hear those words,
even though she knew she shouldn't have been hearing them
now. She paused only a moment. "I know, Neil. And you
know I love you." They stood that way for what seemed
like a bittersweet eternity to Christy. Finally, she
looked up at him. "But there's something you might not
know. No matter what happens, you'll be tucked safely
away in my heart. And that is enough for me. Because real
loneliness is not being in love in vain, but not being
in love at all. I'm yours from this day on, Neil, come
what may." Now Neil's eyes glimmered with tears of
his own. How was he lucky enough to have such a remarkable
woman in his life? And how was it possible that she could
love him?  Neil looked down and realized that they were
still holding hands. He slowly raised one of her hands
and brought her palm to his lips. He kissed it tenderly
twice, then closed her hand again. His voice choked with
emotion, he said, "Save those for tonight, my love, so
I can almost kiss you goodnight." They smiled as they
looked into each other's eyes, completely oblivious to
David as he watched them through the window.

============ Chapter 9 ============ 

Summary: Christy turned David down again and Neil
returns home to find Margaret there. He tells her she
can stay with him until they find her somewhere else to
live, but she's gone by the next day. Lundy and Smith
are still absent. Neil visits her at the school, but
they're interrupted when someone throws a rock through
the window. Dinner is tense that night and David comes to
report that the school has been vandalized. Then Christy
finds a piece of David's shirt under one of the desks,
but he presents a valid excuse why it's there. Only Neil
doesn't believe him. Later that night, Neil professess
his love to Christy.

The next morning
Christy awoke with a smile on her face, recalling the
previous night. She sat up in bed and stretched as sunlight
poured through her window. It was sure to be a glorious
morning!  She hurriedly dressed and combed her hair, not
bothering to put it up. Flashing a smile in the mirror,
she tiptoed downstairs, unsure of who was awake yet. 

Miss Alice and Ruby Mae were seated at the table. Ruby Mae
started to say something, but Miss Alice but her hand
on the girl and gestured to the living room. There,
Neil was sleeping in the chair by the fireplace looking
rather uncomfortable.  He must have let David sleep on the
couch. That was thoughtful of him. However, she noticed
David was no longer there. All that remained on the couch
was the blanket they had given him the night before now
neatly folded.  

"Where did David go?" Christy whispered as she entered 
the kitchen.  

"He said he was heading to Lufty Branch to stop in on a 
few families." 

"But it's only Saturday. He's not needed there until 
tomorrow."

Miss Alice shrugged slightly. "Perhaps David needs to
answer the questions in his mind. Can I get thee coffee?"

Christy shook her head. "Do you think we should wake
him? I know I used to hate being the last one awake when I
was younger. I felt like everyone started their day without
me! On second thought, it's probably rare that he gets
any sleep, I should let him rest." 

With that, Christy set about making breakfast. Soon, a 
delicious smell was wafting through the house. As Christy 
was setting everything on the table, Neil stumbled 
sleepily into the kitchen.

"Smells wonderful, Miss Huddleston. Is that two meals
now in a row that have been edible??" 

Christy laughed and shook the pan at him. "You mock, 
Dr. MacNeill, but I dare say that you're just jealous 
of my cooking skills!" She raised her nose up in the air 
in an air of fake pretentiousness.  Neil laughed and sat 
down at the table next to Ruby Mae. "So, what delicacy 
have you cooked up for us this morning?" 

"Well..." Christy slid Neil's breakfast onto his plate. 
"Tada!" 

He looked at her and pointed to his plate. "What 
exactly is it?" 

"It's an egg in a nest! My father used to make
it for me all the time when I was a little girl. It's
just toast with a hole cut out and an egg in the middle,
but I used to love it. Makes "eggs and toast" a little
more fun, doesn't it?" She beamed.  

Neil's eyes twinkled and looked down at his plate; he 
loved how excited she got over little things. He cut 
himself a piece of his "egg in a nest" and put it in his 
mouth. It was an interesting way to make breakfast, he had 
to admit. 

After everyone had eaten, Ruby Mae offered to clear the
dishes. Christy and Miss Alice exchanged glances and then
hesitatingly handed over their plates. As she reached for
Neil's plate, the two in her hands wobbled furiously.

"Ruby Mae! Ruby Mae, Ruby Mae, here, let me help."
Christy reached for Neil's plate, but Neil snatched it
away before she could.  "I've got it Miss Huddleston"
and proceeded to follow Ruby Mae over to the washbasin.

Christy watched Neil's departing figure. Suddenly his
tender words from the night before came flooding back to
mind, and she found herself blushing.  "What was that
thought, Miss Huddleston? I saw a memory flash behind
your eyes." She looked at the young school teacher.
Flustered, Christy snapped back to the present. "It was
nothing, Miss Alice. Just remembering something someone
said to me once." She wasn't quite ready to tell her
about the developments with Neil. Although she trusted the
woman more than most people, she knew it could hurt her
to hear that her daughter's husband was in love with
someone else. Even though Alice had gotten fed up with
Margaret's antics and disowned her, deep down, Christy
knew she still held a place in her heart.  

Christy sat down at the table and chatted lightly with 
her mentor while Ruby Mae and Neil finished cleaning up 
the kitchen. Soon Neil walked into the room drying his 
hands on a dishtowel. "Well, I guess my work is done here. 
I want ta head over ta the Spencer's to check on Zady, so 
I best get a move on." 

"Ooh, Neil, could I go with you? I haven't seen Fairlight in 
what feels like forever!" 

"Of course, Miss Huddleston, it would be my pleasure."
Christy blushed as she hurried upstairs to gather her
things to put in her saddlebag.  Once outside, Neil and
Christy decided they would take separate horses. "I'll
ride to your cabin, then we'll ride to the Spencer's
together. That way, you won't have to double back to
come drop me off here, and I can just ride home from
your cabin." 

"Fine by me." Neil said as he hoisted
himself into his saddle. "Let's go boy." He gave
Charlie a gentle nudge to get him going. Christy followed
behind on Prince. She still wasn't comfortable with the
giant horse, but she wasn't willing to risk riding Theo
in the river again. One experience falling in was enough
for her.  They rode side by side in silence for much of
the journey. Neil reached over and held her hand as they
rode and they continued that way for a while. 

As Neil's cabin came into view and the path became 
narrower, Neil led Charlie to walk in front of Prince. 
"I'm just going to run into the cabin for a few things 
I'll need, and then we can be on our way. Do you want to
wait out here or come in with me?" 

"I'll come in. I'll stretch my legs before we head over to Fairlight's." 

"Stretch your legs? You've only been riding for 20 minutes!"
He laughed.  

"Fine, then maybe I won't come in with you!" Christy said in 
an indignant tone she didn't mean. Neil looked back over his 
shoulder and smiled at her. He loved her fire. No other woman had 
ever captivated him the way she did.  When they reached Neil's cabin, he
dismounted and then helped Christy down.  

As they headed up to Neil's porch, Christy suddenly felt Neil 
his arm out in front of her. She followed his gaze to see his front
door open. He put his finger to his lips to signal to her
that he wanted her to be quiet, then motioned for her to
stay where she was. She shook her head. There was no way
she could let Neil go in there by himself. She pulled
his head close to her ear so she could whisper directly
into his ear.  "I'll stay behind you, but there's
no way I'm letting you go in there alone." Knowing
this was no time to argue, he nodded. 

They made their way silently up his steps, holding their 
breath and freezing every time their footsteps made the tiniest
sound. When the only sound they could hear were their pounding
heartbeats, they continued. They finally made it to the
open door and peered in cautiously.  The room was a mess,
but there didn't seem to be anyone there. Neil stepped
into his cabin, making his way around the broken dishes
and torn medical books. The scene was very reminiscent
of the schoolhouse.  Christy again felt a wave of nausea
come over her as she surveyed the room. Who would want to
do this to them?  She tiptoed into the cabin behind Neil
and surveyed the damage. Her eyes came to rest on a knife
protruding from the wall that seemed to be holding a piece
of paper up. "Neil" she whispered, and gestured to
the knife. She slowly walked over to it. To her horror,
she saw the word "Teacher" was scrawled on the page with
the knife stabbed threateningly through it.

============ Chapter 10 ============ 

Summary: Since Neil was at the school late helping clean up
the mess, Christy offers to let him stay over. That night,
he confesses his love to her, but tells her he's content to
simply have her in his heart. Neither is aware that David
witnessed the whole thing. After a restlful night sleep,
Christy and Neil decide to head over to the Spencer's. On
the way, Neil stops to pick up some supplies...only to
find his cabin in shambles.

Later that day at
the Spencers' cabin, Christy and Fairlight sat on the
porch while Neil checked up on Zady. His examination was
taking longer than usual, but Christy knew he was probably
trying to giver her a little extra time with Fairlight. It
was so thoughtful of him.  

Fairlight looked over at
Christy who sat playing with her fingers. "Don't
be frettin so much Miz Christy." 

Christy was roused
from her thoughts. "What?" 

Fairlight smiled. "I
seen you thinkin about somethin. I seen that thought run
through yer mind. And besides, you's be playin with yer
hands. Only time I seen you wring yer hands like that is
when you's be nervous.  

Christy marveled at how well
her friend knew her. She hadn't even realized she was
fidgeting.  

Fairlight continued. "So who do you think
it could be?" 

"I can't really even say Fairlight. I
thought it might be Lundy or Smith. Neither has been in
school for several weeks, and they both have always had
a problem with us Mission folk. I don't know what I
have done as of late to upset them, but who knows. Neil,
however, thought it was David. I tried to convince him
that it couldn't be David, that David would never stoop
so low. I think Neil wants to believe me, but he still has
his doubts. I just don't want to think about David doing
such horrible things. My beautiful schoolhouse...which HE
helped build! I can't seem him doing something so mean
to me." 

"You did turn um down agin fer time number
2. That could be makin him prickly. I know it'd make me
pricklier than a wet hen! But I can't see David doin
somethin like that to ya neither. He ain't that kinda
guy. And he does think he's yer one and only. So I jest
can't see him doin somethin stupid enough ta vex ya."

"Then it has to be Lundy. It could be Smith, but he seems
to docile when Lundy isn't around. If Smith is involved,
I don't think it would be unless Lundy was with him. But
I just...I don't know. This is all so much to happen in
only a few days." Christy lowered her head and looked
at her hands. "It's just so hard Fairlight. I don't
want to have to always look over my shoulder or worry
about every little noise I hear. I..." Her words choked
in her throat and she looked away from Fairlight. "I
don't know what is wrong with me!" She brushed a tear
away from her face. But they started coming in a steady
stream and before she knew it, sobs were threatening to
overtake her.  Fairlight got up from her chair and went
over to place her arms around Christy. Christy threw her
arms around her friend as the sobs finally came out. 

After
a few minutes of steady crying, Christy finally caught
her breath, wiped her eyes, and sat up. Fairlight was
looking at her with concern.  "You're allowed ta be
upset, Miz Christy. It be a mean thing they done to ya. A
body ain't got no right bein so downright mean to another
human bein like that. And everything's just been building
up for ya. You've tried to be strong this whole time,
and sometimes ya just need to cry. It makes a body feel
better not to have so much all built up inside." 

Christy
nodded and sniffed a little. "I'm sorry Fairlight. I
didn't mean to come over here and lay all my problems
on you. I didn't plan this." 

"Miz Christy, no one
plans these things. Whens ya get sad, they have a way of
comin out whether we want them to or not. And ya know I'm
always here fer ya." 

"I know Fairlight, thank you."

Fairlight went and sat back down in her rocking chair. The
two sat silently staring into the beautiful afternoon. Neil
emerged some time later to give a progress report on Zady.

"Well, Fairlight, she's doing fine. She should be
all set to go to school on Monday, but if want ta keep
her out til Tuesday you could do that too, just ta give
her an extra day ta rest." 

"Knowin my Zady, there
ain't no keepin her a day longer than ya say. She'll
be the first one out on Monday, I betcha. Thank ya
Doc. We's be beholdin to ya." 

"I won't hear of
it Fairlight. Christy wanted ta come see you, so I said I
could check on Zady one last time. I could kill two birds
with one stone then." Fairlight smiled. 

Christy thanked
her and left to follow Neil to where Charlie was tied.
Once out of earshot, Neil spoke up. "You know it broke
my heart ta hear you crying back there. I can't be happy
if you're not." Christy half-heartedly smiled at him.
"Now come on now, let me see a real smile." 

Christy
couldn't muster much energy to appease him. "I'm
sorry Neil, my mind can't seem to get off of whoever
could have done these horrible things." Neil suddenly
brought Charlie to a halt and hopped off. He hastily
tied him to a tree and then motioned for Christy to come
down as well.  She dismounted and gazed questioningly at
him. "What's wrong?" 

Neil took her hand and led her
to a rock on the bank of the river. As they sat on and
looked at the stream, Neil picked up a handful of pebbles
by his feet and tossed them in, sending shimmering ripples
out in widening cascades.  They sat in silence for a few
moments with only the sound of the river between them.
"You're forgetting that I might be the target." Neil
began, as if he could read her thoughts. "Or the Mission
might be, or modernization. Anything. Don't be heapin the
blame all on yourself, telling yourself it's something
you did. It could be any one of a number of things. We
don't know anything for sure." 

"Something needs to
be done. I'm afraid what might happen next. First the
rock, then the school, then your cabin. I don't even
want to think what their next target might be. Heh, I say
"they" like I know who is doing this. But I don't
Neil. I don't know who's doing this. I really think
it's Smith and Lundy, but what if I'm wrong? Whoever is
doing these horrible things could be someone I would never
suspect." She shook her head slightly in frustration
and looked back out over the river.  After staring
out over the river for a few moments, she stood up
suddenly. "No. I'm not going to let this anger me or
make me suspicious of my friends. Whoever is doing that
wants me to doubt my friendships with the people in this
cove!" She was nearly shouting. "And if I go around
looking over my shoulder thinking everyone could be out to
get me than it will only drive me mad. And I refuse to let
it! This is as much my Cove as it is anyone else's! I'm
going to stay here and fight for everyone and everything
I love!" She threw her arms up in the air. "This is MY
COVE TOO!" Crows cawing and flying out of a nearby tree
told Christy perhaps she was being a little noisy. But she
didn't care. She would find whoever was doing this, no
matter what it took. But in the mean time, she was here
to stay.  

"My mother always said I had a commanding
voice," she said jovially, the previous sullen moments
seemingly washed from her spirit. "Come on Neil, I
should be getting home." 

Neil threw down the blades
of grass he had been playing with. A smile crept onto
his face as he followed Christy, who was nearly skipping
back to Charlie. I'll never understand women. One minute
they're crying, the next they're skipping. Good grief.

He and Christy made pleasant conversation as they rode
the rest of the way back to Neil's cabin. He could tell
her spirits were beginning to sag again as they neared
his ruined cabin, but she seemed to be forcing herself
to stay positive.  When they reached Prince, Neil helped
Christy down. She started to walk to her horse but stopped
after only a few steps. "You make my heart happy Neil"
she said, her back still towards him.  She mounted Prince
in one swift motion and nudged him over to where Neil
was. She impulsively leaned over and kissed the top of
Neil's head, and then galloped quickly away leaving
Neil to stare after her.  

As she rode away, she giggled
to herself. You're so strange Christy Huddleston! What
was that?? You kissed him on the top of his head? Who
does that??  

Behind her, Neil was just as confused. He
touched the top of his head with his hand as if to feel
where she had kissed him. She is a strange one! he thought
as he tied Charlie up. "Don't you think so boy? Have
you ever seen something like that?" Neil clomped up
his steps still trying to figure out what had been going
through Christy's mind. She had been up and down today,
that was for sure. But at least the day ended on a high
note. He got to see her smile as she rode off.  

As Neil
dropped his saddlebags by the front door, he surveyed the
mess once again. Whoever it was had sure done a number on
his cabin. He bent down to pick up some fragments of bowl
that lay near his table.  Suddenly he heard the door slam
shut, and whirled around at the sound. Out of the corner
of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure just before
his world went black.

==================== Chapter 11 ====================

Summary: After a restlful night sleep, Christy and Neil
decide to head over to the Spencer's. On the way, Neil
stops to pick up some supplies...only to find his cabin
in shambles. Later, at the Spencers', Fairlight comforts
Christy as she struggles with everything that has happened
recently. When they leave, Neil brings Christy to the
river where they have a heart-to-heart. She decides
not to let whoever it is run her life, that she belongs
there too! With a newfound happiness, she heads back to
the Mission...unaware the intruder has attacked Neil.


Christy rode back to the Mission happily, still smiling
over her foolish antics with Neil. Really now, the tope
of the head? You're not his grandmother! She laughed
a little, and then began to hum. It was a jolly tune she
had heard a few of the girls singing yesterday afternoon
on the playground. She wasn't sure of the name of it, or
the words, and whenever she came to a part she couldn't
remember, she simply stumbled through until she came to
the chorus again. But she was having a glorious time all
by herself, enjoying the song and the serenity around her.

All of a sudden she brought Prince to a halt. "Shoot"
she muttered to herself. "I bet I left my..." her
sentence trailed off as she reached over and searched
through her saddlebag. Sure enough, she was missing her
sketchbook. She had taken it out of her bag outside of
Neil's cabin, intending to show him the sketch of Look
Rock she had done the previous day. In the chaos of his
cabin, she must have absent-mindedly left it on the table.
She looked back over her shoulder as she considered her
options. Should she go back and get the book now? The
setting sun told her it would be dinnertime by the time
she made it home to the Mission as it was. Adding on
the time it would take to go back to Neil's, she would
surely miss dinner. Her mind made up, she gave Prince a
little kick to send him on his way again. I'll see Neil
soon enough. He's coming Monday for a science lesson
anyway. But wait, he might not know I left it there...
Hmmm...maybe I'll head back to his cabin with him Monday
after school. 

Satisfied with her plan, she picked up the
tune where she had left off, merrily humming along... As
she neared the cabin, she became aware of two figures near
the garden. Christy could distinguish the figure of Miss
Alice, bent low and pulling the weeds from between the
plants, but wasn't quite sure who the other was. She
slowed Prince to a quiet trot as she approached. All of
a sudden, she recognized the other figure. Lundy! He was
carrying what looked like a long plank over his shoulder
and was walking stealthily towards an unsuspecting
Alice. He raised the wood off his shoulder and was about
to hit her when Christy called out.  "No!! Miss Alice,
watch out!" Christy screamed out and charged towards
the pair. Startled, Miss Alice stood up quickly and Lundy
whirled around fast enough to drop the wood.  Christy
hurriedly dismounted Prince and went to stand by Miss
Alice's side. She wasn't a physical threat to Lundy,
and she knew that, but at least with her there, he would
think twice about hurting either of them.  She prepared
herself for a verbal tirade from Lundy. Instead, Miss
Alice was the one who spoke up. "Christy, what is
wrong with thee? What is thee shouting about?" 

"I
saw...I saw Lundy...and I thought that...and you didn't
know...and....what?" Why was she not surprised to see
Lundy there? And why did he not run away now that she had
exposed him?  

"Thee is not making any sense. What did
thee think was going to happen?" 

"I didn't know if
you knew Lundy was behind you..." 

"Of course I did
child, I was the one who told him to help me mend the
fence in the vegetable garden." Realization suddenly
dawned on her. Miss Alice hadn't been in any danger;
she had known Lundy was there the whole time. She had put
him to work! But why...?  "I don't understand. Why
is Lundy..." she turned to face the big, red-faced boy,
"why are you helping the Mission?" 

Lundy looked down
at his feet. "Well, gosh, I just felt kinda bad about
somethin, and I come and told Miss Alice about it. And
she told me to help out so that I didn't feel bad no
more." Still confused, Christy looked to Miss Alice for
an explanation. "Lundy was the one who broke the window
of your schoolhouse, Miss Huddleston. He felt badly about
it, even though it was an accident, so he came here to
offer his help. I think it was a very brave thing he did,
owning up to it like that." Christy looked in disbelief
at Lundy, who was kicking around dirt with the toe of
his shoe, and then looked questioning at Miss Alice.
"Lundy here offered to help me patch up the garden
fence. I could have done it I suppose, but it is nice
having an extra pair of hands around." She smiled
at Lundy.  

"Ya see, I was trying ta git me a squirrel
fer dinner and all, and I guess I jist don't know ma own
strength." He smiled feebly. "I'm awfully sorry Miz
Christy. I didn't mean ya no harm. Honest. Ya ain't
mad, is ya?" 

"No Lundy, I'm not mad. You did the
right thing telling us what you did. And you're sure
you aren't feeling badly about something else too?"

"No Miz Christy. It were just that." She nodded. So, if
Lundy isn't responsible for the schoolhouse and Neil's
cabin, who could it be? Her thoughts turned once again
to David and her heart sank. Lundy seemed sincere enough
that she believed he was the one who broke the window,
but that he didn't destroy the school and the cabin.

"Uh, Lundy, since thee has helped me more than enough to
make up for the window, won't thee join us for dinner?"

"Oh, no thank ya. My pa don't know I'm here, and I
best be gettin back before he be realizin I'm gone. He
ain't really too fond of the Mission. But..but it were
mighty nice of ya ta offer!" He grabbed his hat that had
been hanging on a nearby fence post and was gone before
Christy or Alice could say another word.  Christy watched
Lundy's awkward figure scramble through the trees, and
then looked back to Miss Alice. "It certainly has been
an odd day...!" Her voice grew serious. "Miss Alice,
someone completely ruined Neil's cabin. Things were
broken, everything was on the floor...it was a mess. I
thought whoever wrecked my schoolhouse might have wrecked
Neil's cabin... but I thought Lundy was responsible
for both. But now...I don't believe he did. So now I
don't know what to believe." 

"Does thee have any
idea who else it might be?" 

Even though her head screamed
David! at her, she silently shook her head no.

====================

==================== Chapter 12 ==================== 
Last
Chapter Synopsis: When Christy arrives back at the Mission,
she learns that Lundy was the one who threw the rock trough
the window of the schoolhouse accidentally. He felt guilty
for the incident, so he offered to help Miss Alice patch
the garden fence. But when Christy asks if he did anything
else, he vehemently says no. Christy disappointedly
realizes it must be David then...  
====================

That night at dinner, Christy did her best to hide her
suspicion of David. She had expected him to still be in
Lufty Branch, but there he was, sitting at the kitchen
table when she and Miss Alice had walked in. She knew
she shouldn't suspect him, but it just made sense. She
had turned him down when he proposed, again. That was
sure to make him made. Then, he had "gone back to his
bunkhouse" right when the school was being destroyed. To
top it off, he had gone to Lufty Branch a day early,
giving him easy access to Neil's cabin. Although Lundy
admitted to having thrown the rock, that didn't make her
doubt David any less. She could barely believe he could be
capable of doing such ghastly things. She didn't want to
believe it... 

As everyone began to finish dinner, Christy
noticed David began to fidget in his seat and seemed more
nervous than usual. After a few minutes, he stood up rather
quickly, almost knocking his chair over. "Christy, could
I talk to you for a minute? Outside?" "Of course
David." They headed outside and were greeted by the
spring air that had not quite warmed yet. Just like when
she had been talking to Neil, Christy ran her hands up
and down her arms to ward off the chill that threatened
to set in.  

"Christy," David started. He stepped
towards her and awkwardly took her hand. Her mind raced
as she thought of a way to pull away, but then thought
better of it. She let her hand rest in his knowing that
pulling away would only hurt him more.  "Christy, I
just wanted to apologize. I've been very rude to you
lately. I was so hurt that you rejected my proposal,
that I let my emotions get the best of me." He lowered
his head. "I'm sorry Christy, I never meant to hurt
you." 

Sympathy welled in her, and she smiled softly at
him. She reached up and lightly touched his face. All her
suspicions seemed ridiculous now. She knew he would never
hurt her. "David, I need to tell you something. I know it
was a stupid and mean thing to think, but I thought maybe
you were the one who destroyed the school. After finding
the piece of your shirt in there...and then you leaving
early for Lufty Branch...I just let my imagination run
away with me. I'm sorry." 

"I'm confused, how does
my leaving a day early for Lufty Branch make you think
I wrecked the school?" 

"No, not the school. Neil's
cabin was destroyed today, and I just didn't know why
you would be going to Lufty Branch a day early...so I
thought maybe you were responsible, and just used Lufty
Branch as an excuse." She could see the anger flaring in
his eyes as she spoke. "But when I thought about it,"
she added hastily, "I knew you would never hurt me like
that, you couldn't. I trust you, and I knew in my heart
you would never do something to hurtful." 

"That still
hurts me that you would even think I could be capable of
such horrible things." 

"But I knew in my heart you
couldn't be! You know me, my thoughts get the best of me
sometimes, and I think too much for my own good. I'm
sorry, David. It was a foolish thing to think. But
I just thought I should be honest with you." 

"I
guess I should thank you for that, as much as I didn't
want to hear what you said. I want you to know that you
can always come to me, always. No matter what happens
between us, we're friends first and foremost." Still
holding on to her hand, he pulled her slightly towards
him. Before she could react, he lowered his head to hers
and kissed her.  Fleetingly swept up in the moment, it
took Christy a second to break away. "David..." she
put her hand on his chest, as if the action would stop any
further attempts to kiss her.  

"I'm sorry Christy,
I just love you so much. I know you're the one I'm
supposed to be with, I can feel it in my heart. I know
you are confused by whatever it is you think you feel
for MacNeill, but that's not real. This is real." He
motioned back and forth between them. "This is solid
and reliable and true. Can't you feel that? Because
I can." He stepped toward her to kiss her again.

"David, no. Please. This is neither the time nor the
place for that. And please leave Neil out of this. It's
not fair to talk about someone who's not here to defend
themselves." 

"Fine. But know this. I love you Christy
Huddleston, I love you with all of my heart. We're meant
to be together, I know that, I can feel it. You don't
love MacNeill." He held up his hand as she started to
protest. "You don't. How could you? He's not good
for you Christy. But I am. And we're good for each
other. Just think about that. You don't have to say
anything. I just want you to think about that, about how
good we are for each other. How we make sense for each
other. All right? Just think about that." With that, he
gave her a quick kiss, and took off towards his bunkhouse.

Christy walked back into the Mission, closed the door
behind her, and then leaned against it. Thankfully, it
appeared that everyone was occupied with other things,
so no one was there to interrupt her as she headed up to
her room. Her mind was spinning! She didn't love David,
at least in that way...at least she didn't think. What
he said made so much sense! She thought she knew what
she felt for both men, but now David's words rung in
her head.  Perhaps she was mistaking her feelings for
Neil for love. David did seem like the wiser choice for a
husband, after all. And what if what she felt for Neil was
simply a girlish crush that would fade with time? Would he
really be able to provide a home for her, for their future
family? She wasn't so sure now. She thought she loved
him, but what if David was right. David was so steady and
sure, and he was older. He seemed completely certain that
they were meant to be together. Was he seeing something
Christy didn't? She didn't know anymore.  

She slowly
climbed the steps to her bedroom. Once there, she began
to methodically get ready for bed. She went through each
action perfectly without even realizing she was doing
them; her mind was too consumed with thoughts of David and
Neil spinning around and around.  After changing into her
nightgown, she began to take the pins out of her hair one
by one. Soon, her long hair was falling in waves down her
back. Usually she brushed her hair before she went to bed,
but she had too much on her mind tonight. She crawled under
the covers and turned off the lamp on her side table. As
she lay in bed, she closed her eyes and tried to quiet
the thoughts that threatened to spin right out of her
head. She had woken up that morning sure of her love for
Neil and excited about her future with him. Now nothing
was certain...

==================== Chapter 13 ====================
Last
Chapter Synopsis: David and Christy have a heart-to-heart
in which he explains how perfect they are for each
other. He tells her that what she feels for MacNeill
isn't real, but that what they share is. Later that
night, his words ring in her head, and she questions
what she feels for Neil. Perhaps it is just a crush...

==================== 

Christy's aching muscles the next
morning painfully reminded her she hadn't slept well
the night before. Sliding out from under the covers to sit
on the edge of the bed, Christy rubbed her sore shoulders
and neck. This should make sitting through service easier,
she moaned inwardly. She had tossed and turned all night,
something extremely rare for her, usually she fell right
asleep. Christy stood up and stretched, hoping to loosen
some of her tight muscles. 

After dressing in one of her
favorite Sunday dresses, she headed downstairs. Even though
she hadn't slept very much the night before, she still
somehow managed to get a late start. Quickly drinking
a glass of white, creamy milk, she headed out the door
to church.  

Most of the families were seated by the time
Christy walked in the Church doors. She quietly walked
over and seated herself next to Miss Alice who seemed
deep in thought. As David began the service, Christy's
mind, too, wandered miles away. The questions from the
previous night still hung in her mind, and the doubts that
David had mentioned still brought an uneasy ache to her
heart. Christy only came back to the present when she felt
her elbow tugged up by Miss Alice; everyone else had stood
and was beginning a hymn. Christy scrambled to her feet
and joined in, doing her best to avoid David's gaze.

As the service ended and the families filed outside,
David caught Christy's arm on her way out. "So what
did you think of my sermon today?" He winked at her, as
her cheeks grew hot.  "I...thought it was...well-put,"
she stammered out. She wasn't sure if he was teasing her
because there was something in the sermon he had written
for her, or because she hadn't been paying attention to
it. Either way, she decided to change the subject. "Do
you need anything at Neil's...er...Dr. MacNeill's? I
have to head over there because I forgot my sketchbook."

David's eyes momentarily clouded over, but then cleared
just as quickly. "No, I'm fine. Do you want me to
come with you though? I have nothing to do this afternoon,
and maybe on the way there we could stop for a picnic or
something. It might be a nice change for us. We haven't
really spent much time together recently." 

"That's
all right David, I'm just heading over there really
quickly. I know Dr. MacNeill had house calls to make
today anyway. I just want to grab my sketchbook and head
back so I can work on my lesson plans for the rest of the
week. I usually have them done a week ahead of time, but
I've just had a lot on my mind these past few days."
She smiled up at him. "But how about we have lunch
before I leave? I didn't eat breakfast before I came
over, and I am a little hungry." 

David's face lit
up at the suggestion.  "I would be honored to share a
meal with you." He held out his arm to her and she took
it willingly.  Christy was thankful that no one was left
in the churchyard because she didn't want any rumors
spreading. She had had her fill of them, especially after
the John Spencer incident. Not that there would probably
be any rumors with David...most people think we're going
to get married eventually anyway. She had to admit to
herself, though, that the person she didn't want rumors
spreading to was Neil.  

As they headed back to the Mission,
they chatted lightly about this subject and that. Christy
tried to steer away from Neil and keep the conversation
on a more upbeat note. She mentioned some of her plans
for the end of the school year and talked merrily about
possibly traveling to Ashville soon to visit her parents.

When they got back to the Mission, Christy started to
look around for something to make for lunch. David came
up behind her and gently captured her waist. "You let
me take care of that. If I can't take you out to a fine
meal in a fancy restaurant, the least I can do is cook
for you." 

"Alright David Grantland, let me see what
you have up your sleeves! I'll go in the living room,
and you come get me when lunch is ready. I won't peek,
promise." David shooed her into the living room and then
proceeded to make the best lunch he could. It had seemed
like a good idea at the time, to offer to make Christy
lunch, but in his haste to be romantic he had forgotten
that he really knew how to make very few things. As he
fumbled around the kitchen, Christy sat in the living
room wondering what she was in store for.  After a half
hour or so, David came to get her, sporting an embarrassed
grin. When they entered the kitchen, Christy saw David had
done little more than make sandwiches. He sheepishly looked
from the plate to Christy. "Guess I'm not the master
chef I thought I was..." 

Christy laughed and sat down at
the table. "This is perfect David, really. I need to be
getting to Neil's soon anyway so that I can get home at
a decent hour. I didn't sleep well at all last night, so
I'm hoping I can catch a few extra hours tonight." As
soon as she said it, she realized her mistake. She hoped
David wouldn't connect her lack of sleep to their talk
the previous night. Fortunately, he seemed not to notice.

The conversation flowed easily between them as they
finished up their sandwiches. Christy touched his arm
lightly. "You're right David, we hadn't really talked
in a while. This was really nice." 

"I'm glad you
enjoyed it. We'll have to do it again soon." 

"I'd
like that. But right now I should go get my sketchbook
back. Would you mind cleaning up for me? I know you
slaved over a hot stove to make this lunch, but I really
should get going." He jokingly swatted at her with his
hand. "You best get moving fast now, after that!"

Christy laughed. "Thanks David. Lunch was great. And the
company wasn't bad either." She bent over, gave him
a quick kiss on the cheek, and then headed out the door.
As she rode to Neil's, her mind kept circling around
the mess she found herself in with David and Neil. One
minute she would think one thing, and then the next she'd
change her mind. I guess it's good I'm going to see
Neil today. Maybe actually seeing him will tell me one
way or the other who I want to be with. There her train of
thought suddenly stopped. You can't be with Neil...you
seem to have forgotten that. That thought lay heavy in
Christy's mind. Here she had been thinking she had a
choice between two men. But in actuality, there was only
one man she could be with. Maybe it's for the best...
she thought. Maybe this is God's way of telling me that
David really is the one for me.  

Soon Neil's cabin came
into sight. As much as she wanted to stay and talk to him
about what had happened with David, she knew she should
get back to finish her lesson plans. Well, maybe I could
stay for a little while. It would really be nice to be
able to talk things over with him...because I just think
I'm too tangled up in this to make sense of anything by
myself right now.  She pulled Prince up to Neil's porch
and hopped off, then carefully tied him to one of the
posts. Her mind whirled as she thought up how she wanted
to broach the subject of David with him. It was an already
touchy subject, considering what had happened with the
schoolhouse and Neil's cabin, but Christy felt he had a
right to know.  She walked up the stairs to Neil's door
and knocked, but there was no answer. Waiting for a few
seconds, she knocked again, thinking maybe he was in his
laboratory. When there was still no answer, Christy weighed
her options; come back another day or go in and take the
book now. She decided to go in and grab the sketchbook off
the table, even though she felt rude going into Neil's
cabin without permission. She was there already, and surely
Neil wouldn't begrudge her wanting her sketchbook back.

Cautiously opening the door a crack, she called his name,
but was greeted only by silence. Stepping into his cabin,
she spied the sketchbook on the table. But before she
could make her way over to the table, something caught
her eye. There, lying in a crumpled heap on the floor,
was Neil's lifeless body.

==================== Chapter 14 ====================
Last Chapter Synopsis: Christy and David share a
fun lunch together and then she heads off to Neil's
to pick up her sketchbook and come back. On the way
there, she thinks over the love triangle she has found
herself in. When she gets to Neil's, she walks into his
cabin only to find him lying lifelessly on the floor...
==================== 

Christy rushed over to Neil's still
body. There was blood caked on the floor, and Neil's
unruly curls were now a sickening shade of red as they lay
matted to his head.  

"Neil!" 

No response. 

"Oh Neil,no..." 

Instinctively, she put her ear down beside by his
mouth. She sighed and sat back up; at least he was still
breathing.  Christy ran her hands over his body to see if
there were any other injuries besides the nasty gash on the
back of his head. She wasn't exactly sure what she was
looking for, or how to even look really, she had only seen
Neil do this same thing on a few patients. Thankfully, he
didn't appear to be hurt anywhere else, but what worried
Christy is that he lay motionless the entire time she
checked him over. He didn't make a sound or wince once.

She did her best to calm herself down. Everything fiber of
her being was telling her to panic, but she knew she would
be no good to him if she was a wreck. She spoke out loud
to herself hoping her voice would break the eerie silence
of the cabin. "Ok, Christy, think think. What would
Neil do?" 

She spotted a rag hanging over the edge of a
blue washbasin. She grabbed it so quickly that it wobbled
dangerously on its edge. As she stilled it with her hand,
she dipped the rag into the water sloshing around in it.
Holding her hand under the rag so she didn't drip all
over the floor, she rushed to Neil's side. As gently
as she could, she wiped some of the blood that had left
streaks on his face. "Neil, please be Ok. Please."
She had no idea how long he had been like this or what
had happened to him. Nothing seemed to be missing, so
she doubted it was a robbery. Did he trip? She looked
around for anything he might have fallen over, but found
nothing. His floor was cluttered with mess from the day
before, but it was nothing Neil wouldn't have seen
when walking. Unless... 

Christy sat back on her heels in
realization and fear. Whoever had ruined this cabin had
come back and had attacked Neil. Her eyes slowly scanned
the room, frighteningly conscious of every movement
or sound she heard. After scarcely breathing for what
seemed like forever, the only sound she heard was the
pounding of her own heart. Whoever it was must have left.

"Neil, please wake up" she whispered urgently to
him. "You need to wake up, we have to get out of here."
Neil still didn't stir. "Oh Neil..." Tears came to
her eyes as she looked down at the unmoving form next to
her. She gently picked his head up and rested it in her
lap, but was careful not to move him too much. Noticing
that the wet rag was now a sickening shade of red, she
tossed it aside in frustration.  As she tried to brush
the blood-matted curls out of Neil's eyes, her mind
raced. She already knew it wasn't Lundy or David,
so who else could do such a heinous thing? She doubted
anyone in the Cove hated Neil enough to do something like
this. It was horrible enough that they had destroyed his
cabin, but to come back and attack him? It didn't make
sense. And how did all this tie to the school? All she had
was questions, and no answers.  

-----------------------
Later that evening, Christy was standing by Neil's stove
cooking dinner. She had tried to clean up his cabin as best
she could. The less he had to deal with when he awoke the
better. If he wakes up, she reminded herself. She wasn't
a doctor. She had no way of knowing how massive the damage
was, or what could be done to help him pull through. All
she could do was wait. The thought was too sobering.

Christy absently stirred the beans she was cooking. She
couldn't leave Neil here by himself; so going for help
was out of the question. It could be days before someone
happened upon his cabin, and by then, it could be too late.
David! Suddenly Christy realized she had told David where
she was going. Perhaps he would get worried when she
didn't return as soon as promised and would come looking
for her. Or if he didn't come tonight, surely he would
come tomorrow when she didn't come to school. He would
get worried and come for her. He had to...he just had to.

She finished cooking dinner and sat down at the table to
eat. Every few minutes she kept glancing over her shoulder
at Neil to make sure he was all right. She knew he needed
to eat too, but she didn't know how to feed him in the
state he was in. After finishing supper, she rinsed and
dried the plate, and then put it back in his cabinet. Never
had she felt so alone or helpless in her life.  Sighing,
she pulled one of Neil's kitchen chairs over beside him
and laid it down on its side. She sat down with her back
against the legs and tried to make herself comfortable, to
no avail. Instead, she stood up and headed up to Neil's
bedroom. She grabbed a pillow off of Neil's bed and
was about to head back downstairs when she caught her
reflection in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled and there
was a ghastly streak of blood on her cheek. Dipping her
hand into the washbasin by Neil's bed, she did her best
to wash her face. When the blood didn't come off right
away, Christy began scrubbing her face fervently. Her whole
face soon became red with irritation, but the hideous mark
would not come off completely. Becoming increasingly upset,
she scrubbed her face raw trying to erase the reminder
of Neil's attack.  Soon tears were pouring down her
face and sat down brokenly on Neil's bed. This was all
too much for her to handle. She was just one person, how
could she deal with all this in the span of only a few
days? And how could she just sit by and let the man she
loved slip away from her? She covered her face with her
hands, but winced when she touched her cheek, which only
made her cry harder. She was helpless here and there was
nothing she could do about it. Sobs wracked her chest
and she threw herself down onto Neil's bed. She was
used to being someone who could handle anything. She was
a fighter and never let anything crush her spirit. But
whoever was doing this was winning. They were taking away
from her everything she cared about, everything she and
Neil cared about.  

Soon the sobs began to subside and she
sat up again. She wiped her face and eyes and struggled to
return her breathing to normal. Standing up again firmly,
she clutched the pillow to her chest and headed bravely
back downstairs. It was going to be a long night. She
wanted to stay up all night, to keep watch over Neil and
to make sure whoever it was didn't come back and do any
more damage. But knowing how little sleep she got the night
before, she knew it would be almost impossible for her to
stay awake.  Settling the pillow against the chair, she
again sat back against it. It wasn't the most comfortable
thing, even with the pillow, but it would do. She gently
lifted Neil's head and placed it in her lap, and lovingly
traced the outline of his face with her finger.  Wait...the
man I love? Her thoughts of previous moments came back to
her. She had said that, hadn't she? Her mother had always
said 'it's when you're thinking least that you think
the best', but she had never believed her.  Looking down
at him, she knew she had loved him all along. I guess
there's nothing to be confused about after all. I love
Neil. Her conversation with David last night had made her
question her feelings, it was true, but only because what
he had said made sense. Her heart hadn't led her astray,
her head had. I never thought I'd utter that phrase "my
mother was right." What is this world coming to?? She
smiled slightly to herself.  Taking a deep breath, she
readied herself for the long night ahead. Settling herself
further down into Neil's pillow, she caught a whiff of
tobacco and lye soap. She did love him, so much, and she
couldn't imagine her life without him.

==================== Chapter 15 ==================== 
Last
Chapter Synopsis: Christy realizes whoever ruined Neil's
cabin had come back to attack Neil.  Even though she knew
she and Neil had to get out of there, she couldn't go for
help because she couldn't leave him alone.  So she settled
down for the night with his head in her lap to make sure
they stayed safe.  As she sat there, she realized that
David's words rang true only because they made sense.
She could convince her head that she should be with him,
but she couldn't convince her heart.  Neil was her love.
====================

Christy opened her eyes the next morning and was seized by
a momentary panic.  Where was she?  She didn't recognize
anything…  And ow!  Something was digging into her back.
Looking behind her, she saw the overturned chair she
had used to sleep on the night before.  All of a sudden
everything came rushing back to her.  Neil was…and she had…



She looked down in her lap but was frightened to find
it empty.  Neil!   Her eyes frantically searched the room
for him.  She spotted him sitting at the table and breathed
an immense sigh of relief.



"Neil! Oh Neil…"



Startled by her voice, he started to quickly turn towards
her when he suddenly shut his eyes and put his head in
his hands.



"What's wrong, what's wrong?" she asked as she rushed to
his side.



One hand still on his head, he slowly turned to look at
her through half-closed eyes.  "Ow."



"Oh my poor Neil" she knelt beside him and gently touched
his arm.  "I'm sorry you're in so much pain, but I'm so
glad you're awake."  She smiled gently at him.  "Is there
anything I could do?  Could I get you something for
the pain?"



"No, I don't want to take anything yet, I want to give
the concussion a chance to wear off, so to speak, before
I take anything.  How long was I out?"



"I don't know, I came yesterday afternoon to find you
laying on the floor.  I was so scared that whoever did it
would come back and harm us again, but no one ever showed.
So, I stayed here last night to make sure you were safe.
I couldn't go for help because I was afraid to leave
you alone.  I…I didn't want whoever did it to come back."



"Oh yes, speaking of that, do you know who it was?  Did you
see anyone?"



"No, no one.  The cabin was empty when I got here.
But Neil…" She paused, wondering if she should share with
him what David had said.  Does it even matter now if you
tell him?  You're already sure where your heart lies.



He could read the worry in her face.  Forgetting his pain,
he swung his legs out from under the table to bring himself
face to face with her.  "What wrong Lass, tell me."



"Nothing is wrong now, I guess.  I just…  I mean, last
night…  Well David…" She fumbled over the words as she
tried to phrase her thoughts just right.



"What?  What happened?  Did David hurt you?  What did he
do to you?"



She looked up at his rugged face and saw concern and
anger flicker behind his eyes.  Even such a tiny gesture
showed her how much she loved him.  She smiled slightly
and continued.  "No no, David didn't hurt me.  That's the
thing.  We had a long conversation last night, I mean, two
nights ago, and I realized that he never would hurt me.
He wasn't the one who did all these things."   She took a
deep breath before going on.  "And he said a lot of things
that made me question my feelings for both of you.  He said
that he and I were good for each other, that we made sense
together.  And he's right, we do make sense together."



"Oh."



"But when I came here last night," she hastily continued,
"I realized that my feelings for him were just that,
logical.  I didn't care for him the way I care for you.
I couldn't see myself growing old with him or loving
him forever.  Not like I can with you."



Neil's heart leapt at her words.  A smile pricked the
corners of his mouth but then quickly faded.  "And you
know how I feel about you Christy.  I never knew I could
love someone the way I love you."



Christy cocked her head slightly in confusion.  "Then why
the serious face?"



"Because that's what brought us here in the first place.
That's why all this has happened."  Christy gave him a
puzzled look.  "Margaret did this."



Suddenly everything made sense.  The schoolhouse, Neil's
cabin, Neil…  the pieces finally fell into place.  How had
she not seen that before?   She had thought of David but
not Margaret?  She couldn't believe her stupidity.



"You know, you're right.  I don't know how I didn't think
of it before."



"I was thinking about it this morning when you were still
sleeping and for some reason I just knew it was her.
We were the only two targets.  The only things ruined
were things that meant a lot to us.  And I just knew in
the bottom of my soul that she was behind it."



"But what I don't understand is why.  What have we done
that was so bad that she would do this to us?"



"My guess is she figured out my feelings for you when I
chased you to the schoolhouse.  Margaret has always been
more astute than I've given her credit for…  Not that she'd
have to be very astute to figure that part out."  He cast
a half smile in her direction.  "She must hate you, hate
both of us, for ruining the life she now thinks she wants.
She abandoned this life years ago because she wanted to
live out an adventure.  When she realized that adventure
had left her cold, hungry, and alone, she wanted to come
back and act as if nothing had changed.  But it had.
You had come."



"And she thinks I stole her life?"



"Well, in a way you did.  You became like a daughter
to Alice, and the two of you formed the relationship
Margaret never had.  You also learned to love this Cove.
Margaret never learned how to do that.  But I guess what
angered her the most was that I had come to love you.
And I love you in a way that I had never loved her.
And she knew all this.  You were the person she had always
wanted to be but didn't have the strength to be.  When she
came back this last time hoping to pick up her life where
she left off, she saw that you had the life she wanted.
It wasn't your fault, of course.  Margaret was too spoiled
and too selfish to have ever lived that life, even if
she thought she wanted it.  She was mad at you because
you could be happy here when she couldn't.  You were able
to make a life here, and she wasn't.  And for that, she
hates you.  But you have to understand that the life she
thought she wanted wasn't the life she would have had.
She never would have been happy here because all she
thought about was herself."


"Oh Mac, you always did know how to flatter me…"

==================== Chapter 16 ==================== 
Last
Chapter Synopsis: Christy awakes to find Neil awake, but
in pain from the head injury.  She tells him about her
conversation with David the previous night, but that her
heart lies with him.  He tells her he's figured out who
has been doing everything.  As he's elaborating on his
theory of why Margaret is behind everything, she steps
through the front door...  ====================

"What, no rousing ‘welcome home' for me?  I'm insulted
Mac."



Neil and Christy could only stare at the figure in the
doorway.



"Oh, don't look so surprised.  I knew it was only a matter
of time before you figured it out.  Although to be honest,
I thought you would have figured it out way before this."
She shrugged.  "Oh well, doesn't make a difference to me.
I'm not on a certain schedule."



Margaret looked at Christy, still crouched down next to
Neil.  "What's the matter teacher?  Cat got your tongue?"



"No…I…I'm just surprised to see you here.  I thought you
were going to Atlanta."



"Well, I was, but things change.  I thought to myself,
‘what could be more fun than getting even with Mac and
the Teacher for ruining your life?'  And the answer was
nothing!"  She smiled so wickedly it made Christy cringe.
She looked back and forth between them as she continued.
"So, here I am.  I'm here to get back at you, at both of
you, for taking away from me what was mine.  It was MINE!"
Now she looked directly at Christy.  "You had no right to
just waltz in here and take everything from me.  This was
the life I was supposed to be living, not you!"



"I'm sorry Margaret.  I never meant to offend you or to
make you think I took your life.  I came here to teach,
to make a difference in children's lives, not to…"



"Oh spare me!" she spat out.  "I don't want to hear your
excuses!  You stole my husband, my mother!  You STOLE
them from me!"  Margaret's tone had reached a high pitched
scream now.  "YOU'RE the one who told me to come back and
fight for him!  YOU'RE the one who convinced me to stay!
And for WHAT?  So you could torture me?  So that I would
come back here and see YOU living the life I wanted?
Is that why you did it?"



Neil cast a questioning glance at Christy, but before
Christy could react, Margaret had crossed the room towards
her.  Using all of her force, Margaret slapped Christy so
hard across the face that it sent her sprawling backwards
onto the floor.



With lightening fast reflexes, Neil sprung up and grabbed
Margaret by the wrist.  He had never been angrier, never
had he had this much rage inside him.  Margaret saw hatred
and desperation in his eyes and momentarily lost her nerve.
However, she quickly regained her composure and pulled
her other hand out from behind her back.



Still sprawled on the floor, Christy heard the click of
the hammer before she saw anything.



"Let go of me now" Margaret demanded menacingly, pointing
the gun at Neil's chest.



Neil let go of Margaret's wrist, but didn't move.
He still stood protectively in front of Christy who
still sat bewildered on the floor.  "Margaret, please,
you don't want to do this.  This won't solve anything."
He tried to keep his voice calm but a tremor escaped.



A smiled curled onto Margaret's lips at the sound of his
fear.  She looked him straight in the eye.  "You should be
afraid Neil."  She tried to move past him to get a better
shot at Christy, but Neil decisively stepped in her path.



"No Margaret, I won't let you do it.  Christy and I
haven't done anything that you would need to hurt either
of us over."



Margaret's eyes flared, and Neil knew immediately it was
the wrong thing to say.  He wanted to get her off the
topic of his relationship with Christy, not onto it.



"You know Mac, I don't want to hurt you.  I didn't even
want to have to hurt her.  But you leave me no choice."



"No Margaret!"  Neil screamed and lunged at the gun, but
she was too fast for him.  Taking a step back, she aimed
at Neil and pulled the trigger.



Luckily, she had never fired a gun before and was
unprepared for the force that accompanied the shot.  She
was jerked backwards in response, making her lose her aim
on Neil's chest. The bullet hit Neil in the shoulder before
shattering his kitchen window on its exit.  He grasped his
bleeding arm as blood gushed out from between his fingers.



Christy screamed and covered her mouth with her hand.
She shut her eyes at the sight of Neil slinking slowly to
the floor in pain.



Recovering from the first shot, Margaret steadied herself
for her next shot and aimed the gun directly at Christy.



"Wait!  Margaret wait!  Listen!" came Christy's desperate
plea as she struggled to stand up.  "Please don't do this
here.  If you care for your husband at all, please don't do
this here, spare him the details.  I will come with you.
We can go away, leave this cabin.  That's what you want,
isn't it?  Me out of the way?  Here or there, I'm out of
your life, but at least don't do it in front of him, give
him that much.  Look, I'm offering myself to you without
a fight…provided you don't hurt him anymore."



"Aww, how touching.  The teacher is willing to sacrifice
herself to save her beloved Doctor."  She rolled her eyes.
"But you do make a point.  Neil's suffered enough…for
now at least.  I do have some humanity in me, you know."
Christy shook her head earnestly in agreement.  "All right,
let's go."



"No!  Margaret, Christy!  No!"  He grabbed Christy's hand
and pulled her down towards him.  He was growing paler and
weaker with each minute that passed, and she only hoped
when they had gone he would be able to tend to his wound.
He was in no condition to fight off Margaret anymore, and
she knew that.  She was their only hope.



Taking his face gently in her hands, she whispered softly
to him, "Everything happens for a reason Neil, you'll see.
And this isn't your fault.  Please don't feel guilty for
letting me go.  I made this choice on my own.  She will
probably kill me either way, but this way I knew at least
one of us would be OK.  So you hold on for me, Neil, all
right?  You hold on and you be strong even if I can't be."
Tears threatened to spill over her stoic face, but she
forced them back.  If she was asking him to be strong, she
had to be strong too.  Her eyes told him she yearned to
say more, but he knew what was in her heart.  She mouthed
the words "I love you" to him and stood up with her back
to him.



"Oh goody, you're done with your sentimental mush now?
How delightful."  She pointed the gun at Christy's rapidly
rising and falling chest.  "I'm sorry it had to happen
this way Mac, I really am."



Neil tried to stand up, but his energy was gone.
He stumbled and collapsed back on to the floor before
could get more than halfway up.  Seeing Neil's struggle
only seem to gratify Margaret and her eyes danced as she
smiled her wicked smile again.  She turned her attention
back to Christy.  "Ok, Teach, let's go."


Margaret directed her out the front door.  Casting one
last fleeting look at Neil, Christy stepped out onto the
porch as Margaret closed the door behind them.

==================== Chapter  17==================== 
Last Chapter Synopsis:  Margaret
reveals that her reason for coming back and doing what
she did was because Christy stole her life.  She claimed
she didn't want to have to hurt them, but that she was
left no choice.  When Neil doesn't move out of the way,
Margaret produces a gun and shoots Neil in the shoulder.
To stop her from hurting him anymore, Christy agrees to
go with Margaret, away from the cabin, to spare Neil the
images of her death.  ====================

Glancing at the sun high on the horizon, David's mind
wandered away from the Bible lesson he was teaching the
students.  Christy hadn't returned the previous night from
her trip to Doctor MacNeill's, and David was growing more
and more concerned.



"Rightly say Preacher, you's be starin at the sunball like
you done forgot you's supposed to be teachin us!  You be
thinkin bout Miz Christy?  We'uns shore hope she ain't
so vexed with us that it made her stay away from school."
Little Burl's statement brought David back to the present.



"You're right Burl, my mind had wandered.  And no, Miss
Huddleston isn't mad at you.  She just had a few things to
tend to today."  He smiled down at the chubby-faced boy in
front of him.  "But, since it's such a beautiful afternoon,
why don't I let you guys go home early?  Would you like
that?"  Heads nodded eagerly.  "But you do have homework!"
Smiles sagged and shoulders drooped at the announcement.
"Your homework is…" he paused and looked around the room
at the not-so-anxious faces, "TO HAVE FUN!"  The children
shouted at the news and rushed from the schoolhouse.



David's smile disappeared instantly as the last child
bounded down the steps.  He had tried to remain upbeat for
their sake, but inside, he was a nervous wreck.  He had no
idea what had happened to Christy, but he had a feeling
it wasn't good.  He still didn't trust the Doctor around
her, and the sooner she was home where he could see her
the better.



Picking up his hat from the hat rack on the wall
and placing it on his head, he set out for the barn.
He saddled Theo and hopped on so quickly that the old mule
balked slightly in protest. Ignoring the objection, David
sped away from the school.  Theo was not the animal to be
riding when you wanted to get somewhere in a hurry, but
Christy had taken Prince the night before, so David had
no choice but to take Theo or walk.  David urged the old
mule on as fast as he could, but to David it still seemed
like he was crawling along.



As he rode closer to the cabin, his mind played over the
possible reasons Christy had for not returning home last
night.  As much as David tried to convince himself Neil
could not be the reason Christy didn't return last night,
his thoughts kept coming back to that.  He inwardly seethed
when he thought about Christy with another man just hours
after he had professed his love to her the way he did.



Well, David, you didn't so much try to woo her as to
reason with her.  Way to go.  That's not at all romantic.
He inwardly kicked himself for his scientific and
practical appeal to her emotions.  Knowing the person
Christy was, she was not going to be swayed by a persuasive
argument.  I'll do better tonight, he thought to himself.
Once Christy is safe with me again, I'll show to her how
much she means to me.  Now if only MacNeill hasn't already
filled her head with unrealistic fantasies…



Theo's hooves beat into the soft ground beneath them making
a rhythmic beat that would have been soothing under other
circumstances.  Soon, Neil's cabin came into plain sight.
Tied up to his front post was Prince, who neighed slightly
at David's approach.  He patted the horse on the neck
and then tied Theo up beside him.  He looked around the
outside of the cabin.  Nothing seemed to be awry.



David took the steps three at a time.  He knocked on the
door, but heard no response.  He knocked again only to be
answered by the same deafening silence.  As he turned to
go, he thought he heard a slight shuffle inside.



"MacNeill? Christy?"



Only silence again.



Fearing Christy might be hurt, he shoved open the door so
quickly that it hit against Neil's wall with a loud thud.
A very bloody and beaten Neil was lying nearly unconscious
next to the door.



David bent down to him.  "Where is she Neil?  Where's
Christy?  Is she OK?"



"Your…your sympathy is…touching Grantland…"



David realized his inconsiderateness.  "I'm sorry.
Man…" he looked at the wound in Neil's shoulder.
"That looks like what happened to me.  You remember?
Oh…well, of course you do…  man…"  David had never been
good in crisis situations.  It always seemed he said the
wrong thing.  "Um…I…here…!!"  David began to take off
his vest to use as a compress, but in his haste his arm
got stuck.  Neil tried to laugh, but the searing pain in
his shoulder quickly banished any humor in the situation.



Finally freeing himself, David balled up the vest and
held it against Neil's shoulder.  As he did that, he
noticed the blood streaked down Neil's face as well.
"What happened to you?  Who did this?"



"Margaret…did this…" his breathing was labored.



Genuine concern for Neil registered in David's eyes and
then he asked "Where's Christy?"



Neil's whole face suddenly clouded over.  "Margaret took
her…I don't know where…"



David stood up, unsure of what to do next.  Should he go
after the woman that he loved or should he help Neil while
he was here now?  His mind raced.



Neil saw the confusion flashing through David's mind.
"Get me that brown…bottle second from the right…and that
clear one…next to it on…the right and that…small kit
right there." he ordered.  David complied.  "And get me
that rag."  Neil motioned to the bloody rag Christy had
used the night before David stooped down to retrieve the
rag and then handed it to him.  "Now go."



David stayed rooted to his spot unsure if leaving Neil in
this condition was the right thing to do.



"Really, David…go find her.  This is…all I need…really.
I have…something for…the pain…and something to…close the
wound."  He shifted his weight slightly and he cringed
in pain.  David was still simply staring at him.



"This is…the woman of…our dreams…  You have to…find
her…  Go."



David made a move towards the door.  "You're sure?"



"Yes.  Now go."



Once outside, David raced to Theo and then stopped.
Since Margaret didn't have a horse, it was probably
smartest to go after them on foot.



After pausing a moment to search for footprints, he set
out heading away from Neil's cabin.  He weaved his way
the thick woods, doing his best to follow the tracks.
Fortunately it had drizzled that morning and the ground
was still moist, ripe for footprints.



Although he lost the trail in a few places in the dense
underbrush, he was almost positive he was going in the
right direction as he headed towards Look Rock.  He was
rewarded when he heard Margaret's voice drift through
the foliage.



Suddenly realizing it was best to stay hidden, David shrank
back behind a large rhododendron bush, but it was too late.



"David, come here" Margaret's voice called.  David stepped
out from the shadows to find Margaret pointing a gun at a
frightened Christy.  Margaret had her hand over Christy's
mouth, but Christy's eyes registered the surprise and
relief at seeing David there.



"Jeez David, I've been waiting for you.  It's about time
you showed up."


==================== Chapter 18==================== 
Last Chapter Synopsis: David, worried
about Christy, rides over to Neil's in search of her.
He finds a bloody and nearly unconscious Neil who tells him
what Margaret did.  Neil convinces David to go find Christy
and bring her home.  David follows their trail to Look
Rock where he finds Margaret pointing a gun at Christy.
====================

David blinked in confusion.  " Waiting for me?  How could
you have been waiting for me? "



Margaret shrugged.  "I figured you 'd come looking for
her sooner or later.  You're not as dumb as you look."



David looked offended.  He started to protest, but decided
that this wasn't the time to argue.  Not when Margaret
was standing so dangerously close to the edge of Look Rock
pointing a gun at the woman he loved.  "Margaret..."
he started, as he took a step towards them, "please,
let's think this through.  Don't do anything rash
that you'll regret later."  He stayed focused on
Margaret's face, fearing he'd crumble if he saw the
pain in Christy's eyes.



Margaret shrugged.  "My life is full of regrets.
At least this one will be satisfying."  She smirked.



David inconspicuously inched towards them.  If he could
just get the gun out of Margaret's hands, Christy would
have a chance to get free.  Carefully, he moved up another
few inches.



Margaret swung the gun out and pointed it at David.
"Don't think I don't see what you're doing.
Stop right there, Preacher.  I mean it."  She pressed
the gun harder into the frightened woman's chest.



"Ok, ok Margaret"  he said, taking a step backwards.



"I know you want to be the hero here, and try to rescue
your damsel in distress, but it's not going to work.
I've waited too long for my chance to get back at her."
She nodded her head in Christy's direction.



Keep her talking.  The longer she talks, the more time
you have to come up with a plan.  "Get back at her for
what, Margaret?"



Margaret's eyes danced at the question as if she had
been waiting to reveal all of Christy's misdeeds.
"You want to know what was so bad?  She stole my life
away, that's what she did!  She stole my husband away!
I bet you didn't know that about your precious Christy,
did you?  That she was in love with another man?  A married
man?"  When David didn't respond, she plunged ahead.
"And did you know that she spent the night in his cabin
last night?  That's right, she spent the night with him!
Bet she's not so holy in your eyes, huh?"  Margaret
was getting worked up now.



She began to say more, but all of a sudden she started
to cough.  Quietly at first, her coughs were soon coming
at in loud whoops.  When they were over, Margaret took
a inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath again.
A trickle of blood had formed at the corner of her mouth,
and she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.  David was
looking at her incredulously.  "What, you forgot I was
dying?" she snapped at him.



"I thought that was done.  I mean...I thought you had
gone for treatment.  It caught me off guard is all."



"Yeah, caught me off guard when the coughs came back too.
Whenever I get excited the coughs kick in.  Right before
every show I'd have a fit, it was like clockwork.
I guess it's the adrenaline, I don't know."



He nodded and glanced at Christy, who had remained silent
this whole time.  She looked pleadingly at him, but there
was nothing he could do.  Margaret still had her hand
clamped firmly across Christy's mouth, and the gun
pointed menacingly at her chest.  He couldn't try to
grab the gun for fear it would go off.



His mind raced with ways to save Christy, but kept coming
up blank.  No one else knew where they were, no one would
come find them.  And even if they did, Margaret had the
upper hand here.  Their lives all rested in her hands.
All he could do was keep her talking.



"What are you going to do with her?"



"I'm not sure yet how I want to do it.  There's a
lot of ways, and I haven't really settled on one yet.
They all seem to drab.  I want her to go out with a
BANG!"  She laughed sickeningly at her own joke.



David darted a glance in Christy's direction.  With every
minute that passed, Christy seemed to become smaller and
smaller.  All he could think about was holding her in his
arms again, protecting her, letting her know nothing would
ever hurt her again.  He felt tears prick the corners of
his eyes.  He did love her, she had to know how much by
now.  Yet, time and again MacNeill had gotten in the way...



Suddenly, David's demeanor changed.  He seemed to stand
taller, his frame stretching at least an inch.  His face no
longer held the helpless look it had in previous minutes.



He looked Margaret squarely in the eyes.  "I want
to help."



His comment startled her, but she quickly regained her
composure.  "Oh right, like I'm going to believe
that all of a sudden you want to help me kill the woman
you love.  I'm not as dumb as I look either."



"I mean it.  I was standing here, thinking about a way
to rescue her, when all of a sudden, I realized I didn't
want to.  I didn't want to save her.  You know why?
What will she do if I save her, huh?  She'll run right
to MacNeill.  He'll be the one to comfort her; he'll be
the one who gets to hold her.  So why would I want that?"



Christy's eyes went wide with betrayal and confusion
at David's words.  He longed to tell her it would be
OK, that he would save her, but he kept his gaze leveled
at Margaret.  She had to believe he would hurt Christy.



Margaret wasn't convinced and narrowed her eyes
suspiciously at him.  "What makes you think I'm going
to buy this?  I know that as soon as you get a chance to,
you're going to save her.  Then you'll be the hero
and she'll forget about Neil."



"But I can't take that chance.  Sure, she might do
what's smart and decide to be with me, but she might not.
And to be honest, I don't want to see them together.
She's supposed to be with me, I know it.  I can feel it
in my heart.  So which one would hurt more, living without
her completely, or living knowing she chose MacNeill over
me?  And you know the answer.  You shot Neil.  You wanted
to keep him away from Christy more than you wanted to be
with him yourself.  So why can't you believe I'd feel
the same way?"



"Well, I..."  She stopped, unsure of what to say next.
He seemed genuine, but she still wasn't sure he was.
"Prove it."



David seemed taken aback.  "Prove it?  How?"



Margaret thought for a minute.  "You know, I'm
really not sure.  Besides pulling the trigger yourself,
I don't really know anything you could do..." She
paused disappointedly.  "Damn."



David's eyes lit up.  "How about if I cut her hair
off?"



"Cut off her hair?  What good will that do?  That won't
hurt her."



"That's true, but it's just more humiliation.
You know Christy, she takes great pride in her hair and
cutting it off would be a huge insult to her.  So, how
about if I do that?  Would that prove to you enough that
I'm on your side?"  He could see tears forming in
the corner of Christy's eyes, but he ignored them.
To emphasize his point, he pulled out his pocketknife.



"I guess that would be enough.  And to be honest, I
can't think of anything else anyway.  I guess I used up
all of my creative juices planning this whole escapade, you
know?"  She smiled at David.  "Although wait a minute.
How are you going to help anyway?  Even if you prove
to me that you want to, what is there for you to do?
I'm perfectly capable of pulling the trigger myself."



"Well, you said you wanted to add a little more flair to
her death.  Maybe now with another set of hands you could
do something even more imaginative.  Hmm?  What do you
say?"  He daringly took a step towards them and unfolded
the blade part of his Swiss army knife.  "You can even
keep the gun trained on her the entire time I'm cutting
her hair off.  That way, you'll still have the upper
hand."  He took another step towards them, closing the
gap to mere feet.



Margaret studied David for a few seconds.  Seemingly
convinced by his words, she reached up and undid
Christy's hair.  Curls came cascading down wildly.
Margaret grabbed as much of Christy's hair in her hand
as she could and thrust her fist out towards David, jerking
Christy's head along with it.  "Go ahead" she said.



David took a deep breath and stepped towards Christy.
Tears were running in steady streams down Christy's face,
but he refused to see them.  He kept his eyes focused on
the fistful of hair Margaret was holding out towards him.



Margaret loosened her grip slightly on Christy as David
stepped up next to them.  "Here goes nothing," he said.



Looking down again, he took a small handful of Christy's
hair in his hand.  The smell of rosewater hit his nose as
it had in the first few days he had known her.  The memory
threatened to crumple his faA§ade, and it took every ounce
of willpower he had to appear unaffected.  Telling himself
she would forgive him, he began to run the blade across
the hair he held.  One by one, the curls fell to her feet.
He was doing his best to take his time and to cut as little
as possible, but with Margaret watching so closely, he
had to make it appear legitimate.



"Look at you go, Preacher man!  I didn't think you
had it in you!"



David smiled at her.  "I'm capable of a lot more than
you know."



"Ooh, this is working out so much better than I had
hoped for!"  She sounded almost gleeful.  "Just a
few more curls, and you can stop.  Then the fun part!
Figuring out how to do her in!"



"Want to see?"  David took a few steps back and
motioned for Margaret to come see his handiwork.



Margaret started to step behind Christy to see how much
hair was gone when she suddenly began to cough again.
Much harder than the first time, Margaret bent over
slightly as the coughs wracked her body.



Seeing her chance to escape, Christy started to wriggle
out of Margaret's grip.  However, she hadn't gone more
than a few inches before Margaret grabbed her hair and
yanked her backwards.  The movement was so forceful that it
caused Margaret to lose her footing on the uneven gravel.
She wobbled dangerously and her foot slipped off the edge
of the cliff.  Throwing her arms wildly into the air, she
began to tilt backwards.



In what seemed like slow motion, Margaret reached
for Christy for balance, and managed to grab onto arm.
Shock registered in Christy's eyes as she felt herself
being dragged downwards.



David reached for Christy's other hand, but even though
he was only a few inches away, he was too slow.  In horror,
he watched as Margaret and Christy disappeared over the
edge of the cliff and plummeted into the valley below.

==================== Chapter 19 ==================== 
Last
Chapter Synopsis: David tries to distract Margaret by
pretending to be on her side.  He offered to cut Christy's
hair off as proof of their new alliance.  As Margaret
begins to step around David to check out his handiwork,
her TB flares up again, and she loses her footing on the
loose gravel.  Grabbing onto Christy for balance, both
women go flying over the cliff edge.  ====================

Back at the cabin, Neil passed in and out of consciousness
even as he fought to stay awake.  When the spells finally
seemed to pass, he set out to take care of the wound in
his shoulder.  Thankfully it was a clean shot, and Margaret
missed all of the vital arteries.  It didn't make the
wound any less painful, but at least he was still alive.



Using his good arm, Neil uncorked the brown bottle and
poured some amber liquid onto the bloody rag David had
given him.  Bracing himself for the pain, Neil lifted the
rag and placed it on his injured shoulder.  The instant it
touched his wound, fire coursed down his arm.  He gritted
his teeth and tried to focus on something other than
the pain.



After a few minutes, Neil removed the rag and looked
at his shoulder.  He had stopped bleeding, so that was
good, but he still had a huge risk of infectio