A Woman's Love - Chapter One

Title: A Woman's Love
Author: Lady S
Disclaimer: Catherine Marshall's beautiful story of
Christy is owned by the Marshall-LeSourd Family,
L.L.C. We are in no way seeking profit or credit for
her story. We are continuing the story of Christy for
our own amusement only. Any additions in story line
and characters were invented by the writers of the
alt.tv.christy Round Robin and the Christy Mailing
List. The content of each story is the responsibility
of the individual writer. The fanfic here is being
posted as a service to the Christy mailing list, Pax
Christy Forum and Alt.tv.christy News Group.
Summary: A woman's love for her man is put to the
test.
Author's notes: This is the Second story in the Love
Trilogy. Enjoy!


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter One

His entire body ached with exhaustion. It had been
nearly a week since he had left the cove to hurry over
to Cataleechie. There had been an outbreak of a fever
in a small group of families that had ravaged through
them like fire in a dry forest. Six people total had
died three of them children. One family had lost both
the mother and the father, the children being taken in
by relatives a little ways away once they were
completely healed.

Thinking of how nice it would be to get home and
simply fall into bed Neil wondered if he would be
coming home to a warm cabin or a cold one. Christy
was watching Teddy, as she usually did, and there had
been a few times when he had returned from the medical
call to find the fire lit, dinner ready, cabin warm
and inviting. It was those times that he slipped into
his dreams; his own imagination that Margaret was out
of the picture and Christy was finally his wife.

It was a dream that sent him crashing back down to
reality when she left at the end of the visit.

Christy.

The thought of her made Neil smile in spite of his
exhaustion. He thought back to the last time he had
seen her, standing on the mission porch, Teddy in her
arms, the both of them waving goodbye as he rode away
from the Grantland's wedding. She was such a
beautiful woman, her blue eyes sparkled when she
laughed, burned a deep midnight blue when she was
angry, and turned into shimmering crystals when she
was sad.

His thoughts turned back to their time alone in the
schoolhouse and he was annoyed all over again. They'd
finally managed to steal some time for just
themselves, Christy had finally opened up to him
again, and Neil had finally given her the ring. He'd
been leaning over, all set to kiss the bloomers off
the young teacher, when the door had been slammed open
and one of the children had run in calling for him to
come. 

That had been a week ago.

Now, riding through the woods, all he wanted was to
get home and see the ones he loved. Just as he was
passing through a small clearing Neil heard the crack
of a rifle and instantly a blinding pain seared
through his head. Doubling over in pain, his vision
blurred, Neil could feel a wet stickiness running down
his face. Reaching up with shaky fingers he winced
and drew them away to find them coated with blood.

His head pounding Neil turned Charlie to the mission,
hoping the horse could make it without being guided as
it was taking everything he had in him to hang onto
the saddle. As they climbed the hill he could just
make out the vision of the mission before him. 
Nearing a little closer Neil watched as a small figure
on the porch waved to him. He saw their hand pause in
mid air for a moment before a look of terror crossed
her face.

"Neil!" she cried, running down the stairs to get to
his side. 

No sooner had she reached Charlie and taken the reins
from his hands than Neil felt the last of his strength
slip away from him. Falling to the ground he landed
on his back and was staring at the sky, wondering why
it felt as though the world was closing in on him at
the same time it was drifting farther and farther
away. 

Suddenly Christy's face appeared over his, hovering
above him with a worried frown, tears in her eyes. He
could feel her hands on his head, wincing in pain. 
Gasping she put her hand, now red with his blood, over
her throat, her eyes wide with fear.

"Neil!" she cried, her voice thick with tears. "Neil,
please try to hang on! Just hang on! Please don't
leave me!"

Neil tried to tell her he would be okay but he
couldn't make his lips move to say the words. He
heard her screaming for Alice, her screams drifting
off to whispers as the world around him went dark, the
words of love he couldn't say echoing in his ears.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Two

Slowly he woke to the world surrounding him.  The
first thing he knew was the searing pain in his head
with every movement.  But pushing his way past it he
opened his eyes to look around.  He was in a room that
looked somewhat familiar, but it also looked like
every other plain wooden room in every cabin in the
cove.  But how did he get here?  Then again, where was
here?

He felt something brush by his arm and looked down to
see a woman’s head resting on his arm, her eyes
closed, sound asleep.  She was young but her face was
beautiful, soft, kind, and her hair was just as soft,
he could feel it brushing against his arm.  As he was
watching her he saw her begin to shift, her eyes
blinking open and raising to meet his.  They were the
clearest blue color he had ever seen and when they saw
him watching her they began to sparkle with joy.

“Neil!  You’re awake,” she cried, her mouth curving up
with a smile.  “You’ve had us so worried!”

“Where am I?”

“You’re at the mission, Neil.  You came riding up
yesterday and scared me half to death!”

He could see the tears forming in her eyes as she told
him what had happened.  It was plain to see she had
been worried sick over him.  The thought made him feel
good but even so there was a question nagging him at
the corner of his mind.

“Lie still, I’ll go get Miss Alice, she’ll want to
check your wound.”

He watched her leave, a smile on her face as she
hurried out of the room, but his questions still rang
out in his mind.  He only had a moment to try and
think when the door opened again and this time an
older woman entered, the younger one coming in behind
her.  He watched as she sat down next to him and
reached for the bandage on his head, examining the
wound carefully.

“Thy wound is healing nicely, Neil,” she told him. 
“No doubt thy head is filled with pain.  I shall give
thee some medicine for the pain.”  Digging into a bag
at her feet she mixed some powder with a little bit of
water and brought the glass to his lips.  He could
feel his mind going cloudy with pain and exhaustion
though he tried to fight it.  Someone grabbed his hand
and he looked over into a pair of smiling blue eyes.

“Go to sleep Neil,” she said softly, reaching out to
brush a stray lock out of his eyes.  “You need to
rest.”  He frowned at her and her smile lost some of
its brightness.  “Neil, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment.  “Who are you?”


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A Womans Love - Chapter Three

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Three

She had to pump.  

That was all there was… the pump.  

Lift up.

Press down.

Water flows.

Lift up.

Press down.

Water flows. 

Lift up.

Press down.

Water flows.

It was all she had left to keep her from collapsing
completely, his words ringing in her head.

‘Who are you?’

Lift up.

‘I’m Christy.’

Press down.

‘Do I know you?’

Water flows.

The bucket full of water she had no choice but to stop
the pump and her mind was suddenly filled with images.
 Neil bent over Bob Allen as he examined the injured
man.  Waking in bed to see him standing against the
window after the school had caught fire.  Standing in
the schoolroom arguing over a lesson.  The feel of his
hand on her shoulder as he called her out of church to
help him with Burls operation.  Walking through the
fields as he placed a ring of woven flowers on her
head.  Enjoying a picnic with Teddy and Neil in the
fields near Lovers Falls.  The feel of his hand on
hers as she had recovered from the bear attack.  The
kiss he had given her before leaving to go help the
people in Low Gap still seared her lips.

Her memories of Neil.

The memories he no longer had.

Shaking her head she bit back the low moan that filled
her throat and climbed the steps to the mission,
carrying the bucket of water up the stairs with her
into the dog run and on into the kitchen.  Setting the
bucket in the corner she dipped the dipper into it and
filled the teakettle as well as a pot filled with
vegetables to make soup.  With everyone else gone it
fell to her to prepare the evenings meal for the only
two people in the mission house.

Alice had been called away to help birth a child into
the world out in El Pano leaving Christy and Neil
alone.  As the injured man was sleeping Christy had
gone outside to finish some undone chores and try to
purge the despair that had filled her since the moment
Neil had uttered those dreadful words.

‘Who are you?’


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Four

Standing in the yard Christy shook out the sheet as
she lifted it from the basket, grasping one edge so
she could throw it over the line of cord running
between the trees.  When the sheet was settled nicely
she turned back to the next item and stopped once she
had picked it up.  Holding the shirt tightly she ran
her fingers over the collar gently, sighing at the
memories a simple shirt could induce.  This was the
shirt he had been wearing when she had first seen him
after waking up from the bear attack.  It was the same
shirt he had worn when they’d gone on a picnic after
he’d returned from Low Gap a few months later. 
Closing her eyes for a moment Christy got back to
work, putting the shirt on the clothesline next to the
sheet and reaching for the next thing in the basket.  

It had been almost a month and there had been some
change, though not much, in Neil’s condition.  He
remembered being a doctor, he knew the cove was his
home, even though he had gone away from it to attend
college.  Every day he seemed to recall a small memory
from his past, a funny joke he’d heard at college, a
lesson from one of his professors, a sickness that had
hit the cove not long before he had left.  But the
memories from his time after college still evaded him,
much to the frustration of everyone involved.  Christy
had tried to be patient, she really had.  But it was a
difficult thing to do, especially when he could laugh
and talk with everyone in the cove except her.  He was
distant to everyone at the mission but Christy took it
the hardest of them all.  Gone was the friendly Neil
she had come to love, the one who walked with her and
sat by the fire talking till late at night.  In his
place stood a man who had no idea who she was other
than to say she was a city girl who’d come to teach
the children how to read and write.

“Thee has been working diligently all morning, Miss
Huddleston.  Perhaps thee should break for some
nourishment.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have time right now Miss Alice. 
As soon as I get this laundry up to dry I have to get
to the school to get ready for classes.  I’ll come and
eat at recess, I promise.”

Alice regarded her silently for a moment.  “Working
thyself to thy death will not make him remember thee,”
she said at last.

Despite herself Christy let out a small laugh.  “If it
would I would have begun a long time ago.”  Stopping
her work she turned to face Alice and smiled.  “I am
not working myself to death, Miss Alice, I promise. 
This is a very busy time for the children between the
school play and the tests that are being taken on top
of all the other lessons it is taking me even longer
to prepare for my day.”

“And thy work gives thee an excellent reason to avoid
the mission house.”

Knowing she’d been caught Christy ducked her head and
reached for another piece of laundry from the basket. 
“Yes it does.”  Pinning the petticoat to the line she
paused to think before turning to face her mentor
again.  “The children keep me busy, Miss Alice, they
don’t allow me any time to think.”

“Thee must not dwell on Neil’s lack of memory,
Christy, it will only hurt thee.”

“That’s not it, Miss Alice.  It hurts that he doesn’t
remember me, but that’s not what I can’t get out of my
mind.  Every time I stop moving I keep seeing him,
lying on the ground, blood covering his face, soaking
into his shirt.  He…” her emotions caught her off
guard and Christy sucked in a deep breath to try and
get her voice back under control, to force her eyes to
stop stinging her with tears.  “Shot in the head, Miss
Alice!  He could have died!” she cried at last. 
Closing her eyes she shook her head and forced the
image to the back of her mind where she’d been keeping
it for the last month.  Turning she bent over and
gathered up another sheet, flinging it over the
clothesline.  “I just need to stay busy and I’ll be
fine.”

Knowing now wasn’t the time to pursue anything Alice
left Christy to her work and headed back to the
mission house.  Sitting down at the table she noticed
that it had already been cleared off.  Smiling a small
smile she thanked God or sending someone like Rebecca
to their lives.  She was exactly what they had needed.
 Between David’s working with the cove, Christy
teaching the school and her own trips to the various
regions of the cove the mission had been in dire need
of some attention.  Attention that Rebecca had been
showering upon it since her arrival.  There were
improvements all over the mission.  Curtains graced
the windows, dust had been banished, fresh flowers
could be found in every room, and there were always
the most delicious smells coming from the kitchen. 
Rebecca was a Godsend.

“I take it I missed breakfast?”

Turning she looked up to see Neil entering the mission
house, leaning against the doorjamb with a small smile
on his face.  “I am sure thee could find something in
the kitchen.”

“Maybe later.”  Sitting down at the table he faced
her, his eyes serious.  “I wanted to ask you
something.”

“Of course,” Alice said, nodding her head even as her
curiosity grew.

“I found something in the lab in my cabin that I don’t
know what to make of.  There’s a trunk, with the
initials ‘MHM’.  It was filled with a woman’s
clothing.”

Alice was silent for a moment.  It was obvious he
didn’t remember Margaret but was it really her place
to remind him of what an awful marriage they’d had? 
“Neil that trunk belongs to…”

“DOC!”

A thunderous cry echoed in the room as the pounding of
feet on wood sounded from the mission steps.  Getting
up from his chair Neil hurried to the door, wondering
who it was that was calling him.  “Jeb?” he said when
he saw the man come running into the mission.  “What
is it?”

“Hit be Fairlight.  She got real dizzy this mornin’
and tuk a fall down the steps.  She ain’t movin’
since.  Ya gots ta come, Doc.”

“All right, let’s go.”

Hurrying out of the mission Neil was mounted on
Charlie before Alice could say a word and was turning
the horse around as she set foot on the mission porch.
 Watching him ride away she sighed a small breath of
relief even as she realized it was a conversation she
couldn’t avoid forever.


=====

Chapter Five

“All right then class, make sure you think about your
favorite color over the weekend and be ready to share
with the class why you chose that color when you come
back on Monday.”  Shouting over the clamor of the
students as they gathered their things to leave
Christy had to smile.  They’d been so good all day she
regretted having to give them an assignment at all. 
But she was still a teacher and it was her job to give
out homework.  When the last one had left she moved
toward her desk to straighten her papers and clear off
the chalkboard.  Standing next to her desk Christy
accidentally brushed a paper to the floor and bent
over to pick it up.  Straightening herself back up he
felt a sudden pain in her back and gasped.  Sitting
down in a chair, her body tense with pain, she closed
her eyes and bit her lip trying to wait out the worst
of it.

“Miss Huddleston?”

Groaning when she heard the all too familiar brogue
Christy wondered how it could get any worse.  When she
opened her eyes she found out.  Too close to ignore
she saw a pair of sparkling blue eyes staring back at
her and against her bidding a tear sprang to her eye. 
“I’m fine,” she whispered, closing her eyes and moving
away from him.

“I know what it looks like when someone is in pain,
Miss Huddleston,” he reminded her.

Getting to her feet slowly she turned her back to him.
 “What are you doing here?” she asked, swallowing to
try and make her voice sound normal.  

“I came to ask you to come to the Spencer’s.  I left
to get some medicine from my cabin but I came here
first.  Fairlight has been asking for you.”

“Who’s sick?” Christy asked, turning to face him when
she heard that he’d been at the Spencer’s.

“It’s Fairlight,” he said gently, seeing the concern
in her eyes, hearing it in her voice.  “She took a
tumble down the steps and hit her head.”

“Oh no!” Christy cried.  Forgetting everything else
she turned and shut the door near her desk, moving
down the aisle to get out of the schoolhouse and to
the nearest horse.  

“You can ride with me,” Neil said, following right
behind her.  “We just need to stop at my cabin for
some supplies.”

“No,” shaking her head.  “I’ll ride Prince and go
right to the Spencer’s cabin.”

Not giving him a chance to reply Christy ran for the
barn, opening the door and reaching for the saddle
before hurrying over to Prince’s stall.  Moving as
quickly as she could she saddled the horse and
mounted, grimacing at the pull she could feel in her
already sore back.  Urging Prince out of the barn she
turned him toward the Spencer’s and kicked her heels
to urge him to move faster.  As she rode Christy could
only imagine the worst but as her head began to move
faster than her heart she realized it couldn’t have
been that bad if Neil had felt comfortable enough to
leave the cabin and go for supplies.  When she reached
the cabin Christy handed the reigns to John and
climbed the steps to the main room of the Spencer
Cabin.  With only a small hello to Jeb she sat down
next to her friend and took her hand in hers.

“Christy?”  Fairlight said softly, her eyes scrunched
shut in pain.  “Christy, ya got’s ta watch out fer the
bear!” the older woman cried out with fear.  “The
she-bear, she be comin’ fer ya!”

“No,” Christy soothed.  “Fairlight the bears dead,
remember?  It’s dead and I’m fine.”

Leaning over she put her arms around Fairlight until
she had calmed down and slipped off to sleep.  Pushing
herself up from the bed Christy felt the pain in her
back fourfold and had to grab the table to keep from
falling.  Eyes closed with pain she felt her way to a
chair to sit down when she felt someone grab her arms
and push a chair up against her knees.  Taking a few
deep breaths she opened her eyes to see Neil watching
her, kneeling in front of her as she sat in the chair.

“Don’t you dare tell me your fine,” he scolded.

“Worry about Fairlight, Doctor,” she said, her words
clipped due to both pain and emotion.

“Fairlight is in good hands,” he said, glancing over
his shoulder quickly to see Jeb sitting next to her,
draping another quilt over his wife.  “She’ll be fine,
you on the other hand don’t look as well.”  She tried
to wave him off but he grabbed her hands in annoyance.
 “Stop telling me your fine, Lass, I can see you’re in
pain.”

Before his eyes she stopped still, her crystal blue
eyes widening as she stared at him.  Wondering what he
had said to make her stop so still Neil was abut to
ask when there was a small commotion in the doorway
and Rebecca and David appeared.  Moving forward to
find out what had happened David stole Neil’s
attention while Rebecca attended to Christy.  Over
David’s words Neil could hear the conversation between
the two women.

“Christy?”

“Take me home, Becca,” she said with a shaky voice.

“Is it your back?”  Christy nodded and a worried frown
appeared on the married woman’s forehead.  “Let’s go. 
David,” she called out to her husband.  “I’m taking
Christy home in the wagon, take Prince back please?”

“Sure thing,” the preacher replied.  Moving toward
them he kissed Rebecca’s temple and squeezed Christy’s
hand.  “Make sure you get Alice or Becky to rub some
of the peppermint oil onto your back, Christy.”

“I will,” she replied softly, her voice tight with
pain.

Watching the two women leave the cabin Neil ran a
frustrated hand through his hair.  Why was it she
would turn away from him, a doctor, yet turn to the
people from the mission?  Was she so repulsed by
mountain folk, or was it just him?  His mind recalled
the way her eyes had widened when he had bee kneeling
before her moments ago, was she scared of him? 
Questions rang in his head and Neil fought to keep his
mind on his patient but as he examined her he found
that she was sleeping peacefully and appeared to be
okay.  Leaving some brief instructions with Jeb Neil
climbed onto Charlie and headed home.  

As he rode, letting Charlie pick his way home at his
own pace, Neil let his mind wander.  There was still
so much he didn’t remember about his life after
college and it seemed that the mission was one of
them.  The building and the people were foreign to him
but he had to admit that their influence had done some
good for the cove.  The children were being taught
things he’d never had the chance to learn as a child. 
His thoughts came to rest on Christy and he wondered
what it was about her that made her occupy so much of
his thoughts.  She reminded him of someone, he just
didn’t know whom.

Neil remembered waking up in the mission to see her
sleeping at his side.  He remembered the way she had
seemed to be with him every moment that he was awake
until one day that had stopped.  Why he wasn’t sure
but what he did know was that he missed her company. 
If only he could figure out the question that had
bugged him since he realized he missed her.  ‘Why?’

With a sigh Neil pulled Charlie to a stop and put him
away in the barn.  With heavy tired steps he climbed
the stairs to his cabin and opened the door.  Standing
in the doorway he stopped in his tracks and stared at
the sight before him, feeling a sense of déjà vu all
over again.

“Hi Mac.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Six

Standing next to the makeshift stage curtain Christy
was helping Creed with his costume when she felt
something tugging at her skirt.  Looking down she saw
a beautiful sight.  “Teddy!”  Finishing the adjustment
on Creed’s costume she bent down and scooped the
little boy up into her arms, squeezing him tightly to
her.  His arms wrapped securely around her neck Teddy
laid his head on Christy’s shoulder and placed wet
kisses on her neck.  Laughing Christy kissed him back.

“Where’s your Daddy, Teddy-bear?”

“Don’ want Papa, want Mama.”

“But you have to sit with Papa for now, okay?  Mama
needs to do some work and then you can sit with her.” 
Nodding Teddy allowed Christy to lead him down the
aisle to Neil’s side where he sat at the end of a row.
 “I think you lost someone,” she teased.

“Too bad he found her again.”

Looking to the person sitting next to Neil Christy
gasped, her eyes widening in shock.  “Margaret,” she
whispered.

“You know my wife, don’t you Miss Huddleston?” Neil
asked as he helped Teddy onto his lap.  “Margaret’s
just returned from a small trip to Georgia.”

A small sound escaped from the back of her throat and
Christy stood still as a stone, her staring eyes
rapidly switching back and forth between Neil and
Margaret.  “Wife…” she breathed in disbelief.

“Christy?” Alice called as she approached the young
teacher.  “Thee is needed behind the curtain by thy
students.”  Putting a soft hand on her shoulder she
frowned.  “Is thee not well?”

Christy lifted her eyes to Alice’s and swallowed
again, unable to speak.  Shaking her head she backed
away, turning to flee from the aisle way.  Worried
Alice was about to go after her when an all too
familiar voice called out to her.  “Hello Mother.”

Turning to look Alice saw Margaret sitting next to
Neil, a smug smile on her face as she defiantly met
her mothers gaze.  “Margaret.” Alice said, her voice
hardening in understanding of why Christy had fled. 
Without another word she left, heading to the front of
the schoolhouse to find Christy.  Heading behind the
curtain she stopped in her tracks when she saw Christy
kneeling before Mountie and tying the strings of her
bonnet.  The little girl whispered something and
Christy laughed, her face smiling and laughing along
with Mountie but Alice could see that it didn’t reach
her eyes.  The teacher was hiding her pain from her
students and Alice hoped she wasn’t trying to hide
from it herself as well.

Taking her seat Alice watched as the program began; a
recreation of the early settlers as they had slowly
moved westward across the nation.  Though she was
enjoying the play Alice found her eyes creeping again
and again to the woman standing along the wall,
watching and coaching her students.  She was a picture
of calm that made Alice even more worried.  When the
program ended the people of the cove moved outside to
enjoy the sunshine, food, and fun.  Caught up in a
conversation she couldn’t avoid Alice watched
helplessly as Christy disappeared into the barn. 
Trying to catch someone eye she saw Fairlight meet
hers and nod, the woman moving off to follow Christy.

Slipping out of the crowd Fairlight made her way to
the barn with an easy manner.  The dark interior was
silent, it seemed for a moment that no one was in
there but as she looked around she saw some hay and
dust flutter down to the ground from the second level
of the barn.  Climbing the ladder she peeked over to
see Christy kneeling in the hay, head bowed, hands
clenched together so tightly her knuckles were white. 
Silent tears streamed from her closed eyes, down her
cheeks toward her lips that were moving in silent
prayer.

“Christy.”

After a moment she turned and met Fairlight’s eyes
with her own pain-filled ones.  “She came back,” she
whispered with a strangled voice.  “Oh Fairlight…” a
sob caught in her throat, choking off her whispers and
Christy fell into the hay, her head upon her arms and
her tears flowing in a downpour.

Moving over to her side Fairlight rubbed a gentle hand
up and down Christy’s back in comfort while she waited
for her to cry out her frustrations.  After some time
Christy managed to pull herself together and sat up,
side-by-side with Fairlight.  Silence reigned for a
few more minutes before either one spoke.

“Trust in God, Christy,” Fairlight said.  “He’ll give
Neil his memory back, you’ll see.”

“I know that,” she sighed.  “He is slowly remembering
everything Fairlight but what if he falls for Margaret
all over again?  What if she manages to convince him
that they should stay married?”

“No,” Fairlight rebutted emphatically.  “He doesn’t
love her, we all know that.  Nothing she can do would
ever make him go back to her, ya got to believe that,
Christy.  Believe in God and trust in Neil’s heart to
make him remember the truth.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Seven

Standing next to the stairs of the mission house,
Teddy in his arms, Neil watched with curiosity as
Fairlight emerged from the barn and go to the water
pump, pumping some water into a small cup before
heading back into the barn.  Curious, but unable to do
anything about it, he resigned himself to simply be
curious and watch the barn door.  Feeling Teddy
squeeze his arms a little tighter Neil’s curiosity
switched to a new topic.  Why was Teddy so clingy
today?  Normally he would run around with the other
children or sit contentedly next to him but the boy
refused to get down from his ‘father’s’ arms.  Even
more curious was the boy’s reaction when he had tried
to hand him to Margaret for a moment.  He’d had no
idea a little boy could scream and carry on that much.

A movement from the door caught his eyes and Neil
swung his attention to the two women emerging from the
barn.  Fairlight headed towards the food table while
Christy was pulled into a crowd of eager children and
parents, each one wanting a moment of her time.  He
could see her smiling and talking with them but there
was an aura of sadness about her that he couldn’t
understand.  His curiosity getting the best of him
Neil moved towards that group, excusing himself from
Margaret’s side for a moment.  As he began to make his
way over there Teddy began to scramble almost
frantically to get out of Neil’s arms.  Letting him go
he watched as the toddler ran through the crowd until
he reached Christy’s side, throwing his arms around
her legs the instant he had reached her.  

Slowing his pace to stay back and watch, surprised
that Teddy would go to her when he would go to anyone
else, Neil’s eyes were keen with interest at the
interaction between the two.  Looking down Christy saw
Teddy and a true smile spilt her face in two.  Reach
down she lifted him up and crushed him to her, hugging
the little boy tightly as she kissed his cheek.  The
group around her smiled at the sight, as though it
were perfectly natural for Teddy to be so open with
the teacher while he wouldn’t even allow Margaret to
touch him.

Before he could get any closer Neil felt someone touch
his arm and looked down to see Fairlight standing next
to him, a smile on her face.  “Yer a hard man ta catch
lately, Neil MacNeil.”

“Between the medical calls and my family it’s been a
busy time, Fairlight,” Neil smiled back.  “How have
you been feeling?  Any more dizziness?”

“No, nothing since.  I’m feelin’ fine, thanks to you
and Christy.”

“Christy?”

“Well surely.  If it weren’t fer her remindin’ me that
it was okay I’d still be afearin’ that bear was
a’comin’ fer her.”

“Bear?”

“Why shorely you remember that bear?”  Fairlight
paused.  “Oh my, I reckon ya don’t.  Silly me, I jest
plumb forgot that yer memories ain’t come back that
far yet.  Give it time, Neil, you’ll remember that
awful day.”

Excusing herself Fairlight headed back towards Jeb’s
side, a smile on her face as she headed away.  A
little prodding never hurt anyone.

Frowning, more curious than ever, Neil was heading
towards Christy once more when he felt yet another
hand on his arm.  Looking down he saw Margaret looking
up at him, her smile tired but cheery.  “Mac, I’m so
tired, what do you say we gather the little one and
head on home?”

“All right,” he said, hiding his frustration at not
being able to figure out what was going on.  “I’ll get
Teddy and we can leave.”  Moving forward he was a
little surprised that Margaret came along with him. 
Shrugging it off he stopped next to Christy.  “I’m
afraid I’m going to have to reclaim my son from you,
Miss Huddleston.”

Neil watched as Christy glanced up at him, her smile
dimming for a moment before slipping off when her eyes
found Margaret.  Swallowing she turned her attention
back to Teddy and tried to summon up a smile for the
little boy.  “Teddy, it’s time for you to go back home
with Daddy, now okay?”

“No!  Teddy no go!” he cried, clinging tightly to her
neck.

“Sweetie, it’s okay, you’ll be with your Daddy,” she
reminded him.

“No!  No Papa!”

“Teddy, go with Papa now and Mammmmmmaybe I can come
out and visit you soon, okay?” she offered, catching
herself from calling herself ‘mama’.  

“P’omise?” he sniffed against her neck.

“I promise.”

Hugging him for a moment Christy reached up to remove
his arms from her neck.  No sooner had he lost his
hold on her Teddy began to scream, reaching out for
Christy with tears streaming from his eyes.  Confused
by his reaction Neil tried to comfort the child, to
calm him down as they walked towards Charlie.  Waiting
while Neil swung up onto Charlie with a screaming
Teddy in his arm Margaret turned back to for a moment
to smile smugly at Christy.  Reaching up she let Neil
help her climb onto Charlie and they rode away,
Teddy’s cries echoing in the ear of every mother in
the cove.

Her heart breaking, chest aching, Christy turned away,
unable to listen to Teddy screaming for her.  Looking
to Alice, tears slipping down from her eyes, she let
the older woman envelope her in a comforting hug as
Teddy’s crying grew fainter the father Charlie carried
him away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Eight

Sitting on the floor next to the child sized bed in
the corner of the main room Neil watched as Teddy
slept, his face still streaked with the tears of a
heartbroken little boy.  The screams still echoed in
his ears though hours had passed since that awful ride
home.  It was the first time Neil had known Teddy to
truly act up.  He was normally such a peaceful little
child, quiet, happy, never acting up unless he was
tired and cranky.  But today Neil had seen a complete
other side to his son.  The boy had screamed the
entire ride back to the cabin, eventually crying
himself to sleep in the crook of Neil’s arms. 
Margaret had claimed it was the terrible two’s but
Neil wasn’t sure.

“Mac, come on over here and talk to me.”

Lifting his eyes from Teddy Neil looked up to see
Margaret standing by the chair by the fire.  Getting
up he walked over and sat down in the chair, tensing
when Margaret sat down on his lap.  Though he knew in
his mind that they were married, there was evidence of
it all over the cabin, he still couldn’t remember her
or their marriage.  They slept in the same bed every
night and Neil was finding it more and more difficult
to ignore her as a woman.  

“Mac, you need to loosen up and stop worrying so much
about Teddy.  He’ll be fine.  Frankly I’m a little
worried about how attached he is to the teacher.  It’s
not right.”

“She’s the teacher, Margaret.  She has a natural way
with the children, I see it every time she’s around
them.”

“I don’t care, Mac,” Margaret returned, fighting to
control her temper as she wound her arms around his
neck.  “Teddy is my son not hers.  How am I supposed
to help him realize that if she has such ties to him?”

Neil thought over it for a moment before nodding his
head.  “All right, Margaret.  I’ll speak with her.”

“Thank you, Mac,” Margaret whispered in his ear. 
Using the wiles she had learned over the last years
she lowered her mouth to his and kissed him, relishing
in the fact that, as a man at least, he couldn’t stop
his reaction to her seduction.  “Mac… lets go to bed.”

Forcing his mind past the feelings she was stirring up
in him Neil shook his head.  “No, not yet, I have some
work to do.  You go, I’ll be up soon.”

Getting to his feet, setting Margaret on hers, Neil
headed towards his lab, glancing at teddy as he passed
the sleeping child.  Shutting the door behind him Neil
leaned against the worktable and took several deep
breaths to calm himself down.  Sitting down in his
chair he looked out the window to the darkness that he
couldn’t see through and felt a sense of kinship with
it.  There was so much of his mind that was dark. 
Things he couldn’t recall; memories that were just out
of reach.  It was frustrating and maddening to no end.
 Tiredness crept over him and as he sat at the table
his head slowly began to drift down until it rested on
his arms.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Looking around he saw the fields that surrounded him,
flowers in full bloom, their scent filling the air. 
Neil saw Charlie grazing a little ways away and he saw
Teddy playing nearby, entranced by the grasshopper
that had landed on his arm.  But only a few feet away
sat a woman who held his attention.  Her long dark
hair flowed in a river of curls down her back,
pointing down in a soft arrow to the slim curve of her
shirtwaist.  Her hands were waving in the air
animatedly as she talked, laughing when she had
finished her tale.  Beyond her Neil could see himself,
listening to the tale she had been telling, laughing
along with her.  He could see that though he was
resting in a relaxed position, stretched out on his
side, his head propped on his hand, he was paying
close attention to the woman.  It was plain to see how
much he loved her and she him from the gentle way she
brushed a stray curl from his eye.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Waking to the smell of coffee and burning toast Neil
opened his eyes and frowned, trying to recall the
dream that had held him in it’s grip.  Rubbing his
stiff neck Neil stood and walked out of the lab to
find that the night had passed and the days sun was
already beginning it’s steady climb into the sky. 
Looking to the stove he saw her.  Standing with her
back to him, her long dark curls flowing freely,
though in a little disarray, was the woman from his
dream.  His wife.  Moving closer he stopped a few
inches behind her and put a gentle hand on her
shoulder, turning her to face him.  

“Good morning,” he said, lowering his lips to hers. 
“… wife.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Nine

Standing at the blackboard in the front of the school
Christy patiently wrote out the lessons for the day,
her neat script filling the blackboard so the children
could copy it down and begin their lessons.  When she
had finished she turned around to see Neil standing in
the doorway, a solemn look on his face.  Quirking her
eyebrows in curiosity she told the children to begin
their lessons and slipped outside to speak with Neil.

“Well good morning,” she smiled.  “What brings you
here today?”

“I needed to talk to you,” he said after a moment of
trying to think of how to say what he needed to say.

“Neil?” Christy frowned, sensing his inner struggle. 
“What’s wrong?”

“I need to ask you to leave Teddy alone, Miss
Huddleston.”

Christy stepped back as though he had slapped her. 
“What?” she whispered in disbelief.

“Margaret and Teddy need time to let their
relationship grow stronger and the relationship you
have the him is blocking Margaret’s.”

“Margaret’s relationship… with Teddy…” she repeated.

A small smile broke out on Neil’s face.  “Yes.  It was
the most amazing thing.  You told me to give it time
and I would remember everything but I never thought it
could happen like this.  I went to sleep not really
remembering Margaret but then I had this dream of a
time when we were all sitting in the meadow, Teddy was
playing near Charlie and I saw her sitting there,
talking about something.  When I woke up I realized
that woman in my dream had to have been… Miss
Huddleston!” Neil cried, reaching out to catch the
teacher when he realized she was fainting to the
ground, crumpling as her eyes had rolled back into her
head, her skin pale.  

His cry had alerted the children in the back of the
schoolroom and they came tumbling out, each one trying
to help.  Ordering them all inside, placing Rob Allen
in charge of the school for the time being, Neil
picked Christy up and carried her back to the mission.
 Almost to the mission stairs the door swung open and
Rebecca came running out.  “Christy!”

“She’s fainted,” Neil explained as he climbed the
steps and entered the mission.  Laying her on the
divan he told Rebecca to get his saddlebags from
Charlie and moments later he was holding smelling
salts under the teachers nose.  “Come on now, Miss
Huddleston,” he sang softly as she was roused from her
faint.

“Neil,” she whispered, still not fully aware. 
Frowning she blinked and looked up into the deep blue
eyes that peered down at her.  “What happened?”

“You fainted, Christy!” Rebecca broke in, worried for
her friend.

“Fainted?” Christy repeated with a frown.  “But why? 
I was in the school, Neil showed up and we went
outside for a moment to talk when…” Swallowing,
Christy stopped talking, the backs of her eyes
stinging with hot tears.  “I’ll be okay.  I must have
not eaten enough breakfast this morning.  I’ll be
fine.”

Brushing the helping hands away Christy stood and
turned her back to them, clutching her throat to fight
back the scream that was building within her.  “Thank
you, Neil, for being there when you were.  I’ll keep
in mind what you had mentioned.  I’m sure you have
other patients to see so I won’t keep you.”

Feeling as though he’d been dismissed, and not liking
it, he left.

When she heard Charlie riding away Christy finally let
the scream escape from her throat but by then it had
turned into a low moan as she remembered the words
Neil had spoken to her.

“Christy?”

“Can you please take care of the children, Rebecca?”
she asked.  “I need to be alone.”

Without waiting for an answer Christy fled the
mission, running away from it as fast as she could,
running until she could barely breathe.  When she
finally collapsed she lay on the ground, her chest
heaving, a dry sob caught in her throat.  

Neil.

Teddy.

Overnight she had lost the two people she loved more
than anything else.  She had lost them both to the
same person, the same witch that had cast her spell to
trap one with a false love and lies, the other with an
iron grip of hate.  Getting to her feet Christy stood
and looked around to see that she was at Lovers Falls.
 Walking over to the edge she sat down and hung her
legs off the edge of the cliff, her mind recalling
that awful, horrible day so long ago.

So focused on the ground beneath her, the memories it
held over her, that Christy didn’t hear anyone
approaching until Fairlight sat down next to her. 
Looking up at her dearest friend Christy couldn’t stop
the tears from flowing out of her eyes.

“You were right,” she whispered at last.  “The
she-bear came back and this time she wants both Teddy
and Neil.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Ten

Standing on the porch, nervous and scared, Alice
stared out through the gray rain, straining her eyes
to see the figure heading towards the mission.  The
shadowy figure was too small to be a man but too big
to be a child and Alice prayed she was right in
assuming it was Christy.  The young teacher had been
gone all day, since she had left the school, and Alice
was worried.  Rebecca’s information was sketchy, she’d
had no idea where Christy had gone only that she had
fled the mission.  When she was told that Neil had
been talking to her Alice wondered what he could
possibly have said to have made her faint.

Neil too must have sensed that something was wrong
because he had returned to the mission later that
night, wanting to talk to Alice about Christy’s
history with the cove.  She had answered his questions
honestly, telling him how she had come to the cove and
what her first year was like.  He’d seemed satisfied
with it but a frown still creased his forehead until
she asked him what was wrong.

‘I keep thinking there is something that I am missing
about her.  The reactions I see when I am with her are
so varied but they all have this same sense of
expectation.  I feel as though she is waiting for
something.’

Alice hadn’t been sure what to say to that, she still
didn’t know how she should have replied, but
thankfully she was saved from making a reply by
RubyMae’s announcement that supper was ready.  They
had eaten but Alice’s stomach was hollow, a knot
growing in its pit that something was truly wrong. 
And it was still there, growing steadily worse a she
watched she shadowy, rain soaked, figure heading
towards the mission house.  Moments later they were
close enough to be seen clearly and Alice drew in a
breath.

“Christy!” she called out to her, calling the woman
in.  “Thee is soaked,” she lightly scolded as she put
an arm around Christy’s shoulders, helping her up the
stairs and into the mission.  “Rebecca!  Please find
some dry clothing for Christy.  RubyMae, some hot tea
please.”

“I’ll build up the fire, Alice,” David volunteered,
moving forward to add some wood to the fire until it
roared.

Standing next to the fire, shivering, and soaked
through and through Christy looked up at Alice, her
blue eyes dry but filled with pain and sadness.  Alice
couldn’t stand it any longer.  “Christy, what’s
happened?  Where has thee been?”

“L… lovers F… falls.”

“Lovers Falls?  Christy why would thee have gone there
of all places?”

“Miss Alice,” she said softly, her large blue eyes
lifting to meet Alice’s kind brown ones.  “He asked me
to stay away from Teddy.”

Stopping in shock Alice’s hands paused for a moment
before continuing to rub Christy’s hands to get some
warmth into them.  Her eyes flitted past Christy to
the man standing in the doorway, his face filled with
confusion and concern.  Neil had heard what Christy
had said and Alice could see the questions begin to
fill his mind.  “Thee needs to get out of these wet
clothes, Christy.  Go upstairs with Rebecca and then
come down to the fire.”

Neil watched in silence as Christy was pushed toward
the stairs, her soaked shirt clinging to her skin and
revealing a criss-cross of dark red lines running all
over her back.  Frowning he took a step forward but
stopped when Alice held up her hand, silently ordering
him not to take another step.  When Christy was out of
sight she turned to him and motioned her him to join
her in the kitchen.  Away from all the others his
questions burst froth from behind the wall he had
penned them up in.

“What is going on here, Alice?  What happened to her
back?  Why is she so close to Teddy?  What does my
telling her to stay away from him have to do with
Lover’s Falls?  Why wasn’t she supposed to be there?”

“Neil stop!” Alice cried, putting up her hands to
silence his outpouring of questions.  “I know thee has
many questions and some of them I can answer but
others…” she sighed.  “Others I am not sure thee
should know at this time.”

“Why not?” he demanded.

“Thee has not recovered all of thy memory yet, it is
difficult for those who know the entire truth to keep
silent, especially at a time like this.  But forcing
thee to remember things is not going to help, it will
only add confusion to thy amnesia.”

“Then tell me why Christy wasn’t supposed to be at
Lovers Falls.”

“There is nothing wrong, no reason for her not to be
there.  The place holds many painful memories and it
surprised me that she would have gone there, that is
all.”

“And what happened to her back?”  

“She was attacked by a wild animal.”

“That would explain the pain in her back at times,” he
mused to himself.  “Alice, why is Miss Huddleston so
close to Teddy?”

Alice thought over how to answer the question for a
moment before she spoke.  “Christy was here when Teddy
was first brought to the cove.  She helped him with
some nightmares and was the first person her knew here
in the cove.  It is only natural that they be close.”

“But to be as close as they are?  Alice he screamed
himself to sleep last night because he couldn’t have
Christy.”  Neil could see that Alice was hiding
something from him and he pressed her to tell him.

“I cannot, not yet,” she replied  “That is a question
thee is not ready to hear yet, Neil.  Soon, I pray you
will be soon, but not yet.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Eleven

Stripping off her soaked skirts and shirt Christy
gladly accepted the blanket Rebecca had heated by the
fire downstairs while her friend pulled afresh
nightgown from the bureau.  Hurriedly dressing she
pulled off her undergarments and handed tossed them
onto the pile of other wet clothes.  Once she was dry
and burrowed beneath the blanket Christy looked up to
see Rebecca taking a brush from the nightstand and she
moved to stand behind her, slowly taking the pins from
her hair and letting it fall around her shoulders and
down her back.

“You always did have such beautiful hair.  So long and
curly,” she said as she began to brush out Christy’s
hair.  “When we were younger I was so jealous because
mine was pin straight.  I wanted curls so much!”

Her chin began to tremble as Christy remembered the
dream Neil had told her about; the curls that he had
assumed were Margaret.  Silent tears fell from her
eyes as Rebecca brushed her hair.  When all the knots
were gone she laid the brush down and knelt behind her
old friend, wrapping her arms around her with the love
a sister would show to another.  “He will realize the
truth, Christy, I promise he will.  Neil loves you, he
just needs time to remember that.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

“He will.”

“But…”

“He will,” she said, cutting her off with a determined
tone.  “But we need you to remain healthy, so lets get
you down to the fire so you can stay warm.”

Nodding she brushed off her tears and stood, gathering
the blanket around her like a cape, following Rebecca
back down to the fire in the main room.  David had
pulled a chair a little closer to the roaring fire and
RubyMae stood ready with a cup of hot tea.  Smiling a
small smile in thanks she accepted both and focused on
getting warm again.  When she looked up Christy saw
that everyone had disappeared except for Miss Alice,
the older woman sitting in a chair not too far away. 
For a while neither of them spoke, the silence
companionable between them.

“Christy,” she said at last, her voice as soft as a
mothers can be.  “Will thee tell me what was said
today?”

Taking a deep breath Christy sighed and told Alice
what had happened.  “I suppose it was stupid of me to
faint but I felt all of my hope slipping away from me.
 Margaret is trying to take Neil and Teddy away from
me and I don’t know what to do.  How can I fight for
them if Neil doesn’t even remember who I am?”

“Thee must trust in God to restore Neil’s memory,
child.  He is remembering and in time he will have all
of his memories back, both the good and the bad.”

“I know that Miss Alice, in my mind I know that and I
do trust in God to help me and to help Neil.  But I
cannot stop my heart from fearing that it may be too
late.  That even after Neil does get his memory back
he will still choose to be with Margaret since she has
come back to him.  I live every day with that fear
eating me up from the inside.  What if…?”

Her voice trailed off and Christy lowered her eyes to
stare at the fire, the question repeating in her mind
like a broken phonograph.

What if?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Twelve

Sitting at the desk in his lab Neil couldn’t
concentrate on his work, repeatedly finding himself
staring out the window.  Forcing himself to look back
down at the chart he was filling out he frowned in
confusion, unable to remember what he had been trying
to write.  With a sigh he realized he’d already
finished this particular file and, with a small
grimace of chagrin, realized he’d written the same
paragraph three times.  Shaking his head he closed the
file and stood, walking over to the drawer to replace
it in its proper alphabetical place.  Settling the
file down he caught a name from the corner of his eye
and pulled the file out of the drawer.

Christy R Huddleston.

Taking the file back to the desk he sat down and
opened it to the first page.  The file was thin, and
relatively new, but the notes were detailed, much more
so than the other files.  He wondered why he would
have kept such detailed notes over someone who was
obviously healthy.  Curious he read through the file. 
The first entry was a blow to the head, one that
rendered her unconscious, from a falling roof beam
when the school had caught on fire.  From the notes he
was reading Neil got the distinct impression the fire
was no accident and he wondered why the young teacher
hadn’t left right then and there.  ‘She must be
stronger than she looks,’ he thought to himself.

Reading on he read about a headache here and there,
each one being reported because he had happened to
notice her shielding her eyes from the light or
cringing when she heard a noise.  Christy hadn’t
reported them to him but rather he had called her on
the pain she had been trying to keep hidden, most
likely from the children.  There was one instance of a
slight fever but it was nothing too serious.  A
twisted ankle, a somewhat more serious fever; all in
all she seemed to be a healthy young woman.

The last few entries held his attention as he began to
read them, the first one long and detailed.  Realizing
this was the attack Alice had been telling him about
Neil was shocked to find that the attacking animal had
been a bear.  Why had she said wild animal instead of
bear?  Scrutinizing it Neil realized that the writing
seemed shakier than unusual. Had he been writing
faster than he normally did?  Were his hands cold? 
Why had they been shaking?  On the next page there
were the details of the surgery he had performed to
close the deeper claw marks in her back.  Frowning
with curiosity Neil ran his finger over a watermark
that had crinkled the paper.  How had that gotten
there?  Had he been drinking some water while he wrote
the report?

Finishing some of the follow up reports on the
progress of her back Neil closed the file and stood to
replace it in the drawer.  The files had helped
somewhat to remember things, medically anyway, about
her.  But at the same time it had raised questions
about Christy and the relationship they’d had.  He
seemed to keep an eye on her more so than the others
in the cove.  While no one went unsupervised Neil
could tell from the notes that he kept a close eye on
the teacher and he wondered why.

Still thinking about her his thoughts were interrupted
by a loud pounding on the door.  Walking out of his
lab he hurried to the front door and opened it to find
Jobe O’Thair, a farmer from Low Gap, anxiously waiting
for him on the other side.  “Doc, ya gots ta come!  My
littl’un’s be a feverin’ somethin’ fierce,” he said
the moment he saw Neils face.

“All right, Jobe.  Let me get my bag and I’ll be right
out.”

Nodding the man left, hurrying to get back to his
family while Neil went back inside to get his medical
bag.  Sitting in the main room by the fire Margaret
watched him hurry and a scowl filled her face.  “Where
are you going, Mac?” she asked, forcing her tone to be
light.

“I have to go to Low Gap,” he replied.  “The O’Thair
children are sick.”

“But you just got back!” she complained.

“Margaret,” he said stopping for a moment.  “I have to
go.”

“Don’t you care about me?  You’ve been gone all week
and now your leaving again.”

“Of course I care about you,” he said hurriedly. 
Putting his hands on her shoulders Neil leaned down
and kissed her.  “But I have to take care of the cove,
Margaret, it’s who I am.”

Watching him leave Margaret glared at the door as it
shut.  “Not for long Mac,” she growled.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Chapter Thirteen

Sitting on the porch, watching the sun set down behind
the mountains Christy rocked in the chair, her toes
keeping the rocker moving as she stared out at the
colors that filled the sky.  Sighing she refused to
allow herself to focus in on the thoughts that were
tumbling around in her head.  The fears, the doubts;
tumbling around like a whirlwind.  Shaking her head
she forced herself to not think about it.  About to
give in she felt something pulling on her and looked
down to see Teddy climbing into her lap.

“Teddy?” she said, smiling as she helped him climb p
into her lap.  “Well hello my little teddy bear.”

“Mamma,” he sighed, sinking his head into the crook of
her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her neck.

It was obvious that he was exhausted and Christy had
seen the tear streaks on his cheeks.  Frowning she
stood, holding him tightly to her, and looked out over
the yard to try and find the one that had brought him
to the mission.  Her frown deepened when she realized
the yard was empty.  Taking Teddy inside Christy
stopped at the dining room to speak with Alice.

“Miss Alice, Teddy’s here.”

Glancing up Alice saw Christy holding Teddy and
furrowed her brow with curiosity.  “Where is Neil?”

“He’s not here.”

“Margaret?”  Christy shook her head.  “Oh no.  Is he
okay?”

“He’s exhausted but I think he’s okay.  I’m going to
take him upstairs to get some sleep.”

“But what about…”

“I am not going to stay away from Teddy if she can’t
even have the human decency to keep him safe.  Whether
Neil remembers it or not, Miss Alice, Teddy is my son,
not hers.  If Neil is not here to take care of him
then Margaret will not be allowed to.”

Alice nodded after a moment and Christy turned to take
Teddy upstairs to sleep, the poor little child already
falling asleep.  Watching her go, seeing the gentle
way she cradled Teddy to her she knew Christy was
doing the right thing.  She just hoped she could
convince Neil of that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pulling Charlie to a stop Neil tied the reins to the
railing and climbed the steps to the mission house. 
Tiredly he opened the front door and entered the
building only to stop in his tracks at the sight that
awaited him.  On the divan sat David and Rebecca while
Alice sat in a chair with her bible open, reading from
it.  But there, playing on the floor together, were
Christy and Teddy, a pile of wooden blocks sitting
between them.  The first thing to hit him was the
laughter he heard from Teddy, the giggling laughter of
a little boy who was happy.  It was a sound he hadn’t
heard in a long time.

But that didn’t change the fact that Christy had gone
against what he had asked of her.  “What is going on
here?” he called out.

“Papa!” Teddy smiled, seeing Neil in the room.

Lifting her head Christy saw him sanding in the open
doorway and got to her feet.  She could see the anger
forming in his eyes and knew he was upset that Teddy
was at the mission.  Bending down she lifted Teddy and
handed him to Rebecca, asking her to take him
upstairs.  When they were out of the room she turned
to face Neil and spoke before he had the chance.

“I know that you asked me to stay away from Teddy so
that Margaret could develop her relationship with him
and even though it went against everything in me I was
going to do as you had asked me Neil.  But before you
come in here and lose your temper with me for being
with Teddy I suggest you go back to your cabin and ask
your…” she couldn’t bring herself to say the word. 
“Ask her where Teddy is.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Fourteen

Neil’s anger smoldered for a moment.

“Teddy is here, Miss Huddleston, that much is obvious.
 How did he get here if Margaret is not here?”

“Ask her,” Christy replied, biting the words to keep
from screaming them, her anger brewing as hot as the
Scottish doctor standing in front of her.

“I’m asking you.  You’re the one who has Teddy.”

“Teddy came to the mission on his own, Doctor!” she
said, catching herself from yelling just in time. 
“And he will not be leaving this mission house until
you go talk to her and find out just how it is that
Teddy was able to come all the way to the mission, on
his own.  You of all people should know how dangerous
it is out there for a toddler, Doctor MacNeil, you
grew up in these mountains and as a doctor I’m sure
you’ve seen the problems that a toddler can get into.”

Pausing she took a deep breath to try and calm herself
down before she said something she was going to
regret.  “Go and talk to Margaret, doctor.  Then you
can come back and try to take Teddy.”

“Try?” he repeated, focusing in on her choice of
words.

“If he doesn’t want to leave I am not going to make
him.”

“Teddy is my son, Miss Huddleston,” Neil ground out,
not liking the way she was interfering with his
family.  “He will be coming home with me.”

“I know that Teddy is your son, of that fact there is
no doubt in my mind.  And I know that you love him
with all your heart.  But if you ever leave him alone
with her again I promise you that I will take Teddy
away from here, even if it means taking him away from
you.”

Neil’s eyes widened in shock and behind her Christy
heard Alice gasp.  Since the moment Margaret had come
back to the mission Teddy’s life had been a nightmare
and Christy was sick of it.  Every time she saw him he
was crying or unhappy and it was slowly killing her
inside.  Last night he’d had a nightmare and had woken
up screaming in Christy’s arms.  She could only
imagine the things that Margaret was doing to him, or
not doing for him as the case may be.

“Listen to me, woman…”

“No, Doctor, you listen to me,” she said.  Lifting her
eyes to his her anger softened for a moment.  “You
have a rather large chunk of your memory missing and
until you get it back you are going to have to trust
me.  Teddy is better off here at the mission than at
the cabin, alone with Margaret.”

“Why?”

“Ask her.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sitting on Charlie Neil stared at the cabin in front
of him with silent contemplation.  The moon was behind
him, lighting the cabin so he could see it clearly in
the pale light.  It was dark inside the cabin and he
wondered what Margaret was doing.  Had she gone out to
look for Teddy?  Urging Charlie up to the stable Neil
slid off the back of his old friend and unbuckled the
straps.  As he turned to put the saddle onto a rail a
voice rang in his head, two words playing over and
over, ‘Ask her.’

It was plain to him that Christy didn’t like Margaret
anymore than Margaret liked her but Neil was lost to
think of a reason why.  At first he was going to storm
up tot he second floor and take Teddy with him but
something in the teachers eyes made him stop.  He
remembered the way her eyes had always seemed to
expect something of him.  But at that moment he had
looked down into her crystal blue eyes and the
expectation was gone.  It had been replaced by a
burning plea, as though she was begging him.

But for what?

Sighing Neil finished his work, giving his old friend
some hay to munch on and a friendly pat on the neck
before heading to the cabin.  Inside his home he saw
that the fireplace was cold, the table cleared but not
clean and dirty dishes sitting in the dish tub. 
Moving through the room he moved to the stairs that
led up to the bedroom and began to climb them. 
Standing in the doorway he peered into the moonlit
bedroom and stared at the woman sound asleep on the
bed.

His son wasn’t lying in his bed and yet here lay his
wife, sleeping as though she was without a care in the
world.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Fifteen

He was sitting at the table when she came down the
next morning.

“Mac!” she smiled.  “You’re home.”

“Yes, I go back last night.”

Margaret could sense that he was in a bad mood from
the clipped tone of his voice and the cold look in his
eyes as he looked at her.  “You didn’t come to bed.”

“I had too many things to think about.”  Margaret
moved over to the stove and put up a pot to make
coffee but Neil stopped her.  “Sit down,” he said,
motioning for her to sit at the table.

A bad feeling crept over her as she sat down across
the table from Neil.  “Is something bothering you Mac?
 Was it a bad call?”

“No, the O’Thair’s are fine.”  Neil leaned back and
looked at Margaret for a few minutes, his gaze cool
and searching.  “How did you sleep?”

“Fine.”

“That’s good.”

Annoyed at his game Margaret shifted under his gaze. 
“What’s going on Mac?”

Neil was silent for a moment longer.  “Where’s Teddy?”

Darting her eyes to the small crib in the corner of
the room Margaret realized the little boy was gone. 
“Fairlight came over last night and asked if he could
spend the night at their cabin.  She said that he got
along really well with her children and they wanted to
play,” she said, pulling an easy smile to her lips.

“He’s at the mission.”

Silence fell over the room and Margaret’s face went
blank when she realized he’d known where Teddy was the
whole while.  “I thought you told her to stay away
from our son.  How dare she go to the Spencer’s and
take Teddy from there?” she said, her voice filling
with righteous anger.  “Why can’t she just leave our
family alone!?”

“DOC!”

Hearing the yell Neil jumped to his feet instinctively
and hurried to the front door.  “Rob?  What’s wrong?”

“Hit be Creed, he dun fell from the ruf an’ he ain’t
woke’d up!”  Grabbing his medical bag Neil left the
cabin, his conversation with Margaret put on hold for
the time being.  

Watching him leave Margaret waited until he was gone
from sight before hurrying upstairs to get dressed. 
As she was buttoning her blouse she fell into a
coughing fit and fell to the bed.  When she was
finally able to breathe Margaret lowered her
handkerchief from her lips and saw that it was stained
with blood.  Seeing the red stain urged her to her
feet.  She wasn’t going to let some interfering little
city girl take the one thing she had left to give to
Neil.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Chapter Sixteen

“You are one very lucky little lad, Creed Allen,” Neil
smiled as he ruffled Creeds hair.  “You could have
been hurt a lot worse.”

“Fo’sure?”

“Yep.  People have been known to die from a knock to
the head.”

“Yeah, but none o’them’s got that thick skull our boy
got’s,” Bob declared.

The small group laughed and Creed smiled at them all.

“No more climbing on the roof young man, you hear me?”

“Yes’sir,” Creed smiled from his spot on the bed.

“All right then.”  Getting to his feet Neil re-packed
his saddlebags and was riding away moments later, a
freshly baked tart in his hands as payment.  Munching
on it as he rode Neil knew exactly where he was going
to go.  Each woman was telling him something different
and there was one way to find out which one was
telling the truth.

“Doc?”

Smiling down at Jeb Neil dismounted from Charlie and
shook his friend’s hand.  “Mornin’ Jeb,” he said in
greeting.  “How’s everything been?”

“Well’nough, I s’pose.  Ya here fer a reason?”

“Actually I came to talk to Fairlight for a moment.”

“Whal she be inside, I reckon ya can jest go raght
in.”

Thanking him Neil did just as he was told.  Entering
the cabin he saw Fairlight standing at the table
peeling the skin from a potato for the nights dinner. 
“Morning Fairlight,” he smiled.

“Well look at you,” she smiled back.  “How are the
Allens doing?”

“How did you know?”

“She was makin’ tarts yesterday an’ ya got’s the
crumbs all over yer shirt.”

Laughing Neil brushed them off and shook his head. 
“It was Creed.  He took a tumble but he’s fine.”

“So is you gonna ask yer question or sit a’chattin’
with me fer a spell?”

“I do have a question for you Fairlight.”

“Well, what’cha waitin’ fer?”

With a small sigh Neil lost his smile.  “Was Teddy
here at all recently?”

“Why sur,” she smiled.  “Christy brought ‘im by
nears’bout three days ago, I spect it was ‘bout the
day after ya’d left fer Low Gap parts.  We went
walking an’ Teddy and Lulu went with us.”

“That day after I left?  But that was four days ago!”

“I ‘spect it was.  Din’ya leave Teddy at the mission? 
I ‘sumed ya had since Christy had him all the while.”

“No,” Neil said, his voice growing quiet as he
directed his thoughts inward.  “No I didn’t. 
Fairlight, have you seen Margaret at all?”

“No, I ain’t seen her myself.  My man did though.  Jeb
was a’sayin’ he’d seen her in El Pano the day’fore
last.

“She was in El Pano?”  Fairlight nodded.  “What was
she doing there?”

“Cain’t rightly say.”

Lifting his gaze her face Neil knew there was
something she wasn’t telling him.  Pressing her she
refused to tell him what it was.  But Neil was
insistent, bothering her until she gave in and sat
down at the table with him.  Taking Neil’s hand in
hers she met his gaze with an equally serious one.

“I’ll tell ya two things, Neil MacNeil and then that’s
it.”  He nodded.  “First thing is she-bears ain’t jest
the big animals that live in the forest, they come in
all shapes and sizes.”

Neil was confused but he knew he would figure it out
in time.  “And the second thing?”

“That Margaret you got in yer place ain’t the only one
what’s got long curly hair.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Seventeen

Climbing the steps to the mission Margaret took a
moment to catch her breath before entering the
building and into the main room.  The room was empty
but she could hear sounds coming from the kitchen. 
Passing through the empty dining room to the kitchen
she saw the preachers wife standing over the stove
while Teddy was playing with a small piece of dough on
the floor by the doorway.  Without a word she picked
the little boy up, covering his mouth with her hand so
he couldn’t make any noise, and headed back outside.

Scared, terrified in truth, Teddy began to kick and
squirm, tears of fright beginning to form in his eyes.
 Pulling at the hand that covered his mouth he fought
to get away from the person that had grabbed him. 
Finally, in desperation he bit the hand that was
covering his mouth and the moment it moved away he
cried out, “MAMMA!!!”

Grabbing his arms tighter Margaret set him on the
ground and forced him to look at her, slapping his
face to make him stop crying.  “Listen to me you
little brat!  I am your mamma now and you aren’t going
to go anywhere near that teacher, do you hear me?” she
hissed, the venom in her voice freezing her prey in
fear.  Silently Teddy nodded, his eyes wide, tears
flowing freely, frozen in place by a chilling fear of
the mean woman that had taken him away.  “You’d better
do as I say little boy or else.”

Grabbing him again she headed to the woods,
disappearing into the trees.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Standing in front of the classroom Christy yelled over
the chatter of the children’s voices to try and make
them calm down.  Finally, after several minutes of the
loud chatter and squeals of delight they calmed down. 
“All right, all right,” she laughed.  “I know that
your excited but this is still a classroom and you
need to calm down, okay?”  A chorus of ‘yes teacher’s
rang out and she had to smile.

“Okay, so I want everyone to think of their favorite
story and tomorrow we will have a picnic by the river
to tell each story.  Now, we have to get back to our
lessons so if everyone will please take out your
slates, we’ll work on some word problems.”  

Waiting to make sure everyone had their slate and
chalk ready, Christy was about to begin the word
problem when Rebecca came running into the school. 
“Christy!” she cried.  “Teddy’s gone!”

“What?” she cried, moving forward a few steps in
shock.  “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” she said breathlessly.  “We were in
the kitchen and when I turned around he was gone.  I
started looking all over the mission but I couldn’t
find him.  When I was in the back I heard him scream
but when I got to the front yard he was gone!”

For one moment, one split second of pure terror,
Christy’s heart was frozen in fear.  The next she was
moving faster than she had ever thought possible,
questions ringing in her head.  Had he wandered off
and gotten hurt?  Where was he?  

“Teddy!” Christy screamed the instant her feet had hit
the grassy yard of the schoolhouse.  “Teddy!”

Running toward the mission house she felt her foot
land in something squishy and looked down to see a wad
of dough sticking to the bottom of her shoe.  “Teddy!”
she screamed again.  Frantic, no idea where to go,
where to look first, she head a small cry from the
woods and ran in that direction.  Her skirts hiked up
Christy ran with all she had in her, jumping logs and
skirting trees until she could see someone up ahead. 
Urging her legs to move faster she raced toward the
other person, getting closer with each passing second.

“Mamma!” Teddy screamed when he saw Christy
approaching.  Reaching out to her he began to struggle
with Margaret to get away.

“Stop it you little brat!” she yelled when Teddy
kicked her ribs.  

He kicked her again and Margaret gasped, dropping him
to cradle her side in pain.  Though he fell to the
ground Teddy got to his feet as quickly as he could
and ran towards Christy.  Dropping to her knees she
opened her arms and held him tightly when he was
within her reach.

“Teddy,” she cried.  “Oh my little Teddy Bear, what
did she do to you?”  Running her eyes all over the
little boy Christy saw the red print on his cheek and
the scrapes from his fall to the ground on his arms. 
“Teddy… Teddy, sweetie look at me,” she told him. 
“Did she hit you?”

Teddy nodded solemnly.

Pressing a kiss to his forehead Christy set Teddy down
on a log and turned to face Margaret.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Eighteen

He was riding through the woods on his way to the
mission when he heard a child’s scream for its mother.
 Neil’s blood chilled when he recognized it as
Teddy’s.  Urging Charlie in the direction of the
scream he rode the mount until the forest became to
thick for the large horse to get through.  Dismounting
he tossed the reins over a branch and hurried the rest
of the way on foot.  His pulse racing Neil ran as fast
as he could, his mind imagining the worst.

Skidding to a halt, stopping frozen in his tracks,
Neil stared in confusion at the scene playing out
before him.  Teddy, trapped in Margaret’s arms,
dropped to the ground after kicking her and ran to
Christy, the young teacher holding him tightly,
comforting him as only a mother could.  When she
examined him and asked if he had been hit Neil
frowned, realizing that she was asking if Margaret had
hit her own son.  But when the little boy nodded Neil
felt as though a heavyweight was coming over his
heart.  Something was not right and he needed to know
what it was once and for all.

“This is the last straw Margaret,” Christy said,
confronting his wife before Neil could do anything
more than open his mouth to draw in a breath.  “I am
giving you fair warning, get out of our cove and leave
us alone!”

“Or what?” Margaret spat.  “You’re losing, little
girl.  Neil loves me, not you.”  Looking past Christy
she saw Neil standing there, confused, watching what
was going on.  Smirking on the inside she knew how to
make sure the little city girl lost once and for all. 
“You may have been able to steal Mac away from me
before he lost his memory but now he’s come back to me
and that is all there is to it.  You had better stop
interfering with my family.”

“Neil may be your husband by law but you lost his
heart a long time ago!”

“Well I’ve got it back now,” she replied.  “And I am
not going to let you take it away from me again.”

“I never took his love for you Margaret, you destroyed
it all on your own.”

“People make mistakes.”

Whirling around Christy realized Neil was standing
behind her, listening to the entire conversation.  She
couldn’t see past the blank look in his eyes and the
realization that he was about to make a decision
stabbed fear into her heart.  “Neil, you cannot
believe what she says.  You do not love her, you
haven’t for a long time.”

“You said yourself that she is my wife,” he said after
a moment.  Moving past her he stood next to Margaret
and held out his hand to Teddy.  “Come on, Teddy, its
time to go home.”

“Mamma!” he cried, flinging himself at Christy’s legs,
holding on as tightly as he could.  “Teddy stay wif’
Mamma!”

Neil watched with confusion as Christy bent down to
pick up Teddy and settled him on her hip.  “Why does
he call you Mamma?”

“Because she’s tricked him,” Margaret answered, moving
a few steps forward to reach for Teddy.

“He calls her Mamma because that is what she is to
him.”  Stepping between Margaret and Christy David
blocked Margaret’s reach.  “Teddy will be coming back
to the mission with us Doctor.  When you are ready for
some answers you can come and join us there… alone.”

“The boy is my son,” Neil began, not liking the way
the mission folk were interfering with his family, as
confusing as it was to him at the moment.

“Yes, he is, but he is also Christy’s son.” Neil
started in shock.  “Before you say anything else I
suggest you take a look at these papers Doctor,” David
said, handing Neil a large envelope.  “I think you
might find them a little enlightening.”

Turning his back to Neil David put a gentle hand on
Christy’s shoulder and guided her away from the group,
back to the mission.  Watching them walk away Neil saw
Teddy watching him for a moment before turning away
and burying his head into her shoulder.  Something in
his heart broke when Neil saw his own son turn away
from him.

“You can’t let them do that, Mac!” Margaret yelled. 
“Do something!”

“Like what?”

“Like what!?!” she repeated, waving her hands and
pacing.  “Are you or are you not a man?  Go get your
son from that little witch who is taking him away.”

“Why did you take Teddy to the Spencer’s?” Neil asked
quietly, turning to face his wife.

“What are you talking about?”

“You said that you had taken Teddy to the Spencer’s to
spend the night.  Why?”

“I told you Mac, she had said the children wanted to
see him.”

“So it wasn’t because you had to go to El Pano?” 
Stopping still she didn’t answer him.  “Then again why
was it that Fairlight said Christy had brought him
over the day after I had left for Low Gap so that they
could go on a walk?”

Margaret sighed.  “Neil, Fairlight has been jealous of
me from the moment I returned to the cove with you
after we were married.  She is best friends with HER,
of course she would agree with whatever lie the girl
has spun.”

Neil was silent for a moment as he listened to
Margaret’s reasoning.  Margaret was his wife; of
course he should believe her.  Teddy called Miss
Huddleston his Mamma; didn’t that count for something?
 Fairlight had been a good friend for longer than he
could remember, amnesia or not; why would she lie to
him.  But Margaret was his wife.  A wife was placed
above everything else, everyone else.  And Margaret
was his wife.

Still thinking about everything he remembered the
envelope that David had handed to him.  Opening the
seal he pulled out the paperwork and read it over, his
answer lying within the words he read on the papers in
his hand.  Raising his eyes to Margaret he turned the
papers around so she could read them.

“We’re divorced.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Nineteen

Sitting on the divan, her back against the armrest,
feet on the second cushion, Christy brushed a gentle
hand over Teddy’s golden curls as she listened to the
people speaking around her.

“I was in the barn when I heard you screaming for
Teddy.  Before I could get outside thought Becca had
come running in to find me, begging me to go after
you.  By the time I found you in the forest Neil was
already there with you and Margaret.”

Raising her eyes from Teddy Christy smiled at the
young preacher.  “Thank you David.  I don’t know what
would have happened if you hadn’t been there to help
me.”

“I think you were doing quite well on your own,” he
teased.  “The mother bear always protects her cub.”

“Even from the father bear.”  All eyes turned to the
doorway at the sound of the Scottish brogue in the
outer doorway.  There, bathed in the fading sunlight,
stood a man whose eyes were filled with questions.  As
he moved into the main room he continued speaking. 
“And I want to know why.  No more half answers, no
more evading the truth.  I want the answers you have
all been keeping from me.”

Christy met his eyes for a moment but dropped them to
look at Teddy hen he stirred in her arms.  Looking up
at Neil she could feel him draw himself back, his
large brown eyes glancing around the room as though he
expected something awful to creep out of the shadows. 
“Te’y stay w’if Mamma?” he whined, his chin beginning
to quiver as he raised his eyes to Christy.

She smiled at him.  “Yes, Teddy, you’re going to stay
here with Mamma.”

Satisfied that he was safe he laid his head back down
on her shoulder, staring at the flames in the
fireplace.  Bending her head down she laid a gentle
kiss on his head and continued to rub his back,
unaware of Neil’s scrutiny.

“Sit, please, Neil,” Alice said, gesturing for him to
bring in a chair.  “I believe thee may be right.  This
has gone on long enough.  Too many people have been
hurt already.”  Waiting until Neil was sitting down
with them Alice began at a proper beginning.  “I do
not know what thee remembers and what thee does not
but I shall begin at the beginning.”

Sitting in her chair by the fire Alice told Neil about
his marriage to Margaret, the child they had lost, the
way she had left him believing she had drowned in the
river.  She told him of the two previous times she had
returned to the cove, three if you counted the last
one.  As Christy listened she found herself amazed
that Alice could keep such a neutral tone to her voice
when she knew as well as everyone else how much
Margaret had hurt her mother.

Silently taking in everything Alice was telling him
Neil listened without saying a word.  There were some
things in which he could see the spark of truth;
especially the way Margaret had resented him going off
to help the cove all the time.  But there were still
questions he wanted answers to.

“What about Teddy?  Grantland said that Miss
Huddleston is his mother.”

“I am,” Christy said raising her eyes to meet his. 
“In every way that matters I am his mother.  Teddy is
your nephew.  His parents were killed in a fire and a
friend brought him here to the mission.  We were
returning to the mission house and found the man and
Teddy waiting here for you.  For the first few nights
Teddy slept here at the mission until we took him back
to the cabin to get used to living there.  Whenever
you leave for a medical call in another part of the
cove you would bring Teddy here so he would be safe.”

“So you became close?”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t explain why he calls you Mamma.”

“Teddy was a little boy who’d lost the only woman he
knew as his mother.  But he found a woman who loved
him just as deeply in me.  I guess that’s why he calls
me Mamma.  To be honest I don’t even remember when he
started it, I just woke up and he was calling me
Mamma.”

“Woke up?”

“After the bear attack,” Rebecca replied.  “That was
when he had started calling her Mamma.”

“How were you attacked?”

“Margaret had come back and forced me out of your
cabin where I was watching Teddy while you were at the
O’Teales operating on Wilmer.  She sent him outside to
play and he wandered over to Lovers Falls on his own. 
We were all out looking for him when I remembered how
much he liked that place.  I got there and saw…”
Christy’s throat closed on her, the memories of what
she had seen were still so raw on her heart, the sight
still burned into her eyes.  Taking a deep breath she
forced herself to continue.  “I saw that Teddy had
bothered a bear that was by the water and the bear was
going to attack him.  I ran down to the water and put
myself between Teddy and the bear.  That is how I got
injured.”

Christy had been brushing her hand over Teddy’s hair
the entire time, never taking her eyes of the array of
golden curls.  She never saw the look on Neil’s face,
the amazement that someone would have done that for
his son.  But as he watched her with Teddy, his mind
playing back every memory he could think of, he saw
that it wasn’t as shocking as he had originally
thought.  It was an act of love, the same love he saw
from her every day.

“And you?” he asked after a moment.  “Where did you
and I stand?”

For a moment it seemed as though Christy hadn’t heard
him, her eyes never leaving Teddy.  But she lifted one
of her ands to her neck and pulled a thin chain out
from under her shirt.  There, dangling from the end,
was a ring Neil remembered from his childhood.  He had
seen it resting in his mother’s keepsake box when he
was a child and remembered her handing it to him as
she had lain on her deathbed, struggling for a breath.
 To this day her words were etched into his memory.

‘Love never fails, my boy,’ she’d whispered.  ‘Love
with all your heart and nothing is impossible.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Twenty

Peering in through the window she watched the group
inside, each one talking in turn as they told Neil the
answers he was demanding.  Glaring she watched and
listened as Christy told him the very thing she hadn’t
wanted him to know.

“When I first got here you and I fought over the
things I was doing or teaching.  I had dreams of
helping the cove and you thought I was only trying to
change it to what I wanted.  But as time passed I
began to realize, as did you, that we could trust one
another implicitly no matter what.  I’m still not sure
when it happened but at some point we fell in love,
though neither of us was ready to admit it.  Only
about that time Margaret came back for the first time
and you withdrew from everyone, hurt and angry.  But
she left and life went back to normal until the next
time she returned, this time as a dancer in a tea
house in El Pano.”

“After that things began to change.  I changed, you
changed, life changed.  Then Teddy came and it changed
all over again.  We were always together because of
Teddy.  At first it was here at the mission, but then
I started spending time at your cabin, helping out
while you were on medical calls.  Teddy and I would go
for walks and end up meeting you later in the day as
you were coming back from wherever.  Then the day of
the bear attack came and you stayed by my side for
weeks on end, never leaving the mission unless it was
absolutely necessary.”

“That was when we finally told each other how we felt.
 We were in love but you were still a legally married
man.  The day of Rebecca and David’s wedding you asked
me if I could wait for your friend in Philadelphia to
find Margaret and get a divorce.  I told you that I
would wait as long as it took because I loved you and
that was never going to change.  And it hasn’t, not
since you left for Low Gap, not since you were shot in
the head, not since you declared that you were going
to stand by Margaret.  I have never stopped loving you
Neil and I never will no matter what you decide after
today.”

Neil was silent.  She had kept her eyes on his the
entire time, her voice filled with the same love he
could see in her eyes.  Those crystal blue orbs were
filled with a determined love, the love of a woman who
was fighting for the man she loved.  It was a look he
had never seen in the eyes of the woman that he had
thought was his wife.

“I wish I could remember.”

“I don’t expect you to remember everything, Neil,”
Christy said to him.  “You were shot in the head, I
thank God every day that you didn’t die.  It will come
back to you, I promise.  But I can’t let Margaret lead
you away without a fight, Neil.  You and I were trying
to make a life together and she is trying to destroy
it.”

Silence fell for a few moments as Neil thought over
everything he’d heard.  Christy had always intrigued
him but when Margaret had returned he had distanced
himself from the young teacher to get reacquainted
with his wife.  Still, he could remember first waking
up in the mission, the sight of her kneeling next to
him, her head resting on his hand.  He remembered the
way she had smiled when she realized he was awake, and
the pain and sadness that had filled her face when he
asked her who she was.

She loved him.

He had no doubt about that; no one could look into her
eyes and think any different.  

But did he love her?

There he was filled with confusion.  He didn’t
remember loving her but then again he didn’t remember
loving Margaret either.  And what about his dream? 
There had been a woman with long curly hair that he
knew he loved.  At the time he assumed it had to have
been Margaret.  What if he’d been wrong?  Fairlight’s
words came back to him.

‘That Margaret you got in yer place ain’t the only one
what’s got long curly hair.’

What if it was Christy and not Margaret after all?

“Thee has been given many things to think about
tonight, Neil,” Alice said, speaking after being
silent the whole while.  “I am sure thee needs time to
drink it all in.”

“Maybe he does, but I don’t.”

Looking toward the doorway they saw Margaret standing
on the threshold, a gun pointed at them.

“It’s time to finish what I started,” she glared.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Twenty One

“Margaret, what are you doing?” Neil asked, getting to
his feet to face the woman pointing a gun at them. 
“Put the gun down.”

“Oh I don’t think so, Mac.  I am sick and tired of her
coming in and taking what is not hers for the taking. 
First she took my mother, then you, and I am not going
to stand by and let her take anything else.  Instead,
I’m going to take it back from her.  Stand up,” she
ordered Christy, waving the gun at her.

Realizing she meant business Christy set Teddy in the
corner of the divan, out of Margaret’s aim and stood
in front of the fire.  Watching her Christy felt as
though her heart was going to beat its way out of her
chest.  Who was she going to hurt?  Her?  Neil? 
Teddy?  The thought sent ice through her veins.  No
matter who she killed it was going to be bad.

“I didn’t want to do it this way, but now I don’t have
a choice.  This wouldn’t have had to happen if I
hadn’t missed the first time.”

A sickening realization hit Christy with a sudden
force.  “It was you,” she whispered.  “You were the
one who shot Neil.”

“Of course it was me,” she snapped.  “I wasn’t going
to let you have him, he’s mine.  You came in here with
your big blue eyes and bright ideas and hooked him
with your little pinky.  I didn’t stand a chance to
get what I needed so long as he had you.”

“You don’t even love him.”

“Love him?” she laughed.  “What has loving him got to
do with anything?  He’s a doctor and I’m sick, that’s
all there is to it.  But that doesn’t matter anymore. 
I’m dying, and I am not going to leave this precious
little cove until I can take the one thing you want
more than anything else.”

Terrified Christy took Neil’s hand in her own and
squeezed it tightly.  “Margaret, please, don’t do
this.  If you kill Neil you’ll be killing everyone in
this cove.  You can’t do this!”

Margaret sneered.  “Who said I was going to kill
Neil?”

Suddenly Neil pushed himself in front of Christy,
placing himself between the gun and the woman holding
his hand.  “Margaret, you’ve got no right to kill
Christy.  If you want medical attention I’ll give it
to you but leave her alone.”

Margaret shook her head.  “Don’t be stupid Neil.  You
know as well as I do that there isn’t anything that is
going to save my life now.  And what good would
killing her be?  I want her to lose the one thing she
cares about more than anything else in the world.  I
want her to suffer.”

Getting a firm grip on the butt of her pistol Margaret
sneered at the two people standing in front of her and
raised her arm, moving it across the room until it
stopped, pointing the gun at the one thing, the one
person, Christy and Neil treasured more than their own
lives.  Squeezing the trigger the sound echoed in the
room as she fired the gun.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Twenty Two

“NO!!”

Several screams rang out at once when Margaret took
aim.  Her feet moving before she even registered what
she was doing anything Christy lunged forward but was
pulled back by Neil.  Eyes wide with terror she
watched as he lunged ahead, pushing her back even as
he scrambled to get to Teddy, the little boy sleeping
innocently on the divan.  Grabbing him Neil twisted so
his back was to Margaret and fell onto the divan,
lying unmoving, with a startled and scared Teddy
trapped in his limp arms.

“Neil!” Christy screamed as she rushed forward to get
to the fallen man while David moved to grab the gun
away from Margaret.

Startled out of his sleep, scared by all the screaming
and loud noises, Teddy scrunched up his face and began
to wail, reaching for his Mamma and not knowing why
she wasn’t picking him up.  Allowing Rebecca to pick
him up he watched from a safe distance as his Pappa
was rolled over, a large red stain on his shirt.

“Neil!” Christy cried, her hands automatically
pressing on the wound the way he had shown her to stop
the bleeding.  “Miss Alice!”

“David, give me the gun,” she commanded.  “Go, take
Prince and find Dan Scott.  Hurry!”

Handing the gun to Alice David ran from the mission
house to the barn, saddling Prince in record time. 
Gun in hand Alice opened it and removed the bullets,
placing the gun on the mantle and the bullets in her
pocket.  

“Rebecca, thee must take Teddy upstairs, I do not want
him down here for any reason.”

“Yes, Miss Alice,” she said, turning to head go
upstairs, away from the terrifying scene of the
bleeding doctor.

“Christy,” Alice said softly,. “Clear the table and
wash it so that we may operate.  I fear I will need
thy help if Dan Scott cannot be found.”  Pulling
Christy away from Neil she moved Christy toward the
dining room table to do as she was told.  “Go on,” she
said firmly.

While Christy disappeared into the kitchen to get some
water boiling to clean the table Alice turned to face
Margaret.  “Would that I had never born thee my life
would have been a much more peaceful place,” Alice
said, voicing the thought that had been in her heart
for longer than she had realized.  “My God have mercy
on thy soul, Margaret… for no one else shall.”

Turning away Alice left her daughter alone, letting
the woman leave if she wished.  She was through trying
to help her.  Pressing a clothe over Neil’s wound
Alice tried to stop the blood, clean as much of it off
as she could so as to examine the wound.  Unbuttoning
his shirt Alice peeled it away and saw that the bullet
had pierced the inside of his shoulder, close to the
chest but it was only his shoulder.  Frowning she
examined him further and found that his head had hit
the wooden arm of the divan, effectively knocking him
out.  Glad that he was no longer in pain Alice knew
they had to get the bullet removed and stitched up as
soon as possible.

“The table is done, Miss Alice,” Christy said, her
voice as shaky as her hands as she entered the room. 
“Will he be okay?  Miss Alice please tell me, will he
be okay?”

“We need to operate, Christy.  Can thee help me move
him onto the table?”

Working together the two women struggled and strained
to get Neil from the divan to the table, the
unconscious man of no help in any way.  Huffing from
the exertion Alice told Christy to go out and get
Neil’s medical saddlebags from Charlie and to
sterilize the equipment that was within.  Running out
to Charlie Christy did as she was told, dropping the
metal equipment into the already boiling water. 
Letting it sterilize for a moment she washed her hands
in a lye solution and began to remove the hot metal
surgical utensils from the water, laying them out on a
clean board as she had seen Neil do on many different
occasions.  When she was done she moved back out to
the dining room to see that Alice had removed Neil’s
shirt and cleansed the area around his shoulder as
best she could.

“Set the tray here,” she instructed, pointing to the
makeshift table she had formed next to her.  “Christy,
thee must be strong,” she counseled. 

“I will,” Christy replied with a false confidence. 
“Just save him, Miss Alice.”

Nodding Alice reached for a scalpel and made a slit at
the bullet holes edge before setting the knife back
down and reaching for the forceps while Christy wiped
away the blood that had pooled as a result of the
small slice.  Peering into the small hole Alice
searched for the bullet with her eyes before trying to
find it with the forceps.  After several tense moments
she closed her eye with a small sigh of relief when
she felt the bullet.  Gripping it tightly she pulled
it up and out of Neil’s shoulder, setting both the
forceps and bullet back onto the tray.

“We must cleanse the wound and then I can stitch it
closed,” Alice said.  “Thankfully he is unconscious so
he will feel none of the pain.”

Nodding in silent reply Christy handed Alice what she
asked for, her eyes returning to Neil’s closed face
time and time again.

‘Dear Lord,’ she prayed.  ‘Please…’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Twenty Three

The first thing he was aware of was the pain.  It
throbbed in his shoulder, each pulse sending a fresh
wave of pain until he couldn’t stop the moan that
escaped from his lips.

“It’s okay,” a voice called to him from somewhere. 
“You’ll be okay.”

Someone held his head in their hands, tilting it up so
he could drink from the glass they pressed to his
lips.  The liquid slid past his lips and down his
throat with ease, the bitter taste barely noticed at
all.  As they laid his head back down onto the pillow
he opened his eyes into slits and saw a beautiful
woman leaning over him, her hands soft and gentle, her
smile kind.  Leaning closer she pressed her lips to
his forehead and whispered to him.

“Go back to sleep my love.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sitting on the edge of the bed she brushed a stray
curl from his forehead, watching him slip back to
sleep, away from the pain.  Sighing she watched him
for another moment before heading back downstairs.  

“How is he?”

“Sleeping,” Christy replied.  “He was in pain so I
gave him some aspirin powder in water.”

Dan Scott nodded.  “Good, it will help him sleep in
peace for a while longer.”  Together they headed into
the main room to join the rest of the small group that
had gathered there.

“She shot th’doc,” Bob said to the group.  “She needs
ta be punish’d.”

“There is no arguing that, Mr. Allen.  But the law
must be the one to do so,” Alice replied from her seat
by the fire.

Back and forth the argument had swung all morning.  A
few hours ago the men of the cove had come together to
discuss what had happened, some wanting to take the
law into their own hand, others saying to leave it up
to the judge when he came through El Pano in three
months.  Christy listened to them silently, never
speaking what was on her mind.  Alice had met her eyes
on a few occasions, questioning her silence, but
Christy had simply shook her head, wishing to remain
silent until she herself had made up her mind.

Her head and her heart were at war over this debate. 
One side wanted to punish Margaret for what she had
done, the other side knowing it was best to leave it
to the law.  Part of her hated the woman for what she
had done to Neil and Teddy but the other realized she
was a dying woman who had nothing left to cling to.

“Uncle Bogg… yer the law in these parts.  What’ya gots
ta say on th’matter?”

Lifting her head Christy looked over to the older man
standing just as quietly in the corner of the room. 
He’d been listening to everyone argue the point back
and forth just as she had and she wondered what he was
thinking.  Bogg was a man of the cove, was he going to
keep that mentality or was he going to abide by what
the laws truly said on the matter?

Quiet for a moment Bogg looked over to meet Christy’s
eyes.  “She dun shot at the Doc, that gots ta be
punished.  But she’s a gal folk that dun left th’cove
a long times ago.”  Bogg paused for a moment to let
that sink in.  “Miss Christy, she dun the most ta you
an’ Teddy and the Doc.  What ya gots ta say ‘bout
that?”

All eyes turned to Christy.

Looking away for a moment she found herself looking
out the window to the barn where Margaret was being
held, Jeb Spencer standing guard at the door.  “She’s
dying,” Christy said after a moment.  Bringing her
gaze back to the men in to mission house she
continued, “And she’s desperate.  God tells us to love
our enemies, to turn the other cheek.  I cannot in
good conscience tell you to do her harm for what she
has done.”

Bogg nodded.  “Then we’ll do as ya ask’t.  Jeb and Bob
will take her to El Pano ta wait fer the judge, she
can stay in the prison thar till he comes.”

Nodding her head Christy slipped from the mission
house to stand n the porch.  Taking a deep breath,
unsure of why it seemed so suddenly important, she
left the porch and headed toward the barn.  Nodding to
Jeb she stepped into the barn and looked around for
Margaret.  Not seeing her at first she wondered if the
woman had escaped when she heard a racking cough
coming from the second level of the barn.  Raising her
eyes Christy saw her sitting on the edge of the second
level, her feet hanging over the edge.

“What do you want?” she rasped when she had caught her
breath.

“I want to know why you would try to kill Neil.  Why
was it so important to you to make me suffer?”

“Because you took everything that I ever had.”

“I never took them, Margaret.”

“Yes you did,” she accused.  “You took Mother with you
love of God and you took Neil’s heart just by being
here.  You even took the cove.  They never accepted me
the way they did you.”

“I had to work to gain the acceptance of the cove
Margaret,” Christy replied.  “They didn’t accept me at
first either.  I was an outsider.”

“Please,” she snorted in disgust.  “I’d lived here for
three years before I’d had enough.”

“Margaret…”

“Get out,” she spat.  “You’re making me sick with all
your sweetness and love.”

Sad for the woman who’d lost her hope Christy nodded
and turned to walk out of the barn.  Before she could
take a step she heard a strange sound, like the
snapping of a branch.  Frowning, curious as to what
could have broken, she turned around to look behind
her.  Seeing the sight that was waiting for her
Christy stumbled away, backing up as fast as her feet
could carry her, her scream filling the air.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Twenty Four

Jumping in her skin when she heard the scream Alice
got to her feet and hurried to the door, a step ahead
of the other men in the room.  Each one hurrying they
group ran outside in time to see Jeb disappear into
the barn.  Hurrying over to the large building Alice
entered it to see Jeb holding Christy in his arms,
trying to turn her head away from the sight that froze
her in place.

There, hanging by a rope, was Margaret, her neck
broken from force of the noose around it.

“Lordy,” Rob whispered when he saw the woman hanging
from the rope.  “She dun kilt herself.”

Ignoring the hushed whisper Alice took Christy from
Jeb’s arms and together they left the barn, leaving
the men to bring her daughter down to the ground.  As
they were crossing the yard David met them, running
from the schoolhouse.  “I heard a scream, what’s
happened?”

“Margaret has killed herself,” Alice replied.

“Alice, I’m so sorry.”

Nodding Alice continued to walk away from the barn,
heading away until they had reached the school. 
Sitting on the steps neither woman spoke, just sitting
side by side, hands clasped together.  After some time
they saw several of the men leave the barn only to
come back a little while later with a large wooden
box.  They sat there still, neither one speaking,
until all the men came out of the barn, shutting the
doors behind them.  Most disappeared to head on home
to their families but a few of them stayed.  While the
rest of them milled around the steps to the mission
house Bogg ambled over to them, stopping a few feet
away to face the women.  

“Hit be dun, then,” he said.  Nodding to them he
walked away.

Alice watched the older man walk away for a moment
before she felt the tears beginning to sting at her
eyes.  Trying in vain not to let them fall she
couldn’t stop the tears from streaming forth.  Turning
her face away Alice felt Christy pull her into an
embrace allowing the Quaker to lean on her and weep
for the daughter she had lost in so many ways.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sitting on the edge of the bed Christy looked down at
the sleeping man, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.
 Earlier today they had laid Margaret to rest, burying
her in the small graveyard behind the mission.  There
had been a very small turnout, Uncle Bogg the only one
who didn’t live at the mission.  He had come as he
felt it was his duty.  Alice had left not long after
the ground had been replaced, heading out for a
retreat to a place no one really knew about.  David
and Rebecca had taken Teddy from Christy, telling her
they wold take him away for a picnic so she could have
some time to herself.

At first she had tried to rest but sleep evaded her so
she had gone to the school to try and work but her
mind wouldn’t focus on the papers before her.  So she
had come in to sit with Neil, holding his hand and
watching him sleep.  How long she had been there she
didn’t know, but the sky outside had begun to turn a
rosy red, the sun obviously beginning to set.  Why she
felt such a strong urge to cry she didn’t know. 
Looking out the window she didn’t see the blue eyes
staring up at her until he shifted the hand she was
holding.  Moving her head to look at him Christy saw
Neil staring up at her, his blue eyes clear though
tinged with a little pain from his shoulder.

“Don’t cry Lass, I’ll be fine,” he said with a gentle
squeeze of her hand.

His simple words broke the dam Christy had walled up
her tears behind and she closed her eyes, tears
slipping out from between her lashes.  Her chest
aching from her so long suppressed tears Christy slid
off the chair to kneel next to the bed, her head
resting on Neil’s chest as she let her tears fall.

Raising his hand to her head Neil gently brushed her
hair back away from her face, watching with a solemn
stare as she wept.  “I’m so sorry, Lass,” he whispered
after a few moments.  “The nightmare I must have put
you through.”

Trying to pull herself together Christy wiped at her
face, brushing away the tears as quickly as they fell.
 Lifting her head to see him she met his blue eyes
with her own and saw the recognition and the love
within them.  “Neil,” she breathed.

“Aye,” he smiled.  “I’ve missed you.”

“You remember?”  He nodded.  Tears sprang anew from
her eyes but fell upon smiling lips.  “Neil!”

Reaching up she kissed his cheek, laughing with
delight that the man she loved had finally returned to
her.



The End