Emma's Wish

Part 3

  Turning towards the sound, she noticed that the door to the wooden shed in the back corner of her yard was ajar, swaying back and forth as the wind caught it. The noise she'd heard was the door banging against the wall. Strange, she thought. She was positive she'd bolted it earlier when she'd finished hoeing the vegetable garden.

  A gust of wind whipped her hair into her eyes, and a fat droplet of rain landed on her nose. A jagged shaft of lightning streaked through the sky, followed a few moments later by a low rumbling of thunder in the distance.

  Within seconds, the rain began to teem down. Soaked, Emma scurried across the yard. Rain lashed against her nightdress, pasting it to her skin. She shivered.

  A muffled sound reached her ears. It seemed to be coming from inside the shed. Was the wind playing tricks on her? It had almost sounded like a sob. Ridiculous, she thought. Her imagination was just running wild.

  Then she heard it again, and another sound, much deeper. Something was definitely inside the shed.

  She began to tremble, but whether it was from the icy rain or fear, she couldn't say. Her heart thundered against her ribs.

  With trembling hands, she tucked the butt of the rifle under her arm and aimed the barrel at the open door, praying that she could pull the trigger if it became necessary.

  Carefully, she opened the shed door to allow the lantern light to illuminate the darkness. Her mouth was dry, and she could feel her heartbeat hammering in her throat as she took a small step inside. Silence. Slowly, she scanned the shadows, waiting.

  Silence.

  Silly, she chided herself. Just as she'd thought. Imagination.

  Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she relaxed, easing the barrel of the rifle down until it hung by her side.

  Turning to leave, a whimper stopped her in her tracks. The blood drained from her face when she saw two dark eyes staring out at her from behind an empty crate.

                                                                    ***

  A tiny voice from the darkness cried out. "Don't shoot!"

  What the devil--?

  "Please don't kill us," the voice begged.

  A child's voice.

  "Who's there?" she called out.

  As Emma stood with her mouth agape, three children crawled out from behind a wooden crate. Emma was flabbergasted. What in heaven's name were three young children doing out at this time of night, hiding in a stranger's shed? They should be home in bed.

  "You gonna shoot us?" the middle one, a boy, asked. "If'n you are, I'm not scared."

  Emma felt her lips curl in a smile, but she realized the boy was perfectly serious.

  "I'm sure you wouldn't be," she replied, noticing the slight quiver in the boy's voice. "But I'm not going to kill you."

  "See, I told ya," the largest of the three said.

  "Who are you?" Emma asked.

  The oldest boy made the introductions.

  "Well, Joseph," Emma said sternly, "what are you doing hiding here?"

  "We was ... we got tired, so we stopped for a spell--"

"Where are you going?"

  The boys gazed conspiratorially at each other, then took the youngest, a girl, between them, each of them with an arm about her shoulders. "It don't matter. We'll be moving on now. We didn't mean no harm, ma'am. And we didn't touch nothing."

  "Oh?" Emma asked, her gaze sliding to the middle child.. She'd noticed a few crumbs of what could only be her apple pie crust on his face.

  The boy’s head dipped and he kicked his foot in the dirt. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he mumbled. "We was hungry after all that walkin'--"

  "Let's go," Joseph said, making a move to go past her.

  "You children are not going anywhere tonight," Emma said.

  "We have to--"

  "Do I have to hold you at gunpoint?" She tried to ask the question as sweetly as she could. She didn't want to frighten them, but she needed them to realize she meant what she was saying. "Because I will if necessary."

  Panic crept into the children's eyes, and Emma noticed Joseph's face pale. "Uh--"

  "Not another word. Come with me."

  Emma stepped outside and waited, ignoring the wind whipping through the trees and the rain slicing through her thin nightdress.  "Now!"

  As if they were being led to their execution, the three children filed out, Becky first, then Nathan, and Joseph last, carrying a feed sack. Those must be their supplies for their journey, Emma surmised, trying to prevent the smile she felt from showing on her face. By the size of the sack, they wouldn't get far.

  The children stood in the rain, waiting until she'd bolted the shed door, then followed her across the yard to the house.

  When they were inside, Emma instructed them to remove their coats and boots while she went to fetch blankets to wrap around them. Nathan's lips were blue from the cold, and Becky couldn't seem to stop shivering.

  "Joseph, you're the oldest, right?" Emma sensed that if she could get through to him, the other two would follow.

  He nodded.

  "Do you have dry clothes in the sack?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Find something for Becky to wear, and while I take her upstairs and help her, you boys put on something dry."

  Instinctively, Joseph took Becky's hand and drew her close to him.

  "We gotta go--" Nathan interrupted. "Don't we, Joseph?"

  "Joseph," Emma insisted. If she could get through to him now ... "Becky needs to be warm. She's going to get sick if she doesn't get warm."

  Emma could see the indecision on the boy's face, and her heart went out to him. For whatever reason, these three children felt they had to run away, yet his obvious affection for his sister gave him reason to hesitate.

  "Where are you taking her?"

  "I'm going to dry her and change her clothes."

  "She won't go with you. I'll take care of her."

  "Fine." Emma smiled. "I want your word you won't leave until I come back."

  He eyed her hesitantly, then looked at his brother and sister for their approval. Nathan barely nodded his head, and Becky just grinned up at him as another shiver overtook her.. "Okay. I promise. But then we have to go."