Liberty House Read online

  "Anyway, where else could they go?" Katrina grasped his hand on her face. "I want my home," she whispered.

  Andrew nodded. "I know." He leaned in and kissed her.

  She responded and dug her fingers into his thick black hair. "I love you, Andrew. And I thank the Lord for lettin' me be your wife."

  Andrew gazed at her with dark, adoring eyes. "I thank Him every day for you and everythin' we have."

  "Well, I need to get somethin’ up here, and you need to get back to work," Katrina told him.

  "Just so you alright." Andrew wanted to know that she was all right before he left.

  "I will be." Katrina's brows creased with sorrow "It ain’t like it’s the first time everythin’ been taken."

  Andrew clasped her hand. "Hopefully, this will be the last. We’re goin’ to the beach with the children tomorrow. This last incident really shook them up." He looked past Katrina. "Hi, Susan. I'm glad you can stay."

  Susan nodded. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. I am sorry about your home."

  Andrew nodded and went back down.

  Her back to Susan, Katrina stood and walked over to the closet.

  Katrina pulled out what looked like sheets and some blankets. It still got cold at night during the winter, though living along the gulf they didn't get cold often.

  Susan considered her new housemate. Katrina knew firsthand how it was to join the Starry family, though she was raised as one. "Katrina, can I ask you a question?" asked Susan.

  Katrina nodded and sat on one of the beds.

  Susan seated herself on the other end. "What’s it like bein’ married to a Starry? Is it always so hard? Does anything ever come easy for you all?"

  Katrina shook her head. "No, it doesn't, and it won't get better, just a lot harder. Or with any luck, it will stay the same."

  A wave of worry washed over Susan. What was she really getting into, marrying Matt?

  Katrina touched Susan's hand, and she looked up. "But I would’ve married Andrew every day even though our life ain't easy. I love Andrew more than life itself. Our marriage is strong, and we get along great. I think it has to do with the hardships. One thing Starrys knows how to do is treasure the time you have with someone. You never know how long you will have them." Her eyes darkened with sadness. "Starrys make good hard-working men. Matt is worth all the pain this family brings." She paused. "But only you can decide that."

  Susan nodded. "I love Matt, but I think my life will be harder for marrying him."

  "You can be sure of that, but it will be good too," Katrina said simply. "Just think, the fire that burned my home is a normal thing for our life." She touched Susan's chin and looked at her deeply. "Marriage is for life. You will be sacrificing all you know and have to be married to a Starry."

  Katrina then got up and climbed back downstairs, leaving Susan alone with her thoughts. Another thing about sharing a room, there was not much privacy for one's thoughts.

  Tommy loved the ocean. Thankfully, she could still come here no matter how hard life was. It was something she was truly grateful for, the freedom she had in riding or painting the gulf. The children loved it too. It was wonderful to see them having fun, playing on the edge of the water. In the summer, they were here at least four days a week, fishing and cooking the catch over the fire.

  Tommy sat down in the sand; her feet dug deep in the lightly damp, cold sand. It felt good. Her long, purple skirt covers them modestly. She had her pad open and her pencil ready to draw, but what, she wasn't sure.

  Cole came up beside her. "Can I sit with yaw?" he asked in his Texan drawl.

  He had been hovering a little too much, but she understood. Protecting her was his job, and when she almost got hurt, it scared him. She nodded.

  He sat like he also loved and lived on the beach most of his life. "So, how are you doin', Tommy?"

  "Fine." Her answer didn't match the hurt she still felt about Andrew and Katrina having lost so much.

  "How’d you get the name ‘Tommy?'" He smiled. "Not that I don't like it or anything, but it's not a normal girl name."

  Tommy smiled. "It's not, but I was given it as a nickname by Sawyer--and it just stuck. The matrons never cared, and Ellen had enough on her plate than to worry about my name. She did ask if I wanted something else, but I didn't mind it."

  Cole's deep, brown eyes met hers, filling her with an unexpected ripple of pleasure. His face was clean, with a slight stubble on his chin, giving him a rough look that bellied his wealth. "Can I ask what your real name is?"

  Tommy stilled, hiding the smile that tugged at her lips. "Sure, but I might not tell you."

  Cole nodded and grinned, the breeze moving through his black hair. "A woman gotta have her secrets, I understand." He held out his hand for her notepad. "Can I look at it?"

  Tommy handed it to him. "It's not finished yet, but here."

  Chapter Six

  Cole studied the drawing. It showed the gulf, catching every wave, with Andrew, Isaiah, and Jesse fishing off the dock. Katrina cleaning the fish. Ellen sitting by the fire, baking bread and what looked like a peach pie. The children played on the beach, and she caught their innocence and playfulness on the warm winter day.

  Cole had never known such beauty. He moved the page up and looked at an image of himself. It was, of course, well done with him and Melody. His pants rolled up a little, his sleeves pushed up to his forearm, though you could see his muscles under the shirt. He was looking down at Melody lovingly. It also showed Melody's round, youthful face looking up at him. It showed the hem of her blue dress that was wet, her bare feet. What it showed the most was the way his face glowed like he was a striking, caring person. Nothing like he was.

  He looked back at Tommy, who'd been talking to Johnathan. As the boy ran away, she looked back and saw the drawing Cole had been looking at and snatched it from him. "I just saw you on the beach holdin’ Melody's hand and wanted to capture the moment." She tucked her pad into her canvas bag and then nervously scrunched sand in her fingers. "I shoulda asked you."

  Cole patted her hands to still them, leaving his hand on hers. "I don't mind. It’s beautiful. I never saw anything like that. Only once in my life did I ever see someone with more talent than you." She really had a gift, one that could take her far. "You thought of getting a tutor or training in art?"

  She pulled her hands away and sighed. "No, I wouldn't be able to find someone to train me. Anyway, if I had someone come here, it’d be too dangerous."

  "Well, you should sell your art somewhere, like to a gallery or a store," Cole told her.

  She shook her head. "It ain’t good enough."

  Cole took her chin in his hand and turned her face toward him. He met her lovely blue eyes. Today, they looked like the color of the gulf. "Yeah, it is. If you have enough pieces, they’ll sell. I can contact some of my sources."

  Tommy smiled. "You really think doin’ a gallery would work?"

  "Yes, I do." Cole rubbed his finger along her jaw. She was so soft and vulnerable. She had no idea of her own gift, her own talent. He pulled his hand away like he had been burned. He dug his hand in the sand to get away from the feeling. What was wrong with him? He shook the feeling off. That didn't work, "You are so ready for this. It's time to see where this hobby can go."

  Tommy nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to the family about it." Her face brightened with a wide smile. “You wanna go for a swim?"

  "You're kiddin,' right?" he asked.

  Tommy stood up and held out her hand. "Come on, Texan." He took her hand and ran to the beach with her.

  Seeing her hair blowing wildly around her face, he tried not to stare, but she was so beautiful and fun-loving with the children. It was like she finally let go, and he could get a glimpse of the real her.

  Tommy took David in her arms and swung him around and around. Then she laid him on the wet sand and tickled him. Of course, Johnathan ran up to get in the tickles too. She laughed when she became covered in cold water, and the boys ran fr
om her because they didn't want to get wet too. Smart boys.

  The thunder cracked in the sky that night. Tommy dreamed-or more like had a nightmare. Gripped by terror, she screamed and curled up in a fetal position. The thunder was loud and scary. She had always hated thunderstorms. They held such bad memories. She could feel Gloria trying to wake her, but she couldn't respond. The nightmare hurt too much. The pain and fears were so real.

  She hated spring because of all the storms it brought with it. She hated them. She screamed for her friend to live. Now, she couldn't yell or breathe. Her throat was closing. She fought hard to breathe. It hurt. She just wanted to die and not remember and have this thunder go away.

  Cole woke up to the sound of screaming. He got up and put on his pants. His long johns covered his chest. As he ran towards the ladder, he saw Andrew already going up. He scrambled up the ladder where the screaming was coming from. Thunder grated above them. Cole hated thunderstorms. He had ever since before he was a teen. But he ignored his fear and went to Tommy who screamed in bed. It was a blood-curdling scream as if she were being attacked by someone or something.

  He knew from Izzy that nightmares could get bad. His nightmares had gotten bad, but not in a long time. Why was Tommy's this bad? He had heard of Tommy's nightmares, but he didn't know they were like this. The fear and pain that quivered in her voice were heartbreaking to listen to. Andrew tried to hold her down to prevent her from falling off the bed as she moved back and forth, but she fought him. Andrew was big and held her down easily, but gently, like he had done it before.

  "Talk to her, that might calm her down," Cole told Andrew.

  "She doesn't hear our voices. It's someone else's she hears," Andrew replied tersely.

  Whoever that someone was, Tommy was scared of was worse than his father. That wasn't hard in an orphan's life. But the past had to be rough, he knew that much.

  Tommy then stopped fighting but still screamed. The screaming seemed to go on forever.

  Okay, he took that thought back. Izzy hadn't had a nightmare like this one in a long time. When his sister had gotten like this, he had cried with her.

  Cole knew whatever scared her had to be bad. He knew how bad men could get when girls didn't have a man to protect them. He hadn't been old enough…

  Cole shut out his thoughts. This nightmare was about Tommy. Not Izzy.

  Finally, some ten minutes later-it felt much longer-she stopped screaming. She seemed to be asleep, and then she moaned and groaned in pain. Gloria took Tommy in her arms and rocked her back and forth. Andrew told him Gloria doing that helped Tommy feel safe, even though Tommy would never talk about the nightmares. Gloria knew all about Tommy’s nightmares because they had met so long ago and shared the same room in the orphanage. It hurt Cole to see Tommy in this state. What had brought the nightmare on?

  Gloria continued to rock her and whispered to Cole. "Back in those days at the orphanage when Tommy couldn't go back to sleep, I'd get up and talk with her in the middle of the night, or we'd sneak midnight snacks from the kitchen. Those nights were the most fun we had at the orphanage."

  Tommy relaxed, so Gloria laid her down on the bed, but she still wasn't awake.

  Susan went to go get water knowing Tommy would need it for her throat.

  "What’s wrong? Why does she get them?" Cole asked Gloria.

  Gloria answered. "It gets worse when storms happen. She won't be okay till it passes over."

  "I can understand thunderstorms, I hate them," said Cole, "but I ain't scared like this. Why is she scared to death of them? It doesn't make sense."

  "You hate thunderstorms?" Andrew asked.

  "I just do. I always have. Bad memories as a child or something like that I reckon." Cole said to cover up the truth. He had lost his whole life in one storm.

  "She has always been afraid of thunderstorms, ever since we've known her. Somethin’ happened to her as a child that made her afraid," Gloria told Cole.

  "This afraid? It had to be bad."

  "We met her when she was eight when she came from Louisiana. She came on a train, and a lot of things could have happened to her," Gloria spoke like she knew what that a lot felt like.

  "Like what?"

  Gloria sighed. "Her parents both died of the fever one night. It was during a thunderstorm. The neighbors found her a few days after they passed. That's when she ended up in the orphanage with me. She was seven or eight."

  Cole winced. It was bad, but bad enough to have nightmares like the one he had just witnessed? It seemed the nightmares were more fear of someone than of a storm. He would have to wait to see if he was right on what he felt. He wouldn't tell them yet, but he might talk to Sawyer. "Does Sawyer know?"

  "About what?"

  "About her parents. Didn't he know her before she knew you all?"

  "Yeah. He rode with her on the train. They met there, and I guess she told him, or he found out from her guardian. Why do you ask?"

  "Just seeing if he knew the reason."

  "He would have. Sawyer was the first one she told. Then, he told us."

  "You mean Tommy didn't?"

  "Of course, not. She didn't talk at all for about two years. Maverick was the first to get her to talk. I reckon she was too scared. Now, she never stops." Gloria was trying to be funny, but her creased brows told him that time in the past was quite serious. "As you have seen, Tommy doesn't trust very easily. No orphan really does, I guess. Up until Ellen and Owen, no one cared enough to build her trust or stayed long enough to keep that trust," Gloria said.

  "I'm sorry about that," Cole told her.

  "It's life," Gloria said simply.

  "No, it needs to change. Someone needs to care about these children. Or we'll just have a world of messed up adults."

  Gloria, Andrew, Katrina, and Susan, who had come back with the water and heard what Cole said, just stared at him.

  "What I mean is someone needs to look out for children, and then as adults, they won't have so many issues in life. Families would be stronger." It might have helped Izzy and him. He looked out the window. Maybe it would have helped with his whole family? Or this whole family? Then he looked at them. "Do you understand?"

  "Yes. Yeah, we do more than you know," Andrew told him.

  When Tommy started to stir, Susan took Gloria's spot, and Andrew leaned over to Cole's ear and whispered, "You should leave."

  Cole nodded and climbed down the ladder, but he wasn't to get any sleep any time soon. That was for sure.

  When Tommy woke up, her head hurt. Her throat too, and it was dry. She opened her eyes to see Gloria, Susan, Katrina, and Andrew standing there. She tried to talk, but Susan put a hand on her lips and then helped her drink some water. It felt so good against her burning throat. She tried to sit up, and with Susan's help she did, but she lay against the pillow. She was always exhausted when she screamed. Or maybe it was just because it was due to the late hour. Susan pulled up a blanket, although Tommy was wet with sweat. She would have to bathe or at least wash the sweat off

  "How long did I scream?" Her voice grated, barely above a whisper.

  Gloria waited and then said softly. "About fifteen minutes."

  She touched her throat like she felt every minute of it.

  "Here, drink this." Susan helped her drink again.

  Tommy obeyed. She had learned long ago to listen to the family nurse. "I'm sorry to wake ya'll." She meant it more for Susan than the others. Gloria and Katrina had both seen her nightmares, and Andrew had helped. Then, she thought of Cole. What he must think of her? "Cole? Did he hear?" What was she thinking? Of course, he heard her scream.

  Gloria nodded.

  "He thinks I'm crazy," she mumbled. Why should she care what he thought?

  "No, he doesn't. He understands. His sister has them sometimes," Andrew told her.

  "Ones that you scream for fifteen minutes or more?" Yeah, right.

  "It's fine, he doesn't think you're crazy. I know he doesn't," Gloria reassured her.
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  Tommy didn't believe her. She closed her eyes, they felt like there was sand in them.

  Susan asked, "Has staying up or keeping busy ever worked with the dreams, dear?"

  Tommy looked away. "No. Nothin’ really does." Thunder still stormed in the distance, but thankfully not as loud. She shivered from it more than the cold. It hurt so much.

  "Andrew, can you get the water going in the kitchen into the tub and then come get us?" Susan asked.

  "Get some sleep, sweet-Tommy." He kissed her cheek and then walked out.

  "Do you need help undressin’ and gettin’ into your robe, Hon?" Susan asked her.

  "No." She never would have said yes, especially not to Susan. So, she moved the covers off and tried to stand up but stumbled.

  Susan quietly caught her. "You might want to change your mind."

  She let Susan help her back onto the bed and then told Susan, "I just got a little dizzy."

  "Here, drink this." Susan gave her more water.

  She did, only to get Susan out of the way. The dizziness would pass soon. These nightmares had to come to an end.

  Tommy had learned early to keep others at bay, and she didn't get hurt when they left. Susan was going to take time.

  Susan was about to walk into the kitchen. She grasped the door handle to open it but stopped when she heard her name. The light from the kitchen lamp flickered through the hole in the door. She couldn't see through it very well, but she could listen. In the night air, she could hear them well.

  "I think you should trust Susan enough to tell her about the past," Gloria was saying.

  "I don't want to see the pity that comes into her eyes or for her to know the truth."

  "Cole knows your past now and he doesn't pity you," Gloria told her.

  Tommy shrugged. "Cole's different. It's like he knows the pain and understands it."

  Susan smelled chocolate. Must be hot cocoa. She heard a chair move, but otherwise, all was quiet for a moment.