Read Online Sweetwater (Birdsong Series) by Alice Addy - Free Book Online Page B

front
door, her bare feet padding lightly across the smooth waxed floorboards.
Standing on the broad front porch, she looked out across the yard and beyond
the lake. Inhaling deeply, she caught the fragrance of the wildflowers growing
along the banks. Emily imagined her roses and lilac bushes encircling both
ends of the porch, filling the air with their highly aromatic scents, spring
and summer. She’d have trumpet vines climbing the split rail fence, just for
the hummingbirds. Since this was Kansas, sunflowers would dot all the fields,
bringing the red-winged blackbirds, she loved so much. Meadowlarks, robins,
and goldfinches were plentiful, as well. Maybe she’d be able to build a martin
house. She had seen them on farms and delighted in their noisy colonies.
    “Freedom,” she sighed, as she gloriously spun around in a
circle, hands held high above her head. Her heart felt light for the first
time in years—maybe for the first time ever. The farm was magical.
    Then she did the strangest thing. Emily leaned toward the
doorjamb and gave it a little kiss. “I love you,” she whispered. Then she
smiled at her childishness. Thank goodness no one was around to see her act in
such a peculiar manner; but she really did love her home.
    As if on cue, two gray geese waddled across the yard,
followed by their fuzzy goslings. The darker one stared at her and honked.
Emily wasn’t certain if that was a greeting or a warning. Then, the second
goose followed suit. It honked . . . twice. Before long, a goosey cacophony
of sounds filled the air.
    “Well, get used to me. I’m here to stay and you’re welcome
to stay, too,” she shouted, just before she shut the door, laughing at herself.
Now she was talking to irate geese. The day was getting better and better,
she thought. Next thing, she’d be having complete conversations with herself.
    Looking about the neat cottage, she found cleaning rags suitable
for polishing. She found all the brooms and mops, that she’d need for
cleaning, organized and kept neatly in a storeroom. The house was amazingly
well stocked. Although it had been abandoned for years, it was almost as if
the owners had just gone into town for the day, and would return in time for
supper. That thought was kind of sad, Emily felt. Looking around, she
couldn’t help but wonder, “Who were you?
Where did you go?”
    Emily took stock of the things she had on hand, and the
things she would need to purchase. Most of her money was in the bank, back in
Hays City, and she wasn’t certain how she could obtain the necessary funds
without being seen by her friends. She told herself that she was not really
hiding from them, but simply trying to straighten things out in her own head.
Secretly, she knew the truth. She was exactly where she had wanted to be, for
such a very long time, and she was definitely hiding from her terrifying past.
How could she risk going back into town?
    It had been a full and satisfying day for Emily—the
first day on her farm. As she bolted the door and checked the shotgun’s
readiness, she stopped to listen to the absolute quiet. Back at the hotel,
there were always the sounds of the guests talking and moving about. The
nearby saloons made a racket all of their own, with bawdy laughter and gay
music pouring out onto the streets. Horses and wagons rattled by and children
squealed with joy. Once in a while, the report of gunfire shattered the daily
sounds of the city.
    Tonight, Emily could hear the frogs croaking at the edge of
the lake, with the sound of a splash, now and then. When she peered out the
door, just before locking up for the evening, she gladly noted the family of
geese sleeping on her porch, under the chairs. Geese were as good as any
watchdog, she thought, and they kept her from feeling lonely. “Good night,”
she said, softly, before bolting the door.
    Turning down the lamps, she walked softly back to the
bedroom. She undressed in the relative darkness, and turning back