Read Online The Ghosts of Aquinnah by Julie Flanders - Free Book Online Page B

book Josiah allowed her to read, although he never opened it himself. She could have kept the clipped picture as a memento of the young man she’d nursed back to health, and Josiah would have been none the wiser.
    But Christopher wasn’t in the picture, and there was no opportunity to change that now. It was foolish to even think of it. Stella had no time to waste on daydreaming, as she had to hurry and finish her chores before her husband returned home. Her mind wandered as she scrubbed, and, as she so often did, she thought of Christopher. She wondered how his arm and hand were healing, and hoped the infection in his hand hadn't spread. For a minute, her hands were running the warm soapy wash cloth over his bare chest instead of running the trousers along the washboard. Her face burned and her cheeks turned bright red as she remembered washing Christopher's muscular arms and broad shoulders.
    She didn't even hear Josiah walking into the kitchen.
    “ You've not finished the washing yet?” he asked.
    Stella jumped, splashing water into a puddle around the tub.
    “ I'm nearly done,” she said. “Just finishing your trousers.”
    Josiah stamped his feet on the kitchen floor to shake the snow off his boots.
    “ Haven't I asked you to do that outside on the porch?” Stella asked. “I've just cleaned this floor yesterday.”
    “ I reckon you'll be cleaning it again tomorrow then.”
    Josiah walked to the stove and poured himself a cup of coffee.
    “ A man can't warm himself up in his own kitchen?” he asked. “I'm trying to warm my feet 'fore I have to go back out and head up to Gay Head.”
    Stella stood up straight, dropping the trousers back into the tub.
    “ Gay Head?” she asked. “You're going to check on Mr. Casey, are you?”
    “ I am,” Josiah said. “I imagine he'll need more laudanum by now. I've got Grover ready and we'll go up shortly.”
    “ I'll come with you.”
    “ Why? I don't need a nurse. You've got plenty to do ‘round here.”
    “ I never got a chance to thank Mrs. Mayhew for her hospitality when the snow left me stranded.”
    “ I'll pass along your thanks.”
    “ I'd rather do it myself. You know how I like her...”
    Josiah stared at his wife over the rim of his mug. He did know the lighthouse keeper's wife was almost like a mother for the girl. She seemed to need that.
    “ Alright then, you can come with me. But hurry up and finish this here. I don't feel like waiting long.”
    Stella hurried to wring the trousers as Josiah left the kitchen. She tried to think of what baked goods she had that she could bring to the Mayhews. And to Christopher. What she had said to her husband was true, she did want to see Mrs. Mayhew and convey her thanks to the woman. But the person she really wanted to see was Christopher.
     
    ****
     
    Christopher used his good arm to wash the windows surrounding the lens of the lighthouse, a chore he was happy to perform. He had grown weary of being treated like an invalid days ago, and wanted to do as much as possible to help Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew and pay them back for the care they had given him. He only wished he had his left arm to steady himself while he scrubbed, as he needed all of his strength to make the windows shine.
    He had tried removing his sling a few days earlier while helping Mrs. Mayhew unload food supplies from the couple's wagon and immediately regretted it. The arm had started to throb almost instantly, and Mrs. Mayhew had tutted at him as she redid the sling and tied his arm close to his chest. He had faithfully kept the sling on since, as the last thing he wanted to do was go back to taking laudanum to manage the pain. He was grateful to be off the medication and free of the disorienting and mind-numbing effects it had started to have on him.
    Christopher stared out at the sea below him and listened to the waves crashing onto the sand at the foot of the cliffs. Growing up in Galway, he had loved going down to the harbor and making