Angels Watching Over Me (Shenandoah Sisters Book #1) (25 page)

K
ATIE KEPT MOSTLY TO HER ROOM FOR THE rest of the day. I heard crying coming from behind her closed door a few times, but I knew that as long as I stayed around, Katie wouldn’t do anything to change the situation.

I had washed the tattered old dress I’d had on when I first arrived, and I’d put it away just in case the day ever came when I’d need it again.

It looked like that day was finally here.

I lay in Katie’s brother’s bed that night, thinking about all that had happened and the decision I’d made.

My heart was breaking, more for Katie I think than myself. I couldn’t tell for sure what she was thinking, or if she realized how serious I was. And I had about a dozen second thoughts myself. But every time I’d come back to the conclusion it was the right thing to do.

This would be my last night here in this nice soft bed. I’d been at Rosewood long enough to get used to the comfort, but it was time for me to go back to being a colored girl again. If Katie was going to get found out, it’d be better for us both if I wasn’t around. I couldn’t pretend that I belonged in her white world any longer.

Gradually I dozed off to sleep.

I don’t know how much sleep Katie got that night, but I sure didn’t get too much. What time I woke up I don’t know, but it was still dark. I knew more time in bed was useless.

I realized that in a way we’d already said our goodbyes. There wasn’t much sense in prolonging the sorrow of parting any more than I had to. It would only make things worse. So I might as well just get up and leave.

As I got out of bed, my eyes started to burn, but I tried to ignore them. I tiptoed across the floor, got out my old dress, and quietly changed into it.

A minute or two later I tiptoed toward the stairs holding Mama’s Bible and a few other things that Katie had given me wrapped up in a bundle. I noticed one of the guns still propped against the wall where I’d put it in case the three men returned. At least Katie knew how to use it now, but hopefully she wouldn’t have to.

I continued on downstairs, then lit the lantern in the kitchen and sat down to write Katie a short note. It took me longer than I expected, because it was none too easy. Then I got myself a little food, blew out the lantern, opened the door, and crept out into the darkness.

There was just enough moon to see my way past the barn. I heard a few noises inside, but this was no time to let the animals distract me from what I had to do. Then I started walking down the road through the darkness.

My eyes stung with tears and my heart ached as I got farther away. But I couldn’t let myself look behind me.

My mind went back to everything that had happened, my first few days here, how Katie had been when I first found her, how we’d slowly put the place back together and gradually started getting to know each other, then become friends. I thought of all we had managed to do together. It was only a short time, but it seemed like a year. The day before I’d thrown out some pretty high-sounding ideas about us getting together later and keeping in touch with each other. But now I wondered if I ever would see her again.

Good-bye, Rosewood. Good-bye, Miss Katie. . . .

Then the tears finally began to pour out of my eyes. I hadn’t said those words out loud, but they kept going over and over in my head. Between the darkness and the tears, I couldn’t see where I was going and nearly fell over a rock. But the hurt inside was worse than a stubbed toe.

Where
was
I going? I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and tried to force myself to think.

There wasn’t much use going into Greens Crossing. And the colored village at the McSimmons place had been deserted. I had only about a day’s worth of food, no money, and only the clothes I was wearing.

I reckoned maybe, just like the old song said, I had nobody but the angels to watch over me now. Since I hadn’t really figured out where I was going yet, I wasn’t in any hurry and was walking pretty slow. Even though I had no plan in my mind, I found myself moving toward town and the direction of the McSimmons plantation. After a while it started to get light. Every so often I’d hear a horse or wagon in the distance, and I’d hide off to the side of the road in the woods until they were past.

Gradually the sun came up and it got warmer. It must have been several hours later, after hiding from another wagon, I was lying in the grass out of sight. I felt real tired. I started to get drowsy and pretty soon fell asleep.

N
EW
E
MERGENCY
37

B
ACK AT
R
OSEWOOD, THREE OR FOUR
hours after I’d left, Katie woke up suddenly.

It was early in the morning and the sun was just coming up. Some sound had awakened her, and her first thought was that the troublemakers had come back.

‘‘Mayme . . . Mayme!’’ she called frantically as she fumbled into her clothes. She ran into her brother’s room still calling my name.

Just about the time she figured out I wasn’t there, a bloodcurdling scream came from the direction of the barn. By then Katie was plenty scared. She hoped I knew about whatever was going on and was already outside.

She hurried downstairs and into the kitchen, whispering my name just in case it was those men. Then she saw my note on the kitchen table.

She read it, started crying when she realized I was saying good-bye and that I was gone. Whatever her thoughts were, they were interrupted by another howl from the barn.

Still crying, but without stopping to think, she ran back upstairs, grabbed the gun, and came down again. She went through the kitchen, opened the door as quietly as she could, and tiptoed outside.

She wiped away her tears and glanced toward the hen house, but the chickens were quiet as they could be. So she started walking in the direction of the barn.

When she was about halfway there, suddenly the morning air filled with another scream. It sent a shiver all through her. For a moment she forgot about me, and fear took over. The scream had come from the barn for certain. But it sure didn’t sound like any fox.

Katie kept going, gun at her shoulder now.

Maybe it was something like a bobcat or a small mountain lion! Trembling, she put her finger gently on the trigger, ready to shoot if some creature flew out after her. I wish I could have seen her right then— scared to death, eyes big and still red from crying over my note, and holding up a rifle nearly as long as she was tall.

She inched the barn door open and crept through it into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, the dim light showed a black face with two large eyes. For a brief second she thought it was me.

In relief she lowered the gun. But then she heard a voice she knew
wasn’t
mine.

‘‘Don’ shoot me, don’ shoot me!’’ it yelled. ‘‘I’s jest a girl!’’

That was what she was all r ight, a black girl crouched down in a pile of straw about ten feet away, her face full of terror.

When Katie realized she was nothing but a runaway slave girl, her emotions started going all over the place. She was heartbroken all over again that it wasn’t me and suddenly got mad.

‘‘What are you doing here?’’ she shouted. ‘‘You likely scared the wits out of me. I could have shot you!’’

Katie was probably more irritated at me for leaving than she was with the girl. But the girl was there and Katie took it out on her.

‘‘Please don’ hurt me! I thought dose men was gwine ter kill me. I jes’ had ter git away.’’

‘‘How long’ve you been around?’’ she said. ‘‘You’ve been stealing stuff from our house!’’

‘‘Jus a litter bread. I had ter git away. I was hungry an’ I couldn’t—’’

She cried out again and writhed around in pain. All of a sudden Katie realized why.

‘‘You’re . . . you’re going to have a baby!’’ cried Katie, her eyes opening wide in shock.

‘‘I’m doin’ mo’ den jes’ gwine ter hab one . . . I’m habin’ der baby
now
!’’

‘‘Now! You can’t have it now . . . not here.’’

‘‘I can’t help it—it’s comin’!’’

I’ve got to hand it to her, in the midst of all she was going through, Katie didn’t waste time trying to decide what to do.

She turned and ran out of the barn and straight for the house. She dropped the gun on the porch, ran upstairs, and a minute later was hurrying back to the barn with a blanket. As soon as she had made the girl a little more comfortable, she hurried to the stables and started saddling a horse as fast as she could.

‘‘What’s you doin’ . . . where you goin’?’’ babbled the girl.

‘‘I’m going to try to find help,’’ said Katie.

‘‘But you can’t tell no one I’m here . . . dey can’t find me!’’

‘‘Just lie still till I get back,’’ said Katie as she opened the big door and led the horse outside. ‘‘Maybe if I hurry I can catch up with the only person who can help us.’’

With the girl crying and calling out behind her, Katie scrambled up on the horse and galloped away.

A
NOTHER
M
EETING
38

I
DON’T KNOW HOW LONG
I S
LEPT BY THE SIDE
of the road. It might have been an hour or two. I was tired and hadn’t had much sleep the night before.

I woke up slowly, sort of still half dreaming. At first I forgot where I was. Then I remembered—I’d left Rosewood and said good-bye to Katie. A huge feeling of sadness rolled over me again, not knowing if I ever would see her or if I ever would have a place that felt so much like home as Rosewood did.

Where is my home?
I thought to myself as I lay there in the warm grass.
Where do I belong?

I didn’t have any family left in the whole world.

Only Katie. Was she my family now? There wasn’t anybody else. . . .

In the midst of my drowsy thoughts, I heard a voice calling my name.

At first I thought I must still be asleep and dreaming. Then it came again, closer and a little louder.

‘‘Mayme! Mayme!’’

With my name I also heard the sound of hoofbeats.

Now I knew I was wide-awake. I crouched down lower so I wouldn’t be seen.

‘‘Mayme . . . Mayme, where are you? Please . . . Mayme!’’

Hearing Katie’s voice, a hundred thoughts whirled through my brain. What was she doing out here? She must have read my note and come after me. I couldn’t let her talk me into going back! I had to keep her from seeing me!

I lay there for a few seconds, battling inside about what to do. But as I heard Katie calling again, it wasn’t like anything I’d heard from her before. Her voice sounded desperate, pleading. She was riding fast too. She was almost even with where I was.

My eyes filled with tears. I tried to blink them away and stay down, but it was no use. I
couldn’t
let her go by.

Slowly I stood up from the grass and walked out of the trees toward the road.

‘‘Mayme!’’ Katie nearly shrieked with joy as she saw me. She jumped down off the horse and ran to me.

‘‘Mayme . . . you’ve got to come back right away!’’

She sounded so urgent, we didn’t hug or say anything about my note or my leaving.

‘‘Come, hurry,’’ she said again, ‘‘—get up on the horse!’’

She didn’t give me the chance to argue as she climbed back into the saddle and reached for my hand.

‘‘But what’s—’’ I began.

‘‘Hurry, Mayme—there’s a girl in the barn who’s going to have a baby. You’ve got to help me!’’

Before I knew it I was up on the back of the horse with her, trying as best I could to keep hold of my stuff. The minute I was hanging on around her waist, Katie kicked the horse, and we galloped back the way we’d come.

We got back to Rosewood faster than I ever thought Katie could ride a horse. With the wind in our faces and the sound of the horse’s hooves pounding along the dirt road, we could hardly hear to say anything to each other. About all I was able to figure out from Katie yelling back at me was how she’d gotten up and heard a scream, then found some colored girl hiding in the barn who she said was about to have a baby. By the time Katie got that out, we had just about covered the three or four miles back to Rosewood.