Hearts Awakening (24 page)

Grizel stiffened and latched on to Ellie’s hand again. “Now. You have to come now,” she managed between gulping breaths of air. “Please!”

“I said I’d come, but you need to tell me what happened so I know how I can help. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Gram. She can’t breathe right. Mother’s tried all sorts of remedies, but nothing’s helped. Nothing. Please! Won’t you please come? Father won’t be back for hours yet, and by the time he gets back . . .” She dissolved into tears, unable to voice the fear that her great-grandmother might not survive.

Ellie patted Ethan’s back and rocked him from side to side and held fast to Grizel’s hand to try to get them both to stop crying or she would not be able to go anywhere. “Shhh, it’s going to be all right,” she crooned, over and over again.

Ethan stopped crying first.

When he started patting Grizel on the shoulder, she finally stopped crying, too.

“Tell me what you want me to do,” Ellie prompted, prepared to do anything to help Gram, although she could not imagine what she could do that Alice would not be able to do better.

“Can you ride a horse?” Grizel asked as she removed her spectacles to dry off her tears.

“I’m sure I can stay astride, although I haven’t ridden for a good many years. Why?”

“Can . . . can you swim?”

Ellie’s eyes widened. “Yes, but—”

“Are you certain?”

“I can swim very well. Why?”

The young girl let out a huge sigh as she put her spectacles back on. “Good. Mother said you probably could. I know Mr. Jackson will be very, very upset that we even asked you, but . . . but we need you to ride across the river to fetch Dr. Willows,” Grizel gushed. “There’s no way to ferry anyone across because my father and Mr. Jackson left everything on the other side. I don’t ride or swim, and neither does my mother. We . . . we just never had to learn, so . . . so you’re our only hope.”

Ellie gasped. “Y-you want me to cross the river on a horse? And ride to Harrisburg?”

Grizel blinked back a fresh flow of tears. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but my mother can tell you where the river won’t be all that deep and won’t reach up much past your knees if you’re astride.”

Ellie shook her head. “I can’t believe the river is that shallow.”

“Only in places,” Grizel countered. “There’s a rift of bedrock here and there that rises up like a roadway under the water at either end of the island. There’s even one near the bridge in Harrisburg, where the water is so low sometimes this time of year that people actually drive their wagons or cattle across so they don’t have to pay the toll for the bridge.”

Ellie narrowed her gaze. “Then why can’t I just walk across, instead of riding?”

Grizel paled. “You can’t get to the bridge from here. Even though the river isn’t very deep in places, the bottom is very rocky and the current is really strong. It’s safer to ride, but you’ll have to be careful to stay astride. If . . . if something happens and you can’t, the current will take you to the other side eventually. As long as you know how to swim, you should be fine. Just please, please say yes. We haven’t any time to lose. I’ll keep Ethan at our house with us, just in case Gram . . .” She dissolved into tears again.

Ellie did not have to think it over for longer than a heartbeat before handing Ethan over to Grizel. “I can’t ride in this gown. I’ll need to change first, but I need your help while I do,” she said, then removed her apron and shoved it into the sewing basket, along with the overalls she had been hemming for Ethan.

“A-anything,” Grizel promised. “Please. Just hurry!”

“Just in case Mr. Smith arrives home before I do, I need you to write a note for him. Be sure to tell him Ethan is with you at your house,” she said and handed her the bit of scrap paper and pencil she had seen in one of the kitchen drawers.

“I know what to write. I’ve left notes for him before.”

“Fine,” Ellie replied and patted Ethan on the head. “Be good for Grizel. I’ll be right back,” she promised and charged upstairs to Jackson’s room. Silencing the echo of his warning never to leave the island alone, she found a pair of his overalls and a shirt and quickly changed into them. Once she had rolled up the sleeves on the shirt and the hems of the overalls so she wouldn’t trip, she retraced her steps downstairs to find the old boots she had worn just the other day and put them on.

By the time she was ready to leave, Grizel was more composed, although her eyes were swollen and red from crying. “I finished the note for Mr. Jackson. Where do you want me to leave it?”

Ellie stood near the back door and pointed. “Right there. On top of the sewing basket. Hopefully, it’ll be the first thing he’ll notice when he comes through the door,” she said and opened the back door.

Grizel did as she was told and hurried past Ellie and out the door, with Ethan still on her hip. “Follow me. I know a shortcut.”

Ellie shut the door, drew in a long breath, and rushed to keep up with the young girl. If ever she needed God’s help it was right now, but the prayers she offered were not for herself. They were for Gram and the family who loved her so very much.

Instead of following any of the three paths that led through the woods to the orchards, Grizel cut into the woods, crossed the clearing with the family cemetery, and led Ellie along a narrow path that hugged the western shore of the island. The distance between the island and the mainland to the west was a good bit greater than the distance Ellie would have to cover on the other side.

Even so, the river was higher than she remembered after the last rain, but the current appeared to be just as swift. She swallowed her fear of crossing the river on horseback and held on to the hope that Gram might have improved by the time they reached her.

She was out of breath and had a stitch in her side by the time they reached the Grant cabin. While Grizel kept Ethan distracted with a bit of taffy, Ellie entered the sickroom. Although the room was dimmer than the last time she had been inside, she could still see the worry in Alice’s face and she could hear Gram coughing and wheezing, struggling for each breath. Kneeling at the aged woman’s bedside, Ellie took her hand. It was cold and damp, and she could see the sweat beading on Gram’s face and the fear in her eyes.

“She’s getting worse, and I just don’t know what else to do for her. I . . . I hope Jackson won’t be angry with me for asking you to help,” Alice whispered as she mopped Gram’s brow. “After all he’s been through, I wouldn’t want to remind him—”

“He would expect me to help, and I want to help. I’ll get the doctor,” Ellie promised, mindful that Rebecca had lost her life on the very river Ellie would have to cross now.

Gram tried to lift her head from the pillow and fought to speak but ended up coughing even harder.

Ellie traced a cross on the aged woman’s forehead and gently helped her lay back against the pillow, just as she had often done for her mother when she suffered from one of her spells.

Gram smiled and squeezed Ellie’s hand.

“I’ll be back soon, but I know the Lord will be with you and help you while I’m gone,” she whispered and glanced up at Alice. “Tell me how to find Dr. Willows and where to cross the river,” she said and listened to the directions the distraught woman gave her.

By the time she got back outside again, Grizel had an old bay mare, with a distinctive white patch covering her rump, waiting for her. She was holding the reins with one hand and Ethan with the other. “Patience won’t give you any bother crossing the river, and she knows the way into the city. Just give her her head. I don’t know how to put a saddle on her, though, but there’s one in the barn that you could—”

“I don’t need a saddle,” Ellie said and took the reins from Grizel. After drawing in a long breath, she grabbed hold of the horse’s mane. She managed to get astride on her second attempt and wrapped her legs around the horse. “Your mother told me where to cross just below the landing, so you don’t have to show me. Just keep a close eye on Ethan for me,” she said and smiled down at the three-year-old. “Be a good boy.”

He blinked up at her, as if he could not believe she was sitting on the horse. She saw his lips begin to move, as if he was about to speak, but just as quickly, his lips stilled, and he lowered his gaze. “I’ll be as quick as I can,” she murmured and urged the horse forward.

Ellie reached the landing easily enough. Patience managed her way over the multitude of river stones there to reach the river’s edge. Ellie continued along the edge until she spied the buttonwood tree with the scarred trunk that Alice had described. The noon sun was strong overhead, but she shivered with anticipation as she stared at the distance between the island and the mainland. The half mile seemed much more daunting than when they were ferried across and she had had the wagon to hold on to.

She bent low over the horse and patted her neck. “Take your time and watch your step so we’ll both reach the other side together,” she urged. After whispering a quick prayer, she gave her mount a gentle nudge with the heels of her boots and loosened the reins to give the mare her head.

Crossing the river was not quite as easy as Grizel had suggested. The horse had to walk very slowly and slipped several times, forcing Ellie to hold on to the mane with every ounce of strength she possessed. The old mare had been steady against the raging current, however, but the water that gradually rose to Ellie’s thighs was cold enough to have her shivering by the time they reached the opposite shore.

She shortened the reins a bit when they reached the road that led to Harrisburg and urged the mare into a jog. The sooner they reached Dr. Willows, the sooner he would be on his way to help Gram. Given the noon hour, she expected Jackson was still at the market, but she dismissed any notion of riding there after sending Dr. Willows to see Gram. She was dressed quite inappropriately, especially for the city, and the overalls she had borrowed from him were dripping wet and clinging most immodestly to her legs. She would be far better off riding back to the island with Dr. Willows and changing before Jackson got home.

While she rode, she prayed hard. For Gram. For the Grants. For Jackson and herself, that they might all accept God’s will if He called Gram home today, a woman who had been such a precious gift to them all.

Twenty-Three

Four hours later, Ellie finally arrived back on Dillon’s Island with Dr. Willows.

Her relief that Gram was still alive quickly gave way to anxiety. Dr. Willows, along with Alice, had been with Gram in her room now for nearly half an hour. Ellie had spent that time with Grizel, waiting and praying that the doctor would be able to help the aged matriarch while Ethan took his afternoon nap in Grizel’s room.

Finally, Alice emerged from her mother-in-law’s bedroom and eased the door closed. “She’s doing better. For now,” she whispered, hugging her daughter first and then Ellie.

“For now?” Grizel asked, her troubled gaze magnified by her spectacles.

“Her heart’s failing,” her mother replied and cupped her daughter’s cheek. “Gram’s one hundred and two years old. She can’t live forever, but she’s more comfortable now, and Dr. Willows seems to think the next few days will tell whether she’ll rally or slip away. Even so, we’ve always known her time with us was waning,” she murmured before turning to Ellie. “Bless you for helping us. Bless you.”

“I’m so happy we weren’t too late. Dr. Willows wasn’t at home, so I had to ride several miles out to the homestead where he had been called to treat an entire family struck down by some sort of food poisoning,” she explained, hopeful that Gram would recover.

“Yes, he told me. He also told me that you were to get out of those wet overalls and get warmed up, or you were going to wind up being his patient, too.”

Ellie nodded. “I’ve warmed up a bit here with Grizel in front of the fire, but I surely would love to change into something dry and . . . and more appropriate,” she added, mindful of her last visit here when Alice commented on the gown Ellie had worn.

“I’d have worn men’s overalls myself if I’d been able to ride for Dr. Willows, but we can’t have that husband of yours coming home and finding you dressed like this.”

Grizel spoke up. “It’d be a pity to wake Ethan up—he just fell asleep. Leave him here with us, go home, change, and come back. By then, my father and Mr. Jackson should be back. I’ll have Mr. Jackson wait here so you can all walk home together.”

“That’s a good idea,” Alice said and ushered Ellie to the door. “By the time you get back, Gram might be feeling up to seeing you, too.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take Ethan home with me?”

“I’m not going to wake up that child after he was up half the night with a sore belly. Are you?”

Ellie laughed. “No, but I won’t be long. I’ll use the shortcut Grizel showed me and be back as soon as I can,” she promised and slipped out the door.

Ellie’s waterlogged boots were heavy, and after having ridden for hours, every muscle in her body screamed in protest with each step she took. Her overalls were still damp, and she grew cold now that she was outside and away from the fire. But she was more worried about Gram than anything else, even what Jackson would do when he returned home and learned she had left the island today.