Page 6 of Enkindling

“A deal’s a deal, captain,” Will replied.

“It seems the doctor is almost here,” Officer Reynolds pointed out, and sure enough I was abruptly aware of the canter of approaching hooves.

As the buggy made its way closer, Will returned to the cab and retrieved two bags. Meanwhile, my landlord and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, had come out to see what the commotion was all about. They were a sweet old couple who had taken a liking to me and looked out for me quite a bit. True to form, theydemanded a full explanation from the officers and then proceeded to fuss about me like a pair of mother hens despite my protestations that I was fine and there was nothing to worry about.

***

The newly arrived doctor hurried out of his buggy with his assistant and bustled us all inside. After a brief examination that was nonetheless supervised by my landlords and scrutinized by Will, I was declared fit as a fiddle. Outside of a few scratches from my tussle with the would-be robber, I had no injuries to speak of. I hadn’t even been hurt when I fell unconscious—Will had caught me before I hit the ground, I learned.

For his part, he remained largely silent throughout the entire process, preferring to melt into the background. From time to time, my eyes would seek him out of their own accord, and each time, they would find them watching me, taking in all the happenings. The officers, who had stayed behind out of courtesy and concern for my health, kept a silent watch over him.

When it was all over, the small party trickled out of the room and started to go their separate ways, Will, last of all. He looked me over one last time, satisfying himself that I was fine, and started heading out behind everyone with a murmured goodbye. I called out to him, stopping him in his tracks.

“How?” I began. “I—I thought you were… Dead.” I still couldn’t bring myself to say it without difficulty.

“Long story,” was his simple reply.

I could feel the tears welling up again, but I mastered them. “Will I ever hear it?”

“Perhaps.”

“So, this is how we’re doing this? You’re just going to leave again?”

He hesitated. Finally, he said, “I have my reasons.”

“You always did.”

He took a step toward the door. “Goodbye, Kathleen.”

“When will I see you again?”

He paused again. “I didn’t think you’d want to after the last time.”

“I want to see you again, Will!” I told him, growing annoyed. One teardrop escaped, followed swiftly by another. He still wasn’t looking at me, and I was glad for once. I had managed to keep my voice steady. “Why did you show up if you were only going to disappear again like nothing happened? I want to see you again.”

There was a particularly long pause before he spoke again. “You were in trouble.” Then something seemed to shift ever so slightly in his demeanor. “But if you want to see me again, I’ll make it happen.”

“When?”

“Soon.” He strode to the door, pausing for the briefest of moments. Looking over his shoulder, he offered me a swift salute. His tone suddenly acquired a warmth it had not possessed until this moment, and it was now almost a whisper, but I heard him very clearly. “Be seeing you, Kat,” he said. Then, almost as suddenly as he had come, Will Carter was gone.

***

My evening was well and truly spoilt after that. There were no positive thoughts of the great morning I’d had, no exciting contemplations of the near future. I was mired in nothing but the dark, distant past, and nothing could shake it. I checked the bags Will had brought and found a new loaf of bread, two bottles of fine wine, and a few more odds and ends he bought and paid for by him. I thought back to the cab that had taken me home – paid for by him. I thought of the doctor who had just completed a spur-of-the-moment house call – paid for by William Carter, the man who, until today, was a mere specter of my past. And now that specter would haunt me all over again, after everything I had done to put it behind me.

I seriously considered drowning myself in those bottles of wine for one mad moment, but I banished that thought swiftly. That would never do. I had always despised drunkenness; besides, it would only amplify the problem when I came back to my senses. Also, I could almost see my father’s displeased face glaring at me in judgment for the mere thought. Either way, I needed to drown myself in something beautiful and uplifting. In the end, I dolled myself up like I hadn’t done in God only knew how long, went out, and surrendered myself to the soulful music of the orchestra. It was indeed beautiful.

It was too bad that it hardly worked. In the midst of the crescendos and trills and staccatos and cadences, one leitmotifechoed relentlessly in my head, directed by an altogether different conductor:

Be seeing you, Kat.

Chapter 3

Embers in the Fireplace

Will

It felt good to be out in the woods again.

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