In Search of Tranquility Chapter One
The light from the full moon and many stars made it easy for Nick to travel down a path that led towards the old cabin that he, his family, and other relatives had used on occasions. He'd been away from Stockton for a week and was eager to get home. Unfortunately, he realized arriving home would have to wait until the following day-as it was far too late to ride straight through.
Nick would have simply made camp only he was tired of sleeping on the ground. The bed in the cabin might not be the most comfortable only it still beat the alternative. He ducked in order to missed an old, long brown branch that had-thanks to the storm the day before-been turned downwards. By the looks of it, Nick was surprised the thing was still attached to the tree on which it hung.
"What…" He pulled up on the reins in his hands, causing Coco to stop in his tracks. He couldn't believe what he saw. There was a light in the cabin, and there was the smell of smoke coming from the chimney. He proceeded forward at a cautious pace, as he hadn't heard of any of the Barkley relatives being in this area …and he knew his family wasn't.
Once he was near the cabin Nick dismounted quietly. Once he'd tethered the reins to the hitching post that he, himself, had built, he quickly moved to the side of the building and peeked through the window. He could see through the "kitchen/dining room" and into the living room-easy to do as there was no divider between the two places. He was surprised see a dark haired woman sitting in the rocker that his cousin had brought on her last visit. 'Woman needs someplace to rock her babies when she's visiting' had been his cousin's exact words as she'd sat down and held her infant son. Nick looked to see if he could see anyone else. His eyes fell on the cot that sat in the far corner of the room. A white haired gentleman lay on the cot with his back to the window. From the looks of it, the stranger was coughing a lot.
'Storm probably chased them in last night' Nick thought as he walked around the corner and then up the few steps that led to the porch he, his father, and grandfather had added shortly before his grandfather had passed away.
From inside the cabin, the young woman could hear someone walking up the steps. She quickly stood up and, grabbing her grandfather's rifle-which had been hung on the back wall of the room-moved to her grandfather's side. She didn't know who was coming in. While she hoped it was the owner of the cabin…so she could explain everything…she knew it could also be a troublemaker. If that was the case, her sickly grandfather needed protection. She kept an eye on the door, waiting for it to open. She didn't have to wait long for Nick to turn the doorknob and step inside.
"Whoa!" Nick held his hands up in the air. "There's no need for that." He looked at the rifle pointed at him, and then smiled at the beautiful woman standing in the middle of the room. "I'm Nick Barkley. My family owns this land and this cabin. Who are you?" He lowered his hands and glanced at the old man on the cot-wondering all of a sudden why he was getting a feeling that he should know the man, who was now snoring lightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Barkley. I'm Rachel Mariah Anderson and this is my grandfather. His health is not good and then the storm hit last night…" She shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't realize we were on private land. I just saw the cabin and convinced him to rest here…since it looked as if it had been abandoned. Though, I admit, I wondered who would leave the place without taking the canned goods in the kitchen." She quickly said they'd move on in the morning.
Anderson…the name did not ring a bell. "You and your Grandfather Anderson may stay until he's better." Nick wasn't about to push a sick man out of any cabin.
"Conner Londrach; that's his name. He is my late mother's father." Rachel quickly corrected the wrong assumption.
It was all Nick could do to remained standing as he heard a name he hadn't heard in years come out of the young woman's mouth. He wasted no time in turning and going into the 'kitchen'-under the pretense of taking inventory of any food that was actually in the room. "Got to make sure you two have everything you need," Nick said-even as memories from the Civil War ran through his mind. One stuck out more than the rest.
Nick let out a groan only to find a hand on his shoulder and a voice telling him everything was going to be all right… IF he kept quiet. "I've done what I can for ye lad, but I can promise death for both of us if either one of us is found."
Nick opened his eyes and realized he was lying on a cot in what appeared to be some sort of cellar. The skirmish he and his unit had been in came back full force. He'd been shot and passed out. Only when he looked upon the face of the man who was speaking, Nick felt as if he was going to have heart failure. The soldier who appeared old enough to be his father was dressed head to foot in a gray Confederate uniform.
"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" Nick managed to ask through the pain in his shoulder.
"The name be Sergeant Conner Londrach and, as far as helpin' ya goes, that 'tis somethin' that doesn't really matter. However, I can't keep takin' care of you. My commander only let me come home for my da's funeral. I'm due to rejoin them in two days. I can help ya to a couple I know. They're Conscientious Observers. Glad you woke up, I hated the idea of actually tendin' to ya only to have to turn and leave ye here. You'd have died for sure."
Nick finished taking stock of the food in the cupboards as the memory finished playing in his head. He wondered for if 'the old Confederate soldier', who had probably really only been in his forties during the war, would now tell Nick why he'd saved the life of a Union officer.