Title: Flooded Memories
Author: Ingrid
Plot: A dark piece of Neil's past has shown up in Cutter Gap to wreak havoc, a mystery almost as old as the MacNeill clan themselves. Neil has no idea what is happening and worst of all, Christy seems to be the number one target. When Neil begins having horrible dreams concerning Christy's fate, he struggles with his faith and it is up to Christy to help him see God's enduring love. A baffling mystery of faith, love and hope, filled with danger and excitement that will leave you speculating until the end.
Rating: PG for mild violence and some suggested adult themes.
Notice: All Bible verses, unless noted, are taken from the NIV version. Please do not use any of this story as it is my original work. There is a major character death later on in the story. Please review, and be constructive... tell me about the story's flaws as well as it's successes, since I'm new at this. Thanks and enjoy!
Disclaimer: The wonderful story of Christy belongs, in its entirety, to the Marshall-LeSourd family. I'm not writing this for publication or any purpose other than my entertainment.
I hope you enjoy this... it's my version of what happened after the story leaves us. Stays faithful to the book in pretty much everything, and also adds some aspects I enjoyed from the TV Pax series.
One more thing... this has mildly gruesome parts in it. Nothing bad, but just to warn you I've said it.
Table of Contents:
Beautiful Future
Dark Skies Linger
Forbidden Sunrise
Surprise!
Crimson Sunrise
Rain Clouds
Freedom?
Road to Recovery
Thankful
Life in Cutter Gap
Dear Companion
Something Old, Something New
Whispers in Time
Foreboding Truth
The Greatest of These
A Life Worth Living
Hard Remembrance
Skylight
A Time for Everything
Impossible to Forget
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
For the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
Chapter 1
Beautiful Future
Christy stood where she had dismounted Buttons, still holding the horse's reins. The horse nickered and nudged the back of her arm with her muzzle, but Christy didn't notice. All she noticed was the broad flannel covered back riding away and the bouncy, unruly red curls. The man who was courting her.
"A lovely evening, I take it?" A voice from the mission porch said. Christy spun around to see Miss Alice gazing at her, her beautiful gray eyes trying in vain to hide their amusement. A small grin tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched the young woman blush modestly.
"Indeed" Christy replied, turning once more to see Neil's form disappearing. He looked back at her and waved, a wonderful smile lighting up his face, and then he was gone.
"Well, feel free to stay out here, Miss Huddleston, though with the sun falling it would be a pity for Neil's next trip here to be for his doctoring skills. Good night." Miss Alice said, and with a tender smile the graceful woman descended the steps of the mission and left for her house. Christy followed Miss Alice with her eyes and then, with a small sigh, began leading Buttons to the stables. The schoolteacher shivered slightly in the mid-September air, thinking that Miss Alice, like most of the time, had a valid point. The cool breath of winter was already descending on the mountains, adding a crisp bite to the air which got worse as soon as the sun began to sink. She had recently been waking up to mornings where a thin layer of prismatic frost covered the windows of the mission house, and the tiny flakes that lay on the ground, while not snow yet, would catch the ever-weakening rays of the sun and throw back an array of bright colors into her eyes.
Christy walked across the barren yard, now hard and crunchy under her riding boots, and made her way into the barn. Inside the musty smells of leathers and metals greeted her all at once, and as she untacked the mare she began thinking over the wonderful evening she had just had with Neil, the man who loved her - not just her body - with everything in him. It's strange, she thought, how it took a near death trial before I realized it.
Shortly after she awoke that morning many months ago, a survivor from that terrible typhoid epidemic, she had realized what needed to be done. She had not only been immature, she had been selfish, in allowing two young men to form such obvious attachments for her, and leading them both on! A week after she first woke, or as Neil put it "came back to us", she told David where her heart truly belonged. She also apologized and asked him to forgive her for her selfish behavior. It wasn't easy, she had known it wouldn't be easy from the moment she heard David's big, booming voice in the parlor below and knew he was coming up to see her. But with prayer, guidance from the ever patient Miss Alice, and more prayer for courage, she had told him. And he had stormed out of the mission and been gone all day. He had come back that night but refused to talk to her or even acknowledge her existence anymore. But she could understand, and she berated herself that night and asked God to forgive her for how she had hurt him, all because she hadn't had the courage to tell him sooner. That day she had woke from the typhoid was one memory that even now burned in her chest and heart beat to quicken. Neil, that big, strong, muscular man with the confidence that had so annoyed her at times. Cocky, so sure of himself - (sometimes she had thought over-sure was the right word) - and yet there he was at the foot of her bed, weeping, no, sobbing, for her. It was the kind of thought that now, almost a year later, caused her heart to skip a beat. And ever since she had proclaimed her love for him, shortly after her initial wakening, he and she had been unimaginably close.
She put Buttons away in her stall, fed her and gave her water, and then started heading to the mission. She really didn't want to be inside right now, her evening with Neil was still too recent and she knew she must be blushing ridiculously, but she also knew that Ida would have supper prepared and would award her, Christy Rudd Huddleston, with that awful tight lipped smile - and, ever since Christy had refused David - a haughty look in her eye. Taking the steps to the mission two at a time, she entered and immediately went to clean up. After helping with the meal, she and Ida sat down for the meal. Christy did a mental check of where everyone else was, even though she knew she didn't have to. Ruby Mae, of course, was with her husband Will in their cabin. Christy realized now that she was beginning to miss the girl's constant chatter, the house seemed so empty without it. David was at his bunkhouse, eating and sulking alone. Miss Alice was usually with them for meals but of course she had left for her house earlier. And Neil MacNeill couldn't dine with them, even though Christy had invited him to do so, because he had some unfinished work to do. So that left only Christy and Miss Ida, who was especially poor company tonight. That wasn't a problem though because the young schoolteacher had her heart, and mind, elsewhere.
They had ridden to one of his favorite fishing spots, talking and bantering the whole way. She grinned to herself as she remembered a line she had once read from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, "thou and I art too wise to woo peaceably." It had been said by Benedict, one of the main heroes in the play, to his lady-love, the witty but beautiful charmer Beatrice. And Christy could fit it very well, she thought, into she and Neil's situation. It was more playful banter than angry nowadays, and the two thoroughly enjoyed it. The two had sat there, side by side at the river, just talking. And then they had gone to his cabin for lunch, and thankfully this time she didn't burn anything. The meal was wonderful, and so was the company. Neil enjoyed watching her eyes light up and her cheeks burn when he told her how special she was to him, and how much he loved her. And then, as he had countless times before, before taking her back to the mission, he had kissed her. Full of love, compassion, and tenderness, Neil's kisses always made her toes curl inside her boots and a pulsating, electric shock run throughout her entire body. Their kisses always lasted longer than the average, and when they would finally pull away they would both be glowing...
"Miss Huddleston, did you hear me?" Ida asked. Christy visibly jumped, feeling like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Um, I'm sorry, I guess my mind was wandering." She said meekly and smiled.
"Obviously. I was trying to ask you about Ruby Mae." She said. This sudden invitation after where Christy's thoughts were leading was too tempting, and she jumped on it.
"She's doing well. Neil says it won't be too much longer." Christy replied, thinking about the joyful look on the face of her former pupil last time she and Neil went to visit her. Ruby Mae was almost seven months pregnant and absolutely radiant. The girl was entirely at peace with the situation, and she never ceased talking about "me and Will's young'un'". The pregnancy, according to Neil, was going exceptionally well, much to Christy's relief. She had seen too many deaths of infants and mothers to not be concerned, but she took this news from Neil as good. Miss Ida smiled politely and stood up to begin clearing the table. Christy jumped up to help her and within half an hour the kitchen and dining room were back to their perfect cleanliness.
As Christy slowly mounted the steps to her bedroom, her thoughts flew to David. She hadn't heard from him in what seemed like ages, and although she certainly didn't want him to think she had changed her mind and returned to him, she also didn't know what he was thinking. She knew she needed to find out... maybe she'd talk to Miss Alice tomorrow. She said a swift prayer for guidance before continuing to her bedroom.
Authors Note: First story, please review! :-)
(It's slow right now, but I have to set the background for the story... soon things get really interesting.)
