Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;

The Deadly Sins
the sins of pride,greed, lust, (wrath), gluttony, envy, and sloth

Chapter Four
Strawberry, California
June 1866

Rachel collapsed beside the graves when she spotted Heath come out of the green cabin. Her body was overwrought with emotions. Her fingers dug into the dirt of the graves until her knuckles whitened and her fingertips bled. She began to rock her body back and forth as sobbing wracked her too thin frame.

Heath bent down to enfold the one he called Aunt Rachel into his arms. "Shhhh. Aunt Rachel, please calm down. I'm here now."

Rachel's sobbing ebbed but her body slowly trembled as Heath held her. She reached to touch his face. Her bleeding fingers left traces of blood and dirt on his face as she softly traced his cheeks.

"You're alive. Heath, you're alive."

"I sent letters, Aunt Rachel. Did mama think I was dead?" Heath allowed his body to be rocked as Rachel rocked against him.

He waited as she hummed an old gospel hymn. Finally, his patience paid off as Rachel came back to herself.

"She always said you were alive. Leah always said she'd know if her boy was gone from this world."

Heath knew exactly what Rachel was speaking of. Although he had questioned where his mother was, he had felt an urgency to return to Strawberry a couple of months ago. Mr. Henry, his boss, had told him that after the cattle drive going near Stockton, California, Heath would have time to visit his mother and aunts. Heath knew then it would be too late. He had felt it in his very being that his mother was no longer alive. Feeling it and having it confirmed were two different things. It hurt more than he realized even if the teen boy could show no emotion over it.

"Can you sit with me on the back porch, Aunt Rachel?" Heath stood then offered Rachel his hand.

Rachel looked skittish as she glanced at the green cabin. She bit her dirty fingernails before nodding. "The back porch? I can do that. I can go to the back porch."

Heath cleaned up with water from a barrel by the back porch. He helped Rachel clean up as well. Johnna acted as hostess as she brought some biscuits and hot tea to Heath and Rachel. Heath smiled up at her as the girl happily deposited her gifts to them. Johnna headed back to the kitchen to prepare Heath a hearty meal of items she found stored among the shelves. The girl loved cooking and waiting on people. Although the moment was dreary, Johnna felt levity for the time being.

Heath sat on the back porch swing. He had built the old swing himself when he was a small boy. Hannah and he had tied it up with an old rope. Although the swing was crude in looks, it was strong in the making. Rachel sat in an old rocking chair, which she had brought with her when she moved into the cabin with her son in tow. Because three women and two boys lived in too small a place, the rocking chair was sat on the back porch. Here they could overlook the little garden that once fed the family of five.

Johnna put up the items to wait for lunch before making her way to the porch. She sat beside of Heath. He pulled her to lay her head on his lap. His fingers delicately played in her hair as he pushed the swing back and forth. A breeze wafted across the back porch as they swayed on the rocked her rocker as she again hummed a hymn.

Then just as she had at the graves, she came back to herself. "It was a good day before it happened. Your mama said she was going to make some blackberry jam to put up for when you came home. Oh did she smile as she made the jam. She sang that silly song she always sang to you. She had Hannah and I laughing until we about burst with happy tears. Cotton was playing with toy horses someone had discarded by the old Johnson farm. It was a good day until it happened."

Heath glanced up at Rachel as he watched her face contort from a smile to fear. He never pressured her to go on. He'd wait her out. Johnna never moved from her spot of laying on the swing. She thought of the jam she had put out on the table for her homemade bread. That must be the blackberry jam Leah had made for her son. Heath's fingers continued the ministrations through Johnna's silky hair. Johnna knew it was a calming action for him. The simple gesture was a feeling she would relish for all of her days.

"There were five of them. They never even knocked. Just burst through the front door like they owned the place." Rachel swallowed nervously as she strummed her fingers on the arms of the rocking chair. The blood had dried but the action caused the fingers to break open again. "They said they owned Hannah now."

Heath closed his eyes as he thought of how frightened Hannah had to be at those words. She had been a slave once. Her overseer was a cruel man. The overseer was hired by Emmitt Thomson, his own grandfather. Heath was glad the man had died so he never had to meet him.

"Leah scolded them. Saying Hannah belonged to no one." Rachel stopped rocking as her voice halted. She then began humming again before she spoke. "The honeysuckle smells nice this time of year. Don't you think the honeysuckle smells nice, Heath?"

"Yes. The honeysuckle smells really nice, Aunt Rachel." Heath controlled his breathing as he allowed his aunt to drift away as she needed to.

"Is that your wife, Heath? Did you marry while you were away?" Rachel stared down at Johnna's head on Heath's lap.

"No. Miss Rachel. It's me, Johnna. Red's girl." Johnna answered for Heath but never moved from her position.

"Oh yes. Good thing you didn't marry. Your mama would want to be at the wedding." Rachel began rocking again. "Why did they have to hurt Leah? She was a good woman. They took turns with her. All of them took her as she begged for them to stop. Only two came after me. Hannah smacked at the men as she tried to save her Leah. She offered herself in Leah's place."

Rachel began to hum again then she glanced up at Heath. "Who are you, boy?"

"I'm Leah's boy. I'm Heath." The blonde felt his throat tighten as he realized the depth of Rachel's departure. Holding tears at bay caused his body to hurt all over.

Rachel was the one in their family who could read, write and do arithmetic. With Cotton to take care of, she never had much time to teach Heath how to read except to write his name but he picked up on math quickly. He still couldn't read. Despite Rachel being a saloon girl, she had went to school once. Rachel's parents died when she was ten. At sixteen, her mother's brother died leaving her with an aunt. The aunt sold her to a saloon.

"Heath. Your mama is dead. Hannah too." Rachel's cheeks were now wet with tears.

"I know." Heath could feel Johnna's fingers caressing his leg as his other leg pushed to sway the swing.

If anyone had witnessed the three, it would look like a casual conversation. It was anything but casual.

"There was five of them. All took her. Two took me. Hannah was struck so hard. So very hard. She wanted to save her Leah but they killed Hannah." Rachel hummed again before adding. "Did you know that Hannah was your mama's slave? Your grandmother Thomson gave her to Leah on her tenth birthday. She was in the field before that. But your grandmother Thomson knew she was going to die soon. She had Hannah come in from the field to take care of Leah. Do you know where they were from Heath?"

"Kentucky." Heath answered as he waited for Rachel to continue. "Hannah told me how Mama brought her with her to California along with Uncle Matt and Aunt Martha. Hannah said my mama said she was a free woman here."

"Yes. That's right. Kentucky. They lost almost everything when your mama's parents died. Matt and Leah had a little money so Martha suggested they come west for the gold. Of course, he brought Leah and Hannah with them." Rachel began rocking again. "Matt sold Hannah to the men. Those evil men. But they said …." Rachel tightened her hands on the side of the rocking chair.

Heath bit his lip before asking. "What did they say, Aunt Rachel?"

"They wanted your mama too. Said that Martha got paid some gold for time with your mama. They paid good for Leah and she was to do what they wanted. The men had seen Leah delivering laundry to the hotel. She didn't pay them no mind even though they all tried to get her attention. They weren't miners. Just some strangers who were passing through. The oldest said I was an old prostitute. I could be part of the deal." Rachel rocked faster causing the boards on the porch to moan in protest. "I passed out after that man slapped me across the face when he was having his way with me. I heard your mama screaming and saw her kicking. Then she stopped. I didn't want to pass out. Leah needed me. She wasn't used to men doing stuff like that to her. She was a God fearing woman. I saw her blink back tears before I was gone. I woke up to Leah and Hannah both dead. They beat her bad for fighting back. Your mama never stopped fighting back until they killed Hannah. I'm not sure but maybe she was dead at that point too. How much could her small body take of the hitting and the using of her? She was such a petite little thing." Rachel's voice shook. "Cotton, he was hid behind the old cook stove. He cries at night. My boy cries at night."

Rachel then smiled up at Heath. "The honeysuckle smells really nice this time of year."

Heath's body tensed up but he kept his composure. He stopped swaying the swing and running his fingers through Johnna's hair. Johnna glanced to see his hands turn into white knuckled fists. Then Heath's hands relaxed. He kicked his foot against the wood on the porch as he began to sway the swing again. His fingers softly ran through Johnna's hair once more.

Heath's voice was soft and soothing."Yes. Aunt Rachel. The honeysuckles smell really nice this time of year."