Something Borrowed

Chapter 53

*** Heyo! Remember in chapter 45 when I said there were five chapters left? I really underestimate my ability to drag shit out, don't I? 

We're close to done. Couple chapters left. Thanks for hangin' in there ;-)***

Amelia

She sat between Josh and Melissa on the front bench of the sled, wrapped from head to toe in blankets. She was pressed against her husband on one side and his sister on the other, and had her daughter wrapped snug against her chest. Beneath the many layers of blankets, body heat mingled, trapped by the thick wool. She was so warm, sweat was beginning to pop up in little beads along her spine.

And yet she couldn't stop shaking. Her teeth chattered and her hands shook. The only thing that made her feel better was that Melisa was in the same state and promised it was normal.

"It'll go away once we have some time to process," she had said, her authority only slightly dimmed by her own trembling body.

The journey home was long and harrowing in the dark of night, but there was nowhere Amelia would rather end such a terrible ordeal than in her own bed, beneath her own roof. She desperately needed a bath, and a pot of tea with maybe a dollop of something stronger added in. She needed to lay down in her bed with her husband in her arms and wake up with him beside her. Drowsy, she leaned her head against his solid shoulder and fought the tears that kept rising back up, every time she thought she'd conquered them.

The small, dark outline of her house had never looked so welcome. She had half a fear it would be in flames when they arrived, even though Josh had sent a man ahead just in case. Her relief as they pulled up in front of the quiet, undamaged cabin had her shaking even harder.

Leaving the sled to stand, Josh came inside with the rest of them, waiting while they lit lanterns and checking every room to make sure it was safe. Even after the whole house had been inspected, he hesitated by the door. He'd scrubbed the worst of the soot from his face, but it was still caked in the creases, making his worried frown all the more pronounced.

Amelia went to him, drawn like a fish on a line. She stood on her tiptoes, winding her arms around his neck and kissing him gently. "We'll be fine," she said. "We'll start drawing the bath. Go take care of the horses and then get back inside."

"Bolt the door behind me."

She rolled her eyes but did as he asked. Then, leaving Rebecca napping on the couch in the sitting room, she and Melissa set about waking up the house. They worked silently, splitting the tasks on instinct. Amelia sent up a prayer of thanks that she'd asked Josh to install the washroom last summer. It had felt frivolous at the time, but it really had made her life so much easier and right now it was nothing short of a blessing.

Instead of trudging out to the pump by the woodpile, she used the one in her washroom, bringing up two buckets of water, which she passed off to Melissa to boil before bringing up a few more, using them to fill the small washtub she usually used for clothes. Rebecca still fit inside it with plenty of room, and it would be easier to heat enough water for the little tub than the big one in the corner the adults used. Plus, it would be one less person's worth of grime by the time they all cycled through.

Once Rebecca's bath was drawn, Amelia woke her groggy daughter and carried her to the washroom. Rubbing her eyes, Rebecca looked around as Amelia set her on her feet and began stripping off her stained clothes.

"Papa?" she asked, looking up at Amelia with wide, frightened eyes.

"He's just outside with the horses," she promised, using a warm cloth to scrub the caked-on soot from her daughter's skin. At the sound of a sniffle, she stopped working and pulled back. Rebecca's face was scrunched up, her breath shifting in preparation for a wail.