His arrival and departure put her heart through the rise and fall of a seesaw in the school play yard. Now her bleary-eyed gaze landed on her mama's Bible, and she looked away. Shame?
She turned away from the sight, swallowing through a gathering of tears. A prayer waited on her lips, at the very tip of her heart. A dusty hope for a childhood faith long left untouched.
But, no.
She was too far gone now.
With a groan, she sat up, pulling the quilt with her as she rose to stave off a shiver. Winter daylight peeked through the drawn curtains but much brighter than she'd expected.
How late was it?
Her body trembled with another convulsive shiver as the warmth from her bed dissipated into the morning air.
Why was it so cold? Her body stiffened. She'd tended the fire at least once in the night. After grabbing her threadbare robe and pulling on another pair of socks, she peered in the cradle to check on Charlie. His breath puffed through his rosebud lips in contented slumber, but his little cheeks were cold to the touch. Kizzie placed another blanket around him, cocooning him a little around his head before she walked into the dark sitting room.
Faded light strained to push through the white curtains, offering a hazy view of the space. Without the firelight, the chill sank deeper, darker.
Kizzie approached the hearth and froze. Not only was the fire completely out, but a pile of dirt lay over the wood. Her attention shot to the chimney.
Had dirt fallen from the roof somehow? Chimney sweeping had been one of the completed tasks on Charles’ list before Kizzie moved into the house. So how could the dirt have gathered so quickly? And after a snow?
Scooping out the surprisingly large amount of dirt would take time, and she needed warmth at once. She rushed to the back porch and gathered an armful of wood, and within a few minutes she started up a little blaze in the kitchen stove.
At least this could knock the chill off.
She'd succeeded in removing half the dirt from the fireplace when noise from the bedroom hinted to Charlie's need, so she fed him, put on her boots, and then made a quick breakfast of bacon, eggs, and leftover biscuits. Her chilled skin welcomed the heat from the stove, the warmth from the tea. And once Charlie had finished his breakfast, she settled him onto his cushion in the little crate she'd moved into the kitchen so he could lie safely near the heat while she finished cleaning the fireplace.
It took another half hour before the sparks of a new fire blinked to life. Her body trembled from the extended cold and exertion, and the thin socks beneath her boots did little to prevent the additional chill.
Did the Berrys carry thick wool socks and robes in their store? On her next trip, she would make sure to find out.
Once the fire took, she cleaned up her breakfast things and poured warm water into her washbasin. The heat of the liquid washed over her skin, removing the dirt and ash caked between her fingernails and smudging her face.
After donning a clean dress, she slipped Charlie into his sling and opened the curtain on the window in the sitting room. Her attention caught on a strange sight in the front yard.
What was it? A scarecrow of sorts? Some wooden semblance of a person, made of sticks and a sack of straw, except wearing a bonnet and dress?
Was this a joke from Charles?
She stepped to the front door and opened it, the chill of the morning air nothing compared to the tremor of her heart. Yes, a scarecrow-like figure stood on a spike in the yard, just by the road for any passerby to see. But its shape and unexpectedness wasn't what cooled her blood.
No.
A wooden sign hanging around the scarecrow's neck proved the darker disturbance.
Etched across the sign in sharp-drawn letters were two words.
FREEZE, WHORE.
All heat fled her body.
She retreated into the house, her palm going to cover Charlie's back.
Her gaze searched the distance for any sign of the person who'd left the warning, but every direction looked as empty as it had after Charles rode away two days before.
An internal shudder, stronger than any she'd felt from the cold, moved through her body.
Who would do this?
