She Only Speaks to Butterflies (23 page)

Gertrude joined them in the kitchen, tying her robe while yawning. They stood by the open kitchen door. “Sounds like more than one,” Gertrude commented groggily, grabbing the broom and dustpan from the corner of the room.

Sherry sensed Kenny’s worry by his pursed lips, confirming her own feeling of dread. When a third siren came from a distance Sherry closed her eyes tightly. “I’ll get the keys,” Kenny said. “Gertie, you stay here,” he ordered. Sherry ran, pajamas and all, to the car.

…

The stable, conservatory, and barn were engulfed in flames. The horses whinnied and jumped in terror. Alan ordered his men to go free the horses and cattle while the others tended to the rest of the farm. Lee ran into the stable with his oxygen tank active while he unhitched the latch for the animals. He managed to free the horses, but the cows were more reluctant since the fire was spreading fast behind them.

Coaxing one of the cows out, he stumbled over something on the floor. Ned lay there on his back, unconscious. Lee yelled out for back-up and two other men came. One worked to douse the fire while the other shepherded the rest of the cattle and horses out to safety.

“We need an ambulance! We’ve got a man down!” Lee screeched as loud as he could at Alan.

“They’re on the way!” Alan yelled back.

Putting his ear to Ned’s chest, Lee heard a heartbeat. A gash on the side of his head was bleeding heavily, creating a valley of blood all over his face and neck. Looking up, Lee saw the fire and smoke getting closer. “Give me a hand here!” Lee ordered.

Together they lifted Ned outside the barn. Ned’s eyes fluttered open. “Just relax, Ned. We’re gettin’ things under control,” Lee said. “Don’t try to talk. Save yer strength.”

An ambulance arrived, tending to Ned on site. His eyes widened as they lifted him onto the emergency vehicle, catching a glimpse of his home and livelihood up in flames. Moments later, as they inserted an intravenous drip, he once again lost consciousness.

“We need paramedics in here, STAT!” Alan suddenly shouted as he discovered Kate’s body lying on the back patio. Blood was pooled around her head and her neck was tipped as though broken.

Lee was suddenly struck with incomprehensible panic as he recalled Sherry mentioning the annual barn sleepover.
Denise!
Running inside the house first he found a dozen kids huddled in a corner of the living room, scared to death. “I found ‘em here and told ‘em to hang tight ‘til we get in touch with their folks,” Greg Lambert, one of the firefighters, explained.

Surveying the children he observed that none were hurt. He looked for the little seven year old among them but to no avail. His heart pounded in his chest as he dashed out back, running with Greg Lambert in tow. Opening the door to the conservatory, Lee heard screaming and looked upward into the loft. Denise stood erect with her arms tense by her sides as she shrieked loud enough to wake the dead. “Luuuukkkkkkeeee!!! Luke wake up!”

Lee’s eyes darted over to the hay bales where he saw a small heap amongst the sleeping bags. Flames and shards of glass were mere feet away from the slumbering child. Running to Luke, Lee looked at the wooden door, knowing he had seconds before the thing would give out.

He shouted up to Denise. “I’ll come get ya! Stay right there!”

Her hands and knees trembled so bad she could barely stand. Lee scooped Luke up and passed him to Greg, who sprinted out of the conservatory just before the wooden door folded, allowing smoke to barrel uncontrollably into the room. Lee lifted his hands up to his face defensively as Denise screamed again. Taking a quick breath, Lee ran to the ladder against the thick smoke. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m comin’ up now,” he said as he climbed the rungs. When he reached the top, Denise fearfully recoiled. His face was beaded with sweat and grime behind the visor and helmet.

“It’s me, Denise. It’s Lee. Everything’s gonna be okay.” He scooped her up, wrapping the sleeping bag around her both for warmth and protection from the fire below.

“That’s right, I’ve gotcha. Easy now.” He carefully walked down the ladder.

The fire made its way to the hay bales where the kids had been sleeping, burning up all the sleeping bags and melting the remaining flashlights. Denise began to cry as Lee ran through the room with the bundled, terrified young girl in his arms.

“I want my momma!” she bellowed as Lee ran to the door, exiting the building. “We’ll get yer m…” Lee was in shock. He looked down at her in surprise. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

…

The wheels of the Eldorado sped across the asphalt as Kenny neared Baker’s Farm. “Oh my god!” Sherry cried out. She could see the fire from the side of the road. Kenny barely hit the brake pedal when Sherry ripped out of the car, running towards the burning farm house.

There were handfuls of firemen peppered around the farm, all milling about, feverishly working to put the fire out and to bring the animals and people to safety. When Sherry spotted the fireman’s coat with ‘Givens’ scrawled on the bottom, she ran. Lee was one of the few firemen without his helmet on. He stood there, grinning at a large bundle in his arms that Sherry prayed was Denise. “Oh, my baby!” she cried.

Lee released Denise. Her bare feet touched the ground as she embraced her mother tearfully. “Oh, darlin’, are you okay?” she asked, loosening her grip slightly so she could get a look at her daughter.

“I’m okay, momma,” Denise whimpered.

“Oh, thank Go…” Sherry’s eyes widened. Denise was indifferent, like she didn’t do anything special. The young widow’s mouth was wide open as she shot a look of disbelief at Lee and he nodded.

“She said she wanted her momma.” His head was cocked to the side, his face twisted in a smile.

The woman grasped her daughter’s face with both hands, kissing her tenderly on both cheeks and then she looked up to the sky. Inhaling deeply she let the tears flow down the sides of her face as she took Denise in her arms, lifting her high then pulling her close, as if it would be the last time she’d ever hold her baby again. “Oh, thank you Lord, thank you for bringing me my baby back,” she whispered.

Chapter 19

Kate was hooked up to a saline drip and a heart monitor. Sherry listened to the beep and wheeze of the machines as the old woman slept soundly. Two floors away, Ned lay in intensive care due to a stroke suffered during the attack, among other injuries.

Alan found Reggie’s hat at the scene; fingerprinted a nearby suspicious gas can, and arranged to have tire tracks tested for a match to Reggie’s vehicle. All perpetrators had been put behind bars thanks to quick work by Sheriff Douglas and his team, who caught the suspects just as they were about to cross the state line to Louisiana.

Damage to the farm hadn’t been tallied. They knew for sure the conservatory was destroyed, along with the latter half of the horse stables, but the barn could possibly be salvaged. Thankfully the house was untouched, Ned and Kate could return home at least.

Kate awakened with a start. “How ya feelin’?” Sherry asked softly.

Lifting a hand to her head she answered. “Headache.”

“I’ll get the doctor.”

“No. No.” Kate’s voice was a whisper. “Go check on Ned.”

“I only checked on him twenty minutes ago, love. Ain’t no change.” She paused. “I went to the chapel this mornin’ and prayed for him, Kate. I’ll keep doin’ it as much as I can, I promise.”

Kate smiled weakly and looked down. “He’s all I’ve got, Sherry. I need him.”

Sherry walked briskly to Kate’s side. “I know, sweetie. I’m prayin’ as hard as I can. My folks are prayin’, Alan’s prayin’, Lee’s prayin’, Reverend Telly’s got the entire congregation prayin’ for him. All we can do is trust in God.”

“You should go get some rest. Ya look tired.”

“I’m fine, Kate. My folks are bringin’ Denise over to see Ned.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “Y…ya can’t let the youngin’ see him in there. It’ll terrify her to death.”

“Kate, just wait until she gets here.” Sherry placed a hand on Mrs. Baker’s leg. “Trust me.”

Moments later there was a knock on the door. Kenny and Gertrude walked in with Denise in tow.

“How ya feelin’, Katie?” Gertrude asked.

“Other than this headache, I’m fine.” Kate looked at Denise, who was watching the intravenous machine drip beside the bed. “Now, don’t be afraid of that, dear. It’s just a special kinda water they’re fillin’ me up with.”

Denise looked at Kate and furrowed her brow. “Are ya thirsty?” she asked, plain as day.

Kate’s neck craned back. Her face lit up and her eyes darted to Sherry’s, who winked at the old, stunned woman. Denise looked at Kate expectantly. Mrs. Baker took Denise’s hand in hers and answered. “Well, as a matter-of-fact I am, darlin’. Why don’t ya go grab me a drink from that paper cup dispenser over there?”

Denise walked over to the metal sink on the opposite side of the bed while the adults exchanged grins. “The good Lord sure works in strange ways,” Kate commented.

“Amen to that.” Kenny tipped his hat.

“Why don’t y’all take Denise up to visit Ned?” Kate suggested.

“I’ll stay with ya,” Gertrude offered, opening her purse and handing Denise a small picture book.

“We won’t be too long,” Sherry said as Kenny and Denise exited before her.

…

Kenny pushed the button for the fifth floor as Sherry lead Denise into the elevator. There was a small illustration for each of the floor numbers on a strip of lights above the elevator door. The fifth floor was simply given the words ‘I.C.U.’ yet all the others had cheery pictures like babies, casts with cute lettering, a vignette resembling the ‘operation’ game and a small heart with a frown.

“Now Ned’s gonna look a little strange darlin’, but don’t be scared, okay?” Sherry explained. “Momma and grampa are gonna be right with ya, we’re not leavin’ for a second.”

Denise nodded. “’Kay.”

The elevator pinged and they disembarked. They were greeted by a nurse whose nametag read ‘Heather’. Heather saw Denise and bent down to her level. “And who’s this little sweetheart?”

“This is my daughter, Denise. She and Ned’s been real close. We was hopin’ she could have a visit if it’s okay.”

Heather nodded. “Sure. But just two at a time and only for five minutes, okay?”

“I’ll stay back,” Kenny offered, sitting in the chair outside the room.

Walking into the room, Sherry held Denise’s hand. Surprisingly, all the beeps and wheezes of the machines didn’t faze the little girl. Denise walked right over to Ned and took his hand in hers. His chest rose and fell with the ventilator.

“He still not breathin’ on his own?” Sherry asked.

“Not yet, darlin’,” Heather frowned.

Sherry watched Denise examine Ned’s face, like she was making sure it was him.

“His oxygen levels are good, but that gash on his head’s sure not helpin’,” Heather said frankly. “We’ve got him on meds to reverse the stroke, but his brain’s still a little swollen.”

Sherry took the seat next to Ned, allowing Denise to stand directly beside him.

Raising her book, Denise stammered. “I…I brought a book about…teddy bears.”

Rubbing her daughter’s arm, Sherry silently encouraged her to read it to him like she’d wanted to. Denise opened the book and when she began reading, Sherry listened to her, awestruck. The little girl read aloud like she’d been doing it all her life. The tears streamed down the young widow’s cheeks. Heather brought a tissue box and patted her arm. “Are ya okay?” she whispered, careful not to disturb Denise.

“I’m more than okay,” Sherry beamed. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard my daughter read.”

Heather looked at Denise and grinned while walking away. “Bless her.”

“She is blessed,” Sherry said to herself. “So am I.”

…

“Y’all ready to go up there?” Kenny hollered from the main floor. “We’re gonna be late, ladies.”

“Momma, I wanna wear the butterfly dress today,” Denise argued, after changing for the tenth time.

“Darlin’ that dress barely fits ya. Tell ya what, you wear the pretty yella one today and gramma and grampa’ll take ya out right after church and get ya a new one, ‘kay?” Gertrude offered while Sherry worked the yellow sundress over her daughter’s head.

“But I don’t like the yella one!” Denise shouted, hands tense at her sides. “It makes me look like a big ol’ lemon drop!”

Sherry burst out laughing. Hearing her daughter talk, no matter what words or tone she used, was so delightful it was music to her ears.

Denise grew frustrated. “Stop laughin’ at me, momma!”

“Alright darlin’,” Gertrude chuckled, fastening the spaghetti straps. “Let’s get ya out the door before Reverend Telly starts the service without us.”

Sarah and Mark saved them a seat up front. Taking their places, Reverend Telly smiled before beginning the service. The congregation prayed for Kate, Ned and the farm as they took up a collection for the Bakers, which Doug accepted gratefully.