The O'Neal Girls Chapter 23

Hey all! Sorry I haven't been posting much. I'm trying to stay on top of schoolwork and make friends as well as squeeze in some sports games and naps :P I'm enjoying college life although it has been difficult. Some days you just miss your family and there's nothing you can do about it :( I hope to do a Monday Meditations post for you soon. I'm thinking about using a blog tag thing kinda...we shall see!

Here is the next O'Neal girls chapter. To recap: Charles Wiggins, Cassandra's old beau, is back and wants Cassandra to marry him. Of course, now that Joe Connolly is in Cassandra's life, she isn't so sure about Charles anymore. However, she agrees to meet with him.

Chapter 23

​      That morning, the girls went to school like normal. The others began on chores and, much to Lillian’s dismay, the girls made sure she wasn’t working too hard. Joe rode up to the cabin to help Paul out with an order for pine trees. When the afternoon came, Cassandra left on Strawberry to ride to the meadow. A few minutes later, Joe returned to the O’Neals’ cabin searching for Cassandra. Lillian met him at the door. 

“Cassandra just went for a ride a few minutes ago,” Lillian told him. She pointed him in the right direction. 

“Thanks,” Joe said as he took off after Cassandra. He caught up with easily with his excellent horsemanship. “Cassandra!” he called. 

​            Cassandra’s head whipped around in surprise. “Oh…Joe,” she said, reluctantly slowly down Strawberry. 

​            Joe caught up and he grinned at her. “Where are you headed?” 

​            Cassandra hesitated, “Well…uh…I was going to the big meadow up ahead.” 

​            “May I join you?” 

​            “If you want to.” 

​            Joe wanted to so the two trotted towards the meadow. The trees contained fresh, new buds along with the bushes. The landscape was slowly bursting into a beautiful green color. The sky was bright blue with looming cotton clouds. Cassandra and Joe let their horses trot to the middle of the meadow and graze. 

​            Cassandra looked around nervously; Charles had to be lurking nearby. She knew he would be upset when he saw Joe. 

~~~ 

​            Cassandra was right. Charles squatted behind a patch of trees, hidden from Cassandra’s view. Charles was with some friends. He watched the man with Cassandra with interest.

“Evans, who is that man?” 

​            Evans, a broad shouldered man with rusty brown hair, peered at Joe. “Why, that’s Fergus’ son.” 

​            “Fergus Connolly?” Harris asked. Harris was a tall man with a patch of rough auburn hair. 

​            “That’s the one.” 

​            “Who is the boy, though?” Charles asked again. 

​            “His name is Joe,” Al nodded. Al had brown hair and had a small mustache and had the good looks of a young man. “I saw him helpin’ his Pa at the blacksmith’s shop.” 

​            “He has his eyes on my girl,” Charles growled. 

​            “Is that your girl?” Al asked leaning forward to look at the girl. “Right purty girl. I feel like I’ve seen her around before….”​ 

​            Evans snuffed out the cigar he was smoking. “I feel a war staring, Wiggins.” 

​            “I want that Joe kid gone. Understand?” 

​            “Yeah,” Harris drawled. “Whatever you say. But you might wanna hurry ‘cause Joe there is makin’ hisself a move.”  

​            All four men turned back to the two in the meadow. Joe’s words became distinct as they watched him hold Cassandra’s hand and speak in an earnest tone 

​~~~

​            “Cassandra, I want you to know that I love you...I love you a whole lot.” 

​            All thoughts of Charles completely left Cassandra’s mind. “I love you too!” 

“It will be a year or two yet, but if you are willing to wait for me...”  

Cassandra held her breath in excitement. “I'd wait a million years for you Joe, you know that.”  

“You promise?” Joe asked. 

“Yes!” 

“You won’t regret it,” Joe promised. “I’ll make you the happiest woman around!” Joe leaned over to Cassandra and placed his arm around her. He leaned toward her. Cassandra leaned closer to him and together they shared their first kiss.

~~~ 

​            Charles angrily kicked the tree he was hiding behind. He whirled around and looked at his three friends. “Boys, it is high time we destroyed the O’Neal family. They’ve ruined everything for my family. Kill everyone but leave Cassandra unharmed.”

            Al frowned, “Everyone?”

            “Everyone.” Charles growled. 

​            “Yes, boss,” Evans answered straightening his hat. 

~~~ 

​            Joe and Cassandra returned to the O’Neal house in time for supper. The Carter boys had come by for supper too. After supper, Lillian began playing music on the piano. Caleb and Belle sang side-by-side and Joe and Cassandra sang nearby. Davy and all the girls gathered nearby and sang a few hymns and then Lillian started “Camptown Races.”

            Suddenly, a loud yell came from outside. Everyone looked out the window behind the piano. Then a large rock came crashing through the window. 

​            “Get behind the sofa!” Paul cried as pieces of glass showered around them. Everyone dived behind the chairs and sofas. The chairs were flipped over and turned into a barricade. The girls screamed in terror as another rock came crashing through the window. More glass shards rained down on the O’Neals.  

Danielle looked down at her arm. A small piece of glass had lodged itself into her bare arm.  “Ow,” she muttered with a wince of pain. 

​            “I got it,” a voice said behind her. 

​            Danielle looked over her shoulder and saw Joe leaning over her. “Oh, thanks.” 

​            Joe gently pried the piece out of her arm and discarded the piece. “Here’s piece of cloth to wrap her arm with.” He handed Belle—sitting beside Danielle—the cloth and Belle began wrapping it. 

​            “I declare, Danielle, you can’t stay out of trouble!” Belle wound the cloth around the cut. 

​            Oakley was crying now and Lillian went to retrieve him from Faith when she gasped in horror. “Faith!” 

​            Everyone turned and saw an injured Faith lying on her side with a large piece of glass sticking out of her back. Joe and Lillian rushed over at once. 

​            “Are you okay, Rose?” Lillian asked grasping her hand. 

​            “I’ll take Oakley,” Elsie said taking the crying boy. 

​            “I don’t know…” Faith whispered. 

​            “Stay calm,” Joe said. “I’m going to take the glass out.” 

​            “I think I’m going to faint,” Cassandra said weakly. 

​            Belle crawled over to Cassandra and grabbed her arm. “Cassandra, breathe…breathe…” But Cassandra had already fainted.

​            “Oh brother,” Danielle muttered. 

​            With Lillian soothing her, Faith remained as calm as possible while Joe carefully dislodged the glass with Paul’s help.  Once that was finished, everyone looked around to see if everyone was else was alright. A shout from outside brought their attention together. 

​            “O’Neals! This is officially war! You sentenced my uncle to death and I won’t stop until I kill every last one of you!” 

​            Cassandra, having recovered from her faint, shivered in fright. 

​            Lillian turned pale as a corpse. “Was that Charles Wiggins?” she asked. 

​            Cassandra nodded nervously. “He said he escaped the death penalty.” 

​            “Did you hear me, O’Neals? I will kill all of you!” Charles’ voice roared. 

​            Nadia began whimpering and Belle held her close. Megan and Lynn scooted closer to Paul and Lillian. The sound of hoof beats sounded outside. 

​            “Do you think they’re leaving?” Caleb asked Paul. 

​            “I hope so. Let’s sit here for a couple minutes.” Paul leaned against the chair and glanced around. His eyes locked on Lillian’s frightened ones. He gave her a quick smile before looking away. 

~~~ 

​            The family waited a half hour before leaving the parlor. Paul, Caleb, Davy, and Joe grabbed guns and went outside to search around. The women carefully made their way into the kitchen. Lillian started across first with Oakley squirming in her arms. Belle followed holding Nadia. Danielle hoisted Megan on her back and the rest tramped on behind except Cassandra, Elsie, and Faith. The elder two were helping poor Faith into her room to rest. 

​            “Be careful,” Lillian called. 

​            Everyone carefully treaded over the shards of glass. Once they reached the kitchen, Lillian began giving orders. Lynn and Megan began sweeping up the glass while Danielle and Belle helped Lillian begin boarding up the windows. Once Faith was situated, Cassandra and Elsie returned to help. When the men returned, they finished boarding up the windows. The men then checked all the locks on the doors. 

​            “We have to be absolutely certain,” Paul said as he looked over the locks. 

​            Joe, Davy, and Caleb volunteered to stay in case of any trouble. 

“You don’t have to,” Paul said quickly. “This is between me and Charles.” 

“Let us help, Mr. O’Neal,” Caleb protested. “Charles didn’t just declare war on you. He declared it on your family. And when he declares war on our girls, he declares war on us!” Caleb looked over at Belle. 

​            “We can keep an eye out from the barn,” Davy added. 

​            Paul finally relented and agreed. The men went outside to prepare a place for the boys in the barn. 

~~~ 

After three days of nothing happening, Paul and the men decided to go out and hunt for Charles and his men. They each took their guns and mounted their horses. The girls called their goodbyes and Lillian and Belle watched close to tears. Caleb hugged his fiancée tightly. Paul embraced Lillian and whispered tenderly into her ear.  He finally pulled away and looked at the boys.

  

​            “Davy and I will go this way, you and Joe can head that way,” Paul told Caleb. Paul pulled his hat on and he and Davy galloped to the left. Caleb and Joe urged their mounts forward and hurried to the right. 

​            It was a long, suspenseful ride. The men kept their hands on their rifles and cautiously looked about. Davy and Paul roamed through the woods looking carefully everywhere. Caleb and Joe were riding through the fields peering through the grasses. They didn’t know what to expect but they knew they had to be careful.

~~~

            Lillian and Belle tackled the dinner dishes together while the other girls finished other chores or relaxed by the fireplace. Lillian tried to persuade Belle to join them, but Belle refused to leave the bulk of the work to Lillian.

            Lillian dunked the plate in the water and scrubbed it with soap. She attacked the dirty plates with vigor. Watching Lillian carefully, Belle could sense that Lillian had something bubbling up inside of her. It would be only a matter of seconds until she exploded.

            Belle took the plate from Lillian who reached back into the sink for another dirty dish. Her fingers curled around a glass and she pulled it from the water. She took the rag and attacked the glass cup with more force than necessary. As she scrubbed the cup up and down, it slipped from her grasp, hit the counter, and broke into pieces.

            The almost musical-sounding crash caused everyone to look in at the kitchen. Lillian jumped in surprise when the glass fell. She bent down to pick up the pieces.

            Belle bent down beside her, “Let me take care of it, Lillian.”

            “I’ve got it!”

            Belle stepped back after Lillian snapped at her.

            Lillian scooped up the pieces into her hand. One piece caught the fleshy part of Lillian’s hand, just between the thumb and forefinger. The glass shard split the skin and a thin trail of blood appeared. Lillian hissed angrily at the contact and stared at her hand.

            “Let me help,” Belle rested her hand on the older woman’s shoulder.

            “I’m fine!” Lillian shrieked, unable to hold back her frustration and anger any more. She discarded the remains of the cup on the kitchen table and fled outside.

            Lillian ran to the barn and collapsed against the ladder to the hayloft, gripping the wooden structure for support. Tears filled up Lillian’s blue eyes, making her vision blurry.

            “Lord…watch over my husband! I’m afraid for him. He could be killed! He could be dead now for all I know!” Lillian sank to her knees as sobs wracked her thin frame. “I’m not strong enough for this, Lord. I’m weak; I can’t do this.”

            Lillian was suddenly reminded of a Bible verse in 2 Corinthians. Paul had often quoted this verse to Lillian to give her comfort. “ ‘Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’”

            Lillian sat back on her heels. “I am weak, but I can do it—through Christ. You’re the One who supplies me with daily strength, Lord. Help me to trust in you for strength now. Protect Paul, Caleb, Joe, and Davy. Keep them safe…please. In Your Name…Amen.”

~~~ 

​            Lillian sent the girls to bed earlier than usual in hopes that they would get more sleep. No one had been sleeping well due to Charles’s threat.

Lillian said goodnight to Danielle and Cassandra and went to her room. She walked slowly to the cradle where Oakley lay peacefully. The thought of Oakley dead was so horrid it sent shivers down Lillian’s spine. She kissed her son goodnight and prepared for bed. She crawled in bed and stared at the roof above her. She wondered why God had allowed this to happen. She prayed numerous times since dinner that the Lord would help her to trust in Him. It was difficult, but Lillian was beginning to feel more at peace. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come.

No sooner did the sleep come that it left. Lillian bolted upright at the sounds of crying. She jumped out of bed and went to the cradle, but Oakley slept peacefully. Lillian reached for her wrapper and tied it around her waist as she made her way out of the bedroom and to the girls’ bedroom.

Lillian fumbled around the shelf for the lantern. Her hand bumped against the metal lantern, causing a loud clatter that made her jump in fright. Lillian’s hand flew to her heart as she tried to calm herself. She lit the lantern and entered the girls’ room.

“All right, what’s the matter?” she whispered, her voice groggy with sleep.

The girls were all awake and their eyes were fastened on the bed at the end of the room. Nadia was in the middle of the bed sobbing while Belle tried to console her.

“Nadia, sweetheart,” Lillian made her way to the crying girl. She set the lantern on the bedside table and sat down on the bed.

Nadia threw herself into Lillian’s arms and sobbed into Lillian’s shoulder.

“She had a nightmare,” Belle supplied. “I made out something about a bad man hurting us.”

Lillian silently cursed Charles for causing her family pain like this. Little girls shouldn’t be afraid for their family’s lives! Lillian sighed, murmured a quick, repentant prayer to the Lord and asked Him to help Nadia.

“Nadia…sweetheart, did you have a bad dream?”

Nadia hiccupped and mumbled into Lillian’s shoulder. “That bad man was coming for us. He took Pa, and Belle, and Cassandra, and you, and everyone, and I was left all alone and then he came towards me…and, and, and,” Nadia took a shaky breath as she tried to calm herself. “He had a gun and he shot and then I woke up!” Nadia began crying again.

Lillian heart melted at the sight of frightened Nadia. She exchanged a sorrowful glance at Belle then turned her focus to Nadia.

“Sweetheart, it was just a bad dream. It didn’t really happen! I’m still here, Belle is here…we’re all here.”

“But that bad man threw the rock in the window and said he would get us!”

“He won’t get us. Pa won’t let that happen,” Lillian assured. “Trust me.”

Nadia’s pitiful cries subdued to shuddery hiccups.

Belle moved back to her own bed, content to let Lillian take full charge of Nadia for the night.

“Why don’t you try to go back to sleep?” Lillian suggested to the little, blonde girl, standing up and moving to lay Nadia down in the bed.

In response, Nadia’s fingers curled tightly around the fabric of Lillian’s wrapper. “No!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, honey.” Lillian rocked back and forth and pressed a kiss to Nadia’s head. “Here’s an idea. It’s awfully lonely just Oakley and I in the bedroom. Would you like to stay with me for the rest of the night? It’ll keep me company.”  Lillian hoped Nadia would agree if she made it sound like Nadia would be doing her a favor.

Nadia glanced up shyly at Lillian.

“Is that a yes?” Lillian inquired with a smile.

Nadia nodded.

“All right then!” Lillian shifted Nadia to her right hip and blew out the lantern. She turned and slowly made her way to the bedroom door. As she passed Belle’s bed, Lillian reached out with her left hand and gently tapped Belle’s blanket covered foot. The simple gesture was one of appreciation that Belle was giving Lillian the motherly responsibilities.

“G’night, Lillian,” Belle whispered, after feeling Lillian’s tap on her foot.

“Goodnight, dear, sleep well,” Lillian returned as she took Nadia to her bedroom. Just as she was about to exit the room, a voice piped up.

“Can I come too?”

Lillian peered through the darkness to see Megan sitting up in bed.

“And me too?” Lynn shifted under her quilt.

Lillian tossed her free hand in the air, “The more the merrier, I suppose. All of you are welcome.”

Pillows and blankets were seized as the girls scrambled off their beds and chased after Lillian as she led the way to her bedroom. Lillian turned down the blankets and mentally calculated how many girls she could fit into one bed.

While the girls brought in their pillows and blankets, Lillian checked on Oakley, thankful he was still sleeping peacefully despite the noise. Satisfied that her youngest was safe and sound, Lillian crawled into the middle of the bed. Nadia, Megan, and Lynn curled up on either side of her, each cushioning their heads against Lillian’s shoulders. Elsie and Faith occupied the edges of the mattress.

Lillian glanced up to see if any more of the girls were coming. A sheepish Danielle stepped into the room a moment later, a pillow and blanket dangling from her hands. Lillian pointed to the bottom of the bed. Danielle climbed onto the foot of the bed and created a small nest for herself and settled down.

A minute later, Cassandra and Belle crept in, dragging one of the mattresses behind them. Lillian caught their eye and Cassandra quickly answered,

“We weren’t going to stay in that big room all by ourselves!”

Lillian grinned and gestured around the room. There was no room left on the bed but there was a rocking chair and floor space. Cassandra curled up on mattress situated next to Oakley’s cradle while Belle settled for the rocking chair. She tipped it back so it steadily rocked. The rhythmic thud of the wooden rocker against the floorboards seemed to sooth all of the girls. Five minutes barely passed and the girls were sleeping.

Lillian thought she would feel more disappointment at the sure lack of sleep she would face shortly, however, she felt a strange calm and peace. There was something comforting about having all the girls close to her in the absence of her husband. Something about this night frightened her and she was thankful the girls and Oakley were nearby.

~~~ 

​           

Joe and Caleb dismounted. They both paused and strained their ears to listen. The wind picked up and made it difficult to see and hear. The trees bent and swayed; the bushes and grass rustled. 

​            “I thought I heard something from that direction,” Joe said with determination. 

​            “You go that way and I’ll go this way,” Caleb suggested grabbing his rifle and heading west. 

​            Joe snatched his rifle and hurried through the darkness to the north. Even for a man it was spooky that night. The moon kept receding behind clouds making it hard to see and the wind rustled through the trees eerily. Joe said a quick prayer and continued on. Suddenly, he stopped. He knew he heard something for sure. 

​            “Hello?” he called loudly. 

​            “Joe,” a hushed voice said. The voice was just a whisper. 

​            Joe called out again in hopes of the voice to keep talking. He was rewarded. 

​            “Help me Joe!” the voice said louder in a pleading tone. 

​            Joe began jogging towards the voice. “I’m coming. Where are you?” 

​            “Joe! Help me!” the voice continued. 

​            Joe ran faster towards the sound of the voice. Every fiber inside him urged him on. He forgot all about his mission and ran blindly through the trees, trying to find the voice. Suddenly, the voice was right beside him. 

​            “Stop, Joe! I’m right here. Turn around.” 

​            Joe whirled around; before him stood a man. The man was disheveled looking with his blonde hair hanging in his face. His gray eyes flashed. He wore only a white shirt, a tangled tie, and had navy blue dress pants on. 

            “So you are Joe Connolly?” the man said spitting out each word. 

​            “Yes,” Joe said, still in his stupor; not realizing this man could be one of the men out to kill him. 

​            “You are going to marry Cassandra O’Neal?” 

​            “We promised to wait for each other,” Joe replied. 

​            The man’s face was turning red. He kept shaking his head; his damp hair slapping against his face. He reached down by his belt and pulled out a knife. “I’ll kill ya! I’ll kill ya for taking my girl!” With a strangled cry he leaped through the air and flew towards Joe.  

​            Joe was completely shocked. He couldn’t move; he was rooted in place. As the man was only a few feet away, a gunshot sounded. The man dropped in front of Joe. Joe turned around in surprise and saw Caleb holding his rifle. Smoke was pouring from the rifle. 

​            “Joe, are you okay?” Caleb asked, grabbing a hold of Joe’s shoulders. 

​            Joe looked down at the dead man and didn’t speak. 

​            “Joe?” Caleb asked again. 

​            “I’m fine,” Joe looked up at Caleb. “I almost died. If you hadn’t been there…” 

​            Caleb cut in. “Who was that guy?” 

​            “I’m pretty sure it was Charles.”

            Caleb stared at the still form of Charles on the ground. “Are you sure?”

            “He said he was going to kill me for taking his girl,” Joe whispered.

​            Joe and Caleb stopped talking when two gunshots were heard off in the distance. The two young men grabbed the dead man and lifted him onto the back of Joe’s bay horse. They both climbed aboard their horses and galloped in the direction of the gunshots. 

​            There was a small clearing in the middle of the woods. Dark silhouettes could be seen moving about, yelling and shouting. Cantering over, Joe and Caleb saw three forms of men. One was lying on the ground in a crumpled heap; another held a gun as he hurled angry words at another shape of a man.

​            “There’s Davy,” Caleb whispered. He gestured towards the third man who was angrily shouting and waving his hands around. 

​            Down out of a tree, a man appeared. “Evans!” he called. “You got the men?” 

 ​           “Yeah,” the man called Evans replied. “C’mon over here and help me out a bit, Al.” 

​            Joe and Caleb decided to make their presence known. Joe fired a warning shot as he and Caleb rushed forward.

​            Caleb took a leap and tackled Al to the ground.

​            “They’re gonna get away!” Evans yelled. He grabbed a gun and aimed it at the man on the ground. 

​            “That’s Paul!” Joe cried out. 

​            “No!” Davy leaped at Evans just as the trigger was pulled. The bullet lodged inside Davy as Davy fell to the ground. Joe ran over and grabbed Evans. He took the end of his gun and thrust it into the side of Evans’ head, knocking him unconscious. Caleb had finished tying Al’s arms and legs together and he rushed over and grabbed Davy. 

​            “Davy!” 

​            “Hey,” Davy whispered. 

​            “You’re going to be okay,” Caleb said to his brother. 

​            Davy shook his head. “I’m gonna die. You tell the O’Neals I am awful grateful to them for supper the other night…and tell Ma and Pa that I love ‘em.” Davy took a long shaky breath. “I’m sorry…” 

“Hey…don’t be sorry. It isn’t your fault. Stay strong, brother.” 

Davy looked up at his brother and clasped Caleb’s hand. “Caleb, you have a good wedding… Belle is real lucky.” And with that, Davy took his last breath. 

            Caleb stared at his brother. “Davy…no…Davy!” Caleb shut his eyes and prayed that this wasn’t happening. When he opened his eyes, Davy’s lifeless form was still there. Caleb wiped a stray tear from his eye and placed his brother on the ground. By this time, Paul had stirred. 

​            “Davy? Davy, where are we?” Paul moaned and grabbed his head. 

​            “Mr. O’Neal?” Joe said walking over to him. 

​            “Joe? Where’s Davy?” 

​            Joe opened his mouth but nothing happened. He couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Caleb answered for him. “He’s in heaven.” 

​            Paul’s eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead and his mouth parted open. His eyes fell on Davy’s body lying near him. “I’m so sorry, Caleb,” he said quietly. He looked around and saw the two other men. “Who are they?” 

​            “We aren’t sure,” Joe said helping Paul to his feet. “They’re both alive, but Charles is dead.” 

​            Charles and Davy’s bodies were laid across Davy’s horse, Al and Evans were hoisted onto one of their horses. Paul, Caleb, and Joe mounted their own horses and started the ride home as dawn broke.