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If you missed the first part of The Widow in the Woods, you can find it here.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Before we get into today’s story, I have some exciting news: the entire book The Widow in the Woods is finished and now available on Amazon!
What you have been reading here is my first draft. The paperback and Kindle versions have been fleshed out to contain 247 pages, 22 chapters, and an epilogue (that you can only get in the published book) that describes where some of the characters end up a year later. If you have enjoyed the story so far, I hope you will grab your copy today. If you already have a copy, please consider leaving a five-star review on Amazon.
Lexie stretched luxuriously when she awakened, and then she lay there, listening to the birds. It had been so long since she had felt this relaxed. The feeling was no longer familiar, but she savored it.
It wasn’t long before her sense of well-being was replaced with dread. What if Grace wanted her to leave? What if she was angry about all the bad things that had happened at her home? Where would she go? What would she do? After this brief period of feeling loved and protected, she was bereft at the very idea of losing Grace.
She went to the outhouse, reveling in the carefree feeling of the warm sun on her skin, and then joined Grace, solemnly perching on the porch swing.
“Good morning, sweet girl,” Grace greeted her warmly.
Lexie’s eyes filled with tears. She had dammed them up for so long that now they burst from her like a rampaging river, uncontrollable and torrential.
Grace joined her on the swing and took the girl in her arms, soothingly patting her on the back. She didn’t tell her to stop crying but instead bore unjudging witness to her grief and pain. She pushed the swing with her feet, rocking Lexie and letting her cry it all out.
When the river of tears had subsided to a few sniffles, Grace pulled a hanky out of her pocket and handed it to the girl. Lexie took it gratefully and blew her reddened nose like a trumpet.
“Do you have any family left, Lexie?” Grace inquired gently.
Miserably, the girl shook her head in the negative.
“Well, you do now, my girl,” Grace assured her. “You can stay here with me as long as you want, and we will keep each other company.”
Beyond words, Lexie hugged Grace so hard that her injured ribs protested. But she endured the squeeze and hugged Lexie right back.
“We do have one more thing to take care of,” Grace said.
“Rick.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a plan?” Lexie inquired.
“I do. I hate to do this because he seems like a nice enough young man. But I’m too worried he will seek vengeance for his family,” Grace mused.
“He’s not as bad as the others,” said Lexie earnestly. “But he still participated in the raids on other people’s homes. He still hurt people and took their things.”
Knowing that Rick had not been an innocent bystander helped to assuage Grace’s guilt.
She was ready to finish taking back her home. Then she’d remove every trace of the interlopers. To remove all evidence of their presence would make it almost like they’d never existed.
And it was what they deserved.
…
Finally, Rick awakened enough to realize his mouth was dry and his eyes felt gritty. When he tried to move, pain enveloped his body and he couldn’t stifle a groan.
As if he’d magically summoned her, Grace appeared beside him with her ever-present spoon full of laudanum. He was starting to not even mind the bitter taste because he knew he’d soon be drifting in a dreamscape, largely free of the pain that ripped at him right now.
“Let’s get you up for a walk to the outhouse.” The old woman’s voice seemed to be coming from far away.
“I don’t need to,” Rick argued weakly.
“You must,” Grace replied firmly.
He struggled to sit up. She aided him, careful not to make it more painful than it needed to be. The room swam around him, and he closed his eyes and leaned back, fighting a wave of nausea.
Finally, he made it to his feet, wobbling unsteadily. Grace shoved a walking stick in his hand for him to lean on. Once he’d gotten his balance, he shuffled toward the back door.
He had to sit on a stair for a moment after walking down the steps off the back porch. He gathered up his energy and stood, with Grace assisting by tugging him to his feet. She was pretty strong for an old lady, Rick thought idly.
“Where are my brothers?” he inquired as he stood for a moment, letting the dizziness recede.
“Don’t you remember? They went out looking for Beth yesterday,” Grace expertly dodged the question. “Do you need help walking to the outhouse, or is the stick enough?”
“I don’t need help,” Rick said manfully. “I can walk.”
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Grace hoped he’d look around and see the beauty.
“It is,” agreed Rick absently, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other.
Grace walked behind him on the path to the outhouse. When they were out of view of the house, she pulled out her Glock from her apron pocket and shot him in the back of the head while he admired the contrast of the deep azure sky against the vivid green of the trees.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized as his body crumpled to the ground.
…
This time, Grace and Lexie knew what they were doing. It also helped that Rick was far lighter than his brother because he was young and had scarcely been eating since his injury. Loading his corpse into the wheelbarrow and strapping it in with bungee cords was much easier, as was pushing him all the way across the meadow to the edge of the forest to make another offering to the woodland scavengers.
Lexie averted her eyes from Jon’s remains, but Grace didn’t. She peered at him to confirm that yes, indeed, her plan for getting rid of these bodies was working as efficiently as she had hoped. It was.
After tipping Rick’s frail body out of the conveyance, Grace and Lexie made their way back across the grassy field to the edge of the yard. As they ambled slowly toward the greenhouse, Lexie pushed the wheelbarrow. The sky began to darken suddenly. With a long, low rumble of thunder, the clouds let loose with a cool, heavy, cleansing rain.
Lexie set down the wheelbarrow and began to spin as the raindrops trickled down her face. She danced to music that only she could hear, and the rain washed away the blood on her hands and some of the grief and trauma in her heart.
She had been through the worst thing she could have ever imagined, but she had survived. She had Grace now. She had a home. She was alive. She would be safe. Nothing else mattered.
The rain became torrential and washed away the gore and the last signs that two of the Hill brothers had expired in Grace’s yard. While Lexie stayed outside in the cleansing rain, Grace went in to strip the beds. She brought the sheets out, and Lexie helped her hang them on the clothesline. The rainfall quickly saturated the linens, removing the scent of the intruders.
Arm in arm, Lexie and Grace went back into the house. Grace filled buckets with freshly scented cleaners she had made herself, and together, she and Lexie scrubbed away every last trace of Beth and the Hills.
The little house that Grace loved so was no longer infected with evil and danger. It was fresh and clean. It was a new beginning. Grace and Lexie were a family now, and this was their home.
Grace thought of James as she made up the second bedroom for Lexie, spreading a lovely, embroidered yellow floral quilt over the bed and fluffing pillows trimmed with handmade lace. They had always wanted a daughter to complete their family but had been blessed with two wonderful sons instead. James would have adored Lexie, she thought. The girl was clever, loved to read, and she was a survivor.
In fact, she reminded Grace of herself when she was young. And now, she’d be raised by a grandmother figure, just as Grace had been raised by Matilda. She would share her secrets and her skills with Lexie to prepare her for the world ahead of her, just as she had been prepared.
Grace no longer felt like she had been forgotten, with nothing left to live for.
They’d saved each other.
Families do that.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
