It's a Choice:Blog Book-Part 2

Part 2!! I hope you enjoy this part, it's small-but ya know! 

I hope to have Part 3 next week! Enjoy and remember you are loved by our Savior, Jesus Christ!!! 

To God be All The Glory for these words!! Because it wasn't me that wrote them!!!

Chapter 2

 10 Years Later… 1875

    Dawn peeked through the late teen’s bedroom window. A rooster crowing caused the girl’s green eyes to pop wide open. She stared in space a moment before rising from bed. She paused a few seconds and looked out her window at the morning setting. The fog was slowly melting away from the window, revealing a beautiful morning.

 She stumbled over to her brown paints and slipped them on under her night gown. She made short work of putting on her button down white shirt. She tucked it in sheepishly then grabbed her brown cowboy boots and walked over to her bed. Sitting on the edge she pulled on her socks and put her boots on. By the time she was all finished she was more awake and ready to face the day.

 She picked up her brush and two hair ties and walked out her bedroom. She walked down the hallway, heading towards the kitchen. Her bedroom was the farthest down on the right. There were three other bedrooms, the middle ones were across from each other, the one on the right belonging to her two brothers, the one to the left belonging to her two sisters. The first bedroom on the hallway, to the left, belonged to her parents.

  She opened the hallway entrance door and walked into the sitting room. The smell of freshly made coffee drifted into the room. She walked straight into the kitchen.

 “Hey, Momma.”  She said as she entered the room

 “Hey, honey.” He momma said from the stove. “Did you sleep well?”

 “Yup, I did. Hey, Momma, can you braid my hair before I go out and do chores?”

 Her momma wiped her hands on her apron as she turned around. “Sure, honey.” She said with a smile.

  She sat down with her own smile. She may be nineteen but she still loved for her momma to braid her hair.

 Her momma took the hairbrush from her hand and begin to brush out the nights knots.

 She looked around the room as her momma brushed. To her right was the table, a stove rested against the wall. Beside the stove, on either side, were counter tops and cabinets under them.

 On the left side of the room-there was a window on the left wall. And a small table in the far left corner, there her mother kept gardening supplies for her flower garden. In the far right corner was a small closet where they kept their cleaning supplies.

 “You gonna give them broncs a try again today?” Her momma asked as she tied the end of the first braid.

 “Yes. I gotta break that stallion.”

 Her momma walked over to her left side and began braiding her other braid. “Well, you take care of yourself. I know you’ve been doing that with your daddy since you were fourteen but still be careful.”

 “I will, Momma.”

 Her momma finished off the second braid and patted her shoulder. “Best get to your chores. I’m going to go wake the young’uns.”

 “Okay, Momma.”  She walked to the door and grabbed her hat, glancing out the window on the right side of the door.

 “See ya, Momma.” Lizzie Peterson, or as she was better known as-Lizzie Tyson, said as she opened the door and headed out into the fresh morning air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   No, not ma, not dead.

 She slowly stood up from the chair that was beside her momma’s bed. She felt a little numb. She felt more than tired. And plain exhausted.

 She had been nursing her momma for two whole months. But the stress of their family seemed to keep her momma from getting any better at all. The fever had come, and then the cough. And then it never seemed to leave. She had tried all the home remedies she could. She had bought all the medicines she could find. But now ma had lost the fight. She was resting now.

 She slowly walked out of the curtained-in bedroom into the dirty kitchen. She hadn’t cleaned up the breakfast mess that morning; fact was, she hadn’t cleaned it up the morning before either.

 She looked around their small and not well-kept cabin. It was tucked in around woods and trees. There was a kitchen and a curtained-in bedroom that belonged to her parents. But since ma had gotten sick pa had slept out in the barn. There was a small cot against the left wall in the kitchen that she slept on. Her three brothers slept outside in the barn.

 She rubbed her forehead trying to ease away the headache pain that was plaguing her right temple.

 She was a little at lost about what she should do. She guessed she had better go find pa and the boys and tell them. But would they even care at all? Sure they would. Yet again that might be too much to hope for.

 She walked slowly through the dirty, smelly kitchen and out the cabin’s only door. She walked down the three steps that lead from the porch.

 Looking around she didn’t see any of her family. Surely they weren’t pulling a job without telling her. But yet again, they were probably just off drinking or something. She raised her hand to her forehead to block out the early evening sun. She looked over to the barn that was to her right. Maybe some of them were in there.

 She walked in a daze to the barn. She couldn’t quit thinking about ma’s last words.

 Don’t be like pa and your brothers; you can be like Jake but not the others. Please.

 She reached the barn and pulled open the old door. Sure enough, there sat pa on a stack of hay. Drinking.

 “Hey, Pa, where’s the boys?”

 He sighed heavily and took a drink before answering her. “Jake’s a huntin’, Tim, Robbie, and Clyde gone into town to get supplies. We are running low, especially on whiskey.”

 She folded her arms and frowned. “Did you even think Momma might need some medicine?”

 He, who was fixing to take a drink, paused and lowered the bottled. “No, can’t say as I thought of it.”

 A hurt expression replaced her frown and she dropped her arms to her side. “Doesn’t matter no way, Pa. Ma- she’s dead.” She swallowed hard and lowered her head, trying not to cry.

 He let out another heavy sigh. “Well, honey, it was just as well. She wasn’t well. It puts her out of the way.”

 She looked back up.  How could he say that? How could he just count her off like that? But maybe he was hiding his true feelings? But no. Look at his face. He just looked like normal. He could care less.

 She sniffed to keep the tears away. “I’ll need some help burying her.”

 “Do it yourself. I’m tired. You’re young and strong. You can handle work like that.”

 She closed her eyes against the hurt and the tears that threatened to come.

 “Fine. Sit here and get drunk.” She said before slowly walking out of the barn.

 She looked around for a shovel and when she found one she went behind the cabin and started digging.

 She chose not to let the tears come. Not now. She’d just work on digging a resting place for her momma. Her momma who had loved her since she was nine. Who had showed her love in the midst of a home that was so full of hate.

 Sure, Jake had been good to her, but the rest…well, they didn’t do her any special favors. And pa, he hadn’t wanted her anyway. He just wanted his boys. Pa only adopted her because ma had kept at him so much he couldn’t stand the nagging anymore.

 She grunted as she continued digging the six feet deep grave.

 Two hours later she was ready to lay her ma to rest as soon as she finished one more detail. She supposed that she should make a coffin. But she wasn’t too sure on how to go about that.

 “Hey.”

 She turned around quickly at the sound of Jake’s voice. “Jake. Ma-”

 “I know.” He said quickly.

 She stared at him a moment. Jake’s face held hurt and grief and he looked like he was fighting tears.

 That was all she needed to let her own tears fall. She dropped the shovel to the ground as sobs overtook. Jake slowly walked up and took her into his arms. She clang onto him, he held her.

 “It’s okay. It’s okay.” Jake whispered and swallowed hard. She was sure that she could feel him starting to cry, too.

 It was awhile before she let go and went with Jake to build a coffin. Sadness followed Lexie Jackson as she walked away from the freshly dug grave.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1 (KJV)