Annie Oakley's Arc

Chapter 11 of 13

Misty slept. Annie stood up slow so the floorboards wouldn't creak. Thunder rolled somewhere past the hills. She stepped onto her porch to see if the storm was coming close. The wind had picked up. Vines on the cottage wall shivered, and the flowers in the window boxes bent low. Annie sat on the top step. She liked storms from a porch. Her mother used to say weather was the one thing you couldn't argue with. Then she heard it. A thin sound under the wind, coming from the next porch over. Crying. Annie stood and crossed the path. A girl lay curled on the boards of her own porch. Blonde hair, a dress that looked older than she was, both arms wrapped around her middle. She was about Annie's size. She saw Annie and didn't move. "My tummy," the girl said. "And the thunder." "What's your name?" "Fawn. Fawn Blue." "Where's your mama?" "Town. With my sisters. Fallon and Faye and Finnley. I got sick before they left so they went without me." Fawn squeezed her eyes shut as thunder cracked. "I get storm sick. Every time." Annie knew that kind of sick. She knelt down. "I'll be right back. Don't move." She ran across to her own cottage. Misty was still asleep. Annie lifted the big plush moose from the chair by the daybed, the one with the soft antlers and the belly worn smooth. Her little brown cockapoo lifted his head from the rug. "Come on, Yeti," Annie whispered. "We got work." She carried the moose out with the dog trotting at her heel. Fawn was still curled where she'd left her. Annie set the moose against Fawn's chest so her arms had something to hold instead of her belly. "Squeeze him when it hurts," Annie said. "His name doesn't matter. He's good at this." Fawn pulled the moose close. Yeti climbed onto the porch and pressed himself along the back of Fawn's knees. Fawn let out a shaky breath and started to cry harder, but different now, softer. "I don't want to be alone," Fawn said. "You're not." Annie sat on the boards beside her. Rain started, loud on the roof. "I'll stay till they come back. My friend Misty's asleep across the way. I can hear her if she calls." Fawn nodded into the moose's neck. Annie put her hand on Fawn's back, light, the way Lainey did for her. She thought about telling Fawn about Jesus, the way she'd told Misty. But Fawn was hurting now, not scared of dying. So Annie just stayed. The thunder moved off. Fawn's breathing slowed. Her hand stayed tight in the moose's fur. "When your mama gets home," Annie said, "I want to meet her. And your sisters." "Okay," Fawn said. Annie watched the road for a wagon, and waited.