Kari (Walker Creek Brides Book 1)

by Miriam Minger

  She wasn’t surprised to see Seth’s father sitting beside the bed, looking at his pocket watch as he held two fingers at Caleb’s wrist to check his pulse. Just as Sarah had said, her father appeared to be sleeping, Kari grateful, too, that he was no longer repeating her mother’s name over and over.

  Reverend Thomas sat at the opposite side, his Bible opened upon his lap and his spectacles resting on his nose as he quietly read a passage. Molly at once rose from a chair placed at the foot of the bed and came to greet her.

  “Is everything all right? You’ve been gone for quite a while.”

  “I was helping Sarah prepare some rooms for you. Of course you and Dr. Davis will be staying overnight, won’t you? The storm’s so fierce.”

  At Molly’s nod, Kari felt relief, but then she mentally braced herself for the question she sensed was coming next.

  “Seth was so insistent to speak with you. I meant is everything all right between the two of you?”

  Kari hesitated, realizing that Molly must know why he’d ridden off so abruptly, given how close mother and son appeared to be. Surely Seth had confided in her.

  Did Kari dare tell her the truth? That she’d stormed into the house like a hoyden without granting Seth the forgiveness he’d asked for right before he’d disappeared into the darkness?

  “Everything’s fine,” Kari murmured, suddenly feeling chastened in front of this good woman who had taken in a foundling years ago and given Seth a name, a home, and a mother’s love. “We didn’t have long to talk. The wind picked up and the thunder, and we could hear the frightened horses so he took off running—”

  “Hopefully none of them broke out of their stalls. I hate to think of him riding out into the storm—no, no, we mustn’t jump to any conclusions, and Seth knows what he’s about, either way. Come and take my seat, Kari.”

  Kari woodenly complied, her fingers suddenly ice cold as she thought of Seth braving the howling wind and dangerous lightning—Lord forgive her, and she’d treated him so deplorably, too!

  She had forgiven her father all when she’d held him weeping so piteously in her arms, hadn’t she? Why couldn’t she have shown the same compassion for Seth?

  The man she loved!

  The man she’d thought was about to propose to her, but who instead had bared his soul to her and risked everything so that she would know the truth!

  “Oh, Kari…” she murmured, so ashamed of herself. She could but stare down at her lap as rain relentlessly pelted the windows, not even noticing when Reverend Thomas closed his Bible a short while later and rose.

  “Miss Walker, did you say you’ve some rooms prepared for us?”

  “Oh, yes, forgive me, Reverend!” Kari blurted, jumping up to lead the way. “Your wife is already resting, I was supposed to let you know.”

  “You’ve so much on your mind, child, it’s no wonder,” the older man said kindly, glancing back at the bed. “Just point me in the right direction and then come back to sit with your father.”

  Kari nodded, Seth’s parents following her and Reverend Thomas out into the hall, indicating they were ready to retire, too.

  “I gave your father a mild dose of laudanum to help him sleep through the night,” Charles told her as she gestured to the room next to the Thomases. “If you have any concerns, though, don’t hesitate to wake me. I hope you can get some rest, too. How is your ankle?”

  “It hurts a little now and then,” Kari replied, recalling the twinge she’d felt when she had wrested her hands away from Seth and stumbled backward—oh, dear, she hoped he was safe and dry in the bunkhouse! As if to taunt her, a sudden crack of thunder made her jump, and Molly reached out to enfold her in a hug.

  “Kari, I promise you Seth knows how to handle himself in these storms. Try to get some sleep.”

  Kari hugged her back, Molly’s warm embrace so reminiscent of her mother’s that she felt a hollow ache…though she summoned a small smile when Molly released her.

  Kari didn’t wait for Seth’s parents to disappear into their room, but returned to her father’s side like Reverend Thomas had bade her. Caleb slept peacefully, just like Charles had said he would, no matter the wind blustering outside and the pounding rain that gave no indication of ceasing.

  With a plaintive sigh, Kari did her best to settle into the wing chair in spite of her bustled dress, wrinkled now and looking worse for wear, and closed her eyes.

  She imagined sleep would be impossible given everything that had happened, but she would at least attempt it. Even though all she could think about was Seth and the terrified neighing of the horses…

  “Kari, wake up, daughter, wake up!”

  Startled out of sleep to see Caleb standing over her, Kari jumped up so abruptly from the chair that she nearly toppled over. He caught her and steadied her, his expression grim in the light shining from the windows, a brilliant sunrise of pink and gold.

  Morning already? Still bleary from being awoken so suddenly, Kari stared in confusion at her father, who wasn’t wearing his usual suit but denims and boots much like that of the ranch hands. “What’s going on? Are you all right? You should be back in bed—”

  “It’s Seth, Kari. I hesitated to wake you, you were sleeping so soundly, but I thought you’d want to know before I set out—”

  “Know what?” Her heart in her throat, Kari anxiously searched Caleb’s face, everything suddenly in sharp focus. “Where is he? What’s happened?”

  “His horse came back without him only a short while ago, and so did the stallion that Seth went out looking for during the storm. One of the hands, Lucius, came running to the house to raise the alarm. He’s already sent out riders to search for him.”

  “Search?” Almost stupidly she stared at her father, a terrible premonition in the pit of her stomach as he nodded.

  “Something must have happened, his horse rearing, a fall—Kari, there’s no telling until we get out there to look for him. Now I must go.”

  He released her and headed to the door, but Kari ran after him and caught his arm.

  “Papa, you’re going to look for Seth, too?”

  His somber “Yes,” made such gratitude flood her as he laid his hand over hers.

  “I’ve much to make amends for, Kari, starting with you and Seth. God willing, we’ll find him alive.”

  Caleb didn’t say anything more, only squeezing her hand before he turned and strode out the door.

  Her father’s stark words ringing in her ears, Kari followed him down the stairs, the entire household appearing to be wakened to the emergency. Sarah held open the front door for him while servants clustered in silence. Outside, at least twenty somber-faced riders awaited Caleb, their horses neighing shrilly and pawing at the muddy drive.

  Among them were Charles Davis and the ranch hand she guessed must be Lucius, the same man she’d seen Seth talking to last night after she had stormed into the house. Please God, may her angry words not be the last ones she would ever speak to Seth!

  Off to one side stood Molly, her face etched with worry. At once she came up the steps and enfolded Kari in her arms.

  “Caleb promised me that he wouldn’t rest until they find him,” Molly said brokenly against her hair, Kari hearing the anguish in her voice that so matched her own.

  Kari hugged her back, both of them drawing comfort from each other as her father mounted his horse, the other riders encircling him.

  “The creek probably flooded with all the rain,” he shouted above the din. “Half of you take the south bank and the rest follow me along the north!”

  Kari’s knees felt weak as the men rode off in a thundering of hooves, Sarah’s words from last night flying back to haunt her.

  It’s not the wind you have to fear, but the rain causing flash floods that’ll rise up out of nowhere and carry you away...

  Dear God, no, please tell her it wasn’t so! Reverend Thomas intoning a prayer with his wife standing beside him, their heads humbly bowed, made Kari draw Molly along with
her to join them as another memory suddenly gripped her.

  A tiny woman on the train speaking words not of dread and terror, but of comfort and strength.

  You must be patient, child, and always remember to trust in the Lord with all your heart…even in your darkest moments.

  Kari held onto them now for dear life as she, too, bowed her head in prayer.

  Chapter 11

  “It’s been four hours already—four hours! Oh, God, what’s happened to my son?”

  Molly’s agonized cry bringing Kari at a rush to her side, she sank down next to the chair where Seth’s mother had begun to weep.

  Molly had remained so strong until now, Kari knew so as to not alarm her, but the minutes ticking away on the parlor clock seemed to mock them both no matter the calming words she clung to.

  Trust in the Lord with all your heart…even in your darkest moments.

  Kari could not but help to think of her father’s untimely death, and then her mother’s long illness and passing…both events the darkest moments she’d ever known, until today. She had left Molly only for a short while to change out of her rumpled satin dress into the simple blue one she’d worn on her first day in Walker Creek, the calico making her miss so desperately her sisters and brother but giving her comfort, too.

  She closed her eyes and imagined Ingrid, Anita, and Andreas by her side, knowing they would have bolstered her with love and prayer as Molly had so bravely tried to do until the clock had struck half past ten.

  Had it been only four hours since her father had ridden out with the others into a sunrise heralding a brilliantly sunny day that seemed to mock them, too? No howling wind, no lashing rain, no lightning, only the sweet scent of wildflowers that wafted into the room from the open windows—

  “Kari, did you hear that?”

  She stiffened just as Molly had, both of them straining to hear beyond the birdsong and distant lowing of cattle…a low rumbling like the promise of thunder—but impossible on such a clear, cloudless day.

  A rumbling that grew louder and closer into the distinct sound of pounding hooves. Molly grabbed Kari by the hand as she jumped up from the chair.

  “It’s them—dear Lord in heaven, please may they have found Seth!”

  Kari’s heart in her throat, she rushed with Molly out of the parlor to the front door, while Sarah and servants from every corner of the house came running. No sooner had Kari and Molly burst outside onto the porch than the air crackled with whoops and wild exultation, the men shouting and waving their hats as they rode in one clamorous bunch right up to the house.

  Yet Kari had eyes for only one man as her father dismounted with an uncharacteristic grin on his face to reveal Seth astride the same horse, looking disheveled and with his left arm bandaged and in a sling—but alive! Alive!

  Later, thinking back, Kari had no recollection of running to him, laughing and crying at the same time as he dismounted and she flung her arms around his neck.

  Seth lifting her from her feet with his good arm and kissing her so soundly that she felt certain her heart would burst from relief and happiness. Their first kiss! His lips so warm against hers, the pressure of his mouth as life-affirming a miracle as she had ever known.

  Only when she heard laughter rippling around them did Seth set her down. Kari’s face felt flame hot at the audience they had garnered—her father, Seth’s parents, ranch hands, the servants, a beaming Sarah—though Kari found herself smiling so broadly back at them that her cheeks hurt.

  At once Molly rushed forward to wrap Seth in a joyous hug, though a moment later she released him, her questions peppering the air.

  “Son, what happened to you? Where did they find you? Oh, my Lord, and your arm! Charles, is it broken?”

  “I was more than an hour’s ride away when the flood came up,” Seth hastened to explain, sobering as he laced his fingers with Kari’s and drew her against him. “I never once saw that fool stallion. Next thing I knew Henry and I were swept downstream and swimming for our lives in the pitch dark—and then he was gone, too. Somehow I grabbed onto a tree limb lodged against a rock and that’s where I spent the rest of the night, hanging on for dear life. Didn’t realize my arm had gotten so banged up until I finally was able to swim to the bank—doggone it! Hurt like the dickens, too, but Pa said nothing’s broken.”

  “That’s where we found him,” Charles interjected, clasping Seth’s shoulder. “Soaked to the skin and sleeping like the dead—”

  “Not dead, thank God,” Molly broke in, flinging her arms around Seth’s neck to give him another big hug. Grateful tears glistened in her eyes as she released him, and she turned to Caleb and embraced him as tightly. “Thank you for bringing him home to us—thank you!”

  It seemed Molly’s weren’t the only eyes wet with tears. Caleb’s were welling, too, though he summoned a smile that shed ten years from his face and gave Kari her first glimpse of the man her mother had fallen in love with so long ago.

  Seth stared at him with quiet amazement, too, Kari remembering what he’d said the night before about hoping his uncle had meant his pleas for forgiveness.

  This day couldn’t have been any more proof that Caleb Walker had undergone a miraculous transformation that had changed him from the inside out—and she couldn’t help but once again think of her mother.

  Truly, the Lord worked in mysterious ways, Kari sending up a prayer of thanks that made her wish again that her family was closer, if only to share with them her overwhelming happiness—

  “Whoa, company coming!” Lucius shouted. The other ranch hands wheeled their horses around as an open carriage turned into the ranch and rumbled toward them, a young woman with white-blond hair waving her pink-beribboned bonnet.

  “Kari! Oh, Kari, we’re here at last!”

  She looked in amazement from Caleb, who shrugged apologetically, to Seth, who shrugged, too, clearly having no idea what was going on, as the carriage came around the drive amid riders and snorting horses scattering out of the way.

  No sooner had the driver stopped the vehicle than Anita scrambled out in a flurry of pink calico to run toward Kari and throw her arms around her. Not far behind came Ingrid, as pretty as a picture in her dove gray dress, and Andreas, her brother appearing so much more strapping in his dark brown traveling suit than Kari remembered. Laughing gaily, Anita moved aside so Ingrid could embrace her, her middle sister as shy and unassuming as ever. Last to hug her was Andreas, who smiled broadly.

  “Did you think we’d miss your wedding, Kari? Not on your life! Mr. Walker sent us a telegram and train fare a week ago so we could be here. Now where is this Saunders fellow? No one’s marrying my big sister without the man of the house first having a say so—”

  “No Saunders fellow is marrying Kari,” Seth cut him off, stepping forward and extending his hand to Andreas. “That’ll be me if she’ll have me”—he glanced behind him and winked at Kari, her heart suddenly beating furiously—“and if you give your blessing, of course. Andreas, is it? I’m Seth Davis, the man who loves your big sister more than she’ll ever know.”

  Looking perplexed for an instant, Andreas nonetheless recovered and pumped Seth’s hand heartily. “Glad to make your acquaintance, Seth. So, Kari, it seems to me he’s awaiting your answer. Will you have him or not?”

  Kari reached out for Seth and he took her hand, pulling her close and entwining his fingers with hers as she smiled into his eyes. “Yes, I’ll have him.”

  Grinning, Andreas nodded. “Then you have my blessing.”

  “And mine,” Caleb said, coming forward with a warm smile to stand beside Kari and Seth. “As the father of the bride. Ingrid, Anita, and Andreas, welcome to Walker Creek.”

  “Oh, Ingrid, look! Have you ever seen a church filled with so many flowers?”

  Kari smiled at Ingrid’s soft murmur, “It’s perfect, truly,” to Anita’s irrepressible outburst, her two sisters as unlike each other as night and day but so very dear to her. All three of them stood in the
small narthex, Kari’s heart brimming with joy as they anticipated the start of the music that would carry her down the aisle to where Seth awaited her.

  He looked so handsome, his dark blue eyes fixed intently upon her, her soon-to-be husband dressed in a charcoal-gray suit expertly tailored just for him.

  Caleb had spared no expense over the last ten days to ensure they would have a beautiful wedding, though Kari could have married Seth the moment she’d said, “Yes, I’ll have him.” Yet all the dizzying preparations had given Seth time to heal, his arm thankfully as good as new, and for everyone to see that her father had truly meant what he’d said about making amends.

  Andreas and Lucius stood alongside Seth, both of them wearing new suits, while her sisters’ dresses in rose and plum hues made them look as much like lovely flowers. As Anita fussed with the lustrous folds of Kari’s white satin dress while Ingrid arranged the lacy train behind her, the sweet strains of a single violin made everyone in the packed pews rise to their feet.

  “God bless you both,” Ingrid whispered, seconded by Anita’s breathless, “God bless you!” right before they hurried to take their places opposite Andreas and Lucius.

  Kari paused only an instant to take everything in, the smiling faces, the heady scent of pink roses adorning her bouquet, and Seth watching her as if he couldn’t tear his eyes away…and then she couldn’t wait any longer to be by his side.

  Her gaze fixed upon him, she moved down the aisle as admiring whispers filled the small church, though she scarcely heard them. Happiness overwhelming her, she had never known a more wondrous moment as Caleb rose from the front pew to accompany her the last few steps and place her hand in Seth’s.

  His touch felt so strong and sure that she could but smile up at him even as Seth smiled with such love at her.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…” she heard Reverend Thomas say as she and Seth turned together to the altar, his fingers squeezing hers.