The Lumberjack

by Kelli Ann Morgan

  By the size of the animal, Eli figured the only way to get him into the house was to carry him. He glanced around to see if there was anyone he could call without yelling, but no one was close enough to try without risking the possibility of startling the pup. As a stranger to the ranch, he was already unsure of how the dog would react to him. He took another step toward the ailing creature, gauging the pup’s reaction. When there was no growl, he ventured one more pace forward.

  The dog started to whimper again, but did not appear to be aggressive. He looked back at Kratos. His mount’s head dipped down into the tall grasses as he grazed. Eli gingerly reached down and slipped his arms beneath the dog and was surprised that the bulk of the pup was fluff and not mass.

  “Don’t you worry now, boy, or girl,” he said, realizing he had no idea which it was, “we’ll get you all taken care of.” He spoke gently in an attempt to console the animal.

  When he reached the bottom steps of the back porch, Raine slipped outside with a knapsack Eli guessed contained a slice or two of the breakfast pie for him. The smile that had been on his face was quickly replaced with a concerned furrow to his brow and slight frown. He thrust the door back open and stepped aside, allowing Eli to take the dog inside.

  “What happened?” Jameson Redbourne asked as he turned back to look at the unlikely duo. He pushed his chair away from the table.

  “Seamus,” Hannah squealed, running up to them. She glanced up at Eli as if for some explanation, but he didn’t have much.

  “I found him out behind the shed. It looks like he got a little too curious with a porcupine.”

  Hannah moved her hand close to the pup’s face, but restrained from actually touching him. “What do we do?” she asked.

  “He needs a doctor. Those quills are barbed on the ends and if you simply try to pull them out, I’m afraid you’ll pull a pound of flesh with them.”

  “Oh, Seamus, you silly dog,” she said. “You should have stayed inside last night.”

  “Let’s get him down,” Raine said, stepping into the hallway from the kitchen. “This way.”

  Eli followed with Hannah on his heels.

  “We’ll need to send someone for the doc or a vet, if you’ve got one.”

  “Hannah,” Raine said as he opened the door to one of the bedrooms with a long table with a beautiful combination of wood and metal against one wall, “go get Marty and tell him to fetch the doc.”

  She nodded and left the room straightaway.

  Raine spread a blanket over the table and motioned for Eli to place the dog there.

  “This is convenient,” Eli said as he set the pup down on the newly padded wooden top.

  “Ethan used to work alongside the town’s blacksmith.”

  Eli glanced at him, questions filling his mind.

  “It’s a long story for another day, but he crafted this table for my brother, Rafe, while he was in medical school as sort of an examination table.” Raine said.

  “Your family has quite the stories to tell,” Eli said, laying the dog down where he’d been instructed.

  Raine snorted. “You have no idea.”

  Seamus immediately began to wriggle from side to side, pawing at his face.

  “We can’t let him do that,” Eli said. “He’ll drive the quills even farther into his face.”

  “I’m ahead of you,” Raine said, holding one edge of the saddle blanket in one hand. “I’m going to need your help.”

  “I don’t think just wrapping a blanket over him is going to stop him from swiping at those barbs.”

  Raine laughed. “When Rafe lived among the Pawnee, he learned a technique for wrapping up a baby papoose. I figure if we wrap Seamus up tight like that, he won’t be able to move.”

  “You’re not planning to carry him on your back, are you? He’s a might bigger than any papoose I’ve ever seen.”

  “No,” Raine said with another chuckle, “but I do think he’ll do better if Hannah sits with him until the doctor arrives.”

  The two worked together to wrap the sheep dog up, legs and all, as tightly as they could without worrying they would hurt him.

  “So, for some reason, I thought Rafe was a bounty hunter.”

  “I am.”

  Eli turned toward the voice.

  Rafe stood in the doorway, nearly filling the space. With Raine to one side of him and Rafe on the other, Eli could see why men would be intimidated by even the mere idea of seven of them in one room.

  Eli cleared his throat and stepped backward.

  The smile on Raine’s face grew a mile wide.

  “See, Eli, my brother here is what we call a wandering soul,” he said as he made his way toward his brother, then turned his attention to Rafe. “I didn’t think we’d see you until Christmas,” he said, as he closed the distance between them and pulled him into a huge hug. “How long you staying?” he asked as he pulled back.

  “That depends. I heard there was trouble with some ruffians between here and Kansas City and took a bounty for the gang causing all the ruckus. If Mama ever found out I was that close to home without stopping in, she’d have my hide.”

  “True enough,” Raine agreed. “As always, you have impeccable timing.”

  Rafe stepped into the room and strode over to the table where Seamus lay, still whimpering softly, but no longer struggling against the blanket.

  “Whittaker, it’s been a long time. Still sweet on my little sis?” he asked with a raised brow.

  Eli hadn’t expected the question, but figured there was no way around it.

  “Yep,” he said proudly. “More than ever.” Then, he glanced over his shoulder, suddenly feeling like they were being listened to, but no one was there. He breathed in deeply and exhaled.

  “Good.” Rafe held up a little black bag that looked very much like something a doctor would carry, then set it down next to the dog’s head and bent down to open one of the cupboards at the base of the table.

  He pulled out a small wooden box filled with bottles and other medical looking supplies.

  “All right, Seamus,” he said, addressing the dog directly. “Let’s get you fit for work, boy.” He doused a little of the liquid on a cloth and held it up to the animal’s nose without covering it completely.

  Within a few moments, the pup’s whole body relaxed, and soft snores reverberated through the air.

  “Impressive.”

  “Well, this is one way to get Hannah’s attention,” Raine said to Eli while his brother worked on Seamus. “She loves this dog.”

  Rafe pulled out a large pair of awkward looking scissors and began to snip off the ends of the quills.

  “Mr. Whittaker! Mr. Whittaker!”

  Eli glanced over to the door where a distraught looking Archie hunched down with his hands on his knees, then looked up at him.

  “It’s Mirabelle. She wasn’t in the room when I woke up and I’ve looked all over and I can’t find her.”

  Eli glanced up at Raine.

  “Go! We’ll take care of Seamus.”

  Chapter 17

  Hannah could hardly breathe as she listened to the interaction between Eli and her brothers. She’d heard Rafe’s voice and had about run into the room, excited to have him home, but was stopped short when she heard the shocking question he’d asked Eli.

  Still sweet on my little sis?

  She still couldn’t believe he had asked such a thing.

  Because she’d wanted to hear the answer, she’d ducked into the closet at the end of the hall where she could still hear their conversation.

  More than ever. The words rang in her ears and weighed on her heart like a heavy warm blanket.

  When she heard small footfalls approaching, she cursed herself for waiting so long before opening the closet door.

  “Mr. Whittaker! Mr. Whittaker!” Archie’s voice was unmistakable and so was the urgency in his tone.

  Mirabelle.

  Why hadn’t she checked on the children when she’d first awoke
n this morning?

  As she twisted the handle to open the door, she pushed, but it would not budge. She turned the knob again and thrust a little harder against it. Still nothing.

  “Go!” Raine said.

  Seeing no recourse, Hannah knocked on the door as loudly as she could.

  When it opened, Eli stood there with little Archie holding his hand.

  “Miss Redbourne? Come on!” the boy let go of Eli’s hand long enough to grab hers and pull her out of the closet without a need for an explanation. “Mirabelle is missing. We have to find her.”

  “Archie,” Hannah said, gently pulling the boy back. “What happened?”

  “I woke up with cold air on my face. The window was open and she was gone.”

  “Why would she run away?”

  “She thought she saw the bad man from our window last night.”

  Hannah looked up meaningfully at Eli. There were a lot of things around the ranch that could have triggered the little girl’s imagination, but there was no telling where she would have hidden. She couldn’t have gotten very far.

  “Is there someplace that Mirabelle likes to go, that helps her to feel safe?”

  The young boy placed a finger on his chin and looked into the air, thinking for a moment.

  “There was a big tree outside of the orphanage where we met Miss Hampton that had a hole in the side.” He shrugged. “She liked to play in there.”

  “A tree? Hmmm.”

  There was a large Bur Oak tree outside that sat just between the twins’ and Will’s old rooms.

  “Let’s go look upstairs,” she told Archie and started for the stairs, but he stood his ground. “I looked all over and she’s not up there.”

  “What if I told you there is a special tree that she can get to from the window in the room where you were sleeping?”

  “Really?”

  Hannah nodded.

  Archie let go of her hand and ran up the stairs.

  She followed with Eli close behind her. When they reached Will’s old room, Archie was already at the window.

  “She’s there,” he pointed excitedly and started climbing up onto the sill.

  “Oh, no you don’t there, kiddo,” Eli said, sweeping the child up into his arms. “We don’t need two missing children today.”

  “But, I’m not missing,” Archie said with a little shake of his head. “And Mira’s not missing anymore either. See?” He pointed out the window again.

  A large branch grew mere inches above the roof between the two bedroom windows, speckled with thick clusters of red, yellow, and orange leaves. Hannah peeked out, scanning the tree branches for any sight of the little girl. While the autumn foliage mostly shielded the child from her view, she caught a glimpse of her dark hair near level with the rooftop.

  She’d climbed too high, several feet above the window eaves and into the section of the tree where the branches were thinner and likely would not hold an adult.

  “Mirabelle, honey,” she called out the window.

  “Miss Red Barn,” her little voice squeaked back, “help me. I’m stuck.”

  Some unseen force clutched a fist around Hannah’s heart.

  “Don’t move, Mira. We’ll come get you.”

  “I’m scared.”

  “Eli,” she pleaded as she turned around, but he was gone. She glanced back out the window, needing to reassure the child.

  “I know,” Hannah said, “why don’t we try singing a song?” She forced a smile while trying to figure out a way to safely get out onto the roof and reach her.

  If the twins were here, they’d know exactly how to get her down.

  A moment later, movement drew Hannah’s eye down to the base of the tree where Eli, with a rope strapped over his shoulder, had started to climb.

  “Be careful,” she called down to him, feeling a little sheepish as she realized he’d probably climbed trees ten times the size of this one.

  It wasn’t long before he reached eye level in the tree.

  “I’m going to get her, but I’m going to need some help. It may be difficult to get her onto the roof safely, so I may have to lower her all the way to the ground.”

  Hannah’s heart raced.

  “Lower her?” Certainly, he did not expect a little four-year-old girl to be able to climb down a rope, especially, when she was scared to death.

  Eli held onto one of the branches while he worked the rope off his shoulder. One end was strapped around his waist and the other was tied around a sturdy-looking plank of wood. He held it up for her to see.

  “Hannah,” he said quietly, “look at me.”

  When she met his eyes, her apprehension somehow gave way to faith.

  “She’ll be fine.”

  Hannah glanced up at the little girl, then back at Eli. “I trust you.”

  Eli worked his way higher up the tree and despite her belief that everything would work out and her faith in the lumberjack to climb a tree and get the little girl down, she could not help the anxious empty chasm in her belly.

  SNAP!

  Mirabelle screamed.

  One of the branches had broken when she tried to take a step toward Eli.

  “Mira,” Eli cooed, “listen to me. I need you to stay still for just a little bit longer. Can you do that for me?”

  The child’s position had shifted enough that Hannah could not see her face from the window. Archie’s hand now gripped hers with all the apprehension she felt.

  Several of the hired hands, along with Cole, Jonah, and Ethan, had gathered around the base of the tree, holding tight to the corners of several blankets. Hannah didn’t think a blanket would be any help in a fall this far, but she closed her eyes and offered up a silent prayer.

  She bent down and picked up the little boy, wanting to hold him close.

  Eli reached a point where he stopped, placing his weight on one of the thinner branches.

  SNAP!

  Hannah gasped as it fell listlessly down to the earth, but the lumberjack held tightly to the trunk of the tree and was able to regain his footing on one of the branches below.

  He took the rope from around him and proceeded to string it several times around the center, securing himself to the tree. Keeping close to the middle, he took another step up. Nothing happened. He reached a little farther, now within a few feet of Mirabelle, and pulled himself up onto the thickest part of the next branch. It splintered in protest under his weight.

  “Okay, Mirabelle,” he said, “I can’t climb any higher, so I’m going to need your help, all right?”

  Hannah figured the girl must have nodded because Eli continued.

  “That’s a good girl. Now, I need you to reach down and hold on tight to that branch.” He pointed to the one that sat just above her knee level. “Can you do that?”

  Again silence.

  “Good. Now, drop your foot down to that branch,” he said pointing again.

  “I’m scared.”

  Hannah took comfort in hearing the child’s sweet voice.

  “I know you are, sweetheart, but I also know how brave you are.”

  “My foot is caught. I can’t move it.”

  Eli looked down, shaking his head and mumbling something to himself that Hannah couldn’t hear, then looked up again, seeming to assess a way to get to her.

  SNAP!

  With no additional warning, Mirabelle slipped down through the cluster of leaves. She shrieked with terror.

  Hannah’s breath caught in her chest at the sight of a little nightdress floating downward and she pulled Archie close and cradled the boy’s head down into her shoulder.

  “Mirabelle,” Archie screamed, wiggling down from Hannah’s arms.

  Eli reached out and with a thump and a groan, hooked his arm around the girl’s midsection. The sound momentarily stopped, but a moment later, she slipped down until his hand barely had a hold of her by the pit of her arm.

  One look at Eli’s face and Hannah knew that something was wrong. Sweat li
ned his brow and his jaw clenched tightly together.

  “What can I do?” she asked, wrenching a leg up and over the windowsill.

  One warning look from Eli and she quickly pulled herself back inside, keeping a hand on Archie’s shoulder. He didn’t respond to her, but fixed his eyes on the little girl.

  “Mirabelle,” Eli said in a strong, commanding voice.

  She raised her head to look at him.

  “Come here.”

  Without hesitation, the girl reached up and grabbed onto his belt, then climbed up his body until her arms wrapped around his neck so tightly Hannah was afraid he wouldn’t able to breathe.

  She let out a breath of her own, her hand resting just over her pounding heart, and closed her eyes with another prayer, this time of gratitude.

  “Thank you, Jesus,” Archie said aloud.

  Hannah nodded, still unable to catch her breath completely. She opened her eyes in time to see a single tear dropping down Eli’s cheek as he leaned his head down to rest on Mirabelle’s. He glanced over at her and winked, taking in a gulp of air.

  His arm still dangled at an odd angle and Hannah realized he’d been injured.

  How was he going to get down?

  He whispered something in the little girl’s ear.

  She nodded. With one arm still wrapped around Eli’s neck, she reached for the rope-wrapped plank that he’d tucked into the back of his trousers and pulled it free.

  The men at the bottom of the tree were joined by Raine and Rafe, who immediately started climbing up the tree after them. Of all the days for her brother to return home, today couldn’t have been more perfect.

  “He’s hurt,” Hannah yelled down to Rafe.

  “I can see that,” he said as he expertly raised himself from branch to branch until he was level with the second-floor roof. He braced himself against the tree, securing his feet on two separate, but sturdy branches, and reached up for Mirabelle.

  She held onto the board Eli had given her as she gently slid back down Eli’s arm.