“I guess I figure that if I would have figured out who Jake was earlier, Daniel may not have died because he never would have owed him money.”
Nick shook his head, “Daniel was a gambler. Like it or not, we have to accept it. If it hadn’t been for Jake, it might have been something else. Something I’ve learned in the past couple of days is, God has a plan for everything he does.” Nick paused for a moment. “Even though we don’t understand it now, God knows why he had things happen the way he did. And our actions have consequences.”
The sheriff didn’t look particularly convinced. “You know, I’m not sure that I understand everything you just said, but Daniel was lucky to have you as a brother-in-law.”
Nick didn’t respond, but he knew that he was the one who was lucky. He had been the one who was lucky enough to know Daniel as his brother-in-law. Despite his gambling, he had been a loving father to his children and a good husband to Ginger and a good friend to Nick.
---*---
It took longer than Nick would have liked to get back to town, or maybe it was just the fact that he was exhausted from the whole experience. He hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours and he hadn’t had time to rest.
Now that Lana was safe here on the front of his horse, he felt like he could finally relax a little.
As they rode through town, he could feel people’s gazes on them and see others whispering. He was sure there would be plenty of stories and rumors told about what had happened today. It didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that justice had been served and Jake with his crew would spend the rest of their lives locked up where they belonged.
“Thanks again for your help, sheriff. I’m gonna get her to the doctor before taking her home.”
“You do that. Don’t take too long though. You look like you’re about to collapse yourself.”
Nick tipped his hat in the sheriff’s direction before splitting up from the group and heading down the street to the doctor’s office.
He knew that Ginger must be terribly worried, and the temptation was just to take Lana home already. But it would be of no use if they had to turn right around and bring her to the doctor for something more serious that could have been avoided.
As he pulled his horse to a stop and lifted Lana down, she stirred awake. “Where are we?”
“We’re at the doctor’s office. Just relax. Everything is going to be okay.” This time, Nick was more confident in his words. They were safely in town, and nothing was going to stop them from getting home now.
“Do we have to? I’m fine.”
Nick shook his head, “No, you’re certainly not. Your wrists are a mess and you have all sorts of cuts on your arms. The doctor needs to check you over or we’ll be right back here with your injuries getting infected next thing you know.”
Lana looked very reluctant, but a moment later she nodded as if she was resigned to the fact.
Nick smiled and held out his hand. She took it and leaned up against him as they made their way up the stairs. They were two tired people, leaning on each other for support as they finished a long and stressful journey.
“The two of you look like you’ve been on quite an adventure.” The doctor came over and took one of Lana’s arms.
“Just her. I am actually fine,” Nick clarified.
“I’m glad you got her back. You’ve been the talk of the town, young lady.” The doctor addressed Nick first and then Lana.
Lana looked as if she were embarrassed to be there. “I am not that hurt, but Nick insisted you have a look.”
The doctor adjusted his glasses further back on his nose, “Well, Nick is right. This is pretty bad.”
The doctor held her wrists up as if to inspect them better. “You know, I don’t get many real injuries anymore.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Nick asked, leaning against the wall as the doctor began to clean and bandage Lana’s wrists.
“No, not exactly. Without practice, it’s hard to stay good if you know what I mean. Not that I would wish for anyone to be hurt, I’m just saying the two of you are no bother.”
Nick knew that the doctor was trying to put Lana at ease, and he appreciated that. He could tell that since he’d rescued her Lana had been as tense as anything. Even when she was sleeping, she seemed worried.
The doctor first cleaned her wrists with a clear liquid and then took long white strips of cloth and bound them, tucking the ends into themselves.
“There you go. They should all heal nicely. As far as the scrapes and bruises from running through the woods, those will come along on their own. There’s no need to do anything to them. I cleaned them with disinfectant. Just keep all of the abrasions clean and take this tin of salve to put on them.”
“Thank you, doctor, and again, sorry for the-”
“It’s no bother,” the doctor threw his head back and gave a soft, warm chuckle. “You come back anytime, sick or not.”
Lana smiled at him, “Maybe I will. Thanks again. We should be getting back to Ginger. She’s probably worried out of her mind. We wouldn’t want her to do something she’s not supposed to because she wants to know what’s going on.”
Nick agreed. He hoped that Ginger had stayed calm and waited in the house. If she hadn’t… that would be all it took to turn this day into way worse than it was already.
Nick had to struggle to keep his eyes open as they went to the stables and got new horses. The man who ran the place knew him and was fine with him borrowing some animals, especially with the current circumstances.
“Are you sure you’re all right to ride?” Nick asked Lana with concern. She had insisted that she could handle riding back to Ginger’s ranch.
While Nick was all for her being independent and good at riding, he didn’t want to risk her getting hurt more than she already was.
“I’ll be fine. Come on. I’ve spent the last day and a half hoping that Ginger is all right. Let’s not keep her waiting any longer.”
“All right, I trust you. I just know that I’m ready to pass out.” Nick felt light-headed and his breath was shallow. He hoped he could make it home to rest before anything else went wrong today.
He had only gone this long without sleep a couple of times before and it was excruciating.
He glanced over at Lana. The important thing was that she was here, and she was all right. Everything would be all right now.
Chapter 40
Ginger glanced over at the kitchen table that was covered in steaming hot food. She was wondering if she had made a mistake. She had figured that Nick and Lana would be back in time for dinner, so she’d made a large one. In reality, she had felt so restless she wanted to do something to take her mind off the fact that Lana was missing.
Dusk was falling now though and there was no sign of them.
She went into the kitchen and made sure everything was covered. She had made fried chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. She had even baked a fresh loaf of bread.
Technically she no longer had to be off of her leg today, but she still tried to avoid putting a lot of weight on it yet, just in case the doctor had been wrong and she needed more time.
The sound of horses neighing and people talking brought her running to the window. Lydia and Freddy seemed to pick up on her energy and joined her. “Is it Lana? Is she back? Is Uncle Nick with her?
Craig jumped up from the chair in the parlor and dashed out the door. He had faithfully stood guard over the little family since Todd had brought the news that Nick and the sheriff had gone to look for Lana.
Ginger looked out the kitchen window; Lana and Nick were riding up the road. They were on strange horses that she didn’t recognize. Lana’s dress was torn and had stains on it. Nick was looking as if he hadn’t slept in a month and like he had just found the most important thing in the world.
Ginger rushed from the house, not even bothering to take her apron off. She held the horses’ reins as Lana and Nick jumped down fr
om their horses.
“Thank God you are home! Oh, thank goodness,” she exclaimed throwing her arms around them. Tears filled Ginger’s eyes and streamed down her cheeks. They were tears of happiness and love.
She had Lana and Nick back. They were here with her once more. She had been so afraid to lose them and now they were right here in front of her, safe and sound.
Nick looked terrible and Lana didn’t look much better. In fact, she had bandages on her wrists and smudges of dirt on her face, but it didn’t matter.
“Come inside! Come in. Let’s have something to eat. I want the two of you to tell me exactly what happened. I’m surprised Derek didn’t come with you.”
“Oh, he’s on his way, but he’ll be a few minutes. He said he’d try to come by once everything was… taken care of. “
Ginger could tell that Nick wasn’t telling her the whole truth. She had always had a way of telling. She was going to make sure that she got to the bottom of this. Now that she knew that Lana had been kidnapped, she certainly knew that their original reason to go to town hadn’t been true.
Lydia and Freddy rushed from the house and barreled into Lana and Nick. They took turns, each hugging one and then the other.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” Lydia was squeezing Lana.
“Mama read the book last night, but we like it better when you do it,” Freddy stated loudly to Lana.
Ginger might have felt offended if it were some other time, but not now. Right now, she was more than happy to admit that Lana was a better reader.
“I think someone mentioned something to eat. I am starved,” Lana said, making everyone laugh.
Nick put the horses into the pasture while Ginger gave Lana a long hug. Then they all headed inside. It seemed that Ginger had made the right decision by preparing food.
She watched Lana and Nick eat the food as if they hadn’t had a morsel in a week. Once they had all had something to eat, they started to tell her what had happened. It started with Daniel’s death and ended with Lana’s kidnapping and made Ginger’s heartache every step of the way.
“I can’t believe that it… wasn’t an accident,” she said once Lana and Nick were done talking.
“The man is in jail. He will never hurt anyone ever again. We’ve lost Daniel. He was a good man. But maybe his death led to Jake being put behind bars and will have saved someone else’s life.”
Ginger put her hand on her stomach. She had figured out why she’d been so sick lately. It wasn’t a sickness and it wasn’t contagious.
Her lip trembled as she thought of what might have been. “My poor Daniel. I never knew how badly he liked to gamble. I should have known though.”
Lana reached over and squeezed Ginger’s hand. Ginger looked up at her friend. It felt good to have her here. It made all of this a little bit easier.
“I actually have something to tell the both of you,” Ginger glance between Lana and Nick.
“What is it? Did something happen while we were gone?” Lana began to sweep the cabin with her gaze.
“No, no, nothing like that.” Ginger paused and took a deep breath. “I’m going to have another baby.”
“What?” Lana’s head whipped around, and her eyes widened as big as saucers.
“It’s not what you think. It’s completely normal actually. I didn’t realize that when we were in the accident… well, I was already with child.”
Nick looked paler than he had before, which Ginger was surprised was even possible. “I’m sorry, Ginger. I’m so sorry. Daniel should have been here for this.”
“I know, and our child will hear about him every single day. I know that even though he is no longer here, we will be okay because all of us have the two of you to watch over us.” Ginger gave them a smile which then turned into a stern frown. “But if the two of you ever decide to get involved in something dangerous again, tell me first. I can’t take the stress of receiving a cryptic message in the middle of the night from some boy.”
Nick shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin. “It was the only way to tell you what was going on, but in the future, we’ll try to keep you in the loop.”
Ginger looked around at her new family. It would never be the same without her husband. But she knew that somehow, they would manage. Somehow, they would get along, no matter how hard it was.
Chapter 41
“Why are you standing out here?” Lana’s voice startled Nick. He had slipped out of the kitchen a little while ago. It had been a great supper and filled with happy conversation between him Ginger and Lana. But there was something he just couldn’t get off his mind.
“Just thinking.”
Lana walked up beside him and rested her elbows on the porch railing like he was doing.
“What are you thinking about?”
Her question was a fair one, but it was hard for him to put into words what he was thinking. It was a huge tumble of emotions that would be nearly impossible to sort out.
“A lot of things.”
Lana giggled softly. “I guess it must be too complicated for me, huh? I guess I just couldn’t understand, being a city girl and all.”
Nick grinned and looked at her. The moon was casting perfect light over her gentle face. She’d taken a few moments to freshen up, but her hair was still messy and twirling about her cheeks.
It suited her, the messy look. It was beautiful in its own way. Her sparkling brown eyes looked up at him with something he would describe as innocence and admiration.
“I was just thinking about all the ways that tonight could have ended. You know, it could have gone so many ways.” Nick’s tone was somber. It was truly frightening when you thought of all the possibilities.
“Why would you be thinking of that? It doesn’t help things you know. Things worked themselves out. We should be grateful for that and move on.”
Nick nodded, “I know, it’s just…”
“It’s just what?”
“What happened today really showed me what’s important to me, what I really love.” Nick paused, taking in every little detail of Lana’s face. He knew what he was thinking was too soon. What he was about to ask of her was too soon, but he couldn’t help it. “I learned that there was one thing that I couldn’t… no, I wouldn’t want to live without.”
“And what was that?” Lana took a step toward him and they were facing each other now. There was little space between them, and he could almost feel every breath she took and every beat of her heart against his own even though they weren’t touching quite yet.
“I learned that I don’t want to live without you, Lana. I don’t ever want to be left in a world where you aren’t with me. Helping me with things, telling me how great things are or screaming because you found a frog in your bed.”
Lana giggled and a strand of her hair fell in front of her face. Nick reached out and brushed it behind her ear with his fingers.
It felt so soft, so beautiful, just like Lana.
“What are you saying, Nick Cooper?”
Nick stared into her eyes as he pulled one of her hands into both of his. “I’m not saying anything. I’m asking you, Lana Smith, if you’ll be my wife.”
“Nick I…” Her voice became so soft it was like a whisper in the night, in danger of disappearing altogether.
An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 28