Elizabeth bit back her worry about Spotted Fawn’s horse. She assured herself that the pony might be small, but it had been trained by the Indians. It should know just as much about snow as Elias’s big bay.
Elizabeth looked down to tie the cookies in a piece of cloth and, when she looked up again, Jake was standing close. He opened his arms and she went into them as naturally as she drew her next breath.
“Don’t worry,” Jake whispered. “I’ll get our daughter back.”
“Please.” Elizabeth nodded against his chest.
This time when Jake bent his head to kiss her, Elizabeth didn’t care who was watching them, she kissed him back with all of the love and hope she had inside of her.
Elizabeth blinked a few times as she watched Jake walk to the door.
Jake hadn’t gotten off the porch before Higgins came down the street, riding one horse and trailing another one behind him. Jake swung into the saddle of the extra horse and the two men started to ride north.
Elizabeth walked out on the porch in time to see Annabelle and Tommy come walking to the schoolhouse. Annabelle was carrying the baby.
“Tommy told us,” Annabelle said as she hurried toward Elizabeth. “Don’t worry. Clarence and Jake will find them.”
“I know,” Elizabeth said as she turned back to go inside the schoolhouse. “They have to find them.”
“I wish I could stay,” Annabelle said as she took a couple of steps with Elizabeth anyway. “But I have to get back to the store. Send Tommy over to tell me when they come back.”
“It shouldn’t be long, should it?” Elizabeth stopped walking and looked over at her friend.
Annabelle shook her head. “Elias and Spotted Fawn have probably already turned back. But I’ll be praying for them.”
“Me, too,” Elizabeth said.
Annabelle gave her a reassuring smile before she started walking away from the schoolhouse.
Elizabeth put a confident smile on her face before she stepped into the schoolroom. God would answer their prayers for safety. Besides, Jake hadn’t thought the snowstorm would come for hours so there was really no need to worry.
Elizabeth sat in the back of the schoolroom while the angels rehearsed their songs. Mrs. Barker sat in the back, too, although she was on the Miles City side of the room and Elizabeth was sitting on the Dry Creek side.
An hour had passed when Danny came running up the stairs.
“He’s here,” the boy announced when the singers stopped for a breath.
“Elias?” Mrs. Barker said joyfully as she stood up.
Danny shook his head. “No, it’s that railroad man. He just went into Colter’s for something to drink.”
“Well, we can’t leave him at Colter’s,” Mrs. Barker said as she waved her hand at Danny. “We want the man to see the best of our community. Take him over to the mercantile.”
“Me?” Danny asked in astonishment.
“You’re right,” Mrs. Barker said. “I’ll need to go get him myself. You just run and tell Colter to bring the man outside of his establishment. Maybe I’ll take him to the restaurant and buy him a nice dinner.”
“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon,” the reverend said from the front of the room. “He’s probably already had something to eat.”
“Then he’ll have pie.” Mrs. Barker pursed her lips.
Elizabeth looked at the other woman and had pity. “He could come back here for pie. I have dried apple, pecan and berry. That way you can be here when the children come back.”
Mrs. Barker nodded. “Thank you. That’s very…ah…thank you.”
As the woman walked out of the schoolhouse, Elizabeth thought Mrs. Barker had lost most of her starch. She didn’t even leave any last-minute instructions on how they were to impress the railroad man. Still, Elizabeth knew it was important to the woman and to the town.
Elizabeth stood up and motioned to Virginia.
They sent the children outside for an early recess and the two women set up a nice place for the railroad man to eat. They moved the doughnuts and cookies to the cabinet by the window and put a plate and fork at the teacher’s desk with a folded napkin to the side.
“I could make him some coffee,” the reverend said. “I have my pot in the back. It’s not that green coffee, either. It’s good.”
“That would be nice.”
“I don’t suppose you could sing some for him?” Elizabeth asked Virginia. “You have such a lovely voice. That’s sure to make a good impression.”
By the time Mrs. Barker brought the railroad man back with her, everything was ready.
“Oh,” Mrs. Barker said when she stepped in the schoolhouse and saw what they had done. Then she smiled. “Isn’t this nice? Mr. Jamison, I’d like you to meet some of my—well, my friends.”
Elizabeth didn’t listen to the rest of the introductions. She felt pleased that Mrs. Barker had finally decided to call them friends. Spotted Fawn would be happy to know that treating one’s enemies as friends did sometimes work.
Thinking of Spotted Fawn made her go to the side window of the room and look out again. The clouds were a little darker than they had been earlier. Even if it didn’t snow today, darkness would come earlier than usual. Elizabeth looked out into the vastness, squinting to see as far as she could across the land here. She could see to the squat mountains north of here, but there were no signs of anyone on horseback.
Lord, she prayed. Bring them all home safe. Please.
Chapter Eighteen
Mr. Jamison seemed to take a long time eating his pie. Virginia kept singing and the reverend had joined the children outside to organize a spelling bee.
“This is a lovely community,” Elizabeth said as she walked to the front of the schoolroom.
“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Barker agreed.
Elizabeth thought the other woman sounded halfhearted. And she knew why when the woman took a peek at the watch she wore as a brooch.
“My, it’s getting cooler outside,” Mrs. Barker said as she stood up from the bench where she was sitting and began to wander the schoolroom as Elizabeth was doing. “I hope that doesn’t mean the snow will come earlier than we expected.”
“Don’t worry about the snow,” Mr. Jamison said as he pushed back his empty plate. “Now, that’s some of the finest pie I’ve ever had in my life.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Thank you. So you don’t think the snow’s coming soon?”
“Oh, I expect the snow will come, I just don’t think there’ll be much of it.” Mr. Jamison brushed at his lips with the napkin. “I stopped at the fort before I came over here and they were sending several patrols out. I don’t think they’d be doing that if a blizzard was expected.”
“No, no, I suppose not,” Elizabeth said with a frown. She knew the soldiers didn’t go out on patrol in winter unless it was important. “You don’t happen to know—”
Just then Colter walked into the schoolhouse. He was wearing a gun belt and carrying a rifle. “A soldier just came to my place and said the patrols are heading north of here.”
Elizabeth felt her breath stop. “North of here? That’s the way Jake and Higgins went. What’s north of here?”
Colter had a trapped look on his face. “Now, there’s no need to worry. I just wanted to let Virginia know I was—”
“What’s—north—of—here?” Elizabeth barely got the words out.
Colter didn’t answer.
But Mr. Jamison did. “I expect it’s those renegades the patrols are out looking for.”
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Barker said as she sank down to the nearest bench. “My Elias is out there with those savages?”
“Not to mention Spotted Fawn, Jake and Higgins,” Elizabeth added.
“Of course,” Mrs. Barker mumbled.
“I’m hoping to catch up with Jake and Higgins,” Colter said. “They can’t have gone far yet.”
“You can’t—” Virginia started to say.
But Colter had already left the schoo
lroom.
There was silence for a minute.
“I don’t know if the railroad is interested in places that have this much trouble with the savages still,” Mr. Jamison finally said as he stood up.
“Oh, who cares,” Mrs. Barker wailed. “They might have my baby.”
“Of course,” Mr. Jamison said. “Perhaps I should go back to my hotel and wait for the performance this evening. I assume it’s still going to be held?”
“We don’t know,” Elizabeth managed to say as she took a step toward Virginia and then one toward Mrs. Barker, both of whom were in tears.
“Ah, well—yes, of course.” Mr. Jamison cleared his throat and then walked down the aisle and out of the schoolroom.
The three women met in the middle of the room and hugged each other until Mrs. Barker’s hat fell off and Virginia’s eyes grew red from crying. Elizabeth was the first to pull away.
“We have things to do while we wait,” Elizabeth said. “We need to…ah…”
Surely, there were things they needed to do, Elizabeth thought. “We could bring in some wood so it’ll be plenty warm when they get back.”
“And I could go get some of that tonic I use to ward off a cough,” Mrs. Barker said.
“First, we need to pray,” Virginia said and the three women came together again. They just stood there in silence, each pleading with God.
When they parted, Elizabeth felt a need to go over to the mercantile and hold the baby. Annabelle had been tending the little one while Elizabeth was helping with the pageant, but no one was going to be rehearsing this afternoon.
Annabelle was stepping out of the mercantile when Elizabeth was walking down the street toward the building. The other woman had the baby in her arms.
“Oh, I just heard,” Annabelle said when she looked up and saw Elizabeth. “I was coming over to talk to you.”
Annabelle held out the baby and Elizabeth took the little one and snuggled her to her chest.
“We can talk inside as well as anywhere,” Annabelle said as she turned around and opened the door. “Business has been slow today anyway.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said as she followed the other woman inside.
Annabelle led Elizabeth back to her small parlor. “Here, make yourself comfortable. I’ll heat some water for tea.”
“That would be nice.”
Elizabeth let the peace of Annabelle’s parlor wash over her as she held the baby.
It was all happening again. And she was completely helpless. She was just starting to love this new family and God was taking it away from her.
“I don’t know how you did it,” Elizabeth said as Annabelle brought her a cup of tea. “How did you recover from two husbands dying?”
Annabelle sat down with her own cup of tea. “Well, it wasn’t easy. It was worse with Tommy’s father than with my last husband. I thought I’d never get over him.”
“You must have loved him more.”
Annabelle shook her head. “No, I think I loved him less. It was the guilt that made it so hard with him. It would just grind at me. I felt like if I grieved deeper it would make up for not loving him so much when he was alive.”
“I know. It’s the betrayal,” Elizabeth said. “Me being alive and him being dead. I know I loved Rose more than Matthew, but I think I’m going to be able to let her go. But Matthew…I just…”
“Believe me, I know.”
“It seems wrong to be falling in love with Jake,” Elizabeth finally said. “What does that say about Matthew?”
“Listen to me Elizabeth O’Brian Hargrove,” Annabelle said. “You did your best by your Matthew. That’s all you could do. Leave the rest in God’s hands. You can’t live in the past. Not when God’s giving you a new family to love.”
“Yes, but—” Elizabeth started and then blinked. Tears were starting in her eyes and she blinked again. “I’m sorry, I don’t—” tears started streaming down Elizabeth’s cheeks “—cry.”
Annabelle stood up and came over to pat Elizabeth on the shoulder. “Of course, you cry. We all do.”
“It’s just that…I—I never told Jake…and now he’s out there. And Spotted Fawn…I never told her. And…”
“You’ll tell them,” Annabelle said firmly. “They’re coming back and you’ll tell them how you feel. My Clarence will see that they come back. And, just in case he has a bit of trouble, we’re going to sit right here and pray.”
Elizabeth wiped her eyes and bowed her head.
“Lord, protect those we love,” Annabelle prayed. “We know they’re in Your hands. Amen.”
Elizabeth looked up. “Thank you.”
The bell rang out in the store and Annabelle walked to the door of her parlor. “You just sit there now and relax. I’ll let you know if anyone hears something.”
Elizabeth nodded. She lifted the baby up to her shoulder and rubbed the little one’s back.
“God’s going to bring your uncle home,” she whispered to the infant. “And your big sister, too.”
Elizabeth hoped she was right. She didn’t care what Annabelle said. She didn’t think her second loss would be easier than her first. She had barely made it through losing Matthew; she couldn’t lose Jake, too. Especially not like this, with him not even knowing that she cared about him.
All of the anger she’d felt toward God didn’t mean much to her right now, not when she needed Him so much.
Elizabeth sat and held the baby until she saw the first snowflake fall outside the window in Annabelle’s parlor.
“Oh, dear.” Elizabeth stood up. She needed to go back to the schoolhouse and make sure someone was keeping the fire up.
“I’m closing here in a half hour,” Annabelle said as Elizabeth told her she was going. “I’ll be over there then.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“Everyone will probably be back by then anyway,” Annabelle said. “The way this whole town is praying, they’ve just got to be back soon.”
Elizabeth had snow on her and the baby when she got back to the schoolhouse. The room was nice and warm when she stepped inside. Everyone looked behind them when Elizabeth opened the door.
“It’s just me,” Elizabeth said as she started to brush the snow off as best she could with one hand.
The reverend had gathered the children to the front of the room and it looked as though he was reading them a story from the Bible. Virginia was sitting off to the side listening, as well.
“I didn’t know it was snowing that much,” Virginia said as she walked back to Elizabeth. “Colter didn’t even take a coat.”
“He probably has a blanket in the bedroll behind his saddle,” Elizabeth said.
“I know, but—” Virginia said and then sighed. “I worry. He’s my boss, you know.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I know.”
“Sometimes, I think…” Virginia started. “But it’s impossible. Not with him believing the way he does and me—”
Elizabeth nodded. “I know.”
The two women sat together and waited. Finally, Mrs. Barker came back to the schoolhouse, too.
“I was writing a letter to Elias’s father,” she said as she sat down with Virginia and Elizabeth. “Then I got so mad that he isn’t here that I just tore it up. A boy needs his father.”
“I know you miss them both,” Elizabeth said.
“I noticed Elias took an old coat of his father’s this morning. I should have seen that earlier. My husband always wore that coat when he went out riding with Elias at this time of year.”
“At least he’ll be warm,” Elizabeth said. All of a sudden she wished fiercely that she’d let Spotted Fawn keep wearing those leggings of hers. They’d keep her warm in the snow better than those flimsy pantalettes and stockings that she was wearing now.
“I’m sure your girl will be fine, too,” Mrs. Barker said as she put her hand on Elizabeth’s arm.
“Thank you.”
Virginia was the one who suggested that everyone sing
some hymns. The children had been singing Christmas carols all week so they settled into the familiar sounds of their favorite hymns easily.
“Some of these children have a real love for music,” Virginia said after one song. She’d come back to sit with the women while the children each had an apple fried doughnut from the basket Elizabeth had brought in that morning.
“It’s too bad you can’t teach them,” Elizabeth said.
Virginia nodded. “Maybe someday.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Elizabeth said. “Sometimes—”
“I know,” Virginia said as she stood up. “Sometimes we wait until it’s too late.”
Elizabeth pulled the baby close to her again.
Chapter Nineteen
Tommy saw the horses first. Dusk was just starting to make itself known and the boy had been standing by the schoolhouse window, searching through the falling snowflakes, trying to see something before it got too dark.
“They’re coming! They’re coming!”
Elizabeth put the baby back in the small crib she’d fashioned out of two benches and rushed to the window to look out. She could barely see the figures in the distance.
“There are three horses,” Tommy announced. He paused a minute. “I wonder what happened to…” His voice trailed off.
Oh, dear, Elizabeth thought, squinting to see better in the snow. There should be five horses. The three men and the two children. “I’m sure there’s some explanation.”
Unfortunately, Elizabeth could not think of an explanation that was any good.
It was silent in the schoolroom, but Elizabeth could hear the quiet sobbing of Mrs. Barker.
“They didn’t find them,” the other woman finally said. “My baby’s gone and it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t made such a fuss about that Christmas tree, he would have never gone out there and—”
Elizabeth walked over to the woman. “Hush now, you had no idea at the time what would happen. We can’t control everything that happens in life.”
Elizabeth opened her arms and the other woman walked right into them.
Calico Christmas at Dry Creek Page 20