Cimarron Refuge

by Margaret Daley

  When Peter swung his attention to Laura, he found her watching him with almost the same expression as her son. What was she grappling with? He wanted to be there for her, too, but at the same time worry nibbled at his thoughts. Getting involved with Laura might involve his heart.

  Jacob cleared his throat.

  Everyone was staring at him. Peter swallowed several times, desperately seeking a way to take the focus off him. “So when do we want to have this auction?” With restless energy surging through him, Peter rose. He wanted to go back to his house and start right away.

  “Let’s shoot for the weekend after Labor Day.”

  Peter peered at Laura. “Why then? Why not in June, or July, or for that matter, August even?”

  Laura laughed. “Patience. If you want it done well, we’ll need time to plan and organize it. Besides, people are on vacation during the summer. When school starts next year, everyone will be around and hopefully ready to donate their hard-earned money to a worthy cause.”

  Peter moved behind his folding chair and gripped its back. “Okay, that makes sense. Planning the auction won’t be the only thing we’ll be doing between now and September. We’ll need to get the nonprofit organization up and running.”

  Noah leaned forward, planting his elbows on his thighs. “There’s no reason you can’t start soliciting donations before the auction. I can talk to Bill at the newspaper about a series of articles concerning the foster care system in Cimarron City to let the towns-people know about the need for more places to house the children.”

  “Then the paper can do an article about the Henderson Foundation.” Peter watched Noah’s and Jacob’s faces brighten with smiles. “I want to name the organization after Paul and Alice.”

  Jacob cheered. “You’ll get no argument from—”

  “Mrs. Williams!” Mindy’s shout cut Jacob off and brought Laura to her feet, the pad and pen falling to the ground. “Alexa has been bitten by a snake.” Mindy appeared at the edge of the circle of chairs, her face pale, her eyes huge.

  Jacob leaped up. “Where is she?”

  As Peter asked everyone to stay back, Laura rushed after Mindy with Jacob and Peter right behind her. Twenty yards downstream near some tall grass, Alexa sat, tears coursing down her cheeks. Her daughter held a hand over a place below her right knee at the side of her calf. The ashen cast to her features quickened Laura’s pace. Her daughter’s sobs knifed into her.

  Laura arrived and positioned herself next to Alexa, then inspected the area, wishing she could get hold of the snake who had hurt her daughter. “Honey, are you all right? Let us see the bite.”

  Jacob and Peter knelt near Alexa’s legs while Laura grasped her daughter’s upper arms and embraced her. Alexa removed her hand from the bite. Two fang marks stood out—red, nasty-looking, blood oozing from the site.

  “Alexa, do you know what kind of snake it was?” Jacob probed the skin surrounding the wound.

  “I thought I heard a rattle right before it struck Alexa.” Mindy drew in several quick gulps of air.

  “I think—” Alexa inhaled a shuddering breath “—it was a rattlesnake. I saw one at the zoo once.”

  The pain in her daughter’s voice tore at Laura’s composure. She squeezed her eyes closed for a few seconds, fear immobilizing her.

  Jacob turned to Peter. “Get the horses hooked up. We need to get her to the hospital. I’ll need something to hold her leg still. A board. Anything you can find. Also a way to tie her leg to it.”

  Peter shot to his feet. “Got it. Be right back.” He threw Laura a gaze loaded with concern then whirled around and ran toward the picnic area.

  She heard him tell someone to get the horses and wagon ready. “What can I do?” Helplessness swamped her while Jacob pulled out a folded handkerchief from his pocket and began tying it around her daughter’s leg right above the bite.

  While he inserted a finger between the cotton material and Alexa’s leg, he glanced up at her. “We need to keep Alexa’s bite lower than her heart.”

  She pointed at the bandage. “Don’t you need to make that tighter like a tourniquet?”

  “No. I don’t want to stop the blood flow, just slow it down some.” Jacob gave her and Alexa a reassuring smile. “You’re going to be all right. When we get to the hospital, we’ll get you an antivenin and you’ll be as good as new in a few days.”

  The tears continued to streak her daughter’s face. “It hurts.”

  Laura’s stomach knotted, and she tried to keep the fear out of her voice. “I know, baby.” She wound her arms around her daughter and held her back against her.

  “Will this do?” Peter presented Jacob with the top of a cooler and several belts.

  “Yes.” Jacob gently lifted Alexa’s leg onto the plastic board and began fastening the belts around her and the cooler top, tight enough to keep her leg immobilized but not too tight to cut off her blood flow.

  Slade Donaldson approached. “We’ve got the wagon ready.”

  Jacob stood. “Good. Let’s carry her to it. Make sure to keep her leg down.”

  While the three men carried Alexa toward the wagon, Laura grasped her daughter’s hand. There was a cold clammy feel to her skin. Sweat poured off Alexa, and her breathing was now shallow. The knot in Laura’s stomach tightened into a huge stone.

  Please don’t let anything happen to Alexa. Let me suffer, not her. Please.

  * * *

  THE WAY ALEXA responded to the treatment at the hospital led the doctor to feel that not much venom had gotten into her system. Laura plopped down at her kitchen table, cradling the mug of herbal tea between her cold hands.

  The scrape of the chair as Peter pulled it out and sat reverberated through the room. His gaze captured hers. A smile entered his eyes. “Are you all right?”

  “No—yes. As long as Alexa is fine, I’m fine.”

  “It was sure nice of everyone to clean up when we left for the hospital and to tell me they’d still be willing to help get my dream going.”

  She couldn’t take her attention from his endearing features. He had been her rock today. While Jacob had seen to Alexa, Peter had been by her side, making sure she was okay. When she was married to Stephen she’d never had that. Her deceased husband had often been unavailable when an emergency had occurred. She could remember Joshua falling off his bike and busting open his head. He’d needed seven stitches. But that wasn’t what had frightened her so much. It was the amount of blood. When she had come home after spending hours at the hospital, she’d glanced down and finally noticed her shirt and pants were covered and caked in her son’s blood. And Stephen still hadn’t arrived home. Now she knew where he’d been. Gambling their life savings away.

  “Your daughter was great.” Peter’s voice interrupted her unpleasant memories.

  “Yes, she’s a good girl.” Laura took a sip of her drink, its warmth sliding down her dry throat.

  “I promised her I would let her ride next weekend. That is if she’s up to it and you say it’s okay.” One corner of his mouth quirked upward. “It got a smile out of her.”

  “No doubt. She loves going to Mindy’s and riding. I have a hard time saying no to her. She doesn’t ask for much.” With Mindy and Peter at least she could give one of her children their dream. Being a good parent wasn’t easy. Being a good single parent was even harder. “Alexa wants me to take her to church tomorrow.”

  “That’s great!”

  Laura stared down at her tea. “If I do, I would feel like a hypocrite. I stopped attending church when we lost our home, had to move in with Aunt Sarah and left all our friends in St. Louis.” The second she told Peter that she wanted to take it back. The door on her past had cracked open and she’d given him a glimpse into it. Instead of putting it behind her, she kept returning to it. Would the memories ever go away?

  “Have you ever thought that maybe these changes will turn out to be the best thing for you and your family?”

  Exhaustion clung to her. Coldnes
s seeped deep into her bones. Laura hovered over the tea, seeking the warmth drifting upward. “I don’t know. I’m just so afraid I’m gonna lose my son. The only time I see him happy is when he’s with the animals at your place or playing with Lady.”

  Peter reached across the table and took her hands within his. “Bring the whole family to church tomorrow, not just Alexa. We have a wonderful youth program. I’m going to use them to help work with the animals and at-risk children. Maybe Sean will become involved.”

  “I’m not sure I can get him to come.” Is he mirroring my feelings? Or is it something more?

  “Give him the opportunity. He may surprise you. If you want I can come by and pick you-all up. I can introduce you around. I suspect I know everyone who attends.”

  How did he manage to get her to say so much to him? Afraid of what was happening to her, she pulled her hands back and placed them in her lap. “No, if I decide to go, I can take them. Besides, after today Alexa may not feel like going. She never goes to bed this early. I know she has a high threshold for pain, but she isn’t feeling well. Thankfully the doctor said she would be all right coming home as long as she took it easy, because she didn’t want to stay there.” She was offering every excuse she could come up with, not because of the idea of going to church, but because she didn’t want Peter to take her. That lent an intimacy to their relationship she suddenly couldn’t handle, especially when she thought about Stephen and his betrayal.

  A neutral expression blanketed his features. “Sure. I understand.”

  Do you? she wanted to ask him but couldn’t voice it aloud. She wasn’t sure she understood all the conflicting emotions swirling around inside of her. She liked Peter—really liked him—too much. She wanted to get to know him better but was afraid of what could happen. Three of her children adored Peter, the fourth one tolerated him in order to be around his animals. She had no doubt, though, that somehow Peter would reach Sean in time. She’d seen how effective Peter was as a principal.

  In another month Stephen would have been gone for a year. Even after all that time he still controlled her life as he had when he was alive. Fear held her back, and she wasn’t sure she would ever let that go. She touched her cheek. The memory of the sting of Stephen’s hand across her face still hurt. The bruises on her skin had faded but not the ones in her heart.

  Chapter Six

  Cara, I know you’ve been wondering when I would take Peter’s offer up about going to church. Well, I did it! I took the children and went today. It helped that Aunt Sarah went with us. And I can’t lie to you. It helped that Peter was there and made us feel so much a part of the congregation. In fact there were a lot of people I know that attend the Faith Community Church. They all made me feel as if I had come home.

  But to be honest I don’t know how I feel right now. I enjoyed the sermon. The words comforted me. And certainly the kids had fun, even Sean. The youth group is planning how to run the Shepherd Project, the name they gave Peter’s undertaking with the animals. Sean actually contributed his opinion and I saw him talking with Chad. When I approached, I heard them discussing the two lambs they helped deliver. They both seemed like proud papas.

  I’m thinking of Mason and you. I’m glad he’s back home from the hospital although I wish the doctors knew what was going on with him.

  My love and best wishes,

  Laura.

  LAURA CLOSED DOWN her computer and stared at the black screen. Would her friend’s husband get through his illness? She wished she were as hopeful as Cara and Peter, but then neither one of them was responsible for a person dying.

  How can I forgive myself?

  * * *

  WHY OF ALL DAYS did I agree to meet with Peter today at Noah’s restaurant?

  That question plagued her as Laura drove toward the place. Since she’d awakened this morning, her thoughts had been centered around the fact this was the first anniversary of Stephen’s death. She might have been able to shake it off if Alexa hadn’t said something about it at breakfast. She’d wanted to do something for her father, but since the grave site was in St. Louis, visiting it wasn’t an option. Her daughter had asked her if she had any ideas what she could do. She didn’t.

  It was only one in the afternoon, and she was tired. Bone tired. She rarely took a nap, but that was all she wanted to do. The horror of those last few days of Stephen’s life came flooding back, bringing with it all the pain she had gone through.

  Laura pulled into the parking lot and brought her car to a stop. She needed to get out, but for the life of her she couldn’t seem to open the door. The sound of the slap that had rocked her so hard that she had teetered at the top of the stairs then plunged down them echoed through her mind. She shuddered.

  Gripping the steering wheel, she laid her head against it. She had been so thankful the kids hadn’t seen what had transpired between Stephen and her at the end. She’d been able to attribute her bruises to the fact that she’d fallen down the stairs. She would never have been able to explain their father’s behavior.

  A tap at her window startled her. Gasping, she twisted around to face Peter. He bent down to look into the car. She sucked in a calming breath that barely inflated her lungs, and opened her door. With trembling legs she stood, clutching the vehicle for support.

  “What’s wrong?”

  The concern in Peter’s expression touched the coldness about her heart. “This wasn’t a good idea.”

  His hand covered hers on the door. “Did something happen to one of the kids?”

  She shook her head, unable to speak. Peter needed some kind of explanation, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone what Stephen had done that last day. She felt so ashamed that she had allowed it to happen.

  Peter pried her hands from the door, leaned in and snatched her purse off the seat, then tugged her toward his truck. She didn’t object even though a weak protest was stuck in her throat. Inside his blue Chevy, Peter switched on the engine.

  That action prompted her to ask, “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere quiet and near.”

  Weary, she let him drive from the restaurant without a protest. Finally when he parked next to the high school stadium, she angled toward him and asked, “Why here?”

  “No one is here and it was near. I couldn’t think of anywhere else nearby. The park is full of people so it was out.”

  “There’s so much I need to be doing at home. Aunt Sarah has finally decided on a color to paint the house. It’s actually very pretty, a forest-green. That should go well with the dark red brick. I need to get the supplies. There’s nothing at the house. We start this weekend.” The words tumbled from her as if she were a runaway train and couldn’t stop them.

  The anxiety in his gaze warred with the rest of his features, fixed in a neutral expression.

  His look prompted her to add, “I should just go home. We can reschedule this another day.”

  “We could, but it wouldn’t solve your problem.”

  “I don’t have a problem.”

  One of his eyebrows rose. “Please, Laura. I’ve gotten quite good at reading people. You have to if you want to stay on top of what’s going on with teenagers. They’re sharp and hard to fool—like me.”

  She couldn’t see any way to get out of telling Peter at least a little of what was bothering her. But she couldn’t tell him the whole story. “This is the first anniversary of my husband’s death.”

  “Oh.”

  That one short word held a wealth of meaning in it. It urged her to say more.

  “If I can help—”

  “Alexa wants to do something for her father but the grave site is in St. Louis—eight hours away. Any suggestions?” Desperation drove her to ask him. That and the fact that his expression coaxed her to believe he was different, that he would understand all her insecurities, the guilt she carried in her heart.

  “Have her write in a journal. That can be very therapeutic. Maybe she could even write a letter to h
er father.”

  Laura knew how therapeutic her correspondence with Cara was for both her and her friend, who was dealing with her husband’s mysterious illness. Sharing their troubles made them seem bearable. “That’s a wonderful idea. I should have thought of that. How did you get to be so smart?”

  He actually reddened. She suddenly wanted to brush her fingers across his cheeks.

  “C’mon.” Peter pushed his door open. “We need to enjoy this mild day. Before long we’ll be faced with over-a-hundred-degree days and no rain in sight.”

  She didn’t move until he rounded the front of his truck and stood waiting for her, not an ounce of impatience on his face, as if he had all the time in the world to hang around until she decided what she wanted to do. Instinctively she knew that if she wanted to go home he would take her. That made it possible for her to open her door and climb from the cab.

  He unlocked one of the gates and stood to the side to let her enter first. He pocketed his keys. “One of the perks of being the high school principal.”

  “A perk? You’re easy to please.”

  Peter led her toward the nearest player bench on the west side of the field. “Actually, this place holds a lot of memories for me.”

  The early-afternoon sun, almost directly overhead, bathed the grass in bright light. “You played football?”

  “Don’t sound so incredulous. I was the kicker. It got me a college scholarship. Without it I don’t know how I would have gotten to go to college.” He sat and patted the wooden bench next to him. “But that’s not why this place is special to me. I used to come here a lot in high school to think. I still do.”

  She eased down near the other end, afraid if she sat close she would tell him secrets she’d kept locked away. “The football stadium?”

  “It’s perfect. It’s usually deserted, and chances are I’m not going to be bothered.”

  “How’d you get in when you were in high school? Surely they didn’t give a student a key.” Tension stiffened her spine. This whole place with Peter was too dangerous for her peace of mind. Leave before you share a part of yourself. Her cautious side blared the warning.