Love Inspired Historical February 2016 Box Set

by Karen Kirst

  Thankfully, she still had Amos’s pocket watch. Every ten minutes, she allowed herself a drink to help keep her strength up. Soon she was taking sips every five minutes, though, to keep herself awake. Her feet ached in her shoes, and her tired eyelids longed to fall shut.

  Biting her lip against the sleepiness, Delsie forged ahead. She passed the time by doing calculations in her head. If she averaged a walking speed of twelve minutes per mile, she could walk five miles in an hour. At that rate, she would be to Lillie’s in…five hours. Plenty of time before the wedding, though she wasn’t sure if the boardinghouse proprietress would admit her inside in the middle of the night.

  She would figure something out—

  “Oomph.” She suddenly found herself sprawled on hands and knees. What had she stumbled over this time? Feeling along the dirt with her hands, Delsie discovered a hole, most likely a burrow of some sort, that she must have stepped into. “No harm done,” she muttered to herself as she rose to her feet, but a sharp pain in her left ankle had her crying out in protest.

  Fighting panic, she straightened to her full height and gingerly set her left foot down. “All right. Let’s try this again.” She tried to take a step forward, but painful shoots of feeling radiated from her injured ankle.

  “No!”

  She hobbled forward, determined to keep going, but the throbbing made walking painfully slow. How was she supposed to reach Lillie on a sprained ankle? Was it time to admit defeat? She didn’t have a horse, and now she couldn’t walk…

  Despair, every bit as raw and stabbing as her ankle, drove her to the ground, where she sat, clutching her injured foot. There was no way she would make Lillie’s wedding now. The thought of breaking her promise to their mother and never seeing her sister again had her hanging her head in defeat.

  And what of Myles…? Were he and Amos safe or had the Indians come back? She wasn’t likely to see either of her companions ever again. The thought filled her throat with the bitter taste of pain and regret.

  “What do I do now?” she whispered through the heartache tightening her lungs.

  After allowing herself another moment or two of self-pity, Delsie lifted her head and set her jaw. The next station had to be close by, given the miles she’d ridden before stopping the mare at the stream. If she could reach the Express station, she might just find a way to make it to Lillie after all. Rising to her feet, she began a painful shuffle forward. She had a wedding to get to.

  *

  The light spilling from the window up ahead infused Delsie with needed energy. Had she ever seen anything more beautiful? She quickened her limping pace. Crossing the empty yard, she hobbled up onto the porch and knocked at the door. A tall man, probably in his midthirties, answered.

  “Can I help you, miss?” He glanced past her into the shadowed yard.

  “Yes,” she gasped out over the pain of her ankle. “I’ve lost my horse, you see. And then I sprained my ankle. But I need to be at my sister’s wedding tomorrow…” The room behind him had begun to shift and Delsie felt herself falling forward.

  “Whoa there.” He reached out and grasped her elbow. “Let’s you get off that foot and then you can tell me where you’re from and where you’re going.”

  Delsie allowed him to lead her into a tidy parlor, where she sank into one of the armchairs.

  “Now, which ankle is hurt?”

  She pointed to her left. The man nodded, then gently lifted her foot and placed it on a cushioned footrest. Clearly she’d arrived at a place much nicer than a simple remounting station for Express riders.

  “Let me go get my wife. I’m sure she’ll want to help.” He gave her a friendly smile.

  “Thank you.”

  The man slipped from the room, leaving Delsie alone again. She took off her hat, rested her head against the back of the chair and shut her eyes. When was the last time she’d felt this tired?

  “What do we have here?”

  Delsie opened her eyes and sat up. A blond-haired woman, pulling a shawl over her nightgown, was coming down the stairs.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you,” she started to say, but the woman shook her head.

  “We’re rather used to strangers coming here at all hours of the night. What with the stagecoaches and teamsters stopping all the time.” She came to stand next to Delsie’s chair and smiled. “Never had a woman here on her own, though. What’s your name?”

  Her kind manner was nearly Delsie’s undoing. Willing back useless tears, she gave the woman a tentative smile. “My name is Delsie Radford. I lost my horse about five miles back and then twisted my ankle walking in the dark.”

  The woman took a seat on the nearby settee. “And what were you doing riding alone, Miss Radford?”

  Delsie swallowed. “My companions were waylaid about sixty miles back when one of them was injured by Indians.”

  The woman’s green eyes widened and she gave a startled laugh. “I think you’d best start at the beginning of your tale. But first, if you’ll follow me into the kitchen, we’ll see what we can do for you in the way of food and something for that ankle.”

  “Thank you…” Delsie waited for the woman to supply her name.

  “Please, call me Edith.”

  With Edith’s help, she stood and limped down the hall to the kitchen at the back of the house. She took a seat at the table, her left leg propped up on the bench next to her. Edith sliced some bread and brought it to the table for Delsie to eat before sitting down in a nearby chair. While she nibbled on the bread and jam, she told Edith her entire story—from finding the letters from Lillie in her father’s desk to leaving Myles and Amos this morning.

  “And that is how I ended up here,” Delsie finished, “and why I must be at Lillie’s wedding tomorrow.”

  “What time is the wedding?”

  Delsie shook her head. “I don’t know. Morning, I assume.”

  “Placerville is a good twenty miles from here,” Edith said, drumming her fingers on the chair arm, “but I’m sure one of the teamsters headed in that direction could drive you.”

  A flicker of hope filled Delsie until she remembered she had nothing with which to pay for a ride. “I’m afraid I can’t pay someone to take me or afford lodging tonight. But if I could sleep in your stable…” That solved one problem, though it didn’t solve how she would get to Placerville on a sprained ankle.

  “Nonsense.” Edith reached out and patted Delsie’s hand. “You will stay in one of our rooms tonight and I’ll talk with the teamsters in the morning at breakfast. Ol’ Ike is a regular here and a man to be trusted. He could probably drive you.”

  Delsie’s chin wobbled with emotion. Edith’s genuine compassion reminded her so much of her own mother that a keen sense of loss swept through her. “I don’t even know what to say.” Myles would laugh at that.

  Edith chuckled and stood. “Then don’t worry about saying anything. Now let’s get that ankle wrapped up.”

  In no time at all her ankle had been securely wrapped with a bandage and Edith was helping her up the stairs to a vacant room. After dressing in a borrowed nightgown, Delsie slipped into bed. She would allow herself to sleep for a few hours, then she’d be up before the sun and back on her way to Lillie.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Warm rays of sunshine nudged Delsie awake. She blinked at the unfamiliar surroundings and sat up, trying to orient herself. Her torn dress and Amos’s pocket watch brought instant remembering. Throwing off her blankets, she limped across the room to pick up the watch. It was already seven o’clock. Had the teamsters left? Her heart beat wildly at the thought. But no, Edith would have come to wake her.

  Pacified, she quickly changed out of the nightgown and back into her dress. Dirt marred the material and the once vibrant color had faded after days in the sun. Not the most proper thing to wear to a wedding, but it couldn’t be helped.

  Delsie raked her fingers through her hair and settled for a simple braid. Her gaze fell onto her hat and trousers. Did
she dare part with them? The trousers she didn’t mind leaving behind. But as uncomely as the wide-brimmed hat might be on her, she couldn’t part with it. It represented her only token, beyond memories, from her time with Myles.

  Placing the hat on her head, she shuffled out of the room and down the stairs. Edith met her at the bottom.

  “I was just coming up to see if you were awake. How did you sleep?”

  “Very well.” Delsie steadied herself against the wall. “Did Ike agree to drive me?”

  Edith nodded, smiling. “He’s leaving now, though. So you’ll have to take these biscuits with you.” She handed Delsie several biscuits wrapped in a napkin. “I would have had you join us for breakfast earlier, but I figured you needed the rest.”

  “Thank you, Edith.” On impulse she gave the woman a quick hug.

  “You are more than welcome, Delsie. I wish you all the best.” She helped Delsie out the door and down the porch steps, where a large wagon sat waiting. “I’ll be praying you make it.”

  Delsie thanked her again, then allowed Ike, a wiry man with gentle eyes, to help her onto the seat. As the wagon rolled forward, she waved goodbye to Edith.

  Ike spoke little, reminding Delsie a bit of Myles, but he wasn’t unfriendly. She even coaxed a smile from him after offering him one of the biscuits. The sky overhead was a perfect arc of blue, bringing recollections of the prairie to her mind. She could hardly believe she’d come almost eighteen hundred miles in nineteen days.

  The creak of the wagon and the thud of the team’s hooves filled the quiet between her and Ike. He kept the horses moving at a steady pace, but it still felt slow compared to what Delsie was used to. She checked the pocket watch again. It was eight o’clock now. Would she make it on time?

  She shifted on the hard seat, almost wishing for her saddle. How strange it felt not to be on the back of a horse as she’d been every day these past few weeks.

  Each turn of the wheels brought her closer to Lillie, but Delsie willed them to spin faster. She couldn’t miss her sister, not when she was so very close.

  I’m coming, Lillie, she thought, her foot tapping out a rhythm of its own. I’m coming.

  If Ike sensed her fretting energy, he didn’t comment. Instead he kept his gaze ahead and the reins gripped securely in his sun-spotted hands. Delsie wished her own hands were as occupied. Instead she rubbed at the watch face with her thumb, fiddled with her dress cuffs, and adjusted and readjusted her hat.

  At the moment she thought she would either scream with nerves or throw up her hastily eaten breakfast, she spied buildings in the distance.

  “Is that Placerville?”

  “Yep,” Ike intoned in a calm voice.

  Her heart began to thud double time. Her journey’s end was in sight. She only prayed she wasn’t too late.

  “Where do you need to go, miss?”

  She told him the name of the boardinghouse.

  “I know it. I’ll take you there, but I can’t stay. Got to keep on schedule.”

  “I understand. Thank you, Ike.”

  He nodded in acknowledgment. Delsie gripped her hands in her lap as he slowed the horses at the edge of the town. Once they reached what she guessed must be Main Street, Ike turned the huge wagon onto a side street and stopped. “This is it.”

  Her hands shook so badly, she could hardly climb down. “Thank you again, Ike,” she called over her shoulder as she hurried at a painful hop to the door. She tried the handle, but it was locked. Behind her she could hear Ike and the wagon driving away. Delsie knocked once, twice.

  “Coming,” a voice hollered from inside. At last the door opened and a short woman with a severe bun glowered down at her. “You need a room?”

  “No. I need to see Miss Lillian Radford.”

  “Miss Lillie?” the woman echoed. “She’s up and gone. Left first thing this morning.”

  Gone? Deep regret pulsed through Delsie’s veins and she sagged against the door in despair. Lillie wasn’t supposed to leave for Oregon until tomorrow. “Thank you.” She turned away and stared unseeing down the street. Where was she to go now?

  “If you need to speak to her, she’s likely still at the church. Gettin’ herself hitched to that handsome Clay Weeks.” The woman gave a low whistle and chuckled. “I would’ve been there myself but couldn’t find no one to watch the place…”

  Delsie whirled around, hope burning strong in her throat and eyes. “She’s still at the church?”

  “I reckon so.”

  “Which church?”

  The woman pointed down the street. “Right there. On the other side of Main.”

  She took off at a shuffling run. Her ankle ached with the effort, but she ignored it. When she reached Main Street, she hurried across, dodging several wagons. There was the church, a white clapboard building with a bell tower and spire. She hobbled down the dusty street to the bottom of the steps. There she paused to catch her breath. She couldn’t hear anything from inside, but several wagons were still sitting out front.

  Gripping the banister, she hopped up the stairs to the front door. She gripped the handle and pulled it open. Cooler air greeted her as she limped inside and stopped. There at the front of the church, before the preacher, stood Lillie dressed in a simple ivory gown and veil. She held hands with Clay, who was looking tall and handsome in a nice brown suit.

  The sight of her sister after so many months apart ripped a sudden cry of longing from Delsie’s mouth. The sound echoed in the quiet church. Delsie pressed her hand to her lips as the few people in the congregation turned around. Lillie and Clay twisted to face her, too. Delsie’s eyes met her sister’s beneath the lacy veil.

  “Delsie?” Her name came out as a gasp.

  “Yes, Lillie.” She took a step forward. “It’s me.”

  Within seconds, Lillie was hurrying up the aisle, Clay right behind her. Delsie met them halfway and threw her arms around Lillie. She held her sister for a long moment, her tears wetting the shoulder of Lillie’s gown.

  When Lillie drew back, she was smiling, in spite of the tears on her own cheeks. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She took in the sight of Delsie’s hat and disheveled dress. “What happened to you?”

  Delsie clasped her sister’s hand and squeezed it. “That, dear Lillie, is a very long story.”

  “Perhaps it can wait until after your sister and I are married,” Clay said, his smile teasing.

  “Yes, of course.” Embarrassment washed over her anew as Delsie glanced at the preacher and the guests, all staring with curiosity at her and her sister.

  Lillie tugged her toward the front of the church. “Now that you’re here, you must sit right in front.”

  She started to protest given her unsightly attire, but Clay murmured good-naturedly, “I wouldn’t cross her if I were you.”

  Delsie chuckled. “A fact I know all too well. All right.” She took a seat on the front pew.

  “Are we ready now?” the preacher asked, his gaze inquisitive but not unkind.

  Lillie and Clay nodded as one and turned to face each other once more. The love emanating from their glowing faces brought another surge of joy to Delsie’s heart.

  “Dearly beloved,” the preacher began.

  I made it, Myles. Delsie wished so badly she could tell him. She glanced in the direction of the window, but instead of buildings, she saw the handsome face and dark eyes of the man she loved watching her from astride his horse. I made it.

  *

  “Do you think Delsie made it, to her sister?” Myles said as he rotated his shoulder, trying to stretch the stiff muscles from lying on his side or stomach, despite the aggravated pain. He and Amos had just finished supper. It had only been a day and a half since Delsie had left them to continue on alone, but it felt twice that long to him. “I guess we’ll never know,” he murmured more to himself than to Amos.

  The older man sat at the table, cleaning his gun. Myles owed his healing, however slow, to Amos. Even without a doctor or proper
medical supplies, his friend had so far kept Myles’s wound from festering and becoming worse. He had God to thank for that, too.

  “I think she made it,” Amos said quietly.

  “What if something happened, though?”

  He felt the familiar apprehension churning inside him, souring the food in his belly. Typically he fought the worry with reassurances that he’d done the right thing. But every now and then, especially since they’d had no word and probably wouldn’t, the doubts crept in and robbed his peace of mind over Delsie.

  He lifted his head to find Amos watching him intently. “I think she made it,” he repeated, “because something deep in here says she did.” He tapped his chest. “Something that goes beyond sight and knowledge to tell me everything will be all right. With Delsie.” He raised his graying eyebrows at Myles. “And with you.”

  The words hit Myles with as much force as the Indian’s arrow. If he searched his heart, really and truly searched, he sensed a calmness there, confirming what Amos said. Delsie would be all right, and so would they. Though Myles still couldn’t help wishing he’d been able to see her reach her sister, been able to kiss her once more, been able to tell her that she was the best thing to come into his life in a long time.

  “Think we’ll have our jobs waiting for us?” he asked, changing the subject. He let his gaze move from Amos to where Elijah sat on the nearby cupboard eating some of the leftover supper meat.

  “Sure hope so,” Amos said with a chuckle. “The Pony Express hasn’t been going long enough to get kicked out yet.”

  Myles cracked a smile. “Do you like working at the station?”

  “I like working with the stock and visiting with the riders.” He glanced up from his gun. “What about you? You thinkin’ of being an Express rider for much longer?”

  Myles’s answer came easy. “Just long enough to make a little money.”

  “And start your ranch?” He’d told Amos more than once about his dream.