She should have told Matt she loved him the first instant she’d realized it, and now it was too late.
“I got him!” a voice yelled in her ear.
Allie barely had time to register what was happening. A hand was on her shoulder, turning her and pushing her back, toward the stall’s doorway.
The last escape path had not been blocked after all. Allie stumbled forward, half running and half falling, out of the stable. Nicolette was there, face white, ready to catch Allie in her arms.
Turning away from Nicolette’s shoulder, Allie saw Harold dragging Matt out of the stable. Nicolette gasped loudly and rushed forward to help. Together, the three of them lifted Matt and carried him to the front porch. All the while, the stable burned.
On the smooth boards, Allie fell to her knees. “Matt,” she croaked.
He didn’t respond. His face was streaked with soot, and there were no signs of life.
Next to Allie, Nicolette let out a mournful wail at the same time the sky opened up and dropped heavy sheets of water onto the land.
27
27. Matt
Chapter Twenty-seven
Everything was dark. Matt couldn’t breathe. His lungs didn't work properly. Nothing in his body worked properly. His head pounded, and his muscles screamed with exhaustion.
With a painful gasp, he desperately sucked at the air. To his surprise, fresh relief entered his nose and mouth.
He was breathing. The fire hadn't gotten him.
“Matthew?” Ma’s voice asked.
She sounded so far away, like she was yelling at him from across a field. Was she really talking to him, or was he just imagining her presence?
Matt blinked his eyes open. The light stung, piercing his eyeballs in a way little needles might. His mother was there all right, leaning over his bed with a strained smile on.
“Don't try to speak,” she said. “Here.”
She gently pressed a glass of water to his lips, and he drank gratefully.
“The animals,” he gasped.
“They're fine. Each and every one of them. The horses went to the McNeelys’ pasture, and the sheep and oxen weren’t far off. Poor Dora is still shaking, but she’ll get over it eventually.”
The news allowed relief to wash over Matt. So they all made it out okay. As soon as he’d smelled the smoke and heard the horses neighing in fear, he jumped down from where he’d been sleeping in the loft.
He’d meant to let all the animals out and then run for safety himself, but everything had happened so fast. The roof collapsed in what had seemed like no time at all, and he’d been trapped with flames pressing close on all four sides.
It was then that he thought he saw someone moving on the other side of the fiery wall. He kicked against the bit of wood that wasn’t flaming, yelling for help all the while.
That was the last part he remembered.
“My head,” he murmured, touching his temple. His whole head hurt, but most of the pain sat there, on the right side.
“A board hit it,” Ma answered. “It knocked you out for a while.”
“Oh.” Matt wanted to ask more, but his mind was hazy.
“Oh, Matthew.” Ma pressed a wet cloth to his forehead. The coolness brought relief, and Matt let his eyelids drift half-shut.
“Allie,” he whispered, suddenly remembering. When he saw the figure moving in the stable, he’d had the sense that it was her.
But that couldn’t be. She’d spent the night at the Rosses’.
“She’s fine as well.”
Matt’s gaze floated to the window. The longer he kept his eyes open, the less the sunlight hurt.
What time was it? The fire had happened in the middle of the night… Was it now morning? Afternoon? How had he been knocked out for that long?
Gingerly, he sat up in bed.
“Be careful,” Ma said in alarm.
“I’m fine.” Matt rubbed the last bit of ache from his eyes. His head still hurt, but he could deal with that. “What time is it?”
“It’s early morning still. You’ve been sleeping for a while. You woke up a couple times, but only for a minute here and there.”
Matt’s brows pinched together. He couldn’t remember waking up any. All he knew was he felt like he’d spent the night sleeping in a hole in the ground. His muscles were all sore, and his head felt banged up, like he’d been resting it on a pile of rocks.
“You didn’t seem to know where you were,” Ma explained, as if reading his mind. “Doctor Felder said you were probably only knocked out for a few minutes. We carried you to the porch, and you woke up a bit there, but then passed out all over again.”
Matt frowned. “Who is we?”
“Me, Pa, and Allie.”
Allie. So she had been there.
Matt rubbed his sore eyes and looked around his room, half expecting Allie to appear. “Did she… she pulled me out?”
“Yes.” Ma’s chin trembled with emotion. “Just in time. The horses neighing and the dogs barking woke your pa and me up, and he ran in and helped her tug you out.” She dabbed at her eyes with her apron’s corner.
Matt tried to process what she was saying, but it was all still confusing. He’d been so unfair to Allie. He’d assumed she was finding relief from him at the Rosses’.
Why had she come back to the farm? And in the middle of the night, at that?
“I need to see her.”
Matt went to get out of bed, but Ma stopped him with a touch on his shoulder.
“No,” she said firmly. “Doctor Felder said you need to spend today resting. There’ll be no getting out of bed until at least tomorrow.”
“I’m fine,” he lied. Truthfully, his head and chest had never felt worse.
“I will send for Allie. I am sure she will not say no to visiting you.”
“She’s back in town?”
“Yes,” Ma said. “She came last night to get something from the garden, and that’s when she saw the fire.”
Matt clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to wait for Allie to come to him. He had so much to tell her, and none of it could wait another minute.
Ma stood up. “Some neighbors are coming over today to help Pa put up a temporary stable. It should be good enough until they can build a proper one.” She sighed, and Matt noticed the heavy bags under her eyes. “At least Oatmeal will have some shade to have her foal in.”
She pressed her palm to her cheek and looked out his open bedroom door, toward the front of his cabin. “I have some stew on. Try to get more sleep, if you can, and I’ll bring you a nice bowl soon as it’s ready.”
Matt knew arguing would do no good, so he nodded and leaned back against his headboard. Ma stayed where she was, looking down at him for another long moment, her wet eyes shimmering, before she bent and kissed him on the forehead like he was a little boy.
He waited as long as he could after the door closed, counting in his head the steps Ma needed to take back to the main house. Once he was certain enough time had gone by, he shimmied to the side of the bed and got up.
He started to sprint for his wardrobe but found himself nearly falling over. Grabbing onto his bed post, he righted himself before taking a new step.
His legs were weak, shaking a bit with each movement. Matt closed his eyes, allowing himself some time to breathe deep and stretch his limbs out.
With his energy gathering, he dressed and snuck from the house. His arms and face had been washed, and someone had dressed him in his bedclothes, which meant the only thing getting in his way other than his weakened state was the gnawing hunger in his belly. That need, though, like every other one not involving Allie, could wait.
It had taken Matt long enough to realize how good he had things, and he wasn’t waiting another heartbeat to claim what was his.
28
28. Allie
Chapter Twenty-eight
Kitty finished pinning her braids into a pile on top of her head, took her sun bonnet off the hook on her bedr
oom wall, and stood.
“See?” she said to Kitty, who stood in the doorway. “I am quite well.”
“To walk about town?” Allie asked skeptically.
“A jaunt in the sunshine will do me some good. And Helen will be fine until we return.”
Allie glanced over her shoulder and through the other bedroom’s doorway, where Helen lay in bed reading.
“Yes,” Helen called out, her gaze never lifting from the page. “I am quite all right.”
“Fine,” Allie said. “We will go to church and back.”
“And the general store,” Kitty answered. “We need molasses.”
Allie nodded in agreement. It was probably best if Kitty stayed in bed for another day, but Allie was too tired to protest. Too shaken. As they went out the front door, she looked at the bandage on her forearm. She’d pulled her sleeve down over most of it but had been unable to hide the end part.
Though the skin smarted where she’d been burned, the real pain resided in her heart. Last night still seemed a blur. The heat lightning… the fire… Matt trapped behind the boards.
The rain and Matt’s waking seemed the most extraordinary part. Harold had ridden to fetch Doctor Felder, and Matt had been conscious for a short while—although he seemed confused—before falling asleep.
Doctor Felder had assured them that Matt would likely be all right, that his waking up from the initial blacking out was a good sign, but Allie had been a ball of nerves ever since leaving the Dentons’ farm in the early morning hours and returning to the Rosses’.
She hadn’t wanted to go, but she also did not know if Matt wanted her there when he woke up. Since the last time they properly saw each other he was distant, she’d had to assume the answer was no.
Plus, she’d needed to return the Rosses’ horse and check on Kitty and Helen. Nicolette had stuck herself to Matt’s side and was likely still there. Really, Allie couldn’t be of any more help at the Denton’s.
Since leaving there, though, Matt had been on her mind every instant. He had nearly died. She had nearly died. Thanks to a sudden act of grace, they hadn’t.
Allie still was not sure what to make of it all. What did she do next? Would Matt’s near-death experience change things for them? Or was she being naively hopeful?
The only thing she knew for sure was that she was thinking too much. Which was why she needed to get her feet moving and her body into church. Lost in prayer, everything would be fine.
Walking down Shallow Spring’s main street, Kitty gave Allie a tight smile. “Are you thinking about Matt?”
“I cannot help it.”
Kitty nodded in understanding, her face sullen. “We will pray. That will make everything better.”
Allie nodded, all the pieces inside her screwing up tighter and tighter, till she felt she would break and tumble to the ground. And yet she never did. The awful sensation only continued to build, and she continued to endure it.
“He almost died, Kitty,” Allie gasped in pain. She stopped walking, and Kitty turned to face her.
“Yes.” She solemnly nodded.
“I almost died.” Shaking her head, Allie stared at the ground. “Was there a reason for that? Was God trying to tell us something?”
Kitty’s eyebrows knitted together. “That is a dangerous train of thought, Allie. It’s best if you thank God for saving you both and leave it at that.” She took Allie’s hands in hers. “I understand completely the need to know why things happen, but trust me, endlessly seeking answers will drive you to the edge of sanity. If you are to know why something happened, God will bring you an answer.”
Kitty squeezed Allie’s hands before dropping them and walking on, and the tightness in Allie loosened somewhat.
“Look.” Kitty nodded ahead of them, toward the blacksmith’s. “Is that Doctor Felder?”
Allie’s heart leaped. “Yes, I believe it is.” She picked up the pace. “Doctor Felder!”
Waving at him, she crossed the street in a hurry, not caring if the yelling drew attention.
As Allie and Kitty approached, the doctor tipped his hat. “Miss Russell. How is the arm?”
Allie lifted it in a small gesture. “Well enough, thank you. The salve has helped a good deal. Thank you again for everything. I’m sorry we’ve had to see each other so much these last few days.”
He winked. “That is the manner of my profession, and it is one I am honored to fulfill.” His eyes slid to Kitty. “And how are you and your sister, Mrs. Ross?”
“Wonderful, thank you.” Kitty touched Allie’s shoulder. “I will get to the general store.”
Kitty said her goodbye to Doctor Felder and lifted her skirts as she continued down the street. The sudden and heavy rain the night before had turned the most well-worn parts of the road muddy. For what was likely the first time, though, no one complained. It had finally rained, and that was a blessing.
“Have you seen Matt?” Allie asked Doctor Felder, her heat pounding eagerly.
“I went by there this morning. He appeared to be sleeping peacefully.”
Allie nodded, her fear over his health somewhat assuaged.
“That was a very brave thing you did.” He fixed his intent gaze on her.
Allie shook her head and looked away. “Anyone else would do the same.”
“Are you sure of that?”
She looked at him questioningly but stayed silent. Her supposed heroism—which didn’t really exist—wasn’t something she wished to fixate on.
“He is a lucky man,” Doctor Felder said. “To have a woman who loves him that much.”
Allie’s cheeks warmed, and she bit into her bottom lip. “Yes,” she whispered, unable to make eye contact. “I suppose.”
What would everyone think if Allie’s engagement were to suddenly end? It was such a loose one, anyway. She did not wear the ring he’d tried to give her. He hadn’t spoken more than a few sentences to her in days.
It was probably time to admit the truth: the potential that had once existed between the two of them was no longer there. Love had begun to blossom, but it had been killed in its earliest stages.
Perhaps it was Allie’s fault. Perhaps it was Matt’s. Perhaps, as Kitty advised, asking too many questions was dangerous.
She looked back up, about to ask Doctor Felder if there was anything she could do to further express her gratitude—such as bake him a pie or bread—but the sight of a familiar face grabbed her attention.
A man stood not more than a few yards away, speaking with the blacksmith. At first, Allie didn’t understand what it was about him that grabbed her attention, but then it all quickly came together.
His fine clothing was out of place. His cane was out of place. His face was out of place. And yet, he settled perfectly into a spot in Allie’s mind. A dark spot she had done her best to bury, a spot she wished to never revisit again.
“Are you all right, Miss Russell?” Doctor Felder asked, looking at her with concern. “You are so pale.”
Cotton filled Allie’s mouth, and she worked her dry tongue around. “I, uh, yes. I must be going, Doctor.”
Perhaps Doctor Felder responded, but Allie heard nothing. The man was turning, his gaze locking on Allie’s face. His eyes squinted in recognition; his mustache turned down as he frowned.
Terror shot through Allie.
“Thank you again,” she mumbled to Doctor Felder.
Before the last word was out, she dropped her face and hurried away from the blacksmith’s. The sounds around her faded away. No more townspeople chatting. No more wheels clacking. No more hooves against the earth. Only Allie’s frantic pulse filled her ears.
Had she imagined the man? Was he really a stranger she had imposed a familiar face upon?
No. Allie’s fingers clenched tighter around her skirts. She recognized the face. There was no denying it. And he had recognized her. The man was one of Mr. Burke’s friends. One he had brought to the factory on Allie’s last, fateful day there.
; What was he doing in Shallow Springs? And how had he spotted her so easily? For Allie, there was no casting out the faces that filled that day. Any time she thought about New York, she saw them again and again. But if the man knew her, did that mean she was being pursued? Were their drawings of her face all over New York? A warrant for her arrest?
Her Unexpected Destiny (Seeing Ranch series) (A Western Historical Romance Book) Page 18