“Blows in from New Mexico or Colorado or who knows where. When the heavens look like that, rain and hail usually follow the dust.”
The cloud’s progress worried Storm. “We’d better find cover.”
The other man shook his head. “Don’t even remember a nearby farm or ranch house.”
“We’ll have to rig our own.” Storm scanned the area. “Maybe we can make a lean to. Look for a rise in the ground. Anything to form a windbreak.”
“Should be a small creek nearby. Likely dry, but ought to be brush and cover alongside the bed.” Bill mounted and stood in his saddle. “I see a little rise ahead with a few trees on it. Might help.”
They hurried to the spot Bill indicated. Nothing like a hill, but more a bump of earth at the edge of a dry creek bed. Half a dozen trees appeared promising, and the brush around them would act as a windbreak. The men stretched the bedrolls between two trees to form a small lean to. At least they’d have cover over their heads and on one side to protect them from the wind’s force.
Rena picked up a stone. “Children, gather rocks to help anchor the sides of our playhouse the men are creating.”
Bill yelled, “Watch out for rattlers. They like this area.”
Rena grabbed Lottie’s hand. “You stay with me. I will help you look.”
Lottie pointed. “Bunny.” She tried to follow the rabbit.
“Stay with me. We must hurry.” Rena pulled her the other way. “A bad storm is coming. The bunny has to hurry to his home before the storm arrives or his mother will be worried about him.”
The little girl kept looking over her shoulder to watch the rabbit. Finally, she helped gather rocks. Storm dug a drain around the west end of their makeshift shelter to keep any rain from running into their tent and soaking them. He used the rocks to reinforce the drain.
Wind hit and the sky darkened. Soon the storm’s full force would strike.
Bill hobbled the restless horses on a rope strung to trees. “They’re nervous, like they expect really bad weather.”
“They need a lean to, don’t they?” Drew patted the horse he’d ridden.
Storm ruffled Drew’s hair. “See, they’ve turned their backs to the wind. They’ll be fine. Now, kids, get under cover.”
“I’m scared.” Susie climbed into his lap. “Why is it so dark? I can’t breathe so good.” She coughed a couple of times as if trying to clear her throat.
He hugged her. “Dust, honey. Don’t worry. This will blow through and then we can ride to the next town.”
“Susie, don’t be afraid. Maybe when we get to that town we can go to one of them bath places again. I’d like that.” Drew scooted closer in spite of his brave words.
Lottie coughed several times, as if the dust literally choked her. Wheezes came from her chest with each breath.
Rena worried about the two girls. The sounds reminded her of Vati’s labored gasps. Being a parent carried many new anxieties. Could she meet and conquer them?
She tied a bandana around Lottie’s nose and mouth. “We’ll need a bath after all this dust.
He nodded his approval. “That will help filter out most of the dust. “Drew and Susie, let me fix your bandanas like Lottie’s. It will help you breathe.”
“Bunny.” Lottie coughed and pointed and tried to crawl the way she’d seen the rabbit hop.
Rena pulled the little girl back onto her lap. “Forget the bunny. He is with his family now, just like you are. You snuggle down and rest.”
The wind struck with full force. The black dust appeared to consume the air and smother them.
Rena pulled Lottie closer. “How long will this last?”
“Can’t say, ma’am. Likely thirty minutes to an hour, but may go on longer. I’ve seen ‘em blow all night. Then, generally the rain and maybe hail will commence. Gonna be stuck here a long spell. Lucky you folks had these bedrolls to tie up with mine.”
Storm pulled Drew to his side and cradled Susie on his lap. “At least the men we’re after will be holed up, too.” His sore leg acted up and caused him another cause for concern.
Bill nodded. “They’d be fools not to. Wandering around in this can get a body lost. Might even ride off a gulley.”
A corner of their shelter broke free. Storm and Bill rose.
Storm called, “Hold on to the section nearest you. We can’t afford to let it blow away.” He battled the wind to retie the flapping portion of bedroll. If the fabric ripped, likely the freed bedroll would be in East Texas before it landed.
Each person except Lottie anchored a part of the lean-to. Lottie slid from Rena’s lap as Rena helped Drew and Susie with their section. Every gust of wind moved Drew and Susie, but they held on. Storm could barely see beyond their pale yellow cover.
A horrified expression crossed Rena’s face. “Lottie. Where’s Lottie?” She released the corner of their tent and rushed into the storm.
Bill grabbed the side Rena had relinquished. “I’ll stay with these two and try to keep the bedrolls tied down while you search.”
Storm fought his way through the dust. His bandana couldn’t filter all the fine grit from seeping through into his mouth and nose. Nothing protected his eyes from the scouring wind. Given a chance, he could drink a gallon of water about now.
“Rena? Lottie?” He spotted a shape ahead and pushed harder. He embraced her, grateful he hadn’t lost her in the dust. “Rena, honey, do you have any idea which way she would have gone?”
“She wanted to follow the rabbit. He hopped this way.” She gripped his shirt. “She’s only a baby.” Rivers of tears flooded a trail through the dark dust on her face.
“We’ll find her together.” He hoped he spoke the truth.
“It is my fault. I should have held on to her.” She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“Honey, you were trying to keep our shelter from blowing away. Rain is coming. We’ll need protection.”
Rena let out a wail of utter despair. “Lottie? Lottie? Where are you?”
“I doubt she can hear you call over this wind.”
He took her arm and scanned ahead of them. He couldn’t see more than a few feet. They staggered ahead. He looked back. Their footsteps were barely visible and the shelter had disappeared from view.
What would he do if anything happened to Rena? “Let me take you back. I’ll string out a rope and search for her.”
She shook her head. “You go back. I am not quitting until I find her. She must be scared half to death.”
“Don’t panic, Rena. We can’t see much of anything in this.”
What should he do? Lottie needed them, but so did Drew and Susie. At least Bill would keep those two safe. He couldn’t leave Rena to search alone for the toddler.
“I know which way the rabbit went. I-I think it is this way. She wanted to follow him to his home.”
He grasped her upper arm. “What if you’re wrong? You can’t be sure of anything in this dust.”
She pulled away. “Of one thing I am sure. I will keep looking until I find her.”
Chapter Sixteen
Rena fought the wind’s relentless pressure at her back. If she struggled to walk, what chance could a child have to stay upright? She scanned as far as the dust allowed. Grit scoured her exposed skin and irritated her eyes. Even through the bandana, she tasted dust.
Storm’s towering presence reassured her. Two sets of eyes searching increased the likelihood they’d find Lottie before she wandered into trouble. Horrible thoughts shot through her mind. Snakes, holes, wild animals. Not animals like rabbits, but the kind that would attack an eager little girl who tried to pet them.
Surely only seconds had passed before Rena noticed the girl’s absence. Again she rued her own carelessness. And foolishness. She had believed she could be a good mother to these children. Married and a parent two days and she’d lost one of her charges.
Each clump of brush or rise in the land caught her attention. No sign of a little girl. Rena peered around. She
and Storm could not be more alone, for their shelter no longer showed through the dust.
“There.” She pointed ahead and to the left. “See the blue patch?” The same color as Lottie’s dress.
She and Storm rushed forward. Lying on her stomach with her head on her folded arms, Lottie sobbed and gasped for breath. Waves of relief engulfed Rena.
Rena knelt and pulled the child into her arms. “Lottie, precious girl, we were so worried.”
Lottie threw her arms around Rena. She gasped with each breath. “Mama. . . You get me.”
Mama? Did Lottie know she had just called her Mama? The word reached deep inside Rena’s heart and filled a hollow place.
Storm ran his hands over Lottie’s hair. “We’ve been looking for you. Let me hold you and we’ll go back to the others.”
Lottie held tighter, threatening to choke Rena. “Mama. Want Mama.” Her ragged breathing came in pants between sobbing, hiccups, and coughs.
“Sure, you can stay with Mama. Let me help both of you stand.” He lifted them until Rena balanced the child.
“Bunny bye bye.” The wind stole most of her tiny voice not muffled by the bandana. Her cough and wheezing had grown more labored.
“Oh, Lottie, he is with his mother and father now. We need to go back to Drew and Susie.” Her surroundings blurred into sameness. Were the three of them now lost? She looked at Storm. “Which way?”
“Into the wind.” He stepped in front of her. “Walk behind me so I protect you from the gale’s force. Grab hold of my belt.” He reached behind him and guided her free hand to his belt.
What a fine man she’d married. He protected those in his care. She noticed his limp and knew his leg pained him, but he never complained.
They leaned into the wind. She saw only Storm’s back and relied on him to guide her correctly. A sudden realization pummeled her. She trusted this man with her life and those of the children. Of any children to come. Had one already been planted and grew even now inside her?
Of course she had trusted him when she agreed to marry him. She thought she even loved him. But she hadn’t realized how absolutely. Not with a fondness like she had felt for Abram, but all encompassing and for always.
“We made it.” Storm turned and guided her into the makeshift shelter.
Relief swept across Bill’s face. “Wondered if you two got lost as well. Susie’s not feeling very well.”
Drew pulled at Storm’s sleeve. “Susie’s coughing a lot and she’s not breathin’ so good.”
Rena plopped onto the ground without dropping Lottie. “That makes two of you. Are you all right, Drew?”
“I’m sure thirsty, but Bill said we gotta save most of our water unless it rains.”
“We need a plant called Jacob’s staff. I do not know what you call it here. I saw it growing as we rode.” Rena shook her head. “I do not remember where.” Why hadn’t she remembered the plant at the girls’ first coughs? Why hadn’t she gathered some when she had the chance? Always Jacob’s staff was good to have on hand.
Storm caressed her shoulder. “If it’s tall with yellow spikes, I can find some. There are lots of other names for it, but we call it mullein. My sister Pearl uses it in her herbal treatments for lung problems.”
Relief nudged aside her panic. “Ja, that is the one. Please, we must help Lottie and Susie.”
“I’ll have to make preparations.” He disappeared and returned with his dutch oven, coffee pot, sticks, and canteen. “I’ll start a small fire in this oven. That way the wind won’t spread the fire.”
“You will ruin that pan if you build a fire inside it.” Rena shook her head. “What am I saying? The pan is not important.”
At one side of the confined shelter, Storm started a small fire in the container. “By the time I’ve found the mullein and returned, the coals should be about right.” He handed his full canteen to Bill. “Let’s trade. I’ll walk along the creek and see if I can find more water.”
Bill set the canteen beside him. He frowned at Storm. “Careful. We don’t know who’s out there.”
“Point taken. I’ll tread carefully.” Storm caressed her cheek, placed a soft kiss on her hair, and left.
Bill watched Lottie. “Anything I can do to help either little girl?”
“I know of nothing except Jacob’s staff. I gave it to my Vati in Bavaria.”At the questioning expression on Bill’s face, she added, “Vati means father. He had a weak chest from working in the mines. Also, he took tonics, but those came from the chemist and the doctor.”
She moved her hand in gentle, soothing circles on Lottie’s back. Lottie’s hair hung wet with the girl’s effort to breathe. Oh, what could she do to help this child? She had confidence in Storm but still prayed he would find the plant they needed and that the killers were not nearby. Prayers never hurt.
Susie laid her head in Drew’s lap. Perspiration dotted her brow but her breathing sounded nowhere near as bad as Lottie’s.
Drew patted Susie’s back as Rena did for Lottie. “Don’t worry. Storm will find what we need.”
Rena blessed the boy for his faith in Storm. She believed in her husband also. And what a good brother Drew was.
“I know. I wish he would hurry.” A fit of coughing stopped Susie from saying more.
Bill cocked an ear. “Sounds like the wind’s letting up.”
She thanked God. “I am relieved. But we do not need hail or a tornado, just rain to settle this dust so we can breathe.”
Storm reappeared carrying the canteen and stalks of what he called mullein and she called Jacob’s staff. “Found fresh water. Not much but more than we’ll need. Soon as the wind calms, I’ll take the horses to drink.”
He filled the coffee pot with water and set it on the coals. Next he set about stripping the leaves and flowers from the stalks. Tossing a handful of leaves on the coals, he leaned back. “Let the girls inhale the smoke. It’ll help.”
“Susie, lean into the smoke as I show you with your sister.” Rena held Lottie near the leaves’ embers. To Storm, she said, “Use the flowers for the tea. They taste better.” She smoothed Lottie’s hair from her face. “In only ten minutes, the tea will be ready to drink. It will help you girls.”
Bill stood. “Been sitting too long. I’ll check on the horses.”
Storm glanced up. “While you’re there, I forgot some things we need. Would you get a clean shirt or handkerchief and the cups from my saddlebag? I’ll need to strain the bristles from the tea before the girls drink it.”
Breathing the smoke appeared to ease Susie’s breathing. Lottie showed a little improvement, but still fought for each breath.
Storm threw on another handful of leaves. “Don’t know how much of these are the right amount. If Pearl were here, she’d know precisely. I hate being helpless.”
“You are not. Look at all you have done. We have a shelter, we found Lottie, you found the plant to help the girls, and you found water. You have done well.”
He slid his strong arm around her. What a comfort to have him near. She laid her head against his shoulder. Even though this trip had been filled with trials, his presence comforted and strengthened her.
“Horses are fine.” Bill appeared, carrying their saddlebags. “Figured you folks might need something else. Rain’s coming.”
Rena exhaled her relief. “Thank heavens. Now the dust will be washed from the air.”
As he poured the tea into each cup, Storm strained the liquid through a clean handkerchief to capture all the fine brushy bristles that would irritate the throat. “Say, Bill, we don’t cross any more rivers between here and Vernon, do we?”
“No, a few small creeks but nothing deep enough to cause a problem for long, not even after a rain. There’s a bridge at Paradise Creek, and we reach Vernon without having to cross the Pease River.”
Rena took the cup Storm handed her. “Drink this, Lottie. It will make you feel much better.”
Lottie hid her face in Rena’s neck. “No. Do
n’t want it.”
Storm helped Susie drink. She made a pruny face, but drank the entire cup.
“Now, you.” When Lottie pushed the cup away, Rena grasped for an answer. “You don’t want Drew and Susie to think you’re a baby, do you?”
Smart little Drew caught on and smiled. “You’re too little to drink the tea like Susie did. Baby Lottie.”
Susie echoed, “Baby Lottie.”
“Not.” Lottie sipped the tea and shuddered in revulsion. She drank more. When she emptied the cup, she glared at her brother and sister. “Big girl.”
Storm set the coffee pot near the pan of coals. “I’ll let it steep beside the coals and they can have more in a while.”
The sound of large rain drops splattering on the bedrolls stretched overhead comforted Rena. Soon the dust would settle. But what if the rain brought hail and more wind? Dear Lord, please don’t let there be a tornado.
“Children, move to the center so you don’t get wet.” Rena shifted Lottie to protect her from the weather. A gust of wind sent raindrops onto her back.
The makeshift tent offered little space. Adults and children huddled as near the middle. Still, they had a cover over their heads and on one side.
Storm passed out the last of their bread and cheese. “This will have to serve as an early supper.” He glanced toward Bill. “How far you think we are from Vernon?”
“I figure no more than a couple of hours at the most. Reckon once the rain lets up, we can saddle up and be there tonight.”
Rena caressed Lottie’s back. “Can’t be too soon for me.”
Chapter Seventeen
Storm watched the trail. He’d seen tracks of the killer’s horses in the fresh mud and pointed them out to Bill McAfee. They had feared the men waited on the trial, but now his group rode into Vernon.
“Bill, do you mind telling the sheriff we’re here while I take my family to the home of the Methodist preacher?”
“I’ve been here before and know the way. I’ll see Sheriff Foster while you get your folks settled. Turn right here and go two blocks. You’ll see the church.”
Most Unsuitable Courtship Page 13