Snow Angel

by Jamie Carie

  Ben looked at her wild eyes and pleading face. “OK, we’ll go back. But Jane, you have to calm down. It may not have been her. You don’t know. You couldn’t have gotten a very good look at her.”

  “Ben … I can’t explain it, but it was her. I’ve been looking into faces for years, looking for something that I would know. It was her!”

  Ben rapped on the window toward the front of the carriage but the man didn’t seem to hear. Soon they stopped in front of the Grand Hotel. Jane stumbled out, yelling up at the driver. “We have to go back to that trading post.”

  Ben grasped her hand to gain her attention. “I’ll just check us in and have our bags taken to our room. You wait here and we’ll have the driver take us over to the trading post.”

  Jane nodded. “Hurry! She was leaving. What if she’s gone? What if we can’t find her?”

  Ben gripped her shoulders. “We’ll find her. I promise. We won’t go home until we do. Now calm down and wait in the carriage, OK?”

  She nodded and climbed back inside while Ben hurriedly gave instructions to the driver and the hotel staff. Within ten minutes they were on their way back to the post. Once there, Jane suddenly became hesitant. “What if she isn’t there? What if she is there? What will I say to her?”

  Ben helped her climb down from the carriage. “You will tell her you love her. Everything will be fine. Now, come.”

  As they walked in, a bell jingled above the door. An older woman came out of the back room and smoothed her skirts. “Can I help you folks with something?” she asked kindly.

  Jane smiled and took a deep breath. “How do you do, ma’am? My name is Jane and this is my husband, Ben. We are looking for a young woman by the name of Elizabeth and, well, I thought I might have seen her here just a short time ago. Do you know anyone by that name?”

  The woman shook her head. “I’m just minding the store. All the young people went out to see a new horse one of them bought and then out to dinner. But it does seem like I heard one of them being called Elizabeth. Can’t be sure, though. My hearing, you know, it’s not what it used to be. But you can come back in a few hours. Will and Cara Collins will be here then, and they’ll know the answer to your questions.”

  Jane’s body collapsed with a mixture of relief and disappointment. “Yes, well, thank you. We’ll come back later.”

  Ben squeezed her hand encouragingly as they walked back to the carriage. “It’s better this way. We won’t be so flustered. We’ll be better prepared to meet her in the morning.”

  Jane sighed and leaned against his arm, looking suddenly tired. “Yes, you’re right. Let’s go.”

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING Ben and Jane breakfasted early in the hotel dining room. Afterward, they wandered into the lobby. At the front desk Ben was told he had received a telegram. Opening it at the desk with Jane standing pensively at his side, he scanned the message. Then scanned it again.

  “What is it?” Jane asked.

  “It’s from my partner, Herbert. Before we left New York, I gave him Henry and Margaret’s name and asked him to see what he could find out about them.” He took Jane’s elbow, led her over to the window, and lowered his voice. “He says that Henry is wanted for the murder of a miner in the state of Utah. The authorities have been looking for the two of them for over three years.”

  Jane gasped. “What should we do?”

  Ben shook his head. “I’ll telegraph Herb with the Dunnings’ address. I’m sure they will be there since they are waiting for the remainder of the reward from us.”

  Jane looked at him with concern. “But … what if we need them or,” then suddenly, “you don’t think Elizabeth was mixed up in this do you?”

  Ben looked grim. “We won’t know the answer to that until we find her.”

  “Shouldn’t we wait to tell someone? We might need the Dunnings to be cooperative and if they find out we reported them … they won’t tell us anything,” Jane insisted.

  Ben shook his head, eyebrows down over his green eyes. “Don’t worry, Jane. We’ll find Elizabeth without any further help from them. We have to report this.”

  Jane sighed and nodded. “Yes, of course. You are right.” She looked up into his eyes. “To think my little girl was adopted by a … a murderer … I can’t bear it.”

  He grasped the curve of her jaw in one hand, looked steadily into her eyes, willing her strength. “We know she’s alive and we’ll find her. That’s all that matters now.”

  After he calmed her, they hurried out the hotel door, headed toward the post. Ben looked over at her with a worried frown for what seemed the hundredth time that morning.

  “Are you sure you’re up to this right now? You look so pale, Jane.”

  Jane nodded up at him. “I haven’t come this far only to turn back. I’m fine.”

  The walk to the trading post was short and Ben gave her a reassuring nod before as they reached the front door. They stood for a moment, contemplating the door they’d walked through yesterday, both feeling that something monumental was about to happen. Taking a deep breath, Jane took the first step forward.

  The bell jingled as Ben opened the door and allowed his wife in. The shop was well lit, neatly organized, and clean. It had a homey air to it that pleased Jane, causing her to take a deep breath and throw back her shoulders. Striding to the long, wooden counter together, they paused and met the smile of a business-looking man in his mid-thirties or so.

  “What can I help you folks with today?” he asked in a friendly tone.

  Ben started to speak, but Jane raised her gloved hand. “Sir, my name is Jane and this is my husband, Benjamin. We have traveled a great distance in search of someone, a young woman actually.” She hesitated, close to tears, then tilted her head and gave him a shaky smile. “I thought … that is, would you happen to know an Elizabeth Dunning?”

  The reaction of recognition on Will’s face was immediate and Jane held her breath waiting for his response. “Well, ma’am, I might know someone by that name, but you’ll have to tell me exactly what you want with her before I say anything more.”

  Jane liked his answer and trusted him immediately. “Well, you see, I’m her mother. And I’ve been looking for her for a very … very long time.”

  Will looked at Ben and then back to her with a startled expression and then he shook his head. “Ma’am, may I say you look so much like her that I can only believe what you say is true.”

  Jane took a sudden breath, raised her shaking hand to her mouth and looked at Ben.

  Ben squeezed his wife to his side and asked, “Can you tell us where she is?”

  Will whistled low. “You just missed her. She’s on her way home, left this morning bright and early.”

  “Home? Where might that be?”

  Will motioned them to follow him to a window. “See that mountain range to the east there. She lives about a quarter of the way up the middle one, with her husband, Noah Wesley.”

  Jane felt another shock rush through her. “Her husband? I … I hadn’t thought of that.” She’d never even considered the possibility that her little girl would be married. Stunned, she realized that she still thought of her as a young girl.

  Will chuckled. “Well, now that’s a long story, ma’am. But he’s a good fellow, rest assured. The finest, actually, and one of my best friends.” Gesturing toward the sitting area in front of the fire, Will asked, “Would you like to sit down? I’ll get my wife. She will want to meet you. Elizabeth is like a little sister to her.” Will steered them toward the warm fire, where they ignored the chairs and the elegant rocker. They were both too nervous to sit.

  Soon a pretty blonde woman came in with a baby riding her hip. She walked up to Jane and held out her hand, smiling a sincere smile that reached her eyes. “Jane? I’m Cara Collins, Will’s wife.” She paused and shook her head. “Will tells me you … are Elizabeth’s mother?” Her gaze swept over Jane and then filled with tears, a compressed smile on her lips. “She does look s
o very much like you.”

  Jane found she didn’t want to let go of this woman’s hand, this woman who knew her daughter. Her voice shook as she answered. “I hope to see that for myself very soon. I have been searching for her for such a long time. I can hardly believe I’ve nearly found her.” Little Rebecca let out a squeal of delight, pointing to the fancy feathers on Jane’s hat. Eagerly she reached out to grasp one, squirming in Cara’s arms and making Jane and Cara laugh.

  “The poor darling, she can’t reach them,” Jane remarked as she took off her hat and plucked a feather from the brim, handing it to the child.

  Cara laughingly said, “If you give it to her, she’ll only eat it. She chews on everything she can get her hands on.”

  Jane looked lovingly down at the child, causing Cara to offer, “This is Rebecca. Would you like to hold her while I get us all some tea?”

  Jane nodded and was glad to have another outlet for her emotions, if only for a little while. Rebecca babbled and tried to chew off the end of the feather. Jane caught it and used the fluffy end to tickle the child’s cheek and nose, making them both laugh out loud. When she looked up at Ben, she caught a pained expression and her heart ached for him. If only they’d been able to have children of their own … but now was not the time to think of such things. This was a moment of gladness and nothing would spoil it.

  Cara returned and they all sat around the low table by the fire. Cara looked at Ben and asked, “Forgive me, but you’re not Elizabeth’s father, are you?”

  Ben shook his head. “No, we did keep track of him for some time, in case Elizabeth wanted to meet him when we found her, but he died a few years ago in a railroading accident.”

  Cara frowned. “I’m sorry. Elizabeth told us her parents had died.”

  Jane looked down into her lap. “She was raised in an orphanage, Mrs. Collins. I don’t know what they told her, but it is possible they told her we had passed away.”

  “And you have searched for her for all of these years,” Cara remarked softly. “It is amazing that you found her here, so far away from anywhere.”

  Jane nodded. “I had given up … and then I received a letter from Henry and Margaret Dunning. They claimed to have adopted Elizabeth years ago. Needless to say, we took the first available train to Seattle to meet them. They directed us here—something about a telegram they received from a detective they’d hired to find Elizabeth. Does any of this sound accurate to you?”

  Cara and Will exchanged looks. Finally Will nodded. “Yes, there was a man here looking for Elizabeth. He must have been the one. But I have to tell you, she was very afraid of him. And her adoptive parents, too. I don’t think she ever wanted to see them again.”

  “I can understand why after meeting them,” Ben said grimly. “They were far worse than we had hoped. We can’t tell you how relieved we are to hear that she made it away from those people.”

  Cara leaned forward earnestly. “Have no fear. Elizabeth is everything you could want in a daughter. She may not have always had an easy time of it. I know she has suffered in ways, but her trials have refined her into a brave and rare young woman, one whose spirit I’m glad to have the privilege to know. It will mean so much to her to know you both.”

  Jane looked at Ben and smiled. “It looks like we will be climbing some mountains after all.”

  Ben grinned boyishly back. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, dear wife. Not for the world.”

  Twenty-Three

  Noah was in a hurry to get his bride home. They had only stayed long enough to see the post cleaned up from the wedding party and back in running order before loading up his horse and the new horse purchased for Elizabeth before starting the trek back home. He repeatedly told himself that he was doing the right thing. It would only upset Elizabeth if she knew about the telegram.

  As they rounded a bend, Noah urged his mount up the last slope of the journey. Looking back at Elizabeth’s horse, he checked the baggage. They had loaded down both steeds with supplies and all of Elizabeth’s belongings. She was coming home with him to stay. “Almost there,” he called back happily.

  She nodded her head in response, tapping her horse with her heels to spur her forward and catch up. They passed the waterfalls above the upper end of the basin and came into a breathtaking grassy meadow where wildflowers danced in the breeze, unseen by anyone save God and, now, them. Noah hoped to teach Elizabeth all their names—purple mountain saxifrage, bluebells, yellow buttercups, heather, wild roses, and flowering berry shrubs dotting the land around Noah’s cabin—but not yet. That would all come in time. Noah inhaled the sweet fragrances of home and reined in to wait for Elizabeth. She stopped beside him and looked where he was pointing.

  “We’re here,” she said with surprise. “I thought it would take much longer.”

  “It’s a quicker trip in the summer with the horses.”

  Elizabeth took a deep breath and smiled, happiness in her eyes. “It looks so different now, without all of the snow.”

  “You asked if we had flowers and I don’t think I answered you at the time, but wildflowers grow all over the mountain in the summer. Do you like them?”

  Elizabeth gazed out over the expanse. “I like that we have flowers,” she repeated softly, wonder in her voice, “like a rainbow on the ground.” She gazed up at him, something new shining in her eyes, something he hadn’t seen there before. “I love that you speak as if we share it now.”

  Noah reached over and kissed her. “We do. What’s mine is yours.” He grinned wolfishly and added, “And what’s yours is mine.”

  “But I don’t have anything!”

  “Oh yes, you do.” He could tell when she finally understood from the pink in her cheeks. Laughing, he motioned her to follow him, nudging his horse into a gallop. In fact, he loved everything about her. Noah smiled, thanking God silently for it all, feeling good to be back on his land in the height of its summer glory, with the woman he loved beside him to share it.

  * * *

  NOON THE NEXT day, Noah headed back to the cabin to grab some dinner after a busy afternoon of checking his traps. He tried to shake off the disquiet that hounded him. Something was not quite right with his wife, with this marriage. Their nights together had been filled with passion, and their days promised to settle into a comfortable routine, but she … again, he couldn’t say exactly what it was, but something about her, or inside her, was missing. She was holding something back. Sometimes, it felt like she was just going through the motions of trying to please him. Determined to fix things, to help her trust him more, he reached for the doorknob. It was then, while he was turning the knob, that he heard the sound of approaching horses. Turning, he shielded his eyes from the sun and was startled to see Will Collins riding up with two other city-looking folks. They looked to be in a hurry, their horses tired. Noah turned from the door with an odd feeling in his gut as he watched them approach.

  Will dismounted first and walked over to Noah, a big smile on his face. He grasped Noah’s hand in a firm shake and clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll never guess who I’ve brought, Noah. Is Elizabeth around?”

  Noah felt his chest tighten even more. Something told him that the next few moments would change his life. “She’s in the cabin. Who are they, Will?”

  The man had helped the lady dismount. Noah watched as they crossed toward him. The man was a tall, stately looking gentleman with dark hair, graying a little at the temples, expensively and impeccably dressed. He extended his hand, which Noah took in a firm grasp, the man’s eyes warm and friendly. Will made the introductions.

  “Noah, this is Ben Rhodes. He’s a lawyer from New York City.”

  Will moved over to let the woman in. She held out a small hand and smiled at him. “Hello, I’m Jane Rhodes.”

  Noah felt his heart miss a beat. His breath quickened as he stretched out his big hand toward her, feeling awkward in the presence of her elegance.

  He knew who this woman was.

 
He was just taking her hand when the cabin door opened and out stepped Elizabeth.

  “Noah, are you … ?”

  Her voice trailed off as she saw their visitors.

  They turned as one and looked at her. Noah heard a muffled sound from the woman behind him. He looked from his wife to this Jane Rhodes, this stranger and yet, this known woman. Time seemed to slow and they all stood frozen, staring between the two women who were so alike it was startling. He watched as Jane slowly walked toward Elizabeth, her elegant skirt skimming the grass, and stopped in front of her, their skirts just inches away.

  The midafternoon sun shone ruthlessly down on them as they looked at each other, illuminating, not even a thread of a shadow dimming the brightness of the scene. It was truth, finally come to light.

  Then they heard Jane’s voice, choked but soft, as she finally spoke.

  “Elizabeth … it is you.” One of her hands reached up to cover her mouth for a moment as she stood, rooted and entranced. Then she reached out, tentatively afraid but sure, to touch Elizabeth’s shoulder. “I have seen your face again,” she breathed. “I have finally found you.”

  * * *

  Elizabeth stood in the woman’s rapt presence, this woman whose likeness was frightening, and fought the battle of self-possession. Something within her wanted to crumble—cave in to the knowledge that she had a mother, give in to the feelings that pounded against the walls of her heart. But another part of her held to the mortar, knowing that happy endings only occurred in fairy tales. She had never believed in those.

  The woman stepped closer, learning her face like God knew Adam’s when He molded it from the dust, the fierce love in it refusing to let Elizabeth look away, reject it as something unreal. And as she looked back she realized it was like looking into a mirror of the future. Where her skin was young and plumb, this women’s had thinned, her face more chiseled though still lovely. They had the same coloring, the same cheekbones, the same lips, the same eyebrows, and the same eyes. Those deep brown eyes that almost melded with the black pupils. Eyes so dark they were easy to make unreadable, but these eyes were anything but that—these mother eyes were filled with the culmination of a woman who had waited for this moment her whole life. There was no lie Elizabeth could tell herself to explain it. There was only stark truth: love.