He suddenly became aware of his labored breathing. He turned toward the cool hand on his cheek, then forced his eyes open. Deep blue eyes stared back at him from the prettiest face he’d ever seen.
“Say it again,” a young voice whispered from behind him.
“I believe you,” Kate said.
Calm enfolded him and he closed his eyes but braced himself. The nightmares would return. There was nothing he could do to stop them.
Chapter Seven
Kate watched as Nathan’s face relaxed into more peaceful sleep. Her gaze lifted to the children who stood at attention on the other side of the bed. Lawson and Sean had tried to help restrain Nathan’s wild thrashings but nothing had calmed him until she’d said those words. Sean watched Nathan soberly. “What do you think he didn’t do?”
“When people are delirious they say a lot of things that don’t make sense,” she said. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
They nodded as though they accepted that as fact. She wasn’t so sure. He’d mentioned something about a man named Eli and muttered something about blood before she’d had to call for reinforcements. He might have just been having a random nightmare. He also might have been reliving some event in his past—but she couldn’t tell the children that without scaring them.
Ellie leaned against Sean while tears of concern filled her eyes. “You should hold his hand. When I’m sick, I always feel better when you hold my hand.”
Kate reluctantly covered Nathan’s hand with hers to make Ellie feel better. To her surprise, his hand tightened around hers. She looked at him more closely but he still seemed to be sleeping so she left her hand in his. “It must be after ten o’clock. Ellie and Sean, you need to go to sleep so you can be ready for school in the morning. Sean, you can bunk with Ellie. Lawson—”
“I’d like to stay in here with you, ma’am. I can help keep watch.” He pulled a chair to the side of the bed and took his seat when she nodded her approval.
“I think he’s starting to get better,” Sean said as he guided Ellie toward the door.
Kate nodded. “He might be over the worst of it. You two try not to worry. Get some sleep.”
Nathan turned his face away from the warm sunlight and opened his eyes. Ellie sat in a chair beside the bed, toying with her hair as she read the book in her lap. A sound from the other side of the room caught his attention and he turned to see Sean showing Lawson how to carve small figures out of wood. Sean met Nathan’s gaze and his eyes widened. “Look. He’s awake.”
Nathan watched the three children crowd around the bed. “What happened?”
“You almost died,” Ellie whispered cautiously as though saying the words might somehow change his fate.
Lawson leaned closer. “I rode to town and brought Doc back. He took a long time cleaning your wound. He gave you medicine, too.”
“How long have I been lying here?” he asked groggily as he tried to sit up on his side.
Sean placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Since yesterday and Kate says you aren’t allowed to get up. She and Lawson stayed with you all night so she’s taking a nap right now. We’re supposed to tell her if you wake up.”
“I’ll do it.” Ellie set the book she’d been clinging to aside, then patted his cheek. “I know you’ll do the right thing.”
Nathan watched in confusion as she sent the boys a meaningful look then slipped out the door. “What’s she talking about?”
“We think you should write to your family,” Lawson said.
Nathan’s head started to pound. He was trying to figure out what his family had to do with this but he couldn’t. Unless… “You think I’m still going to die.”
Sean looked startled. “No, that’s not it at all.”
“Kate mentioned that she wouldn’t know how to notify your family if anything worse had happened,” Lawson said. “Sean and I decided that when you woke up he should tell you something.” He prodded Sean forward. “Go on.”
Sean gave a nod then pulled in a deep breath before he began. “I don’t talk about my parents much. I reckon you know they died in an accident when I was ten. One day they were here. The next day they were gone and there was nothing I could do to bring them back.” He swallowed then gestured to the bed. “You still have a chance to make things better with your family but you never know when something like this will happen to take that chance away.”
Sean ducked his head then lifted his gaze to Nathan’s. “That’s why I couldn’t hold my peace until you got better. You ought to send a letter to them. It’s important.” His gaze slid from Nathan’s to the doorway. “It’s so important I risked Kate’s wrath to say it.”
Nathan followed Sean’s gaze to where Kate stood in the doorway. She didn’t look angry. Instead her eyes glittered with unshed tears. She lowered her gaze for a moment, then met his to see how he would respond to Sean’s speech. He almost sighed but it turned into a cough. Ellie slid past Kate to hand him a cup of water. He thanked her with a smile, then pulled in a deep breath. “I guess if you can risk Kate’s wrath, I can risk my pa’s.”
“You should do it because you want to, not because you feel pressured,” Kate gently cautioned.
He shook his head. “No, they’re right. There’s no harm in trying again. Maybe this time will be different.”
He wanted to believe it would be different. He didn’t see how it could but glancing around at the children’s young hope-filled smiles he knew he had to try. He prayed this time that it would be enough.
An eerie howl pierced the night and Kate almost shivered at the sound of it. It was a week after Nathan agreed to send the letter to his parents. During that time he’d managed to gain back most of his strength and grow closer to the children. So much so that Sean had begged to spend the night roughing it in the cabin with Nathan and Lawson.
Another howl split the night. If they didn’t settle down soon she might just go out to the cabin and put a stop to their antics. You have ten minutes, boys. Make the most of it.
She pulled the bed covers closer to her chin and snuggled into the pillow as a satisfied smile curved her lips. She was sure one of those howls belonged to Sean. It was good to hear him having fun and acting like the child he still was. The same went for Lawson. He’d told her a bit about what he’d been through before he’d shown up on her doorstep. Survival had been his aim and having fun probably hadn’t been anywhere on his agenda.
She couldn’t speculate about Nathan. He hadn’t mentioned anything about the delusions he’d experienced during his fever. She’d be tempted to believe that the words he’d mumbled were meaningless if he hadn’t seemed so shaken after his sickness. Every once in a while she’d catch a haunted look in his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. Maybe it had been there all along and she just hadn’t been looking.
She sighed. Her original resolve to forget Nathan as soon as he left now seemed ridiculously naive. He’d only been at the farm for two weeks but he’d managed to become almost like family to her little brother and sister. It was obvious they were craving male attention. The same attention she’d tried so hard to avoid since her run-in with Andrew Stolvins.
Her fist clenched the edges of the pillowcase. That romance had ended in complete disaster, yet the whole time she’d been so sure she was following God’s will. Either she had been mistaken the entire time or God had led her down the wrong path on purpose. She wasn’t sure which it was but both options were frightening.
That was why she needed to be careful when it came to Nathan. She was attracted to him, she could admit that. She just couldn’t allow her feelings to go any further. She didn’t want to end up in the same mess she’d gotten out of with Andrew Stolvins.
Just then another howl sounded through the air. She pushed her troublesome thoughts from her mind. Maybe she couldn’t howl at the moon, but she didn’t want to lie in bed agonizing about the past when she should be sleeping. The mattress dipped on Ellie’s side and Kate heard footsteps
. She turned over to see Ellie walking quietly toward the stairs.
“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” she asked.
Her sister froze. The room was silent until another howl pierced the air. As if that released Ellie from her spell, the girl turned to face Kate. “It isn’t fair. They’re having all the fun.”
Kate stared at her sister. “What do you suppose we do? Go trooping through the weeds at nearly ten at night?”
“Yes.” Ellie’s eyes grew larger and more pleading.
“Ellie, you know we can’t do that. The cabin is too far away.”
Ellie hung her head. “I knew you’d say that.”
Kate felt guilt creep up and overtake her. Since her parents’ deaths she’d been so focused on surviving that she hadn’t really thought about fun. Was that why Ellie felt the need to create her own fun even at the expense of others like Mrs. Greene? She sat up, then slid to the side of the bed and met Ellie’s gaze. “How did you know I’d say that?”
“You’re really serious most of the time.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” Ellie said, then fiddled with the folds of her nightgown. “It’s just that since Nathan came, we all laugh more. You know, like we did when Ma and Pa were here.”
“I know,” Kate admitted.
Ellie lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I like that and I want to go howl but I’m supposed to mind you, so…”
Ellie stepped toward the bed but her gaze slid toward the stairs. Kate bit her lip for a moment, then glanced toward the moonlit window thoughtfully. “Oh, what would it hurt?”
Kate pushed the covers away and grabbed her sister’s hand.
“Where are we going?” Ellie asked.
“Just follow me.” After they made their way downstairs, Kate took a lantern and led Ellie outside. The two ran in the direction of the old cabin where Nathan, Sean and Lawson were, until Kate brought them to a panting stop about thirty yards away from the farmhouse.
Ellie was watching her suspiciously but Kate met her sister’s look with a daring one of her own. Throwing her head back, she let out a strange howling yodel that carried well on the still night air. In the dim light of the lantern Kate saw her sister’s mouth drop open then curve into a grin. Ellie let out a howl more convincing then Kate’s. The two waited a moment. A chorus of answering howls filled the air just as Kate expected.
Ellie giggled. Kate howled again. When was the last time she’d done something just to be silly? When was the last time she’d tossed her cares aside and howled at the moon? It had been a while, at least the tossing cares aside part; she’d never howled at the moon before.
Ellie let out a mournful yipping sound so loud Kate had to cover her ears. The answering call was so real it was almost eerie. Somehow she knew it came from Nathan. Kate gave an answering aroo and the same yowl sounded in cadence. She took a breath and they all howled in unison, each one with its strange man-made sound except for one that sounded almost real.
There was silence for a breath, then one voice lifted in a kind of growling sound. She and Ellie spun to face the same direction. They exchanged glances.
“Nathan, is that you?” Kate asked.
The bushes moved just beyond the lantern’s reach.
“Sean,” Ellie called. “This isn’t funny. Come out so I can see you.”
Three howls sounded from the direction of the old cabin one after another, rising to a different key as if harmonizing. Then that strange sound lifted from a different direction.
“Kate?” Ellie moved closer to press against her side. “Something is in there.”
Something definitely was. Kate swallowed. Placing an arm around Ellie, she lifted the lantern higher. “What was I thinking bringing you out here?”
“Oh, Kate, I had fun. I’m glad I laughed before I cross the river Jordan.”
“Cross the river—Ellie don’t talk like that. You aren’t crossing any river. I won’t let you. You’re staying right here, do you understand? I don’t want to think of losing you, too.”
Ellie glanced up at her. “This is very sweet and I’m glad you care, but could we focus on the problem here?”
“I wish I had a gun.”
“Howooool,” Ellie called in the air.
“Now who isn’t focusing on the problem?”
The animal let out its strange call again and Ellie looked up smugly. “Now we know where it is. It’s right in that bush over there.”
Kate stared at the bush that seemed to quiver from the inside out. “Let’s just walk back home slowly and calmly.”
“What if it attacks us?”
“Don’t you know you aren’t supposed to ask questions like that?”
“Don’t you know you’re supposed to question something when it might kill you?”
Kate looked at her in exasperation. “I’ll bash it with the lantern if it attacks us.”
“Let me bash it.”
“No. I’m stronger.”
“I’m smarter.”
“Ellie O’Brien, I’ve had more than enough sass from you for one night. Contain it. I’m trying to get us to safety.”
Ellie grumbled something Kate couldn’t quite understand. Ignoring her, Kate reasoned, “We have to pass it if we walk home. If we go to the cabin then we walk away from it but it’s a much longer walk. Then again, the closer we get to the cabin, the easier Nathan can hear us if we call for help.”
“What’s your decision?”
“Thataway.” Kate pointed toward the cabin. “Walk calmly. Do not run or it might chase you.”
“Wonderful thoughts.”
They walked calmly but lengthened their strides to cover more ground. Ellie kept looking behind them, so Kate figured she could watch ahead of them. Minutes later, Ellie asked, “You do know where you’re going, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I think it’s following us.”
“Why?”
“Just a feeling. Plus, when we’re quiet I can sometimes hear panting.”
She spotted the cabin and barely resisted the urge to run to its shelter. Kate banged on the door while watching furtively behind them. There was no response. She banged again. Suddenly the door flew open. She stared down the length of a rifle then up into Nathan’s eyes.
“It’s Kate,” Nathan announced as they moved past him into the cabin. Kate closed the door firmly behind her then glanced up. She found herself in a room with two boys who seemed not the least bit drowsy and one overgrown boy who looked very sleepy.
Ellie sat on Nathan’s vacated cot. “Something was following us. It was big and I heard it growl.”
Kate was leveled with Nathan’s questioning glance. She nodded. “Our howling must have attracted it. I came here because it seemed the safest route. I think it’s still out there.”
As if on cue, scratching sounded across the door followed by a whine. Sean and Lawson jumped from their cots. Ellie followed more sedately, then snuggled into Kate’s side. As Nathan moved toward the door Kate put a restraining hand on his arm. “You aren’t going to open it, are you?”
“How else will we know what’s out there?” He went to the door then paused. “Do you know how to handle a gun?”
“I’ll learn if I have to.”
He handed Lawson the rifle. “I’ll open the door enough to see what’s out there. Sean and Kate, I want you to be ready in case I need your help to close it.”
He put a hand on the door handle and braced himself, then pulled it open just a crack. He glanced at Kate with laughing eyes. A bad feeling settled in her stomach and she watched as he opened the door wider, then bent down. “Kate, here is your big scary monster.”
He straightened and turned to her with a grin. She was distracted momentarily when she suddenly noticed his mussed hair and the twinkle in his eye. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she glanced down to the rather large bundle of fur cradled in Nathan’s arms. It was anything but scary.
; A brown short-haired puppy with all the fine qualities of a mutt took in the new surroundings and people intensely. His ears were alert, his eyes watchful. He looked about ten months old.
“It’s a puppy!” Ellie squealed and carefully reached out to pet the dog causing its tail to rub happily against Nathan’s stomach. “Oh, Kate, let me keep him. Oh, please.”
“No.”
“But we gave you Nathan, and Sean got Lawson and I don’t have anybody.”
“She has a point,” Nathan commented.
Kate shook her head. “I’ll just end up taking care of him.”
Sean looked at her pleadingly. “He won’t be any trouble. We can feed him table scraps and take him for a swim when he gets dirty. I’ll help.”
“Me, too,” Lawson said.
“It might be someone else’s dog,” she reasoned.
“But if it isn’t,” Ellie pleaded.
Kate bit her lip. “I don’t know.”
“Please.” The three children said, one by one.
She looked to Nathan to weigh his opinion but was confronted with his own version of puppy dog eyes that melted more inside of her than she wanted to admit. Finally, she looked at the dog that appeared to be smiling at her as he panted. “Well…”
She glanced at Ellie. The girl looked so hopeful that Kate couldn’t disappoint her. “Oh, all right.”
She waited until the whoops died down before saying, “Y’all better take care of this dog or I’ll find someone else who will.”
Nathan’s chuckle reached her ear before he said, “There’s just one thing left to say.”
She refused to take the bait but Ellie eagerly asked, “What?”
He howled that eerie rendition causing the puppy to launch into his strange yowl. Ellie, Sean and then Lawson joined in to harmonize in some strange melody. Kate covered her ears then, glancing at Nathan, who grinned. She shook her head and laughingly let out a spontaneous howl.
It somehow felt good, not necessarily the howling because it hurt her throat a bit, but the freedom she felt to do it. As if, for a little while, she didn’t need to carry the responsibility by herself. As if she could just be herself, Kate O’Brien. Her eyes caught Nathan’s and her heart seemed to whisper—Rutledge.
Unlawfully Wedded Bride (Love Inspired Historical) Page 8