“God is my salvation,” she said. Her shaking hand took out one match stick. “I will trust and I will not be afraid.” She placed the head against the box and struck.
Immediately, the head burst into a tiny flame, but she felt the heat – almost as if it had climbed up the length of her entire hand. A strangled cry escaped her lips before she dropped the stick on the ground, where the flame went out.
She pressed her back against the wall and took in deep breaths. “You can do this, you can do this. You’re not a coward, Sarah.” She closed her eyes and saw her father’s face, sweaty and hot. He had just pulled her from the fire, but his entire body had been burnt.
“No,” she murmured, “No, no…” Tears ran down her cheeks, but she held the sound creeping up her throat. “Don’t give up. Don’t give in.”
Sarah wiped her tears and took out another match stick. She gritted her teeth and placed the stick against the box. “One,” her hands shook even more than before. “Two –“
“Sarah! Sarah!”
A woman’s yell startled her, and she dropped the box and stick. She picked them up and placed them on the table.
Someone knocked on the door so loud, it was a wonder the door hadn’t flown of its hinges.
“What is it?” she called back and walked up to the door.
“Sarah, the mines.” She finally recognized the voice as Hannah’s.
The door opened and a gust of wind and light snow burst in together with Sarah’s visitor. The young woman’s hair usually tied into a neat bun, was all over the place.
“What happened?” Sarah’s heart quickened as she grabbed a shawl.
“There’s been a cave in.” Hannah tried to catch her breath. She must have been running all the way up the hill. “Some of the miners are still in the down there – trapped.”
Lord, no. Sarah’s hands grew cold. She grabbed Hannah’s arm. “Lead the way. I need to see my husband.”
* * *
Sarah shuddered at the nightmare around her. Cots and tables that bore darkened and bloodied bodies stood by the houses nearest the mine. Women moved around, carrying basins of steaming hot water, tending to the moaning wounded. Men shouted commands, news and warnings, as they worked working to get the remaining miners out of the shaft. All this amidst the falling snow, heavier by the minute.
Hannah spotted her husband applying a tourniquet to an unconscious man and left Sarah behind. But Sarah barely noticed – she desperately tried to locate Hank in the chaos and commotion.
“Hank?” she called out, going from table to table, and cot to cot. The soot covered faces looked all the same from afar. But Hank was nowhere to be found. On one hand Sarah was glad, but with every unfamiliar face, her worry grew. Where was he?
“Sarah, thank the Lord!” Mrs. Edwards gripped her arm. “You’ve had medical training, right? Help me treat the wounded.”
“Mrs. Edwards? Where’s Doc?”
“Out of town. C’mon, we can’t waste any time.”
She led Sarah to a man groaning and clutching his right hand. He sat on a cot right by the wall of one of the houses.
“Have you seen Hank?” Sarah asked the midwife as she peeled a bloodied bandage.
Mrs. Edwards shook her head, but the man answered, “Hank? He’s not out?”
“No.” A cold fist clenched around Sarah’s heart. “Do you know anything? Please.”
“He saved my life.” The man groaned again. “He was last, he must be still inside.”
“Hush now, Duncan,” Mrs. Edwards said. “Let’s see that wound.”
She placed a lantern before them, and told Sarah to clean and dress the gashes.
Just after placing dressing Duncan’s wound, someone called Sarah to see to another man. She couldn’t say no, but her heart cried out for Hank. She didn’t even know when I like this man turned into I love him and can’t live without him. She prayed quietly under her breath as she tended to other miners. He had to be safe. He had to be alive. Maybe unconscious, but alive. The alternative was… too unbearable to imagine.
“Make way! Make way!” Two men ran up the porch and placed an injured man on a table.
“C’mon, young fella, wake up,” one of the men who carried him said, slapping his face. “It’s Elias here. Wake up.”
Elias. Elias Briggs. Sarah gasped and fled to the man. Hank mentioned him many times. “Elias? Is that Hank?”
The older man looked up. “Sarah! Yeah, it’s – it’s Hank.”
“Oh my Lord…” Sarah’s mouth went dry and she placed her hands against Hank’s cheeks. Her eyes roamed over his body and settled on his right leg. “His leg! What -?”
Elias shook his head. “He was holdin’ on to the cage, when he fell. Must’ve fallen down on the iron rails.”
Sarah touched the iron rail that protruded from her husband’s right leg. If they didn’t get this out quickly, his wound could fester and he’d die within days. Yet, if they pulled it out, he could bleed out on the table. And Doc wasn’t even here.
There was a gasp behind her. Mrs. Edwards rushed to them and checked the iron rail sticking out of Hank’s leg. “Oh no, oh no…”
“Do we have supplies?” Sarah asked.
Mrs. Edwards looked up at her with watery eyes. “Very few. We’re running out of bandages and we can’t keep the water hot in this weather!”
Hank moved his head. He was coming to. Mrs. Edwards grabbed Sarah’s arm. “Oh, poor boy…”
Sarah looked around at Mrs. Edwards, at Elias Briggs, and at the men and women running around treating the wounded. But none had dealt with this sort of injury. None but Sarah.
She turned to the midwife. “Mrs. Edwards, I need a few things to treat Hank’s wound.”
The old woman nodded.
“I’ll need clean cloth and clean water, hot or not. I just need to get rid of the dirt. And a knife.”
Mrs. Edwards raised her brows, but shuffled to do as she was told.
Sarah then looked at Elias. “Mr. Briggs, I need you to get me some liquor.”
“What!” His wide opened eyes stared right at Sarah.
“It’s not for me!” Sarah said, leveling him with a stare. “Hank will need it.”
Elias nodded and ran off.
“Sarah?”
Hank’s eyes had opened, and his hand reached out to her face. She gripped his hand.
“Shh, it’s all right Hank. I’m here,” she said.
Hank clenched his eyes and tried to sit up, but Sarah stopped him. “No, no, you have to lay back.”
“Wha -? Why?” He looked down and saw his leg. “No…”
“It’ll be all right,” Sarah muttered.
Mrs. Edwards appeared with the water, cloth, and a small knife and Sarah got to work. She tore away Hank’s trousers with the knife and cleaned the area with the cloth and water. Elias appeared with a bottle of whiskey just in time. Sarah nodded.
“All right. Mr. Briggs, I’m gonna need your help getting this out of his leg.”
Elias nodded and stood beside Sarah. He glanced at Hank, who nodded at him, mouth in a thin line, and jaws clenched shut. “Ready, buddy?”
Sarah gripped Hank’s hand. He squeezed back, just as Elias and Sarah pulled out the iron rail from his leg. Hank let out a strangled scream. He clenched his eyes shut, and his hands flew to the edge of the table.
Sarah cleaned the wound again this time with the water and liquor. Still, it was bleeding fast. She licked her lips, and in a minute they were cold. She turned to Elias. “I need you to bring me a candle.”
Elias gripped a lantern, but Sarah shook her head. “No, a candle. I need an open flame.”
“Sarah,” Hank croaked. He was sweating buckets, his face pale. “You don’t have to – you’re –“
Sarah almost teared up. Even in the face of death, he was thinking about her. But she needed to stay strong now more than ever.
“But the wind’ll blow it off! If we get inside -” Elias started.
; “We can’t move him,” Sarah insisted. “It’ll aggravate the wound. There’s no time. Please, I need the candle, if Hank is to survive…”
Elias nodded stiffly and went inside the house to look for a candle. Sarah looked down at Hank, then at the gaping wound in his leg. He was losing a lot of blood.
She couldn’t lose him, like she had lost her father. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else, especially the man she loved.
“Hank.” Her voice shook with fear and resolve. “I need you to trust me.”
Hank gave her a weak grin. “Of course.”
Sarah bathed the knife in clean water. Then, Elias came back out, hiding a lighted candle behind his hand. “Here. Hurry, before the wind blows it.”
Sarah took a deep breath. She bit her lips and approached the fire, but this time she didn’t see flames licking her hand, or her house burning. All she saw was Hank in pain. Her husband needed her.
Her hand quivered like a leaf, but she clenched it around the knife and ran the blade over the flame. “For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope.” She looked back at her husband. “Stay with me, Hank.”
She panicked for a moment when his eyes shut and she could barely hear his shallow breaths. Sarah pulled his hand, and he whispered, “For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
She paused, and muttered, “But if we hope for what we see not…”
Hank continued, “Then do we with patience!” Hank let out a scream as Sarah pressed the blade against his gaping wound.
“Hold him,” Sarah shouted.
Mrs. Edwards threw her weight on Hank’s legs, and Elias held his arms steady. Hank gritted his teeth against the pain, and Sarah felt it with him. His skin sizzled, and the smell of burning flesh prevailed in the air for a while. Sarah almost gagged, the memories of her father threatening to surface anew.
Instead she focused on the prayer and the man alive, in need of her help and steady hand, not the one already with the Lord. She retrieved the knife and placed her hand over Hank’s.
He opened his eyes and gave her a small smile. “Thanks.”
Sarah bent down to kiss his forehead. She was about to straighten herself, when Hank pulled her back and kissed her on the mouth.
She would’ve gladly stayed there, were it not for Mrs. Edwards calling her name. Some things had to wait.
Chapter 10
Her arms were still sore, but Sarah had hopped out of bed quicker than a jack rabbit. Her mind was still reeling from the events of the previous night. She went straight to Hank’s room to check up on him.
She found him still sound asleep so she went to the kitchen and picked up the matchbox.
Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes, took out a stick, and struck the match. The flame was bright. Her hand shook, but she steeled herself. Last night, she overcame her fear to save Hank. She did it once, she could do it again.
The flame ran down the short stick and Sarah shook it and chucked it down a bin. She placed a hand on her chest and smiled. She was about to pull out a second match when someone knocked on the front door.
“Yes?” Sarah crossed the living room and opened the door.
“Good day!” It was Cole Beckett, who carried a fruit basket.
Sarah threw the door wide open. “Cole! Mercy! Claire… Mrs. Edwards? And Mrs.…”
“Mrs. Jenkins.” The older woman’s face softened and she gave Sarah a quick hug. “You saved my nephew’s life. I heard that Duncan had said some unsavory things to Hank down at the mines, but Hank still saved his life – and you saved his life as well and –“
Claire cleared her throat, and the older woman blushed.
“I just – thank you, Sarah.”
Before Sarah could even stammer a response, Claire placed a basket of bread in her arms. “A lot of people pitched in as a thank you for your help. You saved a lot of lives.”
“Thank you.” Sarah felt hear eyes tear up.
“Anyway,” Cole said, placing the basket of fruits on the dining table, “Elias Briggs said that the mine’ll be closed for a while. There might be a new one, but not until next year.”
“That’s plumb a-awful.” Hank appeared with the crutch Elias had created for him last night.
“Lookin’ good there, ol’ chum” Cole said. He thumped Hank on the back. “How’re you feelin’?”
“Been better.” He grinned and plunked himself down on a chair and looked at the baskets on the table. “Who’s g-getting married?”
“Henry Briggs hopefully,” Mercy said.
“Who’s Henry Briggs?” Sarah asked.
Hank chuckled and grinned at Cole, who said, “Elias’ younger brother. His exact opposite, too. He visited Elias here a few times.”
“And now Elias is telling him to settle down here in Angel Creek and find himself a wife!” Mrs. Jenkins said, fanning herself. “I wonder if my young lass would get along well with him…”
“I think she’s got her eye on someone else…” Cole said. Mrs. Jenkins opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything more.
Then, Mrs. Edwards clapped her hands. “Oh, I nearly forgot! I have wonderful news for you.”
Claire gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh, I know what this is! Sarah’s pregnant!” She whirled towards Hank. “Congratulations!”
Cole and Mercy looked at each other, a grin on their faces.
“W-what?” Hank sputtered. “We – I –“
“No, that’s not it.” Mrs. Edwards shook her head.
Claire frowned.
“My husband and I will be starting a school for anyone interested in getting medical training.”
“I – I can join?” Sarah smiled and looked at Hank, who nodded and smiled back.
“Join?” Mrs. Edwards laughed. “Lassie, you’ll be one of the instructors!”
She could’ve sworn Mrs. Edwards said she would be one of the instructors, but… “You mean…”
Mrs. Edwards nodded. “We’ll be working with someone from the Women’s Medical College in New York. We can encourage many women here in the West to become medical assistants! Or even physicians! Lord knows we need the extra hands.”
Mrs. Jenkins giggled. “That’s a bit radical, don’t you think?”
Hank touched Sarah’s hand. “I – I think that’d be great. You were very – very b-brave.”
“Yes, she was!” Claire exclaimed, brandishing a wooden spatula in the air she already managed to snatch from the kitchen. “And Hank saved many of the miners! So, I say we whip up a breakfast for these heroes.”
“I agree,” Mercy said. “I’ve come up with another great cookie recipe just this morning.”
The two disappeared in the kitchen.
“Well, I better go,” Mrs. Edwards said. “I need to deliver some tinctures.”
“And I need to see to my household,” chimed in Mrs. Jenkins. “Thank you again.”
“No problem, Mrs. Jenkins,” Hank called out. “And th-thanks for stopping by, Mrs. Edwards.”
“Quite an exciting morning, eh?” Cole pocketed his hands and grinned at the couple.
“No kidding.” Hank grinned at Sarah.
“Maybe I should check up on them,” Sarah muttered, turning a gaze towards the kitchen.
“No, no,” Cole said. “I’ll make sure nothing happens. You two just stay right here.” He turned tail and went to the kitchen.
Hank gripped Sarah’s hand. She looked down at his bright face.
“Th-thank you,” he said.
Sarah blushed. “No need to thank me. You were in danger, and I was – I couldn’t lose you.”
Hank placed Sarah’s hand on his cheek. “Neither could I.”
Their eyes met. Sarah bent down, and Hank surged forward. Their lips met and a wave of heat rolled down to Sarah’s chest and stomach. Now this was fire she welcomed.
They broke apart and Hank grinned. “Now that – that was long overdue.”
And they kissed again.
Thank You!
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed following Sarah’s story. I would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to leave a review for the book (on Amazon, GoodReads, or even your own blog and social media). God bless You for helping spread these positive love stories!
And if you’d like to read more about Angel Creek and other Mail Order Brides please check out the other books in the series. :)
Contact
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Twitter: @AuthorCWard
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Further Reading
Enjoyed this book? :) You should also try the stories below.
Love for Christmas
Christmas Angel (Prequel) – http://amzn.to/1Qc7agK
Julia's meant for greater things, at least according to her mother, but what good is her precious voice, if she has no say who her heart can sing for.
Widows of Virginia Series
Maude’s Trials – http://amzn.to/1JjMIZ0
Meet Maude, a widow desperate to provide for her children. But the last thing this mail order bride expected when she arrived West, was for her future husband to already be engaged to another.
Love by Mail series
Love by Mail Boxset Bundle – http://amzn.to/1OtBKSO
Get all five Angel Creek stories in one handy bundle (you get a saving over buying the individual stories one by one too!). Included are books 1-5: Undertaker, Miner, Fur Trader, Sheriff & Thanksgiving
~ or get the individual stories ~
A Mail Order Bride for the Undertaker – http://amzn.to/1R2b0t7
Meet Mercy, an orphan desperate to help those who had raised her and maybe, just maybe, find true love while she supports those in need. But is Cole, a strangely jolly undertaker in a town full of unwelcoming strangers, really what the Lord had in store for her?
A Mail Order Bride for the Miner: Sarah & Hank (Love by Mail 2) Page 5