Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Dianne shivered in the brisk mountain air as she and Eddie hurried toward the small building.
She let Eddie go first. While she waited for him, she tipped her face to the star-filled sky.
One night, when Mama had taken Dianne outside to gaze heavenward, she’d said, “When I see a sky like this, I am in awe of God’s greatness. So many stars in such a vast sky.”
She couldn’t recall Mama’s exact words as she’d talked about God’s power and love, but she’d never forget how blessed and safe she’d felt. Dianne’s heart settled into a steady beat for the first time since she discovered her son missing.
Even now, Lord, I know You haven’t left me on my own. Though, she couldn’t deny the tremor accompanying that thought.
Eddie stepped out and waited for her to help him with the buttons on his trousers.
The task finished, she caught his chin and tipped his face to look into his eyes. “You stay right here and don’t move.”
“Yes, Mama.”
“Not one step, you hear?”
“’Course, I hears.”
“Good. Don’t forget.” She’d given the same instructions back at the way station. And he’d forgotten. However, she had little option but to leave him for as long as it took to take care of her needs.
When she emerged, Eddie stood where she’d left him. “Good boy. You obeyed Mama.” Again, the sky called to her. She squatted to his level. “Son, look at all the stars.”
“Lots of ’em.”
“Yes, there are.” How could she give him the same sense of protection her mother’s words had given her? “Who put the stars up there?”
“God did.”
“That’s right. And who holds them in place and tells each one where to be?”
“God, right?”
“Yes. Eddie, God made you, too, and holds you in His hand. Just like He does the stars. We can always trust His love.”
“I likes that.” He wrapped his arms around her neck. “God made you too?”
She nodded.
“Guess that’s how God takes care of me.”
Her throat swelled with a thousand emotions. Yes, she was one way God provided for Eddie’s care. She was all her son had left apart from God Himself. Resolve strengthened her limbs. To the best of her ability, she would protect this child and provide him with the home he needed.
Golden light flickered in the small window of the cabin where she’d left the ax, so she might have failed in protecting him.
And unless she could persuade Jace to take her to the ranch and assume his responsibilities, she might also fail at providing Eddie with a home. Though Jace seemed set on marrying her off to a lonesome miner. She huffed as if that was an answer. Maybe to his way of thinking but not to hers.
Behind the outhouse, bushes rustled, and branches snapped. Something snorted.
Why did she linger in the dark with wild animals surrounding her?
Grabbing Eddie’s hand, she raced for the door, threw it open, and crashed inside. Breathless, she slammed the slab of wood behind her.
Jace watched her, his eyebrows skidding toward his hairline. “Someone chasing you?”
“Something was in the trees. Something big that snorts and breaks branches.” She didn’t want Eddie to hear her fear, but she couldn’t keep it from her voice any more than she could release his hand.
“Probably a moose.” How did Jace sound so calm?
“Remind me not to go outside again until morning. When I can see.” Inch by inch, she uncoiled her fingers from Eddie and released him to go to the fire.
Neither Jace’s expression nor his stance changed. “Will you be any less frightened when you do? They’re massive animals.”
“Won’t it retreat once light comes? Out of sight.” She hung the jacket on a hook and picked up the blanket Eddie dropped to the floor.
“Why would it?”
“To be safe. Doesn’t all wildlife retreat in the daytime?” Having seen deer and coyotes on her journey, she knew it not to be true of all animals.
A grin lifted his lips. “Those critters are big enough to be safe day or night.”
Her swallow echoed in the stillness. The snap of a log startled her and drew her attention to Eddie. His head bobbed to his chest and back up. The boy was falling asleep.
“Come on, son.” She moved to the chair and pulled him to her lap, draping the blanket over him. “You go to sleep.”
“You’re welcome to use the bed.” Jace indicated the cot in the corner. “I won’t be needing it.”
“You’re going to stay awake all night?” Her voice rose to sharpness. Was he waiting for her defenses to be down to—? She left the thought unfinished.
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
She was not going to let his slow, lazy drawl relax her. “Then you take the bed.” If he slept, she’d feel safe. Safer still if he snored.
He snorted. “I’ve been raised better’n that.”
“Suit yourself.” She had no intention of using the bed though Eddie might sleep better if he could lie down. She put him on the mattress and tucked a blanket around him.
He hadn’t even woken. She left him and returned to the chair. She should probably let Jace have the only comfortable place to sit, but guessing he’d refuse, she settled back and spread another blanket over her. Not that she meant to be too cozy.
Jace put another log on the fire, drew a kitchen chair close, and sat with his feet propped up on a log.
Her eyes drifted shut. She forced them open. She must not fall asleep. Talk. Talking would help. “How long have you known Chet?”
“Since I was seventeen.” Jace didn’t seem inclined to say more.
“You said he took you in. What did you mean by that?”
The log creaked as Jace adjusted it with his booted feet. He crossed his arms and stared into the flames.
Just when she decided he wasn’t going to answer, he spoke.
“We were headed west. Ma, Pa, and my two sisters—Mary, who was six, and Sarah, who’d just turned eight.
” His voice deepened to a throaty growl.
“We—mostly Pa and I—had the dream of finding the best place for a small ranch. It would be close to the mountains. We’d build a big house, and everything would be great.
” A sigh rumbled his lips before he continued.
“I remember how we clapped each other on the back when the mountains were clearly visible with their jagged peaks poking into the sky. Pa grabbed Ma and swung her around. I took Mary’s and Sarah’s hands, and we danced in a circle. ”
Although curious to hear what happened to his family, she didn’t prod him to continue when his words grew fractured. The man was dealing with his emotions.
His boots thudded to the floor, and he leaned over his knees, the chair squeaking a protest. “Our dream was not to be.”
“I’m sorry.”
He gave no acknowledgment that he had heard.
“A few days after our happy celebration, the girls grew fevered and weak. We traveled on, wanting to find our dream place. Then Ma got sick too, and Pa said we must stop and take care of them. Let them rest.” With a weary sigh, Jace sat back in the chair and again lifted his feet to the log.
“We made the best camp we could. I brought fresh water. Pa bathed Ma in an attempt to lower her fever, and I bathed the little girls.”
Jace jerked his face toward Dianne, blue eyes catching shards of the flickering flames. “Nothing we did helped.”
She couldn’t look away from his desperate, pain-filled gaze.
“Mary died first. A few hours later, Sarah passed. Pa and I wrapped them in quilts Ma had made and buried them by the trail.” His gaze slid to the fire, and Dianne sucked in air.
The logs crackled and sparked. The air filled with the scent of burning wood and something more.
She hadn’t realized it before, although she detected the smell moments ago.
It was the heavy, damp odor of sorrow emanating from Jace.
She longed for a way to ease his pain or, at least, assure him she was sorry for what he endured, but he continued.
“Ma wasn’t getting any better. I didn’t need Pa to tell me that.
He said only prayer could help her.” A soft snort escaped him.
“Turns out that didn’t do a smidgen of good.
” Jace shot her a look. Something dark and dangerous flashed through his eyes.
“Now, don’t go judging me for voicing some resentment about that. ”
She didn’t move or allow her expression to change. “I wasn’t going to.” Mostly because she, too, had struggled with disappointment and doubts when she faced the death of her loved ones.
“Yeah. Well, Ma died, and we buried her beside the girls.”
The quiver in his voice revealed an emotion Dianne completely understood.
“I thought we would move on. Go start that ranch as we planned. But Pa said he was too tired to continue. Then he succumbed to the fever.” Jace’s fist curled and uncurled, his knuckles popping from the pressure he exerted.
“Four days later, he passed.” Air whooshed from Jace, deflating him, his shoulders sinking forward.
He hadn’t answered her question about Chet.
He was lost in his past, and she didn’t want to call him back.
She adjusted her position and snuggled into the warmth of the blanket.
Her eyes drifted closed, and she forced them open.
Talk was necessary to keep her awake. “Was that when you met Chet?”
Jace jerked back in his chair. “Chet found me there. Helped me bury Pa. Helped me hitch the horses to the wagon and drove it to his ranch. I don’t remember anything but sitting on the bench with my elbows on my knees.
” He sat up and drew in a gusty breath. “That was six years ago.” The timbre of his voice softened, developed a cautious note of contentment.
“My father said Chet was a good man.” Wanting to offer him a degree of comfort, Dianne kept her voice soft. “He always admired him. I remember his hearty laugh, his mass of wild black hair, and his big chest.” He more than half alarmed her, but she soon learned he was kind and gentle.
Jace’s countenance darkened. No doubt missing the man who had become his family.