Chapter 3 #3
“Yes, I should imagine it was terrifying waking up draped over a horse’s back,” he agreed. “You handled it better than most women—or men, for that matter.”
She smiled a little at that praise. “How did I end up there in the first place?”
“Well, after that bandit lit the match and it went out, we couldn’t see much because of the light having ruined our dark vision.”
“So, we fought as best we could while waiting for our eyes to adjust,” Jeff said. “Lighting a match in a dark place is the oldest trick in the book. All that rat had to do was keep his eyes closed and he was fine.”
“They got the drop on us, is what we’re saying,” Hunter said, sounding exasperated. “Anyway, they must have grabbed you while you were unconscious and we were fighting some of their number off.”
“But once he saw that man ride off with you, there was no stopping Hunter here,” Jeff said, slapping Hunter on the shoulder. “He grabbed the reins and charged after you. I was just lucky I threw myself in the back of the cart as he came by, or he’d have left me behind.”
“I wouldn’t have,” Hunter protested. “I would have turned the cart around once I had Grace back.”
“Sure you would have,” Jeff ribbed him, smirking.
Hearing how Hunter had instantly reacted and come to her rescue made Grace feel a lot better.
For a while there she had felt like she was on her own, as though they expected her to just automatically cope with situations that she had never before experienced.
But that wasn’t the truth. They had done their best to keep her safe in a situation that couldn’t possibly be the norm for anyone.
Hunter had to be telling the truth. There were other women in the town, he’d said, and surely they wouldn’t tolerate living in constant danger. It wasn’t like Grace was a coward, for heaven’s sake! She just liked peace and quiet. Who didn’t?
Soon they were cresting the ridge, and Grace got her first look at the town.
The first part had a lot of tents and lean-tos dotting the ground.
To her right, on a slight incline, there was a large framework contraption with moving parts she could see rising and falling.
A large, squat building stood below that and belched out smoke in a constant flow as though it were a rather fiery dragon.
“It’s bigger than I anticipated,” Grace said, looking around. This side of the town didn’t appeal much to her. It was so industrial.
They drove past a large ring of rocks that showed signs of a fire having been made in the middle of them recently.
“Is this the communal campfire you all started with?” she asked. “And the tents are where you all lived until you built the proper houses?”
“Yes,” Hunter said. “We still have bonfires in the campfire ring, but most folks have moved to the other side.”
Soon they were rattling over the wooden bridge, and as they entered the town proper, Grace smiled broadly.
“It’s lovely,” she said, looking at the nicely painted stores and houses around her. They were sturdy and cheerful, a real sign of civilization after miles of empty prairie. Her unsettled stomach finally stopped churning for the first time in days.
Hunter sighed in obvious relief. “I’m so glad you like it,” he said. “We tried quite hard to make sure the town looks inviting to folks. Some mining towns don’t manage that.”
“Well, you certainly did,” she assured him with a smile, wondering where they’d be living.
“Our house is this way,” Hunter said as Jeff steered the cart through the streets. There were a few people out and about, but not many.
“Is everyone down in the mine?” Grace asked. “I thought there would be more people about.”
“A lot are,” Hunter said, looking around.
And then Grace spotted a group of people gathered outside a building above which hung a sign that said “Sheriff’s Office.”
“Something must have happened,” Jeff commented, surprising her.
“Why do you say that?” Grace asked. “Lots of folks were always standing outside our sheriff’s station in Coalsville.
” It had been the town’s main gathering place, sometimes to the ever-patient sheriff’s chagrin.
He kept trying to get people to move to a nearby coffee shop, but everyone in Coalsville was firmly set in their ways.
She suspected that, three generations from now, they’d still be gathering in the same place.
That was one reason she’d come west. She liked stability, but she also occasionally craved small—emphasis on very small—adventures.
Today certainly qualified! I’ve had my fill of adventure for life, thank you, Lord. No more needed!
“It’s not like that here,” Hunter said. “Let’s go to the house and get you settled, then we can come back and find out what’s happening.”
“Okay,” Grace said. She didn’t think it could be all that important.
After all, no one was making a fuss that she could see.
Most folks were standing there quite quietly, as though waiting their turn to discuss whatever private business they had with the sheriff. It all seemed perfectly normal to her.
And yet, Hunter and Jeff had both stiffened as though expecting something bad to happen.