Chapter Nine
Nate spent most of the day out of the house, concentrating on his job.
There wasn’t much to do; most people chose to keep indoors with the snow outside.
Even the drifters who had been bothering the ranchers had taken shelter and hid away, making the day quiet.
Perhaps it was the sudden bite of cold in the air, sharper than usual.
That usually meant a storm was coming, and nobody wanted to get caught in one.
Nate didn’t want to be, either. But he had to remain out, just in case trouble stirred despite the weather.
He often wondered if he could persuade the town council to appoint a deputy or another marshal, if only so the work did not rest entirely on his shoulders.
But each time he raised the matter, he was told Mercy Creek had managed well enough with one lawman.
Nate suspected the truth was simpler than that: no one else wanted the position.
There was little pay, less gratitude, and plenty of trouble waiting in the cold.
That didn’t stop him from doing it. At least it gave him a sense of satisfaction.
But he couldn’t stay out all the time. He had to head home at some point, even if Rachel was still there. Nate wasn’t about to be uncomfortable in his own house, but he didn’t think he would ever get used to having a wife.
Would Rachel have made anything for supper?
Would she even still be there? He had no idea.
He’d just escaped from the house very quickly, pausing only long enough to eat the delicious bread she had baked.
Maybe she’d been baking again. He found himself hoping she had; he loved that smell.
It would make the house feel warmer than it had any right to.
His stomach growled as he entered the house, stamping the snow off his boots on the mat.
Then he saw the dining table at the other end of the room.
It was set up, three places around it with the lights dimmed and candles lit.
Rachel was placing a basket of bread on the table.
She was dressed more smartly, her hair pinned up to show the smooth curve of her neck.
Nate stood and watched her, admiring her grace and composure.
Why was he even noticing her that way? That needed to end before it led him somewhere he had no business going.
“Nate!” Isabelle entered the room, carrying two plates of food. She beamed at him. “Welcome home! Rachel and I have made dinner.”
“For the three of us, I take it,” Nate remarked, pointedly looking at the three plates. “Where are Jack and the children?”
“They’re eating at his parents’ house. I thought I’d help out here as much as I could, to help get Rachel settled in.
” Isabelle placed the plates on the table and headed back to the kitchen.
“I know newlyweds like to be alone, but it would be good to have a mediator. I know what you’re like with starting a conversation. ”
Nate could see what they were trying to do. They were going to draw him out and get him to talk about things he didn’t want to discuss. From the way Rachel was blushing, she could see where this was going. He wasn’t about to let this happen. Isabelle had embarrassed him enough.
“I’m going to eat upstairs,” he said, plucking one of the plates off the table with the cutlery. “You two can have a nice dinner alone.”
“Wait a minute!” Isabelle hurried back in. “What do you…?”
“I’m not going to have my childhood and everything wrong with me being a conversation over food.” Nate fixed a hard stare at his sister. “I presume you’ve been talking about me, right?”
Her silence told him enough. So did the way Rachel could not meet his eyes. Shaking his head, Nate turned and headed up the stairs. He knew it was rude to leave without another word, but he needed to be alone before he said something worse.
His childhood was not something he cared to talk about.
Most of Mercy Creek already knew enough, which somehow made the silence around it feel worse.
People had tried to help in small ways, but helping a child like him had never been simple when his father refused pity as fiercely as he dealt out blame.
The man had cared more about hiding his shame than stopping the harm he caused.
In the end, he had failed twice over: first by losing himself to grief, and then by punishing his son for a death Nate could never have prevented.
Nate still carried the scars, in more ways than one.
He managed to eat his dinner, made beautifully and had his sister’s touch, and then lay down, trying to read the newspaper.
It wasn’t easy, though, as his thoughts kept wandering to Rachel.
He wondered what she was going to be like, and how she was going to cope.
Nate didn’t feel as if he was coping. It was going to be awkward living in the same house as a wife he didn’t want.
He would figure out how to deal with it another time.
Right now, it was quiet, and he just wanted to have time to himself.
Although he would rather have it in the sitting room than his bedroom.
But because of Rachel, he found himself isolated upstairs, even with a blazing fire keeping him warm near the bed.
The newspaper wasn’t keeping his attention.
After reading the same sentence three times, Nate finally gave up and let his eyes close.
When he opened them again, the newspaper had slipped onto the bed beside him, and the fire was almost out.
There was a bit of light coming through the curtains, his candle having burned out long ago.
A distinct chill hung in the room, enough to make him regret not going downstairs to build up the fire before he fell asleep.
Had he slept the whole night?
Rolling out of bed, knocking the newspaper onto the floor, Nate went over to the window and opened the curtains. It was just past dawn, and there was more snow than the day before. A flurry must’ve come during the night.
He could see the clouds in the distance, just beyond the mountain peaks. The storm was coming in, and coming in fast. He was going to need to secure the house.
Changing clothes and splashing water on his face, Nate hurried downstairs, half-expecting Rachel to be clattering away in the kitchen. He didn’t think she would want to be around him after the way he snapped. He would have to apologize for that.
However, she wasn’t in the kitchen when he glanced in. The room was untidy enough to tell him she had been there recently. When he checked the coat rack, he saw the coat Isabelle had given Rachel to replace her old one was gone.
Where on earth was she? For one sharp moment, he wondered if she had decided to leave. No, that couldn’t be right. She had nowhere to go, and despite everything, Rachel did not strike him as the sort of woman who would abandon bread halfway through rising.
Even so, Nate couldn’t stop the panic from building. Wherever Rachel had gone, he had to find her before the storm got worse. If she truly meant to leave and had chosen today of all days to do it, she would be stranded before she made it a mile.
But didn’t she say she had no money for a return ticket? Surely, she wasn’t desperate enough to try walking back to Dry Creek in this weather. The thought landed hard enough to send him toward the door.
He didn’t believe she would do something that drastic. Even so…
Grabbing his coat and shoving his Stetson and gloves on, Nate hurried out of the house, only to slip on the porch and land flat on his face.
The shock knocked the wind out of him, as he slid down the steps onto the ground.
He lay on his back staring at the gray sky.
He really needed to watch where he was going.
A worried thought came into his head. Rachel didn’t know the town as well as he did. If he could fall over and had lived there all his life, what might happen to Rachel?
Pushing himself up slowly, trying not to scramble and risk falling over again, Nate made his way to the stagecoach station. Clarence was already there, stoking up the fire while nursing a cup of coffee. He looked up as Nate entered.
“Morning, Nate.” He stood up, raising his mug in greeting. “Looks like we’re going to be hiding away inside for a while.”
“You’re not heading out today, Clarence?”
The young man snorted and shook his head.
“Not a chance. I know when it’s not a good idea. Even I don’t have a death wish to make sure I get paid.”
Nate grunted in agreement. Clarence was young, but he’d been working the stagecoach for years, taking over the business from his father only a year ago.
He knew when it was a good time to travel and when to stay off the roads.
Most of the time, the townspeople would know whether it was good or bad if Clarence didn’t leave the office.
He looked around at the empty office.
“Rachel isn’t here, is she?”
“Your wife, Rachel?” Clarence looked amused. “That sounds strange saying that about you.”
Nate ignored the comment.
“Has she been here?”
“No, she hasn’t. Even if I could take her home for free, I wouldn’t be going in this weather. I would’ve told her so.”
“You’d do a trip for free?”
The stagecoach driver shrugged.
“She’s a nice lady. I liked her. And I understand her situation after overhearing what happened.”
That made Nate want to squirm. It felt like a barbed remark.
“Well, if you see her, just let her know I was looking for her. She wasn’t in the house when I woke up, and with the storm…”
“I’ll make sure she heads home as soon as possible,” Clarence promised. “Don’t worry about that.”
Nate hurried out, standing on the sidewalk and looking up and down the street.
Where could Rachel have gone? There wouldn’t be many places open at this time of day.
She mentioned her love of reading, but the library would be closed.
The restaurant across the street was open, but he could see through the window that Rachel wasn’t in there. Certainly not when she couldn’t pay.
Maybe the general store? It was always open at six in the morning, no matter what. Nate set off in that direction. If Rachel wasn’t there, he’d go to Isabelle and see if Rachel had decided to visit. They seemed to get on the day before, so perhaps she was with his sister.
The snow rose past the edge of his boots as he waded down the street. Perhaps she’d gone to get more things for baking? Although how was she supposed to pay with no money?
He was almost at the store when he saw her.
She was coming out, carrying a bundle of wood.
She was almost buckling under the weight, but she kept going, adjusting her hold as she stepped gingerly out onto the sidewalk.
She could barely look over the top of the wood pile, making her way down the street.
Relief flooded through Nate, and then he felt the worry and anger clash together. She had gone out without telling him, and he had not known where she was or what danger she might have walked into. She’d scared him half out of his wits, all for firewood?
He hurried after her.
“Rachel!”