A Walk in Heaven (17 page)

As he neared the house, his mother stood on the porch gazing toward the east. She wrung her hands against her middle until she saw him. She broke into a run and flew down the porch steps. Joshua’s heart sank. Something was wrong.

“Josh, oh,
praise
the Lord, you’re here.”

“What is it, Ma?”

“It’s Careen. She went out riding an hour ago, and she hasn’t returned. I’m so worried about her. This was her first time riding by herself so far from the house, and she wasn’t wearing a very thick coat.”

Inwardly, he cursed. This was not good at all. “Grab me a lantern, and I’ll fetch more blankets from the stable.”

He hurried with his task and met his mother a few minutes later as she handed him the lantern. “Do the others know about this?” he asked.

“No. Pa and your brothers haven’t returned to the house yet.”

“I’m sure they will soon. Tell them where I’ve gone.”

“Josh, if the storm gets too bad and you can’t find your way back to the house, stay at the old cabin near the east side of the land.”

“Not to worry, Ma. I’m sure I’ll find her and we’ll be back soon.”

“God be with you,” she called after him as he rode away.

Gritting his teeth, he seethed thinking about Careen. That confounded woman. Why on earth would she ride so far from home – and in the storm? Didn’t she have a lick of sense? She wasn’t used to the snowstorms up here, and she’d freeze to death quickly.

He rode hard, and the storm worsened. He called Careen’s name several times. Along with the silence, his hopes dropped. God wouldn’t allow her to die. Not like this. Joshua said a silent prayer he’d locate her.
Alive.

He stopped and looked around. The snow swirling quickly around him made him fearful. Soon it would be a blizzard. How could he find her then?

“Careen?” Since he couldn’t see her, he’d have to let his ears find her. If only she would call out. But would he be able to hear her through the whistling wind and the snorts of his horse?

Joshua rode a bit further and stopped again. “Careen? Answer me!”
Oh, Lord,
he prayed,
please let her hear.

Just as he was ready to give up and ride further, he detected a noise. It sounded like…

“
Careen,
” he yelled, praying she’d call out to him again. Thankfully, he heard the weak cry once more. She was closer than he’d thought. He dismounted and crept toward her voice, holding his lantern high. The snow
fell
so thick and so fast it was harder for him to see, but her yellow coat shown like a beacon in the night. She sat underneath a tree with her knees pulled against her chest.

“Careen,” he shouted and ran to her.

She held out her arms and he picked her up and held her against his chest. Her body shook violently. Just as he’d suspected, she wasn’t used to this kind of weather. He’d have to get them to the cabin quickly before hypothermia set in. By the expression of frozen fright on her face and the noise from her chattering teeth, he didn’t have much time.

He situated her on his horse before mounting,
then
cuddled her against his chest. The cabin wasn’t too far away, and he trusted the Lord would guide them. Joshua knew the Almighty had gotten him this far, because there was no way he would have found her without His assistance.

Within minutes, Joshua spotted the cabin and small shack used as the shed. He had barely stopped Socrates before dismounting and rushing inside, not bothering to tether his horse as he held Careen against him. Joshua placed her on the cot before hurrying to the potbelly stove. He’d never started a fire so quickly as he did this time, but once the flames licked up the sides of the stove, he returned to Careen and lifted her in his arms again, bringing her closer to the fire.

Positioning them on the floor, she huddled against him as her blank stare stayed on the fire. Pale face and nearly blue lips, had panic clutching his chest. He needed to get her warm, now!

He ran his palms up and down her legs and over her arms to help bring warmth back into her body. He rubbed his cheek against hers, slowly feeling the heat on her skin. “Can you feel the fire,
Careen
?”

“Uh-huh.”

Her teeth weren’t chattering as badly, so he knew she’d started to feel the heat. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and whispered, “Thank you, Lord. Thank you for seeing us to safety.” As Joshua ended his prayer, he brushed his lips across Careen’s forehead, not knowing why he did this, just that it felt as natural as seeking warmth and shelter.

Her breathing steadied and her body relaxed. “Sweetheart, I need to leave you for a minute to put Socrates in the shed before he freezes to death. Is that all right?”

She tilted her head back and met his gaze. “Yes.”

He shifted her on the floor directly in front of the stove with her knees against her chest. Her damp hair stuck to her frosted clothes. He stood and shrugged out of his sheepskin jacket. “Careen let’s take off your coat. It’s wet and if you wear it any longer, you’ll catch your death.”

Nodding, she unfastened the buttons with shaky fingers. He assisted until the garment was removed, then he draped his own coat around her shoulders. “Are you going to be all right now?”

She met his stare and nodded.
“Oh, Joshua.
I…I…don’t know what happened to your horse.”

“Socrates?”

“No. The one I was riding earlier.”

He stroked her cold hair. “Not to worry. Our horses know how to get back to the ranch, I promise.”

“If…you say…so.”

Quickly, he moved outside to tend Socrates. The wind picked up, and the temperature had dropped considerably. Night blanketed the land now, along with the thick snow.

Once his horse was out of the elements, Joshua hurried back inside. Careen sat where he’d placed her, but her body wasn’t shaking. That was a good sign.

She locked her gaze on him and offered a weak smile. “Thank you for coming to find me.”

“Of course.
I couldn’t leave you out in that snowstorm.” He stood by the fire and rubbed his palms up and down his arms, bringing back warmth to his body. “What happed to your horse?”

“I had dismounted in order to get closer to the fool calf, and something spooked the mare and she ran off. By that time, the snow was falling harder, and I knew I had to find my way back to the house on foot.” She shook her head. “When the storm got to the point I couldn’t see ahead of me, I sat by the tree and prayed someone would find me.” She touched him. “I’m glad it was you.”

The appreciation in her expression unnerved him and he stepped away from the fire. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m famished. But is there food here?”

“Pa likes to keep all of his cabins stocked for situations such as this, so I’m sure I can find something for us to eat even if it is just jerky.”

Against the wall stood a small cupboard.
He opened the doors and glanced at his choices. Unease settled in him, and he frowned. Very little food was stocked. His pa would have had more here, so why
were the cupboards
bare now?
“Looks like we’ll get to feast on jerky…and more jerky.
Oh, here are some preserved apples that Ma canned before winter set in. How does this meal sound to you?” he asked.

“It sounds wonderful.”

Careen’s voice was so
close,
he spun around and nearly collided with her. Still wearing his sheepskin jacket with her hands in the pockets, she stood beside him. Color had returned to her cheeks and lips.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Better, thank you.” She managed a smile. “Tell me, how did you find me? I thought for certain I would die out there.”

“No, I wouldn’t have let you die.” He winked. “But truthfully, I know the Lord’s hand was in this. He is the one that led me to you.”

Tears spiked her eyes. “I prayed harder than I’ve ever prayed before.”

“I was praying as well, and I know the Lord heard my family’s prayers.”

“Well, I’m grateful for your help.” She touched his hand. “You saved my life, which is something I’m surprised you chose to do since you’ve been quite upset with me lately.”

He wished she hadn’t brought that up. In his desperate search to find her in the snowstorm, he’d forgotten about it. Then again, staying away from her for a week helped his anger subside. “I’m not upset anymore.” He turned toward the cupboard and grabbed the jar of apples. This was a good start. At least they wouldn’t starve.

Not yet, anyway.

When he turned around, she went back to sit in front of the potbelly stove. He moved next to her on the floor and sat. “There are some beans in the cupboard, so I’ll put them in a pan and soak them overnight. At least we’ll have something for dinner tomorrow.”

“Do you think we’ll still be here tomorrow night?”

“There’s a possibility. I doubt this storm will let up soon. In fact, I’ll be surprised if it has stopped by tomorrow evening.”

Groaning, she covered her hands over her head. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Your family will be very worried, I know it.”

“No. They know me, and they know I’m a survivor. Besides that, they trust the Lord.” He bit into his jerky, watching her closely. “So, Careen, you mentioned earlier about leaving your horse to help the calf. What calf are you talking about?”

She dropped her hands and met his stare. “There was a stray calf, and I wanted to bring it back to the herd. I tried roping, and when that didn’t work, I thought I could guide it back. I didn’t expect the storm to hit so fiercely. I thought I had plenty of time to return.”

“A stray calf?
How did that happen? We fixed the fence last week.”

“I don’t know. I just know the calf was by himself.”

He grumbled and moved from the floor to stand by the cot. “Something doesn’t add up, but I’m not going to find any answers for a few days anyway, so I’ll worry about it later.”

She stared back at the fire in silence. Soon, her fingers wandered to the ribbon holding her ponytail together and tugged it free. She laced her fingers through her damp hair, pulling it over her shoulder toward the fire. Her russet tresses were so very pretty. Never had he thought a woman’s hair was pretty, but Careen surprised him at every turn. Since meeting her, he found himself thinking strange thoughts all the time.

The longer she tried to avoid his eyes, the more he knew they had to talk. They had to finish what they’d started a week ago – either the conversation about Matthew, or the kiss. It didn’t matter which because right now he knew he couldn’t stay with her in a storm, sheltered from the world, and not talk.

“Are you warm now?”

She glanced his way briefly, nodded once, then returned her attention to the fire.

“Good, so you won’t mind coming over here and sitting with me?”

This time when she met his eyes, her forehead creased in uncertainty. “Why?”

“Because we have a lot to discuss, and I want you closer.”

“What do we have to discuss?”

“Several things.”
He leaned his back against the wall. “I want to finish what we started a week ago in the barn.”

Her eyes widened and red bloomed in her cheeks, moving throughout her face quickly. He held in a laugh, knowing exactly what she was thinking. The kiss…or almost kiss. He didn’t know if he’d ever kiss her, but teasing was nearly as fun.