The Stranger in the Storm, page 6
The short spans of interaction with other people over the last four years had left Tracy longing for adult companionship more than she ever thought she would. She loved spending her days with Lochlan, but it wasn’t the same as having a husband there or just another grown-up. Someone who could hold a conversation about important topics.
“Once I am able to explore the grounds, I’ll fix up a few things for you if you let me know what needs to be done.” He turned his eyes to look out into the rain. Tracy did the same, waiting for him to continue. “There is a different way down the mountain. If the bridge is still there, I mean. There’s a long bridge going over the river at its narrowest point, did you know that?”
Tracy glanced at him, shaking her head. “A bridge?”
“Yes. I could take that to get back if the other path is blocked. It takes a lot longer, though, and depending on when I leave, I might not make it back before the two-week mark.”
“Do you think they will really send out a search party at exactly two weeks? Maybe they’ll wait a little longer.”
Richard shook his head. “Before Donald became the boss along with Aileen, he was my friend, a coworker, another ranch hand on the McArthur ranch. He is very methodical and predictable. He does what he says he’s going to do. You can bank your money on it.”
“So two weeks exactly then,” Tracy said with amusement.”
Richard smiled at her. “Yep.”
“Well, at least you know you can rely on him. It’s always nice to have a trustworthy friend.”
“I want to go play in the rain, Mama,” Lochlan stated, jumping to his feet, leaving his plate on the floor.
Tracy smiled at him. “Take your plate inside, and then you can go play on the front lawn for just a few minutes, all right?”
Lochlan reacted with delighted speed. The smile on his face was huge. He grabbed his plate and headed inside. A few moments later, he was back, running to the steps. He was careful going down them, but once he was on the ground, he lifted both arms and flapped them, racing around from puddle to puddle, splashing in them and laughing happily.
“Tweet, tweet,” he yelled, not sounding a bit like a bird. “Tweet, tweeeeet.”
Richard laughed for a moment before wincing, placing one hand over his wound.
Tracy felt sorry for him. “Do you want me to rebandage your wound?” she asked.
He gave her a weak smile. “I already did. But I would really like to sleep right now. I don’t know why. Not like me.”
“Your body wants to heal. You can take my bed. You need to be comfortable.”
“But where will you sleep?” He almost sounded alarmed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sleep with Lochie. We’ll all be more comfortable that way. Let me help you inside.”
He looked relieved as she got up to help him move.
13
Two days later, Richard woke up in Tracy’s bed and rolled over, forgetting his injury until pain seared through him. He had been lying in that bed without moving from it since Tracy helped him get back there the morning after he came to her house. Tracy thought it was best and would help promote healing. She’d brought him herbal soup, and other food she said would help him heal.
He was determined to get up and moving before his muscles were too weak to hold him up.
Aware that it would take a lot longer than two days for that to happen, Richard chuckled as he slid his legs over and out from under the blankets. He sat on the edge of the bed, taking deep breaths. He gripped the edge with his fingers and lowered his head for a moment.
When he felt like he could do it, he pushed himself to his feet. He was pleasantly surprised to notice the injury didn’t give him nearly as much pain as it had. He lifted his shirt and looked at the bandage. No blood could be seen. It was the first time he’d woken up with a blood-free bandage since the day he arrived.
Richard made a mental note to thank Tracy for the wonderful job she did with his stitches. He felt like writing to the doctor that trained her in Pointer’s Creek and thanking him, too. Her knowledge had saved his life.
He could smell breakfast cooking, and his stomach growled.
The plan for the day was to explore, to go as far as he wanted to or could, depending on how much damage had been done to the path. He wouldn’t go the whole way, but since the rain was stopped and he was healing quickly, he would venture to the ranch in the next few days. He’d decided he would be moving slower because he was wounded, so it might take four days to get back instead of three. Because of that, he’d decided to stay only two, possibly three more days, to give himself more time to heal.
Tracy was in the kitchen when he walked in. Lochlan was already outside, enjoying the sunshine, still splashing through the puddles that would remain for at least another day or two.
“Good morning,” she said, looking up at him. “I’m making biscuits. Would you like a few?”
“You know I would,” he replied, amused at the question. He always ate everything she put in front of him. The last two days had proven to be fun and entertaining, despite his pain. Lochlan kept them laughing, and Tracy seemed like she couldn’t get enough conversation. It didn’t take him long to realize that she was a lot lonelier than she was letting on.
It made sense. She’d lost her husband and been isolated in her cottage for four years with only a baby to talk to unless she went to Pointer’s Creek. She still had yet to tell him anything about why the people in Henry’s Corner were “mean to her”.
Richard didn’t mind it a bit. He was happy to talk to her about anything and everything that interested her.
“What’s your plan for today?” Tracy asked, setting a plate of food in front of him, which he eyed hungrily.
Picking up his fork, he said, “I’m gonna go down the trail. See how much damage has been done. See how I do on my horse.”
“I worry about those stitches coming out,” Tracy said, obvious concern in her voice and on her face. “I want to check them before you get on the horse and after. You are coming back, right?”
Richard heard the momentary fear. “Yes,” he said quickly. “I’m not leaving yet. Not for another couple of days.”
“You could always stay and let them come find you. That way, you won’t risk yourself going down the mountain.”
Richard shook his head. “No, they won’t know where to find me. Plus, I don’t want to give them any undue stress. They’re good people. I just need to pull it together and get down there to them. I’ll take it slow, which means leaving maybe a day earlier. But I have three more days before then. That will give me more time to heal.
Tracy sat across from him with a plate of her own and began to eat.
When the food was gone, Richard stood in the living room, his shirt pulled up while he allowed her to examine the wound and the stitches. She looked satisfied when she applied a new bandage.
“You’re not in as much pain now, are you?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, thank goodness.”
“Well, the stitches are holding firm, and it does look like you’re healing fine. But still, go slow on your horse and don’t try anything reckless.”
Richard was amused that she thought he was going to be in any way reckless when he was afraid he’d rip the stitches, and his guts would fall out. “I’m not going to do anything reckless. I’m not joining a competition, you know.”
They both laughed.
* * *
An hour later, Richard was attempting to get on th horsewithout killing himself. He’d finally gotten a wooden step stool from the shed and used it to get in the saddle, something he hadn’t done since he was a small boy.
But it was much less painful that way, and he was able to sit in the saddle without cringing. He nervously urged Wander to move forward and was pleased when the movement didn’t hurt him.
“Okay,” he said confidently. “That’s better. Okay, let’s go, boy. Let’s see what damage has been done to the path. Maybe we’ll go home soon, huh?”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to. He almost wanted to just stay at the cottage with Tracy and Lochlan and act like a family.
That wasn’t going to happen, though, he figured. He was grateful to Tracy for the help she’d given him and thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a very long time. But he couldn’t see her being interested in him like that. She was starving for conversation and would probably be sad when he had to leave, but this was her life. She was happy here. He didn’t want to interfere with that.
He thought about her and Lochlan all the way down the path. He was able to go for almost an hour before he came up on the biggest tree he’d ever seen, laying over the path in front of him. He stopped Wander and sat there, staring.
It probably wasn’t the biggest tree he’d ever seen. But it certainly felt like it. He imagined how much work it would take to cut the tree down or just move it. It was massive. Roots stuck out of the ground where the trunk still met the earth. It looked like it had been struck by lightning right at the base or on the ground directly next to the tree, uprooting it.
“Well, would you look at that.” Richard’s heart dropped, and he sighed. That meant he would have to go to the bridge and take the long way. That was a guaranteed four-day trip. Maybe five.
Disappointed his time at the cottage was going to be cut short, Richard turned his horse around and headed back. If only Donald wasn’t so true to his word. Or if there was a way to get a message to them.
But there wasn’t. He would have to take care of this himself, one way or another.
As he rode back, he wondered what he would do if the way to the bridge was blocked, too. He would, in fact, be stuck there. And he would have to practically camp out on the path they would be coming up since he’d left it to find the cottage. They would have to be looking for Tracy’s home to see it.
They would be stuck at the tree, too, he reminded himself. Although they’d probably have the means to move or chop it into pieces. There would be more than just one man, and none of them would have his injury.
Richard didn’t like knowing he couldn’t take care of business himself. But he had to admit Donald and the rest of the men that came for him might be the only option available.
He rode back to the cottage, anxious to talk to Tracy about it. Maybe together, they could come up with a solution.
14
Richard sat in the grass, watching Lochlan chase after a ball. He glanced over at Tracy, who was sitting on a stool with a huge bucket in front of her, a washboard sticking out of the water. She was washing the clothes, working the fabric over the board with energy Richard didn’t know she had.
“You should get Lochie a dog,” he suggested, getting her attention. She glanced up at him and smiled.
“Yes, I should, shouldn’t I? I have thought about a pet for him. It just hasn’t happened. Probably because I don’t go to town more than twice a year.”
“That’s not often,” Richard agreed, nodding. Lochlan stood at a distance and called out to him before throwing the ball to him. Richard caught it easily and threw it back. They played catch while he and Tracy talked.
Richard couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so content… so happy. He didn’t want to leave but knew he had to. This was not his home.
Tracy hadn’t given him the impression she was interested in more than a friendship, which was disappointing to him but seemed typical. He certainly hadn’t pressed the issue or even asked her outright how she felt about him. He couldn’t see himself doing something like that. If she rejected him, he would make a fool of himself with just his facial expression. He was sure of it.
So he kept quiet and didn’t reveal his admiration and affection for her, despite the fact his feelings were growing stronger every day.
“Are you really leaving tomorrow?” Lochlan asked, taking a few steps closer but still tossing the ball back and forth with Richard.
“I have to, little man,” Richard responded. “My folks are waiting for me. They’ll be worried if I don’t come back.”
“But they will come looking for you, won’t they?”
Richard glanced at the child, who grinned.
“I heard you tell Mama,” he said.
“Yes. They would come looking for me. But you aren’t on the path, are you? They won’t know you’re here. They won’t find me.”
“You found us,” Lochlan said in a logical voice.
“Yes,” Richard laughed as he spoke. “I did. But I don’t know that they will. And I have to be seen by a doctor, don’t I? Even though your mama has done so good with me.”
“I don’t want you to go,” Lochlan spoke bluntly. His words pulled on Richard’s heartstrings.
Richard looked over at Tracy, who had stopped washing the shirt she had in her hand and was instead watching their exchange. She smiled at him with warm affection on her face. It was the first sign of hope Richard had seen.
“I don’t really want to go either,” he said, keeping his eyes on Tracy. “I was an only child,” he slid his eyes to Lochlan, “like you. I didn’t have a lot of fun. I lived in a farmhouse that was outside the town, and most of the children weren’t allowed to come all the way out there to play. My mother taught me how to read and write, and I didn’t go to school until I was much older.” He returned his gaze to Tracy. “That’s why I thought a dog would be nice for you. That’s who my friends were when I was your age, Lochie.”
Tracy’s grin widened. “Now I have to get him a dog since you’ve mentioned it.” As she spoke, Lochlan began singing about the dog he was going to get, who would be his bestest friend in all the whole world, dancing around in the grass with his arms above his head, flapping like the wings of a bird.
Richard pushed himself to his feet and went to sit next to Tracy in the shade. The weather would soon turn very cold, but the sun was shining bright and warm on that day.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Tracy.”
She laughed, sending a pleasant tingle through him. “You have thanked me practically every hour since you got here. Except when you’re sleeping.”
“I thank you in my dreams, too,” Richard responded humorously.
Again, she laughed, and he felt terribly satisfied .
“Well, you don’t have to anymore. Okay? You don’t have to thank me. It was my honor to help you, and I’d do it again if I needed to. I just hope I never need to.”
“I started working when I was really young,” Richard replied, “and I learned early that when someone goes out of their way to help you like you’ve done for me, you’ve got to make sure they know you are grateful.”
“I know.” Tracy gave him a bigger smile. “I know you are grateful. I know that more than I know anything else right now. That’s what happens when something is repeated eight or nine hundred times.”
They both laughed.
“Well, at least you know,” Richard said casually, looking back at the little boy, who was kneeling in the grass, examining something on the ground closely. He wondered for a moment what was fascinating the child. He focused his eyes, and after a moment or two, with Lochlan sticking one finger out toward the ground, though his body was stock still, a little green frog hopped away from him. He squealed with delight and hopped himself, very small hops, so he wouldn’t land on the frog.
“I’m going to check the road again this afternoon, see if anything has changed. If it has, and somehow that tree isn’t blocking the path anymore, I’ll leave the day after tomorrow. But if it’s still blocked and I have to take the bridge, I’ll have to leave tomorrow.”
“I’m hoping it won’t be until the day after tomorrow,” Tracy said. “And I know Lochlan is hoping for that, too.”
Richard nodded. Lochlan didn’t want him to leave at all. In fact, he’d asked if he could come along with Richard more times than Richard could count. And he would take him if Tracy allowed it. So far, she’d said no. And that was perfectly fine. He was injured, after all. Keeping Lochlan safe was an unnecessary burden he shouldn’t handle on his own. At least not at that time. He chose to think of the action of keeping the boy safe as the burden rather than the child himself. Lochlan was exceedingly intelligent and could probably be a help in some situations. But it was too much of a risk for Tracy, and Richard completely understood that.
“I think we should talk about happier things,” Tracy said. “If this is your last day here, I don’t want to waste it talking about things I don’t want to think about.”
Richard laughed. “That’s to the point. All right, Tracy, what would you like to talk about?”
For the next ten minutes, while she finished washing the clothes, they talked about the storm, wondering how much damage had been done to Henry’s Corner and Pointer’s Creek. She told him of the people she’d met there and how it was so different than the frowns and rebuke she got from the folks in Henry’s Corner. As much as he tried, Richard couldn’t get the reason for that unhappiness out of her.
He walked with her to the clotheslines and helped her put the things up to dry. He let her talk, listening to her chatting about the weather, the people, her feelings about random topics.
Richard didn’t really recognize the feelings he was having. He had never felt his heart grow so big before so that he was aware it was beating in his chest. Sometimes, he thought he might be able to see it beating under his skin. She made him feel all kinds of different ways, and he wanted to explore those feelings more than anything.
When her chores were done, and it was time for him to leave, she packed a sandwich and a pickle in a bag for him and filled a canteen with fresh well water.
“I’ll be back soon,” he said, looking down at the supplies when she handed them to him. “I probably don’t need a snack. I expect to be back in just a couple hours.”
“Well, take it anyway. You never know what might happen.” She dropped her eyes to his side, which had now reduced itself to a dull roar of pain on a fairly constant basis.
