A Life Restored (13 page)

Chapter 15

By the time Reverend Pritchett led her from the sheriff’s office, she was more than ready to go.
 
He had a carriage waiting for her.
 
A grinning Hawk waved and smiled at her from his horse.
 
Jed smiled and tipped his hat.
 
Reverend Pritchett took a seat next to her and they were on their way to Colter Ranch—at last.

Hawk chatted about the ranch, but Caroline paid little attention as she took in the surrounding landscape.
 
Adam’s descriptions in his letters failed to do the scenic beauty justice—especially when they topped a hill overlooking the ranch.
 
Whitish gray granite mountains jutted up from the valley opposite of the hill the wagon traveled down.
 
A blue lake shimmered at the base.

“Adam and Julia are getting married.
 
Everyone is real excited about it.”

Hawk’s announcement jolted her attention away from the beautiful scene.
 
All the enjoyment of God’s creation faded in an instant as she tried to fathom the idea of her brother and her best friend getting married.

The knot in her stomach tightened as the shock started to wear off.
 
Things were not going at all as she planned.
 
She was supposed to leave the boredom of Texas and head off to great adventures with the two people she was closest to in the world.
 
Instead, without her presence the two had somehow formed a deep bond—one that excluded her.

Caroline’s mood threatened to sink into despair as she thought of all that had gone wrong.
 
Lying to her parents.
 
The stagecoach robbery.
 
The death of those men.
 
The bizarre rescue.
 
The kiss from Thomas.
 
Nearly being caught by rustlers.
 
Perry Quinn.

Now this.
 
Julia and Adam looking forward to a happy life without her.

Would they even be excited to see her now or would she just get in the way?

Her excitement about seeing them again turned into trepidation as Reverend Pritchett stopped the carriage in front of the cabin.
 
She had missed the rest of the trip down to the valley floor and failed to get acquainted with her new home.

Jed dismounted his horse and knocked on the door of the cabin as Hawk helped her down.

“We have visitors,” Jed announced before returning to take care of his horse.

A woman a few years older than her stepped from the cabin, balancing a baby on one hip.
 
As she stepped into the sunlight, her blonde hair lit with fiery touches of red.
 
She introduced herself as Hannah Colter before offering Caroline an affectionate smile.

“Adam will be so excited to see you.”
 
Turning towards Reverend Pritchett she said, “Thank you for bringing her safely to us.
 
Would you care to stay for supper?”

“I’m afraid I must return to town this evening so I can head back to Wickenburg first thing in the morning.”

Caroline thanked Reverend Pritchett for coming all this way.
 
She asked him to send her love to Millie before he pulled the carriage away from the ranch house headed back up the road to Prescott.

Looking around, Caroline wondered where Adam and Julia were.
 
She didn’t have long to wait for the answer.

“Adam and Julia are over in the corral working with the horses,” Hannah said as she led the way.

A squeal of delight echoed across the valley floor.
 
“Caroline!”

As she looked to the sound of her friend’s voice, she barely caught sight of her before Julia squeezed her tight.
 
Caroline wrapped her arms around her friend and instantly felt at home, most of her earlier fears melting away.

“You’re here!
 
I can’t believe you’re here!” Julia exclaimed excitedly, her brown curls bouncing as she jumped up and down.
 
“What?
 
How?”
 
She stammered for a few seconds before shouting to Adam.

“Your sister is here!”

Adam led the horse he was training around the corral and stopped once he came into her view.

“Linny?”
 
The nickname came out as his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Adam,” she said, her excitement returning.

He removed the training bridle from the horse and let it run around the corral.
 
Climbing over the railing, he landed just in front of her, pulling her into a hearty hug.
 
“It’s so good to see you.
 
What are you doing here?”

As he stepped back from the embrace, he slid his arm around Julia’s waist.
 
Caroline swallowed a brief moment of fear, turning her attention towards his question instead of his loving hold on her best friend.

“I decided it was time for a change.
 
I missed you both terribly,” she confessed.

“I have a million questions,” Julia said, her eyes lighting with exuberance.

Hannah’s soft voice interrupted.
 
“I’m sure you’re tired from the long journey, Caroline.
 
Perhaps we should let you freshen up and rest a bit before supper.
 
Then you can tell us everything.”

Julia nodded in agreement.
 
“Come.
 
You can share my room, for now.”
 
She glanced over at Adam who smiled back.

As Julia took her hand, she led Caroline back to the cabin.

For now.
 
The words hinted again at what Hawk mentioned earlier.
 
The way Adam looked at Julia.
 
Caroline tried not to sigh.
 
Nothing was like she dreamed.

“This is my room,” Julia said as she ushered Caroline into a small room off of the kitchen area.
 
“Looks like the boys have already brought in your things.
 
I can’t believe this is all you brought.”

Caroline smiled wanly, not wanting to get into all the details of her oversized dress or her undersized wardrobe.
 
A yawn escaped her lips before she could cover it.

The excitement on Julia’s face dimmed.
 
“Hannah was right.
 
We should let you nap before supper.
 
You’ve got an hour or so.”

Julia move towards the door, then stopped.
 
“I’m so glad you’re here.
 
I’ve missed you so much.”
 
With one last hug, she left Caroline alone in the room.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Caroline leaned down to unfasten her boots.
 
She wiggled her toes, glad to be free from the cramped boots.
 
She unpinned her hair before falling back on the bed.

Disappointment tugged at her heart.
 
Nothing was what she thought it would be.

“My first question,” Adam started, “is how did you ever get Pa to agree to letting you move out here?”

Caroline scooped a spoonful of fried potatoes onto her plate.
 
For once she considered her words before answering.
 
“I told him you were probably lonely and needed your little sister to keep an eye on you.”

She laughed, but didn’t really feel it.
 
In the few short minutes since supper started, she clearly understood her brother was anything but lonely.
 
Somehow, in the year since he left home he had very obviously fallen in love with Julia.
 
She tried to convince herself she was happy for them.
 
She was.
 
Sort of.

“I’ll bet,” Adam replied.
 
“I do know Pa well enough to know he didn’t let you come here on your own.
 
How come we didn’t get to meet your chaperone?”

His fishing made her uncomfortable.
 
She wasn’t ready to tell him and the large group of people at the table, some of which were strangers, that she snuck away.

“Seems like I’m doing all the talking.
 
What about you Adam?
 
How have you been?”
 
She quickly stuffed a bite of food into her mouth to keep from having to say more.

“Well,” he paused, glancing at Julia.
 
“I’m doing well.”

“Might as well tell her,” Ben said.
 
“Think Hawk already spilled the beans on yer secret anyway.”

“I… um…
 
Julia and I are getting married.”

Caroline wanted to act shocked.
 
Her impulse was to respond in a dramatic way.
 
But, she was too tired.

“How long have you two had feelings for each other?” she asked the question she didn’t really want the answer to.
 
It was too strange to think of them as a couple.

Julia spoke up.
 
“It’s hard to say exactly when.
 
I think something just changed for us on the trip west.
 
It took me quite a while to see it, but I think Adam knew long before I did.”

“He did,” Will interjected.

Red mottled Adam’s face.
 
Ben and Hannah laughed.

“They’re right,” Adam said.
 
“I think I fell in love with Julia the night we left Texas.
 
If not then, it would have been somewhere along the way.”
 
He turned to face Julia, the love dripping from his round green eyes.
 
He reached for her hand and held it.

Still looking at his future wife, his words were intended for Caroline.
 
“Julia certainly tested my patience at times.
 
But, she eventually came around.
 
I can hardly wait for her to become my wife.”

As silence fell over the table, a sight Caroline never expect to see greeted her eyes.
 
Julia leaned close to Adam and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
 
When she sat upright again, her eyes looked just as serene and as full of love as Adam’s did.

Caroline choked on the potatoes.
 
Unable to swallow properly, she burst out in a coughing fit.
 
Ben patted her on the back as everyone stared at her.
 
Eventually the offending piece of food found its rightful place.
 
She reached for her water, eyes lowered in humiliation.
 
Gulping down some water started to soothe the lingering tickle in her throat.

“You okay?” Adam asked, concern creasing his brow.

“Fine.”
 
She managed the word before taking a sip of water.

“Anyway,” Julia said, “the wedding is in just a few weeks.
 
Oh Caroline!
 
I’m so glad you’re here.
 
Will you stand for me at the wedding?”
 
At her nod, she continued, “It will be so perfect, now that you’re here.”

Caroline certainly didn’t feel like it would be perfect.
 
Stop being so selfish.
 
Just be happy for them.

The rest of the meal passed as Adam and Julia caught her up on all the goings on of the last year.
 
Following supper, Adam and Julia went for a walk, leaving her behind.
 
Hannah insisted she didn’t need help with the dishes and suggested Caroline rest.

An awkward half hour of silence passed as Caroline tried to figure out what to do with herself until Julia returned.

“Adam wished you pleasant dreams,” Julia said breathlessly as she entered the cabin and plopped down on the couch next to Caroline.
 
“He retired to the bunkhouse.”

She nodded.
 
Then she yawned.

“Come, let’s retire to our room,” Julia suggested.

Once they were ready for bed, they both climbed in.

“It’s just like when we were little girls,” Julia said.
 
Turning on her side, she propped up her head on her hand.
 
“I’ve missed you so much.
 
I’m so glad you’re here.
 
It’s been pretty strange not having you to talk to all this time.”