Love Blooms in Winter (31 page)

Mae drew a deep breath. “Everybody move! Go home, get your loved ones, neighbors, and anyone else you see and head to the river!”

Shovels, rakes, and hammers hit the ground as folks took off running. Nudging the horse over to her little brother, who sat with the tied dogs, she called, “Jeremy, you need to take all of Pauline’s animals to the river!”

He shot off the rock and hemp flew. She watched the last of the workers gather their belongings. When she was confident the site was clear, she closed her eyes.
Please, God. Help Tom. Help the town
. She touched the gelding with her heels and galloped off, heading for Pauline’s. She had to get the older woman bundled tightly for the cold wait by the frozen water.

As she rode past Jake’s office she saw a light in his window. He had to be warned. She stopped at the railing and eased out of the saddle, pain shooting through her left ankle when she applied her weight on it. The few stairs to his office seemed like fifty. Jake glanced up when he saw her standing in the doorway.

“Hello, dear. I didn’t expect to see you today, especially after you snuck out on me last night.”

He had a good reason to frown at her, but she couldn’t worry about that now. “I came to warn you that a runaway train is headed toward town. Tom said to move everyone, including animals, to the river for protection.”

He chuckled. “Curtis is quite a dramatic fellow, isn’t he?”

She swallowed a spurt of anger. “This has nothing to do with Tom Curtis. The train’s throttle valve is stuck. If Tom and Fisk can’t fix it, it will come right through town. It’s possible…” She couldn’t bear the thought of the destruction it might bring. “Jake, the entire town could be destroyed.”

“Of course it will stop. It’s the end of the line.”

“Yes, it is. Either way.”

“You’re talking in circles, Mae.”

“Do you not have ears?”

He stiffened. “There’s no need for sarcasm. I understand that the throttle is stuck, but Tom’s the big railroad official. He’ll get the train stopped before it tears through town.”

“Tom isn’t God.”

“Oh, really.” He bent to flick a speck of dust off his desk. “That’s news. You’ve certainly been acting as though he were.”

Precious seconds were flying by. If Jake wanted to risk his life on the hope that Tom could perform miracles, he could but she wasn’t going to. And she wasn’t going to marry this man. He wasn’t the childhood Jake she’d known and fallen in love with so many years ago. They’d both changed. Their values were different now, as were their hopes and dreams. Removing her gloves, she took the ring off and laid it on the desk.

His eyes focused on it. “Mae…you can’t be serious. After all these years, years of nagging me for a ring…”

“I’m leaving now. I wish you would come with me, but if you don’t I’ll understand. You’re a grown man capable of making decisions.”

Shoving back from the desk, he muttered, “Oh, for heaven’s sake. I’ll go to the river. But I’m telling you that this will all turn out to be a farce. Let me guess. The whole town is in a panic, which your Mr. Curtis excels at accomplishing. I’ll be glad when he’s gone.”

Mae ignored the man, who was wrong about Tom and about so many other things. The only thing Jake proved to her with this display of temper was that he couldn’t think of anything, or anyone, other than himself.

F
isk’s rapturous grin rivaled the wide Missouri. He sat in the engineer’s seat, pulling the whistle cord as the engine barreled across barren hillsides. Snow was falling in earnest now, but neither the weather nor the crisis could cast a pall on the man’s delight. And that delight was stepping on Tom’s last nerve.

“WHOOOO EEEE!” A whistle pierced the air. “Run, baby, run!”

“Fisk! Knock it off up there! We have a disaster here and you’re acting like a kid.” Tom couldn’t take any more.

“You’re right, Tom, I’m sorry.”

Sweat trickled down Tom’s temples. The stupid throttle refused to budge. He reached for a wrench and pounded the stubborn lever. “How much time left, Henry?”

The engineer consulted a pocket watch. “Maybe two minutes.”

Tom whacked the medal. “Come on!”

The engine raced through the winter countryside, steam bellowing high and snow flying off the track in giant waves. Boxcars were whipping behind the out-of-control engine.

The fireman mopped his soot-covered face with a dirty rag. “Curtis, I wouldn’t buy anymore of that thar wood you fellers been gettin’. It jest burns too long and too hot.”

Grimacing, Tom twisted the wrench, using brute force. “That’s…the whole…idea.”

Turning, Fisk yelled over his shoulder. “Town’s coming up!”

Time was running out. “Henry, go take your place. Fisk, get over here and help me.” The man’s added strength might be the key. “Sound the whistle first, Fisk, to let the folks know we’re close!” He prayed everyone was away from town by now. Veins stood out when Tom bore down with every ounce of strength he possessed.

“Pauline!” Mae pounded on her neighbor’s front door. “Come quick! We have to move to safety!”

Moments passed. “Pauline!” Trying the door handle, Mae discovered that it was unlocked. She stepped inside the small house. “Pauline?” She limped inside, her gaze sweeping the rooms. “Pauline?” The outhouse. She must be in the necessary.

Outside she braced against the howling wind and walked to the small building. Rapping soundly, she called, “Pauline?”

A startled voice answered. “What?”

“Come quickly. Tom is trying to stop a runaway train, but he wants the town cleared.”

“What? Why?”

“There’s no time to explain! Come out! We have to join the others at the river.”

“All right. Hold on.” Rustling sounds came from behind the door. Seconds passed.

“Pauline?”

An eyeball appeared in the crescent moon carved in the door. “What?”

“Are you coming?”

“You go on. It’ll take me a minute to get my britches on.”

Surely she hadn’t stripped out of her clothing, cold as it was. “Just hurry!” Mae anxiously waited. A train horn shrilled in the distance.

Precious minutes ticked by as folks streamed from the small town and hurried to the river. “We have to move now, Pauline!” The moment the words left her mouth she heard the unmistakable sounds of a lightning-fast train approaching. She could even see the steam rising high in the sky and knew it was close to where the track was missing. No, it was closer than that. Suddenly an ear-splitting upheaval overtook her and she saw the locomotive enter the town itself.

Lumber and debris flew into the air as the train plowed a path through buildings. The entire town was being turned into kindling. The ground beneath Mae’s feet shook and shuddered as though the mighty hand of God picked up Dwadlo and gave it a good shaking. The deafening roar was overwhelming.

The outhouse door flew open and a wild-eyed Pauline stood with her bloomers down around her spindly legs. “I can go like this.”

Jerking up the woman’s undergarments, Mae took her hand and as fast as possible, with the old woman in tow and an injured ankle, she hobbled across Pauline’s property toward safety.

The screeching and banging noises were so loud they hurt her ears. She didn’t look back.

They managed to reach the river unharmed, relieved to see their friends and neighbors huddled together, just as scared as they were. No longer able to see what was happening, the sounds echoed and seemed to go on forever.

Armageddon had surely come, fearful whispers declared.

Frantic, Mae searched for Jeremy among the near hysterical mass of people. After handing Pauline off to a visibly shaken couple, Mae threaded her way through the crowd, shouting her brother’s name. An older man stopped her, pointing toward the river. “He went after one of the dogs, Mae.”

Full-blown terror closed her throat as she made her way closer to the frozen water. “Jeremy!” The wind caught the name and carried it back to her. Snowflakes increased in size, and a biting wind whipped up drifts of snow on the frozen portions of water. Further down the path, she called again. And again. Finally, the wind carried back the young boy’s response.

“Over here, Mae!”

Hobbling faster, she veered away from the bank and followed the sound through frozen undergrowth. “Jeremy?”

“Down here!”

Easing closer to a drop-off, Mae peered over the edge. “What are you doing down there?”

Shrugging his shoulders, the boy said, “I was looking for Seven. I found him here, but when I crawled down to get him he got out. He’s fast, Mae.” He looked up at his sister. “Now I can’t get out. It’s too slippery.”

“Okay.” She glanced around for a long branch. “I’ll find a stick and help you up. Pull your hat down closer to your ears so they’ll stay warm.”

“I’m sorry, Mae.”

“It’s okay, Jeremy. I know Seven is feisty.” Her mind worked to overcome paralyzing fear, and she suddenly realized everything was quiet. That meant the runaway had stopped. What damage had it done to their community, and where was Tom? Had he been in the train when it derailed? Was he at this moment lying dead somewhere? A tight fist of fear squeezed her stomach as she picked up a sturdy limb. The weather was worsening. Heavy snow fell in clumps like cotton. Returning to the edge, she called, “I’m going to have to climb down a ways so you can get hold of this.”

“Be careful. It’s slippery.”

She started to ease her body slowly into the ravine. She’d only moved a short distance when her left boot encountered a patch of ice. Pain shot through her injured ankle, and she bit back a cry. She bumped the rest of the way down on her backside. Landing at the bottom, she saw stars.

“Uh-oh. Mae, are you okay?”

“Yes.” Dusting off her hands, she sat trying to collect her thoughts. Someone would come along soon. People had watched her leave in search of her brother. Pauline—
Oh, please be in your right mind at this moment and send someone to look for us
.

Drawing the shivering boy to her side, the two huddled together to keep warm.

“What was that noise, Mae?”

“The train—it derailed.” She closed her eyes and prayed that some of Dwadlo was spared. From the destruction she’d heard, she had her doubts.

“Again?”

Nodding, she sighed. “A different one this time, and closer to town.” In many ways Pauline was right. Railroad service was both a blessing and a curse, and certainly their recent troubles were costing the railway a small fortune.

“Is Tom Curtis safe?”

Funny how he hadn’t asked about Jake first. “I don’t know, Jeremy. He and Fisk left to try to stop the train.” She blinked back sudden hot tears as the noise and earlier confusion came back to haunt her. Nobody inside that locomotive could have survived the crash, could they? “I don’t know if he was on the train when it came through Dwadlo.”

“He wasn’t. He would have jumped off before then.”

“Perhaps.” He was a dedicated railroad man, but she hoped what Jeremy said was true. She could picture him frantically trying to fix the throttle even as time ran out.

“Mae.” Jeremy straightened. “I don’t think you should marry Jake. I think you should marry Tom Curtis.”

Pulling him back into her arms, she smiled. Maybe her brother was right. “Tom hasn’t asked.”