Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) (5 page)

“That’s ridiculous. I’ve never
even been to Russia. I’ve lived in Minnesota all my life. I was born and raised
here for heaven’s sake.”

“Well, as Art said, all we can do
is hope for the best. Perhaps he’ll be one of the lucky ones.

“Anyhow, tomorrow is Saturday. I
thought maybe we’d take Nicky to a movie.”

Mariah smiled. “That’s a great
suggestion. He’d love it. You haven’t had much time to spend with him.”

“I know, but things have finally
begun to slow down a bit.” He ran his fingers along the soft hair at the nape
of her neck. “It’ll be nice to have more time with you too. I hope the movie
won’t be too much for you.”

Mariah laughed and stood up. “Oh
for heaven’s sake, you act as though I’m disabled.” She giggled and pulled him
off the couch, led him toward the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind
them.

Nick took a quick shower and,
wrapped in a towel, he walked out of the master bathroom. She motioned him over
to the bed, and he slowly covered her with a series of shivery kisses on her
lips and along her jaw. He softly whispered words of love, and after each one, he
planted a kiss along her shoulders, neck and face. Passion inched through her
veins as shivers of delight followed his touch. They were able to take the time
to explore, to arouse, and to give each other pleasure, which was pure and
explosive. His expert caresses sent her to even higher levels of ecstasy, and
she shattered into a million glowing stars. Filled with an amazing sense of completeness,
peace and contentment flowed between them, and they soon fell into a deep and
peaceful sleep.                      

Chapter
Eight

Mariah’s parents invited everyone
for Thanksgiving dinner. Mariah and Nick were both relieved. At the end of her
fourth month, it was visible that she’d already begun to feel uncomfortable.
Nick didn’t want her to become exhausted from cooking a big meal for so many
people. It had been a ritual for Nick and Mariah to have the Thanksgiving
celebration at their home. However, knowing that things had become very
strenuous for their daughter, John and Elena McCaffrey said they’d be more than
happy to take over this year.

Mariah’s twin brothers, Nathan
and Nolan, tended to chores in the barn while their father continued to prepare
for the first heavy snowfall. They’d just finished their work when family
members began to arrive. The weather forecast predicted a storm to arrive late
that night, or in the early-morning hours.

Her sister Kara, her husband
Travis, and their two sons arrived within the hour, and they brought with them
the news that the storm was close behind. They lived in Black Hawk Township,
sixty miles north of Pinewood Hills.

It was a wonderful family
reunion. The dinner was delicious and Mariah and Nick both thanked her mother
for having everyone at their home this year. The women had finished washing the
dishes when Nick walked into the kitchen and looked out the window.

“Mariah, the snow started a short
time ago. We’d better be on our way.”

“Why don’t the three of you stay
here tonight?” Elena asked. “Kara, Travis and the boys are staying. We have
plenty of room for everyone.”

“Thanks for the offer, but Art is
the only one at the stable, along with Lucky. We let the others off for the
holiday, to be with their families. If we happen to have a blizzard on the way,
he’d never be able to handle everything on his own.

“We’d better hurry, honey. It’s not
bad yet, and we don’t have more than a thirty-minute drive.”

“Nicky, come put your snowsuit
on,” Mariah called out.

By the time they arrived home,
Nick could see no further than one block ahead of them. He pulled their SUV up
to the back door and lifted Nicky out of his car seat. “Wait here, Mariah.
There’s a layer of ice under the snow. Let me get Nicky in the house, and I’ll
come back to help you.”

They were glad to arrive home
when they had. Along with the heavy snow, the wind started to pick up. After
building a warm fire to keep Mariah and Nicky comfortable, he grabbed his
winter jacket and boots.

“I have to head out and check on
the horses. I’ll return as soon as possible. I have my cell phone in my pocket
in case you need me.”

“Be careful Nick. Visibility has
become quite a challenge out there.”

“Yes, I know. I can't even see
the stable. I think it’s mainly the wind. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

He grabbed hold of the doorknob
and pulled the door open. The wind blew snow into the entryway and fiercely
whipped the screen door from his hands. It slammed against the outside of the
house, and caused its pane of glass to shatter. He wouldn’t be able to take
care of it until the turbulent weather lets up. The solid wood entry door will
keep the cold out.

The harsh wind swirled the snow
around his face, ice formed on his lashes and brows. He leaned into the wind,
tightly held onto the hood of his jacket and tread carefully in the direction
of the stable.

* * *

“Come Nicky, let’s give you a
warm bath, and then I’ll read you a story before bed.” Mariah led him down the
hallway.

“Will daddy be able to find our
house in the snow?”

“He’ll be back as soon as he can,
sweetheart. He has to make sure the horses are okay.”

“Will he get lost in the snow
like I got lost in the dark?”

“No, he’ll be fine. We’ll get
ready for bed, and I’ll climb in with you. We’ll snuggle up to read
Frosty
the Snowman
.”

“Okay, Mommy.”

* * *

Finally able to make it across
the yard, Nick stood in front of the door to the barn. He looked at the snow
and sleet beginning to build along the bottom edge. He grabbed the shovel he’d
left standing against the wall and began chopping the ice. When he cleared it
away he was able to yank the door open, barely wide enough for him to squeeze
through.

He could hear the cold wind howl,
however, there was plenty of warmth for the horses. As he neared his office, he
heard a mournful sound. He looked toward the south wall and saw a boot on the
floor just outside of one of the stalls. “What the…”

He quickly ran to the opposite
end of the stable and found Art lying alongside the open gate. He groaned in
pain and turned his head to see that Nick had arrived at last.

“Hey buddy… glad ya’ made it
back.” He let out a low moan and Nick knelt down next to him.

“What happened?”

“My leg, I think it’s broken. I
can’t move it. The wind spooked Smokey and he kicked me. When he quieted down,
he acted as though he was truly sorry; he kept nudging me with his nose.”

“How long ago?”

“About an hour; I tried to crawl,
but it’s a bad break. It feels like I broke my kneecap.”

“Think you can make it to the
office if you lean on me?”

“Don’t know,” he said with a
muffled groan.

“Come on. Let’s try to get you in
there and you’ll be able to lie on the cot.” Nick helped him up. Art leaned on
his shoulder and hopped very slowly, hay and straw crunching under each step.
The 50 mph winds caused a loud howling under the eaves. They were only about
thirty feet away from the office door. When they entered, Art moaned in pain.
Nick helped him over to a cot, which was against the wall at the far end of the
room. They’ve always kept it in the stable for a necessity such as this. He
grabbed two pillows from a cupboard and placed the support beneath his head,
then stood and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Don’t know how long
it’ll take the emergency vehicle to get here with the road conditions as
dangerous as they are. I’m sure it be would best to leave the treacherous drive
for them, rather than try to make it myself. I’ll give them a call and then
start a pot of coffee.”

He phoned for an ambulance, and
then he went to the bathroom medicine cabinet for a bottle of Ibuprofen. “Here
you go, Art. The ER said you could take four of these. It should at least help.
I assume you were unable to reach Lillie. Is she home safe?”

“She went to her brother’s house
in Huntington. No way to reach her; I couldn’t get to the phone.”

“I’m going to make that pot of
coffee. Let me know if you need anything else.”

He made a quick call to Mariah.
She’d moved into the living room and dozed off on the couch, with the phone on
the table next to her. Nick told her about Art’s accident.

“Is he going to be all right?”

“He’s in a lot of pain. I helped
him into the office, but we’d never be able to make it to the house. We have
all we need, so I’m going to remain here with him. You get some rest. Don’t
worry, he’ll be fine.”

“Okay, give him my love.”

“I’ll keep you posted honey. I’m
afraid it’s going to take quite a while for the ambulance to arrive, with the
roads as bad as they are. The office is warm enough, so we’ll be fine. Make a
note for me to purchase a cell phone for his Christmas present. If he had one
in his pocket, he would have been able to call for help. He never accepted it
when I’d offered one. He told me he didn’t need one of those contraptions. I’m
sure he’ll have a change of heart now.”

“That’s a good idea. Now get back
there, in case he needs you, and please let me know when the ambulance
arrives.”

“Will do, honey.”

Nick returned with the coffee,
and sighed with relief. Art was in a fitful sleep, but the Ibuprofen apparently
helped him. He sat down with a steaming cup of hot coffee and put his feet up
on the desk. He kept his eyes on him, and his mind brought back memories of Art
helping him through the past eighteen years of his life; he loved this man, as
though he was his father.       

Chapter
Nine

By the time Nick returned to the
house it was one-thirty in the morning. Apparently, Mariah tried to wait up for
him; she remained on the couch, sleeping soundly. He pulled off his parka and
hung it on the coat rack behind the door. He left his boots on the mat and went
over to the fireplace to hold his hands over the hot coals. Lucky lifted his
head and glanced at him, gave one thump of his tail, then curled into a ball
and fell back to sleep.

Once his hands warmed up a bit,
he softly stroked the side of Mariah’s cheek. Her eyes opened, she smiled her
angelic smile, and he helped her sit up.

“Is he going to be okay?” she
asked, with a look of worry.

“He’ll be fine. I didn’t ride
with them. It took the ambulance an hour to get here. They said the roads are
extremely poor. The plows have had a hard time keeping them cleared and
drivable. They thought it best for him to remain in the hospital overnight. I
told Art I’d pick him up in the morning.”

Nick sat down on the sofa next to
her and held her hand in his.

“He was in excruciating pain and
it hurt me to see him suffer. He slept after I’d given him four tablets of
Ibuprofen, but the expression of agony was still on his face.

“When I saw him on the floor of
the stall, I was afraid he’d suffered a heart attack.” He explained what had
actually happened. “It looks like he broke his kneecap. He means so much to me,
Mariah. I’m now thirty-four years old and he’s been a father to me for the past
eighteen.”

“I know; he’s very special to
everyone. Ever since the day we were married, he’s always treated me as though
I’m his daughter. He’s a wonderful person. I pray for him to heal quickly.”

“He won’t be working for quite a
while. I hope Jake gets back soon. I’m going to need him more than ever now.”

“Have you heard any more from
him?”

“Nope, not since he spoke to Art
two weeks ago. He said they were waiting for her clearance and they’d be on
their way.”

“Perhaps he’ll find this woman to
be a decent one, Nick. He deserves a turn for the good. He’s already had more
than his share of grief from his ex-wife.”

“I know. Now let’s go get some
sleep. I promised Art I’d be there early in the morning. He doesn’t want to be
in the hospital any longer than he has to.”

“Can I ride along? Bess will be
here with Nicky.”

“I’m sure he’d like that, but
let’s wait and see how the roads are. I wouldn’t want to take a chance with you
and the twins out there, if they aren’t cleared off safely.”

“Okay. You’ll be very busy with
Art being laid up. Come on, my dear cowboy, let’s get to bed.”

They both stood. He placed his
arm around her and they headed for the bedroom, turning out the lights along
the way.

* * *

Nick and Mariah had risen an hour
before Art phoned to inform them that the doctor wanted him to stay for one
more day. He wanted to make sure he’d be okay if he’s home alone. Art told him
that Lillie would be with him, but he’d still like him to remain there until
tomorrow. Nick headed out to the barn to let the other ranch hands know what
happened.

Mariah sat down in front of the
fireplace and turned the television on to the local news station. She sipped
her coffee and watched the rescue of many people who ignored the weather
advisory and tried to drive on the treacherous roads. There were cars stranded
in the snow banks along the highways. Snowplows hadn't even attempted to clear
them until an hour ago. A total of thirty-two inches accumulated overnight.
With the wind currently blowing the snow into huge drifts, it was even
difficult for the plows to get through. The newscaster advised everyone to remain
indoors and off the roads until further notice.