Mary Connealy (26 page)

Belle nodded. “But come on down anyway. Let’s try and do something to make this marriage a happier one.”

Anthony picked up his stick again and poked the hard ground. “I’ll be down in a little while.”

Which Belle knew meant…in time for dinner. She nodded and stood awkwardly, her growing stomach making everything harder.

She swung onto her horse and rode down the long, long hill from the Husband Tree, wondering what in the world could possess Cassie Dawson to
want
her husband to kiss her.

C
assie sighed as Red left the house without kissing her again.

She knew better than to hope he would. But knowing better didn’t stop her.

She stood in the doorway and watched him ride away, and she smiled to think of how totally he’d come to trust her with the chores. He let her do everything now but ride herd with him, and considering her advanced pregnancy, she didn’t even ask about it. Someday, though.

She turned back to go inside and tidy her kitchen, but as she moved, something bright glittered in the corner of her vision. She stopped and looked up at the nearby mountain peak, but she didn’t see the flash of light again. A shudder of fear shook her and she didn’t question it. She had stood here many times over the last few weeks. She had never seen a reflection before.

She grabbed the rifle off the rack above the front door and headed for the tunnel. She dashed into the opening and knew exactly where she was going to hide. She entered the narrow passage, using one hand braced against the stone wall to balance.

She didn’t go far. In the pitch darkness, she found the first side tunnel. She had to get down on her hands and knees to crawl in, and with her girth from the baby and her long dress and the rifle, she barely slipped inside. She struggled through the narrow entrance for only a yard before it narrowed to only a foot high beside a trickle of water.

Cassie had pictured the spring that ran through their cooler, dripping into this little cavern for as long as there had been mountains. It had eaten away at the rock until it had dropped low enough to change directions and began running into the cooler.

Or maybe God had put it here for Cassie. For this moment.

There was no place that was completely dry. The ceiling was so low she had to rest on her side in the dank, cold crevice. The frigid water seeped through her dress. She shivered against the cold stone and called herself a coward to hide like this. She almost climbed out, but she couldn’t shake off the fear that clutched at her heart. She was a coward, scurrying into a hole in the ground like a scared rabbit.

Time stretched and Cassie prayed for warmth and safety and Red. The cold chewed at her skin like a hungry rat until she shuddered with it, and the black mountain pressed down on her soul. She railed against her cowardice and almost crawled out a dozen times, but there was an almost supernatural strength to her fear and she couldn’t overcome it.

Then she heard something that chilled her more deeply than the water ever could.

“China doll?”

Wade.

He spoke softly, coaxing as if she were a timid animal in need of taming. “Where are you, girl? I’ve come for you.” His voice got stronger then faded as he moved around their cabin.

“Where are you, doll?”

There was a long silence.

She curled her body around the baby to try and keep her little one warm. As she lay there, she prayed for Red. If God could give Cassie a feeling of fear, then He could give one to Red, too. Then she thought of Wade’s guns and feared Red
would
come. If only Wade wouldn’t find her. If only he’d give up and go away.

“Are you in here, china doll?” Cassie jumped and scraped the gun against the cave floor. Wade had found the tunnel. He was close. Close enough to hear the slightest sound. She was cornered if Wade found her hiding place. The weight of the mountain surrounded her. She was trapped, and fear sucked the air out of the cave.

The wheedling left Wade’s voice. “My woman doesn’t hide from me!” He was standing directly in front of the opening now. He had a lantern and wouldn’t have to lean down much to light up the fissure and see her.

Cassie felt the panic rising. She forced herself to remain still and hoped the frantic pounding of her heart wasn’t audible.

“Where are you?” Cassie heard Wade’s fists slam against the cave. He stepped farther into the cave, past the fissure where she hid, and called out again, more furiously. “I’ve come to save you. I’ll take you away from here. Where are you?”

He moved on, ranting as he went. “I’ll never stop hunting for you. Never!”

Cassie didn’t dare move. Between the frigid water and her fear, she shivered violently. She buried her face in her drawn-up knees to cover the sound of her teeth chattering.

Wade’s voice faded away, but she remained in hiding. She could feel him, crouching in the dark, waiting for her to move so he could pounce.

She moved beyond cold to pain, and only sheer terror kept her from leaving her hiding place. Then the shivering stopped and the cold didn’t bother her so much. She began to feel drowsy and relaxed.

She hugged her baby close and laid her head on her drawn-up knees, against her soaked, frigid skirt and prayed.

Lord, keep Red safe. Protect my baby.

She remembered the compassion of the church members and Red’s worry about Wade being hurt by his father and managed to send up a prayer for Wade. Then she remembered the lesson Red had taught last week. She couldn’t think of all of it. The only words that she knew were,
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

She understood that verse so clearly now.

“Whom shall I fear?”

No one.

In her soul—the only place that really counted—Cassie was safe.

“Whom shall I fear?”

The safety that verse gave her was almost like a voice telling her it was all right to come out now. She believed it. Wade was gone, and if he wasn’t, he couldn’t really hurt her. God was with her in life and death.

Again that voice inside her said,
“Come out. It’s safe to come out now.”

She tried, but it was so much effort to move. She’d rest just a few seconds more.

In perfect peace, with no fear in her heart, she fell asleep.

The cabin door was wide open to the cold winter wind.

“Cassie!” Red dug his heels into Buck’s side. He started praying before Buck took his first galloping stride.

“Cassie!” He saw hoofprints that had trampled down the new snow around the door.

Wade.

And he’d been here a long time and been gone a long time. Red charged into the cabin yelling, “Cassie! Cassie, are you here?”

He was greeted with dead silence. He saw the overturned table and the pans knocked onto the floor and felt Wade’s fury.

Red ran toward the tunnel. He stepped inside. “Cassie!”

His voice echoed off the stone walls, mocking him. She wasn’t here. Wade had taken her. Red ran for the door and leaped onto Buck’s back.

He stopped after just a few dozen yards. There was something wrong with the tracks. Red swung down off Buck and tried to push his panic aside long enough to think.

God, where is she? Help me find her. Keep her safe.

Red crouched beside Wade’s tracks and knew immediately what the problem was. The tracks were the same depth as when Wade rode in. The horse wasn’t carrying two riders.

Red rushed back to the cabin. Could she be inside that tunnel, hurt too badly to answer? Or dead?

He stepped into the blackness of the tunnel then turned back to go for the bedroom lantern. It was gone. Wade must have found the tunnel and hunted through it, using the bedroom lantern. The one in the kitchen lay smashed on the floor, useless.

Red didn’t have time to rig up a torch. He stepped into the tunnel, thinking of all the nooks and crannies where a scared little woman might hide. He felt his way along in the pitch-black corridor, calling for her, his hope faltering with every step.

Then he tripped. He fell heavily to the ground, which was strange, because he had been moving slowly and hanging on to the wall. And when he fell, his hand slid on the wet stone and he felt fabric.

Cassie’s skirt. He remembered this cold little crevice.

“Cassie!” His voice wavered and cracked.

She didn’t respond. Didn’t move. He followed the wet fabric and found a leg. She was wedged into a fissure in the rocks so small Red had never gone into it.

He eased her out of the icy little hole, his heart clutching at her stillness. When he had her all the way out, he laid his ear against her chest and heard a heartbeat, weak but steady. She was so cold, so utterly still.

Red lifted her carefully in his arms, cradling her against his chest. He carried her out into the dim light of the bedroom. Her dress was so wet it dripped. He stripped her out of her soaked clothing, pulled her nightgown over her head, and laid her on the bed.

He saw no bleeding. He lifted her eyelids and her eyes flickered back and forth, and she moved slightly as if in protest.

He ran his hands over her body looking for bumps or broken bones and found only cold. Her lips were pinched and blue. Her fingernails were pure white. He had lived in Montana long enough to know what cold could do. And he knew how to combat it.

He kicked his boots off and shucked his pants and shirt, and wearing only his union suit, climbed into bed beside her, pulling the blankets over both of them. He held her close in his arms, cocooning the babe between them. He massaged her back and legs, wiped his tears on his sleeve, and asked God for a miracle.

For long moments he rubbed her arms, trying to warm her chilled skin. There was no response, no movement, her breathing shallow, her heartbeat faint.

Red’s prayers were broken by fear as he held her and tried to share his heat. “Please, God, don’t take my Cassie away from me. Protect her, Lord. Please.” Red sent his petitions to God with such fervency that they generated their own heat.

Moments passed. Red could feel Cassie slipping away from him as if she were being drawn back into the mean, hard cold of the stones. The door to the outside was still open. He’d been running when he came in and let it swing wide. He needed to go out there, close the door, and stoke the fire to warm the cabin up, but he was afraid to leave her, even for those few minutes.

“Please, God, please. Protect her, Lord. I love her.” Red kissed her cold, blue lips and rested his face against hers, shuddering from the lifeless, waxy cold.

Then her teeth chattered.

Red pulled back when he heard that bit of sound. She lay motionless, but he knew she’d responded. He continued caressing her, praying for her, calling her back to him.

The shivering started small and lasted only a minute before it stopped and she lay quiet for a while. Then it came again. This time it hit her hard, shaking her violently.

Red held her through it, rubbing her arms and back, moving his legs against hers and tucking her icy feet on top of his. Her teeth rattled until he was afraid they might break. Her body vibrated wildly. He massaged her and called softly. After turbulent minutes that seemed to stretch out for hours, the shivering eased. Red looked down at his precious wife and saw her brown eyes flicker open. He wasn’t sure if she was awake or not. Her eyelids closed heavily.

“Wake up, honey,” Red crooned. “C’mon, Cass. Come all the way back to me.”

She shifted against him and her arms went around his waist. Her fingers were like icicles on his back and he pulled her hands around and tucked them between their bodies. He pressed her head into the crook of his shoulder, and her nose was so cold he couldn’t control a little jump. He prayed aloud, hoping she could hear and draw comfort from his words.

The shivering started again. It lasted longer this time. The wracking seemed like it would tear her apart. How much could Cassie or the baby take? When this bout passed, Red looked down, hoping for another glimpse of her eyes. She was awake and staring at him.

“I’m here, Cass. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner. But I’m here now. You’re going to be okay.” Red prayed it was true.

“Wade came. I hid from him.”

“You did good.” Red hugged her close. “He didn’t find you.”

Cassie slid her hands down to lie on her stomach. “I tried to take care of her.” Her voice broke and tears filled her eyes. “I tried.”

“Did he hurt you, Cass honey?” Red didn’t think Wade had gotten his hands on Cassie. If he had, she wouldn’t be here.

Cassie shook her head. “No. No, he never found me. I was so afraid. But then…I wasn’t afraid anymore, just tired. ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?’ ”

The shivering resumed. This time it wasn’t as hard or long.

Red cradled her and praised her and stroked her cold body back to warmth. She tried to fall asleep, but Red didn’t let up on her until he was sure she was warm again.

When the shivers receded for good, he finally let her sleep. He left her to warm the cabin up then lay back down beside her, pulled her into his arms, and held her, so relieved he couldn’t stop the tears. So in love with her he was afraid to feel the force of it.