McKenzie (11 page)

She needn’t have feared that he’d possess a harsh manner, either, for he was polite and seemed eager to please her. Too eager, perhaps. He was also too rugged for her taste. McKenzie would have to work on both of those attributes, and the sooner, the better. She planned to find Kaydie in less than six months and then proceed with making plans to return to Boston in late spring, if not earlier. If she wanted to survive those six months, she would have to mold Zach into a man she could live with.

“Can I help you into the wagon?” Zach asked, interrupting McKenzie’s thoughts.

“Please,” McKenzie replied, holding out her hand.

With extreme gentleness, Zach assisted her as she climbed into the wagon, and then he jumped up beside her. “Welcome to Pine Haven,” he said, smiling.

He seemed so kind, and McKenzie thought how it would be such a shame to hurt him in the way she would need to once she’d found Kaydie, returned to Boston, and had their marriage annulled. But, what must be done, must be done, she thought with a sigh. There were far more important things in life than the feelings of some stranger she’d just met, even if she had grown fond of him through his letters. Still, something odd and unrecognizable tugged at her heart at the very thought of hurting Zach.

“You’re probably exhausted, so I’ll give you the full tour later,” Zach said. “But do you need to stop anywhere before we head out to the ranch?”

McKenzie was taken aback at his question—where in town would she stop? She glanced around but wasn’t enticed by any of the storefronts, especially since none of them looked like dress shops or high-class cafés. “No, thank you,” she said, “although I would like to send a telegram to my family and let them know I’ve arrived safely.”

***

Zach nodded. Her response had seemed a bit short to him, but he figured it must have been due to nervousness. After all, she had traveled a great distance all by herself to an unknown place to marry a stranger. It must have been a shock for her to see a place so very different from what she knew. The thought of living out the rest of her days in Pine Haven instead of Boston was surely disheartening at the moment. But, he hoped she would one day become accustomed to the quaint and friendly town and would cherish it as her home. Until then, he would do all he could to make her feel welcome. And he would have the patience of Job with her as she adjusted to her new life in Pine Haven.

Most of the two-mile ride from town to the ranch was spent in silence. McKenzie gazed at the open world around her, amazed at the contrasts between Boston and the surroundings in the life she’d been thrown into as a sacrifice to find her sister.

An occasional wagon passed them on the road—far fewer than the carriages that clattered along the streets of Boston—and McKenzie watched as Zach waved at each driver. The homes that dotted the road on the way to the ranch were modest and small, some no larger than a single room. The homes in the neighborhood where McKenzie grew up were magnificent and grand, large enough to house not only the residents, but also their staff. In all likelihood, four or five of those houses in Boston could accommodate most of the population of Pine Haven.

McKenzie marveled at the strangeness of finding herself so many miles from home. Had she ever been so brave in all her twenty-four years? No. She’d never once set foot outside the confines of city life. She’d never once felt the discomfort that comes when a situation does not go according to plan, with two exceptions: Pearl and Louis’ betrayal, and Kaydie’s elopement with a man who’d made her a hundred promises and kept only one—the promise to move Kaydie to a life so many miles from home that only a miracle would bring her back. McKenzie cringed to think of the letters Kaydie had written to her in secret. Where Kaydie had found the money to mail those letters was beyond her. Perhaps, some kind stranger had offered to pay the postage fees so that Kaydie could stay connected to her closest family member.

Now, McKenzie found herself in a similar situation, using the kindness of strangers to find Kaydie. It would be worth it, however, the day she and Kaydie boarded the stagecoach, and then the train, on their way back east. It would be worth it the day she followed Kaydie through the front door of their Boston home. Yes, it would be worth any discomfort, any sacrifice, and any manipulation of others to have her best friend and dearest sister safe home again and far from the clutches of the evil liar, Darius Kraemer.

McKenzie remained deep in thought until the sudden jolting of the wagon nearly threw her to the ground. She grasped the back of the seat and felt nausea creeping in. “Are you all right, McKenzie?” Zach asked, slowing the wagon to a stop.

“Yes, I think so,” McKenzie answered. She was almost afraid to breathe, and she closed her eyes for a moment, as if to will the world to stop spinning around her.

“I’m so used to that big hole that I don’t even notice it anymore. Please forgive me for not slowing down and taking into consideration that you’ve never been on this road,” Zach said, sounding genuinely remorseful.

McKenzie slowly opened her eyes and pursed her lips together. The nausea was still there, although it seemed to be waning. “I’m all right,” she said. “But that hole ought to be filled in before someone gets seriously hurt!”

“Yes, you’re right,” Zach said. He touched her arm, and she flinched. “I’m sorry, McKenzie. Why don’t I come out here tomorrow and fill in the hole so we don’t have that happen again?”

McKenzie held her breath. His touch had shocked her. “Are you sure you’re all right?” Zach asked. “I guess I was so intent on getting us to the ranch that I was deep in thought about some unfinished tasks.”

McKenzie nodded. “I’m fine.” She noticed that his hand was still gently placed on her arm, and she saw the worried look in his eyes. Was he always so concerned about others? Yes, he should have been sorry for not having avoided the large hole in the road, but did he have to be so worried about her welfare? She swallowed. Such compassion would be easy to take advantage of, and she wished his personality wasn’t such that manipulating him would be so simple.

***

“All right, then,” Zach said, flicking the reins to get the horses moving again. Already, he’d made a bad impression on McKenzie—he should have expected as much. She seemed so delicate and so fragile, and his protective nature rose to the surface. He only hoped she would be able to handle the hardships that came with living in Pine Haven.

A few minutes later, when they reached the ranch, Zach was humbled, just as he always was, when they rounded the corner and drove under the large arch he’d constructed with the words “Sawyer Ranch” carved into it. God had blessed him so richly in his life. It wasn’t just the ranch, but also the friendships he’d formed and the town where the Lord had led him. How the Lord had taken an orphan and given him such a full life would always be beyond Zach’s comprehension. He cleared his throat. “McKenzie, this is Rosemary and Asa’s home,” he said, nodding to the right at a small, well-kept cabin. “Rosemary helps out in the kitchen and prepares all the meals, and her husband, Asa, is one of my ranch hands. They’re good friends—almost like family.”

As they rode a little further, Zach’s house came into full view. “And this is my—our house.” He nodded to a cabin with a pointed roof and a large porch that encompassed most of the front of the home. It had dormers on the partial second level, which, he thought, lent character to the house, as did the two chimneys from the fireplaces, which kept the place warm in the wintertime. While not fancy in the least, Zach’s home was one of the nicer ones in the Pine Haven area, and his own hands had done most of the work.

***

McKenzie’s eyes veered from the road toward the house. Next to the house was a barn, and, further down the road, she saw what appeared to be more living quarters. She’d never lived in a place with so few neighbors.

McKenzie had noticed when Zach had corrected himself and called the house theirs instead of just his, and the thought disturbed her slightly. She thought of the more appropriate chances for matrimony that abounded in Boston and wondered if Zach believed that a woman whose parents had the means of hiring servants, a butler, and gardeners would really leave all that behind for a life that would include only hardship, backbreaking work, and little rest. Yet, Zach seemed proud of his home, even though it looked to be in desperate need of fresh paint, and the land that surrounded it.

For today, at least, she would be proud of his accomplishments, too, even though, in Boston, only members of the lower class would find themselves in such a setting.

“And look at that!” Zach pointed in the opposite direction where the sun had begun to set.

McKenzie directed her gaze in the direction he was indicating and gasped to see the vivid, orange sunset. Its staggering beauty more than made up for the lack of glamour and finery of the home, the surrounding land, and Pine Haven, itself. The bright hues transfixed McKenzie, as did the towering mountains silhouetted against the glowing sky, which she’d made no particular notice of until this moment. She turned and saw that the upstairs dormers of the house faced the mountains, and she wondered which residents got to enjoy the breathtaking view from their bedroom windows. Never before had she beheld such a majestic scene, or, if she had, she’d failed to notice it. She sucked in her breath. To say that she had found herself surprisingly enchanted would have been an understatement, and, for a moment, she entertained the thought that she might never tire of staring at the scenery under the vast, Montana sky.

“Wait until you see those mountains in the winter,” said Zach. “They’re even more amazing when they’re covered with snow. Sometimes, they even have a bluish tint to them. It’s the most beautiful thing you ever saw. When I first moved here, I saw this land and knew that if it was the Lord’s will, someday, it would be mine. I still can’t believe that I live close to something as amazing as those mountains.”

McKenzie turned to stare at Zach as he spoke. In the winter? If things went according to plan, she would be making preparations to return to Boston long before then.

When Zach stopped the wagon in front of his house, Asa, Rosemary, Jonah, and Davey were waiting outside to greet them.

“Pa!” Davey ran from his place beside Rosemary and leaped into Zach’s arms when he stepped down from the wagon. “Is this my new ma?” He pointed a finger at McKenzie.

Zach swung Davey around. “Yes, son, this is McKenzie.” He set Davey down and helped McKenzie out of the wagon.

With his nose scrunched in curiosity, Davey held out his hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said.

McKenzie shook his hand. “You must be Davey.”

Davey blushed. “Yes, but my full name is Davey William Mitchell Sawyer.” He puffed out his chest at the sound of his own voice announcing his name. “And this is my fav’rite dog in the whole world. His name is Duke Sawyer.”

“What a sweet dog!” McKenzie exclaimed. “And, my, what a big name for such a small fellow as yourself,” she added with a smile.

Davey made a silly face at McKenzie. “I’m not so little,” he said, standing on tiptoe. “I’m four years old. Soon, I’ll be five, and then six, and then seven! Why, someday, I’ll even be a hundred years old. Then I’ll be as old as Grandpa Asa.”

“Now, now, Davey,” Asa interjected. “Don’t forget that after a hundred comes a hundred and one, and then you’ll be as old as Grandma Rosemary.”

Rosemary playfully punched her husband in the arm. “Now, Asa, you know you’re older. Don’t be putting ideas into his head.”

***

McKenzie watched the interaction between Asa and Rosemary and tried to figure out where they fit into Zach’s family. She recalled that Zach had mentioned in one of his letters that his parents had died. That meant that Asa and Rosemary must be Davey’s maternal grandparents. The thoughts of Zach’s having been married before, and Davey’s losing his mother, brought on a mix of emotions, which McKenzie decided to deal with later. Hadn’t Zach mentioned something about Asa and Rosemary on the way to the house? She wished now she had paid closer attention to his explanation.

“McKenzie, let me introduce you to everybody,” Zach said. “Remember the small cabin we passed when we first got to the ranch? It belongs to Asa and Rosemary. Asa is one of my hired hands, and Rosemary helps in the kitchen. They’ve been like parents to me, so Davey calls them Grandpa Asa and Grandma Rosemary.”

McKenzie nodded and greeted them. So, the two were not the parents of Zach’s late wife? She wondered where her parents were, and why they weren’t helping rear their grandson. As the daughter of a lawyer, McKenzie had been instilled with an inquisitive mind, and she was constantly working to assemble any details she learned, like the pieces of a puzzle. This seemed to her like just another puzzle to solve.

“This is Jonah Dickenson, my other hired hand,” Zach said, nodding toward a man who looked about Zach’s age, with copper-colored hair and gray eyes. “And you’ve already met Davey.”

“It’s nice to meet everyone,” said McKenzie, trying to sound genuinely enthusiastic.

“Supper should be just about ready,” Rosemary announced. She looked at McKenzie to say, “I bet you’re very tired and hungry from such a long day of traveling.”

“I am, actually,” said McKenzie. She shifted her weight. It had been a long day, and all she wanted right now was to crawl into a nice, warm bed and go to sleep. She would even forfeit dinner if it would mean getting a peaceful night’s sleep as soon as possible.

“Why don’t you go on into the house?” Zach suggested. “Jonah, Asa, and I will unload your trunks.”

“Thank you,” McKenzie said, then followed Rosemary into the house. She wasn’t sure what to expect, since everything in Pine Haven was opposite of that in Boston, but she couldn’t have anticipated how plain-looking the interior would be. Not one curtain hung in the windows; instead, mismatched blankets had been hung, many of them askew. To the right was a stone fireplace, near to which a large pile of logs were stacked, and two chairs. A crude coat hanger was nailed to the wall just left of the door, and past it was the kitchen area, with a stove, a rustic, wooden counter stacked with dishes, and a large table, surrounded by six chairs. A few shelves lined the kitchen walls, as well, which were plain, unlike the wallpapered walls of McKenzie’s house. Past the kitchen was a set of stairs leading up to the bedrooms, McKenzie surmised.