Chapter Six
pain. Expected it to pierce his back. Bring him down like a hunted buck. But the pain never came. Instead, his brother dropped to the ground with a cry. Blood spread across the fabric surrounding his thigh. Patrick spun with Meri still in his arms.
“That’s right, Martins.” Hughes held the pistol ready to fire again. “Give me my daughter, or I aim for his heart.”
“Patrick, set me down this instant.” Meredith struggled in his arms. “Let me go. Take care of David.”
Patrick stood in frozen indecision. Did he sacrifice Meredith or his brother? He tightened his grip on Meri.
“Father, I’m coming home,” Meredith cried. “Let the Martins brothers go.”
“Don’t do it, Patrick.” David met his gaze. “Start running. With her and the baby. Now.”
The hammer cocked on Hughes’s gun. Patrick had a second to decide. A life-threatening decision. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t face this type of responsibility. What would he say to David’s girl? Their grandmother and sister? But neither could he let Meredith and her baby face life with such a violent man.
“Last chance, Martins. Which will it be?”
And then Patrick knew that no matter what choice he made, someone would die. In fact, if he gave Meredith to Hughes, Hughes would likely kill both him and David. One look at David’s face confirmed David knew that no matter what Patrick decided, he was a dead man. Patrick would lose his brother. His gut twisted.
I’m sorry, he mouthed and took his first steps toward the woods.
“Patrick, no!” Meredith sobbed on his shoulder.
Hughes swore.
And then came the crack of something hard colliding with bone. Patrick knew the sound. Rough waves had knocked over how many fishermen? The right hit on a skull and it could kill, but usually it stunned.
“Mrs. Nelson?” Meredith whispered into his neck. She no longer struggled, but held on tighter. “She hit my father with a … frying pan.”
He glanced over his shoulder to see the older woman standing over her boss, both hands gripping the handle of her frying pan. She nudged Hughes with her foot, then waved them off. “You don’t have long. He’ll wake shortly.”
“David.” Patrick hesitated. Did they leave him with Mrs. Nelson? No. Hughes could use him as leverage. There was no telling what the man would do to David once he woke up. And Mrs. Nelson? “He needs to come with us.”
Mrs. Nelson glanced at Hughes. “He didn’t see me, but I understand the danger. Give me a second to tend to David, and you three can find someplace safe to hole up.”
Patrick set Meredith’s feet on the ground. Not that he let go of her. His heart beat too hard for that. He didn’t understand what he felt, only that he couldn’t lose her or his brother.
She looked up at him, uncertainty clouding her usual smile. Her mouth moved, as if she attempted to form a question without words. How did this sprite of a woman make him want to be dependable?
The tear of cloth brought him back to the moment. Mrs. Nelson used fabric from her underskirt to wrap David’s leg. Pain etched his brother’s face, and Patrick wove his fingers between Meredith’s. She squeezed, sending comfort up his arm.
He glanced at her unconscious father, who hadn’t budged, then looked down at her. She stared up at him with the greenest eyes, like the pines ahead of them. He pressed his thumb to Meredith’s cheek, wiping away a smudge of dirt. His willingness to sacrifice his life—his brother’s life—for her told him all he needed to know about how he felt about her. The bump of her baby against his side made him pause. This wasn’t a woman he could kiss and laugh off a moment later.
Meredith pressed her hand to her midsection, her cheeks reddening. Patrick cleared his throat but kept quiet. She ducked her head. “Go check on your brother.”
“No need.” David leaned heavily on a stick, Mrs. Nelson assuring he was steady.
“I patched him up the best I could.” She cast a glance at Hughes. “He’s going to wake any moment. I wish you could return to camp so I can treat it properly, but Mr. Hughes will look for you there.”
Indecision encased Patrick’s feet. Hughes stirred.
David placed a hand on Mrs. Nelson’s arm. “Thank you for everything. Now hurry back before he realizes it was you. We’ll get our things and regroup elsewhere.”
She wrung her hands. “You need to get the wound cleaned out, David. It’ll fester. I only stopped the bleeding.”
“Go.” David nudged the older woman toward camp, then limped over to Patrick and Meredith. “The snow will show our tracks, so we need to take precautions. Let’s get our packs.”
Patrick and Meredith followed, though Patrick searched for a reason he shouldn’t do so. He always protested everything David said. But just now, he didn’t have the heart for it. Instead, a newfound respect for his brother bloomed. David had been willing to give his life for them. He had a life-threatening injury, but still led them with compassion. How had Patrick missed that about David all these years? Had his resentment blinded him so solidly?
They reached the luggage Kyle stowed for them, and Patrick shouldered the majority of it. Though Meredith insisted on taking her own belongings, the fact David didn’t protest told Patrick how much pain his brother was in.
They trudged through the trees, Meredith breaking the path and Patrick covering their tracks by smoothing the snow behind them by dragging a large branch behind him. The deep drifts made the going tough. Soon David’s huffs became audible moans.
Patrick caught up to him. David’s face was white and pinched with pain. Blood seeped through the cloth Mrs. Nelson had wrapped around his upper leg. Patrick ducked under David’s arm, bearing most of his brother’s weight every other step.
The overwhelming urge to cry washed over him. He hated tears. Hadn’t cried since the night his mom died. Had refused to allow it of himself. Best to go through life holding everything loosely. Relationships, friendships, dreams. It could all be taken away. And if people depended on you for a thing, you had to follow through, so Patrick avoided needy people. Until now, he’d succeeded, primarily thanks to his cavalier attitude.
What if he turned out to be like his father and failed at looking after David and Meredith? At rescuing them?
Sweat broke out across his forehead. Not because of the strain of helping his brother through the snow. As one of the stronger, younger lumberjacks, Patrick had several weeks of practice lifting logs to his shoulder. And the muscle was already there from the work he did back home. Where David was the fisherman, Patrick hauled in the caught fish—something that required no responsibility, just following orders. And when his work was done, he was free to do whatever he wanted. When payday came, he didn’t care how much money was in his pocket because he had no one relying on him.
Why hadn’t his brother ever asked Patrick to contribute to providing for the family? He glanced at David and weaved them between two trees, avoiding the spruce trap—the hidden depression—on either side. He thought his brother overbearing, intent on making him comply. So Patrick … didn’t. Part of him knew his grandmother was not pleased, and Patrick had considered moving out. But he didn’t want to be … responsible.
Yet he left David to take care of them all on his own. No wonder David worked so much and what an absolutely worthless human being Patrick was. How much had Patrick hurt his family? By trying to avoid responsibility, had he hurt them just as much as their father did?
“I need a minute,” David gasped. His breathing was rapid and shallow.
Panic clawed at Patrick. “Hey, you need to hang in there.” I need you. A thousand tears pricked his eyes.
David squeezed his shoulder and offered a grimacing smile. “It’s okay.”
And then a sob hiccupped out of his chest as though he was a boy. His brother, battling pain and blood loss, was looking out for him, just as he always had since they lost their parents. Why had Patrick taken it for granted? Why hadn’t he stepped up to help? Shame heated his face, and he turned away.
“Patrick.” David shifted, pulling Patrick’s forehead down to his shoulder, his hand strong at the back of Patrick’s head. His brother would still love him. He’d seen how terrible Patrick was, been the recipient of Patrick’s aversion, and still he sacrificed for him.
But Meredith …
She stood a few feet away, witnessing this display. What must she think of him? Weak, selfish creature … his true nature. Good thing he hadn’t flirted with her. He wasn’t worthy of her, and now she’d see what a despicable person he really was and would never want him near her or her child.
Meri swiped at the tear that slipped down her cheek. She’d never seen a grown man cry. Yet watching the brothers felt … wrong. As though she intruded on something sacred. She turned away.
They were nearing the cut-over field, the cabin. David needed his wound cleaned and dressed. She could do that. With all the lumber injuries over the years, she’d assisted the camp doc plenty of times. She glanced over her shoulder. Noted the perspiration on David’s forehead, the whiteness around his mouth. He needed to be treated again as soon as possible.
Was her father following their tracks, though they’d tried to cover them, or had he gone back to camp? She couldn’t believe Mrs. Nelson saved them, and with a frying pan! The woman must have seen Father chase after them and grabbed the closest weapon at hand.
Meri chewed her lip. Was Father all right? Surely, he’d have a massive headache after being knocked out.
“We need to keep moving.” Patrick broke into her thoughts. He avoided her gaze as he situated himself under David’s arm to carry his weight.
“We’re almost there.” This she said for David’s benefit. He’d not be leaving the cabin for a while. And if the smell in the air was correct, neither would they. Snow was coming. “We’ve covered our trail enough. I’ll keep breaking the path. You support your brother.”
“Meri—”
She held up a mittened hand. “You carry enough. Let me help.”
The brothers exchanged a look, then both chins sank. They wanted to be her savior. She’d never had one of those, and now she had two. Even Leo, who she’d thought would rescue her from her father, wasn’t the savior she thought he was. He’d played to her emotions, her insecurities, lured her into a compromised position with the promise of marriage. And then something changed. She wasn’t sure what, and now would never know, because a few days later, he’d been killed.
She dragged her feet through the snow, making the way as easy as she could for Patrick and David. David, really. Patrick had maneuvered so that David walked in the path she carved while he walked in the fresh snow beside him.
An intense desire to shield such valiant men exploded in her chest. Could she slip out after she’d doctored David’s leg, find her way down the ice trail to the train by herself? As tempting as it was to lure danger away from these brothers, it might not work. Yes, her father was angry at her, and it seemed he had turned Patrick into the target because he sheltered her. But she had her unborn child to consider, too. Braving the cold and snow was not wise. And somehow, she knew Patrick wouldn’t let her go alone. If she snuck out, he’d come after her.
It warmed her, that thought, as she led the way through the shin-high snow. It was tough going and her back hurt. Her abdomen still twinged, but nothing like yesterday. She pressed a hand to the child growing within her and received pressure in response. It made her think of Mary as she traveled to Bethlehem. Much further along than Meri was, of course, but still on a journey. Still feeling the movement of her unborn child. It was a marvel. And, as much as she knew her choices had been wrong, she wasn’t upset at the result.
If not for her father’s response, this could be a beautiful time. Why had he turned to drink? It made him such an awful man. Why was he forcing her to choose between safety and uncertainty? Society would not be kind to her, or her baby.
Her boot caught on an unseen root. She dropped to her knees, careful to catch her fall so she didn’t land on her belly.
“Meri!” Patrick was by her side, lifting her out of the snow. “Are you all right?”
David leaned on his stick, watching.
She dusted herself off. “I’m fine.”
“Just getting tired.” Patrick raised a hand, and reflexively, she ducked away. He grimaced. “We’ll get you to the cabin. Don’t worry.”
No doubt of that. Looking past the brothers, she scanned the trees for signs of her father. All was quiet. The scent of pine strong. Good thing Mr. Alaric insisted on planting new trees in place of the ones they’d cut down. How sad it would be to lose all the forests in the search for lumber.
Just the same, her heart squeezed a few moments later. Like a tree graveyard, the cutover field stretched before them, all stumps and slash. On the far side stood the cabin, bare in the desolate place. The pristine white of the snow made it appear dirty and broken.
“Wait.” Patrick halted her. “Let me make sure your father hasn’t beaten us here.”
“You think he means to cut us off?” David spoke matter-of-factly.
Patrick met his brother’s gaze. “I can’t risk your lives on assumptions. I’m going ahead, and if the cabin is safe, I’ll come back for you.”
“But what if he’s there? What if he ambushes you?” Her heart pounded at the thought of losing him. He’d protected her instead of sending her away in disgrace. She reached for his arm. “Let’s stay together. Please.”
His jaw worked. “It’s not the responsible thing to do.”
David grasped his other shoulder. “But we get a choice and we choose you.”