Laney entered her soddy, a smile spread across her face. A contented sigh escaped her lips. Home.
Upon further inspection of the room, warmth flooded her cheeks. The house was twice as clean as it had been when she’d left for church the previous Sunday. It didn’t take much for Laney to picture Granny clucking and shaking her head while she picked up the clutter.
Shaking off the embarrassment, Laney moved across the room, determined to get in as much work as possible before nightfall—the time she’d promised Mama Cassidy and Tarah that she would stop working, eat a bite of food, and head to bed for a full night’s sleep. When her gaze reached the corner of the room where she had set up her work area, her mouth dropped open. Shelves stood before her, reaching from the ceiling to the earthen floor. She tested the smooth wood with her fingertips, marveling at its softness. Her dress goods were folded and arranged on shelves according to fabric. Smaller shelves contained other necessary items such as thread and shears.
“Do you like it?”
Laney spun around, her hand pressed against her heart. “Luke, do you have to sneak up on a person?”
A grin split his face. “Sorry.” He inclined his head toward the shelves. “What do you think?”
“What do I think?” She clasped her hands together to keep from making a fool of herself by clapping with delight. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Who made it?”
Luke’s face reddened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his neck.
Laney’s eyes widened. “You did this?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, then cleared his throat. “Where do you want Granny’s trunk?”
“Luke, I don’t know what to say. I’m so grateful, I—” She stopped short as her mind registered his last question at the same time she noticed the oak trunk at his feet. “What do you mean, where do I want Granny’s trunk?”
“You didn’t expect her to come with just the clothes on her back, did you?” Luke’s lips twitched with amusement.
“Luke, what are you talking about? Why is Granny coming?”
He studied her face for a moment, bewilderment registering in his own expression. Then he threw back his head and howled with laughter. “They didn’t tell you!”
A sense of dread tightened Laney’s stomach. “Tell me what? Stop that cackling this minute, or so help me, I’ll flatten you.”
“Granny is coming tomorrow to stay with you.”
Weakness settled in Laney’s knees. She grabbed a nearby chair and sat before she lost the ability to stand. “Tell me you’re joking,” she whispered.
“‘Fraid not,” he drawled. “And it’s your own fault for making yourself sick.”
“How long is she staying? A week?” That sounded fair. After all, Laney had shared her room for a week.
Again, Luke’s lips twitched. “Guess again.”
“Two?” Laney gulped.
“Laney, Granny’s moving in—lock, stock, and barrel.”
A groan escaped Laney’s throat. “Think it would make a difference if I promise to eat and sleep more?”
“Not a chance. You know Granny; she’s convinced that you need her, and she’s going to stay here no matter what.” He hoisted the trunk across his back. “Where to?” he asked, groaning under the weight.
“Oh, who cares?” she replied, giving him a distracted wave. “Anywhere you can find a spot for it is fine.” What difference did it make? This was no longer her home. Granny would move in and take over completely. Laney might as well move back in with Tarah and Anthony for all the freedom she’d have now.
Luke deposited the trunk in a spare corner, then turned. “It might not be so bad. Personally I feel a lot better knowing Granny’s going to be here to look after you.”
Laney’s ire rose. She stood, stretching to her full height. “I don’t need anyone looking after me. I can take care of myself.”
With a smirk, Luke headed toward the door, then turned and faced her. “I guess I could remind you where you just spent the last week—and why; but knowing you, you’d deny the whole thing just to try to prove a point. Regardless, you’d best get used to the idea. Granny’s moving in, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
He turned his back and ducked through the doorway. Laney stomped across the room, intending to slam the door behind him; but when she peeked out, she realized he wasn’t finished unloading the wagon.
Granny had brought all of her bedding, as well.
“Move back so I can get it through the door. Oh.” Luke pulled a bottle out of his pocket. “Granny’s liniment.”
Tears of condemnation sprang to Laney’s eyes. “I’m rotten to the core, Luke. Here I have been thinking about Granny invading my house and taking away my privacy, and really she’s the one sacrificing her comfort for me. She’ll ache all the time, what with the arthritis in her hip. And you know I’ll have to fight her to take my bed and let me take the floor.”
Luke reached forward and captured Laney’s hand. “The last thing you are is rotten to the core, honey. And I know exactly how you feel. As much as I love our family and thank God for them, sometimes it can feel like you’re being smothered.”
Laney nodded, still inwardly berating herself for her pathetic lack of loyalty to the family who took her in and loved her as though she were one of their own. She barely noticed when Luke stepped closer, until he was so close she had to look up to meet his gaze.
“Now that you understand how I feel, won’t you change your mind and come west with me? We’ll have the wide-open range and all the freedom we could possibly want.”
Laney glowered, shocked beyond words at the very suggestion. When she recovered her voice, she gave it to him with both barrels blazing. “Luke St. John, how can you even suggest I leave these wonderful people after all they’ve done for me?”
Luke’s jaw dropped open. “Six seconds ago, you were ready to throw poor Granny out on her ear to have your privacy, and now they’re too wonderful to leave behind?” He grabbed his Stetson from the table and headed toward the door. “You’re crazy!”
Laney stormed after him, but he was already in the wagon before she reached the threshold. “Oh yeah?” she called after him. “Well, you’re…you’re—” Rats! He was already driving away. She reared back and slammed the door as hard as she could. Gaining little satisfaction, she kicked at the closest chair.
As pain laced her toes, bringing her back to her senses, Laney felt the heat creep to her cheeks. She had to stop letting Luke rile her so much. Especially after Anthony had just preached a sermon yesterday about a person not sinning even when they are mad as all get-out. And she hardly ever got mad at anyone besides Luke. So he pretty much was the only reason she’d sinned in the first place. She knew she had to stop allowing Luke to goad her into getting so angry. Of course, he would be gone in a few months, and that would be the end of that.
Sobered by the last thought, Laney felt her shoulders slump. During the past week, each conversation she had shared with Luke inevitably steered toward the topic of his heading to Oregon. Laney couldn’t stop the despair from flooding her at the memory of his green eyes shining with excitement as he spoke of raising his herd and leaving a legacy for his children. His children. Pain knifed through Laney. Children he would share with another woman. White-hot hatred flared inside her toward that other woman—the nameless, faceless woman who would share Luke’s dream and win his love away from Laney.
Suddenly she hurried to her bed and knelt. She planted her elbows on the mattress and closed her eyes. Unable to bring herself to talk aloud in the empty room, she silently petitioned God.
I know You’re up there looking out for me, God, just like You have ever since I was just a tyke. I want to thank You again for not letting me grow up with that drunken, no-good pa of mine.
I haven’t asked for much all these years since I received Your Son, Jesus, as my Lord and Savior. I know I don’t have the right to ask for more than You’ve already given me. But I thought seeing as how it’s been so many years, and I haven’t asked for anything up to now, maybe You wouldn’t mind doing me a little favor. I was wondering if You could sorta fix it so Luke decides to stick around these parts. And just so You know, if it don’t happen, I won’t hold it against You.
Well, she’d done all she could. Now it was up to Luke and God. She had work to do.
Luke paced the hallway outside of Pa’s bedroom door. Panic gripped him at the groans of pain coming from beyond the walls.
“I brought you some coffee.”
He turned. His adopted sister, Emily, approached and handed him a steaming mug.
He took the cup gratefully and leaned against the wall. Another moan escaped through the walls. Luke’s stomach knotted even tighter, and he shook his head.
“You can’t blame yourself, Luke.” Emily’s own expression was filled with pain at the sounds of agony coming from their pa’s room.
“I should have insisted on getting rid of that old bull last year. It’s almost like Ol’ Angus knew he was about to be sold and wanted to punish Pa for it.”
“Oh Luke. Don’t be silly. Ol’ Angus just got through that fence at the wrong time, and Pa took the punishment for it. It was an accident. Just be glad you were there to take him down before he could kill Pa. God sent you along at the right time.”
Luke sipped his coffee and studied Emily over the rim of the mug. Two years his junior, she could have passed for his twin with her carrot-orange hair, green eyes, and freckles. He couldn’t count the times they’d been mistaken for blood relatives even though, in truth, Emily was Cassidy’s niece. When her real pa had died of cholera, Cassidy had taken over Emily’s care and had brought her along when she married Pa.
As though unaware of his scrutiny, Emily gave him a tender smile. “Really, you’re a hero. Pa wouldn’t be here at all now if not for you.”
“I’m glad I was there, but it doesn’t change the fact that I knew we needed to put in a new fence where Pa’s crazy bull keeps getting out. Instead, I just patched it up again. If I had just gone with my gut, Pa wouldn’t be laid out flat in there. What if Sam can’t save his leg?”
Luke shuddered at the thought. What would Pa do if he lost his leg?
“We just have to pray hard,” Emily replied firmly, reaching for him. Luke accepted the proffered hand and closed his eyes.
“Dear Lord,” Emily prayed. “You see our pa in there, and You know how serious his condition is. We ask You to spare his life. That’s the most important thing. Please give Sam wisdom and guide his hands. If possible, please help him to save Pa’s leg. But if it’s already too far gone, please give Pa the grace to accept it and to live with it. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Luke pushed away the thought. He didn’t want to consider the possibility that God wouldn’t save Pa’s leg. God could do a miracle. He’d done plenty, and Luke had even witnessed a few. Surely saving Pa’s leg wasn’t too much trouble.
“Why don’t we go sit with Ma awhile?” Emily suggested. “She’s pretty shaken up. Sam won’t let her anywhere near the bedroom.”
“It’s just as well she can’t hear Pa groan.” Luke cast a glance at the closed door and headed into the sitting room.
Hours later, Sam emerged, pale and shaken.
“How is he?” Cassidy asked, her eyes wide with fright.
Sam sank to the nearest chair and jammed his fingers into his thick hair, raking back the black locks with one quick swipe. He leaned his elbows on his knees and regarded his family wearily. “I’ve never seen so many lacerations on one leg. I lost count of the stitches.”
“You saved the leg, then?” Luke asked.
Sam’s blue eyes filled, and his voice faltered. “I don’t know. We have to keep the wounds clean and pray infection doesn’t set in. To tell you the truth, even if Pa gets to keep his leg, there is no telling how much damage that bull did to the muscles. Pa may never have use of it again.”
As though the burden of the past hours overwhelmed him, Sam buried his face in his palms and wept like a baby.
Cassidy stood immediately and went to him. She knelt on the wooden floor and took him into her arms. “Shh. You did all you could.”
“What if it wasn’t enough? Why did Doc Simpson have to be out of town now, of all times?”
“You are a capable doctor. Would your father-in-law have done anything different than you did?”
“I don’t think so. There wasn’t much to do but stitch him up and pray for the best.”
“All right, then,” Cassidy said with a nod. “I remember Doc Simpson saying once that even doctors can’t control what God ordains. You just have to do the best you can and leave the rest up to the Lord. Your pa knows that. No matter what happens, you have to believe God is in control. That way, you can’t take the credit for the successes or the blame when things don’t work out.” She smiled and stood. “May I go to him?”
“I have him heavily medicated with chloroform,” Sam replied, once again the professional doctor rather than the broken son. “Hopefully he’ll sleep through the night. When he wakes up, the pain will be nearly unbearable.”
“I’d still like to sit with him,” Ma insisted.
Sam nodded. “Go ahead. But there’ll be a lot of moaning in his sleep. Make sure you come out if it begins to bother you. Pa won’t even know you’re there, much less when you leave.”
“Thank you, Sam. Emily made up your old bed for you. Go get some rest. I’ll wake you when your pa rouses.”
“Want me to ride over and tell Camilla you’ll be staying over tonight?” Luke asked, feeling suddenly as though he needed to do something…anything to feel useful.
“No need. She’ll expect it.” Sam stood. “I’m going to try to catch a few hours of sleep. Wake me if you need me.”
“Thank you for everything, Sam. Try to cast the worry of this over on the Lord and get some rest,” Ma said. “Good night.”
“May I come with you and sit with Pa for a few minutes, Ma?” Emily asked softly, her voice trembling.
“Of course.” Cassidy slipped her arm about Emily’s shoulders, and they headed down the hall to the bedroom.
Luke watched as Sam followed, then turned at the bedroom they had once shared.
He released a heavy sigh and stoked the fire, watching the sparks fly upward. What if Pa never regained use of his leg again or lost it altogether? Then Luke would have no choice but to stay on indefinitely and run the ranch for the family. He would never get to Oregon. His mind rejected the thought instantly as guilt crept over him. How could he even think about himself at a time like this?
With a sigh, he added a log to the fire. After he was satisfied it would keep the house sufficiently warm until he returned, Luke slipped into his coat and wrapped a scarf around his neck. Feeling the heavy weight of responsibility on his shoulders, he stepped into the blustery November night to attend to chores and make sure all was well on the ranch.