37

Frederick held Sarah’s small hand as they walked toward the McKinney ranch. His life had changed in the course of one night. He had learned so much in the short time he’d spent in the lighthouse. He wanted, no needed, to think further on the things God showed him, but the utter horror of the destruction that lay before them demanded his attention. “Are you sure you want to go all the way to the ranch? It might not be safe.”

“Yes. Mama wants to know how bad it is.” Sarah pointed to an empty space where a house had once been. “I think that’s where the Bradleys lived. I hope they made it out.”

“I do too, my love.” Frederick felt sick to his stomach remembering the scene he’d passed the night before. Some of them hadn’t made it.

The peninsula didn’t have much of a road to begin with, but now there was none at all. Still, they walked where the road had once been. Things that had once been someone’s earthly belongings surrounded them, books, clothes, washbasins, dishes, a stuffed bear. Did their owners make it?

“I still can’t believe you were safe inside the lighthouse the whole time.”

“Well, not exactly. My friends and I were the last four people to be admitted before the lighthouse keeper shut the door.”

“You brought friends with you?”

“Not friends really. They were people on the train with me. A doctor, a young woman and her little girl.”

“You were on the train? Oh my, that must have been frightening.”

“Yes, but not nearly as frightening as helping the doctor set a badly broken bone, or wading through waist deep water and guiding a makeshift raft to the lighthouse with a mother and child balanced on top of it.”

“Frederick, that’s awful. However did you manage?”

“Oh, it wasn’t a big deal, I suppose. God was with us. And it was nothing like having a gun pulled on me. Do you suppose I qualify as a true Texan now?”

“What on earth happened?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later. Let’s go see what’s left of the ranch.”

The metal tracks of the Galveston and Interstate Railroad were pulled from the ground by the sheer force of the wind. Wooden crossties weighing two hundred pounds or more were tossed about like dead maple leaves in the fall.

“Oh, Frederick, thank goodness you got off the train when you did.”

He nodded in disbelief, but didn’t utter a word, thinking of those who’d stayed with the train.

The ranch wasn’t far ahead of them. Frederick held tight to Sarah’s hand. There was nothing left, not even the huge barn. No ranch house meant they wouldn’t encounter the dead bodies of Mr. Hobbs and his son, Nelson, he hoped. Frederick stopped walking and turned to Sarah. “There’s something I’ve been pondering I would like to ask you about.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Before I found you at the lighthouse I heard you talking to Grace about the rainbow. You seemed almost thankful. It…it’s hard for me to fathom you feeling that way after all you’ve been through.”

Sarah’s soft smile filled his heart with joy.

“I am thankful. Didn’t God keep His promise not to destroy the earth with flood? And He spared my life and my family too. I think I have much to be thankful for.”

Frederick pushed the cowboy hat up and rubbed his forehead. “I’m trying to understand. Truly I am.” Despite his assurance before that God was with them, he struggled with his newfound feelings, seeing the destruction around them.

She squeezed his hand. “That’s all I can ask for.”

~*~

Sarah ran to where the gate bearing the MK brand once stood. One lone wooden post remained. Sarah collapsed against the pole, grabbing hold of it with both arms. It was all gone, the ranch house, the barn, the animals—her home. She let go of the post. Her boots sank into the waterlogged sod with every step. A small section of the house’s floorboards, the part attached to the fireplace was still there. Huge stones had dislodged from the chimney. Sarah hopped up on the elevated floor.

“Sarah, be careful!” Frederick yelled.

One of the boards twisted beneath her feet. She grabbed hold of the mantel that was still attached to the fireplace remains. The center stone was still there. “Will you hand me one of those small rocks, please?”

“You need to come down from there. It’s not safe.”

“I will, after you give me a rock.”

“Your mother will have my hide if you hurt yourself.”

“I won’t get hurt. Now hand me that dark brown rock.”

Frederick gave her the stone.

She pounded against the fireplace with the rock. Grunting with each glancing blow, she wiggled what she was hitting up and down, back and forth, until it came off and slipped into her palm. “There, I have it!” With a satisfied smile, she held up the wrought iron MK brand that had embellished their fireplace her whole life.

“Are you quite happy now?” Frederick put his hands around her petite waist and lifted her onto the ground.

“Yes. It’s all I have left.”

Frederick swallowed her in an embrace. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

“It’s all right. Now I have something to remember this place by.”

“But it’s not all right. You’ve lost everything. Why aren’t you furious with God? I haven’t lost nearly as much as you, and I am angry.”

Sarah clutched the wrought iron emblem to her chest and gazed up into Frederick’s gorgeous green eyes. “Everything I’ve lost are just things, and things can be replaced. I have my life and my family, and that’s all that really matters. When I was at the top of the lighthouse during the storm, I didn’t think we would make it. I prayed God would save us.” She looked back at him. “I also asked God to spare your life, and look, here you are.”

Frederick plopped down on the edge of the remaining floorboards. After what seemed like a long time he finally looked up at her. “Your words reminded me of something that happened while we were in the lighthouse. I heard a man screaming, but the water was already too deep. There was no way I could open the door. I didn’t know where you were. I feared you dead. In my desperation, I called out to God. I asked Him to spare the lives of the people in the lighthouse.” He raised his head and looked at her with watery, red eyes. “But I begged Him to save you, Sarah. I realize now…He answered my prayer.”

Sarah fell to her knees. Her skirt squished into the soft earth. She held her hands out, and Frederick took hold of them. “You prayed for me?” Her eyes could no longer hold onto the tears. “Both our prayers were answered.”

Frederick released Sarah’s hands and wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, my darling, Sarah, I love you so.”

“And I love you, Fre…”

Frederick pressed his lips to hers and stirred something deep within her. His lips slid from her mouth and caressed the length of her neck. She sucked in a deep breath as heat rose up her chest. Bells rang. Were they wedding bells? The more Frederick kissed her, the louder the bells sounded.

“Missy Sarah, Missy Sarah!”

She would know that accent anywhere.

Pedro and Inez drove their mule cart up the washed-out drive. The mule’s fancy harness jingled with each step.

Sarah quickly turned to Frederick. “Is my face red? It feels very hot. Just look at me. You’ve made a complete mess of me.”

Frederick chuckled and pulled his handkerchief out. “You’re absolutely beautiful. Just as you always are.” He offered her the cloth.

She rubbed her neck and face.

“Pedro! Inez! Praise God you made it through the storm!” Reaching the cart, Sarah threw her arms around Inez’s neck and hugged her tight. “Pedro, Inez, this is Frederick Chessher.” Saying his name ushered the heat back up her neck. She couldn’t stop smiling.

“Que paso?” Pedro held the reins in both hands.

“Hola,” Inez said, a big grin on her face.

“Um, uh, hola.” Frederick shoved his hands in his pockets.

Pedro rested his arm on his knee. “Donde es su Mama, y hermanas…uh, uh, sisters?”

Inez’s eyes grew wide, and she grabbed Pedro’s arm. “El bebé!”

“Everyone is fine. We stayed in the top of the lighthouse. Louise had the baby, a little boy!”

Inez put her palms on her cheeks and rattled something in Spanish.

Pedro looked confused and glanced from Inez to Sarah and back to Inez. “Que?”

“What is it, Pedro?” Sarah asked.

Pedro laughed, a hand resting on his round belly. “She, she say she want to know why you cheeks color so rojo!”

Sarah’s hand flew to her cheek. She opened her mouth to speak. “I…I…” She turned to Frederick who covered his mouth with his hand. “Uh! Not you too!”

“I’m sorry, Sarah, but you are quite red.”

In the past, Sarah would have stomped off, mad at all of them, but not anymore. Her life had been spared, along with her family and the love of her life. She wouldn’t waste another day worrying or feeling sorry or getting even. She would live every day to the fullest, just as God had planned. She put both her palms on her burning cheeks. “Oh, my goodness! They are hot!” A wide smile spread across her face, and she began to chuckle, which then turned into a deep, body-shaking, contagious laugh.

The others joined in.