Thunder boomed, jarring the ground. Audrey rose from the seat and sawed back on the reins as the horse bolted. “Hold on!” Copper sat beside her, clutching the bench and shrieking. Drat this downpour! When they’d left Timber Creek three days ago, she’d intended to make a grand but refined entrance into town.
“Audrey Pride! You slow this wagon down this instant!” Copper demanded.
“Just hold on. Thunder Ridge is coming up.” Copper was anxious, while she, Audrey, took pride in fortitude. My goodness, if she came apart with every little unexpected bend in the road—or violent storm—she’d be nothing but shattered flesh. Her father’s legacy had been fortitude, and he’d taught his daughter well. If a thing was worth having, time was unimportant if in the end you acquired your goal. A man’s wisdom gives him patience… Proverbs, wasn’t it?
The buckboard glanced off something solid and jolted hard, nearly pitching the women out. Audrey regained her grip on the reins and fought to keep the horse under control in the blinding rain. “What’d we hit?” she called above the thunder volleys.
“How should I know? Everything’s a blur and I’m drenched to the core!” Oh please, God, not the water tower. The town was suffering from a dreadful drought, and water was a precious commodity.
It never rained in Thunder Ridge. That’s what Willow claimed in every letter. Well, if this wasn’t rain, Audrey would like to know what it was.
Only scant weeks ago she’d spent time here with Willow and her stricken uncle. At the time it had been so dry they were rationing water, not storing it. The wagon burst into town, horse galloping full ahead.
“We’re going to die,” Copper moaned. “Life’s over.”
“Oh hush.” Audrey stood and sawed back on the reins, slowing the frightened mare.
A strong male hand latched on to the bridle. Copper swooned, lying halfway across Audrey’s lap and the wagon bench. When the wagon bucked to a stop, Audrey realized Eli Gray had taken control of the rig. Their gazes touched, then skipped apart. Goose bumps—and not the ones caused by rain, stood out on her flesh. Eli. But if the black scowl on his face was any indication of welcome, she might as well turn around and go home.
Quickly adjusting her bonnet, she recovered what was left of her composure. “Eli! How nice to see you again!” She reached out to him. His hand remained on the bridle. The snub didn’t surprise her.
“Is anyone hurt?”
She turned to check on Copper, who had not stirred. Her friend’s usually rosy complexion was white as a January snowbank. Her gaze traveled back to where they’d come from, only to see a toppled tower. Oh my goodness. They had hit the town’s water supply after all.
Rain fell in sheets as Willow Madison raced toward the wagon, shouting her name. Tucker Gray trailed in her wake. “Audrey! Copper? Oh my goodness. Is anyone hurt?” As she arrived breathlessly, Willow’s gaze searched Audrey’s.
Accepting Eli’s gentlemanly hand, which was finally outstretched, Audrey stepped lightly from the wagon. “I’m fine, but Copper might need some smelling salts.”
Bystanders turned to accommodate the request as Audrey stepped into Willow’s waiting arms for a hug that felt like coming home. Oh, how she’d missed Willow’s uplifting smile. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again!”
“I had no idea you were coming until Silas told me not more than an hour ago about Blackberry Hill’s news. Why didn’t you write and tell me!”
“Everything happened so quickly. First the wire arrived saying that Blackberry Hill has decided to reopen school, and then on its heel, the wire confirming that Beeder’s Cove needed Copper’s services right away. We threw everything we owned into the wagon, closed our seamstress business—which admittedly was paltry, at best, and were on our way within hours. We knew we’d be here before a letter could reach you.”
Audrey turned back to Copper, who was struggling to sit up, her cheeks starting to show pink.
Copper stirred, lifting her head. “Where…what?”
“You’re all right,” Audrey soothed. “See? We made it just fine.”
Copper’s eyes widened. “Are we dead?”
Sighing, Audrey murmured, “Dead? Really, Copper. Look around you. Does this look like Paradise to you?”
Copper’s eyes roamed her surroundings. Audrey traced her gaze to water standing in puddles, running in streams. Actually, the town looked…soggy. The sawmill was only half rebuilt. Rain-soaked, wide-eyed strangers peered at them. And the two Gray cousins, Tucker and Eli, looked as stern as she’d ever seen them look.
“No, I suppose not.” Copper straightened her bonnet and tucked a few strands of wet hair back from her forehead.
Caleb, cousin to Tucker and Eli, arrived. He jumped from his horse and removed his hat, his eyes fixed on Audrey. “Miss Pride! What are you doing back?”
At the sound of his voice Audrey turned, but his gaze was fixed on the chaotic scene. “Caleb! How nice to see you again.”
Grinning, he turned and took her extended hand. “I didn’t expect you back so soon. To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“I’m going to be teaching in Blackberry Hill this fall.”
“Is that a fact?” His grin widened, and his eyes strayed back to Copper. “Well, praise the Lord. What happened?”
“Accident,” Audrey murmured, pulling her cape closer as the rain beat on her shoulders. Heat spread across her cheeks. How could she have hit the water tower? “Thunder spooked the horse.” Willow might have inadvertently burned the sawmill. But, if Uncle Judge Wallace hadn’t asked his niece to bring kerosene, and the thunder hadn’t spooked her horse, why the whole incident wouldn’t have happened. Yet Audrey had now destroyed the town’s water supply. Caleb turned back from the damaged tower to her.
She lifted her shoulders. “Quite a coincidence? Willow, then me, disrupting so much?”
“Quite.” His gaze shifted to Eli and Tucker. Eli shrugged. “The wagon must have hit that weak support bar on the tower. Although I can’t imagine how the horse would have missed…”
Copper shook her curls and interrupted, her fingers pressed to her temples. “I have a splitting headache.”
Willow helped her down from the seat. “Let’s get you to the judge’s house and into dry clothing.”
Tucker stepped closer to support Copper’s slight weight. “Would you like me to carry you, Miss Wilson?”
“No thank you. I can walk.” Copper straightened, fingered her hair into place, and the three headed to Uncle Wallace’s house, an ugly green structure that sat on the hill overlooking the mill.
Audrey waited, uncertain about what she should do with the wagon. Should she follow Willow or wait for someone to escort her? Her gaze pivoted to Eli.
A tall man dressed in denims and a plaid shirt pushed his way to the front of the crowd, trying to draw her attention. “Miss Pride?”
She turned. “Yes?”
“Oliver Jackson—we met a few weeks back? Head of Blackberry Hill school board?”
“Oh yes! Mr. Jackson.” Audrey reached to shake his hand. Her rescuer. If it were not for the teaching job she’d still be in Timber Creek, sewing on an occasional button or patch for a passerby. How nice of the committee to send a representative.
Oliver shook his head. “I’m sorry, Miss Pride. I feared you might not get the second wire in time.”
“Wire? We received one from Beeder’s Cove. Is that what you mean?”
He shook his head, casting his eyes to the ground. “We earnestly thought we’d be able to reopen the school right away, but it seems our bookkeeper’s excitement exceeded our finances.” He looked up. “It will be next fall before we can reopen the school.”
Audrey’s jaw dropped.
Shaking his head, he solemnly confessed. “I understand your dismay, and we’re prepared to pay your expenses back to Timber Creek.” He removed his hat, revealing a crop of snow-white hair rimming a bald head. “We’re most sorry, ma’am. We sent a second telegram as soon as we recognized our mistake.”
That missive would have been delivered to a now-deserted shack in Timber Creek. She and Copper had left so quickly the wire wouldn’t have had time to reach them. Eyes to the ground, the man threaded his way back through the crowd.
Audrey’s head spun. No job? Independence drained away. She glanced to see Eli and Caleb standing to the side, listening to the exchange. She managed a weak smile.
What would she do? Return to Timber Creek? Without Copper? She couldn’t bear the thought.
An elderly lady stepped up. “Pardon, dear, but I overheard your conversation, and I just wanted to say that I hear the undertaker is looking for an assistant.”
“Undertaker?”
“Kirkland Burying.”
“Kirkland Burying? That’s the undertaker’s name?”
The woman nodded and smiled as if she wasn’t aware of the irony. “Place belongs to Hank and Marion Burying, but their older son, Kirkland, runs it. The Buryings have been in the business as long as anyone can recall. Now Kirkland’s off buying supplies, but he’ll be back directly. Early next week, I’d say. You can go on down and have a talk with the boy. Work might not suit you, but it’d pay your bills and let you sleep better at night.”
Audrey shifted, trying to absorb the full impact of the news. She had no means of support. Copper would be teaching in Beeder’s Cove, Willow would be here in Thunder Ridge, and Audrey couldn’t think about returning to Timber Creek alone. Willow and Copper were the only family she had, and she couldn’t be apart from them. Not now, not when it felt as if her world had just fallen apart.
But she didn’t know a thing about burying, except it involved dead bodies.
Caleb’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Eli will take your wagon to the judge’s house.”
“Thank you.” Audrey fell into step, still trying to absorb the news. Well, the situation called for patience. She didn’t have a job at the moment, but come next fall she would. All she had to do was find something to tide her over, allow her a smidgen of independence. A smile touched the corners of her mouth when she saw Eli reach for the horse’s reins. Yes, patience, in this case, could be helpful. The unforeseen delay would allow her time to attract this particular man’s attention. And attract she would. She’d favored Eli over any of the Gray cousins from the day they’d first met. Perhaps God had sensed that the man had grieved long enough.
But could she work with dead folks? She supposed she could perform whatever service the undertaker required. They sure wouldn’t be likely to talk back. She shook the thought aside and tried not to concentrate on the long-term implications of her fears. She could do anything if it kept her with Willow and Copper, and Eli Gray within eyesight.
Casting a final glance at the mill site, Audrey trailed Caleb up the hill where the judge’s home sat. What was it the Good Book warned, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, today had its share of trouble”? Not an exact quote, but the same sentiment.
All she had to do was keep reasonably independent until the teaching position became available; pride said she must earn her keep. And she would, but in the meantime she intended to pursue this fine man who was now leading her horse up the hill. She might not attract his attention now, not today, or tomorrow, or maybe a year from now, but eventually he would have to notice her. She understood his need to overcome his loss; she’d lost mother, father, and an invalid brother a few years back, so grief wasn’t foreign to her. Mr. Gray needed time, but eventually he would be able to put the past aside. She felt it in her bones, and when she felt something in her bones it was a certainty.
Mind made up, she dismissed the unsettling turn of events and followed Eli up the hill.