Faith's Mountain Home Read online

With her first step, she bit back a cry. The ankle didn’t buckle, but she had to lock her jaw against the pain coursing through her.

  “Miss Hannon?” Nate’s tone came out tentative. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. I only want to make sure you’re safe. Let me help.”

  She shifted her leg to attempt to walk up the incline toward the entrance. Her right leg protested, so she dropped her hands to the floor and tried to walk on all fours, at least until she made it through the cave opening. With the revolver and satchel in one hand, the position proved extremely awkward, but she was able to move forward. Good thing the darkness hid her posterior raised up in the air. No need to add insult to injury.

  She made it to where Nate stood, but she may as well continue all the way outside before facing him, since she’d have to duck under the low cave opening anyway. He stepped aside to allow her to pass.

  The bright sunlight pierced her eyes, forcing a squint as she waddled out of the entrance and used the cliff wall to help her stand. While Nate emerged behind her, she slung the satchel strap over her head and moved the revolver to her shooting hand. She kept the gun down by her side, almost hidden in her skirt. No need to draw attention to the weapon, but she’d have it ready if she needed to defend herself.

  After ducking out of the cave, Nate straightened and turned to her. Black dirt smudged his face, the edges of his hairline curling a darker brown with dried sweat. He must be telling the truth about having just come from his work in the mine. Evening lit the western sky, so the timing would be right.

  His gaze slid down the length of her, snagging on the gun at her side, then returned to her face. “Please don’t be afraid. Is your foot injured?”

  “Only a slight twist of my ankle. I’ll take it slow going back, so you’ve no need to worry about me.”

  His brows lowered. “Are you sure?” The earnest concern in his green eyes made her hesitate. But only for a heartbeat.

  Even if he could be trusted, she needed to be independent. If life had taught her nothing else these past few years, she’d learned that lesson all too well. She gave a decisive nod. “I’m certain.” If she had to crawl all the way back to town, she’d manage.

  He motioned to the path beyond her, that thin ribbon of flat rock she’d followed to reach this place. “Go ahead, then.”

  She wouldn’t be able to walk without a strong limp, and there was no sense in calling attention to her injury. “I’ll come behind you.” She raised her chin and leaned against the rock wall to allow him space to pass. Then she waved the same direction he had.

  The breath he blew out made his frustration clear, but he straightened and marched forward. Their clothing almost brushed as he slid past her on the narrow ledge, and she caught the scent of a long, hard workday. And maybe a hint of damp mustiness from the mine.

  He strode about ten steps down, then stopped and looked back at her. “I can’t leave you stranded here.”

  Of course he couldn’t. Nate had always seemed the kind of man who couldn’t resist being responsible for those around him. Especially those weaker.

  She would have to show him she could walk.

  Lord, make my ankle strong. Please.

  With one hand on the cliff beside her to help bear her weight, she gripped the pistol in her other and took a tentative step forward. Using the rock wall for support, she managed to traipse along the flat stone path, one painful step at a time.

  When they reached the place where the stone ledge ended and the grassy downhill slope began, her screaming ankle forced her to pause. Nate had stayed just in front of her, casting anxious looks back at her, and he stopped now, too.

  Without the cliff wall for support, the distance between this mountain and the town—what had been only a half-hour’s brisk walk— now stretched interminably. She’d never arrive at the clinic before dark at the pace she’d managed these past minutes. And without support to keep some of the weight off her ankle . . .

  Nate moved to her side. “Hold on to my shoulder.”

  Maybe she should resist, but the pain shooting up her leg had numbed her better judgment. Without a word, she raised her right arm, and he slipped into place beside her. He stood almost a head taller than she did, so he had to bend in order to wrap his arm around her waist.

  The warmth of his closeness should have put her on edge, but something about his manner eased her fear as they took their first tentative steps.

  Slowly, they progressed over the rocks she’d clambered up so easily before. It seemed to take at least half an hour just to get back to firm soil. They certainly wouldn’t reach the clinic before nightfall.

  A root of fear poked through her pain. Would it be dangerous to be out with him after dark? She pressed the thought down. It couldn’t be any more dangerous than in daylight. And Nate hadn’t done anything to give her the slightest alarm since they’d left the cave. In fact, he was going through a great deal of trouble to help her. She focused on breathing steadily, doing everything she could to calm her irrational thoughts.

  Her arm ached from clinging to his shoulder. Which wouldn’t be so bad if her ankle didn’t feel as though someone pounded it with an iron mallet during each step.

  “Let’s stop a minute so you can rest.” Nate motioned to a fallen tree.

  “I don’t need to rest. Ingrid and the doctor will worry if I’m not back by dark.” Ingrid had assumed the role of older sister these past few months Laura had lived with them and worked in the clinic.

  He helped her take another agonizing step. “If I go to them for help, will you wait here?”

  The thought stiffened her spine. As much love and gratitude as she’d developed for Ingrid and Doc Micah, she couldn’t always be turning to them for help. In those first weeks after the kidnapping, she’d let herself rest under the shadow of the Bradleys’ protection and nurturing care, but she’d let that condition continue far too long. She had to stand on her own two feet now—very literally, in this case.

  She shook her head. “Let’s keep going.”

  He didn’t speak again for a long while, just kept his steady presence there to support her. The longer she gripped his shoulder and leaned against him, the easier it was to imagine what it would be like to have someone to lean on any time she needed it.

  Ingrid and the doctor had been gifts from God, but sometimes their nurturing felt a little . . . smothering. If only she had someone who was there beside her when she needed them, yet not overbearing. A partner.

  Just the way her brother Will had been.

  A fresh pain stabbed at her, but this time nearer her heart. Her brother would never be there to walk alongside her again. No one could ever take his place, but the gentle touch of the man now bearing part of her weight made this one situation better at least.

  But thoughts like that would only get her into trouble.

  Two

  Nate Long needed to say something to distract himself. To distract them both—Miss Hannon from her pain and him from the way having this woman pressed against him was bringing his whole body to life.

  He scrambled to think of a topic, and finally settled on what he’d wanted to ask her before he stupidly scared her into injuring herself. “I never knew that cave was there. I only got a glimpse before your match went out, but the inside looked larger than I expected.”

  Miss Hannon’s breathing came in rough inhales and exhales, a testament to the pain she was clearly trying to hide. She may not be able to talk through her suffering. If not, he would have to fill in the gaps—that is, if he could get his head straight.

  “This was the first”—she winced as her injured limb snagged on a stick “—time I’ve been up here.”

  “So you were just discovering the cave when I came by? It’s only a few minutes’ walk from the mine. I’d heard there were chokecherry bushes nearby, so I thought I’d get a snack and a closer look at the mountain before heading to the clinic. Then I saw you and was only going to say hello until you slipped. I was afraid you might
need help.” He was rambling, but at least he’d filled the air with words. Anything to take her mind off her pain.

  She didn’t respond, so he reached for something more to add. “Could you tell what those things hanging inside the cave were? I only caught a quick look.”

  “Some kind of . . . rock formation . . . I think.” She spoke between breaths as she limped forward.

  “I’d like to come back with a lantern and see more. Is there only that one cavern?” When he’d find time to come back, he had no notion. He worked every hour they’d allow him to at the mine, and whatever waking hours remained, he tried to spend with Aaron. His brother had no one else to keep his spirits up.

  “Don’t know.” Miss Hannon gulped in a breath. “Didn’t see . . . the end.”

  They’d reached the well-worn wagon path from the mine to Settler’s Fort, and he turned them toward the town. “I wonder if there are many caves in this area. Natural ones, I mean. Not made by miners.” He spent more than enough time in those dank spaces where blasting powder had blown away the inside of the mountain. Seeing all the natural layers of rock and mineral was interesting, but hours of chipping through stone could weary a man’s body.

  At least it is honest work, though. That thought was one he’d never grow tired of.

  A distant sound pricked his ears. “Stop for a minute.” He slowed his pace but kept his arm around her waist. A nicely curved waist, but he pushed that thought aside as he strained to hear the distant sound.

  Behind them, the jingle of a harness was joined by the grinding of wagon wheels and the many creaks of a wooden buckboard. They both turned to look, and soon enough, a pair of tired bays came into view, pulling one of the mine wagons. A man in a wide-brimmed hat appeared behind the horses, perched atop the bench.

  “I’m sure Hiram will give us a ride. Does that suit you?” He glanced at the woman beside him. Her pretty face had flushed red from exertion. But she was breathing a little easier now that they’d stopped for a minute.

  Her eyes lifted to his, and those wide brown orbs struck him in the chest, just like they always did when she looked at him. He’d never been immune to her beauty, not since that first time he saw her all those months ago. He could still feel the fury coursing through his veins when he realized what his jug-headed companions had done—kidnapping an innocent woman and boy just to cover up their robbery gone horribly wrong.

  That long-familiar knot pulled tight in his gut. He might never be free of the awful feeling that came when he thought of those past choices. God had forgiven him, but truly putting the past behind him was a whole other matter.

  Thank the Lord the good people in Settler’s Fort had extended him grace along with the sentence he’d been handed for his crimes. As soon as he earned enough to finish paying back the people their gang had wronged, he’d truly be free to start a new life.

  “Ho there.” Hiram Mathers reined in the team beside them. The man didn’t even raise an eye at the way Nate had his arm wrapped around the pretty lady, but he felt he should explain quickly.

  “Glad you came along. Miss Hannon here has an injured leg.” He nodded down to her right boot. “I was trying to help her back to town to the doctor’s clinic, but it’d be a sight easier if you have room up there for her to ride.” As far as he could tell, the wagon bed was mostly empty. Hiram must be on his way back to town from delivering supplies to the mine.

  The man removed his hat and wiped a grimy sleeve across his damp brow, leaving a smear of dirt on his forehead. “’Course. You wanna sit up here or in the back?” Hiram wasn’t long on social graces, but the man seemed a decent sort.

  The bench seat was raised up on springs but wouldn’t give Miss Hannon much room to stretch out her injured leg. Nate was pretty sure the ankle was sprained but not broken, since she was able to move the limb. Keeping it raised while she rested would be what she needed most.

  “The back is fine. Thank you.” Nate helped her hobble around the wagon, then let her balance herself while he lifted off the rear gate. “Can you climb up?”

  She turned and braced her hands on the wagon bed to hoist herself up, but sheer exhaustion weighed her features as she paused to summon strength. He moved forward to help. “I’ll lift you up.”

  She didn’t object as he reached a hand under her legs and one behind her back, then eased her up into the wagon. She was lighter than he’d have thought, and she didn’t look at him as she arranged her skirts.

  “Thank you.” Her mumble was barely loud enough for him to hear.

  He nodded in response, then stepped away from the wagon.

  She finally raised her eyes to him. “Aren’t you going to ride?”

  He glanced up at Hiram, who had turned to watch them from his perch.

  “I guess I might as well.” In truth, his body was beyond weary from the day’s hard work underground. “We’re heading to the same place, after all.”

  Miss Hannon shifted her skirts again to clear a place for him, and he slid into the spot, hanging his legs off the back.

  “You folks hang on,” Hiram called from above, then turned away from them. “Move on, gals. We’re almost done fer the day.”

  The ride into town was a noisy, bumpy affair, what with the jostling, creaking, and jangling of the wagon. But at least Nate didn’t have to struggle to keep a one-sided conversation. He’d have liked to turn and watch Miss Hannon, but that would be impolite for certain. Even with his and Aaron’s spotty upbringing being passed from one unwilling family member to another, he’d been taught not to stare. Had it pounded into him by way of a stick against his backside, in fact.

  A few fellow miners raised friendly hands to wave as Hiram drove through the town’s main street toward the clinic. Nate nodded in greeting, as well, and at last the man reined in the team in front of the building that had become far too familiar these past months.

  The clinic door opened as Nate jumped to the ground and turned to help Miss Hannon. The doctor’s wife stepped onto the porch and paused to study them. She gasped when her gaze landed on the woman gingerly lowering her injured leg off the back of the wagon. “Laura, what happened?”

  “It’s only a sprain.” Miss Hannon’s voice dragged with exhaustion. “Naught to worry over.”

  She reached up to hold on to his shoulder, and he slipped his arm around her waist. Having her tucked beside him like this now felt perfectly natural. As though they’d walked together like this for years.

  “Shall I get the walking sticks?” Mrs. Bradley moved down the stairs as she spoke.

  “No.” Miss Hannon waved off the suggestion.

  The lady sure could be stubborn.

  With the doctor’s wife at Miss Hannon’s other side, they worked their way up the stairs. On the porch, Nate glanced back at Hiram, still watching them from his bench. The man hadn’t offered to climb down from his perch to help, but maybe he’d sat up there so long his legs no longer worked. Still, without his timely arrival, Miss Hannon would have endured a great deal more pain.

  Nate nodded to the man. “’Preciate it, Hiram. See you tomorrow.”

  With a parting wave, the driver snapped his reins and called to the team, “Move on, gals.”

  Mrs. Bradley pushed open the door and stepped in first, still holding Miss Hannon’s other arm. “Micah will be home any minute. He went to check on a patient on the other side of town. Let’s take you straight to your room.” She motioned down the hall, probably for Nate’s sake. “It’s that middle door on the left.”

  The center hallway spanned the depth of the house, with several doors along either side. He knew well that the first door on the right opened to an examination room. That was where the doctor had ushered Aaron when they’d arrived in town, his brother in agony with a shattered thighbone, another bullet in his shoulder, and almost lifeless from so much lost blood.

  On the left side of the hall, he was pretty sure that the first door opened to a storage room of sorts. And the next door was where his broth
er would be, the chamber he’d been holed up in for three months now as his leg healed. Lord willing, he’d soon be set free.

  The doctor’s wife led them to the door down the hall from Aaron’s. As she pushed it open, a quick glance inside showed a flowery quilt on the bed. Nate paused. Maybe he shouldn’t go in there.

  Miss Hannon looked up at him, and her face formed a weak smile. “I can make it from here. Thank you, N—Mr. Long. For everything.”

  For a split second, it sounded like she’d been about to call him by his given name. Part of him longed to hear it in her sweet voice. Mr. Long sounded so foreign to him. No one had ever called him or Aaron by such a formal address. And it wasn’t as if they’d known their father, who might have been called such. Not the deadbeat who hadn’t had enough respect for their mother to marry her after getting her with child.

  So no, he’d really rather not hear Miss Hannon call him something the slacker who sired him might have been named.

  He pulled his arm from around her waist and moved it to her elbow. “Call me Nate.” Please.

  She nodded. “Thank you, Nate.” Then she turned and limped toward the bed, Mrs. Bradley helping her with each step.

  As much as he wanted to linger nearby, he should leave her to Mrs. Bradley’s capable care. Miss Hannon surely wouldn’t be able to rest with a strange man hovering around her.

  A strange man. That was most likely the way she saw him, but before he could start to feel too sorry for himself, he turned away. Aaron was waiting for him, as he was every evening. Nate’s time would best be spent trying to bolster his brother’s low spirits.

  He turned toward the closed door. If only Aaron would keep the room open, he could be more a part of the goings-on in the house and clinic. Mrs. Bradley had offered that option so many times. Those in the clinic surely saw the depths of his brother’s moods even more than Nate did, since they were with him throughout the day as they brought food and emptied the chamber pot.

  He tapped Aaron’s door. “It’s me.” He reached for the handle and pushed. No snore sounded from inside, so he was probably awake. Aaron had always been a snorer, but with the extra weight he’d gained from lying abed these past months, the sound was growing stronger.