Page 179 of Conveniently Wed
A sigh sneaked out, as she turned and moved toward the kitchen. Her limp was slight these days, although tiredness exaggerated it now. She lifted the lid off the pot on the stove and poked a fork into the deer roast simmering. It was getting tougher each time she checked it.
She shot another glance out the window. Gideon should have been home an hour ago. He was usually so dependable, almostnever varying his timing more than a quarter hour. She had a suspicion he kept to such a rigid schedule for Miriam’s sake, to give her a sense of security. Why else would he make the long ride home for lunch almost every day, when it would be much easier to pack the meal in his saddlebags and eat with the herd? That made his absence tonight so much more worrisome.
Squaring her shoulders, she turned toward her friend. “I’m going out to look for him.”
Miriam’s head shot up from the quilt squares she’d been stitching. “You can’t go out in the dark. You’ll get lost and freeze to death.”
Leah clenched her jaw. She couldnotjust sit here without knowing if Gideon was all right. What if he’d fallen from his horse and been knocked unconscious, or been mauled by a mountain lion? He could be dying while she twiddled her thumbs. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it. I can’t stay here when Gideon needs help.”
Miriam paused for a moment, then sighed and set her sewing aside. “I’m coming with you then.”
It seemed to take forever to gather a rifle, blankets, lanterns, and a thermos of coffee, then saddle the horses. Images of Gideon’s prone body assaulted her mind, bleeding from an Indian arrow, or swollen from a snakebite. Prayer was her only weapon against the unknown forces that may have struck him, and she used it with fervor.
As they started on the trail through the woods, Miriam took the lead, calling for her brother as they went.
While Miriam’s calls echoed through the quiet forest, Leah’s eyes scanned the snow around them for some kind of trail or marking that would point them to Gideon. The trees overhead sheltered them from moonlight, allowing her to see only about twenty feet in any direction. Each time she recognized a landmark from their ride the week before, her heart gave a littleleap, but there was no sign of Gideon.Lord, please show us the way.
After an eternity, the trees broke, and they reached the overlook with the magnificent view. The knot in her gut obliterated the pleasure that usually came with the memory of sitting here on horseback with Gideon. Her shoulders tensed even more, if that were possible.
The trail entered the woods again, the darkness soaking into Leah’s skin.
“Gideon!” She added her own cry to Miriam’s.
A yip sounded in the distance, and every nerve in her body stood on alert, listening.
“Did you hear that?” She didn’t wait for Miriam to respond, but pushed her mare off the trail and through the deep snow. “Drifter!”
After a few seconds, another yip sounded. Not the dog’s normal excited bark, but a strangled cry that raised bumps on her arms. She had a better fix on the direction now, and she kicked her mare, pushing her faster than was safe in the deep snow.
“Drifter!”
The dog continued to yelp, and finally she saw him, huddled under a bush. As she leaped from her horse and covered the last few feet, a pool of dark snow lay around him. Blood.
“Hey, boy. That’s a good boy. What’s wrong with you?” She kept up a steady croon as she stroked the dog’s head and struggled to determine his injuries in the dark. Long, deep scratches covered his right side, and his right front leg was soaked with blood.
“What’s happened?” Miriam crouched behind her, peering around Leah. Her face was almost as white as the snow, giving her a ghostly appearance.
“He has some deep cuts and blood all over his leg. Can we put him on your horse so we can keep looking for Gideon?” Her voice trembled with intensity. If Drifter was injured this badly, what might have happened to Gideon? Shehadto find him.
Miriam remounted and Leah carefully wrapped the dog in a blanket, then handed him up to her friend. He whined when she first moved him, but as she settled him across Miriam’s lap, that familiar tongue licked across her wrist. “It’s all right boy. We’re gonna find Gideon and get you both fixed up.”
She started off again on foot, leading her horse so she could follow Drifter’s trail of blood. The going was slow and exhausting, with the snow mid-thigh in most areas. Finally, she mounted her horse. The crimson trail was more clear now, and every minute mattered.
They were moving uphill, wrapping around the mountain and skirting boulders that peeked out from the snow. The trees had thinned and morphed into low shrubs with occasional scruffy pine. Her heart pounded harder with each stride.
Miriam continued to call Gideon’s name, the fear in her tone intensifying the farther they rode.
Her eyes drifted back to the ground. No blood. The snow appeared solid white. Had they missed Gideon? She drew her horse to a stop and surveyed the area as far as she could see. No sign of the man. Should they continue or backtrack?
An opening in the rock side of the mountain caught her attention. A cave. She jumped from her horse and looped the mare’s reins on a branch.
“Gideon?” Leah’s hands shook as she struggled to unhook the lantern from her saddle horn. She stepped cautiously into the mouth of the cave, her light almost ineffective against the deep darkness. “Gideon!”
A faint moan inside and she shuffled that direction. The lantern gradually illuminated a body lying prone on the rockfloor. Leah’s heart clenched as she dropped to her knees beside him. “Gideon.”
He was a tangled mass of blood, and his rugged face had blanched to an eerie white, outlined by the red that dripped down his left cheek. She touched his forehead. His skin was so cold.God, please!She moved her hand down to his neck. A soft rhythm thumped against her fingers.Thank you.
“Gideon, can you hear me?” She spoke softly, the darkness casting foreign shadows around them.
