A Christmas Miracle for the Rancher: A Historical Western Romance Novel

by Etta Foster

But before she could talk, she rubbed her cheeks with her hands to make sure she hadn’t cried. It was so cold out that she could hardly feel a thing on her skin besides the sharp wind.

  “The horse doesn’t matter now,” she said pointedly. Then she grabbed his jacket and stared him down. “I’m telling you; this isn’t a joke. Please! You have to help him! Carry him or find a cart, or something. He’s hurt and he needs help right away.”

  His eyes stayed on hers as she talked. When she was done, Jacob nodded slowly as though it was only just then dawning on him.

  The young man nodded and fixed his gloves before looking around. He grabbed Shakespeare’s reins as the horse danced around them.

  “Find Mrs. Pennyworth,” he instructed, his voice harder than before. “We’ll send her to town for the doctor. I’ll hitch up our fastest horse and then connect Shakespeare to one of our carts.”

  Hope flooded through her. Louise nodded furiously. “Thank you!”

  Lifting her skirts, she dashed over to the house. Though she stumbled and nearly slipped countless times, Louise made it to the front door still standing.

  Her elbows banged against the doorframe as she ran in, not minding that she was trampling snow through the house.

  “Mrs. Pennyworth!” she called at the top of her lungs. “Come quick!”

  Fortunately the woman had just been in the nearby kitchen. Still wearing her apron, the bewildered woman hurried over with a ladle still in her hands.

  Breathlessly, Louise set the ladle aside and tugged the housekeeper towards the door. “You must go to town immediately. There’s been an accident!

  “Richard took a terrible fall and - and I couldn’t get him back here. Jacob is going to bring him back to the house. He’s saddling a horse for you to fetch the doctor.”

  “What?” Mrs. Pennyworth scrambled for her boots as Louise grabbed the nearest coat. “When did this happen? Is he breathing? Is Richard all right?”

  They stepped outside and Louise led the way to the barn. But the other woman followed close behind, the panic spreading between them.

  “Jacob!” Louise called. “Is the horse ready?”

  When they reached the barn, Mrs. Pennyworth hurried over to one of the stalls where they found Jacob and a dark brown horse being saddled. “Leave the saddle be, boy,” Mrs. Pennyworth announced. “All I need are the reins and a leg up.”

  Louise would have been impressed if she wasn’t thinking of Richard lying on the cold hard ground all alone.

  She managed a pained smile to Mrs. Pennyworth who gave them a short nod and disappeared towards town.

  “This shouldn’t take long,” Jacob dragged a cart out from a corner. “You can get warm in the house.”

  She shook her head and marched over, taking Shakespeare’s reins. “I’m not leaving now. Not until I know Richard is safe. Just tell me how to help you hitch up this cart.”

  The young man shook his head in disbelief but offered a few quick explanations that helped him move faster. “I’m going to ride Shakespeare. He can take a rider and the cart but sitting in the back won’t be comfortable.”

  “I don’t care,” Louise said plaintively. Then she glanced around and found several saddle blankets.

  She ran to carry as many of those as she could to set them in the cart before climbing in it and grabbing hold with both hands. “Let’s go, then. Richard is just down the lane on the left. You can’t miss him.”

  He gave her a look like he wanted to protest but said nothing. She decided that was for the best. She was tired of his grumpy attitude.

  Jacob nodded and then leapt into the saddle and nudged the horse into motion.

  Sitting in the corner of the cart was far from comfortable, but Louise decided she could worry about the bruises later. Her first concern was making sure Richard was all right. She hoped he didn’t mind she had left him.

  They weren’t that close, she knew, but she had to do something. She couldn’t just leave him there. Though Louise wasn’t certain how much she cared for the man, he was still a human being who needed to be cared for.

  And the sound of his fall. It rang in her ears and made her chest ache.

  Biting her lip to hold back the flood of worries running circles in her head, Louise blinked hard several times and nearly sighed in relief when the cart came to a stop.

  Chapter 11

  He tried to take deep breaths but that hurt.

  Everything hurt.

  Richard swallowed hard and opened his eyes as though hoping the world would disappear again.

  But the darkness had left him behind. This left him crumpled in a pile of hard, cold snow half a mile from the barn.

  As much as he wanted to go back to sleep, he couldn’t. The pain wouldn’t let him.

  It felt like a small child who didn’t want to leave his mother’s arms to be put back on the dirty floor. It nagged him, wanting all of his attention. What started as a small nudge became a strong tightness that squeezed the breath out of him.

  Not wanting to give in, Richard tried to think. The last thing he needed to do right then was to panic.

  He decided to try to gather his bearings.

  There was the sky up above him. What little blue had been there that morning had paled into grey and white. Most likely there would be another snowfall soon. Blinking hard, Richard supposed they would have another two inches by the next morning.

  He hoped he wasn’t still lying there at that point.

  Feeling a rock pressed against his shoulder, Richard tried to shift. But the wiggle only caused searing white pain and he froze until his vision cleared.

  With his hands down on the ground, he felt the packed snow beneath him. He could hear the fresh crunch. His fingers were stiff with the cold.

  Then he heard another crunch, but it hadn’t come from him. It was too loud.

  A droplet of sweat fell into his eye and he winced as he tried to listen. He wasn’t alone, then. He could feel it. Someone else was there. Or something.

  “Louise?” he asked hopefully.

  It couldn’t be her. He knew that. He had sent her off to the house. But he had hoped to see her sweet face again.

  “Hello?” he called out. But there was no reply.

  He waited several minutes, his eyes wandering as he wondered if he could move. He should be able to.

  Perhaps, he reasoned to himself, he had been premature to tell Louise to run off. Being alone only made his unease grow.

  His body grew antsy as the cold continued to seep in from the ground up. It took most of his strength to hold back the shivers, let alone the pain. Richard forced himself to swallow, though his throat was parched, and he tried to pick himself up.

  At least to sit on his elbows and look around. That was the intention. He had done it a thousand times over, and it was an easy enough action.

  Except in that next moment.

  When he attempted to pull himself up, a new world of pain ran down his spine.

  It was so splintering that he couldn’t help but writhe in anguish. That only made everything worse. The world blinked in and out several times until he slumped in a heap, dazed and panting.

  Something was wrong.

  That was the first conscious thought that came to his mind minutes later as he attempted to process what had just happened.

  He couldn’t get himself to stand, let alone sit up.

  It didn’t make sense. But there was so much throbbing pain in his body that he couldn’t think clearly. He just knew that his body hurt. His back felt bruised. His spine felt as tender as it could be. But he wasn’t certain about his legs.

  Richard coughed, winced, and tried to glance towards the bottom half of his body. Nothing down there felt right.

  They were starting to feel numb but were pained as well. A strange sensation was settling over him like he was missing something.

  He took a deep breath and tried to wiggle his toes. He couldn’t tell if they were moving or not, for his boots were thick and
he couldn’t see them.

  Richard shoved his hands down into the snow to look for a grip. And then he tried to move his foot. His head was bent just enough to see his foot sticking up.

  But it wasn’t moving.

  No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t do anything.

  Sweat dripped down Richard’s brow.

  Though he was certain he was imagining things, it didn’t stop the panic from climbing up his throat. It was slimy and slick as it tried to claw its way out.

  He groaned and shook his head. That action made the world spin but at least it was a distraction.

  Then there was that familiar noise again. A footstep crunching on the snow, or something like that.

  He wasn’t alone. He had known it all along.

  Richard blinked hard and finally noticed Socks.

  The smallest ounce of relief relaxed into his shoulders. His animal was behind him only a couple of feet, munching on the grass. That’s why no one had responded when he had called out.

  That felt like a lifetime ago. How long had it been since Louise had left? His heart skipped a beat. He said a quick prayer that she was safe.

  Eventually, he’d have the strength to stand up. He just needed a minute to catch his breath, to stop being dizzy, and then he would climb onto his feet. The pain would go away.

  With one hand, he wiped the sweat away and put out a hand to the horse. Richard whistled lightly to Socks, trying to bring the animal over. It took a minute for Socks to finish munching. But then the horse took a few steps forward and sniffed Richard’s head.

  “Socks,” Richard breathed. “You are a ridiculous animal. Come here.”

  He reached out, but the reins were inches out of his reach. That annoyed him enough to forget the pain for a second. Richard tried to nudge himself backward. He was so close.

  “Come here,” he muttered. “Almost…”

  But his hand missed.

  The attempt was in vain. Especially as Socks jerked back in surprise and then completely out of reach. Richard tried to turn around to see where the horse had gone, but the shift caused his back to move and the searing pain to return.

  It took all of Richard’s strength not to cry out.

  He gritted his teeth, waiting for the waves to pass over him and fade away. It was difficult to tell if it took more or less time to pass over. Either way, he couldn’t budge until the worst of the ache turned dull.

  “Hello?” Richard tried to call out, trying to wave his hand. But his throat was parched, and he still wasn’t free of the hurt.

  He swallowed hard as his gaze turned to the sky.

  The clouds were swirling above as though they were laughing at him. Richard grunted lightly, trying not to be annoyed. But the pain wasn’t helping, and he couldn’t move.

  When he opened his mouth to call out for Socks again, he could hardly use his tongue. His throat felt like it was filled with sand and he gagged.

  That’s when a hand pressed against his shoulder and squeezed.

  Automatically his hand flew up and gripped whatever had grabbed him. When Richard managed to see straight, not realizing until that moment that his vision had been swimming, he found his brother’s face frowning down at him.

  Relief spread over his soul.

  That wasn’t all. Nausea swirled again in his gut. He winced. It took all his strength to keep it down.

  Jacob released his shoulder, shrugging the hand off. “Richard? Can you hear me?” he said loudly.

  It took him a minute to pull himself together. “Yes,” he forced out.

  Then Louise’s face popped up behind his brother. She said something as well, but Richard was having a hard time concentrating. The clouds were dancing now, and he was terribly thirsty. Though he reached for his brother, Jacob shrugged him off.

  “Help me stand,” Richard forced out.

  “Can you stand?” Jacob asked out loud three times before he could understand.

  “Yeah,” Richard replied.

  He didn’t know if that was true or not. But he was going to try. He only wished that Louise wasn’t there to watch him in a state like this. The fall had been rough enough. She didn’t need to see him struggling like this.

  She would never want to marry him if she thought him weak.

  That reinvigorated Richard. Pushing aside the pain, he glared at Jacob.

  “Help me on my feet,” he managed. His tongue felt thick, but he was certain his brother had understood.

  Jacob nodded. The young man glanced away for a moment and then leaned down again to wrap his arms around him.

  The two of them clung to each other as Jacob brought his shoulders up. All Richard had to do at that point was get his feet under him to stand straight.

  Except his legs wouldn’t obey.

  When Richard opened his mouth to protest, a strangled gasp escaped. Pain ran up and down his spine again, momentarily blinding him.

  He blinked for several minutes before finding himself back in the same position of lying in the snow useless and stuck. His brother had set him back down, and for a minute Richard worried this would become his grave.

  “I’m going to have to carry you.” Jacob knelt beside him. “Understood? We brought the cart for you.”

  “I’m fine,” Richard tried to tell him, but only a groan escaped.

  The world was still dancing, even as he felt his brother wrap his arms around him one more time.

  Tugged into a sitting position, Richard choked back a scream. It felt like his back had been set on fire.

  He thought he heard his brother grunt in his ear, “It’s about time you received your comeuppance.”

  But then jerked upward, Richard blacked out from the pain. He couldn’t tell how long it lasted. When he could see again, he found himself staring up at the sky. There was a blanket pulled up to his chin.

  “Do you think he’s going to be all right?” Louise was right there. He could hear her sweet voice.

  “Of course,” Jacob called out from further away. “He’s a strong man. But let’s focus on getting back to the house. It’s only growing colder. Are you warm enough? Here, borrow my jacket.”

  Richard opened his mouth to say something. He wanted to let them know that he was fine. That he was only bruised. That he only needed help to sit up and then he could do the rest.

  He wanted to apologize to Louise and remind Jacob that the young lady was not there for him. Jacob had not been the one looking for a bride nor writing to the pretty young lady all along. He could have Luanne if he liked, but not Louise.

  Except he was trapped in the cart and as it started to move, he could feel every rock and groove through the blankets he was piled in. He lost focus, forgetting his train of thought.

  No longer able to keep track of his thoughts or see straight, Richard closed his eyes and let the darkness take him back. At least there, nothing hurt.

  Chapter 12

  She could hear the thud.

  She could picture his pale white face.

  “Sit down,” Luanne whined from the sofa. “You’re making me dizzy.”

  Louise rubbed her hands together as she paced in the parlour. She shook her head to try and force the terrible thoughts from her head.

  Yet no matter what she did, sitting or walking, eyes closed or open, she couldn’t stop seeing Richard lying in the snow. Louise worried it would haunt her dreams. That poor man. It had been a hard fall.

  What would happen now? Surely, all would work out fine. Perhaps it was a fever. Perhaps that was all that was wrong. Louise tried to convince herself that everything would work out just fine.

  But the longer that the doctor stayed behind the closed door, the more she couldn’t help but worry.

  “What if,” she started to say but couldn’t finish the thought.

  An agonized screech escaped the closed door.

  The noise made her heart jump. She stopped, breathless, and wondered how a human could make such a sound. Her stomach clenched tightly, mak
ing her feel ill.

  It didn’t sound good at all. The blood drained from her face as she turned to look at her sister.

  Even Luanne looked uneasy. She stopped fiddling with her hair but wouldn’t meet her sister’s gaze. It was in that moment that Louise couldn’t convince herself to keep lying about what must have happened.

  Something terrible had befallen Richard and it was more than a simple tumble off a horse. She couldn’t be in denial any longer.