Falls Creek Western Romance Boxed Set: Books 1 - 3

by Woods, Emily

  Chapter 9

  Alex didn't know how long he'd been walking, but suddenly, the sun started sinking behind the mountains. His stomach rumbled to let him know he was missing dinner, but that hardly seemed worth considering now. Instead, his mind was overrun with feelings he barely knew how to express. Feelings he'd never expected churned inside of him.

  Over the past fifteen years or so, he'd always imagined how much better his life would be with a good father. For the past five years, he'd been planning how to find him, and hoped for the best result. However, now that it had happened, he felt deflated, angry even, but he couldn't figure out why.

  “He wanted me,” he mumbled at the setting sun. The sky was streaked with orange and pink. Clouds tinged with those same colors hovered around the mountains and created a sight so beautiful that he should have felt privileged to be able to see it, but he felt nothing.

  His eyes rose further to stare at the heavenly expanse. “Why do I feel angry?” he whispered. “I should be so overjoyed to find out that my father wanted me, but all I feel is...cheated.”

  He hadn't expected this. For most of his life, he'd been resigned to living with his grandparents and tried to be grateful for everything he had. He knew his childhood was not like others'. He hadn't been allowed to participate in rough games with other boys or even sports that his grandfather didn't deem gentlemanly. Swimming, golf, tennis, horseback riding, and rowing were all that were permitted. He'd longed to join the rugby team or even have a boxing lesson, but he didn't even bother asking. Even baseball was considered beneath their family, although he had participated in several games without their knowledge.

  As these thoughts continued to fill his mind, Alex felt his resentment grow. As much as he'd wanted to meet his father, now all he wanted was to get away. It was the only thing that mattered now.

  He returned to the ranch and found that the men were still at the big house eating dinner. Thankfully, Cole was feeling well enough to make the short walk up and eat with the family or Alex would have had to explain his actions.

  Quickly, he gathered his things, including the little bit of money he had left, and jogged to the barn. His horse, Lady, was munching oats and looking well enough, he thought. He was about to saddle her when the very real possibility of getting lost on the way to town occurred to him.

  He sighed, hung the saddle back up on the wall, and checked her water.

  “Rest well, Lady,” he murmured, rubbing her nose. “Tomorrow, we'll have a long ride ahead of us.”

  Back in the bunkhouse, he threw his bag under his bunk and dropped down onto it. He was still musing over what he would do when the other men ambled in, Cole supported between Mark and Austin.

  “Hey, Alex. There you are. You missed dinner,” Boone commented, taking a seat at the table where the men usually played cards to pass the time.

  “Oh, yeah. I wasn't feeling too great.” It wasn't a lie.

  Cole gave him a slightly skeptical look. “Well, Luke seemed pretty concerned. He kept asking us if we were sure we hadn't seen you.”

  “Kate sent you some food.” Austin handed him a mound of food wrapped in cloth. When he opened it, he was glad to see several biscuits with slices of beef between them and two apples.

  “That was kind of her,” he mumbled, tears coming to his eyes as the truth of the statement hit him. She would have been a great stepmother. Quickly, he turned his eyes to the wall so that the others wouldn't see his tears. “Thanks.”

  They passed the rest of the evening talking and joking around. Even Cole was in high spirits. As night approached, they took to their beds and were soon snoring. Alex knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He had to stay up and get away before first light. The men generally got up around six in the morning, and he hoped to be gone by then, long gone.

  When he was sure they were all asleep, he waited a little longer and then crept out, bag in one hand and food in the other. He hoped that they wouldn't worry about him. He'd grown fond of Austin and Cole in particular, but he couldn't stay any longer. He'd go to town and get a ticket to California, find his grandfather's uncle, and see if he could stay there until he got some money together. He was pretty sure he could figure out some excuse as to why he was two weeks late enrolling in Stanford. It would have to be a pretty big lie, but he had no choice.

  Staying in the barn for a few hours, Alex had more time to think about his plan. Every so often, he'd take out the pocket-watch his grandfather had given him for his eighteenth birthday and checked the time. When the watch told him it was four-thirty, he saddled Lady and slung his bag over her back.

  “Sorry, old girl, but after this, maybe you'll be in retirement. Just don't give out before we get to town.”

  Taking a slightly roundabout way toward the trail in order to avoid alerting anyone in the house, Alex headed to town, hoping that he knew the way. The trail was barely visible in the faint moonlight, but he hoped it was enough to get him in the right direction.

  By the time the sun started to rise, he was nearing town. It had been a long ride, and he'd fallen asleep twice, but almost falling off Lady's back had woken him up.

  The train station was closed when he arrived, so he brought Lady to the stable first and waited for Jimmy, the blacksmith. He hoped to sell her back to the man, even if it meant getting significantly less money despite only having had her for a couple of weeks.

  It was another hour before Jimmy showed up, none too impressed with the return.

  “I sold you fine horse and you bring her back?”

  “I'm very sorry,” Alex said humbly. “But it turns out that the Western life just isn't for me. Not too many people can live out here, but you know all about that, don't you?”

  He was trying to flatter the man, and it worked. Jimmy gave him back much more than he expected, although not very close to the original price. Still, it was enough for what he planned.

  When the stationmaster finally arrived, Alex found out that the next train to San Jose wouldn't be leaving until much later in the afternoon. He was aggravated, but there was nothing to do but wait. He took a bit of his money and bought breakfast in town from the hotel. He walked around, but nothing seemed to relieve the restlessness in his body. Was he really doing the right thing? Running away from the man he'd been longing to get to know his whole life? But it wasn't just Luke he was running away from, but the anger he felt. It was bigger than him, bigger than anything he'd ever felt, and he was scared of it.

  By the time noon approached, anxiety had him in a fierce grip. Walking the entire length of the town hadn't done anything to burn it off, and he was just about to resign himself to waiting at the station for the remaining four hours when a small building on the edge of town caught his eye.

  Clean, white, and small, the town's church was surrounded by several large oak trees, which were just turning orange and yellow. It looked like the most inviting place in the world. Alex hesitated and then tried the door. It was open.

  “Hello?” he called out. “Is it okay if I come in?”

  A middle-aged man of impressive proportions emerged from the back.

  “Good afternoon,” he boomed. “Welcome to God’s house. I’m Preacher Howard. How can I help you?”

  The minister wasn't at all what he expected. Most preachers he knew were slight and spoke in high, nasally voices. This man looked more like a miner than a minister.

  “Uh, I don't really know,” he confessed after introducing himself. “I'm waiting for a train, but I'm not sure if I should take it.”

  Despite his imposing frame, the man's face filled with compassion as he gave Alex a kind smile and invited him to sit down in the front pew.

  “Tell me why,” he directed.

  Perhaps it was because he told him rather than asked, but Alex did exactly that. Within ten minutes, the preacher knew his entire story.

  “And your father doesn't know where you are now, is that correct? Nor your grandparents?”

  Alex shook his head mi
serably, hanging his head and hunching forward in the pew. “I'm hoping Stanford will let me start attending late if I promise to catch up on the material I missed, but...”

  Preacher Howard waited a moment and then supplied, “You don't want to leave yet.”

  “No.” The single syllable reverberated throughout the small building. “I don't.”

  “Then don't,” he replied. “When our spirit resists our plans, it's generally because we're not supposed to go through with them.”

  The preacher's words made him feel guilty. “I haven't been much of a Christian,” he confessed. “I don't know what God wants me to do.”

  Smiling, Preacher Howard put a large hand on Alex's shoulder. “Then ask Him. He's always listening.”

  Again, it wasn't phrased as a question, so Alex felt compelled to obey. He closed his eyes and tried to pray. “I can't,” he finally whispered. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Then let me. Father God, you know Alex's situation and his heart. You know the struggle he's facing, both in his own life and in his relationship with You. Show him Your power, God, and show him Your plan for his life. Forgive him for his deception, Lord. He's sorry for it, I'm sure. Send Your Spirit now to convict him of the path You would have him follow, both for today and in the future. In the powerful name of Jesus, amen!”

  “Amen,” Alex echoed. As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find tears on his face. “I don't usually cry, but lately, I keep finding myself in tears.”

  “God gives us feelings about things to help us figure out what to do. When we push them down, one of many things will happen. Some people will turn to alcohol, others will fight or become criminals, and still others will just feel depressed and want to cry. It's not the worst impulse out of all of them.”

  Alex agreed. “So, now I guess I should go back to Big Jim and see about getting Lady, but I don't know if she'll carry me all the way back.”

  “No, it doesn't sound as though she will, but tell you what. You can borrow my horse. She's strong and will make the trip no problem.”

  “But won't you need her?” It didn't seem reasonable to take the man's mode of transportation.

  “Not today. Bring her back to me before the end of the week if you can. If not, I'll find some other way of getting around. Don't you worry.”

  In less than twenty minutes, Alex was on his way back to the ranch, sure that he needed to go back, but less sure why. Perhaps to try again or to give his father a chance to explain. Maybe he needed to vent or ask questions...

  He hadn't been traveling long when he saw a rider approaching, riding harder. The closer he got, the more sure he was of the person’s identity. It was Luke, riding as if his life depended on it.

  When he saw Alex, he slowed down slightly and kept his eyes on him as he approached.

  “Alex!” he exclaimed, pulling his horse alongside the one the preacher had loaned him. Sweat was pouring off his face. “What... Where... You're coming back?” His words came out in starts. He was completely out of breath.

  Nodding stiffly, he found it hard to talk. “Running away was childish,” he finally managed. “I just felt overwhelmed and needed to get away, but the train doesn't leave until four o'clock, and well, I realized I don’t want to get on it, not yet.”

  Luke’s face crumpled a little. “I hope we can talk a little. I was so surprised yesterday. Even though I hoped and prayed to see you one day, I never really thought about what I would say if I actually saw you.”

  His breathing was so rapid that Alex worried for his health. “Let’s go back and talk then. I think I have a lot more to say than I realized.”

  After taking a long drink from his canteen, Luke nodded. “But let me rest my horse a bit. I pushed her really hard the whole way.”

  They walked over to where a river ran parallel to the town and let the horses drink. Luke sat down on a large boulder and leaned against a tree. Alex saw tears running down his face and felt the backs of his eyes tingle.

  “I’m sorry for the way I told you. It wasn’t very thoughtful.”

  Luke took a deep breath. “I’ve been wondering why you didn’t just tell us all straight away, but I think I know the answer. You wanted to see who I was first. Is that right?”

  Nodding, Alex replied, “My grandparents let me think that you didn’t want anything to do with me, but I never stopped hoping they were wrong.”

  His eyes flashing, Luke frowned. “Yes, they were wrong. I want to believe that they thought they were doing what was best, but they didn’t give either of us a choice. Still, I was the adult and should have pushed. Kate encouraged me to go east and find you, but they convinced me they could give you a better life.”

  Alex sighed. All the fight had gone out of him.

  “I guess there’s no changing the past.”

  “No,” Luke agreed. “But I’m hoping that you’ll stay just a little longer before heading off to university?”

  The bright day, the smell of autumn in the air, and the preacher’s prayer still in his mind, Alex felt he knew what the right decision was.

  “I’ll come back,” he declared. “And stay for a while. I’ll write to my grandparents and let them know.”

  “As will I,” Luke said. “I’m angry at them, but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. They’re human too. There’s no point in holding onto anger.”

  It seemed a poor excuse for lies, but Alex still loved them despite their faults. They’d raised him, after all. How could he do anything else?

  Chapter 10

  Christina nervously entered Kate’s home and was surprised by the warm welcome. The other women seemed genuinely glad to see her. She knew she didn’t deserve such treatment, given that she’d acted so superior to them.

  She was glad to see Maddie there, wearing a simple dress. There were four other women she hadn’t met, and she learned that they were wives of other men in the area. Amanda was the wife of the third owner of Triple Range, Carl; Georgina was the wife of one of the foremen, Wyatt; Tallie was married to Wesley, Georgina’s brother; and Elise was married to John, the head foreman.

  “The eight of you meet every week?” she asked, both surprised and impressed. “It must be hard to get together like this.”

  “Not really,” Valerie replied with a grin. “Our husbands learned that we’re better wives as a result of meeting together to study and pray, so they’re happy to bring us.”

  That comment got a chuckle all around.

  Marge opened the Bible study with a prayer, asking a special blessing for Christina. The sincerity of the prayer eased her mind and made her relax a little. She couldn’t feel completely relaxed when she thought of how harshly she’d judged women in West, especially those who’d come from the East, as most of them had.

  They then proceeded to recount the blessings of the past week: Elise mentioned how her son had recovered from a severe cold, Amanda told them that she’d found her great-grandmother’s necklace that had been missing for more than a month, and so on. It seemed like most of the things they were grateful for were small, but then Valerie said, “I’m thankful that my sister is here, not just today at the Bible Study, but also in the West. I know it’s hard for her here, but it makes me feel less homesick.”

  Christina was more than a little surprised. “You get homesick? You never said.”

  Valerie shrugged. “There didn’t seem to be any point.”

  Her sister’s vulnerability softened her heart. “You always seem so strong. I would never have thought that.”

  The other women murmured a little in sympathy.

  “We’re very glad to have the chance to get to know you, Christina,” Marge said, giving her a smile. Then she asked, “Is there anything you’d like to tell us about yourself? Anything you’re particularly grateful for this week?”

  She squirmed a little, not noticeably, but more internally. “Well, let me see.” She paused, trying to consider what she could say without being false or giving too m
uch of herself away. “I’m glad your young ranch hand is doing well,” she said to Maddie and was rewarded with a smile.

  “Thank you. You can imagine my relief as well.”

  Marge nodded. “We’re all grateful for that, but what about for yourself?”

  The woman wasn’t going to give up, Christina realized. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted. “I came along with Valerie today because I’m looking for some answers. I tried reading a bit of the Bible the other day, but it’s confusing, so I’m grateful that you allowed me to join you.”

  Marge nodded. “You’re very welcome here, as are any questions you may have.”

  All the women looked to her expectantly.

  “Oh… Now? I should ask them right now?” She heard how flustered she sounded. That was unlike her. Usually, she was calm and sure of herself in every situation, but she’d never been in a situation like this.

  “Whenever you like. It doesn’t have to be now,” Kate assured her, reaching over to pat her hand kindly.

  Although her stomach wasn’t happy with all the attention, Christina found that the women were so patient and kind in answering her questions that she felt free to ask them all. When one was answered, another one popped into her mind.

  “But how does allowing His own Son to die save us?” she wanted to know.

  “Can I answer?” Maddie asked the group. When each woman nodded, she leaned forward with an earnest expression. “Since we all have done something wrong, messed up in some way, we have to pay a price to balance it out. But the thing is, we don’t have enough, uh, credit, I guess you could say. We’ll never be able to make it even out. And the Bible says that the wages of sin is death. So, since we’ve sinned a lot, we deserve to die, but God doesn’t want that, so He sent Jesus to die in our place. Do you see? He paid the price, like a ransom.” Maddie turned to the women. “How was that?”

  They smiled and nodded. Valerie put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Does it make sense to you?”