Grace nodded. “It says he was near death for some time.” Tears came to her eyes. “He’s rallied enough to ask that they send me a letter.”
“Where is he?” Hope asked, kneeling beside Grace’s chair.
“Fort Nez Perce. He’s too ill and wounded to move. The factor there assures me that he’s on the mend, but it will be weeks before he’s well enough to travel.”
Hope took hold of Grace’s hand. “He’s alive, Grace. You must think on that. He’s alive, and you know how determined he is. I’m sure he’ll make it through.”
“But I can’t go to him. The baby . . .” She left the rest unsaid.
Lance heard the anguish in her voice. “I’m sure they’ll take good care of him, Grace.”
She shook her head. “I don’t even know if they have a doctor.”
“Grace,” Hope said in an authoritative manner, “you’ve had a shock and should lie down for a rest. Lance will help me get you to your bed, and then I’ll finish up supper while you rest.” She got to her feet, took the letter from Grace, and put it on the table. “Lance?”
He stepped forward and offered Grace his arm. She looked at him for a moment then got to her feet. She was no more than a few seconds standing, however, when she fainted.
Lance easily lifted her into his arms. “Where’s her room?”
Hope led the way and pulled down the covers on the bed before Lance deposited Grace.
“I’ll get a cold cloth for her head. Would you stay with her?” Hope asked.
“Of course.” He stared down at the petite woman lying before him. This was the wife of his enemy. He shook his head, determined to put the past behind him. He didn’t want any enemies.
Hope returned and sat next to her sister. She wiped Grace’s forehead and cheeks with the cloth. Grace began to rally and opened her eyes. For a moment she looked confused, and then she seemed to remember.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have given you all a fright.”
“You owe us no apology,” Lance assured.
Hope smiled. “Just rest, Grace. I doubt you’ve eaten much all day, so I’m going to fix you a tray.” She got to her feet then waggled her finger. “Don’t you even think of getting up.”
Grace smiled. “You sound just like Mama used to.”
“You aren’t the only one who can administer tender but firm care.” Hope motioned to Lance. “Come help me in the kitchen.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He answered her with no less respect than he would have given his captain.
In the kitchen, Lance watched Hope gather things for Grace’s supper.
“She’s been working at this all day,” Hope said. “She wanted to serve you a decent meal. So much of the time we just catch a bite on the run. There’s so much work to be done that sitting down to a meal seems a waste.”
“I wish she hadn’t gone to such trouble.” Lance could see a roast of some sort on a large platter, surrounded by large potatoes and whole carrots. Rolls filled a basket, and a pie of some sort sat alongside this. “I wouldn’t have accepted her invitation if I’d known.”
“Well, she would have just kept nagging you. You’ve been so good, helping finish the house, that she wanted to do something nice for you.” Hope finished arranging the tray. “There, I’ll take this to her. Why don’t you go wash up out back? Mercy will be just about done with her gardening, so you can let her know we’re ready to eat.”
Lance nodded and exited the room without another word. He didn’t like the idea of Grace being indisposed on his account. Should anything happen to her or the babe she carried, he would never forgive himself.
Mercy was already at the pump when he arrived. “I saw your horse and knew you must be here and that Grace would be ready for us to sit down to supper,” she said.
“Your sister has had a letter.” Lance took the bar of soap Mercy offered and tried to think of how to break the news gently.
“From Alex?” she asked, unable to hide her excitement.
“About him.”
Her expression quickly changed. “Is he dead?”
“No.” Lance began to soap up his hands. “He was wounded in a bear attack. It was severe, but they’re hopeful of his recovery.”
“Who is?” she barely whispered.
“The factor at Fort Nez Perce. Apparently someone found him and took him there.”
“Grace must be so upset.”
“She was. She’s resting in bed now.”
Mercy grabbed a towel from the hook near the pump. She dried her hands quickly. “I’ll see you in the house. I want to check on her.”
Lance nodded and finished washing. He considered just heading back to town, leaving the sisters to focus their energies on Grace, but then thought better of it. What if they needed something?
He made his way back into the house and found that Hope had laid the table and was bustling around the kitchen. “Can I help?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I think everything is ready. I just put the platter on the table.” She motioned Lance to take a seat.
Mercy came to join them, her face serious. “She’s still so pale.”
“It’s not easy to carry a child and work so hard, much less get bad news,” Hope replied, taking her seat.
“How would you know?” Mercy asked.
This seemed to take Hope aback. For a moment, Lance thought she looked embarrassed. “Grace has taught me a great deal,” she said then regained her composure. “You’d do well to let her teach you a thing or two.”
Mercy said nothing more on the matter and instead bowed her head. “It’s my turn to pray.”
The trio said very little as they ate. The food was delicious, but Lance wasn’t sure what he could offer in the way of comfort to either young woman, so he remained silent. This apparently suited Hope and Mercy, because they didn’t attempt to engage him in conversation.
“Well, I’ve had my fill,” he said after finishing off his second piece of apple pie. “I’m going to work on the house. Tomorrow your uncle and I are coming out, and Toby Masterson is coming too.”
This brought a smile to Mercy’s face. “When will you arrive?”
“Early. Your uncle wants me to take your wagon back to town tonight so we can load it up with lumber tomorrow.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Hope said, getting to her feet. “I’ll help you when you’re ready to head back.” She lit a lamp and brought it to the table. “You’ll need this. There are others out there you can light.”
Lance took the lamp, his fingers brushing hers as he did. She startled and jumped back, almost causing him to drop the lamp.
“I’m sorry,” she said then hurried back to the stove. “I’m afraid I’m still shaken by the news of Alex.”
“It’s all right.” He didn’t think that was all there was to it but decided against pressing her for more.
The new house was coming right along, and Lance was proud to have been a part of its building. He’d never done this kind of work before, but he enjoyed it very much. He also found it rather healing. He knew it was the same as working for Alex Armistead, but even more, he was working for Hope and her sisters.
As Lance worked on the second-floor walls, his thoughts were ever on Hope and her sisters. He wished he could offer some help but had no idea what it might be. Perhaps once Edward knew about the circumstances, he could come up with something.
He also thought about Alex lying near death. There was no joy in the thought as there once might have been. In fact, just the opposite was true. Perhaps God had truly taken the desire for revenge from his heart.
“Lance, are you here?”
It was Hope. He smiled. “Where else would I be?”
“Where are you?” she called from below.
He laughed. “I’m upstairs.”
He heard her footsteps as she climbed and waited near the top to get her reaction.
“Oh, my, you’ve done a great deal in three hours.”
“Three hou
rs?” He looked at his pocket watch. “The time really got away from me.”
“I thought it might have. I’ve hitched the horse to the wagon and put your gelding in the pen with plenty of hay.”
“Thank you. Let me put these tools away, and I’ll be right down.”
She didn’t seem inclined to leave, however. Without another word, she wandered past him. He’d managed to put up the framework for two of the bedrooms and knew it had captivated her attention.
“The rooms look like they’ll be big.”
“They’ll look smaller once all the walls are in place.”
She smiled and stepped back. “I’m sure it’s going to make Grace very happy.”
“And what about you?”
“Me?” He could see the surprise in her expression.
“Will it make you happy? Are you happy?”
Hope glanced at the ground for a moment then raised her eyes to his. “I’m happier than I was a few months ago. I don’t think about the massacre or . . . anything related to it very often.”
Despite the large open area, Lance felt as if the space had grown smaller. He wanted nothing more than to feel her in his arms again. “What do you think about?” His voice was low, almost inaudible.
She held his gaze. Surely she felt something for him. Something more than friendship. He wanted to press her for answers but knew it would only frighten her.
“I . . . uh. . . .” She shook her head as if to shake off the intensity of the moment. “I think about the sheep and about my spinning and of course the future.” Her words came fast and without emotion. “I think I can support myself nicely by spinning yarn and selling it, so long as Grace allows me the wool. If I keep busy, it helps me forget.”
Lance crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “Just so long as you don’t forget your friends.”
She studied him for a moment then turned for the stairs. “I never forget about people who are important to me.”
He stood there as she made her way downstairs. It wasn’t much, but it was something—something that offered assurance that she saw him as important. Maybe even important enough that he could play a role infinitely more intimate than a friend.
Chapter
17
A cold rain fell on the Saturday in September when Uncle Edward and his family, along with Lance and Toby Masterson, moved the last of the furniture into the new house. Hope was amazed at how quickly it had all come together. She followed the men, drying off pieces of furniture as they were set in place. Grace sat nearby with Baby John, directing everyone as to where she wanted things.
Hope had planned to remain in the old house, but Grace begged her to join them, at least until Alex returned, and given her promise to Alex, Hope felt she could do nothing else. She didn’t want there to be any strain on Grace during her pregnancy. Learning about Alex’s injuries had been more than enough.
The room Hope had chosen for her own was one of those Lance had been working on the night he’d asked her what she thought about. That conversation had stayed with her, making her more aware that her feelings for Lance had changed. She had been surprised that night by the longing that had revealed itself. She hadn’t felt this way since her time with Johnny Sager.
We’re only friends. Just friends.
But no matter how many times she reminded herself of this, her heart cried out for more.
“Cousin Grace said this trunk belongs to you,” Phillip said.
Hope nodded and took the small trunk. “I’ll take care of it.”
She headed upstairs just as Uncle Edward declared from the foyer that everything had been moved. Entering her room, Hope looked around. The bed had been put in order along with her small dresser. The latter had been built by one of Uncle Edward’s friends and given to her on her birthday last year.
Behind the door, her two other dresses and a skirt hung on pegs. They had been washed and ironed just the day before. In fact, all of their dirty clothes had been laundered. Grace said it would be nice to move into the new house with a fresh start, but Hope wondered just how far that concept should extend.
She put the trunk aside and sighed. She was troubled, but not for the reasons she once had been. Now her mind was consumed with questions about her future and what she wanted from it. The only thing she knew for certain was that she wanted Lance to be in it.
She sank to the edge of her bed. How had this happened? She’d guarded her heart so carefully. After the massacre, she had planned never to marry. After giving birth to Faith, she had vowed never to have children. Now her feelings were contradicting her plans.
Downstairs she heard the laughter of her family and wanted to join them, but she was afraid of how she might behave now that she’d allowed herself to understand the turmoil in her heart. Lance was down there, and she feared he’d immediately see through her façade of indifference. But she had planned a surprise birthday dinner for him and Mercy, and she needed to get the food on the table.
She went to the window and noticed it had stopped raining. The skies were still overcast, however, and no doubt more rain would come. She sighed. “I can’t stay up here forever.”
She made her way downstairs, admiring the smoothness of the railing. She wondered if Lance had been responsible for it.
“There you are,” Grace said, appearing at the bottom of the steps. “I was just about to come looking for you.”
“Did you need something?”
Grace laughed. “No, silly. I wanted you to hear the wonderful news.” She pulled Hope along the hall and into one of two front sitting rooms. Uncle Edward and Lance stood by the fireplace, warming themselves. Both looked up when the ladies entered the room. Their uncle was grinning from ear to ear, but Lance looked more stunned than anything else.
“Uncle Edward is sending Lance to bring Alex home,” Grace announced.
Hope looked at Lance and saw concern in his expression. “That’s wonderful news and very kind of you, Lance. I know Grace will rest better when Alex is back under her care.”
“That’s what I figure,” Uncle Edward replied.
“Isn’t it marvelous?” Grace said with more excitement than Hope had seen out of her in some time. Even the new house hadn’t brought this degree of joy.
“It is.” She smiled at Grace then turned to Lance. “When will you leave?”
“They want me to go tomorrow. I’m to go by river. Should take me about two, maybe three weeks, depending on the weather and . . . any other complications.”
He spoke in such a distracted manner that Hope watched him for a moment. He wasn’t at all his usual jovial self. Was he worried about the trip? Perhaps he feared something might happen to Alex on the way back and he’d be blamed. There were all sorts of perils on the journey to and from Fort Nez Perce. She remembered how terrified she’d been.
“The girls have made lunch for us,” Grace interjected. “Let’s go eat and finish deciding all the details.”
Hope hurried into the kitchen, and she and Mercy set the table as the others came into the dining room. Once the food was on the table and everyone was seated, Hope brought in the birthday cake. She had purposely seated Lance with his back to the kitchen so she could bring in the dessert unnoticed.
She set the cake down in front of him. “Surprise!” everyone declared at once.
Lance, who already seemed stunned by the trip he was to make, was rendered speechless for several moments.
“I don’t know what to say.” He looked up at Hope.
She smiled. “I’m glad I didn’t wait until tomorrow, or we’d be celebrating your birthday without you.”
He smiled, and for a moment Hope felt like they were the only two people in the room. “Thank you,” he murmured then turned to the others. “Thanks to all of you. This was very unexpected.”
“Good,” Uncle Edward said. “That’s the way we planned it. I’m glad we had the heavy work and talk of the trip as a diversion. Otherwise I was afraid I might slip up.”
“But there’s more.” Grace nodded to Hope.
Hope went back to the kitchen to bring out another cake.
“Two cakes!” Oliver exclaimed, his eyes wide. “We get two cakes?”
“We do,” Hope said, smiling. “We’re celebrating more than one birthday. In a few days Mercy will be fifteen, so we thought we’d surprise her as well.”
Mercy looked delighted as everyone wished her a happy birthday. “How did you manage to make another cake without me realizing it?”
Hope laughed. “That’s a secret.”
Mercy looked at Lance. “Did you know about this?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t have a clue. I guess they’ve managed to surprise us both.”
“Well, I’m glad to share my birthday with you,” Mercy replied. “We’ll have to pack some of the leftover cake for you to take on your trip.”
Bringing up the trip immediately caused the conversation to head off in that direction. It continued that way throughout lunch, though Hope noticed Lance hardly said a word. Uncle Edward’s boys gobbled down their food and two pieces of cake each, then hurried off to see what kind of mischief they could get into. As the adults finished eating, Mercy volunteered to move the sheep, and Toby offered to help her. The young couple quickly deserted, no doubt anxious to be alone.
“I’m going to pack a bag of medicinal herbs and tonics for you,” Grace told Lance. “I’ll show you how to use them and what each one does. I’m certain it will be better than anything they’re doing for him at the fort.”
“They could have one of the Nez Perce women working on him,” Edward offered. “They know a lot about herbs.”
“True, but most likely there’s just a handful of men getting ready to head out trapping. I can’t imagine any of them will give Alex much attention once they focus on their livelihood.”
Hope said nothing, continuing to watch Lance. What was he thinking? He seemed so troubled.
Baby John grew fussy, and Mina said, “I think we should be going.”
Uncle Edward nodded and got to his feet. “She’s right. Tomorrow’s Sunday, and that means baths for all. The boys like that about as much as they like sittin’ through church.” He smiled and took the baby from Mina, then helped her to her feet.
Beloved Hope (Heart of the Frontier Book #2) Page 17
