“Mae.” Tom took it back and wished he could take her in his arms, but he knew if he acted on how he felt, she’d be more hurt when he left, and he had to leave one day soon. He sighed, squeezed her hand, and said, “Let me escort you back to town. We’ll talk only about neutral subjects, okay?”
She smiled as they started walking again. “I hear the weather might be better tomorrow.”
“I hope you’re right. It’s difficult to work when you’re freezing to death.”
Mae giggled. “I know. I was out there with you!”
“Right.” They both laughed and stared at each other like schoolchildren. “Say, when is Jeremy going to fry up some more chicken? Or make one of his apple pies?”
“I’ll speak to him tonight, but you know his ‘man’ job keeps him very busy.”
“So I’ve heard. I don’t know how the boy does it. He cooks, cleans, and keeps up his responsibilities with Pauline’s animals and the work at the site.”
“I appreciate the compliment, and I’ll be sure to pass it along to him.”
“He’s a good boy, Mae.”
“Thank you, but then I’m partial.”
“You raised him.”
“Father passed when Jeremy was nine. Since then it’s been just me and my little brother.”
“Your mother?”
“She passed giving birth to Jeremy. So you could say I turned big sister and mother overnight.” Mae nodded. “Our world here in Dwadlo is small.”
“Have you ever wanted to leave? See the sights?”
“What sights?”
He thought of the places he’d seen and the experiences he’d had. “The Grand Canyon, with the Colorado River winding through steep canyons; Mount Hayden; the unbelievable marvels found in Yellowstone National Park. There’s a whole big world out there, Miss Wilkey.” He smiled. “Maybe you’ll see some of it one day.” One day maybe he’d like to show her this other world.
“No,” she said. “I’m sure I won’t. I was born here, and I’ll die here, but that’s fine with me. I love my life.”
His gaze drew hers. “You deserve more. Contentment is good, but never rule out excitement.” He spotted a winter bush with bright red berries growing along the roadway. He let go of her hand, stepped over to the plant, and picked a stem. “A flower for milady.” He bowed slightly when he presented it.
Breathing deeply of the fall-like scent, Mae smiled. “Thank you, milord.”
“Ah, a tiny gift of delicate berries, whose beauty cannot compare to yours.” He noticed a slight blush appear on her cheeks.
“I didn’t know anyone could be so poetic about a stem of winterberry holly.”
“There are many things you don’t know about me.” His expression sobered. Pauline’s house came into sight, and he spotted the woman wrestling with a tangle of wire. Dogs barked.
“Oh, dear. She must be working on her fence.”
“Now? In this weather? It’ll be dark soon. Is she crazy?” Tom already knew the answer to that. He looked at Mae, and they both burst out in laughter.
“Pauline is determined to build that pen to hold the dogs, so you know what that means.”
“She can’t build a pen by herself.” Tom rubbed his brow. He walked closer to the older woman. “Pauline! Mind if we help?” She glanced up and gave him a toothless grin.
“Thought you had work to do, sonny. But I reckon if you want to help, it’d be okay.”
Tom knew it wouldn’t take the fragile woman long to tire out, and then he could get the fence up uninterrupted. He glanced at Mae. “How are you with a hammer and nails?”
“The best.”
Pauline picked up a hammer.
Tom said, “It’s pretty cold out here.”
“I haven’t been warm all day. Besides, it can’t be colder than the other night when I dressed that bull.”
“You win. Let’s get to work, Miss Wilkey.”
He was right about one thing. She was prettier than any winterberry growing wild along the roadside.
Any roadside.
Twenty
Mae noticed that Pauline tired of fence building about ten minutes after she and Tom arrived to help. The woman’s efforts were barely visible when he took the hammer out of her hand and nudged her toward the house. “Why don’t you fix us a big pot of coffee—”
“Water,” Mae corrected hastily. “Please draw a big pitcher of water.”
“Water. Yes, I’ll do that. I hope I have enough sugar.” She wandered off repeating the task under her breath. “Water, Pauline. Get a pitcher of water.”
Tom frowned. “Why not coffee?”
Mae shook her head and reached for a roll of tangled wire. “Why confuse her more?”
“You’re right. Does she put sugar in water?”
“She won’t this afternoon. She’s out of sugar.”
Jeremy appeared with the pack of dogs trailing him. Mae heard the ruckus before she spotted the source. When the boy approached, he called, “Hey, Mae, can I take the dogs to the river?”
“If you promise to be careful.”
Tom reached for a post. “You think it’s safe to let him near the water?”
“Jeremy is cautious. He understands about the frozen crust and how easily he could fall through.” Turning to her brother, she said, “Go on, but be back before dark.”
Once her attention was on the task at hand again, she couldn’t help but think that Tom’s presence made the work seem almost fun. Unrolling the wire, she carefully straightened the kinks while Tom handled the pick. His swift strong swings broke up the frozen ground where they would set a fence post. Admittedly, she was a tomboy at heart. Household chores bored her, but when Mae could work outdoors she savored the task. Lifting her face to the sky, she said aloud, “Thank You, God, for this perfect day!”
Tom glanced up in the middle of a swing. “Did you say something?”
“Just talking to God.” She unwound more wire. “Don’t you do that?”
“Not in the middle of building a fence.”
He swung the pick and she shamelessly focused on the play of strength in front of her. Jake was a handsome man, but he wasn’t athletic. Hours spent in a stuffy office left little time for firm muscles like Tom’s. She wondered how he came by them. Didn’t he work in an office too?
“How do you keep so fit when you work inside?” She caught her words and offered a shy grin. “I suppose I shouldn’t ask such things.”
“Ask anything you’d like.” Pausing, he leaned on the pick and grinned. “I’ll take your remark as a compliment.”
“It was meant to be.”
“I don’t spend all that much time in the office. I travel a lot, which means riding horses to inspect land, jumping gullies, and fighting off stray dogs. My work keeps me in shape.”
Now he was teasing her, and for once she was thankful for her wind-chapped cheeks. At least he couldn’t see her blushing. She bent closer to her work. “I’m afraid Pauline’s forgotten the water. I’ll go get some.”
Nodding, he brought the pick over his head and swung. Snow and frozen ground flew.
Mae checked on Pauline, who was sound asleep in her chair. A full pitcher of water sat beside her on the floor. Smiling, Mae tucked a warm throw around her friend’s tiny frame, picked up the container, and went back outside, softly closing the door behind her.
Rounding the corner a moment later, she noticed that Tom had unbuttoned his coat. The work must be making him sweat even with the low temperature. She pulled off her gloves, dipped her fingertips lightly in the water, and flicked them at him as she walked past.
Straightening, he stared at her. She pretended complete innocence as she set the water jug down. Glancing at the sky, he frowned and returned to work. He knew good and well it wasn’t raining. The sun was shining, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
She tipped the pitcher ever so slightly, and then moseyed over to the roll of wire, flicking him with more water on the opposite side. This
time he didn’t lift his head.
Moments passed, and she eased back to get more water. When she straightened she met a broad expanse of chest. His eyes locked with hers.
Bursting out laughing, she ducked when he reached down and grabbed a handful of snow. Her stomach lurched with anticipation when he walked toward her with a white fluffy weapon in hand.
“Don’t even think of it.”
She put her gloves back on and, frisky beyond her imagination, she swooped and gathered a handful herself. The snow felt cold as she packed it together.
“Don’t do it, Mae.”
Casually rolling the ball in both hands, she smiled. Would she throw it? She hadn’t had a snowball fight since she was a girl. Her grin widened. She wasn’t a girl anymore, but she felt like one at that moment. Something definitely must be in the air—something she’d never experienced.
“Hey, Jake.” Tom lowered his hand and glanced over her shoulder.
Whirling around, she realized he’d suckered her. When she turned back a big ball of snow hit her chest.
“Why… you!” She let her own missile fly and a snowball fight erupted. Shots sailed back and forth. Breathless, she closed her eyes and sank into the middle of a snowbank and started flinging whatever came to hand, laughing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. He was a merciless opponent! When she opened her eyes he loomed over her menacingly with a large mound of snow in his hand.
“Give up?” he asked.
“Never!” she vowed with laughter. Jake flashed through her mind. She couldn’t imagine the finely dressed attorney rolling around in the snow with her—or any woman. Grabbing her sides, she doubled over, and tried to gain control of her hysteria. Trying to keep her still, Tom lifter her chin with one hand and calmly rubbed snow in her face with the other. She squealed, dissolving in mirth.
Suddenly he straightened. Turning, he looked behind him and then said, “Afternoon, Jake.”
“Oh, no you don’t. Not this time.” She scooped up a fistful of the white stuff, stood up, and let fly.
Tom ducked and Jake caught the assault full force. Her hand flew to her mouth. Where had he come from? With a gasp, the man stiffened and absorbed the shock. Snow slid down his cheeks.
“Oh… dear… Jake.” The incredulous look on his face almost made her laugh. Mae reached in her coat pocket and took out her handkerchief. “I’m so sorry.”
Jake’s eyes were burning embers of fury as he glared at her. “Mae!”
She opened her mouth to say something more when she heard the sound of Jeremy’s frightened sobs. Fear struck her speechless. Turning, she focused her attention on him instead of her angry beau.
Tom stepped over and put his arm around the crying boy. “What’s wrong, Jeremy?”
“Twelve and Fourteen fell through the ice, and I can’t get them!”
“Twelve and fourteen?” Tom glanced at Mae.
She met his questioning gaze. “He named the dogs by number in the order they were acquired.”
Jeremy wiggled out from beneath Tom’s sheltering arm and grabbed his hand. “You have to come, Tom Curtis. We gotta help them.”
Mae watched Tom and her little brother race toward the river. She looked at Jake. “I’ll explain later, I promise!” She started to run after them.
“Mae! Come back here. You’re acting like a hooligan. Curtis can take care of those dogs!”
She stopped to turn and glare at him. “Yes, but Jeremy’s my brother!” She left Jake muttering to himself as she headed to the water, picking up her pace.
Tom’s long strides had quickly covered the ground, Jeremy jogging by his side. She finally caught up with them and saw tears rolling down her brother’s cheeks. Mae rarely had seen the boy cry.
“Mae, hold up here,” Tom said. “I’m going out there—Jeremy!”
“Jeremy!” she shouted. “Stay here with me!” But he had run ahead. She and Tom both hurried to catch up with him.
“Jeremy!” Tom called again.
“Yes, sir!” The boy had stopped at the river’s edge.
“Let’s tie all your ropes together!”
“Yes, sssir…”
The quiver in the boy’s voice broke Mae’s heart. She was terrified, but she had to trust Tom. He would not put Jeremy in danger. Surprised at the length of the rope after they quickly tied the individual lines together, she watched Tom tie one end to a tree and the other to his waist.
“The ropes will keep me safe. If I lose my footing, don’t panic. You can pull me out easily enough. Don’t do anything unless I tell you to.”
“Yes, sir.” Fresh tears rolled from the corners of the boy’s eyes.
“It’s going to be okay, Jeremy. Twelve and Fourteen are born swimmers. They’ll stay afloat till I can get them.”
Jeremy stared up at him. “But it’s so cold.”
“God gave them heavy coats, and they haven’t been in the water very long. Trust me.”
Mae’s heart pounded as Tom laid down on the ice and started to slither over it, using his elbows to pull himself forward. She held her breath when he was only a foot away from the struggling dogs, fearing his weight would cause him to fall through the already weak ice.
He reached into the water, snatched one of the struggling animals, and set him on the ice beside him. The poor dog was shaking so badly he could hardly walk.
Jeremy broke into a smile. “Fourteen!”
Tom turned onto his back and held up the other dog. “And Twelve,” he added with a smile. Mae heard a loud crack and knew the ice was giving way. “Tom!”
“Pull me in!”
Mae and Jeremy grabbed the rope. Together they gave one big tug, and Tom slid toward shore, safe from the thin ice. He handed the dog to Jeremy and got to his feet.
Jeremy hugged the wet, freezing animal and then bent down to Fourteen, who had made his way to them. “Thank you, Tom. You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known!”
“You’re welcome, son.”
Mae fought back tears. Tom was safe and so were the dogs. God had heard a small boy’s prayers. Thank You, Lord, for hearing mine too.
She approached Tom and welcomed the gentle touch of his gloved hand as he wiped the tears from her cheek. “Tom—”
“I’m all right and everybody’s safe. Let’s get back and get us all warmed up.”
Mae fell into step with her two favorite men. Since when had Tom become one of her favorites? It wasn’t right that she had these thoughts, but they seemed so natural. Was she falling in love with him? Lord, please guide me and help me make sense of my confused heart.
“Tom Curtis?” Jeremy asked
“Yeah?”
“Do you believe in God?”
“Yes, I do, Jeremy. It would be hard not to believe in Him, don’t you think? He helped us find your dogs, kept them safe and sound, and so far He’s protected us.”
“What made you believe? Mae says she thinks I’m still too young to fully understand how to believe in God, but I do. I know He’s there.”
Mae’s heart filled with pride at her brother’s admission of faith. Even with all of his problems, he was smarter than most. She fell behind and continued to listen as they made their way into town. Jeremy needed a man’s presence in his life, and right now Tom was filling that role beautifully.
Tom was amazed at the young man’s question. He put his arm around Jeremy’s shoulder, noticing that Mae now walked behind them. “Well, I got to thinking about how blessed my life has been. I had good parents, a good home, always had a good job, and things were getting better all the time. One night I was lying on the ground looking up at the stars—I guess I was about twenty-five or so—and I got to counting up all those good things in my life and they kind of overwhelmed me.
“My mother had taken me to church when I was small, but nothing much stuck. Then, as I grew older I didn’t go to services a great deal, but she continued to read the Bible to me.” He glanced down at the boy. “That night, looking up at that beautif
ul sky, I was so full of gratitude, and I realized I could only have one Person to thank for the way things had turned out for me.” He paused, reliving that moment.
“So what happened?”
“I got on my knees and made God’s acquaintance.”
“You said you went to church when you were a small boy.”
“I did, but I personally met God that night under the stars.”
“You met God face-to-face? You saw Him?”
Tears welled in Tom’s eyes and he stopped, turning toward the boy. “No, son, I didn’t actually see Him face-to-face, but that was the night I realized that God lives…” He gently tapped Jeremy’s chest. “In here. Right inside each and every one of us.”
The boy’s eyes grew wide. “How did He get in there?”
Tom continued on, suddenly realizing that now, through the innocence of this child, was the true moment he met God. He cleared the lump in his throat and answered the question. “He was in there when you were born, Jeremy, and if you ask Him, He’ll be there with you all of your life.”
Twenty-One
Land sakes,” Lil said, scooping up a handful of peanuts and cracking a shell.
Mae caught the action from the corner of her eye. “I’m putting those on your bill, Lil.”
“Go right ahead.” Grinning, she tossed a nut in the air, caught it with her teeth, and then spat it out on the floor.
“That’s appalling.”
“Proper-shmopper. When did you turn all ladylike?”
“Spitting on the floor isn’t a fancy idea.” Mae carefully recorded two cents on the hog farmer’s account. Lil circled the cage and stepped inside. Mae tried to shoo her away, to little avail. “You’re not supposed to be in here. Why aren’t you working out at the accident site?”
“Tom said he would need me more when the supplies arrive, so I thought I would come see you. What do you do in here when no mail is coming in?” Lil sat down on the small chair and propped her feet on the tiny desk. Her muddy size ten boots dripped something on the floor Mae would rather not put a name to.
Mae pointed to the puddle. “You’re going to clean that up.”
Lil shrugged and popped another nut in her mouth. “Oh, don’t get your bustle in an uproar. Dale’s laying track, isn’t he?”
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