Hank's Runaway Bride (Brides of Chimney Rock Book 1)

by Mia Blackwood

  Silas and the younger man looked at each other and grinned, though the stranger was rather winded from his exertions with the team.

  “Whew! We made it!” Silas laughed. “I’m sure glad you got to us in time.”

  The stranger shook Silas’s proffered hand as he politely removed his hat. “Thank you. Thank you for the shelter, Mr. …?”

  “Cheslak, but everyone just calls me Silas.” He motioned to Josephine. “This here is Miss Josephine Martin, and that’s Jim.”

  The man made a polite bow as introductions were made. “I’m Elijah Washington. My wife, Lydia. My son, Theodore. My daughter, Hannah. And these,” Elijah continued as he moved to help the elderly couple get down from the wagon, “are my parents, Otis and Esther.”

  Jim moved quickly and got a sturdy wooden box for the elderly couple to step down on as they got off the wagon. He set it down and stood by to assist if help was needed.

  Silas nodded to each person in turn. “Pleased to meet you. Here, let us unhitch your team for you, and the horses, too. We have an extra stall or two we can put them up in.”

  “Again, I thank you.” Elijah helped his father from the wagon, and both men helped his mother down.

  Josephine could see that the family was tired, as well as cold and wet. She remembered all too well her journey to Nebraska from northern Wisconsin years ago. “Let’s get all of you into the house to get warm.”

  “Oh, no…thank you kindly, ma’am, but you’ve done enough,” Elijah protested. “We’ll be all right here in the barn, out of the weather.”

  “Nonsense. Your things will be fine out here. Let’s get inside before the weather really turns.” Josephine spoke kindly, but firmly. She was determined to show this family hospitality, whether they wanted it or not.

  Elijah opened his mouth to protest once again, but his father cut him off.

  “Eli, you listen to this young lady. She wants us to come inside, and that’s what we’re gonna do.” Otis reached into the wagon, pulled out his walking cane, and headed toward the open barn door with his wife on his arm.

  Josephine smiled as Eli’s mother chuckled at him. “You listen to your pa, now,” Ester teased as she gave Eli a thump on the shoulder as she walked by.

  Josephine led the way to the door as the family trailed behind her. It was raining in earnest now, and everyone moved as fast as each was able. Silas and Eli took the rear, each assisting the elderly couple as best they could.

  Madeline opened the door as they approached the house. She had been watching the family’s arrival from the window and had hoped that Josephine would bring them inside. She had locked Pardner up in the cellar, to keep him from being a nuisance more than anything. He was all bark and no bite.

  Josephine stood just outside and held the door open for everyone, which was a struggle with how hard the wind was blowing.

  The family made their way inside the warm kitchen. From the looks on their faces, they were relieved to be out of the weather. They thanked Madeline politely as they filed past her. Silas and Elijah both turned and went back to the barn once the rest of the family was safely indoors. Josephine could hear them argue about whether Elijah should stay with his family or help with the oxen.

  George stood watching everyone with rapt interest. His eyes zoomed in on the young boy, who was only a little taller than himself. He nearly jumped from his skin when his aunt said his name.

  “George, go and get me some towels from the cupboard, would you?” Madeline asked as she stoked the fire for the family to warm themselves.

  “Yes, ma’am.” George ran off to do his aunt’s bidding, eager to get back to meet the strangers.

  Josephine quickly made introductions, then hurried off to find blankets for everyone. Food was next on her list, but first they needed to get warm. She was glad for the added distraction from the storm and worrying about Hank. Every clap of thunder sent icy shards of worry through her heart.

  When she returned, she found that Madeline had Otis and Esther in chairs nearest to the stove. George had returned and was dutifully handing out towels to the best of his ability. Josephine set the blankets on the table and waited for everyone to towel off first before handing them out.

  Madeline watched Josephine flutter around like a hummingbird as she tended to their guests. “George, make sure that Miss Jo gets a towel as well.”

  George ran directly in front of Josephine and nearly got plowed over for his efforts. “Here, Miss Jo! You’re all wet!”

  Josephine nearly toppled over in her attempt to not run over George. “Oh, my! Do be careful, George.” She said it with a smile, yet her heart was pounding over the near disaster. “Thank you.”

  Once he had finished handing out the towels, George stood near his aunt and stared at the strangers. He watched as Theodore’s mother dried her son off as best as she was able to with the towel, then finally blurted out the question that had been on his mind. “Aunt Maddy, why’s their skin so dark?”

  The room fell silent as everyone stopped what they were doing to look at George. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he was about as pale as anyone had seen. The adults looked at each other and blinked in surprise.

  A sudden crack of lightning and roll of thunder broke the silence. Everyone in the room jumped, but the tension eased.

  Theodore, uncertain as to why no one was answering George, spoke up. “God just made us like this,” he said with a shrug.

  George grinned. “Wanna come play with my army men?”

  Theodore grinned back, but knew he needed to ask permission first. “Is it all right if I go, Ma?”

  Lydia chuckled. “Go on and play.”

  The boys took off running. George was already chattering up a storm as they made their way upstairs to George’s room.

  Lydia looked between Madeline and Josephine. “Do you mind if I ask…how old is George?”

  Madeline smiled. “He’s three. Nearly four now.”

  Otis made a whistling sound of surprise. “I thought maybe he was just small for his age! He’s so well spoken for being so young.”

  Josephine and Madeline shared a smile. It was a comment they heard often.

  “George is exceptionally intelligent,” Madeline explained. “I hear he was always that way.”

  Baby Hannah, who up until now had been peacefully sleeping in her mother’s arms, began to fuss and cry.

  Lydia sighed. “She’s hungry again. Probably needs changing, too. I hope Eli brings her things in soon.”

  Madeline peeked out the window toward the barn. It was hard to make out the shape of the barn in the darkness of the storm. A flash of lightning showed both Silas and Elijah making a run for the house. “They’re coming now. It looks like he has something in his arms.”

  Josephine continued to keep herself busy to try to keep her mind off the storm raging outside. She began to pump some water at the dry sink to make some hot coffee and tea for everyone. She was certain that if she was cold, so were their guests.

  Each peal of thunder had her trembling. Her imagination was always her worst enemy, and now was no exception. She imagined everything from Hank and Caleb being killed by a twister, to being washed downstream by a flash flood, or to being killed by large hail. She kept praying for their safety with every breath she took.

  Silas and Elijah burst into the house. They were both completely soaked, from head to toe. Elijah held a bundle wrapped in some waterproofed canvas that Madeline recognized from the barn.

  “Woo-eee!” Silas exclaimed. “That is one wicked storm out there!”

  Elijah nodded. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a hurricane like we’d get back home in Georgia.”

  Josephine set the coffee pot and kettle on the stove, then grabbed some more towels and handed them to the men. Her face was creased with worry.

  The men hung their hats to dry on the pegs by the door and Silas accepted the towels with a polite nod. “Thank you, Miss Jo.”

  Elijah set the packag
e down on the bench by the door and gratefully accepted a towel from Silas. He quickly mopped his face and hands dry, then slung the towel around his shoulders and began to unwrap the bundle he had brought in.

  He took a bundle of something that was wrapped in a spare piece of calico over to his wife, who was now bouncing the baby on her shoulder. “Sorry it took so long, Lydia. Is Hannah all right?”

  His mother made a scoffing noise as she readjusted the blanket around her shoulders. “A little cryin’ is good for her lungs, Eli. Hannah is just hungry. Can’t you tell by how she’s cryin’?”

  Eli grinned at his mother. “Never could figure out how you ladies can tell. A cry is a cry to me.”

  Madeline watched Silas and Elijah attempt to dry off. Other than delivering the bundle to his wife, Elijah stayed near the door with Silas. Neither one wanted to drip water all over the clean floor.

  “Josephine, would you go get a change of clothes for Silas and Mr. Washington? They’re soaked clean through. I’m certain Caleb has some clean things in the bureau upstairs.”

  Another loud crack of lightning and rumble of thunder made Josephine visibly jump. She did not answer, but fled from the room toward the stairs.

  Elijah smiled. “You don’t need to go through no trouble for us, Mrs. Stark. You’ve done so much already.”

  “Nonsense. It’s the Christian thing to do. And please, call me Maddy. All my friends do.” Madeline then turned her attention to Lydia and the baby. She took the bundle wrapped in calico from Lydia’s lap. “Now, let’s get you and the baby to the parlor. We can change her there before the fire, and there’s a nice rocking chair where you can feed her.”

  “Oh, God bless you, Miss Maddy,” Lydia gushed as she got to her feet. “This is such a beautiful house you have here.”

  Their voices quickly trailed off and were drowned by the sound of the wind and rain lashing the house. It was not long before Josephine returned to the kitchen with two sets of folded clothing clutched to her chest.

  She handed the clothes to Silas, who took them with a polite nod.

  “You can pull the screen out that we use for bathing and change behind that, if you don’t mind,” she told the men as she pointed out the screen that they kept folded in the corner of the lean-to.

  “That’ll do just fine, Miss Jo. Thank you.” Silas pulled it out and set it up in the corner of the small room. He motioned for Elijah to go first.

  Josephine bustled back to the stove to check on the water she had set to boil. She also used that time to peer out the window at the storm. The rain was coming down in sheets and lightning was lighting up the sky at frequent intervals.

  The ferocity of the sudden storm had Silas unsettled as well, but from the pallor of Josephine’s face, he knew that she was imagining the worst. He tried to keep some chatter going, in the hope that it might distract her from her thoughts.

  “So, Elijah…what brings you out this way?” Silas spoke a little louder than normal to be heard above the noise of the storm.

  Elijah peered at Silas from behind the screen with a puzzled look on his face. They had already discussed that very thing in the barn while they were unhitching the oxen from the wagon and getting them settled into a stall.

  Silas indicated Josephine with a nod of his head and gave Elijah a wink. Elijah looked over at Josephine, who had gone an unnatural shade of white, and nodded. He popped back behind the curtain and continued to peel his wet clothes off as he spoke.

  “Well, now…that’s a bit of a long story. See, I joined the 10th Calvary when Lydia and I got married. My pa had joined years before that, so it was a family tradition, you might say. Lydia stayed with my parents back in Ohio. I did my five years I signed up for and only saw my family a few times. When I got out, I looked for work in Cincinnati for some time. Finally, we started west. Heard there was land out here for the taking. Now we’re just looking for somewhere friendly to settle down.”

  At that, Josephine turned away from the window. “Will you be farming, then?”

  “Some,” came Elijah’s deep voice from behind the screen. “I thought I might try my hand at raising horses. I’m hoping to grow what I need to keep them. It’ll be a while before I have enough of a herd to start selling them.”

  Elijah stepped out from behind the screen and began to hang his wet clothes on the pegs by the door. Caleb’s clothes were a little large on him, but otherwise they fit him just fine.

  Silas went behind the screen and began to peel off his own wet clothes. “Well, I’ve lived here for a good chunk of my life. Most of the folk around here are friendly enough. There might be a few that could cause trouble for ya, but if the Starks put you under their protection, you’ll be safe enough around here. Ain’t that so, Miss Jo?”

  Josephine nodded. “Oh, yes. The Starks are wonderful people. Caleb, Madeline’s husband…his family started this town years ago. They were the first settlers out here. They’ve been wonderful to me. So…you know horses pretty well, then?”

  Elijah chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. It’s in my blood, you might say.”

  Otis nodded in agreement. “Yep. I grew up on a plantation in Georgia. My pa was the head groomsman in the stables and I learnt it all from him. Passed on what I knew to my boy, here. It’s why I joined the 10th after I got my freedom. I love being around them horses.”

  Esther rolled her eyes playfully. “Oh, now…don’t be getting him started on horses. He’ll talk your ear off!”

  The family enjoyed a good chuckle over what was obviously an old argument amongst themselves.

  Josephine smiled at their antics.

  Silas spoke from behind the screen. “I can tell ya that there ain’t any horse breeders in these parts. Right now people have to go quite a ways to find one. Sometimes you get lucky and find someone sellin’ a horse, but it’s rare. Are the horses you brought with you your breeding stock?”

  “They are, at that,” Elijah agreed proudly. “They come from championship lines. Warm-bloods.”

  “They sure are some mighty fine-looking horses, that’s for certain.” Silas made his way out from behind the screen. Caleb’s clothes swam on his smaller frame, but he had made do by rolling the cuffs on the pants and the shirt. He hung his own wet clothes alongside Elijah’s, then put the screen away.

  He had no sooner set the screen to the side, when Jim burst into the house. He was dripping wet and his face had a fearful expression on it. “Silas! There’s a twister! I saw it in the flashes of lightning.”

  Josephine’s heart leapt into her throat. She stood frozen to the spot, unable to move or speak. Her worst fear was coming to fruition. Had Hank and Caleb been caught in the twister? Was it going to hit the house and take all of them with it? Horrible images flashed through her mind, all in a matter of seconds.

  Silas saw the look of fear on Josephine’s face, and the worried looks on the faces of everyone else. “Calm down, Jim. Is it headed this way?”

  Jim swallowed hard. “I don’t think so. Looks like it’s headed more north.”

  “All right. Everything’s going to be all right. Josephine, why don’t you take the kids down to the cellar? Elijah, if you go through that door and through the dining room, you’ll find the parlor across the hall. Why don’t you get the ladies and have them join the others? Jim, since you’re still wet, keep an eye on it. If it turns this way, come let us know.”

  Silas’s calm demeanor belied the fear that he felt inside. He knew that chances were slim that the twister would hit the ranch, but if it was heading north, it might hit part of the herd or even hit the town of Bayard itself. Still, with Caleb and Hank gone, he knew it was up to him to keep everyone safe and calm. Panic never helped anyone.

  Josephine stood stock still until Otis and his wife stood up from their chairs. Seeing them move finally helped her get her wits about her once again. “The kids. Right.” She ran from the room, through the dining room, into the front hall, and up the stairs. She found the boys playing in George’s room,
both of them lying on the floor before a battlefield of tin soldiers.

  “George, Theodore…you need to come with me. Now.”

  “Aww, Miss Jo…” George began to argue, but then saw the look on Josephine’s face and the words froze in his mouth.

  “Now!” Josephine insisted, which propelled both boys into action.

  George took hold of Theodore’s hand and followed Josephine from the room, one lone soldier clutched in his free hand.

  As the threesome headed down the stairs, they met up with Elijah, Lydia, baby Hannah, and Madeline, who had just left the front parlor. Josephine led the way to the root cellar, dragging the boys behind her.

  The wind roared ominously as they went, spurring everyone to move faster. The sound of the rain pelting the house with its relentless hammering was met by the harder sound of hail entering the fray outside.

  When Josephine reached the bottom of the cellar stairs, she found Silas settling Otis and Esther on a bench near the rear of the cellar. A lone kerosene lantern lit the space. She was never more grateful to have such a large root cellar in her life. It was a tight squeeze with everyone inside it, but they could squeeze in a few more if they had to. Poor Pardner sat in a corner, shivering and whining in fear.

  Baby Hannah’s frustrated cries were the only other sound being made in the cellar. Theodore clung to his grandmother’s skirts and sat at the floor at her feet, his large brown eyes wide with fear. Elijah helped his wife to sit on a large barrel so that she could continue to nurse their daughter in relative comfort.

  George wanted to be held by his aunt, but he was just too big for her in her current condition. He reached up for her, but Josephine swooped in and held him close. She stood next to Madeline, both for George’s sake and her own. With Hank gone, Madeline was her rock.

  Madeline put her right arm around Josephine’s shoulders and rubbed George’s back with her left hand. She was just as worried as Josephine about Caleb and Hank, as well as the ranch, the cattle, the townsfolk…Her list of worries went on and on, just as she knew it did for Josephine.