“She didn’t make it to Matthew’s before I left, so maybe she hasn’t been gone long.”
David rubbed a hand over his temple. “Or she could have taken her usual shortcut along the creek.”
The path that Matthew and David both felt the flooding had made too dangerous to traverse? Caroline bit her lip. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“You’re right. We need to search the woods. I’ll rally the men.” He strode toward the door, then paused in the doorway. “Ma, will you stay here in case she comes back? Caroline—”
“I’m going with you.”
A hint of a smile briefly curved his lips. “I know. Come on.”
She hurried down the stairs at his heels and saddled up alongside his ranch hands. David even lent her a gun to signal with after she assured him Matthew had taught her how to use one before he’d moved away from Austin. David also made sure she was equipped with a rope and a rolled-up blanket. He gave her a boost into the saddle, then tucked her foot into the stirrup.
His hand lingered there. “Be careful, Caroline. Don’t take any chances. The woods are flooded. Not just the creek. If you can’t tell how deep the water is in a particular spot, go around it, not through it. Understand?”
He waited for her to nod before he turned away to mount his horse. They all rode out, each one of them peeling off from the group as David assigned them an area to search. He kept her on the same side of the creek he was on but urged her to check the woods while he traveled nearer the creek bed. The creek had already swollen to twice its normal size. She led her mount away from it and into the waterlogged woods.
As she picked her way around puddles and downed branches, her voice merged with the others shouting Maggie’s name. She came to what appeared to be a shallow lake of floodwater that stretched twenty or thirty yards in front of her. She scoured the water in case Maggie had gotten stranded somewhere near its center, then heeded David’s warning by going around it. The other voices faded away until she could hear only her own. “Maggie! Maggie, where are you?”
Through the rain, her gaze latched on to a flash of white against the muddy browns and greens of the flooded forest. A crumpled figure huddled at the base of a tree. “Maggie!”
Caroline urged her mount up the small rise toward the girl. After all but leaping from the horse, Caroline ran the last few feet, then dropped to her knees beside Maggie. The child was curled up in a little ball with her head resting on a bed of leaves. She appeared to be sleeping or unconscious. She placed a hand on the child’s back and shook her slightly. “Maggie, wake up. Maggie?”
Maggie’s lashes lifted. Her blue eyes focused on Caroline’s face. She gasped in a breath and threw herself into Caroline’s arms. Eyes filling with tears, Caroline held her tight. She swallowed against the ache of emotion in her throat. “Are you all right?”
Maggie nodded against the curve of her neck. “I was on my way to see you, but there’s water everywhere. I slipped in the mud and hurt my ankle. After a while, I got tired of hopping, so I sat down to rest. Guess I fell asleep.”
“Let me see your ankle.” Caroline eased back enough to press a kiss to the girl’s dirt-streaked forehead, then gently probed the ankle Maggie presented to her. It was swollen, but not broken as far as Caroline could tell. “Let’s leave the boot on until we get back home, then we’ll ask the doctor to check on it. Do you think you can walk to the horse with my help?”
“What horse?”
“That one.” Caroline turned to point only to find there was no horse behind her or anywhere in view for that matter. She let out a disbelieving huff of a laugh. The horse must have kept right on going after Caroline had dismounted. And why not? She hadn’t taken the time to tie off the mare. This was really no laughing matter.
Without the horse and the supplies it carried, she had no way to signal David and his men. She had no blanket to put around Maggie’s shivering shoulders. She had no way to transport Maggie back to the house. Asking Maggie to walk on an injured ankle could easily injure it more. It would also make their progress incredibly slow.
She offered the girl a playful smile to cover her panic. “How would you like a piggyback ride?”
With Maggie safely stowed on her back, Caroline set off in the direction of the house. She made the long trek around the lake, making her way closer to the creek in the hopes that they might run into one of the men before they reached the house. There was no one in sight once they emerged near the creek.
Panting slightly from carrying Maggie, Caroline set her down. “Let’s rest for a minute and try calling out for the men. Here—lean against this tree to keep the weight of your foot.”
The creek seemed to rise two inches for every minute they lingered. Caroline couldn’t risk staying any longer. Besides, she felt sufficiently recovered to make it the rest of the way home. “Hop on my back again, Maggie.”
She’d barely made it a step before an odd rumble filled the air. Thunder? No. The sound wasn’t coming from the sky. It was coming from the creek.
A brown layer of branches, dirt and debris turned the curve of the creek and marched across the top of the water. Maggie stiffened. “It’s a gully washer! Run!”
Matthew had told her a rancher had died from one just the other day. According to her brother, they were nigh on impossible to outrun even without a child on one’s back and Maggie would never be able to run fast enough with a bad ankle. Caroline turned on her heel and released Maggie’s legs. Catching the girl’s waist, Caroline positioned her beneath the lowest-hanging tree branch. “Climb the tree, Maggie. Climb!”
She boosted Maggie into the air. Maggie caught the branch and swung herself up into the tree. Sprained ankle seemingly forgotten, she scurried to the next highest branch. “Hurry, Miss Caroline!”
Caroline hopped up to catch the branch, then kicked against the tree trunk to haul herself into its branches. “Keep going! Find the strongest branch. Careful now.”
Caroline split her attention between Maggie and the oozing brown muck that bumped against the bottom of the tree with an alarming amount of force. The branches, logs and rocks in its flow would have pulverized her. Maggie called, “Is this high enough?”
She glanced up to find the girl a few more feet overhead. Wishing they’d been close to a tree larger than the one they’d claimed, Caroline climbed to a branch near Maggie’s. “This is fine for now.”
The flow beneath them changed to a faster-moving mud, then brown water swept beneath them. It turned into a raging torrent, crashing and splashing ever harder against the base of their tree as it tore downriver. Maggie’s terrified gaze found hers. “It’s shaking the tree.”
“Hold on tight.”
Maggie nodded. The girl edged closer to the trunk. Her little knuckles turned white as she held on to her branch. Maggie was so busy staring down at the churning water beneath them that she didn’t see the tree just upriver from them. It tilted, then fell into the creek with a loud splash. Dread filled Caroline. Her body began to shake. She moved from her branch to Maggie’s. It was sturdy enough to hold them both with no trouble. The tree shuddered as the other one banged into it on its way past. Meanwhile, Caroline did her best to cocoon Maggie with her own body. She kissed Maggie’s cheek. “I love you, Maggie.”
Maggie glanced back at her in delight. “I love you, too, Miss Caroline.”
She kept her voice as calm as possible. “I want you to hold tight to this tree until someone rescues you, all right? Hold tight. No matter what. Even if it falls.”
“If it falls?” Maggie stiffened in alarm as the tree shuddered again, then began to tilt.
“Tight grip. Relax your body. Tuck your head.”
Maggie did as instructed. Caroline prepared herself to break the girl’s fall as best she could. The world turned sideways. Air rushed past them. Maggie’s scream filled
her ear. All Caroline could think was that Ida was right. This was real—this life, her feelings for David, all of it. She loved him. She had for some time. She simply hadn’t wanted to accept it. Now it was too late.
They hit the creek. Pain lanced her body. The world was nothing but water. And she was drowning in it. No. She couldn’t. Not yet. Not until Maggie was safe.
Her grasp tightened on the branch above her. She hauled herself upward. A watery scream wrenched from her lungs at the overwhelming pain that throbbed in her other arm at the movement. It was cut short as she broke the surface of the water and coughed out muddy water. “Maggie!”
The girl was clinging to the tree trunk beside her. Blood smeared across her bottom lip. She spoke not a word. Her terrified gaze clung to Caroline’s, seeking reassurance. Their locked eyes jarred apart as the trunk crashed into something. Maggie screamed. And as they careened down the river at breakneck speed, Caroline prayed for rescue.
* * *
David and his men had searched the creek all the way to Matthew’s property without finding any sign of Maggie. Now it seemed that Caroline was missing, as well. Clenching the reins in his fist, David watched the debris flow of the gully washer roll downstream from the safety of a nearby hill. Isaiah had sounded the alarm early enough for them to get out of its way and had continued on by horse to warn the folks at the Murray ranch.
Meanwhile, David couldn’t stop worrying about Caroline and Maggie. The words came out through gritted teeth before he could stop them. “Where are they?”
“Maybe they’re together,” Ephraim suggested.
“Then why didn’t Caroline signal?”
Ephraim didn’t have an answer to that, but Joaquin took up where he left off. “We’ve searched by the creek and Maggie wasn’t there, so she shouldn’t be in harm’s way. Neither should Caroline if she was searching the woods where you sent her.”
David appreciated the comfort his men were trying to offer, but there was no shaking the uneasy feeling in his gut. “Something isn’t right. We need to keep looking for them. Just stay clear of the creek.”
As they headed toward the woods, screams sounded over the rumble of the water. His heart leaped into his throat. “Maggie!”
He turned his horse and galloped toward the sound. He was running toward the creek with a rope in hand when his daughter rounded a curve in the creek. His little girl was caught in the rushing floodwaters with the woman he loved clinging to the branch beside her. Everything around him slowed down, compressing until the world consisted of only them and the danger they were in. “Caroline! Maggie! Catch the rope!”
Maggie didn’t hear him, but Caroline did. Her eyes met his with a mixture of hope, relief and panic. She said something to Maggie to make the girl cling to her. David tossed the lariat with a cattleman’s precision. Caroline released the branch to grab it. Her face blanched at the movement even as she instructed Maggie to hold on to the rope, too.
David hesitated, not wanting to pull too hard on the rope and accidentally wrench it out of Caroline’s hand. Thankfully, with him anchoring the rope, the river moved them closer to the banks in its effort to carry them downstream. It also did everything it could to pull him into its clutches, as well. Joaquin stepped in front of David to add his strength to the effort. David cautioned him, “Don’t pull it. Just hold it.”
“We’ll hold it still,” Joaquin said as Ephraim took his place on the rope, as well. “Go get them, jefe.”
David didn’t need to be told twice. He left the rope in their hands and rushed to the river. The current was swift, but his determination to reach Caroline and Maggie was stronger. He met them in waist-deep water.
“Daddy!” Maggie lunged for him.
He grabbed her before she could be carried downstream. He shifted her to one side and caught up with Caroline, who had drifted closer to the shore. “Are y’all hurt?”
Caroline gave a single nod. “My arm. Maggie’s ankle. Is that all, sweetheart?”
Maggie nodded. David helped Caroline stand. With her good arm around his shoulder and his around her waist, he walked them out of the water. “How bad is Maggie’s ankle?”
“Probably sprained.” She bit out the winded words, betraying her own pain.
“Your arm?”
She swallowed hard. “Maybe broken.”
Joaquin was already coiling up the rope. “Should I get the doctor?”
“Yes. Bring him to the house.” Feeling the way they both trembled in his arms. “Ephraim, the blankets?”
Ephraim was already grabbing them from his and David’s saddles. Joaquin passed his to Ephraim, then rode off toward the town. Caroline wobbled a little. “I need to sit down a moment.”
David sank to the ground with her and watched her in concern as he hugged Maggie closer. The girl seemed completely spent. He wrapped her in the blankets Ephraim gave him, while the man placed the other one around Caroline’s back. Ephraim nodded toward Caroline’s arm. “Do you want me to bring the wagon?”
“I can ride.” Caroline pulled the blanket closer around her. “My arm will hurt no matter what, but the sooner we’re away from the creek, the better.”
David nodded. Caroline was right. They needed to get to safety, and Maggie needed to get warmed up as soon as possible. “Ephraim, if you’ll take Maggie, I’ll help Caroline. Don’t wait for us. Go by the road and bring Maggie to her grandmother.”
“Yes, sir. Let’s go, Magpie.”
Maggie easily went to the ranch hand she’d known most of her life, and the two were soon riding off on Ephraim’s horse. David followed them with Caroline. He set a much slower pace, not wanting to cause Caroline any more discomfort than necessary. With that same intention, he led her to his room rather than to the nursery. She stopped short as they entered the room. “David, I can’t stay here.”
“This will be the easiest place for the doctor to set your arm, and it will afford you the most privacy.”
She gave a slow nod but continued to stand in the door awkwardly. “I’m drenched and muddy. I don’t want to dirty anything.”
“It’s probably best for you to wait to change clothes until after the doctor sets your arm. I don’t mind the dirt, though. Everything can be washed.” He pulled back the hunter-green-and-dark-blue quilt on his bed to reveal the blue sheets underneath, then swept his arm toward it.
She merely perched on the edge. “I’m too nervous to lie down. I’ve never broken my arm before. No. Don’t look at it. It’s unnatural looking, ugly.”
“You broke your arm trying to help my daughter, didn’t you?”
“I—Yes,” she said as she pulled the blanket more securely in front of it to block it from view.
“Then it isn’t ugly. It’s a testament to your bravery, dedication and caring.”
“I’m sorry I got us caught in the flood. I found Maggie, but the horse ran off with our supplies. I went to the creek because the woods were flooded. I hoped to find you or one of the ranch hands.”
He kneeled down in front of her. “No one expected that gully washer, Caroline. It isn’t your fault. You have nothing to blame yourself for.”
“I exercised poor judgment.”
“No. You made the best decision you could at the time with the facts you had. Things didn’t turn out the way you hoped. That doesn’t mean the decision itself was bad. That doesn’t mean you’re to blame for the unexpected outcome. There are a lot of things I wish I could do over in life, but we can’t be omnipotent. We don’t know the end from the beginning. We can’t change the past. We just have to learn from our mistakes and move on.” He paused, then shook his head and offered a self-deprecating smile. “I don’t know why I’m saying all this.”
“I do.” She carefully scooted a bit closer. “You’re saying it because I need to hear it. I’ve been blaming myself for
what happened with Nico. So much so that I’ve tried to do everything I can not to repeat that mistake—even if that meant pushing you away.”
Cautious hope sprang in his chest, but he ignored it to stay focused on getting through to her. “Please tell me you will finally accept that you weren’t at fault for that. Nico was a con artist. You weren’t his first victim, but you were his last. Didn’t Matthew tell you that?”
She shook her head. “I think he started to, but I told him I didn’t want to hear about anything having to do with Nico.”
“Well, it’s true, and Nico will be paying for his crimes against you and everyone else he took advantage of.”
“I don’t want to be a victim anymore,” she said thoughtfully, softly. Then her eyes took on a new light. “Do you know what I was thinking about when the tree we were in toppled into the water?”
“You were in a tree that toppled over?” Alarm filled his voice as he glanced at where the blanket covered her arm. “No wonder you broke your arm. You must have been terrified.”
“I thought I was going to die. I could have died. All I could think about in that moment was how wrong I’d been about you, about everything. I wanted a chance to tell you how sorry I am for hurting you, for making you feel as though you weren’t enough or that what we had wasn’t real. The truth is I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. It scared me, but I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I want this. I want you. David—”
A knock on the half-open door announced Ida’s arrival only an instant before she stepped inside with a steaming mug of tea. David stood and released Caroline’s good hand, though he had no idea when he’d reached for it. Ida hesitated as she glanced back and forth between them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I wanted to check on Caroline, but I see she’s being taken good care of.”
David turned away and rubbed the back of his neck. Still reeling from Caroline’s words, he was grateful for the moment to gather himself. She seemed sincere. He wanted to trust that she was. Still, he wasn’t sure his heart could take it if she changed her mind again.
The Nanny's Temporary Triplets Page 19
