“Does Colby know?” Ginny asked, her heart racing at the thought that Nate might be hurt somewhere and they didn't know where.
“No. I didn't want to talk to him.” Frank looked on the verge of tears, not wanting to admit just how mad he was at his older brother.
Ginny turned on her heel and left the kitchen. Figuring that Colby was already awake, she went outside, toward the barn, calling his name. She saw two figures walk out of the barn and look at her. One was Colby, the other Tim.
“Nate didn't come home last night.” Ginny was breathing heavy, most likely from the solid weight that was sitting on her heart.
“He's just hiding, Ginny. He'll come home when he's hungry.” Colby sounded annoyed, as usual, but Tim looked a little worried.
Ginny was desperate to get through to him. “Frank has already been out looking for him this morning and hasn't found him in any of his usual hiding places. He didn't come to dinner last night and wasn't at breakfast this morning.”
Colby scrunched up his face and went back toward the house, Ginny hot on his heels. Walking up to his brother's room, he first looked under the bed. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find because he looked more confused. Then, Colby spotted something under Nate's pillow. Grabbing it, Ginny realized it was a piece of paper. After unfolding the single sheet, Colby read what it had to say. Ginny saw his skin turn white, right before he pushed past her and ran back down the stairs.
Running outside, Ginny heard him call for Tim. “Nate's taken off. We'll need some of the ranch hands to help in the search. Round them up and get them on horses. Have everyone meet here as soon as possible.”
The weight was heavier, and Ginny thought she just might throw up. Nate ran away? How could that be? Frank ran outside of the house to join them. Colby sent him to Vas' house to bring him over to help with the search.
After Frank ran off toward Vas' cabin, Ginny asked, “What does the note say?”
Instead of answering her, Colby stuffed the note in his pants pocket and walked toward the barn. He began to saddle a horse, ignoring her as she stood waiting, waiting for anything he would give her.
“Go back to the house, Ginny. I'll have Nate home by this afternoon.”
“Where did he go? Why did he go? Please Colby, I have to know.” Desperate, heartsick, Ginny grabbed his arm, pleading with her eyes for any information.
Pulling abruptly away, he turned to her. His eyes, for once, weren't angry, but hurt. He shook slightly, as if he was holding back something he wanted to say. Instead, he took out the note and handed it to Ginny.
Ginny opened the note and began to read:
Colby,
I won't stay here if Ginny ain't here. I'm going to Cheyenne
to meet her. I will live with her from now on. Goodbye.
Nate
Ginny gasped. He left because he was mad that Colby was getting rid of her. She thought he must have overheard them in the barn, since it was after that when he disappeared.
Feeling somewhat more empowered, Ginny said, “I want to go with you.”
Colby was leading his horse out into the corral. He went back in the barn to saddle another horse. As he did his work, he replied, “Impossible.”
“What do you mean? I want to help.” I need to help, she left unspoken.
After saddling the second horse, he asked, “And what can you do? Can you ride? Can you track? You'll just end up getting lost yourself, and then I'll have to go out looking for you too.”
“Somehow I doubt that you would bother to look for me if I didn't come back,” Ginny said caustically, not caring about his feelings at the moment.
“Damn right,” he said, under his breath, but still a stage whisper loud enough to be heard.
“Please Colby, let me help.” When he turned his back to her again, she got rash. “If you let me go and help, I promise to leave as soon as Nate is home. I won't even make you drive me. I'll walk away. I just need to know that he's okay. If you leave me here, I swear I'll go crazy.”
Ginny had never felt this way before. She remembered when her nephew had been hit in the head with a baseball during a game. It was touch and go for a while, with all of the family huddled in the hospital, waiting for news from his mother whether he'd pull through. But this, this was like Ginny was the mother. She'd never felt anything this close to being maternal before. Was it the environment that made it happen so fast or was Nate just that kind of special kid?
Colby was moved by the sound of her voice. In the past few weeks, his brother and Ginny had formed a bond that Colby didn't have with him after ten years. She sounded as if her heart was breaking. He thought back to her begging to let her stay. She'd said she would do anything he wanted, as long as she could stay because she “liked it here.” Closing his eyes, trying to put himself in her shoes, he said, “Alright. You can come with me.” Ginny gasped and he added, “But if you slow me down, I'll leave you behind. He's my brother, after all.”
Putting up her hands in supplication, Ginny said, “Of course, of course. I won't slow you down, I swear. Just tell me what you want me to do. Should I get some supplies from Nizhoni?”
In the hopes of getting her away from him, he nodded. Ginny flew away, towards the house. The last thing he heard was Ginny calling to Vas that he was in the barn. A moment later, Vas came in for his instructions.
*******
They had three teams of two. With the two ranch hands, everyone had a partner to watch their back. Colby was going to stick Ginny with Vas or Tim, but decided he needed his two best trackers not to be distracted by her. So, in the end, he took her himself.
Ginny had arranged supplies for everyone in saddle bags. With Nizhoni's help, each bag contained food, ammo and some basic medical supplies. By the time everyone had gathered, Ginny had changed into the pants and shirt that Georgia had given her the day they'd gone to the swimming hole. She had also found a hat and long coat, to keep her warm at night.
The six set off east, figuring that Nate wouldn't take the mountain pass to the north or use the road into Cheyenne. He wouldn't want to be discovered that easily. Vas and Tim would probably be able to pick up a trail, but they would still have to split up in case Nate got lost and ended up somewhere unexpected.
As they approached the wooded area east of the ranch, Tim looked up at the sky. “Could be a bad one.”
“Bad what?” Ginny asked, having so far held her own on the horse. She thought that whoever she was may have been a rider, since she found herself doing things automatically, without thinking about it first.
Vas pointed toward the horizon. “Storm, Ginny. Looks like a real soaker too.”
Ginny's face began to crack slightly. She was determined not to be a burden, but the thought of Nate alone, cold and wet and possibly lost was eating at her soul. He was a smart kid, she told herself. He would be alright.
After entering the woods, Colby directed each team where to go. “Ginny and I will head south, toward the river. He might try to follow it out of the woods. Tim, Vas, both of you head northeast and see if you can pick up his trail. Douglas, you and Ben head north and see if there is any sign. If anyone finds him, one man take him home while the other lets the rest of us know. Got it?”
Everyone agreed and set off. Thankfully for Ginny, the forest was dense enough to keep Colby from racing off on the horse. Unfortunately, it was too dense to get through in a hurry and find Nate quicker.
They'd been riding for over an hour when the wind picked up. Ginny couldn't feel it in the forest, but she could hear the tops of the trees swaying. She was cold, but not from exposure. She feared they wouldn't find him in time. Don't borrow trouble, Ginny. It does you no good, her mother used to say when she worried needlessly. Ginny wondered what her mother would say about this.
Without any preamble, the rain started to come down. They had just reached the river. Not yet swollen from the rain, they were able to cross easily. After they reached the other side, Colby came along side her.<
br />
He nearly had to yell, as the they were no longer in the woods and the rain began to pour down in buckets. “This river runs east. It eventually hits a road going north toward Cheyenne. He may be following it.”
“Would he know about it? Have you guys been here before?”
His face was exasperated, again. “Of course he does, Ginny. Do you think I would waste our time.”
Ginny took a deep breath. With every ounce of patience she had, she said, “Of course not, Colby. Sometimes I don't think before I speak. Lead on.”
Colby's eyes held some regret, but then he turned his horse and led her along the path beside the river. Soon, they had to enter the forest again, as the river began to swell in the continued downpour.
Ginny didn't think she'd ever been this wet before, except when swimming in a pool. She felt heavy, from all the clothing that had sucked in every available ounce of water falling from the sky. As miserable as she felt, she could only imagine how Nate was doing. She had no idea what supplies he'd thought to bring or if he had any materials to make a shelter. The one good part of the rain was that Colby couldn't tell that she was crying.
After a couple of hours of following the river, the pair stopped to let the horses rest. Hiding under a thick, evergreen tree, Ginny leaned against the trunk, feeling forlorn. Colby found the horses some grass to nibble on and walked back to stand next to Ginny.
Seeing her face, he set out to reassure her. “He's a smart kid, Ginny. He knows how to take care of himself out here. He'll be alright.”
Turning her face to his, Colby saw the tears in her eyes. It struck him how much Ginny had become a mother to his brother. After losing their own mother less than a year ago, Nate had seemed lost. He rarely spoke, and when he did, it was usually only to Frank. In the past few weeks, he'd come out of his self-imposed shell. For the first time in a while, Nate was laughing again, joining in activities, and best of all, acting more like a ten year old boy. Colby wondered if some of the stunts that his brothers had orchestrated hadn't been cries for attention. When Ginny started to shower them with attention, they hadn't needed to cause anymore trouble.
Reaching over, Colby used his gloved hand to wipe away a tear falling down Ginny's cheek. Her reaction startled him. She pulled away and looked shocked.
“What's wrong, Ginny?”
Staring at Colby, she couldn't believe that he didn't know. It was the first time the man had shown any affection toward her since her arrival. Ginny wasn't talking about anything sexual. Colby hadn't so much as high fived her for a job well done.
“I... What are you doing?” she asked, clearly confused by his change of heart. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was screamed at her to get out of his house and go to a strange city, without any resources, just to be away from him?
Colby looked away. For the first time, he saw his behavior from someone else's point of view. What he saw made him cringe. Instead of addressing their issues, he said, “We better get going. I don't want to burn too much daylight just standing around.” With that, he walked away to collect the horses.
Ginny watched him leave and wondered if things might be changing between them. That when they found Nate, Colby would be willing to give her another chance and let her stay. God she hoped so, since she knew she had so much more to do with this family.
Chapter 20
They rode on together, without speaking, for another couple of hours. Ginny was amazed to find out they had only gone about twelve or fifteen miles from the ranch. It seemed like they'd been riding for days and should be near Denver by now. Fifteen miles in her time period usually meant less than twenty minutes by car, not four or five hours by horse.
The swaying of the horse was lulling her into a false sense of security. She kept looking around for any sign of Nate, but truthfully, she didn't know what to look for. Short of a large sign saying, “Over here,” she was lost.
The only sound besides the rain was some distant thunder. Although they were in the woods, Ginny still worried about lightning. There certainly wasn't any thing she could do if one of them were struck.
As if conjured by her own mind, a flash of lightning struck one of the trees, directly behind Ginny. A large chunk of wood and leaves came crashing down next to her, spooking the horse so bad that he took off like a jackrabbit. The only thing Ginny had time to do was hold on tight. The horse passed Colby, who was able to keep his horse from taking off.
They were racing through the forest, dodging branches. Ginny kept her head down and was screaming, “Whoa,” for all the good it did. The horse, clearly unhappy at his task as it was, was even more displeased at the prospect of lightning and falling debris.
A low lying branch slashed across Ginny's face, knocking off her hat and scraping her cheek. Ginny hoped that the forest would open up so she could sit up and pull back the reins. She didn't dare try it now, or she might be taken off the horse by all the branches.
Suddenly, Ginny saw Nate. He was crouched by the river, trying to fill his canteen. Before Ginny could scream, the horse stopped up short, bucking on his hind legs and sending Ginny to the ground. With the wind knocked out of her, she barely registered the fact that her escapade had caught Nate unaware, making him fall into the river.
With what strength she had left, Ginny ran down to the river, ripping off her coat as she went. She spotted Nate heading toward her on the fast moving water. Without any time to think, Ginny jumped into the water, grabbed Nate and reached out to grab hold of a tree that had long ago fallen into the river. She and Nate were pressed against the side of the tree, with the water pushing them against it, keeping them from moving. The pressure was tremendous. They had to get out of the river.
Ginny moved so one arm was draped around the tree, then she could use her other hand to help Nate climb on top of the log. The current kept trying to pull him under, making her job all that much harder. The river was cold, slowly sapping what little strength either of them had.
With a mighty heave, Ginny pulled Nate up by his belt. She was screaming at him to climb up, but the rushing water drowned out most of the sound. Nate turned his head, and she saw raw fear in his eyes. After all, wasn't this how his parents had died?
Putting on a confident face, she said as loud as she could, “Nate, you have got to climb up. Use all your strength.”
“But what about you?” he asked, tears forming in his eyes.
“As soon as you're out, I can get out. I can't move with you here.” It was a lie. Ginny didn't think she'd be able to climb out regardless, but she needed him to get out. Without a thought of herself, she would do anything to save the boy.
Nate nodded his understanding and started to climb. Ginny pulled as hard as she could, not feeling as though she was getting very far. Just as she thought they were making headway, something cracked and Ginny got sucked under the log.
Miraculously, she was able to grab a branch on the other side, barely pulling herself back to the log. The current was a little softer, with the log taking the brunt of the force, but she didn't think she'd be able to hold on for long. Nate had both arms over the log, with his chest plastered against it. He was crying, not able to move.
“Nate, please try again. Try to pull yourself up.”
His eyes flew open, and Ginny realized that he thought she was gone. After seeing her there, still clinging to the dead tree, he found a small reserve of strength and started again to pull himself up. Meanwhile, Ginny held onto the branch, praying she could hold on just long enough for Nate to pull himself out.
No matter what Nate did, he couldn't get his legs up. The current under the tree was too strong. Ginny tried to pull herself closer, but was pulled away by the same assault. Just when she thought they would have to let go and try again down river, Colby appeared by the river's edge. Reaching down, with one hand he pulled Nate to the shore. From the cold and terror, Nate could only flop down on the ground.
Colby leaned out on the tree and reached out his hand. Ginny was a
fraid to let go, knowing she had only one chance to grab his hand or be swept down river. Looking up at his face, she saw something she hadn't seen on him before: fear. Before she could say anything, it was gone, replaced by determination.
“Ginny, grab my hand. I swear I won't let you go.” He must have been shouting, but over the sound of the river, Ginny could barely hear him.
Knowing that this could only end one of two ways, and generally speaking, heroines didn't drown, Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand. Colby pulled her up, onto the log, then helped her onto the river bank. She flopped next to Nate, who had his eyes closed and was breathing steadily.
She touched his cheek, and he turned and looked at her. Smiling, he started to cry and shake. He grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her.
A Lesson in Patience Page 14
