The Rancher's Return

by Carolyne Aarsen

  Please, Lord. Please, Lord.

  His prayers were no more than this two-word plea as he pushed Elijah on up the trail that grew more muddy with each passing minute. It couldn’t happen again. He couldn’t lose another—

  There. Another track. Fainter now.

  Please, Lord.

  He needed to keep his wits about him and keep himself calm and in control. He had to reassure himself that Adam was okay. He couldn’t panic. Emma depended on him.

  Old doubts and fears spiraled up and with them even more desperate prayers.

  You’re not the right person for the job. You were gone when Harry died. You couldn’t keep Sylvia safe.

  This is different. You’re doing something about this. You’re going to look for him.

  The rain battered at them when they were in the open and dripped relentlessly off the trees when they were sheltered. Carter’s shirt underneath his slicker grew damp, and his pants were now completely soaked. He should have taken the time to get his leather chaps.

  There hadn’t been time. There had only been fear and the thought that time was running out.

  He nudged Elijah in the ribs, and his horse pushed forward again, head down, feet churning in the mud of the trail.

  After what felt like hours, the trail turned out into the open area where the cows were pastured. Carter’s mind flicked back to that perfect afternoon as they watched the calves racing across the pasture. As he held Emma in his arms and kissed her.

  The day his life had made a drastic shift.

  Now he was riding up in these same hills looking for her son, struggling to keep his own worries for the boy at bay.

  He pushed on.

  Finally he saw the break in the trees, and a few moments later Carter pulled up to the cabin, slid off his horse and tied him up with a few quick twists of the halter rope.

  He arrived at the door almost the same time as Emma.

  “Adam,” she called out as Carter yanked open the door.

  The interior of the cabin was gloomy and dank, and Carter had to strain his eyes to see.

  A collapsed wooden bed sat in one corner of the cabin, a table pushed up against the wall. A few muddy footprints were on the floor, and water dripped into the cabin from the various holes in the roof.

  Carter couldn’t see Adam.

  “Adam. Adam.” Emma’s voice, hoarse with fear, echoed in the empty building.

  She turned to Carter, catching him by the arms. “Where is he? Where is Adam?”

  Carter wanted to pull her into his arms. To hold her close and protect her, but right now they had other concerns.

  His gaze swept over the cabin. Think. Think.

  Then he noticed that the lanterns that Adam had wanted so badly for the tree fort were gone.

  “He’s been here.” Carter struggled to absorb the information. To sift through it and figure out where Adam could be.

  “But where is he now? We didn’t see him on the trail. What if he wandered off the trail and we passed him?”

  Carter laid his finger on her lips, stopping the spill of panic. “He would have heard us, or the horses would have seen him. He wouldn’t have gone off the trail. He didn’t on the way up here, he wouldn’t have on the way back.”

  Her face was wet, and he suspected not all the moisture on her cheeks were rain.

  “We’ll find him, Emma. I promise you.”

  Please, Lord. Please, Lord.

  Emma choked back a sob and dashed her hand over her face. Then she pulled in a quavering breath and glanced around the cabin.

  “So where would he have gone?”

  Carter had to still his own rising fear as he tried to think. He glanced around the cabin again then stepped outside.

  Please, Lord. Please, Lord. Let us find him.

  He concentrated on the ground, looking for a clue. Under the trees around the cabin the ground wasn’t as wet.

  Then he saw it. Another footprint. This one didn’t head down the trail back to the ranch. It went up.

  “Did you ever tell Adam about the abandoned mine up in the hills?” he asked Emma.

  “Wade did when we first came up here. I think he pointed it out to him.” Bingo.

  “I think I know where Adam is.”

  Emma clung to the confidence in Carter’s voice even harder than she clung to the saddle horn as they worked their way up the narrow mountain trail. The horses slipped and slid but kept on going.

  Rain dripped from her hat brim down the back of her neck, and her pants were so wet and chilled she couldn’t feel her thighs.

  None of it mattered. All she wanted was to see Adam, to know that he was safe. Their little battle of last night seemed so small and petty now. Why didn’t she go up with him to the cabin last night? It would have taken an hour with the horses.

  Because he was exhausted and needed his sleep.

  So why didn’t you go get the lantern?

  Because I couldn’t leave him alone.

  Her mental conversations flipped back and forth between rational reasoning and unreasoning fear.

  Please, Lord, let him be okay. Please don’t take him from me too.

  Her prayer held a note of desperation, and as she prayed she lifted her head, her eyes glued to Carter’s back. He looked straight ahead, urging his horse on, as if he couldn’t get to the site fast enough.

  “There it is,” Carter called out, raising his voice above the rain falling on the trees. He pointed as he looked back, and Emma saw it too. The cave opening.

  Carter was already out of the saddle, tying up his horse before Emma, cold and stiff and wet, could even lift her leg out of the stirrup. She dismounted, dropped the reins, then charged up the incline behind Carter.

  He was in the cave before she scrambled to the opening.

  “He’s here, Emma. He’s here.” Carter’s voice sounded shaky. “He’s all right.”

  It was only adrenaline that got Emma to the cave, because the relief flooding through her loosened her bones. She staggered into the cave behind Carter, looking wildly around in the half-light. Then she saw a bundle curled up against the wall.

  “Adam. Oh, Adam.” She stumbled toward him, but Carter was there already, checking him over.

  “He’s okay,” Carter said, sitting back on his haunches, his hands falling to his sides as if they were too heavy to hold up.

  Emma crouched down beside her son, then lifted him into her arms. He groaned. Then his eyes opened and he smiled.

  “Mommy. I got the lantern.”

  “Did you? That’s great.” She pulled him tightly against her, rocking him, tears of relief and gratitude spilling from her eyes.

  “Thank You, Lord,” she whispered, stroking Adam’s head, kissing his cool cheeks. “Thank You.”

  Adam pulled back. “Why are you crying, Mommy?”

  Emma sniffed and swiped her gloved hand over her eyes. “Because I thought you were lost,” she said, her fear slowly melting away now that she knew he was safe. “I woke up this morning and you weren’t in your bed. I thought something bad had happened.”

  Adam lowered his head. “I just wanted to get the lantern, and you said you wouldn’t. So I thought I would get it before you woked up.”

  “Oh, honey,” Emma said, her voice wobbly with relief.

  “You should have told us,” Carter said. “That was very dangerous for you to come up here all by yourself.”

  Emma caught the strained tone of Carter’s voice. As if this was too close to his own loss.

  “I’m sorry,” Adam mumbled. “I won’t do it again.”

  “Why did you come up here?” Carter asked.

  “It was raining and the cabin was wet. I remembered Wade told me about the cave.”

  “It’s okay, honey. We found you,” she said, her own voice trembling with relief. “I’m so glad you stayed here,” she said. “That you didn’t go wandering off.” She drew gently back and stroked his hair away from his face. “I was so worried about you.”


  “I’m sorry, Mommy.” He bit his lip, and Emma could see that he was close to tears himself. She forced herself to stand and pulled him up with her.

  “I know you are, but you know what? Now we have to go back to the ranch.”

  Adam spun his head around, looking. “My lantern. Where’s my lantern? We have to go get it.”

  “We need to go right back to the ranch,” Carter said, the firm note in his voice brooking no argument. “We can come back for that another time.”

  “But I came up here to get the lantern.”

  “Adam—”

  Carter and Emma spoke at the same time. Carter held up his hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s okay.” Emma gave him a smile of understanding. She didn’t mind his interjection. In spite of the tension they had just experienced, his behavior with Adam created another connection with Carter. It was as if, for the first time in her life, she had help and support in taking care of her son.

  Emma zipped up Adam’s jacket, hoping it would be warm enough. “Okay. Let’s go,” she said, tugging his hat down on his head.

  They stepped out into the rain which, if anything, had increased in the past few minutes. Thankfully the trip down would take less time than it took coming up—and with a lot less stress.

  “Adam should probably ride with you on the trip home,” Carter suggested. “I don’t trust Elijah with two people.”

  Emma nodded and climbed into the saddle. She sat back as far as she could then held out her arms for Adam. Carter set him in front of Emma. Diamond jigged a bit but settled as Emma tugged lightly on the reins. Carter smiled up at her, and she read a promise in his eyes. When they came back to the ranch, they would talk.

  Once Carter was in the saddle, Emma turned and led the way down the mountain back to the ranch. They were going home. The thought made her smile.

  The trail had gotten muddier since they had gone up, and Diamond slid a few times. But Emma trusted him to keep his footing and for the most part let him have his head.

  But all the while they rode she felt Carter behind them, protecting them, watching out for them.

  After what felt like an eternity, the trail made one more turn and then, through a break in the trees, she saw the ranch.

  “See, honey. We’re almost home,” she said to Adam, shivering with relief and the cold. “We just have to cross the river and we’re home.”

  They got to the creek, and Emma’s heart dropped like a stone.

  The bridge was washed out and the river, once a benign babbling stream of water had swollen to almost twice its size and had become a raging swirl of logs and muddied water.

  Carter pulled up beside her, and Emma read the concern on his face. He glanced upstream then down. “This is the best place to cross,” he said, raising his voice above the noise of the creek and the rain. “Farther up it’s too narrow, and farther down it gets too rocky and steep.”

  “I’ll go first,” Emma called out, pushing down her own trepidation. “Diamond is sure-footed.”

  Carter still didn’t look convinced, but they both knew there was no other option. He put his hand on her arm, his own fingers blue with cold. “You be careful. I’ll be praying for you.”

  Emma gave him a tight smile, sent up her own prayer for safety, then nudged Diamond in the side and loosened the reins to give him more freedom.

  Diamond shook his head then, when Emma nudged him again, took a tentative step into the water. Emma tried not to look at the water gushing past them, her heart fluttering in her chest, her breath coming in quick gasps. She felt the force of the swelling water against Diamond’s body as he took one cautious step after another.

  Just a few more feet, she thought, trying not to urge him on. Just a bit more.

  “Emma. Watch out,” Carter shouted, his voice urgent.

  She turned in time to see the log surging toward them. Before she could react, it hit Diamond. He lost his footing, and Emma and Adam were plunged into the icy water.

  Chapter Thirteen

  There was no time to think. No time to plan.

  Carter threw off his slicker and plunged into the river. The cold sucked the air out of him, and it was all he could do to keep his head above the water.

  A wave washed over him and he came up, sputtering, his eyes filmed with dirty water.

  Where were they? Where did they go?

  There. Downstream. Too far.

  He saw Emma’s head bobbing, her arm flailing. Where was Adam?

  Please, Lord. Please not again.

  He dug his arms in the water, pulling, swimming and then, miraculously, he was closer. With one final lunge, he caught Emma by the jacket.

  He couldn’t talk. Couldn’t say anything above the roar of the water. He kicked and swam, trying to find purchase on the slippery rocks.

  They inched closer to the bank with each stroke of his arm, each kick of his feet. Was it soon enough?

  The river made a tight turn farther downstream, then plunged down a series of rocky rapids. They had to get to shore before the turn.

  One more pull. One more kick. Emma swam too.

  He caught an overhanging branch with his free arm, but the force of the river almost tore the branch out of his hand.

  He held on, praying, sputtering as water washed over them. And inch by inch, he hauled his precious burden closer to shore.

  Emma finally managed to get her feet under her. She was up to her thighs in the water and the flowing stream pulled at her slicker, but she was safe. Carter looked back out to the water.

  He couldn’t see Adam.

  Carter’s fear became a black, whirling vortex.

  Emma was pulled sideways, but she managed to grab a branch from the tree Carter had caught, and she rose up out of the water again.

  And Carter saw she was holding Adam by his jacket.

  “Is he okay?” Carter gasped as they moved forward foot by foot, working their way up the tree’s branches.

  Emma only nodded, water streaming down her face, her eyes two dark brown bruises in her chalk-white face as they worked their way to shore.

  Then, finally, the water’s force lessened. They were up to their knees, then their ankles and then Carter could help Emma lift Adam up and onto the soggy grass of the bank.

  He lay quiet, then he sat up, coughed and sputtered, and Carter’s bones went rubbery with relief.

  “Carter? Mom?” Adam called out, looking wildly around, water streaming down his face. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, and then Emma crouched down beside him, her hair plastered to her face, her lips blue with the cold.

  Carter had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life.

  “We’re here,” Emma said then coughed herself. “We’re all here.”

  Carter caught Adam and held him close, rocking him, and then tears, warm against his ice-cold cheeks, poured down his face. “I’m so glad you’re okay, little guy. So glad.”

  Emma knelt beside him and he grabbed her with his free arm, pulling them all together in a circle of life. They embraced and laughed and cried. There were not enough emotions to express what they had just gone through.

  Then Emma caught Carter’s face in her hands and pressed a cold, wet kiss on his mouth. “Thank you. Thank you,” she sobbed, her voice hoarse, her eyes red with tears and river water.

  Carter kissed her back. He couldn’t hold her close enough. Couldn’t kiss her enough. They were all here. They were all alive. Thank You, Lord, he prayed. Thank You.

  He could say nothing more.

  “I was really scared,” Adam said as Emma toweled him off, steam from the warm bath still hovering in the room. “I thought I was going to be drownded.”

  Emma shut her mind off to the images flooding her mind because of his innocent comment. She had to pin her attention to the here. The now. Concentrate on rubbing the moisture out of her precious son’s hair, wrapping the towel around his warm, pink body.

  His wriggling, living body. He was okay. Ever
ything was okay. Carter had saved them.

  “You’re nice and clean now,” she said with a forced smile. “That mud from our walk all washed off you.”

  After they came out of the river, the three of them had walked for a few hundred yards, shivering and holding each other up, the horses following docilely behind them.

  Emma still couldn’t believe that Diamond had managed to scramble to shore or that Elijah had forded the river on his own. All that was another reason for thanks.

  By the time they arrived at the ranch, they weren’t shivering as hard, but the chill had settled deep in Emma’s bones.

  Carter had tried to make Emma take a shower at his grandmother’s place while he took care of Adam, but she didn’t want to let Adam out of her sight.

  “There, now you look as shiny as a new penny,” she said, bending over to plant a kiss on his forehead.

  “When can we get my lantern?” Adam asked.

  After everything that happened, all he could talk about was a lantern?

  He’s only five, she reminded herself. He moves past and moves on.

  “We’re not getting it for a long time,” Emma replied, fear making her voice more authoritative than usual.

  Now that everyone was okay and they were safe and warm, she felt the need to lay down the law.

  “You shouldn’t have taken off like that.” She kept her voice quiet but firm.

  Adam dropped his head. “I said I was sorry.”

  Emma knelt down and tilted his face up to hers. “I know you are, honey. But I was so scared when I woke up and didn’t see you there. You know that you never, ever go out of the cabin without me.”

  Adam kept his eyes averted, and though Emma could see he was sorry, she felt she had to drive this point home.

  It could have ended so badly. It could have been so much worse. An icy shiver trickled down her spine at the memory of what they had just survived.

  “This is important, Adam. You know what I’m saying, don’t you?”

  Adam gave a tiny nod, and Emma saw tears welling up in his eyes. She steeled herself to his sorrow.

  “Because you went out without me and didn’t tell anyone, we are not going to be working on the tree fort for the rest of the week.”