Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel)

by Roberts, Charliann

  Chapter Six

  “Hi sweetheart,” Angie said softly, “are you lost?” Lucky protectively backed up closer to Nicky. “I won’t hurt you, honey. What’s your name?”

  He removed his thumb from his mouth and answered, “Nicky Colburn.”

  “Oh, your father owns the Colburn Stables Ranch. How did you get this far from home?”

  “I wanted to find my daddy so I could help him be a cowboy,” he said, and more teardrops ran down his cheeks.

  Patti and Sherri quietly walked up behind Angie and overheard him.

  “Oh my God Angie, I heard about this on the news last night. We have to call the police. Around five o’clock yesterday afternoon was when they realized he was missing,” Sherri said.

  “Honey could you let your dog know that we’re nice people? We won’t hurt you.” She turned around and pointed at Sherri. “Sherri will call the police department on her cell phone. She’ll tell them where we are, and they’ll find us and bring you and your buddy back home.”

  Nicky gave Lucky a hug, whispered in his ear, and the dog looked at them with the wag of his tail. Patti then brought water and crackers over to Nicky and his eyes lit up, along with a smile.

  “I’m hungry,” he told Patti. “I think Lucky is too.”

  “Well, you can eat some crackers, but you better give only a few to Lucky. I don’t have a dog, so I don’t know if cheese crackers will make him sick. Give him lots of water though. I’m sure he’s thirsty,” Patti said, and hopped onto the wagon. She sat on one side of Nicky, and Angie on the other.

  “Thank you,” he mumbled, through a mouthful of crackers.

  “You’re welcome, sweetie,” Patti said and tousled his hair lightly.

  Sherri walked back to them with a look of relief when she closed her phone. “I told them we’re not sure exactly where we are. I was able to let them know how long we’d been hiking, and what time we left the Pinewood Hills Country Market. I also informed them that we must be close to the creek. He said they’d find us with their Search and Rescue dog.”

  “A policeman is coming?” Nicky asked, and his gaze clouded with tears. “Will he spank me?”

  “Oh no, honey,” Angie placed her arm around his shoulders. “He’s going to come and find us and take you back to your mommy and daddy. They’ve been very worried about you.”

  “I think they’ll be mad at me.”

  “Oh, no, I doubt that very much; and you know what? Patti saw you on the news last night, didn’t you Patti?”

  “I sure did, your picture was on television.”

  “I was on TV?” he asked excitedly.

  “Yes, you were, and everyone looked for you, all night long.”

  “I hope my daddy isn’t mad at me.”

  “Oh I’m sure he’ll be very happy to see you,” Angie said. “We’ll sit right here and wait, and your daddy will be coming with the policemen. They’ll have a dog with them too. He’ll sniff the ground until he finds you.”

  “Really?” He stared with a look of complete surprise on his little face.

  “It won’t be long now,” Sherri said, and she reached over to scratch Lucky behind the ears.

  * * *

  “Listen,” Patti said, and jumped to the ground. “I heard the crack of twigs. That must be them.”

  Nicky became excited at the sound of a dog barking. They knew it was the Search and Rescue canine. Even Lucky stood up on the wagon, and his tail moved back and forth, while he stood by Nicky’s side.

  All of a sudden, a bloodhound appeared on the trail and came running up to him. Right behind him were the police officers. With a look of relief, Nick emerged through the trees and saw his son. Nicky hopped down and ran to his daddy. Nick caught him in his arms, and twirled him around in a circle.

  “Hey, cowboy,” he said, and he kept kissing him until Nicky started to laugh. With a big grin, he pushed his daddy’s face away.

  “Stop, Daddy,” he giggled.

  “I missed you, sport. I’m so glad to see you. Did Lucky take care of you?”

  “Yes, he even snuggled up to me and keeped me warm when I was crying.”

  “Good dog,” Nick said to Lucky, and bent down to pet him. “You deserve a steak when we get home.

  “Hey, cowboy, where were you and Lucky off to?”

  “Mommy was sleeping, so we went to look for you. I wanted to be just like you, Daddy. I wanted to be a cowboy, just like you.”

  “Well buddy, next time you’d better limit your search to the yard, close to home. It’s a big world. We were all very worried about you.”

  “I know, Daddy. Lucky kept me safe and when the girls found us, they gave us crackers and called the police man.”

  Nick turned and faced them. “I want to thank you. Come back to the ranch with us for dinner. My wife would be so happy to meet you. I’ll drive the three of you home afterward, but right now I’m sure everyone would like you to come and celebrate with us.”

  Angie, Sherri, and Patti looked at each other, then with a nod, they agreed to go with them to meet Nicky’s mom.

  “We’ll reassure her that when we found them, Lucky had kept Nicky safe and well protected,” Angie told him.

  The officers led them out of the woods where their police cars were waiting to drive them home.

  “I get to ride in a police car, Daddy?”

  “You sure do, cowboy.”

  They headed toward the Colburn Stables Ranch, and Nicky giggled with excitement when the police officer turned on the siren, to announce to everyone that Nicky and Lucky were on their way home.

  Chapter Seven

  “How’s Mariah been feeling these days?” Art asked Nick. They stood by the fence and watched as Garrett worked with Precious Angel, Mariah’s beautiful three-year-old Palomino. Precious Angel took a bad fall last month and sprained her left hind leg. Thankfully, it wasn’t a break. Garrett had taken wonderful care of her and helped her to heal quickly. Mariah would have been devastated if anything serious had happened to her.

  “Pretty well for a woman carrying twins,” Nick said with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Has the shock worn off yet? That was one heck of a surprise for all of us.”

  “You think it was a surprise for you? I was flabbergasted. We were overwhelmed to be expecting one, and then all of a sudden there’s another little one playing hide and seek in there. At least we now know why she’s been so sick this time around. She’s such a petite woman and almost four months along. I’m worried that she’ll be very uncomfortable by her six or seventh month, let alone the ninth.”

  “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

  “Bess is planning to remain here 24/7 by the beginning of her eighth month. We’re going to put Bess in the guest room, and she’ll stick around for a while after the twins are born. Mariah will definitely need help with Nicky and his two siblings.

  “Actually, we’ve been thinking about building a new home a half mile to the west of where we live now. We asked Bess if she’d consider selling her house and moving into a larger residence with us. She’d have her own wing.”

  “That sounds like it’d be a good plan. What’d she say?”

  “She rather liked the idea, and said she’d think about it.”

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you, how does Nicky react to having two sisters?”

  “He’s too excited to care. He gets such a look of wonder on his face when he’s been able to feel them kicking away in mommy’s tummy.

  “I'd better get in the house for supper, Art. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “The cold air is moving in. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a bit of snow tonight.” They both looked at the dark clouds accumulating to the northeast. The brisk wind swirled the dust around their feet. “The nor’easter is building. I’ll help the men close everything up for the night. Go ahead and get in to your family.”

  “Thanks. Have a good night.” He pulled the hood of his jacket up to cover his head, leaned into t
he frigid squall and began the trek toward his house.

  * * *

  “Morning Art,” Nick said. He glanced over the top of his coffee cup. “I made a fresh pot, if you’d like some.”

  “Great, I need it.” He yanked off his warm gloves, poured himself a large mug, and sat down in the chair in front of Nick’s desk. “I have a bit of news that I’m sure you’d rather not hear.”

  “Oh? What’s happening? I hope you’re not going to tell me a storm is brewing.” He reached over to turn up the setting on the electric heater that he’d placed in the corner of the room. “It’s beginning to get mighty cold. I think you were correct last evening when you predicted that winter’s about to arrive.”

  “It feels that way.” He looked Nick in the eye while he took a swig of coffee. “Jake’s little lady better like the Minnesota weather, although they do have snow where she comes from.”

  Nick gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “He called when I was walking out the door. He found his mail-order bride in Russia. He said they’d be on their way around Christmas time, as soon as her papers have cleared and she receives her passport. They’ll be married as quickly as possible, when they arrive in the U.S.”

  “Unbelievable,” Nick said, and ran a hand across his face. He shook his head and stared at Art. “I didn’t think he’d actually go through with this. I was hoping he’d come to his senses.”

  “Well there’s nothing we can do about it, except to hope for the best.”

  “Hell, Art. I’m going online and try to pull up some info. I want to find out what he’s getting himself into."

  “Christmas is less than two months away. Winter could hit us any day now. We’ll be very busy when the first snowstorm arrives. Good thing we have everything wrapped up in time for the cold to set in, but we’re still going to need Jake, come winter, especially if we’re hit with a blizzard or an ice storm.”

  “I know… I’ll talk to you later. I’m going to head in to look up a few things on the Internet.”

  * * *

  The sun was about to go down and Art was ready to head for home, but first he wanted to check in with Nick. He poked his head into the office. Nick lifted his eyes toward the doorway and motioned for him to come in.

  “Did you find anything?”

  “Sit down,” Nick said, and sighed heavily. He shuffled a bunch of papers and tossed them across his desk in frustration. “Fifteen pages of horror stories, which pertain to foreign women who each had a scheme to blackmail men from our country. These men traveled to Russia, the Philippines, China, everywhere in hopes of finding a wife. There are a lot more. I only printed a few.”

  After he read them, page after page, he rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, and with a look of disgust, he shook his head.

  Nick stood, paced back and forth, and flexed his fists. “Oh, there are good ones who really do wish to come and build themselves a fine life in the U.S. Some women truly want to learn the English language, be a loving wife and mother, but not all of them. The one he brings home may take him for every penny he has and then some. Nothing we can do about it. The way many of them are, they only long for one thing – money.”

  “Maybe we can talk a bit of sense into him when he gets back.”

  “I doubt it. He’ll bring her here to meet us, and just you watch. She’ll have him kissing her feet, and he won’t listen to a thing we say. I can hear him now. He’ll tell us that these articles are a bunch of lies.”

  “Well, nothing we can do I guess, other than to stand by him when the ball drops. Let’s hope he’ll end up with a good woman. Who knows, there’s a chance it’ll all work out. Time will tell.”

  Art stood, grabbed his jacket and patted Nick on the shoulder when he walked by him. “Hang in there; we’ll have to make sure we’re around if he needs us.”

  Nick turned out the lights, closed up the office and headed for the house. He hadn’t been able to enjoy dinner with his family in quite some time.

  When he entered the kitchen, Mariah stood on tiptoe in front of the cupboard, as she tried to reach the plates. He rushed over to help and, instead, wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on the back of her neck. She turned slowly to face him, looked him in the eye and returned the kiss with a smile.

  “You’re home early today. Is everything ready for winter?”

  “Pretty much so, and it sure feels good to be here in time for dinner with my two favorite people.”

  The sound of Nicky’s cowboy boots coming down the hallway grabbed their attention.

  “Daddy, are you gonna eat supper with us?”

  “I sure am, cowboy, and I got here in time to help this beautiful mom of yours set the table.” He reached into the cupboard for the plates.

  “Go wash your hands, Nicky.”

  When they finished eating, Nick washed the dishes, then helped his son get ready for bed. He read him a story while Mariah relaxed in front of the television. She’s been very tired by dinnertime, and he was worried about her. She didn’t have the energy to give Nicky his bath and get him ready for bed.

  He entered the living room and found her on the couch with her feet up, and Lucky curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace.

  He sat down next to her and told her the news about Jake. “I just don’t understand why he went to a foreign country to search for a wife.”

  “Had he ever thought about going into Minneapolis? Even St. Cloud is a large city and only about a two-hour drive from here. You’d think he’d have had a chance to meet someone in Minnesota. He also has a few friends in St. Paul. He’s a nice-looking guy. I don’t know why he hasn’t found a decent woman.”

  “I know, honey. We’ve all tried to figure him out. He thought he’d find a wife as special as you are, because you’re half Russian.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I’ve never even been to Russia. I’ve lived in Minnesota all my life. I was born and raised here for heaven’s sake.”

  “Well, as Art said, all we can do is hope for the best. Perhaps he’ll be one of the lucky ones.

  “Anyhow, tomorrow is Saturday. I thought maybe we’d take Nicky to a movie.”

  Mariah smiled. “That’s a great suggestion. He’d love it. You haven’t had much time to spend with him.”

  “I know, but things have finally begun to slow down a bit.” He ran his fingers along the soft hair at the nape of her neck. “It’ll be nice to have more time with you too. I hope the movie won’t be too much for you.”

  Mariah laughed and stood up. “Oh for heaven’s sake, you act as though I’m disabled.” She giggled and pulled him off the couch, led him toward the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind them.

  Nick took a quick shower and, wrapped in a towel, he walked out of the master bathroom. She motioned him over to the bed, and he slowly covered her with a series of shivery kisses on her lips and along her jaw. He softly whispered words of love, and after each one, he planted a kiss along her shoulders, neck and face. Passion inched through her veins as shivers of delight followed his touch. They were able to take the time to explore, to arouse, and to give each other pleasure, which was pure and explosive. His expert caresses sent her to even higher levels of ecstasy, and she shattered into a million glowing stars. Filled with an amazing sense of completeness, peace and contentment flowed between them, and they soon fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Mariah’s parents invited everyone for Thanksgiving dinner. Mariah and Nick were both relieved. At the end of her fourth month, it was visible that she’d already begun to feel uncomfortable. Nick didn’t want her to become exhausted from cooking a big meal for so many people. It had been a ritual for Nick and Mariah to have the Thanksgiving celebration at their home. However, knowing that things had become very strenuous for their daughter, John and Elena McCaffrey said they’d be more than happy to take over this year.

  Mariah’s twin brothers, Nathan and Nolan, tended
to chores in the barn while their father continued to prepare for the first heavy snowfall. They’d just finished their work when family members began to arrive. The weather forecast predicted a storm to arrive late that night, or in the early-morning hours.

  Her sister Kara, her husband Travis, and their two sons arrived within the hour, and they brought with them the news that the storm was close behind. They lived in Black Hawk Township, sixty miles north of Pinewood Hills.

  It was a wonderful family reunion. The dinner was delicious and Mariah and Nick both thanked her mother for having everyone at their home this year. The women had finished washing the dishes when Nick walked into the kitchen and looked out the window.

  “Mariah, the snow started a short time ago. We’d better be on our way.”

  “Why don’t the three of you stay here tonight?” Elena asked. “Kara, Travis and the boys are staying. We have plenty of room for everyone.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but Art is the only one at the stable, along with Lucky. We let the others off for the holiday, to be with their families. If we happen to have a blizzard on the way, he’d never be able to handle everything on his own.

  “We’d better hurry, honey. It’s not bad yet, and we don’t have more than a thirty-minute drive.”

  “Nicky, come put your snowsuit on,” Mariah called out.

  By the time they arrived home, Nick could see no further than one block ahead of them. He pulled their SUV up to the back door and lifted Nicky out of his car seat. “Wait here, Mariah. There’s a layer of ice under the snow. Let me get Nicky in the house, and I’ll come back to help you.”

  They were glad to arrive home when they had. Along with the heavy snow, the wind started to pick up. After building a warm fire to keep Mariah and Nicky comfortable, he grabbed his winter jacket and boots.

  “I have to head out and check on the horses. I’ll return as soon as possible. I have my cell phone in my pocket in case you need me.”