A Flood of Love

by Tracie Peterson

  “All right,” the sheriff said, gathering a team of about twenty men. “This is what my scouts tell me. A great many buildings have been destroyed and now float freely. That, along with all sorts of other debris, makes safety a questionable issue. Last night the last of the railroad workers who made it in told us the roundhouse is buried in silt and water. However, Felix and Bubba D. are willing and able to help with rescuing the folks at the Harvey House.”

  “You bet we are,” Felix declared, nudging Bubba D. with his elbow. “We’ve even got a challenge between us to see who can rescue more people.”

  “What’s important is safety,” the sheriff chided with a smile. “They’re going to be scared and uncertain of what you have in mind. We don’t know for sure how many are there, but it shouldn’t be too many. Most of them got out early.”

  Dirk wished Gretchen had been less devoted to her job so she and Katiann might already be safely sleeping in San Geronimo.

  “If you men are ready to stand by with the wagons, and Felix and Bubba D. are ready to ride into the flood, we’ll do what we can to bring those folks out.”

  There were nods and murmurs. Dirk walked down to where the water started. He stared off toward the Harvey House, wondering and watching for any sign of life. Whispering a prayer, he folded his arms and waited.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Martinez. I’ll have ’em back here before you can say horny toad,” Felix declared.

  “They’re going to be terrified. Well, at least Gretchen will be. She’s afraid of heights, and climbing out on the roof isn’t going to set well with her.” Dirk frowned at the thought of her refusing to go. Then a smile crossed his face. “Say, Felix, I’ve got something you can tell her that will give her some incentive to take the risk.”

  Felix looked down from his horse and smiled. “What’s that, Mr. M.?”

  “Look, Gretchen! It’s Felix and Bubba D.,” Katiann shouted from the open window. “They’re coming to get us. I knew they would.” She danced around in a circle. “This is going to be so much fun.”

  “Hardly that.” Gretchen frowned as she stuck her head out the second-story window to see what was going on. Several of the Harvey House men were already out on the porch roof, shouting encouragement to the boys.

  “I wish Daddy had come.” Katiann frowned. “You do think he’s okay, don’t you?”

  Gretchen pulled back inside. She turned to see Katiann’s concerned expression. “I’m sure he’s fine. Your daddy is a smart man.”

  Katiann’s worry faded. “Yes, he is. He knows all sorts of stuff.”

  “You ladies want some cold ham and bread for breakfast?” Cook asked, popping his head into the room. “I got lots of fresh fruit too.”

  “We’re going to get rescued,” Katiann declared. “We don’t have time to eat.”

  Cook gave her a scolding look. “Everybody has time to eat. It will give you extra strength for the rescue.”

  “He’s right, Katiann. We don’t know how long this procedure is going to take, so why don’t you have some food, and I’ll see what I can do to make sure you are one of the first ones out of here.”

  “I won’t go without you,” Katiann replied. She surprised Gretchen by hugging her tightly around the waist. “I won’t. You’re too important now. I prayed for a mama, and God sent you. You have to come with me. You have to stay with me.”

  Gretchen was touched by her insistence. “I’ll stay with you, Katiann.” She pulled the child away and knelt down. “I love you, Katiann. I love you very much.”

  The little girl nodded. Her mussed brown curls bounced on her shoulders, and her eyes brightened. “And you love my daddy too.” It was more statement than question.

  Gretchen was taken aback by her declaration but didn’t see the need to deny it. “Yes. I love your daddy too.”

  Chapter Nine

  “All right, Katiann, I need you to come down to the edge of the roof,” Felix called while trying to keep Chapo in place by the eaves. “Then just climb into my arms. I’ll put you right here in front of me.”

  “This is so much fun.” Katiann didn’t hesitate, and before Gretchen could warn her to be careful, she was safely deposited in front of Felix.

  The young man looked up at Gretchen. “Come on. You don’t weigh much more than she does, and Chapo can handle all three of us.”

  Gretchen had managed to climb out of the window. She stood looking down at the swirling brown water. From time to time a branch or piece of broken furniture rushed by. She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t so high up and if she fell, she would simply fall into the water and be swept away. Surely she could swim long enough to get to a place of safety.

  But what if she couldn’t?

  “I . . .” She moved a little closer to the edge, slipping on the wet surface. “I’m not sure I can do this, Felix. Why don’t you get Katiann to safety and come back for me?”

  “Because Chapo’s tiring out. Come on, Miss Gottsacker. We got to go.”

  Gretchen nodded and sat down on the roof to slide the rest of the way. She felt a sensation of vertigo wash over her and closed her eyes.

  “Mr. M. said you might be hesitant, so he told me to tell you something.”

  She opened her eyes to Felix’s grinning face. “And what was that?”

  “Well, it’s not so much something to tell you as to ask you.” Felix laughed and glanced over to where Bubba D. was helping a man onto the back of his horse. “If you don’t hurry up, Bubba D.’s going to beat me back to the wagons. We got some money on who’s gonna haul off more folks, so you can’t let me down.”

  Gretchen shook her head. “What did Dirk tell you to ask me?”

  Felix fixed her with a stare and sobered. “He wanted to know if you’d marry him.”

  Katiann gave a cheer. “Of course she will. Come on, Gretchen! I want to see my daddy and tell him you said yes.”

  “But I haven’t said anything yet.”

  Gretchen knew as well as Katiann, however, that she would most assuredly say yes. The question did give her motivation, though, just as Dirk had supposed it would. She knew the danger was building, and if she didn’t hurry, Chapo would be too tired to take any of them back to safety.

  “Just grab my shoulders, Miss Gottsacker. Grab and hold tight while you throw your leg over Chapo’s back. Do it now!”

  The horse worked madly to keep afloat, and Felix was starting to have trouble controlling him. Fearing the worst, Gretchen took a deep breath and pushed off from the roof. For just a moment she felt as if she were flying, as the short distance seemed to take forever. Then she slapped hard against Felix’s high cantle. She reached for his arm and missed but managed to grab his neck before slipping too far to the side. Chapo’s body dipped farther into the water with her weight, but Felix wasted no time in giving the horse free rein.

  “Hold tight, now. Chapo will have us to dry ground soon enough.”

  Gretchen did as instructed. “Are you all right, Katiann?”

  “I’m great. This is so much fun. I’m going to ask Daddy to get me a horse I can teach to swim. When we get to go back to our house, I can teach him to rescue me off the roof.”

  “I don’t think there is going to be much left of your house, Katiann,” Felix said, shaking his head. “I think this is pretty much the end of things for San Marcial.”

  Gretchen glanced over her shoulder at what was left of the town. No doubt he was right. She couldn’t remember any of the floods ever being this bad. If it was as destructive as it looked, then there was a very real possibility the Santa Fe Railway would never risk rebuilding the shops. They’d probably just move everyone farther up the line. It would spell the death of the town she’d known. The town where most of her childhood memories resided. The town where she’d fallen in love.

  She thought of her parents’ and grandparents’ graves. Would they survive the flood, or would the ground give up the dead and force families to find new accommodations? The thought made her shiver. What a
horrible thing.

  But you won’t ever have to face it alone.

  She had a family now, and she had God. Her relationship with Him had seen her through the last lonely ten years and would no doubt be her comfort in the years to come, no matter what happened.

  As the water receded and the horse began to pick his way through the mud and sand to reach the road, Gretchen could see Dirk standing near one of the wagons. He gave a wave, and Katiann all but jumped up onto the back of Chapo.

  “We made it, Daddy! We made it on Chapo!”

  “Indeed you did,” he called back to them.

  Felix stopped the weary horse and handed Katiann down to Dirk. Gretchen slid off the side of the horse and collapsed to the muddy ground.

  “You gonna kiss the dirt?” Dirk asked.

  She laughed and slowly stood. “Not exactly. I was just a little weak in the knees.”

  Dirk grinned. “I have that effect on some women.”

  Gretchen cocked her head and gave him a stern look. “You’d do best to have that effect on only one woman.”

  “Did she answer my question?” Dirk asked, looking at Katiann.

  His daughter shook her head before Gretchen could speak a word. “She didn’t answer at all, Daddy, but I think she will say yes.”

  Dirk looked at Gretchen. “You didn’t answer?”

  “I’ve waited ten years for this proposal. I’m not going to do it by proxy. Not even via the man who saved my life. I want a proper asking from you, Mr. Martinez.”

  Dirk wasted no time. He sank to one knee and took her hand. “Gretchen Gottsacker, would you do me the honor of being my wife?” When she didn’t immediately answer, he gave her his endearing boyish grin. “Would you please marry me?”

  Katiann threw herself down beside him and took Gretchen’s other hand. “Will you marry us?”

  Gretchen couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course I will. I will happily marry the both of you.”

  That evening, despite the smell of muddy, putrid water and campfires, the town of San Geronimo hosted a wedding feast like no other. The people needed a reason to celebrate, and the Gottsacker-Martinez wedding was just the thing.

  Gretchen borrowed a flowery skirt and white embroidered blouse for her wedding clothes, while Dirk stood beside her in a light cotton Mexican wedding shirt he’d borrowed. Katiann had found someone to lend her a beautiful communion dress of white satin. She looked every bit the proper bridal attendant, even if the bride and groom were understated.

  “Gretchen, will you have this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the Methodist preacher asked.

  “I will.” She looked into Dirk’s eyes, letting all the years and pain melt away.

  “And, Dirk, will you have this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  “I will.”

  The preacher looked down at Katiann. “And what about you, little miss? Will you take Gretchen to be your mama?”

  Katiann looked up at Gretchen and nodded. “Of course I will. She was always mine, ’cause God gave her to me.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” the preacher said, laughing along with anyone else within hearing range. “I pronounce you man and wife. Let’s fiesta!”

  Cheers rang out around them. Dirk pulled Gretchen into his arms and gave her a long, passionate kiss that left her nearly unable to stand. She could scarcely believe all that had happened in just a few short weeks. When she’d come to San Marcial, she had dreaded the memories and sorrow that had haunted her for the last decade, but now that was all behind her. She had found what she had lost, what she had come home to find.

  “Come on over to the schoolhouse, folks,” someone called out. “We’ve got a whole passel of food—hot tamales, enchiladas, and, of course, wedding cake.”

  Even more cheers went up around the newly married couple, and Katiann took their hands. “Come on, Daddy . . . Mama. It’s time to celebrate!”

  Chapter Ten

  MARCH 1931—ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

  “I hope you don’t care, but I taught William to walk,” Katiann announced out of the blue.

  Gretchen looked up from preparing supper. “Oh really? You taught your nine-month-old brother to walk when he just started pulling up last week?”

  “Will is really smart. I can’t help that,” Katiann said with a shrug.

  Gretchen laughed and threw a questioning look at her husband. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”

  Dirk put down the Albuquerque paper. “I have a feeling if he wants to walk, he’s going to walk. He’s been headstrong in just about everything else. Besides, I was walking at eight months.”

  Gretchen rolled her eyes. “You’re absolutely no help.”

  Katiann gave another shrug. “Well, it doesn’t matter, ’cause he’s doing it.”

  “Maybe you just were lucky and he took a few steps,” Gretchen said, turning her attention back to the onions.

  “You just wait here, and we’ll show you.”

  Gretchen wiped her hands on her apron. “Very well.” She stepped away from the counter. It had been a year and a half since the floodwaters had devastated San Marcial. The Santa Fe had relocated Dirk to Albuquerque, and Gretchen had resigned from the Harvey House in order to be a full-time mother to Katiann. Within a month, she found out they were going to add a baby to their family, and everyone was over the moon. Around that same time, San Marcial had another flood, and this one sealed its fate. The town was no more.

  Katiann returned to the kitchen with the baby in her arms. William’s cherub-like expression broke into a big smile at the sight of his mother. The little cotton dress he wore was hiked up to reveal chubby legs that pumped back and forth in perpetual motion.

  “There’s my big boy!” Gretchen cooed.

  Dirk got up from the table and stood beside his wife. “All right, let’s see this feat.”

  Katiann nodded and placed William on the ground. Next she took hold of his arms and helped him stand. Holding on tight, she walked him forward. “See, he’s really good, and in a minute, he’ll just do it by himself. I just have to remind him of what he already knows.”

  And true to her word, that was exactly what happened. Gretchen watched in awe as her son took off across the tiled floor, arms flailing at his side and a squeal rising up from his throat.

  “Well, I’ll be. She really did teach him,” Dirk said, shaking his head.

  William plopped down on his backside and looked up with a grin. Gretchen clapped for him, then scooped him up. “That was wonderful. What a brilliant boy.” She smoothed down a cowlick of his sandy brown hair.

  “That was pretty amazing,” Dirk admitted. “Katiann, you’re a great teacher.”

  “I know.” She danced in a circle.

  “Katiann, what have we said about that?” Gretchen deposited William in her husband’s arms.

  “To say ‘thank you.’” Katiann gave an exasperated sigh. She put her hands on her hips. “Thank you. Now I’m going to go help my friend Rachel. She wants to teach her baby brother to walk.”

  Gretchen started to laugh, then remembered the baby in question was only six months old. “Katiann, he’s a little too young to be walking. You should probably wait a few weeks.”

  Katiann nodded. “I know. I tried to tell Rachel that, but she said it shouldn’t matter. He’s got two legs.” She raised her arms and shrugged. “You can’t convince some people, no matter what you tell them.”

  Gretchen stared after her as Katiann trudged from the room as if going on an expedition into the desert.

  Dirk waited until she was gone to break into laughter. “You know, we had that postcard from Bubba D. the other day—the one from the army.”

  “I remember.”

  “Well, Katiann declared that she thought girls should be able to join the army too. She said she figured she could run just as fast for just as long as any of those boys. I reminded her that they had to carry heavy packs and shoot guns, and she just shrugged and told me that
Harvey Girls had to work just as hard.”

  “Did you remind her that nobody is shooting at Harvey Girls while they’re working?” Gretchen threw him a smile.

  “I did, but then she reminded me of the time we were at the Harvey House in Belen and some drunken cowboys shot up the place. She told me every job could be dangerous—it was just a matter of learning to deal with it.”

  “That girl is something else.” Gretchen went to the stove and began to stir the concoction of simmering vegetables.

  Dirk left William on the floor with one of his toys and came to put his arms around Gretchen. “So are you.”

  Gretchen set down her wooden spoon and turned to face him. “And why would you say that?” She never tired of his praise and words of love.

  “Because it’s true. But like Katiann said, sometimes you do have to remind people what they already know.”

  Gretchen wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck. “I’m glad you reminded me of just how much I love you.”

  Dirk grinned. “My pleasure.” He kissed her, then pulled back to gaze into her eyes. “My very great pleasure.”

  Note to Readers

  The San Marcial flood of August 1929 destroyed a great deal of the town. The story about Felix and Chapo is a true one and was spoken about for years after the event.

  In September of that same year, monsoonal rains crossed the state and brought even more flooding, and on the twenty-ninth, the Rio Grande again flooded San Marcial. This time it left complete devastation, and the town never rebuilt. The following month, the great stock market crash took place, Santa Fe relocated their shops and people, and the death of San Marcial was assured.

  Today there’s nothing left. It’s not even noted on most maps. But the spirit of the Horney Toad Division and the Harvey House lives on in the resilient people who still tell stories of Felix and Chapo and the men and women of the Santa Fe Railway.