Lacy: (Sweet Historical Western Romance) (Pendleton Petticoats Book 5) Page 28

  She glanced around and noticed her father’s absence.

  “Where’s Father?”

  “He worked on Uncle Charlie’s ranch today and said he’d spend the night there. They probably don’t know about the flood since they’re on the far side of the reservation,” Walker said as they rushed to gather the last of their father’s regalia and hunting gear.

  When it was safely stowed in the wagon, Walker and Tom hastened in the direction of the cattle they had pastured for Charlie while Lacy ran to the barn. The horses nervously milling in the corral outside churned the ground to a muddy mess. Cold water soaked her feet as she opened the door and stepped inside the barn. The horses made plenty of noise, letting her know they didn’t appreciate the water any more than she did.

  Although she knew she needed to hurry, she didn’t want the animals to panic. She lit a lantern and hung it by the door then spoke soothingly and softly as she moved toward the horses inside the barn.

  Hesitant to turn the animals loose for fear of them running off with the wild herd on the reservation, she gathered the tack, hoping they could each ride a horse and lead several. Her father had twenty horses and they all needed to be moved immediately.

  When she stepped near a yearling colt her father had started to train, he reared, smacking into her as he set all four hooves back on the ground.

  Lacy bounced against the barn wall and sucked in a gulp of air. Blinding pain arced across her shoulder. She took a staggering step back and bumped into a solid figure.

  “Are you hurt?” her father asked as he felt along her shoulder.

  “It doesn’t feel broken, but I can’t lift my arm.” Relief flooded through her with her father’s arrival. He would take charge of the horses and she would help Walker and Tom with the cattle while Ruth took the babies to Rebecca’s house.

  He guided her outside to a corral post. “Brace yourself against the post.”

  Lacy did as he said. She flinched when he yanked on her arm, pulling her shoulder back into place.

  “Can you move it now?”

  It still hurt, but she regained mobility in her arm and shoulder. “Thank you. It’s fine.”

  Lacy turned back toward the barn, but her father pulled her to him, giving her a rare hug.

  “I’m glad you are safe, daughter. Thank you for coming to help.”

  Emotion clogged her throat, so Lacy nodded her head and followed her father back inside. They saddled three of the horses. Her father led them out to where Tom and Walker herded the cows while Lacy gathered the remaining tack from the barn and stowed it in the wagon. After patting her on the neck, Lacy tied Star to the back of it.

  “Go on to Grandmother’s house, Ruth. We’ll follow with the horses,” Lacy instructed her sister. Daniel held the crying baby while Mary wailed beside him, clutching a rag doll to her little chest while rain plastered her hair to her head. Lacy wanted to pick up the child and comfort her, but there wasn’t time.

  “Don’t wait too long to leave, Lacy. I don’t want any of you to get stranded, or worse.” Ruth glanced back to where the men moved the cattle. “Be careful.”

  Lacy didn’t know how long it would take the men to get the cattle situated on higher ground. Rather than wait, she decided to ride one of the horses and lead a few of the others to Rebecca’s place. She had a corral big enough to contain the horses temporarily. It would take a few trips, but she could get all the horses to safety that way without risking them running off.

  Skillfully swinging onto the back of one of the horses, she grabbed the lead ropes of three others and started toward her grandmother’s place. She passed Ruth and urged the horses onward.

  When she reached Rebecca’s, she rode next to the corral fence and lifted the latch on the gate then turned the horses loose inside.

  She remained on the back of her father’s horse and raced home, sliding once in the mud before the horse found his footing. After tying the horse to the corral fence, she mounted a different horse, gathered the ropes of three more, and galloped off toward her grandmother’s house.

  Ruth was almost there when she passed her and the cries of the two babies sliced through the waning night. The sky had started to lighten as dawn approached. In another hour, the sun would peep over the horizon.

  Lacy turned all the horses, including the one she rode into the corral. On foot, she ran as fast as she could through the mud back toward the wagon. She planned to mount Star and head back to her father’s place. When she reached Ruth, though, the back wagon wheel was mired in one of the many potholes on the road.

  “Can you push?” Ruth asked as she snapped the reins, working to get the team to pull the heavy wagon forward.

  Lacy braced the shoulder she hadn’t injured against the back of the wagon and shoved with all her might, but the wheel remained stuck.

  “Try again,” Lacy shouted to her sister. She put all her strength behind her next push. The wagon lurched forward at the same moment a familiar, intoxicating scent filled her nose. Shocked, she glanced up into Grant’s handsome face.

  “It looked like you needed a hand.”

  Unable to speak through the tumble of her thoughts and emotions, Lacy numbly nodded her head and snatched Star’s reins from where she’d tied the horse to the wagon.

  Ruth drove the short distance to Rebecca’s house while Lacy and Grant stood in the road, staring at each other.

  “What are you doing here?” Lacy finally asked, unmoving. Her legs felt like they’d sunk knee-deep in the mud.

  “I saw you ride out of town earlier and thought you might need some help. It took me a while to work my way back to the house to get Drew, but I came as soon as I could get away.” Grant reached out and cupped her face, rubbing his thumb across her cheek.

  As soon as he realized the town was about to flood, he’d kept an eye on her. After securing everything at the bank, he joined the workers who helped residents in the flooding section of town to safety. He’d seen Aundy, Ilsa, and Lacy in the middle of the chaos, passing out sandwiches, mugs of hot soup, and cookies.

  On his way to check on his mother, he saw Lacy race by on Star and realized the flood must have reached the reservation.

  Hastening up the hill to his home, he hid his shock as his mother greeted people in need of a place to stay for the night. She draped a blanket around a woman carrying a toddler and smiled at a young boy packing a puppy, welcoming them inside.

  Grant stopped at the house just long enough to change out of his soaked clothes into dry denims and a flannel shirt. He slapped an old Stetson on his head and picked up his rain slicker. He kissed his mother’s cheek on his way out the door and whispered, “I’m so proud of you,” before hurrying to the barn to saddle Drew.

  The ride out to the reservation had never taken so long. He decided to start at Rebecca’s house and see if she’d seen Lacy. When he topped the hill, he made out a shadowy figure turning horses into Rebecca’s corral and a wagon in the distance. From the wails carried on the air, he assumed it must be Ruth and her little ones in the wagon.

  Glad he arrived in time to help get the wagon moving, he stared at Lacy, overwhelmed by the desire to take her into his arms and hold onto her forever. Instead, he dropped his hand and started to step back.

  Before he moved, Lacy grabbed the front of his slicker and pulled herself against his chest. As rain fell around them, she pressed her lips to his in a wild, hungry kiss filled with longing and desire unlike anything Grant had ever dreamed he’d experience.

  His arms slid around her waist and he held her close. He continued the kiss, teasing her mouth, whispering her name, until they both needed a moment to catch their breath.

  Lacy offered him a feisty smile as the fingers of daybreak reached across the sky. “Come on. We’ve got more horses to move.”

  She swung onto the back of Star while he mounted Drew. The two of them hurried back to her father’s place.

  The horses yanked on their confines as river water swirled around
their legs, desperate to break free. Lacy forced Star next to the fence so she could reach the ropes. Grant rode Drew next to her and helped.

  Between the two of them, they led ten horses to Rebecca’s place. Once they were safely in the corral, they rode back to where Walker, Tom, and Joe worked to move the cattle to higher ground.

  Lacy and Grant joined in their efforts. Finally, they herded the cattle to the top of a rise and kept them there as the muddy river water rushed in a torrent around the house and barn. Wood cracked as it shifted and the structures crumpled beneath the pounding force.

  The bawling of a calf drew their attention to a stranded baby about to lose his struggle to survive in the raging water.

  Without giving a thought to his safety, Grant plunged into the water and rescued the calf before it drowned, carrying it to the herd and turning it loose. Drenched and gasping for breath, he winked at Lacy as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.

  Joe Williams stared at the person his daughter loved. For the first time, he looked at Grant not as a wealthy white man, but as a brave, hardworking man who brought Lacy joy. A light glowed in her eyes when she looked at him and he could see true affection in Grant’s when he smiled at her.

  It put him in mind of the love he’d shared with his beloved wife.

  Remorse for all the times he’d tried to force Lacy to wed Phillip Redhawk filled him. Lacy was right — the boy was stubborn, a little crazy, and mired in the past.

  With Grant Hill, his daughter would have a safe future. More importantly, she would be loved and cherished.

  Joe nudged his horse forward until he could extend his hand to Grant. “It is good you are here.”

  Grant shook his hand and gave him a cautious glance. “Thank you, sir. I’m grateful to find you all well.”

  “We are well, but I fear everything else is lost.” Joe pointed to where the river water flowed around what used to be his home.

  “I’m so sorry,” Grant said, watching as a broken chair bobbed in the water current.

  Joe shook his head and offered him a rueful grin. “All that can eventually be replaced. The things that truly matter are secure.” He turned to look at his daughter. “Your sister made it to Grandmother’s house?”

  “They are safe there.” Lacy nodded her head, uncertain what to think of her father’s behavior. She expected him to yell at Grant, maybe threaten him again, but his resigned welcome left her confused and oddly hopeful.

  In truth, the moment she’d seen Grant, felt his touch on her face, she realized how much she missed him, needed him in her life. From the way he’d returned her kiss, she thought, perhaps, it wasn’t too late to beg for his forgiveness and ask him if he’d give her a second chance.

  For now, though, it was good to watch the sunrise and know they had a new day before them.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Three weeks after the levee broke and the Umatilla River flowed over its banks, remnants of the disaster reminded the residents of Pendleton that a third of the city had been flooded.

  Several downtown stores had to pump and carry water out of their basements, losing thousands of dollars in inventory. Many homes and barns in the flooded areas had to be replaced.

  Streets were repaired and buildings repainted as the citizens worked to put the flood behind them and move forward. Doc Reed and the other doctors in town cautioned everyone to boil their water to make sure it was safe to drink.

  Fortunately, the flood only claimed one life. A body floated beneath the Main Street Bridge the morning after the flood. Kade and Lars pulled it from the water, somewhat relieved to discover it was Richard Kent. How he ended up in the river would remain a mystery. Many speculated he’d fallen into the raging water in a drunken stupor. At least now, no one would have to worry about him lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

  Grant insisted Lacy’s family stay with him until their house was rebuilt. Joe couldn’t abide living in town, so he stayed with Rebecca. However, he did accept Grant’s offer to purchase the materials needed to construct a new house and furnish it. With the help of many friends, including Tony and Garrett, they raised a new house and barn just a few days after the flood. The buildings stood on the edge of Joe’s property, far away from the river.

  It had been almost comical to witness Imogene Hill and Joe Williams sit in Grant’s parlor, attempting to converse politely with one another the evening Joe joined them in town for dinner. Lacy and Grant stood at the door watching them, holding back their laughter.

  The morning they rode back to town after the flood, Grant proposed to Lacy, pleading with her to marry him as soon as possible.

  Lacy would have married him that afternoon, but Imogene insisted they have a wedding at the church and give Grant’s sisters time to arrive. She volunteered to see to all the arrangements and launched into wedding plans.

  Although Lacy didn’t really care about decorations for the church or any of the dozens of questions Imogene brought up, she did appreciate the woman asking for her opinions on every detail. The old Imogene would have done as she pleased, but the new and improved version worked very hard to be kind to her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

  Pressed for time to come up with a wedding dress, Imogene contacted Agnes and asked her to bring a white gown she’d worn to a summer ball the previous year.

  When she arrived two days before the wedding with the dress, Lacy thought the gown was the loveliest thing she’d ever seen. She loved all three of Grant’s sisters the moment they met. So like their younger brother, they were easy to like and full of fun.

  Now, as Lacy stood in her apartment above Ilsa’s store adjusting her veil, she wondered if she’d wake up and find the last few weeks had been a wonderful dream.

  “Daughter? Are you ready? It is time.” Joe Williams tapped on her doorframe and stuck his head into the room.

  Lacy smiled at him in the mirror then turned as he stepped inside and stared at her.

  Nervous, she smoothed her gloved hands down the front of her borrowed gown and glanced at her father. She hoped he wouldn’t be too upset she wasn’t getting married in a traditional ceremony on the reservation.

  “You look beautiful,” he said in a quiet voice. His face remained a stoic mask, but Lacy detected the depth of his emotion. “Your mother would be so proud of you.”

  Lacy kissed his leathery cheek. “She’d be proud of you, too, Father.” He wore his hair in two long braids with a single eagle feather at the back of his head. An ornately decorated breastplate rested on top of the new suit Grant purchased for him.

  Joe grinned at her. “Did my new son like his gift?”

  “He did, Father. Very much.” Lacy smiled as she thought of the horse her father had brought to Grant’s barn one evening. He’d handed Grant the lead rope and studied him a moment before saying, “You would make a good brave.” With that, he rode away, leaving Grant watching after him, pleased to be accepted by his future father-in-law.

  “I’m glad. And I’m glad that you marry the banker. He is a good man, for a thieving white.” Joe grinned and Lacy rolled her eyes as they descended the stairs and strolled out the front door of Ilsa’s shop. Lacy locked it behind her then walked with her father the few blocks to the church.

  Outside, she took a deep breath and accepted the bouquet of flowers her cousin Lily handed to her. Although she wished she could have all her cousins and friends stand up with her, she decided it best to stick with just two. Bertie and Lily both waited to precede her down the aisle.

  Sophie and Laila jointly served as flower girls while Ben and Brett Rawlings stood in front of them, ready to march down the aisle as ring bearers.

  Lacy hid a grin when Brett reached out and tugged on Sophie’s hair ribbon. The little girl started to hit him with her flower basket, thought better of it, then stuck out her tongue at him.

  “They are lively children, aren’t they?” Joe observed as organ music trailed out of the church and Bertie guided
the twins down the aisle while Lily helped Sophie and Laila.

  Once they stepped inside the church, Lacy had eyes only for Grant. He looked more handsome than she imagined as he stood next to Pastor Whitting with Kade and Garrett at his side.

  The jacket with fine black trousers were the same he’d worn to the ball, but it was the bright light in his eyes and the smile on his face that she’d never forget.

  She floated down the aisle on her father’s arm. When he handed her over to Grant, Joe gave him a feigned scowl before taking a seat beside Rebecca in the front row.

  Grant bent down and whispered, “my beloved,” in Lacy’s ear before they turned to face Pastor Whitting.

  Although the flood had been disastrous for many in town, Grant looked at it as a blessing. It had restored his relationship with Lacy and ended their fears of Richard Kent.

  Almost daily, he had to remind himself that Lacy would soon be his bride, that he didn’t dream the whole thing. She loved him and wanted to spend their future together. Surprisingly, both her father and his mother had been cooperative and had even gotten along better than anyone expected.

  His three sisters and brothers-in-law had all raved about Lacy. It meant the world to Grant for them to express their approval of his choice of a bride. After all, he’d waited to find a girl who met all his expectations and Lacy far exceeded them.

  Grant had searched for a woman who looked beyond his material success and liked him for the person he’d become. He’d wanted a woman so fiercely in love with him, she would move heaven and earth to be by his side. He’d dreamed of a woman who would make him laugh, cherish his affection, and offer him unbridled passion.

  Lacy fulfilled his desires to perfection.

  He glanced down at her as Pastor Whitting began the ceremony. He knew the dress came from Agnes, but it fit Lacy’s form flawlessly. Through the wispy netting of her veil, he saw her smile and her dark eyes filled with love. His grandmother’s sapphire earrings dangled from her ears. The scent of the pink roses she carried, courtesy of Aundy, mingled with her captivating fragrance, ensnaring his senses.