Strange.
He then realized the chickens were running around outside and not contained in their pen. Mary always had them locked up by now.
Noah continued to the bathroom, but something wasn’t right. There was always food cooking when he arrived home, the stove was hot, and the ranch house was warm and welcoming.
Tonight there was none of that.
Where was Mary?
He quickly washed himself down and dressed in clean clothes. Somewhere in the back of his mind was the memory Mary had told Noah she was doing something special today. He was so obsessed with the calving, he couldn’t recall what it was.
He checked the spare room in case she was lying down having a rest. Before he even checked, he knew she wouldn’t be there. Mary never shirked her responsibilities. Where was she?
Now he was getting concerned. Had she left him? He stood in the middle of the room in disbelief. Mary wouldn’t do that to him, not without talking to him first. Besides, where would she go? By her own admission, she was destitute. She had no money, and didn’t know the area. Not really.
He was beginning to panic and had to force himself to slow his breathing. He knew in the back of his mind there was something he was forgetting. Something Mary had told him. He sat on the side of the bed and forced himself to think. What had she said last night? What was the conversation they’d had? Something about supplies?
His breath caught in his throat – she was taking the buggy to town. Alone.
Noah scrambled to his feet, then ran out to the barn. The buggy was gone. What had happened to his beautiful wife? He dared not begin to imagine.
“I’m sorry, Cinnamon,” he told the horse as he saddled her so soon after his recent ride. “We have to find Mary.”
He collected Seth along the way as well as his other brother Jacob, and they took the main road into town. It was the only route Mary knew to travel.
“We’ll find her,” Seth said, sounding not very convincing, then leaned across from his horse and patted Noah’s back. “I know how much she means to you.”
Seth was right, Mary meant more than life itself, but Noah had never told her so. Was it too late to tell her?
She could be dead, and he’d never get his chance. He choked back his emotions.
“Over there,” Jacob shouted, and pointed to a ditch. The buggy was tipped on its side, the agitated horse still attached, but there was no sign of Mary. She hadn’t even made it into town – there were no supplies in sight.
Noah gasped. That meant she’d been out here alone most of the day. While he searched about, his brothers righted the buggy and checked over the horse. It was spooked but mostly uninjured.
Jacob held onto the reins to stop her running away.
“Mary!” Even with the flame brightly lit, the light from the lantern was still quite dull out here in the bushes. “Mary!” Noah called again.
“Mary,” Seth shouted, then shushed his brother. “Mary?”
“Noah?” Her small voice broke through the silence.
The two men ran toward the sound and stared down to where she lay. “Mary,” Noah said, his voice cracking. “I, I thought you were dead,” he said.
“I might have broken my ankle,” she said quietly. “But I’m alive.” Noah handed his lantern to Seth then scooped up his wife and gently carried her out of the bushes, his heart thudding. He could easily have lost her today. His biggest regret was never having told Mary he loved her.
~*~
“I’m fine,” Mary told him firmly. “Take yourself off to work where you’re needed.”
Noah stiffened. “I’m not needed here?” He shook his head. “The doc said you need to rest that ankle. It might not be broken, but it’s badly sprained.” He gently threw a blanket over her, then left the sitting room.
Mary sighed. He was treating her like an invalid.
She glanced up to see him holding out a mug of tea. “Here you are. Now tell me you could have gotten that for yourself.” She wanted to slap the smug grin off his face, but knew she never would. Noah was trying to help, as frustrating as she found her situation.
“If you make a list, Seth has offered to go to the mercantile for you.” He studied her, no doubt waiting for Mary to argue. But how could she? They had little in the way of supplies and needed them. Otherwise she would never had ventured out on her own.
“If I must,” she said, uncertainty in her voice. “Seth must have better things to do, surely?”
He raised his eyebrows. “It’s what families do. You must know…” He suddenly stopped talking. No, she didn’t know that. She’d never had a family that looked out for each other, and apparently Noah realized that. “Sorry.”
He sunk down into the chair next to hers. “Seth offered, and I wasn’t going to say no. He’ll be here shortly to collect your list.”
It was nice of him to offer, but she really wanted to go herself. As if reminding Mary of her predicament, her ankle began to throb and she winced.
“What can I do?” Noah asked, leaning toward her.
It was her turn to raise her eyebrows. “Get me a pencil and paper.” She bit her lower lip. What would Noah say when he discovered her secret?
“For the pain, I meant.” He retrieved the required items and handed them over.
“Are you sure Nelly’s alright? You’re not just saying that to make
