No Way Up Read online

  She was asking God to hold her father in the palm of His hand. After long, heartfelt pleas sent heavenward, she felt her spirit calm and grim determination replace her panic. Pa would be all right. They’d do whatever needed doing to ensure it.

  Thinking of Ma without Pa was impossible. Chance and Veronica Boden were the most solidly in love couple Sadie had ever known. Not just love either, but respect and hard work toward the same goals. A true friendship. Her parents were united in a way Sadie admired and wanted for herself someday. In fact, she demanded it for herself, which was one of the reasons she’d turned down a lot of offers to marry.

  “Tell me how he is.” Sadie twisted on the horse to look back. “Don’t protect me from the truth.”

  It wasn’t hard to remember Heath with his shining blue eyes. Now they seemed to glow with regret. “I . . . I don’t like to say. It’s real serious. A badly broken leg.”

  “You saw his injury?”

  “I was there. We were all caught in the avalanche, but your pa was in the most dangerous stretch, so he got hit the hardest.” Heath’s arm tightened even more, wrapping around her waist, as if she needed someone to hold her together. “I’m hoping and praying that something can be done so that . . . well, sometimes a serious injury turns out not to be quite so bad after there’s a closer look.”

  She felt a harsh shudder shake his whole body. She knew Heath wasn’t telling her everything.

  “Please, Heath, tell me the whole truth of what happened.”

  The silence was broken by the pounding hooves, and Sadie braced herself to ask again—however many times she needed to.

  “I want to be prepared,” she said. “I don’t want to run into the house and be unable to control the shock. It’ll upset Ma.” More silence. Sadie clutched at Heath’s wrist, guiding the horse. “Tell me.”

  Finally, Heath nodded. “The rocks knocked him off his horse, and we had to . . . to . . . he was nearly buried.” He fell silent again.

  She heard him sigh, long and slow, and she tightened her grip on his wrist, sinking a few of her fingernails into his skin so he’d know she wasn’t satisfied.

  “Your pa’s leg, it’s the kind of break where a bone tears out of the skin. It’s a mighty rare thing for a man to have a break like that and . . . and keep his . . . his leg. And if infection sets in, well, cutting off his leg might not even save him.”

  Sadie gasped and glanced back to meet pure compassion, or maybe it was pity. She quit strangling his wrist. Sadie thought of a hundred more questions, but her throat wouldn’t work and maybe she didn’t want to hear the answers now. Heath wrapped his free arm further around her waist.

  She should have demanded he let go. He was too close and it wasn’t proper. But she couldn’t bear to do it. Couldn’t bear not having someone hold her. Then Heath’s arm was gone, then back. He pressed a white handkerchief into her hand, and that was the first she knew she was crying.

  Her fear and worry and pain were too much to allow her to focus on such a minor thing as tears. She pressed the kerchief to her eyes, and Heath went back to holding her, his big hand spread gently on her belly.

  He whispered in her ear, she wasn’t sure what. Just snatches of words. “I’m so sorry . . . we’re almost there . . . pray for him.” Everything he said was jumbled together with soothing murmurs that weren’t words.

  They thundered on, but for a while Sadie felt as if she’d handed her whole life over to someone else. A man strong enough to do whatever needed doing.

  Holding her tight as she wept. Carrying her home.

  The stallion’s hooves galloped beneath them as Heath did the only thing he could for her. Ride like his horse’s tail was on fire. Keep Sadie safe while she cried. Get her home fast.

  Seeing her hazel eyes soaked with tears was like taking a tomahawk in the gut.

  Her blond hair blew in his face. She’d had it in a neat bun when he’d gone into the classroom, yet it had all sprung free miles ago.

  There was a mighty good chance Sadie didn’t even know his name. He’d been working on the CR since spring roundup, but she didn’t live there, didn’t come around much at all beyond Sunday dinner. He always rode into town for church on Sunday, and any CR riders who went in stayed together, then rode home as a group. There was safety in groups, and even in the civilized West, there were dangers.

  But he was one of a crowd and she’d never spoken to him, not a single word. He doubted she’d even noticed him.

  But he’d noticed her for a fact. The prettiest little thing he’d ever seen. His boss’s daughter, so of course she didn’t spend her time around a lowly cowpuncher.

  Until now.

  Heath regretted bitterly that finally she was going to notice him and remember him for bringing terrible news. She’d always think of him in connection with one of the worst days of her life. And judging by the boss’s vicious injury, it was only going to get worse.

  He shifted his arm on her slender waist and spoke close to her ear so she could hear him over the pounding hooves. Offering what comfort he could.

  Then the ranch came into sight and Heath eased his arm away. They were no longer alone, and holding her so close wasn’t proper.

  They raced right up to the door.

  Heath swung down and lifted Sadie to the ground before she had a chance to dismount on her own. She rushed inside the house. He wondered if that was the closest he’d ever get to the woman who’d been haunting his dreams since the first day he’d laid eyes on her.

  Two of the CR cowhands came up and took charge of him. He only now realized he’d gone straight into town and right up to Sadie in his longhandles. And blood-soaked to boot.

  Neither of them knew a thing about Chance beyond that he’d gotten home alive.

  One man took his horse to cool the animal down. Another guided him to the bunkhouse, where a bucket of warm water waited for him to wash away this nightmarish day.

  All he could think of while he cleaned up and bandaged his meager wounds was the last moment he’d seen Sadie as she ran into the house. Whatever dreams he’d had for Sadie Boden had come too late.

  What if she was too late?

  What if the long ride into town to fetch her meant she’d never see her pa alive again?

  Why had she insisted on moving to town? Why had her work with the orphans seemed more important than her family?

  She headed straight to Ma and Pa’s big bedroom on the ground floor. She knew he’d be there, but in case there was any doubt, there was a trail of blood to follow.

  Sadie saw her pa, unmoving, eyes closed, his face sunken and his cheeks hollow, the doctor tending him. Ma was on the far side of the bed, wringing a blood-soaked rag over a basin of steaming water.

  Ma looked up, and so much passed between her and Sadie in an instant it almost sent Sadie reeling backward. Love, relief that Sadie was finally there, terror for her husband, grim determination.

  Sadie mentioned none of it. Now was not the time for fussing and tears and hugs. Now was the time to work hard and save Pa.

  Doc Garner bent over the bed, working on Pa’s leg.

  “Mrs. Boden, a clean rag.” The doctor snapped out orders as if Ma were his nurse, and Ma responded so quickly Sadie knew she didn’t resent it. In fact, she was glad to be of help, glad to obey.

  “I’ll take orders too, Doc,” Sadie offered. But the doctor didn’t look up from his work, which Sadie admired.

  “Kincaid said he’d tended the wound in hopes of saving the knee.” The doctor inspected the wound with single-minded attention. “If we have to amputate—”

  Ma gasped. Sadie’s heart sank to her boots.

  “—having the knee will make a big difference in how hard it is to adjust.” The doctor kept talking while he worked, paying no attention to how his words hit. “But there’s a chance we can save the whole leg.”

  With that, Sadie’s heart rushed right back up with hope. Heath had said Pa would lose the leg, while the doctor wasn’t such a pe
ssimist.

  The doctor shook a powder all over the gaping wound. Bloody bandages lay on the bedside table, and the sheets were crimson, but the bleeding looked to have stopped.

  “With a fracture treated this well, there’s a chance. I know a doctor in Denver who is doing work on broken bones. He’ll be able to set it and mend a lot of the torn muscles.”

  The doctor looked up, his eyes dark and intense. He’d come to treat the children at the orphanage a few times, and she’d never seen this fierce side of him.

  “I won’t put on a plaster cast because it will have to be removed as soon as we reach Denver and cutting it off will be hard on the limb.” He treated the leg with steady, skilled hands. “We need to get him on the train. It’s due right after the noon meal and it’s getting close to that now. I’ll get a buckboard ready. Miss Boden, you wrap another layer of bandages around tight, but not too tight. Be careful not to move his leg. The bone is set and I don’t want it to come unset. I need to find a way to keep it from getting bounced around on the wagon. The cloths are clean and all ready to go.”

  The doctor hurried out of the room.

  Sadie rounded the bed. Ma handed her the strips of cloth. Carefully she wrapped Pa’s leg. “Ma, did you hear him? He thinks they can save the leg. Heath Kincaid came for me in town, and he made it sound a lot worse than this.”

  Her temper grew as she thought of how upset she’d been. Heath didn’t need to paint things so dark.

  “Doc Garner said he’s never seen a break tended this well. Usually by the time he gets there, nothing will do but to saw off the leg. Very few people know to treat a break like this.”

  “So why did Heath sound so grim?” She needed to stop being angry. It wasn’t fair and she knew it, but it was like the emotion had broken free and she couldn’t rope it and hog-tie it.

  Ma’s strong hand rested on her shoulder as she finished the bandage. “Don’t aim your anger at the man who may have saved your pa’s leg, and helped save his life. I won’t have it.”

  It was a bleak order, but it had been delivered with love.

  Sadie nodded and straightened from the bed. “What else do we need to do before Pa leaves?”

  Ma dunked the rag and wrung it out again, then handed it to Sadie. “Finish cleaning the blood—” Ma paused, swallowed hard—“off his chest as best you can. We’re moving him as soon as Doc is ready.”

  “To Denver?”

  “It sounds crazy, but Doc Garner is convinced it’s worth a try. It would’ve been impossible before the train. But now we can get him there and get him proper treatment.”

  It was true they could make the trip to Denver in a day on the train. A long, hard day. She stared down at her pa, who looked nearer to death than life.

  Chance Boden. A vital, brilliant, powerful man. Brought low by a bunch of falling rocks.

  Sadie worked on the wounds on Pa’s chest while Ma tended and bandaged cuts on his face. All this blood and Ma never flinched from it. Never went pale, never faltered. Ma was just as strong as Pa.

  Rosita, their housekeeper, hurried in with another basin of clean water.

  “Give it to Sadie and get me more, Rosita. Chance has other wounds to tend.”

  Rosita set the basin on the small table on Sadie’s side of the bed, then placed a hand on Sadie’s arm. “Mi niña,” she said before leaving the room.

  Ma and Sadie continued to work over Pa’s still form. Finally they had him cleaned and bandaged.

  “I’ve got to pack clothes for Pa and me. Stay with him, Sadie. I’ll be gone only a few minutes.”

  Sadie nodded. Ma gave Pa one long, heartbroken look and then rushed away. Sadie picked up one of his strong, callused hands and pressed it to her cheek, begging God for mercy.

  “Sadie.”

  Her eyes popped open to meet Pa’s. Ma should be here, but for now Sadie was alone with the man she loved more than any other on earth.

  His eyes sparkled with love. “You’re the image of your ma.”

  “Thank you, Pa. I hope I’m half as pretty.”

  “What happened to put me in this bed in the middle of the day?”

  “Your leg is broken and it’s a terrible break. The bone went through the skin. Doc Garner knows a special doctor in Denver. You’re going there.” Sadie leaned down and kissed him on the forehead with aching gentleness.

  “Denver?”

  “The break is a kind that often ends with a man . . . losing his leg.”

  Pa’s eyes narrowed in surprise.

  “Doc thinks that if we get you to Denver, there’s a chance you can keep it.”

  Rushing on, Sadie said, “The train leaves right after twelve noon and won’t be through again for a week. You and Ma are going right now. You’ll be in Denver by morning. Doc says there’s no time to dawdle with injuries like this.”

  Ma came bustling in and gasped to see Pa awake. That sound drew Pa’s gaze, and the love between them was like a living fire. Sadie had grown up with this love all her life. It had seemed like the connection between her parents was just part of normal life, but right this moment she realized how precious it was.

  With all the courage she’d come to expect of her father, he gave a single nod, accepting what was to come. Then he said, “I have to talk to all three of the children.”

  “There’s not time.” Ma squeezed his hand tighter.

  A sharp shake of his head said he wouldn’t be moved. Sadie knew that look, but she also had never seen her mother like this before.

  “We are leaving for town in five minutes whether you’ve spoken to the children or not. You can’t stop me from having you carried to the wagon and loaded on that train. We aren’t going to miss it.”

  “Cole had headed out to the mines. He’ll be coming fast.” Sadie knew it was true. Heath’s urgency couldn’t have failed to be passed on. “But it’ll be a while.”

  Ma cut in, “Maybe we’ll pass Cole on the trail and can speak to him for a few minutes then.”

  That was unlikely. If he’d gotten down the trail very far, he’d be coming from the west, not the south. Sadie didn’t say that, though.

  “You mean he’ll be coming from town when he ought to be here.” Pa sounded bitter, as he had hundreds of times before about Cole and Sadie living in town.

  “We aren’t stopping the wagon for anyone,” Ma said bluntly.

  “He can ride alongside us and listen, because Justin needs to hear what I have to say. Sadie, I need to explain myself.”

  A racket in the back of the house drew Ma’s attention. “If that’s the doctor, you’d better say your piece quickly because we’re leaving.” With that, Ma turned and left the room again.

  Pa looked Sadie in the eye. “I just made this decision a few days ago and I wanted to talk with you about it. Figured to do it on Sunday. Figured I had all the time in the world to explain myself.”

  “Tell me, Pa.” Sadie bickered with her father a lot, but right now she could deny him nothing.

  Pa swallowed hard, worry furrowing his brow. “I changed my will. If I don’t survive this ride to Denver and whatever quack treatment your ma’s got in mind, then you’ll know what I’ve done. But I want you to hear it straight from my lips too, so you’ll know I’m serious.”

  Sadie stopped breathing for a moment. Then she said what she hoped would soothe Pa. “The land is yours to do with as you please, Pa. Whatever your wishes are, we’ll abide by them.”

  “My wish is that you and Cole move back home. I want you to be part of the CR. I want all three of you to make your lives here.”

  “Pa, I’m close by. My work at Safe Haven Orphanage is—”

  Pa’s head jerked sideways, refusing her explanation, one she’d made over and over before.

  “All three of you are to live here, in this house, for a year. And because I’m hurt, but the will won’t be in force yet, God willing, I’m telling you that this begins now. It’s supposed to be after I’m dead, so if I live and get back here, we can see a
bout things. But right now, today, I want you all moved home. You can run to town for errands, but you will live here, work here, sleep under this roof. If any one of you moves out without giving it the full year, the land goes to your cousin Mike.”

  “Mike? You mean Mike Sanders? He’s not our cousin. Well, maybe fifth cousin.” He was a distant relation on Grandfather Chastain’s side, a Canadian who’d wandered into the area years after her grandfather had died and then claimed kinship. “Pa, you can’t stand him.” What Sadie really meant was that she couldn’t stand Mike. Nor any of Mike’s low-down sons who would fritter away the ranch one foolishly spent dollar at a time. “You’ve always said he’s probably lying about being kin to Grandfather.”

  “I had to pick someone who’d make you all mad enough to stay here and fight for the land. I want you to imagine your greedy cousin’s glee as he kicks all three of you out. I’ve left it all to him—all my cash money, the mines, everything. If you don’t want what I’ve built, added on to the beginning given to us by your grandfather, then you’re free to go build something of your own.”

  Pa’s eyes focused on her. “Justin would fight for the ranch for himself. You, Sadie, I hope you love your brother enough to save it for him. If that’s not reason enough, remember this: the moment you move out, all the money for your orphanage ends.”

  Sadie nearly choked on that threat. Pa loved her, all three of them. She had no doubt. But he’d been hurt when Cole had gone back east to college, then come home, but only as close as Skull Gulch, never to live at the ranch again. Then later Sadie had moved to town.

  Though Cole worked hard at the family business, he built a house in town and managed the mine holdings from a place he could call his own. Sadie moved in with him to be close to the orphans who’d so touched her heart.

  “I want you here, girl. You can use my money to hire someone for the school, but I don’t want you and Cole moving here and then riding to town every day. Cole can do his mine work from this ranch. This land was paid for in blood. Grandfather held it at the cost of his own life. I tried to raise you to see that you are part of a legacy and I’ve failed. But now I’ve put things right.”