A/N: I feel like I should warn you that the following is not a happy chapter. I cried when I wrote it.
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Susan ran in, panic written on her face. I stepped in front of her before she could continue on to the bedroom. "Do you know what needs done?" I asked, watching her face.
She hesitated, her eyes shifting to the right as she thought. After a moment, she shook her head. "Anna sent me away," she said, nodding towards Katie, who was holding her hand. "Do you?"
I shook my head, and her cheeks paled. There was no getting around it. One of us needed to go for help. Did Nevada City have a doctor? I couldn't remember having met one, but that didn't mean one did not exist.
"Go to her," I said to Susan. If I'd lifted my hands to sign, she would have seen the tremble in them and she didn't need to guess at my own fear. "Do whatever she says. I'll be back."
Susan's jaw dropped. "Where—?"
"For help." Before I lost my nerve, I spun on my heel and strode out. I didn't even pause for a bonnet or hat. There didn't seem to be a moment to lose.
At a run, I crossed the distance from the house to the barn in a matter of seconds. Why was today the day when there was no sign of Remy? I skidded to a halt in the barn.
The horses that pulled the wagon were in town, of course, at the store. Remy's usual mount was gone, and naturally Simon's mare was no longer in the barn. That left only the massive black creature I'd seen Remy working with in the corral.
Somehow, I had to saddle him and then get myself on his back.
Breathing out, I went to the small tack room at the back of the barn. I had no reason to be nervous. Simon and Remy had taught me how to saddle a horse...just not one that appeared half wild.
With a saddle in my hands, I approached the stall door. The horse lifted his head and I made eye contact with him. When I put my hand on the latch, he shied to the back of the stall, which wasn't far at all.
Some instinct made me click my tongue. I couldn't hear it, but I had a vague memory of my mother doing so whenever she had dealt with a frightened animal. The horse didn't move, beyond twitching muscles, as I approached.
"I'm sorry." I knew I was speaking, even though it seemed silly. "I have to get Cordelia help, and I need you."
I felt clumsy as I heaved the heavy saddle up and onto the horse's back. How many times had I seen this creature lunge and buck when Simon had done so? For me, though, the horse remained still. While I knew all animals had a kind of intelligence, in that moment I knew that horse understood the situation and was choosing to cooperate with me.
Maybe he was like the majority of humans and felt sorry for me.
He was less understanding when I put the bit of the bridle in his mouth, but he didn't try to shake me off. My hands were still shaking as I lead him out of the barn. One last glance around showed that there was still no Remy in sight to do the task instead, so I pulled myself up in the saddle.
My skirts were not designed for riding astride but were full enough that not too much of my leg was visible. Of course, it didn't seem like the time to be concerned about modesty.
I dug my heels in and raced out of the ranch yard. It wasn't difficult to follow the road towards town. How much time had passed since I'd discovered Cordelia? I couldn't even begin to guess, but I hoped I would be able to get help in time.
Ground rushed beneath the black steed's hooves. All I seemed capable of doing is holding onto the reins. Eventually, I was able to sit up a little straighter and I recognized the lane that led off to another ranch.
Pulling back on the reins, I managed to bring the horse to a stop. I didn't know for certain whether there was a doctor in town, but maybe...maybe another woman would know what to do.
Biting my lip, I guided the horse through the gate and nudged him into a gallop. It took only a few minutes to reach the house and I once again brought the . A tall woman came out on the porch, drying her hands on a towel. She was vaguely familiar
"Ivy Steele?" I saw her say, a frown creasing her forehead. "What's wrong? Come inside."
I stayed on the horse. Why did I feel out of breath? Beneath me, the horse's chest heaved. Remy was going to give me a talking to about riding the poor animal too hard. "Please," I said. The woman flinched. Oh, I was speaking too loud. "My step-mother...the baby is coming. I don't know what to do. She needs help."
A myriad of emotions crossed the woman's face: surprise, concern, disgust? "I see." Her eyes flicked around the yard as though she were looking for someone.
"I don't know what to do," I said again. If she wasn't going to help me, I wished she would say so right away so I could continue my search.
"Right." She gave a decisive nod as she folded the towel. "I may not...with her background or beliefs, but I won't...away one in need."
"You'll go to her?" I asked, sagging with relief.
"It is my duty...I never...." She took off her apron, and then pointed in the direction I knew the town was. "You go on for your father."
My mount danced beneath me for a moment before he allowed himself to be turned around. He seemed more than happy when I urged him into a run.
Knowing that someone would soon be with Cordelia meant my mind was able to wander. What had my neighbor meant by 'Cordelia's background and beliefs'? Since I'd never had a conversation with her, I had no idea. What was it that made everyone despise my father's wife?
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Soon enough, the edge of town came into view. I slowed the horse from a gallop to a more sedate walk. There were several wagons on the main street, along with people and at least seven dogs.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I rode toward the general store. I saw at least three men stare at me as I rode through the town. Was it so strange that a young woman would ride alone?
My mount—when all this was over, I really needed to either learn his name or give him one myself —didn't like the change of pace, even though he was breathing heavily. He sidestepped and shook his head.
When I slid out of the saddle, I had to hold onto the saddle to keep my balance. My legs were wobbly and my knees were weak. Who knew such a long ride, the longest I'd ever had on horseback, would be so taxing? How did cowboys do it all day? Did they just become accustomed to it?
As I tied the horse's reins to the hitching post, woman with a basket on her arm came out of the store. She nodded at me as she passed. That was the friendly behavior I'd grown to expect once I crossed the Mississippi River.
As soon as I stepped into the store, I saw Father and Anna at the counter. "Papa!" I said, half running to them.
In the middle of collecting some coins on the counter, Father paused and lifted his gaze. "Ivy?" he said, abandoning his task to come around the counter. "What are you doing here? What's happened?"
"The baby's coming. I hoped there was a doctor," I said, hoping I wasn't shouting at him. That wouldn't accomplish anything and only make panic. "I stopped at one of the neighbor ranchers and the woman there said she would go. I didn't know what else to do."
All color drained out of Father's face. His adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed hard. He gave a slight nod and reached out to pat my arm. "Of course. Of course. Anna—" I lost the rest of the sentence because he twisted around toward the counter.
"Yes, sir," Anna said with a nod. As calm as can be, she walked to the back. A moment later, she returned with my father's hat and jacket.
Without bothering to put either article of clothing on, Father rushed to the door. As he went out, he flipped the sign over so that the word closed faced the street. He vanished from sight, and I guessed he had gone for the wagon.
At least the situation wasn't resting only on my shoulders. I faced the counter, hoping that the calmness Anna had displayed earlier hadn't vanished. Comforting her would have been more than I could stand.
My step sister's hands was over the register. Our gaze met, and she narrowed her eyes. She shifted coins into her left hand and then dropped them into the drawer. As she moved to go around the counter, I saw her slip her right hand into her pocket.
Had she just taken money? In front of me?
Anna swept past me, tying her bonnet on as she did so. Breathing out, I decided to wait for the right opportunity to tell Father and convince him to check the money in the register. With less than a day's business, it shouldn't be too hard to see if something was missing.
I followed Anna out of the store, and she made a point of closing the door. She took one step out onto the boardwalk and came to a halt. Her eyes were focused on the black horse. After a moment, she spun around.
"You rode him? I have asked and asked! Will said no!"
It was still amusing just how many referred to the young cowboy as 'Will' when he'd introduced himself to me as Remy.
"He was all that was there," I said honestly, and then watched the young woman's face contort into a scowl. Why was she angry with me? Although the right question would have been, was there anything that wouldn't make her angry with me?
Father brought the wagon to a halt in front of the general store. His eyes shifted to Anna. Whatever she'd said or asked, I had missed. Glancing between them, I saw my father shake his head. He set the wagon brake and climbed down.
He went to the horse and untied the reins. Once he led the animal to the back of the wagon and tied him to the back, Father then returned to the wagon seat. Relieved I wouldn't have to ride the horse back, I climbed into the back.
Her expression one of annoyance, Anna joined my father on the seat. Father slapped the reins and the wagon jolted forward. At a pace that made the whole wagon bounce, we left the town.
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As soon as we came to a halt, Anna scrambled down and charged into the house. Seconds later, the children came out, all three with upset and frightened expressions. Father vanished inside as well, not even taking the time to put the horses up after their hard work. Since leaving them standing in the sun didn't seem right, I decided it was up to me to take them to the barn, although I wasn't sure whether I should do the same for our neighbor's horses.
And how exactly did one go about unhitching a pair of horses from a wagon?
A wave of relief swept over me when movement caught my eye and I recognized Remy. Shading my eyes, I glanced up at the sky. The sun was just about overhead. Had so much time really passed? It seemed that only an hour had passed since breakfast, but here Remy was for the midday meal.
When he swung out of the saddle, his eyes flicked towards the house and he flinched. At least I wouldn't have to explain to him what was going on. Then, Remy brought his gaze to the black horse that had taken me to town and his jaw dropped ever so slightly.
"Who..." he began to say. He paused and shook his head. "Did you....?"
"I needed to get to town," I said, my hands useless for a conversation.
"He is...ready for a rider!"
I could only assume he meant the horse was not ready for a rider. "He didn't give me any trouble," I said, wanting to reassure him. Well, not really. The most trouble had been when the animal had to follow the wagon. Father had been too concerned about getting to the ranch to notice how the horse fought to get free.
Remy didn't look at all reassured as he shook his head. He tied the reins of his mount to the corral fence and then went to the back of the wagon. Clearly, the black horse—I really needed to give him a name so I could refer to him as something other than 'black horse'—had had enough, for he reared up on his back legs as soon as he had the room to do so.
Somehow, Remy managed to get the horse under control and led him to the barn. Breathing out, I stroked the velvety noses of the horses still hitched to the wagon. I waited there until Remy returned.
I watched him unhitch the horses, appreciating that he took his time so that I could see how to go about it. Although I didn't know what each part of the tack was called, I tried to commit to memory how it all went together. Who knew if there would ever be an emergency that meant I would need to know how to hitch up the wagon.
Once that task was done, I felt at a loss what to do while Remy went to lead the neighbor's horses out of the sun. Should I carry on with the laundry? That would involve heating up the water again, which meant going inside. On the porch, Susan was building small buildings with wooden blocks with Sam. Katie was hugging her doll close to her chest, her little face tear stained and miserable.
As soon as I sat down on the porch step, my half sister was right by me, reaching her arms out. I lifted her on my lap and she rested her head against my shoulder. Waiting seemed all we could do.
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The sun was casting long shadows across the yard, but none of us wanted to go inside the house. Though I had no appetite, I couldn't imagine how hungry Sam, Katie, and especially Remy must be. I'd considered going inside and getting at least some bread, but every time I moved, Katie only clung to me tighter.
Of course, once the sun set completely, something would have to change. We couldn't stay the night outside on the porch.
All at once, Katie lifted her head and she began to struggle. I let her go and twisted around. Father stood in the now open doorway and as my half sister ran to him, I scrambled up. It took a minute before Father reached down and picked her up.
Even in the darkening light, I could see the sorrow written on Father's face and sick feeling twisted in my stomach. I held my breath, waiting for Father to speak. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Remy move over to stand next to me, which was a comfort.
"Your mother...rest but...will...fine. Mrs. Evers says she will put something together for supper."
At first I was relieved that Cordelia and a little embarrassed that our neighbor was the one taking the responsibility of the meal. It took a moment for me to realize what he wasn't saying. "The baby?" I asked.
All Father did was shake his head.