Chapter 20

Caleb

As Caleb watched the embers burning over the ground where the barn once stood, his thoughts went to Mia trapped inside. He let out a deep breath. What would he have done if she had died? When he looked around and she didn't come out of the barn, he remembered thinking that he couldn't lose her, too… not the way he had lost Jessica.

When she didn't come out of the barn, he thought that she might have died, he didn't know what he would have ever done without her.

Maybe now she wouldn't leave. Maybe now they could have a second chance.

As he looked out over what was left of the barn, he realized there wasn't much more that he could do out here, and he was exhausted. So, he headed up the slight incline toward the house. When he opened the back door, Mia wasn't making breakfast, and the house was quiet.

He walked through the kitchen and into the living room, headed toward the bedroom where the children were sleeping, but stopped. When he looked over toward the door, his heart fell. Mia was standing in the living room, packed and ready to go, looking beautiful in a purple dress and matching hat.

"What's this?" After what had happened during the night, he was sure that she would change her mind, that she would stay.

"I'm taking the buckboard over to Colton and Ella's house," she said, fidgeting with the reticule in her hand. "Colton can bring it over when he comes back from Laramie."

Caleb's heart sank as he noticed the curve of her jaw and slender neck, her perfect body, the golden hue of her hair, committing it all to memory. He turned away to hide the tears forming in his eyes.

"I'll help you round up the horses," he said, and then walked into the bedroom where the children were still sleeping, unaware that their world was going to change yet again.

It hadn't taken much to gather the horses. They were grazing nearby, eating the soft grass exposed from the melting snow. And it didn't take long to harness the horses to the team. But it took everything he had to watch her drive away with her bags loaded in the back. Before she drove away, the only thing she had said was a simple goodbye.

Caleb watched until she vanished into the trees, and he couldn't see her anymore. Then, the memory of thinking her dead rushed through his mind, coupled with her driving away for good, and love washed over him.

Caleb walked over to the family cemetery and found Jessica's grave. He dropped to his knees in the fading patches of snow. "Jess, you know I'll always love you, but I love Mia, too. The children need a mother, and I need a wife. She will never replace you, but she has become a part of our family. I loved you and you know I was faithful to you, but a love for Mia has crept in to my heart and has consumed me. As you probably know, I almost lost her last night. I could handle her leaving me a thousand times over, but I could never lose her through death, the way I lost you. And now, she's gone. But I want you to know that if she'll have me, I'd like to be her husband now. I don't just need her for the children and the house. I need her for me, too. I love her, Jessica. Although I loved you with a fierceness unlike any I've known before, the love I have for her is different, but unmatched as well. It has come to consume me, and I never even realized it. Jessica, if you can hear me, please give us your blessing and help me to get her back. I don't know when I'll speak to you again, but know that I love you, darling, and I always will."

With his mind made up, he rushed into the bedroom where the children were still sleeping and quickly dressed. If he hurried, he might just be able to catch her, but he needed to make sure the children were cared for first.

He hurried to slip into his jacket and rushed out the door. He caught his white stallion and didn't even bother to saddle him. With no time to waste, he put on his bridle and slid on bareback. "Help me, Trapper," he said as a smile spread across his face. "Yah!"

Trapper lunged into a full run as he headed toward Mrs. Jenkins's boardinghouse. He just prayed that she would be able to keep the children for him while he was gone. He didn't know for how long it would be. A few moments later, he stopped in front of the boardinghouse on the edge of town.

Caleb pulled Trapper to a stop and wrapped the reins around the hitching post out front. Then, he skipped up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and beat on her door.

"Coming!" Mrs. Jenkins said from inside the house. A moment later, the door opened. "Preacher Henley! What a surprise!"

"Mrs. Jenkins, I hate to barge in on you so abruptly," Caleb said, breathless. "But would you mind coming over to watch the children now? It's an emergency."

"Yes, of course." She grabbed her reticule and quickly pinned her hat into place. She slipped on her coat and pulled the door closed behind her. "Caleb, what's the matter?" she asked, looking around.

"I'm going after Mia."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Mrs. Jenkins asked. "Go get her! You'd be a fool if you let her get away. I'll have my man George hitch up my team and I'll head straight over to your house. So, don't worry about the children. Now, go! Catch her before it's too late!"

A broad grin spread across his face as he slid onto Trapper's back and headed toward Colton and Ella's farm as quickly as he could. He just hoped that he wasn't too late.