Love Blooms in Winter (14 page)

Fisk rode up and held the reins to a saddled mare. The blacksmith grinned. “Got you all fixed up.” He tossed the reins to Tom.

Mae, basket in hand, closed the door and was on Tom’s heels. “I’m going too.” She was surprised when he didn’t protest. Swinging into the saddle, he reached down and pulled her up behind him. His strength was that of a hardworking man, and this time she was comforted by it.

The town’s residents swiftly rode south with a pack of howling dogs on their heels. Gusty winds blew snow particles in Mae’s eyes, and she held Tom’s trim waist tightly. Her mind whirled. The closest doctor, other than Doc Swede, lived in Branch Springs, which was seven miles away.
No serious injuries. Thank You, Father. Doc Swede isn’t equipped for such matters
.

It took them almost no time to reach the disaster. Smoke billowed, and a black engine hissing steam was on its side. Three overturned wooden cars and two passenger cars looked as though they had been tossed about like rag dolls. Tom drew closer, and Mae saw dazed passengers with bloody bandages tied around arms, foreheads, and legs milling about the wreckage. Bits and pieces of mail and other documents littered the ground.

Tom was off the horse just before it stopped, handing Mae the reins. She pulled the animal to a halt and also slid off, immediately setting to work. Her heart swelled when she saw Tom’s devotion to those injured in the catastrophe. She glanced around. Where was Jake? Why wasn’t he here helping?

Wagons loaded with water barrels pulled up, and many able-bodied men, women, and children scattered to help dazed victims. Terrified people roamed the area. Mae was thankful the sun was beginning to knock the bitter cold off the morning air, but the light did nothing to warm the chill in her heart at the sight in front of her.

Hours later the sun moved lower in the sky, though it was only midafternoon. It wouldn’t be long before the darkness brought the bitter cold again. Mae collapsed by the fire beside Tom, and he absently offered his cup of coffee. Since arriving on the scene, wagons had moved the stranded passengers to Dwaldo’s train station, where they were met by anxious families. Lowering the cup, her eyes searched the teeming area. “Have you seen Jake?”

“He was here for a short time earlier, but I saw his buggy leave a couple of hours ago.”

Nodding, she took another sip of the coffee and handed the cup back. Funny. She had never drunk from Jake’s cup or glass. Their kisses had been short, very staid events. The thought had never crossed her mind until this moment, but Jake had never offered her anything in a kind gesture. Not even a sip of tea. She glanced at Tom, and noted that his face was lined with fatigue and worry. “Are you all right?”

“Fine, considering I’m looking at an enormous financial loss.”

She glanced at the derailment, trying to make sense of his statement. “Loss? How could this affect you?”

“Company loss. I work for this line.” His eyes scanned the still smoking carnage.

“Oh, no.” He might have mentioned the name of his railroad earlier, but she couldn’t recall it.

“Yes, Chicago and North Western.” His eyes fixed on the overturned locomotive. “The loss is great—not to mention the interruption of service.”

Mae fit the pieces together and gasped. “Oh my goodness! Dwadlo is now cut off from the outside world!” There would be no mail, no grocery orders, no fine fabrics shipped from the East. Her eyes returned to the wreckage. “For how long?”

“Until we can lay a temporary track.” His gaze measured the impassable rail.

“That’s all?” She wilted with relief. “Laying a little bit of track shouldn’t take that long.” She recalled when the line to Dwadlo was built. It had taken months to lay track from here to Wisconsin, but this was a simple repair job.

His mirthless chuckle didn’t match her optimism. “Well, not normally, but it’s winter, Mae. We have to contend with snow, rain, mud, and getting the right material and manpower to put down the track.”

“Then…it will take some time.” Relief flooded through her like melting snow. If the train didn’t run, he couldn’t leave. Suddenly guilt plagued every part of her as she acknowledged to herself that she enjoyed his company. Her thoughts went to Jake. She never felt this sense of…what? Appreciation? Love? There was something new and different about being with Tom. When had that missing link broken her connection with Jake? She shook the thought away. “How long do you estimate?”

“I don’t know. Maybe less than a week if we can get the supplies sent right away.”

She deliberately sobered. “That’s too bad, but a week isn’t the end of the world. We can make do that long.” She was hoping it would be longer than a mere week, but at least it would mean a few more days of Tom’s company.

“You have other ways out of town.”

“That all go nowhere except to Pine Grove and Branch Springs, who get their supplies from us. The closest large town is Elkton, and it will take a while for supplies to reach us from there.”

Sitting in silence, they took turns drinking from the same cup. Events were happening so fast she couldn’t keep up. Finding Pauline’s kin, Tom coming to Dwadlo, Tom saying he was leaving, the train derailment—and now Tom staying. She studied him from the corner of her eye. Perhaps he’d decide to stay in Dwadlo. She caught her thoughts again, mentally apologizing to Jake for letting them wander so far. What had gotten into her? Tom was a new face, that was all. An interesting, exciting new face. Any woman would feel a faint stirring when he was near. “The store serves as our telegraph office.”

“I have to contact the railroad immediately. It looks like I won’t be leaving as soon as I’d hoped.”

What was that crazy leap her heart just took? She shivered against the chill and held her hands toward the dwindling fire.

“We’d better get back to town so we can warm up.”

“Yes. And we can probably get your wire out before day’s end.”

He stood, and she instantly missed his warmth beside her.

“Dwadlo is a lucky place.” He doused the fire with snow and then held out a hand to help her up.

She thanked him with a smile. Picking up her empty basket, she placed the cup inside it. “How can you say we’re lucky after what’s just happened?”

“Because if this derailment had been in town instead of out here, Dwadlo would have been destroyed.”

“What a dreadful thought!” That was one more thing to praise God for. He must have had His hand on their small community. “I’m sure it will all work out, Tom. The Lord will see to it.”

“No doubt.”

His note of irony didn’t escape her, but life had a way of changing one’s plans. She smiled again and then caught herself. It was a wicked smile. Chastising herself once more, she closed her eyes and rotated her head to work the kinks out of her neck. All the bending while attending the injured had left her stiff and sore.

With Tom’s help, she joined him on the horse’s back. “Shall we keep the same living arrangements? Or if Dale is too much, Jeremy and I can find another place to stay—”

“It’s okay. He never says a word. I can manage now that Jeremy brings his meals.”

Dale had two different sides, but now wasn’t the time to inform Tom of that. If the present arrangement suited him she wasn’t going to argue. She imagined he’d find out soon enough about Dale’s varying personality. For now, Pauline’s immediate future was safe and Tom wouldn’t be leaving.

That smile appeared again. Leastways, not this week.

I
t was late afternoon before Tom had a chance to send a wire to Clive Letterman about the derailment, but a reply came back quickly. The simple message read:

Y
OU
’
VE BEEN PROMOTED AGAIN
S
TOP
Y
OU
’
RE NOW
W
RECKING
M
ASTER
S
TOP
G
LAD TO HEAR THERE ARE NO MAJOR INJURIES
S
TOP
E
QUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES ON THE WAY
S
TOP
S
TAY TILL IT’S DONE
S
TOP
.

Grinning, Tom wadded up the missive and pitched it into the wastebasket.

Mae glanced up at him. “What did your boss say? You look happy.”

“He has a strange sense of humor.” C&NW could afford to have one at this point. There didn’t appear to be a single serious injury. The derailment was costly, but it would have been far more devastating had there been casualties. The disgruntled but thankful passengers had been relocated to their destination, and it looked as though the incident was over.

“Such as? Today’s event was anything but humorous.”

“No, it was nothing about what happened. He’s just ribbing me. He’s sending supplies, and he says I’ll be staying on to oversee the rail repair.”

He was staying until it was done. Butterflies flitted in her stomach, and though Mae fought the urge to smile, it did little good. He glanced at her and she quickly sobered. She couldn’t let him see how pleased she was with the news.

“Are you okay?”

Straightening, she shrugged. “Fine. Thank you.”
Lord, forgive me for having these thoughts
. She was going to be sure to read extra Bible passages tonight before she went to sleep.

Tom grabbed a root beer from the barrel. “Clive’s a good man. He’s relieved there were no serious injuries.”

The front door opened and Pauline walked in. “What’s all the ruckus? Did somebody blow up the bank again?”

Mae helped the woman off with her coat. It was almost dark, and the poor thing had no business being outside at this hour. “Now, Pauline, you know perfectly well our bank has never been blown up.”

The old woman scratched her head. “It hasn’t? That’s a relief. I could have sworn I was involved in something like that once before. That’s why I stayed inside all day. I didn’t want them to lock me up again.”

Tom snickered. “I think with that pack of dogs around your place, you’re pretty safe.”

He hadn’t spoken loudly, but Mae heard him perfectly well and shot him a glance, glad Pauline was nearly deaf. “The train derailed. That’s what you heard.”

“Train? Well, I swear. Was anyone killed?”

“No one had more than a scratch, praise God.” Mae fell into step behind her as Pauline wandered the store. The woman was as honest as the day was long, but she didn’t worry about price or money when she shopped. She put it on her “account.” Mae couldn’t recall the last time her account had been paid up.

“Ain’t gonna stop church services tomorrow, is it?”

Mae doubted that the service would be canceled, and she had a hunch the pastor would emphasize the need for faith and strength to overcome present obstacles beyond the town’s control.

Pauline set a porcelain wash pan on the counter and then went back to browsing. Mae stared at it. Why would she need that? The elderly lady moved to the thread section, sorting carefully through the colorful spools. Muttering under her breath, Mae went to help. “Is there something you need, Pauline?”

“Hmm…no.” She picked up a spool of black and examined it. “I’ve always favored this color.” She moved on to the dry goods section. “What’s all the fuss in town? Has something happened?”

Mae turned in time to see Tom shaking his head. “Something quite substantial.” Mae continued to trail behind Pauline. It embarrassed her to search the woman before she left the store.