Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) (17 page)

“I’m going to be staying the
night,” Mariah told the nurse.

“That’s fine. I'm sure he’ll like
that.” She smiled at Nicky when he attempted to take his mother’s hand then
found it to be too painful. He had many bruises covering his entire body.

“Hey, cowboy. How ya doin’?
You’re a very tough guy. You know that, don’t you? We’re so proud of you,
buddy.” Nicky’s eyes opened for a few seconds, and he tried to smile at his
daddy.

Once settled in his bed, he had a
hard time staying awake, and though they could see that he desperately wanted
to keep his eyes open, he fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Nick leaned over and kissed his
forehead. With a look of concern, he gently lifted Mariah’s chin with the palm
of his hand. “Will you be comfortable?” he whispered.

“I’ll be fine. They told me I
could sleep in the extra bed if I’d like, but I’m not going to leave his side.
He’s safe now, and I don’t want to take my eyes off of him.”

“I know, sweetheart. I feel the
same way, but I’m going to head out now. I spoke to Bess, and she said the
twins are sound asleep. She was just about to go to bed herself. I’ll be back
early in the morning. The doctor said if he makes it through the night with no
problems, he’d be able go home tomorrow. I love you Mariah.”

“I love you too. Please give my
thanks to Bess and Lillie for all of their help.”

“I will.”

Mariah looked very drawn out. The
past three days had been so stressful. It showed in her eyes, and he hoped
she’d be able to take a nap while Nicky slept.

“Try to get some sleep, honey.
You’ll need your energy when he comes home. He’s going to require a lot of
care, physically and mentally. I spoke to the doctor a moment ago, and he
wanted us to bring him in to meet with a pediatric psychiatrist for counseling
beginning next week, if possible. He gave me a business card. We’re to call the
doctor’s office tomorrow to set up a few appointments.”

He gave her a gentle hug, dimmed
the overhead light and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

* * *

“What did the doctor have to
say?” Art asked when he entered the office.

“That he’s very mature for his
age. He seems to be handling it much better than other five-year olds or even
older children, for that matter. He wanted to see him once a week for one
month, just to make sure he isn’t disturbed, holding it all inside, afraid to
let anyone know. He told us not to question him, that he’d tell us everything,
if and when he’s ready.”

“Has he told you anything at
all?”

“Only that the lady was mean,
that she never hit him, but she was scary.”

“Poor kid.”

“We let him know that he’s such a
brave boy, and we’re very proud of him. That made him smile, although he didn’t
say anything else. The doctor said he’d probably tell us more, eventually.
Perhaps he’ll open up after a few additional meetings.

“There had been a guardian angel
watching over him, Art. Thrown from the car and landing in a pile of hay with
only a broken arm and minor bruises was a miracle in itself. His kidnapping,
being tossed around in a speeding automobile, and Anya not abusing him
physically was miraculous. She ended up hurting herself in the end.

“I’ll tell you one thing for
sure; Mariah and I discussed this last night. Once Nicky starts to heal and
feel well, we’re going to take a ride up to that motel/restaurant where the
nine-one-one call came from. It’s a family-owned business. The father runs the
motel, and his son manages the restaurant. They both recognized Nicky and
called the police. We decided to give him one of our colts, or a thousand
dollars in cash. It’ll be his choice. It’s the least we could do for the rescue
of our son.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“How has Jake been handling all
of this?” Nick asked.

“He apologized over and over
again. I let him know it wasn’t his fault, but he felt responsible. He started
working with the new men yesterday. We’ll be getting the first three horses
from the Minnesota Horse Rescue Team tomorrow. It’s kept him busy, and his mind
away from the way Anya had turned his life upside down.”

“I’ll speak with him later today.
If you see him, ask him to come to my office before he leaves this afternoon.”

“Okay. Will Mariah need any
additional help from Lillie? If so, she’s available.”

“No, Bess is here. They should be
fine. Oh, one more thing I meant to tell you. The new veterinarian will be
arriving tomorrow. His name is Billy Jackson. He’ll be working with the rescue
team. I’ll let Jake know when I meet with him.”

“Okay, I’m out of here. There’s a
lot of work to be done today.” He stood up and laid an arm across Nick’s
shoulders. “I’m glad everything turned out as well as it did, Nick.” He grabbed
his hat from the desk and left the office.

* * *

“Hi Nick. You wanted to see me?”

“Sit down for a bit, Jake.” He
waited for him to pull a chair up to his desk. “I just wanted to find out how
things are going for you and the new men. What do you think of them?”

“I can tell they’re going to make
a great team by their background. They’re all hard workers, and have plenty of
experience in animal rescues.”

“That’s good. The new
veterinarian will be here tomorrow. His name is Billy Jackson. He retired six
months ago and then decided he was too bored not to be working. He thought the
plan of rescuing abandoned and neglected horses was a good idea and he was glad
to come aboard.”

Jake grinned. “That’s great. I’m
sure we’ll keep him busy.”

“The rescue team is going to be
his top priority. If our other doctor should need assistance with our own
horses, Billy will be around to help, rather than our having to call another
veterinarian to make a trip out here.

“So, how are things going for
you, Jake?”

“I’m thankful for this management
position. Staying busy keeps my mind away from everything Anya had done to you,
Mariah and Nicky.” He looked down into his lap, then back up. “She probably
hadn’t even thought of the fact that she was driving a car that people would
know from the news stories and the Amber Alert. I feel responsible for
everything she’d done to you and your family.”

“We aren’t blaming you, Jake. You
have enough problems of your own to worry about.”

Jake nodded, “Yeah, with Anya
deceased, the bills are my responsibility. I still owe for the lawyer too. He
did a good job. Anya ended up being responsible for all the maxed-out credit
cards, however, now they're back in my lap. I’ll most likely have to file for
bankruptcy.”

Nick could see that he was deeply
troubled. He leaned his chair against the wall behind him, his thumbs hitched
in his belt loops, as he watched Jake.

“Hopefully, your thousand dollars
per month increase in salary will help you out,” he said quietly.

Jake raised his head in surprise,
took in a deep breath, and blew out his cheeks, wholly taken aback. “Are you
serious?” He blinked in astonished silence.

Nick sat forward and drummed the
desktop with his pen. “You’re a very hard worker, and you always have been.
You’ve taken on a big job as manager now, which holds quite a bit of
responsibility. I believe you can handle it. You’ve gone through a lot of pain
in the past couple of years. I hope this will help you out.”

Jake stood and they shook hands.
“Thank you. You don’t know how much I appreciate this. I can assure you that
you won’t be sorry.”

He turned to leave, and when he
opened the door Nick held up his hand to stop him.

“Wait. There’s one thing I insist
on.”

Jake stopped and looked over his
shoulder. “What’s that?”

“No more mail-order brides or
you’re fired,” he said with a smile, then waved him out the door.

* * *

Nick walked slowly to the house
and paused on the deck. He leaned his forearms on the top rail. The sun hung
low on the horizon, and a calm breeze soothed his nerves. He gazed at the unforgettable
flaming orange sunset, and knew in his heart that things would improve.

He turned and pressed his back
against the rail. Facing the window, he watched as Mariah entered the kitchen.
He stood and admired her. What an incredible woman. She reached for a coffee
cup on the table, and raised her eyes with a look of pleased surprise when she
became aware of him watching her. He noticed as a blush of pleasure rose to her
cheeks, and with a feeling of happiness, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Chapter
Twenty-seven

“If I go back to school today,
will you be okay, Mommy?”

“Oh, I think your sisters are
going to keep me very busy, but I’ll miss you. All of your friends at school
will want to write their name on the cast. You be very careful not to hurt your
arm on your first day back.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” He
carefully climbed into his car seat and Mariah fastened his seatbelt. “Besides,
daddy said that the mean lady went away and won’t be back. So don’t worry,
Mommy.”

“I’ll see you in a few,” Bess
told her, then drove away.

“Mariah!” Nick called out from
the corral. She looked up, and her mouth split into a wide grin. Loose tendrils
of hair softened her face. She waved at him and was acutely conscious of his
athletic physique as he hurried toward her.

“What’s up?”

“Are you ready to practice your
routine for the horse show? It’s only two weeks away.”

“Yes, the twins are napping at
the moment, and Bess will be back shortly.”

“Okay, I’ll have Precious Angel
ready and waiting.” Mariah decided to enter her in this year’s Brockenridge
County Horse Show. They were both excited. This will be Precious Angel’s first
judged exhibition.

“I’ll be down as soon as she
returns,” she said, and brushed a few strands of hair from her cheek.

He stepped back, and stroking his
chin, he regarded her carefully. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to
handle it? You’ve had an awfully rough summer.”

“I’ll be fine, Nick. I need to
get back into riding. Bess will be here with the twins. Stop your worrying.”
With a grin, she stood on her tiptoes, placed a kiss on his nose, and his smile
spread from one side of his face to the other. He gave her a love pat on the
backside then went back to the corral.

* * *

Mariah had just returned from a
relaxing ride. Nick appeared at the stall and watched, while she brushed Angel.

“So, my beautiful lady, how did
it feel to get back out there?”

“Wonderful, plus a great way to
unwind, however, I’ve decided not to have Precious Angel in the race. I only
want to enter her in the Western Pleasure Show. I’d also like to start a
Western Trail Class here at our ranch, Nick. With Precious Angel as the lead
horse, I'd be able to teach students the correct way to train a horse, to show
behavior and moves that would assure a pleasurable ride. Precious Angel gives
me such a smooth and refreshing ride for many miles across our property. She’d
be the ideal horse to demonstrate to students the appropriate way their horse
should be trained.”

“That’s a good idea, honey.”

“It would be fun. I want to be
the instructor, Nick.”

“Think you can handle it? Your
hands have been pretty full these days.”

“When Bess moves in permanently,
it’ll all work out.”

“I need to get back to the books.
It does sound like a great idea. We can go over some plans later tonight.”

“Okay, dinner will be ready
around seven.” She finished with Precious Angel and looked up with a smile as
she watched him walk away.
Lord, he’s sexy.
His profile spoke of power
and ageless strength from living the life of a rancher. She felt so thankful to
have him. Her eyes followed him until he turned the corner leading to his
office, and then she walked happily back to the house.

PART
II

Chapter
Twenty-eight

“Sarah, you’re not going to
believe this.”

“Try me,” she said.

“Remember Natalie from high
school?”

“Of course I do. The three of us
were good friends all through senior high. We called her Nattie. What about
her?”

“She and her husband moved into
the Miller’s old house.”

“Really? When?”

“I don’t know. I just heard about
it from Nick. He’d been checking the fencing at the north end of our property
when he noticed someone had moved in there. One of the ranch hands told him
their names. When I looked Natalie up online, I found her married name as
Larson, and bingo! It really is her. I’m going to stop by to welcome them.”

“Well let me know how she’s
doing. Perhaps the three of us could get together.”