The Redemption of Micah Page 15

  “To hell with this. I’m going home to grovel for forgiveness.”

  Within five minutes, he saddled the horse and stuffed the meager food in his pockets. As he mounted, the first raindrop hit his cheek. He had to hurry. Summer thunderstorms on the mountain could be deadly.

  Eppie had no idea how everything had gone so horribly wrong. They hadn’t expected rain, much less a wall of water, but that’s exactly what hit them an hour into the ride up the mountain. She could hardly see the back end of Teague’s horse, but the mare was smart enough to follow the gelding without much guidance from Eppie.

  Then they found the mud.

  Teague was a big man and the carriage horse wasn’t used to carrying his weight. The first time its hoof sunk into the mud, he was able to pull it out. The second time, Teague jumped off the horse’s back and yanked the gelding out.

  “We’re going to have to turn back,” he yelled over the rain. “This is suicide.”

  “I’m not turning back. We’ve come too far. It’s got to be close.” She couldn’t, wouldn’t stop now. She could almost feel Micah nearby.

  “It’s at least twenty more minutes and in this rain, it’s more like forty. C’mon, Curmudgeon, we’ve got to turn back.” He looked up at her from under the brim of his brown hat with true concern in his gaze.

  Eppie, however, wasn’t about to let rain stop her. “I can’t.” She couldn’t explain why it was so important, but it was vital that she find Micah as soon as possible. “Please.”

  “I don’t think this nag is going to make it much farther. He’s going to break a foreleg if we continue.” Teague tugged on the gelding’s reins. “There’s no choice. We’ve got to turn back.” He led the horse around hers and started down the path toward Plum Creek.

  Disappointment washed over her and she knew it wasn’t just rain on her cheeks. She’d been adamant about finding Micah, about talking to him and she couldn’t believe rain was going to stand in her way. Teague was at least twenty feet ahead of her when Eppie made a decision she knew would change her life.

  She started up the trail alone.

  “Eppie, what the hell are you doing?” she heard Teague shout. “Get back here!”

  She didn’t turn around or acknowledge him. Eppie kept going, her horse nimble in the mud with only Eppie’s light weight on her back. She knew the cabin was only twenty minutes up the trail, he’d as much as told her where it sat. With any luck, she’d find Micah in half an hour and be out of the rain, and in his arms.

  Micah realized his normal trail was a river of mud, so he took the side trail down as the rain got heavier and heavier. The sky was laden with silver-gray clouds, making the forest floor as gloomy as any moonless night. Fortunately, he’d had the same horse for ten years and the gelding knew the terrain well.

  By the time Micah got through the steepest part of the climb down, he was soaked to the skin and shivering. Summer storms were the worst; usually he got sick within a week of being out in one. He hoped it wouldn’t happen again this time, but he asked for it since he’d chosen to be out in the weather.

  “The fucking horse can’t make it! I can walk up there, Maddie, but it’s going to take me about five hours in that mud and rain.” Teague’s voice echoed around him. The fear and anger in the other man’s voice made the hairs on the back of Micah’s neck stand up.

  He couldn’t hear the response, but knew Madeline must be nearby. Within minutes he’d made it to the backyard of the house only to find the two of them in the carriage house. Teague was covered in mud while Madeline was wringing her hands. When Micah appeared, all color drained from her face.

  “Where is she?” her voice was hoarse with emotion.

  His stomach flipped. “Where is who?”

  “Eppie! Dammit, Micah, where is she?” Madeline stepped out into the rain and grabbed his leg. “She’s supposed to be with you.”

  He couldn’t seem to absorb her words. Eppie was supposed to be with him? He’d gone up the mountain alone yesterday and came down alone.

  “What do you mean, she’s supposed to be with me? I left her here with those goddamn doctors.” Micah’s heart took up residence in his throat. “What’s going on?”

  Teague’s eyebrows slammed together. “She got it in her head to go up the mountain to find you. Made me teach her how to ride and took off on her own when my horse got stuck in the mud. Damn stubborn little shit wouldn’t listen to a word I said.” Beneath the anger, Micah sensed real fear in his tone.

  That scared the absolute hell out of Micah and made his blood run cold. Teague wasn’t one to be afraid of much, ever.

  Without another word, Micah turned around and headed back toward the mountain trail, with the sounds of Madeline crying and Teague cursing in his ears. His only thought was to find Eppie before anything happened to her. She couldn’t have survived so much only to be lost in the mud and rain of a summer storm. God couldn’t be that cruel.

  Chapter Nine

  Eppie didn’t remember ever being so afraid, or miserable, or angry at herself. Considering she didn’t remember life before a month ago, it shouldn’t mean that much. But oh, how it did anyway.

  She blundered on blindly in the pouring rain, hoping she hadn’t just resigned herself to drown on top of a horse. The straw hat on her head had long since fallen apart, along with her courage. Twenty minutes must have passed by three times at least. The trees all looked the same, the leaves all looked the same, even the damn squirrels hiding in the leaves all looked the same.

  Water came down the mountain in small rivers around her. She had no idea how the horse was still plodding along. Obviously, she was a much better mare than Teague had given her credit for. Eppie could only thank the fates for giving her such a horse.

  The normal sounds of the forest were gone. The only noise left was the deafening rain all around her. Eppie knew she was lost, but refused to accept it. If she was lost, then she wouldn’t find Micah, and more than likely, she’d end up exactly how Dr. Lawson predicted she would. Sad ending for such a short life, such as it was. She should have listened to Teague, to Dr. Lawson, to her common sense. How could she…

  Up ahead she saw the boughs of a pair of evergreens hugging what appeared to be the cabin. She said a quick prayer and headed toward what she thought was Micah’s home. The horse must’ve sensed shelter, because she got a spring in her step and brought Eppie to the opening in the trees more quickly than she thought possible.

  The outline of the bottom of the door was visible and Eppie couldn’t contain the whoop of excitement. She’d found it! It seemed the heavens were smiling down on her.

  “Come on, girl, let’s get out of this rain.” She had no idea if the horse could hear her or not, but it felt good to say it anyway.

  Eppie arrived at the door and glanced down at the ground—way, way down. At the house, there’d been a mounting block, but here in the wilds, there was nothing but leaves, moss, and rocks. It could’ve been a hundred feet or ten, it seemed an eternity stood between her and getting off the horse.

  There was no other choice but to dismount as best she could, which wasn’t saying much. She hung onto the pommel and swung her right leg around, keeping her left foot in the stirrup. Hanging on in midair, she hoped like hell her hands didn’t slip off the soaked saddle. Slowly, and painfully, she lowered herself, supporting her weight with her left leg. Her muscles screamed from the effort as she stretched herself farther than she thought possible as her knee practically touched her nose. Finally, her toes touched something solid and she made contact with the spongy ground.

  “Thank God.” She pressed her forehead into the mare’s flank and took a deep breath as her body trembled like the leaves on the trees. The shaking must’ve been from riding the horse when she wasn’t used to it. She hoped it wasn’t from overexerting herself, which would be the worst situation. She didn’t, however, have time to think about why she was trembling—she had to get out of the rain.

  Eppie kept the reins tight
in her hand as she approached the door. Someone had definitely been there recently because all the vegetation had been broken or cut away from the door. A chunk of moss was missing from the rock near the base.

  Micah.

  Her heart sang with gladness as she prepared to finally speak to him about all that was in her heart and her head. She knew he loved her, but it was important to let him know how she felt and what she thought.

  “Give me a minute, girl, and I’ll get you out of the rain.”

  There must be some kind of shelter for the horse nearby, but for now, all Eppie wanted to do was open the door and see Micah. She couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face or the rapid tattoo of her heart as she pushed the door open.

  And found the cabin dark and empty.

  Micah rode like a madman, pushing himself and his horse way past their limits. Eppie didn’t know how to ride a horse; she’d never wanted to learn, either, telling him they were spawns of Satan meant to kick and bite humans. The fact that she’d made Teague teach her how to ride, then went off on her own in a humdinger of a storm to find him, made Micah’s throat close up with emotion.

  What did it mean?

  He didn’t know for certain, but he hoped it meant she was ready to talk to him, to tell him she loved him. Fanciful notions to be certain, but he could hope. Faith and hope were the only two constant companions the four years since he met Eppie. He wasn’t about to let go of either one of them.

  The rain continued to fall as an unending deluge. It ran off the brim of his hat like a curtain opening on a stage, blowing back as he tried desperately to get up the mountain, to find Eppie, or Elizabeth, or whatever she wanted to be called. She was out in the woods, alone, in unfamiliar territory with no one to help her.

  His stomach cramped every time he thought about all the terrible things that could happen to her. From animals, to mud slides, to falling off the horse and killing herself, there were a million things that could go wrong. Each and every one of them danced around in his brain, cackling madly.

  He forced the worry aside and made himself focus on the terrain in front of him so he didn’t end up knocking himself unconscious instead of trying to rescue Eppie. Failing to find her and make sure she was safe couldn’t enter his mind or he might fall apart. Micah had been struggling with what he needed and wanted, as well as all the personal demons who had taken up permanent residence in his heart ten years earlier.

  The ground was saturated which made his horse’s hooves sink into the pine needles and leaves covering the ground. He slipped occasionally but kept plodding along in the rain, proving Micah’s choice of mount was the right one. He’d never felt so scared in his life, and he fought to keep the fear down since he would be no good for Eppie if he panicked.

  It was only noon, but the storm kept the woods as gloomy as midnight. Micah hit the steepest part of the trail and realized there was at least six inches of mud to get through. This is where Teague must’ve had to turn around. There was no way any horse could carry his weight and get through the thick mud. Micah was forced to get off the horse and walk as far to the right as he could without entering the thick woods.

  It was slow going and his shoes continually stuck and slipped as he climbed. He slipped and fell, sliding down at least fifty feet. The reins slipped from his fingers while his horse watched. Micah started to lose his breath and his hold on panic as he grabbed a small pine tree to stop his slide. The bark scratched his arms and his cheek, but he held on as the water and mud slid beneath him.

  Micah took a few breaths before he attempted to get to his knees. It took him two tries, but he finally found his footing. His horse stood there and watched, blinking against the pounding rain. Micah laughed and used the trees to pull himself back up the hill to his horse. It took longer than he wanted, because he kept losing his footing and had to hang onto the trees or lose the ground he’d made up. By the time he made it to the horse, he was breathing as if he were the equine. Micah grabbed the reins and pressed his face into the horse’s neck.

  “At least you stayed put, boy.” He pushed himself into a standing position and this time took more care in climbing the hill. Micah had to resist the urge to rush, considering it had already cost him at least fifteen minutes. Hurrying again would be the worst possible thing he could do.

  It had been at least two hours since Eppie had gone up the hill. Perhaps it wasn’t as bad when she rode up. He could only hope she made it to the top of the steep incline without being hurt. His gaze constantly scanned the ground and the trees around him for a sign she’d been there, or possibly was still there.

  “Eppie!”

  His voice fell flat against the dense trees and the pouring rain.

  “Elizabeth!”

  It might make a difference if he used her given name, but he wasn’t above trying anything to find her. As he climbed the mountain, he called her name every few seconds until his throat was scratchy and hoarse. None of it mattered, however, because if he didn’t find her, he might as well let himself fall down the mountain.

  When he got within ten feet of his cabin, he spotted a hoofprint. His heart leapt into his throat and his eyes stung with tears. She’d made it this far, he was sure of it.

  “Eppie! Elizabeth! Whoever you are, please tell me you’re here!”

  Micah dropped the reins and ran toward the cabin, heedless of the bushes and branches scratching and slapping him. He nearly tripped on a tree root but caught himself in time and kept running. He listened for a response, anything that told him she was nearby. As he neared the door, he noticed a few broken branches by the door and realized she must have made it all the way and found the cabin. He shouldn’t have doubted her ability to survive, based on how she’d done with everything life had thrown in her path.

  He was almost to the door, when his right foot landed on a patch of moss and suddenly he was looking at the sky as his head came down hard on the rock tucked beneath the leaves. Blackness roared through on the heels of pain.

  Eppie had managed to start a fire in the potbellied stove and light the lantern, which was still warm, letting her know Micah had been there recently. At least she hoped it was Micah, or she was in a stranger’s cabin making herself at home. Her instincts told her this was his, though aside from that, she could smell his scent, and her body recognized it, raising goosebumps on her arms.

  In fact, when she first lit the lantern, a memory of a blue bedspread, of that very bed, bubbled up in her mind. It wasn’t her childhood bed she had remembered back at the house, it was Micah’s. She’d been there before, with him. Her mind had been trying to tell her what her heart refused to her—Micah was part of her.

  She pushed away the lingering fear from her wild ride up the mountain. The horse had followed her in the door, which was a near disaster since the animal had to squeeze herself in. She stood by the fire, with steam rising from her coat. Eppie knew Micah likely wouldn’t be happy to see a horse in his cabin, but she couldn’t leave the poor thing out in that terrible storm.

  As she stood beside the horse, rubbing her hands together and trying to dry off, she heard something above the rain. Her heart slammed against her ribs when she realized it sounded like a shout. When she heard it again, she pushed past the horse and ran for the door. She flung it open and stared out into the storm and saw Micah running toward the cabin, with her name on his lips.

  She’d finally found him. After two days of waiting and needing to see him, there he was right in front of her. He looked as wet as she was, but with his hat down, she couldn’t quite see his face. Eppie clasped her hands together and thanked whatever forces had been looking out for them, bringing them to the point where they were together.

  He almost fell but kept on running toward the cabin. He was only a short distance away when his feet slipped out from under him and he landed on the ground with a thump and a splash of water. Eppie waited for him to get up, but he didn’t.

  Worry raced through her as she stepped
back out into the pouring rain to his inert form. She hoped he’d simply knocked himself out, because anything else would be completely unacceptable. As she knelt on the ground beside him, water soaked through her new riding skirt. Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch him. His skin was clammy and wet, but beneath his wet clothing, she felt the steady thump of his heart.

  Eppie blew out a shaky breath of relief. Then it dawned on her that she had to get him out of the rain before he drowned. She stood and gauged the distance to the cabin to be about ten feet. Micah wasn’t a big man like Teague, but he was a man, tall and muscular. When she tugged on his arm, he felt like a felled tree, way too heavy for her to move alone.

  There wasn’t anyone else around to help, however, so she had to think of something else. She glanced around but didn’t see Micah’s horse, which left the mare. Likely the nearly dry horse wouldn’t want to go back out in the rain, but there wasn’t a choice. Eppie needed her help to get Micah in the cabin.

  She made her way back to the cabin and began looking for rope. There wasn’t any to be found except in the poorly strung bed. The only other usable items were wool blankets, which they’d need when they came in out of the storm.

  Eppie found a rusty knife in the kitchen and cut the rope from the bed, then tied it together to make something resembling a loop. It didn’t have to be pretty, just functional. She led the horse back to the door, and thankfully the mare didn’t shy away. The rain soaked them again and she silently apologized to the sturdy animal.

  Micah lay where she left him, still unconscious and unmoving. Eppie looped the rope around his shoulders and pulled him sideways with as much strength as she could muster until his head was facing the cabin. She sucked in a much needed breath and ignored the screaming muscles in her back and shoulders. After tying the rope to the reins, she leaned into the horse to speak in her ear.

  “I know it’s been a long day, girl, but I need you one more time. Help me save him, because I don’t think I’m going to want to ride back down the mountain without him.” She could swear she received an equine nod in acknowledgment and gave the horse a quick hug. “Okay, let’s get this done.”