She wasn’t certain her legs would hold her up when she hit the ground.
He steadied her with a hand on her upper arm. “You all right?”
“They’re fighting. Trying to keep my father’s men from the house, I think.” Her ankles buckled in the snow, and she gripped Eric’s shoulder hard to keep from going down.
Naomi slipped herself under Grace’s other shoulder. “Come in and get warm while you tell us everything.” She wrapped an arm tight around Grace’s waist.
Supported between the two of them, she hobbled to the door and up the step. The heat inside swept over her, making her bones go weak once more.
“Sit by the fire.” Patsy motioned to the rocking chair. “Ruby’s still asleep.”
Guilt pressed in as she sat. She’d barely thought of her daughter through those long night hours. Getting Sampson home alive had been her focus. Now, she managed a “Thank you.”
“What happened?” Eric asked as Jude and Miles emerged from the bed chamber where they must have laid Sampson. “We’ll ride out and help them, but it’d be good to know what we’re walking into.”
Grace tried to order her scattered thoughts. "We rode to the camp where Two Stones had taken Sampson. Jonah and Jericho met us there and said Sampson had been caught.”
“So they’re all right? Jonah? And Jericho?” Patsy’s voice broke in.
She glanced up at the woman, who stood with Angela, a little behind the men. The hope, the tentative relief on her face pressed in Grace’s chest. She’d not even thought about them worrying about the other men. Patsy was Jonah’s intended, and their wedding was to happen in a matter of weeks.
She gave an apologetic smile. “Last I saw them, Jonah and Jericho were well. Worried and angry. But not hurt.”
Patsy gave a small nod, but her lips rolled in as though she might cry. Poor woman.
“How many men are in the camp? How did you get Sampson free?” Jude’s questions drew her back to her retelling.
She finished her story, being as thorough as she could. There wasn’t much to tell though. She’d only glimpsed the campfires through the branches from where Two Stones told her to wait, mounted and ready to ride any second. The other men had tied their horses nearby. They’d hoped to all escape quietly once Two Stones freed Sampson, but that first shout had told her the plan went awry.
The moment Two Stones appeared through the trees, her husband over his shoulder, she’d nearly lost control of her tears. So much relief. And so much fear that he’d been shot.
“Did Sampson say anything? Did he hear their plans while he was in the camp?” Miles spoke up for the first time.
She shook her head. “He’s not been conscious since I’ve seen him.” A thought slipped in. “Except… he said a few words. Almost like fever delirium. I think he said my father’s name. And McPharland’s.” She thought back through those long, dark hours. “I think he saidmine, but I’m not sure. He was hard to understand.”
Eric turned to the other men. “Ready then?”
They all started for the door, even Clara’s Uncle Hiram. Clara and Angela met them there to say farewell. Naomi must be back in the bed chamber with Dinah, helping care for Sampson. Grace should join them. See if there was anything she could do.
Instead of going to the door to see Gil off, Jess sank into the chair beside Grace and handed her a steaming mug. “This should help warm you. Lillian’s finishing up breakfast. I’m sure you’re starved.”
Grace took a sip but couldn’t help glancing at Jess’s face to check her expression. Had something happened between her and Gil? Why didn’t she go to say goodbye to him?
Maybe Jess overheard her thoughts, for she said, “We’d already talked about what to do if we got news the danger was coming this way. Gil will stay here to help guard the house while Jude, Eric, Miles, and Hiram ride out to help the others. They’ve had horses ready in the barn and supplies packed.”
Ahh. That made sense.
Jess’s expression turned a little sheepish, and she looked down at her hands. “Gil’s barely left the yard since I came here. He’s determined to be ready if my father comes.”
She lifted her gaze, and pain glistened in her eyes. “It was really bad, that night we escaped the caves. Gil had been beaten nearly as bad as Sampson, and my father had guards blocking all the exits.” Sadness thickened in her expression. “Your father was one of the guards. He stood watch right outside our room. We tried to sneak out through the grass, but he saw us. Somehow, God brought Jude, Miles, and Two Stones at just the right time to whisk us to safety.” She let out a long breath, as though still releasing the fear from that night. “It’s a wonder, how we got away. And I think Gil’s been waiting every minute for the counterattack. He’s determined to protect me no matter what.”
Her expression softened into the start of a smile, but the sadness lingered. “It’s hard, knowing your own father is the one putting the people you love in danger.”
The pain deep inside her edged outward, like cracks in ice, spreading from her center. Jess hadn’t meant Grace’s own father, but she might has well have. The man whose attention and love she’d craved most of her life was now attacking the people who’d taken her in. Who protected her and Ruby. The people she was coming so quickly to love. Especially Sampson.
Before she could respond, the door closed behind Eric, Jude, Hiram, and Miles, settling the room in relative quiet.
Gil sank into a chair at the window, rifle in hand and his focus through the glass.
