Heartland (5 page)

“I'm afraid not. She's down a lot farther than I'd hoped. The well's not wide enough for any of us to go down after her.”

“I could try,” she said, frantic to do something. She kept envisioning Kelly growing more and more frightened the longer she was left all alone in the darkness. “I checked it earlier while I was waiting for you. I'm sure I'd fit.”

He shook his head. “No. You wouldn't make it, either.”

“How do you know? Steven, we have to do something, anything. Let me try.”

“You'd just tear your skin to shreds. Even if you made it into the well, it narrows considerably about ten feet down. You'd never get past that. I promise you I know what I'm doing. I've called for some drilling equipment.”

“Why?” she asked, then recalled the rescue of the little Texas child that had drawn international attention. “You're going to create a tunnel alongside her, aren't you?”

“We're going to try that. With any luck, it should be a simple process.”

But Lara remembered that the anguished plight of that family in Texas had gone on for more than two days. She closed her eyes, then faced him with a quiet question. “It's time I called Tommy now, isn't it?”

Steven took her hand and squeezed hard, refusing to lie to her. “I think so.”

Hating the words, but grateful for his honesty, she tried for a brave smile. It faltered and tears formed in her eyes. “Dear God, I don't think I can stand this.”

Steven's hands rested on her shoulders, and he looked evenly into her eyes. “You can. You're the strongest woman I know. Now I want you to come with me and reassure Kelly about what we're going to do. Then go call your brother.”

At the edge of the well, the men parted for her. Logan was on the ground, playing a lively song on a hand-carved whistle just like the one he'd given Lara for Jennifer. When he stopped at the sight of Lara, she heard Kelly call out for more.

“I'll play you another one later, half pint. Your Aunt Lara's here now.”

Lara dropped to her knees, then glanced up at Steven. He rested his hand on her shoulder. She took a deep, shuddering breath, then called down, “Kelly, can you hear me?”

“Aunt Lara?” The wavering words seemed to travel a great distance.

“Yes, honey, it's me.”

“I hear you, Aunt Lara, but I can't see you.” The sentence ended on a plaintive wail.

“I know you can't, baby, but I'm right here, just the same. Mr. Drake is with me, too. He's working to get you out of there.”

“I want out now!”

Lara found herself grinning at the adamant tone. “It won't be too much longer.”

“Warn her not to move around much,” Steven whispered. “I don't want her slipping any deeper.”

“Sweetheart, can you do something for me? Can you stay real still? There's going to be some loud noise in a little while, but I don't want you to be scared. It's just going to be some big machines trying to help you.”

“Will you stay with me?”

Lara glanced at Steven, but he shook his head. “I'll have to move out of the way for a little while, but Mr. Drake will be real close, and he'll check on you, okay?”

“Want you,” she said, her voice quivering.

“I won't be far away, baby, and pretty soon you'll be back up here with me.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart.” Steven touched her arm, and she looked up to see that the drilling equipment had arrived and was in place. “Kelly, I have to move now. You be really brave now, okay?”

“Okay. Bye, Aunt Lara.”

When Lara heard the spirited response, it raised a lump in her throat. She turned and found herself held in the ample arms of Terry Simmons.

“Come on, gal. You're doing just fine. Steven will take care of things from here on out.”

“I need to call Tommy.”

“Well, then, let's go do it.”

Forced to shoulder responsibility at an early age, Lara had never known what it was to rely on the strength of others. But even though she'd never exchanged more than a dozen sentences with her in the past, she found herself leaning on Terry Simmons. In her quiet, brusque way Terry kept her sane, kept her focused on what had to be done rather than what might happen. She was desperately appreciative of the older woman's company as she placed the call to Kansas City and told Tommy, in a voice that shook but didn't break, exactly what was happening with Kelly.

Tommy quickly grasped the seriousness of the situation. Thankfully he didn't waste time with accusations or hysterics. “I'll get Megan, and we'll be on the first plane.”

Lara wanted to hold out some measure of hope. “She could be out before you get here.”

“All the better. Let me go now, so I can make the arrangements.”

“Tommy.”

“Yes?”

“I'm so sorry.” This time her voice did break, and she choked back a sob.

“Don't start crying, Sis,” he begged, his own voice suddenly thick with unshed tears. “You've got to be strong until we get there. Tell our baby we love her.”

“I'll tell her,” she promised with forced bravery. “I'll see you soon.”

Once she was off the phone, she and Terry went back to the well. Watching the rescue attempt, the brisk orders Steven gave and the quick response from the volunteers, she tried to relax, to concentrate on thinking positively, but her thoughts were in turmoil. She was racked by a terrible sense of guilt.

If only she'd been paying better attention, she told herself, this would never have happened. She'd become too complacent, thinking of the farm as a safe haven for herself and her nieces. She'd forgotten all about the old wells scattered around the property. Most had been topped off for years, but as kids she and her brothers had been attracted to them. Only dire threats of punishment had kept them from trying to pry loose the tops themselves. Obviously some other children had found them an irresistible challenge, unaware that they were leaving a deadly temptation behind.

“Lara.” Steven's voice lured her back to the present. It was nearly dark now, the air cooling rapidly. Huge spotlights had been focused on the well.

“We've dug a shaft alongside her,” he explained. “I'm going to try going down to see how close we are and see what we'll have to do to tunnel across.”

“Why you?” she demanded unreasonably, needing a target for her frustration and falling instinctively back on the anger she'd felt toward him for so long. Terry Simmons stared at her in surprise. A brief shaft of hurt flickered in Steven's eyes, and she realized at once how horribly ungrateful she sounded. She sighed as she tried to grapple with tangled emotions. “I'm sorry. Thank you.”

Their eyes clashed. She expected irritation in the wake of that instant of pain, but she found instead understanding.

“It's okay,” he said. “I'm going because I know what I'm doing. The others don't.”

With bated breath she watched as the men began to lower Steven into the newly dug shaft, watched as he disappeared from view, linked to the surface only by ropes and frantic hands.

Then she watched in growing dismay as the faces of the men fell. Logan shook his head and turned away. Her heart sank to its lowest point yet as Steven reemerged alone.

Chapter Five

L
ara watched Steven's approach with a growing sense of alarm. His expression was discouraged, the lines in his face etched deeper. As he came closer, he smiled, but there was so much bone weariness in the effort she wasn't reassured at all.

“Is she d-d...?” She couldn't get the word past trembling lips.

Steven's arms came around her at once. “No. Oh, sweetheart, no. She's not dead. She was chattering to me the whole time I was down there.” His fingers brushed her cheek, and this time when he smiled, it reached his eyes. “Your niece has quite a temper. She's mad as blazes because she thinks Jennifer will get her share of the homemade ice cream you told them you'd make tonight. I swore to her that she could have all the ice cream she wanted when she got out.”

Relieved, but still not convinced that he was telling her the entire truth, she said, “But you looked so sad.”

“We ran up against a problem I hadn't anticipated, that's all. It's just going to take us a little longer to get to her than I would have liked.”

“Why?”

“The ground is rockier down there. It'll take us a while to cut our way through. I want to go slowly, so we don't make any mistakes.” He brushed the hair from her face and studied her closely. The gentle caress renewed her strength.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

“I'll be fine. Just get her out safely.”

Hour after hour the tension grew. The night dragged on interminably. Kelly's cheerful chatter diminished to tired whimpers and then nothing at all. Though Steven refused to even acknowledge the possibility, Lara feared they had lost her.

“Lara, come with me and get something to eat,” Terry insisted.

“I can't leave,” she protested wearily, though she knew if she didn't rest soon she would collapse from fatigue. The strain was telling on her. Her body ached all over from the constant tension in her muscles. Her head throbbed. There was a gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach that went beyond hunger.

“You don't have to leave. The ladies from town have set up a food tent for the men. You can eat right here.”

Lara glanced around in amazement at the makeshift kitchen that had sprung up less than fifty yards away without her even noticing. Tables and folding chairs were scattered around an area lit by lanterns. Behind a buffet table several women she recognized were serving slices of ham, scoops of potato salad and coleslaw to the workers.

Sighing, she gave in to Terry's urgings. She went over to the women, grateful beyond words for their support.

“Thank you,” she began, and then couldn't go on.

Terry interceded. “Go on and sit down. I'll bring the food right over.”

Lara found an empty chair from which she could still see the rescue operation and sank down on it. Her eyes burned from the strain of watching and waiting and from holding back scalding tears.

“Here you go,” Terry said, putting a plate down in front of her.

Lara stared at the food with disinterest.

“Eat. You ain't gonna do that child a bit of good if you go falling apart.”

“It's my fault she's down there,” Lara blurted out, almost relieved to say the words aloud. “I should have watched her more closely.”

“Honey, there's not a parent alive who doesn't think that when his child gets hurt. You go right on thinking it, even when they're grown. The truth of the matter is you can't keep watch over 'em every second of the day. There's always gonna be a time when you turn your back for just a minute. Any kid with the least bit of mischief in him is gonna use that time to slip away.”

“I feel so awful, though. Tommy and Megan trusted me. I encouraged them to leave the kids with me for the summer. I wasn't ready to part with them yet. Kelly's like my own daughter. Jennifer's just like Tommy, but Kelly reminds me of the way I used to be. Even as a baby she had so much spirit.”

“Don't you think that spirit will help her get through this?”

“But she's still so little.”

“All the more reason for hope. She's probably too young to know exactly how much danger she's in. She'll be taking her cues from you and Steven and the other men. If you can manage to put aside your own fears and treat this like an adventure, she'll hang in there.”

“God, I hope so.” Lara tried a bite of the ham under Terry's watchful gaze, then the potato salad. It could have been boiled leather for all the attention she gave it. She glanced over at the women who were putting out more food.

“Why did they come?” she asked, genuinely bewildered by their generosity. “I don't even know most of them. I mean I know their names, but I've never really gotten to know them.”

“Even though Toledo's sprawling closer all the time, this is still country. Times like this, neighbors rally around. We'd have been here for you when your mama died, too, but you made it pretty plain you wanted to be left on your own.”

Lara shook her head ruefully, recalling how her pride had kept her from accepting even a kind word back then. She could remember practically slamming the door in the faces of some of the people who had come to call. Torn apart by grief and fear of the responsibilities ahead, she had irrationally blamed everyone for her mother's death, blamed them for not helping her to shoulder the impossible burden of running a farm. If they'd helped, she'd been so sure her mother would have lived.

“I was so angry back then,” she admitted.

“You had a right to be. First losing your daddy and then your mama. We all knew how much you gave up when you came home from school to take care of your brothers. That's a heavy load for a young girl. We all admired how you pitched right in and took over here. You kept this place going as well as your daddy could have. Better, some say.”

“But I was rude and selfish in refusing your offers of help.”

“That's in the past.”

“Maybe so, but I've been thinking about the past a lot lately. I made my share of mistakes, too. I was just so afraid of relying on anyone back then. It wasn't just my parents dying, but...” Her voice trailed off when she realized what she'd been about to confess.

“Steven?” Terry prompted. At Lara's look of astonishment, the older woman smiled. “We all knew you'd fallen for him like a ton of bricks. A blind man could've seen that. Those blue eyes of yours sure did shine the minute they set on him. As for Steven, he looked like he wasn't quite sure what hit him. A man like that, a man who's been on his own, traveling around, he's not the type to give up his freedom easily, but everybody in town was taking bets on when you'd get him to the altar.”

“It didn't work out.”

“We all wondered about it when he left so suddenly. You poked that chin of yours up in the air and looked so proud, we were all sure you'd given him the boot, but that wasn't the way it was, was it?”

Lara sighed and shook her head. “He left me.”

“And now? From the way that man looks at you, my guess is he's still in love with you. Has been ever since he came back to town, assuming he ever stopped.”

“So he says.”

“But you still don't trust him?”

“How can I?” Lara's voice was wistful.

“Give it time, girl. Trust isn't something you have to give or withhold overnight. It's earned.” Lara glanced toward the well where Steven's yellow hard hat was visible in the midst of the throng of men. “Seems to me he's trying mighty hard to prove something to you. Listen with your head, but don't ignore your heart.”

Lara instinctively reached across the table and clasped the other woman's hand. She somehow felt closer to Terry Simmons than she had to any woman since her mother died. It was as though in the midst of this tragedy, she had found a friend. “Thank you. I hope we won't go back to being strangers when this is over.”

“Child, I'm always around. That husband of mine thinks a trip to the grocery is enough traveling. You just call whenever you need me.”

Just then Lara heard her name shouted by a familiar voice.

Leaping to her feet, she looked around until she saw Tommy and Megan coming toward her. Afraid to anticipate their reaction to her, she took a hesitant step forward then waited. Then Tommy opened his arms, and she ran into them. Only the desperate tightness of his embrace indicated the depth of his distress.

“How is she, Sis?”

“Steven says she's doing okay. He refuses to give up hope.”

Tommy's eyebrows rose fractionally. “Steven?”

“I had to send for him,” Lara said defensively. “He knows about this sort of thing.”

Megan shot an irritated look at her husband. “Of course, you should have called on him. Can we talk to him? I want to hear what's happening with my baby.”

Lara nodded. “I'll take you to him.” She grasped Megan's hand, and with Tommy on the other side of her, they crossed the stretch of land to the rescue site. Steven broke away from the cluster of men as soon as he saw them. He held out his hand and after an instant's hesitation, Tommy shook it.

“What have you done so far?” Tommy asked.

Quickly and unemotionally, Steven brought them up-to-date on the efforts to free Kelly. “I've got someone down there now bringing out rocks. It's tedious work, and all we can do in the meantime is wait.”

“Surely there must be something more,” Tommy said. “Don't worry about the expense. We'll find the money somehow.”

“It's not a question of money. Hell, if it were, I'd gladly pay it myself. This is just something that takes time. The last thing we want to do is rush the job and cause a cave-in.”

Megan gasped at his words. Steven instantly reached out to squeeze her hand. “Don't worry. It's not going to happen.”

“Can I talk to her?”

Steven and Lara exchanged glances. It was Lara who responded. “She's been asleep for a while now. I think all of this wore her out.”

Megan's eyes widened, and for the first time the realization of her daughter's danger hit her fully. She bit her lip and gazed helplessly up at Tommy, then back at Lara. “Are you sure...are you really sure she's asleep?”

Lara swallowed her own doubts and embraced her sister-in-law. “I believe that with all my heart.”

“What about Jennifer?” Tommy asked. “Who's taking care of her?”

“She's at my house,” Steven said. “Mrs. Marston, my housekeeper, is with her. You're welcome to go over there and spend some time with her. It'll be a while before anything happens here.”

Megan nodded. “I need to see her.”

Tommy looked so torn that Lara finally stepped in. She could readily understand Megan's need to see for herself that her other child was all right. “I'll take her,” she told Tommy. “You stay here and do what you can to help.”

He looked at her gratefully. “Thanks, Sis. Tell Jennifer I love her.”

Outside Steven's house, Lara found herself slowing her steps. Megan regarded her curiously. “Are you okay?”

“I just never thought I'd be setting foot inside this house.”

Even though it was well past midnight, Mrs. Marston had apparently been awake. She threw open the front door just then. “Is there any word on the little one yet?”

“Not yet, I'm afraid. I'm Lara Danvers.”

“I recognize you, girl,” she said readily, and Lara assumed it was because she'd seen her around town. It wasn't until they were upstairs that she realized it was more than that. As Megan went in to sit beside her sleeping daughter, Lara couldn't resist peeking into the master bedroom to see if it had been built the way she and Steven had planned it all those years ago. What she found took her breath away.

The bay window had exactly the view they'd envisioned, the window seat deep and padded with comfortable cushions. The bed was large enough to readily accommodate two tall people with a penchant for tossing in their sleep. It was what she found on the stand beside the bed that really threw her, though. In a small silver frame there was a copy of the one picture ever taken of her and Steven together. No wonder the housekeeper had recognized her. It must have puzzled her all these years to see a picture of a woman who lived so near yet never appeared in person.

Lara picked up the picture and carried it with her as she walked around the room. She remembered the morning it had been taken. It had been a few days after Christmas. Sun had sparkled on the icicles dangling from the barn roof and on the fine layer of snow that had dusted the ground. She and Steven had been riding hard, their breath visible in the cold air. When they galloped back to the barn, they found Tommy there playing with the inexpensive camera that had been his Christmas present. He'd insisted on taking a picture of the two of them. Lara's hair was in golden disarray, her cheeks colored pink by the wintry chill in the air. Steven had looked bigger and bolder than ever in his jeans and sheepskin jacket. The expression in his eyes had been that of a lover. Tommy, for all his lack of skill with a camera, had managed to capture the secret smile that passed between them. It was a stirringly sensual picture.

She carried it with her as she wandered into the master bathroom. Turning her gaze from the picture she discovered a huge tub and, to her absolute delight, a skylight.

“So we could always see the fireworks,” Steven murmured startling her.

Lara whirled around. He was standing in the doorway watching her, an unreadable expression on his face.

“You remembered,” she said softly.

“Sentimental, huh?”

“It's something I would never have guessed about you, but I like it.”

“You found the picture, too?”

She held it out guiltily. “Sorry. I'm afraid I was snooping.”

“It doesn't matter. Do you like the house?”

“I love it.”

“I built it for you.” When she would have spoken, he held up his hand. “I know. I wasn't sure you'd ever set foot inside the place, but I wanted to be prepared. I couldn't do any less than what we'd talked about.”