“We asked Zach to distract you on purpose, Lucille, so we could finish the quilt,” McKenzie confessed. She felt a seed of pride sprout within her to be married to the man who had helped to make the surprise possible.
“Oh, dear,” said Lucille. “And here I was, complaining about being late and blaming Zach. He sure had me fooled! Why, my first inclination was to let him know how I don’t appreciate being tricked, but now I’m having second thoughts. McKenzie, I don’t think you know what a gem you have in Zach.”
“Speakin’ of Zach, McKenzie, how is married life treating y’all?” asked Eliza.
Before McKenzie could stop the words, they came tumbling from her mouth, sounding more plaintive than grateful. “Zach gave me a foal as a wedding present.”
“Oh, my! A foal?” asked Eliza. “What a grand idea! I love to ride horses and all.” She paused. “’Course, Billy Lee forgot to give me a wedding gift.”
“I don’t even think Orville realized it was proper etiquette,” said Diane. “But that was more than two decades ago, and he’s such a sweet man that I don’t hold that against him.”
“I love my husband, but he didn’t give me something as special as a foal for a wedding gift,” said Myrtle.
“Fred gave me a cactus plant,” spouted Lucille. “He said he bought it from some traveling salesman passing through town—you know, those snake-oil salesmen who peddle everything from tonics and potions to useless and unneeded items? The salesman said it came all the way from Mexico. Balderdash, I say! I must admit, a cactus plant was not what I was expecting. Fred said he thought I would like it. Nothing could be further from the truth! And that ornery plant—hard to kill since it was as hardy as they come. I couldn’t even give it away and ended up suffering with the ownership of it for years.” Lucille waved her hands in the air in dramatic fashion. “So, you are fortunate, McKenzie, to have received a foal for a wedding gift.”
“With a shortage of worthy men in this town, you are particularly blessed to have married Zach,” added Marie.
Lucille nodded. “I fully agree. If I’d have been a few years younger and unmarried, I would have chased Zach until I caught him. As it is, I’m old enough to be his mother, and...and I ended up marrying Fred.” Lucille sighed. “Alas, you can’t change history. However, I must say, this quilt is delightful and so appropriate, since I’m the one who arranged the happy marriage between Zach and McKenzie.”
“We thought you could hang it on the wall in the mercantile to advertise your services,” suggested Rosemary.
“That’s a lovely idea. Simply lovely.” Lucille held the quilt to her chest. “After all, I do feel proud that I was so successful in arranging Zach and McKenzie’s wedding.”
“Yes, and many more weddings to come, we’re sure,” said Diane.
McKenzie listened to the exchange between the women. Gazing at the quilt she’d helped sew, she read the words over again: “Lucille’s Love Connections: Finding True Love for the Eligible Bachelors of Pine Haven.” A deep ache began to settle in her heart. Everyone at the quilting circle, as well as many of the townsfolk, had deemed Lucille’s matchmaking between Zach and McKenzie a great success. But none of them knew that McKenzie had responded to the ad with every intent to marry Zach, rescue her sister, and take her back to Boston. None of them knew how she’d determined not to be attracted to Zach—and how the love blossoming between them had thrown a wrench in her plan. How could she have known that her quest to find Kaydie would lead her instead to a desirable, handsome, godly husband?
***
Thoughts of her sister brought McKenzie back to the present. “I sure wish we would hear something about Kaydie,” she said. “I pray every night that the Lord will bring her back to us. I pray that she is safe—and that she’s still alive.” McKenzie’s voice caught on the last word. What if McKenzie was too late, and Kaydie was dead?
“We will hear something, McKenzie; I’m sure of it. The advertisement is bound to do some good. It’s in a lot of papers across the Territory, and a lot of people read those papers. Someone has to know her whereabouts.”
“What if she’s no longer in the Montana Territory?” McKenzie could envision Darius dragging Kaydie to California or Texas.
“Trust the Lord that we will find her, McKenzie. He loves Kaydie even more than you do.” Zach reached for McKenzie’s hand. “I pray every night, too. I know how important your sister is to you. We have to remember that the Lord sometimes works in ways we might never have expected. It could be that way with Kaydie. We may find her where we least expect to.”
“You’re right, Zach.” McKenzie sat back in her chair and gazed up at the stars. Somewhere, whether it was in Montana Territory or in Nebraska, whether in Missouri or the Oklahoma Territory, Kaydie was under the same sky. Please, Lord, bring us back together, she prayed. And, Lord, please help me when I must say good-bye to this man who has captured my heart.
***
Three days later, McKenzie was awakened early in the morning by Davey, crying outside her bedroom door. She jumped out of bed. “Davey, what’s wrong?” she asked, flinging open the door.
“It’s Duke. He’s—he’s d-dead,” Davey sobbed, burying his face in McKenzie’s nightgown.
“What?” McKenzie couldn’t fathom the thought of Davey’s beloved pet not being around anymore. “Are you sure?”
“Yes…Pa—Pa s-said so.”
“How did it happen?” McKenzie asked. She got down on her knees and held Davey’s head in her hands. Seeing him so sad made her feel as if her heart might break.
“We—we don’t know. Pa says maybe—maybe ’cause he’s old, or maybe he—he ate something he shouldn’t have. Ma, I want him back!” Davey wailed uncontrollably.
“Oh, Davey, I’m so sorry.” McKenzie began to cry with him. She would miss the dog who’d guarded the ranch so faithfully and had provided hours of playtime with Davey. She held Davey in a tight embrace, trying to console him.
“Davey?” came Zach’s voice. McKenzie looked up to see him standing at the top of the stairs.
“I want Duke back, Pa!” Davey wiped his nose with the back of his hand. His little body shook, and McKenzie sat on the floor and held him in her lap.
***
Zach hung his head. This was a part of fatherhood he hadn’t prepared for in the least. He walked over and sat down with McKenzie and Davey. “I know you want Duke back, son, but he’s not coming back. He was a good dog, and we loved him dearly, but he was old.”
“But he can’t die. I loved him all my life,” Davey wailed.
“I know, son.” Zach knew of nothing else to say to ease the pain in his son’s heart. He prayed for words of consolation. “He’ll need to be buried. Would you help me do that?”
“No! I don’t want him buried!” Davey clung to McKenzie and continued to cry.
“Then, would you help me make a cross to put on his grave?” Zach asked. As much as he’d loved Duke, he knew it was nowhere near the love his son felt for the retriever.
Davey nodded. “Yes, but I don’t want to see him dead again.”
“You won’t have to. I’ll ask Asa or Jonah to help me bury him. But I would like your help in making the cross.”
“All right,” Davey said. He climbed from McKenzie’s lap into Zach’s and wrapped his arms around Zach’s neck, burying his teary face in his shirt. “I wish he wouldn’t have died.”
“We all wish that, Davey.”
“Wait a minute,” McKenzie said. She slowly rose to her feet and disappeared into her room. “Davey, I have something for you,” she said when she returned moments later and sat back down again.
Davey sniffled and turned his head toward her. “What is it?”
“It’s a ball. I thought you might like it. Children in Boston throw these back and forth and play games with them. I know it won’t bring Duke back, but maybe it’ll help you feel a little bit better.”
“Thank you,” Davey said gloomily, reaching for the ball. “I hope nothing ever happens to you or Pa.”
“That’s not something for you to worry about, son,” Zach said. “God is in control, and He has His hand of protection on our family.”
***
McKenzie watched as Zach got to his feet and picked Davey up in his arms, then carried him down the stairs. She sat for a minute longer on the hardwood floor, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. Someday, she would leave the ranch. Someday, she would leave Zach and Davey behind. If Davey expressed so much sadness over the loss of a dog, his grief over losing her would be unbearable. McKenzie swallowed hard. The grief of leaving Zach and Davey would be unbearable for her, too.
That night, Kaydie told the story of her predicament to Ethel, the woman who had so graciously offered her a place to stay. She began with how she’d fallen in love with Darius when he was visiting Boston and how he’d made promises to her. She told of Darius’s dragging her to the Montana Territory, where he’d begun treating her badly and made her feel like a prisoner in her own marriage. She told of how he’d robbed banks to make a living and was a fugitive from the law, and how she’d been trapped and powerless to do anything about the situation. Tears filled Kaydie’s eyes as she explained how she’d hoped that her sister, McKenzie, had received the few letters she’d been able to send to Boston. Under Darius’s ever-watchful eye, it had been no easy task to mail the missives that were Kaydie’s only connection to the family she longed for. Of her family members, McKenzie was the one she loved and missed the most, and she hoped that her sister still cared for her.
Ethel did her best to comfort Kaydie. Over the next several days, she made sure Kaydie got plenty of rest, healthy food, and prayer, along with a few heaping doses of God’s Word. It was Ethel’s nature to help those who needed to be rescued, just as she, herself, had needed to be rescued a time or two. She took Kaydie to the doctor, who confirmed that she was four months pregnant and said the baby and Kaydie both appeared to be healthy. Without Ethel’s intervention, Kaydie thought, she wouldn’t have made it through this time of solitude and uncertainty.
The following week, Kaydie walked with Ethel to the mercantile in Wheeler. As Ethel gathered the items on her list, Kaydie reached for the copy of the Wheeler Gazette that she’d set aside and found a seat by the door, then began leafing through the thin newspaper. The front page included an article about Darius’s foiled bank robbery and his subsequent death. Kaydie read it through, without emotion:
A man identified as Darius Kraemer attempted to rob the Wheeler Town Bank on Tuesday, August 18. As he exited the bank, he pulled out a weapon and threatened Sheriff Lionel Powell, who outdrew him and fired the fatal shot.
There has been a reward for information leading to the arrest of Darius Kraemer, age 23, for more than two years. He has allegedly robbed several banks throughout the Montana Territory, causing combined losses of approximately $4,000.
Thankful that she’d suffered no repercussions because of her link to the outlaw, Kaydie turned the other two pages of the Gazette. An advertisement on the last page caught her eye:
Looking for one Kaydie Worthington Kraemer, last known residence: Canfield Falls in the Montana Territory. If you have any information about her whereabouts, please contact Zach or McKenzie Worthington Sawyer at the Sawyer Ranch in Pine Haven. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Kaydie blinked her eyes and reread the advertisement three times. Finally, the information sunk in, and she nearly dropped the paper in a mixture of shock and delight. Tears fell from her eyes, smearing the ink on the page. Kaydie wiped the damp spots on the new dress Ethel had given her.
“Whatever is the matter, dear?” Ethel asked. She’d just paid for her purchases and was coming toward the door.
“She’s looking for me,” Kaydie said, tears filling her eyes.
Ethel shifted her bag of goods, then ushered Kaydie out of the store and sat her down on a bench outside.
“Who’s looking for you, dear?” Ethel asked.
“M-my s-sister, McKenzie. She’s—she’s looking for me,” Kaydie stuttered through her tears.
“That’s a good thing, right?” Ethel said, smiling warmly.
“Yes, it’s a v-very good thing,” Kaydie sputtered, her voice choked from crying and laughing at the same time.
“Praise God!” Ethel said, lifting her hands skyward. “Where is your sister now? How can we get you to her?”
“She’s in a town called Pine Haven. Oh, Ethel, I can’t believe this! I wondered for so long whether she’d received the letters I’d mailed. I wondered if she had disowned me, as the rest of my family probably has, for eloping with Darius. And now, to think….” Kaydie clutched the newspaper to her chest. “I think she might even have married someone in Pine Haven. Can you believe that? My sister, McKenzie, long bent on marrying a wealthy Bostonian and climbing the ranks of high society, may have married someone in Pine Haven!” Kaydie unfolded the Wheeler Gazette and showed Ethel the advertisement. “It says here to contact Zach or McKenzie Worthington Sawyer. Oh, Ethel, I can’t wait to see her again!”
Ethel scanned the advertisement. “Well, I’ll be! I’m so happy for you, Kaydie. Now, let’s make plans to get you home.”
***
“This is all I have to pay my fare,” Kaydie said, removing the thin, gold band from her left ring finger.
“That will do just fine, won’t it?” Ethel asked her sons, Abe and Amos, whom Kaydie had just met.
“That’ll do, Ma,” Amos answered with a nod.
“Fine, then. When will you be able to take her to Pine Haven?” Ethel asked.
Abe scratched his head. “I think we’ll be taking the stagecoach that way next Wednesday.”
“Is that the soonest?” Ethel asked. “This girl has been needing to find her sister for quite some time.”
“That’s only a week away, Ma. It’s the best we can do. Now, if she wants to go to Nevada City or Elkhorn, instead, it would be sooner,” Amos explained. “But, as for Pine Haven, it won’t be until next Wednesday.”
Ethel sighed. “Well, then, I guess we’ll be satisfied with next Wednesday. We’ll make sure Kaydie is all packed and ready to go first thing Wednesday morning.” Ethel turned to Kaydie and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. “Kaydie, my sons will take good care of you. I’ve traveled with them many times when they’ve had an extra seat in the stagecoach.”