Nothing about the room that Eppie awakens in feels like
homeβnot the furnishings, the ill-fitting clothes, or the
Colorado sunlight streaming in through the windows. And
certainly not the stranger with long dark hair and silver
eyes who claims to have been waiting for her for three long
years.
Micah Spalding has spent each day hoping that Eppie would
open her eyes and return to him. Yet the Eppie he loved was
spirited and outspokenβutterly different to this reserved,
aloof woman. Since her injury, Eppie has no memory of Micah
or their daughter, or of a passion that was powerful enough
to defy every convention. And though his scent and touch
trigger something deep within her, Eppie canβt bring herself
to believe in him.
Once, when war between his countrymen had almost broken him,
Eppie brought Micah back to life. Now he must find a way to
reach through the distance between them and remind her of
everything they once shared, and prove that he has belief
enough for both of themβ¦
Excerpt December 1872,
Plum Creek, Colorado
The moon hung low in the winter sky, a strange yellowish
orange color. Micah stared at it through the window of
Eppieβs bedroom, wishing the nightmare would end.
The last five months had been hell on earth and heβd endured
it, as he endured everything else in his life. There wasnβt
another choice to be made.
βYou need to come down to supper.β Orion stood in the
doorway, his stooped figure casting a shadow across the
silent room.
Micah turned to him, thankful to have the older man in the
house to help out. In fact, there was an overabundance of
help around the house. No one wanted to leave him alone again.
βBe there shortly.β
Orion appeared not to believe him. He stepped into the room
shaking his head, the tight white curls nearly glowing in
the moonlight. βSitting up here brooding isnβt going to help
Miss Eppie. Sheβs surviving and so is the babe.β
Micah wanted to snarl, scream and shout at the old man to
shut up. He knew exactly what Eppie and their unborn child
were doing, every second of every day. He didnβt need a
reminder.
βSurviving isnβt living.β He pushed away from the window.
βBut since you wonβt leave me be, Iβll come downstairs and
eat.β
βThatβd be a good thing.β Orion nodded. βMiss Candice
brought by some right tasty vittles.β
Micah wondered how heβd ever stumbled across people who
would give without expecting something in return. Candice
had been friends with Madeline Brewster, the woman who had
gifted the house to him and helped with Eppieβs medical
care. Although Madeline now lived in Denver with her
husband, others had taken on what she started. Candice now
helped with the cooking while Orion helped with the house.
Any man would be grateful for such assistance.
Micah, however, wasnβt just any man.
He leaned down and kissed Eppieβs forehead, the skin cool
from winterβs chill. Then he pressed his ear to her
burgeoning stomach, and was rewarded with a kick to his ear.
The baby was strong, like its mother.
βIβll be back soon, darlinβ.β He squeezed Eppieβs hand and
forced himself to walk away from the bed.
As Micah followed Orion out of the room and down the stairs,
he barely saw anything but the other manβs back. Life was
colorless, meaningless without Eppie there beside him. God
had seen fit to make her sleep like that princess in the
book heβd seen once in Denver. She was sleeping away her
life while he endured his.
The smell of beef filled the kitchen and Micah dutifully sat
down to eat. Orion frowned at him across the table.
βYou know, for a man who has a nice house, a beautiful
woman, and everything he could want, you are pitiful.β
Micah had to smile at the old manβs honesty. Once upon a
time, when heβd first come to live there, Orion had acted
like the former slave he was. Quiet, reserved, and quick to
obey. Now however, free from the yoke the Websters had
forced on his neck, Orion had discovered how to use his
voice and wield his opinions.
βI know. Iβm the most pitiful man in Colorado. Now eat.β
Micah shoveled the meat and potatoes into his mouth, never
tasting a bite. He should have been grateful, as Orion said,
but he wasnβt. Instead, he felt cheated, resentful, and
angry, a perfect combination for misery.
βYou plan on drinking your way to the grave?β Orion frowned,
a potato halfway to his mouth.
βNone of your business, old man.β Micah pushed away from the
table, unable to eat another bite.
Orion stopped him with a hand on his arm. βShe wouldnβt want
you to do this.β
Micah knew a lot of things about Eppie, more than most folks
could even imagine he knew. However, Orion was right. She
would blister his ears if she saw him wallowing, but he
couldnβt seem to do anything else.
βBut sheβs not here to stop me, is she?β he snapped. βIβm
done eating.β
Micah stalked away from the kitchen, heading for the parlor.
He had an appointment with a bottle and intended to keep it.
Keeping watch over his woman was a hard business and a man
had to do what he needed to do to survive.
Much later, he made his way up the stairs, mostly on his
hands and knees. The house was eerily silent, Orion long
since retired to his room at the end of the hall. Micah
crept into Eppieβs room, her scent immediately calming him.
He wiped his sweaty face and runny nose with a sleeve. This
time when he pressed his ear to her stomach, he didnβt get a
playful kick from the baby. Her belly was hard, harder than
a block of wood.
In his inebriated state, Micah didnβt know what it meant,
but he figured it couldnβt be good. When he put his hand on
her belly, it came away wet. He stared at his hand and
wondered if heβd forgotten to put the pisspot beneath her.
However, his hand didnβt smell like piss at all. It had a
unique odor, one mixed with blood and something else. In his
limited experience as a man, he hadnβt had much occasion to
be around women who were expecting a child.
It might have been the whiskey, or it might have been the
lack of sleep over the last six months that made him slow to
catch on. In either case, he stared at his hand in
befuddlement for several minutes. The truth finally slammed
into him like a brick wall.
Eppie was going to have the baby. Right then.
Micah almost blacked out for a moment as panic raced through
him. When he finally was able to get hold of his senses, he
poked his head out of the room and started shouting for
help. He couldnβt lose Eppie this time; she had survived for
so long, had nurtured the baby and stayed as healthy as any
woman would be in her situation. Birthing a child was as old
as mankind. There was no reason to think she couldnβt do it.
Of course, most women werenβt in a coma when they gave
birth. Micahβs heart beat so hard, he could barely catch his
breath. Orion poked his head in the room.
βWhatβs all the racket?β
βThe babyβs coming. Go wake Doctor Carmichael.β Micah sat
beside Eppie and decided to pray for the first time in a
long time. Heβd ignored God for years, never trusting Him to
help when needed. However, he was willing to try anything.
He fell to his knees beside the bed and pressed his closed
hands to his forehead, a penitent pose.
Save her, save the baby.
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