The Blizzard Brides Read online

  “What if we gotta go?” Little Jake said with a look of urgency on his face.

  “Gotta go?”

  “You know…”

  Understanding fell on Heather’s face. “I honestly don’t know.”

  “There is a chamber pot in the back. We’ll just have to use that and toss it out the window between uses.”

  “I gotta go now,” Jake insisted.

  “Come with me,” Millie said, leading her small charge towards the back of the school.

  Jenny returned with the linen bag. “Is this the one?” she asked, placing the doctoring bag near Heather’s feet.

  Heather nodded. “There should be two in there.”

  “Should I use both of them?”

  Heather shook her head. “I don’t know how long we will be here.”

  “Should save it for tomorrow.” Altar was rocking back and forth in the chair.

  “Are you alright?” Heather asked.

  “Just figuring if I can rock hard enough, I can get myself out of this chair.” Tommy ran over and assisted Altar from the seat. As soon as she was standing, she arched her back. “Should probably put that other bone in the wood box outside. Should be cold enough for it, and there won’t be any snow getting in there.”

  “I’ll take it,” Marcus said, taking the bag from Jenny. Jenny put one of the bones in the pot on the stove.

  “It’s going to take a while to heat up.”

  “Use some of the wood to build up the fire,” Millie said. She was blocking the back room of the schoolhouse to make sure no one disturbed Little Jake.

  Heather held out her hands and feet, trying to will feeling back into them. As Jenny fed the fire, Heather could feel her fingers finally thaw.

  “We should probably chop up some of the potatoes,” Altar said. “And I have some carrots. I got them at the mercantile, along with a bit of flour and some rice.”

  “It will be a fine soup,” Heather said.

  She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes briefly. Her breathing was still labored. She felt movement and someone lifted her arm, tucking an object underneath it. She opened one eye. Cecily had placed Miss Poppet underneath Heather’s arm.

  Heather smiled at the young girl’s gesture. Cecily rarely parted with Miss Poppet, so for her to entrust Heather with the important object, Heather was truly touched.

  “How long do you think we are going to be here?” Jenny asked.

  “Not long, I hope,” Millie replied.

  Heather closed her eyes and allowed the talking to fade into the background.

  Not long. She truly hoped that it wouldn’t be.

  Chapter Six

  Not long turned into three days.

  The sun was starting to melt the snow, but not at a pace fast enough to suit Heather. She was ready to scream. The snow only lasted a full day and night. In that short time, nearly six feet of snow had fallen. Millie and Heather took turns pushing the snow off the back porch with the broom. Unfortunately, the pump froze, and they were stuck without water. They resorted to melting snow to keep water available.

  She hoped her horse was alright. She had left plenty of food, and there was a bucket full of water. Heather prayed the water bucket in the barn didn’t freeze. Altar had already used the second bone and the last of the potatoes and carrots to feed the hungry children. Heather could see the frustration on Millie’s face as she tried entertaining her class.

  The children sat quietly and played games such as dominos and checkers. Millie had disbanded classes for the few days, much to the delight of the children.

  Fox and Geese appeared to be popular, but it was a one-person game. A green peg represented a fox and white pegs represented geese. The children moved the geese around and the fox had to jump over the goose peg so it could be removed from the board. The object was to just have the fox remaining on the board. All the children wanted to play. Millie kept a list on the chalkboard, so the children knew the order when they could play the game.

  Altar entertained the children by teaching them songs, such as Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Go Down Moses and teaching them how to knit with the bits of thread and needles she had in her bag.

  The children entertained the adults by teaching them Camp Town Races and Yankee Doodle Dandy.

  Heather didn’t know how Millie kept it all together. By now, she just wanted to cry. She was tired of sleeping in a chair. They had resorted to breaking apart the chairs, so they had firewood to burn. At least they were warm. She desperately wanted to take a bath, or at the least, wash her face.

  The children appeared to be taking it in stride. They all cried at some point. Each at different times and between Altar, Millie and Heather, no child went without a hug, or someone rubbing their back while they cried about being stuck at the school.

  Heather was looking through the window out towards the river when she noticed that the snow was melting. Quite a bit of snow and ice had fallen in the water and was now making its way downstream in large chunks. She was just about to say something when she thought she heard what sounded like scratching towards the front of the schoolhouse.

  “Did you hear that?” Heather asked Altar.

  Altar tilted her head. She bit her bottom lip as she strained to hear any sound. “I don’t hear anything,” she said.

  “Shhh!” Heather directed the children. “Everyone be quiet for just a minute.”

  The children went silent, their big eyes looking at her.

  “What is it?” Millie asked.

  “Shhh!” Heather said again, lifting her finger. There! She heard it once more. It sounded like scratching. “I think there is someone outside.” Heather moved from the window and walked to the front door. The children scrambled around her and Little Jake opened the door. The wall of snow blocking the door crumbled and fell into the foyer.

  Jake laughed as the snow hit Everett in the face.

  “Stop that,” Millie gently scolded, taking the edge of her wrap to wipe the snow from Everett’s cheeks.

  Heather used the broom to push the snow aside. It was slow going, but soon she was able to put her head out the door and look around. Her face broke into a large grin as she saw three men with shovels, working their way towards the school.

  The sun had melted much of the snow. There was only about two feet remaining on the ground. And it was more of a slush now, than the lovely white snow that Heather first saw.

  “Sheriff Applebee!” Heather shouted and waved. He straightened up and gave a wave. “Mr. Talley, Mr. McFarland! I am so happy to see you.” The other two stopped their shoveling for a moment and lifted their hands in greeting.

  “We are almost there, Mrs. Barnes,” the sheriff said.

  Heather ushered the children back inside the main room of the schoolhouse. “The sheriff should be here shortly.”

  “I want to see my Pa,” Leah said. Her brother put his arm around her and gave her a side hug.

  “We’ll get to see him soon,” Tommy said.

  It seemed like forever, but it wasn’t more than an hour before Heather could hear the shovels scraping on the porch. She raced over just as Sheriff Applebee lifted his hand to knock.

  “Oh my!” Heather exclaimed throwing her arms around the sheriff. She didn’t care if it was inappropriate or not. She was just so happy to be rescued. “I’ve never been so happy to see anyone as I am to see you three.”

  “Mighty glad to see you too,” Mr. Talley said, laughing as Heather gave him a hug.

  Mr. McFarland put up his hands in mock surrender. “No need to hug me, Mrs. Barnes. Glad we could get to you.”

  “Are you the only ones working?”

  “No,” the sheriff said. “Men and women all over town are trying to at least clear in front of their houses. The school, the church and Ranch Road are what we need to worry about right now. Then I’ll start taking a census to make sure everyone is accounted for.”

  “Can we go home?” Marcus asked stepping out on the porch.
r />   “That you can, son.”

  Marcus didn’t wait but a minute before grabbing his coat and lunch pail and taking off down the road.

  “Marcus!” Millie called. “You forgot your slate and reader.”

  Marcus didn’t turn around. “I don’t think that is as important as getting home,” Heather said softly.

  Millie turned to the children. “Let’s get on our coats and I’ll make sure everyone gets home safely.”

  “What if we can’t get home?” Emma asked.

  Millie cupped the child’s chin. “Then I guess you’ll just have to come home with me.”

  “How many children are in there?” the sheriff asked.

  Millie counted on her fingers. “Eleven. Well, ten, now that Marcus left.”

  “I’ll just need the names so I can keep track of everyone.”

  “I can write them down,” Heather offered.

  “Just you two ladies here?”

  “No,” Heather responded. “Altar is here as well.”

  “I was worried about her,” Mr. Talley said. “Told her not to leave, but she insisted.”

  “She’s safe here,” Millie said.

  “I’m glad she’s safe.”

  “We need to get going, Sheriff.” Mr. McFarland pointed towards the church. “We need to get the path done over there.”

  “Are you going to go to the carriage house?” Heather asked.

  “Wasn’t going to.” The sheriff scratched his head. “Did you need to get there?”

  Heather’s eyes ran over the bright terrain. She spied the top of her buggy peeking from the snow. “My horse is in there. My wagon is parked to the side. I don’t think I’ll be seeing that anytime soon.”

  “We’ll cut a path to the door then,” Mr. McFarland said, turning to walk back down the cleared path.

  Heather ran inside to grab her jacket and shawl. Altar had just finished stuffing the last of her yarn and needles in her bag and went to grab her jacket.

  “Can we get out?” Altar asked.

  Heather nodded. “The snow along the building is as tall as I am, but it is lower on the actual lawn. Mr. Applebee, Mr. Talley, and Mr. McFarland managed to dig a path. It looks like a tunnel. Will you be able to get back home, Altar?”

  “I don’t know. I guess we’ll see when we get out there.”

  Millie buttoned the last button on her jacket and clapped her hands. “Children grab your lunch pails. No need to get your books today. Let’s form a line and we’ll get you back to your houses.”

  The children stood in line from youngest to oldest. Mary Rose was in the front and Jenny at the rear.

  Altar and Heather went down the stairs and walked to the end of the schoolyard. Millie and the children followed right behind.

  They didn’t stay in line exceptionally long. As soon as they hit the yard, all the pails were dropped, and the children began to scatter in the snow. They made snowballs and started tossing them at each other.

  One hit Heather in the leg. She rubbed the spot through her skirt. That hurt! It was more of an ice ball instead of a snowball.

  “Children, you can play later. Let’s get you home.” Millie held out her arms, guiding her charges to retrieve their lunch pails and join Heather at the edge of the yard.

  When they reached the corner of the road, Heather turned to see the path going in front of the buildings. She could see where the men and women had cleared openings to their doors. The extra snow it appeared, was just piled into the street or in the alley ways. The snow in the park was still several feet deep and the wind created hills of snow, causing the park to look like a small mountain range.

  Millie came around the corner and gasped as she saw a huge pile of snow in the middle of the street. “That is going to take forever to melt.” She turned and called to the sheriff. “Do you know how far we can get through town?”

  Sheriff Applebee stopped shoveling. “We cleared down to Stagecoach road and up to the jail. Haven’t made it down Grand Platte Road yet. Those residents have probably started clearing it. It has melted quite a bit. Might be difficult to walk through, but you should be able to get where you need to.

  “What about Chimney Rock Ranch Road?”

  Heather watched the sheriff scratch the back of his neck. “Not yet. We just need to take care of the town.”

  A feeling of dread bubbled up in Heather’s belly. Both she and Millie lived out on Chimney Rock Ranch Road. If the snow was this high in town, she wondered how tall it would be outside of town. And she wondered about the horses and cows in the surrounding fields.

  She looked back towards the river. She could see the water moving near the far side of the river. On the other side she saw the tops of the trees but couldn’t see any of the bottoms. The snow was just as bad over there.

  Wiping a tear from her cheek she prayed her husband and the rest of the men weren’t stuck in the deep snow.

  Millie cleared her throat. “Most of it is probably drifts.” She waited until Heather nodded. “Which way are you going?” she asked.

  Heather looked both ways. “I guess we can’t go down that way,” she said, pointing towards her ranch with her medicine bag. “You head down with the children and let me get my horse.”

  “I’m going to head home if you don’t mind,” Altar said.

  “You rest up, Altar. I’ll be by in a few days to check on you.”

  Altar nodded and started towards the center of town.

  “Are you going with us, Mrs. Barnes?”

  “I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”

  Cecily switched Miss Poppet to her other arm and waved to Heather as Millie and the children walked on the icy path towards the residence area.

  Chapter Seven

  Heather watched as the men continued to clear a path to the carriage house.

  It was difficult to believe that just yesterday it was so cold that she couldn’t even go on the back steps of the schoolhouse.

  Millie took the children to their homes as Heather waited for the men to clear the path to the carriage house.

  “I wonder if everyone ended up someplace strange when the storm hit,” Heather mused. “It came in so fast. I’ve never felt a wind like that.”

  “Not everyone made it home,” Sheriff Applebee said tossing a shovelful of snow to the side.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Found plenty of people once the snow started melting. I’m starting to get reports of missing people,” the sheriff said.

  “Who’s missing?”

  “Well, I was rather surprised that Trudy Willis wasn’t here.”

  Heather wrinkled her brow. “I think she was at school. Millie said that she and Will Keegan left around the same time.”

  “Trudy never made it home.”

  “Perhaps she stayed somewhere? She could have stopped at either a store or a home and waited out the storm.” Heather offered.

  Mr. Talley shook his head. “Mrs. Willis stopped us on the way over here. Wailing like a banshee, she was.”

  “At least she fared better than Mrs. McDaniels and her baby.”

  “Winnie?” Heather asked.

  Mr. Talley nodded. “Husband was locked in the barn. Sheriff found them not even ten feet away from their front door.”

  The sheriff cleared his throat. “We are trying to get a list together of who is missing or deceased.”

  “I’ll stop by and see Mrs. Willis.” Heather’s eyes scanned down Chimney Rock Ranch Road. The snow hadn’t quite cleared enough for them to walk through. “Looks like I’ll be here a bit longer.”

  “Looks like this is done. I’m going to start over at the preacher’s house now,” Mr. Talley said.

  Heather rushed over to enter the carriage house, but Mr. McFarland blocked her way.

  “I dunno if you should go in there,” Mr. McFarland said.

  “Why not?”

  “I dunno hear no sound.”

  Heather tilted her head. Silence emanated from the smal
l shelter. She should at least hear the chuffing of the horses. “I need to see if my horse is alright.”

  She pushed aside the liveryman and opened the door. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark interior after looking at the sun reflecting off the ground.

  There should be two horses – hers and the one that was already in the stall. But she didn’t see anything. She stepped further in, afraid of what she might find.

  When she arrived at the stall, she tried to muffle her scream with the back of her hand. Both horses were dead on the ground. Heather reached down to touch her horse. She yanked her fingers back as if she were burned. The horse was frozen solid.

  Letting loose her cry, she turned and ran from the building.

  Heather caught up with Millie as she was speaking to Will Keegan. Thank goodness the boy was safe. Will spied Heather and gave her a wave. Heather waved back. She needed to wipe her face before she joined them. Using the back of her gloved hand she wiped her eyes and cheeks and then cleared her throat.

  No use inviting unwanted questions.

  “How did you make out in the storm?” Heather asked, approaching the young man. Will was sixteen years old and had a bit of a reckless streak. He didn’t take too kindly to his brother Luke going on the hunt and making Will stay at home.

  “We ran out of firewood, but we made do.”

  Millie gave Heather a glance. “We did too, but at least we could burn the furniture.”

  “I’m glad you are alright.”

  “Thanks for taking care of Livvy and Emmy. I know Ma was worried about them.”

  “I wanna go home now, Will,” Olivia said tugging on his coat sleeve.

  As Will turned to leave, Heather called to him.

  “I was talking to the sheriff. It appears Trudy didn’t make it home. Do you know if she stayed anywhere?”

  “Trudy?” Millie said.

  Will scratched his head. “I don’t know. The storm hit so quickly.”

  “If you see her, would you let her know that her parents, and the sheriff are worried?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  She watched Will guide his sisters up the porch steps and into the house. When the door shut, Millie turned to Heather. “What was that all about?”