Hidden Blessing

“Ah, come on, now, I wasn’t that bad.”

“No, you weren’t.” She grinned at him. “Just heading down the wrong road. It was a miracle, for sure, the way you made a U-turn when you came back to the ranch to live.” Her smile faded a little. “I know it wasn’t easy for you, but the Lord wasn’t about to cut you free.”

“Yep, He had a lasso on me, for sure,” Ward admitted, remembering how hard he’d fought, trying to follow his destructive godless path in the college town where he’d been working. Both Laura and her husband had been there for him when he’d passed through his Gethsemane three years ago. After his wife, Valerie, had died and left him with an infant daughter to raise, he’d moved with Tara to the family ranch so that his older sister, Beth, could help raise his little girl. Since then, he’d learned to live in the moment and trust divine guidance to take care of the rest.

Ward gave Laura’s plump shoulders a quick hug. “You’re the prettiest gal around. If you weren’t already taken, I’d throw my hat in the ring.”

Laughing, she gave him a playful shove. “Your sweet talking is wasted on me. Now, you and Ted get busy setting up these cots before I think of some more work to keep the two of you out of trouble.”

They had just finished that job when Ward spied the California woman sitting all by herself. Her apparent indifference to the plight of others around her was disappointing but not unfamiliar. When he’d gone off to college, he couldn’t wait to leave home. Like the prodigal son, he’d thrown off all restraints and concern about others. Living campus life to the fullest, he forgot about the firm Christian values in which he’d been raised, and when he’d married his last year in college, it had been without any consideration except that he liked Valerie more than any girl he’d met, and they had a good time together. Her death when Tara was only two had left him emotionally bankrupt, and he’d come home to find himself. He didn’t know what the emptiness in the pretty stranger’s life might be, but he recognized the sign of a soul shut off from its source of peace and happiness.

“Do you know who that young woman is?” he asked his eighteen-year-old ranch hand, who usually had an eye out for any attractive female who wandered into town.

“Nope.” Ted shook his curly black head. “Haven’t seen her before. She must be new around here.”

“I know she’s staying at one of those summer homes on the north ridge,” Ward offered. “She drives a fancy sports car with a California license, but that’s all I know about her.”

Ted grinned. “Well, if you’re interested, boss, there’s only one remedy for that. Go talk to her.”

Ward wasn’t sure that interested was the right word. Curious, perhaps. Responding to Ted’s knowing grin, he took up the challenge. “You know something? I think I will.”

Shannon had stayed pretty much to herself during the long hours of waiting, wandering aimlessly around the school or sitting in a corner of the gym. When she saw Ward coming in her direction, she instantly recognized him. Oh, no, she thought, silently, as he wove his way through the crowd toward her. Now that she understood the scope of the emergency, she was a little ashamed of herself for challenging his authority. Not that she was about to apologize. He’d been secretly laughing at her all the time, and she knew it.

He seemed to know just about everyone. She watched him scoop up a little girl for a quick hug, and a moment later he planted a kiss on the forehead of a grandmotherly lady. An attractive young woman dressed in western pants, a plaid shirt and cowboy boots pushed toward him and said something that made them both laugh. As Ward tweaked her chin in a playful fashion, she looked at him with a soft expression that betrayed a strong affection.

Watching them, Shannon was filled with an emotion she refused to identify as strangely akin to envy. Jerking her eyes in another direction, she scolded herself for being interested in this cowboy’s personal life.

So he had a sweetheart or wife, so what?

“Hello, again.” He greeted her with a warm familiarity as he suddenly stood in front of her. “I see you found the school all right.”

Looking into his tanned face with its high cheekbones, firm straight nose and strong jawline, she was terribly aware of how much she wanted to mend fences with him. But she was equally determined to show him she wasn’t some whimpering damsel in distress.

“It was a challenge,” she answered lightly. “But I managed not to get lost.”

“I suspect you always know where you’re going.”

“Yes, I do,” she answered. If he was trying to get a rise out of her, she wasn’t going for the bait. “I’ve heard rumors that the wind has shifted, and the roads might be opened in the morning.”

He nodded. “Could be. I guess it depends on whether things stay the same during the night.”

“And if they do?” she asked hopefully.

“Well, I reckon that they’ll give the okay for people who live in the area to pay a quick visit to their homes. Most of them didn’t have time to bring very much with them when they were ordered to vacate.” He sobered. “It’s not easy to decide what’s important when you’re under that kind of pressure.”

“Are you one of the displaced?” she asked, wondering if he was personally involved or just volunteering to police the road.

“Nope, I’m one of the lucky ones. My ranch is farther up the valley. God willing, we’ll be spared.”

When he said, we, she glanced at his ring finger. No gold band. Feminine curiosity made her wonder who the young woman was who had hugged him with such ardor.

“Have you met any of the other folks?” he asked. Something about her obvious withdrawal from everyone around her challenged Ward to do something about it. “Why don’t you let me introduce you around, Miss—”

“Shannon Hensley. Thanks, but I’ve decided to leave as soon as the main road opens, whether I can get my belongings from the rented cottage or not.” Where she would go was another question, but she knew she wanted to see the last of Beaver Junction as quickly as possible.

“And you’ll be heading back to California?”

“No. Not right away,” she said, smothering a sigh. It was ironic, really, that she was sitting in a crowded gym with a bunch of homeless people and had no idea what she should do next. She’d spent a month applying to every high-tech company on the West Coast without even getting a nibble for a new position. She’d temporarily rented her expensive beachfront apartment, left her résumé with several employment agencies and made arrangements to come to Colorado to spend some quiet time. She wasn’t about to admit to this stranger that she was without home, family or close friends. “I haven’t made up my mind exactly where I’ll go.”

Her voice was firm enough, but Ward could see the shadow of worry in her attractive eyes, which seemed to constantly change colours from gray to smoky blue. She was wearing a dress in a shade of yellow that brought out sun-bleached highlights in her hair, and in his opinion, her figure was as eye-catching as any pictured on the cover of a woman’s magazine. Why would such a California beauty end up alone in a place like Beaver Junction, he asked himself? He would have thought that fancy resorts in Aspen or Vail would be more her style.

“Do you need to let your family or anyone know that you’re all right?” he asked, in an obvious attempt to learn more about her personal background.

“No, there’s no one,” she replied quickly. “Since my parents died, I only have one aunt I communicate with once in a while. Thank you, but I can handle this situation nicely by myself.”

Her lovely chin jutted out at a belligerent angle, and he hid a smile. There was something of a stubborn child about her that both appealed to him and irritated him. “There’s no need to be afraid—”

“I’m not afraid.” She flared at the insinuation. “I just want to get out of this place as quickly as I can. One night cooped up here with all these people will be all I can take.”

“I see. Well, good night then,” he said politely. Her apparent indifference to the plight of others around her sparked the urge to handle her the way he would a stubborn mare. It was a good thing she wasn’t going to be around long enough for a battle of wills.

Left alone, Shannon had a moment of regret that she hadn’t kept him talking to her. Nobody else had tried to strike up a conversation with her all afternoon. She knew they were caught up in the perils of their situation, and even though she sympathized with their worries and anguish, she wasn’t up to all the commotion and crush of humanity crowded together, breathing the same air and having no privacy. The whole situation was some kind of unbelievable nightmare.

As Shannon’s eyes followed Ward’s tall figure across the gym, she saw him stop to talk to a plump, gray-haired woman. During their conversation, the woman nodded, and her gaze darted in Shannon’s direction. Shannon was positive they were talking about her.

She stiffened. What was Ward Dawson telling the woman? How dare he repeat any of their conversation? She knew then that she shouldn’t have revealed so much about her family situation and indefinite plans. Shannon began simmering. She was an outsider, and fair game for the rumor mills. She could imagine what fun the small-town gossips would have speculating about her private affairs.

Shannon braced herself when Ward left the gym, and the woman to whom he’d been talking made her way purposefully toward her. Shannon knew then that her suspicions had been right.

“Hi, I’m Laura Cozzins, the reverend’s wife,” the woman said, introducing herself in a friendly, breezy manner that matched the smile on her broad face. “Sorry I haven’t had time to say hello before now. Ward told me he’s a friend of yours and that you’d love to help us in the cafeteria. We’ll be setting out some food pretty soon now, and I’m grateful that you’ve volunteered to help.”

Volunteered to help? Shannon was speechless and utterly aghast at the number of lies Ward Dawson had squeezed into one sentence. He wasn’t a friend, nothing had been said about her helping, and she hadn’t volunteered for anything.

“Come on, dear, and I’ll show where the kitchen is.” Laura smiled at Shannon. “We’ve really got our hands full. The Red Cross ladies are doing all they can, but more displaced families are arriving all the time. Two more hands will be a great help, and God bless you for offering to help.”

Shannon managed a weak smile. Telling the preacher’s wife the truth would have been too embarrassing under the circumstances. She rose to her feet and followed the preacher’s wife into a hot, crowded kitchen.

For the next two hours, Shannon cut up a gigantic mound of potatoes for French fries, cooked them in boiling oil, then served them to a seemingly never-ending line of refugees.

She was hot, sweating and had aching muscles by the time all the stranded families had finished eating. When it was time for the volunteer help to sit down at the tables, Shannon had little appetite left. Ignoring the food that had been prepared, she searched the kitchen and found one of the bananas that had been in her confiscated grocery sack.

Like a fugitive escaping, she slipped out the kitchen door. Outside the building, a night breeze bathed her perspiring face with blessed relief. A faint glow on the far horizon marred the dark night sky, and the cool air was tinged with the odor of burned wood. As she walked around the building, eating her banana and enjoying the blessing of being alone, she prayed that the wind was blowing the fire back on itself.

She didn’t see the small figure on the sidewalk ahead of her until she heard a childish voice calling in a whisper.

“Pokey! Pokey, where are you?”

As she came closer she saw a little boy about four years old standing in the middle of the walk. When he heard Shannon’s footsteps, he turned quickly and came running up to her.