Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,79

Ridge’s latest wound and swabbed it good with antiseptic.

The instant she secured the bandage, Ridge got to his feet and hollered out the back door. “Bodie, saddle my horse!” Then he raced upstairs for a clean shirt.

Addie stood at the kitchen door and handed him an old hat, since the storm had taken his new one. “Find them.”

“I’ll do my best.” Ridge gave her a peck on the cheek and hurried out. A second later, he and Bodie galloped away from the house.

She stood in the eerie stillness, the strange odor of the storm engulfing her. The house carried the same horrible stench of something dead. The bent elm tree in the yard had been stripped of every inch of bark. She’d never seen anything like that, or the long pole speared clear through the tree’s trunk, as though driven in with a giant hammer.

The magnitude of what they’d escaped overwhelmed her, and she sat at the table, her head in her hands. Her brush with death played over in her mind, and tears burned the back of her eyes. Rebel must be frantic to find her children. Those poor little dears.

First order of business was getting cleaned up, then she’d head over to the Lassiter house to see what she could do. She bustled upstairs to the bathing room and drew water. Her upper body was a mass of bruises, stinging cuts and scrapes that the tepid water soothed. After soaking for a few minutes, she tackled her hair, scrubbing her scalp with both hands. Two washings removed a portion of the dirt and something that resembled black tar, but a lot was still embedded. As Ridge had predicted, it would come out in time.

Her hair dried during the muddy ride, and she dismounted at the Lassiter home. It had been hit worse than theirs and was missing its entire roof.

Rebel stood in the yard holding little Rafe, surrounded by a half-dozen women from the town. The former saloon girl’s red-rimmed eyes held worry. “Thank you for coming, Addie.”

“I’m so sorry, Rebel. I came to see if there’s anything I can do.” Addie patted the baby’s leg and got a slobbery smile in return. Now that she was there, she could see that Rebel needed far more than the piddly help she could offer. Everyone seemed in shock.

Tally strode over, red tendrils of hair blowing in the breeze. “You can help sort their belongings, Addie. We’re putting them in two piles—one is immediate things the family will need while they’re living at the hotel, and the other is for things to store until they rebuild their house.”

“I’ll be happy to. How did the town fare, Tally?”

“The tornado bypassed the town, thank heavens. It only hit out here where there’s no protection. The McClain place is even worse than this. It pretty well reduced their home to matchsticks. Nora and some of the other women are working over there.” Tally shielded her eyes with a hand. “I love the sound of your voice! How does it feel having it back?”

“There were so many things I had wished I could say, and now I can.”

Tally’s worried gaze wandered to Rebel. Clearly, her attention was on their friend even as she made other conversation. “I’m overjoyed for you. Ridge said you and he got caught out in the open during the twister. That must’ve been terrifying.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that. I thought we were going to die. We probably would’ve without a ravine nearby to jump into. Even so, the wind embedded a two-inch piece of metal in Ridge’s back.”

Rebel gasped. “He didn’t mention that.”

“Of course not.” Tally chuckled. “He’s like Clay—thinks it so minor, it’s not worth talking about.”

“Exactly.” Addie didn’t ask about Ely and Jenny. She could tell by the long faces there’d been no word, and the last thing Rebel needed was a reminder that her children had vanished. Addie reached for a different topic. “Ladies, as a new member of your committee, I vote to postpone the Harvest Dance. We really have nothing much to celebrate right now.”

Both women agreed, and Tally added, “Nora said the same thing earlier. Besides, Clay is working on a way to have the affair inside the barn, which will be a lot better.”

“Wonderful!” At first, Addie had thought it odd that they had only one big barn to serve the entire town, but Ridge had told her the lack of space had made sharing necessary. A community barn. A community fire.