To Win Her Heart

  Another group huddled near one of the cranes used for lowering blocks of limestone from the rim to the base of the pit. Recognizing the sheriff, Levi dismounted and led his horse to the corral that housed the draft animals used for transporting dressed stone to the waiting railcars. Levi looped his reins loosely around the tongue of an unused cart and gave his mount enough lead to reach the water trough. Then he unfastened his sledge from behind the cantle and headed toward the group of men arguing near the crane.

  “We’ve got the manpower to move that rubble, Fieldman,” Pratt ranted, gesturing to the half-dozen men he’d brought with him from town. “Why are you refusing our help? Your men are dying in there!”

  “I’m well aware of the condition of my men, Sheriff.” Fieldman enunciated each word as if he were flinging darts into a board. “I’m also aware that the stone is unstable. The explosion weakened several sections in the rock face above where the men are trapped. That stone is cracked and ready to throw down. Sending inexperienced men in there would be asking for more injuries. Besides, most of the fallen blocks are too large to remove. I’ve got a crew breaking them up now. It’s slow going, but it’s the safest procedure for all concerned.”

  The stocky man with graying temples turned to go, no doubt eager to rejoin the rescue effort. He’d given Levi every excuse to leave his nightmare behind, but something stronger than fear pushed Levi forward.

  “I can help.” Levi raised the sledge above his shoulder to catch the man’s attention and edged past the others gathered around the sheriff.

  Fieldman glanced back, his eyes widening slightly as he took in Levi’s size. “Look, son,” the man said, shaking his head in regret. “I could use a pair of arms like those, but even so, I ain’t lettin’ you in. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could cause more problems than I already got.”

  Levi cleared his throat and took another step forward. “I broke rock at Granite Mountain. For more than a year and a half. I can help.”

  “Granite Mountain?” Alex Carson, the saddler, murmured. “Isn’t that where the stone for the new capitol building came from?”

  Levi could feel the sheriff’s hot gaze burning into the side of his neck, but he kept his attention locked on Fieldman.

  “Yep,” Pratt said. “They used mostly convict labor, as I recall.” Questions laced that statement. Questions Levi would rather not answer, although his gut told him his secrets wouldn’t remain hidden much longer.

  “What’ll it be, Fieldman?” Levi asked, eager to escape the sheriff’s scrutiny.

  The owner waved him forward. “I ain’t one to turn away what the Lord’s providin’. I’ll grab a chisel. You can be my striker.”

  Levi nodded, angling his shoulders to slide between Pratt and Carson in order to follow. Thankful to leave the townsmen and their probing glances behind, he stretched his stride to catch up to Fieldman.

  “How many men you figure are trapped?”

  The man’s solemn face told Levi more than he wanted to know. “We’re missin’ four, from what I can tell. Dalton, Jones, McPherson, and Collier.”

  Duncan. Levi’s heart sank. “You . . . think they got a chan—” He swallowed the end of the word and coughed to cover his inadequacy. The rising tide of emotion inside him was interfering with his ability to filter words. All he could think about was Chloe’s face when she’d begged him to help and her certainty that Duncan was in danger.

  “Chances are slim, but there’s a hollow there on the right.” He pointed to an area of the rockslide where four pairs of men were working in tandem to split and remove slabs of the fallen limestone. “If they managed to get into that space before the worst of it hit, they might still be alive.”

  Fieldman paused to grab a large chisel from where it leaned discarded against the rocks. He carefully picked his way atop the rubble, testing each section for stability before climbing farther. Levi followed precisely in his wake, stepping only where the other man had stepped. His fingers bit into the handle of his sledge as the sounds of quarry work drowned out all else. Iron clanged against iron as hammer met chisel or drill. Metal echoed against stone as the rock chipped away. A man shouted at a team of horses. Harness jangled and hooves thudded against the earth as the pair strained against the weight of the loosened limestone block their master had chained to them.

  Lord, watch over Duncan and the other men. Help us get them out in time.

  Levi’s prayers continued as he settled into the familiar rhythm of swing and strike—swing and strike. Fieldman anticipated each hit, adeptly positioning the chisel along the rock’s line of least resistance. With his expertise and Levi’s strength, they cleared twice the stone of the other pairs.

  The sun traveled across the sky and beat down on Levi’s neck. His muscles screamed for rest, yet he couldn’t stop—not while Duncan lay buried somewhere beneath. So he continued on, swing after swing. Someone handed him a canteen. He lifted it to his lips and washed the dust from his throat, then grasped the handle of the sledge once again. Fieldman offered to switch positions with him, but Levi refused. He didn’t have the quarryman’s skill in finding the weak spots in the rock. It would hurt their efficiency to change places. No, he’d keep the sledge and trust God to provide endurance.

  “One more swing ought to get ’er,” Fieldman said as he reset the chisel.

  This slab was one of the largest they’d tackled so far, and the closest to the rock face. No one had verbalized the hope and dread they all held inside as they worked to clear away the stones. If the men had found a pocket of safety in the hollow, they should find evidence under this slab. If not? Levi clenched his jaw as he hoisted the sledge. Well, if not, they would probably find evidence of that, too.

  The hammer came down on the head of the chisel, sending vibrations along Levi’s arms and back. The slab cracked and split.

  “Get the horses!” Fieldman ordered.

  Levi stepped aside as a wiry fellow scrambled up to them, chain in hand. Fieldman used his long chisel like a lever to aid the crewman in getting the chain under the block. Then with a wave, the man signaled the horse driver. With a loud “Yah!” and a slap to the lead animal’s hindquarters, the driver urged the horses forward.

  As the team slowly dragged the oversized chunk of limestone away, Levi heard a faint sound. It wasn’t clear, but something about it seemed out of place. He cocked his head and listened, mentally filtering out the scraping of stone and jangle of harness. His pulse skittered. Could it be?

  He dropped to his knees and laid his ear to the newly cleared section, heart pounding.

  “Hold the horses!” Fieldman yelled. “Hammers down!” After issuing the order, he fell to the ground beside Levi.

  A muted call carried through the crevice. “We’re here. We’re here.”

  Levi looked up at Fieldman. Tears ran down the older man’s face, leaving tracks in the limestone dust that coated all of them.

  “Thank God,” he whispered. Then all at once, he tore at the ground with his hands, pulling out the smaller rocks and debris.

  “They’re here!” Levi waved the other crewmen over. They all scrambled to the spot, digging with hands, picks, chisels, whatever they could find. Aches forgotten, Levi shoved stones aside, then braced his back against the rock face and used his legs to thrust the other half of the large limestone slab aside. A grunt tore from his lips as his knees slowly straightened.

  “Look! A hand!” one of the crewmen shouted.

  Beneath Levi’s legs, a dust-encrusted gray hand reached up through a hole that had been uncovered by the removed slab.

  A cheer rose from the men up top. Coughs echoed from the men below. Fieldman knelt on all fours and reached into the hole to clasp the man’s hand. “We’re gonna get you out. Just hang in there.”

  “I ain’t goin’ anywhere, boss,” a raspy voice called back.

  “Collier?”

  “Yeah.”

  Fieldman smiled. “Shoulda known an old cuss like you’d
be too stubborn to let a pile of rock do you in. The others there with you?”

  The question was met with silence, and Levi’s stomach soured.

  “Collier?” Fieldman’s smile fell.

  “The others are here,” the man said, “but only two of us are still breathin’.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Are you still prayin’, Miss Eden?” Chloe hopped down from the top rail of the corral fence, turning her harried countenance back toward the buggy. “ ’Cause it don’t seem to be working.”

  Eden’s heart ached for the girl. How would she feel if Levi were the one trapped under all that rubble? She’d no doubt be out of her mind with worry.

  “I’m praying, Chloe. For all four of the trapped men, but especially for Mr. McPherson. And for you.”

  The girl’s faith was just beginning to bud. If Duncan didn’t survive, would it wither and die with him? As hard as Eden prayed for the young man’s rescue, she prayed for Chloe’s faith even more. Life was indeed precious, but a soul carried greater worth than a body. And right now, Chloe’s soul stood on an eternal precipice.

  “We have to try to be patient,” Eden said, wishing she could offer more comfort.

  Chloe stomped over to the shade of the buggy and plopped down on the slab of rock that served as a bench. “I don’t want to be patient.” She heaved a frustrated sigh. “They’ve been out there for hours. I want to do something. Something besides all this pointless waiting.”

  Eden reached between them and clasped the girl’s hand. “Sometimes waiting is what God wants us to do. To give him time to work.”

  “It’s just that—” Chloe choked back a sob. Eden scooted closer. “It’s just that I never thought a decent man would look twice at a girl like me. Ma said I’d have to leave town and pretend to be someone else to have any hope of findin’ a marrying type of man.”

  Chloe pulled her hand free. She picked at a loose thread on her sleeve, then looked out in the direction of the men. Yet Eden got the feeling she wasn’t really seeing them.

  A touch of a smile curved the girl’s lips. “I met Duncan in the Hang Dog. Did I ever tell you that?”

  Eden shook her head. “No. Though I suspected the two of you had met somewhere prior to the day we ran into him outside the dry goods store. He acted quite smitten.”

  Chloe shrugged, but her smile deepened. “He was different from most of the men who came to the saloon. Sometimes I’d watch him from behind the curtain that closed off the kitchen. He’d come in with a group of men from the quarry on a Saturday night, but while the others tossed away their pay on drink after drink, he’d sit at the bar sippin’ a single beer. If one of the fellows started gettin’ melancholy or if things got tense at the card table, he’d spin one of his fanciful yarns that would get the whole room laughing. I even saw him dance a jig when one of the quarrymen didn’t like the song the piano player was thumpin’. No one could keep a straight face with all those knees and elbows flappin’.

  “Never once did he go upstairs with one of the girls. Never once did he speak to anyone with disrespect. Never once did I see him get drunk. I think I started falling in love with him before he ever knew I existed.”

  Eden developed a whole new respect for Duncan McPherson as she saw him through Chloe’s eyes. “How did the two of you finally meet?”

  “Duncan always ordered one of Old Nell’s pan-fried beefsteaks when he came in, but one night Roy was busy settlin’ a dispute with one of my ma’s customers when the food came up, and I was afraid the steak would get cold before the barkeep got back. So, after checkin’ the big room to be sure no one was payin’ me any mind, I slid out from behind the curtain and delivered the vittles.”

  Chloe sighed and finally glanced over at Eden. “You shoulda seen the way he tugged off his cap when he saw me. That red hair of his stuck out at all angles, but it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. He didn’t look at me the way men looked at my ma and the other girls. His eyes held respect and appreciation and a touch of shyness that, coming from a man who’d dance an embarrassing jig just to keep the peace, made my heart skitter like a mouse dodging a barn cat.

  “We didn’t even say anything that first time.” Chloe turned her attention back out to the quarry. “But after that, I made a point to deliver his beefsteak every Saturday night.” A fond smile lit her face, although Eden could hear tears close to the surface. “Every time he came in, he tried to charm me into tellin’ him my name, but I never did. I was too aware of who I was. And who I wasn’t.”

  Eden rested her hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “You’ve changed who you were.”

  Chloe bit her lip and nodded. “Thanks to you and Mr. Levi.”

  “You were the one who made the decision to leave. We just helped out a bit.”

  “More than a bit.” Chloe fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and began again. “When Duncan and me met on the boardwalk that day outside Mrs. Fowler’s store, it was like all the barriers between us crumbled away. For the first time in my life, I felt like a normal gal—one who was free to accept an honorable man’s attention, one who could laugh and flirt, one who could reveal her name without shame.” The tears she’d been holding back began spilling down her cheeks. “I can’t lose him now. I just can’t!”

  A shout rose up from the men in the pit. Both Eden and Chloe jumped to their feet. Chloe scaled the corral fence again and shaded her face from the late afternoon sun with her hand.

  “Can you make out what’s happening?” Eden asked.

  “It’s hard to tell. The men seem to be workin’ closer together now. Do you think . . .” Chloe sucked in a shaky breath and slowly exhaled it. “Do you think they mighta found them?”

  “We can hope.” Eden stepped closer to the fence and shaded her eyes against the sun’s glare.

  It was only a matter of seconds before she picked out Levi from the rest of the men, his bulky physique setting him apart. He seemed to swing that giant hammer of his twice as often as the other men. She could only imagine his exhaustion.

  Keep him strong, Lord. And help him find Duncan. Alive.

  The sound of an approaching wagon caused Eden to turn. Sheriff Pratt steered the team toward her and lifted a hand in greeting. Dr. Adams had enlisted him to cart the more seriously injured quarrymen back to Spencer after they’d been stabilized, to cots waiting at the church. The sheriff had made several runs since Eden and Chloe arrived, taking no more than two men at a time so the patients could lie flat on a pile of quilts in the wagon bed. Family members or friends had traveled with them, keeping the men still and as comfortable as possible.

  “They still at it?” Sheriff Pratt thrust his chin in the direction of Levi and the quarry workers.

  “Yes.”

  He set the brake and climbed down, pushing his hat back on his forehead. “We woulda had them out by now if Fieldman hadn’t been so stubborn about only using experienced crew.”

  Eden shot him a quelling look. “Maybe. Or maybe someone else would have been injured. It’s fruitless to speculate.” The last thing Chloe needed was to start questioning whether enough was being done for Duncan and the others. “I’m sure Mr. Fieldman did what he thought best under these conditions.”

  Eden twisted her head to see if Chloe had overheard their conversation, only to find the girl gone.

  Strange. She’d done the same thing when they’d first arrived. Dr. Adams had been discussing the transport of the patients with Pratt when Eden and Chloe walked up with their bandages and medical supplies. Once the doctor had finished instructing Sheriff Pratt on how to prepare the wagon bed, he’d motioned the women closer. Only, Eden had been alone. The small crate of rolled linen strips Chloe had been carrying was sitting on the ground a few steps behind her. Later, Chloe explained that she’d thought she’d seen Duncan among the crowd of worried family members and had taken off to search. Eden hadn’t questioned the explanation at the time, but now doubt wiggled through her mind.

 
Conrad Pratt had been none too happy to have Chloe under her roof. Had he said something to frighten the girl? She stole a glance at the lawman as he kicked at a pebble with the toe of his boot, his attention focused on Fieldman’s crew. Eden scanned her memory but failed to recover a single instance where she’d seen Chloe and the sheriff in the same area. Not here, not at the library, not at church.

  “They’re here!” Levi’s distant shout tore through Eden, scattering to the wind all thoughts of Chloe’s odd behavior.

  “I don’t care what Fieldman says.” The sheriff stiffened like a hound dog catching a scent. “I’m going out there.”

  “Wait!” Eden grabbed hold of his arm. “If they’ve found them, they’ll know the best way to get them out. Don’t do something rash.”

  “Let go of me, woman.” He snapped his arm out of her grasp, nearly wrenching her shoulder in the process. With pounding footfalls, he tromped off a few steps and then stopped and spun around.

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” He advanced on her, and Eden leaned away from his dark scowl. “Just because you read all those fancy books don’t mean you know more about the world than I do, Eden.”

  “I . . . I never said—”

  “You didn’t have to say it. It’s written all over your face. You think more of that oversized iron-bender than you do of me.”

  Eden just stared at him, her stomach churning at the venom in his voice.

  “Oh yeah. I know all about his visits to the library. And I seen how cozy the two of you were this morning. Shoot, if I’d known all it took to win your hand was to read a few novels, I woulda done that, too. But I thought you were too smart to fall for a ploy like that. I respected you too much. And now I learn that you think so little of me that you assume I’ll march over to where those men are digging and cause a rockslide or something.”