Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats #1)(3)
Author: Shanna Hatfield

Topping the little rise in the Nash’s lane, Aundy took in a huge barn, corrals, and a big two-story farmhouse with a welcoming porch that wrapped all the way around. She hated to go to the front door in such a state, but she didn’t know what else to do. Racing up the steps, she knocked sharply on the door, trying to catch her breath.

Raising her hand to knock again, the door swung open and she looked into the cheery, round face of a small woman with dark hair and silvery gray eyes.

“My gracious, dear. What brings you to our door? I don’t think I’ve seen you around these parts before.”

“Wagon wreck,” was all Aundy managed to gasp out as she struggled to draw air into her lungs. If she hadn’t been wearing her hated corset, she’d have been able to run to the house with no trouble.

“Wagon wreck? Where? On the road?” the woman asked, stepping out on the porch and gazing in the direction of the road.

“Yes, not far,” Aundy said, moving back so she wouldn’t get mud on the woman’s spotless white apron or lavender dress.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“My husband. He’s pinned beneath the wagon,” Aundy said, trying not to let her growing sense of panic show.

“What’s your name?”

“Aundy. Aundy Thor… Erickson,” Aundy said, correcting herself at the last moment, remembering her name was now Erickson.

“Are you Erik’s bride?” When Aundy nodded, the woman bustled across the porch, picked up an iron bar and beat it against a triangle hanging from the porch eaves.

“Yes, ma’am,” Aundy said, feeling like she could again breathe as air filled her lungs. “The pastor married us earlier today. The horses spooked and the wagon flipped over on Erik.”

“Oh, my gracious. The boys will be here soon and they’ll take care of everything,” the woman said, motioning for Aundy to sit on a chair by the door. “I’m Mrs. Nash, but I hope you’ll call me Nora. I’ll run in and call for the doctor. You’re welcome to join me.”

“Thank you, Nora, but I’ll just…” Aundy said, to Nora’s retreating back. The woman was gone a few minutes and returned to the porch just as Aundy heard the pounding of feet coming toward them.

“What’d you ring the bell for, Ma?” an extremely tall, handsome man asked as he took the porch steps in one long stride and stopped next to his mother. He noticed Aundy standing off to the side and gave her a brief perusal before turning to his mother with a quizzical expression.

“Aundy, this is my son, Garrett,” Nora said making a brief introduction. Turning her attention to Garrett, she pointed her finger toward the road. “Erik Erickson was in an accident. According to his new bride, the wagon is just down the road on top of him. I think you better get down there and see what you can do. I tried the doc but no one answered my call, so we should send someone to fetch him.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Garrett said, jumping off the porch and running in the direction of the barn.

“Why don’t you come inside, dear, and we’ll see about getting you cleaned up,” Nora said, reaching out to take Aundy’s mud-covered hand.

“Oh, no, ma’am. I couldn’t bring this mess inside your home and I promised Erik I’d be right back,” Aundy said, moving down the steps.

“I wouldn’t mind, honey. You’ll catch your death all muddy and cold like you are,” Nora said, taking a step toward Aundy. Before Nora could reach out to the wide-eyed girl, she turned and began running down the lane.

Garrett hustled out of the barn on his horse with Tom, one of the ranch hands, following close behind. Stopping at the porch to speak with Nora, Garrett motioned Tom on down the driveway.

“Go on and get the doc and the pastor if he’s home,” Garrett said then turned his attention to his mother. “I asked Jim to hook up the wagon. Maybe you could bring some blankets and whatever medical supplies you can round up. I don’t know what kind of shape we’ll find things in, but it might be a help.”

“I will, son. Go on, now, and see what you can do. I’ll be there as quick as Jim’s got the wagon hitched and I’ll let your father know where we’re going,” Nora said, reaching up to pat Garrett’s leg.

Garrett hurried his big bay horse down their lane to the road. Caught off guard when he answered his mother’s summons, he never expected to see a woman standing on the front step covered in mud from head to toe.

A hat that had probably been the height of current fashion perched on her head like a dead bird and mud-streaked blond hair fell down around her ears, trailing along her back. The dress she wore looked to be finely made, although he doubted she’d ever get all the mud out of the burgundy wool fabric.

He tried not to think about her eyes, the same shade of blue as the sky overhead. Or the fact that she was extraordinarily tall. Under all that mud, he would bet that Erik’s new bride was quite striking in appearance. She certainly didn’t rattle easily, since she hurried to their house for help even though they were all strangers to her.

Nearing the end of their lane, he spotted Mrs. Erickson doing her best to run in the mud. It sucked at her feet and pulled her off balance, but she continued at a brisk pace. Nudging his horse forward, he watched as she turned and looked at him then came to a stop.

“How about I give you a ride?” Garrett asked, holding out his hand for her to mount behind him.

“I don’t want to get you or the horse dirty,” Aundy said, shaking her head. “But thank you for the offer.”

“Come on, we’re wasting time discussing it,” Garrett said, wiggling his gloved fingers at her.

Sighing she walked over to the horse and looked up at Garrett, noticing his eyes were the same silvery shade as his mother’s. “I’ve never been on a horse before, so tell me what to do.”

Garrett recalled Erik saying his bride-to-be was a city girl, so he offered her an encouraging smile. Noticing her skirt wasn’t full enough for her to ride astride, she’d have to sit in front of him although she would, no doubt, think the close proximity to him was highly inappropriate.

“Just put a foot in the stirrup and I’ll pull you up.” He was impressed that she didn’t put up a fuss, instead showing a strong, practical nature when she nodded her head.

Grabbing her left hand to steady her while she gathered her skirts out of the way so she could step into the stirrup, Garrett caught her wince.

“Why didn’t you tell me your arm was injured?” he asked, leaning over and grabbing her around the waist, lifting her in front of him. The mud-flecked feather on her bedraggled hat smacked him in the face and he fought the urge to grin.

“It’s fine,” Aundy said, trying not to gasp at the throbbing in her arm making her feel lightheaded or maybe it was the impropriety of riding across a stranger’s lap. With Erik injured, what society deemed proper no longer seemed very important. Holding herself stiffly, she tried not to think about Garrett’s arms around her as he urged his horse, Jester, through the mud.

“Sure it is,” Garrett said, shaking his head at the woman with an obvious obstinate streak. Studying the road in front of him trying to ignore the feel of a woman held so close to him, he kept an eye out for the wagon. Rounding a little bend, the wagon was hard to miss, turned over in the middle of the road. It was easy to spy Erik trapped under the back of the wagon, his face a ghostly shade of white beneath the mud coating his head.

Stopping Jester, Garrett kicked his feet out of the stirrups and swung a leg over the neck of his horse, dropping to the ground. Before Aundy could figure out how to dismount, Garrett grabbed her around the waist and set her feet on the muddy ground.

“Erik? Can you hear me?” Garrett asked, kneeling by his neighbor and friend. Although Erik was more than ten years his senior, they often talked over the fence about farming, ranching, and life in general. Erik had been a guest at the Nash dinner table many times over the years and they were all pleased for him when he announced he was getting married.

Erik didn’t move so Garrett took off his glove and felt along the man’s neck, finding a pulse beating there, although it was faint.

“We need to move the wagon,” Garrett said, standing while he pulled on his glove. He looked around, expecting to see Erik’s team. “Where are the horses?”

“Erik made me unhook them before I went to get you,” Aundy said, kneeling next to Erik, holding his head in her lap again. “He said they’d find their way home.”

“They’re probably already at the barn, waiting to be fed,” Garrett said. He had no idea how badly Erik was injured but getting the weight of the wagon off his chest needed to happen immediately. Taking stock of the situation, Garrett noticed for the first time Aundy’s trunks scattered on the ground near the wagon. Striding to where they rested in the mud, he picked up the first one and carried it to the back corner of the wagon. He did the same with the second one, placing it next to the first trunk.

“We’re going to have to work together to do this, Mrs. Erickson,” Garrett said, looking into her scared face. He surmised she was much younger than he first guessed. She wore confidence in an easy manner, but right now she looked very young and frightened.

This was some way to welcome Erik’s bride to Pendleton. When she nodded, he motioned her to stand at the end of one of the trunks. “I’m going to lift this corner of the wagon. When I do, you push that trunk beneath it to hold it up then we’ll do the same thing with the second trunk. As soon as it’s secure, I’ll pull Erik out.

Aundy nodded her head, frightened by the thought of the wagon falling back on Erik or trapping Garrett as well.

“Don’t you dare use that arm,” Garrett said, nodding to her left arm still held tightly against her side. “Get down like this and push with your back and shoulder.”

He demonstrated how he wanted her to move the trunks and she got into position, lifting her soggy skirts out of her way as best she could by placing the hem in her injured hand.

Putting all his strength into it, Garrett grunted and strained, finally hefting the corner of the wagon up off the ground high enough the trunk would fit beneath it. “Now!” Garrett said between clenched teeth as he bore the weight of the wagon. Aundy quickly slid the first trunk into place, followed by the second.

Garrett hurried to take Erik by the shoulders and pull him from beneath the wagon.

“Get back from there, please, Mrs. Erickson. I don’t know if the trunks will hold it or not and I don’t want you to receive any more injuries,” Garrett said, pulling Erik a safe distance away.

If Aundy had two good hands to work with, he would have had her pull Erik out from beneath the wagon when he lifted it. Her injured arm, combined with Erik’s deadweight, meant there was no possible way she could have moved her husband using one hand, no matter how hard she tried.

Wondering what was keeping his mother and their hired hand, he turned to mount Jester and ride back to the ranch for the wagon when the jingle of harness let him know his mother was approaching.

Jim drove Nora right up to where Garrett and Aundy kept watch over a motionless Erik. Prepared to jump down into the muddy mess, Jim’s restraining hand on Nora’s arm kept her from leaving her seat. “Just stay here, Mrs. Nash,” Jim said, setting the brake and handing her the reins.

“My gracious, Garrett! We’ve got to get that poor man home,” Nora said as Jim and Garrett carefully carried Erik to the back of the wagon and gently laid him on some old blankets Nora had spread in the wagon bed. Jim climbed up to the seat while Garrett tied Jester to the back of the wagon and then swung Aundy into his arms, setting her close to Erik.

Glancing at Garrett, she wasn’t certain his behavior was at all appropriate, especially since she was now a married woman. His touch made a jolt zing through her from the top of her head to her mud-covered feet. Surprised by his strength, Aundy thought Garrett acted like she weighed no more than a bag of flour and she knew for a fact she was taller and sturdier than many men.

Cradling her left arm against her chest with her right, Aundy continued her prayers on Erik’s behalf as Jim urged the wagon toward Erik’s farm. Only by staring intently at her husband’s chest could she see it barely rise and fall. That had to be a good sign, at least she hoped it was.

She felt the wagon turn and looked up to see a house in the distance along with a big barn and several outbuildings. While not as big or impressive as the Nash house, Erik had what appeared to be a solid one-story home with a porch across the front and back and a yard with a nice fence. His horses were standing at the barn dragging the reins of the harness behind them, waiting to be relieved of their burden and fed.

Jim pulled the team to a stop at the edge of the front walk and hurried down to help Garrett carry the injured man.

Nora was already out of the wagon and running in the door before Jim and Garrett made it to the porch steps. Aundy trailed along behind, uncertain what she could do to help.

“Bring him in here,” Nora called from a room off the large living area.

Heedless to the mud dripping from all their clothes, the men carried Erik into the bedroom and carefully placed him on an oilcloth Nora yanked from the kitchen table.

“That should keep the bedding from being ruined,” Nora said, watching as Garrett and Jim removed Erik’s boots and the outer layers of his muddy clothing. Erik groaned and though still unconscious, his hands tightened into fists. When he coughed, drops of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Nora grabbed a rag from the basket of supplies she set by the bed and wiped Erik’s face. Shaking her head, she left the room and took Aundy along with her while Jim and Garrett removed the rest of Erik’s muddy clothes. Stoking up the stove in the kitchen, Nora filled a big pot with water and set it on the stovetop to heat. She returned to the sink and began filling another large pot.