Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(31)

“Top speed,” he said and the men tore upstairs. They threw mattresses, clothes and bedclothes from the upper windows, brought furniture down to take out and the women had already begun to clear downstairs.

They piled all of it on the ground some way from the house and by now it was empty. Hannah was amazing, Seth thought, and it was a good thing she was here and not Rachel because Rachel was petite and delicate. Hannah was strong and happy to carry things, which Pamela also did. They took everything into the barn and it took quite a while for them to do it.

They were taking in the last few items when some of the bricks of the house began to bulge ominously. It would either fall or just sit there dangerously, Hannah said, but the barn should be alright. She sat on a large boulder looking into the distance at the hills a little way away from them which were lit up by the moon.

“Is there another road back to Lower Pine?” she asked. “We went along one on the other side of the gully but now the gully is blocked.”

“Yes,” Jamie replied. “But it takes longer.”

“You can’t use the one we came on because it’s too dangerous going through the gully. In fact, there probably isn’t a way anymore. We had to run at one point and Seth carried me a little way because I wasn’t going fast enough.”

“You were fast,” Seth said. “But I was terrified you’d be hurt.”

“It’s a good thing you’re strong. I’m no light weight.”

“You’re not at all fat,” he said.

“I’m tall so there’s more of me to be a weight. One thing you cannot call me is petite.”

Who wanted petite, Seth thought, and remembered. Rachel was petite and sounded beautiful. But he didn’t want to think about that and they must be on their way. There was still one farm to check and they needed to wash up and get back to Lower Pine.

Though that wouldn’t be possible tonight because it was getting late. What would their bridegroom and bride to be think? Maybe Seth would come out and demand to see Hannah. He would want to know why she went with Seth in the first place.

But Rachel couldn’t do that because she didn’t have the transport. Maybe the Reverend would bring her and marry the two couples at the same time. Which was what had probably happened to the other five couples already who didn’t have the problems Seth felt he had at the moment. There was nothing to be done about it and he was glad they had been of help here. It gave him a good feeling.

“We need to go,” he said to Hannah. “I want to check the next farm.”

“How many more farms are there?” she asked.

“Two between here and mine. Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll check farms beyond me.”

“You could stay the night,” Pamela said.

“Thank you, but no.” Seth looked at Hannah. “Unless you would like to stay. You must be tired.”

“I’m not. I want to check the farms.”

“I could come with you,” Jamie said.

Seth shook his head. “No. You stay here with Pamela and get settled in. You also need to keep an eye on the foals and other animals. They are bound to be a bit disturbed by the earthquake. I don’t know how animals react but I did notice just before the earthquake that the birds had stopped singing. I didn’t think about it until later.”

“The animals started to make sounds before the earthquake,” Pamela said. “The horses were whinnying and rearing up on their back legs.”

“I never thought of that,” Jamie said. He looked at Seth. “At least take something to eat. We’ve got plenty now we’ve brought everything out.”

“Just a bit of bread and cheese then,” Seth said. “Though we did eat not that long ago. Enid kindly gave us some food.”

They took the bread and cheese which Hannah said she would put in her large pocket and made for the barn door. “I’ll check on you soon,” Seth said. “Maybe it would be a good thing if you go to Independence for supplies but they are possibly affected by the earthquake also. The outpost buildings are made mostly from adobe there.”

“Yes. Take our horses. You’ve got a little way to walk.”

“No. We’ll be alright.” Seth looked at Hannah again. “Unless you would prefer to go on a horse.”

“I’m happy to walk,” she said.

She really was so brave and resilient, he thought, and Seth was a fortunate man. He was better off than him, of course, and Hannah would have everything she wanted. She was probably glad of that because she was used to such things. His farm was bigger. His house was made of wood and it had all the things a woman would ever need in life.

Which Hannah deserved because she was a nice lady. She was a brave lady. She was everything any man could want. She was.... He took her hand as they walked away and muttered.

“We have to play the part.”

“Yes, of course.”

“I know we ate not long ago but I’m looking forward to the bread and cheese.”

“Me too. We’ll stop when we’re out of sight.”

They walked away with their arms round each other and it was not until they were out of sight that they moved apart to walk separately. Soon after that they sat on some rocks to eat the bread and cheese.