Laurel: Bride of Arkansas (American Mail-Order Bride 25) by Carra Copelin Page A

it.
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    By the time Griffin and Ansel reached the office building at the base of the mountain, containing the fire was pretty much out of their control. They had no fire hoses or pumper trucks to get water where it needed to be, and if they did, there was no way to get the water up this far. All they could really hope to do was get all the men down off the mountain and pray for a drenching rain.
    “Ansel, there’s no way we can fight this fire. Do you agree?”
    “I think we should call all the men back, before we lose someone.”
    “Good, you ring the bell and I’ll go try to spread the word by mouth.”
    In about an hour, with word-of-mouth and the constant ringing of the bell, all the men, except two, were back at the office. Clem and Otto were still out there somewhere.
    “Everybody go home,” Ansel shouted over the roar of the fire, and then grabbed his pickax and shovel. “I’ll go find my boys.”
    “You won’t go alone. I’m going with you.” Griffin spoke to all the men. “Obviously, none of you have to go, but if you do, pair up with someone. No one ventures out alone and stay along the established trail.” He noticed none of the men left.
    “Griff,” someone yelled. “I saw them go north when we headed out earlier.”
    “That’s good. Did anyone else see them after that?” No’s and head shakes answered his question. “This is what we’ll do. Half will go north and half will go south and circle ‘round. Whoever finds them will fire off two shots or ring the bell to call in the rest of us. All right?”
    “Yeah, Griff, got it. See you back here.”
    Against his better judgement, as the fire could come around behind them and close off their escape, Griffin followed Ansel off the main road onto a trail that split the difference between the two main roads. “Ansel? Where’re you going?”
    “I’m pretty sure I know where them boys went.” He continued to climb, stepping over brush and pushing tree limbs out of his way. “You go back to safety and wait for us.”
    “Not likely. I won’t leave you alone and chance losing three men to this fire.” He stopped short behind Ansel, when the man halted his forward motion.
    “Four.”
    “What?” He followed Ansel’s line of sight and saw three men walking toward them. Clem and Otto bracketed another man Griffin had never seen. When they were close enough, Ansel hugged all three.
    “Griffin, meet my oldest brother, Henrik Hailstock.”
     
     
    ***
     
    Laurel had never been good at waiting. Griffin had left nearly three hours ago, but it seemed a lot longer. She, Gwenda, and Henry had been busy collecting all salvageable items from the main room and putting them elsewhere in the house, while the girls slept in the unfinished bathroom.
    She stood in the gaping hole where the front door used to be. She knew all things could essentially be replaced, and in some cases for the better. The sadness for her lay in the fact that it had to be replaced at all.
    “You truly have a level head on your shoulders. Thank you for getting us to safety today.”
    She jumped as she realized Gwenda had come to stand beside her. “I’m sure you would’ve remembered the room in time.”
    “We don’t know that.” Gwenda set a dining room chair upright and sat. “What did you mean earlier when you said you’d seen a sky like that before?”
    Laurel didn’t want to talk about the tragedies from her past, but she wondered if bringing her fears out in the open would help lessen their control over her. She waited another heartbeat or two then said, “Last July, a tornado hit the town of Lawrence, Massachusetts, where I lived with my Aunt Lottie Carlisle.
    “I was at work in the Brown Textile Mill one morning, when the bad weather hit. All of us huddled in corners and under some of the heavy equipment. The entire episode lasted mere minutes, just like today, and