Free Heartland by Sherryl Woods

would have liked.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œThe ground is rockier down there. It’ll take us a while to cut our way through. I want to go slowly, so we don’t make any mistakes.” He brushed the hair from her face and studied her closely. The gentle caress renewed her strength.
    â€œAre you going to be okay?” he asked.
    â€œI’ll be fine. Just get her out safely.”
    Hour after hour the tension grew. The night dragged on interminably. Kelly’s cheerful chatter diminished to tired whimpers and then nothing at all. Though Steven refused to even acknowledge the possibility, Lara feared they had lost her.
    â€œLara, come with me and get something to eat,” Terry insisted.
    â€œI can’t leave,” she protested wearily, though she knew if she didn’t rest soon she would collapse from fatigue. The strain was telling on her. Her body ached all over from the constant tension in her muscles. Her head throbbed. There was a gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach that went beyond hunger.
    â€œYou don’t have to leave. The ladies from town have set up a food tent for the men. You can eat right here.”
    Lara glanced around in amazement at the makeshift kitchen that had sprung up less than fifty yards away without her even noticing. Tables and folding chairs were scattered around an area lit by lanterns. Behind a buffet table several women she recognized were serving slices of ham, scoops of potato salad and coleslaw to the workers.
    Sighing, she gave in to Terry’s urgings. She went over to the women, grateful beyond words for their support.
    â€œThank you,” she began, and then couldn’t go on.
    Terry interceded. “Go on and sit down. I’ll bring the food right over.”
    Lara found an empty chair from which she could still see the rescue operation and sank down on it. Her eyes burned from the strain of watching and waiting and from holding back scalding tears.
    â€œHere you go,” Terry said, putting a plate down in front of her.
    Lara stared at the food with disinterest.
    â€œEat. You ain’t gonna do that child a bit of good if you go falling apart.”
    â€œIt’s my fault she’s down there,” Lara blurted out, almost relieved to say the words aloud. “I should have watched her more closely.”
    â€œHoney, there’s not a parent alive who doesn’t think that when his child gets hurt. You go right on thinking it, even when they’re grown. The truth of the matter is you can’t keep watch over ’em every second of the day. There’s always gonna be a time when you turn your back for just a minute. Any kid with the least bit of mischief in him is gonna use that time to slip away.”
    â€œI feel so awful, though. Tommy and Megan trusted me. I encouraged them to leave the kids with me for the summer. I wasn’t ready to part with them yet. Kelly’s like my own daughter. Jennifer’s just like Tommy, but Kelly reminds me of the way I used to be. Even as a baby she had so much spirit.”
    â€œDon’t you think that spirit will help her get through this?”
    â€œBut she’s still so little.”
    â€œAll the more reason for hope. She’s probably too young to know exactly how much danger she’s in. She’ll be taking her cues from you and Steven and the other men. If you can manage to put aside your own fears and treat this like an adventure, she’ll hang in there.”
    â€œGod, I hope so.” Lara tried a bite of the ham under Terry’s watchful gaze, then the potato salad. It could have been boiled leather for all the attention she gave it. She glanced over at the women who were putting out more food.
    â€œWhy did they come?” she asked, genuinely bewildered by their generosity. “I don’t even know most of them. I mean I know their names, but I’ve never really gotten to know them.”
    â€œEven though Toledo’s