Saving Grace

Chapter 15

Joe and Levi watered the animals. After a nod from Sarah, they ate a quick lunch and set to work once again. The afternoon sun created long shadows up the hillside. Joe glanced around.

"Two more corners and we'll stop for the night," he said.

Levi nodded and moved to wipe the sweat from his brow. The rope in his hand slipped and the wagon's rear wheels teetered on a large rock. As the team moved forward, the rock tipped sending the back of the wagon several feet down the hill. The team's eyes rolled in fright. Joe hurried to tie his line off as the wagon teetered on the rocky slope. The horse whinnied and shied.

Joe rushed toward the wagon and started shouting orders even as the wagon started to roll backward.

"Sarah! Cut the rope! Cut it! Levi! Get the team! Cut em loose!"

Joe vaulted into the wagon and reached for his knife, fumbling for a moment before he realized he'd given it to Sarah. He fought with the knots as he felt the wagon lurch down the hill. Instead of untying them, he fell on top of Grace winding his arms and legs through the ropes and held on as the wagon bounced down the hill.

Sarah's endless scream, or maybe it was his own, chased them down the embankment. Pots and pans fell from their hooks, hitting him in the back. Grace cried out as their bodies slammed into each other over and over again. Clawing sagebrush ripped the canvas from it's hoops.

Splintering wood echoed in his mind as they jarred to a stop. Joe struggled for breath, afraid to move for fear they were sitting on the brink of a drop-off into the creek twenty feet below.

Grace whimpered, her soft breaths tickled his beard. He shifted his weight so he wasn't putting pressure on her injuries. As he moved, his lips brushed hers in a soft, unintentional kiss. He pulled back in surprise when she responded, her lips searching for his.

"Grace! Joe!" Levi's anxious cries burst through the fog in Joe's head. "Are you okay?"

Joe turned his head, watching Levi skid down the rocky hillside. Rocks and branches tumbled along in his wake.

Levi's face appeared over the side of the wagon. "Oh thank God you're safe. Sarah! They're fine!"

"Really?" she called, her voice echoing through the canyon.

Joe coughed as he met Levi's searching gaze. "Tell me you saved the team."

Levi grinned. "Yeah. They're with Sarah."

"Good. How close are we to the edge? Can I move without sending us over?"

ed for a few moments. "You should be fine. This big sagebrush stopped the wagon. Watch your step when you climb down though. How's Grace?"

Joe untangled his limbs and climbed from the wagon, finally standing on unsteady legs. He breathed a sigh of relief before answering. "She's fine."

"That was awful brave of you, jumping in there and riding the wagon down."

Joe shot him a grin. "That wasn't bravery. That was stupidity." He ran a hand over his face as his gaze followed the path the wagon had taken as it careened down the hill. "It's a wonder we didn't flip over like the other wagon did."

"Definitely divine intervention," Levi quipped as he stepped over the wagon tongue.

Joe shook his head. "I don't believe that for a second. Let's go get Sarah and the team and collect anything that might have fallen out. Then we need to figure out what broke on this thing."

Levi shook his head as he caressed the wagon box. "I didn't see anything broke."

"Just the same, we'll go over it again before we move it."