She had written all sorts of things in her letters to Mark, using them as a way of voicing her angst to someone who was willing to listen. She’d started out simple and Mark had sent her a reply back, reminding her that terrible things happen in war.
Her next letter had been more in depth. She’d talked about how she blamed the Indians for taking her father’s life. How she feared all Indians were bad and inhuman. She recalled she’d just heard about some violent attacks on settlers and wagon trains the day she’d written Mark. The stories had just gone to support what she’d already known – Indians were savages.
Mark had replied that she was condemning an entire nation of people because of her fear. He’d written her some stories of his own interactions with the local natives. He’d promised to help her overcome those fears once she arrived in Virginia City.
At the time, Lorna hadn’t known how he meant to do that. She’d written him that very thing, telling him he was welcome to try, but she’d also stated her hope that he wouldn’t be too disappointed if he was unsuccessful. He had assured her that he would not give up on her and fully expected her to change her opinion with his help.
Lorna’s thoughts were racing, and it took some effort to forget the past and focus on the man in front of her. Darren was still watching her, his eyes fixed on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, to try and explain, but only got a few words out. “How do you know about that? I never—”
He stopped her with a word of caution. “Think carefully before you say anything else.”
He sounded so angry and hurt. Lorna took a hesitant step toward him. “You need to calm down and let me try to explain. My father was killed—”
Darren stood up and faced her with his hands on his hips. “I’ve read your letters to Mark.”
Lorna shook her head and took a step backwards. Why would he do that? Those were private; he had no right. “Those were for your brother’s eyes.”
Darren gave her a scathing look and then shook his head. “And as you are very aware, Mark’s no longer here.”
“Still…”
“You can’t even deny it, can you? I can’t believe how wrong I was about you.”
Lorna took a step back and tried again. “Darren, if you’d just listen—”
“I don’t need your words, Lorna. Those letters said it all. Your feelings about the Indians – you called them savages.” He paused and then continued, “Do you really feel that way about all Indians? Even ones you’ve never met before?”
“You don’t understand—”
“What is there to understand?” Darren gave a derisive shake of his head. “I know now that you’ll never accept me.”
Lorna shook her head, confusion making her brow furrow. “What? Wait a minute, Darren. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. That statement doesn’t make any sense. Why would my feelings about Indians…?”
Darren gave her a sad look and then squared his shoulders, standing a bit taller and holding her gaze. “I’m half Paiute. The woman who gave me life came from the same tribe that helped Timothy, the young man you helped just days ago. I imagine that makes me a savage in your eyes as well.”
Lorna stared at him, unsure of what to say to defuse the situation. By now, June and Brian had both come out onto the veranda. They were not even trying to hide the fact that they were eavesdropping. She tried to ignore them and kept her eyes fixed on the man in front of her. “Darren—”
He didn’t wait around to hear what she had to say in her defense. He caught sight of the others and shook his head. “I don’t want to hear any more.” Turning on his heel, he stormed off. He used the back stairs of the porch to get away from them all.
“Darren, please….” Lorna glanced at Brian and June, and then turned back after Darren. She took a step, intending to follow him, but Brian’s hand on her elbow stopped her. She looked at the older man and he gave her a tight smile.
“Let me talk to him,” he said. Lorna paused for a moment and then nodded. Brian quickly followed Darren, leaving Lorna standing on the veranda.
June came to her side, slipping an arm around her shoulders. “Brian will talk to him. It’ll be okay.”
Lorna couldn’t believe it. She kept her eyes trained on the place where Darren had disappeared. She looked back at June and then stated softly, “I don’t think so. I really don’t think so.”
June gave Lorna’s shoulders a squeeze and then dropped her arm and cleared her throat. “You need something to take your mind off of things. Come with me.”
Lorna nodded and followed June back into the house. She helped her mix a flaky pie crust, and after rolling it out, she peeled and sliced the apples to go inside. June kept the conversation going, but Lorna’s thoughts kept drifting to Darren and the way he’d looked at her before stalking away.
There had been disappointment in his eyes, and also sadness. Lorna’s earlier anger at Ethan’s questioning was long since forgotten. In its place was the sense that she’d just lost something important.
And she didn’t have any idea how to get it back.
Chapter 33
Almost an hour had passed since Darren had stormed off after divulging that he was a descendant of the Paiute tribe. After revealing his true identity, he’d left Lorna standing on the veranda looking hurt and confused.
His pa had immediately come after him and caught up to him in the barn. It hadn’t surprised him when his pa had taken a seat on a hay bale and tried to defuse the situation.
“Darren, you need to come back to the house with me. I only heard part of what you two were discussing, but it seems that you need to listen and give Lorna a chance to explain what you read.”
“She hates all Indians!” Darren exclaimed. “What is there to discuss?”
“She wrote that letter shortly after burying her father. Time has passed. Maybe she doesn’t feel the same way now. She’s had other experiences with Indians since coming here, and they didn’t result in disaster. Maybe her feelings have changed. Come back to the ranch house with me and talk to her.”
Darren had nodded, knowing his pa wouldn’t leave him alone until he agreed to do so. “I’ll be up in a bit.”
He stood in the back of the barn, watching the sun start to set and trying to come to terms with never being able to call Lorna his. He felt sad, as if he’d just lost something precious.
The longer he stood there, the more his brain began to process his conversation with Lorna. It wasn’t long before his pa’s words began to seep in. He hadn’t given Lorna a chance to answer his accusations.
His pa had accused him of judging her without giving her a chance to defend herself. He didn’t feel that his understanding of the situation was unfair, as his pa had suggested.
Darren had read the words she’d written with her own hand. Filled with grief or not, she’d had those feelings in the not-so-distant past.
He sighed and then headed back to the house. He wasn’t looking forward to the coming conversation. But he also knew it needed to take place.
He headed for the kitchen, expecting to find Lorna there. June was preparing supper – alone.
She looked up as he entered and told him, “Lorna is leaving in the morning.”
“What?” Darren asked. “What do you mean she’s leaving?”
“Just that. She’s been offered a permanent position working for the doctor in town, and the position includes a place to live.”
June didn’t say the words. She didn’t have to. It was there in the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes: she wanted him to fix the situation. “She informed me she was going to pack her belongings and wouldn’t be needing rides to and from town after tomorrow morning.”
“She’s leaving,” Darren said, trying to come to terms with this news.
“Darren.” June wiped her hands on her apron. “You need to go talk to her. You can’t let her leave like this.”
“I can’t stop her,” Darren told her.
“You could try and work out your differences.”
“That would take a miracle. No, maybe it’s for the best if Lorna leaves.”
“You don’t mean that,” June replied.
Darren shook his head. “Yes, actually I do. I should go get washed up for supper.”
“It will be ready in ten minutes.”
“I’ll tell Pa,” Darren offered. He left the kitchen and went in search of his pa, who he found in the sitting room.
“June says supper will be ready in a few minutes.”
Brian nodded. “Thanks.”
Darren nodded and then stepped outside to wash up. He returned a few minutes later, his eyes immediately going to the empty space at the table where Lorna normally sat.
June saw his glance and murmured, “She said she wasn’t hungry. I’ll take a plate up to her room later.”
Darren nodded and fixed his eyes on his plate. The three of them ate in silence. The atmosphere in the room was tense. Darren finally tossed his napkin on the table and stood up. “You’re both acting as if something terrible has happened.”
His pa and June looked at him with accusation in their eyes. His pa finally spoke. “Lorna is leaving because of your poor behavior toward her. She doesn’t feel that she has a place here any longer.”
Darren met his pa’s eyes and then shook his head and blew out his breath. He quietly excused himself and headed for his bedroom.
He hadn’t slept well the night before, so he was hoping that a good night’s sleep tonight would help clear things up. What did the future look like for him and Lorna? He needed to think things through clearly and without emotion, but right now he was too tired and worked up.
He readied himself for bed and fell fast asleep shortly after crawling under the covers.
A while later, something woke Darren from a sound sleep. He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep. He stared at the ceiling for several moments, listening, smelling. Smelling?
Smoke. Smoke? Why do I smell smoke? And who’s yelling? It’s the middle of the night and…
Fire!
Darren bolted from the bed. He shoved his feet into his trousers and then into his boots. He pulled his trousers up and reached for his discarded shirt from the day before. Shoving his arms into the sleeves, he reached for the rifle he kept on the wall by the door.
He opened the bedroom door to find his pa standing in the hallway, a rifle in his hands and a look of grave concern on his face.
Darren headed for the stairs, but Brian stopped him. “Don’t go out there alone, son. Wait for me.”
“What’s going on?”
“We’re being attacked,” Brian told him. Brian finished pulling on his shirt and then reached for his own rifle.
Darren wanted to insist Brian stay put, but he knew his father was too stubborn to stay inside when someone was attacking the ranch. “Let’s go.”
Darren led the way downstairs, staying close to the walls as he and his pa crept toward the front door and windows. He peered through the window to see the barn had been set ablaze. The cowhands were trying to get it under control but it seemed they were fighting a losing battle.
The sound of panicked horses came from the far corral. He sent up a quick prayer of thanksgiving that someone had been quick enough to get them out of the burning barn.
He scanned the area and opened the door to see Ethan running for the ranch house. He stepped outside, crouching low as Ethan joined him in a similar fashion.
“What happened?” he demanded of his friend.
“It was those cattle rustlers, the ones wearing the red bandanas. I saw them with my own eyes.”
Darren’s vision clouded with rage and his body began to shake. “The same men who killed Mark?”
Ethan nodded. “I think so.”
“How many?”
“I saw at least two,” Ethan answered him.
“Let’s go.” Darren started forward, but he’d only taken a few steps when several shots were fired in their direction. Darren dropped to the ground, his rifle at the ready as he scanned the dark shadows for the persons responsible.
He saw movement to the side of the burning barn and returned fire. These outlaws had come onto their land and dared to try and burn them out! This time they weren’t going to get away with it.
He could hear men hollering at one another. The ranch hands had taken cover when the shots rang out, and they were trying to locate the men responsible. Other voices reached his ears and he turned to see at least two riders take off. The outlaws were trying to run. “Ethan…”
He looked to where his friend had been standing and felt his heart stop momentarily. Ethan was lying on the ground, a red blossom of blood spreading across his side as he gasped for breath.
“Ethan!” Darren crawled forward, struggling to maintain his composure. He fought the urge to scream at the injustice being wrought here this night. But there was no time. Ethan was hurt and the men responsible were getting away!
He reached Ethan, pressing his hand against the man’s side and eliciting a loud groan in response. “Hang in there. I’ll get you some help.” Ethan turned his head back toward the house and hollered, “Pa! Come quick!”
His pa reached them and Darren grabbed his hand and placed it on the wound in Ethan’s side. “Press here until help comes.” He was certain June and Lorna would come to help soon. He saw several of the cowhands coming toward him, the threat of being shot gone with the outlaws’ retreat.
“Get the horses,” he ordered. Two of the men nodded and headed for the corral.
“Son, don’t go after them,” Brian pleaded with him.
“I have to, and you know it. These criminals are not going to take anything else from this family or this ranch.” Darren turned to Ethan and met his pain-filled eyes. “Be strong, my friend.”
Ethan raised his hand a few inches and Darren clasped it. “Be careful.”
“Always,” Darren agreed with a nod. He picked up Ethan’s discarded rifle as well as his own. He ran to where a horse was waiting for him and disappeared into the shadows. The outlaws thought they’d won, but they didn’t know this ranch like Darren did. The hunters had just become the hunted.
Chapter 34
It had taken Lorna a long time to fall asleep. She loved living at the ranch, but given how things were between her and Darren, it wasn’t something she felt could continue. June had waited until Brian returned from the barn before they had both sat her down and asked for an explanation.
Lorna had tried to explain her feelings. She’d told them about the war and her father, and she’d been very truthful with them about the things she’d written in her letters.
June had been understandably upset. “Lorna, you’re a very bright young woman. One bad experience shouldn’t condemn an entire group of people. If we allowed ourselves to think that way, there would never be any peace on this earth.”
Brian had been just as upset. “I don’t know why Mark asked you to come here, knowing how you feel about the natives, but I have to believe that my son had a purpose. I have a similar belief in Darren. He’s a good man. Give Darren some time. He’ll come around, and then you can talk to him.”
Lorna had agreed. As it neared time for the evening meal, she had decided she needed to give Darren more time to calm down. She also wanted more time to figure out what she wanted to say to him and the others.
She was going to take Dr. Ellsworth up on his offer and move into town, but there had been enough upheaval this day, so she planned on waiting until the morning to announce her decision. Hopefully, things would look a bit brighter then.
Not wanting to disrupt supper, she’d retired to her room to pack. That hadn’t taken very long, and she’d spent the time after looking out the window and wishing things were different.
When the sun had finally set behind the distant mountains, she’d readied herself for bed. She’d lain there for hours before she finally managed to fall asleep, only to be jarred awake by the so
und of gunshots and the smell of smoke.
At first, she’d thought she was just having a very vivid nightmare about the war, but then June had come rushing into her bedroom. The gunshots and smoke were real.
“Lorna! Lorna! Hurry, you must wake up. Please, Ethan has been shot.”
Ethan shot? That brought Lorna fully awake and she sat up in bed. “June?”
“Lorna, hurry.” June picked up the robe from the chair in the corner and tossed it to her. “Hurry!”
Lorna slipped from the bed, forcing the grogginess of too-little sleep from her brain. “What’s going on?”
“The barn is on fire.”
A Bride to Heal His Broken Heart Page 21