The young boy came running over. He wasn’t older than twelve or thirteen and Nick often saw him helping his grandfather at the mill.
“What is it, Mr. Cooper?” the boy asked with wide eyes.
“I need you to take a message to Ginger and to my hired hand, Craig, for me. It’s urgent. Can you do that?”
Todd’s eyes clouded with worry, “What happened? Of course, I can.”
“I need to you tell her that Lana has been kidnapped by some people and I am going with the sheriff to get her back. Tell her everything will be all right. And then tell Mr. Craig to go to her house and stay there with her and take a shotgun with him in case he needs to protect them, okay?”
Todd nodded and after a few more instructions from Nick, hurried off. Nick regretted telling Ginger that everything would be all right. He didn’t want her to think that nothing could go wrong.
But he also didn’t want her to worry more than she should. Nick watched Todd disappear from sight and hoped that Ginger would understand that he was doing everything he could to get her back.
Once he was certain that Todd was gone, he went to find the sheriff and Derek. They needed to get a search party together and fast.
Chapter 34
Ginger started at the knock on the door. She had fallen asleep on the sofa between Lydia and Freddy with Gulliver’s Travels laying open on her lap.
She squeezed out from under them and rushed over to the door. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she knew that it was hours later than when she had started to put the children to bed by the bright moonlight outside.
When she opened the door, she found Todd standing there. He looked very uncomfortable as if her doorstep was the last place on earth that he wanted to be.
“Todd! What are you doing here at such a late hour?” Ginger glanced behind him into the dark night, searching for any sign that he’d come accompanied by someone but found no one.
“I came to bring you a message from Nick.”
Ginger’s heart leaped into her throat. Why would Todd be bringing her a message unless something terrible had happened?
“Goodness, is he all right? Is Lana all right? Where are they? I’ve been waiting for hours. Come in.”
Todd stepped inside and looked around uncomfortably.
“I think they’re okay. I mean Nick is okay.” Todd looked as if he was ill-equipped to answer her questions.
“What about Lana? You said Nick was okay. Does that mean that Lana isn’t?” Ginger’s mind jumped to the worst conclusions possible. Had something happened to Lana? Maybe her sickness was worse than she had thought. The idea of living without Lana in her life made Ginger start to feel panicky.
“No… I mean, Nick said to tell you that she was taken by a gang and he’s going to help the sheriff get her back. That’s all I know.”
“Taken by a gang? How!?” Ginger felt her entire world begin to spin and she leaned against her cane as if it was her only support left in this life.
How had Lana managed to get kidnapped by a gang?
“I don’t know ma’am. That’s all Mr. Cooper told me. He said that you shouldn’t worry and it will all be okay. He said to tell Mr. Craig to come and stay here with you until he got back to make sure you stay safe.”
Ginger’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh my. Okay. Th-thank you for telling me.”
Tod nodded and then turned and disappeared into the night. Ginger watched him go to the farmhand quarters as a tear escaped down her cheek.
What if Lana didn’t make it home safely? Why had she allowed them to go to town so late? Maybe this was all her fault. Why wouldn’t she be safe? Did this have anything to do with what had happened to Daniel?
Visions and memories of losing Daniel swamped her. Was she going to lose another remember of her family?
“Mama? What’s wrong?” Lydia’s little voice interrupted her thoughts and she turned to find her daughter standing there in the middle of the parlor, questions on her face. “Is Miss Lana back?”
“No, no, Lydia. She’s not back yet.” Ginger knew that she couldn’t tell her daughter what was really going on. She wasn’t old enough to really understand it and she would only be worried sick, much like she herself was right now.
“Come on, let’s get you and your brother into bed.”
“But I want to wait for Lana and Uncle Nick.”
“No, tonight, they are going to stay in town a bit late.” Ginger hoped she was wrong, she hoped that somehow, this would all turn out to be a terrible mistake.
But she had a feeling that it wasn’t and that everything Todd had said was true.
She scooped up a still sleeping Freddy and made sure Lydia was following her. She tried her best not to put too much weight on her leg. The resting time was almost over but she didn’t want to mess it up either way.
Having to spend any more time than necessary like this, not doing anything, would drive her crazy.
She laid Freddy down in his bed and then tucked Lydia into hers. Once she had made sure both of them were comfortable, she went back into the parlor. She knew that she should try to go to bed, but she already knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She would just toss and turn as she waited.
She pulled some logs from the wood box and stacked them onto the fire in the fireplace.
When Nick and Lana did get back, she was going to make sure they had a warm fire to get back to.
As she watched the orange flames dance in the fireplace, she brought up memories she had shared with Lana over the years.
Back in school, Ginger had never been the popular one, and yet Lana had sort of taken her under her wing.
They had become inseparable and had spent every moment they could together.
Sometimes, they would simply sit outside the schoolhouse after class was over and talk. Ginger missed those days. Back before they had lost their families and she had moved away.
While marrying Daniel had been one of the best things in her life, leaving Lana was easily one of the worst.
Now that Lana had come out west it seemed almost like a dream come true. She sent up a prayer to God that she wouldn’t lose one of the dwindling numbers of people she loved and who cared about her.
She heard a knock on the door and found Craig there holding a shotgun.
“Do you know what has happened?” he asked.
“No. I just heard the same as you what Todd came up here to tell me that somehow Lana has been taken by a gang and Nick and the sheriff are going after them,” she said with worry in her voice.
“Well, can I wait it out here with you ma’am? The boy said Nick asked me to come up here and stay and watch over you and the young’uns until he returns.”
“Sure thing. I appreciate it. I’ll bring in some blankets and you can bunk on the daybed here in the parlor,” she said. I don’t know that I’ll be able to sleep either way but I will feel a bit better with you here,” she added. “I don’t know why Nick thinks we are in any danger but I trust his judgment.”
She gathered blankets and then bid Craig a goodnight as she went to her room to wait for news of Lana and Nick. All she could do for them now was pray.
Chapter 35
Lana looked off into the trees. She could hear the sound of people walking and talking as they approached. Her muscles tensed and she fought the urge to address them as soon as they arrived.
She knew that the smart thing to do was to wait and listen to them talk. She needed to see where they stood and what they wanted before she proposed anything.
She had come to the conclusion that she would learn more about them and her situation if she listened for a while and allowed things to flow around her. Maybe the quieter she was, the less they would notice her and the less harm they would want to cause her.
Maybe they would just ride off and forget about her altogether.
“David! You made it back. I see getting rid of the sheriff was a success.” Lana wanted to vomit as she heard Jake’s voice.
“What in heaven's name is she doing here?” His voice wasn’t slow or impaired like it was when he worked at the general store. It was strong and angry. It reminded her of a vicious dog, telling people on the street to beware.
“She found out about the robbery and came to get the sheriff while you guys were still at it. I couldn’t let her go. I wasn’t sure when you guys would be finished, but I had to get out of there. So I brought her here,” David explained.
To be fair, despite her disadvantageous spot, Lana did have to admit his explanation made sense. If she had been in his place, she probably would have done the same.
“I see, so it was you who was responsible for the trouble at the bank.” This time, Jake’s voice was chilling.
“N-no, it wasn’t me.” Lana felt the blood drain from her cheeks. Jake looked as if he were angry enough to do someone a lot of harm and she was afraid that someone might be herself.
“Well, maybe you weren’t directly involved, but I do believe you had something to do with it. It’s no coincidence that you went for the sheriff while we were locked inside the bank,” Jake snarled.
“No, I just saw them go in with guns and heard the people screaming and I went for the sheriff,” she said in the most convincing voice she could muster.
“They locked you inside the bank? I’m sorry, I would have helped if I’d known. I figured I should follow the plan.” David looked suddenly apologetic.
“No, it’s not your fault. None of us could have accounted for that. I do have to say, it was an impressive plan. It would have worked if I hadn’t taken the extra precaution of removing the sheriff.”
“Is he all right?” Lana finally found her tongue. She had to know if they had killed the sheriff. The few times she had talked with him he had been more than kind and he seemed like a good man. The anger she’d had for him when he had disregarded Nick aside, she was truly worried for him.
“I suppose you’ll find out when you go back to town.” Jake’s smile was cruel.
“You’re going to let me go then?” Lana realized as soon as the words left her mouth that she had made a mistake by showing her enthusiasm.
Jake realized it too, “No, actually, maybe we won’t.”
One of the other men rose his eyebrows and took a step closer to Jake, but Lana could still hear his words clearly. “We’re keeping her? Isn’t that going to make a lot of heat for us?”
“I’m sure that the town will all know about the robbery by now and if not by now then by morning. They aren’t going to let their money go all that easily. They will follow us anyway. I have a feeling I know who it was who made it hard for us to leave the bank.”
“Who?” the same man questioned, glancing between Jake and Lana.
“Nick. He was asking questions about Daniel’s accident. He told the sheriff about the pin he gave me. He was a regular at the general store and often came with you, didn’t he?” Jake stared intently at Lana, but she didn’t answer him.
“Answer me!” His voice was like a clap in the dark, sending chills down Lana’s spine.
“He has nothing to do with this.” Lana tried to keep her voice strong, but she knew that she sounded scared and she was sure that Jake knew she was scared too. It couldn’t be hard to see.
“Look at you, trying to protect him.” Jake shook his head as if she disgusted him. “Well, boys, it won’t work. I know a hero when I see one. Nick was responsible for this and now he’ll pay.”
Lana’s heart skipped a beat. She hoped that they wouldn’t do anything to Nick. If she could stop them, she would, but she wasn’t exactly in the position to do anything but beg and she had a feeling that would only make things worse.
A series of hollers and yells of approval went around the campfire. “We’re going to hang onto you for a while. I’m sure that good ole’ Nick will rethink his heroic plan when he knows that he’s lost you for it.”
Lana didn’t say anything. She wasn’t going to dignify their threats with a response. She knew what they meant what they were saying. While they may plan on keeping her alive for now, that might change.
She was going to have to do her best to escape before they decided to kill her or worse.
Now she couldn’t think unselfishly anymore. She hoped with all her heart that Nick was on his way to rescue her. She had a feeling that it would be the only way out of this predicament. But she also knew they would use it to their advantage. They had a hostage.
For the rest of the evening, the gang seemed to ignore her. As they prepared dinner, her stomach growled. She didn’t want to want the food they were making, but her body hadn’t eaten since lunch and didn’t know any better.
But she was invisible to them. They didn’t offer her a single morsel, or a sip of water and so she sat there, not saying a word or asking for anything.
She was going to have to get a whole lot more uncomfortable before asking these men for any favors.
She tried to keep her eyes open. She didn’t want to fall asleep while they were awake. The entire time they talked, she listened, hoping to hear something useful.
She heard tidbits about other crimes they had committed and how they had set this robbery up a long time ago.
She heard about another job they were planning but wasn’t able to catch the name of the town or their target.
Her eyelids began to ache with exhaustion, but she forced them to stay open, her eyes set in a hateful glare at her captors.
As she sat there, staring at them intently, she worked rubbing her hands back and forth, back and forth, rubbing the ropes together.
They were wet, sticky in places from the blood that had escaped her wrists because of her escape attempts, but she didn’t care.
The smell of smoke and cooked pork tickled her nose, making her stomach growl yet again. She was starving, but she would survive this. She had read once that a man could survive a couple of weeks without food but only three days without water.
She had been given neither. That meant that she had two more days and a half before she died because of a lack of water. She tried to imagine if she would just fall over or if it would be long and painful.
‘Don’t be silly. They’ll come for you before that happens,’ she thought to herself.
Despite her efforts, she couldn’t keep the images from overcoming her brain; the images of being dropped off somewhere in the deep woods, having no hope of ever finding a town or civilization again. She shivered.
She had on a light sweater, nothing substantial as she had expected to be home by now. She shivered in the cool night air, wishing she had a heavier coat with her.
The men went on with their night as if she wasn’t there. It was quite eerie actually to feel so invisible. If Lana hadn’t heard them talking about her earlier she would have thought they hadn’t even realized that David had kidnapped her.
After dinner, someone brought out two bottles of whiskey and they passed them around. As they filled their bellies with whiskey, they began to sing songs at the top of their lungs and tell each other vulgar jokes.
An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 25