by Lynn Landes
“It’s so beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as home,” Harris says with a smile. “We can camp along the river at the bottom,” Harris suggests.
“That’s hours away,” she quips. They had a hard ride crossing the mountain range behind them and the steep cliffs will take time to find a way to the bottom for them to cross.
“Or,” Vanessa says climbing out of the saddle and stretching, “we can camp here and watch the sunset over the river.” She winces against the sore muscles and smiles when he dismounts.
“Are you hurting?” His eyes trace her with concern.
“Yes.” She smiles and steps closer to his body, “Can you rub away all my aches?” she teases.
“I am a doctor, you know.” He rubs her shoulder, and she groans in pleasure.
“Is that a yes?” She asks snuggling into his chest.
“Definitely a yes,” he kisses her softly and pulls her into a hug. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he sighs. “Let’s make camp in the trees up ahead.”
Harris guides the horses to the edge of the trees and starts the process of pulling off the saddles, while she begins to gather wood for a fire. “I have some jerky and biscuits left.”
“I’m starved,” Vanessa says as she moves further into the trees. She works quickly anticipating snuggling by the fire with his hot body keeping her warm. It is amazing how her body craves his touch, taste, and feel.
A smile of contentment flickers as a cold breeze blows her hair away from her face. When the birds fall quiet, she straightens and looks around with concern. The sudden silence causes her mouth to go dry, and her heartbeat accelerates. Unseen eyes watch her as she slowly bends to pick up the next stick and draws a knife from her boot. A flash of movement and snap of a twig is her only warning.
The Apache brave scouted ahead and followed their tracks for the last mile. Vanessa doesn’t bother to scream. Instead, she tosses the firewood in his direction and reveals her hidden blade. His eyes show his confusion at the Indian knife, but still, he draws his own knife, bigger and stronger than hers. He smiles and lifts his hands.
Harris creeps in from behind the Indian with his rifle raised, but Kimani shakes her head no, and calls to the brave, “Watch out for the bear,” in Shoshone. He hesitates in surprise just as she hopes.
“Moba?” He glares at her, clearly confused now. Harris brings the butt of his rifle down on his skull, knocking him to the ground in a heap.
“Harris! How did you know?” she gasps.
“Too quiet,” he keeps his rifle pointed on him and orders her to run to his saddle and get a rope.
Vanessa runs and swiftly ties the Indian up. She rips a piece of her skirt off the bottom and makes a gag. “It’d be easier to shoot him,” he grumbles.
“Yes, but he was scouting ahead, I didn’t want to warn the others.” Fear has her hands shaking, “We have to go now! They won’t be far behind him!”
“Agreed, let’s go!” Together they run back to camp and hurry to saddle the horses and mount. “If we…” he starts to say.
A hoot of warning calls out from behind. The way they came is clearly blocked. An answering call comes from the opposite direction, causing them to both startle. They are closing in all around them.
“Oh, God”, she hisses.
An Apache war cry sounds out, and he turns to her. “Vanessa, we can outrun them!”
A war cry followed by gun shots, and horror fills Harris’s eyes. “It’s too late for that,” she murmurs.
His heart beats rapidly as he glances at the cliff behind them. She jolts when the third call rips through the night. “Harris!” Fear for his safety has her kicking her horse and moving towards the cliff. He kicks his horse and blocks her attempt.
“Listen to me, Vanessa,” he shouts.
“No! They are closing in around us and the way back down is blocked.”
“You’ll break every bone in your body if you land wrong.”
Vanessa leaps from her horse and pulls the reins to calm her mount. Harris immediately jumps down to follow her and grabs her upper arm.
“Harris,” he silences her with a firm kiss.
“I can’t lose you, Nessa. I only just found you,” he says hoarsely.
Tears fill her eyes at his admission. She reaches up and cups his face and kisses him softly, pouring all her love and passion into it. He tastes the saltiness of her tear and wonders at it.
“I need you to trust me, as I have trusted you. It’s the only way. I know what comes next. If they catch us, you will wish you’d jumped to your death.” Determination flickers in her eyes, and he knows she’s right.
Three braves break through the trees behind them. One pauses and releases an arrow, barely missing her by a fraction. Harris nods, releasing his horse. Hers quickly follows, and he smacks them on the rump, shouting, “Ya!” Sending them in the direction of the Indians and buying them some time. He grabs her hand and doesn’t look back.
“Together then,” he shouts, and they run to the face of the cliff as a volley of gun shots flies past them. When he glances over at her, he’s stunned to see her grinning at him.
“Nahma!” Together, she shouts.
Two of the Indians chase after them, skidding to a stop at the edge and screaming in rage when they leap. They watch in horrified fascination as the two bodies drop over seventy feet to the raging river below.
What can only be a few seconds seem like an eternity as they plunge into the icy water with a smack. Vanessa loses her breath from the impact, and the bubbles surround her. The pull of the river is strong, but she’d learned not to fight it. Immediately, she begins to kick and swim towards the surface, following the directions of the bubbles. When she can break the surface, she gasps in a breath of air and lifts her feet as her father instructed her.
Harris? She looks around desperate to find him only to see him struggling to break the surface. A scream from above and the Indians begin releasing arrows and wild gun shots.
“NO!” Harris’s body is pushed past her and is sinking under! Vanessa takes a deep breath and dives, struggling to reach him. She’s able to grab one arm and pull him to her. With an arm wrapped around his neck, she prays for help and kicks towards the surface. When she is finally able to break through the surface, she flips and holds Harris’s head up.
“Harris, wake up!” She coughs and stops fighting the current, allowing it to carry them. She is beginning to think they have a chance to escape until the arrows and bullets begin splashing in the water all around them.
Vanessa screams when one slices into her arm.
“Harris, please!” she struggles to hold them above the water.
“Grab the rope!” A voice yells from the shore. Vanessa looks over and sees three riders thundering along the shore. Pierce Rivers stops and shoulders his rifle. He fires at the cliff face above, forcing the braves to back away. His brother Steele stops and joins him, and they shoot together, hoping to give them the cover they need to escape the grip of the rapids.
“Kimani!” Dane Rivers shouts, calling her attention. The rope slaps in front of her, and she reaches with one hand, but almost loses hold of Harris.
“I can’t!” she screams, sucking in a mouthful of water as they are pulled along by the fast-moving water, into a section of raging rapids.
Dane drags the rope back, cursing and creates a lasso as he watches them sweep into a section of rapids and boulders.
Vanessa’s muscles are burning as she struggles to keep his head above water and fights to keep herself upright. “Please, Harris, wake up!” she coughs out.
Harris jerks awake and opens his eyes with a groan of pain. He coughs and fights against the current, causing her to shout his name. Relief at the sound of her voice has him gripping her tightly.
“Your Dad is here!” She shouts as they drop down a funnel point in the river. Vanessa tries to grab a boulder to help slow them down, and this time with Harris’s grip they are able to hold on for a minute
.
A wave rolls over them. When they surface, he looks at the shoreline and sees his Dad and brothers racing alongside. His father rides ahead and leaps down, running along a big boulder ahead of them. Relief rips through his soul.
“Grab the rope when he throws it, Nessa!” Harris orders, watching his father begin to swirl the lasso over his head.
“No! You’re hurt,” she shakes her head and sobs his name, “Harris!”
“Do IT!” He roars at her away and shoves her away from him.
“Harris!” She screams when he pushes her into the fast moving water.
Dane watches and tosses the lasso, dropping it around her upturned hand. Pierce thunders past Dane, riding ahead to help Harris.
“Steele!” Dane shouts pulling on the rope. Steele runs next to his father’s side and reaches for her.
Pierce thunders away wrapping a rope around the pommel on his saddle and rides as close to the shoreline as possible. The other end of the rope is tied around his waist, and he says a quick prayer as they watch Harris float down-stream on his back and disappear beneath a large wave in the rapids.
“Damn!” Pierce hisses.
“Dad?” Steele shouts watching Pierce go after Harris.
“Go!” Vanessa coughs, and rolls over, expelling more water. Dane runs, back to his horse and rides downstream. He rides as fast as he can and watches Harris break through the surface of the water.
Pierce positions himself in front of Harris on the shoreline and dives into the fast-moving water, swimming aggressively to reach the spot he thinks his brother will surface. Steele reaches his horse and grabs the reins and begins backing the horse up knowing the jerk will come as soon as the rope reaches the end.
Harris struggles with the power of the rapidly moving whitewater. He barely makes it to the surface before he is slammed back down again. Pierce swims and is ready when Harris’s body slams into his. He wraps up on his brother, counting on Steele to handle the extraction.
Steele drives the horse back away from the shoreline the moment the rope goes taut. Vanessa stumbles to her feet and runs, praying that Harris will be okay.
“Yah!” Steele shouts forcing the horse to back up, and Dane leaps down grabbing his rope, knowing they will need a second rope to pull the weight of two bodies from the grasp of the river.
Vanessa watches in horror as Harris and Pierce are towed from the river. Dane waits for the perfect moment and drops a second rope to Pierce who grabs it and drops it over Harris. “Now!” Pierce shouts and releases Harris. Steele and Dane work to drag the two brothers to the shoreline. When they are close enough to get a foothold, Pierce finds his footing and shouts for them to help Harris.
Dane runs into the water and grabs his son, followed by Steele who is quick to help. Vanessa watches as they lay him on the ground and encourage him to cough up some of the water. She covers her mouth in a quiet sob of relief when he is helped to a sitting position. Pierce stumbles to his knees beside Harris.
“Man, you owe me big time,” Pierce pants.
“Yes, I do.” Harris glances at his family and grins until his eyes meet hers. “Come here,” he orders.
She sobs and runs to him falling into his body. He wraps one good arm around her and holds her close. “Harris!” she sobs into his neck.
His family watch in surprise but are smart enough not to say anything.
“How far behind us do you think they are?” Pierce asks his Father.
“I’m not sure. We need to get to the horses and go. Can you ride?” Dane asks them.
“Do we have a choice?” Vanessa pushes back from Harris and watches him carefully.
“You hurt your arm?” she gasps.
“We are lucky that was all we hurt,” he stands, and Steele helps her to her feet, stripping his coat off and draping it around her shoulders.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“I’ll get the horses,” Steele runs to his horse as Dane and Pierce move away to give them a moment alone.
“Vanessa,” Harris lifts her chin and kisses her softly. “We have to go.”
“I know,” she wrings the water from her hair and smiles, “I’m ready,”
He holds out a hand, “Nahma.”
“Always, together,” she says gripping his good hand.
Chapter 36
Harris pulled Vanessa from her horse a few hours into the ride and held her against his chest while they rode. Exhaustion beats at her and she is thankful for the support. His body heat feels amazing, she wraps her arms around his waist and burrows in, falling asleep instantly.
“How’s the arm?” Steele asks.
He glances down at his treasure and grins. “Never felt better.”
“You’ve got it bad,” Pierce teases and they all laugh softly.
“How much longer do you think they will track us?”
“We should have a few hour head start, unless they decide to jump,” Dane glances at his son and shakes his head.
“I’d say they will have two hours down and that gives us a four-hour head start. I doubt they’d go this far, but I’m not taking any chances with her life,” Harris says.
A few hours later and Harris hands Vanessa over to Steele who grins at him when she wraps her arms around his waist and doesn’t wake up. “Poor thing is exhausted,” Dane murmurs.
“Another two hours and we will stop,” Harris snaps.
“Why? I’m gladly hold her all the way home. She doesn’t weigh more than Violet.”
Harris glares at him, “I’m not against hurting you, brother.”
Pierce and Dane watch the exchange, smiling. “Keep moving, boys.” Dane says and rides up next to Harris. “Drink this,” Dane snaps and offers him a flask.
“Pop!” Harris laughs and gladly accepts the whiskey hoping it will help the throbbing in his body. Every bone and muscle aches and his arm is on fire. He couldn’t hold her and stay in his saddle. It killed him to hand her over but he’s glad she’s sleeping through this.
“When we get home, I’m locking the door to my cabin and not leaving for a month!” Harris grumbles as he takes another swallow and welcomes the heat burning its way down to his empty stomach.
Later they stop to make camp and Vanessa is ordered by four Rivers men to sit and not move. As soon as they leave to gather wood, she paces, stretching and struggles with the pain in her body. Dane watches her closely and walks to the woods, coming back with his flask from Harris.
“Drink this, Kimani, it will help with the pain,” Dane offers.
“Thank you,” she sips and coughs, making a horrible face. She stares at him in surprise when he encourages her to take a bigger swallow.
“It will help take the edge off. One more big swallow, don’t hold it in your mouth, just shoot it back,” he suggests.
Vanessa nods and does as he suggest before handing it back with burning and watering eyes. He grins and guides her back to the fire.
“Come sit down, and you sip on that from time, to time.”
They sit quietly while Dane pulls out his pipe.
“Will your family be okay with Harris bringing me home?” Vanessa asks as Dane packs his pipe.
His smile flashes, “Of course. You are family, Kimani, you always have been.” He puffs, and she smiles at the familiar scent of tobacco.
“Family?” She stares at him with an expression of hope in her eyes.
“Yes. You’ve been a part of our lives since your Father found you.”
Steele walks over with his bedroll and clears a place on the ground for it, listening quietly as they talk.
Vanessa drops her eyes from his, “I’m not sure how to feel about anything. I feel so guilty, Dane, for surviving. Yet the other half of my soul is happy to be with Harris, how do I reconcile the two halves?”
“You need to grieve the loss. Together, we will grieve with you, love you and support you.” Dane smiles when she nods and continues building a fire. “I’ll gather more wood.”
Steele sits down next to the fire and glances at Vanessa as she stares into the flames. “People who’ve never experienced loss don’t understand.” Her eyes flick to him in surprise.
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“The hole inside, it never goes away,” he glares at the fire, remembering his wife and her heart breaks for him.
“What do you do with that?”
His eyes so like his brothers meet hers and he thinks of his daughter and grins. “Life goes on despite the anger. God knows what we need. He gave me Violet, and he gave you Harris, or rather he gave Harris you. You learn to live for them. Honor your people by living a full, happy life. Love with every breath and when those moments come that weigh you down,” he reaches down and takes her hand. “Turn and find us, we will help you carry it. Share the memories, write them down if you need too. Laugh, cry and remember. In that way you honor them.”
Vanessa doesn’t realize she is crying until he pulls her into a hug. “Thank you.”
Harris watches from the woods and sends a prayer of thanks for this family he was born into and wipes his own tears before stepping over from the woods.
“Get your hand off my wife!”
“Wife?” Pierce quips as he and Dane return with more wood.
“Not yet, but as soon as Nessa says so,” Harris grins.
“Who’s Nessa?” Dane asks.
Harris glances at her and nods.
“Before my Ahbe’ died, he told me my family name. I was named Vanessa Schmidt.” Harris walks over and drapes a blanket around her shoulders.
“You wish to be called by your family name?” Steele asks.
Vanessa grips the blanket tight around her shoulders and falls quiet. “I do. Kimani died with her people.” Hollow eyes look to Harris. “I’m tired if you’ll excuse me,” she walks away to the bedroll Harris spread out and is asleep within a few breaths.
The men stare silently into the flames. “Son, you scared years off my life when the two of you dove off that cliff,” Dane says.
“Mine too, Pop,” Harris grimaces.
“Do you think they’ll follow us?” Pierce asks.