The twinkle in Seth’s eyes made Dori feel she’d stepped onto shaky ground. Drat. He’d always been able to see right through her. Had he caught the relief in her face that Katie wasn’t a candidate for his affections? She gathered her wits and raised her head.
“Why, of course.” Dori forced herself to slowly walk upstairs when she longed to run. She wanted to ride with Seth. Yet doing so meant giving herself away, and refusing would bring down a storm of questions on her hapless head. Before falling asleep, she pounded at the gates of heaven, asking for a reprieve.
If Dori had ever questioned whether God had a sense of humor, she’d have tossed the notion to the four winds the very next day. A buggy pulled up to the ranch house. Abby Sheridan stepped down.
“Howdy, everyone. I have a few days off.” Abby’s pretty face shone with excitement. “I’m taking the stage trip up to Big Tree Station. Anyone want to go along?”
“Where’s Big Tree Station?” Sarah wanted to know.
“In the Yosemite Valley,” Matt told her. “You stay overnight and the trip is quite an experience.” He grinned. “Remember when we went, Dori? You couldn’t believe that a tree could be big enough for a stagecoach to drive through.”
“It was, though.” Dori added, “I also remember the endless forests and canyons and snow-capped mountains. You’ll love them, Sarah. Guess what: Even former president Ulysses S. Grant took the trip.”
Sarah’s eyes glowed. “It sounds like just this side of heaven.”
Abby clapped her hands and giggled. “What’s good enough for a president is good enough for me.” She paused and dramatically added, “Besides, we may be held up.”
“Held up? Does that happen often?” A little worry line creased Sarah’s forehead.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Abby reassured her. “Holdups are so commonplace that the tourists almost hope they will happen. The robbers are usually real gentlemen. They hold up the stage, relieve passengers of their valuables, politely thank them, and ride away without harming anyone.” Abby beamed. “We’ll outsmart them. We’ll leave our valuables at home and enjoy being held up without losing our possessions.”
Sarah laughed so hard she had to hold her sides. “It sounds wonderful and really quite safe. What do you think, Matt? Can you get away?”
He shook his head. “I wish I could, but I have to attend a cattleman’s meeting.” His face brightened. “Seth can take my place, and you can chaperone, Sarah. How does that sound?” He grinned at Dori. “The trip will be a reward for your hard work.”
“Thanks.” Dori kept to herself the fact she saw the trip as twofold. She could gauge Seth’s reaction to Abby. There also might be a chance to show Seth she wasn’t the same spoiled girl she used to be.
On the appointed morning, Seth, Sarah, Dori, and Abby met at Captain Mace’s Yosemite Hotel just before six o’clock. At the last minute, Katie had decided to stay at the ranch. She didn’t say why, but Dori suspected it was because Curly wasn’t going.
Dori shrugged and vowed to shelve her worries and enjoy what lay ahead. The day loomed bright and beautiful; the stagecoach sat ready and waiting. Dori shivered as much from excitement as from the chilly morning. She thought of Stancel Worthington III and laughed. What would he think of the open-sided stagecoach with its canopy top, horsehair-filled seats, and great wheels? He’d surely look down his nose at the other two passengers: rough-dressed ranchers who said they’d be getting off at Fresno Flats. And he’d jeer at Charley, the grizzled, loquacious driver who had Seth riding next to him.
Dori couldn’t have cared less. Nothing could spoil the day. She reviewed their itinerary. Arrive and change horses at Adobe Ranch, nine miles east of Madera. Go through Dustin’s Station. Stop for dinner at Coarsegold. Travel through Potter’s Ridge, Fresno Flats, and Burford’s Station. Reach Big Tree Station in the late afternoon.
“I can hardly wait to stay at the Wawona Hotel,” Abby said when they were underway. “I heard all about it from a woman who took the trip.” Peals of mirth brought an answering smile to Dori’s face.
“You won’t believe this. First she raved about the hotel, which is a large, two-story building with a lobby, sitting room, dining room, office, twenty-five guest rooms, lots of flowers, and wonderful food. Then she sighed and said, ‘Now if it were only in San Francisco instead of way up here in the wilderness, it would be perfect.’ ”
“Sounds like…uh…someone Dori knows,” Sarah teased.
“Enough of that, Mrs. Sterling. Pay attention to the trip.”
“I am.” Sarah’s eyes reflected the wonder Dori felt in spite of having to keep her balance in the swaying stagecoach. A bull elk meandered across the dusty road, and Charley warned, “Be keerful of animules up here. You gotta watch out if ’n you sleep on the ground floor at the hotel. Don’t leave yore winders open. Coyotes ’round here have been known to sneak up an’ snatch at a body’s bedroll.”
Seth chuckled. “Come on, Charley. That only happens in the woods, not in the hotel.” He seemed more carefree than he had for weeks.
“I’m just joshin’. Yu’ll be perfectly safe at Big Tree Station.”
By the time they reached Coarsegold, Dori couldn’t wait to get out of the jouncing stagecoach. The trip so far had surpassed expectations but she secretly wondered how much of her would be left by the time they reached Big Tree Station. Once on solid ground, Dori clicked her teeth. “Lead me to the food. At least no robbers yet.”
No robbers. Something worse. When the travelers returned to the stage after dinner they discovered a new passenger.
Red Fallon was perched beside the driver.
Chapter 23
Stunned, Seth Anderson stared at the gaunt man on the high seat beside Charley. “Red Fallon!” Sarah cried.
Red doffed his worn sombrero. “Yes ma’am. Howdy, Anderson.”
Red’s reply freed Seth from paralysis. Although the cowhand’s formerly unkempt red hair and beard were now neatly trimmed, there was no mistaking Red’s steel gray eyes.
Hatred Seth thought he had conquered rose like bile. He launched himself at the man who had nearly killed him and had kidnapped Sarah. Seth’s powerful left arm grabbed Red by the vest and yanked him from the seat. He clenched his teeth and drew back his right arm to deliver a blow Red would never forget.
Red made no effort to free himself. “Go ahead. I got it comin’.”
The words stopped Seth in his tracks. “Either you come up with a good reason for being in Coarsegold, or I’ll beat the living daylights out of you.”
Red’s face showed no trace of fear. “I’d do the same in yore place. You want my story short an’ sweet?”
“As short and sweet as you can make it.” Seth tightened his hold.
“After Matt an’ Sheriff Meade fired me off the range, nobody else’d hire me. I always had a hankerin’ to see San Francisco, so I ended up there. I got mugged and nearly beaten to death.” A strange expression crept into Red’s craggy face. “You’ll find this hard to swaller, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Seth loosened his hold and reeled back. “Are you serious?” The question cracked like a Colt .45. Was this another of Red’s lies?
“Dead serious, which I woulda been if a kid, ’bout the age you were when you came west, hadn’t stumbled over me in an alley back of a rescue mission.” Red’s steely eyes softened. “The folks there practiced what they called ‘soup, soap, and salvation.’ Hanged if they didn’t clean me up, feed me, and tell me about a feller named Jesus.”
Red heaved a great sigh. “They said Jesus died on a cross so even the worst sinners could be forgiven if they believed in Him. I thought He must be loco. Why would anyone want to die for a bunch of ornery skunks? But watchin’ and listenin’ to the kid and the folks who ran the mission finally got it through my thick head. God loved me, no matter how bad I’d been—and I didn’t have to be like that no more.”
Seth clamped his mouth shut. Low exclamations fr
om the three young women and a loud, “Well, if that don’t beat all” from Charley showed their reaction to the amazing story. Seth’s skepticism remained, in spite of the light in Red’s eyes. Yet God did send Jesus to save sinners. In His eyes, Red was no worse than any other unbeliever. But was Red sincere?
“Ah-huh. And you just happened to be catching the Madera-Big Tree Station stage the same day we were on it.” Seth accused.
The light in Red’s face increased. “Mebbe it’s for a reason.”
The words of an old hymn flashed across Seth’s churning mind:
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
What if Red was right? What if God had arranged for the cowhand to be in this place at this time? Seth wracked his brain, trying to figure out why. All he could come up with was that if Red had really accepted Christ, then Seth, Matt, and Sarah need never fear him again. And Seth could finally be freed from lingering anger.
Lord, I thought I turned my hatred over to You long ago. I hadn’t. One sight of Red showed that. So what do I do now? Seth silently prayed.
“Wait.”
The admonition pushed into his brain and lodged there. Yes, he would wait. In the meantime, “I still want to know why you’re here,” he told Red.
Some of the tension left Red’s face. He started to hold out his hand, then evidently thought better of it. “Not by chance. The folks at the mission got word the hotel in Yosemite was lookin’ for trail guides to show tourists around. I figgered if I made good there, I’d have the nerve to someday go back to Madera and show folks I’d changed. Trouble was, I needed a horse.” A trace of the old Red showed when he added, “After askin’ Jesus to ride along with me, I couldn’t up and steal one.”
Seth laughed in spite of himself, but Charley’s snort nearly drowned him out. “Not hardly. So what’d you do?”
Red’s face turned somber. “The mission folks gave me train fare to Madera, but I got off at Merced, knowin’ there wouldn’t be no welcomin’ party in Madera. I bought a sorry excuse for a horse and made out all right till last night. The ornery critter broke his hobbles and took off for parts unknown. I had to hoof it on in to Coarsegold today.” He sagged back against the stagecoach.
The gray look in Red’s hollow-cheeked face lent credibility to his story, but Seth still had qualms. Could a hawk really become a dove? He glanced around the circle of faces. Sarah and Abby looked convinced. Dori did not. Doubt lurked in her deep blue eyes, the same doubt Seth harbored. Again the word wait beat into his brain. Time alone would establish Red’s credibility.
Charley’s unshaven face crinkled into annoyance. “That’s a mighty purty story, if it be true. I ain’t a-sayin’ one way or t’other, but we got no more time fer tales, tall or otherwise. Get in the coach, folks. We gotta move out if we’re gonna get to Big Tree Station when we’re due.”
Red swung back up beside Charley. Seth was profoundly grateful. He helped the women to their seats and climbed on. The two Fresno Flats-bound ranchers, who had remained inside the eating place until Charley bellowed, “All aboard,” joined them.
“Do you think Red’s telling the truth?” Sarah whispered, low enough so that the ranchers couldn’t hear.
“I don’t know.” Seth stared at Red’s back. “All we can do is to wait and see.”
The ride from Coarsegold to Potter’s Ridge proved jolting, but just before they reached Fresno Flats, the stagecoach lurched, shuddered, and stopped.
Charley climbed off the high seat and began to inspect the wheels. He swallowed what Seth suspected was a colorful oath not fit for ladies and said, “Sorry. Thet last big rut wuz a humdinger.” He scratched his grizzled head with a bony finger and spat a stream of tobacco juice alongside the road. “The axle ’pears to be all right, but we cain’t take chances. ’Tain’t far to Fresno Flats an’ a blacksmith. It’s likely we c’n make it by goin’ slow ’n’ easy. I don’t take this coach on no dang’rous mountain roads ’nless it’s fit to drive.”
One of the ranchers climbed out of the coach. “I’m going to walk on into town,” he told Charley. “I’ll tell the blacksmith you’re on your way.” The second rancher joined him, but Red and the Diamond S party elected to stay with the coach. “Too dusty for me,” Sarah commented, and the others agreed.
By the time the coach limped into Fresno Flats and was examined and pronounced fit by the blacksmith, Charley looked disgusted enough to spit nails instead of tobacco juice. “Get a mosey on,” he barked to his remaining passengers. “We got no more time to waste.” Seconds later, he prodded his team into a bone-wrenching trot that threatened to shake members of the Diamond S party to pieces. They grimly clutched one another and held on.
Throughout Seth’s conversation with Red, Dori had listened with all her might, trying to sort truth from fabrication. Did Seth buy Fallon’s far-fetched story? Yet if it were a pack of lies, why had Red come back to a place that offered nothing but trouble for him? Had he ever even been in San Francisco? Had he really heard about Jesus and repented of the horrible life he’d led? Or was Red up to some new and devious scheme?
Dori decided to approach the knotty question the way she tackled hard school lessons. First, identify the problem. Next, weigh the evidence. Finally, come to a conclusion. The problem? Whether Red is telling the truth. If not, why is he here? His changed appearance seems to bear out what he says. On the other hand, cutting his hair, trimming his beard, and pretending to get religion would be a surefire way to convince people he’s changed. But if it’s all a bluff, how could he know Seth, Sarah, Abby, and I would be on the stage today? Dori shook her head. Based on the facts as she knew them, it was impossible to reach a conclusion.
The coach rounded a bend. Three armed, masked horsemen blocked the road.
Charley pulled the team to a sudden halt that threw his passengers forward in their seats. “What th—”
“Everyone down, and nobody reach for a gun,” the man in front ordered. “Hand over your jewelry and money, and no one will get hurt.”
“Sorry, boys,” Seth called to the bandits after helping the girls down. “We’re plumb out of valuables today.” He grinned. “We heard how the stage gets held up so the ladies left their jewelry home. I’ve got a few dollars. Charley and Red may have a few more.”
“Think we’re gonna settle for chicken feed?” the man snarled. “Since you ain’t got any valuables, we’ll take one of your ladies. From the looks of them, someone will pay dear to get any one of them back.” He guffawed, and his two followers joined in.
Dori glanced at Sarah and Abby. Their paper-white faces convinced her that these were no “gentlemen” robbers. Sarah’s expression cut Dori to the heart. Sarah had been through one kidnapping. She must not be forced to endure another.
“You skunks! My brother will have you hunted down for this.” Too late, Dori realized her uncontrollable tongue had once again gotten her into deep water.
“Who’s your brother?” the bandit growled.
Dori considered refusing to tell him. A quick look at Sarah changed her mind. She must save Sarah at all costs—which meant the bandit must not find out she was Matt’s wife. Dori raised her head and looked straight into the slits of the kerchief that covered the outlaw’s face. “Matthew Sterling.”
“Hey fellers, we got us a good one.” The bandit leader vaulted off his horse and forced Dori to mount. “Move, and one of my boys will put a bullet in you.”
With a cry of rage, Seth lunged toward them. A second bandit spurred his horse and smashed the butt of his gun onto Seth’s head. Seth dropped senseless to the ground. Sarah and Abby screamed. Dori could only pray that Seth was still alive.
“Driver, get word to the Diamond S to expect a ransom note,” the leader said. “Tell Sterling if he wants to see this mouthy sister of his again, he’d better pay.” He grabbed for the reins of Dori’s horse. The horse
reared. The bandit dropped the reins and tried to get out of the way, to no avail. The horse’s shoulder sent him sprawling. His gun went off, then flew out of his hand.
The trouble the other two bandits were having with their horses showed Dori that the shot had spooked the animals. If only she could reach the gun. She flung herself out of the saddle, but her foot caught in the stirrup of her frightened horse. Dori fell, striking her head and shoulder. Pain ripped through her, but she jerked her foot free and crawled toward the gun.
Before she reached it, Dori saw Red Fallon jump from the driver’s seat and leap toward her. He swung onto the horse and snatched Dori up by the back of her blouse. He threw her across the saddle and sent the horse into a full gallop. Dori’s last thought before surrendering to pain was, So Red was lying after all. Then, merciful blackness.
Chapter 24
Seth Anderson groaned. Where was he? Why was water splashing on his face? Was he back in the river trying to save Dori? A strong hand gripped his shoulder and shook him. “Wake up, young feller.”
“Charley?” Seth’s head throbbed with the granddaddy of all headaches but he managed to open his eyes. Sarah and Abby bent over him, their tears dripping onto his face. He brushed them away. “What are you doing? Trying to drown me?”
“Thank God, you’re alive.” Sarah buried her face on his shoulder. Seth saw relief in Abby’s frightened face, but he couldn’t collect his thoughts enough to figure out what was happening. He gently put Sarah aside and struggled to sit up.
The movement left him dizzy. He shook his head to clear it. Big mistake. His brain pounded like hammers on an anvil.
“Lemme have a look-see at yore noggin,” Charley said. “That jasper gave you a mighty sharp rap.”
“I’m all right.” Seth jerked away when Charley touched the back of his head. “Ow!”
Charley grunted. “Not so you’d notice. You got a lump the size of a duck egg back there. Not much blood though.” He handed Seth a canteen. “Drink. Then we’ll get you in the coach. We gotta go back to Fresno Flats and get the law after the bandits and Fallon. Good thing it ain’t far.”
California Romance Page 29