by Chloe Carley
She didn’t even know what to pray for in that moment.
Gideon seemed to sense that she was only moments away from breaking down. “I’m going to take Riley and head home.”
“I’m sure someone could lend you a wagon.”
“No wagon needed. She’ll ride with me.” Gideon’s tone brooked no argument. Sara Jane chose that moment to arrive with several horses in tow. One of them was Storm, and Riley felt relieved that she wasn’t going to have to stick around and see the devastation her brother had created. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to show her face in town again and, if things became too difficult for the Lawsons because they were associated with her, she would simply go away.
Incredible sadness accompanied that thought. She’d started to hope that maybe the Lazy L could become her home. She wasn’t related to the Lawsons, but Pearl and Sara Jane had both told her how much they wanted her to stay. And then there was Gideon … She didn’t want to leave him, but so far, she wasn’t exactly sure what they were to one another. She hoped …
“Let’s get you home. You’ve done enough for one day,” Gideon said. He slid her off of his lap, but only long enough for him to stand up. A moment later, he was lifting her to her feet and a moment later, depositing her in Storm’s saddle. He jumped up behind her and took the reins in his hands, caging her in his arms.
Sara Jane was staring at them and Riley asked, “Are you okay?”
Sara Jane sighed. “I’m fine. I think what’s bothering me most is that I don’t actually feel badly for killing that man.”
“He was a horrible man. He was going to kill me in front of Roy and then take over the gang and keep it going,” Riley told her.
“He wouldn’t have been able to hold the leader position for long. He was too hot-headed,” Gideon interjected.
Pa said, “It’s a moot point now. Take your gal home and have Ma see to her injuries. Shawn, Jace, and I will stick around and see what kind of help is needed by the folks here. Sara Jane, you can go on home.”
“No, I’ve already volunteered to ride out to a few of the homesteads and let the womenfolk know it’s safe to bring their families back.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to have one of the men do that?” James asked.
“I’m sure. I’ll be home in a few hours. You tell Ma that I’m okay, so she doesn’t worry.”
“We’ll tell her,” Gideon promised. He nodded at several of the others and then turned Storm and headed him out of the town. He didn’t go toward the burning building, or by the overturned stagecoach. Instead, he directed Storm between the buildings and they slowly made their way to the trail that led home.
He let Storm take them toward home, stopping him somewhere in the midpoint. “What’s wrong?” Riley asked.
Gideon hugged her close and lightly set his chin on the top of her head. “I could have easily lost you today.”
Riley heard the fear in his voice. “I’m fine.”
“I know that, but I can’t stop picturing you standing there with Ollie’s hand on your arm and his rifle pointed at your head.”
“I was scared as well. He was going to kill Roy if he didn’t go along with Ollie keeping the gang alive.” Riley’s voice cracked as the memory of her fear returned.
“Shush. That’s all over with now. The town may have lost the mercantile and they’ll have some rebuilding to do, but ultimately, it survived. It is the only town to ever take on the Johnston gang and live to tell about it.”
“I realize that. I’ve been praying all day long, but I didn’t really know how to pray.”
Gideon sat there for a long moment and then he said, . “I think we should stop thinking about this. Now, tell me what else hurts. I could tell you were holding something back.”
Riley made a face at Gideon’s perception, and sobered as Storm shifted and she feared she might overbalance. She grabbed onto Gideon’s arm.
“I twisted my ankle and it’s very sore.”
“We’ll have Ma take a look at it.” Gideon started the horse moving once more.
Riley let her mind move toward the future. Gideon and his entire family had let her know they expected her to make her home with them.
Gideon had hinted that he intended that home to be with him, but she was concerned that all of those plans might have changed now. It was worrisome, thinking that she might be homeless again. She wouldn’t even have the hope of finding her brother this time around. She was truly all alone in this world.
She closed her eyes and offered up a small prayer.
God, you know I tried to stop Roy. Thank you for keeping Gideon and his family safe. Help the men put out the fire and save other buildings. I also ask, well … something for myself. If I could be so bold as to ask you to help the townsfolk of Rio Arriba to not think poorly of me because of my brother? It’s not that it would bother me that much to be treated badly, but if the townsfolk start treating the Lawsons poorly, then I wouldn’t be able to stay here. God, I really want to stay here. It feels like home. Please … fix it so that I don’t have to leave.
Chapter 26
Three days later…
“Riley, why aren’t you dressed for church services?” Pearl asked as Riley joined her in the kitchen Sunday morning.
Riley stated her practiced reply. “I’m not feeling very well. I believe I will stay here this morning, but thank you for the invite.” There really wasn’t anything wrong with her; she was just nervous about how the community would treat her now.
Pearl frowned, walked over and laid her hand on Riley’s forehead. “I’ll have Sara Jane come back here right after the sermon.”
“You don’t have to disrupt your picnic plans. Go and enjoy yourselves. I’ll be fine here,” Riley assured her. “I’m just going to go back to bed. Maybe I’ll feel better when I wake up. My ankle is tender today.” As far as excuses went, hers sounded weak even to her own ears. Since twisting her ankle in town trying to get away from Ollie, it had been aching, but nothing that wasn’t tolerable. Today it just gave her a viable excuse to stay home. She also had the excuse of not wanting to be seen with a black eye, and her eye was indeed black. And purple, and green, and yellow, and orange.
“Maybe.” Pearl nodded. “Very well. I’ll bring you some hot tea.”
“No need, I can make it before I go back upstairs.”
“Pearl,” James’ voice called from the front door. “Darlin’ if we don’t get headed right now, we’re going to be late.”
“And he hates to be late,” Pearl muttered “Guess I won’t get to see you in that dress after all. Feel better and we’ll see you later this afternoon.”
“I’ll be fine.” Riley set about making herself tea. She carried it outside and settled on the swing James had built years ago on the front porch. She gently set it in motion, sipped her tea and stared out across the landscape. It was so peaceful here this time of day.
She heard the cattle in a nearby pasture. The buzz of insects in the cornflower beds Pearl had planted next to the house. The sound of the horses in the barn, softly talking to one another. It seemed the world was aware that this was the Lord’s day and everything had decided to work together for one amazing day.
When her tea was gone, she returned to cup to the kitchen. After washing the dishes and drying them, she donned her boots and headed out. She just needed a short walk to clear her head.
She traced the corral fence, observing the horses for a long time. In the distance was the first of many pastures with cattle. This group happened to include the babies and mommas from this year’s calving season. She’d overheard Shawn telling Gideon yesterday that they needed to begin culling the mommas from the herd so that the babies could get weaned.
The process seemed simple enough, but James and Sara Jane had both commented on how feisty calves could get when they realized someone was trying to keep them from their mommas’ easy food supply. They had close to three hundred cows to remove from their babies--it was going to
take everyone’s help to get it done in a timely fashion.
Meanwhile, an injured, sick mountain lion was still roaming around. No one had seen the animal for almost a week now, but they also hadn’t found her carcass. That meant she was playing with them until she could strike again. During the gunfight, the surrounding homesteads had been warned and the Lawsons had found out that she’d attacked several of the neighboring ranches’ goats.
“Riley?”
She turned upon hearing her name and saw Carl walking toward her, albeit very slowly. His injuries were taking a long time to heal because they kept getting infected.
“Hi,” she replied, watching him until he joined her by the corral.
“I thought you would have gone into town with the others?” Carl asked. “Sunday services are attended by almost everyone.”
Riley shrugged. “I wasn’t feeling up to it.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t either. When I can get dressed by myself, then I’ll feel ready for the long ride into town.”
The cat had scratched him up good and Riley imagined riding in the wagon, or even sitting on the back of a horse, would cause pain with each little jolt and bump. She suddenly felt guilty for staying home today.
“I hope everything goes okay in town.”
“Why wouldn’t it?” Carl asked.
“I just thought … well, sometimes people hold grudges against others, not for what they’ve done, but for who they are associated with.”
Carl looked at her for a moment and shook his head with a brief laugh. “The Lawsons owned the largest ranch in the county. James is also friends with the circuit judge., Mr. Samuels, who comes through here several times a year. Speaking of judges, what’s happening with the outlaws who survived the gunfight?”
“Gideon said the army came to Rio Arriba the day after the stagecoach robbery attempt. It seems they were waiting in Santa Fe to escort it back toward Denver and got worried when it didn’t arrive. They took the dead and alive outlaws with them. The town was pleased to see them go.”
“I would have thought they might have a hanging right here,” Carl mentioned.
“I’m glad those men are gone.”
“No reminders of what happened. I hear they’ll be ready to put the walls of the new mercantile up soon.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked.
“They’ll put the walls together while they are lying down. On roof day, the entire town will show up and they’ll use a combination of horses and rope and pulleys to lift the walls into position. Once there, men will climb up to the top and the rafters will be put into place. It will take most of a day, but by the time the sun sets, the mercantile will be mostly constructed.”
“That’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything quite like that.”
“I hope to be well enough to at least go and help in some sort of way. Even if that’s only by handing up tools.”
They were quiet for a long moment and then Riley changed the subject. “So, you’re sweet on Sara Jane?”
Carl looked at her sharply and asked, “Why would you say that?”
Riley giggled. “Because you follow her around with your eyes like a love-starved calf.”
“I don’t!”
“Yes, you do. Everyone’s noticed it.”
“Even Sara Jane?” he asked with a note of panic.
“Of course. Sara Jane doesn’t miss anything. She saved me.”
“I can’t believe it,” Carl murmured, almost as if to himself. “I thought I was doing a good job of hiding my feelings.”
“Not really. I’ve not been here that long, and I picked up on it.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to work harder at it.”
“Or not. I think you and Sara Jane make a lovely couple.”
“The same could be said for you and Gideon.”
Riley blushed but didn’t deny it. “We’ll see.”
Carl grinned and pushed off the corral. “I need to go lie down. I can’t believe how tired a few scratches have made me.”
“They were very deep scratches and you lost a lot of blood,” she reminded him.
“I know. I’m very thankful Mrs. Lawson was able to stitch me up.”
“She’s a remarkable woman and one of the reasons I love being here.”
“The entire Lawson family is amazing. The tension between Shawn and Gideon isn’t always pleasant, but it will get better in time. They’re already getting along a whole lot better since the gunfight.”
“That’s good.” Riley hid a yawn behind her hand. She was so tired and the thought of being able to go back to bed was too tempting to pass up.
“I’ll see you around,” Carl told her as he strode off.
Riley stood there one more moment, her heart full of gratitude which she expressed silently.
God, thank you for the Lazy L ranch and the Lawson family who own the place. Help Carl’s injuries to heal faster. Help Gideon and Shawn put the past behind them.
I also wanted to ask … Could I stay here? I really like it here, and the people are friendly, or they were, and James and Pearl keep treating me as if I were one of their children. I just don’t want to overstay my welcome.
There’s also Gideon. He said we needed to have a long talk later this afternoon. I don’t know what he wants to talk about, not exactly. He hasn’t made good on his promise to claim a real kiss from me. Goodness, I can’t believe I’m talking to You about this.
I wanted to talk to Sara Jane, but that just didn’t feel right. Sorry if I’ve overstepped my bounds. Anyway, if this isn’t too intrusive, could You help me figure out these feelings I have for Gideon? Why my stomach gets all fluttery whenever he’s around? That would be a big help.
Thank you again for keeping the town mostly safe.
She looked up at the sky and smiled when she saw the eagle flying overhead. She felt better after her talk with Carl and her talk with God. She headed back inside and lay down on her bed, only removing her shoes before pulling up a quilt around her body. A little more sleep seemed like just the thing to help her prepare for her talk with Gideon this afternoon.
Moments later she was sound asleep, dreaming of the Lazy L ranch and Gideon. In her dreams, there were several little children, all of whom had curly red hair and Gideon’s eyes. They were a happy family. It seemed her subconscious knew exactly what it wanted.
Chapter 27
“Where’s that little gal, this morning?” the preacher asked as he greeted everyone after the sermon.
“She wasn’t feeling up to the ride,” Pearl answered. “She’ll be here next week.”
“That’s too bad. I know many of the townsfolk were hoping to express their gratefulness for her actions and to offer their condolences on the loss of her brother.”
“That’s very generous and kind of them,” Gideon replied. This town had continued to surprise him with its ability to forgive and accept people for who they were. That is, unless you happened to live in the brothel at the edge of town. Then the townsfolk seemed to be standoffish, bordering on rude.
“They owe her their very lives. I can’t imagine the turmoil she must have gone through when she made the decision to come here and warn us all,” the preacher continued.
“She has our respect and gratitude.”