by Anna Zogg
A large twig was embedded in his flesh. Without reflection he jerked it out, grunting at the torment. Blood bubbled up from the wound. He yanked off his kerchief and bound it around his arm.
“Help!” A muffled voice called from inside the coach. “Anyone there? Help. I’m stuck.”
Miss Elinor. Still alive. Relief pumping through his body, Rhett lurched to his feet and staggered toward her voice. The stagecoach lay on its side amid shredded harness lines. The horses—and Pete—were nowhere to be seen. Rhett climbed onto the toppled vehicle and jerked open the door.
Brown eyes peered up from a jumble of dark skirts and white petticoats. The boy lay on his mother, eyes closed as though in peaceful sleep. Both of them had landed on top of Miss Elinor who appeared to be the only one conscious.
The young woman grunted as she strained to shift the woman and child. “Can’t...can’t breathe.”
Rhett knelt. “Give me your hand.”
As he pulled steadily, she groaned anew. With their combined strength, she was able to extricate herself from under the pair. The moment he freed the younger woman, she shot up and into his arms. Bracing himself, Rhett fought to keep them from tumbling off the unstable stagecoach. Once he caught his balance, he steadied her.
Clinging to his shirt, she buried her forehead against his chest. Draping his arm, the warm silk of her blonde hair caressed his skin. A pleasant, but unusual scent riveted him. Lavender?
He blinked, then shoved aside the distraction. “Are you hurt?”
A deep shudder ran through her as she hiccupped. Was she crying?
Rhett craned his neck to look at her face. Eyes closed, her mouth pinched with whiteness.
“You’re safe,” he whispered, but she didn’t appear to hear. “You have nothing to fear.”
She had the look of having been pampered her whole life. Her white hands and pristine fingernails showed no sign of manual labor. Her skin appeared as soft and milky as a foal’s underbelly. She belonged in a civilized city, not here. What had induced her to travel to the wilds of Wyoming Territory?
When she whimpered, the plaintive sound caused a tender protectiveness to reverberate through him. Regardless of why she was there, a woman like this needed to be safeguarded.
“Miss Elinor?”
Her eyes flew open. Her gaze finally focused on him.
He studied her, noting a bump forming at her temple. “You hit your head. Where else do you hurt?”
Eyelids fluttering, she touched the spot. “I don’t—I think I’m all right.”
“I’m glad.” The words slipped out before he could contain them. He pointed below, to the stagecoach’s interior. “What about them?”
“Them?” Brows drawn, she stared below.
She must have hit her head harder than he thought because she seemed bewildered.
“The woman and her son,” he explained. “Do you know the extent of their injuries?”
“I—I’m not sure.” Gasping, she grabbed Rhett’s wrist. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. I need to look at that.”
She needed to look at it? Her odd phrasing took him aback.
“Later.” He pointed to the other two passengers below. “They need care first.”
As though to emphasize his words, a muffled whine rose. The child had come to.
After kneeling, Rhett braced his hands on both sides of the opening. “Hey, boy.”
“Nicholas.” Elinor’s tense whisper interrupted as she crouched. “His name is Nicholas.”
Rhett lowered his head through the open coach door. “Nicholas. Take my hand.”
“Mama.” The boy thrashed amid the voluminous black fabric of his mother’s skirts. His howl followed. “I want Mama.”
“Boy—Nicholas—grab my hand.”
No response.
“Nicholas?” Elinor added her own plea. “Listen to Rhett. We need to get you out of there.”
Still crying, the child finally obeyed. Two thin arms reached toward the sky, Elinor grabbing one and Rhett the other. Together, they lifted the boy out. With the three of them balancing on the coach’s side, where no one was meant to stand, the vehicle creaked as it rocked.
“Wait here.” Rhett leaped to the ground and then reached for the wailing child.
After lowering him, Elinor took Rhett’s hand to jump down, as well. The second she landed, the boy wrapped his arms about her waist and buried his face against her skirts, sobbing. A bewildered expression crossing her face, she draped her arm across his shoulders.
Now that these two were safe, Rhett considered what to do next. Find Pete or try to move Mrs. Rushton?
“Do you think she’s all right?” Elinor’s voice quavered as she nodded in the direction of the coach.
Had she read his mind? “I’m not certain, miss.”
“Please, call me Ellie.” She gave a small headshake as though confused. “I need to know how she is.”
That decided him. He responded with one abrupt nod. “Stay with the boy.”
After climbing onto the toppled stagecoach, Rhett again evaluated the situation. How was he to attend to Mrs. Rushton? Lowering himself into the interior, he took care not to step on the large woman. With difficulty, he rolled her over by bracing his feet against one side of the coach and pushing. When he found her heartbeat, a quick exhale of relief escaped him. Although she wasn’t bleeding, a bump on her forehead was beginning to grow as purple as Ellie’s gown. After a quick check, he found no other injuries.
“Mrs. Rushton.” He called out her name and shook her shoulder, but she didn’t respond. Given how difficult it had been to turn her over, Rhett could not possibly remove her from the coach. And not without Pete’s help.
After ensuring she could breathe with ease, he clambered out and balanced himself on top.
“How is she?” Ellie’s tense voice drifted up from below, the boy’s wails nearly drowning her question.
Rhett debated how to answer. “Alive.”
“I need to examine her.”
Again, Ellie’s words confounded him. Then he shook his head and pointed to the boy who still clung to her. “There’s nothing we can do for her right now. He needs your attention.”
Nicholas had not stopped howling since they pulled him from the coach.
Her hand caressed his shoulder. “Nicholas, where does it hurt?” When he didn’t answer, she asked again. At her insistence and in between sobs, he pointed to his head, elbow and knee. When Ellie was apparently satisfied his injuries were minor, she squatted before the boy and spoke comforting words. Like a mother would.
Was she a mother herself? No, Pete had called her “Miss Elinor,” so she wasn’t married. But perhaps she had a fiancé waiting for her in Casper. That would explain her traveling alone to this part of the country. Disappointment rippled through him at that idea of Ellie already being spoken for. But that would only make sense.
Before he jumped down from the side of the coach, he took advantage of the high position to view the wreckage around them. Boxes, bags and splintered wood were strewn about. He spotted his shotgun. But where was Pete? The driver had likely been pulled off the coach, dragged by the horses. Did he need help? Was he seriously hurt?
As Rhett squinted into the distance, the report of gunfire startled him. Both Ellie and Nicholas screamed. Instinctively he crouched, blade in hand as he readied himself to defend them all.
Chapter Two
Ellie watched, heart pounding, as Rhett appeared to prepare for an attack. His eyes darted to the horizon, then down at her. A chill ran through her at the tense readiness of his expression.
Two skinny arms tightened around her waist as Nicholas huddled against her. She clasped the silent, shuddering boy.
When nothing more happened for several
minutes, she whispered to Rhett, “What is it?”
He squinted at something in the distance. The next moment, he stood upright and sheathed his knife. “Pete.” A frown pinched his mouth. “He shot one of the horses.”
“What? No.” Stepping toward him, she stumbled over Nicholas and then righted herself. “I might have been able to save it.”
Rhett jumped to the ground. Meeting her gaze, he shook his head. “Unlikely. Pete would know if something could be done.”
“He should’ve let me look first.” Though her experience was mainly with the human body, she might have been able to do something for the poor creature. “Don’t let him shoot another horse. Please.”
She expected derision at her statement. That’s what she had always encountered on the faces of Chicago doctors. While she accompanied her father to assist him on his rounds, they made it clear they merely tolerated her.
But she’d heard Wyoming Territory was different and that women were more respected. She felt confident she could practice medicine here, even without her father—a dream that Chicago doctors had mocked.
Rhett’s brow relaxed. “I’ll find Pete and ask him.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes stung with relief.
He continued to study her, as though ascertaining something about her. Pressing her lips together, Ellie backed away. Nicholas, still clinging to her waist, hampered her movements. Again, he began to wail.
“Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as possible.” Rhett strode off.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his retreating figure. He moved with deliberation, yet with a grace that she had never before seen in a man. Perhaps it had something to do with the soft, knee-high boots he wore and not the heavy ones most men favored.
Turning her attention to the six-year-old, she patted his back. Still he wouldn’t loosen his grip. “It’s okay. No need to be afraid.”
Funny that Rhett had used similar phrases with her. And now she said them for not only the child’s benefit, but her own. When she looked at the destruction around them, her heart quaked. She couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Rushton, still inside the toppled coach. Perhaps when Rhett returned, they could find some way to help the woman.
Ellie found herself wishing she had taken time to examine the woman before exiting the stagecoach, but she’d felt so dazed, she couldn’t think straight. Regardless, Nicholas needed her now. She would have to trust Rhett’s evaluation that the woman didn’t require immediate care.
When Nicholas hiccupped, his arms loosened, signaling the end of his sobs.
Ellie softened her voice a notch. “Want to do me a favor?”
A mute shake of the head came as an answer.
She inserted regret into her voice. “That’s too bad. I don’t know who I can ask for help.”
A red-blotched face turned upward. “Maybe you can ask that idler?”
She clenched her teeth at the reference, which seemed to infer Rhett was a lazy good-for-nothing. Though that seemed far from the truth, it wasn’t her place to reprimand the boy for his rude speech. “You mean Mr. Rhett?”
Nicholas nodded.
“He’s busy right now.” She sighed. “I wish I knew some brave young man.”
The boy sniffed, brow wrinkled. “To do what?”
“Help me gather our belongings. And some wood. What do you think about a fire?”
His eyes widened. “You gonna burn down the prairie?”
“I hope not.” She grinned for his sake.
Obviously the splintered stagecoach was unusable for further travel. That meant they would likely be spending the night in the open. If so, they needed wood. And supplies. The waning afternoon warned Ellie they didn’t have a lot of time.
Anxiety for Mrs. Rushton again hounded her. But as long as the woman remained inside the stagecoach, Ellie could do nothing but worry.
Nicholas tugged at her skirt. “What’s the matter, Miss Ellie?”
“Nothing.” She shook the anxiety from herself. “Let’s get that wood.”
As the child followed her around, she kept an ear and eye out for Rhett and Pete. A couple times she caught a glimpse of the men in the distance. They tended the animals and brought them toward a clearing where they seemed to be creating a makeshift camp. The way the driver hunched, cradling his arm, warned her he too had been injured.
Pete motioned to the stagecoach. Rhett climbed inside but exited shortly afterward. After some more discussion, they righted the vehicle with the help of the horses. Again, the driver stood outside while his partner climbed back in. To attend to Mrs. Rushton? Pete merely watched from the open door.
Ellie kept drawing Nicholas’s attention away from the scene, fearing that he would again melt into hysterics. Or she would. While she wanted to see if Mrs. Rushton required help, it seemed best if they stayed out of the men’s way. Surely Rhett would call her over if she was needed.
In no time, she and the boy had gathered enough wood to keep a fire burning for hours. Then they assembled some of the scattered boxes and luggage. The heavier pieces she left where they’d fallen.
When the heads of the two men came together, she knew they were deciding their collective fate.
“Could you keep this safe for me, Nicholas?” She passed him her watch. It would occupy the boy’s attention for a few minutes better than anything else she had on hand. “I’ll be right back.”
“F’sure.” Eyes wide, he fingered the gold filigree as she strode away.
“It’s the only way.” The driver’s voice sounded low and urgent.
Rhett merely nodded.
Both men straightened as she approached.
“I’m going to ride for help, Miss Elinor.” Pete’s mouth settled in grim lines. “Rhett’ll watch over you until I get back.”
She made certain not to break eye contact with the big man. “I have every confidence in Rhett. But before you go, I need to see to your injuries.”
A long gash marked one cheek, the blood mostly dried. With the way he spoke in a nasally tone, he’d likely sustained a broken nose, as well. Already, the darkened skin swelled.
Pete’s eyes widened.
Anticipating resistance, Ellie spread her hands. “For years, I worked alongside my father in his medical practice. I can at least bind your arm to relieve you of some pain.”
“My shoulder’s merely strained.” His features relaxed as she spoke, but his tone remained unyielding. “I appreciate the offer, but we have little left of the day. I need to leave before dark.”
Expecting that reply, she sighed in defeat. “Very well. But before you go, please move Mrs. Rushton so I can see to her care.” Ellie pointed to where Nicholas sat on a log, face bent over the pocket watch. “Put her over there. I need to tend to her through the night.”
She met Rhett’s narrowed gaze. Was that admiration she beheld? Her cheeks grew warm when he gave her a slight nod.
“Keep the boy occupied.” It was Rhett who spoke. “We’ll take care of Mrs. Rushton.”
Taking a deep breath, Ellie strode back to Nicholas. “Did you figure out how the watch winds itself?”
“No.” Face scrunching, he extended his hand. “It’s dumb.”
Without responding, she pocketed the watch. “Let’s go exploring. Think we can spot a rabbit?”
Chatting, she kept him distracted while they moved away from the makeshift camp. As they walked along the road, she studied their surroundings. No animals visible. And no towns or humans. Who could live out there? Scrub brush, gnarled trees and forbidding mountains met her gaze. The landscape appeared scarred by thousands of travelers over the years, but now no one was in sight. With new railroads crossing the country, pioneers could bypass the dangers of the open plains and imposing mountain ranges as they moved farther west. The center of Wyoming Territory, though, remained untamed.
Ellie stifled the urge to chastise herself for leaving the comforts of a modern city.
They have accidents in Chicago too.
Like the one that had killed her father a mere five months before. Except for Uncle Will, all her immediate family was gone. Nothing remained for her in Chicago. Her future lay here—uncharted territory in more than one way.
Not only did she anticipate a joyful reunion with her uncle, she needed to resolve a mystery. Inside her trunk, she had buried Mama’s diary as well as four letters, written by her uncle to her mother. They had been stashed in a secret compartment of her mother’s secretary, undiscovered until Ellie had cleaned it out a mere month ago. She had begun reading one when she realized it was a love letter. After that realization, she had put them away. She refused to intrude on their privacy.
But why had Mama hidden them? Why keep them at all?
After Ellie settled on her uncle’s ranch, she would seek answers to her questions. Because both her parents were now deceased, Uncle Will would have no reason to hide the truth.
“Look, Miss Ellie.” Nicholas pointed to a great herd of elk in the distance.
For several minutes they watched the graceful animals bound across the field. The elk appeared to glide across an undulating sea of grass. Ellie caught her breath. As the group moved out of sight, the crystalline blue sky deepened into azure, warning of the steady approach of evening—and all the dangers it held.
* * *
Rhett stretched, spine popping. One more glance at the campsite assured him that he had done all he could to secure it for the night. They had enough wood to hold them until morning. The freight, luggage and mailbags clustered around them, creating a wall of protection of sorts. On the other side rested some logs.
After promising to be back as soon as possible, Pete had ridden off with the best horse. Likely he wouldn’t return before midmorning. Ellie and Nicholas had gathered the few blankets Pete carried aboard the stagecoach. Rhett noted the pitiful amount of food—mostly jerky and hardtack. Not only that, but they had little water.