Dreams in Deadwood (Seven Brides of South Dakota Book 1)

by Trumbo, Kari

  His words were full of so much pain and torment. She was tormenting him, keeping him from his purpose. “And that’s why you have to go back.” She breathed in the clean scent of the soap he’d used, the hay all around them, the oil he’d used on his leather vest. All the scents swirled about her, pressing themselves into her memory because, though he wanted to come back, it was never a guarantee and he needed to go home to be the man he wanted to be.

  “Yes. I was young and foolish. I truly thought I could find better than what they gave me. If I didn’t feel like I had to do this, I’d stay here. I would’ve not only asked Beau to court you, but I’d ask him for your hand just so I could be sure no other man could ever take you from me. Please understand, Jennie. This is something I feel like I have to do, like my soul is calling me home.”

  She stepped out of his arms and took his hands in hers. “If you’re being called home, then you should go. Perhaps you’ll feel tugged back here, but if you don’t…” She couldn’t finish. Her words choked her and she rushed past him out of the stable and into the night. Her tears ran down her cheek, blurring her vision. She didn’t know the lay of the land well enough to run home from the wrong end of the barn and Aiden soon caught up to her.

  He took her arm and turned her around, holding her close. “It will be all right. I’ll be here for the next week to show Beau I can learn quickly. That way, if I return, I can just jump right back into work.”

  He threaded his hand behind her neck and held her close. She clutched his vest in one hand and wove her other in the hair at the nape of his neck but it couldn’t dispel what that one word did to her heart… if. He held her close, her forehead to his lips, until her tears ran dry. He kissed the tears from her eyelashes then let her go.

  “It’s late. I’m sure Beau and Ruby are back by now. I need to get you home.”

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  He led her to her door and opened it for her. She stopped in the doorway.

  “Good night, Aiden.”

  “Good night, M’fhíorghrá.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  AIDEN STRODE INTO THE barn just as the morning rays peered through the windows. The sunlight held bits of dust and warmed the stable floor as the horses stomped, wanting their freedom out in the pasture. He could understand their plight. He felt tied to returning to his parents, but like them, he didn’t have a choice. He could only pray his da would let him free after, even if it meant working to return every cent he’d promised before he left.

  Beau glanced up from the saddle he was fixing. “Morning. You’re on time. That’s a good start. It’ll be easier in the future if you don’t keep Jennie out so late.”

  Aiden heard Beau’s meaning loud and clear. “Yes, sir. What are we aiming for today?”

  “Brody asked us to head out to those prints we saw yesterday, see where they lead. You up for a day in the saddle?”

  Aiden nodded. “I better be if this’s what I aim to do.”

  “Yup, you’ll find yourself in the saddle more often than not. Brody said you should take Blaze, that roan down the second row. After the trip out yesterday with the heavy wagons, he didn’t think any of the horses we brought were up to the task of riding all day.”

  Aiden nodded and went to the tack room. An old man sat on a bench oiling a saddle.

  “What can a get for ya?” He looked up, his pipe hanging loosely from a jaw without enough teeth.

  “I’m looking for a saddle for Blaze.”

  The old man laughed dryly and he caught his pipe as it fell from his mouth. “That one, right in front of you is the only one that’ll work. He likes to flip ya, so be sure you’re cinched good before ya’ mount.”

  Aiden nodded. Testing the greenhorn was the way of things. He’d been tested when he started prospecting and he’d expected it here, too. Give the new guy the toughest horse, or the ugliest job, and see how well he could do it. Even if he’s horrible, if he didn’t give up, he’ll eventually be good. That was just the way of it.

  He cinched the saddle, then waited to the count of twenty-five, then pulled it tighter. He tested the stirrup and it didn’t slide. Blaze turned out to be a good mount, easy to read. He took his cues well as Aiden took him for a trot around the corral. He patted Blaze on the neck and waited for Beau to mount and ride out.

  They rode along the ridgeline for a while then cut north down into a valley. In the mud, along what had been a shallow creek during the snow melt, they found the tracks from the day before.

  “This can’t be Indians, it’d be too easy to find them,” Beau said, dismounting and bending to take a closer look at the tracks. “They’re excellent trackers and they wouldn’t ride their horses down the one spot that would leave a trail. And if there had been water then, from the melt, it would’ve washed them away.”

  Aiden joined him next to the creek bed and squatted for a closer look. The middles of the tracks were damp, but the edges were dry and they were deep, too deep for a horse without a rider. It had been wet when the horses went through. “I agree with you, but why would people go to the trouble of finding unshod horses, to walk up this muddy spot just to stir trouble?”

  “My guess is, they’re planning to rustle a few cattle and hope Brody blames the Indians. If he does, he won’t go looking to get them back.” Beau shaded his eyes and gazed farther up the creek bed. “They were headed this way. Let’s follow carefully and see if we can tell where it leads. My guess is, once this line of mud meets a lake or another river, we’ll have lost them.”

  Aiden wiped his brow with his bandana. “I’m sure you’re right, but if Brody wants us to check it out, then we’d best do it.”

  They mounted and followed the prints to a wash where the creek had become deeper. It carved a deep muddy groove between two hills. The hoof prints ended there.

  “They came up on the grass right here. We’ll ask Brody who owns the claim next to his. He can check with them and see if they’ve spotted the same signs.”

  “Or if they have an abundance of unshod horses.” Aiden smirked, turning his horse back toward the ranch.

  “There’s always that chance, but let’s hope we have better neighbors than that.” Beau turned his horse as well. Blaze followed with little direction and Aiden used the chance to keep an eye out on the ridge for anyone watching them. They’d made it back to the area where they’d first spotted tracks when Aiden heard a crack. Pain exploded in his shoulder, spreading flame through his arm and chest.

  “Get down!” Beau yelled.

  Aiden tried to reach for the reins but a black ring formed all around him, closing in on him. He felt his head meet the ground as he tumbled off his horse.

  *~*~*

  Jennie heard a shot—it was faint, but it made her jump. She’d expected to leave the shooting behind when they’d left Deadwood. Someone pounded on their door and Ruby rushed to answer it. She pulled the door wide and Brody stood outside panting and bent at the waist from his run.

  Brody clutched the door jamb with one hand and his gut with the other. “Has Beau come back yet?”

  “No, sir. They left early this morning and didn’t come home for the noon meal.”

  Brody shook his head. “I’ll have to take Lefty with me and see if we can find them. I heard a shot coming from the ridge where I sent them, and I don’t think Aiden was armed, only Beau.”

  Jennie’s heart sank into her feet. No! “Ruby, what should we do? What if one of them is hurt? How should we get ready?”

  Jennie turned in a circle, thinking of all the things they might need but unable to move from her spot to go get them.

  Ruby touched her shoulder. “First, you’re going to take a deep breath. Then you’re going to go put clean sheets on my bed. No matter if one, both, or neither of them were hurt, we want to be ready and the only bed available is ours.”

  Jennie nodded, took a deep breath, letting it clear her mind, then dashed for the linen cupboard. Lei had made sure everything in their cabin was
ready for them. Jennie grabbed what she needed and stripped Ruby’s bed, remaking it with the clean bedding. She leaned out the door. “Do you think one of us should ride to Deadwood for a doctor?”

  Ruby had begun heating water and she called from the stove, “No, not until we’re told to. I don’t know what Brody does out here for medicine, but it’d be a long ride all the way back to town. If it were a bad shot, they wouldn’t live long enough for us to get there and back again.”

  Jennie felt sick and waiting made it worse. She paced in the living room until Ruby sent her outside. She walked to the stable. If she knew how to ride, she could go out herself and find out what was going on. She heard three more shots, all close together, and ran to the back of the house, watching the ridge behind the corner of Aiden’s house.

  Within a few minutes, she saw three riders and a horse clear the ridge and race toward her. One of the riders had another draped in front of him. He looked dead. Jennie sank to her knees. No, Lord. No. Please don’t take either Beau or Aiden… I’m begging you.

  The horses bore down on her, racing toward the safety of the ranch house and buildings. She ran back to the house and through it, avoiding Ruby as she dashed through the front door. Brody slid to a stop near her, tossing gravel and dust in her face, then dismounted. She couldn’t take her eyes off the man draped over the front of his saddle. She knew the brown oil coat and saw the growing red spot down the sleeve. Tears erupted behind her eyes and her hands shook.

  Brody broke through her frozen thoughts. “He’s alive. Open that door, girl, so I can get him in and patched up before he bleeds out.”

  Jennie shook herself and ran for the door as Brody heaved Aiden over his shoulder and carried him into the house. Ruby rushed into the bedroom and Brody laid Aiden on the bed as gently as possible. Aiden sucked in his breath and flailed as he hit the mattress. Jennie came close and brushed the sweaty hair from his head. He was shivering even with the heat of mid-summer and her heart ached to take away his pain.

  “How do we get his coat off without moving his arm?” She looked to Ruby, but Brody answered. “Go to the main house and ask Lei for the medical bag. I have a scissors inside that’ll cut it. I had to move him more than I’d like just to get him here without any extra holes. I don’t want to risk that ball causing any more damage.”

  Ruby dug through her bag and came up with the same scissors she’d used to cut Aiden’s boots. She handed them to Brody as Jennie turned and ran from the house. The longer she stayed in Deadwood, the more she hated it. It took Hattie and now it could take Aiden, too. She pounded on the door to the house and it seemed to take a full minute for Lei to get to the door. She opened it slowly and gave Jennie a strange look.

  “Mr. Ferguson not here. You go find him.” She pushed the door against Jennie.

  “No, wait, Mrs. Chen! Mr. Ferguson asked for his medical bag. Aiden’s been shot!”

  The woman hesitated then nodded. “You go.”

  Jennie glanced back at the cabin and then at Lei as she padded softly across the floor and out of sight. Jennie dashed back to the cabin, her lungs on fire, praying that Lei understood and would bring it.

  “Lei is on her way with the bag, I think.” Jennie gasped and bit her lip. She wished she’d been able to get better confirmation out of the woman.

  “Good. She’s as good as any assistant I’ve had. Now, as soon as she gets here, I want you two out. Nothing you say will make me change my mind on that. I’ll have all the help I need with Beau and Mrs. Chen. Understand?”

  Jennie touched Aiden’s cheek. “But…”

  “No.”

  Jennie closed her eyes against the fear of losing him, not to Kansas or his parents where he might return to her, but something much more permanent. She leaned over and kissed Aiden’s forehead, her heart beating a terrible rhythm.

  She whispered for his ears only. “You better not leave me, Aiden Bradly.”

  Mrs. Chen entered the log cabin without knocking and appeared at Brody’s side.

  Brody nodded to Ruby and Jennie. “Now, go.”

  Beau had been standing in the corner. He came forward and kissed Ruby on the head then gave her a squeeze. He whispered. “I’ll tell you what happened later.”

  She kissed him on the cheek then ushered Jennie from the room. They sat on the couch in front of the empty fireplace.

  “What if he doesn’t make it, Ruby?” Her feet wanted to get up and pace but Ruby held her fast to the seat.

  “That’s a good question, Jennie. What if he doesn’t make it? What would you do?”

  Her throat clogged at the thought. “I know it doesn’t do any good, but I keep praying God would take me instead.”

  Ruby draped her arm over Jennie’s shoulder and pulled her close. “A wise friend once told me love had nothing to do with all those wonderful feelings you get when you’re near one another. It has everything to do with wanting the very best for that person, even risking your own life to save them…”

  “Are you saying I love him?” Jennie tucked her head under Ruby’s chin.

  “Jennie, that’s what love is. When you would rather hurt than see them hurting, when you would brave your worst fear for them; that’s love.”

  “My worst fear is marrying a man and then finding he’s just like Pa.”

  Ruby brushed the hair from Jennie’s eyes and stroked it back into her bun. “Do you really think Aiden has hidden who he really is from you? Do you honestly think he could be hiding something that dark from all of us?”

  She thought about all the times he’d teased her and challenged her and infuriated her, but not once had he intentionally hurt her. Even when he’d said something that had cut her deeply, he’d told her she’d been mistaken and explained himself.

  “He’s been talking about courting you almost from the start, Jennie. He felt something between you as soon as you met. Beau wasn’t ready to give him permission right away, but after he saw you two together the day you gave Aiden his shave... Beau told me he would approve if Aiden ever decided to ask again. He didn’t until we got here, though. Why is that?”

  Jennie flung her head into her hands and sobbed. “I told him not to. I didn’t even know he’d still gone to Beau. If he was leaving and never coming back, I didn’t want to be stuck here loving someone I’d never see again.”

  “You pushed him away at every turn. Don’t you see now that if you’d taken the time to let him court you while you had the chance you could’ve gone with him to Kansas as his wife? You could’ve met the family that’s so important to him he’s willing to leave the woman he loves for them. You could have been the great treasure he promised them.”

  Jennie let Ruby’s words wash over her heart. She refused to believe them until he professed his love himself.

  “But I didn’t want to.” Jennie wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “I don’t want to leave my family. We’ve already lost Ma and Hattie. I’m not splitting us up any more. Even you said, on our way to Deadwood, losing just one of us would be difficult. Why are you so ready to see me go now?”

  “Jennie. Don’t you see? Families may grow apart and live in other places, but that doesn’t mean they love each other any less. I lived away from all of you for over a year and my love for all of you only grew stronger.” Ruby touched her knee and Jennie glanced up to meet her gaze. “And it isn’t like you’d never come back. Aiden wants to be here.

  “You could write to Ma any time you wish. I have the address in my Bible. If you’d go with Aiden, you’d never be farther away than a letter, and now that they have the train in Deadwood, you could always visit.”

  “A letter…” Why hadn’t she thought of that? She didn’t have to lose him at all! “Aiden could write his parents a letter instead of going!”

  Ruby grabbed and held fast to Jennie’s hands. “Don’t be disappointed if he still wants to go, Jennie. He knows his family better than you do. While it may seem to be the perfect solution, maybe he feels he has to go, bec
ause something important is waiting for him there. If you love him, you have to let him lead, and that might mean letting him go.”

  Her shoulders sunk. “None of that will matter if he dies.”

  A loud holler came from Ruby’s room followed by Brody yelling instructions to Lei and Beau. Jennie sprang to her feet and Ruby clutched her hand tightly.

  “Brody said no. You stay right here.”

  “He needs me, Ruby.”

  Ruby glanced at Jennie. “I think you’d best put together a pallet for Beau and me out here. It’ll keep you busy. I don’t think we’ll be sleeping in there for some time.”

  Jennie sighed then nodded as she glanced back at the bedroom door one last time. “I best do that so I can keep my mind off what’s going on in there. At least if he’s yelling, he’s still alive.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  AIDEN FELT A COOL CLOTH wipe over his brow and he heard… humming. He recognized it as a hymn but the more he tried to name it, the more he couldn’t string two thoughts together. It didn’t help that the pounding in his head was worse than the night the prospector introduced him to whiskey.

  He opened his eyes and glanced around, squinting at the searing light pouring in the one window. Nothing looked familiar, until his glance fell on beautiful violet eyes smiling down at him. His left shoulder throbbed and he couldn’t even think about moving it. He reached up with his other hand and wrapped it around the back of Jennie’s neck. She slid down to her knees on the floor, nearer to him. He pulled her closer and she did not protest as he claimed her lips.

  Energy surged through him and he drew her tightly to him. She couldn’t get close enough. Pain throbbed down his arm and she pulled away, laying her beautiful head on his chest. He let his hand rest against her neck holding her0, his fingers tracing the soft wisps of hair at her nape.

  “Aiden, I’m so glad you’re awake. I was so scared.”