by Rita Hestand
"We must leave this place," he managed giving Joshua a glance. Surely the young man would understand his urgency.
The woman's lips opened into an almost smile. "You're free to leave as soon as you are well enough. I've just dug a bullet from your rib. You must rest now," She insisted checking the bandage and dismayed to see he had nearly ripped it off.
"There is no time for rest. Where are the soldiers?" He demanded impatiently.
"They're dead."
Silence surrounded them as they looked at each other.
"More will come," Chase Rivers said wearily, raking a hand over his eyes. Then his dark eyes studied her closely,
"What is your name?"
"Katherine, Katherine Hightower."
"It is a fitting name."
"Thank you." She tried on a smile.
"I call her Cat, sometimes" Joshua insisted.
"Cat?"
"She's like a cat..."
"Cat...." Chase turned the name around in his head. "You are very stubborn woman." Chase announced stiffly.
"Yes, Mr. Rivers, I am." She smiled while taking a rag from the basin and rinsing his head once more.
"You will call me Chase."
"Very well."
"Who shot me?" He rose up and flung the rag away.
"You speak English very well?" Katherine said, trying to steer his mind clear of who shot him. She did not know this man and he might blame her brother.
"Yes... I went to the missionary school when I was but 10." His glance went from her to Joshua.
"That'd be me, sir." Joshua swallowed hard and faced the man. "I shot you."
Chase looked the boy up and down then with a frown asked, "why?"
"I thought you—" The young man's face turned red and Chase nodded.
"You thought I was attacking your sister?" He nodded again. "Good."
"Good?" Joshua twisted his head in amazement. The man was agreeing with him. He hadn't expected that.
"Yes, you did right. I would have done the same. You acted as a man. That is good." He frowned again. "What is your name?"
"Joshua," he answered shrilly, but all the same obviously happy the man carried no grudge against him...
"It is too long, I will call you Josh."
"Okay..."
Joshua stood tall and proud, Chase would have smiled had he remembered how. But smiles were only for his youth. Smiles were for the times when he killed his first buck, times when he dreamed of making White Dove his bride. Those days were gone. White Dove was gone. There was no reason to smile now.
He looked at the two of them and realized suddenly they must feel the same.
"Did you kill the soldier?" Katherine asked in a choked voice.
His eyes found and met hers staring so long she almost blushed. "Yes."
He stared long and hard at her, and she saw no regret, only a strange honesty.
She was silent for a long moment. When she spoke her voice trembled. "I am sorry for that... But I guess you had a reason."
"He was not a good man..." Chase explained as they both watched him closely. "He beat an old Indian woman to death. So I killed him where he stood."
Katherine nodded slowly, "Well, I guess I can't judge you, we are responsible for those soldiers out there in the ground."
"They are dead, then, and buried?"
"Not properly, but they are buried." He looked at Josh. "The ground was too hard.
"It is of no consequence. We must leave here," Chase said again and started to get to his feet once more, but soft hands shoved him down.
"We?" She met his fierce gaze evenly. "No sir, you may leave when you are well, but Joshua and I will stay here. This is our home."
"This is a station, not a home." Chase corrected her. The woman had no logic. And she was stubborn too. He would have to learn how to deal with her. Annoyance crossed his face; there was not time for this.
"You are wrong," Katherine's voice changed to one that forced him to look upon her once more. "This is where we buried our family, it's our home."
She glanced at his wound and reached a hand to touch but he jerked away from her.
"It is a piece of dirt and you would die for it?" Chase had no understanding, his patience wearing thin.
"If I have to, yes."
"You are a fool. This is a graveyard and people do not live in graveyards." His words were harsh but she needed to see what he was saying.
"Perhaps." Her voice lilted.
Chase shoved her aside like a pesky fly and stood on his feet once more, reeling with the knowledge he was not as strong as he thought. But he must be strong. He had to get them out of danger. He reached for Joshua and grabbed his arms, holding him in his grasp.
"You will not stay here. You will go with me." Chase met his glance head on.
"No sir, we will not." Katherine stood her ground as she watched his actions closely.
"Then you will die," Chase said flatly, hoping to frighten her.
"It doesn't matter," she said quietly no longer looking at him.
"I will not have your death upon my hands. You will come with me." He insisted his head spinning as he jerked about on shaky legs. These people…they did not know. They were innocent. He would have to take care of them. See to them. And she would come with him. Where was Burning Tree's magic now? He knew his tongue was heavy with sarcasm, but he had to make them see.
"Let's talk about it later when you are better," she insisted helping him back to the bed once more. He wanted to jerk free of her, to tell her he didn't need her assistance. To tell her she was a fool. But the moment his eyes met hers, something inside him collapsed. He felt as though he could read her very soul. It puzzled him.
Had Burning Tree united them in some way? Of course he had, he as much as said he would. But Chase hadn't planned on being attracted to her too. A dream was one thing, but he felt a pull from her like no other.
"Katherine Hightower, you will listen when the time comes," he sighed heavily and felt himself drifting back into the unknown where his dreams and visions captured him, where he ran through the sweet clover with White Dove once more. He did not want to leave this place.
Chapter Nine
"Maybe he's right, maybe we ought to leave here," Joshua was saying as Katherine dried the last dish,
She shook her head before he even finished.
"Joshua, we can't leave. This is our home. The only real home we've ever known. That's our folks out there. We buried them here. This is our home. Our life now," Katherine was saying not taking her brother too seriously. "We've buried our dead here; we can't just leave them…."
"They're dead and we ain't," Joshua said. "He's right, this is just a graveyard."
Katherine looked at him, her smile fading from her lips. "You want to just up and go. To leave what's ours?"
"At least we'd be alive. And this place isn't ours Katherine, it belongs to Mr. Butterfield. We don't own the land, we don't own nothing. You don't even know if Mr. Butterfield is going to keep the line open. It's crazy to stay here. If they shut this place down it will be nothing but a graveyard."
"Maybe and maybe not." Katherine felt the salt of her tears slide down her cheek. She couldn't and wouldn't cry. She had to be brave. Isn't that what she'd been telling herself ever since her folks took sick? Brave? She hated the word. Hated holding back the tears.
But leave? She couldn't. Wouldn't.
"If you've a mind, I'll get you a ticket and you can go back east to our brothers, " She murmured quietly feeling a loss just from the words she spoke.
"I ain't gonna leave you out here, to—die! But why can't we both go. There's nothin' to hold us now," Joshua pleaded. "We could move back east and raise the boys together."
"Then you go Joshua. But I'm staying," Katherine affirmed dully.
Her heart was shattering, breaking into a million pieces at the thought of Joshua leaving her.
"But why, for God's sake. This was their choice, not ours. Their life, not ours.
We're still young, at least I am. And just look at you. Why you should've been married years ago. You stay here and you'll never have a life of your own," Joshua insisted.
"I have to stay, Joshua," she wailed aloud, as though her folks could still hear her.
"Look here." Joshua went to the wooden chest in the corner and pulled out a mirror. The one thing her mother had salvaged in her long journey to Texas. "Look in there and tell me you ain't wastin' away. Most girls are married and got kids. You're all of nineteen now. A woman fully growed and no husband or kids. And no prospects for one either. Not out here. And where you gonna find any out here? We gotta go back. This is crazy to stay here. There's droughts, Indians, and all manner of craziness out here. If the Indians don't kill us, the soldiers will hang us, for what we did today."
"They won't hang us, it was self defense," she cried. "We didn't do anything wrong."
"Our word against theirs," Josh insisted.
"Then go, but leave me be," she said and shoved the mirror away.
It had been so long since she'd looked in that mirror she winced from the sight of herself. Dark smudges under her eyes proved her brother right, she looked haggard and old. But for the life of her, she would not leave this place.
"Don't you want the same things other girls want, a husband and kids of your own?" Joshua shook her by the arms now.
"Lord willin'. Yes." Her mind quickly flitted to Chase Rivers, but that was crazy thinking.
"Then let's go get the kids and make the east our home again," he insisted. "This ain't home. This was some kind of crazy dream Pa had. It didn't work out. It ain't our home. This place is full of wild Indians, outlaws, and bad weather to boot."
Katherine knew he made a lot of sense, but the ties binding her were out there in the graves and she couldn't break them.
"I'm the oldest Joshua, so you wouldn't understand what I'm going through. I've got to stay," She insisted.
"I loved Ma and Pa as much as you did," he cried.
Katherine looked at her brother and suddenly jerked him to her so hard it rattled the rafters.
She hung on to him for long precious moments, knowing if he left her, she was as doomed as her parents and crying inside for herself and them. She was tired and maybe she could think better tomorrow. But for now she held her brother. She suddenly felt the hot tears falling from her own eyes. It had been so long since she cried, it was almost painful. Dear God, at last she could cry again. Her brother held her for a long while as she cried openly, sobbing.
He smiled down into her face. "All we got is each other, don't you see?"
"Things will look better tomorrow," she whispered desperately.
He nodded and pulled away. He kissed her on the forehead and went to feed the horses.
Katherine slumped in a chair, too tired to do much else. Wondering just what tomorrow might bring.
Chapter Ten
"I've made up my mind, I'm not staying," Joshua said very quietly as Katherine dipped his plate full of beans and handed it to him.
She sliced the cornbread and handed him some.
"You've thought it through?" She asked, not daring a look at him as panic hit the pit of her stomach. A knot of tears in her throat reminded her of another loss. Could she survive without him? Dare she stay here alone? But what choices were there? Her parents were gone and if their life were to mean anything, she had to protect it. It was the first real home she remembered.
"I have. And you're coming with me." Joshua's voice rose just a bit.
"No, I can't. I can't leave them." It sounded more like a moan than a statement.
"They are dead, Katherine, get it through your head." Joshua insisted, "I miss them as much as you do, but we are the survivors and we have to go on and live. They'd want us to."
"I know they are dead, but I can't leave them. I've taken the stationmaster job upon me too." Katherine insisted, as waves of apprehension swept through her.
"No one knows that but you. Mr. Bowlins is dead. Another stage will be out soon. More soldiers I'd expect. Indians. Think about this. You aren't making sense. You are going back with me." Joshua announced firmly.
They were in a heated discussion when the bedroom door opened and Chase Rivers walked into the room. He walked with a straight gait, as though there were no wounds. His eyes went from one to the other.
"Please sit down. I'll make you some food." Katherine brushed aside and prepared him a plate as she boldly met his gaze.
He nodded and eyed Joshua.
"I've been talking to my sister. Trying to make her understand. She has to leave, go back home with me. She has to raise the boys, our brothers." Joshua was saying as though Chase Rivers understood the situation.
Chase eyed the woman, not liking the feeling that looking at her gave him. Bewildered by the conflicting emotions circling the room.
She had a proud determined chin, a pleasant face, and hair to make any maiden proud. He did not need such a complication in his life. He should be out of here now but he felt the pull of this woman, and something older than time itself rooted him to these two. He needed to help her and Josh. Somehow he would get her back to the village.
"Your brother is very wise. This is not the place for you. You will both come with me," Chase demanded, leaving no room for argument, seeing the determined set of the woman's jaw and admiring her stubborn will.
Katherine banged his plate down in front of him and he couldn't stop a smile as she quickly spoke her mind.
"I will not leave, sir." She eyed him for a moment.
In that moment Chase Rivers felt a stirring that bothered his soul.
"More soldiers will come," he announced watching her put a spoonful of beans on her own plate.
"Yes, I'm sure they will." She nodded dully.
"They'll ask questions. They will want to know the truth," Josh said.
"No!" She banged her fist down on the table. "Not the truth. They'll want lies not the truth."
Joshua shook his head,(.) "It doesn't matter, they'll take us to prison or hang us one."
"They will not." She refuted that possibility.
Joshua frowned and replied, "When they find those soldiers are dead, they'll—"
"They won't find them dead. They won't find them at all." Chase glanced from one to the other.
Chase put down his fork, wiped his mouth and nodded, then stared at Katherine, "No, they won't. I'll take care of the bodies. I'll take the stage out and I'll make it look as though Comanches attacked them. They'll figure it out, but we'll be gone by then."
Katherine looked at him. Her face lighting a bit with each word he spoke, as though he provided hope for her.
"Yes, that's a wonderful idea. They will never know." Hope flared in those warm brown eyes.
"And what about him?" Joshua pointed to Chase.
"We can hide him—"
"No. I will not hide." Chase pushed back his plate.
"But you must," she persisted. "They won't think twice of killing you."
"I will protect you, both of you," Chase offered almost in another breath. Why was he doing this, taking a woman who didn't want to leave to a people she didn't know was her own? But his own mother might come down with the sickness, then what would he do? And this woman, according to Burning Tree had powers to help them. He must take her there. Whether she wanted to go or not. Besides, she belonged to him, or soon would.
How could he tell her she was not white? He could not do that. Not yet anyway. If the time came, he would tell her. But still, would she believe it?
"You will hide." Katherine flashed her brown eyes at him.
Joshua looked from one to the other. "What if we cut his hair, and gave him some of Pa's clothes."
As Katherine's eyes became large and a beautiful shade of golden brown, Chase Rivers gasped at his sudden need to kiss those full lips and touch her beautiful face.
What was wrong with him? Ever since he met her he wanted to touch her and be with her? It wasn't natural. He
had loved White Dove, hadn't he? So why did his loins warm when he looked at this woman? Why did he desire her? Was this magic that Burning Tree used going to last a lifetime? Or would it wear off and then he would be stuck with her? Still, when he looked into her eyes, he saw heaven and couldn't imagine not wanting her. If only she weren't so stubborn.
As though Joshua's arguments seemed logical, Katherine was nodding and skittering about the room nervously looking anywhere but directly at Chase. It was almost as if she read his mind. Could she somehow have the same feelings? No, it was crazy. Unless…Burning Tree….?
Although he had no intention of letting Katherine cut his hair, he did not argue. He ate in silence. He would think of something tomorrow. He felt too weak to offer much help today.
When it was time for bed Katherine made her pallet in front of the fireplace, while her brother had his on the other side.
Chase took her by the arm and shook his head. Then he shoved her gently in the bedroom.
"But you need the bed until you are healed," She insisted.
"I am healed enough," he said. "You are the one who needs to rest."
His eyes narrowed when she would have protested and she shut her mouth. Good at least she knew when not to argue. Perhaps there was hope for the woman after all.
He turned and after securing the doors and windows he laid down on her quilt. The smell of her lingered and he found it strangely pleasant. He snuggled into the covers and watched the darkness come.
"You have a woman, Mr. Rivers?" Joshua asked.
Chase did not answer at first. Why did the boy ask such a thing? Did he not know when to be quiet either?
But Chase answered him. "No, no longer."
"She's dead?"
"Yes."
As though that was enough information, Joshua hushed and soon snored lightly.
Chase lay awake, listening to the night sounds. In an unfamiliar place he knew he had to keep a keen eye. These two were innocent and naive and he must protect them.
At dawn Katherine was making breakfast when Chase Rivers took her by the waist and carried her to a corner of the room. As he set her down, their eyes met once more, and he nearly shook himself to get away from her. He saw too much when he looked at her. He could see the purity of her soul, the innocence…and something even more shocking…the love.