“Noah, will you finish the burial? Hawk, Massot, go get the horses. We’ll go with the children to the hideout and be back here shortly. Come on, you all. Let’s go see to your things.”
The cave was littered with a few blankets, a pot, bucket, and a small amount of food. A rag doll lay beside the fire pit. Nina squirmed to get out of Red’s arms. He set her down. She ran and picked up the doll. Tucking it under her arm, she stuck her thumb in her mouth, then backed up to the cave wall.
“She’s got what she wants,” said Newt. “Anything else you young’uns want to take with you?”
Tadpole went to a blanket and flipped it back. There was a piece of wood that sort of resembled a horse. It wasn’t carved. Nature had shaped it that way. It was worn smooth with much handling. Mae just looked around, not moving. Boone went to a pile of rubble. He dug around and pulled out a knife. It didn’t have a sheath. He stuck it into the top of his ragged boot.
Eli was examining the food. “They only had about a day’s provisions left.” He looked at Boone and Mae, now standing close together. “Were they going to come back for you?”
Boone shrugged. Mae shook her head.
This time it was Newt who swore. “Let’s go. If they do come, we want to be long gone.”
At the gravesite, Noah stood praying over the filled in grave. The rest of the men were back with the horses. When they began discussing which child would ride with who, Mae backed away, turned, and began running.
Hawk ran after her and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off her feet. “No need for that. We’re just going on a ride to town.”
“Mae’s scared of horses. She got kicked bad once. Nearly died. There’s a scar on her chest from the hoof.” Boone had run to where Hawk was trying to calm the girl who was struggling in his arms.
Hawk wrapped his arms around her, pinning hers to her side. “Querida,” Hawk said using the Spanish word for sweetheart. “I’ll keep you safe on the horse. You’ll ride in my lap with my arms protecting you the entire way. I promise I’ll keep you safe. Will that help?”
Mae looked at him, then at Boone who gave an encouraging nod. She looked back at Hawk and nodded. She wrapped an arm around his neck and allowed him to carry her to his horse. “You stand here by Boone while I mount. Massot, come lift her up.”
When Mae was straddling the saddle, Hawk took hold of the reins on either side of her. Mae took hold of one hand and pulled it around her body.
“You want me to hold you tighter?”
Mae nodded.
“Okay, querida. I’ll hold you as tightly as I can.”
Hawk looked down at Boone still standing close by.
“She don’t talk anymore. Not since…” Boone let the sentence drop.
Hawk bit back a curse and nodded. “Head off and get a ride. We need to get a move on.”
~~~~~
Newt listened as Boone talked. The boy sat in front of him as they rode to town. Without Newt asking more than an introductory question, Boone had begun telling about his life with the outlaw gang.
He’d been born in the gang. His mother, Prue, had died two weeks earlier in the measles epidemic. Boone’s voice broke when he told of that. Several others had died, too.
“They took Ada when they left. Flora tried to get them to leave her behind, but they wouldn’t. Said that since the new woman escaped, Ada could just be shared more between them. They’d beat up Flora for being meddlesome. I thought they was gonna kill her when they woke from their drunk and found the woman gone.
“Is she okay? That woman?”
“Yes, Miss Gema was found and is back in Stones Creek,” Newt said.
“Good.” Boone was silent for a long while. “Will I, we really have beds? And enough food? And clothes enough to keep us warm?”
“Yes, we’ll see that you do.”
“Do ya think I’d be able to learn letters and to cipher? My Ma could do both. She’d read the papers the men brought back. She tried to teach me an’ Ada to read, but we never had a book or nothin’ to write on. I know some of the letters. Ma taught me numbers, too. I can count all the way to twenty.”
Newt’s heart broke at the simple desire for warm clothing, food, and a bed. Basic needs of all people. And Boone wanted to learn to read. How many children complained about having to go to school? Newt had as a child.
“Dunc’s really in Stones Creek?”
“Uh huh. You know him?”
“Yeah, we played some before they left him and Chloe at that shack in the woods. I just figured they died. She was gonna have another baby. Did it die like the others?”
“Lil’Pen’s alive and a real happy little girl. Chloe’s married to him, McIlroy.” Newt pointed to the man who had Tadpole in front of him. “He’s teaching Dunc to be a blacksmith.” Newt chuckled. “You ask him about the time he shot McIlroy.”
Boone jerked around and looked at Newt. “Dunc shot him?”
“Uh huh. It’s his tale to tell so I won’t spoil it for you.”
“I’d a been killed for sure if I shot one of the men.”
“You know how to shoot a gun?” Newt asked.
“Been known to some. Phil was teaching me. He said I’d need to know for when I started going on jobs.”
“That what you want to do?” Newt asked.
“Nah. I can’t see that robbing is a good way to live. You’re always looking out for the lawmen. You never have enough to eat. You’re always too cold or too hot or too wet. You can’t ever stay in one place. Always trying to stay one step ahead of the law.”
“What do you think you want to be?”
“I reckon being a cowboy would be good. Somebody cooks your meals. You got a bed in a bunkhouse. A horse that’s your own. Plus you most likely don’t get shot at much, unless there’s a outlaw gang around.”
Newt thought that was probably true. It seemed to him that the boy had a good head on his shoulders. There might be hope for him, if they could find someone to take him on to raise. He’d like for it to be a married couple. Hawk might be a good choice, but he wasn’t married.
Red would be a positive influence as well, but with his upcoming marriage to Gema, Red would be trying to build a life with her. They didn’t need the challenge of a young teenager. Besides, Red didn’t have any experience with children. Neither did Gema that he knew of.
Newt ran the rest of the ranchers in the area who might possibly take on the boy through his mind. He rejected each one. There was something in each situation that didn’t seem to allow for adding a possibly very troubled teenager into the mixture. Well, he’d just have to pray about it. God would supply Boone just the right man to guide him into adulthood.
~~~~~
The children’s arrival at Sanctuary House caused a massive upheaval. Between moving two more beds into the room two of Blanche Basking’s boys occupied, one in with Katherine Naylor, Ruth’s twelve-year-old daughter, and one with the twins Libby Trembly was now raising, several men were allowed onto the upper floors long enough to complete the task.
Blanche supervised the furniture adjustments. Libby dug through drawers and trunks to find unused clothing that would fit the four strays who had landed on their doorstep.
Ruth Naylor fried up sausage, made gravy from the drippings, and baked fluffy biscuits to fill empty bellies.
Eli and Red took Boone and Tadpole to get clean in Hank Johnson’s bathing tub. Hank would give them haircuts, too.
Nina bathed in a washtub normally used for laundry, set on the kitchen table aided by Libby. Mae would take her bath in the washroom with Katherine helping wash her hair.
Mae looked at the dress she was supposed to put on and began to cry.
“She never had such a purdy dress before,” Nina whispered to Libby who was helping her out of her ragged clothing. “Me neither.”
The dress was plain and worn as several girls had outgrown it. Still, it was better than the one Mae had on. The one for Nina was the same.
Both
girls were small for their ages and thin. Their bones stuck out all over their bodies. Their hair hung in lank, greasy, tangled strands.
Katherine came into the kitchen from the washroom shortly after she and Mae began her bath. The four women who lived in the house were in the room, all busy with various tasks. “Mama,” she said to Ruth. “Mae’s scrubbing her skin so hard I’m afraid she’ll start bleeding.”
Ruth dropped the utensils she was putting away. Everyone looked at her. She’d gone pale. “Let me tend her, Katherine. You take over my chores. First, go get Chloe. I know she’s at the café, but she’ll want to see Mae. She’ll be able to help, too.” Ruth looked at the other Ladies in the room. They knew why Ruth was so affected by her daughter’s words. Knew why she wanted Chloe, too.
“I’ll go,” Blanche said. “I can finish closing up.”
Ruth went into the washroom, closing the door behind her. The girl sat in the tub with a bar of soap clutched in one hand and a washrag in the other. She was scrubbing the inside of her thigh with brutal strokes. “Mae, let me help you wash. You’ll rub your skin raw, and it won’t help. I know.” Ruth went to take the cloth, but Mae jerked it out of reach, shaking her head violently.
Mae turned and looked at Ruth, eyes ravaged with soul-searing pain met hers. Tears clogged Ruth’s throat. At least she’d been older when she’d been raped. This little girl was way too young. Chloe would understand better than anyone. She’d been about the same age when she was kidnapped by the same gang.
The back door opened, and Chloe stepped in. Mae took one look at her and burst into tears. She dropped the soap and rag and held out her arms to the first familiar face she’d seen since the gang had abandoned the children.
Chloe dropped to her knees and embraced a child she hadn’t seen in over five years. “Mae, Mae, how did you come to be here?” Mae buried her face in Chloe’s bosom, weeping. Chloe looked at Ruth.
“The posse—“ Ruth had to clear her throat before she could continue. “They went out this morning and found four children abandoned by the outlaws. Mae is one of them. She was scrubbing herself raw. I know how she feels. I figure you do, too.”
“Oh, honey.” Chloe held the girl to her, stroking her hair. She kissed the top of Mae’s head. “It’ll be okay. We understand. You let us help you wash. Then we’ll get you dressed.” Chloe leaned back and took Mae’s face in her hands. “You’re safe here. No one, and I mean no one, will ever be allowed to do that to you again.”
Gently, with words of comfort and support, Ruth and Chloe cleansed the frail, thin girl. Mae’s sobs lessened under their tender care. Both women knew what Mae had endured. Chloe especially. Time, love, and a safe place to heal was what she needed. That was the mission of Sanctuary House.
CHAPTER SIX
Red knocked on the front door to Sanctuary House. Boone and Tadpole were standing beside him. He didn’t think they’d ever been so clean before. Both boys had loved the warm water and wanted to soak longer. Tadpole squirmed in the barber chair, but Hank was patient and finally managed to get his hair cut. Boone just stared at everything. Neither boy had been to town very often. Most things were new to them.
Ozzie Basking, Blanche’s thirteen-year-old son, answered. “Wow, you clean up real good. You even have blonde hair. I couldn’t tell before,” Ozzie said to Boone. “Come on in.”
Red allowed the boys to enter before him. He stepped into the foyer and looked into the parlor on the left of the staircase and the large dining room on the right.
Libby came with Nina in her arms. The little girl was clean also and in a new-to-her dress.
“Afternoon, Mr. Dickerson. I see you brought the boys back all spit-shined.” She smiled at each one.
“I did at that, Mrs. Trembly. Nina looks all clean and shiny. Sleepy, too.”
“I’m just heading upstairs to put her down for a nap.” She eyed Red. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Red took off his hat and circled the brim in his hands. “Um, would you please ask Miss Gema if she would be so kind as to speak with me in the parlor?”
Libby tipped her head to the side. “I will see if she’s awake. We’ve encouraged her to rest as much as possible. The ordeal took a lot out of her, and she was barely recovered from the measles.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I’m most appreciative.” Red went into the parlor to wait. He paced the length of the room several times before Gema appeared in the doorway.
Red stepped to her. “Gema, um, Miss Gema.” Red glanced behind her to see if any of the children or Ladies were within hearing range. None were. “Will you please come and sit so we can have a conversation?” He bent slightly at the waist and extended his hand toward the settee.
Gema sat on the edge, her back straight. Red sat beside her. He rubbed his hands on his pant legs. Turning to face her, he took one of her hands in his.
“Gema, we haven’t discussed anything about what happens now that we’re back in Stones Creek. Please know that if I could have brought you back here that first day, I would have. You know how impossible that was. Until today we couldn’t get past the creek. That means we were there three nights together.”
Red watched as a blush rose up her neck, blooming across her cheeks. “I—I— Gema, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I pledge to be a faithful husband, and if God blesses us, a loving father.” There, he’d gotten the words he’d practiced over and over in his head out.
Red thought he saw glistening in her eyes, but Gema quickly blinked it away.
She nodded. “Yes, Red, I will marry you. Be a faithful wife and if God blesses, loving mother.”
~~~~~
Gema tried to relax her back, but it stayed stiff as if a rod was buried inside. Red had proposed, as she knew he would. They had to marry. They both knew it. It was the only solution to their having spent so much time alone together. And they’d slept in the same bed.
That hadn’t been so bad. Red was like a warming pan that lasted the entire night. Each time she’d roused in the night, she’d been plastered against him with an arm or leg or both hugging him tightly.
“When will we do ceremony?” she asked.
“I suppose it depends on how much of a party you want to have with it? The fancier, the longer it will take to prepare.”
“No,” gasped Gema. “No party. Just marry. No need pretend we in love.”
Red nodded. “No party. Won’t take long then. I’ll need to talk with Pastor Preston.” He rubbed his face. “I need to get back to the ranch. Hawk’s waiting at the jail for me. Today’s Saturday. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get back to town for services tomorrow. I’ve been away from the ranch a long time. I’m thinking next Saturday might be best. We can stay the night over at the hotel. After worship service Sunday, we can head back to Hawk’s Wing.”
Gema nodded. She watched a flush color Red’s cheeks.
“That’ll give me a chance to get the house cleaned up and ready for you. I’m not much of a housekeeper.”
Gema grinned. “I know. Line shack pretty messy.”
~~~~~
Gema had never expected to marry for love. That rarely happened in her culture. She had thought the man who proposed to her would actually want to marry her, however. That wasn’t the case with Red. They were marrying because they’d been alone together. A rather silly reason, if you asked her. It showed very little faith in the character of the couple. Seemed to pander to the gossips. But, the attitude was the same here as in Russia.
Red was gone. He’d left shortly after they’d agreed to marry the following Saturday. Since he and Hawk had to get back to the ranch, Red was going to speak with Pastor Preston and set a time for the ceremony. The pastor would come and let Gema know.
Gema had adjusted to the less formal style of worship here in America, so she figured she could adjust to their form of wedding ceremony, too. She’d only been to one wedding in America before. The Ladies could answer any questions she had.
Gem
a bit her lip. She had to tell the Ladies she was getting married in a week. Should she wait until supper, or tell them now? All those who lived at the House were there now. She knew the twins and Nina were napping. Ozzie and the other boys were showing Boone and Tadpole around. Mae had been put to bed, also. She had looked extremely tired when Chloe and Ruth escorted her to her new room. She didn’t know where Kathryn and Nancy were, but it really didn’t matter. They all had to be told anyway.
Gema went to the kitchen. The two girls were there, as well as Laura, Blanche, and Chloe. “Nancy, will you tell mother and Libby come, please.”
Everyone looked at Gema.
“Kathryn, you and Nancy stay upstairs, so if Mae or Nina need something, they won’t be alone and scared,” Blanche instructed.
The girls scampered off. All eyes turned to Gema. The atmosphere in the room had been thick when she came in. Now it bordered on oppressive. Was the advent of the children’s arrival creating a burden? Gema didn’t think so. At Nugget Nate’s mission, any who sought sanctuary was welcomed.
Ruth and Libby arrived, their expressions questioning. They stepped to where the other Ladies sat around the table.
“I make announcement,” Gema began. “Mr. Red request we marry. I say yes. We marry next Saturday. Then I leave for Hawk’s Wing Ranch. No party.”
Blanche stood and came to hug Gema. “I’d say congratulations, but I’m not sure you want to hear that. Blessings on your future, Gema.”
Each of the Ladies expressed their felicitations. Laura approached last. She hugged Gema close. “He’s a good man, Gema. He’ll treat you right.”
Confused, Gema said, “But you end betrothal? I thought you not like Red.”
Laura gave a small chuckle. “Oh, I was hopping mad at him that day.” She paused. “I think God had a hand in that breakup. If I hadn’t given him the mitten, Red wouldn’t have been at the line shack. Then no one would have found and rescued you. Maybe those outlaws would have gotten you again.
Music Of Her Heart Page 5