by Bobbi Smith
“And you’re all right,” Abbie said, crying as she smiled up at him.
Mason hugged her again just as the others all rode up. Faith quickly dismounted and went to join them.
“How are you?” Faith asked after giving him a quick hug of her own. “We’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Abbie!”
They heard Rose’s cry and turned to see her running out of the house.
Rose had been back in the kitchen when she’d heard some kind of a ruckus going on and had come out to check. Rose hugged Abbie just as the ranch hands came up to welcome her back. The joy of the moment was exhilarating.
Trent stood off to the side with Jake and Hank, watching the reunion. It wasn’t often that he witnessed this kind of excitement or tender emotion. With his job, it was usually just a matter of money. He turned the wanted men he brought in over to whomever had hired him, then collected his pay and moved on.
Jake glanced over at Trent. “So, what are you going to do now?”
“Well, I was planning to take some time off right when this job came up, so I think I’ll be looking for a little relaxation.”
“That sounds real good,” he agreed.
“Everybody!” Faith had to shout to be heard. When they quieted down, she went on, “We are going to have the biggest celebration ever here at the ranch tomorrow night!”
A big cheer went up. The mood on the Lazy R had been troubled since the raid, and everyone was relieved that things had turned out so well. The whole ranch was ready to celebrate Abbie’s homecoming, and since tomorrow was Saturday, it was the perfect time for a party.
The men started off to go back to work. Hank went to the bunkhouse, while Rose took charge at the main house.
“Come on inside,” Rose told them. “You all look like you could use a good hot meal.”
“It has been a while, that’s for sure,” Faith agreed, looking forward to one of Rose’s delicious home-cooked meals.
“I can’t wait, but first I have to get cleaned up,” Abbie said. Now that she was back home, she was all too conscious of how filthy she was. They’d managed to wash up a few times on the way back, but she desperately wanted to take a bath.
“You go on,” Rose directed. “I’ll make sure there’s plenty of food left for you.”
Faith knew she needed to take a bath, too, but she decided to wait until after Abbie had finished. Right then she just wanted to take it easy for a while.
Abbie slipped away to the privacy of her own bedroom. She went in and closed the door behind her. She stood there for a long moment, feeling safe and secure at last in the familiar surroundings. Her soft bed was going to be a wonderful change tonight after all those nights sleeping on the ground, and there was her wardrobe, filled with dresses. Just thinking about wearing a dress again made her smile.
She was home.
She was really home.
After gathering up the fresh clothes she needed, she went into the small room they used to bathe in and filled the tub. There was no hot water ready, but she didn’t care. Cold water would work, as long as she could use strong soap. Only by scrubbing every inch of herself did she feel she could erase the haunting memory of the cruel warrior’s hands upon her.
Abbie undressed and stepped into the tub. The water was chilly, but she found it refreshing. Grabbing up the soap, she began to wash.
In the kitchen, Faith, Jake, and Trent all sat down at the table while Rose busied herself preparing their meal.
“This is just a little bit different from what we’ve been used to,” Jake remarked, getting comfortable.
“I’ll say,” Trent agreed.
“Rose is the best cook around,” Faith declared. “Why, thank you,” Rose said as she set the dishes of food on the table before them. “Help yourselves.”
“We’ll do just that,” Jake said. He didn’t need to be told twice. He’d had the pleasure of eating Rose’s cooking before, and knew how delicious everything would be.
Conversation slowed as they all dug in, and they had just about finished eating when Abbie appeared in the doorway.
Jake gazed at Abbie, taking in the beauty of her as she crossed the room to join them. She’d washed her hair and combed the still-damp tresses into a bun at the nape of her neck. It was a simple style that became her, for it highlighted her perfect features and the slender line of her throat. Abbie looked as lovely as ever in the simple day gown she’d donned. Except for the slight bruising that still showed on her cheek, no one would ever have guessed what she’d been through. Jake knew she was as strong as she was beautiful, and his love for her grew even deeper.
“You look lovely,” Jake said, getting up and going to her to give her a gentle kiss. He didn’t care that there were others around. He didn’t care what they thought. He was just thrilled that Abbie was back home and unharmed.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile, feeling much more like her old self again.
“You come sit down at the table, young lady, and get yourself something to eat,” Rose directed.
Abbie didn’t need any encouragement. It had been a long time since she’d had a decent meal, and she loved Rose’s cooking.
“I’ll have one of the boys ride into town and let everybody know you’re back. I know Larissa and her parents, Dottie, and Sheriff Fike, will all want to be here for the party,” Mason told Abbie.
“I can go tell Tom to send one of the men for you, if you want,” Rose offered.
“Thanks, Rose.”
“What time are you going to start the celebration?” Jake asked when Rose had gone.
“Midafternoon sounds good,” Faith said.
“All right, then I’m going to head home for tonight. I want to let everyone know we found Abbie and she’s safe, and I want to check up on things there.”
“You’ll be back tomorrow, won’t you?” Abbie hated the thought that Jake was leaving her, but she understood why he had to go home after having been away for so long.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back,” he assured her. There was more to his trip home than he was going to let on. There was something important he had to do, but he couldn’t tell Abbie about it. He got up to leave.
“I’ll walk you out,” Abbie offered, forgetting all about food. She wanted only to be with Jake for as long as she could.
“I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Jake told the others as he and Abbie left the house.
When they got out onto the porch, Jake took a quick look around, glad to see that there was no one nearby. He took advantage of the moment of privacy and swept her into his arms for a hungry kiss. It was with great reluctance that he finally put her from him.
“You stay out of trouble while I’m gone,” he told her, grinning down at her.
“You just hurry back,” she countered.
“I will.” It was a promise.
He gave her one last quick kiss and then went to mount up. As he rode away, he glanced back to see Abbie still standing there on the porch watching him go.
Deep emotion filled Jake.
Abbie was safe—at last.
When Abbie and Jake had gone outside, Faith decided it was time for her to get cleaned up, too. She went off to bathe, leaving Mason and Trent alone in the kitchen.
Mason looked at Trent across the table. “You’re going to stay on for the party, aren’t you?”
“I’d like that,” Trent answered.
“Well, you’re more than welcome here. You know that. We’ve got room out in the bunkhouse for you.”
“That’ll be fine.”
Glad that Trent wasn’t planning on leaving right away, Mason got up and went to a cabinet. He opened it and took out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Returning to the table, he poured a healthy shot into each glass, then handed one of them to Trent as he sat back down.
Mason looked at the man who’d saved his sister and knew he owed him more than money. His mood was serious as he lifted his glass in a
toast to Trent. “Thank you.”
Trent appreciated his gesture. He picked up his own glass to join him, taking a drink of the potent liquor. “You’re welcome.”
With Abbie momentarily out of the room, Mason wanted to find out the truth of what had happened during the search. Even though Jake had been acting as if nothing had changed and everything was the same as it had been, Mason needed to be ready to be able to handle whatever might come next for his sister. “How bad was it?”
Trent understood exactly what he was asking, and why. He knew then, too, what a good man and a good brother Mason was.
“It isn’t often things turn out this well,” he began. He told him of how the storm had slowed the search party down for a while, and how the Grays’ ranch had been attacked. “The raiding party took the wife and daughter captive, too.”
“So Abbie wasn’t the only female captive they had with them.”
“No, and John Gray told us that he had heard renegades were selling women down by the border.”
“Thank God you got to them in time.”
“And we did get there in time,” Trent said. His gaze was intense as it met Mason’s. He went on to explain, “When they sell the female captives that way, they don’t touch them. The women are worth more untouched.”
“But Abbie was beaten.”
“She tried to escape—at least twice that I know of.”
Mason was a bit surprised by the news. Abbie had always been the more ladylike of his two sisters, but, ladylike or not, she’d proven she was just as brave as Faith.
“How did you manage to catch up with them?”
Trent told him of the long miles of tracking and how they’d finally surrounded the campsite and rescued the women. “We were really lucky no one was hurt during the shoot-out.”
“You weren’t lucky,” Mason countered, wanting to praise him. “You were good. You had to be to get in that close without the renegades knowing it. I’m just sorry I wasn’t with you to help.”
“Faith and Abbie have both been worried about you, but you look like you’re doing well.”
“I’m almost back to normal.”
“Yes, you are,” Abbie said, coming back inside from saying good-bye to Jake. “I was so relieved when Faith told me you were recovering.” She sat down in the chair next to her brother. “It was so horrible that day.”
“Yes, it was.” Mason nodded, remembering the shock of seeing her horse stumble and fall, and trying to turn back to help her. “And, now, thanks to Trent, that raiding party won’t be hurting anyone anymore.”
“One of the warriors did get away,” Trent added, “but he was wounded, so he won’t be causing trouble anytime soon.”
At Trent’s mention of the wounded warrior, Abbie found herself wondering if he had survived. She was under no illusions about him now that she was back home. She knew he could have been the one who’d shot Mason and killed those ranch hands on the Grays’ ranch, but he had protected her from the evil one’s abuse, and for that she would always be grateful.
They talked for a while longer, and then Faith returned. She had donned a dress, too, weary of being in riding clothes for so long.
Trent’s gaze lingered on Faith as she came back into the room. He’d known she was a beauty from that very first night when they’d danced together, and, looking at her now, he thought she was the prettiest woman he’d ever seen. The demure dress she wore looked lovely on her, and the pale length of her hair hung about her shoulders in a tumble of still-damp curls. Loving her as he did, he didn’t know how he was ever going to be able to ride away from her.
“Trent’s going to stay on for the party,” Mason told Faith, and he noticed that her smile brightened at the news.
“Good.” She was delighted that they would have more time together. “It’s going to be great fun. You’ll see.”
“I don’t doubt it for a minute,” Trent said.
Rose returned just then with some news. “Some of the hands want to see you, Abbie. They’re waiting outside to talk to you.”
Abbie was touched by their concern and went out to see them. Trent, Mason, and Faith went along, too.
The men welcomed Abbie back warmly and were telling her how glad they were that she’d made it home safely.
Faith was enjoying watching the reunion when she noticed a slightly older man in the crowd.
“Who’s that?” she asked Mason quietly, not wanting to interrupt Abbie’s good time.
“His name’s Tucker. We were running short on help, with me being laid up and Hank being gone, so Tom thought we should hire him on.”
Satisfied by his explanation, Faith thought no more about it.
Abbie turned to Trent and introduced him to the ranch hands. Only when the men had gone back to work did they go inside again.
Sykes was excited as he went out to the bunkhouse, but he kept his emotions hidden.
The moment he’d been waiting for had finally come.
Trent Marshall had returned to the ranch.
Sykes had been hard put not to pull his gun and shoot the hired gun down right then and there, but he’d controlled the urge. He would do it, but all in good time. The opportunity was going to come to take care of Marshall, just as he had Cal Harris, but it wasn’t now. He had some planning to do to make sure everything came off right. For the time being, he just had to make sure Trent Marshall didn’t leave the Lazy R without his knowing it. He was going to keep Marshall in his sights in more ways than one. When the time came, he would be ready.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
It was just getting dark as Jake topped the low rise that overlooked his ranch house in the valley below. He reined in and just sat there for a moment, enjoying the peace. The ranch looked fine. He’d missed being home, and he was glad his men had done a good job taking care of things while he’d been away.
When he’d ridden out to search for Abbie, there had been no telling how soon he would be back or what kind of news he’d be bringing with him when he did show up. But now he’d returned, and the news was good. His life was good, and it was only going to get better.
Putting his heels to his horse’s sides, Jake headed down to the house. He noticed that some of his men had seen him and were coming out to welcome him back.
Mike Stevens had spotted Jake first and had called out to the other men working nearby to let them know the boss had returned. They liked Jake and were glad he was back. From this distance Mike couldn’t read Jake’s expression, and he wondered how the search had gone. He hoped the news about Abbie was good.
“You’re back!” Mike welcomed him.
“And glad of it,” Jake returned as he reined in and dismounted in front of the house.
“How did it go?” Mike was serious as he awaited the answer.
“Abbie’s home, and she’s fine,” he told them all quickly.
“That’s great!” The men were surprised, for they knew how deadly raiding parties could be. Most of them had been expecting the worst.
“How did you find her?” Mike asked.
“It wasn’t easy, but that Trent Marshall is one good tracker. Nothing stops him when he’s on a trail.”
“When did you get back?”
“Just this afternoon. How have things been around here?”
“No problems at all.”
“Good.” He was proud of Mike and his men for being so diligent. “Come on inside. Let’s have a drink and do a little celebrating.”
They didn’t need to be asked twice. They gladly followed him into the house, for they knew Jake kept good whiskey on the place.
The knock came at the Murrays’ front door late in the day, and the physician immediately thought it was someone with a medical problem for him. He went to answer the door, ready to leave, if necessary.
“What can I do for you?” Dr. Murray asked of the cowhand standing there.
“I’m Will from out at the Lazy R,” he began.
Larissa had been curious to see who
was at the door and was just coming up behind her father when she heard the man say he was from Mason’s ranch. She immediately grew worried and rushed to her father’s side.
“What’s wrong? Is there trouble? Has Mason gotten worse?”
Will recognized Larissa and smiled at her. “No, I’ve got good news.”
“I don’t understand,” Dr. Murray said.
“They’re back! Abbie’s home! They rode in a few hours ago!”
“Are you serious?” He was amazed at the news. It wasn’t often captives were saved from the Apache.
“Yes, sir,” Will affirmed. “And that’s why I’m here. Faith and Mason sent me into town to let you know there’s going to be a big party tomorrow, starting in the afternoon. They wanted to make sure you came.”
“We’ll be there!” Larissa told him delightedly. “This is the best news ever! How is she?”
“She seems fine.”
“That’s wonderful!” Larissa was thrilled. “Do you want us to help spread the news for you?”
“Yes. Faith wants it to be a big celebration.”
“We’ll let folks know.”
“I’d appreciate it. See you tomorrow.” Will left to go find the sheriff.
“Oh, Papa! I can’t believe it! She’s back, and she’s all right! This is so exciting!”
“It’s a blessing; that’s for sure. Let’s go tell your mother.”
“And we have to tell Dottie and the other ladies, too. I know they’ve been worrying about Abbie and praying for her safe return.”
“We’ll do just that.”
Sykes had been watching and waiting, and he couldn’t believe his luck when he saw Mason bringing Trent out to the bunkhouse. Apparently the hired gun was going to be around for a while, and that just made things all the easier for him.
“Trent’s going to bunk down out here tonight,” Mason told the men.
“You mean you don’t want to camp out anymore?” Hank asked, smiling.
“I’m thinking a real bed sounds good.”
“So am I,” Hank agreed. “Take the bottom one over there.” He showed Trent the empty bunk. “And there’s a bathhouse out back.”