The Rancher’s Bride Blessing

by Maya Stirling

  Abigail smiled, about to tell him how much that pleased her. How relieved she felt.

  Noah continued, preventing her from telling him anything. "But I won't let you do that. Not you."

  Abigail's mouth opened wide. "Why?"

  Noah shook his head. "Something Jake said to me when I was at your family's ranch the other day. He said the same thing to me as you just did. Almost word for word. Even made the same offer." Noah lowered his head and kicked the dirt on the yard ground. "But I refused." He lifted his gaze back to Abigail.

  Jake had offered to advise Noah? Abigail thought about Jake's kind words regarding Noah earlier that morning. Maybe her brother and Noah had struck up a friendship, after all. Thinking about it now, Jake's offer made sense. Coming from an experienced ranch hand like Jake, perhaps Noah might find the whole idea more acceptable.

  Abigail nodded, reluctantly. "You want me tell Jake?"

  Noah smiled. "You can if you like."

  "I'm sure he'll be pleased," Abigail stated. "He was saying some good things about you, this morning."

  "He was?" Noah asked, his brows lifting.

  "Maybe you and my brother can get along, after all," Abigail told him. She felt a mild disappointment she wouldn't get to spend more time with Noah. Maybe there'd be other ways to do that, she told herself. Now that Noah was used to her visiting the ranch without an invite. After that kiss, she figured no invites would be necessary.

  "You coming inside?" Noah asked.

  Abigail shook her head. "No. I'm going to go back to the ranch and send Jake over. I figure there's no sense in delaying things."

  Disappointment flickered across his features. "Maybe you're right."

  After the kiss, she now felt suddenly comfortable around him. All the urgency of earlier had vanished. Now she just felt happy to be in his presence. She wouldn't be gone long, if she had anything to do with it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Later that afternoon, Abigail was in the sitting room with her mother when she heard the sound of a horse arriving out in the yard. Going to the window, she saw Jake ease himself down off his horse and start to lead the animal toward the stable. Abigail frowned. Jake had only been gone a couple of hours. Surely he couldn't have finished with Noah, already, she told herself.

  Racing out to the yard, she called to Jake. He turned and smiled at Abigail. "Bet you didn't think I'd be back this soon," he said.

  "You ain't joking," Abigail replied. "How come you came back this early?"

  Jake shrugged. "Did what I needed to do for Noah. And that's it."

  "It took you an hour to show him how to draw a gun?" Abigail asked incredulously.

  Jake shook his head. "That's the thing, Abi. Noah didn't want to learn how to draw. In fact, he insisted I wouldn't show him, at all."

  "But he agreed he'd learn," Abigail gasped. Had Noah changed his mind since she'd left him at the ranch earlier that afternoon?

  Jake took a moment to calm his horse which was fidgeting. "Noah asked me something odd," he said. "Wanted me to show him the best way to warn a man off even thinking about drawing on him."

  "What!" Abigail exclaimed. "How can that be any use to him?"

  Jake shook his head. "I don't rightly know, sis. So I did what he asked. Showed him how to get ready to draw. Make it look convincing. Like he meant business," Jake explained and sighed. "Once he'd mastered that, Noah told me that was all he needed to know."

  Abigail exhaled, at a loss to understand why Noah had made such a strange request of Jake.

  Jake laughed. "Thing is, you remember Billy McKinley. How he could never learn how to fire a gun. But he was real good at pretending he knew how to fire one?"

  Abigail thought back a few years, to when the family had lived near Helena. Billy had been the same age as Jake. And had liked to brag about how tough he was. How he could lick anyone in a fight. And, when he'd come of age, Billy had liked to show off, making like he was an expert shootist. When, in reality, he could hardly draw a gun fast enough. It had seemed to work, because Billy had never gotten into trouble, since people thought he could look after himself.

  "I just showed Noah what Billy used to do." Jake grinned and spread his feet wide, lowered his shoulders and peered, smiling, at Abigail. Then he slowly lowered his hand to his holster and placed his fingers across the holstered pistol's butt, resting his hand. Jake stood still, gazing at Abigail.

  She folded her arms and frowned. "That's it? That's what he wanted you to show him?"

  Jake straightened and shrugged. "It only took me an hour to get so as it's convincing when he does it." Jake scratched the side of his head. "Makes no sense to me," he admitted.

  Abigail thought back to her conversation with Noah. It made perfect sense to her, she told herself. It fit perfectly with Noah's obvious desire to avoid violence of any kind. To place his faith in God as much as possible.

  Jake took the reins of his horse and started to make his way to the stable. He paused for a moment and looked at Abigail. "There was another thing that happened while I was there," he said. "A couple of the ranch hands came to the ranch house. Said they wanted to collect some fencing posts and wire."

  Abigail recalled Earl and Rufus. They must have been planning on carrying out the work they'd reported to Noah.

  Jake frowned. "I overheard the skinny one, with the bad teeth, say something to the sly-looking man. The older one. It sounded odd," Jake admitted.

  "How?"

  Jake's brows furrowed. "I wandered past the shed where they were loading up the fencing posts. I heard him tell the other guy not to worry." Jake gazed upwards, trying to recall what had been said. He spoke slowly, as if reciting the words from memory. "It's in Enemy's Cave. It'll be ready tonight. Then they'll know who's boss around these parts," Jake finished saying. He nodded and peered at Abigail. "That's what I heard the guy say. You know what that could mean?"

  Abigail felt a sudden apprehension grab hold of her. She shook her head, even though a hard knot of worry had twisted in her middle. "No, Jake. I don't."

  "The guy thought it was funny," Jake continued. "But the older guy told him to keep quiet. Threatened he'd blow the whole thing if he couldn't keep his mouth shut."

  Abigail wrapped her arms around herself and thought for a few moments. Enemy's Cave. The cave where she and Noah had kissed. She tried to figure out what this could possibly mean. What could the men be up to that what have to be kept secret? Her suspicions about the two supposed ranch hands were starting to be justified. Something was going on over at Noah's ranch, and she was sure he knew nothing about it. Otherwise, why would the men be talking about it believing no-one could overhear them.

  "Can you figure it out, sis?" Jake asked.

  Abigail shook her head. "Can't say I do, Jake. Not now, at least."

  "You think we should let the sheriff know?" Jake asked.

  "Maybe," Abigail admitted.

  From behind her, Abigail heard the ranch house's front door open. Matilda stepped out onto the porch. "Jake. Can you come in here for a minute. I need to talk to you about something."

  Jake waved to their mother. "Coming, ma," he yelled back. Jake peered at Abigail. "You look worried, sis," he observed.

  Abigail forced herself to smile at Jake. "Don't worry about me, Jake," she said. "I'm sure there's a good explanation for what you heard."

  "Hope so," Jake said and resumed leading his horse to the stable.

  Abigail watched him. She lost herself in thought, trying to figure out what she could do.

  What she had to do.

  If there was even the remotest possibility Noah was in danger over at the Double T, then she had a duty to help. She felt too close to the rancher to allow anything bad to happen to him. Her feelings about Noah had grown so strong that the very thought of him suffering any harm made her almost panic-stricken. Her nerves felt rattled. Her previous calm had vanished completely. All she could think of was what could happen to Noah. He needed her. Even if he'd refused he
r help earlier, she knew she couldn't remain at the ranch, wondering what was taking place over at the Double T.

  Abigail waited until Jake had disappeared into the house. Then she strode over to the stable and saddled Rebel up. Leaping up onto her faithful pinto, Abigail raced away from the Buchanan ranch and down the trail, in the direction of the Noah's place.

  She rode the trail until she had almost reached the turn which would lead her to the Double T ranch house. Instead of taking that turn, she kept going south. She knew the trail would eventually bring her to the southern corner of Noah's spread. That was where the valley ended. The one up which they'd led the cattle from the river on the last part of the drive.

  It wouldn't be dark for a few hours. She'd have enough time to find out what was going on before the light faded.

  Riding on faster, she told herself she'd have to be careful not to be seen by the two ranch hands. Still not sure about how much the other hands knew about the trouble being planned, Abigail figured it would be best not to trust anyone. Not until she'd found out what was going on.

  Rebel's hooves pounded on the hard ground as Abigail led the horse across some even rangeland. As she rode, she scanned the horizon for any sign of the herd and the team of ranch hands. She was relieved there was no sign of anyone.

  Heading down from the crest of a ridge she saw, up ahead, the entrance to the cut that would eventually bring her down through the valley and to the river. She slowed Rebel, realizing she was breathless. Her heart was pounding furiously. Maybe that was due to the exertion of the frantic ride, she told herself. Deep down, though, she was sure it was worry for Noah which was causing her to feel like this.

  She'd tried to warn him but, sometimes, Noah just seemed to think he knew best. Perhaps it was his upbringing, she told herself. It couldn't be easy giving up the habits of a lifetime. Especially if it meant your carefully bred sense of pride made you believe you were invincible. The only thing she took comfort from was Noah's obvious faith in God. Since she'd first met him, she had the impression his devotion to His guidance was the only thing which could save him from himself.

  Abigail guided Rebel through the narrow pass which eventually took her to the gorge. High walls of cliffs rose up around her. The air cooled noticeably and Abigail felt a sudden solitude as she rode down toward the river. Rebel snickered and tugged at the reins, perhaps sensing the change in Abigail's mood. Abigail's nerves were on edge. Once or twice, she twisted in the saddle, gazing up at the cliffs, certain she was being watched.

  Reaching the river and the flat area near the outcrop of cliffs, Abigail guided rebel toward the cave she and Noah had explored. She dismounted at the entrance to the tunneled area inside which she knew was the cave. Securing Rebel's reins beneath a rock, Abigail advanced into the darkness of the natural formation. Memories of when she'd been here with Noah flashed into her mind.

  Abigail's footsteps echoed inside the cool darkness. She found the cave entrance, recalling what Jake had reported to her. She froze for a moment, wondering what she was about to find inside the cave. Maybe Jake had misheard what the men had said. Perhaps this was all a wild goose chase.

  Abigail listened for a few moments. All she could hear was the steady rush of water from the nearby river. Calming her nerves with the thought she would be out of the place soon, she walked into the cave. Bending low, she advanced slowly, remembering to keep her head away from rocky obstructions. Abigail was enclosed in semi-darkness as she walked. She strained her vision, trying her best not to crash her head against unseen rocky walls.

  After a couple of minutes, she saw a dim light up ahead. The sound of the river water was louder now. Abigail made the high-ceilinged cavern immediately before the opening beyond which she could see the ledge where Noah had kissed her. Emotion swelled her heart as she remembered what it had been like to be kissed by him.

  Taking a step toward the entrance, her booted foot kicked against something heavy. Abigail halted abruptly and peered down. She drew in a sharp breath. A lumpy-looking brown bag lay at her feet. It was a burlap sack, big enough to fit over a horse's saddle.

  Abigail bent down and prodded it, feeling something hard inside. She frowned and loosened the opening of the bag. Gingerly, she pulled the sack open, turning it toward the light from the cave entrance.

  Abigail gasped, let the bag go and instinctively leaped back, landing on her rear. She gazed, horrified, at the sack. Every impulse in her body told her to run. But she remained seated on the dirt-covered floor of the cave, her hands splayed out at her sides, fingers curling into the thick layer of dust. Her hands touched something cold. She turned and saw a small pickax lying next to her on the ground. She frowned, wondering why that was lying there.

  Turning back to the sack, her eyes wide, Abigail stared disbelievingly at the contents of the sack. Abigail knew exactly what she was looking at. Even as she thought the word, her pulse pounded with terror.

  Dynamite.

  Her heart was thudding relentlessly as she peered at the cluster of sticks that had spilled from the sack. For a moment, she felt a wave of nausea sweep over her. She sat forward, dragging in breaths. Finally, she gained control of herself and stood. Her hands shaking, she kneeled down and tugged at the sack, examining its contents. Multiple sticks of dynamite, complete with blasting caps and fuses.

  There was enough dynamite in the bag to cause an almighty explosion. Of that simple fact, she was absolutely sure. She'd seen examples of dynamite being used to clear the way for the railway lines years before. It had been an awe-inspiring and terrifying sight. And now she was inches away from that terrible power. Her chest tightened as she tried to figure out what the dynamite was doing here.

  Standing, she rested her hands on her hips and forced herself to think. Why would anyone want to cause an explosion down here, by the river? Stepping out onto the ledge and gazing around, the answer came to Abigail almost immediately. Above her head, just below the huge mass of rock which loomed outwards, casting a shadow on this side of the river, she saw the explanation.

  Someone had been here before Abigail. The person who'd brought the dynamite, in all probability. A few feet above her head, Abigail could see evidence someone had been busy, scooping out an opening beneath the massive overhang. Stepping as near to the edge as she dared, Abigail squinted up, working out exactly what had been the plan.

  Thinking about it made her gasp. The audacity of it amazed her. The consequences horrified her.

  Turning to face the river, she ran her gaze along its length and over to the opposite bank. This river fed into the ranches to the east. Including that of her uncle Caleb. If the dynamite managed to dislodge the massive outcrop of rock above her head, then the result would be catastrophic for the supply of water to the Buchanan ranch and many others who relied on the water from the river.

  Abigail leaned back against the wall, scarcely able to believe anyone would think of committing such a deadly act. Who would want to do such a thing? Earl and Rufus were involved. Of that she was in no doubt. But, who were they working for? Suddenly, she understood why Earl and Rufus had made sure they'd be employed on the Double T. It gave them easy access to this unique place on the river's course. One of the few places where it would be possible to completely block the supply of water to the ranches north of Inspiration.

  But what good would it do anyone to ruin the Buchanans and the other ranchers? Because the water supply was vital to the running of those ranches. She knew that. Had even heard Caleb talking about it sometimes. Those were questions for later, she told herself.

  Abigail pushed away all thoughts of who would be responsible for planning to do this. Right now, all that mattered was to stop them. The only way that could be achieved was if she took the dynamite to Sheriff Nathan Cameron. She'd leave it to him to find out who was responsible. If she just threw it away into the river, whoever was behind this wouldn't be deterred.