by Clay, Verna
There was silence and then Thomas jumped when a whisky glass hit the table. Curly made an "Ahhh" sound and said, "Marv, I swear on my mother's grave that this is the honest truth. When we walked into the barn I almost peed my pants. There was stall after stall of animals. Some was obviously injured, and others, I don't know if they was pets or what. She made me take Billy to a room at the back o' the barn and inside was an old Indian. Somethin' was wrong with his stomach 'cause it was wrapped up. She pointed to an empty cot and I put Billy on it. Then she started grabbin' bottles and boxes of stuff off shelves. Now mind you, she hadn't said a word."
"So what'd she do with the stuff she grabbed?"
"Hell if I know. She motioned for me to leave and, believe me, that little mite of a woman scared me more'n a posse of lawmen. I just did what she said and went to take care of the horses. After that, I laid my bedroll out in a corner of the barn and fell asleep."
Thomas swirled the whiskey in his glass. His heart had started pounding. He had to know the ending to the story. The cowboy was quiet for so long that he was just about to turn and ask him to continue, when Curly said, "When I woke at dawn, I was afraid of what I'd see if I walked back into that room, but Billy was my friend and if he needed to be buried, I was gonna give him a good Christian one to help him when he reached the pearly gates. But when I opened the door, I was shocked to see him sleepin' like a baby. I think he even had a smile on his face. His chest was bandaged and there was some kind of brown goo oozing out the sides, but he weren't in no pain. And the damndest thing, there was two crystals 'bout the size o' a big man's fist. One was on a table at the head of his bed and the other on a table at the foot. The old Indian was still asleep so I just slipped from the room not wantin' to disturb him or Billy. When I got back to my bedroll there was a tray o' food waitin' for me. After I ate, I went into the woods to take care o' nature's call and when I come back, the old Indian was sittin' on the porch with the Healing Woman. Neither of them spoke to me, but to be polite, I called out a thank you for the food. She just nodded and went back to talkin' with the Indian. The Indian musta' left that day 'cause I never seen him again.
"A week later Billy was well enough to travel. Some o' them concoctions the woman rubbed on his wound was nasty lookin' stuff, and she made him drink some kind o' potion every day, but the treatments worked. I seen men shot afore and sometimes it takes weeks, if not months, to recover. I ain't never seen the likes o' this though."
Curly ordered and slammed another whiskey while Thomas gathered his thoughts. Coming to a decision, he turned to Curly and said, "Sir, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation, and since I'm a doctor, I find your story fascinating. Can you tell me more about this woman?"
The cowboy, covered in desert dust, eyed him suspiciously and narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you're a lawman just sayin' you're a doctor."
Thomas lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I assure you, I am who I say I am, and I have no interest in your…er…colorful history. In fact, the bartender can vouch for me." He called to Slim at the end of the bar, "Hey, Slim, am I the local doctor?"
"Damn straights, and a fine one at that."
"Thanks." Thomas returned his attention to Curly. "The reason I'm asking about the Healing Woman is because I have a patient with a mysterious illness and nothing I do seems to help. The Healing Woman may be my patient's last resort."
Curly's harsh features softened a little and he scratched the salt-and-pepper bristle on his chin. "Well, like you heard, I don't know nothin' 'bout her. She never talked to me; just give me food every day. The one time I tried to make conversation she looked at me with them strange eyes and then turned and walked away."
"Was she Indian, Asian, White?"
"Well, her features was kinda Indian but her skin was as white as milk and she had hair black as midnight. It was long and pulled back in a braid that reached her arse. She was tiny, too. Prob'ly not much over five feet or a hundred pounds." He shook his head and mumbled, "I'll never forget them eyes."
Thomas puffed a breath. "Can you tell me how to find her?"
When Curly hesitated, Marv said, "Hell, Curly, tell the man so's he can maybe save his patient."
Curly nodded and said, "You know Fort Verde, where the military's set up to fight all them skirmishes?"
"Yes, I've seen it on a map."
"Well, the red rocks is northwest of there, maybe twenty, twenty-five miles as the crow flies. The Healing Woman lives at the southern end of the rocks in a little valley. Her house is about a hundred yards from a creek. But to get to Fort Verde from here, you gotta take the Yavapai Trail up into the Superstition Mountains and then follow the Salt River to the Verde River that branches off of it. But to save time, there's a trail that cuts northwest afore you get to the Verde. You follow it and eventually meet up with the river. The trail mostly goes alongside the riverbank and will take you to a cutoff to Fort Verde. Then there's a trail from Fort Verde headed toward the red rocks."
Thomas nodded. "Are there any markers I should look for once I get close to the rocks?"
"Well, you'll know you're headed in the right direction if you stay your course toward the gigantic rock shaped like a bell. There's a creek you'll follow part of the way and about a mile or two afore you reach the bell the trail veers northwest behind an outcropping of cliffs and boulders. You gotta get behind them cliffs. Eventually you'll come to another creek. Follow that creek northeast and you'll enter a valley and not long after, her cabin. That's how the trapper explained it to me and I found her easy enough."
Thomas motioned toward Slim. "Pour my friends another round, sir." He stretched his arm out to shake hands with Curly and then Marv.
Curly said, "I wish the best for your patient, sir."
Marv jerked his head toward a card table. "Would you care to join me and Curly Bill in a game of poker?"
Thomas declined but thanked the men for their help. Time was of the essence. He had to prepare for departure to the red rocks.
Cry of the West: Hallie
1: Finding Courage
March 1866
The crackling fire usually so comforting on a cold night did little to dispel Hallie's anxiety. Staring into the flames, she took deep breaths and closed her eyes, but her mind refused any semblance of peace.
Tom, why did you have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Why did fate send you to St. Louis on the same day as a tornado?
In the week since Thomas’s burial, Hallie and Timmy mourned his loss, though in different ways. Usually outgoing and rambunctious, Timmy became reserved and quiet, while Hallie, hoping to still her fears for a while, weeded flower beds and scrubbed and cleaned the cabin that had been her home with her husband and childhood sweetheart for the past seven years.
Now, with Timmy in bed and her head drooping from exhaustion—sorrow, laced with fear of the future for her son and herself—could no longer be held at bay, and her tears coursed unhindered. That awful day when Pastor Murdock galloped to her farm with the sad news of her husband's demise replayed itself in her mind. The kindly pastor had tried to offer some consolation by explaining that Thomas, shielding a little girl from debris blown by the tornado and saving her life, was struck himself, and according to the deputy, most likely did not suffer since he never regained consciousness.
The thought of her sweet husband being so brave brought a fresh wave of tears, but for a few minutes Hallie allowed herself the unreasonable feeling of anger toward Thomas for dying and leaving her and Timmy alone. Her anger was soon replaced with self-pity because now they had nothing, all their worldly belongings having been sold a month earlier in anticipation of their upcoming travel.
Finally, with her anger and sorrow spent, Hallie inhaled a shuddering breath, stared into the orange flames, and resolved to find a solution to her dilemma. Methodically, she inventoried her predicament—she had no home, no employment, and practically no belongings. What she did have, however, was the reason for Thomas's trip to St. Lou
is. In his pocket were three tickets for passage aboard the steamboat Mirabella leaving in mid April from St. Louis to Westport Landing. She also had enough money to purchase a wagon, oxen, and supplies necessary to continue from Westport with the train headed west on the Oregon Trail.
You have more than that; you have the dream Thomas inspired.
For the first time in days, Hallie smiled.
Tom, your dream of adventure and new beginnings was infectious.
For a few minutes, she envisioned the land her husband had diligently researched—the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Even now, his enthusiastic voice rang in her ears. "It's the next best thing to heaven, honey. So beautiful it steals your breath away. We'll start a new farm with crops that fairly burst from the ground they're so happy at being sown. We'll build a home to last through generations. We'll have the adventure of a lifetime. Can't you hear the Cry of the West? Come on, Hallie, say you'll consider it."
A log popped, hissed, and crumbled, the sound bringing Hallie back to the present and crumbling her memory of that magic moment—but not her reply, which was the same today as it had been on that glorious day—"Yes, I'll go!"
Shoring up her resolve to continue onward to Oregon, Hallie determined that her next step was to hire a man to drive the wagon she'd purchase in Westport. She would have to budget carefully in order to pay him and the expenses of their journey, as well as the beginnings of her new life in Oregon, but it was all doable.
Finally, she dozed in her rocking chair dreaming of beautiful Oregon, a new state full of opportunity in this vast United States.
Novels and Novellas by Verna Clay
WESTERN ROMANCE
Contemporary
Romance on the Ranch Series
Dream Kisses
Honey Kisses
Baby Kisses
Candy Kisses
Christmas Kisses
Rock Star Kisses
Forever Kisses
Oasis Series
Stranded in Oasis
Branded in Oasis
Crashed in Oasis
Historic
Unconventional Series
*Abby: Mail Order Bride
Broken Angel
Ryder's Salvation
Joy's Return
*2014 Gold Medal Winner Readers' Favorite Int'l Book Contest/Historical Romance
Finding Home Series
Cry of the West: Hallie
Rescue on the Rio: Lilah
Missouri Challenge: Daisy
Red Rocks Trilogy: Past Present Future
Healing Woman of the Red Rocks (Past)
Song of the Red Rocks (Present)
Spirit Tree of the Red Rocks (Future) October, 2015
FANTASY ROMANCE
Shapeling Trilogy
Roth: Book One: Protector
Fawn: Book Two: Master
Davide: Book Three: Prince
Jazmine
YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE
(Verna Clay writing as Colleen Clay)
Fragile Hearts
AUDIO BOOKS
Abby: Mail Order Bride
Broken Angel
Cry of the West: Hallie
Dream Kisses (coming soon!)