by Indiana Wake
Abby tried to imagine it, but failed. “I would like to meet them someday.”
Gene looked over at her with a wide grin creasing his face. “Nothing would make me happier. I …” He broke off and whipped his head around to face forward. In the stillness, she could hear it too.
The lowing of cattle.
They eased the horses to one side of the trail and pulled up behind the shelter of a stand of junipers.
“I almost forgot why we were here,” Gene whispered. “You are a distraction, woman.”
Abby just smiled, refusing to take offense at his teasing. She had to admit, it felt good to be a distraction.
“Stay here with the horses; I’m going ahead on foot.” His voice was a low rumble, barely audible over the sighing of the wind in the pines. “If they had a watch set, they would have seen us by now. They must feel pretty secure.”
Abby looped the reins of both horses over a branch and followed him. She was impressed at how silently he moved for being such a big man. She ghosted along behind him until he paused at the entrance to a clearing. He looked back and just rolled his eyes at the sight of her, then motioned her to a spot next to him. He removed his hat and pulled a branch away to offer a clearer field of vision.
The canyon had ended and a narrow valley was dotted with a scattering of cows and a few horses. At a guess, Abby estimated about two hundred head of cattle within easy sight. She was willing to bet most, if not all of them, carried her brand.
A ramshackle cabin squatted a little ways into the valley. A thin wisp of smoke lifted from the stovepipe chimney and the smell of coffee tickled her nose. There was no sign of movement beyond the flicking tail of a horse dozing in the shade of a cottonwood.
“Do you think anyone is in there?” Abby whispered in Gene’s ear. His hair tickled her lips. He turned his head to respond and stopped. And stared into her eyes. She was close enough to see the starburst of his irises. Countless shades of blue blended into a single startling shade. As she watched, the blue darkened into something that had nothing to do with the cabin in the clearing.
Her cheeks heated and her heart began to throb wildly.
It took all her will to tear her eyes away from his and the desire to drown in them.
“Um, the cabin. Do you think there is anyone inside?”
It took a full minute for him to respond. He nodded.
“There was a puff of darker smoke just as I arrived. Someone must have just put wood on.” Gene’s gaze dropped to her lips, then flicked toward the cabin.
“What are we going to do?” Abby had to force herself to keep her mind on the problem at hand.
Chapter 8
“Since I assume you won’t ride back for help,” he paused and glanced at her. When she shook her head, he sighed and went on. “Since you won’t ride back, we stay here and watch, at least ‘til dark. By then we should be able to get an idea of how many are down there and what we’re up against. Then we will both ride back, together.”
They took turns watching through the day, but nothing changed until the sun neared the horizon. Abby was staring at the cabin, lit by the late afternoon sun, as a man in his shirt sleeves came to the door and stretched. Then he spit a stream of brown juice into the straggling grass in the yard.
“Patterson.”
Abby clapped a hand over her mouth to stop the exclamation that rose to her lips. Then Gene was beside her, peering through the branches.
“I take it that is one of our friends from the ranch.” Gene squinted in an effort to see into the darkness of the cabin itself. “I imagine his partner with the sore jaw is still inside.”
Abby slowly lowered her hand, staring at her new husband. “You don’t seem surprised.”
He sent her a quick look. “Not really. The setup is too perfect. A beautiful young woman, a widow, struggles to keep her ranch afloat, and willing to do anything to keep her cowhands around.”
“Not quite anything.” Abby folded her arms across her chest. “There are some things I refused.”
“Almost anything.” He amended. Gene looked at her with understanding. “Still, they had pretty much free rein to drive your cows up here to this isolated valley. I would be willing to bet that there is another exit far from anywhere they are known where they sell the cattle.”
Gene stared toward the mountains as if trying to plumb their secrets. “You told me that the canyon led to broken land that led nowhere. Have you ever been out here before?”
Abby shook her head, realizing what a fool she had been. “Hank brought me to the mouth of the canyon when we were first married. He told me what lay beyond.” She paused as a thought entered her mind. “Do you think he knew the truth?”
“It’s possible. You said that Neil and Patterson had been here since before you came. That first night, Robert said that cattle had been going missing for a long time, a few here, a few there, nothing that unusual. But in the last year or so, the numbers have been steadily increasing. The day I came, Neil spoke about taking his payment … if you think about it; it could be that they were planning on one final gather before leaving for good. Leaving you broke and perhaps worse.”
Abby shuddered at the memory of Neil’s whisky-soured breath on her face. “But you came and ruined their plans. At least part of them.”
Gene looked at her again, his face just inches away. “I’m glad I did.” He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek with a finger.
Abby’s breath caught as his gaze dropped to her lips once more.
Would he kiss her?
The slam of a door startled them into awareness of their situation. Spying on a suspected pair of rustlers was not the best place for courting.
Gene sent her a wry grin. “You are most certainly a distraction.”
Abby ducked her head and blushed as he turned back to watching the cabin. Then, without warning, he grabbed her around the shoulders and rolled with her deeper into the brush with a hand over her mouth.
Chapter 9
“I don’t care what the boss says. I ain’t leaving without taking what that woman owes me.” Neil’s voice made Abby lie still pressed against Gene’s broad chest. “She’s been sashaying around the place claiming to be my boss and teasing me with glimpses of leg and bosom. Don’t tell me you ain’t noticed. She’s been all but begging for it since Hank died.”
“She’s a mighty handsome woman, and I don’t deny I would like to get my hands on her.” Patterson agreed. “But did you see the size of the man she brought home yesterday. He looks more like a bear than a man. I would say he is good reason to stay away and stick to the plan.”
“He might be a bear, but even bears can be brought down with hot lead. Then there will be no one to stop me from taking what I want.” The steady sound of hoof beats brought Neil’s voice ever closer. Soon he would be in sight of their hiding spot.
Abby closed her eyes in a futile attempt to keep back the tears. One escaped and traced a hot path down her cheek. Gene shifted her until she lay on her side on the ground. He leaned over her and his whiskers brushed her ear.
“Don’t move.”
For once, she had no desire to disobey. Fear had gripped her heart and it seemed that her nightmares had come to life and were hunting her down. She curled into a ball and bit down on a knuckle to keep from crying out.
The hoof beats came closer and the comforting warmth of Gene’s body left her side.
“I told you that if you ever so much as thought about my wife, I would find you.” Gene’s voice was the deep rumble that she had come to love, but the coldness in it made her shiver.
Abby looked up in time to see her husband grab a fistful of Neil’s shirt and pull. The smaller man seemed to fly to the ground and land in a heap.
“Stand up and see if you can act like a man instead of the craven beast that you are.” Gene stared down at the fallen man, watching him struggle to his feet.
Abby caught the glint of steel under Neil’s belly.
The clic
k of a hammer was loud in the sudden silence of the evening.
“You think you are such a big man.” Neil sneered. “You ain’t so big with a six-shooter pointed at you. Just one big target.”
To her horror, Abby saw Gene tense, ready to leap. There was no way he could get to Neil before the gun went off.
He would die.
She would be alone.
She would lose him before it had begun.
That must not happen.
Chapter 10
More quietly than she had ever moved, Abby got to her feet and moved toward the gunman whose back was to her. She prayed with everything in her that she would get to the men before the unthinkable happened. Her hand curled around the rock in her fist.
Gene kept his eyes on Neil. She knew her husband was aware of her approach, but prayed he wouldn’t give her away by looking at her.
“You had plans on leaving,” Gene spoke to keep Neil’s attention centered on him. “Why not just mount up and ride away like you planned? There’s been no harm done, so we will just go our separate ways and call it even.”
“Even, when you get the woman all to yourself.” Neil scoffed. “Looks like I get the short end of that stick. I don’t think so. I take care of you, then I take the woman, then I take the cows. Maybe I’ll even keep the woman around for a while. It might take some time to get tired of that particular delight.”
Abby was just a foot away from her target. She raised the rock over her head and prepared to strike. Her hand trembled and a gasp escaped her lips.
Neil whirled just as she brought the rock down and the gun went off. A line of fire traced a path across her shoulder and the rock glanced off Neil’s head and fell to the ground as she crumpled.
Abby was barely aware of the sound of fists striking against flesh and bone. There was only searing pain and fire in her shoulder. After an eternity, she was gathered up into strong arms and held against a broad chest. A strong heart beat an unsteady rhythm under her ear.
“Abby, Abby my love.”
Was she dreaming? She had only heard those words in her dreams in a voice she didn’t know.
“I love you, Abby. You can’t leave me now. Don’t leave me alone.”
This voice was familiar, a deep rumble that sent quivers of warmth through her belly every time she heard it. The voice didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to be alone either. Maybe they should be together, even if it were in a dream.
First, she had to open her eyes.
She opened them and found twin starburst of blue staring down at her. A bright tear made the million shades of blue blur until it fell, melting into a familiar bearded face.
“You have beautiful eyes. When we have kids, I hope they all have your eyes.” Abby smiled weakly as Gene buried his face in her hair and sobbed. “Did you mean it?”
She waited until he looked at her again.
“Did you mean it when you said you loved me?” Abby touched his face with her uninjured hand.
“I meant it. I loved you from your letters, but I worried that things might be different. But I loved you from the first moment I saw you. You are the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.” Gene caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “Then I saw the beauty inside and knew I was a blessed man. To think I almost lost you …”
Abby steeled herself and looked down at her shoulder. He had already bound it with his shirt, leaving his chest bare. Hesitating, she tangled her fingers in the thick hair that covered it. His heart beat strong and true under her hand.
“He would have killed you.” She glanced at the bloody man bound, gagged and glaring at them. “I would rather die myself than live without you. I have never been in love before, but it was worth waiting for. I love you, Gene, and would have you for my husband in all ways and for all my days.”
“I thought you would never ask.”
Epilogue.
Abby peeked in the doorway. Gene stood just behind her, his fingers clasping hers. “Are you up for visitors?”
“Of course.” Kristine looked tiny on the huge bed. Her hair spilled over fat pillows piled up behind her. But Abby’s eyes saw only the tiny, blanket-wrapped bundle in her friend’s arms. Kristine’s sisters, Patricia, and Courtney sat at the end of the bed surrounded by tiny clothes and soft blankets. She stepped in ready to pull her husband in behind her. He glanced at the room full of women and pulled his hand away.
“This looks like a meeting of the momma’s. And you are in good company.” He tilted her face up and claimed a light kiss. “I will go find something more manly to do.”
She watched him go with regret, as she always did but then turned back to the bed full of women and one tiny infant.
“Can I see him?” Abby crept closer to the bed and examined the sleeping face that peeked out from the blanket. The baby was so small, so perfect and she ached to hold him, but her arm wasn’t yet fully healed and she didn’t want to risk dropping him.
She would hold her own soon enough. It looked as though something was in the water. Patricia was not yet married, but there were rumors flying about a courtship with a gentleman back east. Courtney, on the other hand, had married her only decent ranch hand, Curly and was vying for the number two spot in the new baby contest. Her belly was beginning to show under her loose dress. One thing was sure; all three sisters glowed with the contented look of women who knew they were loved. They would do anything for each other and for their children. Abby envied them that love, but now she had Gene. He was a man who would die for her, who would protect her no matter what.
Kristine held out a hand, entreating Abby to join them on the bed. Patricia added her gentle plea and Courtney all but drowned her with exuberance. They included her as one of them and for the first time in her life, Abby understood what it was to belong. She had their love too and it felt good, especially now.
“So, you girls had better tell me all you know about raising babies,” Abby said as she sat down on the bed. “I don’t have much of a clue and I only have eight months to learn.” Abby grinned as her announcement brought on congratulations and exclamations of joy.
God had smiled on her in more ways than she could imagine. She was no longer alone, and never would be again.
The End.
The Japanese Bride
Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
Chapter One
1883 A ship headed for the Pacific North West.
Rena watched as the sky grew darker. It seemed to her that she was leaving behind the light along with her hometown, along with everything she knew and loved. It weighed heavy on her heart. Had she made the right decision? What about her sisters? Would she ever see them again? She knew the answer to that was most probably no. They would stay in the small village in Japan. The only place she had ever known and it caused a sob to escape her. But there will be more to know and love, she reminded herself; so much more. As the ship sailed onwards, Japan shrunk to the size of her beating heart, and America loomed unknown, unseen and out of sight.
It had been her grandmother’s Chie’s idea. In the small village, she was known as a seer. Even Rena had to admit that she knew certain things before they happened, but she never really believed it was anything but luck. Still Chie told her that it was true and that out of her five granddaughters, she only saw great things in Rena’s future. Rena just put it down to the fact that she loved her most. Even though she tried to be fair, it was obvious to most people. Her four sisters tried to mask their envy, but often they failed. They were just as talented, just as hardworking, just as pleasant, and just as beautiful as Rena. Still Grandma Chie’s favoritism had made it difficult for Rena. She was cast out by her sisters and left alone much of her time. That was why she had been persuaded to make this crazy journey.
Her grandmother had urged her to write back to the advertisements that the American gentlemen put in the newspaper she had found. No one knew where the American newspaper came from, maybe it was destiny. Rena had spent many
months contemplating the paper reluctant to make such a drastic move but then one day it happened. She had been reading the paper and Victor Montgomery’s advertisement caught her eye. She turned the page, but it called to her. The name had seemed so romantic, like a knight or a soldier, the kind she had read of in storybooks as a young girl. It was the only name in the newspaper that she felt drawn to. So with bated breath and hope in her heart she wrote to him. As soon as the letter had gone she told herself she would hear no more of it. But in the times when she was lonely and hurt she imagined what it would be like living with this amazing man for the rest of her life. It would be wonderful. There would be plenty of food and clothing, for America was a new world full of abundance. She had heard stories of riches and lifestyles that she could never imagine. Sometimes she dreamed of riches but mostly she just wanted a nice man and a home. Somehow she knew that with Victor she would never have to worry for his advertisement had sounded earnest, and sweet. Of course, this was just the fanciful thoughts of a young girl who sometimes went hungry and cold and wished for a better life. Victor could be an animal for all she really knew.
That was many months ago. She had kept all the correspondence with him and pulled out the worn advert and read it again. Even though she knew it word by word and all the promise it held.
Victor Montgomery, age 29. I seek a woman of a good disposition with whom I may be able to end my loneliness, and we can spend a wonderful life together. I wish for a companion who will make me happy and will allow me to do the same for her. I want a wife whom I can love, and who will love me in return.