“I’ll be leaving shortly,” Wilson said. “I need to give the men some orders. Which way are you headed?”
“Please dinna have anyone follow me. Callum wouldna hesitate to kill the child.”
Wilson nodded. “Good luck, missus.”
Shannon rode away from the ranch toward town and headed north across open range. There were hills up ahead and a couple of ravines. She wondered if Callum could be hiding in one of those ravines?
It seemed she had been riding for a long time without spotting Callum or anyone else. Wondering if she was heading the right way, she saw out of the corner of her eye a rider heading for her.
Pulling back on the reins, Shannon waited until Callum reached her. He wasn’t wearing his kilt. Instead he looked like any other cowboy in Texas only much larger.
“’Tis about time ye showed up,” he snarled. “Follow me.”
Shannon rode behind Callum. They wound their way past a couple of small hills and down into a ravine that appeared to have been carved into the ground by a river that had long ago dried up.
After they reached a small cave, Callum dismounted. He moved over to Shannon’s mount and jerked her from the horse where she collapsed on the ground. “What’s the matter, lass, can’t ye stand on yer own two feet?”
“My foot is bruised.”
“Wull dinna expect any sympathy from me. I’ve waited too damned long tae take ye back home.” He shoved her toward a small opening in the rocks.
When she entered the darkness, Shannon blinked several times to adjust her eyes. Finally, she spotted a small fire and a bundle tied up beside it. She limped toward the bundle. “Molly are ye all right?” Shannon helped the child to sit.
Molly’s eyes were large with fright as Shannon untied the handkerchief from around her mouth. “Are ye all right?”
“Of course she is fine, fer now,” Callum grunted. “But that could change at any moment.”
“I’m going tae untie her. There is no need fer ye tae keep her tied up. I’ll give ye want ye want.”
Once Molly’s hands were free, she jumped into Shannon’s arms and sobbed. “I’m so sorry.” Molly cried.
“Now, now. Stop yer crying. ‘Twill be fine.”
“Did ye bring the jewels?” Callum asked. “How ye could leave your clan in such a state is beyond me lass. Dinna ye no care fer family?”
“My family died when my mother was killed. Ye know as well as I that my da was responsible, and ye want me tae feel sorry fer a drunken no account. I think not. I did what I had tae do tae survive.”
“Did ye bring the jewels?”
“I’ll not return home, and I told ye I brought the jewels sae ye’ll huv the money ye need tae please my da. Shannon slipped her hand in her pocket and pulled out a small bundle. “Here.” She tossed the pouch of jewels to Callum.
“Nay lass.” Callum caught the pouch and peered inside before placing it in his pocket. “He wants ye too.”
Molly sat up straight. “You can’t take my mother away!”
“Mother?” Callum looked confused.
“I married her father. It wull do ye no good tae take me back.”
“Yer da said tae bring ye back. And that’s what I intend tae do.”
“I won’t go.”
“Then I’ll kill the lass.”
Molly hugged Shannon tighter. Shannon wrapped her arms around the child. “If I go with ye without a fight, wull ye let Molly go?”
“Aye. If ye promise not tae give me any problems,” Callum said. “I’m going tae pack up the horse. Dinna get any ideas while I’m gone.” He backed out of the cave.
After Callum had gone, Molly turned to Shannon. “You can’t go with that awful man.”
“I must go. I dinna want him tae hurt ye.”
“But you’re our mother. We just got you,” Molly said with tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Shannon’s heart turned over with joy. Now she knew what it felt like to be a mother. All mothers protected their young. And Molly had called her mother for the first time. If Shannon died now . . . she would die happy. She hugged the child to her. “I dinna want tae leave ye, but I must.” Molly cried in her arms. “Listen,” Shannon said. “I have an idea.”
Molly straightened. “An idea?”
“Do ye think ye can find your way back home?”
“Yes. My horse, Blackie will know the way.”
“Good.” Shannon smiled. “Wilson found yer horse and I brought it with me. Ye can ride home and tell them what has happened, and how tae find me.”
“I can do that.” Molly smiled and gave her a firm nod.
“Now ye can’t look happy about our plan. As a matter of fact, I dinna trust Callum. I’ll distract him, then ye can jump on yer horse and ride as fast as you can, ye ken?” No looking back.
“Nothing can happen to you.”
Shannon smiled. “As I once told yer pa, I’m stronger than I look.”
Callum came back. “I was going to head out in the morning, but it looks stormy and will be good for covering our tracks. Ye dinna mind gettin’ wet? Any Highland lass should be used to wet.” He chuckled as he moved in front of Shannon. “Give me yer hands.”
“Why do ye huv to tie my hands?”
Callum laughed. “I dinna trust ye.” It didn’t take him long to tie her hands, then he jerked her to her feet. “Come on, I’ll get the bairn after ye.”
Shannon glanced at Molly and gave her a slight nod. The child nodded back to indicate she understood what she needed to do.
Shannon hobbled beside Callum who tried to drag her when she stumbled. “If ye remember my foot is bruised and I canna walk fast,” Shannon said.
Once they were outside Shannon saw that it was still afternoon, but it appeared much darker because of the storm clouds. The rumble of thunder could be heard, but still at a distance. She knew how fast storms moved out here, and she hoped that somehow the storm would help her get away.
There was a big boulder separating her and Callum’s horses from Blackie.
Shannon hobbled over to her mount. When she glimpsed Molly at the mouth of the cave, Shannon said, “I’ll need some help getting on my horse, Callum.”
“Ye are a hell of a lot of trouble, lass.”
“Ye could always leave me.”
“I bet ye’d like that,” he said bending down. “Put yer foot in my hands.”
“That is the problem. ‘Tis my left foot and it hurts too bad tae put all my weight on it. Ye’ll have tae lift me by the waist sae I can mount.”
Callum tried to shove Shannon up on her horse, but she purposely fell back, knocking him off his feet.
“Ye bitch. I’m going tae tie ye across the saddle,” he swore as he pushed Shannon off him. “And I’m going tae kill the bairn because of yer stunt.”
He yanked Shannon to her feet, and she swayed toward him. His back was to the front of the cave so he didn’t see Molly atop her horse. Shannon threw her arms around Callum’s neck and yelled. “Ride, Molly, ride!”
For just a moment, the child hesitated, but her courage took over and she kneed her mount and rode off.
“What the hell!” Callum yanked Shannon’s arms from around his neck but still held her in a vice-like grip. When he saw the child was getting away, he turned his red face toward Shannon and threw a punch, catching Shannon in the jaw.
Shannon felt the pain as she fell backward unable to catch herself. Her head hit a rock and she knew no more.
Chapter 16
Luke and his brothers began to clear away vines and bushes under the rim of the large gully where they would be camping tonight. The washout was ten feet below the plane of the prairie, giving them good protection from the oncoming gunfire that would be coming their way tomorrow. On the steep ridge, someone had already cut steps into the side of the bluff so the men could easily fire their rifles, and then descend to reload.
The plan was for the right flank of Captain James Fannin’s division to occu
py the lower part of the bend extending south. Bowie’s detachment would be on the left side of Fannin’s. This way the two detachments could aid each other.
It was late in the day when they finished and the men headed to their own camps along the floor of the gully. They had tied their horses behind the ravine where the backside of the river, skirted in timber, would offer protection.
Luke and his brothers had chosen the u-bend of the gully to make their small camp. Here it was one hundred yards wide and gave them plenty of room to move around without stepping on someone else.
Luke leaned back against his saddle, a hot cup of coffee held between his fingers. As he relaxed, he thought of home. His first thoughts were of Shannon and the children. He missed seeing them at supper and hearing about their day. Instead of the comfort of home, Luke sat in a dry gully across from his brothers who had just finished their plates of beans. The aroma of coffee was the only reminder of home.
“Good coffee, George,” Luke said. “How long has it been since we’ve all sat around a fire together?”
“Too long,” Travis said with a laugh.
George raised his brows in thought. “At least three years, I reckon. This time it took a war to get us all together again. How loco is that?”
“I think it was when Ruth died,” Luke said. “Doubt I was much company then.”
“Not a good time.” George shook his head in agreement. He propped a rolled up blanket under his head. “Glad you’ve found someone else. Ruth would have wanted you to be happy. Tell me what your new wife is like.”
Luke smiled. Automatically, he pictured Shannon in his mind’s eye. He was glad that it wasn’t Ruth who had come to mind first. “Shannon is like no one I’ve ever met. She’s a small, but feisty Scot.”
“You forgot to say she’s pretty,” Travis added.
“How did you manage that?” George asked. “How do the children like her?”
“Well, I advertised for an old and ugly nanny. I got anything but.” Luke chuckled. “I think she handles the children well because they had become a handful as you both know. However, Molly isn’t real happy.” Luke took a swallow of coffee. “I think she’ll come around though.” He leaned forward and placed his empty coffee cup on one of the rocks near the fire. “Molly thinks that we are betraying Ruth. I thought so, too, for awhile so I know how the kid feels.”
Travis set his coffee cup down too. “You do realize that you’re not betraying her? She’d probably be the first to tell you that you and the kids need someone.”
“I do now that you’ve pointed out the fact a half a dozen times.” They all laughed together. It felt good, Luke realized. He felt as if a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders, and he hoped more laughter would be in his future.
“After Ann has the baby and is feeling well enough to travel, we’ll come and visit. Better yet, you can bring the family for a visit.”
“Yeah, let’s all get together,” Luke replied. “But for now let’s get some shuteye before tomorrow. You two remember to keep your heads down tomorrow. I want all three of us to ride out of here.”
Dampness settled around Luke as he slept, but he didn’t know the cause until he woke up the next morning. Fog as thick as mush surrounded them.
He smelled coffee coming from somewhere, but he couldn’t see any further than his brothers who were still asleep. “Wake up. We have a problem,” Luke called to them.
Slowly George shoved himself into a sitting position. “How are we going to see anyone in this dense fog?” he asked, but didn’t receive an answer as grapeshot rang out followed by a couple more shots. The grapeshot shook the pecan trees on the edge of the gully, raining a shower of pecans down on everyone’s head.
“I need to take these nuts home,” George joked. “Ann can make pecan pie.”
They scrambled to their positions along the dirt wall.
The sentinel, Henry Karnes, came running from the end where he had been keeping watch. “They’re coming, boys. Better get into position – I got two of them, but it’s damned hard to see anybody until they’re right on top of ya.”
Another figure emerged through the fog and came up behind them. He was running in a crouched position along the gully. They saw that it was Deaf once he drew closer.
“What do they have out there?” Travis asked.
Deaf paused a moment. “Appears to be Lieutenant Colonel Mendoza’s infantry. They’ve set up below our position. Don’t figure they will do much as they can’t see either, but be prepared.” He spit out a stream of brown tobacco juice out, and said, “Remember, they will be firing Brown Bess muskets, which have a maximum range of seventy yards. They’ll have to get close to hit us.”
“Then we have the advantage with our Texan long rifles since they shoot two hundred yards,” Travis said.
“Yep,” Deaf said with a chuckle. “But they have two cannons and 275 men.”
“No problem.” Travis laughed. “Should be easy.”
They heard Deaf’s laughter all the way down the long gully as he ran to warn the other men.
“You never did have any sense,” Luke told Travis. “Look, the fog is starting to clear. I hope your aim is as good as it used to be.”
Luke, Travis and George climbed up to see what was happening. Fifty or sixty Mexican infantrymen began crossing the prairie with a cannon in tow.
“That can’t be good,” George said.
Bowie came from their right and said, “Keep under cover, boys, and reserve your fire. We haven’t a man to spare!”
At three hungered yards in front of their position, the Mexican infantry halted and formed a line with the cannon in the middle. As they advanced toward the Texans position, they began to fire. The Mexicans didn’t bother to hide behind anything. Instead they marched in a straight line as taught by Europeans. Suddenly, a cannon ripped the air, but the shots seemed to be going over Luke’s head landing on the backside of the ravine. A little to close for comfort, he thought.
Finally, Bowie shouted. “Fire!”
They began a snipe-and-hide tactic where one man would shoot his Texan long rifle, then come down the steps to reload while another man took his spot. Luke and Travis were working well together as a team. It was a blessing, that all the men were deadly accurate; Luke could see they were cutting down the Mexicans and stopping them in their tracks. But more Mexican troops took the places of the fallen men.
Three times the Mexicans attacked. On the third try, the Texans redirected their fire on the cannoneers. Soon they heard the buglers sounding retreat, and the infantry fell back beyond the Texans rifle range.
“Come on, men,” Bowie called as he climbed out of the ravine. “Follow me!”
Luke and Travis followed. For a short while, it seemed like all hell had broken out with bullets flying over their heads. They quickly captured the abandoned cannon as the men fled. They swung the cannon around and began firing on the retreating Mexican soldiers. Grapeshot killed one of the mule drivers causing his caisson to go out of control and into the enemy’s ranks.
The battle was over. The Texans had won. Luke and Travis felt pretty good as they made their way back into the ravine to the cheering men. But Luke stopped short when he saw Wilson, his foreman, standing beside George.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.
“You need to come home,” Wilson said. “Miss Shannon sent me to find you because someone has taken Molly.”
“What?”
“Molly ran off yesterday morning. We searched and found nothing but her horse with a note on it,” Wilson explained quickly.
“What did it say?” Luke asked.
“Don’t know. Couldn’t read it, but Miss Shannon could. She seemed to know who the note was from. She said she was the only one who could go after Molly,” Wilson explained. “That’s when she told me to find you at once.”
“Let me get my horse,” Luke said. He turned to look at his brothers. “I’ll see you two later.”
“No y
ou won’t,” Travis said. “I’m coming with you to help find both of them.”
“Don’t leave me out,” George said, “I’ll help, too.”
They told Bowie what was going on and wished him luck in San Antonio. Once they found their horses, they began the journey home, making sure not to come in contact with Mexicans. They were able to ride at a good clip, Wilson leading the way.
“What’s this about?” Travis asked.
“Some of Shannon’s countrymen where trying to find her and return her to Scotland, back to her father. Remember the fellow in the alley? He was one of them. We thought that he might be all there was, but I guess not.”
“Damn!” Travis swore. “Well, she’s married now and can’t go gallivanting off to Scotland.”
Luke glanced at George who was riding on his left. They were nearing the turn off for George to go home. Luke pulled his mount up and everyone stopped. “I appreciate your offer George, but I think you need to get home to your wife. You need to be there when Ann has the baby.”
“Guess you’re right,” George said. “But if you do need more help be sure to send word.”
“We will.” Luke reached over and shook his brother’s hands. “Let me know when the baby makes an appearance.”
“Will do,” George said as he broke away from the group and headed home.
It was late by the time they got back to the ranch. Luke thanked Wilson for finding him so quickly and then said goodnight. Luke and Travis bedded down their horses and fed them before going to the house. It had been a long day and they wanted the animals fresh for tomorrow morning.
“It’s too late to do any searching tonight,” Luke said. “We will head out first thing in the morning.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Travis said as they walked toward the kitchen. “I see lights in the kitchen. Maybe Maria will have some leftovers from supper.”
“Strange,” Luke said. “Everyone should be in bed.”
They entered through the back door and placed their hats on the pegs before turning to head into the kitchen. Luke stopped dead in his tracks. “Molly?”
She had been resting her head on her arms, but as soon as he spoke her head popped up. She had been crying. Jumping out of her chair, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and wailed, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Western Seduction (The Seduction Series Book 2) Page 17