by Cyndi Raye
She ran a hand across his cheek. “I promise.”
Jackson walked out the door of the Land Office, wanting to look back because he knew she was peeking out the corner of the window. He didn’t dare because he knew the guard’s eyes were on him. They wouldn’t hesitate to take out the sheriff first. He was the law and order here, no judge to keep them in jail. Not until they could go fetch one. It was primarily a land where men like these roamed wherever they chose to stir up animosity and harm. They thought they were beyond the law of the land.
Not in his town.
Jackson put the badge on to protect this town. His desire to find a place he could call home stirred him beyond the simple duties of a sheriff. He yearned for the simplicity of a small town that was free from sinister acts of violence. As sheriff, he planned to keep Wichita Falls safe.
If it was on his last breath, he would do so.
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They were all in place. A crowd of men gathered in front of the first wagon. Jackson stood leaning against the wall of the saloon, close enough and yet out of the way of the auctioneer.
The clock struck exactly at noon while the crowd became somewhat larger. Each man hid a handgun in his pant leg or behind him in the waistband of their britches. His deputy was at the front of the crowd incognito to guide the others. Some of the men were getting a bit too excited. Jackson had to place his deputy there to make sure everyone followed direction.
The husky man who had been in charge earlier strolled from the saloon. “Let’s get this started! John Abbott, auctioneer at your service. Is everyone ready to see our fine ladies for sale?” At the crowds jeers and nods, he ordered instructions to the guards. “Bring them out!”
Each guard opened the back of the two wagons, lining up the women, forcing each one to stand in a line in front of the crowd. Abbott stood out in the middle of the street, waving towards the women. “These ladies go first, then we’ll show you our feature of the day. The one in the third wagon is worth a fortune in gold!”
Jackson swore under his breath. He didn’t want to leave one behind before running this ragged, motley crew out of town. All of these ladies were important to someone. Turning towards the deputy, he shook his head slightly so no one would notice.
He had to see how this played out.
“Bring ‘em all out, auctioneer! We wanna seem all of ’em before we spend a dime here.”
Jackson noticed the wary look in Abbott’s eye. They began to dart back and forth as if looking for anything suspicious. Just then a cloud of dust rolled in from outside of town. Jackson knew it was Ward’s ranch men coming in too fast. He had to act now. He gave the signal for the men in the front of the crowd to secure the women behind them. As quick as lightening struck, the men in the front row pounced upon the ladies, pushing them further into the crowd.
“What in tar-nation is going on here!” Abbott roared. As a crowd of men on horses blocked one path from town, the auctioneer knew he was in trouble. His armed guards scattered, running in between houses and disappearing from site. Jackson knew it wouldn’t take much to round them up but he’d wait on Ward’s small army for that. He wanted Abbott.
Abbott was quick for a heavy set man. He jumped up on the last wagon, hollering at the horses to move. The others were keeping the ladies secure, but Jackson knew there was one more in that wagon and it was his duty to save her.
“Oh, my Lands!”
Was that his wife’s voice?
Fear crept in to every crevice in his body. He began to run alongside the wagon until it came to a dead stop. He knew the moment Abbott jumped from the wagon. Jackson pulled both pistols from his gun belt, raising them up. The wagon was in his way and the moment Jackson cleared it he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Put the guns down, Sheriff.”
He held them out in front of him, staring at his wife, holding a small child in her arms. Horror etched across her face. The little child began to sob. Abbott held a gun to his wife’s head.
He closed his eyes. Blinking, he opened them to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. If he took a shot at Abbott, which is what he wanted to do, she may well die. Or the child.
“I’m sorry, Jackson. The child. She was in the street. I couldn’t do nothing, not with that wagon coming down on her. I was alone. Everyone was gone, I’m so sorry.”
Jackson tried hard not to choke on his own words. Stay calm, he reminded himself. You’ve been through worse.
“I won’t say it again, Sheriff. Stand back.”
“Let the child go,” he warned, his pistols steady.
“Why not. I don’t need the kid. Go on.”
His wife released the little girl to run screaming down the street. He made sure she was out of harms way before watching in dread as Abbott backed the two of them towards the wagon. “If you try anything, she dies. Plain and simple.”
“Then you die, too.”
“To be honest, I don’t rightly care. But, this one, she owes me.”
“Not any more, she is my wife.”
The man laughed out loud even if his eyes didn’t show it. “Then you owe me and I’ll take her without any problems from you.”
Desperate and not wanting to show it, Jackson remarked, his voice steady, “Not a chance. There are guns everywhere, Abbott. Give up now.”
He barely got the words out before the blunt end of a rifle passed over him like a shadow. He knew he was hit right before darkness took over as he heard his wife’s blood curling scream.
Chapter 7
Rebecca watched in horror as her husband was knocked to the ground. One of Abbott’s guards had been hiding in an alley between two buildings. Before she had a chance to warn him, he came up behind Jackson. The man cracked a rifle over his head, the sound so loud it made her ears hurt. Please God, please let him live!
She was shoved on the bench as the wagon raced out of town as fast as it could go. The opposite end of town was not guarded as well as the other end, since most of Ward’s ranch hands came by the way of the railroad station.
The far end of town had some townsfolk hiding in a wagon filled with bales of hay to surprise anyone trying to slip by. Except when they saw the sheriff’s wife on the bench being taken away, they didn’t try to rescue her in case she came to harm.
Frustrated, Rebecca stared hard at the small crowd as the horse and wagon galloped past.
“What the tarnations is going on out there! Slow this wagon down, you raving freak!”
A women’s voice bellowed from the covered wagon. Abbott laughed. “Shut up back there!”
The guard spoke up, his voice urgent. “Want me to quiet her down, boss? You know, like we did the others.”
Abbott took the whip from the side of the wagon and struck it across the guards front. “Don’t touch her. She’s genuine, prime material and if you as much as lay a hand on her, I will kill you. Understand?”
“Understood, boss.”
Abbott looked down at Rebecca. “Can’t say as much for you any more since you went and got yourself married. Even so, I can sell you to the men at Mill’s Ridge every single night. Or, mayhaps I’ll save ya for myself.”
“What’s Mill’s Ridge?” she asked, finally able to find her voice.
“A scathing place of fire and brimstone!” The lady from the back of the wagon’s voice rent through the air. “Don’t let him fool you! These evil-doers have no heart. At least Abbott won’t when I cut it out of his cold, dead body!”
“Don’t listen to that woman. She’s the one who is evil but she’ll fetch me a high dollar. Pure women do bring in so much more. There’s someone out there who will buy her in a heartbeat. I thought I’d find that at that little town of yours, Wichita Falls. Except all I found was trouble and you.”
“We gonna go back and get those other girls, boss?”
Abbott chewed on his bottom lip. “Ain’t no use now, not with everyone trying to bring ill repute upon us. I’ll have to up the ante and find me some more of those mail order
fools.”
Rebecca seethed. Unable to keep quiet any longer, she struck out in the only way she knew, with words. “You will be hunted down like a dog, Mr. Abbott! When Jackson wakes up, he’ll go to the ends of the earth to find you.”
“Ain’t no mister there, girlie. He’s a hood-swindling dog, just like you says. Tell ‘em sister!”
The guards voice mumbled something Rebecca wasn’t able to make out, but the girl laughed again, her voice shrill. “You ain’t gonna do nothing to me, I’m too valuable, just ask your boss!”
Abbott laughed out loud. “Right you are, and a fiery one at that. Now shut your lips and let me get this wagon back to Mill’s Ridge. As for you, maybe your husband will never wake up. That knock on the head may have done him in.”
His horrible words caused her to be quiet. She rode in silence the rest of the way. Jackson had to be alive! If he were not, she would feel it in her heart. Looking up, she begged God for her husband’s safety so that he may come for her. It was the only hope she had.
They entered a town much like Wichita Falls except it was dirty and unkempt. Houses looked abandoned, some had windows covered up with wood and nails. The saloon was lively, it seemed to be one of the few places in town that had any life. The wagon slowed to a stop in front of the saloon. Abbott got down and headed for the doors. He threw an order to his guard. “Take those two to the shanty and don’t let either one out of your site.”
The guard held the arm of each girl. Rebecca tried to push her hair aside but was held so tightly she didn’t get a good look at the other prisoner until they were locked into a small adobe room with a chair and a bed. The dirt floor smelled musty, almost causing her to gag.
“You’ll get used to the smell. After awhile, it won’t bother you at all.”
Rebecca stared at the beautiful redhead with long, thick wavy hair that rolled down her back like the sparkling flowing waterfall in Wichita Falls. She wore a long magenta colored gown with puffy half sleeves and cut so low the white skin of her bosom showed. “I see why John Abbott called you red. You have beautiful hair.”
The girl grunted. “Thank you, kindly, but it does me no good out here stuck in this God-forsaken place. Now that you are here, we have to escape. I can see you are a strong willed woman, unlike the other ladies who whimpered and cried day and night. I wanted to slap them silly with all their nonsense. Acting like a bunch of babies, there was no talking any sense at all. They were doomed, they kept saying, driving me to squeeze the palms of my hands over my ears so I didn’t hear them any more.”
“I’m certain they were terrified. My name is Rebecca.”
The fiery redhead held out her dirt stained hand. “Sophia Jordon at your service. This here is Mill’s Ridge, the worst town you will ever be in. It consists of outlaws, hooligans and lazy no good rotten men and even some awful women.”
“How did you get here, Sophia?”
Rebecca sat on the wooden bench beside her. She may as well get as comfortable as possible. It looked like they would be here awhile. At least until Jackson came to her rescue. A trace of fear entered her heart. What if he was hurt so badly, he was not able to come for her.
A shiver went down Rebecca’s spine so fast it felt as if a butterfly was scraping its wings from her neck to her waist. She didn’t dare wait to see if someone was going to rescue her. This woman was right. They had to escape.
“Please, call me Sophie, nothing fancy about me at all. Sophia is for ladies and I sure ain’t no lady, not any more.”
Rebecca frowned. “Don’t be absurd. You certainly look like a lady to me.”
Sophie smiled. “Thank you. It’s been hard being in this prison for so long. We took Mamma to Dallas to see if the doctors there could help her sickness, but she died soon after. Me and Daddy came back to the cabin to farm the land right outside of this town. A few years back it was filled with people like us, hard-working folks, but then the bad men came along.” Her voice broke but Rebecca didn’t know her well enough to give any type of comfort. So she sat and waited for Sophie to get a hold of herself.
“They killed my father and forced me to rot in this room. They are trying to sell me because I am pure, but they haven’t found anyone with enough money to buy me. The men in this town are all no-good, broke and worthless sonsofguns. They need the money my so called purity will bring. These men are all evil and I hope God strikes each and every man down.”
“I’m so sorry, Sophie. Where are the rest of the townsfolk?”
“Gone. Most ran away, some went back to Dallas, a few families fled to Wichita Falls. We are dead set in the middle between the two. Once there was a wonderful man passing through who tried to help us but he was driven from the town. Then, on his way out, he saved a family from being beaten by killing the man who tried to do them harm. The outlaws here put a price on his head and no one has seen him since. Until today.”
Rebecca perked up. “Today? What do you mean?”
“That mighty handsome Sheriff saved the Sellingsgrove family from certain death before he had to flee the town. If he comes back here, he’ll be strung up like a spring chicken. There’s bad men here. Men that will do him ill will if he returns.”
Rebecca doubled over, hugging her stomach. Taking in a deep breath, unhealthy shivers riveted through her whole body. She sniffed, sick already from the musty, cellar-like room. “He will return.”
Sophie shrugged. “I hope not. I’d hate to see such a handsome man killed. We have to get out of here. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. There is a way out but we’ll have to wait until tonight. I may even be able to get us some food and water and a horse to take us to Wichita Falls. Is that where you want to go? I just want away from this sprawling hole in the wall town.”
Rebecca placed two shaking hands over her face. “Oh, please, no! Say it isn’t so!” The desperation in her voice caused Sophie to look concerned.
“Rebecca, what is it? I thought you were tough, like me? Now you are snivelling like those other women did.”
“It’s not that. The sheriff is my husband. He will come here for me, that’s a fact.”
Sophie froze. “Oh, no! Then we better not wait for dark. We have to put our plan in motion now.”
<><>
“That was too easy, Sophie. How long do you think it will be before they notice the room is empty?”
Sophie was huffing and puffing, trying to catch her breath. The two ladies had set up a plan to distract the guard. “They won’t even notice, not for a few more hours. By then, we should be in Wichita Falls. The sun is starting to go down, so we must hurry. Giddy-up.” Sophie was riding astride the horse, her legs sticking out from her dress. She showed Rebecca how to get on behind her and they took off like a bat escaping from its cave. Since the town was nearly empty and everyone was occupied in the saloon, no one noticed their disappearance.
When they were clear of Mill’s Ridge, Rebecca giggled. “I must say, I can’t believe we did that.”
Sophie laughed with her. “When you picked up the chamberpot and threw the contents in his face, I thought surely we were doomed. It wasn’t enough to stop him, but then when you knocked him on the head with the chamberpot and he slumped to the ground, I knew it was our chance to go, even without provisions. He never had a chance to call for help. Thanks be to God above. But we have to hurry, it’ll be dark soon and we don’t know our way back too well.”
It was well past dark by the time the two women made their way down main street in Wichita Falls, exhausted from the long ride. Rebecca knew the handkerchief she used to stuff in the guards mouth wouldn’t keep him down for long, or the make-shift cloth around his hands, but it was the best they could find in the room. She prayed those horrible men wouldn’t come back here to try to hurt anyone.
Was she going to put this wonderful little town at risk by her presence alone? Should she even be here with a man like John Abbott on the loose? Had it been a mistake to marry her best friend knowing Abbott could
come here at any time now and her husband was placed in harm’s way?
Rebecca slid from the horse, running to the Sheriff’s office. It was dark. She ran across the street, hoping the Land Office was still open, that someone would be there but found it also dark. The door was locked. Making her way to the back of the building where Dawson and Grace lived in the house behind the office, she banged on the door. A small light shone in the window. Grace hurried to the door, peeking out before her eyes widened in shock at seeing Rebecca and Sophie standing there.
The door was thrown open. “Rebecca! Come in. How in the world did you get here? Oh no! Oh no! The men! They went after you!”
Rebecca froze. “To Mill’s Ridge?” She stumbled through the kitchen to sit on the chair Grace pulled out for her.
“Yes. The Sheriff was in the lead. Almost every man in this town went with him to Mill’s Ridge knowing it was occupied with outlaws and horrible men. This town is standing united. They will not allow bad men to do anyone harm.”
Rebecca felt sick. Her new friend Sophie placed an arm around her shoulder. “It will be okay. Most of the men will be too drunk by now to stand up to anyone, let alone a whole band of men. They are all cowards, only fierce and mean when they are in a group. By now, there will be a small handful in the saloon, most of the others passed out.”
“But, they are deadly, they can draw a gun and hurt someone from this town. Oh, God, please keep our men safe!” Rebecca clutched her stomach again, sick now, afraid someone would be terribly hurt through all of this.
Grace turned to Sophie. “You must be the lady in the last wagon, the one these men were trying to sell as a prize. My name is Grace, pleased to meet you.”
Sophie nodded. “I’m Sophie. Can we get cleaned up here? Would you mind?”