To Hold Forever

by Carrie Carr

  "Any idea how long?"

  Although she wasn't a tracker, Lex did know enough to make an educated guess. "Probably a couple of hours ago. It looks like at least one of them is on foot."

  "Well, so much for our break. I want to gain some more ground on them while it's dark." Charlie brought out his radio and notified the others. After getting verification on where each team was located, he waved to Jeremy and Jack. "You two head a little west of here and we'll keep on this trail."

  "Will do, Sheriff. We'll let you know if we see anything." Jeremy set his horse off in an uncomfortable trot with Jack not far behind.

  Lex watched them leave and turned to Charlie. "Now what?"

  "Let's see if we can pick up their tracks on the other side of these trees."

  They remounted and steered the horses through the thicket, oblivious to the continuing rain.

  AMANDA STRETCHED OUT on the bed next to the sleeping toddler. She had gotten up to get a glass of water, and now couldn't go back to sleep. It was almost three o'clock in the morning and she hadn't heard from Lex in hours. She didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. When Lorrie stirred, she rubbed her tummy until she settled again. "That's it, sweetie. Everything's going to be okay." She hoped her whispered words were true. A light knock on the open door caused her to look up. "Hi."

  "Hello, dear. I thought I heard you, and wanted to see if you needed anything." Anna Leigh sat next to her. She brushed her hand through Amanda's hair in a tender gesture. "You should be trying to rest."

  "I can't. I keep thinking of Lex out there in the rain, heading into who knows what. It's scaring me to death."

  Anna Leigh felt helpless. Her heart ached at the bleak look in her granddaughter's face. "We have to keep positive thoughts."

  About that time Lorrie stirred and opened her eyes. She saw Amanda and reached out to her. "Manny."

  "Ssh, baby. It's all right." Amanda picked her up and snuggled Lorrie against her.

  Lorrie tangled her hands in Amanda's shirt and whimpered. "Wex?"

  Amanda felt like crying, herself. "No, honey. She's not here right now." She looked over Lorrie's head into her grandmother's eyes. "Has there been any word?"

  "I'm afraid not. Perhaps they are afraid of disturbing us this late."

  As Lorrie settled and went to sleep, Amanda stroked her dark hair. "I hope you're right. This waiting around is killing me." She sent a silent prayer to her lover while she continued to rock the resting child.

  CHARLIE STOPPED HIS horse. Lex was so tired she almost allowed Thunder to run into the back of the other animal. She rubbed her face, hoping to wake herself up. "What's up?"

  He stepped down from the saddle. "Looks like we've found the last of the bikes." They had run across the second one earlier and continued to follow the last one's trail.

  "Good. That means we'll be able to catch up with them faster." Although used to long hours in the saddle, even Lex had a breaking point and she was closing in on it.

  "I hope so. My butt is killing me." Charlie gingerly walked to his horse. "It doesn't look like they tried to conceal their tracks too much." He watched as Lex slumped in the saddle. "Let's take a break until sunup. I'd feel a lot better if we're fresher when we find them."

  Lex wasn't going to argue with his logic. She knew she wouldn't be any good to anyone the way she was feeling now. Following his lead, she slid gracelessly from the saddle and led Thunder to a clear spot under the trees. She loosened the saddle and tied off the reins on a small branch. As Charlie did the same, Lex took an apple from her pack and cut it in half, giving part of it to her horse.

  "You spoil that animal." Charlie gave his horse a piece of his. "But they deserve a treat, considering how long they've been hauling us around, right?"

  "Yep." Lex brushed her hands on her jeans before sitting a few steps away. She rested against the tree, glad for the break. Seeing the slump to Charlie's shoulders, she realized he was more exhausted than he let on. "I'll keep watch for a while, so you can get a quick nap."

  Charlie almost argued, but the chance to close his eyes for a moment stopped him. "All right. But wake me in an hour and I'll do the same for you." He mirrored her posture and was asleep before she could answer him.

  Lex looked on fondly. She would do anything for him, including fighting sleep herself, so he could nap. "Rest well, Charlie."

  The hour passed slowly to Lex. She thought about letting him sleep longer but before she could decide, Charlie stretched and yawned.

  "I guess my internal alarm clock still works." He stood and walked around. "I'm going to go check in with everyone else. Close your eyes and I'll wake you in a while."

  "Sounds good to me." Lex tilted her hat forward so she could rest her head against the tree.

  BRIGHT BEAMS OF sunlight covered Amanda's face, causing her to squint as she opened her eyes. She glanced at her watch. It was almost seven in the morning. She turned her head and saw that Lorrie wasn't with her. Alarmed, she jumped from the bed and hurried down the stairs. The sound of Martha's voice led her to the kitchen.

  Martha had Lorrie in the high chair that was kept at the house for when the toddler visited. She placed another small spoonful of scrambled eggs on Lorrie's plate and looked up when she heard footsteps in the hall. "Good morning, dear. I hope you don't mind that I brought this angel downstairs. I was afraid she'd wake you."

  "No, that's fine." Amanda brushed her hands through her hair before going to the refrigerator and pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "Where's everyone else?"

  "I believe they're in the living room watching the news. Why don't you join Lorrie and me for breakfast? There's plenty here on the table."

  Amanda kissed the little girl on the head before she sat next to Martha. "I'm not very hungry." She took a sip of the juice and moaned as the cold drink traveled down her parched throat.

  "You need to eat. It takes a lot of energy to chase this one around the house. I don't want you passing out on us." Martha picked up a plate and filled it with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. She sat it in front of Amanda. "Dig in."

  Knowing it was useless to argue, Amanda picked up a fork and began to nibble on the food. She had taken a bite of the toast when a spoonful of eggs hit her in the face.

  "Mommy!" Lorrie demanded attention.

  Amanda's eyes widened. "Did she say what I thought she did?"

  "Sure sounded like it. We were talking about you before you came down. She kept wanting to go upstairs and wake you." Martha used a napkin to wipe the toddler's face. "Cutie, you need to eat that food, not play with it."

  Tears of joy welled in Amanda's eyes. "We'd been trying to get her used to calling us that, but this is the first time she's actually used it." She dropped her gaze to her plate. "I wish Lex had been here to hear it."

  "Wex?" Lorrie waved her spoon. "Wex!"

  "No, honey. Momma Lex isn't here right now." Amanda started to push her own plate away but Martha stopped her.

  "Oh, no you don't. There's not much on your plate and I'd like to see it empty before you leave."

  Amanda sighed, but did as she was told. "Were you always this stubborn with Lex?"

  "You don't know the half of it." Martha cleaned up Lorrie and released her from the high chair. She helped her down and the toddler immediately raced around the table to where Amanda sat.

  "Up."

  Amanda lifted her into her lap and held her with one hand while she ate with the other. "We're going to have to work on that, Lorrie. How about, up please?"

  Lorrie rocked back and forth. "Pease?"

  "Yes, please. Do you think you can say that, sweetie?"

  "Hmph." Lorrie reached for Amanda's plate and came away with a handful of eggs. She crammed them into her mouth. "Yum."

  Martha couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like you'd better get more, so you can share."

  When the little girl returned for seconds, Amanda caught her hand. "Lorrie, no. You have to ask nicely. Can you say please?"

 
; Lorrie grunted and reached for the plate again. When her hand was grabbed, she pulled it free. "No!"

  "Lorrie." Amanda drew out the word slowly. "Ask please."

  The toddler frowned and poked out her lower lip. "Mine." The battle of wills was on.

  "Lorrie."

  "No."

  Martha covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing out loud again. She couldn't wait to see how this standoff would play out.

  Lorrie reached for the plate again, which Amanda slid out of her reach. "Mommy!"

  "Be nice, Lorrie." Amanda was determined to make her point. "What do you say?"

  Little hands slapped the table. "Mine!"

  Amanda ignored the outburst. She gathered some eggs on her fork and put them in her mouth. After chewing, she placed the fork on the table, away from Lorrie.

  "Mommy!" Still being ignored, Lorrie slapped the table again. When she didn't get a response, she pouted.

  Not disturbed in the least, Amanda continued to eat.

  "Pease."

  With a smile on her face, Amanda gathered a small amount of eggs on her fork and fed them to Lorrie. "Good girl."

  "Mmm."

  Chapter Seven

  AFTER THE BREAK of dawn, Lex and Charlie had begun to walk in front of their horses, because the footprints of the criminals were getting harder to spot. The previous night's rain had washed away much of the trail. They were crossing a clearing when he stopped and pointed at the sky. A plume of dark smoke trailed into the air.

  "Do you see that? It looks like it's about half a mile away." Charlie reached for his radio and checked on the others to find their positions. "We're about two miles north of the creek, where it turns away from the eastern fence," he related over the air. "Everyone find a high spot and look for dark smoke. It's less than a mile from our position." Garbled voices answered him. "Okay. Let's set up a perimeter around the area. I want no one closer than two hundred yards, clear?" More jumbled noises came from his radio. "Roger that. Lex and I will be going ahead to scout the area. Again, we'll be coming in from the south."

  Lex raised her eyebrows at his last comment. She waited until he placed the radio on his belt. "Should we leave our horses here?"

  "Good idea. No sense in giving ourselves away." Charlie walked his horse to the trees they had vacated earlier. He tied the reins to a low branch, took his rifle from the scabbard, and waited for Lex to do the same. "Are you sure you want to come with me? I don't know what we're going to find once we get there."

  "I've come this far. Besides, Martha would kill me if I let you go on alone." Lex reached into her saddlebag and brought out a box of shells. She tucked them into a pocket on the duster and hefted her rifle onto her shoulder. It had been hard, but once she'd convinced herself that the weapons were only tools, she'd gotten over her aversion to them. "Well? Are you going to lead, or do I have to?"

  He shook his head. "Smartass kid." After filling his own pockets with extra ammunition, he started off toward the smoke.

  "WHAT IN THE hell are you doing?" Ed walked over to the fire that Gary had built and began to kick at the smoking branches. He returned from his "trip to the woods" to find Mack missing and Gary tossing green wood onto sputtering flames.

  Gary scooted away from the crackling embers. "I was cold and I thought I'd surprise you guys." He waved his hand in front of his face to dispel the heavy smoke. "Why are you putting the fire out? It took me forever to get it lit."

  "Because, dumbass, if they're out looking for us, you gave away our position. Where'd Mack go?"

  Mack came in from the opposite direction. "Same place you did. Where'd all that smoke come from?"

  Ed jerked Gary to his feet. "This idiot thought a fire would be a good idea." He used his grip on Gary's shirt to shake him. "Not such a good idea now, is it?"

  "Stop it. I didn't know." Gary struggled to break free.

  "Maybe we should leave him here. He's not doing us much good." Mack walked over and slapped Gary across the face. "Were you born this stupid, or do you have to work at it?"

  Gary fell to the ground as Ed let him go. He wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and scrambled to his feet. "I'm not stupid. It was my idea to take the motorcycles, wasn't it?"

  "Yeah, but you didn't think to check the gas tanks, now did you?" Ed reached for him again, only to be stopped by Mack.

  "Forget it. Let's make sure this fire doesn't relight, so we can get moving again." Mack glared at Gary. "You get to bury it in the mud, smart guy."

  Grumbling, Gary used a sharp stick to shovel mud onto the smoking mess. "Jerks." He was beginning to think getting captured would be better than staying on the run with the other two. At least he'd be warm.

  CHARLIE STOPPED TO peer over a thick mass of brush. He waved his hand to signal for Lex to join him. He kept his voice low. "There they are."

  "Now what?"

  He held his finger up to his lips and pulled his radio from his belt. After a few quiet sentences, he replaced the radio. "We're going to wait ten minutes, until everyone gets into position. Then we'll--"

  "I don't think we have ten minutes." Lex pointed to where the men were. "It looks like they're ready to move on."

  "Damn." Charlie pointed to his right and hoisted his rifle onto his shoulder. "I want you to go over there about fifty feet and wait for my signal. If they look like they're going to open fire, get behind that tree."

  Lex nodded and followed his instructions. She leaned against the tree and held her rifle in a ready position. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she aimed the gun at the men's camp. So much for my nerves of steel. More like nerves of silly putty. She tried to still her shaking hands.

  "This is the Sheriff's Department," Charlie yelled. "Step away from your weapons and lie face down on the ground."

  The campsite turned to chaos. Each man grabbed his guns and found a safe position behind the log at the campsite. One of them shot in the direction of Charlie's voice.

  "Shit!" Lex looked over to where Charlie was hidden behind his own tree. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." Charlie jumped as his radio came to life. "Yes, that was a gunshot. No, no one was hit." He wiped the sweat from his face. "Is everyone in position?" At their affirmative answers, he keyed in again. "Good. Hold your fire unless they shoot at you first. I'm going to try and talk them out." He slipped the radio into its holder once again. "Lex? Did you hear that?"

  "Yeah." She swallowed hard. "Don't shoot unless they do, right?"

  "You got it." He raised his voice again. "Don't make us open fire. We outnumber you."

  The only answer he got was another shot, this time closer. He brought the rifle to his shoulder and aimed. Making certain he wouldn't hit anyone, he made a well-placed shot in front of the fallen tree. They answered with several shots.

  Lex saw Charlie jump behind the tree. She squeezed off her own round, keeping it low. "Bastards." When they returned her fire, she dropped to the ground and hid behind the tree. "Charlie? Are you all right?"

  "Fine, kiddo. Nice shot." He was about to shoot again, when another volley came their way. "Stay down."

  "No problem there." Lex propped her gun against her shoulder and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans. Rustling leaves from her right caused Lex to point her gun in that direction.

  Jeremy held up his hands. "Don't shoot, it's only me." He stopped about ten feet from Lex and dropped to his knees. "Jack's with the horses. He told me he didn't think he could point a gun at another person, so I left him where he'd be safe."

  More shots came their way. Charlie shot back, but turned in alarm when he heard a grunt of pain to his right. "Lex?" He panicked when he couldn't see her.

  Lex crawled over to where Jeremy fell. She saw a circle of blood growing above his hip. Setting her gun on the ground, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him farther into the trees. Several shots rang over their heads. She tore off the bottom of her shirt and placed it over the wound. "Hang on, bud."

  "Da
mmit, Lex, where are you?" Charlie yelled.

  "We're over here. Jeremy's been hit." She grabbed Jeremy's hand and held it over the wound. "Stay here. We'll get you out of here in a minute." Lex made her way to her rifle, picked it up and squeezed off several shots.

  Charlie squatted next to Jeremy. "How bad is it?"

  "I think it just grazed me. But it hurts like hell." Jeremy grimaced as he tried to sit up.

  "Stay put." Charlie placed his hand on the other man's shoulder. "We'll take care of this." He heard a bullet ricochet off the tree beside Lex. "Dammit, Lex. Watch out!"

  She ignored him and made several more shots. Hearing a man scream, she stopped. "Charlie, I think I hit one of them." Her voice shook.

  "That's okay, Lex. Hold your fire until I can find out where everyone else is." Charlie bit back a curse when he heard from the others. They were still out of range. One group was circling around behind their position to help move Jeremy out of the line of fire.

  Five minutes later Oscar and Roy broke through the trees and dropped next to Charlie and Jeremy. Oscar took one look at his friend on the ground. "Damn, Jer. Why'd you get in the way like that?"

  Jeremy chuckled and grabbed his side. "Don't make me laugh, man. It hurts." He allowed the two men to help him to his feet and escort him out of harm's way.

  Charlie watched them leave. When he was certain they were safe, he went over to Lex. "How are you doing?"

  "Been better." She ducked when another bullet came too close to her head. "These guys are crazy, Charlie. They won't give up."

  "It looks that way. The worst part is, they've got a pretty defensible spot. The cover is too thick on three sides, so there's no way we can get to them from there."

  She reloaded her rifle. "How long are we going to do this?"