Nothing Short of Wondrous

by Regina Scott

  Moments later, only five of them regrouped on the porch.

  “I rapped on Mr. Jones’s door,” Kate told Will. “And peeked inside. He wasn’t there.”

  “He left a while ago,” Alberta supplied, shifting on her feet so that her skirts swept the porch. “Asked me to pack him a big lunch. Should I have told you?”

  “No,” Kate said. “It doesn’t matter now. The important thing is to find Danny.”

  Alberta nodded, face pinched and hands wrapped in her apron.

  Will stepped forward. “Elijah, Alberta, search the inn, the barn, and the outbuildings, especially any place Danny might hole up. He could have fallen asleep somewhere and just isn’t hearing our calls.”

  Elijah nodded. Alberta pulled her hands free to give one of Kate’s a squeeze. “We’ll find him,” she promised. She and Elijah went back inside.

  Another time, Kate might have taken umbrage that Will thought he must lead them all, but right now she was grateful for his command. The fear had reached her side, was wrapping steel-cold arms around her, and she felt no more useful than the night Toby had been killed.

  Don’t let me panic, heavenly Father. Help me be strong for my son.

  Will turned to his private. “Smith, go to the station and bring back the rest of the men.”

  Smith didn’t argue. He went for his horse.

  Kate touched Will’s arm. “What about us? If you ask me to sit here on the veranda, I’ll go mad with worry.”

  “I would never ask you to sit and wait,” he said, covering her hand with his. “There’s one place Danny might prefer. We should check our special spot.”

  Their special spot. Relief was swift, but fear immediately regrouped, dug its fingers into her heart. To go so far, alone? What if Danny met a cougar, a bear? And the bison! Her son knew how to behave around the great beasts, but would Big Bertha take exception to his presence? Kate broke away from Will, lifted her skirts, and ran down the steps. Will was right beside her.

  They sped past the edge of the geyser field, steam parting before them, and thudded across the footbridge so quickly the planks shook under her feet. Will took her elbow to help her over the rougher parts of the trail, but their rush still felt agonizingly slow. Every moment counted.

  As they approached the first meadow, she wanted to shout Danny’s name, but she pressed her lips against her teeth to keep them closed. If he was out among the bison, she could cause a stampede by any sudden movement or sound. She slowed her steps, trying not to think about those heavy hooves, sharp horns, and massive bodies colliding with her son.

  Will caught her arm as they reached the meadow, keeping her in the shade of the pines. She stared out across the rippling grass and slumped.

  “They aren’t here.”

  Will nodded. “And neither is Danny. Quickly. We’ll check the upper meadow.”

  But it was the same there. Even the bison had disappeared, as if fleeing an unknown enemy.

  Her breath hitched. “Oh, Will, where can he be?”

  Will cupped his hands around his mouth. “Danny Tremaine!” he bellowed, sound no longer important. “General Tremaine! Report for duty! Now!”

  The words echoed against the hillsides, but no voice piped up to answer, and no little boy came running out of the trees.

  But something moved on the far edge of the meadow, with a back as humped as a bison’s. The grizzly stopped, head swinging in their direction. A low, guttural growl rumbled out.

  Kate couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She hung on to one thing.

  Please, Lord, not my son. Protect him as only you can. Keep him safe.

  Will stepped between the bear and her. “Don’t run, Kate.”

  “Not this time,” she said. “That thing is not going to stop me from finding my son.”

  He glanced back at her, and she knew he wasn’t the only one to look surprised by the strength in her voice. She felt it—bright and clean and sure. The fear was gone, replaced by a calm and a peace she wouldn’t have thought possible. That sort of peace came only from one place.

  Thank you, Lord!

  “Well done,” Will said. He edged back and took her hand, drawing her farther into the trees. As if assured they would be no threat, the grizzly lowered its head and continued on its way.

  Kate took two steps and stumbled. Will’s hand was there to steady her. She shot him a grateful smile, straightened her shoulders, and headed back toward the hotel, clinging to him and her faith.

  “Could Danny have been taken by those men from the Virginia City Outfitters?” she asked, voicing her second greatest concern as they neared the footbridge. “One of them threatened him.”

  “We would have seen them ride back,” Will said, his presence a rock she could lean on. “And it’s open enough around the hotel. Alberta, Elijah, or Smith would have noticed a stranger.”

  There was that. Yet why else would Danny be missing?

  Private Smith was waiting on the veranda when they returned. Out on the geyser field, O’Reilly was calling, his figure partially hidden by the spray of a geyser. Danny’s name drifted back to her over the sizzle and pop of the mud pots. The call echoed from behind the inn in Lercher’s accented voice.

  Smith straightened away from the railing as they drew closer.

  “Waxworth rode south to check the road,” he reported in his drawl. “O’Reilly, Franklin, and Lercher are helping Elijah and Alberta search the property.”

  “And what are you doing?” Will asked suspiciously, wiping sweat from his brow.

  “Solving a mystery, I believe.” He handed Will a piece of rolled cloth. “A batch of these was delivered earlier from Captain Harris. He’d like them affixed to trees along the road and posted in public places.”

  The printed muslin wrinkled in Will’s grip. “Later. Right now, our focus must be on Danny.”

  Smith nodded to his hand. “If you look at it, it might tell you who took Danny and why.”

  Kate’s head jerked up. “Took Danny? So, I was right? He was kidnapped.”

  Smith spread his hands. “It’s a distinct possibility.”

  Will unrolled the cloth, and Kate crowded closer.

  Wanted, it read, for arson and poaching: Roy Jessup. The picture showed an older man with grizzled hair and crooked teeth.

  “Jessup?” Will asked. “We’ve seen no sign of him near the Geyser Gateway.”

  “I have,” Kate said, body starting to tremble. “That’s the man I know as Mr. Jones.”

  Will stared at her. “Jones? Your elusive boarder?”

  She nodded as he lowered the wanted poster. “Yes. But Alberta said he rode out earlier.”

  “After offering to take Danny with him, I warrant,” Smith said.

  Will rounded on him. “You knew.”

  Smith held up his hands again, but this time in a gesture of surrender. “I met Jones while on patrol a while ago. We chatted. But I’d never encountered Jessup, so I didn’t make the connection. As soon as I saw that sketch, I knew. A shame, or I might have warned Danny.” He bowed toward Kate. “And you, Mrs. Tremaine.”

  “But why?” Kate asked, glancing between them. “What could he want with Danny?”

  “Can you think of a more willing guide to the area?” Smith asked.

  Will couldn’t. Danny always wanted to share his special spot with people he considered friends, and he considered most people friends. Besides Kate, no one likely knew more about the Lower Geyser Basin than Danny. But Jessup had to realize they would come after him.

  “Has Jessup ever shown interest in Danny?” Will asked her.

  “Danny and the bison,” she acknowledged, shivering as if the day had cooled. “And me, for that matter, though I thought he was only trying to set up a dalliance.”

  Something hot shot through him.

  “Trying to set up a guide, more likely,” Smith said before Will could respond. “It was well known you were helping us, Mrs. Tremaine. He likely thought you and young Danny knew the best pl
aces to look.”

  Will shook his head. “So, Jessup sneaks in under our noses, makes friends with Danny, tries to get him to tell him where to find the bison, and, when Danny resists, kidnaps him.”

  “Will.” Kate’s voice was sharp. “What will he do? Will he hurt Danny to make him talk?”

  It was possible. If Jessup hadn’t hesitated to start fires that could have caused a dozen deaths—near Mammoth Hot Springs and in the Lower Geyser Basin—he likely wouldn’t balk at harming a child. But Will refused to worry Kate with what might be.

  “We need to find them,” he said. “We know Danny hadn’t told him the truth yet.”

  Kate nodded, though Smith glanced between them as if wondering what Will meant.

  “So, they must be somewhere else,” Will continued. “Where would Danny lead him?”

  Kate started, eyes widening. “As far away from the bison as possible. The opposite direction.”

  “Fairy Falls,” Will realized. “He hid from us there. He might hope to do the same with Jessup.” He whirled to face Smith. “Get Elijah, Lercher, and Franklin. I’ll call in O’Reilly. We’ll gather weapons and march in five.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Kate said, head up and eyes flashing as brightly as the first day he’d met her. He’d pitied Ponsonby then for incurring her wrath. He wouldn’t want to be Jessup when she caught up to him.

  “I was counting on you joining us,” he told her. “Fetch your rifle. We have a long walk ahead.”

  Will was right. The walk to the falls seemed interminable. Though the sun remained high and the day warm, cold surrounded Kate as she gripped her rifle. Jessup had started fires, returned to the park when he had been warned to stay away, killed animals for profit. Would he stop at harming a little boy who stood in the way of his plans?

  Trust, Kate. Remember, you don’t have to do this alone.

  Alberta and Private Franklin had stayed at the hotel in case Jessup returned, but Will was a steady presence in front of her on the trail. His head turned from side to side as he scanned the area. Elijah and Privates O’Reilly, Lercher, and Smith walked behind her ready to help. She had allies, and so did Danny.

  Thank you, Lord. I’ve taken on so much on my own, but I see now you send help just when I need it.

  Ahead, she heard the splash of the falls. And a voice, strident and demanding.

  “Where are you, boy? Get out here, now!”

  Her spirits leaped with her steps, and she shifted her rifle to grab Will’s shoulder with one hand. “He escaped!”

  Will stopped and turned, finger to his lips. Then he motioned Elijah and Private O’Reilly to the right and Lercher and Smith to the left. With a nod to Kate, he crept forward, his own rifle at the ready.

  She had to force her feet to slow when all she wanted was to dash down the path to Danny. Instead, she followed Will into the dip around the falls.

  The man she had known as Mr. Jones was standing at the edge of the pool, rifle cradled in his arms, one foot up on a boulder as mist swirled around him. But she nearly cried out in thanks when she realized Danny was nowhere in sight.

  “That’s enough, Jessup!” Will shouted over the tumble of the falls. “Drop the gun.”

  The poacher turned. His face was hard, eyes narrowed. The buckskins stretched across shoulders strong enough to carry a bison’s head. How could she have ever taken him for infirm?

  He leveled the rifle on them even as Will’s gun came up. “Looks like we’re at a draw, Lieutenant.”

  Kate aimed her rifle as well. “Not even close.”

  From the northeast, Smith and Lercher stepped out of the trees. From the northwest, Elijah and Private O’Reilly raised their guns. O’Reilly spit.

  Jessup shook his head and lowered the gun.

  “Set it down and raise your hands,” Will ordered.

  Left with no other choice, the poacher complied.

  “Where’s Danny?” Kate demanded as Elijah and Private O’Reilly moved in to take him into custody.

  “I have no idea,” Jessup said, jerking as O’Reilly tied his hands behind him. “He’s a clever young man, your son. Led me up a creek and disappeared.”

  28

  No! Danny had to be here. Once more, Kate glanced around, searching for an ever-moving body, so precious, so dear.

  “He’s hiding,” Will said beside her. “Call to him.”

  “Danny!” She raised her voice as loud as she could, each word a prayer. “Daniel Tobias Tremaine! Come out! It’s safe.”

  Something shifted in the shadows behind the falls, and the spray parted as Danny darted through. Kate dropped her gun and ran to meet him as he waded through the shallows.

  She hugged his trembling wet body close, thanksgiving as swift as the falling water. A moment more, and two strong arms wrapped around them both. She leaned against Will, warm, safe.

  “I knew you’d come,” Danny said, teeth chattering. “I knew you could find me.”

  “You were very brave and very clever,” Kate assured him, refusing to let him go.

  “I just had to wait,” Danny said. “I knew Lieutenant Prescott would come, because he protects people and animals, and he’s going to be my pa. Right, Lieutenant?”

  Kate turned to meet Will’s gaze over Danny’s head. His surprise at the statement quickly melted into something more.

  “Right, Danny,” he said, though his gaze held hers. “If your mother wants me.”

  Danny squirmed to look at her. “Please, Ma? I think he’d make a real good pa.”

  “So do I,” Kate said, heart full.

  Will bent and kissed her softly, a promise, a pledge she held to her heart. Then he straightened. “And I know what a good pa would say now. Let’s get you warm and dry.”

  While Elijah and Private O’Reilly stood guard over Jessup, Private Smith and Will took off their cavalry coats and bundled Danny in them. Kate couldn’t seem to stop hovering. Though she knew Danny could walk, she picked him up and carried him away from the waterfall, until Will took the burden from her.

  Like so many of my burdens, Lord. You knew what I needed, even when I never thought to ask.

  She stood for a moment, watching her son and the man she loved walk down the path. Danny’s hands were laced behind Will’s neck, and he grinned at her over Will’s shoulder. She could trust Will, with her heart and with Danny’s. She had never thought such a thing possible.

  With an awe as great as any she’d felt in this wondrous park, she followed them back to the inn.

  Jessup didn’t speak until they came out into the yard.

  “You can escort me out of the park again, but you know I’ll be back,” he warned.

  As Kate drew level with Will, Danny looked to her, eyes wide. She put her hand on his leg.

  Will lifted him closer too. “Not this time, Jessup. Kidnapping a child is against the law in any state. We’ll deliver you to the authorities in Evanston.”

  Private Smith smiled at the poacher. “And if they are inclined to allow you to go free, you won’t get far. We’ll have your likeness posted at every stop. Each cavalryman, hotelier, and visitor in the park will know who you are.”

  Danny sagged against Will in obvious relief.

  Kate took charge of her son on the hotel veranda as Alberta rushed out to hug them and Private Franklin went to join his detachment.

  “He’ll be all right?” Will murmured, hand on Danny’s shoulder.

  “He’ll be fine,” Kate promised.

  “I need to alert Mammoth Hot Springs and see about a detail to take Jessup north. When I get back, we must talk.”

  “About a great many things,” Kate agreed.

  He bent closer. “About only one thing. I love you, Kate, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you and Danny happy.”

  “Now that,” Kate said, “is a duty I’d be proud to share, Lieutenant.”

  He kissed her, quick and sure, then headed for Bess. And Kate walked into her inn, an engaged woman.


  An engaged woman!

  She nearly staggered with the joy of it. Her wonder must have been showing on her face, for Alberta and Danny were staring at her.

  “Mrs. Tremaine?” Alberta asked. “What’s happened?”

  “I’m going to marry Lieutenant Prescott,” she said, the words seeming to glow in the very air.

  Alberta clasped her hands together. “Oh, marvelous! Just marvelous! Our family is growing!”

  “And he’s going to be with us forever,” Danny said, starting to jump up and down.

  Forever. ’Til death do them part. She’d made that pledge once before. She’d feared to make it again. But Will was strong, sure, clever, and capable. Whatever the future held, she could count on him.

  He’d planned to woo Kate with flowers and romantic gestures, but Will couldn’t be sorry Danny had forced his hand. The decision felt right. He was on a good path at last, with the best possible guides: Kate and Danny. He was going to be a husband and father, and he had his heavenly Father’s blessing. He felt lighter, cleaner, than he ever had.

  Thank you, Lord!

  The praise kept repeating itself in his mind as they made sure of Jessup. Waxworth met them coming out of the Geyser Gateway yard. He joined with Lercher and O’Reilly in volunteering to take the poacher north. Some of the fire had gone out of Jessup. His head was bowed as he rode off that afternoon. As soon as they were on their way, Will went to the Fire Hole Hotel to telephone Mammoth Hot Springs. He discovered a message waiting for him.

  “I was about to send someone to deliver it,” the manager of the Fire Hole Hotel confirmed as he handed it to Will. “Your commanding officer has decided to tour the park before winter sets in. I promise you, we will be ready.”

  So would the Geyser Gateway. Will would make sure of it.

  Kate sprang into action as soon as he told her that evening. He and Smith had come through on their final sweep to find all the current denizens of the hotel on the veranda. Kate was at the rail, Alberta and Danny sat on the bench, and Elijah was on one of the dining chairs, polishing the brass of a stagecoach door handle.

  “Three days!” she exclaimed when he told her the news. She turned to Alberta, who rose from the bench. “Huckleberry pie and whipped cream.”