“That’s good,” Cora said. “So this valley is a pretty safe area?”
“We have the usual dangers. Snakes are one of the biggest concerns to watch for. Coyotes have bothered chickens and such before, but the dogs help keep us alert to that. Golden Valley is a good place to build a life.”
“It is beautiful out here. I thought I’d miss the hills and all the trees, especially when the train went through Oklahoma and all those wide open prairies. But this is a stunning area. I am glad I get to see it in the daytime and on horseback. I didn’t see much of it on our way here from Birch Creek last week.”
“Yes, sorry about that.” Levi glanced at her then smiled. “Don’t forget that you were asleep for much of the ride.”
Cora looked at him, then her gaze trailed to his lips and she blushed. Yet it didn’t seem like it bothered her. She must have not hated the kiss that much. He didn’t want to say anything that might put up a block between them again. Especially since they had been talking so easily just now. He fished around for something to say but couldn’t decide on anything specific.
They continued on in silence for a bit and Levi kept his eye out for anything amiss, particularly snakes or gopher holes that might cause the horses injury. Ahead, something in the bushes moved and he studied it closer. It was about the size of a cow, but his herd shouldn’t be this far south. This one must have wandered off.
When he was sure it was actually one of his cows, he turned to look at Cora.
“I’ve got to check and see if there are any more that made it down here. When I get close to it, she might bolt. You feel comfortable heading her off if she starts running?”
“How do I do that?” Cora asked.
“Just guide the horse to meet the cow in the same direction she’s going. It should force the cow to turn back toward me then we can keep her between us and head back to the herd with her.”
“I’ll do my best,” Cora said.
Levi gave her an encouraging smile and tapped the reins on the horse’s neck to urge him forward. Luckily, the cow didn’t seem bothered by his approach and began walking to the north allowing Levi and Cora to stay behind it and move it along. Levi watched the area, searching for any other cows that might be wandering through the sage and rabbit brush.
Less than a quarter mile from where this cow had been, he caught sight of a couple more. Concern began to build.
“This isn’t normal,” Levi said to her. “The boys have never let this happen without them close enough to keep an eye on them as they graze.”
“Do you think they’re hurt?”
“Don’t know,” Levi said. “Keep an eye out. Tell me if you see something out of place.”
Levi wished he’d brought his rifle with him. That wasn’t something he usually worried about until it was time to drive the cattle to Boise. His men would have their rifles with them, but if they were attacked by anything, there was nothing Levi could do to protect himself or his wife except flee.
They continued on and gathered a few more strays then when they reached the small rise in the land and crested the miniature hill, the herd he had expected to see on the other side was not there. A few clusters of cows and some calves were milling around, but he saw no sign of his men or the herd that would have filled the little dip in the landscape.
“What happened?” Cora asked, understanding that something was obviously wrong.
“I don’t know,” Levi said looking around, trying to piece things together. He could see an obvious trail where all the animals had gone. It wouldn’t be hard to track a herd that size. But they weren’t scheduled to move from this section of land for another few days.
“What’s that?” Cora asked, pointing to the left.
Levi urged the horse forward and trotted to where she’d pointed, fearing the worst. When his suspicions were confirmed, he kicked the horse into a gallop.
***
Cora bounced her heel against her horse’s side to get the animal to move where Levi had gone, concerned that it really was a man on the ground. When Levi reached him, he jumped off the horse in the same movement of pulling it to a stop and let the horse take a few steps away while Levi dropped to his knees next to William.
Cora got there just as Levi looked up with relief on his face.
“Is he alive?” Cora asked.
“Yes. But his head is bleeding. Get me something to wrap it with.”
Cora looked at the horse she was on, not seeing a saddle bag or anything. Levi’s horse had the saddle bag with the wrapped bread in it, but when she approached it, the horse skittered away. She didn’t have anything like an apron or handkerchief either so she reached for her petticoat and tore off a section. She held it out to Levi, then realized she’d need to dismount to reach him. It took a little effort to get her leg over the horse’s back, but she managed to get off the horse without falling.
“Will this be enough?” she asked as she passed it to him.
Levi wrapped it around William’s head and as he worked, William moaned in pain.
“Hold on man. Can you hear me?” Levi said, checking William more thoroughly after he’d gotten the head wound covered.
William moaned once more and opened his eyes for only a moment before closing them again.
“What can I do?” Cora asked.
“See what you can do for William,” Levi said. “I’m going to see what I can find. Drew should still be here somewhere. Tucker and Jake might still be working on that fence.”
***
Levi mounted his horse and started following the trail made by someone moving hundreds of cattle. To do something like this, there had to be either someone pushing them, or they had been spooked somehow and bolted into a stampede. The ground was rough and torn up, but didn’t look like a wild and crazy stampede. More like a quick move of the herd. It was hard to see any definite tracks of horses that might have pushed them, but the inkling he’d been robbed kept rising to the surface.
Levi couldn’t imagine William would have just fallen from his horse if there had been a stampede. And his horse was gone as well. That beast had been good to stick close to William in all the years they’d been together.
Levi zig-zagged back and forth across the trail left by the cattle to see if there was any indication of a shod horse track, but couldn’t see anything obvious. Of course, he’d never been an expert tracker. This would be something his father might have to study.
Levi paused for a moment, wondering if he should continue to look for his herd. Maybe his other cattle hand might have stuck with them and tried to turn them from their stampede. He turned to see if he should go back to Cora and check on William’s progress.
Cora’s waving arms as she stood by her horse made up his mind for him. He urged his horse into a gallop and when she saw he was coming, she bent down and continued to watch over William until Levi arrived.
“He’s awake,” Cora said as Levi pulled the horse to a stop.
“William,” Levi said. “What happened?”
“Rustlers,” William said. “I think Drew was in on it. A couple men arrived last night, and since Drew seemed to know them and vouched for them, I didn’t think anything of it. They bedded down for the night with us. I woke to the sound of the horses acting strange. When I went to check on them, I heard a couple other men on horseback coming close and before I could see who they were, someone hit me on the back of the head.”
“Do you think it might have been Jake and Tucker coming back?” Levi asked, hating to think all three of them could have been in on it together.
“Don’t know. They’d been working on that section of fence where we’d be moving the herd to next.” William tried to sit up but groaned and Cora pulled down her water canteen and passed it to him.
“I should have been here last night,” Levi said.
“But you could have been hurt too,” Cora said.
“Could have stopped them,” Levi said. “If William and I were both here, they wouldn
’t have dared try something like this.”
Cora frowned. “Should I ride back to the house and get your father?”
“We need to get William to the house.” Levi bent down and checked the man’s head, then looked into his eyes. He looked dazed still. “You need to heal up.”
“I’m fine,” William said, trying to stand, but then fell to the side and groaned then gripped his head between his hands.
“Obviously,” Levi said. “Can you ride?”
William gritted his teeth. “Of course.”
“Then you’ll ride with Cora. She’s small enough that the two of you won’t overwhelm the horse. And she’s sturdy enough to keep you from falling off. I’ll ride over to see if Tucker and Jake are still with the fence or if they were part of this whole thing. Then we’ll meet at the house to discuss our options.”
William tried to protest, but Levi just took him by the elbow and helped him onto Cora’s horse, then kept the horse steady while Cora climbed up in front of him.
“Be careful,” Levi said, patting the horse’s hind quarters to get him moving once Cora nodded.
As he watched his wife and William ride for a minute, he knew they’d make it just fine. She’d get him to the house and inform Pa about what they’d found. Levi prayed that his other hands were still true.
Levi kicked the horse into a gallop and worked on a plan for getting his herd back.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Cora’s stomach knotted as she listened to the men talk about their options. Tucker and Jake had arrived with Levi which was a huge relief. At least they hadn’t deserted him and stolen the herd. Drew, on the other hand, was not there. With the conversation and the piecing together of comments made as they all worked the herd over the last month or so, the men were coming to the conclusion that Drew had been planning something like this for a while.
He’d only been with Levi and his father’s operation for a few months and none of them had known Drew before he’d shown up asking for work.
Cora didn’t want to interfere with the plans for retrieving their herd, but she wished she could do something to help. She’d never be able to go after them herself, but she didn’t want her men to run into danger either.
She had busied herself with making some food for the men the moment she got into the house. It wasn’t much, but it was something she knew how to do.
Cora placed the food on the table and stepped back to listen. The men each gave her a grateful look or kind word of thanks and continued their plans.
She worried her lip as Levi talked of leading the search.
“I’m coming too,” Pa said.
“No,” Levi shook his head. “You should stay and run the farm and keep Cora safe. William will have to stay here as well. There are still some cattle you’ll need to gather up. Don’t think there are more than a couple dozen head, but I don’t want to lose them either.”
“You can’t go get our herd back with just three of you!” Pa said.
“Not planning on it just being the three of us. Tucker’s going to run into Birch Creek to find the sheriff that’s just been appointed in the area. Maybe he or some deputies could come help. And I’m sure there will be a few men we could convince to give us a hand.”
“Sheriff Mills has dealt with things like this before,” Tucker said. “I’ve heard good things about him. With the men he’ll bring with him, we’ll get the herd back.”
Pa argued just a little, but the whole talk of heading into danger was too much for Cora. She slipped out of the kitchen as quietly as she could and began to pace in the main room. Yet that only made her more antsy. What she needed was some quiet and some time to think.
She took the mending that was in her basket and moved into the bedroom and closed the door. The less she heard the men talking of their plans, the easier it would be to pretend they wouldn’t be in any danger.
***
Levi watched Cora walk out of the kitchen and into the main part of the house. It had been good that she’d been in the room with them as they’d discussed. She needed to know what was going to happen. But with her leaving, he wouldn’t be able to explain the rest of what he needed her to do.
He would have to talk with her before they left, but he wanted to get on the trail as soon as possible. Tucker had already raced off to see if he could find the sheriff and get some volunteers to come help get the herd back. Levi and Jake would go with Pa until Tucker arrived with help. Then Pa would return to make sure things were good here at home.
Levi hated the idea of leaving Cora here alone for who knew how long, but if they didn’t get their herd back, they wouldn’t have the funds they needed to buy the seed for the next crop. And he would never let someone get away with robbing them like this without at least trying to get his property back.
“I’ll gather the things we need,” Pa said as he moved toward the cellar doors. “Jake can get the horses ready.”
Levi nodded and left the kitchen in search of Cora. She wasn’t in the main part of the house, so he went into the bedroom to see if she was there.
“Cora?” Levi said as he poked his head into the room. He stopped suddenly as he saw his wife kneeling by the bedside with her hands clasped in front of her and her head bowed to the surface of the bed.
She lifted her head and looked at him, tears in her eyes. He took three steps and was by her side, pulling her up into his arms.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered.
“I can’t help it,” Cora said. “I am so worried for you all.”
“We’ll be fine,” Levi spoke, though he knew he couldn’t actually promise her that. “There’s not much danger in this.”
She only nodded, and he knew she didn’t believe it any more than he did. If these men were desperate enough and dishonest enough to steal that many head of cattle from him, this would be a dangerous retrieval any way you looked at it.
“We’ll have help,” Levi said, hoping to comfort her. “And you will be fine here. You can keep the house, yard, and animals cared for without any need of me here. And Pa will come back as soon as possible. Then once William gathers the remaining strays, he’ll be back to help as well.”
“I’m not worried about me,” Cora said, looking up at him. “I don’t want to lose you.” Her arms held him even tighter and he could feel her fists gripping his shirt in the back as if she could keep him close that way.
“You don’t?” Levi asked, feeling for the first time that she might actually feel something for him.
“Promise me you’ll come back. Promise me you’ll let the herd go if it comes to the point of losing them or your life.”
Levi looked into her green eyes, lit within by a fire of hope and love and sparkling through her tears.
“I promise,” Levi finally said.
“Thank you,” Cora said, placing her cheek against his chest. He held her tightly, not wanting to let go, but she pulled back a little and looked into his face. “For luck,” she whispered as she lifted her lips to his and kissed him.
It started out soft and gentle, but as he realized how dangerous this really could be, and that it would be some time before he would return, Levi pulled her tighter against him, standing straight and lifting her off the floor. Her arms went around his neck and shoulders to hold on and Levi kissed her long and hard. She returned the kiss with as much energy as he gave her and he was certain that things between them could be wonderful when he returned.
Levi lowered her feet to the floor and she made a sound of protest, so he didn’t let go. Instead, he kissed her once more, softly and with more control this time.
“When will you be back?” she asked when he ended the kiss.
“If they are taking them to Boise with the plan to sell, it’s about a two week trip there so they don’t over work the cattle. Depends on what we find when we catch up, we might end up taking them the rest of the way once we get the herd back. Then to return, we’ll be much faster since we aren’t pushing the herd. It could
take up to a month.”
“What if they’re heading somewhere else?” Cora asked.
“They could be taking them anywhere with a train they could ship them on. But they’ll want to get as far from us as they can. That’s why we’ve got to get started as soon as possible.”
Cora nodded. “I know. Be safe,” she whispered.
“We will. I’ll come back,” Levi promised. “Now that I know I don’t disgust you, I’m looking forward to seeing you as soon as possible.”
“Disgust me?” Cora asked, her eyes wide. “Whatever made you think that?”
“I thought I was just too different than your first husband.”
Cora shook her head. “You are different. But that isn’t a bad thing.”
“I thought that first night, when we arrived, and I kissed you, that you were disappointed.”
Cora grabbed him around the middle again and held him tight. “No, I wasn’t disappointed. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed that kiss, and I was a little afraid of how easy it would be to forget my life with Matthew once I was with you.”
“I wouldn’t want you to forget Matthew. That’s why I’ve been giving you space. I wanted you to come to trust me. To know that I would give you the time you needed to feel at home with us.”
“Levi,” Cora said, meeting his eyes. “You better get those cows back as fast as you can, because I’m going to need my husband to return home to me and we’ll begin our life together properly.”
“Yes ma’am,” Levi said. Kissing her again gave him the added incentive to hurry home. He had a wife that wanted him in her life.
What an incredible feeling that was.
***
Cora stood on the front porch watching as her husband, father-in-law, and the men working for them left at a gallop to go track down the bandits that had stolen their livelihood. She prayed as fervently as she could that they would be kept safe and return soon.
The Cattleman's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (The Brides of Birch Creek Book 4) Page 8