At least they’d not tried to rescue Nate on their own, with only a bow and arrows for protection. When the men took Nate to another hideout at daybreak this morning, Bright Sun had left her grandfather at the cave and followed the men at a distance to see where they took him, then she’d come for Laura.
God, don’t let us be too late. Help us.
The fear she’d been fighting pressed in, nearly stealing her breath. She couldn’t lose Nate. Not when she was just realizing how much he meant to her. Life without him would be . . . She couldn’t think of it.
They had to get to him in time.
Bright Sun pulled her forward at a breathless pace, leading the way. Branches scraped against Laura’s face, and her chest burned from drawing in the cold. Were they almost there? They’d passed the cave at least ten minutes ago. How much farther had the men taken him?
Suddenly, the girl jerked to a halt, yanking hard on Laura’s arm as she skidded to a stop. “Look.” Bright Sun’s whisper was frantic as she pointed ahead of them.
Had she spotted the men? Laura stepped in front of the girl as her eyes strained to see what had stopped her.
A dark lump lay in the snow about twenty strides ahead, not the right shape or color to be a downed tree. And it lay on top of fresh snow. An animal?
The form moved, and an arm became visible, wrapped in a dark sleeve.
Laura’s heart lurched as she surged forward. “Nate!”
He raised his head higher as she closed the distance between them. She had almost reached him by the time she realized his hands were tied behind his back and a strip of buckskin covered his mouth.
But he was alive. Oh, God. “Nate. Oh, God, thank you.” She dropped beside him and reached for the cord at his wrists. Even after yanking her mittens off, the knot was pulled too tight for her cold-numbed fingers to work it loose.
“Here.” Bright Sun held out a hunting knife, large enough to be the kind warriors carried.
Laura took it and made quick work of slicing through the leather rope around his wrists, even though her hands trembled.
As soon as his arms were free, he rolled over and sat up, fumbling with the tie at the back of his head. Muffled sounds spilled from his mouth, but she couldn’t understand anything. His green eyes were frantic about something, though.
She moved behind him. “Be still and let me cut this.” Bright Sun’s knife pierced through the leather with only a few saws.
Nate jerked the gag away and sucked in a hard, raspy breath, as though he hadn’t inhaled for hours. His chest heaved as he spun back to them, his eyes even wider. “Eagle Soaring. Is he still at the cave?” He reached for the knife, but his manner was so desperate, Laura almost pulled the weapon away. But she gave it to him.
“I left him watching from the room where we sleep.” Bright Sun’s usual mannered cadence tipped high with worry.
“No.” Nate slashed through the tie at his ankles with a single vicious swipe. “They’ve gone to the cave for him. I have to get there.” He stumbled to his feet. “Stay here. I’ll come back for you.”
Without another word, he charged forward, knife still in his grip as he flew over the snowy ground.
Laura’s heart hammered as she pushed to her feet. Bright Sun had already started after Nate, despite his command. Laura couldn’t heed his words, either, not with both halves of her heart sprinting toward danger. Neither had a gun, and the knife Nate held would be poor protection against the two armed men Bright Sun had spoken of.
Laura patted the satchel holding her pistol, then gripped the bag to keep it from hitting her side as she took off toward the cave.
Nate’s heart had never pumped so hard in his chest, not even the moment he’d watched his brother jump in front of Laura’s gunshot all those months ago.
He ran with every bit of strength and speed he possessed. In truth, the power surging through his body couldn’t be his own. Only minutes before, he’d been lying facedown in the snow, nothing left in his spent body.
But God had given him another chance.
Through Laura and Bright Sun, maybe the Lord would help him reach the cave in time to save Eagle Soaring yet. With every leaping stride he ran, his ears strained to hear a gunshot. Any sign he was too late.
The trees ahead thinned enough to see a clear view of the mountain housing the cave. He slowed to move more quietly. He was approaching from the opposite side from how he usually came, so he would have to run around the base of the mountain—just below the ledge—to get to the rocky section where he could access the trail onto the ledge.
Too bad he couldn’t climb straight up like the mountain goats did.
He moved in close to hug the cliff’s base as he ran, as light on his toes as he could manage. There was nothing he could do to quiet his heaving breaths, though.
Don’t let them hear me, God.
He finally came in sight of the sloped base of the mountain where he could climb onto the ledge path. The view before him made him jerk back, his stomach sinking to his toes.
A freight wagon sat at the edge of the woods.
Fear clamored through his chest, swirling with the anger already there. If those blackguards had killed that innocent old man . . .
He crept forward until he could peer around the edge of rock at the wagon. Was one of the men standing guard? If only Nate had a gun—anything that could take down a man at a distance.
But no outline of a man sat atop the wagon bench. No shadows shifted around the body of the rig. No movement at all except one of the mules stomping an impatient hoof.
Did he dare risk exposing himself to a bullet? He had to.
If all three of the men were inside the cave, who knew how much abuse Eagle Soaring was suffering. Would they torture the man to death?
Just as he was about to dart forward and sprint to the path leading to the ledge, the sound of sharp breathing and running feet pricked his awareness.
He spun, raising the knife to strike.
Bright Sun slipped from the trees to tuck herself close to the base of the cliff as he’d done. A fresh wash of fear and anger sluiced through him. Why hadn’t she listened? There was too much danger here. Too much risk that she would be hurt—or killed.
As the girl darted toward him, the noises he’d heard grew louder, but not from the Indian child.
Laura’s gray skirt appeared through the trees.
God, no. He fisted his hand around the knife handle, trying to hold in the fear surging through him. Not Laura. What was she doing putting herself in such danger? If something happened to her—if these men hurt her in any way—he would never be able to live with it.
As he waited for them both to catch up to him, he tried to take in slow, steady breaths—anything to quell the panic threatening to undo his focus. He couldn’t lose his senses. So much was riding on his ability to take out those three would-be murderers.
It’s not on your ability.
The thought crashed over him like a bucket of icy water. Hadn’t he just been thinking how only God’s strength could have propelled him to the cave at the speed he’d managed?
God had brought them this far. He was the only one who could keep them all safe.
Especially Eagle Soaring.
Bright Sun reached him first, and he couldn’t fight the urge to reach out and touch her, to rest a hand on her shoulder.
She raised her dark eyes to him, fear churning in their depths.
His heart ached for her. When this was all over, he would take her in his arms and promise to do his best to make sure nothing like this would happen to her or her grandfather again.
If only he could keep that promise.
Lord . . . The ache in his chest made it hard to find words to express what he wanted to say. Why did God allow things like this to happen to people he loved? Why couldn’t they just live calm, happy lives without all the pain?
My grace is sufficient. Words he’d planted in his memory during a recent Bible reading. And they br
ought back another passage. But we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.
Experience they had in droves. And maybe that did make them stronger when they reached the other side of each struggle.
As for hope . . . His gaze slid to Laura as she puffed to a stop in front of them.
Her eyes held the same churning worry Bright Sun’s did. He opened his arms, and she stepped into them. He clung to her, breathing in the rich scent of the woman he loved with every part of his being. If he’d been afraid to acknowledge it before, he’d willingly shout the truth now.
She was too precious for him to keep silent about his love for her.
Did he dare hope she would come to return the feeling? When they finally made it through this tribulation—God would bring them through, he had to hold onto that hope—he wouldn’t be able to pretend she didn’t hold his heart in her strong, competent hands. Whether he deserved her or not, he had to tell her how special she was to him.
With one final inhale of her sweet strength, he pulled back and looked into her beautiful face. A face he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life.
“Laura.” Her name slipped out in his raspy voice, not at all the beautiful sound she deserved.
He needed to leave, to get into the cave. He might be too late, but if there was any chance he could help Eagle Soaring, he had to take it. But what if something happened to Nate while he was in there? What if he never had the chance to tell Laura he loved her?
He stared intensely into her beautiful brown eyes. “I love you. I need you to know that.”
Her eyes gleamed as she nodded. “Me too.” A tiny laugh slipped from her lips. “I mean I love you, too.”
Joy soared through him, driving him forward to press a quick, fierce kiss to her mouth. He pulled back after only a second, using every bit of self-control he had. “I have to go. Don’t come after me.” He slid a pointed look between Laura and Bright Sun. “Please.”
Nate pulled away, but Laura clutched his arm. “Wait.”
When he turned back, she pressed a pistol into his hand. Fear shone in her eyes again, but she nodded.
He squeezed her fingers. “I’ll be careful.” Inhaling a strengthening breath, he turned to Bright Sun. “I’ll be back with your grandfather.”
She nodded, and a sniff slipped out, but she held her jaw clamped tight.
Laura came up beside the girl and wrapped her in a sideways hug. Her eyes had turned glassy again, but her expression spoke of determination.
Protect them, Lord.
Eagle Soaring had to be his focus now. God, give me strength.
Twenty-Six
Nate had only run three strides when an explosion thundered from the cave entrance. Just like the blast of big powder in a mine shaft.
It had to be a gunshot.
He looked up, but his position wouldn’t let him see anything on the ledge above.
More shots ripped through the air.
He had to get in there. As he sprinted forward again, a clattering sounded above, like boots on stone.
He paused again and aimed the gun to the source of the sound. Just above him now.
A loose stone skittered off the ledge, dropping down to the ground on his right. He still couldn’t see the man, but he was running over the dangerous path above. A shout sounded.
“Run!”
That growling bark had to be Hiram.
The footsteps clambered along the ledge, loud enough that there must be at least two men running full tilt.
Finally, Sloane appeared ahead, leaping from the rock ledge onto the grassy, boulder-strewn slope. He ran toward the wagon, and Hiram jumped down behind him. His longer legs outran Sloane in four strides, passing the miner in a fluid motion as he kept running toward his rig.
Nate aimed the pistol. The little gun wouldn’t have much power or accuracy at this distance. They looked to be leaving. Where was Danvers? Maybe he should save the shot to face off with him.
The indecision swirling in his mind made him hesitate too long. The men were out of range, almost to the wagon. They leapt aboard, Sloane in the bed and Hiram on the bench.
The man hollered a vicious obscenity at the mules, slapping the reins hard. The animals jolted, pushing into their harness. He raised a whip and struck the near team. “Git on!” His bark echoed across the distance.
Nate didn’t have time to waste watching. If they were leaving Danvers behind, what had happened in the cave? Nate had to get to Eagle Soaring.
He didn’t worry about stealth any longer, just charged forward toward the entrance to the ledge path. When he’d almost reached it, he glanced sideways toward the large freight wagon. The mules pulling the rig had been whipped into a lope, and the conveyance seemed to be rushing toward the road through the woods.
A crack split the air. Not loud enough to be a gunshot, but . . . the wagon tipped toward its front left corner. A wheel must have broken off.
Nate’s chest clutched as the left side of the wagon teetered, bouncing as the force of the mules’ efforts dragged the axle over the ground. The animals fought to push forward, but the wagon’s weight pressed the axle hard into the snow, jerking the rig in an uneven line. The left side struck a thick oak, and an awful crunch of shattering wood filled the air, mixed with the yells of men.
A heartbeat later, flame exploded from the rig, engulfing it in a cloud almost as high as the trees. The ground shook like a violent earthquake, rattling him all the way to his core.
Nate’s entire body tensed for danger, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the cloud of fire. Within seconds, the puff of flame settled into a smaller blaze.
Frantic, fear-filled shrieks filled the air. Those poor animals. The wagon must have been loaded with crates of blasting powder. He turned toward the ledge, a cloak of sadness weighing his limbs. No matter how heinous the crimes committed, death of God’s creation was no small thing.
His body stilled as his eyes took in a figure standing on the ledge. It couldn’t be.
Nate blinked, trying to focus his blurry vision. His nerves must have finally snapped.
Surely that wasn’t Aaron standing on the ledge. Another figure stood behind him. Doc Micah.
Aaron stepped forward. . . . No, he hobbled forward, swinging on walking sticks. Now a third man appeared behind the doctor . . . could that bent, shuffling form be Eagle Soaring?
Nate took a step back. God could do anything, sure, but this? Why was Aaron out here? And could Eagle Soaring really be alive?
They were drawing close to Nate now, and Aaron’s face tipped into an off-kilter grin. The kind of grin Nate hadn’t seen in so many months.
His heart soared. It was all he could do not to stride forward and wrap his brother in a hug.
But the ledge was too narrow for more than one person at a time. Better to wait until they reached the grass. He propped his hands at his waist as he drank in the sight of his brother hobbling toward him.
A hand slipped around his arm, and Nate looked down into Laura’s face as she tucked herself beside him. Just exactly where she belonged.
Her expression held the same wonder stirring in his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.
Whatever had transpired here at the cave, only God could have orchestrated this outcome. With the woman he loved nestled beside him, his brother walking toward them, and their two Indian friends safe and whole, he could only imagine what else God would accomplish in their future.
Twenty-Seven
Laura stepped through the doorway that separated the Bradleys’ residence from the clinic, her heart full from the gathering she’d just left in the kitchen. It’d been two days since the awful ordeal at the cave, and Bright Sun and her grandfather had settled in well at the clinic.
Now, Isaac and Joanna were visiting with little Samuel, and the boy hadn’t stopped talking to Bright Sun for the last hour. It turned out Isaac knew a bit of E
agle Soaring’s language, too, and he seemed to be gathering details about where their people had gone.
The older man hadn’t been hurt by those thieves from the mine—thanks to Aaron, who’d been so worried about Nate, he’d insisted the doctor let him come along to help. They’d arrived just in time to meet Eagle Soaring and defend him from the three men who thought they’d have an easy time with a weak old man and young girl.
When Danvers fell with a single well-placed bullet, the others decided two Indians weren’t worth their lives and freedom.
Thank the Lord for Doc Micah and Aaron.
She paused at the sight of the man standing by the hall window, staring at the white world outside. Aaron.
He turned from looking through the glass to regard her. He held a walking stick under each arm but didn’t lean against them for balance. It was remarkable how much he’d improved in the mere two days since he’d become mobile again.
“Good morning.” She smiled a greeting, but something about the solemn expression on his face made her pause.
The look wasn’t his usual sullen melancholy. More like . . . a soberness.
Had something happened? Her heart stuttered, then scrambled forward. “Is Nate . . . ?” She couldn’t finish the question.
“Sleeping.” Aaron glanced toward his bedchamber door, the room the brothers had shared these past two nights. “But he was stirring when I left the room, so he’ll be underfoot soon.” The corners of his mouth curved in what could pass for a smile, but the seriousness didn’t leave his eyes as he returned his focus to her.
“What’s wrong, then? What is it?”
Aaron turned back to the window and stared through the glass. His jaw flexed, an action she could see clearly since he’d shaved the day before. She’d not had the nerve to ask if the act came from Nate’s prompting or if Aaron was taking steps to improve himself on his own. Either way, the change had to be a good sign.
“I need to tell you . . .” Tension laced Aaron’s voice, and when he paused, his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I need to apologize.” He turned toward her again, and pain swirled in his eyes. “For the way I’ve acted. For blaming you for my troubles. I knew it wasn’t right, but I just couldn’t face . . .” A sigh leaked out. “I knew what happened was payback for everything I’d done. All those years. I just couldn’t make myself face it.” Red rimmed his eyes. “None of that was fair to you, and I’m sorry.”
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