“Mama, I gotta pee,” the boy exclaimed as he ran out and straight into the leg of Jesse Evans.
“Whoa there, little man.” Jesse gabbed Charlie’s arm, stopping him as he tried to dodge around the gunman’s leg.
“Get. Your. Hand. Off. My. Boy.” Walter ordered, the once hidden rifle now pointed at Evans.
Before Walter could take aim and pull the trigger, a shot exploded around them. “Argh!” Walter grunted then dropped the rifle as he slumped to the floor, blood seeping from his shoulder. Millie screamed and ran to his side, trying to stop the bleeding as she ripped a strip of cloth from the bottom of her skirt and sniffed back the tears.
“It’s only a small wound, ma’am, but I can’t have your man thinking he’s something he’s not.” Jesse smiled at Charlie, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Still have to pee, boy?”
“N-n-n-no,” Charlie whimpered, the front of his britches wet.
Abby walked over to Charlie, taking his hand in hers. “Come with me, Charlie,” she said as calmly as she could. She looked directly into Evans’ eyes daring him to challenge her. When none came, she took the boy into the back room. “Let’s get you into fresh pants, won’t that feel better?”
“Yes, Miss Abby. Is Papa gonna die?” Charlie asked, throat working as he swallowed back the fear in his words.
“Your mama’s lookin’ after him,” Abby said, pulling a pair of pants off the shelf, holding them up to his waist. “Now these look like they’ll fit.”
Helping the young boy out of his soiled pants, Abby kept an eye on the doorway. “Shh,” she whispered putting a finger up to her lips. “Charlie, you are such a brave boy. How would you like to be a deputy just for today?”
Charlie’s fallen face brightened. “Like Gabe?”
“Yes, like Gabe.” Abby glanced out the doorway again, making sure their captors weren’t paying her any attention. She hurried over to the window, motioning for Charlie to come to her. “Now, listen very carefully. I want you to crawl out of the window. Go straight over to our place and get on one of the mules. Ride as fast as you can to your house and find a somewhere to hide where no one will find you. Do you understand, Charlie?
Charlie nodded, then climbed out the window with Abby’s help. Once she saw him run along the tree line in the direction of her cabin, she silently closed the window.
“You get some rest now, Charlie. I’ll come wake you when supper’s ready,” Abby called out loud enough to be heard by the outlaws in the front. She ran her hands down the front of the apron, took a deep breath, and walked out to the front of the trading post.
Please Lord, guide Charlie safely to the house where he can hide. And bring Gabe here as soon as you can.
Gabe rode along the trail beside the coach. Logan sat next to the driver with a shotgun draped over his knee, while Bass kept watch on the east side of the trail. So far, the ride had been uneventful, and Gabe was surprised by the lack of complaints from the passengers. It was a hot and dusty day. The faint call of a bird came from somewhere on the plains. A light wind out of the south hit Gabe in the face, causing him to pull the brim of his hat over his eyes.
Bass spurred his horse up to the driver, said something, and the coach came to a rolling stop. He glanced quickly over at Gabe then rode off toward the lone rider about a half-mile to the east.
“Why have we stopped?” Manchester demanded, sticking his head out the window.
“I’m not sure, sir. I’ll ask the driver.” Gabe rode up next to the driver’s box.
“What’s going on?” Gabe flexed his fingers around the reins, an empty dark hole widening in the pit of stomach. “It’s not safe for us to be sitting out in the open like this while he goes off for a social visit with whoever that rider is.”
“Reeves said to stop, give the horses a rest and the Manchesters a chance to stretch their legs.” Logan shrugged. “You know better than anyone the man does strange things, but he is always successful, isn’t he, Gabe?”
Gabe grunted, reluctantly dismounted, then swung the coach door open. “Everything’s okay folks. Now would be a good time to get up and move a bit but stay out of the brush and near the stage. It’s hot and the rattlers could be cooling under a rock or in brush.”
“My daddy’s a doctor, mister,” the little Manchester boy said with a snip in his tiny voice. “Ain’t no rattler gonna hurt me.”
“Well, then, that’s a good thing to know you are a brave boy.” Gabe nodded then walked Spade to the back of the stagecoach to keep an eye on Bass. Whoever was out there he’d found it important enough to stop their progress. They couldn’t be far from Fred now. Gabe guessed maybe another ten miles or so and he’d be home holding Abby in his arms.
The longing he felt for her surprised him every time he thought of her. He needed to feel the warmth of her body. To feel their baby move within the layers of her swollen belly. Gabe couldn’t wait to count each little toe and finger when the time came. To share her pain in childbirth as best he could. Both of them molding their son into a fine young man.
Sure, at first he didn’t know how to handle the fact that he, of all people, was going to be a father. Taking an older woman with no children for a bride that he’d hoped to be barren was one thing, but a child? A child had been an entity far from his plans. He wasn’t sure when the deck of cards had been changed and stacked with fatherhood.
After he’d come to his senses, he knew having both Abby and the baby gave him a second chance to live a life he’d dreamed of as a young man. All he wanted was to see Abby’s smiling face and breath the scent of lavender on her soft skin.
But he had to get home first and the sooner the better. Stopping wasn’t going to accomplish that.
Gabe looked up at the sound of hoofbeats across the hard land to see Bass heading back to the stagecoach. Walking over to the side of the coach, Gabe held the door open.
“Okay, folks, looks like we’ll be on our way. Please get on board.” Gabe watched the little ones, followed by Mrs. Manchester, climb up into the coach. Dr. Manchester paused for a moment, scowled, then nodded as he stepped up into the stage.
Gabe closed the door, making sure it was secure. If they needed to hightail it out of there the last thing they needed was for that door to swing open and someone to fall out. Mounting Spade, he rode out to meet Bass.
“Mind telling me what that was all about?” Gabe asked, reining to a stop next to Bass.
“That was one of my scouts. He found several of the Evans gang ready to ambush us a few miles up. Fortunately, they won’t be doing much harm now.” Bass grinned, as he let his horse catch its breath.
“Great, that means we should have a clear path all the way to Fred. Then tomorrow this family can move on to Texas.” Every muscle in Gabe’s body relaxed all at once. A giddy feeling, like a young man going on his first hunt, crept into him.
Bass moved in next to Gabe close enough that all he’d have to do was reach out and grab Gabe’s holstered gun. Gabe had Spade take a side step away from Bass, giving himself room to move.
“Bass, you know better than to crowd a man and his gun. What aren’t you telling me?”
“There’s one more thing. They found little Charlie Cook on one of your mules about a mile from your place. The boy said he was a deputy just like Marshal Hawkins. The boy said his pa was shot, and Miss Abby helped him out the window, telling him to go home and find a place to hide until someone came for him.” Bass’s words were quiet and said with intention. “He’s going back to keep an eye on the post. There’s a brave watching over Charlie at the Cook’s place.”
“The hell you say! I’m leaving without you, Bass. Now!” Gabe turned Spade’s head then took off at a gallop straight for Fred. And Abby.
No matter to Gabe if Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves shouted for him or not. His words were lost. Gabe rode the black quarter horse at a run. Giving the horse its head, it felt the urgency in Gabe’s body and stretched out at a full gallop.
Visions of Walter
Cook lying dead on the floor of the trading post with Millie sobbing over him and Abby trying to calm her flooded his mind. Then there was Abby huddled with Millie in a corner of the trading post frightened out of their wits. One of Abby being mishandled by one of the outlaws spurred the surge of blood in his veins.
“Yaw!” Gabe yelled, slapping Spade on the shoulders with the reins.
I’ll kill the bastards if they touch her!
12
“How’s Walter?” Abby knelt next to Millie, handing her a clean cloth to hold over the bullet wound. “Keep it as clean as you can, Millie.”
“I think the bleeding has stopped, but he hasn’t come to again.” Millie’s smile quivered with false bravery. Her unconscious husband’s head lay cradled in her lap. “Where’s Charlie?”
“I sent him home,” Abby whispered, patting her friend on an arm. Standing, she moved around to the front of the counter leaving the Cooks in what Abby felt had to be a relatively safe place. Sooner or later one of the outlaws would be asking about the boy, hopefully not before help arrived. But it was getting late. The sun would begin to set soon and the chances of the stage arriving before the darkness came was slight.
Jesse Evans stood looking out the window, his head moving from side to side. “That stage should be here before long. Once the passengers get inside, we’ll tie everyone up and leave with the stage and everything in it. Since there’s not a town for miles, no reason to leave these fine people with a way to get help.”
“Why leave anyone alive, Jesse? They’re all witnesses,” Tom pointed out, spitting a stream of tobacco into the spittoon on the floor. “We could take the women for a bit of fun and—”
“Shut up, Tom! We ain’t got time for you to put your seed into no woman,” Billy squawked from his perch near the stove. Of the three outlaws, he seemed to be the orneriest.
“Hell, Billy. It’s been a while. I need some relief,” Tom whined, pushing away from the table.
“Then get your ass outside in the outhouse for a piece and take care of your needs,” Jesse ordered. “I’ll not put up with you talkin’ filth around these respectable ladies.”
Grumbling, Tom stepped outside the door and headed toward the stable where a small outhouse stood.
“Sorry, ladies,” Jesse smirked, looking a tad less than sincere. “Tom is a Chapter short of a dime store novel sometimes. He needs to take some pressure off his pickle, then he’ll be right as rain.”
“That’s not all he needs,” Abby suggested, glaring at the two men left in the post. “You all need a good dose of manners and rehabilitation time in the local jailhouse!”
Jesse grabbed her by the arm. Instinctively, she swung out leaving a bright red mark across his cheek. Her heart skipped a beat, the blow doing little to deter the man’s hold on her.
“Keep your hands off of me.” Abby struggled to pull out of the vice grip of fingers. “You’re hurting me.”
Jesse sneered, his eyes bright and deadly. “Good, then maybe you’ll do as I say from now on.”
“You’ve got another thing coming if you believe that for one minute,” Abby bit back, her jaw tightly set.
“We’ll see about that. Let’s see what you’ll do to protect a child, shall we?” Jesse smirked, the lines in his face hard with determination. “Billy, go in the back and get the boy!”
Billy nodded then marched into the back of the trading post “The boy’s gone!” he yelled, standing in the doorway with a pillow and blanket in his hands.
“Gone? How—” Jesse jerked on Abby’s arm almost pulling it from its socket. “Where is the boy?”
Abby grinned at him through the pain his tightening grip delivered. “Far from you reaching him!”
Her chest clinched with fear diminishing the bravado of a moment ago. What if Charlie was hanging around outside? The outlaws would surely find him and probably use him against them.
“Damn woman! Billy, go fetch Tom. Then the two of you go looking for the kid. Start in the barn, a boy that young has to be hiding nearby,” Jesse demanded, forcing Abby down in a chair.
“Do you really think they’ll find Charlie?” Millie asked from behind the counter.
“For your sake and that of your husband’s, my men damn well better find the brat,” Jesse hissed between clinched teeth. His eyes were cold and full of a darkness that made Abby shiver. Would he really hurt an innocent child just to prove a point?
Millie gasped her eyes full of fright. “No-o-o-o!”
“Don’t worry, Millie, I’m sure those two idiots won’t be able to find a clever seven-year-old boy who knows this area like the back of his hand,” Abby offered, her gaze darting back to Jesse.
He seemed nervous, worried as far as Abby could tell by the way he shifted about from one leg to another. Maybe he believed Charlie had gotten away. The boy better have done as she told him and hightailed it home to hide. If not, she’d never forgive herself if something happened to Charlie.
“You’ll hold your tongue, woman!” Jesse demanded from his station at the window. “What is taking them so long? They should have found him by now.”
Jesse yanked Abby out of the chair, pointing his gun at Millie. “You try anything, and this baby won’t live any longer than its mother.”
Abby tried to yank her arm away, but the more she struggled the tighter his grip became. She was practically dragged out the door and across the porch by an elbow. Her heart hammered in her bosom as they rounded the corner of the post. Spade stood among the team of horses meant for the next stage.
Dear God, he’s back!
Jesse yanked her to an abrupt stop. There in the corral, plain as day, Tom and Billy were tied to a post, limp as wet rags. Their heads hanging off to the side, eyes closed, and gags in their mouths.
Abby looked at Jesse, a smile on her face. “My husband is home.”
“Get your hands off my wife!” Gabe yelled from the hay loft, the buffalo rifle Walter kept hidden there resting against his shoulder. “You heard me. Let go of my wife!” Gabe fired a warning shot that buzzed past the outlaws.
“Gabe!” Abby let out a scream of surprise. Gabe knew with all his heart no matter how brave she acted she had to be scared as a rabbit.
“The next one will be between your eyes,” Gabe warned, reloading the rifle.
“Will you risk her life as well as the baby’s?” Evans held a gun to Abby’s head.
Abby squared her shoulders, her hand clenching and unclenching. “Don’t listen to him, Gabe. He won’t hurt me!”
“Shut up, woman.” Evans snarled, grabbing her cheeks and pinching her mouth shut. “You have no idea what I’m capable of doing. And neither does your man.”
Gabe felt his body tremble with rage. He had to find a way to distract Evans. Get his attention away from Abby for a moment, that’s all he’d need to get a clear shot.
“You really think I’ll miss and give you a chance to pull that trigger?” Gabe called out, hoping Evans would nibble at a little distraction bait.
“I can hear it in your voice. You’re scared.” Evans looked around quickly, moving closer to the horses. “Scared I’m gonna hurt your woman.”
All Gabe would have to do was whistle. Spade would breach the fence, taking the herd and Evans with him. He wasn’t willing to take the chance of Abby and the baby getting caught among the runaway horses though.
“What do you want, Evans?” Gabe crouched down, hoping to get a better angle to take a shot.
“You to come out in the open and face me like a man for starters,” Evans called out, gathering Abby in his arms. Her back against Evans’ chest was a shield against any gunfire.
“Never took you to be the kind to hide behind the skirts of a woman, Evans.” Gabe moved to his left and climbed down from the hayloft and toward the back of the barn.
“I’m not. But I’d also like to know who is shooting at me!” Evans cocked his head to one side, taking a few steps backward. “And who the man is willing to put his lovely wife an
d unborn child in danger.”
Gabe slipped out the back door of the barn, stealing round the south end along the tree line. If he could reach the outhouse, he might get a clear shot at Evans.
“Marshal Hawkins at your service,” Gabe yelled, stepping out from a cluster of trees and tall brush.
“Ya know who you’re dealing with, Hawkins?” Evans laughed, a slow smile of confidence creeping across his face.
Gabe moved in behind the outhouse and assessed his vantage point. He’d been right. From here he could get a clear shot without endangering Abby—as long as Evans didn’t change position that is.
“I would guess Jesse Evans, leader of ‘The Boys.’ And since the rest of your little gang are all being held as prisoners in one way or another, you are left here on your own.” Gabe lifted the rifle, getting Evans in his sight.
“My men are smarter than that!” Evans shouted, his easy confidence dwindling away.
“As smart as the two tied up in the corral?” Gabe baited again. “That’s not very smart, is it?”
Evans backed up toward the trading post, dragging Abby along with him. An arm was tight around her neck and shoulders while the gun in his hand roamed from side to side slowly.
“You’re a coward, marshal. Come out and face me like a man,” Evans challenged.
“Let my wife go and I’ll show myself. Until then I’d watch my back if I were you,” Gabe warned. “I won’t give you another chance to give up.”
Evans swung around, his arm loosening around Abby.
“Drop, Abby!” Gabe yelled then stepped out from behind the outbuilding. Abby jumped out of Evans’ grasp, falling hard on her side on the ground.
BOOM!
Gabe fired, winging Evans in his shooting arm. Evans rolled, reached for his fallen firearm. The gun in his hand he pulled the trigger, barely missing Abby but catching Gabe in the leg. Gabe collapsed, his gun still in his hand, and shot back hitting the outlaw in the shoulder.
The sound of horses thundered into Fred. The last thing Gabe remembered seeing was a blur of white standing between Abby and Evans.
Brides Along the Chisholm Trail Boxset Page 22
