A Journey of the Heart Collection

by Colleen Coble

Her gaze touched on Isaac Liddle’s open and honest face. She didn’t know if she could ever feel as strongly about him as she did Rand, but she had to move on with her life. Somehow.

  Officers transported the girl from the ambulance into the open coffin. Colonel Maynadier contributed a pair of gauntlets to keep Ah-ho-appa’s hands warm. Rand added red flannel and Jacob put a pair of moccasins into the coffin.

  The Sioux women walked to the coffin. Each whispered something to Ah-ho-appa and dropped a small gift inside. When the women were done, Sarah approached and gazed down into her friend’s casket, built by the fort’s carpenter. Her long, raven-black hair was braided with bright-red ribbons and lay draped over her shoulders and across the soft white elk skin that covered her.

  Tears filled Sarah’s eyes. “Good-bye, my friend.” She dropped one of her brooches into the casket.

  The colonel had arranged for both Sioux and Christian funerals. When the ceremonies were over, Sarah pushed through the crowd while Rand followed her.

  “That was a nice thing to do,” he whispered. “You’ve probably made a friend for life. I know it’s hard for you, Sarah. It’s all so different out here. You’re used to activity and fun. It’s pretty dreary confined to those small rooms all the time and never being allowed to go outside the fort. If the weather holds, how about going skating on the Laramie River tomorrow after worship services?”

  Sarah nodded eagerly. Could he really want to spend some time with her, or was he just sorry for her?

  “Jessica’s been wanting to go for weeks.”

  Sarah’s heart clenched. He didn’t seem to hear her quick intake of breath as he offered his arm and escorted her back to her quarters. He’d made it clear where his loyalties were.

  Sunday morning was bright and sunny, with the mercury hovering near twenty-five degrees though it was already March. Shouts of laughter and squeals echoed through the trees as Sarah laced her skates. She’d worn her warmest dress over a pair of Joel’s trousers. Her brother was already out on the ice with his friends, and she smiled as he went zipping by with his blond hair flying in the wind.

  Rand skated by with Jessica laughing up at him, and Sarah’s heart squeezed. She got up and tucked her hands into mittens, then skated along the frozen surface of the river. She refused to let the circumstances spoil her day. Rand was going to marry Jessica, and she was determined to be fine with it.

  She linked hands with Amelia and skated until Jacob came to claim his wife for a race. Her chest burned from exertion so she skated over to rest on a rock where she’d left her boots. The cold seeped into her skin after a few minutes, and she stood to warm up. There was a movement in the trees, and she squinted at the shadows.

  Was that Jessica talking with Ben?

  Something about their furtive behavior made her frown. She hadn’t seen Ben since Ah-ho-appa’s funeral, though she’d half expected him to accost her when she was out and about.

  She wished she could hear what they were talking about. She stared at her skates. If she took them off, she might be able to move more silently in their direction. And where was Rand? Did he know his fiancée was with Ben?

  She sat back down on the rock and untied her skates, then slipped them off. With her boots on, she moved as quietly as she could into the trees. The deep timbre of Ben’s voice grew plainer as she leaned against a tree and strained to hear.

  “I have the plan in place.”

  “I knew you were the right man to talk to.” Jessica’s words could just be made out over the wind. “I just want her out of the way. You won’t hurt her, will you? Rand would never forgive me.”

  “Of course not. I only want the best for her myself.”

  Who were they talking about? Sarah wished she dared to get closer, but she’d certainly be discovered. She tipped her ear toward the voices again.

  “There’s no great rush as long as you get it done,” Jessica said.

  “I’ll get it done.”

  Footsteps came closer, and Sarah would be found if she lingered. If only she knew who they were talking about. Ben never wanted anyone’s good but his own, so she feared for whomever he had in his sights next.

  Rand glanced around the throng of people skating along the Laramie River. Jessica had been here just a few minutes ago, but she had disappeared, probably chatting with an admirer or two. Most of the soldiers envied him his fiancée, but he was beginning to weary of her constant jealousy about Sarah.

  He saw a flash of blue on his left and turned to see Sarah skating toward him. Her green eyes held confusion, and she looked away when she saw him.

  He skated to meet her and offered her his arm. “Care to skate with me? Jessica is nowhere to be found.”

  She bit her lip, then put her hand on his arm. “Of course.”

  Tendrils of her red-gold hair had escaped their pins and curled around her face. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea, but he wanted to be polite since she was alone. They pushed off from the shore and joined the skaters in the middle of the river.

  “Where’s Jessica?” she asked after a long moment.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe her mother wanted to talk to her.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  He wasn’t sure about the tone in her voice. Was that a challenge? “Did you see her?”

  She shot a glance at him. “How well does she know Ben?”

  He frowned. “Ben? I don’t think she’s met him at all.”

  She stumbled a little as she skated. “This is probably none of my business.”

  “It’s a little late now. You saw her with Ben?”

  She nodded and pointed with a mittened hand. “Back in the trees. They were talking about some plan.”

  “What plan?”

  “I don’t know. They didn’t say, but they seemed to be well acquainted.”

  “I’ll ask her about it. I don’t like her spending any kind of time with Croftner. Maybe she doesn’t know how many lies he’s told and how he’s wrecked my life.”

  She stopped in the middle of the river and grasped both his hands in hers. “Did he ruin your life, Rand? When you say it like that, I almost hear regret in your voice.”

  He wished he could forget about the way their hearts had seemed knit together by the Almighty. Forget the way her hair smelled and the way her lips tasted.

  THREE

  Rand walked Jessica home in the twilight. Her cheeks were red from the cold, and her eyes sparkled. And no wonder. Nearly every soldier on the river had asked her to skate with him. He found he didn’t have a speck of jealousy about it either.

  Seeing Sarah with Isaac was another matter.

  He stopped on her porch and pressed her hand. “I’ll be gone tomorrow for a few days. I have wood detail.”

  She gave a pretty pout. “I’ll miss you.”

  “Will you?” He stared down at her. Would she tell him the truth if he asked her about her conversation with Ben?

  She tipped her head to one side. “Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have a smudge on my cheek?”

  “I didn’t know you knew Ben Croftner.”

  Her eyes widened. “I know everyone at this post, Rand. Surely you’re not jealous. Papa asked me to deliver a message to Ben if I saw him. He was at the river so I did as my father asked. Was that wrong?”

  “Of course not.”

  She was lying. He could see it in the way she cast her gaze at her boots, then looked back up at him with a calculated smile. She was so used to using her beauty to blind the men around her.

  “Ben lied about me many times. I don’t like him
, and I don’t trust him. I’d rather you never speak to him.”

  Color tinged her cheeks. “Very well, if you’re going to pout about it. I’ll tell my father to deliver his own message next time.”

  He squeezed her mittened hand. “Ben hurts anyone he comes in contact with. I don’t want you to be one of his casualties.”

  Her expression cleared and she laughed, then went up on her toes to brush a kiss over his cheek. “I love it when you’re possessive. There’s no one I want but you, Rand.”

  He released her hand. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

  Her eyes were hurt and questioning as she turned to go inside. He had handled that badly. It wasn’t her fault he hadn’t realized there was more to a happy marriage than similar goals.

  Two days later the afternoon sun warmed Rand’s face as he led a detachment into the forest for wood. It had to be close to seventy degrees, and winter had given up without a murmur. Pools of water and mud stood where snowbanks had once piled.

  They had four huge stacks of wood cut and were about to load it onto the mules and travois when loud yells sounded from down in the ravine to their right.

  “Injuns!” Rooster grabbed his rifle and vaulted onto his horse.

  There was a wild scramble as the rest of the men clambered onto their mounts and followed Rooster’s mad charge.

  “There’s only three of them,” Rand muttered as he fell into line. But the rest of the Sioux were hiding. As the main force leaped out from behind bushes and rocks, the charge of the cavalry faltered. Instead of three, there were at least twenty-five.

  “It’s a trap,” Captain Brown shouted. “Retreat! Retreat!”

  But Rand was in the front line, and retreat would invite an arrow in the back. He slid off his horse and flung himself down behind a boulder. He took aim and began shooting desperately, pushing away the reality of his own situation. He would get his company safely away, then he’d worry about how to get out himself.

  Rooster wheeled around on his horse and fired at a group of Sioux crouching behind a rock. “Git out of there, boy! It’s better to say ‘here’s where he ran’ than ‘here’s where he died.’ ” When Rand kept firing, Rooster swore, then galloped away, still shouting for Rand to run.

  Something bit into his flesh, and Rand grabbed his shoulder. His fingers dripped with blood when he pulled his hand away. A bullet? But these Indians just seemed to have bows and arrows. He heard another shot off to his left and felt a fiery sting on his left temple. Then darkness claimed him.

  When Rand awoke he was lying beside a fire. He groaned and tried to move, but his hands and feet were bound.

  “So you’re finally awake.”

  He looked up at the familiar voice. Croftner? Here? Where were the Indians? He shook his head to clear it. He must still be asleep. But a hard boot in his ribs convinced him he wasn’t dreaming.

  “So we meet again, old friend.” Ben stooped and sneered in his face. A lock of white-blond hair fell across his gray eyes. “Did you really think I’d let you get away with taking my girl? But I’m going to do worse to you, Campbell. When I get through with you, you’ll wish that bullet had killed you outright.”

  “How—how did you get me away from the Indians?”

  Ben smiled, but the expression was a cruel one. “I paid them to stage an attack. They were just Laramie loafers out for enough money to buy some liquor.” He leaned forward and spat in Rand’s face. “Are you ready to die, Campbell? You’ll pray for death before I’m through with you.” His lips twisted.

  Rand held his gaze. “You can’t frighten me with heaven, Ben.”

  Ben gaped at him, then stood with an angry oath. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten religion,” he jeered. “If that doesn’t beat all! Hey, Labe, Rand thinks he’s going to heaven.” He sneered and spat on the ground. “But he’s going to find out what hell’s really like before we’re through.”

  Rand turned his head as Labe shuffled from behind a rock. Labe’s dirty-blond hair fell across his face as he fastened his suspenders. “Sorry to see you’re mixed up in this, Labe.” Labe’s pale-blue eyes widened, but he said nothing.

  Ben laughed again, an ugly laugh with no mirth in it. “ ‘Too bad you’re mixed up with this, Labe,’ ” he mimicked. He tossed a shovel toward his younger brother. “Get digging.”

  Labe cast one agonized glance toward Rand’s prone figure, then picked up the shovel and began to dig a small hole. He took a stake out of the knapsack beside the fire and pounded it into the hole, all the while keeping his eyes averted from Rand’s gaze.

  Rand realized what Ben was planning. He was going to stake him out in the sun. A slow death, but a sure one with no water. The nights would be cold too, even if the days were warm. All he could do was pray he died with dignity.

  A few minutes later Labe finished his task and threw the shovel down, then wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. “I’m done, Ben.” He glanced at Rand, then looked away.

  “I’m not blind. Grab his feet.” Ben grabbed Rand by his wounded arm, and the men dragged him toward the two posts.

  Rand clenched his teeth to keep from crying out from the pain. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead as he fought to retain consciousness.

  Ben knelt and wrapped a strip of rawhide around Rand’s left wrist. “Don’t just stand there—help me, you fool,” he snapped.

  Labe shuffled forward and knelt at Rand’s feet. Ben grinned as he wound rawhide strips around Rand’s other wrist. “Think of me with Sarah as you’re lying out here, old friend. Stage two of my plan is being put into action right now. Your little fiancée won’t be too thrilled with this part of the plan, but her plan for Sarah was pure genius.”

  “What are you talking about?” Rand groaned as his wounded arm was wrenched above his head and bound to the stake.

  “Your little missy cooked up a pretty good scheme to help me get Sarah. It’s really what gave me the idea for this little rendezvous.”

  So this was the plan Sarah had heard them talking about. He should have dug into this more. “What about Sarah?”

  “You just stew about it while you’re dying. But you can go knowing I’ll take good care of Sarah.”

  Labe tied Rand’s ankles to the stakes, then stood up, dusting his hands.

  “If you leave me here, Labe, you’ll never get my blood off your hands,” Rand whispered.

  “Shut up.” Ben kicked him in the side, then turned to his brother. “Get our things and let’s get going.”

  Labe’s mouth worked soundlessly, and he hesitated. For an instant Rand thought he was going to defy his brother, but in the end, Labe dropped his head and shuffled off to obey Ben.

  The two brothers swung onto their horses and looked down at Rand lying spread-eagled on the rocky ground. “So long, Campbell.” Ben’s smile was triumphant. “The best man always wins, you know. You were never ruthless enough.”

  Rand watched as they rode off, biting down on the pleading words struggling to escape. Wouldn’t Croftner love it if he begged for mercy? He turned his head away from the direct glare of the sun and began to pray against whatever they had cooked up for Sarah.

  After two days with no water, Rand was delirious. He muttered incoherently, sometimes shouting, sometimes screaming. The nights were bad too. The warm spring days plunged into cold nights and he shuddered with the cold.

  At one point he realized he was quoting the twenty-third Psalm. “ ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.’ ” He was surprised he still remembered it after all these years. He’d learned it at his grandma’s knee when he was eight. But this was the valley of the shadow
of death, and somehow, he wasn’t afraid to die. Something inside kept him from giving into the fever that racked his body.

  The morning of the third day, he awoke relatively clearheaded after a rough night. His lips felt thick and his tongue filled his mouth. Today he would probably die. But at least he could see the land he loved with clear eyes one last time. His eyes closed several times, but he forced them open. This time when he fell asleep, he didn’t think he would ever awaken. But the lack of water began to take a heavy toll, and he slipped into delirium for what must be the last time. His final thought was of Sarah, and he prayed for God to watch over her.

  FOUR

  Rand cried out and thrashed as the cooling night woke him, shivering as the chill breeze swept over him. He vaguely remembered a dark face swimming before his eyes off and on. Someone forcing water down his parched throat. He tried to move and found his hands and feet were unbound. He looked to his right and saw that Ranger was tied to a tree nearby.

  He sat up slowly, his head spinning. Beside him lay a skin plump with water. He took it and drank greedily, then wiped his mouth. A buffalo robe covered the lower half of his body. Puzzled, he looked around. Who had cut him free? He frowned and tried to concentrate on the dark face at the edge of his memory, but nothing more would come.

  Where were Ben and Labe? He looked around slowly as his head continued to clear. The sun lay low in the sky. Only an hour or so of daylight was left. He swallowed another swig of water and shook his head to clear it, then stood. He swayed, then staggered toward his horse.

  His mouth watered at the sight of jerky slung over his saddle. He stuffed some into his mouth as he leaned his head against Ranger’s flank. Fortified with food and water, he forced himself to swing up into the saddle. He swayed and caught at the pommel to steady himself. He had to make it. Sarah depended on it. He remembered what Ben had said about Jessica, and he had to get back to make sure Sarah was all right. And Jessica. Surely she couldn’t be involved with a man like Croftner. Ben had to have said that to upset him.