Wynter's Bride

by Christine Sterling

  “Here,” he said tossing her a bear skin, similar to the one he was wearing. “I can’t believe these idiots didn’t give you a blanket.” He kneeled in front of her. “You aren’t hurt, are you?” Ivy just looked at him. When she didn’t reply, his eyes hardened, and a loud voice boomed through the cave. “Are you? Answer me when I talk to you, girl.”

  Ivy gave a little cry and pulled the fur up to her chin. She shook her head. “No… I’m not hurt. Just cold.”

  He seemed to calm down. “Wrap yourself up in that fur. The temperature is dropping, and it won’t do any good to have my prize frozen before we can send a telegram to your father.”

  “My father?” she repeated.

  The man covered in furs leaned in towards her, “You are Wilbur Holiday’s daughter, aren’t you?” Ivy nodded slightly. “Good. Good. I’m sure your father would be more than happy to pay for the safe return of his only daughter.”

  “Who are you and where am I?” she demanded.

  The man in the furs laughed and hit his companion on the chest. “Isn’t that funny. She doesn’t know who we are. Should we educate the little lady?” The men murmured their agreement.

  He knelt before her and reached out to touch her cheek. Ivy recoiled under his touch and he grabbed her chin, squeezing it until she gave a little cry. “I ask the questions here, remember? It’s rude to speak unless you are spoken to, I don’t want to hear another word out of you unless I specifically ask you something. Do we understand?” Ivy nodded, and he released her chin, standing so he was over her again.

  “Miss Holiday, let me introduce myself. I am Clyde Thorpe.” He gave an exaggerated bow and motioned to his men. “You have been taken by the Thorpe gang.”

  Ivy gulped. She had heard stories of the infamous Clyde Thorpe and his gang of mercenaries. She would teach reading by having her class read the wanted posters the marshal in San Francisco would provide her. Her class knew all about the infamous Clyde Thorpe and the men that ran with him.

  Clyde was legendary throughout the Rocky Mountains for thieving and killing in Wyoming, Idaho and the Montana Territory. He made his name by stealing anything he could get his hands on and murdering anyone who stood in his way.

  That still didn’t explain what he wanted with her. He must have read her thoughts because he quickly continued, “You are going to be held for ransom until your father wires a significant amount of money to the bank in Glenda. Then we will ride in and collect it, along with everything else in the bank before disappearing into the mountains.”

  “My father will never pay it,” she spat at him. His arm flew so quickly she didn’t see it until her head flew back and her cheek started burning. She quickly cupped her cheek, cursing the tears that were starting to leak from her eyes.

  “I told you not to speak unless you were spoken to. Did you hear me ask you a question that required a response?”

  Ivy was so stunned her mouth opened and shut a few times before she simply shook her head.

  “Good.” He pointed to the same man that greeted Ivy in the snow. “Jackson, get her something to eat. We need to take care of our guest.” He turned to his men. “No one touches her or goes near her. I’m sure her father wouldn’t pay for damaged goods. Do I make myself clear?”

  There were some groans of protest, but eventual concurrence in the group. The men broke apart and left Ivy curled up under the bear skin trying not to sob out loud.

  ☐☐☐

  The tracks were covered with the new round of snow, but there were enough footprints that had hardened in the icy mixture to leave a trail for Seb and David to follow.

  They made it to the first ridge when the horse prints disappeared. Seb turned to David. “We’ve lost the trail. My thought is that they are hid up in the caves just outside the canyon. If they took her there, it would be better if only one of us went in. It is going to be treacherous and extremely icy.”

  “I can go,” David said.

  Seb lifted his hand, “No, I’ll go. I need to do this myself.”

  “What do you plan on doing?” David asked.

  “You know exactly what I plan on doing. I’m going to take him out and as many of his gang with him. I don’t want your blood on my hands if he does something stupid.”

  “But…” David started to protest.

  “I need you to head back to town and make sure that Doc is ready for whatever I bring back with me to town.”

  “You convinced you can get her out of there?”

  Seb nodded. He had to be sure.

  David tilted his hat and turned his horse back towards the town. Seb breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn’t know what he would be riding into, but he knew many of the traps that Clyde might use around the canyon. It would be better if he didn’t have to try to explain Clyde’s madness to his friend.

  The last time he had tracked Clyde had been about a year after his wife was brutally murdered. After Lacey’s death he spent much time in the bottle, until the need for revenge took over. It was all consuming. He was obsessed with avenging her murder and spent a year trying to find Clyde, but it was as if he had disappeared into thin air. Finally, his rage and hatred became too much for him to take. He didn’t like staying in their house in town. Everything reminded him of her. He sold the house to David and moved back to the mountains.

  He couldn’t bear to be in the cabin they had together, so he built a second one higher up the mountain. It was closer to the river and very difficult to find. He could live off the land and be alone. It suited him just fine.

  The sound of a crack brought him back to his current surroundings. Joker must have stepped on a twig. Seb would have to pay more attention as he entered the canyon area. His thoughts turned back to Clyde.

  If Clyde was back in the area, then he had to be in the canyon. There was a series of small caves along the north end. Seb needed to be careful because the canyon was surrounded by ice and snow and the smallest noise could cause a mini-avalanche and the trail would become blocked. Seb wouldn’t want to be snowed in with Clive until Spring.

  He made his way around the thinning trails and rocky overhangs until something stopped him in his tracks. The smell of fire.

  They had to be there – the smoke was coming in his direction. He dismounted Joker and placed the beast’s reins on a bush. Feeling for the ammunition that was still in his pocket, he grabbed his rifle from the scabbard and headed to take a closer look.

  There were at least six of them at the entrance of the cave. Seb couldn’t see much else because it was dark. There was no sign of the woman. So, he hunkered down and waited for the sun to rise.

  Chapter 4

  The feel of ice melting against his neck brought Seb out of his drowsy state. He had remained awake watching the cave for any signs of movement. He wasn’t going to go in unless he could guarantee the woman was there and still alive.

  If she wasn’t, he would just inform the local marshals and they could deal with Clyde’s gang. He had no desire to take on a posse of a dozen outlaws when all he was interested in was their leader.

  Suddenly he saw her. She was being led away from the cave with a rope around her hands. She had a bear skin covering her. At least Clyde didn’t want her to freeze.

  Seb realized why they had taken her. Not only was she Wilbur Holiday’s daughter, she was beautiful. Her long blonde hair was starting to fall out of the knot on top of her head. Her skin was porcelain and her lips were the color of ripe peaches in the summer time. Yes, she was beautiful.

  She would fetch a nice price in Kansas City. Seb didn’t pretend to be ignorant of what happened to some of the women kidnapped by these gangs. They would be sold as slaves to the local Indians, or they would end up in the brothels in the mining towns being established in the West. They would become hooked on opium and would never be able to leave the life they were thrust into.

  He moved from the ledge and made his way down, sliding on patches of ice to the area just above the cave. The woman h
ad disappeared behind a bush and her guard waited close by.

  A voice calling out of the cave made him pause. It appeared that everyone was starting to wake up. He moved a little closer and ducked behind a large rock next to the cave opening.

  Two men appeared outside the cave – one short and bulky, the other tall and lanky. The tall man turned around and Sebastian had to hold back a gasp. It was Clyde Thorpe. He didn’t look much different from the last time he had seen him five years ago. Sebastian felt his blood boil, as he willed himself to stay crouched behind the rock.

  Even though he wanted to point his rifle at Clyde’s head and pull the trigger, he knew that it wasn’t the best time to do something like that. It would do no good for him nor the girl he was trying to rescue.

  A few more men appeared outside the cave. He heard Clyde give orders and about six of them went and jumped on their horses and headed out the south side of the canyon. Seb breathed a sigh of relief. They wouldn’t come across Joker given the direction they were headed.

  The girl, Clyde and the one remaining man that Seb could see went back in the cave. This might be easier than he thought. He could swoop in, kill Clyde and his henchman and then be out of there with the girl before anyone was the wiser.

  Within a few moments Clyde reappeared from the cave. He lifted his face to the sky and breathed in deeply. “Gentleman,” he called back into the cave. “We have company.”

  “What do you mean boss?” One of the men appeared, scratching his belly.

  “I can smell him. I want you to take the girl and make sure she is tied up nice and tight. I’m going to go get the boys and get them back here. They aren’t but a little bit up the way.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” The man disappeared back inside the cave. He watched Clyde mount a black steed and head after his gang.

  Seb watched until Clyde went behind a line of trees. He breathed a sigh of relief and moved from behind the rock to see if he could take a peek inside the cave.

  He looked inside to see that there were still two men inside the cave, both of which were sitting on the floor looking through a bag that appeared to be full of jewels. The girl was against the wall, her arms wrapped around herself.

  He thought about a distraction that he could make, thinking to what he had. He looked down at his rifle. He didn’t want to waste a bullet, but he didn’t see anything else he could use.

  Knowing that he didn’t have much time, he pointed his rifle up to the trees facing south. He could possibly get enough of an echo to cause the ice and snow to fall off the trees and block Clyde from returning with his gang.

  He took a breath and squeezed the trigger. The bullet left the gun with a loud bang. His shot was true and the branch along with all the snow fell, blocking the path.

  After shooting the tree he ran back to the boulder and ducked behind it, waiting for the men to come out of the cave. It only took a moment for them to appear. They looked around trying to find the source of the sound.

  “That sounded like a gun,” said one of the men.

  The other man, the one that Seb had seen escorting the woman to the bushes, grunted. “That means there is someone out there. We have to find them before the boss comes back,” he said, pointing to the trees.

  The man followed the noise, as the other followed. Seb thought it was strange that both men would leave the girl unattended, but these men didn’t seem like they were the smartest of Clyde’s gang. Before he could react, he heard a rustle inside the cave.

  Thinking that he had miscounted the number of men inside the cave, he kept his position only to see that it was the girl who came running out. She looked out of breath, her hair had fallen completely out of her bun and fell in waves around her shoulder. She turned her head and Seb’s eyes met her deep blue ones.

  She looked at him then her eyes darted around looking for an escape. Seb came out from the behind the rock and offered his hand to her. “I won’t hurt you,” he said, moving closer.

  She opened her mouth as if to scream. “Don’t,” Seb warned. “You’ll bring them back and possibly cause an avalanche. Let’s get out of here.” She seemed to think about it for a second too long, but finally put her hand in his. He dragged her away from the cave and down a trail back towards where he left Joker.

  “There they are!” A voice called from behind them. Seb looked and saw the two men pointing revolvers in their direction.

  “Duck and keep running. Stay behind the bushes,” Seb said, not letting go of her hand. The sound of a bullet whizzing past his head brought him up short. It was followed by another.

  Seb changed directions to lead the woman further into the canyon. If they could just get past the two boulders with the path between them, they would be safe.

  Seb looked to locate the men. They were reloading their revolvers. “Head towards those boulders. Go. Go. Go,” he whispered to the woman. She took off running, her feet slipping on the slick ground.

  Seb followed her, running backwards to keep his eye on the two men. He fired his rifle once more taking one of the men out. He had just reached the boulders and was slipping through the small crevice when he heard the sound of a shot hitting the rocks.

  The snow and ice started to groan. “Run!” he called to the woman in front of him. He could see she made it through the rocks and was now headed towards the forest. Another shot rang out.

  Seb felt the searing pain of the bullet as it hit his shoulder. He groaned and continued through the rocks, emerging on the other side.

  Taking out his Colt Peacemaker, he fired two shots into the rocks and the ice and snow came down, blocking the path they just used.

  Seb held his arm and he continued towards the trees, the sounds of cursing being heard from the canyon.

  When they were safe in the forest, he quickly caught up with her.

  “Let’s go this way,” he said, pointing to the area he had left Joker.

  “Who are you?” she demanded.

  “Your rescuer,” he growled, as he started to walk towards his horse.

  As he walked past her, she grasped at his arm. The pain exploded behind his eyes. He needed to get home and see to his wound. “Why should I follow you?” she asked.

  “You don’t have to. Follow the path and you can be in Belle all on your own. It will take about two hours walking. Just watch for the wolves and the slick spots.” He pointed down the mountain with his good arm.

  “You’d let me go alone?”

  “Don’t bother me none. If you don’t want to go alone, then you better follow me.” She stood there looking at him for a moment, before he said, “Look lady. My job was to get you out of the canyon. I wasn’t intending on getting shot, but now that I have been, I need to get back to my cabin, so I can deal with this. So, you can either follow me, or head down that mountain. Your choice.” He turned to leave.

  “You are insufferable,” she said, lifting her skirt so she could step through the snow.

  “And you are ungrateful. The least you could do is say thank you.”

  “Thank you. What’s your name?”

  “My name?”

  “Yes. I would at least like the name of the man that rescued me.”

  “Sebastian. Sebastian Wynter. You can call me Seb.”

  “Mr. Wynter, I’m Ivy Noelle Holiday.”

  Seb smirked. “Quite a mouthful, isn’t that?” Ivy didn’t respond.

  They arrived back to where Seb had left Joker. He was happily munching on some grass that poked through the snow. Seb quickly climbed up on his horse and extended his good arm for Ivy to climb behind him. She adjusted her skirt and placed her arms around his waist.

  Heat seared him where her arms held on and her body pressed against his back. He suppressed a groan.

  He clicked to Joker and they began the ride back to his cabin. His shoulder wasn’t hurting as much now. It may have been adrenaline running through his body, or shock setting in. He didn’t know. All he knew, was that for the first time in a long ti
me, he felt comfortable touching another human being.

  ☐☐☐

  The snow was starting to fall. It was sticking to Ivy’s hair and lashes. Her cheeks were feeling numb and she licked her lips to try to moisten them, which only resulted in them burning even more.

  She wished she had thought to grab that bear skin when she ran out of the cave. She was lucky she still had her wrap.