by Amy Field
“He makes you rob the banks doesn’t he?”
“Yeah. He says he’ll hurt me if Dalton doesn’t rob the banks. He worked at one a long time ago with my Pa so he knows how banks work. That’s where Jax got me from. My Pa’s bank.”
The boy blurted out everything in a rush. She watched as Dalton’s head jerked up to meet her gaze.
“Hush up Caleb and eat now.” His voice was stern and she watched with slight alarm as he looked at his younger brother. Caleb’s head had dropped with his words. It was apparent that the boy was sensitive. “We have some stuff to figure out today ok? I need you to have your strength about you. I might need some strong help today.”
The little boy looked up then and started smiling again.
“Alright.”
“Why don’t you just leave then?” She looked from one of them to the other and finally came to land on Dalton as he shook his head.
“It isn’t any of your concern but we can’t,” he said gruffly.
“Well, I don’t know why not,” she said matter of factly and chewed on her bacon.
Dalton laid his fork down and looked over at her then. “I refuse to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life, wondering when Jax is going to show up to extract his revenge for us leaving. I also won’t put Caleb in that kind of danger. We’ll get out of this,” he said impatiently.
“Yeah, but by that time, you will both be too old to care even about your lives or what to do with it. Caleb has options,” she replied, ready for an argument.
His fist came down on the table hard enough to make her wince. He glared over at her as he spoke, gritting his teeth as he did so. “Mark my words, Jax will have what’s coming to him and soon. Until then we will wait. I don’t want to talk any more about it.”
She suddenly felt a pity for the two of them, the protective brother and his sibling.
Leaning over, she gently placed her hand on top of his. “I understand Dalton. I have three sisters, and there is nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for them.” She watched as he stared down at their hands for a few seconds. Slowly she removed her hand from his and sat back to eat her breakfast. They continued to eat in silence.
The next few days passed slowly. Dalton refused to let her go outside unless he was with her, which was not that frequent and only in the back yard. He gradually opened up to her, and little by little she got to know him better. He still seemed serious and strained, but at least he smiled now and again. She spent most of her time inside playing games with Caleb or talking with him about their families. He confirmed what she thought, that Dalton was not what he seemed to her at first. As she got to know him better, it became clear he was a really good guy in a bad situation, with limited, difficult choices to make. She knew she could help, but she wasn't sure how. Not yet, anyway.
Chapter Nine: The Escape
Grace sat across from Caleb at the table and smiled. “So you think you got me, huh?”
“Yep.” He answered her with a smile and laid his cards down with a flourish of his arm. “Read em’ and weep honey,” he said with a slight tilt to his head.
She laughed at him then. “I think you have seen too many of them old men out there playing cards. You are starting to sound like them.”
“What’s it like at your ranch?” His question caught her off guard, and she smiled as she stared off into space.
“Well, it is beautiful and big. We have horses and cows and even a couple sheep and goats too.” She said. Her smile soon turned into a frown as she started to miss the home she had left so stupidly.
“Wow. That sounds amazing,” he said as his face turned into a smile. His eyes were wide with awe as he listened to her words.
The front door swung open, and Dalton strode through. His boots made a clicking on the hardwood floor as he made his way to the room they were in. “Okay. You two need to pack a few things. Well, Caleb you do, and I need to have a minute or two with Grace, please.”
The young boy nodded as he made his way outside. Dalton turned towards her then, and her eyes widened at the look he gave her. “What is going on Dalton?” She whispered, suddenly afraid of what he was going to say.
“Look, I don’t know who you are, well actually I do now after spending time with you.” He shook his head as if he was trying to clear it before he continued. “I need to ask a huge favor of you right now.”
Grace had a feeling she knew what he was going to ask as her eyes trailed to where Caleb had just gone.
“Yes. I need you to take Caleb. Take him home on the ranch with your family that you have talked about. I need him to be safe. To be ok. I will come for him as soon as I can.”
She nodded her head.
Then, unexpectedly, he took her in his arms. Before she knew what he was doing, his lips touched hers briefly and then he looked down at her for a moment.
“There are two horses out back. One may be a little familiar to you. Ride to the west and find the river. If you follow it, it’ll take you to town, and you can find your way home from there. Hurry now. Jax is set to be home in the morning, and I want you as far away from here as possible. Stop in the next town if you have to but stay to yourselves. Keep your hair up. I will get your clothes back to you so that the ride will be more comfortable.” His voice was rough as he laid out the plans for her. “There will be food in the bags on the horse. There is enough there for the both of you for a while. At least until you get home. Be careful.”
Grace looked down at the dress he had given her to wear. She hated dresses, but there had been nothing else for her to wear. The sun was beginning to set then, and she knew that it would be easier to get away and hide in the night.
“What about you?” Her eyes widened when she thought and realized that he wouldn’t be coming with them.
He avoided her gaze as he let her go from his arms. “I’m gonna wait until morning and lead them in the opposite direction.” He held his hand in the air as her mouth opened to object. “It will give you two more times. Besides, I ride better than any of them. Take care of my brother. I will be there soon. Wait for me. There is much we need to discuss.” Her voice caught at the intensity she read in his gaze. She suddenly felt a tingle, as if their embrace had awoken something in her that she'd never felt before. She had never given men serious consideration, in fact, they were mostly adversaries to her. Her whole life had been revolved around horses and the ranch but now, now she understood what her sisters felt and she wanted more of it.
She walked to him and wrapped her arms around him then. He hugged her tightly to him and then leaning back she smiled up at him. “You hurry up and come back to us.” There was a pause as her eyes gazed into his. “To me.”
“I will,” he whispered.
“What are we doing Dalton?” They both turned at Caleb’s voice. He was grinning at the both of them, seeing them in each other's arms, but his eyes held fear as he recalled what he was doing. Packing.
“I need you to go with Grace.”
The young boy shook his head as he looked at his older brother. “You said we were going to stick together. From now on, us two. You said you would never leave me.” The boy sniffed as a tear fell from his eye. “Not like Ma and Pa did. You said we would always be together.” His eyes looked up at him accusingly.
Dalton rested his hands on his young brother’s shoulders as he looked at him. Bending down, he was at eye level with him. “We will be back together soon. I promise. I need to take care of Jax and make sure he can never hurt us again. You have to trust me on this, okay?”
“Okay.” The boy’s voice was quiet and feeble as he spoke.
“Go with Grace. I will be there soon. I promise.” Dalton said tenderly.
Grace took Caleb’s hand and led him from the small house out the back door. She grabbed the reins of the two horses and led them away from the small villa. She knew the animals would be quieter if she and the boy waited until they were a little farther before they mounted. Her eyes met Dal
ton’s one more time, and she nodded before turning away and heading in the direction of the river he spoke about.
Chapter Ten: Going Home
Grace continued to look over her back as they rode the horses. They traveled at a fast pace, only stopped briefly to rest, and wanting to put as much space between the robbers' hideout and themselves as they could. When they were finally too tired to go any further, she chose to keep away from people, and they found a small alcove to sleep in for a few hours before getting back up and heading out again. She was worried about Dalton, and she knew Caleb was too, as he continued to look back in the direction they had come. He was quiet as well as they made their way to the town next to her home. She didn’t have the time or energy to talk to anyone about what had happened, so she bypassed the place entirely as she continued to the ranch.
Her horse gave an excited whinny as they came to the gate. Smiling, she leaned over and patted her gently on the side of her neck. “I know, girl. I’m glad to be home too.” The door swung open before she could reach the front and she saw her mother quickly followed by Hope and Alexander rush from inside. She hopped from her horse in time to be enveloped in her mother’s arms. She ushered her inside then and told one of the hands to bed down the horses and have someone go into town to tell Grace’s father she was home. He apparently hadn’t given up the search for his daughter who had been missing for two weeks.
Grace told her mother and sister everything that had happened and all about Dalton and Caleb. Caleb was welcomed with open arms by Charity and Hope, as she knew he would. They all knew Grace for the headstrong girl she is, so they grudgingly accepted what she'd done, even though they were worried sick about her.
Over the next few days, Grace showed Caleb the ranch and everything that she had told him about. He was ecstatic and said he never wanted to leave. Although he was happy, he never failed to look off into the sunset with a saddened look. She knew what he was looking for because she was hoping to see the same thing. She understood how much he longed to see Dalton again.
Days went by slowly, and Grace grew restless. She was worried about Dalton and finally went into town to find some people to search for him. There was a small party sent out, but they came back without a trace of the man. Frantic now, she paces back and forth in the ranch house after Caleb would bed down for the night. He took over Hope’s old loft and was beginning to adapt to the life on the ranch quickly.
One morning Caleb was helping Grace gather eggs. The ducks and geese started to quack noisily as he walked into their coop. They knew what he was there for.
Hearing something out front, Grace made her way from the barn with Caleb hot on her heels. Her eyes misted as she saw what was coming. It was a lone rider, and she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand when she saw that her wish had come true.
Dalton stopped in front of her and smiled down at his smiling brother.
“You came back,” Caleb said with a smile.
“Told you that we would always be together, little man,” he said and then coughed.
Grace watched in horror as he folded over, and slowly slid from his saddle and onto the ground. Her scream alerted everyone and within moments farm hands and the family rushed closer. Lifting his shirt back, she saw blood had soaked through, and her tears flowed. She never thought a man would mean this much to her.
She remembered her promise to Robert then and understood what he had meant when he said there was more out there for her than just the ranch. She wanted to give people a chance. She wanted to give Dalton a chance and lean on him for the rest of her life.
His body was soon taken into the house and to the extra room where Jonesy stayed. After her sisters had left, he had moved into the house from the bunkhouse so that he was closer to help in the kitchen. The doctor was sent for as well as the sheriff then as they stripped Dalton and she helped her mother to clean the wound. The bullet would need to come out and she watched in awe as one of the ranch hands began to do just that. Her mother quickly led her from the room to wait outside with Caleb, who looked worried, and kept asking about Dalton. Grace gently explained, and told him not to worry; help was on its way.
The sheriff arrived, and Caleb told him about the robbers in the village. Grace gave the sheriff directions and where to find them. A party was brought together and rode out after them. She continued to wait as Dalton laid in Jonesy’s room, never leaving his side. When the fever came she held his hand tightly. She knew it wasn’t proper to be in the room with him but at the moment she didn’t care and her parents didn’t fight her. Her father, Seth, stood at the door watching, remembering how he waited at Charity's bedside when she was shot and wounded before they were married, so many years ago. He understood how Grace felt, at this moment.
Grace listened to Dalton ramble on in his feverish moments. He spoke of his parents and how Jax and his men killed them and took him and Caleb hostage to help with the robberies. Everything was in a jumble and then she heard him speak her name. He talked about how beautiful she was and how he had wanted to be with her always. He said he wanted to dance with her and hold her in his arms. Grace smiled upon hearing that.
Days passed, and Dalton remained ill. No-one knew if he would survive.
Grace sat next to the bed in the chair she had pulled in there. She very rarely left his side, until her mother forced her to and told her to get some sleep.
“Grace. Go get some rest, honey. We will take shifts. I will sit with him right now. Jonesy and some of the hands have also volunteered to sit with him. Go on.”
“I am fine, Ma.”
Grace had never seen her mother mad, but she knew she was the moment her mother stomped to her and grabbed her arm. She pulled her up to stand in front of her.
“Grace-Marie, I know you care for the man deeply and I understand that you do not want to leave his side, but you listen to me good. I will not have you taken ill because of this. You will do him no good when he wakes if you are sick or so tired you can’t even stand up straight. Now go.”
She nodded, too tired to argue. She walked to the door and turned back around when she saw her mother sit in the chair. “Do you think he’s gonna wake up Ma?”
Her mother looked at her with a small smile.
“He would be a fool not to with you waiting on him. I also think that leaving that little brother of his is the last thing he wants to do. He’s a fighter, honey, but all we can do is wait now."
Grace nodded slowly before making her way up into her loft and laying down. She didn’t think she could sleep, but it only took a matter of minutes before her eyes closed.
Grace felt her body being shaken as she slowly opened her eyes.
“Grace. Grace wake up. Your Ma said he’s awake. Come on. He’s awake.”
Opening her eyes, she realized what Caleb was saying and she quickly made her way down the ladder. When she pushed her way into the small room, she didn’t care that her hair was a mess or that her eyes were still half closed with sleep. She only cared about the man who was sitting up on the bed smiling at her. She felt her feet carry her quickly to his side as she hugged him close. Someone cleared their throat making her step back.She saw her father standing there raising an eyebrow at her then and she looked away sheepishly.
Caleb came forward then and hugged his brother. “I told the sheriff everything and Grace told them how to get to the hideout. They were all caught, but Jax,” he spoke, breathlessly. Although he was happy, he knew that Jax was their biggest threat.
“Jax will no longer hurt us Caleb. I led him away. He is dead.” Dalton’s voice was soft as he spoke.
“What happened?” Grace asked.
“Rock slide. After he shot me. He tried to come down the mountain instead of going around like I did and he didn’t make it.”
She nodded at his words. There were a few moments of silence as he held her hand in his.
She looked up to see her father’s look then. He was watching them closely. “You are free to stay as lo
ng as you like Dalton. Your brother has become a big help on the ranch.” Her father spoke then. He's a man of few words.
She smiled as she watched Caleb enthusiastically tell Dalton all about the farm animals he's been taking care of. It took a few minutes to calm the boy down.
Dalton looked over at Seth Bernstein then and nodded his head. “I wanted to ask you for your daughter's hand, sir. I know you don’t know me but I promise to take care of her and you will know me soon.” He didn’t look at Grace as he spoke.
“Yes! Yes, I will.” Grace blurted out happily.
Seth Bernstein laughed then as he shook his head. “If she says yes then that’s the answer. She has always known what she wanted, and there was no stopping her when she wanted something. I think however that you all should stay on at the ranch. I am in need of a foreman if you want to try the job out.”
“I think I would. I worked in a bank with my father and can help with the books if you need me to as well.” He said with a nod.
“Thank goodness.” Charity sighed. They all turned to look at her then. “I take care of the books because Seth is always out on the fields doing the hands on stuff and I hate looking at all those darn numbers. I could kiss you if you would help.” She laughed.
“Now let's not get carried away,” Seth said with a chuckle. They all left a moment later, letting Grace and him have a few minutes alone.
It took a few weeks, but Dalton finally got his strength back and healed nicely. Over those weeks, he helped Grace straighten out the books. He moved into the bunkhouse and began to court Grace until they were married months later. Everything was great except the sadness that still followed the home for months. She would see Hope make her way to the top of the hill every evening at first. Soon the days went by and she would go every other evening. She felt deep pain for her sister and what she was going through. One day, she said to herself. One day she would see her sister happy again.
