Her Rocky Trail_Seeing Ranch series

by Florence Linnington

  Kitty smiled at him—an act that finally felt natural and not forced.

  “We’ll go as soon as the sun sets,” Mr. Guthrie said, looking to Cyrus for confirmation.

  “Yes.” Cyrus pressed his fist against his mouth and nodded.

  Kitty checked the shadows. They were long, night was not far away at all. Her eyes turned in the direction they had come from, toward the mountain that held her sister.

  Helen, do not worry. We are coming for you, my darling.

  When she turned back, her gaze immediately connected with Cyrus’. A deep look in his eyes, he gave a slow nod. Kitty understood what he was saying. They had defied so many odds already. If they had made it this far, surely luck was on their side?

  Or, if not fortune, then God himself.

  “As soon as it’s dark,” Cyrus confirmed once more. “We’ll go.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  24. Cyrus

  Chapter twenty-four

  They made camp—or what passed for the most primitive camp. There could be no lighting of fires, or any noise made that might draw attention.

  Slipping down the river a bit more, they pushed into an area of the woods where the evergreens grew close together. The river was a minute’s walk away, and it could be heard if one listened close enough.

  But, if anyone were to walk down its banks they wouldn’t have guessed that a small posse hid in the woods just a shout away, biding their time and waiting for the hour when they would come out on top.

  Hunched against the tree trunks, they passed around the last of the jerky and drank from their canteens in silence. Wrists now tied with a rope, Nelson stared off into space, wearing the same defeated look he had since Cyrus pinned him to the ground. Dan counted his bullets, going over them several times and stowing the extra ones in the pockets of his vest. Even Jim was unusually quiet, the knowledge that a final battle was about to happen seemed to quell even the most active tongue.

  Kitty paced around, going from tree to tree before settling on her knees to pray. Cyrus sat against his tree, watching her. Being surrounded by other people didn’t seem to bother her at all. She continued to clasp her hands and mouth silent words as if she were all alone in a church.

  He wondered what she was saying, and whether or not her prayers would be answered. Seeing Kitty tumble into the raging river had taken away whatever tiny shred of faith Cyrus had in the divine… but her arriving back in front of him had made him wonder if maybe there wasn’t something to this god stuff after all.

  Sometimes people died young. Sometimes worse happened. Folks suffered when it seemed like they shouldn’t.

  But, also, sometimes bad things didn’t happen when all logic said they should have. Earthy laws were defied.

  So who got to decide what was what? Was there a higher power throwing the dice? Or did it all come down to faith? If people had a little bit more faith, would bad things stop happening to them?

  Kitty seemed to have enough faith for several people, and yet her sister had been kidnapped, and she’d fallen into a raging river and almost died.

  And then there were the young ones. What could the faithful claim when a little child had a bad time? That it was the will of God?

  Cyrus had never liked that answer much. It seemed too easy. And not fair.

  But, he could no longer deny that some force he couldn’t see was at play. Things happened in obvious ways, and they happened in mysterious ways. Beyond that, he couldn’t explain it further.

  Kitty finished praying and stood up. The light was turning gray, and he could barely make out her features, but he knew she faced him. His skin tingled from her gaze.

  Standing, he made his way over to her.

  “Is it time?” she quietly asked. “Are you going to make me stay here?”

  Cyrus took a painful inhale. “You know I want you to,” he whispered, conscious of the other men close by.

  “And you know that I cannot.”

  Cyrus found the tip of her braid and ran his thumb over the tangled hair. She’d looked so fine and done up the first time he’d set eyes on her. Even now, with her clothes tattered, her body bruised, and her hair a mess, her beauty took his breath away. Now he wasn’t just responding to something physical. He saw the person that lay beneath the full lips and smooth skin. He saw a brilliant fortitude and shining heart. Kitty was the kind of woman who would remain gorgeous no matter how old she became. In forty years, given they both lived that long, she would still take his breath away.

  “May I have a minute in private?”

  She was quiet for a breath. Likely, she was shocked at the formality of the question. Cyrus was as well. They’d been through so much already it seemed odd to talk in such a ceremonial way. He’d just wanted to be nice, and those were the words that came out of his mouth.

  “Y—yes,” Kitty whispered.

  Taking her hand, he led her around several trees and stopped behind a large one. They were still close to the others, but the tree blocked them from any curious eyes.

  “Are you afraid?” Cyrus asked, still holding her hand. It was so warm. He wanted to take that heat and keep it in his shirt pocket — a little piece of Kitty to carry with him wherever he went.

  “Yes, but I know that I am larger than the fear.” She paused. “Or at least God is.”

  Cyrus nodded. He didn’t understand the feelings she had, but he could respect them.

  “Are we going to get her back?” Kitty whispered. “We are, aren’t we?”

  A heart-wrenching ache hit him. “I told you I’m in this till the end, didn’t I? I’m not stopping until this is good and over.”

  Kitty bowed her head. They both knew what ‘good and over’ could entail, and there was no point in mentioning that night could very well be their last. The news that there were only four or five bandits in the cave was good—provided Nelson told the truth.

  “What did you do in California?” Kitty asked. “You never told me in your letters.”

  The innocent and normal question warmed Cyrus all over. If Kitty wanted to talk about ordinary things for a short time, he was more than happy to give her that.

  “I was working as a watchman. For this rich man.” Cyrus shook his head. “Nothing interesting.”

  “You have seen a great deal,” she murmured. “Haven’t you?”

  “And we’re going to see a whole lot more together.” Cyrus clasped both of Kitty’s hands and stepped closer to her. He could hear her breaths and wanted to get even closer — near enough so he could feel her breath on his neck.

  “Tell me about our home.”

  Cyrus smiled. “It has two bedrooms. A big, nice main room. And there’s a pasture behind it, too. It’s right on the edge of town, but we’ll have plenty of land. There’s space to plant as big a garden as you want. I made sure of that.”

  As he talked about it, he could almost see the house. He’d never stepped foot in Shallow Springs, but Sheriff Mayes had told him all about the home waiting for him there. After a life spent living in boarding houses and camping out, settling down in a real house would make Cyrus feel like a king.

  Kitty sighed in pleasure. “It does sound nice.”

  Cyrus ran his thumbs over the tops of her hands. “Kitty, I...” His throat seemed clogged with something; he couldn’t go on.

  “What?” she whispered, face turned up. His vision had adjusted to the darkness best it could, and he could see a glimmer of the whites of her eyes. He felt those brown irises on him, breaking his walls down and trying to get to those parts of himself he’d never shown anyone.

  Kitty was the kind of woman a man could really open up to. She had a heart that was big enough for several people. Cyrus had seen this in her commitment to her sister, in the nice way she always treated the men in the posse, and in her unwavering faith. Kitty believed in something bigger than herself. All those things made her presence comforting. Even if Cyrus didn’t absolutely trust in higher powers, and even if he couldn’t always fin
d it in himself to be kind, at least Kitty picked up where he fell short.

  With her by his side, he felt like a better man.

  Cyrus’ throat burned, and he swallowed against the sensation. How did he tell Kitty about all of this? He was no good with words; he’d never had a need to be.

  Kitty’s lowered her head, and she looked at their joined hands. “I am glad to have met you, Cyrus Ross.”

  Heat rolled through his body and soul. “You don’t know how glad I am to have you, Kitty Byrum. You fell in that river, and I… I thought I might never see you again. It made me realize how much I...”

  Kitty lifted her face, and he could nearly feel her anticipation.

  “I love you,” he finished, surprising himself with the confession. “Dang, Kitty. I do. And I don’t think I have to spend any more time with you than I already have to know that. We’re in a hard time as it is, and it’s the rough parts of people that are the most difficult to love. If I can appreciate you this much while the world seems like it’s burning around us, well… I can just imagine how much I’ll love you when things are great.”

  “Oh, Cyrus,” she gasped. “I love you, too.”

  “How?”

  She frantically shook her head. “What do you mean how?”

  “I just have to… Kitty, look. I just want to know how you can love me? I tried to make you leave. I told you more than once that you didn’t belong here.”

  Her answer quickly came. “You said yourself that you are in this until the end, that you will do everything you can to save Helen. Those are the words of a man I want to give my heart to.” She paused, tilting her head and considered something. “But it is not just your commitment to rescuing my sister. There’s more. When you look at me, Cyrus… I…”

  “What?” Cyrus asked, his voice not sounding like his own.

  His hands were shaking. He could no longer hold back. Sequestered away from everyone else, admitting things he never thought he would, Cyrus felt the kind of bravery he’d never known existed. He’d faced death and multiple dangers, but now he saw there was another kind of heroism that was needed, and that involved opening up his heart.

  He’d been looking for a wife to go through the motions, but what he’d found was a woman who made him come alive. With Kitty around, his heart beat faster than it ever had. A protectiveness filled him and pushed him forward. He wanted to seize these new feelings, ride them like he was a leaf in the breeze.

  “Kitty,” he gasped, pressing his hand against the back of her neck.

  She opened her mouth to respond, but Cyrus didn’t give her a chance. In the blink of an eye, her mouth was covered with his. Kitty’s sweetness coated his tongue, and he let go of her other hand so he could twist his fingers through the roots of her thick hair.

  Her lips pressed urgently against his, possessing a frantic need she hadn’t shown during their first kiss. It seemed everything they’d been through could be tasted in this touch. All the pain, the joys. The fears. The uncertain future, too.

  Cyrus pulled his lips away from Kitty’s but stayed close, his forehead pressing against hers and his hands on either side of her face. He wanted to remember that moment for the rest of his life — the one where they gave themselves over to each other completely — and he knew that he would.

  “Are you ready?” he whispered.

  Kitty’s head nodded against his. “Yes.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  25. Kitty

  Chapter twenty-five

  Anxiety and fear pulsed through Kitty as they slowly crept through the woods. She felt as if bugs crawled under her skin, and every cracking twig in the night made her heart seize.

  The line halted, and Kitty held her breath, waiting to discover what was happening. They had left the horses behind where they had made camp. Surprising the bandits would be easier without the risk of a horse snorting and giving them away.

  “Is this the right way?” she heard Mr. Guthrie say.

  The group pressed closer together, and Mr. Starkey prodded the still-bound Mr. Bowles. “Is it?”

  “Yes,” Mr. Bowles answered thickly. “It’s right up on the other side of this mountain.”

  Kitty gulped. They’d been walking in silence for what seemed like forever and passed the spot where she had pushed the rock down the cliff a good while ago.

  “You’d better be telling the truth,” Cyrus growled at Mr. Bowles. Even with his voice full of venom, the sound of it comforted Kitty. Though she’d been walking just a couple feet behind him, the distance between them felt unbearable.

  “I am,” Mr. Bowles solemnly replied. “The cave is right over yonder.”

  “Right,” Cyrus quietly said. “You’re gonna stay here. Can’t risk you shouting out and warning your friends. Also, in case we don’t find what we’re looking for, I’m gonna need to talk to you. Brady, you good to watch him?”

  “Bum ankle or not, I can shoot a gun,” Mr. Walsh replied. “You have a seat right there, Nelson, my good man. We’ll have a swell time together, I’m sure.”

  Leaving the two men nestled in the woods, the five others crept on. Kitty’s heart beat so loudly that she was afraid the bandits would hear it and know she was coming. Periodically, she reached down and grazed her fingers against the gun Mr. Thunder had given her, just to comfort herself. Its presence had grown on her, and she liked knowing she might be able to work it if she needed to. She still hadn’t gotten the chance to tell Cyrus about her generous benefactor, and she savored the idea of sharing the whole story with both him and Helen once they were all in Shallow Springs.

  They climbed the rise slowly. At the crest of the mountain, where the land gave out abruptly and a cliff hung, they found what they looked for. Fire.

  It flickered down below them, close to the cliff’s base, casting an orange glow on a line of trees. Kitty clutched Cyrus’ shirt, and he gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.

  “Get down,” Mr. Guthrie whispered, and they all listened, crouching together in a tight circle.

  “Was he telling the truth?” Mr. Starkey asked. “Are there only four or five of them?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Cyrus responded.

  “What do we do?” Jim asked. “What’s the plan?”

  “Kitty.”

  She jerked at her name. She’d hardly been addressed since they left the horses. “Yes?” she asked Cyrus.

  “Let’s take a page from your book. There are enough rocks up here. It just rained. It’s plausible that the dirt up here is giving way and there’s about to be a rock slide.”

  Kitty understood what he was saying right away. “We’ll knock rocks over.”

  “Will that work?” Mr. Starkey asked dubiously.

  “Only one way to find out,” Mr. Guthrie answered.

  “But we’ll still be up here. Once they come out—”

  “You, me, and one more will go down there. Hide and shoot once they dart outta their cozy little cave.”

  “Let’s do it,” Cyrus confirmed. They rose, and he touched Kitty’s arm. “You stay up here. You and Starkey. Wait about twenty minutes for us to find spots to hunker down, and then shove whatever you can over the edge. Make sure you take cover soon as they come out. Stay hidden, no matter what you hear. If this doesn’t go well, you need to think about getting yourself out of here. Find Brady and go. You understand?”

  A protest formed in Kitty’s mouth, but she knew voicing her opinion would be pointless. “Yes,” she merely whispered instead.

  “Good.” He gave her arm a squeeze, and despite her wanting more from him, she allowed him to go. With Mr. Guthrie and Jim, he snuck away, looking for a quiet way down the rest of the mountain.

  “Let’s look for rocks,” Mr. Starkey quietly said from right behind her. “We’ll put them in a pile, and when the time is right, we’ll shove them over.”

  They searched the whole area, moving as silently as they could. There had been no sounds since Cyrus and the others left, and Kitty could
not stop thinking about what was happening right below her. Had they found spots to hide yet? And what of Helen? Was she truly in the cave right below Kitty’s feet? After all this time of searching, being that close to her lost sister seemed like a dream.

  “How long has it been?” Kitty asked once they had gathered a good deal of rocks. She sat next to the pile. As they did not wish to injure Helen should she emerge from the cave as well, they planned on shoving the larger ones along the cliff next to the cave, rather than down right in front of it.