Christmas at Dove Creek

by Scarlett Dunn

  While she was surprised by his denial, she didn’t doubt his word. Maybe he’d spurned Dora because he was still in love with his fiancée. “Why aren’t you interested? She’s a lovely woman and she’s definitely interested in you.”

  “I’d say she’s set her sights on Harlow now. I don’t think Dora knows what she really wants.”

  Lily couldn’t disagree with him, particularly after the way she’d been flirting with Harlow. “You were right, she does seem more agreeable lately.”

  Thorpe smiled at her. “It’s probably her tonic.”

  Lily laughed. “At least she appears to be listening to Stone when it comes to Harlow.” She picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip. “And her coffee has improved.”

  “Her coffee has definitely improved.” Thorpe enjoyed talking with Lily, and he’d even considered kissing her when she was so close to him. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t, other than he told himself he didn’t want to get involved. To keep himself from reaching over and pulling her close again, he pulled the puppies from his hat and placed them on his chest. “I’ve never asked you how you got to Missouri from Texas. Stagecoach?”

  “I rode Blaze.”

  “Alone?”

  “Of course, along with Blue and Daisy. I purchased the other mules when I reached Missouri, along with the wagon.”

  He shook his head. The woman continued to surprise him by her resourcefulness. He was closer to understanding why she’d ridden off alone tracking those two men. She had been on her own for a long time. But as far as he was concerned, she’d been lucky to this point. She would be no match for men intent on doing her harm. “Miss Lily, you are a wonder. You’ve been fortunate that you haven’t had problems.”

  Lily leveled her gaze on him. “I guess you could say that, or you could believe God’s promises and not allow fear to hinder you.”

  Thorpe arched his brow at her. “Maybe God doesn’t think we would be so foolish as to risk our lives needlessly.”

  “Maybe so, or perhaps that’s why Blue was sent to me.” She looked him directly in the eyes. “And you.”

  He wanted to remind her she took off without him, but he didn’t want to cause friction between them again. “Was your grandfather a religious man?”

  “He is a religious man. His first six months in captivity were difficult. He was subjected to routine beatings, mostly from the other boys in the tribe. They didn’t like him and didn’t want him there. He told me the only reason he survived was repeating all of the Bible verses he could remember. Over and over, he repeated God’s promises, and that was what gave him the strength to keep going. After a while they started treating him like one of their own. He came to respect their spiritual beliefs, but he didn’t forget his own faith.”

  Thorpe didn’t intend to speak of the man as if he were deceased, and he felt bad about that. He wouldn’t intentionally do anything to question Lily’s belief that he was alive. Lily had been through a lot in her young life. He knew what it was like to lose your family and to be on your own. Without her family to help protect her, she wouldn’t have survived on the farm alone in Texas. It was understandable how she’d made the decision to search for her grandfather. Either way, she was bound to face a lot of danger no matter the choice she’d made. He admired how she’d handled difficult situations with determination. He’d never once heard her complain about anything. “Your grandfather sounds like an amazing man. I look forward to meeting him.”

  Lily thought Thorpe was a remarkable man. He’d taken on their small wagon train as though they were his family, looking out for everyone’s welfare. She didn’t know why he’d agreed, but she was happy he did. It wasn’t lost on her that they would not have made it this far without him. He’d gone out of his way to make sure they were safe. He rarely slept more than an hour or two at night, yet he was the one that left every morning before they broke camp to scout the area. He didn’t make them feel indebted to him in any way. She had witnessed his many fine qualities over the passing weeks, and she doubted she’d ever meet another man like Thorpe Turlow. He was a man of integrity, much like her grandfather. “I’m sure my grandfather would like to know you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Two days later, when everyone gathered around the fire for their meal, Lily ladled food on the plates and Dora poured the coffee. Lily watched closely as Dora approached Harlow with his cup and was pleased to see that she didn’t appear to talk to him. If she did, it was a brief exchange.

  When Lily sat down to eat with the others, Blue walked to her and started pacing in front of her. He was panting like he was winded, but he hadn’t been running. “What is it, Blue?”

  Blue moved to Lily’s side and nudged her arm.

  “What’s wrong?” Thorpe asked.

  “He acts like he doesn’t feel well,” Lily responded.

  When Dora handed Lily and Thorpe their coffee, Blue growled at her. “What’s wrong with him?”

  Lily ran her hand over Blue’s head. It wasn’t like him to growl unless he sensed danger. “He’s been acting strangely since he ate.” She looked into his eyes. “Sit beside me, boy.”

  Blue circled a couple of times and finally sat down. But when Lily picked up her coffee to take a drink, Blue nudged her arm again, causing her to spill the contents of her cup.

  Lily set her cup and plate aside and pulled Blue to her. “Put your head in my lap.”

  Blue laid beside her and placed his head in her lap and allowed her to rub his stomach.

  Thorpe didn’t like the way Blue looked. He put his own plate aside and leaned over and felt his nose and looked at his eyes. “I didn’t notice anything amiss with him earlier today.”

  “He seemed fine and he ate the same thing we are eating, so I know he didn’t eat something bad.”

  “Maybe he picked up something earlier today and it didn’t agree with him,” Thorpe said.

  Minutes later, Blue closed his eyes and fell asleep. Dora returned with the coffeepot and refilled Lily’s cup. “Well, at least he’s asleep now.” That wolf scared her to death when he growled.

  * * *

  As soon as Dora untied him, Harlow removed Stone’s holster and buckled it around his waist. He checked the pistol to make sure it was fully loaded.

  “What are you doing?”

  “We need a gun; we can’t survive out here without one.” He grabbed a saddlebag and walked to the wagon and started shoving supplies inside.

  “I have a pistol,” Dora said.

  Harlow looked over his shoulder at her. “Great. Shoot that wolf.”

  Dora wasn’t so foolish to do something like shoot Blue. Lily would follow her to the ends of the earth if she harmed that animal. “I’m not shooting him. Besides, we can’t take a chance on anyone hearing a gunshot. Thorpe said your gang was close behind us.”

  “I guess you’re right about that. You have everything you need? Where do they keep the cartridges?”

  “I got everything together before dinner, but I don’t know where Jed keeps the cartridges.”

  Harlow searched through the food supplies and found one box of cartridges. “This will do. Let’s grab two horses and get out of here.” Harlow tried to throw a saddle over Thorpe’s horse, but the animal reared, missing his head by mere inches. He wasn’t going to waste time fighting the horse, so he moved on to Stone’s horse. Once he tied the bundle of supplies to the saddle, he helped Dora saddle Lily’s horse.

  “They’ll come after us for sure for taking their horses,” Dora warned.

  “If you gave them enough of that opium, we’ll have the money and be well on our way to Mexico before they even wake up. The men won’t leave the women, and we’ll make better time on horseback.”

  “I gave them all a healthy dose of my tonic. They won’t wake up for a long time.” Dora gave less opium to Isabelle, thinking in her condition she wouldn’t give them any trouble even if she was awake. She wasn’t sure how much of the tonic she should give to Blue, but she gave him a
sizable dose to make sure he stayed asleep. She told herself she didn’t want to kill any of them, but she wanted that money and they weren’t going to stand in her way. The deed was done now and she wasn’t going to worry about them.

  Harlow helped her on the horse. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Dora had never spent much time in a saddle, but she was determined to keep up with Harlow. He was her ticket out of an uncertain future and she wasn’t about to let that money slip through her fingers.

  * * *

  Even though Thorpe thought he felt snowflakes on his skin, he didn’t want to open his eyes to see if it was really snowing. His head was pounding and his throat felt like he’d eaten a pound of dust. What in the world was wrong with him? He felt fine yesterday . . . before. Before what? He remembered eating dinner but nothing after that. He blinked several times before his eyes focused on his surroundings. What in the world was he doing lying down on the ground in the middle of the day? He thought he might have fallen off his horse and hit his head. Raising up on one elbow, he looked around and that’s when he saw everyone lying on the ground. Spirit was whining and licking Blue’s face. His gaze landed on Lily. She was so pale, he thought she was dead. Scrambling to her on his hands and knees, he held his finger to her neck. His fingers were so cold that he couldn’t feel anything. “Lily!” He shook her, but she didn’t respond. He put his hand on her chest and expelled a deep breath when he felt her heartbeat. Thank God. Blue was right beside her, so he placed his hand on his rib cage. He was alive. He staggered to his feet, ran to Isabelle, and gently shook her by the shoulders. “Isabelle, can you hear me?”

  “What?” Isabelle mumbled.

  Stone was lying next to Isabelle and Thorpe shook him. “Wake up, Stone!”

  Stone rolled to his side. “What is it?”

  Thorpe picked up a cup beside Isabelle and sniffed the contents. He looked around and Harlow was gone and so was Dora. He threw the cup aside and ran to get some water. After washing the cups, he filled them with fresh water. He helped Isabelle to a sitting position and held her head and told her to drink. “Stone, sit up and drink some water.”

  Stone raised up and tried to focus on Thorpe. “What’s going on?”

  “I’d say we were drugged.” He handed him a cup. “Drink, and help Isabelle. I need to check on Jed.” He filled another cup and hurried to the wagon. Jed was lying face-down inside. “Jed!”

  Jed turned over and looked at Thorpe. “Mr. Thorpe, what’s wrong?”

  Thorpe thrust the cup of water at him. “Drink this, Jed. I think Dora drugged us. She’s gone and so is Harlow.”

  Jed drank the water in one gulp. “Why would Miss Dora do such a thing?”

  “I don’t know, but if you can, get out of the wagon and have more water. Lily’s not awake yet.”

  “I’m right behind you.”

  “Would you check the puppies? I don’t think Spirit was drugged. Hopefully the puppies weren’t either.” Jed hurried away and Thorpe ran to check the horses. Daisy was whimpering and Thorpe took a moment to check her over. She wasn’t injured, but she was definitely upset. He filled their pans with water and talked to Daisy in an effort to calm the poor animal. He glanced around the corral and saw that Blaze and Captain were missing.

  When Thorpe returned to Lily and Blue, he saw the wolf lift his head. After Thorpe placed a bowl of water in front of him, he said, “Drink, buddy.” Blue lifted his head over the water and started drinking. Thorpe pulled Lily into his arms and tapped her lightly on the cheek. “Lily, wake up.”

  Stone and Isabelle moved beside Thorpe as he tried to wake Lily. Jed came from the wagon with all of the puppies squirming in his hands. “They’re okay, Mr. Thorpe.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Yessir. He was looking out for us. I’ll get the fire going and make us some fresh coffee,” Jed offered. He placed the puppies beside Spirit. “You’d best feed your babies.”

  “Jed, wash that pot out before you make the coffee. I think Dora put her tonic in the coffeepot and in Blue’s food,” Thorpe said.

  “You think Dora drugged us?” Isabelle asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Isabelle looked at Stone, her eyes filling with tears. “What will that do to my baby?” She placed her hands on her stomach. It was the first time in days she couldn’t feel the baby moving. “I don’t feel anything.”

  Stone didn’t hesitate to pull Isabelle into his embrace. “Don’t think the worst. Maybe he’s just sleeping. Let’s wait and see what happens after you’ve had enough water to get this stuff through your system. Let’s get you some more water, honey.”

  As soon as the words left Stone’s mouth, the baby kicked. Stone felt it. “See there. My voice must have awakened him.”

  Isabelle laughed through her tears. “He likes your voice.” She hugged Stone, and Stone held her in his arms for a brief moment. When she pulled away, she turned to see Thorpe still hovering over Lily. “Why do you think she won’t wake?”

  “Maybe Dora put more tonic in her coffee,” Stone said.

  “But I saw Dora give a cup to Harlow,” Isabelle said.

  “She probably put the tonic in the pot after she gave him a cup,” Stone replied.

  “Why would she do such a thing?” Isabelle asked.

  “I guess the money was just too tempting,” Stone said.

  After Jed placed the coffee over the fire, he walked to the supply wagon to see what was missing.

  Thorpe looked at Stone. “They took your horse and Blaze.”

  “I’m going to kill that horse-thieving son of a . . .” He didn’t finish his thought out of respect for Isabelle. He couldn’t remember being as angry as he was at that moment. Harlow and Dora had not only endangered their lives, but also the life of an innocent baby. He vowed he was going to hunt down Harlow if it was the last thing he did.

  “Miss Dora is going to regret taking off with that no-account,” Jed said. “They took some supplies and a box of cartridges.”

  “Dora is really going to regret her decision if Lily doesn’t come around,” Thorpe said. Lily looked so pale and fragile that it scared him. Blue came to his side and nosed Lily’s arm, much the way he did the night before. Thorpe remembered the way Blue acted last night. “That was why Blue growled last night when Dora handed Lily a cup of coffee. He must have known Dora was up to something.”

  “I heard him,” Stone said. “I just thought he didn’t feel well.”

  “Blue knocked Lily’s arm and the first cup spilled. Dora poured her another cup after he fell asleep,” Isabelle reminded them.

  “Does everyone still feel a bit groggy?” Thorpe asked.

  Everyone nodded. “I’ll get something for us to eat,” Isabelle said.

  “Get into some dry clothes first. We don’t want you coming down with a cold,” Stone instructed. Everyone had awakened with damp clothing from the light snow falling. He pointed to the sky and added, “I think this snow is going to really start coming down soon. I’ll put the tent up so we can all sit around the fire and stay dry until we get our wits about us.” Stone waited for Isabelle to walk away before he spoke to the men. “I can go after them.”

  “We can make the way station by tomorrow. Let’s get there and then we’ll go after them together,” Thorpe replied. “We can’t be sure the gang knows Harlow has left and we need all the firepower we have if they come for him. I’d bet my ranch that Harlow and Dora are going to try to get to his hiding place before the gang shows up. They don’t want to split that money.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Stone agreed.

  * * *

  They all sat under the tent Stone and Jed constructed and ate as they watched over Lily. Blue and Spirit wouldn’t leave her side. Thorpe thought Lily was such a small woman that maybe the dose of opium was just too much for her. It appeared that Dora didn’t bother with Spirit since she was always in the wagon with her puppies and wasn’t much of a threat. Blue was the one that would have caused Do
ra and Harlow problems. Thorpe was thankful the opium didn’t kill him. He glanced at Isabelle and asked, “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine, now that I’ve eaten. I just wish Lily would come around.”

  “She hasn’t been sleeping much before this, so maybe she just needs a nice long rest,” Jed said.

  “I pray that’s all it is. I don’t know how Dora could have done this to us, particularly Lily. After everything Lily has done for her, this is how she repays her,” Isabelle said.

  “I tried to think the best of Miss Dora, but she makes bad decisions,” Jed said. “I was hoping she had changed, seeing how kind Miss Lily was to her. She owed Miss Lily better than that.”

  Thorpe had to agree that Dora should have felt indebted to Lily, but he’d seen for himself that Dora didn’t care much for anyone but herself. He wondered how long it would take Harlow to leave her stranded somewhere, or worse.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t travel until she wakes up,” Isabelle said.

  “We’ll stay here.” Thorpe didn’t want to leave Lily’s side. He looked at the sky, thinking Stone was right, the snow was increasing and he had a feeling they were about to see the beginning of a real snowstorm. “Let’s pray the weather doesn’t get worse. If we leave before dawn we can be at the way station by tomorrow night.”

  “When we get there, Thorpe and I will leave and track Dora and Harlow.” Stone looked at Isabelle and figured she was worried she wouldn’t make it to Wyoming in time for her to get married before the baby came. “If it looks like it will take too long, Thorpe can come back and take you to Fort Steele, and send a telegram for me so I can get some help.”

  Isabelle wanted to get to the fort by Christmas, but she didn’t want Stone going after those killers alone. She looked at Stone, and in that moment she realized how fond she was of him. He’d been so kind to her, always seeing to her comfort, and he made her feel safe. She’d come to depend on his even temperament and his courage. Even if it meant she gave birth before her wedding, she was willing to pay that price to keep Stone from harm. “No, I don’t want you to go on alone. We can wait, but you come back with Thorpe. If we don’t make it to Wyoming in time . . . well, so be it. It’s more important to me that you two stay together.” She was confident Lily would feel the same way.