by Connie Mason
“Freddie Jackson really is your father, honey, but I never wanted you to know. I’m sorry to say he’s not a good man. I wanted to spare you this. You might never have known if Freddie hadn’t shown up in Carbon and found out about you.”
“He didn’t know about me?” Abner asked, his interest piqued.
“No. Someday, when you’re older, I’ll explain it to you.”
“I don’t have to like him just because he’s my papa, do I?”
“No, honey, you don’t. But if I were you I wouldn’t say anything to make him mad. I’m going to try to find a way for us to escape. That will be our little secret.”
Abner seemed to accept that. “I’m hungry, Mama.”
“So am I. When Freddie comes out of the cabin I’ll ask about getting us something to eat”
Fifteen minutes later Freddie exited the cabin. His shirt was unbuttoned, and he was in the midst of fastening his trousers. “Get inside and fix us something to eat,” he barked. “You insisted on coming along, now make yourself useful.”
“Come on, Abner,” Sarah said, rising quickly so as not to rouse Jackson’s anger.
“The kid stays,” Jackson growled. “He’s too much of a mama’s boy for my liking. You’ve turned the kid into a sissy. From now on Spotted Deer will see to his needs. She can teach him some of her people’s ways. Shoshone discipline will do the boy good.”
“If that squaw hurts Abner I’ll make her sorry she left her people,” Sarah warned. “Abner is a good boy; he doesn’t need to be taught discipline.”
Jackson’s face hardened. “Do as I say and don’t argue. I’m still mad at you for following me. You don’t want to see me when I get really angry.” His tone held a threat Sarah wasn’t prepared to challenge at the moment. Turning abruptly, she walked into the squalid cabin.
The place was filthy. Spotted Deer was sprawled across the rumpled bed, her clothing awry. Suddenly she leaped off the bed to confront Sarah, her face twisted with fear and hatred.
“Why are you here, white woman? I am Freddie’s woman. He doesn’t need you.”
“You’re welcome to Freddie Jackson. I wouldn’t have him on a silver platter. I loathe the man. The only reason I’m here is because of Abner.”
Spotted Deer looked unconvinced. “Why do you hate Fred-die? You have his son.”
“Freddie Jackson raped me. I didn’t want what he did to me. Abner is the result of his attack. But I don’t love Abner any less because of what his father did to me. Abner is all I have in the world and no one is going to take him away from me.”
Spotted Deer smirked. “You talk brave, white woman. Abner is my son now, and you are our slave.” She grabbed a broom sitting by the door and started beating Sarah with the handle.
Sarah howled in pain and outrage but could not escape the irate woman’s vicious attack. It wasn’t until Jackson came into the cabin to see what the ruckus was about and took the broom away from Spotted Deer that the beating stopped.
“Cut it out, Spotted Deer,” Jackson said crossly. “Let Sarah do her job, I’m hungry.”
Abner started to run to Sarah’s defense but Jackson snatched him up before he reached his mother and handed him to Spotted Deer. “The boy is yours, Spotted Deer. You always wanted a kid. Take him outside while Sarah fixes us some grub.”
Spotted Deer’s dark eyes glittered with malice. “If you take the white woman to your bed, I will cut out your heart.”
“Aw, Spotted Deer, why would I want a bag of bones like Sarah? You got nothing to worry about.”
Still smarting from Spotted Deer’s blows, Sarah sincerely hoped it was true. Had she known how intently Jackson was watching her as she built up a fire in the hearth and set a frying pan over the flames, she would have been terrified.
Chapter 7
Sarah shifted uncomfortably on the hard floor. The thin blanket provided meager protection against the chill mountain air that seeped through every crack and crevice of the drafty cabin. She wished Abner had been allowed to sleep beside her but Freddie had insisted on sending her son up to the loft. At least the loft had a plump layer of straw to keep Abner warm, Sarah reflected as she pulled the blanket closer around her.
Freddie had crawled in bed beside Spotted Deer and before long, sounds of their rutting reverberated through the cabin. Sarah put her hands over her ears but it didn’t help. Freddie and Spotted Deer were vocal lovers. His harsh grunting and her squeals, combined with the creaking ropes beneath the mattress, nearly drove Sarah mad. The vulgar noises made her recall the night Freddie had raped her and the pain and degradation returned as if it had happened yesterday. God, how she hated him. If he laid a hand on her again she’d kill him.
It seemed like forever before the sex sounds turned into sated snoring and Sarah was able to relax. Sleep finally came but it was hard won.
A gray misty dawn had floated down from the top of Elk Mountain when Sarah was rudely kicked awake. She opened her eyes to find Spotted Deer leaning over her.
“We need wood for the fire, white woman. My man and my child will require food soon. If you do not hurry I will beat you again.”
Sarah dragged herself from the floor, wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, and left the cabin. When she returned with an armload of wood, Jackson was standing in the middle of the room, stark naked. He scratched himself with obvious enjoyment, ignoring Sarah’s startled gasp. Sarah looked around for Spotted Deer but couldn’t find her.
“What’s the matter?” Jackson asked, sending her a wicked grin. “I know you’ve seen naked men before. Maybe you forgot how well endowed I am. Are you hankering for a little of what I got, Sarah?”
Sarah averted her eyes, walked to the hearth, and dropped her load of wood on the grate. “You’ve got nothing I want, Freddie Jackson.”
Jackson came up behind her, pressing obscenely against her. “I’ve been thinking. You turned into a fine-looking woman. There’s no reason you and Spotted Deer can’t share me. I got enough for both of you.”
Spotted Deer walked into the cabin, saw Jackson molded intimately against Sarah and flew into a rage. “What are you doing with my man, white woman? Keep away from him. He’s mine.”
“My name is Sarah! Tell your lover to keep away from me! All I want from him is my son.”
Jackson sent the Indian woman a fulminating look. “You don’t own me, Spotted Deer, just remember that. Your jealousy is beginning to bore me. Be good or I’ll send you back to the reservation with your father. If I want to have a little fun with Sarah, it’s none of your concern.”
“Over my dead body,” Sarah hissed.
Abruptly Jackson turned away, aware of Spotted Deer’s malevolent glare. It would serve her right, he thought, if he sent her away and took another woman. Sarah’s soft white flesh was beginning to look damn good to him.
During the following days Sarah lived in fear. Jackson was getting bolder where she was concerned and Spotted Deer was still jealous of his interest in her. It took little provocation for the Indian woman to pick up the broom and beat Sarah for no apparent reason. One day Sarah grabbed the broom from the vicious woman and gave her a taste of her own medicine. That only enraged Spotted Deer, who found various ways to punish Sarah for her defiance, none of them pleasant. Soon Sarah was covered with numerous bruises, her tender flesh black and blue from being beaten, pinched, and slapped.
Abner fared a great deal better. Spotted Deer seemed to have a soft spot for the boy and treated him sternly but with none of the harshness she displayed with Sarah. Even Jackson seemed taken with Abner. Unfortunately Jackson had no idea what a young boy needed in terms of love. He displayed a gruff fondness toward Abner, but mostly he just ignored the boy.
Spotted Deer did her best to keep Sarah and Abner apart. She allowed virtually no conversation between mother and son and Jackson didn’t care enough to intercede when Sarah pleaded for his help. Sarah could take the beatings, accept the harsh treatment, but she couldn’t bear being separated from her so
n.
Sarah let five days pass before she seriously began looking for a means of escape. The problem with any plan she formulated was that she and Abner were seldom alone and thus unable to communicate. Then something happened that made Sarah’s situation truly desperate.
Sarah returned to the cabin with the bucket of water she’d been sent after that morning, shocked to find Jackson and Spotted Deer engaged in a violent argument. From what Sarah could gather, Spotted Deer wanted Jackson to send Sarah away and Jackson had refused. When she walked through the door, Abner, who had been cowering in the comer, ran to her, hiding behind her skirts.
“I do not like the way you look at Sarah,” Spotted Deer charged. “There is no room in this cabin for two women.”
“No one tells Freddie Jackson what to do,” Jackson retorted. “You’re too damn bossy, Spotted Deer. I’m getting tired of you haranguing me about Sarah. In fact,” he said cruelly, “I’m just plain tired of you. Get your things together and get the hell out of here.”
Spotted Deer’s dark eyes narrowed. “You want me to leave?”
“Yeah. You’re no longer welcome here.” He turned away from her, which was a big mistake. Spotted Deer grabbed a knife from the kitchen table and lunged at him.
Sarah’s cry of alarm alerted Jackson and he whirled in time to deflect the wicked blade. Wresting it from Spotted Deer’s hand, he struck her across the face, sending her flying across the room.
“Don’t ever try that again,” Jackson growled as he kicked Spotted Deer in the ribs for good measure. “Now get up and get out of here. Go back to your people where you belong.”
“You are a bad man, Fred-die,” Spotted Deer hissed as she painfully picked herself up from the floor. “The Shoshone are a proud people. One day you will pay for this with your life.”
“Don’t threaten me,” Jackson warned. When Spotted Deer continued to glare at him he took a menacing step toward her, his fist raised to strike her again.
Sarah flew to her defense. “Let her alone, Freddie. She’s hurt. Besides, you’re frightening Abner.”
Jackson spared a glance at Abner then lowered his fist. Spotted Deer took advantage of the lull and fled out the door.
“Good riddance,” Jackson muttered darkly. “No woman tells me what to do. Remember that, Sarah”
Sarah wasn’t sure Spotted Deer’s leaving was a good thing for her. Being alone with Jackson was going to be difficult. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl. What did he expect of her now that Spotted Deer was gone?
Sarah learned the answer to that question sooner than she wished.
“Go on outside and play, kid, I want to talk to your mother,” Jackson told Abner.
“No, stay!” Sarah cried, clutching Abner against her.
“That’s not a good idea, Sarah,” Jackson said evenly. “Let Abner go.”
His tone brooked no argument. “Do as Mr. Jackson says,” Sarah said, pushing Abner away from her. “Go outside and play. It’s okay.”
Reluctantly Abner left, wandering off into the woods where he’d seen a rabbit scampering by.
“What do you wish to talk about?” Sarah asked, backing away from Jackson.
“I’ll be needing a woman now that Spotted Deer is gone.”
“What has that got to do with me? Go find yourself another squaw.”
“Use your brain, Sarah. I’ve been watching you. You’re a damn fine looking woman and I want you. You must have learned a few tricks in the five years since Abner’s birth. I still remember how tight you were the first time I took you.” He rubbed his groin obscenely. “You’ll be sharing my bed from now on.”
“Like hell!” Sarah objected. “I didn’t want you then and I don’t want you now.”
“You got no choice, woman. I just sent my whore packing and it just so happens there’s another one here to take her place.”
He advanced toward her. Sarah retreated until she was backed up against the door. She felt behind her for the knob but it was too late. Jackson was upon her, grinding his loins against her.
“Your skin is so white,” he said as he stroked her neck with rough, seeking fingers. “I always did fancy white skin. Spotted Deer served her purpose until something better came along.”
His hand slipped down to her breast, squeezing until she cried out for him to stop. “You’re hurting me!”
“Spotted Deer never complained.” His hands slid down to her waist, then lower, raising the hem of her skirt on his upward journey.
Casting about desperately, Sarah said, “What if Abner walks in? You wouldn’t want him to think you’re hurting his mother, would you?”
“I don’t give a damn what the kid thinks,” Jackson said, moments before his mouth slammed down on hers.
Panic shuddered through Sarah. It was his rape of her all over again. All the pain and degradation she’d suffered that day resurfaced with the same terror she’d experienced all those years ago. She searched for and found the strength to shove him away.
Jackson cursed and reached for her again. Then suddenly a scream rent the air, putting a halt to Freddie’s attack. “What’s that?” he asked as a second scream was abruptly cut off.
“Abner!” Sarah cried, recognizing her son’s voice. “Something’s happened to Abner.”
Sarah pulled open the door and rushed outside, Jackson hard on her heels. There was no sign of Abner. Sarah called his name. He didn’t answer. The silence was terrible, broken only by birdcalls and the rush of water over rocks. Sarah dashed into the woods but had no idea which way to turn. There was no sign to indicate the direction the small boy had taken.
“Do something!” Sarah shouted to Jackson. “Find my son.”
“I’ll get my horse and comb the woods,” Jackson said, sprinting toward the lean-to at the back of the cabin where the horses were tethered. He came to a screeching halt at the sight of the empty shed. “They’re gone! The horses are gone!”
Sarah skidded up beside Jackson, stared into the empty lean-to, and felt the world rock beneath her feet. “What’s happening? What does it mean?”
“Spotted Deer!” Jackson spat. “The vindictive bitch wasn’t satisfied with Abner, she took the horses.”
The color drained from Sarah’s face. “Where did she take him?”
“To her people, that’s where. Spotted Deer took a shine to the kid.”
“No! You’ve got to go after them!”
“Not me! I value my life. Spotted Deer’s got it in for me now. I ain’t gonna be taken by savages.”
“We’re talking about a child, Freddie. Your child. Or have you conveniently forgotten that?”
“The Injuns will be good to the kid. I told you, Spotted Deer likes him.”
“Damn you, Freddie Jackson! I’ll go after him myself.”
Jackson grasped her arm. “You ain’t going no place. How far can you get on foot? Get inside and fix me something to eat while I think on what’s to be done. We need to get us a horse before we can do anything.”
Ignoring him, Sarah started to walk off. “I’m going after Abner. You can stay here if you want.”
Jackson’s grip on her arm tightened as he dragged her toward the cabin and shoved her inside. Then he pulled the door shut and barred it from the outside. Since the windows were too narrow he didn’t worry about Sarah crawling through the opening. Then he set off into the woods. There was a slim possibility that Spotted Deer had released his horse once she was a safe distance from the cabin.
He returned a short time later in a rotten mood.
“Did you find any sign of them?” Sarah asked hopefully.
“Shut up and get me something to eat. When I find that bitch I’m gonna skin her alive.”
When Sarah opened her mouth to speak, Jackson warned, “Don’t say a word, Sarah, not a damn word.” His glittering gaze rested on her breasts. “We can make another kid easy enough.” His meaning was clear, but Sarah refused to accept it.
Chad had been on Elk Mountain ten da
ys. He’d cut Jackson’s trail several times but still hadn’t found his hideout Small tracks he’d found at various watering holes indicated that one of the riders with Jackson was a woman. Since there was no sign of a struggle, Chad surmised that Sarah was Jackson’s willing companion. That thought made the blood congeal in his veins.
It was late afternoon when Chad heard a strange sound. He peered into the dense woods surrounding him and saw nothing. Then he heard the sound again and slightly altered his direction. He was surprised when he came upon an old Indian trail. He spotted movement up ahead and moved into the trees where he couldn’t be seen. Then he spotted an Indian woman on horseback ahead of him on the trail. She was leading a second, riderless horse. He watched in dismay as the woman dismounted and pulled a small boy from the saddle. Chad’s expression turned grim when the woman gave the boy a rough shake and spoke earnestly to him.
Abner! Chad could see his small, tearful face clearly. His features were contorted with fear as he struggled with the Indian woman. Fortunately the woman was so intent upon subduing Abner that she didn’t hear Chad approach. Abner saw him, however, and his little face lit up with joy.
“Chad! You came! I knew you would.”
Spotted Deer spun around just as Chad dismounted. Abner ran into his arms and he quickly set the boy behind him, out of harm’s way. Spotted Deer stared at Chad with fear in her eyes, and turned to flee.
“No you don’t,” Chad said as he lunged at her. “You’re not leaving until you tell me what you’re doing with Abner.”
Spotted Deer’s lips turned downward, refusing to answer. Chad noticed her bruised face and split lip and wondered who had beaten her.
“Spotted Deer took me away,” Abner explained.
“Where’s your mother?” Chad wanted to know.
“Back at the cabin with Mr. Jackson. Did you know he’s my papa? I don’t like him. Mama said it’s all right not to like him.”
“Fred-die is a bastard,” Spotted Deer offered, sending Chad a sullen look. “He sent Spotted Deer away so he could bed his new woman. Spotted Deer took Abner.”
