The Blackbird

by Kristy McCaffrey

  Haverly was in her face. “You can't seem to remember where the Apache rode off to, but I'm bettin’ they'll come back for one of their own.”

  “No!” Tess tried to lunge at him, but a man yanked her back.

  “Especially if she's in trouble,” he added.

  No.

  Tess's mind raced.

  I have to do something.

  “Take me!” Tess screamed. Tears streamed down her face, and she kicked at the men holding her.

  “Maybe,” Haverly answered. “But I think we'll have more luck with her.”

  Lenna's screams pierced the air as a fire ignited on the branches below, the flame growing slowly but steadily.

  Remembering what Cale had taught her, Tess jammed an elbow into one captor's nose and kicked the other in the crotch, managing to twist free.

  “Goddamit!” one of them wailed.

  Running to the blaze, she kicked wildly at the burning wood, the edges of her skirt catching fire. All at once, several men hauled her back.

  “The screaming helps,” Haverly said. “Let's draw ’em in boys.” With a nod, several of the men left the clearing for the protection of the trees.

  “I'll tell you where they are!” Tess screamed. “Take her down. I'll take you to them!” She had to stop this, in any way possible.

  Haverly walked over to her. She couldn't move with four men holding her motionless. He brought his face close to hers. “Oh, you will now, will you?”

  Lenna's cries continued to fill the air around them.

  Tess nodded frantically. “Yes. Please, just take her down.”

  “Don't ever let it be said that I'm not a fair man, especially to women.”

  He turned and shot Lenna in the head.

  The world dropped out from under Tess.

  Stunned and shocked, the rage and grief consumed her in one savage wave.

  She screamed, clawed, and twisted as guttural cries came from deep within her.

  No! No! No!

  The roar of her anguish poured out like a flash flood and she fell to her knees.

  As she sobbed, her captors dropped her fully to the ground, and she crashed to the dirt, as if her very being had been pulled from her.

  Gunfire erupted, and she instinctively covered her head.

  Men fell around her.

  Free of her captors, she slithered forward on forearms and hips like a snake toward the fire that continued to grow in force at the base of Lenna's execution. She grabbed dirt and flung it onto the flames, trying to remain low to the ground, but it was a pathetic gesture with her hands still bound. Arrows flew, men yelled, and chaos swirled around her. Horse hooves pounded the ground, but all of Tess’s focus remained on stopping the blaze. Lenna might be dead, but she didn't deserve to be burned.

  The flames continued to breathe. She saw an old blanket just beyond, and crawled on her belly to it. She inched her way back, and knew she would need to stand or at least get to her knees, to make the effort effective.

  She closed her eyes and burst upward, thrashing at the fire as hard and as quickly as she could. She kept beating until her arms ached, hoping she wouldn't be shot.

  Finally, the inferno was extinguished. She lay on the ground, terrified and completely spent.

  The shooting ended, and the melee of voices lessened. Tess awaited her fate, fully expecting Haverly to shoot her in the head as well. Instead, strong arms lifted her and helped her to sit upright. In a haze, she dared to hope.

  Cale.

  Was she dreaming?

  With a knife, he cut the rope and freed her hands.

  On a sob, she clung to him and he held her tight.

  “Lenna,” she whispered. “I couldn't help her.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Shaken to his core, Cale held Tess close. Relief washed through him.

  What if he’d lost her?

  He kissed her, grateful and hungry for her touch.

  He forced himself to release her, but only because Lenna’s body needed attention. Bipin and two other Apache helped him cut Lenna loose, and they laid her onto the ground, her leggings and moccasins burned. Blood smeared her forehead and covered her face, but upon closer inspection hope filled him.

  “Tess,” he said over his shoulder. “She's alive.”

  Tess rushed to his side and fell to her knees, her cheeks smeared with tears and dirt. “Are you sure?”

  “The bullet must've ricocheted,” Cale said. “It only grazed her. Look, she's breathing.”

  “Oh, thank God!” Tess began crying again, but this time she smiled. She grabbed the edge of her skirt and began wiping at the girl’s face. After a moment, Tess glanced around. “What happened?”

  It wasn't pretty. Cale and the accompanying Apache had struck hard. There’d been no choice when Haverly proceeded to torture Lenna to death.

  Haverly and several of his men managed to escape, but the other Apache had left in pursuit.

  “We've bought ourselves some time, but not much,” he replied.

  “What happened to Hank?”

  “He was with us, but I don’t see him now.”

  Bipin knelt beside them. “We need to go. Can we move her?”

  “We don't have much choice,” Cale said.

  They retrieved horses. Although Gideon was found nearby, Cale tucked Tess into his arms on Bo. She still seemed shaken, and he wanted her near. Bipin carried Lenna with him.

  They rode deeper into the Dragoons, away from the tribe. There were too many loose ends present—Haverly, whatever men he had left, and Saul and Lange. Tess told him how the two of them had taken her and Lenna captive. And now, he didn't know Hank’s whereabouts either.

  But more than anything, they needed to get Lenna settled so Cale could tend to her.

  His arms closed around Tess as he held the reins and he briefly buried his face into her hair. She was hot, sweaty, and covered in grime, and he couldn’t have cared less.

  She lived.

  The fear gripping his heart began to thaw at last.

  Bipin led them to a protected alcove. Cale dismounted and helped Tess to the ground, then he took Lenna from the Apache man. Tess grabbed the bedroll from his gear and laid it down in a shady area, and he laid Lenna atop it.

  Bipin made a fire on which Cale boiled oak root shavings in water. Once cooled, he cleaned Lenna’s leg wounds, reminding him of a time when he’d done this for his half-sister Molly. He gently covered her injury with a light cloth, then prepared cota tea, which they all drank. He managed to get a good bit into Lenna.

  As dusk approached, Cale went to sit beside Tess as Bipin kept watch.

  “Do you think she'll live?” Tess asked.

  Lenna hadn't awakened yet, but Cale thought she would soon. “Yes.”

  “I could hardly believe it when Haverly shot her.” Tess's voice shook. Cale put his arm around her and pulled her close, resting his lips at her temple.

  “How did you get separated from the others?” he asked. “How did they get you?”

  “I was trying to help by creating a false trail. During the night, Saul and Walt found us. They were searching for Hank, and thought I knew where he was. So I lied, and said I’d lead them. That’s when Haverly found us. He wanted the Apache and used Lenna as bait.” Her body shuddered. “Where do you think Hank is?”

  “I don’t know,” Cale murmured.

  “What now?” she whispered.

  “We head to Blight’s cabin. I think we can make it by tomorrow.”

  “Estoy tan contenta de que estés vivo,” she said.

  I’m so glad you’re alive.

  Cale kissed her, drinking her in, lingering over her taste and the feel of her skin.

  It was clear that the path of his life only followed one course now, and it led straight to Tess.

  * * * *

  The night was long, and Tess slept little. Cale and Bipin took turns keeping watch, and Tess tended to Lenna. The girl briefly awoke, and Tess took it as a good sign. She
gave her more tea, and Lenna slept again.

  Slowly, the events of the day loosened their icy fingers from her limbs. What remained was fervent gratitude that Cale was near and that Lenna lived. When Tess slipped into a deep sleep, a clear dream visited her.

  A mountain lion sat in the shadowy folds of the night, the glint of its piercing eyes visible as it moved his head. Beside it sat her abuela.

  “La noche es oscura, pero su luz es fuerte,” her beloved grandmother said.

  The night is dark, but your light is strong.

  Tess awoke with a strong sense that her abuela was near, that perhaps she sat with Tess at this very moment. Grief tightened her chest.

  I miss you, Grandmother.

  And as clearly as if the words had been spoken aloud, she heard, “I will see you again, Teresa, but not now. You have much more to accomplish. The león de montaña protects you.”

  Tess decided that if they made it out of here, she’d tell the story of the mountain lion who roamed the Dragoons, who healed with might and compassion, and lived alone, always caught on the boundary of the two worlds he inhabited. She curled up against Cale’s strong body, feeling the life that coursed through him.

  She had always been caught on the boundaries as well, living as much in her stories as in the world around her.

  She thought of Amado. The injured blackbird had embraced her freedom as if she’d never been imprisoned in the first place.

  And that was the key.

  It wasn’t necessary to forget, but it was necessary to move forward.

  Tess inhaled the scent that was distinctly Cale and felt a sense of homecoming. In his arms, she knew the world in a way no story had ever taught her.

  In the early morning hours, before the sun had risen, they departed on horseback. Lenna was able to sit upright and rode with Bipin.

  By nightfall they came to the perimeter of Blight's property. A light shone in the window in the cabin. Cale signaled a stop and slid from behind Tess. He pulled his gun and slipped into the shadows to gain a better view of the situation. When Cale didn't return, Tess dropped to the ground and slowly approached the homestead.

  The door opened, and the silhouette of a man emerged that she well recognized.

  It wasn't Blight.

  It was her pa.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Aw, Tessie, it's good to see you, lass.”

  Tess stopped several feet from her father. “It's about time you turned up, Hank.”

  “Cale told me you’d come here to find me. Ye didna need to do that.” He took a step toward her.

  “Maybe not. But you're the only familia I have left.”

  “You alone?” Cale asked from behind her.

  “Yep. Blight's not here. That Apache couple down by the creek knows me.” His familiar Irish brogue vibrated through her.

  In the lantern-light, her papá looked older. Lines creased his face and red hair faded into white, but his green eyes still held a glint of the charming Irishman he’d once been, the one who’d stolen her madre’s heart, the one who’d always made Tess feel special during the brief times he would visit her as a child.

  “Why’re you here?” Cale holstered his gun. “You disappeared.”

  “Yeah, I got a bit muddled up there,” Hank said, but Tess knew he lied.

  “We need to get Lenna settled,” Tess said. “Then we can talk.”

  * * * *

  Cale sat at the small table Blight kept in the outer room after stoking the wood stove for Tess. He watched as she prepared a meal for them, her back stiff. Lenna was tucked into Blight's bed in the other room, sleeping now that Cale had cleaned her wounds again and given her a dose of laudanum. She was doing as well as could be expected, and Cale was glad for it.

  Tess set down steaming cups of coffee and plates of beans for him and Hank, then left to carry the pot out to Bipin, who was bedded down in the barn.

  Cale leaned back in his chair. “ Why'd you come here, Hank?”

  “Blight keeps...items for me.”

  “What kind of items?”

  Tess returned, and Hank let the subject drop.

  Cale stood so that Tess could sit. She smiled at him, but her attention soon shifted to Hank.

  She had cleaned up, her hair neatly braided and resting over one shoulder, a dark skirt and blouse—buttoned up to her neck—making her appear as if she was readying for the convent she’d spoken of joining.

  Cale hoped that option was no longer a consideration.

  “Tess, you should eat,” he said. He retrieved his plate and dug in, more hungry than he realized.

  She nodded but only pushed at the food with a spoon. “Where have you been all this time?” she asked Hank.

  “I was around.” He sipped his coffee. “That's hot.”

  “Were you ever going to come back for me?”

  Cale felt like an intruder in a family meeting. He shifted uncomfortably where he leaned against the doorframe to the bedroom.

  Hank's ruddy features shut down. “I really thought ye were better off away from me. Tom and Mary are good people.”

  “Yes, of course they are, but what did you expect? That I'd live with them for the rest of my life?”

  “No. Look, Tessie, it was better for you. I told people that you’d died. I wanted you left alone.”

  “Maybe I should go to the barn,” Cale cut in.

  “No.” Tess's command was final, and a quick glance over her shoulder implored him to stay.

  Hank’s shrewd perusal of the two of them quickly came and went. That was the Hank that Cale knew. This other version was either an act, or he'd started losing his mind and it wasn't quite gone yet.

  “Why did you come ’ere?” Hank asked his daughter.

  “Because I was tired of wondering where the hell you were,” she spat back. “Don't you think I deserved more from you?” She stood, her body taut with anger, her voice low. “Hank, I've lived my whole life waiting for you. You were always gone on some manhunt, living your wanderlust, and leaving mi madre heartbroken. Why do you think she drank so much? And I was just as heartbroken.

  “When madre and abuela died, I was so lost but so glad, so very, very glad that you came for me. I wanted nothing more than to be with you, to know you better. But you weren’t the man I thought you were.” Bracing her hands on the table, she leaned forward. “Did you send Saul after me that night?”

  Sadness blanketed Hank’s face, his gaze filled with sorrow. “No, Tessie. I didna send Saul.”

  She stepped back and crossed her arms. “He said you did.”

  “He lied. When I knew somethin’ was wrong, I came lookin’ for ye, but...I was too late.”

  “Were you drinking?” Her voice caught on a sob.

  Hank sighed and shook his head. “I’ve never been a man of virtue and respectability. I’ve got me a bushel of weaknesses. If I could change what happened that night, I would. I’ve done the only right thing I could think of since then, and that was to stay away from you.”

  Tess gave a jerky nod, then swung open the front door and left the cabin.

  Cale faced Hank. “She wants to forgive you, and for her sake, I hope you’re telling the truth.”

  “I guess I don’t have a good track record.”

  “You could never keep the lines straight.”

  “What lines?”

  “Right and wrong.”

  Hank sagged into his chair, looking weary and defeated. “You know what we do requires a man face things he can't stomach. You learn to live with it.”

  “Maybe,” Cale conceded. “But Tess shouldn’t have to. It was your job to protect her.”

  “I know. You don’t have to keep remindin’ me of that failure.”

  Cale wanted to believe Hank’s words, but he’d never encountered an ounce of remorse from the Irishman during their time together. Could a man truly change? Cale had. Perhaps he owed Hank the opportunity to prove his regret.

  “I always looked up to you, Han
k. For a time, you were the father I always wished I’d had. And I believed that hard, sonofabitch side you had was justified, even necessary. But I don’t anymore. It’s why I left after the Apache massacre.”

  “I just thought you were weak, son.”

  “Butchering doesn’t show strength.”

  “Well, that depends on the circumstances.”

  A heavy silence hung in the room. Cale remained, despite an urge to find Tess. In that moment, it became clear how deep his adoration of Hank had been, alongside the disappointment that cut him now.

  “Repentance is between a man and his Maker,” Hank said.

  “If you’re sorry, then tell Tess. You’d be surprised by her ability to forgive. I know I am.”

  Hank’s gaze flicked to him. “I’ll be damned,” he crooned. “You’re in love with my Tessie.”

  Cale didn’t answer.

  A slight laugh escaped Hank. “I always hoped she’d find a good man, one better’n me.”

  “I have regrets, too, Hank, but if she’ll have me, then I plan to live every day being a man worthy of her. In her eyes, despite everything that’s happened, the world is a place of magic and wonder.”

  “Aye.” His eyes shifted to a faraway gaze. “I well remember my Tessie when she was young. What a spitfire she was, so smart and sharp and curious. I knew my ma and da would’ve loved her.”

  “She’s still that girl,” Cale said. “And she deserves to live a life filled with love and warmth and children.”

  “And you’re gonna give that to her?” Hank’s tone held a hint of incredulity.

  Cale nodded.

  Hank’s eyes gleamed. “Praise be to God. Maybe all isn’t lost after all.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Tess fled the cabin, unable to stay any longer. Bipin was in the barn, so she located two old horse blankets and went into the surrounding woods, stopping when she found a flat spot covered in pine needles. She shouldn't go far—it wasn't safe—but she’d needed to escape the confinement of Blight’s house and the apologies of Hank.

  She'd had it all figured out in her mind, how she wanted—no, needed—to find her padre. How she would forgive him for handing her over to Saul, how she would forgive him for having a bad core. It all seemed pious and just, a noble cause. She would help her pa become a better person.