Chase the Moon: A Historical Romance

by Lynn Hubbard

  "Posse!" A man reported as the others filed in seeking shelter.

  Amelia could not see who was in the posse but the volley of gunshots was frightening. With her captor occupied, she saw her chance to escape. She backed away slowly before turning and running into the trees.

  Amelia ran through the thicket as the vines and thistles grabbed at her dress and hair. She did not know where she was going. She did not care. All she knew was that she was running away. She could still hear gun fire behind her. She wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

  Seeing light shining through the trees in front of her she speed up hoping for freedom. Just as she stepped out into the sun light, she was grabbed from behind by her hair and pulled around to face her captor. His face was red with rage and he slapped her as hard as he could across her face.

  She raised her hands up and raked his eyes with her finger nails as he released his grip to grab his face. She turned and gained another two steps before she was thrown to the ground. He flipped her on her back and sat on her stomach as he punched her in the face. Turning her head at the last second the force his of his fist rammed against her jaw causing her skull to explode in pain. She could feel blood pooling in her mouth and spat it at him. Even that small feat caused her great pain but it was worth it.

  He chuckled a slow bitter laugh as he wiped his face with his sleeve.

  “Feisty huh? Well that’s just how I like them. But we’ll have to play later.”

  He stood up pulling the unsteady Amelia to her feet and dragged her back through the woods to the others. A man walked up to them and Amelia used this time to glance around and count the ones that were there. Two were injured and one appeared to be dead or close to it, Amelia felt grim satisfaction at that until she learned that three of the posse members had been shot dead as well while the others retreated.

  She prayed that none of them were her friends or family. Then she felt guilty that even though she may not have known them they had died trying to bring the thieves to justice. She was brought back to her startling reality as her hands were grabbed and bound. Finding herself once again on a horse she desperately clung to the saddle horn in front of her. She was given her own mount since they had left the dead and she didn’t know whether she should be relieved or terrified.

  ***

  Sabrina sat in Riley’s room holding his hand tightly. Her heart ached for Amelia and she prayed the others would bring her back safely. Riley was unusually quite. He was laying back on his bed with his arm strung over his face. She would have thought he was asleep but for the tight grip that remained on her hand.

  “It will be okay.” She whispered.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because it has to be.”

  A rustle at the door caused Sabrina to turn. Samuel was standing there with a grim look covering his usual cheerful face. It had almost killed him that he could not ride with the others. He could probably ride, but there was no way he could ride and shoot with only one good arm.

  “Alma made a fresh pot of coffee. You should come have some, it’s gonna be a long night.”

  Sabrina looked down at Riley reluctant to leave him.

  “I’ll stay, I’ll sit on him if I have too.” Samuel replied trying to lighten the mood.

  “And who’s gonna sit on you?” Riley asked removing his arm form his face.

  “Jasmine he hopes!” Sabrina replied. She couldn’t resist teasing her friend.

  “Girl you have a wicked tongue!”

  Sabrina felt a bit lighter and punched his good arm as she passed. In the kitchen, she actually found Jasmine who was rolling out fresh biscuit dough. Making her way to the coffee, she poured herself a steaming black cup and joined Alma, Tom and Roger at the table. Roger was the only hand to remain on the ranch. His neck was healing well and she told him so.

  “Thanks to you and Doc.” He whispered still not used to using his voice.

  “You have an angel on your shoulder. There is still work for you to do.”

  “I hope Amelia’s angel is paying attention.”

  “Amelia will come home to us. You just wait and see.” Alma said patting her arm.

  ***

  It was easy to track the men on the outskirts of town, not only did the gang leave a trail but the posse left one as well. They lost little time in following. Chase was at the lead with Brock and Warren close behind. The rest of the hands followed with Jaelyn and Thomas taking the up the rear. She knew Thomas was not the best rider and did not want him trampled should he fall. She also wanted to make sure they were not being followed and to cover their trail if the need arose.

  She heard a shout from Chase and watched as several men road toward them. It was a disparaging sight. Several of the men appeared to be wounded and it did not take long to figure out that this was the town’s posse. Three of the horses were rider less and her heart ached for their loss.

  Chase was stoic as they approached, he was angry that they had given up the pursuit so easily. He would not rest until she is safe or there is no breath left in him. He recognized the town sheriff, the large man was slumped on his horse, his right hand was holding his abdomen as blood dripped through his fingers. Chase reached out and grabbed him before he fell off and hit the ground hard.

  "What happened?" he shouted angrily as Thomas rode up to the front to inspect the wounded. He assisted the sheriff as Chase addressed the other men.

  "We were ambushed. We were hot on their trail, but they had more men laid out waiting for us. We didn't stand a chance. "

  Chase cursed their ignorance as Amelia was taken further away from safety. "How many were there?"

  "I don't know fifteen to twenty maybe?”

  "Where do you think they were heading?" Warren asked the distraught man.

  "Not sure, we heard a few of them talking and they weren’t local. I would guess they were heading out to the hills.”

  "Did you see the girl?”

  “We kept an eye out in case they dropped her somewhere, but we didn’t see her.”

  “We're wasting time.” Chase said as the horse pranced under him eager to go as well.

  “My men need a doctor.” The man stated remembering Thomas from earlier.

  “There's one in town.”

  “He’s dead.”

  “I'll stay; I would just slow you down anyways.” Thomas spoke up.

  Chase turned to look at Jaelyn who had rode up after Thomas. “I’m going.” She said without hesitation, they needed every gun they could get.

  “Let’s ride.” Chase said nudging his horse into motion as the rest followed fearlessly.

  Not wanting to be the victims of another surprise attack. Chase rode ahead scouting the area. All of his senses were alert. He soon came upon the scene of the ambush, the fallen townsmen lay dead on the ground. The fresh blood that spilt had already begun to attract flies in the hot afternoon sun. Warren directed that the men be moved to the side knowing that the towns’ men would be back for them soon.

  Chase dismounted and crept into the cove of trees the men had used for cover. He found traces of blood and a body. He doubted they would carry their dead with them so he assumed only one had been killed. He only hoped the ones wounded were mortally so. They would all pay for taking Amelia. A glimmer of light caught his keen eye and he moved closer to take a look. Several strands of golden hair where entwined in a vine. He pulled them free noticing the broken twigs and branches. She had tried to escape. His heart pounded as he followed the disturbed path recreating her flight in his mind.

  His heart was heavy when he found where she had been recaptured and drug back through the woods. Cursing himself for wasting time he hurried back to the others. Mounting his horse he again picked up the trail. They took more care to conceal their tracks now that the posse had retreated. Hopefully they would be lax enough to think they had more time. Men were arrogant. Brock rode next to him for support. Spying a glint of light from the ground, he easily hopped down and held up hi
s find.

  A hair pin.

  Chase’s heart swelled with hope. Had she dropped it on purpose or accident? His eyes eagerly followed the trail looking for more.

  ***

  Thomas wiped at the sweat on his brow leaving a streak of blood for his effort. The sheriff did not even make it back to town before expiring. However, three other men had been shot as well. He had spent the last 20 minutes digging into a man’s side as he tried to find the bullet and stop the bleeding. He had given him enough chloroform to knock him out but the cries and moans from the other wounded were distracting. Taking a deep breath, he blocked them out as he continued on his search. He used his forceps to gently ply through the muscles feeling something solid he quickly griped it and pulled it out. He motioned for someone to apply pressure as he washed his hands and moved on to the next victim. It was gonna be a long day.

  ***

  Sabrina sat on the porch as she waited. Her mind was full of worry. Alma came out carrying a large basket of string beans. “If you’re just gonna sit there all day you might as well keep busy.”

  Sabrina grabbed a handful and started snapping the ends off of them. The soothing smell of fresh beans filled her nostrils and relaxed her a bit.

  “Nothing like good honest work to get your mind off of things.”

  Still too worried to speak they sat in silent comfort as they were soon joined by Anna and Jasmine who were peeling potatoes. She doubted she’d feel like eating much but the rest needed to eat, especially the men who were still healing.

  ***

  Amelia was trying to pay attention to where they were going but it was heavily wooded and every damn pine tree looked like the next. She could hear water up ahead and wished she was more familiar with the area. Her wrists were sore where the ropes were rubbing them and her jaw had tempered down to a throb unless she moved it.

  They rounded the bend and there was the river. She wasn’t quite sure which one, Mississippi was full of rivers and they all looked the same to her. She was petrified at the prospect of crossing the water. Not only is the task itself forbidding but being that much further away from Chase was terrifying.

  Feigning fatigue, she lowered her head to her hands and plucked out another pin. Her numb fingers dropped it too soon and it fell to the ground.

  “Hey Stan!” Someone yelled jumping down and picking it up. “What the hell is this?”

  Amelia full of fury herself kicked the man in the throat and held onto her horse for dear life as she nudged it into motion. She went about a foot before realizing that the reins were still being held by Stan. The horse came to a halt so suddenly she was thrown forward and over its head.

  She put her arms up to cover her face as she hit the ground hard. She lay gasping for breath as the wind was knocked out of her. Pulling in a few wisps of air her lungs relaxed a bit allowing her to breath. By the time she could move Stan was upon her.

  “What the hell was that?” He hollered to her as he forcefully pulled her to her feet by her bound hands.

  “She’s been leaving a trail Boss. Saw her dropping this on the ground. I could take care of her for ya.”

  “Shut up Clyde, Is that true?” he asked turning to address Amelia who stood up to her highest height and looked him in the eye.

  “Yes, it’s true. Moreover, it may behoove you to know you have some very pissed off men coming your way. I am sure, every ranch hand my cousin has will be on your trail. If you leave me be, the hunt stops here. You can keep the damn money.”

  A deep chuckled rocked his thick chest and rumbled out as he pulled her tight against him.

  “Oh sweetheart you are worth so much more than money. Money I can get anywhere.”

  “Her pals were pretty fine too, even the squaw. They would still fetch a good price after we get our fill.” Clyde added licking his crusty lips in anticipation.

  A wicked gleam filled Stan’s eye as he mounted his horse pulling Amelia over his lap like a sack of potatoes. He led the group into the water and Amelia fought to lift her head so she wouldn’t drown. Pushing her still bound hands against the saddle she had enough leverage to lift her upper torso above the water line as she turned her head trying to breath. Reaching the other side she collapsed from fatigue, she was barely conscious as she felt rough hands picking at her hair.

  ***

  Even without the pins, the trail was easy to follow. The clay held the moisture of the recent rain and left divots here and there. It was hard to transport that many men without leaving a trace. The total number of men was unknown, but it did not matter. Chase would take out an army if he had to.

  The light was fading as were the horses’ strength. They would need to rest them soon. He knew the outlaws would have to rest their horses as well. That thought terrified him. Even thinking of someone else touching Amelia filled his heart with rage. He knew he had to push it out of his mind. His anger would not save her only his careful deliberation would.

  The trail led them to a river. He carefully examined the ground and frowned at the imprint of a body. He was relieved that there was not a body there now. He did not care what condition she returned to him in, he only needed her alive. They could overcome anything else together. Climbing back on his horse, he nudged it into the water. He dismounted on the other side and carefully studied the ground before waving the others over. It was a good place to rest the horses while he scouted on foot. The sun had started sinking further into the sky and Chase’s heart with it.

  ***

  Sabrina sat on the porch with the others watching the sun creep down behind the hills. The sky was filled with vibrant yellows, oranges and reds.

  “We need to head inside, it’s not safe out here since the men are gone.” Alma said gathering her knitting.

  “What are you talking about? I’m a man.” Samuel retorted to his mother’s insult.

  “I mean whole men.”

  Sabrina had to laugh at the pair. She had learned from experience to trust Alma’s instincts and advice. Not to mention the mosquitoes were ravenous tonight. “I think we should go in as well. I could use some coffee.”

  “You could use some sleep.” Alma admonished.

  Sabrina sighed, “I don’t think anyone will get much sleep tonight.”

  They moved the motley group into the kitchen. Grabbing two cups of coffee, she headed into visit Riley.

  She entered finding Tom glaring at him, apparently he was still insisting to leave the bed.

  “Fresh coffee if you want some, I’ll keep watch.”

  “Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

  “I doubt it, but I’ll make sure he stays still. I’ll shoot him if I have to.”

  Tom chuckled as he left and Riley scowled at her.

  “Who’s side are you on?”

  “I’m on my side. I’m the one who will have to console Amelia when she gets home if you’re dead.”

  “Do you think she will okay?”

  “I know Amelia, she’s strong, she will be just fine no matter what. And I know some pissed off men who will see that she remains just fine.”

  Riley reached his hand out for the hot coffee and took a sip. The scalding liquid trickled down his throat a lighting a fire in him. He just could not sit around and wait any longer.

  “Hand me my gun.”

  “What for?” Sabrina asked startled by the request.

  “I need to clean it. Doc said I could move in a day or two. If they aren’t back by then, I’m heading out.”

  Sabrina acquiesced as she went to gather his guns and hers as well. Being busy would make the time go by faster.

  ***

  Chase frowned picking up another hair pin. It was not far past the last one he had found. She had been spacing them out much further, why were these so close? Did it fall out on its own. Was she harmed?

  Did someone else drop it? The last question gripped his heart in fear. This trail was leading them up a mountain. If you were trying to escape why would you corner yourself
? Unless you had reserves at the top, but otherwise, no. He had missed something. He turned and carefully made his way back to the river where the others were waiting.

  “Something’s wrong, I think they split up. How far back I’m not sure.”

  Brock who was exploring the other direction called him over. “Quite a few horses passed thru here, they go off in different directions. If that trail is false where do you think they are heading?”

  “I can’t be sure, it is getting too dark to see.”

  “Forget what you can see, what can you feel?”

  “What I feel doesn’t make sense. If they were after money why would they take her?”

  “Because she is beautiful.” Jaelyn spoke up.

  “Yes, but that wouldn’t matter to most men, not enough to slow down their getaway. So why?”

  Warren spoke up grimly, “There are gangs who have been kidnapping women to sell. They get a higher price for quality. I hope that they won’t want to diminish her value by abusing her. ”