Heart of the Rockies Collection

by Kathleen Morgan

  Josie nodded. “So true. So true.” She paused and stared over Shiloh’s shoulder. “Speaking of treating others with patience and compassion,” she said, “there’s someone headed our way who equally deserves the same kindness. Or rather,” she added slyly, “your kindness. Personally, I have no problem treating him cordially.”

  With a sinking feeling, Shiloh turned to find Jesse headed their way. Whatever did he want? Considering she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since the disastrous visit with Douglas two weeks ago, and that she really didn’t need him until she chose to make another trip to Jack’s camp, it was surprising to see him headed their way.

  The Chief Douglas fiasco notwithstanding, she was at least making some progress with the women in Johnson’s camp. And that was in no way thanks to Jesse. A lot of her good fortune was due to Susan paving the way for her in the past couple of weeks, but to Shiloh’s credit, it was her own efforts that had won over Susan.

  Still, Josie was right. Everyone should be treated with patience and compassion—at least to the best of one’s abilities. It was just that, at times, some people strained the limits of such actions, and one of those people was surely Jesse Blackwater.

  Funny, she thought, how these days being around Jesse set her on edge. She’d never felt like that when they were younger. But then, in the days back at the ranch, they’d both been so young and inexperienced in the ways of the world. Her more so than Jesse, of course, but still . . .

  As he drew near, Shiloh pasted on a smile of welcome and stepped forward to greet him. Best to seize the advantage, she resolved, and take charge before Josie got it into her head to do so. There was no telling where the conversation might lead if her gregarious friend got into another matchmaking mood.

  “I haven’t seen you in a while,” Shiloh said to the tall man who drew up before them. “What brings you all the way from Jack’s camp to the Agency?”

  “Jack wants to see you again,” Jesse replied without preamble. “When can you be ready to ride there with me?”

  Shiloh took a moment to digest that interesting bit of news and, as she did, a frisson of excitement vibrated through her. Was it possible? Was Captain Jack reconsidering allowing her to speak with his people? Oh, let it be so!

  “Any idea what Jack wants to see me for?” she asked, tamping down any outward display of pleasure at Jesse’s curt pronouncement. Though he tried to hide it, she could tell he wasn’t particularly happy with Jack’s summons.

  Jesse shrugged. “Who knows? I didn’t think it was my business to ask.”

  “No, I’d imagine not,” Shiloh muttered under her breath. She paused as Josie apparently decided it was time to join them. “Tomorrow’s Sunday, so we can’t leave then. But Monday would be a good day to go, I think,” she replied as she sent her friend a quick glance, then looked back to Jesse. “Considering the long ride there and back, it’s already too late to head out today.”

  “Suits me fine. The day after tomorrow at ten in the morning then?”

  She nodded. A sudden thought struck her. “You won’t ride all the way home today, then come back on Monday to fetch me, will you?”

  “No.” A wry grin tipped the corner of his mouth. “I figured you’d want to go in the next day or so. I told Jack I’d stay with Persune and his family until then.”

  “Oh. Good.” Shiloh paused again, not sure what else needed saying, especially with the stilted conversation they were already having.

  Josie, however, seemed to possess no such sense of reticence. “Perhaps you’d like to join us for supper at the boardinghouse then? We’re having beefsteak pie and boiled cabbage, and chocolate bread pudding for dessert. You could sit with Shiloh and me, so you’d have people you know to talk with.”

  Yes, Josie was definitely back into her matchmaking mode, Shiloh thought with exasperation. Still, the consideration of spending some time with Jesse this evening wasn’t altogether unpleasant. She doubted, though, that he’d accept. She wasn’t disappointed.

  “I’ve already made plans to share supper with Persune and his family,” he said, smiling politely down at Josie. “But I thank you for the invitation.”

  “Well, perhaps another time then,” the other woman replied, regret clearly written all over her face.

  Jesse solemnly nodded. “Yes, perhaps another time.”

  An uncomfortable silence again fell between them. Finally, Shiloh couldn’t bear it a moment longer. She turned to Josie.

  “We really should be on our way if we want to complete our full walk before it’s time to return to set the table for supper.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” her friend said, looking uncertainly from her to Jesse.

  “And I need to go as well,” Jesse said. “I promised to help Persune and a few of the others repair some of the pony pens.” He caught Shiloh’s gaze. “Until Monday then?”

  “Yes.” She gave a quick nod. “Until Monday.”

  With that, Jesse spun on his heel and strode away, heading back toward the river and Chief Douglas’s camp. The two women stood there for a few seconds, then Josie smiled.

  “He most definitely likes you.”

  Shiloh rolled her eyes. “Oh, Josie, don’t start. Just don’t start.” She stepped out, leaving her friend standing there, a contrived look of confusion on her face.

  “Start what?” Josie called to her. “Truly, sometimes I don’t have the slightest inkling what you’re talking about.”

  Then, apparently realizing Shiloh had no intention of discussing the subject any further, Josie gathered her skirts and ran after her.

  Someone exiting the tepee and the tent flap slapping closed woke Jesse just before dawn on Monday morning. He yawned, stretched, and then pulled the buffalo robe up more tightly around his shoulders. Though it was almost the middle of April, the nights and early mornings still held a bitter chill to them. Not to mention the threat of snow this high in the mountains could linger until at least the beginning of June.

  In the quiet of the darkened tepee, the only sound the slow, even breathing of its still-sleeping occupants, his thoughts soon turned to the day ahead. If truth be told, he wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.

  Though he had told Shiloh he didn’t know why Jack had asked to see her again—and he technically didn’t know as he hadn’t outright asked—Jesse suspected his chief had given her last visit some thought and was reconsidering her offer to teach the children. Jack, after his time scouting for the US Army, could not only read but also understand better than most of the People how important it was to know the white man and his ways. Not to assimilate into the white culture, of course, but rather to comprehend the enemy better, and use that insight against him.

  Nonetheless, Jesse didn’t want Shiloh getting involved. Jack would use her until he didn’t need her anymore, and then toss her aside. And that would be the best that could happen. Whether she realized it or not, she was fast becoming a pawn in the ever-escalating war between the US government and the Utes. For that matter, he supposed Meeker was caught in the middle as well, which, if Meeker actually realized his predicament, could explain some of the man’s periodic frustrated and angry outbursts.

  Still, as hard as he tried to discourage Shiloh, something always seemed to be happening to bolster her optimism that she would indeed succeed. First, Susan and Johnson joining forces with her, and now Jack’s summons. Though she might have thought she’d successfully hidden her delight when he’d informed her of Jack’s invitation, Jesse hadn’t been fooled. She thought she was beginning to make some inroads with the People. And if things continued to play out as they had so far, he didn’t hold much hope of convincing Shiloh otherwise.

  Perhaps it was best just to give up and let things occur as they may. He couldn’t protect her if she wouldn’t let him. Better to just do as he’d planned. Fulfill his obligations to her, then stay far away from her from there on out.

  With a sigh, Jesse flung aside the robe and sat up. The frigid air slamm
ed into his bare skin, sending a spray of gooseflesh forming over his body. He quickly dressed, pulled on his moccasins, grabbed up his buckskin coat, and crawled across the hard-packed tepee floor and out the skin-covered door.

  He needed to wash, eat breakfast, and make some plans. Plans that, he was certain, Shiloh would spend the rest of the day attempting to thwart.

  Jesse’s gloomy mood hadn’t lifted by the time he mounted his pony later that morning and set out for the Agency headquarters. The sight of Shiloh standing outside the Agency office beside her horse, her eyes bright with anticipation, her welcoming smile wide and joyous, did little to sweeten his sour mood.

  The ever-faithful Josie stood beside her, likely there to bid her a safe and fruitful journey. She was a nice enough young woman, even if she was slowly breaking his best friend’s heart. Jesse, however, had to admit he was becoming mightily weary of having to listen to Persune’s moanings and groanings every time he visited these days. Based on his friend’s misery, unrequited love was not something Jesse ever cared to experience.

  In the distance, a mule team pulled a loaded freight wagon over the last rise. Likely more supplies for the Agency, Jesse thought. If additional annuity goods were in that load, he knew word would travel fast among the camps, and in the next few hours, Utes would be swarming the area, eagerly watching everything that was unloaded.

  Luckily, he and Shiloh would be long gone before all the chaos ensued. He drew up his horse a few feet from where she was standing and looked down at her.

  “Ready to head out to Jack’s camp?”

  “Yes.” She shot a glance toward the freight wagon slowly lumbering toward the Agency. “Would you mind waiting for a few minutes more? Until the freight wagon arrives? I just want to see if there are any letters from home.”

  Another fifteen or twenty minutes weren’t going to immeasurably impact their trip. Besides, Jesse knew how important letters from her family must be to Shiloh. She had been such a tenderhearted person as a girl. From all he could tell, she still was.

  “Suit yourself. It’s up to you how soon you want to get to Jack’s camp.”

  “It won’t be long, I promise. In fact, I’ll just ride out to meet the freight driver right now.” She untied her horse, gathered up the reins, and quickly mounted. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  With that, Shiloh urged her horse into a fast walk that swiftly accelerated into a lope. As Jesse watched, she soon reached the wagon, and the driver halted. There was a brief interchange. Then the man reached behind him and pulled out a packet of letters, which he handed to Shiloh.

  He pointed to the one on top and appeared to explain something. Shiloh immediately pulled that letter free and ripped it open. For a long moment she avidly read the letter, then ever so slowly looked in Jesse’s direction.

  Even from the distance separating them, he could tell something was wrong. His instincts were confirmed when Shiloh turned back to the freight driver, appeared to thank him, then urged her horse around and galloped back to them.

  “Oh no,” Josie whispered, moving closer. “I fear it must be bad news.”

  Jesse didn’t reply, fixing his gaze on Shiloh as she rode ever nearer. Now, he could make out her pale, panic-stricken face and overbright eyes. His gut clenched. Whatever it was, it likely involved one of her family.

  “What is it, Shiloh?” Josie immediately demanded when her friend reined in her horse before them. “Tell me, before I die of worry.”

  For a fleeting instant, Shiloh’s tear-filled eyes met Jesse’s. Then she looked down at her friend.

  “It’s a telegram. A telegram from home. My sister is gravely ill and m-may not live.” She stopped and swallowed hard. “They said for me to get home just as soon as I can.”

  6

  Jesse never thought he’d find himself sitting at the dining room table of the Agency boardinghouse. What made the experience seem even more unreal was the fact that Nathan Meeker and his wife sat opposite him, with Shiloh beside him and Josie on her other side. To add to the oppressive sense of crowdedness he always felt indoors, several of the Agency workers hovered in the background, most likely to keep an eye on him.

  It seemed almost like a social gathering, perhaps after a Sunday dinner. A social gathering he felt out of place in, and decidedly uncomfortable in the bargain. Only Jesse’s concern for Shiloh kept him planted in his chair.

  She had barely learned of her sister’s dire condition when she began making plans to pack a few belongings, borrow a rifle, and head south on her own. Only Josie’s quick intervention and strong encouragement that Shiloh discuss her departure first with her father convinced the distraught young woman to pause and reflect on her impulsive decision. But only for a very short time.

  “I appreciate your concern, sir,” she was saying, gazing resolutely across the table at the Indian agent that afternoon. “But it’s a six-day trip back up to Rawlins, and if I miss the train, another few days before the next one comes through. And then it’s a two-day trip to Denver on the train, then another day to Colorado Springs then Pueblo, and then another three days’ ride from there to our ranch. Under the best circumstances—including good weather the whole way—I wouldn’t make it home for nearly two weeks. On horseback, heading south instead, I could maybe make it in about a week. And time appears to be very much of the essence.”

  Meeker sighed, glanced briefly at his wife then back to Shiloh. “I understand that, Miss Wainwright. But it’s far too dangerous for you to go alone, and I can’t spare any of the men right now. So the safest course is to accompany Mr. Collum back to Rawlins on his freight wagon. He said he’d be happy to head out first thing tomorrow morning, just to get you there as quickly as he could.”

  From his position, half-turned in his chair toward Shiloh with one arm resting on the table, Jesse could see her jaw clench in stubborn determination. As a girl, she had always been headstrong and mule-headed, especially when she made up her mind. And Jesse sensed Shiloh had already made her decision. Nothing anyone could say would sway her. If she couldn’t convince them of the rightness of her plan, she’d just wait until they weren’t looking and do exactly what she wished.

  He inwardly sighed. Meeker, for once, was right. It was indeed far too dangerous for Shiloh to head for home alone. But she was just crazy enough to attempt it.

  “I’ll go with her,” he heard himself saying, wondering even as he spoke who the crazy one really was. “I know these mountains like the back of my hand, and the quickest way to her ranch. At the very least, she’ll be safer with me than with any of your men.”

  With a cry of joy, Shiloh swung around and clasped the arm he had laid on the table. “Oh, Jesse. Thank you. Thank you so much!”

  Despite his resolve not to let her touch his heart ever again, he felt himself drawn into her overbright eyes, floundering helplessly in the warm gratitude shimmering there. An answering warmth flared deep within him. A reluctant smile touched his lips. For an instant, it seemed as if they were the only people present in the room.

  Then Nathan Meeker harshly cleared his throat. “An admirable offer, to be sure,” the older man said, “but also unacceptable. Miss Wainwright needs a proper escort, or I’ll never hear the end of it from her family.”

  Jesse went taut, then turned an icy gaze to the Indian agent. “ ‘A proper escort’?” he asked, carefully enunciating the words in his rising anger. “One that isn’t of Indian blood, I presume?”

  The other man had the good grace to blush. “I’m not saying this because I doubt your honorable intentions. But I also have a responsibility to see to Miss Wainwright’s reputation, and her family might take offense—”

  “I assure you, Mr. Meeker,” Shiloh cut in just then, “my family will take no offense if Jesse accompanies me home. He used to work for us, so he’s well known at our ranch. And no one there doubts that he’s a good and honorable gentleman.”

  If the situation wasn’t so tense and Shiloh’s desperation to get home
as quickly as possible so evident, Jesse would’ve laughed out loud. Likely some folk still remained at Castle Mountain Ranch who remembered the terrible day of his whipping. And if Jordan recovered from whatever ailed her, fairly or not, she’d be the first to dispute his being an “honorable gentleman.”

  But no one present—save Shiloh—apparently knew that story. And he wasn’t about to contradict her claims. Indeed, the more he thought about it, the more Jesse liked the plan. In making certain she’d get safely home, he might also manage to get her to reconsider returning to the White River Agency. It seemed the perfect solution to everything he’d wanted.

  “There’s still the issue of a chaperone,” the agent said at last. “I wouldn’t feel right sending you on such a long journey alone with a man not any relation to you. As a properly reared young lady, I’m sure you’d at least agree with me on that.”

  Shiloh paused, then nodded. “In most circumstances and places, yes, I would agree with you, Mr. Meeker. But Jesse is known and approved by my family; this is an emergency, and women living in the West aren’t as bound to societal strictures as they are in cities out East. We can’t be, or we’d never get anything done, much less survive very long out here.”

  “Nonetheless—”

  “Sir,” she politely but firmly interjected, “I had no chaperone when I first rode out here with Mr. Collum on his freight wagon. Why is this any different?”

  For a long moment, Meeker didn’t reply, evidently struggling to formulate some tactful response. Jesse locked gazes with him. “Let me help you,” he ground out at last. “Mr. Collum was a white man, and that made all the difference in the world. Didn’t it?”

  “Mr. Collum is a married man,” the agent finally replied. “You, young man, aren’t.”

  The barely controlled anger flared hot and bright. “I still would be,” Jesse snarled, half-rising from his seat before Shiloh grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, “if my wife hadn’t used a blanket given to her from this very agency! A blanket that gave her smallpox!”