This Side of Forever (Book Five of the Brides of the West Series)

by Hestand, Rita

  "Oh…no…!" She cried aloud. "This can't be happening."

  But it was and she laid her head on the cold ground and cried herself back to sleep.

  She hadn't realized though that her newfound odor had saved her from other predators through the night. Nothing got close to her, not even a snake.

  As the sun came up, she scrambled back for the cave, so she couldn't be seen.

  She heard nothing, saw nothing in front of her.

  Hunger forced her out of the cave though, and she walked about trying to find something she could eat.

  She had walked a ways before she realized she had come into a red juniper berry bush, it was tall and almost like a tree and the leaves were scale-like, but the berries were red and she knew from her mother's cooking with these berries that they could be eaten. She picked as many as she could hold in her hand and sat down beside the tree to eat them. They had a sweet tang to them and she sighed with great relief. She picked another handful and ate them.

  However, water wasn't that easy to find and her lips were already parched from the sun.

  She searched the horizon for some sign of water.

  She'd walk some more now that she'd eaten she had more energy, but the blood loss had drained her and she tore off some of her petticoat to tie around her arm to stop the bleeding that had broker the wound open again.

  She surprised herself at how much she knew about surviving out here. She didn't think she could endure so well.

  However, she knew that not finding water might be the end of her.

  As the sun beat down, she decided she needed to find cover and rest. If she were up to it, she'd walk more as night came.

  Far off she spotted what looked like the remains of a mesquite tree. She walked to it in hopes of water. But the creek bed was dry. She did find shelter there though and decided to stay for a while.

  She was bone weary and her shoulder ached like crazy. She felt a deep depression coming over her, but thinking of her mother, she determined she would not let it bring her down. She moved onward as it got dark and the weather was pleasant. She was so tired.

  She wondered if there would ever be a town or people out here. She felt she had walked miles.

  As night came, she saw firelight. It was behind her not in front. She had to find out if it belonged to her father or not.

  She was very tired though and her stamina was giving out again.

  Before she reached the firelight, she passed out. Unable to move, she let darkness overcome her.

  The next morning, she was moving, from a horse…

  She looked up and saw her father once more.

  She puked. Not once but several times.

  He threw her off the horse and got down to examine her. "What's wrong with you girl?" He asked coming close.

  "I'm sick, I'm so thirsty, and I'm shot…." She wailed miserably.

  "There's a town not far from here, we'll go there and get you patched up. And we'll eat too…" He smiled at her. And you sure could use a bath, you smell like a skunk."

  Her energy gave out, and she passed out.

  When he got her to the town, Martin soon realized that most of the inhabitants here were Mexican. He asked for a doctor for her and one woman went to fetch someone.

  He was given a room at the Inn and he brought her a plate of food in the room. The way she smelled she couldn't go out.

  "I've got you something to eat, and the doctor is on his way." Martin said triumphantly.

  She nodded.

  "Who shot you?" He asked.

  "I have no idea." She cried.

  "You'll mend. Now you eat and you'll start feeling better real quick." He handed her the plate of beans and potatoes.

  She took them and gobbled them up quickly. She almost licked the plate.

  "That's good. You'll feel better by tomorrow." He encouraged her.

  "Why are you doing this?" She cried when the room became silent.

  "What?" he asked innocently.

  "Taking me to Mexico for starters." She began.

  "In Mexico they won't ask questions. They will accept that you are my wife. I've even got your mother's ring. I took it off her before I left…"

  "You animal. You really killed her?" Amy cried aloud.

  "She's better off dead. You'll see. I didn't love her. I do love you, though." He smiled. "I won't hurt you. Like George did. I took care of him too."

  "You killed George?" She looked frantic. "Father…you are sick…"

  "I am not your father…" He announced his eyes widening with anger. "It's time you knew that. I have loved you all your life. I must have been crazy to think I could marry you off to George. You deserve better than that. I’m going to see you get better…me. So set your mind girl, you are mine, that's how it is."

  Her mouth fell open. "You raised me, didn't you?"

  "Of course I did. I raised you so I could have you. Because I love you…" He said with a strange smile. "You're so young and beautiful and smart. I'll treat you right. You don't have to fear me."

  Fear Him? He terrified her.

  Her mother was dead, and her father…whatever he was to her…was insane! What was she going to do?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The doctor patched her shoulder, and his arm. And left something for her to bath in to take the smell away. He looked at the man. "She's got broken ribs too…she needs to be wrapped. Would you like me to take her to my office and wrap her ribs?"

  "No…that' won't be necessary, she's already seen a doc." He answered.

  "Is this your daughter?" He asked Martin.

  "No…my wife…" Martine explained.

  "Oh…well, who shot you?"

  "Don't know…it was dark."

  "Better report it to the Sheriff." The doctor said. He gave Amy a quick look, then shook his head and left.

  "Did you see the look on his face? He was sick knowing you called me your wife. But it isn't true." Amy cried.

  "It will be. We're gonna be married as soon as we cross the border." He informed her. "Then you'll be mine and no one can take you from me."

  "I'll tell them who you really are…" She threatened.

  "Won't do a bit of good. I'm not your father, and even you know that now. You just rest and get better; when we marry, you will be very happy. I'll see to that, every day…" He smiled.

  "And to think I loved you as a father…" she began.

  "Now you will love me as a man…" he chuckled.

  "I'll kill myself first." She threatened.

  "If you don't shut up, we'll have the honeymoon before the wedding…is that what you want?" He came close again, his eyes drifting down her body.

  "No!" She shrieked.

  "Of course you don't. You're still a virgin aren't you? Another thing to love about you. Untouched. I'm going to eat. I'll be back later, maybe you will have simmered down, and we can discuss it again." He snickered.

  When he left she broke into tears, but her mind was working and she was thinking on how to escape.

  She went to the door, but he had locked it with a key from the outside.

  She went to the window.

  It raised an inch and stopped. She kept trying, but it wouldn't budge. So afraid he'd come back she threw a chair at the window and broke the glass.

  She scrambled from the room and jumped. She fell into the bushes outside.

  The bushes scratched her legs, but she was unmindful.

  She ran again, this time she ran to a small church.

  The padre came toward her, when she sat down on a bench. "Yes my child. Is there something I can do for you?"

  "Can I stay here?" She asked.

  "Here, in the sanctuary. To pray yes, but it is not proper lodging."

  "You don't understand…I'm running away from a man. He wants to….to…." she couldn't say it.

  The priest looked disturbed. "You may sleep in the nun's quarters. They won't bother you there. Now, who is this man that wants to harm you?"

  "It's
a long story." She began.

  "I have time…" he smiled gently at her.

  Finally she broke down and told him the story. While he told her, the Padre shook his head with dismay and surprise. The Padre made the sign of the cross and said a prayer then looked at her. "You may stay here as long as you need shelter."

  "Thank you…you won't tell him I'm here?"

  "No…Senorita, I will not tell him. This man is evil and God protects you now." He explained.

  She looked around at the cross and the stained-glass windows. She nodded. "Thank you…thank you very much."

  She grabbed his hand. "Just tell him you haven't seen me, I don't want him to hurt you."

  "Si…" the padre smiled.

  ~*~

  Meanwhile Clay, Billy, and Juan rode into El Diablo at almost midnight. The town lay only miles from the border and this was their last hope at catching him before he entered Mexico.

  Not many places were lit up, but there was one cantina that was open so they stopped.

  The went up to the bar and ordered a drink. The bartender looked at them. "You ain't from here are ya?" He asked.

  He was Mexican, but he spoke perfect English.

  "No…northwest of here." Clay answered.

  "What you doing here, then?" he asked.

  "Just riding through. We're looking for someone."

  "Who?" the bartender looked interested as he bent his head so the others wouldn't hear.

  "We're looking for a young lady…she might be with an older man. She's got kind of red-gold hair and brown eyes. She's been hurt…too." Clay said.

  The bartender stared at them.

  "I saw them, earlier. I don't know where they are now, but they were here." He told them.

  "Do you have any idea where they might have gone?" Clay asked.

  The bartender dried a shot glass and looked at him. "No, but you might check with the doc. They had both been shot. Did you do that?"

  Clay turned to stare at him. "Shot?"

  "Yep, she'd been shot in the shoulder, he'd been shot in the arm." The bartender offered the information freely.

  "Thanks…you've been very helpful. And just so you know, we didn't shoot them." He told him.

  "Didn't think you did. You kin or something?"

  "Or something." Clay smiled, and he put a five dollar gold piece in front of the man. "If you see them again, let me know and try to stall them…okay?"

  "Sure will…." The bartender put the gold piece in the register.

  They stepped outside and saw the doctor's office. They rushed over, as there was still a light on there too.

  They knocked on his door.

  He answered it. "Yes, can I help you?"

  "You the doc?"

  "Yes, I am. What can I do for you?" He asked looking from one to the other.

  "We're looking for someone. We're told you might have treated them for gunshot wounds." Clay explained as he came inside.

  "As a matter of fact, I did. A young woman and an older man. She had a wound in her shoulder. He had a bullet in his arm. I removed them both. I wanted to take care of her ribs; I knew she had some broken ones from the way she was breathing. But he wouldn't let me." The doctor nodded, rubbing his chin and trying to remember more details. "They kin of yours or something?"

  "Not exactly. I'm going to marry the girl. The man is her step-father."

  "Her step-father!" The doc looked alarmed. "He told me he was her husband."

  Clay looked at Billy in alarm. Juan shook his head. "This is not good."

  "Where are they?"

  "They have a room over at the Inn." The doctor said. "You mean he's not married to her?"

  "That's right. He's not even her father, really. But…he's a little touched in the head, and he just shot her mother…"

  "Dear God. Well, hope you catch him."

  "Why don't you send the Sheriff over, as soon as you can?" Clay advised. "Because there might be someone dead by the time he gets there."

  "Yes sir, I sure will…." The doctor got his hat and was behind them when they left.

  They walked over to the Inn. But Clay noticed the glass on the ground, and looked up.

  "I think we've found them…" He said.

  They stopped at the desk to ask where the room was and went upstairs.

  They knocked on the door. There was no answer.

  They turned the knob, it was locked.

  "He's not here, right now. Shall we wait downstairs?" Billy asked.

  "Good idea…" Clay nodded.

  The three of them went down to the lobby, bought a paper each and was reading it. Clay whispered. "If he's still in town, he'll be back…"

  It took a couple of hours, but Martin came stumbling through and headed straight for the room.

  They followed a respectable distance behind.

  Martin opened the door and called to her, "Amy dear, are you asleep?"

  There was no answer… He called out again.

  Clay, Billy, and Juan were right behind him, closing the door and drawing their guns. "Find the light, Billy." Clay told him.

  "I can't see in here, it's so dark." He felt around for it and lit it.

  The room lit up, but there was no Amy. They looked at the window and saw she had escaped. Martin saw it too, his mouth hung open.

  "What do you want with me?" He asked innocently.

  "For starters you are going back to Cross Corners. You tried to kill your wife…so you are going to jail." Clay announced.

  "You mean she's not dead?" Martin frowned.

  "No…she's not. No thanks to you. Now…where is Amy?"

  "Amy? How should I know?" He grunted.

  "You brought her here, people saw you. We know she's here."

  "Gentlemen, do you see her?" He chuckled.

  "No…but we know she's escaped too. We'll find her." Clay told him.

  "Let's go find the Sheriff here and have him lock you up for now." Billy told him.

  Juan had his gun at Martin's back, "Move it, hombre."

  "You can't arrest me…" Martin cried out.

  "Watch us." Billy smiled into his evil face.

  The Sheriff showed up and took over the prisoner. "The Doc told me everything. Let's go mister. I don't like men that treat women bad. We don't have enough women out here to do that. So you've already got on my bad side. Move it."

  Clay and the others holstered their guns.

  "You boys drop by and file the complaint," The Sheriff encouraged.

  "We'll be there…"

  "Where do we start looking for Amy?" Billy's brow lifted doubtfully. "She's probably so scared she'll never come out of hiding."

  "That's the truth." Clay nodded. "I'm not sure yet. I think we need a bottle and to wait it out at the Inn. Someone was bound to hear all that glass shatter." Clay said.

  "That the truth."

  "Juan, why don't you go get us a bottle and bring it over to the lobby at the Inn." Clay suggested.

  "Si, I'll be back." He smiled.

  Clay and Billy walked over to the Inn. There was a desk clerk behind the counter, so Clay went up to him. "I saw a lot of glass out front, someone break a window?"

  "Yeah…threw a chair through it. Someone told me it was a woman…," the clerk said.

  "Do you where she might have gone?" He asked quietly.

  "I wasn't on duty, didn't see a thing, some fella came down right after I came on and told me about it." The clerk answered.

  Clay shook his head. "Sorry about the window."

  "It's insured we get a lot of that from mad wives, who's husband rent a room with a whore." The clerk laughed.

  "Never thought about that." Clay shook his head and went to sit down.

  Juan showed up with a bottle and they poured themselves a drink, hovering around the only table in the lobby.

  "Some fella upstairs has witnessed it, according to him."

  "Should we go on up and start questioning everyone?" Juan asked.

  "I really hate to do
that. But I don't know of any other way to find out where she went…"

  Juan you take the right side, Billy the left, I'll start in the middle. If you find out anything, let me know."

  "Right."

  Quietly they knocked on doors. A woman who was in her robe and very upset that a man was standing at her door met Juan. He apologized and moved on. Billy found a drunk and there was no way he was going to tell them anything.

  Clay knocked on a door and a man answered. He told them what he was looking for.

  "What's she to you, mister?" The man asked.

  Clay sized the man up as either a traveling salesman or a peddler of some kind.

  "I'm going to marry her…" He said frankly and smiled.

  "Well, I'll be…even after she ran out of here from that man she was with?"

  "Even after that…" He said. "Did you see where she was going?"

  "Yeah…I did. Well, it's just that it isn't every day you see a woman chunking a chair out a hotel window and running like the law was after her. So I watched, she ran over to the church…"

  "The church?" Clay stared at the man a minute. The church. Of course, sanctuary. "Thanks. You've been very helpful."

  "Hope you find her and everything works out alright."

  "It will…thanks again." He waved at Juan and Billy.

  "She's at the church." Clay said.

  "So we going over there and get her?"

  "No…she's probably already told the padre all about what has happened. He'll be suspicious of most of us. Juan needs to go."

  "Say, that's a good idea." Billy agreed.

  "What do I say to him?" Juan asked.

  "Just tell him the story, and why we are here."

  "Si. I will be back as soon as I can…" Juan nodded.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Juan knocked on the door and waited. No one answered the door. He knocked again. Again, no one answered.

  He glanced about and saw no lights on. He went back to the Inn.

  "Sorry Clay, but, no one answered." Juan shook his head. "I guess they are asleep."

  "Okay, let's grab a room for the night and check tomorrow. No use waking everyone up and disturbing them." Clay nodded as he took a drink and sipped it.