Woman of Courage (Four Full length Historical Christian Romances in One Volume): Woman of Courage Series

by Cynthia Hickey

  She stepped back until her legs hit the first pew, then lowered herself onto the seat. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the cross, even though tears obscured her vision. Everyone was right; Tilly, Grandma, John. Ruth helped others out of a sense of obligation because she refused to turn to the One who really mattered. Money had become her God, and the restaurant fueled her sin, providing more than enough funds for her family to live on, yet it wasn’t enough. Ruth strived for more.

  She covered her face with her hands, unworthy to be in the Lord’s house. With her parents’ deaths, she’d assumed the role of judge and jury which resulted in another death. By her hand. Now, others were at risk. More lives would be lost, and it would all rest on her shoulders.

  God, help me. I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore.

  I will do it for you.

  Ruth bolted to her feet and glanced around for the source of the voice. The sanctuary remained deserted except for her. Her gaze returned to the cross. Could it be that easy? All she had to do was relinquish control and cry to God for help? If so, then her soul cried out with everything in her. She fell to her knees and allowed God’s unsurpassed peace to wash over her and remove the burdens that promised to crush her.

  She didn’t know how long she bowed at His feet, only that when she rose, God had met Ruth in the empty places of her heart. That He had given her the freedom to live…and to love again.

  With the heavy weight of guilt lifted, Ruth felt as if her feet never touched the rough wooden floor as she moved back outside. She paused on the top step and took a deep cleansing breath of the mountain air. She should’ve listened long ago when people told her where to find solace and peace. She smiled. Ruth Stallings had never been one to take the easy road. Well, today was the day that all changed.

  With a new spring in her step, Ruth sashayed down Main Street. The sun shined brighter, the birds sang sweeter, and she wanted to throw back her head and laugh at how wonderful she felt. Even the trees danced and shared in her joy.

  John stepped from the jail as she passed. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, John,” she sang. “It’s a wonderful day.”

  “What’s gotten into you?” He returned her smile, but a crease marred the skin between his eyes. “Have you heard good news about Moses?”

  “No. Hank took Grandma early this morning to check on him. They won’t be back until supper time, but I choose to believe he’s just fine.” She folded her hands behind her and rocked on her feet. “Aren’t you going to invite me inside to see your new jail?”

  “Oh, of course.” He waved his hand in a gallant manner. “After you.”

  Ruth stepped into a simple room with pine floors and pine walls. An oak desk took up occupancy against one wall. Beside it stood a gun cabinet with two rifles. A short hallway led straight ahead and two small jail cells with black iron bars were on each side. Both cells were empty and, in a lawful town like Painted Bluff, would stay that way the majority of the time.

  She faced John. “It’s wonderful.”

  One corner of his mouth curled. “For a jail. It’s definitely better than what I had. Moses is a talented man with a hammer and nail. Iron too.”

  She grinned. “Lock me up.”

  His smile faded. “What?”

  She stepped closer, inhaling the clean scent of soap, and peered into the eyes she loved. “Lock me up, John, and never let me go.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her to his chest until she yelped. “There’s other places I’d rather lock you. Would you like to see the progress on the house?”

  “I’d love to.”

  After giving her another squeeze that pushed the air from her lungs, John planted a kiss on her forehead and took her hand. “I think you’ll be impressed.”

  “Why don’t you get folks to help you?” She almost had to jog to keep up with his long strides. “Then you’d be finished by now.”

  “I want to do this on my own.”

  “Sounds like somebody else I know.” Ruth giggled and playfully bumped him with her shoulder.

  “It does, doesn’t it?”

  “Wow.” Ruth stopped in the yard and surveyed the framed walls. “It’s bigger than I thought.” She stepped through what she believed was the front door. The smell of pine resin stung her nostrils and she glanced at the sanded boards under her feet.

  “You’re standing in the parlor. Off to the left is the dining and kitchen. There will be four bedrooms upstairs. The main one will face the bluff.”

  Ruth ran her hand over the stair banister. She looked at the house with different eyes than last time. Now, she looked at it as if it would be her home. Once she got up the nerve to tell John how much she loved him. She raised her head to study his face. Had she waited too long? No, the same look of love radiated from his eyes. She’d tell him once the danger from the Bushwhackers was past.

  She stepped to the kitchen area and visualized where she’d place a stove and pump. Shelves over there for food and dishes. Checkered curtains at the window. A long table to fill with noisy children. “It’s beautiful, John.”

  “Even more so when it’s filled with a family and a woman’s touch.” He pointed out the framed window. :”The outhouse will be at the tree line and I’ll dig a well over this way and have the water pumped right into the house. The rock fireplace in the parlor will look mighty fine with a bear skin rug in front of it, don’t you think?”

  Her face heated. Without her saying anything, John knew he built the house for her. The patient man just waited for her to say the words.

  He grabbed her hand. “Let’s sit on the porch and pretend we’ve got rockers.”

  *

  John watched Ruth’s face as she lowered herself to the top step. She didn’t have to say anything for him to know she loved the house. Once he completed it, he’d get on his knee and propose official like. He’d locked away his ma’s ring years ago, thankful he’d never given it to Marsha. His pa had found the diamond in a cave deep in the Ozarks and had the full carat mounted on a gold band. His ma had often said the gem was too fine for a simple mountain girl such as herself. Pa had replied that the ring was fit for the queen that wore it.

  His ma had handed it to them while she died of influenza, telling him and Luke that it belonged to whichever of them married first. John would bet his Stetson, that ring would be on Ruth’s finger by Christmas.

  “Where’d you go this morning, Ruth?” He leaned against the porch post and took her hand in his. “I saw you walk toward the church.”

  “That’s where I went.” She smiled. “I had a conversation with God. We’re all right again. It took Moses nearly dying for me to realize that the troubles I’d taken on myself were of my own doing. Not ma’s and pa’s deaths, but the way I worked to do everything myself and wandered in a circle like a chicken with its head chopped off.”

  She fingered the fabric of her skirt. “I’m finished running and finally realized I couldn’t do everything myself. I turned it over to the One who can.” She sighed. “And I feel so much lighter.”

  John’s heart leaped. Finally, what he’d been waiting for. Ruth had embraced her faith. He pulled her close. “I am so happy for you.” Now, he needed the perfect time to propose. A time when she least expected him to. He wanted something special enough to knock the high-topped boots right off her feet. He leaned closer to kiss her.

  Shots boomed from the direction of town.

  Chapter 28

  Ruth dashed for home. They’d found her, and once again she’d left the house without her weapon.

  “Ruth!” John’s feet thundered behind her. “Stay in the house.” His long legs ate up the distance as he passed her on his way toward Main Street, his pistol already clutched in his hand.

  God protect him.

  Without a word to anyone, Ruth hurried to her bedroom and whipped her derringer from the wardrobe and grabbed the rifle and shells. She would not allow another death on her conscience. Squaring her
shoulders, she headed to the kitchen.

  Deborah and Sarah were gathering supplies for the evening meal. “We won’t be serving supper tonight. The two of you get upstairs and stay there.” Ruth turned.

  “Wait.” Deborah paused in the task of kneading dough. “We heard gunfire.”

  “I want to help.” Sarah put fists on her hips. “I can shoot. You know I can.”

  Ruth glanced at the rifle in her hand then shoved it at her sister. “Guard yourselves from the upstairs window. I trust you can pull the trigger if you need to?”

  Sarah nodded, her eyes huge in her pale face. “Like taking a bead on a rabbit.”

  Not exactly the same thing, but Ruth knew her sisters also possessed the steel backbone of the Stallings family. They’d do what needed to be done. Leaving them was the hardest thing she’d ever done, but the danger was to her, not them. Unless she stayed within the safety of the same four walls.

  “No.” Deborah pushed the rifle back at her. “I know where Luke keeps his guns. He told me before he ran out the door. You’ll need this.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Be careful, Ruth.”

  Ruth nodded. “You too.” She whirled and raced for town as if her skirts were on fire.

  She kept to the back of the buildings until she joined John, Luke, and a handful of other men. “Where are they?”

  John glowered. “I told you to stay at the house.”

  “You need my help.” She leaned against the building. “I’m staying.”

  “Woman, you are the most cantankerous—“

  “We don’t have time for this,” Luke said. “She’s armed and she’s right. We need every gun we have. There are six men hiding inside the church. They fire any time someone pokes their head in view. They’ve already put a bullet through my hat. Almost gave me a permanent part in my hair.”

  “I don’t like it.” John’s face reddened. “You stay beside me the entire time, Ruth. I mean it. If I have to shoot you in the leg to make you stay put, I will.”

  “Understood.” Her hands trembled as she loaded the rifle. “What’s your plan?”

  “I don’t have one, other than getting closer to the church without being shot.”

  “I like that plan.”

  Across the street, men darted between the buildings. Ruth made out the features of Hank and Daniel. A few more seconds, and she saw Daniel’s brothers. Then, like ghosts, the men from the lowlands flittered in the tree line, all making their way to where she hunkered down with John and Luke. Moses led the pack.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Moses.” She gripped his arm. “You aren’t well.”

  “When danger comes to you, Miss Ruth, nothing can keep me in bed. I owe you my life.”

  Her throat burned from the tears she refused to shed. “And, Daniel, you’re nothing but a boy.”

  “I’m a man, and scoundrels have come to town putting the girl I love in danger.” He glanced around. “I aim to marry Sarah, Ruth. The sooner the better.”

  “I kept Sarah and Deborah at the house. They’ll be safe there.” They’d discuss marriage later. Gratitude for the sacrifice others were willing to make on her behalf stole her breath. Ruth gripped the gun tighter in a futile effort to keep her hands from shaking.

  Gunfire exploded from the church window. One of the arriving men fell in a cloud of red dust. The group around Ruth returned fire until the afternoon filled with booms and the acrid smell of gun smoke filled the air.

  “We need to get closer.” John peered around the corner. “We’re wasting ammunition sitting here shooting at shadows.” He removed his hat and wiped perspiration from his brow. “I’m going to sneak around. Y’all cover me.”

  “I’m coming with you.” Moses took a step after him.

  “No. I trust you to take care of Ruth. I’ll take Luke.” John caressed Ruth’s cheek, then pulled her to him in a fierce hug. His lips claimed her with the intensity of the sun and her tears spilled. When they pulled apart, worry creased his face. Her heart pounded with the intensity of galloping horses.

  She forced a smile. “I’ll be all right. You come back to me, okay?”

  “I will. I promise.”

  Moses nodded and stepped to Ruth’s side. “I’ll protect you with my life, Miss Ruth.”

  “That won’t be necessary, Moses, but I appreciate the gesture.” She lifted her rifle and fired along with the others while Luke and John skirted around the backside of the jail. She fought to keep her focus on the white building ahead of them and not on the fear of what she’d do if John were killed.

  “We need to move closer,” she told the men. “If we cut across the street, we can sneak behind the mercantile. Hank, where’s Grandma?”

  “I sent her to the house to wait with your sisters.”

  Ruth puffed out her cheeks. “Then let’s go. Quickly. Keep firing to provide cover.”

  Under a hail of bullets, they dashed across the street and ducked behind the row of buildings there. With her back plastered to the wall of the mercantile, Ruth stopped to catch her breath. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Everything in her wanted to storm the church, but she knew a foolhardy move like that would get someone killed. She’d heard stories of English soldiers in the Revolutionary War. They’d lost against the local militia because of their refusal to drop formation. She’d adopt the militia’s behavior and keep their attack stealthy.

  “Give us the woman!” Someone shouted from the church.

  Ruth’s heart stopped.

  “Are they talking about you, Miss Ruth?” Moses leaned beside her. Sweat poured down his face.

  “Yes.” She closed her eyes. “I killed one of them before we came to Painted Bluff.” She twisted her lips. “I guess they want revenge.”

  He chuckled, a phlegmy sound that tore at her. “Appears so.” He patted her shoulder. “We won’t let them have you, Miss Ruth. The thought of your milky white neck snapping at the end of a rope churns my stomach.”

  She returned his laugh. “I don’t cotton to the notion much myself.” When John realized how close to the Bushwhackers she’d managed to get, he would be the one to shoot her for disobedience. But she couldn’t sit back and do nothing while others fought to protect her. She sidled down the wall until she could peek around the corner.

  John and Luke had reached the brush behind the church. Now was the time to make a move. She chewed the inside of her cheek. Someone needed to draw fire so John and Luke could rush the back. She glanced at the earnest faces around her. Not one could be put in that kind of danger. “Hank, can you get inside your store and grab that dress dummy you have in the front window?”

  His brow furrowed. “Yep.”

  “I plan on drawing the Bushwhacker’s attention.” She grinned. Please, Lord, let this work.

  He climbed through the back window. Within minutes, the dressmaker’s dummy fell out to the ground, its calico dress revealing ruffled bloomers. Leave it to Grandma to make sure the form was dressed through and through.

  “And a hat, please.” She righted the form, then located a board to serve as neck and head. She wasn’t positive such a ridiculous idea would work, but they only needed a few minutes of confusion to allow John and Luke to get inside.

  Hank passed her a green bonnet. Ruth tied it on the dummy. “There. Now, we slide it out, just a bit, to draw fire.”

  “Let me.” Daniel dropped to his belly and stretched, pushing the dummy around the corner.

  Bullets riddled the body. Bile rose in Ruth’s throat as she imagined the form to be her. How could anyone hate another person enough to shoot them so full of holes?

  “Got her!”

  “That’s not a person, idiot! There’s no head.”

  Ruth clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the nervous giggles threatening to erupt. Had she bought the Powell brothers enough time? She peered around to see John’s boots disappear through a window. Within seconds, amidst more gunfire, the Bushwhackers thundered from the church and behind the jail. At least now, they wer
e somewhat in the open, same as the others.

  “We got ‘em now!” Daniel raised his gun and dashed into the street, accompanied by his brothers. A rapid succession of bullets spun Daniel like a marionette before he fell. His brothers dropped to their knees and continued to fire. Another took a shot to the shoulder and dove behind a wagon.

  Moses yanked Ruth back when she stood to go after him. “You can’t help him now, the fool kid.”

  “Let me go!” Ruth yanked free. “I can’t let someone die on my account.” She opened her hand to let the rifle drop to the ground, then lifted her skirts and ran. “Stop! Please! I’m here.” Her shoulders sagged as the shooting ceased.

  “Come closer,” a voice ordered. “Come to us and no one else will die.”

  Ruth squared her shoulders, raised her hands over her head, and took the first step across the mile of open street.

  *

  John burst through the church’s front door as Daniel fell. His heart dropped when Ruth dashed into the street. His blood ran cold as she moved woodenly toward the Bushwhackers. No! She couldn’t give herself up. He sprinted toward her.

  “Back off, sheriff. She comes willingly.” Hodge, the man from the campfire weeks earlier stepped out of hiding, flanked by his men. “If one of us is shot, she dies.”

  The men in charge of protecting Ruth came from behind the building, their weapons held at their sides.

  “I can’t let you take her.” John held his pistol aimed at Hodge.

  “Then we’re at a stand still, aren’t we, sheriff?” The man’s face was set like stone beneath his bushy beard. “I’ve got no qualms about shooting a lawman or a woman. Especially a murdering female. You shoot me and one of my brothers puts a bullet between her eyes. Might mess up that pretty face.”