"Land sakes, it sure would. With the Huaco's. How in the world did she end up with them?" Mrs. Summers put her hand on her chest.
"The Comanche traded her for food, that's how." Cale told her.
"For food…you mean they were starving?"
"I guess."
"Well, I guess that was a good thing, for her. The Huaco's are pretty decent, for Indians that is." Mrs. Summers nodded.
"Yeah. Now, I need some information about her fiancé. I plan to either go get him or take her to him. But I don't know where to start." Cale admitted.
Mrs. Summers nodded slowly. "Oh yes, let me see if I have any records back here on him."
"Of course." Cale glanced at Amelia now. She had picked out a couple of plain cotton dresses, some under things and a pair of shoes.
When Mrs. Summers returned she asked if she could try one on.
"Of course, back there dear." Mrs. Summers pointed with a smile.
"Thank you…"
"Did you find anything on him?" Cale asked.
"A little. He admitted at the time he was drifting about some. But he left this address." She handed it to Cale.
"Then that's where I'll start. Thanks for this." Cale nodded to her as he put it in his shirt pocket.
"She sure is a pretty little thing. So you are taking her to her fiancé, huh?" Mrs. Summers asked.
"Yes, or bringing him here. I don't know which." Cale told her.
Mrs. Summers grabbed her chest again and a frown crossed her features.
"Something wrong?" Cale asked
"Well, I hope you've considered that," she came up to Cale and whispered, so Amelia wouldn't hear. "When things like this happen, returning isn't as easy as one might think. Especially to a fiancé. She could be in for a big letdown."
Cale hung his head a moment, and firmed his lips. "I know Mrs. Summers, but there's only one way to settle it. She'll have to see him. She's well aware of the many outcomes. Still, one has to confront them and go from there, don't you think?"
"I guess you are right, but I must say, I feel for her. I mean she's been through so much…"
"She sure has…"
When Amelia came out from the back room, Cale's eyes nearly popped out. She was a vision in that plain cotton dress. Somehow it changed everything. Cale could hardly speak.
"What do you think?" She asked both of them.
"You look beautiful…" Mrs. Summers gushed.
Amelia blushed and glanced at Cale. "So, what do you think?"
Cale shook his head. "Pretty as a sunset."
Amelia smiled. "Thank you, both of you. It feels… It feels so cool…”
Mrs. Summers grabbed her by the arms. "Cale tells me you are going to meet your fiancé soon."
"That's the plan…"
"He'll fall in love with you all over again, then…" Mrs. Summers said.
Amelia smiled, but Cale saw the doubt in her eyes too.
"We'll get her a fancy outfit before she meets him." Cale informed them.
"Oh but…."
Mrs. Summers nodded. "He's right, that dress is lovely on you, but when you meet your fiancé, you need something captivating."
"A dress won't change his mind…" She blurted at them as though she had read their minds.
"Maybe it will change yours." Cale smiled at her.
"Where are you staying dear?"
"Uh…with Cale. And Sarah and Hodge."
"Sarah, who is Sarah?"
Cale smiled again. "Hodge got married. Brought his bride back with him."
"Do tell!" Mrs. Summers smiled. "Well, I guess since there is another woman, staying at your place it will be alright. I mean, it isn't like she's going to be living out there forever, is it?"
"No ma'am." Cale assured her.
"Do you need anything else?" Mrs. Summers asked.
Cale started looking through the clothes and found one that he took to the counter. "Can you put this on my account?"
"Oh, that is the loveliest dress we have. Of course I can, Cale." Mrs. Summers almost cried aloud.
"Oh please…no…" Amelia cried.
"To meet him in." He assured her.
She fingered the suede material and looked at Cale, "It’s too expensive."
Amelia didn't want to be indebted to Cale, he knew that. Yet under the circumstances she had no choice.
"When you going to try to find him?" Mrs. Summers asked.
"I'll head out in a day or two, gotta check my place before I go, though. We just got in last night." Cale informed her.
Cale stretched, and rubbed his shoulders. "Sleeping on the floor is hard when you aren't used to it."
Mrs. Summers glanced from Amelia to him, and then smiled. "I reckon it is."
"Thanks for the help, Mrs. Summers."
"I'm just glad I could. I hope you find him soon."
"Me too…" Cale sighed.
Amelia didn't say anything.
Chapter Eight
Dolby was still hanging around outside.
He was a handsome man, with lots of blond locks hanging over his shoulders and deep set black eyes that pierced. But what caught Amelia's attention was his leering smile, Amelia noted.
When Amelia came out in her calico dress he whistled. "Yes sir, she's a right fair looking lady, Cale."
"You got a real eye for the ladies, don't you, Dolby?"
"Sure I do." He snickered. "I know how to pick them, Cale."
Cale firmed his lips. "Stay away from my ranch, if you know what's good for you."
Amelia jerked about to look at Cale. Why was he suddenly so hostile? Amelia realized Dolby wasn't making a very good impression even on her, but Cale's look was thunderous.
"You threatening me, Cale?" Dolby laughed.
"No, no threat, it's a promise."
"Well now, unless you marry herself yourself, you can't keep her all to yourself, Cale." Dolby laughed and kept on eyeing Amelia.
Amelia faced Dolby, looking him squarely in the eye. "I wasn't aware I was up for grabs, gentlemen."
"I think Cale here, wants you all to himself." Dolby stared down into her face. He was an attractive man in his own way, Amelia concluded, but he had a threatening manner that made her suspicious of his true nature.
"You're under the wrong impression Mr. Dolby, Mr. Matthews is taking me to my fiancé.”
"Fiancé huh?"
Cale pulled his gun. "One more word and I'll blow your head off."
Amelia grabbed her chest and her eyes rounded on Cale.
He turned to her and helped her on her horse, all the while watching out of the corner of his eye what Dolby was doing.
"We'll settle this later." Dolby snickered. "And I reckon the lady has a choice of who she wants to be with, Cale."
"She has a fiancé Dolby. So I'd say she was spoken for, wouldn't you?" Cale answered as he mounted his horse and they rode out of town.
After a long silence, Cale glanced over at her. "Something on your mind?"
"The way you'll pulled your gun on that man. Was that necessary?" She asked her face screwed up into a frown. "He was deliberately taunting you…but you didn't need your gun."
"Dolby is not the kind of man you want to mess with Miss Harrison. Besides, a gun is the only thing he understands."
Amelia shook her head, "He was egging you on, trying to pick a fight with you, of course. But don't you think a gun was a little forceful?" She asked looking straight at him.
"Miss Harrison, I'm well aware of what he was doing. I was merely trying to protect your honor."
"My honor? Don't put me in the middle of this. It's you that has issues with the man. Anyone could see that."
"Well maybe you should, seeing as how he's attracted to you."
"He just made a poor attempt at flirting, that's all." Amelia defended.
"Is it?"
When Cale didn't remark, she looked at him.
"What's he done to you?" She asked curiously.
"Nothing…I can prove."
/> She turned her nose up a fraction. "But you obviously think he's done something."
"Obviously."
"You don't want to talk about it?" She asked shooting him a quick look of disdain.
"No ma'am, I don't."
They rode in silence until they were almost home then she spotted a cemetery and stopped. "Who does that belong to?"
"Me!"
The sharp way he said that had her head turning to look at him.
She got down off her horse and went to the fence that surrounded the small cemetery. She looked at the four graves lined up. She glanced back at Cale. "Who are they?"
Cale hung his head. "My mother and three sisters."
"Oh dear God…what happened?" She twisted about to look at Cale.
Cale was silent for a moment, and then he lifted his head and stared at her as she walked inside, and bent to brush the leaves away with her hands to read them. "My father and brothers and I were gone to market to get rid of our crop for the year. Ma and the girls were home alone. We didn't worry too much, Ma was a great shot. We figured she could take care of them if the need arose. We were wrong."
"Go on…" She called to him.
"When we came back…the girls were dead and Ma lay dying, the rifle still in her hand. Still smoking. She said four men came up to the porch wanting water. She told them to help themselves. But they helped themselves to my sisters instead, they raped and killed all three of them then Ma got the gun after them. She managed to kill one, but the other three got away. But the one she killed got his shot in, killed my mother."
"Dear God…how old were your sisters?" Amelia glanced up at him.
Cale's expression was hard and full of hurt. "The oldest, Julia was twelve, then there was Betty, she was nine, and Kathy…she was seven."
"Dead, all of them?" Amelia cried her voice choking with emotion as she spoke.
"All of them."
"Did you ever find out who did it?" Amelia asked.
"I got a few suspicions."
Amelia's head jerked up and her eyes grew big, "Dolby?"
"Dolby!"
"You couldn't prove it?"
"No…not then, and not now." Cale said walking toward the graves. "Ma died in my arms. She said they wore masks so she couldn't identify any of them except the one she killed. We tried to tract them, but they covered their tracks well. They didn't leave anything incriminating behind."
"Then why do you suspect Dolby?"
Cale studied her a moment, as he watched a tear run down her cheek. "You heard how he talks…about women. He has no respect for them. He only wants one thing from a woman. And I'd advise you to stay clear of him, unless you want the same fate. I can't prove it, but I know he did it."
"That doesn't prove he killed them…" She insisted. "Instincts can be wrong, you know."
"I'm well aware of that, Miss Harrison. But he hung around with the one Ma killed. And there were two others that hung out with Dolby. After the incident, the other two left the territory. Dolby didn't leave."
"Did you and your family tract them or anything?"
"Sure we did. They split up their trail several times and then they headed for the creek bed, they must have rode some miles down that creek. Never could find their tracts from there. Ma, she didn't live long enough to give us any clues. She kept crying…My babies…"
"So you have no proof that Dolby did it, but you suspect him?"
"Yes ma'am I do. Something inside me tells me he is one of them. I just can't prove it."
"Why didn't he flee with his friends then, if he were guilty?"
"Don't know, except Dolby's folks got a spread on the other side of town. Dolby pretty much runs it now that his father is getting up in years. I don't think he wants to leave it. Besides, there's no evidence to connect him to the murders. Why should he leave?" Cale frowned.
"If you are so sure…why don't you tell the Sheriff?"
"I told him…he didn't believe it, said he couldn't arrest anyone on suspicions. He needed proof. I didn't have that proof."
"Your father, what happened to him?" Amelia asked.
"He took to drinking after that. I don't think he was sober a day until he died. It was the girls. He couldn't believe anyone would do that to his little angels."
"That's so terribly sad, especially for you and your brothers. And your brothers? Where are they now?"
"They were angry too, and hurt. But a couple more years passed and they both headed away from here. They didn't want to be reminded. One went to California looking for gold, the other back east to school. I haven't heard a word from them in three years now."
Amelia's mouth flew open. "Then…you don't know if they are alive or dead?"
"No ma'am. I don't. And I guess if the truth were known, I just don't want to know. If they are alive, I expect them to come back here, someday. "
"I hope they come back…for your sake." Amelia said raising up and staring down at the graves once more.
Amelia came up to the fence that surrounded the cemetery and reached to touch his hand. "I'm so sorry, Cale. It must be terrible for you…"
Cale looked at her hand on his and he swallowed hard. Just the look on his face told her he was affected by her concern.
"It's been six years since it happened."
Amelia hung her head. "I guess since I was captured I forgot that things like this went on. I guess I thought I was alone…as far as hurting was concerned."
"No one's alone Amelia, in that regard. We all have our scars."
She nodded. "I see that now. Being so removed from my own world, I forgot that pain extended to folks back home."
"Let's get on back." Cale suggested. "You know I realize you are skeptical about going back to your folks, but you gotta realize your being captured had to affect them too. I'm sure they lived with the guilt that they couldn't find you. I'm sure they wrestled with whether you even survived. It can't have been easy for them either, is what I'm saying. If I'd have been your fiancé, I'd have still been hunting for you."
Amelia hung her head, and then raised her eyes to his. "Yes, I think you would."
"Did you get along with your cousins?"
"To some degree."
"And did you love this…Bertram?" Cale asked his voice sounded harsh.
"I thought I did. I was young and a little impulsive then. But I feel ten years older now. I'm not the same person. I don't think I'll ever be that girl again, no matter how much I try."
"And now how do you feel about him?"
"I don't know. I don't guess I'll know that until I go back."
Cale sighed and nodded. "No wonder you are reluctant to go back and look into his face."
He opened the gate for her and she went straight to her horse.
"You ride well; did you learn that with the Indians?" Cale asked, taking his mind away from the cemetery.
"I could ride before, but I learned to ride without a saddle with the Indians. I learned to pick corn, to weave baskets, to make beads and even to make moccasins."
He smiled and they rode on to the ranch. "Sounds like you got a good education from them."
"A well rounded one," She smiled. "I hope Iron Kettle can learn to be happy on the reservation. I feel for him and his people. We became very close."
"He told me. He called you his white daughter."
She smiled, pleased by this information.
~*~
Later that night, Amelia lay reflecting on the day. Amelia still curled herself on the floor. Although she didn't like Dolby, she was concerned when Cale pulled the gun. And Cale…she could tell he had hurt badly from the deaths of his sisters and mother. It was in his eyes, in his voice. Strangely, she felt a pull to Cale…but his eagerness to use a gun scared her.
Cale was a complicated man, but he was determined to take her back to her folks. What folks she had left. She should be looking forward to seeing them all again, but something deep inside her told her there would be nothing for her there.
&nb
sp; She was grown now and able to choose her own life. But she supposed she needed to go back, if for nothing but perhaps a little money that might be left. Even if she could live the kind of life she wanted, she needed money to do it. She hadn't a cent.
She never imagined all those years ago that going home would be almost as traumatic as staying with the Indians.
What haunted her were the looks from the white men that had come to Iron Kettle's camp and saw her. None of them showed a bit of pity for her situation. She was a white squaw and she feared that Bertram would think the same thing. Funny, but she remembered how prim and proper she and Bertram had once been and because of that properness, she wasn't at all sure Bertram could adjust to the changes in her.
She tried to recall Bertram over the years, she forgot how he looked. He had been such a gentleman back then, and they were young and in love. But somehow, the years had diminished those feelings of being in love. Had his hair been brown or black, his eyes gray or blue. She couldn't remember. In fact, there were a lot of things she couldn't remember.
She wasn't sure she'd even recognize him now, if she met him on the street.
And then there were her cousins, Judy and Mark.
Judy was a bit hard to handle, she had been jealous of Amelia for years. Judy's folks hadn't been thrifty with their money and had no money for a dowry. Judy felt Bertram chose Amelia because she had a dowry. It was possible. Bertram was living off her folks as they came west and at the time couldn't support himself. Money had to mean a lot to him. Strangely, she could recall Judy easily enough. She was a beauty with long blonde hair and startling blue eyes, much prettier than herself.
Mark was friendly, when Judy let him be. However, Amelia had a hard time respecting him because he let Judy run all over him.
At first, when she was captured she thought for sure Bertram would come for her. She dreamed of the day. It kept her going, thinking about it. However, years began to go by and no sign of him or her cousins. Many white men had come to the Huaco village, but they were all strangers to her.
She gave up the notion of anyone rescuing her and decided to make the best of living with the Indians. It was a hard life, but once she was traded, it became more bearable and she began to care about the people around her.
Heart of a Captive Page 8
