Chapter Fifteen
Jeremiah was riding with several men who had volunteered to join him as he continued to search for Nicole Tyler. Jeremiah’s eyes looked in all directions as he rode onward, while the five men with him did the same.
He was not hunting for Nicole out of the goodness of his heart, but because he was determined to have her as his third wife. No, there would be no convincing him otherwise.
If he went to the trouble of finding her and taking her to safety, she would owe him, and the debt would be paid by her speaking vows with him.
But he wouldn’t hurry her to the altar. If he did find her, he would have to take it slow convincing her to be his wife.
He had to remember that she was not of the Mormon faith. She would not believe in the tenet of a man taking more than one wife.
But Jeremiah would make certain that she learned of his faith, understood and accepted it. And then he would tell her his plan; that he wanted her to be his third wife.
He knew that he might be placing himself and the men who rode with him in danger by looking for Nicole. He knew that there were others looking for her, too, who would probably not think twice about shooting him and his friends on sight.
Jeremiah did feel guilty for asking his friends to join him on this dangerous venture, but once he’d set his mind on rescuing Nicole, nothing would make him turn back. He was bound and determined to find her and to have her.
Ah, but he would treat her so grandly, even though by doing so, he would make his other two wives very jealous. But that didn’t matter to him.
He was the voice of their family. His wives would have no choice but to accept another wife among them. And eventually the children that Nicole would bring into their lives, as well.
He envisioned this pretty thing with the fiery red hair smiling at him, actually loving him, and wanting him as badly as he wanted her.
Yes, it would happen. She would stay with him willingly after she got to know him better and realized that he was a man she could learn to love.
“Let’s ride hard, gents,” Jeremiah said as he snapped his reins and sank his heels into the flanks of his mount. “I hope to find Nicole before the sun starts sinking in the west.”
“I doubt that we will,” Jacob said, turning a frown toward him. “Just think of it, Jeremiah. What are the chances of finding her?”
“No matter what, we won’t give up until we see the sun sinking in the sky,” Jeremiah said. “Only then will we think of heading back toward home. I understand your feelings. We have our children and wives to consider.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Jacob replied tightly. “For a while there I thought this woman was all that you were thinking about, and you know that no woman is worth risking our lives.”
“Yet you are here with me,” Jeremiah noted. “Thank you, Jacob, for being such a good friend. One day I’ll repay you in kind.”
“No need,” Jacob said. “No need at all. I’m just glad you realize that when dusk falls, we have to head back for home. If we live long enough,” he added under his breath.
“What’s that you say?” Jeremiah asked, lifting his eyebrows.
“You heard me,” Jacob grumbled. “You heard me.”
Chapter Sixteen
The mountain paths were so confusing to Nicole, she felt as though she had been riding in circles all day. She wondered if she had gotten anywhere.
Only a few moments ago she had finally reached the base of the mountain. She just hoped that she had come down on the opposite side from where Tyler City lay in ashes. She hoped that she was far enough away that Sam Partain and his gang would not be able to find her.
She had a campfire going, so that when darkness fell all around her, she would not have to fear animals coming up on her in the dark. The flames would frighten wild beasts sniffing around in the dark.
But they might attract other animals to her…two-legged ones.
She sat on her blanket beside the fire, her rifle resting on her lap. She had gathered berries for her supper, but she was not looking forward to eating them. She had eaten so many these past days just to have something in her stomach.
She closed her eyes and thought of Eagle Wolf and how wonderful it would be to still be with him.
With her belly growling from hunger, she thought about the rabbit that he had cooked over the campfire. She had never eaten anything so delicious.
Thinking of Eagle Wolf caused a strange sort of ache in Nicole’s heart, worse even than the ache in her belly from hunger.
Although they had been together for such a short time, it was long enough for him to speak to her heart in every way possible.
She looked toward the shadows of the aspen trees behind her, at the path that worked its way through them. If she were to follow that path, would she eventually find the Navaho stronghold?
Oh, how she missed Eagle Wolf.
She wondered how he had felt when he had awakened and found her gone. Had he attempted to find her? Or had he gone on to his stronghold, feeling better off without her, a white woman?
Emptying her skirt pocket of the berries, laying them on the blanket before her, she eyed them, shivering at the thought of eating even one more.
She wasn’t sure how many more days she could survive without more substantial food. She needed strength to travel onward and find someone who would take mercy upon her and invite her into their dwelling.
Oh, but just to have one night in a cabin, with a family and a delicious home-cooked meal!
It would be like a dream. Strange, how only a few weeks ago, she had never thought to be day-dreaming about such things.
Her world had been perfect. Her parents had been alive, and she was about to embark on her new teaching career, something she had wanted since she’d been a student herself.
She had noticed how those children who seemed not to care about learning suddenly took interest. It was the teacher’s encouragement that caused the change in their attitude.
She had wanted to be one of those special teachers, and maybe she would still be able to reach that goal.
But first, she had to stay alive. She had to get back to civilization.
She would have to put the deaths of her parents behind her. She would even have to learn how to forget Eagle Wolf, even though she knew he had etched a place inside her heart, like leaves fossilized into stone.
She must do everything within her power to survive this horrible ordeal, and that meant eating berries when there was nothing else to eat.
She reached for a berry and thrust it into her mouth. She almost choked on the juice as she heard the sound of horses approaching from somewhere to her right side.
She quickly swallowed, grabbed her rifle, then stood up and aimed it at the hidden riders.
It was so dark now. It was almost impossible to see beyond the campfire.
She wanted to cry out and ask who was there, yet her voice seemed stuck in her throat where the sweet berry taste lingered.
But it wasn’t the taste of berries that had stolen her ability to speak. It was fear.
She was afraid that at any moment she would see Sam Partain.
She was tempted to fire blindly at those who were approaching. Oh, surely it was Sam Partain and his murdering scoundrel friends. Her campfire must have drawn them right to her.
They would surely rape her before they killed her. Would he and his men use her as their “toy” for days upon end, before tiring of her and murdering her?
Her legs almost buckled beneath her with relief when she was finally able to see the lead rider. It was Jeremiah Schrock, mounted upon a fine horse, with several other bearded men following his lead.
“Jeremiah!” Nicole cried, quickly lowering her rifle to her side. “Oh, Lordy be, Jeremiah! I was so afraid it was…”
“I’m sorry if we frightened you,” Jeremiah said, close enough now to dismount.
The others stopped and dismounted, too, one of them taking Jeremiah’s
reins so that he would be free to go to Nicole.
That was when Nicole broke down.
She dropped her rifle as tears blinded her. She had truly thought that she was living the last moments of her life.
The moment was ripe. Jeremiah saw this as the perfect opportunity to reach out for Nicole and hold her.
He could sense her distress over what she had suffered these past days. And wanting her so badly, he could not pass up this opportunity to try to ease some of Nicole’s pain.
He reached for Nicole and drew her into his warm embrace.
He enjoyed the way she clung to him as her body was racked with sobs.
He smiled over his shoulder at Jacob. He was pleased that the others were witness to this woman accepting Jeremiah as a true, trusted friend, and perhaps…even more than that.
Nicole was suddenly aware of where she was, in whose arms. She had grown to dislike this man while traveling on the stagecoach with him.
She suddenly remembered how he had looked at her then, with lust in his eyes. She had felt it in the way he had just held her. His embrace had been possessive, not tender.
She stepped away from him and smiled awkwardly as she wiped the final tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “For a moment there I forgot myself. I was so afraid when I heard the horses, that it would be men out to harm me.”
She swallowed hard, looked deeply into Jeremiah’s eyes, then, almost timidly, asked, “I don’t have a reason to be afraid, do I?”
She glanced around her, at the other men, who were now standing beside their horses, their eyes directly on her.
“How can you ask such a thing?” Jeremiah said, his eyes widening. “Have I ever given you reason to be afraid of me? Nicole, a man came to Hope, inquiring about you. I got the sense that he was up to no good and decided it was best that I find you first.”
“What was his name?” Nicole blurted out. “By chance, was he…an…Indian?”
“No, he wasn’t an Indian.” Jeremiah looked at her through squinting eyes, wondering why she would ask about an Indian.
Had one accosted her on the trail?
Nicole sighed heavily, cold fear gripping her at the thought of who this man surely was.
Sam Partain!
He had been close to finding her, for she was sure that Jeremiah and his men had not come far to find her.
“Did he have long, dirty blond hair?” Nicole blurted out, afraid to hear the answer.
“Yes, and eyes that made a chill ride my spine. His eyes reflected the devil in them,” Jeremiah said, visibly shuddering. “Do you know of him? Do you know his name?”
“Yes, I believe Sam Partain paid you a visit,” Nicole said grimly. Her eyes widened. “But if he was alone, perhaps I am wrong. This gutless man rides with a group of murdering, heartless outlaws.”
“He came to Hope alone, pretending to be someone of decent breeding, and asked about you. When I told him, or should I say convinced him, that you were not there, he rode off,” Jeremiah said tightly. “I watched him for a while longer and then I saw several men on horseback come from the shadows of the forest and join him. They rode off together.”
“Then that was Sam Partain for certain,” Nicole said, so glad that tonight she had been discovered by a group of Mormon men, not murdering outlaws.
“How do you know this man?” Jeremiah prodded.
“Sam Partain and his gang are responsible for the deaths of my parents and everyone else who joined my father in his new town of Tyler City,” Nicole said, tears rushing to her eyes again at the thought of her parents lying there, hand in hand, bullet holes in their brows.
“Why would he kill everyone so heartlessly?” Jeremiah asked. “I witnessed the devastation this man and his followers left behind.”
“You did?” Nicole asked, her eyes wide.
“Word was brought to me about what had happened in Tyler City,” Jeremiah answered. “I immediately thought of you since I knew that was your destination. Several of my friends and I rode there to see if, by chance, you had survived. I did not see you anywhere, so I hoped that you had somehow escaped the massacre. Before we left, we took the time to bury those who had died.”
“You…buried…them?” Nicole asked, stunned by the kindness of these men. She regretted her ugly thoughts about Jeremiah. “You…actually buried my parents?
“Thank you,” she added, humbly lowering her eyes.
“It was my duty to bury them,” Jeremiah said thickly.
Jeremiah’s eyebrows lifted. “How have you survived since?” he asked softly. “You are all alone…”
She didn’t want to tell him about Eagle Wolf. She knew that it was best not to draw any undue attention his way.
He was a man who lived in hiding, and did so for a reason. He would not want anyone to have cause to seek him out.
She had fled so that he would be safe and could return to his people.
“I’m not sure, myself, how I’ve done it,” Nicole said, her voice breaking. She lowered her eyes again. “I wasn’t certain how much longer I could go on.”
“Well, young lady, that is no longer a problem you have to think about,” Jeremiah said, smiling broadly as Nicole looked quickly up at him. “I have come to offer you shelter, safety, and a place to use your teaching skills. Come with me and my friends and you will have a home, and a teaching position. You can teach our Mormon children. Soon we were going to look for a teacher. Seems our prayers have been answered by your coming into our lives. Will you join us in Hope, Nicole?”
Nicole could not shake off the feeling of mistrust she’d had while riding with Jeremiah in the stagecoach. But learning that he had buried the dead in Tyler City caused her to see this man in a different light.
And she was so happy that she would not have to spend another minute alone in the wilderness, hiding from the madmen who were searching for her.
She smiled and thrust out a hand toward Jeremiah for a handshake. Her father had taught her that even though she was a lady, a firm handshake showed she was a woman of strength.
“It’s a deal,” she said, smiling broadly at Jeremiah, wanting to laugh when she saw how stunned he was at her outthrust hand.
“I’d love to be your town’s schoolmarm,” she quickly added. “Let’s shake on it.”
Jeremiah smiled crookedly, not knowing whether or not to be amused at this strange behavior.
He had to remember that this woman was different in many ways. She was better educated than most of the men of Hope, and had far more education than the women, who for the most part, had none at all.
Yes, he had himself a special woman in Nicole. She would make life a mite interesting, now, wouldn’t she?
He reached out and gripped Nicole’s hand. “A deal,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at the men, who were gawking at what was transpiring between him and the beautiful lady.
He held her hand a moment longer, then helped her gather up her things as Jacob threw handfuls of dirt on the fire.
Jeremiah walked Nicole to her horse and helped her into the saddle, then mounted his own steed.
Soon they were headed back in the direction of Hope and Nicole had a chance to consider this latest turn of events.
She had been rescued just as she had hoped. She only wished that Eagle Wolf hadn’t accepted her having left him.
She couldn’t help being disappointed that he hadn’t came for her after seeing that she had left the campsite. Had he found her, she would have gone with him to his stronghold in an instant, for she knew that she truly loved him.
Feeling foolish to be thinking about Eagle Wolf, and what might have been, Nicole concentrated on her future.
Thanks to Jeremiah, she now had a future, even if it would be without the man she loved.
Chapter Seventeen
As the early morning sun swept down through the smoke hole above Eagle Wolf, he tossed fitfully in his blankets, then awakened and sat up quickly.
It was a dream
that had awakened him with such a start. Even now there were pearls of sweat on his brow as he thought of it and how real it had seemed.
This dream had been like no other he had ever had. He had dreamed of a woman he could not forget.
Nicole.
In his dream he had seen her in danger. Two men had been on each side of her, pulling her first one way, and then another.
In the dream she had fainted from fear, but before she had fallen to the ground, she had called out Eagle Wolf’s name.
He could hear her voice now, as though she were there, her eyes pleading with him, her arms outstretched toward him as she begged him to help her.
He knew that when someone had such a dream, one that seemed so real, it meant something.
It did not take him long to interpret this dream.
He believed he was being beckoned by Nicole to come and find her and bring her back with him to his village. There she would be safe, ka-bike-hozhoni-bi, happy forevermore.
An ache deep inside told him now that he should never have allowed her to leave as she had. He should have gone to bring her back to him.
She was oh, so alone in the world…except for him.
Ho, dreams spoke true. Nicole was in trouble and needed him. He must go and find her.
He hurriedly pulled on his fringed buckskin breeches and shirt and slid his feet into his moccasins.
He combed his fingers through his thick black hair to rid it of tangles. He quickly slipped on a beaded headband, secured his sheathed knife at his right side, then grabbed his rifle. Before he left his tepee, he recalled the dream once again, to see if something about it that he had not remembered earlier might come to him to help him in his pursuit of this woman.
He clenched his eyes closed in an attempt to remember identifying characteristics of the men in his dream who were a threat to Nicole. He had not seen their faces, just their clothes.
One wore all black, such as he had seen Mormon men wear.
The other man had long, filthy golden hair that fell down his back, and he wore crude, dirty clothes.
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