by Angel Wolfe
Without uttering a word, he put his finger to his mouth and shook his head while nodding in the direction of the campfire. Rick, who could see better in the dark then Matt, squinted slightly and saw Angel scooting slowly on her belly towards what he was guessing was the campsite. Suddenly, he spotted Kaitlyn lying on the ground as George aimed a kick to her midsection; it was everything James and Matt could do to keep him from storming in.
It looked as if she had been through hell. She had a black eye and numerous bruises and scrapes on her face. Her shirt was in tatters and didn’t cover enough of her to warrant wearing. Suddenly everyone looked up as a different kind of yelling erupted from the campsite. Matt had the forethought to grab Rick but no one had given any thought to Wolfe. As George kicked Kat in the ribs screaming profanities, the dog launched straight at him without warning.
The three men burst forward meeting Angel almost at the center of the site. Wolfe already had hold of George by the throat when Rick fell to the ground next to them, giving the dog a silent command to release. Backing away, the dog whined and went to check on Kat who was gasping for breath and attempting to gather what was left of her clothing to her body.
“You son of a bitch!” Rick ground out, grabbing George by the neck where the dog had left off.
He pulled the man to his feet so that he could knock him back to the ground when suddenly there was a shout and gunfire erupted. Rick grabbed his side and fell one way as George, already dead, fell the other, gun still in his hand. Attempting to sit up and look at the damage done by the bullet, Rick cursed again as Kaitlyn, holding her side, struggled to get to him even as Angel tried to dissuade her.
James and Matt ran up, James’ gun still smoking and Matt with his in hand. “Damn, I never should have given him the chance!” Rick growled wrapping his spare arm around a crying Kaitlyn. “He died way too easy James.”
“He’s dead now and can’t hurt her again. That’s all that matters Rick. Revenge will make you sour so we’re better off being done with him.”
After giving her sister a few seconds of reunion with Rick, Angel discreetly got Kat’s attention and helped her out of sight behind a boulder. Hugging her gently first, Angel then helped her sister out of her tattered rags and into a comfortable, more concealing shirt that she’d had the foresight to grab out of the saddlebag. Gasping at the sight of her bruised, possibly broken ribs, “Oh my god Sis, what can I do?” Angel asked her, seriously concerned with the almost masked looks of pain Kat was showing. “I know you too well then to think you’re fine. Where all does it hurt and where do I start?”
Kat looked down at her discolored, battered body. Rubbing Wolfe’s head, she replied. “God Angel, I don’t have a clue where to start. I guess let’s get me cleaned up some, get my ribs wrapped and then we’ll go from there. I think every inch of me is bruised but at least he didn’t have time to rape me.”
Angel, knowing by the tears in Kat’s eyes how bad it must have been just carefully hugged her again and proceeded to gently clean her up as much as possible before helping her back to camp.
“How is he?” Kat whispered looking at Rick as she attempted to get herself settled down against a saddle near him on the ground.
Opening his eyes, Rick looked up and down her body making sure that she was ok as far as he could tell with her clothes now in place. “I’m ok babe, just a flesh wound.” He whispered back. “Question is how are you?”
“We’re all awake here,” James whispered, interrupting them. “We all want to know that you’re ok and if you say it loud enough for all of us to hear, you’ll only have to tell us once.”
“You’re right,” Kat admitted. “My body is sore from being flung over the horse with the horn in my side. My head and feet hung off opposite sides and I have several bruises, scrapes, a busted lip, a bruised cheekbone and probably some broken ribs and cracked bones but other than that, for the most part I am fine.” She said looking away from everyone.
James swore to himself wishing he could shoot the animal again. We should have made him suffer and beg like Rick said, he thought to himself. Finally he decided that they had done all they could do for the night. The bullet had gone straight through so he bandaged Rick’s side and wrapped Kat’s ribs then checked Wolfe to make sure nothing had broken loose in his attack of George.
Matt had gotten rid of all evidence of the dead man while Angel had cleaned up Kat and helped her dress. James had gone for the horses that were hidden a ways back and brought them closer to camp where they could keep an eye on them. Now, the bedrolls were set up and James lay on top of his thinking he could probably take watch since there was no chance of him sleeping tonight anyway.
Rick kept his arm on his good side wrapped around Kaitlyn, attempting to assure not only her but also himself that she was safe. He didn’t believe for a second that she had told the entire story but he wasn’t about to make her relive it right now. Once they were back at the ranch would be soon enough.
Matt and Angel snuggled together, Matt quietly rebuking her for giving him a near heart attack when he arrived to find her on the ground sneaking into the camp. “What was James thinking letting you do that?” He said angrily.
“He didn’t LET me do anything.” Angel replied. “I attempted to get to Kat as soon as I saw what was happening. James told me to stay put when he went to secure the horses and I didn’t listen; so don’t go blaming him.”
“Well just don’t do it again. It was stupid not waiting for help and you could have injured yourself and the baby.” He tried to look mad.
“You know as well as I do that if it were Rick or me laying there on the ground getting kicked in the ribs, you’d have done the same thing.” She argued, snuggling up against him.
“Now shut up and hold me. I’m beyond tired and we have a lot to do tomorrow.”
Pulling her close, he whispered, “Is Kat alright? I mean, he didn’t…..”
“She’s ok.” Angel cut him off. “And I think she felt even better after she burned what was left of her clothes.”
“Thank God.” He breathed. “Your sister has been through so much hell, I hope Rick can give her at least a small measure of comfort.”
“Did you see how she went straight to him when he got shot?” Angel asked. “She loves him very much. The fact that even now after she has been abused, she is wrapped in his arms tells me that she trusts him a great deal. That says a lot. I don’t think she has ever trusted a man before.”
“Well, she can trust Rick and I don’t just say that because he’s my brother.” Matt told her. “He’s a good man and even if he weren’t my brother I’d be happy to have him on my side.”
Rick lay, silently stroking Kaitlyn’s hair and thanking God that they had found her. Yes, he knew that she was hurt and judging by her labored breathing, he’d bet money on at least cracked if not broken ribs. He knew she had a lot more bruises that she wasn’t telling him about buried under her shirt but he wouldn’t press her to tell him about it, at least not yet.
His arm tightened around her accidentally eliciting a groan from her lips, having inadvertently touched some painful spot on her body. He cursed himself, angry with for causing her pain and wishing he could have had the chance to inflict some of that on the now dead George before he died.
Grunting in pain himself, he attempted to cover them both with part of the bedroll. Hearing the discontentment, James came over and seeing the problem, helped Rick to a more comfortable position and pulled the bedroll that Rick had been trying to get hold of over top of them.
“I’m glad we got her back Rick.” He whispered. “I hope there was no permanent damage done.”
“We’ll find out when we get her home James.” Rick told him. “I want to thank you for everything you did though. If you hadn’t been so quick, I might not be here right now.”
“The man deserved to die and had already taken away my chance at avenging my loved ones but I’m glad it’s done Sir.” James went back and settled onc
e more into his own bedroll, staring out into the darkness as he lit a smoke. Tomorrow would be a long day.
~XVI~
They awoke the next morning to find James gone and a note telling them that he had left at first light to take the body back to town. Their horses were tied close by and the fire had been carefully banked with a full pot of coffee on the edge, ready to drink.
“We’re going to have to keep him around.” Rick attempted to laugh temporarily forgetting his injury then grabbing his side as the pain hit.
“If nothing else, he attempts to keep your butt out of trouble.” Matt joked.
Together, Angel and Matt did the majority of the camp cleanup. Kat and Rick were both even more sore after attempting to sleep the night before than they had been when the injuries had occurred. The hard parts were yet to come though as they soon found out.
Kat let out a cry of pain as she pulled herself up onto Nugget. Thankfully, the horse was well trained and didn’t so much as flinch as she settled her weight uncomfortably on his back. Rick did not have as easy of a time. Warlock stood and stomped one hoof irritably waiting as Matt attempted to help Rick into the saddle. Midway up, the horse then shifted his weight throwing Matt off balance and almost sending Rick over the other side. Grabbing his side and the reins, Rick righted himself and cursed the horse. “I should have left you at home and took Magyc instead, you old hide. Leave it to a horse to be mad for no reason.”
Matt and Angel mounted without and turned their horses, Matt leading, and Angel taking up the rear. Rick was not happy with the arrangement but injured as he was, he resigned himself to riding in front of Kaitlyn daydreaming and devising ways to give her pleasure once they both healed.
Once they reached an area where the trees thinned out, Kat nudged Nugget up next to Warlock. “Are ya making it alright?” She asked, concern radiating in her eyes.
“Yeah” He grunted. “Hurts like hell but I’ll be alright. Damn flesh wounds all hurt like this. How are you holding out? Is the riding jarring you too bad?”
“It’s rough but I’ll handle it.” Kat replied. “It’s nothing that I haven’t dealt with before at one time or another.”
“Well, it won’t be happening again I’ll tell ya that.” Rick stated. “I plan on keeping you so busy with breeding stock and making babies of our own that you won’t have time to get into trouble.” He grinned to soften the threat.
Kat chanced a look back at Angel, huffing in pain as she did. “You should have known better than to try sneaking into camp last night.” She chastised. “While I appreciate what you were trying to do, you could have gotten yourself and the baby hurt. I’m not worth losing that baby over.”
Angel was about to argue when Rick broke in, “I don’t ever want to hear a comment like that again. You are very important to Angel and me, both. Yes, she took a huge chance that none of us is happy with but I don’t ever want to hear another word about your worth. We all love you; even as stubborn as you are, and any one of us would take a chance to make sure you were safe.”
Snorting angrily, she kicked Nugget and almost immediately regretted her fit as the horse broke into a bone jarring trot instead of the smooth gallop she wanted. Cussing herself and the horse both for causing pain so intense she almost fell out of the saddle, she decided that the he most definitely needed more training if he couldn’t distinguish her commands. Kicking him again, this time he responded appropriately and she sailed past Matt taking the lead before slowing to a more tolerable pace. She rode a while in silence until she cooled down enough to understand that Rick wasn’t faulting her for chastising Angel about taking chances, he was faulting her for doubting her own worth.
A warm, fuzzy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she, for the first time in her life, found comfort in a man giving her orders. She slowed the horse, letting the other three catch up. Falling back in line next to Rick again, she surprised him by apologizing and telling him she loved him. Leaving him to pick his jaw back up, she dropped even further back and apologized to Angel for being so brash.
Knowing her sister as she did, Angel hadn’t taken what she said to heart anyway. Kat was always loud and obnoxious when she was worried or scared. “Don’t worry about it Kat. I’m used to it and you needed to vent somehow.” She said dismissing the apology.
They all rode in silence for a couple miles before hearing the worst racket any of them had ever been subjected to. As the noise got louder, they could see dust from a wagon being kicked up and after a short time, they could identify the man on horseback riding near the wagon as Frank.
“Oh damn!” Rick exclaimed. “Kaitlyn, I am so completely sorry but I totally forgot to tell you about a new house guest that you have at the ranch. It seems you have another member in your family and if I’m not mistaken, I believe she is the one driving the wagon and making that god awful wailing noise.”
“Another family member?” She asked, extremely puzzled. “How is that? As far as I know, Angel and I were the only children my mother ever had.”
“Well, if we understood her correctly, the man that fathered you decided to make a respectful life for himself, married a lady from out East and they had a child.” Rick tried to explain delicately. “I guess Marie Fairchild is that child.”
“A sister named Marie?” Kat and Angel said in unison.
“A half-sister or stepsister or something like that.” Rick hedged. “Anyway, we were afraid to let her stay in her father’s home after overhearing him and George plotting your kidnapping so we had Frank take her out to the ranch. Plus, she did try to warn you and when she ended up at the ranch too late, she came to town to find us.”
“I suppose the least we can do then is listen to her story and see what she has to say. What do you think Kat; after all it sounds like she may be your blood relative.” Angel jumped in.
“I suppose we’ll have to talk to her and if nothing else, temporarily give her a place to stay. Where did you put her?” She looked at Rick.
“In the room across the hall from you and Angel’s rooms. I wasn’t sure where you would want her but figured she could always change rooms later if you needed her to.” Rick answered hoping he had done the right thing.
They got silent as they watched her drive up in Kat’s wagon. Frank had hitched Kat’s Belgian, Dab, for Marie and from the looks of things; it was probably good that he had. Marie appeared to have no experience what so ever driving a wagon and Dab basically took his own route controlling the wagon and driver both.
The horse approached with the wagon in tow, stopping when he decided it was close enough. Marie stopped her bellowing long enough to allow Frank to carefully help her down before bouncing up to Kat and Angel. “Hello. I am Marie Fairchild. You must be Kaitlyn.” She announced, looking pointedly at Kat.
“I’m Angel, Kat’s sister.” Angel started introductions. “And this is Matt. The man next to Kat is Rick. It’s interesting meeting you.” She said carefully.
“My, even more family.” Marie clapped her hands together sharply, causing the horses to twitch their ears in annoyance. “I am so happy to have met you all. I met Matt and Rick in town at the dress shop; but I had not met either one of you before.”
Rick could already see how Marie would try Kaitlyn’s patience. “We had better get moving if we want to get back to the ranch before dark.” He instructed, not wanting to have to explain what he and Matt were doing in the dress shop. Kat shot him an I’ll get even later look as she and Angel took the lead effectively setting the pace. As soon as the wagon started moving, Marie graced them all with her singing once again.
Rick and Matt both flinched and glanced at Frank who had not said a word though the whole exchange of introductions. He seemed totally oblivious to the discomfort Marie was causing everyone else and occasionally even sung along.
Matt, knowing that even if they all went deaf Rick would never utter a word of protest; hollered at Frank asking for a moment of his time. When he approached, Matt attempted t
o speak bluntly but courteously “Frank, has she been doing that the entire time you’ve been traveling?”
“Well, n...no.” Frank replied. “She did s...stop singing for a while when the ro...road got really rough. Don’t she s...sing like a little bird?”
“Well, I’m not sure we all find the same enjoyment in her voice as you do Frank.” Matt tried again. “Maybe you could talk her into saving her voice until we get back to the ranch, you know…..so the dust doesn’t cause any harm.”
“I c...could sure try Matt,” Frank answered. “But wo...wouldn’t it get really quiet then?”
“Um Frank,” Matt said. “That’s kind of what we are hoping for.”
After Frank spoke to Marie, they rode for quite some time in companionable silence, each alone in their thoughts. Kat was on the verge of passing out from the pain but wasn’t about to utter a word. Her face was pale and she had started swaying in the saddle when Rick called a halt, citing his own injuries as reason enough to stop.
