“I think this is probably my favorite room.”
Maggie looked up at her mother and nodded. “As much as I love living in the mountains, I really miss having a home that is warm and safe.”
Jonathan walked in as Mirisa kissed her daughter and went back downstairs. She had been so quiet and disappeared often since they had been home but he let her deal with her questions. He squatted down next to her and asked if she wanted to come downstairs and eat pie. She put her hand on his wrist but didn’t respond.
Maggie handed him the small owl amulet on the leather cord. Jonathan took it from her and looked at it. He smiled and put it over her head and laid it gently between her breasts. “Chi has offered himself to you when the time of mourning is over and if you agree this is to protect your heart from another entering it.”
“How do I tell my father?”
“You don’t.”
“But I must.”
“Then you will find a way but remember that of all of them he is the least receptive of anyone from the Indian nations.”
“I must speak to mother first but I don’t know what to say.”
“You might want to just sleep on how you feel before you talk to anyone.”
“Is this what it feels like to be in love?”
“I don’t know since I’ve never been in love.”
“Mother will know, she’ll understand this ache that is going through my whole body.”
He smiled. “Yes, I think she will. Come on let’s eat pie.”
“That’s all you came home for and you know it.”
“I came home because you needed our mother.”
“Thank you Jon.” She put her arms around him and he kissed her forehead.
“If we don’t hurry there won’t be pie left.” Maggie got up out and they joined everyone in the kitchen. Meeks pulled her into his lap and kissed her cheek.
“I have missed you.” Maggie looked up at her father and big tears filled her eyes. “You know I love those times when you cry.” She buried her face in his neck and he just held her letting her cry. She had a long talk with both of her parents before they headed north again. They both struggled with her plans but knew she was long past any influence they would have over her life so they gave her their blessing and told her that they hoped she would come home often.
Chi had joined them after his mourning period and the first night he rode into their camp she was squatting by the fire stirring the vegetable soup that she had made. She stood up as he approached. He was more beautiful than she had remembered and she just wanted to reach out and touch him. Chi smiled as though he could read her thoughts.
“You are wearing the amulet.”
“Yes.”
He dropped the lead to his horse and brought her into his arms It felt so good but her entire body was screaming for his touch, for his lips, for the joining of their bodies. Jonathan looked up at them before he walked over and stirred the soup. Chi mounted his horse with Maggie and turned riding out of camp. Jonathan assumed he would be eating alone. They rode to a ledge about half a mile from the camp and he dismounted and lifted her down. She came down to his lips and the fierceness of his desire was overwhelming and soon she gave up completely. His body was beautiful, his energy was electric and his command of her was amazing. Chi had a scar across his stomach and symbols burned into his biceps. His body was without any hair, his eyes were so dark golden brown with eyelashes as stunning as hers, and his hair was almost indigo it was so black.
He was so fierce that just looking at him made her want to take off her clothes. They stayed on the ledge the entire night returning to camp the next morning. Maggie had not been out of his bed since that night. She looked at him and took his hand as they mounted his horse.
“Well my, my, my what do we have here?” The Lieutenant sat on the large rock with her panties on the end of his gun barrel as he spit in the dirt. “They sure do look purdy, don’t they?”
Maggie knew before she turned around that there were three of them. She slowly turned in the water facing them. She was completely naked with the water just above her nipples. She ran her hands across her head to squeeze the water out of her hair and the action alone made him smile.
“Tell me little lady, what exactly is someone as beautiful as you doing alone in the mountains?”
Maggie met his eyes but didn’t respond which made him smile even broader. The other two soldiers were standing off to the side. All of them were in uniform with guns on their sides and she knew their horses were back at the clearing since she didn’t hear them ride up.
The Lieutenant spit again and took her pants off the end of his gun and put them up against his nose. “I haven’t seen fine silk like this since I left Boston. You must be from the East because I don’t believe they sell these anywhere in this part of the world.”
The other two snickered as she continued to watch them. He dropped his smile and leaned forward. “Cassidy, why don’t you convince the pretty little thing to come out of the water?”
“Why do I have to always be the one to get wet?”
“Because I outrank you. Please go in and get her.”
Maggie never took her eyes off of the man on the rock. Cassidy took off his holster and laid it next to the Lieutenant and took off his boots and shirt. He stepped into the river and immediately back out.
“Damn water is too cold.”
“Must not be that cold or she wouldn’t be standing there now would she?”
“I tell you it’s cold.”
“Cassidy get the woman.” He took out a cheap cigar and struck a match on the rock lighting it as he rested his gun hand on his knee. She was so darn pretty that they might have to spend some extra time with her before they killed her. Cassidy stepped back into the river and slowly worked toward her. She backed up slightly with each step he took.
“Miss, I suggest you come out peacefully if you don’t want to get hurt. We’re under orders to bring in any renegades we find in these parts.”
“She sure doesn’t look Indian to me.”
“Shut up John.” The Lieutenant stood and slipped his gun back in the holster and walked toward the water. He could tell it was over her head because she was treading ever so slightly. He wondered what she was doing in the river, naked, by herself with no horse in sight. He stopped and looked around but it was quiet so he turned back. “What is your name?”
Maggie continued to watch him without responding.
“Maybe she can’t talk. You know one of those mute people who can’t hear or talk.”
“She can hear. You can tell by her eyes that she understands everything I am saying.” He smiled at her again. “You are probably the prettiest woman I have seen in six months.”
“Well, she is definitely prettier than that damn Indian we got the other night.” The Lieutenant saw the change in her eyes when John talked about the Indian girl. Cassidy told the Lieutenant that he couldn’t reach her because it was getting too deep and he couldn’t swim. “John, can you swim?”
“No sir, ain’t never had the need to swim.”
The Lieutenant smiled again, walked back over to the rock and took off all of his clothes to his long johns. She smiled slightly when he turned back to her and it didn’t get past his notice at all. “Are you going to make me come all the way out?”
Maggie swam back just a little further because she knew he could swim just by his cockiness. He finally reached for her and pulled her toward him. She never took her eyes off of his and up close he was very handsome but she knew that looks didn’t change the meanness that you found in some men.
“Is there some reason you made me come out to get you?” He was pulling her back toward the shore despite her attempts to go the other direction. “Struggling won’t help. I’m an excellent swimmer and a lot stronger than you.”
“You killed a girl?”
He looked at her surprised at how pretty her voice was. “What difference does it make?”
�
��Are you going to kill me too?”
“I would prefer not to but that’s up to you.” His attention had been to use her then kill her probably not as fast as the Indian but kill her just the same. She was so beautiful but he couldn’t figure out why she was out here alone. As he pulled her closer he changed his mind not only about killing her but about forcing her to have sex. It had been a long time since he had convinced a woman to let him get between her legs voluntarily.
“What are you looking for? Why are you up here?”
“Renegades. We are rounding up all the Indians in the mountains and shipping them to the reservations.”
“You’re with the army?”
“We’re with the 55th Calvary, United States Army.”
“Are you part of the special unit?”
“What do you know about the army?” He got to the depth where he could stand and he pulled her up to him.
“I’ve seen them riding through the area.”
“Are you afraid of me?”
She didn’t respond but she didn’t pull away either. Cassidy yelled that it was getting cold and he wasn’t going to stand there all day while he played nice with the girl. He turned and looked at Cassidy who was standing spread eagle at the edge of the water.
“Go get the horses.”
“I thought we were just going to get a piece of tail and head back to the unit.”
“Unless you want me to shoot you, I suggest you both check on the horses.”
The Lieutenant turned from her while pulling her out of the water with great force. She fought and he turned around and hit her knocking her to her knees but he didn’t release her wrist. When Maggie wouldn’t get back up, he reached down and yanked her to her feet. The two men turned toward the clearing where they had tied up the horses which was about a thousand yards south of the river. The Lieutenant looked over her body with as much appreciation as any man would given the fortune to be able to touch her. He twisted her arm and brought her right up to him as they stood in calf deep water. Maggie didn’t yell out or cry but her eyes turned cold. He smiled.
“I had hoped to just enjoy your company but it seems that you aren’t smart enough to just cooperate.” He pulled her out of the water and Maggie twisted and turned away from him at the exact moment that the bullet went between his eyes. He fell back slowly releasing her as he did. She fell on her knees but pushed herself back up so that she was standing next to his body as the water slowly turned pink around her ankles. She turned toward the other side of the river as her brother rode slowly across sandbar. He slipped off his horse and handed her her clothes as he knelt down to make sure the Lieutenant wasn’t breathing.
Maggie found it almost comical since there was nothing Jonathan shot at that he didn’t kill in one clean shot. Jonathan drug his body into the river watching it float until it hit the rapids where it would be battered against the large boulders. Maggie slipped on her jeans and cotton shirt buttoning it up and tucking it in. Chi came walking from the clearing leading both his horse and hers. He walked up to her and pulled her into his arms. No man walking the earth should be so delicious to the touch.
Chi set her down and she took her gun off her saddle horn and put on her jacket before mounting. She was the only one of the three who didn’t ride bareback. They crossed back over the river and headed east. It had been a rough summer with the Army all over the mountains grabbing up Natives. In the last month, five women had disappeared from Chi's people only to be found brutally beaten and dead after being assaulted and humiliated. They rode hard and they rode with the wind in their faces.
The droughts took hold of Colorado in 1887, as the water level in the rivers suffered as much as the countryside. They were so fortunate to have the river on their land which allowed Mirisa to grow a large enough garden for the neighbors but the few families that moved to the valley to raise crops were at the mercy of the weather and by the early 1890s many had abandoned their farms and moved on to other areas looking for good farmland. The population of Denver fell rapidly as people became unemployed and the mining industry dried up with the land.
Mirisa enjoyed life in the country though she had finally hired someone to help with the crops and putting up the preserves. She felt her joints and muscles more than ever after a week of canning. They returned to Virginia when her father passed away in the late summer of 1889. It was nice to have all of the children together again and it was a beautiful spring morning when they laid him to rest next to his wife. As family and friends gathered on the back patio of the house, Meeks took Mirisa’s hand and walked down toward the river.
“I want to thank you for being in my life and for giving me such beautiful children.” He held her hand and wondered how he was so lucky to be able to wake up every morning with her in his arms.
“Have you talked to Matthew?”
“I sat down with him last night. He has turned in his resignation at the hospital and is returning to the Plantation. I had hoped he would come back to Colorado but he says the Plantation has been sitting empty for too long. He’s going to work at the clinic in town and raise a large family.” Mirisa bent down and picked a daisy holding it up to her nose. “He’s right. There hasn’t been happiness there in so long and now that Mrs. Chauvin has retired to her sister’s home and Minnie has passed on it is sitting empty. I think he will be happy. Matthew also told me that Dominic is retiring from politics and is selling everything and moving back to Natchez. I guess sometimes I forget that our story started in that Plantation and it is there that Dominic belongs.”
“I think being in the political arena has taken a toll on his health.”
“What about his wife?”
“I guess they are separated since she has been living at her sister’s for over a year.”
“Is he getting a divorce?”
“I don’t know. Garnett said everything he owns goes to the boys and he is probably paying her a nice stipend for support but I would guess that he’ll end it rather than chancing her coming after his estate.”
Mirisa sat down on the small bench that her father had built so that he could watch the river traffic on the good days.
“Alexander?”
He sat down handing her a hand full of colorful wildflowers. “Mirisa, I’ve been thinking it is time for us to finally go on our honeymoon.”
Mirisa looked at him because she felt every day of the last nineteen years with him was a honeymoon. “Where would you like to go?”
“I think I would like to take you to Europe. There’s a new ship, the SS Teutonic, which sails from London to New York.”
“Oh darling, you are going to take me to London?”
“And Paris and maybe Spain or Italy. Once we dock, we can stay as long as we want and book passage home.”
“Who will take care of the lodge while we’re gone? Who will take care of the children?”
“Sweetheart, our children are old enough to take care of themselves but Matthew said the girls can stay at the Plantation with him and Dominic.”
“When are we leaving?”
“First of April. We’ll travel to New York and spend a few weeks before sailing.”
“Mommy?”
Mirisa looked up from the box she was going through. “Would you like to help me?”
Cassie sat down and started folding the small clothes. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I thought it was time to go through all of your clothes and donate them to the church.”
“Mommy, I don’t want to stay home.”
“Stay home? Are you going somewhere?”
“I want to go to London with you and Sara wants to go and Lizzie wants to go but Sara said you don’t take children on a honeymoon but honeymoons are for before you have children. I will promise to be good and let you have your honeymoon if I can go.”
“And did your sisters pick you to come ask me?”
“We drew straws but all of us wanted to ask.”
“Well, if you want to go
you will have to convince your father.”
“Alright.” Cassie sat and helped her mother finish up the boxes of clothes. Meeks loaded all the boxes into the wagon and Cassie asked if she could ride with him to the church. Mirisa watched as they headed out the door as Lizzie followed them and climbed in the back of the wagon and told Meeks to wait for Sara.
“Are the three of you bored?”
Sara grabbed her jacket and headed out climbing in the wagon as Meeks headed toward the church. James watched them as he walked up to the house. He hit his hat on his leg and hung it on the rack before heading to the bar. “Why are the girls in the wagon with Meeks?”
“They are going to try to talk him into taking them to London.”
James smiled. “You know he doesn’t have a chance in hell to say no to the three of them when they have a plan.”
“I think he is smart enough to hold his own.”
“You know he isn’t.”
Meeks pulled up in front of the church and the girls all picked up a box and put them in the small office at the back of the church. Meeks talked to the preacher and told the girls to load up.
“Daddy, can we get an ice cream while we’re here?”
He looked at Sara suspiciously then nodded. Meeks pulled out the girls chairs before he sat down. The waitress took their order bringing out three bowls of vanilla ice cream. Meeks watched as they were trying to decide how to approach him.
“Daddy?” Sara put her spoon in the ice cream and turned it upside down as she ate it. “We want to know if we can go to London with you and mommy.”
“I assume that you realize that in the last twenty-five years your mother has not had any time away from children.”
Cassie leaned forward. “She really would be very sad if she was gone away from us for too long. We’re the last three children and soon we’ll be gone so we don’t think she wants to miss the little time she has us at home.”
“You don’t think she will be thankful to get a break from raising children?”
“Of course not.”
The Visitor - The Final Ride 1875-1928 Page 22
