by Smith, Bobbi
“We’re heading out right away and with any luck, we’ll be back at the ranch by the day after tomorrow,” he told them with forced cheerfulness.
“It’ll sure feel good to be home. I’ll bet Hildago is really worried about us.”
“I’m sure she is,” Mac said, knowing how much she loved Jennie and how concerned she’d been about her disappearance.
“Hildago?” Juan asked.
“She is my housekeeper,” he explained quickly, though he did not like using that term for the woman who’d come to mean so much to him. “And you will meet her soon. She is a wonderful woman, and she’s been with us for years, ever since the girls were young.”
“I will look forward to it with pleasure,” he replied gallantly as they walked to where their mounts were saddled and waiting.
Todd did not immediately return to camp after his encounter with Mac. He stayed on at the lookout point, trying to get his thoughts together. He knew Carrie had been right. He couldn’t go on trying to hide his true feelings any longer. Carrie was too important to him to allow her to be hurt that way. And, while Mac’s condemnation had been justified at the time, Todd knew that it was imperative that he straighten things out as soon as possible. Leaving his post, he headed back, intent on making peace with Carrie.
As he entered their encampment, Todd saw that Jennie was busy talking with her father and Juan, so he took the time to approach Carrie.
“Carrie, I need to talk with you.” He came up behind her as she was tightening the cinch of her saddle. All he wanted to do was to tell her how much he loved her and let her know that at the first opportunity he was going to break off with Jennie.
“Todd.” She was startled by his unexpected approach.
The last thing Carrie wanted to do was talk to him right now. She knew exactly what he was going to tell her, and she was in no mood to listen. Carrie knew that he loved Jennie. She supposed she’d always known that, but in the depths of her heart she had hoped that her love would be enough for Todd. Obviously, she acknowledged to herself now, it wasn’t.
“Well?” Todd asked again, waiting for her to respond. “Will you talk with me for a few minutes. What I have to say to you is very important.”
Glancing in her father’s direction, she grimaced as she remembered his critical words. “After what just happened between us, I really don’t think we should be anywhere near each other.”
“But Carrie, this is important.”
“I think I’ve heard it all before, Todd,” she answered flatly. “And, frankly, I don’t want to hear it again. If we just stay away from each other maybe everything will work out all right.”
Refusing to look at him, she swung up into the saddle and started to ride away. But Todd was undaunted by her coolness, and he reached out to snare the bridle, effectively halting her horse’s progress.
“Damn it, Carrie! What happened just now was—”
“I know, a mistake.” She gave him an exasperated look. Casting a quick look in her father’s direction, she groaned. “Now, let me go, damnit! My father and Jennie are looking this way!”
Todd quickly released his hold on her horse and she rode away from him, leaving him feeling completely frustrated. With firm resolve, he knew that he had to talk with Jennie, and soon.
Realizing that everyone was about ready to leave, he hurried to his mount. Shoving his rifle into its scabbard, he swung into the saddle and started off to join the others.
“Todd?” Jennie’s call beckoned him to her side.
“Good morning, Jennie. Are you all set to go?” he asked as he reined in beside her.
“Yes, I’m ready.” She smiled at him warmly and then looked puzzled. “Were you and Carrie arguing just now?”
“No,” he replied quickly. “Why?”
“Oh, I don’t know, I guess I thought you looked angry.”
“No. I wasn’t angry. We were just having a difference of opinion.” Todd hurried to change the subject. “Where did Rick and your brother go?”
“Rick seemed to think that it would be wise to have someone riding in advance, so he and Jake went on ahead.”
At that moment, Mac signaled for everyone to gather around, and they were forced to discontinue their discussion.
“We’re going to head out of here as fast as we can. Rick seems to think there’s a good chance that there may be Indians around, so let’s keep our eyes open and make tracks.”
A murmur of agreement went through those gathered there, and they willingly followed Mac and Steve from the campsite, heading in the direction of home as fast as the rocky terrain would permit.
“I’m going to ride with Mac for a while,” Todd told Jennie a short time later. He had wanted to talk with her, but he was certain that this was not the time or place. When he finally did break the news to her about his feelings for Carrie, they would have to have some privacy.
“All right, I’ll just stay back here with Juan and Carrie.”
Todd managed to keep his expression bland as he glanced at Carrie, but she was looking the other way, seemingly oblivious to his interest. Sighing to himself, he rode forward to join Mac and Steve.
Chapter Twenty-six
The Apache were watching the posse’s every move, and as soon as they saw Rick and Jake ride out ahead of them, two braves were dispatched to go after them and kill them. They knew that, as a group, the whites were a formidable, well-armed force. So they planned to pick off as many of them as they could individually before making their assault on the main party. Armed with rifles stolen from previous raids and their deadly bows and arrows, they kept pace with Rick and Jake, waiting for the right moment for an ambush.
Rick and Jake rode carefully down the steep slope into the canyon, their full attention on the rocky peaks that surrounded them. It was quiet—too quiet—Rick thought, and he was uneasy as they neared a place where the trail passed between two massive boulders. As they drew closer to the opening, his horse trembled unexpectedly as its nostrils flared in a sudden awareness. Rick neatly controlled the animal as it pranced sideways, but its nervousness only served to confirm his own suspicions.
“Jake,” he muttered low under his breath as he slowly slid his revolver from the holster and held it close against his thigh.
Jake noted his action and followed suit. “What is it?”
“There’s something in the wind. Up ahead.” He nodded in the direction of the passageway. “I think we’ve got some company.”
“What do you want to do?”
“The same thing we did that time the sheriff was after us in El Paso and we were in a hurry to get out of town. Remember?”
“How could I forget?” Jake would have laughed at the reference if the situation hadn’t been so serious.
“If the Apache are here, they’re probably waiting for us at the far end. Take it fast and stay low.”
Though Jake’s grin was easy, it did not hide the dangerous glitter in his eyes. Pushing his hat more firmly down on his head, he took up the reins in a tight grip.
“Ready?”
“Whenever you are.”
Time seemed suspended for a moment and their nerves stretched taut as they guided their jittery mounts forward. Once inside the narrow channel they raked their spurs over the horses’ flanks, pushing them to a dead run down the trail.
At the sound of the approaching horses, the braves crouched on top of the rocks at the end of the passage, waiting for the white men to emerge. The blades of their knives flashed wickedly in the brilliance of the morning sun as they prepared to launch themselves at the riders, knock them from their mounts and fatally stab them before any shots could be fired to warn the others.
Though both Rick and Jake were leaning low over their horses’ necks as they neared the end of the passageway, only Rick made it through the attack unscathed. Jake was torn from his saddle by the force of the warrior’s body plowing into his, and in the resulting confusion his revolver flew from his grip and was lost. When he hit the ground, he
rolled to the side to avoid the Indian who was diving toward him. Jake felt a brief, searing pain in his upper arm but had no time to worry about it as he scrambled to his feet and pulled his own knife from its sheath in his boot.
Jake had learned knife fighting from some of the best during his years of brawling in saloons, and he felt calm and in control as he faced his foe evenly armed. Lunging toward the Apache’s unprotected shoulder, he slashed him viciously and watched with obvious pleasure as blood welled from the wound. They thrust and paried, testing and pushing until Jake finally managed to slip a leg behind his opponent’s and trip him. The warrior lost his balance, falling heavily, and Jake was upon him, driving his blade deeply into his heart, ending his life.
Rick had managed to escape the initial attack, and he wheeled his horse around so he could get off an accurate shot at the Indian who was chasing after him. Firing rapidly, the force of his bullets ripped into the brave’s chest and sent him sprawling lifelessly in the dirt.
Panting for breath, Jake pulled his knife free of the Indian’s body and wiped the gore from it. His expression was a mixture of victorious male animal and disgusted civilized human being. He stood up slowly and then, after glancing down at the body, he walked away.
“You all right?” Rick asked as he led Jake’s horse back to him.
“I think so.”
“What about your arm?” He indicated the blood that was flowing freely from the wound on Jake’s left arm.
“Oh.” He seemed surprised to find that his arm was bleeding heavily. “See if you can tie it up for me and then we’d better head back. There’s no way Pa and Steve could have missed hearing those shots, and they’ll be wondering what’s happened to us.”
“I just hope they were the only ones within hearing range.” He paused as he listened carefully for some sound that would indicate the presence of more Indians.
“You think there could be more of them?”
“I’m sure of it.” Rick looked coldly at the two dead Indians. “These two were probably sent to get rid of us, while the rest of them concentrate on the posse.”
“Let’s hurry then. We need to warn them.”
“We’ll go as soon as I fix your arm. You won’t be any good to me if you pass out from a loss of blood.”
Dismounting he tied their mounts to a nearby bush and took an extra bandanna from his saddlebag. Applying pressure to the bloody gash, he tied the cloth tightly to stop the flow of blood.
“That should hold you until we get back.”
“Thanks.” Jake flexed his arm as if to test its strength. He was about to say something more when the sounds of gunfire echoed sharply about them. “Oh, no. Let’s go.”
Vaulting onto their horses, they raced back the way they’d just come, filled with a sense of dread in what they were going to find.
Though Jennie and Carrie had been riding side by side since they’d left camp, they had had little to say to each other. Carrie thought Jennie seemed very preoccupied, and she wondered if it was because she knew about her rendezvous with Todd. Casting a sideways glance at her, she sighed. Jennie was beautiful and she could easily understand why Todd felt as he did about her.
Her resentment of Jennie flared again to life as Carrie wondered why it was that her sister always ended up with exactly what she wanted. Ever since they were little, Jennie had consistently been the one who earned the praise and received the rewards; while she, herself, had seldom been on the receiving end of anything except Pa’s temper and impatience.
After a while, Carrie had learned to accept that things would always be that way, and though she made an outward show of not caring, deep inside it still hurt. Mac’s condemning words earlier when he’d caught her with Todd had severed any and all hope she ever had of having a normal relationship with him. For a time, while they had been riding with the posse, Carrie had hoped that he might have been coming to like her, but she knew now that it was impossible. No matter what she did, in Mac’s eyes it would be wrong.
Looking up, her gaze fell upon Todd, and she watched him hungrily as he rode with Steve and her father at the head of the posse. He was the only man she would ever love, and she just hoped that one day, she would, somehow, get over him.
Carrie would have been totally shocked if she’d known what Jennie was really thinking about. True, she seemed preoccupied, but that was because she was lost in her daydreams of Rick. As they rode on with the warmth of the sun beating down on them, her mind was summoning forth images of the night before: of making magical, passionate love to Rick and of his subsequent proposal.
Jennie knew that her life would have been perfect at that moment had it not been for the confrontation she was going to have with Todd. Logically, she knew it would be better if she waited until they got back to the ranch to break off their engagement, but two more days of pretending that her love for Rick didn’t exist seemed an eternity.
Jennie was glad now that she and Todd hadn’t told anyone about her acceptance of his proposal. That way, Todd would be able to save face for no one need ever know, save Rick, that there had been an engagement in the first place. She hoped he wouldn’t be too hurt by her actions, and that maybe someday, he would be able to understand and forgive her for having been so impulsive on her first night back.
The sound of distant shots startled them, and Jennie and Carrie exchanged worried looks as Mac halted the posse.
“Do you suppose it was Jake and Rick?” Carrie asked.
“It must have been them. The shots came from their direction!” Jennie answered, her concern evident.
“Do you think they’re in trouble?”
“It sure sounded like it. That wasn’t a warning shot we just heard,” she said sharply.
“I know.” Carrie glanced up nervously at the craggy hills that encircled them.
The Apache warriors heard the shots being fired, too, and immediately knew that something had gone wrong. Realizing that the posse had been alerted to their presence now, they knew they had to act and act quickly. As they swooped down on the posse, their screeches reverberated menacingly throughout the canyons and gorges.
Firing with deadly accuracy, the Indians had hoped that the whites would panic and scatter, but Mac had warned his men, and they were ready for the attack when it came. Returning their shots with equal, if not superior expertise, the ranch hands sought protection at the nearest possible shelter and stayed as close together as possible. Not wanting to give the warriors any chance to break through their defenses, they covered one another judiciously and tried to make sure that each bullet found its mark.
Jennie and Carrie were riding near the back of the posse when the assasult came, and they fled to safety together behind a good-sized boulder a short distance from the men. Using all the training Mac had taught them over the years, they stayed low and chose their targets carefully.
“You’re good!” Jennie looked at Carrie with surprised respect after she’d managed to hit one of the Indians.
“Thanks,” Carrie answered, not taking her eyes off the attacking savages. “I guess Pa was right when he told us that it was important that we learn how to shoot.”
“He sure was,” she replied, turning back to the fighting. Taking precise aim, she squeezed the trigger and her shot missed the Apache brave she targeted by inches. “Damn!”
Carrie got off another two rounds before she had to stop to reload. She had squatted down with her back to the rock to slip the cartridges into the chamber, when a furtive movement on the slope behind them caught her eye.
“Jennie! Look out!” Raising her rifle, she fired the one and only bullet she’d managed to load.
At the sound of Carrie’s warning cry and shot, Jennie threw herself sideways just in time to see the warrior fall dead behind them.
“Oh, my God—Carrie—” Jennie’s eyes were wild and unbelieving as she stared at the dead Indian.
“You all right?” she asked quickly as she looked from the Apache’s lifeless body to
her sister’s pale face.
“I think so, thanks to you.” Jennie hugged Carrie. “You saved my life, Carrie.”
“You’d have done the same for me.” Carrie replied the standard answer quickly, but suddenly as she said the words she realized that they were true. Jennie was her sister and, despite all the jealousy and anger she sometimes felt toward her, there was love and caring there.
A bullet whizzed closely past them, and they quickly broke apart. Jennie took up her rifle again and started to fire again as Carrie finished reloading her own weapon and then joined her.
“Look! Where are Todd and Steve going?” Carrie saw them making their way behind the rocks, away from the others.
“I don’t know, unless maybe they’re going to try to sneak around to the side and get a better angle on the Indians. Then when Rick and Jake make it back, we should have them hemmed in on three sides.”
“I hope Todd’s careful!” She spoke so emotionally that she drew a curious look from Jennie.
“Carrie—” Jennie wanted to question her about Todd and the scene she had witnessed between them earlier, but there was not time as another wave of Apache rode at them, firing viciously.
Hidden behind a jumbled barricade of rocks, Steve and Todd were ready and waiting for the renewed assault, and they let loose a barrage of gunfire that caught the Indians by surprise. Forced to fight on two fronts, they were suddenly divided in their pursuit of the white men and retreated quickly to regroup and plan a new strategy.
Casualties had been light among the men of the posse so far, and Lucia and Chica were hastening to aid those who had been hit.
“Steve! Todd! You two all right?” Mac called up to them from the position he was sharing with Juan.
“We’re fine,” Todd answered.
“Do you see any sign of Jake or Rick?”
“No, nothing yet.”
While Carrie felt relief at hearing the sound of Todd’s voice and finding out that he was uninjured, Jennie felt troubled. There was still no sign of Rick.
