by Lisa Rae
When Angel nodded her head yes, Levi continued, “Well all of a sudden I felt something whiz by my face, and then I saw Gabriel who was riding in front of me, fly out of his saddle over the edge of the mountain into the creek far below. Then we heard the loud boom of a Sharps rifle. We didn’t have time to go find Gabriel. Besides, that fall would have killed him, even if the bullet didn’t.”
This time with tears rolling down her face, Angel nodding again. “Thanks Levi for telling me.”
“I’m real sorry Angel, I know you two were real close.”
Clayton and Alex both gave Angel their condolences also before she replied, “Thanks guys. I better get back to Julianna. I left her alone.” As Angel walked out of the saloon, she figured she better go check on Julianna first, before she went to look for Roark.
When Angel peeked in on Julianna she found her sound asleep. Tomorrow will be soon enough to tell her what happened to Gabriel. Right now she needed her sleep. Quietly Angel went back outside to go look for Roark. Where would he of gone?
Angel found Roark sitting on a big rock by the canyon stream. Tears rolled uncontrollably down his tanned leather checks, as he stared off into the stream.
“Roark,” Angel said softly as she walked up to him. “I was just in the saloon finding out what happened to Gabriel.”
He looked up at Angel still with tears in his eyes. “Tell me.”
She repeated everything Levi had told her, and then said, “Roark, I’ve got to go find his body and give him a proper burial.”
“Yes he deserves a proper burial. I wish I could go with you, but if I do the gangs would get suspicious.”
“I know. Roark someone needs to take care of Julianna. You know another outlaw will quickly jump at the opportunity to take claim to her, now that Gabriel is gone.”
“I know Angel. This sure wasn’t the way I intended to get to know Julianna. She’s going to hate me for this.”
“Yes she is, but better she just hates you, than what would happen to her if you don’t do it.”
Chapter 9
Roark went to the Phantom camp’s saloon, while Angel went back to stay with Julianna for the night. Once inside the saloon, Roark walked up to the bar and ordered, “Tom give me a bottle of whiskey!”
He took the bottle of whiskey over to a table in a dimly lit corner of the saloon, and sat down by himself. He was in no mood to make conversation with anyone, as he sat there and thought about what he had to do the next morning …
If he didn’t claim Julianna as his woman, then another outlaw would. And they wouldn’t waste any time doing it either. There was no other way, if Roark wanted to protect Julianna from becoming no more than an outlaw camp’s whore.
The problem in doing this was that to make it believable to all the outlaws in the camp, he couldn’t tell Julianna his connection to Gabriel or Angel. Therefore he couldn’t tell Julianna what he was going to do ahead of time. Julianna had only seen him once sitting and eating supper with Angel. They’ve never even held a conversation together, and now he had to publically take possession of her.
It would humiliate Julianna. There was no way around it, and Roark felt lower than pond scum to have to do it to her. But he had to protect her … for Gabriel. Roark could not let Gabriel’s death be for nothing. The three of them; Gabriel, Angel, and himself had made their way into the Phantom outlaw’s hideout for an important reason. To abandon those plans now would be a dishonor to Gabriel and everything he fought for …
*
Julianna was so use to waking up early to go help Barry in the cook’s shack, that she automatically woke up at daybreak. When she first woke up and was still laying in bed, she realized her eyes felt swollen and puffy. It took a few minutes for her to remember what had happened the night before. When it all started to flood back into her memory, she cried out “Gabe!”
Sleeping beside Julianna on the little bed, Angel stirred from Julianna’s cry. It took Angel a moment, before the night before registered in her brain. “Julianna, it’s going to be hard, but we will make it through this,” Angel not only said it to Julianna, but was also telling it to herself.
“Did you find out what happened to Gabe?” Julianna asked Angel.
“Yes. On their way back they were riding along this ledge on the side of a mountain, when Gabriel was shot out of the saddle, and he fell a long ways to the rocky bottom below. Levi said even if the bullet didn’t kill him, the fall would have.”
“Oh my God!” Julianna gasped, and then started sobbing. Angel rubbed her shoulder gently as she silently cried along with her.
When Julianna stopped sobbing, she sat up saying, “I need to get to work at the cook’s shack.”
“You don’t have to go. Barry can get by without you today. He will understand,” Angel said, as she tried to coax Julianna to stay home for the day and rest.
“Barry will need my help with all the extra outlaws in camp right now,” Julianna argued. “Besides, I need to do something to keep busy.”
“Okay, I won’t argue with you,” Angel said, as she thought that maybe keeping busy might help Julianna get through this. “Let’s freshen up and head over there. I’m hungry and need to eat something before I head out.”
“Where are you going? If you are going to a town, I want to come with you so I can go to my father.”
“I’m not going to a town. You’re the safest right here for now till I can get you safely out of here. The Phantom gang is not going to just let you walk out of their hideout. I’ve got to work on a way to sneak you out when they are not expecting it.”
She hated not being totally honest with Julianna, but Angel knew what Roark had to do needed to come as a surprise to her, for the rest of the outlaws to believe it. Poor Julianna … it was not going to be a good surprise.
*
Angel had already left the Phantom outlaw’s hideout leading a pack horse. There was still a few outlaws in the cook’s shack eating, when Julianna started cleaning up dishes from the morning breakfast. One of the outlaws was Roark. He had been watching her while he ate his breakfast, and waited till the majority of the outlaws had left, before he made his move.
After paying Barry, Roark grabbed up his saddlebags and walked towards Julianna. He reached out putting his arm around Julianna’s waist and pulled her to him with her fighting him the whole way. He planted a hard kiss right on her lips before she smacked him in the face.
The slap smarted, but Roark had to put on a good show, so he laughed and said loud enough for the rest of the outlaws to hear, “Whew-ee you’re a spirited one! That’s alright, I like them with sass. Now how ‘bout you show me my new home.”
Shocked and scared, Julianna asked, “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talkin’ you just lost your man, and I intend to replace him!” Roark said smiling real big, as he started to lead her towards the cook’s shack door. Panicking, Julianna broke loose from Roark’s hold, and ran out the door. “Looks like she’s eager to get the place all ready for me,” he said laughing again, as he walked out the door to follow her.
Inside her shack is not where Julianna was headed though. Gabriel’s bay stallion had been put in his little corral, and fed last night when the outlaw gang came into camp, leading the horse. Julianna ran to the corral out back of their shack, and quickly saddled the big stallion. Once she had him saddled and led out of the corral, she climbed on and took off in a dead run, just as Roark was getting close.
“Damn!” Now I’ve got to chase after her, Roark thought. If she had just let him lead her into Gabriel’s shack, then he could of told her the truth of what he was doing. Well, at least it was definitely now believable to the rest of the outlaws. Julianna would be safe now …
With tears in her eyes, Julianna galloped Gabriel’s bay horse though the outlaw camp. She didn’t slow the big horse down till she was up the narrow canyon trail Gabriel had taken her on, when they had went riding one day.
Levi was the one on guard
up that canyon, and when he saw Julianna on Gabriel’s horse, he figured Julianna just needed some time alone to mourn the loss of Gabriel. He had no idea she was trying to run away from Roark, so he let her continue on.
She made it to the lush buffalo grass valley, and crossed over to the lone tree her and Gabriel had picnicked at, and laid under talking for hours. It was also where he had first kissed her …
Crying uncontrollably now, Julianna climbed down from the big horse of Gabriel’s, and sat down under the lone tree. She let go of the leather reins to the horse, and he wandered around eating the buffalo grass close by.
Up on a ridge, sat a band of Ute warriors that had been out hunting to feed their village. They were watching as Julianna rode to the lone tree in the lush valley while they admired the fine looking stallion Julianna was riding. When they saw she let the bay horse roam free to eat, they figured on sneaking up and stealing it.
As one warrior snuck in closer on moccasin covered feet, he noticed that Julianna was crying in sorrow as he heard … “Why did you have to die and leave me with those awful outlaws!”
Spotted Elk was the name of the Ute Indian that had stopped and listened to Julianna crying. He was a Ute warrior leader who had recently lost his own wife during child birth. Understanding her pain of losing the one you deeply loved, he decided to go to her.
He was already standing right in front of her when Julianna looked up, and first noticed the Ute Indian. She screamed and scrambled backwards against the lone tree in fear. Even though she had learned that many Indians are now friendly, and got along with white people, she had never seen an Indian before.
“Me no hurt you,” Spotted Elk said in broken English. But that did not ease Julianna’s fears as she stared wide-eyed at him. Spotted Elk squatted on the ground in front of her. “I understand why you cry for man you love. I too lost wife only four moons ago. When our son was born she died,” he said sadly.
Compelled by Spotted Elk’s sincerity and his own sorrow, Julianna said, “I am sorry for your loss.”
Nodding his head in acceptance, he then pointed to himself. “Me Spotted Elk. What do your people call you?”
“My name is Julianna Whitaker. But my friends just call me Julie.”
“Ju . . lie.” Spotted Elk tried out her name and smiled before he asked her, “Why you out here cry alone? Why you not with your people?”
Julianna explained how she ended up here under the lone tree, “I was on a stagecoach, on my way to go see my father when it was robbed. I was kidnapped by one of the outlaws and taken back to their hideout. The outlaw kept me safe as his woman, and we fell in love.” Julianna had to stop and take a deep breath, as tears started running down her cheeks again.
“He was on his way back from robbing a bank and was killed. The outlaw gang rode into camp last night leading his horse. And earlier today another outlaw says I’m his woman now!” Julianna sobbed.
“Why that not make you happy? Another man take care of you is good thing,” Spotted Elk questioned.
“Because they are all bad evil men. I’d rather die, than let one of them touch me!” Julianna cried.
“Then you come with Spotted Elk. I need someone to care for my son. Come,” Spotted Elk ordered gently, as he held out a hand to Julianna when he stood up. When he saw she was still scared of him, he reassured her. “I no hurt you. You protect and care for my son. I will protect you.”
Figuring that it couldn’t be any worse of a situation than what she was already in, Julianna took Spotted Elk’s outreached hand and let him help her up. He then caught her bay horse for her, and helped her into the saddle.
“Come. We must go now.” Spotted Elk took off running towards his horse that was a ways off, as Julianna followed on Gabriel’s big stallion. He knew they were in the Phantom outlaw hideout’s area, and that after what she told him, there would be someone coming to look for her soon if she did not return.
When Spotted Elk reached his appaloosa horse standing in the aspen trees, he gracefully swung onto the horse’s bare back, and took off towards the rest of his Ute warriors, leaving Julianna to follow.
Joining the rest of the Ute warriors, Spotted Elk spoke to his men in their own language. After a brief conversation, Spotted Elk told Julianna to follow him as the rest of the warriors fell in behind them.
The Ute warriors and Julianna were topping the ridge about to go over the other side, just as Roark and Levi spotted them from the far forest edge, where they sat on their horses. “Looks like you’ve lost her. Those are Ute warriors that took her. I recognize the leader in front. That’s Spotted Elk,” Levi told Roark.
As they turned back towards the Phantom outlaw hideout, Roark nodded and said, “Yes, it looks like I lost her, and a damn good horse.”
Actually Roark was somewhat happy to see Julianna with Spotted Elk. He knew that Gabriel’s mother was a Ute, and part of Spotted Elk’s tribe. With what was soon to happen in the Phantom outlaw’s camp, Roark was glad Julianna would not be there. She would be safer with Gabriel’s family …
*
Angel had searched all over for Gabriel’s body, but could not find it as she rode up the stream of the Beaver Creek, past where he would have fallen. She backtracked downstream looking more closely this time, and found Indian pony tracks. The tracks were of a barefooted horse, and only Indians rode unshod horses.
Climbing down from her horse, Angel searched the area intensely until she found faint moccasin tracks in the mud up under the rock ledge, that hung over a deep pool of water. Did Gabriel fall into this pool of water, and the Indian pull him out?
The Indians that lived in the area were Utes, and Gabriel was half Ute. He was raised by his Indian mother in the Ute tribe until he was twenty years old. Angel had then learned twelve years ago, that Gabriel was her half brother when her father brought him to meet her, after her mother had died.
After Angel got over the initial shock that her father had had another woman, much less an Indian woman, Angel eventually got to know her brother, and they became as close as any brother and sister could be.
If it was a Ute Indian that had been under that rock ledge by the pool of water, then he probably recognized Gabriel, and took his body home to his people.
Sadly, Angel headed back to the Phantom outlaw gang’s camp. She missed her brother deeply, and right now she just wanted to be held in Barry’s strong arms, and cry till she couldn’t cry any more …
*
On the way back to the Phantom gang’s hideout, Roark left Levi up on the ridge he was doing guard duty from, and headed back to the outlaw camp by himself. He hoped Spotted Elk would take good care of Julianna, and not let some young buck trade a horse for her. Roark knew Spotted Elk was smart with a good head on his shoulder, and he wasn’t one for violence. Maybe Gabriel’s spirit sent Spotted Elk to protect Julianna. It would be like Gabriel to do something like that from his grave, Roark thought.
Angel … She should be headed to town by now with Gabriel’s body. Roark hated that he could not be with her. She should not have to bury her brother by herself.
Now back at the Phantom outlaw’s camp, Roark turned his horse out to graze in the meadow, and went to the camp’s saloon where he ran into Clayton and Victor standing at the bar.
“I hear you took claim of Julianna now that Gabriel is gone,” Victor commented dryly.
“Ya I did. Then she ran off on Gabriel’s horse, and Spotted Elk and his warriors kidnapped her,” Roark said sadly, to make it look good to the outlaws. Then he ordered a bottle of whiskey.
“Spotted Elk kidnapped Julianna?” Clayton questioned, surprised at what Roark was telling them. They had never had any problems sharing the area with the Ute Indians before.
“Yep, ask Levi. He was with me when I went looking for Julianna, and we saw Spotted Elk and his warriors leading Julianna away. They were up on the ridge out past the grass valley.”
Knowing Levi, one of their own men, would not cover for Roark if he wa
s up to something, they accepted what Roark told them and nodded.
After Roark paid for his bottle, he took it and went to a table in a dark corner to sit alone. Halfway through the bottle Angel walked into the camp’s saloon. Roark thought he was seeing things. She should be headed into town by now with Gabriel’s body.
Angel went to the bar to get a mug of beer, then she walked up to Roark’s table and asked, “How ‘bout a game of cards?”
“Sure, maybe my luck will change,” Roark laughed sadly.
Once they had been playing for a while, and no one was paying attention to them, Roark asked, “What are you doing back here?”
“His body was gone. I searched all over, and could only find where an Indian had been there by a big pool of water under a rock ledge. I found faint moccasin prints and unshod pony tracks. He must have been a Ute, and carried Gabriel back to his people.”
“That makes sense,” Roark commented.
“So how’s Julianna handling you taking ownership of her?” Angel asked worried.
“She took it so well that she ran off on Gabriel’s horse, and was kidnapped by Spotted Elk, before me and Levi found her.”
Gasping, Angel exclaimed, “Oh no! What can we do?”
“Not much we can do till we are done here. Besides she will be safer there. Gabriel’s people will take care of her.”
“I’m sure you are right,” Angel said as she stood up. “I don’t feel much like playing anymore. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Good night Angel.”
“Good night Roark,” Angel said, as she walked out of the saloon and over to the cook’s shack to see Barry. It was almost empty inside, and he was cleaning up from the previous meal, when he saw her walk in.
“Well hello there! I’m glad to see you are back,” Barry said, with a big smile on his face. He had been worried about Angel. He knew she had cared deeply for Gabriel, and had also become friends with Julianna, who was now gone too.
