by Paige Powers
"How have the townsfolk been treating you all?"
Boyd looked in the direction of the sheriff. "We thank you for your hospitality. We have been treated well."
"Good to hear. I hope that you got the information that you needed."
All three of the men mounted their horses. "We did. Thank you, Sheriff. I think we will be on our way," Boyd commented.
The men bid farewells, and Boyd and the crew were off. The plan was to back track the trail they had already passed. The thought was that since Red Davies now sent a request for ransom, he had to be close by Eagle Valley. There would be no other way that he could receive his money.
It would be another day's trip back across the mountain range, and the men knew that they would have to keep their eyes peeled because they could run into Red and Bianca at any moment. Lou had also sent word that he would increase their support, and send out more men to aid their efforts.
The new men would be on their way from Eagle Valley, and the plan was that they would meet somewhere in the middle between their current location and the home base. At this point, Scout's patience was wearing thin, and it was beginning to become an additional chore to keep him grounded.
Boyd, Beau, and Scout decided to ride non-stop. The last town's sheriff had been kind enough to make sure that they had supplies to last them for a few days. It was more than generous, and they were appreciative that someone who did not know them would just give to them out of the kindness of their hearts.
It was back to the range. Boyd was tired of riding the horse and tired of the heat, but it was not anything that he would disclose to Scout or Beau. Scout was not in the mood to do anything else but find his sister safe. Beau was high off of sheer exhilaration. It was not that Boyd wanted to give up, but he wanted to find Bianca alive and well and the thought of trailing her all this time and possibly not finding her at all, or not finding her alive was becoming heart wrenching.
The fact was that they set out on their excursion several days after Bianca's abduction. There was a chance that Red Davies had traveled much farther with Bianca than they anticipated. There was also that chance that Red had been so close by that he was watching them run around looking for the wealthy man's gem.
Either way, Boyd had a job to do and when it came to work, he never half stepped. Whether it was working on the family farm, something that he never truly had a desire to do, or working at the local store, which only fulfilled his time and put honest money in his pocket. Those were things that he did because he had to. Not because he wanted to. Becoming a U.S. Marshal was what Boyd thought would be a step in the right direction. Boyd was not one hundred percent sure of the direction he wanted to go in life.
All he knew was that he wanted to do something respectable, and something that would leave him with stories to tell his family. Something that his parents would have been proud to talk about when they went to church and traded stories with their friends about what their children were doing. Being in law enforcement seemed like the right direction to go. And to boot, he was living this life with his twin brother. That would certainly make his parents proud. To know that he and Beau stuck together through everything would make them smile.
Boyd knew that there would eventually be a point at which he and Beau would meet a crossroads. Beau was not the type that wanted to ever settle down. Of course, when one was wild and free, no one ever considered settling down. But Boyd had the inclination to want to take a wife and have a family of his own ever since he could remember. He wanted to be a family man just like his father. He did not have to have ten children like his parents did, but happy and healthy children would be enough for him.
It was not as easy to find a woman to make his wife. Back home in South Carolina, women were constantly looking to climb the ladder of status. If your family did not come from money or have an esteemed last name, most women of substance were not interested. And the Abbott boys were well known, his parents were pretty well respected, but when it came to marriage, most women wanted to marry up and have the chance to live a life of luxury and status. Those luxuries were not available when marrying an Abbott. You would work hard like all of them did. But the family was full of love and support, and Boyd knew that he had much to offer the right woman.
There were a few prospects, but nothing panned out. When his mother was alive, she would often try subtly to set Boyd and Beau up with some young girl whose mother Mrs. Abbott was good friends with. Boyd knew that his mother worried about him and his brother. Being the youngest, they were the wildest of the bunch, and their mother was often worried that they would not get on the right track.
For her, the right track was settling down, getting married, and starting a family. Those were things that Boyd wanted for himself. They were just not things that he was willing to do so immediately. He knew that there was life outside of South Carolina, and he wanted the chance to explore that life and get a taste for himself. His older brothers were older by at least ten years, some by about fifteen. So when he watched them go off to the Great War, or move out of their parents' house and become family men themselves, it made Boyd wonder about what was out there for himself.
He had a brother who moved all of the way to California. California had not even been a thought in Boyd's mind before his older brother made a way for himself and moved so far out West. Others followed West. He had two other brothers in Texas who were lawmen and now, family men. Life was showing Boyd what he had not always known. It was possible to move away from all that he knew and still make it.
Now here he was, taking a stab at making a life for himself. It filled him with pride that he was willing to sacrifice everything and take a step out into the unknown. But he had drawn strength from his brothers who had moved forward ahead of him.
Boyd had been so intent on searching for the right woman to spend his life with. Now, he was not so sure if he should search. He was becoming more and more convinced that love would find him and not the other way around. And as for his move West, he was not sure if Arizona would be the end of the road for him. Being here, looking at the expanse of the land let him know that there was so much more out there that he could explore before he settled. He now knew that he held his life in his own hands, and that he could take life in any direction that he chose.
*
The trek back across the mountains did not seem like it took as long as it did to originally cross. Maybe it was the anticipation of getting back to Eagle Valley to wrap up their search.
Boyd and Beau tried their best to keep Scout's spirits up. They did not want to think negatively but the truth was, every second that Red Davies kept Bianca captive, there was more of a chance that Bianca might not return alive. The last thing that Boyd wanted was for their quest to be unsuccessful in that manner. Partially because it was their first assignment. Mostly because there was a woman at the heart of this search who was completely innocent.
This poor woman had become an unwitting pawn in her father's business. Boyd wondered how Lou felt about that. He was sure that the man was feeling full of guilt and remorse. The only way that he would not be is if he was truly cold hearted, and with the way that Scout described Bianca, Boyd could not believe that a woman so full of love and kindness could come from any man who was cold hearted.
"Are the two of you planning on staying in Arizona after this?"
Boyd could tell that Scout was trying his best to start some random conversation.
"I would like to see all that Arizona has to offer. It would be nice to feel a bit settled for the moment," Boyd responded. "But I am open to exploring the country. There is so much more to see."
Beau squinted in the sun. "Me too. I like what I see so far here, but I'm not against seeing more. It's like once you get out here and know that there is more, you can't help but to want to grab it all up."
"Have you ever wanted to live anywhere else yourself, Scout?" Boyd had wondered if Scout had ever had the desire to live anywhere else but Eagle Valley.
>
"I've thought about it. But my home is here. My ancestors lived on these lands, and I owe it to them not to leave it. I owe it to them to stay here and make sure that their memory is not forgotten."
Boyd had to respect the order of things. "That makes good sense my friend. Family and respect is everything."
Scout tilted his hat. "It's all that a man has. And it is all that I will continue to fight for."
Chapter 6
When they returned to the clapboard house in the woods, Bianca felt a sense of relief. Seeing a place that she had seen before gave her a sense of comfort. She was not sure exactly where she was in proximity to how far it would be to get back to Eagle Valley, but at least in the small house, she had food and shelter.
Now she had to make a plan to get away from Red Davies. She knew that they had been to the telegram office in a small town nearby. It was the perfect opportunity to escape, but she thought twice because what if the people in town happened to be less forgiving than Red? What would happen if they found out that her father was Lou Simmons? One of them could do worse and hold her captive again for longer. So she decided to take her chances that her father would meet Red's demands for ransom.
Money was important to her father, but she knew that he would gladly pay whatever the sum Red desired in return for her safe return. So she made up her mind that she should continue to be patient. Her goal was to return home safely to her family, the very family that she knew was out looking for her.
She and Red had made one more trip to the telegram office into town the previous day. He brought back some supplies, and they had dinner quietly. It was strange that she had built a silent sense of appreciation for her captor. He was the only one that had shared any information with her about her mother. For that alone, she was thankful. Bianca was the type to want to see both sides of the story, and she knew that although it was twisted, Red Davies had his version of events that were happening.
He was not exactly handling things the right way, but she was very sure that her father had his own version of events, and that Lou Simmons had definitely not handled things in his personal life and business in the best manner.
That was a conversation that she would have to have with her father, and he would have to be willing to have it with her as well. Red Davies had shared a lifetime of information that filled in the gaps for her, and it left her wanting more. She knew that her father would be the correct person to give her the information.
Bianca had grown a bit smarter since being on the run with Red for the past week. She knew not to take the food directly from him, because there was a chance that he had laced it with whatever he was using to make her go to sleep and lose consciousness. She no longer wanted to be out of her wits so that she was unable to manage herself in her environment. Instead, she wanted to be lucid, so that she was ready for any opportunity that presented itself to her to free herself of Red Davies.
"I will return shortly. If I left you untied, would that be a problem?"
Bianca could not believe the words she heard from Red. "It will not be a problem at all."
She did not want to push her luck. Red packed a bag, and Bianca could not see exactly what was in it. He hoisted another bag onto his other shoulder, nodded, and walked out of the door. Bianca watched out of the window as he mounted a horse and rode off.
She stood there for a moment, trying to take in the gravity of the situation. Had he just left her there in the house unattended? And if he did, for how long?
Bianca paced in front of the window, waiting to see if Red was returning. After an hour, an anxiety settled in. Maybe he had gotten his ransom and simply left her there. Or maybe he was going to come back shortly and if she left, it would cause more of a problem for her.
Whatever he was doing, she had to start putting her plan in action. He had not left her with a horse, but she would need to do whatever she needed to do to get to safety and most of all, get home to her family.
*
When Red first came to Eagle Valley, he had not planned on falling in love. He was there, passing through after completing a job for some desperados and then expected to leave. At that time, the West was open and unchartered territory. He had no family to speak of and at twenty years old, he had to make a way for himself.
Red could still remember the day that he rode into Eagle Valley. It was a small village and not yet incorporated. When Red rode in, he had simply wanted a place to lay his head and to get something to eat for the night.
Instead, what he found was the love of a woman named Samantha. She was young. They were both young and impressionable and neither one of them knew what love was. But they took it for what it was. A raw, consuming passion for one another.
Samantha worked for the local laundress, and when she came in to deliver the clean laundry to the inn where he was sleeping for the night, Red turned that one night stay into a week, and then into a month. Anything to be with the beautiful raven haired girl with the smile that lit up his life in a way that he never knew was possible.
They were so much alike. Both were free spirits, looking for all that life had to offer them, but willing to do what was needed to secure all of their dreams and goals. Red could not remember what those goals and dreams were now. He did remember sitting under the stars at night discussing those dreams and goals with Samantha and feeling like they had the world in the palm of their hands.
But he was not able to stay in Eagle Valley indefinitely. He promised her that he would return. She did not understand, or like the work that he did for the desperados. She wanted him to be more stable and stay there with her and build a family, build a life for the both of them. But that wild spirit in Red would not allow him to stay put. He had to make money and make his own way in life, and at that time, he was not willing to let anyone, not even the woman he loved, tell him where he had to be in life.
So he left, in search of the very thing that was right there with him the entire time. As a young man, he had no clue that he did not have to go on a search that led him away from what he already had. Instead, he spent his days pining over a woman who had been in his reach, in his arms. When Red figured out how stupid he had been to leave, he set out to return to her. But that had not been as easy as he thought that it would be.
It took over a year to get back to Eagle Valley. Between being under contract to complete jobs for the desperados, and then being imprisoned in a jail in Mexico for over six months, he had not been able to get back to Samantha. He thought of her every day, to the point that it interfered with his ability to work.
A break came when he was assigned to a job in Eagle Valley. He was not completely clear on all that he was supposed to do, but he took the chance to go back to the place where he had found the love of his life.
Red was not sure what he expected to happen upon his return. What he wanted was for Samantha's face to light up and be full of love and desire when she saw him. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms, and to let her know that he would do this one last job and then be hers forever. He wanted to kiss her and caress her and inhale the scent of lilacs in her hair.
But when he arrived, nothing went as planned. It took him a day to even find Samantha. It was as if she did not want to be found. He found out that she was married to Lou Simmons, a big time rancher who had political connections and lots of money. And not only was she married, but she had a daughter.
When he heard, it knocked the wind right out of him. And when he could breathe, he became full of anger. If she had married someone else, he could deal with that. Red knew that she really did not love the man she was with as much as she loved him. But to marry him and have a child, it seemed more final. Samantha belonged to another, and there was nothing that Red could do about it.
Red made his mind up that he would do the job he was being paid for and walk away. It was the only answer he could think of. He received his orders, and went out on a stakeout for his target.
Sitting in the woods, he
waited patiently for the man that he was supposed to kill. Red had no clue who had commissioned the work. It did not matter to him, as long as he got clear directions and his pay.
Crouched behind a large overturned log and hidden behind the trees, Red waited, gun cocked and loaded. He was told that his target would be a large, stocky, white haired man. He was on the edge of a wooded area near a lone house that stood on the southern edge of the city.
No one came or went as he sat there for the next hour. Suddenly he heard the crunching of twigs and the rustling of the grass. He turned quickly, on guard to shoot, when he saw Samantha come running toward him.
"What are you doing out here?" His voice was a stern, loud whisper. Red snatched her and pulled her to the side.
She was almost out of breath. "I had to come and tell you."
"What was so important that you came out here?" he asked. Then he paused. "How did you even know that I was out here?"
No one should have known that he was on assignment. No one but his boss who gave him the assignment.
"That's the point. It's all a set up. Lou is setting you." And that was all that came out of her mouth before she fell into his arms.
Red did not even hear the gun shot, and when Samantha fell into his arms, his hands were suddenly colored crimson. He wanted to scream, but he could barely breathe.
"Samantha! Samantha!" he called out to her. Her eyes fluttered.
"Lou, set up," she managed to say.
"I get that. I get that. Please don't talk."
Red looked around, surveying his surroundings as he tried to figure out what his next move would be.
The only thing that he could think to do was to take cover. He did not know where the gunshot came from, and there was no time to figure things out. The love of his life lay dying in his arms.
As he found a safe place for both of them, Samantha opened her eyes.
