“Why isn’t he coming to get me?”
“He doesn’t know where you are.”
She gazed at him, confusion and tears filling her eyes. She felt so helpless and defeated. “Why?”
“Because I wouldn’t tell him. I let him know I had heard from some associates that you had been spotted and were safe at a convent.”
She couldn’t help the giggle as she wiped a tear from her cheek. “A convent? Me?”
He started laughing too. “Yeah, I guess I’m a pretty good liar because he sounded convinced…and relieved.”
“I don’t understand why you didn’t turn me in. I’m sure he’s posted a very large reward.”
“I don’t need your father’s money. I didn’t then and I don’t now.”
“So what is it you want?”
He hesitated as they came up to the fencing for the summer pasture. He got off his horse and opened the gate. They didn’t speak as they drove the cattle through the gate and they began to climb another ravine, drawn towards what Colorado assumed was grassy pastures above. After the last cow was through, Sutter swung back and closed the gate again. They followed the cattle and the trail that wove back and forth as it climbed the steep grade.
“What I want, Colorado, is you.”
She shook her head. “What do you mean me? You hardly know me.”
“I think I’ve gotten to know you pretty well over the past week. You make me laugh, you rile me up and you can calm me down. I look forward to talking with you, seeing you smile and it kills me when you cry. I’ve seen your passion, I know your drive and honestly, I think you are my perfect match, Colorado.”
She tried to calm the pounding in her heart. She was attracted to him, there was no doubt about that. She also enjoyed talking with him and besides her father, he was the first man who never talked down to her but she didn’t have anything to offer a man except…
“It’s my money, isn’t it? Why go after the reward when you can have the fortune?”
He slapped his hand against his forehead. “It’s like I’m talking to a brick wall sometimes. Colorado, haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said? I don’t need nor do I want your father’s money. I won’t touch it. I do, however want you.”
They climbed the last of the ravine and Sutter stopped his horse at the top. “I can’t offer you city life. Maybe the occasional trip to Denver and holiday-get-togethers if you arrange them, but I can offer you my house to make into a home…with you.”
She stopped her gelding next to his and her jaw dropped. Across the grassy field, surrounded by peaks of the Rocky Mountains was the largest log home she’d ever seen. The pillared porch harbored matching wooden rocking chairs and a swing. A large barn stood off to the right of the house where she saw several people working with horses, cows and other livestock. She saw an older woman hanging clothes on the line to dry in the Colorado air.
“This is your home?”
“Well, yes. It’s where I live. I’d like it to be ours. You’ll have to fight Mrs. Richards for kitchen rights but to be honest, she’s amazing at cooking. Her husband is my stable manager. They live just over in the grove where I built a guest cottage.”
“You have staff.”
He frowned. “Well, they are more like family to me but yeah. I figured it would be okay with you since you grew up that way too.”
“You grew up that way?”
“Well, yeah. Our family did. You probably heard of my Uncle.”
“Who is your uncle?”
“John Chisum.”
“The cattle baron of Texas?”
He sighed and headed towards the house. “Yeah. One of the reasons my dad changed our surname. Too many people trying to take advantage or get in bed with him. We just want to live a peaceful life. We’ve kept the family secret for a very long time.”
“Does my father know?”
“About me being a Chisum? Yep. He’s known since the very beginning. He’s done right by us and kept the secret. He’s an honorable man. I don’t think he will have a problem if I ask your hand in marriage.”
He turned his horse and blocked her from moving forward. “So will you, Colorado? Will you marry me?”
She smiled at him and moved her horse around his. “Ask me after fall harvest.” She threw him a wink and took off towards the house, her cap falling from her head and freeing her dark locks.
He made a whooping sound and spurred his horse after her. It was going to be an interesting summer.
Christmas 1894
She took a deep breath as she linked her arm with her father’s. Her mother’s wedding dress fit her perfectly and the silk pooled around her legs. In moments she was going to become Mrs. Sutter Jones. She was surrounded by her family and his in their beautiful home in the Colorado mountains.
She tried to take in everything that had happened that summer and felt her head spin slightly. Not only had she met the man who was about to become her husband but she had met her best friend and her equal.
She smiled, knowing he considered her his equal too. All summer long she was right beside him pulling calves, branding, vaccinating, working fences and training horses. They harvested their hay fields and bucked hay up into the loft for winter feed. She learned to can from Mrs. Richards and how to train horses for driving from Mr. Richards. She’d spent the summer doing everything that she loved, with the man she loved.
The harp began to play and her father kissed her forehead.
“Ready Pumpkin?”
“Yes, Daddy. Thank you.”
“For what, Pumpkin?”
“For letting me find the man I love.”
“I hope you will be as happy as your mother and I were.”
She turned the corner and her eyes locked with Sutter’s. She saw his mouth drop slightly at the sight of her and she smiled.
“I know I will be, Daddy. For the rest of my life.”
~The End~
Thank you for reading Rescuing Colorado. I had so much fun writing this and enjoyed putting in tidbits of true history.
John Colton Dane was the man responsible for opening the first library in Denver in 1889.
The Union Station tower did burn down March 18, 1894 due to an electrical malfunction in the women’s bathroom. If you haven’t seen it lately you should put it on your bucket list. The bar, hotel rooms and entry is as grand as it’s name. Completely stunning at night.
As sad as it is, a horse’s average lifespan back then was between 1-2 years. They were worked hard and disposed of when they were broken and no longer of use.
Columbia did have it’s first woman graduate in 1887. That woman was Mary Hankey. We have come so far as women. Let’s stand strong together in truth and what’s right.
I’ve grown up in Colorado having lived everywhere from the Front Range to the frigid mountains near Steamboat Springs. I currently reside in southern Colorado surrounded by the beautiful San Juan Mountains and just an hour from Telluride. It’s no lie when John Wayne called it God’s Country.
God Bless
Rescuing Colorado Page 6
