| |
In an instant I’m proved helpless.
~ Rachel
“What’s that sound?” Andy’s voice jerked Seth from his thoughts as they skirted the base of a mountain. Three days since that kiss with Rachel, and he still couldn’t keep his mind focused.
He strained to decipher the noise, something like a distant roar. “Might be a waterfall.” Turning in the saddle, he glanced at his brother, who brought up the rear. “What do you think?”
“I see it.” Rachel pointed in front of them, and he spun forward to see.
A glimmer like crystal shone on the face of the mountain farther ahead, about fifty strides up. The sparkle grew brighter the closer they rode, almost blinding.
The sound of rushing water intensified, making the horses edgy as they neared the spectacle. The fall cascaded down four tiers, each landing on a rock ledge, then rushing forward to drop off again. When the water finally reached the bottom, it ran in a narrow river about three horse-lengths wide.
They’d already stopped for lunch, but he reined in anyway. “Anyone wanna go for a swim?” He had to yell to be heard, and he turned to see the responses of the others as they halted beside him.
“Yeah.” Andy looked like he’d slide off and dive in right then, but his mother put a staying hand to his arm.
“Is it deep enough to swim?” Her brows lowered as she eyed the water.
“Maybe we’ll just water the horses.” He dismounted, then led his gelding toward the narrow river.
As all the animals drank, his gaze wandered to the steep rock face, broken in places where stones had fallen. He’d heard of caves behind waterfalls, but this one probably wasn’t large enough for that.
Still, when his horse finished, he and the gelding ambled toward the cliff. At the falls, he reached into the spray and splashed a handful on his face and neck, wiping off as much sweat and trail dust as he could reach.
Since Rachel trimmed the hair off the back of his neck, it was much easier to stay cool.
“Think I’m just gonna dunk my head in.” Samuel stepped up beside him, and Seth eased back to allow him room. His brother did just that, letting the water pound on his head and run in streams down either side of his face.
When Samuel pulled back, he shook the water from him like a dog, then raised his head with a grin. “Whew, that felt good.”
“My turn.” Andy left his mare in Rachel’s care and slipped between their geldings.
Seth glanced at Rachel to make sure she didn’t mind. A soft smile curved her mouth as she watched her son. It broadened even more when the boy hooted as water ran down his face and neck.
When he drew back and shook the same way Samuel had, his voice came out at a higher volume. “Boy, that was fine.”
They were making this look like too much fun. “Guess it’s my turn.”
The icy water jolted him when it first struck his head, running in tiny streams down his face and neck. The sensation definitely woke his nerves.
When he pulled back and scrubbed the water from his face, he couldn’t help a grin at the others. “You should try it too, Rachel.”
She shook her head firmly. “Not a chance.” But then her smile slipped back into place as she met his gaze. Something about her look made his insides come alive, even more than when the water had cascaded over him.
This woman had the power to stir him with only a smile.
~ ~ ~
RACHEL WAS GLAD SAMUEL took the lead after they left the waterfall, for she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to focus if Seth had been riding just ahead of her.
Not that Samuel wasn’t attractive, but something about Seth called to her. And now, with water slicking his shirt against him, every stolen glance at those wide shoulders and broad chest did funny things inside her. Especially when he turned a grin on her.
He may not be a danger to their physical safety, but he was causing a ruckus in her emotions. No matter what, she had to keep him out of her heart. No man had ever found his way there. She’d thought Richard had in the beginning, but when his other loves took precedent, she realized how easily her feelings toward him changed.
Now, with Andy in front of her and Samuel leading the way, at least she could keep her focus on her son. The brown shirt he wore was in dire need of washing. And she should stitch the hole at his shoulder while she was working on it.
“Ho.” Samuel’s hand flew up to halt them.
Rachel reined in her gelding and strained to see what brought on the command. They were riding on a well-worn game trail with thick brush on their left and a mountain on their right.
“Indian ahead.” Samuel’s tone was tight and just loud enough for them all to hear.
The two words sent her pulse hammering in her throat. Indians like the ones they’d met with Elias? Had he said they would encounter any other camps? She didn’t remember any comment about them.
“Let me by.” Seth pushed his gelding up alongside hers, and she steered her horse toward the brush, as did Andy.
It was then she saw the lone rider, not a dozen strides ahead and coming toward them. The man wore long braids as had the members of other tribe they’d met, and a thick bone necklace that fit his neck tightly. He had a slightly different look than the other Indians, though. Face a little more rounded maybe, cheek bones not as sharp. But still, very much Indian.
And the rifle he pointed at them bespoke a far different reception than they’d received before.
“Keep your hands away from your guns.” Seth murmured. Then raising his volume, he spoke to the man. “We come in peace.”
The man gave no sign he understood the words. His horse halted a couple lengths in front of them, but with both hands on the gun, there seemed to be no way he could have reined in.
Seth raised his hands away from his sides. “We’re only passing through. We mean no harm.”
The stranger’s horse shifted sideways off the trail—once again without an obvious signal from the rider—and he motioned with his rifle along the path. “Follow me.”
“I think he wants us to go with him,” Seth murmured.
Fear clawed in Rachel’s chest. “What do you think he wants with us?” She’d heard of things Indians did to their captives. Tortures, ravishments. That was why she’d been so careful to avoid Indian camps as they'd traveled along the Missouri River.
They’d never come face-to-face with an Indian on the trail, though.
“Maybe he’ll accept me alone and let you three go.” Seth glanced at his brother, a long look passing between them.
As though she had no say in the matter. As though she would allow Seth to trade his life for theirs. “You’re not going by yourself, Seth.” They would all come through this alive.
Except... She sent a glance to Andy. She would endure what she had to, but she couldn’t let her son be captured.
“Let’s just see what he wants for now.” Samuel’s low tone seemed to still the tension in the air.
The Indian barked a command. He motioned again along the path, accompanying the gesture with a string of sounds.
Seth turned his gaze back to her, his eyes forming the question his mouth didn't need to.
She didn't want to go. But she would. For now, they’d stick together. Once they had a better idea of what this Indian planned, they could form a strategy.
She nodded, and Seth turned back toward the Indian, nudging his gelding forward. Samuel reined in behind him, probably to give as much of a barrier as possible between the Indian and her son. Maybe to protect her, too.
When Seth reached the Indian, the man spun his horse to face the same direction, then motioned for Seth to continue. The brave kept his horse still as all four of them passed, even though the trail was barely wide enough for two horses.
Rachel met the man’s gaze with a hard look as she rode by him. Perhaps she shouldn’t have, judging from the way his grim mouth took on a hint of amusement. She no longer backed down to men who meant her or Andy harm, yet would that kind of behavior make things harder with Indians?
The Indian’s horse fell in behind Andy, a position that didn’t make Rachel comfortable at all. She’d just about decided to have the boy move his horse up in front of hers when three more Indians swept in around them—two came alongside, and the other rode in front of Seth, blocking them on three sides with the mountain on the fourth.
These men had appeared as if by magic. One moment they weren’t there, the next they rode with backs straight, faces stern, and rifles in hand.
Her anxiety crept up several notches, and with a brave riding at her heel, there was no way she could exchange places with Andy now. Nor would it help buffer him from these men.
She wanted to call up to Samuel or Seth. To ask what was happening. In truth, what she really wanted was Seth beside her. Yet that wasn’t possible, and it was better for them all to remain silent. Their captors—for surely that’s what they were now—might understand English.
Soon, the mountain on their right curved away from the trail, and trees filled the space on either side of them. With the Indians still flanking them front, left, and rear, did they dare try to escape to the right?
The trees would make for slow progress, and they’d surely be shot down within a moment of trying.
A short way ahead, the lead Indian veered off the path into the woods, and the guards beside them motioned for them to follow. It was hard to tell so far back in the group, but it didn’t look as if they were traveling a regular path now. Where were they being taken?
She slipped a glance at the tawny man riding beside her. Would it hurt to ask? It might anger him, but there was always the chance he’d offer a clue. “Where are you taking us?” She hadn’t meant for the words to come out like an accusation, so she softened her shoulders and expression.
But the Indian ignored her, just kept his expression impassive as he navigated his horse around a tree.
If talking wouldn’t have an effect on their captors, she’d have to wait for a chance to break loose.
~ ~ ~
THEY’D BEEN RIDING through these trees forever, and Seth’s muscles were balled tight as he gripped the butt of his rifle resting in the scabbard by his leg. One gun against four, already primed and trained on them, were not good odds.
But he’d take the chance if he could find an opportunity for Rachel and Andy to escape. Samuel, too, although he had a feeling his brother wouldn’t leave him to fend for himself.
Daylight shone through the trees ahead, and he strained to see the terrain. An open meadow maybe. As they broke through the edge of the trees, he had to squint against the bright sunlight.
They stepped into the narrow end of a valley, something like a bottleneck, with the woods closing off their left and a wider section open to the right. He scanned the area for anyone else, but there was no sign of other Indians, only their captors
Except...he inhaled a deep draught of air. A faint scent of smoke tickled his senses. Their camp must be nearby.
With other Indians? Most likely. These men weren’t painted like he’d heard they sometimes did when planning a battle or traveling in a war party. Yet their behavior indicated they had known strangers were coming.
Maybe they were always prepared to capture travelers who ventured too near their hallowed ground.
The Indian riding in front continued straight ahead, into the opposite tree line. Seth darted a final glance around the clearing before following the man into the dim light of the woods.
As his eyes adjusted, he scanned the trunks and saplings they wove through. No other Indians appeared. A small relief, but he was grateful. The thought made his chest pang. Why hadn’t he called on God for help the minute the Indian pointed his gun at them?
Sorry, Lord. Protect us, please. Rachel and Andy especially. And Samuel. Show me what to do to get them away safely.
A glance over his shoulder showed tension lining his brother’s face, but at least his horse was still tucked in close to Seth’s gelding. Rachel rode just behind him, her face a fierce mask. The sight would have made him chuckle if their circumstances weren’t dire. She worked so hard to present herself as one who shouldn’t be crossed. And she possessed a strength of will that was daunting, for sure. Yet she was also achingly vulnerable inside. The fact that he’d allowed her and Andy to be part of this danger made anger sluice through him.
He had to protect her better than this. God, help me get her away from these men.
A sound from ahead jerked his attention frontward. The Indian leading them reined his horse to the side, then motioned as if he wanted Seth to keep riding forward.
They’d come upon a path again, like the game trail they'd been following before.
He studied the man. Surely he wasn’t letting them go. Yet there was nothing ahead except that trail that led deeper into the woods.
The other captors were backing their horses away also. The lead Indian motioned again, this time with a grunt that stung of impatience.
“I think he wants you to ride forward.” Samuel’s murmur came from just behind him.
“Should I?” He threw the question back as he kept his focus on the Indians.
“Best to do what they say until we find a way out.”
Seth inhaled a breath to clear his thinking. Nothing about this made sense.
The man who seemed to be in charge grunted louder than before as he jabbed toward the trail ahead. Seth obliged, nudging his gelding forward.
The Indians stayed where they were, letting them ride away. Every nerve in Seth’s body stood at alert, waiting for the sound of horses moving through the forest. Any signal that would give notice of what the Indians planned.
When about fifteen strides separated them, Seth spoke to his brother. “Take the lead while I slip behind Andy.” He didn’t like the boy being exposed should one of the men decide to take a shot.
Reining to the side, he kept his focus on the Indians as Samuel rode by him, then Rachel, then the boy. He wanted desperately to say something to ease Rachel’s fears, but he didn’t dare take his gaze from their former captors. Maybe the Indians had changed their minds about keeping them as prisoners. Maybe something else was happening here.
But he didn’t dare lose track of the most obvious threats.
They rode on, and after a few minutes, the trail crested a slight hill, dropping the Indians from sight.
Andy huffed out a loud breath. “Do you think they’re gone?”
“I’m not sure, but I’d like to get a bit farther before we stop or talk too loudly.” Seth kept his voice low. As easily as the Indians had appeared around them before, they could be watching even now, preparing to surround them again.
The boy rode up beside his mother, and Seth longed to do the same. But he kept his mount right behind them. Thankfully, the horses had spent enough time together they didn’t mind riding nose to tail.
It felt like an hour but might have only been a quarter hour when they came out from the woods to bright daylight again, this time with a mountain range in front of them.
Samuel pulled his map from a pocket and glanced at it. “We’re still moving the right direction. We go over that lower section there.” He pointed to the dip between two peaks.
Seth rode alongside his brother. It was easier to see that no Indians surrounded them now. “Did Elias say anything about an Indian camp around here?”
Samuel met his gaze, eyes narrowing. “Not a thing.”
He wanted to growl in frustration. “Why do you think they did that? What did they want?”
“I wonder if they were trying to keep us away from something.” Rachel’s voice broke through for the first time since they’d come upon the brave.
He turned to study her, mulling over her words. “What would they be hiding?”
She raised a shoulder. “Their camp maybe. Perhaps a sick chief. I don’t know.”
Possible. Unless they’d simply changed their mind, he couldn’t think of a better reason.
Letting out a long breath, he rubbed at the tight muscles in his neck. “Does anyone need a break before we ride for the mountains?”
Rachel looked to her son before shaking her head. “Let’s put distance between us and them.”
His thoughts exactly.
