Cale, Nathan, and Logan returned well after dark, having snared a rabbit for Molly. Nathan quickly skinned and roasted the animal, and she was able to eat a small amount. Cale prepared another batch of tea for her.
Molly made a face after her first sip. “Do you make this for all the girls?” she asked. “It’s awful.”
“Quit complaining.” Cale sat across the fire from her. “And I only make it for certain girls.”
When Molly glanced at him, he grinned. Tears filled her eyes as she returned the smile, accepting the fact she and Cale shared the same father. There were so many things to acknowledge and at the top of the list was her ordeal with Sawyer. Still shaky, she had avoided thinking about any of it. The constant pain in her chest and the raw fire-burns on her legs certainly helped keep her mind from the details.
Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she took another sip of tea as she sat on the bed they had fashioned for her. Matt gently stroked her back, the touch reminding her of the one good outcome of all of this.
She and Matt would have a life together—an amazing, almost unreal, possibility considering all that had happened. He wanted everything with her. Until he’d said he loved her, she hadn’t realized just how much she’d ached for such a life, or just how strongly she had come to love him in return. For so long, she’d been alone. And now, she wasn’t. It would take some getting used to.
“How did you come to spend time with the Apache?” she asked Cale, not sure what kind of relationship she could have with her new brother, but thought they should start somewhere.
“I was attacked by a mountain lion.” As he spoke, he shrugged one shoulder out of his shirt to reveal a jagged and knotted scar. Chunks of flesh were missing.
“Jesus, Cale.” Logan’s voice held a combination of concern and disbelief. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Yeah.” Cale slid his shirt back into place. “That’s what the local shaman thought, too. After they nursed me back to health, they insisted I consider the path of a di-yin. The mountain lion marked me. They believed it was a part of my spirit.”
“So a medicine man taught you?” Molly asked.
Cale nodded. “And also a medicine woman.”
“Apache women can do that?” she asked in surprise.
“Not usually, as near as I could tell, but this woman had been struck by lightning, and became greatly revered in the tribe because of it. The Apache can be very superstitious.” He threw another log on the fire.
“The Kwahadi were superstitious about snakes. Did you know I almost put one under your pillow, when you worked at our ranch years ago?”
The four men watched her in silence.
“It was just a harmless little thing,” she continued, staring into the fire. Pausing, she considered her next words. “That same day I also did something terrible after I caught George Sawyer in the bunkhouse with Emma.” Her voice was just a whisper now as she remembered, overwhelmed by the need to confess.
“It wasn’t you he attacked?” Matt asked her.
“No. It was Emma, but she was frightened and I wanted to protect her. And I wanted to make sure Sawyer was punished for it, so I lied to my father.” She glanced at Cale, shaking her head in resignation. “I lied to Robert Hart. I told him it was me, and I heaped a bunch of falsehoods on it to make sure Sawyer didn’t get away with anything.”
“If it’s any consolation,” Matt said, resting his hand against her neck, “I’m fairly certain Robert gave Sawyer quite a beating that day.”
“No,” she said forcefully, “you don’t understand. Sawyer came back and killed my folks because of me, because of the lies I told. It was my fault. If I’d just handled it differently, none of this would’ve happened.”
“You were nine years old, Molly,” Logan said. “You could hardly have known how things would play out.”
“Don’t play this game with yourself,” Nathan said. “It won’t help. Sawyer set certain things in motion. I doubt anything would’ve stopped him.”
“From what my old man said, Sawyer was into a lot of illegal activity,” Cale said. “He was a conniving piece of shit, playing all angles. He also slithered around as the lowest form of life because he preferred little girls to women.” With more compassion in his voice, he continued, “You shouldn’t think for a minute any of it was your fault. Everyone in your family paid a high price the night Sawyer attacked your ranch, maybe you most of all. He got exactly what he deserved when you killed him.”
The thought sickened her all over again. She had ended a man’s life. It hardly made her happy, or left her feeling proud over what she’d done. It had been necessary, she told herself. But was that really true? She had no idea.
“Molly,” Matt said. “Sawyer was a dead man.”
Looking over her shoulder at him, she saw the certainty and resolution in his eyes. Matt had had every intention of killing George Sawyer before this ordeal was through.
“Bad luck put you there instead of me,” he continued, “but don’t for one minute regret what you did. After what he’d done to you, do you think Sawyer was going to let you live?”
Molly considered his words, and more tears filled her eyes. She knew he was right, that what all of them said held merit. The past was gone, only full of memories, betrayals and, most of all, regrets. Her own regrets. Could she live with them? She had no choice but to try.
As if reading her thoughts, Matt said, “We’ll face the demons of the past together. It’ll get easier in time.”
One part of the circle was finally closed.
Maybe now, her mama, Robert Hart and Adelaide could rest in peace. And maybe, in time, peace would find Molly as well.
She slept soundly that night, with no dreams. Matt never left her. The fire warmed her on one side while Matt’s body warmed her on the other.
The next morning, Nathan and Logan rode ahead of them with Sawyer’s body. Logan planned to ride home and inform his folks that Molly had been found. Nathan would ride to Fort Richardson to drop the body and file a report.
Molly could only ride Pecos at a slow gait, so Matt and Cale flanked her as they rode slowly through what had once been Comanche territory. She couldn’t help but reflect on what had happened to her in the last ten years.
Her time spent with the Kwahadi had been bittersweet. Just when she had begun to forge a bond with her Comanche family, they’d abruptly traded her. Were they still alive? Did they ever think of her? She hoped they’d found at least some measure of happiness on the reservation. Staying in one place permanently would have been a huge adjustment for them, she knew. Was it an adjustment for her, too? Could she reside in one place with Matt from this point forward?
They hadn’t really discussed any details of how or where they would live once they married. Glancing at him on her right, his face shadowed from his hat as well as the makings of a beard, she knew without hesitation it really didn’t matter. She loved him. More than she would ever have thought possible. To be without him would reduce her life to merely an existence.
Anticipation for the future filled her, something she hadn’t had in a very long time. Reflexively, her hand covered her abdomen, bringing a smile to her lips. With the blessings of the Great Spirit, she and Matt might even have children one day.
By nightfall, they were still at least thirty miles from Ryan land, so Matt and Cale made camp, pestered Molly until they both felt she’d eaten enough, then insisted she rest. As soon as she lay down, she was asleep.
* * *
When Matt arrived at his family’s ranch house, he felt a great sense of relief. He’d worried constantly about Molly during the long ride back from the high plains territory. His mother and Rosita came outside immediately to greet them.
“Molly,” Susanna said, reaching up to help her from her horse, “let’s get you inside right away. Rosita, help me.”
Matt dismounted quickly and reached Molly’s side before his ma took charge, easing her gently down from Pecos. Molly smiled up at him, the bruises on her face a harsh reminder of all she’d been through.
“I’m fine, really,” she said, but she leaned much too heavily on him.
“Promise me you’ll sleep for at least three days,” he said.
“Only if Cale doesn’t make me any more tea,” she responded.
“I didn’t realize he had any domestic qualities,” Susanna remarked.
“I don’t,” Cale said from atop his horse.
“Come down from there, Caleb,” Susanna demanded. “You look like you need a rest as well.”
“I appreciate the offer, Mrs. Ryan, but I think I’ll ride on back to Walker land and see how my pa’s doing. Molly, promise me you’ll get some rest. I’ll be back for the wedding.” He turned his horse and was gone.
Molly smiled, and Matt wondered how much time should pass before he made her his wife. She would need several days to recover. He debated how long he could wait. He needed to have that talk with his pa as soon as possible.
“I’ll check on you later,” he said.
Molly nodded.
“Rosita, please take Molly into the house,” Susanna insisted. “Put her in Matthew’s bedroom—she can’t possibly make it upstairs after everything that’s happened.”
“It is good to see you, señorita,” Rosita declared. “You not look bad at all. I take good care of you, and I have a stew with hot peppers that will fix anything that ails you…,” her voice faded away as they stepped onto the porch and into the house.
“I’m glad you found her,” his ma said, her concern evident. “Is she really well?”
“I think so,” Matt said. “Cale took good care of her.”
“Logan told me. Cale never fails to surprise me.” With hands on hips her gaze became thoughtful. “So, when should this wedding take place?”
“One week,” Matt said without hesitation, refusing to let his mother intimidate him.
Raising an eyebrow, she shook her head. “That’s hardly enough time to make plans. And Molly might need more time to recover.”
Matt heard what his mother was saying, knew she was right, but the patience that had become an integral part of his personality abandoned him now.
“Two weeks,” he conceded.
“Four.”
“Three, and that’s my final offer.”
Nodding, his ma agreed. “All right, three. I think I can pull it together by then.” She smiled, her eyes filling with tears, then she hugged him.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“Because I’m your mother, and I’m proud of the man you’ve become. And sometimes you remind me so much of the man I married.” She released him, then went into the house.
Matt didn’t waste any time locating his pa, in the barn packing supplies onto a mule as he prepared to head back to the roundup.
“You need me to come and help?” Matt asked.
Startled, his old man turned, then pulled him into a rough embrace. “Logan said you were comin’ in. How’s Molly?”
“She’s well.” Matt stepped back and smiled. It dawned on him he was a very happy man.
“Don’t bother with the roundup—they’ll be finishin’ up soon anyhow. You stay here and get some rest, then we can talk about Molly’s future.”
“That’s why I’m here.” Matt adjusted his hat. “I mean to marry her pa, and I’d like to ask if the offer for Ryan land and a stake in this ranch still stands.”
His pa laughed loudly. “You’re damn right it does.” He slapped Matt on the back. “Never thought I’d live to hear those words. It’s about time, son.”
“Yes, sir, it is.” And under the bright Texas sun, Matt’s future with Molly was sealed.