A Shelter of Hope (36 page)

“I suppose when you put it that way,” Simone replied, trying to take it all in, “I would much rather God have the power. It’s just so hard.”

“I know it is.”

“And what about me?” she finally asked, still not certain how to deal with her father. “Do I go throw myself on the mercy of the law and hope they understand the truth? Do I let them hang me, even though it was an accident that Garvey Davis died?”

“You can only answer those questions for yourself, Simone. I can tell you that the Bible says that the truth will set you free. Deception only ensnares and entangles. But I can’t force you to turn yourself in, neither will I speak out against you. I will, however, be praying for you to make the right decision.”

Simone nodded but said nothing. Her mind was whirling with thoughts of how she might come to terms with forgiving her father. It was easy enough to forgive her mother, and without any hesitation, Simone found herself praying that God might see the openness of her heart.

I know she loved me
, Simone thought as her eyes closed in prayer.
I know that if she were alive today, she would still love me—care for me, protect me. I know she did what she thought was best. I saw her tears—her pain. I know the decision to leave did not come without a high price, and I sent her away without ever making it right between us. She died thinking I hated her.

Oh, God, she believed I hated her
. Tears slipped from her closed eyes.
Please forgive me and please let her know that I love her still. That I didn’t mean the things I said. I only said them because I was scared. I was so afraid. I still am
.

Simone tried to rein in her emotions. She had no desire to fall apart here in front of the preacher. The image of her father’s face came to mind, and for a moment it paralyzed Simone with fear. This was the stuff of her nightmares. Louis Dumas haunted her in a way no one else possibly could.

How can I forgive him? How can I walk away from the matter and call the slate clean? Oh, God, I want to forgive. I want to be free, but this is so hard for me to figure out. I don’t think I can do it
.

She glanced up and found Brother Carlyle’s gaze fixed on her. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

“Much is impossible for us alone, Simone. But with Christ, all things are possible. Even this.”

Simone nodded. “I want to believe that.”

“Then trust Him.”

Simone got to her feet. “I’ll try. I want very much to be at peace. I don’t know yet when that might be, but I do know that I can’t go on running from the law. I’m going to turn myself in.” It was funny, but Simone thought it easier to face the consequences of her actions in Wyoming than to think any more on forgiving her father his sins.

“You’ll let me know how you’re doing, won’t you?” Brother Carlyle questioned as he followed her to the door of the church.

Simone smiled ever so slightly. “You may have to check up on me for yourself. Especially if they lock me up.”

“You can count on me for a visit as long as needed.”

“Thank you.”

She left him standing there, knowing that he was watching her as she made her way down the steps. She slipped around the side of the church and made her way toward the path that led to a beautiful woods along the river. Before she turned herself in to the local police, she wanted to spend a few more minutes in prayer.

Barely ten feet from the church, however, Simone found her plans abruptly halted. Someone grabbed her from behind, clamping one hand over her mouth and another around her waist. Her heart raced wildly as the pressure increased and her assailant pulled her tight.

“Don’t try anything, or I’ll snap your neck like kindlin’.”

She froze in place, unable to speak, much less move. The voice belonged to her father.

“I’ve been watchin’ you for nearly a week,” Louis Dumas admitted, “and now I have you.”

He pushed her forward. “Quick, we’re going to go for the cover of those trees,” he commanded and half dragged her with him to the shelter.

Once there, Louis quickly tied her hands in front of her and pulled her along with a rope. “We’ve gotta get downriver a spell before we can have a proper reunion,” he told the stunned Simone.

She looked at the man as though he were a stranger. He certainly didn’t look like the Louis Dumas she’d known in Wyoming. His clothes were dusty and stained, but they were much nicer than anything she’d ever known her father to dress in. And his face! He was clean-shaven, something Simone had never seen in all her life.

“You don’t look happy to see me,” Dumas chided, pulling the rope painfully tight. “Don’t I even get a greeting of welcome?” But without waiting for an answer, Louis pushed her forward.

Simone couldn’t even think rationally. She wanted to cry out, scream for help, but her voice was oddly silent. She felt like she was watching the ordeal happen to someone else. Each jarring step across the uneven ground, each slap of brush against her body … Simone’s mind refused to accept that her haunted past had returned.

They walked at an increasing pace, pushing ever westward, until Louis finally stopped, glanced around him, then shoved Simone up against a tree. He took the rope that bound her hands and threw it up over a high branch. Pulling this tight, he forced her arms into the air, then tied the thing off at the trunk when he was satisfied Simone was rendered helpless.

Next, he took a handkerchief from his pocket, and without giving Simone a chance to protest, he gagged her with the smelly thing.

This seemed to break the spell of shock momentarily. Simone kicked at him and grunted her protests from the gag.

“So you finally got your wind, did you?” Louis said, sizing her up. “Well, it’s no matter. Now, you stay here and protest all you want. We’re far enough away that no one’s going to hear you. I’m going back to brush out our tracks.”

And with that he was gone, leaving Simone to face the situation on her own. Immediately she tried to rid herself of the gag, and even while she worked at rubbing it against her shoulder, Simone tried to make as much noise as possible. She had to get away, and since she was unable to do so on her own, someone would have to come to her rescue.

She began to pray, pleading with God for help.
This
, she thought,
is why I can’t forgive him. He’s an animal and he doesn’t care about me or anyone else. He only cares about himself
. She pulled at the rope, hoping to bring her hands just close enough to her face to release the gag, but it was hopeless.

In the distance she heard the train whistle. At first she thought she’d imagined it. But then it sounded again and she knew without a doubt that it was real. Jeffery would be on that train! She struggled all the harder. Jeffery would go looking for her, and when he didn’t find her, he would presume the worst. He would come looking for her, of this Simone was certain. But then a thought came to mind that took all hope from Simone.
What if he thinks I don’t want to see him? What if he thinks I’ve run away in order to avoid him?
It was possible he would see this as the final word in Simone’s rejection and leave without giving her another thought. Moaning in despair, Simone tried all the harder to pull the rope loose.

It seemed an eternity before her father returned. He looked at her for a moment and laughed. “I never knew what a real looker you were before hearing the men talk about you in Uniontown. In my mind you were still that stupid, gangly kid who didn’t know what a woman’s curse was all about. Now I see, however, that you’ve filled out right nicely. You still a virgin or did Davis get the better of you?”

Simone felt her face flush and knew by that simple action she’d betrayed the truth. Her father laughed. “That’s good. You’ll play into my plans in good order.”

Simone wanted to scream “What plans?” but knew it was impos- sible. Her father was no fool. He’d not ungag her and risk her crying out for help. Not when they were still so close to Florence.

Louis sat down for a moment, as if contemplating what to do next, and while he did this, Simone took the opportunity to better study him. He looked so completely different from the last time Simone had seen him. She could have easily doubted it was him had his blatant hatred not been the same. Gone was the unruly hair and full beard. In its place was a closely trimmed style that looked very similar to Jeffery’s, and a thin moustache. But the cruelty in her father’s dark eyes still remained as he let his gaze travel the full length of her.

“Yes, sir, you’ll do just fine for what I have in mind.” Then, as if he’d heard her voice the question, he grinned. “You don’t know what I have in mind, do you? Well, for now that’s just as well. See, I know what you did to Garvey Davis.”

Simone felt her knees grow weak but knew she couldn’t faint now. She forced herself to stand still, to concentrate on breathing deeply while her father continued.

“Yup, you sure did him in. Poor man. All he wanted was a wife and a place of his own.” Louis jumped to his feet and dusted off his filthy trousers. “Well, that’s the way it goes.”

He went to the tree and untied her, reining the rope in tightly as Simone’s hands went immediately to her mouth. “I’m not of a mind to let you get rid of that just yet. We’ve got to position ourselves a ways from town first.” Then, as if to prove his point, the train whistle blew in short but very loud bursts to signal its entrance into town.

He pulled her along with him once again, and the pace he kept nearly made Simone ill. They kept out of sight as best they could, following the banks of the Cottonwood River. Simone slipped and nearly lost her footing on more than one occasion, catching her skirt against twigs and exposed roots, but Louis just pulled her up tight and they continued on their way.

Simone’s wrists hurt so badly that she struggled to match her father’s pace in order to keep from feeling the chafing of the rope against her skin. Surely he would stop soon. They were running out of forest cover, and it would be necessary to take out across open prairie before much longer.

Finally Louis stopped. He glanced behind them and then up ahead.

“We’ll wait here until dark,” he said, dragging Simone back to a tree.

Without waiting for her father to repeat his earlier actions, Simone plopped herself down on the ground in complete exhaustion. Louis stared at her for a moment, then shrugged and tied his end of the rope to the trunk of the nearest tree.

Simone lifted her hands to her mouth, and Louis didn’t try to stop her as she pulled at the gag he’d tied around her face. Spitting the hateful thing out, Simone rubbed her tingling face for several moments.

“How did you find me?” she finally questioned.

Louis laughed and sat down on the ground as though it were the finest of furniture. “It was simple. You are dealing with a man who has tracked animals all of his life. Do you suppose tracking one addlebrained female was much more difficult? It wasn’t hard with you, nor was it with your mother.”

Simone bristled at the reminder but said nothing. “What are you planning? Where are you taking me?”

“Well, you see, I figure what with the law close on your heels for the death of poor Garvey Davis, you’ll come willingly with me. We’ll head to Colorado where there are plenty of mining towns to lose ourselves in.”

“Mining? You? That’s hard work,” Simone said, realizing she was baiting him.

Louis shrugged. “I don’t intend to be the one working, my dear.”

Simone shook her head. “Then why the mines?”

“Because the mines need men aplenty to keep them running, and men need female companionship to ease their loneliness and help them forget their lot in life.”

Simone felt herself go cold. “You plan to sell me … again?”

“Again and again and again,” Louis said, eyeing her with contempt.

“You’ll make me plenty of money before we’re through, and if you even think of not cooperating, I’ll beat you soundly and hire you out anyway.”

Simone felt ill. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am. I got the idea when the fellows in Uniontown told me they would have happily paid to sample your charms. Now, I see us living high on the hog and doin’ a banner business. I mean, you are a fetchin’ woman, and many a man will be happy to pay the price I’m gonna ask. Especially for your first time around. Why, I heard tell some folks will pay upward of a thousand dollars for someone like you. That would set us up in fine order for a start, and from there we could have a real good life. And if you’re extra good about this, I won’t beat you. I’ll even buy you some doodads to wear and fix yourself up in.”

Simone shook her head. “This can’t be happening,” she moaned, then buried her face in her hands. Surely God wouldn’t let this happen again.

TWENTY-NINE