Distraction (5 page)

I looked back at Jackson just as he leaned over to
spit a wad of tobacco at a squirrel racing past. “Just missed it,”
he laughed.

“My horse is sensing something,” I called back to
him.

“Let’s face it, River panics if a moth flies into his
stall. I think you were just seeing things, Cade. Let’s get out of
here. I’m so hungry I could eat a bear.”

River stepped into a clearing and I pulled the horse
to a halt so fast his back feet slid beneath him. His nostrils
flared as he backed up instinctively and smacked right into
Jackson’s gelding.

“What the hell, Cade? What do you see?”

“Your lunch,” I whispered.

Jackson opened his mouth to talk, but I held up a
hand behind me to silence him and reached for my pistol. On its
hind legs, the grizzly stood nearly as tall as the evergreen next
to it. Beneath the massive beast, lying motionless on the ground,
was a girl. Her long gold hair fanned out over the dirt and her
white blouse was soaked in blood.

The bear stared down at the girl as if not entirely
certain what to do with her. Winslow snorted once and the grizzly’s
massive head lifted. The black nose twitched as the bear’s snout
lifted to pick up our scent. Small brown eyes stared at us from it
giant head. Then its lips lifted and long white fangs poked out
from its mouth.

“Sonavagun, that’s a monster,” Jackson whispered. “Do
you think you’ve got enough bullets to take him down?”

“Nope, and if I just wound it, that beast will turn
its rage on that girl.”

“She already looks like a goner, doesn’t she? Where
the hell did she come from?”

I glanced up at the sky. It was as cloudless and blue
as any March day. My gaze went back to the girl. She was tiny and
frail and if she was not already dead, she was one paw swipe away
from it. “Not sure where she came from but we can’t just leave her
out there.”

The thick Junipers behind the bear shook wildly,
sending a flurry of dried needles to the ground. River took a sharp
step back when two bear cubs bounded out to see what their mother
was up to.

“Nothing more dangerous than a mama bear.” Jackson
said. The lifeless girl still held more interest for the grizzly
than the two cubs who tried desperately to catch her attention.

“Yeah there is. A mama bear that’s been shot. I’ve
got to try and scare her off. It’s our only chance.”

“If that girl on the ground is dead, maybe we’d be
wiser to just turn and hightail it out of here.”

I looked back at him over my shoulder. “And if she’s
not dead? Besides, that bear can outrun both these horses in these
trees. But if you’re scared, you go on.” I knew Jackson well enough
to know that last statement would rile him. I also knew that now he
would stick around for sure.

The two babies had taken an interest in the girl.
Cautiously, they moved toward her. Even young as they were, they
could kill a human in an instant. If I thought about it any longer,
we would all end up a grizzly supper. I lifted my pistol and shot
up over the head of the bear. It spun away, dropped back to all
fours, and lumbered off with its cubs.

Once the foliage had stopped moving, we jumped out of
the saddle and ran over to the girl. I knelt down next to her and
touched her smooth white cheek. It was still warm. Her full lips
were pink with color.

Jackson peered cautiously over my shoulder. “Is she
dead, Cade?”

I shook my head, but I couldn’t look away from her
face. “She’s still breathing.”

“Looks like that mama grizzly got her good,” Jackson
said grimly.

There were four deep gashes in her side where the
bear must have swiped its paw across her. “Wonder how she got
here.” I glanced around. The only tracks were from the bears. I
looked up at the sky again. Jackson seemed to read my thoughts.

“You think this girl is what you saw falling from the
sky?” Jackson asked. “Cause this is exactly what I pictured angels
to look like. Except I was expectin’ wings or something.”

I brushed a long, stray curl from her forehead, and
my fingertips grazed her soft skin. “She may look like an angel,
but she feels all too human. We need to get her home to the ranch
before she dies.”

A tiny moan floated from her lips. Her long lashes
fluttered and a pair of amazing, dark brown eyes stared up at me.
“It’s you,” she said breathlessly and then her eyes closed
again.

I reached my hands beneath her and lifted her into my
arms. Her head collapsed against my shoulder.

“She seems to know you.” Jackson walked along behind
me.

“She’s just confused and scared. I’ve never seen her
before.”

“Are you sure? I mean with all the girls you’ve-“

“I’m sure,” I said abruptly. I looked down at the
face that was now so close to mine. I could see the light spray of
freckles across her nose. “I would sure as hell remember if I’d
seen this face before.”

I handed the girl off to Jackson and then climbed
into the saddle. He lifted her up to me. She was as limp as a
ragdoll, but the movement made her sweet face twist in pain. I
settled her in front of me.

“Whooee, Cade, you are somethin’ else.” Jackson shook
his head as he pulled up into his saddle.

“What are you talking about, Jacks?”

“Only you could have a beautiful girl like that drop
out of the sky and into your lap.”

I reined River around and we headed home. “If only
she had landed in my lap and not on that damn grizzly bear, she
might not be bleeding to death right now.” I spurred River on.
“Let’s hurry. I don’t think we have much time.”

My older brother, Samuel, watched us ride in from the
front porch. We were just nearing the house when he yelled for Aunt
Libby, jumped from the porch, and came running.

“What the hell happened?” Samuel asked angrily.

“I didn’t do it if that’s what you’re thinking, Sam.
A grizzly got her.”

The front screen slammed shut. Libby wiped her hands
on her apron as she hurried down the porch steps.

“Where did she come from?” Samuel asked.

I looked down at the thin girl in my arms. “You
wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

“Well, she’s liable to bleed to death while you two
have your conversation,” Libby said. “Hand her down to your
brother, Cade, and let’s get her into the house.”

Her long hair cascaded over my arm as her head
dropped back over my forearm. She stirred weakly as I reluctantly
handed her off to Samuel. “Be careful with her.”

Samuel sneered back at me. “I’m not gonna drop her,
you idiot.” He strode back to the house with my fallen angel in his
arms, and I watched to make sure she was safely inside.

Aunt Libby stared up at me with her customary raised
eyebrow. “Deputy Carson came up to the house.”

“Yeah.”

Jackson laughed. “Told you he’d come out here.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now take your horse in and check his
feet. He looked lame on the ride home.”

Libby and I watched Jackson ride to the barn.

“Don’t always be so hard on him, Cade. We’re the only
family he’s got and he looks up to you.” She glanced back toward
the barn and chuckled. “No idea why— but he does.”

“Libby, only you can hand out a compliment and follow
it with an insult without taking a breath.”

“Not true. I took a breath and even had time to
laugh.” Her expression darkened. “Carson was madder than a wolf
without supper. I gather it was that ninny, Candy, who had him in a
lather. I told him he should find some real criminals to chase and
leave you alone. But you need to watch yourself, Cade.”

“I always do.” I looked toward the house hoping she
would get the message and hurry in to her patient.

The frown that appeared whenever she sensed trouble
pulled at her mouth. She put her hand on River’s shoulder. “Cade,
you better ride to town and get Doc Walker. The girl looks real
bad. Far worse than anything I can tend to. Besides, Doc might know
who she is so we can tell her family.”

They were not the words I wanted to hear. “I’ll head
into town right now.”

***

Samuel’s wife Charlotte was boiling some white linen
strips in a soup kettle when I walked in with Doc Walker. She
glanced up from her task.

“You’d better hurry. Libby says if she doesn’t get
stitched up soon she won’t have any more blood to lose. And a
little thing like her can’t have too much of it.”

“Are you gonna keep talking or are you going to tell
us where she is,” I said.

She sneered back at me but that was usual for her.
Even in a good mood. “She’s in the spare room.”

I led the doctor to the back room and pushed open the
door. The heavy black skirt, blood-soaked blouse, and corset she’d
worn were draped over a chair. Thin bare white shoulders poked out
from the sheet. Libby had wrapped her wounds with linen strips but
a pink stain was already showing through the cotton sheet.

Libby looked up from the girl. “She’s going to need
stitching. She was wearing a rather primitive looking corset and I
think it may have saved her life. But that grizzly got her good.
I’ve already washed the wound with boiling water.”

Doc Walker barely glanced at the girl before placing
his bag on a chair to dig for his implements. “I’ll need some of
the boiling water for my needle,” he said hastily. He glanced back
at me. “We’ll need you to hold her down, Cade. She looks
unconscious now but that could change, and I’d hate to have her
wake in the middle of me stitching her up.”

I sat on the bed and looked down at her. She looked
small and lost and helpless lying so quietly in the big brass bed.
I could not stop myself from reaching up and touching the silken
skin of her shoulder. As bad off as she was, I was relieved to feel
warmth radiating from her bare skin.

Libby got the linens ready and Doc Walker boiled
several needles. He claimed that boiling the instruments was some
new procedure he’d heard about when he took a trip to the east
coast. It was supposed to keep the infection away.

While they got things ready, the girl turned her face
on the pillow and opened her eyes. She blinked up at me for a
moment and the faintest smile crossed her perfect lips. “You scared
away the monster.”

I nodded. “It was just a grizzly, but she was
definitely a monster.”

Confusion crossed her face. “Is Nonni here?”

“I don’t know anyone by that name, but we’ll find her
as soon as you’re up and about,” I said. “The doc is going to
stitch you up. It might hurt some. Are you ready?”

Without lifting her head from the pillow she nodded,
and long ribbons of gold hair waved across her thin shoulders. She
pulled her hand from the sheet. Her fingers trembled as she reached
up and touched my chin. “You are real. I thought you were just in
my mind, but it’s as if you stepped out of my picture.” Her brown
eyes drifted shut again.

“Poor thing is delirious,” Libby said over my
shoulder. She reached for the sheet but then stopped and looked at
me. “Sorry, Cade, it wouldn’t be proper to let you stay. Charlotte
can hold her down. A little thing like her can’t put up too much of
a fight. Go on and get. We’ll let you know when it’s over.”

Reluctantly, I stood and left the room.

There was nothing more disconcerting than confusion.
And my mind was in a true muddle. Separating dreams from reality
was impossible. The only thing I recognized as genuine was the
horrible pain in my side. As I coasted in and out of deep slumber,
I had visions of a horrible monster with claws that could shred
skin with one swipe. Several times I was certain I’d woken from my
dreams, but I was surrounded by the faces and voices of strangers.
The only exception was the one with pale green eyes. He was all too
familiar. Twice, I’d spotted him standing and watching from a
doorway, an unfamiliar doorway in a room that was equally foreign,
but then he would disappear like every other figment of my
imagination.

Chills and aches wracked my body and through the haze
of fever I heard Nonni’s voice. It was comforting and it kept me
from closing my eyes for good.

I’d always found that when something occupied my mind
too much it was time to go out and break horses. And since I’d been
spending way too much time thinking about the girl, I jumped at an
offer for work at Trenton Ranch.

It had been three days since the doctor had sewn the
girl up, and after a night of nearly losing her to a fever, she’d
come through. Libby had assured me she was on the mend. I’d been
avoiding the room, hoping I would stop thinking about her, but it
only seemed to increase my need to see her.

The door to the room was half-open, and I couldn’t
keep myself from looking inside. But I never stepped past the
threshold. Libby had found an old nightgown for her to wear, but
she was nearly drowning in the oversized garment. Charlotte blocked
my view of the girl’s unforgettable face as she fed her soup. I was
thankful for it. I was off to break a herd of wild mustangs and I
didn’t need images of that face distracting me. What I hadn’t
prepared for was the sound of her soft voice.

Libby turned up the gas on the lamp near the bed and
the room brightened.

“Is that lamp a form of sorcery?” The girl’s odd
question was met with silence in the room.

Libby finally spoke. “Sears and Roebuck, 1890. No
sorcery included.”

“Is this Salem?” she asked weakly, and the helpless
tone of it went straight to my chest.

“We’re just north of Billings,” Libby answered.

“Is that anywhere near Ipswich?” she asked. “Our
cottage is near there, just below Whipple Hill.” There was a small
hitch of panic in her tone as she spoke as if she suddenly realized
that she was far from home.