The Stafford Collection, Historical Western Romances (49 page)

As Chase arrived at the stables, Brock came out riding Troy and leading a horse for him.
“Is Troy fit to ride?”

“
He’ll have to be,” Brock said grimly.

Chase mounted the black stallion and frowned a bit as Jaelyn joined them on a fresh mount. Knowing better than to question her
actions, he remained silent and the three started to derive a plan. They were soon joined by Warren and the other hands as the carriage rode into sight.

Chase felt his heart clench in his chest as he noticed the empty space where Amelia should have been. Thomas helped Sally and Sabrina from the wagon. Sally was weeping, but Sabrina
’s face was lined with determination.

She marched up to the rescue party and Brock leaped down to pull her into his arms relieved that she was safe.
“You do what you have to do to bring her back. No matter what.”

“
Amelia will be safe and the men will be brought to justice.”

Sabrina opened her mouth to
reply but was cut off as Brock’s mouth covered hers, kissing her deeply. It was not so long ago that he was searching for her abductors. Moreover, he thanked God every morning that she was safe.

Chase looked on with mixed
emotions; he wanted to be on their way. However, he knew that this could be the last time they were together. He stayed quiet while Brock said his goodbyes.

Anna patted
Chase’s leg as she held up the bag full of provisions. “Remember, my son, you do not walk alone.”

Chase nodded to his mother as Sabrina joined her. Anna wrapped her arm around Sabrina as they watched them go.
Each knowing in their hearts that this might be their last goodbye.

Chapter 29

Amelia awoke in shock as she rode in front of the outlaw. The scene from the bank kept replaying inside her head. She could still smell the coppery scent of blood and see the glossy stare of the dead men on the floor. She felt bile rise in her throat and swallowed down the burning liquid.

Knowing she had to clear her mind to
survive, she took some deep calming breaths. The rocking motion and the thunder of hooves reminded her she was on a horse. It was taking her farther and farther away from home. The wind was strong in her face. It was whipping her hair to and fro as it pulled it loose.

She lifted her hand to move the hair from her face so she could see where they were going and perhaps retrace her steps if it came to pass. Her fingertips brushed a small piece of wire
—one of her hairpins. A fairytale flashed through her mind that her mother once read to her as a child and she pulled it free, lowered her hand to her side, and dropped it.

She could hear gruff voices all around her and she concentrated hard as she tried to make out what they were saying. She attempted to count how many men there were, but it was difficult, since most of them were behind her. She knew there were four men in the bank and several more outside keeping watch. Beyond that she wasn
’t sure.

She contemplated grappling with her abductor; being trampled to death by horses was much more appealing than what lay ahead of her.
However, the thought of never seeing Chase or her family again was sobering, and she pushed the thought from her mind. Grasping another pin, she pulled it free and dropped it. She said a silent prayer hoping that Chase would find her soon.

She heard a shout of
surprise followed by a gunshot. The grip on her tightened and her captor leaned down and whispered in her ear, telling her to sit tight. Amelia was forced forward by his weight as the saddle horn dug into her stomach. The horse was urged to run even faster as they turned into a cove of trees.

She spotted more men waiting and her heart soared with hope. It died just as quickly as the new group of men began firing on the ones giving chase. Once in the shelter of the boughs Amelia was tossed to the ground as her captor dismounted and crouched behind a tree taking aim.

“Posse!” a man reported as the others filed in seeking shelter.

Amelia could not see who was in the posse but the volley of gunshots was frightening. With her captor occupied, she saw her chance to escape. She backed away slowly before turning and running into the trees.

Amelia ran through the thicket as the vines and thistles grabbed at her dress and hair. She did not know where she was going. She did not care. All she knew was that she was running away. She could still hear gun fire behind her. She wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

Seeing light shining through the trees in front of
her, she sped up hoping for freedom. Just as she stepped out into the sunlight, she was grabbed from behind by her hair and pulled around to face her captor. His face was red with rage and he slapped her as hard as he could across her face.

She raised her hands up and raked his eyes with her
fingernails as he released his grip to grab his face. She turned and gained another two steps before she was thrown to the ground. He flipped her on her back and sat on her stomach as he punched her in the face. She turned her head at the last second as the force of his fist rammed against her jaw. Her skull exploded in pain from the impact. She could feel blood pooling in her mouth and spat it at him. Even that small feat caused her great pain but it was worth it.

He chuckled a slow bitter laugh as he wiped his face with his sleeve.

“Feisty huh? Well that’s just how I like them. But we’ll have to play later.”

He stood up pulling the unsteady Amelia to her feet and dragged her back through the woods to the others. A man walked up to them and Amelia used this time to glance around
and count the ones that were there. Two were injured and one appeared to be dead or close to it; Amelia felt grim satisfaction at that until she learned that three of the posse members had been shot dead as well while the others retreated.

She prayed that none of them were her friends or family. Then she felt guilty that even though she may not have known them they had died trying to bring the thieves to justice. She was brought back to her startling reality as her hands were grabbed and bound. Finding herself once again on a horse she desperately clung to the saddle horn in front of her. She was given her own mount since they had left the dead and she didn
’t know whether she should be relieved or terrified.

***

Sabrina sat in Riley’s room holding his hand tightly. Her heart ached for Amelia and she prayed the others would bring her back safely. Riley was unusually quiet. He was lying back on his bed with his arm strung over his face. She would have thought he was asleep but for the tight grip that remained on her hand.

“
It will be okay,” she whispered.

“
How do you know?”

“
Because it has to be.”

A rustle at the door caused Sabrina to turn. Samuel was standing there with a grim look covering his usual cheerful face. It had almost killed him that he could not ride with the others. He could probably ride, but there was no way he could ride and shoot with only one good arm.

“Alma made a fresh pot of coffee. You should come have some. It’s gonna be a long night.”

Sabrina looked down at
Riley, reluctant to leave him.

“
I’ll stay, and I’ll sit on him if I have too,” Samuel replied trying to lighten the mood.

“
And who’s gonna sit on you?” Riley asked removing his arm from his face.

“
Jasmine he hopes!” Sabrina replied. She couldn’t resist teasing her friend.

“Girl,
you have a wicked tongue!”

Sabrina felt a bit lighter and punched his good arm as
she passed. In the kitchen, she actually found Jasmine who was rolling out fresh biscuit dough. Making her way to the coffee, she poured herself a steaming black cup and joined Alma, Tom, and Roger at the table. Roger was the only hand to remain on the ranch. His neck was healing well and she told him so.

“
Thanks to you and Doc,” he whispered still not used to using his voice.

“
You have an angel on your shoulder. There is still work for you to do.” Alma replied

“
I hope Amelia’s angel is paying attention.” Sabrina added softly.

“
Amelia will come home to us. You just wait and see.” Alma said patting her arm.

***

It was easy to track the men on the outskirts of town; not only did the gang leave a trail but the posse left one as well. They lost little time in following. Chase was at the lead with Brock and Warren close behind. The rest of the hands followed with Jaelyn and Thomas taking up the rear. She knew Thomas was not the best rider and did not want him trampled should he fall. She also wanted to make sure they were not being followed and to cover their trail if the need arose.

She heard a shout from Chase and watched as several men road toward them. It was a disparaging sight.
Several of the men appeared to be wounded and it did not take long to figure out that this was the town’s posse. Three of the horses were riderless and her heart ached for their loss.

Chase was stoic as they approached, he was angry that they had given up the pursuit so easily. He would not rest until she is safe or there is no breath left in him. He recognized the town
sheriff; the large man was slumped on his horse, his right hand was holding his abdomen as blood dripped through his fingers. Chase reached out and grabbed him before he fell off and hit the ground hard.

“
What happened?” he shouted angrily as Thomas rode up to the front to inspect the wounded. He assisted the sheriff as Chase addressed the other men.

“
We were ambushed. We were hot on their trail, but they had more men laid out waiting for us. We didn’t stand a chance.”

Chase cursed their ignorance as Amelia was taken further away from safety.
“How many were there?”

“
I don’t know, fifteen to twenty maybe?”

“
Where do you think they were heading?” Warren asked the distraught man.

“
Not sure. We heard a few of them talking and they weren’t local. I would guess they were heading out to the hills.”

“
Did you see the girl?”

“
We kept an eye out in case they dropped her somewhere, but we didn’t see her.”

“
We’re wasting time,” Chase said as the horse pranced under him eager to go as well.

“
My men need a doctor,” the man stated, remembering Thomas from earlier.

“
There’s one in town.” Warren replied.

“
He’s dead.”

“
I’ll stay; I would just slow you down anyways,” Thomas spoke up.

Chase turned to look at Jaelyn who had ridden up after Thomas.
“I’m going,” she said without hesitation because they needed every gun they could get.

“
Let’s ride,” Chase said nudging his horse into motion as the rest followed fearlessly.

Not wanting to be the victims of another surprise
attack, Chase rode ahead scouting the area. All of his senses were alert. He soon came upon the scene of the ambush, the fallen townsmen lay dead on the ground. The fresh blood that spilt had already begun to attract flies in the hot afternoon sun. Warren directed that the men be moved to the side knowing that the townsmen would be back for them soon.

Chase dismounted and crept into the cove of trees the men had used for cover. He found traces of blood and a body. He doubted they would carry their dead with them so he assumed only one had been killed. He only hoped the ones wounded were mortally so. They would all pay for taking Amelia. A glimmer of light caught his keen eye and he moved closer to take a look. Several strands of golden hair where entwined in a vine. He pulled them free noticing the broken
twigs and branches. She had tried to escape. His heart pounded as he followed the disturbed path recreating her flight in his mind.

His heart was heavy when he found where she had been recaptured and drug back through the woods. Cursing himself for wasting time he hurried back to the others. Mounting his horse he again picked up the trail. They took more care to conceal their tracks now that the posse had retreated. Hopefully they would be lax enough to think they had
more time. Men were arrogant. Brock rode next to him for support. Spying a glint of light from the ground, he easily hopped down and held up his find.

A hair pin.

Chase’s heart swelled with hope. Had she dropped it on purpose or accident? His eyes eagerly followed the trail looking for more.

***

Thomas wiped at the sweat on his brow leaving a streak of blood for his effort. The sheriff did not even make it back to town before expiring. However, three other men had been shot as well. He had spent the last 20 minutes digging into a man’s side as he tried to find the bullet and stop the bleeding. He had given him enough chloroform to knock him out but the cries and moans from the other wounded were distracting. Taking a deep breath, he blocked them out as he continued on his search. He used his forceps to gently ply through the muscles, and feeling something solid, he quickly gripped it and pulled it out. He motioned for someone to apply pressure as he washed his hands and moved on to the next victim. It was going to be a long day.

***

Sabrina sat on the porch as she waited. Her mind was full of worry. Alma came out carrying a large basket of string beans. “If you’re just gonna sit there all day, you might as well keep busy.”

Sabrina grabbed a handful and started snapping the
ends off of them. The soothing smell of fresh beans filled her nostrils and relaxed her a bit.

“
Nothing like good honest work to get your mind off of things.”

Still too worried to
speak, they sat in silent comfort as they were soon joined by Anna and Jasmine who were peeling potatoes. She doubted she’d feel like eating much but the rest needed to eat, especially the men who were still healing.

***

Amelia was trying to pay attention to where they were going but it was heavily wooded and every damn pine tree looked like the next. She could hear water up ahead and wished she was more familiar with the area. Her wrists were sore where the ropes were rubbing them, and her jaw had tempered down to a throb unless she moved it.

They rounded the bend and there was the river. She wasn
’t quite sure which one since Mississippi was full of rivers and they all looked the same to her. She was petrified at the prospect of crossing the water. Not only is the task itself forbidding but being that much further away from Chase was terrifying.