A Life Restored (12 page)

“Oh, Thomas,” Perry greeted once he realized he had company.
 
“What time were you thinking of heading out?”

Caroline turned back towards the stove without a greeting.
 
She pushed around food in the skillet on top of the small iron stove.

“Soon as breakfast is done, I’d like to get Caroline to town as soon as possible.”

She snorted.
 
“I’ll bet.”

“You could always travel on without her.
 
She’s welcome to stay here until we make the trip in or until her kin could come escort her.”

Caroline smiled at Perry’s suggestion and Thomas’s stomach rolled over.
 
There was no way he was going to leave her here with four young unmarried men.
 
He was about to say so when she spoke.

“Perry, that’s a very kind offer.
 
And I appreciate it.”

“But?”

“But I’m eager to go home.”

Perry glanced away, his smile fading.
 
“I understand.
 
I sure have enjoyed having you here.”

“Please, visit when you’re in town.”

He took Caroline’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
 
“I look forward to it.”

Thomas clenched his teeth together so tightly he thought his jaw might pop.
 
No wonder he fell for her.
 
She played him just like she was playing Perry now.
 
Acting all sweet and charming and helpless.

It stung.

At least he’d realized what she was really like before too much damage was done.

The cowboys joined them for breakfast.
 
Thomas kept to himself, concentrating on eating instead of the way Caroline and Perry seemed to be getting along so well.
 
When the meal finished and Perry started helping her with her bandage, Thomas excused himself under the guise of saddling their horses.

Grunting, he hefted the first saddle onto the horse he rode yesterday.
 
What was wrong with him?
 
Why did it bother him so much that she smiled and spoke softly with Perry?
 
He had no claim on her.
 
His chest had just been the lucky target of her good aim with her Bible.
 
He just happened to come along to rescue her.

Cinching the straps tight on the saddle, he fought against his frustration.
 
The way Perry was acting wasn’t much better.
 
The man had a wife.
 
Granted, she was six feet under and more than a year ago.
 
But still.
 
He was acting like a school boy all sucked into Caroline’s dangerous web.
 
He ought to know better.

And suggesting she stay there!
 
Where did he get off with such a suggestion?
 
Why give Perry a few more days with her and she’d probably willingly ride into Wickenburg to fetch that preacher so she could get hitched.

With both horses saddled, canteens filled, and saddle bags packed, Thomas led the horses to the cabin.

“Be safe,” Perry said to Caroline as he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“She will be,” Thomas grunted.

Caroline scowled at him, but took her time saying goodbye to Perry.
 
It galled him.

“Let’s go.”

Another scowl shot over her shoulder in his direction before Perry helped her mount.
 
“Thank you again, Perry, for your generosity.”

Thomas started his horse off towards the mountain without a word.
 
The soft trot of her horse behind his let him know she was following.

“What’s gotten into you?” she challenged him once they were out of earshot of Perry Quinn’s ranch.

“Me?
 
I could ask you the same question.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Really, Caroline?
 
You don’t think I’m that kind of a fool do you?”

She pulled her horse in front of his and stopped, causing his horse to come to a standstill.
 
One hand landed on her hip as her eyebrows formed a sharp V.

“What is wrong with you?”

Thomas swallowed.
 
Was she really oblivious to how she was acting with Perry?

“Threw yourself at him enough didn’t you?
 
No wonder he invited you to stay.
 
He actually thought you might be interested him.”

“I did not throw myself at him.
 
I was just being friendly.”

“Ha!
 
About as friendly as you were when you kissed me, you hussy!”

The words were out, hanging like thick black smoke between them, choking out reason and respect.

“How dare you!
 
I think your memory fails you.
 
You kissed me!”

For some ridiculous foolish reason, he wanted to do so again.
 
Now.
 
Turn the fire of anger in eyes into the fire of desire.
 
For him.

Instead he stayed firmly seated on his horse.

Her anger faded some.
 
Then her face softened.
 
Her voice sounded incredulous as she said, “You’re jealous.
 
You’re jealous of the attention Perry showed me.”

“Hardly,” Thomas spit out the lie.
 
He maneuvered his horse around hers then kicked it into a trot.
 
Her laughter rung in his ears before the sound of a trotting horse followed behind him.

Unbelievable, Caroline thought.
 
Thomas Anderson was jealous.

Oh.
 
Her laughing died.
 
That must mean he’s interested in her.
 
Why else would he be jealous?

A sound behind her caught her attention.
 
She had already caught up to Thomas, so she twisted in her saddle to investigate what she heard.
 
Off in the distance, a man was riding a black horse.
 
Something about the rider seemed familiar to her, but she couldn’t place it.
 
The familiarity left a hush of fear settling around her, only she couldn’t figure out why she was reacting that way.

Surely many riders traveled this trail between Wickenburg and Prescott.
 
There didn’t seem to be too many roads in the territory from what she witnessed so far.
 
It would make sense that they would be somewhat well-traveled.

Yet, how come she’d not seen a soul in the first day and a half while she was stranded after the stage robbery.
 
Now someone was behind them.

Her palms grew moist and her heart plunged to the ground.
 
Hadn’t Thomas said he thought someone was following them?

Thomas turned in his saddle to look at her as they arrived at the base of the mountain.
 
A frown formed between his brows as he leaned to see farther behind her.

“How long have we been followed?” he asked.

“I… I don’t know.”

“You should have told me.”

Caroline shrugged, hoping he wouldn’t pick a fight with her right now.

“The mountain trail is steep and very narrow at some points, though wagons do travel on it.
 
I want you to ride in front.
 
There’s really only one way up, so I’m not worried about you losing the trail.
 
Set whatever pace you and your horse are comfortable with.
 
And be careful.”

Caroline nodded and started up the sloped mountain side trail.
 
At first the trail casually climbed, but before long they were in some steep switchbacks.
 
She looked down the side of the mountain and swallowed hard.
 
They gained a great deal of elevation in the matter of minutes.
 

When the trail leveled out, she stopped for a moment to steady her nerves.
 
The spot was wide enough that Thomas came up next to her.

“Doing okay?”

“Yeah.”

He turned and looked back down the trail.
 
She followed his gaze.
 
The rider was gaining on them, though not too quickly.

“Who is he?” she asked.

“Doesn’t look familiar to me.
 
But, it’s not unusual to see other riders on the trail.”

When he turned to face her again, she caught his look of concern before he hid it.
 
“Let’s keep going.”

She nudged her mare into motion again.
 
The trail steepened suddenly after that point.
 
Caroline had to lean forward to keep her balance at the odd upward slope.
 
She thought it must be frightful in a wagon, if it was even possible.

After hours on the trail, the harsh angles softened and the trail appeared relatively flat again, though sloping slightly upward.

“We’re almost there,” Thomas announced.

Forgetting all her fears about the rider following them, Caroline smiled.
 
Soon she would be reunited with her friend and her brother.
 
Soon this journey would come to an end.

Chapter 14

“Thomas is back,” Paul announced as he scooped up another round of filled plates to serve their hungry diners.

“Praise you, Lord!” Betty breathed in relief.

She had been so worried about Thomas Anderson when he didn’t return from his express run on Monday.
 
She sent many prayers heavenward that he would be safe and that whatever caused his delay would be resolved quickly.
 
She even asked the Lord not to take him yet.
 
He wasn’t ready—hadn’t given his heart over—and she couldn’t stand the thought of the nice young man spending eternity in hell.

As she bustled into the dining hall, she quickly spotted Thomas.
 
Engulfing him in a huge embrace, she said, “So glad you’re back.
 
Been beating down heaven’s gate for you.”

She stepped back from the embrace and patted her hand on his scruffy cheek, like she would with her son.
 
Thank you, Lord.

“You don’t look worse for the wear,” she said.
 
“What kept you so long?”

A young blonde woman standing next to Thomas cleared her throat.

Thomas answered, “Betty, I’d like you to meet Miss Caroline Larson.
 
Miss Larson is what has kept me so long.”

She didn’t miss his rogue grin and she figured he was deliberately teasing her.
 
Then the name registered.
 
“Caroline Larson.
 
Any relation to Adam?”

“He’s my older brother.”

Swallowing the girl in her arms, she said, “Welcome to Prescott, dear!”

As Caroline pulled back, she smiled brightly.
 
“So glad to be here.
 
Safely.”

“Sit, sit.
 
Paul will bring you some dinner.”

Both Thomas and Caroline sat down at the closest table.
 
My, what a cute couple they would make.
 
Stop it, Betty.
 
No match making.
 
You’ve got more important things to see to at the moment.

“Tell me what happened,” she said as she took a seat.

“It was a pretty normal run up until I got a few miles outside of Wickenburg.
 
All of a sudden Miss Larson throws the Good Book at me.”

“You weren’t going to stop,” Caroline moaned.

“I was going to.
 
Anyway, turns out Caroline was on the stage headed to Prescott when they were robbed.
 
All the men were killed.
 
She was the only survivor.”

Betty’s breath caught in her throat.
 
“Poor dear.
 
How long were you on your own?”

“Almost two days before Thomas came along.”

Thomas related the story of the last few days in between bites of food, with a few interruptions from Caroline.
 
Seemed like the two of them had become rather close in a short amount of time.
 
At least that’s the impression they left.

Jed and Hawk, two of the cowboys from Colter Ranch entered the dining hall, followed by a man dressed as a preacher.

“Betty,” Jed started.
 
“Do you know if Thomas is…
 
Oh, you’re here.”
 
He turned to Thomas.
 
“This is Reverend Pritchett.
 
We met him on the road back from Fort Whipple where we were delivering a few head of cattle.
 
He wants to know if you’ve seen a young woman on the trail.”

Thomas grinned.
 
“You mean her?”

“Reverend Pritchett,” Caroline greeted, drawing the clergyman’s attention.

“Oh, praise the Lord.
 
You did arrive safely.
 
I was so worried when I heard the stage was robbed.”

Betty followed his gaze to Caroline’s hand.

“You’re injured.
 
Goodness.
 
We better get you to a doctor.”

Betty chimed in.
 
“Doc Armstrong’s clinic is across the street.”

Reverend Pritchett held out his hand for Caroline and then escorted her from the building.

“Do you think you could take Caroline back with you?” Thomas asked Jed.

“You want us to take a pretty girl back with us?” Hawk asked before Jed could answer.
 
“Pretty sure we could figure somethin’ out.”

“Hawk will give up his horse.
 
He could stand a good walk,” Jed shot back, grinning from ear to ear.

“Or we could just hire a carriage.
 
Make sure she’s comfortable.”

Betty smiled at the young boys antics.
 
Both were probably pretty close in age to Caroline.
 
Right now they were acting a bit foolish.
 
Neither would stand a chance of winning over Caroline—not with the way she looked at Thomas as Reverend Pritchett escorted her from the dining hall.

Ah, young love, she thought.
 
She remembered that look.
 
It was the same one she used on Henry when she first fell in love.
 
Could hardly pry her eyes off of him.

Jed and Hawk dove into their meals.

Betty stood, feeling a bit guilty for having stayed in the dining hall too long.
 
“Thomas, I’ve had your bunk ready since Monday.
 
Why don’t you go on and get settled.”

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Reverend Pritchett said as soon as they left the confines of the dining hall.
 
“But, what were you thinking to run off like that?”

“I was impatient,” Caroline said, admitting fault.
 
“If I had known it could be so dangerous, I never would have done it.”

“When we heard that the stage was robbed, I feared the worst.”

Caroline nodded, hoping he would let it go.

Reverend Pritchett pushed open the door to the clinic.
 
Chaos greeted them.
 
A small boy ran around in circles as his frantic mother called out his name, imploring him to be still as she cradled a crying infant close to her chest.
 
A man sat in a corner chair glaring at the noisy child as he rubbed his temples with one hand.
 
His other sat limp in his lap.
 
The woman next to him fidgeted with a handkerchief nervously, turning it round and round in her hand.

“Will you be alright?”
 
Reverend Pritchett asked.
 
“I will see about renting a carriage to take you the rest of the way.”

She nodded and took the last available seat in the cramped parlor.

The doctor soon escorted a young man from the exam rooms to the parlor.
 
Looking around at his waiting patients, Caroline saw him bite back a quick sigh before he greeted the woman with the colicky infant and high strung son.

Turning towards her, he asked, “What brings you here today?”

“A cut on my hand.
 
Betty suggested you take a look at it.”

“Will you be fine for a few minutes?” the doctor asked, concern shadowing his face.

She nodded.

At her reassurance, he led the woman and infant and her son back to the exam room.

Leaning her head back against the wall, Caroline closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
 
She was positively exhausted from the last few days.
 
She just wanted to get to Colter Ranch and collapse into bed for a few hours rest.

“Miss.
 
Miss.”
 
The gentle masculine voice pulled her from her foggy daze.

Then she shot upright, looking around the now empty parlor.
 
Heat warmed her cheeks as she realized she must have fallen asleep.

The doctor helped her up from the chair and introduced himself as Dr. Hank Armstrong, though most called him Dr. Hank.
 
She introduced herself as he led her back to an examination room.

“I apologize for the wait.
 
Seems like I either have no patients or several all at once.”
 
His light laugh set her at ease.

“Let’s see that hand.”

She held out her bandaged hand and let him unwrap it.

“What’d you cut it on?” he asked as he studied the wound.

“The stagecoach harness.”

His eyes found hers.
 
“It wasn’t rusty was it?”

Stories of the terror of lockjaw fought for attention in her mind.
 
She pushed them aside and closed her eyes, trying to visualize the harness.
 
Unconsciously, she brought her other hand up and began tapping her index finger against her temple rapidly.
 
Images of the murder of the other passengers came first.
 
She concentrated harder.

Opening her eyes, she answered, “I don’t think so.”
 
She looked away as tears threatened.

“How long ago did you cut your hand?”

“Um, three or four days, I think.”

“No fever or chills.”

She thought for a moment.
 
“I’ve been rather warm, but I’ve also been in the sun.
 
No chills, though.”

“I see.
 
Is your skin sore at all from the sun exposure?”

“A bit.”

Moving to the counter, he began mixing together a few things while he gave his diagnosis.
 
“I think your hand will be fine.
 
Given how old the wound is, I think you are safe from lockjaw.
 
Just put this salve on it and keep it bandaged for a few more days.”

Turning to face her, he applied some of the salve on the wound and bandaged it.

“Where are you staying?”

“Colter Ranch.
 
At least I will be soon.”

A smile split Dr. Hank’s face.
 
“That’s wonderful news.
 
I’ll write up some notes for Mrs. Colter and she’ll have you back to normal in a few days.”

Once her hand was bandaged, he turned back to his counter.
 
He scribbled some things down on a sheet of paper and folded it before mixing up another concoction.

“Use this,” he said, handing her the second mixture, “to help with the sun exposure on your face.
 
And give this to Mrs. Colter.”

Caroline smiled, wondering how this man seemed to know Will’s wife so well.
 
She remembered from one of Adam’s letters that Will had married and that his wife was a gifted healer.
 
Perhaps she had worked with the doctor on occasion.

When Dr. Hank led her back to the parlor, Reverend Pritchett stood.

“Feeling okay, Miss Larson?”

“Right as rain,” she replied before thanking the doctor.

As the reverend led her out of the clinic, he said, “I would like for you to talk to the sheriff about the stagecoach robbery.
 
Give him as much information as you can to make sure these renegades are caught.”

Caroline nodded, despite the knot that formed in her stomach.
 
She just wanted to put the whole thing behind her.

As they neared the sheriff’s office, her gaze snagged on a man dismounting a black horse in front of the saloon.
 
Something seemed very familiar about him, but she couldn’t place it.
 
She thought he might be the same man on the trail to Prescott.

The meeting with the sheriff tested her nerves.
 
It was so difficult to bring forward the images of that horrible day.
 
She did her best to describe the two men who robbed the stage and murdered those men.
 
Even though Reverend Pritchett told her the men had been given a proper burial, she still felt guilty for having left them there.