Faithful Heart (2 page)

Breanna looked up at him and smiled. “I wish I could tell you how good it feels to be with you … and how wonderful it is to hear you say my name.”

John chuckled. “I’ve said it a million times in my dreams.”

As they stepped out of the cave, Breanna stiffened. The sight of the dead Snake chief lying with his eyes open, staring emptily toward the darkening sky gave her a chill.

John guided her around Red Claw’s body, saying, “I wonder what went through his mind when he approached the cave and saw you standing there pointing this gun at him.”

“The Derringer belongs to Rip Clayson,” Breanna said. “He told me you traveled with the wagon train for a while when they were in Nebraska.”

“Yes.”

“So you got to know Rip and the others in the train?”

“Not too well. I wasn’t with them all that long before I was called to Fort Boise. Commandant there needed a little help. His men were having some problems getting along.”

“And they knew who to turn to for help. That’s the John Stranger I know.”

“Just doing my duty.”

“Someday I hope to find out more about this duty of yours. Was it duty that brought you here?”

“You brought me here.”

Breanna shook her head in wonderment as they continued down the crude rock “stairs.” “I owe so much to you for all the times you’ve watched out for me, even saving my life more than once.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Breanna Baylor,” he replied, hugging her to his side.

It was almost dark when they reached level ground and John led her to the spot where he had left Ebony. The big black gelding nickered and bobbed his head as they drew near.

“See there?” John said. “Ebony remembers you. The two of us have had many long talks about you.”

Breanna was about to reply when the sound of pounding feet drew her attention. A group of men were coming through the woods from the direction of the wagon train.

“Looks like we’ve got company,” John said. “Probably Rip and some of the men.”

“You all right, Breanna?” Rip Clayson said as he emerged from the deepening shadows.

“Yes, thank the Lord! In more ways than one.”

Curly Wesson, who drove the lead wagon in the train, was at Clayson’s side, with five men on their heels. “Did you shoot that Injun?” the old man said.

“She did,” John said.

“Good!” Curly said. “At least he won’t be worryin’ any more white women!”

The rest of the people were waiting at the edge of the clearing and rejoiced to hear that Breanna was unharmed. They also rejoiced to know that their tormentor was dead.

Fires winked against the darkness within the circle of wagons, and the aroma of hot food filled the cool air. Rip motioned for Carolyne Fulford to come close and introduced her to John Stranger, explaining that Carolyne had survived an Indian attack that wiped out the entire train she had been traveling with. John said he had come upon the train while on the trail.

“I fell in love with her the day we picked her up, John,” Rip said, his arm around Carolyne’s shoulder. “It was definitely love at first sight.”

“For me, too,” Carolyne said. “And Rip has asked me to marry him.”

“Well, wonderful,” grinned Stranger.

“We’re gonna tie the knot when we get to California,” Rip said.

“I’m happy for both of you. And I hope the Lord gives you a passel of children.”

The happy couple smiled at each other in the firelight, then Rip said, “We haven’t told you, John, but we already have one child.”

“You do?” Stranger said.

“It’s a long story, but the simple version is that the baby’s parents were traveling in the wagon train with Carolyne and were killed along with everyone else during the Indian attack. Carolyne was holding the baby the first time I saw her, hiding in the bushes along a creek bank. The baby’s name, by the way, is Breanna. Her parents named her in honor of Nurse Baylor here. I’ll let her tell you that part of the story.”

“It was nothing really,” Breanna said. “The mother was having some complications when the wagon train stopped at South Pass City, and I delivered the little girl by Cesarean section. I hardly thought that was reason enough for them to name their baby after me, but that’s what they did.”

“So we’re going to give the baby our name when we get married,” Carolyne said. “We’ll raise little Breanna Hughes Clayson as if she were our own.”

Stranger grinned. “I commend you both.” Then turning to Breanna, he said, “Isn’t a Cesarean section something a well-trained physician does?”

“Ordinarily,” she replied quietly.

John’s grin broadened. “Well, I’m plenty proud of you, sweetheart.”

Breanna hunched her shoulders. “I just did what had to be done. I have had a little experience in it. I just thank the Lord that precious little baby is with us.”

“I’d like to meet her,” John said.

“She’s asleep right now,” Carolyne told him. “But she’ll be awake sometime after supper. You can meet her then.”

John and Breanna ate with Rip, Carolyne, Curly, and wealthy widower Doral Chatsworth. During the meal, Chatsworth
explained to Stranger how he offered to pay Breanna to join the wagon train and care for his wife, Hattie, who was ailing. South Pass City’s new doctor had arrived, and Breanna was planning to return to Denver by stagecoach. Breanna had agreed to stay with the train all the way to San Francisco. Chatsworth had also given Breanna enough money to pay for her train ticket from San Francisco to Denver when the journey was completed. Though Hattie had been killed in one of the Snake Indian attacks on the wagon train, Rip had asked Breanna to continue on with them and give care to those who needed it.

“I consented to do so for two reasons, John,” Breanna said. “Mr. Chatsworth had already paid me in full for the entire trip and wouldn’t take any money back. I felt it was only right to do my part by completing the trip. And I’m eager to get to San Francisco because my sister Dottie lives near there. Do you remember me telling you about her when we first met back in Kansas?”

“Vaguely.”

“I haven’t seen her in almost ten years. I’m so excited!”

When the meal was finished, Doral offered to let John sleep in his wagon. John thanked him but said that he preferred to sleep on the ground in his bedroll near the wagon Breanna and Carolyne were sharing.

Suddenly there was a deep rumble on the night air. Rip Clayson rose to his feet by the fire and said, “That’ll be the cavalry coming back.”

Seconds later, the one-hundred-man cavalry unit thundered into the camp, drawing up just outside the circle of wagons. Rip stepped between two of the vehicles with John and Curly at his heels. The rest of the people within the circle pressed close, peering between the wagons at the cavalrymen.

As the man on the lead horse swung from his McClellan saddle, Rip stepped up and said, “My name’s Ripley Clayson, Captain. I’m wagon master. You certainly put those Snakes on the run.”

“That we did, Mr. Clayson. I don’t think you’ll be having any more trouble from that band of savages.” The officer extended his hand and said, “My name’s Newt Meyer.”

The two men shook hands, then Clayson introduced the captain to John Stranger and Curly Wesson.

“Red Claw wasn’t with the war party,” Meyer continued. “We don’t know what happened to him.”

“We do,” Clayson said. “He’s dead.”

“Dead?”

“That’s right. I’ll explain it to you later. Right now, we’d like to invite you and your men to a hot meal.”

Meyer smiled and pushed his campaign hat to the back of his head. “Well, we’ll just take you up on that!” He turned and called for his men to dismount, telling them they could leave their cold rations in their saddlebags. They were going to get a hot supper.

The men in blue cheered and swung from their mounts. Clayson searched the riders for the man he had sent on horseback to bring the cavalry.

“Captain?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I’m wondering where Wade Moore is.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have told you right away. When he arrived at the fort, he wasn’t feeling well. Said he couldn’t ride back with us. Asked that we tell you and his wife that he’d wait at the fort.”

“I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“Pains in his chest. Dr. Laird, our fort physician, says he’s not sure what’s causing them. He’s watching him close. Says it could just be pleurisy, but he’s not sure.”

“Well, I’m glad he made it and sent you and your men. These people have had about all the Indian attacks they can stand. Not only that, but we’re totally out of ammunition. We’ll need to stock up when we get to the fort.”

“We’ve got plenty,” Meyer said.

“I know there are plenty more Indians on the other side of the fort, Captain. Any of them hostile that you know of?”

“Yes. Shoshonis have been acting up in southern Idaho. We’ll escort you a few miles beyond the fort, but we won’t be able to go even as far as the Idaho border. We’re having problems with the Paiutes due west of the fort and need to patrol it regularly. Colonel Lynch, our commandant, hesitated to send this large a unit for this mission, but your Mr. Moore told him what kind of Indian forces you’ve been having to fight, so he wanted to make sure your wagon train had the protection it needed.”

“I’ll thank him for it when I see him,” smiled Rip.

When the cavalrymen filed into the circle, the people gave them a rousing cheer. The wagon master sought out Marian Moore and told her about her husband. He asked if the colonel had ever experienced pleurisy before. When Marian said he had, Rip said he was probably having a recurrence and that she shouldn’t be too worried.

John Stranger went to the wagon where Breanna and Carolyne were and found Breanna feeding her tiny namesake. Stranger had a special love for infants and children. He held baby Breanna in his arms and made over her.

John and Breanna then joined Rip at the side of the wagon while Carolyne remained inside to change a diaper. Stranger drew Breanna close to him, encircling her in an arm, and said, “Rip, all this talk about the possibility of Indian trouble after the wagon train leaves Fort Bridger has me concerned.”

“Yeah,” sighed Rip. “Me, too.”

“Since Breanna is going to stay with the train all the way to San Francisco, I’ve decided to do the same. I doubt there’ll be any Indian trouble once the train reaches the Sierras, since the Mohaves are friendly to whites. But I want to make sure this little lady is safe.”

Breanna’s face lit up. “Oh, John! It’ll be wonderful to have you with me!”

“It’ll be more wonderful for me,” he smiled.

“Well, I’ll be plenty glad to have you in the train, John,” Rip said. “I’ve never seen you use that iron on your hip or the Winchester in your saddleboot, but I’ve got a feeling you’d be a pretty good asset in an Indian attack.”

“More than you can even imagine, Rip,” Breanna said.

“You didn’t do so bad yourself with that Derringer,” Stranger said.

Breanna’s fair skin tinted. “It was him or me.”

“She has done all right during the attacks too, John,” Rip said. “I put a Colt .45 in her hand, and she used it to good advantage. Where’d you learn to shoot like that, lady?”

“My Uncle Harvey taught me. Mom’s brother. He taught my sister and me both how to use a handgun and a rifle. Mom, too. He said he hoped we would never have to use a gun, but if the occasion came, he wanted us to be able to defend ourselves.”

“Smart man,” Clayson nodded.

“Sweetheart, how about you and me taking a little moonlight walk?” Stranger said.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

The couple excused themselves to Rip Clayson and Breanna slipped her hand in the crook of John Stranger’s arm as they moved slowly into the woods. An owl hooted from a tree limb somewhere ahead of them, and the night breeze rustled through the branches of the towering pines. They walked slowly, moving from moonlight to shadows to moonlight.

“Oh, John,” Breanna said, “I’m so glad you’ll be traveling with me for the rest of the trip. It’ll be so good to have you close for that long.”

“I’ve been close many times when you didn’t know it. I sure like it this way best.”

As if they had practiced it, both of them stopped at the same moment, turned face to face, and looked into each other’s eyes. A lock of hair had come loose and was dangling on Breanna’s forehead, dancing to the rhythm of the light wind. The moon reflected in her eyes.

“I love you, Breanna. Mortal words could never express how very much I love you.”

She reached up and stroked his right cheek, her fingers running over the twin-ridged scars. “And I love you, darling. Words fail me too … but in the language of the heart, we both know, don’t we?”

John nodded, then lowered his head and kissed her sweetly, tenderly. They held each other for a long moment, then started walking again.

“Tell me about your sister,” John said, squeezing the hand that was once again in the crook of his arm. “What little time we
had together in Kansas, you barely mentioned her.”

“Dottie is two years younger than me. She’s my only sibling. We were both born and raised in Leavenworth. So, Mr. Stranger, you’re getting a Jayhawker in this deal.”

“I’ll take her.”

“And of course I’ve already told you the sad story about my parents … about Daddy running off with that other woman, I mean.”

“I’ve not forgotten it. I know that was devastating to your mother, but it must have been hard for you and Dottie too.”

“Terribly. I don’t think we could have made it without the Lord’s help.”

“Dottie’s a Christian too?” John asked.

“Yes. About three weeks after I came to know the Lord, I had the joy of leading Dottie to Him.”

“I’d like to know how you came to know the Lord.”

“It’s sort of a long story,” said Breanna, smiling up at him, “but when there’s more time, I’ll sure tell you about it. I was nineteen at the time. Most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me. Want to know what the second most wonderful thing that ever happened to me was?”

“Is it anything like the second most wonderful thing that ever happened to me?”

Breanna stopped, looked up at him, then said, “If your second best thing to being saved was having me come into your life … it is exactly like it.”