Noah (11 page)

“Levi and I will ride out with you. If it’s
rustlers we’re dealing with, then it is under my jurisdiction too,” Eamon
assured Kate.

“We need to get out there before it gets too
dark.” The smell of snow lingered in the air and Noah wanted to make sure they
would get back before it hit.

“Let’s go.”

The sky darkened to a smoky grey with thick
clouds hanging low above the ranch. Noah tossed numerous blankets into the back
of the wagon, along with several boards for mending the downed fence. The air
had grown chilly and Kate pulled her coat up tighter against the knit scarf her
mother had made for her years ago.

Noah climbed up onto the seat next to her and
plopped one of her father’s old hats on top of her head. “Are you sure you
still want to come? It could be dangerous.”

“I can’t just sit here and wait, not knowing.
I’d rather be with you. Dangerous or not.” Kate pushed the hat up off her
forehead. It was much too large, but she figured it would offer some protection
if the snow started to fall before they returned.

“Thank you.”

“You’re a good woman, Katie Callahan,” Noah
said, picking up the reins. “Hi-yah!”

The ride out to the east pasture didn’t take
long, but as they approached the section where she’d seen the downed fence,
Eamon and Levi circled back to them and dismounted, tying their horses to fence
posts.

“Smoke.” Levi said as he pointed to a stream of
white vapors rising from the building next to the full corral.

Noah stopped the wagon, handed her the reins,
then leaned over and kissed her fully on the mouth. When he pulled away, he
looked down into her eyes. “If you hear shots, you ride out to Boswell’s as
quickly as you can and tell him everything, ya hear?” He looked at her, the
corners of his fierce blue eyes crinkling as his stare deepened. “Promise me.”

“How can you ask that of me?” Kate shook her
head. “How can you ask me to leave you?”

“I have to know you’re safe,” he pleaded. “I
can’t lose you. Not now. Not ever.” His jaw flexed. “Promise me!” he demanded,
his eyes holding her hostage.

She stared at him without answering for as long
as she dared.

“I promise,” she finally relented.

He pulled her tightly into him, his hand
holding her head against his shoulder. When he let go, he turned to leave
without a word.

“Noah,” she called, sliding toward the edge of
the seat.

He looked back. Without another moment’s
hesitation, she reached out and grabbed a hold of his collar, pulling his face
toward her and kissing him with fervor.

“Be safe!” she made her own demand in a
whisper, pulling just far enough away that their lips were not fully connected.
Her eyes opened, searching his for a promise.

Noah nodded and kissed her quick one more time.
He jumped down from the buckboard and grabbed the rifle out of the holster at
the side of the seat.

“I like doing that,” he said as he handed the
gun up to her and winked.

Kate tucked her face into her scarf and smiled.
She loved that man. Why hadn’t she just told him? The thought of their kiss warmed
her on the inside and she raised her fingers to caress the vacant spot where
his lips had just left hers. The chill of the open air brushed against her face
and she shivered off the cold.

CRACK!

Kate’s heart skipped a beat as she watched all
three men she’d come with dive to the ground for cover as the shot ricocheted
off the ground only a few feet from where Noah had landed. The horses pranced
about, pulling the wagon back and forth as they sensed the newfound danger.

“Whoa,” she called, attempting to calm them as
she scanned the area, looking for where the shot had originated. There was
nothing but open space between her and the cabin, nowhere for the men to take
cover.

Promise me
! Noah’s voice echoed in her mind.

She slapped the reins to turn the wagon around
toward Boswell’s place when another shot rang out through the air. This time,
movement in the trees above caught her attention. Fear gripped her chest as she
glanced back over her shoulder. They would never be able to see their
attacker’s position from their locations on the ground and would be easy
targets.

“Sorry, Noah,” she said aloud before coming
around full-circle and riding toward the men.

Kate scrunched down as far as she could in
front of the seat and still be able to lead the horses. She wished she’d
thought to wear her britches instead of the blamed skirt she had on. It would
have made maneuvering so much easier.

When she reached Noah, she climbed down the
backside of the seat, away from the shots, until her good foot hit the ground.
Then, she lifted her rifle, steadying it against the wood, and fired two shots
consecutively into the mountainside to create a distraction enough for the
others to get to safety.

Noah, Levi, and Eamon all scrambled from the
ground and ducked behind the wagon, each attempting to catch his breath.

“He’s in the trees,” Kate informed them,
indicating the cluster on the mountainside where she’d seen movement.

“I’ll get the horses,” Levi said, nodding to
his and Eamon’s mounts.

“You can’t be serious?” she asked incredulously.
He would be completely unprotected.

When Levi looked at Noah and nodded in a slow
deliberate fashion, both Noah and Eamon twisted forward against the wagon,
bracing their arms against the wood and taking aim. They took turns firing
shots and reloading while Levi ran out across the open land toward the restless
horses.

CRACK! The shot pinged off of a piece of metal
that shook the whole wagon.

Noah grunted next to her and she glanced over
to see his jaw pulsating as he clenched his teeth together.

Eamon’s gun clicked with an empty chamber and
Noah wasn’t yet ready to fire, so Kate slid the rifle back into the little
groove she’d discovered in the edge of the wagon’s board and aimed.

CRACK!

Kate ducked back down and watched with baited
breath, her back up against the wagon, as Levi mounted the palomino he’d chosen
in place of his own, the reins of Eamon’s buckskin still in his hand. He laid
close to the horse’s neck as he made his way back to them. Instead of
dismounting, he threw the reins to Eamon, who pulled himself up onto the back
of his horse, his head low, and turned back to Noah.

“Near as I can tell, there’s only one shooter,”
he said, as his mount pranced around excitedly. “We’ll head up after him. You
get that pretty little lady of yours to that shelter.” He looked up as huge,
white flakes of snow started to fall. “Looks like he’s got a right cozy fire
going inside.”

“Eamon!” Levi called.

The Pinkerton tipped his hat at Kate and turned
to follow Levi.

It took a moment, but she realized that the
shooting had stopped.

“He’s on the move,” Noah said, sidling around
her to the front of the wagon.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a whisper,
though she didn’t know why.

He climbed up onto the seat and reached down
for her, swinging her up alongside him, crying out with pain. He slapped the
reins and quickly closed the distance between them and the cabin.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking him over as
well as she could, blinking away the flakes that landed on her lashes.

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice strained and
grumbly.

The snow came down thicker now, making it
difficult to see in any direction.

She’d lost sight of Levi and Eamon.

Noah jumped down off the buckboard and tethered
the wagon team to the hitching post there. He took the rifle from her, set it
on the edge of the wagon, and reached up for her, a grimace contorting his
face.

Kate’s eyes were drawn to the torn fabric and
growingly red material of Noah’s sleeve.

“You’ve been hit.”

“It’s nothing,” Noah said, wrapping his hands
around her waist and lowering her to the ground. “We have to get inside.”

Click. There was no mistaking the sound of a
gun’s cocking hammer.

Noah froze, his eyes fixed on hers, warning her
not to move, his body creating the perfect barrier between her and their foe.

“Drop it, Deardon, and step away from the
wagon.”

Kate’s heart sunk. She knew that voice.

Dell.

How in blazes did he get down the mountain so
fast?

Noah tossed his pistol onto the ground into the
fresh blanket of snow that grew thicker by the second, and raised his hands
shoulder level, his arm throbbing. Luckily, the bullet had gone straight
through the fleshy part of his arm, but he’d lost a significant amount of
blood. If he didn’t tend to it soon…well, he didn’t want to think about that.
He needed to be strong. For her.

“Don’t move,” he mouthed to Kate as he slowly
turned around.

“Nobody has to get hurt,” the tall, older
foreman said. “I’m just going to collect the cattle from the corral and we’ll
be on our way.”

“You know I can’t let you do that. It would
ruin White Willow if anyone learned we’d been passing stolen cattle.”

“And just what are you going to do to stop me?”
Dell asked with a haughty chuckle. “I’m the one with the gun.”

A whirling wind kicked up, blowing the dense
snowflakes around in a dizzying flurry.

“Come on, Dell. You’re smarter than this.
You’re not going to make it very far in this storm. Think about it. There’s
nowhere to run.” Noah was practically screaming to be heard above the sound of
the mounting blizzard.

“Don’t you worry none about me. We’ve got it
all worked out.”

“Dell,” Kate stepped out from behind him.

Noah closed his eyes, looking heavenward.

Does she never do what she’s told?

“I’m sorry it had to come to this, Katie.” Dell
grabbed her by the arm, twisting her just out of Noah’s reach, and lifting her
against his hip, then he motioned to the door with the barrel of his revolver.

Reluctantly, Noah turned his back to the man
and headed for the cabin’s small entrance, scanning the ground and the building
for anything he could use to his advantage.

Nothing. He lifted the latch on the door.

“Hold up,” Dell said, just before Noah pushed
it open. “Put your hands together behind your back there, Deardon. And don’t do
anything stupid.”

With a great deal of effort, Noah complied,
wincing at the throbbing pain in his injured arm. He blinked back the unwitting
tears that had formulated in his eyes and glanced back over his shoulder to try
to catch a glimpse of Kate. Dell had her pinned up against the rough bark of
the cabin’s exterior wall as he wrapped the rope around Noah’s wrists, the
rough threads cutting into his flesh.

“Got yourself shot there, Deardon. Looks like a
nasty wound. I’m sorry it’s gone this far, but you left us no choice.”

There it was again—the words ‘we,’ ‘us.’ Dell
was not working alone. How many were there?

Kate cried out in a pain as the older man
yanked her around, kicked the door open wider, and shoved them both inside the
warmth of the little one-roomed cabin.

“You son of a—” Noah jerked his arms, but to no
avail. He grew weaker by the minute and stumbled to the floor next to a ladder
leading up to a small loft.

“Calm yourself there, Deardon.” Dell laughed.
“It would be such a shame if this gun were to go off in such close proximity to
Miss Callahan.”

Noah stopped struggling. Dell shoved Kate to
the ground on the opposite side of him and bound her hands to his, then secured
both of them to the bottom rung of the ladder. Her touch, however minute, gave
him hope that they would both get out of this alive.

“Dell, please,” she pleaded. “Don’t do this.”

“I’m afraid there is nothing any of us can do
to stop it now.” The old rustler grabbed a large leather pouch down from a hook
near the fireplace and tin clanked against metal as he haphazardly began
throwing several items from around the cabin inside it. He knelt down next to a
wooden box in the corner of the room and pulled out a good-sized canvas bag
bulging with what Noah suspected were coins. Maybe a payroll. Dell got to his
feet and added the money to his pouch.

“What happened to Cliff, Dell?”

The foreman looked into the fire. “He got
thrown from his horse. Happens all the time.” His voice was distant, eerie as
he spoke. He looked away from the flames and reached down to a bucket of water
that had been sitting at the edge of the hearth.

The fire hissed angrily as he doused the
flames, soaking the coals.

At least he didn’t start the place on fire.

Kate’s hands moved frantically as she stretched
and twisted, trying to free herself from the ropes. If she didn’t stop
struggling, she would wear her wrists raw. He needed to get the knife out of
his boot before she did any real damage.

“It wasn’t an accident, Dell.” Noah’s focus was
beginning to diminish and he shook his head in attempt to return clarity. “I
saw the burrs. An experienced cowpoke like Thomas would have never saddled his
prized Arabian with briars under the blanket. Tell me what happened.” While
their captor looked the other direction, Noah bent his leg up behind him.

“What makes you think I know anything about
that?” Dell picked up a coat from the back of the lone chair in the room. He
shoved his arms through the sleeves and slung the pouch across his shoulders.

“Dell,” Kate said quietly. “Why are you doing
this? You were like family to me and my da.”

Noah could hear the pain in her voice and he
wanted to just take her into his arms and soothe away her sorrows and her
fears.

“Katie, I…”

A strong gust of wind blew the door open,
knocking Dell forward and to his knees. The blizzard raged outside, storming the
cabin with unrelenting ferocity. He bent over, grabbing the back of his head.
When he slid his hands down, off his head, they were covered in blood.

“Dad blame it,” he cursed, grabbing an old rag
from the edge of rusted wash basin and held it over his wound. “I have to go.”

“Dell, don’t!” Noah warned. “You’re hurt.”

“This ain’t nothing. You don’t know him like I
do.”

“You’ll die out there.”

The foreman stopped, his hand holding onto the
edge of the open door. “You don’t get it, do ya, Deardon? They hang men like
me.”

“I’ll talk to Nate,” Kate pled loudly. “Reason
with him.”

“I can’t be late.” Dell trod outside, pulling
the door shut behind him.

“What is he doing, Noah? We have to stop him.
He’ll die.”

“Kate,” Noah called her name, “we have to get
out of these ropes.”

“I’ve tried,” she said. “Dell’s a cattle man.
He knows how to tie a knot.”

“Kate,” he tried again, bending his knee even
farther to get his boot as close to their hands as possible.

“What?”

“My knife…” Noah fought the weariness that
threatened to overtake him. “I can’t…reach…”

“Noah?” Kate’s voice sounded distorted and low.

He couldn’t hold on any longer.

“Noah?”

Blackness surrounded him.