Spirit Journey: Historical Western Cowboy Romance Novel (Dawson Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  Her vivid red hair was dirty and disheveled, and angry, red scratches marred her right cheek. Her blouse and men’s trousers were torn in spots and blood had seeped through the left upper arm of her blouse.

  “Hi. I’m Eric Samuels and me and my family are gonna get you out of here,” he said.

  He noticed Peanut and the baby. The younger woman looked bad off. Then he saw that her leg was pinned under large rocks.

  Jaylyn said, “I’m fine, but Peanut and the baby aren’t doing well.”

  “I can see that. Let me take a look.”

  The boulders rested on Peanut’s calf and her shin above the rocks looked bruised. Eric knew he wasn’t going to be able to move the boulders by himself without further injuring the girl.

  “Is the baby hurt?” he asked.

  Peanut said, “Just scratches. She’s been eating fine, but she needs to be cleaned up and changed.”

  “I’m glad she’s ok. We’ll get her taken care of. How long have you been down here?” Eric asked.

  “Since yesterday morning,” Jaylyn said.

  Her expression told Eric that there was quite a story there, but now wasn’t the time to go into it.

  He nodded. “Luckily, there are some big, strong guys with us, so we’ll get you out of here in no time. Most of them are Indians, but they’re my family and great people. My uncle is the chief and helps run an orphanage. I know that sounds strange, but it’s the truth. I don’t want you to be scared of them.”

  Peanut asked, “Are you an Indian?”

  “One quarter. I’ll take the baby up and be right back with help. My aunt will take good care of her,” Eric said, reaching for the baby. “What’s her name?”

  “Annie. I’m so sorry. I’m Jaylyn Lennox and this is my little sister, Peanut. Annie is hers,” Jaylyn said.

  Eric had assumed that the baby belonged to Jaylyn since Peanut only looked to be around eighteen or nineteen. “Well, sorry about the circumstances, but it’s nice to meet you,” he said while tying the end of the rope securely around his waist.

  Peanut was reluctant to give Annie to Eric, but Jaylyn said, “It’s ok. Eric is going to take her to safety.” Please, God, let him be a good man.

  Peanut let him take Annie.

  “I’ll take good care of her, I promise.”

  His kind smile convinced Peanut and she gave him a weak smile in return. Eric settled Annie against his chest for a few moments to let her get a little familiar with him. The baby’s brow puckered as she looked at the unfamiliar man and began crying.

  “It’s ok, Annie,” he said soothingly. “I need you to be brave now. I’m gonna put you under my shirt to keep you from getting scratched up any more, ok?”

  So saying, Eric lifted the bottom of his loose shirt and tucked the unhappy Annie up underneath it. Eric hummed a little, trying to calm the baby, but Annie wasn’t having any of it.

  “I’ll be right back with the cavalry,” he said, giving three hard yanks on the rope.

  Soon, he felt the rope being pulled and he began walking up the steep ravine wall, keeping a tight hold on Annie. Judging by the rapid speed that he was being pulled, most of the men must be on the other end of the rope. It wasn’t long before he was being helped up onto the trail.

  “Thanks, guys,” he said. “I have a surprise for you.”

  He lifted his shirt, revealing Annie.

  “A baby?” Dino said. “What’s a baby doing down there?”

  Eric said, “I don’t know yet. This is Annie. Check her over, Mike, but I think she just has some scratches. She seems fine otherwise.”

  Mike took Annie, and began examining her.

  Eric said, “Her mother and aunt are down there. I don’t know their story. Annie’s mother, Peanut, is in a bad way. Her leg is trapped under a couple of boulders. I can’t move them by myself without risking further injury.”

  Raven said, “I’ll go with you.”

  “Me, too,” Reckless chimed in.

  “Is Dash ok, Skippy?” Eric asked.

  Skip let out a snort. “Are you kidding me? He hasn’t had to do any work. He’s as fresh as a daisy.” He watched Mike with Annie, thinking that she was such a pretty baby.

  Eric smiled at Skip’s pride in Dash. “Ok. Let’s go get these poor women out of there.”

  Raven said, “You would think he was the one in charge.”

  Owl grinned. “He’s like his mother that way.”

  Claire Samuels was the principle at Dawson’s school, and she was good at keeping unruly kids in line and giving orders to others. Eric had inherited her tendency to take charge in tough situations.

  Eric laughed as he kept going. “Sorry, fellas. I can’t help myself sometimes.”

  Raven waited until Eric was two thirds of the way down before beginning to climb down the rope. Reckless quickly followed them.

  Even though Eric had warned Jaylyn and Peanut about his relatives, seeing a couple of big Indian men following Eric through the brush was still a shock. The women’s blue eyes widened at the sight of them.

  “Ladies, these are my cousins, Raven and Reckless,” Eric said. “This is Jaylyn Lennox and Peanut, um, I’m sorry, I don’t know your last name.”

  “It’s Lennox,” Jaylyn said.

  “Oh, ok.”

  Raven and Reckless smiled and greeted the young women to put them at ease.

  Raven said, “Reckless and I will move the boulders. You pull Peanut back when her foot is free enough.”

  “Ok,” Eric said.

  Reckless and Raven conferred on which way would be best to move the boulders and then went to work. They lifted at the same time and slowly the boulders gave way enough for Eric to drag Peanut free of the rocks.

  Peanut tried not to cry, but the pain that suddenly flared in her leg was terrible.

  Jaylyn hugged her. “I know, honey. We’re almost out of here. You just have to be strong a little while longer.”

  Peanut nodded.

  Raven knelt on one knee by her. “Peanut, you’re a strong girl to have taken care of your baby even though you were hurt. I need you to stay strong. I have to use both of my arms to pull us up. Can you hold onto me around my neck so I can carry you? Annie is waiting up top for you.”

  Peanut loved her baby more than anything and would do anything to get back to her. She nodded. “I can do it.”

  Raven smiled. “Good.”

  “I will carry you to him,” Reckless said.

  “All right.”

  Her petite frame was light in Reckless’ arms and he easily took her to where Raven stood with the rope tied around his waist. He knelt down as Reckless helped her get situated, tied a shorter length of rope around Peanut’s waist, and attached it to Raven’s rope. Peanut wrapped her arms around Raven’s neck and held on for dear life. Raven jerked on the rope three times and the men up top began pulling them up.

  Peanut closed her eyes and prayed as they rose higher above the ravine. She took comfort in Raven’s strength and the fact that they were still tethered to the rope in case he should slip. They arrived up top with little difficulty and another Indian man carried her over to where an older Indian woman sat holding Annie. The baby played with the woman’s beaded necklace.

  The man laid Peanut down on a soft deerskin blanket.

  “My nephew will take good care of you,” he said. “I’m Owl.”

  “Hi, Owl. I’m Peanut,” she said, feeling dizzy. “I don’t feel very good.”

  Mike moved over to her to assess her condition. “I’m Mike, Peanut. I’m a doctor and I’m going to have you take some laudanum to help with the pain.”

  “Ok.”

  Mike helped her take it and then got to work.

  Down in the ravine, Eric said, “Jaylyn, I’ll take you up the same way Raven did Peanut.”

  Jaylyn didn’t care that she was about to put her arms around a strange man. All she wanted was to get out of the ravine and see how Peanut and Annie were. “Fine by me.”

  Eri
c nodded and tied the rope around him once it had been dropped back down to them. “Ok. Get a good hold and don’t let go no matter what happens.”

  Jaylyn did it so quickly that Eric jerked a little in surprise.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I just want out of here. It was a terrible night and I was so worried about Peanut and the baby—”

  Eric chuckled. “It’s ok. I understand. Don’t fall apart on me yet. Once we’re up there, go right ahead, but right now, just stay strong.”

  “You’re right. I’m fine,” she said, blinking back tears.

  In a matter of minutes, they were hauled up. Jaylyn was relieved when her feet rested on solid ground once again. Eric threw the rope back down to Reckless and then introduced her to everyone.

  “I’m so grateful to you for getting us out of there,” she said. “How did you know we were down there?”

  Skip pointed at Dash. “My long-eared friend over here is the one who heard you screaming and alerted us.”

  Jaylyn looked at the huge mule. “Is he friendly?”

  Skip said, “Absolutely.”

  She walked around to Dash’s head and held out a flat hand to him. He sniffed it and gently lipped her palm. Jaylyn stroked his face. “Thank you for finding us, Dash. What a good boy you are.”

  “He is a good boy,” Skip said, untying the rope from around Dash’s saddle horn. “He was their tree.”

  Jaylyn gave him a puzzled look. “What?”

  “Well, we needed as much rope as we could get and he could stand here close to the edge so that less rope had to be used. Those trees over there are further away and plus, trees can’t pull if you need them to, but Dash can. He’s actually a draft mule and can pull really heavy loads and stuff like that. Have you ever seen a draft mule before? George Washington was the first one to raise donkey—”

  Black Fox said, “Justin, I think Jaylyn would like to go see her sister and niece.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry,” Skip said.

  “It’s ok, Skip,” Jaylyn said, amused by him. It was good to have something to smile about.

  Eric led her over to where Peanut lay by a fire. A blanket had been folded and placed under her head and she’d been given water. Jaylyn knelt by her and took her hand.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked, looking down at her leg, which had been wrapped in an ACE Bandage.

  “Better. Mike gave me something for pain,” Peanut said.

  Jaylyn looked at the handsome man with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. Although he was tanned, he didn’t look Indian to her. It wasn’t important at the moment, so she brushed the thought aside. “How is her leg? Is it broken?”

  Mike smiled. “No, thank God. It’s sprained and bruised, but it’ll heal just fine. In fact, it should feel a lot better in about a week. It hurt so badly because once the weight was lifted off, all of the blood that hadn’t been able to get to her foot rushed down through her arteries. It’s a good thing we came along when we did, though, so we could get the blood supply flowing again.”

  His professional manner of speaking and the efficient way Mike had worked had reassured Peanut that he really was a doctor. She didn’t know these people and they could have been telling her anything. However, they’d already shown such kindness and they’d gone to a lot of trouble to rescue the three of them.

  “Are you sure Annie’s ok?” Peanut asked a third time. She couldn’t help being worried about her baby.

  “She’s just fine,” Mike assured her.

  “Thank you so much,” Peanut said.

  Mike said, “You’re welcome. Now, it’s Jaylyn’s turn to be tended.”

  “I’m fine other than being very stiff and sore,” Jaylyn said. “I don’t know how, but I am.”

  Mike said, “It looks like your arm needs some attention.”

  Jaylyn looked where he indicated and saw the ripped, blood-soaked sleeve. She hadn’t noticed it before because she’d been so focused on her sister and niece. “Oh.”

  Mike said, “This sleeve has about had it. Mind if I just yank it off?”

  Jaylyn said, “I don’t mind at all. A ripped blouse is hardly anything to be worried about after almost dying.”

  Mike pulled the sleeve loose and cleaned the long gash on her upper arm. Squirrel handed her a canteen and Jaylyn drank deeply of the cool water. Squirrel told her to keep it and asked what happened.

  Peanut roused a little and surprised them all by saying, “That no-good fiancé of mine better hope I don’t ever see him again or I’ll shoot him!”

  Jaylyn said, “Peanut, try to stay calm.”

  “Stay calm? How can you say that after what he did?” Peanut demanded.

  “I know, but you need to rest right now,” Jaylyn said.

  Peanut settled back a little, but said, “Daddy found a small vein of gold on the parcel of land he bought in the Black Hills about a year ago. Claude, my fiancé, helped Daddy on the claim and they were going to split the gold. Claude said he wanted to set up a nice place for us to live.

  “We were going to Hulette with Claude to trade in the gold and to buy some supplies. We were coming along this trail and had camped a ways back. We stopped here yesterday morning so I could take care of business. He wanted us to come see the view over by the ravine because it was so pretty. So we were standing there looking at it and he … he …” Emotion overcame Peanut at this point and she broke into sobs.

  Jaylyn took her in her arms. “Shh, sweetie. It’s all right now.” She rocked Peanut as she continued the story. “Claude pushed us over the edge of the ravine and left us for dead. He ran off with everything: our horses, our stuff, and the gold.”

  Angry shock showed on everyone’s faces.

  Raven said, “I’m sorry for what you have gone through, but you’re safe now. We will take you back to your father.”

  Peanut swallowed hard. “Thank you, but you can’t. He passed away a couple of weeks ago. The homestead is there, but without Claude to work it, we have no way to mine for more gold. We have nothing now except a few clothes there and the mining equipment. The only money we had outside of the gold was in my saddlebag. We have nothing.”

  Tears coursed down Peanut’s face as the strain of the past couple of days caught up with her. She hung on to Jaylyn and the sisters cried together. Raven crouched down next to the women, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.

  “Don’t worry. You have us. We’ll take you back to your land. You can find someone to sell it to and then use the money to set yourself up in one of the towns,” he said. “We’ll help you.”

  “Why would you do that? You don’t even know us,” Jaylyn said.

  Raven smiled. “Because it’s the right thing to do and I would hope that someone would do the same for one of my children. We’ll camp here today to give the both of you some time to rest.”

  Black Fox nodded approvingly, but stayed silent, allowing Raven to handle the situation. Although he led their group when traveling, this was mainly symbolic. This was Raven’s quest and Black Fox had not interfered with any of his son’s decisions along their journey. There hadn’t been any reason for him to since Raven had showed such sound judgement.

  He smiled inside. It is as I have always thought; someday he will be as good of a chief as me, if not better. He has learned well.

  Jaylyn shook her head. “But Peanut can’t walk or even ride, for that matter.”

  Skip raised his hand as though he sat in a classroom asking permission to speak. Raven rose and nodded at him with a smile. “Go ahead.”

  “Um, well, I might, that is …” He had to force himself to look at Raven and not at Peanut, so that he could actually speak coherently. “Dash could carry Peanut. I could pad his saddle and prop her hurt foot up on the panier on that side. That way she could still hold Annie, too.”

  “Good idea,” Raven said.

  Skip said, “I’ll pack him first thing in the morning so that it’s ready for right after breakfast.”

  “Thank you,
Skip,” Jaylyn said. “That’s very kind of you.”

  He nodded and gazed at Peanut, who had dozed off. Why would any man try to kill his fiancée and baby? It made him furious. Peanut was a beautiful girl with her red hair that was a couple of shades darker than Jaylyn’s. He was no man at all. More animal than human. Skip realized that he’d been staring. Not wanting the others to see his preoccupation with Peanut, he went to take Dash’s equipment and tack off so he’d be more comfortable.

  Hailey stepped over to Jaylyn. “Would you like to get cleaned up? I have an extra change of clothes. You’ll have to roll the pants up since you are shorter than me, but they’ll be clean.”

  Jaylyn smiled at the tall woman. “Yes, thank you.”

  “Come with me. There is a stream where you can bathe. I’ll stand guard,” Hailey said.

  Jaylyn followed her. Hailey picked up her pack and the two women walked down to the stream and went around a bend. A while later, they came back to camp and sat by the fire. Hailey had given her a pair of jeans and a Western shirt to wear.

  Squirrel handed her a tin plate filled with some sort of meat and vegetables. “You need to eat and lie down,” she said kindly.

  “Thank you,” Jaylyn said before attacking the savory food.

  The venison was tender and the tubers were slightly sweet; a nice combination. She was given some coffee to drink and she sipped at it once she’d eaten her food. Her eyelids grew heavy and she almost dropped her cup.

  Eric saw and his sympathy for her grew. “Jaylyn. Come with me. I set up a place in the shade for you to nap. You need to rest.”

  “But, Peanut—”

  “We’ll take care of her and Annie,” he interjected, smiling.

  The kindness and sincerity in his gray eyes made her trust him. She let him help her up and followed him over to a large maple tree where a bedroll had been set up for her. He sat a canteen down by her.

  “Just in case you get thirsty. You should try to drink as much as possible. You were down there a long time without food or water,” he said.

  Jaylyn sat down. “All right. Thanks.”

  “Sure. Sleep well,” he said, leaving her.

  Jaylyn barely lay down before exhaustion claimed her.