Westward Moon Read online

  Sasha

  As Jack finished reading the missive, he knew it was time to involve his family and Mitch, Dawson’s sheriff and his boss. He hurried from the post office to tell Mitch about the situation.

  That night, he gathered the adults in his family together. They looked at him expectantly and he tried to calm his nerves so that he made sense. “I’ve been contacted by a woman who knows Sparrow. Her name is Sasha and she says that Sparrow is in danger from her husband and needs help. She’s asking me to meet them in Wyoming, which is halfway from where they are in Nebraska.”

  Everyone looked around at each other for several moments. His father, Dean, said, “Son, that’s a long way to travel in the winter. How do you know for sure that this is legitimate?”

  Jack said, “Why would this woman contact me specifically unless it was legitimate? How would she know to contact me if Sparrow didn’t tell her where to write to?” His blue eyes met Dean’s. “I can’t take the chance that it’s not real. This is Sparrow we’re talking about. Wouldn’t you do the same thing if it was Mama in that situation?”

  Dean’s gaze held sympathy. Jack had been in love with Sparrow for the past five years even though she’d been gone for the last three. There had been a split in the nearby Lakota tribe and Sparrow’s family had elected to go with the faction that had left. Jack hadn’t known until they were already gone and it was too late to go after her.

  It probably wouldn’t have mattered if he had because only a handful of people in the tribe had known about his romance with the maiden. Her father hated white people, so he wouldn’t have allowed Jack and Sparrow to be together.

  Jack’s family and close friends knew that Jack couldn’t get her out of his heart even though he’d tried. So it was no surprise that he would want to go after her.

  Dean said, “I hear what you’re saying, Jack, but you’ve got to consider some things here. First, you’re going to battling the weather. Second, this could be some type of trap for whatever reason. Third, they’re gonna come after her and you’ll lead them right here. She’s married, Jack. She has a husband.”

  “Yeah, a husband who physically abuses her!” Jack yelled. “I agree with what you’re sayin’, Pa, but I don’t have a choice here. If there’s the slimmest chance that I can get Sparrow back, I’m going to take it. Can I take one of the pack horses with me? I’ll need it for Sparrow to ride back on. A wagon is gonna be too slow, especially if we run into snow. I don’t know why her tribe is in Nebraska. It’s weird. I’d have thought they’d have been a little further south.”

  Tessa said, “Jack, listen to your father. You can’t simply take off on a wild goose chase. It’s madness.”

  Seth said, “I’d go if it were Maddie. I’d go with you, Jack, but I’m afraid I’d slow you down because of my leg.”

  Jack’s Uncle Marcus said, “Why doesn’t she just divorce him? That’s her right as a Lakota woman. All she has to do is simply put his things outside their tipi and he has no choice but to leave her alone.”

  “This Sasha woman says that nothing is being done about the situation, so I’d say that her tryin’ to divorce him isn’t workin’,” Jack said.

  Marcus’ brow furrowed and he said, “That’s not good. If they’re disregarding that law, what else are they doing?”

  “Who knows?” Jack responded.

  Jack began sorting through the available people who might be able to go with him. His cousin, Luke, couldn’t because his wife, Jamie, was pregnant again. His Uncle Owl was in the same boat. Jack’s Aunt Hannah was close to giving birth to their first child.

  Marcus had been doing the same thing and said, “Jack, I wouldn’t tell Black Fox about this until Sparrow is actually here. Once you meet up with her, you’ll be able to get the full story.”

  Dean sent Marcus an angry look and said, “You guys are actually encouraging him to go?”

  Marcus held Dean’s gaze and said, “Yes. Seth’s right; we’d all go if it were any one of our wives.”

  Dean sighed. “Fine. If you’re dead set on going, I’m going with you, Jack.”

  “You?” Jack asked. Disbelief was strong in his voice.

  “Yes, me. Seth can take over for me here and there’s no one else. I’m your pa and I should go to support you and help keep you safe,” Dean said. “But we’re not gonna go into this without preparing. When do you have to be there?”

  “December 15th. I can’t believe you’re gonna go,” Jack said with a smile. “Thanks, Pa.”

  Tessa was not happy that both her husband and oldest son were going to embark on something that was so dangerous. She rose from her chair, went to their room, and shut the door.

  Dean sighed. “I better go talk to her, but tomorrow we sit down and come up with a plan. I’m assuming you already cleared this with Mitch?”

  “Yeah. He gave me his blessing to go,” Jack said with a smile. “He said that this is just the sort of thing Sammi would like to be involved in.”

  Mitch’s wife Sammi was not like other women. She used to wear a gun before they had their baby girl, whom they’d named Skye as an honor to Owl. His full name was Great Owl in Night Sky. Mitch and Sammi had used the last word of Owl’s name as their daughter’s name. Sammi had served as a bouncer at the town saloon for about two years until she’d gotten pregnant.

  Seth grinned and said, “Yeah, I can see her goin’ with you, all right.”

  Dean chuckled and then went to comfort his wife.

  “You know who else you should take with you?” Marcus said.

  “Who?” Jack asked.

  “Reckless,” Marcus replied. “He’s an excellent tracker, which you might need to find food, and he would be good backup in case something goes wrong.”

  Jack thought about that for a moment and then said, “That’s a good idea. I’ll go ask him in the morning before I come up here. I’ll swear him to secrecy.”

  “He’s good about keeping his mouth shut,” Marcus said.

  “I know,” Jack said. “I guess I’d better go get some shut eye so we can get things planned and get on the road.”

  After he said his goodbyes and left, Seth said, “He ain’t gonna sleep a wink tonight.”

  Chapter Three

  Sparrow’s friendship with Sasha McCall was a secret one. They’d met one day when Sparrow had been picking berries along a trail and Sasha had come upon her. They’d quickly become fast friends. Sparrow made Sasha understand that she couldn’t tell anyone that they were friends because of her tribe’s view on white people. She didn’t want any harm to come to Sasha because of her.

  After her confrontation with Panther and her father, Sparrow had poured out her heart to Sasha about what had happened and how she was still in love with Jack. As far as Sparrow was concerned, she was divorced from Panther. When Sparrow had met Sasha in the woods a week after the first time Panther had hit her, Sasha had seen that Sparrow had fresh bruises on her neck. Sasha had pleaded for Sparrow to let her help her escape.

  It was very apparent that neither Sparrow’s father nor anyone else in the tribe was going to help the young woman. Sasha couldn’t stand to see her friend trapped in an abusive situation and had finally convinced Sparrow to let her help her. That’s when they had decided to reach out to Jack for help.

  “Sparrow, if he still loves you, he will help. I don’t know that I can make the trip all the way to Montana, but if he can meet us halfway, I could do that,” Sasha said. “Besides, you’d be safer travelling with him than me since he’s a deputy.”

  “I do not know if he is married or even wants me anymore,” Sparrow said.

  Sasha said, “There’s only one way to know; we’ll write him a letter.”

  Sparrow nodded and said, “Yes. I hope he will help me.”

  She hadn’t been able to keep in touch with Jack because she could only read or write a few words in English. Sparrow had also been afraid to contact him because she’d been afraid he was angry with her for leaving or that he’d moved
on and gotten married. Even if that turned out to be the case, Sparrow would at least be away from Panther and her father.

  Dear Sasha,

  I will be in Riverton by the date you gave me. Please tell her that I’ve never stopped loving her and will do whatever it takes to protect her and bring her home. I won’t be coming alone. My pa and my cousin will be coming, too. Again, please tell her to hang in there. You ladies be careful travelling.

  Sincerely,

  Jack

  Upon hearing Jack’s declaration of love, Sparrow’s spirit soared and she became anxious to see Jack. She had to hide her happiness because she didn’t want to give anything away. So she kept acting sad and resigned like normal. At night she lay awake not only because she was leery about Panther trying something, but because all she could think about was Jack.

  She remembered everything about him. His sky blue eyes had always looked at her with such love in them. She’d loved running her fingers through his hair that was the color of wheat in the summer. Jack’s firm, muscular body had always been enticing to her and his kisses stole away her breath. Sparrow missed his easy laugh, his stubbornness, and his lack of tact. His blunt words had always amused her and she knew that sometimes he said things on purpose just to make her laugh.

  Although they’d had to keep their romance a secret, Jack still treated her to special dinners that he cooked for her and had bought her things he thought she’d like. When he’d proposed to her, it had been the happiest day of her life. She hadn’t been able to wear her ring publically, but she would take it out and look at it when no one was around.

  Thinking about it now, Sparrow put a hand around the amulet that hung from her neck. His ring was safely tucked inside of it. She never took off her amulet and guarded it especially well because of the precious item it contained.

  Sasha and she were planning on leaving in two days. Sasha would drive her to Riverton in her enclosed light carriage. She had a nice pair of Morgan horses that would eat up the miles quickly. Sparrow would say that she had her monthly so she could go to the woman’s tipi and not be missed by her husband. Then she would sneak away during the night to Sasha’s house where they would immediately depart so that they could get as good a head start as possible.

  Sparrow wasn’t taking anything with her because carrying a lot of items would slow her down and there was really nothing she needed. Sasha had clothes for her to change into and when she arrived back in Dawson, there would be plenty of her friends that would loan her clothing until she could make some of her own.

  As she lay holding her amulet, Sparrow went over the plan in her mind over and over and prayed to the Creator to help her escape be successful.

  Sasha was anxiously waiting for Sparrow on the appointed night. The moon was high in the sky as she stood by the carriage. Everything was packed and ready. She had Sparrow’s clothing waiting for her. The dress, petticoats and outer coat would help keep her warm. Sasha had also decided that Sparrow should wear a bonnet so she could hide her face and hair. No one would know that she was a Lakota woman that way.

  “Oh, Sparrow. I hope you were able to get away,” Sasha said out loud.

  Sparrow waited until the other women in the woman’s tipi were asleep before slipping from it. If anyone stopped her, she would say she was going to relieve herself. Having scoped out where all of the sentries were located, Sparrow had planned a route that would let her bypass them and avoid detection.

  As she entered the woods and slowly began making her way through them, Sparrow was careful to avoid twigs and leaves that would make sound and give her away. Keeping her speed down allowed her to walk silently, but it wore on her nerves and she stopped frequently to listen to any sound that reached her ears.

  After what seemed hours, Sparrow reached the trail she always took to Sasha’s house and she was able to run along it. She burst out of the woods at the back of Sasha’s house and made a beeline for the front. Sasha was there with the carriage at the ready.

  “There you are!” Sasha said and hugged Sparrow. “I was so scared that you hadn’t gotten away. Here, put these on.”

  Sparrow was shaking with fear. She was in such a hurry to get away that she simply stripped right where they were and with Sasha’s help, donned the new clothing. She balled up her old clothing and stowed them in the carriage. The women wasted no time in getting started. Sasha’s team was fresh and ready to go.

  Sasha had mapped out the most direct route to Riverton, Wyoming and prayed that the weather would hold. If they ran into a blizzard, it would slow them down dramatically. They would have to lodge somewhere until it was safe to travel again. As they trotted past the town limits of Lexington, Nebraska, both women began to relax slightly. Sparrow held her amulet and in her mind, told Jack that she was on her way to him.

  Chapter Four

  Jack, Dean, and Reckless rode at a good pace along the trail. They’d followed the roads as far as they could while still making a direct line to Riverton, but then they’d abandoned the roads in order to keep on the straightest line possible.

  As they travelled, Jack was getting to see a different side of his father. He was humorous and teased Reckless mercilessly about all kinds of things, including Rachel Crispin, the girl he’d been seeing for a couple of years.

  “When are you gonna make her an honest woman?” Dean asked him.

  Reckless said, “She doesn’t lie.”

  Dean laughed. “No, when are you gonna marry her?”

  “I don’t know,” Reckless said.

  “Well, why not? Do you love her?” Dean asked.

  Reckless threw a glance at Jack. Rachel used to have a crush on the deputy, but that was all water under the bridge. Jack had warned Reckless that if he hurt her, he’d pay dearly. The young brave wasn’t quite sure how to answer Dean’s question at first and then decided to be truthful.

  “I do, but it is complicated. Her parents do not care for me much, I don’t think. I don’t think they would allow her to marry me,” Reckless said.

  Jack said, “You’d have to talk to Mitch about it and see what he says. But, Reckless, don’t do that unless you’re really prepared to ask her to marry you. Also, think about Uncle Owl and Aunt Hannah. Rachel’s not going to go with you in the winter and she’s not going to like you going without her.”

  Reckless rolled his eyes. “Yes. I know all of this. There is no need to explain it to me. I have much to think about before asking her.”

  Dean and Jack let the subject drop after that. Jack was further surprised when Dean would tell a dirty joke every now and then. It would have been standard behavior for Seth or Marcus, but it was so out of character for his father that it made the jokes funnier than they actually were.

  The temperatures dropped into the single digits and it became necessary for them to start sticking to the roads again so they could stay in hotels and put up the horses in a stable. Reckless made fun of this and told them that his horse didn’t need such coddling.

  “You don’t see stables in our village, do you? Our horses are tough and know how to keep warm,” he said.

  Dean smiled and said, “What’s the average number of years your horses live, Reckless?”

  “Ten, twelve years or so,” Reckless answered.

  Dean stroked the sleek neck of the stallion he rode. “See this fella? He’s sixteen years old and still goin’ strong. Twister might be coddled a little bit, but it’s worth it not to have to buy a new horse all the time that I have to break in. Plus, I want to keep him in good shape so he keeps making me nice foals.”

  Reckless smirked. “I don’t pay anything for my horses.”

  Dean said, “Yeah, I know how you get your horses, but think about this; what kind of horses are you getting when you just round them up and steal them? It’s dark and you can’t see if they’re in good shape. They might already be old and used up. They might be lame or have some other sickness that can be spread through the herd. I’d sooner pay for a good horse than steal
a bad one that’s no good to me.”

  Jack smiled as he watched the exchange between his father and his cousin. Reckless was getting a dose of Dean’s logic and he could see the wheels turning in Reckless’ mind. Dean said no more about the subject, which was just like him. He’d get someone thinking and then let them alone to their thoughts.

  The weather held for them until they were just over the state line into Wyoming. A heavy snow moved through the area along with high winds. The roads were drifted shut in some places and they were forced to wait a couple of days before moving on. Any time there was a delay, Jack was impatient and irritable. He didn’t sleep a lot at night and was always ready to leave first in the mornings.

  When they were moving again, his mood lifted and he was able to have some fun as they traveled. Jack hoped that Sparrow and her friend, Sasha, were safe and that they weren’t having any difficulties. He didn’t want to keep them waiting and he didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary to see Sparrow again.

  Sasha and Sparrow were indeed having a hard time of it. They, too, had to wait out the storm. Even when the weather cleared, the snow-drifted roads made traveling with the carriage difficult because the wheels got stuck. The horses were strong and were able to pull out of some of the drifts, but other times it was necessary to dig them out. It was an arduous task and slowed their progress.

  Sparrow never complained, however. Every mile they traveled was one more closer to Jack and that was all that mattered to her. She would deal with the cold and snow if it meant reuniting with him. As they made their way to the rendezvous location, Sparrow tried to keep her face hidden with her bonnet as much as possible so that people didn’t realize that she was Lakota. There were some establishments that would not have let her stay there. Also, if Panther tried to track her by asking locals along the way about her, no one would have seen her.