Chapter 4

Riding  a bare backed mule could try a man's  patience real quick.  This blessed animal was going to cost him another  day at least.   Always the gentleman he'd let the girl have the horse.  Thank goodness she was a decent rider.  He didn't think his nerves could have taken riding this mule and having to deal with an inexperienced horse rider too.  The mule just wasn't used to having a rider on her back.  She was used to pulling a wagon with a team and she was letting her discomfort with the situation be known.  She'd  certainly made better time yesterday when he'd been leading her by rein.  He would have to come up with a solution to this problem.  Because it was costing them time.  Time they didn't have.  He wanted to put as much distance between them and those outlaws as he could, if they were following them.  Not to mention, he was way behind schedule to meet Mr. McCreedy.

He was almost a day behind schedule now.  That meant only one thing.  He'd have to ride all night without stopping to sleep.  It wasn't the first time he'd had to do that.  Why, he and the Kid had had to outrun that posse from Diablo Wells for three days and had only slept about an hour a day.  He wasn't much of a sound sleeper any how.  Never had been.  His mind was always churning and working, not letting him sleep. Kid on the other hand could sleep on a bed of nails in the middle of a snow storm.  He'd always envied him that.   He looked at the young woman riding a few feet ahead of him, now dressed in her younger brothers clothes, her hair pulled back and tied with one of his bandanas, his black hat atop her head to shield her from the sun. He hoped she didn't require alot of sleep, because he was afraid she wasn't going to get much tonight.
Heyes prodded the mule up beside the horse and broke the virtual silence they had been riding in for the last few hours.    "How you holding up?"

"I'm holding up alright. Why?  Is something wrong?"

"Well, I'm afraid we're not going to be able to stop and make camp tonight.  I'll feel alot more comfortable if we can get a lot closer to Alpine.  I figure the best way to make up some of the time we've lost is to ride all night and into the next day.  Maybe make camp tomorrow afternoon.  Do you think you're up to that?"

She thought about that for a minute then shrugged. "Well, I can't promise you I won't fall asleep in the saddle, but I'll do whatever you think is best, Mr. Smith.  I trust your judgement.  I know you'll do what's best."

"Let's stop here for a while.  Let the horses rest up.  Then we'll be on our way again.  And stop with the 'Mr. Smith' stuff, will ya.  It's Joshua."

For the first time since he'd known her she smiled.  "Alright then, Joshua.  But only if you call me Evangeline."

"Alright, then, Evangeline,  let's stop here and  rest a spell."  He then favored her with a smile and she was marveled by the way that smile transformed his face.  She'd never seen such beautiful dimples.  She didn't think she had ever seen a man as handsome as Joshua Smith.  Not even her Daddy, who until that moment had been the most handsome man on earth to her.

They dismounted and led the animals to the water's edge.  As they watched the thirsty animals drink their fill, Joshua dreaded the conversation he knew he had to have with Evangeline.  He had to approach the subject of her family's murder with tact and compassion.

"Would you like to sit down over here in the shade?"  he asked.

"The shade sounds nice, but my fanny and my thighs think standing for a while sounds even better."

They strolled under the shade of the trees that grew along the waters edge.

"It takes a while to get used to being in the saddle this long.  It'll get easier everyday."

"I hope so.  My ribs are sore, my legs are sore, and now my backside feels like it's numb."

He stopped and turned to face her.  The look on his face told her he was about to say something serious.  "What?"  she asked.

"Evangeline, I have to ask you to do  something for me.  It's not going to be easy for you to do, but it's important."  He drew in a deep breath.  " I need you to tell me everything that happened yesterday before I got there.   Everything they did, everything they said?  Did they give you any clue about where they came from?  Anything that might help me figure out which direction they might go to hole up.  I need you to tell me everything if you can."  

She was silent for a moment.  She didn't know if she could tell him without bursting into tears.  She didn't want to have to think about that horrible day again for the rest of her life.   But he'd said it was important, and she understood his reasons for asking her to relive it.  She stared at the ground,  and allowed her mind to wander back to that morning of the attack.  It had happened only yesterday and yet if seemed like it had been years.   It had started out as  such a wonderful day.  "It was my birthday, you know," she told him as she leaned against the trunk of a tree and stared out across the river and began her recount of the worst day of her life:

Her father and her thirteen year old brother, Gabe, were the only ones who ever called her Evie.  Everyone else, including her mother, called her by her whole name, Evangeline.  She knew that all it would take was a little pleading on her and her mother's part and her father would give in.  He always did.  She watched her mother and her father now as she gathered a bouquet of bluebonnets that grew in abundance here in this beautiful valley.  There couldn't be a couple more in love than her parents.   They were always laughing and teasing each other.  Finding any excuse to touch each other. She hoped to find a love like that someday.  And  that was one reason for their move to New Mexico from Texas.  Her prospects for finding a husband on their secluded little ranch had not been very good and she wasn't getting any younger.  Everyone knew if you weren't married or betrothed by the age of twenty-one you were considered a spinster.  "You are far too beautiful and smart to end up living here with me and your Daddy for the rest of your life.  I want you to know a love like he and I have.  I want you to find your 'Gabriel'."  That's what her mama had told her.    

Evangeline watched now from the shade of the forest near their camp as her father lifted her mother off the ground and twirled her petite body around and around, and finally settled her back on the ground as he kissed her passionately.  They were a striking couple to watch, he tall with darkly handsome features and deep blue-gray eyes,  she tiny and petite, fair and blond with eyes like clear blue skies.  Her father and her brother were going into the forest to hunt for meat.  Evangeline smiled seeing her parents share such a passionate goodbye, when the parting was only to be for a few hours.  Was her 'Gabriel' out there somewhere?  She hoped she would find out soon.  She had had a good life in Texas, and she was going to miss the ranch and the friends she had left behind.  But the future lay in New Mexico.

A few hours later, Evangeline was headed to the creek to draw fresh water for supper.  A supper of fried rabbit that Daddy and Gabe had caught.  Daddy was frying it up now.  Mama wasn't much of a cook. They didn't teach that in finishing school.  As she kneeled by the creek to draw water her hand froze. She stood quickly dropping the bucket just as he grabbed her from behind.  She had smelled him before she had heard him.  And before she could run, it was too late.  His left arm was locked around her waist under her breasts while his right hand held a knife to her throat.  "Don't scream and don't fight and no harm will come to you."  His breath smelled like sour whiskey and rotting meat.  His body reeked of sweat and urine.  She fought the urge to vomit.  But she couldn't help but gag.  He forced her to walk through the forest towards her family's campsite.  "Daddy will save me.  Daddy will save me."  She kept repeating those words over and over in her head.  They got closer to the campsite and her hope of salvation faded as she heard the blood curdling screams of her mother.  When they emerged from the trees she saw the other three men.  And she saw her daddy and  her brother. Both were being tied to the wheels of the wagon.  Defenseless, they were beaten repeatedly.  She couldn't see her mother but she could hear her begging someone to stop, to please stop. There was no one to help them.  They were going to die.  Then the filthy man holding her released her and she fell limply to the ground.  Her mind was screaming at her to run, scream, hit, kick do whatever it took to get away, but her body was unable to put her thoughts and her desires into action. She could only imagine with horror what was happening to her mother, who's shouting pleas  were  now only  weak incoherent mumblings. "Go help her!" her mind shouted at her again.  But again her legs refused to obey and she remained there on the dusty ground at the feet of the man who was obviously the leader of this band of murderers.  He stood over her in his ridiculous clothes and told her that she needn't fear the same fate as her mother, he wouldn't allow the others to touch her, because she had to be unsoiled to bring a top price.  It was as if she had cotton in her ears.  She could hear everything going on around her but it was muffled and distorted.  She felt like she was floating in a fog. This couldn't be happening. It all seemed to last forever, when in reality it had all happened in a few minutes. "Oh, God, wouldn't somebody please help them!"   She tried to scream out loud but no sound would come.  What good would it do anyway.  Nobody would hear her.  They hadn't seen any one on the trail since they'd left Pecos three days ago.  "God, please let me die.  Don't let them take me."

" And the last thing I remember before passing out is the gunshots."  

   

Heyes blood ran cold as she told him what happened.  It was just as he had thought.  If he'd gotten there five minutes later, they would have ridden off with her and sold her to a brothel.  He'd heard stories of virgin girls being sold across the border in Mexico for thousands of dollars.  That meant he'd not only killed one of their gang but had cheated them out of a chance to make a good bit of money.  No doubt about it .  They would be looking for them.  They would be after her first of all.  And taking a little revenge on him would just be a bonus for them.   With any luck the two he'd wounded wouldn't be able to ride yet and the one he'd missed would be too cowardly to strike out after them on his own.  But for their own safety he had to think in terms of worst case scenario.  And at the worst, all three men were riding hard to catch up to them.

Joshua came up beside her and took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.  She squeezed his in return feeling comforted by the small gesture.  "And you'd never seen any of them before that day.  Like maybe back in Pecos or Fort Worth?"  he asked.

"No. I'd never seen any of them before.  I would have remembered seeing men who looked like that."  

Somehow she had managed to tell him everything without breaking down. It all seemed surreal.  Almost like remembering a dream.
  

Once again he sought her gaze, and when he found it he saw the pain there.  "Thank you for telling me.  I know it was hard.  I'm sorry I had to put you through it again."

The sincerity and compassion that radiated from his warm brown eyes made her want to cry, but she didn't.  Instead she wrapped her arms around his middle and laid her head on his chest.  He was startled for the briefest second but then he put his arms around her and held her.  He understood her need for the comfort of a human touch.  And so he stood there silently in the shade of the enormous pines and gave her the comfort she needed. 

                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"You know how to handle a gun I'm assuming, based on our first meeting last night,"  he said to her as they rode late in the afternoon.

"Again, I'm sorry about that.  And yes I can shoot.   Daddy made sure I knew how to protect myself if the need ever arose.   I'm better with a rifle than a pistol though."

"Well, I'm sure you noticed the rifle there attached to the saddle and I want you to keep it with you at all times.  Understand?"  His voice sounded grave.

"Yes, sir,  I understand."  She gave him a mock salute.  He gave her that dimpled smile she was starting to like very much.

They stopped once to watch the sun  as it set behind the mountains to their west. 

"God is still good."  She didn't realize she had said the words out loud. He smiled to himself watching her enjoy the beauty of the setting sun, glad she was still able to hold on to her faith in spite of all that had happened to her.  He knew then that she would be alright. It would take a while for the wounds to heal, but heal they would.  They had ridden in virtual silence all day long.  He really wanted to talk to her and ask her the questions that were burning in his mind, like where had they been headed, where had they come from, did she have family waiting for her?  He  knew she would come around soon enough and he could talk to her about all of that but he didn't want to push her just yet.   And so they rode in silence for quite a while after the darkness fell and a bright full moon rose high in the sky providing enough light to safely travel on the rocky terrain.  Only the sound of horse and mule hooves trudging slowly along  the rocky ground and the occasional howl of a coyote was heard against the background of crickets and katydid's.  She was the one to finally break the silence. \

 "Uuhh, Joshua?"

"Hhhhmmm?"

"I'm going to fall asleep and fall off this horse if you don't talk to me and keep me awake."

"Alright, what would you like me to talk about?"

"I don't know.  Tell me about yourself and your friend who's waiting for you."

"Oh, Thaddeus.  Well there's not much to tell.  We grew up together.  Our mothers were first cousins, so me and Thaddeus are second cousins.  We had the same great grandparents.  His family had a farm about a mile from me and my folks.    Thaddeus was born when I was two.  I kinda remember when he was a baby, but not much. The first real memories I have of Thaddeus are of him following me around everywhere I went when I was about four or five. I reckon we've been joined at the hip ever since.  That's what our folks used to say about us anyway."

"So you've known him your whole life."

"Yep."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Kansas."

She yawned.

"You know I've had a little experience with trying to stay awake in the saddle.  It's usually the one who's talking that stays awake. So maybe you should be the one telling me about yourself.  Like for instance, how did your folks come up with the name, Evangeline?"

She laughed.  It was a nice laugh he thought. "I'm named for the heroine in a poem, called Evangeline.  It was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  And my brother was named for the hero, Gabriel.  Have you ever read it?"

"No, I've never heard of it."

"It was my mama's favorite.  She would read it aloud to us all the time.  It's  one of the books in that bundle you brought with us."

"What's it about?"

"It's the story of two young lovers, Evangeline and Gabriel, who are separated when the king comes and takes possession of  all the lands of their village and everyone is forced to leave.  And Evangeline spends her whole life searching for Gabriel."

"Does she ever find him?"

Evangeline looked over at the moonlit profile of the man riding beside her.  His friend was right, even on a bare backed mule he looked like he belonged there.  Graceful and at ease.  He was beautiful to watch even in this dim light.    "Yes, she finds him."

"Good. I like happy endings."

"Well, now I didn't say it ends happily, just that she finds him. Perhaps you would like to read it."

"Or maybe  you could read it out loud to me. Like your mother used to do."

"All right.  Starting tomorrow then."

"You seem very educated to be so young, Evangeline.  You must have gone to some fine schools."

"No. My mama taught Gabe and me at home.   I never went to a formal school.  But Mama did.  She was born and raised in Nashville.  She went to the finest schools that money could buy.  She even went to finishing school.  She taught me to love literature and art and music.  She had always hoped I could attend The Boston Conservatory to study music.  It was the only school who would accept a girl.  Mama sent several letters to them,  but it was just too expensive."

"What kind of music did you want to study?"

"Mama taught me to play piano when I was just a little bitty girl.  In fact I can't remember a time when I couldn't play.    Mama was a very accomplished pianist herself, but she said I was a  prodigy.   It just sort of came naturally to me.  Sort of like you and horses I guess."

It pleased him to know she had been listening when he'd told her about his natural way with horses.  "So how did you and your family end up all the way out here?"

"Well, that's a long story."

"Long stories are my favorite kind.  Besides the longer the story the longer you stay awake."

And so for the next hour she told the story that she had heard many times as a child about how her father, a poor orphan turned street-wise con man and gambler, had met and fallen helplessly in love with a debutant. And how her mother, the daughter of a wealthy banker, an educated lady with the promise of marrying into one of the best families in Nashville had succumbed to the charms of a handsome scoundrel. The two had eloped because Lilly's parents had forbidden her to ever see Nate .  When Lilly's parents found out she was married to Nate they never spoke to her again and refused to see her or accept Evangeline's father.  She and Gabe had never met their  grandparents or their two aunts.   Nate and Lilly had moved west to Arkansas and later on to Texas territory and had begun a family there.
  

"Your mother gave all that up just to marry your father?"

"Yes, she did.  Terribly romantic, isn't it?"  She became very quiet and pensive for a moment.  "Or very stupid some people might say?"  She didn't know why but she hoped he didn't think it was stupid.

"I guess it all depends on where your priorities lie."  He wasn't about to tell her he thought it was stupid.

"I used to hear my daddy tell my mama when he didn't think Gabe or I could hear, that she would have been better off if she hadn't married him.  He would say that if he'd really loved her like he claimed he did, he would never have taken her away from her family and the opportunities she would have had to have a comfortable life."  Her eyes were closing and she was becoming more and more drowsy, but she kept talking.   "Of course Mama...yawn...would always say that all that priviledge and wealth meant nothing without her one true love, but...yawn...Daddy always felt like he wasn't good enough for her and that he'd cheated us kids out of a better life.  That's why we were leaving Texas.  Daddy wanted to make a better life for us.  Wanted me to meet a nice young man and get married, have kids... all that."   She sighed heavily.

"Where were you headed?"

"We were...yawn..headed to New Mexico.  Daddy had an old friend there who was supposed to help him with some land investments.  I think he was hoping to get rich quick."

"So  you have family back in Nashville?'

"Yes, as far as I know.  My mother's two sisters are still alive I think."  Her head was beginning to nod and her words were beginning to slur.

"I think we need to stop here for a little bit."

"If we stop and I get off this horse, I don't think I'll be able to get back on."

"I know.  That's why I'm gonna ride with you."

Even in the pale light of  the moon, he could see her stormy eyes grow wide.  He knew it would be considered improper in her eyes.  But propriety had to be set aside when you were out on the trail trying to survive.   She wasn't going to be able to stay awake and he couldn't risk her falling off the horse and getting hurt.  Or even worse causing the horse to get hurt.   Without a horse they were both in big trouble.   So he would ride with her and let her sleep.  Besides it was the perfect excuse to stop straddling this mule's bony spine.

He dismounted the mule and tied her lead, which was just a length of grass rope,  to his horse's saddle horn.

"Now scoot as far forward in the saddle as you can and still be comfortable."

When she had done just that he swung himself up into the saddle behind her.  Surprisingly there was just enough room to hold both of them in the saddle seat as long as he stayed high. After removing his hat from her head and placing it back on his own, he snaked his arms underneath hers and took the reins.

"Now you can lean back against me and get some sleep.  I promise I'll be a perfect gentleman.  I know you probably think this isn't proper but you've got to do what you have to in situations like this if you want to stay out of trouble.  So just trust me and get some sleep, alright?"

The prospect of leaning back against the solid warm frame of this handsome man was more than a little unnerving to her.  It really wasn't proper, but then again under the circumstances what did propriety matter.  He was only being practical.  And she had promised to do what he said when he said.   And she was so very sleepy.   Her sleepy body waged a momentary war with her mind which was fearful of the unknown. And with her morality which was screaming to her  that this was almost sinful.  Her body won and she gave in to the urge and leaned back against his chest and rested her head on his left shoulder.

"Comfortable?"  His soothing baritone sounded in her ear.

"Uh huh."

"Good.  Then get some sleep,"  he said again in that deep, comforting voice she was beginning to like as much as his dimpled smile.  Only now with her back to his chest she could not only hear him speak, but feel the deep vibrations of his voice as they passed through her.

"Alright, I'll try."  But she didn't think it was going to be that easy now, even as sleepy and exhausted as she was. The proximity of this man's body to her own had her very unsettled. She had never touched a man in such an intimate way before. What would her mother think?  And what would her father have done if he'd ever caught her riding double like this with a man?  Once again her mother's words came into her mind, "Desperate times, my darling." And her father's words as well, "You've got to know how to play the hand your dealt."  So she willed her tense body to relax.  Soon the sway of the horse beneath her and the enveloping scent and warmth of the man behind her had the effect of a swaddled baby being rocked by its mother and she was asleep.

Heyes felt her tense body gradually ease and eventually go limp in front of him.  Her head fell into the crook of his neck. Her soft steady breathing let him know she was asleep.  Good.   Maybe now he could  let the tension in his body ease.  In spite of the exhaustion, the possibility of dangerous men trailing them and the stress of being way behind schedule he was still vastly aware that it was a warm, soft, vulnerable female snuggled in his arms, on his chest and in between his legs.  He hadn't expected this kind of reaction when he'd suggested that they ride double.  Maybe he'd just been without the company of a woman for too long.  Or maybe he was beginning to show an amazing lack of character like he'd accused the Kid of showing not long ago.  Either way he had to keep reminding himself that she was a very scared, very young  and very innocent woman who was relying on him now for her survival.  The last thing she needed was to be worried about her virtue.  No.  She trusted him.  He was sure of that.  And he could not...would not ....betray that trust.  "'Less'n you get careless in the clinches Heyes."  That's what the Kid had said to him before, when it came to controlling his emotions where  a woman was concerned.    Nobody had to tell him how to handle himself in the clinches. But it didn't hurt to get reminded how,  when the clinches were sitting this close, and breathing softly against his throat.