"Your gonna fetch me a real nice price." His hands were touching her breasts. She tried to free her arms but he had her in a bear hug from behind. She tried kicking him in the shins with her heels, but he only squeezed her breasts harder, hurting her. Tears sprang to her eyes. She had to get away. Had to warn her family. Oh, God, please let me go! Let me go!
"LET ME GO!"
She screamed out in her sleep, and at the same time kicked the horse's flanks with her heels. If it hadn't been for Heyes' skill with horses the poor animal would have taken off and probably thrown them both. But he was able to calm the stallion and steady it. Then he turned his attention to the young woman thrashing about in front of him yelling for him to let her go. Only moments ago she had been peacefully sleeping in his loose embrace.
"Hey, it's alright. It's me, Joshua. You're having another bad dream that's all," he soothed.
The sound of his voice broke through the fog of her nightmare. This voice was different. This voice meant safety and comfort. She liked this voice. She came fully awake. She began to relax and sagged back against him once more. "Joshua?"
"Yeah, I'm here. You're alright now. It was just a dream."
Just a dream. She was safe. Safe with Joshua.
"I'm sorry," she said still breathing heavily. " I was having a nightmare about those men. I couldn't get away. I tried to get away but he....."
"Ssssshhh. It's alright now, you don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." At least he hoped not. He sure wished Kid were here watching their backs. The sun would be rising soon. Kid would be having a nice hot breakfast. Then he'd nap for a while. Then he'd have a nice hot lunch. Then he'd nap a while. Then he'd probably spend the evening in town at one of the saloons playing poker and enjoying the company of a pretty girl. Heyes sighed. He missed the Kid and he needed a nap.
His backside was in terrible need of a rest and he was sure his horse felt the same way about his back since it had been carrying almost double the weight for the last few hours. And now that she was rested and the sun was up she could keep watch while he got a couple hours sleep. "You feel like taking a little break?"
"I should be asking you that. You're the one who's ridden all night with no sleep while I probably snored your ear off."
"Snore? You? Why, Evangeline, a lady never snores."
"And a gentleman never tells her if she does, Joshua."
"And hopefully the lady won't mind if I snore while I get a couple of hours sleep. I'm gonna be the one falling asleep in the saddle if I don't get a nap."
He unsaddled the horse while she unburdened the mule. After a quick rub down he tethered the animals loosely near the water so they could graze, drink and rest. Then he and Evangeline had a drink for themselves. Heyes laid out his bed roll on the grass under the shelter of a shady tree thicket. "Why don't you read some of that book to me. I'll be asleep like a baby in no time. And there's more hard tack and jerky in my saddle bags. Help yourself if your hungry. It's all we've got 'til I can catch us some fish."
"All right." She went and fetched the book and the jerky, came and sat with her back against a tree trunk next to his head which rested against his saddle and was covered with his black hat.
"Wake me in two hours," he said from underneath his hat. "Unless you see anybody. Then wake me immediately. You got your rifle?"
"Got it right here in my lap."
He took a peek out from under his hat just to make sure. " Make sure you keep a look out even while you read. Here's my watch. Two hours." She took his pocket watch and laid it on her lap with the rifle, opened the book and began reading."This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight"
She hadn't read more than two sentences before she knew he was sound asleep. He must be exhausted. She was tired herself and she had slept for several hours. She felt guilty about all the trouble she had caused him. And for the horrible way she had treated him yesterday. And just then it occured to her that it had been two days since her family had died. Two days since he had saved her life and had tried to save her family. Two days and she had not even thanked him. He must think her not only a spoiled brat but an ungrateful ninny as well. My, God, he had even killed a man to save her and she hadn't even muttered the words "thank you." That was something she planned to remedy as soon as possible. She read silently to herself while she chewed on the beef jerky. She looking up frequently to scan the horizon which was now ablaze with sunshine. But it was still cool and shady in the tree thicket. She looked at his watch. One more hour. He looked so peaceful lying there. She wished he hadn't covered his face with his hat. She would have loved to watch his face as he slept. She liked his face. He reminded her so of a little boy, with his innocent brown eyes. And when he grinned, all white teeth and dimples, he reminded her of a child who had been caught in mischief and was trying to charm his way out of trouble. For some reason she had the feeling he had charmed his way out of many a thing and maybe even into a couple. But his face was covered so she let her eyes wander to his chest which rose and fell with his steady breathing. There was nothing child like about him from the neck down. He had a slender build that belied a great strength. She had felt that strength in his arms and shoulders as she'd ridden in his loose embrace last night and again when he'd helped her down off the horse this morning. The only word she could think of at that moment was masculine. Everything about him was undisputably male. She knew very little about him. And yet she had come to trust him as she had trusted her own father. How unpredictalbe life was. Three days ago she had been a carefree girl looking forward to a new life in New Mexico. Now she was a young woman trying to survive, putting her trust and her life in the hands of a man she knew nothing about. For all she knew he was an outlaw himself. She smiled at that thought. No. An outlaw would never have treated her as kindly as Joshua had. But who was he really? All she knew about him was that he came from Kansas, he had a partner named Thaddeus and he was working for a man named McCreedy. Did he have a family somewhere? A wife or a sweetheart waiting for him? Surely he would have mentioned that. She decided she wouldn't worry about what she didn't know and focus on what she did know. She did know he was kind, compassionate, and understanding. And he was so handsome. He was strong, smart and very resourceful and capable. And had she mentioned handsome? And she knew he made her feel safe and protected. And she knew that he would do everything in his power to get her safely to Alpine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were back in the saddle headed south by nine o'clock. Or at least she was in a saddle. Heyes was once again on the bare backed mule. He was due in Alpine tonight. The best he could figure it would be late the day after tomorrow before he would arrive. And that's if he could keep up a pretty steady pace riding this mule and Evangeline could keep holding up physically and emotionally. So far she was holding up pretty well. At least the mule was more cooperative today. He was managing a good three mile an hour pace from her. Better than yesterdays two miles an hour. They stopped for only brief rests. He wanted to get as much ground covered as possible before they made camp.
They stopped while it was still daylight so Heyes could go down to the river and catch some fish for their supper. After dining on fresh grilled trout they settled by the fireside while Evangeline read aloud from the poem that was her namesake . Heyes lay on his back with his hands behind his head and listened intently as she read the beautiful words. The man who wrote it sure did have a way with words, Heyes thought to himself. He could take something ordinary like, "the sky is blue" and say it in a way that sounded like something God himself had written. When she read aloud the part that said:
"Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen summers. Black were her eyes as the berry that grows on the thorn by the wayside. Black, yet how softly they gleamed beneath the brown shade of her tresses!"
Heyes turned towards her and said, "So in other words, she's a very pretty seventeen year old girl with shining dark eyes and brown hair."
"Exactly."
"Well, I guess that's why I'm not a poet. Because I would have said 'she was a very pretty seventeen year old girl with shining dark eyes and brown hair.'"
She laughed. "Isn't it simply beautiful though?"
He gazed at the young woman as she lovingly touched the pages of the book she had read from. "It certainly is," he said, not really sure if he were speaking of the words or the young lady who had read them.
"Joshua?"
"Hhmm?"
"Thank you. I'm sorry I haven't said it until now. Thank you for saving my life and for helping me. I know I've been a trememdous burden to you and you've been kinder than most people would be. It's unforgiveable of me not to say it until now, and I hope you will forgive me for that. So, thank you."
"Your welcome. And you don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one who's sorry. Sorry you've had to go through what you've gone through. And there's nothing to forgive. I should ask you to forgive me. If I had gotten there sooner maybe your folks and your brother would still be alive."
"No, don't think like that, Joshua. Think if you'd gotten there a few minutes later. Those men would have ridden off with me and no one would have ever heard from me again." Just thinking about that made both of them shiver a little. "Do you really think they're still out there looking for us?" she asked as her eyes scanned the vast darkness that spread out in all directions.
He didn't know if he should tell her what he really thought or if he should sweeten it a little. He decided he should tell her the truth. "Yeah, I think they're probably tracking us right now. But I also think that they had to go somewhere and lick their wounds. So unless they're able to go without any sleep and they've got animals that don't need to rest....we've got a good enough lead on them that we'll be in Alpine before they can catch up to us ."
As they prepared to crawl into their blankets for the night, his words kept coming back into her mind. They were out there. They were coming to kill him. They were coming to take her. He hadn't said those exact words but she knew that's what he believed. She shivered at the thought of that filthy man touching her again. And the thought of someone harming Joshua made her sick to her stomach. Even though the night was only slightly cool and the dying fire was still quite warm, she began to shiver uncontrollably. But it wasn't from the chill of the evening it was from fear. She was afraid. That first night she had cryed herself to sleep in Joshua's arms, and she'd been too numb to feel afraid. Last night she had slept against his chest while riding on horseback. She'd felt safe then. But now, she lay alone on the hard ground with the cool air and the blackness of night surrounding her. The fire had died to embers making it difficult to make out Joshua's form lying on the other side. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, drawing up into a fetal position. Her teeth were beginning to chatter as her shivering became full blown shaking. She willed herself to stop and go to sleep. Eventually her exhausted body gave up the struggle and she fell into a fitfull sleep.
Several hours later, Heyes was awakened by the sound of Evangeline's sobbing wail.
"NOOOOO! Daddy!! Please help me daddy! DADDY!"
He was on his feet and kneeling by her side in a second.
"Evangeline, wake up. Wake up you're having another bad dream." He gripped her shoulder to shake her awake.
She sat up abruptly and stared at him with wide terrified eyes. She was confused for a moment, not knowing exactly where she was. When reality began to surface into her brain once more, she couldn't control the tears that spilled down her cheeks. She looked at him with tear filled eyes and in a pitiful voice said, "I want my daddy." She threw herself into his arms and he caught her in his sheltering embrace.
He felt like his guts were being ripped out. What could he do or say to make her feel better. He knew there was nothing. But he wanted so deparately to take away some of the pain she felt. As her crying died down her shivering began anew. He touched her hand. It was freezing. He got to his feet and drew her up beside him.
"Bring your blankets and come over here with me."
Without hesitation she did as she was told and spread one blanket on the ground beside his then lay down and covered herself with the other. This was better but she still couldn't stop shivering. Joshua stirred the embers and added wood until the fire was once again blazing. Then he lay back down beside her. Even with the warmth of the fire she still shivered.
"Turn on your side," his deep soothing voice commanded.
After she turned onto her side, facing the fire, with her back to him, she was shocked and at the same time relieved when he rolled over behind her and drew her back against his body. He slid in under her blanket and then threw his blanket over both of them. The warmth from his body and the two blankets soon had her feeling incredibly warm. The shivering soon stopped. This was highly improper. And the most indecent behavior she had ever engaged in. But she didn't care. All she cared about in this moment was feeling safe and protected.
"Better now?" he asked.
"Yes, much better now."
With his arm draped loosely across her waist and his steady breathing sounding in her ear, safe and protected was exactly how she felt. And for the third night in a row, Evangeline Webb fell asleep in the arms of Joshua Smith.
What was wrong with him? Why hadn't he just offered her his blanket and put some more wood on the fire? Why had he suggested she sleep in his bedroll when he could have just sat beside her until she was asleep again? And why had he snuggled up next to her back side? Her very shapely backside that was very well defined in the snug fitting pants she was wearing. He rolled his eyes and groaned deep down in his throat. This was the stupidest thing he could have done. Their situation was bad enough without creating an added misery. And miserable was what he felt right now. He was beginning to think he was going to have to go take a dip in the cold creek water to calm his suddenly uncooperative body down. What was it about this girl that made him act like a randy teenager? He just didn't understand it. Ever since he'd found her it seemed like all his senses were heightened. He was conscious of her every sound, every movement, the way she felt, the way she smelled. He'd always prided himself on being more observant and perceptive that most people but this was ridiculous. He decided a pep talk to himself was in order. "Get a hold of yourself, Heyes. You are a notorious outlaw, who has planned and executed countless bank and train robberies. You're a gun packing, poker playing, safe cracking genius. But more importantly you are a gentleman and you don't take advantage of vulnerable young ladies. And you don't let any lady get in your head. You are in a serious situation which requires you to remain calm and alert. You are too smart to let a small thing like physical attraction become a liablity. That's something Kid Curry would do, not Hannibal Heyes. You can't allow yourself to get distracted. That could spell disaster for both of you. So use the nimble mind God gave you and be practical and just calm down." After he finished his silent pep talk to himself he slowly removed his hand from her hip so she wouldn't wake and rolled onto his back. He mentally patted himself on the back. His silver tongue had worked it's magic once again. This time on himself. His tense body was relaxing. He thought he could get some sleep now. Just then Evangeline decided to roll over onto her other side. When she did the tips of her breasts came to rest against his upper arm and her thigh against his. Her hand fell low on his belly. He closed his eyes and groaned again. It was going to be a long night.
"LET ME GO!"
She screamed out in her sleep, and at the same time kicked the horse's flanks with her heels. If it hadn't been for Heyes' skill with horses the poor animal would have taken off and probably thrown them both. But he was able to calm the stallion and steady it. Then he turned his attention to the young woman thrashing about in front of him yelling for him to let her go. Only moments ago she had been peacefully sleeping in his loose embrace.
"Hey, it's alright. It's me, Joshua. You're having another bad dream that's all," he soothed.
The sound of his voice broke through the fog of her nightmare. This voice was different. This voice meant safety and comfort. She liked this voice. She came fully awake. She began to relax and sagged back against him once more. "Joshua?"
"Yeah, I'm here. You're alright now. It was just a dream."
Just a dream. She was safe. Safe with Joshua.
"I'm sorry," she said still breathing heavily. " I was having a nightmare about those men. I couldn't get away. I tried to get away but he....."
"Ssssshhh. It's alright now, you don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." At least he hoped not. He sure wished Kid were here watching their backs. The sun would be rising soon. Kid would be having a nice hot breakfast. Then he'd nap for a while. Then he'd have a nice hot lunch. Then he'd nap a while. Then he'd probably spend the evening in town at one of the saloons playing poker and enjoying the company of a pretty girl. Heyes sighed. He missed the Kid and he needed a nap.
His backside was in terrible need of a rest and he was sure his horse felt the same way about his back since it had been carrying almost double the weight for the last few hours. And now that she was rested and the sun was up she could keep watch while he got a couple hours sleep. "You feel like taking a little break?"
"I should be asking you that. You're the one who's ridden all night with no sleep while I probably snored your ear off."
"Snore? You? Why, Evangeline, a lady never snores."
"And a gentleman never tells her if she does, Joshua."
"And hopefully the lady won't mind if I snore while I get a couple of hours sleep. I'm gonna be the one falling asleep in the saddle if I don't get a nap."
He unsaddled the horse while she unburdened the mule. After a quick rub down he tethered the animals loosely near the water so they could graze, drink and rest. Then he and Evangeline had a drink for themselves. Heyes laid out his bed roll on the grass under the shelter of a shady tree thicket. "Why don't you read some of that book to me. I'll be asleep like a baby in no time. And there's more hard tack and jerky in my saddle bags. Help yourself if your hungry. It's all we've got 'til I can catch us some fish."
"All right." She went and fetched the book and the jerky, came and sat with her back against a tree trunk next to his head which rested against his saddle and was covered with his black hat.
"Wake me in two hours," he said from underneath his hat. "Unless you see anybody. Then wake me immediately. You got your rifle?"
"Got it right here in my lap."
He took a peek out from under his hat just to make sure. " Make sure you keep a look out even while you read. Here's my watch. Two hours." She took his pocket watch and laid it on her lap with the rifle, opened the book and began reading."This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight"
She hadn't read more than two sentences before she knew he was sound asleep. He must be exhausted. She was tired herself and she had slept for several hours. She felt guilty about all the trouble she had caused him. And for the horrible way she had treated him yesterday. And just then it occured to her that it had been two days since her family had died. Two days since he had saved her life and had tried to save her family. Two days and she had not even thanked him. He must think her not only a spoiled brat but an ungrateful ninny as well. My, God, he had even killed a man to save her and she hadn't even muttered the words "thank you." That was something she planned to remedy as soon as possible. She read silently to herself while she chewed on the beef jerky. She looking up frequently to scan the horizon which was now ablaze with sunshine. But it was still cool and shady in the tree thicket. She looked at his watch. One more hour. He looked so peaceful lying there. She wished he hadn't covered his face with his hat. She would have loved to watch his face as he slept. She liked his face. He reminded her so of a little boy, with his innocent brown eyes. And when he grinned, all white teeth and dimples, he reminded her of a child who had been caught in mischief and was trying to charm his way out of trouble. For some reason she had the feeling he had charmed his way out of many a thing and maybe even into a couple. But his face was covered so she let her eyes wander to his chest which rose and fell with his steady breathing. There was nothing child like about him from the neck down. He had a slender build that belied a great strength. She had felt that strength in his arms and shoulders as she'd ridden in his loose embrace last night and again when he'd helped her down off the horse this morning. The only word she could think of at that moment was masculine. Everything about him was undisputably male. She knew very little about him. And yet she had come to trust him as she had trusted her own father. How unpredictalbe life was. Three days ago she had been a carefree girl looking forward to a new life in New Mexico. Now she was a young woman trying to survive, putting her trust and her life in the hands of a man she knew nothing about. For all she knew he was an outlaw himself. She smiled at that thought. No. An outlaw would never have treated her as kindly as Joshua had. But who was he really? All she knew about him was that he came from Kansas, he had a partner named Thaddeus and he was working for a man named McCreedy. Did he have a family somewhere? A wife or a sweetheart waiting for him? Surely he would have mentioned that. She decided she wouldn't worry about what she didn't know and focus on what she did know. She did know he was kind, compassionate, and understanding. And he was so handsome. He was strong, smart and very resourceful and capable. And had she mentioned handsome? And she knew he made her feel safe and protected. And she knew that he would do everything in his power to get her safely to Alpine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were back in the saddle headed south by nine o'clock. Or at least she was in a saddle. Heyes was once again on the bare backed mule. He was due in Alpine tonight. The best he could figure it would be late the day after tomorrow before he would arrive. And that's if he could keep up a pretty steady pace riding this mule and Evangeline could keep holding up physically and emotionally. So far she was holding up pretty well. At least the mule was more cooperative today. He was managing a good three mile an hour pace from her. Better than yesterdays two miles an hour. They stopped for only brief rests. He wanted to get as much ground covered as possible before they made camp.
They stopped while it was still daylight so Heyes could go down to the river and catch some fish for their supper. After dining on fresh grilled trout they settled by the fireside while Evangeline read aloud from the poem that was her namesake . Heyes lay on his back with his hands behind his head and listened intently as she read the beautiful words. The man who wrote it sure did have a way with words, Heyes thought to himself. He could take something ordinary like, "the sky is blue" and say it in a way that sounded like something God himself had written. When she read aloud the part that said:
"Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen summers. Black were her eyes as the berry that grows on the thorn by the wayside. Black, yet how softly they gleamed beneath the brown shade of her tresses!"
Heyes turned towards her and said, "So in other words, she's a very pretty seventeen year old girl with shining dark eyes and brown hair."
"Exactly."
"Well, I guess that's why I'm not a poet. Because I would have said 'she was a very pretty seventeen year old girl with shining dark eyes and brown hair.'"
She laughed. "Isn't it simply beautiful though?"
He gazed at the young woman as she lovingly touched the pages of the book she had read from. "It certainly is," he said, not really sure if he were speaking of the words or the young lady who had read them.
"Joshua?"
"Hhmm?"
"Thank you. I'm sorry I haven't said it until now. Thank you for saving my life and for helping me. I know I've been a trememdous burden to you and you've been kinder than most people would be. It's unforgiveable of me not to say it until now, and I hope you will forgive me for that. So, thank you."
"Your welcome. And you don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one who's sorry. Sorry you've had to go through what you've gone through. And there's nothing to forgive. I should ask you to forgive me. If I had gotten there sooner maybe your folks and your brother would still be alive."
"No, don't think like that, Joshua. Think if you'd gotten there a few minutes later. Those men would have ridden off with me and no one would have ever heard from me again." Just thinking about that made both of them shiver a little. "Do you really think they're still out there looking for us?" she asked as her eyes scanned the vast darkness that spread out in all directions.
He didn't know if he should tell her what he really thought or if he should sweeten it a little. He decided he should tell her the truth. "Yeah, I think they're probably tracking us right now. But I also think that they had to go somewhere and lick their wounds. So unless they're able to go without any sleep and they've got animals that don't need to rest....we've got a good enough lead on them that we'll be in Alpine before they can catch up to us ."
As they prepared to crawl into their blankets for the night, his words kept coming back into her mind. They were out there. They were coming to kill him. They were coming to take her. He hadn't said those exact words but she knew that's what he believed. She shivered at the thought of that filthy man touching her again. And the thought of someone harming Joshua made her sick to her stomach. Even though the night was only slightly cool and the dying fire was still quite warm, she began to shiver uncontrollably. But it wasn't from the chill of the evening it was from fear. She was afraid. That first night she had cryed herself to sleep in Joshua's arms, and she'd been too numb to feel afraid. Last night she had slept against his chest while riding on horseback. She'd felt safe then. But now, she lay alone on the hard ground with the cool air and the blackness of night surrounding her. The fire had died to embers making it difficult to make out Joshua's form lying on the other side. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, drawing up into a fetal position. Her teeth were beginning to chatter as her shivering became full blown shaking. She willed herself to stop and go to sleep. Eventually her exhausted body gave up the struggle and she fell into a fitfull sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"NOOOOO! Daddy!! Please help me daddy! DADDY!"
He was on his feet and kneeling by her side in a second.
"Evangeline, wake up. Wake up you're having another bad dream." He gripped her shoulder to shake her awake.
She sat up abruptly and stared at him with wide terrified eyes. She was confused for a moment, not knowing exactly where she was. When reality began to surface into her brain once more, she couldn't control the tears that spilled down her cheeks. She looked at him with tear filled eyes and in a pitiful voice said, "I want my daddy." She threw herself into his arms and he caught her in his sheltering embrace.
He felt like his guts were being ripped out. What could he do or say to make her feel better. He knew there was nothing. But he wanted so deparately to take away some of the pain she felt. As her crying died down her shivering began anew. He touched her hand. It was freezing. He got to his feet and drew her up beside him.
"Bring your blankets and come over here with me."
Without hesitation she did as she was told and spread one blanket on the ground beside his then lay down and covered herself with the other. This was better but she still couldn't stop shivering. Joshua stirred the embers and added wood until the fire was once again blazing. Then he lay back down beside her. Even with the warmth of the fire she still shivered.
"Turn on your side," his deep soothing voice commanded.
After she turned onto her side, facing the fire, with her back to him, she was shocked and at the same time relieved when he rolled over behind her and drew her back against his body. He slid in under her blanket and then threw his blanket over both of them. The warmth from his body and the two blankets soon had her feeling incredibly warm. The shivering soon stopped. This was highly improper. And the most indecent behavior she had ever engaged in. But she didn't care. All she cared about in this moment was feeling safe and protected.
"Better now?" he asked.
"Yes, much better now."
With his arm draped loosely across her waist and his steady breathing sounding in her ear, safe and protected was exactly how she felt. And for the third night in a row, Evangeline Webb fell asleep in the arms of Joshua Smith.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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