A Chance In Time (8 page)

“
Get under that blanket
with her. I’ll take care of this.”

“
Do you know how to shoot a
gun?”

“
Yes.” Okay, so it was a BB
gun, but he did manage a good shot at the cans when he was younger.
The real thing couldn’t be much different. “Give me the
gun.”

She did as he ordered and, to his
shock, she pulled out another one.

“
What are you
doing?”

“
Two of us stand a better
chance against them.”

“
No. I won’t let you risk
your life like this. Now, get under the blanket.” He glanced at the
approaching riders. Three men. Indian. He’d seen a couple of Native
Americans in Devils Lake, but they had been wearing white man’s
clothes. These looked like they came right out of a movie. He took
a deep breath to stabilize his nerves. If they weren’t heading
toward them at breakneck speed, he might have had time to think of
a good plan.

Penelope had already jumped off the
wagon and hid behind a wheel. She peered around the side of it
before she waved him over. “They have arrows. You better get behind
the wagon before one of them shoots you.”

Partly annoyed because she
was able to keep a clear head when all he could think of was
“Run!”, he tied the horse’s reins to the wagon and obeyed her. The
horse stayed by him but shifted, as if uncertain about what to
do.
He’s not the only one.
Cole knelt behind the other wheel and tried to get
rid of the ringing in his ears so he could focus. He was a
scientist, not a gunfighter, for goodness’ sakes!

“
You shouldn’t be out
here,” he whispered to Penelope. “You should be hiding.”

“
But I’m good at shooting.
I can help you.”

Well, that was probably true. “Okay.
Just stay out of sight. If anyone has to run out there, it’s going
to be me.” He prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

“
Woape!” one of
the Indians called out.

Cole turned to
Penelope.

“That must be her
real name,” she whispered.

Cole peered around
the side of the wheel and saw the three men on their horses. He
gulped when he realized they had their arrows pointed at the wagon.
Terrific. All he wanted to do was get married, and now that might
not be happening. At this point, he didn’t even mind not getting
married. He just wanted all of them to get out of this
alive.

“Woape!”

The Indian
continued to speak in a language that Cole didn’t understand. Then,
to his shock, Penelope replied. Her words came out stilted and
slow, but she spoke the same language that the Indian
did.

When Penelope
stood up, he grabbed her hand. “What are you doing?” he asked in a
whisper.

“I think it’s
alright. I’m going to talk to them.”

“But...” He
glanced around the wheel and saw that the Indians were still
holding their bows and arrows. “But they have
weapons.”

“I don’t think
they mean us any harm.”

He didn’t feel
good about this. Things could get ugly...and fast. But Penelope
looked determined, so he knew this was going to happen whether he
liked it or not. He nodded and stood up. “Fine. But I’m going with
you.”

He followed her as
she approached the three men on horseback who had stern looks on
their faces. He forced aside the urge to shove her back behind the
wagon when he saw that she had lowered her rifle. What was she
doing? He decided that one of them needed to show common sense, so
he held his gun at eye level. Never mind that his knees were
shaking and he had a hard time holding the gun steady. The
important thing was that he
looked
like he knew
what he was doing.

She stopped in
front of the Indian in the middle of the group and slowly said
something. It sounded like a question.

The man who she
directed the question to pointed to the south and spoke to her.
Then he waved his arm through the air, said “Woape”, and made a
sweeping motion with his hand before he beat his chest and let out
a long howl.

This was worse
than watching a movie in a foreign language, Cole decided. At least
in movies, they had subtitles...and he’d be safe in the theater
instead of out here.

Penelope set her
gun down.

“What the-” Cole
began.

She shook her head
at him. Before he could protest, she directed her attention to the
man, said,
“
Woape,” and made a cradling
motion.

The man’s eyes
widened and asked a question.

She
nodded.

He pointed to
Cole.

Cole’s jaw
dropped. Was the Indian suggesting that he got Woape
pregnant?

Penelope nodded
and said two words.

“Are you kidding
me? I didn’t do anything to her,” he replied.

She glanced at
him. “Not you. We’re talking about a white man. You represent white
men.”

He relaxed, but
only slightly. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not exactly
sure but it sounds like their village was raided after Woape was
kidnapped. The Indians here have been searching all over for her.
They didn’t know she got with child until I told them. I don’t
think they want to hurt her. I heard him say ‘daughter’. He must be
her father.”

As soon as
Penelope headed back for the wagon, Cole joined her. “What are you
doing?”

“I need to talk to
Woape.”

Cole was torn
between keeping the gun aimed at the Indians and going with her to
find out what was going on, but he finally decided to stay where he
was. If one of the men put an arrow in his bow, he’d need to
shoot.

He glanced at
Penelope as she talked to Martha, also known as Woape. Cole wasn’t
sure what to call her anymore. The young woman handed Penelope the
baby and slowly got out of the wagon. Cole directed his attention
back to the men and noticed that the man in the middle, her father,
had a caring look in his eyes. That was when Cole realized he could
relax. The man wasn’t there to harm her. If what Penelope said was
true, then he was happy to see his daughter
again.

Woape lumbered
toward the men, her head bowed and seeming unusually small. That
was when Cole realized that she couldn’t be older than seventeen.
In his time, she’d be in high school, not out on the prairie with a
newborn. She was much too young to have gone through everything she
had—whatever the details of her life were. He knew he’d never know
the full story.

As he listened to
her father talk to her in a soothing tone and her hesitant reply,
he understood that everything was going to be alright for her. He
relaxed and let the gun rest at his side.

Woape turned to
Penelope and said, “I go.”

Penelope nodded
and handed the baby to her mother.

“Penelope,” Woape
said, looking down at the baby. “Name of baby.
Penelope.”

Penelope smiled
and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you, Woape.
Friend.”

“Friend.”

Penelope hugged
her before they walked over to the men. Penelope helped her on the
horse. The father wrapped an arm around his daughter’s shoulder.
Woape held onto her child and settled her head on his
chest.

“Friend,” her
father told Penelope.

“Friend,” Penelope
replied.

The three men
nodded to Cole and turned their horses. Cole watched as they
trotted off. If it had been a movie, he couldn’t think of a better
ending. He gave himself permission to relax.

“Do you usually
have run-ins with Indians?” Cole asked as they strolled back to the
wagon.

“No. That was the
first time that’s ever happened.”

He put his arm
around her waist and pulled her close to him. “I’m glad it’s not an
everyday thing. I don’t need that much drama in my
life.”

She laughed and
kissed him. “I’m looking forward to being your wife, Cole.” She
frowned.

“What’s
wrong?”

“It just occurred
to me that I don’t know your last name.”

He smiled. “I
guess you’re right. I never told you. Hunter.”

“Penelope Hunter.
I like it.”

“Then we’d better
get to town and make that official.” He gave her one more kiss
before she climbed into the wagon and he hopped on the
horse.

Chapter
Thirteen

“
And now I pronounce you
man and wife,” the preacher said. “You may kiss the
bride.”

Penelope turned to Cole and
caught his proud smile before he leaned down to kiss her. She
closed her eyes and savored the moment that solidified the rest of
their lives together. Mrs. Penelope Hunter. She swore she could
repeat that name forever without getting tired of it. When the kiss
ended, they faced the preacher and thanked him for performing the
small ceremony on short notice.

“
It was my pleasure,” the
preacher said, shaking Cole’s hand.

“
Thank you for the
flowers,” Penelope told the preacher’s wife.

“
Oh, it was nothing,” the
preacher’s wife said. “It’s nice to see you get a second chance,
Penelope. I remember the day of Randy’s funeral. He grew up here,
you know. We all felt a great loss, but you more so than us.” She
reached out and patted Penelope on the arm. “You deserve to be
happy.”

“
Thank you.” Penelope wiped
the tears from her eyes at the woman’s kind words and hugged her.
“You’ve always been a source of comfort and encouragement to
me.”

“
When I see you, I think of
my daughter. It comes naturally.” Glancing at Cole, she continued,
“Now, you two kids go on and start your new life
together.”

“
Yep, don’t let us old folk
stop you,” the preacher added, laughing.

After Penelope and Cole
said their farewells, they left the small house and stepped into
the bright sunlight. He looked at her and smiled.

“
You are a beautiful
bride,” he said, brushing her wavy hair off her shoulder. “Being
with you almost seems like a dream.”

“
It doesn’t seem quite real
to me either.” She’d rarely known such moments of happiness where
her heart felt as if it might burst at any moment, but this was
such a moment now and she loved it.

“
We should get something to
eat before we find a hotel. There’s no sense in getting hungry
during the night.”

Her face flushed. She was
no longer an untried woman, and knowing what would happen in the
hotel room caused her pulse to quicken with excitement. It’d been a
long time since she experienced the intimate touch of a man, and
there was no denying how she missed it. But for now, her stomach
rumbled, and she’d have to tend to more important matters
first.

She slipped her arm around
the crook of his arm and strolled with him down the dirt road in
the direction of the businesses that marked the center of
town.

“
It’s getting too late
today,” he began, “but tomorrow, I’d like to pick up more lumber, a
better bed, some pots and pans, and clothes. At least, it’ll get us
started on our life together.”

“
What do you want lumber
for?”

“
I plan to build you a
bigger house.”

“
A bigger
house?”

“
Didn’t expect that,
huh?”

“
Well…no.”

He gave her a wry grin as
they reached the restaurant. “I can build houses. I’m also going to
expand the barn and acquire some more animals.” He opened the door
for her. “Things are going to be better for you.”

“
You’re right. It will be
because you’ll be with me.”

With a smile, he followed
her into the restaurant.

As they ate their meal,
they discussed the young Indian woman. She knew Woape would be safe
with her people. There was no denying the love in her father’s
eyes. Penelope prayed many good things would find Woape in the
future.

“
Maybe one day, we’ll see
her again,” Cole said as they finished their meal.

“
Maybe,” she
replied.

What a good feeling it was,
Penelope thought, to know that Cole wouldn’t be leaving her this
time. Now he was going to be with her for the rest of her life. She
glanced at her simple gold band and smiled. No amount of money had
given her the love she craved. The man her father had picked for
her would have made her miserable. Randy had made her happy during
their short time together, and he’d wanted her to move on and love
again. She turned her gaze to Cole, somehow knowing that their time
together would be a true lifetime instead of a short year
together.