Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats - Book 1) (26 page)

Returning with a pan of warm water, Aundy held a cloth over Nik’s wound, hoping to stop the flow of blood. Having Bill hold the rag, she took another and wet it, wiping off Nik’s face and hands.

“Nik, you’re going to be just fine. You’re back at the house and safe now,” Aundy said as she rinsed the rag and washed his face again.

Bill peeled back the blood soaked rag and Aundy handed him a fresh one. She took a damp cloth to Lem and dabbed at the wound on his head that was already forming a scab.

The thundering of hooves echoed up the drive and Fred ran outside to greet Kade.

“Doc’s coming,” Kade yelled loud enough they could hear him in the house. Fred ran out and scooped up Butter from the front lawn before climbing in the wagon and driving it to the barn, following the deputy as he raced ahead.

“How’s Nik?” Lem asked quietly, looking into the room where he could see Bill bent over the boy.

“He’s bleeding a lot,” Aundy said, not knowing what else to do for Lem. Going to the kitchen, she came back with a glass of water and handed it to him. He drank it down and leaned back against the chair, closing his eyes.

“Tried to stop him,” Lem said, shaking his head, then wincing at the pain.

“Stop who?” Aundy asked, hoping Lem saw the man’s face.

“Don’t know. He had on a hood that covered his head,” Lem said, holding his head in his hands. “Don’t know who.”

“Just rest for now, Lem,” Aundy said, patting his arm. “You can tell us what happened later.”

“Aundy?” Bill called and she hurried to the bedroom. “I need more rags.”

Terrified by the sight of the blood-soaked rags in the pan of water, Aundy took the pan to the kitchen and hurried back with another stack of cloths. Nik was going to bleed to death right there on the bed if they didn’t do something soon. Uncertain if the bullet was still inside the boy, Aundy felt helpless.

Dropping to her knees next to the bed, she took Nik’s hand in hers and prayed. Lifting her head, she saw Bill nod and offer her a tight smile. Before she could get to her feet, the doctor burst in the front door.

He started toward Lem, but Bill grabbed his arm, pulling him into the bedroom.

“Nik’s been shot,” Bill said, pointing to the wound. “Lem’s got a bump on his head. Reckon he can wait a spell before you tend him.”

The doctor began barking orders and put both Bill and Aundy into service helping him. When he dug the bullet out of Nik, Aundy thought she would surely faint, but forced herself to breathe and keep following the doctor’s directions.

“I can’t promise anything, Aundy. That poor boy lost a lot of blood,” Doc said, staring down at Nik’s ashen face. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Washing his hands, the doctor went to tend Lem, declaring he had a concussion and a nasty cut. Giving him six stitches, he told Lem to take it easy for a while and stay away from any activities that might bump his head.

Lem decided to go back to the bunkhouse to rest and ambled off that direction, leaving Bill, Aundy and Doc in the house to watch over Nik.

The phone rang and Aundy went to answer it, not surprised to find Nora on the other end of the line.

“Oh, honey, George told Jim what happened over the fence a little bit ago. I’ll bring some food over and Garrett is riding to the pasture to see if he can help track whoever did this. Is anyone hurt?”

“Nik,” Aundy said, feeling her throat tighten with emotion. “Nik was shot.”

Aundy heard Nora’s intake of breath. “Have mercy! Who would shoot that sweet boy?”

“I wish I knew,” Aundy said, starting to feel anger overtake her other emotions. Who, indeed, would shoot an innocent boy? “Doc took out the bullet so we’re just waiting.”

Nora didn’t have to ask what they were waiting for.

“I’ll be over as soon as I can, honey. Just sit tight,” Nora said, hanging up the phone. Aundy knew with Nora there, she’d be able to focus more on Nik and figuring out who had done such a horrid thing.

Making a fresh pot of coffee, Aundy walked back to the front room where Bill and Doc sat visiting quietly. They positioned their chairs so they could easily see into the bedroom where Nik fought for his life.

Uncertain what she should do, Aundy took a wet cloth and wiped Nik’s face, kissing his forehead as she brushed back his hair and whispering to him to fight to get well. She reminded him that he had many, many adventures to take and they’d barely got started on his schooling.

“Fight, Nik. You’ve got to fight,” she said, kissing his forehead again before walking to the kitchen.

Pouring two cups of coffee, she took the mugs of hot brew to Doc and Bill, then went back to the kitchen to stir up a batch of sugar cookies. She didn’t know what else to do to keep busy.

Placing warm cookies on a plate, she carried it to the front room and set it on a table between the two men. Offering to refill their coffee cups, she took them back to the kitchen and returned to the front room, feeling ready to climb the walls.

Not one who could ever sit and do nothing, Aundy knew she couldn’t read, couldn’t sew, couldn’t do anything at the moment other than worry about and pray for Nik.

Rubbing her hand on her apron, she looked down and noticed for the first time the blood that covered it.

Excusing herself, she went to her room and changed into a clean dress. With her hair flying every direction, she took it down, combed it and then braided it in a crown around her head, knowing that would help keep it contained. As she was leaving the room with her soiled clothes in hand, she thought about her little revolver. Slipping it into her pocket, she decided it might be a good idea to carry it today.

Leaving her clothes soaking in a pan of water on the back porch, she tied on a clean apron and began thinking about making lunch. Looking in the refrigerator to see if she had enough left over roast to make sandwiches, she was surprised to see Nora bustle in the back door, followed by J.B., both carrying loaded baskets of food.

Setting the baskets on the table, they each gave her a hug. J.B. decided to walk down to the barn and see if Dent was back while Nora removed her hat and hung it on a peg by the door.

“Let’s go see that boy,” Nora said, taking Aundy’s hand and walking to the bedroom. Greeting Doc, Aundy asked Bill if he’d walk with J.B. down to the barn, knowing he’d rather be outside than stuck in the house.

Nora and the doctor checked on Nik while Aundy stood at the foot of the bed. Patting Nik’s sheet-covered foot, she felt tears threatening to spill and turned away just as a knock sounded at the front door.

Aundy opened it and bit back a sigh when Ashton stood on the front porch with his hat in hand.

“Aundy, I just heard the news. Is the boy going to live?”

“We’re praying he will,” Aundy said, opening the door and stepping back so Ashton could walk inside.  He gave a brief glance into the room where Doc and Nora stood over Nik’s bed, then took Aundy’s hand in his own, pulling her to the far side of the front room.

“When I find who has done this, I’ll make sure he pays,” Ashton said vehemently.

Looking at Ashton, really looking at him, Aundy thought something about him seemed different. Although dressed impeccably, his hair was a mess and a growth of stubble darkened his normally smooth cheeks. His eyes were what she noticed most. There was an odd light glinting in them that frightened her.

“Missy, Dent say to…” Li said, opening the door and hurrying inside only to come to a complete standstill a few feet away from where she stood with Ashton.

 Dropping his head, Li began backing toward the door. “Sorry, Missy. I come later.”

“Please, come in,” Aundy said, motioning for him to stay. “Have you met Mr. Monroe?”

“I leave now, Missy,” Li said and hurried out the door.

“That wasn’t like him,” Aundy said absently, staring at the closed door, wondering what had gotten into her cook.

“What kind of help have you hired out here?” Ashton asked, glaring at the closed door. “You’ve hired a Chinese laborer?”

“He’s a wonderful cook and a good friend,” Aundy said, not liking Ashton’s tone. “Speaking of good cooking, Nora brought food for lunch. I think I’ll set it out. I’m sure everyone is hungry.”

Walking to the kitchen, Aundy wished Ashton would leave instead of following her. She opened one of the covered baskets Nora brought and set a platter of sandwiches on the table.

Getting plates out of a cupboard, she turned around to see Ashton grab the rocks she left in a bowl in the center of the table.

“Aren’t those pretty?” Aundy said, setting down the plates and pulling a cake from the second basket. “I found those down at the creek the other day.”

“Down at the creek? On your property?” Ashton said, dumping the rocks into his hand and tossing all but three aside.

“What are you doing?” Aundy asked, bending over to pick up the rocks Ashton threw on the floor. Reaching beneath the table, she suddenly felt fingers curl around her upper arm like an iron fist.

“Something I should have done weeks ago,” Ashton said, yanking her upright and tugging her out the door behind him. Glancing around the corner of the house, he jerked Aundy along with him. So surprised by his behavior, she hadn’t yet put up a fight, but when he neared the end of the front walk, Aundy pulled back.

“I’m not going anywhere. I need to be here, close to Nik,” Aundy said, digging her feet into the yard.

“You’re coming with me,” Ashton said, gripping her arm tightly and continuing toward his horse.

“I won’t go with you,” Aundy said, starting to panic, trying to pull away. If she screamed, would the men get there in time to help her? So much for thinking she could take care of herself. “You can’t make me.”

“Yes, I can,” Ashton said, staring at her before pulling a revolver from his holster and striking the butt against her head, knocking her unconscious.

Chapter Eighteen

Garrett couldn’t get to Aundy’s fast enough once he heard the news about Nik being shot and her dead sheep.

Knowing she still wasn’t of a mind to speak to him, he rode out to where the sheep were pastured to see if he could do anything to help.

Dent and Kade were there, along with Fred, Hank, George and Glen.

Looking at the slaughtered animals, Garrett shook his head. Why anyone would be so cruel, he had no idea. Trying not to think about the wounded boy back at the house, he dismounted and walked over to where the men stood.

“Garrett, good to see you,” Dent said, reaching out and shaking his hand. “We found some bullet casings by the tree where we found Lem. Looks like whoever did this took Lem by surprise, shot the dog and maybe didn’t plan on Nik being out here. Probably killed the sheep first, then did the shooting because we heard the shots go off early this morning and the sheep were already bleeding out when we found them.”

Surveying the area, Garrett wished the ground had been wet. Maybe then they’d be able to find a distinguishable boot or hoof mark.

As it was, all they had was some flattened grass.

They were all looking for clues when a yell drew their attention toward the barn. Garrett slapped his horse on the rump and mounted on the run with the rest of the men hurrying to follow.

Racing toward the home place, he topped the rise and nearly plowed over Aundy’s cook.

Pulling back on the reins, he circled Li, then bent down to look in the man’s frightened face.

“Missy need help!” Li said, over and over while Garrett looked at him, trying to make sense of his words.

“Help? Who needs help, Li?”

“Hurry, bad man has Missy. Hurry fast,” Li said, waving his hands in the direction of the house while trying to catch his breath. “Bad man take Missy, ride away.”

Giving Li a hand and hauling him up behind him on the horse, they rode to the bunkhouse where Li jumped off, pointing toward the house. “Bad man, Ashton, take Missy with him.”

“Ashton? Ashton Monroe?” Garrett asked, wishing Li could speak better English. As wound up as he was, it was nearly impossible to understand him. “How do you know Ashton?”

“He beat me, leave me to die when I not help him cheat someone when Missy find me,” Li said, pointing down the road. “He hurt Missy. Hurry.”

“Who’s gonna hurt Missy?” Dent asked as he and the rest of the men rode up while Bill and J.B. hurried out of the barn to see who was making all the commotion.

“Ashton Monroe,” Garrett said, looking at Kade. “Li said he took Aundy and rode off. We’ve got to find her. If he’s behind all this, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

“Why he want Missy?” Li asked, looking from Garrett to Dent.

“We’re about to find out,” Kade said. Making plans, he asked J.B. to stay with Nora at the house, and asked Bill and Dent to keep an eye on the place while George and Glen went back out to watch over the sheep and clean up the dead carcasses. Garrett, Fred, and Hank would go with Kade to find Aundy. Li would watch over Lem at the bunkhouse.

 “Any ideas on why Ashton would kidnap Aundy, kill her sheep, shoot the boy, and try to run her off the place?” Kade asked, wishing he’d paid more attention to Ashton at dinner the other night. He’d been so busy trying to ignore the two Raines sisters, he hadn’t noticed much else.

“Not really. There has to be something he wants real bad on the farm. Why else would he try to run her off?” Garrett asked, thinking aloud. Watching Ashton fawn over Aundy had rankled Garrett more than he cared to admit. Whenever Ashton got close to her, waves of jealousy washed through him until it was all he could do not to punch the man in the face.

If he really did take Aundy and was behind all the terror at her place, he’d do a lot more than break Ashton’s perfect, aristocratic nose.

Seething with anger, Garrett realized he should have told Aundy the truth the other night. She’d hurt him when she pushed him away, but instead of talking out the problem, making sure she knew how much he loved her and asking her to marry him, he’d kissed her with a ruthless intensity and stormed out the door.

If he was truly planning to love Aundy for the rest of her life, he would have to learn to let go of his pride and resign himself to the fact that she was anything but a typical woman.

Most women he knew were content keeping a home, raising children. Something in him knew Aundy would want more. Too bright and lively to stay in the house and be completely domestic, she wanted to be outside doing, learning, succeeding on the farm. Garrett would have to give her plenty of room to spread her wings if he didn’t want to lose her altogether.

He loved her too much to consider the possibility of a future without her in it.

Thoughts of telling her how he really felt spurred him closer to Dogwood Corners.

“What if he isn’t there? Then what?” Garrett asked Kade as they galloped down the road.

“Then we’ll go to town and round up a posse and find him,” Kade said, not wanting to drag more people into something that could quite likely end with gunfire.

Stopping at the point where the road met with the lane up to Ashton’s stately home, Kade looked around the group, hoping things went better than he was expecting. “Here’s what we’re gonna do…”

><>< 

A sharp pounding behind her eyes roused Aundy. Trying to remember what she’d done to hurt her head, she recalled arguing with Ashton before everything went black.

Opening her eyes slowly, she realized she was lying face down on a bed. Cautiously looking around without moving, in case Ashton was nearby, she saw an unfamiliar room.

Listening carefully, the only sound she heard was her own breathing. Deciding she was alone, she rolled onto her side to discover her hands tied together in front of her with what appeared to be Ashton’s handkerchief.

Holding the knot up to her mouth, she yanked and tugged at it with her teeth. She almost had it loose when the creak of a floorboard let her know someone was right outside the door. Rolling onto her stomach, she made sure to tuck her hands beneath her then closed her eyes.

Footsteps thudded across the floor and stopped next to the bed. She could smell Ashton’s cologne, a scent she now found nauseating. Everything in her wanted to jump up kicking and screaming. Instead, she pretended she was still unconscious, carefully taking even breaths.

“Maybe I hit you a little harder than necessary, my dear,” Ashton said, putting a hand to her head. When she didn’t move, he withdrew his hand and paced the floor. “You stupid farmers just don’t take the hint. I tried multiple times to buy you all out, but you just don’t listen. First, it was that idiot Nash family holding things up. Trying to get rid of J.B. didn’t work. Who knew the old coot would recover? I thought for sure when I spooked Erik’s team and the wagon crashed, I’d be able to pick up his place for a song. Except he had to go and leave the land to you, the most stubborn, unreasonable female I’ve ever encountered. I only offered to marry you as a last ditch effort to get the land. I could have enjoyed the benefits of marriage for a while, and when I got bored, you’d have just disappeared. Now, I’m going to have to marry you and kill you all in the same day. Then I’ll finally have my land and my gold.”

Stunned by the words pouring out of Ashton’s mouth, Aundy had to bite her tongue until she tasted blood to keep from saying anything. What gold was Ashton talking about? Suddenly the shiny rocks she pulled from the creek made sense. Ashton didn’t want the land, he wanted the gold that was in the creek running through both the Erickson and Nash properties. She couldn’t believe he’d been the reason J.B. was injured and that he’d essentially killed Erik.

What if he’d gone after Garrett? Maybe he had and she didn’t know about it yet. The thought of anything happening to him made Aundy renew her determination to survive this ordeal just to tell Garrett how much she loved him.

“Rest while you can, dear Mrs. Erickson, because as soon as the preacher arrives, you’re marrying me, signing over the farm, then you’re going to tragically fall down the stairs and break your lovely long neck,” Ashton said, patting Aundy on the leg as he strode from the room.

The man had completely lost his mind.

Waiting for the sound of his footsteps to die away, Aundy sat up and tugged at the knot holding her hands captive. Pulling it loose, she quickly worked her hands free. Getting to her feet, a wave of dizziness almost dropped her to the floor, but she balanced herself by holding onto the dresser and waited until her vision cleared. Although her head felt like someone was trying to split it in two, there was no way she would sit around doing nothing while Ashton worked on his scheme to kill her.

Walking to the windows, she hoped the room was one that opened onto a balcony. Staring outside, she sighed to see nothing but blue sky and a long drop to the ground.

If Ashton thought she’d obediently do whatever he said, he really didn’t know her at all.

Looking around the room, trying to decide what she could do to escape, she began working on an idea.

><>< 

Kade and Garrett were ready to ride up the lane to Ashton’s house and execute their plan when Pastor Whitting waved and rode up beside them.

“Good afternoon, gentleman. Going to visit Ashton?” the pastor asked with a cheery smile.

“Something like that,” Garrett muttered quietly, trying to be civil. The pastor hadn’t done anything to incur his wrath. “What brings you out here?”

“Ashton called and said he had a special matter that required my immediate attention,” Pastor Whitting said, looking skeptical. “He wouldn’t say what that matter was, just that I needed to hurry. Since I was going to come out anyway to check on Nik and Aundy, I thought it was easy enough to stop by.”

“Say, Kade, I have an idea,” Garrett said, looking from Hank to the preacher.

A few minutes later, Hank was dressed in the pastor’s clothes, his revolver hidden beneath the light coat, while the pastor wore Hank’s denims, neckerchief, and western hat.

“I always wanted to be a cowboy,” the pastor said, mounting Hank’s horse and grinning broadly.

“Just remember, you stay far back, out of the line of fire,” Kade said to the pastor before falling in line behind Hank who was riding Pastor Whitting’s horse.

Halfway up the lane, Garret, Kade, Fred, and Pastor Whitting split up, urging their horses past the trees to flank the sides of the house without being seen. Hank continued right up the lane to the front door.

Since he couldn’t recall ever meeting Ashton, they hoped Ashton had never seen Hank around town or at Aundy’s place. He would pretend to be a Pastor Whitting’s nephew who stopped for a visit on his way through town.

Adjusting the narrow brim of the wool crusher hat on his head, Hank decided this was probably as close to being a man of the cloth as he was ever going to get. Looping the reins of the horse around a hitching post at the bottom of a set of broad steps leading up to the front door, Hank straightened his coat, tucked Pastor Whitting’s Bible in one hand, and took a deep breath.

Walking sedately to the door, he knocked loudly and waited, praying their ruse would go undetected by Ashton.

Knocking again, Hank cast a glance over his shoulder, pretending to be studying the expansive yard instead of scouting to see if the men were in place. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Kade wave briefly from the edge of the shrubbery, and turned his attention back to the door.

Hearing footsteps approach, he plastered a huge smile on his face.

“Yes? May I help you?” Ashton asked tersely as he opened the door and saw a stranger standing there.

“You sure can,” Hank said, offering his friendliest smile. “My uncle said you called this morning and requested his services.”

“Uncle? The only person I called was Pastor Whitting,” Ashton said, clearly annoyed.

“Yes, that’s right. Pastor Whitting is my uncle. I recently graduated from seminary and am on my way to minister my own little flock near The Dalles. I decided to stop and visit my dear auntie and uncle for a few days. He was just coming to see you when he was unavoidably detained with an emergency, so he asked me to offer my services and see if I may be of assistance.”

“Oh,” Ashton said, not caring what preacher performed the ceremony as long as the result was a legal and binding marriage to Aundy.

Giving all his help except for the cook the day off so he’d have fewer witnesses around, Ashton decided his plan was coming together quite nicely. If the bride would wake up from the little bump on her head, he could get on with his quest for the gold in her creek bed.

“May I come in?” Hank asked, thinking Ashton Monroe looked like a pretty-faced lunatic. The strange, feral gleam in the man’s eye made Hank want to turn around and run out the door. Knowing Aundy was most likely somewhere in this monstrosity of a house, Hank swallowed back his fear and did his best to convince Ashton he was Pastor Whitting’s nephew.

“Certainly,” Ashton said, ushering Hank into a large gathering room overlooking the front yard. “I asked your uncle to come because today is going to be my wedding day and I wanted him to do the honors.”