Finding Promise (5 page)

“Did you know the men who talked to them?”

“No, they were strangers, but they'd been in town a few days. Spent most of their time in the saloon, drinking and playing poker. Looked like troublemakers, if you know what I mean.”

Jake knew, all right. He'd seen plenty of men like that. “Did they say anything else that you can remember?”

“Not that I remember. But those drifters talked to them while they were loading their supplies.”

“Have you seen those drifters around town lately?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, they're still hanging around. You can probably find them at the saloon.”

Jake walked to the saloon, but finding it empty, he headed to the sheriff 's office. According to the sheriff, there had been about a dozen strangers hanging around town, but he hadn't seen them for a couple of days. He described them in the same way: no-account drifters. The sheriff didn't know anything about the folks on the wagon train. Once Jake finished talking with the sheriff, he went in search of the doctor. Thirty minutes later he was riding out of Dodge with Doc Parsons.

Chapter Five

“I've seen two cases like this before,” Doc Parsons told Jake after his examination of Promise.

“Do you think she's going to come around?” Jake asked.

“Hard to say, but she's young and her heart is strong, all good signs. Still, no one can last long without food and water.”

“We've been tryin' to get some soup and water down her, but I don't think much is going down,” Shorty said.

“You said she's moved?”

Jake nodded. “Sometime during the night.”

“One time today when I checked on her I was certain she was going to open her eyes,” Shorty added. “Her eyelashes looked like butterfly wings flutterin' in the wind.”

“I saw her do that last night,” Jake said.

“That's good. I think this bodes well for her. This is just the third night, so there is time.” The doctor turned to Jake, his expression serious. “I'm compelled to tell you, sometimes when people have been unconscious for a while, their memory can be a bit sketchy when they regain consciousness. I treated one man who took a nasty hit on his head and it took him a few days to come around. It was almost a year before he regained his full memory. In some cases I've read about, the people never remember what happened to them.”

“But she might remember everything right away?” Jake hoped when she came around she would be able to tell him who was responsible for killing those folks.

“Yes, it's possible. I'm just preparing you for what could happen.” The doctor patted Jake on the shoulder. “Let's hope for the best.”

“Do you think it would hurt her to travel?” Jake asked.

“I can't see why it would. She doesn't have any broken bones. You might as well be on your way. From what you told me, she would be safer with you than in Dodge.”

Jake reached into his pocket and handed the doctor some money. “Doc, keep what I told you to yourself. It'll be morning before long, so you should get dry by the fire and rest for a few hours. I will have two of my men ride back with you.” Jake couldn't really spare the men, but the doc had been nice enough to ride all this way in the drizzling rain. It was also too dangerous for one man to ride alone in this territory.

“Thanks, I'll take you up on that. If you happen to stop in Denver for supplies, my brother, Clarke, owns a general store there. You'll want to see him instead of his competition; he'll deal honestly with you. It seems like a rancher by the name of Schott is trying to take over everything in Denver. He's tried to buy my brother out, but Clarke's stubborn. He had the first store in town, and he says he'll go toes-up before he lets Schott drive him out. The last letter I received, he wrote that Schott has bought out, or forced out, most of the other smaller ranchers.”

“That's good to know since we'll be stopping in Denver. Thanks again, Doc.” Jake shook the doc's hand. “Shorty will get you something to eat if you're hungry.”

“Sounds good.”

Jake climbed back inside the wagon with Promise. He took off his boots and holster before he stretched out on the pallet without removing his wet clothes. He glanced at the woman, thinking he no longer had any options. He wasn't about to leave her in Dodge, since those murdering skunks were still around. They'd assumed she was dead like the rest of those folks on the wagon train. If he took her to Dodge and those killers saw her, they'd make sure she was dead this time, after they got what they wanted. All he had were more questions and few answers. He picked up her journal next to his pallet and started reading where he last left off.

Jake smiled. He wondered if her husband was aware of her daydreams. If she would wake up, she could have her wish to meet a cowboy. She'd certainly given him plenty to think about when he was on horseback for hours at a time. He wanted to know why she was so anxious to go West, and he was curious to hear what her voice sounded like. He imagined she might want to go back home when she awoke and remembered everything that had happened. Yeah, he had done his own daydreaming. He finished the final few lines on the page.

This was some woman! She could ride and shoot, and she had the face of an angel. Not only had she lost her husband and all those people, but her horse that she obviously cared a great deal about. It was likely the men that attacked them took her horse. It saddened him to think about how much this little gal would have to face when she regained consciousness.

Looking down at the book, he decided to look at some of her later accounts to see if she'd recorded anything prior to the attack, which might give some insight to the location of her family's ranch in Colorado.

Jake turned to the last page, still smiling over her account of cowboys.

Jake considered what he'd read. Logic told him those strangers were the killers. He could understand her husband not wanting anyone to know the amount of money they were carrying, but why would it concern them for people to know who they were?

He finished reading the remainder of the entry.

Jake put the journal aside. She must have written this not long before the attack. He figured Mr.Vincent never made that ride.

Three hours later, Jake told the men that they would be moving on. He planned to go at a slower pace than normal, and stop midday to see how Promise was handling the travel. He picked two men to escort the doctor back to Dodge, instructing them to get back as soon as possible.

Jake and Shorty arranged an extra-thick pallet at the front of the wagon for Promise, so Shorty could keep an eye on her as he drove. Before he saddled Preacher, Jake walked to the supply wagon to search Promise's trunk for the leather folder with her drawings. He pulled it open and hurriedly looked through all of the drawings: landscapes, the women and men on the wagon train, and a drawing that might prove useful. A drawing of her horse. All the drawings were very well done, but this one was magnificent. At the bottom of the page she had written
Hero
. The horse was a beauty, big and dark, and his distinctive markings would set him apart: four white stockings and a star on his forehead. No doubt about it, he would recognize this horse if he ever saw him. He would bet the killers took Hero to sell. Such a fine-looking animal would bring a good price.

 

 

“If I never see another thunderstorm, it will be too soon,” Cole said, when he rode up beside Jake.

It was a short day in the saddle, but Jake was as tired of the incessant rain as his men. “Amen. As soon as Harm gets back we'll stop for the day.”

“You think they're going to come back, don't you?”

Jake knew Cole was talking about the killers. “Yep. Their kind won't give up.”

“Yeah. I just can't figure out what they want.”

Knowing Cole would keep the information to himself, Jake shared with him what Shorty had found in the dresses.

“No wonder they didn't find what they were looking for. Who would have thought to look in those dresses? That was a smart thing to do.”

“It sure was. I've read some of her journal from the trip, and she mentioned that a few men rode into Dodge for supplies. While they were there, some drifters talked to them in the general store. The next day they saw men on horseback watching them, and her husband said they were the men from Dodge. That was the last thing she wrote.”

“You're thinking if they went back to that wagon train after we left, they suspect someone is still alive and may have the valuables.”

“That's the way I see it. If the killers were watching them before they attacked, then they knew how many people should be in those graves. There's one grave short.”

“She's going to have a tough time when she comes around,” Cole said.

“I know.” Just thinking about what he had to tell her when she woke made Jake sad and angry. Somehow he would find out where her family was located in Colorado and make sure she got to them. He wanted to go back to Dodge and track down those killers, but he knew that right now his priority was to protect the woman. But he made a vow to himself that he would find them if it was the last thing he did on this earth.