Randall Renegade (6 page)

“I see.”

“No, you don’t, Patience. I never really put you out of my mind. I still care about you.”

“I guess that’s why you came after me.”

“Yeah. Thanks for still caring enough to call me. I’m sorry it took me so long to come to help. I didn’t want you hurt.”

“Thank you. I’m not sure I deserved your concern, but I’m glad you came.”

Suddenly he signaled her to be quiet and then stepped around her to peer into the forest. “Time for us to move.”

Patience nervously looked over her shoulder. “Did you see something?”

“It’s hard to tell.” He retrieved the horses. He picked up Tommy and mounted his while Patience mounted hers. They set off again.

He encouraged Jasper to move quickly through the woods, where the snow wasn’t as deep. They had one more slope to go down and another to climb before they got close to the cabin.

As Patience followed, she thought about what Jim had said. He still cared about her. Mild words, compared to the way she’d describe her feelings for him.

But first things first. She had to make sure she got Tommy home safely before she considered
her own happiness. And if Jim had no interest in Tommy, she would have to let go of her dreams at last. Because Tommy was her responsibility and her life.

She forced her attention to her mount, because descending a steep hill was tricky. A fall would only complicate their escape.

When they began the climb, they slowed. There was a trail to follow, but it was narrow at times. Her fear of heights had her clutching the saddle horn. But she didn’t dare close her eyes.

Once they got close to the top, the trail steepened even more. Jim stopped and dismounted, leaving Tommy in the saddle, clinging to the pummel. “Tommy, I’m going to lead Jasper, but I want you to hang on and stay up there. Can you do that? Can you hold on tight?”

“Yes,” the boy said softly.

“If you start sliding, you call me.”

“I don’t know your name,” the little boy said, his eyes wide.

“My name is Jim. Can you remember that?”

Tommy nodded.

“Good.” Jim turned to Patience. “You’ll have to dismount, too. We’ve got to lead the horses over this part. Let me know if you get in trouble.”

“Okay,” Patience said, looking over her shoulder. “I haven’t seen anyone on the down slope.”

“Neither have I. Hopefully we’ll be up and back in the forest before they get to that point.”

“Yes. But Tommy…”

“He’s going to hold on tight, right, Tommy?”

“His name is Jim, Mommy,” Tommy told her, pleased with his new knowledge.

“Yes, sweetie, I know. Hold on tight.”

They climbed in silence, saving their energy for the climb. Jim had warned her not to follow too closely in case Jasper got in trouble, and several times, the animal slid. Her heart leaped to her throat, as she feared for Tommy’s safety. But her little boy held on bravely.

When Jim reached the top, he tied Jasper to a tree and lifted Tommy down. He set him on the ground nearby with instructions not to move until he was back. Then he hurried downhill to lead Patience’s horse. She continued on up in front of him, grateful the climb was almost over. She checked on Tommy when she reached him. He seemed in good spirits. She was grateful he didn’t fully understand what was happening.

“Okay, Patience,” Jim said, “look through
the trees. Do you see that big rock sticking out?”

“Yes. Don’t tell me we have to climb it!”

“No. I want you to take Tommy and ride toward that rock.”

“Without you?”

“Yeah, without me.”

He was standing there holding her reins. “Aren’t you going to tell me why?” she asked.

“I’m going to try to hide our tracks. Another attempt to buy us some time. I’ll catch up with you.”

“When? And where? At the rock?”

“You’re not actually going to the rock. You’ll come upon a cabin. It’s one my family uses in the summer. There should be food stored there we can eat. Beds we can sleep in tonight. It won’t be long before it’s dark. Then we can have a fire without worrying about the smoke being seen.”

“Can’t we keep going?”

“It would be pretty dangerous on the trail at night. It’s mostly switchbacks. One stumble and we’d go over the side. I don’t dare try it in the dark. But we’ll be off before daylight in the morning.”

“Are you sure?” Patience asked softly.

“As sure as I can be. But if I don’t show up…”

He stopped because she was shaking her head desperately. “Don’t even suggest such a thing!”

“Patience, we have to face reality. I’m sure I’ll get there before too long, but you have to be ready for anything. If I don’t show up, there’s a path leading to the east on the other side of the cabin. You follow it. When you start down on the switchback trail, get off the horse and lead him. Don’t ride. There’s a walkie-talkie in the saddlebag. You’ll be in range by then. Call my home and tell them you need help. They’ll come pick you up at the bottom of the trail and take you back to the ranch. Just tell them everything.”

“Jim, I can’t leave you!”

“You have no choice. You have to save Tommy, no matter what happens to me.”

“I don’t want you to be hurt. Jim, Kane will kill you! He’s evil, as well as crazy.”

“I know. But he’ll have trouble catching me. Go on now. You’re wasting time. Remember my instructions. And no fire until after dark. Okay?”

“Yes,” she agreed, but she didn’t move.

“Patience?”

Without a word she threw herself into his arms and kissed him on the mouth. It had been three years since they’d kissed, but it felt as if they’d never been separated.

Finally Jim put her away from him. “You’re too much temptation, sweetheart. Go on, take care of Tommy. Tommy, be good for your mommy, okay?”

“I will, Mr. Jim.”

He crossed to Patience, now mounted on her horse and handed her the reins to Jasper. Then he collected Tommy and set the child in front of her. “Don’t unsaddle the horses. Just make sure they get water and feed. There’s some stored in the cabin.”

She nodded and avoided looking at him. He patted her hand, then stood back, watching as they rode away.

P
ATIENCE DISCOVERED
that riding without Jim was scarier. His presence had meant safety to her. Now, not only did she have to comfort her son, she also had to reassure herself. She jumped at the least little sound, which she communicated to her horse, which grew more and more skittish.

“You’re acting like a wimp!” she muttered to herself.

“What did you say, Mommy?”

“Nothing, sweetie. Are you doing all right?”

“Yes, but when is Mr. Jim coming?”

“Soon. He’s walking, so it will take him longer.”

“Why didn’t he ride Jasper?”

“He has to walk because he’s getting rid of our trail.”

“Our tail? I don’t have a tail, Mommy.”

Patience sighed. She wanted to know when Jim would catch up with them, too. “I know you don’t have a tail, Tommy. I said trail.” She pulled her horse to a stop. Since she was leading Jasper, he stopped, too.

“Look behind us in the snow. Do you see where the horses walked? The mean man could follow us. Jim is brushing our tracks away.”

“Oh. Will he be here soon?”

“Soon,” she said, giving up explaining.

They rode on through the late afternoon. Then Patience saw movement through the trees. She stopped her mount at once and froze. Her horse, however, seemed a bit spooked about something.

Wolves, she thought. She knew there were wolves in the mountains. No doubt that was what had spooked her horse. She shivered. What should she do? She looked back at Jasper and
discovered Jim had left his rifle on the saddle. Should she fire it, try to scare them away?

A rifle shot would be heard a long way away. It might even alarm Jim, causing him to not finish removing their tracks. No, she couldn’t do that, no matter how much better it would make her feel.

What about when she got to the cabin? Would the horses be safe? She didn’t know. How long would it take Jim to get there? Would
he
be safe from wolves? Should she go back for him?

No. You can’t do that,
she scolded herself.
Do what he told you.
But oh, how she wished he was there! Then she reminded herself that she’d been the head of the family for three years. But that was in Rawhide, a town she’d known all her life, and her mother was there, too. She’d never really been all on her own.

“Mommy!”

She pulled to a stop again. “Yes, Tommy?”

“I’m hungry again.”

She dug into her coat pocket. “I have another candy bar for you, sweetie, but that’s all until we get to the cabin.”

“When will we get there?”

“Soon,” she said, knowing that word would quickly lose any meaning for the little boy.
“We’re going to Jim’s cabin. He’ll meet us there.”

“I’m tired.”

“I know you are, dear. But we have to keep going.” If for no other reason than to keep the wolves at bay. She’d seen several pairs of yellow eyes in the darkening woods. The sun had already gone below the mountains and light was fading fast.

Like Tommy, she was tired. She hadn’t slept at all last night. Adrenaline had kept her awake part of the time. Mind-numbing fear had done its share of the job, too.

She picked up the pace, though she felt mean doing so. The horses had worked hard. But she wasn’t sure she’d last much longer. She checked again to be sure she could still see the rock. If she got offtrack, they might never find the cabin or their way home.

It was wonderful that Jim had put such faith in her. But she’d still rather have him with them. At least she would be able to light a fire once she got to the cabin. It was getting dark quickly.

But shouldn’t they have reached the cabin by now? Had they missed it?

That thought almost paralyzed her with fear. Well, she thought, at least she didn’t have to
endure a snowstorm. She glanced up at the sky, noticing clouds covering the stars. Did that mean another storm was coming? Why hadn’t she looked at the sky before?

Because she’d been too busy missing Jim and feeling sorry for herself.

Suddenly she caught sight of something from the corner of her eye. A cabin. Jim’s cabin.

“Tommy, look!”

“Is that Jim’s house, Mommy? Is he there?”

“Yes, it’s Jim’s house but he’s not there right now. But we can go in and build a fire, get warm.”

“Good, ’cause I’m cold and tired. And hungry.”

She groaned. Her insides were hollow, too.

She reined in her horse in front of the cabin, where an old-fashioned hitching post stood. When she and Tommy were on their feet again, she tied the horses to the post, even though the poor animals were undoubtedly too tired to wander off.

She reached for Tommy’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go inside and start a fire. It’s dark enough now. Then I’ll put the horses in the corral.”

When she tried the front door, it was locked. Locked? Jim didn’t say anything about it being
locked. She looked at the two windows that fronted the cabin. She tried to open them, but neither budged. There had to be a way in. She took several deep breaths.
Think.

“Where’s the key, Mommy?”

“I don’t know, baby.” She stared at the door as if she could will it to open.

“Maybe Jim hid the key like Grandma does.”

“No, dear, I…what? What did you say?”

Tommy repeated himself.

Patience had pulled off one glove and was already feeling the ledge over the door. When her fingers came in contact with a metal object, she grasped it and sank to her knees. “Thank you, sweetie. What would I do without you!” She kissed her little boy’s cheek. Then she inserted the key into the lock and opened the door.

“Mommy, it’s cold in here, too.”

“That’s because we haven’t built a fire.” She discovered a wood box with kindling and enough logs to keep the fire burning for several hours. She’d have to look for a wood box outside, too.

With Tommy’s eager help, she got the fire started in the old black stove, warning him not to touch the stove. “Now, while the fire makes things warmer in here, I’m going to go feed the
horses. I want you to sit on this chair and not move while I’m gone.”

J
IM WATCHED
Patience and Tommy ride away, hoping he’d made the right decision. He didn’t think Kane and his men could be too close, because if they’d gone down the mountain to look for them, as he thought, they’d have to retrace their steps back up before looking for their tracks. Then they’d have to spread out at least a mile from camp to find their tracks.

He figured the closest anyone would get tonight was across the canyon he and Patience had climbed out of. It would be crazy to try that at night.

He stared over at the next ridge. In the waning light, he could see nothing. He grabbed a fallen branch and began brushing away the tracks, as if they’d never climbed to the top of the ridge. Soon he moved into the woods, out of sight, which made him feel a lot better. His thoughts constantly flashed to Patience and Tommy. He felt sure she would find the cabin if she just headed toward that big rock. His dad had taught him that trick when he was a boy and afraid of getting lost.

Hiding their tracks was hard work, and he ac
tually began to sweat. He sure had better be out of the cold once he stopped working. But for now the heat felt good.

He seemed to work for hours, thinking he’d never reach the cabin. It was pitch-dark now, with the clouds covering the moon. He wouldn’t mind some snow during the night to perfect the job he was doing. Then again, he didn’t want to be snowed in.

He wanted to get Patience and her son to safety. He’d done a lot of things on his own. But being responsible for the lives of others was something new. He would fight for Patience and Tommy with his last breath. He just hoped they got lucky and got away from that madman.

He caught the scent of a wood-burning fire. He must be nearly there, he thought.

He also caught a movement in the darkness. Wolves, he was certain. He pulled out his pistol, wishing he had his rifle with him. He began to work faster. When he reached the clearing for the cabin, he dropped the limb he’d been using and backed his way to the cabin.