Tracie Peterson (10 page)

Fourteen

P
amela couldn’t sleep that night. She restlessly paced the ground just outside the campfire’s circle of light. She had no desire for Jim to see the anguish in her face. She was so confused and angry. Why did her heart have to be so willing to jump in where others had bade her to see reason? Why, oh why, did they all have to be so right about Bradley Rayburn?

In complete frustration, Pamela finally plopped down on the ground where Jim had left her a blanket. The summer air was surprisingly cold, and Pamela suddenly realized that she’d taken a chill. Shivering down under the cover, Pamela stared blankly into the fire and was almost startled to find Jim’s eyes staring back from across the way. She had thought him asleep.

Without smiling or nodding, she acknowledged his gaze with a look, then closed her eyes, hoping against hope to blot out the events of the day and the raging emotions that surged through her heart.

Pamela awoke with a start to find it was still dark. She sat up and noticing that the fire was getting low, retrieved a few pieces of wood and stirred up the flames. Sitting back down, Pamela hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin. The fire crackled and popped, while the yellow flames danced in a hypnotic frenzy. She watched the performance for some time, wondering why she couldn’t find peace for the situation at hand.

“God,” she prayed in a whisper, “I don’t know what to do. I feel so hurt, so betrayed. Yet, it isn’t really that at all. I feel like a fool.” She nodded silently to the fire. Yes, that was what bothered her the most. Pamela Charbonneau was used to having her own way. She’d rarely been challenged, and now she felt ridiculous and stupid in the wake of Bradley’s marriage to someone else.

“My parents were right, as were the others who tried to warn me. How stupid I am, Lord,” Pamela sighed. It was then she realized that she didn’t even love Bradley. “I don’t love him,” Pamela declared to the fire. “How could I have been so convinced that I did?”

The wind moaned down through the trees and whispered softly against
the silent night. The fire died down to a gentle, quiet glow, and with it,
Pamela decided to try again to sleep.

“I’ve been so blind, God,” she whispered to the starry sky overhead. “Feelings I thought I had were nothing more than the rebellious imaginations of a spoiled child. I just wanted to get back at my parents for never being there. For never loving me.” The realization that this was her heart’s most deeply buried secret produced the same effect as if a weight were lifted from her shoulders.

“I still don’t know what to do or how to make amends. Oh, God, help me to see clearly what Your will is for my life. Help me to recognize the heart’s calling, when the real love of my life comes along.” Aching and lonely, Pamela pulled the covers tightly around her shoulders and fell into a troubled sleep.

❧

The road into Dawson was barely dry enough for passage, and Jim took special care to lead the horse, while Pamela nervously fidgeted with the saddle horn.

“I’m sorry I was such poor company yesterday,” Pamela called down to Jim. “I had a hard time dealing with the shock of what Bradley did, but I’m much better now.”

Jim glanced up and smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. I knew God would see you through.”

Pamela returned the smile with one of her own. “I intend to tell everyone how you rescued me from the Owens gang. I even hope to encourage my parents to give you a reward.”

“No,” Jim replied, shaking his head. “That would be totally uncalled for. If it weren’t for me, you’d never have been taken from the safety of the Dawson house. I have a lot to own up to, and one of the first things I got to do is face up to Riley Dawson for what I planned to do in the first place.”

“He doesn’t have to know,” Pamela insisted.

“He already does,” Jim answered. “I left him a note, and even though I didn’t sign it, I’m sure he knows it was me.”

Pamela didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what she could say. Jim had his own problems to resolve, just as she had hers. She knew she still needed to sort through things with her parents and, for that matter, to confess her misdirection and rebellion to Riley and Zandy. After all, she reasoned, she’d put them through plenty of complaining and bitterness. They had a right to see her humbled and sorry.

They were just rounding the final bend, when they were suddenly surrounded by six riders. All the men were heavily armed and pulled their guns to halt Jim’s and Pamela’s progress.

“Dear Lord,” Pamela whispered prayerfully, feeling her heart catch in her throat. Her first thought was that these men were somehow connected to Esther Owens and her gang of thugs.

“What do you want?” Jim questioned the men. “We ain’t got much to hand over, so if it’s cash or goods you’re looking for, you’re out of luck.”

“We ain’t after loot,” a particularly seedy character replied. He pushed his horse forward just a bit until it stood nose to nose with the one Pamela rode.

“What’s your name?” the man asked Pamela. His cold hard stare caused her to tremble.

“Pa. . .Pa,” she stuttered, “Pamela. Pamela Charbonneau.”

“That’s what we figured. Your uncle hired us to find you and bring you back. This here man is going to be under arrest for kidnappin’ you.”

“He didn’t kidnap me!” Pamela exclaimed. “Well, not intentionally. He did, however, rescue me from outlaws who intended to hold me for ransom.”

“I don’t see as it’s any of my business,” the man replied. “The boys and me were hired to bring you back. We get a hefty balance when that’s done, and I don’t much care how the matter gets solved with this here man after that. You’re coming with me, and he’s going to jail. You and your uncle can work out the details later.”

“Now, wait just a minute,” Jim protested.

“No, you wait a minute,” the seedy man spoke. He reached down and yanked the reins from Jim’s hands. “We got you out-numbered and out-gunned. I don’t want to kill you, but if you won’t come right quietly, I’ll do what I got to do.”

“No!” Pamela cried. “He’s innocent!”

“I don’t much care, Ma’am,” the man replied. “I’m getting paid to do a job. It’s the first job I’ve had myself in weeks, so I intend to do what I’m told and collect my money.”

Pamela cast a pleading glance at Jim. He seemed surprisingly calm, almost relieved.

“Jim, I promise I’ll get my uncle to see reason. He doesn’t understand what’s happened. I don’t even know how or why he’s here, but I’ll straighten everything out,” she said. She watched as Jim was moved away from the horse and surrounded by four of the men.

“We’ll be takin’ you on back to your kin, now,” the man said to Pamela. Leading her horse down the road, Pamela glanced back with a look of helplessness on her face. “I’ll send someone to the jail, Jim. I promise.” Jim’s dark eyes met hers across the distance and left Pamela with a strange feeling. Why did she suddenly care so much what happened to him?

❧

By the time they reached the Dawson mansion, Pamela was nearly hysterical. She had to find a way to make everyone understand that Jim was sorry for his involvement in her disappearance.

When they came to a halt just to the side of the house, Pamela threw her
self off the horse and, hiking up her skirt in a most unladylike fashion, she made a dash for the front of the house.

“Uncle Bob!” she yelled, pushing back the huge door. “Uncle Bob!”

The room was instantly filled with people. Zandy came from one direction with Riley right behind her, while Robert Charbonneau appeared from the opposite direction where he’d been working in the library. Burley, then Ruth, with Molly on her hip, came from upstairs, and Zandy’s little brothers moved in behind Pamela through the open door.

“Pamela!” Robert said, instantly taking his niece into his arms. “You’re alive and safe. Did he hurt you?”

“Uncle Bob, you must help me!” Pamela pleaded, pushing away from his embrace.

“I will, Sugar. I will. Just tell me everything, and I’ll see to it that your abductor gets his just rewards,” Robert replied. He reached out to push back his niece’s disheveled hair, but she would have no part of it.

“You don’t understand,” she said, nearly in tears. She was exhausted beyond her means, having slept so very little the night before. “I have to talk to you about this. You can’t put him in jail.”

Robert shook his head in confusion. “Put who in jail?”

“Jim,” Pamela replied. “You have to let him go. He saved me from the Owens gang. He risked his life. He didn’t mean to take me. Your men have taken him to jail, and he’s not responsible.”

“Your men?” Riley questioned with a sharp glance at Robert Charbonneau.

“Pammy, you’re making no sense,” Robert said.

Zandy stepped forward and put her arms around Pamela. “You’re exhausted. Come have a bath and some rest. Are you hungry?”

Pamela shook her head. She didn’t know whether or not she was hungry. All she knew was that Jim was going to jail for nothing more than a terrible misunderstanding.

“You have to listen to me,” Pamela said, sobbing the words. “You have to listen!”

Robert stood back, uncertain what to do. Riley looked on just as helplessly, as did Ruth and Burley. Zandy looked up at Robert and, with a nod, turned Pamela toward the stairs.

“Robert, I’m taking Pamela to have a hot bath. Please see to her concerns about this, ah, Jim?” she said with a questioning look at Pamela.

“That’s right. Jim,” she said, clinging tightly to Zandy’s arm. “Jim Williams. You know him, Zandy. He said you did.”

After staring at Pamela with her mouth open in surprise, Zandy lifted her gaze to meet Riley’s eyes. Amazingly enough, he didn’t seem at all surprised.

“Are you all right, Zandy?” he questioned.

Zandy nodded. “You’d better see to Jim, and I’ll take care of Pamela.”

“Let me help you,” Ruth said, putting Molly down to run her own way. “Burley, you’d best keep an eye on her, or she’ll be tearing down the draperies again.”

Burley nodded and went in the direction of his youngest child, while Ruth moved to Pamela’s side. “I’ll have the bath readied,” she said and went ahead of Zandy and Pamela on the stairs.

Pamela refused to move until she’d stressed her concerns once again to Robert. “Please, Uncle Bob, don’t let them hurt Jim. He’s not the one you want.”

Robert started to speak, but Zandy wisely shook her head. “I’m sure your uncle will do what is necessary to see to justice. Right now, Pamela, you must rest.”

Pamela finally gave in to Zandy’s mothering and allowed her to lead her from the room.

❧

Riley and Robert faced off in the open vestibule, each wondering what the other would say first.

“You hired men to go after her?” Riley questioned.

Robert shrugged. “I had to do what I could to ensure she came home safely. Your sheriff and his men didn’t seem capable of doing the job, so I offered an incentive to men who could.”

“You could have jeopardized everything and gotten her killed. Besides that, what if she’s telling the truth? What if Williams isn’t responsible for the ransom notes?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Robert replied. “She’s back, and at this point I only want to know what Williams has done to her, then I intend to see him hanged from the nearest tree! Right now, however, I have some business to settle.” With that, Robert stormed off, leaving Riley to stare after him.

Fifteen

P
amela had to admit she felt better after the bath, but she refused to sleep until Zandy agreed to sit at her side and listen to every word of her ordeal.

“I just have to make someone understand,” she said in a way that Zandy couldn’t ignore.

With a nod, Zandy moved to the bed and took a seat beside her friend. “Then tell me everything.”

“You do remember Jim Williams, don’t you?” Pamela asked.

“Of course, I do. Jim and I were once good friends. I thought he cared a great deal about me, but it turned out—”

“He did care. Does still, for that matter. He planned to take you that night, instead of me,” Pamela interrupted.

“What?”

“He only knew about the person Riley used to be, and apparently someone told him, long after you had come to love Riley, that you’d been forced into marriage. Jim thought he was responsible because of the way he had treated you. He told me that he hated himself for the way he’d judged you falsely, and that if he’d stayed and helped you, you might not have had to marry Riley Dawson,” Pamela explained.

Zandy ‘s voice betrayed her disbelief. “He came back here for me?”

“Yes,” Pamela replied. She leaned back wearily and yawned. “He didn’t know about Riley coming to God. He didn’t even know you were living in Missouri. He just thought he’d come here and rescue you from your misery. You should have seen his face when I told him you and Riley were madly in love with one another. I even told him about the baby. But that was before—” she stopped suddenly.

“Before?” Zandy pressed.

“That was before so much. It’s hard to believe that only a few weeks have passed. It seems like an eternity.” Pamela sighed and looked away.

“Why don’t you rest now?” Zandy said and started to leave.

“No! I have to tell you the rest. There’s so much you don’t know.”

“All right, but you must sleep once you’ve finished.”

“I will,” Pamela promised. She hesitated for a moment, then began to tell the whole story of what happened after Jim realized he’d taken the wrong woman. Pamela stressed that he’d treated her with the utmost care, leaving out the time she had walked to exhaustion in the rain.

“Then the outlaws from the Owens gang took me. They told me that Jim was dead, and that’s when Esther Owens, the leader, read about me in the Denver paper. Zandy, she was the one responsible for the ransom notes. She told me herself that she intended to make at least one million dollars out of my disappearance. She wanted to wire Mother and Father, but I told her she’d have better luck with you and Riley, only because I felt more confident that you and Riley could get me back alive.”

“That’s high praise, indeed,” Zandy said with a bit of smile.

“I know that Uncle Bob believes that Jim was responsible for my kidnapping, and it is true that he took me at first, but only because he thought he was doing you a favor. Jim rescued me from the Owens gang. He risked his life with some drifter named Caleb something-or-other, and he was bringing me home when Uncle Bob’s men found us. Zandy, you can’t let him pay for this. Jim never intended me harm. He never intended anyone harm.”

“I can believe that,” Zandy replied quietly.

“Zandy, I prayed and prayed about all of this. I’ve been so stupid and foolish. Can you forgive me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Bradley has married someone else, a very rich woman in Kansas City. They are even now on their honeymoon in Europe, or so the paper tells.”

“I’m sorry, Pamela.”

“I was so hurt, Zandy. I thought I loved him, truly I did. But when I realized what had happened, I knew I was only agreeing to marry Bradley because it would hurt my parents as much as they’d hurt me. I knew their social standing was important to them. A great deal more important, I might add, than I was. I wanted to get their attention, and I wanted to make them pay. But now God has shown me that this isn’t the way to be. I know nothing would ever have been resolved between us, and maybe it still can’t be, but at least I didn’t marry a man I didn’t love.”

“God has a way of interceding,” Zandy said. She smiled, remembering Riley’s verse about intercession. “It’s His way to keep us from hurting ourselves in our lack of knowledge and direction. He loves us very much, and even though it often seems He has rejected us, He never will. The Bible says He will always be with us.”

“I believe that. Probably now more than before,” Pamela admitted.

“That’s because your faith has been tested. You have found it necessary to rely on God, not because I said He was good or because of what you saw Him do for Riley. You went to God with your own need, and from that moment on, He worked through your faith to help you trust Him.”

“It was the only comfort I had, but now I fear Uncle Bob will hang Jim before the truth is told. Zandy, will you please help me? Can you go to the jail and talk to Jim? We have to see what the sheriff plans and how soon we can free him.”

“I don’t know,” Zandy said slowly. She knew Riley would never allow her to go into town, and she couldn’t very well send Riley to appear on Jim’s behalf. Not when Jim had planned to take her in the first place.

“Does Riley know that Jim planned to take me?” Zandy suddenly asked.

Pamela nodded. “He left a note. He didn’t sign it, but he figured Riley would know it was him.”

“I see,” Zandy said. “That complicates matters even more, but I’ll do what I can.”

Pamela’s look of worry lessened with her friend’s promise of help. “Then I’ll rest. We can talk more later, but there’s one thing I have to know.”

“What is it?” Zandy questioned.

“You will forgive me for putting you in the middle of all of this, won’t you? I mean, I practically forced you to bring me to Colorado, and I was hideously overbearing back there in Missouri. And all of it was because I was such a spoiled child, but, Zandy,” Pamela paused and sat up to take Zandy’s hand, “I’m not that child anymore.”

Zandy smiled and gave Pamela’s hand a squeeze. “I know that, and of course I forgive you. Now get some sleep. I’ve got some planning to do.”

❧

Zandy knew that in order to get to Jim, she’d have to leave the house unseen. This would be a difficult task, at best. Someone was always coming to see her about something, if for no other reason than to talk. Finally settling on saying nothing to anyone, Zandy slipped out the back door and made her way into town.

She moved slowly, cautious for the sake of her oversized stomach. She would have relished the comfort of a buggy, but she knew that sending for it would only draw immediate attention to her departure. Besides, she chided herself, the jail wasn’t even half a mile away.

Since it was only midday, the town of Dawson was moderately quiet. There was the normal mining traffic with wagons of ore being hauled to processing and the scales. The train whistle blasted, startling Zandy for only a moment. Somehow she figured Riley’s voice would closely resemble the same noise when he learned of her absence. Especially when he found out she’d gone to visit Jim Williams.

She pulled her shawl tight around her roomy brown calico dress and kept her head down and eyes to the boardwalk. She passed by several men who made suggestive comments about her condition, and even though her cheeks felt hot from their words, Zandy refused to acknowledge that she’d heard them at all.

Pushing open the door to the jail, Zandy lifted her face and met the eyes of K.C. Russell. Remembering K.C. as one of the deputies Riley had hired when he’d first come to Dawson, Zandy felt a little more confident in her mission.

“I’ve come to see Jim,” she stated firmly.

K.C. eyed her suspiciously. “I can’t let you do that, Missus Dawson.”

“I’m not leaving until I talk to him face to face,” Zandy said with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

Just then, Mike Muldair, another of the men Riley had hired for law and order in Dawson, appeared. “K.C., you’ll be havin’ to come help me!”

“What’s the problem?” K.C. asked, momentarily forgetting about Zandy.

“It’s that fool Jake Atkins and his brother Tom,” Mike said, his Irish heritage betraying itself in his speech. “Jake’s a wee bit in his cups, if you know what I mean.”

K.C. nodded. Everybody knew about Jake’s drinking habits. “Well, the fool has gone and shot up the Red Lady Saloon, and now Tom is tryin’ to keep him from shootin’ the barkeep for denyin’ him whiskey. We need to give ol’ Tom a hand before he puts a bullet in Jake, himself.”

K.C. moved to the door, then remembered Zandy. “I can’t leave with her here.”

Mike moved to help usher Zandy outside, but the sound of more gunshots sent him away from her and out the door. “Ferget the fool woman and come on. We’ll be in for it with Tom if we don’t help him corral that brother of his.”

K.C. finally gave up worrying about Zandy and ran after Mike. Zandy thanked God for the reprieve. She opened the door that separated the cells from the office and called out, “Jim? Are you in here?”

The light was dim, but Zandy could see a man rise from the cot in his cell. “Zandy?”

“Yes,” she answered and came to stand directly in front of him. “Pamela begged me to help you, and I’ve come to do what I can.” Jim looked tired, and Zandy couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Jim replied. “I never wanted you to get involved in this.”

“You involved me, or don’t you remember?” Zandy questioned in a gentle tone.

“She told you?”

“Yes,” Zandy replied. “I guess in a way I feel honored that you cared so much. I often wondered if you’d forgiven me for the wrongs you’d presumed me capable of.”

“Me forgive you?” Jim laughed. “I think we both know it’s the other way around. I need your forgiveness, Zandy. I wronged you something terrible, and I’ve had to live with it all this time. Even before Pat told me the truth of the matter, I knew down deep inside that you weren’t capable of doing what I said you’d done.”

“I forgive you, Jim.”

“Just like that?” Jim questioned. “Even after all of this?”

“Just like that,” Zandy replied. “If you had taken me, Jim, then found out I was content—in fact, happy—wouldn’t you have brought me back home?”

“Of course.”

“You tried to bring Pamela back home too, and, as she tells it, it nearly cost you your life. I think I know that you never intended harm to anyone, and I will see to it that everyone else knows it as well. I’ll find some way to get you out of here. Just don’t give up.”

Jim went back to the cot and slumped down in complete dejection. “There’s no way they’re gonna let me out of here. I’ve got no way to prove that anything I say is true. It’s my word against theirs.”

“And Pamela,” Zandy insisted. “She seems really concerned. She was nearly hysterical trying to get someone to see reason. I think she cares a great deal what happens to you.”

Jim crossed his arms and sighed. “It won’t do any good if that uncle of hers is out for blood, like his men said. He’s gonna find a tree and string me up. This whole thing is impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible with Christ,” Zandy said. “The Bible is clear on this matter. You must put your faith in God, Jim. He’s your salvation in this situation, and He won’t let you down. I’ll be praying for you, and you must do the same. Remember, the Bible says in Matthew 18:20, ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ Between you, me, and Pamela praying, God will be with us, and He’ll answer. He won’t let you be falsely punished.”

“I’d like to believe that,” Jim said, lifting his head.

“Then believe it. God won’t let you bear this alone.”

“All right, Zandy. I’ll be praying.”