A Life Restored (2 page)

“Stay,” he commanded.
 
“And don’t give me no trouble.”

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she watched helplessly.
 
He unhitched the team of four horses from the stagecoach.
 
He barked another command to Bart, who then led the remaining four men to the other side of the stage.

At the first rifle shot, Caroline jumped.
 
Looking through the undercarriage, she saw two of the men who sat across from her lying in a heap on the ground.
 
Blood soaked their clothing and the odd angle of their bodies suggested they died from the same shot.
 
Two more rapid rapports of a pistol were followed by the harsh thud of another man hitting the ground.

Tears streamed down her face as she heard the pleas of the last man.
 
The echo of a rifle cut off his cries.
 
Glancing over to the other side of the coach, she saw his body land on the others.

Quickly, she looked away.
 
Fear squeezed her heart.
 
She would be next.

Raising her knees to her chest, she buried her face in the folds of her skirt, as well as she could with her hands still tied behind her back.
 
Lord, help.
 
I shouldn’t have lied to Papa.
 
But, I need you.
 
I don’t want to die.

The sound of men mounting their horses brought her eyes up.

“Boss, ain’t ya fergetting something?” Bart asked.

The robber turned dark eyes on her.
 
“Naw.
 
I ain’t about to kill a woman.
 
Let her be.”

“We just gonna leave her?”

“Yeah.
 
Desert will kill her soon ‘nough.”

Those were the last words she heard before the robber’s loud “Yaw” forced the unhitched stage horses into motion between him and Bart.

Caroline stared after their dust cloud for what seemed like hours, still stunned that she had come out of the ordeal unscathed.

When she was certain they were gone, she stood, arms still tied behind her back.
 
Looking around, she found a rough metal edge to the harness system on the front of the stage.
 
Kneeling awkwardly, she rubbed the bandana against the metal until her hands were free.

Flexing her fingers in front of her, she stopped short at the blood on them.
 
Reaching down to her petticoat, she ripped off a strip and wrapped her cut left hand.

Her stomach revolted at the thought of what she must do next.
 
Taking a few deep breaths, she walked toward the scar-faced man.
 
Crouching down beside him, she searched for any sign of life.
 
There was none.
 
She didn’t even get to thank him.
 
She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her dress.

Caroline proceeded to the other side of the stagecoach.
 
Three of the men’s bodies were piled one on top of the other.
 
She wasn’t strong enough to move the first to check on the other two, though she could see no evidence that any survived.

The last man lay prostrate nearby.
 
As she approached, she thought she heard him groan.
 
When she kneeled next to him, his body shook violently.
 
She managed to turn him over just as the last spark of life slipped from his eyes.

Jumping to her feet, she staggered to the other side of the wagon.
 
Sinking to her knees, she let the tears fall down her face.
 
Her stomach roiled at all she witnessed.
 
Crawling on her hands and knees she moved only a few feet before she lost the contents of her stomach.

Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she despaired.
 
Was she going to die before ever reaching Prescott?

Then the guilt settled in.
 
If only she had stayed in Texas and married Nathan Finley.
 
She wouldn’t be in this fine mess.

Chapter 2

Jesse Shoemaker turned toward her.
 
This was it.
 
Caroline was pretty sure he was going to kiss her.
 
Part one of her plan might just work out after all.

“You are so pretty,” he said, Adam’s apple bobbing with nervousness.
 
His dark nutmeg eyes searched hers as his earlier laughter faded to a more serious expression.

Caroline let her gaze fall demurely for a moment, confident in the affect this would have on Jesse.
 
Then she licked her lips, before lifting her eyes back to his.
 
She had to wait only a second before his lips covered hers.

At first his kiss seemed shy, reserved.
 
She thought perhaps she was the first girl he kissed, until he deepened the kiss a few minutes later.

Heat flushed her cheeks when he pulled away—not from his kiss but from her complete embarrassment.
 
There had been no sparks.
 
Nothing.
 
Not even a slight flutter of her heart when he kissed her.

What was wrong with her?

He mistook her expression.
 
“I’m sorry.
 
I... uh… don’t know what came over me.”

Quickly Caroline recovered from her extreme disappointment.
 
Pasting as sincere of a smile as she could muster, she flashed it towards him.
 
It worked.
 
Jesse seemed relieved.

“I hope you’re not angry with me,” he said as he offered her his arm again.

“Not at all.”
 
Not at him—at herself.
 
Why couldn’t she manage even a small bit of romantic feeling for Jesse Shoemaker?
 
He was handsome enough.
 
A bit taller than she liked but he had a wonderful smile and a good heart.
 
He was a decent young man and she ought to be grateful that he had shown interest in her, but she was deeply disappointed.
 
Maybe things would work out better with Nathan Finley.

As he led her back inside the house, she quickly made some excuse to part from his company.
 
Spotting her younger sister, Missy, refilling a dessert tray, she managed to convince Jesse she would return to his side after she finished helping her.

Missy smiled coyly.
 
“Did he kiss you?”

Caroline ducked her head, regretting that she chose to share her plan with Missy.
 
“Yes.”

“And was it nice?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Moving towards the stove, Caroline ground more coffee and started another pot, thankful her back was turned towards her sister.

“Honestly, Caroline, the way you are acting I would think you dislike Jesse.”

Spinning to face her sister, she said, “I like him well enough.
 
It’s just that… I don’t feel about him the way Mama feels about Papa.
 
There’s no…”
 
She stopped trying to explain it.
 
She barely understood it herself and she doubted whether or not her fifteen year old sister had any idea about romance or boys.
 
If she did, Papa would be livid.
 
Of course, if he knew what Caroline was doing, he would be even angrier.

“So, no to Jesse.
 
What about Nathan?
 
Has he kissed you yet?”
 
Missy’s wild red curls bounced with her excitement.

She glared through narrowed eyes.
 
She was tired of trying to figure out which one would be the better husband.
 
She had to see which one could set off the fireworks of her heart.
 
So, she devised a plan to spend the first half of tonight’s party with Jesse and then the second half with Nathan.
 
The only reason she confided in Missy at all was because she missed her best friend, Julia.
 
This is exactly the sort of thing Julia would have helped her orchestrate.

“I could help distract Jesse,” Missy offered.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“There you are,” Nathan Finley said, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

Surprised to see him, she smiled, bringing her head up slowly as her eyes connected with his pale blue ones.
 
The slow smile that stretched across his lips let her know the look had the intended effect.

“I’ve been looking for you all night,” Nathan said as she came to his side.
 
“Would you care to take a walk?”

Caroline nodded, placing her hand on the crook of his offered arm.

She could do worse than Nathan Finley.
 
His father owned the mercantile in town, which seemed to be thriving, despite the tough times the cattle ranchers faced in the area.
 
The War Between the States financially hurt her father’s ranch, as well as many others in the area.
 
For some time the Union had blockaded their main route to market.
 
The last few years they had to find other markets.
 
Unfortunately, those markets proved more treacherous.
 
That, along with the falling price of Texas longhorns, meant less profit for men like her father.

Jesse’s family’s ranch was hurting worse than Larson Ranch. Yes, maybe Nathan would be the better choice.

Nathan’s work was stable.
 
She always thought him the more handsome of the two, with his blue eyes and sandy brown hair.
 
He wasn’t too tall—only a few inches taller than her, instead of the nearly foot difference between her and Jesse.

As Nathan led her onto the front porch, he said, “I’ve missed you, Caroline.
 
It’s been far too long since you’ve visited the store.”

A little flutter rose in her chest.
 
What a sweet thing to say, even if she had just been in less than two weeks ago.

“I’ve been trying to find you all evening.”
 
He turned toward her.

“Oh, I thought you must have just arrived, as I haven’t seen you until now.”

A smile stretched across his lips.
 
“So you were looking for me then?”

Looking away shyly, she said, “Yes.”

When she looked back at him, he had that look—the one that made her feel all warm inside.
 
He lowered his head, stopping just inches from her lips.

“May I kiss you?”

Her breath caught, but she managed a soft “yes” just before he covered her lips.
 
A small flutter twitched in her stomach as he kissed her.
 
Nothing big.
 
Not like she hoped.
 
But it was something.

When he pulled back, she smiled up at him.
 
He reached for her hands, taking them in his.

“Caroline, I…” Nathan cleared his throat.
 
“I’ve come to care a great deal for you.
 
And I think you care for me, too.”

She nodded for him to continue.

“I would like to ask your father for permission to court you.”

Oh, she had not quite expected that.
 
Not yet.
 
She barely knew him.
 
She wasn’t ready.
 
Well, maybe she would have been if there had been some great spark in his kiss instead of the small little flutter.

A noise from the doorway of the house caught their attention before she could respond.

“Get your hands off her!” Jesse Shoemaker yelled, moving closer to Nathan.

Nathan dropped his hold on her hands before facing Jesse, confusion written on his features.

“This is a private conversation, Jesse.”

Caroline took a step back, away from the two young men.

“She’s my girl,” Jesse said as jealousy dripped from his dark eyes.

“Hardly,” Nathan replied.
 
“As you can see she is with me.”

Jesse started to lunge toward Nathan who quickly side stepped him, moving off the porch.
 
As Jesse recovered, he followed Nathan, swinging when he was within range.
 
Nathan ducked.

“Caroline!”

Both Jesse and Nathan turned to look at the owner of the voice.
 
Caroline didn’t need to look to know it was her older brother Georgie who called out.

“What is going on?” Georgie asked her as he motioned his sweetheart back inside.

“Ah, um.”
 
How could she explain the situation without making Nathan angry or further crushing Jesse.
 
A fine mess she got herself into this time.

Nathan spoke first.
 
“We were talking when he,” hooking his thumb over his shoulder in Jesse’s direction, “interrupted.”

“He was kissing Caroline,” Jesse said.

Nathan’s face flushed, but he did not deny it.

Caroline’s stomach plummeted.
 
She really had not thought through what would happen if Jesse saw that.

Georgie turned to her. “Is this true?”

She nodded, too afraid to speak.

Turning Jesse’s direction, Georgie asked, “And what difference does that make to you?”

“She loves me, not him.
 
I kissed her earlier.”

The shock on Nathan’s face stabbed her in the chest.
 
His lips parted as if he was going to speak, then shut in a firm hard line.
 
He must have read the truth on her face.
 
For all of her scheming, she was never very good at lying.

“Caroline—”

“Georgie, please don’t tell Papa,” she whined, shifting her view towards the front door.

Her father’s tall form filled the doorway.

“Tell me what?” he asked through gritted teeth.
 
His gaze moved to her, then Jesse, then Nathan, then back to her.
 
A scowl of disappointment settled on his brow line.
 
“Wait for me in the kitchen.”

Glancing back over her shoulder, the expressions on Nathan and Jesse’s faces were no better.
 
Hurt.
 
Anger.
 
Disappointment.

When her feet refused to move, Papa’s voice commanded in a whisper, “Now.”

Rushing inside, Caroline felt heat flood her cheeks.
 
She hurried past their guests and into the kitchen to await her fate.
 
Missy followed on her heels.

“What happened?”

“Just go,” Caroline said.
 
When she did not move, she added, “Papa is coming to talk to me.”

That sent Missy scurrying from the room.

Pulling out a chair from the table, Caroline sat, holding her head in her hands.

She could deal with Papa’s anger.
 
Only, that was not what she saw in his face.
 
The disappointment would be hard to bear.

She idolized her father and she had always felt loved.
 
Her younger sisters sometimes teased that she was Papa’s favorite.
 
She secretly thought she was too.
 
She had always been able to talk him into anything or talk her way out of trouble with him.

But, tonight…

What could she even say to defend herself?
 
That she wanted to find love like he and Mama had?
 
That she was bored since Julia left?
 
That she really wanted to leave Texas?

While true, none of those things would take away the look now etched in her mind.

What was she doing anyway?
 
If she found her life so boring, how would becoming a rancher’s wife or a storekeeper’s wife help?
 
It might take away the loneliness of losing her best friend.
 
But, neither of those options seemed very adventurous.
 
It was unlikely that either Jesse or Nathan would ever want to move west.

And she did.

The realization brought her head up.
 
That’s what she had wanted to do, for some time now.
 
She wanted to move to Prescott.
 
She wanted to live near Julia and Adam.

Late last summer, she lost her best friend and her brother in one night.
 
Julia showed up on her doorstep, terribly abused by her older brother.
 
She had to flee—immediately—to her other brother in the Arizona Territory.
 
Adam was the one to take her there.

Even though Adam had already planned to leave so he could work at Will Colter’s ranch, Caroline had not expected to lose her best friend, too.

To think, it had been her idea for the two to travel west as brother and sister.
 
It was a great plan—one that succeeded in saving Julia’s life, as she learned from letters since their arrival.