A Ransomed Heart (20 page)

“She will be fine.” And she smiled at the
man; he nodded his head and shut the door.

Annabelle recognized the look he had given as the same one
which had resided on Logan’s face while she was most ill. It was no secret that Little Bear loved his wife dearly; it was evident in their interactions. She knew Logan had feelings for her, but could he love her like Little Bear loves Singing Bird?  The idea caused her to shake all over. He must love her; why else would he be going to see Mr. Sevier? He has gone to plead for her case.

Suddenly she was very grateful. She had become one of his people, a true occupant of Hope. These people were
incredibly lucky to have such a man to care for them. There was Little Bear and his beautiful wife and their soon-to-be child.  Not to mention the men in his gang, Kit and his mother, and now her.  She felt the lump welling up in her throat and she choked it back with a sip of coffee. He had come to her rescue; he was her very own hero.

Then in an instant it hit her. She knew what needed to happen
. She knew how she could help everyone, save everyone she loved. Desperately she pulled herself up ignoring the pain and hobbled over to the ladder which led to the loft. One slow step after another she climbed to the top, careful not to bang her leg on the ladder or opening. Pulling a shirt and pants off the makeshift shelves, she sat on Logan’s bed and undid her dress. His smell again wafted off the bedding and she sucked in a deep breath, renewing her strength. Once her dress was off she tore a strip off her petticoat and wrapped it tightly around her leg. Hopefully it would hold the leg muscle in place enough it wouldn’t hurt as badly.

Once she was done with that she slipped her leg into the pants a
nd pulled them up, they were big, especially since she had lost weight from her injury, but it didn’t matter; she buttoned up one of the shirts and realized it was one of Logan’s, it would be a comfort to have something of his near her. Gathering her hair up in her hands she pulled it into a braid and tied it off at the end. She was ready and carefully she pushed herself back off the bed. The wrap did a fair job of holding the leg still and she moved a little more swiftly to the ladder and descended, again careful not to bump it. Once her feet hit the floor she moved into the room and found her boots where they had been set after her ordeal. Slipping her feet into them she quickly laced them up and then went to the kitchen.

The first thing she did was leave a not
e for Mama. Next she gathered some bread, cheese, and strips of meat into a burlap bag and slung it over her shoulder. There wasn’t anything else to do but slip away as quietly as possible. She opened the front door and headed down the path to the barn. The horse she rode before was standing in her stall and Annabelle quickly picked a saddle off the rail and slipped it up on the horse’s back. She had to stand on her toes to reach and the flex of the muscle caused her some pain. Drawing a deep breath she hurried and pulled the belly strap around the animal and tightened it as best she could by putting it over her shoulder, back to the horse and standing up. Again pain shot though her leg and she quickly latched the belt and leaned against the horse for some support.

This was going to be harder than she imagined
, but it was going to be worth it. Her family would be safe and if she hurried she would be able to stop Logan from being hurt. It wasn’t until she had mounted the horse and led it up the hill towards the stream that she realized she had no idea where she needed to go. If she went to the left she would find her way home, she knew that, but if she went right she would find Mr. Sevier’s house somewhere down the line. Then she remembered what Kit had said, if she followed the river she would reach Regency. She looked over her shoulder and back at the little town of Hope. Knowing full well she had lost her mind she turned the horse towards Sage Creek. It was crazy to think about going out on her own, but she was in love, and she knew it would be madness to go another day without Logan. Annabelle did her best to relax her leg, but it didn’t help much with the jogging of the horse. As they continued on, the terrain got steep and rocky and Annabelle was doing her best to hurry along, but every missed step was like someone was pushing, then digging, then cutting into her leg. It burned with pain and she had to focus her mind on what she was doing in order to keep alert. The horse moved forward like it knew exactly where they were going, but all Annabelle could hope was that she would recognize something, and soon.

Finally the sun
began to set. She was nowhere close to where she wanted to be, and it frightened her a little bit. Then she had to remind herself she was on a mission and she needed to decide how she would proceed.  Closing her eyes she listened to the sounds around her, soon she could hear the stream and felt certain she was headed in the right direction. Her leg was sore but she pushed onward as the sun crept its way out of the sky. Finally after a long day of riding she approached an area she recognized. In the scrub and juniper trees she made out the faint outline of a campfire. Near it were logs, and the grass was pressed down from the presence of men. She had found it!

As she
approached she looked around for any evidence that Logan or Kit had been here, but there was none. She knew if she followed the stream she would find the town of Regency. Pulling her horse to a stop she slid down and stiffly landed on the ground. It was almost more than she could bear when her weight landed on her leg, and she stumbled to the nearest log. She needed to eat something and get some water before she could go on and her leg needed a rest. Her horse plodded over to the water and enjoyed the cool moisture as it washed over her snout. It had been a long ride for her, too. Annabelle retrieved some jerky and gnawed on it for a while, looking around her.

Off to one side she could still picture herself in the tub. She remembered how worried she had been, and how upset she had been at Logan. She laughed at herself and at him
, too, how they had both been so strong-headed about everything. Blushing she remembered him trying to dump her out of the tub. It would be interesting to know what he had been thinking at the time, or even if he had noticed her mostly naked there. A hot wave washed over her body and she suddenly longed to be with him again. She knew what she was going to do.

Standing and limping to the stream she got on her knees and dipped her hands into the cool water. Bringing it repeatedly to her lips she drank and drank. It was
heavenly and seemed to buoy up her spirits a little bit. If the sun had been higher in the sky she might have stayed, but she needed to hurry if she was going to get to town by morning. It had been foolish to leave, but she was far beyond being able to return to Hope now, she would have no choice but to stay in the wild tonight. She figured being on horseback would be safest. There were wild animals out here and she had no weapon to defend herself with if she was to be attacked, but her horse could outrun just about any predator.

Using a nearby
boulder, she struggled to her feet then pulled herself up in the saddle. Her thigh screamed back at her, but she really had no other option. As the horse moved off, she looked back at the camp wondering if she would ever see it again. Just as her sight scanned the area, she saw something moving behind an outcropping of rocks. Her heart leapt in her chest and she squinted her eyes to get a better view.

There
, blended into the rock, was a very large mountain lion. His green eyes watched their every move and his tail twitched back and forth, back and forth. Annabelle could see he was settled and ready to pounce; if she didn’t act quickly the large cat would be on top of them in seconds. She had seen these graceful animals in action from afar and she knew the powerful back legs would propel it skillfully on top of the horse and directly into her lap. Adrenaline coursed through her body and she jammed her heels and knees into the animal’s side, startling it with the sudden movement. At the same moment the cat let out a scream of attack and the horse looked wildly in its direction. Rearing onto its hind legs, the horse threw Annabelle to the ground and then backed up over the top of her.  Curling into a ball, she managed to be missed by the sharp hooves but she could hear the cat hissing somewhere nearby.

Seconds later
, she managed to get to her feet, her leg burning in pain. She whirled in the direction of her mount and came face to face with the lion. He had gone for the horse but was rebuffed by the animal’s flying hooves when his eyes fell upon a more helpless prey, Annabelle. A scream halted in her throat and she watched the animal crouch again into position to spring onto her. Stumbling backwards, she tripped and fell into a pile of jagged rocks. Pain sprang up all around her back and legs and one shoulder stung as if it was on fire, but instead of giving up she picked up one large rock and hurled it at the cat. It caught the animal mid-leap and cracked it hard across the face. Annabelle rolled to her side, away from the lion’s impact, cutting her shirt and her arms underneath, but she managed to scramble away from the predator.

The cat howled out in pain and
was thrown off balance by the rock. He crashed hard onto the same rocks Annabelle had just been on and they provided the same cuts to him as they had to her. The cat was mad now and he arched his back at her hissing and growling in his throat. Grabbing another rock she hurled it at him again but missed and it shot off a nearby rock, falling uselessly to the side. Then suddenly from behind her, the horse came running wildly in their direction, its brown eyes large and rolling around as if crazed. Annabelle watched in stunned silence as the horse reared again then came down hard on the cat. The horse’s razor-sharp hooves cut the cat’s fur and drew blood. Again the cat howled but instead of turning to fight, it hissed then did its best to flee. The horse snorted and pounded its hooves on the ground as a warning, but the cat never looked back.

By now it was dusk and Annabelle couldn’t really
assess her wounds. Her leg was burning and when she touched the spot it felt warm and sticky, she was bleeding again. There wasn’t much she could do here, and she was too afraid the animal would return. Speaking softly to the horse she stumbled her way over and retrieved the reins which were dangling to the ground. The horse was still a bit spooked, but Annabelle managed to mount her and leaned her into a trot.

As they
rode, Annabelle continued to look over her shoulder until the camp, and the lion, were well out of sight. From now on she would not ride without a gun. It was useless to think about that now, though, instead she needed to see just how bad of shape she was in. In the minimal light that was available, she could see cuts and scrapes on her palms and up her arms. The shirt was damp in places and she knew she was bleeding, hopefully it would stop on its own; she pressed her hands down on her pant leg, avoiding the pain in her thigh. She wasn’t in the best of shape, but she would survive.

They did their best to stay near enough to the stream to see it, but on open enough ground that it would be nearly impossible to be ambushed. Annabelle dozed in and out
, some from sleep and some from pain. Most of her wounds had stopped bleeding, but the bruises were nearly as bad. Her leg, on the other hand, was more painful than she ever remembered. Of course there wasn’t much to remember about; right after the shot, she had passed out from loss of blood and Logan had managed to get her home quickly. Now she was alone in the dark wilderness and she needed to be her own hero. Every now and again when she adjusted her seating, the pain would shoot up her leg and into her brain, jerking her awake. It was going to be a long night.

Somewhere around dawn she
was sure she heard the sound of hooves echoing off the valley walls. Straining her eyes in the dark she looked around but saw nothing. Surely she must be close to town. Adjusting for what seemed like the hundredth time she clenched her teeth against the pain which racked her body. Everything hurt and her mind felt foggy. She wasn’t quite sure but she thought maybe her wound was still seeping blood. Throughout the night she had continued to drink from her water skin and it was nearly empty, but she had hardly touched the food, her stomach was too tied up to be able to eat.

Leading the horse down off the little ridge she was riding
on, she thought she caught a glimpse of something. Annabelle looked around to see if maybe her eyes were playing tricks, but up ahead there was an animal. To her surprise it was a horse. Next a whiff of smoke appeared, and next to it on the ground was a person wrapped in a blanket. Who was it and what were they doing out here? Her first instinct was to rush forward and see who it was, but then she wondered what someone might do to her if they knew she was alone and hurt. Instead she walked her horse to a patch of scrub brush and dismounted, stifling a cry of pain. It was almost more painful to sit on the ground than up on the horse. Pulling her arms into her shirt she hugged herself for warmth and then waited. Soon she would know if it was safe to approach, if not she would mount and run.

Logan watched as the haze lifted over the town of
Regency.  It hadn’t changed much from what he could tell; the river still ran lazily between it and Mr. Sevier’s expansive ranch. Not much had happened in the past several hours since he had set up camp. He was hidden well in a group of rocks which sat atop a small ridge that faced the town. The buildings themselves were on the flat plain by the river and Mr. Sevier’s ranch spread out and around the whole area. It was more his town than the people’s, but it was thriving and that was more than some towns could say.