CHARITY'S GOLD RUSH (A Strike It Rich in Montana novel) (27 page)

             
“I’ve been married over half my life. Trust me.” Mabel watched Hiram move outside
, ushering the children in front of him
. “Even I throw in a surprise to my husband every blue moon. A new dress, a wink, a caress he isn’t expecting.”

             
“But your marriage was founded out of love.”

             
“Yours will be too.
Have faith.
”

             
Charity huffed.
F
aith again. Except this time, Mabel was not talking about a faith in God. She was talking about Charity having faith in herself. That was worse.

             
The ground vibrated under her feet
, and Charity grabbed the edge of the counter to steady herself
. From outside, shots rang out.
She stared in horror at Mabel. Then she heard
Meg screamed.

21

             
The ground over Charity’s head rumbled. Dust
and multi-legged varmints
fell into her hair and eyes
.
She squealed and pawed at her head to knock the insects free.
Was that a centipede? A millipede? Heavens it was a miracle they were all still alive!

Particles
of dirt and grass
filter
ed
through the ceiling boards
. Dust
fill
ed
the room
.
The walls shook.
She
shriek
ed and
rushed to the fireplace
, grabbing
Maggie’s
clock off the mantel before it
could
crash to the floor. Setting it safely in
Gabriel’s
chair, she spun. Her gaze met Mabel’s startled one.
The children!

With her heart in her throat,
Charity
raced outside. “Meg! Sam!”

             
“
They’re h
ere!” Gabriel had his arms
wrapped
around both children and flattened
them
against the barn.
“Get back in the house.
Someone started
a stampede.”

             
Charity drew back into the doorway.
First one cow, then a couple more, then tens of c
attle thundered past them,
some
leaping off the top of the soddy
. Their hooves beat the ground with mighty thuds
.

Charity threw out her arm to stop Mabel from dashing into the yard. “Lady! Prince!”
Please, God, spare the dogs
.

             
“Where’s my Hiram?” Mabel clutched at her
arm
. “I don’t see him.
Lordy, he’s trampled!
God’s taken him to heaven without letting me say goodbye!
”

             
“
Hush, Mabel, h
e’s probably in the barn.” Charity grabbed her
friend
around the waist and pulled her inside
, out of harm’s way
. Lady and Prince skirted betw
een the cattle’s legs until the dogs
stopped, trembling, in the doorway of the soddy. Charity threw her arms around them, not only giving love, but
receiving comfort
,
and
effectively blocking the door so Mabel couldn’t escape.

             
“Lord, don’t take my Hiram.” Mabel sagged against the table.
“He’s all I’ve got.”
She covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

             
Tears sprang to Charity’s eyes
,
and she
went
to her friend’s side.
She’d never seen Mabel exhibit anything but good nature and self-control, and
she
wasn’t sure how to handle this new
hysterical
Mabel.

“God will take care of Hiram.” Did she actually believe
H
e would choose to save Hiram after taking her parents?
What made him more special than they?
Was he kinder, a better man? Sure her Da had gambled, her Ma bitter about her lot in life, but did that make them unworthy of God’s attention?
God seemed choosey in regard
s
to
whom
He decided to spare.
At least the words would make Mabel feel better.
If only they didn’t taste like sawdust leaving Charity’s tongue.

             
The thundering faded away
,
and Gabriel entered the house with Sam and Meg. Mabel bolted to his side and gripped his shirt. “Hiram?
Where is he?
”

             
Gabriel shook his head. “I’ll look for him now.
Last I saw, he was headed for my
temporary
corral.
” He grabbed the rifle from
above
the mant
e
l. “All of you stay here. These cattle were stampeded on purpose. I don’t want to have to worry about you while I’m searching for Hiram.
Most likely, I’ll meet him coming
back
this way.
He’s a smart man. He knows how to take care of himself.
”

             
“Be careful.” Charity laid a hand on his arm. She wanted to tell him she couldn’t live without him.
Didn’t want a world where he didn’t exist. But she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready. Not until she knew with all certainty that he felt the same
about her
.
She couldn’t put her heart in someone else’s hands only to have it shoved back
at her
.

             
“I will.” He took a step toward her, then stopped and nodded, before whirling and heading back outside.

             
Charity gathered the children in her arms. “Are you two all right? You aren’t hurt?”

             
“Nah, we’re fine.” Sam said.
“
We were in the barn when we heard the ruckus. As soon as we ran out, pa grabbed us.”

             
Meg held up a finger. “I got a splinter from the barn.”

             
Charity closed her eyes and hugged them harder.
“Let’s get you two cleaned up
, and that splinter removed
. Mabel, would you like to help until the men return?”

             
She turned a shocked gaze on Charity. “I’ll heat some water for a bath.”

             
If Charity kept the other woman busy, maybe she wouldn’t have time to worry about her husband.
She eyed the other rifle over the mant
e
l. Maybe Gabriel could use her help. Charity’s hands tightened into fists. Most likely a good thing she didn’t know how to shoot. If she did, she’d hunt down the man who started the stampede
and put a bullet in him
.
Somebody could have been killed.

###

             
Gabe saddled Rogue and headed in the direction where he’d corralled his cattle. Hiram had offered to check things out earlier
, and Gabriel appreciated the gesture.
Now, his friend might be dead because of that neighborly offer. Gabe
hadn’t figured someone would cause a stampede
.
Not just someone. He cl
e
nched his jaw. Amos Jenkins.
He would bet Sunday dinner that man was behind this.

His
heart sat like a frozen boulder in his throat.
Lord, don’t let me have to tell Mabel she’s lost the love of her life.
What would it be like to consider someone that dear
to your heart
?
He cared for Maggie, but didn’t think he could call her the love of his life. More like a comfortable blanket after a hard day’s work.
Could he ever feel that way about Charity? Right now, she made his heart pound and his palms sweat. Did he really want the type of comfort he felt around Maggie?
He leaned more on wanting to keep the excitement that Charity added to his life.

The closer he got to his destination, the more he relaxed. Unless the scoundrel who stampeded the cattle shot Hiram
and dragged him into the bushes
, the man wasn’t lying in a trampled mess somewhere.
Gabe figured if Hiram had been trampled, he would have found his body by now. He
allowed Rogue free rein of his head and concentrated on the tree line.

             
After while he guessed was half an hour, he made out a t
an
shape
through the green of a line of pine trees
and low shrub
s
. Gabe slid from his horse, grabbed his rifle, and
jogged the few feet
. His heart stopped.

An Indian girl lay face down among the needles.
Blood matted the side of her dark hair.
He knelt and
placed his face close to hers to
check
for signs of life. None.

             
Gabe
straightened and
studied the trees
with a
n
intensity born of fear. If caught by the woman’s people, they’d assume he killed her.
Some of the Indians believed a life for a life.
Yet, he couldn’t leave her here for the animals.

             
Rocks rattled to his right. Gabe leaped to his feet, rifle at the ready.

             
“Don’t shoot.” Hiram stepped from the trees. “I heard
gunshots
and went to investigate. Couldn’t find the culprit.
He must be long gone by now.
” He stopped and stared at the
girl
. “Is she one of Red Feather’s people?”

             
“I don’t know.” Gabe lowered his rifle. “Your wife is worried sick
about you
.
I promised to bring you back in one piece.
”

             
“
Yep, she m
ost likely
is worried. Worrying is her favorite thing outside talking
.” Hiram squatted and smoothed the hair away from the woman’s face. “A pretty little thing.
That bullet crease on the side of her face wasn’t what killed her
. Looks like she fell and hit her head on that rock.
” He pointed to a three
-
foot boulder
smeared with blood
.

             
“Maybe. No telling how her people will look at it.
Either way, the shooter is to blame for her death
, accidental or not
.
” Poor thing. She didn’t look old enough to be a wife yet.

             
What if it were Charity lying here? The way she had come busting out of the house, it could very easily have been. Or one of the children. Gabe closed his eyes. Did he really want to be responsible for another human being? Maybe he should let his feelings go and allow Charity the annulment she wanted come spring.
His heart couldn’t take losing another wife to death.

             
“We can’t leave her here,” Gabe said.
“
Help me get her on my horse, and I’ll see if I can’t find Red Feather.
Then, tomorrow I guess I’ll pay another visit to the sheriff.
”
One way or the other,
the man who did this
was going to pay for harassing Gabe
,
putting his family in danger
, and murdering this young girl
.

Gabe
slid
his rifle
in its holster
then scooped the girl in his arms. If she didn’t belong to Red Feather’s tribe, he took a huge risk by moving her. But no one deserved to be left to the wolves.

             
H
e handed the
body
to Hiram, climbed into the saddle, then waited while Hiram helped him drape her over the saddle in front of him.

Hiram jogged out of sight then returned with Sam’s pony. “Hope you don’t mind me borrowing your son’s horse. It was easier than getting mine ready.”

“Don’t mind at all. I appreciate you checking on my cows.” Which he no longer had. It could take days to hunt them down. More time away from building th
e
.
“They
are
my cows, right?”