Chase the Moon: A Historical Romance (25 page)

***

Even without the pins, the trail was easy to follow. The clay held the moisture of the recent rain and left divots here and there. It was hard to transport that many men without leaving a trace. The total number of men was unknown, but it did not matter. Chase would take out an army if he had to.

The light was fading as were the horses’ strength. They would need to rest them soon. He knew the outlaws would have to rest their horses as well. That thought terrified him. Even thinking of someone else touching Amelia filled his heart with rage. He knew he had to push it out of his mind. His anger would not save her only his careful deliberation would.

The trail led them to a river. He carefully examined the ground and frowned at the imprint of a body. He was relieved that there was not a body there now. He did not care what condition she returned to him in, he only needed her alive. They could overcome anything else together. Climbing back on his horse, he nudged it into the water. He dismounted on the other side and carefully studied the ground before waving the others over. It was a good place to rest the horses while he scouted on foot. The sun had started sinking further into the sky and Chase’s heart with it.

***

Sabrina sat on the porch with the others watching the sun creep down behind the hills. The sky was filled with vibrant yellows, oranges and reds.

Sabrina had to laugh at the pair. She had learned from experience to trust Alma’s instincts and advice. Not to mention the mosquitoes were ravenous tonight. “I think we should go in as well. I could use some coffee.”

“I know Amelia, she’s strong, she will be just fine no matter what. And I know some pissed off men who will see that she remains just fine.”

Riley reached his hand out for the hot coffee and took a sip. The scalding liquid trickled down his throat a lighting a fire in him. He just could not sit around and wait any longer.

***

Chase frowned picking up another hair pin. It was not far past the last one he had found. She had been spacing them out much further, why were these so close? Did it fall out on its own. Was she harmed?

Did someone else drop it? The last question gripped his heart in fear. This trail was leading them up a mountain. If you were trying to escape why would you corner yourself? Unless you had reserves at the top, but otherwise, no. He had missed something. He turned and carefully made his way back to the river where the others were waiting.

“Something’s wrong, I think they split up. How far back I’m not sure.”

Brock who was exploring the other direction called him over. “Quite a few horses passed thru here, they go off in different directions. If that trail is false where do you think they are heading?”

Warren spoke up grimly, “There are gangs who have been kidnapping women to sell. They get a higher price for quality. I hope that they won’t want to diminish her value by abusing her. ”

“We have to find her, let’s split up. Warren you and Brock head north with your group, Jaelyn and I will head west with the others, hope they stopped for the night.”

***

Amelia was dizzy and disoriented. All the blood had rushed to her head and the movement from the horse made everything spin. Even if it was light she would have no idea where she was going. She had never been very good with directions and was always dependent upon Riley’s skill’s at navigation. Thinking of her brother brought tears to her eyes. One broke loose and ran down into her hair. She hoped he had enough sense not to come after her, if he damaged his leg anymore, he could lose it or his life.

She had to make it back. She knew that Chase would be looking for her and she knew in her heart that he would find her. She just had to be strong and stay alive. The sound of the horse’s labored breath filled her ears and she felt sorry for the beast. With the way it was breathing it couldn’t go much farther, did that mean they were stopping soon?

The horse did come to a halt but Amelia barely noticed since her head was still spinning. She was dumped to the ground and thankful she landed on her bottom instead of her head. She could hear the men talking around her as she was grabbed once again. She could make out Stan through the darkness and cringed as he tied a rope around her neck. Her eyes widened with fear. Were they gonna hang her? The thought wasn’t totally unpleasant compared to other options going through her frazzled head. Nevertheless, why drag her around with them for so long if they were just gonna kill her anyway?

She felt the other end of the rope go taunt and was forced to scoot towards it so she could breath. The brush on the ground tore at her knees and hands as she crawled faster as the rope got tighter. Her head hit something hard and she stopped as Stan drug her against the tree trunk and wrapped the rope around her securing her in place.

Her head was starting to clear, as she was right side up again. She could make out a smatter of words from the men. It sounded like they were planning another raid. The word blonde floated over to her and everything clicked as her blood turned to ice. Sally. They were going to raid the ranch. Moreover, it was she who had told them that all the men had left. Tears fell from her eyes in earnest as her heart ached. She was barely conscious of the fact that they were leaving her alone in the woods in the dark.

C
hase was walking now, his keen eyes picked up every nuance on the ground and every bent leaf. Even in the dark, the path was unmistakable. His ears listened to any sound other than the chirp of crickets or the constant buzz of the cicadas. They twisted through the heavy brush as the trail made a sudden turn south. Chase paused in thought before continuing at a faster pace waiting for it to veer back west. It did not and it suddenly clicked in his mind. They were heading towards Montgomery.

“They are heading south. How far are we from the ranch?” Chase asked the hands who were more familiar with the area than he was.

“Were still a good bit off. The river jutes off and crosses Lovett property. Doesn’t make sense they would head backwards.”

“It depends upon what they are after.” Jaelyn spoke up as she remembered the men in town undressing them with their eyes. It didn’t make sense they would take Amelia if they were worried about a fast getaway. Either they were very stupid or very clever. She was hoping for stupid. “Do we take the chance of losing the trail and riding for the ranch or stay on track?”

“We stay on track, I can’t risk losing her, and if they are heading for the ranch then we’ll find out soon enough.”

***

Anna and Jonathan sat on the porch listening to the serenade of the night creatures. It was a dark night and Anna stared off into the distance trying to catch a glimpse of the rescuers returning. It was not so long ago she would have jumped on a horse and rode with them, but with Jonathan unable to ride without reserve, her place was at his side.

It was good to see Chase happy; she only wished that Amelia would not break his heart when she left. She would have to leave sooner or later to return to her home. Here she was thinking about the future while Amelia was out there with bandits. Nevertheless, she had no doubt that Chase would find her and bring her back. After all, she had taught him everything she knew.

The gentle wind blew a strand of hair across her face and she tucked it behind her ear. And like turning off a switch the night music stopped. Not a sound could be heard. She sensed more than saw movement in the darkness and sat up to take a closer look. She saw Jonathan sit up a bit straighter next to her as she whispered. “Someone’s out there.”

He rose to his foot and slowly made his way inside as Anna pretended to assist him. Once in the doorway, He hunkered down by the window to keep watch while Anna moved to alert the others in the house.

Sabrina was playing poker with Riley and losing badly. The door opened a crack and Anna whispered. “There are men outside, take cover.”

“Shit! Get me my gun!” Riley whispered briskly as he tried to maneuver his stiff leg on the bed. Sabrina moved swiftly grabbing his gun and extra bullets from the shelf where she placed them after they were cleaned.

“It might just be a neighbor.” Sabrina said the words sounding feeble to her own ears.

“And it might not. Grab Sally and Alma and head upstairs.”

Sabrina bristled at being ordered around, but she would have a better view to shoot from upstairs. “Good thinking!” She said ducking and moving quickly through the dark house. A few candles were lit, the same ones as before to not alert anyone that they were aware of their presence. She saw Anna leaning over Jonathan and whispering before joining her on the stairs. Even in the darkness, she could make out the bow strapped to her back.

“You shoot?”

“Who do you think taught Brock and Chase?”

Sabrina smiled as she entered her room and drug Sally with her. “What is happening? I can’t see anything!” Sally exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

“Alright, Sally you get down by the chest and for peats sake, stay clear of the windows.” Sabrina said riffling through a box under the bed, she handed them each a knife.

Sabrina crouched awkwardly on the floor and for the first time peeked out of her bedroom window. It was very dark outside and it took a minute for her eyes to adjust. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She griped the wooden stock and slid the barrel of her Colt repeating rifle out the window. It was a Christmas gift from Brock.

Settling down in a more comfortable position, she picked a spot outside and squinted. She could just make out subtle movements in the tree line. It was too far to see how many were out there, but one was too many. They were out of range for her riffle so she hunkered down to wait ‘til they got closer. Who would be the first to die?

Her question was answered sooner than she had hoped. Four men crept towards the house, Sabrina took aim at one in the middle. Better odds, if she was off a bit she could hit one on either side.

Bang. The bullet tore out of the chamber and Sabrina was filled with grim satisfaction as he hit the ground. Sabrina quickly recovered from the recoil and took aim at the next man in line as another one fell. The others turned to run back into the woods and her shot brought one to a crawl. Another rang out from the house downing the fourth man then there was silence.

She heard a yell from Samuel somewhere downstairs and then the report of a rifle. They had the house surround. She cursed as she hunkered down searching the dark for any movement.

***

Amelia sat shivering in the darkness. The temperature had dropped as well as the sun. She could hear sounds of nature all around and wondered what type of creatures lurked in the darkness. Thoughts of the wild Boar from their earlier encounter entered her mind and she shuddered.