Chasing Clovers (24 page)

He
pulled back the blanket Clive had wrapped her in, and almost retched at the picture before him. The front of her dress was ripped, and her petticoat torn. Her breasts were marked with red welts, cut and bleeding. Some of them, starting to bruise, were light blue around the edges. She was covered with nasty looking scrapes. He tenderly put back the pieces of her dress so they covered her.

He rubbed his face, stopped to cover his mouth and, biting the inside of his hand, he groaned loudly. What had Boyd done to her? She
looked broken. He stared down at her, and his vision blurred.

He heard
Shorty come up the stairs, and quickly wiped his eyes. Coughing, he covered Livy with the blanket as Shorty entered the room. His face was somber as he glanced over at John.

"
We'll fix her up, Boss," he said.

John couldn't utter a word even if he wanted to, his throat was thick with emotion, and so he nodded instead.

Shorty put his bag down lightly on the bed, and went to wash his hands in the basin. Whe
n he returned, John was composed and ready to help. Shorty took a bottle of whiskey from his bag, poured some onto two clean, white cloths, and handed one to John. "Dab at the scratches. We don't want her to get an infection."

He
took the cloth and began blotting the scratches on her neck and face, while Shorty did the ones on her arms and hands. Livy moaned, but didn't wake up. After they were done, Shorty checked her over from head to toe. He felt for broken bones, checked her pulse, and listened to her breathing.

"
I've done about all I can," he said, placing the bottle of whiskey and some more clean cloths on the table beside the bed.

"
Thanks, Shorty."

Alone with Livy, John
gently ran the cloth over a scratch on her arm. Satisfied that he had thoroughly cleaned all of her cuts, he took off her dress and covered her with a clean blanket. She started to stir. Kneeling beside the bed, he held her hand and waited for her to open her eyes. He winced as her face twisted in pain and one eyelid fluttered open. The other, slightly swollen, opened halfway.

"
What," she tried to speak.

"
Shush, darlin'," he whispered.

"
How?"

"
Livy, do you remember what happened?"

He watched as she lifted a shaky hand to her face, and grazed her black eye and b
ruised cheek. She chewed on her bottom lip, and her eyes filled with tears. Her head shook back and forth slowly while she moaned and squeezed her eyes shut. He couldn't stand to see her like this. He nuzzled his face into her neck and whispered into her ear, "Livy you're safe now, I'm here and I'm not goin' anywhere."

The sounds that erupted from her tore at every part of him, and
he felt as if he were going to fall apart right there. He'd kill Boyd for doing this to her. As her cries faded to a light whimper, he brushed back the loose hair that had fallen in her face. He traced kisses, first to her swollen eye, then to the other, placing his mouth lightly there as well. Next he went to her nose, until he came to her cut lip. He let his lips touch hers.

"
I'm so sorry, Livy," he whispered against her mouth. This was his fault. He had his suspicions about Boyd but never acted on them, and now she was lying here beaten and bruised. The inner torment she must feel was sure to remain long after the cuts and bruises healed. How would she survive after this?

He sat with her until she fell asleep before heading down stairs to see if Clive had come back. The need to punch something―anything―overwhelmed him, but he savored the thought of getting his hands on Boyd and beating the life out of him.

"
Papa," Ben said, sitting at the kitchen table with Emily and Ezekiel, "is Miss Livy okay?"

He
hadn't even thought about Ben, what he must've seen. Pulling back a chair, he sat in front of them. "Yeah, son, she'll be fine."

"
The bad man. Is he gone?" Ben stammered.

"
He's gone," John confirmed. Emily slid off of her chair and came over to him. He lifted her onto his lap.

"
No more bad man?" she said.

"
Don't worry, pumpkin. You're safe." He kissed the top of her head. "You're both safe."

"
I brought up the rest of the soup I made the men for dinner. It's on the stove if you're hungry, Boss," Ezekiel said quietly.

John thanked him, but declined anything to eat. Instead he took Ben and Emily into the sitting room. He sat down on the sofa and hugged his children. The room was quiet except for the ticking of the clock above the fireplace. John stayed where he was, waiting for Clive to come back with Boyd.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Livy opened her eyes after John left. She needed to be alone, needed to work things out in her head. She couldn't stand to see the pity in his eyes every time he stared at her bruised face and mutilated body. She peered out her window, but against the black sky all she could see was her reflection in the glass. She lifted a trembling hand to her face and ran her fingers along the jagged cut on her lip.

How did Boyd find me? Did he know about Emma? Is that why he
'd come?
Her
chest seized at the thought.
What do I tell John? How can I ever explain things to him now?

Her loose hair hung knotted and messy around her shoulders, and she
appeared as bad as she felt. Her body ached. Her soul was defeated. She wanted to die. She turned from the window, unable to look at her beaten face any longer. She laid her head back on the pillow, but could still feel Boyd on her, could smell his foul odor.

Draped in the blanket John had covered her in, she inched out of the bed. She took short steps. Her body throbbed with every move. She went to the basin of water on her dresser. Dropping the blanket onto the floor, she shuddered as she stood naked. With shaky hands she dipped the wash cloth in the tepid water and grabbed the bar of soap. She scrubbed at her face, hard and fast, breaking open the wounds, and allowing them to bleed. Moving down to her neck, her breasts and her stomach, she scoured her skin until it was raw.

Her breaths shallow and quick,
she fell to her knees, rubbing the cloth between her legs, burning her skin, as she tried to erase all traces of Boyd from her. Her body tense and cramped, she shivered as she wrapped the blanket securely around her.

Then she
curled into a ball on the floor and wept.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It was dark outside when John heard the horses come in. Ben and Emily were asleep beside him on the sofa. Outside, the men were getting off of their horses, and looked tired and worn. He scanned the men anxiously for Clive. When he saw his friend, he stepped off of the porch and rushed over to him.

"
Where's Boyd?" he asked, not waiting for Clive to get off of his horse.

"
We couldn't find him." He averted his eyes.

John threw his hands up in the air. "What do you mean you couldn't find him?"

Clive dismounted and stood in front of him.
"Sorry, John. We searched for hours."

"
That's not good enough," he shouted, "get back on your horses, and keep looking."

"
John," Clive said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The men are tired, and they need to rest."

He
pushed Clive's hand off of him, and faced his foreman. "I don't give a damn. Get back on your horses."

"
We'll look again in the morning. The men need to eat."

John shoved him.

"
I give the orders around here, not you."

"
I know how you're feelin,' John."

"
You have no idea."

"
Livy is my friend."

He grabbed Clive
's shirt, and yanked him close. "You should've killed him when you had the chance."

"
You're acting crazy," Clive yelled back and shoved John off of him.

"
You had him, and you let him go."

"
Yeah, I did, and I feel like shit for lettin' that happen."

"
You should, damn it." He glared at Clive. "Look what he did to her. You saw what he did to her." Enraged and wild-eyed, John grabbed Clive jerking him close, his arm pulled back ready to strike him.

"
Don't do this, John."

"
That son of a bitch."

"
It wasn't me. I didn't do those things to Livy."

He
listened to reason. Clive was right. It wasn't his fault. He thrust his friend away from him, turned around and smashed his fist into the side of the tack house.

The men were still gathered around and Clive told them to head to the bunkho
use and get some grub. He came back over to John. "We'll find him," he said, as he leaned against the barn.

Bringing his hand back again, John threw his fist into the wall another time. He didn't care if he broke the damn thing or not. He wanted to beat the wall until there was nothing left. He wanted to smash his fist into Boyd's face. The bastard should be feeling the same pain as Livy. He inhaled a ragged breath, and pressed his forehead against the barn. His hands―still fisted―lay at his sides.

"
John—"

"
I should've been there. I should've known it was him all along."

"
None of us knew."

"
I knew." He pushed his head into the barn. The uneven wood scratched his forehead. "We had our suspicions."

"
Yeah, we did. But how were we to know he'd do this?"

John
faced his friend. "Did you see her? Did you see her body, what he did to her?"

"
Yeah," he whispered, "I saw."

The darkness couldn't conceal the agony in his voice. "She's a mess. She's a bloody, broken damn mess." He couldn't stop the tears as they bled from his eyes.

"
But she's alive, John."

"
I can't even look at her without feeling like I'm going to be sick."

"
I know." Clive stared at the ground.

"
What do I tell her when she asks me why this happened? How do I answer when she asks why I didn't protect her?"

"
I don't know, I don't know."

Banging his head against the wall,
Livy didn't deserve this. She should feel safe on my ranch.
"How am I supposed to help her, when I can't even be in the same room as her without feeling like I'm going to explode?" Every piece of him ached for her.
Please, God heal Livy. Please, let her be okay.

"
You have no choice."

He knew what his friend said was true. He'd help Livy because he cared for her. And even though it broke him apart to see her like this, he'd bottle up all his emotions, so he could sit next to her bed and help her mend. He wouldn't let her see the pain in his eyes, wouldn't let her know how looking at her tortured him.

"
How are the kids?" Clive asked, pulling John back to their conversation.

He ran his hand, sore and pounding, through his hair. "They're asleep in the sitting room, too scared to go upstairs to bed."

"
Ben was pretty shaken."

"
Yeah, I know. He's taken a real liking to Livy."

"
I've noticed."

"
I hope she doesn't want to leave after all this. Especially when she finds out I had my suspicions about Boyd."

"
She cares for you, John. Livy won't blame you for this."

"
I hope you're right. But I still have to tell her." He closed his eyes, dreading the conversation he'd have to have with her.

"
It'll all work out, you'll see."

"
First we have to find Boyd."

"
We'll go back out at dawn."

The moon sat alone in the dark sky, and John could relate. Even though Clive stood next to him, he felt isolated, as his conscience battled back and forth at what he was going to do. No stars shone tonight, leaving the grey sentry to stand guard on its own. "I'm comin' this time," John said, dragging his eyes from the sky.

"
Thought as much."

John faced his friend.
"I'm sorry, Clive. You know… about earlier."

Clive smiled at him. Without uttering a word, he threw his arm around John and the two of them strolled back to the house.

They had been searching for hours, and still hadn't found Boyd. John had picked up his trail past the corrals before they'd left yesterday morning, but it disappeared once they got to the rocky terrain of the mountains.