Echoes of the Heart (34 page)

           
Her
friends assembled around with gifts giggling like children, happy for her good
fortune while her stomach churned.
 
She
held a fake smile while Sadie presented a cake showing off her talent.
 
Raeden lavished compliments, her attempt at
graciousness then sank back into the thick cushions to relax.

           
She
picked at the cake Cash brought her, though managed to guzzle four flutes of
Champagne.
 
Whiskey in hand, Cash sat
close beside her, legs apart one arm extended over a knee showing signs of
concern.
 
“You’ve lost so much weight,
sweetheart.
 
May I get you something to
eat?”

           
Sweetheart
indeed!
 
Did he think she would relent to
his words of endearment?
 
A voice feted
with sarcasm and contempt escaped before she thought twice.
 
“I’ll eat when I am hungry.
 
I don’t need you to remind me.”

           
A
mere hint of hurt flickered in his coal black eyes before being extinguished by
a veil of nonchalance.
 
Immediately
regretting the words, she said nothing.
 
Her pride had taken enough of a beating for this day.

           
“Suit
yourself,” was his only remark.

           
“I’m
really fatigued.
 
Will you make my
excuses?
 
I’m going go bed.”
 
She struggled to stand on weak knees and
plopped back in defeat.

           
His
genuine look of concern made her feel guilty.
 
“Stay still a moment.”
 
Cash stood
to address the small crowd.
 
“My bride
needs to rest and thanks you all for attending.
 
Stay as long as you like and celebrate.”
 
He scooped her off the sofa and taking two stairs at a time, carried her
into the bedroom and began to help her off with the dress.

           
She
grabbed her clothing, suddenly modest not wanting him staring at her broken
used body.
 
“I can do this myself.”
 
At one point, she had relished the notion of
the power she held over him when he gazed over her naked body.
 
Now she felt only shame.

           
Mustering
her defenses, she maintained an offensive posture.
 
“I hope
you
are satisfied.”

           
His
jaws tensed, voice remained unruffled.
 
“Yes,
I am satisfied.
 
I suppose I should feel
grateful you actually went through with this since you have made it obvious you
don’t want
me
.”

           
“Saving
face in this backward town is no reason to marry.”

           
“I
don’t want to argue, Raeden.
 
Can we call
a truce?
 
John and I are going
away.”
 
His voice turned sarcastic.
 
“Do you need anything before I leave, Mrs.
Rydell?”

           
“Let
me assure you Marshal, I will do just fine.”
 
If he thinks he can break me, he
is in for a rude awakening.
 
No
further dialogue transpired as he casually sauntered from the room, making her
even angrier.

           
Dropping
her gown to the floor she crawled between sheets in her petticoat suddenly
filled with emptiness in her womb for the lost child and an indefinable
emptiness in her heart.
 
Overwhelmed with
exhaustion, she fell asleep.

           
Cash
sought out Diane.
 
“Thanks for
everything, Diane.
 
I appreciate all your
help.”
 
He really didn’t want to leave
Raeden, but he knew she would be safe here with Diane and Mike while he tracked
the men who assaulted and raped her, killing their unborn child in the process.
           
“It’s my pleasure, Cash.
 
You’ll make a fine couple.”
           
Hah, sparing partners,
maybe.
 
How could she turn so
hateful?
 
Once she seemed to desire him,
compliant and soft in his arms, smelling of roses driving him mad with
desire.
 
He wanted to do the right thing
and she resented him for it.

           
“I’m
grateful you will tend to her in my absence.
 
In her condition I couldn’t have left her at the ranch.”
 
He would never leave her if he had not been
sure of her safety.

           
“Rest
assured, she is in good hands.
 
I will
try to fatten her up some while you are away.
 
Between the morning sickness and the att….”
 
She did not finish, red-faced with
embarrassment.
 
“Sorry, Cash.”
 

           
He
buried the guilt and anguish while standing straight as a mast.
 
He looked into her sparkling blue eyes.
 
“If things work out, I should show up in a
few weeks.
 
I left my will with Jacobs,
just in case.”
 
He approached John.
 
“Are you ready?”

           
“I’m
ready and able.
 
Are you sure Rae is okay
with you leaving so soon after the wedding?”

           
His
eyes rolled to the ceiling.
 
“Believe me,
she does not mind.”

           
“I
can see her point.
 
I’m sure she wants
them captured as much as we do.”

***

           
Dressed
for riding they loaded gear on the packhorse and walked to the gun case,
grabbing extra boxes of ammunition to pack in the saddlebags.
 
Cash tucked a Scofield in the back waist of
his jeans and pulled out a Winchester repeater to stow in the sheath alongside
his saddle.
 
Ever an admirer of John’s long-range
shooting skills, he chuckled when John chose his Sharps Long Range .45 with
Vernier peep site capable of hitting a target at 1300 yards.

           
“I
see you’re taking the big gun.”

           
John
flashed a sly grin, his brows lifted.
 
“Just in case we can’t get close enough to see the whites of their
eyes.”
 
His tone turned hateful, and he
spoke through fixed lips.
 
“You know,
Cash, I don’t know about you but when we run into those jackals, I’ll have no
problem doing society a favor.”

           
Cash
dropped his hat on his head and walked toward the door.
 
“I guess we are both thinking along the same
lines.”
 
He prayed they would make it
easy to kill them without it looking like murder, but if it came to be, he
didn’t really care.
           
“Do you think they’re still
around Sioux Falls?”

           
“I
doubt it, but it’s where we’ll start.
 
If
the weather holds, we should make it there in two or three days.”

           
Gathering
up the last of their arsenal, they began their search, both anxious to bring
the men to justice for their heinous crimes.

***

They rode in
silence.
 
John knew not to speak when
Cash fell into his moods.
 
He remembered
him from a youth when he worked on his ranch and he had become more like his
old self since meeting Raeden.
 
John
hoped their union would help bring back the man he once knew instead of the
cold clandestine loner that emerged following his retreat.

.
          
He
had been surprised at first by his interest in Raeden.
 
Cash had not attempted to know any of the
nice ladies in town and never made commitments he would not keep so he never
made them with women.

           
Darkness
fell, surrounding them with cold damp air.
 
They made camp near a stand of White Spruce reaching over ten feet tall,
their umbrella of branches good shelter, with green grass remaining protected
from the cold weather.
 
The cones still
hanging provided contrast to the white waxy coating on the forest green
needles.

           
Cash
hobbled the horses, leaving Rabbit unfettered as they made camp.
 
They ate beans with salt pork and biscuits, curled
into their bedrolls, heads resting on saddles and smoked a cigar while staring
into the night sky.

           
“You
know, John, I have been contacted by Senator Wilcox.
 
He’s asked me to consider a position in the
Senate.
 
Cooper’s taken ill and will
resign shortly.”

           
John
sat upright, leaning toward Cash.
 
“Geez,
Cash, are you serious?”
 
Somehow, the
thought of him in politics seemed outlandish.

           
Cash
glanced at John through the low flickering flames.
 
“I believe I can help the Cheyenne.
 
Unless I’m in Washington, there’s nothing I
can do for them.
 
Since most people
around the state and the Federal Marshals know me, I have a good chance of the
appointment.”

           
“Then
you would move to Washington?”
 
He could
not picture Cash sitting at a desk in Washington with no excitement to curb his
restless nature.

           
“Only
part of the year when Congress is in Session.
 
Rae wants to leave right now anyway.
 
She would like it, plenty to do and all the latest fashions.”

           
“Have
you discussed this with her?”

           
Confidence
hung in his tone.
 
“No, not yet, I’ll
wait until she is feeling better before I throw out any changes.
 
Since she is my wife now, there won’t be a
problem.”

           
John
lay back down and folded his arms under his head thinking perhaps there might
be a problem if he tried to order his feisty little woman around.
 
“You certainly have my vote and everyone else
in town will support you, but they will be disappointed to lose you as
marshal.”
 
John knew he would miss him if
he left and hoped he might change his mind.

           
“You’ll
do fine, John.
 
I already wired the
bosses.
 
All agree you are an excellent
replacement.”
 
Fragrant cigar smoke
curled into the night air rising above their heads.
 
“I’m getting tired of this life and it
certainly would not be good for Rae.
 
I
plan to go on ranching during my time off and get things started up again.
 
I think when this trip is over, I may resign
anyway.”
 

He let out a swirl
of smoke and turned onto his elbow.
 
“I’m
not interested in all this roaming around any longer.
 
This way of life tends to rob a man of the
chance of normalcy, constantly chasing after the dregs of society.
 
Sometimes I feel like I am no better, like
I’m becoming one of them and it makes my insides crawl.”

           
It
pleased him to see Cash coming out of his shell, and he felt certain his friend
would be much happier living a different kind of life with Raeden by his
side.
 
John couldn’t remember when Cash
had ever confided anything other than their job or everyday chat.
 
He’d always held his personal life close to
his vest.

Pride rose in his
chest thinking Cash thought him capable of being lead man.
 
He had never considered taking Cash’s place,
but the thought excited him.

           
The
two friends talked for a while longer and then settled in for the night.

Forty

           
Raeden
woke in the night soaked from perspiration, gasping for air.
 
She had believed the nightly horror a thing
of the past after last night when she had slept curled soundly in Cash’s arms.

           
Lantern
in hand, wrapped in a soft robe, she padded gingerly down to the kitchen, filled
the small tub near the stove with hot water and stepped into the bath.

She scoured her skin as to remove
the residue of stains left by the attackers thinking she would never be clean
again and soaked until the water became cool.

           
Unnerved
by the shadows cast by the firelight, she lit every lamp then sat by the flames
in her bedroom to dry her hair before changing the linens.
 
Weary from her efforts, she laid down to
stare overhead, found herself praying for Cash and John’s safety.
 
She hoped they would find the sadistic
monsters before some other hapless female fell pray to their torture and perish
by their hands.