Trail of Golden Dreams (28 page)

“No!” she
shrieked. 

A torrent of
rounds flew over her head, and the mule jumped into the air, causing her to
lose her balance and tumble out of the saddle.  She threw herself onto the
ground to make herself a smaller target and looked up.  Two figures moved
sure-footedly over the rocks above her.  One wore a big sombrero. 
The other ran with a limp. 

“Those bastards
must have sold their souls to the Devil,” she spat. “They don’t die!”

Another bullet
whizzed past the rock behind her and several more went wild into the
trees.  Traveler and Lightning went crazy.  Bullets zinged near their
feet.  They threw their heads and pawed the ground, and the mule blurted
his loud, strange sound.  Josie had to move them out of harm’s way or they
might be killed.  When the firing momentarily ceased and she heard the reloading
of cartridges, she jumped up and tugged on both sets of reins and nearly got
trampled while guiding them into the little stand of trees.

Jerking open her
saddlebags, she drew out the derringer and cocked the hammer.  When she
heard more pounding footsteps, she guessed Kendall and King were closing in on
her.  From behind the protection of Traveler, she took aim and began
firing into the air.  Another storm of bullets rained down, but neither
she nor the animals were hit.  It was as if they all had a magical shield
surrounding them. 

She knew with all
certainty that she’d never win against the outlaws with only the derringer, and
Grey had taken the rifle. 
Grey!
  They’d murdered him! 
She’d be dead, too, if she didn’t do something fast.  But what could she
do?  Her mind spun.  She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, and
when she opened them again, Mama hovered a few feet away.  Her mouth
didn’t move and she didn’t speak, but Josie could hear her words all the same.

 Use the
dynamite. 

Of course!  She’d
forgotten all about the firecrackers.  With a barrage of bullets pinging
all around her, Josie stumbled to Lightning and flung open Grey’s saddlebags,
and stuck her hand inside.  The dynamite was on top.  She slipped two
sticks out and fished around the bottom of the bag for a box of matches.
Peering up, she realized the firing had stopped again and heard another rush of
footsteps.  Twigs snapped.  They were in the trees! 

With a trembling
hand, she scratched one of the phosphorous matches to life on the bottom of her
boot and held the flame to the fuse curling up from one dynamite stick. 
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a flash of black as the sombrero came into
view. She lit the second fuse as the marshal and his tracker stepped out of the
trees. 

She ran out from
behind Lightning and hurled one stick and then the other, watching them tumble
end over end—fuses burning—until they bounced on the rocky ground right where
the men stood.  Kendall had just enough time to shout a terrified warning
before the dynamite blew him and Reno King both to kingdom come.

When the smoke and
dust cleared, Josie saw what was left of them lying a few feet away, bloodied
and burnt to smithereens.  It was finally over and done with.  Barely
able to catch her breath, she spun around, sensing her mama was still nearby,
but saw no one.  How she needed her now!

Her breath
hitched, and she collapsed to the ground.  “Grey,” she whispered, dropping
her head into her hands.  The heavy feeling of pain and desolation sat in
her stomach like a lump of coal. She couldn’t bear another loss in her
life.  The grief was so intense, she wanted to throw back her head and
howl.  Suddenly, she sensed a presence again.  Although she couldn’t
see her, her mama’s voice spoke to her once more. 

He needs you.

Josie’s head
jerked up.  She sniffled and wondered…
could Grey be alive?
 
Not daring to make a sound, let alone breathe, she tilted her head and listened
to the far-off whistle of a bird. Looking up, a hawk soared high above,
flapping its wings.  These were signs of life. Mama was sending her a
message!  Josie’s heart thrashed in her chest telling her Grey was
alive.  “I’m coming!” she called.

Coming…coming…coming…
echoed
her words through the canyon as she stumbled to her feet.  Taking up
Lightning’s reins, she mounted Traveler and started downstream leading the
white stallion by his lead rope. In an effort to quiet her mind, she surveyed
the terrain and measured the angle of slopes, searching for the best way
down.  Following the water would be best, she decided.  Grey had been
swept downstream.

An immense boulder
and fallen tree blocked her path in one spot, causing her to recall what Grey’s
friend had said about rockslides being reported in this canyon. As she veered
from that route and prodded the mule onto an even more precarious trail, she
prayed the three of them would survive what appeared to be a certain death
trap. 

“Hold on, Grey!”
she called often, in case he was conscious and could hear her.  “I’m
coming!”

When she was able
to get back onto the original trail and follow the river again, she traveled
slow and kept alert for snakes or anything the animals might consider
monsters.  She couldn’t risk one of them spooking and tossing her off or
breaking one of their own legs.  Not when Grey’s life was hanging in the
balance—for now she was certain he was alive.  She felt it in her bones,
and Mama had encouraged her to find him. 

When the sides of
the canyon widened and the rushing river narrowed into a stream, Josie sent
Traveler and Lightning into a quicker pace.  She’d just looked up to catch
sight of an elk high on a cliff when the mule skidded to a stop and
brayed.  She glanced down. Grey!  He lay face up on the riverbank,
his legs in the water. She shouted his name as she flung herself out of the
saddle and ran, half-stumbling to him.  Falling on her knees, she pulled
him from the water and then placed her hand under his neck and scooped him into
her lap.  His shirt was torn at the shoulder and blood dripped from both
bullet wounds. 

Tears poured down
her face.  “Honey, please be alive.  Please be alive.”  She
patted his cheeks, but when he didn’t rouse, she slapped him hard.

“Wha…?”  He
woke up with a start and moaned.  When his eyes focused somewhat, he
whispered, “Josie” and then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out
again.

She pulled him
into her breast and hugged him tight.  He was alive, but how long would he
stay that way?  The wounds looked bad.  He’d likely already lost a
lot of blood.  How much more could he stand to lose?  She gazed
around at the empty remoteness.

“How am I gonna
get you out of here?” she wept, cradling him.  “I’ve got to get you to a
doctor.  But, how am I gonna lift you?”  Her gaze lifted.  A
pulsing light hovered over the water, drawing her attention. “Mama!” 

Her mother smiled
and then Josie’s pa appeared at her side. 

“Papa!” Josie
cried.  He stretched out his arms, as if he wanted to draw her into
them.  His face was bright, and he looked young and healthy.  He
turned his head and stared at something on the ground. When she followed his
gaze, she saw the metal box stuck in the mud.  Her jaw dropped open. 
Gently laying Grey’s head down, she crawled to the box and wrenched it out of
the mud.  The bullet was embedded in the side.  The lid was bent
open.  With the breath locked deep in her throat, she opened the lid and a
box full of tiny golden pebbles glistened up at her.  When she turned back
to her parents, they were smiling.  In her mind she could hear her pa say,
I love you, daughter.

She stood up and
cried, “I love you, Ma.  I love you, Pa.”

As they dissipated
into blue mist, Josie knew she’d never see them again, but her soul felt at
peace. Pa had done the right thing at the end of his life, and she’d gotten to
see Ma again, in the place where she was most happy—the place where the two of
them would live eternally together. 

Unconditional love
brought forgiveness, and with forgiveness came strength. Josie stuffed the
metal box into her saddlebags.  With a burst of adrenaline, she was
somehow able to lift Grey and haul him onto his horse and secure him to his
saddle. Her long, lonely years were behind her, if she could get him to a
doctor in time.

“Walk,” she
commanded her mule, after climbing into the saddle.  She led Lightning by
the lead rope, and they left the canyon and walked the two miles to Nambe
Pueblo. As she passed her ma’s birth village, she bid a final farewell and
urged Traveler into a trot.  The faster pace jostled Grey.  She heard
him moan several times, but it couldn’t be helped.  It would take hours to
reach Santa Fe if they didn’t trot, and she had to get him to a doctor before
he bled out. Tears threatened to erupt each time she imagined her life without
him.

“Please, Lord,”
she prayed.  “Let him live.  I can’t lose him now.”

She’d only ridden
a couple of miles when a stranger driving a buggy came up from behind. 
Josie hoped he, whoever he was, didn’t have un-Christian intentions on his
mind. There was no strength left to kill another man today.

“Can I help you,
miss?” he asked, gazing at the unconscious Grey.  “I’m a doctor.”

Chapter Eighteen

The room looked
fuzzy.  Or was it his eyes?  Grey turned his head and waited a moment
for them to adjust to the dark interior.  Josie slept in a chair next to
him with her head tipping forward and her soft hair falling across one
eye. 

His left arm,
strapped in a sling, hurt like hell.  No wonder.  Some sonofabitch
had shot him in the shoulder, and the leg, too.  He scooted up in bed and
tossed the sheet aside to see his leg was bandaged.  Thank God they hadn’t
cut it off.  Gazing around the small room, he figured he must be in the
bedroom of someone’s home.  But whose bedroom?  And how did he get
here?

His thoughts
drifted back to the last thing he remembered.  He’d discovered the box of
gold shoved between two rocks behind the waterfall, and then the box had been
shot out of his hand.  What had happened to the gold?   Who’d
shot at him?  It was all a jumble, but he was thankful Josie had survived
whatever had happened.

Jiggling her arm,
he whispered, “Honey, wake up.”

“Huh?”  Her
eyelids rolled up, and her eyes enlarged.  Leaning forward, she covered
his hand with her own and said, “Grey, you’re awake.  Thank
God!   I’ve been so worried.  How do you feel?”

He smiled. 
Her hand felt warm.  She looked so worried, he had to assure her he was
all in one piece, even though he felt stiffer than a board and his leg
throbbed.  “I feel fine, darlin’.  I can’t be killed that
easily.  Where am I?”

“We’re in Santa Fe
at Doctor Swann’s office.  He says you’ll heal fast because you’re young
and strong.  Are you sure you’re alright?”  She stroked his forehead
with her other hand.  He liked when she did that. 

“Just a little
sore is all.  What happened back at the falls?  I didn’t see who shot
me.”

“It was either
Kendall or Reno King. They might have each got a piece of you.  I didn’t
ask the doc whose slugs were whose when he fished them out.”

“Kendall and
King?  I thought those bastards drowned in the flash flood,” he said,
shaking his head.  “I wonder how they got back on our track.”

Josie’s voice
dropped to a whisper.  “I’ve had a lot of time to think while you’ve been
asleep, and I figure it was all my fault that you got shot.”  Her lower
lip began to quiver.  She kept sifting her fingers through his hair and it
felt nice, but now her hand started to tremble.  He reached for it,
stilling it.

“Why do you say
that?  How could my getting shot have been your fault?”

“Because I
screamed.  Don’t you remember when I let loose and screamed my head off
and it echoed all through the canyon?”

He nodded. 
“I remember.  But what’s that got to do with them trailing us to the
waterfalls?”

“They must have
heard the echoes and tracked us right to where we were.  You could have
died because of me.”  Her pretty little mouth turned down.

He wrapped his
hand around the back of her neck and eased her face to his mouth and kissed her
soundly.  “I don’t ever want to hear that again, honey.  I don’t
blame you for any of it.  Kendall is to blame.  What happened to him
and that tracker?”  He assumed they’d been dispatched in some way and
wanted the details.  As he gently readjusted his position on the bed,
Josie fluffed up his pillow and he leaned against it again.  When she
explained how they’d died, he wanted to celebrate, but he could see she wasn’t
thrilled with how it had all turned out.

“You’ve got more
guts than a lot of men,” he told her, feeling his chest swell with pride. 
“I knew that dynamite would come in handy, but I’m sorry you had to be the one
to finally put an end to them.”

Her gaze
dropped.  “That makes three men I’ve killed now, Grey.  I’m not proud
of it, but the truth is, I didn’t give a fig about those two—Wade Kendall and
Reno King.  I wanted them dead and to rot in hell for murdering you.”

“You thought
they’d killed me?”

“Of course. 
What else would I think?  You went head first into the river, shot twice.”

With his good arm,
he grabbed her shoulder and kissed her again.  “I’m glad you were on my
side.  How’s Lightning and Traveler?  Did they make it?”

“Sure they did,”
she exclaimed, brightening.  “If it hadn’t been for them, I couldn’t have
found you or gotten you out of the canyon.  They’re tied out back right
now.  I think they’ve both fallen in love with Doctor Swann’s mare.”

Grey
chuckled.  “Won’t be the first time a female comes between two
males.”  He became serious then and wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the
answer to his next question.  “What happened to the nuggets?”