Chapter 12
Alice was exhausted. She could hardly keep her eyes open, but she clung to the horse anyway. What else could she do? Her rump hurt. She longed to reach the town, to find help and not be on a horse anymore.
Thinking about Kyle only conjured up images of him bleeding from a thousand bullet wounds, crashing through the forest, lost and hopeless, with those men chasing him, or lying dead beside the road in some lonely place.
It was torture.
So, she tried not to think about him, which only made her worry even more. She hardly knew him, but somehow he had endeared himself in those few days to her as no one else had ever managed to do. What did that mean?
Alice wasn’t the kind of person who considered love at first sight to be possible. No, she believed in things she could see and touch. She believed that in order to be in love, one had to get to know a person well.
So, perhaps it wasn’t love. Perhaps it was some strange and often overlooked precursor, like attraction, friendship, or something else that came before.
Something that meant one person was thinking of and hoping to see the other person again.
That they had perhaps idly considered what a life with that person might be like.
That made her smile despite their dire situation.
A life with Kyle would include the dairy cows and the horses back in his little town in Texas. That would be nice. But could she leave her old life entirely behind her? Alice wasn’t entirely certain she could.
There were memories in her little town back east. There were places where she and Chrissie had spent time with their folks before they died, and those memories were precious. However, Alice had to admit, as she bounced on the horse’s back all alone, that there wasn’t much of a future there for her.
This came as something of a surprise. Alice had been so focused on Chrissie that she hadn’t given her own life much thought.
She had assumed that once she got Chrissie sorted out and stowed away somewhere safe, then she could turn her attention to herself.
She had pushed everything aside, thinking that sometime in the future, she would find happiness.
It didn’t seem that life worked that way, now, did it?
Not really. She had stumbled across Kyle quite by accident, and she was glad she had.
He had brought a new dimension to her life that she had never thought could exist. Perhaps she should give him a chance—if he wanted one, of course.
Perhaps she could even risk spending some time with him before he left on the train again.
From the way that Kyle spoke about his community and how he was with Michael and Warren, it seemed like a wonderful place they came from. They were like one big, complicated family. Alice liked the look and feel of that. That sense of belonging and acceptance despite Kyle being somewhat odd.
Heavens, Warren was even stranger, and Kyle and Michael treated him with consideration and respect.
Perhaps there was a little space for Alice to make a home in too.
After all, Texas was a good deal closer to Cherryville than Pennsylvania.
But that would mean leaving her folks’ graves and all their memories there with no one to tend to them or think about them.
It was a sad thought.
Anyway, she was too tired to make any decisions. All she could do was hang onto the horse and hope for the best.
“Please, Lord,” she said to the darkness. “Help Kyle and the others hold on until I can send help.”
And then it began to rain.
The drops were huge. Alice could swear they wet whole patches of her in one go. Lightning rent the sky and thunder boomed, scaring the horse, who threatened to bolt.
It was to be expected. After the day this poor animal had had, she would expect nothing else. Trying to keep her precarious seat was difficult, and she had to try to soothe the horse while clutching his sides with her knees.
The horse fought her for a moment, and she almost slid off his back. Then something in the air seemed to catch his attention, and he ran with renewed speed. Perhaps he understood now that he was heading home to his stable.
Where had they rented the horse and cart from? It had to be from Klaus Brenner. He owned the stable yard in town and most folks rented horses from him. Otherwise, they had to go out of town to the north to rent from Alfred McIntire, and he was a sour man with nothing nice to say about anyone.
Soon, they rode into town. Alice was filled with relief. She had made it.
She was still debating which stables to go to when the horse made the decision for her. He trotted right up the street, in through the open stable door at Klaus’s yard.
“Is this any time to be bringing poor Chestnut home?” Klaus chided her. He was a little man who used to be a jockey in the races, and he frowned up at her shortsightedly. “Hold on! I didn’t rent this horse to you. Why do you have him? Where is my cart? You will have to pay for this!”
“Hold on, Klaus, please,” Alice said as she slid from Chestnut’s back.
Klaus pulled a pair of wire-rimmed glasses from his pocket, placed them on his nose, and peered at her. “Alice? Good heavens! What happened to you?”
“It’s a terribly long story,” she said, wobbling a little as she tried to stand on legs that had gone numb.
“But I need your help. We were on our way back from Cherryville when we were attacked by bandits. The men I was with, Kyle and his friends, gave me Chestnut to ride to come here and fetch help. I need help, please!” She was babbling, and she couldn’t stop.
Kyle needed help. He had needed it hours ago. By the time anyone got out there to find him, he could be dead, and she couldn’t face that.
“Bandits, you say?” Klaus asked, looking shocked for a moment and then squaring his slim shoulders. “We’ll need the sheriff. Come on.”
Klaus handed Chestnut to a groom, and then the little man led her out into the rain-drenched street. They ran from covered porch to covered porch until they reached the sheriff’s office. Knocking on the door, Klaus smiled reassuringly at her.
“You look like you’ve had quite the adventure,” he said.
“You probably won’t believe the half of it. I was there and I don’t believe it.”
Light bloomed in the sheriff’s office, and Sheriff Alex Butler came to the door. He was still dressed in his day clothes, but he had a pair of reading glasses propped on his head.
“Evening,” Sheriff Butler said, eyeing Alice’s thoroughly bedraggled state without comment. “What brings you by on this rainy evening?”
“Alice, go ahead,” Klaus said and stepped back.
“Kyle, Warren, and Michael are in trouble,” Alice said. “We were attacked by bandits, and I got away, but … I don’t know about them. You have to send men to help.”
Sheriff Butler nodded slowly. “Come in.”
Alice shook her head. “There isn’t time for sitting and talking and drinking coffee. We have to go and save them. They could all be lying dead in a ditch!”
Sheriff Butler regarded her. Then he folded his arms across his chest. “All right, young lady, this is how this is going to work. You’re going to come inside and tell me what I need to know to save your friends.
Okay? Because I don’t rush into situations with bandits without knowing what I’m dealing with. ”
His tone was stern and forceful. At least she didn’t get the whiff of dishonesty from him that she had from Wilkes.
Alice stepped inside and, speaking as quickly and coherently as possible, she explained everything to Sheriff Butler.
They didn’t sit, but stood in the entryway.
As she spoke, he moved to his desk and took down his gun belt from its hook on the wall.
Then he opened a drawer and took out a box of bullets.
While he loaded his gun, he asked her questions. Where were they on the road when they ran afoul of the bandits? Did they have a run-in with the bandits before? How many attackers did she recall?
About twenty minutes later, Sheriff Butler decided he had enough information and was ready.
They went to the door and looked out. The rain was falling in sheets. Alice couldn’t even see the street beyond the porch. All she could see was a wall of water.
Sheriff Butler sighed. “Well, we can’t go out in this.”
Alice opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand to stop her.
“It’s more dangerous than you may think,” Sheriff Butler said.
“If we head out now, apart from catching our deaths, we will also get lost. And getting lost around here is not a good idea. With swamps, bogs, and a lot of ponds and streams in the area, you could end up being an alligator’s dinner.
They don’t care much about rain. They hunt no matter the weather. ”
Alice swallowed, remembering what had happened to that bandit who came after her, how he had been dragged under the water.
“Okay,” she said, hoping to heaven that Kyle hadn’t run into a reptile of his own.
“Why don’t you go to the saloon and put something dry on?” Sheriff Butler asked. “The rain can’t carry on like this forever. Then we’ll head out when it stops.”
She nodded. That sounded fine. She was starting to shiver, and she was too tired to keep standing. All the adrenaline and worry from the day had dropped away and she was an empty husk now.
Klaus walked her to the saloon, and she went upstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Benson wanted to know what had happened, and thankfully for Alice, Klaus was happy to tell them the whole story on her behalf.
She changed into fresh clothes and then sat on her bed for a moment to towel her hair dry. It was good to be in the warmth. Alice leaned against the wall, rubbing the ends of her hair.
Kyle had to be okay. He just had to be. She couldn’t face losing him when she had just found him. She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer.
She jerked awake.
Alice hadn’t known she had fallen asleep. Still sitting up with her back to the wall, she looked around, panicked. Had she missed it? Had Sheriff Butler gone without her?
She looked out of the window and saw a bright blue sky. It must be early because the sun was streaming in her window.
“Oh no,” she said. She rushed to her door and then pelted down the stairs.
“Hey, where are you off to?” Mrs. Benson asked. She was mopping the saloon floor, which was usually Alice’s job.
“I … did the sheriff come by? Was he looking for me?” Alice asked.
Mrs. Benson sighed. “Yes, he came at dawn. He said to tell you that he and his volunteers will bring your friends back. They’re going to look along the road to Cherryville. You’re to stay here and not worry.”
Alice didn’t know how she was supposed to do that. She wanted to go. Kyle might need her. What if the sheriff couldn’t find him? What if he was stuck in a swamp or something?
Mrs. Benson took her arm. “Come, you need some coffee and breakfast. You look terrible.”
“But—” Alice tried.
“He left ages ago,” Mrs. Benson said gently. “It was still gray out when he came by. You’ll never catch up.”
“I have to go,” Alice said, wrenching her arm free. She ran from the Cloudy Lemon up the street to the stable.
“Klaus! Klaus!” she yelled.
He came out of the office, looking perplexed. “Alice? What’s wrong?”
“I need to hire a horse right now,” she said. “I have to go and help Kyle.”
Klaus nodded. “Yes, yes, I understand that, but …” He looked around her down the street. “I don’t think you’ll need a horse after all.”
“What?” Alice asked, frowning. She turned around and stared.
There, bundled in the cart, which had a lot of bullet holes in it, were Warren, Michael, and Kyle. They were wrapped in blankets, and they were filthy, but it was unmistakably them.
Alice began to cry with relief. She hung her head and let out a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding. Turning, she rushed out into the street.
Sheriff Butler smiled down at her from the back of his horse. “I hope you don’t mind that I went ahead and found your friends without you. You were so fast asleep, no one could rouse you.”
“Where did you find them?” she asked, beaming up at him gratefully and forgiving him for all their past negative interactions.
“On the road, heading back this way,” Sheriff Butler said. “We would have been here earlier, but they wanted to bring the cart back.”
“And what a state it’s in,” Klaus complained. “Look at it!”
“We’ll pay for the repairs,” Michael promised, climbing down.
Alice smiled through her tears. Praise God. They were okay! Warren was smiling at her, and when she turned from him, she found Kyle standing beside her. He was still wrapped in a blanket, and there was dried mud in his hair and in streaks down his face.
“What happened?” she asked.
“A lot,” he said. “So much that I would be happy to tell you about over breakfast. Unless you’ve eaten?”
She shook her head. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She really wanted to hug him but didn’t know if it would be appropriate or not. Instead, she tentatively wiped a little of the mud off his cheek.
“Oh, don’t bother. It’s everywhere.” Kyle said, grinning as always, and they set off down the street.
“You might need a bath first,” Alice said with a chuckle. Suddenly, everything was fine. The world was a wonderful, exciting place once more, and she was glad that she had a place in it that included Kyle alive and well. What more could she ask for?
Thank you, Lord! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now. About Chrissie …