Chapter 5 #2
“I didn’t do a thing, Silas.” Belle raised both hands to shoulder level as if it were a robbery. “Emma worked with Cassie. I gave advice and watched from the fence. I kept my promise. Besides, I trusted you with the roundup. I knew you’d be back.”
Silas kissed her on the nose. “Thank you.”
Belle’s return kiss was much warmer. “Tanner’s double the size since you left.”
Silas turned to look at the baby, and they headed toward the group.
Loneliness welled up inside Wade as he watched that smiling crowd fussing over babies. Red hoisted Susannah high in the air. She squealed with laughter and yelled, “Papa’s home!”
Red accepted his warm welcome home from sweet, beautiful Cassie. Silas was welcomed just as thoroughly by that tough-as-nails Belle Tanner…Harden. Wade was so impressed, he’d try to learn the woman’s new name. This husband just might last.
He looked sideways at Abby. “You want to go meet ’em all?”
Abby had been watching too. Now she turned to Wade. Her eyes were sad, aching. Was she thinking about her Flathead village…or her mother or her husband? She’d lost so much.
Soft feelings had sprung up between Abby and Wade last fall. Had she ever thought of him with a sad, aching look in her eyes? But why would she when she had a warrior at her side?
“Abby, when we get to my father’s ranch, there’s a woman there who cooks and cleans for us.”
“Your mother?”
“No, my mother died a long time ago. But Gertie runs the house. She has her own private room, and there’d be one for you near her.
She would welcome your company. She’s always been able to handle my father, and she’ll teach you how too.
” Wade smiled, but he didn’t feel one ounce of happiness.
“She could never teach me. But she spent a lot of time taking care of me after…” Wade fell silent.
Abby hesitated. “After what?”
Wade tensed and didn’t answer. There was no good reason for her to go home with him.
But he wanted her by his side when he faced his father.
“If you don’t go with me, then I’ll go with you, Ab.
I’m not letting you just wander off alone into the wilderness.
” He said it as if he was worried about her, and he was.
But he was almost as worried about himself.
“I will go as far as your ranch. If staying there suits me, I will stay until it no longer suits me.”
“Thank you.” Wade exhaled as though a weight had lifted. He rested a hand on her upper arm and guided her around the corral to where the happy families congregated.
Susannah squirmed to get down. Red let her go and took the baby in his arms. Susannah went scurrying off toward some scrub brush nearer the cabin.
“Susannah, come back here.” Cassie went after the active little girl.
Wade reached the group just as a rattling sound jerked everyone in the group around. Only one creature made that deadly rattle. Wade, Red, Silas, and Belle all drew their guns.
“Susannah!” Cassie was in their line of fire. With a wild leap, she hurled herself forward, stretched flat, inches above the ground.
A rattlesnake uncoiled from the brush, launching itself at the toddler.
A dull thud and the snake’s head stopped.
A narrow, razor-sharp knife pinned it to the ground.
Momentum carried the rattling end of the snake forward as Cassie landed on her belly.
She shrieked and flailed at the snake’s coils.
Red reached the two of them and swooped Susannah into his arms as he tried to get the bleeding snake off Cassie.
Wade, Silas, Belle, and Emma were only a step behind.
Cassie shoved at the moving snake, screaming.
Susannah started crying, frightened by her mother. Betsy and Michael bought into the noise too.
The group extracted Cassie from the coils and comforted Susannah.
When Cassie was on her feet and double-checked for injuries, Silas looked at Belle. “Did you throw that?”
“Not me.” Belle holstered her six-gun.
One by one, they all looked between each other, then finally turned and looked at Abby.
She only had eyes for the snake. She strode toward the long brownish-gray-striped creature, jerked her knife free, and beheaded the serpent with a quick, ruthless swipe.
Cleaning her blade by stabbing it into the ground, she returned it to the sheath at the back of her skirt waistband and picked up the rattler.
“Supper.” She sounded satisfied. Hungry too. “Enough for everyone to have a bite. I know how to prepare it so the poison doesn’t—” She turned and looked at the others, all transfixed by the sight of that perfectly thrown knife and that long, still-wriggling snake. “What?” She glanced at the snake.
“You saved her,” Cassie sobbed. “You saved my baby girl.”
“You act surprised.” Abby frowned as if Cassie wasn’t talking rationally. “Far wiser to use the knife than your body. Do you know this snake is deadly if you let it bite you?”
Cassie flung her arms around Abby’s neck.
Abby staggered back a step and held her arms out at her sides, obviously shocked.
“Uh, we’ll probably just have beef stew.” Wade carefully reached for the snake dangling from Abby’s fingers. “Not rattlesnake. All right?”
He didn’t want to upset Abby. After all, she’d just saved Cassie’s life. But he wasn’t eating snake. If he’d been starving…maybe.
Abby, with Cassie hanging from her neck, shrugged. “Rattlesnake is a special treat, but if the meal is already cooking…”
Wade tossed the snake away with terrified energy coursing through his veins at Susannah’s near miss.
“No, wait. Save the rattle. The children will enjoy playing with it.”
“Let’s wait to get the toy until Cassie calms down a bit.” Wade patted Abby on her arm.
Chaos erupted as everyone rushed forward to thank Abby.
Wade caught Abby looking from one grateful person to another as they swamped her. She acted as if they were foreign creatures. More dangerous to her than the snake.
Before long, Belle had Abby at her side talking. The two were swapping advice on how to best skin a buck.
Cassie gave Wade a smile and yanked on his beard. “It’s good to see you. I didn’t recognize you at first. You look a fright.” She gave him a quick kiss on his furry cheek, then turned to go with the women.
“Keeping your knife razor sharp is the secret.” Belle pulled hers out of her boot.
Abby produced her own skinny blade. “My stone got left behind at my village.”
“It’s sharp.” Belle admired it. “You did this with a stone? Can you show me? We’ve got a whetstone, but I haven’t been able to get the edge I want with it. I always use my strop.” Belle turned to Cassie. “Let’s sharpen yours while we’re at it.”
Cassie produced a knife. Wade was too surprised to notice where it came from.
“You’re carrying a knife now, honey?” Red, looking uncertain, pushed his hat back and scratched his head.
“Belle said I should. A woman has to be able to take care of herself.” Cassie followed after the other women, Emma and Sarah included, leaving the men alone with two babies and Susannah.
“Why did you throw your body instead of your knife?” Abby asked Cassie.
Wade didn’t hear the answer.
Red dropped back to walk beside Silas and Wade. “Uh…I don’t know if Cassie should carry a knife. She might cut herself.”
“Or you.” Wade chuckled.
Silas slapped Red on the back.
Susannah slapped Red smartly on the ear. “I wanna knife, Papa.”
Red groaned.
Silas started laughing.
The three men got along well. Which was a good thing, because without knowing exactly how it happened, they ended up being ousted from the house after supper to bunk down in the barn.
Sure, the house was crowded, but Wade had a strong notion that Red and Silas would have liked to sleep next to their wives.
Maybe Wade wouldn’t rush into learning Belle’s new name, after all.