A Heart Divided (31 page)

“Oh no!” she wailed, gazing down as the remainder of the liquid opium drained onto the floor. “That was our last bottle. I’m so sorry, Nick!”

“It’s okay,” he replied, shooting her a wan, pain-wracked smile. “We can g-get more. Maybe you should go see what broke, though. Since it’s Emma’s d-day off, and Manuela’s sick . . .”

His reminder of the cause for the ruined bottle of laudanum jerked Sarah’s thoughts back to two boys who were now in
very
big trouble. “I can well imagine
who
broke something, even if I’ve yet to find out what,” she ground out in irritation.

A weak smile tipped one corner of Nick’s mouth. “Well, don’t go too h-hard on the boys. Cord and I sure br-broke our fair share of things in our youth too.”

“Yes, boys will be boys,” she said, “but I’ve been after them all morning to calm down. I’m about ready to dump them both outside in the snow, I am.” She glanced down at the broken bottle. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with something to clean up the mess. Once I’ve again settled down some wild young men, of course.”

“I’ll be here. Got no place else to go today.”

She smiled at him tenderly. Already, the extra dose of medication was beginning to work, if the relaxation of the taut lines about Nick’s mouth were any indication. If she was lucky, she’d be able to get to Ashton and back in a couple of hours with a new prescription of laudanum from Doc Saunders. More than enough time, she hoped, before Nick might need another dose.

But to do so she’d need to hurry on her way, and very soon. Just as soon as, she thought in irritation, she got
two
messes cleaned up and two boys settled down once and for all.

An hour later, she and Danny set out for town. After careful consideration, Sarah decided it was better to divide and conquer than hope the two boys would settle down if left alone in the big ranch house. Plus, Pedro was old enough to keep an eye on Nick. If any problems arose, he was to fetch Emma from her little cabin that was the original ranch house and only a five minute walk away.

Sarah fervently hoped, however, that all would go smoothly while she and Danny were gone. That Nick would finally get some pain relief and rest. That Emma wouldn’t have to be disturbed on her one day off a week. And that she’d be fortunate enough to find Doc Saunders in his office so they wouldn’t have to wait until he returned from a house call.

The drive to Ashton was uneventful. They bundled up in thick bear robes, besides their usual winter garb, and Sarah took along a rifle for protection. The cold weather of late had, providentially, not brought additional snow, so the carriage with its covered top and sides provided decent protection from the wind. It was also, on the rutted, windswept dirt road, much easier to handle than the sleigh.

Doc was in his office, so the refill of additional bottles of laudanum went quickly. A quick stop at McPherson’s Mercantile to pick up a stick of penny candy for Danny and one for Pedro as well, a few minutes talking with Dougal, and they were once more headed back to the ranch. Driving along, Sarah reveled in the view of majestic peaks surrounding the long, wide valley. With heights craggy and imposing, and snow looking so very fresh and pristine, the mountains glinted like shining silver.

The air was crisp. The sense of power and purpose as she went along her important task filled her with joy. Nick needed her. Cord depended on her. And she felt so very capable and—

The carriage lurched violently, then swayed to one side at a precarious angle. As Sarah struggled to control the now panicky horses, from the corner of her eye she saw one of the carriage wheels bounce down a steep hill and out of sight. With great difficulty, Sarah finally pulled the spooked animals to a halt, set the hand brake, then looked to her brother sitting beside her.

“Are you all right?”

He grinned up at her. “Yep. I thought we were going to tip over.”

She’d thought the same thing but decided not to belabor the very real danger they had been in. “Well, let’s get down, shall we? You can hold the horses while I start looking for that wheel. At the rate it was going, it might take me quite a hike to retrieve it.”

Ever so carefully, they climbed from the now lopsided carriage. Luckily for the both of them, the two mares they’d hooked in the harness today were usually calm and gentle. Now that the carriage wasn’t going anywhere or likely to do anything else to frighten the animals, she felt quite safe leaving Danny to hold them. She did retrieve the rifle, however. The terrain she’d have to traverse in search of the wheel looked a bit rough and full of hills and ravines.

“You whistle if anyone or anything shows up, you hear?” she told her brother. “And if you have to, you can always climb back into the carriage for protection.”

“I’ll be okay.” Danny gestured in the direction the wheel had taken. “You’d better hurry. It’ll take us a while to put on the wheel. If we can.”

That was exactly her worry, Sarah thought as she nodded and set out, the rifle clasped firmly in her hand. She knew she’d find the wheel, sooner or later. Depending on what had caused it to come loose, however, might well determine if the wheel would be useable or not. She’d probably have to hold up the carriage and have Danny try to slide it back on its axle.
If
they even could.

If worst came to worst, they had the horses and could always unfasten them from the carriage and ride them home. There was no reason to fear they’d be trapped out here for the night. Things weren’t really that bad, she reassured herself as she trudged down a steep hillside and across a snow-filled gully. Things could’ve turned out far, far worse.

The wheel, though, had apparently possessed enough momentum to cover a surprising amount of ground. Sarah was soon out of sight of the road and carriage and trekking up a small hill then down into another ravine that was so steeply inclined she soon realized it had served as a natural course for the wheel to careen down. Twenty minutes later, she caught sight of the errant carriage wheel lying on its side in the middle of the very long and now narrow ravine.

She trudged up to it and groaned in dismay. Not only had two of the spokes apparently broken in the wheel’s bouncing, furious flight, but now, on closer inspection, she found the hub had cracked through, which was what had caused the wheel to loosen and fall off. There was nothing to be done now but leave the disabled carriage on the road and ride the horses home. Some of the hands could return tomorrow to repair the wheel or bring a good one in its place.

Sarah looked up. Already, the sun was veering toward the west. It would be dusk in another few hours. She didn’t care to still be out on the road in the dark. Briefly, she considered trying to drag the wheel back to the carriage, then decided it would just slow her down. Better to return tomorrow with the hands to show them its location.

As she began her trudge back, the wind whipped up. On the chill breeze, Sarah thought she caught the sound of bawling cattle. She halted, listening intently. Then, as the wind died, the sound disappeared.

She shook her head. “Must be starting to hear things.”

As she resumed her trek, however, the bawling came again. She whirled around, trying to make out where the sounds were coming from. There weren’t any ranches nearby. Indeed, another half mile or so, and they’d arrive at the outskirts of Castle Mountain land. There was no reason to be hearing cattle out here. No reason, unless . . .

Unless someone had cattle hidden in one of the dry ravines common in this area. And the only reason to hide cattle was if you’d stolen them.

Excitement vibrating through her, Sarah headed in the direction she’d heard the cattle bawling. They couldn’t be very far away. She’d just take a quick peek around, if it seemed like there was enough cover to hide in. She wouldn’t do anything foolish. She couldn’t afford to, not with Danny still awaiting her on the road.

She climbed to a tree-covered hill, then down the other side, before she began to notice tracks in the snow. Cattle tracks and also those of unshod horses. Could they possibly be the same unshod horses used to rustle their cattle? But those tracks had led up into the mountains far west of here.

“They could’ve always backtracked,” she said aloud, trying to talk through the dilemma, “once they’d made sure their trail was gone. And who’d think to look this close to the road? It wouldn’t make sense.”

The sounds of the cattle were louder now. Sarah paused, scanning the area for sign of any possible lookouts. When she saw none, she trudged across the next ravine and up another hill. As she neared the top, this time she crouched low and carefully peered down the other side.

There, in yet another ravine, about thirty head of cattle milled about in a makeshift pen. Though it looked as if no one was about, signs of a gutted campfire and a pine-bough-covered lean-to gave ample evidence that people had been here. She sucked in a breath. Even from this distance, she could make out the distinctive Castle Mountain brand.

Scuttling back down the hill until there was no chance she could be seen from the ravine below, Sarah stood and made her way to the road as fast as the snow drifts would allow. All the while, her mind raced with possible actions she could take.

In the end, she decided to return to the ranch with Danny. After informing Nick of what she’d found, Sarah would next round up Spence and several hands and lead them back to the hidden Wainwright cattle. Even if they didn’t catch up with any of the rustlers today, a sizeable amount of their stolen cattle would be safely back home. Besides, there was always the chance they might find evidence around the campsite of who the perpetrators were.

“Am I glad to see you,” her brother exclaimed when she finally rejoined him on the road. “I was afraid a bear had eaten you.”

She gave a derisive snort. “Well, if there’d been bears you would’ve at least heard me fire the rifle before the beast ate me.”

With no time to waste, Sarah leaned the rifle against the carriage and began unfastening the harnesses from the carriage poles. Eventually, after lifting up Danny onto one horse, she was able to mount the other. She briefly considered retrieving the rifle, then thought better of it. It was going to be awkward enough riding bareback and keeping her brother on his horse without trying to hold onto a rifle in the bargain. She could just get it when she returned with the men.

They made it back to the ranch in good time. After helping Danny down, she followed him into the house. It felt wonderful to be inside where it was so nice and warm, Sarah thought as she pulled off her hat, coat, and mittens.

“Want something warm to drink?” she asked as she guided her brother down the hall to the kitchen. “How about hot cocoa?”

“That sounds great,” Danny replied, smacking his lips.

To her surprise, Emma was in the kitchen. “Oh, good, you’re back safe and sound. I was beginning to worry about you two.”

“The carriage lost a wheel, so we rode the horses back.” Sarah glanced around. “Where’s Pedro? And why are you here on your day off?”

“Pedro’s in the barn milking the cow. And I happened to look out my window as you drove by. Figured something was up. So I moseyed on over.”

“How’s Nick?” Sarah dug the two bottles of laudanum from her pocket. “Guess Pedro told you about us needing more medicine?”

The older woman nodded. “Yes, he did. And Nick’s finally asleep. Has been for a good hour or so, but it was touch-and-go for a while.”

“Oh, then I guess it’s best I don’t bother him. He was so exhausted from the pain . . .”

Emma cocked her head. “And exactly what were you planning on bothering him about?”

Excitement tightened Sarah’s voice. “I found some of our cattle. Some of the stolen ones, I mean. They’re hidden in a ravine near where our carriage broke down.” She paused. “I promised Danny some hot cocoa to warm him. It’s pretty chilly outside. Could you make him some while I go find Spence?”

“Whoa, hold on there!” Emma said, grabbing her arm as Sarah turned to leave. “And exactly what do you plan to do? About those stolen cattle, and with Spence?”

“What else?” Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the housekeeper. “I’ve got to lead him and some of the hands to where the cattle are. I’m the only one who can, after all.” She laughed, suddenly overjoyed. “Just think, Emma. I’ve finally got an opportunity to do something really important for Cord and the ranch. Something to finally make up for all the trouble I’ve caused!”