The One Who Waits for Me (16 page)

Gray Eagle lifted a surprised gaze. “Do you know where this deed is hidden?”

“No. I was pushing it just getting Beth to divulge that much. She didn't volunteer its whereabouts.”

“But she knows,” Preach guessed.

Pierce nodded. “She knows. I'd stake my boots on it.” His gaze shifted to the left. “Are you in or out on this?”

“I'm in.” Preach flashed a guilty smile. “I can't let those two varmints hurt Trella or that baby, not if I can stop it. Brutal men have made those three women afraid of their shadows. They think all men are alike, including us.”

Gray Eagle added, “In many ways we are alike, but I will fight to the death for Joanie and her health.”

Pierce nodded briefly. “Same here—for Beth.”

Gray Eagle stiffened. “I did not mean to imply I have any romantic interest—”

“Hey, I just meant I didn't want to see Beth get hurt.” Pierce held up his hands. “I don't have any personal interest in her. When I settle down, it'll be with a woman who can at least tolerate a man.”

“No, sir.” Preach grinned. “Wouldn't want to set on the porch and drink sweet tea with that woman.”

“Any woman,” Pierce corrected. “At least, not right away.”

“What if you happen to recall the name of the girl you left behind?”

Pierce shot Preach a dark look.

“Same goes for me,” Gray Eagle said, clearing his throat. “Toward Joanie. Just looking after her health.”

Preach pulled their attention back to the matter at hand. “It seems to me we should all three stay. None us got to be home any certain time, have we? We've been gone five years.”

Pierce was glad to leave the topic of his romantic interests behind. “So we are agreed. The three of us will stay and help the women to fight this battle.”

The other two nodded.

Reaching for a stick, Gray Eagle drew a large circle in the sandy river's edge. “Any ideas on where to start?”

“We know Bear is still in the area,” Preach said. “And if that other bear didn't eat Walt, without doubt he will be back as well.”

“We're going to have to draw them out and put them on the defense.” Pierce scratched his unshaven chin.

“The only thing that will draw them out is bait,” Preach said.

Pierce shook his head. “We're not using Beth for bait.”

“Or Joanie,” Gray Eagle noted.

“Well, we're sure not using Trella and the baby.” Preach adjusted his hat on his head.

“Walt doesn't care about Trella,” Pierce noted, “or he would have tried to get her last time. The only bait that'll work is Joanie.”

Gray Eagle glanced up. “No way.”

“Walt knows that if he took Beth, she would never tell him where the deed was hidden. But if he had Joanie, Beth wouldn't be able to stand it. He will use her loyalty to her sister against her.”

Gray Eagle shook his head “No. I will not stand by and allow Joanie in harm's way.”

The captain's eyes hardened to flint. “Do you
ever
want to get home?”

“Joanie stays with me.” Gray Eagle held firm.

“We'll have her back,” Preach argued.

“It's the only way.” Pierce straightened. “If we have any hopes of getting home in the near future, this feud has to end.” He removed his hat and swiped a forearm over his eyes. He knew the matter was far from settled. “Now we just have to figure out how to draw Walt to the bait.”

“I think all we have to do is wait,” Gray Eagle said as though he'd changed his mind and decided to go along with the plan. “Uncle Walt is restless. He's tiring of the game. He'll make his move soon. Then we get him.” His jaw clenched.

“Relax.” Pierce touched the scout's shoulder lightly. “You're nothing to her but a nurse, Pricilla.”

Gray Eagle brushed the hand away. “Do not call me Pricilla.”

“That's what you call me when I'm acting like a sissy.”

“Then we'll put Beth out as bait and Joanie beside her. Priscilla.”

“You been smoking that lobelia weed?”

“Gentlemen.” Preach stopped the friendly ruckus. “We got more important things to do.”

Pierce rubbed a hand over his jaw. “If Gray Eagle's right, Walt will set the pace. He'll form the plan, or the bargain, depending on his demands. We play along. Take it step-by-step.”

They all agreed. Battle plans by necessity were often formed on the spur of the moment. It wasn't the ideal approach, but it was the only viable one at the moment.

Gray Eagle met the captain's eyes. “Can you find out where the deed is hidden? We'll need to know in case we're separated.”

“I'll try to pry it out of Beth.” Might be like dragging a dead horse to water, but he'd get the information from her.

Gray Eagle said quietly, “All right, then. We're agreed. We return to camp and wait for Walt's next move.” As they set off for their tent, he turned to Pierce. “Do we tell the women?”

Pierce nodded. “They'll need to know.”

“I will speak to Joanie to see if she's willing to participate. Excitement worsens her condition. The lobelia is helping, but it is not enough.”

“They'll be scared,” Preach warned.

“It's up to us to relieve those fears.” Glancing over, Gray Eagle said, with irony tainting his tone, “Aren't we the ones who sought peace and quiet?”

“That was the idea.”

Chuckling, the three men matched strides to camp, where all was quiet.

As their laughter faded, a keen sense that this was no laughing matter settled in on Pierce. Though their plan seemed the only viable option, they were putting the women in the direct path of danger.

A danger Pierce wasn't anxious to revisit.

Y
es.” Beth faced Pierce later that morning. “I know where the deed is hidden, but why should I tell you?”

“I don't care where it is, Beth, but your uncle does.”

Looking pretty as a rose, she turned back to the wash she was hanging. She'd put on her dress today and had washed and brushed out her hair. She was lovely and feminine to his eye. Five days away from the hard work of the cotton fields had renewed her youthful features. Lines of stress had eased from her face, and the gaunt look of starvation had faded a bit. This morning she looked rested and healthy. “What Walt wants doesn't concern me.”

“It concerns everybody, Beth. The men and I have been talking. We're going to end this feud one way or another so that you don't have to live in constant fear.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she blinked. “And so you can leave us. You're free to do that—”

“I'm not. Not until we settle this ruckus.”

Lifting surprised eyes, she met his gaze as if she couldn't believe he meant to help her, that he truly wanted to help.

He briefly explained the men's conversation from the night before and their decision. He, Gray Eagle, and Preach would stay.

The more he talked, the more overwhelmed she felt. Never ever had any man, let alone three men, come to her rescue. Of course, it wasn't just about her. Joanie and Trella were also the recipients of their kindness. But the men were offering to free her and Joanie once and for all from her uncle's tyranny. The thought made her head spin.

“You would do that?”

He met her uncertain gaze. “I'll tell you what I will do when you tell me where that deed is buried. From this point on, we have to anticipate any move your uncle might make.”

For a second time a voice spoke in her head.
Beth, you either trust this man or let Joanie die and you live in fear the rest of your life
. The thought resonated inside her. She said, “The deed is buried less than a hundred feet from Uncle Walt's house.”

A snort escaped Pierce. “You're not serious.”

She nodded. “There's a deep ravine—a canyon, actually, that runs beside the main house. On the opposite bluff are all sorts of caves. Pa hid the deed in the third cave to the right when you face it from Uncle Walt's front yard.”

“Right under his brother's nose.”

“Like I said, Pa didn't try to fight Uncle Walt. He outwitted him. The box is safe until someone goes to fetch it. I suppose if there is no other means to help Joanie, then I'll do it.”

“Jump a canyon?”

“I know the situation isn't the best, but I'll figure it out when the time comes. Pa risked his life to hide that deed. He had to attach a good, strong rope to a hickory tree at the edge of the canyon and swing across. He said if the branch had snapped or the rope had given way that he would have fallen to his death.”

“But Walt would most likely risk the chance.”

“I believe he would. He isn't known for good sense. He's known for his cruelty and having his way, no matter the cost.”

“Why not tell him? Let him take the risk? He'd be sure to go after it, and if he didn't make it, then you and Joanie would be free of him.”

“I've considered it in my weaker moments, and the notion sets right—but I couldn't be part of a plan that might very well end up killing a man.” She'd worried the idea over and over in her mind, but she couldn't lower herself to Walt's level.

Pierce nodded his understanding. “Still…”

She stiffened. “And what if he made the jump successfully? Pa did. Then Walt would have the deed, and with it he'd buy up more land, more slaves…well, now I guess he'd hire more workers, but it would only continue what he's started. Nothing good would come of it, and he would only put more people under his abuse. No. I can't, Pierce. I'll never tell him. Not ever.”

She had a valid point. And a big part of him admired her selfless attitude. She hadn't gone seeking the deed herself. Instead, she'd sought a simple life with her sister, choosing only to escape Jornigan's tyranny when perhaps she could have had so much more.

“Can you draw me a map of the caves?”

“Yes…but what are you going to do?”

“We're going to play this by ear,” he admitted. “We don't have a specific plan, but one will become apparent. Right now, we're waiting for Walt to make his next move, which we figure will be any time.” His features tightened. “Beth, I don't want to include you in on this, but I might have to. I won't let you or Joanie get hurt. You'll have to trust that whatever I say or do will be in your best interests.”

He could see the hesitancy—the war raging in her eyes. Trust a man? Was she capable of complete trust? “I…don't know.”

“You'll have to trust me, Beth, if we're going to end this chase.”

“Pierce…”

He answered her objection before she voiced it. “I'm not like the other men you have known. And I promise I won't walk away, nor will I allow anyone to lift a hand to you. I… we…will do this together, but it would make it a mite easier if you'd cooperate.”

Swiping at hot tears, she avoided his eyes until he gently tilted her face to meet his. “Will you help me?”

Nodding, she drew a deep breath and said, “I will.”

At that moment, he was taking this woman's plight dead serious, and he should. Without thinking about it, he bent and pressed his lips to hers.

She didn't move. She just watched him with open eyes.

He lifted his head. “What?”

“You…kissed me.”

His features softened. “So I did. You must be pretty kissable, Beth Jornigan. I haven't kissed a woman in years.”

He lifted his hat and then strode off.

N
odding a greeting to the lone Indian woman tending the cooking fires late the next morning, Beth checked on Joanie, who had gone back to bed after breakfast. She'd had a poor night, her coughing waking Beth continually. Sitting beside her sister's pallet, Beth allowed her fears to surface. Her sister couldn't endlessly go on praying for each breath.

Praying, the one thing Beth hadn't tried in order to help her sister…well, except for the one time beside the road when Preach struggled to keep Joanie alive. She had prayed then, sort of, and Joanie had found breath again. Until this moment she hadn't made the connection, but it was surely Preach's prayers that had brought Joanie through yet another breathing crisis and not her clumsy attempts at talking to God.

Beth's gaze roamed the camp, where others were setting about their morning rituals. Did these people pray? The thought intrigued her. Some of the pickers prayed out loud. And the nuns? As they had washed dishes together, Mary Margaret told her a tolling bell summoned them to prayer morning, noon, and evening. What summoned the pickers? What made Joanie drop to her knees to lift her face upward with such assurance? Beth had been deeply entrenched against that God for so long that she'd never given the issue of prayer much thought.