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Chapter 23
The trip from Brownsville to the Bar J&K was about a ninety-minute ride. When Micky informed Pauline that they’d reached the start of the ranch, Pauline relaxed and breathed easy. They were almost there. She was so wrapped up in reveling over the fact that they’d made it to the ranch safely that she didn’t notice how alert Micky and Maggie suddenly became. What Micky failed to mention was that they’d reached the area where, if the gang was going to ambush them, this was probably the place they’d do it.
“How long before we reach the house?” Pauline asked wistfully as she pulled her horse abreast with Maggie’s. “This horse has an unusually rough gait. My hip and leg are beginning to ache.”
“I noticed that rough gate, but the livery didn’t have anything else tame enough for you,” Micky offered from behind them.
“You are mistaken about my riding ability,&r
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Pauline was grateful that the stallion knew his way back to the ranch house. It was dark before they reached the drive leading up to the house and its surrounding buildings and there was no moon or stars out to illuminate their way.“Who goes there?” shouted someone from a long outbuilding that Pauline guessed was where the ranch hands slept.“I am Pauline O’Malley,” she called out. “I have Maggie with me. She’s hurt.”Lanterns filled the night and footsteps could be heard running from all directions as Pauline continued to allow the stallion to make his way up the drive.She heard Angus bellowing orders to his men long before she saw him approach the stallion. “Dear lord, gal. You ride the wildest beast on the property!”“He does have some spunk,” she said as she relinquished Maggie’s limp body to the ranch hands who rushed up to carry her off and then
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Pauline awoke the following morning with a sense of urgency gnawing at her. Her mood didn’t improve when she climbed out of bed and was hit with a sudden case of nausea. She barely made it into the water closet before she was assaulted by projectile vomiting. She’d enjoyed the soup from the night before and thought her queasiness after she’d eaten it was due to how fast she’d eaten and the unfamiliar spices Amy used to season it. Perhaps it was best to find out what those spices were, since they clearly didn’t agree with her.She sighed at the concept of wearing her travel soiled riding habit after performing her morning constitution and freshening up for the day. Sadly, there was too great a difference in her body size and Aiden’s for her to improvise with his clothing and she doubted Amy had anything she could fit into either. She looked for a clothing kit in hopes of brushing away most of the dust and perhaps fresh unde
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 26
Pauline sat in the overstuffed wing-back chair next to the unlit fireplace in the main room of the large ranch house as the ranch hands who were going out each day searching for Aiden stood before her with hats in hand. They reminded her of nervous school children as they shifted from one foot to the other while fidgeting with their hats. She wondered if she really looked that foreboding or if it was simply a matter of them not being used to standing in the presence of an eastern lady. She hoped it was the latter.After much grilling, she learned that Aiden’s horse returned without him the same day of the ambush. When Angus was able to speak and told them that he saw Aiden heading for Indian Ridge, they went out each day and searched for him, but with no luck. When she told them she intended to go and search herself, they worriedly warned her of the perils of the Indians who lived in that area. They claimed they were lucky not to have run i
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 27
The sun felt excruciatingly intense to Pauline and her stomach was upset. Noticing her discomfort, Steven suggested they stop and rest in a small grove of trees for a break and a bite to eat. Amy packed roast beef sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, apples, and some hard cheese for them since she expected them to be gone most of the day.Pauline settled herself beneath the shade of an ancient looking Burr Oak. She pressed her back against its rough bark as she used the trunk for support. She longed to shed some of the layers she wore, but couldn’t for propriety’s sake. Thoughts of the cool water they’d recently crossed taunted her.“Is this an area you already checked?” she asked as she accepted half of a sandwich that was wrapped in a napkin.“I was assigned to the north side of the ranch. I think Bart and Curtis checked here for a few days,” he replied.“One has to question how thoroughly they
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 28
Parting was more amiable than he would have expected. The chief was pleased with the quality of horses and saddles that were traded for Aiden. Aiden did his best to hide his emotions as he said goodbye to his prize gelding. He knew they had no other option than to trade for him, but he would miss his old friend. A cowboy and his horse were a partnership. He knew he’d be lost without him for some time. As for the saddle, of course the chief was happy with it. It was crafted with the finest leather and custom made to fit his horse’s back; like a man would have a shoe made especially for his foot. The saddles on the other two horses were nothing to scoff at. Although they weren’t custom made for the horse, they were of quality.Pauline’s courageous entry into their village also impressed the chief. Not only did he praise her courage, but he expressed his pleasure that she felt she could walk into his village to trade; be it with horses or some
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 29
It was dusk before Steven returned to fetch them. He had two of the ranch hands from the search party with him. They were eager to apologize to Aiden for not finding him sooner, as well as express their happiness in the fact that he was alive and returning to the ranch.Steven did a thorough job of describing the bullet wound in Aiden’s thigh, so Amy was able to pack first aid supplies accordingly. They took the time to wash off the wound and apply a healing salve that had numbing properties before bandaging it. Aiden sighed with relief as the pain and throbbing that he’d lived with for almost two weeks subsided.They’d brought him a well-trained, sure-footed mare to ride back to the ranch, while Pauline was given one of Aiden’s spirited back-up horses.“I think you have the horses mixed up,” Aiden said as he saw them hand the reins of his spirited gelding to Pauline.She chuckled before mounting with the ea
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 30
It was well into the evening when Jake and Steven greeted Pauline and Aiden as they wandered onto the ranch.“I thought I asked you to turn in early,” Aiden growled as Jake took his horse’s reins from him and handed them to Randy, who oversaw the stable maintenance.“I wanted to make sure you got home okay,” Jake said. “Any longer and we were going to head out looking for you.”“We took some time to rest so Aiden’s leg could recover from the strain he put on it during the ambush,” Pauline offered as she accepted Steven’s help getting off her horse. “I’m bone tired.”Aiden firmly suggested that Pauline go directly to his room and take a hot bath while he discussed plans for rescuing Eliza from the renegades with Jake. He worried about his good friend. He was disappointed to find that Angus hadn’t returned from his search. From what he’d
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 31
After hugging and greeting Eliza upon her return, Pauline twirled with delight upon seeing the pack horse and her luggage tied to the back of the wagon.Aiden pulled her bags from the pack horse himself and proudly set them down on the porch in front of her. “I’m still sending for the seamstress. You need a wedding dress,” he said softly.“I was sick all morning,” she admitted in a voice that was just above a whisper. “I’m beginning to think you’re right about what might be going on with me.”“I’m also sending for the doctor. We’ve got a good day’s work for him between us all,” Aiden chuckled.Aiden’s back was to the long drive leading to the ranch and everyone else was pre-occupied with settling the captive ladies in until the sheriff arrived. Only Pauline saw the slumped figure on the horse that was slowly wandering along as if it hadn
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