Henry POV
Abigail was fast asleep when I crawled into bed last night. She didn’t even stir when I pulled her into my arms. At some point during the night, she turned and put her head in the crook of my shoulder. She used my shoulder as a pillow on the night we consummated our marriage and had been doing it ever since. The truth was, I loved the way she wanted to be close to me.
When we woke this morning, her face wasn’t as pale as it had been the last few days. I was fearful that she might be getting sick but she never complained. But seeing her face with a more normal tone and a glow on her face, my insides relaxed. She must have just been exhausted from her travels and the kidnapping, just as she said last night.
We ate a quick breakfast of biscuits and dried beef before we went to the livery for our horses. Some of the forts had stables, but here at Fort Sill, we had a livery. Our wagons, riding gear and t
December 2, 1865 Henry POV When we arrived back at the fort late Sunday evening, Adam was waiting for us. After thanking the warriors and unloading the meat so they could return to their village, Adam helped me carry the fresh meat into the dining hall where Brian was working late, setting bread to rise. “Brian, please place all of this in the cellar for tonight. Tomorrow, when Abigail comes by, please help her cut up part of the meat for us. The remainder can be used for the men,” I told him and he nodded in response. Turning to Adam, I said, “Quannah will be bringing some dried buffalo meat in a few days. We will need to portion some out for Abigail and myself. The rest is for everyone else, so please make sure to put it up for the winter as well.” Brain interjected, “Sir, there is quite a bit of meat here. Due to the cold temperatures, we are experiencing, it is possible, that the meat wil
Abigail POVThis past week has been a whirlwind of activity. After the buffalo hunt Sunday, we arrived back to the fort late. When I asked Henry if he would allow me to shave his beard, I never would have thought he would want to shave my woman’s area. I was shocked at first because we had been together for almost a full week and he hadn’t mentioned it. I did ask him about that later in the week and he said it was something he wanted to do the first night we were together but he decided that he would wait until we were here, in our home and that made sense.And then he didn’t want me to wear my drawers. But I retaliated by telling him that he couldn’t wear drawers either. I was expecting him to argue with me but he didn’t. He just smirked at me and took them off. It did save time. Several times this week, he would be in his office working and I would decide that I wanted to f*ck, as he called it. I would just wa
December 25th Henry POV It has been a busy month. I was busy with training and answering dispatches from my superiors back east. My superiors were trying to decide where I would be sent next, since things were relatively calm here in the southwest part of the territory. There was rumor they were going to send us north to Camp Supply, but it had not yet been confirmed. My latest dispatch requested that some of the men here would travel with me. My only hope was that my replacement would be able to maintain the peace with the Indians as we had been able to do. Abigail spent the month planning her Christmas celebration. She and Brian were busy going over the menu she planned and then worked to make sure that they had everything they needed to pull it off. She was able to obtain some corn from Quannah, as they had an ample supply from their summer harvest. Last week, Abigail sent Levi
Spring 1866 Abigail POV January was cold and wet. It snowed four times that month. Dumping no less than three feet of snow each time. I was glad that the men had worked hard in the summer and fall to put up plenty of fire wood. By the end of the month, we had gone through almost half of the wood they had prepared. I knew that if the weather continued to be severe, we might have to ration or even go in search of more wood. And winter was no time to be drying wood for fires. Henry spent most of the month working on reports and making plans for our move to another part of the territory. He had received a dispatch indicating they were considering him for two different posts. The first was at Fort McCullongh. Part of me was hoping for that location because it meant that we would be only a few hours from Hannah and Jamie. While Henry agreed that would be a wonderful location, his feeling was that they were planning to send him to the other location, Camp Supply. It was much further north.
Abigail POV My head was throbbing. As I came to, I realized I was on a horse and it was not Moon. I stiffened as I remembered what had happened. I had stopped by the stream for a quick drink for my parched throat. I also wanted to let Moon have a drink, before we headed back to Fort Sill. Besides, it was such a pretty day, I really didn’t think it would matter if I tarried. I heard a twig snap and I looked up into the eyes of my abductor. I stood up to run and he grabbed me and the next thing I remember, I was here, sitting on his horse, in front of him. He was smart, he had tied my hands together and I was tied to the pommel of his saddle. I wasn’t going to be able to escape easily. “Finally awake, are you girl,” he growled in my ear. “You thought you could disappear and I wouldn’t find you. I have you now and by the time you are found, we will be married and you will be carrying my child.”
Hannah POVJamie and I had just left our supply list with Mr. Perkins at the mercantile and were headed to Millie’s for lunch when I saw a rider coming into town. I pointed him out to Jamie, “Look, travelers coming.”As the horse drew near, I realized that the woman sitting in front of him was my friend, Abigail. But that man was not her Henry. He was too old. I gripped Jamie’s hand and said, “It’s Abigail and that is not her husband.”He whispered, “Okay, let’s not make a scene. Let’s see what we can find out.”We stood and watched as they rode closer. I was able to catch her eye and realized that she was terrified. I noticed as she barely shook her head at me, telling me not to say anything. The man slowed the horse and spoke to Jamie, “Good day. Can you tell me where I can get my wife a hot meal? We have been traveling and our
Henry POVOnce again, I was woken by the sound of pounding on the door. By the time I had crawled out of bed, pulled on my pants and made it to the sitting room, Levi had answered the door and was holding out a piece of paper to me. “It’s a telegram for you, Henry,” he said, “I haven’t opened it.”I nodded as I took the paper from him. Opening it, I quickly read through the telegram. It was lengthy, but told me everything I had hoped to hear:Received the following telegram from Paris TX-Sent dispatch to Sill-Unable to Deliver; Assume you arrived at McCulloch; confirm receipt:Abigail is safe. Rossi in jail. Proceed to Paris and ask for Sheriff Randall Edwards.Signed, Fort Cobb DispatchI smiled as I looked up at Levi and Wohali, whom was bunking with us, “she’s safe.”We all
Abigail POVIt was difficult to tell Henry all that Rossi had done to me. I knew that it wasn’t my fault. The man was vile and had no right to touch me. However, it didn’t stop the weird feelings that stirred in my mind. I knew Henry’s touch, it was strong, yet gentle and soft. Rossi’s was rough and cruel. Henry’s kisses were full of love, passion, and tenderness. Rossi’s were lustful and demanding.The retelling of it was difficult because I blamed myself. If I had gone straight back to the fort. Hell, if I had allowed Levi to go with me to the camp, none of this would have happened. Once I had cried out my lingering fear, resentment, frustration and anger towards Rossi, all that was left was the need for his justice. His violation had only gone so far, but the mental anguish of his assault would last for some time.As we spoke of his punishment, I found my stomach was unknotting itse