Page 9 of Saving the Mountain Man’s Legacy (Brothers of Sapphire Ranch #8)

CHAPTER 9

S ampson gasped as a bolt of white-hot agony seared his middle, jerking him from sleep. He reached to grip his belly, but pain shot through his shoulder. What in the Rocky Mountains had happened to him?

Panic gripped his chest as he struggled to piece together fragmented memories. He worked to push his eyelids open. One wouldn’t budge, but the other lifted to a hazy blur of dim light and flickering shadows. The light intensified the pounding in his head, and he let the eye close again.

Something soft rubbed against his hands. His cheeks too. But an icy chill nipped at his nose and brow. The air held the scent of a nearby fire.

Where was he? What had happened?

A voice cut through the fog clouding his mind. “Sampson? You are waking?” A familiar voice. Deep. With a lilt. It brought the feeling of happy adventures. Safe times.

Two Stones.

Squinting against the stabbing pain in his skull, he forced the eye open again and shifted his head.

Two Stones knelt beside him, his dark eyes filled with concern. A hint of a smile touched his lips. “I am glad you have come back to us, my friend.”

Sampson forced a swallow, his raw throat burning. His mouth felt like cotton, but he managed to get out a few words. “What happened?” His voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

Two Stones shook his head. “You made your friends very angry. It was not an easy task to get you away from them.”

He strained for memory. He’d been…in Missoula Mills. Then driving the wagon. Jedidiah. They’d turned off the road…then…nothing.

“Heidi has gone for Dinah and Jericho.” Two Stones reached for something, then moved a wooden bowl into his line of sight. “They will want to help bring you back to the ranch. But there has been a great snow. They may be slow in coming.”

He spooned a liquid from the bowl and placed it at Sampson’s lips. “Drink.”

He obeyed, and a warm liquid dripped into his mouth. Swallowing burned, but some of the cotton cleared from his tongue.

As Two Stones refilled the spoon, Sampson focused on the man’s words. The ranch. He couldn’t leave…

With a jolt, memories rushed in. Grace. And Ruby. He started to push up, but his middle screamed in protest.

“Lie still, brother.” Two Stones’s voice left no room for argument. “You will make the wounds worse.”

He couldn’t get up anyway, so he sank back to the bed. A fur, now that he thought about it. They were outside, but Two Stones had built a small three-sided hut to shield him from the cold. And the snow.

He let himself lie there, eye closed, as he thought through what he could do. He’d been injured. Beaten, if he had to guess. He must have angered Jedidiah. How? That memory wouldn’t come.

Thank the Lord Two Stones found him. How had that come about? He could ask in a minute.

First, he had to think through what would be best for Grace and the baby. If Jedidiah was angry with him, would he do something to Grace? It didn’t seem likely a man would take something like that out on his own daughter, but he’d put nothing past Jedidiah.

He had to get them to a safe place, somewhere her father couldn’t find them.

Another rented room in Missoula? He didn’t know anyone there well enough to trust with such a critical task.

And if Jedidiah caught wind of where they were… Not only would Grace and Ruby not be safe, but whoever sheltered them would end up in the same condition Sampson was. Or worse.

He forced his eye open again to make sure Two Stones was close enough to hear. The man lifted another spoonful of liquid, but Sampson spoke before he could make him drink. “I need you to do something for me.”

Two Stones’s brow lifted, and he paused the spoon.

“Go to…Missoula. The hotel. Room one.” His lungs could barely draw in a half breath, and he had to pause every few words. “My wife…and baby. Make sure…they’re safe. Tell them…what happened. Bring them to…the ranch.”

Two Stones didn’t show the surprise he’d expected. But he’d always been good at concealing his reactions. His expression seemed humored more than anything, with the corners of his eyes creasing.

“I wondered what kept you away. I see now it is the way of all men.”

Sampson would have grinned if it didn’t hurt so much. He’d certainly not planned to come back with a wife and babe. He’d no doubt get some ribbing from his brothers.

Would Grace even agree to go back to the ranch? She’d made it clear she wanted to live by herself. This could be a temporary situation, until they could make sure she’d be safe from her father.

Still…Two Stones would have to convince her of that fact. Good thing Sampson had told her about this friend. Would she need proof that Sampson had indeed sent him? Proof that the danger was dire enough she should do as he was asking? Probably, but what could he send?

He opened his mouth for another spoonful of the drink as he thought through options. “My shirt…it was torn? And bloody?”

Two Stones glanced at Sampson’s belly, though it felt like a fur covered him. “Yes.”

Would Grace remember him leaving in that shirt? It might not be enough. Was there something else? Something in his belongings?

“Do you have my possibles sack?” He would have taken it with him in the wagon.

A frown flitted across Two Stones’s face. “I took only your body when they thought you dead, or nearly so.”

Sampson frowned, but the action made his entire face throb even more. “Who is they ?”

“The men who beat you. Two big men. They went back to the fires after leaving you.”

The two big men must have been Jedidiah’s guards. Fires? He vaguely remembered the glow of several campfires. But straining so hard made the rest of his thoughts muddle.

He didn’t have his sack. So what else could he send? A message? Maybe just telling Two Stones all the details about what had happened between him and Grace would be enough.

He took in as deep a breath as he could manage and started in. “You have to leave now to get Grace and the baby. If her father gets to her first, she might be in danger. Tell her…tell her what happened to me. Tell her I angered her father, and she and the baby are in danger. Tell her I know she didn’t want to go to the ranch, but it’s the only place safe right now. Make sure you bring the goat from the livery.” He sucked in a breath, ignoring the fresh burn in his ribs. “Take her and the baby straight to the ranch. We’ll meet you.”

Two Stones studied him as he spoke, and even now when he’d finished. Why wasn’t he moving?

Sampson did his best to glare. “Go now. You can’t wait.”

“Drink this first.” He put a hand behind Sampson’s head, and Sampson obediently lifted to drink from the bowl. He swallowed hard, pushing back the pain, until the full contents were gone.

As he lay back, his belly roiled. He was going to cast every bit of the drink back up. But maybe Two Stones would leave first.

His friend moved something beside Sampson. “Here is stew. More food in bag. Wood beside fire.”

“Thank you.” He finally let his body release the tension that had been fueling him.

Yet there was one thing more. “If she’s not sure I sent you, tell her…” He struggled for what would be important to her. “I met her near McPharland’s mine, where her father, Jedidiah, works. She was changing the babe’s diaper. I offered her a ride in my wagon to her father in Missoula. She told me about Ruby, that someone left the babe for her to raise. That night, we had to stay in that old trapper’s cabin near the Mullan Road.” What more could he tell? Something very specific. “I heated ham and biscuits for us to eat that night.” There, that should make her certain. Maybe he should add the last important detail, maybe more for Two Stones than Grace. “When we reached her father in Missoula, he made a show of us spending the night together and told us we had to marry. The deputy did our ceremony there in the hotel parlor.”

Saying so much had wiped out the very last of his strength, but he didn’t let himself close his eye yet. Instead, he watched Two Stones to see if the man had any questions.

He only nodded. “I will tell her.”

After throwing more logs on the flames, Two Stones stared at him one more time. “I will come back this way. If she comes willingly, we will see you before dark.”

The thought of Grace seeing him this helpless pressed. And the snow and cold wouldn’t be good for the babe. “Just get her safely to the ranch.”

“God be with you, friend.”

“And you.” His voice broke with the words. God, let Grace be safe. Help Two Stones get there in time.

* * *

G race clutched Ruby close as she ducked through the hotel doors, out of the wind and snow still falling outside. She paused in the hallway to catch her breath and uncover the babe. They’d stopped at the livery on their way back from eating the midday meal at the café. Ruby loved to see the horses and goat, and Grace needed to keep busy while she waited for Sampson's return.

Where could he be? He'd been gone all night and morning, somewhere with her father. When he left, he’d said he expected to return before daylight.

The livery man said Sampson drove a full wagon, and her father rode horseback. With the heavy snowfall, maybe they'd gotten stuck somewhere.

Ruby fussed, her tiny face scrunching as it turned red. She needed a clean diaper and to eat, then likely a nap. Grace moved toward the stairs, but the hotel clerk called out, halting her.

"Mrs. Coulter?”

“Yes?”

He nodded toward the door on the opposite side of the hall. “You have a visitor, ma'am. He's waiting in the parlor."

Grace's heart leapt. Could it be Sampson? But why would he wait in the parlor instead of going up to their room? This parlor was where they’d been married. Did he have something special planned? Something to make up for being gone so much longer than he’d said?

A silly notion. She’d be disappointed if she started imagining things like that.

With her heart pounding, she crossed the lobby to the door that led to the sitting area. She pushed it open slowly, holding her breath as she peeked around the edge.

A tall figure stood near the fireplace. Not Sampson.

Not her father either. In fact, she didn't recognize this man at all.

He must have heard her, for he turned to face her. An Indian? Or, maybe part Indian.

His long dark hair was tied back, and he dressed in leathers like some of the other men around here.

She stayed in the doorway. Was it safe to be alone with him?

“Grace Coulter?” His voice hummed deep, and he spoke in clear English, though there might be a hint of an accent.

“Yes?” She clutched Ruby a little closer, which made the babe start fussing again.

“I am Two Stones. A friend of Sampson.” He took a step closer, and those dark eyes homed on her. “He is hurt. Attacked by men who work for your father.”

She sucked in a breath. No. “What do you mean? Where is he?” She leaned against the door frame, suddenly too weary to stand without help.

Hurt by her father? That couldn’t be possible. There must have been an accident like she’d feared.

“I found him left for dead. He is awake and worried for you, his new wife.” His gaze dropped to the bundle in her arms. “And daughter.”

So many questions swirled inside her. Too many. She couldn’t breathe well enough to think clearly. “Dead? How?”

The man’s expression softened, and he stepped back as he motioned to the sofa. “He is not dead. But hurt badly. Sit. I will tell all I know.”

She needed to sit. Ruby had begun to nuzzle her neck, begging for food. She had nothing to feed her with. The babe would have to wait.

As she moved to the seat he’d indicated, she worked to pull her thoughts together. Sampson was hurt. And this man… She eyed him while she settled, turning the babe to face outward.

Sampson had talked of his family’s native friend, the one who came when they first moved to the mountains. Two Stones had been the name. But maybe she should have this man confirm those details, just to make sure she could trust him.

She released a breath to level her voice. “How do you know my husband?”

The man also sat, facing her as he rested on the edge of an arm chair. “I have known him since the first days his family came to this land. His father was a father to me. He taught me of his God, and He is my God too. Sampson and his brothers are my brothers.” He gripped his hands together in a firm clasp.

She eased out a breath. That’s exactly what Sampson had said. Even the part about God.

The man kept talking. “In the night, I heard the sound of fighting. Of voices. I go closer and see two men beating another. They see he is no more and leave him. I knew the man on the ground. My brother, Sampson.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “He is alive, and my wife gave him the shelter I made for her. She has gone to get his family. When Sampson wakes, he does not remember all. But he begged me to come to you. To bring you and the babe to his family. He will meet you there. You will be safe with the Coulters.”

She had to strain to follow his story, between the slight accent and the unusual way he worded things. She could barely sort through her own thoughts too. He had to be speaking the truth. He knew too much about their situation.

Which meant Sampson must really be hurt. Emotion rose in her throat. “Is it bad? Are there injuries?” She yearned for him to say no. That Sampson had awakened with only a few bruises.

Two Stones dipped his chin. “I could not tell which bones are broken. But he is in much pain. His sister Dinah is a doctor. She will come to help.”

Grace had to go to him. Had to do everything she could for him. She started to push to her feet, but Ruby in her arms made her pause. She couldn’t take Ruby out there, could she? Yet there was no one here to leave her with.

Two Stones leaned forward. “I am to bring you and your daughter to the Coulter ranch. Jericho and Dinah will bring Sampson there to meet you.”

She studied him. That might be better. If she could trust this man to take her there.

He definitely seemed to be Sampson’s friend. But the thought of leaving town, of riding out into the wilderness with a stranger…it terrified her.

She met Two Stones's gaze, searching for any hint of deception. "How do I know you're telling me the truth? That Sampson really sent you?"

The man's expression remained calm and earnest. "He said you might doubt me. That is why he told me things only he would know. Like how you met him near the mine where your father worked. You were changing the child’s soiled clothes. You stayed that night in the old cabin near the road. Sampson heated ham and biscuits to eat that night. Then when you came to your father, he forced the marriage between you." His eyes drifted to Ruby. "Sampson said the child is not yours by blood, but that you love her as your own."

Assurance spread through her with every new fact. There was no way someone would know all those things unless Sampson had told him.

She nodded, then stood, adjusting Ruby in her arms. "I need to feed her and pack our things."

Two Stones nodded, rising as well. "I will ready the horses and goat and bring them here."

Sampson had even thought to mention the goat.

But horses. She'd never been a confident rider, and with Ruby… "I don't know if I can manage on horseback with a baby. Is there not a wagon we can use?"

"A wagon will not make it through the snow. The trails are treacherous now." Two Stones must have seen the fear on her face, for his tone softened. "Do not worry. I will help with the child. And the mare I secured for you has a gentle temper."

Grace gave a reluctant nod. "All right. I'll be as quick as I can."