Chapter 15

15

“Letty!”

Philip dropped the packhorse’s lead line, ordered the animal to stand, and kicked Steele into pursuit. He’d lose her in the trees if he didn’t hurry.

He grabbed his rifle before it could slide off his lap, wishing he had time to shove it back into his scabbard. He’d be more comfortable riding without the encumbrance, but having a weapon in hand might prove beneficial depending on what they encountered.

Fool woman. How was he supposed to protect her if she went haring off on some wild wolf chase? They had no idea where Drake Radcliffe’s men were or how close they might be. Not to mention a dozen other dangers she could stumble into. Black bears, timber rattlers, outlaws. Shoot, riding this fast through a dense forest was folly enough. She could get hit by a low-hanging branch. Her horse could step wrong and take them both down. Without knowing the terrain, she risked coming upon a gully or ravine with no warning. What if an animal spooked her mare and the horse reared? Letty could break her neck.

Thinking about all the dangers that could befall his charge so distracted him he nearly ran into a rogue branch himself. He lunged to his right, the end of the branch catching the brim of his hat. He reached up, rifle and all, to fit the hat back onto his head before he lost it, then realized he might have lost something else.

Letty .

He whipped his head from side to side, desperate to catch a glimpse of her. She’d been right in front of him. Only a few horse lengths at most separating them. A vise clamped around his gut and began to twist. Where did she go?

Heart hammering, he slowed his mount and scoured the forest in front of him, widening his search area with each sweep of his gaze.

Please, God. Please, please, please.

“Letty!” He hollered with such force his throat ached.

A bark echoed somewhere to his right. He snapped his attention in that direction and nudged Steele into a trot. A flash of red caught his eye as it moved between the trees about forty yards ahead.

“Yah!” He kicked Steele into a canter as he chased that flash of color—the hooded cape she kept rolled up and tied to the back of her saddle.

Steele surged forward, responding to his master’s urgency. A series of barks echoed through the trees, the sound reminding Philip of a coon dog that had treed his prey. Rusty had reached his target. Using the sound as a beacon, Philip followed the barks west.

The terrain grew steeper, forcing him to slow his mount. A movement at the top of the hill drew his eye. A black horse carrying a small rider. A stripe of red winked at him from behind the saddle before the horse disappeared over the rise.

Switching to a more direct path, Philip steered Steele straight up the hill. The steepness slowed their pace but significantly reduced the distance they had to travel.

“C’mon, boy. Just a little farther.” Rusty’s barks echoed from somewhere just over the ridge. Whatever the wolf had led them to, they were nearly upon it.

Then all at once, the barking stopped.

It doesn’t mean anything’s wrong. It just means Letty caught up to him .

But not knowing what that wolf of hers had brought them out here to find drove dozens of tiny cactus spines into his heart.

Finally, he crested the ridge, and in one sweeping glance took in the scene.

Rocky outcroppings to his left. Trees and a gentle downward slope to his right. Letty’s mare stood in a clearing ten yards ahead, saddle empty. Rusty stood atop a flat rock a short ways past the horse, his head bowed, his attention on something on the other side.

Then there was Letty, sprawled on her belly next to her wolf, feet wriggling as she slithered forward, head hidden from Philip’s view.

“It’s all right.” Her voice echoed like blissful music in his ears.

He patted Steele’s neck in celebration as they moved into the clearing.

“Take my hand, Calvin.” Her voice, obviously not aimed at him, sounded strained.

All reassurance emptied from Philip’s muscles in an instant. He dismounted in a leap and ran for the rock, his pace quickening as he realized he could see no land past the outcropping. Was she dangling over a cliff? This wasn’t mountain country, but steep ravines could still be deadly. One slip on the loose soil and rock and a person could tumble all the way to the bottom, busting and breaking who knew what on the way down.

“That’s it.” Letty grunted. “Just stretch a little higher.” Letty’s shoulders slid over the edge as she reached for whoever was on the other side.

Even if the person was small, their weight could easily drag her off the ledge. The thought had barely crossed his mind when she started sliding.

Philip dropped his rifle and pumped his legs harder, his gaze locked on her boots. Afraid his momentum would push her over the side, he approached at an angle and launched himself across her lower half from a perpendicular position.

She released a grunt as his weight landed atop her, but all he cared about was the fact that her legs were now pinned to the rock, his body anchoring them in place.

“I’ve got you!” she cried to someone he still couldn’t see.

“And I’ve got you .” His sides heaved as a prayer of gratitude winged heavenward.

He felt the muscles in Letty’s back and legs tighten as she strained to reel in whatever fish she’d caught. Wanting to get her away from the ledge as quickly as possible, he shifted his weight just enough to wrap his arms around her legs and heave her backward. Once her shoulders cleared the top of the ridge and neutralized the immediate danger of her falling over the side, Philip flattened himself on his belly beside her and peered over the edge.

A boy stared up at him, face scraped and covered in dirt, eyes brimming with tears. The lad couldn’t be older than eight or nine. Nothing but a few inches of ledge and an exposed tree root for a handhold separated him from the bottom of the ravine. Philip’s heart gave a twinge as he reached over the side, grabbed a fistful of the boy’s shirt, and dragged him onto the safety of the rock.

He expected the kid to need a minute to recover—heaven knew Philip did—but the boy popped up and immediately started tugging on Philip’s sleeve.

“Please, mister, you gotta help my brother.”

Philip rolled over and crunched up to a sitting position, then offered Letty a supportive hand as she did the same. Their eyes met. Gratitude glimmered in her gaze, but it played second fiddle to the deluge of concern flooding her expression. A tiny tip of her head was all it took to make it clear where she wanted him to devote his attention.

“Please, mister. He’s hurt real bad.”

Philip turned back to the boy. “Where is he?”

The boy raised a trembling hand and pointed back to the ravine. “Down there.”

****

Letty gripped the edge of the rock and searched the expanse below. Her gaze slid farther and farther down until she spied a dark, crumpled form near the streambed at the base. An impossibly small form. A gasp rose in her throat, but she swallowed it. She didn’t want to add to Calvin’s distress. The boy was still shaking from his own ordeal.

Before she could turn, she felt Philip come alongside, his presence providing immediate comfort and assurance that instilled her with a confidence she couldn’t have manifested on her own.

“Do you see him?” she murmured. “To the left. By the streambed.”

“I see him.” His voice sounded grim. Much like her heart felt.

The boy wasn’t moving. She prayed he’d simply been rendered unconscious from his fall. That a chance remained for him to recover.

“I’ll get a rope and repel down to fetch him.”

Letty pushed away from the edge of the rock and brushed off her hands. “I’ll help.”

“There’s a small satchel tied to the back of my saddle filled with bandages and medicinal supplies. Fetch that for me along with my rope while I find a good place to tie off.” Philip’s sharp gaze had already begun studying the nearest trees, seeking one stable enough to serve as an anchor.

Scrambling quickly to her feet, Letty smiled at Calvin and reached for his shoulder. “Come. Help me gather the things Mr. Carmichael needs.”

Tear tracks streaked Calvin’s dirty face. “Is Dennis gonna be all right?”

Heavens, but she wanted to say yes. To promise that his brother was going to be just fine. But false hope would only make it harder for him to deal with whatever reality awaited.

Hunkering down to look him straight in the eyes, Letty took hold of the boy’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “I don’t know how badly your brother is hurt, Calvin, but I do know that Mr. Carmichael will do everything he can to protect him and keep him safe. He’s very good at protecting people.”

All she had to do was recall his weight falling upon her to prove her statement true. She’d felt herself slipping over the side of the ledge until his body had pressed her legs against the rock and kept her from falling. She’d not given much thought to how he might react to her riding off beyond expecting to earn his displeasure and anger. Yet, not only had he followed, he’d thrown himself into the fray immediately upon his arrival. A fact she thanked God for. She might have been the one to initially heed the call, but Philip was the one who made the rescue. Without him, she and Calvin might very well be at the bottom of that ravine right now with poor Dennis.

Keeping hold of Calvin’s hand, Letty straightened and led the way to where Steele stood in the dirt at the base of the rock. Spotting the long coil of rope tied to the side of Philip’s saddle, Letty headed there first. Releasing Calvin’s hand, she untied the leather thongs holding the rope in place, then handed it down to the boy.

“Here. Take this to Mr. Carmichael.”

He jabbed his arm through the loop, then pushed it up over his shoulder. The boy was obviously no stranger to carting such supplies. Like a little soldier who’d received his orders, Calvin spun around and ran toward Philip.

“Don’t go near the edge,” Letty called after him, worried the child’s concern for his brother might make him incautious.

She watched him for a moment, glad when Philip stepped around to the backside of a tree growing along the rim and intercepted Calvin several feet from the ravine. Trusting Philip to keep an eye on the boy, Letty turned her attention to collecting the medical supplies. She found them beneath a rain slicker in a small satchel. Working quickly, she unfastened the straps that moored it to the saddle, then hurried to join the others.

Philip glanced up at her approach and accepted the bag she held out to him. “Thanks.” He stretched the strap over his head and pushed one arm through so the bag hung across his body. Then he gave the rope he’d just knotted around the base of a loblolly pine a hard yank. He appeared convinced that it would hold his weight, but she couldn’t help worrying just a little. Philip had proven himself quite capable, but dropping into a ravine didn’t seem like the type of skill most Pinkertons would be required to perform on a regular basis. What if something went wrong?

She kept her doubts to herself, though, not wanting them to damage the confidence of either male in her vicinity. Besides, she’d likely have to traverse the rope herself to lend assistance once Philip assessed the damage. Thankfully, the ravine’s drop was only sheer at the top. After the first eight to ten feet, it became more of a steep slope than a cliff. The rope would simply provide the stability needed to descend in a controlled manner. She could manage it.

Philip tossed the remainder of the rope into the ravine. It failed to reach the bottom, but it would get them past the steepest sections.

“I’ll watch you go down, then follow after you.”

Philip’s gaze slammed into hers with all the softness of a sledgehammer hitting iron. “No, ma’am. You’re staying here.”

“But you’ll need my help with Dennis. How will you ever get him back up here on your own?”

“I’ll manage.”

“But—”

“This isn’t up for discussion, Letty.” He skewered her with a glare that made her ribs ache. Then his gaze darted to Calvin and back. “Watch over the boy. He needs you more than I do at the moment.”

The pronouncement only intensified her rib ache.

Pressing her lips together to keep her hurt from leaking out, she nodded her acceptance. He nodded as well, and a few of the storm clouds cleared from his gray eyes. He moved into position at the edge of the rock, swung the medical bag around to his back, then gripped the rope.

“Wait!” Watching that bag swing gave her an idea.

Letty ran to her mare and unfastened her bedroll. She flung it open on the ground, grabbed the thin blanket from inside, then ran back to Philip.

“Here.” She thrust it toward him. “You can use it like a sling to strap the boy to your back before making the climb back up.”

His brows raised slightly, but he accepted the offering and draped it around the strap on the medical bag.

“Thanks.”

Not wanting him to leave with anger sparking between them, she touched his arm, hoping he could sense her support. “Be careful, Philip.”

His face softened, and the ache in her ribs eased just a bit. “I will.”

Then before she could say anything else, he dropped over the side and disappeared from view.