Chapter 16

Daxton

Daxton looked for Josey throughout the night along with Colton, Wyatt, and Harrison. Dirk and Mr. Carson stayed back to protect the town, just in case Austin and his gang came back.

Daxton hated to leave his children overnight, but he knew they were safe with Mrs. Jenkins. Besides, he'd never forgive himself if anything happened to Josey. When the faint rays of morning sunlight peeked through the clouds, Daxton turned to the men. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest? We can start out again later.”

“Not a chance,” Colton replied. “If Austin finds her first, I’ll never forgive myself for having stopped.”

“Same here,” Wyatt agreed.

“I’m not going anywhere until we find her,” Harrison chimed in. “We’ve covered most of the area. With no clues, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

A crease formed between Daxton’s eyes. “What are you saying?”

Harrison sighed. “Let’s go back to your ranch and see if we missed anything. I have a little experience with tracking.”

Daxton sighed. “We tried that, but there wasn’t much to go on.”

“But now it’s daybreak. We’ll be able to see more. Maybe there’s something we missed.” He looked around and then added, “I’d like to give it another shot, at least.”

Wyatt looked over at Daxton. “I’m game."

“Let’s go,” Daxton agreed, and they started toward his ranch.

As the sunlight streamed through the lightening sky, all he could think about was Josey. She had been gone for two nights now and a full day. He knew that she must have been scared out of her mind. Alone and trying to stay ahead of Austin.

Austin Slater.

Daxton just hoped he found her before Austin or one of his men did. Daxton still found it hard to believe that Josey had killed Logan. She was sweet, kind, and innocent, but a very strong woman. Maybe Austin just thought she killed him. Maybe she didn’t do it. Maybe... she had a good reason.

From what he knew of her, of her behavior when he first met her, she had good reason. That is, if she even did it. Maybe it was an accident. Daxton found it hard to believe that Josey would ever kill anyone intentionally. But in order to find out her side of the story, he had to find her first. Daxton was sure that Austin could be creative and find new ways to kill her… if he thought that she had killed his brother.

Daxton vowed to talk to her when he found her and hear her out. He owed her that much.

He had only known her for a short while, but she had already wormed her way into his heart and into the hearts of his children. Unintentionally, of course. He just hoped he found her soon. Horrifying images of being too late, of her lifeless body strung up in a tree—or worse—came to mind. But he refused to think that way. He would find her before Austin did. He had to.

When they stopped at Daxton’s ranch. Harrison folded his arms across his saddle horn. “Daxton, why don’t you go inside and check again. I’ll take a look around out here.”

Daxton nodded, hoping that he wouldn’t go inside and find the worst.

“I’ll go with him,” Colton said to Harrison as he dismounted. He must have been thinking the same as Daxton, although he wore his best Poker face.

But Daxton didn’t object. If he found Josey dead inside, a part of him didn’t want to be alone.

“I’ll stay with Harrison,” Wyatt announced.

Daxton, nodded, barely acknowledging him, dreading what he might find. He headed inside and Colton followed. Out of the corner of his eye, Daxton could see that Colton’s hand was hovering near his gun. It appeared that Colton feared the worst, too. But as they stepped cautiously into the house, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Nothing was out of place.

Please, God. Don’t let me find her like this, Daxton thought to himself, hoping that he wouldn’t find her broken body, dead. He was glad that the children were with Mrs. Jenkins. He just hoped that Austin didn’t get the bright idea to go for them, too.

“Daxton!” Harrison yelled. “Out here!”

Daxton glanced quickly over at Colton and their eyes met for a second. In that second, Daxton saw fear in Colton’s eyes for the first time since he’d known him. But he knew it wasn’t fear for himself, but fear for Josey.

They both ran quickly outside, and Harrison was squatting down on the ground, looking at something. When Daxton got closer, he could see that it was a set of small footprints.

“From what I can tell,” Harrison said, “she was running and she was headed this way.”

“How can you tell?” Daxton asked.

A crease formed between Harrison’s eyes. “The footprints are farther apart and not as indented as they would have been if she was walking. Also, the middle of the foot isn’t visible, just the toe and the heel, another indication of her running.”

“Are you sure they’re her footprints?” Colton asked, a crease forming between his eyes.

Harrison bit his lower lip and released it. “You said the children haven’t been home, right?”

Daxton sighed. “No, they’re with Mrs. Jenkins. I took them there myself last night.”

“That's what I thought.” Harrison stooped down, as if to get a closer look, and pointed at one of the tracks. “The footprints are shaped like a lady's shoe. The toe is more pointed and the heel square, smaller. Also, these tracks are reasonably fresh. Made within the last twenty-four hours.”

“Let’s go.” Daxton walked ahead, following the footprints, careful not to touch them.

“How did you learn all this?” Wyatt asked behind him.

“I spent some time with the Indians here,” Harrison replied.

“There were Indians here?” Wyatt asked.

“Yes, but they were made to relocate.” Harrison studied the ground, walking a bit ahead.

Daxton couldn’t imagine living in this beautiful country and then being forced to relocate. He was sure that some stayed behind but stayed out of sight from the white man. He wouldn’t be surprised if there was a settlement close by, too. But if there was, they stayed to themselves.

“Here!” Harrison announced. “See this cobweb? It was broken and is now half rebuilt. Someone came through here after dark.”

“It was probably her.” Daxton started to rush off, but Colton grabbed his arm.

“Harrison, do you think she was alone?” Colton asked.

Daxton’s heart skipped a beat, awaiting his answer.

Harrison nodded. “Yes, there’s only one set of footprints.”

They walked along, following the trail of footprints and broken grass into the woods. It was clear that Josey was trying to stay out of sight. Daxton was surprised that so much could be told from the land, if you were looking for it. Suddenly, the tracks stopped.

“Where did she go?” Daxton asked, looking around. He hadn’t realized it, but following her trail was almost as if she had been there with them... almost.

Harrison shook his head.

Daxton’s heart sank. “You don’t think she fell into the river, do you?” Whiskey River wound around before passing just behind his property.

“I’m not sure... oh god!” Harrison started hurrying away.

“What?” Daxton demanded, following beside him.

“Years ago, before I came, there was a mine close to here.”

“A mine?” Then Daxton remembered having heard about it. Mr. and Mrs. Carson had mentioned it a few times over the years, but it was so infrequent that he never paid it much mind. Also, Mrs. Jenkins had mentioned it a time or two.

Harrison nodded, hurrying ahead. “A coal mine. They closed it down when part of it collapsed.”

Daxton’s heart sank. “Where is it?”

Harrison inclined his head forward. “Just up ahead. There was another entrance, too, but this is where it caved in.”

“Can you show me where?” Daxton asked, trying to keep from running.

“Of course. It’s not far.” Harrison hurried ahead with Daxton, Wyatt, and Colton hot on his heels.

“Quiet!” Colton announced, holding his arms out. “Did you hear that?”

“What?” Wyatt asked.

“Shh!!” Daxton said. They all froze, listening.

“Da....” It was weak, but it was definitely a voice. “Daxton!” the voice said again, clearer this time.

“It’s Josey! We found her!” He started to rush ahead, but Harrison held his arm out to stop him.

“Be careful. It might not be safe.” Harrison smirked. “All we need now is for you to fall in, too, and then we’d have two of you to rescue.”

Colton frowned. “Or it could be a trap.”

But at that moment, Daxton didn’t care. All he could think about was Josey. “Josey?” He waited for a moment, but there was nothing. Then he turned to Harrison. “How far away is the mine?”

“Just up ahead.” Harrison nodded. “But be careful. If one part of it fell in, more of it may fall in, too. But I don’t think she fell in randomly. I think she fell in where it caved in before… just up ahead.”

Unable to help himself, Daxton started running in the direction that Harrison had indicated. “Josey?”

“Daxton!” Josey called out, louder this time. “Down here!”

Daxton’s heart leaped as he slowed, stepping carefully toward the sound of her voice, growing louder. “Josey?”

“Daxton!” Josey screamed, louder this time.

All of a sudden, the forest opened up to a small clearing. He looked around but saw nothing. Obviously, the vegetation had grown up around it, covering the hole. “Josey?”

“Here! I’m down here!”

“Keep talking until I find you!”

“Daxton, I’m so sorry! I should have told you... I should have—”

“None of that matters now.” Daxton walked carefully toward the sound of her voice, taking one step at a time. “We’ll talk about it when you’re safe.”

“I should have told you—” Her voice was much louder, clearer now. He was getting close.

“We can talk about it later.” Then he looked ahead and there was a hole in the ground, half covered by grass. “Josey?”

Daxton fell to his knees and started pulling the grass away from the hole, making it more visible. He looked inside and Josey was sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall, her face and clothes covered with dirt, but to him, no woman had ever looked more beautiful. She looked up and their eyes met and held. Daxton’s heart pounded, and his eyes filled with tears of joy at having found her.

“Daxton! You found me!” Tears streamed down her dirty face as she looked up at him from below. She lifted her chin and closed her eyes. “Thank you.” Instinctively, he knew it was a prayer.

“Josey, honey, are you hurt?” Daxton was so overjoyed at finding her that he felt that he could have flown down to her. But the last thing he wanted was for the men to have to rescue both of them because he wasn’t careful.

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Just thirsty.”

“Is anything... broken?” He really wanted to ask about the baby, but the least amount of people who knew at the moment, the better.

Josey shook her head. “No, but I’m aching all over.”

His heart fell. He hoped that she hadn’t lost the baby. Even though the father was Logan Slater, she was the mother, and that was enough. But first thing was first.

It appeared that she was at least twenty feet down or more. They would need a rope and a horse to pull her out. Just then, she started to stand.

“Don’t move, Josey. I’ll be down to get you in just a minute.” He looked around and Colton, Wyatt, and Harrison were waiting.

“No, don’t!” A look of panic colored Josey’s face. “Don’t try it alone!”

Daxton smiled. “I’m not alone. Colton, Harrison, and Wyatt are with me.”

“Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll have you out in no time,” Colton hollered down.

Josey nodded as a fresh wave of tears streamed down her cheeks.

Wyatt was already holding a rope when he turned to Daxton. “So, how do you want to do this?”

“Lower me down first. Once I have her secured, then you pull her out. Once she’s safe, then you can pull me out.” Even though he hadn’t had much sleep, he felt energized as relief washed over him. “I’m just glad we found her.”

Colton held the horse steady while Wyatt tied the rope securely in place. Daxton tied the other end tightly around his waist. When they were ready, he stepped to the edge of the hole and leaned back, testing it. “Okay. Lower me down.”

Daxton put his feet at the edge of the hole until he couldn’t touch it. As they lowered him down, Daxton saw that she had fallen into some sort of room. There was a coal bin to the far right against the wall. He cringed, glad that Josey hadn’t hit it when she fell. It’s a wonder she hadn’t broken anything. He just hoped that she hadn’t lost the baby.

“Oh, Daxton!” Josey was shaky as she got to her feet and held her arms out to him.

“Josey, don’t push yourself. I’ll have you out of here in no time.” When his feet touched the dirt floor, he quickly untied the rope from around his waist and pulled her to his chest. “Josey, honey, I’m so glad you’re safe.”

She nearly collapsed in his arms as she burst into tears. “Oh, Daxton! I’m so sorry... I should have told you… I should have told you everything—” she sobbed against his chest.

“Shh....” He gently brushed the hair away from her face and kissed everywhere his lips could reach. “You’re safe now. And I’m never going to let you out of my sight again.” Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Besides, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I should have—”

“Shh....” Josey placed a finger gently to his lips. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“We can talk about it later.” Tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over. “Well, let’s get out of here, shall we?”

She nodded, smiling through her tears. “Sounds good to me.”

He quickly wrapped the rope around her, careful not to hurt the baby, and then yelled up, “Okay, Wyatt! She’s ready! Pull her up!”

“Will do!” Wyatt yelled back down.

The rope became taut and then Josey started rising up toward the hole high above, never taking her eyes from Daxton.

Once she was safely out of the hole, the rope fell back down again. He wrapped the rope around himself as quickly as he could and then tugged twice on the rope. “Okay! I’m ready!”

But no one answered.

Then the rope grew taut, and he started to rise up from the ground, higher until he reached the top.

Colton reached down and gave him a hand up, helping him from the hole. But when he turned around, Austin Slater was holding Josey to his chest with her back toward him... and a gun pressed to her head.