A Cowboy And An Angel
The rain started to fall heavy upon the lone rider. The rider chose not to go along the road for awhile; she figured if she could get far away enough, he wouldn't find her. She knew had to find shelter soon, but she didn't know how close she was to town. Her side was beginning to ache from where fresh whip marks were; marks that were put there by him. Her biggest fear were that the open welts caused by the whip were now infected and, with no means to clean them, she prayed she could find someplace with a doctor soon.
The smaller branches on the nearby trees were swaying in the wind as the stranger come upon a fence line. She decided to turn right and follow the line until she came to a road or a house. As she rode, she prayed that the rain would keep him from following her for now. Coming around a bend, she saw outlines of a couple of riders up ahead, and then realized that she was falling. Cold hard fear began to set in as she wondered if it was him and, or perhaps, one of his friends.
What a time to get caught in a sudden rain fall. Heath and Rodney, a newly hired ranch hand, were riding the fence line as they had been having trouble with people cutting the lines. They had decided to head back to a lean-to when they saw the rider ahead of them. The person was weaving from side to side. Heath and Rodney kicked their horses into a gallop to get to the stranger.
Heath was the first to get to the stranger's horse just as he began to fall. Rodney was just a few seconds behind Heath, and then both got a shock when the person rolled and they saw it was not a 'he' but a 'she'; a lady in men's clothing. Rodney and Heath looked at each other in bewilderment.
Rodney asked, "What is a lady doing out in this weather?"
"I'm not sure. But we are too far from the house to take her there and her forehead feels hot." Heath said as he felt the lady's head, resting against his left arm. He picked her up and took her over to his horse while Rodney grabbed the woman's horse's reigns.
Heath was glad they were not far from the lean-to as he and Rodney hurried on their way. He couldn't help but wonder about the young woman. Was she running from someone or was she just lost trying to get somewhere? He hoped the woman woke up soon so they could get some answers.
/
Nick was sitting on the chair near the fireplace; he was turning the trouble they had had lately over in his mind. As it was late, everyone else was sleeping; he knew he should try to sleep, but he got the feeling that something was going to happen. He didn't like that, feeling like something was about happen and having no clue as to what it was. He jumped out of his skin when there was a loud and heavy pounding on the front door. Nick stood up and hurried over to the door to answer it.
When Nick opened the door he saw a strange bald man, who stood approximately five feet six inches with a small ugly looking scar on the left side of his face, on the other side of the door.
Before Nick could ask what the man wanted at this time of night the man barked, "Have you seen a woman lately?"
Nick stiffened as he heard harsh unfeeling tone the man used. He didn't know this man, and he wasn't going to take that kind of tone from any stranger. If it wasn't for the fact that his mother had awoken and hurried down the stairs, Nick would have laid into the man for his misconduct and rotten attitude. As it was, his mother's presence kept him in line, though his own attitude still reared up, as he barked as loud as he dared with Victoria present, "Sir, the only ladies I've seen are my mother here and my sister."
Nick couldn't believe it when the man had the nerve to tell him off because of "his bad attitude" and then added, "Her name is Kel, she is five feet two inches, brown hair and has brown eyes. If she shows up, I'm staying at the Stockton Hotel for a few days. She's my wife." The man said as he turned around and left just as quickly as he came.
Nick shut the door louder then he meant to and shook his head. "Can you believe that man? I don't know where his wife is, but I hope she gets away from him."
Victoria, who had seen more than her share of unsavory men in her life, agreed, but didn't say so. "I think we both best just get back to bed, Nicholas and hope for the best." Victoria turned around wondering why she had even bothered coming down in the first place. Nick said nothing as he too headed for his room.