The eerie stillness barely registered with Jimmy as he ran toward Violet drawing a pistol as he did. He reached the pair and was appalled at the size of the man; he guessed it was a man. He was so massive that Jimmy could barely make out Violet beneath him. He didn't even think of whether he was strong enough to roll the man over or if the man was dead or unconscious. He just crouched and pushed until he could get the man off of her. The man let out a groan and Jimmy quickly cocked his pistol and fired. Later he would justify it as self defense but it was more reflex at what he was seeing.
Violet was basically naked having only been wearing a night gown before which was torn away. She was not moving and he could not make out if she was breathing or not. There was no way he was going to let the man responsible for her state live.
"Violet," he called to her dropping to his knees at her side, "Violet, are you okay?"
He drew her into his arms with no acknowledgement of her state of undress and began rubbing her back trying to get a response.
"She's not," Cody began and stopped short not being able to even say the word.
"Come on Violet," Jimmy pleaded, "Come on back to me, honey."
Cody took a step back and watched the scene. Another time or place and the two of them might have been unnerved by her being so exposed but all Cody could think of was willing her to be alright. They had no idea how much pressure he'd been able to put on her throat or how hard he had fallen onto her. Probably Cody should have been fetching her folks or the doc or something but he was rooted in the spot just watching helplessly and understanding just how much was riding on the next few minutes.
"The storm seems to be letting up a little, Teaspoon," Buck observed and Teaspoon understood his meaning.
"Go on," Teaspoon told him with a reluctant nod of his head. He didn't want any more of his boys out of his sight than already were but there wasn't going to be much anyone was going to be able to do to stop Buck.
Ike left the bunkhouse with Buck. He knew it wasn't safe for any of them to be walking around much of anywhere alone and he thought he could help Buck ready his horse.
'It's dangerous,' he signed as he helped his friend.
"I have to, Ike," Buck said, "I have to know they're safe. I'll come right back once I see for myself."
'Be careful.'
"I will," Buck assured him, "You take care of Rachel."
'You know I will.'
Buck swung himself into the saddle and was off as fast as the animal could carry him. The rain pelted his face but he knew the lightning and thunder were getting farther apart and the worst of the storm was no longer over them.
Jimmy could feel how cold the child was in his arms. He had nothing to wrap her in. He had gone out in just a shirt and trousers basically. He hadn't grabbed his coat and neither had Cody. His shirt was soaked through and would provide no warmth to her but it would cover her. He tore at the front releasing the buttons. It wasn't his shirt anyway but he knew that Mr. Markham wouldn't mind the loss of one of his shirts for the benefit of his daughter. He then wrapped the shirt around her covering her front as best he could.
"Violet, please," he begged, "You've got to be alright."
Violet slowly fought to emerge from the fog she was in. Fog wasn't even the right word for it. She felt like she was underwater and fighting to get to the surface. As she neared she could feel the arms tight around her and was terrified but then they weren't grabbing at her bosoms nor were her legs being forced apart as before. She tried harder to claw her way back to the world and heard a voice that sounded like it was coming from deep in a cave. She strained until she could make out the words if not the owner of the voice.
"I'm sorry, Violet. I am so, so sorry. I know I did everything wrong and I wasn't even thinking," the voice said, "I hurt your feelings and this is all my fault. Please come back to me and let me make it up to you. Please."
She realized whose voice it was and forced her way toward full awareness. She wasn't prepared for the pain consciousness brought although she wasn't sure exactly what had happened right before things had gone dark. Violet pushed the pain aside. He needed her. He had come when she needed him and now he needed her. She couldn't let him down.
"Jimmy?" she said groggily.
"Violet?" he asked, "You had me so worried. Are you alright?"
"I think so," she answered, "But everything kind of hurts."
Jimmy stood up cradling the girl in his arms and headed out of the woods with Cody right behind him.
"You found me," she said.
"Well, I learned a few things from Buck, I guess," he replied.
"Is the man dead?" she asked.
"Yeah," he told her, "Cody shot him and I guess must've wounded him and I finished him off. You're safe now."
The fear, as well as every other emotion she'd been bottling up, suddenly let go and she cried in his arms so much as to be nearing hysterics. He just held her tighter as they drew closer to her house. He didn't need to say anything and somehow he knew she was better off letting the tears out so he didn't try to shush her.
"Well, look who decided to join us," Cody remarked causing Jimmy to look up and see Buck.
Buck had ridden up to the Markham house which had lights shining in every room but had not known exactly what to do. The very fact that the house was not dark at this hour told him that everything was not alright and his instincts had been correct. He had just begun to think about dismounting and seeing if there were tracks the rain had not washed away. Then he had seen them. The girl was being cradled by Jimmy but something in the demeanor of his friends told him that she was alive. She was, however, soaked to the bone. He quickly jumped to the ground and took off his coat. He ran to his friends and draped the coat over her. The three men finished the walk to the front of the house and climbed the porch steps and walked into the house with Jimmy still carrying Violet in his arms.
Mrs. Markham looked up and was nearly shocked by what she saw. There were three soaking wet men, one of them shirtless and carrying her daughter in his arms. Immediately she disregarded the state of the men and jumped up to see to her Violet. She led Jimmy to Violet's room where she lifted Buck's coat and draped it over the back of a chair. She could see the shirt the young man in front of her had been wearing and saw it was being used to protect her little girl's modesty.
"Violet," she said gently, "Are you hurt?"
Violet shook her head. And Mrs. Markham looked to Jimmy for confirmation.
"She seems alright," he said, "The man fell on her when Cody shot him and she might be a little sore for that but otherwise, I think some dry clothes and a warm blanket or two will have her right as rain."
Mrs. Markham bustled to get a towel and an extra blanket. Jimmy sat the girl on her bed and crouched next to her.
"You're safe now, honey," he said, "Let your ma take care of you and get some rest, okay?"
"I don't want you to go," she said in a small voice.
Jimmy leaned forward and kissed her cheek knowing he might be taking a chance doing so but feeling it the right thing to do anyway. Then he whispered into her ear, "Talk to me if you get lonesome. I don't have to be here, you know."
She nodded, "Thank you."
Jimmy gave her a small smile and then stood and left the room. Mrs. Markham was heading into the room with the linens.
Making his way toward the parlor, Jimmy could hear Cody filling in Mr. Markham on what had happened in the woods. Once Jimmy got to the room he collected his clothes that had been drying. He put his shirt on hastily and then his coat before nodding to Mr. Markham and heading out the door. The others followed. The rain was finally letting up and they rode at a more comfortable pace back to the station.
Ike darted out of the bunkhouse once he saw them riding in.
"We've got the horses, Ike," Buck told his friend, "You can tell Rachel it's safe to go back in the house now."
The next morning came far too early as it had been the wee hours when any of them had gotten to sleep. Rachel had been only too eager to get back to her own bed. The rest had patiently waited for their friends to make it back to the bunkhouse and fill them in on all that had happened. Jimmy and Cody were both surprised when they found themselves so near sleep while they told the tale. They had both expected the excitement of the night to overcome the late hour and the fact that neither had really slept yet but they both ended up yawning through a good deal of the telling. Finally they reached the end of it or the end of what they were willing to tell, that being Cody's shot which had wounded the man and Jimmy's which had killed him. The rest was summed up by saying they carried Violet home. There was no talk at all of the minutes that dragged by while they frantically tried to get her to come around and feared her dead. They might speak of it with each other but it wasn't something that needed to be put out there for everyone.
When morning did come, the boys and girl saw that Rachel was where she always was getting their breakfast ready for them. The mood was lighter but for three of the riders there was still the haunting in their eyes. Ike could not help but worry for Buck and for Jimmy and Cody as well. Something evil had been happening in the woods and just killing the monster wasn't going to make everything alright for them any time soon.
Afternoon brought news that the Holcomb barn had taken a lightning strike and was badly damaged. Had it not been for the relentless rain it might have been a total loss but the fire was minimal. Still it needed repair and the Holcomb boys weren't really up for the task themselves so Teaspoon volunteered his boys for the job.
There wasn't the usual complaining and trying to manipulate a way out of the job that normally would have happened. The riders knew they needed a distraction and a chance to feel they were helping repair something when so much was broken around them. Kid and Noah had ridden in around lunchtime and were tired so they stayed back at the station to rest.
The rest of the riders headed to the Holcomb place to see about the barn. It was easy enough work for the amount of manpower they had to work with. They were just finishing up when Ike came and tapped Buck on the shoulder.
"What is it?" Buck asked.
Ike merely gestured for Buck to follow him and Buck did. He wished he could share the smile Ike was wearing but for some reason he just couldn't find joy; relief, yes but joy, no.
"Where are you taking me, Ike?" Buck asked as he was led into the barn.
'Just come on,' Ike signed and Buck dutifully followed until finally Ike came to a stop in the corner of the barn farthest from where the fire had been. Ike turned away from Buck and crouched down digging a little in the straw that was piled there. Then he waved for Buck to come closer. In the little nest of straw rested an orange cat and five kittens that looked no more than three weeks old.
'They must have been nesting near where the fire broke out,' Ike explained and showed Buck the singed fur on the mother cat as well as a couple of the babies. 'Those must have been the last two she moved. But, look, they are all fine.'
Ike lifted one of the kittens, a little grey ball of unruly fur and placed it into Buck's hands. The little cat dug its claws into Buck's shirt and clung there as if for dear life and suddenly Buck understood Teaspoon's words to him. In the midst of destruction there can be hope and life and even joy if you're willing to find it. Buck gently detached the kitten from his shirt and placed it gingerly back with its mother where the tiny creature found its way back to nurse.
"Thank you, Ike."
Days passed and things got closer to normal with each one that they put behind them. Jesse reported that Violet had gotten back to school. Of course that reporting came in the form of explaining how he had come to be in a fight. It seemed that some other boys were repeating things their busybody parents had said about Violet's virtue and even though Jesse and Carrie had become a sort of couple, Violet was still his friend and he could not let that sit. Rachel tried to play at being furious with Jesse but secretly she was proud of him.
One day Jimmy came back from a ride to find Cody stuffing his face with a pie.
"Rachel know you got into that?" Jimmy asked.
"Rachel didn't make it," Cody answered, "Violet did. She made one for me and one for you. And she left this note for you too."
Jimmy took note of the custard pie that was untouched next to Cody. Somehow he just knew it would be safe there. He took the note and went to his bunk to read it.
"Dear Jimmy,
"I hope it is still alright for me to call you that. I know Mr. Hickok would be more proper but then, I'd like to think we're still friends. I remembered that you liked custard pie and that you said Cody liked everything. I wanted to thank the two of you for saving my life. That sounds silly when I write it like that but it is what you did after all. I will always be grateful.
"I am sorry that I was so stupid to do the things I did and I hope you can forgive me. I still try to talk to you at night but every time I imagine you, you are cross with me. I am cross with myself so maybe that's all that is but I fear you are upset with me too. I miss talking to you and having you visit, for real but I know that I messed things up far too much for that to ever happen again. I won't bother you anymore but I believe I will always love you. You are still my hero and I can't see how that could change. But I will not bother you anymore.
"Again, I thank you for everything you did for me and pray that you will 'Ride safe' as you say.
"Yours most sincerely,
Violet Markham"
Jimmy read the letter and felt worse than he had in weeks which was saying something because that still included the time when he was in the woods begging Violet to wake up.
"Did she write you a note too?" he asked Cody.
"No," Cody answered, "She did give me a hug and thanked me though. She's a nice kid."
Jimmy reluctantly got up from his bunk, grabbed the pie and two forks and headed off to Teaspoon's office.
Well, that is a relief that she didn't die at any rate...I wasn't sure before. I meant for her to live but sometimes stories take turns we didn't plan on. I'd hate to think the storyline I'd be writing for Jimmy if she had died. He wouldn't have made it to the ripe old age of 39 for Jack McCall to do him in, that's for sure. So that is good but I think I am really glad he's heading to talk to Teaspoon.-J