Chapter 32
Omaha, Nebraska
July 1872
Lara paced the train platform, almost wearing a rut in the wooden boards. Though she yearned for him to join her on the return trip, she understood her brother's duty to his family. Her heart swelled with bittersweet pride at his happiness, yet she was now as alone as she was years before when she began the search for him.
Observing Joaquin already in his seat on the train, Lara was briefly taken aback. His customary long, curly locks had vanished, replaced by a newly shorn appearance. Clad in a suit, and with his freshly shaved face he seemed almost unrecognizable, blending seamlessly among the other passengers. It was a stark departure from the outlaw's portrait on the wanted papers that hung in the jailhouse.
She looked towards at the conductor as he made the last call for passengers to board. Just one more moment, she silently pleaded. She stayed in the shadows hoping to avoid being noticed. She didn't want a run in with the Marshal but she so longed for a final embrace with her brother. Scanning the crowd once more, she resignedly began ascending the stairs when a faint call reached her ears.
"Lara!"
"Night Wolf!" With uninhibited joy, she dashed towards him, nearly toppling him as she enveloped him in a fierce hug. "I feared I wouldn't get to bid you farewell properly."
"No need, we are going with you." Night Wolf announced, his words tinged with sadness as he introduced his wife, Sweet Rain Woman. Lara embraced her sister-in-law warmly, cherishing the albeit rushed moment.
"Truly!?" She hugged her brother tightly and took the parcel his wife carried. She hadn't given one thought to why his sudden change of mind but she wasn't about to question him. "You will love our home. I promise."
She smiled warmly and reached out to hold the young woman's hand in a gesture of companionship and understanding. In the depths of the woman's eyes, she recognized the unmistakable traces of fear, a sentiment she knew all too well.
"Hold it right there."
Lara and Night Wolf froze in fear as the familiar voice reached their ears, their hearts sinking in recognition. Lara hurriedly pushed Sweet Rain Woman onto the train, her senses on high alert as she turned to confront her father.
"Laralie, maybe someday I'll forgive you for this treason," Monroe seethed.
"Forgive me?" Lara's fists clenched in defiance.
"I shouldn't waste a bullet on your hide." His gaze shifted to Night Wolf, his intent clear as he raised his gun.
"Father, no!" Lara rushed forward, grappling for the weapon. "Please!"
Joaquin, who had leapt from his seat on the train, was almost to Lara's side when he heard the single gunshot, the sound shattered loudly through the air. In the stunned silence that followed, he saw the spreading stain of blood on Lara's side, stark against the blue silk of her dress. Before anyone could react, the sound of a blade slicing through the air pierced the silence, accompanied by the sickening sound of it embedding into flesh.
Captain Monroe's collapse revealed the knife sticking dead center of his back. Buck rushed forward, his instincts driving him to Lara's side before the crowd closed in. Without hesitation he lifted Lara into his arms. He couldn't bear to lose her, not like this, not with the bitterness between them unresolved. As he carried her towards the doctor's office, he silently prayed for her safety, willing her to hold on, to fight.