Chapter Twelve

Excerpt from Ch Ten

Mariah then retrieved the dead driver's rifle, along with the rifle and pistol she and Brian had brought with them. It took a few minutes, only soon she had also found the ammunition that went with each weapon. She laid one of the rifles next to Phillip and handed Brian the pistol, along with the ammo that went with each firearm.

.... "I can hear water running nearby, has to be a stream. I'm going to see if I catch us some fish."

The water in the river was flowing down its path with one tree or another, along with some bushes, overlooking each side of the bank. The rustling of leaves and the sound of birds singing- at least, it sounded like singing to Mariah- helped Mariah relax in spite of the serious situation she, her brother and their newly made acquaintances were in. There were also a number of rocks along the bank as well, but nothing large enough for her to consider calling them boulders. She was grateful there was an old log laying close to the side of the river. The amount of moss in different spots on the log provided more than a comfortable seat-something Mariah was grateful for. As she began to fish, she thought on her brother and Phillip, both injured badly enough that they could not be moved without help. Eiiza might be able to walk, but questioning the need for Mariah to take a firearm with her, said a lot to Mariah. "Going to have to put some kind of makeshift shelter up," Mariah spoke out loud-even if there wasn't anyone else with her. When her pole moved, she stood up. Soon she was laying a fish on the ground. As she continued fishing, Mariah made a mental note of everything she needed to build the shelter. If it wasn't for the large tarp and rope that that been on top of the stagecoach-and was laying near it, she might be more worried. As it was, by the time she went back to the wreck she had enough fish at least to satisfy any hunger any of them had-something they'd all best be grateful for.

When it came to gratitude, Brian and the others were indeed elated to see the food Mariah had returned with. However, Mariah, Brian and Phillip all wanted to roll their eyes when Eliza asked, "How are we going to cook them?"

'We're not going to-we're just going to let the fish do it by themselves' was a remark that popped into Mariah's head, only she forced herself to answer politely. "I can easily make a fire pit and build a fire. Our deceased driver," Mariah paused, hating the fact that two people had perished due to the accident, "had the common sense to have an iron skillet with him. "Phillip can gut the fish." She handed Phillip the fish, knowing he had a pocketknife in his pants' pocket. "You can then cook them, and," Mariah quickly added-due to the fact that Eliza had glanced at her broken arm. "Don't ask me how. You don't need two good arms to put the fish in the skillet or to flip them over. I've got to get the rope the driver had as well, along with the tarp. We need a makeshift shelter until help arrives."

Eliza wanted to say something, only she didn't as her mother's words rang in her ears. 'If you leave Boston to marry a man who is from California and has made it clear he's going back to that state, you're going to get another kind of education.' To her credit, the young woman stood up and said, "Show me how to build a fire, please. I might as well start learning."

Mariah couldn't help but smile. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for Mrs. Madden after all.

~oOo~

Nick, his brothers, Fred Madden and the other men with them had not reached Ripon before the sun set as they'd hoped to. That fact-reaching Ripon before dark-might have been accomplished, only trying to search for answers in Manteca had taken longer than they'd planned on and had proven fruitless. Well, practically fruitless. Nick and Heath met one other man, a gentleman by the name of Isaac Manwell. The man had been to Merced more than once and, like Michael Cox and his nephew, had actually met the Keagans. Mr. Manwell had spoken highly of Brian and Mariah; though, like Mr. Cox, he warned Nick and Heath about doing anything to cross the two siblings. Now, most of the men lay on the ground, covered by the blankets they'd brought with them-just in case. However, Nick was standing under a tree looking at the myriads of stars that seemed to be sparkling in the night sky. The majority of the moon was hiding behind a couple of clouds; though, it made little difference. It's not like Nick needed to see where he was going anyway.

"You going to stay up all night?" Jarrod asked as he and Heath walked up beside Nick.

"Just thinking about the visit we had with Mr. Manwell." Nick dropped the cigarette one of the men had been kind enough to give him and ground it into the dirt with the heel of his boot. The last thing he wanted was to be the cause of any fire being started.

"If what he said is true," Jarrod started grinning as a bit of amusement appeared in his eyes, "I'd say this Mariah will fit in at the ranch just fine, but you best not cross her and Mother at the same time."

It was a statement that had Heath smiling as well. Though, he gave Nick a warning. "If you do what our dear brother just said, I'm camping out in the North pasture for a month, if not longer."

Nick shook his head and shot a look towards his brothers, one that said, 'funny, real funny'. Then admitted he was still concerned. "I know what Mr. Baker said," he looked at Jarrod. "I know what Mr. Cox said, and Mr. Manwell backed them up when he said Mariah was a hard worker, knew how to stand her ground and-as quiet as she could be- still had the ability to get loud if necessary. I still can't help but wonder if this Mariah will be able to handle life on a ranch. It's one thing to want to live on one, another to actually do it."

"Any woman who can successfully help her brother up in the mountains-any mountains, cannot be a weak woman." Jarrod stressed his words. "Besides," the famous attorney added, "until this search is over with, and we find her, her brother and Fred's relatives, it shouldn't be your first concern."

"It's not." Nick growled low, and then flicked his fingers. "Guess I'm really wondering if I've become a widower never having even met a wife that sounds too good to be true." He then asked in a quiet, uncharacteristically low voice, "Just leave me alone for now, please."

"Sure thing," Jarrod tapped the side of Nick's arm and headed for his 'bed' on the ground.

Heath said nothing only he did give Nick a sympathetic smile before he too walked away.