Kathryn watched the festivities, leaning against a column.
She smiled as Audra "helped" Heath bob for apples and shrieked as he splashed her in retaliation.
"You will not join the festivities, Miss?"
Kathryn turned to see Silas, his arms full with platters of food.
Kathryn grabbed a few and walked toward the table set up in the yard. Though it was the end of October, it was a pleasant enough day; with just a slight chill in the air.
Kathryn shrugged. "Years of living alone I fear has made me a bit of a shrinking violet at social functions."
Silas smiled. "But you are not alone anymore, Miss. Maybe it is time to change." And he was walking back toward the house.
The smile stayed while she mused over Silas' sage wisdom.
"If you're that entertained just by watching, maybe you should try joining in the festivities."
Kathryn shook her head. "And end up like Mr. Heath Barkley? I think I'll stay where I am and keep my dignity intact."
Jarrod shook his head with a big smile. "That won't last long; since Audra and Heath have now set their sights on you."
Kathryn's eyes narrowed and her mouth thinned in confusion. Looking over to where the crowd was milling, she noticed that indeed, Audra and Heath were no longer at the bobbing for apples barrel.
She stiffened, her eyes flitting around in fear, on alert. "They wouldn't..."
They would. Kathryn could see them now, on the outskirts of the crowd, creeping in the shadow of the trees.
She was in trouble.
"Kathryn!"
She whipped around at Nick's holler and made to flee when she saw him approaching; arms outstretched, a grin a mile wide nearly splitting his face in two.
"I made sure that you couldn't escape. We have a competition set up especially for you."
Kathryn's shoulders relaxed back and her stance turned from flight of fear to combative. "And what makes you think I will participate?"
Nick's grin turned to evil glee. "As you are prone to say, I'm your employer."
Kathryn's eyebrows arched at the comment. "Are you saying that if I don't compete, you're going to fire me?"
Nick rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply.
Jarrod's resigned voice rang across the yard to interrupt Nick's reply.
"That is not what he's saying; honestly, after all we've gone through Nick-"
"Fine, fine, she won't be fired." Nick disrupted what, no doubt, was going to be a long-winded lecture, with an exasperated eye roll. Fixing his attention once again on Kathryn, he informed her "But I do have money on you, so I really need you to win."
Kathryn's not sure she likes his "cat ate the canary" wicked grin that's splitting his face with how impossibly big it is. She heaved a defeated sigh.
"... Where do you need me Mr. Barkley?"
She was going to kill him.
There were three targets about 6 feet apart from each other, each 6-by-4 feet with an 8-inch bullseye, 26-inch "center" ring and 46-inch circle, and 300 yards from where Nick was standing, his hand on Kathryn's right shoulder.
Kathryn was seriously considering breaking that hand. "Mr. Barkley…" she growled low.
Nick laughed heartily and addressing the crowd announced "Ladies and gentlemen, young Kathryn here is going to amaze us."
And where in the world had he gotten her bow and quiver of arrows?!
She groaned as she noticed the proud grin adorning all the Barkleys and Silas!
Taking her accouterments, she leveled a glare at Nick, who looked way too d*** proud of himself for her liking. "Rules?" She bit out testily as she nocked an arrow.
"One try on each of these targets. The next three targets are behind these and the last three are behind them."
Kathryn eyed the first set of targets. "And the next set of targets are how far away?"
Nick smiled broadly. "400 yards."
"And my final 'test?' " She inquired, a touch angrily.
"600 yards." As one eyebrow arched, he smiled bigger — if that was even possible — and shrugged unashamedly. "Jarrod, Heath and I can usually hit around 500."
She rolled her eyes and bringing her bow up, easily shot the bullseyes on each target. There were quiet murmurs and a smattering of polite applause. As the targets were removed, she eyed her next set.
They were 6-by-6 feet with a 22-inch bullseye, surrounded by a 38-inch center, 54-inch "inner" and 70-inch "outer."
Because she had no idea what all this nonsense was about, she took a second before she lined up her shots and released, making sure not to get too self-assured. When she hit the bullseyes on all three targets, the murmurs this time were at a normal volume and very appreciative.
As the last set of bullseyes appeared, at 600 yards — just as Nick had said — she closed her eyes, shutting out everything, breathed deeply and when she had the right amount of bitter anger giving her the needed strength and focus, she glared at her marks. They were 6-by-12 feet with a 36-inch bullseye surrounded by 54-inch center, a 6-foot square surrounding the circles to form the inner and the outer was a 3-by-6 feet wing on each side.
She fired in quick succession.
All three arrows landed in their respective bullseyes.
Out of her peripheral vision she saw Nick punch the air in triumphant. As a group of men approached him with some grumbling, she made to turn around and, in effect, flee from the celebration — there was only so much socializing she could handle — when she noticed something to the south.
Smoke.
"Kathryn, that was some fine shooting. You know that's how Heath got a job here, before we knew who he was, of course. You see... Kathryn, what's wrong?"
Kathryn walked away from Jarrod toward the stable to get Vacquero.
"Kathryn? Kathryn!"
Kathryn swallowed hard as she slowly dismounted from Vacquero, staring in horror at the massacre.
It... it had to be the entire herd.
She heard the thunder of the others arriving, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the carnage around her.
"My god," Jarrod breathed quietly.
Kathryn turned. The other hands wandered, probably counting and seeing if anything had survived. Jarrod was staring around, his face slightly ashen; Heath had his mouth in a firm, thin line with his baby blues blazing, though she could see the sheen of unshed tears and Nick? Nick ripped his hat from his head and was stomping around his brothers, gesturing wildly as he hollered "Those... Everyone was here! We were all at the ranch! Heck, I bet even the whole town was there, too! They... they-"
"I'll leave first thing in the morning."
That stopped Nick and his rant. She had expected him to whirl around, to lay into Heath for his softly spoken words. Instead, Nick's shoulders tensed before lowering in resignation. He sighed heavily. "Alright, Heath; can't hold it off any longer."
"Ah, Ms. Kathryn!"
Kathryn turned to see Jarrod crossing the street. "Mr. Barkley," she greeted when he reached her.
He rolled his eyes with a wide smile. "Ms. Quinn-"
"Mr. JARROD Barkley." She smiled as she made sure to emphasize his first name.
"That's better. Now, what are you doing here? Did Nick accompany you?"
Kathryn sighed tiredly and shook her head. "No, sir. He's still at the ranch. We've been... having some issues." At Jarrod's arched brow and look of concern, she stated simply "Mr. Nick Barkely's having some trouble concentrating."
Jarrod sighed and rubbed the back of his head dolefully. "And that's why you're here?"
She indicated the building behind her. "He wanted to see if Mr. Heath Barkley had sent a telegram yet." It had already been a week since they had heard from Heath about his purchases and plan to return shortly; and there was a tense air around the ranch.
"Jarrod," She ignored the pang of guilt as Jarrod practically beamed at her informal attitude. "Do I have any free time coming to me?"
Jarrod's look became thoughtful. "Probably, but I'm not going to try and figure it out. When will you be leaving and for how long?"
"Right away." Ignoring how flabbergasted he looked she soldiered on. "Hopefully, no more than a week and a half."
Jarrod stared at her for a few moments, then closing his mouth, he shook his head wistfully, an indulgent smile adorning his face. "You certainly do make things interesting Ms. Quinn. And you're leaving the... honor of informing my hot-headed, worried, temporarily distracted brother of your departure to me, I suppose?"
Kathryn smiled sweetly. "If you're worried about your fate, don't be. Just listen raptly and agree with everything your brother spews bout me."
She walked off to the mercantile for supplies to Jarrod's roaring laughter.
Kathryn eased off Vacquero, reaching for and notching her bow when her feet quietly landed on the grass on the side of the road.
Vacquero quietly followed her as she walked into the trees lining this side of the road.
She had been keeping an eagle eye out for anything on the road that was out of place. If nothing had caught her attention , she would continue on to Lathrop, on the assumption that Heath had run afoul in the town and not on his way home.
She had noticed that the dust and rocks on the road were more askew than what was normal road wear. Following the likely path, she had noticed that grass had been flattened and branches had been snapped.
Motioning for Vacquero to stay, she crept toward the faint light shining through the leaves... and sighed.
She whistled low for Vacquero to join her. He still moved quietly, so Kathryn announced loud enough to be heard, yet not so loud as to give away their position "You're lucky I'm friend and not foe, Mr. Heath Barkley."
As she led Vacquero forward into the small clearing, Heath gave a small chuckle.
'That I am. Although, I highly doubt anyone else would have found me. I'm surprised you did. I thought I'd done better."
Leaving Vacquero by Gal, she approached the prostrate Barkley. "You did excellent. If I hadn't been looking for you, I wouldn't have noticed all your little indications."
Heath gave a dry chuckle. "You've been looking for me... who sent you?"
Kathryn crouched down, assessing him. "No one. Though I think they were quite close. I took the initiative and asked for time off."
Another humorless chuckle. "Sounds like you. How did Nick take it?"
Kathryn's grin was mischievious. "I don't know. I left right away and left that enviable task to your brother."
She waited for another chuckle to come. When it didn't, she realized Heath was out. Taking the opportunity, she took in what she could see. Heath's upper right leg had a bandage wrapped around it, blood was steadily soaking through it. He was leaning to the left and his hands were gently cradling his right side where he seemed to be protecting his ribs. And then, there was the bandage completely covering the top of his head. From the slash of blood pooling thickly above his right eye, he probably had a good-sized gash.
Walking over to Gal and Vacquero, she set about putting the pony at ease.
"Hey there, Gal. Seems like your rider's gotten himself into some trouble, yeah? I want to help him, but I don't think he's up for riding alone, so he's gonna ride with me on Vacquero. I need you to come with us; can you do that? Otherwise, I'm going to get my hide tanned for leaving you behind." When she was able to secure Gal to Vacquero without any fuss, she figured she'd take that as a yes.
Getting Heath in her saddle so she could ride behind him? That was another quandary altogether which included a tree and and some fancy footwork on her and Vacquero's part.
With a relieved smile and quick prayer of thanks sent heavenward, she whistled low and the little caravan plodded carefully out. When they reached the road, they headed home.
"Kathryn?"
Kathryn's attention whipped from the road to her charge. She wasn't entirely sure Heath was aware. The inquiry was mumbled, confused.
"I'm here." She answered quietly in a soft voice, figuring he had a headache to match the bandage decorating his head.
Heath sighed loudly and his body visibly sagged in relief. "Where are we?"
"We should be seeing Niles any minute now." When he didn't inquire further, she informed him "I want to stop and have their doctor look you over before we decide if we want to go further to Stockton... considering I really don't know what happened to you and when." She waited to see if he would take the opening. If he didn't, she'd just leave that affair to his family.
With a resigned sigh, Heath stated softly "I honestly can't think past the hammering in my head."
Kathryn smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry Mr. Barkley, but, I have to ask you to stay awake just a little longer. We're almost there. Since I don't know how long or often you've slept with that bandage on your head, I'd rather be safe than sorry."
As they entered Niles, Kathryn's eyes quickly sought out the doctor's office. She had not yet visited this town and she really wanted to find the doctor quickly. Heath had done as she asked and stayed awake, although getting him to interact with her had grown increasingly harder.
"Excuse me miss, can I help you? You seem a little lost."
Kathryn found the speaker. A man stood in front of Vacquero. He seemed to be close to Kathryn's 26 years of age. What hair she could see poking out from under his hat was dark, probably black; his eyes were a vivid blue. He was slightly taller than average, and his form was lanky, but built for labor.
She gave a friendly smile. "I fear I am. I would be glad for the help. This man is injured; I need to get him to your doctor."
The man's eyes narrowed, then widened. "I'll say! Follow me, miss."
When they approached a building, a sign outside advertising "Dr. William Briggs," Kathryn sighed in relief.
"My gratitude, Mr. ?"
He chuckled and tipping his hat, introduced "No Mr., miss, just Charles."
She nodded in acknowledgment. "Kathryn."
As she dismounted, she made sure to keep Heath in the saddle... while she contemplated how to ease him down and into the office.
"Here, let me help."
Kathryn was very grateful she had made Charles' acquaintance.
"When did he acquire these injuries?"
Kathryn sighed heavily. "I'm not sure, doc. He's been gone for two weeks. He sent a telegram a week ago from Lathrop telling us he'd made a purchase and was on his way home. He was supposed to have arrived three days ago."
The doctor "hmmmed" as Heath winced through the examination.
Getting to her feet, Kathryn told the men "I'm going to send a telegram, let them know you're on your way."
"Kathryn."
She paused in the doorway, watching as Heath struggled to turn from the doctor to face her. She saw how tired he was in those baby blues, the fatigue.
"I'm... not going to be much help here." He told her haltingly.
Her mouth thinned and she scrunched her face in thought. Finally realizing what he was saying, she gave an innocent smile and stated "I'm going to send a telegram and I'll be right back. I promise not to get into any trouble."
Kathryn remembered that the telegram building was more in the middle of town.
As she strode, she heard whispering.
"Please... Mr... I-"
"Don't worry... you're a pretty little thing. Don't be scared, darling."
Kathryn didn't like what it sounded like.
Following the whimper, she found herself at the entrance of an alley wedged between the saloon and stables.
And her blood ran cold.
There, pushed against the slatted side of the saloon was a little thing, being towered over by a thug of a man. She was dressed in a blue, frilly, flower-pattern dress with a matching bonnet, honey blonde curls peeking out from beneath the calico sunbonnet. Kathryn couldn't see the color of the poor girl's eyes, because they were closed tight, her small frame shaking in, what Kathryn could assume, was distress.
Kathryn cleared her throat. "My apologies. I- oh, sweetie, what's wrong?" She crooned, stepping into the alley.
The man, dark hair, dark eyes snapping in anger to match the scowl adorning his rough features. "This ain't none of your concern, lady. Now, git." He growled menacingly, jerking his head over his shoulder.
Kathryn ignored him. "Sweetie, come here."
The girl whimpered and at the small movement she made in Kathryn's direction, the man threatened "You're not going anywhere."
He raised his hand to strike her and shrieked.
Kathryn's dagger was buried in his hand up to its hilt, the point impaled and appearing on the other side.
Kathryn made to shout for the girl, thinking she'd be frozen in shock; a delicate thing. She needn't bothered. The girl ducked around the man as he stared at his hand, mouth open, silently screaming.
As soon as she reached her, Kathryn grabbed her hand and racing toward the mercantile Kathryn asked "Where's your pa?"
"Mer... mer-"
"The store?" At her affirming nod, Kathryn smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'll get you to him."
When they reach the mercantile, Kathryn shoves the door open. As the bells jangle wildly, announcing their hasty entrance, the two men at the counter whip their heads up.
"Annie?" The customer's green eyes are wide in shocked fear as he approaches them.
She flings herself into his arms with a strangled sob of "Pa!"
He lifts his gaze to glare at Kathryn, his eyes stony, his mouth set in a hard line. "What's wrong with my girl? What'd you do to her?!"
Kathryn put up her hands in surrender, hoping to placate the man and before she could defend herself, the girl shouted "She saved me, Papa!"
Looking from his daughter to Kathryn, his eyes widened, he opened his mouth and Kathryn interrupted "There's no time." Looking to the shopkeeper, she tells him "Take them, hide them, get them out of here just-"
"Get back here you witch!"
Kathryn whirled around, making sure she blocked the young girl from view. As the man started toward her, she made eye contact with the shopkeeper and nodding her head behind the counter, gently shoved the girl toward him.
Approaching the menacing bull of a man, she held up her hands in surrender. "Here I am. What can I help you with?"
He leveled a menacing finger in her direction. "I'm going to get you for..." He trailed off, his complexion going slightly ashen.
Kathryn smirked. "For skewering you like the pig you are?"
He bellowed and lunged.
Kathryn easily ducked under the hulking figure and ran out the open door onto the main street.
... Where she stumbled and almost fell face first onto the ground, slightly softened from the couple snowfalls that had already visited that season, with many more of greater consequence to come.
Regaining her footing, she faced the lumbering man again.
"I don't want any trouble." She placated, her promise to Heath coming to mind.
He gave her a callous sneer. "Then you shouldn't have stuck your nose where it didn't belong."
Kathryn's temper that matched her fiery hair, flared to life. Her blood boiled with fury. "I could say the same for you. You had no business sniffing around that young girl." She growled with a menacing rumble.
The man smiled coldly, his eyes turning stony. "Not your problem anymore."
The shot echoed.