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Western Adventure
Amazon
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Category:
Western
Type: Fiction
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
A woman's long trek across the west to find her children and her eventual affinity with the Indian who kidnapped them.
When the daughters of Rachael Wheeldon are abducted by Cheyenne Indians, she is tricked into following on foot by the leader of the kidnappers only to be left alone and defenceless in the wilderness. After reaching the point of no return, she is left with no option than to doggedly, push ahead across the vast plains and try to locate her children. After days with little water and no food, she finally succumbs to exhaustion, dehydration and near death. So it is to her complete, surprise that her saviour turns out to be the impressive leader of the Cheyenne kidnappers, Tall Bull. Later, Tall Bull, saves Rachael and her daughter from a fate worse than death after they are captured and abused by the violent and repulsive killers who had shot and scalped his friends. The grateful woman and her daughter, form an unlikely alliance with the Indian in their quest to prevent an army of killers from massacring the women and children of an entire Cheyenne village. During their journey, Rachael finds that she is drawn to the impressive and ruggedly handsome, Indian more than she cares to admit. To Rachael, he is a complete enigma but one she finds disturbingly, attractive. That is when he isn’t tossing her into freezing cold rivers or spanking her butt just for the hell of it, whilst the next, he is tenderly and lovingly, taking care of her. However, they both come to realise that a spark has been kindled and as their journey progresses so does the fire that is beginning to burn in both their hearts. This is the story of a woman’s search to find her children and the unlikely alliance she forms with their kidnapper as they make an epic journey with many adventures, across the Great Plains of Kansas and Colorado. The longer they dwell in each other’s company, the closer they become as the three of them journey west facing danger at every turn. Although violent and often harrowing, this is essentially a love story set in 1875 when there was much resentment between Native American and white settlers, resulting in more than one massacre of innocent women and children of various tribes of Indians. Although this is a work of fiction, history tells us that such atrocities happened. One notable example was Custer’s raid on peaceful Cheyenne people in Colorado, resulting in the deaths of numerous women and children. This is a sequel to, “Revenge and Chameli Gonzales.” But is also a complete story in its own right.
Excerpt
Four half naked Indians stood before her, wearing nothing more than breechcloths and moccasins. Standing before two of them, with the Indians’ arms around their necks, stood the two girls. Ruth was shaking violently and huge tears were rolling down her face, but apart from that, she stood silently. Sarah, also stood silently, but her faced was ashen with fear and her eyes implored her mother to help her.
Rachael dropped the basket and took a step towards the group, but one of the Indians, a more impressive and taller one than the others, held up a hand palm out in a gesture that she should stay put. She struggled, but managed to regain her composure.
‘What do you want?’ She gasped. ‘Take what you want and leave us alone. Please, let my daughters go.’
She reached her hands out and beckoned the girls to come to her, however, they were, easily restrained when they both made to step away from their captors. All four Indians simply stared impassively at her while Ruth trembled and sobbed in the arms of one and Sarah was frozen with fear in front of another.
Rachael clasped her arms across her breasts and gripped her upper arms tightly. She could feel herself trembling inside and hoped her fear didn’t show. She needed to be strong for her children.
‘What do you want?’ She repeated. ‘Why are you holding my children?’
The Indian who appeared to be their leader, stepped forwards and pushed her roughly back into the house. She staggered backwards and nearly fell, but kept her feet. Tall Bull followed her into the room with the two Indians holding the girls following him and frogmarching the two sisters into the room. The other Indian, the eldest of the group, waited outside. They pushed the two girls towards their mother and she grabbed hold of their arms, pulling them to her and holding them tight to her body. They both wrapped their arms around her and stared at the Indians.
For the first time, one of the Indians spoke.
‘Sit,’ commanded Tall Bull indicating that they sit on the dirt floor.
They did as they were told and huddled together on the floor watching fearfully as Tall Bull gave a command to one of his compatriots. The young Indian nodded and grunted his assent before Tall Bull and the other, turned and exited leaving the solitary Indian to watch over them.
Outside, Tall Bull and his friends worked as quickly as circumstances would allow. They Butchered the cow and cut from it prime joints of meat. They gathered up as many of the chickens as they could safely carry in sacks they found around the farm. Then they herded the goats together, before gathering up anything else of value they could find.
Inside the house, the lone Indian watched the three frightened females impassively as they huddled together on the floor.
‘It’s alright,’ Rachael whispered. ‘Once they have taken what they need, they will leave us alone and go on their way. They are just looking for stuff to steal. If they meant us any harm, they would have done it by now.’
Ruth had her face buried into Rachael’s bosom and was still visibly shaking and sniffling though her tears had momentarily subsided.
‘How do you know what they are going to do?’ Replied Sarah in a whisper. ‘What if they do things to us before they leave? I’m scared Momma, I don’t want that to happen to me again.’
She was referring to an earlier incident, with an elderly rancher who had abused her when he found her alone in the barn of their farm. For his wicked deed, he had died at the hands of Andrew Hanson.
‘Be brave Sarah,’ whispered her mother. ‘I am scared also, but I am sure they will leave us alone once they have what they need.’
To emphasise her point she gave her elder daughter’s shoulder a squeeze. Then proceeded to stroke Ruth’s hair as she felt the renewed, tears of her youngest child soaking into the material covering her bosom.
After what seemed like a lifetime of sitting huddled on the floor with her children, Rachael was suddenly startled as the door crashed open and Tall Bull and one of the Indians came in through the opening. He spoke to the brave who had been watching over them, then exited through the door leaving the two Cheyenne braves to deal with the family.
Each of the Indians stepped forward and grabbed the arm of one of the girls, pulling them roughly away from Rachael. Ruth shrieked and tried to cling on to her mother, while Rachael, in turn held on as best she could to the child. Sarah was also trying to hold on to her mother, until one of the Indians struck the girl a hefty blow with the flat of his hand to the side of her face. She screamed in pain and shock and let go of her mother, allowing the Indian to drag her away and out of the door. The other Indian, also wielded a blow, but not to the child, it was directed at Rachael who was desperately trying to hang on to Ruth. He struck her full in the face with his fist and she toppled backwards, relinquishing her hold on her child.
Blood was pouring from the woman’s nose, as dazed and slightly disorientated, she tried to scramble to her feet. She could hear the cries of Ruth as she was taken away getting fainter.
‘Momma, Momma, don’t let them take me Momma, please, I am scared.
Momma, where are you?’
No sound came from Sarah and she figured her eldest daughter must still be in shock from the blow to the side of her face.
Rachael staggered to the door still dazed and feeling a little groggy. Through the heat haze she could see the group departing. They had laden down Andrew’s mare with the meat and chickens and the lead goat was tethered to her with a long rope. The other goats simply followed behind.
Each of the younger Indians were riding double with one of the girls sitting astride each of their horses in front of their captors. Tall Bull stopped his horse and turned to look at the woman, who was holding on to the door trying to shake off the fuzziness in her head. He beckoned to her to come towards him and hope rose in her. Maybe she could, at least, be with her daughters if he allowed her to go with them.
She let go of the door and staggered towards where he sat astride his horse. He was around a hundred yards away from where she began to stagger drunkenly in his direction. He sat watching her come as she valiantly closed the distance between them. The only thought in her mind was her girls and the need to be with them to protect them from whatever may come.
Tall Bull smiled down from his mount as she came close to his horse, then extended his arm and reached down his hand to her.
‘Thank you,’ she gasped through her blood caked mouth. As far as she was concerned, he was giving her a chance to be with her children and for that, she was grateful.
As her fingers touched his and she prepared to be lifted onto the horse, he suddenly withdrew his hand and laughed. Then he wheeled the mount and dug his heels into its flank, urging it away from the shocked woman.
‘No don’t go,’ she implored. ‘Please let me be with my children, they need their mother.’
She heard his laugh as he departed. Then he stopped his horse and turned once more before beckoning again, for her to come.
Rachael’s hopes rose as she realised he was playing with her. Once he tired of the game, maybe he would allow her to ride with him. Whatever his plan was, she would go along with it as long as it meant she could be with her girls.
Her head had cleared somewhat and her nose had stopped bleeding, although she was sure it was broken. Blood encrusted her nose and lips, but because all her attention was focused on being with her children, that was hardly noticeable as she doggedly trudged to where the waiting Indian sat. The only thought in her mind was to protect her girls and she was determined that, come what may, nothing would deter her from that.
As she came close to the horse, he changed tactics. He did not reach out his hand to her this time. Instead he simply wheeled his horse around and rode towards his departing compatriots.
She could still see the group less than a quarter of a mile in front as she staggered after the departing Tall Bull who was urging his horse on to catch them up. She wondered if he would stop again and continue the game, but her heart sank when she saw that this time, the distance between them grew greater and she realised he was leaving her. She despaired that she was going to lose her children as the distance between them grew and she upped her pace, determined not to lose sight of them.
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