Page 55 of A Wanderer's Redemption
Reggie only holds me tighter. “She’s fine. Jacob is checking her over right now. God, Jess, when I heard that shot, I panicked. I didn’t even know I could run that fast.”
Something grabs the end of my braid, and I laugh through the tears. I reach out a hand so that Zeus knows I am all right. Suddenly, I am surrounded as the others have also come running, though more slowly, since they had to make their way back up the hill. Now that I think about it, I am not sure how Reggie got to me so fast. Reggie slowly lowers me to the ground as I am circled by concerned faces. Little Henry has tears in his eyes, and I reach over, pulling him into me, kissing the top of his head.
“Hey, will you go make sure Zeus didn’t hurt himself? He was pulling on that lead rope pretty hard!”
“Yes, Miss Jess, I will … don’t you worry none. I will fix him right up.”
He runs around Deven and Jacob straight to Zeus, and I see Marcus’ smile as he knows I was simply trying to get his young mind off the ‘what ifs’. Jacob hands me Coco’s reins, and even though they all said she is fine, I need to see it for myself.
“Thank you, pretty girl. I owe you my life.”
She nuzzles the top of my head before turning and heading back to Zeus’ side, where she had been standing when that mountain lion was sneaking up on me. Colby looks white as a ghost when he sees the hair on the ground where Coco must have made contact.
“Jessie, maybe you should move your stuff to the middle wagon. I am not comfortable with you being back here alone; that thing could have dragged you off, and none of us would have known it until it was too late.”
“Thank you, Colby, but I am fine where I am. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t terrified, but thankfully, the horses were alert, and no one got hurt. I do believe we’ve all gotten a little too comfortable, and I am not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.”
I can tell he wants to argue with me, but I take a deep breath and grab the basket that I had fixed for all of them.
“Since you are all here, you may as well eat. Reggie, I don’t want to know the gory details, but what did you find down there?”
“Someone buried the bodies, but no one came away from that unscathed. There are a few chests I am going to have the men bring up that seem to contain pictures and other personal items. Once we get to town, I’ll ask around and see if anyone has family heading this way and pass them along if we do. If we leave them here, it will just be torn apart by wild animals.”
“Do you think something came upon them abruptly?”
“No clue, but those wagons were not driven down that bank; they were thrown there. I would say it was a tornado, but it’s just a guessing game at this point. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m a little shook up, but the show must go on. Now that doesn’t mean I won’t have nightmares about this later, but I know we’re wasting daylight.”
Reggie can see right through my act as I am still slightly shaking. He grabs the basket out of my hand, giving it to Jacob, before picking me up off the ground and walking away from the men.Hugging his neck tightly, I bury my nose in the crook of his neck, trying to absorb his strength, as mine seems to be failing me right now. He walks to the top of the ridge, sitting us down on a large rock that’s overlooking a huge valley of oddly shaped rocks and wind-carved formations. When he rearranges me on his lap, I realize I am not the only one shaking.
“I am going to hear that horse screaming and that shot for the rest of my life. I don’t think I have ever been that scared before, Jess.”
“If it makes you feel better, me either.”
“Why didn’t you shoot the damn thing?”
“Couldn’t get a clear shot around Coco, and I was scared I’d hurt her. I was hoping the sound would scare it off, but it was determined. I am not sure if it was the food or me it was after, to be honest.”
“For once, I agree with Colby, you were an easy target back there alone.”
“I’ve been fine up to this point, Reggie. I am not moving now.”
We both sit there in silence. I have no idea what is going through his head, but mine is all over the place. I realize how quickly all my hopes and dreams … even my wants … could have all been erased within seconds. One thing that is guaranteed about life is the constant unexpectedness of it.
CHAPTER 23
REGGIE
Day eleven and three sleepless nights later, we finally pull into town in the middle of a thunderstorm. Drenched, tired, and rather grumpy, I throw my leg over the saddle at the livery, tying Bells temporarily to the hitching post while the men and Jessica wait for me outside in this downpour. Opening the side door, I yell out. “Hello, anyone home?”
“Coming! Who in their right mind would be out in this mess?” I hear someone mumbling as they walk toward me.
“It’s me, Mr. Dalton … Reggie Kerns.”
“Well, it is. Almost didn’t recognize you with all that hair.”
“Yeah, I feel like a drowned rat. What was once something I was doing just to aggravate my mom is now driving me crazy. I’ve got four wagons, eight oxen, three horses, and several soaked souls sitting out in this mess.”
