Allie’s eyes narrowed with anger. She threw her head forward and head-butted the messed up son-of-a-bitch in the nose. Pain exploded in her forehead, but she ignored it as the sickening sound of Wyatt’s nose breaking overrode it.
She ignored his howl of pain as she kicked her heels into the mare’s side. Bending forward, she used her thighs and feet to keep her balance as the startled mare jumped forward. Allie used her weight to help guide the mare as she flashed by a surprised Clancy.
Fear that the mare might trip on the lead rope swept through her, but the fear of what would happen if the men caught her was even worse. The mare burst out of the narrow thatch of woods into open air. Allie’s muffled scream echoed as she and the mare tumbled down the corroded bank of a river.
Allie hit the water below and rolled as the frantic hooves of the mare kicked out as she tumbled over trying to get her head above the water. Allie kicked up, gasping as the gag fell out of her mouth. Her eyes flew to the top of the bank where Clancy sat on his horse, searching for her.
His eyes locked with hers for a brief moment before his widened in shock. He looked down at his chest in surprise. The long shaft of an arrow protruded from it. He glanced up for a brief moment before he tilted.
Allie watched in horror as he fell off his horse and rolled down the bank into the water. She kicked her legs, frantically turning in a circle as she tried to find out where the arrow had come from. Shaking her head, she started kicking in the opposite direction when she saw three braves. Two of them were wading into the water toward her.
“No!” She yelled, trying to swim to the other side away from them. “Hiya!”
Allie snapped out all the nasty curse words she had learned from her brother when she felt both of her arms being gripped. She struggled, calling the two braves everything from horse manure to two dogs humping in her native language. She even used a few that she and Indy had made up one year. Low laughter escaped one of the men as they pulled her out of the water.
“Let me go!” Allie demanded in Lakota.
“Hiya!” No, the male who had stayed on the shore said, turning away.
“I have to see if they killed my husband,” Allie said stubbornly as she dug her feet in.
The warrior ignored her, motioning for one of the men to lift her. Allie, tired, frustrated, and worried out of her mind, fell backwards as he reached for her. Her feet caught the surprised brave in the stomach and she pushed him, knocking him to the ground.
She rolled and used her legs to trip the second warrior as he came for her. Scrambling to her knees, she pushed him over onto his back when he tried to get up. She was rising to her feet when the other warrior came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Allie let her weight pull him off balance and fell forward into a roll. The move threw him over her shoulder. She swung around and found herself face to face with the first brave she had knocked down.
Growling at him, she shot him a furious look before she kicked out at him. She fell when he caught her foot. Water, still trapped from her dunk in the river, poured out of it. She struggled to get loose as the other two braves rose to stand over her.
“I’m going to feed your balls to the wolves,” she snarled.
“Now I know why the white men tied her,” one of the men responded to the laughter of the other two.
*.*.*
Jacob shifted as he glanced down at the lone man on horseback. He recognized his gelding. He raised his rifle and aimed. He didn’t want to kill the bastard. There was no sign of Allie, the other man, or the other horses. Fear almost choked him at the thought that they had already killed Allie overwhelmed him, before he remembered the report from the online site in Allie’s time.
No, she was alive, he thought. She has to be.
Aiming, he pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunfire echoed loudly in the canyon. Jacob watched as the figure stiffened before falling to the ground. The gelding, spooked, skidded several feet before stopping. A shiver ran through the large body as it waited. When nothing else happened, it wandered over to a small lump of grass and began eating.
Jacob waited almost ten minutes, sweeping the area for movement before he scooted backwards. Picking his way down, he kept his handgun ready as he moved toward the body of the man. He caught the handgun lying beside the man with the toe of his boot and flipped it into the shadows.
The man was holding his side, dark red, almost black blood, seeped between his fingers. The man’s head rose slowly as Jacob’s body cast a shadow over him. Hatred darkened his eyes when he recognized the man.
“You!” Jacob exclaimed.
A chuckle escaped the man before he moaned. “You’re supposed to be dead. I guess even in hell, I’ll have to deal with you,” Wyatt Butte muttered.
“Where is she?” Jacob demanded, coldly.
“Dead,” Wyatt chuckled again. This time when he moaned, dark blood trickled down his chin. “She was good, too. I tried that position you had her in yesterday. She liked that. You should have heard her screaming.”
“You bastard,” Jacob said, raising his gun and pointing it at Wyatt’s head. “Say hello to Satan for me.”
Jacob pulled the trigger. The shot caught Wyatt between the eyes and his head snapped back. The gelding jerked and looked at him as he slid the pistol back into his holster. Grief washed through him and he had to keep telling himself that it wasn’t true, that the records stated that Allie lived a long life.
Jacob whistled to the gelding. He reached out and grabbed the reins. Pulling himself up, he turned back the way Wyatt had come. There had been another man. He needed to find him and the other horses. If he found him, he would find Allie. Nudging the Gelding’s side, he started retracing the tracks.
*.*.*
Allie rolled her eyes and rubbed at her wrists as she stood in the middle of the large group of Indians. She had been deposited back on the mare that had swum to the same side as the braves. Both she and the mare where shivering from cold and shock. It had taken them almost an hour before they had come over a rise and she had seen the large number of hide-covered dwellings.
Her escort had picked up speed as they neared the village. Younger boys raced alongside them yelling out questions. It had taken all her concentration not to end up back on the ground. As it was, her body felt like she had been run over by her truck, several times.
She grunted her thanks when one of the braves helped her down from the mare. Turning, she held out her bound wrists and raised her eyebrow at him. He grinned at her for a moment before he pulled the knife at his hip out and sliced through the rope. She murmured her thanks before turning to look around with curious eyes at those gathering around her.
“Who is she?” An elderly man asked as he stepped up to the small group.
“I am Allie Whitewater… Tucker,” she replied in Lakota, unfamiliar with saying her new name.
The man stopped and looked deeply into Allie’s blue eyes. A frown crossed his features before he asked the braves several short questions. He turned back to her and studied her again.
“Where do you come from?” He demanded, eyeing her clothing. “You do not dress as a Lakota or as a white woman.”
“I may not dress as they do now, but I do in the future,” she replied. “My father is Sam Whitewater. He is a Tribal Leader and Medicine Man for our people.”
“I have not heard of this Sam Whitewater,” the man replied. “Where is his tribe?”
“On the other side of Spirit Pass,” Allie replied in a soft voice.
“She has crossed over the great milky river in the sky,” a voice said, pushing through the crowd.
“Paytah?” Allie exclaimed.
Allie watched as Paytah and the other four warriors stepped closer. A smile of relief curved her lips before she stepped toward him. The smile disappeared as concern and fear replaced it.
“Jacob,” she whispered. “Paytah, I need your help. The men who took me… I… I think they killed Jacob,” she forced past the lump in
her throat. “I need to return to the cabin. I have to know.”
“It will be dark soon,” Paytah replied, glancing at the older man who watched their exchange. “Come, my mother will find you dry clothing while I tell our elders of your travels.”
Allie nodded as an older woman stepped forward. She looked back at Paytah as he stood speaking to the older man. They both glanced at her before turning away and disappearing inside one of the tipis. Allie nodded as the woman told her to come. Her eyes swept over the curious gazes watching her. She tried to smile, but all she could think about was how their lives would change so much in the coming years.
“Pilámayaye,” Thank you. Allie whispered as she ducked her head and followed the woman inside the tipi.
*.*.*
Jacob dropped the dead body of the man. He had followed the tracks back to where there had been a scuffle. He had noticed that Wyatt Butte had a broken nose. He suspected Allie was to blame for that, especially after he found where the mare had suddenly taken off. His heart had stopped when he found evidence of the horse going off the bank into the river.
Following the river downstream, he had discovered the body of the other man. He remembered him as being one of Wyatt’s brothers. He hadn’t put the clues together as he hadn’t met the younger man during the war.
He fingered the arrow still protruding from the man’s chest. Rising, he suspected that they had seen Allie and the mare as they tumbled into the river. They had killed Clancy Butte when he pursued her. He’d found no evidence of them being on this side of the river.
Rising up, he remounted the gelding. It was getting dark. He’d have to find a place to bed down for the night. Deciding to cross the river and see if he could find some tracks before it got too dark, he nudged the Gelding forward into the icy water. A few minutes later, they emerged on the other side. Despair washed through him as he looked up at the darkening sky.
“I’ll find you, Allie,” he whispered as the first stars began to appear. “I swear, I’ll find you.”
*.*.*
Allie sat picking at the food on her plate. She shivered, even with the thick fur over her lap. Picking up the piece of meat, she chewed on it absently as several children gazed at her. She crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at them, drawing giggles and more whispers from them.
“You are going to scare them if your face sticks that way,” Paytah commented as he came up to sit next to her.
Allie chuckled as she held out her plate to him. She wasn’t very hungry. He picked up a piece of meat and bit into it. She made another face at the kids drawing more laughter.
“So, what did your dad say?” She asked as he picked up another piece of food that looked like a root of some kind.
“How do you know he is my father?” Paytah asked in surprise.
“I don’t know, it might have been the respectful ‘father’ or the fact that you were allowed into the council’s tipi,” she responded with a sigh.
“You worry about your man,” Paytah commented.
“Yes,” Allie said, looking up at the stars.
“Tell me of what it feels like to fly,” Paytah asked. “Have you touched the stars?”
Allie chuckled and shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “Only a few men have done that. There are men and women living in a Space station that travels around the world at incredible speeds. I fly something different. It lifts off the ground and flies through the air.”
“Do our people all live like you?” He asked.
Allie nodded, before she stopped. “I don’t know how much I should tell you,” she suddenly said. “Sometimes it is best not to know one's future.”
Paytah looked up at the stars. He was silent for several minutes before he smiled. He looked back down at Allie.
“Perhaps one day I will go to your world and fly in one of your metal birds to the stars,” he said. “Until then, Spirit Warrior, I will travel along the ground with the other creatures of our world.”
“Spirit Warrior?” Allie asked with a raised eyebrow.
“The warriors talk about your fight with them today. When it was learned you traveled further than the milky river in the sky, they decided you are a Spirit Warrior. You walk between two worlds,” Paytah said standing.
Allie watched as Paytah walked away. She jerked when a hand touched her shoulder, startling her. She looked into the gentle eyes of Paytah’s mother as she motioned for Allie to follow her. Allie rose, clasping the fur in her hands as she followed the older woman. She paused before she entered the tipi, looking up at the brilliant stars.
“I’ll find you,” she whispered. “You promised me that you wouldn’t leave me. I don’t know how, but I know you are alive. I’ll find you, Jacob. I won’t be left behind again.”
*.*.*
Allie jerked awake the next morning as loud shouts and the barking of dogs woke her. She sat up, blinking as she tried to remember where she was. The old woman whispered for her to stay before she hurried out of the tipi.
She pushed the furs off of her, shivering as she searched for the soft moccasins that had been given to her last night. Her boots and other clothes had been too wet for her to wear. Pulling the soft, doeskin material down around her knees, she scrambled to the entrance of the tipi to peek out. She caught a glimpse of a figure on a horse, riding into the camp.
“Jacob,” she whispered as she saw the man turn his head, his piercing blue eyes searching the crowd of people around him. “Jacob!”
Allie pushed out of the tipi, uncaring of the chilly air. Her heart thundered as he stopped and turned his head. Her lips trembled as she saw his eyes narrow on her. A smile lit her face and she began walking toward him.
“Allie,” Jacob called, dismounting.
The crowd of people parted as he turned to look at where he had last seen her. She paused as she stared at him. Tears blurred her vision and she impatiently brushed them away. Biting her lip, she laughed when he opened his arms for her.
Running, Allie flung herself in his arms. Her arms wound around his neck and she pressed desperate kisses to his face as tears streamed down her face. A low sob escaped her and she buried her head in his neck, muttering incoherently.
“What?” He asked, frantically trying to make sure she was alright. “Allie, what?
“I said, I love you,” she sobbed, looking at him. “I love you, Jacob Tucker.”
“I love you, too, Allie Tucker,” he murmured. “I love you so damn much it hurts. When you screamed…”
Allie cupped his face when he shuddered. “It was the same for me when they lit the cabin on fire,” she said. “How did you escape?”
“I built it into the side of the mountain for a reason,” he chuckled. “There is a cave system leading out to the other side.”
“I’m glad you were so smart,” she choked out, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close. “The men…”
“Dead,” Jacob replied in a hard voice. “They won’t ever bother us again.”
“Jacob Tucker,” a voice commented. “I see you have your Spirit Warrior.”
Jacob turned to see Paytah standing looking at them with an amused gaze. A responding smile creased his face. He raised an eyebrow at Allie.
“Spirit Warrior?” He asked.
Allie flushed and looked at Paytah. “I had a minor altercation with a couple of the warriors,” she muttered. “But, we’re cool now.”
“Explain minor altercation,” Jacob growled, glaring at Paytah.
Chapter 28
Allie smiled up at Jacob as he handed her a cup of cold water. She scooted over so Jacob could sit next to her on the porch. It had been almost a year since she’d traveled through Spirit Pass and her life had settled down as she found her place in the past. She enjoyed helping with the horses. She and Indy had grown even closer as they shared their hopes and dreams of making the ranch the best one ever.
It had taken a few attempts, but three bathrooms had been added to the house. They were
working on trying to figure out a way to create a hot water system. They had one that worked, but Allie loved her hot baths so it still needed some refining.
She and Jacob had also been working on rebuilding the cabin in the mountains. They were scheduled to return to it later this morning.
“Are you sure you are up to the trip?” Jacob asked in a husky voice.
“Yes, I’m pregnant, not dying, Jacob,” Allie replied. “Besides, I want to see the work that has been done to the cabin since I was last there.”
Jacob chuckled as he reached over and rested his hand on Allie’s still flat belly. He relaxed back against the swing as Allie rested her hand over his. Ever since she told him two days ago that she was pregnant, he couldn’t resist resting his hand on her stomach.
He glanced up as his brother stepped out onto the porch. A small bundle nestled against his shoulder, his hand gently patting the tiny back. Indy had given birth to Samuel Hugh Tucker a little more than a month ago.
“How is the construction going on the cabin?” Jonathan asked as he sat down in the rocking chair.
“Good. I think I’ve figured out the bathroom,” Jacob replied. “We’re heading out shortly.”
“That’s good,” Jonathan said before he frowned as he saw a group of riders on the rise. “Who is that?”
Allie glanced up. Standing up, she stepped closer to the railing. A low cry escaped her as she recognized the man and woman in front.
“Papa! Mom!” Allie cried out. “Jacob, it’s Papa! Oh my god, I think he brought Taylor!”
“Oh God,” both men groaned as they saw one figure break away with a loud yell.
“The past will never be the same again,” Jacob muttered as he came to stand behind his beautiful wife.
Allie chuckled as she frowned again. She was surprised when she saw Aleaha riding beside her parents. “Who is that next to Aleaha?” She asked as she studied the tall man riding close to her sister.
“Shit!” Jonathan and Jacob both exclaimed as they recognized the tall Lakota brave riding beside Aleaha. The male was dressed in jeans, a dark blue, long sleeve shirt, and wearing a cowboy hat. “What the hell is he doing with them?”