Savage Dawn

“I am very aware of those men and what their intentions are toward me,” Nicole said softly. “Sam Partain killed my parents, and I don’t believe that Sam Partain will stop until he finds and kills me, too.”

“Yet you will risk his finding you rather than stay here where you will be safe and well cared for?” Jacob said, his voice revealing how surprised he was at her choice. “Jeremiah has made Nancy and Martha a good husband. He would also be kind and caring to you. He has prayed often for a son. He believes you would bear him not only one, but many.”

“And that is exactly why I must take my chances against Sam Partain,” Nicole softly argued. “I don’t want to marry any man that I don’t love, and I don’t want a man marrying me only to bear him sons.”

“That marriage would bring much happiness into your life,” Jacob said in a pleading way. “The women of our community are very happy. I have never seen any of them cry. Nicole, you could be happy here, too. If you blessed Jeremiah with a son, he would never stop repaying you. Gifts, Nicole. You would be given gifts you cannot even imagine.”

“I want no gifts, I want no favors, I only want my freedom and the right to fall in love with whom I want to love. I would never be content with the life that is offered me by Jeremiah,” Nicole responded. “Now, Jacob, I am going to ride away from this community. The only way you can stop me is to shoot me. And I know that you wouldn’t do that. You are a man of God, a man of good heart. I just hope that Jeremiah doesn’t hold it against you too much that you let me go.”

“He is a man of God and he will accept God’s bidding if it is for you to be on your way and find happiness elsewhere,” Jacob said softly. He held the rifle tightly at his side. “Go, Nicole. Do what your heart tells you to do, and God bless.”

Nicole was so stunned that Jacob was actuallly letting her go, she stood there for a moment, staring at him. Then she went to him and flung herself into his arms.

“Thank you,” she softly cried. “Oh, Jacob, thank you for your sweet kindness.”

She felt his arm tighten around her.

She tensed, realizing at that moment he could actually lock his arms around her and force her to walk with him back into the village.

But to her relief, he was truly the kind man that she thought him to be. He released his arms from around her waist and stepped back.

“Jacob, oh, Jacob, will you be punished for allowing me to leave?” she asked, truly afraid for the kindhearted man.

“Jeremiah is a good man,” Jacob said, smiling at Nicole. “He would never mistreat a brother. Go, Nicole. Be safe. And when you find the man you can love, I hope you will find much happiness as his wife.”

She wanted to tell him that she had already found that man, and that she truly felt he was her destiny. But she knew that neither Jacob nor Jeremiah would ever understand how she could love an Indian. Most whites, even the kindhearted Mormons, saw Indians as savages.

“I truly believe that I shall find that perfect man,” Nicole said, putting a foot into the stirrup, and mounting her steed.

She gazed down at Jacob. “I shall never forget your kindness,” she murmured. “Jacob, thank you. Thank you so much.”

“I will not forget your brave heart,” Jacob replied, then turned and walked away, while Nicole rode in the opposite direction into the darkness of the aspen forest.

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Nicole sighed heavily. She knew that if it had been anyone but Jacob who’d found her, she would even now be back at the house that had been assigned her.

“Oh, Jeremiah, what are you going to do when you realize that I am gone?” she whispered into the wind.

She realized that he might come searching for her again.

She would not allow him to find her.

Chapter Twenty-four

Seeking the safety of the mountain, Nicole now rode up a narrow pass that was scarcely visible in the night.

She wasn’t sure whether to thank the moon for being bright tonight, allowing her to see a few feet ahead of herself, or curse it for possibly making her visible to those who might be searching for her.

She hoped and prayed that at this time of night Sam Partain and his gang would already be settled in beside a campfire, having given up their search until tomorrow.

Her most ardent prayer was that Sam Partain had given up on finding her altogether. She knew the lure of the poker table for him. She doubted that Sam could stay away from it for long.

Her father had been cursed by the same compulsion. Perhaps in the end it would lead to Sam’s death as well.

She forced her thoughts elsewhere, for thinking of Sam Partain and the parents he had taken from her would forever cause a pain she could not describe. For this moment, at least, she was safe from all men who threatened her.

She reached down and rested a hand on the butt end of the rifle shoved into her travel bag. Were she to need it quickly, it was there, ready and loaded.