The third man came up from behind her and grabbed one of her horse’s reins. “I think it’s time we stopped this pretty little gal and had us a party.” He yanked on the reins until her horses stopped.
All the terror she had been holding down rose to her chest as she screamed at the top of her lungs. The first man jumped from his horse onto her wagon and clamped his filthy hand over her mouth. He bonnet fell off her head, dangling on her back. She shoved her elbow back, hitting his soft middle. He only grunted and wrapped his arm around her waist, dragging her out of the wagon. She bit his finger, and he cursed and grabbed a clump of her hair, yanking so hard tears rushed to her eyes.
Once they were on the ground, the man named Sam grabbed her feet. She kicked and screamed again, but the hand wrapped around her mouth muffled the sound. With the first man’s arm snug around her waist and Sam holding her feet, they raced into the bushes. They threw her on the ground, her hip striking a tree limb. She opened her mouth to scream again, and a dirty rag was shoved into her mouth.
Rachel gagged, terrified she would vomit and choke to death. The third man placed his boot on her middle. “Stop wiggling around, girly, and this won’t take no time a’ tall. Hell, if you lay back real nice you might even enjoy it.”
Both of her hands were pulled behind her back, and tightly bound. She now lay on the ground with her arms restrained and the rag stuffed into her mouth. Kicking out, she caught Sam on his chest as he knelt in front of her. He brought his hand back and slammed his fist into her face, causing lights to burst in her head.
Disoriented for a minute, she felt him lean over her and rip the front of her dress in two, exposing her breasts to the cooling night air. “Oh, yeah. We’re gonna have us a real party tonight, boys.” He grabbed at her breast, squeezing until tears stung her eyes. She rolled onto her stomach, swallowing to keep the bile rising in her throat from going any further.
Terrified at what they were about to do, she prayed they wouldn’t kill her. Being her precious son’s only parent, she would do whatever it took to stay alive. If she had to lay still, then dear God, she would do it to survive.
One of the men flipped her back over and held her shoulders down, the other gripped her feet. Sam stood and began to unbuckle his belt as he stared down at where he’d torn her dress. “Yeah, she’s a looker, this one. I’m fixin’ to have us a real party with this gal.”
Chapter Five
Rusty pulled his pocket watch out again to glance at the time. Only five minutes had passed since he’d last checked. He rested his hands on his hips and looked down the road, frowning. Dusk was settling in, and Rachel should have been back a while ago. She’d mentioned that she had a long list of supplies this time, but she’d been gone all day.
“Mr. McIntyre, where’s my ma?”
Rusty squatted in front of the boy and tugged on his hat brim. “I’m sure she’ll be along any minute now. But to speed things along, I’m going to take a ride to town and escort her back.”
“What does escort mean?”
“It means I’ll ride alongside her. Sort of like I did when you and your ma got stuck in the mud. Do you remember that?”
“Yes. You helped us get the wagon not stuck.”
“That’s right. But here’s what I want you to do.” He took Will’s hand and started walking toward his house. “I’m going to leave you with Amelia in your house. I want you to stay there, and get yourself ready for bed like your ma does. Okay?”
“Can’t I go with you to escort her home?”
He shook his head. “No. I think your ma would be happy to come home and find you’ve already had your snack and was ready to sleep.”
“If you’re sure . . .”
“Yeah, little buddy, I’m sure.” No doubt everything was fine and Rachel merely got a late start back. But in the pit of his stomach he felt something wasn’t right. He never should have let her go into town by herself. Hell, he had no right to tell her what she could and couldn’t do.
Then why did he feel like she was his responsibility?
Rusty opened
the back door to Rachel’s house. Amelia sat at the kitchen table with a glass of milk and a piece of cornbread in front of her. She gave him a curt nod, but smiled at Will. “Is your ma back yet?”
“No.” Will frowned up at Rusty. “Mr. McIntyre is going to ride into town and escort her home.”
“Is everything okay?” Amelia’s pinched face added to his anxiety.
“I’m sure she’s just fine. I want the two of you to get ready for bed and stay in the house until me and your ma get back.”
Amelia bristled at the order, but the look on his face obviously convinced her there would be no argument on this. He was growing more concerned by the minute, and was anxious to be on his way. “Do I have your word that you’ll stay in the house?”
“Yes, sir,” Will said.
Amelia nodded and went back to her cornbread.
That taken care of, he strode from the house to the barn. After tacking up, he headed down the path to the road to and from town. With the sun making its descent behind the trees, soon it would be almost impossible to see anything.