With determined strides, Adam walked out of the office. He went straight to the livery stables where he had kept his horse upon arriving in town.
After taking enough supplies for the journey ahead, he asked the stable lad for the directions to the Indian reservation. The young lad’s jaw dropped for a moment before he pointed him in the right direction.
“Come on, Dark Knight, we have a long way to go.” He patted the head of the black as midnight stallion.
Adam had bought the horse about five years ago. One look into the black eyes of the animal, and he knew they were meant for each other. Steadily, he had groomed the horse that had become an important part of his life. Adam didn’t go anywhere without the massive beast. He had had many conversations with the animal, although one-sided, but somehow, he had felt the animal understood every word he said. They had been through a lot together, lost in the forests, chasing outlaws and just relaxing under a shade or under the moon.
With a stony face, Adam steered his horse in the path the lad had described. He wasn’t one to sit and wait for things to happen. He had always taken the bull by the horns, fearing no consequences.
He was prepared to ride until he found the Indians and questioned them about the raid and cattle rustling. He could only hope that he would find someone to talk to him.
Come rain, come shine, I’ll find answers.
Chapter 3
“Dear God, I’m so hungry and tired. If you don’t send help my way soon, I don’t think I’ll be able to go on,” Olivia whispered as tears of frustration stung her eyes.
She had been walking since she woke up and she was just about ready to give up. If she didn’t find food or water soon, she might just lie on the ground and wait for the worst to happen.
That she had lasted this long, walking for miles without nourishment was a miracle to her. But now, she prayed for another miracle.
Needing strength from the Word of God, Olivia stopped walking and flipped open her bible. She blinked repeatedly, but she couldn’t make out the words in the good book.
She was so hungry it had affected her ability to see and read. Tears streamed down her face at the hopelessness of her situation.
If only she had found her way back to the Indian reservation. The Indians would be worried about her by now. They might have given up looking for her, assuming that she had gone back with the white men.
When she woke up that first day, she had wanted to just lie there and wait for her Indian family to find her. But then, she had wondered how long she would have to wait and went to look for them instead.
Not that she regretted the decision not to sit and wait, but now, she was so tired she questioned the wisdom of her choice.
“Maybe I should have just stayed put and waited,” she muttered in her misery.
She darted her tongue across her lips and winced. Her lips were so parched, they were broken. The scorching summer air hadn’t been merciful. She had hoped that it would rain so that she could at least have a drink of water or be refreshed. But after the clouds gathered, they let up again.
Unable to go on as her entire body hurt, she dropped to the ground and lay there with tears pouring down her face.
“Father, please help me. You said in Your word that You will supply all our needs according to Your riches in glory. You said we should ask and we will receive, seek and we will find, knock and the door will be opened. Lord, please send me a helper,” she whispered, too tired to go on her knees.
Her eyes closed and she thought about White Bird and her family. What would they be doing now? She reckoned they would be out in the fields searching for her.
She smiled through her tears when she recalled the time she had gotten lost in the forest, searching for leaves for the tribe’s healer as the woman had been too busy taking care of sick ones. She had prayed to be found, and in a short time, she had seen the relieved faces of White Bird and her family.
She would never forget how they had run into one another’s arms, sobbing with relief and joy.
Olivia assumed that she was dreaming when she heard the unmistakable sound of a horse’s hooves in the distance.
“Dear Lord, is it real, or have I started imagining things?”
Where’s my faith?
Olivia struggled to lift her head from the ground. Indeed, she wasn’t imagining it. Someone was actually riding a horse in her direction.
Thank you, Lord.
Afraid that if she didn’t do anything, the person might go the other way, Olivia struggled to lift herself from the ground but fell back.
“Help.”
