She scrambled forward, spinning to see what had happened.
Her attacker was on the ground, a figure looming over him with hands wrapped around his throat.
Two Stones.
Heidi's heart hammered as she backed farther away, onto the edge of the main street.
Two Stones glanced at her. "Are you hurt?" He was breathing hard, and fire sounded in his voice.
She shook her head, her own breaths coming in short gasps. "I'm all right."
He turned back to the man and released one of his hands from the cad's neck. In a fluid movement, Two Stones pulled a pistol from his waistband and stood to his feet, towering over thescoundrel lying on his back. "If you come near her again, you will breathe your last breath."
He took a step back, his gaze locked with her attacker’s, even while the fellow scrambled up and away from the fierce brave. Once he'd gained his feet and retreated from the alley onto the main boardwalk, his eyes darkened into a glare so full of hatred, she took another step back.
Thankfully, Two Stones stood between them, his back to her like a mountain no man could conquer.
Just before the scoundrel stepped into the same shadowed doorway he'd appeared from before, his gaze moved past the brave to focus on her. "I'll have you, girlie. Ain't no injun gonna stop me." Then he disappeared into the darkness.
She wrapped her arms around herself even as Two Stones backed toward her, his pistol still aimed at the place the villain had last stood.
When he reached her, still with his back to her like a shield, he spoke just loudly enough for her to hear. "We should return to your father's house. I do not think he will give up so easily."
Heidi shivered, the memory of the man's leering gaze still fresh in her mind. Two Stones was right. Men like him didn't take rejection well.
She started forward, retracing the steps she'd taken such a short time before.
Two Stones stayed at her side as they passed the building her attacker had entered, then moved behind her as she lengthened her stride to the quickest walk she could manage without drawing too much notice.
Who was she fooling, though? Her very presence drew notice. There were so many men in this wilderness city, and her father had warned that the few women here all worked for the brothels and saloons.
How had she ever thought she would manage to keep herself safe and find respectable work? No other female had been able to. Surely not all of them had come west already entrenched in disreputable careers. How many had been innocent, accosted by the man who'd tried to drag her down the alleyway—or another just like him?
By the time they reached the shanties, she'd begun to tremble. The awful event had passed. Two Stones had saved her. Yet her body didn't seem to believe she was safe.
She slapped the door open and stumbled inside, then paused to take in the dim room.
Her father's tobacco pipe still sat on the rough-hewn table next to the leather-bound Bible he'd read aloud from every night since she arrived here. Those last few nights, she’d done the reading while he lay in his bed pallet. On the wall hung the frying pan he'd scorched their breakfast in just a few days ago.
Heidi blinked back the burn that rushed to her eyes. She couldn't cry. Not now.
Two Stones entered behind her, and the door thumped closed. Quiet descended over them as they stood, side by side.
She had to face him, this man who'd risked his own safety to help her. Who'd appeared when she needed him most.
She didn't look at him yet, but she ventured words into the quiet. "Thank you."
"I'm glad I was there."
The feel of that man's grip around her wrist flooded back, but she pressed it away, fisting her hands against the memory. It felt too much like the things Winston had done early in their marriage.
She was no longer that woman, though. No longer the weak wife controlled by the men around her. She made her own choices now.
Yet, did she really?
At the moment, she couldn't stomach the thought of stepping out of this shanty.
Two Stones turned to her, his tone gentle. "It is not safe for you to walk through town alone." Something flicked in his eyes. Like uncertainty, but it disappeared so quickly she couldn't be sure. "Come with me. My village is quiet and you will find peace. I will not bother you there. And this will keep my promise to your father."
