Squinting against the stabbing pain in his skull, he forced the eye open again and shifted his head.
Two Stones knelt beside him, his dark eyes filled with concern. A hint of a smile touched his lips. “I am glad you have come back to us, my friend.”
Sampson forced a swallow, his raw throat burning. His mouth felt like cotton, but he managed to get out a few words. “What happened?” His voice came out as a hoarse whisper.
Two Stones shook his head. “You made your friends very angry. It was not an easy task to get you away from them.”
He strained for memory. He’d been…in Missoula Mills. Then driving the wagon. Jedidiah. They’d turned off the road…then…nothing.
“Heidi has gone for Dinah and Jericho.” Two Stones reached for something, then moved a wooden bowl into his line of sight. “They will want to help bring you back to the ranch. But there has been a great snow. They may be slow in coming.”
He spooned a liquid from the bowl and placed it at Sampson’s lips. “Drink.”
He obeyed, and a warm liquid dripped into his mouth. Swallowing burned, but some of the cotton cleared from his tongue.
As Two Stones refilled the spoon, Sampson focused on the man’s words. The ranch. He couldn’t leave…
With a jolt, memories rushed in. Grace. And Ruby. He started to push up, but his middle screamed in protest.
“Lie still, brother.” Two Stones’s voice left no room for argument. “You will make the wounds worse.”
He couldn’t get up anyway, so he sank back to the bed. A fur, now that he thought about it. They were outside, but Two Stones had built a small three-sided hut to shield him from the cold. And the snow.
He let himself lie there, eye closed, as he thought through what he could do. He’d been injured. Beaten, if he had to guess. He must have angered Jedidiah. How? That memory wouldn’t come.
Thank the Lord Two Stones found him. How had that come about? He could ask in a minute.
First, he had to think through what would be best for Grace and the baby. If Jedidiah was angry with him, would he do something to Grace? It didn’t seem likely a man would take something like that out on his own daughter, but he’d put nothing past Jedidiah.
He had to get them to a safe place, somewhere her father couldn’t find them.
Another rented room in Missoula? He didn’t know anyone there well enough to trust with such a critical task.
And if Jedidiah caught wind of where they were… Not only would Grace and Ruby not be safe, but whoever sheltered them would end up in the same condition Sampson was. Or worse.
He forced his eye open again to make sure Two Stones was close enough to hear. The man lifted another spoonful of liquid, but Sampson spoke before he could make him drink. “I need you to do something for me.”
Two Stones’s brow lifted, and he paused the spoon.
“Go to…Missoula. The hotel. Room one.” His lungs could barely draw in a half breath, and he had to pause every few words. “My wife…and baby. Make sure…they’re safe. Tell them…what happened. Bring them to…the ranch.”
Two Stones didn’t show the surprise he’d expected. But he’d always been good at concealing his reactions. His expression seemed humored more than anything, with the corners of his eyes creasing.
“I wondered what kept you away. I see now it is the way of all men.”
Sampson would have grinned if it didn’t hurt so much. He’d certainly not planned to come back with a wife and babe. He’d no doubt get some ribbing from his brothers.
Would Grace even agree to go back to the ranch? She’d made it clear she wanted to live by herself. This could be a temporary situation, until they could make sure she’d be safe from her father.
Still…Two Stones would have to convince her of that fact. Good thing Sampson had told her about this friend. Would she need proof that Sampson had indeed sent him? Proof that the danger was dire enough she should do as he was asking? Probably, but what could he send?
He opened his mouth for another spoonful of the drink as he thought through options. “My shirt…it was torn? And bloody?”
Two Stones glanced at Sampson’s belly, though it felt like a fur covered him. “Yes.”
Would Grace remember him leaving in that shirt? It might not be enough. Was there something else? Something in his belongings?
“Do you have my possibles sack?” He would have taken it with him in the wagon.
