Courage to Love (Flynn Family Saga) (6 page)

Maggie hesitated.  Then, she nodded.  She sat down opposite Abby.  Abby poured the tea from a china pot into metal mugs.  She grimaced.  “My mother would be rolling in her grave if she saw me serving tea in these things.”

Maggie laughed.  She sipped the hot tea gratefully.  “This is very good, Abby.”

"It's called Assam tea.  Jed—"  Abby's voice broke.  She shut her eyes briefly, and then she opened them and smiled at Maggie.  "Jed brought it to me from India.  He was always bringing me exotic things.  I had to leave most of them at home, but I brought my tea with me and my teapot."  The two women sat in silence a while.  Abby spoke first.  “I heard about the boy, and it’s a very brave thing you’re doing.”

Maggie turned away.  “I’m doing nothing!”

Abby took a sip of her tea and smiled.  “A man would ride off against orders and get himself in trouble.  It takes a woman to do nothing when nothing is the right thing to do.”

Maggie smiled.  “You don’t miss much, do you, Abby?”

“No, I guess I don’t.  It comes from living so long.”  Abby smiled.  Her smile faded slowly.  “Is Flynn in any danger?”

Maggie shook her head.  “I honestly don’t know.  It depends on why they took Peter.  Last night, I thought they took him as a hostage.  But they didn’t send anyone to negotiate with us.  Now they have Flynn—”  Her voice broke.

Abby touched her arm.  “I was a seaman's wife for almost forty years.  The hardest part of that was the waiting.  A storm would blow up, and I’d hear the wind howling and the surf pounding the shore, and I wouldn’t sleep until Jed came home safe and sound.  But he loved that life, and he was a proud man.  It almost broke his heart when he lost his ship.”

Maggie sighed.  “You’re right.  Doing nothing takes a lot more courage.  When I was just Sam’s daughter, I could ride off on my own and try to rescue him.  Now...”

“Now you have to wait.  And pray.”  Abby patted her hand.  “Just know that the prayers of the entire train are with that little boy tonight.”  She grinned.  “And the big one, too.”

Maggie shut her eyes.  “Thank you, Abby.”  She opened them.  “And thank you for the tea.”

“Any time, Maggie.”

Maggie nodded.  She stood up and went back to her wagon.

And this time, she slept.

*  *  *

Two weeks later, Maggie led the train into Fort Laramie.  She was tired and worried, but she felt a little better when the train rolled through the gates of the Fort.  She dismounted and went to the office of the commander.  The sign on the door said Colonel Grafton.  Maggie knocked, and a lieutenant opened the door.

“My name is Maggie Flynn, and I’d like to see the colonel.”

The lieutenant looked her up and down.  “I’d heard a woman was bossing a wagon train, but I didn’t believe it.”

Maggie’s mouth compressed into a thin line.  “Look, Lieutenant, the Dakota took two of my people, and I’d like to get them back in one piece if I can.  Now, can I see the colonel or not?”

“Who is it, Lieutenant?”

“Mrs. Flynn, sir.”

Colonel Grafton came to the door.  “Maggie!  Come in!  I’ve been expecting you.”

Maggie entered the office.

Colonel Grafton held out a chair.  “How is your father?”

“Well, sir.  And you?”

"Fine.  Fine."  The colonel sat down in a swivel chair and grinned.  “I'd heard you and Flynn got married.  I just didn't believe any woman could hogtie him.”

Maggie laughed.

Grafton smiled.  “How is it, bossing your own train?”

Maggie shrugged.  “I’ll let you know when I reach Sacramento.”

Grafton laughed.  "You sound a lot like Sam."

"Thank you."  Maggie drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “I lost two of my people to the Dakota.  I was wondering if you could spare a few men.”

Grafton’s smile faded, and he shook his head.  “The garrison is undermanned as it is.”

Maggie looked away.  “One of them is a nine-year-old boy, and the other is Flynn.”

Grafton laid his hand on her shoulder.  “I’m sorry, Maggie.”

Maggie nodded.  “Well, I’m sorry to have taken up your time, Colonel.”

“No apology necessary, Maggie.  You wouldn’t be much of a wagon master if you didn’t try to take care of your people.  Would you like some sherry?”

“No thank you, sir.”

“How about some tea, then?”  He smiled.  “You can tell me about your father, and I can tell you lies about the war.”

Maggie nodded.  She sat and sipped tea and listened to Grafton’s stories about Sam.  Finally, she stood up.  “I’ll be leaving in the morning, sir.  I’d better get back to the train.  Dawn comes awfully early.  Thank you for the tea.”

Grafton’s eyes narrowed.  “You don’t have some harebrained idea of going after them yourself, do you?”

Maggie smiled.  “It wouldn’t be the first time I had to rescue Flynn.”  Her smile faded.  “The first time, I was only sixteen years old.”

Grafton nodded solemnly.  “I heard about that.  The Vaughns, wasn’t it?”

Maggie nodded.

Grafton sighed.  “Well, if you do decide to go back, take someone with you.”

Maggie smiled at him sadly.  “I’m undermanned, too.”

Grafton regarded her solemnly.  “Good luck, Mrs. Flynn.”

“Thank you, Colonel.  Whatever I decide to do, I’m going to need it.”  She stood up.

The colonel escorted her to the door.  “You know, you remind me a lot of your father.”

“You know I’m adopted, don’t you?”

"I know."  Grafton nodded again.  "But you still remind me of Sam.”

“Thank you, sir.”  She shook his hand.  Then, she turned and went outside.

*  *  *

That night, Maggie and Ben argued for an hour after dinner.

“Damn it, Maggie!  The people on this train need you here!”

“Do you have a relationship with Sees Far?  Do you have an Indian name?”  Maggie lifted her chin defiantly.

Ben sighed.  “No.”

“Besides, it’s my decision.”

“Maggie, are you sure this is what Sam would do?”

Maggie shook her head.  “No.  But this is
my
wagon train, Ben, not his.  And I have to lead it my own way.”

Ben sighed.  “You’re right.  Are you
ever
wrong?”

Maggie grinned.  “About as often as Sam was.”

Ben grinned back, but his grin faded swiftly.  “I wish you’d let me come with you.”

“Ben, I need you here.”

“What about Frank?  He can lead the train as well as I can.”

Maggie nodded.  “You know that, and I know that, but the people on this train only know him as a cook.”  She drew a deep breath.  "Don’t tell folks where I’m going.  Oh, Abby Barrett will figure it out in about two seconds, but she’ll keep her mouth shut.  I’ll catch up to you as soon as I can.”

Ben shook his head.  “I sure hope so.”

Maggie sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.  “Me too.”  She went to her bedroll and slept all night for the first time since Peter went missing.

*  *  *

Maggie woke before dawn.  She felt a combination of fear and excitement in the pit of her stomach.  She went to the picket line and groomed Patches to steady herself.  Then, she went back to the lead wagon.  Frank had the coffee ready.  She sipped it and made a face.  “Frank, I’ve got to bring Flynn back before you poison us with this stuff you call coffee.”

Frank grinned.  “That’s better.  You’ve been much too serious the past few weeks.”

Maggie smiled back at him.  She ate quickly and packed hardtack and dried meat in her saddlebags.  She tied a bedroll and a slicker onto the cantle of her saddle.  Patches moved restlessly, as if he, too, were eager to be back on the trail.  Maggie patted his nose and mounted him.

Ben stood with his arms crossed over his chest.  “If you get yourself killed, I’ll—I’ll—”

“Kill me?”

Ben laughed, but he sobered quickly.  “Good luck, Magpie.  And be careful.”

She nodded.  She turned and rode out of the gate.  When the huge double doors of the gate banged shut behind her, she shivered.  Then, she kicked Patches into a trot.  The little horse ate up the miles.  She stopped for lunch at the same place they made camp the night before they arrived at the fort.  In less than a week, she reached the bluffs.  She hesitated.  Sensing her nervousness, Patches pranced uneasily.  Maggie patted his neck and spoke quietly to him.  She drew a deep breath and rode up the side of the bluff.  From the top, she could see the village.  It looked peaceful enough.  There was no war shield in front of the chief’s lodge.

Maggie squeezed her legs, and Patches started down the other side of the bluff.

Six Dakota appeared from behind rocks.

Maggie raised her hands.  She remained still while they circled her.  One of the men took her rifle, and another unfastened her gun belt.  Then, they took Patches’ bridle and led him toward the village.

Maggie’s heart pounded in her chest.  She felt terribly vulnerable without her pistol and rifle, but she remembered the day she negotiated an agreement with Sees Far to take clean water from a sacred waterfall.  She’d had to surrender her weapons that day, also.  The thought of Sees Far and his wife, Woman Who Dreams, brought a smile to her face.

Her escort led her into the village.  The knot in the pit of Maggie’s stomach tightened.

Then, she saw Flynn, tied to a pole in the center of the village.

A tall man emerged from the chief’s lodge.  He wore red and black paint, a sign of mourning among the Dakota.  Her escort stopped and dismounted.  Maggie followed their lead.  She signed friend/respect.

The chief nodded.  “Are you the one called Fire-haired Woman?”  He spoke perfect English.

Maggie nodded.  “And that is my husband, Eagle Heart.”

The chief looked at Flynn and then looked back at Maggie.  “I am called Last Buffalo.  My sister, Woman Who Dreams, said that you had a man’s courage.”

Maggie shut her eyes and opened them.  “Then you bear Woman Who Dreams’ gift.”

He shrugged.  “Gift or curse, I’m not sure which.  But yes, I dream sometimes of the future.”

The knot in the pit of her stomach relaxed a little.  “You have chosen to keep the boy and the man alive.  May I ask why?”

Last Buffalo nodded.  “I have heard that Fire-haired Woman has honor.  Sees Far offered her the life of his son in return for the lives the renegades took, and she refused.”

Maggie nodded.  “That is true.”

“And you let him take the bodies of his people for burial according to Lakota custom.”

Maggie nodded again.  “That is also true.”

“Sit.”  Last Buffalo indicated the ground in front of his tent.  “We will talk.”

“You honor me, Last Buffalo.”

“You have earned it.”

They sat.  Women brought them food and drink.  The whole time, Maggie was aware of Flynn behind her, but she ate in silence, waiting for Last Buffalo to speak.

“The last time the moon was dark, some soldiers came into our village.  They were drunk.  They took one of our women and raped her.  She died of it.”

Maggie’s breath caught.  “Who was she that you wear paint for her?”

Last Buffalo looked away.  “My daughter.”

Maggie drew a deep breath.  “Do you know the names of the men who did this?”

Last Buffalo nodded.  “The lieutenant was one of them.”

Maggie shut her eyes.  “And a squad of men?”

“Yes.”

“Did anyone see them do it?”

Last Buffalo nodded.  “My wife.”

Maggie nodded.  “I am a wagon master, not a soldier.  And I am a woman.  I will speak with Colonel Grafton, but I can promise you nothing.”

Last Buffalo scowled.  He turned to his men.  “Bring out the boy.  Maybe she will change her mind if she sees him bleed.”

“No!”  Maggie stepped between the Dakota men and the entrance to the tipi.  She drew a deep breath.  “I offer myself in exchange for the lieutenant.  Give me to your braves so that your daughter may be avenged, and let the others go.”

“Maggie, no!”  Flynn struggled against his bonds.  One of the men struck him, and he sagged against the pole.

Maggie winced, but she met Last Buffalo’s gaze levelly.  “He is my husband, but I am Fire-haired Woman.  I have given my word to Last Buffalo, and I will keep it, no matter the cost.”

Last Buffalo nodded slowly.  He turned to one of his men.  “Release Flynn and bring out the boy.”

Tears filled Maggie’s eyes.  “Thank you, Last Buffalo.”

Two men brought Peter out of the women’s lodge.  His face was tear-stained, but he looked unharmed.  Maggie touched his sandy hair gently.  “Are you all right, Peter?”

He nodded.  “Mrs. Flynn?  What’s going to happen to us?”

“You and Mr. Flynn are going back to the wagon train.  I’m going to stay here a while.”

Two men cut the leather thongs that bound Flynn to the pole.  He fell to the ground.  Slowly, he got to his feet.  His hands curled into fists.  “Maggie—”

She shook her head.  “Take Peter to Fort Laramie.  If the train has already left, the two of you should be able to catch up to them in a few days.”

“Maggie, you can’t—”

“I gave my word!”  Her voice sounded very loud in the sudden silence of the village.

Flynn looked away.  He picked up his hat and brushed the dust off.  “I’ll come back for you.”

Maggie shook her head.  “Those people paid for passage to California.  You need to take them there.”

Flynn looked away.  “Do you know what you are asking?”

“Yes.”  Her voice shook.  “But if you don’t go, they will kill Peter.”

Flynn bowed his head.  He lifted it and jammed on his hat.  “Come on, Peter.”

“What’s going to happen to Mrs. Flynn?”  His voice shook.

Maggie knelt in front of him.  “I’m going to be all right, Peter.  Now you go with Mr. Flynn before I have to tan your hide.”

Peter nodded.  Tears glistened in his eyes.  One of Last Buffalo’s men led Wakta over to Flynn.  The little horse knelt.  Flynn lifted Peter onto Wakta’s back and then climbed on in front of him.  Wakta stood up.  Flynn looked back at Maggie one more time.

Maggie nodded.

He turned and rode away.

Maggie turned to Last Buffalo.

CHAPTER
FIVE

Last Buffalo shook his head.  “The Dakota do not wage war on women and children.”  He smiled suddenly.  “Even women who dress like men.”