Ginny hated horses. They were big, smelly and had brains of their own. The horse she'd used to find Nate had taken off on her and thrown her. There was no love lost between her and the animal between her legs. However, Ginny had to admit that she was not only getting used to riding, but maybe enjoying it just a little.
Now that she had the memories back from Cassandra, she did indeed know how to ride. Her father loved horses and collected many different breeds. Cassandra had learned to ride at a young age and made it a practice to ride almost every day. With this new found knowledge, and along with it, confidence, Ginny was galloping down the road to save Georgia.
She crested a small hill and stopped short. Ahead of her, maybe a mile or more, she saw a lone rider coming down a path, back to the main road. Off in the distance, north of the road, she saw a couple of buildings, a homestead. Even from the distance she was at, she could tell that the buildings had seen better days. The rider, apparently not noticing her, turned his horse toward Cheyenne and continued on his way.
Ginny was no detective, but she knew a plot line when she saw one. Take one abandoned barn, add a few kidnappers, see one leaving toward a major city and what do you have? Ginny would bet dollars to donuts that Georgia was in that barn, with at least one of the bad guys holding her hostage until her father could come to claim her.
Ginny made her way at an angle toward the buildings. There was some scrub brush and tall grass, but nothing that could hide her completely. Deciding on stealth over speed, Ginny dismounted her horse and walked him parallel to the abandoned buildings, using a small grove of trees as cover. As she entered the tree line, which was maybe only a few hundred feet from an abandoned cabin, Ginny tied her horse and made her way through the tall grass.
The closer she got, the lower to the ground she put herself. The element of surprise was all she had going for her, since she hadn't thought to bring a gun. As if that would have made a difference, she thought realistically. Ginny had only shot one gun in her life, and it had been a paintball gun. She was pretty certain she wouldn't be able to pull a trigger, unless in the grimmest of circumstances. Working in a downtown ER made a person never want to inflict that kind of damage on another human being.
As she came up alongside the cabin, she poked her head around to see something that made her heart stop short. There, on the backside of the barn, peering through the slats, was Frank. Rifle in hand, he had his attention on something inside the old barn. If Ginny needed anymore confirmation of her theory, this was it.
Ginny didn't want to startle Frank and risk him shooting her or alerting whoever was inside to their presence. She searched the ground around her feet and found a small rock. Thinking about her complete inability to throw, she hurled the rock as close as possible to Frank's position. When she saw him turn his head in her direction, she waved her arms briefly and indicated for him to return to the cabin.
Frank saw her and shook his head, pointing frantically toward the barn. Ginny knew he wouldn't be reasonable. After all, it was his sister in the barn with some men not opposed to felonious behavior.
Looking out to make sure no one was outside to spot her, Ginny made her way over to Frank's spot. Without saying a word, he indicated for her to look inside a crack in the wood siding of the barn.
Ginny peered inside and saw Georgia, sitting on an old chair, her hands and ankles bound. The place had obviously been cleaned out when the last tenants had moved on. On the far side of Georgia, were the stalls, five of them total. The doors to the stalls had been removed, so the stalls were open to the barn. There was nothing much left inside except some tall bales of hay on the side closest to where Ginny was peering in.
The kidnappers had their horses tied to the open stalls and were standing by them. They had their heads bent over, speaking in hushed tones. Every few seconds, one or both of them would sneak a look at Georgia, who was staring off into space. Ginny saw the men snicker, then one of the men, a tall, dirty looking scumbag, with stringy brown hair, called out to their hostage.
“Yer a pretty one. Bet you ain't no virgin anymore. Bet if we were to have a little fun, no one'd be the wiser.” At this, his friend, a good half foot shorter than his partner, with bright red hair and a pale complexion, snickered. His mouth showed an unfortunate lack of teeth.
Ginny felt her insides tighten. The visions of her afternoon alone with Fitzhume were flooding back, narrowing her vision and causing her to step back abruptly. Frank, who hadn't heard the men, motioned to ask her what was wrong. Ginny shook her head and dragged Frank a few feet away so they could talk.
Whispering, Ginny said, “You need to go to the road and wait for Colby and Vas. You need to tell them where to go. Where's your horse?”
Frank, who had been shaking his head at her words, startled at the strange question. “I tied him up by those woods over there.” Frank pointed further down the road toward Cheyenne.
Ginny took his face in her hands. “You need to go and get my horse and get Colby here now. Those men are going to hurt your sister.”
As soon as the words had left her mouth, she recognized her mistake. Frank turned toward the barn and was raising his rifle. Ginny grabbed him back and shook her head. She took the rifle forcibly and pointed to where her horse was tied.
Sounding as angry and mean as she could, while still whispering, she said, “You listen to me, Frank. This is not a debate. You will go and get my horse and get your brother. I will help your sister.”
Ginny could see just how young Frank looked at that moment. He'd carried the weight of helping his sister on his own for the past few hours. He would be a good man someday, just not that day. He nodded and headed toward the small grove where Ginny's horse was tied. When she was certain he was gone, Ginny turned back to the barn and looked in the crack. Now the two men were taunting Georgia, touching her face with their dirty fingers. More than once, Georgia tried to bite them.
“Yeah, she's pretty feisty,” the red head growled, as he almost lost a finger.
“She'd be the prettiest thing you'd ever have, Duncan.” Tall and ugly made a snorting laugh at his joke. The red head, Duncan, pushed him hard to show his displeasure.
Without seeing how Duncan would handle the insult, Ginny searched for a way into the barn. As if put there by God himself, Ginny found a hole big enough for her to crawl through. The best part was that it was directly behind the tall stack of hay bales, still allowing Ginny the element of surprise. Thankful that she was wearing pants, Ginny crawled through the hole and entered the barn. Once through, she reached through the opening and grabbed Frank's rifle. She was being quiet, but it didn't matter much. Both men were now screaming horrible things at Georgia, trying to get her to react.
If there was one thing Ginny hated, it was a bully. The strong should protect the weak, not exploit them. Her very blood began to boil, to the point where she thought she just might be able to shoot the two men, except she hadn't asked Frank how to fire the rifle. It had a trigger, but Ginny couldn't even tell if it was loaded. Holding the weapon in her hands, she knew what she had to do.
Glancing carefully around the hay, Ginny saw that both men were too preoccupied with taunting Georgia to notice her presence. Coming around the side of the bales, Ginny moved as closely as possible to the red head. Without any warning, she raised the gun with both hands, and like a baseball bat, she brought it down on the man's head. There was a sickening thud as the man sank, first to his knees, then falling over on his side.
The taller man was too shocked to react at first. Ginny quickly closed the distance between them, turning the rifle around as she went. With the butt, she slammed it into the man's testicles. Ginny almost laughed at the sound, like all the air had been sucked out of the room. After the man fell to his knees, clutching himself as if he could hold himself together, Ginny brought the gun down on his head. A moment later, he was out.
Looking from one man to the other, to make sure they were truly knocked unconscious, Ginny felt herself begin to shake. Before it could get out of hand, she took a deep breath and looked to see that Georgia was okay. She found the girl staring at her incredulously. Georgia's eyes were wide and she seemed to be hyperventilating. With a solid course of action, Ginny turned toward the girl and began to untie her.
Once her hands and feet were released, Ginny grabbed Georgia and pulled her to her body. The two women held each other, keeping the fear and shaking at bay. Ginny could feel Georgia crying, and knew that she was crying as well. For make believe, it just couldn't get more real, Ginny mused to herself.
*******
Frank reached the horse in no time and untied the mare from the tree that Ginny had tied it to. Without any thought but what he needed to do to save his sister, Frank mounted the horse and rode off down the road toward the ranch. He wasn't entirely sure if Colby and Vas had passed by yet, but since he didn't see any sign that horses had passed, he took the chance.
Frank had the horse riding at a full gallop. Although on a normal day he would have slowed down as he reached the top of hill, not knowing if anything was coming the other way, Frank wasn't thinking about anything but finding Vas and Colby. And find them, he did. Frank and Vas nearly collided, but Vas was able to steer his horse over at the last moment. Frank's mare spooked and reared back, throwing his fore legs into the air, and Frank onto the ground. Without any warning, Frank hit the ground hard, slamming the back of his head onto the hard packed dirt. The wind was knocked out of him, and he was knocked unconscious.
Vas and Colby turned their horses and came back. Dismounting quickly, they reached Frank's side at the same time. Colby grabbed his little brother and was checking to see if he was alright. When he didn't respond, Colby felt himself begin to fracture. Not even a year after his parents had died, he was now losing two other members of his family. As he held the boy tightly in his arms, something happened to Colby. The anger, the pain and the futility did not explode out as he may have thought. But, instead, they came crashing in to a hard ball of fury sitting inside his gut. Colby knew that he would kill Ginny's father, no matter what happened. No one messed with his family.
Suddenly coming back to himself, Colby realized that Vas was speaking to him. Turning to look at his long time friend, he struggled to recognize the words coming out of his mouth.
“Do you think Frank knows where they are?” Colby was seeing things clearer. He now saw the deep fear in his friend's eyes. Vas was terrified and barely holding it together.
“I figure he probably does. Ginny may have sent him off to get us.”
Vas began to chant, low and to himself. Colby recognized the chant as one used for healing. As they waited to see if Frank would awaken, Colby began to pray. He wasn't much into prayer, but after everything his family had endured, he figured God owed him one. He would take anything. He repeated his plea, inside his head for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes.
As they waited for Frank to come around, Colby checked to make sure nothing was broken. He seemed to be in one piece, with a large knot growing on the back of his head. During his examination, he kept his prayer going, over and over again.
Please God, let him wake up. Please God, let him wake up.
Just as Colby felt the anger begin to ignite, Frank's eyes fluttered open, then closed again. Colby leaned over his brother and brushed his knuckles against his temple. Frank's eyes opened once again, but he didn't seem to be focusing.
“Frank, it's Colby. Where's Ginny and Georgia?” His voice was soft but firm, hoping to illicit a response.
“Huh?” Frank tried to sit up, but Colby and Vas kept him lying down.
“Frank, where's Ginny?” Colby didn't care for the touch of desperation in his voice, but truthfully, he was desperate. If he didn't get to them in time, he would never forgive himself.
Frank looked in Colby's direction and turned his head, as if the motion would clear it. He reached his hand up and pointed down the road. “Old homestead, not far from here. Hurry.” With that, he eyes rolled back, and he was out cold once again.
Colby jumped to his feet and looked down at Vas. “I need you to take care of my brother.”
Vas, who looked as if he would argue, nodded instead. “I need you to take care of my future wife.” Vas knew there wasn't anything that would keep Colby from doing just that, but if he was going to miss out on dispensing some revenge, he needed Colby to do twice the damage.
“Count on it.” Colby grabbed his horse and took off down the road, looking for the old homestead where his wife and sister were being held.
Ginny placed Georgia gingerly back on the chair, letting her get used to the idea that she had been rescued. Taking the binding that the men had used on her, Ginny tied up the two men. As she went about her work, Georgia spoke for the first time.
“They thought I was you.” Her voice was steady, but whisper soft.
“I figured. Why didn't you tell them they had the wrong girl?”
“I did, at first. They didn't believe me. Then I thought that if I convinced them, they might just kill me, so I kept my mouth shut.” Her voice shook when she spoke again. “I thought I was going to die. I figured that when your father arrived, he would obviously know that I wasn't the right girl, and he would kill me. All I could think about was Vas. How we would never have a life together.”
Ginny completed her task and came to stand by Georgia. She pulled her to her feet and hugged her again. The next words to leave her mouth, as sentimental as it sounded, Ginny was beginning to truly believe. “I only believe in happy endings, Georgia. Not just for me, but for everyone I care about.” Georgia's body began to shake as she sobbed. All the pain and fear had to be released. After a couple of minutes, Georgia relaxed and sagged against her new sister.
Ginny heard a group of horses coming toward the barn. Relief washed over her. Frank had found Colby and Vas and brought them back. Ginny grabbed Georgia's face with her hands and looked her in the eye. “How would you like to see Vas right now?”
Georgia, whose face was red and puffy from crying, smiled. “I would like that very much.”
Walking away to open the doorway to the barn wider, Ginny saw that the group coming toward the barn was not Colby and Vas. Rather, it was her father and Fitzhume, along with the other man, she presumed to be the other kidnapper. Rolling her eyes, Ginny chastised herself for not knowing better.
How many damn novels do you have to read, or live through for that matter to not have seen this coming, you dumb ass?
Before Georgia could walk out and greet the party, Ginny grabbed her and the rifle and dragged them behind the stack of hay. Georgia was shocked and began to fight against her, but the look that Ginny gave her quelled her belligerence. Ginny pulled Georgia close and whispered in her ear.
“That's not Colby and Vas. It's my father. Crawl through this hole and go hide. I'll meet you in a second.”
Georgia started to shake her head, but again, Ginny stopped her with a look. Ginny mouthed that she would be alright, not trusting herself to make any sound with the men so close, if they weren't already inside the barn. Georgia got down on her stomach and crawled through the same hole that Ginny had used to save her. It was Ginny's plan to crawl through right after Georgia, but then she heard the men arguing. Obviously, they had found the two unconscious kidnappers and were about to start searching for her. She needed to give Georgia more time to run, so she hid the rifle behind the hay and walked out to meet her father. Knowing the whole time that Colby had to be on his way. At least she hoped he was.
*******
When Ginny came into view, her father turned and looked relieved. Fitzhume, however, looked anxious. Not anxious that he'd done anything wrong, but anxious to get started on whatever he had planned for her. When the third man looked over at her, she saw his shock.
“Well, Mr. Damien, it seems that I won't have to kill you and your associates after all.” Her father sounded so calculated, that for a moment, Ginny felt chills go down her body. Her memories were very clear when it came to her father. He never lifted a finger to do anything for himself. His only aspiration in life was to be waited on by someone else and to treat those people with as little respect as possible.
But now, hearing his voice, she realized that he was very desperate. Without the money that Fitzhume would give him upon their marriage, Cassandra's father would be penniless. What he owed far outweighed what he had left to sell. If left to that, Ginny had no doubt that her father would kill himself rather than work for a living.
The kidnapper realized that if he spoke up and revealed that this was not the woman he'd taken, he would be in serious trouble. So, he kept his mouth shut and wisely asked for his money. Fitzhume, who hadn't taken his eyes off Ginny, reached into his suit coat pocket and withdrew a wad of bills. Leaving his compatriots behind, the kidnapper walked back out the barn and was heard galloping away.
“I'm glad to see you came to your senses, Cassandra. I was hoping that I would not have to use any force to get you to do your duty.”
“I would hardly call having me kidnapped 'coming to my senses,' father.”
It was Fitzhume who responded. “You won't be showing me any disrespect when we're married, Cassandra.”
“I can hardly marry you, when I'm already married.” It was a matter of biding her time, Ginny knew. The longer she could keep them talking, the longer her husband had to ride in and save the day.
Reginald Fitzhume was not worried about his reluctant bride's attitude. He'd dealt with reluctant women before. All his life, Reginald was overlooked. He could admit that he wasn't a classically handsome man, but his money seemed to open doors that would have once been thought not only closed, but barred shut. He was confident that Cassandra's father would make her see reason. Fitzhume was well aware of his financial woes, some of which he helped to cause, all in the name of winning the fair Cassandra. He would not only have her, he would own her, possess her. She would be kept away, only for his own enjoyment. The thought made him harden in anticipation.
Rather than responding to her irrelevant remark, he smiled. His excitement grew seeing how the blood drained from her face at his smile. This was power, he knew. Handsome men come and go, but those with deep pockets were always the ones who enjoyed the power.
“I seriously doubt your marriage was legal, Cassandra. Besides, no one in St. Louis will ever know.” Her father seemed almost bored by her protest. “We really must be going. We need to reach Cheyenne by nightfall, then take the first coach in the morning to Denver.” Taking one, long disdainful look around the abandoned barn, he said, “I really have no desire to stay outside civilization any longer.”
Watching her father take out a handkerchief and rub off his fingers, Ginny wondered about her father's sexual orientation. He was more fastidious than most women she knew. Watching his mannerisms, he appeared more feminine than her. She pictured him spending the week at the ranch and thought it might just kill him.
“I assure you both that my marriage is completely legal. And I'm prepared to tell any minister you put us in front of just that.” Ginny used her memories to form a perfect pout of her mouth. She seemed to remember that Cassandra used to practice such a look in the mirror for when she would ask for something from her father. Up until a few months ago, it would have worked. And maybe that was why they were in such financial straits.
Fitzhume walked casually in front of Ginny. She waited to hear his acerbic response when he backhanded her. Ginny hit the ground hard, landing on her hands and knees. When the shock wore off she thought,
twice in one book. Seriously?
Something primal was released in Ginny. She'd felt it before, playing her other roles. She'd felt it a little when the minster had whalloped her. But now, she was fighting for her dignity and her life, because she was certain that this man would take one, and then the other.
Holding her injured cheek, Ginny stood up slowly and looked Fitzhume in the eye. At first, his expression was smug, but slowly it began to change to reticence. Maybe he was worried that she would lash out, based on the look of pure hatred on her face. He would soon find out.
Ginny raised her hand, as if to hit him back. As she swung her arm around, Fitzhume easily caught it in his hand. He held out her arm, slightly lifting her off the ground. Pulling her closer, he looked down into her beautiful face and sneered, “You will obey me, woman, or you will pay the consequences.”
Ginny's murderous gaze was unchanged. She responded, “Fuck you.” With that, Ginny brought up her right knee and smoothly connected it to his balls. She would have sworn that his eyes crossed before he let her go and dropped to the ground. As he lay on the ground, clutching himself tightly, Ginny walked around him and kicked him square in the ass. She didn't think it would necessarily hurt him, but she had already caused him incalculable pain. Now she was going for humiliation.
Cassandra's father came to her side and grabbed her arm. He looked almost rabid when he screamed, “What have you done!” His entire life hung in the balance and Ginny saw that he blamed her for his downfall. Grabbing both her arms, he fairly shook her, yelling one epithet after another. His voice roared so loud that neither Ginny nor her father heard Colby ride up.
“Take your hands off my wife.” Not screamed, but still very effective in getting her father to finally release her. Ginny fell down next to Fitzhume, who was still too occupied with his own pain to touch her.
Her father charged her husband and knocked them both over. They were wrestling on the ground, each taking and delivering punches. As they rolled back and forth, they became covered in the dust and hay. Ginny scrambled around the hay bales to retrieve the rifle. She could use it to bash her father's head in if necessary.
Finally Colby, who was much younger and stronger, was able to gain the upper hand and straddled the older man holding him down. Cassandra's father looked at Colby with such hate, spitting his anger as he tried to free himself.
Ginny found the hidden rifle and came around the stack in time to see that Fitzhume had recovered enough to protect himself and her father. In his hands was a revolver and it was pointing right at her husband. Colby and her father were oblivious to the danger, only focused on one another. Ginny watched as the Fitzhume cocked the gun and leveled it at Colby. Without time to think or reach him, Ginny raised the rifle, pointed it at Fitzhume and pulled the trigger.
The rifle bucked in her hands so hard that she went flying backwards. Assuming that she probably missed by a mile, but giving Colby time to react, she looked up from the floor to see Colby and her father switching their gazes from her, and the now prone Fitzhume on the ground. The man wasn't moving, but Ginny wondered if he were faking it to draw them closer.
Ginny stood up slowly and walked over to kick the gun further from the still man. As she reached his side, she realized that it wouldn't be necessary. A man can survive a gunshot wound, even in this time period, but he couldn't survive missing part of his head.
Ginny took in the whole picture. Fitzhume lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Brain matter and skull detritus plastered on the wall of the nearest stall. The looks on the her father's face and also on Colby's. What had she done? Had she really just killed another human being. She started to shake as she grabbed her head and shouted the thought:
This is make believe. This is make believe. This is make believe.
Colby stood up and grabbed the dead man's gun so his father-in-law couldn't retrieve it first. Walking to his wife, he gingerly touched her shoulder, not wanting to startle her. When she looked up at him, eyes wide and brimming with tears, he grabbed her and held her tight. She had saved his life and no one had ever done something like that for him before. And, for the second time that day, Colby prayed. He prayed that his wife could survive what she had done, because it was obvious to Colby that this was hitting her very hard.