Prologue
Louise knocked softly on the door of Rachel’s bedroom. Not hearing an answer, she carefully opened the door, so as not to disturb Noah. She saw Rachel in a chair next to the bed, her head on the mattress, her hand entwined with Noah’s. It had been nearly a week since the shooting, and the dark-skinned Express rider was still not out of the woods. Noah had been shot rescuing Rosemary from Pierson’s gang, and had been unconscious ever since. Doc Barnes said there was nothing to do but wait, and all the riders were maintaining a vigil, each in their own way.
Either Rachel or Louise were with Noah constantly, feeding him, changing his bandages, waiting for any sign of recovery. There had been none, but neither woman was about to give up hope on the brave and fearsome rider. Rachel was clearly exhausted, and even though Kid and Lou had been married a mere week, Louise just couldn’t bring herself to leave Rachel on her own with the injured rider. Louise had sent a letter to Noah’s sweetheart, Cassie, and they expected her and her brother Quinn on the stage later this afternoon. With the arrival of reinforcements, perhaps Lou could spend some much-needed time with her new husband.
Teaspoon had formed a posse and tracked down the remainder of Pierson’s gang, rounding them up and jailing them until a trial could be held. Emotions ran high throughout Rock Creek, some folks screaming to let the prisoners go, while others called for lynching. Teaspoon had his hands full, but his thoughts were never far from the small sickroom where Noah lay.
Jesse had disappeared after the raid on the outlaw’s hideout, presumably with his brother, Frank. In the moments Rachel wasn’t whispering silent prayers for Noah, she was hoping young Jesse was safe. She doubted he’d be out of trouble; not with Frank as a role model.
Cody had ridden off on a scouting expedition with the army to the Kansas border. The bloodshed there was becoming increasingly severe, and the government was at a loss as to how to maintain control over the volatile region. Cody hated to leave Noah in the state he was in, but he belonged to the army now, and had to go where ordered, no matter how much it bothered him. He’d quickly come to realize that Teaspoon and Rachel hadn’t been so crazy when they’d advised him not to join up.
Kid and Jimmy were not on speaking terms. Their once loyal friendship had been shattered the moment Noah had been hit by the raider’s bullet. Kid blamed Jimmy for bringing Rosemary to town and getting the riders involved in the whole mess, and Jimmy was incensed by Kid’s lack of reason. From what Jimmy could see, Kid seemed even more determined to leave Rock Creek and head for Virginia. The idea baffled him, considering that it was Southern raiders that had shot Noah. Jimmy was at a loss to convince Kid otherwise, and even simple eye contact between the two was hostile. Needless to say, Rachel would have more than enough wood to burn come winter.
Louise gently held a cool cloth to Noah’s head, dabbing the beads of sweat from his face. She mulled over everything that had happened in the short week since her wedding to Kid. Is that all it had been? Just a week? Just a week since they’d been a family - laughing, cavorting, and teasing. In just a week the world as they knew it had fallen apart.
