“I know you ain’t up here alone. That Bass Reeves is up here, too. I want safe passage out of here.”
“And for me too, Big Red!” Johnny hollered. “I’m supposed to go with you!”
“Shut up! You ain’t nothin’ but a hindrance to me from here on out.”
Josiah reared back, his head slamming against the outlaw’s while he pushed the man’s gun away. The pistol went off, the ricochet loud in the enclosed space, his only thought was getting to Mia. A grunt sounded behind him. He glanced back. The man lay moaning on the ground, profusely bleeding from where his own bullet grazed his head.
Josiah turned back to Johnny. “Drop your guns, mister, or I’ll cut her.”
Without taking his eyes off the boy, he did as Johnny said, unbuckling his gun belt and, slowly kneeled, laying his Colts on the ground. As if in slow motion, Josiah saw the determination on the boy’s face and the hate in his eyes. As the knife began its sideways motion across Mia’s throat, Josiah grabbed for the knife inside his boot and threw it as hard as he could.
Johnny’s knife dropped, and he stared at the handle sticking out of his chest. He raised his head, a frown on his face, as if he couldn’t believe what he saw. He fell back against the boulder behind him, then to the ground.
Mia stared at Josiah, an expression of horror on her face. Her hands were wrapped around her neck, blood seeping between her fingers. She started to fall, but he was there, catching her before she did. As gently as he could, he managed to get them both to the ground and pulled the dirty handkerchief from her mouth.
“Sweetheart, I need to see how bad the cut is…you need to let me look,” he begged, trying to pry her hands away from her neck.
With tears in her eyes, she shook her head. “I—I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I love you.”
He smoothed back her tangled hair. “When I saw the house burned and thought you were gone from me, something inside of me…changed. I don’t ever want to feel that angry again. You make me whole, Mia, and I’ve never felt this way before.” He kissed her forehead, desperate to help her and terrified he could still lose her if she didn’t let him. “I love you with everything I am. Don’t do this,iskitini chukfi luma.I refuse to let you go, now let me look at your neck.”
He pulled her hands away and breathed a sigh of relief. The wound bled profusely but was only superficial and hadn’t cut very deep. He reached down, grabbed her underskirt, tore off a long strip and pressed it against her neck, then pulled her against him, holding her tight.
“I don’t think I can move from this spot or let you go,” he whispered against her hair. He could still smell the faint lemon scent of her shampoo, which filled his nostrils and calmed the rage that had been pushing him for the past twenty-four hours. “I love you,iskitini chukfi luma.”
Sitting sideways in his lap, she pressed a kiss against his chest, her hand caressing his upper arm. “Are the children all right?” she asked.
He closed his eyes, not quite sure what to tell her. “Summer is fine. We left her with the horses. I don’t know about Billy or Elias.”
“I believe I can help you there,” Bass said, walking up behind them. He squatted down in front of them, a worried frown on his face as he met Josiah’s gaze. “Is she all right?”
“Wound isn’t deep and it’ll need a few stitches, but for right now, I just need to hold her.”
Bass nodded, his gaze dropping to Mia’s. “Your man was hell bent on vengeance when he thought those men harmed you and the young’uns. Never seen the likes. Storm rolled in equal to his fury. Summer seems to have some Creek belief that he's a Weather Controller.”
“Elias and Billy?” Mia asked, clearly not caring about anything other than making sure the boys were fine.
“My man Teague found Elias by the side of the path back yonder. Bullet grazed his leg and he lost a little blood; but, otherwise, he should be good.”
Mia nodded. “That’s how I was shot.”
Bass smiled, his gaze rose to Josiah’s. “That’s the story Elias told us. Evidently, Johnny didn’t like something Elias said and grabbed Red’s gun, but Mia pushed Elias out of the way and got herself shot in the arm. Made Red so mad, he took it out on Johnny, which caused a bit of dissension in the ranks. The two men guarding the back end gave Red up and even offered to testify for a lesser sentence. Seems they didn’t agree with some of the things he’s been doing, including kidnapping your woman and children. Told us they should never have been involved—would have gotten away if they hadn’t of been brought along.”
Teague shoved Big Red, his hands now tied behind is back, toward the other two men who were also similarly bound and held by the other deputies as they waited for Bass several feet away.
Josiah ran his fingers through Mia’s hair and rested his chin on her head. “Well at least someone in the group had some sense.”
“They tried to help Elias and me when Johnny and Big Red weren’t looking. They would have let us go if they’d had a chance. We had just slowed them down.” Mia glanced up at Bass. “And Billy? No one’s seen him? He got away before they started the fire. He’s only seven years old…” A small sob slipped out, and she buried her face in Josiah’s chest.”
“We’ll find him,iskitini chukfi luma.He’s probably holed up someplace safe. Didn’t you say Elias’s old place is close? We’ll check there as soon as we get home. But first, I need to clean and suture your wounds.”
“Thank God you found us, Josiah.”
Christmas Day
“Billy! Put down that cookie this minute!” Summer yelled at her cousin and chased him around the table. Billy squealed, his head thrown back, laughing with abandon as he ran up the stairs. She shook her head. “We should have left him in Elias’s cabin,” she muttered and grabbed a cookie for herself and munched on it as she stomped up to her room.
Mia smiled from her curled up position on the sofa. She leaned her head back against the tall cushion and sipped her cider. The heavy scent of cedar filled the house as boughs of greenery adorned each room. Sprigs of mistletoe, with its white berries, tied the branches together to make the room quite festive for the holiday. In the middle of the mantle, in a place of honor, sat the beautiful nativity scene Josiah had lovingly carved for her.