Into the Wind_A Love Story Page 2

  He had a heavenly ranch and him blessedly single, and they each had a marriageable daughter. One of them had two. Why, with some careful planning, any one of their daughters could be residing in his beautiful valley. He was a handsome one, he was. Tall and strong, with the same thick blonde hair all the Lauritzens had, and him always striding with a purpose. He was a hard working man, that was for sure.

  Completely unaware of the ogling and planning that was going on across the street in the mercantile, Lije paid for the iron gate hardware he’d ordered, hefted it to his shoulder and took it back to his wagon and then entered the mercantile. Handing the clerk his list, he helped himself to a peppermint stick. He had a thousand things to do today before heading north to pick up a herd of sheep from the Paiutes camped up in Grass Valley in the morning.

  While the clerk gathered his goods, Lije small talked back and forth with him and the ladies, then finally took the flour sacks that held his purchases and turned for the front of the store. Two errands down and two more to go here in town. Oh, and he needed a haircut as well. His hair lying on his collar was bothering even him and he usually liked it rather long. On second thought, he decided against the haircut. There was no time today.

  As he reached for the door handle, Mertie Mae Orland fairly gushed as she invited, “You feel free to come by anytime to see my lovely girls, you hear me, Elijah Lauritzen? Gertie can milk a cow faster than any of her brothers and Myrtle is becoming a mighty fine cook. Either one of them would make a delightful wife.”

  Struggling to swallow a sigh, Lije gave her a half-hearted smile. “I may just do that sometime, Sister Orland. Have a good day now.” He pushed on out the door and grimaced where she couldn’t see him. Delightful? Hardly. They were wholesome enough girls, and sturdy, especially that Myrtle, but he’d honestly rather die an old bachelor than drop in to see the frumpy Orland daughters. Even frumpy he could deal with, if he had to, if the girl had a happy heart, but neither of the Orland girls had a reputation for being terribly sunny dispositioned.

  He was still grimacing when he stopped by his father’s home on the way up the valley to his and Lars’ ranches and his little sister Heidi laughed when she saw him and asked, “What’s the matter with you, Lije? D’ya get a bad piece of horehound in town? Why the glower?”

  Replacing the look of distaste he’d apparently been wearing the whole two miles from town with a brilliant smile, he asked innocently, “Me? Glowering? What are you talking about?”

  The bouncy seventeen year old with flashing blue eyes laughed again and said, “Let me guess. Let me guess. Solomon Harvey hinted about you taking up with his Minerva? Right?”

  Lije simply rolled his eyes and lifted the keg of nails he’d picked up in town for his father. He set it on the porch and leaned back into the wagon for a bag of oatmeal and one of the flour sacks. “Wrong. It was Sister Orland.”

  Heidi gave him a grimace of her own. “Oh, ick, Lije. That is ‘scusting. You wouldn’t marry one of the Orlands, would you?”

  He nudged open the door to his father’s house with his shoulder and cautioned, “Be nice, Heidi. I’m sure they’re fine girls. But no, I’m not marrying Gertie or Myrtle. Not in this life time, thanks. Lars can have them both.”

  “You’d do that to Lars? Double ick, ick, ick.”

  Their father appeared out of the back of the house. “What is she icking about this time, Lije? What’d you do to Lars?”

  “Only graciously offered to let him have both Orland daughters. I left those nails on the porch. You want me to take them down to the shop?”

  “No, I’ll take them when I go. Does Lars want both Orland daughters?”

  “Lars doesn’t even want one Orland daughter.”

  Obviously relieved, their father said, “Oh good. I can’t see either one of you stuck in the traces with one a them. But then you never know. You boys gotta settle down with a good woman sometime. You’ve both got this whole territory on its ear for speculatin’ on who’s going to get your ranches.”

  Shaking his head, Lije said, “No one’s going to get our ranches, Da. And we’re twenty six and twenty three, not eighty. There’s plenty of time yet to figure out where all the pretty and happy women have gotten to. They’re certainly not in Rock Creek. That’s for sure.”

  Gerhardt Lauritzen frowned. “Lije, give these girls some ease. They may not be princesses, but they ain’t all bad. You know, sometimes life ain’t all happily ever afters, Lije. Might be that you don’t need a fancy wife. Sure might be that what you need is a strong and durable wife. This territory could chew a pretty girl up and spit her out. You all better rein in your expectations and just settle down with someone who can side you on the ranch.”

  “You’re right. And I’m not holding out for fancy. I’ll take a homely, strong and durable girl tomorrow if she’s got a happy heart, but eternity is too long to have a grumpy wife.”

  “Well, son, you’re not getting any younger. Times a wastin’. You might just have to settle at some point.”

  Lije paused on his way back to the front door and asked gently, “Like you did, Da?”

  His father stopped and then dropped a big hand to his son’s shoulder with a sigh. “All right. I cannot argue. Hold out for a beautiful and good, happy true love. It’s worth it, even if you only have her for short time like I had Mother.” Lije went on out the door and Gerhardt called after him, “But you’re driving these town folks vanvittigt! Put some steam to this quest, boy!”

  Lije climbed up onto the wagon seat with a grin. “I have things to do, Da. Maybe you’d better talk to Lars about your quest. We’re heading to Grass Valley in the morning. Send Heidi up to gather the eggs and milk, would you? We should be back day after tomorrow in the evening.”

  Late the next afternoon, Lije topped the ridge above Grass Valley beside his brother and their riders and pulled his horse to a stop. The August heat was oppressive and there was an almost suffocating mugginess to the air around them that held the frightening sizzle of a thunderstorm. It made the hair on his arms stand out and chills go up his spine when he looked out at the stalled black clouds piled on the mountains to the west. If they only got the lightning out of that, there were going to be wildfires all around them.

  Taking his hat off, he mopped his forehead with his shirt sleeve and put the hat back on, “Jehosephat, that’s an ugly storm. I’d forgotten how long of a trip this is up here.” He nodded down to the Indian encampment below. “You wanna go on down tonight, or set up camp and wait the storm out until morning? Might be easier to get some rest with a few horses instead of a whole herd of sheep.”

  Lars shook his head. “Let’s just get it over with and get headed on back home. I’d rather face the storm than riled up Indians. I know those Paiutes are friendly, and Chief Black Hawk is supposed to be settled down, but I still don’t like being out here. Not with the way the Utes have been cutting up, even with four hands with us. Let’s take the sheep and go. We’ll worry about rest when night falls.”

  Lije grinned at him. “You just like your hair, that’s all.”

  Lars didn’t return the smile. “Yeah, I do. It can get a might chilly scalped. Even in this awful, sweltering heat.” He moved his horse out and said over his shoulder, “Let’s go.”

  Lije and Lars and the others walked down into the encampment leading the spare horses they’d brought to trade. Several of the Indian children ran to stare at them as they passed, but they didn’t smile and chatter as they usually did and Lije tossed them a handful of hard candy, wondering why they were so quiet. He glanced at Lars who only shrugged and kept on.

  They hadn’t even made it to the village leaders when another troop of Indians came in from the northeast and the quiet children made sense. It was four painted braves and a blonde girl, and it didn’t take but a second to realize that the Indians were Utes and that the girl was a prisoner. Lije and Lars looked at each other again as their men bunched around them and Lars swore under his breath as they took in th
e bruises and blood on the girl’s face and her torn clothing.

  The original arrangement made with the Paiutes had been a trade of four good horses for sixty sheep, but Lije sat his big steel dust stallion suddenly tense, knowing that that girl and those braves had just changed the dynamics of the camp drastically. There was no way they could simply take their sheep and go and just leave the girl to her fate, but with the Black Hawk War hardly settled, this situation could be explosive.

  Saying a silent prayer, and knowing that Lars was doing exactly the same thing, Lije looked the Paiute man before him in the face and could read what he’d suspected. These peace loving Paiutes had absolutely no control over the Utes and, in fact, were themselves in danger of being raided, or worse, by the four Ute braves.

  Making an instant decision, Lije shot Lars a look and then advanced toward the Utes, hoping that they spoke Paiute, because he didn’t know much Ute. Approaching the brave who held the lead to the horse with the blonde girl on it, Lije nonchalantly asked, “Is the girl for sale?” The brave’s head came up sharply and Lije noticed a series of long scratches down the man’s face that had to be from the girl’s fingernails. At that, Lije glanced over at her for just a second, taking in the fact that she’d come out far on the worse end of the altercation. Still, what he saw in her face was an almost regal dignity, in spite of the shape she was in.

  The brave holding her horse made a low pitched sound that was almost a growl and indicated a willingness to dicker while at the same time, eyeing Lije’s steel dust stallion. Lije was mounted on a magnificent horse and he knew it. The truth was, he’d be more than willing to sacrifice the great beast for a girl’s life and virtue. But he didn’t have to be told that it probably wouldn’t be enough.

  The other four horses they’d brought were quality horses. They raised nothing that wasn’t, but the girl was strikingly beautiful, even beaten as she was. She was easily as tall as most men and had white blonde hair that hung below her waist and shone like spun corn silk, even tangled and bloody. Lije had never seen such a girl in his twenty-six years and it was doubtful that a Ute brave had ever seen anything even remotely like that magnificent hair.

  Working to act almost disinterested, Lije dickered back and forth with the brave. At one point, the Indian approached the girl and her stoic dignity finally broke when he untied her hands from her saddle and yanked her roughly off the horse she was seated on. Lije couldn’t help his eyes widening as the girl made a sound of anger and in the Danish of Lije’s ancestors commanded, “Keep your filthy hands away from me!” The Indian simply back handed her brutally, nearly knocking her down.

  Swallowing his instant fury, Lije struggled for the composure he’d need to be able to somehow save her. Still negotiating with the brave and indicating back and forth toward the four horses they’d brought to pay for the sheep, Lije got off his own horse and approached the girl who watched him warily.

  Coming close, he stepped around her as if inspecting her and then when the brave couldn’t see him, he spoke right to her quietly in Danish. “If I can’t buy you, I’ll come back and get you. Be ready to run, because he probably won’t sell.”

  He walked back around her still as if looking her over, amazed that her facial expression had hardly changed as he’d spoken. For just a split second he had seen fear, and then desperate hope, and then the dignity was back again.

  At length, he shook his head, feigning disappointment and went and got back on his horse. As he turned as if to go, the Ute rushed to pull him back to the bartering, still eyeing the steel dust stud. Lije indeed made another attempt at trying to purchase the battered girl, but it was just as he’d thought. The four horses weren’t enough and Lije didn’t believe for a moment that the brave had any intention of giving her up anyway, even if Lije included the stallion—which would be a mistake and he knew it.

  He was going to need that huge, strong, and fast horse to get this girl to safety once he got her away from her captors, because that Ute wasn’t just going to let her go, even if Lije gave him a whole herd of horses. Lije could see it in his eyes every time the Indian glanced her way and looked at that shiny fall of pale hair.

  Sick with disappointment, Lije looked over at his brother and dearest friend, knowing he was likely to get one or both of them killed trying to save this girl, and also knowing they had no choice. They couldn’t walk away from her. They’d never be able to live with themselves if they didn’t try.

  The fact that his father had spent nearly twenty years working to earn the natives’ trust here in this area flashed through his mind and he hoped that at least the Paiutes would somehow understand when he stole the girl from their camp. The Paiutes would be obligated to help the Utes or risk being harmed themselves as Lije took her—if he could do it. That was a big if, considering those four painted Utes.

  With the negotiations failed, Lije turned his back on the girl, went back to the Paiutes and finalized the exchange of the horses for the sheep. Then he and Lars and their men began to herd the sheep back to the south the way they had come. The Utes had gone to a wickiup on the edge of the encampment and once again, it was all Lije could do to contain himself as the brave with the scratched face threw the girl against the mud and stick house. He then proceeded to tie her hands behind her and then tie her to the dwelling before kicking her soundly.

  Lije watched it all and almost couldn’t make himself turn and leave the encampment as he had to if he was going to convince the natives he was leaving. He looked all around, trying to decide the best route to take to get away from the Ute, who would no doubt be pursuing them tonight. He also prayed as his men and sheep walked away, that the girl would know he truly would come back for her. Even if all he was able to do was kill her before he himself was killed in attempting to rescue her, at least death would be better than what she was going to be subjected to if he simply left her.

  There was absolutely no cover to use to sneak close to the Danish girl. After sending the rest of the men on as fast as they could travel with the sheep, Lije had no choice but to wait until full dark to approach the encampment.

  Lars hadn’t been happy about being sent on ahead, but Lije felt it was the best plan. They needed to reach a big enough town to have some protection in order to avoid the backlash of what Lije was going to do right now. Still, there had been a heated discussion for a moment or two until Lars had finally conceded that one could sneak more easily than two. And that if they were both killed, their father would never get over it.

  Praying for help, Lije worked to be silent as he approached, even as his every instinct was to simply rush in for fear of what was happening to the girl. After leaving his horse in the deepest shadow, he was finally able to see that she was still beside the wickiup and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. At least the brave hadn’t taken her inside the dwelling yet.

  Lije could see the glow of a cook fire through the door opening and smoke wafting away from the top. As he got closer, he could even hear the laughter and guttural sounds of the Utes inside as they ate and spoke of whatever it was that such a debased people spoke of after stealing and beating a young woman.

  Even as quiet as he was trying to be, the girl heard him and turned toward him as he snuck through the crushed grass and debris lying about in the encampment. Still praying that the camp’s dogs were busy elsewhere, Lije finally neared the girl. Pulling his knife from his boot, he stepped close to her as she silently stood up turning her tethered hands toward him. Being careful not to get his blade near her skin, he quickly sliced through the leather that bound her, leaving a strap around each wrist that was no longer attached to anything.

  He draped a dark colored shirt over her head to hide her pale hair, and then as one, they turned back the way he had come. Rather than sneak as he had, they began to simply walk quickly away silently. For a moment, Lije actually had the hope that they were going to be able to do it. But in another moment, a dog began to bark and he took her hand and ran as they heard the
braves boil out of the wickiup behind them.

  With Lije literally dragging her across the uneven ground between the mud dwellings, twice she lost her balance and went to her knees and he felt terrible when he heard her gasp in pain as he jerked her back up and continued on toward where he’d left his horse ground tied.

  Once, when he saw a Paiute man rise up out of his wickiup directly in front of him, Lije thought they were caught and pulled his gun from the holster on his hip, while at the same time, he already regretted having to shoot someone. Surprisingly, the man stepped aside and let them pass. His shadow disappeared into the chaos Lije could hear coming behind them.

  Tension shot through his veins. If they didn’t make it to the horse and away in the next moment or two, both of them would probably die. He thought of Lars for just a moment then. They were closer than any brothers he had ever known and Lars had been absolutely disgusted at Lije’s insistence that he continue on with the sheep. If Lije died tonight, Lars would truly miss him, just as Lije would have been devastated without Lars. Grasping the girl’s hand more firmly, he ran harder. He couldn’t die tonight. He had to get this girl to safety.

  Suddenly, behind them, Lije could hear the hoof beats of a horse and he felt his gut tighten even further. He’d been hoping to get to his horse and be on their way before the Utes were able to mount up.

  In the dark, he and the girl were upon the steel dust before Lije realized it and they almost spooked him away as they rushed out of the darkness. Suddenly Lije realized he was seeing another horse next to the stallion and although he was confused, he decided to take advantage of it. He literally threw the girl onto the back of the stallion, tossed her the reins, and then leaped onto the back of the other horse and put the spurs to it. He had no idea how well this girl could ride and prayed again that she could ride well enough to stay in the saddle in the mad flight through the dark with the pounding of now several horses coming at them from the rear.