Jewel Adams - Romance with a Touch of Spice

SALLY'S ANSWERS by Jewel Adams copyright 2005
I thought you might like a glimpse into what I've been writing this weekend, the start any ways :) Thsi is totally unedited, so forgive any mistakes.
Jewel


EPILOGUE of RIVERBOATS AND RAINBOWS


Sally held her hand up to shade her eyes as the helicopter lifted off the pavement then slid sideways over the treetops. For a second she watched the air batter the pines.
“I’m sorry Miss Mercy, there really isn’t anything more we can do. Maybe in the spring...”
The sheriff didn’t finish the sentence and looked away from her. Sally already heard how everyone thought Angie’s body might appear once the snow melted. Oh yeah, some unsuspecting hiker might stumble upon her decaying corpse. “No! She is not out there!”
“Miss...”
Pushing past the man, Sally didn’t want to hear the sheriff’s excuses and she certainly didn’t want his fake sympathy.
Sally managed to reach her car and start it. Locking all the doors she swung out of the parking lot and drove off down the road. She managed to drive a mile or more and escape the crowds before having to pull of the road because the sobs overtook her. Sally didn’t fight them this time. She needed the release. More than once she lashed out and hit the steering wheel in anger. “Where are you? I know you aren’t out there, not like they think! Damn it Angie, I can still feel you!”
She relived every hour of the search for Angie. It was some time before Sally regained her composure. Today had been the worst. Everyone had given up looking for her friend. There wouldn’t be any more search parties.
Taking a deep breath Sally silently admitted that they would never find Angie.
She remembered seeing Joe Wind standing off by the trees, alone and away from the crowd. He watched her, too.
That man was a strange one and her rational mind said he could have killed her best friend. But something told her he wasn’t the killing type, no matter how outlandish his story to the sheriff had been. “Walked into the trees and disappeared...yeah, okay, Angie is now some kind of magician!”
But even as she tried to seek sarcasm her hand closed over Angie’s letter on the seat beside her. “Damn it Angie, why should I believe you? He could have forced you to write this!”
Closing her eyes Sally didn’t need to open the letter again. She knew it by heart. Her head went back against the seat as the memory of that awful day replayed itself like some kind of horrid nightmare. One a person could never get out of their head...
“Call the police!”
Sally stepped in between the stranger and Aunt Belle, “Let him finish, Aunt Belle. Just calm down and listen to what the man has to say.”
The woman glared at Sally as if she were as guilty as the silent man behind them. Oh yes, Madame La Cross had already screamed her verdict of guilt out for all to hear.
With one last umph! of anger, Aunt Belle moved away to stand facing out of the window. Sally felt tension crimp her neck. She forced herself to turn and face Joe Wind. “Alright, you have the ten minutes you asked for. Please explain to us why we shouldn’t call the police?”
“They won’t find your friend, no one can.”
The honest light of sympathy in the man’s eyes wasn’t something Sally could accept. “Where is Angie, Mr. Wind?”
For a second she didn’t think he would answer. Aunt Belle must have felt the importance of the words he finally started speaking, for she slowly turned to watch him answer.
“She is no longer in this world.”
“I never heard such rubbish!”
“Aunt Belle, please let him finish!” Sally didn’t like having to act as a mediator for this man, but she felt whatever he said would be important...even if she might use it to hang him as Angie’s murderer! The way he stared at her, she wondered if he read her unkind thoughts. But then what did he expect showing up here like this. And him being the person claiming to know what happened to her friend!
He pulled his attention away and looked at Aunt Belle, “Your niece is not here anymore. She is gone from the world we know, but she is not dead.”
Sally had to give the woman credit, she didn’t even flinch before him and Sally knew how painful those words were to them both.
“You can’t expect me to accept this? What proof do you have?”
They both watched as he pulled an envelope from his coat pocket, “Her own words may explain this better.”
For a few moments no one moved until Sally realized Aunt Belle had stepped back and away from the man, as if the letter were a weapon.
Sally held out her hand, “I’ll take it.”
He gave her a slight nod and placed it in her palm. Sally would recognize Angie’s writing anywhere. She looked at Aunt Belle, “It’s not opened, she addressed it to me.”
Aunt Belle just stared at her, Sally didn’t think the woman would ever forgive her for letting Angie leave that day over two weeks ago. The army of searching law officers and private detectives hadn’t turned up any news of her whereabouts. Joe Wind was the first person to even claim information about her.
Sally pried open the seal as if it would fall apart in her hands. She had to take a deep breath just to still the shaking in her fingers in order to read the letter.
“Dear Sally and Aunt Belle,
The fact that you are reading this means I am no longer around. Believe me when I say this is what I want. To try explaining all that has happened to me would be impossible and unbelievable. I will attempt to ease your minds about my welfare.
To start, I didn’t just fall and hit my head on that boat. What happened to me was unbelievable even for me at first, but so very real. Somehow I managed to go back in time, to 1875. I married a man named James McFarlain. You may find him in the history books someplace or his brother Michael. Though it isn’t important.
What is, is that I came back to our time when I woke up in the hospital. I know this is hard to accept, especially for you Aunt Belle, but I desperately needed to get back to the past. You see I was there much longer than a day, months actually. I became pregnant and it was imperative that I get back to Striker.
Oh that’s right you don’t know about Striker. It’s too complicated to go into, but know that I love him and he is the father of my baby. And our baby was from his world, not this one. So you see there was no other way. I am sorry I hurt you both. But I must return to him. I must find a way for our baby’s sake.
Please call off the search for me, Aunt Belle. I know you probably have everyone searching for me, it won’t do any good and only hurt you more. Please don’t do it. I love you and I am so sorry you have to be hurt like this. Telling either of you wasn’t possible, you would have locked me up.
I am fine, honest and I’m with the man I love. Believe this and be happy for me,
ANGIE
PS. Joe Wind is being kind enough to help me reach Striker. He doesn’t know why I need him to guide me in to the mountains, so don’t blame him. I beg you not to hurt Joe Wind, he is totally innocent.

“...I must return to him...for our baby’s sake.”
Baby? Oh yes that much Doctor Blance verified, much to the shock of Aunt Belle and Sally. “A baby, damn Angie what happened to you?”
If Angie’s own words could be believed her friend’s body would never be found. “I need to know for sure, Angie!”
Even Joe Wind tried to help Sally and Aunt Belle accept what Angie told them. He explained how she came to him and how he knew who she really was. “A legend...well you will be one, but maybe not for the right reasons.”
Sadly, Sally knew Aunt Belle wouldn’t quit looking for Angie. She would hire private detectives and pay for more search parties. A couple of industrious detectives turned up historic records of a ranch called Twin Creeks that did have an owner named Michael McFarlain. They also found a record of a marriage on board the Silver Queen of James McFarlain and one Angela La Cross.
It wasn’t enough to prove anything. Sally took it upon herself to search further. She didn’t find anything more on the McFarlains or the Indian called Striker. There was a small piece in a newspaper about a flood that came through the Twin Creek area and destroyed a ranch. No names were mentioned so she couldn’t be sure it was Michael McFarlain’s ranch that washed away.
The legend Joe Wind spoke of did mention a Sioux brave named Striker. Unfortunately, it didn’t give any kind of detail that Sally could research any further. “Just enough information to make me want to believe all this.”
She sat up and took a deep breath before turning the key and bringing the car to life. Glancing at the map once more, Sally checked which road she needed to take. She eased the car out on to the icy road, “I really hate snow.”

Chapter 1 – Uncovering the Truth

“You have to take me there. I know you remember where you took her!” Sally wanted to cry. All her arguments with the old man didn’t budge his resolve. “Please Mr. Wind, please take me to the last place you saw Angie.”
The silence hung in the air like a great boulder, one that nearly crushed the life from Sally before the man turned to finally face her. She could see the anger he fought to tame and wondered if she made a horrible mistake following him to his place when she saw his pickup pass her as she pulled the car onto the road.
It was too late for regrets, if he refused to help her Sally would find someone else to take her into the woods. But only this man knew the exact location, “You didn’t show the police the exact place…did you.”
His chin rose in defiance before answering her glaring declaration. “I told them the truth as I told you and her aunt.”
“I know that, but you never told any of us the exact location.”
“I am an old man…”
“Pish posh!” Aunt Belle’s favorite saying flew out of Sally’s mouth before she could stop it. “You are as sharp as I am.”
She caught the slight lifting of his lips, one that couldn’t be mistaken as anything but a smile.
“She said you would be stubborn.”
“We are more like sisters than friends.”
He nodded in understanding for what she didn’t say. “Why must you try to find her?” He held up his hand to stop her answer. “You may not return and still not find her.”
So he did know…Sally tried not to show any emotion, “I know that Mr. Wind, but I must try.”
“She is where she wants to be.”
“I don’t doubt that either.”
Time seemed to suspend itself as he thought over her words.
“In the morning we leave, I will take you to the area. I can’t promise you will see anything that will help.”
Sally felt the tension ease out of her neck, “I know, thank you.”
They didn’t speak much more after that. Sally went into her own thoughts over what Mr. Wind said about her not returning. She wondered if maybe she should just accept what Angie wrote, but everything told Sally she needed to do this, needed to find the answer.
* * * *
“I hate snow!”
The man’s soft laughter didn’t ease Sally’s chatting pout of discomfort. She thought about adding horses to her list of complaints, but figured the man heard enough of her grumbling the last two days on the trail.
Two days of riding through snow drifts that reached the top of her boots and still he pushed on. He told her at the start that it would take longer to reach the place because of the deep snow. Sally never realized what deep meant until now. Thankfully, most of it seemed to just swirl about as the horses pushed through it. Joe called it spirit snow, she didn’t want to know what that might mean.
One thing Sally did realize was that Angie couldn’t have survived out there alone. She said a silent prayer that this Striker did find her friend.
“A baby…”
“Her son called her back.”
It was the most she’d heard from the man in two days. Sally urged the horse up to get closer. He never even looked at her, so she figured it was up to her to keep him going. “The doctor said she was pregnant.”
“At first you wouldn’t notice, but before we reached here her son showed his presence.”
It took a moment for Sally to realize the horses stopped moving. She looked at Joe Wind and his arm came out the pointed to the stand of trees off to the left. She looked at them and then back at him, but he wasn’t going to give her anything more.
For a second Sally wasn’t sure if she should head for the trees or what to do next.
“She went towards them then disappeared.”
Her lips didn’t quiver from the cold and bit down to stop the fear from taking hold. What could she say to this man, she could see his thoughts were back to that day. Sally looked back towards the trees his gaze never left.
Without another questions to herself Sally moved the horse out towards the tree stand. Joe Wind pulled his own horse up, stopping him from following her, but never said a word to halt her progress. Sally almost wished he would, but then shut him out and concentrated on what laid ahead of her.
* * * *
It sounded like the crack of a rifle laced with thunder! Levi struggled to get the horse dancing under him back in control. "Whoa there big guy!"
The Diablo finally came to an impatient stop, pawing the ground as he snorted out his displeasure over being spooked. The uneasy peace didn't last, within seconds a shrill filled the air!
Plow reining the horse in a tight circle Levi turned him around and dug in his heels, heading them in the direction of the scream. What ever was going on the woman sounded desperate.
Racing over the hill Hooper slowed the stallion, trying to hear any sound that might help point him in the right direction. Thoughts of another woman filled his mind, but he quickly dismissed Angie knowing she would never come back to this place. Hell, neither did James McFarlain. Levi didn’t figure that Michael’s latest trip to find his brother would give any further clues to the man’s disappearance.
There! Levi cautiously guided the horse to the far side of the hill. Whoever it was sounded hurt. He pulled the horse up and his boots hit the ground in the same motion. Even as he moved closer to her there was no mistaking that the disheveled heap was a woman.
Large and gentle his hands turned her carefully over into his arm. The wild blonde curls fell over his forearm in waves of gold silk. “Beautiful…” Levi clamped his jaw down to prevent any more unwanted thoughts from escaping. His fingers brushed back the waves trying not to let the soft essence invade his sense as he looked at the dark bruises on her cheek and chin. “No doubt knocked you out.” But who did this to her, he took another cautious look around them to see if anyone might be hiding, nothing, not even horse tracks.
Looking her over he couldn’t see any other noticeable injuries. Moving her worried him, but leaving her lying on the thawing ground wasn’t a good alternative.
With all the gentleness at his command Levi lifted the woman up into his arms and started back toward the stallion. “Be good boy, the lady is hurt, another tumble won’t help her much.” The way the big horse sniffed and looked the girl over made Levi wondered if the stallion understood him.
Levi received his answer when the horse pulled his head back and stood perfectly still for him to mount with the woman. He arched his brows over how slowly Diablo turned about once his feet set the stirrups. The horse automatically started working his way down the hill toward the ranch.
“Maybe I’ve been going about riding you all wrong Diablo, seems you have a thing for the ladies.” The horse’s returning snort made Levi laugh before his attention went back to the girl filling his arms. “She sure is a pretty filly.”
Levi’s gaze dropped to her hand and he cussed over what he knew he looked for, even felt his relief that there wasn’t any ring to be found. “So how did you come to be out here, away from any civilization?”
He tried to adjust her and make her more secure in his hold. Her moan stilled him, when she turned into his chest and her fingers closed over the edge of his vest Levi needed to still his own groan. “Damn lady, you wouldn’t be do’n that if you knew how long it had been since I’ve been with any woman!”
___________
There is more to this, but I've just started writing Sally's story. If you would like to read Riverboats and Rainbows you can learn about Angie's travel back in time at WCP