now? God. This really is dire.” She looked around. “But I can’t just leave from here. My girls—”
“Will be fine. Send word to Mrs. Mavis that Dickie should expect a telegram at Sackett’s from you as soon as you’re in South Dakota. If we went to Labelle to get your things, we’d be wastin’ time that could already have us halfway to Deadwood. Marie has everything you need—except extra time. We have to leave now.”
Ruby had no choice. “All right. I’ll write Mavis a note and make sure Jimmy gets it to her. Then we can go.”
Chapter Eighteen
The community celebration had lost its appeal after their run-in with Zeke.
Silas insisted they return to the ranch and forget everything that had happened after the rancher’s competition. It’d surprised Dinah that Jonas had agreed and was waiting for them when they’d arrived from Sundance.
Now the brothers were outside arguing while she’d opted to stay in and cut up the chicken Silas had bought from Farnum’s.
He’d also bought her a gun.
Which was why the brothers were arguing.
Silas had been so overwrought that he was chopping wood like a mad man. Shirt off, muscles in his arms bulging, sinew in his back straining as he swung the axe over and over. Sweat dripping from his brow. Sweat running down his torso. The man was a sight to behold even in his anger.
Maybe especially in his anger.
Dinah had been so distracted by Silas working half-naked, all those perfectly sculpted muscles flexing right outside the window, that she’d nearly sliced off her finger. So she forced herself to listen to their conversation through the open door instead.
“I know I threatened him. I know everyone around us heard me threaten him. What you’re not hearin’ is me apologizing for doin’ it because I’m not sorry. Not even a little bit.”
“So you’ve said ten fuckin’ times. That’s not the point I’m tryin’ to make,” Jonas snapped.
Thwack. Crack. Then a hollow thud as he pitched the chopped piece into the pile.
“Then get to the fuckin’ point, Jonas.”
“What did West say to her?”
Dinah’s stomach tightened. She’d been relieved that Silas hadn’t pressed her for details because she couldn’t remember beyond someone tapping her on the shoulder. She’d turned to find Zeke West shoving a knife against her belly and he’d warned her not to make a scene.
She’d gone with him willingly. But fear had overtaken her. Her thoughts were on Silas and how he’d react if he saw West with a knife, not to mention the bruising grip Zeke had maintained as he’d marched her through the crowd. She’d chanted please don’t hurt me so loudly in her head that Zeke’s voice in her ear had been a blur of sound, as if he’d been speaking to her through water.
Her shock had left her addle-brained even after Ruby had bravely tracked them down. Dinah remembered standing across from the fierce-eyed madam, watching her lips moving and yet not hearing anything she’d been saying—thankfully nothing Zeke had said registered either. But she had felt the tip of Zeke’s knife twisting into her spine as a warning while he’d conversed with Ruby.
What had shaken her out of her mental stupor was Silas bursting onto the scene. Her fear hadn’t abated; it’d increased at witnessing the fury on Silas’s face at seeing Zeke with his hand on her. The burning sensation of the knife puncturing her flesh forced her out of her physical stasis seconds before Zeke had hurled her to the ground.
After warning Silas about the knife, Dinah had attempted to hide her injury, knowing if Silas saw red, nothing could’ve stopped him from killing Zeke, right there in public.
Nothing. Not even his promise that he’d never fight with Zeke again.
Then Deputy McKay had shown up.
At that point Dinah had come back to herself. Jonas had more to deal with than just Silas’s outburst, so she had to buck up. The best way to handle Silas was to act as if this incident had just been another unfortunate run-in with Zeke. She wouldn’t berate Silas for breaking his promise not to fight with West. She wouldn’t confess her fear she’d never see Silas again. She especially wouldn’t share her gut feeling that Zeke had tried to separate her from the crowd because he’d intended to rape her and kill her.
After they left Jonas with Ruby, they mounted up.
Silas had insisted on stopping at Farnum’s to use his newly won store credit. She’d stayed with the horses and wasn’t aware he’d bought more