Wildest Dreams - By Rosanne Bittner Page 0,84

back. Luke grasped her hand.

"Follow the path... the way we came... maybe find Ben's horse. Horses... have a nose for finding home. The horse... can take you." He squeezed her arm. "Take... my rifle... the six-gun."

"No! Not both! You'll need something," she answered. "Keep the rifle." She unbuckled his gun belt. "I'll take this with me. I'll get your ammunition pouch off your horse and bring it to you. You might need the rifle to keep wolves away tonight; and I'll bring you water and some blankets."

She hurried off before he could answer, her mind reeling with the horror of what life would be like without Luke. She had no idea if she could find Ben's horse or find her way back. The longer Luke lay out here with no help, the worse it would be for him. She scrambled and crawled up the embankment, got the ammunition pouch, a canteen of water, and a blanket from Luke's horse. She unstrapped his saddlebags, which contained some food, and threw them over her shoulder. The black gelding whinnied and groaned as she started to rise, and she realized the poor animal was still alive. She knew what Luke would do in such a situation. She cocked the six-gun and held it close to the top of the animal's head, then pulled the trigger. There was no time to weep over what she'd had to do, or over the loss of such a beautiful animal.

She grasped the supplies then and slid back down the embankment on her rump. She laid the supplies next to Luke. "I'll get my own canteen and a blanket when I go back up," she told him, not even sure he was comprehending what she was saying. She covered him with two blankets. "Luke?"

His only reply was to moan, and his eyes drifted shut.

"Luke, don't you die on me! Don't you leave me alone with five babies and no father!" She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Luke," she said gently near his ear. "Hang on for me. Please don't die, Luke."

She wiped at her tears, and breathed deeply to stay in control. This was no time to fall to pieces. Somehow she had to find her way back to the house and get help, and if she couldn't find Ben's horse, she'd have to walk the whole way. That part wasn't so bad, if only she was certain just which way to go... and if only there was more daylight left. With the night would come more difficulty finding her way, and it would be harder to see rocks and holes in her way. Worse than that, with the night came the wolves. Would the men return to find Luke torn apart by them? Maybe she would die the same way and they'd both be found with buzzards floating above them, picking over what the wolves left for them.

Lettie crouched under a huge pine, taking a moment to get her breath and her bearings. She vowed to herself that if she and Luke lived through this, she was going to learn more about this vast piece of land her husband owned, become more familiar with its boundaries and landmarks, ride out with Luke at least twice a year when he checked the line shacks, so that she would never get lost like this again on her own land. She struggled not to think about poor Luke lying out there somewhere in terrible pain, maybe dead.

Every bone and muscle in her body ached from walking, climbing, running, falling. Her clothes were ripped and her hands and arms covered with cuts and scratches. The darkness had distorted things and confused her as to which way to go, and the constant howling of wolves made her feel crazy. She thought after all these years she had grown used to the sound, but to be out here in the darkness alone, vulnerable to the animals, made their howling seem more threatening again.

Wolves were not her only concern. Why was it that most wild animals did their prowling at night? She reminded herself of what Luke had told her many times, that most wild animals were much more afraid of humans than the other way around. Right now she wasn't so sure. It made little difference. She had no choice but to keep going, or Luke was going to die. No one would be looking for them. The men would think they were at the line shack by now,