he thought of the pain on her face and the man who’d been hanged and his blood ran cold.
Before he could shout again, the stagecoach was upon them. He could see the lead pair of horses from the corner of his eye and knew that she saw them, too, because without hesitation, she took a short step to the right and let herself fall.
Dooley saw her arms go up and the skirt of her yellow dress billow outward. Her hair, the color of corn silk, lifted up from the back of her neck and then fanned outward, sending the long yellow ribbon up and out like the tail of a kite. Before he could rethink the motion, he lunged forward, stretching his height to its fullest and using the weight and power of his body as a shield between her and the team and stage.
She was in mid-air when their bodies connected. Dooley grabbed her with his left arm, and the lead horses’ harness with his right as they continued to fall. They hit fast and they hit hard, before they were dragged along the ground, only a heartbeat away from the thundering hooves.
Now it was no longer a matter of saving Mary. It became a matter of saving himself, too. He could hear the frantic shouts of both Shorty and Big Will trying to get the horses stopped, and the scream of some female bystander who must be witnessing it all.
Dirt from the horses’ hooves flew into his face and his arm felt as if it was being ripped from his shoulder. Still, he held on to Mary and the harness with all of his might.
Through it all, in a small corner of his mind he was horribly aware of Mary’s silence. She hadn’t screamed, she hadn’t fought; she hadn’t moved at all. It was as if she was just waiting for it all to be over.
And suddenly it was.
The absence of motion was as startling as the fact that they were still alive. Once he knew that the team had been halted, he rolled out of the way of the restless horses’ stomping hooves, taking Mary with him. For a few priceless seconds, he felt the softness of her body aligned against him and the thunder of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He looked down at the woman beneath him as she slowly opened her eyes and looked up.
They stared, each into the other’s eyes.
His widened.
Hers filled with tears.
Time stopped.
Covered in dust and aching in every muscle, Dooley Pilchard knew that he’d just fallen in love. Then he saw the dust and abrasions on her face and neck and thought to ask.
“Miss Farmer… Mary… are you all right?”
A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye, leaving traces of its passing through the dust on her face. Her chin quivered. Her lips started to shake. She took a deep breath and then shuddered.
“Oh Dooley, what have you done?”
Then everyone descended upon them.
Big Will began pulling at Dooley, as Shorty and the sheriff yanked Mary out of his arms.
“Miss Farmer! Miss Farmer! Are you all right?” the sheriff asked.
Shorty was pale and shaking as he helped the sheriff stand her up.
“Missy… I’m right sorry… I saw you falling and tried to stop the horses, but it wouldn’t have been in time. If it hadn’t been for Dooley, here, we would have run clean over ya’ and that’s a fact.”
Dooley dragged himself up and brushed himself off as Big Will began thumping him on the back.
“Boy… I didn’t think you was goin’ to make it!” Big Will said.
Dooley straightened. He wouldn’t look at Mary. Couldn’t look at her and know that she would rather be dead, than live in a world without Joseph Carver.
“I didn’t think I was goin’ to either,” Dooley muttered, and walked away as the stagecoach door began to open.
Boston Jones got out, eyeing the businesses, focused in on the saloon, and started across the street as Morris stepped out. He was looking for Shorty to register indignation about the abruptness of their arrival.
“I say, that could have been a much smoother approach.”
“Had to stop sudden-like,” Shorty said. “This little lady here fell right in front of the stage. Didn’t think I was gonna be able to miss her!”
Eulis and Letty got out in time to hear Shorty’s comment and both looked at the young girl in question. Grabbing onto the opportunity to insinuate them into the goodwill of the residents of Plum Creek,