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“Yes, perhaps,” Jeremiah said. He sighed heavily. “But something deep inside tells me that she is still alive, somewhere.”
They all continued burying the dead until none were left to bury.
A quiet prayer was said over the graves, and then Jeremiah and his friends mounted their horses and headed back toward their homes.
Jeremiah knew now that he must forget the woman. Since he hadn’t found her body among the others, she could be anywhere, with anyone.
His duties awaited him back at the settlement. It just wasn’t meant for Nicole Tyler to be his third wife, and that was that.
Chapter Twelve
Although there was only a crescent moon on this second night that Nicole was with Eagle Wolf, it lighted the heavens and all that lay beneath. The sky was filled with a brilliant scattering of stars, twinkling brightly.
Every now and then the campfire Nicole and Eagle Wolf were sitting beside sent sparks into the air, looking like orange fireflies against the dark sky.
Nothing seemed real, though, to Nicole. Her life had changed so much in such a short period of time.
Was it truly only a few days ago that she was in St. Louis, content, with a bright future ahead of her?
How excited she’d been as she packed her belongings so that she could finally be with her parents again. It had been hard staying behind in St. Louis, until she had that teaching degree in her hand.
She had that degree now, but everything else she loved was gone from her.
Of course she still had her aunt Dot and uncle Zeb, who would welcome her back with open arms should she decide to return to St. Louis. But she had been very aware that their health was quickly failing.
In fact, they were not well enough to hear about what had happened to Nicole’s mother and father. Knowing such a thing would surely kill them.
Nicole decided she could not let them know about the tragedy in their family. St. Louis and their home could not be her destination.
If she returned there, her aunt and uncle would want to know why, and she couldn’t reveal the truth.
No, she would never tell them about the horrors of how her parents had died. She could hardly bear knowing it herself.
As she had slept last night, the scene of death that she had found at Tyler City came back to haunt her dreams.
Perhaps if she had been able to bury her parents, she might be able to sleep at night. But she hadn’t buried them, and she was afraid, still, to go near the town.
It was truly a ghost town now, with none but the dead to inhabit it.
Those who had lived there were merchants and their families who had been encouraged by her father to join in this new venture with him. Only months ago they’d built their establishments and their homes. They had decided to follow her father because they thought they were going to be part of a growing, prospering city. As they feverishly tried to reach their families when the shooting began, had they had the time to realize how disastrous that decision was?
Had any of them been able to be wi
th their loved ones when they were killed? Or had they died apart, never to see or hold one another again?
“Is the rabbit cooked well enough for you?”
The deep voice of the man she was so attracted to now broke through Nicole’s thoughts.
The day they had just spent together had been a little awkward. Both of them seemed to realize that they had feelings for each other, but both realized that carrying their feelings further was an impossible dream.
Nicole knew that Eagle Wolf’s people had cause to hate all whites, as did Eagle Wolf, himself. She would never be accepted by them.
Nevertheless, she had oh, so enjoyed these moments with him. Today, his fever was gone and he had been strong enough to hunt for their supper.
He had supplied the rabbit meat and she had supplied a pocketful of delicious berries that she had found while he had been on the hunt.
This evening meal with him would be cherished in her memory forever, for even though she had not told him, she knew it must be their last time to eat together.
