Rena's Cowboy Read online

  RENA’S COWBOY

  by

  AGNES ALEXANDER

  WHISKEY CREEK PRESS

  www.whiskeycreekpress.com

  Published by

  WHISKEY CREEK PRESS

  www.whiskeycreekpress.com

  Copyright © 2013 by Agnes Alexander

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-61160-491-7

  Credits

  Cover Artist: Gemini Judson

  Editor: Cherie Singer

  Printed in the United States of America

  Dedicated to my daughter

  Michelle Hampton Edwards

  She says this is my best western romance yet.

  Prologue

  Arizona—Present Day

  “I don’t like this place,” Rena Dumont said to her two friends as they trailed behind the guide through the narrow cavern. Her words weren’t as much complaints as verbal fears. “I don’t see how this could be one of the most wonderful attractions in the area.”

  “I think it’s gorgeous. Look at the beautiful formations. The unique designs make me think of a fairy land,” Barbara Smith said.

  “They’re not beautiful to me. I don’t know why I let you talk me into coming down into this cave in the first place. I feel like I might pass out.” Her voice shook and her heart raced.

  Barbara laughed. “Calm down, Rena. Think of all those western romance novels you read. Maybe one of your fantasy cowboys walked in this cave at one time.”

  “That’s right, Rena,” Cassie Evans said. “After all, we’re in the land of your dream men.”

  “I’d love to meet a cowboy like the ones I read about, but not in here. I hate to complain, but you know I despise caves.” She shuddered.

  “The tour won’t last much longer.” Cassie gestured around. “Just pretend this is an adventure with one of your cowboys. He’s tall, dark, handsome and strong, but has that gentle side. Now, you wouldn’t want him to see you’re afraid of a little old cave.”

  “Right! Any cowboy I have in my fantasy would never make me come into a cave in the first place.”

  “Then think of it as conquering your fear of being underground,” Barbara suggested.

  “There are no caves to explore in Atlanta so I don’t have to get over my fear. I won’t even work in Atlanta Underground. Everyone knows I only plan to be underground one more time and that won’t happen for 80 or 90 years. I won’t know anything about it.”

  Barbara and Cassie laughed. “Well, you’re here now, so try to take it like the fearless law officer you are,” Cassie said. “Just look for that handsome cowboy digging away for gold in one of these tunnels.”

  “Right now all I’d want from him are directions to the exit.”

  Barbara shook her head. “I don’t believe that. You read about those dudes all the time. The cowboy who doesn’t let anyone or anything get in the way of his goals until he comes across a pretty lady who tames him. You can’t tell me you’d turn your back on him, even in here.”

  Rena frowned at her. “Most of those books are set in the eighteen hundreds. They don’t make men like that anymore. Besides I’m not interested in any man at this point in my life. It hasn’t been that long since…”

  Cassie took her friend’s arm. “It’s been a year. You can’t live in the past forever, Rena.”

  “Cassie’s right,” Barbara added. “You know that’s why we insisted on coming west for our trip this year. We knew this area has intrigued you forever.”

  “I appreciate it, girls. I admit I love the area. I’m glad we decided to rent a car and leave Las Vegas and tour all this beautiful land. It’s just this damn cave.”

  Barbara smiled. “When we decided each of us would choose one thing we wanted to do on this trip, you both had to know I’d decide to tour a cave.”

  “She’s right, Rena. After all, Barbara did go with you on that Sky Walk over the Grand Canyon and you know how afraid of heights she is.”

  “I wish now she’d refused to go. Then I could’ve stayed in the Visitor Center with a Diet Coke and a clear conscious while you two decided to bury yourselves underground.”

  “Don’t think of it as underground. Think of it as a beautiful abandoned castle. It might make you like it better.” Barbara patted her arm.

  “I know it’s ridiculous, but getting to the ground above is the only thing that’ll make me feel better.”

  Cassie cocked an eyebrow. “Relax and think about what I’m going to have us do. Remember, tomorrow is my choice of our adventure.”

  “What are you going to make us do?” Barbara asked.

  “You know I love history. I want to tour an old ghost town. I think Yellow Creek is a good one from what I read in the brochure. It’s not too far from here.”

  “I’m sorry to be such a wimp, my friends.” Rena took hold of Barbara’s arm. “I’ll try to keep my mouth shut until we get out of here. Just don’t decide you want to explore some old abandoned gold mine in that ghost town because if you do, I’m not going.”

  “I promise we won’t go underground for your peace of mind, nor will we climb on anything high for Barbara.”

  “That sounds good, Cassie.” Barbara patted Rena’s back and laughed. “Now come along friend and keep up with the group. You may end up having fun whether you want to or not.”

  Barbara winked at her. “And don’t forget to look for that tall rugged cowboy.”

  The three former roommates had taken a trip together each year since their graduation from college. This year they decided to meet in Las Vegas to celebrate their fifth year out of school. After three days of enjoying the shows and doing a little gambling, they decided to rent a car and tour some of the outlying sites as they wandered around the western states. With the exception of Barbara being scared on the Sky Walk, and now Rena’s unreasonable fear of the cave, it had been a fun adventure for all of them.

  The guide broke in and said, “Everyone, please get in a single line. We’re about to go through a narrow passage and it’s impossible to get by the rocks except in a single file.”

  As she felt Barbara move away, Rena said to herself, “If I get out of here alive, nobody will ever get me into a cave again. I don’t care what my friends say.”

  Cassie went first and Barbara followed. Rena grabbed the side of the wall to calm herself. Her friends chatted away and ignored her. She thought this was the best thing for them to do. She didn’t want them to see the tears in her eyes. There was no way they could ever understand why she was so afraid of being buried alive. Nobody could.

  How could they?

  They hadn’t heard her mother talking with her grandmother after the great-grandmother’s funeral. “Are you sure she was dead when they came for her, Mom?” her mother asked.

  “I’m pretty sure she was. She was starting to feel cold,” Grandma answered.

  “I don’t know. She felt pretty warm to me. It upsets me to think they’d put her underground when she was still alive.”

  Seven year old Rena hadn’t
waited to hear any more of the conversation. She ran out the backdoor of her grandparents’ house and didn’t stop running until she reached the barn. She climbed to the loft and sobbed for a long time. She couldn’t get the thoughts of her ninety-four year old great-grandmother trying to claw her way out of a casket that was buried under a pile of dirt. For years this memory haunted Rena, but she never told anyone about it.

  Rena shook her head. She couldn’t let that age-old memory clog her mind now. Not while she was under untold feet of dirt.

  Everyone went through the small opening between two huge rocks. Rena was last. She didn’t realize how slow she was moving until she heard Cassie call, “Rena, where are you? We’re all already in the big open cavern.”

  “I’m coming.” Rena knew her voice shook. She couldn’t help it.

  “Come on, slow poke. This is neat. I’m going closer so I can see what the guide is pointing out. Cassie is waiting for you.”

  Rena didn’t know why Barbara wanted to get closer. She wasn’t having any trouble hearing the leader. She just wasn’t interested in what he was saying. She was having enough trouble keeping herself from screaming.

  She pushed herself between the two rocks. They seemed to go on forever until she finally emerged into the room where the group of about twenty stood.

  When she walked up behind a tall gray-haired man the guide was saying, “There are some caves off the main rooms and more off other caverns that are scattered around the corridors, but a lot of them are prone to collapse. We won’t open them up for visitors until they’re perfectly safe. Our best guess is that there are close to a hundred, maybe more, here which have never been explored, not only because of the danger, but also because we haven’t pinned down where they connect with the main caves.”

  Of course I’d have to hear that, Rena thought. The others in the open room seemed to hang on every word the guide said. The only thing she wanted to hear him say was, “This is the end of the tour, folks. Come back again.” She’d never come back.

  “How much longer?” She eased up next to Cassie.

  “Not long. Do you feel better now that you’re in this big open area?”

  “A little.” Maybe she wasn’t telling too big a lie.

  “Good. For some reason I’m enjoying this more than I thought I would. I can see why Barbara is so fascinated with spelunking.” Cassie smiled at her. “I’m going to move up a little so I can hear better. You don’t mind, do you? There are lots of people here and you can’t get lost.”

  Rena wanted to scream, “Of course I mind. Don’t leave me here by myself.” Instead she said, “I don’t mind. I’m going to stand against this wall and do some deep breathing exercises to calm myself.”

  “That sounds good. Come on up where we are when you feel like it. I think this might be one of the last places we’ll stop in the cave to look at formations. We should be getting to the end of the tour soon.”

  “Thank God.” Rena closed her eyes. She turned her face toward the rock wall and rested her forehead against the coolness. With effort she tuned out everything that was happening around her. If she didn’t calm down, she was going to have a heart attack. Even if she was a perfectly healthy twenty-six year old, she knew that even a healthy heart could run out of steam the way hers was beating.

  She took slow deep breaths and forced her mind to go back over the reason for this trip. Yes, the three friends got together each year, but to celebrate their fifth college reunion they wanted to do something special. Her friends suggested they come out west. She had agreed, though she knew the main reason for the trip west was to help her cope with Drew’s death and the loss of her baby. She also knew they chose this particular area because she was fascinated by the western romance novels she loved to read. Many were set in the Arizona area. She often said she was going to visit here sometime to see with her own eyes if cowboys were as sexy as the authors portrayed them. She had to admit she’d seen a few handsome cowboys, but they didn’t seem to measure up to the ones from the eighteen hundreds.

  The advent of modern society had little resemblance to the romantic pictures in her mind, but it hadn’t spoiled the beauty of this land. She was captivated by some of the things that hadn’t changed—the majestic Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, the solitude and the desert which was as flat and arid today as it was in the eighteen hundreds. She’d even seen her first eagle in the wild, and a herd of elk had wandered across a meadow in Yellowstone.

  Rena smiled. It was sweet of them to think this trip up for me. I only wish they’d left this cave off the “to do” list. But I should have known Barbara couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tour one. I’m sure she’ll want to do others while we’re here, but she’ll have to do them without me.

  She opened her eyes. The guide was still talking, saying something about the years and years it took for rivers and floods to carve these caverns. She closed her eyes again and let her mind drift. She thought of Drew.

  Rena and Drew had been high school sweethearts. He’d entered the police academy and she’d gone to college with her friends, but the romance continued. She was so fascinated with his career in police work that she got her degree in Criminal Justice. They were married two months after her college graduation and she became an Atlanta police officer.

  It had been a happy marriage filled with promise. They worked together in the same precinct, though he was a detective and she was still in uniform. They were trying to have a baby when Drew’s reserve unit was sent to the Middle East. He was gone only a month when she learned she was pregnant. They were thrilled and made all kinds of plans with letters, emails and an occasional phone call. Then the nightmare started. Two weeks before Drew was to come home, he was killed in a suicide bomb explosion.

  Rena was devastated, but knew she had a part of Drew that would be with her always. Then two months after Drew’s funeral, she woke one morning and knew instantly something wasn’t right. Her neighbor rushed her to the hospital where she was admitted. “The child is in danger,” the doctor said. In spite of all they could do, the baby girl lived only a few hours.

  Even now the memory chilled her. She shook her head. Another tear rolled down her cheek, something that always happened when she thought of the baby.

  “Now here I am a year later, sitting in the bowels of the earth, and I still want my child. I hate this place.” As an afterthought she said, “Of course I’d like to have Drew back, too.”

  It was awfully quiet. Rena shook herself and frowned. She looked around and for an instant she was too shocked to react. The guide wasn’t talking any longer. The chattering of the people had ceased. The sudden quietness was overwhelming.

  “Oh no!” she cried. “They left me here!”

  * * * *

  As they exited the cavern, Barbara said to the guide, “I’m so glad we took this tour, even if our friend was afraid she’d get lost.”

  “Not much danger of that, ma’am. We’re always careful. That’s why I tell people to make sure they look out for one another.”

  “We’ve had to look after our friend. She’s terrified of caves.”

  “Why did she go down if she’s afraid?”

  “We agreed that we’d all three do what one of us chose, even if it was something we feared. Rena, she’s the one afraid of the caves, wanted to go on the Sky Walk over the Grand Canyon. I’m terrified of heights, but I managed to do it. I guess that’s why she decided she could handle this.”

  Cassie came up to them. “That was wonderful. I’m glad you chose to do this, Barbara. I’ve learned a lot.” She smiled at the guide then looked back to Barbara. “Was Rena so glad to get out that she went to the car?”

  “No. I thought you were with her.” Barbara’s eyes got big.

  “No. I saw a woman with blond hair beside you and thought it was her.”

  “Rena wasn’t beside me.” Barbara’s eyes grew wider.

  Cassie looked scared. “She was with us in the big open room. She seemed fine then.
”

  The guide frowned. “Are you saying your other friend didn’t come out with the group?”

  Barbara shook her head. “When she realizes we’ve left her, she’ll be petrified. Should we go back to get her?”

  “No. Another group started through about fifteen minutes ago. I’m sure they’ll bring her out if she doesn’t come out on her own.”

  “But she’s terrified of caves. She may freak out.” Cassie began to wring her hands. “She’s been through an awful lot this year. Her husband was killed in the war and her baby died. I don’t think she can take being left in a cave by herself.”

  “I should have never made her come with us in the first place,” Barbara said. “I knew how afraid she was. Now, I feel guilty.”

  “I encouraged her, too. I thought it might help her get over her fear.”

  “Sometimes it’s best to face your fears. Especially in a safe environment like this one.” The guide kept looking at the exit. “Maybe she was only a bit behind and will come out soon.”

  Half an hour later, the second group exited the cave and they knew their friend was lost. The guides stopped the tours and went in search of her. When they found nothing, they called in a rescue team.

  By midnight exhausted searchers came out shaking their heads. The only thing they’d turned up was her turquoise bracelet, found in one of the unexplored caves. When they searched farther into that cavern, they were blocked by a rock slide, a very recent one.

  The friends confirmed that it was Rena’s bracelet. “She often wore it and the matching earrings. There’s no mistake because she designed them herself.”

  Several attempts were made to get beyond the cave-in, to no avail. A week later the search was called off. Rena Dumont was presumed dead.

  Chapter 1

  Arizona Territory 1876

  Adela straightened from gathering the tomatoes and squash in her garden to see someone ride toward their Flying H Ranch. Her slight panic evaporated as soon as she recognized Swift Eagle, a friend of her husband’s. Although she was well acquainted with the Indian, they’d had little in the way of conversation. She knew he was a good friend of her husband and his brother, and had nothing to fear from him. She walked to the front porch and set the bucket with her vegetables on the end as he stopped his horse at the front steps.