Searching for Anna by Jenifer Carll-Tong (best classic books of all time .txt) 📕

then hoisted himself up behind her. Then he reached his arms around her to grab the reins. She was pressed closely to Will, but she wasn't embarrassed or uncomfortable. She allowed her back to relax into his chest, reveling in the comfort Will Caffey brought her.

Will turned the horse toward town. He kept a steady pace, not too fast, for which Phoebe was grateful. Her head was still spinning from the ordeal. She was also enjoying this closeness and didn't want to see it come to an end. In fact, if she had her way, she would have slowed the horse even more.

When she did in fact feel his horse begin to slow, she thought Will had read her mind. She turned to look at him. In the moonlight he looked so pale, like a fragile china doll. His eyes fluttered shut and his body weight shifted. It was then that she realized that he was falling off the horse.

With all the strength she could muster, Phoebe grabbed his khaki jacket and tried to right him without toppling herself.

"Stay with me, Will!" she shouted at him, but it was too late. He had passed out. How on earth would she ever get him back to town like this. She thought about throwing him across the saddle and walking beside the horse, but time was of the essence, so walking would not do. Besides, she would never be able to lift his body in order to position him properly. She would just have to find a way to keep both of them astride the horse and get back to Iron Falls as quickly as possible.

Phoebe scanned his body looking for some sort of idea. By this point, the entire front of his jacket was soaked. He was losing a lot of blood, and he was losing it fast. She noticed his gun strap that crossed his body from shoulder to waist. She slid her right arm through the leather strap and with her other hand clung to the opposite side of his jacket. She grabbed the reins with her right hand and urged the horse forward. It was an awkward pose, and Phoebe wasn't sure if she had the strength to continue it for very long, but she willed every muscle in her body to cooperate.

She urged the horse forward. She wanted to go faster, but anytime the horse went anything above a trot, the jostling made it too difficult to hold Will steady, and she almost lost both of them a couple of times. She kept talking to Will, urging him to stay with her. She kept telling him they were almost there, but in truth, the trip seemed to Phoebe to take a lifetime.

Eventually she could make out the outline of the little town in the moonlight. She passed by some of the small farmhouses, but all were dark. She thought momentarily about shouting for help but getting Will to the doctor seemed her best option. Stopping seemed like a waste of time. No, she had to continue on to the doctor's, even though it was clear to the other side of Iron Falls.

They trotted past her little parsonage. Her muscles ached and her hand was numb from holding tightly to Will's jacket, but she had to get to the doctor. She tapped her heels into the horse's side, urging him forward.

"We'll be there soon," she said to him.

Will let out a grunt of pain and jerked a little, causing Phoebe to lose her grip. Her other arm was still caught in the leather strap on his chest, but it was no use. She could not keep him, or herself, on the horse any longer. They both started to slip.

"Please, God, please. Help me!" she cried out loud. The only hope she had left was in God, for there was no one near to hear her words.

"Pastor? Is that you?"

Before she could answer, someone was catching her. And someone else was pulling Will down as well.

"What happened, Pastor?" the other voice asked.

"Help me get Constable Caffey into the parsonage!"

The two men lifted Will and followed Phoebe as she ran ahead to the house. Once inside, she lit a lamp and motioned for them to place Will on the bed. It was then that she realized that the two men weren't men at all, but boys – Lester O'Grady and Tommy Fuller.

"We need the doctor, now!" Phoebe yelled.

"You fetch Doc," said Lester. "I'll stay and help Miss Albright."

Phoebe was already by the bed, ripping Will's shirt off. To her relief, the wound had started to clot. But he was so pale, and his breathing was only getting worse.

"Miss Albright? You hurt too?" asked Lester.

"No, Lester. I'm fine."

"But all the blood… on your back?"

She turned in shock. In the mirror above the bureau, Will's mirror, she could see that her back was completely red. So much blood. How could anyone survive after losing that much?

"I'm fine, Lester. It isn't my blood. Listen to me. I know you are concerned, but I am alright. I need you to get to the State Constabulary. Get other officers. Tell them Constable Caffey has been shot. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes ma'am!" Lester said, running out the door.

She turned back to Will. He was barely breathing. He had saved her life and she had no idea what to do for him. There was only one thing she could do. Phoebe knelt next to him and began to pray.

"Please God. Don't take him. Not now. Not now that I – that I…" she couldn't finish the sentence. She remained on her knees, praying an indiscernible prayer until the door flew open and in walked Doctor Langley followed by two constables.

"What happened?" asked the doctor.

"Rum runners. Will was shot."

"And the rum runners?" asked one constable.

"Dead. All three of them."

The constable took Phoebe by the elbow and led her to a chair at her table. He and the other officer crowded around the bed with the doctor. They spoke in hushed tones, occasionally glancing back at her.

"Officer Moore, would you please take Miss Albright outside?"

The constable named Moore came to her side. "I think that's probably best, pastor."

"No. I can't," Phoebe argued. "Will may need me."

"The doctor will take care of him. And you don't need to be in here seeing what the doc has to do."

"What do you mean?"

"That bullet's gotta come out. If not, then lead poisoning will surely get him. But it isn't a pretty sight. You're better off outside."

Phoebe tried to protest, but he cut her off. "C'mon. Outside."

When they stepped onto her front porch, she saw that Lester and Tommy were still there, leaning against a post. The constable led her to a bench then turned his attention to the boys.

"So, tell me how it came to be that you two were out in the middle of the night like this."

The boys told the officer about the coyote problem that Widow Allen had been having and that she had offered to pay them if they would come coyote hunting a couple nights a week. They were just on their way home when they saw Miss Albright and heard her cry for help.

"Well, it was quite lucky that you boys were here to help."

"Weren't luck, sir. It was God. He caused all the coyotes to stay away from town tonight. Otherwise, we wouldn't a been here when she cried out to Him for help. We'd still been huntin'."

The coyotes. Phoebe knew exactly where God had sent them that evening. The boys were right. The events of the past few hours had nothing to do with luck.

As the boys finished their tale, three more officers rode up, but didn't dismount. Officer Little handed a bottle to Lester and told him to take it to the doctor. Constable Moore greeted them, then they all turned to Phoebe.

"Ma'am, it would appear that you've been through a lot this evening, but it would be mighty helpful if you could tell us as much as possible. And if you could tell us where this all happened."

Phoebe began, keenly aware that so many eyes were on her. "Gregory Parker kidnapped me from the church —"

"Parker?" Moore asked. "The preacher?"

"He is no preacher."

"Hmmph. Caffey was right about him after all."

"Parker wasn't alone. Thomas Rogers was with him."

All the officers stopped and stared at her.

Moore spoke first. "Officer Thomas Rogers? You must be mistaken."

"I wish I were, but I am certain. Will identified his body as well."

"Rogers is dead?" Frank Little asked in disbelief.

They all looked at her for answers she knew she didn't have. "I know it's hard to fathom, but yes. He was one of my captors. And from what I overheard, he was deeply involved with these bootleggers."

They all shook their heads in disbelief. "Well, I guess you never know a man," Frank finally said.

"How'd Officer Caffey find you?" Officer Moore continued.

"I don't really know," she began. "He must have followed us somehow."

"Good thing Caffey kept a close eye on ya, eh?" Officer Little smiled.

Grateful for the darkness, Phoebe stared at the ground as she felt her cheeks grow warm.

Moore cleared his throat. "So, after the altercation, you rode with him on his horse back to town? You sat in front of him?"

Phoebe's cheeks grew even hotter, realizing these men