For the Love of Suzanne by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill

have done, but Chief Tall Deer would never even
have entered his mind.
    “Take me back to where you found me,”
she implored, gazing into his eyes. “Don’t make me do
this. Please.”
    He returned her gaze, knowing she was right.
Everything she was saying was right. He tossed the idea around in his
head for a few moments as his heart was slowly growing tight with her
tears. She was so soft and beautiful and he knew Tall Deer was going
to be cruel to her, but there was nothing left of that
whatever-it-was that had burned. “I can’t take you back,”
he finally said definitively.
    “Why? I’ll do anything you want. I
will,” she vowed. “But please take me back,” she
pleaded. “I’ll die out here.”
    He knew he couldn’t take her back. There was
no way. Not now. There was nothing to take her back to. Her best
chance of survival was with other people.
    Suzanne didn’t ask any more questions nor
did she beg. All she could see was the village disappearing as he
steered the horse in another direction.

Chapter 9
    A long while later, Suzanne watched an organized
gathering of buildings come into view that was surrounded by a very
large wooden fence with a gate. She wanted to ask what it was, but as
they got closer, she could see men dressed in old-time blue cavalry
uniforms standing in watch towers with guns and figured this must be
the fort.
    Cody stopped the horse. “We have to have a
story to tell these people,” he said thoughtfully.
    She looked at him with some confusion. “Why?”
    He returned her steady gaze. “Who is going
to believe this?”
    She nodded. “Good point.”
    “We will tell them that I found you lost in
the desert and that your husband is still out there.”
    “But he isn’t.”
    “They don’t know that. I’ll take
you to Annalee. She’ll take care of you,” he said
confidently and started the horse toward the fort again, wishing he
had something else for her to wear. Her lack of clothing was
indecent, at the very least.
    As they approached the gates, they swung open and
Cody rode right through. They immediately drew stares, but
surprisingly, nobody asked any questions. Cody didn’t stop
until they got to the saloon.
    He got off the horse, and guided her down, holding
her around her waist. He followed her inside the whitewashed
building, opening the door for her.
    “Cody!” a brunette woman called
excitedly from across the room and ran to him with her arms open.
    Suzanne moved out of the way as the heavyset
woman, dressed in a gaudy red dress with black plumes on the bodice,
threw herself into his arms. Her hair was piled on top of her head
and adorned with a silver tiara of rhinestones and a feather that
matched her dress. She wore black fishnet stockings and high heels
with bows on the toes and looked like she’d stepped off the
silver screen.
    “Hello, Annalee,” he said with a
smile, returning her hug.
    “Oh, my goodness, it’s been so long,”
she said jovially with a smile, patting his cheek affectionately.
    He continued to smile. “It has.”
    “You’re just as handsome as ever,”
she said with appreciation. “Let me buy you a drink,” she
said, pulling him toward the long wooden bar, purposely ignoring
Suzanne.
    He stopped her. “Not now, thanks. I need to
talk to you,” he said in a soft voice so only she could hear.
    “Sure, honey. Right this way,” she
gestured toward a green curtain that was obviously a private room.
    He took Suzanne’s arm and followed Annalee,
not wanting to leave her to the watchful, wary eyes of the men who
were drinking and playing cards. It was early yet, but there were
still a few intoxicated men who might mistake her for one of
Annalee’s girls, considering how she was dressed.
    Suzanne was so stunned by the rustic building and
could do nothing but look around as Cody herded her behind the
curtain. It was pretty much what she’d seen in the movies.
There was an enormous mirror behind the bar, men playing poker at
round