by Jenna Brandt
“She doesn’t seem to know that,” Becca pointed out. “She made it clear she had feelings for you that went way beyond friendship.”
Garrett reached out and pulled Becca to him. “It doesn’t matter how she feels. What matters is how I feel, and I love you and only you. Don’t let this ruin what we’ve managed to get back.”
Becca didn’t want to let this come between them, but the incident had confused her. Her feelings were all over the place, and she didn’t want to make a mistake and end up being a fool for trusting him again.
“My head is hurting. I think I need to go home.”
“I can walk you home,” Garrett offered.
“You can quit trying to take care of me, Garrett,” she snapped, her eyes narrowing in anger. “I’ve managed to do that for myself the entire time you were gone.”
Garrett flinched, an aggrieved expression settling on his face. “Everything I do, I do because I care for you. You have to believe me, there’s nothing between Cora and me.”
She regretted that her words hurt him, but she reminded herself it was better than pretending they could go back to how it was before. If Garrett only came back here out of obligation like Cora implied, then Becca didn’t want to be with him.
“I’m sorry, Garrett, but I have to go.” Becca rushed from the town square. She was heading anywhere but where she was surrounded by people who had nothing better to do than watch her relationship with the man she loved end.
Becca made her way down past the church and leaned up against the back wall. She needed a moment to catch her breath. Her head was pounding and she was beginning to see dots of light in her vision. If she didn’t get this under control, she would have a full-fledged three-day migraine on her hands.
“I can’t believe it didn’t work,” Becca heard Jonathan complain from around the corner of the building. “You were supposed to make him go back with you to Yuma.”
Becca peaked around the edge, trying to figure out who he was talking to. To her utter shock, she saw Cora standing across from Jonathan. She had no idea they knew each other, let alone seemed to be working together to drive a wedge between her and Garrett.
“I did everything I could to try to make Garrett realize he shouldn’t have come back to Little Ridge. I didn’t send the telegram he requested and made up a lie about what she said in return. I gave him medicine that kept his memory foggy and slowed his healing. I kept that private investigator from talking to the other doctors and nurses the first couple of days after Garrett returned to Little Ridge. Can I help it that he came back on a day I wasn’t there?”
“When I found out you were taking care of him and I started paying you to delay his recovery, you gladly accepted. What I didn’t expect was for you to develop feelings for your payday.”
This was even worse than what Becca could have ever imagined. He not only brought her here to cause a problem, he had paid her to keep Garrett away from her. Jonathan wasn’t the man she thought he was if he was capable of such a thing.
“I didn’t either, but it only made me want to keep him in Yuma more. I don’t know why you’re upset about it. If I could just get Garrett to admit he cares for me, it would make the path clear for you to win over his fiancée. We’d both win.”
“It didn’t work though. I watched as he bluntly rejected you. I’ll just have to find another way to get this done,” Jonathan growled out in frustration.
“What about me?”
“What about you? I have no use for you now,” he stated brusquely.
“You may not have a use for me, but you are going to continue to pay me. Otherwise, you’ll regret it,” she threatened with an angry scowl on her face.
“What are you talking about? Why on earth would I continue to pay?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll tell that girl you fancy exactly what we did. How would she react if she found out what you did behind her back? Do you think she would appreciate finding out that you manipulated the length of Garrett’s stay in Yuma for your own benefit?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he snarled, his eyes narrowing into thin slits of rage.
“I won’t—if you pay me.”
“Fine, return to Yuma and I’ll continue the same arrangement as we had before.”
Becca got ready to move, worried that Cora might head in her way. She didn’t, however, and instead took off in the opposite direction, disappearing out of sight. A moment later, a man she didn’t recognize stepped out of the darkness and moved over to stand by Jonathan.
“Do you want me to take care of her?”
Jonathan nodded. “There’s no way I’m paying her another penny.”
“What should I do next about Garrett Casner?”
“I’m not sure what it’s going to take to get rid of him. I thought the men you hired to take the deposit would make quick work of him, but instead, they botched the job and he survived.”
Becca’s hand flew to her mouth, covering it and repressing the gasp that threatened to explode from her. When the attack on Garrett was confirmed, she never would have thought it possible that someone could have been behind it, let alone to ruin their relationship. She thought she knew that behind all the negative rumors about Jonathan, there was a good man. If he was capable of this, however, it was clear, he was as despicable as they came.
“I can stage an accident—have one of my men break his neck and make it look like he was thrown from a horse,” the stranger suggested. “It will get you the results you want.”
“Let’s move ahead with that plan,” Jonathan consented. “I need him dead and out of the way so he can’t take my livelihood from me, or get in between me and Becca any longer.”
“I’ll get right on it, Mr. Bosley,” the stranger said, before he turned away and disappeared from where he came.
Becca spun around and took off back towards the town social. She needed to warn Garrett and tell the sheriff what she overheard. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been to let Cora cause her to doubt Garrett’s love. Everything bad that had happened to him had been at the hands of his worst enemy, the same man who wanted to take her for himself. She wasn’t going to let him get away with any of it.
She didn’t get very far before a hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from getting away.
“How much of that did you overhear?” Jonathan barked out as he yanked her around to look her in the eyes. “You wouldn’t have any bright ideas about going and telling anyone, now would you?”
“I heard everything and it makes me sick. There’s something wrong with you, Jonathan. How could you do all of that to Garrett and me?”
“I didn’t do it to you, I did it for you so we could be together.” He leaned towards her, pulling her so close she could feel his breath tickle her cheeks. “We shared a kiss once, back when we were both in school. I know you enjoyed it as much as I did, though you tried to pretend you didn’t when we both got back to Little Ridge.”
“You kissed a lot of girls when we were at school—many of my friends I might add. You didn’t care about me anymore than you did any of them, until you realized that Garrett loved me. You had me fooled for a little while, but I know better now.”
“You think you know what I want, what I will do to get it? You have no idea. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep what’s mine and take what I want.”
Becca flinched at his words, and tried to pull away, but his grip on her only tightened. Mixed with the devilish look in his eyes, she was frightened by what lengths he would go to carry out his diabolical plans.
Chapter Twelve
Garrett debated whether or not he should go after Becca and try to explain everything to her a second time. Part of him knew she might need some space, but the other part of him worried the longer he let her stew, the more damage it would do.
Mark came up beside Garrett, glancing around with a confused look on his face. “Where’s my sister?”
“She decided to head home,” Garret
t explained, stopping short of going into details as to why.
“She did? Was it because of that brunette who showed up and was fawning all over you?”
“You saw that?”
“I hate to say it, but the whole town did. I would have kept watching, too, if my cousin Julia didn’t need help when the fire pit nearly caught one of the tables on fire. I figured a fire trumped a catfight over you, but just barely.”
“It sounds like you missed out just before it got really bad,” Garrett lamented. “Your sister thinks I had something going on with Cora.”
“Cora? I don’t know many patients that are on a first-name basis with their nurse. It sounds like it was a little bit more than just a patient-nurse relationship.”
“I was grateful for all she did for me. She went out of her way to help me recover, read to me to lift my spirits, and even sent a telegram to Becca for me.”
“Becca never received a telegram, Garrett. Are you sure Cora is what she says she is? She made it clear today she has feelings for you. Is it possible, she actually worked against you to keep you from coming home?”
Garrett had never thought of that. Was Cora capable of doing such a thing? She seemed so sincere when she was taking care of him, but he was smart enough to know that things weren’t always how they appeared.
“I guess it’s possible. Even if that’s true though, what good does it do me regarding your sister?”
“Nothing, but that doesn’t mean you should be here sulking like a baby. Go after her, you big idiot,” Mark demanded as he pushed him towards the exit from the town social.
Garrett knew his friend was right. He shouldn’t let anything come between Becca and him, especially a misunderstanding. He rushed towards the direction of where Becca went. If he hurried, he might be able to catch her before she reached her house.
“Let go of me,” Garrett heard Becca cry out. “You’re hurting me.”
Garrett sped up his pace in order to see who was hurting the woman he loved. If someone was hurting her, he had to stop them. As he turned the corner, he was shocked and angered to see Jonathan Bosley manhandling his fiancée.
“I don’t care. You’re coming with me,” Bosley ordered. “I can’t have you going and telling everyone what you overheard.”
“Get your hands off of her. She isn’t going anywhere with you,” Garrett shouted as he rushed up beside them.
Jonathan’s head swiveled to glare at Garrett. “Stay out of this, Casner. This is between Becca and me.”
“No, it isn’t,” she argued with a shake of her head. “This is all about you and how you feel about Garrett. You don’t want anyone knowing all the awful things you did to destroy him.”
“What are you talking about?” Garrett inquired with a confused look on his face. “What has he done?”
“Jonathan was behind everything, Garrett. The attack on you and theft of the mine deposit, not to mention that he was paying Cora to keep you in Yuma. He tried to have you killed, Garrett, and since it didn’t work, he just told the same man to try again.”
Garrett felt like he had been punched in the gut by the revelations. He knew Bosley hated him, but he had no idea it was to the extent that he would do such terrible things.
“I know we have our differences, but for you to go to the lengths you have, you must really hate me.”
“I do,” he snarled, like a feral cat. “My lawyer just told me that the judge in Yuma ruled against me. I have to turn over the inheritance. You’ve cost me everything, including Becca. I’m going to make you pay for it.” Jonathan whipped out a gun from his holster, continuing to hold Becca around her waist with his other arm. “The best way I can do that is by killing the woman you love.”
“Don’t,” Garrett shouted. “If you ever cared for her, you won’t do this.”
Jonathan lifted the barrel of the gun and pointed it at Becca’s head. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s too late for any of us. There’s no going back.”
Becca looked scared, and Garrett would do anything to erase the fear he saw in her eyes. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. If he wasn’t afraid Bosley would pull the trigger, he would’ve rushed right up and attacked the other man for threatening her life.
“It’s going to be all right,” Garrett said in a soothing tone. “We’re going to get through this.” The problem was, she didn’t believe it any more than he did, from the look he saw in her eyes.
If he drew his own gun, Bosley would just kill her before he could get his own shot off. If he moved towards them, it would be the same results. He didn’t know what to do, so he silently sent up a prayer, asking God to intervene.
There was a sudden popping noise and bright lights filled the air. He realized it was fireworks set off to celebrate the end of summer. The distraction was exactly what Garrett needed. He couldn’t risk taking a shot, but Bosley dropped his guard for just the right amount of time to give Garrett the chance to charge the short distance between them.
Becca jerked hard against Bosley, then stepped out of the way at the last moment. Garrett tackled the other man, both of them landing in the dirt in a large heap. It knocked the wind out of Garrett temporarily, but he didn’t take the time to catch his breath before he took his first swing. His fist connected with Jonathan’s jaw.
They exchanged blows for a couple of seconds before Becca shouted, “Stop it, right now, or I’ll shoot you, Jonathan. I swear I will.”
Both men stopped mid-punch and looked up at Becca, who was holding Bosley’s gun in her hands. She was trembling slightly, but looked determined.
“I don’t think you will.”
“To protect the man I love, I’d do anything,” she countered. “Test me.”
Bosley must have believed her, because he scooted away from Garrett and slowly stood up. Garrett climbed up next and moved to take the gun from Becca.
“Go get the sheriff; I’ll keep an eye on him until you return,” Garrett kindly ordered.
Becca took off towards the town social, leaving the two men alone together. Bosley was glaring at Garrett, the hate clearly written all over his face.
“This is all your fault. You’ve ruined my life.”
“I haven’t done anything. You’ve done this to yourself,” Garrett scolded. “If you told me where the copper deposit is, it would go a long way for you with the court when you stand trial.”
“It’s gone,” he seethed out. “I had to use all of it to cover my lawyer’s bills to fight your claim over the inheritance. You’ve destroyed me.”
“You’re wrong; your greed and envy have destroyed you.”
His words must have struck home. Bosley suddenly lunged towards him, causing Garrett to stretch out his arm and smack the other man’s head with the butt of the revolver. He crumpled to the ground, knocked out cold.
A few minutes later, Becca arrived with the sheriff and one of his deputies.
“What happened?” Becca asked, her eyes drifting down to Bosley’s motionless body.
“He attacked me and I had to knock him out.”
The deputy moved over and collected the reprobate from the ground, putting him in handcuffs as he started to gain consciousness.
“Wh-what’s going on?” Bosley mumbled out. “Why are you detaining me?”
“Miss Bennett told us everything,” the sheriff stated gruffly. He moved to the other side of Bosley, and grabbed him by the arm. “You’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Garrett Casner and Becca Bennett, along with the robbery of the Bennett mine deposit which resulted in the death of two of the miners. I’m sure some other charges will be added to your list of crimes once we find out all the details of what you’ve done, but that’s the large strokes of it for now.”
“You can’t prove anything,” he grumbled.
“You’ve confessed to what you did to both of them and their word holds weight in this town—far more than yours does. Besides, I’m sure evidence will turn up proving it all. Until then, you’ll be sitting
in my jail.”
The sheriff and his deputy left, pulling Bosley along with them.
Becca rushed to Garrett’s side, reaching up and placing her hand on the side of his face that was already swelling from the beating he’d sustained. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
He grimaced for a moment before shrugging. “A little, but I’ll be fine. We’re both safe, and that’s all that matters.”
“I was so scared, Garrett; not because of what might happen to me, but for what could happen to you. I couldn’t live without you.”
Garrett pulled Becca towards him, gathering her into his arms. He stared into her blue eyes and then let his lips do the talking for him. The kiss was filled with the remains of all the emotions they’d felt during their separation, their struggles, and the confrontation they just went through. Becca wrapped her arms around Garrett’s neck, leaning into his frame, causing him to deepen the kiss.
She sighed softly as she gently pulled back. “That was exactly what I needed.”
“You can say that again. I could do that for the rest of my life.”
“And you’ll get to, now that we can start our life together without anything hanging over us. I love you, Garrett.”
“I love you too, Becca, more than I ever thought possible.”
“I can’t wait to marry you and be your wife.”
“When were you thinking?”
“As soon as possible. I think we’ve done enough waiting for a lifetime.”
Epilogue
One week later
Becca couldn’t contain the excitement as she stood just outside the doors that led into the church. Today was the day she had been waiting for her whole life. It took them overcoming a lot of obstacles and trials, but today she was marrying the man she loved in front of all their friends and family.
“You look so beautiful in that new dress, Becca,” June praised as she fluffed out the train of the full, tulle skirt. “It’s even prettier than the original one you gave me for my wedding.”