by Cat Cahill
Edie. Or did she prefer Edith? James couldn’t even decide if he was angry with her or not. He was far too concerned with her well-being right now to let any other emotion take over, but he couldn’t deny the disappointment he felt at her untruthfulness. On the one hand, it made sense. She’d wanted a new life—that much was obvious—and so she’d come here under an assumed name. She likely hardly thought she’d make the acquaintance of a lawman. And it certainly explained her initial reaction to him. He smiled at the memory of her mud-covered self running for the railroad tracks. She probably thought she was protecting her family, and her own reputation, by not telling him the truth.
But as she’d gotten to know him, why had she continued the farce? Didn’t she trust him? She hadn’t even told him about her troubles at the hotel last fall.
Another thought rose unbidden as his horse plodded along after Ty Beaumont’s—would James have trusted her after such a revelation?
He wanted to think he would have, without hesitation. But would he, though, after what had happened to Uncle Mark? He could almost imagine himself reeling away from her, trying to make sense of it. He could hardly comprehend it when Ty had said her name.
James shook his head to clear his thoughts. He’d have time to figure those out later, provided he was successful in this mission. Right now, all that mattered was rescuing Edie from the Fletchers and preventing any bloodshed between the two families. He’d had to promise Ty he’d let the Beaumonts leave unscathed to return to Kansas after this. That would’ve been harder to agree to if they’d been the ones to put Uncle Mark six feet under. But deep in his heart, James knew he would’ve done it even then if it meant Edie’s safety. He’d do anything for that woman, Beaumont or not. He’d lost himself some time ago, even though it now seemed she’d been bent on breaking his heart.
Well, at least he was being honest with himself.
Ty halted his horse. James drew up even with him and waited as the other man scanned the land ahead.
“They’ll be up that way. They likely already saw us. You understand I’d prefer just you and I ride in? I don’t think Pa would take too kindly to me bringing up a whole posse.”
James considered it. It was a dangerous prospect, agreeing to ride in alone to a den of thieves. But he had his guns. And he was the one who’d have enough men to aid the Beaumonts in rescuing Edie. If they killed him, they’d have no help.
Unless it was a trap.
Despite the way she’d kept so much from him, he refused to believe Edie would set him up in such a way, but he wouldn’t put it past these men to steal her away and pin the blame on the Fletchers, just to get him out here, alone. In fact, it sounded right in line with how the Beaumonts operated. “How do I know I’ll ride back out of there alive?”
Ty took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “Fair enough. You go in alone. I’ll stay here with your men.”
James nodded. After further instructions, he rode south, into an abandoned mining operation that abutted the mountains—and about six men pointing all manner of firearms at him. James lifted his hands, praying he’d made the right decision.
“Thought you said Ty was with him?” An older, clean-shaven man spoke. Jonas Beaumont, if the pictures were correct.
“He was,” a kid of about eighteen or twenty replied. “I saw him with this fella, and a whole bunch of folks from the town.”
“He’s with my men,” James said, looking Jonas Beaumont straight in the eye.
The old man held his gaze. “You’re a smart one. Good.” He lowered the revolver he held, but didn’t return it to its holster. The other men followed suit, and James breathed a little easier as he dismounted.
“Jonas Beaumont,” the man said by way of introduction.
“James Wright, Fremont County sheriff’s deputy,” James said, eying the one younger man who hadn’t entirely lowered his shotgun.
Jonas’s gaze followed James’s. “Zeb,” he said tersely, and the man let the gun sink to his side. He turned back to James. “Ty tell you why you’re here?”
“He did.”
Jonas took a few steps forward, another man with a hat pulled down over his eyes staying close behind. “I want you to know we appreciate your assistance. As soon as I’ve got my girl back safe, we’ll be out of your territory for good.”
His girl back. James swallowed as he pictured Edie, headed back to Kansas with these men—her family. Would she want to? He would’ve thought that was the last thing she wanted . . . until she left the hotel in the dead of night. Considering no one had forced her to leave, he could only assume she’d gone in search of the Beaumonts and found the Fletchers instead.
“I’ll take your word on that, provided you leave quietly.”
Jonas scratched at his chin and grinned at the man next to him. “All right. My sincerest apologies for that store in town. I sent the boys in for some provisions, and I hear they got a little wild. You know how boys are.”
James didn’t return the man’s smile. His boys had cost the Drexels a lot of money and time, not to mention frightened Mrs. Drexel half to death. “Ty said you were due to meet with the Fletchers.”
Jonas’s smile disappeared immediately. “That’s right. Eight o’clock, at an old homestead south of town.”
“Did they say what they wanted?”
Jonas shook his head.
“Likely half our territory,” the other man muttered. He pushed back his hat, revealing bright blue eyes in a face that was beginning to show lines. Nick Ford, James recalled. The troublemaker of the bunch.
The last thing James wanted was to get embroiled in the politics of these families, but it seemed inevitable. “Is that something you’re willing to cede?”
Jonas shifted uncomfortably while Ford glared at James as if he was the one requesting that payment.
These people turned James’s stomach. “I see—”
“No,” Jonas said. “But that’s only because there won’t be negotiations with the Fletchers. That’s why you’re here.”
James furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of the man’s words.
“There won’t be need for negotiations if we take them by surprise,” Jonas explained. “They took my girl. I’m long past mercy.”
He should’ve known. “No,” he said, a bit more forcefully than he intended. “If I’m to help you—if I’m to involve all those men waiting back there—we’re doing our best to avoid bloodshed. I’m not requiring you to accede to their demands, but only to ride in and at least find out what those are. Do you understand?”
Jonas glanced at Ford, who shook his head.
“They got our sister, Pa,” one of the younger men—Zeb, James thought—said.
“You either do it my way or you’ll get no help from me,” James said. It was a calculated risk. He was going after Edie either way, but the Beaumonts didn’t know that.
Jonas kept his eyes on James, as if measuring him up, Finally, he spoke. “We need the numbers. So you’ve got yourself a deal.”
James let out a rush of air. “All right. Let’s head out, then. We’ll talk strategy on the way.”
As the Beaumonts gathered horses and guns, James sorted through options for the millionth time. He didn’t know entirely what they were walking into, and this could go so many ways.
His only goal was to get Edie and his men out of there alive.
Chapter Thirty
Edie’s eyes strained to see through the shadows dusk had begun to create. One of Virgil Fletcher’s boys had called out that the Beaumonts were on their way, but so far, Edie could see nothing.
They were coming for her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Pa couldn’t have entirely cut her from the family if he was coming to meet with the Fletchers to get her back. While that warmed her heart, she didn’t want them here. Even though she’d removed herself from that life when she came to the Colorado Territory, she still loved her family, and she couldn’t abide the thought of them potentially setting the
mselves up for any sort of bloodshed.
Turn around, she prayed, even if, selfishly, she had visions of Pa or Nick plucking her from this horse and riding her off to safety.
Finally, the vaguest outlines of horses, and the dust they stirred up, appeared in the distance. The Fletchers had chosen the abandoned cabin Edie had visited during her search for this meeting, and now she leaned forward from where she stood against the front wall for a better look. A large hand clamped down on her shoulder, pressing her back into place. Levi Fletcher grinned down at her.
“We ain’t had our negotiations yet,” he said, keeping his hand wrapped around her shoulder.
Edie lifted her shoulders, trying to shake him off, but he held firm. To distract herself from the discomfort, she squinted to try to see the horses and men better.
It only took a few minutes before it became clear how many men were riding in this direction. The Fletchers had nine men—Edie had counted each one back up on the mountain. But it looked as if her own family had multiplied in size. She couldn’t even imagine who else they’d found to ride in with them.
Virgil Fletcher whistled once, and just like dogs responding to their master, each man drew his weapon.
“No!” Edie shouted, only to have Levi push her back into the wall.
Virgil shot them a stony look. “Hold her.”
And before Edie could protest, Levi wrapped his arm around her neck. She sputtered in protest and clawed at it, but it did no good. Her fingers slid uselessly across his coat sleeve and he didn’t budge even a fraction of an inch.
The men on horseback rode closer, and as soon as they’d crested the barn, Virgil shouted, “Halt there!” He didn’t give away the slightest bit of fear or confusion at the presence of such a large group.
The men came to a stop, and Edie scanned the lot of them, trying to make out faces at such a distance. There was Pa, tall and sure in the saddle, right up front. She thought she saw Ty off to the right of him. Another man rode forward and stopped next to Pa, and Edie didn’t need him to move any closer to make out who he was.
James.
Her throat seemed to close up. He’d come in with her family. How had that happened? And all these men . . . She couldn’t see who they were from here, but there could be only one explanation—they were from Crest Stone. And they’d volunteered to ride into this situation to rescue her.
If Edie hadn’t been so fearful about what might happen next, she would’ve cried at the realization. Never, in her wildest dreams, could she have imagined so many people concerned for her life.
A few of the men dismounted—James, Pa, Ty. And as they moved forward, she made out Cousin Nick and Zeb too. The others remained in the saddle with guns drawn. The men on foot came closer and then stopped, just far enough away for Edie to make out the expressions on their faces—and to see that James’s eyes were on her.
She tried to tell him everything with only her face, but that, of course, was impossible. What must he think of her? He had to know now. Did he figure it out on his own or did someone from her family tell him? And how had he found her family to begin with? He must be so angry with her.
But he’d come. With an army of men. And all of that despite the horrible memory of his own uncle riding into a similar situation. Edie chose to hold on to that fact and the sliver of hope that came with it. If she could do it all over again, she’d have told him the truth. Perhaps she could’ve prevented all of this from happening. And perhaps she would have lost him forever, but at least she’d be able to live with the knowledge that she’d done right.
If they both came out of this alive, she’d tell him everything.
“Virgil Fletcher.” Pa’s voice held an edge, yet it soothed Edie’s soul. Leaving hadn’t been an easy decision. As despicable as the things her father and brothers did were, she loved them with all her heart. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her pa until he spoke. She wanted to slide out of Levi’s grasp and run to him, let him keep her safe the way he always had.
“Jonas!” Virgil’s voice was more gregarious. He opened his arms as if welcoming her family and all those men they rode in with to his home. “It’s been a spell.”
“We ain’t here for a visit,” Pa spat.
“Who’s that with you?” Virgil continued, ignoring her father’s impatience. “You have a bunch more kids?” And with that, he laughed. A few of his boys joined in.
“This here’s James Wright, sheriff’s deputy from up in Cañon City,” Pa said. “And his men.”
Next to him, James shifted, his hand resting on the handle of the revolver at his hip, but he said nothing. Instead, he seemed to keep close watch of each man before him.
“You brung the law into this?” Virgil said, his voice incredulous.
“You crossed the line when you took my daughter.” Pa stood, his arms crossed.
“I’m only here to ensure this doesn’t end in bloodshed,” James said. “Now how about you call off those guns, Fletcher? Beaumont’s here for talking, not shooting.”
Virgil didn’t reply right away. After a moment he motioned for the men to lower their weapons, but, Edie noticed, every one held tight to the gun at his side.
“What are your terms?” Pa asked, his eyes straying to Edie for the first time. She wished she could explain everything to him—how stifled and unhappy she’d been in Kansas, how different she felt in Crest Stone, and how badly she wanted a future that had nothing to do with living off ill-gotten money. But of course she couldn’t. Instead, she was pinned beneath Levi’s arm, helpless to do anything but watch as these men debated her release.
“We want the state,” Virgil said.
Edie’s heart sunk. Pa would never agree to that. Where would they go? Kansas was their home.
Pa’s gaze snapped back to him. “The state,” he repeated.
“I don’t care where you go or what you do, but I want your family out of Kansas. For good.”
Across from her, Edie’s oldest brother, Ty, exchanged glances with Nick, who shook his head. Even James frowned. This was not going well . . .
Pa’s expression was unreadable. “I got about forty men here who say otherwise.”
At that, James turned his frown on Edie’s pa. “We’re not here to ensure you get what you want.”
“And I got your girl,” Virgil said. “You don’t agree to my terms, I might be inclined to take her with us.”
Edie stumbled as Levi turned her toward Virgil. Across from them, James’s face took on a look Edie had never seen. His brow creased into an angry line and his expression grew hard.
“Or maybe I don’t want the burden of riding a woman clear back to Kansas. We could end this now,” Virgil said.
Behind her, Levi’s heavy frame moved, and before Edie knew what was happening, he held a pistol in his left hand.
She gasped, and it felt as if her heart had lodged itself up into her throat. All she knew was that she needed to move, to run, to get away from here as fast as possible. The blood pounded in her ears, and she pushed against his arm, struggling to break free.
But Levi held firm. “You know I owe you for my leg, Beaumont,” he said, his voice low and barely even. It was as if he struggled to contain something inside.
Out of breath, Edie stopped pushing against him. Trying to break free of this man was like attempting to move one of the mountains off to the west. Her eyes searched her pa, Ty, Zeb, Nick, and finally landed on James. His hand had closed around the handle of his revolver now, and his hard, practiced lawman’s expression had disappeared. He scowled at Levi.
This had to end. Tempers ran too high, and Edie couldn’t tell who was closest to being driven over the edge. If anyone died tonight because of her, she wouldn’t be able to bear it. It had been her decision to come to Crest Stone, her decision to present herself as someone else, her decision to allow James’s attentions, and her decision to ride out and attempt to find her family.
And now it would be her decision to stop all
of this.
“Make your choice, Beaumont,” Virgil was saying, looking off to the mountains as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Kansas or your lovely daughter.”
James reached out and grabbed hold of Pa’s arm the moment he began to take a step forward. Behind her, Levi tensed.
It was now or never.
“I have something better than some used up territory back in Kansas,” she said, her voice sounding as if it was being raked over rocks.
All eyes moved to her, waiting, and she swallowed.
“Already told you I don’t want your money, girl,” Virgil said, his attention already straying back to the men before him.
“And that’s not what I’m offering.”
Across from her, James raised his eyebrows. She gave him only a moment, trying beyond hope to explain her plan with her eyes. She didn’t dare look at him any longer. She drew in a deep breath and arranged her face to look as if she was offering the Fletchers the world. As if she wasn’t in the least bit afraid of what might happen, despite the fact she could see Levi’s revolver just out of the corner of her eye. “The Colorado & New Mexico is building an office in town to sell off the land it acquired around the railroad tracks. While it’s under construction, they’re keeping the deeds in the hotel safe.”
“I ain’t got much use for land,” Virgil said. The wind rose as he stared at her, lifting the hems of Edie’s skirts and sending the tendrils of hair that had fallen around her face flying.
“I don’t propose you set up a ranch,” Edie said, hoping she sounded as if she was in complete control, when in truth, her heart raced and it was a fight to keep from shrinking back into silence. “If you had these deeds in your possession, you could sell off that land and keep the money. And I can get them for you. A lot of men are itching to get their hands on some of those parcels,” she added quickly.