Forbidden Fire

by Bonnie K. Winn

  She paused for breath, and Morgan stared pointedly at Jake. “She never gives up, does she?” He smiled, taking the sting out of his words. “Well, now she’s your problem.”

  Fighting tears, Katherine gave him one final hug. Part of her life had ended, and even though she knew she’d chosen the right path with Jake, it wasn’t a decision without pain.

  Feeling Jake’s tug on her hand, she turned to follow him. As they rounded the corner, she turned for one final glimpse. Silhouetted by the afternoon sun, Morgan watched them depart.

  Bags were scattered over the trestles and snow-covered ground near the train station. Hattie had given way to tears and boarded the train along with several of the girls. The men had begun to board, but Katherine noticed Annette lingering near Morgan, who was still leaning heavily on a cane. Suddenly she was glad of the woman’s attention. Apparently Annette held deep feelings for Morgan, or she wouldn’t have risked her life to take the gun away from Daphne. Impulsively Katherine approached her and took her hand. “I wish you all the very best, Annette.”

  Reserve, uncertainty, and then hope flitted across her face. “It’s a new start for a lot of us.”

  “I know. Take care of him, will you?”

  Annette nodded, looking as though she wished to say more, but the habit of holding her emotions in check couldn’t be undone that easily. Instead she moved on and took her seat on the train.

  “I guess this is it,” Morgan said as the train whistle sounded.

  Their faces were strained with the intensity of things left unsaid, dreams unfulfilled.

  “Give ’em hell in Dodge City, Morgan,” Jake said as he gripped his friend’s hand.

  An unexpected smile lit Morgan’s face. “Try some of that here, Jake. It might liven the place up.” Turning to Katherine, he lifted her drooping chin one last time. “Ah, Katie. Be happy.”

  “I will. But I want you to be, too.” Her sniffles were muffled by the material of his coat.

  “Got a whole world out there waiting for my charms.” Gently he eased out of her embrace, met Jake’s eyes one final time, and then swung aboard.

  The whistle sounded its final blast, and Katherine clung fiercely to Jake’s hand. Watching the train until it disappeared into the plains, they stood in the wind, not caring as it whipped about them.

  Turning to Katherine, Jake wiped away a final lone tear rolling down her cheek. “Guess we’ll have to decide where we’re headed, too.”

  Katherine nodded in agreement, tugging at Jake’s arm when she saw that Sadie and Able had approached. Jake glanced one more time at the empty horizon before turning to them.

  “How’s all this going to affect you, Able? The cattle trails won’t be coming here anymore.” Jake gripped Katherine’s hand as he spoke.

  “I’d been planning to build a granary. Think I’ll go ahead.”

  “Do you think the wheat will last?” Katherine asked in concern, knowing that corn was the more reliable crop.

  “I believe so. It’s been my plan all along. I never thought the cattle would last.”

  “And you were right,” Sadie added softly, relieved that he was out from under the shadow of his first wife’s predictions.

  Jake faced Able squarely. “I want to tender my resignation.”

  “I won’t take it.”

  Surprised, Jake paused for a moment, then added belligerently, “I intend to marry Katherine.”

  “So you’re going to make an honest woman out of her. No need to resign, then.”

  “I’m not sure why you’ve taken this attitude, Mr. Browning,” Katherine said, “but the town may not agree with you.”

  “You’ve already seen what a large group of them thought today. The rest of ’em will come around. Not too many preachers out here. They’re lucky to have one and they know it. If Jake leaves, they’ll only see a circuit preacher once every two months.”

  Katherine glanced up at Jake, trying to guess his reaction. Able was right. A lot of the people had openly shown their support.

  “What changed your mind, Able?” Jake asked bluntly.

  Gruffness returned to Able’s voice. “Enough. Get on out of here. I got business to take care of.” Sadie smiled at them tremulously as she walked away with Able.

  After they left, Katherine and Jake shared a long, thoughtful glance. Together they walked toward the saloon.

  Inside it was dim and quiet. The parlor and kitchen were still fully furnished, as were the bedroom upstairs. Morgan had only been interested in taking the bar room and gaming furnishings. But there was no mistaking the eerie quiet of a huge building that had once housed two dozen people. Only Beth, David, Rebecca, and the babies remained in the house.

  “Regrets?” he asked.

  “I can’t deny the sadness, but no. No regrets.”

  “Do you think you could give all this up to live in a tiny house with a preacher?”

  “Then you want to stay?”

  “If you’re here,” Jake replied. Hearing him repeat her own words, Katherine smiled finally and leaned her head closer as he spoke again. “I love you, Katherine O’Shea.”

  Her eyes drifted closed for a moment, remembering all that had come before. A wealth of emotion threatened to drown the words she grappled to speak.

  Seeing the struggle, Jake’s lips met hers. Warmth and tenderness flowed between them, and Katherine knew the words were unnecessary. The afternoon sun sent brilliant rays through the fragile curtains at the window. Rays as bright as the future they embraced.

  Epilogue

  Dr. Griffin braked his buggy in front of the parsonage, glancing up at the O’Shea Orphanage that had once been the site of the infamous Crystal Palace. Happy children ran about the flower-filled yard and spilled through the doorway. Beth O’Shea kept the brood under control for the most part, but the children’s freedom was part of what made the huge orphanage a success. The doctor spotted Beth’s assistants, David and Rebecca Browning, while their own twin toddlers ran underfoot. Who’d have thought the young couple would flourish so?

  Since Able Browning’s granary had become hugely prosperous, people had poured into Browning, reviving the dying town. New businesses sprang up every day—a tailor, butcher, pharmacy, and dry goods store. And word had gotten out around the territory that the O’Shea Orphanage was the best in the country for children in need of a loving home.

  One thing was certain, the town kept its doctor running like it had never done before. The morning had started normally enough until one of Able Browning’s kids had come into town after him. Scratching his head, Dr. Griffin remembered the scene that greeted him.

  Sadie lay in the huge bed in the master bedroom, her swollen abdomen evidence of an impending birth. Able Browning fretted as though he didn’t already have a passel of kids and two grandchildren.

  “Able, please calm down. Everything will be fine,” Sadie assured him, ignoring the waves of pain that gripped her.

  Bending down beside her, Able took her hand. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Smoothing her other hand over his now clean-shaven face, Sadie smiled at the transformation in him. He looked twenty years younger without the scruffy beard, and far more vulnerable. “Now that we’ve gotten to the best part, you don’t think I’m going to leave, do you?”

  He clasped her hand more tightly. “When’s that damn doctor going to get here?”

  “I’m here now, Mr. Browning,” Dr. Griffin replied dryly, having heard the same epitaph a thousand times before. “If you’ll get out of my way, we’ll have a baby here soon enough.”

  “I want him to stay,” Sadie reported fiercely from the bed.

  “But, madam—”

  “No. He’s staying.” Sadie met her husband’s eyes. They’d waited too long for this event. She wasn’t going to keep him away. Seeing the wonder and gratitude in his expression, she held on to his hand tightly, thankfully.

  Now, rushing up to the parsonage, Dr. Griffin didn’t even get hi
s hat off before the door was yanked open. He would have thought that after one child, the reverend wouldn’t have been so excited by the arrival of a second, but he was no less anxious than Able Browning had been. As Jake hurried him through the parlor, a cat jumped down from the couch and a cage full of birds squawked angrily when he brushed against them.

  “Is that the doctor?” Katherine gasped as they entered the bedroom.

  “Yes.” Jake took the man’s hat and coat and unceremoniously chucked them on a chair.

  Dr. Griffin sighed. That wasn’t a first, either.

  “How is Sadie?” Katherine asked, her face covered in a sheen of perspiration.

  “She has a healthy baby girl,” he reported. “Mother and child doing well. Now, you’ve got one of your own to worry about.”

  “I hope it’s a girl,” Katherine whispered, thinking of their two-year old son who was a replica of Jake. A daughter would be the perfect addition to their family.

  “Looks like the right day for it,” Dr. Griffin answered noncommittally. “Half the Ladies’ Aid Society is sitting on your porch, wishing for the same thing.”

  Katherine met Jake’s gaze, still awed by the overwhelming acceptance by the town. It was more than they’d ever dreamed for. Another pain coursed through her body, and Katherine watched with loving eyes as Jake wiped her face, then held her hand.

  Dr. Griffin sighed as he rolled up his sleeves. “I don’t suppose there’s a chance of getting rid of you.”

  Jake’s stance challenged him, and the doctor dipped his hands in a basin of fresh water. “You two sure brought a lot of changes to this town.”

  Not losing contact with the man she loved, Katherine smiled brightly through her pain. More changes than she could have dreamed of or ever asked for.

  The doctor lifted the blanket discreetly. “Lordy, this baby’s going to be born now.”

  “Is it a girl?” Jake asked impatiently.

  Dr. Griffin’s face was one of long suffering. “I’d think you’d know I can’t tell by the color of its hair.”

  It seemed only minutes passed before a healthy yell issued forth from lusty young lungs. “It’s a girl, all right,” Dr. Griffin announced. After severing the cord, he washed the baby clean. Then he wrapped the tiny girl in a blanket and handed her to her proud parents.

  “She looks just like you,” Jake said reverently to Katherine as one tiny finger wrapped around his own. Staring at the face surrounded by a thatch of dark hair, he could see the promise of Katherine’s great beauty.

  Tears glistened in her eyes, ones of overwhelming joy. “We have so much.”

  “And it’s only just beginning.”

  The promise in his eyes was as alluring as a flush of passion. “It is?”

  “We have the rest of our lives, Katherine.”

  Light seemed to burst and diffuse in the tiny bedroom as Dr. Griffin quietly closed the door behind him. Once there hadn’t been a promise of even tomorrow.

  “Forever?”

  His hand stroked the velvety skin of her face. “As long as you’re with me.”

  “That will be always…”

  His lips touched hers gently, the promise warm beneath his touch. “And forever.”

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