Owen nodded slowly, unable to take his eyes off Laura. She didn’t look scared. Rather, she looked...mad.
“You’re sure you’re all right?”
She looked down at the shotgun in her hands. “I’m fine. How could I have missed?”
Trying not to chuckle in spite of the situation, Owen patted her arm as he took the shotgun from her. “We practiced with a smaller gun. This one has a kick that, if you don’t know what to expect, can knock your aim off. You did good, Laura. You did real good.”
The slow nod she gave him told him that she was in shock. It was one thing to know how to shoot a gun, another to face your enemy and pull the trigger.
“Let’s get you settled in with Lena.” Owen turned to Will. “What do we do about Jenks and Pitts?”
“I’m going to put them in charge of gathering a posse to go after James. They’ll pick men loyal to them, leaving the ones we can trust to nab him.”
Will kicked at some of the blood in the dirt, then said loudly, “Looks to me like he’s headed in the direction of The Thirsty Miner. I knew that bartender was lying to us. Let’s get some men together to go after him. He’s been shot, so he’ll be slow and harder to hide with all that blood.”
Owen turned to see Jenks and Pitts walking into the backyard. Interesting timing, considering. At least Will had noticed them soon enough to give them misleading plans.
Once again, Owen had been too focused on Laura to realize what was going on.
“You say James was shot?” Jenks asked, coming up onto the porch.
“Laura got him, but only nicked him, I think. Don’t know for sure. Not enough blood to be a serious injury. He mentioned something to her about The Thirsty Miner, so I think he’s headed there. Plus, there’s a man there who will fix up gunshot wounds, no questions asked,” Will said smoothly.
Laura stilled beside him. She hadn’t told them anything about what had happened, and for a moment, Owen wondered if she’d argue. But then Laura nodded.
“Apparently, that’s where real women are,” she said, her voice sounding dull and unlike her.
The two men looked at each other like they were surprised, but then Jenks smiled. “Then it looks like we’ve got him.”
“Laura’s upset by what happened,” Will said. “I’d like Owen to stay behind to help her, and I need to advise the sheriff about what’s going on. You two are the reason we even knew to investigate The Thirsty Miner, so you’ll be up for a commendation, maybe even a promotion. Think you can get together a group of men to round him up?”
Owen tried not to laugh at how eager the two of them looked. How they would let this play out, he didn’t know, but in the end, the only thing the two of them would be up for was jail.
“I’ll be fine,” Laura said. “Owen has a job to do.”
He hated how fragile she looked. Worse, he hated that all of this was once again his fault. How could he have left her alone to deal with James?
His stupid emotions. Once more, they’d gotten the best of him, and he’d let his feelings get in the way of protecting Laura. Had Owen been here, he would have gotten James, and this whole nightmare would be behind them.
Owen blew out a breath and put his arm around Laura’s shoulders. “Let’s get you settled in the other room with Lena. I know the commotion woke her, and she’ll want to know what’s going on. Besides, you need to tell me the rest of what happened.”
Leaving Will to give instructions to Jenks and Pitts, Owen was itching to head back to the barn to get James before he could get away again. But they had to make sure that they’d successfully misled James’s men. It all depended on whether or not they thought James was seriously injured enough to need help right away.
He led Laura into the other room, torn between what Will had directed him to do in comforting her and wanting to end this.
“What happened?” Lena asked. “The shotgun woke me up.”
The girls murmured in their sleep, but Laura bent down and gave them a small pat, whispering something he couldn’t hear, but it seemed to give the girls comfort. They cuddled back together, and Owen couldn’t help the tiny twist in his heart.
Yes, he had to end this tonight.
“It seems James paid Laura a little visit,” Owen said. “She managed to scare him off with a shotgun, but he’s still at large.”
Lena stared at him. “Why aren’t you going after him?”
“We have a plan,” Owen said, feeling the same distress Lena did. But Owen knew that times like this, you had to be patient. How many times had he sat on watch, body aching, waiting for just the right moment?
Tonight seemed like the most torturous waiting ever. They knew where James would be. Even better, if he and Will had accidentally moved something out of place, James would be in too agitated a state to notice.
Everything would work out perfectly, as long as Jenks and Pitts took the bait and went to The Thirsty Miner first.
Lena patted the chair next to her. “Tell me what happened, Laura. Are you all right? Why didn’t you call for help?”
The look Laura gave Owen made him feel even worse about the situation. Would she tell Lena how he’d let her down? How he’d lost control of himself and allowed his emotions to get the better of him?
“I wanted to clean up a bit, so I went outside to get some water. I could see what I thought were guards out there earlier, so I thought it was safe. Then James walked right up to me.”
Owen closed his eyes, willing himself to be patient. She shouldn’t have gone out. But if he hadn’t left her, she wouldn’t have been in such a state that she’d wanted to.
“I know,” Laura said, looking at him. “I disobeyed you, and I’m sorry. While James and I were talking, I realized how unfair I’ve been to you, questioning your orders because it felt like I was being bossed around, and I resented having to give up my newfound freedom. Until now, I hadn’t learned to differentiate between being given orders because I was being mistreated, and being given orders because someone cares.”
Then she turned to Lena, with an expression on her face that made Owen’s heart hurt. “I know I’ve apologized to you already. But I thought that I was making it up to you, and to Owen, by blindly following his orders. I know now that none of this is about blind trust. Trust is about knowing the person has your best interests at heart and obeying because the other person sees something you can’t. I want you to know that I understand now. Which means I can truly be sorry.”
Bringing her attention to Owen, Laura continued. “I owe you more apologies than I have words to express. And I know that you have a job to do. I won’t waste your time by turning this into another one of our discussions that seem pointless, given the circumstances. However, may I just say that my failure to trust you had nothing to do with you. You’re the first person whose actions were about what was best for me long-term, and not what felt good at the moment, or what benefitted you.”
The sadness on her face made Owen want to reach out to her, but he knew that wouldn’t lead them anywhere good. Not right now. Especially not in front of Lena.
“I give you my trust, wholeheartedly and without reservation,” Laura said. “Not because I want to prove to you how much I’ve learned, but because you’ve proven to me that you want what’s best for me. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that. If you’re willing to forgive me and be patient with me when this is over, could we please start again, as you suggested earlier?”
Her words nearly broke Owen. In a way he’d never been broken before. Laura had humbled herself to a level he hadn’t experienced. Perhaps he needed to humble himself, as well.
They’d both made a lot of incorrect assumptions about each other, and Owen had been just as bad a violator as she’d been.
“It would be my honor,” Owen said, knowing that this conversation didn’t settle anything between them, but he wante
d Laura to know that he didn’t hold anything against her.
He could hear Will’s footfalls in the hallway. “We still face a great deal of danger, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I want this conversation to leave us on good terms, just in case.”
Lena groaned. “Nothing’s going to happen. So just kiss already and get it over with. You two need to—”
“Work it out on our own,” Laura said firmly. “I know you mean well, but if Owen and I are to have a future, it has to be one we make.”
Laura gave him a smile. “I’ll be praying for your safety. We’re on fine terms. I have no regrets.”
If only he could say the same. But as Will entered the room, Owen knew there wasn’t time for anything else. At least he and Laura weren’t in strife. Dealing with the regrets could come later.
“Jenks and Pitts took the bait. I sent Billy Monroe with them to keep an eye out just in case they double back, but they looked too smug to be suspicious. I sent a messenger for a few more men, and we have Bates and MacKinnon guarding the house. Let’s get James before the others realize he didn’t go to The Thirsty Miner.”
Will looked like he had something else to say, but thought better of it. “I put a chair against the back door to keep it closed. We’ll have to fix it in the morning.”
Then Will held out the shotgun. “I’m hoping you won’t have to use this, but I’d like you to have it just in case.”
Laura stood and took it from him. “I’ll do a better job next time.”
Owen couldn’t help but smile at her resolve. She was one of the most courageous women he knew, and for the first time, he didn’t have fear in his heart about their future.
He followed Will out the door, noticing that Laura locked it behind them. Once again, he was struck by just how much he’d underestimated her. How little credit he’d given her.
Lena was right in that he hadn’t given her the chance to decide for herself about whether or not she wanted the normal life he had to offer. And Will had given good advice about a marriage taking work. Sadie had never wanted to make things work but had simply pouted and thrown tantrums when Owen wasn’t giving her what she wanted.
Laura had done no such thing. She’d put forth every effort to show him she was willing to meet him halfway, yet he still compared her to a woman she had nothing in common with, other than how they’d met.
It was time to see Laura as the woman she was. To let her tell him what she wanted from their relationship. And to see if she was willing to accept what he had to offer.
But first, they had a murderer to catch.
Chapter Fifteen
They didn’t go directly to the barn in case James or his men had lookouts. Perhaps it was overly cautious considering their earlier exploration of the place hadn’t seemed to alert any guards, but they weren’t going to take any chances on letting James get away this time.
Will stationed some of his men as lookouts at various points between the house and the barn and in the direction of The Thirsty Miner. Now that they knew who the traitors were, they also knew who they could trust.
Everything was quiet at the barn, but Owen noticed that the door was a little more open than it had been when they’d left it. Fresh blood was smeared on the side.
“You think she got his shoulder?” Will asked, pointing to the location of the blood. It was at about the same height as it had been in the house, which was shoulder height for most men.
“Probably. So one arm is useless. That gives us more of an advantage, though a man with a good arm is still dangerous.”
Will nodded. “I wish we’d checked for weapons when we were here before.”
“Taking them would have given away that someone was here. It’ll be fine.”
Though Owen sounded confident, he said a quick prayer for protection. He didn’t like going into any situation without first bringing it to God, and once again, he was reminded of how little he’d trusted God with Laura. If he trusted his life to God, he needed to trust his heart to him, as well.
As they entered the barn, they heard a moan. “Jenks? That you? I need a doctor.”
“Nope,” Owen said as he spun and entered the stall where James had been staying. “But we’ll be happy to get you one once we get you over to the jail.”
Even in the darkness, James looked like he couldn’t understand how such a thing had happened. “But Jenks...”
“Is on a wild goose chase to The Thirsty Miner,” Will said, holding up a pair of handcuffs. “Now, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?”
James shook his head. “I’m not going back to jail. You’ll have to kill me first.”
For as many times as Owen had thought about ending this man’s life, and though he’d come close before, staring at the pathetic creature before him now, Owen knew he wouldn’t do it. Nor would Will. Neither of them took pleasure in killing and only used it as a last resort.
Owen took a step forward. “Not going to give you the satisfaction.”
James reached behind him and pulled out a pistol. “I’m armed, you have to shoot me.”
From the shaky way James held the gun, Owen knew he wasn’t capable of using it against them. The injured shoulder, which still seemed to be oozing blood, left his arm lying useless at his side. Based on how James held the gun with his good arm, it wasn’t his dominant one, and unlike Owen and Will, James had obviously not been trained to use it.
“Laura has better aim than you with that thing,” Owen said, grinning as the other man blanched.
Though Laura hadn’t killed James, Owen got a great deal of satisfaction knowing that her shot had incapacitated him enough for them to be able to catch him. The poor guy was probably still wondering where she’d found the backbone.
A quick glance over his shoulder told Owen that Will had his gun trained on the other man. Any sudden movement from James and Will would have him. But Owen hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He did a careful analysis of the situation, trying to see the best way to disarm the other man without putting himself in danger. The last thing he needed was for James’s lack of control over the gun to cause an accidental discharge that could injure any of them.
There was no need for a reckless action to keep Owen from coming home safely.
Especially when he had another compelling reason to.
“Give me the gun, James. Let’s end this like gentlemen and not cause any more harm,” Owen said calmly.
James spun the gun in his hand awkwardly, like he was going to toss it in Owen’s direction. But then, in an unexpected movement of stability, put it to his head and pulled the trigger.
Owen closed his eyes. Nothing in James’s demeanor had made him think that the other man would take his own life, nor had anything in his past indicated that he’d ever been suicidal. But James probably knew that there was no getting out of this situation. He’d have gone back to jail, then to trial on new murder charges, and probably would have ended up with the death penalty. At least with this action, James had been in control of his destiny.
Even if it led to the same outcome.
Will clapped him on the back. “We did what we could. This is probably the best ending we could have hoped for.”
For James, yes. And, in some ways, for Laura. She’d never have to fear him again. But somehow Owen thought she might have already won that battle. She hadn’t seemed scared of her encounter with James. Rather, she’d seemed empowered.
“Shall we go get Pitts and Jenks?” Will asked, looking around the stall. “I’ll have some men come take care of the bodies.”
Owen nodded. “Might as well. Though I hate to have to go back to The Thirsty Miner.”
“It is definitely not my favorite place,” Will said, chuckling. “But at least it will be the last time you have to enter it.”
They exited the barn, and Will
paused to give the other men instructions. As the clean air washed over him, Owen sucked in several deep breaths.
It was over. Really and truly over. He didn’t have to protect Laura anymore. He was free to figure out what it was they had between them.
Will stepped in next to him. “It’s amazing how two bodies can stink up a barn, isn’t it?”
“Leadville has never smelled so good.” Owen looked over at his friend and grinned.
“Go home,” Will said. “You did your part. Laura is safe. The rest of us can handle Jenks and Pitts.”
Owen stared at him. “But I need to finish the case. Tie up loose ends.”
“Is that what you want?”
The look Will gave him wasn’t accusatory, but knowing.
“You know my heart hasn’t been in it for a long time.”
Will nodded. “I knew it before you gave notice. Your priority has always been your family. The older the girls get, the harder it is to pry you away from them. I mean, I love Mary and Rosabelle, but I still love upholding the law. That was never your passion, was it?”
His friend’s question surprised him, mostly because Owen had never thought of it that way. He wasn’t like Will, who’d become a lawman because he wanted to uphold truth and justice. Owen believed in truth and justice, but it was never why he’d picked up a badge.
“No,” he finally said. “I just always wanted to do the right thing. Which, at the time, happened to be becoming a lawman.”
Suddenly, he had more clarity about his doubts and fears over being a lawman than he’d had in a long time. He’d thought he’d quit because he wasn’t capable of doing the job. But maybe, the real reason was deeper and more important than that.
Still, he had a responsibility to make sure Jenks and Pitts went to jail. “I have to finish what I started.”
Will shook his head. “You don’t always have to be the hero. Sometimes you can let the other guys have a chance so you can go home and kiss the girl.”
Kiss the girl. Owen had done that and messed it up completely. He owed it to both himself and Laura to do it properly this time. To fix what was wrong between them and make it right. Of all the things he’d started, this was the most important thing he needed to finish well.
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