“Damon, you can put the gun away for good,” Tiku informed him as he flashed a brilliant smile. “The constable has just been to High Winds and is taking Sutherland in for questioning about Tessa’s death and that of Bert Carruthers. I spoke to Constable Vickers before the arrest, Marjorie, too. We saw her brother on the night of Tessa’s murder, very near to where her body was later found. And Marjorie told him that Bert was shot by Sutherland’s men, at Jock’s command. You’re free, it appears.”
Eden let out a wild, joyous cry, and Damon picked her up and swung her around. Tiku’s news seemed too wonderful to be true. Damon needed to hear it with his own ears. They left the forest to find Tiku had brought War Dance and a horse for Eden. Catching up with the constable on the road back to town, they reined in beside Vickers and some of his men.
“I understand I’m free.”
“Yes, Mr. Alexander, you are. Sutherland is your wife’s murderer. Of course he denies he killed her, but Mrs. Carruthers and that Tiku fellow claim they saw him near Thunder Mine the night of her death. There is one thing that puzzles me, however. Where did the note next to Mrs. Alexander’s body come from? It was addressed to you, Mrs. Flynn.” Vickers turned his attention to Eden.
“I received the note at Kia Ora,” Eden explained. “When I stayed at High Winds, Mrs. Carruthers had my things sent to me. Apparently Jock went through my belongings and found the note. He must have placed it beside Tessa.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m certain that’s what happened.” Vickers shot her an encouraging smile. “Sutherland is up ahead, guarded by my men. You’ve nothing to worry about now, but I think it would be a good idea if you didn’t ride into town with us. A lady like yourself doesn’t need to be gossiped about in a situation such as this. For your best interests, I’d advise you go home and wait until Mr. Alexander returns.”
“Constable Vickers is right,” Damon agreed. “Return to Castlegate and wait for me.”
“But I want to be with you.”
“It’s better that you don’t. Please go home. I want to think of you there, waiting for me. And when I get back, we’ll have a great deal of celebrating in store.” Damon said, winking at her.
She couldn’t help but bubble over with laughter. “All right, I’ll wait for you.”
“Like a proper wife,” Damon finished. His eyes roamed over her body in a way that caused her to tremble with anticipation. She was actually going to be his wife!
“Yes, just like a proper wife, your wife.”
With a happy smile on her lips, Eden turned her horse and started for Castlegate.
~~~
They neared town and spotted the group of men whose job it had been to guard Jock Sutherland. Damon was shocked to learn Sutherland wasn’t to be found. The men were scattered hither and yon, riding into the bush and coming up empty. “Sutherland has escaped, sir,” a young man advised Vickers.
“How in the name of God did he do that!” thundered Vickers. “You men are trained not to be given the slip. What’s the matter with the lot of you?” Vickers’s face was so red, it looked ready to burst.
“Well, it’s that bloody horse he insisted he ride,” the young man explained. “Seemed harmless enough to let Sutherland take his horse, looked like an ordinary horse, it did. But when we got near town, the thing rose up on all fours. I’ve never seen a more powerful animal. I was holding the reins the whole time and I tied the knots on the rope that was tied around Mr. Sutherland’s hands. But the man somehow undid them and jerked the reins from me when the horse reacted to some sort of a command from him.” He gulped and lowered his eyes. “The horse bolted and Mr. Sutherland took off. We gave chase but couldn’t catch him. I’ve never in my life seen a faster horse. It was like trying to catch the wind.”
Vickers muttered a profane curse. “Fan out and find Sutherland!” he shrieked to his men. “Find the bloody cur now! … Where are you going?” he shouted at Damon, who had spurred his horse to a gallop back down the road.
“Eden may be in trouble!” he shouted over his shoulder, unaware that Vickers had realized the same thing and rushed after Damon. But War Dance was faster than the constable’s horse and Vickers couldn’t keep up the pace.
~~~
Elation soared through Jock at his escape. The stupid bungling fools had been left behind. He was free and no one would catch him. Somehow he’d make it home and quickly gather a few things together and leave the Otago for now. There was no other choice but to leave. He blamed Marjorie for this mess. She’d ruined his life, as she’d promised to do if he interfered with Alexander or Eden. One day he’d make Marjorie pay for this, now he must flee, must think of himself.
Ice easily ran the path which traversed the length of the Shotover. Vickers and his bunglers wouldn’t catch him. By the time they arrived at High Winds, he’d be long gone.
Turning Ice away from the path, he took a small trail which cut through the forest but would force him to cross Alexander’s property, Kia Ora, and then his own High Winds. Not many people knew about the trail and Jock felt assured that the authorities were probably moving in a westerly direction, while he was going east.
“Jackasses!” he grumbled, and gave Ice a vicious kick to spur him along at a speedier pace. Ice instantly responded and Jock soon neared Castlegate. The ivory-colored facade glistened like a fairy castle in the sunshine, but Jock didn’t notice. He wanted to reach High Winds in record time, and he would have, too, if he hadn’t seen the woman on horseback ahead of him.
Her hair flew behind her like a blazing comet, her very posture in the saddle bespoke breeding. It was Eden, and she was alone. She was his for the taking.
His loins ached with longing for her. God help him, he still desired the wanton witch, the betrayer of his trust. And he would have her.
With cunning skill and agility born of years in the saddle, Jock rushed alongside her and in one fell swoop, he plucked her like a wild daisy from her trotting horse.
Eden sputtered, fear and bafflement in her eyes as she clung tenaciously to Ice’s mane to keep from falling. She was confused, but Jock didn’t give her a chance to get her bearings. His laugh, rich and filled with menace, reverberated through the woodlands.
“Let Alexander find you now!” he triumphantly crowed.
Chapter 26
As the magnificent horse bolted onto the plains of Kia Ora, Eden realized Jock’s destination was High Winds. Somehow she must swallow her panic and think what to do when they got there. She’d beg for help, but perhaps no one would come to her aid—not when a man as determined as Jock held her captive.
He rasped into her ear. “You’re coming with me. Alexander will never find you.”
“I’ll fight,” she vowed, attempting to appear brave.
“The challenge of making you want me is the thing, my dear.”
Terror gripped her in its thrall. She must get away from Jock before he got to High Winds. Since they were on Kia Ora, Eden realized Marjorie’s stationhands would be somewhere close by, tending to the flock. Perhaps she’d see Tiku … anyone who might help her. With her gaze ever vigilant, she’d wait until she saw someone and could make an escape.
But it seemed this section was deserted. Nothing but open plain stretched before them, and Eden’s hope of escaping sagged. A strangled sob rose in her throat. No one could help her if they did see and realize something was wrong. They’d be unable to catch up, even on horseback. There wasn’t a faster horse in the Otago than Jock’s Sutherland’s Ice.
Except for War Dance.
The abrupt appearance of the black stallion with Damon atop him barely registered in her mind before she heard Jock’s vicious curse. Damon pulled alongside them, his pistol trained at Jock, and he grabbed the reins, jerking Ice to an abrupt halt. The horse reared up, his front legs flailing wildly to maintain his balance and coming back to earth with a thud. Eden fell to the ground, the soft grass cushioning the blow, with Jock beside her.
For a few seconds she felt dazed bu
t was aware of Jock’s arm still gripping her by the waist. The sky above her seemed to spin and reel and then settled into place. Her breath came in tiny gasps, partly from the fall but also from the pressure of Jock’s arm. Somehow she managed to quickly glance his way and saw he was dazed, too. A thin red gash streaked his scar-free cheek, and when he brought his hand to it and felt the blood before he saw it, Eden anticipated his reaction.
She went for his pistol at the same moment he did. His target was to be Damon, of that she was certain, but she wouldn’t allow Jock to hurt him. Their hands grappled with the gun and Jock, who was stronger, viciously pulled it from her. In one movement he pointed the gun at Damon, who had dismounted and was coming toward them, and yanked Eden unceremoniously to her feet, her body partly blocking his.
“I’m going to kill you, Alexander. I’ve waited for this moment, lived for it. Drop your gun or I’ll shoot Eden.”
Damon stopped in his steps. “You don’t want to kill her.”
“You’re right, I don’t. But unless you drop the gun, I’ll shoot her where she won’t suffer permanent injury. Still, she’ll be hurt and in pain. I know you don’t want Eden harmed.”
A nerve twitched beside Damon’s right eye, as he assessed the situation. His gaze moved over Eden and then behind her, coming again to shoot Jock a withering stare. “You’re a bastard, Sutherland.”
Jock gave a triumphant laugh when Damon threw down his gun. “And you’re a weakling. I have you exactly where I want you now, Alexander, and I’m going to have your lady, too.” Jock pushed Eden away from him and she fell to her knees. The cocking of the trigger on Jock’s gun sounded like a tiny explosion in Eden’s ear. A terrified scream was torn from her throat when a gun fired, deafening her with its roar and causing her eyes to close as cold shock waves pounded through her brain. She was transported back to the day her parents were killed, remembered the sounds of the cannons, the guns, the screams of her mother. But it wasn’t her mother who screamed again and again until she couldn’t stop. It was herself.
In a corner of her mind she heard her own voice shrieking. Damon! Jock had killed Damon! She couldn’t live without him, she wanted to die, too. There was nothing, no one left for her. The man she loved was dead!
Jock’s hands grabbed for her arms and she struggled, cried out against him. “No! No! I hate you, hate you!” But it was when she heard her name being called and found herself wrapped in a familiar embrace did she stop crying and slowly opened her eyes.
Damon gazed down at her, his concern deeply etched into his beloved handsome face. “Eden it’s over,” he told her in a comforting tone of voice.
“You’re all right! Where’s Jock?”
He inclined his head. “Dead.”
“But how?”
“Constable Vickers.”
Damon helped her to her feet, and Eden finally understood what had happened when she saw Vickers standing over Jock’s body. The constable had come up behind Jock and shot him in the back before Jock’s gun discharged at Damon. “Oh, God!” she cried, and turned away to think how Marjorie would react to her brother’s death. Damon’s arms never left her as he helped her mount War Dance and climbed up behind her. Then they headed for home.
Ice galloped wildly across the plains and found his way back to High Winds, but there was no doting master to greet him.
Epilogue
Eden placed her infant son in his cradle and took Collin by the hand. She quietly closed the door to the nursery. Collin put his finger to his lips when Damon appeared in the hallway. “Shh, Papa. Baby Shamus is sleeping.”
Damon grinned and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Shouldn’t you be asleep, too?”
Collin nodded slowly, not happy about going to bed. “Can’t get to do nothing round here,” he mumbled but hugged his father good night and kissed Eden. “I love you, Momma,” Collin said.
“I love you, too, baby,” she told him and hugged him tightly. The hug was broken when Lanu came to take Collin to his room and get him ready for bed. “We’ll be in to check on you later,” Eden promised and blew him another kiss.
With her arm tucked in Damon’s they walked onto the veranda. Thousands of brilliant, twinkling stars filled the night sky and cast a silvery counterpane across the valley below. It was a perfect night, a night when everything couldn’t be anything but wonderful. And everything was wonderful.
Marjorie and Tiku had married and inherited High Winds. Recently Marjorie had given birth to Tiku’s son. The baby was beautiful with a coffee-colored complexion and deep blue eyes which one day would darken to a walnut-brown like his father’s. So far, he bore little resemblance to Marjorie, but she’d proudly told Eden he was a quiet and happy baby—so perhaps his personality would be like his mother’s.
Joanie Patterson’s first child was due in three months, and Nick strutted around town like he was the only man to ever be a father. Eden guessed Nick would be a wonderful father, because he was kind and considerate—a great deal like Damon.
Damon. Her heart was in her eyes for him to see when she looked at him. After being married for nearly a year and bearing him a child, Eden still reacted the same way to him each time he touched her. She wondered if other women felt this melting sensation for their husbands and pitied them if they didn’t.
Damon’s warm lips claimed hers in a kiss which caused her to cling to him in wanton response. His mouth moved to the slim column of her neck. “We better tell Collin good night soon,” she heard him say in between breathless kisses. “Otherwise I’ll have to carry you to bed and by that time he’ll be asleep.”
“Oh, yes,” she moaned, and arched toward him, desire flaring deeply within her. “We must tell Collin good night.”
“The lad loves you, Eden, like you were his own mother. I love you.”
Tears gathered in Eden’s eyes and spiked her lashes. She loved Damon and the children so much she ached. Gazing up at him, she whispered, “I love you, more than I ever thought I could love anyone. You’ve given me so much—”
“I’ve given you nothing but love, my beauty.”
And that was a great deal.
Lanu coughed discreetly, interrupting them. “Master Collin is ready to say good night.”
“We’ll be there in a second,” he told Lanu. “Ready to go in, Mum?” he asked Eden.
Eden wiped her eyes. “Yes, in a minute. Go on. There’s something I have to do.”
Damon raised an eyebrow in perplexity but started into the house without her. She turned her attention to the sky above and fastened her eyes on the largest and most glittering star. “Shamus…” she began, her whisper lifting and floating toward the heavens. “I hope you can hear me, I need for you to hear me. Know how grateful I am to you for loving me and insisting I come to this wild land. You gave me more than your wealth. You gave me Damon and my children.” Her voice broke. “Thank you for giving me back my life.”
Eden suddenly grew quiet, realizing Damon watched her from the doorway and waited for her. Holding out his hand to her, she started for him but cast another look at the bright star, shining like gold dust in the black velvet sky, and she stopped because she could have sworn it winked at her.
Then she took Damon’s hand and went inside.
End
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About the Author
Lynette Vinet is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and a member of Romance Writers of America and Creative Minds Writers. She has always been intrigued by the history of her native city and the South, as well as Colonial America and the British Isles, probably because her ancestors were born there. An avid genealogist, she is also a member of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans. Over
the last two decades she has published eleven historical romances as well as a number of genealogical articles. She is a wife, mother and doting grandmother.
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Ebooks by Lynette Vinet available now or coming soon to Kobo
(from Steel Magnolia Press)
Historical Romances
Pirate’s Bride, Book 1 in the Liberty’s Ladies Collection
Savage Deception, Book 2 in the Liberty’s Ladies Collection
Wicked, Wild Eden
Knight’s Caress
Midnight Flame
Emerald Desire, Book 1 of the Emerald Series
Emerald Enchantment, Book 2 of the Emerald Series
Emerald Ecstasy, Book 3 of the Emerald Series
Love’s Golden Promise
Rapture in His Arms
Passion’s Deep Spell
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Lynette Vinet Page 29