Harlow! He wasn’t dead!
“Nod if you understand,” he said in a lethal voice.
Lily nodded. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.
“Why do you think?” He moved forward, nearly lifting her off the ground.
Her mind was racing. If he made it to the kitchen, what then?
“Where’s that wolf?” Harlow whispered.
“He’s not here.”
“Don’t lie to me. He’s always around you.”
“I’m not lying. He left.”
“If I see him I’ll shoot him. Now move.”
Lily saw no way out of the situation. His arm was clamped around her so tightly that she knew she couldn’t escape. If she could make a move, she didn’t think she could take the gun from him.
When she walked back through the kitchen doorway, Thorpe turned to look at her. He’d noticed when she left the room, but he didn’t know why. By the look on her face, he knew immediately that something was wrong. Then he saw Harlow behind her. He jumped up from his chair so fast, it skittered backward and hit the wall. Stone and Jed glanced at him to see what he was doing and then they looked across the room. Stone left his seat and grabbed Isabelle’s arm and pushed her behind him.
Thorpe directed his steely eyes on Harlow. “What do you want, Harlow?”
“The money. And if you want to keep this pretty little lady alive, you’ll give me what I want and I’ll be on my way.”
“I left the money at Fort Steele,” Stone said.
“I know you, Justice. You wouldn’t part with that money until you saw it returned to its rightful owner,” Harlow said.
“I left it in capable hands.”
Thorpe took a step forward, ready to tear into Harlow with his bare hands.
Harlow put the barrel of his pistol to Lily’s head. “Don’t do something stupid.”
“Walk out that door, Harlow, and I’ll overlook that you held a gun to Lily’s head,” Thorpe said menacingly.
“I want the money.”
“Stone told you the truth. The money is with the soldiers at Fort Steele,” Thorpe said.
“We heard you took an arrow,” Stone said. He thought he would keep Harlow talking until they could figure a way out of this situation without anyone getting shot.
“Yeah, I did. The boys left me, thinking I was dying. They didn’t know me as well as they thought.”
Thorpe looked at Lily and her eyes were on him. She looked calm, but he wondered if she was as collected as she appeared. The first thought that went through his mind was the owl they saw that morning. Was it there to offer a warning, or was it a symbol of death? If Stone kept Harlow talking, he might be able to pull his gun before Harlow had time to react.
Lily mouthed the words shoot him to Thorpe and he gave a slight nod.
“Harlow, take Thorpe up on his offer. You walk out that door and you will have a good head start before the law gets on your tail.”
Harlow sneered. “I’m not stupid. I know you will dog me for the rest of my life.”
“Not me. I’m no longer a marshal. I’m ranching now,” Stone said.
Harlow knew Justice was well-regarded for his honesty. “Is that a fact?”
“Yeah, I resigned when I got here.”
“Now’s your chance to ride down to Mexico and stay put for a while,” Stone told him.
Leaning to Lily’s ear, Harlow said, “Honey, I might as well take you with me. I never wanted Dora, I wanted you.”
His words revolted Lily. She tried to pull away, but he held her tight.
Thorpe had to force himself to keep his composure. All he wanted to do was dive across the room and choke the living daylights out of Harlow.
“Did you kill Dora?” Stone asked.
“Kip Young killed her. He didn’t want to share the loot with another person.”
Stone thought it was true justice since Lily had killed Kip Young. He figured things had a way of coming full circle.
Lily was sickened by Harlow’s lack of emotion when he spoke of Dora. She didn’t understand how a man could be so cruel.
“Let Lily go and be on your way,” Stone said. If he released Lily, Stone planned to blow a hole through him.
“No, I like the feel of her,” Harlow said. “If I can’t get to the money, I’m taking her instead. A woman like her could make me a lot of money with the Comancheros when I get tired of her. They like blonde women.” He started backing toward the kitchen doorway.
“You don’t want to take Lily. If you do, we’ll come after you,” Stone said.
Shuffling to the door with Lily directly in front of him, Harlow couldn’t help himself from stopping long enough to taunt Stone. “You can try to find us, but I doubt I will still have Lily by then.”
Thorpe wasn’t listening to Harlow’s words; he needed to keep calm. He focused on Lily, knowing she would give him a way to get a shot off.
Lily watched Thorpe, and when he shifted his body ever so slightly she knew he was going to act. Harlow was so much taller than Lily that he was crouched low to make himself more difficult to shoot. He was holding her so tightly that Lily did the only things she could to give Thorpe an ample target. She lifted her feet from the ground and shifted all of her weight on Harlow’s arm around her waist and at the same time she turned her head away from the pistol.
Thorpe saw Lily’s move and instantaneously drew his pistol and pulled the trigger in one swift motion. Harlow hit the floor and Lily stumbled to Thorpe’s open arms.
“Are you okay, honey?” Thorpe asked, wrapping his arms around her.
She nodded.
Jed and Stone walked to Harlow; he had the vacant stare of a dead man. Stone picked up Harlow’s pistol and tucked it in his belt. It was finally over. He thought of the woman and her little girl whom Harlow had killed. They also had their justice. He didn’t have one ounce of sympathy for Harlow and the way he left this earth. “Jed, would you help me carry him to the buckboard. I’ll take him to town to be buried. We don’t want the likes of him on Thorpe’s land.”
Thorpe didn’t disagree.
Before Stone and Jed carried Harlow out the door, Stone said, “One of these days you and Lily are going to have a shoot-off.”
“Why is that?” Thorpe asked.
“You shot him smack between the eyes, just like Lily shot Kip Young. That’s one heck of a shot.”
Thorpe was so scared when he saw Harlow holding a gun to Lily that he prayed he would be accurate when he pulled the trigger. He was determined Harlow wasn’t going to leave that kitchen with her. In that desperate moment, he recognized in an instant what was important to him. He had wavered about making a commitment to Lily, but that all changed when he realized he could easily lose her forever. He loved her and he wasn’t going to let her get away if she felt the same way.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The next afternoon, instead of going to the house for lunch with Jed, Thorpe and Stone rode to the mercantile.
“Sadie, can you tell me what material Lily was admiring the last time we were here?” Thorpe asked.
Sadie remembered the lovely woman accompanying Thorpe on his last trip to the store. She was the talk of the small town. Everyone was wondering if Thorpe had brought home a new wife. “Of course, Thorpe. Are you thinking of a Christmas gift?”
“I am.”
Sadie pulled out two bolts of cloth. “She was looking at this blue velvet and at this white silk. Now this silk wouldn’t be suitable for anything other than a wedding dress, or a dress for a real special occasion.” She looked at Thorpe, hoping he would give a hint if a wedding was on the horizon. “This velvet would make a beautiful cloak. It’s lovely material, but of course I don’t carry fur like the one Ev . . .” She let the words hang in midair. She didn’t intend to bring up his ex-fiancée.
Thorpe knew Sadie was referring to the cloak Evelyn had worn to his ranch. Even he’d noticed the soft fur trim. But he wasn’t going to think of Evelyn; he was thi
nking how Lily’s eyes matched the cloth.
She eyed Thorpe as he ran his hands over the material. It was soft and silky, just like Lily. “Of course, it would be beautiful without the fur. I have some new dresses if you want one ready-made.”
Thorpe remembered how Lily felt in her thin nightgown. He’d like to see her wearing something made out of that white silk. “I like the feel of these. Give me enough for a dress and a cloak.”
Stone walked over and looked at the material Thorpe was holding. “That’s real pretty. That blue is the same color as Lily’s eyes.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Thorpe replied.
Stone held up an ornate sterling silver brush and mirror in his hand. “Do you think Isabelle would like these?”
“I don’t know Isabelle, but any woman would love that set,” Sadie said before Thorpe could comment. “I hinted and hinted to my Jacob, but he didn’t hear me.”
“I think your new wife would be pleased,” Thorpe said.
Stone liked hearing someone refer to Isabelle as his wife. “Isabelle didn’t have much in the way of what he called frills, and I want to surprise her with something special.”
Sadie wrapped their purchases and wished them a Merry Christmas. Thorpe and Stone jumped into the buckboard, but instead of heading home, Thorpe reined in at the bank.
Five minutes later he exited the bank and said, “I need to see the pastor now.” He pulled the buckboard to a halt in front of the church. “I’ll be right back.” Thorpe was only in the church a few minutes and then they headed home.
Judging by the gifts Thorpe had purchased for Lily, Stone wondered if he was having a change of heart about settling down. “Have you decided you are about ready to settle down?”
“I’ve been giving it some thought.” Thorpe wasn’t ready to discuss his intentions. “Have you finished your Christmas gift for Isabelle?”
“It’ll be done by tomorrow. I can’t wait to give it to her. She’s really going to be surprised.”
“She certainly will be. It’s a beauty.”
“Thanks to Jed. He’s really a talented man,” Stone said.
* * *
After dinner that night, everyone carried their coffee into the parlor and Thorpe lit the candles on the Christmas tree. When he finished with the candles, he walked to the fireplace to add some wood, and that’s when he noticed the decorations lining the wood mantel. He recognized Lily’s animal carvings at one end, but he hadn’t seen the carvings at the other end of the mantel. She had arranged an intricately carved nativity scene in front of a large cross. In addition to the Holy Family with baby Jesus in a manger, there were carvings of the three kings. He had never seen anything so beautiful. He turned to Lily and asked, “Did your grandfather carve these?”
“Yes. It was the last present he gave me before he left.”
Thorpe walked to the other end of the mantel where Lily had lined up all of the animals alongside a sacred totem pole. Thorpe picked up the wolf and studied it again. It was such a close resemblance to Blue. He missed that wolf though he hated to mention him to Lily for fear of making her sad. He picked up the pair of doves. “This is the only pair. There’s only one of the other animals.”
“My grandfather said he’d never seen a dove without a mate.”
Thorpe’s mother always told him that doves mate for life. He didn’t know if that was true, but he liked to think it was. Thorpe thought it was interesting how her grandfather honored the beliefs of the Indians, while staying true to his own Christian heritage. “Thank you for putting these here. They look really nice.”
Jed joined Thorpe at the mantel and handed him his coffee cup. “I’ve never seen anything as pretty as those carvings.”
They talked while they drank their coffee for over an hour before Stone and Jed left to go back to the stable to put the finishing touches on Isabelle’s present. Isabelle’s back was hurting so she decided to go to bed. Lily carried the cups to the kitchen while Thorpe extinguished the candles on the tree.
Lily was still cleaning the kitchen when she heard Thorpe walk upstairs. She thought it odd that he didn’t say good night, but he’d been so busy lately, she thought he must be tired. Once the last dish was dried and put away, she turned to Spirit and said, “Are you and your pups ready to go outside?”
Spirit and the pups jumped up, tails wagging in unison, and Lily laughed at them. She kneeled down and hugged them all as they jumped all over her. It would have been a perfect night if Blue had been there with them. “Oh, how I wish Blue was with us,” she whispered to them.
Thorpe was standing at the doorway watching her play with them and heard what she said. A lump formed in his throat at the pain in her simple statement. How he wished he could find Blue for her. When he collected himself, he asked, “Are you ready to take them out?”
Lily jumped at the sound of Thorpe’s voice. “You frightened me.” She hadn’t gotten over how Harlow was able to sneak up on her. If Blue had been there, Harlow would never had gotten close to her.
“I didn’t know I was that quiet.”
She walked to the door and reached for her coat. “It’s just that I haven’t been able to forget how Harlow caught me by surprise.”
Thorpe held her coat for her and after she slid her arms into the sleeves, his hands remained on her shoulders. “Lily, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Turning, she smiled up at him. “I know. It was the first time I felt like I couldn’t defend myself. I always had Blue there. Harlow would have never entered the house if Blue was here.”
“I’ll protect you until Blue returns.” He wanted to protect her even if Blue returned. In his mind, she was his responsibility and he liked feeling that way.
They walked outside and Spirit and the puppies followed. The moon and stars were so bright, they didn’t need the lantern. Thorpe talked about everything but what he wanted to talk about. When they reached the corral, Thorpe told himself it was time to do what he intended. Both of them were leaning against the rail looking up at the stars when Thorpe said, “Lily, are you determined to leave in the spring?”
“Yes. I’m going to find Grandfather.” It would be more difficult for her without Blue, and especially now that Jed planned to stay at Dove Creek, but she was determined.
“What would you think about me going with you?”
His question surprised her. “What about the ranch? How would you have time to leave when you’ve been away so long?”
“Stone and Jed will be here to help Curtis. I don’t want you going alone.”
She would like nothing better than to have Thorpe travel with her, but it was too much to ask. “I can’t ask that of you.”
“You didn’t ask me. I asked you.”
She didn’t know what to say. It was more than generous of him to offer, yet she didn’t feel right about taking him from the ranch. She had no idea how long it would take her to find her grandfather. One day she would have to say good-bye to Thorpe and she might as well do it in the spring. Whenever it happened, it was sure to leave a hole in her heart.
Uneasy by her lack of enthusiasm for him to go with her, he wasn’t sure he should continue. After a deep breath, he decided he wasn’t about to back down now. “There’s just one hitch to my offer.”
Puzzled, Lily said, “What do you mean?”
“I told you I wanted you . . .”
She couldn’t believe what he was suggesting, and she held her hand up, indicating he should stop talking. “Thorpe, if you think . . .” She was near tears, either from outrage or sadness, she didn’t know. But she refused to cry in front of him. She tried again. “If that is . . .”
He knew what she was thinking and she was right. “Yes, I’d want you in my bedroll every night.”
Lily opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn’t believe that he’d actually admitted what he wanted from her.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box. His mouth tilted u
p at the corner. “I’m sorry if that shocks you, Miss Lily. But if I go with you, you’d have to be married to me because we will make love every night.”
She looked at him and blinked. Her mind went blank. “What?” Surely she didn’t hear him correctly. Was she hearing what she wanted to hear? What she longed to hear?
He opened the box to reveal his mother’s wedding ring. “I’m asking if you would marry me, Lily. I want you, all of you, and I want you forever.”
Each time he’d said he wanted her she’d thought he meant something else. “I thought when you said you wanted me that you meant . . .”
Thorpe couldn’t disagree that it had been his meaning, but he wanted more. He gave her an irreverent grin. “Oh, I want that too, Miss Lily. Don’t think I don’t.” He moved closer. “But I want you for the rest of my life. And if you say yes, I hope my life is a long one with you by my side.”
“But what about Ev . . .”
This was a special moment between him and the woman he loved. He didn’t want Evelyn’s name even spoken. He placed his finger on her lips. “I told you there is no relationship there.”
As much as she wanted to believe him, she had doubts. “But you traveled all the way to Kansas City for her. You had to care.”
He saw no way around it; he had to tell her everything. “Lily, I went to Kansas City to see if the man she was with had forced her to his bed. Yes, I had asked her to marry me, but I had second thoughts. I was going to call off the wedding, but then . . .” He hated to tell her the reason he was prepared to marry Evelyn, yet he saw no way around it. “She’d shared my bed. One time.” He thought he’d make that point clear. “We had been engaged for a few months before it happened. I had come to realize I didn’t love her, but I had to do what was right. I was prepared to make her my wife. I only went to Kansas City to make sure she wasn’t forced by Ainsworth. As it turned out, she had been intimate with Ainsworth before me. He hadn’t forced her into anything. They were living as man and wife in Kansas City, though they hadn’t married. I was free from any obligation. When Ainsworth refused to marry her, she came here and tried to change her story. Her father told me the truth.” He saw no reason to mention Evelyn’s relationship with Travis.
Christmas at Dove Creek Page 31