by Barbara Goss
“You all right, friend?” James sat down next to him.
“I’ve been thinking and praying the whole time you’ve been gone.”
“And?”
“I’m going to get married, James. As soon as I can.”
“That’s good news, but I think you and Lily need to sit down and discuss a few details, things you have a hard time with that can be explained away.” James patted him on his shoulder. “You two need to have a heart-to-heart chat.”
Gus looked at him as best as he could, given the darkness. “I don’t need to know anything. I'm in love with her, and I’ll take her as she is.” At James’s shocked expression, Gus continued. “I can overlook her lies—I suppose they must've been desperate. Nothing matters except that I can’t live without her.” He got up and walked into the house, leaving James alone.
Chapter 17
Gus couldn’t wait to see Lily, but he held himself in check until the afternoon. When he finally rode over to the cottage, he hardly recognized the place. The whole front of the house was trimmed with neat flowerbed, which continued all the way along the path to the barn. The white cottage now had bright red shutters, and the contrast was striking.
Gus smiled. If he were lucky, she'd be working her magic on his house before long, and he’d welcome her creative touches; she had a great eye for beauty.
He jumped down from his horse and wanted to run to her, but he forced himself to walk slowly to the back entrance. He knocked on the door and rubbed his dusty boots with his handkerchief as he waited for someone to answer.
Mandy swung the door open as he was pocketing his bandana. The air in the house was scented with the aroma of baked goods.
“I’m here to see Lily—if she’ll see me,” Gus said, trying to appear humble, holding his hat in his hands.
“Come in, Gus, of course, she’ll see you.
“I just put a pie into the oven. The one we made earlier is cooling. It should be cool enough for you to sample soon.” Mandy held the door open for Gus to enter.
Once inside, he wasn’t sure whether he should be looking at Lily, the pie, or the beautifully painted cabinets. He whistled at all three, and said, “Wow! The kitchen looks beautiful. Nice job.”
Lily stood by the stove with flour on her face, wearing an apron over a pink, gingham dress. She smiled widely, as if she were happy to see him, which gave Gus confidence in his mission.
He asked, “Can we talk somewhere?”
“The porch?”
He nodded, and followed her through the tidy sitting room to the front door. They each took a rocking chair on the front porch.
Lily wondered how James had accomplished getting Gus here to talk so quickly.
Gus rocked in his chair for a few moments, just looking at her and then dropped to one knee on the porch floor in front of her. Lily felt her mouth drop open in surprise.
“Lily, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Lily was too stunned to say anything. Gus must have noticed, because he added, “I love you, and I finally got it through my thick head that I can’t live without you. I don’t care about the cowboy in Abilene, and I don’t care about the deception. I want you with me, forever.” He gazed into her tear-filled eyes.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
Pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, she put her hands to her cheeks. Her hands felt cool on her skin. “Goodness, Gus! Are you sure? I mean—”
“All the while James was gone last night, I thought about everything, and I prayed. I finally realized that, no matter what you’ve done, I couldn’t live without you; I love you too much.
"I let my own male pride stand in the way of my heart’s desire, and I needed time to slow down, and think, and pray, and it all became clear as a bell.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you at my side. Please say yes.”
Lily smiled with tears welling in her eyes. “I love you, too,” she said. She gulped back a sob. “And it’s that love that made me pretend I couldn’t ride. I wanted an excuse to see you every day. I would have stretched it out for as long as I could if you hadn’t caught me. As for—”
Gus’s kiss stopped her words. He stood then, and pulled her up with him. “I don’t want to know,” he said, pulling her as close he could, he rested his chin on her head. “I don’t want to know anything more except that you’ll marry me as soon as possible.
"James has agreed to do the honors.”
Lily looked up into his grey-turned-amber eyes and said, “I will marry you as soon as possible, but I need time to get a decent dress.”
“I’ll give you until Saturday. That’s James’s first day as minister, officially.”
Lily put her arms around his neck. “You’ve made me the happiest woman in the world today.”
Gus kissed her again, and then sucked gently on her earlobe until she could no longer take it and she cried, “Stop! You’re giving me—" she laughed. “—Gus-bumps.”
Gus laughed, kissed her nose, her eyes, and then once on each cheek. “I can’t get enough of you, sweetheart. I promise I will kiss every inch of you on our wedding night."
Lily felt the Gus-bumps again. She traced his face with her lips, kissing his eyes, his ears, his cheeks, and his neck. "And I promise I will do the same," she whispered.
When Gus heard her words, he grabbed her and kissed her until they were both practically panting. “We’ll save the rest for Saturday night,” he said.
After Gus left, Lily filled Mandy in on the news, and Mandy seemed almost as excited as Lily. They celebrated by sampling the apple pie.
“Oh, Mandy,” Lily crooned, hugging herself, “I’ve never loved anyone like this before. My prayers have been answered so quickly.”
Mandy suddenly frowned. “You’ll be moving out soon and leaving me here, all alone.”
“I promise I’ll visit nearly every day,” Lily said, hoping to soothe her friend. “I have to admit I’ll miss the cottage, though. I’ve come to love it.”
“Enough celebrating; our garden needs weeding.” Mandy put the dirty dishes in the sink.
“I’ll do the flower garden in front, and you can do the vegetable garden in the back,” Lily suggested.
“Fair enough,” Mandy said, and they grabbed their gloves and headed to their respective gardens.
Lily went to work yanking out the weeds by the roots, and placing them into the hand basket at her side. It was an especially hot day, and her clothes, damp from perspiration, grew quite dirty. She wiped her forehead with her wrist, and then continued to dig at the weeds.
The horses were out in the back running loose, and they started whinnying, which drew Lily’s attention so that she didn’t hear the man on horseback approaching until the last minute, when it was already too late.
In what seemed like a practiced move, the horseman reached his arm down, scooped her up at the waist, and carried her off. She let out a scream, which her assailant quickly muffled.
Mandy jumped when she heard Lily’s muffled scream. She thought maybe Lily had seen another rattler, so she ran around to the front of the house, just in time to see the back of a man holding Lily off to one side of his horse as he galloped away.
She panicked. What should she do? Should she grab a gun, get on her horse and follow? Should she alert James and Gus? She finally decided on the latter.
Since Mandy had never been to Gus’s ranch, she had to stop to ask Simon Morton for help. After getting directions, she rode as fast as her horse would carry her to Gus’s.
James and Gus were enjoying coffee on the front porch when Mandy came galloping down the path to the house. They both stood and ran to meet her.
Gus’s heart skipped a beat. He knew Mandy had come because something had happened to Lily. Why else would Mandy be here without her?
“What’s wrong?” he demanded of Mandy.
“It’s Lily! Someone’s taken her!”
“What? How could that happen?”
Mandy told them everything she knew. When she was done, Gus scratched his head. “Who would want to kidnap Lily?”
Gus turned to James, “Could it have been the man her father favored for her?”
“Owen Matthews?" James asked. "No, that's definitely not his style.”
“I feel helpless,” Gus muttered. “I don’t know where to begin looking.”
“The man who snatched Lily headed west, if that means anything,” Mandy offered.
“What about the cowboy who courted her in Abilene?” Gus asked.
Mandy shrugged. “It could have been; I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Gus continued to question Mandy, his ire growing stronger by the minute. “Did he threaten to follow her when she left Abilene?”
“Not that I know of, but he was angry.”
Gus considered the possibility that it had been this Ward person. “How would he know where she lived?”
Mandy shrugged again.
“Stony!” Gus said. “The town’s mouthpiece.” Gus hopped on his horse, which was still saddled from his ride to see Lily earlier in the day, and he rode into town at breakneck speed.
Once in town, Gus charged into the hardware store. “Stony! Where the blazes are you?”
Stony peeked his head out from the back room. “What can I do for you today, Gus?”
“You can tell me whether a stranger came in asking about Lily Brewer.”
“Why, yes. A stranger came in about two days ago. Not to worry—I was as helpful as usual and gave him explicit directions.”
Gus sighed. “Great. He just kidnapped Lily.” Gus felt his anxiety rise, and hoped he'd be able to control it before it escalated to a full-on attack. “What did he look like?”
“He stood tall.” Stony held his hand up over his head as if to show exactly how tall the man was. “He was dressed all in black…had dark hair…Oh! and a strange first name. He told me what it was but I seem to have forgotten it.”
“Harley?”
“That’s it! I’m sure of it. He kidnapped Lily? I’m sorry. I had no idea. He said he was her brother come to visit from out of state.”
“Think hard,” Gus said tersely, “did he say anything else?”
“Just that he couldn’t wait to see her.” Stony said.
Gus left without saying anything more. He hopped onto his horse, rode back to his ranch, galloped up to the porch, and yelled to James, “I’m off to Abilene! Harley has her.”
“Wait,” James said, “I’ll go with you.”
“No!” Gus shouted. “I want you both to go back to the cottage, just in case Lily manages to get herself free and come home.”
“You go, Gus," James said. "Mandy will stay at the cottage and I’ll stay here, just in case she comes here looking for you,” James yelled back.
“Good idea,” Gus said, and all they saw of Gus was the dust kicked up behind his horse.
All the while Gus rode he couldn’t believe that this was happening again. Next time, if given another chance, he’d propose on the way to the church. He prayed to God for her safety with every mile he rode.
“Let me go!” Lily screamed, having yet to see the face of the man who’d kidnapped her this time.
“Aw, darlin’, you should know better than that. I won’t let you go until I get what you owe me.”
The drawl was unmistakable, and Lily immediately recognized the voice as Harley’s. “I owe you nothing!” she spat back.
He answered her using vulgar language, essentially implying that he was going to make love to her until she was hurting as much as she'd hurt him. Then he swore directly at her, using words Lily had never heard before.
Lily grew simultaneously angry and scared. It would be impossible for Mandy or Gus to figure out who'd taken her, and even if they could, they'd never guess to where.
She hung onto the arm holding her for dear life; wondering if she wouldn't be better off if she bit his arm to make him let go, so she could fall to her death. No sooner had she contemplated falling, than he stopped the horse and drew her up in front of him, holding her in place with his shoulders.
All Lily could think to do was hang on, and imagine the different ways she'd get free, even if they led to her death, because she’d rather die than live through what he had planned for her.
As soon as it became too dark to ride, Harley stopped. “We have no choice but to stop until morning," he said. "Do as I say.” He got off the horse, pulling her roughly with him. He took a rope out of his saddlebag, pushed her down against a tree, and tied her securely to it. “If you want to run while I sleep," he told her, "go right ahead, but you’ll be taking that tree with you.”
Harley took a bedroll from the back of his saddle and threw it down on the ground. “If you are anxiously awaiting my sexual prowess, you’ll be disappointed to know that I will wait until I get you home for that. Rape is not my style. I want a lover who's willing, and I have something in store for you at home that will leave you begging me to ravish you.” He gave a sinister laugh, and then he rolled over to show her his back.
Minutes later she heard his heavy breathing, and she knew he'd fallen asleep.
Lily tugged on the ropes holding her, but he'd tied them so tight, they were beginning to hurt. She managed to sleep for a few minutes here and there, but spent most of the night in prayer.
Gus headed toward Abilene, knowing he was at least an hour or more behind them. He hoped they might stop to sleep or eat, which would give him a chance to catch up to them. Gus vowed he'd ride all night, no matter if it was dark and he couldn’t see.
His biggest problem was to figure out the route they took. There were a number of trails leading to the Abilene area, and he decided to take the most traveled one.
Luckily, the sky was clear, and the moon gave him enough light to show him the outline of the trail. The darkness slowed him, but it would not deter him. He wouldn't eat or sleep until he reached Abilene.
He prayed the whole time he rode.
Chapter 18
When Gus reached Abilene, he rode in, dead tired and hungry. His first stop was at the Silver Slipper Saloon. It was midday, but he hoped there would be someone around to answer his questions. The saloon appeared as empty, as the rest of the town.
Gus entered the saloon and called out, “Hello? Is anyone here?”
An attractive but overly made-up woman came out of the room behind the bar. She smiled at Gus, and said, “Hello, I’m Sadie. And you are?”
“August Tanner, but my friends call me Gus.”
“Can I get you a drink, Gus?”
“No, but I could use some information.”
“If I can.” She winked. “What do you want to know?”
“I’m looking for Harley Ward or Lily Brewer. I heard they might be passing this way.”
Gus noted the surprised look on Sadie’s face. “Harley lives upstairs, over the post office, but Lily moved back to Hunter’s Grove.”
“Harley came to Hunter’s Grove and kidnapped Lily, right from her front yard. I’m here to kill him.” Gus turned to walk out.
“You’ll have to wait in line for that,” Sadie said after him.
Gus turned back to face her. “What do you mean?”
“He’s played with the hearts of every saloon girl this side of the Mississippi. You aren’t the only one who wants him dead.”
“What about Mandy?” Gus asked. It was something he'd wondered about, especially since James had taken an interest in her. “Did she fall for him too?”
“That’s the strangest thing. He never did go for Mandy. He told Clarice he disliked redheads. I guess his mother and sister were redheads, and he thought of them as off limits.” Sadie shrugged.
“On second thought, I could use a glass of water.” Gus said. “I’ve been riding for days without stopping. I think I also need to grab some sleep at the hotel before I continue with my search.”
“I’ll do more than that, for you. I’ll give you a meal a
nd give you Mandy and Lily’s old room to sleep in, seeing as it's still vacant. Why don't you go on up and I’ll bring you something to eat. It’s room four—up the stairs, the last door on the right.”
Gus entered the room Lily had slept in. He wondered which bed had been hers. He sighed, chose one, and slept for hours.
When he awoke, the place still sounded peaceful. He stood up, went to the window, drew back the curtains, and looked out. The town still appeared empty, but there were a few people who were walking outside. It was still daylight; he must have slept around the clock.
Gus went back to the bed to put his boots on—there was work to do.
As he was buttoning his pants, there was a light knock on the door. It was probably Sadie, bringing more food for him. He opened the door to see a pretty girl, all gussied up, with pitch-black hair, and creamy skin. Still groggy from sleep, he could think of nothing more to do but stare.
“I’m Clarice,” the woman said.
Gus nodded. “Glad to meet you, Clarice. My name's Gus.” He shook his head. “I’m not interested in—”
Clarice broke off his sentence with a hearty laugh. “I’m not here to entertain you. I need to ask you about Harley and Lily.”
“Come in,” he said, pointing to the ruffled, pink armchair in the room. He took care to leave the door open and sat down on the edge of the bed. “What do you need to know?”
“What's going on with them? First Lily and Mandy leave town, then Harley disappears for almost a month, and now Sadie says you're looking for them both.”
“He kidnapped her from her yard. I came to Abilene as fast as I could, but I must have taken the wrong trail along the way, because I didn’t see any sign of them.”
“Oh!” Clarice swore.
Gus blushed at the vulgar epithet she'd thrown at Harley. “If you see either of them, can you let me know immediately? I’ll be staying here.”
“Oh, you bet I will. He lives over the post office.” Clarice gave him a nasty grin. “Are you going to kill him? If you do, be sure to make him squirm first.” Clarice stood, turned, and left the room, with the skirt of her dress swirling out after her.