by Kit Morgan
Lucius could give her none of those things. He didn’t even know where he was going after this assignment. He slept everywhere and lived nowhere. And he made his living capturing – and sometimes killing – the lowest of the low, always with the risk of getting killed himself. Very poor husband material.
But hadn’t he thought of settling down when passing through Clear Creek? Yes, he had. At least the food was good. But what would he do for a living? He had some money put away, but …
Eh, best not to think about it now. Instead he scanned the trail, looking for any signs of danger. There were none, save for the woman seated on the horse behind him.
He fought the urge to turn and look at Emma to see if she was all right. But he already knew she wasn’t. She was hurt, angry, disappointed. No, it wasn’t! – had she actually said that? Yes, she had. She’d welcomed that kiss, answered in kind … not realizing it was a promise he could never keep. He’d crushed her spirit, the thing he’d loved most about her, with that kiss, like a seagull taking a clam up into the air only to drop it on a rock.
Loved. Oh bother. He rubbed a hand over his face a few times, as if it would get rid of the thought. He couldn’t possibly be in love with her – and even if he was, what good would it do? He couldn’t have her.
No, he wasn’t exactly husband material and Jack Carlson knew it. Jack wouldn’t take kindly to his sister marrying a man paid to hunt down and bring in other men dead or alive. What brother would? Granted, they were all bad men and he was often hired by the United States government to see things done, but it wasn’t like he was an official lawman or anything. Maybe if he were a sheriff or deputy somewhere … but he wasn’t.
“I think Pearl is thirsty.”
Lucius’ head turned toward the sound of Emma’s voice. “What’s that?”
“I said Pearl’s thirsty.”
“They both are,” he said. At least she was still talking to him. “We’ll run across another stream eventually and water them then.”
“Pearl’s thirsty now.”
He stiffened. She knew very well there was nothing he could do about that at the moment. Which meant there was an ulterior motive at play – she was referring to their kiss, not watering the horses. Pearl wasn’t thirsty; Emma was – for him.
Lucius closed his eyes briefly. Lord grant me mercy, what have I done? “Then let’s find a stream.”
Emma said nothing.
It was a single kiss for crying out loud! But to Emma – and to him – it had been so much more. He hadn’t realized how much he might hurt her by his actions, nor how much she would enjoy it. Why else would she have said what she did? Why else would she be acting so strangely, unless she was trying to punish him in some way? Not that he didn’t deserve it.
“I think something might be wrong with her.”
Lucius stopped his horse and turned. “What? With Pearl?”
Her face was expressionless, as if she was in a daze. “Who else would I be talking about?”
Lucius dismounted. The last thing they needed was for Pearl to pull up lame. “Get down,” he ordered as he came over.
Emma complied, held Pearl’s reins and watched Lucius examine the horse for any sign of lameness. “Will she be all right?”
“I don’t know. Are you sure there was something wrong?”
“It felt like she was limping.”
He checked the horse’s hooves, one at a time. He picked up the last and saw a tiny rock, just enough to cause trouble. He flicked it out, put the horse’s leg down, stood and gave the animal a pat on the neck. “There ya go, Pearl. That ought to feel better.”
“I was right,” Emma said, no emotion in her voice. It was as if all the spirit in her had been poured out. His gut twisted at the thought.
Lucius walked around the horse to where she stood. “She should be all right now,” he said, his voice softer than he’d intended.
Emma raised her eyes to his. “Good. I’d hate for anything to happen to her.”
He took a step closer, even as warnings screamed in his mind. But his heart, on the other hand, had something different to say. He reached up, put a hand on her shoulder and gazed into her eyes. “Watch the trail for rocks. There’s more up ahead.”
She took a step toward him and her lips parted.
Lucius swallowed hard. “Emma …” But before he could say any more, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his. His eyes went wide in surprise and he stumbled backward, breaking the kiss.
Emma looked at him, determination in her eyes. “I’m not sorry at all,” she stated, before walking back to Pearl and mounting up.
He righted himself and stared at her in shock. Apparently his free-spirited Emma hadn’t disappeared after all.
14
Merciful heavens, what kind of a wanton was she? She’d just kissed a man, literally thrown herself at him – she was lucky she didn’t knock him over! He was still standing there as she mounted Pearl, staring at her like a startled deer. Was he stunned, afraid, angry? It was hard to tell with him.
But she knew how she felt – a little hurt and very frustrated. If that made her a wanton, so be it. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?” she finally asked.
He swallowed hard, twice. “Let’s go.”
“Here we go again,” she muttered as he turned away. Then she had a dangerous idea. “No.”
His eyes narrowed at her. “Emma, what do you mean, ‘no’?” She saw his hands clenching and unclenching.
Well, too bad. “No means no. We’re not going yet. We need to talk.”
“Not kiss?” he retorted.
Her lips parted of their own volition, and her eyes went straight to his mouth. Oh blast!
“I see,” he said, his breathing ragged. Was he really that upset with her? He hardly had the right – he’d kissed her the first time! He couldn’t be angry she’d refused him, because she hadn’t. Was he bothered by her being unladylike? Well, he was hardly a gentleman – and she didn’t want him to be. She liked him as he was: a wild, untamed, bounty hunter who answered to no man. And for crying out loud, they were married!
She didn’t know what his problem was, and perhaps she was being too stubborn for her own good, but she had to know what his earlier kiss meant, if anything. And better to find out now than wait on tenterhooks all the way to Cutter’s Creek.
“Well?” he said.
“Well what?” Her back went rigid. She could feel more than a round of banter coming on. This might well turn into a fight.
“What have you got to say for yourself?”
Her eyebrows shot up as her jaw dropped. “What? Me? What about you?”
He pointed to himself and glanced around even as he closed the distance between them. “What about me? I was checking your horse.”
“You know perfectly well what I mean! You kissed me!”
“I was under the impression that you just kissed me.”
She shook with rising anger. He was being impossible. “I … you … you started it!”
He chuckled. “Then let me finish it.” He pulled her out of the saddle much as before and locked his lips on hers.
It was like fire when they met, and Emma could hardly stand. She wrapped her arms around his waist to stay upright. His hands went to her neck and shoulders, burning through her clothing and the soft skin beneath. The heat radiating from his body was incredible. And throwing caution to the wind, she responded and kissed him back.
Lucius gripped her upper arms and gently pushed her away. “No, not again. This is madness.”
She stood, stunned at his words. She thought it quite natural, the stuff dime novels were made of. What did he mean, madness? It was glorious! “I don’t think –”
“Again, Emma – you weren’t thinking!” He walked around her horse to a tree, and for a moment she thought he would punch it. “We have to get to Cutter’s Creek. You’ll see your brother, meet his wife and he will make you happy.” His voice was even, steady … empty. He was usin
g every ounce of his strength to keep control.
But she didn’t want him to keep control – at least, not too much. “What am I doing wrong?” she pleaded. “Why are you acting like this?”
He spun to face her, Pearl between them. A good thing, she sensed, considering he looked like an angry bull for a moment. “No more of this nonsense. It ends here.”
“Nonsense?” she said in a small voice. Not the brightest thing she could come up with, but there it was.
He calmed himself and looked at her, really looked at her, as if trying to memorize her face. Then he sighed, turned and headed for his horse. “Mount up.”
She frowned. Except for the kiss, that could not have gone much worse. They hadn’t resolved anything – she still didn’t know what he was feeling, and he didn’t seem to care what she was. What was she going to do? Other than enjoy the memory of now three wonderful kisses. She smiled as she closed her eyes.
“Emma!”
She jumped and almost fell. “Oh gosh! Give a person a moment!”
He was already on his horse. “Unless you have to take care of some private business, let’s get going.”
She glared at him. “Fine!” She promptly stomped into the nearby woods. She heard him grumble something about indecisive females, but chose to ignore it. She went a good thirty yards then stepped behind a tree, folded her arms over her chest and waited. He could just fume for a while. Let him think she was seeing to her business. Though now that she was here, maybe she should …
A shot rang out, then a second one. She dropped to the ground so fast she almost knocked the breath out of herself. What was happening?
Pearl, spooked by the noise, crashed into the brush toward her. Emma stumbled to her feet and caught the reins just as the horse was about to hurry by. There was a commotion back toward the trail, and she heard men cursing. Outlaws?
She crouched behind the tree, saw how Pearl’s hind end might be seen through the foliage and quickly urged the horse to move to face the tree trunk. The brush and trees were hopefully thick enough to conceal them.
“Well, lookit who we got here,” a man sneered. “If it ain’t Lucius Judrow.”
Emma put a hand to her mouth to keep from crying out. They knew him? She desperately wanted to stand, but she didn’t dare. Best to just listen.
“Lookin’ mighty fine, Lucius.” Another voice.
“He won’t look fine when we’re done with him!” Yet another. Just how many were there?
“Stop flappin’ yer gums, ya idjits!” This voice was gruffer, older. “Looks like yer kinda slow on the draw these days, Judrow. Get yer hands up higher.”
Emma could barely bring herself to breathe! She looked at Pearl, who blinked at her, then sniffed at the ground. She prayed the horse didn’t make any noise.
“Where’s yer friend, Judrow?”
“What friend?” she heard him say evenly.
“There were two horses. Where’s the other one?”
Good, they hadn’t seen her. Emma swallowed hard. These men must have just stumbled upon them. Could it be they thought Pearl was a pack horse?
“Maybe you need spectacles, Walt,” Lucius replied. “I’m alone as usual.”
Emma could stand it no longer. She slowly inched up the tree trunk and peeked around it. But all she could see through the thick brush were their backs. They’d surrounded Lucius, each with a gun on him. The narrow trail forced them into a tight circle – they were almost on top of each other. But who were they?
“As nice as it is to see you and your boys again, Walt,” Lucius continued, “I need to be on my way.”
You and your boys again, Emma mused. Could these be the men that showed up at the Whites’? But what would they be doing way out here? Were they traveling to Cutter’s Creek too? Either that or they were someone else entirely.
“I hear tell you and I got us some unfinished business,” the gruff one said. He looked older than the others, at least from behind – his hair was grey, the others brown – and his voice was threatening. What was she going to do? Lucius was outnumbered and where was his gun? Had he not had time to draw it?
“Let’s string him up!” one cried, pulling Emma from her thoughts.
“No!” she whispered as fear shot through her. She gripped the tree for support. She had to do something! But … what? She had no pistol, no posse to back her …
“You have no business with me and you know it,” Lucius replied.
“Ain’t we?” the older one said. “What about Jasper?”
Silence. Uh-oh, Emma thought. What was this about?
“What about him?” Lucius asked.
“He’s dead.”
Lucius stared “Walt” down. “I’m sorry for your loss. But what does that have to do with me?”
“We hear tell ya killed him,” one of the others said, then spat.
“He was alive the last time I saw him,” Lucius said coolly.
Walt and the others glared at him. Apparently Jasper had been a member of their little cabal who’d come to a bad end, and they wanted to pin the blame on Lucius.
“He was my boy!” Walt declared. Oh dear … more than just a gang member!
“Then why didn’t you go looking for him?” Lucius said. “What did he do, get tired of you griping at him all the time so he struck out on his own?”
“No!” one of them yelled. “He left us for some woman!”
Lucius, his hands in the air, looked incredulous. “A woman?”
“Yeah, she done him wrong and made it so he weren’t right in the head no more!” another added.
Lucius’ eyebrows rose. “Is that so? But that’s hardly my fault.”
“Shut up, all of ya!” Walt yelled. “We’re gonna make Judrow pay!”
“Mind explaining to me what it is I did?” Lucius asked. “I certainly didn’t fix him up with any woman.”
Walt stared at him, glassy-eyed. Good grief, was the man drunk? But he wasn’t slurring his words or teetering on his horse. He swallowed hard. “My boy … my poor boy …”
“Walt,” Lucius said, his voice even. “What happened?”
“Don’t tell me ya don’t know!” Walt screamed. “Ya were there! Cletus Higgs said he saw ya!”
“Cletus Higgs?” Lucius said. “Who in tarnation is Cletus Higgs?”
“Another low-down bounty hunter! He said you watched the whole thing not two months ago!”
Lucius sighed. “Walt, I can understand how you must feel, losing your son. But I didn’t kill him, nor did I introduce him to a woman. And I don’t know what happened to him –”
“Enough of this! I ain’t explainin’ myself no more!” Walt hissed and aimed his gun at Lucius’ face.
Lucius was calculating his odds, and they didn’t look good. He’d have to draw as fast as he could, and get very, very lucky besides. He saw the grief in Walt Mattson’s eyes, and for a fraction of a second felt sorry for the man trying to kill him. But still, the man was trying to kill him.
Dadgummit, he should’ve pulled his Colt after the first shot rang out, but like a lovesick idiot he’d tried to see where Emma had gone. She had to still be nearby. He’d needed to keep them talking to give her a chance to get away. If something happened to him, they were close enough to Cutter’s Creek at this point she could make it on her own if she had to. And from the looks of things, she would, unless God or dumb luck intervened.
Walt’s horse suddenly reared, throwing him from the saddle. Another horse reared and started to crow-hop, losing its rider as it took off up the trail. The other mounts began to jerk this way and that, their riders desperately trying to get control of them. What in Sam blazes was going on?
Then he heard a steady succession of thumps. As his own horse moved to avoid the others, he drew his gun and shot Walt Mattson’s hat off as a warning. His next shot was at another gang member’s feet, backing him away even as the man tried and failed to rein in the animal he’d toppled off.
Another shot fired, bu
t not from him. One of the Mattson brothers gripped his arm and shrieked in pain, which caught the attention of the rest. “Someone’s out there!” one of them cried. “They just shot Lucas!” That was all the encouragement the others needed. Those who were still in the saddle kicked their panicked horses and sped down the trail, followed by their father and the rest of the unwounded on foot.
Lucius watched them go and shook his head. Praise the Lord, there was the miracle he’d needed – namely, the Mattson Gang being a barrel of idiots! Poor Lucas had been shot by one of his own brothers in the chaos, and summarily abandoned.
He took a spare rope from his saddlebags, tied Lucas hand and foot, and quickly scanned his surroundings. It didn’t take him long to figure out what else had happened – the trail and surrounding area were littered with rocks and pinecones. “Emma,” he whispered in relief.
There was a snapping of twigs and branches, and he looked up to see her scrambling down a tree. “Thank the Lord,” he whispered.
She reached the last branch and tumbled to the ground with an audible “oof!”
He grabbed his horse by the reins and led him in her direction. “Are you all right?” he asked quietly.
She stood, brushing twigs and pine needles from her dress as she did. “Yes. Are they gone?” she whispered.
Lucius sighed in relief. “All but this one. But they might come back. Where’s Pearl?”
“Over there.” She pointed.
“Get her quick. We have to leave here now.”
“Ya just gonna leave me here to bleed out?” Lucas whined from his position on the ground.
“Your kin did.” Lucius pointed out. “And seeing as you were pointing iron at me a few minutes ago …”
“Please don’t leave me here to die!”
Lucius looked at Emma and sighed. “Get Pearl. I’ll take care of this fellow.” She nodded and ran to comply while Lucius went to his saddlebags again. Within minutes, she’d led her horse back to the trail and mounted, and he’d patched the outlaw’s wound – a through-and-through in his left forearm – with alcohol and boiled cloth. “Your kin’ll probably come back here when they return to their senses. You be sure to point out to them that I could’ve shot you dead, but I didn’t. Deal?”