by E. Walsh
“No need to be alarmed Mrs. McDonald. I’m Dillon Daniels, US Marshal.” He pulled aside the lapel of his coat to show the star pinned to his shirt. “I used to work with Rance. Will he back soon?”
“I expect him anytime. Would you like to come inside for a cup of coffee or a cold drink of water from the well?” Casey wasn’t sure if she wanted him here but he was a Marshal with a badge to prove it.
“If you don’t mind,” he said, looking off into the distance. “I do need to talk to him and would like to wait until he gets home. Do you think he has a rifle with him?”
“I guess so. I don’t know. Is it important?”
“I’ll take you up on that cold drink,” he said, ignoring her question. “I’m mighty parched after riding here from Fort Meade.”
He dismounted and tied his horse to the post. He sat at the table sipping the cold water, watching as Casey prepared dinner.
“I called by a few weeks ago, but you weren’t here then.”
“I’m newly married. What brings you by, Marshal?”
“Tell me what brings a young girl like you out here. Where did you come from?”
“New York.” And with that, Casey began to settle into conversation with Marshal Daniels. Her suspicions evaporated as he appeared interested in her. Rance had asked nothing about her life. It was nice to have someone interested in listening to what she had to say.
“That can’t have been easy, losing those children. I’ll pray that you’ll get them back. Rance is a fair man, always has been. I’ve known him a long time. I couldn’t believe it when he said he was going to stop being a bounty hunter to become a farmer. He was a born bounty hunter and good at it.”
“What’s a bounty hunter?”
“Well, it’s a man who chases after outlaws and brings them to justice for a bounty. The outlaw can be taken dead or alive. But it’s a life for a single man. You have to keep following the track. I’ve been trying to talk Rance in coming back to work with me, but he keeps saying he’s happy being a farmer.”
So that’s why Rance came so late to marriage and fatherhood, he was chasing outlaws. Annie must have been a fine woman to make him change his ways, Casey thought to herself.
“Why did he stop being a bounty hunter, besides meeting Annie?” she asked.
“It’s a hard life to lead,” he said, pensively. “Many of the men we went after were the kind who could only be taken dead. It was like a piece of him died every time he had to shoot someone.”
Lily and Rose, in the meantime, had climbed onto the Marshal’s lap. They found his mustache funny. Casey was happy for the distraction. She didn’t want to hear anymore about her husband killing other men.
* * *
Chapter Sixteen
When Rance returned home, he felt his heart race when he saw the horse tied up out front. He didn’t recognize the horse as belonging to anyone he knew.
He had his rifle ready for action, but when he dismounted he could hear laughter coming from inside the house. He pushed open the door and exhaled only when he saw Daniels sitting at the table with Casey, watching Lily and Rose run around.
Rance tried to put on a happy face, though his heart was still pounding in his chest. He set the rifle by the door and offered his old friend his hand.
“Dillon, what brings you our way?”
“Just a friendly visit,” Daniels said, lying badly. He gave Casey a nod. “Your beautiful new wife is a joy to behold and your little girls… well, now I understand why you didn’t want to leave the farm.”
“The Marshal is staying for dinner,” Casey said with a smile. She put a hand on Rance’s arm and gave it a little squeeze. “It’ll be ready soon.”
Rance sat down at the table and lifted the girls onto his lap. He gave Daniels an inquisitive look, but the lawman shook his head.
“Casey was telling me about the brothers and sisters she had to leave behind in New York,” Daniels said, trying to make conversation. “I told her you’re a man of honor and maybe someday you’ll help her bring them out here.”
Rance frowned at him. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“Talking about Casey’s brothers and sisters being taken away by the county after her father died.” Daniels realized he’d let a cat out of the bag. “I’m sorry, I assumed you knew.”
Rance gave Casey a hard look. “You never said anything about siblings.”
“You never asked,” Casey said, busying herself at the stove, not looking back at him. “Marshal Daniels asked me why I came here and I told him.”
It was true, Rance had asked no questions of Casey. It was wrong of him. She had to have a reason to leave New York. Nobody in their right mind would come to marry a farmer in Medicine Hat without a desperate reason to do so.
Rance set the girls on the floor and pushed himself up from the table. He crooked a finger at Daniels. “Let’s take a walk.”
Daniels followed him outside. They stepped off the porch. Rance took the reins and led their horses to the barn. Once they were out of earshot of the house, Daniels said, “I’m sorry, Rance. I thought you knew. I wasn’t trying to meddle, honest.”
“Why are you here?” Rance gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t lie to me. It’s Jonah McAllister, ain’t it?”
Daniels glanced toward the cabin and blew out a long breath. “He was spotted yesterday just outside of Medicine Hat,” he said. “I rode out here soon as I heard. I didn’t want to alarm Casey, so I decided to stay until you got home from the fields. I know you don’t want back in this life, but he’s coming for you, Rance, you can be sure of it.”
“I appreciate you riding out, Dillon, and staying with my family until I got home. That was very kind of you. I’m sorry for blowing up at you.”
“Don’t apologize to me,” he said. “But you do need to apologize to Casey. She’s a fine woman, Rance, but you don’t seem to know anything about her.”
“I know enough,” Rance said, biting his tongue.
“I reckon you just see her as someone to keep house and mind your children.”
“It’s my business how I see her.”
“That may be so, but she’s a fine young woman with a lot of weight on her shoulders. She needs a husband, not a master.”
“I ain’t her master.”
“Then you need to tell her how you feel. I saw the way you looked at her when you came in and realized she was okay. She needs to know you care, Rance. And that you’re going to protect her.”
Rance pondered his friend’s words, then his head began to nod. “You’re right. I’ve never been much good at talking to women.”
“She looks at you with love in her eyes, Rance. She loves your kids, too. It’s up to you to keep them safe.”
“Okay. You go on back inside and get ready for supper. I’ll just put the horses in the barn and be right there.”
* * *
Chapter Seventeen
Rance took off the saddles and bridles and put the horses into separate stalls. He picked up the pitchfork and tossed some hay into each stall.
He stood there for a moment, leaning on the pitchfork, watching the horses eat. They didn’t have a care in the world. And why should they. They hadn’t done terrible things they’d always regret. They hadn’t killed men for money. They didn’t have a past that was coming back to haunt them.
He shook himself out of the daydream and went to the back of the barn. He pulled back a dusty horse blanket to reveal a battered steamer trunk that held the evidence of his old life.
He had only opened it once in these last few years. It was the night Annie died and he felt so lost that he wanted to die with her, but something stopped him from blowing his own brains out; something not of this world. Rance was convinced that it was the hand of God that prevented him from picking up the six-shooter and putting the barrel into his mouth.
He flipped back the latches and opened the trunk. Lying atop some old clothes and a pair of boots with rusty spurs attach
ed, was his leather gunbelt and the six gun tucked into the holster.
He had promised Annie that he’d never use it again, but he knew he couldn’t protect his family with just words and the Good Book.
He reached in slowly and took the pistol from its holster and held it up to the light. It felt strangely heavy in his hand. He let his finger go around the trigger. His thumb pulled back the hammer, then eased it down again. He flexed his fingers around the grip. He would admit to no one but himself that the pistol felt good in his hand.
He heard something behind him. The horses shuffled in the stalls, letting him know that he wasn’t alone. When he spun around, the pistol was outstretched in his hand, ready to fire.
He saw Casey standing there with a look of horror in her eyes.
* * *
Chapter Eighteen
Rance quickly jerked the gun toward the roof. “Dang it, Casey, don’t sneak up on a man like that!”
“I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. She stared at the gun dangling at his side. “The Marshal told me about your past life. You made a promise to your wife to stop, didn’t you?”
Rance tucked the gun into the back of his belt just to get it out of his hand and out of Casey’s sight.
He reached down and closed the trunk lid. “Yes, and now that life is coming here, to threaten you and the girls. I can’t let anything happen to any of you. I couldn’t live with myself.”
"I think it's admirable what you did for Annie,” Casey said, drying her eyes as she stepped closer to her husband. “But from what Marshal Daniels tells me, it wasn't as if you enjoyed what you did. You were good at it, but he says it took something from you every time you had to shoot someone. It was never who you were, Rance. It was just your job."
"But that life is coming back to haunt me now, Casey,” he said, gritting his teeth, forcing back the tears. “It’s coming back to haunt all of us, you and the girls. I don’t want to kill another man, but if I have to…” He reached out for her, taking her hands in his. “I love you, Casey. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Casey’s eyes widened at his words. She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. She said, “I love you, too. We’ll be alright. You’ll see.”
* * *
Chapter Nineteen
Rance closed his eyes and hugged his wife. When he opened his eyes he saw Jonah McAllister standing in the doorway with a shotgun in his hands.
“Well, well, well… what do we have here?” McAllister said with a sneer. “Rance McDonald has done gone and got himself a fine wife. Good for you, Rance. I’ll have some fun with her after you’re dead and gone.”
Rance pulled Casey around behind him and stood shielding her with his body. He narrowed his eyes at McAllister and put his hands out in front of him. “She’s done you no harm, McAllister. There’s no call for you to do anything to her. I’m the one you want.”
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment,” he said, keeping the shotgun aimed at Rance’s chest. He used his foot to close the door behind him. “Do you know what’s like to sit in jail for three long years, contemplating another man’s death?”
“I do not,” Rance said. “But you got what you deserved. You can’t blame me for the foul life you’ve led.”
“I can blame you for locking me up and for my brother’s death,” he said. “You shot my brother, murdered him in cold blood.”
“Your brother shot two deputies and pointed his gun at me,” Rance said. “I had no choice but to shoot him first.”
He could feel Casey behind him, her hands on his shoulders, her breath on his neck. As she pressed into him, he could also feel the pistol tucked in his belt. His hands went back, like he was keeping her behind him.
“And now you have no choice,” McAllister said with a smile. He motioned with the shotgun. “You, little lady, come out from behind him. I’d hate for you to get his blood and brains all over your pretty dress.”
“I’m not moving,” Casey said. Her fingers dug into Rance’s shoulders. “I will not leave my husband.”
“Aw, now ain’t that sweet.” McAllister brought the shotgun to his shoulder and shrugged. “Okay then, I reckon I can just strip the bloody rags off you.”
“No, wait,” Rance said, holding out this left hand. His right hand was at his back. He tugged the pistol from his belt and nudged her with the barrel. He looked back over his shoulder and mustered a smile for her. “Move away now, darlin’. It’s going to be alright.”
“Yes, ma’am, it’s gonna be just fine and dandy,” McAllister said. He smiled again and Casey noticed his teeth were the color of honey.
She put up her hands and slowly stepped away from her husband, moving off to his left. Though he kept the shotgun pointed at Rance, McAllister’s eyes couldn’t help but follow the movement of the pretty girl that would soon be his. He licked his lips and smiled, then flexed his finger on the shotgun’s trigger and looked back at Rance McDonald.
* * *
Chapter Twenty
Jonah McAllister never felt the .45 caliber bullet that pounded into his forehead and exploded out the back. He never heard the shot or felt himself buckle to the ground.
He might have seen the face of Jesus at the end, but Rance doubted it.
Men like Jonah McAllister weren’t meant for Heaven.
And now he’d be no more threat on earth.
*
“I’ll take the body to Fort Meade and collect your bounty for you,” Daniels said as he and Rance hefted McAllister’s body over the saddle. They had wrapped him in a horse blanket and tied him with twine. “Maybe the bounty will help you get things going here.”
“I appreciate that,” Rance said, shaking his friend’s hand. He looked toward the cabin, knowing that his family was safe inside. “I need to get inside and make sure they’re okay.”
Daniels put a hand on his friend’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “You’re a lucky man, Rance McDonald.” He nodded at the dead man strapped over the saddle, then at the cabin. “In a whole lot of ways.”
Rance waited until Daniels was out of sight, then went back in the barn and returned the pistol to its rightful place in the old steamer trunk. His old life was finally put to rest for good.
* * *
Epilogue
Rance used part of the bounty money to buy seed for the spring planting and to get the farm ready for the next season.
The rest of the money was used to add on two rooms to the cabin and to buy train tickets for all of Casey’s siblings, who would be coming to live with them in the fall.
“You girls go to sleep now,” Casey said, tucking in the twins. She leaned down for a group hug.
“Mama, why don’t you sleep with us anymore?” Lily asked.
“Cause your mama has to sleep with me now,” Rance said, standing in the doorway with a smile on his face. He leaned down to give both girls a kiss. “Y’all go to sleep now. Tomorrow we’ll go visit grandma and grandpa.”
Casey waited for her husband to finish tucking in the girls, then she held out her hand and led him to their bed, where they often made quiet love and whispered about their future.
It occurred to her that old Mrs. Clancy had been right along.
“You never know what the future holds, dear Casey. That’s why you have to just grab hold and enjoy the ride!”
The End
32. The Cowboy’s True Love
By: Jody Smith
The Cowboy’s True Love
© Jody Smith, 2016 – All rights reserved
Published by Steamy Reads4U
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events are purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return it to the seller and purchase a copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Warning
This book contains graphic content intended for readers 18+ years old.
If you are under 18 years old, or are not comfortable with adult content, please close this book now.
* * *
Chapter One
Mirabelle Lee kept her head held high as the buggy turned into the dirt drive. She saw the farmhouse looming as they went up the hill and felt her heart tighten.
They were coming back to an incomplete house. She couldn't see it as a home anymore.
Now John was gone, she couldn't see the place they had spent their marriage being the same as before the accident.
Her son shuffled on her lap, fast asleep. Micah curled up against her, his head resting on her shoulder.
Across from them, her mother-in-law had her arms around Mirabelle's daughter Judith, the older woman rocking the child gently as they bumped along the track.
Mirabelle blinked and put a hand under her veil, wiping away a tear with the tip of her gloved hand. It falling darkness would hide her tears but now was not the time to cry.
Throughout the funeral she had stood quietly by the graveside, being the emotional support for the rest of the family.
There were a handful of people who had openly called her cold-hearted, but the rest had admired her for keeping herself together.