Montana Lawman Rescuer

by Linda Ford

  “Would you like a peppermint?” she asked Mikey.

  “Candy?”

  “Me, too.” She stopped at Marshall’s Mercantile and bought a few. A stranger watched her. She averted her eyes at his bold stare. There was nothing familiar about him—he didn’t have dark eyes or silver-tipped boots. Besides, if he was one of the three, wouldn’t he be on the run? Still, his study of her made her nervous and she hurried from the store.

  Once outside, her nerves settled and her thoughts drifted to the pleasant times she’d spent in Jesse’s company. Her favorite was the afternoon at the empty house. She let herself imagine turning the empty house into a home for herself and Mikey and Jesse. Regret and frustration quenched her dreams. She reached the intersecting street at the end of the block but didn’t immediately turn around. Would she ever be free to pursue dreams? Not necessarily that particular one, as it required Jesse’s participation, but any dream. Living like this was akin to being stuck in a whirlpool, going nowhere and yet unable to escape.

  A man headed toward her from the livery barn. The same man as she’d seen in the store. Before she could turn away, he called out.

  “Emily Smith, fancy meeting you here. It’s been a long time.” His gaze dropped to Mikey and his eyes narrowed.

  She stared at him, her mind empty, her heart racing. She managed to force her voice to work. “How do you know my name?” She couldn’t imagine George telling a stranger.

  “Of course I know your name. After all, we were to be married. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that.”

  “Married? To you?” She glanced at her left hand. “I don’t believe I’m married to anyone.”

  “Well, things didn’t work out. What are you doing so far west? Perhaps taking up a new profession?”

  She did not care for the way he leered at her. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know who you are.”

  He reached her side and grabbed her elbow. “What kind of game are you playing? Of course you remember me.”

  She tried to shake free of his grasp but he wouldn’t release her.

  “I remember nothing. Not even who I am. I had a blow to the head and lost my memory.”

  “Well, well, well. That’s mighty interesting.”

  “Not for me.” He did not release her. Instead, he pressed intimately close, filling her nostrils with an artificial scent that stirred her memories and made her shudder. Whoever he was, she couldn’t imagine she’d agreed to marry him.

  “You don’t remember being engaged to me—Fred Ellesworth?”

  No recognition came from hearing his name. “To me, you are a stranger and I’d thank you to remember that.” She again tried to shake free of him, but he squeezed her arm hard enough to hurt. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl.

  “Maybe this will help you remember.” He pressed against her and kissed her.

  “How dare you?” She would have slapped him but he held her hands tight. Panic roared through her. Had she been the sort of woman who allowed this kind of familiarity? Was she like Jesse’s mother? Nausea rose within her at the thought.

  The sound of horses approaching made him take a respectable step back, but he still held to her elbow, hard and cruel, as if he didn’t intend to let her go.

  Three men, tied at the ankles and wrists, rode horses led by three men. Jesse was one of them. One man wore silver-tipped boots. One looked at her with bold, dark eyes.

  “He’s captured them.” She waved to Jesse.

  He rode on without glance. Apparently he hadn’t seen her. She pushed aside her disappointment. After all, he had to keep his mind on his business.

  *

  Weariness sucked at Jesse’s bones after two days of tracking these men and then a gunfight to capture them. Thankfully, no one had been hurt, though the man with the dark eyes had been shot in the arm. A flesh wound only. The three were responsible for robbing the stagecoach. He had all the proof he needed—the misshapen horseshoe, the silver-tipped boots and the man with the dark, staring eyes who had frightened Emily. Apart from that, there were witnesses to the robbery and killing in Wolf Hollow. The judge was due in Bella Creek in a few days. In the meantime, Jesse would keep them in the jail cell. They’d be a little crowded but he couldn’t help that. These men would soon receive the justice they deserved.

  Jesse had had plenty of time to think in the days he’d been away, even though he’d had to keep his wits about him.

  His thoughts had generally harkened back to the afternoon spent at the vacant house. More and more he’d pictured himself living there with Emily as his wife. Upon his return, he’d meant to tell her of his dreams and ask her to consider forgetting her lost memory and starting anew. He knew she would demure because she didn’t know what secrets lay behind her, but he’d hoped to make her understand he didn’t care about her past and he’d convinced himself she wouldn’t care about his. After all, she knew and hadn’t been shocked.

  Then he’d ridden into town, anxious to lock up the culprits, post a guard and go in search of Emily.

  But as it turned out, he hadn’t had to look for her. As soon as they’d arrived in town, he’d seen her on the corner, kissing a man in plain view, the two of them pressed intimately close. His insides had filled with disgust, though whether more at her brazen behavior or his own foolishness in letting himself build impossible dreams, he wasn’t prepared to say. Seems her past had resurfaced, either because she’d regained her memories or because her experience had told her what to do.

  A woman like his mother. A bitter taste filled his mouth.

  At least he had his work to do and it demanded his focus. He soon had the culprits locked in the jail cell and Clarence set to do the first watch. He rounded up men to guard the prisoners at night. He went through his messages. Nothing required his immediate attention.

  He sat at his desk staring at a Wanted poster but seeing nothing.

  “I can manage here,” Clarence said. “Go on home and get a good meal and a good night’s sleep.”

  “Sounds like a great idea.” With a weary sigh, Jesse pushed to his feet. Sooner or later he had to go home. Had to speak to Gram. Had to deal with his feelings about Emily. However, he did not rush homeward but took a circuitous route with the excuse to himself that he was only checking on the town.

  He ducked into the hotel. “Anything I should know about?” he asked Mr. Hawkins.

  “Town’s quiet, as usual, sheriff.”

  “No strangers in town?” It was his job to know who came and went, but that wasn’t his reason for asking. He wanted to know who had been with Emily and what his business was.

  “A Mr. Ellesworth, who is interested in buying some land around here. He’s been asking a lot of questions, if you ask me.”

  “What sort of questions?”

  “Wants to know a lot about a lot of people. Who owns certain pieces of land and stuff like that.” Mr. Hawkins leaned closer. “Why would a man be wanting these particular pieces of land unless he’s heard there is a gold vein and he has inside knowledge about the location?”

  “I don’t know.” Was it even possible to have that kind of information? He would make some inquiries around town. Perhaps this man had approached others, perhaps revealed his reason for so much interest. “Anything else about him I should know? Did he say where he was from?”

  “He mentioned Nebraska.”

  “He did, huh?” And Emily had a connection in Nebraska. It seemed more and more suspicious. Had she truly lost her memory, or was she up to something along with this man?

  He shook his head. Where had all these doubts come from? There was only one way to find out what was going on—confront her. Now in a hurry to see her, he headed directly home.

  She must have been watching for him as she rushed to open the door before he even reached it. “You got them. You’re home safe and sound.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

  Mikey launched himself into Jesse’s arms and Gram reached out and patted his cheek.


  This was the sort of welcome he’d never let himself dream of, and now it seemed built on falsehoods.

  Before he could protest or extricate himself, he was pulled into the kitchen and made to sit down.

  “Supper is ready,” Emily said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Emily has made all your favorites,” Gram added.

  “I ’elp,” Mickey said with such forcefulness that Jesse laughed. His questions would spoil the mood. He’d eat first and then deal with his doubts. “Can I wash up first?”

  Emily stepped back to allow him to do so. Mikey clung to his leg, getting a bouncy ride across the kitchen.

  Despite the questions crowding his mind, Jesse laughed again.

  The meal was, indeed, all his favorites—ham, baked beans, cornbread and baby carrots, followed by thick slices of chocolate cake.

  He leaned back and patted his stomach. “That was excellent. Thank you, ladies.”

  “It was entirely Emily’s doing.”

  “Thank you.” He met her gaze and held it. How could she be so warm and welcoming here and yet kiss a man on the street? “Can we talk?”

  He knew by the way her expression changed that she expected he had good news for her.

  “You two run along. Mikey and I will do the dishes,” Gram said.

  Emily was on her feet in a flash, waiting for him to lead the way.

  He nodded toward the back door. He didn’t want the conversation to take place publicly. Outdoors, he turned toward the bench at the side of the house where he could count on a little privacy. However, he didn’t sit.

  She remained standing, as well. “You have news?”

  He didn’t look directly at her. “I saw you this afternoon.”

  “I saw you, too, and was so relieved to see you back safe and sound and with those three men caught.”

  “You didn’t look like you cared much.”

  She grew still. “What do you mean?”

  “I saw you kissing that man. Who is he?” He looked at her but kept his feelings banked. He would not let her know how hurt he was.

  “You’re mistaken.”

  “Are you telling me—?”

  She interrupted his question. “I was most certainly not kissing him. He kissed me, as bold as if he had the right.” She shuddered. “He says his name is Fred Ellesworth and that we were engaged. I don’t remember it and I don’t believe it. I would never promise myself to a man of such low moral standards. He treated me like—” Her eyes narrowed and she sucked in a breath. “With utter disregard for my reputation.” She shuddered again and her eyes filled with darkness.

  He wanted to believe her. More than that, he wanted to comfort her. Was she telling the truth? “You don’t remember him?”

  “No.” she twisted her hands. “Can he really know me from before or is he playing some kind of con game?”

  The agony in her voice and the sight of her twisting hands erased all doubt from his mind, and he opened his arms and pulled her to his chest. At least they were sheltered from the public and his actions weren’t jeopardizing her reputation.

  “I don’t know who he is nor if he knows you, but I will be keeping a close eye on him.”

  She clung to him. “I’m so glad you’re back and have those men behind bars.”

  “I’ll be staying close to home until the judge comes.”

  “Then what happens to them?” She shifted so she could turn her face up and watch him.

  “Then they will likely go to Great Falls and the law will deal with them according to their crimes.”

  She was silent a moment. “I’m glad that they won’t be responsible for any more killings.”

  They sat on the bench and he told her about following the trio into the mountains. “I knew eventually they would make a mistake and I would find them. This time they left a trail—a broken branch and cigarette butts. They had grown overconfident.”

  She studied her hands. “We all missed you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Mikey kept going to the door to ask for ‘Yesse.’ He fussed at bedtime.”

  Jesse glanced at the sky. The sun had dipped into the west, giving a golden edge to the mountains. “Speaking of which, we better go in and put him to bed. I’ll read to him tonight and tuck him in.”

  “He’ll love that.”

  “No more than I.” He paused at the door. “I’m going to miss that little guy when he goes.” And Emily, too. Even though he had decided to ask her to consider staying, seeing her with Fred Ellesworth had given him cause to reconsider. He knew she would say he needed to know her past before she could make any plans for her future, and maybe he did. He had no wish to dread people from her former life showing up.

  She lowered her head as if something on the ground demanded her attention. “I suppose once I hear from someone at Alliance I will need to go back, if only to find out who I am and what I’ve done.”

  He tried to ignore the tremor in her voice, knew his doubts about seeing her with Mr. Ellesworth had triggered her fears that she had a dark cloud of shame in her past. But he couldn’t do anything to relieve her concern. He cared about her but intended to guard himself from acting prematurely and unwisely.

  They went indoors. He played with Mikey and Muffin then read a little picture book over and over until Mikey couldn’t stop yawning.

  “He’s just delaying,” Emily said.

  “I know, and I’m going along with it to make up for lost time.” And to create moments to cherish in the future. He’d convinced himself he would never marry, but he’d hoped Emily would see him differently. He’d thought she did. But what if she got her memory back and forgot him? Or if her past revealed something he wasn’t prepared to deal with? All good reasons to wait.

  But the thought left him aching clear through.

  “Come on, little cowboy, get on my back and I’ll give you a horsey ride to bed.”

  Mikey eagerly jumped on his back and Jesse trotted upstairs making all the appropriate noises. He helped the boy say his prayers and tucked him under the covers. Mikey insisted on several noisy kisses.

  As Jesse tiptoed toward the door, Mikey sat up. “You no go `gain?”

  It took a minute for Jesse to realize the little guy was afraid Jesse would go away. He hadn’t been much older than Mikey when he began to ask his mother not to go, but she always did, leaving him alone and bereft, and feeling like he didn’t matter to her.

  He returned to sit on Mikey’s bed and hugged him to his side. “If I have to leave I will let you know. Okay? And I will always come back.” But who would promise Mikey the same once he left?

  He couldn’t answer. Couldn’t face the pain he felt.

  “’Kay.” Mikey allowed Jesse to cover him up again and snuggled into his pillow.

  Jesse waited a few minutes to make sure he’d settled then went downstairs.

  Emily took one look at his face and set aside her book. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. No. Gram, do you mind listening for him? I need to talk to Emily.”

  “Go ahead.” Emily did not ask what was bothering him, even though it was obvious something was. Her eyes were wary, as if suspecting he meant to pursue her encounter with Mr. Ellesworth.

  Wanting to provide a touch of reassurance, he reached for Emily’s hand and drew her out the back door. The garden breathed a sweet flower scent. The evening air had cooled and they sat against the house.

  “Jesse, what’s wrong?”

  “I just realized how much Mikey is like me. Oh, I don’t mean in looks, but his circumstances.” He launched into telling how he’d felt sitting on Mikey’s bed. “He wanted to know if he could count on me. Do you know how many times I asked my mother to stay? I wanted to count on her. I suppose, with her occupation, it was a good thing she left me with my grandmother. But to this day I wonder why she didn’t care enough to change who she was. Her reputation about ruined my life. It would have, if Grandfather Marshall hadn’t stepped in and broug
ht us out here.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice. “In my estimation, people should live honorable lives and avoid even the appearance of evil for the sake of those they care about.”

  She took his hand. “I am so sorry about your past. I can’t imagine how much it hurts. I suppose it’s what makes you a good sheriff.”

  “I’m a good sheriff?” He figured he was, but wanted to know why she thought so.

  “Yes, you are. You have high ideals and allow no compromise. I suppose you see things as black and white.”

  “There are no gray areas in my job.” He couldn’t see himself allowing such in his personal life either.

  “I am a gray area.”

  He stared at her. Did she have something to confess? Had that man—Fred Ellesworth—compromised her in any way? If he had, he would pay for it. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I can’t remember my past, so I could be anything. Good or bad.” Her voice grew so soft he had to lean forward to catch the final words.

  He cupped her head with his hand and turned her to face him. “I haven’t seen any wanted posters with your likeness on them, so I’ll assume you haven’t broken the law.”

  Eyes as dark as the evening sky met his. “There are other way of earning that label.”

  He thought of his mother and the label she had earned and the one she had left him to bear. “Like being illegitimate?”

  She caught his hand as he pulled away from her. “That’s not a fair label because it’s not one you earned.”

  For the first time that he could remember, he realized the truth of her words. It had been someone else’s actions and choices that gave him the label, not anything he’d done. It was a freeing thought.

  “I guess that’s so.”

  “Like I said before, perhaps you ought to forgive your mother.”

  “Why would I want to do that? Why should I?”

  She tipped her head to one side and considered him. “Because until you do, you carry her label with you. It’s an unnecessary burden.”

  “I cannot forgive her for the choices she made and how they affected me. A fallen woman should be punished.”