“Where’s the girl?”
“What girl?” Kline shot into the floor at his feet. He flinched involuntarily but his resolve fortified.
“The next one goes in you. Where is the girl?”
“You’re going to have to be more specific. I know a lot of girls but they all left when they heard a freak show escapee was coming.” He saw the anger spark in Kline’s eyes. Another shot rang out and the man holding his gun dropped to the floor like a stone. The man holding him jerked him backwards and Kline shot up toward the doorway at the top of the stairs before moving under the stairs with them.
“What was that? Are your men turning on you again Kline?” Matt asked.
“How many do you have up there?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s just me. One gang one Ranger. Hell we don’t even need one whole Ranger for this gang of misfits and freaks but we haven’t figured out how to send less than one so here I am.” Kline fired one shot. It burned as it tore through his thigh he clenched his teeth barely biting back a pain induced groan.
“Now you’re less than one.” Kline said and laughed.
“Oh guess I touched a nerve huh?” Matt said panting slightly from the pain. He was leaning heavily on the man holding him now. Letting him hold him up while his good leg threatened to buckle. Between the pain and the blood he could feel running down his leg hot and sticky he knew he didn’t have much time left. “You hear that, sounds like the man that turned on you got the other one too. Kline looked up above his head as if he could see through the floor. Matt took advantage of the distraction and drove his knife into the gut of the man holding him. He lunged for Kline but his injured leg slowed him down and Kline dodged him. He landed on a table overturning it just as Kline fired at him. The bullet lodged in the underside of the table instead of his intended target. Matt’s vision began to dim and he thought he must be starting to hallucinate because he could swear he saw Rose. If that was the last thing he was going to see before he died it was almost worth it. She was dressed all in black but her long curly hair was flowing fanning out around her shoulders.
“Found her boss. She was trying to get out of town.” Someone said and Matt realized that she wasn’t a hallucination. He blinked trying to force his vision to clear.
“Where are you going Savannah? We have unfinished business you and I.” The man holding her pulled her closer and Matt looked around for his gun. It was lying on the floor about six feet away.
“Is that blood? Oh I think I’m going to…” She didn’t finish the sentence because she fainted. The man holding her was surprised but he caught her gently lowering her to the floor.
“Boss I think she fainted.”
“Forget it. There is someone upstairs go kill them and we’ll take the girl and go.” Kline approached him pointing the pistol at his forehead.“I guess one Ranger wasn’t enough guess they needed…” Kline didn’t finish his sentence he gasped instead. Matt saw Rose standing behind him. She pulled a knife back out of his back and he looked over his shoulder at her with a shocked expression.
“What’s the matter uncle Orin? The blood isn’t as attractive when it’s your own?” She slammed the knife home once again punctuating her words. He dropped to his knees coughing and spitting blood. Rose rushed to him and dropped to her knees pressing her hands against the hole in his leg.
“Guess they needed one woman.” Matt said finishing Kline’s dropped sentence. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kline pull a knife from his boot. He moved with adrenaline fueled speed lifting the gun that Kline had dropped and fired a single shot through the man’s forehead. Rose gasped but didn’t take her hands off his leg. Matt heard someone coming down the stairs and turned the gun in that direction but relaxed when Jack’s face appeared.
“Damn, Matt you’re hit.”
“Just a scratch.” Matt grinned but he was having trouble focusing. He was going to pass out he knew it but he couldn’t stop it.“I’m sorry about the blood sweetheart,” he said just before he lost the ability to say anything.
The next time he opened his eyes he could feel himself being jostled around. He could hear horse hooves and wagon wheels. He saw Rose’s face first then Jack’s. He groaned at the burning pain in his leg and tried to move to ease it. It felt heavy.
“Just lie still.” He heard Rose say and realized that she was the reason it felt heavy, she had all her weight pressed on his leg.
“You better not die in the line Harrison. The Captain will have your hide for it.” Jack said. Matt laughed and closed his eyes again.
Rose paced the hall way in the hospital until she couldn’t pace anymore then she sat down against the wall and pulled her knees up. It had been hours since they had taken Matt in to surgery. Shouldn’t they be done by now? It was midday. People were coming and going all around her. As if the world hadn’t stopped. She was waiting to find out the fate of the only man she had ever loved and they were just going on with their business. She wanted to scream at them. To tell them to stop but she didn’t she just sat there frozen.
“Looks like he’s going to be alright.” Rose’s head snapped up she saw a man in a tan hat a short distance away talking to several other men in hats.“He lost a lot of blood, had to have a transfusion. The doc said the bullet was lodged in the bone so there is a serious chance of infection but he’s going to make it this time.” Rose let out her breath in a relieved whoosh.
“Of course he is.” Another man said gruffly.“He’s a Ranger it would take more than a leg wound to take him out.” Rose glared at the group of men. Matt had barely survived and they were making jokes. As if him dying would have somehow tarnished the Texas Rangers. The men began to disperse and the man who had made the comment walked her way. She pushed herself to her feet and he looked surprised to see her as if he had only just noticed her presence.
“Ma’am, I understand you were the key to this case. You’ve done a great service to Texas and your country. You should be proud. On behalf of myself and the Texas Rangers I would like to say thank you.” He put out his hand in offer to shake hers. She looked down at his hand and back up at him and glared.
“You and the Rangers can go to hell.” She said then turned and walked out. Rose walked quickly away from the hospital as furious tears ran down her cheeks. She heard someone behind her and just walked faster.
"Pardon me ma'am." she heard him call and finally stopped. If she moved any faster she would be running and she refused to do that.
"Look no offense but you Rangers are not my favorite people. I don't want to give a statement I don't need you to contact anyone for me, I am not injured the blood stains are not mine and I don't want to see a doctor. Is there anything else?" The man had stood quietly until she finished her tirade.
"Yes."
"What?" she sighed.
"Do you want to see him?"
"Huh?" she deflated slightly.
"Doc says Matt should be awake in a couple hours. Since you're not hanging around here for the company, I thought maybe you were waiting to see him." Rose looked back at the building then at the man talking to her. It was the man in the tan hat from inside. She sniffed and a fat tear rolled from her eye. The man offered her a handkerchief and she almost laughed. She took it and looked at the stitching. It was exactly the same as on Matt's only the stitched initials were LPH instead. She looked into his eyes. They were pale blue. Even more pale than Matt's.
"No," she said softly, "I don't need to see him." she handed him back his handkerchief. She checked her pockets and found two of Matt's. "You should have these too. Tell Matt..." she hesitated there was too much to say and just as much to be left unsaid. "Tell him he's an excellent Ranger."
"Is that a compliment?" Luke frowned.
"It is to him." she started to walk away and hesitated just a moment longer. "Tell him thank you." she walked away then, walking quickly so she wouldn't be tempted to change her mind.
Chapter 19
Matt propped his leg up on the porc
h railing and leaned back in the chair. His leg was still splinted so it was unnaturally straight but he was learning to ignore it. Luke sat down beside him and propped his boots up as well. Neither of them spoke for a while Luke was the one to finally break the silence.
"This must have been a tough one. It's taking you a while to come down."
"Took a bullet on this one." Matt grumbled.
"That's true." Luke was quiet for a minute but Matt knew that wouldn't be the end of it. "It's the woman that's got you twisted up though isn't it?" Matt didn't answer he didn't have to. Rose had been the first person he asked to see when he woke up. Luke had been the one that told him she was gone. Jack visited him just before they released him from the hospital. He told him Rose hadn't gone back to the saloon. Jonathan and Katrina were running the place now. “Never seen you twisted up over a woman before. This one must have done a number on you.” Matt still didn’t answer wondering if Luke would drop it if he just continued to not answer. “She must’ve just needed your help huh. Some women have a knack for getting just what they want. It’s an acquired skill I guess, survival instinct maybe. You can’t blame yourself a lot of men fall victim to it.”
“She didn’t use me, she didn’t have an agenda. She didn’t even want my help.” Matt said blandly.
“Still you have to question the character of any woman that can get that close and then just walk away.”
“Luke…”
“Yeah.”
“I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work so knock it off.”
“Oh? What am I going?”
“You’re trying to make me defend her.”
“Seems like it’s working a little.”
“What?” Matt sighed,“What would you like me to say that will take us to the end of this conversation? Yes I met a woman who actually meant something to me. No she did not manipulate me. Yes I do have a problem with the way I left things. But what am I supposed to do about it? I don’t know where she is and even if I did what good would it do? What good am I to her now?”
“Oh, I see so you wouldn’t want her if she had a limp?”
“Of course I would… Luke knock it off. I don’t even know where she is.”
“Really, I thought you were a blood hound, always got your man. That doesn’t apply to women? Would it be easier if she had a price on her head?”
“Luke.” Matt growled.“I think I liked you better when you minded your own business. What happened?”
“I got married.” Luke laughed and Matt had to smile.
“Unca Matt!” Matt bent and caught Arianne just before she jumped on his injured leg. He lifted her into his lap instead.
“Hi Princess.” He grinned
“Unca Matt, can I have a ride?” She turned pleading eyes on him pushing red orange hair out of the way with her tiny hands.
“I don’t know…” he pretended to think about it for a minute.
“Pulease…”
“Alright,” he sighed,“But just one.” She moved onto his good knee and he held her hands and bounced his knee. She laughed and giggled until he finally stopped then she fell against his chest catching her breath.
“I love you Unca Matt.” She sighed.
“I love you too princess.” At least he was going to get to spend more time with her, he thought absently then froze. “Oh damn,” he said softly.
“What’s the matter?” Luke asked alarmed.
“I know where she is.”
Matt had never been so nervous in his life. He had stared down hardened criminals, bluffed his way out of tight situations even staring down the barrel of a gun was nothing compared to this. He looked at the small white house and drew a deep breath. He stepped down off of the horse and hesitated a moment before he put any weight on his healing leg. The splint was gone now but it couldn’t bear much weight he had to have the aid of a cane. The doc said it would get stronger but it would never be the same. He walked slowly, partly out of necessity and partly out of reluctance. He knocked on the front door and held his breath until it opened.
Rose was in the kitchen when she heard the door. She didn’t get visitors so she had a hunch who it was, still she knew she had to answer. He looked good. Maybe even better than the memory she had been holding on to. He was clean shaven, that wasn’t exactly what she remembered but those striking blue eyes were the same. He was leaning on a cane which told her that his leg wasn’t healed all the way but he did still have the leg so that meant he must have avoided infection.
“Hi,” he said softly. She looked so much better than he remembered. The wigs he hated were gone. It was only her own real hair hanging in a long braid down her back with a few wisps escaping into unruly curls.
“Hi.” She sighed and stepped back opening the door wide enough for him. “Come in.” He stepped in contemplating her reaction. She didn’t look happy to see him but she didn’t look surprised either. She looked like she had known this visit was inevitable but she had been dreading it. He almost turned around and just walked back out but he forced himself to stay. He had to have all of his questions answered before he left here. He wasn’t going to have any lingering doubts. She closed the door behind him and he heard the lock turn. Clearly old habits die hard.
“How is your leg?” she asked, as they walked into the house.
“Stillworks… kinda.”
“Good that it didn’t get infected. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“Love one.” He accepted,even though he really didn’t care about the coffee. She offered him a seat at the kitchen table while she poured the coffee.
“You don’t look very surprised to see me.” He took advantage of the fact that her back was turned so he didn’t have to look in her eyes.
“I knew you’d come. It was just a matter of time.” She sounded resigned and he decided maybe he would take the chair she had offered. She placed the cup on the table in front of him.“I considered hiding, leaving the state but… well I don’t want to run anymore and that wouldn’t be fair would it?
“Not fair?” He repeated softly. She was leaning against the counter sipping from a cup.
“He’s napping now I can wake him if you want, he is usually pretty agreeable.” Matt frowned but she wasn’t looking at him.“He um… he really likes eggs and he really doesn’t like carrots. Don’t worry about remembering I wrote it all down.” She was beginning to talk faster and faster and he pushed himself back up to his feet.“You know maybe I’ll just go get him.” She set her cup down but he caught her arm as she walked past.
“I did not come to take the baby.”
“You didn’t?” She looked up into his eyes. She finally looked surprised and he felt just a bit better.
“No, the opposite really.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved some folded papers.“I contacted Benji’s sister. She has several children of her own and isn’t really interested in raising the illegitimate child of her estranged brother. So I thought… well I thought maybe you might want to adopt him… legally.” Rose gasped and quickly took the papers from his hand. He had to smile now that she was actually showing some life. She stepped away from him as she read the documents.
“Savannah Rose Harrison.” She said softly and his chest tightened.
“Thought you might want to marry me this time, be my wife.” His voice sounded rough in his ears. She continued staring at the paperwork and he waited, holding his breath until his chest ached.
“Thank you Matt.” She finally sighed, “Really thank you, but I can’t.” He felt light headed, he wasn’t sure if it was from the disappointment or the fact that he had been standing there not breathing. “Like I said, no more running, no more hiding and no more lying.” She continued, “You were… are… you went above and beyond what was required for friendship or duty, but there has to be a stopping point don’t you think? You still deserve to have your own life and be happy. I think Ben would want that for you.”
“What are you babbling about?” He c
ut her off.
“I am saying that I will petition to be allowed to adopt him as a single woman, I know my chances aren’t as good but I will try anyway. You don’t have to pretend to marry me just to give me what I want. Though I do appreciate the offer.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that the adoption was contingent on you being married to me. I know a judge that will sign off on it either way and I wasn’t suggesting that you pretend to marry me. That was a bona fide proposal.” She stared at him wide eyed for a moment.
“Why would you want to marry me? You don’t love me.”
“As a matter of fact I do.” He wondered how this conversation had gone so wrong.
“You do?” She asked softly and he softened his tone.
“Yes I do.” She rushed forward and threw her arms around him nearly knocking him off balance. He held her tightly thankful to finally have his arms around her again.“Does this mean that you love me too?” He whispered.
“Yes.” She said muffled into his chest.
“Then will you marry me?”
“Yes.” She said, again muffled.
“Will you look at me so I can kiss you?” He felt her laugh but she lifted her face and he bent and softly kissed her lips.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t, everyone around us used love as an excuse for every obsessively stupid thing they did. Everything from killing people, to leaving people, to vandalizing buildings. I didn’t want you to think I was just another obsessively stupid person.” He looked into her eyes.“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought you were just trying to seduce me, that you never meant for me to fall in love and I was already so jealous… I thought it would be easier to deny the whole thing.”
“Jealous? Jealous of who?” She pulled back out of his arms and turned away.
“Of who of what… Matt I love you but maybe it would be better for both of us if we don’t get married.” Matt felt his stomach drop but he stood his ground.
“Why?”
“Because…” He could see her fishing for words while she wouldn’t meet his eye and he clenched his teeth.“I don’t think I will make a very good wife.”
Whiskey Rose (Fallen) Page 16