A Feisty Gracious Bride For the Rancher: A Christian Historical Romance Novel (Lawson Legacy Book 1)

by Chloe Carley

  Until she’d arrived in El Paso, Roy had been able to compartmentalize his past and his present.

  The Roy who had been a loving and attentive brother was a completely different man from the one who killed women and children and set fire to homes. They went by different names, dressed differently, talked differently, and acted differently. Yet, deep inside, they were the same man and the more the past Roy tried to emerge, the more guilt the present Roy felt.

  It was an unpleasant feeling and it made him testy and even harder to get along with than normal. Tseena was a man without a conscience. It was the only way Roy had been able to do such horrible things. Surrounding himself with men who were just as mean had also helped. When one slept with vipers, one’s only protection was to be meaner and ornerier than the others. Fear was the great divider and as long as the other men feared Roy, he remained in control.

  Ollie had been the only man to ever challenge him who had come even close to matching him for meanness. Ollie’s downfall had been his quick temper.

  Instead of waiting for the right time to draw, he’d acted rashly and flinched too soon. Roy had merely grazed the top of his ear that day, sending a message to Ollie and everyone else watching that he was in charge and intended to stay in that position.

  Acting against the man making crude remarks about his sister had been a small departure from his usual pattern, but as the men all backed up and gave him a wide berth, it didn’t appear to be that unexpected. He met their eyes with a hard glint of his own.

  “Anyone else want to comment on my sister’s future?”

  Ten heads shook, and one of the men murmured, “We’ll make sure she gets free, boss. One of us will go back and set her free and even help her get where she wants to go. If something happens to you, that is, but everyone knows you’ve got the fastest gun in all of Texas and the West. You’re going to be just fine.”

  “Yeah, Tseena, you’ll be able to set her free yourself. These men are just homesteaders and from what I saw in town the other day, the sheriff is lazy. I bet he’s slow on the draw as well,” Slim offered.

  “That may be, but we’re not taking anything for granted.” That had been the downfall of many an outlaw. They became overconfident in their abilities and started believing the rumors that were always grossly exaggerated and they let their guards down. It only took once, and a man could easily find himself filled with lead from someone else’s gun. Roy was determined that if he died from a gunshot it wouldn’t be because he’d stop anticipating his opponent’s next move, it would be because he’d finally been outsmarted.

  “No one can beat you, Tseena.”

  “Everything comes to an end,” Roy reminded them. “There will always be someone just a little bit smarter, a little bit faster on the draw, or a little bit Go get ready. We ride in ten minutes.”

  He watched them disperse and then turned and looked toward the town as the guilt came rushing back in. Today, he was going to either end his time as an outlaw or end his life here on this earth.

  He didn’t much care about his own outcome, but he’d done what he could to make sure that Riley would have a chance to start again. That was all he could do for her, and it wasn’t nearly enough. He hoped that someday she’d be able to forgive him and remember the good times they’d had growing up together.

  He pushed aside those thoughts and slapped his hat back on his head. He climbed atop his horse.

  “Ollie, you take the lead. Remember to split before we can be seen approaching the town. They’ll expect us to stick together and won’t be looking for half of us to come from the other side.”

  “Are you and I still heading for the jail?” Ollie asked.

  Roy shook his head. “I’ll join you there after the stagecoach arrives. If Slim heard correctly, the first allotment of money for the bank is sitting inside the jail waiting for the delayed safe to arrive. If we’re going to do this, let’s grab it all.”

  “We setting everything on fire afterwards?” Ollie asked.

  Roy felt a stab of guilt as he nodded. “We need time to disperse and for everyone to get as far away from here as possible. They’ll run to Santa Fe for the army’s help—it”

  “Only if there’s someone left to go,” Ollie challenged him.

  “That’s correct. We burn it all, and then once the money is distributed, we split.”

  Ollie gave him a strange look. “You’re not coming to Mexico, are you?”

  “No,” he said. “If I survive this last robbery, I’m going to collect Riley and take her back to Missouri. She seems to think I can evade paying for my crimes by cleaning myself up and living a good life for the rest of my days. I think she’s wrong and it will only be a matter of time before the past catches up to me. I’m okay with that, but for however long I have, I want to help her start again. She lost everything when my parents died, and I couldn’t go help her. She deserves better.”

  Ollie shook his head. “I don’t understand these emotions you have for your sister. We know she came here to warn the town. She was disloyal and yet, you still care about her.”

  “She wasn’t disloyal, she was trying to give me a way out. She just didn’t realize she was months too late for that.” I couldn’t get out now even if I wanted to. There was honor among thieves and loyalty—violate that trust though, and Ollie would be the first one to put a bullet in my skull. No, I created this gang and recruited these men. It’s my duty to see this last robbery through and give them all a chance at making a new life for themselves. Whether they take it and start living like upright citizens is on them. At least I’ll know that I gave them a chance to do that.

  Roy tensed. “She’s family.”

  “Well, your little family has created the possibility of someone getting shot today.”

  “Just because they know we’re planning something doesn’t mean they are prepared to take on a dozen hardened criminals.”

  “That’s true,” Ollie murmured and stroked his chin.

  Roy waved his hand in the air in a circular motion. It was time to end this chapter of his life. “Johnston gang, let’s ride!”

  Chapter 21

  Riley’s body ached with every little jolt of Gideon’s mount, but she would endure that for a thousand miles if it meant she got to be held in his arms the entire way.

  She couldn’t ignore the fact that with Gideon, she never wanted to reach their destination. She thought back to how she’d felt being held on Slim’s mount and bit back a cry of despair.

  She’d been so scared when she’d awakened and found that not only couldn’t she see or speak, but she couldn’t move. It was a horrifying experience that she never wanted to go through again. She shivered at the memory.

  “Doing okay?” Gideon asked as they crested the ridge to the east of town. He’d intentionally veered off the main trail half a mile back and directed Storm around to the other end of the town. The end closest to the mountains and where the stagecoach would be coming out of the small canyon as it headed into Rio Arriba. It was the least used road into town and Gideon figured the outlaws probably took the easy path.

  “I’m fine.” She looked toward the town, nervous when she didn’t see any movement. Anywhere.

  “What’s wrong?” Gideon murmured above her head.

  “It looks like a ghost town. There’s no sign of life.”

  Gideon nodded and she turned her head to look at him. “Shouldn’t we see something? Townsfolk or something?”

  “No, there should only be men in the town. Well, men and Sara Jane, but everyone else left under the cover of darkness this morning for nearby homesteads. They’ll stay there until someone comes to tell them it’s all over. The men should have already gone to their assigned locations and be waiting on the outlaws to show their hands.”

  “Are they likely to do that? I mean, that doesn’t sound very smart. Would they really show themselves?”

  “Only if your brother and his gang were amateurs. Believe me, they are nothing close to
being amateurs. They won’t let us see them until they want us to.”

  “Then how will anyone know …”

  Gideon tightened his arms around her and spoke softly, “The Johnston gang is known for always leaving the same calling card behind when they do a robbery like this.”

  Riley thought for a minute and then realized what Gideon was referring to. “The fires.”

  “The fires. No other outlaw goes to such great lengths to ensure there are no witnesses left.”

  “But they know the town is watching for them,” Riley told him, confused as to why her brother would follow the same path. It was sure to lead to his downfall … or maybe that is what he was hoping for?

  “I think they’ll follow the same plan they always follow. It’s what I would do if I were in your brother’s shoes. Deviating from their normal way of doing things might put them in greater danger.”

  Riley processed that as Gideon started the horse moving once more. She kept her eyes fixed on the town, looking for any signs of smoke or flames to emerge. When they reached the last little mesa, providing the only means of shelter before entering the town, Gideon pulled Storm to a stop behind it.

  “Riley, I want you to stay here.”

  “No! Gideon, I’ve come this far… please let me go with you,” Riley pleaded, hating the idea of being left alone out here while he and her brother were in a fight for their very lives.

  Gideon shook his head. “I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if I was worried about protecting you.”

  “Then don’t. I can go wherever Sara Jane is … at the jail.”

  “That’s the last place I want you. We know they will definitely try to take the money being held there for the new bank.”

  “Then I could go to the mercantile.”

  Gideon slid from the horse and reached up for her. She put her hands on his shoulders and he lifted her off, holding her waist until he was sure she was steady on her feet, but he simply moved his hands up to cup her shoulders.

  “Riley, please listen to me. I need to know that you are safe and out of danger.”

  Riley could hear the plea in Gideon’s voice. He was definitely worried about her. Could she really demand to be in the middle of the action, knowing that it would be endangering Gideon’s safety to do so? She nodded. “I’ll stay here if that is what you want me to do.”

  Gideon looked very relieved and hugged her close for a long moment. “Thank you.”

  Riley rested her head against his chest, not wanting him to let her go, but knowing that time was ticking away, and the town needed Gideon’s help. “You should go.”

  Gideon squeezed her close, and set her away from him. “I’m going to leave Storm here.”

  “No! Don’t do that. I’ll be okay here.”

  “Are you sure?” Gideon gave her a long look. “I can sneak into town on foot.”

  “But that would leave you no way to get away or go after Roy,” she argued. “Go. You can come back for me once it’s safe.”

  Gideon searched her eyes, reached out and cupped her neck. He leaned forward and lightly touched his lips to her own. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He released her with a murmured, “Still not a real kiss. We need to fix that, but not right now.” He turned toward Storm, pulled his rifle loose, grabbed a saddlebag with additional ammunition in it, and slung it over his shoulder.

  He reached for one of his pistols and handed it to her. “Use this if you have to.” He dropped some extra bullets into her palm.

  “You’ll need these,” Riley objected.

  “I won’t leave you out here unprotected,” Gideon said in a no-nonsense voice. His concern for her welfare made her feel all warm inside. She put the extra bullets in the pocket of her skirt and took the pistol, making sure to point it at the ground. Sara Jane had been emphatic that Riley and Pearl not only improve their shooting abilities, but also be confident whenever they were holding a gun. Making sure to never point the barrel at something they weren’t ready to shoot and kill was one of the rules she’d stressed.

  “I don’t need the rifle,” Riley told him.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive. The pistol is more than enough.”

  “I just want you to be safe.” Gideon brushed a strand of hair back from her cheek.

  “Thank you,” Riley said. “You be safe as well.”

  “I will. I will come back for you once I know it’s safe.” He waited while she nodded and then continued, “There’s plenty of shelter over there beneath that tree and those bushes.”

  “I’ll be fine. Now, go.”

  Gideon climbed into the saddle. With one last look, he urged Storm forward and Riley watched horse and rider head for the town. As she was watching, she thought she saw some movement at the other end of the town, but from this distance, she couldn’t say for sure exactly what it was.

  The sun continued rising in the sky and the heat increased rapidly. She was surrounded by red dirt, brush, and a few cacti growing in scattered clusters on the ground.

  A lizard with a blue tail and green collar around its neck scampered up onto a rock, looked at her for a long moment, and raced away. Riley tried to find where he’d gone, but it was if he’d disappeared.

  “Probably trying to get out of the sun. It’s very warm today.” Her head was aching where Slim had hit her and she retreated to the shelter of the tree before long, and sat on a rock. She kept her gaze on the town, her mind going through various scenarios as to what was happening now.

  Her cheek throbbed in time with her heartbeat and she found herself going in and out of sleep, fighting to keep herself awake and then jolting upright moments later.

  She couldn’t seem to keep track of the time and wasn’t sure if she’d dozed off for only a moment or longer. The sun kept rising toward the top of the sky and still she didn’t see anyone returning from the town. She grew more impatient and returned to thinking about all of the things that could be happening down there.

  Her anxiety continued to grow, and she began to wonder if staying behind had been the best decision. She knew thinking about all of the “what ifs” was dangerous, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. Soon, she was envisioning all sorts of dire outcomes. Sara Jane coming face to face with her brother, or worse, his right-hand man. Sara Jane wasn’t one to back down, for anyone. She imagined a standoff where Sara Jane and her brother fired upon one another at the same time, creating two corpses.

  A plume of dust in the distance, heading toward Rio Arriba, indicated the stagecoach was almost to the town. That means this will all be over soon.

  She forced herself to sit back down beneath the tree, her mind again imagining what was happening in town.

  She had no doubt that anyone dumb enough to walk into the jail was going to meet the unhappy end of Sara Jane’s rifle.

  The woman was one of the best shooters Riley had ever met and while some women might try to hide their talents from the menfolk around them, not wanting to damage their fragile egos, Sara Jane boldly let everyone know what she was capable of.

  Riley really admired her and had decided that she needed to be a bit more like Sara Jane when it came to making her own wishes known. Maybe if I’d been able to do that, Roy would have come home after Mother and Father died and we both wouldn’t be in this current mess.

  Riley wasn’t really the one in a mess, unless she considered the confusing jumble of feelings she had for one Gideon Lawson. Riley could see how that situation could get messy in a hurry. But only if she let it.