Gambling on the Outlaw

by Margaret Madigan

  “Can’t we sleep a while longer?” she asked.

  “I’ve got too much energy to sleep anymore.”

  She jerked awake and, as if remembering something important, turned her worried eyes to me. “Isaac, I don’t want to go back to Palmer. Please let’s go north. I can’t let you go. I know it’s selfish of me. I know it’s not what you want. But I just can’t let you go.”

  “Beth…”

  “No. Let me finish.” She hauled herself up onto her elbow next to me. “I’ve been thinking about it. Why throw your life away? Why not try another option before you do something that gets you killed? If that doesn’t work, you can always go after Clay later.”

  “What if the law tracks me down?”

  “There have to be places in this country where nobody cares about the crimes committed in Nevada. We’ll find one of those places, change our names, and settle down.”

  “What if Dawson and Dearborn don’t give up?”

  “Then we bribe them with the gold mine. Gil and Clay are greedy men. I’m sure they’d trade their bloodthirst for a mine full of gold.”

  “If they’re not that greedy? If they still want me dead?”

  “Then we’ll fight them. You wanted to kill Clay anyway. If he comes looking for a fight, we’ll give it to him.”

  She was so determined, her brows pulled together, her chin set firm. I reached for her, tracing my fingers over her ear and her jaw.

  “What about your friends? And your land?”

  “We’ll send for my friends once we get settled, and land is just land. It’s not as important to me as you are. Who knows? Maybe if I just sign the land over to Clay, he’ll leave us alone.”

  “That doesn’t clear my name with the law.”

  “If Clay convinces Gil, he’ll drop the charges. They’ll find some other poor soul to blame.”

  She had answers for all my arguments. When it came down to it, she was right. Why not try something else before throwing my life away? I didn’t have to change my name or hide. If I just left Palmer, it would be like another move on a chessboard. I didn’t believe Dawson and Dearborn would give up their search for me, but Beth offered several other options for dealing with them. One of them was bound to work, even if it still meant killing them to protect myself. Far enough away from Palmer, facts of the case would be less plain. People wouldn’t just take their word. There was a chance they’d listen to my side. Maybe distance was exactly what we needed.

  It also meant I could have a life with Beth. I’d spent so long alone, not even considering a future that included family that it was difficult to grasp. All of a sudden what I thought my life was fell away and things I hadn’t dreamed of since I was a boy became possible. The pain, anger, and hate of the war and everything since wasn’t important anymore and only the woman in front of me mattered.

  I leaned in and took her lips in a kiss. When I pulled back I smiled at her. “Okay.”

  Her eyes lit up and she threw herself on me, kissing my lips and face, giggling all the while. I could certainly get used to living like this.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ~Isaac~

  We collected what few things we had with us and headed downstairs to check out. Beth was all smiles. She was a woman transformed, and I had to say I felt lighter on my feet without my burdens weighing me down. They were still there, but now I had more time to resolve them, and someone to help me. I was a lucky man to look forward to a life with Beth. My heart swelled with all the possibility my future suddenly held.

  I shook my head. Never in all my days did I imagine this turn of events.

  At the bottom of the stairs Beth stood on her toes to kiss my cheek. I reached for her hand.

  “Let’s go collect the horses and buy some supplies, and then we can head out.”

  “I need to mail this to the girls,” she said, waving the letter she’d written before leaving our room.

  At the front door of the hotel Beth went ahead of me and I followed right behind.

  “Wait, Beth.” I wanted to tell her what I hadn’t had the nerve to last night. Despite how much it still terrified me, I’d fallen for her. But at the same time another man walked in and ran headlong into Beth. “Careful there, friend,” I said to him.

  He tipped his hat. “’Scuse me, ma’am.”

  I gave Beth a nudge to keep moving as the stranger stepped aside, but her eyes went wide and she’d gone so pale she may as well have seen a ghost. The man’s brows came together and I thought I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

  Beth chose that moment to find herself again. She lifted her skirts with one hand and grabbed me with the other, and took off out the door.

  “What the…?”

  “Beth Caldwell,” the stranger boomed behind us.

  Beth broke into a trot for the livery.

  “What’s going on, Beth?”

  “That’s the bounty hunter,” she hissed. “Brock Carrington.”

  “Well, shit.”

  Didn’t it just figure that right as I’d made up my mind to change my plans, everything caught up with us.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder. Carrington grabbed me and shoved me aside, reaching with his other hand for Beth. He gripped her arm and swung her around to face him. His face was red and screwed up, seething at her.

  “You bitch! You left me tied up out there in the middle of nowhere. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get out of that blasted knot and find my things? And my horse?”

  Beth shrugged. It was a nervous shrug, but full of bravado anyway. “I didn’t think the knot was that good.”

  He grabbed her by both shoulders and shoved his face close to hers. “I will enjoy killing you.”

  By this time I was seething. Even with my new future tipping precariously into a deep, dark pit, nobody treated Beth that way. I gave him a shove. He faltered a few steps.

  “Get your hands off her.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Carrington growled, but then I watched understanding dawn in his eyes. “You’re Collins.”

  “No he’s not,” Beth said. “This is my brother. I lost Collins on the trail.”

  “Bullshit,” Carrington spat.

  “Who I am is the man who will kill you if you don’t back away and leave her alone.”

  “I hear you’re good at that,” he said. “But so am I.”

  While he talked he snatched Beth’s wrist and pulled her close. He was fast. I imagined if he’d been in many gunfights with that kind of speed he’d won them all.

  “I never killed anyone who didn’t need killing,” I said, stepping closer. “If you don’t let Beth go, and I mean right this second, you’ll be next.”

  He backed up the few steps to the stairs. “I have a better idea,” he said, pulling Beth down into the street with him. She looked afraid, but shook her head at me when I followed them. “How about I just kill both of you. I can collect the bounty on you whether you’re dead or alive. Seeing her dead would just be a bonus.”

  I ground my teeth. I didn’t like killing and regretted every man who died because of me in the war. I’d generally convinced myself that the others I’d killed as a gunfighter had got what they’d deserved. But this man I’d just enjoy killing. I couldn’t decide if shooting him was good enough, especially since he was probably fast. It might be more satisfying to beat that smug look off his face. My hands curled into fists in anticipation.

  “Well, well, well. Whatta we got here?”

  Two men sauntered up behind Beth and Carrington, then stepped around them to get a better look at the scene. Out in the street, we were drawing attention. People slowed and stared as they walked by. Didn’t much matter to me.

  I recognized the men as the ones who’d shown up at Beth’s place threatening her about the money her dead husband owed them.

  “Who the hell are you?” Carrington asked, not loosening his grip on Beth. In fact, he shifted her so he could slip one arm around her waist. The other hovered over the gun
in his holster.

  “Ask the girl.”

  Beth frowned. I couldn’t tell if she was relieved to see them or not. “Avery Shaw, Clem Dillon. They work for an old associate of my husband’s.”

  “You can just move along. This is none of your business, gentlemen,” Carrington said.

  “Beg to differ,” Shaw said, chewing on a half-smoked cigar. “Looks like you’ve got plans for her. Now, in any other situation, I wouldn’t care. In fact, I’d wish you well.”

  “But she owes our boss money, and he ain’t likely to forgive any harm coming to her before she pays up,” Dillon finished.

  “I got to her first,” Carrington said. He jerked his chin at me. “Him, too. They’re both mine. I’m collecting the bounty, and she owes me restitution.”

  I didn’t like the look on his face as he said “restitution.” I could only imagine how he planned to take his restitution.

  “Let her go,” I said, making sure he heard and understood the threat behind every word.

  “Or what?”

  I said the only thing I could think of on the spur of the moment, with anger clouding my judgment. “How about a fair fight. A gunfight. If you win, I’ll be dead and you can collect your bounty and bicker with these fine gentlemen over Beth’s fate. If I win, I’ll be happy to spit on your dead body. And Beth is mine.”

  He didn’t even take the time to consider my offer, he was that sure he’d win. “Done.”

  He shoved Beth at Shaw and Dillon and began backing down the street, fingering the butt of his gun.

  My hand went to Beth’s revolver at my hip, adjusting the set of the holster for a better draw.

  “Wait just a minute,” Beth said, her voice high and tight with panic. She pulled away from Shaw and jumped between me and Carrington. She held her arms up, her hands stopping us in our steps. Passersby paused to gawk, but Beth ignored them. “Shaw, I can pay Silas. I have the money, with interest to spare.”

  “Good to hear,” he said, puffing on his cigar and blowing smoke.

  “But I won’t pay him if Isaac is injured in any way.”

  “We don’t give a shit about him,” Dillon said.

  She planted her fists on her hips. “Well I do. I know how much Silas loves his money, and he won’t get two cents if you let this gunfight take place.”

  “Beth, get out of the way so I can finish this cur,” I growled.

  The look she gave me made me pause. If I made it out of this situation alive, I’d be keeping a watch out for that face. It meant I was in deep, deep shit.

  “Silas did send us to protect his investment, Avery. If that means protecting the outlaw, we’re gonna have to do it,” Dillon said.

  Shaw shrugged. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Wait just a minute,” Carrington said. “This has nothing to do with you. I’m out to collect this bounty and he’s challenged me. I’d just as soon kill him and be done with it.”

  “Nope. Here’s what’s going to happen,” Shaw said, pulling the biggest Bowie knife I’d seen from a leather sheath on his thigh. He stepped up to Carrington, inside his shooting range, and touched the tip of the knife to his throat. “You’ll take Collins into custody. We’ll take Mrs. Caldwell, and we’ll ride back to Palmer all friendly-like. You’ll get your bounty, and after she pays Silas, you can do whatever the hell you want with her. We got a deal?”

  Carrington looked resentful of being told what to do, but since the deal meant he’d still get what he wanted, he nodded. He shoved Shaw back. “Put that thing away.”

  I could have just killed Carrington then and there. It would have solved a lot of our problems. But I couldn’t do it in cold blood, and when I hesitated he marched to me and seized my gun, shoving it into the belt at the front of his pants.

  He pulled a length of rope from his pocket and grabbed for my arm. At that point, my future looked bleak. I didn’t know if I could take all three of them, then get me and Beth out of there alive, but I wouldn’t make it easy for them. It just went against my nature.

  I shoved my shoulder into him, pushing him back and forcing him to stumble. He got his feet under him before he fell, but I’d stepped right after him as he went backward, and before he could right himself, I pounded my fist into his face. I felt the crunch of his nose breaking, and it was a satisfying sound.

  He brought his hand up to test his nose, and when he saw the blood, he smiled.

  “I’m going to enjoy killing you,” he said.

  “Good luck with that.”

  I punched him again, this time in the ribs. He grunted, but recovered faster than I expected, and slammed his fist into the side of my head. My ears rang from the impact, but by now my blood was pumping, and I was primed for the fight.

  We went at it, punch for punch, both of us intent on killing the other. I gave my rage free rein. I’d fought so many times that my body acted on instinct, but I felt my life teetering on the edge of that dark pit. I didn’t know if I could kill Carrington, then deal with both Shaw and Dillon. The situation was all the worse for having fooled myself into thinking I could have everything I wanted. I’d seen a hint of what could be. Now, not only would I not get that life, but any hope of sneaking out of town and heading back for Palmer on my own terms had disappeared, too. I’d go back as someone’s prisoner.

  I’d lost my chances at accomplishing anything I’d wanted—whether it was a life with Beth, or killing Clay Dearborn. Probably all that was left for me was to hang at the end of a noose.

  But I was going to kill this bastard first.

  I swung at him again, putting everything I had into it, and connected with his jaw. He staggered, and I grinned. I knew he’d go down, so I turned to deal with Shaw and Dillon. But before I got all the way around, something slammed into the back of my head and darkness rushed into my field of vision. One of them must have hit me from behind. I crumpled to the ground.

  Beth hurried over and threw herself on the ground next to me. “Isaac!”

  “You should have just let me shoot him,” I said. My voice sounded slurred and far away.

  “I couldn’t stand to see you killed.”

  “Didn’t occur to you I’d win?”

  “I couldn’t take the chance. We’ll find another way to save you. I promise.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Beth.”

  “Awww, isn’t that sweet,” Shaw sneered. “I assume you’ve got horses, Mrs. Caldwell?”

  The world swam before my eyes as the darkness closed in. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Dillon saying, “Let’s go collect them and we can be on our way.”

  ~Beth~

  The ride back to Palmer gave me time to plan.

  Shaw and Dillon had flung Isaac over Boreas’s back, and I worried he was badly injured, but after a couple of hours on the trail, Isaac woke up. He was a mess, but he was alive, and I was grateful for that.

  Carrington was as much a mess as Isaac. When we stopped so Carrington could tie Isaac’s hands to Boreas’s saddle horn, Isaac smiled at the damage he’d done to Carrington’s face.

  In the end, Isaac didn’t say a word the rest of the trip, and refused to look at me. Not that we had much opportunity to talk. Carrington carried Boreas’s lead the whole trip. He made certain to stay sufficiently ahead of me, Shaw, and Dillon, to make it clear we were two separate parties. He had no desire to be associated with us. But we stayed within visual range. It wasn’t as if he could get away from us. At night we all camped nearby, but not together. I watched Isaac as best I could. He had the air of a proud man who’d given up.

  For their part, Shaw and Dillon tied me to the saddle, too. Little Sister trudged along behind them as if she knew we were all heading to our doom. Shaw and Dillon were oblivious to the mood, though. They were chatty—more than I wished for. I got tired of listening to them bicker like a married couple, about the stupidest things. It left me plenty of time to plan, though.

  By the time we rode into Palmer several day
s later, I knew what I needed to do.

  Carrington took Isaac directly to the jail. Shaw and Dillon were determined to deliver me to the hotel, but I managed to retrieve Boreas before they could. We tied his lead to my saddle. After we left the jail, I had no idea what happened to Isaac beyond that. I figured he’d be safe in the jail for a couple of days, save for the humiliation of having to put up with Gil and Clay gloating.

  At the Silver Terrace, Shaw untied my hands and I rubbed my raw wrists.

  “I’m heading home, gentlemen. I need a bath, a home-cooked meal, and a good night’s sleep in my own bed.”

  Shaw snorted. “No. You’re going up to Mr. Devol’s room and you’re paying him.”

  I folded my arms over my chest. “No.”

  He grabbed my upper arm in a tight grip, but I just glared at him. Not only had I lost the second man I’d ever really loved, but I’d had to put up with their inane drivel over long, hot, boring days on the trail. And I smelled bad. Again.

  “Listen, missy, you’ll do as I say and that’s all there is to it.”

  “Where am I going to go, Mr. Shaw? The man I love is in jail and probably already condemned. The trial is just a formality. My home and the rest of the people I care about are here. I’m not going anywhere. At least allow me the dignity of a night at home. I promise I’ll come back and see Silas tomorrow.”

  He stroked his stubbly chin and cocked an eyebrow at me. I just rolled my eyes at him and nudged Sister with my knees. She and Boreas were more than happy to head for home.

  “You be sure to be here tomorrow. Remember, we know where you live,” Shaw called after me.

  I had never been so happy to ride into our yard, or see our humble little home. At the sight of it, a sob ripped from my throat. It hadn’t really hit me until that moment just how desperate things had become. I’d been so focused on solving the problem that I’d hardened my heart to the extent of it.

  I rode right to the door, tears streaming down my face, and tumbled out of the saddle. The horses needed tending, but I just couldn’t do it. I opened the door and let it swing wide. I was greeted by three shocked faces. I must have looked horrible.