Temperance sighed. “No,” she replied. She smiled sadly at her friend, “I’m sorry, Wilma. I’m having a melancholy morning, I suppose.”
Wilma smiled warmly. “We’re all entitled to those now and then, child. Now be honest with me. Are ya falling in love with Tanner?”
Temperance stared down at the soft rug upon the floor and swallowed hard. “No,” she whispered. “I can’t let myself care about him, Wilma.”
“And why not, child?” Wilma asked gently as she smoothed a bit of Temperance’s red hair from her face.
Temperance looked up and met her gaze with tears burning in her eyes. “Because everyone I’ve ever let myself care about that deeply has died… I don’t want to lose him.”
***
Trevor rode into town to stop and have a drink before heading back to the plantation. He was a day early and looking to surprise his wife. He wondered what she had been up to while he’d been gone. He was sure she’d behaved herself, but if not then he would simply have to beat her into submission and teach her, her place once again.
Trevor always enjoyed watching that light go out of her eyes, and it always did given enough pain.
Trevor was about to step onto the boardwalk in front of the saloon when Sheriff Blue and his two deputies came striding over looking quite upset.
“Trevor, we’ve got some news. It seems there’s been quite the revolution going on over at your plantation.”
“Revolution?” Trevor tensed and knew that the four men with him did the same. “What kind of revolution?”
“It’s Tanner,” Sheriff Blue shook his head. “Tanner has been up to no good since you’ve been gone.”
Trevor frowned. Tanner? Tanner had been basically bed ridden when he’d left. The man hadn’t worked more than a few hours a day outside and he was thin, weak bodied, weak minded, and weak willed just like he’d always been. Tanner hadn’t spoken a single word against Trevor since the morning he’d killed Emerson.
“What’s he been doing?” Trevor inquired, his urge for that relaxing drink now gone. He wanted his senses sharp.
Sheriff Blue pointed down the street toward the attorney’s office. “He paid Patrick Starr a visit and had himself declared alive.”
Trevor frowned. “There’s gotta be more and to be honest, Sheriff, I’ve been on the trail awhile and I’m tired. Can you just tell me what more I need to know?”
“He had the deed to that plantation put back in his name and notarized, Trevor. And there wasn’t anything anyone can do since technically, as the oldest son and heir, it belongs to him.”
Trevor’s blood ran cold.
He’d kill that good for nothing bastard.
How dare Tanner go against him like that!
Tanner hadn’t wanted that plantation in the past. As a matter of fact, their father had left it to him out of spite and had known that eventually Tanner would give it to Trevor just to rid himself of the responsibility. Now his brother had stolen it away?! No, that just wouldn’t do.
“I have men out there to keep the balance of things,” Trevor ground out. “I’m sure they’ve made short work of my brother…”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Sheriff Blue muttered and the two deputies paled.
“And why not?” Trevor hissed his voice tight.
“Those six men you had working for you were found massacred, Trevor. It was ugly and brutal, and the work of somebody who has quite an imagination when it comes to killing folks.”
Cursing broke out behind Tanner as the four men who had been traveling with him learned the fate of their companions. Trevor felt no sadness or remorse for the dead men. Hired guns were easy to find. “Do you think Tanner had anything do with that?” Trevor asked, but surely his brother couldn’t have. Tanner didn’t have the spine for something like that.
“We don’t know.”
“Did you go talk to Tanner? Bring him in?”
Sheriff Blue shifted his feet and looked down at the dirt. “No, can’t say that we did.”
“And why wouldn’t you do that? I pay you well to handle my business, Sheriff.”
“You didn’t see those bodies, Trevor,” Sheriff Blue blanched, “There’s not enough money in the world to get me to help myself end up that way.”
Trevor sneered at the lawman. He would pay for his cowardice, but now wasn’t the time.
Turning quickly, Trevor went back to his horse and hopped on, knowing his actions were mirrored by the four men still on his payroll.
“When we get to the plantation, keep your head down, mind Tanner’s lead and be respectful and obedient. I’ll do the same.” No one questioned Trevor and he knew it was because they knew better. Trevor was above question and it seemed that somewhere during that damn war his brother had forgotten that. He’d learn his lesson. It was time Trevor got rid of that bastard once and for all.
If Trevor’s good for nothing wife had had anything do to with this so called revolution then he’d get rid of her once and for all as well. Wives were bought just as easily as hired guns.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Temperance saw Trevor and the men riding in and her heart began to pound violently against her ribs. Her gaze instantly sought out Tanner and she saw him stand up straight and wipe sweat from his brow as he watched Trevor approach.
“Come here, Temp,” Tanner ordered and Temperance did not argue as she quickly closed the distance between them.
“He’s early,” she whispered fearfully. “Tanner, what are we going to do?”
“You’re going to calm down,” Tanner replied gently. “You’re going to stay with me at all times. I won’t let him touch you again.”
“But I’m his wife…” Temperance reminded him. “And he paid a lot of money for me. Legally he…”
“That’s enough.” Tanner’s jaw was tight and there was more anger in his blue gray eyes than Temperance had ever seen in them before. “A woman bought with blood money and a marriage forced at gunpoint does not give him any rights to you. He has no right whatsoever to you.”
Temperance took a deep breath and forced down her fear. Tanner was right and she knew that. Trevor had no rights to her and she had to stand up to him, she had to make him see that. If she didn’t do it now, if she didn’t help Tanner with what the man was trying to accomplish then things would never change and she would eventually die from the inside out.
Temperance saw most of the workers rush to their living quarters and knew they were hiding. Only a few men remained out to stand up to Trevor. Temperance wished they could be braver but she did not blame them for hiding. Trevor was not a man you wanted to anger. And anger him greatly was what Temperance was preparing to do.
“Tanner?” Trevor appeared confused as he hopped down from his horse. He pointed toward the improved servants quarters. “What have you been doing?”
“Working on fixing the things that needed fixed around here,” Tanner replied, his gaze slowly taking in the four men that were standing behind Trevor.
Trevor nodded. “Temperance, I’ll be expecting you to go in and get cleaned up now. I’ve missed you and would like to spend some time alone…”
“No,” Tanner cut his brother off and Temperance could practically hear Trevor’s jaw popping.
“Tanner, it’s good to see you out of bed, but I think you’re still suffering a bit of heat stroke. Temperance is my wife…”
Tanner shook his head. “Tell him, Temperance.”
Temperance felt her throat clog with fear when she met Trevor’s icy blue eyes. He seemed so angry and yet somehow confident that what he wanted was what the end result of this stand off would be. It seemed that in his mind it didn’t matter what either Temperance nor Tanner said. Trevor was sure of what the future held.
Temperance wished she could be as well.
She felt Tanner’s hand on her low back and somehow that contact was enough to have her speaking though her voice was quiet and much more meek than she would have preferred. “I
don’t wish to be your wife any longer. I won’t… fulfill those duties again.”
Temperance saw the rage flash in Trevor’s eyes. She saw the way his body tensed and when he stepped forward, it took every ounce of Temperance’s inner strength not to shrink away.
“You are my wife!” he screamed, his breath was hot against her face and droplets of moisture from his mouth blew against her cheeks.
Temperance was shaking so violently that she could feel her knees knocking together. “Not anymore,” she vowed.
Temperance had expected him to grab her, shake her, hit her… She had expected pain to follow her statement. What she hadn’t expected was for Trevor to close his eyes, take several deep breaths, and then step away with his clenched fists hanging down by his sides.
“Okay,” he ground out between his tense jaw. “I wish you would change your mind, but I see I have no choice, but to respect that decision.”
“This plantation isn’t yours any longer either,” Tanner spoke up and Temperance wondered if perhaps the man had lost his mind entirely. It was one thing to stand up to Trevor, but another to go looking for a fight. Tanner seemed to be looking for a fight.
“And why is that?” Trevor asked calmly, Temperance mused that it was the variety of calm that settled over the land just before a storm ripped it to pieces.
“Because I fixed the mistake you made when you declared me dead, brother. Wishful thinking didn’t quite get the job done for you, I’m afraid. Patrick Starr notarized all the paperwork. I am officially alive and this plantation is mine just like it should have been. There will be changes made. You are not to touch the ladies that work here. You or these men. I will allow these men to stay, but they’ll make what everyone else who works here makes and that’s twenty dollars a month. They’ll also have to work the fields and orchards. No one gets paid by my hand for standing around and looking threatening.”
Temperance watched the four men for any sign of temper. She was certain that their posture and the look in their eyes spoke of being very unhappy with Tanner’s announcement but they did not fight. Instead, they nodded and seemed to be following Trevor’s lead as he took a step back.
“Fine,” Trevor spat.
“Fine?” Now it was Tanner’s turn to sound surprised.
“Yes. Fine. I can see that I don’t have much of a choice, but to agree. If I fight you then you could have me made homeless and penniless and neither is a condition I want to have.”
Tanner sighed. “I’m not the man I was before, Trevor, and I won’t stand by and see people mistreated. We both know that you can’t be in control. You don’t handle it well…”
“This place has grown substantially with me in charge…” Trevor countered tightly.
“And you’ve done it by beating, murdering, and abusing your workers. Slavery was abolished, Trevor, and even if it hadn’t been, it isn’t right to treat people worse than you would an animal. Not to mention the treatment you gave your wife.”
“Well the slaves are yours now and thanks to you, my wife will not be my wife much longer.” Trevor’s narrow blue eyes raked over Temperance and she shivered, but didn’t step back.
“I don’t want trouble, Trevor,” Tanner warned as Trevor’s hand inched toward the gun on his hip.
Temperance had no idea how anything could end well if Trevor pulled that gun. She knew those four men behind him would follow his lead and Tanner couldn’t handle the five of them at once…
“No, you just want to take everything that’s mine away from me,” Trevor hissed.
“The plantation was never yours, Trevor. Our father left it to me and you reported me dead to steal it away from me. Sorry, that didn’t work out for you. And as far as Temperance goes, she belongs to no man. She isn’t a possession, Trevor. Paying money and forcing a signature does not make a woman your wife. An annulment will be filed tomorrow and I’ll pay to have it granted within the week.”
Temperance stared at Tanner with shock. Never had she thought a man would say something like that. She had known he wanted to help her, but to say that she was no possession and then to offer to pay more to have her annulment expedited so she could be free of Trevor that much sooner… Tanner was a better man than even she could have imagined.
“Well isn’t that special,” Trevor sneered. “I’m gonna go rest. I just got done doing business to help further our sales and gain contracts, for my plantation.”
Without another word, Trevor turned and strode into the house with the four men following behind him. Temperance’s entire body trembled violently as she realized she wasn’t going to be killed, at least not yet.
“Are you okay?” Tanner’s gentle voice washed over her and Temperance turned to look up at him.
“That was too easy,” Temperance whispered skeptically. “He was too angry, but let go too quickly… That’s not like him, Tanner… he doesn’t just let things go.”
“I know,” Tanner assured her. “I know this isn’t over. You don’t leave my sight, understand? The US Marshall is due to be here tomorrow and once he gets here, he’ll be taking Trevor away. Trevor has broken enough laws to be locked away a long time, possibly even hanged for the murder of the colored folks he’s killed here and for his treatment of you.”
“So we just have to make it until tomorrow…” Temperance let out a long breath. That shouldn’t be so hard. “But what about those men, Tanner? If he tells them to kill you…”
“Don’t you worry yourself about me, Temp,” Tanner gently rested his hand against her cheek and for once Temperance did not feel herself stiffening. “I can take care of myself just fine.”
“I trust you, Tanner,” Temperance admitted and the surprise in his eyes told Temperance that he knew just how much those four words meant.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I don’t want to see you sleeping in the floor,” Temperance stated as she and Tanner stood together at the foot of his bed that night.
“Temperance, I don’t mind. This fancy rug is a good bit comfier than a lot of other places I’ve slept before,” he assured her with a smile. “Besides, I won’t be doing much sleeping tonight.”
Temperance sighed. She knew that she wouldn’t be sleeping much either. It was hard to sleep when you were waiting on pins and needles for the other shoe to drop. She was sure that Trevor had to be planning something… It just didn’t seem right that he had walked away so easily today. He should have put up more of a fight than he had.
“Temp, please stop worrying. Leave the worry to me.”
Temperance shook her head. “Tanner, if he gets his hands on me, he’ll kill me! And he’ll kill you for helping me. I never should have come to you with my problems. I should have left here when I had the chance. I should have left while he was gone and…”
“And gone where?” Tanner demanded calmly. “Where would you have gone, Temperance? Into town where he has lawmen at his beck and call? Because he has them in the four closest towns. I asked around and found that out real fast. Or would you have just run out into the wilderness and gotten yourself snake bit or eaten by a coyote? Trevor has hounds that can follow a scent that’s days old, they would have tracked you the moment he got back. Running doesn’t solve anything. We have to stand up and fight him.”
“But he’s planning something, Tanner. I can feel it!” Temperance argued. There were so many ways that Trevor could come at them.
“I’ll take care of it, Temperance,” Tanner promised. “You said you trusted me, so now you get to prove it. Get in the bed and get some rest. Tomorrow could be a long day.”
Temperance climbed into the bed and curled up beneath the blankets. She frowned as she watched Tanner tip over the big wardrobe and then pull it in front of the door. He had the vanity chair braced beneath the handles of the French doors and he took a seat in the corner of the room so that both doorways were visible.
He rested a rifle in his lap and folded his ankles in front of him. Temperance was in awe of his calm demea
nor. She was scared nearly to death and Tanner acted as if this were nothing but a stroll through the park on Sunday morning.
Temperance closed her eyes and did her best to fall asleep. The clocked ticked on the wall and she cursed its slow rhythm. She would swear it was mocking her as she waited for daylight and the U.S. Marshall who was all set to come.
Temperance wasn’t aware of falling asleep, but she found herself jerked awake sometime later by the sound of a screaming horse. The instant she sat up, Temperance could smell the smoke. Cries of alarm were raised from outside.
She ran to the French doors, moved the chair, and raced out onto the balcony with Tanner behind her. “The barn is on fire!” she cried out. She could hear the horses inside. They were scared and in danger of being burned alive. Buckets of water were being tossed on the flames, but it was far too little.
“We have to help!” Temperance exclaimed.
Tanner grabbed her arm and stopped her when she attempted to get around him. “You are going to stay up here,” he warned. “I’ll go down there and help.”
“Tanner, I can help…”
“This could be a trap, Temp.”
Temperance’s heart skittered to a stop. He was right. Dear Lord, was Trevor so desperate for revenge that he would burn down his own barn and the trophy horses inside?
“Now you stay here and keep the gun with you. If Trevor or any of those other men come in here, you are to pull that trigger without a second thought. Do you understand?”
Temperance didn’t want to be left alone and she wanted to help save the horses but she knew that Tanner was right. She nodded and took the rifle from his outstretched hand. The gun was cold and heavy in her grasp and Temperance felt her stomach turn at the thought of actually using the weapon to take a life.
“I understand,” she whispered.
“You know how to use it?” Tanner questioned.
“Yes,” Temperance nodded. Her mother had taught her how to use a rifle but then had had to sell that rifle to buy a few sacks of meal and flour to get them through a winter.
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