by Liliana Hart
“I felt his fist plenty,” Cole said. “You could’ve been different. But you’re just like him. Worse than him. The slaughter of the innocent was your choice. You chose to make it into a game. To put me at the blame instead of him.”
“It sure felt right to blame you when I was the one doubled over with a broken rib or two. But it doesn’t matter now. We went our separate ways. And I worked until I was as good as you were. And I worked some more until I was better. And now here we are.
“We always were more alike than you wanted to admit. You’ve got a dark side, Cole,” he sneered. She could see the clouds from his breath as he spoke next to her ear. “I saw that firsthand during the war. I wonder, did you ever feel me tracking you like the Sioux taught you to track?”
“I knew you were following me,” Cole said. “You could’ve tried to kill me then.”
“Wrong time, wrong place. The Sioux were rather protective of you. Besides, I had things to do before I could come back for you, brother.”
“What things?” Cole asked.
“I’m a very wealthy man.”
“There’s a lot of blood on that money.”
“There’s a price for everything,” Riley said. “But like you said, this is between you and me. Call your men off. Because once I kill you I’m going to borrow your wife as insurance until I get to where I’m going. I don’t want her dying too soon because one of them got trigger happy.”
“It’s not my men you’ll have to worry about if you kill me,” Cole said.
Elizabeth could see the half smile on his lips and wondered why he’d pick now to taunt his brother. But then she saw the subtle movement of his hand, and a frisson of fear skittered down her spine.
He couldn’t be serious. She shook her head to tell him no, but Riley squeezed his arm tighter around her neck. Cole made the movement with his hand again, and she realized he was dead serious. The smile left his face and he stood squared off against his brother. And then she realized what he was trying to tell her. She felt the movement to Riley’s right side, where he pushed his coat back so he could get to his pistol.
Riley had no intention of letting her go. He planned to draw on Cole while he was holding her captive, in hopes that Cole wouldn’t draw on him in fear of hitting her. Riley had no honor, and if she didn’t do as Cole asked and give him a fighting chance, then they’d both end up dead. All she could do was trust Cole. With her life.
“I’m warning you, Riley,” Cole said. “Let her go. You’ll never know if you can beat me unless we face off. Nothing between us but our guns.”
“Yeah,” Riley said, and she could feel his body tense as he shifted his weight slightly. The lying, cheating bastard. She’d be damned if she let him get away with this. She didn’t care if she had to throw her body in front of his gun.
She kept her eyes on Cole’s hands, waiting for the signal. Just the slightest twitch of his fingers and she went limp. Two guns fired and she was jerked backward. She waited for the searing pain of a bullet wound to bring life to her numb body, but she felt nothing but the cold as she hit the ground.
“Cole,” she tried to scream, but her voice was hoarse. She’d heard two shots and she’d felt Riley draw. He’d shot at Cole.
Elizabeth rolled to her hands and knees and tried to scramble to her feet, but her legs had turned to jelly. She couldn’t see Cole. She couldn’t catch her breath. And she couldn’t imagine a life without her husband in it.
Tears clouded her vision and snow swirled around her. She was completely blind as she felt her way through the snow. She touched a leg and worked her way up the prone body, and her hands shook as she wiped her eyes and leaned closer. A sob tore from her throat as she saw her husband’s face. But then she realized the man she was staring at—the man whose skin was as ashen as the sooty snow around them—wasn’t her husband after all.
She’d never seen Riley MacKenzie in person, other than the likeness Cole had shown her. Their similarities were remarkable. But there were slight differences. And this man was not her husband. But her husband could be as dead as Riley.
A strength she didn’t know she possessed rose up inside of her, and she came to her feet with a roar. And then she ran face-first into a hard chest.
“My God, Elizabeth,” Cole said, wrapping his arms around her. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I can’t believe you shot at me,” she said. And then she broke down sobbing in his arms.
“I shot around you, darling. That’s entirely different.”
“That’s all of them, boss,” one of the men called out. “The Silver Creek Bandits are dead.”
“Everyone head to the house and get warm. Nothing we can do about the barn. We can get the animals settled in a bit.”
“Lester’s already taking care of it,” Calhoun said. “Better get your woman inside before she gets frostbite from all those tears. I got to hand it to you, son. That takes absolute brass balls to shoot at a man who’s holding your wife. One wrong move…”
Elizabeth pulled back from Cole’s arms, but he scooped her up and started walking toward the house. The barn was still in full flame, but it was far enough away from their other buildings as to not be a danger. Cole was right. There was nothing they could do about the barn but watch it burn.
She looked up at her husband and her breath caught in her chest. He was so big and strong. And so hers. And most importantly, he loved her.
They had tough days ahead. They had friends to bury and rebuilding to do. But as long as they had each other, they could get through anything.
“Cole,” she said, touching a hand to his face. He stopped and looked down at her. His eyes were tired and his face drawn. Killing his brother had more of an impact than he was letting on, and there would be grief and healing to tend to in the coming days and weeks.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.
“Because I love you. Because you make me proud. Because this is a moment that will be passed down in story to our children and grandchildren, and I want to remember exactly how I felt as you held me in your arms.”
“There is no greater love,” he said, his voice husky with emotion.
Epilogue
One Year Later…
“I can’t do this,” Elizabeth said.
Cole watched her battle for every breath as the life within her fought to come into the world. She was soaked with sweat and exhaustion showed in the darkness beneath her eyes. The pain had lasted for hours, and he could see the worry on the doctor’s face as night had turned to day, and then back to night again.
He took her hand and grimaced as she squeezed hard enough for the bones to crack as another contraction wracked her body. The fire burned hot in the hearth and the doctor tried to keep thick blankets over her, but she kept kicking them off. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. He’d already bucked the doctor’s orders by staying in the room with his wife. But after the first several hours, he questioned his sanity. The need to go out and get drunk with Lester and the rest of the hands was starting to sound like a good idea.
“Elizabeth, really,” Doctor Jones said. “You must keep covered. You don’t want the baby to catch a chill when he’s born.”
“Get out,” she said, pushing the covers off again. She tried to sit up, but her weight was too bulky and she was too uncoordinated, so Cole put an arm behind her back and helped her sit up some.
“Get out!” she said again when Doctor Jones just stood there, staring at her as if she’d lost her mind. Then she turned to Cole. “Please.”
“Give us a few minutes,” Cole told him.
“That’s unwise, Sheriff. Things can sometimes happen rather quickly. This is typical of a woman giving birth. I’ve plenty of experience with this. They don’t know what they want when the pain overtakes them. They don’t have the same constitution that we men have.”
At that moment, he questioned the sanity of Surrender’s new doctor. He’d never seen a warrior, not
in battle or anywhere else, who was fighting like his wife was.
“It’ll be fine,” Cole said as diplomatically as he could. “I’ll call you back when we need you. Bessy has some fresh coffee on the stove. Help yourself.”
Cole made the command clear this time. If Elizabeth wanted the doctor out for a little while, then she could have it. She’d earned it. And there was a part of him that was afraid he might never get time alone with his wife again. Even he knew that this wasn’t normal. That she couldn’t keep going like she was.
The door closed behind Doctor Jones, but his gaze stayed on his wife.
“I hate these covers and I hate that fire. It’s too hot. I can’t even breathe.”
“The doctor said…”
“I don’t care!” she yelled. “Surely you can see by now that he’s a moron.”
Cole winced because it was for sure the doctor now knew Elizabeth thought him a moron. She started kicking the covers off, and Cole decided that he’d do anything she asked of him, no matter how unreasonable. If by chance these were her last hours on earth, then he’d do whatever it took to make her happy.
He helped her remove the covers and then her flannel nightgown so she lay naked on the bed. Her stomach was impossibly round and taut, and her breasts swollen to twice what they’d once been. She was beautiful. And he felt part of his soul breaking at the thought of losing her.
“Can you open the window?” she asked. “Just a little.”
He had to admit that the room was stifling. He was stripped down to his undershirt and still soaked to the skin. He couldn’t imagine how she must be feeling doing all the work. A cold swirl of air entered the room as soon as he opened the window, and he saw her visibly relax for the first time in hours.
He moved back to the side of the bed and sat on the stool there, waiting for whatever was next. Words of encouragement stuck in his throat. He didn’t know what else to say.
“I think I’m going to die,” she finally said, a calmness and finality to her voice that terrified him beyond belief.
“No,” he said. “I won’t let you.”
She laughed and sweat beaded on her forehead, despite the goose bumps forming on her body from the cold air.
“Sometimes even your stubbornness can be defeated.”
“Not in my experience,” he said. “Now stop talking about it. The baby can hear you.”
“You sound as looney as Doctor Jones.”
He watched in fascination as another contraction gripped her and her stomach moved, tightening to impossible levels. He placed a hand on her belly and let her squeeze his hand. And when it was over she dropped back against the pillow and panted for breath.
He leaned over and placed a kiss on her belly, and then while he was there he closed his eyes and said a prayer. This was his life. His world. And he begged God not to take it away from him.
He kissed her belly again and felt the movement of life beneath his lips. He hardly noticed that his cheeks were wet with tears.
“What are we going to name him?” he asked.
“Riley,” she said, without hesitation.
He jerked back in surprise. “What? That’s not funny, Elizabeth.”
“I’m not joking. This baby is the start of a new generation of MacKenzies. He’s our future. The start of our legacy. And this Riley will be the kind of man who knows how important family is. He’ll have honor and integrity. And he’ll pass on to his children and grandchildren that nothing is more important than family.”
Cole’s tears flowed freely now, and he brushed the wet hair back from her forehead with his fingers. “He’s the start,” Cole agreed. “A new legacy will be born tonight. And it’ll continue for generations to come. I love you more than life itself, Elizabeth MacKenzie.”
He leaned forward to kiss her, and her arms twined around his neck. He’d only meant it to be a short kiss, but she surprised him, taking him deep, her tongue sliding sensually against his.
“We can’t do this,” he said, pulling away. “It can’t be good for you.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “If I’m going to die, I want to remember the feel of your mouth against mine. I want your lips on me. Please. Just for a little while. I don’t feel the pain when you’re kissing me.”
He couldn’t deny her. Not when tears clung to her lashes and defeat was in her eyes. He leaned forward and took her lips again, ignoring the need of his own body. The closer she’d gotten to her time, the less frequently they’d made love. His need for her was fierce, but his need to please her was greater.
His lips trailed down her neck and she arched back, giving him full access. But he didn’t stop there. He kissed his way down to her breasts, full and round and heavy, her nipples darker than they’d once been, and his lips circled around a taut nipple, his tongue laving it before he suckled gently.
Her gasp of pleasure was music to his ears and her fingers grasped in his hair, holding him close.
“Oh, God,” she gasped. And then he heard a rush of water and her grip tightened painfully on his hair.
“The baby’s coming,” she said, straining to sit up. “He’s coming right now. I have to push.”
Elizabeth still had a grasp on his hair, so he extricated her fingers carefully so he could move into a position to see if the baby was really coming. There wasn’t time to call for the doctor. Almost before he was able to position himself between Elizabeth’s legs, he was holding his son in his arms.
The lusty cries of a baby brought the doctor running into the room. He barely kept it together at the sight of a fully naked Elizabeth, and then he immediately headed to the window to close it.
“Well then,” he said. “It seems you handled things just fine. You’ll want to nurse the baby as soon as you can to get your milk flowing.”
Cole almost laughed at the pink that crept up Elizabeth’s cheeks. If the good doctor could’ve brought himself to look at his wife, he would’ve seen firsthand that her milk was already flowing just fine.
Bessy, their housekeeper, had come in behind Doctor Jones and took the baby from him, cleaning him up and wrapping him in a blanket. The doctor worked on Elizabeth, got her cleaned up, and Cole helped her into a new nightgown. And before he knew it, they were alone with their son.
“Riley John MacKenzie,” Cole said, deciding his son should share his middle name with Elizabeth’s father. And when he looked into deep blue eyes, the same as his, he knew he would lay down his life for the child in his arms.
He placed him in Elizabeth’s arms and watch the baby root at her breast. And he felt a peace wash over him. This was his family. A real family. This was a new beginning.
“This is the start of our legacy,” he said, his voice hoarse with pride. “From this day forward the MacKenzies mean family.”
“Our family,” Elizabeth said. “Now kiss me. I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.”
“I’d never argue with the mother of my child.”
She laughed and said, “I’ll remember that the next time you want to argue about something.”
“Maybe you’ll forget I said that just like I’ll forget your promise to never let me touch you again.”
“Well… It seemed a good idea at the time,” she said.
They were both laughing as their lips touched.
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Liliana Hart, discover Sweet Surrender, Captured in Surrender, Trouble Maker, Spies and Stilettos, and The Promise of Surrender.
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