“Let’s head out.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the main house. It’s more heavily manned and we can protect you and Micah better there. It will be the first place that Aaron stops when he gets back to town and I know Heath will bring Jenny, rather than leave her at his spread unattended.” He explained all this as he walked, constantly scanning for threats. Wisteria had fallen in beside him on the way to the barn, until he mentioned the others. Then her steps faltered. He stopped and turned back.
“I should go,” she announced through unshed tears. “I can’t put you all at risk.”
“That is not happening.” He took her arm and started them along, but she jerked free.
“It’s not right, Luke. None of you asked for this. We’ll leave tonight.”
“Neither you nor Micah is leaving. That’s final.”
“Maybe only I should go then,” she said on a sob. “If something happened to him, or you, or your family because of me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself—” Her voice broke.
“No harm is going to come to anyone. I won’t allow it.” He took a firmer grip on her arm. “Come on. I don’t like you standing out in the open.”
Luke didn’t slow as Wisteria, with her much shorter strides, scrambled to keep up. He was too intent on getting her to safety. In the barn, he had Track saddled in a flash. When he moved to Shasta’s stall, Wisteria had her cinched and was ready to go. As she led her out, Luke warned, “We ride fast. Keep alert for signs of trouble.”
She nodded and swung herself astride in the saddle, disregarding her bunched-up skirts. “I need to hold my baby, Luke.”
His hand came to her knee and squeezed very briefly as he watched a tear track down her cheek. “We’ll take care of this, darlin’,” he uttered huskily.
The next instant he vaulted onto Track’s back and they were riding out. As he gave Wisteria a sidelong glance to make sure she was keeping pace, he hoped to God he could keep his promise.
* * *
No hands came out to greet them and see to their horses when they rode into the front yard of the main house. The front door stood wide open and there wasn’t a sign of anyone.
“That’s Heath’s horse tied at the front rail,” Luke stated as he reined in.
“Something is wrong,” Wisteria breathed. “It’s never this quiet.” She was out of her saddle in a flash, the reins left to trail freely as she ran up the steps with her pistol in hand.
“Wait,” Luke cautioned, catching her around the waist as she reached the door. “We go slowly.” He drew one of his Colts and moved in front of her, peeking inside the open door. “Wait here while I check the rest of the house.”
“No, I’ll cover your back.”
“Wisteria,” he growled.
“You’re wasting time fussing at me, when we should be finding Micah and your ma.”
A floorboard creaked overhead and boots appeared at the top of the stairs. They both took aim even as Luke pressed them up against the wall in the hallway, his big body covering hers protectively. Jean-clad legs gave way to a broad chest, before Heath’s familiar face appeared.
“Holy shit,” he said, skidding to a halt as he came face to muzzle with two six-shooters that had him dead to rights. Breathing a relieved sigh, Luke and Wisteria immediately lowered their weapons.
“Where is everyone? Have you seen Letty and Micah?” both Luke and Wisteria inquired at once.
“The house is empty.” Jenny appeared at the end of the hall that led to the kitchen. “Not a sign of anyone and supper was boiling over on the stove.” She rushed to the bottom of the stairs, her brow furrowed as she spoke urgently to her husband. “Something’s very wrong, Heath. I’m scared.”
Heath moved hastily down to join them, slipping an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Ma would never leave a pot to overflow.”
“Have you checked the barn?” Luke asked.
“We got here just a few minutes before you did.” Heath replied. “You girls stay here.” He was out the front door with Luke on his heels, expecting his order to be followed. Wisteria had other plans.
“I’m going to check out back in the garden.” She whirled, leaving Jenny to obey her husband if she wished, unsurprised when her footsteps followed her down the hall and through the kitchen.
At the back door, they both paused, scanning the yard. The garden on the right was empty. Off to the left, sheets snapped gently in the breeze on the clothesline. There was no sign of Letty or Micah.
“Where could they have gone?” Wisteria whispered, near frantic, desperate to know the whereabouts of her son.
“Look,” Jenny said on a choked breath. She bolted past her and began to run across the yard. “It’s Letty. She’s hurt.”
Wisteria followed at a full run, her skirts hitched clear to her knees. She came to a halt as she watched Jenny sink down in the grass beside their mother-in-law, who was sprawled unresponsive in the grass.
“Letty,” Jenny called softly, putting her hand to her cheek. She pulled it back abruptly, her fingers wet. “She’s bleeding.”
“Heavenly day!” As Wisteria took note of the empty blanket spread out nearby, her concern for Letty was surpassed by fear for her child. “Where’s Micah?”
One of his favorite toys, a scarecrow made of rags, lay discarded. She rushed forward and scooped it up, cradling it to her chest as she glanced around for anything else, a clue or some sign as to where he might be. In the wicker hamper nearby, she spied a folded sheet of paper.
We have the brat. Have Rose come to the line shack on the west end near the old Harper farm at sunset. She’s to come alone with the stash or the kid won’t live to see another daybreak. Give us what we want, and we’ll make an exchange and forget this little incident ever happened.
A cold knot of terror formed in her chest at the thought of her defenseless baby in the hands of vicious Zeke Sanders and his kowtowing toady, Virgil. By the look of the sun in the western sky, she had about two hours until sunset. She tucked the note in her pocket at the same time Letty groaned.
“Thank God, she’s alive,” Jenny murmured. “Wisteria, go tell Heath and Luke, we need someone to fetch Doc or Janelle.”
She was racing toward the barn as two riders approached. It was Aaron and Janelle. “Come quick, Janelle. Letty’s been hurt.” The other brothers appeared in the barn door just then. Her eyes collided with Luke’s. “She’s bleeding from the head,” she cried, adding with a broken sob, “and Micah isn’t with her.”
“We’ve got two men knocked out from a blow to the head in here, but they’re coming around,” Heath said to Janelle. “See to ma first.”
“I’ll fetch water and towels,” Wisteria muttered as she started for the house, staggering under the knowledge that she didn’t dare share, determined to make the exchange and get her son back.
“Darlin’,” Luke said as he caught up with her.
“I’ve got to do something or I’ll lose my mind.”
He nodded and let her go, concern darkening his brow. As she rushed away, she heard Aaron say, “There’s a trail of hoof prints leading out to the western pasture, Luke. We should be able to track them.”
She breathed a sigh of relief when he went with Aaron around back. Saying a prayer that Letty would be all right, she raced to Luke’s horse and removed the bag with the small fortune she planned to trade for her son. As an afterthought, she tucked the note she received under his saddle. He wouldn’t find it until later. If she was lucky, she’d be home long before then. If she wasn’t, well, he would know where to start looking. She couldn’t bear to finish the thought.
The next instant, she was up on Shasta, making a wide turn in the yard, hugging the far perimeter where the tall trees cast the lane into shadows. She held Shasta to a soft gait, quietly riding away, keeping out of sight of the frantic family in the back yard. As she neared the main road, she kicked her horse into a gallop, praying she was far enough away for the pounding hoo
f beats not to be heard, but she didn’t have time to spare. Not if she was going to get there in time.
* * *
Riding in from the south pasture, Henry caught a flash of white riding faster than double-struck lightning toward the end of the lane. Nearly out of sight, he would have missed seeing the rider entirely if not for the sun breaking through the trees as he neared the turn off to the main road. That’s when he noticed that the rider was a she, with skirts flapping wildly as she dug in her heels and urged her horse faster. Her hat flipped back as she reined hard right and raced out of sight in a wash of late afternoon sun.
Henry dwelled on the final image of midnight hair flying out behind her. Land’s sake, what is that wild girl up to now? He twisted toward the house and barn to see if Luke was on her heels. Seeing no one, he urged his horse into a gallop in that direction. What had set a fire under Wisteria’s saddle? And, what was she doing riding off by herself? Luke would be beside himself when he found out.
As he pulled up and dismounted, his middle son came bursting out the front door and tearing across the porch.
“Hellfire!” he roared as he scanned the yard and the empty lane beyond. “She’s gone.”
“If you’re talking about that wild bride of yours, as I rode up, she was racing down the road like the devil was after her.”
“He’s about to be,” Luke fumed as he stomped down the stairs. “Which way did she go?”
“West.” Henry frowned, seeing Baron, Heath’s chestnut quarter horse, glistening with sweat. Aaron’s horse also looked rather winded, the mare by its side, ridden equally hard and worn out, surely belonging to Janelle. “What in tarnation is going on around here? Where are the hands? Why are you torturing expensive horseflesh?”
Luke paused and faced his pa. “Don’t panic when I tell you this because Janelle’s with her and she’s fine now, but ma was knocked out by two hoodlums who are after my wife. We believe they took Micah. What you saw just now was Wisteria on a reckless and ill-conceived tear apparently trying to save him all by herself.”
Aaron and Heath came out the door checking their weapons.
“How is your mother?” Henry demanded as he raced up the steps two at a time.
“Woozy from a pistol butt to her forehead,” Aaron said grimly. “She’s got a bloody gash too, but Janelle says that will only require a stitch or two.”
“Good gravy, my Letty!” Henry exclaimed as he tore past them and stormed into the house bellowing her name.
“We need fresh mounts,” Heath said as he led Baron to the barn.
“You’ll have to catch up with me.” Luke was already in the saddle and wheeling Track about. “She’ll be traveling fast, so I’m not waiting. Foolish woman is going to get herself and my boy shot.”
“What is she up to, Luke?” Aaron demanded.
“Skeens was in trouble. Wisteria took his stash of stolen goods and her late husband’s partners have come for it. I’m guessing she’s aiming to make a swap, Micah for the money and jewels. Pray, brother, that we catch her before she gets the chance. Zeke Sanders would shoot ‘em both before wasting his breath on making a deal.”
Luke was halfway down the lane by the time Heath came out of the barn with two fresh horses.
Chapter Nineteen
The small cabin sat in a clearing on the furthest reaches of the vast Jackson acreage. She’d located the Harper farm without difficulty, but with the sun sinking low on the horizon, she’d had to stop for directions beyond that. When she came to the break in the trees that signaled the turnoff to the cabin, the last glimmers of orange were streaking through the sky as dusk rapidly approached. She’d barely made it.
Leaving Shasta secured, she went the rest of the way on foot, moving quietly so as not to alert them of her arrival. Slinking through the thick undergrowth, she spotted the roof of a cabin up ahead through the thinning in the dense copse trees. Her heart lurched painfully at the sound of Micah’s distressed cries. Having only recently started weaning him, her milk let down instinctively at her baby’s cry and her breasts swelled uncomfortably.
Not willing to risk her only bargaining chip, she squatted and opened the satchel, stuffing her pockets with a few rolls of bills and a large jeweled necklace, plenty enough proof that she had the goods. She then shoved the satchel under some thick brush, well out of sight, before she crept closer to the cabin, hiding behind a large maple with a direct line of sight to the front door.
“Oh, Miz Jackson,” a singsong voice called as the door creaked open and Virgil’s greasy head popped out. “If yer out there, best show yerself. Once the sun sets, time is up and we’re movin’ on. Can’t promise the same for the kid.”
“I’m here,” she called, watching as his head twisted her way and he squinted, searching the tree line in the fading light.
“Did you bring the loot?” Zeke Sanders demanded as he stepped into the doorway, holding a wriggling and fussing Micah like a shield in front of his chest. The bastard! To use an innocent baby like a pawn. She was livid, but more frightened than anything else.
“I have it. I’ll give you half now and when I get Micah and am clear of the cabin, I’ll tell you where to find the rest.”
Zeke laughed. “Well, listen to that. She’s a sight smarter than ole Jarrett ever hoped to be.”
Virgil didn’t laugh, looking at Zeke in question. “Are ya gonna do it her way?”
“Fuck, no!” As fast as it came, his mirth faded. “I’m calling the shots, bitch. Now bring me my property and we might not break your crying brat’s neck.”
Wisteria watched in horror as he slid his big hand around the front of her defenseless child’s throat. “No, please, he’s an innocent baby. You said we’d make an exchange.”
“Tsk, tsk.” The tutting sound came from behind her at the same time cold steel pressed against her temple. “That was your first mistake, trusting old Zeke. Sadly for you, it’ll probably be your last one as well. He’d lie, cheat, and steal his own mother blind.”
She was petrified with fear, not at the risk to her own life, rather that she would be shot and Micah would be left at their mercy.
“Please, whoever you are—”
“Name’s Fordy. Jarrett always said you was a looker, but he never said how much so.”
“You were a friend of Jarrett’s?” Hope that she could reason with him sprung to life in her chest. “He wouldn’t want this. Before Zeke shot him dead, he was trying to protect us. If he was your friend, surely you’d want to help his widow out of this mess.”
“Yeah, he was my friend and the way I heard it, you weren’t much of a wife. Icy cold, pawning off another man’s brat on him, and he was always whining over how you wouldn’t give him his due as a husband. He was gonna get shed of you and head to California, so I don’t suppose I owe my old friend’s bitch of a wife nothin’, considering.”
“You’d throw in with his murderer?”
He shrugged. “His murderer is gonna make me rich, then he’ll get his.”
She thought maybe a bribe would work, an appeal to the greed that clearly motivated them all. “If you help me get my baby back, I’ll take you to the other half of the loot, the others need not even know. It will be all yours.”
“You mean this?” He held up the satchel. Her stomach lurched seeing her last chance of making an exchange and getting Micah back slipping away.
Raising his voice, Fordy called to Zeke, “I’ve got the little mama. We’re coming out.”
As she walked toward the cabin, motivated to cooperate by the gun at her head, Wisteria mentally kicked herself for forgetting about the fourth in their little gang. Self-recriminations were useless now, and she didn’t give it another thought when Micah screamed and reached for her when he saw her.
“Shut the kid up, Zeke,” Virgil whined. “All his squallin’ is make my brain ache.”
“You squall and whine more than the brat,” their leader snapped back. “Since you don’t like it, head up to the rise beh
ind the cabin and check her back trail. You can make sure she wasn’t followed, while me and Fordy get acquainted with the little mama.”
“No fair! I want me a taste, too.”
“After,” Zeke barked, short on patience. “Now get up there.”
Virgil stalked away, muttering. Although the odds were still stacked against her, two on one was better than three. They would improve more if they weren’t both armed. She began to study on that as she tried to satisfy their greed.
“Please,” she begged, dropping the bag of jewels and cash at his feet. “Take it and let us go.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But we deserve a little something for our three months of trouble, I’m thinking.” He leered at her, his lust-filled gaze roaming down her front slowly. Apparently liking what he saw, he licked his lips and grabbed at his crotch, making her skin crawl and her stomach heave. “How far will you go to save your boy, pretty lady?”
“You’re vile,” she uttered, knowing as she said it, she would do anything to keep Micah safe. “What about our deal? I held up my end.”
He laughed, spit flying out of his mouth as he did so. “I lied.” He stepped out of the doorway and bowed, waving her on through. “Come on in, beauty. If you cooperate and give me and Fordy here a good time, maybe we’ll do some renegotiating. If you don’t, well, I guess you’ll get to find out how vile I can be.”
Fordy shoved her forward, laughing as she fell at Zeke’s feet.
“That’s it,” he laughed as he sneered down at her. “On your knees like a good little whore already.”
They had her pinned to the narrow bed in seconds. While Fordy held her arms over her head, Zeke straddled her hips and ripped her blouse wide open. Next, he tore her chemise in two and began pawing roughly at her breasts, laughing at her useless struggles. She bucked her hips, trying to get him off her, but that only entertained him more.
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