by Cassie Hayes
“Shh!” Skeeter hissed at his brother. Then, realizing they held all the power, shrugged and smiled bitterly. “Guess it don’t matter now. Yeah, we spent the better part of a week scouting out the area. Dirk thought this rickety ol’ shack was a good spot to hide out. Close enough to the bend in the tracks to make it back quick, but far enough from town that you red devils wouldn’t find us.”
“Guess that didn’t work out so well, did it?” Marshall asked.
Skeeter shot a glance over at his dead brother and sniffed. “Guess not.”
Clearing his throat as though he had an important announcement, Marshall took a half-step forward. “Well, no sense putting this off. You’re all under arrest!”
All three men gaped at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Marshall didn’t mind. He hadn’t really expected them to lay down arms, but he had to give them a chance to do the right thing. Whatever happened after this was their own fault.
“Fella, just who do you think you’re talking to? We’re the Cartwell gang, and we got you dead to rights!”
“I’m a sworn officer of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police,” Marshall replied, his tone unwavering and stern. “Now drop your weapons and release the girl, or so help me…”
The Frenchmen chuckled and pressed the barrel of his gun deeper into Marshall’s back. “So help you what?”
Marshall connected with Colleen, pouring all his love into one glance. He had an idea how this was going to turn out, and she needed to know how deeply he loved her and their child. That love would be his motivation to kill or injure every one of the men just to give her a chance to escape, he just had to make sure she got a good head start.
“If you haven’t noticed,” Skeeter said, “we’re the ones with the guns.”
Marshall’s gut clenched when Skeeter dragged a grimy finger down Colleen’s cheek. “Do what you want with me,” he hissed, “just let her go.”
Skeeter snorted, which made Jake snort. The Frenchman remained quiet.
“You shot our brother. Trust me, we are gonna do whatever we want with you…and her.”
“You’ll never get out of here alive,” Marshall growled through clenched teeth. “You shot one of our brothers. Every Mountie across this great nation of ours will know your names and your faces. We already have sketches of all three of you, and now I know your names. You won’t be be able to walk into a single town without someone there recognizing you. Face it, if you don’t come with me now, you’re all dead men.”
The men exchanged bemused glances. “We’re dead men any way you look at it,” Skeeter said. “That being the case, we might as well avenge Dirk’s murder by killing you and your pretty little wife.”
Marshall’s blood boiled in his veins. He imagined throttling all three men until their breath gave out. Then Jake leered at Colleen.
“But not before we have a little fun with her first.”
9
Colleen’s skin crawled under the fetid gaze of the lanky Cartwell brother. Having worked in a hotel for so long, she’d felt the heated stares of more than a few male guests, but none had affected her like this. These men were going to kill her and Marshall, but not before doing unspeakable things to her. Though both their hearts were still beating, they were already dead.
That knowledge, that bone-chilling realization hit her harder than a punch to the gut. She’d spent her life dreaming of the day she’d become a wife, then a mother, then raising a big, raucous family, and finally growing old with the love of her life. And it was all for naught.
Her life was over.
Her baby’s life was over.
That thought sparked a feral instinct she didn’t even know existed within her. A rage like she’d never felt before churned inside her, chilling her skin with its ferocity. Her fingers inched over her belly in a vain attempt to protect it from the dangers surrounding her, and her upper lip curled like a cornered animal’s. She finally understood a mother bear’s wrath, and if these men thought she’d submit to them without a fight, they would soon discover just how dangerous a woman could be.
“Do we kill zis one first?” Pierre asked from behind Marshall. He actually licked his lips as his filthy gaze roamed up and down her body.
Skeeter chuckled. “Nah, let’s make him watch.”
With a calm confidence she had no right possessing, Colleen locked eyes with her husband. He looked just as angry as she felt. Good. That animal instinct to protect family was the only thing that could possibly triumph over three greedy, evil men with guns.
Silently they communicated their plan. Words weren’t necessary for her to know Marshall was about to launch a full-on attack, and that’s when she’d make her own move. No one was going to hurt her baby without paying for it first — with their blood! But instead of tensing in anticipation, which would alert Skeeter, she relaxed into his grasp. Her eyes never wavered from Marshall’s. When Skeeter loosened his hold ever so slightly, Colleen’s lips twitched upward in the closest semblance of a smile she could muster.
Marshall’s eyes went from deep blue to black in an instant. Before she could blink, he moved one arm forward and back so fast, Pierre didn’t even have time to flinch before Marshall’s elbow was buried deep in his belly. The man let out a loud “Oof!” and doubled over in pain. Marshall spun and grabbed at Pierre’s gun, but the man had enough of his senses to hold on tight.
Jake stood there looking totally confused.
As Marshall and Pierre tussled for the gun, Skeeter loosened his grip on Colleen even more, no doubt readying himself to rush to his compatriot’s aid. This was her moment. Instead of throwing her arms up to break free, as she’d done earlier, she spun in the man’s arms, which surprised him. She surprised him even more when she threw all of her weight and strength into bringing her knee up fast and hard, until it hit the target with a satisfying thud.
And down he went.
Jake stared down at his brother, squeaking and writhing around on the rough wooden floor, then looked up at Colleen. Understanding flared in those dullard eyes of his, and as he reached out to grab her, she turned to run. The blast of a gun being fired in the small space startled her enough to cause her to stumble. Thankfully it had the same effect on Jake.
Marshall stood in the doorway of the shack, Pierre’s smoking gun in his hand. Pierre sat hunkered down on his haunches, his arms wrapped around his head like a child afraid of thunder. Colleen almost screamed with joy and relief when Marshall planted his foot in Pierre’s back and gave him a shove toward the Cartwell brothers. She rushed to him, but instead of sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her — as she wanted, but also knew was not possible at the moment — he pushed her behind him, out the cabin door.
Panting hard, Marshall glowered at the men. “As I said earlier, you’re all under arrest! Lay your weapons on the ground and kick them over here.”
The sound of a horse racing toward the shack set Colleen’s heart pounding even faster. Would they never rid themselves of these dastardly outlaws? Snatching up one of the guns lying at Marshall’s feet, she spun around to face the next threat against her baby’s life. It didn’t matter that she’d never fired a gun in her life. She’d figure it out or die trying.
But instead of another evil man, Peter burst out of the trees astride his trusty mount and skidded to a stop in front of her. Colleen gasped — in her panic, she’d almost fired wildly into the woods. The trees had hidden Peter’s red coat so well, she’d almost killed him. She let the hand holding the gun drop to her side and her entire body started shaking so hard she thought it best to lay the pistol back on the ground.
“What’s going on here?” Peter demanded as he rushed toward her.
The way she was quaking, she wasn’t entirely sure she’d be able to speak. As it happened, she didn’t need to. Not then, anyway. Marshall took a quick glance behind him and nodded at his commander.
“I’ve taken the Cartwell gang into custody, Commander. They’re the ones who’ve been rob
bing the train.”
There was no pridefulness in his voice, only immense relief. He didn’t need to feel proud — Colleen was proud enough of him for the both of them.
Peter approached the doorway and peered over Marshall’s shoulder at the motley crew inside. “Well, I’ll be. How?”
“It’ll be in my report once I can think clearly again,” Marshall said, half-laughing. “How did you find us?”
Peter shook his head and slapped Marshall’s back. “I didn’t. Not really. I was out on patrol, not too far from here, when I heard a shot. Thought I’d better check it out.”
“I’m so glad you did, Peter,” Colleen said, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.
She didn’t care if it wasn’t seemly for her to be hugging another man — a married one at that — in front of her husband. It just felt right to show her appreciation. And darn it, she needed to hug someone, and Marshall’s hands were full.
Peter patted her back and chuckled. “Hey, Marshall. Why don’t we swap?”
“Sounds like a fine idea to me.”
It sounded fine to Colleen as well. She was having more and more trouble keeping her emotions in check. Never her strong-suit, the mere act of holding in her relief and fear and hope and terror for so long proved overwhelming. No sooner were Marshall’s arms holding her tight than the floodgates opened.
They clutched at each other, scarcely believing they’d survived the ordeal unscathed. Only once her sobs started tapering off did Marshall pull away and grasp her face. His shining eyes scanned every inch of her face as she held onto his wrists, smiling and crying at him.
“Are you okay?” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “Is the baby?”
Colleen still didn’t trust her voice, and for good reason. When she tried to tell him she was fine, that the baby was fine, that they were fine, all that came out was a thin squeak. Giving up hope of intelligible speech, she nodded frantically. He pulled her tight again, and they swayed like that while Peter rounded up the criminals. But that was all background noise. The only sound Colleen wanted to hear was her husband’s heart beating underneath her ear.
Eventually, Peter cleared his throat pointedly. “I hate to break up this touching moment, but I’m going to need your help getting these gentlemen back to the station. Any idea where their horses are?”
Marshall cleared his throat and surreptitiously wiped at his eyes before answering. “They must be out back. I heard them, but didn’t see them.”
“Maybe you and Colleen can go collect them.”
By the time they rounded up the four horses, she and Marshall had collected themselves. The men didn’t bother saddling the horses, they just threw the bound prisoners over the horses’ backs and tied them on securely. They all grumbled, until Skeeter finally spoke out.
“Hey, you can’t make us ride all the way back there like this. It hurts!”
Marshall started forward, obviously ready to show Skeeter the definition of pain, but Peter stopped him. “No, Marshall. Keep your head on straight. You’re a Mountie, and I expect you to act like one.”
Marshall glared at Peter instead of Skeeter, then nodded curtly and turned away. His frustration and resentment was obvious to anyone with eyes, and it infected Colleen. These men would surely never be free again for the rest of their lives, if they didn’t hang for their crimes. Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about what they would have done to her, including killing her child.
Glancing between Peter, Marshall, and the outlaws, she huffed. “Well, I’m not a Mountie.”
Striding up to Skeeter before anyone could stop her, she crouched low enough to peer into his ugly face. He wasn’t even man enough to meet her eye.
“The Bible says I should forgive you for what you’ve done, for what you were going to do. And maybe one day I’ll be able to do that, but today is not that day.”
Skeeter finally looked up at her, a flare of worry crossing his face.
Colleen had grown up with eight brothers, all of whom were champion spitters, but none of them could hold a candle to their older sister. Gathering up all the saliva she could muster, she let it fly into the face of her would-be murderer. As a big glob of spit dripped off Skeeter’s nose, Colleen stood and brushed the dust from her skirt.
“You’re right. I am a fighter.”
* * *
After the day they’d had, Marshall was loathe to leave Colleen at their cabin alone, but he had to go to the station and make sure the Cartwell gang had no chance of escaping. He trusted his fellow Mounties with his life, but he needed to be certain. Plus Peter wanted him to file a report detailing what had happened out in the woods. He had to leave Colleen, but it was killing him.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said, kissing him on the cheek as she helped him button up his coat. “Be sure to tell the boys that dinner will be here tonight.”
“What? No, you need to rest, not cook for all those people. You’ve got precious cargo to care for.”
He placed a hand on her tummy. She laughed and placed hers on top of his.
“I need to burn off this excess energy. Besides, Madelyn, Ida and Callie are all coming over to help, and I really need to be surrounded by people I love right now.”
“Me included?” he’d asked, only half-teasing.
After being held prisoner by outlaws intent on murder, he wouldn’t have blamed her for buying a ticket on the next train out of White Fox. Instead, she’d smiled, stepped in closer to him and stood on her tiptoes.
“Especially you.”
Their kiss was light and sweet, full of love and relief and tenderness. Marshall had never imagined when he sent away for a mail-order bride that he’d fall so helplessly head over heels for her. She hadn’t been what he’d expected, or even thought he’d wanted in a wife, but it turned out she was exactly what he’d needed.
“Okay, I’d better go before we burn off that energy another way,” he laughed as they broke apart. “And while that would be very nice indeed, you just know Andrew or Bert will come pounding on the door.”
“Go!” She pushed him toward the door. “And don’t forget to invite everyone.”
* * *
A few hours later, all of their friends sat around the extended table, laughing and holding their full stomachs. Everyone except Bert, who’d volunteered to stay behind to watch the prisoners. Marshall had been certain to set the table so he was sitting next to Colleen. He needed her near. He still couldn’t quite believe how close he’d come to losing her — losing them — and he never wanted to get that close again.
Andrew drew everyone’s attention by clinking his knife on his glass. “Ladies, that was the finest meal I’ve had since—“ he glanced at Ida, who raised an eyebrow at him “—since the last meal my beautiful wife made for me!”
Laughter filled the cabin again, causing little Lily, Mary and Millie to slap their hands over their ears. Marshall finally understood why Colleen had wanted to host this dinner party. After the horror of their day, laughter was just the thing to keep the bad thoughts at bay. The memories of their trauma would come and go for some time, he had no doubt about that, but being surrounded by friends who loved them would create new, happier memories that would hopefully push out the bad ones sooner, rather than later.
“I’d like to say something,” Marshall said, standing and raising his glass. “I’d like to toast the bravery of my amazing wife. Her strength in the face of adversity knows no bounds. She makes the world a better, kinder, more exciting place to live. I don’t know how I managed to survive almost thirty years on this planet without her, but I know I don’t want to spend even a single day for the rest of my life away from her. To Colleen!”
Colleen sniffled and stared up at him with big, moist eyes, while the others cried out, “Colleen!”
Before they had a chance to set down their glasses, Marshall quickly added with a sly smile, “And to the little one you all will meet in, oh, about eight months!”
A roomful of faces gawked up at him in shock. Then, much like a flock of birds moving in unison, everyone jumped up and started passing around hugs and handshakes.
Marshall marveled at the pure joy radiating through him. He hadn’t even been sure he’d wanted children in the first place, but now he daydreamed about what it would be like to have two or three little nippers running around. Of course, Colleen had made it clear she wanted as big a family as possible, but three sounded just about right to Marshall.
At least to start.
* * *
After everyone finally left, Marshall sat in his rocker and patted his lap. “We’ll clean up later. Come sit for a spell.”
Colleen set down the dishes she’d been clearing and eagerly plopped into his lap. Snuggling her head into the crook of his neck, she sighed deeply as they stared into the blazing fire. He could have happily sat that way forever, but he had a question to ask. It wouldn’t be easy, but he loved her too much to not ask.
“Are you sure you want to be the wife of a Mountie?” he whispered.
His heart sped up with each second she didn’t answer. She pulled herself forward and turned to face him, her brows knit together.
“Why would you ask such a silly question, Marshall?”
He forced himself to continue. “Today is why I’m asking. You discovered firsthand just how dangerous the life of a Mountie can be. I’m telling you honestly, Colleen, that if you’re having second thoughts about spending your life with me — and all that entails — I won’t stop you from leaving.”
Her frown grew deeper. “D-do you want me to leave?”
Marshall closed his eyes and ground his teeth. Of course he didn’t want her to leave! But he didn’t want to pressure her into staying if that wasn’t what she truly wanted. When he opened his eyes, he felt wetness in them.
“Colleen, you deserve to be safe, to feel safe, whatever life you chose. I can’t promise you’ll always be safe while I’m a Mountie. All I want is for you to be happy.”