The Legacy

by Beth Williamson

  “How old were you?” It was the first question he’d asked.

  “Eight.”

  “Jesus Christ.” He squeezed her hand. “No one bothered to help you?”

  She shook her head. “They likely couldn’t find me if they tried. I was real good at hiding. The first year I survived by eating rats I could catch and slops. When my cat sort of adopted me, I’d have meat a couple times a week from what she caught. I stole food from the mercantile and even clothes off a clothesline. I ain’t proud of what I done, but I did it because I had to.”

  Rosalyn was afraid to look him in the eye. There was so much in her past that was rancid and bloody, the true bowels of humankind.

  “I don’t have what you call good family and maybe someday I’ll take after my daddy or my mama. I could beat and murder folks any time now.” She finally got the courage up to look him in the eye, prepared to run, to return to the life she’d lived for ten years before a stubborn sheriff plucked her from the alley.

  “Oh, honey, you aren’t your parents. You’re someone special, a survivor who has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Did you think I’d reject you because of what your parents did?”

  “Yes,” she blurted. “This entire town treats me like horse shit they want to scrape off their shoes. Why should you be any different?”

  He cupped her face and kissed her so softly, she barely felt it.

  “Because I love you.”

  Because I love you.

  She’d waited so long to hear someone, anyone, say that to her. Her mother had been affectionate to a point but never told her daughter she loved her. Although she shouldn’t believe him, Rosalyn’s heart grabbed hold of those words and hugged them tightly.

  “Are you sure?” She could’ve kicked herself for asking, but she had to know.

  Noah smiled, a sad, bittersweet smile that plucked her heart strings.

  “Positive. I was going to talk to you about something else but it can wait until tomorrow.” He tucked her hair behind her ears. “Now why don’t you lie beside me and I’ll tell you my story.”

  Rosalyn had hoped he’d tell her something about himself too, but she didn’t want to ask. Folks would either talk or they wouldn’t. Forcing them to talk was always a bad idea. They settled on the bed with their backs resting against the wall. Noah put his arm around her shoulders and Rosalyn snuggled into his warm body.

  “Your sins, sweet Rosalyn, are nothing compared to what I’ve done to survive. My mother was a cook on a ranch with about a dozen hands, but half her job was servicing the man who owned the ranch, Owen Hoffman. He’d come into our room whenever he felt like it and make her do whatever he wanted her to.” He sounded so bitter, Rosalyn almost had to look to make sure it was Noah talking. “It could be three o’clock in the morning and he’d drag her out of bed.”

  He leaned over and put his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply before continuing.

  “My mother died when I was twelve and I think she willed herself to die because she couldn’t live like that anymore. That first night, I found out Hoffman expected me to take over where my mother had left off.” Noah paused and Rosalyn took a moment to absorb what he meant.

  She put her hand on his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart beneath her fingers.

  “I wasn’t as easy as she was, but as it turned out, the more I struggled, the more he liked it.” He swallowed and sucked in a shaky breath. “I gave in to survive. I gave in for two years until a bounty hunter and his prisoner shot and killed Hoffman, setting me free. Turns out the outlaw and the bounty hunter had gotten married and wanted me to come work at their ranch. Until I met Nicky and Tyler Calhoun, I never knew life could be enjoyed and not just endured.” He blew out a shaky breath and Rosalyn felt the rest of his body trembling beneath the raw emotions she heard in his voice.

  She rolled over and tucked her head beneath his chin. As her arm wrapped around his chest, he squeezed her shoulder. Something wet landed on her hair and she wished she could take his pain away. Lord above, she knew for certain her heart had been completely and utterly given to him.

  It was as if God had reached down and pointed the way to Chancetown for Noah. Someone or something had certainly guided his steps to hers.

  “Do you want me to go?” His voice was husky with emotion and need.

  “No, never.” She kissed his neck. “I want you to make love to me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, Sheriff.” She pulled his face to hers and met his lips in a fiery kiss that threatened to scald.

  They exchanged long, soul-filled kisses with hot, wet tongues and nibbling teeth. She ended up lying on top of him, teasing him with butterfly kisses and slow licks across his full lips. Rosalyn tangled her fingers in his soft hair, loving the way it felt, loving him.

  Noah kept repeating her name over and over, as if he couldn’t believe she was there in his arms, that she was truly his. Rosalyn intended on showing him.

  She skimmed her fingers along his buttons, then undid them one by one. He watched her with his shining brown eyes, ancient pain reflected in them. Rosalyn’s heart beat a heavy, steady rhythm for him, for them, for love.

  “Love me, Rosalyn,” he whispered.

  “I do.”

  Within moments, they’d shed their clothes and lay down side by side, their bodies within a hairsbreadth of touching. She traced each scar, each line on his skin. He shivered beneath her touch, closing his eyes. Noah had seemed so big, so strong to her, never afraid. Beneath that sheriff’s badge lay a man who needed to be healed as much as she did.

  Rosalyn leaned forward and kissed his eyelids, his cheeks, his nose, then finally his lips. Soft, warm and pliable, his mouth joined with hers. Unhurried, as if they had the rest of their lives, they kissed so many times Rosalyn lost count.

  Slow kisses that sent shafts of desire all the way down her skin to land between her legs were followed by long kisses that made her dizzy. Her pussy came to life, knowing that she would join with him, but without the ravenous hunger she always felt.

  This time it was about becoming one, and her heart and soul, not her body, led the way.

  Rosalyn moved closer, raising her leg and nestling his cock against her. With her hand guiding him, he slid into her wetness, filling her, completing her. Sweet, sweet heaven.

  Noah opened his eyes and stared into hers as they danced the eternal dance together. He cupped her breast and pressed his mouth to hers.

  Their tongues dueled in unison to their movements below. What began as a slow dance of love quickly picked up speed.

  Rosalyn’s blood rushed through her, pounding in her ears and between her legs. He thrust in and out, touching her womb, touching her heart. She moved with him, meeting his body, feeling the threat of her own release.

  She scratched at his back, tangling her tongue with his. The bed squeaked beneath them, echoing the rhythm of their loving.

  She lifted her leg high, allowing him to go deeper. He gasped as he sank to the hilt. Rosalyn’s body shook with the love she had for the man who was now as deep within her as he could be, joined with her as one. She threw her head back and groaned.

  “Oh God, Noah.” A tear squeezed from her eye and rolled toward her nose. “I love you.”

  His hand gripped her knee and he pushed within her, pulling her closer and closer to the precipice of pleasure.

  “Love you,” he gasped as his body spasmed within her, spilling his seed.

  Rosalyn dove over the cliff with him, the orgasm rolling through her like thunder, stealing her breath. She sought his lips blindly, unable to do more than feel the purest wave of love in her life.

  Their lips met and sealed their union, forever.

  Chapter Eleven

  Noah’s body still tingled from their lovemaking while his heart beat a steady rhythm of its own. He didn’t remember feeling so free before. Telling Rosalyn his deepest, darkest secret was the hardest thing he�
�d ever done. Many women would have turned away or shunned him because of his choice. It had been a choice. He could have run away or said no—either option would have likely resulted in his death.

  Instead, Noah had taken the “easy” road, although nothing about what he’d been through those two years had been easy. The experience had peppered his dreams, his nightmares for the last ten years. Perhaps now his soul could be more at peace with what he’d lived through.

  Working as sheriff of Chancetown allowed him the opportunity to save himself by helping others. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend his life, provided Rosalyn stood at his side.

  They waited in the kitchen for Elsa, sipping coffee and thinking. He knew Rosalyn was working through her own thoughts about what they’d said and done. Every few minutes she looked up at him with a shy smile.

  Elsa burst into the kitchen with a fierce frown. “Do you know how hard it was to keep a straight face while I could hear the two of you acting like rabbits upstairs?”

  Rosalyn’s cheeks blushed bright red and Noah resisted the urge to slap his forehead. Elsa helped that out by smacking him on the back of the head.

  “I told you Rosie was a good girl.”

  “I’m sorry, Elsa, it’s my fault. She—”

  Rosalyn smacked him on the shoulder. “Don’t say another word.” Rosalyn’s frown was as scary as Elsa’s. “What I do is my own decision and no one else’s. Don’t you dare make excuses for me.”

  Elsa, the leader of the madhouse, smiled. “I’m glad to hear you stand up for yourself.”

  “I think me and Noah might get hitched and I don’t think you should buy a horse without riding it,” Rosalyn announced.

  Noah almost choked to death on his mouthful of coffee. Jesus Christ on crutches. What the hell had she just said?

  “I think you did the right thing,” Elsa agreed.

  This time Noah had a coughing fit that brought tears to his eyes. Elsa slapped him on the back repeatedly until he growled at her. She stepped back with both hands up in surrender.

  “Just trying to save your life, Sheriff.” She scowled. “No need to bite the hand that helps you.”

  Noah finally got his breath back. “You two are going to kill me.” Rosalyn laughed and kissed his cheek. “I don’t think so. You just have to get used to ladies who speak their mind. About lots of things.” She waggled her eyebrows.

  Elsa burst out laughing as Noah’s mouth dropped open. He’d never met two females who talked about sex so freely. Not that it was a bad thing, but a bit shocking.

  And arousing.

  Before his mind took him down a path he wasn’t ready to follow, he mentally slapped himself to focus. He’d just spent an hour in bed with Rosalyn for pity’s sake. The fact that Elsa knew that made him squirm. He shook his head to dispel the discomfort and tried to focus.

  “I need to talk to both of you and Marina about something I found out today. Do you have time to go over to the saloon for a while?”

  Elsa nodded. “It’ll be another hour before the supper folks come. Let’s go.”

  The three of them walked to the saloon in silence. Rosalyn tucked her hand in his and her small fingers curled around his. Elsa clomped along in front of them. The saloon wasn’t busy at four in the afternoon during the week. Marina sat at the end of the bar with her chin in her hand.

  She stood when they walked in, her eyes scanning Noah’s. She murmured something to the bartender and waited for them.

  “I don’t expect you’re here to say howdy.” Marina’s brows drew together.

  “Do you have a private room we can talk in?” Noah asked quietly.

  “In the back. Come on.” She gestured for them to follow her.

  Marina led them through a door in the corner into a private room with a table and four chairs. A private poker room if Noah wasn’t mistaken. She must have some high rollers come in on occasion.

  Elsa shut the door behind them and they all sat facing each other.

  “This is your dance, Sheriff. Get on with the music.”

  Noah thought about all that he’d learned that day and hoped talking it over with his friends would help him decide what to do.

  “I went and talked to Johnny Boyton today. I found out that he had a deal with Shep Seeger and his cousin, Mayor Dickinson, to split money from the sale of sheep.”

  He let that sink in. It took about three beats before their reactions hit.

  “What sheep? Seeger doesn’t have any sheep.” Elsa leaned forward, her expression suspicious.

  “Apparently the herds from each and every sheepherder who’s tried to settle in Chancetown.” The idea of them stealing the lives of four men and now trying to snatch Finley’s fueled Noah’s anger again. “Those bastards don’t want sheep because of the amount of grass they eat, so instead of putting up fences, they did everything they could to destroy these men.”

  Marina looked disappointed. “Johnny helped them?”

  Noah covered her hand with his. “I know he’s your friend, but he admitted it to me, Marina. Flat out told me that he looked the other way while they ran those men to the ground and took everything from them.” His voice shook with fury. “I can’t let them do the same thing to Finley. I can’t.”

  Marina pulled her hand away. “Johnny’s a good man, Noah. No matter what he’s done, deep down, he’s a good man.”

  “I’m not sure if I believe that as much as you do, but that’s not important right now. He’s hiding out on that farm. I need to put together a plan to stop Seeger and Dickinson. I thought maybe the three of you might help. I’m going to be honest with you, it isn’t going to be fun, and it might be dangerous and deadly.”

  Rosalyn looked furious. “I’ll help you. Seeger is one of the men who hung my mother. He’s done taking from other people.” She slammed her fist into the table. “Let’s kill him.”

  Noah cupped her chin. “We don’t want revenge, sweetheart. We want to put him and Dickinson in prison so they pay for what they’ve done.”

  “Killing is a pretty equal payment for what they done.” Rosalyn’s violet eyes sparked.

  “I think Noah’s right, Rosie.” Elsa smiled without any humor. “Better to humiliate those sons of bitches in court and put them in a tiny dirty cell for the rest of their lives.” She sounded like a bloodthirsty pirate.

  “I have a question.” Marina met Noah’s gaze. “Why us? Why aren’t you talking to some men in town?”

  Noah had to think about the answer because up until that point, he hadn’t even considered the people he chose to confide in were all women.

  “I’ve seen some bad things in my life, most of them by men. My adopted mother is the strongest person I’ve ever met. She is strong, smart and the fastest draw in Wyoming. There are a lot of strong women in her family, the Malloys. Somewhere in the last ten years, the strength of women has equaled the strength of men in my mind.”

  Elsa and Marina both nodded.

  Rosalyn stared at him as if he’d grown a second head. “Your mother carries a gun?”

  “Yes and she wears britches too.”

  Elsa whistled. “I think I’m going to like her. A lot.”

  A pang of homesickness hit Noah and he had to push it away. It would be a dream come true to have Nicky and Tyler there, but this time he couldn’t count on them to tell him what to do. He needed to make those decisions for himself.

  “Will you help me? You don’t have to and I won’t force you to. I want this to be your decision.”

  Each of his friends all agreed to help do what they could, regardless of the consequences. He hadn’t expected to find three people he trusted as much as his family, but he had. He took Rosalyn’s hand in his. Touching her brought him back to the situation.

  “Here’s what I want to do. First, I’m going to talk to Finley and let him know what’s going on, then get his agreement to help. In the meantime, I’m going to wire for a U.S. Marshal to come to Chancetown. We’re going to set a trap.” Noah
had an idea of how to trap Seeger, but the trick was getting Dickinson too.

  That’s where his friends would come in.

  “You three are going to help me trap Dickinson while Finley and I trap Seeger.” He looked around at their faces. Determination met his gaze.

  “Just tell us what we need to do. I never liked that weasel Dickinson anyway.” Elsa flapped her hand. “He doesn’t like peach pie. Who doesn’t like peach pie?”

  Her rancor broke the tension in the room and everyone chuckled a bit.

  “Let’s get those bastards.” Rosalyn squeezed his hand. “Lead the way, Sheriff.”

  ———

  Noah walked back to the jail from the telegraph office. He’d known the name of the marshal he needed to contact and was able to get the telegram sent and make it cryptic enough that most folks wouldn’t understand it. He hoped Mark Jackman would come as soon as he could. In the meantime, he’d have to walk the line between being the sheriff and keeping himself and his friends alive.

  As Noah approached the jail, he saw Finley waiting for him in the shadows next to the building. Noah had a feeling that something else had happened since the last time they’d spoken. He nodded at the sheep rancher and stepped inside, anticipating the big man would follow.

  The inside of the jail wasn’t as hot, and Noah took off his hat and fanned his face to cool off the late spring heat. Within moments, the door opened and Finley ducked in. Noah noticed a smear of dark red on the other man’s neck. It sure looked like blood.

  “Finley.” Noah sat down heavily at the desk, the weight of the day like a rock on his shoulders.

  “Sheriff, what’s happening? I find twenty of my sheep dead this morning. They sheared them and slit their throats. The wool is gone and what’s left of the animals was half-eaten by the damn coyotes.” Finley shook, his pupils dilated. The man was near his breaking point.

  Noah realized Finley was in shock. He stood and led the other man to the chair beside the desk. The wood creaked beneath his weight. The smell of sweat and fear surrounded him. Noah grabbed the pitcher of water on the small table.