Snake harrumphed. He jabbed the gun against his deputy’s temple, drawing a squeal from the frightened young man, and grumbled, “Like we told you before, ranger, he didn’t steal it. He repossessed it on our account.”
“You stubborn old goats!” Nick Callahan exclaimed, rolling his eyes in frustration. “Can’t you see this Caribbean cut-off of yours is likely to get at least one of you killed?”
Ben twisted his lips wryly. “It might come to that, true. I certainly hope it doesn’t.”
Coming from somewhere behind Maggie, a new voice entered the fray. “I don’t see why it should.”
Snake sucked in a sharp breath. Ben’s posture grew rigid. Making sure to keep the lawman pinned down with the parasol, Maggie glanced over her shoulder and froze. Papa Lucky and Papa Gus had stepped out of the trees, pistols pointed and expressions fierce. But the man who demanded Maggie’s complete and total attention was a stranger, someone whom she recognized at once.
The gun slipped from her hands and the deputy rolled out of harm’s way. Maggie stood frozen, her mouth as dry as a west Texas July.
Looking into the stranger’s eyes was like looking into a mirror. Andrew Montgomery.
Her father.
~~~~~~~~~~
When Maggie had thrown her arms wide and yelled about her broken toe, Rafe had gotten his first sneaking suspicion that he wouldn’t die that afternoon. When the pirates swashbuckled their way into surprising Nick’s motley crew of deputies, he’d upgraded his survival chances to pretty darn good. Then, when Gus and Lucky burst into view with Patersons at the ready, he’d silently declared himself home free.
That was before he got a good look at the fellow who tagged along with them. The minute he spied the masculine version of Caribbean eyes, he realized the dynamics of the situation had taken a drastic change.
Andrew Montgomery had come to call at Hotel Bliss.
Rafe’s gaze immediately went to Maggie. Had she guessed the stranger’s identity? The pasty appearance of her complexion told him yes, she had. Rafe ached to go to her, he wished one of her papas would wrap her in his arms. But the tableau of lawmen and defenders remained frozen, weapons pointed and ready, as Montgomery stepped into the circle. He walked toward Maggie and stopped directly in front of her.
Rafe whipped his head around and glared at his brother. “She needs me.” Then, with his hands still tied behind his back, he strode past Montgomery and took position behind the woman he loved.
Montgomery asked, “Did you mean it?”
Rafe clenched his jaw when he spied a shudder rippling down her back. She cleared her throat before asking, “Mean what?”
“Forgiveness. We listened from the trees. You said family members make mistakes and must learn to forgive one another. Can you do it?”
Rafe couldn’t see her expression, but the stiffness in her spine gave him a clue as to what she was thinking. He moved closer, fitting his chest to her back, offering her his silent support. She leaned against him just slightly enough to let him know she needed him; then her shoulders rose with a deep breath. “Why should I?”
Montgomery dragged a hand across his mouth. Anxiousness shone in those eyes so similar to Maggie’s as her father flicked his gaze upward to meet Rafe’s. Careful, Rafe silently warned him. Hurt her any more at your own peril.
Montgomery gave a slight nod, then returned his gaze to his daughter. “Because, Mary Margaret, I love you. I regret how I failed you, and I’m begging your forgiveness.”
“You love me?” Maggie said with a disbelieving laugh. “How can you love me? You don’t even know me!”
Gus stepped forward. “I think now might be the time for you to offer up your good-faith gesture, Andrew. Right now before this nonsense goes any further.”
Montgomery nodded and seemed to tear his gaze away from Maggie. Addressing Nick, he said, “Captain Callahan, you and I are a long way from home.”
“Yeah,” Nick replied.
When he didn’t elaborate, Montgomery continued. “My friends tell me you are under the impression that Mr. Malone here is guilty of burglarizing my study.”
“I caught him red-handed.”
“How convenient you were present at Triumph at that particular time. How did it come about?”
“Triumph Plantation is in the center of my territory. It’s natural that I visit it on my patrols.”
“I see,” Montgomery said, nodding. “Of course, I also see that you didn’t see what you think you saw, Captain Callahan.”
“Come again?” Callahan cocked his head and folded his arms. “What sort of scam are you playing, sir?”
“No scam. I’ve been told you found Mr. Malone, a known thief, in my study late at night with the safe open. I can easily see how one might believe the man to be in the process of committing a crime.”
“The bag of jewels in his hand was a good clue, too,” Nick replied dryly. “So was the fact that the gems were there when he coldcocked me and missing when I woke up.”
“Perhaps Mr. Malone should have handled that aspect of the situation a bit differently. However, I had given him a directive and time was very much of the essence. I needed that bag of gems here at Lake Bliss as soon as possible.”
“How much are those pirates paying you for this, Montgomery?” Nick asked.
“I’m telling you the truth. Rafe Malone didn’t steal from me. He was delivering a gift from me to my daughter. Captain Callahan, he didn’t break his parole. You can’t hang Rafe Malone.”
Nick glanced at Rafe, then thumbed his hat back off his forehead. “You’re lying. Rafe stole the jewels and the packet of letters. I know it as sure as I’m standing here.”
“Uh, Captain?” one of the deputies asked. “Could I make a suggestion? If we’re not gonna hang Malone anytime soon, don’t you think we should bid these folks good day and let them put their guns away?”
“ ‘Fraid this old man’s palsy will accidentally trip a trigger, son?” Lucky asked, grinning wickedly as he exaggerated a tremble in his hand.
The deputy grinned sickly. Nick snorted. He sauntered over to where Rafe stood behind Maggie and reached for the knife sheathed at his hip. “Give me your wrists.”
“It’s over?” Rafe asked.
“I need to gnaw on it a little bit, put it all together in my head. Your lady’s argument about family and forgiveness makes some kind of sense. And, since her father’s lies have let us both off the hook, I think perhaps we’d be foolish not to explore the possibilities.”
Rafe felt the knife sawing the rope, and then his hands swung free. He rubbed his wrists as he turned around and faced his brother. “I can live with that.”
Nick extended his hand. “Better than hanging, anyway. Right?”
“You said it, Brother.” Rafe gave his brother’s hand a shake and they shared a crooked, hesitant smile.
Nick turned and spoke to the pirates and Luella. “If y’all would be so kind as to put your weapons away, I’d like to pay my men so they can return to their homes.”
“Excellent,” Luella piped up. “And, boys, I’ve some sweet tea up at the hotel if you’d care for some.” She tucked her hand through Nick’s arm and began to lead him away.
Now that the more immediate threat had been dealt with, Rafe directed his attention toward Maggie. Poor thing. She looked positively whipped. And no wonder. It had been an eventful few minutes.
With the lawmen gone, the pirates closed ranks, flanking Rafe and Maggie, folding their arms across their chest as they faced their old enemy. Ben spoke for them all. “All right, Andrew. Here’s the chance you’ve wanted for years. Talk to our Maggie.”
Maggie’s heart pounded as Montgomery faced her, hat in hand. “May I speak with you alone?”
Snake let out a snort. “Maybe when the ocean changes from blue into pink and purple polka dots.”
“Now, Snake,” Gus said. “Give Andrew a chance here.”
“That’s right,” Lucky added. “Drew has been awfully h
elpful so far. Why, if he hadn’t been so quick to jump in after me when I fell off my horse while we were fording the river, we wouldn’t have gotten here in time.”
“It’s up to Mary Margaret,” Ben said, frowning at the bickering men. Turning to her, he said, “I think it might be a good idea, though. Otherwise, we may drag this out until morning.”
Maggie slowly shook her head. “You should stay. All of you.”
“Do you want me to kill him for you, Maggie?” Snake asked. “You say the word and it’s done.”
It lent a normalcy to the moment that brought a smile to her lips. “Thank you, Papa Snake, but I want to hear what he has to say.”
“Well, if you change your mind, just say the word,” he gruffly replied.
“I’m not leaving, either,” Rafe declared. He threaded his fingers through hers and gently squeezed her hand.
“I don’t want you to leave.” Rising on her tiptoes, she pressed a quick kiss against his cheek. “I need you beside me, Rafe.” He preened a little at that, and his action gave her strength. Finally, she was ready to face her father.
Andrew Montgomery looked every inch the successful planter. He was a handsome man, she realized as she studied him closely. He stood tall and distinguished-looking in his black frock coat. The wide-brimmed, low-crowned hat he wore didn’t completely hide his salt-and-pepper hair. And his eyes, well, they were hers. Turquoise blue and uncertain. Hesitant. Anxious. So very much like her. Maggie swallowed hard and asked, “What is it you want to say?”
He cleared his throat and gave a little grin. “Now that the moment is here, I’m not quite certain.”
Maggie took a step closer to Rafe. He wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders as Montgomery continued. “I listened closely when you spoke to the ranger about family and forgiveness, and I am hoping you will extend that generosity of spirit to me.”
Maggie gazed out at the green-tinted water of Lake Bliss, emotions blowing through her like the trade winds. Anger, hurt, hope—she didn’t know how she felt. She didn’t know how she should feel. Gripping Rafe’s hand in a tight squeeze, she asked the question uppermost on her mind. “Why didn’t you want me?”
Andrew Montgomery grimaced. “You don’t start with the easy ones, do you.”
“Are there any easy ones?”
He shook his head. “Not in this situation, no.” Exhaling a long sigh, he stuck his hands in his pockets and followed the path of her gaze toward the lake. “Allow me, if you will, to start at the beginning. I believe if you understand my background, perhaps you’ll find it easier to make sense of my mistakes. I am the second son of an English earl. My brother inherited the title upon my father’s death, shortly before my eighteenth birthday. The new earl and I didn’t see eye to eye on many things—we detested one another, to be truthful—so when he ordered me to America to research a potential investment, I willingly went along. When pirates attacked the ship and offered me a position on the crew, I jumped at the chance to join them.”
“He had a swashbuckler look about him,” Gus piped up. “We thought from the first that he’d make a good hand.” Lucky and Snake nodded their agreement. Ben’s expression remained impassive.
“I was young and cocky,” Montgomery continued. “I know in my bones I’d have died that first year had Ben and the others not taken me under their wings. For a while, life was good. It was a grand adventure. And then I met your mother.”
“Lady Abigail Summers,” Maggie said.
Montgomery nodded. “Yes. Abigail.”
“The she-cat.”
“The vixen.”
“The peahen.”
“The nag.”
“The bitch,” concluded Montgomery.
Maggie realized then that the papas’ routine was even older than she’d previously known. Her father bent and scooped up a handful of pebbles. He tossed one, then another toward the lake, ailing short each time. “I’d never seen a more beautiful woman. I won her, and somewhere along the way I fell in love.”
“I’ve been tying rope all my life,” Snake sagely observed, “and I’ve never yet run across a set of knots the likes of which she tied in Andrew.”
Montgomery sent the remaining rocks sailing, and this time a pair of them made it to the water. “She was my dearest dream. My deepest desire. But it wasn’t like that with her. For Abigail, love was nothing more than a game. She didn’t love me. I was only a holiday diversion for her. Still, even knowing that, with her having said it to my face, when she left me I wanted to die.”
The grandfathers nodded solemnly. “You almost did die once or twice,” Gus said. “Remember that knife fight with Pegleg Purcell?”
That started a discussion of various bar battles and street fights. Maggie’s frustration built like steam in a stew pot. “Papas, do you think you could hold off on the reminiscing for a bit? I’d like to hear the rest of this story.”
“Sorry, Magpie.” With shuffling feet and sheepish looks, the pirates finally settled down.
Montgomery sucked in a breath, and let it out with a whoosh. “It didn’t take too long for the love I felt for Abigail to turn to hate.”
“So you hated me, too,” Maggie said, taking it like a lash to the heart.
Not meeting her gaze, Montgomery smiled and shook his head. “Not at all. I pray I can make you understand this. In my young and foolish mind, on that day when I first learned of your existence, I gazed not upon your sweet shining face, but on the deceitful, hurtful visage of your mother. Even as a child of four you had her look. You favor her even more now. In fact, you are the very image of Abigail.”
“The beautiful wench.”
“The lovely witch.”
“The elegant wanton.”
“The sumptuous whore.”
“Hey!” Rafe rounded on the pirates. “Take care with the names you use, you old barnacles. He said Maggie was her image.”
Ben’s face turned the slightest bit pink. “Yes, you are right. We apologize, Mary Margaret.”
Montgomery gave the pirates a quelling look, then returned his attention to Maggie.
“Looking at you, I saw nothing of me. So, I saw nothing.”
“And my mother? What did she see when she looked at me? Obviously not love.”
“I don’t know about that,” Gus said, his eyes solemn and honest. “I think in her own way she loved you. I do know that day on the beach she didn’t want to give you up.” He glanced around at the other papas. “Don’t you agree?”
They all nodded, and Maggie felt the tiniest spark of warmth invade an old, cold hurt.
Ben said, “Abigail was a weak woman, Maggie. She didn’t have the strength to keep you, to own up to her responsibilities in the face of public censure. She didn’t have your strength.”
Montgomery cleared his throat, recalling Maggie’s attention. “Neither did I. Seeing her again like that made me crazy. In my pain, I decided she lied. I told myself you weren’t my child, that she’d taken a lover and tried to pass his get-off as mine. I was wrong, of course. Captain Ben and the others tried to make me see it at the time.” He lifted a finger to a small faded scar on his temple. “They gave it an excellent effort.”
Lucky grinned. “We beat you like a tied-up billy goat.”
Montgomery ignored him. “I was a dangerous man those first years after she left me. Mean and brutal and ruthless. Then, after she brought you to the island, I only grew worse. If you believe nothing else I say here today, believe that you were better off with these men than with me during those first few years. To this day I am grateful they took you in.”
“As well you should be,” Ben grumbled.
Rafe muttered something under his breath that Maggie couldn’t quite pick up. A belligerent light shined in his eyes and impatience bristled in his tone as he said, “Let’s go to the whip, shall we? If you were so dad-blamed grateful they took her in, then why did you steal all the treasure from the cenote?”
Montgomery looked deeply into Magg
ie’s eyes as he answered. “Because I wanted this opportunity to speak with my daughter. They wouldn’t allow me to see her. They refused—”
“Now wait a minute,” Snake interrupted.
“You watch your tongue,” Gus warned.
“Hush!” Maggie demanded. “All of you. I want to hear what he has to say, but—” She turned toward her father. “—I won’t listen to anything bad about my papas. If they wronged you, it was done out of their love for me. Tell me what you will, as long as you keep your slandering tongue off my papas.”
Montgomery’s grin was unexpected. “No wonder they are so proud of you. Gus and Lucky boasted about you all the way from Triumph to Lake Bliss. And I see now that what they said was true. Very well, Daughter, I’ll do as you ask. Suffice to say that some time ago—years ago—I realized the errors of my ways. But because I was still too proud, too protective of myself, I made unreasonable demands upon your guardians. We ended up in a winner-take-all war for you as a result of it. That war ends here today.”
“It does?” Ben asked.
Andrew Montgomery faced his old captain. “I want that more than anything. I don’t want to take her away from you, Ben. I simply want you to share her with me. I want the chance to know my daughter. I want the chance to prove my love for her. And since I’m exposing my soul here, I might as well tell you the rest. I’d like to be your friend again—yours and Snake’s and Gus’s and Lucky’s. I’ve missed you.”
“You’d better hold right there, Andrew,” Gus said. “You’re bordering on sappy. Corsairs don’t get sappy.”
Montgomery turned to Maggie. “What do you say, Miss Maggie? Will you give me this chance? Will you allow me into your life? Will you forgive me?”
Maggie heard the echo of Nick Callahan’s words. Forgiveness wasn’t that easy. She looked up at Rafe, silently asking for guidance.
“It’s your decision, love,” he told her. “Look to your heart. It’ll tell you what to do.”
Forgiveness. Could she practice what she preached? Maggie closed her eyes and thought of all he had explained. She understood him better now, and she could empathize with what he’d done. But getting those feelings from her head to her heart where a little girl’s hurt had burrowed in years ago wasn’t that simple. “I need time.”
The Wedding Ransom Page 29