Chapter Twenty-One
“I’d just as soon you didn’t try to filet me with that knife.”
She opened her hand to let the knife drop, then spun in the arms that held her. Eli caught her by the elbows, hauling her up to fuse his lips to hers. If her kiss was desperate, it was matched by his. Another gunshot, and Eli broke the kiss, wrapping an arm around her waist and hauling her behind the boulders where he crowded her close to the rock surface. He cradled her head in his hands, tilting up her face, gaze locked on hers. “You okay?”
She nodded. “They’re digging my grave.” Only now did she start shaking.
“No, they’re not. You’re safe, Gwendolyn. The FBI’s got them surrounded.”
“FBI?”
“Yeah.” Another shot had Eli moving closer, and Gwen realized he was making himself her human shield. He pulled a radio from his hip.
“This is MacElvoy. I’ve got Gwendolyn. We’re behind the cabin, taking cover until the shooting stops.”
The response came in a burst of static. “Roger that. You’re in a good spot, so stay put. We’ll give an all clear when suspects are in custody.”
Eli pulled Gwen down until they sat with their backs against the granite boulders, shaded by tall pines. More shots echoed, and Gwen gave an involuntary jerk.
Pulling the remaining knife from her belt loop, she carefully set it in the dirt beside her. She fisted hands that wanted to tremble. Eli must have seen it because he uttered a low curse. The next thing she knew, he’d scooped her into his arms and onto his lap.
He tucked her head under his chin, shaking his head when she would have spoken. “Let me hold you for a minute.” His breath whispered against her ear.
Tension slipped from her body and her muscles sagged, like a puppet master had cut the strings. With her face turned into Eli’s neck, she breathed deep. Whatever was happening on the other side of the cabin, she trusted the FBI to deal with Justin and Max. She was safe.
“How did you find me?”
His chest vibrated against her cheek as he spoke. “The FBI showed up, took over searching for you. Put Jack in a pisser of a mood. Turns out they’d already started an investigation of Justin even before we contacted them, and had put a GPS tracker on his car. They were able to follow him directly here.”
“Thank you, FBI. And Cameron? Is he okay?”
“Worried about you, but fine. He’s the one who saw what you’d scratched into the seat of your car. What did you use?”
She pulled the hoof pick from her pocket. “I forgot to leave it in the tack room when I came in last night.” And while Max had been driving, she’d been able to scratch a short message into the leather seat of her car. “Did you figure out what I meant? I didn’t have enough time to do any more than that.”
“T1 and J? Took me a minute, but yeah, I got the Thug One, and Cameron figured out the J stood for Justin.”
“Where is Cameron now? He’s not here, is he?”
“Once we went over your car, an officer took him back to the ranch. Kid told me not to come back without his Gwenny.”
She closed her eyes against the swell of emotion. Warm lips pressed to her forehead. From the front of the cabin, a voice spoke over a loudspeaker. “Subjects have been apprehended, the area is secure.”
“We’re safe.” Eli helped her stand up. “Let’s go.”
***
Gwen pulled the blanket snug under Cameron’s chin while Oreo settled at his feet. She lifted the hair off his forehead to press a kiss there.
“Is it over, Gwenny?”
“Yes, it’s over.”
“Good.” He had on his thinking face. “Can we stay here with Uncle Eli? I like living here.”
There it was. If she married Eli like she’d agreed to, Cameron would be happy. God knew the boy deserved happiness. She could be happy, too, but a part of her yearned to be loved by her husband. Not just liked. Not just respected. But to have the soul-deep love she felt for him returned.
Absently, she pet the little dog. “I like it here, too, Cameron. We’ll figure it out soon.”
The day seemed to have stretched on forever, but now with the quiet of the evening she was beginning to find peace after all the drama. The gunfire at the cabin had resulted in Thug One being hit. He was at the hospital, listed in critical but stable condition. Justin had managed to get to his car, but bullets had taken out two tires so he hadn’t gotten far.
The FBI had wanted to interview her, and she felt good being able to answer their questions about Justin’s involvement in Chloe’s murder.
And through it all Eli had been there. Making sure she got something to eat before the FBI got started. After two hours, telling the FBI agent she’d had enough, that they could come to the Broken Arrow to talk to her tomorrow after she’d had some rest. He’d dealt with everyone with a thread of impatience, like he was irritated and trying not to show it.
With Cameron’s door left ajar, Gwen descended the stairs and slipped out the front door. The quiet of the evening called to her. No matter what happened between her and Eli, whether she stayed on the ranch or not, she wasn’t ever going to move back to the city.
She stepped out into air turning cool. Leaning against the stone pillar, she looked across the darkened valley.
Headlights speared the shadows as a vehicle drove up the gravel road. Eli stepped out of the house as it pulled to a stop. Jack Morgan stepped out of an SUV with the Hangman’s Loss Police Department insignia.
He approached the steps, and Eli stepped forward.
“Been a long day, Eli.” Fatigue underscored Jack’s tone.
“It has.” The clipped words fell like stones.
The officer nodded at Gwen. “Glad you made it home safe, Ms. Ballard.”
“It’s Gwen, and thank you.”
Jack took off his hat, ran his fingers through thick black hair, rolled the brim in his hands. With the greetings done, he seemed at a loss for words. “I got something to say to you, Eli.”
“Say it.”
Jack’s gaze was direct. “What’s been going on between the Broken Arrow and the Circle M needs to stop.”
“You mean my diverter getting damaged and fence line cut?”
“I looked into that like I said I would. One of the hands admitted to getting a little carried away in his loyalty to the Circle M. Won’t happen again.”
Eli’s gaze narrowed. “You and Garrett had nothing to do with the vandalism?”
“No, we didn’t. If the man responsible wants to keep his job, he’s going to work his days off for you until you consider restitution made. Will that square it for you?”
Eli nodded, then rubbed the back of his neck in a tired gesture. “I’m still not giving up my easement.”
“We’ve decided not to sell. I guess we all liked the idea of not having to worry about money, but it’s not right for this area. Sorry we lost sight of that.”
Eli was slow to respond, but finally said, “That’s a load off my mind. Thank you, Jack.”
“Not done yet.” Jack looked away, then back at Eli, eyes burning. “I still think if you’d come back sooner, my sister would still be alive. But it’s not your fault she was drinking that night. That was a choice she made, as was getting behind the wheel when she wasn’t sober. I’m not sure we’ll ever be friends again with that between us, but I don’t want to be enemies.”
Eli stepped forward and held out his hand. After a long hesitation, Jack stretched out his and they shook.
Jack tipped his hat toward Gwen and moved to his car, and a minute later she and Eli were watching the taillights disappear down the road.
Gwen spoke, “That was hard for him.”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect it, but I’m glad he said what he did.”
The intimate glow of the porch light surrounded them, pushing back on the darkness. “I’d better go in.”
“Gwen, wait.” He moved to lean against the porch rail, his back to the valley behind him. He reache
d out and took her hand, drawing her to stand between long legs.
“Eli, I—” She broke off, not sure what she’d intended to say.
“What?” When she shook her head, he spoke softly. “Have you changed your mind about marrying me?”
“I’m not pregnant. You don’t have to marry me.” Though a day late, her period had started that evening. The little stab of regret surprised her.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t have to marry you.”
“Of course, it does.”
He twined his fingers in hers, then raised their joined hands over his heart. His chest expanded when he drew in a deep breath, as if bracing himself before he spoke. “I do have to marry you. You’ve got me, Gwendolyn, right here.” He pressed her palm over his heart.
Gwen’s heart gave a hitch, hope battling against despair. She opened her mouth to speak, but he gave a quick shake of his head.
“Let me get it out. I’ve been an idiot. I used Cameron as a reason for us to get married. And the possibility that you might be pregnant. I wasn’t willing to risk myself. I was holding back because I thought I could have you and not risk hurting when you left.”
“If I married you, I wouldn’t leave.”
“I know that now. Confession here—when I couldn’t find you this morning and realized your car was gone, I thought you’d taken off. That you hadn’t kept your promise. But Cameron, he’s got this tremendous faith in you, because you’ve never let him down. Not once. You’ve never let me down either, and I finally realized that.”
“You thought I left to get Justin or his thugs to follow me? I told you I’d tell you first if I decided to do that.”
“I know, and I should have trusted you like Cameron did.”
“Women have let you down, Eli. Your mom, Kacey…Chloe. I get why you don’t trust me.”
“I’m done with that.” When she opened her mouth, he laid his fingers on her lips. “Let me say it. Let me say the words.”
Emotions swelled in anticipation of what he might say.
“I love you, Gwendolyn Ballard. I love the way you are with Cameron. That you love the ranch and living here as much as I do. I love how by just walking through the door that first night, you made my house into a home. But most of all? I love the way you make me feel right here.” He thumped their joined hands over his heart. “You chased away the loneliness, you make me a better man. I want to marry you, to be a dad to Cameron, to have more children with you.”
He brushed away her tears. “Will you have me, Gwen? Will you marry me for the right reasons?”
She nodded, swallowing over the lump in her throat so she could speak. She brought her free hand to his cheek to stroke the strong jaw, the dark stubble bristly under her fingertips. “I will marry you, Eli. I love you so much it feels like my heart is going to burst with happiness.” She gave a disbelieving laugh. “I can’t believe I misjudged you for so long, that we were so wrong about each other. It scares me to think that we might never have gotten past that.”
Light glowed in his eyes as he gripped the hand on his face and held her fingers to his lips. “That’s done. Now we move forward and build a life together.”
“You don’t know how good that sounds. If I could have created a perfect future for me, this would have been it. You would have been it.”
He pulled her into him, capturing her lips in a kiss that held a beautiful promise. Several long minutes later, Eli stood behind Gwen, his arms wrapped securely around her. She leaned back, her head resting against his shoulder. Together, they looked out across the darkened valley, the shadows of the mountain peaks in the distance. Cattle lowed in the pasture, and a coyote howled its eerie cry.
“We’ll have a good life here, darlin’,” Eli whispered. “I can’t wait to get started.”
Epilogue
Cameron’s hand tightened in Gwen’s as they walked across the freshly mowed grass. Eli walked beside them, one arm loosely draped across her shoulders, a picnic basket in his other hand. Always attentive, he’d been doubly so since the morning earlier in the week when they’d visited the obstetrician. A month after their simple, beautiful wedding at the ranch, she’d woken to a queasy stomach and had to make a quick run for the bathroom. After two more mornings of that, Daisy had supplied her with the home pregnancy test that had shown the two little pink bars. Now, three months later, the obstetrician had done an ultrasound, and they’d seen the blurry image of their tiny daughter, her heart beating strong.
“There it is.” Cameron pulled them toward the pink granite headstone.
“Chloe Justine Fontaine, beloved mother of Cameron”. The years spanning her life were far too short. Cameron stared at the words, his young face impossibly sad.
“You know what we’re going to do, Cam?”
He raised damp eyes.
“We’re going to sit here and have our picnic, and we’re going to share happy memories of your mom.”
“Happy memories?”
“I’ve got good memories to share,” Eli told the boy. “How about this. Did you know when your mom was a little girl, she’d make me wear a crown and play prince and princess with her?”
“She made you be the prince?” Eli nodded. “Did you hate it?”
“As long as she promised not to tell anyone, I was fine with it.”
“I’d rather be a cowboy.”
“I got her a cowboy hat once, but she wouldn’t wear it. She didn’t want anything to do with cows.”
Eli spread a blanket on the grass by the headstone. Gwen handed out sandwiches they had brought and opened a bag of chips. “Okay, my turn.” She was glad to see the sadness in Cameron’s eyes lift. “Once, when we were living in the dorms, your mom smuggled a kitten she’d found into our room. She rescued it by climbing a tree to get it. We hid that kitten for two weeks before the university found out.”
“What happened to the kitten?”
“She’s your grandma’s cat Fifi.”
“Mom found Fifi in a tree?”
“Sure did, and climbed straight up to get her.”
Cameron’s smile warmed Gwen’s heart.
“I remember when we were going to paint my bedroom, and Mom and me drew all over the walls with crayons before she painted. She said we were the only ones who’d know there were masterpieces under the paint.”
“That’s a great memory, Cameron.”
They ate their sandwiches and shared more stories. Gwen brought out photos. Looking at them with a different eye, she noticed something she’d never seen before. In photos where both she and Eli were present, almost always he was looking at her, or she was looking at him. He’d said once that their animosity had been a cover for attraction, and the photos proved him right.
“I’m glad we came here.” Gwen leaned against Eli, tilting her head to give him access when he bent forward to kiss the curve of her neck.
“I am too.” Cameron plucked at the grass. “But I think I want to go home. I like visiting Grandma, but I want to go home.”
“Where’s home, Cameron?” Eli asked.
“At the ranch with you and my Gwen. Where Robby and Christy are, and Oreo and Bubba.”
Gwen sat up and caught Eli’s questioning look. She nodded her head.
“We have a question for you.”
Cameron looked at Eli with eyes the same dark gray as his uncle’s.
“What do you think of me and your Gwen adopting you?”
“Adopting me? What would that mean?”
“It means that we’d be your parents. It doesn’t mean Chloe wasn’t your mom, but it means that legally we’d be your parents and you’d be our son.”
Cameron put on his thinking face. “You’d be my mom and dad?”
“You could still call us Aunt Gwenny and Uncle Eli, if you want,” Gwen said.
“But I could call you Mom and Dad if I want that more?”
“Absolutely.”
“And the baby would be my sister, not my cousin? And I’d be her big b
rother?”
“Yep.”
A grin split his face, and he threw his arms out, grabbing both Gwen and Eli in a hug. “We’ll be our own brand-new family.”
Gwen looked over his shoulder at the headstone. There would always be a corner of sadness in her heart for her dear friend whose life was cut so tragically short, but Gwen had to think that Chloe, unconventional, insecure, but always the best kind of friend, would approve of the people she loved most joining together to make a brand-new family.
Come back to Hangman’s Loss. The High Sierras series continues with
Already Gone
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
National Readers’ Choice Award winner for her novel, Solitary Man, Diane Benefiel has been an avid reader all her life. She enjoys a wide range of genres, from westerns to fantasy to mysteries, but romance has always been a favorite. She writes what she loves best to read – emotional, heart-gripping romantic suspense novels. She likes writing romantic suspense because she can put the hero and heroine in all sorts of predicaments that they have to work together to overcome.
A native Southern Californian, Diane enjoys nothing better than summer. For a high school history teacher, summer means a break from teenagers, and summer allows her to spend her early mornings immersed in her current writing project. With both kids living out of the house, in addition to writing, she enjoys camping and gardening with her husband. Diane loves hearing from her readers.
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