Old or not, Reese was a fine-looking man. At least Jared thought women would think so. He would have called him a dandy if there hadn’t been a deadly glint in his eyes. Again, he was confounded by the relationships. Was it really as simple as this man said? And if so, how would they view what happened last night?
“You might have noticed, I can’t do much of anything,” he said. “Smith made sure of that.” He decided to stop being defensive. “Reese what?” he asked.
“Reese Hamilton at your service,” he said with mock humility.
Jared had more questions. “You didn’t say why you kept her here even after you ‘buried’ Thornton.”
“Kept her? You don’t keep Sam from doing anything. We wanted to send her to school. She wouldn’t go. Threatened to run away and come back. And she would have. Both Mac and I have good educations. We both taught her. Our goal, particularly as Sam grew older, was to buy land in Montana. I’ve been there, and the grasslands are perfect for cattle. We decided that I would raise what I could gaming, Mac and Sam would pan for any gold that was left. Snow and flash floods constantly wash dust down the stream. Not enough to sustain a town, but over time we accumulated a good bit.”
“Why didn’t you leave then?”
“It was never enough, mainly. But I think it was really because none of us wanted to leave.”
Jared studied him. He still had no idea why this man was answering all his questions. There had to be a reason. A really damned good reason.
“I saw how Sam looked when she talked about you,” Reese said, as if he’d read Jared’s mind. “I know how guilty she feels. She’d never shot so much as a rabbit before. That should tell you something about how she feels about Mac. I also know your reputation. You’re a hard man, they say, but honest. And,” he added slowly, “we may need your help.”
Nothing could have startled Jared more.
Reese stared at him for a long time, then said softly, “There’s fifteen or twenty top gun hands headed this way. They have a bloody good tracker with them. They were slowed while waiting out the storm, but they will be here soon. And Sam won’t give Mac up. She’ll die for him.”
Jared swore to himself. He hadn’t expected that many, and he’d still hoped to convince her to leave.
“I’d heard a rancher was raising gun hands. Your MacDonald killed his son. I tried to warn Samantha, but she thought I was trying to scare her.”
“I was in Central City when I heard. I’ve been riding day and night since. We have a day, maybe two. Not much more.”
“Can you make her leave?”
“She can’t. She won’t.” Reese hesitated, then added, “Mac is upstairs. He’s too injured to leave now, and even if he could we would most likely run into them.”
Upstairs. Damn. So the noise he’d heard several days ago was MacDonald. Not Archie.
“You could all be arrested for aiding a wanted outlaw.”
“Aye, and Sam for shooting you.” It was a dare.
Jared wondered whether the newcomer had heard or seen something in him to say those words.
“What do you want?” Jared asked.
“Basically we’re trapped,” Reese said. “We can’t move Mac yet. The pass is one of two ways out. The other is down the creek—more of a river now—but that would be dangerous, too. The canyon walls are high and the water swift with the runoff from these storms. When those…bounty hunters arrive, they won’t care who they kill. Or rape. I thought that might matter to you.”
It did. Too much. Jared tried to absorb everything Reese had said, but what struck him deeper and more painfully was his last comment about Sam. And it was true.
Reese was a gambler, yet what he said had the ring of truth. “You could force her to leave.”
“I could, but she would never forgive me, or worse, she’d never forgive herself for letting me do it.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know yet. I wanted to take your measure first.”
“I’ve been hunting MacDonald a long time,” Jared said slowly, “and not only for the murder. There’s a long list of robberies. But no one will take a prisoner from me.”
“With a five-thousand-dollar reward on his head? They will kill you, then all of us, and claim Mac did it.”
Probably true. “Who all is here?” Jared said.
“Mac. His gun hand is smashed and he’s still feverish from other wounds. Archie, who can’t see across the room. Burley, who couldn’t aim straight if he wanted to. Sam. Then there’s Jake and Ike. They’re both old mountain men and loyal to the bone. Good shots. They’re watching the pass now.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Reese replied.
“Have you talked to the others?”
“No. I wanted to speak with you first.”
“And…?”
“I’m withholding judgment.” He walked to the door, then turned. “Can’t decide yet whether you’re a blessing or a curse.”
SAM HAD WAITED impatiently just outside the door. She jumped when it opened and Reese came out, closing and locking it behind him. He strode to the stove and lifted off the big pot of water.
“What happened?” she asked anxiously. Fear had settled deep inside her.
“You care about him, don’t you?” he said, answering her question with one of his own.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
He gave her his cocky gambler’s grin and kissed the top of her head. “I suspect you do know, but first I’m going to take that bath and eat something, then we’ll have a council of war. Jake will let us know if anyone is coming.”
She didn’t want to wait, but she knew a bath wouldn’t take him long, and she figured he needed time to think. He looked tired.
“The bacon’s ready,” she said. She quickly filled the biscuits with jam and loaded a plate with bacon and biscuits and canned fruit. “I’ll take it up to your room.”
She followed him upstairs to the largest and fanciest room in the saloon. He poured the water into the hip bath, then took the plate from her, picking up a slice of bacon.
“You’ve been with him several times,” he said, as if their conversation had never ended. “Do you think he can be trusted?”
“In what way?”
“All ways.”
“I…want to think so. He’s just so determined to take Mac in.”
“Maybe not so much now.” He told her about his conversation with Jared. “Mac couldn’t have killed that woman. That was the year—the week—your mother died.”
She remembered that week. How horrible it was. She’d been eleven, and her world collapsed.
“Did you tell him that?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“I’m not sure he believed me, but he’s thinking about it.”
“What are you thinking?”
“A lot of things, but I have to talk to Mac and Archie. Now get out of here and take Mac some breakfast. He’ll need it.”
She wanted to demand answers but she knew Reese better than to ask. He wouldn’t reply to her questions until he’d solved every problem in his mind, but for the first time she had hope.
Maybe the marshal, maybe Reese would tell her what they’d talked about.
She hurriedly put together a plate for Mac and placed it, along with two coffee cups, on a tray, then went up to Mac’s room. She wasn’t surprised to see Archie there.
Dawg greeted her and whined, complaining at being confined with Mac. She leaned down and scratched his ears. “I’ll take you out. Promise.”
Mac was awake and sitting up. His color was better, but there was still fresh blood on his bandages.
“What’s eating at Reese?” he asked, his blue eyes darkening. “He was in here and said damned little. Something’s going on. Has been for days, and I damn well want to know what it is.”
She wanted to tell him everything. There was no sense in
hiding it any longer.
But she would have to leave out one part.
16
FEAR, IMPATIENCE and frustration grew in Jared after Reese Hamilton’s visit. It wasn’t fear for himself but for Samantha.
Hamilton’s words echoed in his head. She wouldn’t leave MacDonald. And from what Hamilton said, their only defense against paid killers was a few wounded or aged protectors.
He wasn’t much better. He wouldn’t be able to move fast with his leg.
Damn those handcuffs. He twisted around so he could stand. Test the leg. He put two feet on the floor, then used the bedpost for support. Shards of pain shot through him, but the leg didn’t give way.
The door opened and he turned toward it.
Samantha stood there. Her hair was mussed and she looked tired and worried. Something inside melted at the way her eyes lit when he looked at her.
She had to get out of the valley, even if he had to tie her up and carry her.
He held out his free arm, and she came to him. She rested her head against his shoulder as if she belonged there. Next to him. His arm tightened around her, and he held her closer. There was no regret, no hesitation. He struggled with an uncertainty that was new to him. Her trust against his lack of trust. Her belief in Mac, in him, when he no longer knew the meaning of the word.
Or maybe he was learning. He damn well wasn’t going to lose her now.
“What did Reese say?” she asked after a moment of holding tight.
“That Benson’s gunfighters aren’t far behind him.”
“And?”
“That I was wrong about your MacDonald.”
She glanced up at him with hopeful eyes. “Do you believe him?”
“Let’s say I’m considering it,” he said. It was a lie. He did believe Reese Hamilton. The gambler wouldn’t have lied about her mother’s death or the grave. It could be too easily disproved.
He felt her release a breath.
“There’s still other charges,” he warned.
“But not murder,” she said quickly.
“He’s been accused of numerous robberies in the past ten years.” He’d been thinking about this since Hamilton left. “But there’s no real proof other than loose descriptions and hearsay. Except for the theft of military payrolls. He didn’t bother trying to hide his identity.”
She started to ask about that one, but a voice came from the doorway. “Now ain’t this cozy?”
She spun around, but he didn’t drop his arm. Archie Smith stood in the doorway. Reese was behind him. A third man, leaning heavily on Reese, was at his side. Jared recognized him from the posters, though his face was older. Dawg stood protectively next to the wounded man.
Jared lowered his arm then, but Samantha didn’t move away.
Smith’s face was red with anger. Reese Hamilton’s expression hadn’t changed since earlier, and Jared’s quarry, Thornton/MacDonald, swayed unsteadily, supported by Reese. Jared was only too aware that the outlaw’s gaze was taking in everything.
“Doesn’t appear too injured,” Reese commented.
“I think we should kill him now,” Smith interjected.
“No,” MacDonald said. “Reese, help me to the chair, then you and Archie pack up and get ready to leave.”
His voice was surprisingly strong, although his arm was cradled in a sling and he seemed barely able to stand. Without comment, Reese helped him over to the one chair, and he sat.
“I would ask Sam to leave, but I don’t think she’s going to do it,” the outlaw said.
Sam didn’t move away from Jared. “No.”
“Go, Archie,” MacDonald said. “You and Reese gather all the ammunition we have.”
Archie reluctantly left, and Reese gave MacDonald a searching look, then followed.
“Sit down,” MacDonald ordered.
Jared obeyed. He didn’t have a choice.
“You can sit at the end of the bed,” MacDonald said pointedly to Samantha. Dawg looked from MacDonald to Sam, then padded over to her.
“You came for me,” MacDonald said, his gaze meeting Jared’s. “Reese told me about it. Not all, I suspect, but enough that I know what I want to do.”
His voice was level, although Jared sensed the effort it took him to speak.
“First of all, I’ve…never killed a woman,” Mac said. “I’ve committed some robberies, most of them army payrolls, and I’m ready to go back with you. I’ve been hiding long enough. I won’t put Sam in danger ever again for something I did.”
“There’s the kid you killed a week or so ago,” Jared pointed out.
“Kid, hell. Grown men. And they ambushed me. Three of them. I was protecting myself and the gold that Archie and Sam have been panning for nigh onto six years.”
Jared had figured that quick enough. The men had not been deputized. They obviously wanted the reward, and the gold. He couldn’t quarrel with a man protecting himself. He was beginning to understand why everyone was so protective of Mac. The man could barely sit up, and yet he was making the decisions and ready to go to a rope if it would save Sam. He was a far cry from what Jared had expected.
“We’ll leave now,” Mac said as he turned and glanced at Sam. “The marshal and I. Alone.” He looked at her. “And no, Sam, you won’t come. You will wait in the mine you were talking about. Archie will stay with you. Reese will shadow us, and when he feels we’re clear, he’ll come back for you.”
“No,” Sam said. “You can’t ride yet.”
“I can… I will.”
“Even if it kills you?”
MacDonald looked straight into her eyes. “It will kill me if anything happens to you.” He then looked at Jared. “Agreed?”
“I’m not agreed,” Sam said. “If they have a tracker, they can find the mine shaft, and I expect they’ll be very angry that you’re not there. If you think I’ll be safer there, you better think again.”
“There’s another option,” MacDonald said. “Give myself up to them.”
“No!” Sam’s answer was as sharp as the sound of a shot.
Jared was still reluctant to change his mind about the man he’d hunted for so long. And yet it was obvious MacDonald considered Samantha more important than himself. He hadn’t expected that. Maybe he’d been a marshal too long. Maybe he was becoming like the obsessed policeman in Les Misérables. Maybe he had become obsessed with vengeance and the letter of the law rather than compassion.
He weighed his options, and none of them were good. They could split their very small forces, him with MacDonald, and Sam with Archie. But she was right. A posse often was spurred by bloodlust. Deprived of their expected reward, they could well turn their anger on a woman and an old man.
He could take MacDonald up on his offer to give himself up to the posse. But he couldn’t do that, either. Not only because Sam would never forgive him, but he could never forgive himself. He’d never lost a prisoner. He didn’t intend to do that now.
“If you insist on taking Mac,” Sam announced, “I’m going with you. I can use a gun.”
“I’ve noticed,” Jared said. But he knew she didn’t trust him, that she feared he might push MacDonald too fast. He also realized the only way he could keep her here was to tie her hand and foot. That wasn’t feasible, either.
She had that fierce look in her eye. Like a mama lion protecting her cub, but MacDonald was no cub. He sighed. “Trust me?” he said quietly.
He watched the struggle in her face. Despite what she’d said earlier, she didn’t. Not entirely. Not when it came to MacDonald. He didn’t expect the kick in the gut that came with that knowledge.
“He’s not well enough to ride,” she insisted without answering his plea.
“I’ve crisscrossed this state many times,” he said. “I know trails no one else knows, and I’ll make sure he gets plenty of rest. I can’t be worrying about you, too.”
He was aware of MacDonald glancing from his face to hers. The outlaw’s expression was tense.
&nb
sp; Archie entered without knocking. “We have all the ammunition together. And guns. Reese is saddling the horses. He and I talked. We all go together, make sure Mac gets a fair shake. I have a shotgun. If that fancy posse sees a group of five men, maybe seven with Jake and Ike, they might have second thoughts, especially if a marshal is with us. That shotgun’s good to shoot a marshal, too, if needed,” he added, glaring at Jared.
He fumbled in a pocket and brought out the key to the cuffs and unlocked them. “You betray Mac, and there will be three of us behind you until the day we kill you,” he said.
Jared rubbed his wrist. “We should leave now,” he said, not wanting more questions.
Archie nodded. “The horses should be ready. Sam, you grab the canteens and some hardtack and jerky. Best get your gun belt, too.”
Jared had no more arguments. If Reese was right, they didn’t have a minute to spare, and he had no doubt that Sam would follow them if they didn’t let her come now. She would be in even more danger alone.
He nodded. Samantha hesitated.
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Trust me,” he said.
She gave him a long, searching look, then dashed out.
SAM STARTED to gather food. Many of the supplies were in the mine shaft, but she grabbed the hardtack and jerky that remained and loaded them in flour bags. She filled canteens from the water pump and left them on the bar, then ran upstairs for an extra shirt and trousers to stuff into her saddlebags. After buckling on her gun belt, she grabbled her rifle and headed back down.
It hadn’t taken more than a few minutes. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw Mac leaning on Reese. Jared stood alone, but the lines in his face told her the effort it took.
Apprehension threatened to overwhelm her. Mac and Reese and Jared were not men easily rattled, but there was no mistaking the worry on their faces. A motley group at best. Only she and Reese weren’t limping.
Jared wore the guns Archie had returned and Reese wore both a gun belt and carried a rifle. Archie carried a shotgun, and when they got outside she saw his whip on his saddle. Mac alone was unarmed.
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