That split second spun unhurriedly around them. It slowed into an eternity. Everything forgotten as they took up their positions. In the heavy silence that surrounded them, time virtually stopped. Each second became an hour and each heartbeat thumped loud and long. At last, they heard the rhythmic chink of spurs. A pair of boots thudded deliberately on the wooden porch.
“McCabe,” Hannah whispered. She peeled herself from Luke’s back and stood by his side, facing the door. “I’d know those footsteps anywhere.” She raised her gun and took aim. “If it’s the last shot I ever fire, I’ll make sure it goes straight through his heart.”
But before McCabe even reached the door, the sound of more gunfire rang out. It echoed in the distance and kept getting closer. Even the sound of horses’ hooves and wagon wheels rent the air. Hannah and Luke exchanged a fleeting, puzzled look. They flew to the window.
A fresh cloud of dust approached from the direction of the town. An army of townsfolk drew near, bearing down on McCabe and his men. Men and women alike charged toward the ranch and all with guns blazing.
McCabe’s henchmen fell like flies until only a few remained standing. Acknowledging their defeat, they laid down their guns and raised their hands in surrender. Surrounded by the angry mob, they no longer looked like the arrogant bunch of thugs who’d strutted round town, intimidating anyone who stood in their way.
As the gunfire ceased, Luke and Hannah stepped out onto the porch. Now in charge, the sheriff barked out orders to tie up the bunch of gunslingers and to check how many were dead. Luke smiled in satisfaction and gave Hannah’s hand a reassuring squeeze. He walked down the steps and left Hannah on the porch. A look of dazed relief crept across her face. After everything that had happened, the townsfolk had come to her aid at last.
A familiar figure leapt down from one of the wagons. She hurled herself toward Luke. “Luke,” she squealed.
“Maggie,” he said. He too reeled from the shock at the unexpected display of solidarity and retaliation from people who had cowered from McCabe for so long.
She flung her arms around him and hugged him hard.
“We’ve done it,” she shrieked in delight. “We’ve killed the fucking bastard.”
She planted a huge smacker of a kiss on one of his bruised cheeks.
“I don’t think so. You might just want to think again.” McCabe’s hard voice cut through the jubilation going on around them.
All heads turned as one toward the front porch of the house.
Having crept round to the back and through the bedroom window, Ethan McCabe now stood threateningly behind Hannah. He gripped her firmly with one hand while, at the same time, he pointed a gun with his other at her head.
Chapter Thirty
The cheering and shouts of glee turned to silence. All eyes turned and fixed on the sight of Hannah’s front porch. A muscle twitched in Luke’s jaw. He took a menacing step forward. Still gripping Hannah hard, McCabe now aimed the gun in his hand toward him.
Maggie grabbed Luke by the arm before he did anything stupid.
“No,” she cried. “We haven’t come this far to let McCabe kill you and Hannah after all.”
McCabe turned the gun back on Hannah. If he was worried about the townsfolk’s show of resistance, he didn’t show it.
“Release my men,” he demanded coldly.
No one moved.
“Now,” he barked. “Or I kill her here and now.”
“Let him shoot me,” Hannah shouted out. “Then he’s got no one to hide behind. You mustn’t let him get away with his tyranny again.” She stopped abruptly. A squeal of pain tore from her lips. McCabe twisted her arm cruelly. At the same time, he struck her hard on the cheekbone with the butt of his gun. The crack of metal against bone made Hannah cry out again.
Luke took another step forward. Maggie grabbed him again.
“Come on,” McCabe goaded as he turned the gun on him once more. “Make my day, after all. Try to stop me. I should have let my men kill you and your brother the first day you arrived in town.” He paused for a second before giving a short laugh. “Where is your brother, by the way? I don’t see him around. Did we kill him?”
The click of a gun preceded Jed’s voice by a split second as he growled,
“No, you didn’t. Now drop the weapon.” He thrust his gun firmly into the man’s ribs.
McCabe didn’t move.
“Now!” he repeated, threateningly.
The smile melted from McCabe’s lips. He stretched his arm out wide until he held his gun hand well away from his body. He let the weapon fall to the ground. At the same time, he let go of Hannah. With a cry of relief, she fled down the steps straight into Luke’s arms.
As Jed kicked McCabe’s legs viciously from under him, he forced him to his knees. He ordered him to clasp his hands behind his head. A cheer went up from the crowd as the man knelt before them in defeat.
Maggie gave a shriek of joy and scurried toward Jed. She leapt into his arms, wrapped her legs around his waist, and planted a smacker of a kiss on his mouth. She squeezed him hard. In open delight, she pressed her cheek against his stubbly one, rubbing it against his hard bristles.
“You made it back.” She still squealed but, now, grinned saucily at him as she inhaled deeply too. “Mmm! You smell so good. All sweat and horses.” She buried her face into his neck. “God, you feel good too.” She planted a succession of kisses all over his face as she squeezed him yet again. “All strong and hard.” She paused for a moment to look him mischievously in the eyes. She gave a cute little smile that was full of unspoken innuendo.” Just how I like a man.” She moved her mouth closer to his ear. “You sure are a sight for sore eyes.” She nipped his ear lobe and, then, ran the tip of her tongue around it. She lowered her voice a fraction. “Mmm! Given everything I know about you, I can’t wait to taste you either.”
He grinned lasciviously back at her as she slid slowly and provocatively down his hard frame. After finally settling herself back on the ground, she pressed her body close to his for a moment.
“I see you managed to persuade the townsfolk to turn on McCabe, after all.” Jed sounded impressed.
“Me, and your brother. We both said some things to shake them up a ways. In the end, the women shamed their men-folk into doing something about him.” She looked down at the man kneeling beside her. “Bastard,” she spat at him. She kicked out a foot and watched in delight as the force of her kick sent him sprawling. “See how you like it.”
He snarled at her. She drew back her foot to kick him again.
Jed reached out a hand to catch her arm and stop her. Not, that he didn’t share her sentiments, but McCabe had what was coming to him anyway. He’d soon be swinging on the end of a noose. However, in that split second as Maggie raised her foot, McCabe grasped her ankle and dragged her down beside him. He rolled over and, before anyone had chance to react, he had Maggie firmly in his grasp. One hand snaked round her slender throat and held it in a powerful grip. His fingers pressed deep into her flesh. Her face turned red as she coughed and spluttered, and struggled to breathe. With her firmly in his stranglehold, he stood slowly.
“Let me through or I’ll break her pretty, little whore’s throat,” he rasped. “And bring me a horse.”
Maggie gasped for air as they descended the steps. On tippy-toe, it was the only way her feet could touch the ground. McCabe’s hand still squeezed her throat and pulled her head upward, stretching her neck for all to see. The slightest movement and it would snap. No one saw her fiddling with her skirt with one hand, as she clawed at McCabe’s hand with the other.
“And how are you going to climb up on your horse?” Luke asked, now drawing his gun once again. “Once you release her, you do know you’re a dead man.”
Another dozen guns joined Luke’s. All pointed in unison, and all cocked, ready to fire.
“I’m dead anyway,” he smirked. “So I may as well take another with me.” He looked hard at Hannah. “I’d rather it was y
ou but I suppose I’ll have to make do with the whore.” And with one last meaningful look in Jed’s direction, McCabe smirked and prepared to twist her neck. “Bitch,” he sneered softly against her ear.
“No,” Jed cried out. He lunged forward.
However, suddenly, McCabe released his hold on Maggie. His eyes bulged and his mouth fell open in surprise. He gasped and struggled to draw breath. Maggie had finally managed to slip her knife from beneath her skirt and stick it under his ribs. Now, having found a firm foothold, she turned fully to face him and thrust it all the way up to the hilt and into his belly.
Grasping the handle in both hands, she twisted it and cut him deep and hard. She dragged the blade up toward his ribcage, stopping only when the steel met the resistance of bone. Her lips, pressed together in a grim line, paled beneath the black and purple bruises he’d inflicted on her only a few days earlier. Her eyes narrowed in hate. It was her turn to sneer at him.
“Try calling me a bitch now. Now that you’re stuck like a fucking pig on the end of my knife. Can’t, can you?”
The blood gurgled in his throat and, as the life drained out of his eyes, he sank boneless into the dirt. Everyone stood and watched, their mouths agape. The earth turned red as life blood pumped from his dying body and stained the ground around him.
Jed caught Maggie’s shoulders from behind. He gently drew her away from the lifeless corpse. McCabe’s blood stained the front of her dress.
“It’s over,” he whispered softly in her ear.
She spread her bloody hands out before her. She turned them, palms up. As if unable to comprehend the enormity of what she’d just done, she just stood silently and looked at them.
Jed slid his hands down her arms and took her slender wrists in a strong, yet gentle, grip. He pulled her lovingly backward into him. Then, raising her hands above her head, he held them up for all to see.
A roar of approval and joy rent the air.
Chapter Thirty-One
The ranch soon became a hive of activity.
The undertaker arrived. He’d followed after the mob that had descended on McCabe and his gang. He busily shouted orders to willing assistants who threw bodies, unceremoniously, into an open wagon. Business had suddenly perked up. For a while, it promised to get even better.
The sheriff had the prisoners from McCabe’s gang back up on their horses. His willing deputies had tied their hands to the pommels of their saddles. There would be trials. After all, they were all good, law-abiding folk who lived in the town, but it looked like there’d be some hangings come next week. So, once the undertaker had finished with this bunch of corpses piled up on his wagon, there’d be a few more to deal with, especially when Jed mentioned another six bodies made their way back into town.
Hannah hadn’t waited around to hear any of that. Jed had returned alone and, with so much she wanted to ask him, she was scared to do so. Instead, she whisked Maggie inside her home and provided her with water for washing and a dress to replace the one she wore. Covered in McCabe’s blood, it was only fit for the fire.
Later, when she’d finally gathered her jangled nerves into some kind of order, she left Maggie alone. She approached Jed nervously. Watching the goings-on around them, he and Luke spoke in hushed tones as they leaned against the fence that surrounded the corral.
Now was the time to have those questions answered.
Jacob.
She had to know.
And William.
Had he found them?
What had happened to them?
And why had he returned alone?
The two men turned to her as she approached. Her throat tightened. The words constricted in her voice box as she fought the conflict of emotions. They rode her veins like open rafts on white-water rapids, making her fingers and toes tingle with apprehension. Her eyes searched Jed’s face for answers. She dreaded him saying the words that would tell her things she didn’t want to hear.
But it was Luke who spoke up.
“Jacob’s on his way back,” he said gently. His eyes held hers. He looked anxious, almost haunted, but he sounded honest and forthright in his account. She watched him swallow. His Adam’s apple rose and fell slowly. Her heart skipped a beat, fearful of the news. “He got hurt but he’ll be okay. William’s with him.”
Hannah’s eyes suddenly glistened. Pain clawed at the inside of her chest and loud, erratic thuds palpitated in her chest. She wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Emotion suddenly overwhelmed her. But was it relief, sadness, or guilt? She couldn’t even begin to decide. She didn’t know what to say. It seemed to her that Luke had the same problem, too. His voice had failed him as well. So, Jed continued the tale.
“When McCabe’s men attacked their camp, he took a bullet in his upper chest,” he explained. “Luckily, it just missed the lung. Your brother managed to dig it out but he lost a lot of blood. We constructed a makeshift stretcher to pull him along behind William’s horse. When I knew he’d be all right, I rode straight back here. Luckily I arrived in time. I managed to sneak in round the back while everyone’s attention focused on McCabe threatening you.”
Hannah gave a tiny smile and rested her hand on Jed’s arm.
“I haven’t had chance to thank you for that,” she said softly. Her voice husky, tears crackled in the back of her throat. It was all too much for her. There was so much to take in. “And thank you too for saving Jacob’s life.” Her words drifted into a hoarse whisper.
“It’s what any decent man would do,” he said, with an appreciative smile. He nodded toward those still clearing up the mess of bodies. “And despite everything, it looks like everyone else came good in the end, too.”
Hannah followed his gaze. Taking in the enormity of what everyone had finally risked for her, and themselves, she felt truly humbled and so proud that, at long last, they’d found the courage to stand up for themselves.
In the distance, movement caught her eye. A group of horses rode in from the west but only one man sat astride his horse. Each of the other horses that followed in line had a bundle tied to its back. Some carried provisions but six clearly carried bodies, wrapped tightly in blankets and tied to their saddles. The rider’s horse dragged a palate along behind it. As it drew closer, Hannah could see a dark-haired man strapped to it. The man lay very still with his upper body swathed in bandages. She closed her eyes for a moment to absorb the extent of what she saw. When she opened them, the sight that filled her vision, made the breath catch in her throat. Tears prickled at the backs of her eyes and nose once more.
Jacob. She whispered his name and the floodgates opened. Tears silently spilled and trickled in two streams down her cheeks. All those months of waiting had finally come to an end. She turned to Luke.
“I have to go to him.” she whispered softly. The emotion, thick in the back of her throat, almost choked her. Luke nodded. It was all the consent he gave her, and she turned, and ran, before he had chance to stop her.
* * * *
Luke watched sadly as she took to her heels and raced toward the incoming travelers. Her skirt billowed behind her and her hair blew back from her burning face. She looked a vision of loveliness. His heart turned to lead as he watched the rider stop and speak to her. The man slid from his horse and hugged her to him. Finally, as she fell to her knees beside the injured man, Luke swallowed hard. He knew she’d made her choice.
His face contorted for a moment, and his heavy heart squeezed hard and violently in his chest. It tore at the very edge of his soul. It made him think it was being ripped from his body. The pain wrung the very life out of him. He could barely breathe. His thoughts only returned to the time in hand as Jed rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“I think it’s my turn now, bro,” he said, “to get you away. Hannah might care a great deal for you but I think, maybe, you were just a passing fancy. Me too. We just conveniently satisfied a mighty powerful need that woman has.”
Luke still didn’t speak. He couldn’t fi
nd the words and, if he had, he wasn’t sure his mouth could have formed them.
“Jacob’s a good man,” Jed pressed on gently. “He’ll take care of her. He’s worked hard to pay off his father’s debt. And he came back to fight for her honor when it would have been easier to have stayed away and left her to her fate.”
Luke roughly shrugged Jed’s hand away. He knew Jed was right but his words didn’t ease the pain. There was no comfort in them at all. Anyway, Jed didn’t know it all. He wasn’t there that night when she’d wrapped her legs around him and wouldn’t let him go.
As she fell fast asleep, he knew she protected his seed inside her beautiful body. If only for a brief moment, he sensed, without any doubt, that they shared the same dreams, wishing that Jacob wasn’t a shadow between them and that they could be set free to spend the rest of their lives together.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Two weeks later, Luke and Jed set off back on the trail.
Hannah’s brother, William had left the week before. He’d helped to get the ranch up and running again with Luke and Jed while Jacob was still incapacitated. He’d also played his part in helping the townsfolk to get their affairs in order after McCabe’s iron rule. With both him and his cronies now permanently out of the picture, everyone developed renewed vigor for a quick return to normality. Financial skills that William had learned from his father had not been forgotten and he helped out at the bank, advising them on how to adjust mortgages and accounts. However, he soon decided the time had come to go home. Alone for far too long, his mother and sisters needed him back and they would be more than happy to see him.
Jed had wanted to leave at the same time, but having become the town heroes, they’d been persuaded to stay on a while longer. Luke knew that Jed had thought a few more days in the arms of Maggie and some of the other lovelies would be all the distraction he’d need to stop thinking about Hannah. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
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