by Leigh, Nerys
“No, I don’t mean from the train,” he snapped. “From New York.”
He’d known her in New York? She wracked her memory, trying to recall him. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember meeting you. I met a lot of people in New York. Did you know my father?”
He shook his head angrily, causing the revolver to wave around. Sara flinched, wondering if he even knew how to use it.
“No, I didn’t know your father! Morton’s! You came in all the time.”
Did he mean Morton’s Dressmakers? She’d bought much of her clothing there, but she didn’t remember Mr Pulaski at all.
Unless... buttons.
On the train he’d talked about making buttons. A vague memory came to her of a man she’d caught sight of on occasion at the back of the shop, surrounded by lace and ribbons, always working on something small and intricate. He’d smiled at her a few times and she’d smiled back, but he’d never spoken to her. They hadn’t even been within fifteen feet of each other.
That was Pulaski?
“You worked in the back.”
“I worked on all your dresses,” he said, smiling slightly at the memory. “I made each one perfect, imagining the time when you’d notice and come and thank me.” His smile disappeared. “But you never did.”
She took a gradual step towards the house. “I... I didn’t know you ever took any notice of me.”
He shook his head slowly, as if unable to believe what he was hearing. “Took any notice of you. Took any notice of you?” He gestured at her with the gun and she froze. “Like you never saw my admiring looks.”
“I swear, I didn’t.”
“When you finally got rid of that oaf, Hunt, I thought you would finally notice me. I followed you around, hoping you would see me on the street or in Fort Greene park or out at lunch. Once, you dropped your parasol and I picked it up for you, but you thanked me with barely a glance.”
Sara suppressed a shudder at the thought that he’d been watching her. How long had he been following her around? “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
He went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “And then I found out you were coming here?” His mouth twisted in disgust. “To become a mail order bride? I couldn’t believe it. That you would choose this place instead of me. That you would choose him instead of me.”
“I didn’t know you!” Maybe she could run to the house. He wouldn’t really shoot her, would he? She could run and get inside to the rifle.
Pulaski darted towards her, reaching her before she could react and grabbing the back of her neck. She cried out as he pressed the barrel of the revolver to her cheek.
“Well you know me now,” he hissed into her face. “And when your cripple of a husband is dead, you’ll finally want me the way I’ve always wanted you.”
Chapter 33
Daniel’s heart lurched at the sound of Sara’s terrified cry.
He scrambled from the settee and raced across the room, arms stretched out in front of him. In the kitchen he clipped a chair as he dashed past and it spun away, grating across the floor. His left hand slammed against the far wall, his right found only air. The back doorway.
Throwing himself through, he shouted Sara’s name.
“Daniel, run!” she screamed from somewhere ahead of him. “He has a gun!”
“Sara!” He rushed to where he knew the porch steps were and grasped the rail, only just managing to stay upright as he stumbled down to the yard.
To his left he could hear Bess’ muffled barking. It sounded like she was somewhere inside.
“Stop right there, Raine.”
He skidded to a halt at the all too familiar voice. “Pulaski,” he growled. “If you hurt her...”
“You’ll what? Fall on your face again?”
Daniel clenched his fists at his derisive snigger. “I will kill you.”
Before Sara he would never have thought himself capable of killing another man. He couldn’t even kill a chicken. But he’d never felt the kind of rage and fear that burned through him now. It drove every other thought from his mind.
“Kill me?” Pulaski laughed. “How are you going to do that? Yet again, you are utterly inadequate. You see this, Sara? You see how unworthy of your affection he is?”
There was the brief sound of a scuffle before Daniel heard her voice, strained as if she had to fight to speak. “Don’t you dare hurt him.”
Pulaski puffed out a sharp breath. “What more do I have to do to show you that you belong with me? I rigged the lamp to blow up, hired that vagabond Ely to show you how unsafe you were, set the barn on fire. How much clearer can it be?”
It had been Pulaski all along. Suddenly it all made sense. How could Daniel have not suspected?
“You,” Sara gasped. “It was all you.”
“Because I love you. I’ve always loved you. From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were meant to be mine.”
She struggled against him, anger filling her face. “It’s your fault Ely was here. He attacked Amy!”
Every part of Daniel wanted to run to her, to get her away from Pulaski, but with a gun the chance was too great that she’d be hurt. If Sara was killed, he knew he would die with her, whether or not he still lived.
“I don’t want you!” she yelled. “If you were the last man alive on earth, I still wouldn’t want you!”
A hand struck flesh.
Sara cried out.
Daniel jerked as if hit himself. He clutched at his bandages. “Leave her alone!”
“I’m sorry,” Pulaski gasped. “I didn’t mean to strike you. I would never hurt you, my darling.” His voice hardened. “This is all your fault, Raine. She wouldn’t be like this if it wasn’t for your indoctrination of her woman’s weak mind. I have to free you from his influence, Sara. You’ll see I’m right, once he’s gone.”
“No, wait!” she cried desperately. “I’ll go with you, I won’t fight. Just please, don’t hurt him.”
Daniel thrust his fingers under the bandage around his eyes, tugging at it. Please, Lord, help me.
“No, you see,” Pulaski said, “this is exactly why he needs to die. I have to break his hold over you.”
“No!”
Sara screamed and Pulaski cried out. A gunshot cracked through the air.
A metallic ricochet sounded somewhere behind Daniel.
“Sara!” He tore the bandage from his face and opened his eyes.
Light slammed into his head, searing his retinas like a branding iron.
He clamped his eyes shut again, moisture forming around his lashes. It did nothing to improve the pain. Gritting his teeth, he forced his eyelids apart and wiped at his tears with the backs of his hands. Then he squinted into the first light he’d seen in thirteen days.
Everything was a blur. He wiped at his eyes again, trying to clear his sight. He needed to see. He had to save Sara.
Gradually, the world around him came into focus.
Twenty feet in front of him, Pulaski stood behind Sara with one arm wrapped around her waist, the other holding a revolver pointed at him. To Daniel’s immense relief she appeared unharmed, although the fingertips of her right hand were stained red. Three long scratches on Pulaski’s cheek were oozing blood.
She struggled against his grasp. “Let go of me.”
Seeing Pulaski’s hands on her made Daniel’s skin crawl and he had to fight every instinct to keep himself from rushing forward.
“Keep still,” Pulaski grunted, attempting to aim as she jostled him. Then he saw Daniel’s bandage removed and laughed. “Come on then, let’s see you make a fool of yourself again. I’d enjoy some entertainment before I rid Sara of you.”
Daniel immediately lowered his eyes as if still blind. He took a few steps forward, raising his arms in front of him to look like he was feeling his way.
Pulaski laughed again, his eyes going to Sara. “Look at him. Look at your pitiful husband.”
Taking advantage of his distracted attention, Daniel looked straight at Sa
ra. Her eyes met his and widened when she saw him focused on her.
“I see him,” she said quietly, and he knew the words were for him. She turned to Pulaski, their faces only inches apart and her tone becoming calm and seductive. “What do you have to offer me instead?”
Pulaski swallowed and his hand moved across her stomach. “I... I have many skills that will earn me a good wage. You will never have to sully your hands with work again.”
She touched the arm wrapped around her waist, sliding her hand slowly towards his. “Go on.”
Daniel swallowed a wave of nausea as he watched her seduction of Pulaski. He knew she was only creating a distraction, but it still made him want to rush forward and rip them apart.
“I will give you a beautiful house,” Pulaski said. “Not like this hovel you’ve been forced to live in here. You will have everything you desire.”
She leaned towards him, her voice lowering to a whisper. “Everything?”
“Everything.” His eyes dropped to her lips as her fingers reached his hand.
The gun pointed at Daniel wavered. He tensed to move.
Sara yanked back on one of Pulaski’s fingers. He screamed.
Daniel launched himself forward, breaking into a run.
Pulaski shoved Sara away and brought up the revolver.
A gunshot exploded around Daniel. Pain shredded his arm.
He barrelled into Pulaski, throwing them both to the ground. Letting out a wail, Pulaski flailed his long arms and legs, showering Daniel with a flurry of kicks and punches, forcing him to roll away from the barrage. Pulaski whipped the gun towards him again.
A screaming blur of blue rushed past Daniel’s head and landed on top of Pulaski, grabbing his arm and pushing it up as he fired.
A window shattered. Bess’ barking became even more frantic.
Pulaski swung his free arm at Sara, catching her across the face and throwing her off him.
Ignoring the agony in his arm, Daniel pushed himself to his knees and lunged for Pulaski, grabbing the gun and wrenching it from his grasp.
He shoved the barrel into his temple.
Pinned beneath Daniel’s torso, Pulaski froze and swivelled his eyes towards the gun at his head.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” Daniel growled, everything inside screaming for him to pull the trigger.
A soft touch brushed his shoulder. “Because you’re not a killer,” Sara said. “You’re a good man.”
No one else could have reached through his anger at that moment but her.
She was right, he wasn’t a killer. He was just a man deeply in love.
He took a deep breath in and out, letting his anger drain away, and pushed himself to his feet.
Without the gun, Pulaski looked defeated, slumped on the ground and cradling the finger Sara had likely broken.
She stood over him, her hands on her hips. “Does it hurt?”
He squinted up at her. “Yes.”
“Good. That’s for saying I have a woman’s weak mind.” Her foot darted out, catching him in the ribs and making him grunt in pain. “And that’s for everything else.”
Daniel let out a bark of laughter. A significant amount of him was hurting and he was feeling a little lightheaded. Now he was no longer fighting for their lives, the full extent of the past few minutes was beginning to catch up with him.
Sara turned towards him and gasped, rushing to his side and touching his arm. “You’ve been shot.”
For some reason her statement of the obvious made him smile. “Yep.” He glanced down at his arm and saw what looked like a disturbing amount of blood soaking his shirt sleeve and dripping from his fingers into a small crimson pool on the ground. “Would you mind fetching some rope from the barn to tie him up with? I think I may need to sit down soon.”
“How is it you can see?” Pulaski said, glaring up at him as Sara hurried off.
In all the excitement, Daniel had almost forgotten the miracle of his restored sight.
In spite of the circumstances, he couldn’t help smiling. “Because God has perfect timing.”
Chapter 34
With Daniel standing guard over Pulaski with the revolver, the first thing Sara did was release Bess.
The enraged dog burst out of the door and raced straight at Pulaski, growling and snapping. He cried out, throwing one hand over his face as she lunged at him.
Sara couldn’t help noticing that Daniel waited until Bess had got her teeth around his forearm before calling her to him. She seemed disappointed to let go. She shook herself and trotted over to take her place alongside her master, glaring at the man still lying on the ground.
Sara fetched a length of rope from the barn and followed Daniel’s instructions on how to tie a secure knot. It was a skill she had overlooked in her preparations for coming to the west, but she was able to get Mr Pulaski into the wagon, hogtied and helpless. He looked extremely uncomfortable which Sara cared about not one bit. After everything he’d put them through, he deserved everything he got.
Leaving Bess guarding Pulaski, they headed for the back door.
Daniel stopped, staring at the areas to either side of the porch stairs where Sara had begun her garden. There wasn’t that much to see, but she’d got most of the digging done, marked out the beds with a line of rocks and put in a few flowering plants.
“When did you do this?” he said in astonishment.
“Whenever I could. I haven’t had a chance to plant much yet, but I’d like to put in some climbing roses to grow around the porch and more flowers, maybe some grass. And I thought some pots to grow herbs and strawberries would be nice. I love strawberries and they’re the one thing you don’t have.”
“Did Will dig it?”
“No, did it all myself. He did offer, but he already had so much to do with the farm that I wouldn’t let him.” She bit her lip uncertainly. “Do you like it?”
“I love it. I’m so proud of you. I never thought something so simple could make such a difference.” He looked down at her and smiled. “It makes it look like a real home. A place a man would be proud and happy to raise his family.”
Thrilled he was pleased with what she’d done, she took hold of his good hand. “Let’s go and see to your arm. You’re bleeding all over my new garden.”
He looked down at himself. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
The bullet had grazed his left upper arm, the wound relatively shallow but quite large. It was still seeping blood, albeit less than before. Sara was worried about the amount he’d lost. Daniel, however, didn’t seem worried at all as he sat on a chair in the kitchen and stared at her as she worked, a small smile on his face.
“Isn’t this hurting at all?” she said eventually.
“Sure is. Quite a bit.” He continued to smile.
“Then why are you smiling?”
“Because I can see you again. You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I never want to stop looking at you.”
A smile of her own crept onto her face. “You can’t look at me forever. We’d have to be together all day every day.”
“Works for me.”
She laughed softly as she tied the bandage in place. “I’m not going to say I can’t see merit in the idea.” She placed the scissors onto the table and stood. “I’ve done what I can, but we need to get to Doctor Wilson.”
He reached up his hand and cupped her cheek, his expression becoming serious. “I love you and I will do everything I can to keep you safe, always. You don’t have to be afraid.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. And she’d been doing so well at keeping herself together. “I know,” she managed to whisper.
He stood and put his good arm around her. “OK, let’s go.”
~ ~ ~
When they arrived in town Sara drove the wagon straight to the doctor, ignoring Daniel’s protests. There was no way she wasn’t getting him to help first.
Doctor Wilson opened the door, took one look at Daniel’
s bloody arm, and ushered him inside.
Her next stop was the marshal’s office.
Marshal Cade’s eyes widened when he saw Mr Pulaski trussed up in the back of the wagon. “You found him I see.”
Wanting to get back to Daniel, she related what had happened as quickly as possible while the marshal scribbled it all down and Deputy Filbert carried Pulaski, almost literally, to a cell.
“How’s Daniel?” Marshal Cade said when she’d finished.
“I don’t know, I left him at the doctor’s. But he can see.” That part was just beginning to sink in. A smile spread over her face. “He can see.”
The marshal laughed. “Well, that’s a bona fide miracle if ever I heard one.”
“Do you need me anymore?” she said. “I’d like to get back to Daniel.”
“No no, you go. We’ll take care of Albert Pulaski. You go take care of your husband. And yourself.”
She drove the wagon back to Doctor Wilson’s office and ran inside without knocking. In the treatment room she found Daniel sitting shirtless on a chair as the doctor stitched the wound on his bicep closed. He looked pale, his good hand gripping the arm of the chair as the needle passed through his skin.
He looked up at her and smiled, pain glazing his eyes.
“Almost done, Mrs Raine,” Doctor Wilson said. “I’ve given the wound a good clean. Should heal up well.”
She pulled a chair over to Daniel’s uninjured side and wound her arm through his, leaning her forehead on his bare shoulder and silently praying for the Lord to ease his pain. She felt his lips press to her hair.
“I’m all right,” he whispered, although the tension in his body said otherwise.
“All done,” the doctor said, sitting back and dropping the needle into a small metal tray.
Daniel released a long breath and slumped back in the chair. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Doc, but I hope I never see the inside of this room again.”
Doctor Wilson chuckled as he dabbed the newly stitched wound with carbolic acid. “I don’t blame you at all, Daniel. I’ve seen entirely too much of you over the past two weeks.” He began winding a fresh bandage around his handiwork. “How’s your face feel, Mrs Raine?”