I do, I do, I do

by Maggie Osborne

  "Clara will take care of Jean Jacques. She's resourceful, and she'll work it out. We don't have to worry about him."

  "One more thing. I don't know what the Canadian Mounties do to murderesses. Maybe they'll hang us, or maybe they'll stand us in front of a firing squad. But Juliette, we can't kill a man in cold blood without paying serious consequences."

  "What are you saying? We can't possibly walk up and shoot him in cold blood. That would be unforgivably rude! The polite thing would be to warn him first and explain why we have to kill him."

  Zoe blinked. On the other hand, maybe Juliette hadn't changed as much as she had thought. "He's going to say, 'No, I won't let you arrest me,' and then you're going to say, 'Please stand right there because we're going to kill you, and by the way we're doing it because you're trying to murder our friends.' "

  "That's the gist of it. But I'd better warn you. I'm too angry to be completely correct and polite. I can't agree to shoot him in cold blood, but I do predict rude words will be spoken."

  "You know, on second thought it might be better if you stayed here with Clara while I take care of Horvath."

  "That wouldn't be fair. I suggested this, and I should be arrested too if that's how it ends."

  "It won't be just an arrest. Do you feel strongly enough about killing Horvath that you're willing to hang for it?"

  They stared at each other across the tabletop.

  Finally, Juliette frowned at her coffee cup. "None of us are going to have the future we want, Zoe. So what does it matter what happens to us?" She looked up. "I've thought about this. And I think it would be easier to hang than to live knowing I did nothing and let that crazy man kill two people I love. If we have to kill Horvath, then yes, I'm willing to pay the penalty. I believe Clara would do the same for us."

  "Yes, she would." Zoe felt exactly as Juliette did. She turned her head to stare at the ice-block window. Had a shadow just crossed by? Juliette's most compelling argument was that Horvath would act soon. In her bones, Zoe agreed. "We'll have to find someone to sit with Clara." "I don't think Mrs. Weber would mind." Zoe pushed up from the table. "You fetch Mrs. Weber while I load my rifle." That son of a bitch was not going to kill Clara and Bear. She and Juliette would see that he didn't.

  "Excuse me, sir. Where might we find Mr. Horvath?" Juliette inquired pleasantly.

  Horvath's crony stood outside his tent, leaning on the handle of an ax. He looked the two women up and down, a smirk on his lips. "He'd be up yonder on the mountain," he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Working on the cabin he's building hisself. What you want with him?"

  "Thank you, sir." Juliette nudged Zoe, and they walked down a snowpacked lane between rows and rows of tents.

  Zoe was half disappointed that they wouldn't pass Tom's or Ben's tents. Part of her wanted someone to talk them out of this. She had no idea if she really could kill a man. But maybe she didn't have to. Maybe it would serve just to shoot Jake Horvath in the privates. Do enough damage to lay him low long enough for the Mounties to arrive and for the rest of them to continue on to Dawson. But the Mounties might not come, and then Horvath would eventually turn up in Dawson. He had publicly stated he would "finish the job." Either he followed through or he'd be labeled a coward and he'd never hear the end of it.

  "Can you tell that I'm carrying a rifle under my coat?" she asked Juliette, speaking out of the side of her mouth.

  "Just don't drop it, for heaven's sake." Juliette slid her a glance. "Are you nervous?"

  "A little. I've never shot anything except a squirrel."

  "This should be easy, then. Horvath is bigger and more loathsome."

  "I think I see his cabin through the pines." As they climbed a steep snowy path, more of Horvath's place became visible. The walls were up, and a stone chimney chase, but no roof yet. Zoe heard sounds of a hammer and cursing, but no other voices. He was alone then. Good. "Let me do the talking." Carefully, they picked their way up the boulder-strewn path. "Mr. Horvath? Mr. Jake Horvath!"

  He came out of the cabin and walked a few steps toward them before he halted. "Well, lookee what we got here."

  Juliette drew herself up, angry enough that the frozen feather on her hat quivered. "We've come to arrest you for the dastardly deed of ambushing Mr. Bear Barrett and Miss Clara Klaus. Shame on you, Mr. Horvath!"

  "I'll do the talking," Zoe snapped. Anticipating the worst, she looked around, then stepped behind a boulder that reached as high as her elbows. She could remove the rifle from her coat without being seen, and she could lean against the boulder to steady her aim.

  "I know you two," Horvath stated, squinting at them. "You're the stupid skirt who walked out on the thin ice." His gaze swung to Zoe. "And you're the bitch who broke my nose."

  "Juliette, fall back a couple of steps and get behind that big rock." She had the rifle out now, hidden from sight behind the boulder. "Mr. Horvath, this will go easier for everyone if you'll return with us to your tent. We intend to place you under house arrest until the Canadian Mounties arrive."

  First he looked flabbergasted and then amused. "Now, why would I agree to let you two doxies arrest me?"

  "Partly for your own protection," Zoe called. "You have to know that when Bear is strong enough he'll come gunning for you. He isn't going to let you burn down his cabin and shoot his lady without repercussions."

  "I got reasons for what I done," Horvath snarled. He tightened his grip around the hammer in his hand. "That son of a bitch cheated me, and he's going to die for it."

  "You can tell your reasons to the Mounties when they get here. Until then, it's best for everyone if you're confined."

  To Zoe's surprise, none of her nervousness appeared in her voice. She sounded steady and sure of herself. It helped that she had a rifle and Horvath only had a hammer. And it helped that she'd been a fighter all her life. Men like Horvath, cowardly little men who blamed others for their own shortcomings and who shot people in the back, didn't scare her—at least not much.

  "Well, ladies. I ain't gonna be arrested. And I ain't gonna confine myself to no tent. The Mounties ain't coming, and if they did, they'd recognize my right to punish the man who cheated me out of my saloon."

  "You're the one who bet your saloon on a hand of cards, Mr. Horvath," Juliette called in tones of deep disapproval. "It's not honorable to blame another for your lapse of judgment. Or to accuse someone of cheating because the cards didn't fall your way. You are no gentleman, sir!"

  Hatred blazed from his tiny raisin eyes. "You go on, now. Git. And you can tell Bear Barrett and his whore that next time no one will rescue them. Next time they're dead!"

  Zoe narrowed her eyes and spoke with authority. "Drop the hammer, Mr. Horvath, and walk down this path."

  "I ain't gonna do that. Ain't you listening?" He looked back and forth between them. "Now git."

  Juliette stood tall behind her rock. "If you don't come with us now, Mr. Horvath, then Miss Wilder will have to shoot you. We genuinely regret having to shoot you, I hope you understand that, and we apologize in advance. But since you've threatened to kill our friends, we have no choice." She nodded to Zoe. "I think you should fire a warning shot now."

  Zoe wiped snow from the top of the boulder, then brought up the rifle and let him see it. She decided a small lie was in order. "I've killed dozens of men, Mr. Horvath, and I won't hesitate to kill you, too, if I must. But I'd prefer not to. So do as we ask and walk down the hill to your tent."

  He glanced at the rifle and looked hard at Zoe. Then he pursed his lips and nodded. "Looks like you got me," he said finally. "Let me put away my tools and get my jacket, then we'll go."

  The instant he stepped inside the cabin, Juliette called in a low voice. "It's going splendidly, don't you think?"

  "Unless he went in the cabin to get a gun." Zoe chewed her lip and watched the unfinished doorway. Maybe this was a trick.

  "Oh." Juliette considered. "Well, if you think he has a gun in there, why didn't you shoot him?"
/>   "Because maybe he really is surrendering."

  He wasn't. Horvath appeared in the doorway of the cabin with a pistol in each hand. Before Zoe could react to what she saw, a bullet glanced off her boulder, spraying up chips of granite. One of the chips hit her cheek, and she felt a trickle of blood as she ducked down.

  "Things are really going our way now," Juliette called. Her voice came from low and behind her rock. "He's trying to kill us, so we can kill him back. I believe that's the law. No one will arrest us for killing someone who's trying to kill us. And he fired first." She shouted at Horvath. "It's extremely ungentlemanly to shoot at women, Mr. Horvath. Have you no shame? I demand that you cease and desist. This is your last chance."

  In answer, bullets peppered the rocks in front of them.

  "Well, there you are," Juliette called to Zoe. "The man has no concept of propriety. He's an incorrigible. We've warned him and we've explained. So why aren't you shooting at him?"

  "I'd like to, damn it. But I have to see to fire, and I'm afraid he'll shoot off my head if I lift it above the rock."

  "You didn't think of this before now? Really, Zoe."

  Zoe ground her teeth together and wondered how many shots Horvath had fired. She'd lost count. But she did know that things had changed and now Horvath held the high cards. She and Juliette were pinned down, unable to retreat without exposing themselves. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would kill them both given half a chance.

  Rising on her knees, facing the rock, she slid the rifle barrel up on top of the granite and squeezed off a blind shot. Ignoring Juliette's applause, she took a second shot. For all she could tell, the rifle barrel was resting on a bump and aimed at the sky. Or maybe she'd hit the cabin. The odds of actually hitting Horvath were slim, damn it.

  A rain of bullets showered the rocks that protected them. When she heard Horvath laugh she knew she hadn't hit him.

  "You bitches have to show yourselves sometime, and when you do, you're dead. You hear me? Dead."

  "Did you hear that?" Juliette crowed. "He threatened us. We've got him now. But I wish you'd hurry up and shoot him. I'm getting cold."

  "Well, I'm trying!"

  Zoe managed a couple more shots and then took stock of their situation. As long as she continued to fire in Horvath's general direction, he wouldn't advance on them and come down the path. But she and Juliette couldn't withdraw without exposing themselves. And Zoe was getting cold, too.

  "We're stuck," she said finally, calling to Juliette. "I can't get a decent shot, and we can't retreat without Horvath killing us."

  She had come to the Yukon with no illusions. She had planned to shoot and kill Jean Jacques Villette, and she had expected to hang for his murder. She had come to terms with Jean Jacques's death and with her own before she left Seattle.

  But now, hunkered down behind the granite boulder while bullets whizzed over her head, she understood that everything had changed. She didn't want to die. Not by hanging, not by getting shot. She wanted to live happily ever after with Tom Price. She didn't even care if they ended in Newcastle as long as they were together.

  "Somehow the tide has turned. I think we're in a bit of a pickle," Juliette said in a small voice. "I think we might get killed or badly wounded unless someone in camp hears the shots and comes to our rescue."

  "Don't count on it. A hundred men are hunting in these hills every day. Shots are as common as tobacco juice."

  "It's beginning to look like this isn't as positive a situation as it first appeared."

  Zoe bit off a string of stinging comments about positive situations, because however annoying Juliette could be, she was, by God, a brave and loyal friend. She was here on the hillside getting shot at, and it had been her idea. Although Zoe had never believed she would have such a thought, she admitted that Juliette had many good qualities. And so did Clara. The two people she had hated most in the world had become her dearest friends.

  Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the rock. The question now was how good a friend was Zoe Wilder? She had come here to save Clara, but she'd ended by placing Juliette in danger. Never mind whose idea it was. Zoe knew about weapons and fights, and she should have thought this through more thoroughly.

  Juliette didn't deserve to die. After all, Zoe was the one who had come to the Yukon to hang. And she reminded herself that it would never have ended well with Tom in any case.

  "Juliette, listen." She drew a deep breath. Actually, getting shot didn't terrify her as much as being hanged. And she might even survive. Her hands were steady as she pushed bullets into the rifle's chamber. "When I stand up to shoot, you make a run for it. Don't use the path. Go through the trees. I know the snow is deep and it will be hard to move. But stay in the trees until the cabin is out of sight."

  "I don't wish to be impolite, but… have you lost your mind? If you stand up, Horvath will kill you!"

  "If we keep sitting here, we'll freeze."

  "I've been thinking, Zoe. This was a bad idea, and I'm sorry." Juliette's voice cracked. "It's my fault that we're going to get killed."

  "No, it's my fault. I acted on impulse instead of thinking this out more carefully." Zoe waved a hand, though Juliette couldn't see her. "Never mind that. Just get ready to run."

  "Zoe? Whatever happens… I love you."

  The air ran out of her chest. "I love you, too." She bit her lips. "Tell Tom… and tell Clara… Well, you'll know what to say. Make it sound nice."

  "Oh, Zoe. Damn it."

  "Get ready. On the count of three, I'll stand and you run." She sucked in a cold breath and pictured the cabin, the doorway. If Horvath hadn't overheard their loud whispers, she might get him first. It might happen that way. "One…" She turned to face the rock and gathered her feet beneath her. "Two…" The rifle was ready to fire and she was a good shot. "Three!"

  Popping up, she fired into a hail of bullets. Bullets coming toward her, bullets flying past her. She could see Horvath, and he was shooting past her, at the path.

  "Get down!" Tom's voice? But it couldn't be.

  Completely confused, Zoe dropped behind the rock and peered down the path. At least a dozen men rushed toward her, with Bear in the lead and Tom and Ben right behind. All of them had weapons and fired steadily at Horvath's cabin. And none of them had the sense to seek cover, she noticed, her heart in her mouth.

  Bear had one arm strapped to his chest, and his face was red with the exertion of climbing the path. But he was firing and roaring like a grizzly.

  "You no-good, cowardly, worthless piece of garbage! First you shoot me in the back and try to kill my woman, now you're trying to kill my friends! Defenseless women!"

  The mountainside reverberated with a fusillade of gunshots flying back and forth between the cabin and the men on the path, so many shots that no one could have kept count. Zoe covered her ears as the men rushed past her.

  And then, finally, silence. Slowly, Zoe and Juliette stood behind their rocks. Horvath was dead, and the men stood in a circle around his body, quietly wondering whose bullets had found the mark. As she watched, Tom turned, and his eyes met hers. He and Ben walked away from the others and climbed down the path.

  "Are you injured?" Tom asked in a clipped voice.

  "No," she said as Ben passed, moving rapidly toward Juliette. "The cut on my cheek is just a scratch."

  "Good. Miraculously, no one else is injured either. Now, what in the hell were you thinking of?" His fists came down on his hips, and his green eyes blazed. "God knows what might have happened if we hadn't had a couple of men up there on the hillside watching Horvath! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

  She stared. "You have men watching him?"

  "Of course!" Exasperation roughened his voice. "He threatened to go after Clara and Bear again. Do you think we were just going to let him do it?" Sweeping off his hat, he pushed his fingers through his hair. "Damn it, Zoe. If Abner hadn't rushed down and sounded the alarm, Horvath would have killed you two!"

&nb
sp; "We didn't think anyone was doing anything to stop him."

  Bear came down the path. "Abner saw part of it, but Cal Rye heard and saw everything. These ladies tried to make a citizen's arrest. Horvath refused to be arrested." Bear rolled his eyes. "Horvath fired first." He glanced at Zoe's rifle. "Everything that happened from then on was self-defense or a rescue. There won't be any trouble with the Mounties. We've got a dozen men who will swear they saw Horvath firing at Zoe and Juliette. "

  Tom continued to stare at her. "I see the outlines of this. You thought you were going to save Clara and Bear, right? Was that your plan?"

  "Yes." Her chin came up. "And I don't apologize for it."

  "If you'd talked to me first, damn it, I could have told you that Horvath couldn't make a move without us knowing!"

  "Well, damn all! That woman should be resting." Bear swore between his teeth and squinted down the path at Clara, who hurried toward them. She was hastily assembled, her hat askew, her arm in a sling over a coat that was buttoned wrong. They could all see her muffler dropped on the path behind her.

  She threw herself on Juliette, almost knocking her to the ground. "Mrs. Weber finally told me where you two went and why. No one's ever done such a nice thing for me! I thank you from my heart, and I love you!"

  Juliette emerged from the folds of Clara's coat, gasping for air, and Clara rushed on up the path and grabbed Zoe.

  "Thank you," she said, squeezing the air out of Zoe's body with her good arm. "I love you both so much. I've never had friends like you and Juliette!" She gazed up at Bear. "I'm a lucky woman."

  Bear dropped his free arm around Clara's shoulder, and Ben had his hand on Juliette's waist as they came up the path. But Tom still stood with his fists on his hips, staring at her.

  "There are some puzzling things here." He tipped his hat toward the rifle leaning against the granite boulder. "I guess I understand why you came to confront Horvath. But I don't understand why you brought a rifle to the Yukon in the first place. And I sure as hell don't understand why you were apparently willing to die today."