"But Chase meant you no harm. He meant Gil no harm. Can't you accept that?"
"No. And neither can Buck. You ask him... oh, I forgot... you won't be able to."
"If you shoot me, they'll trace the bullets back to you," Kate said.
That was a crock and Merle knew it. "If I wanted to shoot you, I would have done it the other night. I did my best to scare you off." Again regret and something stronger -- guilt? -- nagged at her. "Why didn't you run and not look back?"
As usual, Kate ignored her, asking, "Then how do you plan to kill me?"
"I don't plan on doing anything to you. I didn't do anything to Doc, either," Merle said, trying to convince herself. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, is all."
"Like Gil was?"
"No! It's not the same thing!"
"Merle, it doesn't have to be like this. You can stop now. You can prove that you're nothing like your --"
Not wanting to hear anything else that might confuse her, Merle lashed out with her rifle barrel to shut Kate's mouth. Metal clunked against skull. Kate's eyes rolled and her knees gave way.
She sank to the ground, quiet at last.
And Merle was still trying to convince herself that she was not a murderer as she walked over to the nearest corral filled with restless mustangs and opened the gate wide.
CHASE SHOVED HIS FOOT to the floor. The Bronco bucked and twisted over the rugged terrain. Forget the roads. He was taking every safe short-cut -- and some not-so-safe -- that he could think of. He couldn't get to the isolation corrals fast enough.
Keelin's call had taken him by surprise, but he hadn't wasted time arguing with her or denying anything. If Kate could talk to animals, he guessed her cousin could see through someone else's eyes. Besides, he'd heard not only the ring of truth in Keelin's words, but her panic, as well.
He only hoped it wasn't too late.
What the hell had he been thinking of, letting Kate go off half-cocked? He should have tied her up until she'd agreed to listen, to believe that he loved her.
He could lose anything and survive it with the woman he loved by his side. But he couldn't lose her. Not again. No fool, he knew that losing her this time might be a permanent state.
Look at what had happened to Doc...
It suddenly struck him... the isolation corrals... the stampede...
Chase swore when he couldn't make the Bronco go faster. His gut was tied in knots and he felt a searing pain where his heart should be.
He was so intent on speed that he almost missed the wash of high beams cutting through the night. Paralleling the road, the Bronco was slightly ahead of a sixteen-wheeler barreling in the same direction. What the hell was a truck that size doing on this road at this time of night...
Unless...
...tell him it's now...the isolation corrals...
He hadn't exactly understood the first part of the message. But he did now. Kate had been trying to tell him that another roundup was in progress! The truck was on that road at that time of night because more of his wild horses were about to vanish!
Though it killed him to do it, he slowed a tad and made for the road, bumping up over the shoulder with a jounce that set his teeth on edge. A blast from the truck's horn told him the driver had spotted him. Good.
Chase pulled the Bronco directly in front of the sixteen-wheeler and purposely slowed even more.
More blasts cut through the night. Headlights flicked in his rearview mirror. Chase tapped the brake a few times and grinned like the devil himself when he heard the truck downshift. What a hell of a way to play chicken!
He repeated his maneuver until the sixteen-wheeler downshifted again.
Then suddenly, it made a break, tried to go around him.
Ahead lay a treacherous curve with a steep embankment. Rain dropped like a curtain over the windshield. Flipping on his wipers, Chase took his chances, staying directly in front of the truck to distract the driver, only at the last minute pulling away. Through his mirrors, he saw the massive vehicle skid. The body swung around the cab in a jackknife, and the multi-ton vehicle landed on its side.
Chase brought the Bronco to a screeching halt. Backed up. All the while watching for some sign of life crawling from the cab. Nothing moved.
Next to the immobilized truck, Chase stopped and hopped out. He climbed aboard the cab's side and peered in the open window as lightning danced around him, illuminating the interior. Wedged behind the wheel, the driver was regaining consciousness.
"Spivey!" Chase spat.
So the terrible things done to the refuge had been for nothing more significant than money, after all. The missing horses. More important and unforgivable, Doc's death.
"Get me an ambulance," the other man whined. "My ribs... and I think my leg is broken."
"Good. That means you won't be going anywhere." Though he had a million questions to ask Spivey -- including where to find his wild horses -- Chase had a more pressing mission. "Where the hell's Kate? Is she in danger? Who have you been working with?"
But Spivey was paying him no mind. Rather, he was blubbering to himself.
A waste of time!
Chase felt more than justified in leaving the bastard to suffer while he went after the woman he loved. Getting back into his truck, he heard the man's caterwauling above another rumble that shook the skies.
Maybe the pain would make Spivey contemplate his sins and some prison time. Hopefully a long enough sentence to fill in the remaining spaces of his lowly life.
"One down and one to go," he muttered, staring at a clear spot on his windshield. "Hang on, Kate, hang on."
KATE CAME TO SPITTING FRESH MUD, her ears filled with the squeal of an angry horse. Pushing herself to her hands, she shook her head and tried to rise, even as mustangs began milling out of their pens.
"Sorry Kate!" came a voice through the fog of her headache.
Kate lifted her face to the wet sky. Needles of rain drove away the haze. Near the corrals, now open, Merle was mounted and raising her rifle. The sharp blast added to an echoing crack of thunder spooked the wild horses. They shoved each other, tried to jump over each others' backs in their panic to run from the threat. Merle squeezed off another round.
Freed horses ran blindly. She was in their path, Kate realized, fighting injury to get to her feet. Every inch of her hurt, though the pain would be nothing compared to what she'd experience if caught beneath the sharp hooves of several tons of horseflesh.
Heart pounding, she knew she couldn't stop them.
She certainly couldn't outrun them.
What she could do was pray she would be alive after they'd passed by.
Suddenly a mustang flew directly in front of her... stopping on a dime... nose pushing at her... squealing at her.
Dazed, Kate gasped, "Sage!" and realized the mare had come to her rescue.
Though she fathomed Sage had never been ridden, she grabbed a fistful of wet mane and launched herself upward. The nervous grulla danced sideways as members of a band that was not hers flew by, buffeting them, sprinting east along the road. Suddenly, headlights shot out of nowhere and the mini-stampede turned even as more mustangs freed themselves. Horses milled in confusion, butting heads, one going down in the fray.
Sickened by the animal's scream, Kate clung to Sage's back for her very life as the vehicle shot by them, then came to a screeching halt. She recognized the Bronco.
As did Merle, who was reloading her rifle with difficulty while being jostled in the confusion.
Chase flew out of his car and Kate knew Merle would shoot him now that she was exposed.
Instinctively, Kate thought to get to the other woman to stop her, that wish seemingly transferring to Sage, who cut straight toward the big bay. The mare showed her dominance, squealing and nipping at horseflesh to force them through the melee. As the gap between the women closed, Kate reached out to grab the rifle -- her hand closing around the still-warm barrel -- even as Merle tried to take aim.
"Let go!" a furious Merle screamed.
Kate jerked the barrel up, yelling, "Stop! It's over!"
They struggled for command of the weapon, both mounts dancing around each other. Kate eventually got a double grip on the rifle. With her free hand, Merle went for her face. Ducking, Kate gave the rifle a hard twist and tugged. The other woman refused to let go, and whether or not she did so purposely, squeezed the trigger. The shot renewed the panic around them.
Merle's bay shot forward. Still clinging to the rifle, she lost her seat, her fall finally ripping her death grip from the weapon. For a moment triumphant, Kate looked around wildly for Chase across the sea of freaked horses. He was trying to find a safe path to her.
She yelled to get his attention. "Chase, catch!" Then pitched the rifle to him.
Sage pranced around Merle as she got to her feet. Knowing anything could set off the herd again, Kate held out her hand, but the other woman refused to take the offered help.
"I told you I won't rot in prison!"
Before Kate knew what she was about, Merle backed off straight into the milling horses. A Paint jostled one shoulder, an Appaloosa the other. She went deeper into their midst, buffeted but determined. Suddenly a current popped around them like a great electrical circuit coming to life. The land was thrown into blue-white clarity as sheet lightning circled them, followed by a crash loud enough to move the earth.
And the wild horses. A renewed stampede was on.
One minute Merle was there... the next minute gone... lost beneath hoofed feet.
Kate stared in shocked silence, even knowing Merle had been ready to die. Then the mustangs were gone, all except Sage, who quivered and complained but pranced in place. A few yards away, Merle lay still, covered with mud and her own blood that even now was being washed away by the rain.
"Kate!" Chase yelled, finally catching up to her. "Are you all right?"
Letting go of the grulla's mane, she held her arms out to him and was pulled into his wet embrace. Though every inch of her protested, Kate wasn't complaining.
Still gripping the rifle, Chase held her tight. "I thought I might be too late."
"Too late for Merle."
Freeing herself, Kate limped over to the downed woman and checked for a pulse to be certain. When she didn't find one, she gazed up at Chase through the rain and shook her head.
"I don't understand," he said. "Why?"
"Gil fathered the baby she miscarried and held you responsible for both their deaths. I'll tell you as much as I know," she promised. "But first we have to find Whit --"
"I already stopped him. Let's take care of you."
"In a minute."
Though Sage had backed off, she hadn't fled. Kate slid both hands up around the mare's neck and touched foreheads. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, mentally giving the mustang her thanks...
...picturing Doc with smiling eyes and a happy grin splitting his beloved old face...
Exactly as if she, too, saw, the grulla whinnied deep in her throat, backed off, and with a nod of her heavy head, whirled around and chased after her companions. Kate's eyes filled with tears as her gaze drifted to the muck, where the mustang that had gone down earlier, now valiantly tried to rise.
Next to her, Chase said, "I'll take care of it."
She turned her back so she wouldn't have to see, but a shudder ripped through her at the rifle blast. Softly, she began to cry for all who'd fallen because of Merle's twisted righteousness.
Chase slid his arms around her waist and dipped his head next to hers. He held her and waited out her tears.
"I think they're all dead," she sobbed. "All the mustangs they took... Merle wouldn't have had the money to pay for help, and Whit Spivey's not the type of person who'd do anything for nothing."
"I've thought of that," Chase admitted.
Neither of them uttered the unspeakable, that the wild horses had probably been sold to some not-too-scrupulous supplier of horse meat.
Chase turned her in his arms. "How did you get Sage to let you on her back?"
She gazed up at the man she loved through rain and tears. "She offered. Isn't it amazing?"
"You're an amazing woman." He ran his knuckles along her cheek. "This is amazing. I can't believe I've found you again after all these years. If you can forgive me, that is."
"I already have," she said truthfully. When she'd told Merle that Chase had been young and stupid and had asked her to forget the past, she knew that's exactly what she needed to do. "The question is, how long do you plan on keeping me this time?"
"Forever, if you'll have me."
As Chase kissed her with more emotion than passion, Kate responded in kind, vaguely realizing their timing seemed predestined.
Why was she surprised?
In a world where touch allowed her to communicate with animals and her cousin to see through another's eyes, it only made sense that the grandmother from whom they'd each inherited their special gifts could work even more magic using the power of love.
The McKenna Legacy had offered her an inheritance that she planned on cherishing for the rest of her life.
Epilogue
County Cork, Eire
ON THE MCKENNA TRIPLETS' SIXTIETH birthday, Kate and her cousin Skelly were sharing a few moments alone with Keelin between a buffet dinner and the official toast and cutting of the cake. Kate found the white-washed, thatch-roofed cottage Keelin had inherited from their grandmother as charming as anything she and Chase had seen in the past week. Delaying the honeymoon certainly had been worth the wait.
"Moira, my dear, thank you," Skelly said to the rafters. "You gave me the best inheritance a man could ever receive."
Knowing he was besotted over his wife Rosalind, Kate smiled and admired the plain gold band on her own left ring finger. "Our grandmother knew what was important in life."
"If only finding our heart's desire did not need to be such a dangerous venture," Keelin worried. "I wonder if Gran knew what we were in for."
"I suspect so," Kate said. "Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. And we've all survived to tell the tale. We are her descendants, remember. Think of what a rich history we'll be leaving our children and grandchildren." She looked to Skelly. "A history you could write."
"I've already considered it," he admitted. "Though I might have to resort to fiction since I doubt anyone will believe it's the truth."
Considering how complicated the truth could be, he was undoubtedly correct, Kate thought. They'd gotten details from Whit. It still saddened her that they'd been correct about the rustled mustangs, sold to suppliers of horse meat that went into dog food... a horrific irony since that was the very fate the law protected the wild horses against. But at least no one else had been involved. Whit had tried to enlist Buck, who'd talked a good game but hadn't actually carried out any action against the refuge.
As for the others...
A disillusioned Annie had gone back to Phoenix for good, saying she was going to try to pick up with the boyfriend she'd thrown over for Chase.
Upon investigation, it seemed Thea was running a secret society -- her promises luring thrill seekers to the area -- but wasn't actually staging illegal game hunts as they'd feared. The paramilitary stuff she'd found had been part of an elaborate war game scenario -- most of the ammunition the sheriff had found consisted of nothing more damaging than paint balls. The cage had been part of the game.
Nathan had been the biggest surprise. Somewhere along the way to adulthood, he'd learned a new respect for his heritage. For years, he'd spent any extra money he could earn on collecting articles of war, his goal to create modern artifacts, using the originals for inspiration. And while he still thought the refuge land should belong to the Lakota, he'd done nothing to advance that cause.
"You'll have fodder for your novels for years and years," Keelin said.
"How so, cous?"
"You'll be remembering that each of us has two siblings, all of whom are part of the legacy."
>
"I can't speak for Donovan," Skelly said.
His half-brother was the only one who'd refused to attend a reunion that he felt had nothing to do with him. And unfortunately, no one had been able to find Quin. Kate couldn't help but worry that her younger brother was in some new fix.
"Don't you think we should be getting back to the others?" Kate suggested.
"You just want to keep an eye on that new husband of yours," Skelly teased. "Afraid he'll do a disappearing act on you?"
"Not any more."
They strolled through the lush herb garden to the old limestone house. Indeed, this Ireland of Keelin's was a sight to behold. But already Kate was missing The Black Hills and especially The Bitter Creek Mustang Refuge and the cabin where she and Chase had spent the last few months together.
Keelin led the way into the house, dipping her fingers into the font of holy water and crossing herself. Their arrival caused a stir.
"Ah, here are our lost children," Great-aunt Marcella said, straightening the collar of her nun's habit.
"I was lost but now I'm found," Kate murmured as Chase pulled her to his side and kissed her cheek. Neil stood on her other side, next to their mom, while their dad remained a bit aloof behind them.
Keelin joined Tyler and his daughter Cheryl, who'd been getting better acquainted with her siblings Curran and Flanna, as well as with Uncle James and Aunt Delia. And Skelly make faces at his stunning wife Rosalind, who stood between his sister Aileen and Uncle Raymond.
"I cannot believe we are all reunited at last," Kate's mother said, lifting her glass.
Kate could hardly believe it, either. The warmth of happiness stole through her as she pressed closer to Chase.
"To the McKennas," Uncle James toasted.
"And the Farrells," Kate's dad put in, finally coming forward.
The two men eyed each other for a moment. Then Uncle James nodded. "Aye, and the Farrells."
"You'd best not be forgetting the Leightons, Da," Keelin said. "Now that I'm one of them."
"To the Farrells and the Leightons and any other who has the good taste to become a McKenna."
The McKenna Legacy Trilogy Page 59