Hero For Hire
Page 24
"I know where they put it,” Savannah said, following him.
The moment they were inside, Mac grabbed her and pressed her tightly to his chest. He was shaking. “I was so afraid,” he whispered, inhaling her scent as if it were the very air he had to breath. “When I realized you were gone, I thought I would go insane."
To Mac's surprise, Savannah remained stiff in his arms. He frowned, tilting her chin to look into her eyes. She stared back at him without expression. Where was the warmth? The desire? He wondered, alarm skirting along his spine.
"Shouldn't we get going?” she inquired cooly, stepping free of his embrace. “I, for one, can't wait to get a bath and some food—in that order."
Still flabbergasted, he followed her to a small, sparsely furnished bedroom. Taking a good portion of the floor space was a mound of cloth sacks filled with money Barlow had stolen from the banks.
"I'm sure Daddy will be relieved that you've recovered his money,” Savannah commented with that same, cool reserve he'd never heard before. “I'm certain you're glad as well."
At her puzzling comment, Mac glanced sharply at her. She gazed back at him in silent condemnation. “Is there something I missed here?” he asked softly.
"No. There was something I missed, Mac."
Before he could demand an explanation, she turned her back on him and walked stiffly from the room.
* * * *
In Paradise, Savannah and Roy went on to the hotel while Mac and Hawk stopped at the jail to drop off the prisoners. The sheriff would appoint a deputy to take Barlow—and the money—to Jamestown to stand trial. Barlow would then be brought to Angel Creek to sit before a judge and jury for the robbery of the Angel Creek bank.
Mac, Savannah, and Roy would safely return the rest of the money to George Carrington.
After the arrangements were made and Mac and Hawk suffered through numerous back-pounding congratulations, Mac said his goodbyes to Hawk outside the hotel.
"Come for a visit soon,” Hawk urged. “Bring Savannah and Bristling Feather with you."
"Thanks. We will.” Mac hesitated, then plunged ahead. “What will you tell Patricia? We should know in case...."
"I have decided to tell her the truth. There should be no lies between a husband and his wife."
Although Mac agreed with Hawk, he didn't envy his friend. He watched Hawk walk away, his gaze sliding beyond Hawk's shoulder to the horse and rider limping along Main Street. Mac's gaze narrowed in recognition.
It was the Jamestown deputy, and he looked about as happy as a fly on a porcupine.
Mac sauntered into the road, blocking the deputy's path. The weary horse stumbled to a halt. “Look's like you had a stroke of bad luck,” Mac drawled.
The deputy glared at Mac. “She knew where Barlow was all along, didn't she? Sheriff Porter was right."
"Nope.” Mac squinted into the sun, then turned to look at the jail house behind him. He could have explained, but he had more important things to do. Leaving the fuming deputy in the road, Mac continued to the hotel. The sheriff would tell the deputy what he wanted to know.
Since Mac didn't know which room Savannah was in, he stopped at the desk to inquire.
"I don't have a Mrs. Cord registered, I'm afraid."
Mac stared at the clerk, convinced he'd made a mistake. “Of course you do. Mrs. Savannah Cord. I'm her husband."
The clerk was shaking his head before Mac could finish. “I'm sorry, Sir. I have a Savannah Carrington in room fourteen—"
Mac took the stairs at a fast trot. It was time to find out why Savannah was treating him as if—as if they were mere acquaintances! After what they'd been through, after what they'd shared, Mac was hurt by her behavior. Besides, he'd vowed to tell her that he loved her—and make her believe it—at the first opportunity, and there was no time like the present.
He skidded to a halt in front of room fourteen and pounded on the door. The door to room fifteen opened abruptly. Roy stuck his head out, but after one glance at Mac's set, angry face, he quickly closed it again.
She wasn't answering. Mac pounded on the door again, not giving a damn who heard him. “Savannah? I need to talk to you.” After another endless moment of silence, Mac raised his voice to a shout. “I will not leave until you open this door!"
All along the carpeted hall, doors began to open. Faces peered around corners; an elderly couple stepped into the hall to openly stare at him. Even Roy risked another glance through the crack in his door.
Mac ignored them all. He meant what he said—he was not leaving until Savannah talked to him. “There's something I've been wanting to tell you,” Mac shouted. “I love you, and I want us to be married. I mean, I want us to be truly married, not just living together and pretending to be."
The couple in the hall gasped simultaneously.
"I want us to have babies together, grow old together.” Mac leaned against the door, his palms flattened against the wood. His voice thickened with emotion. “Savannah ... will you marry me? Do you think you can eventually learn to love me—not just as a friend, but as a man?"
Vaguely, Mac was aware that more people had stepped into the hall to watch the scene unfold. He simply didn't care.
"Savannah, I don't think I can live without you."
"Mac,” Roy whispered loudly, opening the door wide enough to stick his entire head out. He glanced up and down the now crowded hall. His eyes bulged. “You're making a spectacle of yourself!"
"I don't care!” Mac growled, sweeping his audience a disgusted glance. “This is a private conversation."
"But you're shouting," Roy pointed out.
"Because she won't talk to me!"
"Maybe she's mad at you."
"Which is exactly what I'm trying to find out!” Mac thundered, ready to throttle the boy. Roy suddenly looked fearful, arousing Mac's suspicions. When he tried to close the door, Mac quickly thrust his boot into the opening. “Roy? Would you happen to know why Savannah refuses to talk to me?"
"Um, maybe it was on account of what I told her,” Roy mumbled.
"And what did you tell her?"
"Um, I just told her the truth, that Mr. Carrington paid you five thousand dollars to marry her.” He shrugged uneasily. “I thought she already knew."
Mac was struck speechless so long that his audience began to grow restless. A low murmur swept through the crowd as they waited to see what Mac would do. When he finally found his voice, he was amazed at the levelness of it. “What gave you the idea that Carrington paid me to marry Savannah?"
Nervously, Roy licked his lips. He looked left, then right as if seeking reenforcement. “Well, I heard Mr. Carrington telling Tilly to put the money into your savings account. He said that he promised it to you, and that you earned it."
"And by that ... you gathered that he meant I earned it by marrying his daughter?” Mac asked so softly the crowd dared to strain forward.
Roy nodded, obviously aware by this time that he was in deep horse manure, but uncertain how he'd gotten there. “Um, isn't that what he meant, Mac?"
"No, Roy, that isn't what he meant,” Mac explained through clenched teeth. “Mr. Carrington hired me to find Savannah and bring her back to Angel Creek. He didn't know I was already in love with her, you see—” he paused as a wave of silly sighs swept over the crowd. “So I made a deal with him. If I could convince Savannah to marry me, then he would give us his blessing and he could keep his five thousand dollars. I don't need his money—I've been putting my earnings away for several years so that I could buy us a bigger house, and give Savannah the things she's used to having."
The door to room fourteen opened abruptly. Savannah stood in the doorway, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen. It was suddenly so quiet Mac fancied he could hear his heart pounding.
"I like your house,” Savannah told him. Her tremulous smile turned his knees to jelly. “And I don't need fancy dresses or anything else ... as long as I have you. I've loved you since you kissed me in that jail cell.
"
This revelation caused more than a few startled gasps from the faint-hearted.
Mac swallowed hard. He found that his hands were trembling as he reached out and pulled her into his arms. “Does this mean you will marry me?"
Savannah wound her arms around his neck. “Yes, I will marry you."
Cheers erupted around them as the crowd surged forward to congratulate them. Mac had to shout to be heard. “What about your hat shop?"
"I can open one in Angel Creek!” Savannah shouted back, laughing. “Hold on a minute. There's someone I want you to meet.” She pulled free and stepped back into the room.
Curious, grinning like a fool, Mac waited patiently for her to emerge.
She came forward again, tugging a red-haired girl into the hall. “You were never properly introduced before,” Savannah said. “This is Alissa. She's going to work for me in my hat shop."
Mac felt certain his face turned red as he remembered this was the Alissa that had tutored Savannah on how to please him. Without a doubt he owed her a debt of gratitude! “Welcome to the family, Alissa,” he said, and meant it.
Savannah walked back into his arms, pulled his head down for a lusty, satisfying kiss. Mac cupped her bottom, pressing her intimately against him.
Roy's door was the first to slam shut. One by one the crowd silently returned to their rooms until Mac and Savannah were left alone in the hall.
"Do I have a room?” Mac mumbled against her mouth.
"Mm. At the end of the hall."
He chuckled as he lifted her into his arms. He stared into her impish, smiling face, so happy he could burst. “I've got a feeling I won't miss the excitement of bounty hunting with you around."
Savannah spread her hand across his chest in a possessive way that thrilled Mac to the bone. “You can count on it, darling. There's still a few tricks I haven't shown you..."
Mac wisely headed in the direction of his room.
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A word about the author...
Sheridon Smythe is the writing team of Sherrie Kelley and Donna Smith. Best friends for over thirty years, they have written five historical romances and several contemporary romances under this pseudonym. Sherrie lives in central Arkansas and has two children and four grandchildren. Donna lives in the bootheel of Missouri and has three children. Her son, Marcus, is currently serving our country. The team enjoys brainstorming together and entertaining their readers with stories they hope will stay with the reader long after they reach ‘the end'.
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