The Lawman's Redemption (Leadville, Co. Book 2)

by Danica Favorite

  The open honesty of Mr. Jackson filled Mary with hope. Not all of Leadville society had the same prejudices and intolerance. Emma Jane would do well in this family. Once again, Mary was genuinely happy that there was good in her friends’ unfortunate circumstances.

  Flora and a group of girls started in the direction of the refreshments but spotted Mary and stopped. They turned directly around and went the other way.

  “Pay them no mind. Flora Montgomery has been chasing my son for years. She’s merely taking out her frustration at being thwarted.”

  Mary swallowed. “I’m afraid it’s more complicated than that.”

  The sympathy on the man’s face was almost too much to bear. “Ah, yes, your sister’s regrettable situation. Her actions have no bearing on your character, and those who would believe otherwise are not worthy of your regard.”

  If only others had similar convictions. Besides, Mr. Jackson didn’t know the full story. Still, his support meant that her family would be able to move past the scandal of her sister’s actions.

  He looked at her intently. “I meant what I said about there being anything I could do. I know Jasper intends to help in the matter, and while I would prefer my son act in the interest of his safety, I can’t argue. If any of my resources can aid in your sister’s recovery, please, come to me.”

  How could her prayers have been answered more perfectly? True, she did not have her sister returned safely, but she did have the backing of the most important person in town. And she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if there was assistance Mr. Jackson could give, he would. The situation, while still dismal, didn’t look as hopeless.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at him, then looked around. “I’m sorry to be rude, but have you seen Will? I’d like to find out what he has planned for Rose’s recovery.”

  Mr. Jackson didn’t look at all offended. Rather, an affectionate look filled his face. “Of course you’re anxious for her. I shouldn’t have kept you. But I am glad you stopped to talk to me so I could offer my support.”

  He stopped, looking past her, then back at her. “That’s odd. Jasper seems to have disappeared, as well.”

  A groan slipped from Mr. Jackson’s lips. “He’s handling this the best he can, poor fellow. Emma Jane’s just as good as any of the others chasing him, so he might as well settle for her. Still, I need to find him before his mother gets upset. If I see Will, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him.”

  As Mr. Jackson departed, Mary knew exactly where both Will and Jasper had gotten themselves off to. They’d gone to find Rose without her. She straightened her back. They weren’t going to lose her that easily.

  She’d leave this sorry excuse for a party, find her sister and then make her life right.

  * * *

  For a man who thought he was above the law, Ben Perry wasn’t taking any chances. Two members of The Perry Gang stood in front of The Pink Petticoat, their hands so casually upon their holstered guns, only a trained eye would notice that they were on high alert. Even with his hat pulled low over his eyes, Will wouldn’t get past them. He recognized the one on the left as Colt—nicknamed as such because he knew how to use one. More important, Colt was the kind of guy to shoot first and ask questions later. Actually, Colt probably never asked questions. The man was deadlier than a kicked-over rattlesnake nest, and there wasn’t a lawman in the state who’d go after him.

  Will hung back in the shadows, watching as the two men examined every man who walked into the saloon. When they stopped to frisk a well-heeled gentleman, another armed man stepped out of the shadows of the door. They weren’t just guarding the door; they had enough backup to signal they expected trouble.

  At least he’d managed to give Mary and Jasper the slip. Mary would have been too hotheaded to understand the danger. Jasper didn’t need the trouble, either.

  He turned back, looking for an alleyway that would give him access to the back of the notorious house. Back in ’76, when he’d taken down the Mahoney brothers, he’d slipped in through a coal chute.

  The alley reeked of vomit, human excrement and something else so unpleasant Will wasn’t sure he wanted to put a name to it even if he could. He tripped over a passed-out figure that moaned softly as his body made contact.

  As Will bent to make sure the person wasn’t too badly injured, he caught the flash of a knife.

  “Begging your pardon, sir,” Will said with a tip of his hat. “Just wanted to be sure I didn’t hurt you with my careless misstep.”

  The figure grunted, and Will moved on.

  No, this was no place for a lady.

  Will turned into the back alley, where he noticed a couple of Ben’s thugs standing by the back door smoking. So much for thinking he’d be able to sneak in the easy way. He sighed. Was there a way in on the other side of the building? The front and back were covered too well for him to get past.

  He turned back the way he came, wondering how he could get around to the other side of the building. Surely this place had a fire escape or something. The man he’d encountered remained in a heap, but this time, Will gave him a wide berth. No sense in disturbing an already disturbed man.

  When he reached the main street, he sucked in large, deep breaths, though the air here wasn’t much better than in the alley. His timing couldn’t have been better, for as he looked up, he spied the face of a familiar groom.

  “Jasper! What are you doing here?”

  Jasper stopped and looked at him. “Backing you up, of course. I can’t believe you left without telling me. I thought we were in this together.”

  The betrayal in his friend’s eyes almost made Will feel bad for leaving Jasper behind. But as gunshots rang out from the direction of the front door of the saloon, Will’s conscience cleared.

  “Ben’s got all of the entrances covered.” Will gestured toward Colt. “With some of the best guns in the West. There’s no way we’re getting in.”

  “So, we’re just giving up?” A female voice piped up from behind Jasper.

  Mary.

  “At the risk of repeating myself, what are you doing here?”

  Mary squared her shoulders. “Same thing as you are. My sister is in there, and I’ve got to save her.”

  As much as Will admired her courage and loyalty, Mary had no idea the kind of people they were dealing with. Whatever her history with Ben, she’d clearly not witnessed the level of violence the man was capable of.

  Will grabbed her by the shoulders and pointed her in the direction of the saloon. “Do you see that tall man by the door?”

  Mary nodded slowly.

  “His name is Colt. Do you know what his hobby is?”

  This time, Mary shook her head.

  “He collects the badges of lawmen he’s killed. He’s never lost a gunfight. Never.”

  Despite the noise from the street around them, Will heard Mary swallow.

  Will continued with his dose of reality. “Every door is covered by at least two of Ben’s men, and from what I’ve seen, they have backup waiting in the wings. Ben is just waiting for someone to come rescue your sister, and he’s got enough firepower to make sure that whoever comes doesn’t come out alive.”

  “That must mean she’s there against her will.” Mary’s plea made it sound almost simple. “Besides, they let Frank visit the other day.”

  More sweet simplicity that failed to comprehend the duplicity Ben operated under.

  “They let the pastor in to talk to Rose in broad daylight. I’m sure Ben knows I’m back, and he knows that I won’t let his actions stand. It’s me he’s prepared against.”

  Mary looked at him, so intently that even in the growing darkness, he could tell that she wasn’t going to let him off as easily as she had in the past.

  “Who are you that he would need so many guards to keep you
out?”

  She would never trust him again. Not if he told the truth. But of all the things his association with Ben Perry had turned him into, he wasn’t about to add liar to the list.

  The weight of Mary’s stare increased.

  “He’s the best lawman this side of the Mississippi,” Jasper answered with the kind of puppy-dog pride that served only to shame Will.

  “Keep your voice down,” Will hissed. “That’s not a fact a man goes bragging about in this part of town.”

  He swallowed the shame welling in his throat and looked at Mary. “Besides, I’m not anymore. That bank robbery Ben’s responsible for? It cost me my badge.”

  And a whole host of other things, but the gist would have to do. Especially since they were starting to attract attention.

  “Come on. Let’s head back toward a more respectable part of town. People don’t stand around here jawing for as long as we’ve been.”

  At least now Mary seemed willing to listen to him. Maybe he should have told her to begin with.

  “I had no idea,” Mary said quietly. “I wish...”

  Poor thing already blamed herself for her sister’s troubles. Now she was probably feeling worse, given her refusal to talk to Will when he’d first come to town. Will took her by the arm and quickened his pace toward the more civilized part of town.

  “It’s not your fault. Even if you’d been open with me, and I’d told you about Ben, he still would have found a way to target your family’s fortune. If not marrying your sister, then he’d have tried something else—robbery, kidnapping, extortion...”

  Mary sniffled a little, as though she was trying to hold back tears. She’d had no idea what sort of man she’d been up against. It made him realize that as much as he’d thought he’d been helping Daisy, the other woman had never been as genuinely horrified by Ben’s actions.

  Will should have never put Mary in the same category as Daisy. Mary was too sweet and innocent to have realized what a dangerous game Ben played. He only regretted that some of that innocence had to be lost in seeing Ben’s game play out.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Mary tried shutting her ears to Will’s words. If she’d told her side of the story to the sheriff, maybe he’d have believed her. Maybe Ben would have been arrested and be in jail. Then he wouldn’t have robbed the bank, and Will would still have his badge.

  Yes, Mary was right in keeping her misdeeds from the former lawman.

  She stole a glance at the handsome man. She’d guessed correctly that he’d had some affiliation with the law. He was too strong, too smart, too...

  Her face warmed. What was she doing, mulling over the man’s finer qualities like that? Surely if he knew the truth about her, he’d see her as being very much the kind of woman to avoid. Respectable lawmen didn’t involve themselves with women who’d allowed themselves to be so thoroughly taken. Besides, she could hardly prove her innocence.

  She’d thought the worst of her crime of silence was how it had hurt her family. But now she could see that so many others were hurt, too. Sure, she’d paid secret restitution, but how had that given them a feeling of safety? Had she given any thought to Ben’s other victims? The good people in town he’d stolen from? The bank that’d lost its money? Will, who had lost his badge? Who else had Ben hurt in the course of his crimes?

  No more.

  Mary wasn’t going to stand around anymore, waiting for Ben’s next move. That was fine if everyone else wanted to wait until it was safe. But who else would Ben hurt?

  She stared hard at Will. “I am not running away from this. It’s time to stand up to Ben and put an end to his hurting others, once and for all.”

  Will took her by the arm, pulling her into an alley. “Keep your voice down. No one said anything about running away. But going in there, tempers blazing, is only going to get you killed. If you die, your sister’s share of your family’s wealth gets bigger. Ben has no reason to not harm you.”

  The talk of armed guards had frightened Mary to be sure, but to have her death so callously discussed sent a darkness into her heart. Ben had done a lot of things, but to kill her? Over money?

  Her throat ached from unshed tears. Though she heeded Will’s caution to not attract attention, she wanted to shout from the rooftops and let everyone know of the grave injustice being done.

  “What if he hurts my sister?”

  Mary hardly dared speak the words, but if Ben wouldn’t be above killing Mary, what was to keep Rose safe?

  Jasper came around the other side of her and gently patted her arm. “They’re not married. She’s worthless to him dead. Until he has his money, your sister is safe.”

  His words weren’t as calming as she’d have liked them to be. “Has he asked for money?”

  The two men exchanged glances. When would they realize she wasn’t a delicate flower they needed to protect?

  “You can’t hide the truth from me for long. I’ll find out eventually, so just tell me.”

  “Yes,” Will said, his voice taking a more somber tone. “Ben asked Pastor Lassiter to give them her share of your father’s claim. He told them that only Joseph has that authority and that they’ll have to wait until Joseph returns. Ben wasn’t happy. I don’t know what he’ll do if Joseph isn’t back from his honeymoon soon. He’s not a patient man.”

  It would be several more weeks, at least. Not only were Joseph and Annabelle going on their honeymoon, but Joseph had also wanted to take care of some business that would help modernize their mining operations. Plus, Annabelle had mentioned wanting to spend time with her East Coast relatives. When they’d left, both Mary and Frank had assured them that they could take all the time they wanted. Gertie had moved into the Lassiter house with her family to help Mary take care of the children and get everyone settled. Between Gertie, Polly, Mary and Maddie, the housekeeper, no one had foreseen the need for Joseph and Annabelle to hurry home.

  A tear rolled down Mary’s cheek before she could stop it. She didn’t want to spoil Joseph’s happiness. Of course, that was what had caused so many of her problems in the first place. Though she’d let Joseph know that things with Aunt Ina weren’t good while he was gone, she’d kept the worst of Aunt Ina’s abuses from him. If Joseph had known that Aunt Ina was forcing the little ones to go without food so that she could have a new dress with the money Joseph sent, he’d have come straight home. And if Joseph had been home, she’d have told him about Ben, and Joseph would have set her straight.

  One more thing Mary should have done and didn’t.

  She swallowed against the coming tears and focused her attention back on Will. “Does Joseph know about any of this?”

  Will shook his head. “Pastor Lassiter said that he was waiting for us to return with news. Joseph and Annabelle are traveling right now, so the soonest he would be able to reach them is Monday.”

  Three days. And then the agony of deciding whether they would return. Well, of course they would return. But the journey home would take some time, even if they took the train.

  “We can’t wait until Monday to try to rescue Rose.”

  “Agreed.” Will glanced at Jasper, then back at Mary. “But we also can’t go charging in. Now that we know what we’re up against, we need a plan.”

  Despite being partially shielded by the alley, a spray of water from a too-fast buggy in the street hit Mary, soiling her dress.

  “We need to get you to a safer part of town,” Will said, taking her by the arm again.

  Mary tugged away. “It’s just muddy water. After all we’ve been through, I can take a little mud.”

  She brushed away the worst of it, only then realizing that she should have taken off her gloves to complete the task. She could feel Will’s eyes on her, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

  “It’ll wash.” The gloves, anyway. Her
new dress was probably ruined. She should have changed out of her wedding clothes and into something more practical, but that would have kept her from following Jasper out the back door and finding Will.

  As much as Mary had been prepared to go it alone in recovering her sister, and as much as she’d prefer Will not knowing the truth of her background, it was clear that she needed him.

  Unbidden, a verse from the last meal they’d had as a family, before Will and Ben came to town, came to mind. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.”

  Mary had made a lot of mistakes leading up to this moment—from the day she’d allowed Ben Perry to walk her home from the mercantile, to the day she’d lied to her sister about running an errand so she could meet Ben and every single moment in between.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The real reason they were all in so much trouble was because of Mary’s poor judgment. At the core was her failure to rely on God. In all of this, she’d trusted her own judgment. She’d thought her ways the best way, and not once had she considered that the Lord would have a better way.

  With every bit of strength Mary had in her, she prayed. Help me. Help us. Show us how to bring back my sister safely. Lord, I’m willing to do this Your way. Please, show me.

  * * *

  Will watched as Mary closed her eyes and murmured softly to herself. Probably praying. Such a virtuous girl should not be caught up in this. He glanced at Jasper, who nodded over his shoulder.

  Someone was watching them.

  Will turned and glanced behind him. Mad Mel.

  “I know her,” Will told his friend. “I’m going to talk to her and see what I can find out.”

  He left him with Mary, who’d apparently ceased praying and now watched him with wide eyes. Hopefully, Jasper could get her to understand that this was not the time for her to be involved.