Lawfully Loved (Texas Lawkeeper Romance)

by Jenna Brandt

  Jake came to the back of the house and inched the screen door open with his fingers. He placed the side of his face against the cool wood of the back door, hoping to hear a happy family laughing inside. No such luck.

  Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Jake squared his shoulders, raised his gun and kicked the door in, causing the wood to splinter and give way. He stepped through the threshold and let his eyes adjust to the darkness before venturing forward. Immediately, he was greeted by a foul smell. The further he progressed into the house, the worse the scent.

  He entered the living room and was shocked to see a man and woman tied to chairs, along with two boys bound at their hands and feet, sitting on the nearby sofa. All of them had gags in their mouths that were secured by handkerchiefs around their faces. The man was squirming in his seat and trying to talk through his gag.

  Jake bent over and pulled the cloth down from around the man’s face and removed the gag, the whole time keeping his gun in his other hand and avoiding the puddles below the captive family.

  “Thank you, mister. We were afraid no one would find us in time before,” he paused and lowered his voice, “we met an untimely demise.”

  “Whoever did this to you, are they still here?” Jake asked with apprehension.

  The man shook his head. “They just left a few minutes ago, but they were holed up here for the past two days. Those two men kept us here like this the whole time. They didn’t feed us, and wouldn’t even let my wife or children use the outhouse.”

  Seething anger boiled in Jake. What type of men treated an innocent family like this? He couldn’t wait to catch up to them and make them accountable for what they did.

  Jake holstered his gun and pulled out his knife from his belt. He sliced through the ropes that held the farmer hostage.

  The other man jumped to his feet and quickly hurried to the woman—Jake assumed his wife—still tied up in the other chair across from them. As the farmer started to remove the woman’s gag, he said, “I’m Willard McDaniel and this is my wife, Mary.”

  Jake moved over to the children and cut their ropes, freeing them. They rushed over to their parents and the family huddled together.

  “I’m Deputy Sheriff Jake Bolton and I’m hunting two criminals; brothers that go by the last name Grimes.” Jake came back over to stand by the family. “Were they the ones who did this to you?”

  “We’re not sure of their names, but they looked similar enough that they could be family,” Mrs. McDaniel stated.

  Jake wasn’t sure if it was enough to confirm it was the Grimes brothers, but either way, the men who did this to the McDaniel family needed to be found and arrested.

  “Is there anything else you can tell me about the men?” Jake inquired.

  “One of them had a long-jagged scar down the right side of his face," Mr. McDaniel added.

  The older of the two brothers had a telling scar just like the one Mr. McDaniel described. It was on all the wanted posters posted throughout the region. Jake was certain it meant the brothers had been here.

  “Can you tell me anything that will help me in the pursuit of them?” Jake asked with urgency.

  “They weren’t the most talkative fellas,” Mr. McDaniel explained, “but at one point they mentioned something about heading to Rockwood Springs before they tore out of here this morning.”

  Jake rocked back on his heels. His worst fears where coming true. The Grimes brothers were on their way to Rockwood Springs right now.

  Seventeen

  Mondays were Rebecca’s regular day to go get the supplies at the general store after the midday meal. Judy usually walked with her and picked up the supplies for her family as well. Per normal, Judy arrived at the Caldwell home at three o’clock in the afternoon.

  As Rebecca walked through the door, Lydia came running out after her. “Can I come with you?”

  “Did you finish your chores?” Rebecca inquired, knowing the answer already.

  Lydia’s head fell forward as she shook her head no.

  “Don’t you think you should get them taken care of so you don’t end up losing more privileges?” Rebecca asked.

  “Yes, Rebecca. I’ll go finish dusting the living room.”

  “Thank you, Lydia.” Feeling bad for disappointing her sister, Rebecca offered, “What if I pick you up a couple of pieces of penny candy?”

  “Yeah,” Lydia screamed as her head popped up and she clasped her hands together with a smile. “Thank you, Rebecca.” She headed down the steps and around to the back, shouting over her shoulder, “I’m going to go tell Georgie.”

  Rebecca didn’t want the news to start a fight, so she yelled after, “Let him know I’ll pick him up some as well.”

  Judy laughed, amused by watching the whole exchange. “You ready to go?”

  With a nod, Rebecca and Judy started the short walk to the general store.

  “Do you feel any better since earlier today?” Judy implored.

  “I wouldn’t say better, but I think keeping busy has helped.”

  “Distraction is always helpful when mending a broken heart.”

  Rebecca knew that Judy was referring to her own failed engagement when her fiancé, Tobias Walker, ran off with one of the saloon workers a year ago. The scandal nearly destroyed Judy, not to mention shattered her heart.

  “You were always too good for Tobias.”

  “Apparently, he didn’t think I was good enough. If he had, he wouldn’t have run off with that woman.”

  She meant Nettie Jenkins, but Rebecca and Judy had an unspoken agreement to never say the other woman’s name.

  “He never deserved you,” Rebecca insisted. “You’re better off without him.”

  “I appreciate you saying that, but all I ever wanted was to get married and have a couple of babies. We’d known Tobias since we were kids, so it made sense when he asked me to marry him. Now, I have to start all over, and the pickings around here are slim.”

  “It seems we are in the same boat. We’ll just have to pray God brings the right men into both our lives.”

  “Are you truly ready for that?” Judy asked suspiciously. “I know you’re trying to put on a brave face for me, but you still care for Jake.”

  Rebecca knew Judy was right. She was trying to pretend the time she spent with Jake didn’t matter, that she could move on easily, but it was just a charade.

  As they came around the corner and approached the general store, Rebecca stated, “You know me too well, Judy. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to try to find someone again.”

  “That’s too bad to hear,” Rebecca heard the recognizable voice of Andy Wilson say from the side.

  Instantly, she stiffened knowing the lecherous man was near. She didn’t like the way Mr. Wilson behaved towards her and tried to avoid him whenever possible.

  “I thought I told you once already that it’s rude to eavesdrop into someone else’s conversation, Mr. Wilson,” Rebecca chastised.

  “You’re always playing hard to get, Miss Rebecca, but now that the deputy left town, you might want to rethink your previous rejection of me.”

  “And why would I want to do that?” she asked with disgust.

  “Because like your friend said, there aren’t many options left around here.”

  “Even if you were the last man in all of Texas, I wouldn’t want to be with you,” Rebecca spat out in contempt.

  Her biting words must have infuriated him because he retaliated by stating, “You think you’re something special, don’t you girl? But even that deputy didn’t care enough about you to stick around.”

  His words struck at Rebecca’s most vulnerable part. She had been fighting the truth all day, but hearing Mr. Wilson state it so plainly, she couldn’t deny the truth any longer. When Rebecca finally took a chance on letting someone get close, Jake chose to leave, confirming her worst fear: she wasn’t worth fighting for.

  Judy stepped in between them and tried to make him stop. “That’s enough, Mr.
Wilson. You need to leave us be.”

  He turned his attention to Judy and gave her a rage-filled look. “That goes for you too. That Walker boy did the smartest thing he could by ending his engagement to you.”

  Without thinking, Rebecca’s hand flew up and out, smacking Mr. Wilson across the face.

  A stunned look registered on his face before he grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her close. “A woman should know never to hit a man,” he said through clenched teeth.

  She glared back at him, not caring if he hit her. The pain couldn’t hurt more than his words already did.

  She heard the door behind her open and Mr. Breecher ask the group, “Is everything alright out here?”

  Mr. Wilson let go of Rebecca like she was a hot piece of coal. “Everything is fine, Paul. You can go back inside.”

  With a shake of his head, Mr. Breecher stated, “I think I’ll make sure you’re on your way, Mr. Wilson, before I decide to do that.”

  “I was on my way out of town anyway,” he said with an air of arrogance before sauntering off.

  “Are you ladies alright?” Mr. Breecher asked.

  Both of them nodded their heads.

  “Thank you for your intervention, Mr. Breecher,” Judy said.

  “I don’t like when men behave that way towards women. There isn’t enough law around here, so we have to watch out for each other.”

  “We’ll be inside after just a few minutes. Rebecca just needs to catch her breath,” Judy explained.

  Mr. Breecher returned to work in his store, leaving the friends alone.

  “Are you alright?” Judy inquired.

  “I’ll be fine,” Rebecca assured. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

  Judy laughed. “I think you’ve got that backwards. You were the one who smacked Mr. Wilson straight across the face. His shocked look will be something I never forget.”

  “I wonder how many people around town saw that happen?” Rebecca glanced around Main Street with uncomfortable concern. She saw two men across the street staring at them. “Like those two men? Why are they watching us?”

  Judy glanced across and shrugged. “Maybe they’re interested in us.”

  A shiver shot up Rebecca’s spine. “They give me the creeps, especially the one with the scar on his face.” She furrowed her eyebrows together in concentration. “Come to think of it, they look familiar but I can’t place them.”

  “You probably saw them at the town celebration on Saturday,” Judy offered. “There were a lot of cowboys from the outlying ranches present.”

  “Perhaps that’s it,” Rebecca agreed. Yet, as she discreetly watched the men, they didn’t look like Texas cowboys. There was a threatening disposition about them. “Let’s get inside. I don’t like the way they’re looking at us.”

  The women entered the general store to Mr. Breecher's welcome. “Good afternoon, ladies.”

  Both of them returned his greeting before going about their shopping. Judy went to the counter and checked on a few items Mr. Breecher often kept in the back.

  A few moments later, the chime of the door sounded. Rebecca glanced up from the canned goods section to find the two men from across the street entering the store.

  They were watching the three of them in the room in a menacing way. Without a word, their hands flew to their gunbelts and with one swift motion, they pulled out their guns and leveled them at the group.

  “All of ya stay put,” the scar-faced man shouted at them. “This here’s a stick-up.”

  Rebecca’s mouth ran dry as she finally realized where she recognized the men from—the wanted posters all over town. Standing in front of her, pointing a gun in her direction, were the infamous Grimes brothers.

  Eighteen

  Nothing seemed amiss as Jake glanced down Main Street, prompting him to ride straight over to the Caldwell residence to check on Rebecca and her family.

  Mr. Caldwell was working with a horse in one of the corrals when he saw Jake approaching. He exited through the gate with a puzzled look on his face. “What are you doing back here, Jake?”

  Looking down at Mr. Caldwell from his mount, Jake replied, “My investigation has brought me back here. I wanted to make sure your family is alright. Where’s Rebecca?”

  “She and Judy headed over to the general store to get weekly supplies.”

  Jake’s stomach twisted in fear. He should have gone there first. What if something happened to them because he didn’t make the right choice by heading there when he first arrived back in town?

  “From that look on your face, I can tell something is wrong,” Mr. Caldwell observed. “What’s going on, Jake?”

  “I think the Grimes brothers are in town,” he stated, trying to hide the concern in his voice. “And the information I got leads me to believe they plan to rob the Rockwood Springs General Store.”

  First shock, then fear crossed Mr. Caldwell’s face. “Then we need to get over there right away.”

  Jake shook his head. “I need to get over there. You need to stay here and protect the rest of your family. I just came from a farm where the men took hostages. You have a gun?”

  Mr. Caldwell nodded.

  “Good. Get inside and keep it nearby.” Jake turned his horse around and galloped towards Main Street, praying God would protect Rebecca from harm until he could get to her.

  * * *

  Rebecca couldn’t believe the general store was being robbed, let alone with her in it. What did these men plan to do?

  Silently, she sent up a prayer to God asking for him to keep all of them safe as she watched the younger brother rush forward with a bag in his hand and thrust it towards Mr. Breecher.

  “Mister, empty the cash register into this here sack,” the robber demanded.

  Mr. Breecher nodded his head, his hand shaking as he opened the machine, pulling out all the money, and placing it in the bag.

  The older scar-faced brother’s eyes darted around the store. “There’s no bank in this town. I’m bettin’ ya have more money hidden around here somewhere. Where is it?”

  Mr. Breecher seemed to be contemplating what to do. The older brother snarled, “Don’t make me hurt one of these girls.”

  With grudging compliance, Mr. Breecher pointed to below the counter. “I’ve a spot under the floorboards.”

  “Then go ahead and bend on down there and get us the contents,” the younger one demanded.

  “Wait,” the older brother instructed. “Ya need to go on around and watch him, Virgil. Make sure he don’t pull a gun from somewhere.”

  The younger brother did as he was told.

  “Hurry up, it shouldn’t take ya this long to get it open,” the younger brother stated with irritation. “Don’t make me hurt ya.”

  A few minutes later, the younger brother was standing up with the bag in hand. He shook it at the scar-faced man. “We got everything; let’s get out of here.”

  “Maybe we should take one of them girls with us as a hostage,” the older brother suggested.

  With a snort and a wag of his eyebrows, the younger brother said in a lewd voice, “Or maybe both, if ya know what I mean.”

  “I think you would be a fool to try,” Jake stated from the front entrance of the store, aiming his pistols at each of the men. “You should drop your weapons while you have a chance.”

  The scar-faced brother turned to face Jake, pointing his gun at him. “There is two of us and only one of ya.”

  “I warn you; I’m a crack-shot.”

  The older brother scoffed at him, “Your silver star tells a different story; nothing more than just a simple deputy. I’ve killed my fair share of those over the years. Perhaps yer the one who should be dropping yer guns and hope I let ya live.”

  The younger brother came out from behind the counter and circled around to flank Jake.

  Rebecca didn’t want to see any bloodshed, so she stammered out, “He’s not lying. We know this deputy. He’s not only the law around here, he was a
lso in the frontier battalion.”

  Jake’s eyes flickered to Rebecca’s and she could see the concern in them for a moment before he masked it.

  The younger brother chuckled with mirth. “And that’s supposed to mean something? Lots of men were in that battalion. As a matter of fact, one of our cousins was too.”

  “He wasn’t just in it—he helped capture Sam Bass,” Rebecca explained further. “You’d probably recognize his name—Jake ‘Bullseye’ Bolton.”

  The younger brother shook his head. “Nothing comes to mind. I still think—”

  The older brother raised his hand, cutting off his brother. “I’ve heard of him.”

  “Then you know what I’m capable of,” Jake stated with authority.

  “I’d hate to kill a state legend,” the older brother admitted as he cocked the hammer of his gun. “On the other hand, think of what it would do for my reputation: Cletus Grimes, the ‘Bullseye’ killer.”

  Rebecca thought telling them who Jake was would make them fearful, but instead the scar-faced brother seemed to view it as a challenge.

  “You’ve got yer guns on us and we’ve got ours on all of ya. Seems we’ve come to an impasse,” the younger brother stated.

  “You should let the women and the store owner go. They don’t need to be here for this,” Jake suggested.

  With three quick strides—keeping his eyes and gun on Jake the whole time—the older brother charged towards Rebecca, grabbing her once he was close enough. He pulled her around with his free arm, pressed his body against her back and his arm against her throat.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Jake growled out.

  “I saw how ya looked at this little filly just a few minutes ago. Then when ya tried to get her—along with the rest—out of the way, I knew she meant something to ya and there was no way I wasn’t going to take advantage of that.”

  Rebecca’s body started to shake with fright and she felt her stomach clench in desperation. Uncontrollable tears started to stream down her face.