“What did he do to you?” Mitchell sternly asked.
Gemma opened her eyes, but before she could answer, he had turned around. “You’re going to pay for this, Greene.”
Mr. Greene, his hands locked behind his back by Nat, didn’t answer. What fight he had before was now gone. His shoulders slumped and his eyes red, he was a man who had reached the end of the line. It was such a sad sight, Gemma almost felt pity for him.
And then, she remembered he had only just attempted to murder her. Wrapping her arms around herself tight, she tried to suppress a shudder, but it came on anyway.
“You might as well confess now,” Beau said. He was looking at Greene, his face full of almost as much fury as Mitchell’s. “We’ve already sent someone to get the sheriff.”
“You poisoned and stole my cattle,” Mitchell said, his voice quiet and low. “And just what were you planning on doing to my fiancée?”
Greene dropped his face to the floor. “I suppose it won’t matter what I say. You already have your story.”
Mitchell’s eyes flicked back to Gemma, going wide this time. “Your neck.”
She tentatively touched the raw spot, which covered almost half her throat. Mitchell’s hands balled into fists and he took a step toward Mr. Greene. Suddenly, though, he looked at the ground and shook his head. “As satisfying as beating the daylights out of you would be right now, Greene, I’m going to let the law do its job. Tie him up to the horse barn hitching post, Nat.”
He’d barely finished the words before his arms were around Gemma. She flinched in surprise, but the warmth and safety of his embrace soon made her collapse. She leaned against his chest, losing herself in Mitchell’s arms. They were the whole world; nothing outside of them existed. It was the first time he had ever hugged her, but he did it as if there was no one else around.
“You’re safe now,” he whispered into her hair.
A shaky exhale left her and she buried her face into his shirt. Safe. For the first time in a long while, she really, truly believed it.
28
28. Mitchell
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The rain had long stopped, but the sweet smell of it still filled the ranch, mixing with the humid air.
Mitchell paced the front porch, each stomp of his boots making the boards shake beneath him.
He was trying to stop himself from going over to the barn and giving Greene what he deserved. He was also trying to stop himself from going into the house and seeing to Gemma. She was in good hands with Clara, who was no doubt doting over her.
If Mitch went into the house and saw the bruises forming on Gemma’s neck and face, he would lose it again. The night still wasn’t over. He needed to keep himself stable for as long as he could.
Hoofs sounded on the drive and Mitch grabbed the lantern, holding it up so he could see across the yard. Sheriff Mayes slowly dismounted his horse, groaning as he did so.
The sheriff wasn’t young and coming out to the ranch in the middle of the night couldn’t be his favorite thing. Mitchell didn’t trust himself to keep Greene at the ranch overnight, though, and so, he’d had no choice but to send Davis to fetch the sheriff.
“What’s this I hear about Fred Greene messing with your cattle?” the sheriff asked in his southern drawl.
“And he tried to kill my fiancée,” Mitch added. Just saying the words made him feel like he might throw up.
Sheriff Mayes sighed. “Well, now, we can’t have that, can we? Let’s go talk to him.”
Mitch led the way inside the horse barn, where Greene was tied up with Beau and Nat watching over him. The sheriff crossed his arms and stared down at the man, who sat on the ground with his wrists bound behind his back.
“I did it,” Greene numbly said. He didn’t even look up.
“Did what?” Sheriff Mayes asked.
“Poisoned the cattle. Stole the cattle. Sold them to men passing through. Tried to kill Miss Campbell…” His voice caught on the last part. “She don’t deserve that, but what was I supposed to do? My land is no good. Not anymore. Everyone knows that.”
“And so, you wanted Winding Path’s land?” Nat angrily demanded, his young face pink with emotion.
Greene didn’t answer. He still only looked at the ground, his spirit broken. Mitchell’s heart twisted.
For a brief second, he felt genuinely sorry for the man. Here he was, everything he’d worked his whole life for gone—partly because of his own doing and partly not, but it didn’t matter.
Sheriff Mayes tipped his hat back and looked to Mitch. “I’m assuming you want to press charges?”
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“That’s up to what happens in trial, but Mr. Greene here has just admitted to both rustling and attempted murder. He’s likely looking at some hefty jail time.”
Mitchell silently nodded. The law would enact justice, and that was the way he wanted it. “I would like to wash my hands clean of this as soon as possible.”
“Right, then. Come on, Greene. You’re looking at a nice long night in that comfy jail cell.”
“Go with him, Nat,” Mitchell instructed. “Stay in town for the night if you need to.”
The three men filed past him. As Greene went, Mitch caught his eye for a brief moment. Instead of seeing hostility there like he had expected, there was something softer.
Regret?
Mitch turned away so no one could see his face. He needed to forgive Fred Greene for everything he had done. It would be work—maybe work that would take the rest of his life, but he knew what his parents would say were they there. Don’t let anger take over your heart. It is not worth it. That’s what his mother had always told him.
Alone in the barn, Mitchell sighed and covered his face with his hands.
One day… One day, he would find the strength to forgive. It just couldn’t be that night.
“Need anything?” Beau asked from outside of the horse barn.
Mitch shook his head. “No. Go and get some sleep.”
“See you in the morning.” Beau nodded and slipped away into the dark. His simple exit made Mitchell grateful. Beau had always been good at telling when a man wasn’t in a talking mood.
Mitch’s feet couldn’t get him up to the house fast enough. Following the light from the kitchen, he found Clara and Gemma seated at the table, the oil lamp glowing in the middle of it. A blanket was around Gemma’s shoulders despite the warm night.
Clara stood right away. “Did the sheriff come?”
“Yes. It’s taken care of. Greene confessed right in the horse barn. It turns out we were right. He wanted this land.”
“Oh, my,” Clara whispered, wringing her hands together. “I just can’t believe it...” Clearing her throat, she smiled.
It was fake, but Mitch still appreciated it. “Well, all’s well that ends well. Would you like some tea?”
His eyes snaked over to Gemma. “I’ll get it, Clara. You go on back to bed.”
“Yes,” she sighed. “I guess I should be doing that. Don’t stay up too late, now.”
She murmured her goodnight and Gemma returned it, sounding like nothing more than a ghost. Mitch waited until Clara was gone to drag his eyes back to the table.
Just looking at Gemma was painful and dangerous, making the rage he’d felt before return. Never before in his life had Mitch experienced the kind of anger that he did when he opened the barn door and saw Greene pinning Gemma to the ground. He’d been blinded by it, not knowing he’d shot his gun into the air and tackled Greene until he was on top of the man himself.
“I’m going to town to get you the doctor.”
Gemma’s eyes went wide and she set down her mug of tea. “It is the middle of the night.”
“You need to be checked out.”
“It can wait until tomorrow.”
“Gemma, you’re...” The words snagged in his throat. “You need to be seen to.”
“It can wait. I’m just bruised up, that
is all.”
“Let me—”
“Please, Mitch. Just sit down. Stay with me.”
It was the first time she’d called him by his nickname and to have it combined with her pleading for him to stay broke him down.
With some real shock, Mitch realized he was no longer in charge of his own life. He would have gone to the other side of the Earth and back if Gemma asked him to. But all she had done was requested he sit with her, and so, he did.
Pulling a chair out so that it was facing her, he settled down and tried to pull the blanket tighter around her shoulders.
“Oh, this thing,” she said with distaste, pushing the blanket off so that it fell around her waist. “Clara put that on me. I don’t need it.”
“It is warm out,” Mitch agreed.
“And humid.”
Mitch didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or scream. Gemma had almost just died and they were sitting in the kitchen, talking about the weather.
“Greene is in the jail cell in town. He won’t touch you ever again.”
Gemma’s eyes shone with wetness. “He did all of those awful things to you… to your cattle… your neighbor.”
Mitch sighed. “I’m mostly thinking about you right now. About what he...”
He cleared his throat and looked down at his hands—his own helpless hands. He should have been there sooner. If he was smart like Gemma or Beau, he would have pieced things together quicker. He wouldn’t have taken his time due to doubt.
“I took too long,” he rasped. His eyes were trained on his hands. He could feel Gemma looking at him, but couldn’t make himself meet her eyes. “I could have gotten to you sooner...”
Gemma’s tender hands enveloped his, squeezing tight. “No. Do not say that. It is a miracle that you came.”
“I should have known it was him...”
“Mitchell, look at me.”
Finally—and only because she told him to—he did. Her brown eyes were full to the brim with emotion. “You are perfect, Mitchell Reed. You are God’s gift to me.”
Gratitude burst deep in Mitchell, swelling up from his soul and stretching into his fingers and toes. He couldn’t put into words just what Gemma now meant to him. All he could do was look at her.
“It’s because of you this is over.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Me? What do you mean?”
“You and your inquisitive mind,” he smiled. “Always talking, always sharing information...”
“I talk too much.”
“No,” Mitch firmly said. “Everything you do is just right.”
Pleasure filled her features, but then quickly vanished.
“What’s wrong?” Mitch’s heart raced. “Do you need the doctor now?”
“No,” she quickly answered. “I just...” Gemma looked at the table. “You would not say everything I do is right if you knew the full truth about me.”
Whereas Mitch had just been about to bolt from the room and jump on Lady to get the doctor, he was now sealed to the seat of his chair. “You’re referring to what you mentioned...”
“Yes.” She firmly nodded. “I wanted to tell you down by the creek, and then again in the horse barn, but I just couldn’t.” Her voice trembled, and tears filled her eyes.
“Don’t cry.” Mitch quickly wiped the tears away. “We don’t have to talk about this tonight, you hear? You’ve been through a lot.”
“I need to,” she sniffed. “I cannot lay my head down one more time without telling you everything about me. Tonight, I thought I would die, Mitchell. And do you know what that made me think? It made me realize that I should not have fretted so much. I should have just been happier. And there is more, too. I should have been honest with you from the beginning.”
Mitchell stroked her face, his heart feeling as if it would break in two. “You can tell me, Gemma. Whatever it is you are hiding, just reveal it.”
She took in a long breath, her shoulders shaking in the process. “I left New York engaged to someone else. I ran away from home.” Her chin quivered. “My parents do not know where I am. No one does.”
Mitchell stared, her words echoing in his head. He was trying to make sense of them, but it was too hard. Gemma, engaged to someone else… How could that be? She was his bride-to-be; soon, his wife.
“Mitchell? Please say something.”
“I...” His tongue was too heavy. It would not lift from the base of his mouth.
Fresh tears covered Gemma’s cheeks. “I had to leave. He was an awful man and my parents were making me marry him. I had no other choice. There was no one left who would marry me, and I wanted—I just wanted to be free, to see the West, and… and have a real chance. I did not belong in New York. I never did. I belonged here, Mitch. With you.”
With her last statement, she let out a shuddering gasp and hung her head. Her hands withdrew from Mitch’s and covered her face. Sob after sob shook her delicate frame.
“Gemma...”
Still, she cried.
“Gemma,” he said with more ferocity. With his hands on her shoulders, she finally lifted her tear-streaked face to his. “You are a brave woman.”
She frowned. “What does that have to do with this confession?”
Mitchell spoke carefully. “Only someone of real strength would leave the only home they’ve ever known and come to a strange place where they knew no one—and only someone who really felt like they had to get away.”
“I had to,” she agreed. “He was an awful person.”
“I believe you.”
Gemma gulped. “I know you must be quite angry with me and that makes perfect sense. I also understand if you want to send me away now.”
“Why would I send you away?”
“Because I...” She gave him a dumbfounded look. “I was engaged to another man. I kept a secret from you.”
Mitch drew his lips tight against his teeth. “I won’t lie and say that doesn’t hurt, but I also get why you did what you did. Gemma Campbell...” He took her hands in his once more. “You saved this ranch.”
Gemma flushed.
“And, what’s more,” he added, “You saved me. My head wasn’t anywhere near where it needed to be when you got here. All I was thinking about was the cattle. Day in and day out, nothing else was on my mind. But now, I have you and I’m remembering all the things I wanted. A family. A woman to love.”
He wouldn’t have thought she could blush any deeper, but somehow, she did.
“When I came in that barn and saw Greene on you...” Mitch had to pause. Just thinking about that moment had his blood boiling again. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
“But you saved me,” she whispered.
“From the look of Greene’s eye, you were doing a pretty good job taking care of yourself.”
The corner of her lip twitched. “What was that you said before?”
“About being afraid?”
“No. The other thing. The part about you wanting a woman to love. Say that again.”
Hope and love like Mitch had never known gathered in his chest, giving him courage.
“I love you, Gemma Campbell. You are the woman for me—you and no one else. I don’t care that you ran away from New York—no. That’s wrong. What I mean to say is that I’m glad you left there because you were running to me. This is where you belong.”
Gemma nodded vigorously. New tears cascaded down her cheeks, but they were a new kind. They were born from love, not sadness.
Mitch couldn’t stop. “Greene is out of our hair for good. Everything is going to be all right. I’m keeping the ranch.” Lifting her hand, he kissed the top of it. “And I’d like to keep you as well. If you’ll let me.”
Gemma hiccupped through the crying. “There is nothing that I would like more.”
“Good, because if you left, I don’t know what I would do.”
“Mitch?”
“Yes?”
“Say we will get married soon.”
Laughter
burst from his chest and he pressed his forehead against hers. “We’ll get married real soon,” he whispered. “I promise.”
“I want to be yours.”
Mitch thought he was going to burst from the joy those words brought him. “You will be,” he assured her. “And I’ll be yours. But right now, you need to get some sleep.”
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