by Joannie Kay
"Has Alex been here?" Jennifer asked of Alma when she rushed into the house.
"No. What's wrong?" Alma demanded.
"Plenty, and I don't have time to talk right now. I need to change into riding clothes and find Alex." In less than five minutes she was ready to leave the house. "If he does come here, please tell him I am searching for him and he needs to be very careful. I know who is behind all the rustling and he'll never believe it." She ran out the door and to the livery, where she rented a horse.
"Are you sure you ought to be riding out there by yourself, Miss Jenny?" the owner of the livery asked, concerned for her safety.
"I have no choice. Alex is in danger and I must warn him." She mounted and was soon on her way to the O'Malley place. She was almost there when four men stepped into her path; her horse shied, and she managed to keep her seat with difficulty. "Let me pass!" she demanded.
"She's the Marshal's gal," one of the men pointed out.
"We already know that. The Boss will tell us what to do with her, but in the meantime none of you are to put a hand on her."
"Come on, Luke! I ain't had me any lovin' in a long time," one of the men complained.
"Forcin' a female ain't the same as havin' one willin', Butch. You leave her be or I'll shoot you between the legs and you won't have a problem anymore."
Jenny had heard enough. She pulled her gun and fired. All four of the men ducked for cover, and she kicked the horse with her heels hard enough to make him take off running. She heard cursing behind her, but she ignored them and prayed she would find Alex. Catching rustlers was one thing, but getting killed was something else.
Alex saw a lone rider coming at a fast gallop... too fast for the condition of the lane leading to the house. When he learned it was Jenny, he realized that something was very wrong. He stepped out so that she could see him, and she continued racing toward him before she stopped the horse and jumped down. "I know everything, Alex. We've got to get you out of here. They know you are a Marshal, and they're planning to kill you and the Sheriff!!! I overheard everything! Stephanie is the one who is the leader of the rustlers!!! I hurried to get here in time and four men tried to stop me. I shot at them and got away, but they know that I am here. Please, let's go!" She couldn't understand when she looked at Alex and realized he was furious. "What is wrong?" she demanded.
"You are wrong, young lady. Clyde and I have been planning this for weeks and you've managed to tip them off. I am going to set your sweet butt on fire with my belt!"
"Catching those rustlers is not worth dying over. You come with me right now."
"No, you come with me right now," he said, taking her arm in a firm grasp and marching her the rest of the way up to the empty house. "I am going to put you upstairs, and you are going to keep put, hear me?" he demanded, giving her arm a shake.
"We can't stay here, Alex! It isn't safe!" she repeated herself, and when she tried to dig in her heels and refuse to budge, Alex gave her bottom a resounding spank that practically lifted her off her feet and right inside the front door of the house. He continued to spank her all the way up the steps to the second floor, down the hallway, and into one of the smaller bedrooms. There was a wardrobe in there and before she could guess his intentions, Alex picked her up and put her inside, shutting the door and locking her inside! "You let me out of here!" she demanded, beating on the door with her fists.
"Alex, if I open this door right now, I will take down those damned pants you are wearing, and I will take my belt to your bare butt. Now keep quiet. Our very lives depend upon it. By the time this is all over, perhaps you will smarten up and know when to keep your mouth shut and butt out of something that doesn't concern you. If not, I guarantee, I will give you a lesson you will recall for the rest of your life. Now be quiet and hide behind those clothes. I want them to think this place is empty. Hear me?" he hissed.
"I hear you, but I think you are wrong, and..."
"Shut your mouth, woman!" he whispered again. "I hear someone on the steps."
Jennifer took out her gun and did her best to hide in the dark corner of the wardrobe. The clothing did hide her, but she was afraid. She heard quiet footsteps in the room and she wondered where Alex was hiding. She prayed that he would be safe, even though she was furious with him.
The door to the wardrobe suddenly opened, and Jenny held her breath.
Chapter Fourteen
Alex vowed he was going to set Jenny's sweet butt on fire if he managed to get them out of this mess with their lives intact. He and Clyde had worked so hard to set a trap for the rustlers, but his little redhead had overheard a conversation she wasn't meant to hear and she came riding on out here instead of trusting him to know what he was doing. She was the most exasperating female he'd ever met and he loved her so much he ached. He prayed that they wouldn't find her and would assume that she'd found him and they'd left the ranch to head back to town. He knew that at least one of the men was looking around upstairs, and Alex wished he could see where the man was. He was pretty sure that Jenny would make a lot of noise if she were discovered.
* * *
Jennifer held her breath when the door to the wardrobe opened. Before the rustler could pull aside the clothing to have a better look there was an eerie wailing.
"What the hell? Who is that?" the man cried out, waving his gun around. His answer was more wailing and then she heard doors slamming and window shades going up and down, all at the same time! "I'm getting out of this damn place! It's haunted, and I won't have nothing to do with it." The man took off running, anxious to escape.
Once he was gone Jenny giggled and whispered, "Thank you, Kieran."
The wardrobe door opened again, and this time a hand reached in and pulled her to her feet. "Put that gun away," Alex growled impatiently.
"You could have told me it was you, Alex! What if I'd shot you?" Jenny scolded him.
"You are about this close to a switching, girl," he told her, his finger and thumb so close it appeared they were touching. "What did you do to scare off that man?" he asked, having heard the man running for his life.
"I didn't do a thing. It was Kieran. That's the second time he saved me," she announced, smiling triumphantly.
"I am going to spank you so hard you won't be able to sit for a month of Sundays," Alex threatened her once again, barely resisting the urge to pull her over to the bed and suit actions to words. "I've got to get you out of here somehow, before the rustlers find us. Whatever possessed you to ride out here, Jenny?" he asked, frowning. "It is the single most foolish thing you've ever done." He continued to scold.
"I don't call trying to save your life as foolish, Alex Martin," Jennifer's green eyes were flashing. "I happen to love you!"
"I love you, too, Jenny," he insisted. "Damn it, girl, I can take care of myself. You should have realized that and kept your butt safely at home. Now I will have to worry about keeping you safe."
"Kieran seems to be doing a good job of that!" she smarted off, thoroughly provoked by his attitude. "Since I'm of no help to you and you obviously don't want me here, I'll just take myself on home. Get yourself shot in the back in you want to!"
"Jenny, you better pray I do get myself shot because if I survive this I am going to make you regret that I did!"
"My, my, the two lovebirds aren't sounding so lovey-dovey at the moment," a woman's voice interrupted their argument.
"Stephanie!" Jennifer whirled and called out her name in surprise. The waitress from the restaurant was holding a gun on her and on Alex, as were two of the rustlers who followed her into the room. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded.
"Making enough money to go somewhere else to live a lavish life," Stephanie replied. "Somewhere that I will never have to cook or serve food to people again! Do you have any idea how nasty people are to someone they see as a servant? Men think they have the right to pinch or slap my butt. Women think they are so much better than I am. I am considered easy by the men and a threat by women.
Most of them treat me like I work upstairs in the saloon. They also think me too stupid to do anything but serve food and wash dishes."
"Stephanie, if you are unhappy here, then why don't you just leave and start over elsewhere? You don't have to work in a restaurant."
"How easy for you to say, Miss Jenny. The entire town loves you and you can do no wrong. You are referred to as Miss Jenny, and most people call me Waitress or Girl! Do you know how many people call me by my name, Jenny? You are one of the few. I'm going to hate having to kill you; you have been nice to me." She shook her head sadly. "Why did you have to get involved with this lawman?"
"I love him, Stephanie, and I won't let you harm him!" Jenny was ready to protect Alex with her life. "What you need to do is take your rustler friends and hightail it out of here."
"No, Miss Jenny, what I need to do is dispose of your boyfriend and you, and then things will go back to normal."
"You are wrong, Stephanie," Jenny told the other woman. "We aren't the only ones who know."
"You are lying, Jenny. The Sheriff might think he knows something, but he is afraid of this place because it is haunted. Your boyfriend here is the only one besides you to set foot on this ranch in years. Having a safe place to keep cattle until we sell them is vital, and this is perfect. Once we get rid of you two it will be business as usual."
"In spite of how many small ranchers you put out of business?" Alex scornfully demanded. "You don't care at all that good people are losing everything they own because of your selfishness."
"I can make your death fast and easy or I can make it slow and painful, Marshal. Same for your girlfriend here."
"What has Jenny ever done to you?" Alex hoped to gain Jenny's release.
"Nothing," Stephanie answered, and then added, "It was her misfortune to get involved with you, and now she will have to pay the ultimate price. Tie them up and gag them," she ordered. "Come nightfall we'll move the cattle and make sure these two can't make any more trouble for us."
Once Alex and Jenny were tied up they were placed on the bed and tied facing each other. "Make the most of this last time together, you two." Stephanie led the others out of the room, leaving Alex and Jenny completely alone.
Jennifer could tell by the look in Alex's dark eyes that he was angry and feeling helpless. "We'll be fine, Alex."
"That witch plans to kill us, honey, and it's all my fault. I should have told you to keep your nose out of this situation. I love you so much and I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you, Jenny. You are so special, beautiful inside and out."
"Thank you, Alex," she said with a bright smile. "I'm going to remind you that you said that when you threaten to spank me the next time."
"Jenny, I'm so sorry," Alex sincerely apologized.
"You haven't anything to be sorry for, darling. Now, I want you to be careful while I wiggle a bit. I don't want to put one of my knees where it would hurt most."
"What are you doing, Jenny?" he whispered, as she did her best to bring her legs up without pushing her knees against him. She wiggled some more, mumbling under her breath as she did so. "Jennifer...?"
"I have a knife in my boot," she confided. "My Dad said that nothing could replace a good knife in an emergency."
"Your Dad is right," Alex agreed, nodding. He gave the ropes as much slack as possible while she wiggled and did contortions until her fingers could reach inside the boot and pull out the knife. Once she had the knife in her hands, it didn't take her long to cut the rope binding her hands together and free them. The ropes keeping her bound to Alex were next, then her feet. Once she was freed, she released Alex. "Good girl," he praised her. "Now I'm going to get you out of here and I want you to stay gone, no matter what. I do not want you injured or killed."
"I'm not leaving you here alone, Alex Martin, so just quit thinking like that. We are in this together."
"You are going to obey me, girl, or else!"
"We don't have time to argue about this. We need to get out of here before Stephanie and her rustlers come back."
She looked so cute standing there defying him, and if the situation wasn't so dire he would kiss her breathless. "This isn't the time for you to argue with me, Jenny. Come on." He grasped her arm and led the way to the bedroom door, opening it a crack and then listening. When he was greeted with silence, Alex whispered, "I can't hear anything or anyone downstairs, but be very quiet. All I have for a weapon is your knife." Jennifer nodded. As long as she was with him, she would follow. What she wouldn't do was go home and leave him here alone.
They did their best to be quiet, walking quietly in the hallway and then heading downstairs, skipping over a couple of steps that they knew would squeak and possibly alert the rustlers that they were free of their bonds. There was no sound at all, and Alex was grateful. The cow thieves were probably all outside with the last bunch of cattle stolen from some unlucky rancher. With any luck at all, he could put Jenny on her horse and head her back to town. He led the way to the front door when suddenly there was a gray mist in front of the door.
"We need to go this way," Jennifer spoke softly, heading for the dusty parlor. They were barely out of sight before the door opened and two men entered.
They weren't expecting to find an apparition in the form of an eerie wailing mist at the top of the steps, and one of the men fainted dead away. Alex jumped the second man and one powerful blow was all it took to knock him unconscious. Alex armed himself, trying to ignore the goose bumps that Kieran was responsible for. Jennifer helped herself to the other man's gun and then said, "What should we do with these two?"
"Lock them in that closet." Alex promptly decided. He pulled first one man and then the other into the closet that was under the stair steps. He turned the key in the lock, then pulled it out and put it in his pocket. "I have no way of knowing where Clyde is and that worries me. We know that those two were with Stephanie, but I'm sure there are others out there. I've got to go outside and look around. My guess is that they are in the box canyon where I found the other cattle that were stolen. I want you to head back to town and stay there."
"I can't," Jenny argued. "Stephanie could decide to shoot Angus, or Alma and Peter and little Susie! I cannot put them at risk. I am going to help you, Alex, and that is all there is to it."
"Until you can't sit down, Miss Jenny," he threatened, but then took her hand and they hurried outside on the front porch. Their mounts were where they left them and Jennifer hurriedly mounted, looking all around and praying she would be able to keep Alex safe. She had no idea that he was praying that he could keep her safe.
* * *
Jennifer Shelley had ruined his life and Reverend Jeffrey Dixon decided that he was going to punish her as she deserved. The entire town was holding him up to ridicule and it was all her fault. His only mistake was thinking that she would make a nice girl friend; a nice diversion. He'd given up his old life in order to find respect, but no one in this town respected him now. Even Mrs. Neely thought him a terrible person, and all because that Peter Beckley made it known all over town that he'd lied about Jennifer Shelley. Everything he'd done in the beginning was to get the pretty redhead to come to him with her problems, but it didn't happen the way it was supposed to happen. He'd gone to Jenny and talked with her, just like his Daddy used to do. People paid attention when he spoke; when he counseled young women they did as he told them. So, why wasn't it working for him? He had no job and he doubted another church would give him a chance. He was going to settle with Alma Beckley and once she was dead, he would go and pay Peter Beckley a visit. Jeffrey was going to save Miss Jenny for last. Maybe he didn't get any respect as a preacher, but he was a damn good hired gun.
Jeffrey didn't bother to put on his frock coat. In fact, he strapped on his gun in the hopes it would frighten some of the gossips in town. He walked toward the edge of town and the house where the Beckleys lived. He pounded on the door, hoping to bring Alma to the door. Alma was wiping her hands on a towel as she
opened the door with a smile on her face. "Jennifer isn't here," she said shortly.
"I'm here to see you, Alma. Thanks to your interference I never got to see Miss Jenny. That wasn't very nice of you. Your husband interfered, too. It's too bad I'm going to have to kill you, too."
"What?" Alma asked as her face paled and turned very white. "You are crazy!"
"I've heard that my entire life. It ain't true!" He screamed at her. His hand crept to his gun.
"You'd best calm down or the townspeople will send you away." Alma was stalling for time. She expected Peter any moment for lunch, and she knew that he would protect her.
"The church fired me," he admitted. "All because that Marshal came to town and turned Miss Jenny's head. You could have helped me, Alma, but you didn't... Why...?"
"Because Jenny fell in love with Alex and she didn't want to see you. You weren't nice to her, Preacher. You lied about her to Mrs. Neely, and you hurt Jenny's feelings. Mrs. Neely kicked her out of her home and Jenny had nowhere to go."
"She was supposed to come to me and ask me for help," he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But, did she? No. Alex Martin interfered and brought her here. You could have said no; you should have said no!"
He was almost screaming at her and Alma feared he was going to shoot her any second now. She was also terrified that Peter was going to come through the door and get shot before she had a chance to save him. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings," Alma said quietly, trying to stay calm.
"I'll just bet you are. That little girl of yours is going to be an orphan. Who knows, maybe I'll take her with me and raise her myself."
"I don't care what happens to me, but you will stay away from Susie!" Alma raged at him.
Jeffrey gave her one of his practiced smiles. She wasn't bad looking, even if she was a mite older than he preferred his women be. "What will you do to ensure your little girl is safe?" he asked.