Love Under Two Gunslingers

by Love Under Two Gunslingers (lit)

  * * * *

  Riding in the stagecoach turned out to be just slightly worse than riding a train. Guess that will teach me to complain, even to myself. As rough as the journey was proving to be, Sarah couldn’t protest overmuch. She suspected that extra day between train and coach had been Caleb’s idea. She’d worried that he’d taken her exhaustion on their arrival in St. Louis as sign of weakness, but she’d seen no evidence of that. In fact, it felt as if he regarded her with even more respect than before.

  He’d bought her a cushion for the ride, too.

  The landscape had begun to change yesterday. By the time they’d reached the inn where they were to spend the night, the terrain seemed more rocky, less flat. In the distance she could see dark shadows rising high into the sky. She’d never seen mountains before and wondered how close she’d get to them.

  She’d not slept well at the inn and not because of the rustic conditions, either. The room she’d been given was clean—all she really required. No, sleep had been elusive because every time she closed her eyes, forbidden images came to play in the field of her imagination.

  The sun beat down hot and merciless, warming the inside of the coach. The young couple who’d ridden with them from St. Louis had been met by family at the inn last night, a relief to Sarah. She doubted either of them had seen soap and water in some time. On top of the olfactory irritant, the woman had been a chatterbox.

  “Sure is quieter in here today,” Caleb said. His dry rejoinder speared through her thoughts, and Sarah snickered.

  “Smells better, too,” Joshua said.

  Sarah couldn’t hold back her laughter. “I was actually just thinking the same thing myself.”

  “You’ll get a chance to cool off in an hour or so when we stop to change horses,” Joshua said. “I’d raise the flap on the window, but the dust would be worse than the heat.”

  “I’m surprised one of you isn’t riding up top,” Sarah said. Yesterday, Joshua and Caleb had taken turns sitting beside the driver.

  “Henry’s got a fellow driver up there, one who’s only going as far as the next way-station. Then we’ll trade off again like we did yesterday.” Joshua said.

  “Not because we don’t want to spend time with you. Because we prefer it when one of us is on guard.” Caleb explained.

  “That’s what I figured.”

  Sarah rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes. She only intended to take a moment to try and relax, but the next thing she knew, the coach was coming to a stop.

  She blinked her eyes open and realized she’d fallen asleep and slid down until her head rested on Caleb.

  “Oh! I’m sorry!” Sarah straightened up quickly. There wasn’t a great deal of room on the seat, but she tried to scrunch herself against the opposite side of the coach. What an overly forward thing to have done!

  “I’m not,” Caleb replied. His voice came out low and quiet and strummed the threads of attraction inside her.

  “Lucky man,” Joshua said, his voice affecting her the same way his twin’s had.

  “I…need some air.” She needed air and maybe a convenient horse trough to soak her head in and cool off. The heat that held her now had little to do with the sun and everything to do with the way the brothers Benedict looked at her.

  Sarah wasn’t certain, half an hour later, if she was pleased the two had backed off or not. Sarah Louise Maddox, you’re slowly but surely taking leave of your senses. Sarah shook her head and settled back in the seat. Joshua sat across from her while Caleb took the first turn topside.

  Despite the dust, Sarah raised the window flap. The scenery had changed again since yesterday. Gone were the flat grasslands she’d been seeing since St. Louis. Now, on either side of her, the land rolled and dipped. Looking out slightly, and ahead, she could see what looked like more mountains rising up in the distance.

  “The Ozarks,” Joshua said.

  “They seem so big,” Sarah said. “I’ve never really seen mountains before.”

  “You’re not seeing them now. Maybe someday you’ll get a chance to see the Appalachians, or the Rockies. Now those are mountains.”

  “Maybe. But I have to be honest with you. This traveling is wearing me out.” And mostly, Sarah thought, because of where she was going and why.

  A gunshot rang out, followed by a sharp ping that made Sarah jump.

  “Shit!” Caleb said from atop the coach.

  Joshua had Sarah’s arm and was pulling her. “Down, sweetheart. Get down on the floor and stay down. Caleb?”

  “Four of them. Armed and on horseback, waiting for us as soon as we crested that last rise.”

  A second shot exploded, and to Sarah’s untrained ears it sounded as if it came from another direction.

  “Damn, and another one coming from behind!”

  Joshua already had his gun out. He reached over her and with one hand pulled the cord so the flap she’d raised came down.

  “You need to stay still and quiet, and on the floor. Will you do that for me, sweetheart?”

  Terror gripped her, but she nodded. Her hat had come askew, so she yanked it off and clutched it in both hands.

  “Go left.”

  Caleb’s voice, quieter, didn’t make any sense to Sarah.

  “Here now!” This was a strange voice and seemed to be coming from the front of the coach. “We ain’t after killin’ ya if it’s not needed. Just pass us down your cash box, and hand over the woman ya got inside the coach there. You do that and you two fellers can be on your way.”

  “Ain’t got no cash box on this wagon,” their driver Henry said, “This is a passenger coach only.”

  Joshua eased his way to the left side of the coach. Slowly he lifted the flap, peered out. He nodded once, then looked at Sarah.

  “Stay down, stay quiet. I’ll be right back.” With that, he opened the door and practically slithered out.

  He’ll be right back? Oh God, Caleb said there were five of them, and they’re all armed! Before Sarah could think another thought, someone yelled, and gunfire filled the air.

  The coach jerked as if the riders on top had jumped off—which they must have done. She covered her ears, the shots coming fast and furious. A bullet hit the coach, just above her head, and she could have sworn she felt the air move as it passed her. Horses screamed, men swore, and one gave a horrible cry that caused Sarah to convulse in fear. Death had claimed at least one man, and she prayed as she had never prayed before in her life that it had been one of the bandits and not one of her men.

  Her men.

  “Go, go!” Then she heard the sound of horses galloping away, chased by a gun fired very close by.

  “Oh, damn it. Damn it to God damned hell!” That was Henry’s voice and it sent ice through her veins until she heard other voices.

  “Sarah?”

  “Sarah!”

  They spoke at nearly the same instant, but before she could answer, the door opened and strong arms dragged her out of the coach.

  “Are you all right? Are you hurt? Oh, God!” Caleb’s strong arms surrounded her, and Sarah thought it funny that she shook so hard it felt as if he was shaking, too.

  “I’m fine. I’m ok. Not hurt. You? Joshua?” her voice didn’t sound all that steady to her own ears. She couldn’t seem to stop shaking. She’d never been shot at before.

  “We’re all right. Here, now.” Joshua pried her out of Caleb’s arms to give her his own hug. Then he set her back and kissed her square on the mouth!

  “Good girl. You stayed down and saved your life.” He gave her another squeeze on her arms, then let her go. When she stumbled, Caleb steadied her.

  “Here, sit a moment on the running board. Henry?”

  “Damn glad to have you fellers along,” the driver said as he came toward them from the front of the coach. “Been driving this route three years, and nothing like this has ever happened before. Damn crazy bastards. Oh, beggin’ your pardon, ma’am.”

  “Cuss away,” Sarah said.
“I just might join you.”

  “Well, hell,” Henry said as he reached out to finger the hole in the side of the coach. By Sarah’s estimate, the bullet must have been less than an inch from her body as it sailed through the coach and out the other side. Sarah shivered, the visual evidence of how close she’d come to dying making her heart thud in her chest.

  “Henry, you sit with Sarah. Josh and I will take care of the bodies.”

  “B...bodies?”

  “These two got three of the bastards,” Henry informed her, sounding proud of the fact. “Two of ‘em got away, but three of ‘em got sent straight to hell. Beggin’ your pardon again, ma’am.”

  Sarah looked up in time to encounter Caleb’s concerned gaze. “Please stay here. You don’t need to see them, Sarah.”

  “All right. Yes. I’ll stay right here.”

  She was more than happy to do as they asked. She figured it would take her a little time to be able to get her limbs under her again. In the meantime, Sarah didn’t mind letting the Benedict brothers do whatever they had to do to deal with three dead bandits.

  Chapter 6

  “She’s hardly said a word since the holdup,” Joshua said tightly.

  Caleb eyed his brother, noted the barely leashed anger, and couldn’t fault him for it. They stood in the hallway outside Sarah’s room at the Lyon House Hotel. They’d made it to Springfield, Missouri, without further incident. Caleb had made certain that Sarah never saw the bodies of the men he and Joshua had killed. They rounded up one of the other two horses and had been able to transport the remains without difficulty.

  They’d left the dead bastards at the next livery stop. The first thing he’d done upon arrival in Springfield was to report in to the sheriff. He and Joshua had met the man the last time they’d been in town.

  “I know. It’s been four days now since that attack, and it’s as if she’s still in shock. I’m worried, too.”

  “Maybe at dinner we can get her to talk to us. We have to do something.”

  Caleb tilted his head to the side. “Fallen for her, have you?”

  “Yes, damn it.” Josh looked distinctly unhappy about the fact. “And it’s not just that I want to fuck her, though I do.”

  Caleb chuckled but kept it low. “Yeah, me, too. I’m not surprised we fell for the same woman, just pissed that she’s married and off limits. Although that line I thought so inviolate is beginning to fade some.”

  Joshua smiled. “You’ve got damn fine taste in women.”

  Caleb laughed. “So do you.”

  Anything else he might have said he swallowed when the door to Sarah’s room opened and she emerged. She smiled at them both, but as Joshua had pointed out, her smile seemed less than it had been.

  “Thank you, again, for ordering that bath. It felt wonderful.”

  “You’re welcome.” Joshua’s voice sounded rough, but Sarah didn’t seem to notice.

  “Are we going downstairs for dinner?”

  “Downstairs and out. There’s a restaurant in the center of town, serves the best steak this side of Texas. Murchison’s,” Caleb said, as he ushered them down the corridor to the stairs.

  The sun hung low in the sky, and the heat of the day waned. No breeze had arisen yet, but Caleb felt the change in the air. They might get a light rain tonight or maybe a full-out storm. Only time would tell.

  “This is a busy town,” Sarah observed as they made their way down the crowded boardwalk. “And you’ve been here before.”

  “Springfield is a hub for rail travel going south or west,” Joshua said. “And yes, we’ve been here several times.”

  Caleb waited, hoping she’d say more, but of course she didn’t. They passed a dry goods store and the bank. Across the street, the Frontier Saloon seemed to be doing a rousing business. He and Joshua had visited that establishment in the past, too. A man could get whatever he wanted—a drink, a card game, or a willing female—at the Frontier.

  Sarah still hadn’t said another word by the time they were seated at their table at Murchison’s. Caleb had asked for a corner table. He and Joshua tucked Sarah into the corner, between them. Since the attack, they’d been extra alert, taking every precaution. Sarah didn’t seem to notice or mind.

  When their waiter brought the menus, Caleb ordered a bottle of wine. He preferred whisky himself. The wine was mostly for Sarah. One way or another he and Joshua were going to see the lady relax and talk about what troubled her.

  Their dinners were ordered, and the wine opened and poured. He took a drink, pleased when Sarah followed suit. She held the glass a bit longer, taking another sip before putting it down.

  Joshua reached for the bottle and topped up her glass. Looking at his brother, he knew they’d settled on the same method for getting Sarah to loosen up. Caleb tried to figure out how to get her to talk to them. In the end, he decided on a tack that might shock her out of her silence.

  “We’re worried about you, Sarah. You haven’t been yourself since we killed those would-be thieves. We’re beginning to think you hate us now and—”

  “No! Oh, God, no!”

  Her expression, filled with horror, kicked him square in his conscience. As if realizing that she might have shouted, she shook her head and laid one hand on his arm and the other on Joshua’s.

  “No, of course I don’t hate you! How could I? If not for your courage and your skill, I’d be dead. I’d be dead,” she repeated.

  “We’ll never let anything happen to you, Sarah. Swear to God.” Joshua said.

  “Joshua’s right. You can trust us to keep you safe.”

  “I do! That’s not it. I just…I just can’t stop thinking about what happened. That I could have died without…well, without having ever lived. I was prepared to go through with this…this farce. But why am I taking myself across the country to be the wife of a man who doesn’t even really care about me, doesn’t even really want me?”

  “The man married you, Sarah. Even if Maddox and your father came to some financial arrangement first, he must have wanted you enough to pay your father’s price for you.”

  “Five thousand dollars. That’s what I’m worth.” Sarah nodded. Then she picked up her glass of wine, took a good deep drink.

  “I want a divorce.” Sarah looked at him, and then Joshua. “I didn’t want to marry him in the first place. Father told me to, and I did because I’ve always been a dutiful daughter. But I don’t want to be a dutiful daughter any longer. Being dutiful nearly got me killed, so I want a divorce.”

  “I’m no expert,” Caleb said slowly, trying with all that was in him not to let her see how her words not only pleased him but excited him. Hers was a fine sentiment and one that he and Joshua were both delighted to hear, but practicalities needed to be considered. “I’m no expert,” he began again, “but I don’t think getting a divorce is easily done. Especially for a woman who wants to divorce her husband. Doesn’t seem fair to me that things should be different for women than they are for men. But there it is. And if you’re thinking about just running off, I have to warn you that action might result in your being arrested. Even if you weren’t immediately arrested, you’d be a fugitive.”

  Sarah picked up her wine glass. This time, her sip appeared more cautious. Caleb grinned. Likely the wine offered here wasn’t quite the same quality as some she might have had in Chicago. Although she didn’t act as if it tasted unpalatable, a good thing under the circumstances. She didn’t seem to be one who indulged overmuch, either. Her eyes had taken on a bit of sheen, and he had to wonder if maybe she wasn’t just a little bit tipsy.

  “There has to be a way out of this mess. I don’t want to live the rest of my life with a man I don’t know, a man who doesn’t even want me.”

  That was the second time she’d said that. “He’d be a fool not to want you,” Caleb said.

  They fell silent as the waiter served their dinners. Even after the waiter left them in peace, Sarah just stared at her plate, unmoving.

  “Y
ou know,” Joshua said, and Caleb’s gaze snapped to him and the note of speculation he heard in his brother’s voice, “if your marriage to Tyrone Maddox was unconsummated, then that would change everything.”

  “Unconsummated?”

  “Yes, it means—”

  “I know what it means.”

  Caleb nearly laughed. Joshua’s expression looked embarrassed, but nothing compared to Sarah’s. Her cheeks had become suffused with red, and she couldn’t quite look them in the eyes.

  “How would that change anything?” she asked her plate.

  Caleb stared at Sarah for a long moment. Whether it embarrassed her further or not, he’d tell it flat out. “Sarah, without consummation, a marriage isn’t really a marriage. It’s not a done deal. If a marriage isn’t consummated, then it’s only a matter of having a priest grant an annulment.”

  “You mean to tell me, that all this time, I haven’t even really been married to the man?”

  “Sarah?” Caleb heard in his brother’s voice the same hope building in himself. Sarah blushed, then took another sip of wine. She nodded to her glass.

  “He had too much to drink at the party my father hosted on our wedding night. When we got up to the hotel room, he…he went to sleep.”

  “He went to sleep.” Caleb knew he sounded like an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. Everything had just changed. Not only that but he’d revised his opinion of Tyrone Maddox. The man was obviously stupid.

  Sarah nodded vigorously. Whether or not this conversation would have taken place without the wine, neither he nor Joshua would ever know. He did doubt, however, that she would have been quite so specific in her next pronouncement without it.

  “You bet he went to sleep. He never so much as saw me in my chemise. I’m still a virgin.”

  * * * *

  Dick Morgan hunched over his whisky, the booze doing nothing to ease the pain and anger inside him. His boy, dead. His brother, dead. It wasn’t supposed to have been this way. They’d planned to grab that fancy bitch, take a few turns fucking her, then kill her. He and his boys had gone after harder targets for less money and been successful.