The Cowboy's Reluctant Bride

by Debra Cowan

  “Hello, Leo.”

  He remained seated as usual. “Conrad told me there was a fire out here the other night.”

  Did you set it? she wondered. “Yes, but as you can see, we’re fine.”

  “It was only your bedroom?” His gaze shifted to the side of the house.

  “Gideon and I managed to put it out before it did more damage. Yesterday, a big group from town came out to help clean up and rebuild the room.”

  “I see.”

  If he would get out of the buggy, she could get a look at his footprints. “Why don’t you come in? I have fresh coffee.”

  The mayor shook his head. “I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble at all.” Ivy wished Gideon were here.

  Thunder guarded the gate, watching the mayor closely.

  Leo’s gaze scanned the yard, the corral and barn. “Where’s your husband?”

  “He’s just out back.” Though she didn’t feel as if she were in immediate danger, the hair on her arms prickled. “Would you like to speak with him?”

  “No.” The tall red-haired man levered himself out of the buggy, leaning on his cane as he looked around.

  Ivy held her breath, hoping he would take a few steps toward her and leave an impression of his boots in the dirt.

  The mayor sauntered over, and Ivy struggled to keep her face blank.

  “I understand you now have a contract with Territorial Stage.”

  “Yes.”

  “Good thinking to strike an agreement with them directly.”

  Despite his words, the man didn’t sound pleased about it.

  He stepped up to the gate. Thunder growled. “You certainly have had a run of bad luck.”

  Hmph, Ivy thought, but didn’t respond.

  “After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t blame you if you moved on. Have you thought about selling this place?”

  Her spine went to steel. “No.”

  “Would you consider it?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Progress, Mrs. Black.”

  “You’re talking about the railroad.” Ivy walked toward him, intending to get a look at his footprints if she could. “Mr. Nichols said the Katy had no firm plans to run tracks through here.”

  “Maybe not, but the man has visited here twice. There has to be a reason.”

  She tried to sneak a look at the imprint just behind him, but she only got a glimpse. Not enough of a view to compare to the ones Gideon had found in the woods.

  Jumper tapped his walking stick against his shoe, earning a bark from the dog. Holding the cane by its carved head, Leo pointed it at her. “I think the railroad’s serious about coming through here, and when they do, how long do you think you can hang on to this place?”

  “As long as I want.”

  “Don’t be naive.” Brown eyes hard, he turned toward the gate as if he might come through. “The Katy will plow over this place just like it has farms in other communities. Plus there will be no need for stage stops.”

  “I’ll make do,” she said tightly.

  He came back toward her. “I’d pay you very well for this place.”

  “I’m not selling.”

  “That’s shortsighted,” he snapped. “I thought you a better businesswoman than that.”

  After Gideon’s injury and the fire, she had no patience for the mayor’s snide remarks. “Good day, Leo.”

  His gaze flickered to a spot behind her, and Gideon walked up beside her.

  “Mayor.” His voice was flat and unwelcoming.

  The other man’s greeting was every bit as warm.

  Ivy still couldn’t get a good look at Jumper’s footprints, but he had left more than one set. She just hoped they were distinctive enough to identify.

  Using his walking stick, he indicated the corral and barn. “All the trouble you’ve had out here could give this place a bad name.”

  Ivy drew in a sharp breath. “Are you the one who lied about my operation to Hal Davis and his son?”

  His silence confirmed her suspicions.

  “Why would you try to ruin my business, Leo?”

  Unhurriedly going back to his buggy, he climbed in on the same side he’d gotten out.

  Gideon’s face was unreadable as he stared at the man.

  Jumper set his cane on the seat beside him then picked up the reins. “Hope you don’t have any more dogs or horses killed out here. That certainly won’t help your business, either.”

  Ivy wanted to smack him.

  Gideon strode to the gate, and the mayor wheeled his buggy around.

  Blood boiling, she watched him drive away. Not down the old road toward town, but past her woods and across the wide-open pastureland beyond.

  It hit her then, what Leo had said.

  “Did you hear him?” She hurried over to Gideon and clutched his arm. “That he hoped no more dogs or horses were killed out here.”

  “The man’s a jackass, Ivy. He’s angry that you won’t sell and probably angry that the stage line gave you a contract.”

  “No, that’s not it.” Her voice shook. She didn’t know if it was from anger or exhilaration that Jumper had given himself away. “I never told him about Tug being killed. I only told him about the horse.”

  “Maybe Conrad—”

  She shook her head. “You, the Farrells and I are the only ones who know about Tug. Neither Josh nor Meg would have said anything to him.”

  Satisfaction lit his eyes. He turned her gently toward the gate and pointed to the ground. “Here’s actual proof. These footprints match the ones we found in the woods.”

  “Wonderful!”

  He started for the barn.

  Ivy hurried behind him. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going after the bastard.”

  “I’m coming, too.”

  He looked as if he would argue, but he didn’t. Grabbing up her skirts, she angled toward the house.

  “C’mon!” Gideon called.

  “I’m getting my gun.”

  He jogged across the yard. “I’ll take care of the horses and the pup.”

  She wished she could change into her britches, but she wasn’t wasting time on that. And he hadn’t used precious minutes to saddle their mounts, which was fine with Ivy.

  He waited outside the corral and helped her onto the horse’s bare back. She pushed down her skirts as he vaulted onto his gelding. Together, they barreled past the pen.

  * * *

  Gideon and Ivy kneed their horses into a gallop, tearing past the woods and heading into open pasture. Jumper’s buggy was quite a distance away, his horse trotting at a brisk pace.

  Grass flashed beneath Gideon, spots of flowers visible from the corner of his eye. The wind was mild, the sun a deep yellow in a clear blue sky.

  They were gaining on the mayor when Gideon saw him lean out of the buggy. He must have seen they were in pursuit because the vehicle lurched forward and the horse began a flat-out run.

  Suddenly, Gideon realized Ivy was no longer beside him. He spun his mount around. She was more than a hundred yards away, standing beside her horse.

  He urged his gelding forward.

  “No!” she yelled, waving him on. “Keep going! Don’t let him get away!”

  Gideon wasn’t leaving her there. He kneed his horse into motion.

  “My mare’s lame! Go after Leo! He’s getting away!”

  Glancing over his shoulder, Gideon saw she was right.

  “Go!” she urged again. “I’ll catch up!”

  It went against everything inside him. Still, she had her gun if she needed it. And there was no telling where Jumper was headed. It sure wasn’t town.<
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  Gideon turned the horse sharply and gave the animal its head. They pounded across the lush alfalfa. The distance between him and the buggy began to narrow.

  Jumper’s horse couldn’t keep up the speed while pulling a buggy. Gideon soon passed them and pulled his gun, slowing his gelding in front of the man.

  He aimed the weapon at the mayor. “Stop!”

  The man’s gaze darted around, but he seemed to realize that no matter where he went, Gideon’s horse would overtake him.

  Sawing on the reins, he slowed his animal, and the buggy rolled to a stop.

  “What’s the meaning of this, Mr. Black?”

  Gideon gave him a flat look. Seeing that both of Leo’s hands were on the reins, he motioned toward the buggy. “Do you have a gun in there?”

  Gideon dismounted, gesturing with his revolver at the mayor. “Step out. Hands where I can see them.”

  Raising his hands in the air, the mayor slid from the buggy, bringing his walking stick with him.

  Gideon eased over to the vehicle and felt under the seat. “Ah. This what you used to shoot me?”

  He pulled out a Peacemaker. Popping out the cylinder, he emptied the bullets then tossed the gun into the grass.

  He moved in front of Jumper. “So, you’re the one who’s been behind everything that’s happened at Ivy’s farm.”

  The man didn’t respond.

  “I matched your footprints to a set I found in the woods.”

  Leo stiffened, gripping his cane with both hands.

  “Why sabotage everything?”

  “I was trying to scare her off.”

  “Scare her?” He thought his jaw might break clean in two. Anger drove through Gideon like a spike. “You could’ve killed her with that trap you set!”

  For that alone, he wanted to squeeze the life out of the bastard. “And that fire wasn’t no attempt to frighten her. You was goin’ for murder. What could possibly justify that?” Viciousness welled up from some place deep inside that Gideon had never known existed. Gun leveled, he advanced on the cur.

  Jumper retreated a step. “Do you know how much that land will be worth to the railroad? Not just in dollars, but control.”

  The Kiamichi River that ran through Ivy’s property was another source of readily available water that wouldn’t have to support Paladin the way Little River did.

  “That ain’t no call for murder.”

  “The two of you were in the way. If she’d just left, but no. She went and got married. I had to get rid of both of you.”

  Gideon knew he should turn the man over to the law, but killing him sounded better. He thumbed down the hammer on his pistol.

  Suddenly, Leo yanked hard on the carved head of his walking stick.

  What the hell? By the time Gideon registered that the man had pulled a knife out of the cane’s shaft, he barely had time to react. The mayor slashed at his gun hand. The revolver flew into the air, and a razor-edged pain shot up his arm.

  The gash went from the back of his hand up past his wrist. Blood welled up, soaking his shirtsleeve and slicking his palm.

  Jumper lunged and Gideon leaped back, barely escaping a rip to his belly.

  The knife was large, the blade wide and long enough to have killed the horse and Ivy’s dog.

  “You killed your own horse?” Gideon didn’t understand anyone who put down a good animal. “Why the hell did you kill Ivy’s dog?”

  “It found me.”

  He noticed that the lowlife didn’t claim the animal had attacked him.

  The man rushed at Gideon, jabbing and chopping. He dodged, air whistling as the knife sliced past his cheek.

  He circled the other man. In the split second it took Jumper to angle his body toward Gideon, he charged, ramming his head and shoulders into the bastard’s gut.

  He tackled Jumper to the ground, his hand slippery with blood, his gunshot arm throbbing in agony. Ignoring the pain, he slammed a fist into the mayor’s face and tried to wrest the knife away, but couldn’t.

  With his injuries, it was all Gideon could do to escape a vicious hack to the face.

  The two of them rolled, dirt and grass flying. By sheer grit, Gideon managed to wrestle Jumper to his back. The coppery smell of blood reached him. His blood. Sweat burned his eyes as he struggled to keep the knife from plunging into his throat.

  The mayor grunted, heaving his body with enough force to reverse their positions. The bastard was a lot stronger than he looked. Malicious satisfaction glinted in his eyes.

  Jumper put all his weight behind the assault, driving the blade toward Gideon’s left eye. Locking both arms straight out, Gideon managed to hold the knife at bay, but the blood loss was starting to affect him.

  His head swam; his lacerated arm burned red-hot. Gathering all his might, he managed to jostle Jumper off balance, but the man quickly recovered and bore down using both hands. The blade inched closer. Sunlight winked off the edge of the knife, blinding Gideon for a second.

  From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a flash of pink. Ivy? He wasn’t dying on her if he could help it. With a surge of energy, he shoved at the mayor, but he was pinned. Jumper barely budged.

  Suddenly a gunshot rang out from somewhere behind Gideon. A hole appeared between the mayor’s eyes. Blood trickled out and the man collapsed, his weight smothering. Gideon pushed the mayor’s body off and rolled to his knees.

  Ivy ran toward him, pink skirts gathered in one hand, her gun in the other.

  In seconds, she was on her knees in front of him. “Gideon!”

  “I’m okay.”

  “You’re cut!” She tore off her apron and rolled it into a strip, using it as a tourniquet to bind his wound. Blood quickly soaked the cloth.

  A lightness filled his chest, just like the day he’d walked out of Leavenworth.

  His wife’s gaze went to the dead man, and the rage on her face shifted to shock when she saw the knife. “Is that his?”

  “Yeah. He kept it in the shaft of his cane. The carved head was actually the base of the knife.”

  “That’s what he used to kill Tug. And his own horse.”

  Gideon nodded, getting slowly to his feet. When he wobbled, she grabbed him around the waist and clasped him tight.

  “We don’t have time for that,” he joked weakly.

  “Oh, you.”

  He smiled down at her, wishing he could hold her, but both of his arms felt like soggy rope. Truth be told, he was about spent. “Let’s get Jumper to town. I’ll tell you everything on the way.”

  “Thank goodness you’re alive.” She touched his face with a trembling hand. “I was afraid I might be too late. These blasted skirts slowed me down.”

  “You got here in the nick of time.” It had been a little too close for his liking. He glanced over at the spot where she’d stopped to take the shot. “And that was some damn good shooting. I’m glad your brother didn’t exaggerate about that.”

  “I’ll unhitch Jumper’s buggy, and we’ll get his body on his horse. We’ll both have to ride your gelding.” She started toward the carriage.

  “Ivy?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thanks for saving my life,” he said gruffly. “In more ways than one. I don’t know what I did to deserve a wife like you, but I’m real glad I have you.”

  “How much blood have you lost? Do you know what you’re saying?”

  “I ain’t joshin’.”

  “I know,” she said softly. “And you’re very welcome.”

  Maybe he had lost more blood than he realized because her response didn’t sound exactly right.

  * * *

  Though Gideon wanted to go straight to the jail and turn over the body, Ivy insisted the doctor be their first stop. Since his ha
nd and forearm hurt like the devil, he didn’t argue.

  Minutes later, he was on an exam table in Roe Manning’s clinic. He gave a silent sigh of relief. Jumper was dead, and Ivy was safe.

  The doctor unwound the blood-soaked tourniquet and dropped it into the trash, then cleaned the wound. “That’s deep enough for stitches, but it could’ve been worse. The blade missed your bone and your tendons. Barely.”

  Reaching to the table behind him, he picked up a brown bottle. “The laudanum will make the stitching bearable.”

  “I don’t want any of that.”

  “But—” Ivy started.

  Gideon looked at Roe. “Just do what you need to.”

  “It’s going to hurt like hell,” the other man said.

  “I know.” But he didn’t want to be fuzzy-headed while they were in town or when they answered questions about the mayor.

  Picking up a needle, Manning threaded it and dipped both into a bottle marked Carbolic Acid, then began to stitch the wound.

  Biting back a roar of pain, Gideon gripped the edge of the table with his other hand. Hurt layered through his whole body. His arm quivered.

  Josh Farrell strode into the clinic. “Saw y’all ride in with a body and just checked. It’s Jumper!”

  “Yes.” Looking concerned, Ivy’s gaze went from Gideon’s face to the hand being sutured.

  Josh took her by the shoulders, giving her the once-over. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. It’s Gideon who’s hurt.”

  “Who shot Leo?”

  “Ivy.” Gideon turned his head toward the sheriff. “It was a hell of a shot, too.”

  “He was about to kill Gideon.”

  Josh glanced over at the wound. “Where’s the knife?”

  “In the bastard’s cane,” Gideon rasped, trying to focus on something besides the searing agony running up his arm.

  At the lawman’s frown, Ivy nodded. “It’s true. He carried it in the shaft of his walking stick. The head was really the handle of the knife.”

  Josh and Roe looked stunned.

  The doctor shook his head. “He was hiding a knife in that stick?”

  “Yes,” Ivy and Gideon said together.

  Gideon felt each stinging prick of the needle as it wove in and out of his flesh like a fiery awl. “Jumper’s buggy is still in the field west of the woods in front of the farm.”