“Yeah? And what did I want?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Glory took a step toward him. Heart pounding hard, she ran her hand down her throat and then farther until her fingertips caressed the swell of her breast. She smiled, hoping to appear seductive. Judging by Ned’s intense gaze, she might have succeeded. In a breathy whisper, she answered, “Me.”
Suddenly and without warning, Ned grabbed her arms, pulling her to him. She tamped down her fear, denying him a struggle and hoping to convince him that this is what she wanted. “You didn’t want that then, why should I believe you now?”
Lust made his eyes gleam. He stared at her with wary impatience. His hot breath on her face repulsed her.
“I—I—” she began, praying for inspiration. Then, as if she’d been struck by divine guidance, a thought emerged instantly and she knew exactly how to reach him. A greedy man might understand another’s greed. “I’ve got nothing. And no one. My father is gone. Boone is dead. The man who’d sheltered me is also g-gone.” How she hated saying those words. “I’ve no money, no home. I lived with your brother in poverty. It’s time I took something for myself. We would be rich. We’d have everything.”
Glory gazed into Ned’s eyes and nodded. “We could have it all,” she whispered. “You and me.”
She smiled once again.
He released her arms and stepped back, assessing her. Desire warred with disbelief. Glory saw his indecision, and worried that he didn’t believe her.
She let the shawl drop entirely from her body and began unbuttoning her nightgown. Two buttons at the very top came undone. It was all she’d allow for now. She ran her tongue along the edges of her mouth with slow and calculated deliberation.
Ned arched his brows.
Glory played the part of a temptress the best way she knew how. She’d had a lesson a while back from Julia that she’d never forgotten.
“You willing to prove it to me?” he asked, his voice taking on a raspy whisper.
Glory swallowed, drawing air into her lungs in increments. With more boldness than she believed she possessed, she turned her back on him and walked slowly toward the bedroom. “Why don’t you come in here and find out?”
She heard the scrape of Ned’s footsteps on the floor behind her. He followed her into the bedroom. Glory stopped when she reached the right side of the bed by the night table. She turned to him and smiled.
Ned stood on the other side of the bed, a far enough distance away for Glory’s sensibilities. She couldn’t bear for him to touch her again.
Dark, hungry eyes roved over her body. Glory suppressed a shudder. “If this is a trick, I’ll kill you with my bare hands,” he warned with a low voice seemingly laced with more desire than suspicion.
Glory undid the rest of the buttons on her nightgown. Slowly, she shifted the material off her shoulders. “This is no trick.”
She let the nightgown fall from her body, exposing the thin cotton chemise she wore underneath. Ned’s sharp intake of breath told her she held his full attention…and she had him off-guard. She wished he would remove his gun belt, but to ask would only arouse his suspicion.
“You gonna stand there all day, or get into this bed?” He rubbed at his groin, his manhood apparent, pressing against his trousers.
Perspiration rose up on her body, although not from heat but stark cold fear. Glory managed a coy smile. “We’re going to have a long night in this bed,” she said, then glanced at the Bible on the nightstand. “Oh dear.” She showed Ned the Bible Carmen had given her. “This part of my life is over now. Just let me tuck this away.”
She reached down to hide the Bible under the mattress and in one swift move, came up with her gun. She pointed the army revolver straight at Ned’s heart.
Chapter Eighteen
Grim determination kept Steven alive. He managed to unbind his hands in the seconds before the mine collapse, allowing him a means to get farther away from the blast. It wasn’t ingenuity on his part that freed his hands, but more Shaw’s smug certainty that Steven wouldn’t survive. His wrists hadn’t been bound tight enough to begin with and he’d worked feverishly at them whenever Shaw wasn’t looking.
Steven barely escaped the explosion that brought down the walls of the mine. He’d made a dash toward the interior of the mine once he’d freed his legs of their bindings. The explosion had thrown him at least the length of his body, but he rose from the ground, unscathed for the most part.
Now, as he stood in the tunnel, darkness engulfed him. He coughed violently, his lungs filling with the soot enveloping the air. Layers of dust floated down, covering his clothes like winter’s first snow. Steven caught his breath momentarily and then another wave of heavy coughing erupted.
Shaw may have been right. Maybe he’d never survive this. He didn’t see how he could find his way out of the rubble, but sheer doggedness on his part wouldn’t let him give up hope.
Once the dust settled and his coughing ebbed, he worked his way with arms stretched out, walking as a blind man would, toward the front of the mine. A glimmer appeared, the tiniest ray of moonlight acted as a beacon as his eyes made their quick adjustments.
The plug of rock that shored up the face of the mine wasn’t complete. Steven sent up a prayer of thanks. “Hallelujah.” And he thought of Glory and the faith she was certain she had lost. If she could see this, the slightest crevice opening to the right side, perhaps only a mouse could manage, her faith would be renewed instantly. Steven saw the light reaching in from the other side. He’d have to work swiftly, but with utmost care so as not to disturb the pattern of tiered rock that fit together like a large intricate puzzle, to create space enough for him to slither through.
He worked carefully as he calculated which rock to pull and when. It seemed a dauntingly slow task, when his mind and heart raced to get home to Glory. Not soon enough, the gap had been dug and Steven hoisted himself up, snaking his way through to the other side.
Fresh crisp air nearly choked Steven’s lungs. But after a time, his breathing regulated again and he headed out on foot toward town. As much as he’d like to reach the ranch, he would never make it on foot. Again, he cursed his bad decision to favor Black Cloud tonight. Fancy would’ve been the wiser choice. She wouldn’t have spooked so easily, alerting Shaw to his whereabouts. And she might very well have been waiting outside the mine for him, once he managed his escape.
Steven walked fast, the climb up the hill to the city arduous, but he didn’t allow the steep incline to slow his steps. When a wagon pulled up, he hopped on, grateful to the drunken miner making his way back to town. Didn’t take but a moment to convince the miner to turn over the reins. Steven commandeered the wagon and drove the team hard and fast. They made it to C Street quickly and Steven jumped down, a swift thank you on his lips.
Once Steven entered Rainbow House, he barked rapid orders in succession, bringing the women out from their rooms to greet him in the main parlor.
“Marcus, saddle up a horse for me and bring me a rifle. Mother and Ruby, alert the sheriff that Boone Shaw’s killer is at my ranch. He’s after Glory and I’m heading out to stop him. Emmie and Carmen, bring any medical supplies you have to the ranch tonight.”
“Steven,” Lorene’s eyes went wide. “You look worse than death. What’s happened? And who needs doctoring?”
“Ned Shaw tried to kill me and now he’s after Glory. And if I have my say, Shaw’s going to need doctoring if he lays one hand on her. There’s no time to explain.”
Marcus returned shortly, his ruddy face flushed, his forehead sweating. He handed him the Winchester. “Take my horse. She’s saddled up and ready, she is.”
“You go with him, Marcus,” Lorene demanded.
“Aye, ma’am. That I will. But it’ll take me a while to get a horse from the livery at this hour.”
Steven nodded. “I can’t wait. I’ve got to go.”
“Be careful, son,” Lorene said to him.
Steven couldn’t stop long
enough to assure his mother that he’d be all right. He had enough trouble assuring himself that he’d make it to the ranch in time to save Glory. The hell of it was, too much time had passed already. Shaw might already have reached the ranch…and Glory.
Emmie and Carmen had gathered the supplies. “We’ll take the buggy and be there as soon as we can.”
Steven left them all to their tasks and rode off into the night, praying he wasn’t too late. He’d already had his share of lucky breaks today. Could he possibly hold out for one more?
Steven rode his horse hard, his nerves raw. Each time he reached a landmark, the sugar pines just outside of town, a meadow of poppies yet to bloom or every bend in the road he’d banked in his memory, he became more alert, more anxious. Minutes seemed to stretch into hours and finally, he reached his property.
Steven thought to sneak up on his ranch house, but decided he didn’t have the luxury of time. Instead, he pushed forward and reined in his horse once he’d reached the front of his house.
He dismounted and lifted the rifle, certain that Shaw had already found Glory. Black Cloud was tethered outside and had been ridden hard.
Hidden by darkness, Steven peered into the parlor window, seeing only shadows dancing across the walls. Someone was in the bedroom. His mind shut down, refusing distressing thoughts to filter in. He entered the house carefully by the front door, noting that Buddy, the watchdog, slept on the sofa. His luck was holding. If the dog started yapping, he’d lose the element of surprise. Moving through the shadows he managed to make his way farther inside the room.
And then he saw Glory.
With her back to him, there was no mistaking that she was half-naked, wearing nothing more than a slip of material.
And he heard Shaw’s menacing voice telling Glory to get on the bed.
Steven didn’t hesitate. He couldn’t imagine Shaw touching Glory, not even for a second. He burst through the opened doorway, rifle drawn and ready to fire. “You move and you’re a dead man.”
Steven didn’t know who had been the most shocked. Shaw’s jaw dropped just as his hands lifted up in surrender. Glory’s face beamed with both surprise and amazement. And Steven, well, he couldn’t believe Glory held Shaw at gunpoint. The woman pointed the army revolver at her assailant with vigilance and only when he’d come bursting into the room had her hand wavered from the target slightly.
Steven kept his rifle trained on Shaw, but walked over to stand beside Glory, making a quick assessment of her well-being out of the corner of his eye. “You okay, Glory?”
“Oh, Steven,” she breathed, “he told me you were dead.”
“He tried his damnedest. I’m not that easy to kill, I suppose.”
“Thank the Lord for that,” Glory said, casting him a shaky smile.
“There’s enough gold and silver in that claim for all of us,” Shaw declared.
Steven focused his full attention on Shaw. “Not enough in the entire Comstock Lode as far as I’m concerned. You’re going to jail. The sheriff is on his way. Get a rope, Glory. I’ll tie him up while he writes out a confession.”
“I’m not confessing to nothing.”
“I’m an eyewitness to Boone’s death,” Glory said. “And I remember now how you tried to kill me.”
Steven knew then that Glory’s memory had returned. The horror he’d tried to shelter her from had come back. He’d seen it by the stark look on her face, the trembling of her body.
“Get that rope, Glory. Confession or not, he’s going away for a long time.”
Within minutes, Shaw had been tied up, Glory had gotten dressed and the sheriff had arrived with Marcus.
“He’s all yours, Roy,” Steven said, leading the sheriff into the bedroom. “He killed Boone Shaw, and after beating Glory, left her to die in that fire, framing her for the murder. He tried his hand at killing me tonight, too.”
Sheriff Brimley nodded, taking his prisoner out. Marcus heaved Shaw up onto a horse, belly down. But Brimley left his prisoner with Marcus to return to the house.
“I’d like a word with you, privately.”
Steven glanced at Glory. She nodded, letting him know she was all right. He hated leaving her for a second, but knew that soon, he’d have to give her up for a lifetime.
“Out by the barn,” Steven said and the two strode in that direction.
“I know what this is about, Roy,” Steven said as he stopped up short of the barn door.
Roy Brimley took his hat off to scratch his head. “You had her all along, didn’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Even though you knew she was wanted for questioning. Now, that’s a real obstruction of justice, Steven. Don’t know as to how I can overlook it.”
“Arrest me if you will, but I’d do it all the same if I had to.”
Roy’s graying brows lifted. “That so?”
Steven nodded. “She was beaten so badly at first, then she couldn’t recall anything. Ned had it rigged to make it look like she killed her husband. What kind of chance would she have had if I turned her in? She appeared guilty…even to me. But Roy, if you’d seen the brutality she suffered, you’d have done the same thing. Turns out, Ned was the one who’d beaten her. She’s as innocent as a young foal.”
Roy’s mouth twisted. “I have a duty to see justice done.”
“This is justice. The killer’s been caught and an innocent woman has been set free.”
“You duped me.”
“Not intentionally. I was protecting Glory, is all.”
The sheriff narrowed his eyes. “Hmmm. You going to marry her?”
Steven’s heart lurched. If only things had been different between them. But Glory had a new life to live. Making a fresh start was what she seemed to want. He’d gotten the clear message that she thought marrying him would be a mistake. “I believe the lady has other plans.”
Sheriff Brimley jammed his hat back on his head. “You did a good thing for her, even though you should have trusted in the law. And I suppose losing a woman like Gloria Mae is punishment enough.” There was nothing but regret in his tone. “I’m letting you go, but I’m not happy about it. Not one bit.”
Steven gave the sheriff a slow nod, his admiration for the lawman growing. “I appreciate it.”
Steven’s luck was holding. Glory was safe, they were both alive and he wouldn’t be arrested for hiding her. He bid farewell to the sheriff, thanked Marcus for his help and watched the wagon make its way down the road, carting Ned Shaw off to jail.
Steven entered the house, took one look at a clearly shaken Glory and immediately took her into his arms. He held her tight, breathing in her scent, nuzzling his face in her silky hair. “It’s over now, sweetheart.”
“I can’t believe I’m really free.”
“Believe it,” Steven said, keeping regret from his tone. Glory had stayed with him only a short time because she’d been hiding out from both Shaw and the law. The danger had passed. He had no claim on her any longer. That realization ate at him fiercely.
“Thank you, Steven. For all you’ve done for me.” She stepped back for a moment to look him over. Her light-blue gaze traveled over the length of him and once satisfied that aside from a few cuts and bruises, Steven had escaped the ordeal unscathed, Glory whispered softly, “You almost died tonight, because of me. I’ll never be able to repay you.”
“There’s no—”
The door burst open just then and Carmen and Emmie appeared. They rushed into the house to greet them.
“You’re all right,” Emmie said, her voice jubilant. “We ran into the sheriff on the road. He told us how Glory caught Shaw, pointed a gun right at the scoundrel’s heart.”
Glory embraced her friends. “Oh, it’s good to see you!”
“We did not know what to think,” Carmen began, after they’d all hugged sufficiently, “when Steven showed up at Rainbow House. We feared the worst. Thank God, He heard my prayers. You are both safe.”
“Yes, yes. We are b
oth safe,” Glory agreed, tears of joy spilling down her face. “Steven saved my life.”
Steven smiled, though his gut was in turmoil. He knew his time with Glory was limited. “Glory had everything under control. She held on, capturing Shaw all on her own.”
“I did, didn’t I?” She asked, as though just making that realization. “He told me he’d killed Steven.”
A look of pain marred her face. She cast him the smallest of smiles. “I’m so glad you’re alive, Steven. My life wouldn’t be worth much if I’d caused your death.” She peered at the girls again. “That’s when I came up with the plan. I, um, had to get Ned into the bedroom.”
“You mean you coaxed him into the bedroom?” Emmie asked, her eyes taking on a bright light.
“Perhaps she has learned something from the Rainbow girls after all, no?”
Carmen’s comment put a scowl on Steven’s face. The reason for Glory’s state of undress had become clear. She’d been the one to initiate the false seduction.
Glory glanced at him with trepidation. “Um, yes. I—that’s where the gun was hidden. Under the mattress.”
“You shouldn’t have taken such a chance,” Steven admonished, his hands balling up into two fists. Glory had gone to extreme means to catch Shaw, but if he had gotten even the slightest jump on her, her fate would have been much different.
“I didn’t have much choice. But I would have died first, before letting that man touch me.”
Steven winced at both the thought of Glory dying and the thought of Shaw… “I would have killed him myself.” He spoke softly, but with deadly intent.
Carmen and Emmie glanced at each other and decided at that moment to make a swift departure. “Well, we’re glad you’re both unharmed. But we have to report back to Lorene. Steven, I’m sure your mother is sick with worry,” Emmie said.
Both women hugged Glory once again and he walked them out. “Thank you for coming. Glad we didn’t need those medical supplies.”
“Si, we are also glad. Glory will stay with you now, no?” Carmen asked.
The Courting of Widow Shaw Page 22