Doc had seen one of the brothers escort Mary into the woods. He assumed it was to answer the call of nature, but when they didn’t come back and another brother disappeared into the woods, he started to worry.
He cocked his rifle and placed the sights on Travis. He was close enough to hit him if he had to, so he sat back and waited. Minutes ticked by and still there was no sign of Mary. “What is happening and where did she go?” He mumbled to himself as he thought of several scenarios, but when he landed on one in particular, his blood chilled. What if they’d taken Mary out into the woods to—the thought was too horrifying to finish.
He heard one of the brothers call out from the forest, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying. Apparently, it was a call for help because Travis went running. Certain Mary was in trouble, he wasn’t waiting a minute longer. He needed to get down there.
But, just as he rose to go, he saw a welcomed sight. Mary must have been able to escape from the two brothers and that’s why they had called for Travis to come help find her. He caught a glimpse of Mary’s red hair at the edge of the forest near where the horses were tied. Relief flooded as he watched her creep along the tree line and reach her horse, but his blood turned to ice when he saw Travis running from where he’d disappeared and grabbed Mary by the hair and throwing her down on the ground pushing his gun in her face. He had to act quick or Mary was going to die.
He reclaimed his perch on the hill and sighted his rifle in again. Travis was in his cross-hairs and he put his finger on the trigger to squeeze off a shot, but before he could, Travis hit Mary across the face and she slumped to the ground no longer fighting.
“Damn it.” As much as he wanted to rush down to check on Mary, now was his opportunity to take Travis out. With Mary unconscious on the ground, there would be no chance for her to be caught in his line of fire. The last thing he wanted was the possibility he could accidentally hit Mary trying to hit Travis.
He pushed his rage down and forced himself to breath. He couldn’t afford to miss with the first shot and give Travis a chance to kill Mary where she lay. The metal of the gun felt cold and hard in his hands and against his cheek when he pressed his eye along the line of the scope. He placed the intersecting point of the cross hair of his scope on Travis’ chest and his finger on the trigger. Slow and steady, he gently squeezed the trigger so not to jerk his shot and take a change on missing his target. Bit by bit, he squeezed until he felt the trigger reach the point of no return—and then his target disappeared.
He pulled his rifle up short and searched for Travis. He hadn’t gone far. He was straddling Mary’s unconscious body ripping away at her clothing. Doc didn’t have a chance to hit him now because he was half hidden by tree trunks and horses.
Out of time, he raced to where he’d tied Jasper and mounted while the horse was running toward the road. Just as he got to the road, Liam and Miles came racing toward him. There was no time to stop and explain. He motioned them to follow and never slowed his horse.
The campsite was about three hundred yards from his perch on the hill and he and Jasper made quick work of the distance. He threw his rifle to the ground and pulled his pistol. He was ready to kill Travis Swindell for what he was doing to do to Mary, but when he cleared the bushes and rode into the camp, the sight that greeted him stopped his heart cold. “Mary,” he whispered.
Liam and Miles were right behind him and they stopped as hard as he had when they saw Mary lying on the ground in a pool of blood and Travis lying on top of her. The bastard had killed her. The sorry no-good bastard had taken the one person he could finally loved. Mary.
He heard Liam choke back his own grief at the sight of his long-lost sister now lost to him once more, only this time, there would be no chance of her returning from the dead.
His pistol drawn, he slowly dismounted and shuffled his way to the gruesome sight. Blood covered the ground surrounding the two bodies. It was a sight he’d never forget as long as he lived. “Get up, Travis. Get up before I shoot you in the back.” Only his grief was greater than his rage.
But Travis didn’t answer. He didn’t move. Doc moved closer and realized Travis was dead too. What had happened between the time he’d seen Travis attacking Mary, and—
“Mary,” he whispered in agony. He was close enough to see her blue eyes staring up at him. Those beautiful blue eyes…he moved a little closer dreading this moment. It was as if her blue eyes were…following his movements, but that wasn’t possible—but then, they blinked. He fell to his knees beside her. “Mary?”
“Will you please get him off of me. I can’t breathe.” She huffed struggling for air.
“Mary!” He pushed Travis’s dead body off Mary. It was then he saw Mary’s knife sticking out of his chest. “So, it wasn’t…this isn’t your blood. It’s his.” Doc was weak with relief and he pulled Mary to him hugging her so tight, she begged for mercy.
“I can’t breathe again, Doc.”
He pulled away, staring at her as if he couldn’t believe his eyes, but when she smiled, he kissed her lips, her nose, her eyes, her cheeks, and then he refocused his attention on her lips again. This time, his lips lingered and he put all of his love for this woman behind them.
“Mary, you gave me—us all quite a scare.” Liam spoke from behind him. Doc pulled back to give her a chance to catch her breath.
“I know. I’m sorry. I thought after I overheard—I thought it would be best if I went back to the Utes before anyone tried to stop me, but just as I rode out of the stables—”
“Yeah, Doc found out from Levi what happened.”
“Yeah, when Levi told me you rode off with the Swindell brothers, I couldn’t believe it. I rode like hell trying to save you, but in the end, you didn’t need me to save you, did you?”
Mary put her arms around him and hugged him close and whispered in his ear. “We saved each other, Jonathan Carter Fitzgerald, III, or should I call you N amp-par-way Katz-tin-qeer?”
“You can call me anything you want, June Bug.”
Liam kneeled down beside him and Mary and took his sister’s hand.
“Mary, I’m sorry about what you overheard. It wasn’t what it sounded like. There was never any deal and Doc made it clear he wouldn’t even consider pretending to care for you to get you stay. He’s not that kind of man.”
Mary squeezed Liam’s hand in understanding and then placed both of her hands on each side of his face to make him look at her. “I know what kind of man he is. The kind of man I want to spend the rest of my life with…if he’s willing to love someone like me.”
Doc couldn’t believe the turn his life had taken. He pulled Mary into his arms and hugged her close. “I’ve been looking for you since the day I was born. I’m just sorry it took me this long to find you.”
Epilogue
Three years later—
Somewhere in the San Juan Mountains
Mary sat next to her husband and watched her Ute parents play with their two-year-old son. She and Doc had spent the last two months gathering and documenting herbs and roots for the book he was planning to write. They would head back to Creede in the morning.
She sat down on the ground next to her husband and kissed his neck. “How are you coming along? Is there anything I can do?” She leaned against him and peeked at the notebook in his lap.
“I’m just about done with this, but there is something you could do if you wanted to.”
She looked at her handsome husband and kissed him. “Anything. Name it.”
“Well, as soon as we get back to Creede, Hiram has arranged for a meeting with a publisher he knows. He wants to help me get this book published.”
Mary could see the joy on her husband’s face. “That’s wonderful, darling. I’m thrilled for you. You’ve worked so hard for this day.”
He turned and gazed lovingly at her. “We have worked hard, Mary. You were with me every step of the way on this book. You deserve all the accolades right alongside me.”
&nb
sp; “It was easy. Now that we spend part of the year in Creede and part of the year here with the Utes, we have access to all the goodness of both worlds. How did we get so blessed, my dear handsome husband?”
She watched her husband turn and watch their son laughing as he played with the other Ute children under the watchful eye of Ute women. “Only the Great Father knows the answer to that question, but there is no doubt about it, we have both been truly blessed.”
Mary followed his gaze. “Yes, our son will be raised in both worlds and perhaps one day he will be the one who will unite our people.” She turned to kiss her husband again. “Now, what was it you wanted me to do for you?” She asked.
“Well, since we leave tomorrow for Creede, and our son is happily occupied, I thought we could disappear to our favorite spot down by the stream and make good use of our time.”
She grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”
He jumped up and stuffed his books into his leather satchel. Then he pulled her to her feet and kissed her with all the love she knew he held in his heart for her.
“Come on, June Bug. Daylights burnin’”
Afterword
If you are wondering whatever happened to Charlotte and her troubles with the law, follow her on her journey as she runs from the law while trying to get the justice she was denied.
Join Charlotte as she tries to avoid the law and instead runs straight into the arms of the handsome Texas Ranger, Jeremy Maxwell, former Lieutenant in the United States Army, and the best friend of Captain William Bennett, the love of Abigail Whittaker from Book 12 of the Angel Creek Christmas Brides.
Coming in 2021
More books in the series…
To read more about the residents of Creede, Colorado, look for these other books in
The Brides of the Rio Grande Series
Grace-Book One – Available now on Amazon
Faith-Book Two – Available now on Amazon
Hope-Book Three – Available now on Amazon
Charity-Book Four – Available now on Amazon
Mary-Book Five - Available now on Amazon
Aggie-Book Six - Available now on Amazon
Olivia’s Obligation - Available now on Amazon
Peggy McKenzie & Friends
BRIDES OF THE RIO GRANDE
Grace – Book One
Faith – Book Two
Hope – Book Three
Charity – Book Four
Mary – Book Five (Feb 2020)
Aggie – Book Six (March 2020)
The ALPHABET MAIL-ORDER BRIDES
Olivia’s Obligation-Peggy McKenzie-Book 15
And Twenty-Four other authors
Available at Amazon.com
LANGLEY’S LEGACY SERIES
Finn’s Fortune – Book One – Kathleen Ball
Patrick’s Proposal – Book Two – Hildie McQueen
Donovan’s Deceit – Book Three – Kathy Shaw
Aidan’s Arrangement – Book Four – Peggy McKenzie
Heath’s Homecoming – Book Five – Merry Farmer
Colin’s Challenge – Book Six – Sylvia McDaniel
ANGEL CREEK CHRISTMAS BRIDES SERIES
2018
Charity – Book One – Sylvia McDaniel
Julia – Book Two - Lily Graison
Ruby – Book Three – Hildie McQueen
Sarah- Book Four – Peggy McKenzie
Anna – Book Five – Everly West
2019
Caroline - Book One - Lily Graison
Melody - Book Two - Caroline Clemmons
Elizabeth - Book Three - Jo Grafford
Emma - Book Four - Peggy McKenzie
Viola - Book 5 - Cyndi Raye
Ginger - Book 6 - Sylvia McDaniel
2020
Coming October 2020 On Amazon Kindle
Angel Creek Christmas Bride Series
About the Author
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Peggy McKenzie was born and raised in Oklahoma. She has been in love with books since as far back as she can remember when her earliest memories are of her summers spent roaming the Ada Public Library. Cool marble floors and polished oak tables transformed the quiet halls into the perfect place to fuel a young girl's imagination.
Fast forward to a few decades later when a move to the romantic southwest of Colorado lit the fire to write once more. Now, she is living her dream in the beautiful mountains surrounded by Ponderosa pines in her home she shares with her husband, Jim, and their three fur babies, Augustus McCray (Gus), Miki (Mickie) and Maddie.
Please follow Peggy on her journey of writing happy endings and second chances one story at a time. She is always excited to hear from her readers. Email her at [email protected]. Visit her website for updated news and releases.
www.peggymckenzie.com
The End
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