Healing the Hooligan (Cowboys and Angels Book 18)

by Sara Jolene

  The smile that slowly formed on her face warmed his body in a different way than their kiss had. Happiness, pure and complete, filled him as he pulled her in for a tight hug and lifted her off the ground, twirling her around as she nodded and said, “Yes,” softly but excitedly.

  Chapter Ten

  Dutch hadn’t interrupted Ab’s meeting the night before. He wasn’t sure what they were up to and had wanted time to think. He’d not planned to ask Rachel to be his wife that morning, though he’d thought about having a life with her in every quiet and still moment he’d had since that day he’d opened his eyes in the clinic.

  He couldn’t remember ever being happier. He rode at a good clip, letting the quiet of the woods clear his mind. “Any chance we could go faster? I was always afraid of riding. Now I’ve found that I enjoy it very much.”

  Dutch shook his head. “No. I’m still trying to work some things out.”

  “I see you’ve worked one big thing out. Congratulations.”

  Dutch couldn’t help the smile he felt growing on his face. He’d never been happier. Or if he had, he didn’t remember, which in his mind affirmed that he hadn’t. He’d remember feeling like this. “Thank you,” he said with a short nod.

  Asking Rachel to be his wife had been the first thing he’d done that he actually felt completely good about since he’d let Reverend Bing know about the plan to kidnap his wife. He did have one piece of unfinished business though, which was why he was riding back up the mountain.

  “You’re going to be alright, boy.” Dutch stopped the horse as they neared the crest of the hill. He’d hopped down from the saddle and was standing face to face with his former partner in crime.

  “Maybe. If I come out of this alive.” He laughed but it wasn’t genuine. He really was nervous. He’d never been nervous before.

  “You’ll need to find a new position somewhere in town.”

  Dutch looked at his friend curiously.

  Holden lifted his eyebrows. “Security for the mines? You and I both know that isn’t what this is.” The man pointed at Dutch’s stomach. “That feeling you’re feeling. The pit in your gut. The shakiness. The nerves. None of those things go well with your line of work.”

  Dutch shook his head. “I’m fine.”

  Holden shook his in return and then nodded. “Just remember that I had that pit in my stomach once too. It churned and churned, getting deeper and deeper until one day I woke and knew that the only way to fill it was to get out. It was that day that sealed my fate, Freddie, and today has sealed yours.” Dutch wasn’t sure how to feel when his friend grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a shake. “Don’t be foolish. Don’t be like me and think you can fill a hole on one side while someone is shoveling it out on the other. It’ll get you killed.” He let him go. “And me fired.”

  Dutch had known that something was off with Holden for a while before his death. Pistol Pete had known it too. They’d started assigning Dutch to run with other members, had Holden doing jobs on his own. Petty things too. Simple. Things that could easily get a man picked up. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Thought that was the way of it. But he knew better now. What he didn’t know was what to do with himself if he left that life. Being a hooligan, a gangster, was all he’d ever known. Granted he’d been lucky enough to end up with a mentor that had a conscience and had helped him to learn to work with his rather than silence it the same way men like Wade and Ab had. Holden had wanted Dutch to be different.

  “And so you are, son.”

  Dutch looked back at his mentor, found his eyes, and said a silent thank you to the man that had raised him.

  “Stay safe. Get home to that girl, and do not get me fired.”

  Dutch nodded and Holden disappeared. He didn’t even wait for Dutch to avert his eyes, he just vanished right before him. He’d never done that before. It had always been more mysterious. Holden was getting sloppy. Dutch shook his head.

  He continued to shake it so that he could clear his thoughts. He couldn’t be thinking about himself or about Rachel. He needed to do this. Get it done and be able to cleanly walk away. He climbed to the top of the hill.

  Dutch was met by Ab and Wade at the shack. Repeatedly telling himself that he couldn’t hit Wade was necessary, and even then, his fist seemed to have a mind of its own. Even as he stood there knowing it had to be done, he still had to talk himself through it. His conscience was assaulting him, but he knew that it had to be this way.

  “Ab.” He looked at his friend before turning to the other man. “Wade.” He offered the greeting through clenched teeth. Both nodded. “I’m out,” he said simply as he dropped a bag before their feet.

  Dutch watched Ab closely. His expression didn’t change. He eventually looked down at the bag and bent down to pick it up. Out of the corner of his eye, Dutch saw Wade crouch to pounce, and Dutch turned and flew at him, arms outstretched.

  Dutch tackled Wade to the ground, and they started to tumble. Rolling in the dirt, the two men knocked the other against the pile of rubble from the shack. Dutch lifted a tightened fist and pulled back his arm, letting it fly forward and connect squarely with Wade’s jaw. The crack echoed against the rock, and Wade went limp beneath him.

  Dutch rolled over, breathing heavily, and stared at the sky. It was a clear blue sky. No clouds. No birds. Just vast open blue. He closed his eyes and let out a breath.

  Dutch sat up slowly. He looked over to where Ab was brushing himself of the ashes and burnt bits of wood. “We’ve got to go.”

  Ab didn’t say much. He never did. He picked up the bag Dutch had given him and swung it over his shoulder, then tipped his head toward the path. Dutch shook his head. “You have to go the other way.” He pointed to the other, less-taken path. The one that didn’t lead to town but to the outskirts, onto land that usually only cattle roamed.

  Dutch knew that KC and possibly the Marshal would be coming up the other path any moment. “Go!”

  Ab hesitated for only a second longer before he hustled toward the other path. Dutch pushed himself off the ground and cut him off. He held a hand to Ab’s chest. Dutch had spent the majority of his life alongside the line of right and wrong. He’d never really understood why until he ended up in his current situation. Being on one side or the other could have and would no doubt have gotten him killed, but thanks to his mentor, he’d become a special kind of hooligan. He had a heart and he knew how to keep it beating. “No more kidnappings, and that bag…that bag means I’m out. I’m silent, but I’m out.”

  The grizzly man locked eyes with Dutch, and when he didn’t wavier, Ab nodded. Short and fast, but it was all Dutch needed. He dropped his hand and watched as Ab disappeared over the side of the cliff.

  It was completely silent on the top of that mountain. So quiet that Dutch could hear his own heart beating in his ears. He breathed slowly and turned back to where he’d left Wade in a lump on the ground. It was about time. The people of Creede would be thankful. Everyone knew that Wade had been working for Archie. That he was the one behind the kidnappings and a host of other crimes. Dutch knew that it had been Wade that had lit the fuse that ignited the blast that had almost killed him. He hadn’t known it until he’d been hiding behind the line of trees watching Wade and Ab interact with Jack Apple and his associate, though. He’d suspected, but then he’d gotten proof.

  “Dutch?”

  Dutch turned toward the voice, surprised that he’d not heard anyone come up the path. KC was there at the top of the path taking in the entire scene: Dutch, covered in dirt and bloodied, not more than a few feet from where Wade, still not recovered from his injuries from the blast, was lying sprawled on his back, passed out.

  “I suppose I’m not going to get many details?” KC asked as he pulled a length of rope from his belt and moved toward Wade.

  Dutch shook his head. “You have someone to lock up. That’s what you needed. Wade is wanted in this town, and the folks will be happy you’ve found him. They’ll sleep
better at night.”

  KC nodded as he crouched down and brought Wade’s hands together. He started to wrap them with the rope. “But he’s not the only outlaw here.”

  Dutch walked over and offered KC a hand. He nodded. “No, he’s not, but he’s the only one you need. Sometimes you have to fight evil with a different kind of evil, Marshal.”

  KC stood and put his hands on his hips. “What will you do now?”

  Dutch looked out over the cliff. He hadn’t figured that out. What kind of work was out there for a man like him? A man that had been raised as a thief, an outlaw, but brought up to have a conscience as well. He realized the night before as he lay on his cot at the boarding house contemplating the likelihood of his plan, that though Holden had taught him how to retain his conscience, that he’d been not allowing himself to feel anything fully. It had been the way he’d learned to survive. But then he’d met Rachel and feelings devoured him. They ate away at the wall that he’d built between the lines of right and wrong, the one that kept him on the fringes of both. He’d lain there that night knowing he now had to pick a side, and once he did, he’d never be able to go back.

  He’d decided that morning when Rachel’s arms had wrapped around him and her lips had touched his. He’d been healed, saved in that moment. Pushed off the wall and landed firmly on the side of right. He inhaled as he looked out over the valley he now considered home. “I’m not sure, Marshal.” He turned back to the man just as he was trying to lift a still sleeping Wade into a sitting position.

  Dutch rushed over and helped him. Together they lifted the bandit and carried him to where KC draped him over the side of his horse. Both huffing and puffing, KC gave Dutch one last look from head to toe. He smiled. “I have a badge for you if you ever want it.”

  Dutch rode down the mountain from the mine and through town and then up the hill to the house where he knew Nessa would be. He found her right where he expected, on the porch. He hitched his horse and slid into the rocker beside her. “You should go to New York.”

  Nessa squealed. It was a sound he’d never heard her make. He covered his ears with his hands as she jumped up and bent down to hug him. She stood and lost all sense of decorum. Dutch laughed. “What would Genevieve think if she could see you squealing and jumping?”

  Nessa laughed. “She’d say nothing if she knew it was all because I was coming home.” But he could see that his comment had dampened her excitement enough that she swatted at him and sat back down.

  “You’re going to have to be careful. Take the train. Talk to no one. Get to the house as fast as possible.”

  Nessa looked worried. Her eyes were bright and excited, but there was fear there. “Is Lillian there?”

  Dutch shook his head. “I don’t know. But I do know that you’ll have one, maybe two days before word gets around that you’re back.” He locked eyes with his old friend and held them. “They’re not going to let you just come back, Ness. You have to be careful. You must protect yourself.”

  “How?”

  Dutch wasn’t sure. Holden hadn’t given him a ton of information, but he’d said there was a plan somewhere. And where was he now? He normally showed up when he needed things. He needed him now. “Check the study.”

  Nessa shook her head. “Kara searched it. She took everything before we left.”

  Dutch held Nessa’s eyes with his own. He thought hard, trying to force her to realize, “She missed something.”

  Nessa let out tiny gasps of air. Dutch could hear them, but he didn’t move his eyes from her face. “How…?” she asked.

  He shook his head, glad that she’d finally understood. He wished he had more answers for her. “You’ll figure it out, but until you do, stay out of sight.” Dutch dropped his gaze and stood from the chair. He walked straight to his horse. “Can you wait a week to leave?” He turned back to her.

  Nessa was smiling. “Only for a really good reason.”

  “Is a wedding a good enough reason?”

  Nessa laughed and ran to him. She hugged him. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

  Epilogue

  Dutch wouldn’t let go of her hand. He couldn’t. He had this deep sense that if he let her out of his sight or he wasn’t touching her that she’d disappear. He couldn’t let that happen. He pulled her close and brought her against him so he could kiss her. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, Mrs. Holan,” and traced his lips down her jaw before bringing them down on her mouth.

  Lost in their kiss, he thought about the path that had brought them there. He’d come to Creede to fetch the Dobbs sisters and return them to New York to face their fate. He’d stayed and managed to rile up the underworld before turning it on its head and hopefully settling it back down. He’d almost been blown to pieces but ended up with the best part of his life because of that blast. He tightened his hold on his wife’s back, moving his one hand from the arch of her back to between her shoulders.

  He remembered clearly the moment she’d agreed to marry him as well as the moment they’d told her father. Dutch had thought for a moment the man was going to jump from his chair and pin him to the wall, but he hadn’t. He’d ranted and then relented. After a few days, he told Rachel that she and Dutch could have the cabin after they were married. He’d decided to do some traveling work for Aedan, nothing too far, mostly Topaz, Durango, and Denver. He thought it would give the couple a chance to spend time together without anyone in their business.

  Dutch and Rachel had been grateful as well as sad, but her father had assured her that she’d still see him all the time. He’d only be gone a few days in a row and then back for a few days. He’d work in town and out so that he wasn’t in the way.

  John Henry had been thrilled when Rachel told him that Dutch had accepted an offer from KC to become a deputy Marshal. Neither were sure how long they’d be able to stay in Creede, but it was reassuring to her father nonetheless.

  Dutch moved his lips from his wife’s, and after catching his breath, “I’ll be right back, love.”

  They were at the train station. Nessa had waited exactly one hour after the wedding to leave for New York, so they were all standing on the platform in their finest. Nessa and Beth said their goodbyes, and Byron gave her the information she’d need to contact his family in New York. Dutch silently hoped that her connection to them might be helpful to her once the Whyos caught up to her. Which was sure to happen.

  Nessa offered a short but sweet farewell to her brother-in-law before the tears started to fall when she looked at her sister. Dutch knew better than anyone that the sisters had never been apart. Not since their mother died had they ever gone different ways. They were always together. Dutch sighed and, still clinging to her hand, pulled Rachel with him toward his friends.

  “This isn’t forever. I’ll be back,” Nessa assured her sister as the two hugged each other tightly.

  Kara nodded against her sister’s shoulder. “And who knows, maybe Aedan and I will visit you in New York.”

  “Yes. See, exactly.” Nessa stepped back from her sister. “Thank you for supporting me doing this.”

  Kara nodded and leaned forward. She kissed Nessa on the cheek and whispered something in her ear before she turned and fell into her husband’s arms. Aedan held her as the two walked away.

  The whistle blew, piercing the moment. Nessa turned to Rachel. “Take care of him.”

  Rachel squeezed his hand. “I promise.”

  Nessa nodded. She stepped toward him and hugged him. “Thank you, brother.”

  Dutch laughed. “Be safe, sister.”

  Nessa moved to the steps and took two of them before she turned to wave. Dutch watched and pulled Rachel closer to him. He had hope Nessa was doing the right thing. If she cared for Henry even half as much as he cared for Rachel, then she was. He just hoped she’d find him before the Whyos found her. A lump formed in his throat, and he let go of Rachel’s hand, quickly taking a few huge steps so that Nessa could hear him as she was now up the steps and
headed down the isle of the train car to find a seat. “Trust no one, Ness!”

  She didn’t turn. He called out again, “Nessa!” That time she turned. She smiled. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled once more, “Trust no one, Ness!”

  Relief washed over him as she gave him a short nod and turned back to finding a seat. Rachel came up behind him and touched his back. “Alright?”

  He reached back and wrapped an arm around her waist. He nodded. “Let’s go home.”

  Anxious for Nessa’s Story? … Read on for a Sneak Peek

  Introduction

  ***COMING MAY 30th***

  PRE-ORDER it NOW

  Nessa, Derelicts and Debutantes Book 1

  Read on for a Sneak Peek

  Nessa Dobbs is done running. After her father’s untimely death, Nessa and her sister Kara fled New York City for Creede, Colorado, where the change in scenery left more of an impact on Nessa than she ever could have imagined. Quickly realizing that the privileged life she once led as a debutante wasn’t all she’d once thought it to be, Nessa finds that the things that are most important to her in life are ones you can’t buy. Spurred by watching a close friend find their soul mate, Nessa has boarded a train and is headed back to New York to reclaim all that she left behind, including the man she loves.

  Heartbroken after the love of his life disappeared; Henry Collins is moving on. He has found a new position working for one of the most influential families in New York City doing the only thing he’s ever wanted to do, taking care of horses, but all that is about to change. When the one person he never thought he’d see again, returns, Henry gets the shock of his life. One that makes him question everything he’s ever wanted.