“Same as usual,” he answered. “I’ll listen to their conversation for a little while, and then come back.”
“They haven’t said anything important yet,” she reminded him.
“I’m still checking.”
She yawned, assured him she would stay awake, and kissed him. “Be careful.”
The lure of her soft body was difficult to resist. An hour later he was thankful he’d kept to his routine, for Boyle’s men were in a talkative mood. As usual, they were also drunk. The topic was different tonight, because they weren’t railing against Boyle for making them stay out all night. The target for their resentment was Isabel. Their anger was fully directed on her. If she weren’t such a stubborn woman, she would realize how rich and powerful Boyle was and do as he ordered. Their boss wanted her to get down on her knees and beg him to marry her, and it was the unanimous opinion of the hired hands that it was only a matter of time before she did exactly that.
Douglas had heard all the complaints before, but never with such venom. Then one of the men suggested they all go along with Spear’s plan to break into Isabel’s home and take her over to Boyle’s ranch.
“Spear’s wanting to impress the boss, and he’s sure that putting the woman in his bed ought to do the trick. He thinks Boyle will give him a big bonus, and if everyone goes along with the plan, he promised to share some of the money with us.”
Two of the men were dead set against the plan. One harped on the fact that they hadn’t been paid for the last month’s work because Boyle was making them wait until he returned from the Dakotas.
It soon became apparent to Douglas that even the men who were against Spear’s plan feared him. It would be only a matter of time before they became too frightened not to agree.
Hearing what the men said about Isabel infuriated Douglas, and he was only able to control his rage by forcing himself to remember that Isabel and Parker came first. When they were safe, Boyle and his men were all going to be fair game.
God, how Douglas looked forward to it.
Time had run out. Douglas made the decision to send for his brothers, and continued on to the physician’s house.
As he expected, Simpson argued with him, but Douglas wouldn’t listen to a word he said.
“Boyle might not be back for another week or two, and that baby needs every extra hour you can give him before you uproot him and take him out into the wild. He’s too fragile to go anywhere yet.”
“Do you know what will happen if Spear comes down to the ranch? I’ll kill him, and then Boyle will come running with at least twenty men. Parker won’t have any chance at all if a war starts. You know I’m right. Send the damn telegram tomorrow.”
“God help you, son.”
* * *
In the past, Douglas had always been blunt to a fault, and when he talked to Isabel the following morning, he reverted to his old ways.
He paced in front of the hearth until she joined him. She had her sewing basket in her hands and hurried to put it on the table so she could hug him.
He told her to sit down, and still, she didn’t have any inkling of what he was about to say to her until she looked at his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re what’s wrong.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief. “No.”
“Yes,” he insisted. “I shouldn’t have taken you to bed last night, and I want you to try to understand. I took advantage of you, and that was wrong. For God’s sake, don’t shake your head at me. You know I’m right. I could have gotten you pregnant, Isabel. It can’t happen again.”
She was stunned by his cruel words and the anger in his voice. “I won’t understand,” she cried out. “Why are you saying these things to me? Don’t you realize how much you’re hurting me?”
“Please don’t make this any more difficult than it already is. I could give you a hundred reasons why it was wrong.”
“Give me one reason that makes sense.”
“You felt obligated to me.”
“Of course I felt obligated to you, but that isn’t why I wanted to make love to you. Don’t do this. What happened between us wasn’t wrong . . . It was beautiful . . . and loving . . . and . . .” She couldn’t go on. Tears gathered in her eyes as she turned away from him. Did the hours they’d shared together mean so little to him? No, she wouldn’t believe that. She couldn’t.
“Once you’ve rejoined the outside world, this interlude will—”
“Interlude?” she whispered. “For the love of God, will you stop being so practical all the time and listen to your heart?”
“Stop being practical? Damn it, woman, if I’d been practical, I would have gotten you and Parker the hell out of here a long time ago, and I would have kept my hands off of you.”
“I wouldn’t have left. It would have been dangerous for my son. It was prudent to stay, and last night I wanted you as much as you wanted me.”
She ran to him and tried to put her arms around him. He pulled back and shook his head.
“Will you try to understand? We were thrown together by circumstances beyond our control. You were desperate, and so thankful for my help you’ve mistaken gratitude for love. It’s a bad foundation for a lasting commitment, and with time and distance, you’ll realize I’m right. You must go forward with your son, Isabel. That’s the way it has to be.”
“Without you?”
“Yes.”
He was through discussing the matter, and she was too devastated to try to make him change his mind.
She walked toward the bedroom, praying that he would follow her and say something that would give her hope for a future with him.
He didn’t say a word. She turned back to him to plead one last time, but the words became trapped in her throat. The sight of him was as heartbreaking as his harsh words had been. He was standing in front of the hearth with his head bent, his hands braced on the mantle. The lines of his face revealed the anguish within.
He looked grief-stricken. Had he just told her good-bye?
“Douglas, does it matter that I love you?”
His silence was her answer.
Eleven
Isabel and Douglas avoided each other as much as possible for the next two days. She was lost in her thoughts about a future without him and was desperately trying to accept his decision to leave her and Parker. He, on the other hand, was considering the more practical matter of keeping them all alive until help arrived.
He still hadn’t told her about the plan he’d heard Boyle’s men discussing, nor had he told her the wire had been sent to his brothers, but, God help him, it hadn’t been for lack of trying. Each time he broached the topic, she turned away from him and walked out of the room to attend to her son.
He kept busy each day until it was dark enough for him to ride up the hills to check on Boyle’s men.
She baked. By early evening of the second day, there were four pies and two cakes on the table. She was still at it when he got ready to leave.
“Could you stop stirring that dough long enough to listen to me?”
“Of course.”
He realized it would be asking too much of her to request that she look at him. He knew how hurt she was, and he wondered if she had any idea how hard she was making this for him. He didn’t ask her, for he had no wish to get into another discussion. If she cried again, it would kill him. His mind was made up, and he was convinced that he was doing the right thing. In time, and with distance separating them, she would understand.
“If you’re not too tired by the time I get back, I think it would be a good idea for you to pack a few things to take with you when we leave.”
“I’m not too tired.”
“Bolt the door after me.”
“No one’s going to be watching the cabin tonight because of the rain.”
“I’m still going to check.”
“I love you, Douglas.” She blurted the words out before she could stop herself. “I’m trying to understan
d why you would—”
He cut her off. “You’re too upset to talk about this. When you can be more . . .”
“Practical?”
“Yes.”
She came close to throwing the biscuit dough at him. She put the bowl down on the counter before she could act on the urge and followed him to the door.
Then she waited for him to kiss her good-bye, knowing full well that he wouldn’t. As soon as the lock was latched, she burst into tears. Love wasn’t supposed to be this painful, was it? How in God’s name could she make him understand that what they had was real? Why was he throwing it away? She knew he loved her and that he believed with all his heart that he had acted dishonorably and taken advantage of her. He was wrong, but he was also a proud and stubborn man, and she didn’t know how to change his mind. With time and distance would he come to his senses, or would he continue to believe he had done the right thing by leaving?
Please, God, don’t let him leave Parker and me. Help him realize we were meant to be together.
The thought of a future without Douglas was unbearable, and within minutes she was doubled over and gasping for breath between heart-wrenching sobs.
She didn’t hear Boyle’s men until their horses came galloping into the yard. In less than a heartbeat, gunshots were fired and the cabin was riddled with bullets. The men were circling her home, shouting vile threats and obscenities at her while they continued to empty their guns.
Dear God, the baby . . . She had to get to her baby and protect him. She ran to him, frantic now to keep him safe. She was whimpering low in her throat as she lifted her son into her arms. She hunched over so that her body protected him and turned to an inside wall. A stray bullet would have to pass through her before it could get to him.
The noise was deafening. Gunshots were ricocheting off the walls, men were shouting, Parker was crying, and all she could think about was finding a safe place where she could hide her son.
There wasn’t time to comfort Parker. He needed to be safe.
SAFE . . . Dear God, help me keep him safe . . . help me . . .
The wardrobe. Yes, the wardrobe was on an inside wall. Isabel ran to it, jerked the doors open, dropped to her knees, and frantically shoved the shoes out of her way.
“Hush now, hush now,” she whispered as she reached up and ripped her thick robe off the hanger and pulled it down to cover the hard wood. She placed Parker on top, jumped back up, and pushed the doors together, leaving only a crack so that air could get inside.
Less than a minute had passed since the first gunshot was fired, but her mind was screaming at her to hurry, hurry, hurry. She ran back into the living room, doused the lights, and cocked her rifle. With her back against the wall, she slowly began to edge toward the curtains so she could look outside.
The front window suddenly exploded into a thousand fragments. Glass shattered across the room as more and more bullets pierced the walls and the floor. A candlestick bounced across the mantel, crashed to the rug, and rolled into the fireplace.
And then there was silence, and that was far more terrifying to her than the noise had been. Were they finished with their game, or were they reloading their weapons? If they were drunk, they’d get bored quickly and leave.
Please, God. Please, God. Make them leave.
She edged closer to the gaping hole that once was her window. With the tip of the rifle barrel, she lifted the shredded drape and looked out into the night.
It was as dark as death outside. Thunder rumbled in the distance as rain pelted her face and her neck. She strained to hear every little sound and waited for one of them to come toward her.
Suddenly the sky was lit up by a bolt of lightning and she saw all six of them clearly. They had formed a line in front of her door and were less than twenty feet away from her son.
Spear’s face loomed out at her, and in the gray, crackling light, his skin had taken on a ghoulish tinge, and his eyes, oh, God, his eyes, were as red as a demon’s.
She threw herself back against the wall and took a deep breath so she wouldn’t scream. She would kill him first.
A voice lashed out at her with the force of a bullwhip slicing through the stillness.
“Remember me, bitch? My name’s Spear, and I’m in charge now. I’m through waiting on you. You hear me? I’m going to count to ten, and if you don’t want me to hurt you, you’ll get outside before I’m finished.”
His voice was cold, deliberate, and filled with hate. He didn’t sound drunk, and that made him all the more dangerous. Liquor wasn’t ruling his actions; evil was.
“One . . . two . . . three . . .”
“Wait, Spear,” one of the others shouted. “Is that a baby bawling?”
“Son of a bitch,” someone yelled. “She went and had the baby.”
Douglas slowly turned the corner of the barn and moved up behind Spear. He was in such a rage now, he had to keep telling himself to take his time.
“One of us ought to go inside and take the baby. Then she’ll follow us,” the man on Spear’s left suggested with a nervous giggle. “Go and get it, Spear. I ain’t going in there and taking on that hellcat. You do it.”
“I’ll go get both of them,” his friend said. “I’m not afraid.” His boast was promptly followed by his scream. “I’ve been bit,” he cried out. “I’ve been bit up my leg.”
“What are you crying about, Benton? There aren’t any snakes out tonight. You’re just spooked, that’s all.”
Spear dismounted. “Both of you be quiet so 1 can hear the woman when she calls out.”
“You think she’s gonna invite you inside?” one of the men asked with a snicker.
Benton turned his mount and headed for the hills. Douglas could hear him sobbing as he rode away. He wondered how long it would take for the drunken fool to realize he had a knife lodged in the back of his thigh.
Spear was standing next to his mount, obviously trying to decide if he wanted to go inside or not.
Douglas hoped to God he’d try. Douglas wasn’t going to let him get near that door, and if that meant killing him, Douglas wouldn’t suffer any qualms. The bastard had terrorized an innocent mother, partially destroyed her home, and now believed he could drag her and her baby away with him. The mere thought of any of them touching Isabel or Parker sent Douglas into a black rage.
Move, Spear. Move.
Spear pulled his gun out of his holster, and that was a fatal mistake. He had taken one step toward the stoop when Douglas shot his right leg out from under him.
Damn, it felt good.
Spear didn’t think so. He screamed as he went down to his knees. He frantically staggered back to his feet, whirled around, and swung his gun up to shoot.
Douglas shot the other leg out from under him. Spear fell forward, his gun clutched in his hand, and landed face first in the mud.
“Anyone else want to limp for the rest of his life?”
The venom in Douglas’s voice, added to Spear’s screams, was enough to convince the others to give up the fight.
Spear was wiggling around in the mud like a pig trying to keep cool. He shouted to his men to kill Douglas, as he rolled to his side, lifted his head, and took aim with his gun.
Douglas shot him in the center of his forehead. One of his friends went for his gun, but his hand never reached his holster. Douglas’s next bullet cut deep into his shoulder. The man cried out and slumped forward.
“Throw your weapons on the ground,” Douglas ordered.
He waited until they’d obeyed his command before he called out to Isabel. “It’s over now. Are you and the baby all right?”
He could hear the fear in her voice when she answered him. “Yes, yes . . . we’re fine.”
A few seconds later, light from the kerosene lamp spilled out into the yard through the window.
“We’ve got friends waiting up in the hills, mister,” one of the captives boasted. “If you’ve got any sense at all, you’ll leave before they come riding down he
re and kill you.”
“I’m guessing he’s all alone,” his friend whispered.
“Guess again, jackass.”
The voice was Cole’s. Douglas was so happy to hear it he began to laugh. He didn’t have to turn around to know that his brothers were standing behind him. He hadn’t heard them approaching and would have been disappointed if he had, for any sound would mean that they had gotten lazy. Being lazy in the West would get a man killed.
“What the hell took you so long to get here?”
“I had to round up the others before we could leave,” Adam answered.
“Are you going to kill these men? You might as well since you’ve got your gun drawn and all.”
“He isn’t going to kill them, Cole.”
“Glad you could make it, Harrison,” Douglas said.
“You should let us go, mister. Benton already got away, and he’ll tell the others.”
“Lord, they’re stupid,” Adam said.
“I assume the man with the knife in his backside is Benton,” Harrison said. “Travis went after him. He figured you’d want your good knife back.”
Douglas tossed his shotgun to Cole. “Tie them up inside the barn.”
The cabin door suddenly flew open and Isabel came running outside with her rifle in her hands.
Douglas moved forward into the light. He took the rifle away from her so that she wouldn’t accidentally shoot one of his brothers. He knew she’d seen them because she’d come to an abrupt stop and was staring beyond his shoulder, but after giving each one of them a quick glance, she turned her attention to Boyle’s henchmen.
“Where is he?” she asked, her voice shaking with anger.
“Who?” Douglas asked.
“Spear. Did you kill him? Never mind. I don’t care if he’s dead or not. I’m going to shoot him anyway.”
Douglas wouldn’t let her have her rifle back. He made sure the safety was on, then threw it to Adam. “You don’t want to shoot anyone.”
“Yes, I do. I want to shoot all of them.”
She grabbed hold of his shirt and held tight. “I’m going to shoot someone, Douglas. They . . . woke . . . my . . . baby . . . and they . . .”