The Rancher's Southern Belle

by Leanne Burroughs

  She released another whoop when she retracted the instrument and the bullet remained pinched between the two sharp points.

  She sagged forward against the table. “I did it. I did it. Oh, thank you, God!”

  Tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t stop them. This time God had heard and answered her prayers. He was listening. Just as Luke and Kat kept saying.

  She walked to the new pie safe Luke had brought home for her the week before and drew out the bread she’d made the day before. Going to the stove, she poured a bit of milk from the bucket she’d gotten from Old Bossie this morning to heat it. When she thought it warm enough, she poured it over the bread she’d torn into pieces and mixed them together.

  Suddenly she rushed to the stove. “The bread!” she shouted. “I forgot about the bread I was baking.” She pulled it out and fumed, shot a glare at the leader. “It is burned. You ruined it!”

  She set it aside and walked back to the bread and milk mixture.

  “What are you doing?” the brother grumbled, walking close.

  “Trying to keep infection from setting in. I am making a bread and milk poultice. Back off so I can work.”

  She neared the pantry and prayed she still had cheese cloth. Placing some on the counter, she pushed the milk moistened bread on to the cloth and wrapped it around it before taking it over to the wounded man.

  She took another strip of cloth and dunked it in the nearby water, once again cleansing the young man’s chest of blood. Her father had repeatedly stressed the importance of cleanliness. Although not all physicians agreed on the topic yet, Maddie thought her father was on to something and fully agreed.

  Thankfully, the young man had passed out before she removed the bullet. Please don’t let me have nicked something vital while I dug around. She pressed the bread and milk poultice onto the wound, then grabbed hold of the remaining clean cloth and tore it into strips.

  “Help me wrap these around him. I need you to lift him from the table so I can bind his chest. I need to wrap it completely around him to do that.”

  Finally she finished. “There. I am done. You may take him with you now.”

  The leader laughed. “I don’t think so, missy. We do not know that he is out of the woods yet.”

  Granny Mac’s grandson and a fifth man entered the door. The leader watched them. “Is it done?”

  They nodded. “Didn’t know what hit ‘em.”

  Maddie’s eyes widened. No! The men in the bunkhouse. Please don’t let them be harmed.

  And where was Luke? Please don’t let him walk in on this. Keep him safe, Lord. I love him so much.

  She had no idea what time it was. Would he be in from the range soon? He’d headed right back out to work after finishing dinner. She had no idea how much time had passed.

  Micah glared at her, a smirk covering his face. “Told you she could get the bullet out.”

  She stared him down, refusing to cower in front of him. She’d sensed something wasn’t quite right with him. He’d been too belligerent the last two times she’d seen him. Why oh why hadn’t she said something to Luke?

  Because I am too proud, that’s why. Always want to do things myself instead of asking for help. Well, look where that had gotten her.

  Would Luke come home to find her dead body sprawled on the floor?

  She pointed toward one of the doors. “That is a small bedroom. Now that the bleeding’s stanched, and if you are really refusing to go away, you might as well move him in there. At least he will be a bit more comfortable when he awakens. I do not have anything to give him for pain though. As I said, you needed to have gone to Doc for that.”

  She pulled in her lower lip with her teeth. “I help birth babies. I don’t remove bullets.”

  Micah shot her a look. “That did not stop you from meddlin’ with Granny. I told you to back off, but no, a few days later here you show up again. Expectin’ my granny to show you how to bake biscuits. Biscuits of all things! You probably cared less about those biscuits. You just wanted to meddle in our lives.”

  “Meddle? Your grandmother is alive because I meddled! Not that you cared enough to come get me when she was so sick. Your sister did. At least she cares about your granny, who is one of the kindest, most thoughtful women I ever met. She sacrificed most of her life to protect and raise you. When is the last time you actually appreciated or thanked her? Not that you care about all she does for you. You just take, take, take. Can you imagine how she is going to feel when she hears what you have done here today?”

  He snorted a laugh. Flat out laughed in her face, obviously enjoying her discomfort. “And how is she gonna find out? You won’t be alive to tell her.”

  She quickly confronted the leader. “You said—”

  He shrugged and turned his gun on her. “Guess I lied.”

  Nearly overcome by fatigue and fear, her shoulders slumped. She moved to sit in her rocking chair. “There is nothing more for me to do. If you will excuse me, I would prefer to be a bit more comfortable until you decide it is time to end my life.”

  ~ Chapter 17 ~

  Luke and Matt headed toward the house. “Join us for supper tonight before you head back to town. Maddie probably has it about ready.”

  “Thanks,” Matt said. “Don’t mind if I do.” He kicked a stone in the dirt in front of him as he walked. “I hate we did not catch them varmints. I really thought we would find them. Couldn’t have been far behind them. But it looks like they got clean away. What am I gonna tell the people about the money? Some of them will never survive a monetary shock like this. I would hate to see people have to move away because they lost their homes.”

  Luke stopped as they approached the front yard. Put his hand out to stop Matt. “Somethin’s wrong.”

  Matt looked around. “What? I don’t see anything.”

  “Exactly. There’s nothin’. This time of day there is always noise, some activity. No Maddie singin’ at the top of her lungs while she is cookin’. No smilin’ face peerin’ out the kitchen window watchin’ for me to come home. No one from the bunkhouse stirrin’.

  “Nothin’.”

  Matt immediately went on alert. He searched the ground around them. Didn’t look pleased when he stood. Lowered his voice to talk. “Area’s been swept with a branch. Someone is here—or been here recently. I don’t like it.”

  Luke motioned him toward the bunkhouse. “Go see if some of the men can help. I’ll go inside like nothin’s wrong.”

  “Be careful, Luke. They could be inside.”

  “I know. You, too. If someone i’s here, they could be anywhere, which is exactly what I am afraid of. Right now my priority is finding Maddie.”

  Matt nodded. “Your woman is strong, Luke. She is smart. Capable. Most important, she is a fighter.” Without another word, he slipped away and hugged the shadows as he edged his way to the bunkhouse.

  His heart in his throat, Luke neared the house. Despite what he’d said about finding Maddie, he knew without doubt that she was in their house. He couldn’t shake the unease. How dangerous was the situation inside?

  How to alert Maddie he was here? He started to whistle a tune, then called out, something he never did. “Hey, Darlin’. I’m home. Be in as soon as I get these boots off. Don’t want you takin’ off my head for gettin’ mud on your rug.” He quickly checked the chamber of his revolver. Slipped his secondary in the waistband of his jeans and pulled out his shirt. He didn’t know how long he could keep that gun hidden in case they took away his revolver, but he had to try.

  With growing apprehension he opened the door, pasting a smile on his face. Inside he seethed. Some stranger stood near Maddie with a knife at her neck.

  Luke’s blood boiled with an anger he’d rarely known. Not even during the war.

  He raised his hands, as if in surrender. “Whoa! What is goin’ on?” His eyes met Maddie’s. “Maddie, love. Are you all right?”

  She tried to nod, but stopped when the knife blade nicked her
skin.

  Luke saw red! If he could tear out the man’s throat right then and there, he’d do it. Calling forth all his military training, he schooled his features to calm.

  “Howdy, Mr. Guylenhall. Fancy meetin’ you here.” Micah’s face creased into a sneer. The disheveled youth leaned negligently against one of the walls. Appeared he hadn’t bothered to shave in a few days. Lazy? Or trying to look older for those around him? “Didn’t think you’d be home fer a spell yet. Heard tell you were out repairing the fence line on the north range. Wouldn’t want any of them steers to escape—or be led away by rustlers.”

  “Micah.” Luke dipped his head in recognition. “Thought we had been missin’ a few head over the past few weeks. You know anythin’ about that?”

  The boy harrumphed. “Wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

  “No, I am sure you would not.” Luke looked around the room, straightened to his full height. “Who’s in charge here?”

  The man holding the knife on Maddie spoke. “That would be me.”

  “Would you mind releasin’ my wife?”

  The man gave a dismissive laugh. “As a matter of fact, I would. She is the perfect insurance to get us out of here safely,” he drawled sarcastically.

  Luke scanned the room. “And why are you here in the first place?”

  “My younger brother had the misfortune to get shot today. Your little lady here dug the bullet out of him.”

  Luke quirked a brow. “She has more talent than I realized. Usually she sticks to helpin’ babies be born.”

  Maddie shot him an apologetic look. At least he thought that’s what it was supposed to be. Hard to tell with a knife pressed against her throat.

  She looked like she was going to try to say something. He silenced her with the tiniest shake of his head. Cold, drenching reality showered over him like ice water and he clenched a fist. With the odds five to one, there wasn’t much he could do to save his wife. But he’d die trying to do just that.

  Where in blazes is Matt? If he doesn’t get in here soon with some reinforcements, I’m not sure what’s gonna happen.

  He tried to reassure Maddie with his eyes. From the look of fear on her face, he wasn’t doing a very good job.

  “You mind lettin’ my wife come over here and kiss me? If you plan to eliminate both of us before your departure, I’d be obliged to get one last kiss from her.” He offered a deprecating smile. It was a stalling tactic, but it was the best he could do. “Call me sentimental.”

  The leader lowered the knife a fraction.

  “No!” Micah shouted. “Don’t fall for that trick. Send her over to me. I’ll make good and certain Miss High-and-Mighty behaves. She interfered in my granny’s life one too many times.”

  Disgust emanated from the leader’s every pore. “I told you before we got here to leave her alone. Your manhandling every woman you see has grown wearisome.”

  The boy pulled out his gun, cocked the trigger, and pointed it at the leader. “Don’t you talk to me like that! Don’t ever talk to me like that again.”

  “Or you will what?” The man sneered, lowering the knife from Maddie’s neck completely.

  “I’ll kill you!”

  The leader pushed Maddie out of the way as he faced off with Micah. She stumbled, but quickly regained her footing.

  “Try it and see what happens.”

  Luke didn’t need a second opportunity. He moved between her and the weapons, instinctively shielding her. He grabbed and shoved her behind him, out of the range of fire should it become necessary. He didn’t turn to look, but he thought it sounded like she stumbled to the floor.

  Blast! He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He was trying to do just the opposite!

  He thought she scooted under the kitchen table just as the bedroom door flew open.

  The sound of shotguns being cocked caught everyone’s attention as men burst into the room. Matt stood with his rifle pointed at them while two ranch hands held up the wounded patient. Simultaneously, the front door burst open and men rushed inside with guns pointed at the bank robbers. Joe, who’d been cut across the side of his forehead, cocked the hammer on his short-barrel double-barreled shotgun. Chet was right behind him.

  “Now, boys,” Matt drawled, “you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to keep this here young man from dyin’. I would suggest you throw down your guns before I lose my temper and shoot him just out of meanness.” He looked at them without a shred of compassion. “Thanks to your bank escapade this morning, it has been a long and tiring day. And at this point I am mighty grumpy.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Oh yeah, and one more thing. A promise. By hook or by crook I mean to return that money you took to its proper owners—the bank for the proud people of this town. If it is not in your saddle bags, you had best be telling me where it is quick like. You won’t like the consequences if you don’t.”

  The bank robbers swore.

  The injured man groaned.

  One robber made move to shoot the sheriff.

  “Don’t do it, boy. I am not in a generous mood.” Matt narrowed his eyes and pointed his gun directly at the man’s midsection. “Heard tell gut shots are extremely painful. If ya’ll try to shoot your way out of here, your lives won’t be worth a confederate dollar. Only two ways this can go, boys—dead or alive. Unless you cooperate, the only way you are getting out of here is in a box. I suggest you choose wisely.”

  After one last glance at their leader and back to the wounded man, clearly chewing on what their next move should be, the robbers threw down their guns.

  All except Granny Mac’s grandson. He glared at Matt with unbridled hatred. “That tin star don’t give you the right to shoot us down like animals.”

  “When you behave like one, threaten and rob innocent people, it does.”

  Like a coiled snake ready to strike, Micah swung his gun directly at Matt. The sheriff proved faster. Before Micah could pull the trigger, Matt shot.

  Surprise filled Micah’s eyes before he fell to the ground.

  Matt grumbled. “Now why’d you go and do something dumb like that?”

  Maddie screamed. “No! Granny Mac! What will Granny Mac do?”

  Luke bent to help Maddie up from the floor. “He wouldn’t have been around after today anyhow, love. He would be in the calaboose. Would have been sent away to a federal prison after the territorial marshal got here. These men”—he tipped his head toward them—“robbed the bank in town earlier today.” He nodded toward Matt. “It is why he is here. We were out with the posse searchin’ for them. Never dreamed they would be in my own house.”

  Men sprang into action and gathered the guns from the floor. Prisoners were quickly tied and escorted outside. Two men from the bunkhouse lifted Micah and tied him over his horse so his body could be taken back for burial in the town’s local bone orchard—unless Granny Mac wanted him brought out to her property. That might actually be the best thing.

  One of the men gave a tight jerk on the rope. “That is fer hittin’ me over the head earlier, you sneaky cuss,” he grumbled even though the dead man couldn’t hear him. He reached up to rub his head while watching the criminals. “Lousy thieves. Assaultin’ a man when he’s restin’ in the bunkhouse! Hope they hang the lot of you. Jail is too good fer the likes o’ you.”

  Maddie couldn’t move. She watched those around her as if in a dream. An unreal dream.

  A nightmare.

  Matt grabbed the leader’s arm and tied his hands behind his back.

  “Ow,” the man said. “Not so tight. I ain’t resistin’, friend.”

  Matt kept tying knots. “You aint’ my friend.” When finished, he pushed him toward someone from the bunkhouse. “Here. Take him out and put him on a horse. Make sure he cain’t get away.”

  Luke crossed over to talk to Matt.

  Her lower lip quivering, Maddie moved to the stove to look outside. Lifted the pot to dump the water out there. Her hands were shaking too much and she set it right back down.
<
br />   “Maddie.” Luke called her name, but she couldn’t focus.

  “Maddie.” His voice was raw, shaken.

  She faced him. He stretched his strong arms out to her and she hurtled herself into their protection. Arms she needed to hold her. Protect her. Love her. Forever.

  They closed around her and held her close. She threw her arms around his neck and hung on for dear life.

  She needed this. Needed him.

  She’d never been more afraid. Not even during the war.

  Luke could barely breathe. It was over. Maddie was safe. But she was in shock. That much was clear. She stood white-faced and frozen, her hand covering her mouth. The sobs she fought to suppress shook her delicate frame. When he called her name the second time, she’d run right to him. He wasn’t sure which of them was holding up the other. Maybe a combination of both.

  She was shaking like a leaf, and it didn’t take long for tears to stream down her face.

  Behind them, Matt cleared his throat.

  “Leave, Matt.”

  “I need to speak with—”

  Luke didn’t turn around. “Leave, Matt.”

  “I need to speak—”

  Oh, his brother could be one obtuse man. “Tomorrow. I’ll bring Maddie to town tomorrow and you can talk with her then. She can answer all your questions then, but not now.”

  He turned his head to meet his brother’s troubled look.

  “Is she—”

  “Go away! Now!”

  He didn’t bother to look when Matt closed the door quietly behind him.

  Maddie sobbed until he thought she’d never quit. She clasped her arms around his chest, burrowing her head under his chin. He continued to hold her, soothing her, running his hand up and down gently over her back.

  When she continued to cry, he lifted her in his arms and went to his over-sized leather chair and lowered them both into it. Outside, the sound of horses’ hooves faded into the distance. He leaned her head against his shoulder and ran his hand over her hair.