But that wasn’t any help to her husband, who was walking blindly into a trap.
The men discussed the plan a few moments longer, but then their conversation moved to admiring one of the serving women. Hopefully, they’d given enough away for Emma Jane to be able to warn Jasper.
Slowly, quietly, Emma Jane made her way back to her room. After leaving a note for Abigail explaining her whereabouts, she went out the back door and ran down the road to the livery.
“Hello, I’m...”
“Mrs. Jackson. What a pleasure to have you here. It’s a little late for a ride, isn’t it?”
“It’s an emergency,” she told him breathlessly, looking about to be sure no one else was around. “I need your fastest horse.”
Wes, the proprietor, scratched his chin. “Well, now. Most of my horses went out with the posse. What’s the trouble? Maybe I can help.”
Emma Jane hesitated, not sure who she could trust. If one of the town’s deputies could be bought, who else might be on the bandits’ side?
“I need to speak to Jasper. It won’t wait. Please. It’s a matter of life and death.”
She hated sounding so melodramatic, but the posse already had a head start on her.
Wes frowned. “Will told me that Mary might try something like this, and I have strict orders not to let her have a mount.”
His desire to protect Mary gave Emma Jane hope that this man could be trusted. “I overheard some of the bandits talking just now. The men are riding into an ambush!”
A long sigh escaped Wes’s lips. “I knew it sounded too good to be true. All the best men went with the posse, but Deputy Jenks said that he’d remain behind. I figured the threat was to the town, not to the posse. We should let him know.”
The back of Emma Jane’s neck tingled. “I don’t know the man’s name, but he said that he was a deputy and deliberately stayed behind so he had an alibi.”
“I should have known.” Wes spat on the ground. “He always was too rough on his horse. Not so much as to hurt him, but just enough for me to question the man’s character.”
He straightened, then looked at Emma Jane. “I’ll come with you. You can ride PB. He’s one of my own, and he’s fast.”
“Thank you.” Emma Jane watched as he got the horses ready, glad that he moved much more swiftly than she would have. Selfishly, she was also glad he’d volunteered to come along.
Will had been right to warn Wes that Mary might try to follow them and right in that Mary had no business being there. Though Emma Jane’s time with the bandits had taught her that some of them were not so bad, their leaders possessed a ruthlessness and cunning that made any dealings with them dangerous.
One more thing Jasper had been right about. She’d acted much more bravely when she’d been in their cabin than she ordinarily would have. Mostly because she was so angry that he seemed to be so... She sighed. He’d been trying to protect her in his own way. But she’d wanted Jasper’s love and protection on her own terms. She could see that now.
Wes helped her onto her horse, and she was too busy focusing on staying on the horse to continue thinking about all her missteps with Jasper. Fortunately, Wes knew what the posse’s plan was, and he also knew a shortcut.
“We can head them off if we cut through Stumptown. The posse didn’t want to go that way in case folks saw them ride through and suspected something was up.”
Emma Jane couldn’t answer for fear of losing her concentration and falling off. Once again, she couldn’t help but be thankful for Wes’s presence.
They rode hard, or at least as hard as the snow on the ground would allow. They finally rounded a bend, and Emma Jane could see the entrance to the canyon that had led to the bandits’ hideout. The posse was gathered there, and from the looks of things, they were too late.
The bandits were in front of the canyon entrance, and the posse appeared to be surrounded.
Wes slowed their horses, but someone had caught sight of their movement. A shout came from the bandits, and some of them turned in Emma Jane’s direction.
The momentary distraction seemed to give the posse the edge they needed, and before Emma Jane knew it, shots rang out. She started to put her hands over her ears, but as soon as she loosened her grip on the reins, PB took off toward the shooting.
Emma Jane grabbed the reins and pulled as hard as she could. Behind her, she could hear Wes yelling instructions, but she couldn’t hear them.
Ahead of her, Emma Jane spied Jasper. He seemed to recognize her instantly, his eyes widening. If there was any cause for his disappointment, it was that she’d promised him not to get involved with the case. He’d told her that was the very foundation of trust in their relationship, and she’d gone and broken it.
Just when he’d finally started standing up for her, she’d ruined everything.
But there was nothing to be done. Hopefully, he’d be willing to listen to her explanation afterward. She hadn’t had a choice once she’d overheard the bandits talking about an ambush. Until they’d arrived, the posse had been surrounded, but Emma Jane and Wes had caused enough of a distraction to allow the posse to act.
Please, Emma Jane prayed. Let Jasper see it that way. But mostly, just let him come out of this alive.
He turned toward her, then a shot rang out. Jasper gave her a funny look as he fell off his horse.
“No!” Emma Jane screamed as she jumped off her horse, not waiting for it to slow down or stop. The force of hitting the ground jarred her, and she stumbled, then got back up. She ran toward Jasper, her heart thundering in her chest.
Why wasn’t anyone else going to help him?
A bullet whizzed past her, and Emma Jane realized the bandits were shooting wildly at the posse now.
She reached Jasper, who lay on the ground at an odd angle.
“Jasper!”
He coughed. “I’m fine.” His voice was raspy. “Just got the wind knocked out of me. Help me up.”
Once he was sitting upright again, Jasper tugged at his great overcoat, fumbling with the buttons.
“Let me.” Emma Jane brushed his hands aside and worked them open. Her Bible fell out of his coat.
She picked it up and examined it. A bullet was stuck right in the middle.
“Well, I’ll be,” he said, a smile teasing his lips. “I’ve been saying that a Bible couldn’t save a man’s life, but I guess I was wrong.”
He took the Bible and kissed it, then he turned to Emma Jane and kissed her.
The kiss happened so fast Emma Jane didn’t have time to react. She simply kissed him back. When it was over, she pressed her fingers to her lips and stared at Jasper. “I don’t understand.”
“I’ve been reading your Bible in secret. Things were happening inside me, and I needed to know. I wasn’t ready to talk about it.”
A bullet zinged the ground next to them. Emma Jane jumped, clinging tighter to him. Her heart thundered in her chest so loudly, she almost didn’t hear his next words. “When I left today, I just had a feeling that I should bring the Bible with me. I’m not sure why, but I’m glad.”
Then Jasper quickly scanned the area around them. “I need to get you someplace safe.” Setting his gaze on her once again, he gave her a stern look. “What were you thinking, riding into the middle of this?”
“I was trying to warn you,” she said. “I overheard one of the deputies telling someone in the saloon that it was a trap. They have explosives.”
Emma Jane glanced around, trying to see how and where they’d use them, but Jasper pulled her close to him. “I should wring your neck for taking a chance like that. But I’m just so grateful that you’re all right.”
He kissed the top of her head, and once again, Emma Jane found his warmth coursing through her. For a moment, she couldn’t even tell there was snow o
n the ground.
Had she made a mistake in giving up on her marriage so soon?
“Stay close.” Jasper took her hand and, crouching low to the ground, moved toward a group of nearby boulders.
Another bullet whizzed past them.
Emma Jane looked behind them, noticing one of the bandits headed their way. “Jasper, watch out!”
He turned, and Emma Jane watched in horror as the bandit raised his pistol in their direction.
“Rich boy or no, I’m gonna git you. You done messed with the wrong man.”
With all of her strength, Emma Jane shoved Jasper to the ground. Then a searing pain radiated through her back, like she was on fire. Which made no sense, since everyone knew you couldn’t light a fire in the snow.
Which is when she hit Jasper as she fell to the ground.
* * *
The weight of Emma Jane’s body slamming against him felt wrong. “Emma Jane? Are you all right?”
She didn’t answer, and as he shifted his weight, he felt something sticky on her back. When he pulled his hand away, he saw blood.
“Emma Jane!”
She blinked. Mumbled something incoherent about a fire in the snow, then her eyelids closed and she went limp. Jasper held her tight against his chest so she wouldn’t fall in the snow.
The crunch of boots on snow made him look up to see Will standing beside him.
“Emma Jane was shot.” The words burned as they came out of his mouth. They were the correct words, but they felt so wrong.
Will’s brow furrowed as he came closer. “Let me take a look at her. I saw the man take aim at you, but I thought I hit him before he managed to get a shot off. I’m sorry.” The lines on his forehead deepend for a moment but relaxed as he squatted on the ground beside them, examining Emma Jane. “Fortunately, she appears to be breathing all right.
“I think we’ve finally got the upper hand against the bandits. They won’t be bothering anyone else, that’s for certain. Emma Jane and Wes coming when they did provided us the opening we needed. Let’s see what we can do for her, and then we’ll get her back to town.”
Jasper watched as Will prodded at her wound. This was one area where Jasper had no idea what he was doing. A feeling of helplessness washed over him. The woman he loved had been shot, and he could do nothing to help her.
At least the moon gave off enough light that he could see the rise and fall of her chest.
“She’s still unconscious,” Jasper said, looking at Will for some reassurance.
“Her breathing’s fine. She’s had a shock, and it’s probably best she’s out. It won’t be an easy trip back home.”
One of the lawmen, Cam Higgins, joined them. “We got most of ’em, but we’re sending a group of men to get the rest.” Then he looked Jasper up and down. “You’re the best rider we’ve got. Can you come with us?”
He glanced at Emma Jane, who murmured something incoherent as her eyelids fluttered. The old Jasper wouldn’t have hesitated to go with Cam and the others. After all, what did he know about treating gunshot wounds? He’d be more useful chasing down the rest of the bandits.
Yet now, things were different. Leaving Emma Jane seemed almost inconceivable.
He turned to Cam. “My wife’s been shot. I need to stay with her.”
Shadows crossed the man’s face. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize... Is she going to be all right?”
The question tore at Jasper’s insides, biting in places so sensitive he wouldn’t have known they existed otherwise.
“She’ll be fine,” Will said. “I just need something to press against the wound to stop the bleeding. My handkerchief and scarf are about soaked through.”
Cam unwound the scarf from his neck. “Use this. Ugliest thing on earth, but it’s made from good wool. A little blood can’t make it any uglier.”
Will took the scarf and pressed it to Emma Jane’s back. Jasper adjusted Emma Jane’s position to make it easier for Will to tend to her injury. If only he could do more than keep her out of the snow.
“I appreciate your help,” Jasper told Cam. “I know you’ll want to be with the posse going after the remaining bandits, but can you spare a rider to head to town to get a doctor?”
“Sure thing. You want him to meet you at your place?”
His place. Was there such a thing anymore? He couldn’t imagine going back to his family home without Emma Jane, and she’d made it clear that it wasn’t home to her.
“We’re staying at the Rafferty.”
If Jasper’s change of address surprised Cam, he gave no indication. The other man gave a nod. “I’ll get on it. That wife of yours saved a lot of men from being killed tonight. Wes told us about the trap with the explosives. Had she not come when she did, providing a distraction, we’d have all been slaughtered.”
Jasper shivered at the thought. For a moment there, he’d honestly believed that there was no hope. But then he’d thought of Emma Jane and asked what she would do. Immediately, he had the instinct to say a prayer. All he’d said was, “Lord, help us,” and then Emma Jane had showed up.
Was she an answer to all of his prayers? He’d asked her about how God spoke to her and answered prayers, and she’d said it all happened in the way he’d just described. God didn’t literally step out and give him an answer or do something for him, but it always seemed like He had exactly what he needed when he needed it.
Jasper stroked Emma Jane’s silky blond hair. He’d been so blind about so many things, including how simple it was to follow God. And how God had brought them together.
Will said she’d be fine, but Jasper couldn’t help but send up another prayer for Emma Jane’s survival.
And when she was better, could they find a way to heal the rift between them? Now, more than ever, Jasper wanted to make their marriage work. He’d hoped to court her and get her to come around to seeing things his way. But maybe there wasn’t time for that. Maybe he just needed to be honest with his feelings, exposing the rawest places of his heart, and risk being rejected.
“I love you, Emma Jane,” he whispered hoarsely.
She murmured something incoherent, and Jasper hoped that, somehow, she’d understood.
“Don’t worry,” Will said, catching Jasper’s eye. “You’ll be able to tell her that when she’s awake. Like I said, she’s going to be fine.”
Then Will stood. “Now, I’m going to get on my horse, and you’re going to put Emma Jane in my arms. You need to keep pressure on the wound. She’s still bleeding, and from what I can tell, the bullet’s still lodged inside her. We need to get her to the doctor and get the bullet out right away.”
“I want to carry her.” Jasper adjusted Emma Jane in his arms and stood. She was so light in his arms. How had he not noticed what a frail creature she was?
Probably because she was the strongest woman he knew.
Will looked at him like he wanted to argue, but then he shook his head. “Fine. But you need to keep her steady. Too much jostling is going to make the bullet move, and it could travel to her vital organs and kill her.”
Jasper gave a quick nod. He’d already known what was at stake, but Will’s reminder made it all the more important to be the one to carry Emma Jane into town. If these were to be her last moments, then he had so much he wanted to tell her.
Then Jasper stopped himself. No. He wouldn’t let this be the end. Not for Emma Jane, not for them.
“You’re going to live, Emma Jane,” he rasped, kissing her on top of the head once more. “You’re going to live and be my wife in all ways, and we’re going to raise Moses...and whatever other children we may have.”
Will and some of the other men helped Jasper mount his horse, and then helped get Emma Jane settled comfortably in his arms. Some of the posse had already ridden out in purs
uit of the remaining bandits, while the rest were either gathering up the injured or keeping the ones they were apprehending together to send to jail.
They rode back to town, and Jasper was grateful for the buckskin’s easy lope. When he’d bought the horse, he’d wondered if he was paying too much. But if it meant Emma Jane’s survival, the gelding was worth every penny.
Doc Wallace was just getting off his horse when they arrived at the hotel. He helped Jasper get Emma Jane up to their room and settled in the bed.
“You did a good job of stopping the bleeding,” the doc said as he examined her. “But I’m going to need to get the bullet out.”
Emma Jane moaned, and her face was paler than he’d ever seen it. Too pale.
“It’s going to be all right, sweetheart,” Jasper told her. He looked at the doc for confirmation, and he nodded.
“I’m pretty sure the bullet didn’t hit any vital organs. But she looks pretty torn up. It wasn’t a clean shot.”
Jasper closed his eyes. This was the second time a woman had taken a bullet for him. When they were in the brothel, Mel had died stepping in front of a bullet meant for Jasper. It had been that lifesaving action that had brought about Jasper’s quest to find and rescue Daisy.
He’d failed to save Daisy, but the cry of a baby in the next room reminded him that he still had a promise to keep. Though he’d told Emma Jane finding a family for Moses would be enough, she’d been right in insisting on keeping him.
Seeing Emma Jane lying on the bed, wounded and in pain, he knew the debt he owed both women was far greater than he could ever repay.
In truth, this was the second time Emma Jane had kept Jasper from harm. When they were trapped in the mine, she’d shoved him out of the way of a rock slide, injuring herself in the process. Typical Emma Jane. Always thinking of helping others before herself.
How could he ever be a man worthy of such a woman?
The doctor’s assistant arrived. A young man who barely looked old enough to be shaving, let alone taking care of patients.
“This is my nephew, Augustus. He’ll be assisting me in the surgery. I’m going to have to ask you to leave the room while we get out the bullet, as you’ll only be in the way.”
Shotgun Marriage (Leadville, Co. Book 3) Page 22
