Lady Deception

by Bobbi Smith

  "Was I good for you, Jack?" she asked in a sultry voice as she stepped nearer to the bars of the cell.

  For one fleeting moment his expression was haunted; then he turned and walked away. "Goodbye, Elizabeth."

  He returned to talk to Luke again.

  "Where did you catch up with them?"

  "We had to follow them all the way to Galveston, but luckily we got there before they sailed. It wouldn't have been pretty if we'd had to go after them in New Orleans."

  "Good job! Ill see you get the bounty right away. That'll be two thousand for El Diablo and another five hundred for Hadley."

  Luke shrugged. Somehow the money didn't seem important anymore. "Just give me the hundred you owe me and send the rest to Cody."

  "You don't want a share?"

  "No.

  "Do you want to take it to her and let her know you got here all right?"

  "No. I doubt I'll be seeing her again. You were right about her, though, Jack. She was good. Damned good."

  "So were you. You did it! You brought down the El Diablo gang."

  "Have you heard any more from Steve?"

  "Got a wire yesterday. They met up with the bounty hunter Reid near Rio Nuevo. He had two of the gang already in custody and was bringing them in."

  "Cody would be glad to hear that."

  "I'll let her know when I wire her. Are you planning on heading out to the Trinity now?" Jack asked.

  "Might as well."

  "Give me a few minutes. I'll get your money and I'll ride with you."

  Luke was surprised that Jack wanted to go to the ranch with him, but now that the ordeal with El Diablo was over, he guessed they could relax and visit for a while, catch up on old times.

  "Fine. I'll wait here for you."

  Jack was starting from the office when Sarah Gregory came rushing through the door.

  "Is it true?" she demanded of them, breathless from having run all the way from her house. "Did you bring her back? Is Elizabeth here?"

  "Yes, she is, Sarah," Fred answered sympathetically.

  "I have to talk to her. I have to see her."

  "She's in the back," the sheriff told her. "You want me to come with you?"

  "Why? I'm in no danger. She can't hurt me any more than she already has. I just want to look in her face and tell her what I think of her."

  "Go ahead."

  Sarah walked sedately past the three men and into the cell area.

  Elizabeth had heard Sarah's voice and was sitting on the bunk waiting for her. Her expression was casual, almost nonchalant.

  "So they caught you," Sarah sneered.

  "Obviously," Elizabeth answered, bored with what she knew was coming.

  "I'm glad. It's almost too bad they didn't shoot you like they did your brother."

  Elizabeth continued to ignore her.

  "How could you do it, Elizabeth? What kind of woman are you that you could shoot and kill my husband in cold blood and then come to my house and sympathize with me? What kind of woman are you that you could have arranged that bank robbery and had your own husband shot?"

  "Are you through?" Elizabeth's tone was indifferent.

  Her attitude infuriated Sarah even more. "I don't know why I never saw through you."

  "Because you're stupid like the rest of the simpletons in this pitiful excuse for a town."

  Sarah gasped. "We weren't so stupid that you got away with it!"

  "Ali, but I did get away with it, and for a long time, too!" Elizabeth stood up and strode to the bars to look Sarah straight in the eye. "You make me sick. All of you! You didn't know it, but Sam only stayed with you because he had me."

  "What!" Sarah went pale at the vindictive words. "What are you saying?"

  "Do I have to say it more clearly for you? Spell it out? I was bedding Sam, Sarah. I got a lot of information out of him. He always knew what was going on, and I fed everything I learned directly to Hadley and the gang."

  "You little-"

  "And he enjoyed bedding me, too. I kept him satisfied. I suppose if you had been as good a wife as you say you were, he wouldn't have come to my bed. But he did."

  Sarah was holding herself rigidly as she turned and quietly walked away.

  "Bye, Sarah, honey. Do come back again." Eliz abeth went to sit down on the cot again.

  "Sarah, are you all right?" Fred asked, seeing the look on her face as she emerged from the cell area. They had all heard Elizabeth's devastating comments, and they knew Sarah had to be heartsick. Fred went to her, thinking she might need an arm of support.

  The only support Sarah needed right then was in his gunbelt. As he started to put an arm around her, she grabbed his revolver and ran back toward the jail cell.

  "This is for Sam!" she screamed as she began firing repeatedly at Elizabeth.

  Fred, Luke, and Jack gave chase. Luke reached Sarah first and snatched the gun from her hand, but it was too late. Elizabeth lay sprawled on the jail cell floor.

  Sarah collapsed into Fred's arms as all her strength finally failed her. "She deserved it! She killed Sam."

  "I know, Sarah," Fred said, supporting her as he led her into the outer room. "I know."

  He handed Jack the keys as he passed him, and Jack quickly entered the cell to check on Elizabeth.

  The door to the office burst open, and the crowd started to push inside.

  "What happened? We heard shots!"

  "El Diablo's been wounded," Fred announced.

  A rousing cheer went up from those gathered, who were avidly trying to get a look in back.

  "Someone go for the doctor."

  Suddenly a path was cleared through the crowd, and Jonathan Harris was wheeled forward by the woman who'd been caring for him. He had a blanket over his legs.

  "What's this about a shooting? Where is she? I want to see Elizabeth! I want to see my wife!"

  Luke managed to get the rest of the townspeople to back up, so they could close the door again.

  "Come on back here, Jonathan," Fred said, after helping Sarah to a chair. "She's been shot."

  "What?"

  "I shot her, Jonathan! She lied to me! She's the one who killed Sam and had you shot," Sarah told him in a monotone voice. "I hope she's dead."

  Jonathan was wheeled back toward the cell just as Jack stood up and came out.

  "I'm sorry. There's nothing anyone can do. She'd dead," he announced.

  Jonathan sat in his wheelchair staring at his dead wife's body. "Good," he said with conviction. He pulled his hand out from under the blanket and gently patted the gun he'd been holding, hidden there. "Looks like I won't be needing this now. Sarah already took care of things."

  The woman who'd been caring for him gasped, shocked that he'd had the weapon. She hadn't known he was armed when they'd left the house.

  "Get him out of here," Fred ordered, angry. "And, Jonathan, be careful with that damned thing!"

  Jonathan was smiling as he was wheeled from the office. The doctor passed him.

  "No need to rush, Doc. She'd dead."

  The crowd outside heard the news and cheered even more. The El Diablo gang had been broken. They would no longer be terrorizing the countryside.

  The doctor quickly reaffirmed what they already knew. It was over. El Diablo was dead-killed as she had killed. Her body was taken away to the undertaker.

  When the crowd had dispersed and the excitement had died down, Jack looked at Fred.

  "What are you going to do about Sarah?"

  She was still sitting quietly in the chair, her expression vacant, her manner unthreatening.

  "I don't know. She'll probably have to go before the judge for a hearing, but he won't be back for another two weeks. For now, I say we just take her on home. She's not a threat to anyone else."

  Jack and Luke both knew he was right. Fred helped her up and they started from the office.

  Sarah looked back at Luke. "Thank you for finding her and bringing her back."

  Luke nodded; then Fred led he
r out the door.

  Jack gave a rueful shake of his head as he watched them go. "You want to stay here now or you want to come with me to my room to get your money?"

  "I'll come with you and then we'll head out to the Trinity. It looks like everything's finished here." Luke was thinking of Hadley, El Diablo, and Cody as he spoke.

  "That it is."

  A short time later they were on the road to the Trinity.

  "So how was it to work with the famous Cody Jameson?"

  "It was a challenge. She's sharp, real sharp. Did you know her father was a lawman before he was killed?"

  "No, but that's probably why she's so good at what she does."

  Luke told him all that had happened-almost all of it.

  "Why didn't she come with you back to town? I was hoping to see her again."

  "She didn't say. She just wanted to go home, I guess."

  "Well, that's where you're going now-home. It's been a while since you thought of doing that, hasn't it?"

  "It's going to be a longer while."

  "Why? What are you talking about? Your taxes were paid. You've got a hundred dollars to tide you over until the ranch starts bringing in some money. You're in good shape."

  "I'm going to sell it."

  "You're what?" Jack was so surprised, he reined in. He stared at his friend as if he'd gone crazy.

  "I'm selling the Trinity to whoever will buy it, and I'm moving on." He smiled regretfully. "I've finally accepted that I can't go back to when we were young. Those days are gone, and they'll never exist again."

  "You're wrong." Jack spurred his mount forward, knowing the only thing that would change Luke's mood was waiting for him at the Trinity even as they spoke.

  "No, I'm not. I'm leaving Texas. I thought maybe I'd head for Arizona."

  "Don't pack your bags yet."

  "Why? Nothing's going to change the way I feel."

  "Don't be too sure."

  "What are you talking about? I had a lot of hours in the saddle to think this over."

  They were topping the low rise as he finished speaking.

  "Yes, but you never had anybody else to consider when you were making your decision."

  "Anybody else?" Luke glanced at him, wondering if Jack somehow knew of his feelings for Cody. But Jack was staring down at the ranch house, pointing at the extra horses in the corral.

  "You've got company-at home, Luke."

  "What are you talking about?"

  Luke followed the direction of Jack's gaze and saw the horses. He frowned. "Who's there besides Jessy?"

  "Ride on down and find out." Jack was smiling in an enigmatic way that confused Luke.

  He spurred his mount to a gallop and raced forward, leaving Jack to follow. Luke didn't know what awaited him, but he knew it was something special.. .very special.

  As he neared the house, Jessy came out on the front porch with two other men he couldn't recognize from a distance. Luke reined in at the hitching rail and stared up at the three on the porch, unable to believe his eyes.

  "Welcome home, son," Charles said.

  Luke all but threw himself from his horse and ran to his father. They embraced, weeping openly.

  "You're alive!" was all Luke could mutter.

  "And so are you!" Charles added in a tearchoked voice. "I was afraid I'd never find you... never see you again."

  He kept a grip on Luke as he held his son away from him to get a look at him. They stared at each other in loving awe.

  Luke's gaze went over his father. His father's hair and mustache were white now, but otherwise he seemed much the same.

  "Hello, Luke," Dan said as he came down to join them.

  Luke looked over at his brother. When they'd last seen each other, Dan had been little more than a boy. Now he was a man, hardened by the years. Luke saw a lot of himself in Dan: tall, dark-haired, the same blue eyes. The family resemblance could not be denied.

  Charles released Luke so he could hug his brother. When they broke apart, they went inside to catch up on all that had happened. Jack got something out of his saddlebags and followed them into the house. Jessy went off to tend Jack's and Luke's horses.

  "I brought this along just for this moment," Jack announced as he held up the bottle of fine bourbon, the same brand they used to drink before the war.

  Luke clapped him on the back, grinning from ear to ear. "You knew they were here?"

  "That's why I had to come with you. They showed up in town asking questions about you while you were gone, and at first Fred thought they were bounty hunters."

  Charles chuckled at the memory. "Once we told him why we wanted you, he was a great help. He took us to Jack and Jack brought us out here to wait for your return."

  Luke went to put his arms around his father again. "I can't believe any of this. What happened to you? Where were you after the war?" He explained how he'd heard they'd been killed.

  They settled in around the table to drink and talk.

  "We weren't killed in the battle. We were caught and sent to prison camp. We didn't get out until the end of the war, and then we had to walk home."

  "And you know what we found when we got there," Dan said disparagingly.

  "I know. That was what broke my final tie. I headed west after that, and I've been roaming ever since. How did you trace me here?"

  "It's been a long, hard search," Charles said wearily. "But it was worth every minute and every mile to be here with you right now."

  "We heard someone talking about you in Galveston, and started trying to track you from there. We had no idea where you were, and thought it was a godsend that your name had even come up at the moment when we were there. If it hadn't been for that conversation, we'd still be looking for you."

  "And we probably would never have found you," Dan added.

  "And now you're here and you have this ranch a home. This place is wonderful, son," Charles said enthusiastically. "Jessy was telling us how hard you were working on it before all the trouble started. You've just been through hell these last couple of months, haven't you?"

  "It hasn't been easy, but the important thing was that we shut the gang down."

  "We? You and Jack?"

  "And the bounty hunter I was working with, Cody Jameson."

  "He was good?"

  "Yes, she was," Jack said with emphasis. "Cody's a woman, and one helluva bounty hunter. Luke and Cody just brought in El Diablo and her brother, the two main leaders of the outlaws."

  "I'm proud of you, son," Charles said. "Maybe now there won't be so much trouble for you in town."

  "Well, actually, I was thinking about selling the ranch and moving on," Luke said.

  "But why?" Dan asked quickly. "This place is beautiful. If you want the help, we'll stay and work side by side with you to make a go of it."

  "You'd want to stay with me knowing what happened in town? That's the way my life's been for many years now."

  "We're family, Luke," Charles said fiercely. "You're my son. Jack told us about the mistaken identity, but you've been proven innocent. This is not the time to cut and run. Stay and fight for what you love, for what you believe in."

  "If you want to make this ranch work, we're with you," Dan offered.

  Luke had hardened himself to his love for the Trinity. He'd prepared himself to sell it for whatever price he could get, then ride away and never look back. He had tried to cut any emotional ties he had to the place. But now, offered the chance to stay on and have a real family again, all the feelings he'd denied for so long surfaced. He smiled.

  "Welcome home," he said to his father and brother. "The Trinity is now the Majors family's ranch, not just Luke Majors's spread."

  The four men drank a toast to the future of the Trinity and talked long into the night of how Luke planned to improve his stables. By the time they all went to bed, the future of the ranch was already set. They would not fail. They had each other.

  The following morning after sharing breakfast with the family,
Jack got ready to leave.

  "I've got to get back to town. With the El Diablo gang destroyed, I'll be meeting up with Steve as soon as he rides in with Reid and the outlaws he caught. Once he's finished there, we'll be moving on to another assignment," Jack told them as he saddled his horse.

  "You just remember the Trinity is your home now, too," Luke told him. "You're one of us, Jack. Come back whenever you can."

  They shook hands all around, and then Jack mounted.

  "You take care," Jack told them, glad that everything had turned out so well for Luke and his family.

  "We will."

  Jack urged his horse on, and the three Majors men watched him go until he had ridden out of sight.

  They turned back to the ranch that was their future and their dream. They were together. It was a miracle they had thought would never happen.

  Luke threw himself into working on the ranch. He was up every day by dawn and worked long past dark. He had a dream now, a future with his father and brother. He would make things grow again. He would raise horses and cattle and see the good side of life once more. There was even a change in the attitude of people in town when Luke went in for supplies. Fred had made sure that everyone knew he was innocent, and slowly the merchants and townspeople began to make friends with him. Life became worth living again.

  Days turned into weeks and then months, and life took on a wonderful sameness.

  But as much as Luke worked himself tirelessly from dawn to dusk, his nights were still restless. Many were the predawn hours when he'd awake breathless and aching from dreams of Cody. The nighttime visions were always jumbled images of Sister Mary, Armita, and Cody. In his dreams, she chased him, trapped him, loved him until he would wake up wondering how he could ever have let her go. Often Dan would get up only to find Luke already dressed and sitting on the porch watching the sunrise.

  Luke thought back to Galveston and the night when Hadley had held the gun on Cody. If anything had happened to her, he wouldn't have stopped until Hadley was dead or he'd been killed trying to avenge her. He loved her.

  Thinking back over the years, he realized what he'd thought was love for Clarissa had been but a faint imitation. This emotion he felt for Cody was deep and abiding. It had not faded while they'd been apart, but had intensified. He wanted her still. He missed her always, and he didn't know what to do.