Frank glanced around the room. “I think it had to do with you. Mitch said Pete threatened to hurt you if Jesse didn’t do what he wanted.”
“Why didn’t Mitch come and tell us as soon as he heard all this?” Robert asked.
“I think Mitch figured you could protect Amelia. And if Jesse took the money, you’d capture him, send him back to prison, and that would leave the way clear for Mitch to court Amelia. It’s pretty obvious where Amelia’s heart lies, and it’s not with Mitch.”
“All right. I’ll deal with Mitch when we get back,” her father said. “Tanner, you keep the men tethered here while my sons and I head to the line shack.”
With an authoritative voice she’d never before used when speaking to her father, she announced, “I’m riding with you.”
“No, you’re not,” her father said.
Amelia stepped toward her father. “Papa, I’m going. I can ride with you or I can follow behind you, but either way I’m going. I’m not your little girl anymore. I’ve grown up.”
Sadness touched her father’s eyes, then pride as he gave her an understanding smile. “I reckon you have at that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
With dawn easing over the horizon, Jesse drew his horse to a halt in front of the line shack.
Pete was sitting on the porch. He slowly came to his feet, stroking the gun tucked into the belt at his waist. Pete never had been one for wearing a holster. But he was quick to draw and quick to fire.
Jesse glanced around. Trees circled the clearing in front of the shack, making it possible for men to hide from sight if needed.
“Where’s the rest of the gang?” Jesse asked.
“Still in Fort Worth, waiting on orders from me,” Pete said.
Jesse dismounted and tossed the saddlebag to Pete. “That’s all that was in the safe. I guess Judge Harper isn’t as wealthy as everyone thinks.”
Although he suspected the judge kept his money in a bank or two in Fort Worth.
Pete folded back the flap on the saddlebag and brought out a bundle of cash. “How much do you reckon is here?”
“I didn’t take the time to count it. Maybe five hundred.”
Pete rubbed his bristly chin. “That’s not a bad start.”
“What do you mean by that? It’s not the start; it’s the finish,” Jesse told him. “Take the money, ride out of here, and don’t look back. And if you ever threaten to hurt Amelia again, I’ll deliver a bullet to you instead of money.”
Although he didn’t know how he was going to protect her when he was in prison.
“Tough talk for such a young fella. You never talked back to me before,” Pete pointed out.
“I’m not a kid anymore, Pete.”
“That’s the gosh-darned truth if I ever heard it. Reckon you’ll be an even greater asset to me now than you were before. Let’s ride.”
Pete ambled toward his horse.
“I’m not going with you, Pete.”
Pete stopped as though he’d run smack-dab into a brick wall. He turned around. “Figurin’ to head out on your own and start your own gang, huh? Just desert me like I was never nothin’ to you.”
Jesse slowly shook his head. “Nope. I figure I’m going back to prison. Amelia saw me take the money from the safe. I asked her to give me a two-hour head start. But I don’t think she’ll do that. She has too much respect for the law.”
“Then we need to ride, boy! Ride now!”
“The two hours is my gift to you, Pete. I never planned to run.”
“They’ll send you back to prison, you idiot!” Pete yelled.
“I know. I’ll serve out my remaining five years there…and then some.” He figured they’d add on a few years for the robbery he’d committed today.
“Are you tellin’ me that you’re plannin’ to just sit here and wait for them to capture you?” Pete asked.
“Yep. I just want to serve out my time and get on with my life. I don’t want that life to be about taking what I haven’t earned.”
“You’re talkin’ crazy now,” Pete said.
Maybe he was. Maybe he was foolish to turn himself in knowing that he’d go back to prison, knowing that he’d lost whatever affection Amelia had for him, knowing she wouldn’t be here waiting on him when he got out.
But being with her had given him a glimpse of what life could be: a hint of love, trust, respect. Maybe in time he could experience it again.
“You’d best get to riding, Pete,” Jesse said solemnly.
“Afraid it’s a little too late for that,” a voice boomed.
Jesse spun around. Judge Harper strode out from between the trees.
“Surrender,” Judge Harper demanded. “You’re surrounded.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jesse saw Pete quickly draw his gun.
“No!” Jesse cried.
He leaped between Pete and the judge.
Explosions ricocheted around him.
Agonizing fire tore through him.
Inky blackness engulfed him.
Jesse swam through the darkness.
It hurt to breathe. He thought he might have another busted rib. But the pain was lower. His side. His side ached.
He felt a warm, damp cloth on his face, his neck, his chest. Soothing. Incredibly soothing.
He heard a soft voice calling his name. Calling him from the abyss.
Slowly he opened his eyes.
Amelia smiled at him.
Amelia.
He’d never in his life known such gladness. Even though he’d be going back to prison, she was safe.
That was all that mattered.
That and the judge.
“Your father?” he rasped.
“He’s all right.” She combed the hair off his brow. “Thanks to you. You put yourself between him and Pete, took the bullet that was meant for him.”
She made it sound as though he were some sort of hero. He shook his head. “Pete?”
“My brothers shot him. They were waiting behind the trees, and they didn’t know how else to stop him. He died. I’m sorry, Jesse.”
He was surprised by the sadness that engulfed him. He supposed that in a way Pete had been the father he’d never had.
He was in a room he didn’t recognize. But it smelled like flowers. He had to be in a bedroom somewhere in the judge’s house. Soon they’d be carting him to prison.
Before he went, he wanted to touch Amelia’s face. Kiss her lips. Hold her as though there were no tomorrow.
But she would have other tomorrows.
So would he. But they’d be spent in prison.
And he didn’t want to go without Amelia knowing the reason he’d done what he had.
“He planned to hurt you,” he said quietly. “Kidnap you and make your father pay to get you back.”
He wanted to touch her so badly that it almost hurt as much as the wound in his side. He could feel the bandage wrapped around him. They must have brought in a doctor while he’d been unconscious.
“We know. Mitch overheard you talking to him. That’s the reason my brothers and I went with Papa—”
“You were there?” he interrupted.
“Yes.”
“You could have gotten hurt or killed.”
“I know, but I didn’t want you to have to face my angry brothers alone.”
She’d been there for him, worrying about him. Reaching out, he touched her cheek. So soft. He wanted that softness always.
He heard the sound of a throat being cleared, dropped his hand to the bed, and slammed his eyes closed. He hadn’t realized someone else was in the room.
The judge.
Resounding footsteps echoed around the room. Jesse opened his eyes. Judge Harper stood at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. His sons stood on either side of him.
“You know, Jesse, you could have saved us all a lot of trouble if you’d told us about your midnight meeting with Pete last night,” Judge Harper said.
“Pet
e said if I told you, he’d hurt Amelia,” Jesse told him.
Judge Harper nodded. “You seem to have a habit of trying to save people. Amelia told me what happened that night in the bank when you were captured. I’ve got some friends in high places. I’m going to have your case reopened.”
“Are you going to have that clerk testify to what Jesse did?” David asked.
The judge shook his head. “No need. If Jesse says he stayed behind and tried to stop the bleeding, that’s good enough for me.”
“You’re taking my word on it?” Jesse asked.
“Is there some reason I shouldn’t?” Judge Harper asked.
Jesse shook his head. “No, sir.”
“Then I can pretty much guarantee that your sentence is going to be reduced to years already served. The next time you walk out of my house, Jesse Lawton, you’ll do it as a free man.”
Years already served. Free man.
Jesse could hardly believe what he was hearing. And he certainly didn’t know what to say.
Amelia smiled with tears welling in her eyes as she squeezed his hand.
“Leave or stay, Jesse. The choice will be yours,” Judge Harper said.
“I’m hoping you’ll stay,” Robert said. “I want to expand our operation to include horse breeding and training. I’d like you to be in charge of running things.”
Amelia locked her gaze on Jesse’s with everything she felt for him reflected in her eyes. She’d captured his heart, and in so doing, she’d freed him long before the judge had.
He smiled, hoping she could see in his face what she meant to him.
“Think I’ll stay.”
With a half dozen cowboys riding with him, Jesse guided the herd of untamed mustangs into the waiting corral.
In the past month, Jesse’s life had changed in ways he’d never imagined. He’d fixed up the north line shack and was living there now.
Every evening he ate supper at the judge’s table, discussing the day with Amelia and her family. Following the meal they’d all go to the parlor, where Amelia would read from her latest dime novel.
Jesse thought it was funny when Amelia would close the book after her reading and Judge Harper would urge her to read just one more chapter aloud.
He’d worried that the remaining members of the Nightriders gang might decide to follow through on Pete’s plan and abduct Amelia. When he’d expressed his concerns to Judge Harper, he’d learned that there were no other members. The gang had disbanded long ago, while he’d been in prison. Pete had lied to him about there being others. Lied to manipulate him. It saddened him sometimes when he thought about Pete.
He turned his mind from the past back to the present.
One of the men closed the gate to the corral, and the horses pranced around the enclosure. Jesse would give them a few days to adjust to their new surroundings before he’d begin the arduous task of taming them.
He saw Mitch saunter out of the barn. The judge had kept him on, but his chores had been reduced to mucking out stalls and every other unpleasant task that could be found.
Jesse dismounted.
“I’ll see to your horse,” Frank said as he took the reins.
“Thanks.” Jesse couldn’t quite get used to the friendliness of the ranch hands.
He watched as Frank skirted widely around Mitch on his way into the barn. Mitch was now the one separated from the group, balancing at the edge. He was no longer the confident, cocky cowboy he’d once been. Now he looked as though he hoped no one would notice him.
Jesse understood that feeling too well. He strode over to Mitch.
“I need another hand to help me train the horses,” Jesse said. “I was wondering if you wanted the job.”
Mitch looked at him suspiciously. “Why offer it to me after what I did, hoping that you’d get sent back to prison?”
“It’s like Tanner says. Every man deserves a second chance. You want the job or not?”
“How are you going to convince the judge and the others to let me do it?” Mitch asked.
“I don’t have to convince them. I just have to tell them that it’s what I think is best. They’ll trust my judgment on the matter.”
Mitch nodded. “Reckon you earned that trust.”
“Takes a while to earn trust back, but it can be done,” Jesse assured him.
Mitch released a deep breath. “Yep, I’d like to work with the horses.”
Jesse held out his hand. Mitch hesitated before giving it a firm shake.
“You can report to me in the morning,” Jesse said with the confidence he was feeling these days. He knew his place, knew he belonged.
Turning, he caught sight of Amelia walking toward him. Seeing her, with a smile of welcome blossoming over her face, was his favorite part of the day.
Her father and brothers trailed behind her.
When she got near enough, she said, “I didn’t think you wanted to capture the mustang.”
“That was before you taught me how good it feels to have a place to come home to.”
“I love you, Jesse.”
His chest felt as though it might cave in on him. Or expand to touch the sky. He didn’t know which.
“No one ever has,” he said quietly.
She brushed her lips over his. “Well, I do, Jesse Lawton.”
Right there beside the corral, in front of her father and her brothers and the whole wide world, Jesse took her in his arms and kissed her with all the love he felt inside him.
He might have once been an outlaw, but Amelia Harper had stolen his heart.
About the Author
When USA Today best-selling author Lorraine Heath received her BA degree in psychology from the University of Texas, she had no idea she had gained a foundation that would help her create believable characters—characters that are often described as “real people.” Her stories have been recognized with numerous awards, including Romance Writers of America’s RITA, a HOLT medallion honoring outstanding fiction, and four Texas Gold Awards. She is thrilled to now have the opportunity to write historical romances for young adults.
You can write to her via e-mail at [email protected] or via snail mail at P.O. Box 250034, Plano, TX 75025-0034
.
Lorraine is the author of another Avon True Romance, SAMANTHA AND THE COWBOY, and her adult titles include A ROGUE IN TEXAS, NEVER LOVE A COWBOY, NEVER MARRY A COWBOY, THE OUTLAW AND THE LADY, and TO MARRY AN HEIRESS.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Cover art © 2003 by Doreen Minuto
Cover © 2003 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Copyright
AMELIA AND THE OUTLAW. Copyright © 2003 by Jan Nowasky All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Microsoft Reader October 2006 ISBN 978-0-06125399-7
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002091788
ISBN 0-06-000914-4
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