As Owen caught up with his friend, he asked, “Do you think I’m in love with her?”
Stopping abruptly, Will turned to look at him. “Aren’t you?”
That wasn’t the question. At least not for Owen. “What if she doesn’t love me back?”
“What does she say?”
Her declaration earlier this evening would have been the answer Will was looking for; only Owen didn’t trust it.
“And what if what she says is only a response to a temporary danger? How do I know it’s real?”
Will made a noise like he understood, then motioned for them to continue. “How do any of us know it’s real? You ask God for wisdom, and you let His spirit guide you. And then you work it out with the other person. No marriage is about the joyous feeling of being in love all the time. Rather, it’s the decision to be committed to loving that person no matter what. Even when you don’t feel like it. Feelings are fickle things. But when you’re a man of your word, you make a promise to a woman and then you keep it.”
Though Will’s advice was about marriage and making it work, Owen felt a deep conviction about the promise he’d made to Laura. He’d keep her safe, no matter what. He’d given his word. Owen would be there for Laura, even when it broke his heart to do so.
As they came to the corner where Owen would have turned to go to the back of Laura’s boardinghouse, Will continued, heading for the front of the house. When they walked past Jim O’Leary’s barn, Owen paused.
“That barn door is hanging funny,” he said.
Will nodded and put his hand on his gun. “Especially considering O’Leary is mighty particular about things.”
“You’ll cover me?” Owen asked, not waiting for an answer as he walked toward the barn. He didn’t need one, not after working with Will for so long.
As he got to the door, the stench was unmistakable. “There’s a body in here.”
Owen pushed open the door. Isaac Schultz, one of Will’s men, lay sprawled on the ground. A quick nudge with his foot to Isaac’s leg told Owen the man had been dead for a while.
“He didn’t check in for his shift today,” Will said, shaking his head. “Jenks told me that Isaac had fallen ill, asking him to take over. I had no reason to doubt the story.”
Then Will grew quiet. “I didn’t put it together until now. Jenks told me about Isaac earlier today. Probably around the time of the gunshots. I didn’t hear about your suspicions of Jenks until later, and by then, I’d forgotten about Isaac.”
Owen closed his eyes and said a prayer for the man who’d been killed. Isaac didn’t need to die.
“Let’s see if we can find any clues as to why he died.” Will said, turning around. “Do you see a lantern anywhere?”
They found a couple of lanterns hanging on nearby posts, and Owen lit them so they’d have light to look around the barn. Within minutes, Owen could see that someone had been living in one of the stalls. The newspapers that lay folded under one of the blankets told Owen all he needed to know.
“This is where James has been hiding,” he told Will. “Isaac must have gone into the barn to investigate something, and James shot him to keep him from giving away his location.”
Will nodded. “And Jenks must be working with James, so he fed you the story of the gunshots coming from The Thirsty Miner so you wouldn’t investigate.”
A familiar whinny sounded from one of the other stalls. Daisy. Owen’s horse that James had ridden off on. At least he’d be able to return his daughter’s horse.
Unfortunately, finding Daisy brought another gruesome discovery: Jim O’Leary’s body.
“And now we know why O’Leary didn’t notice things were amiss and report it.” Will shook his head. “I’m not looking forward to all the funerals.”
“So where is James now?” Owen looked around the barn.
“I don’t know. Can we make it look like it’s been left untouched, so James doesn’t know we were here?”
Owen rearranged the blankets and papers. Fortunately, he hadn’t needed to move much to get his answers. “It’s worth a try. Let’s get these lanterns put out and back where we found them.”
Will paused at Isaac’s body. “I hate to leave him. But if we move him or O’Leary, or do anything out of respect, James will know someone’s been here.”
“Let’s say a prayer for them, and then we’ll come back tomorrow. Whether they lie here or at the undertaker’s, they’re still dead. Isaac was the kind of man who’d do whatever it took to catch the criminals. And O’Leary was a staunch supporter of justice. Let’s not let their sacrifice be in vain.”
After a short prayer over the bodies, the men made quick work of getting things taken care of. As they exited the barn and made sure they hadn’t left any unusual tracks, Owen thought through what they’d seen.
“James probably came straight here after I chased him off, figuring this is where we’d end up. Like he’s been waiting for his chance at Laura,” Owen told Will.
“So where is he, then?”
Owen didn’t need to answer. He took off running for the house. If they were investigating the barn where James had been staying, then James could only be in one place—with Laura.
Chapter Fourteen
Though Owen hadn’t lifted his ban on Laura going outside, she headed out back to the well for some more water to finish cleaning the kitchen. She’d seen the guards there earlier, so it should be safe enough to go out for a quick trip.
The air was still, cool, and Laura couldn’t help but shiver as the clouds passed over the moon. Owen was out there somewhere, and part of her hoped for a glimpse of him.
Which was incredibly stupid of her, all things considered.
Why could she never leave well enough alone?
“Hello, Laura.” James’s voice made her jump.
She spun and came face-to-face with her ex-husband.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking around for the guards.
“They won’t be helping you. A few of my men took their places, and they were good enough to give us some private time tonight. I’ve been waiting all day for it to get dark enough for me to move around easier.”
His voice sounded so even and cultured. Like he hadn’t threatened to kill her the last time he saw her.
“What do you want?” Laura kept her voice firm, despite her insides feeling like liquid.
James smiled at her. The kind of evil smile that meant he was going to hurt her. But first, he’d do everything to make her afraid.
Only that wasn’t going to work. Laura wasn’t that woman anymore.
“I just want my wife back,” James said, acting as though he was making the most reasonable request in the world.
She glared at him. “Why? I testified against you. And then I divorced you. Because of me, you went to jail.”
Taunting him might not have been the best idea, but it seemed almost ludicrous that James would want her back.
“You know I don’t like to lose.” James circled her, almost as though she was prey. “I am very upset that you would do so many things to hurt me. And I will make you pay.”
She’d known it was about revenge, of course. But hearing his words strengthened her resolve that James was not going to hurt her again. He appeared to be unarmed, but so was she. Could she keep him talking while staying out of his reach long enough for Owen to return?
“I’m sorry,” Laura said, knowing that he liked to hear her apologize. Perhaps if she placated him enough, he would let his guard down, and it would make it easier for Owen to catch him.
James smiled. “Of course you are. But what are you sorry for? It seems to me, my dear, that you have made some grave mistakes.”
He pulled out a knife, and it shone in the light. She’d wondered why he’d come without a gun, but now she knew. James had never been o
ne to punish her and get it over with. He liked to torment her and make it as long and painful as possible.
Based on what she’d heard of how he’d killed his mistress, it was a momentary outburst of temper. She’d surprised him with the news of her pregnancy, and in a rage, he’d taken a statue and bludgeoned her to death with it. But when James thought he was in control of his emotions, he took his time to exact as much pain as possible.
Right now, he thought he had the upper hand. He thought that he’d somehow outsmarted everyone else here. But he was wrong.
Owen would never leave her unprotected for long.
Even so, all Laura had to do was get inside the house and to the kitchen, where she’d stashed the shotgun Owen had given her inside the broom closet.
At least she’d had the foresight to take that action when he’d left earlier. If she was going to be alone in the kitchen, the least she could do was take the gun and put it within easy reach. Too bad she hadn’t thought to take it outside with her. Then, her ordeal would be over.
“You don’t look very scared,” James said, looking disappointed.
That’s what he’d liked. Her fear. And to hear her beg.
It was hard to think like the woman she’d once been. The woman James still thought she was.
“I am.” Laura took a deep breath as she stepped back. “I thought...you would never hurt me again.”
James smiled, looking so evil it was hard to imagine she’d ever thought him charming. “He promised you that you’d be safe, didn’t he?”
Laura nodded. Owen had promised her that. He might not have ever promised her anything else, but he’d at least given her the promise of safety.
“Is that why you kissed him in there? Gratitude for keeping you safe? Or did he demand that as payment?”
Her skin crawled at the thought of James observing what had to have been one of the most humiliating moments of her life. Though he obviously hadn’t heard the conversation, it was bad enough that he’d seen.
“Such a shame,” James said, chuckling. “You still haven’t learned to please a man, have you? I’ve never seen a man run so fast from a woman’s arms. And now he’s left you all alone. What a disappointment you must be, unable to give him proper compensation for his work.”
James’s words disgusted her. He’d gotten it wrong, but his words still stung. How many times had he berated her because she couldn’t make him happy? Though Owen had rejected her, it hadn’t been because he hadn’t enjoyed her kiss.
Some of the pain she’d been feeling at his leaving eased. Owen wasn’t angry with her because of her inadequacies. He was angry because she hadn’t listened to him. Not because listening to him meant being controlled the way James had done, but because Owen’s warnings were always about her best interests.
She’d seen love and compassion in Owen’s eyes. That she hadn’t mistaken, even if she’d been wrong about so much more.
James took a step toward her. “I wonder whose arms he’ll seek comfort in. It was such a chore for me, always having to find a woman willing to do what you should have done. If only you’d satisfied me and given me a son, we wouldn’t be in this terrible mess.”
He was a madman, talking the way he did. But the more James talked, the more she realized that all the things she blamed herself for were really about James and his warped view of the world. All Laura had to do was humor him long enough for Owen to return.
With a long sigh, James gave her the look of disappointment Laura knew so well. She used to live in fear of that expression, but now she knew that it had nothing to do with her, only James’s unrealistic expectations of her.
“People think I killed Hattie because she was pregnant. Not true. I’d merely asked her to do the right thing, to go into seclusion so we could pretend the baby was yours. No one would have had to know. But that stupid woman thought I loved her. She thought I would leave you to marry her. Why would anyone want to marry a cheap actress who’d been with every man in town?”
James’s derision made Laura feel even more sorry for the woman he’d killed. What had James told her and promised her? And how could he have thought that Laura would have been willing to go along with it? Laura shook her head. She’d thought she would have done anything to have had a baby. But would she have been willing to accept his mistress’s child as her own?
“You still killed her,” Laura said quietly, bringing her thoughts back to the conversation at hand.
James glared at her. “It was self-defense. She flew at me in a rage, so I grabbed the closest thing to defend myself.”
Perhaps hitting her once would have been. But James had bludgeoned her repeatedly, making her almost unrecognizable.
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Laura tried to sound like she was on his side as she took another step back. Just a few more steps to the porch, and then she could dart inside for the shotgun.
“My lawyer disagreed. But perhaps had my wife been willing to stand by me, he might have had a different opinion.”
“You threatened to kill me,” Laura said, taking another step back.
James shrugged. “Idle threats. How many times have I threatened to kill you? Are you dead? No.”
He sounded like they were talking about the dinner menu or something equally mundane. Just because he hadn’t succeeded in killing her didn’t mean he hadn’t tried.
“You killed people when you got out of prison and said I was next,” Laura said, trying to keep her voice calm.
“I wanted to get your attention.”
Taking another step back, Laura said, “It worked.”
“Are you running away from me?” James came toward her, an ugly grimace on his face. He was enjoying this. Even though Laura was not afraid, because she was finally seeing him for the pathetic man that he truly was, James still thought he had the upper hand.
Let him think that. Because Laura was close to showing him that he wasn’t going to win this time.
“I don’t want you to hurt me,” she said, adopting a more fearful tone. “You said you were going to make me pay. I think I’ve paid enough.”
James snickered. “How many times have I told you not to think? It’s unseemly for a woman to think.”
It might be unseemly in James’s eyes, but Laura had learned just how rewarding it could be to think for herself. And, in the midst of James’s taunts, she suddenly understood why Owen had been so frustrated with her. He hadn’t been trying to keep her from thinking for herself, or even treating her like the ignorant woman James was. Rather, he’d had a deeper perspective on the situation and had known better than Laura what was necessary. James didn’t respect her, period.
Owen had treated her with respect, but she’d been so blinded by her pain over how James had treated her that she’d failed to recognize it.
Lord, please give me the chance to apologize to Owen. He’s been trying to reason with me all along, but I’ve been so stuck in my own frustrations that I failed to see it.
As Laura prayed, she wondered if she’d misinterpreted Owen’s reaction to the kiss, as well.
“You’re plotting something, aren’t you?” James asked, taking another step toward her.
“I’m cold,” Laura said, rubbing her arms. “I want to go back inside.”
“Are you going to invite me in?” As if he was a guest she welcomed. But there was no way she was going to put Lena and the twins at risk.
“I need to make sure the children are asleep first.”
James made a disappointed noise. “Always putting others before me. This is why I have needed to punish you. Don’t you know that a husband’s needs are the most important?”
“You’re not my husband anymore.” Laura held on to the handrail as she backed up the stairs.
“What God has joined, man cannot separate,” James said solemnly. A fine time for
him to recognize God’s laws. Especially since he ignored so many others.
In a quick movement, Laura ran for the door and wrenched it open. James’s footfalls were behind her, but she needed only a few seconds, and she would have the rifle in her grasp.
She slammed the door in James’s face, knowing it wouldn’t stop him for long, but just needed long enough.
Laura grabbed the shotgun and spun around just in time for James to kick the door in. She didn’t think but brought it to her shoulder just as Lena had shown her on the ranch. With James so close, she didn’t have to aim. All she needed to do was hit him, and he was straight in front of her.
Squeezing the trigger, Laura prayed that this would end her ordeal.
* * *
The blast of the shotgun sent Owen running through the house. The precious seconds it had taken him to unlock the door had his heart in his throat. Why had they gone to the front instead of the back? Though both were locked, at least the back was closer to where the shot had come from.
“Stay there,” he said to Lena as he passed the parlor. He could see her waking up, but he didn’t need her in the middle of whatever mess had happened.
By the time he got to the kitchen, the back door was ajar, with a bit of the jamb damaged from the blast. Laura stood there, holding the shotgun.
“What happened?”
“He got away,” Laura said quietly, looking forlorn.
Owen looked her up and down, searching for any sign that she’d been injured. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I thought I couldn’t miss. But he ran away.”
Will reached past him and touched a spot on the door. “You didn’t miss. You just didn’t kill him.”
He turned to Owen. “I can see a small trail of blood. He’s not bleeding badly, but it’ll slow him down enough for us to gather some men to capture him. He won’t go far. If we’re right about what we just found in that barn, that’s where he’s headed. Let’s do this right and get some men to back us up.”
Honor-Bound Lawman Page 19
