Madeline Baker

by Prairie Heat

  Kane wrapped his hands around the bars, feeling like maybe his luck was about to run out. McCord wouldn’t make any careless mistakes. He’d watch Kane like a mama grizzly guarding her cubs.

  Kane shrugged the thought aside. “Whatever happened to that Thornton woman?”

  “I married her.”

  Kane looked surprised, then thoughtful. So, McCord had married Matilda Thornton. The knowledge might come in handy some day.

  Jess took a last look at Kane, his hands itching to put a rope around the man’s neck. All in good time, he thought with a grin. All in good time.

  He was whistling cheerfully when he left the cellblock.

  *

  “Kane is here?” Mattie exclaimed. “In jail?”

  Jess nodded. “A bounty hunter brought him in this morning.”

  She could hear the excitement in his voice, the satisfaction, but she didn’t share his enthusiasm. She had hoped never to see Elias Kane again, had hoped he was gone out of their lives once and for all. And now Kane was here, in Abilene, stirring old memories, old hates, old hurts. Would they never be rid of the man?

  “What will happen to him?” Mattie asked.

  “I sent for Judge Craddock. As soon as he gets here and verifies that it’s Kane and pays out the reward, I’ll take Kane back to Lordsburg for trial.”

  “And then?”

  “And then I’ll watch him hang.”

  She heard the hardness in his voice, saw the hatred glittering in his eyes, and she felt suddenly cold and afraid.

  “Can’t Bob take Kane to Lordsburg?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “You know why not. Dammit, Mattie, I’ve waited a long time for this, and I aim to see it through.”

  “Don’t go, Jess. Please don’t go.”

  His anger rose hot and quick. Not go? He had to go. He was a witness, but more than that, he wanted to be there. He had to be there.

  Mattie stared at her husband, and he was a stranger to her. Gone was the gentle man who had held her and loved her, and in his place was the man who had fascinated and frightened her when they first met. He was filled with anger again, filled with the need for vengeance, for bloodshed.

  “A life for a life,” Jess muttered.

  “‘Vengeance is mine,’ saith the Lord.”

  A cruel smile twisted McCord’s lips. “And I aim to be the instrument of that vengeance, Mattie. Kane won’t cheat the rope again.”

  Mattie nodded, her heart filled with sadness and despair. “Good night, Jess,” she murmured, and swept past him to their room where she quietly closed the door. They had been so happy here, and now Kane was back, sowing contention between them, trampling their new-found peace beneath his feet.

  She put on her nightgown and crawled into bed to stare up at the ceiling, the hurt in her heart too overwhelming for tears. She wished Jess would come to bed, that he would put his arms around her and hold her tight. She needed to feel his strength, to hear his voice assuring her that he loved her, that nothing had changed between them, but she knew the words would be a lie. Kathleen’s ghost was between them again, standing shoulder to shoulder with her husband’s hatred. It was a barrier Mattie couldn’t cross, and she fell asleep feeling lost and alone.

  *

  Jess spent more time than usual at the jail in the next few days. Kane drew him like a magnet, and he often stood at the cellblock door, staring at the man who had killed Kathleen, remembering over and over again how he had held her, dying, in his arms.

  With malicious glee, he bought a rope and fashioned a noose and left it hanging in the cell next to Kane’s, knowing that Kane wouldn’t be able to resist looking at it, knowing that Kane would imagine the noose closing around his throat again and again.

  His relationship with Mattie was strained, but he refused to dwell on it. Once Kane was tried and convicted, everything would work out. He’d make it up to Mattie then. But for now all he could think of was Kane. His dreams were filled with grotesque images of Kane swinging from the end of a long rope, his face contorted, his tongue swollen and black, his eyes bulging from his head.

  As time went on, the dreams became nightmares, and sometimes it was Kane dangling from the rope, and sometimes it was himself. He woke in a cold sweat on those nights, his throat tight, his heart pounding like an Apache war drum, his silent screams ringing in his ears.

  He needed Mattie then, needed to feel her arms around him, to taste her sweetness, but he couldn’t turn to her for comfort, not now, not when she was so against the very thing that was causing his nightmares.

  He grew restless, irritable. He snapped at Guilford and growled at Mattie, until they both began to avoid him.

  Only Kane took pleasure in his foul mood, grinning with impudent delight as McCord grew more and more sullen. McCord had a conscience, Kane thought disdainfully, that was his problem. On the one hand, McCord was glad Kane had been caught, because he was going to hang. On the other hand, he felt guilty about it. It was gnawing at his guts, Kane thought triumphantly, and it was no less than he deserved, the bastard. Putting up that noose had been a nasty bit of business, but he wasn’t dead yet, not by a long shot.

  Kane put a smile on his face as he heard the cellblock door swing open. It was noon and the little girl who delivered his meals was right on time.

  “Good afternoon, Molly,” Kane said, his voice tinged with just the right amount of despair.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Kane.” Molly placed the tray on the floor and slid it under the bars.

  “Smells good,” Kane remarked.

  Molly smiled, her heart aching for the tall, handsome man who was going to die.

  “Don’t go,” Kane called as she started to leave. “Please, stay with me awhile. It’s lonely here, and I hate to eat alone.”

  Molly chewed on her lower lip, knowing she wasn’t supposed to stay, knowing her mother would give her a tongue-lashing if she found out.

  “Please.”

  With a sigh, Molly sat down on the floor, careful to sit so that the ugly scar on her face was turned away from him. It wasn’t fair, she thought, that the only man who had ever paid any attention to her was a criminal.

  She watched him while he ate, impressed with his fine manners, with his soft voice when he spoke to her of his old life in the East, of his parents, who were dead now, of his sisters. Surely it was all a mistake. Surely this man could not have killed anyone.

  Kane laid his fork aside, wiped his mouth with the napkin, then smiled wistfully at Molly. “I haven’t had apple pie like that since I left home.”

  “I made it,” she said shyly.

  “You did? Well, it was prime. Guess I won’t be around to enjoy your good cooking, or your company, much longer.”

  “Oh?”

  Kane nodded sadly. “The judge will be here any day now, but I want you to know how much I’ve appreciated your kindness, Molly. You’re a sweet thing, and I only wish I’d got to know you sooner, under better circumstances.”

  Molly’s heart did a little dance at his words. “I wish that too, Mr. Kane.”

  Elias Kane felt a ray of hope. “Yes,” he said, “it’s too bad we didn’t meet sooner. I’d like to have taken you to New York with me, to Boston and Chicago, shown you things you’ve never imagined.”

  Molly’s eyes grew wide with interest as he went on, telling her of the theater, the ballet, the parks and the zoos, the libraries and the museums.

  “We’d have had a grand time, you and I,” Kane said wistfully.

  “Would you really have taken me to those places?” Molly asked. Unconsciously, her hand lifted to her scarred cheek. “Wouldn’t you have been ashamed to be seen with me?”

  “Ashamed? Of course not.” Kane stood up and moved closer to the bars, his eyes filled with tenderness as he reached out to her. “Come here, Molly.”

  She was mesmerized by the look in his beautiful emerald-green eyes, by the sound of his voice. For weeks, she had been bringing this
man his meals, talking to him, dreaming of him, fantasizing about the places he’d been, the things he’d seen.

  Trusting and innocent, she lifted her face to his, closed her eyes as he kissed her. “Sweet,” he murmured. “So sweet.”

  Molly moaned softly and Kane almost shouted with triumph. It was all so easy.

  “Molly, darlin’,” he drawled softly, “we could still be together, if you’ll help me.”

  “Help you,” she murmured, still caught up in the enchantment of his kiss.

  “The key, Molly. Bring me the key.”

  “The key?”

  “To the cell,” Kane said, fighting to keep the impatience out of his voice. “Bring it tonight.”

  “How?”

  “You’ll think of a way.”

  “And you’ll take me with you? To New York?”

  Kane nodded, then pulled her to him once more, kissing her deeply, persuasively. She had a full figure for one so young. Her hair was dark red, her skin fair, her eyes a dark and trusting brown. And she was desperate for love. He could feel the need in her, the hunger, not for the act itself but for the closeness it promised.

  “Tonight,” he whispered as he heard footsteps approaching the door of the cellblock. “Don’t forget.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Please, Jess,” Mattie said quietly. “We haven’t spent any time together for so long.” She gazed up at him as he stood at the door, hating the pleading note that had crept into her voice, frightened by the gulf that had widened between them in the last few days. He seemed so far from her, so distant. “It’s Sunday. Guilford can look after things at the jail. Please.”

  Jess let out a heavy sigh. Since Kane’s arrest, he had spent almost every waking moment at the jail, and he wanted to be there now too, wanted to savor each minute that Kane was behind bars. But he couldn’t refuse the soft plea in Mattie’s voice, the hope in her eyes. And if the truth be told, he had missed her the last few days. He too was aware of the breach between them, and he didn’t like it. Perhaps tonight they could rediscover the closeness they had once shared.

  He smiled faintly as he removed his gunbelt and hung it on the hall tree, then reached for Mattie’s hand. For a moment they stood looking at each other, then Jess drew Mattie into his arms and held her close. He had been a fool to ignore her, a fool to spend all his time with Kane when he could be here, holding his wife.

  He felt the slight shake of her shoulders and knew she was crying and trying not to let him know, and he cursed himself for being so preoccupied with revenge that he’d been blind to Mattie’s needs. She was pregnant with his child and he’d left her alone night after night while he shut himself up in the jail with a man who wasn’t worth one of Mattie’s tears.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured, his lips brushing the top of her head. “I’ve been a fool. Forgive me.”

  Mattie nodded, a load of despair melting from her heart at his words.

  Jess swung her lightly into his arms and carried her into their bedroom, his lips moving in her hair as he whispered again that he was sorry, so damn sorry.

  He sat her on the edge of the bed, then knelt on the floor at her feet, his hands holding hers, his eyes dark with love and remorse. “Forgive me?”

  “There’s nothing to forgive. I’ve been acting like a ninny, worrying over nothing. But sometimes I get so afraid, and I don’t know why.” She laughed sheepishly. “I guess it’s my condition.”

  “I shouldn’t have left you home alone night after night. I won’t do it anymore. But I’ll have to take Kane to Lordsburg as soon as the reward’s been paid.”

  “I know.” She caressed his cheek, then placed her hands on his shoulders and drew him toward her, until all she could see were his eyes, deep and dark. “I love you, Jess,” she murmured, and then she kissed him, her lips sending a silent message that he was quick to answer.

  And there was no need for talk, or for apologies or explanations. She told him with her hands and her lips that she loved him, would always love him, and he replied in kind, his kisses more eloquent than words, his caresses renewing the vows they had made.

  He made love to her slowly, tenderly, holding his own passion in check for fear of hurting the life she carried beneath her heart, and it was a new beginning for both of them, a confirmation of the love they shared, a promise for the future.

  *

  Molly smiled disarmingly at Robert Guilford as she entered the marshal’s office, a covered tray in her hands.

  “Evening, Robert,” she said cheerfully.

  “Hi, Molly. What ya got there? It sure smells good.”

  “Roast beef and mashed potatoes and hot apple pie.”

  Guilford grunted softly. “Hell, that prisoner’s eating better than I am.”

  “Haven’t you had dinner yet?”

  Guilford shook his head. “McCord was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago to relieve me. You haven’t seen him, have you?”

  “No. Why don’t you run over to Ma’s place and get something to eat before that pie’s all gone?”

  “I’m not supposed to leave the prisoner unattended.”

  Molly took a deep breath. “I’ll stay if you like.”

  “No, I don’t think so. The jail’s no place for a fifteen-year-old girl. Your ma would have my hide.”

  “Ma doesn’t have to know,” Molly retorted. “And I’m sixteen.”

  “Sorry.”

  Molly moved closer to the desk and lifted a corner of the napkin. “The roast beef’s almost gone.”

  Guilford hesitated, his cheeks flushing as his stomach rumbled loudly. “Go give Kane his dinner, and then I’ll go. You’re sure you don’t mind sitting here for a few minutes?”

  Molly shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

  She opened the cellblock door, walked down the narrow aisle and shoved the tray under the bars. Giving Kane a wink, she hurried back to the office.

  “I won’t be long,” Guilford said, reaching for his hat. “Just sit here ’til I get back.”

  Molly nodded, her heart hammering in her chest. She waited until the door closed behind Guilford, then opened the desk drawer and took out the keys to the cells, marveling at how smoothly everything was going.

  Kane was standing at the cell door, a broad smile on his handsome face. With a triumphant grin, Molly held up the key ring, then placed the key in the lock and gave it a quick turn.

  “Hurry,” she said. “I’ve got two horses saddled and waiting behind the newspaper office.”

  “Two horses?”

  “One for you and one for me,” Molly said. She smiled uncertainly.

  “Sorry, kid, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think I’ll be able to take you with me after all.”

  “Why not?” She hurried after him as he made his way out of the cellblock and into the office. “You promised to take me with you.”

  Kane shrugged as he pulled his gunbelt from the bottom drawer of the desk and buckled it on.

  “There’s someone else,” Molly accused.

  “That’s right,” Kane admitted. “Now get out of my way.”

  Molly shook her head. “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll scream so loud the whole town will hear me.”

  Kane nodded, his green eyes glittering like shards of frosted glass. “Get out of my way.”

  “No.” She opened her mouth to scream, saw the rage darken his face. The scream died in her throat and she started to plead with him instead, but before she could form the words, Kane’s fist smashed into her jaw and she fell backward, her head striking a corner of the desk before she collapsed on the floor. A thin trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

  Stepping over her inert form, Kane lowered the window shade, then stepped outside. The Chronicle office was to his left as he walked down the street, then ducked into the shadows behind the building and made his way to the back of the building.

  He smiled with satisfaction when he saw two horses tethered there. Molly had done her wo
rk well, he thought. Both horses carried saddlebags bulging with supplies. There were bedrolls tied behind the cantles of the saddles.

  Swinging aboard the near horse, he took up the reins of the extra mount and started for the end of town.

  McCord lived on the outskirts of Abilene. He had overheard Molly talking about the place, about how the marshal’s wife had fixed it up. It had a white picket fence and a swing in the front yard. If he was lucky, Kane thought with a feral grin, he could settle his debt with McCord and the woman and be out of town before anyone was the wiser.

  He left the horses behind McCord’s house, stealthily made his way to the front and peered in the window. He could see Matilda sitting on the sofa, a piece of mending in her lap. There was no sign of McCord.

  Moving to the front door, he placed his hand on the knob. It turned easily in his hand and he stepped into the parlor, his gun drawn, his senses wary.

  “Back so soon?” Mattie said, and then gasped as she looked over her shoulder and saw Elias Kane standing just inside the front door. “You!” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m looking for your husband, Mrs. McCord.”

  “He isn’t here.”

  Kane grimaced in disbelief.

  “It’s true. He went to the office to relieve his deputy.”

  Kane swore softly. McCord would raise the alarm as soon as he found Molly.

  “Let’s go,” he said gruffly.

  “Go?”

  “Hurry up, dammit!” He waved the gun in her direction. “Grab a dress and some shoes. We’re leaving.”

  She was afraid to argue with him while he held the gun, afraid to stall for time for fear Jess would come home and Kane would shoot him on sight.

  Rising, she went into the bedroom and pulled a dress, shoes and stockings from the wardrobe, then preceded Kane out the back door.

  Kane took the belt from her robe and tied her hands together, then lifted her onto the back of a piebald mare. Taking up the reins, he swung aboard his own horse and rode into the darkness beyond the outskirts of town, urging his horse into a gallop as soon as they were out of sight.