Charity (Brides of the Rio Grande Book 4)

by Peggy McKenzie

  Charity trotted her horse down the back streets until she ran out of road. She turned toward the main road and saw another rider heading south too. She hung back hoping not to be seen.

  The man looked familiar and she studied him for a moment or two before she realized who it was. “What is Ben Carter doing on a saddle horse at a quarter ‘till six o’clock in the morning? An odd time for a pleasure ride. Maybe it had something to do with his business and the reason why he was in town? Curious, Charity figured it couldn’t hurt to just see where he was going. After all, she was headed in the same direction.

  She kept her distance from him for a mile or so and kept in the shadows of the forest. She didn’t really know why she didn’t just ride up and say hello, maybe ride with him for a while, but something about him being out here this early all alone had her thinking otherwise. For now, she would just follow along and see what happened.

  Miles searched for his suspect in every whiskey watering hole and soiled dove's bed in town. He looked in every abandoned barn, home and root cellar he knew that existed in Creede. There wasn't a trace of the man anywhere.

  Frustrated he wasn't able to get his hands on him right this minute, he ended up at the jail banging a tin cup on the iron bars of his kinfolk's cell. It gave him great pleasure to wake the son-of-a-bitch up and inform him that his secret was out and it was just a matter of time before his buddy, whether brother or cousin, was sharing the cell next to him. Eli hadn't been too pleased about the interruption, but Miles had been thrilled. The look on his prisoner’s face was worth upsetting his temporary deputy.

  After he got Eli settled back down, he left the jail and took another look around town. He knew the man had to be somewhere since every time he turned around the last couple of weeks, he was sniffing around Charity's door. He'd be back, and when he showed his face again, Miles would lock him up good and tight.

  Just after seven, he decided to find his bed and grab a couple hours of sleep before starting his search again.

  He showed the two deputies out front his new wanted poster. “If this man comes on this porch, arrest him on the spot. If he gives you any trouble, shoot him.” Miles assured the deputy he would be doing the town a favor.

  He went around back to talk to Big Angus and check on his relief deputy when he was surprised to see a very agitated Irishman pacing back and forth in front of the door he was guarding.

  “Sure am glad you’re here sheriff I tried to stop her but you know there ain’t no way to stop her if she don’t wanna be stopped.”

  Miles knew exactly who the she was Big Angus was talking about. What he didn’t know was what was he trying to stop her from and that was a question he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know the answer to this early in the morning without sleep. But he needed to know.

  “Come inside and tell me what happened.” Miles ushered the giant Irishman inside the house and offered him some coffee Sarah had already brewed on the stove.

  “I was guardin’ the kitchen door just like you asked me to sheriff when I seen the lass coming out of the barn leading a saddled horse.” (Irish Accent)

  “A saddled horse? She’s supposed to be under house arrest.” Miles shook his head in frustration. “I don’t suppose she said where she was going?” Miles asked as he poured a much needed cup of coffee for himself.

  “No, she just said it was better if I didn’t know.”

  “I’m sure that’s right,” Miles mumbled under his breath. “Then what did she do?”

  “She swung her leg up over the saddle and rode off down the street.”

  “Which direction?” He was mentally preparing for how he was going to call a posse together when he was already thin on men. That damn woman was going to be the death of him yet. Selina’s prediction rose up to taunt him. He batted it away.

  “I can’t say for sure, sheriff. She rode across the neighbor’s yard behind the Hanover property here.” The big man pointed to where the tree branches hung low across the neighbor’s yard. “Once she disappeared through the trees, I cudna tell. But I mighta caught a glimpse of her headed south. Can’t say for sure the rider I saw was her though’”

  “South.” Miles was still debating what to do when Selina entered the kitchen.

  “Miles, you’re here.”

  She rushed to the coffee pot, poured herself a cup and then came to join him and Big Angus at the breakfast table by the window. “What are you two talking about so serious this early in the morning?” she wanted to know. He was really getting tired of her sticking her nose in his law business…or any of his business for that matter.

  “Big Angus just told him he saw Charity leave the house this morning.”

  “Well, are you surprised?” she cut him a look that said much more than her words.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “She’s probably sneaking out to be with Ben Carter after you refused to let him in. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find them in the barn all covered in hay.”

  Miles was too tired and too burdened to fall for Selina’s bait.

  “Selina, that’s nonsense. Charity barely knows Ben Carter.”

  “Well, what difference would that make? Come on, Miles, you know what kind of woman she is.” Selina’s attitude toward Charity was petty and childish. And he was getting sick of it.

  “Why don’t you tell me what kind of woman she is, Selina?” He encouraged. He wanted to know exactly how deep Selina’s mean streak went.

  “Well, Miles. You of all people should know. I mean she chased after you like one of The Holy Moses’ upstairs girls. I’ve heard all the stories. And even now, she’s using Ben Carter to make you jealous. She is trying to manipulate you, Miles. I’ve told you that before.”

  “So you don’t think she really likes Ben Carter. You think she’s using him to make me jealous?” It wasn’t a possibility Miles had considered before. Charity had always been so direct about her intentions. Subterfuge must be something she learned at that lady school. He wasn’t sure he liked that or not. It had never been Charity’s raw personality and rough manners he had run from. It was his feelings for her that scared the living daylights out of him.

  “No, Ben said as much. He knows what’s going on. He just doesn’t care if he has a chance to, you know, take whatever she’s offering.” Selina crude remark was unbecoming and off-putting.

  “I see. And you did tell me that I wasn’t real smart, if I remember correctly.”

  A look of embarrassment pinked her face. “I’m sorry about that. I realize now that of course you’re smart enough to see through her games. She’s so obvious.”

  “Yes, Obvious.” Charity wasn’t the only one obvious. He turned his attention back to Big Angus. “How long has she been gone?”

  “About an hour. Maybe a little more. She left just before sunrise, so I’d say around six o’clock this morning about.”

  “Get some rest, Angus. I’ll let Hiram know what’s happened and he can send out the word we need more guards to take over until I get back.”

  Selina’s voice screeched with disbelief. “Get back? You can’t be seriously considering going after her?”

  “I have to, Selina. It’s my job to keep all of my witnesses safe.”

  Her eyes squinted in anger. “You aren’t going after her because she’s your witness. You have two more witnesses in this house. You are going after her because you’ve fallen for her.”

  “Think what you like, Selina. I have to track her down and bring her back.”

  “She’s going to get you killed, Miles. Are you willing to risk your life for someone like her?”

  Miles looked at Selina and thought about her comment. “No, I wouldn’t risk my life for someone like her.”

  Selina sat back, satisfaction across her smug features. “I didn’t think so.”

  Miles stood and downed his cup of coffee and looked at Big Angus. “Tell Hiram where I’ve gone and I don’t have any idea when I’ll be back.”

  S
elina’s surprised look would have been comical…if he was in a laughing mood. “Where are you going? You said you weren’t going after her.”

  “I said I wouldn’t risk my life for someone like her, but I never said I wouldn’t risk my life for her.”

  Selina stood too, hands on her hips. “If you go after her, I won’t be here when you get back.”

  “Yes, you will. You are under house arrest too, Selina.” He pulled out the wanted poster of Ben Carter aka Willie Faulkner out of his back pocket. “I found our Mr. Ben Carter’s face on a wanted poster last night. He and my prisoner are related. Carl and Willie Faulkner.”

  Selina’s face turned a ghostly pale. He understood her shock at learning someone she had spent time with was a murderer. He had suspected Ben was up to no good, but he was still shocked to know he and others had spent time with the man while he was plotting their murders.

  “So, as long as he’s on the loose, you go up to your room and stay there. He’s a very dangerous man, Selina. I wouldn’t want to see you come to harm because you and I were thought to have been closer than we are.”

  Selina cut him a look of pure hatred. “We could have been if she hadn’t come back to town.”

  “That’s not true, Selina, and you know it. You can blame my refusal to marry you on Charity, but we both know I was very clear from the first time you invited me to a dance that I’m not the marrying kind. Didn’t I?”

  “Yes, you made that quite clear.”

  She slammed her cup down on the table and left the kitchen in an angry huff of yellow gingham. Her face contorted in anger. He was sorry she was so unhappy but his job was to protect her, not to make her happy.

  He turned his back on Selina and left by the kitchen door without another word. He liked Selina. Correction. He had liked Selina. It was shocking to see her true self finally come to light after all this time. Now, he didn’t like her very much at all.

  Miles turned his attention to finding Charity before she got herself into some serious trouble, and knowing her, it was just a matter of time.

  21

  Charity followed Ben Carter south out of town for most of the morning. She had stayed off the main road and kept to the shadows as much as the terrain would allow her horse to navigate. A couple of long stretches made it easy to gallop knowing she wouldn't surprise him over the next rise.

  Once, he had stopped and turned around. Charity was glad she had stayed among the trees instead of riding in the wide open road. She found it puzzling. Why would Ben ride out at dawn and why would he care if he was being followed? It didn’t make sense.

  Two hours out of town, the road split off with a right fork and a left fork. She knew this road well. John and Grace's cabin was a few miles up the right fork. The left fork led on down the road next to the Rio Grande river and across the continental divide into Utah Territory.

  John's family had a hunting cabin down by the river a couple more hours in that direction. There wasn’t anything between here and there so where on earth was Ben going?

  Charity was going find out what the man was up to. Miles’ words about him being a stranger in town reminded her that there could be a lot more to Ben Carter being in town than just family business. Or that family business had something to do with the man sitting in Miles’ jail.

  She rode along the edge of the road careful to stay under the shaded canopy of the aspen and pine trees. She had to take this road to get to Utah anyway, so it didn’t matter how far she had to follow him. She was going to find out what he was up to.

  Another hour passed when she lost sight of Carter. She wasn’t worried though. This was the only road going through this part of the country. The only other option was to cut through the thick timbered forests either up a steep grade or down one. Not the trail a man, or woman, would take a good horse they wanted to keep sound.

  She crested the next hill and a wide stretch of open road lay before her. Still no sign of Carter. She scanned the horizon on both sides of the road in case he had gone off the road for a rest in the shade. Nothing moved. Where the hell had he gone?

  She urged her horse out into the open and rose up in her saddle to get a better look. The sudden report of a rifle shot echoed throughout the mountains. She couldn’t tell which direction it was fired from, so she leaned low over her saddle and spurred her horse into the protective shadows of the trees again.

  Her horse bolted into the trees as a searing pain hit her shoulder. The force of the bullet’s impact knocked her from her horse and she hit the ground hard. Stunned from the fall, she lay still before trying to get up. She couldn’t allow herself to pass out so she focused on the leaves of an aspen branch hanging overhead. “Breathe, Charity. Just breathe,” she whispered to herself. A few seconds passed and she tried to sit up. She needed to get to her horse. That shot wasn’t random. It was meant for her and the only person she knew that was out here this morning…was Ben Carter.

  She couldn’t move her shoulder so she tried to roll over, but the pain in her head pushed her back to the ground. She must have hit her head on a rock or something hard when she fell from her horse. Nausea rolled through her body and she saw sparkling lights dance around her head just before darkness descended. She knew she would be vulnerable to whoever had done this. She sent up a silent prayer they wouldn’t find her or her horse.

  Miles rode his horse hard for the first five miles or so hoping to catch up with Charity before she got herself into deep trouble. Why couldn’t that woman just stay put and do what she was told? He knew the answer to that question. Because it was Charity. It’s what she did.

  The sweat soaked shoulders of his muscled mount bunched and stretched underneath his saddle until Miles pulled him up to an easy gallop. The horse could keep up this pace for at least half a day. More if he had to push him. Miles hoped it wouldn't take more time than that to catch up with Charity, but she had a good hour’s head start. Maybe more.

  He was dog tired from no sleep, but his senses were on high alert. He made an easy target riding in the open like this, but it was the only sure way to gain ground on Charity. He just prayed she had come this way instead of doubling back and going north.

  Just when his doubts had him ready to turn around and head back to town, a single gunshot rang out through the mountain air, echoing all around him. He couldn't tell which direction the shot had come from, but he was worried sick he knew who it was meant for. "Charity," he whispered, fear constricted his throat.

  He kicked his horse into the thick pine and aspen tree line bordering both sides of the rock and dirt packed road. And then he listened. He prayed he would hear a string of curse words from Charity. Nothing. And the heavy silence nearly paralyzed him with fear. Was he too late to save her from herself? He closed his eyes and prayed he was mistaken. Maybe it was a hunter out this morning looking to put food on his table for his family.

  He tied his horse to a tree just out of sight from the road. He checked his side arms and pulled his rifle from its sheath. He heard a horse whinny nearby and he covered his horse's nose and mouth to keep him from answering. His gelding tossed his head up and down to free his nose from Miles' grasp. Miles stroked his long nose and released his grip. The gelding remained quiet. Miles blew out a sigh of relief.

  His horse was happy to munch on the green clumps of grass nearby. Relieved, he crept through the mossy forest, careful to avoid the sharp crack of deadfall beneath his feet. Ten minutes of slow moving brought him to the edge of the forest. The road cut back to the right away from the river and there he saw his worst nightmare come to life.

  Two horses stood at the edge of the forest. One he recognized as Hiram Hanover’s gray gelding. Movement pulled his eyes to a man…and he was carrying the dead weight of a body. A flash of red hair dragged the ground. He was right. Charity had been shot.

  Acid built in his stomach until he wretched on the ground. Charity. Was he too late to save her or was she unconscious? And if so, how serious were her injuries? Quest
ions bombarded his mind while he watched the scene below.

  The man unceremoniously threw charity over her horse’s saddle. Her hair hung down the side of her horse and touched the ground.

  He twisted her hair and stuffed it inside her hat, then he pulled the drawstring tight underneath her chin to hold it all in place.

  The man’s face was plain to see and Miles’ finger itched on his rifle trigger. It came as no surprise to him that the man who had injured Charity—or worse—was none other than Ben—no, not Ben—his name was Willie Faulkner and he was the murderer responsible for Mr. Putnam and the Mabrys deaths. Now, he might be responsible for Charity’s death as well.

  Miles watched the man’s every move and waited for a clean shot. He didn’t want to take a chance on hitting Charity in case she was still alive.

  When Willie gathered Charity’s horse’s reins and climbed upon his own horse, Miles took aim to shoot him out of his saddle.

  Miles could see the dark spot across Charity’s right shoulder through his gun’s sites. There was no doubt now she had been shot, the question was how serious was it? Was she unconscious or was she…dead. The thought made him want to rage against his luck.

  He had deliberately kept his distance from Charity because he thought that would keep her safe. But it hadn’t. And her death was not because of him, but because something she had gotten herself into. Doc Howard’s words came rushing back to remind him that death could come at any time to any one for any reason.

  He wished he had allowed himself to show her how much he cared about her…loved her even, before…this. He didn’t know if she was alive or dead and he was mad as hell at his bad luck. Damn his luck. Damn it to hell.

  Rage at the injustice grew inside him like a wild fire seeking something to destroy. He was going to kill that son-of-a-bitch down below. And he was going to do it now.