"No?" She challenged him.
"Huh-uh." He bent to kiss the tip of her nose, and she reached to wipe it away. He laughed softly. "Naw, because if you do, I'm gonna kill that baby girl. Now, don't you go doubtin' what I tell you." He gave her hair a vicious yank. "I made Billy Monroe cry afore we cut him a-loose. Made him piss hisself."
Jessica raised her eyes to meet his. "Your point?"
He gave a whoop of sudden laughter, glancing at Sellers. "Whoo-ee, Tom, did you ever see the like? This girl's plumb sassy! Well, I like that." He returned his gaze to Jessica. "Yep, I think you and me are gonna get on just fine, Miss Jessi, just as soon as you learn who's boss."
"Boss?"
The laughter in his eyes guttered at her scathing, disgusted stare.
"I would rather bed Satan himself," she spat.
Fallon's breath hissed inward sharply and he drew himself up to his full height. Jessica resisted the urge to shrink away from the intensity in his frigid stare.
"You're getting better than Satan, Miss Jessi," he murmured softly. "You're getting me. Andrew Fallon. The commander of the world's greatest army."
Jessica let the scornful smile slant across her face. "There'll be nothing left of your army by the time you get back to it. And if you do kill us, then what?"
"Well, now, that ain't your concern, is it?" His shoulders were set, his face a mask of cold fury. "Your man's dead, and that's all you need to think on."
Jessica shook her head, refusing to let his words hurt her. Nothing could ever hurt her again. Nothing. "You can't outrun the law forever. They'll catch you, and when they do, there won't be enough of you left for the buzzards! Every lawman west of the Mississippi is going to come at you for killing one of their own."
To her horror, her voice cracked, and the tears she'd fought to hold back sprang to her eyes.
Thunder rolled loudly, and the shock of bright lightning singed the air close by the cabin.
Tom was watching her with an odd, questioning look in his pain-filled eyes.
"One of their own?" Fallon questioned. "I didn't kill Kaed, so you must be talkin' about the other one, Mr. Piss and Vinegar. That Marshal Beckley mean somethin' to you?"
Andrew Fallon smirked as he spoke, a look of smug satisfaction in his cruel eyes. Something inside Jessica broke free and rocketed against her chest. She would not cry. She would kill Andrew Fallon with her bare hands.
"Yes!" She lunged from her chair and Fallon grabbed for her clawing fingers, but not before she raked her nails down the side of his cheek, bringing bright runnels of blood immediately. His curse of pain was lost in her outraged cry. "He was my brother, damn you! My brother!"
Tom's eyes widened. He leapt to his feet, starting toward them. But Fallon pushed Jessica away from him and she stumbled back a step, slowing Tom by just the few seconds Fallon needed.
He jerked Lexi from her crib and put the gun to her temple. A triumphant grin spread across his features. Lexi began to cry, and the smile left Fallon's face. "I don't think Kaed's brat likes me, Jessi."
"You better hope nothin' happens to that baby, Fallon." Sellers's voice was calm, assured.
"Why's that?"
"Kaed sets a store by that child."
"Kaed's dead. Or, did you forget that?"
"No. I didn't forget. Couldn't. But he was Injun. Half, anyways."
Fallon's eyes turned cagey. "What does that mean?"
"Them Injuns have ways," Tom said. "Ways the whites don't know a thing about. The spirits and the burials an' all. Kaed's restless, yet."
Jessica flinched at his words, as if they were blows raining down on her. She said nothing. It was all she could do to keep her silent composure, sit still, and listen. Her gaze wandered to the door, and she imagined herself flinging it open and running, getting to Kaed, to see him one last time.
"How do you figger?" Fallon uncocked the pistol and re-holstered it, as Jessica silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Tom shrugged, wincing at the pain the movement caused him. "I don't know all about their ways, but I do know that until Kaed's buried proper—the Choctaw way—his spirit is still with us. Ain't had the Death Song done for him yet."
Fallon gnawed on his bottom lip. "You funnin' me, Sellers?"
"Funnin' you? Hell no! I wouldn't ever, not about that." Tom shook his head. "Only thing I know for sure is that you don't ever want to hear an owl outside your window."
Lexi squirmed, and almost absently, Fallon put her back into her bed. "Why's that?"
Sellers took a step closer to Jessica. "Well, the way I hear it is, if an owl calls your name three times—"
Chapter Thirty-Three
The front door crashed open. The wind blew in with a rush, banging the door against the wall. Tom roughly pushed Jessica to the floor, covering her body with his as she cast a glance over her shoulder...
Kaed!
Fallon's eyes were riveted on the savage who stood before him in the dim lantern light. The apparition's dark hair gleamed as the lightning flashed behind him, his sun-bronzed skin glistening. Gun already in hand, his legs were braced in the familiar stance.
As Fallon tried to pull his own weapon from his holster, Kaed leveled the revolver. His .45 sent a volley of fiery lead straight for Fallon's head and chest, until the chambers clicked empty.
As the last bullet left the pistol, Kaed came fully inside the doorway. Fallon lay crumpled on the floor, blood streaming from the corner of his mouth. Kaed knelt beside him, and Fallon looked up at him balefully.
"I thought you was dead."
Kaed grinned coldly. "Hell no, Drew. Tom was just funnin' you—after all."
"I shoulda kilt you, when I had you. Damn near did, didn't I?"
Kaed nodded. "Damn near. But you just weren't good enough, Fallon. Screwed that up, just like everything else you've ever done."
"What does it mean? The owl, three times—"
Kaed leaned close in to him. "Means you're dead, you sorry bastard."
But Fallon didn't hear. His sightless eyes stared at the ceiling. Kaed stood slowly and turned, catching Jessica close to his heart as she ran into his arms.
* * * * *
Jessica's hands moved over him as he claimed her mouth, roughly, sweetly.
How close he'd come to losing it all. His tongue mated with hers, his arms closing around her body. I'll never let you go.
He lifted his head. He wanted to look into her eyes, to see the love for him. He wasn't disappointed.
"I thought—" she whispered.
"I know. I heard it all. Just had to pick my time. Ah, Christ, Jessi, don't cry." He thumbed the tears away, his hands framing her cheeks. "Just let me look at you."
She pressed close to him again, nestling her head on his chest. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head.
"I was afraid."
"Shh. I know. But I told you I'd be back."
"Wished you'd made it a little sooner," Tom said. "I was beginnin' to wonder what was keepin' you, boy. Don't mean to break up this little party, but Fallon's bleedin' all over your floor, Miss Jessi."
"Oh, goodness." She pushed out of Kaed's arms quickly. "And you, you're hurt, and here I stand. Tom, I'm sorry." She headed for the kitchen to put some water on to boil. "Get your shirt off and lie down on the bed. I'll be right there."
"And I guess that means I get to drag Fallon's body out and clean up the mess alone," Kaed said, teasing.
"I done my part, Kaed. Took a bullet tryin' to rescue your missus."
"How'd he get you? You must be gettin' careless in your old age, Tom."
"Careless! Why, I—" He stopped at Kaed's slow smile.
"And touchy."
"I put on ten years waitin' on you! Knew you were out there. I could feel it."
"My horse came up lame," Kaed said. "I ran the last ten miles."
"Ran?" Tom unbuttoned his blood-soaked shirt, grimacing at the movement. "Well, that was none too good for them ribs of yours."
Kae
d laughed. "I'll live. I expect Jessica's got some medicine of a different kind for me tonight."
Tom nodded. "I expect." He sank to the edge of the bed, and Kaed took a step forward, concerned, but Tom waved him off. "Kaed, I felt bad, tellin' that lie about you bein' dead." He shook his head. "It about did her in." His glance drifted toward the kitchen doorway.
Kaed lifted a hand in dismissal and reached to grasp Fallon's wrists. "Forget it. She'll understand." He grinned. "By tomorrow morning, she'll know I'm flesh and blood. Alive and pure male."
Tom grinned. "I'll sleep in the barn."
"Don't think she'll allow that for a minute, you hurt and all." Kaed heaved on Fallon's inert form, dragging the body to the door. His ribs protested, but he ignored it. He'd rest soon enough. He stopped and looked at the indecision in his old friend's face. "Let's just see what happens. Time she digs that slug out, you might be ready for a pallet by the fire, and forget the barn."
"Kaed," Tom said, looking at the bed. "I don't want to put you out. Y'all need some privacy."
Kaed carried Fallon through the front door. "Get your shirt off, Tom, and lie down. It'll all work out."
* * * * *
"Tori?" Frank sat up slowly from where he'd pitched his bedroll at the edge of the woods. He leaned against the trunk of a huge old elm tree. In the few patches of pale moonlight, he could make out the figure of the young woman coming toward him. She hesitated as he spoke her name, and looked poised to turn and flee from him, as a frightened deer from a hunter.
"Tori," he whispered again, and this time, the wistful hope in his tone was undisguised.
"Frank, I couldn't sleep."
"Come here."
She took a hesitant step closer to him, then another.
"What's wrong? Thought you'd be so worn out you'd be ready to rest. Are you too cold? I'll give you my other blanket. I don't need it."
She shook her head. "Can I just sit here with you? Just for a minute?"
"You don't ever need a invite for that, Miss Kramer." He moved over and held out his hand to her. She came to him and took it, seating herself on the bedroll beside him. She shivered, and he automatically put his arm around her. As soon as he did it, he realized it wasn't proper. Miss Tori Kramer was a lady.
But she smiled at him, erasing any doubts. "Thank you, Frank." She snuggled into his side as his warm fingers traced lazy patterns on her shoulder and upper arm. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding.
"I've been so cold," she murmured. "So afraid."
He reached for his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "You're safe now, Tori. Safe with me."
She nodded sleepily against his warm shirt. "I know. Wish it could always be like this."
He smiled in the darkness, feeling her hand come across his belly and side, as if it belonged there, as if they'd sat like this every night of their young lives.
"It can," he whispered. "It will."
Two hours later, Frank came awake sharply, Travis's hand rough on his shoulder.
"Frank!"
"Yeah. I'm awake."
"Finally." The teasing voice came from the darkness. "Come on. Let's move."
"Yeah. Okay." Frank tried to sit up from where he'd slid to a half-sitting, half-lying position, Tori's head pillowed against him. His back hurt, and his neck felt as if it would break off when he turned his head.
At Frank's movement, Tori opened her eyes and slowly raised her head. "Lily?"
Travis smiled. "Miss Lily's just fine. Already packed up and ready to travel. Harv's got her wrapped in a blanket, holdin' onto her so she can get the rest of her beauty sleep."
Tori nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Morgan. That was awful kind of you and Mr. Jenkins to see to her."
Frank stood and offered a hand to Tori. She took it, and he pulled her up from the damp ground.
"Just give me a minute," she murmured shyly.
"Sure. We'll be waiting." He and Travis walked toward the horses as Tori disappeared into the woods.
"I'd be glad to let Miss Kramer ride with me, Frank," Travis said. "Take her off your hands for a while."
Frank shook his head at Travis's teasing. "Evidently, you've forgotten who you're dealing with, Trav."
Travis raised a brow. "Oh, no, I ain't. I've heard about all I can take from little Lily about Prince Charming."
Frank grinned, poking Travis's chest. "I aim to keep her talking, Trav." He took his saddle from the ground and placed it on his horse's back, tightening the cinch as Tori came toward them. "You're gonna have to rescue your own fair maiden. This one's all mine."
* * * * *
Tom bit down hard on the leather knife sheath as Jessica probed for the bullet. Kaed gripped his arm tightly. An anguished groan slid from Tom's chest.
"I'm so sorry," Jessica murmured. She shot Kaed a quick glance.
"Jessi?"
She didn't say anything in response, but Kaed understood. Tom was in pain, but he was aware, and he would know what a bullet lodged in bone would mean. The impact had sent bone fragments flying. Kaed had watched Jessica pick out several already. It was in deep.
Tom came up suddenly, and Kaed reached across his body, pushing him back down into the mattress. He let the leather sheath drop to the pillow as he turned his head.
"It's in the bone," he rasped. "I feel it."
"Tom, don't talk." Kaed glanced down at the open wound, at the metal tweezers. "Jessi'll get it."
Tom looked up at Kaed through pain-filled eyes. "You okay?"
Kaed grinned. "I'm steady. Steady as a rock." It was so like Tom to try and lighten the situation. "It'll be over soon."
Tom's lids slid shut, his breath hissing sharply as Jessica brought the bullet up carefully through layers of blood and tissue.
She laid it on a towel, along with the tweezers, and Tom's eyes flickered open once more as she rose.
"You look plumb serious, Kaedon."
"Serious business, Tom." Kaed's glance moved to Jessica as she returned from the fireplace carrying the glowing knife. "You know what comes next."
Tom managed a rueful half-grin. "Damn straight. I think maybe I taught you that didn't I? Your first year on the job?"
Kaed smiled, remembering. The first time he'd suffered a wound serious enough to need cauterizing, Tom had done it. When it was over, when he'd looked up into Tom's haunted dark eyes, Tom had stood up quickly and turned away from him. Kaed had understood it was Tom's way of hiding his emotion.
He reached once more to grasp Tom's wrists, pinning him to the bed. "Yeah. But mine wasn't in the bone." He shifted, making room for Jessica to lower the knife to the bloody entrance of the wound.
Kaed's grip tightened as Jessica pulled the edges of Tom's skin apart in preparation for the terrible agony of the white-hot steel against flesh. As it slid in a cry ripped from Tom's throat and he fell back to the bed, unconscious.
* * * * *
The marshals set a steady pace southward, with Travis riding point. Tori rode double with Frank, and Harv brought up the rear with Lily in his arms.
"Lean on me, Tori," Frank said, settling her back against him. Slowly, the rigidity left her shoulders and spine.
"Okay, sweetheart?" Frank's arm tightened around her, his lips next to her ear.
She nodded shyly. "Frank, what's going to happen to us? To me and Lily?" She bit her lip, the wind blowing her tangled hair around her face as she half-turned to look at him over her shoulder.
Frank's chest swelled until he thought it would burst. I'll take care of you, he wanted to say. Forever, if you'll have me. He could hear the frightened uncertainty in her voice.
"Tori—" God, he wanted to say what he felt. But it could frighten her even more, if he did. She was a lady, and he was a farmer's son turned Federal Marshal. Prince Charming. He wondered if she held that opinion of him, too, or if Lily was alone in her near-worship of him. It was too soon. Maybe it was one-sided on his part. It had happened fast. If he asked her to marry him this quick, she'd think
he was crazy. She'd run the other way as fast as she could go.
She touched his hand on the reins, and his breathing quickened. How old was she anyway? Younger than he was, he knew. Another thought came to him, and not for the first time. Had Fallon's men raped her? Would she be afraid of him? He let his breath out slowly.
She sat up, away from him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, disappointed.
"You were breathing funny's, all. I just thought maybe I was leaning too heavy."
He pulled her back against him. "You just rest your back against me, Tori. I'll take care of you."
He felt her sobbing against him, and he didn't know how to comfort her.
"I love you, Frank Hayes."
Her whisper floated back to him as her tears subsided, and she relaxed once more against him. He didn't question what he'd heard. Even if she hadn't said it, he suddenly knew it, just as if she'd spoken it.
And he was sure she had.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The storm had turned more violent as the night wore on. By midnight, the wind drove sheets of rain against the cabin, whistling eerily around the corner, but not finding its way into the comforting haven.
Kaed was weary, and hurting. He'd re-injured his barely healed ribs, and they throbbed with each breath he drew. He'd been a fool to ride out with the others after Andrew Fallon, and he knew it. His lips quirked in the darkness. Jessica had tried to tell him. She'd been right, as had Tom and Jack.
His gaze strayed to where Jessica slept, beside the fire on the pallet. He shook his head. Quite a woman. He'd agreed to wake her at midnight and let her sit with Tom until morning, but that was a promise he wouldn't keep.
Jessica needed her rest.
He sighed and stood up for a moment, stretching his muscles, wincing at the familiar pain in his ribcage. He walked to Lexi's bed and watched the baby as she slept, oblivious to the howling wind and sluicing rain.
He reached out, laying his fingers against the back of Lexi's head, her fine sprinkling of dark hair soft against his skin.
"I love you," he whispered, and Lexi moved beneath his hand, bringing a smile to his lips. He felt Jessica beside him just seconds before she slid her arm around his lean waist.
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