It didn’t take him long to get a fire going and with the sun going down, I could feel the chill in the air about to dip a little lower than I was used to. I started to shiver, when I felt something being draped over my shoulders. I looked back to see that Vance had taken his duster and draped it over me.
I stared at him with disbelief and he smiled in that disarming way that had me literally wondering how this man hadn’t been taken off the market already.
“Vance, you know my story, or at least the part that I’ve told you about. I barely know anything about you, except that you’re out here in the middle of nowhere fishing and shooting your gun with a careless disregard for anybody else around you.” I hugged his jacket to me and I could smell him on it and it made me want more than anything to show him some western hospitality. I would never go against my vows, or at least that was what I was thinking. I’m sure that if Sheila was here, she would be all over him and would not take no for an answer.
He had taken off his vest, as the heat of the flames now cooking the fish was making it very sticky in his own clothes. He warmed his hands by the fire and every so often he would look at me like I was some kind of mirage that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I had to admit that I was quite impressed by his cooking and that first bite caused me to look at him.
“I know, Merriam. It took me by surprise when I first tried it myself. I was glad to barter my belt buckle for a supply of these spices that I intend to sell at any market that I come across from here to the plains. I never did answer your question about what my story was. If you must know, I lost my wife to a terrible fall about five years ago to this day. I had nothing to tie me down and the only thing that was keeping me in the town was my wife. One day, I just vacated my small house and took my horse and we’ve been traveling ever since. I know that she’s watching from above and she’s probably living vicariously through every adventure that I’ve been through up to this point.”
“Do you ever get tired and want to settle down with a good woman again? Five years is a long time to go without some kind of companionship. It must get lonely out here in the middle of nowhere.” He had this faraway look and I could tell that he was reliving those memories of having his wife by his side.
“I haven’t really thought of it, but I’ve never met anybody that has even held a candle to my dearly departed Mandy. She was a hell raiser and she had no problem telling you where the bear shits in the woods. That girl had attitude and a stubborn streak that rivaled my own. I don’t know how many times we had a knock down fight that ended up with us kissing and burning those sheets all night long.” The way that he talked about her had me mesmerized from the very beginning of his story. It didn’t sound like a tall tale. It sounded like he was talking from the heart and I had not met a man that had his feelings out there for everybody to see.
I lay down and closed my eyes, falling asleep and feeling his hands wrapped around me in a comforting way. I knew deep down that he wouldn’t take advantage of me.
Chapter three
I bolted straight up with a sense of dread coming over me. The embers from the fire were the only light and I had no idea what roused me from this slumber. I did notice that Vance was gone, leaving me to fend for myself and making me feel like I was a lamb led to the slaughter. I suddenly heard voices and realized that was exactly what had woken me from a dead sleep.
“Fan out and find her. The boss wants her gone by morning. Don’t forget, we can’t damage the package that she’s carrying. She couldn’t go that far with the broken axle. If that wasn’t bad enough, I also cut the straps very lightly on the horses harness. She would’ve had to walk and I doubt that she would have gotten very far. She’s not exactly used to these conditions. We’ve all seen how she lives.” There was laughter of encouragement and it brought to mind a posse that had been sent out to find that criminal that had been elusive and was on the run.
I had a sense of panic and this funny feeling that their boss was somebody that I knew very well. Was it even possible that my own husband was trying to get rid of me? It dawned on me that it might be true and that he was truly thinking that sending me on this errand was going to end badly in one way or another.
I felt this hand on my mouth and I screamed, but thankfully it was stifled in the palm of Vance.” Be quiet, or they’re going to hear you. We need to get out of here and we need to do it quietly.” The sun had barely peeked over the horizon. It was beautiful, but I had no time to truly appreciate it “We’re going to go down by the water’s edge and stay away from the main roads for the time being. There’s a least five of them and that’s the ones that I could see. It doesn’t mean that there’s not more and apparently they are looking for a woman that matches your description to the letter. I would say that you’ve run afoul of someone and I get this feeling that you may know who the culprit might be.” I nodded my head in the affirmative “Let me guess, your husband has decided that you’re better off 6 feet under.”
I had no reason to answer that, because the truth was written across my face. “I don’t know why I even believed that we had a future. There has always been this tension between us. I never did measure up to what he was looking for. He wanted that arm candy that he could use, as a trophy bride for everybody to see and admire and be jealous of. I tried to become what he wanted, but I think deep down we both knew that my roots were not of the sophisticated sort.”
“There’s no reason to beat yourself up over it, Merriam. You’re obviously too much woman for him to handle. He never learned that a woman like you needs a careful touch and to be put on a pedestal where she belongs. You’re the kind of woman that can dress for the occasion, but also get down and dirty in the mud when it’s needed. You have the same kind of attitude, as my wife Mandy. It’s a very rare quality and you should hold onto it and never let anybody take it away from you.” He had dumped the rest of the water on the embers and then he put his finger up to his mouth to indicate that we needed to be, as quiet as we could. I followed him with the horse down to the waters edge and I watched that glassy surface. It made me want to strip off my clothes and go for a skinny dip. I knew that there was no time for something like that, but maybe I could make time later when things settled down.
“Vance, I’m very happy that I found you. You don’t remind me of other cowboys, who are callous to their women and show them no respect. You treat me, as an equal and you have no idea how important that is to me. I’ve always felt like I was walking in Colin’s shadow. He would have me follow behind him, as the dutiful wife. I was never comfortable like that, but I have to admit that I did like the finer things in life. Like anybody that has grown up with nothing, we strive for something better, but maybe I have been looking at this the wrong way the entire time.” I was whispering this to him, so that only he could hear what I was saying and nobody else in the vicinity could get a bead on our location.
“Merriam, you have every right to want something better for yourself. You just settled for someone that didn’t care for you the way that you should be cared for. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. It’s just that I find you easy to talk to and you’re not so hard on the eyes.” Those eyes of his were now narrowed on my bosom and even though he couldn’t see much, it did make me feel like I was vulnerable and exposed. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to treat you like an object. It’s just that you are very beautiful and sexy and I think that you would look a whole lot better with your hair down.” That was a suggestion that I could take to the bank. I easily pulled the pin and let my long dirty blond hair fall along my shoulders.
He stopped momentarily to brush a stray hair out of my eyes. I peered into his and I felt this sort of connection that came from knowing that the same man was trying to kill us. It also meant that I could love again. I had no feelings of guilt. From the moment that I saw Vance, I had those telltale butterflies in my stomach. I certainly didn’t think that I would act on them, but now that my husband had showed his hand, it was pretty clear that the ma
rriage was pretty much over.
“I don’t know how I’ve gotten, so lucky to have you here. Without you, I might be already dead. I have to take it that we were destined to meet like this. It might not be the best of circumstances, but why quibble over details.” He still had his hand brushing along my hair and sending these chills up and down my spine that was causing me to shiver noticeably. I was still wearing his duster and he didn’t seem to mind or even ask for it back.
“I think that it might be time that you look at those documents.” As we walked further down the embankment, I reached into the satchel and found those documents. I pulled them out and I noticed right away that they were deeds to not only one land, but also several other parcels of land that had been foreclosed on by the bank. He was looking for that gold mine and he had no problem in searching various ones at a reduced price to get what he wanted. Once these were filed, he would have access to at least 50 acres of prime real estate. I’d been around him long enough to get the lay of the land. The jargon was a little harder to understand, but I think that the main part was pretty clearly written out.
“It appears that my husband has been telling tales out of school. He only gave me a semblance of the truth. If they get their hands on this, then he’s going to have a stranglehold on the gold mining rights of several parcels of land. From what I can see, he has acquired those pieces of property through blackmail and coercion. He never likes to get his own hands dirty, but these documents prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s a vulture. I don’t think that he meant to send these other two documents. They probably got mixed up in with the rest of them. It details all of his dirty dealings. He thought that he was going to take care of me and then get his men to finish the task he asked me to do for him.”
Chapter four
As we walked for about another hour, I started to think about the proof that was in my hands and began to realize that it probably wasn’t by chance. There was no way that my husband would’ve made that big a mistake. I remembered that Thomas was the one that gave me the package and told me not to open it under any circumstances. If he was the one that was responsible, then he was surely going to find himself on the receiving end of my husband’s kind of punishment. I didn’t even want to think about what that could entail. He had always been a vindictive sort and I felt sort of sorry for Thomas.
One thing that he didn’t ask for was to be put into the middle of all of this. He apparently thought that he was doing the right thing and that by going against his employer, he was essentially giving me the freedom that I was, so desperately searching for.
“Merriam, the way that you have been talking about Colin, makes me think that this is not just a simple accident. I really don’t know either one of you, but it looks to me like he would be very careful about his business. I doubt seriously that he would leave evidence of his criminal activities in the same package that he was going to use to take away land from hard working individuals.” Apparently, Vance had figured out the same thing that I did.
“Vance, I think the guy that had a crush on me decided to go against the hand that fed him. I don’t know exactly why he would do such a thing, except to say that he thought that he was doing right by me. I just hope that it didn’t land him into any trouble. If he was smart, he would’ve made tracks, as soon as he gave me this package. I’m just not sure that he would have done that. If he did, he would bring suspicion and I don’t think that he would want to do that. Let’s say for arguments sake that his betrayal was found out, then that would certainly explain why he had sent these men to come after me. From everything that I’ve heard, I’m pretty much under the assumption that he was going to kill me anyway. I think he didn’t realize at the time that I had leverage against him. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know that myself. It’s even possible that these men don’t even work for my husband. I still don’t know all the answers.”
“Merriam, I’m not sure that your husband is involved, at least not in the way that we think he is. I think he legitimately wanted you to take those documents to be filed. Sabotaging your stagecoach and the horses had to have been done long before the package was in your hand. That makes it possible and not out of the realm of possibility that he’s not even involved with this.” It didn’t matter. I couldn’t live with a man that had these kinds of enemies coming after him all the time. It was just a matter of time before I would be in the crosshairs. Maybe he did know that these men were coming after him and had decided to use me, as a sort of bait. Either way, he could not be forgiven for putting me into danger, regardless if he loved me or not.
“I really don’t care what his true motives were. I just can’t live like this anymore. I need to find a fresh start and I think the only way to do that is by putting him where he belongs.” I never thought that I would even consider making an enemy out of him. I had seen too many times what he did to those that betrayed him. I’d heard the anguished screams in the barn in the middle of the night. He probably thought that I didn’t see or hear anything that was going on, but I was little craftier than that.
“For a Christian girl like you to be involved with somebody like that is going in the face of everything that I believe in. I’m no stranger to doing things that are outside of the law. I think that deep down I have a moral compass that I follow to this day. If you really want to make him pay for his crimes, then I would be more than happy to get you where you need to go.”
I thought that was a nice thing for him to do. He certainly didn’t have to put himself in harms way. This was not his fight and for him to do this only showed what kind of character he really had. He was the kind of man that I could see myself with. I could already feel the heat between us and I knew that eventually we would not be able to keep our hands off each other.
“Vance, I would really like that. He has gone unchecked long enough. One way or the other, we’ll get this evidence into the proper hands. Thomas probably gave me this knowing that the sheriff in this town that I’m going to is not corrupt. He will not be swayed by bribery or even coercion.” I didn’t know this for sure, but I do believe that Thomas would have made sure that all of his ducks were in a row.
“I know the area like the back of my hand. I’ve been living out here for the past couple of months. I felt compelled to stay here and I never knew why, until now. I was meant to find you and give you the life that you deserve. I’m sorry to say that I’m not the type of guy that’s going to settle down easily. If you’re willing to come with me, I can promise you that life will never be predictable. I will always make sure that I show you how much I care about you. There will never be a day that goes by that you feel neglected.
“If you can help me with this one thing, Vance, then I am all yours.” It felt nice to say that and the next thing on my agenda was to get a very quirky divorce. “I’ve always done what was right and never what was right for me. I only got involved with Colin, because my family was on hard times. I wonder what my life would’ve been like had I not had to walk down that road alone. I know to this day that my family is not happy with some of my decisions. I only made sure that they were safe and did not have to worry about where their next meal came from.”
“Well, doesn’t this beat all.” I turned to see this man with a very thick black mustache and sinister eyes staring at the both of us from behind. I heard the cocking of the shotgun and I saw my life flash before me. “Vance, I should have known that you would be the first in line to get a piece of the pie. I would say that I’m willing to share with you, but I think we both know that would be a lie.” It was obvious from the way that he was talking to Vance that they knew each other.
“Derek, I thought that was you back there, but I wasn’t sure. I would have shown myself, but I also didn’t want to share the bounty.” I was in between a rock and a hard place and the only way out of this was to try to make a run for it. I moved, but I felt his hand on the small of my back. He was rubbing it in a circle and in that way, I came to the conclusion th
at he was still on my side. “I’ve seen what she has in her possession and maybe we can make some sort of arrangement.” His tone of voice sounded bad and I could tell that Derek was intrigued by the proposition. He lowered the gun and placed it by his side, but he did not relinquish his hold on it.
“Vance, I don’t know if it’s right for me to hear this proposal without the rest of the guys present and accounted for.”
“Derek, I think we both know that you would sell out your mother for the right price. If you were to call in your posse, then they would surely want what’s rightfully theirs. Let’s work together, but first let me get rid of this albatross that has been hanging around my neck. Hand me that shotgun and I’ll show you how to do business.” The way that he was smirking, had me completely terrified for my own life.
Vance grabbed the weapon, turned it on me and pointed the barrel right at my chest. I tried to see something in his eyes, but they were cold and hard. There was no discerning if there was an emotional struggle going on or not. Could I have really been mistaken about who this man really was? Was I deluding myself into thinking that he was my savior, when all along he was only hedging to see who was going to come out on top?
“I’m perfectly fine with you getting your hands dirty, Vance. I’d rather not get blood on my new leather boots.” I watched, as Vance narrowed his eyes and then brought that shotgun back and smashed it into the face of Derek. It stunned and shocked him for a moment, paralyzing him for a split second, so that Vance could use the handle, as a makeshift club to beat him down.
He dropped the weapon beside him on the ground “I’m not that kind of guy anymore, Derek. It’s time I set things right and become the man that this woman deserves.”
“You really did have me fooled there for a second, Vance. I know that you were just putting on airs, but it looked real enough to me.” He left Derek bleeding from the nose and unconscious from the attack.
Bought By The Highlander (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 44
