Margaret smiled warmly at her. "So, what are you going to do about Jesse?" She asked point blank.
"I don't know. I can't seem to find the right words."
"It would be hard, and harder still to be the first one to say them. But, we've known him a long time, he's a good man, Shannon. Don't let him get away."
Shannon nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat, "I'll try."
"Good. Now, are you coming back here when you've settled things? Because we sure would love to have you here, and of course I'll be telling all my friends about how you sat with me the whole time and delivered our baby."
"I'd like to try it, yes." Shannon's eyes brightened for the first time, since the baby was born.
"Wonderful."
"By the way, what did you name him?" Shannon asked. "I'd like to start keeping a record, and you'll be my first entry."
"Jesse Lucas…." She smiled.
"That's very sweet." She wrote the information down in a small little book of blank paper. Jesse Lucas, 7 lbs. and 3oz, born this fifth day of May."
Phillip had taken the baby out to the barn and weighed him on a scale he had out there for his animals.
"Well, it was Jesse that brought you to us. So we owed him." Margaret added, holding her son in the crook of her arm.
"You sure you are well enough to get around now?"
"I'll be fine. Actually, I'm anxious to get back to things. I know this little fella will keep me busy."
"Yes, I'm sure of that. Hope you manage to get some sleep off and on."
"Come here when you decide to stay. Phillip and I will help get you set up and ready for business." Margaret promised.
"I couldn't ask you to do that."
"I want to…You don't know what a relief it was to have you with me at this time. I'll never forget you. I want you to deliver all my babies."
"That's a beautiful thing to say." Shannon nodded. "Goodbye," she whispered, and leaned to kiss little Jesse's head.
"He's so beautiful…" Shannon cried and left the room.
As they mounted up to leave, Shannon looked back over her shoulder at the fine country home they had made, with its wrap around porch and house full of love.
"Nice people, huh?" Jesse asked when she fell silent too long.
"Yeah…they want me to come back."
"Are you going to?"
Those words froze her heart for a moment. It sounded as though he had written her off for good now. Was that what he wanted?
"I don't know…maybe…"
"It would be a good place to be."
"Are you coming back here…to ranch like you talked about?"
He shrugged. "Maybe…"
She nodded a nonchalance she wasn't feeling.
"How much longer to Doan's Crossing?" She asked when he fell silent.
"We'll be there tomorrow afternoon."
"Are you going to tell the people at the Crossing what you are doing on their property?" She asked.
"Hadn't planned on it, but if they ask, I'll tell them." Jesse insisted.
"Why not?"
Jesse leaned on his saddle horn and looked at her with interest. "Because if I do, they will want their money right away. And it just isn't done that way. According to the law, it has to be reported and brought back so the case can be closed."
"I can understand them wanting it though. It is their money." Shannon shrugged.
"That's why I'm not going to tell them what I am doing there."
Shannon said no more. They rode for a long time then when it began to get late; Jesse found a nice shade tree to camp under.
Shannon made coffee and some supper for them from the things that Margaret had insisted she take. She pulled out two steaks from her saddlebags and gave them to Jesse. "From Margaret."
"Great. I'll cook them over the fire."
"I've got a couple of potatoes too."
"Good, we'll throw them on the rocks." He smiled.
Shannon smiled but her eyes weren't in her smiles. Her time with Jesse was fast coming to an end. It had been an adventure she would remember for the rest of her life, and cherish. She'd never felt so alive in her life.
"You know you really ought to figure out what you are going to do, where you're going to go after we tend to our business?"
"I've done nothing but think about it all day. And the more I think about it, the more I want to try it. I thought I'd give Margaret's idea a try." She said, finishing her steak and patting her stomach.
"Me too. I thought I'd move out there and see if I could make a go of a small place." Jesse nodded.
"I guess…that would make us neighbors."
"So what am I going to call you…my ex-wife?" Jesse asked playfully.
There it was again, he wanted this annulment as much as she once had.
"You could call me doc or Shannon…" She suggested.
"Or Mrs. Cutler, unless you were planning on taking back your maiden name." He smiled that crooked smile.
"I hadn't even given it a thought." She blurted.
"There's a lot of things you haven't given much thought to, isn't there?"
"I suppose. There have been so many other things to worry about on this trip. My name is of little importance."
"Well…whatever you decide…is alright with me." He said throatily. "I'm gonna get some more wood for the night."
His words confused her. What did he want?
Perhaps that's where she needed to start…by asking what he wanted first.
Once she resolved to try that on him, she relaxed a bit and when she looked out at the stars that were popping up in the sky, she sighed.
However, when two men rode up suddenly to their camp, and Jesse was nowhere to be found, she was in a state of panic.
"Hello in the camp there." The big man hollered and slid of his horse. He was tall and brawny, with dark hair under his big hat. The other one was slender, with blondish red hair.
"Hello," She responded, unsure of what to do next.
"Got any coffee left, ma'am?" The man asked, showing a set of yellow teeth.
"Help yourself…" She offered.
"Thanks…where you headed?" He asked looking about the camp.
"Doan's Crossing," she blurted before thinking. She didn't know these men and they looked a little rough.
"Doan's Crossing, well, what do you know. We were thinking of stopping off there too. So…Where's your husband, ma'am?" The big man came closer now."
"He's getting firewood for the night." She said breathlessly.
"Yeah, that's a good idea, keeps the critters away. Didn't figure you were alone…" The man sneered.
"No, of course not." Shannon watched the man closely. She wouldn't dare let him see her shake, but under her riding skirt, her knees were shaking.
"I wouldn't leave you alone one minute. Not as pretty as you are…" The man began to back her up against the tree. "You got the prettiest hair…don't she Cale."
"Holbrook, stop it." His partner shouted as he finally dismounted and came closer.
The one called Holbrook tipped her chin up and started to kiss her. Shannon froze.
"You got some interest in my wife, sir?" Jesse hollered as he dropped the wood and pulled his gun on the men.
"No…nothing like that, friend. She offered us some coffee, friendly like. Where'd you come from?" He eyed Jesse with one eye closed.
"Back there in the woods. I'd back off if I were you. Two things I don't like a man messing with, one is my horse, and the other is…my wife."
"Sure thing. Cale pour us some coffee, will ya?" The big man said and backed away from Shannon.
Shannon drew breath, falling against the tree, and holding onto it as a lifeline.
Jesse saw how she clung to the tree.
The men drank the coffee while Jesse kept his eyes and gun on them. "All right now. You've had your coffee, I suggest you get on your horses and get out of here."
"Sure…we don't want no trouble." Cale nodded. "Come on, H
olbrook."
"I'm coming. Thanks for the coffee." He winked at Shannon.
Shannon was shaking and she hadn't moved from the tree. Jesse put his gun up and looked at her.
He walked up to her, and pulled her chin up to look into her eyes. "No one's gonna hurt you, as long as I'm around. What did they want?"
"I-I don't know. They didn't say…" She trembled and he stared into her eyes.
"You've got the softest eyes I've ever seen on a woman. I get this drowning sensation every time I look at them." He stared at her as though he couldn't take his eyes from her. "You better turn in…we've still got a lot of riding to do."
Shannon tried to move away, but she couldn't. Instead, she boldly tiptoed to touch her lips to his cheek, "Thanks…" She whispered, her lips grazing his cheek softly, and her hesitation to move away didn't go unnoticed.
He turned his head and his lips hovered over hers.
She stared for a long moment, then in a husky voice she slanted a smile at him, "Goodnight…Mr. Cutler."
He smiled, just for her, "Goodnight…Mrs. Cutler."
Chapter Twenty
The next day they got an early start. Jesse seemed anxious to get there. He didn't talk much.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes several times. He sure was attracted to his wife, and he was getting used to the idea that she was his. Especially after that kiss on the cheek last night. He wondered if he said something to her, if it would make a difference. He didn't want an annulment. He knew that much. But how did he approach the subject?
As they neared the crossing, they noticed a herd of cattle going across the Red. It was a sight and they both watched.
"Big herd." He leaned on his saddle horn. "Well, according to Jimmy John the cemetery is at the back of the property, so let's go around."
She nodded.
They rode for a while, keeping their eyes out for anyone who might be following along.
Then he spotted the small fenced in cemetery and nodded.
They dismounted and Jesse went around reading the headstones.
When they reached it, there was a huge disappointment. It had been dug up; there was nothing but a hole and the headstone.
"Somebody got here before we did…"
"That's right mister, put your hands over your heads and don't move." A voice called from just outside the cemetery.
"We mean no harm…" Jesse yelled.
"Naw? Then what are you doin' here. This is a private cemetery." The man spit tobacco out the side of his face. He was tall, and unkempt.
Shannon stood beside Jesse.
Jesse knew she was probably scared, so he took her hand and squeezed it.
"No use being alarmed, I'm a Ranger." Jesse told the man as he came closer.
"A Ranger…what are you doin' here?" The man's eyes narrowed on him.
"This grave site…a prisoner of mine told me this is where he hid the money from a robbery. I came to collect it and take it back to Waco, to Ranger Headquarters."
"You can't do that…this is private property." The man fussed at him.
"That money isn't."
"It belongs to Mr. Doan. It's rightfully his. They stole it from him."
"How'd you know where to look for the money?" Jesse asked.
"Cause ain't anybody but family buried out here…that's how."
"Suppose we could go and speak to Mr. Doan?" Jesse asked putting his arm around Shannon.
"Let's go!" The man said, pointing the gun at their backs.
"If'n you are a Ranger, why didn't you stop off and ask permission to dig it up?" The man crooked his head and stared at Jesse.
"Because I figured they wouldn't want me taking the money back to Waco, for one."
"That's a fact." The man spit just beside Jesse.
"Who's the gal?"
"She's my wife." Jesse pulled Shannon closer.
"Go on in there, Mr. Doan is in there." He shoved the gun butt into Jesse's back and then turned and left.
"What can I do for you friend." The man inside looked at both of them with curiosity.
"I'm Ranger Jesse Cutler, and this is my wife. Jimmy John sent me here so I could take the money he robbed from you to Waco. It has to be reported, and the case closed once and for all."
Doan stared at him a moment. "Jimmy John would be J.J. Bankston, then?"
"That's right. He and his gang robbed you a few years back. They buried that money in your cemetery. He never got back to claim it." Jesse explained.
"What happened to him?"
"He was killed by Indians. Before he died, he told me about where he buried the money." Jesse held the man's gaze.
"Did he happen to say how much it was?" Mr. Doan asked.
"No…he didn't. Why?"
"Cause there weren't any money in those bags. My Uncle made 'em up to look like there was, in case anyone ever tried to rob him. Wasn't one dollar in those bags?" The man assured Jesse.
Jesse's brows rose in shock. Then he hung his head. "I guess it's a good thing Jimmy John died then. He'd have been awful upset to know there was no money. However, this leaves me in a little fix. I've got to report this to my superiors and I have no proof to back up my story. Do you think you or your Uncle could come with us to Waco and fill out a report so we can close this case once and for all?"
The man scratched his beard and looked at Shannon for a minute. "I can come…my Uncle's out there tending that herd that's crossing. How long will it take to get back here?"
"About three days, give or take a day or two." Jesse answered.
"Alright, I'll do 'er. 'Cause I want them to know that those outlaws didn't get away with anything."
Jesse nodded. "You got any proof of who you are and that it is a fact?"
"No, but follow me and you can hear it from the horse's mouth." The man told him.
Shannon started to follow him, but the man turned. "We won't need you ma'am. But you can look around the store, might be something you want."
Shannon nodded.
Jesse turned to look at her, "I'll be back." He promised.
She nodded.
~*~
"So you are a Ranger, huh?" The older man said as he shook his hand.
"That's right. I'd been chasing Jimmy John for some time, caught them up in Oregon. I was bringing them back to stand trial for the robbery when the Indians started attacking us. Killed all but my missus and me." Jesse explained.
"You took your wife on a man-hunt?" Mr. Doan narrowed his gaze on him.
"No…actually, I met her in Oregon, and brought her back to Texas. We were married there." Jesse smiled.
"Kind of dangerous for her, wasn't it?" Mr. Doan studied him for a minute.
"Yeah, but I couldn't leave her up there." Jesse explained.
"Naw…I guess you couldn't. Well, my nephew will ride in with you then and fill out the report."
Jesse twisted his head for a second. "Why didn't you tell us there was no real money in those bags?"
"'Cause if'n I'd told you, you wouldn't have cared if you caught them or not. I wanted them brought to justice. But, since they are dead, I guess they paid for what they did. And you can close the books on the case."
"I appreciate that."
"Mr. Cutler," Mr. Doan called Jesse back for a moment. "Next time you come on my property wanting something, you come to me first, you hear?"
"Yes sir…I will."
Mr. Doan nodded and waved at his nephew.
At the store, Shannon was sitting in one of the finest made rocker's she ever seen. She seemed more relaxed than he'd seen her in a while. He smiled.
"You ready to go?" He asked her.
"Yes, of course…" She reluctantly got up and followed him out of the store.
Then after they packed up with a few supplies, they left, headed for Waco.
Jesse had to admit he would have never guessed there was no money, but at least with Mr. Doan along the case would finally be closed and this would please his superio
r.
When they camped out that night though he had to make things look right between him and Shannon for Mr. Doan's sake at least.
And as night came, he made her bed beside his. She looked at it and without a word laid down where he had set it.
Later Jesse whispered at her ear. "Thanks…for this…" Jesse told her.
"We were legally married…" She whispered.
"Yes, we were." He laid an arm over her when Mr. Doan glanced at them before retiring.
The hand stayed on her all night long, and before morning, she had snuggled against him, her head just below his chin.
"Thought you two were going to sleep until noon." Mr. Doan chuckled.
"Oh…sorry." Shannon exclaimed and got up quickly. "I'll make the coffee."
"Thank you." Mr. Doan smiled. He looked at Jesse, "She's a beautiful woman, you're wife. I'd keep a tight reign on her myself, if she were mine."
"She's not only beautiful, but she's a doctor too."
"A doctor. Really…"
Shannon nodded. "Yes, I am."
Dishing up the meal to them, she listened while they talked for a short while.
Then it was on to Waco.
A sadness greater than anything she'd ever known assailed her, and she knew why.
She didn't want to say goodbye.
In a matter of days, it would be over, and she had to face it.
When they camped for something to eat, Shannon was cooking, Jesse was gathering firewood, and Mr. Doan was sitting on a large flat rock. Suddenly he keeled over onto the dirt, face first.
Shannon saw him and ran to his side.
She searched for the problem and at first, she didn't know. She called for Jesse and he came running.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Mr. Doan, he's keeled over. I'm not sure what's wrong?" Shannon looked frantic, checking his heartbeat she shook her head. "It's a rapid heartbeat."
Jesse laid him down on his back and began looking over him. It took several minutes, and then Jesse began searching around him.
Jesse searched the area for the culprit.
"What are you looking for?" Shannon asked.
"A snake…" He answered. "He's got snakebite symptoms."
"Oh my God. Why didn't I see that?"
Shannon peeled the tobacco out of the corner of his cheek and hunted for the bite. She found it on his leg; obviously, the snake had crawled up his boot.
Shotgun Bride (Book Six of the Brides of the West) Page 18
