by Chloe Carley
Riley swiped her cheeks and Gideon reached for the bandana he’d tucked into his pocket. “Here, I hate knowing that telling that story made you so sad.”
“It’s not the story, it’s knowing what my brother has become. How does a man ever come back from living like that?” she asked the room.
James Lawson’s voice grew quiet. “I’m not sure he ever can. Killing that many people and forcing your conscience aside so many times … it scars a man. I knew men who fought in the war, and they were never quite the same after killing even one person. Your brother is said to have killed dozens of people.”
Riley wiped her tears away with the cloth Gideon handed her. ”“So, how do we convince the town they need to take action?
Gideon looked at his pa. “We’ll need you to help. People will believe you much better than they will Shawn or even me.”
“How much time do we have?” James asked.
“None,” Riley informed them. “I’m sure Roy is already in the area. If we knew when the stagecoach was coming it would tell us when he plans to act.”
“I’ll find that out from the sheriff,” James offered. “We’ll ride into town and start spreading the word. Tomorrow is Sunday and everyone will be at church. We’ll have a short meeting right after the preacher finishes and get everyone organized.”
“Will they believe you?” Riley wondered aloud.
“We’ll make them believe us. Their very lives could hang in the balance,” Gideon promised her. He only hoped this was a promise he could keep. He wanted to see a smile upon Riley’s face once more and that wouldn’t happen until this situation with her brother was over and done with.
He knew the outcome was most likely going to end with Riley grieving once again, he could only hope and pray that God would help her stay strong. And that she wouldn’t be grieving any of their deaths. The death of her brother was inevitable, whether Riley had come to that realization or not. Gideon couldn’t in good conscience let the man and his gang leave the area, even if they promised to leave the town alone. The Johnston gang had created too much destruction and they needed to be stopped here and now. Even if Gideon had to be the one to shoot Roy Sewell. He only hoped Riley would forgive him if and when it came to that.
Chapter 14
Riley sat between Pearl and Sara Jane as they headed for town the next morning.
Gideon, Shawn, and their father had already ridden into town to start spreading the word that they needed to have a town meeting right after Sunday church was over. James had talked to the sheriff, who had confirmed that the stagecoach bringing the rest of the money for the bank was due to arrive on Wednesday of the following week.
That only gave them three days to get everyone organized and figure out how they were going to stop the Johnston gang.
Riley clasped her hands in her lap, feeling self-conscious sitting between the other two women. She was wearing the same dress as when Gideon had found her wading in the river, and Sara Jane too had begrudgingly donned a dress so that she could accompany them this morning. In order to defeat her brother, Riley was convinced they needed every man, and woman who knew how to shoot, armed and ready.
Sara Jane was an excellent shot, as she’d proven the day before. While the men had been away in town, Sara Jane had taken Pearl and Riley out to the fields to practice their shooting skills.
Riley considered herself a decent shot, but nothing as good as Sara Jane. The woman never missed, even when shooting a pistol that she whipped from a hip holster.
Riley had never known a woman to wear a hip holster and was determined to have Sara Jane teach her how as soon as they’d dealt with her brother.
The current plan was to meet with the townsfolk after the sermon and get all of the women and children out of the town. Because of the cargo the stagecoach was bringing, it was going to have an armed escort from the cavalry until it reached Santa Fe. It would travel the remaining thirty miles with a group of local men, armed with rifles and ready to shoot any troublemakers.
Outside the church, Sara Jane drove the wagon into an open spot and set the brake in place.
She started to jump down from the buckboard, but Pearl cleared her throat and Sara Jane carefully climbed down, using the hand Gideon extended to her. The men had ridden their horses into town, not sure if the men of Rio Arriba would want to discuss things further after their womenfolk all headed home for the afternoon.
“Riley, ready to get down?” Gideon asked.
She gasped when Gideon reached for her waist, easily lifting her out of the wagon and setting her down on her feet. “I could have climbed down.”
“Sprite, you don’t weigh nothin’. Besides, I kind of enjoyed that.”
Riley blushed and glanced at him from beneath her lashes as he moved her away so that his father could help Pearl out of the wagon. “You’re blushing.”
“Why did you say that?” she asked him quietly, waving a hand in front of her face. “We’re getting ready to go into the church.”
“Well, I was only telling the truth.” When Gideon’s smile shone, Riley wasn’t sure if she should be mad at him or accept the warm fuzzy feeling inside her chest.
“What if someone heard you? They might get the wrong idea …”
“And what would that be? That I like you and can’t wait for this situation with your brother to be over?”
“Uhm … I’m not sure how to respond to that,” Riley told him. She’d been trying very hard to ignore the way her heart seemed to speed up whenever Gideon looked her direction. He was very handsome, and she’d found herself wondering last night if he would have even noticed her if they had met under different circumstances. She would have definitely noticed him, but in her experience, men didn’t want a woman who wasn’t content to stay in the kitchen, do the laundry, and raise the children. That wasn’t Riley, and glory be, it wasn’t Sara Jane. She’d finally met someone who was more of a tomboy than she was.
“Don’t worry about it, sprite. Suffice it to say, I really hope you’re going to take Ma up on her offer for you to make the Lazy L ranch your home.”
“Really?” Riley asked, fighting back tears at the sincerity she saw in his face.
“Really. Now, we’d better get inside before we draw more attention than we already have.”
Riley looked over her shoulder and saw Gideon’s parents watching them with curious eyes. “Your parents …”
“Will think what they will. Now, take my arm and let me lead you into the church.” Gideon didn’t wait for her compliance, but reached for her hand, set it on his sleeve and walked briskly toward the steps of the church. His parents went ahead of them. It was only when they reached the stairs that Gideon let her hand drop from his arm.
Riley preceded him up the stairs and slid onto the wooden bench next to his parents. She sang along with the hymns and listened attentively to Pastor Russell as he talked about rejoicing even in the face of great tribulation. There were several times when she felt as if the preacher was speaking directly to her, but she’d never even met the man so that couldn’t be.
God, are you trying to tell me something? You know how many struggles I’ve had this last few months. I don’t want to offend You, but I’m tired and just want a place to call home.
I thought that place was going to be with Roy, but … well, speaking of Roy. I know he’s done some awful things and that his chances of ever redeeming himself are mostly nonexistent.
Everyone wants him dead and, well … God, I’d ask You to please protect him, but I know he doesn’t deserve that.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe You could help me. I’ve already started coming to terms with the fact that Roy is going to die soon.
If not during the coming fight with the townsfolk, then when the army or law catch up to him and hang him. God, I don’t want to have to watch him die that way. If You could save me that hurt, I’d be much appreciative. I just want Roy to have a chance to repent of his sins before he dies.
>
Riley paused in her silent prayer and turned her attention back to the preacher. He was reading from the Good Book and she listened with half and ear as she finished her one-way discussion with God.
One last thing ... Gideon. God, I don’t understand why I feel so warm and fuzzy when he’s around. I like him. More than I probably should. But I just met him, and I don’t really know him … I’m very confused here, God. Are the things I’m feeling for Gideon how a woman feels when she likes a man who might become her husband? Not that I’m asking You for that. I’m not. I wouldn’t be against getting married … it would be nice to have a family of my own. Babies to cuddle and maybe even a small cabin with animals and a garden to tend.
Gideon nudged her and she realized she’d been looking at her lap for a long time while she daydreamed and finished her talk with God. She looked up guiltily and Gideon hid his smirk. He leaned sideways and whispered in her ear, “No falling asleep during the sermon. It’s very rude.”
Riley bit her bottom lip and glanced at Gideon to see how upset he was and then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the twinkle in his eyes. He’s teasing me. That rat!
She narrowed her eyes and faced forward once more.
God, I guess I’ll have to finish our talk later.
She finished listening to the sermon, having to cover up more than one yawn. Now that Gideon had planted the thought of sleeping in her tired brain, she couldn’t seem to convince her body that she wasn’t tired. Each time she lifted her hand up and covered her yawn, Gideon had to stifle a chuckle.
When they stood and were dismissed with a final prayer, she waited a moment until his parents stepped out into the aisle before she turned on him and slapped him lightly on the arm. “You did that on purpose,” she hissed with a laugh in her words.
“I’ll have to remember how easily swayed you are by a simple suggestion.” He smiled back down at her. “Let’s go introduce you to the preacher.”
Riley followed his parents up the aisle. She waited in line with Gideon and his parents. Shawn and Sara Jane were behind them, along with Jace and Lily. Carl had stayed at the ranch as he and another hand were taking their turn at looking over the herd. There was still a large cat on the prowl, and it behooved everyone to be on their guard.
“Pastor Russell, may I introduce Riley Sewell from Missouri. And you know our son, Gideon.”
“Gideon, nice to have you back home, son. Miss Sewell, I hope you enjoyed the sermon today?” Pastor Russell smiled.
“I did, very much.” She hoped he hadn’t noticed how many times she’d yawned. When she saw Gideon stifle a laugh behind her, she turned more toward the preacher, determined not to give the man any more reasons to think her uncivilized or rude. She was beginning to like this place and might need the preacher’s support in the near future.
“Good. Well then, I heard we needed to have a town meeting?” He directed his words toward Gideon and the other men.
“Yes, Pastor. If we could get started right away, that will let people get along home and take care of any chores that still await them.” Gideon’s father took the lead, nodding at several others as they drew near.
Pastor Russell reached for the large bell just to his left and started ringing it, gaining the milling people’s attention. “If everyone could gather back inside, we’ll have our meeting now.”
Gideon re-entered the building and escorted Riley up to the front. It had been decided that she needed to let people know who she was and that it was her choice to come and warn them. Gideon and his family would take it from there. Sheriff Parmele was standing in the back corner of the small church with a scowl on his face.
“Is the sheriff going to be a problem?” Riley asked James.
“No. He’s not happy about the situation, but he assured me he would be supportive of whatever plan the town came up with.”
“He’s scowling at me,” she murmured.
James looked at the back corner for a moment and smiled at her. “Don’t mind him. He’s just upset that he didn’t take you seriously the first time around.”
Riley sat down in the front pew, folding her hands in her lap and nervously waiting for things to begin.
“If everyone could have a seat, we’ll get our meeting started.” Pastor Russell waved everyone into their seats. “Thank you. Now, you all know James Lawson. I’m going to turn this meeting over to him now.”
Riley watched as James stood up and nodded at several members of the community before he began.
“Folks, a threat to our community has come to my attention. Riley, come up here for a minute.”
Riley wiped her hands on her skirt and did so, nervously eyeing the people who could very well become her neighbors if she decided to stay in Rio Arriba.
“Folks, this is Riley Sewell from Missouri. It’s a long story and I’ll let her tell you all the details at a later date, but I want to skip to the part where she made her way here to our little part of the world. Riley’s brother is the leader of the Johnston gang.”
Audible gasps rose from those in attendance who recognized the name of the outlaw gang, and James waited a moment for everyone to calm down. “Riley had no knowledge of her brother’s outlaw activities until arriving in El Paso several days past. He tried to hide his activities from her and put her on a train back to Missouri. She overheard him talking about coming here, to our town, to rob the stagecoach and the town of the money for the bank. She got off the train and made her way across the landscape to us. She wanted to warn us and I for one am very grateful to her. The Johnston gang is not something any of us want here.”
Murmurs filled the space, and James nodded at Riley to retake her seat between Gideon and Sara Jane. He lifted up his hand to silence everyone. “My son Gideon here has firsthand knowledge about the kind of destruction these men are capable of. They are not known for leaving any witnesses around and more often than not they burn everything to the ground as they leave.”
Gideon stood up and faced the town. “Some of you know me. I hope you’ll take what my pa here is saying seriously. I know Riley came and talked to many of you and you brushed her off. She didn’t have to come here to save our town. She did so because she couldn’t bear to see anyone else hurt at her brother’s hands if she could stop it.”
“You’ve been gone a long time, son. How do we know we can trust you?” one of the ranchers hollered out. Riley watched Gideon’s face flush and waited with bated breath to see how he would answer.
His father beat him to it and replied, “Harry, that comment was beneath you. Gideon’s been gone a long time and anything he did is now between him and God. I trust that my son is telling the truth when he says we need to take this threat seriously.”
“What’s Sheriff Parmele have to say about all of this?” another man asked, causing most of the room to turn and look at the man with the silver star on his chest.
“Well, Sheriff? Would you like to say a few words?” James Lawson asked.
“Miss Sewell came to me and at first I thought her story to be just that—a story. After speaking with Mr. Lawson, I believe this is a threat we would be remiss to ignore. I’ve thought about this and I want all of the women and children out of town by tomorrow night. The stagecoach is due in town on Wednesday at noon. With the army providing armed escort all the way to Santa Fe, and a group of hired men providing security until it reaches Rio Arriba, the outlaws will have no other chance to strike until it reaches our town.”
“You’re saying these men are going to come here and try to steal the bank money?”
“If we let them get the upper hand, this town won’t survive,” Gideon interjected. “We need every able man who can shoot a gun working with us on stopping these men.”
“Folks,” Shawn spoke up, joining Gideon and his pa on the platform. “We need to stand and fight against this threat against what we’ve all worked and sweated to build here. There are all sorts of reasons we could give to sit back and do nothing. That’s not
my style and I know most of you in this room … it’s not your style either. If you want to be part of the solution, stick around. The rest of you, get your families to safety outside of town. Go stay with family or neighbors.”
