Safe in His Arms

by Colleen Coble

  Margaret began to stuff the bags with the stacks of newspaper. There was a slight tap on the back door.

  “Golda, you in there?” The whispered hiss belonged to Frank.

  Margaret jumped, and her heart galloped in her chest. They would have to make their move soon, or Frank would get suspicious and escape. She couldn’t allow that. He had to pay for Daniel’s death.

  A few minutes later she had the bags stuffed. She carried them quickly to the vault and helped Orville load them inside the small room. She felt claustrophobic in the windowless vault and breathed a sigh when she finally escaped to the sunshine-filled main room.

  “I think we’re ready,” she said. “Is the sheriff around?”

  Orville nodded. “I saw him and his men take up their positions in the hotel across the street.”

  She nearly gasped at the pain of his words. Reinforcements were here, but they were too late for Daniel. The sting of tears nearly broke her concentration, but she fiercely willed herself to go on, to finish Daniel’s mission.

  “I’ll let Frank inside now.” Her palms were sweaty, and she felt light-headed. Frank would kill her if he got wind of the trap. He wouldn’t go peacefully to jail. She took a deep breath and walked to the back room. Was he gone? She and Golda had been inside twenty minutes, far longer than Frank had anticipated.

  She rushed to the door and fumbled with the lock. She threw open the door and peeked out. No one was around. Her heart in her mouth, she stepped outside. “Frank?” she whispered.

  He stepped from the shadows and grabbed her arm. “You pullin’ a double cross?”

  She gasped and jerked away. “The safe is open. Golda had a little change of plan. She couldn’t wait to see how much was there. You’d better hurry. She took a bunch of sacks out through the front. I think she got more than her share.”

  Frank scowled. “She wouldn’t dare.” He drew his revolver and rushed inside. The rest of the gang followed him.

  Praying it would work, Margaret followed him.

  Frank ran through the storeroom and into the vault room. He saw the open vault and rushed inside. The other men crowded in behind him, and they all snatched up moneybags.

  “She’s robbed us!” Frank shouted. “There should be more than this.”

  He started toward the vault exit, but Orville stepped from behind his hiding place and slammed the vault door shut. Margaret sagged against the counter. Giddy with relief, she closed her eyes. Not a shot fired, and the thieves were all safely locked up.

  The front door burst open, and six men rushed into the room. The Rangers were here. Then Margaret’s eyes widened, and she gasped at a tall figure limping through the door behind the others. Daniel? He must have gone to get the Rangers. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. Her mouth went dry and her heart thumped painfully in her chest with almost overwhelming hope.

  Tears blurred her vision. “Thank you, God, thank you.” Daniel hadn’t seen her yet.

  Daniel stared around the room. “Where is she?” he growled.

  A tide of warmth rushed over Margaret. She could see the love he had for her in his tightly clenched fists and the fierce tone of his voice. Daniel would never let anyone hurt her as long as he lived. The knowledge made her feel cherished in a way she’d never known. She wanted to rush to him, but there were too many other men in the way.

  “I’m here, Daniel,” she said, her tone brisk. This love she bore for him was too new and precious to be displayed in front of the whole town.

  He started toward her, but the sheriff came through the bank door with his pistol drawn. He skidded to a halt and looked around. “Where are the bandits?”

  Margaret gestured to the bank vault. “Waiting to be taken into custody.”

  “We’ll take charge of them,” a man said.

  Margaret recognized the voice as the man Daniel had talked with several times. The other Ranger, Richard.

  Margaret remained frozen in place as Daniel explained to Sheriff Borland who he was and what he was doing in the area. She longed to run to Daniel and throw her arms around him, but shyness held her in place. Now that she knew the full power of the feelings she held for him, she found herself looking at him with new eyes.

  His face was a bit pale and his shoulder was bleeding, but he was alive. Alive! Joy bubbled in Margaret’s heart like a freshwater spring. It was all she could do to stay where she was.

  “You’ve done good work here,” the sheriff said. “But it looks like you could use Doc’s services. Margaret, you’d better help your young man down the street before he falls over.”

  Only then did Margaret’s stiff muscles obey. She moved to Daniel’s side and slipped her hand around his arm. “It’s this way.”

  DANIEL FOUGHT THE disappointment that raged inside. He’d hoped that Margaret would show some sign she’d worried about him, that she cared. She had just looked at him with wide green eyes and practically ignored him.

  He knew she loved him, so why did speaking the words seem so hard for her? Hearing the words was important to him. How did he break through that wall she had around her? It seemed an impossible task. If the events of the last few days hadn’t done it, he didn’t know what would. Maybe nothing.

  Margaret limped beside him with her cold fingers on his arm. He wasn’t sure if she was helping him or if he was helping her. They were both pretty war torn and road weary. At least they were both going to live.

  They walked around the corner of the bank and headed down Main Street. Margaret stumbled, and he slipped an arm around her waist. She stopped and stared up at him. Were those tears in her eyes?

  “I thought you were dead,” she whispered. “And Jed—is he all right?”

  “He’s fine. I was searching for you and found him under a wheelbarrow in the barn. Scared and a little scratched up but all right.” Daniel examined her face. There was something going on in that beautiful head, but he couldn’t quite decipher the expression in her eyes.

  “What happened to you? Golda told me you were dead. She showed me a bloodstained shirt.”

  “The wind blew me through the air, and I landed by the end of the porch. I crawled under it before the tornado could carry me off completely. A branch stabbed me in the head, and I bled like a beheaded rooster. I reckon I passed out. When I came to, the storm was over and Nate was hollering for me and Jed. I crawled out from under the porch and tossed the shirt in the weeds. I found one of Nate’s in a tree and borrowed it. Then I went looking for you. When I couldn’t find you, I figured Frank had to have taken you.”

  “Thank God. I—I thought you’d died w-with-out . . .” She stopped and buried her face in her hands.

  Sobs shook her, and the sound of her crying broke his heart. He pulled her into his arms. Her arms came up and wrapped around his neck in a tight grip that was almost painful. “I’m fine. A little beat up, but it would take more than a tornado to make me leave you.”

  She only wailed more and burrowed harder against his chest. “Hey, this shirt may not take any more watering,” he said gently. “Don’t take on so.”

  “I thought you died without knowing I love you,” came the muffled reply against his chest.

  A budding joy exploded in his chest. She’d finally said the words. He gripped her shoulders and pulled her back from his chest so he could look in her face. Though her eyes were red and swollen from her weeping, Margaret’s face shone with love.

  “You love me,” he whispered. “It’s about time you admitted it. I knew the truth long ago. It was sure hard waiting for you to realize it.”

  Her lips trembled. “Don’t ever leave me.” She reached up and touched his face.

  “A mad bull couldn’t drag me away.” He smiled. “You ready to hear that marriage proposal?”

  She looked down at her muddy shirt and britches, then back up at him. “Looking like this?”

  “You’ve never been more beautiful. I love you.” He went to one knee. “Margaret O’Brien, would you do me the hon
or of marrying me?”

  Her cheeks flamed but she didn’t look away. “I’d be honored to have your name.”

  “That’s a yes?”

  She seized his hands and pulled. “Come kiss me, and I’ll tell you then.”

  Grinning, he obliged. Daniel couldn’t believe his luck. No, it wasn’t luck. This love was God’s gracious gift, and Daniel would thank him for it the rest of his life. She kissed him back, and for the first time, he could feel her whole heart in that kiss.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he forgot all they’d been through and where he was. They belonged together. For always.

  He broke the kiss. “Let’s get home.” Home. Was there a more wonderful word in the vocabulary? This was home to him now.

  Her eyes shining, she nodded. “I’ll rest here until you get back.”

  He went to hire a horse and buggy while she waited on a bench. He drove the buggy to where she waited, then helped her up onto the seat. The landscape was dark as the buggy rumbled toward home. The stars beamed down from overhead, and he pointed out a few constellations to her. “It’s a new moon again.”

  She snuggled against him. “Very appropriate.”

  With Margaret beside him, he was determined not to let anyone stand in their way now.

  THIRTY-ONE

  Still in her mud-caked clothes, Margaret lay in her bed. She wasn’t sure she’d ever see her room again.

  Inez bustled around the room tsking about the state of her clothes. Margaret gave her instructions about preparing the guest rooms for Lucy’s family who would stay with them until their house was rebuilt.

  Daniel sat on the edge of her bed. He smoothed her hair away from her forehead. “I’m going back to town while you get some rest. Archie found his way home, by the way.”

  “Oh good! I was afraid I’d lost him.” Her fatigue fell away and she sat up. “Why are you going to town?”

  “After we got home, I got to thinking. Frank never mentioned killing your pa or shooting at us. If the gang didn’t target you and your pa, then who did? I want the sheriff to ask him and his cohorts about that.”

  She frowned. “You’re right. What reason would they have to hurt Pa?” She studied his worried face. “You think the murderer is still out there?”

  He hesitated. “I wonder if it was Calvin.”

  She thought about it, then nodded. “He had a grudge against Pa for sure. It’s possible.”

  “I want to make sure we’re safe here before we start planning the wedding. Stay inside and away from the windows until I get back. If we had one of those newfangled telephones, I could stay with you and make sure you’re safe.”

  Her cheeks heated when he held her gaze and smiled. “Inez and Vincente will watch out for me.”

  “I know they will.” He leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss. “I love you.”

  “I—I love you too.” She stumbled over the unfamiliar words a little.

  He rose and shut the door behind him. Her eyes drifted closed. She didn’t know how long she slept, but she awakened at the sound of a voice. Was Daniel back already? Her door was cracked open a bit, so she sat up.

  The room was dark except for the glow of the lamp. Inez was sitting beside her on a hardback chair. “You are awake.” She rose to touch Margaret’s forehead. “No fever. Miss Lucy and her family arrived with some of their salvaged belongings. They’re all abed.”

  The door opened, and Vincente entered with a teapot and a teacup on a tray. He paused when he saw his mother. “I thought perhaps you were resting, Mamá.”

  “I could not rest when Margaret was unwell.”

  He put the tea down and lifted the pot to pour it. “Of course not.”

  Inez patted Margaret’s head. “You are like a daughter to me.”

  The teapot clattered against the cup, and Vincente smiled. “Rest, Mamá. I will look after Margaret.”

  His mother studied his set face. “Very well. I am tired. Call me if you need me.” She patted Margaret’s hand. “You sleep.” The room was silent when she hurried out and closed the door behind her.

  Vincente set the tea on the stand and stirred sugar into it. “It’s hot.” He held out the cup.

  Margaret looked at him curiously. “Are you all right, Vincente? You’re pale.” She spied a trickle of blood on his arm. “You’re hurt.”

  “It is nothing. Here, drink your tea.”

  “In a moment,” she said. “Let me see your arm.”

  “I am fine. Here is your tea.”

  Margaret wrapped her fingers around the warm cup and lifted it to her lips. Vincente’s face was red, and perspiration trickled down his face as he watched her. A strange agitation came off him in waves.

  Her lips touched the rim of the cup, and she smelled a familiar blend. “Mm, Earl Grey.” She took a big gulp. There was a strange aftertaste. Laudanum?

  He stared at her, then his eyes widened and his face went white. “Don’t drink it!” He knocked the cup from her hand, then sank to the chair beside the bed and covered his face with his hands. “I can’t do it.”

  Margaret stared at him, her gaze lingering on his injury. The blood on his arm and his strange behavior . . . One of the men who had attacked her and Daniel had been shot. Surely Vincente hadn’t been the one. But staring at his injury, it looked very much like a gunshot wound.

  “Vincente?” she whispered.

  “You are my sister. I cannot harm you.”

  Sister? “W-What are you saying? Sister?”

  He lifted his head and held her gaze. “Yes.”

  His mother and her father. Margaret swallowed hard. “Did my mother know?”

  “My mother said she did not.”

  She shoved the tea-stained sheets off of her. A numbing warmth began to spread through her, but he’d likely stopped her from drinking a deadly amount. If she wanted to live, she had to stay alert.

  Vincente stood and paced the floor. “It was necessary if I was to have what is rightfully mine.”

  Margaret swung her legs to the side of the bed. “But why wouldn’t Pa leave the ranch to you? He wanted a son. When Stephen was killed, there was no one else but me. It would have been logical to acknowledge you and give you the ranch.”

  “So it would seem,” Vincente said.

  “Did you talk to him about it?”

  Vincente shook his head. “We never spoke of our relationship. He corresponded through my mother only. As far as he was concerned, I was an employee.”

  How could her father have done such a thing? It was beginning to be difficult to think. “That’s cruel.”

  “I agree.”

  The door creaked, and a familiar figure stepped into the glow of the lamp with a gun in his hand. She gasped. “Lewis? You’re alive!” Her elation faded when she realized he was pointing his gun at her.

  “Enough of this tender reunion. Our deal is off, Vincente. I knew you didn’t have the guts to do what had to be done. Since you can’t do it, I’ll do it myself. We’ve come too far to lose it all now.”

  Deal. She tried to think past the growing numbness in her brain. These two men were the ones who had attacked her and Daniel. They tried to kill them. And . . . “You killed Pa. How could you? He’d been so kind to you.”

  Lewis shrugged. “It was an accident. We argued and I shoved him. He hit his head on the sharp edge of the rake. I didn’t want him to die, but I wanted him to do the right thing.”

  “And leaving me homeless was the right thing to do?” She didn’t know this man with the cold eyes.

  “You would have had a home with me.”

  “I loved you like a brother, Lewis. And Pa loved you. How could you do this?”

  His eyes hardened even more. “You loved me so much you were willing to deed me half the ranch, weren’t you?”

  She needed a weapon, but nothing was close at hand. “I sent Vincente after you when you left. I was going to tell you that I would give half of the ranch to you.”

  His
eyes softened, then hardened again. “I wish I could believe you, Margaret. I wish it could be different, but I’m going to have to kill you. You will tell the sheriff. And with you dead, I won’t need your charity. I won’t be bilked out of my inheritance. I’ll have what’s rightfully mine.”

  “Rightfully yours?” She was having trouble forming her words. She couldn’t let the drug affect her. “My father built this place up from the homestead it was.”

  “If my father hadn’t died, I would have gotten my fair share without your father’s charity.”

  Her limbs were heavy with a creeping lethargy. “So you killed him and faked your death. How will you explain your reappearance?”

  He smiled, but it was a soulless grimace. “No one will suspect me of having anything to do with your death. I’ll show up in a few more days, bloody and injured. I’ll talk about a drifter taking care of me after being shot by the robbers. Everyone will believe me. And with you dead, the ranch is mine.”

  Her heart sank. She had no doubt everyone would react with joy at his reappearance. He would be able to move right into the house and take over. Her father had made it easy for him. The will stipulated that if she died without an heir, the ranch went to him.

  She tried to look at Vincente, but his face wavered in her vision. “Did you have a hand in killing Pa?”

  He shook his head. “That was all Lewis. I’d hoped when the will was read that our father would mention me, even in some small way. I was angry when he didn’t.”

  “And hurt,” she said.

  He inclined his head but said nothing. She tried to speak again, but darkness crowded into her vision. No, no! She struggled to stay conscious, but the blackness claimed her.

  DANIEL TRIED TO keep things as quiet as possible when he returned to the ranch. He expected Margaret to come hobbling out of the house any second, but her bedroom window remained dark.

  He started for his room, then reversed his steps and headed for the ranch house. Just a peek in on her would set his mind at ease. Inez wasn’t around either, and the house was dark. He barked his shin against a table in the entry, then walloped his elbow on the stair handrail but managed to keep from hollering. The steps creaked as he went up the stairs and down the hall to Margaret’s room.