by Leah Brooke
When Savannah frowned and opened her mouth, Hayes shot her a sharp glance, pleased that she snapped her mouth closed and nodded, obeying him immediately.
Pride in her swelled his chest, and he watched her go, knowing that if anything ever happened to her, he would never recover. Once she went up the back steps and into the house, he nodded toward Eb.
“What’s going on?”
“Last night, there was a fire.”
Hayes glanced at Wyatt, his heart racing. He knew damned well what a fire could do out here and whipped his head around, instinctively looking for any sign of one.
“It’s out. Luckily, Phoenix and some of the other men smelled it and saw the light from it before it got out of hand. It looked like whoever lit it had no experience with campfires. Phoenix and the others must have scared them off because they left some of their belongings behind. Including this.”
He placed a piece of paper, partially burned, into Wyatt’s outstretched hand.
Hayes got a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. “What is it?”
Eb smiled. “Part of a letter from the sheriff of Kansas City, telling a certain Reverend Perry that he’s no longer welcome there. Evidently, after Savannah left, a lot of people came forward and complained about him to the sheriff and told him he would be out of a job if he let the reverend come back. They didn’t like the way he treated Savannah.”
Wyatt cursed. “Why the hell didn’t they say something before?”
Eb sighed. “Savannah told them not to. My dad’s been about the only one to talk, and the sheriff doesn’t like him. It seems the sheriff’s got a thing for Esmeralda and doesn’t like that she’s too crazy about Dad to see anyone else.”
Phoenix came forward. “It looks like there were seven riders. We were just about to go look for any sign of them when we saw you coming.”
Hayes looked toward the house. “Keep Savannah here. We’ll go out and see if we can find them.”
Eb nodded. “What the hell are they doing here anyway?”
“We had some trouble with them in town. Savannah knew that one of her uncle’s friends was an outlaw. Turns out he’s the one who took off with Savannah’s mother. Paid the uncle to keep Savannah out of the way. With Savannah’s mother gone, he gets no money and needs Savannah to keep his church solvent. Now that he’s been run out of Kansas City, he’s going to have to set up somewhere else. He needs Savannah.”
Eb scrubbed a hand over his face. “What happened to the outlaw?”
Hayes waved a hand, anxious to get the matter of Savannah’s uncle taken care of once and for all. “One of the others will tell you. We’re getting fresh horses and heading out.”
“How the hell did they beat you here?”
Wyatt shook his head. “Savannah was worn out and frantic, and so we let her sleep in. Then, we got married, remember? We stayed at the hotel. They must have thought we left and started out.”
Hayes heard Blade start to explain what had happened, but didn’t hear the rest. Intent on making sure Savannah’s uncle was gone, he started out, with Phoenix leading the way. Hart and Gideon Sanderson joined them without a word, wearing their usual somber expressions.
Riding out, Hayes listened as Wyatt explained to Phoenix, Hart, and Gideon what had happened in town, speaking in the short, clipped tone Hayes knew so well.
His own anger boiled hot, but with a threat to Savannah, it became something much more. Possessiveness and the need to protect what meant the most to him added a layer of unease that he’d never before experienced when doing his job.
This time it was personal.
Savannah was his wife.
Hayes kept his gaze moving, scanning the outcroppings of rocks, looking for any sign of movement.
Riding in silence now, they listened for any sign of life, but heard nothing. After several more minutes of riding, Phoenix stopped and raised a hand, pointing to a clearing about fifty yards from where they’d stopped. The brush around it had been burned, and dirt had been scattered everywhere.
Leaning toward them, the Indian kept his voice low.
“That’s where they had the fire. Luckily we got to it before it was too bad. Between the water we had in our canteens and the dirt we threw on it, we were able to get it out. A few more minutes, and who knows what would have happened?”
Hayes gritted his teeth.
“It appears this man’s a menace in more ways than one. He’s got sand, though, coming out here after what happened in Tulsa. He’s got more riders with him, which means he recruited more in town. And he’s desperate. He must need Savannah badly.”
Wyatt slid from his horse, checking the ground.
“People like her, and she’s the only reason he gets any donations to his church. Without her, he doesn’t have a way to make a living. Yeah, he’s desperate.”
Hayes knelt and touched a finger to one of the tracks left behind. “And stupid, if he thinks he’s going to be able to get through us to get to her.”
Hart Sanderson, who knelt several yards away, dusted off his hands and came to his feet.
“Headed toward the ranch.”
“Hell.” Hayes and the others leapt onto their horses, not doubting the other man at all.
Hart hardly ever spoke, but when he did, he didn’t waste words and people listened.
With his heart in his throat, Hayes raced with the others back the way they’d come.
“There aren’t any tracks here. How the hell do you know they’re going for the ranch?”
Gideon pointed toward the other side of the rocks. “They went that way. Probably stopped at the pond and then headed the long way around. They don’t know these parts.”
Hayes lifted a brow, sharing a look with Wyatt. “Gideon, I never heard you string so many words together at once.” The fact that he did showed that they all shared the same alarm. He had to admit that he appreciated the sense of camaraderie, and that they all worked together to protect the women.
With a shrug, Gideon raced on. “Didn’t have anything to say.”
None of them spoke as they raced back to the ranch. The sense of urgency in the air increased as they got closer, until it became thick enough to cut with a knife.
Right before they cleared the trees, Hayes and the others stopped, the danger in the air unmistakable.
“Something’s wrong.”
Hart nodded. “Yeah.”
Wyatt cursed from beside him.
“Son of a bitch! Look. Back of the house. Left corner.”
Hayes couldn’t breathe. “He’s got Maggie and the baby.”
Fear, unlike any he’d ever known, had him racing for the house. He pulled up abruptly, his heart in his throat when he saw that the men of Desire were in a standoff with Savannah’s uncle and some of the roughnecks Jeremiah had pointed out to him in Tulsa.
Men for hire, they would do anything for money. The reverend had apparently decided his friends were useless and hired others to get what he wanted.
And Savannah stood right in the middle of it.
Seeing no way to sneak up on them, Hayes and the other men spread out, forcing the men with the guns to divide their attention. Since Savannah’s uncle wasn’t armed, that left the other six trying to keep an eyes on them while also watching Eb, Jeremiah, Duke, Hawke, and Blade.
Hayes kept his attention on the one holding the gun to Maggie’s head.
“That’s far enough. Get off those horses and drop those pistols real easylike.”
Hayes spared a glance at Eb and Jeremiah, both men white as sheets as they watched the man who hid behind Maggie, keeping the gun to her head and jerking her in front of him. The baby in her arms cried incessantly as Maggie struggled not to drop him.
His gaze slid to Savannah. Dismounting, he kept her in his vision, surprised to see that she still wore her gun in the holster she’d worn since she left Kansas City.
Either the other men didn’t see it or didn’t consider her a threat.
“Now lose
the pistols. No, reach out with your left hands only and drop the holsters or the little woman and screaming brat get bullets in their heads.”
Hayes spared a glance at the reverend, unsurprised that the man seemed to have gathered some courage now that he had six other men with him that had guns.
Keeping his right hand in the air, he undid his holster and let it fall to the ground. His fear for Maggie and the baby had his heart racing.
He could only imagine what Eb and Jeremiah were feeling.
He couldn’t understand why Savannah stood so far apart from the others, and wanted her close so he could shield her if necessary.
“Savannah, come over here to me.”
“No.” Savannah’s uncle looked livid. “She stays right where she is. If we shoot Maggie and the baby, Savannah’s next. I want her right in my sights, but not too close to Maggie.”
For the first time since they’d arrived, Savannah turned her head slightly toward him.
He could see the fear in her eyes even from this distance, and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to run to her.
“What the hell happened?”
Duke spared a look at Eb and Jeremiah. “We had some trouble with the horses. Eb and Jeremiah came out to see what was going on, and these bastards broke in through the front door. Then all hell broke loose.”
“Shut up.”
With all eyes on Maggie, nobody moved.
Hayes went through a dozen scenarios in his head, but couldn’t find one that wouldn’t get Maggie killed. Inwardly cursing, he swore that he would never let Savannah out of his sight again.
Savannah stared at her uncle. “I told you I would come with you if you just let Maggie go.”
“We can’t go back, Savannah. Ace Tyler has the whole town against me. They have to pay!”
Savannah took a step closer. “Killing Maggie and the baby is only going to get you killed. You can’t shoot me. You need me. That’s why you told these men not to shoot me, isn’t it? I won’t go with you if you hurt Maggie or the baby. You know that. Let them go.”
Hayes ground his teeth. If these men left here with Savannah, Hayes would be relentless in chasing them down and getting his woman back. Even the thought of her riding away with them filled him with terror.
The red-faced reverend looked a little confused.
“No. You’re all coming with me. When we get away, we’ll leave Maggie and the baby somewhere where they can find them.”
Eb and Jeremiah stiffened even more. Shaking his head, Eb went whiter. “You can’t leave a woman and a baby in the middle of nowhere.”
Savannah took another step closer and kept speaking in that soft tone Hayes had often heard her use with her uncle.
“Leave the baby here. You don’t want to hear all that crying, do you?”
The man holding the gun on Maggie shook his head. “We ain’t takin’ this crying brat with us. People would hear us from miles away.”
Another of the men grinned. “There’s a cliff not far from here. We’ll throw it over that.”
Shaking with rage, Hayes watched as Maggie took her eyes from her husbands and faced Savannah. Adjusting the baby lower in her arms, she and Savannah exchanged a look.
To his amazement, Maggie smiled through her tears, a smile of encouragement.
“You’ve done it a million times. I know you can do it. Do it, Savannah. It’s a can. That’s all. Just a can.”
Hayes stiffened as everyone whipped their heads around to Savannah, his gut tied up in knots. He couldn’t breathe. He could barely think. Something was about to happen, and he couldn’t prevent it. He didn’t even know what it was.
Savannah closed her eyes and slowly opened them, nodding once.
He’d never felt so helpless.
Savannah shifted her stance and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
It all happened so fast, he had a hard time believing what he was seeing.
Savannah whipped out the pistols at her side with a speed that left him dumbfounded, shooting the man holding Maggie right between the eyes.
Before he hit the ground, Savannah shot each of the others in the hands holding their guns, sending men and guns flying in the dirt.
Before the last shot rang out, Hayes and the others were already moving.
As Eb and Jeremiah dragged Maggie and the baby from the dead man’s arms, and Duke and the others ran to kick guns out of reach of the other screaming men, Hayes and Wyatt ran straight to Savannah.
They reached her side before the smoke even cleared. Gathering her to him, he took one of the guns from her hands while Wyatt took the other.
“Savannah!” Christ, he couldn’t believe what he just saw. He’d seen it with his own eyes and still couldn’t believe it had happened. Gathering her shaking form against him reminded him once more of her frailty.
Her eyes glazed over, scaring him to death, her voice a raspy whisper.
“Told you I could shoot.” Her body slumped as she fainted dead away.
Hayes blinked, panic-stricken, and scooped her up in his arms, vowing that as long as he lived, he’d never stop loving this woman.
Chapter Fourteen
Savannah shot up, her heart racing, and struggled to get to her feet, only to be tumbled back against Hayes’s chest.
His arms felt warm and solid around her, the man himself a wall of strength she could lean on as he held her on his lap.
“Easy, honey. You’re all right. God, I was never so scared, or so proud of you.”
Four hands moved over her back and shoulders, while two sets of lips kissed her hair as Wyatt moved in at her back.
“You scared the hell out of us. Are you all right? Do you hurt anywhere?”
With the realization that they were on the back porch of the Tylers’ house, Savannah closed her eyes against the looks of concern from several of the men standing in the yard only feet away.
“I killed a man. I killed him. He’s dead because of me.”
Hayes and Wyatt both stilled, but within seconds resumed their caresses. Hayes leaned back, tilting her face back.
“Yes, you did, and because you did, Maggie and the babe are alive and safe in their bed right now.” His tone, softer than she’d ever heard from him, reached into her chest and wrapped around her heart.
Wyatt pushed her hair back and wrapped an arm around her from behind, his hand rubbing her thigh in firm, smooth strokes.
“He was one of those troublemakers from town. He and the others have been in trouble with the law ever since Eb and Jeremiah got here. Don’t think for one minute that any of us wouldn’t have killed him if we’d had the chance. You were brave enough to take the shot, and you were the only one who could have.”
Savannah opened her eyes in the hopes of getting rid of the image of looking straight into the other man’s eyes before taking the shot that killed him.
“Maggie and the babe aren’t hurt?”
Wyatt stiffened. “Eb says her arm is covered in bruises from being jerked around and that her head is already bruised and sore as hell from where that bastard kept pushing the gun against it. All that ended when you were brave enough to take that shot, Savannah. You’re a heroine around here.”
Feeling very old and distant from everything going on around her, Savannah sat up, pushing out of their arms.
“Where is my uncle?”
Hayes kept a hand across her legs, rubbing her knee. “He and his other friends are the first official guests of the new jailhouse. We’ll be taking them to Tulsa in a day or two.”
Savannah nodded, looking out to the yard, but carefully avoiding meeting anyone’s eyes.
“I want to see Maggie, and then I want to see him.”
Coming to his feet with her in his arms, Hayes started toward the back door. “You can see Maggie and the babe, but I don’t think seeing your uncle is a good idea.”
Savannah didn’t have the energy to argue with him, or to push out of his hold. She felt numb and
disoriented. It was as if she could see and hear everything around her, but she was no longer a part of it.
She’d killed a man. She’d taken the life of another human being and didn’t know if she could live with it.
* * * *
Wyatt left Hayes talking to Eb and Jeremiah in the kitchen and went out the back door, in need of air. As he approached the fenced area, Hawke turned.
“Hell of a woman. How’s she doing?”
From beside him, Phoenix stepped forward. “She looked really shaken. Is she hurt?”
With a sigh, Wyatt hooked a foot over the bottom rail.
“She’s not hurt, but she’s shaken. She can’t get over the fact that she killed a man. She did the same thing when she thought she’d killed the man in Tulsa. We should have expected it.”
Hawke patted his shoulder, rare for a man who never touched anyone. “After this afternoon, I think we’re all shaken. We’ve already spoken with Jeremiah. We’re going to have to increase patrols around here, and strangers are going to be watched even more closely than ever.”
Phoenix glanced toward the house.
“Doesn’t she realize she saved Maggie and the babe’s lives? I just can’t believe she made that shot. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to take it. Hell, even thinking about having to take that shot—”
Hawke turned back toward where Hart worked with an especially headstrong stallion.
“None of us would have relished taking that shot, but there isn’t any one of us who wouldn’t have taken it to save their lives. She’s an expert shot. Everyone’s talking about it. It looks like we’re all going to have to practice more. Eb tells me that he and Jeremiah taught both women to shoot and that Maggie’s as good as Savannah.”
Wyatt blinked. “You’re kidding.”
Hawke’s lips twitched, the closest he ever got to smiling. “I’m not. She was damned brave, lowering the baby and telling Savannah to take the shot, knowing Savannah could have been too nervous or that that bastard could have jerked her around again. She knew that once Savannah shot, it would be over, and at least the babe would have been saved. Brave women—both of them.”
Duke spoke from somewhere behind them, the large man not making a sound as he crossed the yard.
