“You.”
She smiled. “What about me?”
“Well, you know those other girls we talked about? The ones I kissed?”
“All two of them?”
He chuckled. “Yes, all two of them.”
“Yes?”
“Giselle, I don’t want you to be just another girl on that list. I want you to be the only woman I kiss for the rest of my life.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn’t answer for a minute because she knew it would come out strangled. “I’d like that too,” she said at last.
“I have to know, though, how you feel about my lifestyle,” he continued. “I don’t always stay in town. I like to hunt and fish and explore. I travel down to visit my family in Indian Territory as often as I can. I don’t know if I’m built to stay put and sit at a dining room table every night with a pipe and slippers.”
She thought about that for a minute. “I detest the smell of pipe tobacco, so you’ll get no argument from me there,” she said. “As for the rest, I don’t see why we can’t compromise. Take me fishing with you once in a while, and I’ll be patient the rest of the time.”
He sat up and looked at her through the flames of the fire. “Really? You’d be fine with that?”
“I’ve seen how much being out here means to you. You’ve come alive today—I noticed it this morning as soon as we reached the open prairie. If this is part of what makes you the man you are, the man I fell in love with, how can I take that away from you?”
“You love me?” His voice sounded incredulous, and she laughed.
“Of course I love you. I just agreed to marry you, didn’t I?”
“Yes. It’s just . . . it’s just so nice to hear those words. And I love you, Giselle. More than I’d ever imagined I could love someone.” He paused. “I’d like to kiss you right now to seal the deal, but Aunt Martha taught me that sometimes it’s best to keep a lit fire between a man and a woman, and I agree.”
“Tomorrow, then,” Giselle said, smiling into the darkness.
“Tomorrow. Now, get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
“But you need to rest too.”
“I’ll be fine.”
At first, she was determined to stay awake to keep him company, but she soon gave up that idea and let herself drift off, too exhausted to do anything else.
Chapter Fifteen
As soon as the first speck of light hit the morning sky, Jesse shook Giselle’s shoulder. He hated to do it—he’d never seen anything so beautiful as her golden hair curling around her sleeping face—but they had to get moving.
Her eyes opened and she smiled up at him. Then she blinked. “Oh! It’s time to go, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry. I would have liked to let you sleep.”
“I’ll take a long nap when we get back to the hotel.” She took a moment to braid her hair again, then stood up and shook leaves out of her dress. “I’m ready.”
They tried to keep a steady pace, but they were both worn out from the day before, a kind of tiredness that came from being scared out of their wits. They ate the rest of the food as they walked, and once Giselle was no longer carrying the food bundle, she took over one of the canteens.
“I was doing some thinking last night,” Jesse said as the sun began to warm the ground.
“The last time you were thinking, you asked me to marry you,” Giselle said teasingly. “What is it this time?”
“Nothing so happy, I’m afraid.” He took another few steps before continuing. “We’ve kept Posy tucked away for her own protection, but Griffin is still out there, and who knows what he’ll do next. I would never put anyone I loved in danger . . .” His voice trailed off as he tried to phrase his next words.
“But you feel it’s time to draw Griffin out,” Giselle said.
“Yes, that’s it exactly. How can I truly protect her if the man who hunts her is never caught?”
“But he’s not just hunting her anymore,” Giselle reminded him. “Yesterday was a direct attack on you.”
“And when I make you my wife, you’ll become even more involved than you already are.” He looked over at her. “It’s time for us to bring an end to this.”
She nodded. “What do you plan to do?”
“I think we should invite Griffin to join us at Auntie Coral’s.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Well, I figure he’s watching me, waiting for me to lead him to Posy. He either knows where she is already, or he will soon. I’ll go to the hotel, get Posy, and take her back to Coral’s, where we’ll have armed men hiding in every nook and cranny. And we’ll wait.”
“He’ll know it’s a setup, though. He’s not the kindest man in the world, but he’s not ignorant.”
“At this point, it’s a chance we have to take. At the worst, he won’t come.”
Giselle seemed to be thinking that over. “I can see that. When will you do it?”
“Tonight, if I can. I’ll talk to the marshal and see about getting some men in place.”
“Please be careful, Jesse.”
The tone of pleading in her voice made him stop walking and face her. She looked so beautiful, her eyes filled with unshed tears as she tried to stay strong. “I didn’t find you just to turn right around and lose you,” he said. “We’ll bring this to an end, and then we can start our new lives together. I promise.”
***
“There it is.” Giselle almost cried when she saw the Brody Hotel up ahead. It wasn’t ten o’clock, like Jesse had predicted—it was closer to noon, which she knew because she’d been listening to the train whistle all morning. There was more than one way to tell time. Their fatigue had slowed them down, but now it was over.
They opened the gate and stepped into the yard, about to head up to the porch when a movement caught Giselle’s eye. She looked over, and there was Griffin, his pistol at the ready. His shirt was covered with blood, especially down his arm from his shoulder, but he didn’t seem weaker.
“Well, well, well. There you are. Took you long enough to get here. What’s the matter? Did something happen to your horses?”
“Put the gun down, Griffin,” Jesse said. “You can see that I’m armed.”
“I can see that you’re carrying quite a lot of things, and your rifle is slung across your back. By the time you bring it into firing position, I’ll have put a bullet through your sweetheart’s forehead. Why don’t the two of you step around to the side yard here and let’s have a talk. Oh, and you might be interested to know that I have Posy tied up in the barn.”
“I think she’s probably a little tired of barns by now,” Jesse said under his breath to Giselle.
They did as Griffin asked. Jesse lowered his rifle to the ground, held his hands in the air, and they walked around the building and toward the barn.
“You know, nice thing about this place,” Griffin said conversationally. “Everything’s run on such a tight schedule, you always know what’s about to happen. For instance, I know that right now, the handyman is eating his lunch. That means he’s not in the barn, and we’ll have it to ourselves for another twenty minutes or so. And I knew right about the time Posy would be coming outside to toss out the dishwater. It was like clockwork to grab her and throw her in the barn. And you showing up right now?” He laughed. “I couldn’t have predicted that, but it’s a beautiful thing, is it not? I was planning to kill the handyman when he came back into the barn, but maybe I can finish up my business with you, be on my way, and let the poor man live. No reason why he should have to suffer your fate.”
Giselle and Jesse entered the barn to find Posy tied up and tossed onto a bed of straw. Her mouth was gagged with a dirty cloth, and Giselle’s stomach turned at the thought of what might happen to them all.
“Now, as you know, I don’t take kindly to Indians leaving their territory. I consider it a breach of the law, and those who break the law ought to be punished. So I’ve got a bullet right here for Miss
Posy. And then there are those who help people break the law, which is equally bad. So I have a bullet here for Mr. Jesse as well.” Griffin was talking to his gun as he spoke, but he never dropped his aim. “And then there are those other people, those special people, who do me a personal injury. Such as shooting me. When someone does that, why, I have to admit, it makes me extra angry. And every single bullet left in my gun will be for that person.” He lifted his gaze and leveled it at Giselle.
“I can’t help but wonder if the three of you have any last words for each other, any goodbyes. That would make this moment a little sweeter, don’t you think?” Griffin was pacing as he spoke and paused on Jesse’s other side.
Giselle’s heart was beating so fast, she wondered if she’d pass out before he had the chance to carry out his threat. That might be a blessing, actually.
“Jesse,” she said, “I have to say, I’m a little irritated right now. You got to show me your special skills, and I never got to show you mine.”
He met her gaze squarely, and unspoken words seemed to pass between them. “You’re right. That isn’t fair. I’ll give you that chance.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he darted forward, giving Giselle a clean shot as she lifted the pistol that had been in her pocket this whole time and fired. Griffin staggered backwards and fell, landing in a heap on the barn floor. Giselle clutched her thumb as it burned with pain.
“Are you all right?” Jesse asked, coming to her side.
“I’ve never cocked a gun with just my thumb before,” she said, rubbing it out. “I usually use my other hand.”
Jesse laughed. “Oh, you brave, beautiful girl.” He kissed her forehead, then spun around and took the gag from Posy’s mouth. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, just shaken up.” She hadn’t taken her eyes from where Griffin lay.
Tom burst through the barn doors, followed by Mr. Brody, both with their guns drawn. “What’s going on? I heard gunfire,” Tom said. Then he looked down. “Is this your Mr. Griffin?”
“It is. Or I should say, Giselle’s Mr. Griffin. She saved our lives,” Jesse said, unable to keep the pride from his voice.
Mr. Brody bent over and looked at the man. “He’s not dead. Tom, get the doctor.” Tom took off, and Mr. Brody looked at Giselle. “Nice work. You got him right in his shoulder and knocked him out without killing him. Now the law can have its justice.”
“What can I say . . . I’m good at hitting shoulders,” Giselle said, her knees suddenly shaky. She lowered herself onto a bale of hay and watched as Jesse untied his sister, the doctor came and tended to Griffin, and the whistle for the next train blew. She couldn’t move—not even a muscle.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see that Elizabeth was standing next to her. “This barn is quite a dangerous place,” Elizabeth said, also watching as the doctor worked.
“That’s just what I was thinking,” Mr. Brody said with a chuckle. He crossed the floor and put his arm around his wife.
“What do you mean?” Giselle asked.
“I shot a would-be attacker right here in this very barn when I first came to the Brody,” Elizabeth answered. “But Mr. Brody married me anyway.”
“You might even say that I married her because of it,” he responded. “I’d never seen anyone so brave in all my life.”
“I don’t know that shooting someone is brave,” Giselle said. “I would have avoided it if I could.”
“Which is the exact definition of bravery,” Mr. Brody replied. “To do whatever it takes, whatever it might be, but using restraint when called upon.”
“I like that, but I don’t think it’s what the dictionary says,” Elizabeth told him.
“I’m quite sure it does,” he protested.
“And I’m quite sure it does not. We’ll look it up when we get inside.”
“I don’t want to look it up. I like my definition, and I think we should use it all the time. Dictionaries be hanged.”
He led her off to the hotel, bantering all the way, and Giselle turned to see Jesse standing there, holding a plate.
“I took Posy inside and then asked Sarah for some food for you,” he said, holding it out. “You don’t look quite ready to go back in.”
She looked past him to where the doctor was still working furiously. His nurse, who was also his new wife, handed him the instruments he asked for, and it looked like they were putting in stitches. Perhaps they were almost done.
“I just need a moment,” she said, turning back to Jesse. “Would you mind waiting?”
“No, of course not.” He walked over and stood just outside the barn door, and she looked back over at where Griffin lay.
She closed her eyes and spoke in her mind. I know you’re not a deer, and it looks as though you won’t die. But I shot you, and so I want to take a minute . . . She paused. She didn’t even know what she wanted to say and started out again hesitantly. I don’t want your life to have been wasted, so I will learn from you. I will learn to be kind to others, as you were not. I will learn how to accept everyone for who they are, to give them their space in this world, as you did not. I will take the love that is offered me and nourish it and cherish it because of these experiences. I will be strong because you challenged my weaknesses. And for that, I can thank you.
She stood up on shaking knees and met Jesse at the doorway. He held out his arm and guided her toward the hotel without asking a single question, and yet she knew that he understood.
Epilogue
As it turned out, when Jesse made up his mind about something, he wanted to take action immediately. Giselle didn’t mind at all, especially when that particular something was their wedding, and they were married the following week. They would rent a small cabin three streets over from the hotel, and Giselle would continue to manage the dining room and Jesse would hunt fresh game for the kitchen. Neither one of them could imagine a life that would suit them better.
Abraham and Martha traveled up from Indian Territory for the event, Giselle’s family made the journey as well—the little ones complaining about the long, bumpy wagon ride—and Auntie Coral sobbed into her white lace handkerchief as Pastor Osbourne said the words that made Giselle Mrs. Jesse McVey.
Posy looked radiant as she passed around slices of wedding cake, and Giselle turned to her new husband with a heart so full of love, she could hardly contain it.
“Look,” she said, nudging his arm and motioning toward all the people who had gathered in the dining room for their celebration. “Look at all the people who are here. I see Indians and white men together in the same room. I see friends. I see family. I see unity.”
He looked around too, and an expression crossed his face that was a mixture of pride and gratitude. “I wish every day could be like this,” he said. “People putting their differences aside and coming together for something they all love.”
“Maybe in time, the world will change enough that this can be an everyday thing,” she replied.
He took her hand and led her down the little hallway between the dining room and the lobby. “Do you know what else should be an everyday thing?”
“No—what?”
He continued leading her until they reached the lobby. Then he spun her around and caught her in his arms. “Kissing me. Every day. Probably at least twice.”
“Twice, you say?”
“Twice. Or maybe even three times.”
Their faces were so close, they shared the same breath. Giselle didn’t take her eyes from his. “I don’t know, Mr. McVey. Three times seems a little excessive.”
“It sounds like we may need to compromise a bit.”
“Possibly.” Her eyes flicked down to his lips, and he grinned.
“Let’s start with one, shall we?” He pulled her in the rest of the way, and she decided at some point over the next thirty seconds that three kisses a day was something she could probably live with.
THE END
If you’ve enjoyed my hi
storical novels, let me invite you to check out this sneak peek of Accidental Agent, my first book in the bestselling River’s End Ranch series written with Kirsten Osbourne, Pamela Kelly, Caroline Lee, and Cindy Caldwell!
Chapter One
When the bell over the door at Kelsey’s Kafé jingled, Liz looked up from the Formica table she was wiping. The family she’d served just a few moments ago had been cute, but the two toddlers had thrown more food than they’d eaten. She’d probably be finding bits of hamburger under the benches for days.
The customer who’d just entered might help take her mind off that, though. He was tall and good-looking, dark-haired—as all really good-looking men are—and dressed well. He glanced around as though he’d never seen a diner before and didn’t know how to act inside one.
“Welcome to Kelsey’s,” Liz greeted him, tossing her rag into the bucket of bleach water she’d placed on the bench nearest the mess. “Where would you like to sit?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Anywhere, I guess.”
“How about over here? You really can’t beat this view of the mountains.” She led him over to one of her favorite tables, the one closest to the huge front window.
“Yeah, this’ll be fine.” He sat down, and she handed him a menu.
“Take a minute to look this over, and I’ll be back. In the meantime, what can I get you to drink?”
“Coke?”
“Sure. Be right back.”
Liz stepped into the kitchen and washed her hands, then dispensed a Coke from the machine on the wall. As she set it down in front of her customer, she asked, “What else can I get you?”
“Oh, I guess I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries.” He handed her the menu. She was about to head back to the kitchen, but instead, she studied him for a moment.
“You don’t sound very excited about your order.”
A Twisted Fate Page 10
