by Liliana Hart
“You’re going to need more people,” Jesse said.
“I know. I’ve got two deputies, but I’ve put out the word for more. Will probably have to bring them in from the city. Men out here are already working their own farms and ranches. They’re not going to give that up for the little we can offer them.”
The Surrender Hotel had a wide front, the windows on the left displaying a parlor where guests could gather after dinner, and the windows on the right displaying the restaurant. The double doors were painted bright blue and there were wooden barrels where there were usually flowers planted, but the barrels were filled with snow.
They went inside and were enveloped in immediate warmth. The staircase was a showcase of polished wood that went up three floors. The carpet was the same shade of blue as the front door, and all the wall paneling was white. There was a crystal chandelier that the owner, Gerald Clark, had brought back with him all the way from Paris, France. The art and other decorations were much fancier than Cole ever preferred, but those who visited the hotel always seemed impressed. There was a long counter to the right of the stairs and keys and mail slots were on the wall behind it.
“Sheriff,” Will Clark greeted them as they entered. “We’ve been expecting you. Are you dining with us tonight?”
“Yes, but I’m going to wait for my wife,” Cole said. “I’ll join the marshal here for coffee while he eats.”
Will was a young man, in his late teens, with dark red hair, bright blue eyes, and a ruddy complexion. His parents owned the hotel. They also owned the mercantile and ran the bank. And Will looked at Jesse Calhoun with a mix of awe and hero worship.
Will was fascinated with tales of the Earp brothers and Wild Bill Hickok. Any time a marshal came through town, Will would hunt him down and ask question after question about what being a lawman was really like. Cole had the feeling that Will would be off on his own adventure if his parents didn’t have such a tight rein on him.
“Sure thing, Sheriff,” Will said excitedly. “I’ve got your room all ready for you just like you asked. It’s the best we have to offer. Even has a big porcelain tub from back east with hot running water.” Then he turned his attention to Jesse. “And I’ve got just the room for you, too, Marshal. I’d put you next to the sheriff since y’all are friends, but my pa told me not to put anyone in the rooms around the sheriff’s so he and his wife have privacy. But you’ll have a real good view of the whole street from the second floor. That way you can keep an eye on everybody.”
“I appreciate that,” Jesse said dryly. And then he looked at Cole with raised brows, and Cole felt the heat rising in his cheeks.
“We’ll take the seat by the front window,” he told Will, desperate to change the subject. “And keep the coffee coming. It’s been a long, cold day.”
“And I’ll have whatever the special is,” Jesse said. “I’m so hungry I could eat just about anything.”
Will nodded as if he had access to Jesse’s deepest, darkest secrets. “I bet you haven’t had time to eat or sleep trying to catch The Silver Creek Bandits. I heard about what happened in Denver. I figure they headed into the mountains to lay low until they’re ready to hit the next bank.”
Will stopped talking and all the color drained from his face. “Oh, no. You think they’re going to hit Surrender next, don’t you? That’s why you’re here. I told my father that we’d be a target ever since they put in the new railroad. We’ve got too much gold for our own good.”
“Take a breath, Will,” Cole said easily, slapping the boy on the shoulder. “Jesse’s just in for a visit to see me. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
“Oh,” Will said, only slightly deflated. “I’m sure you know a lot of important people with you being a war hero and all, but Surrender has never had so many marshals come through town before. I think something is going on, and you’re just keeping it a secret.”
“Lots of sugar for the coffee,” Cole said, cutting Will off. “Marshal Calhoun is about to fall asleep standing up.”
“Right, right.” Will jerked to attention. “Sorry about that. Take a seat and I’ll have you served up in no time.” With that, he scurried toward the kitchen door.
Cole and Jesse wiped their boots and hung their hats and coats on the rack, and then headed toward the table in front of the big plate glass window. They both positioned their chairs so they could see outside and anyone who might come into the restaurant.
“You don’t want anyone next to your room, huh?” Jesse asked, laughter in his eyes.
“Shut up, Calhoun.”
“I’ve never seen a lawman blush like that. Must be a special occasion.”
“We’re just taking some time away, that’s all,” Cole insisted. “Everyone in town will be standing outside our door by the time Will spreads the word. Nobody can keep a secret in this damned town, and everyone is nosy as hell.”
“Good thing you’re about to get snowed in,” Jesse said, waggling his eyebrows.
“I wish I didn’t like you so much. I’d punch you right in that smug smile.”
“I told you I had a winning personality,” he said. “For some reason, no one ever believes me. You know, Will’s not far off about The Silver Creek Bandits. You heard what they did in Denver?”
“I heard,” Cole said, his blood running cold. “Twelve dead. They strike right at the end of the day. They never leave any alive. And they’re gone before anyone can stop them, and no one seems to know the details. They’re like ghosts.”
“You’re partially right,” Jesse agreed. “But it wasn’t twelve. Body count was twenty this time.”
Cole whistled. “That’s the biggest one yet. They’re escalating. That puts the death toll at more than fifty.”
“The stakes are higher. They don’t want to stop robbing the banks, but it’s getting harder to conceal themselves so they’re going to greater lengths for the cover-up. There was a witness that saw them go into the bank in Denver. He was able to give a good description of three of the men. The sheriff in Denver tried to keep the witness under wraps, but word always gets out. You know how fast gossip can spread. Everyone knew there was a witness before the last sketch was drawn, so you can bet The Silver Creek Bandits knew too.”
“What happened to the witness?” Cole asked, already knowing the answer.
“His name was Jedidiah Taylor. Had his throat slit in his own bed. Along with his wife and two boys. We’ll never have another witness come forward. In fact, I think the only reason Jed came forward was because the local sheriff promised him protection.”
“He failed.”
Jesse nodded. “But not for lack of trying. There were four deputies stationed outside of the Taylors’ home. They didn’t fare any better than Jedidiah and his family.”
They paused their conversation as a server came in with the coffee tray and a small loaf of crusty bread and fresh butter. Jesse drank his coffee black, with no sugar, and Cole watched a little life come back into his eyes. He attacked the bread with the vigor of a man who hadn’t seen anything but jerky or canned beans for the better part of a couple of weeks.
“Why’d you really come?” Cole asked. “Other marshals have come before you. They’ve all given me the same spiel about how my country needs me and what an honor it is to serve the president. What’s changed? You’re the best there is. Why’d he send you?”
“I’m the best marshal there is,” Jesse said matter-of-factly. “And there are others who are almost as good as I am. But we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands than just one or a few men can handle. You’re faster with a gun than I am and you’re a better tracker. President Harrison asked who the best person was to hunt down The Silver Creek Bandits and I told him you. So he sent me to convince you.”
Cole felt the tug of duty and responsibility, but he coldly pushed it away. He’d done his time for his country. Now he owed it to his wife and community to put in the time for them. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t an honor to be wanted
for the job, or that the notoriety wouldn’t feed his ego. But he wasn’t a hot-headed young man anymore with a quick trigger finger. He’d learned there were things more important in life than notoriety.
Jesse sighed and put down the bread he’d been in the process of buttering. Then he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded parchment and pushed it across the table. It would’ve been easier just to push the paper back without opening it, because he knew if he did that something was going to change in his life. Something out of his control.
But he picked up the folded parchment anyway and opened it to discover it was actually three separate pages. He looked at the likeness of the man on the first page and laid it flat on the table. And then he did the same with the second man. Before he looked at the likeness of the third man, the hairs on the back of his nape stood at attention and his gut knotted. He barely noticed Jesse laying a shiny silver star, identical to his own, on top of one of the likenesses.
The third man’s face he knew. Almost as well as he knew his own. They shared the same clear blue eyes, dark hair, and crooked smile. And for nine months, they’d shared the same womb. But they’d never shared the same sense of duty or belief in right from wrong.
His brother had always had a look about him that made him seem a little too slick—a little too confident—and Cole had always been wary about trusting him, even though they were flesh and blood.
“He’s your spitting image. The government remembers you fondly from the war. You’ve not only got the skills to fight with guns and your hands, but you’ve got the skills to fight with your mouth. Without you, the treaties signed with the Sioux might not have happened.”
“They offered me an army to command,” Cole said, the taste of coffee bitter on his tongue. “And when that didn’t work they offered me a position high up, sitting behind a desk and talking about how we were going to change things instead of doing to change things. I told them no thank you, took the deed to the land they’d offered me, and never looked back.”
Jesse rubbed a hand over his beard and then refilled his coffee from the pot the server had left. “Politics can be a pain in the ass. We’ve all got to deal with it one way or another. There’s no such thing as just serving and protecting without strings attached.”
Will rolled Jesse’s meal out on a cart and placed it in front of him. It was hamburger steak covered in thick gravy and served with mashed potatoes and peas. Normally, Cole’s stomach would’ve been growling, but the thought of food made him sick.
“Enjoy your din…” Will started to say. And then he noticed the silver star on the table. “Holy wow, Sheriff MacKenzie. Is that what I think it is?”
“Marshal Calhoun was just letting me look at it. Don’t get too excited.”
But it didn’t do any good. Will wheeled the cart back to the kitchen as fast as his legs would carry him.
“Congress and the president, of course, are aware of your brother and his efforts during the war, just as they’re aware of yours. Though your brother’s efforts were quite a bit different than yours,” Jesse went on. “It wasn’t too difficult to decipher that it was Riley MacKenzie at the helm of The Silver Creek Bandits once his image started making the rounds. But you need to take caution. Bounty hunters and other lawmen might not know you’re twins and will be looking for someone fitting your description.”
The corner of Cole’s lip tilted up in a smile. “We used to trade places when we were kids. Lord, we’d take a beating for it if we were found out. But Riley always liked to test the limits. And I’d found it was a whole lot easier to agree with Riley than to go against him.” Cole had gotten plenty of beatings from his father because Riley hadn’t gotten his way.
“He’ll come to you eventually,” Jesse said. “He’s jealous. You’re the one who’s always recognized. You’re the hero. You’re the fastest draw. He’ll want to challenge that. To see if he can get away with what he’s been doing right under your nose.”
“And if he shows up in Surrender, I’ll meet him on my turf, my way. I don’t need to be a marshal to do that.”
“It widens your authority,” Jesse insisted. “You’re one of the best trackers in the country. You learned from the Sioux. You could find him and bring him in. You could find all of them.”
Cole shook his head, the realization of his answer sinking in for the first time. There’d always been a conflict inside him when faced with becoming a US Marshal. But knowing what his brother was capable of, and knowing that he had an obligation to protect his wife and community, answered the question for him with a clear conscience.
He pushed the star back across the table. “My place is here, with my wife and this town. My duty is to them first. The job you’re asking me to do is meant for a younger man without any ties. I’m not going to pick up and leave my wife for months at a time to track outlaws. There’s plenty of good I can do here, with the badge I already have.”
“A wife is just a wife,” Jesse said. “But this is your chance to go down in history.”
Cole laughed. There was nothing just about Elizabeth. “I never asked to go down in history. I’m just doing the best I can to make the world we live in the best it can be. I want a family, and I don’t want to let them inherit a world of wars and violence.”
“War is in the nature of man,” Jesse said. “It’s been that way since Cain and Abel. And here we are, a whole bunch of years later with the story of two brothers.”
Cole had been watching the street, subconsciously seeking out his wife. He was starting to get worried that she’d gotten stuck somewhere. She should’ve been there by now.
And then, almost as if he’d conjured her, she came through the window of visibility, the snow swirling around her. She’d left her head uncovered, and loose strands of dark hair had come out of the long braid that rested over her shoulder. Her long coat swirled around her legs, and her pistols were slung low on her hips. Unlike any other woman he’d ever met, she chose to wear men’s trousers in her day-to-day work at the ranch. He’d never actually seen her in a dress. But he definitely appreciated what she did to a pair of men’s pants.
Jesse saw her too, and his fork stopped halfway to his mouth.
“Good Lord,” Jesse rasped.
“She’s something, huh?”
Jesse blew out a breath and put his fork down. “Oh, good. You see her too. I was afraid maybe I’d died and she was an angel of death.”
“There are worse ways to go,” Cole said, smiling.
“That’s for damned sure.” Jesse picked up his fork again, but he’d forgotten what he was doing so he set it down again. “I’ve got to tell you, MacKenzie, I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never seen anything like her.”
She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she was all his.
“Don’t enjoy the view too much,” Cole said. “That’s my wife.” And then he took a closer look. She was mad as a hornet. No wonder she wasn’t covered up too much. There was no way the cold was penetrating that kind of anger.
“Damn, son,” Jesse said. “I can see why you don’t want to leave her to hunt down outlaws.”
Chapter Three
Lizzie was so mad she could barely see straight. And then she realized she actually couldn’t see because the storm was so bad.
She knew there was no point in letting the likes of Adelaide Murchison get under her skin. But she let it happen every time. And boy, were the things she’d said festering.
Maybe she didn’t know what Cole had been up to with his secret meetings. Maybe he was planning to leave because their marriage had grown so distant. Maybe things in Surrender weren’t exciting enough for him. Maybe she wasn’t exciting enough for him. And so what if she didn’t have a baby in her belly? It had only been a year. It had taken her mother several years to conceive, and Elizabeth had been their only child.
The cold barely penetrated as she made her way toward the main street and her husband. She almost went to the sheri
ff’s office, but she had a sense that he wasn’t there. The lights from the hotel were all she could see through the snow, so she headed straight for them. And then she got close enough to see him through the window, sitting with a man she’d never seen before. But she recognized the type. All lawmen had that look about them.
Adelaide had been right. How did a woman she detested know more about her husband than she did?
Her imagination went into overdrive. What was the real reason Cole wanted to spend two days away with her? Was that how he planned to break the news that he was becoming a US Marshal? Or maybe he planned to give her two last days before he snuck off to hunt down criminals. The territory in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming was becoming more and more dangerous. And Cole would be excellent at the job.
She kicked at the step that led up to the sidewalk in front of the hotel. Tears pricked at her eyes and her skin felt like it was on fire. She rarely lost her temper. She’d gotten really good at keeping her anger at bay over the years. Anger about her mother’s death. Anger when the ranch hands resented how much time her father spent showing her the ropes of how to run the ranch. Anger that her father had been taken from her much too soon. And if she was honest, anger that Cole had been promised the ranch in name if he’d marry her.
She’d never felt more alone in her life.
“Good evening, Mrs. MacKenzie,” Will Clark said from behind the counter. “Your husband…”
But Elizabeth just kept walking into the restaurant, ignoring Will completely, and headed directly to the table her husband was occupying. Cole was watching her with that look he got on his face when he didn’t want her to know what he was thinking.
Good grief, he was handsome. It was so easy to get distracted by him. He’d been the only man to ever fill her fantasies. What had started as a childhood crush had ended as a woman’s desire for something more.
