by DeWanna Pace
Gage was surprised to wake up alive. If the person had meant to kill him, there’d been plenty of opportunity.
Vague memories floated back. Wondering if his attacker was a man or woman. He couldn’t tell by the odd shape of the shadow or by the fierceness of the blow. He’d gotten up from the sheriff’s floor. Accidentally stepped on the glasses that had fallen from his face. Stumbled to the church to gather his wits and more guns. Finally passed out on the pew.
How many people were still angry enough at Willow to want to hurt her? To need to get him out of the way, knowing he would stop at nothing to rescue her?
Hutton was the logical conclusion.
Aspiring brides in search of a bouquet couldn’t be discounted either.
A spurned intended?
He had to find Willow, get a quick list of her enemies and hope that he had enough unscrambled brains left to protect her from all threats.
What was it she had said before he’d left her to head to the sheriff’s office? Gage tried to concentrate. Maybe if he could clear his head long enough to remember their conversation, more of his memory of what had happened would come back to him and he’d know who posed the threat to Willow.
She’d forgotten an envelope. Left it behind. Did the envelope have anything to do with whoever had felt the need to get him out of the way?
Maybe all it meant was she was worried about something to do with her writing. Surely that had to be it. Her writing was all that had really mattered to Willow since she’d arrived in High Plains.
In the stillness, Gage heard an inner voice echoing through his mind and heart.
Not true. She cared enough to see you go to a doctor. Faced you down like a gunman, challenging you in the middle of the operating room.
And she didn’t flinch, not once, at your stubborn refusal. Willow cares for you. Not just cares but loves you. And all you can do is insist that you’re leaving her.
If Gage meant to get on with his life and quit pouting, it would take Willow’s kind of grit and heart to see him through the changes. Instead of fearing he would become nothing but a burden, he was meant to glory in what they could be together.
Gage realized he’d been too blind to see what was staring him in the face.
He didn’t have to live alone anymore.
Emotions that he’d only recently come to know filled him. Anticipation that things could get better. Longing for more and belief that he had a right to dream. Faith that he could put his many losses behind him and find a future worth living.
“Thank You, Lord,” he whispered, bending to his knees and bowing his head, “for letting me see in time. For allowing me to survive this attack. Most of all, Lord, guide me straight to the person who means her harm.”
Chapter Seventeen
Careful not to make a sound, Willow moved through the livery to reach the buggy. With Gage and Snow’s help earlier, she’d managed to face the horses in the proper direction this time, and she didn’t have to worry about harnessing them again. All she had to do was loosen the hobbles, climb aboard and be on her way.
It occurred to her that the ride would be faster if she took just one of the team, but then saddling and adjusting the stirrups to the right length would take up too much time. She would be forced to borrow all the makings from Bear’s tack room and she wouldn’t do that without him knowing. That would be nothing short of theft and there’d been enough of that around here already.
She would just have to chance making it out to the ranch and back in the buggy and hope no one became the wiser of her absence.
After removing the hobbles from the team’s front legs, she stroked the animals and whispered a promise of extra oats when they returned. Willow climbed aboard and settled in the front seat, discovering her journal had lodged between the brake and the footrest. She was glad she’d had the presence of mind to grab it off Hodge’s table earlier. She’d been so worried about the story she’d left behind in the envelope that she hadn’t given the book a second thought until now.
The image of the last place she’d seen it made her shudder. Next to the tooth and the can of boot polish. Proof that Hutton meant to intimidate her.
Just as she retrieved her book, a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh broke the silence in the darkened livery.
A sharp sting bit her shoulder, then coiled around Willow so fast that the leather strap pulled her arms against her ribs as if to squeeze the breath from her. She felt like a rabbit trapped in a rattler’s grip. Willow was jerked from the seat, only to land in the straw that covered the stall floor. Her journal lay next to her cheek now.
She did her best to scream, praying it would awaken the men Gage had said were sleeping in the livery. Or at least someone from outside. But she had to spit straw away from her lips, garbling the scream. No help came. Not even from Bear.
“Don’t bother, Willow. Those men won’t hear you or be up anytime soon. We made sure of that,” chided a voice from the door she’d left open to give her quick exit. “And don’t be counting on the blacksmith or your precious Ranger either. Let’s just say each of them’s gonna have a little trouble tracking for a while once they wake up.”
“You better not have laid a hand on my niece and nephew or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Hutton laughed from atop his horse, backlit by the moon. “Kill me? Should have done it when you had the chance, lady. This ain’t one of your made-up stories. The hero, or should I say in your case, the heroine, doesn’t always get what they want in real life.”
“If I get up from here, you’ll wish you never laid eyes on me,” she spat.
“Oh, you’re getting up, all right, lady. I’m taking you back, using you for bait. Your Ranger’s gonna come calling, I guarantee you. I’m gonna make him wish Ellie had gone ahead and finished the deed instead of leaving him for dead.”
“Ellie?” Surprise filled Willow. She was in on all of this? “Who is she to you?”
“I had a change of heart since I talked to the Ranger. I’m going to be Mrs. Hutton.” The large-nosed woman from Atlanta came around the livery door with a bandanna in her hand. Looking up at the wrangler, she asked, “Now, Shepard?”
He nodded and laughed. “Anytime you’re ready, darlin’. Make sure you stuff it in good.”
Willow struggled against her bond, jerking her head this way and that so Ellie couldn’t cram the bandanna into her mouth. “Ask him what his real name is,” she sputtered. “It isn’t Hutton. Is it, Stanton? Don’t be fool enough to trust him, Ellie.”
The whip jerked and he backed the horse away from the door. Willow slid across the straw on her belly, picking up splinters from the boards beneath.
Did he mean to drag her all the way back?
All of this because she couldn’t wait to get her story sent off. Because she feared she couldn’t re-create it again. Because she’d allowed her need for approval to make her reckless and endanger the man she loved.
Willow closed her eyes, gagging against the dust that billowed beneath each hoof that gouged the trail in front of her. Suddenly the images and emotions rising within her became too vivid for her to hold back the fear. She began to pray and ask God to help her.
Don’t let Gage find my journal, Lord. If he sees it, he’ll think I’m dead. He knows I’d never leave it willingly. He won’t stop until he finds Hutton and then it might be too late. He might not see the danger I’ve led him to.
Please don’t let him die trying to rescue me.
I could never be worth that much.
To him or to myself if I lose him.
* * *
A little after dawn, Gage left Doc Thomas’s office with his head wound looked after and his mind frantic with concern. No one knew where Willow had gone. Only that her cot remained empty. The physician admitted seeing her long before dawn and said she had told him she was going somewhere for something she’d forgotten. He explained the way he’d found her jammed between the door and its threshold and how he’d wondered why she hadn
’t thought of using the back entry.
Gage knew. She hadn’t wanted anyone to hear her leaving. Only by happenstance had Doc Thomas come to her rescue and learned of her mishap with the door. Where would she have gone next? Too much time had passed.
He’d best check the livery. See if her buggy was still there. If so, he’d be relieved that she hadn’t taken the foolish notion to return to the ranch and pick up whatever she’d forgotten. Nothing could be that important with the thief still on the loose and believing she had spoiled his racket.
When Gage found Willow, he meant to take her in his arms, beg her forgiveness and pledge his undying love to her. He would even admit that he couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—live without her.
Taking Hutton into custody would just have to wait. Telling Willow he wanted her in his future must come first.
As he drew closer to the livery, Gage noticed something had been dragged for a great distance from its door. The hackles on the back of his neck rose and his guts felt as if someone were twisting them into rope.
“Say, Newcomb,” Bear hailed Gage as he came from his personal quarters. “You mind fetching the sheriff for me? Had some trouble this morning. I just came to. Found my wife and my fishing partners all tied up. I’d still be out, but Ollie and Thaddeus were able to unknot the ropes and throw a bucket of water on me to revive me.”
“Trouble? Who was it?” Gage wondered if Willow had been anywhere in the vicinity. He needed to get into the livery and quick. “Sheriff ran into a little of the same thing himself last night.”
“Believe it or not, it was a thin piece of woman with a big nose.” Bear sounded astonished by the fact. “She was with Parker’s wrangler. According to Tadpole and her brother, it seems the wrangler’s out for blood, but it wasn’t ours. We were blessed that the pair only seemed to want us out of the way.”
“Have you checked your livery to be sure?”
Bear shook his bald head. “I was on my way just now to see if the cowboys who were sleeping it off for the night had fared any better than us.” The blacksmith pointed to the disturbed earth Gage had noticed earlier. “Do you see that? Something’s been dragged a ways past yonder. Sure looks long enough to be a body.”
Both men broke into a run toward the open livery door. A path leading from the stall where Gage had helped put away Willow’s team and buggy had been swept clean of straw. Seeing no sign of her, Gage wanted a better look at the stall itself.
“Check out your visitors,” Gage urged the blacksmith. “It’s too quiet. There was plenty of snoring last night when I checked for room. See if any are still here. I’m going to see if I can tell whether or not Willow’s been by this morning.”
“Can’t find her?”
Gage caught Bear up with what had happened and the fact that no one had seen her for hours.
Bear’s voice came from somewhere on the ladder that led to the loft. “Man down up here. Two in the far corner on the other side of Willow’s team. I’d say some big trouble happened here. From the looks of things, I’m guessing we were right in thinking that might have been a body dragged out the door.”
“I hope you’re wrong,” Gage whispered as he spotted the journal lying in the straw next to the team. He picked it up, clutched it in his hand and set his jaw.
She’d been here, all right. And she’d never leave, on her own accord, without the journal. His worst fears were realized. Trouble had tracked her here.
Was she dead?
All seemed lost.
What a fool he’d been to dwell on a mere loss of eyesight when now he’d lost his heart.
* * *
The sun had brushed away the fog of morning as Gage watched from the barrier of mesquite bushes that lined the approach to Daisy’s ranch and counted the men coming in and out of the barn. Not as many as he’d expected.
The other hired men must have already taken the horses and headed south to Mexico or west to mesa country, where they would rendezvous with Comancheros and the like. Why Hodge hadn’t joined them baffled Gage. The man usually stuck around only long enough to strike and run as if he had a yellow streak painted down his back, preferring to be one step ahead of the law. This time, he seemed bent for revenge or a reckoning.
Well, let him come. Gage was ready for him. But the thief wasn’t the sort to deal the cards fair. He always had a trick up his sleeve.
Hair on the back of Gage’s neck stood on end. If Hodge had hurt Willow thinking it would draw him out, the man had made the biggest mistake of his career. He would answer for every pain she had suffered if she’d been the unfortunate soul dragged behind that horse. Gage didn’t care how he took the man to justice anymore. An eye for an eye or in chains, it made no difference to him.
If Willow survived, she had to be inside somewhere among them.
Easy there, Gage told himself as his heart hammered in his chest. He had to tread cautiously now and size up the situation well or he’d just end up putting her in further danger. Gage prayed fervently he wasn’t too late to make a difference.
He was glad now he’d convinced Bear to stay and form a posse in the event the sheriff hadn’t recovered enough to get this under control. Maybe they’d show up in time, but Gage wouldn’t count on it. He vowed to catch the men on his own if need be.
About a mile out of High Plains, he had spotted signs that the dragging had stopped. Whatever the burden, it had been thrown over the mount in front of the rider and carried the rest of the way.
The evidence gave him hope there was a chance Willow might still be breathing.
Waiting until he was certain all the men were now inside, Gage crept closer and pressed an ear against the barn wall. No one bothered to lower his voice, proving none of them were afraid of being caught.
“Gage will tear you into tiny pieces for what you’ve done,” Willow threatened. “You better ride, and ride hard, because he won’t stop.”
The sound of her voice weakened Gage’s knees, washing relief through him like floodwater over land cursed by drought. All he wanted to do was bolt in there and commence to firing. But he couldn’t. He might lose her for real this time.
His mind raced, wondering how he could cause distraction enough to give her time to run to safety. If she still had strength to walk. She seemed to have no problem talking, but he needed a good look at her. To see how badly she’d been hurt. Make sure it wasn’t just pure grit that sharpened her courage.
Sweat beaded on Gage’s forehead as his teeth ground together. He had to do something and do it now.
“Hold it right there!” he shouted as he stepped inside with both guns pulled.
Hodge shifted out of the direct line of fire, taking shelter behind the chair where he had tied Willow.
“No!” she shouted, her hands and feet bound with rope. “He means to kill you. Get back. There’s four of them.”
Gage focused on her face for a moment, quickly raking in her beauty beneath the scratches, splinters and blood. She’d never looked more precious to him.
“Guess I’ll just have to shoot two at a time, then,” he assured her even though they both knew he would be outgunned.
Willow fought against her bonds, struggling to break free. “Don’t do this, Gage,” she pleaded. “This is exactly what he wants. He told me so. Told me he was going to use me as bait to lure you. I didn’t want you to come. I hoped you’d see the journal and think I was already dead. That it was too late.”
“You’re mistaken, love. It’s never too late for you and me. We’re just beginning.”
“Aww, isn’t that just the sweetest thing you ever did hear,” Hodge mocked. “The Ranger’s lost his heart along with his good sense.”
“I have no beef with you other fellows. Just Hodge here. He’s run out of steam.” Gage made sure he kept close watch on the other three. Each had a gun, but he didn’t know if they had the grit to use it on a lawman. Rustling was one thing; most men had no stomach for killing. “I’m giving you a chance to change your futur
e. Got a posse riding this direction. Should be here any minute now. You can take the time to try and draw on me if you want to test my mettle. But if you try it, I’m taking as many of you down as I can get off shots.”
“I don’t know about this, Hodge,” one of the men said. “Kill one Ranger, you got the whole corps coming after you. I think I’ll pass.” He walked out the door leading to the paddock.
Three to one now. Gage liked the better odds. Now get it down to two. One for each gun.
“Come back here!” Hodge shouted. “You leave now, you lose your cut of the money.”
“Leave that woman and let’s get out of here,” said another outlaw. “Posse’s coming. She ain’t worth this.”
“If you’re going,” said the third one, “no reason for me to stick around. I ain’t no gunman.”
The sound of a bullwhip cracked the air, stopping Hodge’s helpers from leaving. It snaked around Willow, making her scream. Hodge gripped the handle and pressed the end against her throat. “Put the guns down, Ranger. Slide them to me or I swear I’ll squeeze this until she squeals.”
“Don’t, Gage. It’s not worth it. I’m not worth it.”
“You’re worth everything to me. Don’t ever let me hear you say such a thing again. Do you love me, Willow?” Exasperation filled Gage.
Her eyes rounded. “Of course.”
“Then will you please do something for me?”
“What?” Hodge asked for her.
“Shut up,” Gage demanded.
“Me or her?” asked the thief.
“Both of you.”
Though Willow looked taken aback, she finally muttered, “Okay.”
The sound of Gage releasing the hammers brought deadly silence.
Gage knew he had failed but refused to be the one who sent Willow to her death.
“Let her go, Hodge. Let’s do this like men.” He threw down the gauntlet. “Fist to fist.”
“All right, lawman. Makes it easier on me. I ain’t the one who can’t see where I’m punching.”
“Like I said, let her go first.”
