by Kari Trumbo
“Am I the only one who didn’t see Jax’s attention?” Meg blushed as well and looked at him.
“Yes.” Elizabeth laughed. “And I was so full of myself I was sure I could steal him right away from you. I’m sorry Meg. You’ve always been kind to me and I didn’t deserve it.”
Meg didn’t know what to say. Her sister had matured so much. It made her feel guilty because she hadn’t always been kind to Lizzy. She worried what had happened to her to make this change happen. They arrived at the hotel dining room and Jax directed them to a quiet table in the corner of the room. It would be good for catching up and planning the trip home.
“Lizzy, how soon can you be ready to go? There’s a blizzard coming in the next day or so. We’d hoped to be on our way before it comes,” Meg asked.
“Meg.” Elizabeth grabbed Meg’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m not going with you.”
“What do you mean you aren’t going with us? You can’t just stay here alone. There’s no one here to watch out for you. You have no chaperone, no family, no one.” She couldn’t fathom why Lizzy would want to stay.
Jax touched Meg’s shoulder. He looked at her and somehow she knew his thoughts. She was reminded of their quick talk on the way over. Meg needed to give her sister a chance to explain.
“I’m sorry.” Meg looked down at the table. “Go ahead.”
“I am staying here for the same reason you want to stay on the ranch. I love my work here with the doctor. He is kind and has helped me learn a lot even in the short time I’ve been here. The training I am receiving would also help me later if I partner with Robert…” Elizabeth stopped and the table waited for her to finish.
“Who is Robert?” Meg asked when Elizabeth didn’t continue. Jax took her hand, he must have sensed her tense up next to him.
“Robert is with the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. We met each other on the train here and I traveled with him the entire way. He also helped me find the position with the doctor and lodging when I had none.”
“Is Robert the man you came so far away to marry?” An anger coursed through Meg like a fire.
Elizabeth laughed, Meg was taken aback again at her laugh. It was real now, and truly as beautiful as she. Meg had always thought Lizzy was beautiful and this newfound maturity only added to it. But for the first time, Meg wasn’t jealous of her sister. She knew Jax only had eyes for her and he was the one that mattered.
“Yes, and no.” She smiled down at the table as if she had a lovely secret she wasn’t ready to share. “I’ve been going to church as long as you have, Meg, but I never took it to heart like you did. I was too cynical and mean to ever believe anyone or anything was more important than my needs, or mother’s. Now I know I was directed to come up here. Not for the husband I met for a day, but for the companion that is Robert. He’s the man I think I was made to be with. I only hope he’ll want to come back to Kansas with me at some point.”
“Lizzy…” Meg tried to say more.
“Elizabeth, please, Robert has always thought the name Elizabeth fit me better. So I decided, with a new life, a new home…a new name was in order. The old Lizzy that hated and used everyone is gone. Or rather, only comes out when I need her to.” Elizabeth laughed, blushing a pretty pink.
“What am I going to tell father?” Meg asked.
“He will understand, I know he will. You’re all welcome to visit me whenever you want and we can exchange letters.” Elizabeth paused. “So when are you two going to make it legal?”
Jax finally spoke up. “I haven’t even courted her yet.”
Elizabeth giggled behind her hand. “To anyone who was paying attention you did. I was only out there twice and I saw it.
Elizabeth’s face turned somber and she lowered her voice, leaning in. “I’m speaking in all seriousness. I think you both should wait a few days before traveling home. The doctor has warned me about these snowstorms. Even the ones we know are coming. People never seem to do the smart thing and just stay indoors. They decide they need to go do something outside and then they get caught out in it. Please don’t head out thinking you will beat it. You won’t. Stay here and spend Christmas with me. It might be the last one I spend with you in a long time.”
“But we could be stranded here.” Meg looked to Jax for support.
“Oh, how terrible. You’d be stuck with me.” Elizabeth’s mouth turned down in a mock frown. “I was thinking about the possibility of you staying for a while. The doctor also happens to be the Fort’s Reverend. He would be happy to marry you. A Christmas wedding would be perfect.”
“Two days,” Jax and Meg said at the same time, eyes wide.
“It would be lovely. A story to tell your children someday.”
Meg’s lovely reunion slammed to a halt. Children. She couldn’t have them, or it seemed quite possible she couldn’t. Jax might not want to marry her at all if he couldn’t have an heir. It had been so important to her father that his daughters have one he’d put it in writing and made it a condition to ownership of his property. Meg’s mood plummeted, she felt broken and insufficient. She didn’t want to be at this table any more. She wanted to be far away.
“I’m sorry Lizz… I mean, Elizabeth. That just won’t work. Jax is right. We’ve barely even realized we have feelings for each other. It simply isn’t possible.”
The silence surrounded them like wolves. Meg wanted desperately to change the subject or just leave but she couldn’t think of a single thing to talk about and it would be rude to just walk away.
“Why not?” Jax asked her after waiting for her to speak further, squeezing the hand he still held. “Your father likes me. He wouldn’t disapprove. Elisabeth is right. We’ve gotten to know each other for the whole trip here for sure, and for a long time before that. Let’s do this. I want to do this,” he pleaded.
“I don’t see why you’re suddenly in such a hurry. We should wait, make sure this is the right thing to do. You might not be so excited to marry me if you knew more about me.” Meg looked back and forth. She felt cornered and nervous, like a mouse trapped by a cat. She wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“Why do we need to wait? We’re both adults, and not getting any younger, I might add.” He laughed, but stifled it at Meg’s murderous look.
Meg’s thoughts frothed like the ocean. She could not take another minute of this conversation. Getting up from the table, she needed a few minutes of fresh air. She felt hot and she couldn’t breathe. Life had always been within her control and lately nothing ever was. Without another word, she stood and hurried outside, not even grabbing her coat. She needed to go out for a minute and cool her thoughts, so she shouldn’t need it.
Meg ran out the front door and looked up and down the streets. She couldn’t see anyone, but the wind rushed in her face and stole her breath. The frosty air bit her lungs. The sky was overcast and the street seemed dark and ominous. She wrapped her arms around herself, deciding her room might have been a better choice.
Something behind her made a swift rustling noise. She felt a moment of panic before someone put their hand over her mouth and grabbed her around the waist. She kicked and thrashed but the person’s strength overwhelmed her. He took her into a nearby building where her hands were tied behind her back and a cloth was tied over her eyes, another was put in her mouth. The room was bitter cold.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Elisabeth followed Meg with her eyes out the doorway of the dining room. She couldn’t see the front door even if she craned her neck. Heaving a sigh, she looked to Jax for help.
“I guess I hurt Meg again.” She frowned. “I thought she’d like the idea of getting married here, or at least laugh at it. I guess I don’t know my sister that well. I probably won’t ever get the chance to get to know her, either.” Elizabeth looked down at her hands in her lap, a few tears might actually feel good. “I just thought it would be nice to see my sister married to someone who cares about her for a change.”
“You don’t think
Chase cared?” Jax asked, his glance kept darting to the entryway and Elizabeth knew he was anxious for Meg to come back.
“I suppose, in his own way he did. He was a farmer first, a husband second. The land and the cows always came first. When he originally came out to talk to father about marrying Meg, he had more questions about running the ranch than anything else. Ideas about how to make it better and more pennywise. Father had to change the subject back to Meg quite a few times. It always seemed as if Meg was just another thing he looked after. His family would never be wealthy enough to have a quarter of the land he’d get by marrying Meg, and he could stay right here to get it. Plus, despite what I’ve said to her in the past, Meg isn’t exactly hard on the eyes.”
Jax smiled at her, nodding in agreement. “I just don’t understand how she couldn’t find someone who cared? Not that I’m unhappy she isn’t hitched to someone else.” He looked back at the door, “I’m not glad Chase is dead, but Meg is no longer married. It’s tough to explain.”
“I understand, Jax. If not for Chase, Father would have had all the help the ranch needed, so you may never have been hired. So I can see your trouble. No one is happy he’s dead, he wasn’t a bad man. I’ve met men that fit that description, he wasn’t. It’s just that Meg deserves to be loved, to be more than a path to land ownership.”
“That’s partly Gus’s doing.” Jax drew circles with his finger on the table, not even looking at Elizabeth anymore, staring at the door.
“Maybe, but a husband that loved her might’ve been sad at losing the ranch, but would’ve given it up in order to keep her. I don’t know what Chase would’ve done if I would’ve gotten married and threatened his place,” Elizabeth replied.
Jax craned his neck in an attempt to see the door to the dining hall. It had been too long and Elizabeth was starting to get worried. If she was reading Jax correctly, he’d been worried from the moment she walked off.
“So you are saying he cared, but not like you’d have liked him to.” He briefly met her eyes.
“No, I’m saying he cared, but he never made her an important part of his life. I’ve learned a lot in the last four weeks. One of those things is that love is when you go out of your way to put another person and their wants and needs above your own. It’s more than work though, it’s also exploring, and fun, continually learning new things about that person, enjoying even their silence. It is passion and desire too. Those were all things missing from Meg’s first marriage. At least from her spouse, she always put him first, even above us, the rest of her family.” Elizabeth craned her neck to look at the door, but it was just outside her view.
“The only day of the year we came before Chase, was Christmas. To be fair, it was the only day that all of us put aside our differences and were a real family. Meg loves Christmas and couldn’t bear to spend it alone. She couldn’t bear losing the one day her family acted like everyone else’s. Chase put up with her inviting us over Christmas Eve, but he wouldn’t even come in and be social. He never even tried.” Her voice had risen in anger and she drank some water to get her emotion back in check. “Forgive me, she is my only sister and I always felt there was better for my sister than Chase Connor.”
“I see.” He sighed. “Do you think she is worried I will treat her that way?”
“I don’t know.” Elizabeth reached out her hand, touching Jax’s arm. ”I’m getting worried. It’s really cold out there tonight. That storm will come before morning. I don’t like it that she hasn’t come back yet. Can you go check on her?”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” Jax got up. “If she needs someone to talk to and I don’t make it back for dinner, it was good seeing you tonight and it looks like we will be here a few days. We will see you soon. Enjoy your dinner with Robert.” He kissed her hand, excused himself, and went for the door.
~~~
Jax went to the coat check and grabbed his coat and Meg’s. He saw out the front door of the hotel it had now started to snow lightly and he couldn’t see much of anything in the street. He couldn’t see Meg anywhere. Heading down the street, he heard a voice come out of nowhere,
“Well, I was wondering how long it would take you, Pardner.”
Jax whipped around and saw the man who had come in their car on the train, in a long leather coat and a working man’s hat.
“What d’you want?” Jax slurred his words in his rush.
“I want you to come with me, quiet-like. Yer purty lady is already waitin’ fer ya.”
“Meghan…”
“Yep, she shore is a spirited thing. Had to put a bit in her mouth. Was afeared she’d bite like a horse.” He sneered.
It was a trap. He knew it was a trap. But the thought of Meghan with them and what might have happened made him reckless and angry. He flew at the man in a rage. Pulling his fist back, he prepared to pummel the man in the face. He didn’t see the two other men come out from the doorway. They tackled him and soon subdued him under their blows to the face and stomach.
Jax was drug through a nearby door and shoved to the floor. He saw Meg laying on the floor near him, a rag in her mouth and another around her eyes. She had her arms behind her back and she looked cold and uncomfortable. She did not move.
“Meghan…” he gasped.
A man nearby kicked him in the stomach and he wretched.
“Shuttup!” said Lars. “How nice you two love birds could join us. I was getting tired of tracking you all over the countryside.” He pointed at the man from the stagecoach. “Put him over near the wench, but not too close. We’ll get it warmed up in here in no time. Are their hands and feet tied?”
“Yes.” Jax heard someone say, but couldn’t tell who.
“Let’s move out. I don’t want to be stuck here any longer than I have to be. Jax, you’ll finally get yours.” It was then that Jax noticed a pile of kindling on an old table. Lars moved in the way of his vision, but he could smell the burning leaves immediately. Lars was going to burn them alive. With every building touching in this tiny fort, it could burn the whole place down. Jax started thrashing, trying to loosen his ties. Lars looked at him and laughed.
The room became active. The members of Lars’s group shuffled for the door, while he sat comfortably watching. The one woman member of the team approached Lars.
“Do you want me to go get the horses ready?” She looked quiet and submissive.
“Sure, this ain’t women’s work anyway,” he replied.
~~~
Amy left without further comment to Lars, wrapping a thick muffler around her neck. She hadn’t signed on for this. She hadn’t agreed to kill anyone. Lars had told them he’d needed a lookout. Someone to watch this couple up-close and it had meant she could finally travel, and first-class most of the trip. She’d known they were in desperate trouble when Lars had shot her brother on the trail. Her husband had insisted the money was too good to back out and they would be fine if they listened and kept quiet. He was scared of what Lars would do to them. There was more to life than money and she was done with this plan.
She looked into the hotel they’d checked into to watch Meg and Jax. She’d been the one to tell Lars they were eating at the hotel tonight. In the front entryway, she found exactly the man she was looking for. She’d seen him in town earlier today riding a beautiful black charger. He wore a bright red coat and tan breeches. His manner and dress had exuded civility and authority. She peered through the window and saw him talking to the young lady Meg and Jax had been eating with, perfect.
Running into the lobby, she ran toward the man in the bright red coat and his acquaintance.
“Excuse me.” She rushed. “The two people you were eating with tonight.” She pointed toward Elizabeth. “Are very much in danger, they are three doors down being held by a man named Lars Larson. He lit the place on fire. The lady’s not conscious, she’s already been left in the cold for quite some time.”
The Ranger gave the woman he was with a swift kiss on the cheek then follow
ed Amy out of the hotel.
“I’m sorry. I can’t go any closer. I’m afraid for my own safety and my husband’s if Lars knew I told you.” She wrung her hands.
“I understand. Go. I’ll take it from here.”
~~~
Robert watched the building without moving, trying to form a plan. Walking to the door Amy had indicated, he noticed the windows had been covered to prevent anyone from looking in. He took a moment to think about the situation, not sure how to get Meg and Jax out of there. He didn’t have time to find someone to help him.
He walked up to the door, took out his Winchester and prepared for battle. He had to figure out how to get in there, and quickly. Hypothermia was no laughing matter and it sounded like Meg would need help, not to mention that once the fire they’d set really took off, he would have mere minutes to get them out. While he contemplated what to do, the door opened and a lone man came out. He saw the Mounty and his eyes became huge. He reached for the door to go back inside, but Robert was faster. He cocked his gun and aimed it right at the man’s nose.
The stranger put up his hands. “Sorry sir, I was just coming out to check on my wife, she was taking a mighty long time.”
Robert let the man go. “I think you need to find a smarter way to make money. Tell me how many people are in there and where. Then you can go get your wife and get out of here. This is the last chance you’ll get. If you don’t make the right choice, you’ll go down with those on the other side of this door,” Robert whispered.
The man nodded, “The wife tried to get me to change my mind before, maybe she was right. There’s two guys in there, they have a couple tied up. Lars lit a fire on the table. It was just beginning to spread when I came out. We’re waiting for my wife, Amy, to get back,” the man said in little more than a whisper.
