After the Ashes

by Howe, Cheryl

  He wrapped his arms around her and they shifted until they were both comfortable. “Of course I did, but that won’t change who I am.”

  “I don’t want you to change.”

  He sighed heavily, warning her she wasn’t going to like what followed. “I’m glad to do the things you need done around here, but this isn’t the kind of life I want.”

  She tried to pull away, but he held her close. He kissed the top of her head. “It’s not you. I just don’t want to be tied down to the land. I’m not a farmer.”

  “What are you then?”

  “You know what I am.”

  She did, and the way he reminded her brought that reality back into the room. He had come to capture her brother. She hadn’t forgotten, but she had in her own silly mind thought the past two days had changed him. Being in her arms had changed him. God knew it had changed her. How could she have trusted a total stranger so completely? She struggled out of his embrace to look into his face. Real pain tightened his gaze. He wasn’t a total stranger. He was the first hope she’d had in a long time.

  She traced his lips with her finger. “I wanted you to make love to me, Christopher. I don’t expect anything from you because of what we did. I never expected you to stay.” Lorelei wouldn’t let herself cry, though tears already constricted her throat. He would misunderstand. She wasn’t sad because he wouldn’t stay, or give her back her dreams of a life filled with love, a husband, a family. What hurt so badly was how easily she had come to accept the inevitable. No one stayed. There was nothing to count on. Not really. Not the love of a mother or a father, certainly not the love of a man she hardly knew.

  He cradled her head in his palms, holding her while he searched her gaze. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t intend for this to happen.”

  Lorelei was hurt despite herself. He had inadvertently reminded her of the things she no longer had, just when she had almost gotten used to the loss. “I know. You should leave tomorrow. Tell Langston we had a lovers’ spat.”

  “Whatever you want.” He nestled her against his side. “Let’s go to sleep.”

  Lorelei closed her eyes and tried to match the rhythm of her breath to his. Just for tonight, she would pretend that whatever she wanted was still possible.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Braddock woke with a start, then wondered if he had slept at all. The sting behind his eyelids and the bitter taste in his mouth left him with the sensation of having ridden through a sandstorm with both wide open. Through the window, night faded to charcoal gray. Lorelei slept evenly beside him, her warm skin pressed against his side. Dawn must be at least a half hour away. But that was still too soon.

  He edged away from her so he could think clearly. He had no more answers about the trouble he’d gotten into than when he’d fallen asleep. Leaving Lorelei would be best, but he’d be damned if he would leave her at her brother’s ranch by herself. Before, he could have ridden away—not liking the idea, but still, he could have done it. He’d figured out he couldn’t save the world a long time ago. But after the way she had given herself to him with so much passion, so much heart, he could no more leave her drowning in quicksand than he could on this ranch.

  The soft squeak of leather disintegrated Braddock’s troubled thoughts. Suddenly he recognized the sound that woke him. He held his breath, keeping himself from tensing and waking Lorelei. A man’s boot creaked, despite the owner’s care to sneak up on the bed.

  Braddock scrambled to recall where he’d left his guns. He couldn’t remember—a first since the war. The noise sounded closer. The man was cautious. Langston was cautious, but Braddock hadn’t thought him this stupid.

  The shadow moved close enough to the bed for Braddock to see it wasn’t Langston. Too short. It could be Corey or it could be Mulcahy, looking for Corey. If that was the case, they were in a lot of trouble.

  The figure knelt by the bed. If it weren’t for Lorelei, Braddock would have lunged at the intruder rather than wait to see what the man had in mind. But with Lorelei next to him, he couldn’t risk that the shadow carried a loaded gun. Braddock knew who out of the two of them would be the one shot. His luck would have Lorelei taking the bullet.

  “Lori, wake up.”

  The whispered words still held the squeak of youth. Corey.

  Lorelei stirred. “Christopher? What’s wrong?”

  Braddock didn’t move a muscle. He was naked, in bed, with a wanted man’s sister. A man who undoubtedly carried a gun. Never before had Braddock put himself in such a vulnerable position.

  “Get dressed. We have to get out of here. Who’s Christopher?”

  Lorelei sat up, clutching the covers over her bare breasts. “Corey?”

  The way Corey straightened, slow and easy, his body tightening, Braddock knew he’d just realized there was someone in bed with his sister. As the consequences of Braddock’s lapse in judgment rained down on him, the fickle night deserted him, turning the room light blue. Not only could Braddock clearly make out the pistol Corey held, but he could see the weapon was trained on him.

  “Who the hell is that?”

  Lorelei glanced at Braddock as if she had temporarily forgotten. “The bounty hunter you sent me to town to talk to.”

  “That’s right, talk. In town. I didn’t say shack up with him.”

  “Didn’t you? Well, that’s what you meant.”

  “If you’re blaming me for the fact that I’ve caught you bare assed with a man in your bed, you can think again. My hide’s the one that’s on the line here, Lori—”

  “Would you two keep it down,” interrupted Braddock. Their voices had risen with the heat of their exchange.

  “Sorry I disturbed your sleep, bounty hunter. Now get up with your hands in the air.” Corey made a show of bringing his other hand to the pistol to steady his aim.

  “Corey Lochlain O’Sullivan, you know better than to be pointing that gun at him.”

  Corey lowered the gun at his sister’s reprimand, but quickly reaimed, as if remembering who was in charge. “Shut up, Lorelei. Get away from her, Braddock.”

  Braddock eased off the bed, his hands in the air. He didn’t know what he hated worse, being undressed or unarmed.

  Corey sneered at Braddock’s nakedness. Unarmed, Braddock decided.

  “I ought to shoot you for laying a hand on my sister. But I’m not a murderer like you think. Get some rope, Lorelei.”

  “Don’t you dare threaten to shoot him for something you arranged. It’s fine for him to do whatever he wants to me as long as it’s to save your worthless hide.” Lorelei wedged herself between Braddock and her brother, still holding the blanket in front of her. “If I want someone for myself, that’s a different story.”

  “If that someone wants to take me to jail, then yeah, we got ourselves a problem. But you’ve always been selfish, Lorelei.”

  “You’d better watch your mouth, you little brat.” Braddock lowered his hands.

  “Shut up. This isn’t about you.” Corey raised the gun again, not seeming to be bothered that to get to Braddock he had to go through his sister. While Corey and he glared at each other, Lorelei managed to find her discarded chemise and pull it over her head.

  “Put the gun away, Corey. I don’t like them in the house.”

  “Don’t you understand anything? He wants to see me hang.”

  “No, he doesn’t. He wants Mulcahy. If you can help him then maybe he can help clear your name.”

  Corey laughed bitterly, and Braddock noted that he wasn’t half as naive as his older sister. “That’s the same thing, Lori. Mulcahy will kill me faster than the law if he finds out I double crossed him.”

  “Braddock’s your only hope.”

  “How many men are you going to let use you before you figure out we’re all a bunch of liars? Now get dressed and let’s get out of here before the man watching the house wakes up.”

  Corey glanced at Braddock, then turned away in obvious disgust. The gesture rattled Braddock better t
han a well-placed blow.

  Half of him was fighting mad, but the other half felt immobilized with guilt. He hadn’t lied to Lorelei exactly, but the idea that he was here to help Corey wasn’t exactly the truth. And knowing that she never would have bedded him if she realized he still planned on taking her brother to jail further aggravated Braddock’s bout of conscience.

  Corey bent down and picked up his sister’s clothes, then tossed them at her. The unwanted dawn revealed the shame flushing Lorelei’s cheeks.

  Braddock balled his right hand into a tight fist. “If it weren’t for your sister, I would have hauled your butt to jail the first time I came here. Then you thank her by leaving her without any supplies or money. From what I see, you’d be dead right now if it weren’t for her.”

  “You got what you wanted, Braddock. Just be glad I’m leaving you with your life.”

  Braddock took another step toward Corey. “Try it. You think you’re a man. Try it.”

  Corey backed up. Still tugging on her blouse, Lorelei stepped between them. “Please stop.” Corey raised the pistol again. “You see, Lorelei. He got what he wanted. He’s not going to help us.”

  Lorelei turned her gaze up to Braddock’s. “Are you going to help us?”

  Before he had to answer, the door swung open. Braddock reached for his guns before he remembered he was naked.

  Langston swaggered inside with the harsh morning light. He gripped pistols in both hands. “Deputy marshal. Drop it, son.”

  Unable to do anything else, Braddock sidestepped Lorelei, putting himself between her and Langston.

  Corey swung his gun in Langston’s direction, his hand shaking visibly.

  “Please, Corey. Put down the gun,” cried Lorelei.

  Braddock could see in his peripheral vision that she was moving toward her brother. The chances were good she’d get hit in the cross fire. Without thinking, Braddock reached out and wrenched the gun from Corey’s grasp.

  Corey yelped, then clutched his right hand with his left. “I think you broke my finger.”

  Langston turned his guns on Braddock. “Drop it, Braddock.”

  Braddock flipped the loading chamber open to find the rusty Colt empty. “I ought to break your head,” he said to Corey, then, “Put your guns away, Langston, it’s not loaded.” Braddock tossed the gun on the bed behind him. “What the hell were you doing threatening me with an unloaded pistol, boy? Do you want to get yourself killed?”

  “I told you I’m not a murderer. Besides, what were you going to do about it? You were too busy taking advantage of my sister.”

  Langston smiled, obviously amused with the situation. “Guess you’re right, Braddock. Her husband’s not an outlaw. Her brother is.”

  Corey pointed to Braddock. “He’s the one you ought to arrest. Look at him. He molested my sister.”

  Braddock folded his arms over his bare chest. Corey would get the beating he should have gotten years ago before this was over. “That doesn’t mean Lorelei has anything to do with the robbery. It’s Corey you want. After I get the information I need from him, you can take him, but leave his sister alone.”

  “No!” Lorelei cried from behind him. Braddock didn’t want to hurt her, but he knew the sooner he removed Corey from her life the better off she’d be. Then maybe he’d be able to convince her to return to Kentucky.

  Corey turned to Lorelei. “I told you he’s out to get me.”

  Lorelei marched to her brother’s side. “He’s done nothing wrong.”

  “The U.S. government says he has. Since they’re the ones paying me, I’m going to bring you all in and let the courts decide.” Langston turned to Braddock, not bothering to hide his smile of satisfaction. “You too, Captain.”

  “I know I didn’t hear you right, Langston.”

  Langston motioned to Braddock’s bare midsection with the barrel of his gun. “Looks like I got you at a bit of a disadvantage.”

  “None that I can see.” He longed to punch something, and the sarcastic smile pulling up the doughy contours of Langston’s face provided a perfect target.

  Langston’s grin deepened. “I’ll be glad to haul you handcuffed and buck naked through Santa Fe, if that’s what you want.”

  Braddock stalked toward Langston. Even if he pulled the trigger, Braddock knew the bullet would somehow pass smoothly through him without leaving a scratch. But Langston wouldn’t pull the trigger. “How are you going to get me handcuffed?”

  Langston cocked his guns. “These here are going to do it for me.”

  “I don’t think so. You can’t shoot me. How would you explain that to your boss? So I guess you’re going to have to fight me.”

  “I’m not fighting you, Braddock. I’m arresting you. Stop right there.”

  Braddock took another step. “Christopher, please stop.”

  He heard the terror in Lorelei’s voice right before the gun fired.

  Lorelei’s scream tore through him with more force than the bullet. Suddenly Braddock felt vulnerable. He saw the foolishness in stalking an armed man without even a stitch of clothing for protection.

  He glanced down. Blood welled from a long gash on his upper thigh. That hadn’t happened before. The bullet had skimmed him, but a few inches to the right and there would have been real trouble.

  The anger pumping blood to Braddock’s temples drew his attention away from the gash on his leg. “You son of a bitch.” He forgot his fear, ready to lunge at Langston.

  “Stop! I mean it.”

  Lorelei’s scream froze him in mid-crouch.

  Both he and Langston turned. Lorelei held a rifle aimed at Langston.

  “I swear on my mother’s grave, I’ll shoot you. Lower your guns.” She held the old Springfield rifle steady, leaving no doubt she’d follow through with her threat. Braddock had seen the rifle propped against the wall, but hadn’t thought much of it. He didn’t even know if the rifle fired, but the look on Langston’s face as he lowered his pistols to his sides showed the deputy marshal believed it did.

  Which meant Lorelei was in a hell of a lot of trouble. There was no longer a question of whether or not she had broken the law. Pointing a rifle at a deputy U.S. marshal was not taken lightly.

  Braddock took Langston’s guns from him. Langston always went by the book. He’d never give Lorelei the benefit of the doubt. He wouldn’t stop until he took her to jail, and there’d be nothing Braddock could do about it.

  Corey hid behind his sister and watched the proceedings like a bystander. This whole mess was the boy’s fault, but that didn’t stop Braddock from feeling like he himself was to blame. Why’d Lorelei try to protect him?

  “Put down the rifle, Lorelei, and come here.”

  Corey reached around his sister and nudged the muzzle in Braddock’s direction. “I don’t think so. We’re leaving.” Lorelei trained the gun on him for the briefest of seconds. Long enough for their gazes to meet and Braddock to feel the air forced from his lungs. Betrayal struck swift and hard.

  As quickly as it came, the sensation ended when Lorelei lowered the weapon and walked toward him. But the weight of her trust staggered him. She asked something of him he was not sure he had the will to give.

  He focused on aiming the pistols he held at Langston so he wouldn’t have to meet Lorelei’s gaze any longer. “Get the handcuffs from his belt and cuff him.”

  Lorelei set the gun on the far wall—away from Corey, he noted—and did as he asked.

  After Langston’s wrists were clamped together behind his back, Braddock found his discarded pants and pulled them on.

  The deputy said, “You know, I really didn’t believe it until now. You’re an outlaw, aren’t you, Braddock? What are you going to do—kill me in cold blood?”

  Braddock snatched his shirt from the back of a chair. “I’m not going to kill you, Langston.”

  “It’s too late to try to get on my good side. You’re in a lot of trouble.”

  Braddock searched the room for his gun belt whil
e he pulled on his shirt. When his gaze stopped on Lorelei, she pointed to a rack mounted on the door. She must have put his weapons there and he hadn’t even noticed. He stomped over and lifted the heavy leather from the wooden peg. Once he had his pistols securely strapped to his hips, he added Langston’s Colts to the belt.

  “Lorelei and Corey, gather up some supplies.”

  Lorelei pulled a crate from underneath the sink. Her brother stayed planted on the other side of the room and glared.

  Braddock grabbed Langston’s arm and guided him to the bed. Langston didn’t give any resistance. “You’re not going to get away with this.”

  “I’m not trying to get away with anything. I’m just trying to get the gold back and stop Mulcahy.”

  At a shove from Braddock, Langston fell back on the bed. “You have a funny way of doing it.”

  “We’re not going anywhere with him, Lorelei,” Corey said in a hiss. He hovered over his sister and unpacked each item she packed.

  Lorelei said something stern under her breath that Braddock couldn’t decipher.

  “Corey, get a rope,” called Braddock, breaking up their secret discussion before Corey could talk his sister into something that would surely land her in more trouble.

  Corey glared again, then reluctantly left the adobe.

  “What the hell are you doing with those two, Braddock? Never known you to be so lowdown before to use a woman, but there’s no explanation—”

  “Shut up, Langston, or I’ll hang you instead of tying you up.”

  Lorelei focused on rearranging sacks in the bag she had packed. Her effort not to look in their direction made it apparent she had heard.

  Corey returned with the rope and tossed it on the table without a word.

  Braddock fumbled in Langston’s front pockets until he retrieved the key to the man’s handcuffs. He picked up the rope and placed the key on the table, then loosely tied Langston’s legs to the bed. Langston eyed the dull metal lying out of reach. The deputy marshal would be able to get loose and retrieve the key, but it would take a while. It would leave Braddock enough time…for what?