The Lawman's Redemption (Leadville, Co. Book 2)

by Danica Favorite

  * * *

  Several hours later, as Will sat in a Leadville jail cell, he wasn’t so sure that turning himself in had been the best idea. Colt had been locked in the cell next to him, and he was looking for a fight.

  “You know we’ll both hang, Law-lost-his-badge.”

  “I’m counting on the evidence to say otherwise.” Will turned his back and laid on the uncomfortable cot.

  “I heard you saved Ben from the fire.”

  Will grunted, then closed his eyes. Saving Ben wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. He’d made his peace on that issue with Mary and God, the only two people whose good opinions of him mattered.

  “That was pretty stupid, considering Ben’s just going to testify against you.”

  He’d figured, but at least with all of Ben’s other crimes, that testimony wouldn’t matter as much. Will had put his trust in the Lord, and while he didn’t understand why events had happened the way they had, he had to trust in the Lord’s good purpose.

  “Is it true Ben killed Mel?”

  This question made Will sit up and look at Colt. “What’s it to you?”

  “I know what she did for a living, but she was still my girl. Mel was a good woman, and as soon as I had the money, I was gonna set her up real nice.”

  “By stealing from other people?”

  Colt grunted. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  Will jumped up and approached the other man. “You’re right. I don’t understand. Tell me why I’m sitting here in this jail when you know as well as I do that I had nothing to do with that robbery. Tell me how you ended up in possession of my father’s gun, a gun someone who wasn’t me used to kill an innocent man. And then tell me how all that adds up to giving a decent woman like Mel a better life.”

  Despite knowing it was wrong to engage Colt, Will couldn’t help it. Mel shouldn’t have had to die.

  “You tell me it was Ben, and I’ll give them everything they need to hang him.”

  Those words should have brought Will the comfort he needed. One word, and Colt would give the authorities the testimony they needed to end Ben’s reign of terror once and for all. The trouble was, Will wasn’t sure that word was the truth.

  Yes, Ben had fired, but he’d claimed it was only to scare Jasper. Ben’s men had also fired their weapons. So, whose bullet had hit Mel? Will couldn’t definitively say. He’d been too busy trying to keep Mary safe.

  It hadn’t been right to let Ben die in the fire, just as it wasn’t right to give Colt the answer he sought.

  All Will had to say was yes, and everything Will had come to Leadville for would be accomplished. Ben would face justice. Will’s name would be cleared. He could give Mary the honorable life he’d hoped to be able to give a woman someday. But there’d forever be a stain on his soul.

  Will looked at the other man, whose face looked more worn than Will had ever remembered seeing it. His grief was real.

  “She betrayed you, you know. By helping us.”

  Colt nodded slowly, as if he still couldn’t believe Mel would do such a thing. “What’d you have on her?”

  “Nothing. She was trying to find out what Ben had done with her sister.” If anything good could come of this conversation, maybe it would be that they’d finally find where Ben’s gang was keeping Daisy.

  “I didn’t know she had a sister.” Darkness flitted across Colt’s eyes. “Why wouldn’t she have told me?”

  “Because her sister’s the pretty plum Ben used to tempt me in Century City. Mel didn’t know if she could trust you.”

  Colt’s face crumbled. Not in the way a pretty girl started to cry, because there were no tears. Just the utter devastation of a man who had nothing more to lose—or gain.

  “I wish she’d told me.”

  The calmly spoken words were unlike anything Will had ever heard from the other man. He sounded almost...human. Even the cold-blooded killer who’d struck fear into the hearts of many a lawless town had loved another, and loved her deeply.

  Could Will play on that love to get the information they needed to find Daisy?

  “All Mel wanted was for Daisy to be taken care of. It’s why she took up the life she did. Why she came to Leadville.”

  “She’ll be taken care of just fine. Ben’s seen to that.” Colt eyed Will as though he dared him to say otherwise.

  “An outlaw’s life is no life for a woman. Mel wanted better for Daisy. If you loved her, you’d grant her dying wish.”

  The disgust on Colt’s face was unmistakable. “I ain’t no rat.”

  “You’d put your loyalty to Ben over Mel’s dying wish?”

  “It’s not Ben I’m protecting. But if he killed her...” Colt turned his head, and Will caught a glimpse of him wiping at his eyes.

  Once again, Will wished he could tell Colt what he wanted to hear. Especially when Colt turned to him with red-rimmed eyes. “You’re not going to tell me who killed her, are you?”

  Answers. Funny how regardless of which side of the law a person was on, all anyone ever wanted was answers. Not even Will had the ones Colt sought.

  “I honestly don’t know. Ben and his men were all shooting, and I was too busy trying to get Mary to safety to see who shot who. All I know is that when the dust settled, Mel was dead.”

  He left out the part about her saving Jasper. The last thing Jasper needed was for Colt to decide to hold him responsible. There seemed to be too many vendettas going around these days.

  “He deserves to hang, you know.”

  Will swallowed. All he’d been able to think about for months was Ben’s body swinging from the gallows. And now... “I suppose that’s for a judge and jury to decide.”

  “You know he won’t live long enough for a trial. Folks are already outside clamoring to see Ben’s neck in a noose. I heard tell that he stole from some mighty important people.”

  How could Colt discuss the case as though they were sitting in a parlor discussing town gossip over tea? Especially when Colt had been part of it all?

  “I guess you’d know more about that than I would.”

  Colt snorted. “I suppose you want me to be sorry for what I did. Look, I never stole from no one who couldn’t spare the loss, and I never killed a man who didn’t deserve killing.”

  In some ways, Will could relate to Colt. Not so much in the stealing part, but hadn’t Will himself thought Ben worthy of killing? The good Lord had seen fit to remind Will of what was right, before Will had the chance to take the man’s life; but as Will looked upon the other man’s remorseless face, Will prayed that Colt would understand the love of God for all of His people.

  “God loves you, you know.”

  Colt stared at him as if he’d gone daft.

  “I rightfully earned my spot in the hereafter. I’m not going to get all religious and pretend otherwise. The Lord ain’t never had a place for me in His life, and I reckon I ain’t never had room for Him in mine. It’s nothing personal.”

  “I used to think the same thing,” Will said quietly. “But I learned that God loves all kinds. If He could love Paul, who persecuted the early church before becoming a follower himself, then why can’t He love sinners like us?”

  Colt walked over to his bed and sat down. “I s’pose if you consider yourself a sinner, then that’s all good and well. But I didn’t choose the life I led. It chose me.”

  He stared at Will as though he expected a fight. But this wasn’t Will’s battle. Given that Colt uttered the same words Mel once had, Will knew the battle was bigger than that. It was waging in Colt’s soul, and Will could only pray that, somehow, the truth of Will’s words, of God’s word, would get into Colt.

  Before today, Will would have never believed Colt wasn’t a bad person. But seeing Colt’s love for Mel, combined with the self-rig
hteousness of feeling as if he’d been acting in some warped form of justice, made Will realize that Colt was just as lost as the rest of them.

  “Just remember it’s never too late. To let God in, or to tell me where I can find Daisy. She’ll have a good, honest life with us. The pastor has promised to help with that.”

  “Maybe she likes the life she has.”

  With that last defiant statement, Colt lay down and rolled on to his side so his back was to Will.

  Will had done his best. Tried talking sense into Colt, but Colt felt too much justification in his actions. All Will could do was leave it in the Lord’s hands, and that was enough.

  Turning to sit onto his own bunk, he watched as the door to the cell area opened, and Marshal Whitaker entered.

  “Lawson. You’re free to go.”

  He opened the cell, but Will didn’t come forward. “Am I going to be back in here in a few days when there’s more evidence against me?”

  “Is there evidence against you?” The marshal cocked an eyebrow at him.

  Colt’s bed rustled, and Will turned to see the other man coming to where their cells met. “None that wasn’t manufactured.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Marshal Whitaker nodded and held his arm out toward the door. “A diamond necklace from the Century City bank robbery was sewn into the lining of Ben’s coat. Sheriff Rusty Horton has a few stolen items of his own to explain. Between that and some other evidence we’ve found, I think I can safely say you won’t be back in here anytime soon.”

  Marshal Whitaker looked over at Colt. “As for you, well, I’m not sure I’ll be able to say the same.”

  Colt shrugged and went back to his cot. Before Will could say anything, Mary burst into the room.

  “I know they said I should wait out there, but I am not waiting another minute to see my fiancé.”

  Will held out his arms, and though it was hardly the proper thing to do, he held Mary close. “I am so glad God gave me this chance.”

  She smelled of lilacs and summer, even though fall was upon them and they’d soon be knee-deep in snow. Will wasn’t a man for fancy notions, but if he had to say what blessings smelled like, this was the scent he’d choose.

  Marshal Whitaker cleared his throat. “Speaking of chances, I got word from Mayor Harris that they’re looking for a new sheriff in Century City. He feels real bad about siding with Rusty against you, considering it was Rusty all along.”

  After giving Mary a final squeeze, he turned to look at the marshal. Just a few weeks ago, this would have been the very opportunity Will would have desired, even though he’d have never believed it possible.

  “I appreciate the offer. But I need to stay in Leadville to help my fiancée and her family.”

  He held out his hand to the marshal and was given a firm shake in return.

  “You ever need a job, you let me know, and I’ll put in a good word for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  He turned his gaze back on Mary, whose eyes were shining more brightly than any silver pulled out of the hills. “I mean that, Mary. I’m here for you. And your family. Especially that rascal Daniel I keep hearing stories of.”

  The loving but exasperated smile Mary rewarded him with confirmed to Will that he was making the right decision. As much as the events leading up to this point had made him question his life and his faith, they’d brought him to this place of complete and utter peace.

  There was no place he’d rather be than here, now, with Mary.

  Sounds of the jail around him reminded him that perhaps here wasn’t exactly right.

  “Shall we?” Will held his arm out to his bride-to-be.

  Arm in arm, they walked out of the jail. Will, a free man, without the stain of his past or the accusations that had once followed him. And Mary, a woman of such strong faith and willingness to face her past that Will could hardly believe himself worthy of such a blessing.

  Epilogue

  It was a fine day for a hanging. Or at least that was what the good people of Leadville kept saying. For Mary Stone, however, there was no joy to be found in this day. As Will put his arm around her, they silently walked away from where the crowd had gathered to watch the vigilantes hang Ben. The warmth of his arm reminded Mary that she did, indeed, have something to be joyful about.

  Becoming Mrs. Will Lawson, which she would be in just a few short months. The weather was getting colder, and with his mother’s health, they’d agreed to wait until spring so she could attend the wedding.

  “This wasn’t justice,” Will said as he led her away from the scene. “There should have been a trial, and Ben should have been convicted by a jury of his peers.”

  As if to confirm Will’s words, an icy wind hurled down the mountains, causing Mary to shiver.

  “We should get you home. There’ll be snow by morning.” His gentle smile reminded her of the last snow they’d gotten and how, despite everything, it had brought them closer together.

  Daniel and Nugget ran past them, but just as Mary started after them, Will pulled her closer.

  “They’ll be fine. Joseph and Annabelle are up ahead, so they won’t let those two get far. Best to let them get all their running out now, before the snow hits.”

  Having a man around had helped Mary’s younger brother. Though Daniel was still often far too energetic, Will was giving him a fine example of how a gentleman should act. Joseph, too, now that he and Annabelle were back from their honeymoon.

  When Mary had confessed all to Joseph, he’d been angry at first, but mostly hurt that she’d tried to do so much on her own. Even her relationship with Rose was improving, now that all of Mary’s sins were in the open. Despite everything, they were still sisters, and they still needed each other.

  Not perfect, of course, Mary thought wryly as she adjusted her cloak against another gust of wind. Rose had been cross with her for leaving her to tend Bess, who was home sick with a cold. But Will had been asked to come to the sheriff’s office today, and he’d wanted Mary to accompany him.

  “Are you going to accept the deputy position he offered you?”

  Mary looked up at him, and he smiled down at her. “I’d like to, but that’s a decision we need to discuss as a family.”

  A family. One that Will had gladly accepted as his own when he’d asked Mary to be his wife. He understood about Mary’s need to help take care of her siblings; but where she’d once thought she’d have to do it all on her own, now she knew what real family meant. No more carrying their own burdens on their own shoulders. Now, sharing and discussing with one another, it seemed almost inconceivable how they’d managed before.

  His eyes twinkled, and again, Mary’s heart filled with gratitude that this fine man was going to be her husband.

  “I think you’d make a fine deputy.” She gave his arm a squeeze.

  The look Will gave her in response made her heart want to burst. How could she have ever believed anything less than this deep love was the real thing?

  “I want to be sure it won’t be an imposition on Joseph and Frank.”

  “But you already have your first case.”

  Will stopped, released her arm and turned to look at her. “What do you know about that?”

  “If you and the sheriff didn’t want me to overhear your conversation in his office, you should have closed the door.” She grinned at him and took his arm again.

  “Finding Daisy and keeping your promise to Mel is important. She died helping us save my sister. How could we do less for her?”

  He shook his head slowly. “We are not going to do anything. Jasper has already left with a party to follow up on the latest lead.”

  After a quick glance at his pocket watch, Will turned his attention back to her. “They should be about halfway there.”

  Then he ga
ve her the kind of stern look he usually reserved for Daniel. “And no, we are not following them. You can go help Emma Jane work in the women’s home if you need something to do. But you are not putting your safety at risk. Not again.”

  The intense expression softened, and he pulled her a little more closely than was proper, especially in public. “You’re too dear to me. I love you, Mary, and I aim to keep you safe for the rest of our days.”

  A lump clogged Mary’s throat as she recalled that horrible night. Her worry hadn’t been so much for her own safety as it had been for Will’s. The level of anxiety she’d felt for him was far too much to bear again. No, she wouldn’t have him have to endure that again, either.

  “And I love you. Which means I won’t give you cause to worry.” She gave him a reassuring squeeze, then pulled away into a more respectable posture. “I’ll go help Emma Jane so she has someone to keep her company instead of worrying about Jasper.”

  “I’d kiss you right about now, but we wouldn’t want to get the town’s gossips wagging.” Will nodded in the direction of a group of women in front of the mercantile.

  “I’ll take you up on that later.” Mary winked at him as she gave a small wave to the women.

  They waved back and tittered among themselves. She could almost hear their words. “That’s her. She’s the one who burned down that horrible place.”

  The citizens of Leadville had agreed that burning The Pink Petticoat down had done the community a great service. Everyone had gotten out safely, and the only harm done was the destruction of the building. While some of the ladies had found work in other houses of ill repute, Frank had opened a women’s home that helped the women find other positions that didn’t involve compromising their morals. In the end, the true story of what happened did come out, and Mary enjoyed a little notoriety of her own.

  No one had cared that it was an accident. Nor that the real culprit was a box of explosive powder Ben had been storing in the room. No, all they saw was Mary Stone, the woman who brought down one of the most notorious houses in the West. She’d been invited to tea with all of the town’s most prominent women. But unless those invitations were extended also to Rose and Emma Jane, Mary politely declined.