Brides of Durango: Tessa

by Bobbi Smith

  “Jim and I wanted to get an early start, but I didn’t want to leave without saying good-bye.”

  Jared was glad he was alone. He stood and motioned for her to follow him to the back. “I think I need at least one kiss before you leave.”

  “Only one?” Tessa asked archly as she went straight into his arms and kissed him warmly.

  Jared hugged her close. “Hurry back.”

  Tessa drew away so she could look up at him. “Don’t worry. I will. You’re waiting here for me.”

  He tenderly touched her cheek. “That’s right—I will be.”

  They walked back out to the front and he accompanied her outside.

  “You take care of my woman for me, Jim,” he told the older man.

  “I’ll keep an eye on her,” he promised.

  Jared helped her to mount and then let his hand linger on her leg just a moment longer. She was a sight in the pants, and he was thinking seriously of having her wear them all the time once they’d married. The idea held much appeal for him.

  “I’ll see you in a few days,” Tessa said, giving him a look of longing.

  Jared nodded and waved as they rode off. He wished he could have taken the time to go with them, but with that gold shipment going out shortly, he had to make sure everything was safe here in town.

  Tessa had never before been so glad to reach the mine. The trek had seemed unusually long this time, and she knew it was only because she was already missing Jared. They rode in to find Will in the office and the others working the mine. Jim went to tend to their horses, while Tessa spoke with Will.

  “Tessa, you are right on time. It’s good to see you,” Will said, sitting back down at his desk after offering her a chair before him. He was trying not to let the anger he was still feeling toward her show.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Will.”

  “How are things going in town?”

  “Just fine.” She filled him in on some of the town gossip and told him about Roderick’s readings. She knew there was no avoiding telling him her big news. “There is one other thing I wanted to share with you.”

  “What?” He looked up, curious.

  “Jared Trent and I are going to be married,” she announced.

  Will’s expression didn’t change, and he was proud of his ability to hide his true feelings. She was going to marry the lawman? The realization only increased his ire.

  “I see,” he ground out.

  Will wanted to grab her and slap her for her stupidity. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides. It had been bad enough when she’d told him she thought of him only as a friend, but the news that she was planning to marry the stupid marshal left him almost in a rage. He’d show them! He’d show them both, and in just a few days!

  At that moment, Zeke decided to come into the office, unannounced. Tessa was sitting with her back to the door.

  “Will, I wanted to tell ya that—”

  “Not now, Zeke!” Will snarled at the man, his anger showing.

  “But—”

  “I said no! Miss Tessa and Jim are here. We’ll talk business later.”

  Will could never be sure what Zeke might say, and he didn’t want to risk having him around Tessa and Jim.

  Terror seized Tessa. She didn’t know how she kept from bolting from her chair when Will responded to Zeke’s interruption using the same words the outlaw leader had used during the stage robbery: “I said no!”

  There was no mistaking their voices! There was no doubt in her mind!

  Tessa supposed she hadn’t noticed the similarity before because she’d been so distracted by Michael’s death on her last visit. But now, not seeing Zeke but only hearing him, she was sure. Zeke Ferris and Will were two of the gang who’d robbed the stagecoach!

  “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your work,” Tessa said sweetly, congratulating herself on her acting ability as she looked over her shoulder at Zeke.

  “No, believe me, Tessa, we look forward to your visit every month,” Will said, shooting Zeke a cold look.

  The other man backed out of the office and shut the door as he went.

  Will discussed how things were going at the mine with her for a while, and then Jim came to join them.

  “Did you want to spend the night and head back to town tomorrow?”

  Before Jim could say anything, Tessa spoke up. “We’ll take you up on lunch, but I want to start back right away. I have a lot of things to get done before the wedding.”

  “Well, I’ll rustle you up some lunch right now,” Will said, leaving Tessa and Jim alone in the office.

  When she was sure that they were alone, Tessa turned frightened eyes to Jim, who was confused by her eagerness to leave.

  “Tessa? What’s wrong?”

  “We’ve got to get back to town as quickly as possible! I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before.” Her expression was tormented.

  “Realize what?”

  “Jim, I know this will sound far-fetched, but I’m sure of it. Will and Zeke—they’re part of the outlaw gang that robbed the stage I was on.”

  He looked totally confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “I recognized their voices just now. Zeke came into the room behind me and I didn’t see him when he spoke. He was the one who hit Doris and me!”

  “You’re sure?” Jim asked, looking grim.

  “Positive. We’ve got to get to Jared and tell him, but you can’t let on that you think anything suspicious is going on here, all right? I’m counting on you. Heaven only knows what they might do to us if they think we’re on to them.”

  Jim nodded as Tessa started discreetly looking around the office for some clue that she was right, but she found nothing. A few minutes later, when Will brought them a simple lunch, they thanked him and ate hungrily.

  Will did not question Tessa’s hurry to return. He was glad that she was leaving. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to keep his hands off of her—whether in passion or anger—that night if she’d decided to stay.

  When they rode away later that afternoon, Tessa and Jim kept their pace normal until they were several miles from the mine. Then they put their heels to their horses’ sides and rode as fast as they could. They rode long into the night, but finally had to make camp.

  As Tessa lay by the fire, trying to get some sleep, her thoughts were haunted by memories of Michael’s death and of Will bringing his body to town. She began to wonder in horror if his death had been an accident at all.

  She wanted Jared with her.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Julie had tried to be patient as she’d waited for Steve to come back to her, but her patience ran out with the start of the new week. Determined to speak to him, she went to the Sinclairs’ to seek him out. Maggie told her he was working around back, and she went after him.

  “Steve.”

  Steve had been repairing one of the shutters, and he glanced up quickly at the sound of her voice. He had been fighting the good fight with himself. Any number of times he had almost thrown caution to the wind and gone to Julie, but he’d stopped himself each time. He had forced himself to stay away from her, but now she had come to him.

  Steve swallowed tightly as he watched her walking toward him. She looked gorgeous. He wanted to go to her immediately and sweep her into his embrace, but he steeled himself against the need.

  For days now, he’d been telling himself that he should leave Durango—that he should forget his revenge, forget Julie, and just go. But he couldn’t. The need to find the gang was a driving force in his soul, and his love for Julie was his reason for breathing. She had become his whole world. He didn’t know what he was going to do about it, but watching her move toward him now, he knew he didn’t want to live without her.

  “Hello, Julie,” he said in a low, cautious voice.

  “I’ve been missing you,” she said, stopping a few feet away from him.

  “Not as much as I’ve been missing you,” he admitted.
>
  She was heartened by his words, but didn’t let the emotion show. “Roderick proposed to me.”

  Steve went still at this news. He was surprised by how much it hurt. Pain stabbed at his heart. He’d always known that Roderick was the man she wanted. Now he was certain that she would be marrying him and going back east to live just as she’d always wanted to.

  “I turned him down,” she went on when Steve didn’t say anything.

  “You turned him down?”

  “I don’t love him,” Julie said simply. “I came here to see you, because I wanted you to know that I’ll be waiting for you. I don’t care if it takes a month or a year for you to find the men you’re after. I love you, Steve Madison, and I will wait forever if I have to.”

  With that, she turned her back on him and walked away.

  * * *

  Steve stood unmoving, watching her go. He wanted to run to her and grab her and hold on to her forever, but he didn’t. He held himself back. Only when she’d disappeared from sight did he turn back to his work and labor on, finishing the jobs Miss Maggie had given him.

  It was after sundown when he decided to go to the High Time to have a drink. He was going to have to make some serious decisions about his life soon, but first he just wanted a shot of whiskey.

  Steve had just come into the saloon and walked up to the bar when he heard the sound of raucous laughter coming from upstairs. He glanced up and caught a glimpse of one of the gang members he’d been hunting. The man was coming out of Suzie’s room. She was clinging to him, and he was pawing her drunkenly.

  “You!” Steve shouted, turning and going for his gun. “Hold it right there!”

  Bob went stock-still. Will had sent him into town to see if he could learn anything new about the gold shipment, and he had gotten sidetracked by Suzie. He had been a long time without a woman, and it hadn’t taken much for her to get him upstairs after a few drinks. He’d enjoyed having her and was ready to go downstairs to do some serious drinking again, when he heard the man’s shout.

  Bob looked down toward the bar, and he reacted instantly to the sight of Steve Madison. He remembered far too clearly that night in Arizona when Steve had played poker with him and Zeke in a bar for most of one night. He remembered laughing when he’d heard they’d thought of a way to frame Steve for the crime they were about to commit.

  Knowing Steve was the kind of man who would want revenge, Bob panicked and turned back, running at top speed into Suzie’s room. He locked the door behind him and all but dove out the window into the deserted alley below. Bob raced off into the night, stealing a horse and making good his getaway out of town.

  Gun in hand, Steve ran up the steps, taking them two and three at a time. Suzie was not deliberately blocking his way, but her presence in the hall slowed him down. When he finally reached her room, he tried the door, but found it locked. Steve threw his full weight against it, and the door splintered as it flew open. He charged inside the room, ready for trouble, only to find that the room was empty. The window was open, so he leaned out to try to catch sight of the fleeing outlaw, but the alley was quiet.

  Steve’s expression was deadly as he came out of the room. Dan was on his way upstairs, carrying his shotgun, ready to help him.

  “I’ll pay for the repairs to the door,” Steve told him. Looking at Suzie, he asked, “What name was that man going by? What do you know about him?”

  “He said his name was Bob, and he told me he worked at one of the mines.”

  “Which mine?” he demanded.

  “Miss Tessa’s mine. Why?” Dan offered.

  Steve holstered his gun as he started back downstairs. “He’s one of the gang that was robbing stagecoaches in Arizona Territory.”

  “He is?” Suzie was surprised. “Well, he sure paid me good enough.”

  “I have to find Jared.” Steve stalked out of the saloon. There was no time to waste.

  Jared was at the office, and Steve was relieved.

  “Steve?” Jared saw the man’s thunderous expression as he came into the room. “What’s wrong?”

  “I think I may have found the gang I’ve been looking for.”

  Jared frowned. This was the first he’d heard that Steve was searching for anyone. “What gang?”

  “Back in Arizona, I spent some time in a saloon drinking and playing poker with two men I didn’t know. The next day I was arrested and charged with being a part of their gang and robbing a stagecoach. Nobody believed I wasn’t involved, and I went to jail for it.”

  “Who were they?” Jared was instantly aware that they could be the same men he was after.

  “I never met the leader. I’ve learned since that he was known as Dave Turner in Arizona. Clark and Roberts were the two men I played cards with. Howard’s in jail in Arizona, and I just saw Clark over at the High Time. I tried to catch him, but he got away. Dan says he’s a miner who works at Tessa’s mine, and Suzie says he’s going by the name of Bob. We need to ride for the mine tonight.”

  Jared got up and grabbed his hat. Tessa was at the mine with only Jim to protect her. They had to ride out as soon as possible. “Let’s go find Nathan.”

  “There’s no time! We need to—”

  Jared looked Steve straight in the eye. “I know you don’t have a whole lot of love for lawmen, but right now, you need to trust me on this. There’s more going on here than you know about.”

  Steve returned his regard and saw that he was serious. “All right, Jared, but whatever you do, I’m riding with you.”

  Jared paused for only an instant, then walked back to his desk. He opened a drawer. He took something out and tossed it to Steve. “Here, pin that on. You’re with me now.”

  Steve stared down at the deputy’s badge he held in his hand. “But I’m a—”

  “You’re a deputy,” Jared cut him off. “Put on your badge, and let’s go. We’ve got to catch us some bad guys.” He led the way from the office.

  Half an hour later they were back in the office, along with Nathan, Tom, and two other men who served as deputies when needed.

  “Men, this is Steve Madison. I’ve just deputized him. He’s riding with me tonight. Here’s what we’re dealing with.”

  He’d just started to explain the situation and his suspicions about the gold shipment when two horses came charging up before the marshal’s office. He looked out to see Tessa and Jim dismount and come rushing inside.

  “Jared! Thank heaven you’re here!” Tessa said as she hurried to him. She noticed the grim looks on the faces of the men gathered there, and wondered at their presence.

  Relief rushed through Jared at the sight of her, and he was hard-pressed not to grab her up in a protective embrace. He had been worried about her, fearing for her safety, and now she was here with him.

  “You’re safe,” he said, allowing himself that much emotion before his men.

  “Yes, but Durango might not be for long. It’s them, Jared!” she related. “I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before, but Will and Zeke—I recognized their voices when Jim and I were up at the mine. They were two of the men who robbed the stage I was on!”

  Jared looked up at Steve and nodded. “Steve just saw the man named Bob who works for you, and Steve believes he’s part of the gang that was robbing stages in Arizona.”

  Tessa looked at Steve. “Bob was here? In town? When Jim and I were at the mine, they told us that he was working down in the shaft.”

  “So they are using aliases here,” Steve said,

  “Will Kenner, Bob Matlin, and Zeke Ferris,” Tessa supplied.

  “All right, men. We know what we have to do. Nathan, you and Tom meet with Lyle Stevens right away. The gold shipment is due to go out day after tomorrow. You make sure the stage runs, but that the gold is not on it. I want you two riding as passengers, and I want you armed and ready for trouble. This is going to be dangerous, so be sharp.”

  “What if there is no robbery attempt?” Tom asked.

  “Then y
ou’ll be getting a free trip to Canyon Creek,” Jared told him. “Steve and I will ride up to the mine to try to catch them before they attack the stage.”

  “I’m going along with you, Jared!” Tessa declared.

  “No, Tessa. I want you to stay here in town, where I know you’ll be safe,” Jared said.

  “Jared Trent,” she said angrily, planting her hands on her hips. “This is my mine, and those men are working for me. I am going with you. Besides,” she added slowly. “I was thinking about Michael on the ride back with Jim and wondering if his death was really an accident, as they said. What if he found out what they were doing and they killed him for it?”

  Jared looked somber as he remembered how superficial Will’s wounds had been, and yet the man had claimed to be in the same cave-in as Michael. “Tessa, I understand why you’re concerned, but I’d feel better if you would stay here and let me handle it. This could get very dangerous.”

  “If you try to leave me behind, Jared, I will follow you. One way or the other, I am going after them. That is my mine and it was my brother who died. I’m involved in this.”

  Jared thought she looked magnificent as she stood up to him. Her eyes were sparkling with anger and fire as she faced the truth of what really might have happened to her brother.

  “All right,” Jared agreed. “How long will it take you to be ready to ride?”

  “Fifteen minutes,” she told him.

  “Be back here then.”

  She nodded and left the marshal’s office with Jim following her.

  * * *

  “Miss Tessa, do you think this is a good idea?” Jim asked, worrying about her.

  “I have to do it, Jim—for Michael.”

  She swung up into her saddle and rode for home. She had to tell her mother what was happening. Then she would gather what she needed for long days on the trail, get a fresh mount, and meet Jared and Steve.

  Once Tessa had gone, Jared put his other two deputies in charge of the town. He and Steve quickly gathered the rifles and ammunition and other supplies they’d need; then they saddled their horses. When Tessa returned from convincing her mother that this was something she had to do, they were ready to ride out.