Darlin' Druid

by Lyn Horner

  Now here he was rushing to save her again, just like that night in Grand Island when the thought of her in Wolf Gerard’s clutches had sent him charging to her rescue. Damnation! He did not want to play the role of white knight, but from the moment he’d first looked into her beguiling bluebonnet eyes, she’d had a hold on him. He couldn’t walk away when she was in trouble. Maybe when this business was over, though, he’d finally be able to wash his hands of her. For good.

  Yeah? You tried that before, and look where it got you. She practically has you hogtied and branded.

  Disgusted by the thought, he shifted irritably in his saddle. All that mattered right now was finding the fool woman and making sure she was safe from Stanton, so that he could get on with his mission. He hadn’t located his prey in Alta, ParkCity or BinghamCanyon, but he hoped to have better luck over west around Stockton and Ophir. He’d just better make sure Jessie and her brother didn’t reveal his true identity up here, because if word of his presence reached the deserter, Ellis, the hombre would run far and fast.

  David realized only luck had saved him from crossing paths with Tye Devlin already. If they had met in some crowded Alta saloon, his disguise would have blown up in his face, a fact he should have considered before undertaking this mission. Maybe he would have if the thought of seeing Jessie again hadn’t blinded him to everything else.

  Stopping to rest his horse, he took a couple of swallows from his canteen and gave the animal a drink from the crown of his hat. He glanced at the sun’s westerly angle. The day was passing fast. Recapping the canteen, he hung it back over his saddle horn, clapped his damp hat back on and continued his scramble to the head of the canyon.

  * * *

  “What the devil are ye doing here?” Tye demanded to know. “And how the devil did ye get up here?”

  “I had to come!” Jessie cried. Shivering with a chill and in reaction to the fright he’d just given her, she blinked at the yellow glare of his lantern. He had arrived home from the mine moments ago, covered with fine black dust. When he had shaken her out of exhausted slumber on his lumpy bed, she’d shrieked like a banshee at the sight of him.

  On her feet now, she turned away from the light before raking back the long hair veiling her face, not wanting him to see her swollen cheek. “I took the train to Sandy, but it was late when I got there, so I spent the night,” she explained in a rush. “Then, this morning, I found out the branch line doesn’t come all the way up here, and if this nice muleskinner, an Irishman named Donovan, hadn’t taken me with him –”

  “Mother of God!” her brother exploded. “Ye rode up here alone with a man you’d never met before?” Setting his lantern atop the small pot-bellied stove that stood opposite the crude bunk Jessie had made use of, he planted his fists on his hips and glowered at her.

  “And what should I have done?” she retorted. “’Twould have been a long walk up here if Mr. Donovan hadn’t given me a ride on one of his beasts. And I’m not a’tall sure I would have made it in one piece. He even helped me find your cabin, proving himself a true gentleman.” Unlike some who hide a black heart beneath fancy clothes, she thought.

  “Aye, well, I’ll grant ye that,” Tye conceded, rubbing his neck. “And God bless the man for seeing ye safely to me. But ye still shouldn’t have trusted him.” He shook his head, sending rock dust flying. “Jaysus! When I walked in and saw ye lying there, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Ye gave me quite a start, ye did.”

  “Oh, and who was it scared me half to death?” Jessie countered, shivering again, purely with cold this time. Temperatures up here on the mountain were much cooler than down in the valley, and the night air carried a brisk chill.

  He flashed her a black-faced grin. “Thought I was a bogeyman come to get ye, eh?” he teased, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his filthy jacket. “If I’d known ye were here I would have taken time to wash.”

  “I . . . I’m sorry for surprising ye like this, but I had no choice. I had to come,” she repeated, rubbing her arms.

  Tye regarded her with raised eyebrows for a moment, then said, “You’re cold. Let me wash a bit of the muck off and bring in some wood so I can get a fire going. Then you’ll tell me why ye had to come, as ye say.”

  She paced nervously the whole time he was outside. She did not look forward to explaining what had driven her to run to him for help.

  Returning a few moments later with a clean face and dripping hair, Tye carried in several chunks of wood which he fed into the belly of the stove. As he added kindling and struck a Lucifer to light the fire, he said over his shoulder, “What I can’t understand is why ye took it into your head to come up here alone. If ye were so determined to pay me a visit, why didn’t ye ask that Stanton fellow to escort ye up here? A fine gent he seems, if a bit fancy.” He paused then added pensively, “Although, I got an odd feeling from him, as if he was hiding something. But perhaps I imagined it.”

  Jessie laughed bitterly. “No, ye didn’t, Tye. ’Tis because of that cunning devil that I’m here.”

  Closing the door on the fire, he pivoted to frown at her. “What are ye saying? What’s he done?”

  “I’m saying that unless ye help me escape, he’s liable to have me arrested.”

  Laughing, he stared at her incredulously. “You’re joking, surely.”

  She shook her head. “If he doesn’t kill me first,” she added, turning her left side to the light.

  “Jaysus, Mary and Joseph!” he blurted, staring at her bruised cheek, a look of horror on his face. His hands curled into fists. “He did that?”

  She nodded mutely, hugging herself against the cold.

  “The bloody bastard!” He stepped close and laid his hands on her shoulders. “Tell me what happened. All of it.”

  Jessie did as he asked, eyes downcast and voice cracking at times. He cursed when she related Blake’s offer to take her east and the shameful way he had intended to use her. When she described his vicious reaction to her refusal, fury vibrated through the hands that kneaded her shoulders.

  “He’s the one who belongs in jail!” Tye snarled after hearing her out.

  “Aye, but I’m not so sure others will see matters that way.”

  “How else could they be seeing it when they get a look at ye?” Releasing her, he paced angrily back and forth across the small interior. “Ye were only defending yourself. If he ended up with a sore head, he has only himself to blame. Surely anyone would agree.”

  Shrugging, she studied her clasped hands. “Perhaps, but I wasn’t of a mind to find out or to wait around for him to maybe kill me. It seemed best to get away, at least until he leaves for good. So I decided to come here, to you.” She frowned. “But I’ve done some thinking since then. Blake may very well follow me up here, wanting revenge, or he may set the police to looking for me. Which means I can’t go back.”

  Tye halted to stare at her. “You’re thinking of leaving the territory, aye?”

  “I don’t see any other choice,” she said with a crooked smile. “I hate to beg ye for more money, but if ye could lend me enough –”

  Tye raised his hands, gesturing for her to stop. “Sis, ye know I’ll help ye any way I can. But if you’ll only go to the police and explain, I’m certain they’ll believe ye. I’ll ask for some time off from the mine and –”

  “No! I’m not going back.” She shook her head adamantly. “I can’t, I tell ye. If he –”

  A knock rattled the shack’s flimsy door, cutting off her words and making her gasp in fright.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  David waited impatiently outside the door, listening to dead silence within. Having finally located Devlin’s tumbledown shack, jammed up against the mountainside on the outskirts of town, he was in no mood to cool his heels, especially after hearing Jessie’s frightened gasp.

  Thank God she’d made it here safely!

  He was about to call out when the door scraped open a few inches. Tye Devlin stood blocking the narrow gap
.

  “Who is it?” he asked, peering warily into the darkness.

  David pulled off his hat so the other man could see him better. “Evening, Devlin. It’s David Taylor.” His greeting drew a surprised oath from the Irishman and another strangled gasp from Jessie, who stood somewhere out of sight within.

  “By all that’s holy, ’tis a night for surprises,” her brother said, opening the door wide.

  Squinting at the burst of lantern light, David saw Jessie scuttle into the shadows. “Can I come in?” he asked, frowning at her skittish behavior.

  “Of course!” Stepping aside, Tye motioned for him to enter. “Sorry for my poor manners, but you’re about the last person I expected to see up here. And that after coming home and finding Jessie asleep on my bunk.”

  As he walked in, David caught the odor of rock dust and sweat that clung to Devlin, a smell he remembered well from his own mining days. Then his gaze homed in on Jessie. She was too far away from the circle of light for him to see her face clearly, but he noticed how she hugged herself. From fear more than cold, he suspected.

  “Think I was Stanton, Jessie?” he asked sharply. “You should have gone to the law about him instead of running away.”

  She made a choked sound. “Y-ye know what happened?”

  “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

  “Oh? And how is that possible, Captain?” Tye questioned, shutting the door. “Perhaps you’ll also tell me what you’re doing here, and out of uniform.” He gestured at David’s plain gray coat and corded pants. “Why aren’t ye in Wyoming at that Fort . . . what’s its name?”

  “Sanders, and I’m here on a mission. The clothes are part of it. I guess Jessie didn’t tell you about us . . . running into each other.”

  “That she didn’t,” Tye said slowly. “And I’m wondering why not.”

  Refusing to explain, David got down to business. “I stopped by your boardinghouse this morning, Jessie. Mrs. Wilson told me the story, her version of it, anyway. Why did you run?”

  “Why did you come after me?” she shot back hoarsely. “Why can’t ye just let me be?”

  Scowling, he slapped his hat down on a small, crudely built table near the stove. “Because, blast it, if I can find you, so can Stanton. And I’ve seen the bastard’s handiwork. It’s not pretty. I tried to tell you that night at the hotel, but you wouldn’t listen. So I decided not to interfere with you again.” Hearing her sharply in-drawn breath, he shrugged and glanced away. “But I found I couldn’t sit back and let him . . . hurt you.”

  After a moment’s silence, she said, “If ye know what he’s like, then ye should realize why I had to get away.”

  He raked a hand through his hair, fighting for control. “As I said, if I can find you, so can he, and –”

  She made an impatient gesture. “I know, I know. That’s why I’ll be leaving the territory.”

  “The hell you will!” he barked. “You’re not going anywhere except with . . . ” He stopped short, astounded by what he’d nearly blurted out. Wondering if he’d gone loco, he amended, “. . . except to the police. Stanton has to be stopped.”

  “No! He has money and powerful friends. No one would believe me over him,” Jessie shrilled, frantically rubbing her arms. “And h-he’d come after me. He vowed that he would.”

  “He won’t touch you. I’ll see to that. We’ll leave at first light and –”

  “No, I won’t go! Tye, don’t let him take me back!” she cried, stepping forward into the light.

  “Now, Sis, ye should listen –”

  “My God!” David uttered hoarsely, appalled by the sight of Jessie’s swollen, purpling cheek. He clenched his fists, filled with a murderous desire to smash Blake Stanton’s face.

  Jessie was startled by his outburst, but she quickly saw that he was staring in shock at her bruised cheek. She covered the discoloration with her hand. “’Tis only a bruise,” she said, ducking her head, feeling vaguely ashamed.

  “I’ll kill that bastard,” David ground out.

  “You’ll have to fight me for the pleasure,” Tye said.

  Sternly telling herself she had nothing to be ashamed of, Jessie lowered her hand and glared at David. “Why are ye so angry? Considering what ye think of me, why d’ye care what he did? Or what becomes of me?” She looked him up and down disdainfully. “You’re not that different from Blake, ye know.”

  He flinched as if she’d slapped him then scowled ferociously. “You think I’d do that to you or any woman?” he retorted, pointing at her ugly bruise.

  “No, you wouldn’t,” she grudgingly conceded. “But ye had no qualms about accusing me of being Blake’s whore and treating me like one yourself, now did ye?”

  “What!” her brother burst out, taking a step forward.

  “Stay out of this, Devlin,” David ordered without glancing at him. “Jessie, you know damn well what happened that night in the parlor wasn’t all my doing.”

  She snorted in disgust. “Oh, aye, ye saw to that, didn’t ye? And no doubt ye told yourself it only proved I’m exactly what ye thought. Damn ye!”

  Tye cursed volubly, but both of them ignored him.

  Grinding his teeth, David moved as swiftly as a pouncing cat, catching hold of her arms. “Regardless of what you think of me, you’re coming back to Salt Lake City with me. You’ll tell the police exactly what happened, and I’ll make sure –”

  “I won’t!” she cried, fighting to twist free. “He swore he’d kill me and he will. Ye can’t make me go back.”

  He gave her a hard shake. “You will, dammit, for your own sake.”

  “No! Let me go!” She pounded at his chest.

  “Take your hands off her, ye scoundrel!” Tye roared, charging forward. He grabbed David’s shoulder and wrenched him away from her.

  Wailing in fright, Jessie stumbled backward as her brother’s fist slammed into David’s jaw, sending him reeling against the table. He shook his head as if to clear it and cupped his jaw with his hand.

  When Tye swung his furious gaze her way, Jessie shrank away from him, pressing her back against the shack’s rear wall.

  “Tell me I’m hearing things, Jessie!” he gritted. “Tell me ye didn’t shame yourself with him!”

  She shook her head, realizing he’d misinterpreted her angry words to David. “Tye, ’twasn’t like ye think. We only kissed and . . . and . . . .” Stopping, she licked her dry lips. What was she to say, that she had let David put his hands on her, but it hadn’t gone any further than that thanks to Mrs. Wilson walking in on them? Oh, aye, that would do a lot of good.

  “And what, Jessie Devlin?” Tye bellowed, making her flinch. “Jaysus! Have ye or have ye not let this man turn ye into a slut?” Coming at her, he raised his hand menacingly. “Tell me the truth or I’ll . . . .”

  Giving a choked cry, she shrank before the blow she thought was coming. Whether he really would have struck her, she would never know, because all at once David was there between them.

  “Don’t touch her, Devlin!” he growled, giving Tye a hard shove that sent him staggering backward. “Hit me again if you want to. Maybe I deserve it. But leave Jessie alone. She’s taken one beating from that bastard, Stanton. I won’t watch you give her another.”

  Tye snarled and started to lunge at David, but stopped short when the door banged open, crashing back on its hinges. Glancing past David’s shoulder, Jessie went rigid with shock when she saw Blake Stanton in the doorway, holding a gun in his hand.

  “Sorry to interrupt a family quarrel,” he jeered, “but I believe I heard my name mentioned.”

  A scream burst from Jessie’s throat. She heard a rushing noise and was vaguely aware of David turning toward her; then she tumbled into darkness.

  Swearing softly, David caught her before she sank to the floor. Slipping one arm under her knees, he lifted her limp body against him and turned to face Stanton, now standing inside the door. He longed to tear the son of a bitch apart, but that was impossible with Je
ssie in his arms and Stanton’s gun trained on them both.

  David met Tye Devlin’s enraged gaze as the Irishman glanced wildly back and forth between Jessie and Stanton. He shook his head, trying to warn the younger man, but it did no good.

  Snarling a string of Irish cuss words, Tye started for Stanton. “I’ll kill ye with my bare hands, ye filthy swine!”

  “Try it, and your sister dies,” the easterner said coldly. He smirked in satisfaction when Devlin stopped in his tracks. Never taking his gun sight off Jessie, he jerked his head toward a lone chair standing by the table. “Put her down over there,” he ordered David. “Then get rid of your gun.”

  With little choice but to obey for now, David crossed to the chair and lowered Jessie onto it. Her head lolled forward, chin resting on her chest. Steadying her with one hand, he straightened and reached to empty his holster.

  “Easy,” Stanton hissed, sounding like a coiled rattler. “Drop it on the floor and kick it away.”

  Moving slowly, David did as ordered. Then, ignoring Stanton’s smirk, he squatted beside Jessie. She was still in a dead faint. Catching her brother’s eye, he asked, “Do you have any whiskey?”

  Tye glowered at him for a moment, then nodded, evidently deciding their differences could wait for later. He started toward a rough wooden shelf nailed to the wall near the stove, but halted when Stanton’s gun swung his way.

  Giving another nasty smirk, the coyote nodded his consent. “By all means. We mustn’t allow your lovely sister to miss all the excitement. On the contrary, I want her wide awake.”

  David ground his teeth but bided his time. Hearing Tye give a furious growl, he barked, “Devlin, get the whiskey.”

  The Irishman shot him a hot blue glare, so much like his sister’s that it was uncanny. For a second, David thought he might do something stupid, but he managed to control his temper. Throwing a hate-filled glance at Stanton, who laughed in amusement, he collected the bottle, poured a small amount of whiskey into a tin cup and brought it to David. Tipping Jessie’s head back, David dribbled a few drops of the whiskey between her lips. She swallowed and coughed.