“It is,” Rick said.
“Can you identify that man?”
“No.” Rick shook his head. “I wasn’t close enough.”
Bryan smiled at the jury. “No more questions.”
Thunder had been afraid that would happen, but he had to set the groundwork for his next witness. Now he realized it was now or never. “I’d like to recall John McCoy.”
Looking like he didn’t have a care in the world, McCoy took his seat in the witness stand. It was that confidence that Thunder hoped would destroy the man. “Mr. McCoy, you have heard us speak of the green coat.”
McCoy nodded. “Several times.”
“Do you own such a coat?”
“No. My brother had a green coat”
Thunder spun around. “It is my understanding that you’d not seen your brother in a long time.”
McCoy nodded. “That’s right.”
“Then how do you know what kind of coat he had?”
McCoy smiled slowly. “He had it on the night we had dinner together.”
Mary jumped out of her chair. “He’s lying!”
The judge banged his gavel. “Order!”
Carter placed a hand on her shoulder and she sat back down in her chair, glancing at Carter, “But he is.”
“I know,” Carter whispered.
Thunder felt as though he’d hit a brick wall. McCoy was thinking fast. He might be a little smarter than he and Carter had given him credit for.
“I agree that someone had on the coat the night of the murder,” Thunder said. “We know that Mary tore a piece of material from the coat,” he added.
“I told you I don’t have a green coat It was Big Jim’s.”
Thunder placed his forearm on the rail and leaned against it, trying not to appear worried as he asked, “Are you blood related to the deceased?”
“Yes. He was my half brother,” McCoy replied.
“So you don’t look alike?” Thunder persisted.
“Not much.”
Thunder turned to the judge. “Your Honor, I would like to submit for evidence the green coat in question.” Thunder walked over to Delaney and retrieved the tow sack. He opened the sack and pulled out the green coat. He held it up for the judge and jury to see. “I believe the killer wore this green jacket. As you can see,” Thunder said, turning the jacket around to the jury, “there is a piece of material missing at the bottom.”
The judge nodded, then asked, “Where did you find this coat?”
“In Big Jim’s cabin,” Thunder said casually.
The judge nodded.
Thunder held the coat up in front of McCoy. “Is this your brother’s coat?”
“Looks like it,” McCoy answered.
Thunder smiled. “I would like for you to try this coat on.”
“I told you it was my brother’s,” McCoy snapped, his face reddening. A light sheen of sweat coated his forehead.
“I remember,” Thunder said. “But I still would like for you to try it on.”
McCoy glanced at the prosecutor, who then stood and said, “Objection. What does Mr. McCoy trying on a coat have to do with this trial?”
The judge turned to Thunder.
“You asked for some evidence, Your Honor,” Thunder told the judge. “The coat is evidence. We know that someone wore it the night of the murder.” Thunder turned back to McCoy. “I hope to prove that this coat belongs to John instead of Jim.”
“Overruled,” the judge ruled. He glanced at McCoy and instructed, “Try on the coat.”
McCoy stood up and slipped on the garment “I told you that it belongs to my brother.”
Mary gasped. Now she knew for certain everything that had happened that night That damned green coat had plagued her dreams.
“Now face the jury,” Thunder demanded.
Slowly, John did as he was told.
“As you can see, this coat is a perfect fit.” When he heard the murmurs coming from the jury, Thunder announced, “No more questions.”
The prosecutor approached McCoy. “I only have one question. Is this your coat?”
“No,” McCoy stubbornly insisted. He jerked off the coat, glared at Thunder, then went back to where he had been seated with Marshal Forester.
“I would like to call Billy West” Thunder said. As soon as Billy was seated, Thunder asked, “Is it true that you escorted Mary to Gregory Gulch and you met Big Jim?”
Billy nodded. “That’s correct I was there when they drew up the deeds, and then I stayed until Mary could get settled.”
“Is this Big Jim’s coat?” Thunder asked.
“No,” Billy said with a shake of his head. “It can’t possibly be.”
Thunder folded his arms as he stood before Billy. “How can you be certain?”
“Because Big Jim was a giant of a man. That is where he got his name. He was bigger than most men. He wouldn’t have been able to get his arm into that coat. It definitely belongs to someone else.”
Horace, one of the miners, stood up in the back and yelled, “I remember seeing John McCoy when he came into town. He asked where his brother lived. John had on that very coat I remember now.”
All hell broke out in the courtroom as everyone started talking excitedly among themselves. The judge banged his gavel. “Order! I want order in this courtroom!”
Taking advantage of the confusion, McCoy grabbed Forester’s gun and yanked him up. He used the man as a shield as he backed out of the room.
“If you come after me, I’ll blow his head off,” McCoy shouted.
Carter and Rick both jumped to their feet, but they didn’t draw. They didn’t want to hit Forester, but Carter saw something that McCoy couldn’t. Mary’s brother Scott had slid out of his seat and crouched down on all fours.
McCoy tripped over the kid as he backed out of the courtroom. His gun went off, but before McCoy could get off a second shot, Carter was all over him, beating the man half senseless before Rick was able to pull Carter off.
Thunder turned to Mary and draped his arm around her shoulder. “It’s all over. You’re free.”
Mary smiled, then hugged him. “I’m so glad to have a lawyer in the family.”
Thunder laughed. “I am, too, since my family can’t seem to stay out of trouble. That’s two of you down and three more members of our family to go.
“Maybe they will be good.” Mary laughed, then accepted her family’s hugs. When Billy hugged her, she asked, “How is Claire? Did she have the baby?”
“Claire is just fine. We have a baby girl,” he said with the beaming smile of a new father.
“So what did you name her?” Brandy asked.
Billy turned to Mary and said, “We named her Mary.”
Tears sprang to Mary’s eyes and she whispered, “You named her after me?”
“Had to name her after my best girl,” Billy told her with a smile.
“She’s my girl now,” Carter said, moving up beside Mary.
Billy grinned wickedly. “Are you sure about that?”
Carter lifted Mary’s chin so he could see into her eyes. “Mary, will you marry me?” Carter thought the silence that followed was the longest he’d ever experienced as he waited for her.
“No.” She flinched at the hurt in his eyes.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re a lawman, and every time you left on an assignment, I’d wonder if you were coming home. I want a home and family and somebody who is home with me every night. I don’t want to wonder if you’re going to leave me and never return. I—I— I’m going to be sick,” Mary said. She dashed through the crowd out the front door and to a side street She threw up what little she’d been able to eat that morning.
In a few minutes, Helen was by Mary’s side. When Mary had finished being sick, Helen asked, “Do you feel better?”
“Yes and no. I was hoping after the trial that I’d quit having this nervous stomach, but I’m still sick as ever. And I feel so bad about Carter. I love him, but he’
ll never give up being a lawman,” Mary said miserably.
“Mary,” Helen said, gaining her attention.
“You’re going to have Carter’s baby. That’s why you’ve been sick. I think that you should tell him.”
“Baby?" Mary said, looking completely surprised. “Me?”
Helen nodded. “You are a woman, after all.”
“But I can’t imagine me with a baby. A mother?” Mary shook her head. “There isn’t anything mothering about me.”
“Unfortunately, there aren’t any rules to being a mother, dear. But I think you’ll make a fine mother.”
“Really?” Mary said.
Helen nodded. “Now, go and tell Carter. If you don’t want to marry him, that’s fine. You can always live with our family, but the child’s father has a right to know.”
“Where is he?”
“After you ran out, he went to the jailhouse.”
Mary made her way to the jailhouse. The door was standing ajar, and she paused outside before she entered. When she heard Marshal Forester say, “Are you sure about this?” Mary didn’t go any further.
“I’m sure,” Carter said. “When I became a marshal, I had a mission to accomplish. I’ve done that. Now it is time for me to start living my life. I’m going home to the ranch.”
“We’re losing a hell of a lawman,” Forester said.
“And a damned good partner,” Rick added
Carter chuckled, but it was a sad laugh, Mary thought. “You can always come by the ranch and visit me.”
“Can I visit you?” Mary asked as she slipped into the room.
Carter swung around. “I was kind of hoping that you would. But a visit isn’t what I had on my mind.”
Mary took a step closer to him. “And exactly what did you have on your mind?”
“I was figuring on a more permanent relationship. But since you refused to be my wife, I’m not sure what we can come up with.”
Mary draped her arms around Carter’s neck and looked up at him with all the love she had as she said in a teary voice, “How about the mother of your child?”
The look of shock that crossed Carter’s face was worth a bag of gold to Mary. She’d bet no one had ever surprised Carter.
“Do you mean ... ?” Carter’s voice was rough with emotion.
Mary nodded.
“Wed, I’ll be damned,” Rick said from behind them. “I’ll be glad to arrest him for tampering with a lady’s affections,” he teased.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Mary said, and then she looked up at Carter. “Will it?”
“A baby,” Carter repeated, still sounding stunned.
“You gave up the law for me?” Mary asked, but she knew the answer. “Ask me again.”
Carter’s arms tightened around her. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” Mary said with a soft smile. “But marriage to me probably won’t be easy.”
Carter laughed. “After meeting your very unusual family, I somehow don’t doubt that, but I’m willing to take the risk because life without you, my love, isn’t worth living.”
Thunder and Brandy appeared in the doorway. “Don’t just stand there,” Thunder called from the door. “Kiss her before she changes her mind and I have to shoot you.”
Mary glanced at both of them with a sly smile. “You heard about the baby?”
They nodded.
“Well, Carter, you heard them. It’s either kiss me or get shot”
His mouth hovered just above hers as he said in a very sexy voice, “In that case, I’d better kiss you. I want my child to have a father.”
And Carter did just that He kissed the tip of her nose, then her eyes, and finally he kissed her soft mouth.
A kiss that would last a lifetime.
As a summer breeze swept in through the door of the office surrounding them, Mary thought that their love would always be whispers on the wind.
Whispered until eternity... Carter loved her.
Author's Note
I hope that you have enjoyed the Misfit Series. WHISPERS ON THE WIND is the third book. As of this writing, I’m not sure which book I will do next, but I hope it will bring you as much pleasure as my other books. It seems everybody has their favorite book.
May all your dreams come true.
Brenda K Jernigan
e-mail - [email protected]
Table of Contents
Whispers on the Wind
Midpoint
Whispers on the Wind Page 25
