by Dee Burks
The sun beat down as she, and the whole town it seemed, waited. And waited.
“Putting Tommy up to it doesn’t make it right.” He pinned her with a suspicious stare.
Of all the things he could have said, that one hurt the most. Anger, hurt, and absolute heartbreak rose up. “I wouldn’t marry you if you licked my boots!”
She pointed a finger and banged it into his chest. “Don’t think for one minute that I couldn’t do better, Mr. Williams. In case you haven’t noticed, men are a dime a dozen. If you don’t want me, I’m sure I can find a suitable replacement in no time!” Amid laughter she walked away with what was left of her shredded pride.
“I didn’t say I didn’t want you.” Taos ground out the words.
She stopped and turned. “You know damn well that’s not good enough, Taos.”
Chapter 19
Taos sat in one corner of the saloon, alone. Dust swirled under the swinging doors with each gust of wind. Boots scraped the floor, accompanied by the constant jingle of spurs. Small tidbits of speculative conversation floated toward him as he sipped his whiskey.
“Crazy is what it is . . .”
“Would get down and beg for a woman like that . . .”
No one approached him or said anything directly to him. He felt like a leper, which should have been a bad thing. But it wasn’t. He was not in the mood to talk to anyone, and if someone had the nerve to walk over and say hello, he just might belt ’em one. The different voices droned on, though every so often one or two comments would seep through his thoughts.
“Out of his mind . . .”
“First in line, that’s where I’ll be . . .”
“Not only a looker, she’s got that ranch and all that beautiful water . . .”
He tried to ignore the conversation, but all that filled his mind instead were Samantha’s last words.
You know damn well that’s not good enough, Taos.
She was right about that. The tone in her voice made his heart skip a beat. He looked into her eyes and saw overwhelming sadness. The same look he had seen nine years ago when he put her on that train. Reality shook him as he watched her walk away. Sharisse was gone, a conquered demon that had haunted him for eight years. The same thing had happened, but this time he had won and refused to be manipulated. But what had he gained? There should have been excitement, triumph, relief even. But the only thing he felt was a strange emptiness that crept into his soul.
Go after her.
His heart pleaded, but his feet refused.
I’ll never run after a woman. This was right. This needed doing. He was getting too attached. It was better this way, better to suffer a little now than a lot in the long run. She’d played a dangerous game and lost. It had cost him too, but now he had to get past it.
The crowd had dispersed, disappointed and disgusted, and here he sat, trying to get answers from the bottom of a whiskey bottle again. Taos concentrated on a small speck of dust floating toward the floor. It kept him from jumping up and releasing his urge to pound someone or something. The hum of the saloon didn’t even pause as a slender man walked in through the swinging doors and searched the room with his gaze.
Taos looked him over, anything for a distraction. The stranger was dressed in black from head to toe. His shiny black boots were a dead giveaway: here was someone who didn’t trudge around in the mountain dirt. The man approached the bartender, who pointed in his direction. Taos thunked the legs of the chair onto the floor as the stranger moved closer. The way the man moved reminded him of a spider.
“May I join you?”
Taos nodded. The man’s accent was definitely Eastern. The smile he flashed made Taos immediately wary. There was something very cold and calculating about this stranger.
“I understand we have a mutual friend, Mr. Williams.”
“Who’s that?” Taos sloshed the amber liquid in his glass.
“Samantha James.”
Taos’s instincts snapped to attention. “What did you say your name was mister?”
“I don’t believe I said, but it’s John Lawson.” He removed black leather gloves from his long, slender fingers. His manner was condescending, as if he were talking to an imbecile. “She has been staying with you.”
“What makes you think that?”
Lawson reached one hand inside the black brocade vest and pulled out a letter. He held it up with two fingers then flipped it across the table at Taos.
Taos turned the envelope over. It was his handwriting. The letter to Mattie. He swallowed hard. This confirmed Samantha had been honest with him from the start. That one thought resounded over and over in his head like a loud thunderclap.
Taos knew what the man across the table was capable of and what he had planned for Samantha. Fear tempted Taos to reach out and squeeze the man’s neck until his black marble eyes popped out and rolled across the floor. He squelched the renegade idea as he plotted carefully. Lawson forced Samantha to run halfway across the country straight to him for protection. And what had he done? Betrayed her and brought the danger right to her.
He made this mess. It was up to him to fix it. Taos sized up his opponent with a glance. He needed to know Lawson’s exact plan and stall until he figured out where Samantha was.
He could buddy up to the man. Taos watched the man sip his whiskey with one pinkie raised. On second thought, he could never pull that off. But if he could get Lawson to think he was nothing but a dumb cowboy, it might buy him some time. Taos affected his best country bumpkin attitude.
“Sammy’s a great gal. Know’d her since she was a little squirt.”
“I’m her fiancé, Mr. Williams, as well as executor of her aunt’s estate. I’ve come to collect her.”
Panic gripped Taos’s heart and squeezed tight. He had to remain calm. “Executor?”
“Her aunt Mattie signed the paperwork prior to her incapacitation.”
“What incapacitation?”
“Poor woman is on her death bed. Just a matter of time you know.”
The man lied like he breathed. All of Taos’s senses were on alert. Hell would freeze over before he allowed this murderer anywhere near Samantha.
“I believe Miss Sammy wants to stay out here for a while.”
“That won’t be happening, Mr. Williams. I‘ll be selling her assets as quickly as possible”—he smiled a little—“to the highest bidder, of course.”
“She won’t stand for that.”
Lawson’s face reflected a man on the edge of losing patience. “If you understood these things, Mr. Williams, you would realize that this is no place for my future wife.” He paused to let the statement sink in. “The time of our marriage is approaching, and I came to escort her back to Boston for the festivities.”
Wife? The emotion that word drew out of a man was incredible. Less than an hour ago, Taos never wanted to hear it again. Now his mind stumbled over incredible fear mixed with intense regret. If he had believed her right up front, she would be out of reach of the evil this man had planned for her. But he didn’t and she wasn’t, and it was his fault. The tingle started at Taos’s neck and ran down both arms. His knuckles itched to pound the man.
“Just seems a bit odd she never said a word to anyone,” Taos ran a finger along the rim of his glass, “almost like she had no idea herself.”
“Brides can be a little temperamental, but with adequate instruction most turn into decent wives. I’m sure she’ll be no different.” Lawson filled his glass again from the bottle on the table. “You can deliver her immediately, then?”
“She’s not a horse,” Taos growled.
Lawson cast an accessing gaze on him.
Now was not the time to let his emotions get the best of him. Taos shrugged and gave him a lopsided grin. “I mean, it will take her some time to pack and say her good-byes. You know how attached women get.”
“I happen to know she was traveling rather light. I’ll be waiting tomorrow at the hotel. Say, around nine?”
“Mr. Williams, make no mistake. I am her fiancé, and I will be her husband. No one and nothing can change that.”
“What if she changes her mind?”
The spider laughed humorlessly. “I’ve chased her halfway across the country already. There is only one other place she could hide.”
“Where’s that?”
“The cemetery.” Wicked evil poured from the black marbles that stared at Taos. “You know the old saying, ’til death do us part?”
Lawson almost ran over Miles Barton as he exited the saloon. The lawyer brushed past and looked around frantically until he spotted Taos.
“Taos, thank God.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow as he approached the table. “We have to talk, boy.”
“Not now, Miles. I have to find someone.” He rose to leave.
Miles grabbed Taos’s sleeve as he walked past. Miles had been his father’s lawyer, but Taos hadn’t seen the man in a couple years at least.
Miles insisted, “Not later, now. This is important. It can’t wait.”
Taos towered a good foot and a half over the thin, balding man. He shrugged out of his grip and snapped, “It will have to.”
Taos scoured the town for Samantha. No one seemed to know where she was, but everyone had questions about what he intended to do when he found her. Single-minded determination allowed him to dodge the nosey inquiries and continue his search at a frantic pace.
He had just finished combing the livery as a last desperate measure when the music coming from Miss Sadie’s caught his attention. It was the only place he hadn’t looked. He closed his eyes then caught himself. He had actually prayed that Samantha was in the whore house. Lawson, or anybody else for that matter, would never think to look there. He stalked across the distance with long strides. Hopefully, God had a great sense of humor.
Mavis handed Samantha another cup of tea. The tears had long subsided and the two women now sat in silence.
Cinnamon appeared at the door. “He’s out front and he wants her.”
“I’m not here.” Samantha sniffed as the girl went to deliver the message.
“He’s been looking for you all over town,” Mavis said
Samantha shrugged.
“Seems very determined, don’t you think?”
Blowing her nose loudly, Samantha stared at the door.
Mavis smiled to herself. “I’d say you’re head over heels in love.”
Samantha shot a disgusted look toward the ceiling.
Mavis chuckled, “No doubt about it. You cast a hopeful eye at the door every time someone appears, only to be disappointed that it isn’t him.”
Samantha ignored her.
“Well, all I can say is that Taos needs his behind tanned for this one, though I would bet he is as upset as you are, dear.”
“I don’t think so.” Samantha sniffed. He’d made himself quite clear in her mind.
Loud footsteps stormed down the hallway and Mavis chuckled. “Well we are about to find out!”
Taos stomped into the room and tugged a stunned Samantha to her feet. “We have to get married. Right now.”
Samantha snapped to her senses as her body came into contact with his. She pushed away. “I don’t want to get married. And if I did, it wouldn’t be to you.”
He looked at Mavis. “Send someone for the preacher, and hurry.”
Samantha’s heart wanted this, but her mind wouldn’t let go of the hurt, the humiliation. “Did you hear what I said? I will not marry you.”
Taos gripped both her arms and bent down to look her right in the face. “We have to. Lawson’s here and if you don’t marry me, you will be married to him by morning.”
Her mouth dropped open. John was here. It was the nightmare she had imagined and the fear and panic that welled up in her chest nearly paralyzed her. She couldn’t run. Where would she go? He’d found her here, he would find her again.
Taos was her only rescue. She gazed at him. His hair was tousled and his face grim with worry—not the expression you might envision on a prospective bridegroom. She focused on his ice blue eyes, which pleaded with her. She loved him with her whole heart. She knew that was true. But how could she let him sacrifice himself and go against everything he had said a few hours ago to save her? Was that love? If it wasn’t, could she live with the consequences?
“Ahem.” Reverend Miller stood at the door as several people crowded around him, trying get a look. Apparently the word was out.
Taos and Samantha turned toward him.
“We need to get married, right now,” Taos said.
“I’d say so, son.”
Muffled laughter rose from the onlookers as they filed into the room to get a better vantage point. The Hardins were among the group and Mrs. Hardin gave Samantha’s neck a squeeze.
“I’m so happy for you, child!”
“Too bad Mertie Mae isn’t here to see this.” Samantha breathed.
“Oh, Goodness! I can’t imagine. The soles of her shoes would burn completely off if she stepped foot in here!”
The reverend glanced about at the collection of people. His gaze settled on Cinnamon in her red satin skirt with black lace. He frowned. “I don’t really think this is the place . . .”
Taos arched a brow at Samantha. He left it up to her.
She squeezed his hand. “This is the perfect place, Reverend. We‘re both here,” she said.
“You have a ring, son?”
A ring? “Uh, we’ll just skip that part and go straight to the I dos if that’s okay.”
Jewelry was the least of their worries right now, and she could tell his patience wore as thin as cheesecloth as time ticked away.
“Can we get on with it?” Taos demanded.
The reverend cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in this . . . um . . .” A large drop of sweat rolled down the preacher’s brow and splattered on his open bible. “This . . . um . . .”
“Hospital for hypocrites?” Mavis dared, and received a dark look from the preacher.
“Dearly beloved. We are gathered here, to unite . . .”
The words ran together as Taos gazed down at Samantha. He expected to feel dread and emptiness. That was how it had been with Sharisse. This was different. He felt as if his heart would burst as he took in every detail. He had to make this right, he wanted to. For her.
“Son?”
Taos woke from his daydream to realize everyone was staring at him. “Oh, uh, I do.”
The crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief as several men grudgingly paid off bets.
“Excuse me.” Lawson’s voice rang out harshly as a hush descended over the crowd. He pushed past several observers and walked directly to Taos. “As you know, Mr. Williams, this woman is my fiancé. As such, I do not consent to these proceedings and will not allow them to continue.”
Samantha grabbed Taos’s arm and tried to scoot behind him. Lawson’s long arm snaked out and captured a slender wrist. He gave it a vicious yank and laughed as she stumbled forward. Gasps escaped the crowd.
“You will not get away this time,” Lawson hissed.
Samantha stared up at him. Fear pelted her heart, causing it to beat double time. It was as if the devil himself held onto her arm.
Taos’s hand slapped around Lawson’s throat and he squeezed. There was something gratifying about digging his fingers into flesh. The sharp point of a gun stabbed Taos’s side and he immediately released Lawson’s throat and stood perfectly still.
“Put that away.” Sheriff Blake had been a silent observer thus far, but now he pushed to the front of the gathering.
Lawson refused to drop the gun to his side and kept a tight grip on it. “Stay out of this, Sheriff. She is coming with me, where she belongs. Now.”
He inched backward, waving his gun at whoever might make a move to stop his retreat.
Taos shuffled forward, but the she
riff held onto him. “Don’t do this, son.”
Taos tried to wave off the man’s grip, but he held fast.
The lawman moved closer and whispered, “This room’s full of innocent people, and if he starts shooting a lot of them are going to get hurt. Including her.”
Lawson inched toward the door as the crowd parted.
“Taos, please. You have to stop him.” Samantha pleaded as she tried to pry the man’s slender fingers from her bruised wrist.
Lawson raised the gun and pointed it straight at Taos. “Samantha, you will come with me or I will shoot him.” He cocked the gun and she complied immediately.
“I’ll find you.” Taos stepped forward.
“You‘ll die,” Lawson waved his gun around the room once more then disappeared down the hall and out the door.
Taos started to follow but the sheriff stopped him. “I don’t like this any better than you do. If you go after him now, you’ll just get killed, or he’ll kill her.”
Taos rubbed a shaking hand across his brow.
“We’ll mount up a group of men and take him in open country.”
“Now, you have to listen to me.” Miles stood breathlessly waving a piece of paper at the back of the crowd. “I tried to tell you. This all could have been avoided.”
“What do you mean avoided?” Taos snatched the paper from the man’s hand.
Miles looked around as if he were afraid he might be attacked. “You are already married.” He backed up as Taos stepped forward. “Have been for three years.” The little lawyer held out the marriage certificate like a shield. “Now, it wasn’t my fault.”
Taos grabbed the certificate as the lawyer continued.
“Your father was concerned that Samantha’s land would fall into the wrong hands, and since it contains most of the water for both ranches, he came to an understanding with Mattie.”
Taos stared at the paper. Marriage by proxy. Samantha’s name was signed at the bottom. So was his. She was his, she always had been.
He tried to concentrate on what the little man was saying.
“Three years ago Mattie agreed to a sum that would care for Samantha for the rest of her life in return for the transfer of the water rights, but the terms of the will stated that Samantha had to marry for that to happen.” He seemed to relax a bit as the spectators listened in rapt silence. “The marriage was supposed to be annulled immediately after the transfer, but your father died so suddenly that it was never finished.”
