The wind rattled a window.
“I would like to see my son.”
Faith nodded. She picked up the lantern from the kitchen table and carried it into the adjoining bedroom, holding the light over Alex’s bed. Her heart ached when she heard a sudden gasp from Gabe, followed by a sob. He knelt beside the bed, lightly touched Alex’s chubby little arm. He remained there, his shoulders shaking, and Faith quietly waited. Finally he wiped at his eyes and rose.
“He is beautiful,” he whispered.
“Of course he is. He looks just like his father.”
Gabe said nothing in reply. He walked over to Johnny’s bed, shaking his head as he studied him. “He is so big. He has lost his baby features.”
“He’s eight years old. Hardly a day went by that he didn’t ask about you. I told him you had to go on a long trip, that you loved him and would come back someday. He hasn’t forgotten you, Gabe.”
Gabe took a deep breath and walked out of the room. They stood in the hallway then, both feeling a little awkward. “I’ll show you the rest of the house. There isn’t much.” Faith turned and carried the lantern down the hall to her library, then the parlor. She shivered. That end of the house was cold, as she did not keep a fire in the parlor fireplace at night. She led him back to the only room she had not shown him yet. “This is my…our…bedroom.” She set the lamp on a dresser and turned, meeting his eyes. “This has been the loneliest room in the house.”
They just stood there looking at each other for several seconds. He reached out then, and she took his hand. The moment they touched, each knew nothing had changed. Those five years had not made them strangers. All that time vanished as though it had been only five hours. In the next moment she was in his arms, his strong, sure arms. Her face rested against his broad chest, and she was pressed tight against him. His lips caressed her hair, and he stroked her back.
“Faith. My beautiful Faith.”
“Oh, Gabe. I knew you wouldn’t have just run out on me. I knew it! It was so awful not knowing what had happened to you.” She looked up at him, and in the next moment their lips met. All awkwardness was gone. There was only this deep, burning, aching need to feel her man inside her again, and Gabe had been so long without a woman.
He lifted her in his arms and laid her on the bed, moving on top of her in desperate need. They could not touch enough, kiss enough, press their bodies together tightly enough. Clothes came off in eager desire, hurriedly, to do what must be done quickly, savagely. Only his boots and pants, then with those, his long johns. Only her housecoat and drawers. He pushed up her gown, and she opened herself in aching need, gasping when he shoved his hard shaft inside her. He buried his face in her hair and groaned, ramming deep and hard, reclaiming her, proving to himself and to her that this was real. He was alive and they were together again.
It was over quickly the first time, but both knew that would not be the only time. Not tonight. Amid hot kisses he removed her flannel gown, and suddenly the room seemed too hot instead of too chilly. Gabe removed his shirt, pushed the bed blankets aside, met her mouth again, tracing his tongue inside her lips. How wonderful it felt being with a woman again, and having that woman be Faith. He wanted to touch and taste every inch of her. He moved his lips down her neck, took a breast into his mouth in groaning hunger. She had fed his son with these breasts. This was the beloved mother of his child. He had a family again.
Faith cried out with the pleasure of being touched this way again. She arched herself against him, and he moved to taste her other breast, licking and pulling at it in ways that made her wild with desire. She wrapped her fingers into his dark hair as he traveled down her belly, kissed her thighs, the hairs of her lovenest. His tongue flicked lightly at that secret place that set her on fire, and quickly his lips traveled back up over her breasts and he was inside of her again, rubbing at her in a way that built the fire bigger until she felt the glorious climax she had not experienced in years. She pulsated against him, groaning his name as he pounded into her, this time for much longer, each of them reveling in enjoying long-neglected needs, glorying in uniting bodies again in love, celebrating the fact that Gabe Beaumont was alive and very real…and as much a man as ever.
The night became like a dream for Faith. Her man was home. She was safe now. Somehow God would help Gabe do what he must do. God would not have brought him back to her only to take him away in death. She thought how she would have to write her father and tell him she finally believed in the true miracle of prayer. They made love three more times, unable to get enough of each other. She reveled in the strength of his arms, the peace of lying beside him, the ecstasy of being made love to by a man of such virility, of such gentleness. They tossed and rolled in heated passion, groping, tasting, unable to satiate their need for one another.
Finally, in the wee hours of dawn, they fell asleep in an exhaustion unlike any they had known before, a pleasant, exotic sort of exhaustion. When they awoke again, it was to sunshine, and to two little boys who were standing by the bed staring at Gabe. It was their voices that woke them.
“I think it’s him,” Johnny was saying to Alex. “Our daddy.”
“Daddy?” Alex stared at the big, dark man who lay in bed with his mommy. His lips puckered as he watched the man thoughtfully, trying to decide if he liked him or not. He’d always had his mommy to himself, and the man he saw beside her now was a stranger, kind of scary because of the strong look to his arms.
“You’ll like him,” Johnny was telling him. “He can teach you to ride a horse, and—” He stopped talking when Gabe opened his eyes.
Gabe sat up, nudging Faith awake. Gabe kept a blanket around himself as he moved his feet over the edge of the bed and studied both boys. “Hello,” he said, seeing they were both skeptical and a little bit afraid. “I would like to hold you in my arms. I have missed my sons.”
“Are you really my daddy?” Alex asked.
Gabe felt a lump forming in his throat. What a handsome, sturdy boy he was. “Yes, I am. I am sorry I have been gone so long, but it was not my fault. Some bad men took me away and put me in a place where I could not get out.”
“Why?” Johnny asked.
“Because they wanted to steal something from your mommy, and they did not want me around to help her. But I am free now, and I am home.” He held out his hands. “I love you, and I wish I could hug you.”
Johnny grinned, and Gabe thought how the boy was growing more handsome as he got older. Being the outgoing, accepting child that he was, he threw his arms around Gabe’s neck. “We love you, too, Daddy. Mommy said you’d come back.”
Alex stood back a little, still watching Gabe thoughtfully. Faith wrapped herself in a blanket and got up, walking around to kneel beside the boy. “It’s all right, Alex. He really is your daddy, and he loves you so much. It isn’t his fault he couldn’t be here until now. He needs very much to hug you. Won’t you give your daddy a hug?”
Alex blinked, stepping a little closer. Gabe kissed Johnny’s cheek and set him on the bed, then reached out for Alex. The boy still hesitated.
“Will you really teach me to ride a horse?” he asked.
“I will teach you many things,” Gabe answered. “Anything you want to learn. But first I need that hug, or I will be very sad.”
Alex looked at his mother.
“You don’t want your daddy to be sad, do you?” she asked.
The boy shook his head, looked back at Gabe. “She’s my mommy. You won’t take her away from me, will you?”
Gabe grinned. “No, Alex, I will not take her away. We will all live together. Your mommy will always be here for you, and I will let you hug her and be with her as much as you want.”
“Will you be nice to her?”
Gabe was touched at the child’s sense of protectiveness for his mother.
“Of course I will be nice to her. I love her. I am here to take care of her now, take care of all of you, protect you.”
The boy reached ou
t and touched Gabe’s big hand. “Okay. You can hug me.”
Gabe struggled not to laugh at the authoritative way the child had spoken the words. His heart burst with love as he drew his son into his arms. He had not expected when he was first released that his homecoming would be quite this wonderful, and his hatred for Joe Keller and Tod Harding burned deeper at the thought of the years he had missed with this precious son. He held him tightly, fighting tears, until finally Alex decided he’d given this stranger enough for the moment and wiggled out of his arms.
“You boys go get dressed. Daddy and I have to wash and change,” Faith told them. “And stay inside. It’s very cold out today.”
“Isn’t it a school day?” Johnny asked.
Faith looked at Gabe, realizing then that if the boys went out, they would probably tell everyone they saw that their daddy was back. It must be kept a secret. “No,” she lied. “There won’t be any school for a few days, and I want you to stay in the house.”
“Oh, heck. I want to play in the snow with Daddy. I want him to show Alex how to ride.”
“We will get to all of that,” Gabe told him. “Right now there is something else I have to do. It will only take a couple of days.”
The boys went out pouting, and Faith closed the door, facing Gabe. “Gabe, I’m so scared.”
All the softness he’d shown until now vanished, and a cold hatred moved into his green eyes. “Don’t be. By tomorrow you will have control of this town again. I want you to go get Buck later and bring him over. We have to talk. Is Tod Harding in town?”
“No. I never know when he’ll be around. He comes just long enough to collect rent and to check on his businesses, then leaves again.”
He nodded. “Good. The first thing we have to do is put trustworthy guards at the telegraph station to make sure that no men who work for Harding at his bank and other businesses try to send him a wire, warning him not to come here. After I take care of Keller and his men, one of them might try to let Harding know what has happened. We will find out where he is and send him a fake wire, telling him there has been an emergency here and that he had better come back quick.” His eyes frightened even Faith. “I will be waiting for him!”
Buck positioned himself on a roof across the street from the Whistle Stop Saloon. Stu Herron, a gunsmith who also knew how to handle guns, stood inside his shop, also across from the saloon. He watched out the window, rifle ready. Jack Delaney, the town blacksmith, was on the roof of Tod Harding’s fancy hotel, his perch giving him a good view of the street. In their secret meeting the night before, Gabe had told them this would not take long. It was impossible to let the whole town in on what was going to happen that day. Word might get out to Keller. This had to be a surprise. The word had been whispered to a few people on the street to get inside. There was going to be trouble.
It was three o’clock in the afternoon, and a stiff wind blew sand down the street, but no more snow had fallen. Only a dusting of snow covered the streets, and the sun was shining, but the wind was bitterly cold. Buck hoped it did not affect his aim.
Gabe finally showed up, walking into the saloon. A moment later David Kuzak walked out. Gabe had given him the message to fetch Joe Keller. Gabe soon emerged from the saloon and stood leaning against a support post. Minutes later Keller came out of the sheriff’s office up the street, Dave Kuzak and another deputy walking beside him. Buck kept an eye on a third deputy who stood farther down the street, watching curiously. He drew a bead on the man and waited. That makes four, includin’ Keller, Buck thought. The other three deputies worked nights. They would be sleeping in the bunkhouse Keller had built for their housing. Buck and Gabe would take care of those three when they had finished with Keller.
Keller came closer to the saloon, then stopped. The street was empty, but Buck could see a few people watching out windows. Bret Flowers was looking through the glass of the front doors, kept closed today because of the cold. Keller’s hat blew away as Gabe stepped off the boardwalk in front of the saloon. Buck couldn’t hear the conversation, but he had a pretty good idea how it would go.
Gabe himself felt the beginnings of sweet victory at the look on Keller’s face. “Hello, Joe.”
Keller literally paled. “What the hell—”
“You surprised I am still alive? They did not hang me, after all, Joe. You have been found out, you and Harding both. I could go to higher authorities and let them take care of this, have you sent to prison—but I decided I would rather kill you. You ready to die today, Joe?”
The two deputies on either side of Keller stiffened, spreading their legs slightly. One wore a long duster, and he pushed it behind his gun. Kuzak also wore a long coat, but he carried a rifle. Joe Keller wore a short sheepskin jacket, leaving his six-guns free. In spite of the cold, Gabe had worn only winter underwear under a heavy wool shirt, so that his hands would be completely free.
“How the hell—when did you get into town?”
“Does it really matter?”
“How did you get out of prison?”
“A judge came along who discovered there were no legal papers to keep me there. He also discovered that Lieutenant Nathan Balen was not dead, and there had never been any charges against me. I have planned this moment from the day you arrested me in Cheyenne, beat and shot me and sent me off to Indian Territory to be hanged. Today true justice will be served. I know what you have been up to here in Sommers Station, and it is going to end. You are giving this town back to Faith Beaumont.”
Keller swallowed, one hand resting nervously on one of his six-guns. “She don’t own anything anymore except her boardinghouse and the house she lives in, and even those are on Harding property now.”
“Not for long.”
“You half-breed bastard! What makes you think you can go up against somebody like Tod Harding and his money? Killing me won’t change anything. He’ll bring in a whole army of his own men!”
“Not when I get through with him.”
Keller grinned, but his own nervous apprehension was obvious. Gabe stood there calmly, looking very sure of himself. “I’ve got two men with me, and a third man behind you. Do you really think you can take down all four of us?”
“I will take my chances. The only thing I know for sure is you will be first, and you are the one who really counts. I will even let you draw first.”
Keller looked around, aware people were watching. “Beaumont, you’re going up against the law. If you lose this, you’ll go to prison for real this time, and if you kill one of my men, you’ll hang!”
This time Gabe grinned. “I hardly think there is anyone in this town who would hang me for killing one of your thugs. They would all like to get rid of you. If your men just want to get out of town, they are welcome to get on their horses and leave.”
“You pompous ass! I’ve got another three men at the bunkhouse.”
“We will take care of them.”
“We?”
“You underestimate the people of this town, Keller, and their respect for Faith.”
Keller was actually sweating now, in spite of the cold. Gabe Beaumont was out for blood, and the look in his eyes was indeed terrifyingly calm. Were there really others among the cowards of this town willing to help the man?
He glanced at Gabe’s gun, figured if he had been in prison all this time, he was surely rusty. The man didn’t have a chance. If Keller could keep him talking, distract him…
“How was prison, Beaumont? Give this up now, or you’ll be dead or right back behind bars.”
Gabe watched his eyes, only his eyes. “It will be worth it if you have also died. Make no mistake—”
Keller went for his gun, but Gabe didn’t miss a beat. In that split second before Keller died, the man realized Gabe Beaumont was not off guard at all. He saw Gabe’s gun drawn, saw the flash, felt the hard blow to his chest, then nothing.
Those watching from inside buildings and from rooftops saw, too, and everything happened in only seconds. K
eller went down, and at the same time Gabe flattened himself on the street and rolled away from the bullets that Keller’s two deputies shot at him. He fired again, bringing down Kuzak. The second man fell then from a bullet that ripped through his face from above, not from Gabe’s gun. Gabe rolled onto his back, waving to Buck, who stood up holding his rifle in the air. The old man let out a war whoop. Just then Gabe noticed the third deputy aiming at Buck. He aimed and fired, and at nearly the same time another gunshot was heard, this one from the front of the gunsmith’s store. Stu Herron stepped forward, his gun still smoking. Both Stu’s and Gabe’s bullets had hit the third deputy.
“Look out, Gabe!” Jack Delaney shouted then. Kuzak was getting up again. He had the rifle aimed at Gabe, and he got off a shot just as Gabe turned and shot again. This time Kuzak crumpled in death, but his bullet had skimmed across Gabe’s left cheek, causing Gabe to whirl and hit the dirt. He lay there a moment, wondering if he was alive or dead, but he could hear people’s voices. He supposed he must still be alive, and he could already taste blood running into his mouth.
Back at the house Faith stood at the doorway, waiting, listening. Gabe had given her strict orders to remain there with the boys. Maude was with her, as was the schoolteacher, Sandra Bellings. The gunshots made them all jump. Faith lost track of how many shots there were. She knew only that, suddenly, it was silent. “I have to go see!” she told the other women. “Keep the boys here!”
She grabbed her woolen cape and ran out, terrified of what she might find. She and Gabe had made love again last night, such sweet, tender, passionate lovemaking, both knowing Gabe could die today. “Please, God, don’t let him be dead or hurt,” she murmured. She ran around the side of the rooming house and on up the street. A crowd had gathered, many of them buzzing with elation. Faith saw one deputy lying dead near the gunsmith’s shop, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But the biggest crowd was farther up the street, and she couldn’t see Gabe.
She ran ahead to find Joe Keller, David Kuzak, and another deputy lying dead in the street. She jumped when she heard more gunfire in the area of the deputy bunkhouse. She ran in that direction to see Gabe coming her way with Buck and the other three deputies, one of them holding a bleeding arm. All three deputies wore only their long johns and were barefoot, all shivering and cussing, begging to be allowed at least to put on coats.
Tame the Wild Wind Page 39
