Trish needed to get control of her own emotions and use her head. She'd always been able to handle men, especially the kind who wanted to show her a thing or two. But Eb had that gun, which he recklessly waved it at her nose.
"I'm not gonna kill you, sweet thing. I got other plans for you."
"You are a filthy animal." Trish cried despite her intention to get ahold of herself.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet." He chuckled.
Margaret reached for her husband. "Noel, do something."
"Cain't very well do nothin' with that gun wavin' around like that." Noel shook his head and frowned at Eb.
Eb laughed. "Now you see him for what he really is, lady. A coward. That's what ole Noel is. He ain't gonna save nobody. And neither are you, except maybe yourself and those kids if you do everything I say from here on out."
"You are the coward." Trish spat at him.
Eb cocked the gun and put it at her temple. "You spit on me one more time and you're dead."
"Go ahead. Kill me. Doesn't much matter now…" She sighed heavily.
"Aw, I got plans for you, sister. I don't want you dead. I want to throw you in that tin-horns face and see if he wants you so bad then. I’m gonna make you and him both eat dirt."
"For God's sake, leave her alone!" the woman yelled.
"Cain't do that. She's the reason I'm here. And shortly I'm gonna go inside that room with her and show her who her boss really is. Don't fret none, Miss Margaret. She's a tramp anyway. Ain't like I'm pickin' on some real lady or nothin'."
"You're the tramp." Margaret's tears ran down the side of her face. "May God forgive you for what you are about to do."
Eb got up from the table, shoving Trish to the floor.
Trish scrambled on her knees, and pulled herself up, holding onto a chair.
"I'm gonna have to make a believer out of you, I guess. I'll shut you up once and for all."
Noel moved in front of his wife. "Don't hurt her, Eb."
Eb smiled crookedly. "I'll just hurt one of them…" He knocked the glass out of the front window and shot one of the little girls.
Noel and Margaret both screamed. "No!"
It happened so fast. The room went silent for a few seconds. Then they threw open the door and ran to the child, but it was too late. The little girl was dead.
Margaret bent down and cried over her child, while the other children gathered about in shock. Noel stood like a statue, his eyes sunken in his head.
Trish stared out the door at the scene, and tears ran down her face. "You killed that innocent little girl, you monster. Why didn't you just kill me? Why didn't you! I’m the one you want to humiliate…"
Eb laughed. "I told you. I’m gonna use you then I'm gonna throw you away, like the trash you are."
Noel turned suddenly and rushed for the cabin. He plowed into Eb hard and began beating at his face and stomach. For a moment, it looked as if Noel was making progress, but only a moment.
Much bigger and more powerful, Eb shoved him to the floor. Noel tried to scramble to his feet, hollering, "Murderer!"
Eb blasted him just as he had the little girl outside.
Smoke curled in the air. The acrid smell of the gun powder left no doubt what had happened. A silence prevailed now that was deadly.
Trish froze for he truly scared her. He had no scruples at all. He killed people without blinking an eye. It meant nothing to him.
Margaret rushed back inside screamed.
She started toward Eb but he sneered at her. "Don't even think about it, lady, or you are dead. No, I take that back. I'm gonna kill those kids, one by one, until there are no more kids. Then I'll kill you after you watch them die. Now I got your attention you will do as I say. Understand? From here on out, you will do as I say."
Margaret backed up against Trish.
Trish put her arms around her. "I'm so sorry to have brought this on you."
"Ain't your fault." Margaret cried, staring down at her dead husband. "He was a good man, in most ways. He just wasn't a strong man. What are we gonna do?" She cried as she leaned on Trish.
"We're gonna eat, that's what." Eb put the gun to Trish's head.
They nodded.
Margaret shook her head. "I need to tend to them."
"Nope, they are dead. I'll carry him out and put him beside the girl. You can bury them when I'm gone. This shouldn't take over a day. They'll be ripe for buryin' by then. Right now, you are gonna finish cooking. We're gonna eat. Then I'm takin' this one in the other room, and if I hear one word from you, one damn word, I'll kill another one of those young'un's. Do you understand me?"
Margaret swallowed hard and nodded.
"Do you?" He put the gun to her head.
"Yes… I understand."
"Good. Now get busy."
"Oh." Margaret knotted her fist and covered her mouth as Eb carried Noel outside. The kids came rushing in with questions, but Trish and Margaret quieted them and made them sit down at the table.
"Mama?" Robert looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Hush now, darlin's. We got to mind this man. Understand? We got to do exactly as he tells us."
"Yes, Mama," they all said.
Trish moved in front of the children and tried to shield them from Eb's anger. He wouldn't kill anyone else if she could help it. It no longer mattered, she'd die first.
Under her breath she murmured, "Lord, thank you for sending Gil to me. Thank you for sending me a decent man."
Chapter Fifteen
Margaret cooked everything slowly. She kept looking at Trish with such sad eyes. Trish wanted to curl up and have a good cry for all the misery this was causing.
She knew what she had to do. He wouldn't like it, but he wouldn't get that much satisfaction from having her.
The kids were silent at the table. They'd look at each other and shrugged.
When the food was almost ready, Margaret said, "Now mind how I told you to set the table, Rebecca. We have company, and it should look nice."
"Yes, Mama." Rebecca retrieved the plates first.
Margaret corrected her several times about where to put the knives and forks, and Rebecca hung her head in shame.
"I'm sorry, Mama."
"It's all right. I didn't mean to sound so mean, child."
"I know, Mama." Rebecca glanced at Eb.
"What you lookin' at, girl?" Eb hollered.
"You killed my pa and my sister. Now I know what mean really is…" She cried. "I guess I've seen the devil himself now."
Margaret cuddled her.
Robert bristled and frowned at him.
Eb shrugged.
The boys got up and helped. The way they moved and looked, it was certain they were scared and sorrowful.
"They are so young to have seen something like this," Margaret fretted quietly.
Trish nodded. "I know. Just try to keep yourself together a little while longer."
Margaret nodded. "Yes, of course. I've tried to stall for time, hoping something might happen to change his mind about afterward." She looked into Trish's eyes.
"Don't fret. I'll be all right. You see, you were right. I'm a tramp."
"No, you aren't. You're a lady." Margaret grabbed her hands. "You are .I can see it in your eyes."
Trish tried to smile. "That's very kind of you to say."
As Rebecca came near her mother, she whispered, "Mama, what we gonna do?"
"Just try to stay calm, honey, a little longer."
"Okay, Mama." She returned to the table.
As they sat, everyone grew quiet. Eb dug into the meatloaf and beans and helped himself to the potatoes and corn.
Margaret loaded the children's plates and nodded to them. "Go on, eat darlin's," she encouraged them.
Trish willed her hands not to tremble. She prayed that something would intervene on her behalf. Nothing short of a miracle would save her from her fate.
Eb seemed angry, he banged his glass on the table and frowned at the children
as they stared at him. "Ain't none of you got nothin' to say?" When silence prevailed, he started to get madder. "What you starin' out, kid!" He barked at the boy sitting close to him. "Ain't nice to stare."
Finally, Trish spoke up. "Under the circumstances, it's not a time for talking, is it? It's a time for mournin'."
"Well, I feel like talkin'. I feel like celebratin'. You two cooked a fine meal, and I'll just help myself to more, since Noel ain't here to eat his portion."
The kids started tearing up.
"Now, you hush up that whimperin'. You hear me? Don't take on so. He weren't much of a man, anyway, " Eb laughed.
"He was better than you any day," Margaret said under her breath.
"Ain't no call to get nasty, woman. I am right sorry I had to kill him. And the little girl. But sometimes people don't take note of what's in front of them, so you have to do things you don't want to do. That's all," Eb explained.
"Those who live by the gun die by the gun," Margaret mumbled.
The kids stared at their mother.
"This is the quietest I've seen 'em," Eb remarked.
"What did you expect? Laughter?" A tear rolled down Margaret's cheek.
Eb dug into his food.
Trish struggled to think about ways she could disinterest him. Even Margaret looked afraid for her.
When Eb finished, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Well now, I think I'll have a smoke, maybe a drink. And then I'll need that nap…" He smiled at Trish.
Trish cringed. For the first time in her life, she was afraid to lay down for a man.
"You have some whiskey?" Trish asked.
"Sure I do. You think I'd be without that?" Eb laughed.
"Could I have a drink?"
He stared at her a minute. "Well, sure you can. Might loosen you up a bit. Yeah, that's probably what you need." He went outside, probably to get it from his saddle bags.
"I wish I could forestall this for you, hon." Margaret laid her hand on top of Trish's.
Trish felt the need to try and comfort her. "I'm sorry for this. But please, no matter what happens, don't make him mad. Just sit here. It will be over before you know it."
"Oh, God, I'm not sure I can knowin'…"
Trish stared into her sunken blue eyes. "Sure you can. Look at them. They need you, Margaret. You gotta be strong, for them… and for me. If I know you are out there, bein' quiet and all, I won't be as afraid."
She nodded.
Eb came back in the house with the bottle in his hand. "Okay, I'll pour you a glass." He opened the bottle, grabbed a couple of cups from the cupboard, and poured Trish and him a drink.
He offered it to Margaret, but she shook her head.
As he sipped his whiskey, he lit a cigar. The smoke and aroma filled the cabin, as everyone around the table stared at him.
"Well, what are you lookin' at?"
Robert, the oldest boy, spoke up. "Pa never took a drink in this house. Ma didn't let him. And he didn't smoke in the house neither."
"Well, I ain't your pa."
"No, sir, you're not."
Trish sipped hers. She hoped it would either numb her or give her courage.
Rebecca looked at her funny. "Never seen a lady take a drink."
Margaret patted her hand. "It's okay, this once, Rebecca."
Trish closed her eyes, and the vision of him touching her crawled up her spine and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Fear had never made her feel so helpless.
"Well now, whilst you clean this mess up, me and Trish here will have a nap. You all stay inside this cabin, and if I hear that door slam I'll know you ain't doin' as I say. Okay? And you done seen what I can do to stop you, ain't ya?"
The kids nodded slowly.
Margaret gave Trish one last look. Trish gathered what courage she had and followed Eb into the back room.
"Mama?" Rebecca called.
"What, child?" Margaret asked as she stared at Trish.
"She gonna lay down with him?"
"Hush, child. Just hush, I'll explain things later," Margaret whispered.
He stood up and Trish stood, her knees shaking so bad she could barely stand.
"Let's go…"
Chapter Sixteen
The sound of a horse's hooves woke Gil and Booker. Ron came galloping up to the campsite in the middle of the night. He was breathing hard, his face a mask of emotions.
"We gotta move. I found the place. It's a little cabin way back into the woods. I almost didn't see it, it was so secluded in the woods. But he's there, and he's got the woman too. Must be someone who knows him. We gotta git tonight. I think he's about to hurt the woman."
Booker shot up out of his blankets. "Let's ride then."
Gil's face turned a pale white. "Did you see her?"
"From a distance, yes," Ron answered. "She was alright when I left, but the way he was talkin' to them, I don't know what's about to happen.
"Was she all right?"
"When I left… yes. But I got close enough to the cabin to figure out some of what was going on."
Gil tugged at the deputy's shirt. "What is going on?"
"There's two bodies layin' outside. No one's bothered to bury them. One is a child… The other is a man. There is another woman and three kids along with your wife. But we gotta hurry."
"What do you know?" Gil tried to shake him into telling.
Ron shook his head. "You don't want to know."
Gil grabbed his horse and gear, and they were on their way. The sound of the hoofs hitting the soft earth and the feel of the mud digging in made slower moving.
Gil tried to focus on getting there, but in his mind, he played and replayed a scene that tore his heart in two.
Gil's heart beat so fast he thought it would explode. Trish was in real danger. The man had killed two already. One of them was just a child. What manner of man was he dealing with?
Ron led the way. The ride was long and tedious, and dawn was almost upon them when they arrived at the shack. The sun was trying to peep over the horizon.
There was a quiet about the place except for the buzz of grasshoppers and the call of birds in the tops of the trees.
They dismounted and got their guns.
"That's it." Ron pointed to the dead man and the child.
Booker's eyes narrowed on Gil. "Now I know how you feel, son, but you gotta listen up. I've dealt with this kind before. I know how dangerous they are. Let me handle this," Booker instructed.
Gil glanced at the deputy. "What did you hear?"
Ron hung his head. Booker nodded. "He said he was gonna take her into the back room and have her. Then he was going to beat her nearly to death and throw her at you…"
Gil squatted on the ground, he felt a black fury building inside him.
"Let me handle it!" Booker said firmly.
"Okay, handle it, but you better hurry up, because if you fail, I'm going to kill him, no question about it," Gil threatened. "He's already killed a child and another man. That's proof he needs killin'."
"There are others in that cabin. They might be innocent. I gotta think of them all."
Gil nodded reluctantly.
"Ron, you go around back. I'll take the front. Gil you take the side." Booker nodded to them.
"I want him, Booker!" Gil said.
When Ron had taken position and Gil moved to the side as he was told, Booker knew it was time.
"Eb!" Booker hollered. "You best come out now. You're surrounded."
There was a silence, and Booker shot Gil a glance.
"When I get that door open, get those kids and woman out of there," Booker said softly, hoping Gil heard him.
Gil nodded.
Booker shoved the door in with his foot.
All hell broke loose as the kids screamed. Somewhere in the house, a gun went off.
Gil reached for the kids and led them outside then the woman.
"You've got to save her," the woman cried.
"It's not too late?" Gil
asked, daring to feel a glimmer of hope.
"I don't know. We heard a ruckus, and a lot of slapping going on, but we haven't heard nothin' for a while. And he ain't come out."
Gil rushed inside.
There stood Eb with a shotgun to Trish's head. She was beat up bad and she crying, but she lifted her head with pride. When her glance connected with him, she nearly fell to the floor.
"Trish!" he yelled.
"No closer or she's dead." Eb said.
"You've done all you can do to her without killin' her. Let her go," Booker said. "It might go easier on you if you do."
"Easier? You think I'm that dumb. You'll hang me for sure. I done killed one of them kids. No, I'm playin' this out. Back off, or she's dead," Eb said. "I done killed two, one more won't make any difference to the tally."
"That's not a wise thing." Booker's voice hardened.
"Don't matter now. I got two out there dead. You'll hang me for sure, 'cause one of them is a kid. Unless I get away from here. Now, you two drop your guns and let us by." Eb dragged her with him, the gun still pointed at her head.
Gil fought the urge to tackle him. Eb held her too close for Gil to try anything.
"I'll let her go when I get far enough away. She's ain't much good now. I had her enough last night. She fought a good fight, but she just wasn't strong enough."
"You bastard!" Gil shouted.
"Don't fret so. You'll get her back. I ain't got a bit of need fer her now. I done did what I planned to do. I had to rough her up some too, so you'd know you had some damaged goods. I figure a smart one like you won't want to hang on to her now." He moved to the door.
Booker aimed his rifle at him.
Gil was poised to jump him, but the danger to Trish held him at bay. "Let her go, Eb."
"Later Sheriff…" He opened the door and looked about outside. "I'm right sorry about Noel…" He threw Trish on his horse.
Just as he was about to ride away free, Ron came from behind him and shot him in the head.
Eb slumped against Trish, and she screamed.
Gil ran to her side.
Booker tried to catch up to him. "Wait. He ain't dead yet."
Eb moved once, his hold on Trish the only thing he could grasp.
She cried out.
Winning the Lady (Book 4 of the Red River Valley Brides) Page 11
