Branded

by Vivian Vaughan

  “We hope.”

  “He will be.”

  “I’m not so sure.”

  “You’re the one who said we had to trust them. Besides, I don’t see why they would lie at this stage.”

  “Or why they would be so quick to release him, either.”

  “They have nothing left to fear. With Papa’s mind gone and you dead…”

  “Me dead? I still can’t see why that matters.”

  “Because you’re the one who killed her.” The words were like stones that stuck in her throat. When he protested, she stopped him with, “Their reasoning, Trevor. They think you killed her. You’re dead. Papa has given up any hope of returning home. I mean, he hasn’t anything to return to. Tom has the ranch…”

  “That makes no sense, either. I mean, rumor held that he coveted the Diamond K, but why be so underhanded about it? Why didn’t Drummond know? I repeat, it doesn’t make sense.”

  “Why should it? You were the one who said that nothing about this case makes sense. Can’t we just be happy to have won?”

  “Won? How do you figure that?”

  “Hunter’s going to be free. I know that will restore Papa to his right mind. Of course we don’t want anyone here to know I think that.” She kissed him again, softly. “And you’re free.”

  “Until they catch me.” He embraced her suddenly, rolled her to her back. “I’ll settle for that right now. But in the long run, I intend to resolve the matter.”

  She wanted to ask why, but resisted. “How?”

  He tipped her head back, nipped kisses to her face. “As soon as Hunter’s safe, I’ll do it. I don’t know how, but I’ll do it.”

  She wanted to tell him it didn’t matter. She wanted it not to matter. She wanted to tell him that she loved him anyway. But she didn’t dare.

  “For starters, we’ll see what Hunter has to say,” he was saying. “Compare stories. Together we’re bound to come up with something. Why else would they have worked so hard to keep us apart all these years?”

  It was a daunting assignment. Proving his innocence after so long a time. Unable to say the one thing on her mind, she snuggled closer, offering her body when what she wanted to offer was her love. She knew what he wanted. He wanted her faith, her assurance that she believed him innocent. Pray God, she could give it someday. Pray God…

  “If you can’t prove your innocence…” she began, only to have him stiffen in her arms.

  He rolled away. “All right. All right. I’ll leave.”

  “Trevor, I—”

  “If you can’t believe me over that hussy—”

  “I want to.”

  He jumped from the bed, knocking over the small table. “Wanting to isn’t enough.” Helplessly, she watched him right the table, pick up the tray, slam it back in place.

  When he headed for the door, she panicked.

  “Please don’t go. You can’t—”

  “Well, I damned sure can’t stay here.” He stopped, heaved a heavy sigh, and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “I’ve gotta get out of here, Jace. Take care of yourself.”

  “But I—”

  He was gone before she stopped speaking. She watched the door close behind him. I love you, she cried.

  Jacy spent a sleepless night, worrying about Trevor’s safety and wondering if she could ever believe in his innocence, truly, from the bottom of her heart. By the time Tom Guest brought Mama Dee to the hotel the next morning, Jacy was brimming with questions, but when to ask them remained a mystery.

  She couldn’t question Tom too quickly. Not until Hunter’s pardon went through and he was freed from Yuma. Too many things could still go wrong.

  One sight of Mama Dee’s troubled face and Jacy almost fell apart.

  “Oh, my pumpkin, my pumpkin.” She hugged Jacy so hard she almost squeezed the air out of her lungs.

  Finally Jacy pulled loose. “It’s all right. You’re going to be fine. Everyone will love having you—the children and Mari and Papa. You’ll be so good for Papa. And soon we’ll have Hunter.”

  Mama Dee’s black face shone with tears. “I’m so sorry about Mr. Trevor. I don’t care what they said about him he was always nice to me.”

  Tears stung Jacy’s eyes. It took her a minute to reassure herself that Trevor was indeed all right. “Tom told you,” she said. “Well, it’ll be fine. We can’t cry over that right now. We’re going to see Hunter.”

  Tom came in then. “I had the boys put her trunks in the other room.” He eyed the women, who stood silently holding each other.

  “I’ll have dinner sent around,” he offered, stroking his chin hair, considering. “Or maybe you’d like to go down to the cafe.”

  “Here will be fine, Tom. Thanks.” Solicitous to the last, Jacy thought, wondering why. Yes, he was Papa’s friend. Yes, if the tables were turned, Papa would do the same for Tommy. Why was it so hard for her to remember that?

  “What word from Phoenix?” she asked.

  “Good news all around. Two wires came in this morning. One from some town called Concordia in Texas. Justice of the Peace there says a bounty hunter by the name of Burton brought in a fellow he claimed to be Trevor Fallon. Says the corpse matched the posters.”

  The words sent a chill down Jacy’s arms. It wasn’t Trevor, of course. He hadn’t had time to get to Texas. Nevertheless, the thought of him out there all alone was distressing. What if someone recognized him?

  Concordia. Wes Hardin’s doing, she thought, only to have Tom unwittingly confirm it.

  “The second wire was from Hardin. He viewed Fallon’s body and arranged for burial in a plot he bought for himself in Concordia Cemetery.”

  Jacy almost laughed. But to so much as smile would ruin things, so she held it inside. “Now what?”

  “The governor has been notified and has agreed to sign the pardon. We’re waiting for the doctor’s statement to confirm Hardin’s wire, in which he said a Dr. Barry had certified Drummond to be of unsound mind.” Overtaken by emotion, Tom shook his head and looked away. “I can’t imagine it, can’t imagine it. Drummond Kimble had the sharpest mind in the territory. Never thought it would come to this.”

  “He’s been this way for almost all the five years,” Jacy told him. “When Hunter was sentenced to hang, something inside Papa snapped. He’s never been the same.” Then she added, lest he think of it and wonder, “He never will be.”

  “Let’s hope for the best,” Tom said. Even though he made no mention of the Diamond K and the role the ranch might play in Drummond’s recovery, Jacy had the eeriest feeling that Tom Guest was sincerely sorry.

  “Whatever the best is,” she responded. “When you receive the doctor’s report, then what? How long then?”

  “Governor has the papers drawn up. Once he confirms the doctor’s report, he will sign the pardon and wire Yuma to release Hunter.”

  Jacy’s breath escaped, she hoped not prematurely. “It seems so sudden. Not the five years, they have been an eternity. But only recently you wrote Hardin that a new trial was impossible. Now we have a witness to clear Hunter.”

  “Not surprising, Jacy. As we said yesterday, it was all political. With Drummond’s mind gone, he no longer poses a threat to those in power.”

  “I can’t believe he ever did,” she said. “Not one man.”

  “Politics is a strange business. That’s why I never involved myself in it. It has more to do with control than with right or wrong or certainly with anything remotely concerning the good of the people. With that statehood thing all but settled, I guess Drummond’s opponents feel more comfortable. And with Trevor Fallon dead, Abbie wasn’t so frightened about testifying. You have to understand her fear, Jacy.”

  “Oh, I do. Certainly, I do. I’m sure I would have done the same thing, if the tables were turned.”

  “I’m glad you understand.”

  After Tom left, Jacy told Mama Dee about Trevor, and by midafternoon the next day, when Tom came to take them to the railway station, the
old lady was still rejoicing.

  “Glory be! We’ll all be together again. Don’t you worry none about Mr. Drummond’s mind, pumpkin. I’ll see to that. He always was a handful when he got his dander up.”

  Tom’s cowhands loaded Mama Dee’s three trunks—two of which held belongings she had saved for Jacy—and drove the two women to the station.

  When he handed her up the steps into the third passenger car, he pressed a wad of bills into her hand.

  “You might need something on the way back,” he explained.

  She started to object, then reconsidered. “Thanks.”

  “Hunter will be leaving Yuma in less than twenty-four hours,” he told her.

  Squeezing his money in a tight fist, Jacy looked him hard in the eye. “What if he doesn’t?”

  Tom didn’t bat an eye, as Mama Dee was fond of saying. “You worry too much, Jacy. Go back to your family and try to stop worrying.”

  It was the wrong thing for him to have said. But the fact that Hunter was still not free forced her to hold her temper in check. “Thank you for your kindness, Tom. I’m sure Papa would be grateful, if he could understand.”

  “Drummond would have done the same for young Tommy.”

  “Enjoy the ranch,” she added, unable to keep silent on that score.

  Tom studied the station platform, then looked her straight in the eye. “I wasn’t aware Drummond knew of the exchange.”

  She almost said he didn’t, then recalled that she had used that as an excuse for knowing what she learned from Trevor. “I assumed you told him, Tom.”

  “As things turned out, I don’t guess it matters. I’m taking good care of the place, though. Tell Drummond that, if you think it will make a difference.”

  “It won’t.”

  “Remember, Jacy, it’s still your home.”

  The unkindest blow yet, she thought.

  “You’re welcome there, anytime.”

  She forced a smile. “I doubt it. Papa signed an agreement that no Kimble would ever cross territorial borders again. I’ve already broken it once. I won’t again. So, no, the Circle G is your home now.”

  Leaving him with a puzzled expression on his face, Jacy boarded the train. Mama Dee was already seated in the rear. Jacy slid in beside her and slipped a hand in hers. Their two hands, one white, one black, both callused, entwined like two vines, each seeking the other for sustenance. Only when the train started with a jerk did Jacy look out the window and realize that she was leaving Arizona, possibly for the last time in her life.

  Tears brimmed and she fought them. Mama Dee squeezed her hand.

  “Don’t start cryin’, pumpkin. We’re on our way home.”

  “Home?”

  “Yes, indeed. Home is where the heart is, ain’t that what folks say? Your heart’s done left this place behind.”

  That was a truth, if ever Jacy heard one. Her heart had definitely left this place—two days earlier with a fugitive who might or might not be alive even as she sped toward their rendezvous. Pray God he was. Innocent or guilty, she loved him all the same. She couldn’t wait to tell him so.

  It was late afternoon the following day when they steamed into El Paso. Hunter was to arrive, as Tom had predicted, twenty-four hours after them. By that time the entire Kimble family was in a dither.

  “How do I look?” Mari wheezed, turning awkwardly in one of the nearly new dresses taken from the trunks Mama Dee had brought.

  “Wonderful!” Jacy’s own heart was beating so fast she could hardly fasten her corset. Since she rarely wore one, she had resisted doing so now, but the dresses in those trunks demanded it.

  As did Mama Dee. “You’re a lady again,” she decreed with a broad smile. “It’s your brother’s homecoming.”

  To which end the old woman had spent the day baking and boiling and roasting.

  Even Drummond was in good spirits, if subdued.

  “He didn’t give us a minute’s trouble while you were gone,” Mari had confided. “Hardly said a word.”

  Indeed, Drummond hadn’t said a word to Jacy since she returned. He was miffed, she knew. But things had worked out. If she hadn’t gone to Arizona with Trevor, Hunter wouldn’t be coming home. So Drummond would have to get used to it.

  That he might have to get used to Trevor on a permanent basis teased Jacy’s mind. One thing she knew about her feelings now—she could never be happy without Trevor.

  Papa would come around.

  But Trevor had yet to show up. Jacy had been on pins and needles all day, wanting to rush to town to ask Wes Hardin if he received word, but every minute was filled with shopping and cooking and altering dresses, and with the surprise she was planning for Mari and Hunter.

  She told Mari on their way to the depot, slipping a key into her hand. “You and Hunter are registered at the Grand Central Hotel. For only one night,” she said. “That’s as far as Tom’s money would go.”

  “Oh, Jacy!” Mari’s eyes filled with tears. She squeezed an arm around her sister-in-law. “I can’t wait to have him alone—all alone. But you know the feeling. I can tell.”

  Jacy shrugged. “I’ve spent my life wanting the impossible.”

  “It isn’t impossible. You’ll see.”

  But not even Jacy could remain in low spirits after they arrived at the station. They gathered on the platform, unaware of anything except the approaching train and their spiraling happiness.

  Then the train stopped. The children jumped from foot to foot.

  “Which car is he in?” Sophie wanted to know. Dressed in one of Jacy’s almost-new gowns, a bright yellow lawn, she looked more beautiful and more grownup than ever. Before they left the house, Jacy had told her so. Now she put an arm around her niece and hugged her close.

  “I don’t know, honey. We’ll have to wait for him to see us.”

  “Aunt Jacy, Aunt Jacy.” When little Carter tugged at her blue skirt, she released Sophie and knelt to see what the child wanted.

  “How will I know Papa?”

  “You’ll know him.”

  “But how?” Carter rubbed his eyes. Jacy tugged his fists away.

  “Don’t worry about it, darling. You’ll know him. I promise. We won’t let you miss him.”

  “But what if he don’t know me?”

  Her heart felt like bursting, again a mixture of extremes, joy and pain. She remembered Trevor’s reaction to Carter. “He’ll know you. Wait and see.”

  “There he is!”

  At Todd’s cry, Jacy jumped to her feet, gripping little Carter’s hand in hers. She scanned the platform. Mari and Sophie, hand in hand, were already rushing to the passenger car. Todd followed. Carter tugged at Jacy’s hand. She glanced to the other side.

  Drummond stood immobilized. Dropping Carter’s hand, Jacy pushed him toward his mother with a, “Run, Carter,” then turned to her father.

  His whole body was trembling. She took his arm and gently moved him a step forward. “Hunter’s here, Papa.” Taking her eyes off her father, she scanned the platform again, this time the cars.

  Her heart stopped. There he was. Hunter. Like Trevor, prison hadn’t changed him, except for a pallor which by the time she saw Trevor had been browned by the sun. As tall as Trevor, and as broad, the likeness ended there, for Hunter had Jacy’s blond hair. She watched him run his hands through it, scrutinizing his racing family as though he were seeing a vision.

  Hunter, her beloved brother, was free. Impatiently, she led Drummond at a snail’s pace toward Hunter, while Mari and the children flung themselves into his arms.

  She watched, as through a dream, while little Carter stood in uncertainty. Mari reached for his hand. Hunter saw him.

  Jacy felt her heart might stop. She watched Hunter scoop the little boy in his arms, bury his face in the child’s hair, and she felt the hug all the way across the platform.

  Then everyone was talking at once. She tugged on Drummond’s arm. “Hurry, Papa.” Irrationally, she felt as though he were purposely holdi
ng her back, purposefully keeping her from touching, holding, welcoming her brother home.

  She always had been selfish. Even Trevor said that. Not lately, of course. But did a person ever truly change?

  When they were within a few steps, Hunter spied her. Their gazes held. She saw her own blue eyes, lapis blue Trevor called them. She and Hunter both had their mother’s eyes. Since she had never known their mother, she always imagined the color of her eyes came from Hunter.

  “Jacy!” he called. Working his way through clutching children, he scooped her in his arms.

  She clung to him, fighting tears. When he held her back she saw a deep sadness in his smile.

  “Trevor was— Have you heard?”

  She smiled. “He’s fine.”

  “You haven’t heard?”

  “Trevor is all right, Hunter. You didn’t hear the truth. He’s alive. I mean…I hope he is. He’s on his way here.”

  “But the warden said a bounty hunter…”

  “We put word out he was killed by a bounty hunter. That’s how we got you a pardon. With Trevor dead and Papa…”

  “What’s wrong with Pa?” Hunter set her down. “Pa?” Awkwardly, he started to hug the old man, then stopped and offered a hand.

  Hunter and Drummond had never been close. Jacy wasn’t sure why, except that their personalities clashed. They were always at each other’s throats. Jacy often thought that was why she and Hunter were so close.

  She knew that was the reason Hunter and Mari had such a good life. Hunter had purposely set out to be a different kind of father than his own.

  “Glad you’re back, Son.” Drummond’s eyes filled with tears. “Never thought those bastards would let you go.”

  Hunter hugged him. Jacy watched the two men embrace quickly, then release each other self-consciously.

  When Hunter again glanced around, Mari explained. “We’re walking.”

  “Walking?”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know,” Jacy said. “But you have plenty of time to catch up.”

  His eyes lingered lovingly on his wife’s face. “All I need to know is right here. I’m home.” He gazed around again. “El Paso. Who would have thought?”

  “It isn’t so bad,” Jacy said with a smile.