But riding off without saying anything, she had trouble accepting. Leaving her high and dry sitting in that café waiting on him, when he knew there were so many unresolved issues between them. When he knew she’d given him a piece of her heart last night.
With every ticking second, she’d felt like she was dying inside.
“Meg, I think we need to stop and make certain we’re still following the right trail,” Annabelle said, riding alongside her sister, glancing over at her with a worried expression on her beautiful face.
Meg pulled her horse to a stop, not saying a word. Since they’d left Vera Cruz, she’d uttered one-syllable responses, if she said anything at all. She’d concentrated on not bawling like a calf without its momma. Even now tears could spring a leak at any second. The slightest thing and she would break down and sob until there wasn’t a drop of moisture left in her eyes.
And Meg never cried.
It would serve her well to bring out the anger. To look at everything bad Zach had ever done to her, to get enraged, and think enough is enough. Then she could take that blinding fury only Zach could cause and turn it into determination to end this hide and seek game. They’d been playing chase for weeks, and it was time to bring it to a conclusion.
One with her winning and Simon behind bars.
Annabelle walked along the path, searching for hoof prints from Zach’s horse. “Here it is,” she said, pointing to an area ahead of them. “We’re still trailing them.”
Meg glanced at the sun. “We can’t be far behind them. We should catch up with them just after dark.”
Ruby laughed, the sound cheerful like a warrior princess ready to rumble. “The sun will set, the moon will rise, and the McKenzie sisters will tarnish some hide.”
“Cute,” Annabelle said, swinging her leg over the back of her horse as she climbed on. “But what are we going to do to them? What’s our plan for the attack?”
They started riding again, their horses moving at a steady pace through the countryside, following the trail back to Dyersville.
“I’m going to make Zach Gillespie wish he’d never spent the night in my arms. I’m going to make him sorry for every lying word that’s come out of his mouth,” Meg said, suddenly feeling energized. She deserved some vengeance for this one. She’d given him two chances, and he’d mucked up both times. There wouldn’t be a third time.
Zach was about to have a face-off with Lady Justice, named Meg. Vengeance would be hers.
“What can we do to him?” Ruby asked.
“We could remove his clothes and tie him naked over an ant bed,” Annabelle replied.
“What about dragging him behind our horses all the way into town,” Ruby suggested. “You know, shame the sheriff in front of the whole town.”
Bile rose up in Meg’s stomach. The angry part of her wanted to hurt him while the sad part just wanted to cry. She knew she could never let anyone hurt Zach, no matter what he’d done. The trick was she would need to seal her heart from the danger. Seeing him again could be her undoing. The fragileness of her heart might not withstand an assault from Zach proclaiming his innocence. He was guilty. He was guilty of leaving her behind while he rescued his brother.
Annabelle laughed. “Or what about honey? We could tie him up and pour honey all over his naked body. Every fly, gnat, and bee would be overjoyed at the food we were providing. Makes me itch just thinking about it.”
“I think you want to see him naked,” Meg said quietly. “Too bad he has a very nice male physique.”
Annabelle sighed. “I’d like to see any man naked at this point in my life.”
“Annabelle,” Ruby said, her voice light.
They were trying to make her smile, and for that she was grateful, but nothing could ease this heartache.
“It’s true,” Annabelle admitted. “I’m going to die and never know what the male body looks like.”
“That’s a little dramatic,” Meg said quietly.
They rode along for a few minutes, passing a farmhouse that appeared empty, its door hanging off the frame at a cockeyed angle. They continued on down the trail, the sun sinking into the western sky.
“I know. We could pick some mushrooms to feed him that would make his stomach cramp and empty his bowels,” Ruby replied.
“Aw, that’s just nasty, Ruby,” Annabelle replied.
Meg smiled at her sisters’ antics, knowing their intentions were to make her feel better, yet suffering from the fear Zach could get hurt. No matter how much she hated him at this moment, last night she’d realized how deeply she felt for him. Loving someone meant that even when you were angry, you wanted them safe from harm. Safe from harm, even when they were causing such pain.
“Well, that’s what Sarah Jane’s mother did to her husband when she found out he was sleeping with the saloon girl.”
With a tilt of her head, Annabelle replied, “I guess that’s one way to keep your husband in line.”
Meg shook her head at her sisters’ tomfoolery. “Part of me says yes, let’s do all those things, but the deeply angry and hurt part, says he’s all mine. You girls are going to be busy getting Simon, while I deal with Zach. And I plan on making him a miserable human being.”
But how could she make him a miserable human being? Did he care that he’d hurt her so badly?
“So, what do you want to do to him, Meg?”
Oh, the things she would do to him if she could. She could never physically injure him, but she’d dream about getting her retribution. “I want to strip him naked as the day he was born,” she said, revenge bubbling within her like hot pot of chili. “Then I would arouse him until his pecker is standing at full attention.”
“That wouldn’t be too hard. From what we could see this morning, he burns pretty darn hot for you,” Annabelle replied.
Meg smiled, enjoying this fantasy that was releasing all the anger that had built inside her like a thunderstorm about to burst with rain. “Then I’d carve my name on his stomach right above his hardened tallywhacker, so whenever another woman looked at his body, she’d see my name. She’d know I’d been there before her.”
He’d worried about her stitching her initials in his shoulder. That would be nothing compared to how she’d inscribe her name across his abdomen.
Annabelle shook her head. “I’m starting to feel kind of sorry for poor old Zach. He has no idea what’s about to befall him.”
“Oh, don’t feel too sorry for him. He’s chosen which bed he wants to lie in. And he’s going to come up with fleas,” Meg responded, wondering when he’d decided to take care of his brother.
At what point had Zach made the decision about leaving her behind last night? When they were cuddling or when they were having the best sex of either one of their lives? When had he decided he’d choose Simon over Meg?
“So, what else, Meg? Torture the man, he deserves it,” Ruby said, clearly getting into the fantasy. After being almost raped at fifteen, she no longer had much use for men. Very little sent her over the edge, but when she did, she was known for coming out blasting her pistol. “He took your virginity.”
“Ruby, there was no taking. It was something I wanted to give him,” she admitted to her younger sister.
“Meg,” Ruby said shocked.
“I know…and his defection is crushing,” she whispered, barely able to get the words out.
Meg thought about everything they’d done to each other’s bodies last night. How he’d had her screaming his name. She wanted to make him hurt even more for causing her to feel so loved, only to learn it was a lie. She pulled back her shoulders and lifted her head, resolving to make him pay for the way he’d treated her. “I want to shoot him. I want to put a bullet in a certain part of his anatomy, rendering it useless.”
They all laughed. That would be one less pecker in the world to take advantage of women.
“Good grief, men should beware of dealing us a dirty hand. We get even,” Annabelle said, swaying in the saddle to the rh
ythm of her horse.
“You’d think they’d learn to treat women with respect and how it would get them so much more than treating us like we’re idiots,” Meg said, her resolve strengthening.
Zach Gillespie was a jackass. And yet her heart still swelled with love at the thought of him.
“How many times have we caught up with Zach and Simon in the last couple of weeks? How many times have we tied them up and rode off with Simon?” Ruby asked.
Meg nodded her head. If only her heart and head would come into agreement, then she could ride on and leave Zach behind for good. But her heart wanted Zach and her head wanted Simon to pay, not only for poor James Lowell’s life, but also for Zach’s treachery. “When will Zach learn that we will catch him and when we do there will be hell to pay? It seems like such a simple lesson that this smart man is having a hard time learning.”
“Well, today’s lesson needs to be a little different,” Ruby said.
Ruby was right. This time when they took Simon, Meg needed to do something distinctive. Something that would surprise Zach and show him he wasn’t following Meg. He wasn’t getting Simon back.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. This time he’ll never forget how Meg McKenzie and her sisters got even with him for walking out. Some men need their lessons to be personal, and this one is going to be very intimate.”
If Zach Gillespie lived to tell the story of how he lost Simon, he’d be doing well.
Within the first hour, Zach regretted his decision. Now five hours later, he was beginning to question his sanity.
“So, we’re going to go say goodbye to Mom and then the two of us are heading to Mexico?” Simon asked, riding alongside his brother, his gray gelding setting the pace as they rode quickly toward his mother’s.
“Yes. Day after tomorrow, we’re heading out. I’m hoping the McKenzie sisters, if they’re behind us, have lost our trail after we did that little switch back,” Zach said, thinking this had seemed like a good solution to his dilemma this morning, but now he wondered what the hell was he thinking. God, he’d be leaving Meg behind, and when he returned, could she forgive him?
He had to remind himself he was doing this partially for his mother, partially because he wanted to give Simon a second chance, and partially because the thought of turning in his own brother was just too much.
He hoped in Mexico Simon would establish himself in a job or maybe a business. Something his brother enjoyed doing and in which he could make a decent living that didn’t involve jails or hangings. Zach would be giving Simon a second chance to get his life on the right side of the law.
“So what kind of job do you want?” Zach asked. “How are you going to earn a living in Mexico?”
Simon laughed. “Sleep. Do they have jobs that pay you to sleep? I know they take siestas.”
For a moment, Zach was kind of stunned, thinking surely Simon wasn’t sincere. The day had already been long and tiring; he was being silly. Though his outlaw brother was never known for his humor.
“No, I’m serious. When we get to Mexico, how are you going to start your life over? What will you do different?” Zack asked.
Simon shrugged his shoulders. “What do you mean? The only thing different will be that I don’t have a bounty on my head and the McKenzie sisters chasing me. Those girls are crazy. Thank God, I got you away from Meg. She’s the worst. That woman is loco.”
Zach ignored Simon’s comments about Meg, though the very thought of her made his chest tighten as sadness gripped him. Last night Meg had wrung him clean out and left him more satisfied than he’d ever experienced. They had lit up the stars in the night sky with their lovemaking. He’d never expressed his desire for a woman in such an open way. This morning, he’d planned on asking her to marry him until her sisters had arrived and changed the direction of this day and his life forever. Now she would never know.
Could he be making a mistake throwing everything away for Simon? Was his brother conning him to keep from hanging?
“Yeah, but you’ve got to earn a living so you can eat. No money, no food, no rent,” Zach said, swaying in the saddle of his horse.
Simon laughed, the sound confident. “I always find a way. I’m not too worried. I’m sure they have lovely senoritas in Mexico who need help with their ranches. I’m always willing to lighten their load.”
And their pocketbooks, Zach couldn’t help but think. A cringe traveled from his head to his toes, making him feel even worse. “But you got in trouble here in the States,” he reminded Simon.
“That was Frank’s fault,” he said. “And he won’t be going with us.”
“Why not?” Zach said, immediately becoming suspicious. Had something happened to the renowned gunslinger whose checkered past, hopefully, had caught up with him? Simon didn’t need to be hanging around that outlaw.
“Oh, he got some girl pregnant, and her papa gave me the option of staying and dying with Frank or leaving and never looking back. So I left.”
Revulsion swept through Zach at the idea of just walking away while your friend was murdered. How could Simon be so cold? “Why didn’t you help him? Or at least get help?”
“He should have kept his tallywhacker in his pants. It was five guns to two. I considered the odds and decided he was on his own,” Simon said defiantly. “Dumb. Save it for the whores.”
Zach sat stunned. Why had he assumed his brother would want to make his life better? Why did he think Simon was going to be a different man with changed values? Why did Zach think Simon was going to assume responsibility for his actions?
Nothing had changed, except that Zach was going to lose the woman he loved and a job he enjoyed in order to give his brother a second chance. A second chance Simon was going to piss away.
Zach swallowed the bitter pill of disappointment suddenly filling his throat and choking him. His body grew numb with the realization Simon didn’t intend to become a good man. “Simon, you can’t go to Mexico and keep living the same way. Sooner or later it’s going to catch up to you. I’m only staying long enough to get you settled, then I’m coming home.”
Simon shrugged. “It’ll be fun just you and me, starting over together. I’m sure that sheriff job was toilsome. Not to mention dangerous. You might change your mind and stay.”
Doubtful. Very doubtful, but Zach wouldn’t tell Simon that.
Zach’s chest tightened and a feeling of dread filled him at the mention of his job. It had been a fulfilling line of work for him. He’d enjoyed bringing in bad guys and keeping the town orderly. And now he was giving it up for his brother who didn’t want to change his life.
Why did it feel like he was sacrificing everything and Simon nothing?
The image of Meg came to Zach and sadness overwhelmed him, nearly knocking him off his saddle. No chance to tell her goodbye. No way to get word to her. Maybe once this was all over, he’d send her a telegraph and tell her he was sorry. But that didn’t seem like enough. In fact, it seemed cold. Leaving this morning had seemed wrong, especially after last night.
Last night had been amazing. The best night of his life and he’d walked away from Meg. All in the hopes of helping his brother get a second chance. It had been a spur of the moment choice, and one he was starting to regret.
He’d give his mother the green dress and ask her to deliver it to Meg, along with his apology for not saying goodbye.
“You’re going to have to find a job,” Zach responded to his brother.
“Fuck that. I’m not working a job where some hombre tells me what to do. If we hit a couple of banks before we cross the border, we could get us some cash and live the good life,” Simon shouted. “You know, build up the nest egg before we cross the border and clean my slate.”
Anger roiled through Zach at the thought of stealing from people who worked hard and didn’t deserve the misfortune that cleaning out a bank brought to a town. Taking farmers, storeowners, and just ordinary peoples’ life savings was wrong. But then, maybe keeping a man from j
ustice could be wrong as well.
Even your own brother.
The thought almost paralyzed him.
“No banks. I’ll turn you in myself if you rob a bank.”
“Whoa there, brother, we’re supposed to be partners.”
“Why do you always think other people have to take care of you? Why can’t you learn to take care of yourself?” Zach asked.
The air fairly crackled with tension as they made their way down the trail toward their mother’s farm. She would be glad to know Zach had taken an interest in Simon, but saddened he was leaving Texas. If they made it to Mexico without killing each other, then Zach would return home without his job. No more Sheriff Gillespie.
He’d have to give up the badge because he’d always know he helped his brother escape. He’d helped a known murderer leave the country, and that would make him dishonorable. He’d helped a man who had killed another man for simply raising sheep.
“You’re starting to sound like our mother. I’m not going to have to listen to you harping all the way to the Rio Grande, am I?” Simon finally said.
Maybe some people just couldn’t be saved. Maybe they didn’t want help, believing that not obeying the law, stealing, and killing were the way they were supposed to live. Maybe they thought family was supposed to take care of them, even when they’d done wrong.
“All of our brothers listened to our mother, and they turned out all right.” All except for Simon, who Zach was quickly grasping didn’t learn very fast or care if he was living irreverently.
“They didn’t see their father gunned down in the street,” Simon replied, his voice tense. He glared at Zach as if he just didn’t understand and he didn’t. His own father had died plowing a field. Yet, he didn’t use that as an excuse, did he?
God, no. His father would have smacked him from now into the next life if he’d found out Zach was doing wrong. His father had attended church each Sunday, prayed over the dinner table, and loved his wife with a passion. He’d never be found in a saloon cheating at cards or smelling of a whore.
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