“You don’t enjoy a good gospel hymn?” he asked.
“Not after the tenth time you sang it.”
The man was deliberately trying to irritate them or make sure Zach heard his singing and located him. If Zach were coming, he’d better hurry. They were getting close to town, and Meg would be turning Simon over to a lawman.
“My knowledge is limited in music. It’s been a day or two since I’ve spent time in church.”
Meg shook her head and refused to look at the hardened criminal. “I just bet it has.”
“I’m sure you’ll get plenty of time to reacquaint yourself with gospel music before they hang you,” Ruby said.
He laughed. “You’ll bring me a pie in jail, won’t you?”
“I don’t cook, and even if I did, I wouldn’t waste it on you,” Ruby acknowledged.
“Wow, you girls are harsh. What about you, Annabelle? Any pity for a man who misses his momma’s apple pie?”
She brushed back her golden red tresses and gave him a brilliant smile. “The only pie you’ll get from me will give you the trots. When would you like for me to bring it to you?”
“Harsh, really harsh,” Simon said, staring at Annabelle. “Have you no pity?”
The man was a charmer, and Meg felt proud her sisters hadn’t fallen for his deceptive charisma.
“Oh yeah, I have pity for your mother for having to watch her son die,” Meg said, bouncing in the saddle as her horse stepped around some cactus.
Simon rode along for several minutes, his backside swaying side to side in the saddle. He stared at each woman. “You girls know the bond between sisters. Don’t you think brothers have that same kinship? Don’t you think that Zach, even now, is probably not far behind us?”
“He said he wasn’t going to follow us,” Meg replied, wondering if it was true. She’d been surprised he hadn’t shown up already. She half expected Zach to ride up on them at any moment. But so far, she’d not seen him, and she’d been keeping watch.
Simon glanced over at her, dismay filling his brown eyes. “What do you mean?”
“That’s what he said. Said I was doing him a favor taking you in,” she responded.
Simon was silent for a moment, and then he smiled and acted relieved. “He’s just luring you in. Letting you feel safe before he ambushes you, and we ride to Mexico together.”
“Hmmm,” she replied. “He said he’d made a mistake. I wonder if that mistake was taking a chance on you?”
A frown appeared between his brows as he considered her words. But then he smiled and shook his head. “You’d do the same for your sisters. You know how it is. You look after family members. You help each other out. Family protects family.”
Meg laughed. “No. Not when they cross the line. My sisters would never kill a man in cold blood. They gave me hell when I stole a ham when we were starving. They refused to eat it. So no, family does not always protect family. Sometimes family helps other members face the consequences of their actions.”
The girls snickered. “She’s right,” Annabelle said. “We told her we’d turn her in ourselves.”
A frown grew on Simon’s face as he contemplated her words. She could see him dissecting what they’d told him about Zach.
“Your sisters don’t love you,” he said. “They should protect you. Blood is blood, regardless of what they do.”
“My sisters love me enough to warn me and keep me following the right path. So help me God, they would haul me off to jail if I did anything they felt was wrong. I know because they’ve almost done it before.” Suddenly Meg felt even more grateful for her sisters. They were honest and kept her in line. She could always count on them to tell her the things she didn’t want to hear, but needed to know the most.
“Still, this is Zach, the sheriff. You care about him. You two have been sweet lovebirds for the last few weeks, and you’re not going to do something my family would never forgive you for. You’re not going to be the one to turn me in and lose my brother over it,” Simon said, giving Meg a smile that set her teeth on edge and left her feeling dirty. The man could lure a nun into sin.
“I’m a good woman. I deserve a good man who is honest and trustworthy. Zach hasn’t shown me he’s worthy of me. And by leaving me, he’s proven just the opposite. So I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about me and your family.”
Simon opened his mouth to speak, and Meg took the opportunity to shove a rag in between his lips. He made strange mumbling noises.
“Thank God,” Ruby said. “His off key singing was driving me crazy.”
“Oh, my God, that mouth either had to be stuffed full of something that would quiet him down or get covered,” Annabelle confirmed. “I’d heard enough.”
“How far are we from town?” Ruby asked.
Meg heard her sisters talking, but Simon’s words and Zach’s words were bouncing inside her brain, like a bullet in the dirt. What was he doing? Was he actually letting her take Zach in, so he didn’t have to make that very hard choice himself?
Is that why he said he wouldn’t be following her? This way Simon was in jail, and he could always say Zach never turned him in. Zach didn’t have to make that hard decision to show he stood by the law he’d sworn to protect.
She pulled her horse to a halt, anger spreading like a prairie fire through her. Damn him! Damn him for manipulating her into making his choice easy, for giving him an easy way out.
“We’re going back,” Meg said, turning around.
“What?” Annabelle questioned.
Ruby dropped her head in her hands. “Why are we taking him back? We’ve been trying to capture him for months?”
Meg took a breath and hoped like hell her sisters would understand what she had just realized. “I know this is damn frustrating. I know I’ve said all along he was our last bounty, but we’re making this way too easy on Zach. He needs to make the hard decision about whether or not to turn his brother in. He should be the one who brings Simon to justice. Sooner or later, he will regret he didn’t make this decision, and I took care of it for him. This is his opportunity to prove he’s a good man who can make hard choices.”
She refused to let Zach ride into town like he hadn’t been chasing his brother all these weeks. No, Zach was going to make the life altering decision about his brother. Either he chose to put Simon behind bars and be the honorable man she loved, or Zach took him to Mexico and gave up being a lawman and Meg.
“Hogwash,” Ruby replied.
“Who cares,” Annabelle said. “Who cares who brings him in, as long as we’re paid our money?”
Oh, how could she show them it wasn’t the money? It was the principle. If Zach didn’t make this choice, he would forever have doubts about his own integrity, and he would come to resent Meg for being the one who took the judgment from his hands.
While they probably could never recover from this event, she loved him enough to show him she believed he was a law-abiding man who would do what was right.
“I care,” Meg said. “I’ve just made this very easy for Zach. He needs to be the one to decide the fate of his brother. Not me. Not you. Zach.”
“But we’re close to Dyersville. He can get Simon there,” Ruby said.
“No. I’m taking Simon back to Zach, and I’m going alone. You girls go home, and I’ll meet you there,” Meg said, knowing she’d never make it to Dyersville before dark, weary of the trail and of having to see Zach yet again. She wanted this over. It was time for this chase to end, and there was only one way it could have a satisfactory ending.
“No, we do this together,” Ruby said. “We worry about you when you’re alone.”
“I understand, but I have to do this on my own. I have to return Simon and give him back to his brother. Then I’ll come home.”
“Damn it, Meg,” Ruby said. “We’ve worked hard for this bounty.”
“I’m sorry, Ruby, but unless I do this, I’ll never know for certain what kind of man Zach Gillespie really is.
”
Annabelle, who had been quiet the entire time, rode her horse over close to Meg. She reached out, leaned across her horse, and gave Meg a hug. “I understand. You do what you have to Meg. I’ll make certain Ruby gets home.”
“Thanks, Annabelle,” Meg said quietly.
Ruby shook her head; there were tears in her eyes. “Be safe, Meg. Please don’t let this man get loose. He’s dangerous. He’ll kill you.”
“I know, Ruby. I’ll be careful. Get home and rest that ankle. I’ll see you soon.”
“Love you,” Ruby said as she kicked her horse and rode away.
Tears formed in Meg’s eyes at Ruby’s words. There were times her sisters drove her crazy, but then they did and said the most loving things to her. And though she was taking money away from the family farm, they were accepting her decision.
She glanced over at Simon and could see the laughter shining from his eyes. He thought she had just set him free.
And maybe she had, but she’d soon find out.
Chapter 15
Zach wasn’t proud of the way things between him and Meg had ended, and he couldn’t blame her for being as mad as a yellow jacket at a picnic. Nothing Zach had done with Simon had been honorable. And yet, she’d taken the burden of turning his brother in to the law off Zach’s shoulders.
This morning at the first snap of a twig, his eyes had popped open. He’d actually watched as Ruby and Annabelle, as stealthy as thieves, had trussed up Simon like a Christmas turkey. Quickly, he’d closed his eyes and feigned sleep, so they would appear to have gotten the upper hand.
It’d been the coward's way out, and that’s what bothered him the most.
Meg had taken Simon off his hands. The choice was no longer his to make, and now he could simply go back to work as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. As if he’d been gone for the last two weeks scurrying across the countryside searching for a criminal that had once again gotten away. Simon would be hauled in to a sheriff’s office in a neighboring community, where Zach wouldn’t have to deal with as much humiliation that his brother was a wanted murderer.
Part of him screamed coward, and the other part, the more rational, claimed the problem had been secured, and yet a third part was relieved. No more grandiose ideas of taking Simon to Mexico to save him.
My brother is a murderer who doesn’t deserve to be saved.
But he would wonder to the day he died, if he could have actually turned in his brother to the law. He’d planned on riding to Mexico, but once Simon had started talking, Zach had known there was no future in saving his brother. But would he have actually taken him in to a sheriff at gunpoint and turned him in? Could he have done that to the brother he loved?
Could he have given up everything, his life, Meg, and even his job as sheriff, to save a brother who didn’t seem to want to change?
Thank goodness that was no longer a question. Now he was headed home and ready to get his life back to normal.
Still loneliness filled his chest when he thought of Meg. He wanted to tell her he loved her. He wanted to tell her thank you for taking care of Simon. For taking the burden off of him.
Why did everything feel so wrong? Why did he feel like he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life by letting Simon go with Meg? Why did he feel like a coward for not taking his brother’s life into his own hands and making certain he was turned into the law?
Because he didn’t think he could do it.
On the road ahead, he saw two riders approaching him. The sun was up almost halfway in the nearly noon sky, and already he was tired of being out under the Texas sun. He was ready to get home. He wanted time to think of Meg…
Peeking out from beneath a black hat, a glint of red hair glistened in the sun. The hat was much like the one Meg wore. He suddenly realized Meg was sitting astride that gelding, and she was pulling a man’s horse behind hers, carrying Simon.
A groan slipped from between his lips and filled the air.
Dear God, Meg was bringing Simon back to Zach. His heart raced at the sight of her, so beautiful and tall sitting so proudly on her horse. His soul screamed at him, look what you gave up! Look what you’ll never have!
Zach pulled his horse to a stop and glanced around the countryside, searching for the other McKenzie sisters, feeling certain this was a trick. But he saw no one. Nothing moved.
She came to a halt in front of him. “I’m returning your brother.” No hello. Nothing.
“Why?” Zach asked, feeling uncertain, yet so enjoying the sight of Meg’s green eyes and auburn hair. She looked so damn gorgeous he wanted to grab her and say to hell with Simon, but he knew she wouldn’t listen.
“By capturing Simon, I’ve taken the choice away from you of choosing what kind of man you want to be. You’ve said all along you didn’t know if you could turn your brother in for his crimes. If I turn him in, you’ll never know.” Her emerald eyes stared at him with a coldness in their depths. He so wanted her to look at him with warmth and love.
“Meg,” he said, shaking his head and sighing, the sound empty and lonely like he felt. “God, Meg, you’re not making this easy for me. I was awake this morning when you came into camp. I was relieved you took Simon.”
His brothers' eyes widened at Zach’s acknowledgement.
“I’m not going to make your decision. You need to know what kind of man you are, so you can live with your actions the rest of your life. I’m not turning him into the law for you,” she said, her emerald eyes flashing with anger.
“What if I don’t take him in?” Zach asked.
“That’s your choice,” she said softly. “From this moment on, what happens to Simon is your decision. Not mine.”
He clenched his fists as anger at Simon raged inside him like a tornado destroying everything in its path. Only fifteen minutes ago, things had been looking up. But now…now he didn’t know what to do. His head told him turn Simon in, he was a murderer, but Zach’s heart remembered that little boy he’d saved in the river. Could he save Simon one more time?
“You can let Simon go and continue on like before, you can continue on to Mexico with your brother in tow, or you can turn him in and be the lawman I thought you were. Whatever you decide, it’s your choice,” she said and handed over Simon’s horse’s reins to Zach.
He took the reins and stared at his younger brother, with a rag shoved in his mouth. “Looks like he got mouthy.”
“He was having a revival with a true come to Jesus moment,” she said. “We grew weary of his singing.”
Simon winked at Zach, and with startling clarity, he realized Simon thought he was home free—that as soon as Meg was gone, he and Zach would once again start their quest for Mexico.
But suddenly all Zach could think about was Meg.
She gave him a long look, and he knew she wanted him to say something, but he had nothing he could give her at the moment. Nothing. She was making him decide his brother's fate, and it stung like a thousand bees swarming inside his gut.
“I’ve got to get home,” she stated, resigned and colder than a blizzard in Texas.
“What about the bounty?”
“We don’t expect the bounty from Simon. We don’t expect anything.”
“What about us?” Zach said quietly, wanting her so bad he could barely breathe.
Meg shook her head, turned her horse and rode away, leaving him in the dust.
He watched her ride away and felt like she was taking his soul with her. Emptiness filled the cavity of his chest, causing his heart to echo in the destitute chamber. Meg made him a better man. She was strong and steadfast and caring and stood by the people she loved. When she’d shot him, she’d made certain he lived. She stayed by his side, not the brother he’d taken the bullet for. Simon hadn’t even said thank you.
Meg wanted nothing in return, and Simon just knew Zach would set him free. Simon demanded Zach sacrifice everything for him, while Meg just required a good man—a man who was on the right side of
the law. And now she was riding away from him. Leaving him behind.
So what did he do? Did he continue on to Mexico with Simon, or did he take his brother back to Dyersville and possibly a hanging? What should he do?
Zach pulled up in front of the sheriff’s office in Dyersville. He knew the man; he was a good friend who would make this as easy as possible.
Inside, his heart was breaking, his soul empty. But it was the only way he could make certain his brother paid for his crimes and didn’t inflict any more harm on another unsuspecting family.
No one should lose a family member to murder.
For the last block in to town, Simon screamed at Zach through the rag in his mouth, and every sound ripped through Zach’s soul.
He tied the horses’ reins to the hitching post then stepped around to help Simon get off his horse. His brother swung his tied hands at him, knocking Zach in the face as Simon fell off the horse, slamming them both to the ground, where Simon landed with a thud on top of Zach. All the air left his lungs in a swoosh, and for a moment, he lay there as Simon raised his fists in the air to hit him again.
Zach reached up and grabbed Simon by the rope. He threw him off then slowly stood.
Simon made a move to run, and Zach tripped him. When he could get his breath back, he reached down and lifted his brother up off the ground. “That certainly didn’t change my mind.”
Zach wrapped his hands around the rope and pulled Simon toward the jail. Opening the door, he pushed his brother inside.
The sheriff glanced up. “Zach,” he said. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied, his breathing still not back to normal. “Simon Trudeau to be booked into jail for the murder of John Lowell.”
His brothers' eyes scalded him with their hate, and Zach sighed.
“I know you don’t understand, Simon. But I couldn’t take a chance on you killing anyone else. You know what murder did to your life. Why would make other people experience loss? I don’t understand.” He reached over and pulled Simon’s rag out of his mouth.
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