"Oh, that's wonderful news. They don't need to persuade you to travel alone searching for criminals. You've already lost out on one husband and I hope you realize being a bounty hunter is not a woman's job. Don't worry, the undertaker is coming for dinner."
All the anger and frustration returned, causing her chest to seize in disgust, only this time, there was no denying the outcome. "Mother. Please, stop."
Staring at her like she'd sprouted an extra head, her mother said, "What are you talking about."
At this moment, she couldn't take anymore of her mother's matchmaking.
"Look, I'm a grown woman and you're not choosing who I'm spending all my life with. I've had enough. The undertaker might be a great man, but I'm not interested. The pig farmer is out. If you're in such a hurry for a wedding, then find your own man. Leave me the hell alone."
"How dare you talk to me that way," she said, her eyes growing wide at her daughter's tone.
Seldom had she stood up to her mother this way, but somehow it felt like it was overdue. She hadn't told her mother about Trent because she never inquired and Caroline didn't want to talk about what happened.
"It's my life and you're interfering. If you want me to come home and see you occasionally, you will stop this incessant need to find me a man. Are we clear?"
Like a duck, her mother's chest puffed out and her head moved stiffly on her neck. "You need someone to take care of you. You're not strong."
That did it. Of all the things to say to Caroline, that was the wrong one. Why did everyone think she was a complete moron who needed help?
"No, I don't. I'm quite capable of supporting myself. In fact, when I return, I will be moving out and getting my own house in town. No need to concern yourself about me being an old maid any longer."
Her mother's hands flew to her hips. "Those girls put you up to this, didn't they? They're always putting wild ideas in your head and then I have to bring you back to earth and explain how things really work in life. There's no chance I will approve of you living by yourself. It's unseemly."
Something struck Caroline and she stared at her mother. "So, just where did you think I was going to live when I married?"
"Here, of course," her mother replied. "Since you'll be the couple of the house, you and your husband will take over the large bedroom."
"Mother, are you afraid?" Caroline said suddenly staring at the woman who had always been her rock.
"Nonsense."
Maybe it wasn't her mother wanting Caroline to be alone, but rather she didn't want to live by herself. All this time, she had been trying to watch out for herself and not for her daughter.
"By trying to find me a local husband, you control where I live. The men you chose always seemed needy. What you don't understand is that by choosing them, you basically made me more driven than ever to leave."
Suddenly Caroline pitied her aging mother. All these years they had lived without her father and now she realized when Caroline left, she would have no one.
"Maybe you should find a companion or a husband, marry again. Instead of concentrating on me, focus on yourself for a change."
With that Caroline hurried up the stairs, resolved more than ever to leave at first light and go to Trent. Rather than cowering, they needed to discuss his betrayal. And she would have the last word.
Trent had been home for over two weeks. During that time, the words had not come easy. In fact, they hadn't flowed at all and the now promising serial seemed dead in the water. But then again, everything about his life seemed bleak.
The morning everything fell apart, Zach had come to the hotel room and found him tied to the bed. The man laughingly told him about how his own wife left him hog-tied, naked in a hotel room.
Zach also gave him the great news that the judge approved his pardon. Trent was a free man who no longer had a bounty on his head.
And yet...he still felt like a wanted man because Butch was still loose and if he learned of his whereabouts, he would be a dead man. Fearful of going to Carolyn and trying to reason with her, he worried Butch would kidnap her and they would both be dead. Every day, he worried about her safety.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows in the house and he knew it would be another restless night with him missing the feel of her soft body against his, the way she smelled of lilacs in spring and that smart mouth that he enjoyed kissing. Her voice was never loud, but rather, quiet like water trickling over rocks.
Oh, how he missed her and longed to hold and kiss her once more, but he messed things up and now she would never speak to him again. After rereading the story, he had to admit her character looked vilified in the first draft. Since then, he'd been reworking the tale, hoping to mail her a copy so she could see how much he changed the story.
The words she scribbled across the top had the desired affect she wanted and left him feeling lower than a rattlesnake and meaner than a rabid hog.
Suddenly, the front door was kicked open, slamming against the wall. In strode Butch with Smithy and a new man he'd never seen. Their guns trained on Trent.
"You have more lives than a cat," Butch said to him strolling into the house. "I just read your last story. You've been hiding things from us. Where is this treasure located?"
"What are you talking about?" Trent asked confused about what he referred to.
"What you wrote about in Cupid's Treasure," Butch said. "Show me where you buried the gold."
Sighing, he shook his head, yet maybe this was a chance to escape and get away. Reasoning with the man and telling him it was only fiction would never work. If he didn't tell the man something, he wouldn't live another five minutes.
"Butch, it's near Cupid, Texas, which is close to the Brazos River."
Maria came from the back of the house. "Are you all right?"
She screamed at the sight of the outlaws in the house.
Butch, lifted his gun to shoot her and Trent couldn't stand the thought of another innocent dying because of him. "Stop, please. I'll go with you and show you where the gold is, but please don't kill Maria. She's my housekeeper."
"Where's Caroline," Smithy asked. "She's mine."
"After what happened in Zenith, she left me," Trent said, hoping he would leave the woman alone.
Disappointment filled the man's face. "I'll find her."
Butch grinned at him. "Better grab your coat and hat. It's going to be a chilly ride. Where are we headed?"
How did you tell someone about a box of fool’s gold that didn't even exist knowing at the end of the journey you would die? "I remember it's near the river. We should head like we're riding toward Fort Worth."
Just in case Maria went to the sheriff, she could tell them what direction to start.
Frowning at the older woman and trying to silently convey his message, that she should go to the law immediately, Trent watched as Butch frightened her.
"Don't follow us."
Shaking her head, she glanced at Trent. He reached out and squeezed her hand.
"Let's go," Butch said. "We've got two days of hard riding. Once I find the treasure, you'll be swimming with the fishes."
The men laughed and Trent only hoped there was someplace along the trail he might slip away before they killed him. If not, at least, this would all come to an end. Still, he wanted to hold Caroline in his arms once again. Tell her he loved her and she was right.
With a sigh, he slammed his hat on his head and walked out the door.
Caroline rode her anger all the way to Castle Gap, and even then, she felt justified. From now on, people needed to accept her for the bounty hunter she was. No one had the right to make her look like a fool. Not even Trent.
Being bullied because she didn't have a loud voice or she didn't think the same way as most people wasn't right. And she'd reached the end of her rope.
Ground tethering her horse outside his house, she walked up the steps and noticed the door had been kicked in. Hurrying into the house, she called out his name. "Trent.
"
Maria came running from the back of the house. "Oh, thank God you're here. I've been so afraid and didn't know what to do. They took Mr. Trent."
"Who took him?"
"Butch."
"Are you certain?" she asked, wondering how his housekeeper would know the man's name.
"That's what he called him. I think he, Mr. Trent, tried to help me understand."
The Jones Boys. But why hadn't they killed him right here? As much as she didn't want it, her chest tightened with fear at the thought of them killing him. This was their third attempt, you would think they would have just ended it here.
"What else did they say," she questioned.
"From what they said, they are headed to the Brazos River near the town of Cupid," she said. "He mentioned something about a treasure."
"The Cupid treasure," she shook her head. "That's fool's gold."
"You must go after them. Mr. Trent, he stopped them from shooting me. Please help him."
Of course, she was going after them. Already she was calculating how long it would take to get there and how fast she needed to ride.
The idea of him being in danger left her heart racing, her chest clenching. More resolved than ever before to prove her worth as a bounty hunter, Caroline knew she had to save him not only for herself, but because she loved this man.
"They will kill him, once they locate the box of gold. Please hurry."
With a deep breath, she vowed to herself she could do this.
Chapter 15
As they neared the Brazos River, Trent began to accept his fate. Not that he wasn't going to continue searching for ways to escape, but there were three of them and he had no weapons.
No one knew he was missing and there would be no help arriving to save him from another bullet wound. This time Butch would make sure he was dead.
Before they left his front yard, they'd made certain his hands were tied. The closer to their destination, the more he knew he was running out of time.
"We'll arrive at the river late this evening. In the morning, you will show me where the treasure is buried. Then if you're lucky, I'll give you a moment to say your prayers before I send you to hell," he said with a laugh.
"The treasure map showed it located below a cliff. So, we have to find that cliff," he said hoping to buy himself more time.
The outlaw frowned at him. "The book says it’s buried. You better not be leading me on. Because if I think you are, your death will be slow and torturous."
Just great. He'd forgotten what he wrote in the novel that mentioned the treasure. The gold was a creation of his own mind and now that fictional lie would be the death of him. No doubt Butch would enjoy making him suffer.
From the moment he decided to ride with the Jones Boys, he realized it was a huge mistake. Not only had he been implicated in their crimes, but the man was crazy and had no qualms about shooting and killing another human being.
Thank goodness Caroline was not here to be dragged into this murderous group.
The sun began to slip beneath the horizon just as they arrived at the rumbling water. "Let's make camp here," Butch said. "In the morning, we will begin the search."
Trent sighed, knowing he had maybe twenty-four to forty-eight hours before they killed him. And as far as he knew, there was no gold or silver treasure in this area. Years ago, there was a legend of Indians hiding a shipment of gold near the Brazos, but there was nothing to verify it was true. Nothing to keep him alive.
As night fell, they sat around a fire. Untying his hands, they let him have some campfire beans and drink a little water. Since they left his home, it was the first time they built a fire and cooked. His stomach growled appreciatively. Trent thought of it as his last meal.
"When you joined us, I thought you were an odd duck, but hoped you were like Doc Holliday or some other classy fellow who wanted a taste of adventure. But a writer? Never crossed my mind you might write stories about us and get rich," Butch said, gazing at him over the fire.
"Someone's lying to you if they said I had lots of money," he admonished. "Look in my pockets and you'll find maybe five dollars."
"Bet you made thousands off those stories about our gang," he replied.
Trent laughed. "Hardly. Am I living in luxury? They're called dime novels because they cost so little and the publisher makes most of the money, not the author."
Shaking his head, the man pulled his Colt out of his holster, pulled back the trigger and held it against his forehead. "What if I end it right now? That gold is the only thing saving your life. Your time will soon be up."
Whatever he said wouldn't be well received. Trent kept his mouth closed and accepted the man's words. At the first opportunity, they would kill him.
With a sigh, he leaned back against his saddle and gazed into the fire and Butch put his Colt away.
If he had to die, fine, but he would go with two regrets in his life. Leaving his family and Caroline. The image of her sweet face swam before his eyes and he wanted to hold her again, tell her he loved her.
Yes, she was a bumbling bounty hunter, but she was his bounty hunter and he didn't like the way things ended between them.
It was all his fault. His life would have been much better if he never had gone riding with this gang. All that happened could be laid at his feet. He made some poor choices and now in the end, it would be the death of him.
Not knowing if he would be hit next, he shut his eyes. A loud pop came from the direction of the woods and a shell bounced in the dirt not far from one of his guards.
"What was that?" Butch asked. "Sounded like gunfire."
Trent listened intently. That was gunfire. Could it be friendly fire or were they about to be attacked. A second shot resounded, and this time it didn't miss the target. This time, one of his captors fell to the ground, dead, bullet in the head. Another pop crackled and Smithy fell with a gunshot in his chest.
"What the hell?" Butch said, scrambling for cover, returning fire in the general area of the trees where the shots had been fired. "Who are you?"
No response. Another gunshot landed right near the gangsters. Jumping up, he ran to Trent and grabbed him by the arm, placing the man in front of him.
"Come out now or I'll shoot," he called.
Silence. Trent had an eerie feeling about who was in the thicket and feared seeing her beautiful face. He wanted—but didn't want—it to be her.
Please, he prayed she hadn't risked everything to save him.
"Are you ready to die," he asked Trent. "If this jerk doesn't come out, I'm killing your ass. Don't need these kinds of headaches. Come out now or he's a dead man," he screamed.
Trent didn't know what he wanted, but he prayed Caroline didn't step out of the trees. Please, don't let it be Caroline.
Suddenly he felt a shove in his back and heard her voice. "Put your weapon down or you're a dead man. Pull that trigger, and your brains will be splattered all over this camp. Do you understand me."
Her voice though quiet and soft like the leaves blowing in the breeze had a hard edge never heard before. A no nonsense, quality.
"Don't be stupid and become dead like your friends," she said, a note of defiance in her voice.
"Hey, why did you kill them? We just huddled around the campfire jawing."
"Just like I was knitting a sweater before I learned my friend had been taken forcefully from his home," she said. "Don't mess with me unless lilies are your favorite flower."
That brought a chuckle from Trent and he reached up and snatched Butch's gun. "Nice work, sweetheart. What took you so long to get here?"
"Don't you mess with me either. I'm still mad as hell at you. Now tie up our prisoner."
"Yes, ma'am."
Trent hurried to do her bidding. He still would have to do some fast talking to calm her down and accept the fact he loved her. With Butch soon being behind bars, maybe they had a chance.
"Saddle their horses and throw the bodies over the back. That paycheck I
aim to collect."
Butch started laughing. "Oh my, you're one of those Lipstick and Lead girls, aren't you? I didn't believe you girls were real and now here I am being taken to jail by a woman."
"That's right. A sharp shooting woman who always gets her man. Get on your horse and no funny tricks. I'm tired, I'm mad, I'm hurt and nothing is worse than a woman who's been done wrong by a man. Especially one with a gun."
Trent glanced at Caroline and couldn't help but smile. The woman had found her spunk and damn if it didn't make him want her even more.
"Let's ride," she said climbing up on her horse.
Caroline rode into Zenith with Trent by her side, Butch tied on his horse and two dead bodies. The people of the town, stopped to stare as they rode through. This should get their attention and people should realize she was a great bounty hunter.
By the time they reached the sheriff's office, a crowd of spectators had formed following behind the horses.
Zach stepped out of his new jail.
"Trent, what's this?"
"Caroline caught these men, not me."
Why was it that no one in town believed she was strong and smart enough to capture criminals? Why did they always assume it was someone else?
"These three men are wanted for murder. They're my bounties," she commanded.
Zach's mouth opened and he stared at Caroline and then Trent.
"Don't look at me. This is Caroline's doing. She rescued me from the rest of the Jones Boys gang," he said gazing at her. "I'm alive today because of her."
Zach came hurrying down the steps and helped Butch alight from his horse. "Welcome to the new Zenith jail. Because of the destruction of your gang, you'll be staying in brand new quarters. Don't worry, the judge will be looking forward to seeing justice done for the citizens of our town. Oh, and by the way, we built the new jail out of cinder block. It doesn't burn. We tried to make it escape proof."
Now she had to face Trent and that was going to be more difficult than the bounties she brought in.
Lipstick and Lead Series: The Complete Box Set With a Bonus Book Page 102
