And she did the same with him. One moment, she was hot and the next cold. How did he cope with a woman like that?
"Eat your breakfast," he said, setting Ella down. "Both of you. We're leaving quickly."
Chapter 7
This morning, she'd ridden off, her emotions all over the place. If she could have her way, she would load up those children and make them hers in every sense of the word. But she had no right.
After riding all day, it was only fifteen more miles to reach the next town. A full day's ride over barren country with few trees and no babbling brooks and the sun beating down on her.
When she started this journey, the prospect of locating Leo seemed so exciting and adventurous and she couldn't wait to catch her husband and do him in.
But now, the thought of killing a man, even a bad one, had been clarified in her mind. After everything, even Leo didn't deserve to be killed and his children made orphans. Part of her felt defeated. She wanted to turn around and go back to Zenith.
But how did she face Ruby and tell her she couldn't even arrest him? She couldn't bring him to justice because the law failed her. As her husband, he controlled their money and therefore the cash was his to purchase what he wanted. In the case of bigamy, his second wife was no longer alive. Now there was just one.
So why did she travel the road alone, out here in the heat, trying to follow him, trying to capture her ruthless husband? What would it gain her?
The western sky was a hue of yellow and orange with a blue tint and she smiled thinking how gorgeous Texas sunsets could be. As she rode into a grove of trees, a shadow moved out of the darkness catching her off guard. She screamed as a rope whirled through the air, wrapping around her chest and arms.
Men reached out and grabbed her horse and her mare whinnied in alarm.
"Stop," she demanded, her hands immobilized, unable to reach for her guns. This was a trap that Ruby had never spoken of, but she had been taught to keep her wits about her and she tried to calm her rapid breathing and pounding heart. Part of her felt angry she'd been so vulnerable.
Yanked from the saddle, she stumbled when her feet hit the ground, but strong arms held her upright. "Are you Dora Tennyson?"
Why would they want her? Part of her didn't want to answer, afraid of their plans.
"Who’s asking?" she demanded as she stared at the masked men who had her roped.
"Shut up and answer," the man in front of her said. His handkerchief covered his facial features, and in the gloom, she couldn't tell the color of his eyes.
A bird chirped a happy song in the tree above them and she stared at the pistol pointed at her.
"You're going to kill a woman?" she asked. Why would robbers or rapists want to kill her? Who was searching for her?
"Depends. Are you Dora Tennyson?" the ruffian asked again.
"I can be whoever you want me to be," she said, knowing she was pushing her luck, but why would this group of men be searching for her?
Another man growled. "She looks like who he described."
A scurry of fear trickled up her spine. "Who described? What do you men want? If you're going to rob me, get on with it, but you're going to be disappointed," she said.
A larger man who had been hiding in the woods stepped forward. "Kill her."
Who would want her dead? Like a bullet to the heart, it suddenly dawned on her. The no-good, lousy man she was still married to. Leo. He was the only one who would benefit from her death.
Panic almost overwhelmed Dora.
"Wait a minute. If you're going to kill me, I need to understand why. Don't you think that's fair? I mean, what have I done to you, boys? From the looks of you, I bet you're dying for a home cooked meal. There are some fresh eggs in my saddle, a couple of potatoes and some dried sausage. Are you hungry? I'm a good cook."
Would these men fall for her trick, because there was no way she would cook for them. The moment her hands were loose, they were going for a spare gun she carried in her boot. They wouldn't get to enjoy the meal she described.
The men started to mumble between themselves. She overheard a man say, "We ain't being paid much for this job. Why not enjoy a home cooked meal?”
Assessing the situation, she could only see three men.
"Jed, I'm sick of your cooking. Let's let her fix us some supper. We'll finish the job in the morning and head back to town."
"I don't know," the leader, said.
"I'm with Roy. Let's eat a home cooked meal and take a peek beneath that split skirt of hers." A gross man grinned at her.
She would shoot him first. The man would die with his hard on.
The three men stared at her. Then the leader stepped in front of her and removed the rope. "Just a minute," she said. "I'm doing you a favor, now obviously you've been hired for a job. You should tell me who hired you."
She needed to know if Leo would actually hire someone to kill her. She needed confirmation of his evil deed.
"No, not a good idea," the man who smelled like he took a bath only once a year said.
"Leo Tennyson," a man said, walking to her saddle bags, opening and going through them. "Found the eggs and the skillet."
As they raised the rope over her head, they made a huge mistake not removing her guns. Her hands reached for her pistols, yanking the guns out as she shot the two at close range. The bang ricocheted through the small area with the look of surprise on her victims’ faces.
"Never underestimate a woman."
The third man, she whirled on and he stared at her, his eyes wide, his hands stretched high. "No, ma'am. Don't shoot me."
"Drop your guns in the dirt," she screamed. "Now. Don't give me a reason to pull this trigger."
He obeyed and she kicked them out of the way. "Why shouldn't I kill you," she said, walking around him, fear and anger charging through her. "You were going to check under my skirts and then kill me. You were being paid to end my life."
Why did it seem like this man wanted her to show him mercy when he had no plans on giving her any? Had they lived, they would’ve eaten the meal she’d prepared, raped and killed her. So why should she give him a second chance?
"Ma'am, I have a wife and two kids at home."
"And you think that makes me feel more lenient? That I won't kill you because of your family?" She leaned in close, but not too close. "What about my life? What about my family?"
"You don't have anyone," he said. "Leo told us you were barren."
Fury rolled like a tidal wave through her and she pulled the hammer back on her gun, her eyes filled with tears of rage. How dare Leo tell strangers her situation. The man started crying.
"You, ass, I want to kill you so badly, but you remember that I'm going to let you live. I'm going to haul your sorry butt to the sheriff where you're going to tell him that my husband hired you to kill me. Then if I ever see you again and you aren't obeying the law and being a good man, you'll be a dead one. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said, shaking.
Now at least, she would have a bounty on Leo. Now she would have a reason to kill him. Now no one could stop her. Seemed like his ploy to kill her had just backfired on him and brought about his own death.
"Put your hands behind your back," she said. "And don't try anything or you will be a dead man."
The man complied and she quickly reached down for the rope inside her boot and wrapped his wrists tightly. When she finished, she found the skillet and began to make a fire. After all this work, she was starving.
The idea crossed her mind that maybe she had apprehended her first bounties. Wouldn't Ruby be proud of how she handled herself today? Obviously, her training paid off.
Tomorrow she would stop in the next town and turn the bodies over to the sheriff and turn in her captured fugitive. Then she thought of Leo. Wouldn't he be surprised when he saw her again.
A noise in the brush had her pulling her gun, just as Jesse walked into the light of her fire. "What the hell, Dora?"
Part of
her was happy to see him. But the children...she didn't know if she could continue.
Jesse stared at the two bodies on the ground and the poor man sitting with his hands tied behind his back.
"What happened?"
"Leo hired these men to kill me," she said, throwing another log on the fire
As he gazed around at the scene, his heart stopped. What if he had ridden into her camp with the children and found her dead? Didn't Leo ever think about his kids and how seeing Dora killed would have affected their lives? Was the selfish man so intent on getting rid of his first wife, he thought nothing of the family he left behind?
Leaning down, he searched for a pulse on the two men. Dead. Shot in the heart; they died instantly. "How come he's still alive?"
"Roy, here was going through my saddle bags, giving me the opportunity to cook them a good meal before they checked out my lady parts, then they were going to shoot me. They never expected me to draw on them."
The poor fools had no idea what and who they were up against. The woman could out shoot most men, so they didn't stand a chance.
"What are you going to do with the bodies?" he asked.
How did he explain this to the children and did he want to? While he understood her shooting the men for trying to kill her, he wasn't used to having to deal with gunmen.
Jesse was just a poor carpenter who did a little farming on the side. Chasing after outlaws was not the type of life he expected or wanted, and for a woman, she seemed to be dealing with it exceptionally well.
"Well, since you're here, if you don't mind helping me put them up on the back of their horses. Tomorrow, I'm taking the bodies into town and I'm going to see if there is any bounty on them. If so, I plan to collect my very first reward."
Roy jerked and pulled at the ropes on his wrists. The man obviously had a price on his head, the way he kept trying to slink away into the night.
"Now, Roy, don't make me tie you up even more. Seems you didn't like the idea of being hauled into the sheriff," she smiled. "You got a bounty on your head."
The man didn't answer. "Looks like tomorrow is going to be payday for me."
Why did he find this whole situation kind of unnerving? What prompted her to leave this morning? Was it the fight with Grace, the most stubborn temperamental child he had ever encountered?
Gazing around the camp, he knew he needed answers. "Why did you ride off without us this morning?"
Her giddiness immediately changed and she sighed. "It's for the best, Jesse."
How could she think riding alone without him and the children was better than riding together? How could he go another day without her by his side? Today, along the road, he searched for her and then when he found her, fear spiraled through him. What if she had been killed?
"You're wrong," he said, his frustration escaping. "Ella told me you and Grace got into a disagreement. But I'm still not certain what sent you out on your own. It doesn't make sense. We were working together."
Or at least, he thought they were hunting Leo. Why did he get the feeling she wanted to go out on her own?
"It's your children," she said, her voice raising. "The baby who crawls up in my lap and says momma. Ella who is so sweet and is missing her mother so much and then there's Grace. She wants me gone because she fears I'm going to marry her uncle. Which I explained to her, I'm married. That pacified her, but I can't do this anymore."
There was something he didn't understand. She said she didn't like children and yet when she described his nieces and nephew it sounded like she cared about them.
"I thought you enjoyed being around them," he said.
"No, I can't enjoy being around them," she said, her voice rising, a stricken look on her face.
In amazement, he saw the tears swelling in her eyes as confusion overwhelmed him. What part of this didn't he understand?
The man sitting near the dead bodies suddenly spoke up. "She's barren."
Dora's head jerked up and before he could stop her, she pulled out her gun and shot close to the man's feet, the bullet sending up a shower of dirt and rocks. "Shut up. The next bullet will hit your heart."
Jesse's chest tightened with disappointment, aching in pain.
Now he understood why she didn't have any babies with Leo. Now he understood why she didn't like children. Now it all made sense and anguish consumed him. In the darkest corner of his mind, he hoped eventually she would accept him.
Not now, not until Leo was gone, but he wanted her, and yet, he longed for his own kids. A son who looked like him, a daughter who had her mother's features.
Dora could never give him what he wanted, and she had erected defenses to keep the children from getting too close to her. Only occasionally those walls would come down and one of the kids would get to her.
"Is this true?" he asked.
Tears welled in her blue eyes, glittering with pain. "Yes. I can't have babies."
Sinking down on the ground beside her, he tried to take her in his arms, but she pushed him away.
"Don't," she whispered. "Just go. Tonight, I'll sleep here. You and the children make camp somewhere else."
"Dora," he said, wanting to comfort her.
"Just go," she said. "Tomorrow, I'll be better. Tonight, I can't deal with the fact my husband hired these men to kill me and also your beautiful children. Give me some time."
Rising to his feet, Jesse sighed. This woman was more complex than any woman he ever met, and he admired her spunk, her fortitude, and her strength. And yet tonight, he'd seen a vulnerable side of her that left him reeling.
Some nights were easier than others. Last night had been gut wrenching with a stranger there to witness her despair. After she fired a gun at him, the man smartly remained quiet the rest of the night. This morning she found him curled in a ball on the ground sleeping, a sense of wrongdoing overcame her.
Maybe she acted a little heartless. If the outlaw had kept his mouth shut, she wouldn't need to explain to Jesse why she couldn't be around his children. Today, she would need Jesse’s help in getting the dead bodies and the man to the nearest town.
And Leo. Right now, an arrest warrant didn't matter. The fact he told these men she was barren ate at her like an ulcer. Nothing like letting the whole world know your business. In the predawn, she awoke with a clear head and a determined heart. Her soul burned with anger toward her husband.
When she turned the men in, Roy would corroborate her story that Leo hired them to kill her. Most of the time, the law didn't worry too much about women, so it might not matter. Even if the sheriff didn't care about her life, she would still make certain the jerk didn't live long.
The sound of Jesse riding into camp had her turning to him. This morning, she needed to act like nothing was wrong. That everything was fine. Last night, he'd seen her at her most vulnerable. Today, she would smile and pretend everything was peachy. Inside, her heart ached, on the outside, she would wear the brightest grin.
Now he knew her secret, her shame, her utmost desire.
"Good morning," she called, a smile in her voice.
Confusion radiated from his eyes as he gazed at her, searching her face, and she smiled to reassure him, though she still felt broken.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked.
Concern crossed his face. "Ella had another nightmare."
"Is she all right?"
"She wanted to come with me to see you. I told her no. Maybe later, if you would talk to her."
Pain gripped her chest. The child wanted her, but could she be close to her again?
Ella was quickly becoming her favorite. The little girl’s sweet innocence and tenderness wrapped its tentacles around her heart, and no matter what, she could not shake them loose. Yet when they parted, they would never see each other again, and she would be the one left hurting.
"Later, I'll talk to her," she said, her voice almost cracking.
"Are we riding together?" he asked.
What could she say? They neede
d one another at the moment, and soon, the children would be at his aunt’s. After they found Leo, she would walk away from Jesse and his family.
"Yes," she said with a sigh that she tried her best to make happy. "We need to get on the road."
"Let's load up the bodies on horses and we'll lead Roy on his horse. I’ll go back to camp and load up the children, then we’ll head into town.”
Stepping out of his saddle, he stood in front of her, gazing into her eyes and her lungs seized. Something drew her to Jesse. Something about this kind, honest man, and yet, she would be the worst person for him as he wanted his own family. An impossible request for her.
His fingers reached out and brushed a piece of her blonde hair back. "I am a stupid fool."
Stunned, she gazed at him. "Why?"
"After being married to Leo for five years, I should have known why you had no children. When you tried to tell me you didn't like children and I saw how much you cared about them, I should have known. So many clues right in front of me and I didn't realize the problem."
The anguish inside of her exploded, and she closed her eyes. His fingers lifted her chin and she opened her eyes as his lips came down on hers. It was a kiss that spoke of pain and suffering and healing. It was a kiss that promised forever. A promise that would never be delivered.
Yet, she enjoyed the feel of his mouth against hers, the way his heart raced as they touched. The smell of him this close. There was so much she liked about this man and she couldn't become involved with him.
Stepping back, breathing heavily, she shook her head. "We can't. I'm married. Besides, I will never be the woman for you."
He stepped toward her, his hand reached out to touch her and then dropped. "Let's just get through this. Afterward, we can talk about what happens next."
As he walked away, she sighed. No, they would never discuss what happened next because his dreams were just as important as hers. And he wanted something that would only break her heart and leave him disappointed. As soon as they captured Leo or killed him, she would be on her way.
Lipstick and Lead Series: The Complete Box Set With a Bonus Book Page 110
