Carol Finch (19 page)

What was left of his heart was going to shrivel up and die if he found Lori sprawled in a pool of her own blood.

Grimly, he raced around the corner to see Glenn and Reece down on their knees, huddled around a body. Gideon sagged in relief when he realized Clive lay unmoving. Two coffee cups and a peach pie sat on the table.

“No gunshot wounds,” Reece reported as he stared at Clive. “He’s still breathing.” He glanced at the food and drinks on the table. “My guess is the widow drugged Clive
rather than poisoning him. She put him out of commission so he couldn’t protect Lori.”

Bleak, silver-gray eyes settled on Gideon. He knew Reece was reliving the awful incident that had taken his fiancée’s life and left him wandering like a lost soul for a year. Gideon was beginning to understand all too well how it felt to suffer all the torments of the newly damned. Not knowing Lori’s fate was like standing in hell’s hottest bonfire with no relief in sight.

“She’s not upstairs,” Gideon said bleakly. “Glenn, check the cellar.”

Nodding somberly, Glenn descended the stone steps. He returned a moment later. “She isn’t there, either.”

Gideon half collapsed in relief. “Maggie must have dragged Lori away in the wagon.”

Glenn frowned, “How can a woman drag a body away and load it on a wagon?”

“Ramps,” Gideon replied then turned to see the discarded rug lying by the front door. “She probably used the rug to pull Lori across the wooden floor and up the ramp. I noticed ramps in the wagon bed yesterday while I was snooping around the stage station searching for clues.”

Reese rose to his feet to fetch a cup of water, then dribbled it on Clive’s face. The man didn’t move a muscle. “He might be sedated for hours. Lori doesn’t have time to spare. We can’t wait for Clive to regain consciousness.”

“He might not know what happened to Lori,” Gideon muttered. “So much for leaving the ex-lieutenant colonel on guard against a sneaky, deceptive bitch like Maggie.”

Wheeling around, Gideon made a beeline toward the door. He noticed the tracks from the wagon she’d parked near the front steps. Wherever Maggie was, with Lori in tow, she was using the wagon, not the canoe…unless she had a second one tied up nearby.

The unnerving thought that Maggie might consider letting Lori sleep with the fishes had Gideon spewing one foul epithet after another. A child of the bayous probably had all sorts of experience with disposing of unwanted objects in places where they would be difficult to recover.

Gideon bounded into the saddle to follow the tracks that veered into the weeds and underbrush. He prayed to white and Indian deities alike as he raced off, hoping he’d find Lori before Maggie disposed of her.

The dreadful thought nearly shattered his composure. If he couldn’t gaze into those entrancing golden eyes, embedded in that beguiling face surrounded with flaming hair, he wasn’t sure he’d survive—or have a reason to.

He thought again of Reece McCree battling his private demons. Gideon knew without question that he’d be carrying around a passel of his own demons if he failed to rescue Lori.

“Kill
me?
” Lori stared blankly at Maggie as she sat upright on the ground.
“Why?”

“Because you made Tony fall in love with you,” she sneered angrily. “You lured him away from me after
I
went to the trouble of planning the pretense of an affair for him so we could cast suspicion away from
us.
”

Lori gaped at Maggie. “You were the woman Tony was seeing? Not one of the women from the Boomer camp? You were cheating on your husband?”

“Yes, and the old goat never suspected a thing. I was cautious when Tony and I sneaked off in the canoe.”

Maggie gnashed her teeth as she glared disdainfully at Lori. “I wanted Tony to dispose of Hub so we could leave this place, but he refused to do the deed. I had to take care of it myself.”

Lori swallowed uneasily as she discreetly surveyed her
surroundings beside the swift-flowing river. “You killed Hub?”

“Well,
someone
had to do it,” she said peevishly. “Tony was my ticket out of here. If I was going to keep the money from the sale of the ranch and stage station, then Hub had to go, didn’t he?”

“And Tony approved the idea?”

“No, his conscience kept getting in his way,” Maggie said, and scowled.

Thank God for that, Lori mused as she studied the odd gleam flickering in Maggie’s dark eyes. She swore the widow was losing touch with sanity, for she kept pacing about, tossing her head and muttering to herself at irregular intervals. Lori didn’t know what else to do but keep the crazed widow talking until she figured out how to extricate herself from this potentially deadly ordeal.

“I can see what you mean,” Lori said as calmly as she knew how. “You can’t depend on men to do what you want.”

Maggie whirled around. “You have to
manipulate
them,” she insisted. “I swore years ago that I was going to escape from my family’s poverty. I married Hub so I’d have money for the first time in my life.”

Lori realized that Maggie had become obsessed with money.

It was the only god she worshipped religiously.

“Even if Hub was sixteen years older, he was my
escape
and I took it. Then I met Tony and decided he would suit my purpose. I seduced him and I told him to court you publicly so no one would suspect we were lovers.

“When Tony refused to help me dispose of my unwanted husband, I drugged Hub before he went to check cattle. He toppled off his horse, hit his head and that was the end of it.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that Lori inwardly grimaced. Killing had become second nature to Maggie. Her twisted code of ethics refused to allow anyone to interfere with her self-serving schemes.

“So you invented the story about Hub falling to his death while chasing off cattle rustlers,” Lori presumed.

Maggie jerked up her head and smirked loftily. “Who was going to contest my story? Certainly not Tony. He was suspicious of the accident but he said nothing.” Her expression turned vicious and her eyes glittered dangerously. “But you lured him in and used your younger body to entice him, didn’t you? After all I went through to control him,
you
foiled my plans.”

Now Lori understood the baffling comments Tony had made that fateful night.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen. I want you to come away with me so we can make a clean break and fresh start,”
he’d said.

Lori thought the law was after him and he needed to take a new name, a new identity and make a quick escape. But it wasn’t a lawman who was breathing down his neck, making him uneasy. It was a ruthless madwoman who had murdered her husband. And when she accidentally shot Tony, Maggie had rushed in to point an accusing finger at Lori.

Maggie went back to her rapid pacing. “Everything would have been fine if Sonny and Teddy weren’t such bungling morons or if I hadn’t missed when I scrambled into the canoe to circle around so I could take another shot at you while you were riding east that night.” She glared accusingly at Lori. “Then you came back, dragging that Deputy U.S. Marshal into this. You worked your wiles on him, just like you did on Tony.”

Lori wondered if Tony had been using Maggie for convenient sex or if he had once fancied himself in love with her.
When he realized she was a scheming lunatic, he probably tried to distance himself from her but she’d murdered her husband and Tony expected to be next if he crossed her.

It was a shame Tony hadn’t hightailed it off to ask for his stepbrother’s assistance. Either that or he should have run for his life without waiting to ask Lori to leave with him!

“I tried to dispose of the pesky marshal, but my gunshot missed its mark,” Maggie muttered irritably.

Lori was eternally grateful Maggie wasn’t a crack shot. Otherwise, Gideon would’ve suffered the same fate as Tony.

Maggie halted and cackled fiendishly. “But I fooled him, as well as that annoying bounty hunter who refused to succumb to my charm. I fooled your father, as well. The situation worked out perfectly. I had an excuse to appear at the trading post to make peace with Clive and no one is the wiser. Now I’ll make it look like you took off on your own, just as you did after Tony died.”

Suddenly Maggie swooped down to grab the rope to Lori’s ankles then dragged her toward the river. Lori tried to latch on to striplings with her bound hands, but Maggie cursed her violently then kicked at her wrists until the excruciating pain forced Lori to recoil. “
I
was the woman that men looked at and coveted around here until
you
came of age,” she said, huffing and puffing for breath. “But you began turning heads, damn you. Then you used your body to steal Tony. For that, you’re going to die, Lorelei. I’ll board a stage, toting the money I’ve tucked away for safekeeping the past six years. I’ll quit this place for good and I’ll have my revenge on you for taking Tony away while I was still using him!”

Maggie gave another tug on the ropes to drag her captive closer to the river. Fear rose inside Lori like a tidal
wave when she saw the canoe tied to a tree. When Maggie propped her upright, Lori tried to hop away. She ducked when Maggie, who commenced screeching like a banshee, tried to whack her skull with the butt of a pistol. The blow grazed her head, dazing her and making her lose her balance.

Maggie rammed her broadside, launching her into the canoe. It was impossible to crawl out before the crazed woman shoved the canoe into the river’s swift current.

“Fare-thee-well, once and for all,” Maggie cackled triumphantly as she used both hands to steady the pistol she aimed at Lori’s head.

The weapon exploded and Lori’s life flashed before her eyes.

G
ideon heard the gunshot in the distance. He prided himself in being cool under pressure and he didn’t scare easily. But he was
terrified
now. His heart ceased beating for several vital seconds. He couldn’t draw breath. No matter how hard he pushed Pirate he felt as if he were moving in slow motion.

The prospect of arriving too late to save Lori crushed his fighting spirit as nothing ever had. All that kept him going was his fierce determination to make sure the vindictive widow paid her dues—and
he
was a man who meted out consequences. Especially now, he vowed vengefully.

“Maggie!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping to distract her from taking another shot—just in case there was the slightest hope Lori had survived.

He thundered through the underbrush toward the sound of gunfire. When Gideon spotted Maggie braced to fire off another shot at the sinking canoe being swept into the swift current, he headed directly toward her. Maggie shrieked in furious outrage when Gideon jerked his foot from the
stirrup to kick her in the shoulder. She spun like a top, causing her shot to strike the bow of the canoe.

Gouging Pirate in the flanks, Gideon rode into the water, bellowing Lori’s name as he tried to catch up with the fast-moving canoe. Behind him, he heard Maggie railing in demented fury. Then another shot whistled through the air, missing him by mere inches.

Gideon heard Glenn and Reece cursing loudly. He glanced back momentarily, glad to see they had run Maggie down and subdued her. He focused his full concentration on reaching the sinking vessel and the tangle of red-gold hair barely visible in the rising water.

Frantic, Gideon swam Pirate to the spot where the canoe went down. He dived into the water, groping desperately to locate Lori. When his foot struck something below him, he submerged to latch on to the motionless body. He’d have screamed in fury if he could—without swallowing a few gallons of water.

Fearing the worst, Gideon yanked Lori upward and struggled to grab a breath as he towed her toward Pirate.

Pirate reached the bank, with Gideon holding Lori close while hanging onto the stirrup.

“Give her to me,” Glenn demanded urgently, then pulled Lori’s lifeless body from Gideon’s arms.

Gideon was reluctant to let go, not knowing if Lori was dead or alive. But Glenn was insistent. Gideon cringed as he stared at her blue-tinged face and bloodless lips.

The sight of Lori—who usually teemed with spunk and spirit—lying as still as death was enough to provoke Gideon to spew every curse word he knew in one breath and pray for all he was worth with the next.

As Glenn laid Lori on the ground to force water from her lungs, Gideon struggled to his feet. The depressing
thought that he’d arrived too late to save Lori tormented him to extremes.

He’d never see those glorious golden eyes twinkling with impish mischief again. He’d never feel the touch of her hand, her lips or her body. He’d never be able to tell her that he was sorry for the misery he’d caused her, sorry he’d taken so long to believe her story, sorry for treating her like a convicted prisoner.

She’d never know she’d burrowed into his heart when he’d tried so hard not to let it happen. She’d never know her memory would haunt him for all eternity and he’d never forget her.

His bleak thoughts trailed off when Glenn’s persistent ministrations produced results. His little brother whacked Lori between the shoulder blades repeatedly until she coughed and sputtered for breath.

Hope rose inside him and he prayed he’d have a second chance to make it up to Lori. He dropped down on his knees beside Lori, then swore mightily when he noticed the blood seeping from a wound on the side of her head.

It was no more than a flesh wound. But still…

Gideon twisted sideways to glare murderously at Maggie who was still screeching and flailing against the handcuffs Reece had clamped around her wrists.

“Put a gag on that crazed bitch,” he ordered sharply.

“My pleasure.” Reece grabbed his kerchief and tied it around the lower half of Maggie’s face.

Gideon focused his full attention on Lori then pulled her into his arms. He didn’t care if Glenn witnessed the kiss he placed on her colorless lips. Gideon had nearly lost the only woman who ever mattered to him.

By damn, he was going to savor every precious moment—until Clive woke up and ordered Gideon to keep his hands to himself.

“Am I dead?” Lori wheezed without opening her eyes.

“You were, but you’re better now,” he murmured against her cheek.

He swore he’d never forget the moment when her thick lashes fluttered up and he stared into those captivating amber eyes. His life—one that had meant nothing when he thought she’d drowned—began to matter again.
She
made his existence worthwhile.
She
had become his reason for being.

“There’s something I have to tell you,” she said hoarsely. “Maggie was Tony’s secret lover. She was trying to kill me, not Tony, because she thought I was going to steal him away from her….” Her voice fizzled and she passed out again.

“I’ll be damned,” Gideon mumbled in astonishment.

“You would’ve been if you hadn’t gotten to Lori when you did,” Reece murmured as he dumped Maggie into the wagon bed and secured her. “Another minute would have been too late.”

Gideon nodded grimly then looked over at Glenn, who was watching him closely. “I’m the wrong kind of brother,” Gideon admitted. “I don’t want to give her up, even though I know you want her for yourself.”

Glenn grinned wryly as he reached out to trace the curve of Lori’s lips. “I must admit she intrigues me, but we knew she was meant for you, even if you couldn’t see it for yourself.”

Gideon blinked, bemused.
“We?”

Glenn chuckled in wicked amusement. “Galen, Sarah and I set you up. Sarah gave you a sleeping potion the night I took Lori with me so I could have a head start. Naturally, you came charging after us because you didn’t want to let her go. Of course, you hadn’t figured that out yet, which is why we had to give you a nudge in the right direction.”

While Reece snickered, Gideon stared at his little brother in consternation. “You plotted against me? The
three
of you? This is how you repay me for all I’ve done for you the past dozen years?”

Glenn nodded his dark head. “Yep, we returned the favor. You’re welcome, by the way.” He leaned close to add, “Galen swore me to secrecy, in case things didn’t work out. Luckily they did, though.”

Gideon rolled his eyes in disbelief as Glenn bounded onto the seat so Gideon could hand Lori off to him. Maybe his family wasn’t a pain in the ass, after all. Obviously, they knew what he needed better than he knew himself.

Lori woke up, unsure how long she’d been asleep. Her mind was fuzzy and she had a bad taste in her mouth. She strongly suspected Gideon had used Maggie’s technique of doctoring food to knock her out and keep her in bed.

When she mustered the energy to sit up, she noticed it was dark outside. Rising, she paused to steady herself, then glanced in the mirror. Her reflection would have spooked a ghost! Her hair lay in corkscrew curls, her eyes were hollow, her lips colorless, and someone had placed a bandage on the side of her head.

She was lucky to be alive and she knew it. Maggie Burgess was a brilliant schemer but she was a lousy shot. She hadn’t managed to blow Lori’s head off before she sank the canoe.

Depression nearly overwhelmed Lori as she walked down the hall. Gideon, Glenn and Reece might be long gone by now. She wouldn’t have the chance to thank any of them for resolving the murder case and saving her from catastrophe. Heavens, they might not even know Maggie had arranged Hubert Burgess’s death to clear the way for
her plans to sell the ranch and take Tony with her, whether he truly wanted to go or not.

Whatever the case, Maggie had used her wicked charms on Tony and he probably regretted getting mixed up with her. For sure and certain, Maggie had been the death of him.

“Lori! You aren’t supposed to be out of bed!”

She glanced down the staircase, relieved to see her father up and about. “You should be lying down yourself. Maggie fed you a strong dose of laudanum, after all.”

He shook his head in dismay. “I’ve never been so humiliated. The woman fooled me completely. I had to apologize to your marshal after Reece and Glenn informed me that Gideon had saved your life when I failed to protect you.”

Lori glanced around the store. “Where are they? Did they leave with their prisoner?”

“No, they’re waiting until tomorrow morning. They hurried off to man the stage station and serve food to incoming passengers.” He grinned. “I don’t know which of them plans to do the cooking. That should be interesting. I’d like to see those three men wearing aprons and serving meals.”

“I expect all of them can handle kitchen patrol,” she contended. “They are exceptionally self-reliant men.”

“Warriors one and all,” her father admitted reluctantly. “But I am
not
pleased that Gideon brought you here unchaperoned and I still don’t know if he acted the perfect gentleman.”

We are back to that again,
she mused as she veered around her father to grab something to eat that didn’t have laudanum in it. “You need to know that I feel the same way about Gideon that you felt about Mama,” she confided.

“You can have your pick of suitors,” her father insisted. “Find one who can put down roots in one place.”

“If it isn’t Gideon then it will be no one,” she said uncompromisingly. “I’m not settling for less than the best.”

“So it’s him or no man at all?” her father grumbled. “Dear God, girl, you are just like me. If I couldn’t have your mother I preferred to live alone.” He studied her closely. “If that’s how you feel then I need to have a talk with Gideon.”

“No one is going to force him to do anything he doesn’t want to do.” She scooped up a bowl of ham and beans then plunked down at the table. “So please stay out of this, Papa.”

He blew out his breath. “Fine, but—”

His voice fizzled out when Gideon and company strode into the store. She wondered if he could hear her heart breaking. He’d be gone by daylight and she’d never see him again.

And she didn’t think she could feel worse.

“Did you send off the stage and feed the passengers without a hitch?” she asked before she munched on her meal.

Gideon nodded his raven head. “They left with fresh horses attached to the coach and full stomachs.”

“I don’t know what’s to become of the stage station,” her father mused aloud. “I suppose we could take over the business if we can hire reliable help.”

“I sent a note to the stage company,” Gideon reported. “They will send replacements immediately.”

Lori glanced up to see Gideon staring somberly at her. Then he said, “I’d like to speak privately with you, Lorelei.”

She knew by his formal tone that she was about to hear his final fare-thee-well. Lori followed him outside while her father set out food for the other two men.

“My father said you went to extra lengths to save my
life,” she murmured as they walked a good distance from the trading post. “Thank you, Gideon. I will always be indebted to you.”

She frowned as she watched him halt then pivot to pace restlessly in front of her. She couldn’t recall seeing him so ill at ease. He paused to glance at her then shifted from one booted foot to the other. He stared at the air over her head, blew out a breath and began pacing again.

After watching him for another minute, she muttered impatiently. “Just spit it out. I’ve never known you to beat around proverbial bushes. Honestly, you are the most straightforward man I know. At least you
were
until tonight.”

He halted and dragged in an enormous breath that made his chest swell until it looked as if it might pop. “First off, I want to apologize for ever doubting you and for treating you discourteously. I thoroughly regret being a cynic.”

She smiled in satisfaction. “Thank you. Considering Maggie’s scheming efforts to see me arrested and hanged in a flaming rush, I concede the evidence was stacked against me.”

He took a step closer to trail his forefinger over her cheek and trace the curve of her lips. His tender touch nearly broke her heart because he was leaving and she couldn’t imagine how she’d survive without him now that she’d fallen so hopelessly in love.

“You scared the living hell out of me during those tormenting minutes while I hurried to find you underwater. I tried to bargain with every white and Indian deity, vowing I’d do anything, if only I could rescue you.” He stared solemnly at her. “But the one thing I can’t do is give you up, Lori.”

She blinked in astonishment when he went down on bended knee. “No!” she croaked in terror then glanced
every which way. “Get up, Gideon, before someone shoots you!”

“Someone like your father?” he said, chuckling.

“The last man who proposed to me died.” She tugged on his arm but she couldn’t haul him to his feet. “I love you too much to lose you—”

She slammed her mouth shut when the words flew from her lips in a rush.

Gideon grinned, his blue eyes sparkling with satisfaction and relief. He remained on bended knee, despite her attempt to pull him up. “Say you love me again, hellion,” he insisted.

“You love me,” she replied mischievously.

“You’re right, sweetheart. I
do
love you,” he assured her softly, sincerely. “I promised myself years ago that I’d be extra cautious about women. Dealing with Maggie was another reminder. Not to mention dealing with the vicious, deceitful man who destroyed my mother’s life and her children’s, as well. I learned not to trust anyone but my family. I convinced myself emotions were misleading and disastrous. But my feelings for you keep growing stronger. Every time I look at you, I wonder how I can possibly survive without you.”

Gideon dragged in a hasty breath. Before he lost his nerve he blurted out, “Marry me, Lorelei. Come to Fort Smith with me for the official ceremony. Then we’ll build our home on my family’s ranch. I’ll return to the Osage Police force so I won’t be away from you for long periods of time.”