Charlene Sands (20 page)

When Pearl sidestepped then made a half turn, probably after stepping on a large rock, Lily righted the horse with soft words and a pull up on the reins. Water splashed up onto Lily’s riding skirt, but she didn’t flinch. She turned to Tyler, who’d had his mouth open, about to bark a command. “I’m fine, Tyler,” she called before he could say one word.

“Well, who was asking?” he said, then cast her a big grin.

Lily cast him a generous smile. She didn’t know how much her sweet smiles affected him.

Once reaching the opposite side of the river, Tyler reined in Blaze. “Do you want to rest up a bit?”

Lily kept her horse at an even gait. “Not unless you do.”

“Then I guess we’ll keep going.”

Hours later, as the sun began its descent, Tyler slowed his horse. He whispered to Lily, “We’ve caught up to them.”

He directed Lily’s gaze to the large boulders off in the distance where smoke billowed up from the darkening sky. “Unless I miss my guess, they’ve settled down there for the night.”

Tyler dismounted then helped Lily down. They both took deep breaths of air, then set their gaze to the spot where Muldoon had Bethann.

“What’ll we do now?” Lily asked, biting her lip.

Tyler found an area of several tall, scattered shrubs where they could tie up the horses. Under the cover of darkness they wouldn’t be spotted. “You’re going to stay here and watch the horses. Keep them quiet. I’m going to get a closer look. If I can catch Muldoon off guard, I’ll make my move.”

“But—”

Lily’s slight protest fell on deaf ears. Tyler wasn’t going to debate the issue. “Do as I say. Keep the horses quiet and out of the way.”

Lily nodded.

“Okay, then.” He kissed her quickly, turning to leave. Then he stopped to look at her one last time. “I’ve got to know something.”

When Lily’s beautiful soft-eyed gaze fell on him, he asked, “I’d like to know if anything happens to me, well, since Bethann doesn’t have any other kin, would you—”

“Oh, yes. I’ll take her, Tyler. I love that little girl. But, Tyler…please, please, don’t let anything happen to you.”

“Don’t plan to, sweetheart.”

He took her in a sweeping, long kiss. Her lips warmed him to the very core and gave him the strength he needed to return to her. “I’ll be back soon.”

Lily paced, wringing out her hands, trying to keep hold of her sanity. Tyler had been gone almost an hour.
Patience, Lily, have patience.
She must have glanced in the direction of the campfire smoke one hundred times, hoping to hear or see something. But she couldn’t make out any figures in the darkness. The sky tonight was ominous and darker than usual. No big bright moon cast its light to illuminate the earth, instead a tiny pearl-like sliver shrouded with a grayish haze was barely discernible. There was a chill in the air. Lily donned the heavy slicker Wes saw fit to pack her, thanking him for his insight as the long canvas coat warmed her. Guiltily, she wondered if little Bethann was warm enough tonight.

Lily took two carrots out of her pack and fed the horses a treat. They’d been pushed hard today. She stroked Pearl’s long snout, earning a sweet-sounding whinny. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for Tyler and Bethann’s safe return.

Prairie dogs scrambled nearby, making a slight rustling sound as they burrowed into the ground, then the hoot of an owl made her jump. “Enough of this, Lily,” she said quietly. Her nerves were raw with worry. She couldn’t wait any longer. Tyler might very well need her help at this very moment.

Without a moment’s hesitation or remorse, Lily wrestled with Tyler’s pack and withdrew her gun. She welcomed the feel of cool metal against her hand as
she holstered the Colt .45. The long slicker she wore would hide the gun from Tyler’s immediate view. She’d deal with his wrath later, once all three of them were safely on their way back home.

T
yler watched his daughter sleep. Coiled like a snake and tucked safely into her bedroll near the fire, exhaustion marred her usually animated face. Tyler said a prayer of thanks at finding her. Bethann looked frazzled, but healthy.

Muldoon sat by the fire sipping at his coffee mug. Tyler wanted to pounce right now, but Bethann was too close by. Instead he waited and watched. Then, finally, Muldoon stood, stretched out his arms and glanced at the slumbering child. He left the camp, heading toward a rocky slope. Tyler followed him from a distance.

It was easier than he thought it’d be. Coming up from behind, Tyler jabbed his gun into Muldoon’s back. “Hands up and turn around.” He kept his fingers tight on the trigger.

Muldoon made a slow turn, raising his arms in the air. “How many lives do you have, Kincaide?”

“Just one, no thanks to you.”

Muldoon’s wry laugh resounded against the wall of the rocks. “You should’ve died out on the range that day.”

“Your aim wasn’t that good.”

“You’re one lucky son of a—”

“Shut up and move.” Tyler poked the gun into Muldoon’s chest and pushed him toward camp, restraining his trigger finger from ending the man’s life right here and now. “Two attempted murders and a kidnapping ought to put you away for a long time, if you’re lucky. Otherwise, you might see the end of a rope. Good thing for you my daughter appears to be fine.”

“I’d never hurt that little one,” Muldoon growled adamantly, his mouth twisting. With eyes wild and dazed, the man had a deranged look about him.

Tyler gritted his teeth and spoke with tightly controlled anger. “Setting the ranch house on fire, trying to kill the people who love her, wouldn’t
hurt
her? That’s sick, Muldoon, real sick.”

“You killed her mother,” Muldoon ranted. “Lizabeth would’ve been alive today if it weren’t for you. As soon as Bethann understood that, she would have forgiven me for taking her.”

“You’re crazy. And I’m through taking the blame for Lizabeth’s death. She chose to marry me. What happened to her, I’ll never forget and I deeply regret, but I can finally see that her death was an unfortunate accident.”

Just steps away from the billowing smoke of the campfire, Tyler stopped up short. He blinked back his stunned surprise and his heart hammered with dread.

“Lookee what I found, boss.” A sardonic smile curled the corners of Jack McGee’s mouth as Lily struggled in his arms. He had one hand around her waist, the other pointing a gun to her head. His beady eyes
gleamed with pure hatred when he directed his attention to Tyler. “Seems I found myself a woman.”

Lily’s gaze skittered until it rested on Tyler’s. Her expression was one of deep apology.

“Drop the gun, Kincaide.”

When Tyler hesitated, stalling for time enough to think of a plan, McGee jammed the barrel of his gun to Lily’s temple. Tyler opened his fist and the gun fell to the ground. He couldn’t chance it.

McGee laughed. Muldoon grabbed the gun from the ground. “Good work, Jack. It’s about time you showed up. Funny thing,” he said to Tyler, “how my friend here, has such a dislike for you. Right, Jack?”

“Right, boss. I been following behind just like you asked, when I came upon this pretty little thing.” His wide arms squeezed Lily’s waist tight, bringing her up closer. She put up a valiant struggle, kicking and squirming, but McGee was too powerful to let it faze him.

“Let her go, McGee,” Tyler said with warning in his voice. With great restraint he held himself back. An impulsive move would get them all killed, but he hated like hell seeing that man put his hands on Lily.

“Not even close, Kincaide.” He skimmed the tip of his gun along Lily’s throat. Tyler winced inwardly. Then amid Lily’s movements, he caught sight of a flash of metal from underneath her slicker. A gun. Tyler’s gaze held Lily’s for the slightest second in time. She blinked in understanding.

A quick glance at Bethann’s sleeping form twenty feet away told him the commotion thus far hadn’t woken her. She’d always slept heavily. Tyler didn’t want Muldoon to have any more leverage when he made his move.

Muldoon looked over at Lily with scorn. “Sorry, but you had your chance. Now you’re going to pay for knowing Kincaide here.” He gave McGee a nod. “Take them both out by the rocks. That canyon is mighty steep. Nobody will ever find them. You know what to do.”

Muldoon shoved Tyler forward. He made another quick glance at Bethann who was thankfully still sleeping. He’d make his move once his daughter was out of sight. But he couldn’t wait too much longer.

“Kincaide goes first. I have me some big plans for the lady here,” McGee said with disgusting glee. Tyler cautioned Lily with his eyes. She stopped squirming and settled down. McGee reflectively loosened his grip on her.

Muldoon stayed in the circle of the campfire but motioned Tyler to walk straight ahead until he was standing next to Lily. He turned to face her. “I’m sorry, Lily,” he said, reaching out his hand to stroke her face. McGee attempted to pull her away, but Tyler’s quick reflexes had his other hand drawing Lily’s gun out of her holster. Surprise was on his side. Lily jerked herself out of McGee’s arms. With one shot, McGee went down.

But Muldoon had witnessed the whole scene and before Tyler could shift positions to take aim, Muldoon fired his gun.

“No!” Lily screamed. She threw herself in front of Tyler. Before he could shove her to safety, the bullet met its mark and Lily slumped to the ground. Horrified, Tyler stared at Lily’s limp body, then without another wasted breath he shot Muldoon in the hand. Metal flew as his gun flipped into the air and landed with a heavy thud next to Bethann.

Muldoon immediately clasped his bleeding hand and let out a loud bellow of pain. He dropped to his knees, clutching his hand, cursing. Tyler itched to pull the trigger again. His brain warred with his heart. He wanted to see that man dead for what he’d done to Bethann and to Lily. He aimed the gun at the man’s head.

“Papa!” Bethann’s startled cry rang out. She ran into Tyler’s arms and sobbed. He kept his gun trained on Muldoon, brought back to his senses by his young daughter. The man would live to go to trial. A jury would decide his fate. He hugged Bethann tight. “Papa… M-Miss Lily’s…hurt.”

“I know darlin’,” he said to his grieving daughter. He made short work of tying up Muldoon, then ran over to Lily. He bent by her side. “Lily.” He tapped her face. With a quick perusal of her injury, he determined the bullet went clear through her upper arm. She was bleeding from both sides. And she’d lost a lot of blood already.

“Lily, dear God, wake up. Bethann, quick, get me some water from a canteen.”

“Is she gonna die, Papa?”

“Not if I can help it,” he said, reassuring his child. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to not let guilt seep in. He needed to concentrate. There’d be time enough later to blame himself for almost losing Lily. Tyler ripped off part of his shirt and managed to swab at the blood. Then he tightly tied a long strip of cloth to her wound.

Bethann handed him the canteen. He let a few drops of water drizzle onto her parted lips. Tyler crouched down and put her head in his lap. Then he gestured for Bethann. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Bethann kneeled by Lily’s side. Her teary face tore at his heart. “Are you okay?”

His courageous daughter nodded. “Papa, Miss Lily—”

“I think she’s going to be fine. We’ll rest with her here until she wakes up.” Tyler prayed Lily would recover. Right now, she was pale and lifeless.

“I’m proud of you, darlin’. You’ve been very brave.”

“I didn’t want to go with… Uncle Brett. He s-said you w-wanted me to see where he l-lived,” she said between soft sobs. “I didn’t believe him, Papa. But he took me away anyhows.”

Tyler hugged his daughter to his side and kissed the top of her head. She was precious to him. In one horrible night, he’d almost lost the two people in the world that meant the most to him. The thought of losing either one of them made him shudder.

“He was wrong, Bethann, and he’ll pay for taking you. Nobody will ever take you away again. You belong on the ranch with me.”

Bethann smiled and glanced down at Lily. “That’s right, Papa. You, me and Miss Lily.”

Tyler stroked his daughter’s hair. Dear heaven, Bethann wanted Lily to stay on at the ranch. Tyler, too, wanted Lily. As soon as he saw that bullet hit its mark, he realized how much he cared for her, how much she meant to him. Tyler couldn’t take another loss. He was a strong man, having overcome a great deal of hardship in his life, but he couldn’t survive losing Lily.

Damn it, she’d been hurt because of him. Just like Lizabeth. How could he selfishly ask Lily to stay on?
He’d been right all along not to open his heart to her. He’d been right not to allow love in.

But you do love her.

With a sorrowful sigh, Tyler retreated emotionally. Yes, he may love her, but she’ll never know. He’d not tell her. She deserved more than the hard life he could offer her on the ranch. Gazing down at Lily’s lovely face, unconscious to the world, soaked in blood, Tyler’s gut twisted. He was dying a slow agonizing death seeing her suffer so. She’d be better off without him. When she found her uncle, they would have to say goodbye. It would cost he and Bethann their happiness.

But that was the way it had to be.

Smoke filled her nostrils and Lily immediately woke in a panic. She thrashed her head, opening her eyes, recalling the last time she’d woken up to that smell. Thoughts of last night registered slowly. Images she’d like to put away forever flashed before her eyes. But dawning knowledge filtered in and Lily breathed a sigh of relief. The nightmare was over, the real danger passed. Bethann was safe. Soon they would all be home.

Home.

Lily smiled. She was weak, exhausted really, from losing a great deal of blood, and her arm ached terribly, but she’d never been happier in her life. She loved Tyler, had loved him a very long time and now they had a real chance at happiness.

The rising sun overhead was a glorious sight. She lay in her blanket and glanced at Tyler making breakfast by the fire. She tried lifting up but the pain in her
arm stabbed like a knife. She sunk back down into her blankets.

“You all right?” she heard Tyler call. He was by her side instantly, his face deep with concern.

She lifted her good hand to his cheek and stroked his solid jaw with her fingertips. “I’m fine.”

He shook his head. “You’ve got to rest, honey.”

“I’m resting. You won’t let me do anything
but
rest.”

Tyler winced when he looked at her arm. The bandage he’d applied last night had soaked through again. “I’ve got to change the bandage.”

Lily noticed deep lines around his eyes. “Tyler, you look tired. I bet you didn’t get a wink of sleep last night.” Each time Lily woke from the pain last night, Tyler had been by her side, lending comfort, soothing her with soft words. He’d checked the bandage several times during the night, changing it when the blood had soaked through.

Lily would have had a fitful night, if it hadn’t been for Tyler. Just knowing he was there and that he cared had made all the difference. Finally, late into the night, Lily had fallen asleep sandwiched between Bethann and Tyler.

“Don’t go worrying about me, Lily. I’m not the one injured this time.”

“But you don’t have to dote on me. You’ve got to get some sleep. I promise to be good today. It’s not like I can dance a polka or anything.”

He heaved a big sigh. His face masked an emotion Lily didn’t want to acknowledge. Guilt. Tyler felt guilty for her becoming injured. It wasn’t his fault, she wanted to scream. But she knew the feeling ate at him, like a boll weevil attacking cotton.

“Sorry if it hurts, but I’ve got to keep the wound clean.” He unwound the strip of cloth he’d used as a bandage, taking his time, glancing up at her as if making sure she could deal with the pain. She bit her lip and didn’t make a fuss. She’d not let him see how much her arm really did hurt. Lily was tough. She’d take any amount of pain if it eased his suffering.

And she knew he was suffering. His smiles were brief, his eyes filled with regret. How could she tell him she didn’t blame him for any of this? It had been her choice to come trailing after him. She’d made the decision. How could she not? Both the people she loved dearly in this world had been in danger.

Tyler poured water over her wound from the canteen. Lily sucked in her breath. She managed to ward off a burning ache to smile up at him. “When will we head home?”

“Soon as you’re strong enough to ride.” With diligence, Tyler began to wind another clean piece of cloth around her arm, making sure to not secure it too tightly.

“I told you I’m fine.”

He scoffed, giving her a disgruntled look. “You’re weaker than a baby bird with clipped wings.”

“I can ride.”

“No. Not today.” He finished the bandage off with a knot, then picked up the used bandage, wrapping it into a ball. He glanced at her arm again, shaking his head. “Maybe I should have sent you off with the sheriff and his deputies. They’d have gotten you to a doctor by now.”

“I didn’t want to go with them.” Lily could be stubborn, too, if the need arose. Last night, after the shooting, Sheriff Singleton had ridden up with two of
his men. They’d been tracking Muldoon and come upon the scene shortly after Lily had been shot. McGee’s body had been carted away and Muldoon was promised a long stretch of prison time. Lily didn’t want to be in his company any longer than necessary. Besides, her place was with Tyler and Bethann now.

“We’re staying here, at least for one more day. Tomorrow, if I think you’re ready, we’ll head on out.”

There was no arguing with Tyler when he took that tone. But as long as they were together, Lily wouldn’t complain.

“So what smells so good? My stomach’s doing flips, Tyler. It’s got to be better than stale biscuits.”

“The sheriff left us some supplies. Bacon and coffee. It’s not elegant dining, honey.”

“But it sure smells wonderful. Seems you can cook, after all,” she teased.