Cherished (45 page)

Funny, he didn’t mind it as much as he’d have
thought.

“If you boys had any sense, you’d see right
off that I’d make a terrible husband,” he returned flatly. “I’m not
exactly a family man ...”

“You could be if you had your own family.
Damn it, you
would
be if you married Juliana. We’d make
damn sure of that,” Tommy growled.

A laugh choked in Cole’s throat. Cocky
youngster. These Montgomerys had spunk. And gall. He thought of
Juliana stealing his horse. And his gun. And demanding that he not
shoot that bear.

Suddenly, something lifted inside him. Why
not? Why the hell not? McCray was dead. The immediate danger was
over for good. Marrying Juliana would certainly protect her from
John Breen. Once he went to Colorado and dealt with Breen—as
Juliana’s husband—the man would have to back down. Maybe it could
even be accomplished without bloodshed. No other bounty hunter
would dare try to get to her if they knew she was Cole’s wife.

As his wife, Juliana would be safe. But would
she be happy? Did he really have it in his power to live a steady,
regular life, to break old lonesome habits and carve out a piece of
happiness with a woman, a home, perhaps even a child?

Not just any woman, he reminded himself.
Juliana.

“Maybe you’d rather see her marry Keedy. He’d
jump at the chance, I can tell you that.”

These words produced such a flood of fury
inside Cole that for a moment he couldn’t even breathe. But the
picture they conjured up—of Juliana living with Keedy, kissing him,
cooking for him, sleeping with him, were like ice water being
dumped on Cole’s head. Suddenly, deep within his heart, he knew
that he could never let her marry another man. He could never let
her go at all. There wouldn’t be any kind of life without her. Even
today, fighting McCray, he’d scarcely been able to keep his mind on
the job at hand. His thoughts had kept straying to where she was,
what she was doing, wearing, thinking. He needed her, the way the
earth needed rain, and the growing things needed sun. He needed her
beside him every night and every morning, and he decided—filled
with a sudden joyful determination that seemed to cast off the
shackles of uncertainty he’d been struggling under for days—that
he’d make damned sure she needed him just as bad. She’d had her
chance to get away—and she’d only come back to him in the gully,
asking for more. Begging.

Well, she’d never have to beg again. The
decision came clearly to him then, answering the longings of his
heart. He’d love her and protect her until the end of their days,
whether she liked it or not.

Cole grinned to himself. Something told him
she’d like it just fine.

Wade and Tommy were still looking at him,
waiting for some kind of answer. They probably thought he was
loco.

He was. Loco with happiness.

One glance at the two-story adobe ranch house
outlined against the sapphire sky sealed his determination.

Come live with me and be my
love
.

He had to say those words to her and soon, or
he would burst.

“Got to do some riding, fellows. Got to see a
lady about a wedding.”

He couldn’t believe he was saying those
words, but they poured from his throat sweet as molasses.

“You do that,” Tommy shouted after him as
Cole hurried off to mount Arrow. “Tell her I’ve got a hankering to
spoil me a little niece or nephew, so she’d better say yes.”

Wade signaled Yancy to get started, and
smiled at his brother as the wagon started off toward town.

“I thought for a minute we’d have to lasso
him and drag him to Juliana like a bawling calf,” he called after
the two injured men.

“Naw,” Tommy shouted back, “he’s just as loco
in love as she is—only scared of it. I felt the same way a hundred
times.”

Why doesn’t that reassure me?
Wade
groaned to himself as he climbed into the seat of the wagon loaded
with bodies. But then Rawdon was a very different man from his
little brother. Tough, experienced, with enough years of being
alone to appreciate the loving adoration of a beautiful woman. He
wouldn’t take Juliana’s love for granted. And when he set his mind
to something, Wade suspected, he never once swerved from his
course. If he was set on making Juliana happy, Wade sensed he
would.

“Giddyap,” he ordered the horses as the wagon
rolled away from the ranch house. The sooner he finished up in
town, the sooner he could get back and find out his little sister’s
decision. After all these months—years, really—of their worrying
about her, Juliana’s well-being and happiness would finally be
assured.

Juliana heard Gil’s horse on the path long
before it came into view, and she ran down to greet him, filled
with a desperate need for reassurance that everything had gone as
planned.

“Easy as pie,” Gil informed her, grinning
down from the saddle as she walked beside him on the trail leading
up to the cabin. “Right about now, Line McCray will be heading up
to Fire Mesa, expecting to find poor Joseph Wells and meeting up
instead with Rawdon and your brothers and the rest. Heck, I’d give
my right arm to see the look on his face!”

“Oh, Gil,” Juliana said as he swung down from
the saddle and faced her in the bright sunlight of the yard. “Do
you really think this will put an end to it? That all this will be
over today?”

“Sure I do, Juliana. Your brothers never had
a chance to get close to McCray himself before. He’s always in
town, surrounded by men from his outfit—and it’s risky for them to
show themselves in town, especially with that crooked sheriff ready
to do whatever McCray tells him. This way, they’ll smoke him out,
corner him on their own territory, and make an ending of it.”

“You mean kill him, don’t you?”

“If need be, yes,” Gil replied, his face
sober. He sighed. “Sometimes, in these parts, honey, there’s just
no other way.”

Something was different about Gil, Juliana
decided. The way he was looking at her. He looked outwardly the
same, lanky, freckled, his blue eyes twinkling down at her as
affectionately as always. But that special hungering look was gone,
the one that told her he wished they could be more than friends. In
spite of the fact that they were alone together out here, with her
hand on his sleeve, he kept shifting from foot to foot, as if he
was impatient to get away.

“I just stopped back to tell you that
everything went well in town,” Gil explained, flushing a little. “I
... want to ride over and see how Josie and Kevin are doing. I
bought them some presents in town.”

“How thoughtful of you, Gil! Maybe I’ll go
with you.” It suddenly appealed to her to get away from the cabin
and chores for a while, but the flicker of dismay that immediately
crossed his face checked her enthusiasm. At once she realized her
gaffe, and suddenly it all became clear. Gil wanted to see
Josie—alone.

“On second thought, Skunk does need me to
gather up some berries for the tart he’s baking tonight—as part of
the celebration,” she put in quickly.
If there was a
celebration.

A sudden noise from the slab of buttressed
red rocks a dozen yards down the trail made her break off, and
together she and Gil hurried forward and peered around the bend,
scrutinizing the land dipping away in every direction. There was
nothing to be seen except a deer far down in the basin, nosing at a
silver ribbon of stream. The rocks were silent, the mountains as
serene as ever, shimmering amethyst in the rising heat. The only
sound came from the cabin, where Skunk, as usual, banged around the
pots and pans and hummed as he worked.

“Guess we’re getting jumpy.” She laughed as
they turned and walked together back up the trail.

“You can’t ever be too careful.” Gil stuffed
his hands in his pockets. “That must’ve been a rock falling from
above. I’ll stick around a little while just to make sure.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Gil. Go to Josie.”

Gil gazed into her face. “Juliana—you love
Rawdon, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t make a very good poker player,
would I, Gil?”

“If you set your mind to it. Tommy tells me
he taught you a thing or two about playing cards when you were
kids—and about cheating at ‘em.”

“But there’s no way to cheat at love, is
there?” Juliana hugged her arms about herself, chilled despite the
warmth of the day. “One either wins honestly, or the game doesn’t
count. And it looks like I’m playing a losing hand.”

“Can’t you recognize a bluff?” He gripped her
shoulder. “Come on, Juliana, you’re no quitter.”

“The deck is stacked against me. Cole has
never let himself be tied to anyone—he likes moving around, being
on his own. What frightens me the most is how independent he is. He
doesn’t need me or anyone else.”

“Don’t let him fool you. Everybody needs
someone.”

Suddenly she couldn’t bear to talk about her
own troubles anymore. “And you, Gil,” she said, turning the subject
before the tears welled up in her eyes, “do you need Josie?”

“I’m not sure yet, Juliana.” He stared down
for a minute at his boots. “But I’m beginning to believe that I
do,” he finished slowly.

“Good.” She smiled, truly glad for him. She
raised up on tiptoe suddenly and kissed him on the cheek. “What are
you waiting for? Go to her. Bring her back for supper tonight. She
ought to join in the celebration—if there is one.”

“There will be.” Feeling a strange sense of
release, Gil hoisted himself deftly into the saddle, relieved that
he had Juliana’s blessing. Part of him, out of habit, had been
prepared to stay loyal to her—just in case she changed her mind.
Now he found himself relieved that she wouldn’t. There was no
reason on this earth why he shouldn’t turn his attentions to
Josie.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right here?” He
cast a quick, thorough glance around. Everything was quiet. The
pines swayed lightly in the breeze.

“Of course, silly. Anyway, Skunk is here.
Go on
.”

The cabin door opened right after Gil rode
off and Skunk stomped out, carrying a basket.

“You get your pick, little sister.” He
grinned. “Gather the berries, or bake that tart. Which’ll it
be?”

Feeling stifled already by the cabin, she
immediately reached for the basket. “My baking can’t compete with
yours, Skunk.”

“You know where to go? Down by that there
gully—just beyond the aspen there’s some dandy berries. You’ve
never tasted a piece of heaven until you’ve tasted one of my berry
tarts.”

“I can hardly wait.” She started down the
path to the gully for the second time that day, the basket swinging
from her arm. “Skunk?” She whirled back to face him suddenly, her
lovely face uncertain. “When do you think ... they’ll be back?”

“Oh, who can say? By dark, for sure. Don’t
you worry, now, little sister, they’ll be fine. Your brothers are
two tough hombres, the both of them. The man ain’t been born yet
who can best ‘em. And that Rawdon character—they don’t come no
tougher than him. They’ll be back, every one of ‘em.”

Feeling slightly reassured, Juliana set off,
but she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had come over her.
All the while she picked the berries, even when she was licking the
sweet berry juice from her fingers, she had an odd sensation of
being watched, that prickling sixth sense that often precedes the
realization of danger. Yet every time she stood up and scanned the
surrounding countryside, there was no one to be seen—just the small
creatures of the hills and the tall, brown weedy grasses that
sprouted beneath the burning sun.

It was mid-afternoon when she returned to the
cabin. “I’m back, Skunk,” she called out, thirsty suddenly for
water. But when she paused outside the cabin door, with her hand on
the dipper, she suddenly couldn’t move. It was as if a cold shadow
had passed over her, dark and swift as the wings of an eagle flying
low.

She glanced around, and wondered what it was
that had alarmed her. Then she realized it was the silence. It was
huge, deafening. There was no singing or banging from the cabin.
Skunk, who always made a great racket as he worked, was making no
noise at all.

Juliana dropped the dipper back into its
cradle beside the bucket. She started for the door. “Skunk,” she
called out again, a trace of fear entering her voice. “Skunk, where
are you—”

Her voice broke off as she saw the blood
seeping out from beneath the cabin door. A sticky crimson pool
leaking out, puddling in the dust.

Suddenly she was ten years old again on a
cloudy spring day. Skipping home from school, eager to tell Mama
she had won the spelling bee. Breathless, racing ahead of Wade and
Tommy in her excitement. Then, seeing the blood beneath the door.
Smelling what she only later realized was the stench of death. She
had started forward, but Wade and Tommy had grabbed her. Their
faces were pale as new snow, but they dragged her back, held her,
yelled for help in voices that shook. Other storekeepers had come
running and dragged her away while Wade and Tommy burst inside the
store....

Juliana blinked. Sweat had broken out along
her brow, dripping in crystal droplets along her temples. She was
not ten now. No one was here to pull her back. She had to find
Skunk ...

Oh, dear Lord, what had they done to him?

His throat was slit. Blood was everywhere in
the cabin, but mostly surrounding Skunk’s body. Openmouthed, he
sprawled across the floor, the same floor over which she had danced
only last night, the same floor where he had tussled playfully with
Tommy only yesterday, the same floor she had swept clean and
spotless only this morning.

Now Skunk’s corpse and Skunk’s blood bathed
the cabin floor. Juliana’s knees buckled. She choked on the bile
that rose in her throat. As she clutched at the door for support to
keep from falling, horror engulfed her, making her head spin
dizzily.