Deep Trouble (30 page)

“No, Lurene. Look at me,” Shannon shouted, demanding that Lurene turn her eyes back upward. “That necklace
will not save you
. Gold can’t save anyone. Take my hand.” A
whoosh
of liquid drew Shannon’s eyes to the bottom of the butte again, and she saw the water pouring into the pit that had almost swallowed her whole only a short while before. That pit was right below them. With horror, Shannon remembered the sound of the water flowing into it as if it fell forever.

“Lurene, a fall from this height might be fatal, but survival is at least possible. But that hole in the ground is right below you. You’ll never live through that fall. No golden necklace will help you if you’re dead.” Hadn’t Shannon survived a fall from a cave? Nowhere near this far, but she’d slid more than fell, and she’d lived.

Shannon’s stomach twisted to think of Lurene falling into that chasm. In this dangerous, wickedly beautiful land, Lurene might fall forever, for all eternity.

“Look at me, Lurene.” Shannon scooted out farther, reaching. “Forget the gold. It’s not worth your life. There’s a pit down there. Remember that? If you fall into it, you’ll die.”

Lurene looked up at Shannon then back at the gold. Its chain tangled in the branch, the cross hanging down. Her hand reached, clawed for wealth. She inched farther out on the tree, and it curved down—the cross slipped farther yet. The chain clinked and slid until only one link hung from a narrow branch on the tree. “I can get it. I can reach it.”

“No!” Shannon screamed, reaching down, down, down, scooting farther out until she was bracing her stomach—her tough belly—on the rim of the butte. “No, look at me.”

The tree root gave another inch. Lurene jerked lower, and fear must have penetrated her obsession because she looked back at Shannon and, in an instant of clear thinking, turned her attention to survival. She reached up, her eyes now awash in fear but rational. Their fingertips touched. Shannon scooted forward again, too far out, but she had to risk it. She clasped Lurene’s hand. Lurene looked at the pine tree, now hanging by only a few strong roots. Their grip held.

Then, as if she heard the song, Lurene looked back at the gold. “I can get it.”

“You can’t. You’ll fall. The roots are giving way.” The call of wealth was louder. Lurene released Shannon’s hand, and holding with one hand to the tree, she threw herself wildly toward the cross.

“Lurene, no!” Shannon made a desperate lunge for Lurene.

Lurene’s grip gave. To the echoing sound of Lurene’s screams, Shannon tumbled over the edge of the cliff.

S
creams fell away. The dull thud of a body striking stone became more distant and more awful.

“Shannon, no!” Gabe landed on the edge of the bluff and looked over the edge to see Shannon below him, dangling from a fragile, gnarled pine tree.

Lurene was far below, her plunging body landed with a horrible bone-crushing thud against a rocky cave opening. Her body bounced. He heard the ugly crack of her skull on stone. Then Lurene vanished into the depths of that gaping black maw.

Sickened, Gabe said, “Grab my hand, Shannon.”

Pebbles popped as the pine tree pulled away from the cliff, dropping Shannon beyond Gabe’s reach. Her strong arm clung to the branch. Her other arm was free; her sling hung around her neck. But she was still injured.

He’d thought it was
her
screaming,
her
falling. Gabe had felt as if his heart were torn from his chest and cast into the depths with her in those seconds. Gabe reached for the rope he’d hung from his belt after he’d lassoed Shannon last time.

Her shoulder? He hated this, but he was going to hurt her again. If only he could somehow get it around her tough little belly.

He opened a noose and dropped it down. “Thread your left arm through this then poke your head through.”

“You’ve been on the verge of hanging me ever since we met.” Shannon fumbled with the noose. Gabe saw her pain as she worked it over her arm.

The root gave again, and Shannon shrieked.

“Hurry.”

She poked her head through the noose, and it looked for all the world like a hanging.

Gabe tightened the knot, not liking a bit the way it looked. It wasn’t as good a hold as he needed at all, but he saw no way to make it better. “That tree won’t hold much longer.”

She looked up. “Ready.”

Gabe was sickened to think of her dangling from the poorly placed noose. Worse yet, of her body slipping through it while he stayed safely above and watched her plummet into that pit, falling, dying. Fighting the collywobbles, he eased her weight off the pine tree a bit at a time to see how the knot held.

“When I get you lifted enough, let go of the tree and grab hold of the rope with your right hand. It’s stronger. Then hang on tight while I lift you up. It’ll spare your sore arm and hopefully keep the noose from strangling you.” Gabe swallowed hard, keeping his eyes locked on hers, trying to connect with her and share his strength.

She looked away. “Gabe.” Shannon seemed to be staring straight out over the basin.

He followed her gaze. “What?” Gabe prepared to lift her, praying it would work.

“If you just let me swing over there, I can get the necklace.”

Necklace?
Gabe looked farther out and saw what looked like an oversized cross dangling from a chain. Lurene had held it. He realized that now, but he’d been too busy trying to get to Shannon to really see what was in Lurene’s hand. It was gold. Even from up here, Gabe knew instantly that this was what Shannon had been searching for.

“No. Forget it. We’re getting you up from this cliff, and we’ll worry about the necklace later.”

“But it’s proof, Gabe. It’s proof that my father wasn’t crazy. And it’s gold, pure gold.” Shannon reached with her wounded arm for that cross.

“Let it go and hang on to the rope.”

“But it might fall in that pit. We need to get it now.”

“Shannon! Hang on. The tree can’t hold much longer. You need to have a grip on the rope.”

With what looked like nearly superhuman effort, Shannon looked back at Gabe. The tree roots snapped. Shannon screamed and grabbed the rope with her right hand. The tree plummeted with the gold necklace twisting around it and vanished into the endless pit.

Pulling with every ounce of effort, his eyes never leaving her, Gabe saw Shannon take a solid hold on the rope. An instant later, she cleared the rim. Gabe grabbed her by the back of her shirt and dragged her over the ledge and fell backward. She landed on top of him with a
thud
. They lay gasping for breath for a few seconds, then Shannon wrapped her right arm around his neck and kissed him.

They were still kissing when someone cleared his throat. Loudly. Repeatedly.

Gabe opened his eyes to see Bucky. A man who was clean out of luck if he wanted to marry Gabe’s woman.

B
uck looked away from his woman kissing this stranger. He did his best, but he just couldn’t envision Shannon as a rancher’s wife.

Even seeing her out here in the wilderness, the image just wouldn’t focus. She’d spent most of her life deciding between entertaining callers in the drawing room or the parlor, deciding whether to eat in the breakfast room, the casual dining room, or the formal dining room, or having a tray sent to her room.

Even while she’d plotted and planned her way to the underbelly of the world, she’d mostly done it on paper, writing and decoding and figuring. Shannon was going to die if she had to wash clothes by hand.

Buck had a feeling, though, that she wasn’t going to let that stop her. He wondered if she could hire a housekeeper out west. Abe had said his brother was from Wyoming. Buck had only the vaguest notion where that even was. No drawing rooms there. Probably not one in the whole state. On the other hand, she’d be far from her mother, so maybe laundry by hand wasn’t a bad tradeoff.

He looked at Tyra, who was frowning down at the man she’d intended to marry. He hoped she wasn’t feeling too bad. She looked up at him and smiled. No, not too bad at all.

He moved over to put his arms around her waist just as her father came up and almost burned Buck all the way to the ground with a single glare. “Get your hands off my daughter.”

Buck dropped his arm but not his smile. “Fine. For now.”

Tyra gave him a lightweight punch in the arm. “Anybody got any ideas how we’re gonna get home?”

With a tired sigh, Abe said, “Get up Gabe.”

Gabe was standing up anyway. He helped Shannon to her feet, so mindful of her arm it caught in Buck’s throat a bit. The man really was in love with Shannon. He had his work cut out for him.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us.” Abe looked between the two couples then at Lucas Morgan. “We’ve got prisoners to fetch, a long trail out of here, and not much daylight left to figure it all out.”

“Can we search the mesa for more gold artifacts before we do all that?” Shannon asked.

“No!” Five voices in unison absolutely refused.

Of course they spent the rest of the day up there hunting around.

Shannon bagged up a bunch of worthless bits of broken pottery. Buck didn’t think the woman had much sense, but then she’d come a long way to leave empty-handed.

They barely got down to the bottom of the bluff before the sun set. They rounded up their prisoners, who’d gotten real tired of being bound hand and foot in the woods. Not that anyone cared much what they thought.

They were bedding down for the night just as an Indian couple came riding in. Buck braced himself for more trouble. Shannon ran forward and threw her arms around one of them as soon as they were on the ground. Buck realized it was an elderly woman, and between that and the hug, he decided this wasn’t shooting trouble.

“How’d you get horses down here?” Buck asked. The barrage of words almost made him sorry he’d asked.

A third person with them dismounted, and his horse pranced sideways. The man’s foot caught in the stirrup, and he fell over backward. The horse dragged him until Gabe rushed over and caught the reins.

“I hate horses.”

Buck noticed a clerical collar.

Lucas helped the man to his feet while Tyra dusted him off and Gabe stripped the saddle. The horse stood quietly while Gabe worked.

The Indian couple was introduced, but the names were odd and Buck wasn’t sure just how to pronounce them.

“And this is Parson Hank Ford.” Shannon brushed a bit more dirt off the parson. “You know, I’ve been riding your black mustang ever since we were kidnapped.”

“Terrible horse. I should have sold him years ago.” Ford glared at the little black horse, which stood picketed a few dozen yards away, grazing with the other horses. As if the horse heard the parson talk about him, he raised his head, laid his ears back, and bared his teeth straight at the parson.

“He’s as gentle and well behaved as any horse I’ve ever ridden, Parson. And I’ve never been in wild country like this before. And that horse you rode in on is mine. No trouble there either. I think you must be doing something to upset them.”

“I am not!” The parson’s demeanor really wasn’t a good match for his white collar, but the Navajo folks seemed to accept and like him. So maybe he was just a lunatic on this one topic.

Gabe chose that moment to lead the horse past the parson. When it drew even, it jerked the reins loose from Gabe’s hand and lunged at the parson and bit him.

“Get away from me!” The parson tugged on his arm. The horse’s teeth stayed sunken into his sleeve.

There was a flurry of activity before Gabe got the parson free and led the horse away. The horse took a wild kick at the parson, which only missed because the parson was stumbling backward.

“The horses do seem to be a little unruly around you,” Buck said.

“A few more years and there won’t even be a horse left.”

Everyone burst out laughing. Even the four prisoners, bound hand and foot, sitting by the fire.

“People have to get around, Parson.” Gabe came back from picketing the parson’s horse in time to catch the parson’s comment. “Horses are the only way, unless you’re gonna ride cowback.”

Abe and Lucas laughed, and the parson’s eyes narrowed.

“Maybe buffaloback, like Captain Hance,” Abe said, which only made everyone laugh louder.

“I rode a bicycle back east. My whole family hates horses.”

“Waste a’ time hatin’ horses.” Lucas then looked between Tyra and Buck as if he had a better use for his time—hating the man his daughter wanted to marry.

“I got a nephew who thinks he can put a motor on a bicycle. A motor that will be run with a coal-oil engine. I’m really proud of him. Lots of people back east are working on that.”

Buck knew that was true, but he doubted they’d ever come up with anything more dependable than a horse. “Like all of us will have our own personal trains? The streets are crowded now, Parson Ford.”

The group laughed.

“Laying track right through the middle of the city—that’d take a lot of time and money.” Shannon walked to Gabe’s side and slid her arm around his waist. She’d been within his reach for all but a few seconds ever since he’d pulled her off that cliff.

“My nephew Henry will show all of you.” The parson fumed. “You just wait and see. He’s a bright boy. You watch for the name Henry Ford and just see if he doesn’t build a carriage that runs without a horse. He’ll be famous. You mark my words. But that doesn’t get us out of the canyon. I’m not riding a horse if you found a way to walk.”

“The man who guided us down here took us over a trail that’d make a mountain goat faint dead away,” Buck said.

“Horseless carriage? Might as well fly around in the air like a bird.” Gabe laughed and shook his head. “We’ll figure out who’s walking and who’s riding in the morning. Until then, what would you think about performing a wedding ceremony, Parson Ford?”

A shout from the mouth of the canyon turned them all around again. Captain Hance came striding in. “Where’d all you folks come from? And where’d you get those horses?”

“Who’s that?” Shannon asked.

Buck shook his head. “Long story.”

Captain Hance started yelling, but by now Buck was so used to ignoring him, it didn’t even distract him much.

Shannon looked between Buck and Gabe, and then her eyes settled on Buck. “Um… sorry, Bucky.”

Shaking his head, Buck said, “I kinda figured it out when you were kissing him before. And call me Buck.”

Shannon’s brows arched.

“It’s a terrible idea, kid,” Abe said to his little brother.

“I’m not a kid, Abe.” Gabe sounded just the littlest bit whiny. Then he went on in a much deeper tone of voice. “I quit being a kid about the time my cavalry troop had the first tussle with Apaches.”

“What happened to your voice?” Shannon looked worried.

“Hush.” Gabe pulled her close.

“She ain’t gonna make you a good ranch wife, kid. You need to pick a woman who knows the West.” Abe looked over at Tyra in a way that wasn’t the least bit subtle.

Buck moved closer to her. He wasn’t real familiar with the West, but he didn’t think a brother could pick a wife for his brother. Unless he was in the mood to beat on him until he said yes.

And the exact opposite might be true of vetoing a husband that a gritty western man didn’t approve of.

Buck looked down to meet Tyra’s eyes. She smiled, and Buck saw all he needed to see. “Why don’t we make it a double wedding, Parson.”

“What?” Lucas Morgan scowled and came over to drag his daughter away from Buck.

“I don’t mind learning to be a rancher, Lucas. But I’ll take some teaching. And if you don’t like it, Tyra and I can go back to St. Louis and live there.” He looked straight at Tyra’s dancing, glowing eyes. “Can’t we?”

“Oh yes, we can.” She tugged at her father’s grip, and the man must have been momentarily stunned because she got away and came back to wrap her arms around Buck’s waist.

“You’re getting married, too, Bucky?” Shannon asked.

He didn’t see one speck of regret in her eyes, the brat. “I told you to call me Buck.”

Shannon grinned. “Good idea.”

They squabbled awhile, but in the end the parson performed a marriage ceremony in the heart of one of the most beautiful cathedrals on earth.

Abe was Gabe’s best man. Then, because Buck was a little afraid to stand too close to his very disgruntled father-in-law, and honestly everyone else was either an outlaw or had already been in a ceremony, Buck had Hosteen Tsosi—whoever he was—stand up with him. With some relish, he imagined telling his mother a Navajo Indian had been the best man at his wedding. It’d about kill her.

They settled in for a night’s sleep, about a third of their number tied up. Buck probably wouldn’t have pushed his luck and tried to get his brand-new wife off by herself. But when Gabe dragged Shannon off with the announcement that he was going to set up his own camp and start his own fire, Buck got brave and went in the opposite direction with Tyra.

“It might be best to be a little bit away from your father anyway,” Buck whispered to his pretty new wife as they walked away. “I’m not sure he didn’t have plans to kill me in my sleep.”

Tyra laughed and put her arm around his waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and Buck decided he was facing death and dismemberment on a ranch for the best possible reason. They rounded a clump of trees, and he said, “I love you.”

She looked up. Dusk had settled over the canyon. The spot she’d chosen for them was in deep shadows. “I can’t believe I went out for a ride with my pa and ended up at the bottom of the Grand Canyon married to a city boy.” Her smiled widened, and he could see the gleam of her white teeth reflected by the light of the rising moon.

“And I can’t believe I’ll never have to listen to my mother nag me again, but I will probably spend the next few months being tortured by your father until I’ve learned enough about ranching that I’m no longer shaming him with every breath I take.”

Tyra wrinkled her nose at him. “Dreamer, it’ll probably take years.”

“Really?” Buck’s voice squeaked a little. He tried to control it, but the terror got in the way.

“Yep, and I love you, too. Just because my life took a crazy twist doesn’t mean I’m not real happy about it. I am. I’m thrilled.”

Buck leaned down and kissed that pretty smile. “I think you don’t really know the meaning of the word
thrilled
, little lady.”

And then he found out that until now, he hadn’t known the meaning of thrilled either. But they discovered it together in the depths of the most beautiful place on earth.