Harnessed Passions (70 page)

Their kiss formed a lifeline to their
existence, until the voices around them filtered through their
private reunion. Julia reluctantly ended their kiss, noticing for
the first time the others who had joined them. There was Harold who
was sitting next to his wife, holding her in a bone-crushing
embrace and scolding her for leaving home without him, Sheriff
Parker and two of his deputies rode up within moments of Daniel’s
arrival, along with several of the stable's hired hands. They all
carried their guns unholstered, looking like a posse on the trail
of a bloodthirsty assassin.

"What the hell happened?" Sheriff Parker
asked, glancing down to Sharon's wet, lifeless body as his deputies
pulled her from the cold water. He glanced first to Margie who was
being cradled on her husband’s lap, to Rally and then to Michael
who lay on the ground before his bereaved father.

"It's a long story," Julia replied softly,
glancing to Rally. "I want to go home," Julia said as Daniel helped
her to her feet. Her wet skirts bunched around her legs, making
walking difficult, but the need was pointless as Daniel gallantly
swept her up into his arms and started up the small hill.

"We'll talk back at the house," he told the
sheriff. "Julia needs to change into some dry clothes, and Margie
needs a doctor." They all walked together to where the horses
waited. Daniel sat Julia back into her carriage and turned to see
Harold emerge from the dense brush with his arm around his wife’s
shoulders.

“
We’ll take you back to the
house and call for Dr. Stewart,” Daniel said as Harold pulled the
reigns of the horse he had been riding, free from the tree
branch

"No thanks pal," Harold insisted as he
climbed into the saddle and reached down to his wife. "I'm taking
Margie with me and I have no intention of letting her out of my
sight again."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Daniel
added with a nod as he lifted the wounded woman to the saddle in
front of her husband. He slapped Roustabout on the hind quarter,
allowing him to run freely back to the stables before climbing in
the carriage beside his own wife.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again
either," he assured her, easing her back into his strong arms as he
clicked his tongue and pulled the horses onto the path that led
home.

"I love you so much," she whispered,
remembering how close she had come to losing him and his child.

"I should never have allowed you go into
town without me. I should never have given into your stubbornness.
What the hell was so important it couldn't wait until I could take
you myself?" Julia thought for a few moments; this wasn't exactly
how she had planned to tell him, yet considering everything that
had occurred she didn't want to wait another minute.

"I went to see Dr. Stewart."

"Oh? Is there anything wrong?" Julia frowned
at Daniel’s nonchalant attitude toward the reason she left home in
the first place.

"Nothing’s wrong...not exactly. I just had
to get a checkup and order some new clothes. I'm going to need them
in the months to come."

"Really," Daniel smiled, a half grin curing
his full lips. "Why?"

"I'm pregnant," she said, leaning up out of
his arms and staring into his handsome face. “But you already knew
that, didn’t you?” Suspicion echoed in her eyes as she stared at
him, wondering if her mother had told him.

"I know every curve of your beautiful body,
intimately. Do you really think I wouldn't have noticed the
changes?"

"I guess I never really thought about it.
But if you knew, why didn't you say something?"

"I was waiting for you to tell me. After
all, why spoil the surprise. At least this way it gave me some time
to get used to the idea."

"And have you? Gotten used to it I
mean?"

"What do you think?" He kissed her lips with
such passion her heart began to flutter, yet that was nothing
compared to the full content feeling that filled her soul.

He had saved her again; but this time her
rescue gave her life more meaning. Daniel had rescued her and their
unborn child; giving her hope for a new future, hope for the
happily ever after she and Heather used to dream about as
children.

The sound of crickets singing in the night's
splendor, echoed through the silence of the ranch, while inside the
massive house a group of concerned people sat talking. Julia had
changed into dry clothes as soon as Daniel brought her home, eager
to put the memories of the night behind her. She sat embraced in
her husband's arms on the upholstered sofa in the den, assuring her
mother for the fifth time that she was alright.

Louise ordered hot coffee to be brought into
the room and Thompson appeared to be deliberately lingering, eager
to know the truth of what had occurred before Bridget had a chance
to add her own insight to the story. Sheriff Parker joined the
group shortly before midnight, accompanied by Dr. Stewart who had
bandaged Margie's wound while an anxious Harold stared on. Rally
had been taken to jail and Michael and Sharon's bodies were
delivered to the undertaker.

"She'll have a headache for a while," the
doctor assured Harold as he closed his bag. "Fortunately it's just
a slight concussion, nothing to be overly concerned with."

"I can't thank you enough Doc," Harold
answered, squeezing Margie's hand.

"You know, between you people and your
accidents, I could easily retire and move to a tropical island to
live the rest of my days in comfort." Daniel chuckled at the man's
announcement, glancing seductively to Julia.

"If you did that, who would be here to fix
all the cuts and bumps our children are going to get?"

"I think I'm going to need an assistant,"
the old man said as the room came alive with laughter, breaking the
evening's tension. The feeling of finality floated in the air,
allowing all to feel its completion.

"Now that Mrs. Leonard has been taken care
of," Sheriff Parker began. "I think the time has come we got down
to business. Who wants to start?" Julia glanced at Daniel and
lowered her lashes, blocking out the images of events replaying
before her tear reddened eyes.

"I suppose it all started five years ago,"
she began, her throat feeling dry and raw. "Heather and Michael
Overton met here at the ranch and according to him, they were
married. He said Heather was pregnant, but I can't believe that.
She would have told me, I know she would have."

"He was telling the truth Princess," Daniel
insisted in a gentle tone. "Dr. Stewart was told by the doctor in
Graves County shortly after Heather died, that she had visited him.
She arrived with a man, claiming to be her husband."

"Why didn't she tell me all of this herself?
Why did she take her secrets to her grave with her?" Julia's pain
and grief swelled up within her, chocking off her voice and making
it sound shaky and weak.

"Perhaps she was afraid you'd tell her
parents if you knew," Daniel said, pulling her into his strong
embrace.

"No, not Heather; she knew I'd never betray
her trust. It had to be Michael; he must have convinced her I'd
turn them in. What little I remember about him working here before,
isn't very flattering. I didn't recognize him at first, because I
always tried to avoid him as much as possible. I even told Heather
to stay away from him, when she mentioned he was cute."

"Whatever the reason Julia, Heather did take
her secret to her grave with her," Louise interrupted her daughter,
hoping to soothe the anguish exploding in the young woman's
heart.

"Overton said Heather Farnsworth's death was
an accident," the sheriff continued, causing those gathered in the
warm room to stare at him. "He hasn't stopped rambling since we
took him to jail. He said he went to the swimming hole that day to
talk with her. He thought it was Mrs. Browning, but when he saw
her, it all started to make sense. Heather said she wore Julia’s
dress so people wouldn’t think it was her and tell her family.
Rally said they struggled; she fell and hit her head, then stumbled
into the water and drowned."

"You make it sound so simple," Julia
whispered as tears streaked down her cheeks. "Why didn't he stop
her? Why didn't he help her out of the water?"

"He's a sick man Julia," Harold said in
turn. "Who knows what was on his mind."

"Rally was very devoted to Michael when he
worked here and would do anything to protect him," Louise took up
the explanation. "He may have thought he was doing the right thing
for his son, by not helping her."

"This is all speculation folks," the sheriff
interrupted with a snort of frustration as he accepted the coffee
Thompson handed him. He shifted in the chair he sat in, trying to
make himself more comfortable while balancing the delicate china
cup and saucer on his knee.

"What I don't understand is how you and Mrs.
Leonard ended up there with two dead bodies and a distraught man,"
Sheriff Parker continued, sipping his coffee. Julia raised her eyes
to the sheriff and frowned.

"Sharon met us on the road when we were
heading home; she said Daniel had been hurt. We followed her to the
swimming hole and when we got there we saw Michael. He hit Margie
and tried to kill me."

"Why you? What was his motive for wanting
you dead?"

"He thought I killed Heather, so he was
going to kill me out of revenge."

"You're making it sound as though you
suspect my wife of being involved with this, sheriff?" Daniel's
skilled instincts and professional manner were lost the moment the
grey haired man began to question Julia.

"I'm not accusing anyone Mr. Browning. I
just want to know your wife's side of the story. What Overton's
been saying isn't exactly very clear or coherent. He just keeps
saying it was all his fault, and begging his son to forgive
him."

"Michael told me he and Sharon were behind
everything that had been happening here at the ranch," Julia
explained again, this time feeling a degree calmer. "He admitted
they were the ones who attacked me the day of my father's funeral
and then again at the swimming hole, even the fire was their doing.
They thought if they made it look like I had started the trouble,
people would accuse me and wouldn't question my death. They
intended to make it look like guilt had finally eaten away at me
and I killed myself."

"When did Sharon Farnsworth get shot?"

"I suppose that was my fault,” Julia said
softly. “Michael and Sharon argued over Heather and he threatened
to return her to some hospital back east. He told me he helped her
escape and a nurse was killed in her place so everyone thought she
had died. I'm not sure what any of that meant, but Sharon went
crazy when he told her he'd take her back. I saw it as a chance of
escaping and played on her fears."

"What did you do?" the sheriff
continued.

"I told Sharon he was lying to her when he
said he wouldn't take her back to the hospital. I told her he would
take her back, just to be rid of her, and she believed me; she shot
him in the shoulder. When he fell backwards his gun he had went off
and he killed her. He told me it was fortunate she did die; it
saved him from trying to cover up her death later on."

"He planned on killing her too?" Harold
asked.

"Yes; but not until he had his fill of her.
With Sharon around, he didn't have to worry about looking for
someone to warm his bed."

"I still don't understand why he took his
revenge out on the stables if it was you he was after?" the sheriff
said, scratching his stubble chin.

"He wanted revenge for Victor firing him;
perhaps on me as well," Daniel replied in his wife's stead. "I met
Michael Overton my first day here in Mayfield. Harold and I were at
the saloon having a drink, when he started a fight with me."

"I remember," the sheriff interrupted. "But
you wouldn't press charges, so why should Turner fire him?"

"Victor had a standing rule with all the men
hired,” Louise interrupted. “No one was to cause any bad publicity
for the stables or they would be dismissed immediately. Michael
started drinking heavily the days that followed Heather’s death;
now we know why. Victor kept him on out of respect for Rally, but
the morning before he was fired, he took one of the horses out
after a particularly bad drunken spell. He made the stallion he was
riding stumble and sprain his front leg. Victor came close to
putting him down. The next thing we heard was that Michael had been
in a bar fight and arrested. Victor had no choice but to let him
go."

"Victor wrote in journal that he found out
Sharon was behind everything that had been happening here at the
ranch,” Daniel continued. “He confronted her on it and ordered her
to leave town the day before Julia returned. His last entry said he
found out she hadn’t left town and was going to dispatch a message
to you, but he died before he had the chance."

"I'm going to need that journal as
evidence," the sheriff said with a sympathetic glance in Louise's
direction. "What about Mrs. Leonard, what did she have to do with
all of this?" the sheriff asked.

"Margie's mistake was being with me," Julia
answered with an apologetic smile to her friend. "She was in the
wrong place at the wrong time, so they tried to eliminate her as a
witness."

"I never would have thought anyone could
kill a sweet little girl like Heather Farnsworth," Dr. Stewart
mumbled, shaking his head.

"I can’t believe she could ever have been
involved with a pathetic excuse of a man, like Michael Overton,"
Julia snapped angrily as she stood and paced her way to the window,
staring out at the black night through the clean panes of
glass.

"She may have loved him Princess," Daniel
said, hoping to calm his wife's anxieties. "Stranger things have
happened."