The Outrider (Redbourne Series #5 - Will's Story) (27 page)

“Will…”

His name crossing her sleeping lips caught his
attention, though it was followed by several mumblings he couldn’t quite make
out. Intrigued, he wanted to stay a little longer, to listen a little longer,
but his conscience bid him leave. He chuckled inwardly as he backed away,
bumping into the couch attached to the wall. He sank into the cushions, biting
his hand to stop the curse from leaving his mouth as his knee now throbbed
severely from where it had knocked against the wooden corner of the furniture.

Will lay back against the cushions for a moment
to allow the ache to subside, reasoning it wouldn’t hurt if he were to stay for
a little while. He was there to protect Elizabeth and there would be no better
place to do that than right there in the cabin.

“Goodnight, beautiful,” he whispered, knowing
full well she could not hear him. He’d enjoyed their time together today. It
was the first time in a long time that his ship and new position at the
University of London had not consumed the majority of his thoughts. Now, they
were haunted by the beautiful woman in the next room with the fire-red hair and
a small, blue flower tucked behind her ear.

Get some sleep, Will.

He forced himself to stand long enough to secure
the door, then he lay back down on the couch, closed his eyes, and smiled.

They still had a few more days together on this
train and as long as he could keep Mr. Henchley away from her, he vowed not to
waste a moment.

Sunday

Elizabeth awoke to the lulling of train wheels spinning
over the tracks. She opened the curtains covering the book-sized window just
above the suspended spring-board bed. The sun played peek-a-boo with the
clouds, but it looked to be a promising day as the sky no longer appeared
menacing.

She threw off the covers and reached for her
dress. A crack in the accordion doors reminded her just how tired she’d been
when she’d lain down last night. She’d been too exhausted to sit up and had simply
latched it closed. When she slid the door backward, her eyes grew wide as
Will’s sleeping form draped over the couch.

She slammed the doors closed harder than she’d
expected. Her hand shot to her mouth as she was afraid the loud banging sound
may have woken him. She reached for her satchel and dug inside for her change
of clothes—a nice sage green skirt and a beautiful cream blouse. She made quick
work of getting dressed for the day, though it was awkward in such a cramped
space and was unable to put her feet on the ground due to the height of the
mattress.

It would be nice to get something new once they
arrived in Silver Falls. While the dress Mrs. Weaver had given her was lovely, Elizabeth
didn’t know how appealing it would be to wear day in and day out over the
course of the next week or so. She pinched her cheeks and tried to run her
fingers through her hair. With little success, she pulled out her hairbrush and
spent the next several minutes trying to untangle her curls. At last, she was
able to pull her unruly locks together and braid them at the side of her head.
It would have to do for now.

Once she was satisfied that she didn’t look like a
poodle in a lightning storm, she pulled back the doors to find that Will had
slipped out of the room while she’d dressed. She bit back the disappointment
that sank into her chest, climbed down from the bed, and walked out into the
dining car where the mouth-watering scent of cooking meat and hot bread knotted
her stomach.

Several gentlemen dipped their heads in
acknowledgement as she made her way to the table where Will was already seated.

He looked up at her and scrambled to stand.
Though he was unshaven, his hair had been brushed and he’d changed into a fresh
shirt. Elizabeth’s belly tumbled at the sight of him.

“I thought you might be hungry,” he said with a
wave of his hand at the seat across from him. “I ordered you some scrambled
eggs and bacon. I hope that’s all right.”

“You read my mind,” she said, trying to keep the
conversation light. “I’m famished, but…”

“Everything has already been paid for, Elizabeth.
There is no need to worry about that.”

How did he know?

Was it that obvious that she was out of money—or
nearly out of money?

Heat filled her face, but she couldn’t bring
herself to object.

“Thank you,” she said with as much grace as she
could muster. She was truly grateful for everything he had done for her.

They sat in companionable silence for a few
minutes as Will glanced over the newspaper in front of him.

“How long before we reach Denver?” she asked,
wishing for as much time as possible because she knew that once they arrived in
Colorado, it would only be a matter of time before they would have to part ways.

“I expect we’ll arrive sometime Wednesday
evening.” He looked up from the paper. “Are you getting nervous?” he asked as
he folded it up and set it on the table top.

“Nervous? Why would I be nervous?” She chastised
herself for the crack in her voice.

Will laughed.

“I would have never thought a girl like me, the
daughter of an English…businessman, okay, criminal mastermind, common thug…would
be on her way to marry an American preacher in the middle of nowhere.”

“What did you think would happen…for a girl like
you?” His tone was sincere and not at all attacking.

“Up until last year, I thought I would marry some
wealthy aristocrat my father had introduced me to.” She giggled uneasily. “I
thought the path for my life had already been determined. I thought I…I thought
my father was a good man.”

“Is that what you want?”

“For my father to be a good man?” She looked at
him as though he were daft. “Of course, I do.”

“No, I mean, do you want to marry an aristocrat?
Do you want that life?”

“Not now. I spent my whole childhood believing my
father could do anything. He was a hero in my eyes. If I could have been
deceived by someone I saw every single day of my life, someone I loved, how
could I ever trust anyone in that world, especially one that I’ve only known a
short while?”

“You’ve trusted me,” he said simply.

“That’s not the same. I watched you. I saw you
fight. I saw the integrity with which you comported yourself. I…” she stopped
speaking, realizing what she’d just let slip. Not knowing how to recover, she
just looked at him and shrugged.

“Unlike you,” he said quietly, “I had good
examples in my life and was taught from an early age that a man without
integrity is like a bucket full of holes.” He picked up his napkin and placed
it on his lap. “Doesn’t carry much water.”

A woman who Elizabeth hadn’t seen before placed
plates in front of them full of delectable food items.

“And now, here you are,” Will continued as he
picked up a piece of bacon and placed it on his plate. “You left everything in
your life that was familiar to come to a foreign land all to seek out a good,
honest life. If that is not integrity,” he said, plunging his fork into a large
pile of eggs, “then I don’t know what is. You are an extraordinary woman,
Elizabeth Archer.” He met her eyes and held them captive to do with as he
desired. He smiled, winked, and lifted the food to his mouth.

Elizabeth lowered her lashes and looked at her
hands, now folded in her lap. She had never really thought about it like that
before. She’d felt like she would carry the stain of her father’s actions, his
world, with her wherever she went. Maybe marrying a preacher wouldn’t be such a
bad thing—as long as he was not the kind preaching hellfire and damnation all
the time. She didn’t know if she could stomach a man like that.

She looked back up at Will as she reached for a
slice of bacon sitting at the edge of her plate. The temptation was simply too
great to ignore. Elizabeth was quickly discovering that the meat wasn’t the
only temptation in front of her. With an audible sigh, she bit off the corner
of a crispy piece of pork, and smiled.

She may only have two days, but it was enough,
for now.

The next couple of days were fairly uneventful. Mr.
Henchley had not shown his face since that first night and Will sat on edge,
waiting for the man to make his move. Why would he have boarded the train if
not to accost Elizabeth?

They’d discussed everything in their lives from
the kinds of foods they liked to the dreams they most wanted out of life. He
hadn’t wanted to make Elizabeth uncomfortable by continuously reminding her
that one of her father’s men loomed somewhere on this train, but a nagging
feeling wouldn’t let him alone as they approached the Denver station.

He needed a plan. Something that would deter the
man from whatever his objective may be. If Mr. Henchley didn’t get what he’d
come for on the train, Will had no doubts that the man would just follow her to
Silver Falls and he didn’t know who would be there to protect her. A measly and
frail little preacher would be no match for a trained thug. No, it just would
not do. He had to take care of the situation before they arrived at the depot.

Maybe he could just pay Henchley off, although,
he imagined it would do little good for a man who obviously held a grudge. Will
had broken the goon’s nose and three of his fingers while fending off a
targeted attack. That night had haunted Will’s thoughts since he’d returned
home months ago. He’d politely declined Archer’s ‘invitation’ to throw a big
fight and ended up beating the regional champion in just four rounds. A record.

Elizabeth’s father lost a lot of money on that
fight and had wanted to teach Will a lesson, so he’d sent Thom, his eldest son,
and three of his brutes to show Will what happened when someone crossed
Sterling Archer. It didn’t end well for Archer’s men and Will was on the next
boat back to America.

A payoff wasn’t an option. Even if the man
accepted, he would just be back when Archer offered him more. They needed a
more permanent solution.

Elizabeth had not come into the dining car yet
this morning. He’d spent the last few nights sleeping on the couch in the
cabin, if one could call it sleeping. He’d tossed and turned, thinking of the
woman who slept mere feet from him.

What is taking her so long?

He looked over his shoulder as if that would
hurry her along, but he still could not shake the uneasy feeling that now
seemed to have taken permanent residence in his gut. He stood, picked up his
hat, and headed back toward the compartment.

Elizabeth screamed.

Will broke into a run. He shoved the curtain to
one side and slammed the compartment door open, but she wasn’t there. He looked
down the hallway just as the hem of her green skirt disappeared through the outside
door on the front platform.

How did Henchley get into the first-class car?

Will strode down the hallway at a run, reaching
to his side and placing a hand over the butt of his firearm. As he approached
the cab, he slowed his pace enough that he could prepare himself for whatever
lay in wait. He pushed on the doors to each of the sleeping compartments they’d
passed, but all were shut tight, locked. He glanced through the windows on
either side of the tittering door. They were gone.

The air held a chill as Will stepped out onto the
transition deck.

“Will!” Elizabeth screamed his name.

It came from above.

He looked right for a ladder, then left. Metal
rungs jutted out from the side of the car. He took off his hat and shoved it
into the cab in the space behind the fireman in the tender car, then reached
for one of the handles.

“I’ll be back for that,” he told the
striped-capped man, whose dirty face was nearly as dark as the coal itself.

“You can’t go up there!” the fireman called after
him.

He couldn’t hear the rest of what the man yelled
as he’d already crested the car. At the top of the ladder, Will glanced over
the edge. Several men on horseback rode alongside the train. It appeared that he’d
been right. Mr. Henchley had not come alone.

How did the man think he was going to get off the
train?

Please, God, don’t let him toss Elizabeth down.

Will placed a foot on the roof and started to
pull himself up.

“Stay where you are, Redbourne!” Henchley
screamed over the deafening wind from the moving train. He held a fighting Elizabeth
over his shoulder as he inched his way to the opposite end of the train car.

Will held his breath. The slightest wind could
knock them both to their deaths. How had he been so stupid to have let this
happen? He was supposed to have protected her.

“You’re going to get yourself killed, Asa,” he
called out. “Just put her down.”

His keen forethought had served him well in the
past, but he’d let her down. The only way Henchley could have gotten to
Elizabeth without him knowing was if he’d climbed over the roof of the
first-class car and snuck in from the front. How had he not thought of that?

Why hadn’t he made sure the door had been locked
behind him?

“Come on, Henchley, I’m sure we can come to some
type of agreement.” His words were drowned out in the sheer volume of the
current of rushing air.

While the man’s back was turned, Will climbed up,
over the last rung, until both feet were planted on the top of the train. There
was nothing to hold onto and it took a moment before he gained his balance.

It would be a miracle if any of them survived
this debacle.

Will crouched down low and, with practiced steps,
danced his way toward Elizabeth and the man holding her captive.

CRACK!

A bullet pinged off the steel casing next to
Will’s foot—too close for comfort.

CRACK!

This time, the projectile entered the cabin below
and Will held up his hands to show he was backing off. There were people on
this train and if the man kept shooting, it was likely that an innocent
passenger would get hurt.

Elizabeth’s arms raised into the air and with a powerful
grunt, she landed a punch to Henchley’s backside with enough force that it
brought him to his knees and he flipped her forward, flat onto her back,
against the hard metal air vent riser at their feet.

Her hands shot to her chest as she gasped for
air.

The brute recovered quickly. Once upright, he
pulled back the hammer on his gun and aimed it at a winded Elizabeth.

Will bent forward, closing the short distance
between them in moments, and lunged at the man, ramming his head into Henchley’s
gut, knocking the gun from his hand. It slid from view as the two men tumbled
rapidly toward the edge.

Will grappled for his footing while his opponent dug
into his shoulder with a vice-like grip. It took all the strength Will could
muster, but he was able to maneuver far enough away that he could land a punch
across the man’s jaw and separate himself from Henchley’s clutches.

It didn’t take long for him to locate Elizabeth.
She had dragged herself into a kneeling position and was attempting to make her
way toward him, her chest still heaving from labored breaths.

“Stay!” Will cautioned as he crept along the
rooftop in her direction. They needed to get off the top of the train before
someone got killed.

“Are you all right?” he yelled the question as he
reached her position. He forced himself to his feet and extended his hand.

She nodded, the wind twisting her hair and
twirling it wildly about her face. She shoved it out of her eyes and slipped
her hand into his without hesitation.

He glanced backward. Henchley was gaining on them
and Will urged Elizabeth in front of him. He had to create a barrier between
her and the man who’d come to take her back to England and back to her father.

Once they reached the end of the car, Elizabeth
turned around to lower herself over the edge and down onto the ladder at the
front of the train. She looked up, above Will’s head, and gasped.

“Will, look out!”

He whipped around and rolled sideways just as
Henchley took a swing at him. It threw the man off balance and he toppled over
the side of the luxury car as he slid downward, his body quickly disappearing
from sight.

Will gripped the railing with one hand to stop
himself from following the brute overboard and reached out with the other,
scrambling to grab ahold of the man’s arm as it slid through his fingertips. He
forced his hand to tighten and finally it caught successfully around Henchley’s
wrist, stopping him from falling to his death.

“I don’t need your help, Redbourne,” he spat, his
feet dangling just above the mechanical rods churning the wheels.

Two men on horseback had their mounts at a gallop
beneath them.

CRACK!

A shot pinged off the railing next to Will’s arm.

“Just let me help you, Asa.”

“You’ve. Done. Enough.”

Will could feel the man’s hand slipping through
his fingers.

“Let go!”

CRACK!

Will ducked his head down to the roof.

“Take the win, Redbourne,” Henchley urged. “It is
not over yet.” He yanked his arm free of Will’s grasp.

Will collapsed against the roof on his belly, his
breath coming in ragged heaves. Reluctantly, he moved away from the ledge and turned
back to where Elizabeth still peeked over the top of the train.

“Are you all right?” he repeated his earlier
question.

“Mmhmm,” she affirmed. “You?”

He nodded, then dropped his head back down until
his forehead rested against the cool metal roof. After a moment, he pushed
himself up and made his way to the ladder. He hadn’t recognized any of the men on
horseback, but if they were with Henchley, he could bet that they would hunt
Elizabeth until their mission was complete.

She’d already climbed to the bottom of the
transition platform and Will followed as closely as he could. When his feet hit
the ground, Elizabeth flung her arms around his neck and he pulled her in
tightly to him, holding her close for longer than he should have.

“Let’s get you inside,” he said, pulling her away
from him and rubbing her shoulders. He reached into the little cubby behind the
fireman and retrieved his hat. “Thank you, kindly,” he said with a smile he
didn’t feel, and then opened the door into the first-class compartment car.

As soon as they got back into their cabin, Will
grabbed his bag and Elizabeth’s satchel. They were not that far outside of
Denver. Once the train pulled into the station, they would need to hurry. There
was no time to waste.

“I’m thinking that rather than wait for the
stage, it might be better if we just borrow or purchase a wagon or horses and
make the drive ourselves,” he told her as he set their things down next to the
door.

The horses the men had been riding would need
rest and would not be able to make it to the Denver station today. That would
give them a good day’s head start. He didn’t like the idea of trying to outrun
them, but he was out of options.

Elizabeth sank down onto the couch. “Does that
mean you’re coming with me to Silver Falls?” She looked up at him, her eyes
searching, scared, hopeful. She rubbed her arms.

“You’re shivering.”

She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that.
He pulled one of the blankets from the rumpled bed in the sleeping quarters and
wrapped it around her shoulders.

“You didn’t think I would just leave you to your
own devices with someone like Mr. Henchley and his brutes out there, did you?
My mama taught me better than that.”

She smiled faintly. “I don’t want to be any more
trouble than I’ve already been. I can make the trip on my own. Truly. You’ve
done so much for me already.”

“The matter is settled,” he said, leaving no room
for argument—not that she wouldn’t try.

“But, Will…”

He looked at her, one brow raised.

“Your ship,” she said quietly—the one thing that
struck a chord.

He sat down next to her and slouched against the
back of the couch. He couldn’t believe that she’d remembered.