The Wedding Ransom (35 page)

Maggie reached into her own pocket and fingered the velvet bag. No, Rafe wouldn’t be happy that his stolen goods had been stolen out from under him. But what else could she have done? Let him betray his honor and maybe even sacrifice his life when two little words out of her mouth would solve the problem instead? She hardly thought so.

That wasn’t how a woman treated the man she loved.

U
pon discovering the theft of the jewels, Rafe gave himself an hour to calm down. Then he gave himself another hour to consider his options for how to deal with Maggie’s little larceny. It wouldn’t have taken him nearly as long if he hadn’t paused every few minutes to marvel over her audacity. So it was midafternoon by the time he tracked her down to her bedroom, picked the lock on her door, and slipped soundlessly into her room.

The shuttered windows cast the room in a dim light. Rafe’s gaze was drawn to the bed where Maggie lay fully clothed atop her bed, frying in the stifling summer heat like a fish in a skillet. He felt certain she’d hidden the jewels in a place that would take him days to locate, so he didn’t bother to search. Instead, he sat upon the bed and stroked his thumb across the silky skin of her cheek. When, finally, she looked at him, and he saw the anguish boiling in those Caribbean depths, every one of his prepared arguments slid right out of his thoughts.

He cleared the lump from his throat and said, “You are the most loyal, courageous, and loving woman I have ever met, Mary Margaret St. John. In the relatively short time I’ve known you, you have taught me more about the world and the people in it, and especially about myself, than I have learned in the last ten years all rolled in together. You are a good person. Too good. Here you are ready to marry a man you can barely stand to look at, all because you think you need to take care of your papas and even me.”

She blinked once but didn’t say anything. Rafe continued, “There is something you forget, though, honey. Your papas and I are men. I know that sometimes you must think that’s an insurmountable problem, and maybe you are right. But one thing about being a man, you see, is that we have our pride, and pride ranks right up there in a man’s brain with honor and principle. And virility, of course.”

She met his gaze then, and Rafe bit back a grin. He knew the virility crack would get her.

“Maggie. Sweetheart. I appreciate what you are willing to do for me from the bottom of my heart. But I can’t let you do it. Knowing that you married Barlow Hill, the skunk, would unman me. It would be like taking your Papa Snake’s favorite cutlass to my own jewels, if you follow my meaning. I’m a man, darlin’, and I must fight my own battles, not ask you to fight them for me.”

Her voice was thin and tormented. “But it’s my fight you are waging, not yours. I got you into this. I should be the one to get you out.”

“No, Maggie, you didn’t get me into anything I didn’t want to be in. Neither did your grandfathers, no matter what they might think. I made the decision to go on this treasure hunt because I was bored and looking for adventure. I can’t complain now that I have found it.”

The sight of the single tear spilling from her eye tore through his heart, and he knew it was time to press his point. It was time to finish it. “You must give me back the jewels, Maggie-mine. I appreciate the effort, but you can’t protect me. Not now. It’s too late. The damage has already been done. I’ve already done what I swore I’d never do again, and to complicate matters, I got caught doing it.”

Maggie gasped and sat up in bed. “You got caught? By who? Montgomery? Oh, God.” Her eyes widened with fear. “Tell me it wasn’t your brother!”

“All right, I won’t tell you.” Rafe gave a lopsided grin and lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss. “The rangers are hot on my backside, love. And according to Luella, Luke is arriving tomorrow. If the rangers get to Lake Bliss before I get away, I’m a dead man. If Luke gets here before I leave, I’ll wish I were dead. So tell me what you did with the treasure, Treasure. Let me take care of you before I leave. I have to do that. I’d rather Luke Prescott hanged me himself than leave here knowing you intended to go through with this travesty of a wedding.”

“Leave? You’re leaving?” Another tear ran down her cheek.

Rafe had to look away then. The emotion in her eyes cut his heart out, and he felt like crying himself. He needed to finish this, then and there. It was ripping him in two to do this, and that damned manly pride he’d told her about wouldn’t allow him to let her know. “I have no choice if I want to save my neck. I’ll admit I’ve grown rather fond of it these past thirty-odd years.”

Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Where will you go?”

“West. I hear a man can still find a lot of adventure in the West. Texas has grown too civilized these past few years. It’s been difficult to find a good adventure. Should be easier in the West.”

Maggie steepled her hands in front of her mouth. She rolled off her bed and began to pace the room. Rafe watched her, wary, a lump the size of the Gulf of Mexico in his throat. Hell, hanging couldn’t hurt a man worse than this. Leaving her would kill his soul just as dead as any rope.

He loved her, loved her like he’d never loved before. But he couldn’t tell her that, not now. It would only make matters worse.

His gaze drifted down to her bare feet. For some reason, she looked uncharacteristically vulnerable without her shoes.

“I’ll go with you.”

His head snapped up. “What?”

“I’ll go west with you. I like adventure, too, Rafe. You asked me once before if I cared to go adventuring with you. Well, I do care. Take me with you. I want to go.”

“You can’t go!”

She swayed on her feet, taking it like a blow.

Cursing, Rafe shoved to his feet. Two furious strides took him to her. “Not because I don’t want you, dammit. Believe me, that’s not it at all. What about Hotel Bliss? What about your grandfathers? What about the water you need?”

“They’ll be all right. I’ll be all right.”

Maggie whirled around and opened the door to her wardrobe. Pulling down a box from the uppermost shelf, she rifled through what Rafe recognized to be the clean rags she undoubtedly used during her monthlies. When she pulled out the blue velvet pouch, Rafe knew it proved how well she knew him. He’d never have gone searching through those.

She handed him the pouch, saying, “Take it. Pay off Barlow. The papas will have the hotel, and we can leave tonight.”

His hand clutched the bag tightly. “Sweetheart, you don’t understand. I’m not coming back. I’ve broken my parole and the Texas Rangers know it. I can’t come back.”

“I do understand! My papas will be all right. They’ll have Bliss water for their aches and pains.”

“Well, what about their heartache? Losing you could kill a man. Believe me, I know!”

She whirled around. “Losing you will kill me! I love you, Rafe. God help me, I love you!”

She loved him? He stared into her eyes. Read the truth. She loved him. God help them both.

“Ah, shoot, Maggie. I—”

“No.” She laid her hand against his mouth. “You don’t have to say anything. Please, don’t say anything. Just listen to me. I’ll be good for you, Rafe. You said it before. I’m loyal and I’m courageous. Heaven knows, I’ve had plenty of experience with adventure. I won’t tie you down. Let me come, please.”

One of her tears fell upon his hand, scalding him. Rafe yanked her against him, tucked her head against his chest, and wrapped his arms around her. “Maggie…” He choked and cleared his throat, then tried again. “Maggie, you’re not thinking straight. What about your papas? They are not young men. If you left, you probably would never see them again. I can’t take you with me and do that to you, to them. They cared for you when you were young. You should be here for them now that they are older. And what about the rheumatism? You need the Bliss water, too, Maggie. That’s why I did what I did. And that’s why…”

I’m leaving you behind.
Rafe couldn’t say it. He sucked in a deep, strengthening breath. Firmly, determinedly, he set her away from him. He stared down into her watery Caribbean eyes and felt himself drowning. He knew then he had to be honest. Maggie deserved it; she deserved to know how he felt. And maybe he deserved to tell her, too. “I love you too much to let you come with me, Maggie. I’ve got to go, but you have to stay. It’s that simple.”

“Rafe, no.”

He slipped the jewels into his shirt pocket. “Give me one last kiss, Mary. Kiss me good-bye.”

From the doorway to Maggie’s room came the sneering sound of a familiar voice. “What perfect timing.”

Not again! Rafe closed his eyes.
Well, shoot
. He had thought he’d have more time.

“Go ahead and kiss him good-bye, Miss St. John,” Nick Callahan drawled, gesturing with his Colt Texas Paterson revolver for her to go ahead. “I reckon I can allow my brother such a boon before I hang him.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Maggie was in a panic.

Waves of heat rippled up off the dry grass leading down toward the lake, down toward the old oak with its spreading branches. The oak where the hangman’s noose dangled like a sin from a thick branch.

Nick Callahan had brought a posse with him, a handful of scraggly deputies he’d collected along the way from Triumph Plantation. He’d announced his intention to use Rafe’s own horse to do the deed. Maggie had wanted to slap both the brothers when Rafe expressed thanks for Callahan’s consideration.

Now she watched in horror, her heart in her throat, as the lawman looped a rope around Rafe’s wrists behind his back. “No, you can’t,” she protested yet again. Her knees went watery and she sagged against Papa Snake, who wrapped an arm around her. Luella Best stood white-faced and trembling beside Papa Ben, nervously twirling her parasol.

“Dammit, man! Get Maggie out of here,” Rafe demanded, sending Snake a pleading look. “Take her across the lake to Hill’s house. She doesn’t need to see this.”

“None of us needs to see this, Malone.” Ben stepped forward and addressed Nick Callahan. “You are making a mistake, son. One you will regret the rest of your life.”

“What I regret is taking this long to get the job done.”

Maggie shook her head slowly. Her gaze shifted between Rafe and his half brother. “This is so sad,” she said, speaking to them both. She squared her shoulders and stepped away from Snake. “You are family. You are brothers. Do you know how lucky you are to have one another? All my life I’ve wished for a brother or a sister. You have that precious bond between you and here you are ready to throw it away.”

Callahan tossed her a look. “I appreciate your sentiment, Miss St. John, but in this instance the argument is a poor one. Our family tie isn’t one to be proud of, under the circumstances.”

“Pride has nothing to do with it. It’s blood, and it’s a history, and it’s a connection no one else on God’s earth shares with you. It’s priceless and here you are ready to throw it away because of what, some rigid sense of right and wrong that takes none of the extenuating circumstances into account?”

“Extenuating circumstances?” Callahan repeated, arching a brow.

“Love, Mr. Callahan. Your brother did what he did out of love for me. He tried other ways to solve my troubles first, but when all else failed he was willing to risk his life, to break his highly valued word to a dear, dear friend, because he loves me. And you know what? I love him just as much. I’d break a law or two if Rafe needed it. I’d break a law or two if my grandfathers needed it. We’re not talking murder here, Mr. Callahan, or any other crime that caused injury to another person. We’re talking theft of goods that were stolen goods in the first place. Is that truly worth a man’s life? Is it truly worth your brother’s life?”

“The law is the law, ma’am, and I’m here to uphold it.”

“Bah,” she said scornfully. “You’re here to follow through on some personal vendetta. Your behavior that day at Gallagher’s Inn proves it.”

“He broke his parole!”

Maggie threw out her hands. “Well, I broke a toe one time. Nobody wanted to kill me.”

Snake piped up. “That’s right. And I’ve broken ribs more times than I can count.” He glanced at Ben. “Didn’t you break your arm years ago? On that voyage to Madagascar, wasn’t it?”

“No, I don’t believe so,” Ben replied, picking up the change in conversation without hesitation. He held Luella’s gaze for a meaningful moment and appropriated her parasol. Moving away from her, he started pacing, pausing beside Maggie to hand her Luella’s parasol. Then he bowed his head and scratched behind his ears. “If I remember correctly, Snake, the arm was on the Tahiti trip. Madagascar was Lucky’s leg.”

“Lucky’s leg!” Snake snapped his fingers and took to striding around in a wide circle himself. “How could I forget about Lucky’s leg? He whined about it for a year afterward.”

“That’s true. Still, he wasn’t near as bad as Gus was that time he got his nose broke.”

Snake hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Now that was a mess. Never saw so much blood. And the hollering? Remember that, Ben? Remember how he wore out his throat with all the carrying on?”

“I remember,” Maggie said, twirling the parasol as she stepped forward to join her grandfathers in their route. They were up to something. She’d watched them play this game a number of times in the past, and she knew to follow their lead. “He threw a fit because Magic Tongue Sally did it. Gus always has hated being bested by a woman.”

She hazarded a glance at Rafe and Callahan. The ranger returned her look, his expression dumbfounded. Rafe arched his brows, silently mouthing the words “Magic Tongue Sally?”

Ben, assuming his customary leadership role, widened the circle they paced as he continued with Maggie’s conversational thread. “That’s why Gus won’t play you in golf, Maggie. You get the drop on the three of us at the word ‘go.’”

“Now wait a minute,” Snake said, halting just in front of one of the lawmen. “Maggie doesn’t beat me in golf.”

“Yes I do, Papa Snake.” Maggie stopped beside a second lawman, not meeting his eyes, but carefully observing his stance. If she’d interpreted Papa Ben’s instructions property, she figured to hear the word “go” at any moment. “I beat you just this morning. Rafe was there. He’ll tell you.”