B00BWX9H30 EBOK (16 page)

“See that you do.” Doc picked up his bags and left.

Ella sent everyone to bed then made some laudanum water for Nathan. “Here drink this.”

He frowned. “It’s going to make me sleepy. I won’t be able to stay awake long enough for you to take advantage of me.”

“Darlin’ there will be plenty of time to take advantage of you.” She laughed. “Plenty of time.”

They walked to their bedroom. Once there, Nathan shut the door behind them and pulled Ella into his arms. It was easier to do with the cast on instead of the tree limbs, but it was still awkward.

She pulled back and looked at him. “You need to let that dry.”

He kissed her jaw just in front of her ear and then down her neck. “You need to stop worrying so much and help me out of these clothes.”

She shook her head, but was more than happy to oblige and not surprised to find him stiff and ready.

“What do you think you’re going to do with that?” she asked as she unbuttoned her dress and let it fall to the floor. It was quickly followed by her chemise and bloomers until she stood there in nothing but her stockings.

“Damn you look good. I think I’m going to make love to my wife.” He bent his head and took one of her nipples in his mouth.

Ella gasped with pleasure, heat moving from her nipples straight down to her core. It didn’t take much since the pregnancy. It seemed she wanted sex all the time which was fine with Nathan.

“You have to keep your arm elevated,” she protested, though half-heartedly. “And it needs to dry.”

“I know and I will. You’re going to ride me tonight, my love. You’re going to be on top. You’ll set the pace. Have the control.”

Ella grinned. “I have control? Oh, this is going to be fun. Lay back and put your arm above your head.”

He did as she bade.

She climbed on top of him, her sex over his, brushing his member. She took it in her hand and guided it into her while bracing herself on his chest with her other hand. She slid down him, the fullness exquisite. Then she lifted herself slowly, feeling every hard inch of him. Repeating the movements, each time a little faster until she got the rhythm. Then she leaned back bracing herself on his thighs, taking him deeper still.

“God, why haven’t we done this before?” she asked Nathan.

“No idea.” He lifted when she came down pushing himself until he was balls deep in her. “Touch yourself. Make yourself come before I do.”

She reached down and touched herself, rubbing like she’d felt Nathan do so many times before. Her body tightened, all her nerve endings alive. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Nathan!”

Her body convulsed around him, squeezing, pulsing, wringing his orgasm from him. She felt his seed shoot deep inside her.

She collapsed forward onto his chest. “Oh My!” She felt his heart bang against his chest.

“You were magnificent.” He kissed her tenderly. “We should move.”

“Did that already. Moved a lot.”

He chuckled. “Yes, you did.”

“We should do that again.”

“Oh, we will. We most definitely will.”

She rolled off him and cuddled into his side. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” he said to her already sleeping form.

* * *

Ella took over the morning chores that Nathan did. Milking the cows and gathering the eggs. He’d been very patient with her, teaching her how to milk the cow. It’d taken her a few tries to get the squeezing and pulling of the teets just right so the milk shot into the bucket and not on her feet.

The barn cats always gathered at milking time. Nathan was able to shoot milk at them and they loved it. Ella wasn’t that talented so she brought down a bowl and filled it for them.

Learning how to gather the eggs had been easier. Just reach under the chicken and get the egg. Each chicken only laid one egg per day, so it was easy to just move down the row, moving chicken after chicken. Nathan set the chicken coop up so you could walk behind the chickens to gather the eggs. It made it less likely to get pecked if you took the eggs from behind.

It’d been six weeks, she was six and a half months pregnant and it was getting harder to get around. It was almost time for Nathan’s cast to come off and he was doing a lot of his old chores, but Ella kept doing the ones she’d taken over. She enjoyed them and the time alone. It seemed like she never had time alone. She was always with someone, Martha, Nathan or one or more of the cowboys. But here, in the early morning, she could watch the sun rise as she went from the chicken coop to the barn. It was always magnificent. Today the moon hung low on the horizon. Clouds of bright orange and pink ran through a clear dark, blue sky. It humbled her to be in the presence of such wonder.

She sat on the milking stool, grabbed a teet and started to milk. Bessie didn’t seem to even notice she was there, but kept chewing her cud and ignoring Ella. The cats were all there waiting for their milk. Even the new kittens had finally come down with their mama for the sweet treat. Ella put the bowl in the bucket and filled it first. She’d gotten pretty good at hitting just the bowl, but not always and she didn’t want to waste any of the precious milk.

The cats scattering was the only warning Ella got that someone else was in the barn with her. She turned around and saw Daniel. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, but she was determined not to let him know it.

“I wondered when you’d be back.” She was proud of herself. Her voice didn’t break revealing her fear. She kept milking the cow so he wouldn’t see her hands shake.

“I’ve been watching, sweet sister. Watching and waiting until I could get you alone. Nathan kept coming with you every morning until this past week and finally, you started doing this alone.”

“Why didn’t you just go back to New York? What is it you want, Daniel?”

“I want everything. Everything, Father denied me. I’m the oldest. I should have inherited it all. But no. I wasn’t legitimate. He’d already married your mother by the time I was born. It was never an option for him to marry my mother. She wasn’t rich enough. She wasn’t rich at all. So he used her. Used her all those years.”

“Sounds to me like he loved her. He kept going back to her when he didn’t have to. It wasn’t just for sex, he got that from my mother. No, he loved your mother and he loved you. You just didn’t see it because of your greed and your jealousy.” She finally stopped milking and turned toward him on the stool.

“You’ve gotten a lot bigger in the weeks since I saw you.”

“Having a baby will do that to a person.”

“Yes, well too bad. I don’t relish killing a pregnant woman, but it’s necessary. If you had just died in the buggy accident like you were supposed to, none of this would be needed.”

“It’s
not
necessary now. We can work something out Daniel. You don’t have to kill me.”

“Oh yes, I do. I have to kill you now and then go back and finish off Joshua. I should be able to get close to him too. Just like I did you.”

She shook her head. “No. No, you won’t. I’ve warned him about you. Sent him a telegram after the accidents. But they weren’t accidents were they? You sawed through the axle enough that a few rough patches on the road would break it. And you cut through the strap on Nathan’s saddle, too, didn’t you?”

Daniel laughed. Only then did she notice the gun he held.

“Yes. While you were sleeping. After having been such a gracious hostess, too. I met with the men I hired. They did the actual dirty work. I just watched and made sure it was done right.”

“You could have shared with us. All you had to do was come forward. You have enough evidence to convince us and we would have shared with you. Why didn’t you do that? Why this? Why kill us?”

“Because I want it all. It’s all mine. For all the years that I was ignored. For all the time he spent with you and not me. I deserve it. All of it.”

She rose slowly off the stool. Her growing bulk made it hard for her to get up, but now she didn’t want to make any sudden moves for fear he’d kill her. “What now? You can’t shoot me. The entire ranch would come running. You know no matter what you do, Nathan will find you. He’ll kill you without so much as a backward thought.”

“He’ll never find me. I know I can’t get the company now. You’ve taken everything from me. But I can still kill you. Then I’ll go back to New York and kill Joshua. Neither of you will get anything either. You’ll die knowing I won.”

“You haven’t won anything. You’ve only lost. Your greed is costing you everything. If you’d talked to Father, he would have included you. I know it.”

He laughed again. This time the sound even more maniacal. It scared her. She didn’t know how she’d keep him talking. Nathan would get worried if she didn’t come back soon. He’d come looking for her. She just had to keep Daniel talking.

“Father didn’t think anything of me.”

“Not true. He sent you to school. Gave you the tools you needed to make a good life for yourself. Why didn’t you do that?”

“Because I deserved more.” He yelled at her. “I deserved everything.”

Calmly, she picked up the bucket.

“What do you think you’re doing? Put that down.”

“I’m going to the house now, Daniel. I’m going to cook breakfast for my men.”

“Do you think this is a game?” He raised the gun and pointed it at her. “Do you think I won’t pull the trigger?”

“No. You won’t pull it. You don’t want to die. I know you don’t.”

“What do I have to live for? Tell me.”

She walked toward him. “I don’t know. Prison maybe.” She threw the milk at him and then swung the bucket, connecting with his head. It wasn’t heavy enough to do much damage, but it gave her time to run.

“Nathan!” she screamed running out of the barn. “Nathan!”

Daniel fired a shot. She heard the blast and felt it as it whizzed past her. He fired again and again missed her.

She saw Nathan running toward her.

Daniel fired again. She felt the burning in her arm and stumbled to the ground.

She saw Nathan fire his Colt.

There was silence behind her.

Nathan was at her side. “Ella. Ella. Honey, talk to me.”

She sat up and looked into her beloved’s face. “He’s behind me. He’s trying to kill me. He’s—”

“Dead.”

“Dead? You killed him?”

“Yes. He won’t be hurting us or anyone else ever again.”

She burst into tears. “Thank God.”

Nathan picked her up in his arms and carried her to the house. He went to the kitchen and put her down in one of the chairs at the table.

Martha wrapped her arms around Ella’s shoulders.

“Ow.”

“She’s been shot in the shoulder,” he said to Martha. “Let’s get this dress off and see what we have.”

Nathan tried to unbutton her dress, but his left hand didn’t work well enough to open the tiny buttons.

“Here let me,” said Martha, who made quick work of it.

“Looks like the shot just grazed your arm. You’re going to be just fine.”

“Thank God.”

The baby kicked and she placed her hand on her stomach. “Oh, Nathan, feel. The baby wants us to know he’s all right, too.” She placed his hand on her belly. The baby kicked again and his father felt him for the first time.

The look of wonder on Nathan’s face made Ella smile.

“It amazes me,” he said. “Feeling him kick.”

“I know,” said Ella. “But I’d prefer it if he didn’t sit on my bladder.” She punched on her stomach attempting to move the babe.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” said Martha before turning around and getting the supplies.

After Ella’s arm was cleaned and bandaged, she went to the bedroom and put on a clean dress.

Nathan followed her.

“Are you sure you’re all right? It’s a traumatic experience to be shot.”

“I’m fine. I need to get back to work. I need for things to be normal.”

“I sent one of the men to town for the sheriff. He’ll take Daniel’s body back to town and take statements from us. There shouldn’t be any problem.”

She nodded. “It’s such a tragedy. He could have been part of the family, could have shared everything with us if he’d only tried. If he hadn’t been so greedy. If he hadn’t tried to kill us. If….”

“Ella, don’t go thinking like that. Daniel made his choices. None of them good ones. He wasn’t right in the head and there’s nothing you could have done differently that would have changed him.”

“It’s just so sad.”

“I know, but you’re safe and that’s all that matters.” He took her in his arms careful of her injury. “You’re all that matters.”

“Oh, Nathan, I love you so.” She angled her head up for a kiss.

He obliged. Fierce. Gentle. His kiss was everything. She felt all his love in that kiss.

She gave all of hers back. He was her husband. Her mighty warrior. Her love.

EPILOGUE

Singing Bird arrived with no notice. She was just there one morning when Ella came to the kitchen. She and Nathan sat at the table. They both had cups in front of them.