Dorothy Garlock (26 page)

Unable to utter a word, Annabel left the porch. She scattered the feed inside the fenced area for the chickens, then hurried to the small building next to the chicken house.
Oh, Lord! Had he read her mind or was it written on her face how badly she needed to go to the privy?

Corbin watched her go, the skirt of her dress dancing around her bare legs. The truth was he was anxious for relief himself and hadn’t wanted to leave his lookout position to make the trip to the outhouse. He was sure that she was embarrassed by his suggestion, but in a situation like this there was no help for it.

The more time he spent with Annabel Lee Donovan, the more certain he was that she was the woman with whom he wanted to spend his life. Her ready smile and quick wit were a constant source of pleasure for him.
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
The phrase played over and over in his mind.

His fascination with Annabel, however, had not made him forget his responsibility to find out as much as he could about the criminal element in Henderson for Marshal Sanford. The marshal had information that a wing of the operation set up by George Remus, titan of the bootleggers in Chicago, was in the area.

Remus, having been trained as a pharmacist before getting his law degree, had cashed in on his early learning by buying up dozens of distilleries in Missouri, as well as in Ohio and Kentucky, that the law had allowed to remain in business for the purpose of making medicinal alcohol. If his
stolen
pure booze later ended up in speakeasies, it was not the fault of George Remus.

He had taken control of the flow of alcohol along the Mississippi River and would tolerate no competition. The federal marshals feared his criminal dynasty was spreading to Kansas City and points west.

Corbin felt the flat leather envelope that lay next to his skin. In it were his observations of Murphy Donovan and four other men in town. His hope was that Annabel’s father had been involved in selling only cases or kegs of illegal booze to saloons and speakeasies and not in the wholesale business where the big money was to be found and murder was almost commonplace.

If Murphy was selling out to Remus, he was getting out at a good time and Corbin was glad for Annabel. It was a relief to him to know that after he gave the information to Sanford he would be through with it.

Annabel stopped by the pump on her way back from the outhouse and drank a dipperful of water, delaying the time she had to face Corbin with him knowing where she had just come from.
Heavens!
she scolded herself.
Even people in love have to do
that
sometimes.

As soon as she returned to the porch and sat down, Corbin went to the small building. Annabel was careful to keep her eyes away as he entered the privy. She scanned the edge of the woods, her face devoid of expression. Inside she trembled.

Corbin returned. He was either gone a mere few minutes or her mind was so busy she had lost track of time. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

“Are you afraid I can’t take care of you, honey?”

“It isn’t that.”

“If they come over, I want you to go inside the house and not show yourself. Will you do that?”

“I’ll do whatever you say,” she answered in a shaky voice. “But Papa should be here, or Boone and Spinner. It’s not your—”

His hands gripped her shoulders and he looked down into her upturned face. “Don’t say it isn’t my place to be here with you. Haven’t I made my feelings clear enough?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” she whispered, and her forehead dropped to rest against his shoulder. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Sweetheart, I—”

Three short whistles came from the hayloft. Corbin’s head jerked up. Three riders had come out of the woods and were riding toward the house.

“Inside, honey. Stay there.”

Annabel ducked into the house. Corbin picked up the shotgun, walked out into the yard and stopped in front of the barn. Two of the riders were on horses, the third on a big gray mule. All three rode bareback and stopped a few dozen feet from Corbin.

Marvin Carter’s eyes were hate-filled, his nostrils tight with anger. Corbin’s eyes flicked to the other two men. One was a kid, sixteen or less; the other was a man Marvin’s age who looked a lot like him.

“You movin’ in here?” Marvin’s face was red and bloated. A stubble of beard covered his cheeks.

“What’s it to you if I do?”

“Ya’ll see what’s it to me. Ya run Leroy down last night. Killed the mule he was on. Ya hurt him bad. We Carters ain’t lettin’ that stand.”

“How bad is he?”

“That ain’t none of yore business.”

“You set up the roadblock to stop me. I’d a been a fool to stop and let you jump me. Too bad it wasn’t you on that mule.”

“We was pullin’ the limbs off the road.”

“Liar!” Corbin met the man’s angry gaze without a flicker of the emotion that tensed every nerve inside him.

“We come for Tess and Leroy.”

“They’re not here.”

“I’ll see for myself.” Agile as a cat, Marvin slipped from the horse and started for the house.

“Stay where you are!” Corbin’s voice was as sharp as the crack of a rifle. He jacked a shell into the chamber of the shotgun.

Marvin turned and laughed nastily. “Ya takin’ on all of us?”

“Take a look in the hayloft. The fellow up there with the rifle can shoot the pimple off a jaybird’s ass. With both barrels of this shotgun I can cut the legs out from under two horses and a mule.”

“He ain’t goin’ to shoot, Calvin. I’m gettin’ Leroy and Tessie.” Marvin swaggered toward the house.

“Stop right there.” Annabel appeared on the porch, walked out into the yard, aimed the pistol at Marvin and pulled the trigger. The bullet nicked the toe of his boot.

He jumped back and yelled. “Ya…gawddamn…bitch!” The curse burst from his lips. “I’ll beat hell outta ya!” He took a step toward her, his face red, his jaws shaking, his fists knotted.

“The next one will shatter your kneecap. Get off this place and stay off.” Holding the gun on Marvin, she came to stand beside Corbin.

“Good shooting, honey. Hold the shotgun.” Corbin shoved it in her hand, took two steps, grabbed Marvin and spun him around.

With a whining cry of fury, Marvin went for Corbin with both arms flailing, but he never laid a hand on him. Corbin’s left fist chipped him on the chin with a crack like that of a blacksnake whip. Marvin fell to the ground, and he lay there shaking his head.

“That was for what you called the lady. Now get up and get the hell out of here.” Corbin’s cold eyes met those of the man on the horse. “You dealing in?”

“Not…with a rifle on me. A man’s got a right to look for his kin.”

“They’re not here.”

“But ya know where they are.”

“If I did, I’d not tell a piece of manure like that.” Corbin jerked his head to where Marvin was trying to get off the ground.

“I ain’t a forgettin’ this,” Marvin snarled his favorite threat, got to his feet and reached for his horse’s reins.

“That’s up to you. Anytime you’ve got the guts to meet me man to man, I’ll be glad to accommodate you.” He took the shotgun from Annabel’s hand.

“You stole our horses and we want them back.” Annabel’s usually smiling face was set in lines of resentment. Anger burned in her eyes. Although her hand was steady on the gun she held pointed at Marvin’s chest, her heart was racing like a runaway train.

“I don’t have ’em.”

“Some of your kin do.” Her eyes shifted to the other man on the horse. He was grinning at her.

“I’m Calvin, ma’am. Brother to this un. I do admire a woman with spunk.”

“I’ve reported you to the sheriff.”

Calvin laughed. “Old Stoney ain’t goin’ to do nothin’ ’bout nothin’. Where ya think he gets his booze?”

“I’ll report you to the federal marshals. We know you’ve got a still and where it is.”

“Things happen to folks who do that. Like grass fires that burn up barns and…houses, like bein’ taken for a deer—”

“Get off our land.” Annabel made a jabbing motion with the gun.

Marvin grabbed a handful of the horse’s mane and sprang up on its back. He glared at Corbin. His fury was about to push him beyond the bounds.

“I’ll be back to get my girl.”

“You…you filthy hog!” Annabel’s head was erect and she looked him in the eye. “You’re rotten through and through. I wouldn’t walk on you if you were dirt!”

“I’ll learn ya to keep yore trap shut.” He would have said more, but he glanced at the man holding the shotgun. His eyes were like two frozen ponds.

“If you even speak to her, you’ll get a load of buckshot.” A burst of anger exploded in Corbin and his finger tightened on the trigger.

Everything in Marvin rebelled against backing down, but self-preservation won over pride. Marvin turned his horse to leave. The others followed.

A shot came from the hayloft and plowed into the ground inches from the mule’s hind legs, sending dirt clods spraying up onto its belly. The frightened animal lowered its head and kicked out, throwing the rider to the ground.

By the time he’d gotten to his feet, Calvin had grabbed the mule’s reins and had him under control. Thinking that Annabel or Corbin had fired the shot, the boy shook his fists at them, then climbed back upon the mule.

Not a word was said until the trio disappeared in the woods. Then Corbin reached over and took the pistol from Annabel’s hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me you could shoot like that?”

She was trembling and started to laugh. She couldn’t seem to stop. Holding on to Corbin’s arm, she hid her face against him until the giggles subsided.

“I wasn’t…aiming at anything. I was nervous and the gun went off. I was more surprised than Marvin.”

“Good Lord! I’m glad I didn’t know that. You can sure run a bluff. I was ready to put down the shotgun and let you take over. On second thought…why didn’t you stay in the house like I told you to?”

“There were three of them. I figured there should be three of us.”

Jack came out of the barn, a smoldering look of anger on his face.

“That kid had on my shirt. He’s one of them who stole my glove.”

“I suppose your gun just went off too.”

“No, by damn. The second shot woulda took off his hat or his head if the mule hadn’t bucked him off.”

Corbin shook his head. “You two are about as helpless as a couple of rattlesnakes,” he said, but he was smiling.

“What will they do to Boone and Tess? They should be back by now.”

“It’s out of our hands, honey. All we can do is wait and hope for the best.”

It was the twilight time of day. Boone and Tess sat in the car in front of the doctor’s house.

“The doctor didn’t say that he’d be all right.” Tess’s large amber eyes watched Boone’s face anxiously.

“He couldn’t say that. He has to wait and see if infection sets in. If it does, Leroy will be right there where the doctor can treat him.”

“What if Marvin and Calvin and some of the others come to get him—”

“The doctor won’t let them take him.”

Tess snorted with disgust. “They’d not ask.”

“He said they’d not take him. Honey, the doc’s no pushover. I imagine he’s seen plenty of rough-and-tumble times.” Boone started the car and drove slowly along the streets of Henderson. “I wish we didn’t have to go back, but first we’re going to have a few minutes alone together.”

He drove down to the end of the park and stopped the car. Turning to her, he opened his arms. Without hesitation, she went into them. Her arms moved up to encircle his neck. He groaned her name, then covered her lips with his and left them there while he whispered, “Sweet, sweet girl—”

“What would I have done without you?” She clutched him tightly, her hands biting into the solid flesh of his back.

The feel of his strong body, the stroking of his hands, the warm moistness of his breath and the love spilling from her heart left no room in her mind for anything but him. With her fingers tangled in his black hair, she held his head to her, never wanting to leave him.

For long moments there were no words between them, only the sounds of labored breathing and moaning kisses.

“Tess, sweetheart.” Holding her tightly, he spoke in her ear when finally he could talk. “I can’t take ya back there. Let me take ya to Annabel. Murphy will be back tomorrow or the next day. He’ll look after his daughter and we’ll go where the Carters can’t find ya.”

“I’ll remember forever that you offered to do this, but I can’t let you—”

“Yo’re the most important thin’ in the world to me, darlin’. I wasn’t goin’ to St. Louis with the Donovans. I want a home, with ya as the mother of my kids. I’ll take care of ya. I swear it.”

“There’s so many of them—”

“Are they all like yore brothers?”

“Some of the Carters south of Henderson are different. They don’t have much to do with the Carters around here.”

“If I take ya back to Marvin and he hurts ya, I’ll kill him and end up gettin’ hung or in the pen for life.”

“But they’ll know I’m there and will come to get me. They set a whole woods on fire once ’cause a man stole a barrel of their whiskey. Burned him out. I don’t know what happened to him or his family.”

“Jack, and prob’ly Appleby, will be there, and Murphy will be back tomorrow or the next day. If he isn’t back, I know a place where you and Annabel will be safe.”

“What…will she think?”

“She’ll think it was the smart thin’ to do. She likes ya. I hope that ya like her. I think the world of her, not as my sweetheart, but as a kid I’ve watched grow up into a nice young lady.”

“You’re awfully smart, Boone. You could have any woman you want. Why are you bothering with me?”

Boone laughed, hugged her, then held her off so he could look into her face.

“Have ya looked at yoreself in the mirror lately? Yo’re all gold from head to foot: hair, eyes, skin. Yo’re pretty as a gold nugget, not that I’ve seen many. ’Sides that, ya’ve learned how to live with what ya have to put up with. Ya’ve got spunk too. It took spunk to come to me today. I like it that yo’re concerned for your brother even though he’s been mean to ya. Ya can see what made him what he is. I could tell ya more—”