Authors: Stolen Ecstasy
Hannah Howell (18 page)
“Sort of. None of Watkins’s men have returned to report whether Sebastian did or did not make it.”
“And that means something, does it?”
“The only thing it means for certain is that we have four less men to contend with ourselves. We like to think it also means he made it. He either took down the men following him or the fools got caught up in the chase, following him into town, and Tuckman took care of them. Of course, that’s looking on the favorable side.”
She nodded and watched as he sent Charlie to take over his place at the front while he, near enough to where Charlie had been stationed, took over watching their backs. He did not have to tell her the unfavorable outcome. She could see it clearly for herself. Either Sebastian had been killed or he was pinned down like they were. Either they would be rescued, or night would fall. In the dark they would never be able to stop Watkins’s men from eventually overrunning them.
After sitting for a few minutes watching the twilight enclose them and feeling the effects of the whiskey she had drunk cloud her thoughts, she began to think about dying. It seemed inordinately cruel for Hunter to be denied what he had worked so hard for when he was so close. So too was it cruel for her to be denied the future with him she had only just been promised. Facing her own mortality, she suddenly decided it was foolish to let pride keep her from telling Hunter all that was in her heart. Taking his hand in hers, she smiled a little weakly when he looked at her.
“Hot damn, boss—lookee there,” Charlie shouted before Leanne could say anything.
It was a minute before Hunter could see what Charlie’s sharp eyes had. A large force of men were riding from the direction of the town. When Hunter recognized Tuckman in the lead, he gave a shout of joyous relief. He gave Leanne a brief but hearty kiss, forced her to huddle down, then turned all of his attention to helping Tuckman and his posse take care of Watkins’s men.
Watkins swore maniacally as he watched his men either shot as they tried to flee or surrender. He made it very clear that he would prefer them dead rather than captured to be used as witnesses against him. Hunter was forced to keep the man from putting himself into the line of fire by clipping him on the jaw, knocking him out. Shortly after, a grinning Marshal Tuckman strolled over to him.
“You did better than you know, Tarrant. Don’t think there’s a face here that isn’t decorating some poster.” He looked down at the unconscious Watkins. “What happened to him?”
“He got to thinking he’d rather be shot than hanged.”
“Glad you changed his mind.”
After looking over the men the marshal had brought with him, Leanne was only interested in one thing. “Where is Sebastian?”
Hunter frowned, looking around as he helped Leanne to her feet. “He did make it, didn’t he, Henry?”
“Yup. Kinda battered from having two horses shot out from under him, but he’ll recover fine enough.”
“Where’d he get- the other horses? He left here with only one.”
“Well, now, seems Watkins’s men were kind enough to let him take theirs.”
“Must’ve been one hell of a ride. I really didn’t think he’d make it.” Hunter shook his head, then looked at Leanne who was leaning against him rather heavily. “Old Doc Frazer still around?”
“Yup. Anyone else hurt?”
“A nick here and there, that’s all.”
“Seems you brought the whole lot with you. I got me a feeling we’ll be doing a lot of talking.” He smiled faintly when Hunter cast him a brief, guilt-tinged look. “Well, let’s get this little lady to a doctor.”
Leanne gave herself over to being coddled. She felt too groggy from pain, exhaustion, and whiskey to stand on her own. As Hunter set her up on his horse, she managed a brief glance at Jed and Charlie. They looked as reluctant as she felt to follow the marshal. Hunter had said he would clear her name and get Charlie and Jed out of trouble, and while she trusted Hunter and knew he meant what he said, she could not feel as sure as he did that it could be accomplished.
Slumping against him as they started on their way, she decided not to worry about it for now. Until her wound had been properly treated and she had recovered her strength she could do nothing.
The moment they got into town, Hunter left the marshal with promises to return as soon as Leanne had been seen by the doctor and settled into a room at the hotel. Looking at the wounded men, posse and Watkins’s crew alike, Hunter was anxious to get to the doctor first. Leanne was looking too pale and acting too weak for his peace of mind. He barely noticed Charlie and Jed dogging his steps.
“Another one?” Doctor Jamie Frazer grumbled as he helped Hunter lead Leanne to the table.
“It’s not very bad,” Leanne mumbled when the graying, plump doctor cut away Hunter’s bandaging and part of her shirt.
“Now, who’s the doctor here, lass? You two” —he scowled at Charlie and Jed—“can go set yourselves outside.”
“The marshal will be looking for you soon,” Hunter said after Jed and Charlie had gone, “for some of his men and a few of the prisoners.”
“Damn fools,” Frazer muttered as he thoroughly checked Leanne’s wound. “Did you have to drag this lass into the middle of it?”
“There was no choice, sir,” Leanne rasped, the doctor’s probing of her wound making her dizzy with pain.
“Can’t you give her anything?” Hunter felt as if he shared every pain that caused Leanne to grow so white, to moan softly in her throat as she struggled not to cry out.
Looking at Hunter, the doctor murmured, “P’raps you ought to join your companions outside.”
“No. I’m staying right here with her.”
At first Leanne was grateful for Hunter’s presence. Shortly after the doctor started to stitch her wound, however, his presence became unnecessary. Despite her efforts to be brave and strong, she fainted from the pain.
The first word on Leanne’s lips when conciousness returned was one of the many new and very colorful curses she had learned while traveling with Hunter and the rest. Soft male laughter forced her to open her eyes. She found Sebastian sprawled on a cot at her side and Hunter sitting on the edge of her cot holding her hand.
“Sorry. It hurts,” she mumbled, glancing around and realizing that she was in a small room off of the doctor’s main office.
“I know. I’m stitched up like some damn quilt,” Sebastian grumbled.
“But you’ll recover.”
“Yeh, Hunter. Slowly but surely. A number of wounds, all painful but none really serious.”
“It is truly amazing that you reached the marshal.” With Hunter lending her support, Leanne slowly sat up. “The marshal told us you had horses shot out from under you.” She could almost smile at the way her praise so obviously pleased him.
“They finally lowered themselves to that in an attempt to stop me. Fortunately the horses whose saddles I’d emptied had the courtesy to run my way. Also fortunate was the fact that none of those men was very successful at hitting a moving target.” He grimaced and touched his bandaged shoulder. “Better than I wanted, though.”
“Just how many times were you hit?” Hunter asked.
“Five. Don’t look so horrified, Miss Summers. None of them was even as serious as yours. They cut open both my upper arms, nicked my left side and took a small chunk out of my right leg. The fifth one’s the worst—the bullet actually went in and had to be dug out. It ain’t a wound I’ll be boasting on though.”
She frowned, then her eyes widened as understanding came to her. He was lying on his stomach, something she had thought a little curious. There was one part of his body that would have been an almost continuous target for the men chasing him. She fought a giggle, not very successfully. Hunter’s shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.
“Reckon I’ll be standing at your wedding.”
Hunter grinned, glancing quickly at Leanne to see her put her hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles. Then he grew serious. “And I reckon you’ll be well enough to sit. I don’t like it much, but there’ll be no wedding for a while. I’m going to be too busy clearing away this Watkins mess to do more than make a brief stop before a preacher.”
“I don’t mind.” Leanne did not want to press him, but could not fully suppress a deep fear over the delay.
“I do. You’ll have a proper wedding, not some quick ‘I do’ then I’m off again. Tuckman warned me that I’ll be needed each step of the way in this, right up to the hanging. I don’t think that’ll take too long, however. They’ve been waiting too long for him to dawdle now.”
“Far too long,” Sebastian agreed.
“Well, I better get Leanne over to the hotel.”
“I suppose I can’t have my nice long, hot bath now.” She sighed as he helped her stand up.
“Not the long indulgent soak I know you were contemplating, but we’ll think of something.”
“Can you send Charlie and Jed in here?” Sebastian asked. “I’d like to get out of here.”
“Sure. I’ll tell them at the hotel that you’re on your way and wanting a room. They’ll be filling up fast once news gets out that Henry Watkins has been brought in.”
As they made their way to the hotel, Leanne tried to ignore all the curious and sometimes shocked looks cast her way. She suspected they were caused as much by her male attire as by her wounded, dusty state. Even the man at the hotel desk gawked at her, and she was heartily relieved to get to their rooms and away from prying eyes.
After setting her on the bed Hunter tugged off her boots. “I’ll have our things sent over here.”
“Can you have some hot water sent up as well?” Seeing his frown, she assured him, “Not for a bath, but I must at least sponge some of this dust off. I’m sure your family will show up soon, and I’d like to at least be tidy.”
“All right, although it’ll be a day or so before anyone from the ranch shows up. In the message I’ll be sending, I’ll be telling them I won’t be able to leave here for a few days. Since it’s a good part of a day’s journey here they might wait a little bit before sending someone out. It’s a busy time of the year for them, and I’m not on my death bed or in trouble.”
He gave her a brief kiss. “You sure you’ll be all right here alone?”
“I’ll be fine. You go take care of what you need to do. Marshal Tuckman’s probably wondering what has happened to you. I’ll just go to sleep anyway. I certainly need some rest after all we’ve been through.”
After kissing her again, Hunter left her to order some hot water for her and arrange for their things to be sent to their rooms. By the time he reached the sheriff’s office, it was to find Marshal Tuckman getting ready to send someone to find him. The deputy quickly served them some coffee and Hunter accepted the cigar Tuckman offered as they sat down at his desk.
“Began to think that little girl was hurt worse than I thought.”
“No, she’ll be fine. I just wanted to get her settled comfortably. Can you get her clear of this mess?”
“Already started on it, m’boy. Sent word to the federal marshal in Colorado to bring in that sheriff, Martin, and to get those damned posters down.”
“Sounds too easy. I expected more trouble.”
“Taking the posters down doesn’t mean she’s cleared, that any of you are. It’s to keep bounty hunters off your tails until the matter of innocence or guilt is determined.”
“Of course. Be honest, Henry. Do you think there’ll be any real problem in clearing Leanne?”
“It’ll just take time. Same with you. Now, what about those other two? You can’t tell me they’re poor, falsely accused innocents.”
“Nope. But they’re not real outlaws either. Fools maybe, but if we jailed folk for that there’d be no one left to lock the door.”
Tuckman laughed. “Sebastian said they weren’t criminals really, just got dragged into something and didn’t know how to get out of it. Seems they were asked to hold the horses while Watkins’s men robbed a bank. They obliged and found themselves on the run. Then, too, they helped bring Watkins in.”
“That’ll help them?”
“A lot. So will Sebastian talking on their behalf.” Henry took a deep puff on his cigar, then watched Hunter closely as he asked, “About Luke Meede’s death. Was that killing necessary, unavoidable?”
“Yeah. Didn’t Sebastian tell you what happened?”
“He did, but I want your side. Not to put too fine a point on it, Sebastian had some cause to want Luke Meede dead.” After listening closely to Hunter’s version of the incident, Tuckman nodded. “The only one I haven’t asked is Miss Summers, but I won’t trouble her with it. The rest of you all give the same tale. Glad of it. Sebastian’s a damn good lawman. I’d hate to see a black mark on his record.”
For a while they exchanged facts, and Hunter gave as detailed an account as he could of Watkins’s activities. Hunter was pleased to hear that a number of Watkins’s men were ready to testify against the man in hopes of lessening their own sentences. He was not pleased, however, to have clarified just how much of his time was going to be taken up with the business. Feeling somewhat dispirited, he finally rose to go back to the hotel to get some much needed rest.
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