Mail Order Bride - Westward Justice: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 6) (19 page)

              Seth, Luke, and Marcus followed Jack as he took them to the place Sammi had described to him.  The four horses made a lot of noise as they skidded to a stop outside the cabin.  Jamie was following with their other team and wagon, while Claire had been sent to the Lakota camp to deliver the news about Owl.
              Marcus jumped off Arrow before the horse had stopped.  He almost rammed into Mitch as he entered the cabin.  Paying the line of men no heed, Marcus made a beeline for his fallen brother.  As he neared Owl, Marcus smelled the familiar scents of various plants he used for healing.  He watched as Dean chewed up Echinacea root and opened Owl’s mouth.  Dean tucked the soft wad between Owl’s cheek and gum and gently closed his mouth again.

              Marcus looked around at all of the mess of plants on the floor.  Only then did he notice that Dean’s upper body was bare and that his shirt, or what was left of it, had been ripped into strips.  It wasn’t perfect, but Dean had done a fair job of making a poultice and applying it. 

              Dean said, “I don’t know if it’s enough, little brother, but Sammi and I did the best we could.  I tried to remember what all you did for Jamie after she’d been shot.”

              Marcus knelt by Dean and hugged him quickly.  “I don’t know if it is, either, but it’s not for lack of trying on both of your parts.  I’m grateful to you guys, and if Owl makes it, he will be, too.  Exactly what happened?” he asked as he looked at Sammi.  Blood covered her hands and they trembled as she sat nearby.

              Dean pointed at Billy.  “That little piece of crap right there stabbed Owl in the back.  I say we let Black Fox and He Who Runs have him.  What do you think, Sheriff?”

              Mitch let out a rough laugh.  “I’d say that I’d love to see what they do with him, but I’m bound by the law to take them with me.”

              Jack stepped over to Billy.  “Oh, yeah. I know you,” he said looking down at Billy.  “That’s one of my uncles that you attacked you ass!”  Jack noticed the odd angle Billy’s leg was bent at and said, “What happened there?”

              Billy said, “Your uncle broke my knee.”

              “Did he now?” Jack kicked Billy’s leg a little and Billy cried out.

              “Jack!  Stop that!” Marcus said.  “Help Mitch, but don’t do any more damage to that piece of crap’s leg.  I have to fix it, you know.”

              Dean looked at Marcus.  “You’re kidding.”

              “Nope.  That’s my oath as a doctor.  I have to treat pieces of crap whether I like it or not,” Marcus said.  “C’mon and help me turn him over so I can sew him up.”

              Sammi had helped Dean and Marcus tend to Owl’s wound and watched as they loaded him in the wagon.  Mitch refused to let her go with Owl.  He needed to find out what had happened and he wanted to know now.  Mitch was grateful for the help of the other three men in getting the four criminals that were still alive back to town. 

              As they entered Dawson, folks lined the streets and clapped when they saw that Mitch and company had apprehended the miscreants.  Mitch asked them to be allowed to pass so he could get the prisoners into the jail.  Seth made Jack stay away from Billy as they moved him into the jail and laid him on a cot.  He didn’t trust his nephew not to be rough with the injured prisoner. 

              Once they were all locked up, Mitch pulled a bottle of whiskey from Travis’ desk drawer and uncorked it.  “I don’t normally drink on the job or this early in the day, but I think I’ll make an exception in this case.”  He took a health swig and passed it on to Seth.  It went down the line until it got to Jack who just stood holding it when Luke handed it to him.

              Seth looked at him and said, “What are you waitin’ for an engraved invitation?”

              Jack took a swallow and then passed it to Sammi. 

Mitch watched his wife take a small sip and had to stomp on the sympathy he felt for her.  Right now he had to be the sheriff, not her husband.  “Fellas, I can’t thank you enough for all of your help.  I owe you and I owe Owl, too.  Will you please keep us updated on how he’s doing?”

Sammi nodded and grasped Jack’s forearm.  “Yes, please let me know if he’s at your place or at camp.  I want to come see him as soon as I can.”

Gus Henderson came into the office and said, “Sheriff, I have some bad news to tell you.”

Mitch sat down and put his head in his hands.  “What is it?”

“Uh, well, Joe is probably gonna have to quit running for mayor.  He went home with Annie Brackenridge last night.  Several people saw him leave her place this morning,” Gus said.

All of them exchanged shocked looks, but especially Luke was taken aback.  Without another word, he left and Seth knew his cousin was going to see Joe.

Annie opened her door when there was a knock.  She thought it was another caller, but she froze when she saw Joe’s wife on the other side of doorway.

Lacey smiled kindly at Annie.  “May I come in, please?”

Annie said, “What do you want?”

“I would like to speak to you about my husband,” Lacey said and tried to sound the way Tessa did when she was being firm yet civil about something.  “I’ll ask you again, may I come in?”
              Annie saw no harm in it and allowed Lacey to pass through.  “What can I do for you, Mrs. Dwyer?”

“It’s not what you can do for me, Annie, it’s what you can do for this town,” Lacey said.

“What are you talkin’ about?” the blonde said. 

“I can’t say for sure who put you up to drugging Joe last night, but I can guess with a reasonable certainty,” Lacey said.

Annie’s eyes shifted anxiously and Lacey knew she was right. 

“Annie, do you care for Joe?” Lacey asked.  “It’s ok to be honest.  I’m not jealous of you.  I have no need to be because my husband loves me and our baby and he has never been unfaithful to me.  I trust Joe, Annie, and I know that I am the only woman Joe wants.  It’s because of this that I know that the only way Joe would ever come here or anywhere with you is if he had been drugged.”

Annie said, “Yes.  I care for him a lot.”

“That’s good.  You almost killed him by giving him too much laudanum,” Lacey said.

“What?  I only gave him—“Annie said and fell silent for a moment.  “Is he going to be ok?”  There was no sense in denying it any longer.

“Doc says he’ll be fine, but if you had given him much more, you would be arrested for murder.  Now, here’s what you’re going to do.  You will go with me to the sheriff’s station and give him a sworn statement of what you did and who had you do it.  Dawson needs Joe to win this election and this deplorable attempt at discrediting him will be harmful to its citizens,” Lacey said.

“Why would I do that?  What’s in it for me?” Annie demanded.

Lacey rubbed her stomach.  “What’s in it for you is knowing that you helped this town and yourself by doing the right thing and coming forward with the truth about what happened last night.  Goodbye, Annie.”

“Is there anything else you need to put on here?” Mitch asked after reading Sammi’s statement. 

“No.  That’s everything,” Sammi said.  Her stomach was killing her, but she felt that she deserved so much worse.  Everything that had happened was her fault.  Owl might die because of her reckless actions.  She wished it had been her that had been stabbed.

She had gone home to clean up and change before coming back to sheriff’s office to give her official statement to Mitch.  Owl’s blood might be physically gone from her hands, but in her heart it would be on them forever.

Mitch was beyond incensed.  “Do you understand what you’ve done?  I mean really understand?”

Sammi looked at him.  There was no fight in her eyes as she said, “Yes.  I may have gotten Owl killed.  If he lives, he may be permanently injured.  All of it is my fault.”

“Yes.  That’s true.  You’ve also ruined my trust in you, Sammi.  You promised me that you wouldn’t take matters into your own hands regarding your stuff being stolen.  You promised to respect my jurisdiction the same way I respected yours,” Mitch said.  “You couldn’t do that, though, could you?  You just had to prove that you knew best and could handle whatever happened.  If you were my deputy right now, you’d be fired because you can’t follow orders.”

“I know.  You’re right.”

“Damn it, Sammi!  I love you, but I can’t trust you.  What am I supposed to do about that?” Mitch said.  “I thought we had an understanding?  You could have been killed!  The woman I love might be lying dead in that cabin right now.  If I hadn’t shown up when I did, you would be, and Owl, too.  He’s my friend, too, and now he’s fighting for his life because you couldn’t put your pride aside and come get me.  Why didn’t you let me help you?  I told you once that you could lean on me and yet you refuse to do so.  You also undermine my job as sheriff, Sammi.”

Sammi’s voice was a whisper as she said, “I’m sorry.”

“Go home, Sammi.  I have work to do right now,” Mitch said.

Sammi couldn’t move for a moment and then stood stiffly.  In a daze, Sammi walked slowly from the office and up the street to their home.  She walked aimlessly through the rooms even though she was exhausted and should sleep.  There was no escape from her thoughts and her misery consumed her.  In Mitch’s brown eyes, she’d seen how much she’d wounded him and that hurt her worse than anything he might have said to her.  Mitch was right in every way.  She’d disrespected and tossed aside the trust of the only man who’d ever loved her.  Her pride had come before good judgment and now Owl was paying the ultimate price for that pride.

As she entered the bedroom she shared with Mitch and looked at the bed where she spent every night in Mitch’s arms, Sammi became even more ashamed of herself for betraying the man she’d married.  There was no way she could sleep there.  Going to the closet, Sammi pulled out her bedroll and took it to the bedroom the farthest from their room and unrolled it. 

She spread it out and lay down on it.  Shock and fatigue claimed her and Sammi slept.

Mitch felt as if he was living in a perpetual nightmare.  An hour after he’d sent Sammi home, Annie had shown up and confessed to almost poisoning Joe Dwyer to death.  She demanded to give a sworn statement and had named Jessie Wilkes as the party who had paid her for her part in the attempt to assassinate Joe’s character.

Doc was called on for the second major medical problem that day when Mitch asked him to come see what he could do for Billy’s leg.  He filled Doc in on what had happened to Owl and the older man decided he would go see if he could help Marcus with his brother at all. 

Mitch no sooner dealt with that than he had to go arrest Jessie for attempted murder.  Jessie did not come willingly.  Mitch was so furious and tired, that he had taken great pleasure in using force to arrest the mayor.  As he sat down at his desk, Mitch realized that there was no one governing the town except him now.  He groaned out loud as he also wondered who on the town council was a part of Jessie’s treachery.

“What the hell is happening to our town?” Mitch wondered.  “I need deputies right now.”  Mitch smiled as an idea came to him.  He put on his hat and left the office feeling slightly hopeful for the first time in many hours.

When Joe woke, it was near sundown.  He felt someone warm curled up against him and prayed that it was his wife.  Hesitantly he ran a hand over her side and felt Lacey’s familiar swollen stomach.  His sigh of relief was loud in the room.  Putting a hand to his pounding head, Joe tried to remember what had happened.  Things came back to him in dribs and drabs. 

The memory of Sammi being angry at him flashed through his mind and then the next thing he’d known, he was in Annie’s room.  It was fuzzy again after that, but he recalled riding home and puking his guts out.  Then nothing until now.

Lacey heard Joe’s sigh and raised her head from his chest.  “Joe?”

“Hi, darlin’,” Joe said.  His voice was rough and he coughed, but at least he was drawing breath.

Lacey hugged him gently.  “Oh, Joe.  I’ve been so worried.”

Joe squeezed her.  “I’m ok.  I guess.  Am I ok?”

“Yeah.  Doc said you’ll be fine in a day or two,” she said.  “Annie poisoned you.”

“What?” he moved so he could see her face.  “Why would she do that to me?  Lacey, I swear, nothing happened as far as I know.  The last thing I remember was that Sammi made me leave the bar.  Then I woke up in her room.  I somehow got dressed and left right away.  I would never cheat on you, you know that right?”

The panic in Joe’s voice spoke volumes to Lacey.  She already knew that Joe hadn’t cheated on her, but hearing it from his lips was still a relief.  “I know, honey.  It’s ok.  She admitted to everything after I went to see her.”

“Ya’ll did what?” Joe said and tried to sit up.  His head started spinning and Lacey pressed him back down.  “I think I’ll just stay like this.  Why would you go see her, especially with being so far along?”

Lacey chuckled.  “I wanted her to know that I knew you would never sleep with anyone again and that I knew what happened.  I appealed to her sense of decency, as Tessa says.  I also made her see that we need you as mayor.  Apparently it worked because she gave the sheriff an affidavit stating her part in it and that Jessie had paid her to discredit you.”

“That bastard,” Joe said. “I’m gonna kill him as soon as I’m better.”

“There’s no need.  Mitch arrested him for attempted murder.  Doc said if you hadn’t gotten sick that you probably wouldn’t have made it,” Lacey said and started to cry softly.

Joe held her closer.  “Shh.  It’s all right, darlin’.  I’m ok.  I’m too stubborn to die.”

“That’s good for me and the baby.  For a lot of people,” she said through her tears.  “There’s been a lot going on overnight.  I’m worried about Sammi.  I want to go see her, but I can’t leave you.”

“What’s wrong with Sammi?” Joe asked with alarm.

Lacey haltingly told him what she knew about Sammi and Owl’s exploit with the men who’d stolen her possessions.  As she spoke, Joe’s eyes got bigger and bigger.  His heart went out to all those affected by the situation.  He knew how close Sammi and Owl had become and was sure that she was devastated.  Marcus and Owl’s other brothers must be as well. 

Then there was Mitch.  He was in a hard spot at the moment.  He was the only person holding the town together since some of the council wasn’t going to be any help to the sheriff.  Joe also knew that Mitch was bound to be furious with Sammi for undertaking such a dangerous mission on her own.  The sigh he let out this time was one of frustration because at the moment, there was nothing he could do to help.

“As soon as I’m able, I’ll be out of this bed and trying to do whatever I can to bring order back to the town,” Joe said.

When Doc arrived at the Samuels ranch, the mood was very somber.  He noticed that several Lakota people stood outside Seth’s old bunkhouse.  Marcus had said that it would better to put Owl in there since he knew Owl hated being in a house.  The brave had a deep fear that the building would collapse on him and only stayed inside one for short periods of time.  At least the bunkhouse only had one floor.

Doc knew several of the Indians gathered there.  “Hello,” he said to He Who Runs.

“Hello, Doc,” He Who Runs said.  His face was set into grim lines and worry for Owl showed in his dark eyes.

“I came to see if there’s anything I can do to help,” Doc said as he laid a hand on He Who Runs’ shoulder.

He Who Runs nodded.  “Thank you.”

“You bet,” Doc said and stepped into the bunkhouse. 

Black Fox sat Indian style on the floor at the foot of the bed while Marcus bathed Owl’s face and upper body with cold water from the creek.  That told Doc that fever had set in.  Marcus looked up as Doc approached.

“How’s he doing?” Doc asked as he came closer.

Marcus shook his head.  “Not so good.  He lost a lot of blood.  I’m not sure what all is damaged inside.  There was no red discharge from his nose or mouth, so somehow, the knife missed his lung.  It must have been the way he was turned when it—'" Marcus’ voice cracked as he thought about his brother’s flesh being punctured by the wicked blade.

Doc said, “It’s ok, son.  I know what you’re sayin’.”

Marcus cleared his throat and said, “I’ve done everything there is to do.  I’m afraid to give him laudanum right now because his breathing is shallow enough already.  It’ll constrict his lungs too much.”

Doc chuckled.  “Hmm.  Spoken like a true doctor.”

Marcus smiled a little as Dean came into the bunkhouse.  “Hey, Doc.”

“Dean.”

“Marcus, I’ve got an idea about breaking that fever,” Dean said.  “He’s passed out cold, right?”

Marcus nodded.  “Yeah, why?”

“Good.  Well, I mean, good in a way.  I’ll be back,” Dean said.  “Hey, Chief, get off your can and come help.”

Black Fox gave Dean a hard stare.

“Don’t look at me like that.  You’re in my camp now and I’m chief here.  Move it,” Dean said and left the bunkhouse.

Black Fox looked at Marcus who just shrugged.  Black Fox rose and followed Dean. 

Mitch rode up to Dean’s house and knocked on the kitchen door.  Tessa opened it.  “Hello, Mitch.  Come in,” she said.

“Well, I’m a little pressed for time, Tessa. I was wondering if Jack and Seth are around,” Mitch said.

“I would check in one of the barns.  I believe they’re taking care of the chores while Dean is helping with Owl,” Tessa said. 

“How’s Owl doing?” Mitch said.

“I’m afraid it’s touch and go at the moment,” Tessa said.

Mitch nodded.  “Give my best to Marcus and all his family, please?”

“I will,” Tessa said.

Mitch found Jack first. 

“Sheriff, what brings you?” Jack asked as he threw hay into stalls for the evening feeding.

“I need you and Seth right now,” Mitch said and held out a badge to the young man.  “I’m deputizing you as of this minute.”

Jack looked at the badge in wide-eyed wonder.  “Me?”

“Yep.  You did a good job earlier today and I need help.  So get your horse saddled and come with me.  I’ll go get Seth,” Mitch said and left Jack to stare after him.

Then Jack whooped and pinned the badge to his shirt.  He liked the way it looked.  Rushing to Raider’s stall, he proceeded to saddled up.

Mitch went to Seth’s house and knocked.  The man he was looking for came to the door.  He didn’t bother greeting Seth, he just handed him a badge and said, “Come with me now.  Jack’s coming, too.”

Seth calmly took the badge and said, “I’ll be right there.”  He found Maddie in the nursery with J.R.  “Honey, Mitch just deputized me.  I gotta go.”

“Deputized?  Why?” Maddie said as she put J.R. in his crib. 

J.R. promptly stood up and reached for Seth.  “Pa!”

Seth smiled and picked up his son.  “Hey, buddy.  Pa has to go be deputy.  I don’t know why, but he needs help, I guess.”  He kissed J.R. and sat him down again.

Maddie hugged Seth and said, “Please be careful.”

“I promise.  I don’t know when I’ll be back.  It’ll be fine,” Seth said as he placed a kiss on Maddie’s pretty mouth.  “I love you.  See ya later.”

Maddie said, “I love you, too,” and watched her husband leave the room.  Trouble sat at her feet and let out an anxious whine.  “Yes, Trouble, me, too.”

              Jamie saddled Stella, a mare that she often used, and set out for town.  She wanted to give Sammi an update and see how her friend was doing.  When she arrived at Sammi’s house, she tied Stella to the hitching post out front and knocked on the front door.  There was no answer, but she saw a dim light coming from back in the kitchen.

              Jamie tried the doorknob and found it unlocked.  She entered the house and called out to Sammi.

              “It’s Jamie, Sammi.  Are you here?” Jamie said.

              “In the kitchen,” Sammi said.

              Jamie walked into the room.  Sammi sat at the table.  Jamie sat down by her and said, “Hi, honey.  How are you doing?”

              Sammi shrugged.  “Crappy.  One of my best friends might be dying, my husband hates me, and it’s all my fault.”

              The desolation in Sammi’s eyes disturbed Jamie.  She’d never seen Sammi show so much emotion before.  Jamie knew that Mitch had helped Sammi open up in ways that she never had before.  It was something that Sammi wasn’t used to and in that moment, it worried Jamie that Sammi was in emotional overload.

              “Sammi, I don’t know everything that happened, but I know you would never willingly put anyone in harm’s way,” Jamie said as she took Sammi’s hand.

              Sammi pulled her hand away and said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

              Jamie kept her cool in the face of Sammi’s angry tone.  “Then tell me what happened.”

              “I led Owl right into harm’s way, as you put it.  We overheard those kids bragging about my stuff and I was determined to follow them so I could get it back and bring them to justice.  I told him I was going with or without him and he came with me.  I was so stupid!” she said and slammed her fist down on the table.  “There were only four of them when we got there and they’re just young kids, so we figured we could take them.  We came up with a good plan and it went fine until two other guys showed up.  Everything fell apart after that.”

              “Why didn’t you get Mitch instead of going after them?” Jamie said.

              Sammi let out a rough laugh.  “I justified that by telling myself that there was no time.  I didn’t know who they were or where they were going and if I’d gone and gotten Mitch, they would’ve been long gone.  I would miss my chance to get back my rifle he bought for me.”

              Jamie nodded.  “I can see your reasoning.”

              Sammi got up and put on some coffee.  It was more to occupy her hands than anything else.  “My reasoning was selfish and flawed, Jamie.  Mitch was right about so many things that I just couldn’t or wouldn’t see.  I’ve spent my life becoming as tough as I could be and constantly trying to prove that I was just as good as any man at anything they could do.”

              “It’s understandable, Sammi.  It’s easy for people to judge your actions, but until they understand what’s behind them, they should keep their mouths shut,” Jamie said.

              “Yeah, in some cases.  But Mitch was spot on about me being more reckless than smart.  If I would have been smart last night, Owl would be fine.  But because I was stubborn and didn’t keep my agreement with Mitch, he’s not,” Sammi said.  “And I’ve hurt the only man who’s ever done me any real kindness and loved me in spite of my huge flaws.  He has so much on his shoulders with just being appointed sheriff only a short time ago.  I should have been supporting him and making things easier on him, but I just made them harder.”

              Jamie said, “We’re all flawed, Sammi. No one’s perfect.  I’m not.  You and I are somewhat alike.  I should sometimes keep my mouth shut, but don’t.  I can be too impulsive and impatient.”