The Lawman's Agreement (Entangled Scandalous) (24 page)

“Doc Miller and Sara are taking good care of everyone back at the hospital.”

Zack backed away from the narrow opening and went back to Suzanne. Less than ten feet away, Evan Picker slept soundly.

“You’re back,” Suzanne said softly when Zack reached her side.

“Yes,
cher
, I’m back.” He sat down and pulled her against his chest. “Did you sleep okay?”

“I woke up every hour or so because of my arm, but managed to fall back asleep pretty quickly.” She poked at his chest with her finger. “Did you know you snore when you sleep sitting up?”

“Here we are trapped beneath a half-ton of rubble and the first thing you can say is that I snore?”

“I already heard the medical report, which would ordinarily have been my first concern. I also heard Deputy Stiles say that Matt, Jake, and Chris are on their way.” She brushed her hand across his forearm. “If your family is coming to help, I have no doubt we’ll be out of here in no time. It’s been my experience, there’s nothing that can stop a McCade when they set their mind to something important.”

“Speaking of things of importance, I know this isn’t the right time or place, but I’ve got something for you.”

“You do?”

Zack slipped his fingers into his watch pocket and withdrew the lost engagement ring. “I found this while we were cleaning the clinic.”

“You should probably hang onto it,” she said.

Zack’s heart stilled at her words. Was she ending their agreement? Had she not meant it when she’d said she loved him?

“You don’t want it back?”

“Oh, I want it back, but not here. It’s dirty, and we’ve still got work to do today. I don’t want to run the chance of losing it again.”

“Once we’re out of this wretched place, how about I slip it back onto your finger, but for real this time?”

She looked up at him, a smile gracing her beautiful features. “I think I’d like that very much.”

Zack leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss. “Was I imagining it, or did I hear you say you love me?”

“Well, that all depends, Marshal, on whether or not the feeling is mutual.”

“
Cher
, I fell in love with you even before I proposed our agreement. I was just too McCade-stubborn to admit it.”

“And, for all my talk about wanting a career more than anything, I now realize without love and family, I’ve only half a life.”

“So, I wasn’t imagining it?”

She swatted at his arm. “No, you weren’t imagining it, Zack. I do love you, with all my heart.”

He intended to kiss her again and again. Yet, the sound of people outside the entranceway drew Zack back to their reality with a jolt. “It sounds as if the rescue team has arrived. How about we see what we can do for poor Jed over here?”

“You’ll need to help me get over there and put my bag down on the ground beside me.”

Zack assisted Suzanne across the limited floor space and then went to wake Evan. “Come on Evan, wake up. They’re working on getting us out of here, but the doc and I need your help with Jed.”

Evan nodded and then followed Zack across the dirt floor. “What do you need me to do, doc?”

“First of all, we need to get a bit more laudanum into our patient. Zack, if you could tilt his head up a bit so he can swallow.” She reached for her bag and withdrew the last of the drug, handing it to Zack to give to the unconscious man.

“He won’t choke?” Zack asked.

“No, the swallow reflex is automatic. As long as there’s no obstruction in his throat, he should do fine.”

Zack administered the dose, draining the last of the bottle into the man’s mouth. And, just as Suzanne predicted, he swallowed every drop. “That’s done. Now on to the hard part.”

“Evan, I want you to put your hand under Jed’s body and press it against the bandages wrapped around the wooden stake. I’m going to apply pressure to the top bandage while Zack lifts him up until we can get him free. Once the wood has cleared his body, you’ll need to press harder against the cotton packing.”

Zack met Evan’s frightened gaze. “Are you okay, kid?”

Evan nodded. “Yes sir.”

They worked slowly, easing Jed’s body upward over the wood piercing his middle. “Okay,” Suzanne confirmed. “We’re nearly there. One last pull and he should be free.”

Zack could feel the give as the man’s impaled body cleared the last obstacle. “Where do you want him?”

“We don’t have much room to work with. You’ll have to lay him down here, but on his side. I need to be able to work on both his front and back.”

A noise off to their left drew Zack’s attention. The workers had obviously started removing the debris blocking the entrance, their movements causing dust and dirt to rain down from above. Zack held his breath and wondered how strong the remaining foundation was, and if it would withstand the rescue operation.

“It sounds like they’re getting close,” Evan said.

“It’ll take awhile. Suzanne, are you sure you don’t want to wait before you try to treat this man?”

“There’ll be a lot more to do once we’re out of here. I want to stop as much of the bleeding as I can before we try to carry him out and transport him to the hospital.” She reached for her bag and withdrew a leather packet.

“What’s that?” Zack asked.

“My needle and thread. I’m going to put in some rough stitches.”

Zack couldn’t help the look of surprise he could feel raising his brows. “One handed?”

“Yes, Zack, one handed.”

While Suzanne worked diligently on her patient, Zack and Evan began clearing a wider path toward the exit, mindful of each piece of wood they moved. The last thing they wanted was another cave-in from the inside.

While he worked, Zack couldn’t help but think about everything that had happened over the past day. Things had started out so simple, quiet. And, then, thanks to one man’s vendetta, dozens of people had been injured. If Jed didn’t make it, Zack was going to see to it that Ripley and the others paid for his death.

He thought of Suzanne, and of how she’d refused medication so it wouldn’t dull her skills. Even now, she worked by little more than the dying light from a single kerosene lamp, doing her best to save a man’s life.

This was why he loved her. She was tenacious, fearless, compassionate and, heaven willing, she was his.

Zack looked up from where he worked. “I can see light.”

The next sound he heard brought a lump of emotion to his throat. “Hey, there big brother, you ready to get out of that dungeon?”

“Christopher.”

Matt worked at Chris’s side and stopped to explain, “We’ve got two more braces to put into place and we should be able to remove the last of the debris.”

“We’ll be as patient as we need to be,” Zack told them.

“How many of you are there?” Matt asked. “Are we going to need more than one wagon?”

“No, one will be enough. We’ve got one man hurt badly and Suzanne has a broken arm. But Evan and I are fine.” Zack realized he needed to hear his brother’s voice again and asked, “So little brother, how was your time out on the
River Maiden
?”

Zack could hear Jake’s laughter filtering through the last of the wall. “Once we peeled the women off him, he actually did some work.”

Chris quickly jumped to his own defence. “What can I say? It’s that deadly Cajun charm of mine.”

“Cajun charm, my left boot,” Matt teased. “That’s McCade charm.”

Zack shook his head, grateful for family. “You two quit your arguing and get us the hell out of here.”

The moment they emerged from the wreckage, Suzanne held tightly to his side, a cheer went up from everyone assembled at the site. Felicity rushed forward and threw her arms around them both. “Thank the saints, you’re alive.”

“It would seem so,” Zack agreed.

Kristine, who’d returned home just that morning, came to Suzanne and helped her across the open ground, checking Zack’s handiwork at splinting as they walked. Another worker helped Evan to the waiting wagon.

“What needs to be done to get the last man out?” Chris asked.

“I’m going back in, and I’d appreciate your help.”

Zack and Chris carried the still unconscious Jed out of the newly constructed tunnel. As soon as they reached the opening, Matt and Jake took the man from their arms and moved him to the back of the wagon. Zack waited while Suzanne made a cursory exam of her patient, and then they settled him in for the ride back to town.

“How are his stitches holding up?” Zack asked.

“Let’s just say, I’d never make a one-armed seamstress.”

He chuckled and then led her toward the waiting carriage and lifted her into the seat. “I’ll make the ride slow and easy.”

“I’d appreciate that.” When he climbed in beside her, she took his hand in hers. “It’ll give us time to talk.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.”

“About what?”

“Remember how you suggested a change to our original plan and we added the physical relationship?”

“I remember something along those lines.”

“I’ve got another change I’d like to make.”

“Really? What kind of change?”

Zack dug into his pocket and retrieved the ring. Then, lifting her hand in his, he slipped the ring into place. “I thought perhaps we could scrap this stubborn lawman’s agreement entirely and get married.”

“Married?”

“Yes,
cher
, the sooner the better.”

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as I’ve ever been about anything.” He met her gaze. “But, if you’re not…”

“Oh, I’m certain. As a matter of fact, nothing would please me more than to forget we’d ever had an ‘agreement’ at all, and just accept the fact we were meant to be together…forever.”

The Authors’ Note

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, or more accurately, expired air ventilation (EAV) was first documented in 1744, in Britain by William Tossach, based on his own successful cases of resuscitation of what was termed the “suddenly apparently dead”.

Various European humane societies, most notably London’s “The Institute”, were instrumental in promoting the use of EAV. However, EAV did not become practice in North America until the late 1780s.

While “The Institute”, later renamed The Royal Humane Society, expressed a preference for manual artificial ventilation using inflatable bellows, it was widely accepted that the original mouth-to-mouth method could be attempted by any rescuer when additional equipment was not available.

It wasn’t until the late 18
th
century that the problem of airway obstruction was recognized, and both physicians and healthcare workers (e.g., nurses, midwives) were instructed to clear the airway prior to attempting EAV.

Acknowledgements

Congratulations and a big thank you to Kristine Radgman, winner of our “name the hotel” contest during our
Gambling on Love
blog tour.

Thanks to our wonderful editor, Erin Molta, and the rest of the Entangled team for helping bring our McCade Legacy vision to life!

About the Authors

Like most authors, Nancy Fraser began writing at an early age, usually on the walls and with crayons or, heaven forbid, permanent markers. Her love of writing often made her the English teacher’s pet, which, of course, resulted in a whole lot of teasing. Still, it was worth it.

When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five beautiful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people. She invites you to visit her website at
www.nancyfraser.ca
and follow her on Twitter: @nfraserauthor. Or, more importantly, just enjoy what she writes.

Patti Shenberger recently signed a contract for her twenty-first romance novel/novella sale. She’s published in short contemporary, historical time travel, paranormal and erotic romance, as well as multi-published in fiction and non-fiction magazine length work.

Patti is a wife, mother of two, mother-in-law of two, brand new grandmother to a beautiful baby boy and pet mommy of two. Patti resides in Michigan, where she complains about the heat in the summer and the snow in the winter. When she’s not writing, Patti can be found with her nose buried in a book.

Other Scandalous books you may enjoy

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Jake doesn’t trust women, and when he discovers Felicity’s subterfuge, he remembers exactly why. While they find themselves in agreement about helping the slaves, they are at odds over everything else, including their quickly escalating feelings for one another.

Will gambling on love be a bust or reap a happily ever after?

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Returned to London on assignment with the War Office, Jonathan’s mission is hindered by a love he cannot forget. One scorching kiss reignites the flames of their passion, but he inadvertently drags Lindsay into a mire of murder and deception that hits closer to home than she ever would have dreamed.

In a world where Lindsay can trust no one, will she find renewed faith in the last place she expected to look?