The Outlaw Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides) (36 page)

Tanner frowned. “I’ll make it clear I’m not robbing them.”

“With your past I think it would be better if we were clear you’re no longer in the business of robbing stage-coaches.”

Tucker reached into a drawer and pulled out a tin star, much like the one he wore.

“Why don’t I just deputize you, real quick like, and that way you’ll have no problem stopping them?”

Tanner smiled. “I like that idea. For once I’ll be wearing the badge. But only until I find Beth.”

***

Beth leaned her head back and closed her eyes, but every time she shut them, her mind played tricks on her. The rocking of the wheels and the creaking of the coach were identical to the time before. An older woman had chattered beside her, and she couldn’t help but ignore the banker who sat directly across from her.

She felt as if she had somehow gone back in time and was headed to Fort Worth instead of Abilene. Only this time, Tanner didn’t sit across from her. And now she was returning with a broken heart instead of a pocketful of dreams.

The desolation of the land they rode through was similar to her emotions. It seemed as if she could go for miles and miles and no one would care. No one would know that once again the belle of Jonesboro, Georgia, was without even a place to call home. No one would know that she had given up on marriage and intended to live alone.

Once again, she was on a stagecoach, but this time there were no moments of anticipation, no chills of excitement. This time she knew she was no longer the same woman who had traveled miles to meet the man she hoped to marry.

Now there was only a feeling of anger that had been kindling since she’d left Fort Worth. How could Tanner walk away when everything had seemed so right? How could he have made love to her so passionately, only to sneak away in the night?

She didn’t understand. He’d said that he was wanted and told her about Carter. They’d shared so much that night, and now she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d just been telling lies.

The carriage hit a rut in the well-traveled road and caused them all to bounce. Beth laid her head back and tried to sleep, but the image of Tanner kept intruding, which only seemed to fuel her anger.

The man had made love to her and encouraged her, then walked out before the dawn. He assured her that the past didn’t matter, he’d said she had to sacrifice herself for her family, and then he’d left her without so much as a good-bye. His sweet-talking words had only been lies that had left her alone, broke, and so in love with him, she wished she’d die of heartache.

A shot rang out in the distance, and Beth peered out the window. Surely she wasn’t so unlucky as to be robbed a second time.

She saw a rider spurring his horse faster, trying to catch the coach, which had suddenly picked up speed.

The man fired his gun a second time, and the older woman looked shaken. “Was that gunfire I just heard?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Beth said tiredly. “It appears we’re about to be robbed.”

“Oh, my!” the elderly woman said.

“Everyone on the floorboard,” Beth said, pushing the older woman down to protect her from being shot. She could feel the coach slowing and felt once again as if she were in a dream. Hadn’t she done this several months ago?

A lone horseman rode by the window, and suddenly the stage slowed. Shouting between the driver and the bandit caused the driver to pull back on the reins. The stage lurched and bounced, sending the passengers scrambling on the floor to keep from landing on top of one another.

“When we stop, everyone remain calm and step out of the coach. Just do what he says and you should survive,” Beth said calmly.

“Have you had this happen to you before?” the older woman asked.

“Yes. As a matter of fact, the last time I traveled,” Beth told the frightened passengers.

She shook her head, unable to believe her incredible bad luck. But this time they wouldn’t get everything from her. This time her money was in her trunk and her shoe.

The coach finally pulled to a stop, and Beth glanced up to peer through the window. That horse looked familiar. Somewhere she’d seen that animal. From the back,

the man talking to the stagecoach driver was about Tanner’s height, had the same sandy curls, same Colt Navy revolvers.

For a moment she felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her. Tanner Burnett was here robbing this very coach, now!

He must have heard her gasp because he glanced behind him. Beth ducked down just in time.

“What’s wrong?” the banker, crouched down in the seat, asked.

Oh, my God, he was here, right outside the door of the stage, talking to the driver. Her heart was thundering in her chest, and she wished there was some way she could hide.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the passengers all glanced up. Beth’s gaze went to the man who had destroyed all her dreams, who even now her excited heart gave a lurch at the sight of.

“Everyone out,” he said.

The other passengers scrambled to do his bidding, but Beth only glared at him.

“I’m not moving.”

He looked at her. “Oh, yes, you are.”

“I am not going to let you rob these poor people.” She fairly hissed at him.

“Who said anything about robbing them?” He pulled back the edge of his vest and showed her the tin star pinned to his chest. “I’m here as a deputy of the law.”

She gasped at the sight of his badge. “Did you steal that, too?”

“No. Now get out of the stagecoach.”

“Why are you wearing that badge?”

“Because I’m here to arrest you if you won’t listen to reason.”

“That’s hardly possible!”

“Beth, don’t make me come in there after you. I know you’re mad, and you have a right to be. Just come out and hear what I have to say.”

“You have nothing to say that I want to hear,” she said, hurt swelling until she thought she would drown in pain.

He reached in to grab her, and she took her reticule and knocked him upside the head. “I’m through listening to your lies.”

“Ouch!” he said, grabbing for his hat that suddenly went flying to the floor.

She gasped at the sight of the bandage wrapped around his forehead. “Oh, my God, you’ve been hurt. What happened?”

He reached in and took her by the hand. “Come outside, please.”

She quit fighting him, the sight of that bandage frightening her. “I still don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

He pulled her gently out of the stage. She dug her heels in beside the other passengers. “I’m not going any farther.”

Tanner had known she would be upset with him, but he had thought that by now she would have cooled down a little. Yet somehow he couldn’t blame her. He’d hurt her badly.

He tugged at her, and she refused to budge. “I thought we could go off in private and talk.”

“I’ve told you multiple times now, I’m not going to listen to what you have to say. I’m not moving from this spot!”

“Fine! Then this is where we’re going to talk,” he said, determined.

He let go of her hands and stood in front of the three people who had been on the stage, seeing only Beth in front of him.

“I told you that night I was wanted. But I didn’t tell you I had made a deal with the governor that if I brought in the Bass gang I would be cleared. I had to leave to fulfill that duty, and I didn’t know if I would live to see another day. I had to leave knowing that you would be taken care of, that even if I died, you’d be safe.” He paused. “That’s how I got this bandage. Sam’s bullet grazed me. I thought I was going to die, and I knew at that moment in time that I loved you more than life.”

She gasped, and he paused to catch her reaction.

“I realized that you had made me a better man. You had helped me face the death of Carter, to see that I was a good man who had faced some terrible tragedies and made some poor choices.”

She stared at him as if she were bored, and he suddenly feared he would never reach her. He took a deep breath, anxious that she hear him.

“Beth, Lord knows I’ve made a mess of my life. I’ve done so little that’s right, and I realize that I have no right to ask anything of you. But I’m here now to take you back to Fort Worth, to take you back to my family, to keep you safe, watch over you. I have no chance of ever being a man who is worthy of you, who deserves you, but I’m here to throw myself at your mercy and tell you that I love you.”

He watched, hoping that he would see a softening of her expression; instead, her eyes flared, and she put her hands on her hips.

“You are the most stubborn, irritating man I have ever met. You tell me that the sacrifices I made during the war were done out of love, and yet the next morning I awaken to find you gone. Gone! What am I supposed to believe?” She took a step closer to him and poked him with her finger in his chest. “Damn you, Tanner Burnett. We shared so much that night, and then in the morning you were gone! Then you ride in here and expect to carry me off like—like some war prize. You’re not taking me anywhere unless you do it with a preacher and a ring.”

“Huh?” he said, confused. “I don’t understand. I said I loved you.”

“Ask her to marry you, young man. That’s what she’s waiting for,” cried the old lady.

He glanced at the woman and then back at Beth, who waited. “But how could you want to be married to me? I have nothing to offer you. I’m a deserter, an ex-outlaw. I’m not the marrying kind. How could you love me?”

“You’re an idiot for not realizing that I have loved you since I opened my eyes in that hotel room in San Antonio and saw you bending over me. I love you for the gentle man I know is inside of you. I love you for the way you take care of me. I love you for the way you’ve helped me understand the past. I love you for the things we have in common. I love you, Tanner Burnett, just the way you are. And if we have to spend the rest of our days running from the law, so be it. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care.”

She was crying. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and he wanted to gather her up in his arms and hold her, comfort her, but he knew he owed her more.

Feeling like a fool but knowing he would act even more foolish if it would keep Beth in his life, he bent down on one knee in front of everyone that was on the stagecoach.

“Beth, I love you. I love you for the courageous person you are. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want us to grow old together, have children. But most of all, I want your love. Will you marry me and spend your life with me?”

All eyes turned and stared at Beth, who was now sobbing. “Yes. Yes, I’ll be your wife.”

Tanner stood, and Beth flew into his arms. For a moment they merely stood there, enjoying the warmth of their arms around each other, the feeling of being truly together for the first time.

He glanced up and saw the stagecoach driver motioning everyone back into the stage. “Come on, folks, we need to get going, and these folks need a little privacy.”

The older woman swiped her hand across her cheek, clearing away her tears. “That was so touching. Best wishes to both of you.”

The stagecoach driver saluted them and then stepped up into the box. Within seconds the vehicle was on its way once again.

Still holding each other, they watched the coach roll off into the distance. Beth glanced up at Tanner. “Did you really mean what you said? My past doesn’t tarnish me? Doesn’t make you think less of me?” she asked.

“Beth, you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known. You are my inspiration. You sacrificed yourself for your family, and I think you are the most courageous person I know. You gave yourself in an attempt to save the people you love. And I’m so glad that you love me.”

“I do love you, Tanner. I really do.”

He kissed her deeply, their mouths mating as if they would never part. Finally, they broke apart.

“Take me home,” she whispered.

Sam Bass was a legendary outlaw who robbed local stages in the Fort Worth area between 1877 and 1878. During this time, he learned that local cattle traders received large sums of money via the trains; then his focus changed to train robbing, which drew the attention of the Texas Rangers, the Pinkertons, and Wells Fargo. A member of his own gang, Jim Murphy, was working with the Texas Rangers to bring him to justice before he left Fort Worth. The law finally caught up with him in Round Rock, Texas, on July 21, 1878. I have taken the liberty of changing the dates to 1874, to better suit my story.

February 1875

Marshal Tucker Burnett was the last unattached male in a family that had experienced more weddings in the last year than he cared to remember. And he planned on retaining his single status. With a shudder he thought of his two strapping brothers who had succumbed to his mother’s matchmaking ways and was more determined than ever to hang on to his freedom.