“That’s why I want her,” Revis said, watching Leah’s stiff back. “She goes or there’s no raid.”
Before Wesley could say a word, Leah stepped between them. “I’ve already been publicly branded a thief, I might as well go again. Besides, maybe I can find a new dress.”
Abe looked at her with his mouth hanging open, Bud and Cal continued eating, and Wes refused to look at her while Revis studied her through a haze of cigarette smoke.
That night, as Leah was emptying dirty dishwater, Wes caught her by the waist and pulled her into the shadows.
“Tomorrow, watch me. I’ll give you signals as to where you’re to stand. Don’t even get off your horse. There shouldn’t be any shooting but if there is, even if it’s only someone dropping his gun, you head your horse due east and go as fast as you can. Are you listening to me, Leah?”
Suddenly he grabbed her head and pulled her close to his shoulder. “I just wish you were more sensible than you are. Please don’t do anything heroic. Under no circumstances do I want you to do anything noble. Don’t try to save anyone’s life or lead the robbery or anything else dumb like you usually do. Stay on your horse, stay calm, and run if there’s any danger. Do you understand me? Will you obey me?”
“To the letter. I’ll not put anyone in jeopardy.”
“Now, I have another plan. As we ride away, just as we get into the trees, I want you to quickly turn your horse around and go back. Sssh,” he said, putting his fingers to her lips. “It’s all arranged. I saved it ’til now to tell you because I wasn’t sure if Revis would demand that you go with us or not. Justin will take care of you and see that you get to Sweetbriar.”
“But Revis will know that you’re in on this if you don’t come after me.”
“That’s my worry, not yours,” he snapped. “I just want you to obey. Now what are you going to do?”
Quietly she repeated his instructions. “You’ll protect Verity? Please don’t let Revis hurt her.”
“If you obey me, I’ll take care of Verity, even if I have to drag her into my own bed.”
Leah stiffened. “Perhaps such a drastic measure won’t be necessary.”
“I guess that’s as close to a jealous fit as I’m going to get. Kiss me, then go in and sleep. We’ll leave early in the morning.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”
Chapter 23
Morning came much sooner than Leah wanted. All night long as she tossed and turned she had the feeling something was going to go wrong. Deep inside her she knew that something awful was going to happen today.
With heavy eyes, she prepared sacks of bread and cheese to take with them as they began the trek down the mountain. Only Verity was to remain behind.
Wesley emerged from the woods riding a huge roan stallion, followed by Bud and Cal on equally large black stallions. The horses pranced and snorted as if in anger, while their masters easily controlled them.
“We ride,” Wesley said as Leah mounted a sedate chestnut mare.
All down the long trail Leah’s heart beat faster and faster. Twice she caught Revis looking at her and again she knew that something was about to happen. Any man who could kill merely to insure that a female he wanted couldn’t run away would not follow another man’s lead so easily. And Revis had been very quiet about Wesley’s entering the group.
By the time they reached the bottom and sighted the wagons, Leah could barely sit in the saddle. Once Wesley gave her a sharp look of warning to which she nodded curtly in acknowledgement, but otherwise he paid no attention to her.
Revis, Wesley, and Abe, flanked by Bud and Cal, approached the wagons as Leah held back. She watched them pull masks over their faces and saw them level guns at the drivers. She saw Justin get down from the seat, and from the second wagon came John Hammond, walking slowly, both with their hands up. On the wind she could hear Wesley giving orders to Oliver Stark to remove goods from the wagon.
In many ways it was like a play. She knew all the actors, yet some of them were pretending not to know each other. They were doing unreal things such as wearing masks and threatening each other. Perhaps she should be enjoying the charade, but each minute her heart increased its pace.
What was wrong? What was wrong?
Revis gave a low whistle in Leah’s direction and when she looked at him, he silently motioned her to come nearer. Purposefully she didn’t look at Wes. He might signal her to disobey Revis and she didn’t want Revis to turn on Wesley.
As she nudged her horse forward something in the trees caught her eye. It was just a flash of a shiny glint. At first she ignored it, but as she stood beside Revis, looking down at Justin, she realized she had just seen the sun flashing off a gun barrel.
“You’ll never get away with this,” Justin was saying in a convincing manner.
Leah hardly heard any of what was going on around her. She wondered if there was more than one gunman hidden in the trees. Were they Wesley’s men and he just hadn’t told her about them or were they Revis’s men?
Wesley was giving orders, John was obeying, and Justin was arguing while Leah was trying to think. Secretly she jammed the stirrup into her horse’s side, making it jump. While she looked as if she were trying to gain control, her eyes searched the tree line. There was concern on Wesley and Justin’s faces, but Revis watched her with the unblinking gaze of an eagle. He watched her eyes.
They’re his men, Leah thought. Those men belong to Revis.
“Whoa girl,” Leah said, patting her horse’s neck and leaning forward to adjust her stirrup. One of the glints in the trees moved.
“Cover me,” Wesley said to Revis as he dismounted.
Revis nodded once and leveled his pistol at Justin while Wesley and Bud began to load goods onto the horses. Abe sat on his horse, his eyes darting around.
He’s as nervous as I am, Leah thought.
When all the goods were loaded, Leah knew that what was going to happen would start soon.
Revis dismounted.
“Let’s get out of here,” Wesley said.
“I want to see inside those wagons for myself.”
“Are you saying you don’t trust me?” Wesley threatened.
“I don’t trust anybody.”
It seemed to Leah, that Revis made what was a strange move in the way he stepped between Wesley and the wagon. As he moved, Leah’s head instinctively came up and again she saw a glint in the trees.
Without another thought she raised both legs and slammed her heels into her horse’s side and went charging straight for Wesley. Complete confusion erupted.
Wesley jumped out of the way, was knocked down by the rump of Leah’s horse, and as he went sprawling in the dirt three shots were fired.
All of them hit Revis in the chest.
Bud grabbed the reins of Leah’s horse as Leah half jumped from the animal. “Wesley, are you hurt?”
He gave her a very odd look, his mask about his neck. “No.” He looked up at Justin, who was bending over Revis.
Justin shook his head.
With a frown Wesley went to Revis and held the dying man’s head in his lap.
“You thought you were so smart,” Revis whispered. “You thought I’d believe you. I knew you were the one she visited. She turned everyone against me, even my own brothers.”
He stopped to cough. His chest was soaked in blood seeping from the three wounds.
“Who is the Dancer?” Wesley asked. “Do something good in your life and tell me who he is.”
Revis gave a bit of a smile. “I thought that’s what you wanted to know.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to look from one face above him to another.
“Macalister,” he whispered. “Ever hear of Devon Macalister?”
“You’re lying,” Wesley said.
Revis started to speak but coughed again and fell dead in Wesley’s arms.
Gently Wesley lay the dead man on the ground and rising, his eyes caught Justin’s. “He was lying.”
“Yes,” was all Justin said before turning away.
Wes’s eyes caught Leah’s and he took her hand, leading her toward the trees.
“But what about the gunmen?”
“I’m sure they’re long gone.” He stopped, facing her. “You saved my life. Those shots were aimed for me. Thank you.”
She turned pink under his praise. “You aren’t angry that I disobeyed you?”
“Just this once I’m not. We’re both free now. We can go home.”
Pulling away from him, Leah walked farther into the woods. Home meant Sweetbriar, Kentucky, a place where she might or might not be wanted as a criminal. A farm waited for her there with a magnificent barn and a run-down house that Wesley had told his brother he couldn’t bear to repair because he hated the idea of working on it for someone like Leah. Kimberly with all her charms and her prettiness waited for them at home.
“What’s bothering you?” Wes asked, his hand on her shoulder.
“Do we have to go right now? I mean couldn’t we have a little time here?”
“Just the two of us? No Bud and Cal? No Revis or Abe? No Verity?”
“Yes, just a day or two. I know you want to get back but—.”
“But I’d much rather frolic in the woods for a few days with my pretty little wife. Right now I owe you a great deal. Don’t you want something from me that’s a little more difficult?”
She wanted so many things from him that she couldn’t say a word. She couldn’t very well just ask for his love, but she knew she had to earn it. In the woods she could be herself, but as soon as they reached Sweetbriar she’d have to try to live up to the Stanford name.
“No,” she answered. “All I want is to stay here for a while.”
With a soft kiss Wesley told her he was glad to give her what she wanted.
It took hours to sort out everything in the cabin on the mountainside. When Verity heard of Revis’s death, she stood fully upright, not slumping as she had. She walked out of the cabin with Leah, who escorted her to Justin’s wagon. She didn’t seem afraid of the other men as Leah feared she would be. Softly Verity asked to see Revis’s body, and when the sheet was pulled back she smiled and stood even straighter. She then proceeded to tell Justin about some of her relatives in the East.
Revis’s cabin was ransacked and all the goods, except for a sack of food, were removed.
“Find the owners of the jewelry if you can and distribute the food to whoever needs it,” Wesley told Justin.
As they were stacking goods, Justin caught Leah’s arm. “Is he good to you? You look different.”
“He is good to me,” Leah said with some surprise. “I don’t know what will happen in Sweetbriar when he sees Kim again, but—.”
“Kim?” Justin said, his head coming up. “Didn’t Wes tell you that she and John Hammond were married a few days ago?”
“No,” Leah said, trying to catch her breath. “No one told me.”
It was dark when the overloaded wagons were ready to leave. Leah stood by Wesley and waved good-bye, giving John an especially hearty send-off. She was very happy when they were gone at last.
“Something certainly put a sparkle in your eye. It wasn’t Justin, was it?” Wesley asked, one eyebrow raised.
“You didn’t tell me Kimberly was married.”
“I guess it slipped my mind.” He shrugged. “Let’s go up the mountain and see who can get out of their clothes the fastest.”
“And what do I get if I win?” she said with a laugh.
“Me and my male m—.”
“I understand,” she interrupted. “What are we waiting for?”
For three days they did little else but make love. They didn’t talk about themselves or anyone else, and Leah refused to think of what awaited her in Sweetbriar.
The cabin that had been so full of hate and fear was now full of laughter and teasing. They chased each other about the table, made love on the table, under the table, and once half on a chair, half on the table.
On the morning of the fourth day she knew it was over. As she curled against Wesley’s nude body she felt the tension in his muscles.
“I’ll start packing,” she said, but he caught her to him before she could move away.
“I’ve never enjoyed myself more in my life, Leah,” he whispered, hovering over her lips. “Even the time with Revis was almost enjoyable because you were here.”
She held her breath, praying he would say he loved her, but he rolled away and sat up.
“But the honeymoon’s over because we need to get back. I’ve got crops to put in, animals to feed, people to set to work and—.”
“And a wife who’s known as a thief,” Leah said flatly.
“We’ll fix that,” he said, brushing her words aside. “The Dancer is more important.”
“Why did you say Revis lied when he told you who the Dancer was?”
Wesley stood, his big body beautiful in the hazy early morning light in the cabin. “Devon Macalister is my friend, a very good friend of mine, and it’s going to go against everything I believe to prove he’s the leader of thieves. And yet”—he paused—“he does have access to knowledge and he does know the woods.
“Goddamn it!” Wes suddenly bellowed, and his mood changed from that of a lover to one of brooding silence.
Leah had her own grim thoughts. It was easy for Wesley to dismiss her fears, but Leah couldn’t. She kept seeing the hatred in the eyes of the woman Revis had wounded. Would that hatred be in other people’s eyes?
As they went down the mountain, they were quietly occupied with their own dark thoughts.
Chapter 24
Leah stood on the hill, reins trailing behind her, and looked down at what her husband said was her new home. It wasn’t Stanford Plantation, but it was large and sprawling, with two barns, three sheds, acres of cultivated fields, and an L-shaped log cabin.
“There’s a spring not far from the house,” Wesley was saying, “and I’ll put in a kitchen garden for you this week.” He paused. “Do you like it, Leah?” he asked quietly. “It’s not the house Travis gave his bride, but I’ll add onto it soon, I promise.”
Turning, she smiled at him. “It’s better than I’d ever hoped for. I like it very much.”
“I had Justin and Oliver make some repairs on the house.”
She looked away because she didn’t want him to know she remembered that he’d said he couldn’t bear even sleeping in the house because she was to live in it and not Kim.
They mounted their horses and as they rode onto Wes’s land three dogs came out to greet him. Oliver Stark, his sleeves rolled up, came from the barn.
“Am I glad to see you! I’ve got a horse foaling and it’s breech. Know anything about horses?”
Wes was on the ground and following Oliver in seconds. “The house is yours, Leah,” he called behind him.
For a moment Leah sat there studying the house with its deep, columned porch. Hers. Her very own house, her very own husband. Months ago in Virginia she’d imagined this time. She’d hoped Wes would be in love with her and she’d thought of how he’d carry her over the threshold and they’d be the picture of wedded bliss.
But the actuality was that she was to enter alone, her husband might or might not be in love with Kimberly, Leah was publicly known as a thief, and Wes was not by any means in love with his wife.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
Leah looked to each side of her horse to see identical twin boys, big, strong, sturdy boys of about seventeen, with handsome faces, dark skin, and brilliant blue eyes.
“I’m Slade,” said one, eyes twinkling.
“And I’m Cord Macalister. Welcome.”
“We work for Wes. Actually we keep the place going better when he’s not around,” said Slade.
“Wes has an awful habit of interfering with us. Would you like to see the house?”
“Or the fields? Or the town? Sweetbriar’s not much, but i
t’s what we have to offer.”
“Can I help you down?”
“I’ll help too.”
“Wait a minute!” Leah laughed. “You’re going too fast for me. Yes, I’d like to get down, and yes, I’d like to see the house, but no thank you, on the town. At least not today.”
Cord walked around the horse to stand beside his brother and they were indistinguishable from each other.
“Allow me,” Slade said, arms extended.
“And me,” Cord added.
Their humor was infectious and Leah allowed herself to be helped down by both young men and they did it with ease and grace, as if they often, together, lifted women from horses.
“It’s not much,” Cord said. Or was it Slade?
“But we did the best we could. Justin told us so much about you that we wanted to make the house nice.”
“Bud and Cal had a few things to say about you too.”
“You met them then? They’re safe?” Leah asked.
“Safe!” Slade snorted. “Except that at first we thought they were breeding bulls and almost put them out to pasture, I reckon they’re safe enough.”
Again laughing, she started toward the open cabin door.
“Wait a minute, aren’t new brides supposed to be carried over the threshold?” Slade asked.
“By their husbands they are,” came a deep voice from behind them.
They all turned to see Wesley.
“You two weren’t planning to volunteer to carry my wife, were you?”
“No sir,” both boys echoed with wide eyes. “Never even crossed our minds.”
With a laugh and a shake of his head, Wes came forward. “Get out of here and get back to work—and stop flirting with my wife,” he shouted as they scurried off, after they’d given big winks to Leah.
“Nice boys,” Leah said.
“Huh!” Wes said with a snort. “They’re the bane of this town. Every woman they see falls in love with them, and then spoils them. Their father and I are the only people who give them any discipline. Now, about that carrying.” Bending, he swept her into his arms.