A Love to Last Forever (33 page)

Lacy felt as though she were staring death in the face as she looked down at Ellie. The doctor closed his bag and gave Lacy and then Gwen a sympathetic shake of his head.

“It’s in God’s hands now. We’ll have to just watch her through the night.”

“We have a room for you,” Gwen said. “Come, and I’ll have my husband show you to it.”

They stepped from the room, leaving Lacy with Ellie. It wasn’t long before Gwen returned. “Why don’t you go get something to eat? I’ll stay with her for a while. You can relieve me later.”

Lacy made her way downstairs and headed into the kitchen. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had something to eat, and now her stomach rumbled just at the thought of food. She sliced a piece of bread and covered it with butter. Lacy had just started to eat when Dave Shepard appeared.

“How is she?”

“It’s hard to tell. Doc said we’d have to wait and see.”

Dave frowned and poured himself a cup of coffee. Lacy could see he was deep in thought. She swallowed another bite of bread to keep from berating him with questions, but her mind wouldn’t let her rest.

“If she dies, will you charge Wyman with murder?” Lacy asked.

“Yes.” He said it without pause.

Lacy could hear the anger in his voice even with that single word. She knew how he felt. “I’m glad you came when you did,” she finally said.

He looked at her and shook his head. “It wasn’t soon enough.”

“I made it over there shortly after her first scream, and it wasn’t fast enough to stop Wyman from doing what he did. We did what we could.”

Hank returned just then. “The doctor is settled in. He said to wake him if Ellie’s condition worsens.”

“You won’t let Rafe get her back, will you, Hank?” Lacy looked at her brother-in-law and then to Dave. “She can’t go back.”

“No. We won’t let that happen,” Hank replied. His face took on a dark expression. “I suppose one of us should go next door and tell Rafe what’s going on.”

Dave put down his mug. “I can do it. I am the law, after all.”

“I could come with you, if you think he might cause trouble,” Hank said.

“We both could,” Lacy said.

Dave shook his head. “I don’t want anyone involved. The less we do to irritate this situation, the better it will be—for Ellie.”

Lacy knew he was speaking the truth. If they caused too much fuss, Rafe would only find a way to take it out on Ellie later. Especially if Hank and Dave couldn’t keep her from having to return. For once, she didn’t question Dave’s decision. And she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw relief in his eyes.

Dave looked up to find Lacy watching him. He felt compelled to offer her some kind of assurance. “I’ll make certain Rafe knows she’s not coming back.”

Lacy nodded as if satisfied that he was telling the truth, then got to her feet. “I’m going to go relieve Gwen. I’m sure she’s tired.”

“Let us know if we can do anything,” Hank called after her.

Dave watched her go. His mind was jumbled with images and thoughts of all that had happened. He knew Lacy had been tested to the breaking point today, and all he could think of was how she felt she had failed. Failed again, she had said. She seemed to carry the weight of the world on her slim shoulders.

“I can’t figure out what’s keeping Simon and Justin,” Hank told Dave. He put down the book he’d been holding for the last hour. “Simon isn’t going to handle this well. His instinct will be to kill Wyman.”

Dave nodded. “I figure it, too. It might be in Wyman’s best interest if I did arrest him.”

“I can’t figure anyone hurting a woman like that.” Hank scowled. “That’s got to be one evil kind of man.”

“It’s the way he and Rafe have always settled things,” Dave said. “Men like that don’t know any other way. If other people get caught in the middle, it really doesn’t matter to them. When I tried to talk to Wyman about what happened, he wouldn’t tell me any more than he already had. He said it was something Rafe had asked him to take care of.”

“Maybe that would be enough to see Rafe arrested, too,” Hank suggested.

For just a moment, Dave felt a sense of anger surge. Did everyone think him a complete idiot when it came to doing his job? Now Hank was trying to offer advice. Before he could reply, however, Hank was checking his watch.

“I’ve just got a bad feeling about this, Dave. I think maybe I ought to go looking for Simon and Justin. Simon assured me he’d be back before nightfall, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t have been.”

Dave got to his feet. “I’ll go. I can talk to Rafe afterward. The ladies might need you.” He grabbed his hat and headed for the door. He hated the uneasiness that coursed through his body. Simon was a sensible man, and he wouldn’t endanger his nephew by waiting so late to return home. It was possible his horse had grown lame or that someone had needed his help. But Dave had a feeling something much more sinister kept Simon from returning.

Retrieving his horse from the Lassiters’, Dave also borrowed a lantern and headed out. In the distance he heard the unmistakable sound of thunder. He caught sight of the lightning flashes to the south and again heard the rumbles that followed. They could use the rain, but at this time of year the storms were far too often dry and only served to set the forested areas on fire.

The horse was nervous about the approaching storm and whinnied softly as Dave urged him forward. Neither mount nor rider wanted to be out on this night.

About a mile down the road toward Bozeman, Dave heard something ahead and stopped to listen. The slow, plodding steps of horses, along with another sound that Dave couldn’t quite identify, drifted on the night air. As the noise grew louder, Dave could finally make out sobbing. He put his heels to the side of the gelding and closed the distance.

Justin Lassiter sat atop the smaller of two horses. He was crying uncontrollably, but he still managed to hold on to the reins of his horse, as well as those of the horse behind him.

He startled and pulled back hard on the reins as Dave approached. “Don’t . . . don’t hurt us,” he cried out.

“I’m not here to hurt you, son. It’s me. Deputy Shepard.”

“We were robbed,” the boy said, fighting to control his voice.

Dave came up even. “Where’s Simon?”

“He’s on that horse. They killed him and tied him to it.” Justin began to cry. “He didn’t . . . didn’t do nothin’ wrong. They were just . . . just bad men.”

Dave felt sickened. Bile rose in the back of his throat. He jumped from the horse and hurried to light the lantern. He held it up to see Simon.

Someone had tied the man’s hands to his feet, looping the rope under the belly of the horse. They’d also cinched Simon around the waist and tied his rope off on the saddle horn. Dave gently lifted Simon’s face. It was unrecognizable. Someone had pistol-whipped him. Blood caked his face and shirt.

Dave felt the man’s ragged breath against his hand and nearly dropped the lantern. “He’s not dead. He will be, though, if we don’t get him help right away.” Dave put out the lantern and jumped back on his horse. “Come on, Justin. We have to hurry.”

“I’m sorry you had to come home to such chaos,” Hank told Gwen.

She turned from the wardrobe where she’d been studying her clothes. She felt confident about her condition, but having just seen Ellie lose her child, Gwen also knew a great fearfulness.

“I can’t believe anyone would want to hurt another person that way.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to live in a big city.”

“There are problems there, as well,” Hank said. “No place is ever perfect.”

She nodded. “I suppose there’s always good with the bad.”

He came to her and opened his arms to her. “I agree. You are my dearest blessing.”

Gwen stepped into his embrace and rested her head against his chest. “And you are mine. I feel so safe knowing you’re here.” She thought again of the child she carried. “I can’t help but think back a year ago. Things were so different, and a year from now they’ll be even more different.”

“Time has a way of doing that to a person.”

“Especially when additional people come into your life,” she said and pulled back.

Hank ran his hand down the side of her face. “I’m glad you came into my life. I can’t begin to imagine living without you. I want to be the husband you need me to be—the godly man you desire I be. I keep praying that I won’t disappoint you.”

“I could never be disappointed in you, Hank. You’re everything I could have ever wanted in a husband. You’re the man I want as father for my children.” She smiled despite her fears. “And in a few months, you can demonstrate just how good you are at that, as well.”

Gwen waited for the meaning of her statement to dawn on him. Hank’s eyes widened, and he took a step back to look at her. “Are you sure?”

“Sure enough. I haven’t talked to the doctor about it yet, but Patience and I discussed it today. I’m pretty confident that I am going to have a baby.”

Hank looked completely stunned, and for a minute, Gwen worried that he wasn’t happy about the news. She frowned. “Are you upset with me?”

He looked at her as if she’d gone crazy. “No. Not at all.” He came to her and took hold of her again. “I’m just surprised—that’s all.” He hugged her close. “Pleasantly surprised. I know how much—”

“Hank!”

Dave’s voice bellowed from downstairs. Gwen jumped and Hank dropped his hold. They both rushed for the bedroom door.

“Get the doctor, Hank. It’s Simon,” Dave said as he struggled to carry the larger man.

Gwen saw Simon’s bloodied shirt and face. She put her hand to her mouth and gasped. Hank hurried to help Dave with the body.

“We need to get him to bed. Gwen, go wake the doctor, and I’ll help Dave.”

Gwen nodded. She waited only a moment as Dave and Hank started up the stairs, then turned to see Justin watching them, as well. His face was dirty and tear-streaked. She could see the terror in his eyes and knew that he must have witnessed whatever had happened. Instinctively, she went to him and took him in her arms.

“Come on. We’ll get the doctor. Then I’ll help you get cleaned up.”

The days passed in the heat of summer with both Ellie and Simon recovering very slowly. The doctor came and went, and Lacy found it encouraging to hear him say that both would survive their attacks.

Ellie’s swollen face was nearly back to normal, but the bruising was still very evident. She cried upon learning about the baby. Lacy had held her close as Ellie sobbed out her sorrow. The poor baby had been innocent of the ugliness Ellie had been exposed to, and she thought perhaps losing the child had been a merciful thing. But still, it cut a deep wound into Ellie’s heart.

On the fifth day, Gwen and Lacy told the recovering Ellie about Simon. She immediately insisted on seeing him.

“The doctor doesn’t want you out of bed for another week,” Lacy protested. “You could grow too weak and lose more blood. You have to take it easy.”

“I want to be with him. I want to know that he’s going to be all right.”

Gwen looked to Lacy and then nodded. “We can surely set it up so that they can be near each other. We’ll tack up a rope across the wall and hang a sheet to give them privacy when needed, but otherwise they can be in the same room.”

Ellie settled back against her pillows. “Thank you, Gwen. I promise I won’t be a bother.”

By nightfall, Ellie was settled into the bed next to Simon’s. Hank had carried her over and maneuvered the bed close enough that Ellie could see Simon and hold his hand. She was surprisingly strong and didn’t shed a single tear. Lacy admired her for that. Ellie didn’t want to upset Simon, so she made light of the situation.

“They told me you were being a difficult patient,” she told him.

He gave her a weak smile. “Looks like you were the difficult one.” The look on his swollen and battered face spoke more than his words.

Lacy knew that Hank had already explained everything to Simon. She marveled that Ellie and Simon could say so much to each other without speaking another word. Ellie simply took Simon’s hand in hers and let the healing begin.

Exiting the room, Lacy marveled that love could be so intense, so vast. The circumstances that had created this situation had been unfair—so completely unreasonable. Neither Ellie nor Simon had done anything that deserved this outcome.