Chase Wheeler's Woman (27 page)

Sam grunted. “You sure you remember how to shoot, Letty Sue?”

“Mama made me learn when I was a young girl. Of course, I haven’t had much use for a gun recently, but yesterday you helped me recall all that my mother taught me. Heavens, I’m not planning on shooting anyone. It’s just a precaution.”

“All the more reason you should let me come with you.”

“No, Sam,” she insisted, as kindly as she could. “I’ve let others do for me all my life. This is one thing I must do for myself.”

Sam finally seemed to understand, nodding solemnly. “Okay, but I’m not leaving. I’ll get a room in town. You just give a holler if you need me.”

Her body quaked uncontrollably and Letty Sue recognized it as pure panic, not because Sam was letting her do this her own way, but because, soon, she’d know her fate. If Chase sent her away, pride wouldn’t allow her to plead.

She’d leave with her chin held high.

And never lay eyes on him again.

Letty Sue peered down the rise at the ranch, which seemed to beckon her. Dawn was on the horizon now, a bursting golden-orange blaze. “It’s time for me to go.”

Sam reached over to cover her hand. “Remember, I’m not far away.”

She squeezed tight, then released him. “I know.”

Within minutes, Letty Sue was on even ground, approaching the large, opulent ranch house.

The only sound she heard was the faint rumbling of men just coming to in the bunkhouse. The smell of strong bitter coffee flavored the air. Quickly and quietly, Letty Sue knocked on the front door.

When there was no answer, she went around to the back of the house. The door to the kitchen was open. She stepped inside cautiously, but when she heard footsteps approaching, instinct told her to hide inside a dark storeroom. With her ear to the door, she listened intently.

“It’s okay, Rosalee, I’ll take Mr. Wheeler his morning coffee.”

“He is better this morning, yes?” The woman who asked had a Mexican accent.

“I’m afraid not. The poor man’s just as sick as my stepfather was. I’m afraid he’s not long for this earth.”

“
Dios!
I shall pray for Mr. Wheeler. He is such a nice man.”

“You do that, Rosalee. Why don’t you take the morning off to say your prayers? I’ll tend to him and sit by his side today. A man shouldn’t be alone when he dies.”

“Oh, Miss Marabella, I hope he does not die. I will pray for him.”

When one set of footsteps faded off in the distance, Letty Sue heard Marabella’s voice ring out. “You can pray all you like, Rosalee.” Her wicked chuckle
pierced Letty Sue’s ears, “but it won’t help Chase Wheeler. Nothing will.”

Letty Sue stepped out of the storeroom with all the stealth of a panther. She hid behind the doorway leading to the kitchen, slanting her body, pressing against the wall. Bravely, she peered around the corner in time to see Marabella slip two leaves of a plant Letty Sue didn’t recognize into a steaming pot of coffee.

“That should just about do it. But not to worry, Chase. I’ll be sure to dig your grave right next to Seth’s,” Marabella said gaily. “Won’t be long now before the bastard son joins the father.”

Letty Sue didn’t have to know the particulars to understand that Marabella had tainted the coffee with poison. She’d heard tales of certain plants being deadly, especially if one brewed the leaves or any part of the stem and added the mixture to a drink.

“There, we’ll just let that brew a bit, while I tidy up.”

Letty Sue leaned back out of view quickly and heard the door slam.

Aghast, she shook all over, and it was a full minute before she calmed. Marabella was a killer? She’d poisoned Seth Johnston, and Chase was next on the list.

Not if she had anything to do about it
.

Letty Sue knew she had to find Chase fast. From the sound of it, there wasn’t much time. Her hand fumbled inside the pocket of her riding skirt, where she kept the small derringer Sam had given her.

She climbed the stairs quietly, darting her gaze about, watching for Marabella. She listened outside
each door before opening it. By the time she reached the second to last door, her patience had just about run out. Where was Chase? Why couldn’t she find him? Her heart raced with a panic she’d never known before.

She opened the door to a darkened room. All the others allowed bright sunlight in, but this one had the smell of…death about it. It was dark, dank and dreary. She stepped inside and heard a moan, low and anguished, barely human.

With fear clutching her belly, she went to the window and gently pulled open the drapery.

She gasped when she saw him.

Pale, sallow and weak, with dazed eyes, Chase lay sprawled out on the bed. She rushed over to him.

“Chase, it’s me, Letty Sue. Chase, Chase. Wake up.”

He tried to focus on her and she saw how difficult that was for him. “Letty… Sue?” His mouth was dry. It obviously troubled him to swallow.

Tears sprang from her eyes, but she didn’t have time for them. “Chase, sweetheart, yes, yes, it’s me. I’m here now and I’m going to take care of everything.”

“Don’t take the broth,” he mumbled nearly incoherently. “Don’t eat a thing.”

“Chase, you have to listen to me.” She took his face in her palms and made him listen. “I have a plan.”

Chase’s nod, a slight movement of his head, obviously brought him such pain that he winced. She
prayed for him, and prayed that her plan would work. She hid behind the drapery clutching tight the little derringer she hoped she wouldn’t not have to use today.

It was only minutes later that Marabella entered the room. “Good morning, Chase. I have a tray for you and lots of hot coffee. Why, your father never went a day without drinking at least half a gallon of the brew. You must have some today. You didn’t drink enough yesterday.”

Letty Sue stepped out from behind the curtains. “I have a better idea, Marabella. Why don’t
you
drink the coffee?”

Marabella turned and let out a shriek. “Oh!” Then she seemed to have recognized her. “Whatever are you doing here? And don’t you dare point that gun at me. Can’t you see this man is sick? He needs his nourishment.”

“That man is my husband. And this gun will stay trained on you until you drink from his cup there.” Letty Sue gestured with her gun. “Go on. I want to see you finish what’s in that mug.”

“No, don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t dream of taking his meal. Chase needs it.”

“Like hell, Marabella. Either you drink it or I’ll shoot. And I’m not bluffing.”

Marabella looked at the tainted coffee with round, frenzied eyes. She shook her head and began to back away, as though the steaming liquid was a wild animal stalking her. She kept backing away, shaking her head. “No. No. Don’t make me. I can’t, don’t you
see? I can’t. They had to have it, not me. They had to die.”

“I didn’t deserve the treatment I got on the ranch. I was tolerated, just tolerated, and once Mother died, he didn’t care if I was happy or not. He ignored me most of the time. I hated it here. Mother should have never married him. She took me away from my friends.” Marabella began to break down, her body trembling, her hands going into her hair. “I didn’t have any friends here. Not one.” Her head bobbed up and down. “I deserved that inheritance. It should be mine, not Seth’s bastard half-breed. He needs to die. Then it’s all mine. Mine!” Her voice elevated to a fevered pitch. “It all should be mine!”

She pointed toward Chase. “He wasn’t even supposed to be here. He was supposed to hang for Pierce’s murder. Don’t you see? I had it all planned out so carefully!”

Letty Sue didn’t let down her guard. “You killed Pierce Mainwarring and set Chase up for the murder?”

“Brilliant, wasn’t it?” She grinned then, tugging at her hair again. “It would’ve worked perfectly, too. No one would believe a half-breed over the evidence. I used his Cheyenne ropes to tie the man up. He had no alibi.”

“I gave him his alibi.”

“You ruined my plans.” Venom poured from her lips like hot lava. “I hate you, too.” Suddenly, the woman pounced, clutching at Letty Sue’s body,
ripping her clothes. Letty Sue turned and twisted, her hand still firmly on the gun.

“Don’t,” she warned, but the crazed woman kept on with her attack.

With a firm, steady push, Letty Sue shoved her away with all of her might. Marabella went crashing against the window, and when she turned up, ready to attack again, pure evil on her face, a shot rang out.

The woman slumped to the floor, gripping her shoulder in agony.

Chase stood by Letty Sue’s side, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other covering her hand, pointing her gun.

“Chase, I shot her.”

“We shot her,” he corrected, using her strength to keep himself upright.

“But how did you get up?”

“I couldn’t risk her hurting you,” he said, his body sagging against hers. “Can you tie her up?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“Good. I love you, Letty Sue….” he announced, then collapsed on the floor right in front of her.

Three days later, Letty Sue sat on the bed watching her husband devour his afternoon meal. Color had come back to his face. His body appeared strong and healthy again. Each day of nursing him had brought him a little closer to a full recovery. She’d never once left his side. “You’ve got quite an appetite today, Chase.”

“It’s all this fine cooking,” he teased.

“Rosalee is giving me some help, but I insist on cooking all your meals from now on.”

“I won’t be arguing with that.”

He set his plate aside and grabbed for her hand, pulling her closer. “Come here.”

“Chase, you need to rest in bed.”

“Letty Sue, what I need has nothing to do with rest and everything to do with this bed.”

“But—but you’re recuperating.”

“What I need right now only you can give me.” He kissed her soundly on the mouth, dragging her down beside him on the bed. “I love you, sweetheart, now let me prove it.”

Letty Sue was powerless to stop him. He was her heart, her soul, her very life, and the thought that she might have lost him scared her senseless. And if she hadn’t come here when she had, he surely would not have survived. Marabella, with all her deceit, had sought to destroy Chase. But Letty Sue wouldn’t think of that venomous woman now. She focused all her attention on the man whose hot searing gaze was turning her insides to warm jelly.

She removed her clothes quickly, watching the appreciative gleam in her husband’s eyes as they moved over her length. And when he touched her, his intimate caresses scorched her skin like burning, licking flames.

Chase loved her. She could hardly believe it, but his smoldering kisses and consuming passion could be nothing else. And she loved him back with everything she had.

The brave Cheyenne boy who’d saved her all those years ago had been her destiny all along. They were meant for each other. Fate had had a funny way of bringing them together, but they were together at last—now and forever.

“Oh Chase,” she whimpered, when he moved his hand down to her most private region and stroked her. “Feels so good…so very good.”

“Sweetheart, it’s going to feel even better.” And moments later they were joined, a beautiful blending of two bodies coming together as one.

Chase held her tight in the aftermath of their torrid lovemaking. This woman meant everything to him. His love for her was staggering.

Walk as one. Stand together
.

His mother would approve.

Letty Sue was the woman he’d been waiting for, the woman who would be forever in his heart. It had just taken her longer to grow up, but she had, and now he felt like the luckiest man alive.

He kissed her forehead and shook his head, recalling how Letty Sue had fought off Marabella and saved his life.

“You took an awful chance coming here.”

“I had to, Chase. I love you with the whole of my heart. You, me and little Jake, we’re a family now. I had to fight for that.”

“I do love you, but I didn’t know just how much until I saw you that morning. Know what I thought?”

She curled up in his arms, snuggling closer. “No, what did you think?”

Chase drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I was so weak, I didn’t know how to take my next breath. I thought I was dreaming when you entered my room. You were an enchanting vision I needed to cling to for survival, but when you came to the bed and spoke softly to me, I knew you were real. It was then I thought of a fitting name for you, one that will endure our entire life.”

Letty Sue smiled sweetly. “Tell me it’s better than Twisted-foot Woman.”

Chase grinned and kissed her cheeks. She lifted her head up, waiting, her heart tripping over itself. Smoke filled his gorgeous silvery eyes. She knew the look, and finally knew what it meant.

“When I saw you, my mind cleared and I thanked all the spirits in heaven for bringing you to me. I thought, here she is, my beautiful wife, the woman I was meant to love, Leticia Suzanne…my Angel at Dawn.”

Epilogue

L
etty Sue lowered her two-year-old daughter down onto the bed, kissing her round cheeks and tucking her in. “Good night, Baby Jolie,” she whispered, then turned to witness Chase brushing a kiss on Jake’s forehead.

“He’s out. Nothing’s going to wake him till dawn.” They peered at Jake, clinging to his pillow, taking deep exhausted breaths.

“Seems Barnum and Bailey’s Circus tuckered our little ones out today,” Letty Sue said softly, as they headed out the bedroom door of the New York hotel suite. This was their first trip East, their honeymoon. Chase had promised, and true to his word, as soon as he could manage to get away from Johnston Ranch—his ranch—he’d surprised Letty Sue and packed them all up for this journey across the continent.

Standing by the fireplace in the parlor of the suite, Letty Sue felt her shoulders slump with fatigue. This was the sixth hotel they’d frequented in as many weeks, and although she loved seeing the East with
her family, she felt herself yearning for the simpler side of life.

“I think the circus tuckered you out as well.” Chase grinned, putting an arm around her waist.