Lady Outlaw (27 page)

Making certain he had a good grip, Caleb lunged toward the stage. His stomach lurched as he flew through the air, then he crashed into the side of the coach. He groaned with the momentary pain, but he couldn’t stop now.

Dust and dirt plowed into his face and gritted teeth as he clung tightly to the bouncing stage. Slowly he slid his hands down the luggage rack. The driver’s seat was in sight. He worked one arm as far down the rack as he dared stretch.

A sudden drop in the wheels brought Caleb’s head against the side of the stagecoach with a horrible crack. His left hand slipped off the rack as his vision blurred. He hung on with his right hand, his arm straining, pulsing with pain. His body smacked against the stage as it hit another bump. Would it end here? he wondered. Before he could save the stage, before he and Jennie could finally be together?

Thoughts of Jennie, alone with King, fueled his body with new energy. Ignoring his burning muscles, Caleb lifted his left arm and gripped the rack again with both hands. He inched toward the seat again, and at last, his fingers touched the side. He swung himself upward and onto the seat, only to be greeted by the barrel of a shotgun. A haggard face stared at him from the other end.

“Don’t shoot,” Caleb said in between gulps of air. He attempted to raise his aching arms to show he meant no harm, but he couldn’t. “Hold on, I’m just tryin’ to get you stopped.”

“Please, help. The reins are caught on my boot.” The stranger lowered his gun and collapsed against the seat.

Caleb hurried to untangle the reins from the man’s foot. He noticed a dark patch of blood on the man’s thigh, but they’d have to deal with the injury later.

He pulled back on the reins, using all his weight, and shouted at the two horse teams, “Whoa, whoa!”

The taut leather burned against his palms as he tested his strength against the frightened horses. Instead of slowing, they ran faster, leaning into the bits in their mouths. Fighting panic, Caleb gripped the reins even harder. His heart pounded loud in his ears. The gully loomed closer. Perhaps his fate was to be the same as Liza’s. He had no other solutions. Except...

A memory propelled itself forward in his mind—something his father had said to him once. “If you’ve lost control of your horse, turn him in a nice, tight circle. Horses can’t bolt when they’re turning.”

With no other choice, Caleb all but dropped the left rein and pulled the right with every last ounce of strength.
Please, God, let this work. Let me see Jennie again. Let these people be safe.

“Come on, horses,” he muttered, sweat forming beneath his hat.

The coach swung around sharply, one wheel teetering on the brink of the gully before righting itself. Then the stage shuddered to an abrupt stop.

Caleb pried open his hands and released the reins. He collapsed onto the seat behind him.
We did it,
You and me, Lord.
He released a huge rush of air from his lungs. “That was for you, Liza,” he whispered to the blue sky above him.

A groan from the injured man brought Caleb’s attention back to the task at hand. “How badly are you hurt?”

“I was shot...in the leg.” The man’s face turned a shade whiter. “We were...ambushed... Ol’ Phil was shot, too...he fell off.”

Caleb figured Ol’ Phil must be the stage driver and this wounded fellow was the shotgun messenger, sent to guard the money.

He assessed the man’s wound and removed the bandanna from around his own neck. “I’m no doctor, but it looks like the bullet went straight through. I’ll tie it up for you until you can get to town.” Caleb secured the cloth around the bloodied leg. “There you are. Now I’d better go check on the others.”

The shotgun rider nodded as Caleb lowered himself to the ground, a much simpler task now that the stage wasn’t moving.

“So glad you came along, stranger,” the dark-haired girl said as she exited the stage. She could almost be Liza, minus the curly hair and saloon gown. “You maneuvered that climb easier than I would’ve in this dress.” She lifted the ruffled bottom and laughed.

“Is everyone all right?” Caleb tried to see inside the stage.

A blond girl hopped down the steps. “Thanks to you, we’re right as rain. Don’t know about Mr. Fulman though.” She gave an indignant sniff. “He sat there the whole time, screamin’ and shakin’ like a leaf. Apparently he’s got no stomach for adventure or danger, not like Ellen and me.”

As if on cue, a tall, bony man bent his way out of the stage, his face pale. “Are they gone?”

Caleb whistled for his horse. A minute passed before Saul trotted up, appearing no worse for their adventure. “How many bandits were there?”

“Four,” Mr. Fulman said, sinking to the ground next to the stage. “They stole the cash box. All five thousand dollars.” He covered his face with his hands and moaned.

“The sheriff should be along soon to help you,” Caleb said, mounting his horse. Now that his head and arms were no longer throbbing, he was impatient to get going. A nagging worry at the back of his mind was growing more insistent by the minute. If he knew Jennie, she might not wait for the sheriff. “I’m sorry I can’t stay.”

“Where you off to in such a hurry?” Ellen asked.

“I’m going to help my...girl. She already followed after the bandits to see about getting the money back.”

The blonde laughed. “No offense, but every one of them men were armed. How are you and your girl gonna take them all?”

Before Caleb could answer, the shotgun messenger called down, “Name’s Amos. With this busted-up leg, I can’t do much, but I’d like to help just the same.”

“Thanks, Amos,” Caleb said, admiring the man’s determination to be of assistance despite his injury, “but—”

“Clara and I want to help, too,” Ellen interjected. “We both know how to throw a hard punch.”

Caleb frowned at the motley group. He didn’t think the shotgun messenger would be of much help, but the girls might prove to be useful. “All right. Load back up then.” He turned to the depressed bank man. “What about you, Mr. Fulman? You comin’ with us or waitin’ here for the sheriff?”

Mr. Fulman peered nervously around the prairie, then his face hardened. “I want my money back.”

“You know how to drive a team?”

The bank man nodded.

“Then get up there and follow me.”

Mr. Fulman scrambled up next to Amos on the seat and maneuvered the stage around. Caleb pointed Saul north and nudged the horse’s flanks with his heels. The stage had better keep up. He and Jennie had been apart long enough. It was time to beat Mr. King at his own game.

Chapter Twenty

J
ennie tied Dandy to a tree, a safe distance from the ramshackle cabin. Four horses were tethered out front, but she saw no sign of King or his men. Licking her lips, Jennie drew in several deep breaths.

I’m only going to check out the situation,
she reassured herself as she removed her pistol from the holster on her saddle.
Nothing foolish.
Keeping low to the ground, she sneaked across the yard toward the back of the cabin, diving to the ground at any little noise from inside.

When she drew alongside the back wall, she crouched near the window and listened. She could hear the scuffling of boots and a labored sigh from someone inside. Scooting onto her knees, she tried to peek over the window ledge.

“She should’ve come by now,” King bellowed.

Startled, Jennie dropped flat to the ground. Her nose filled with the acrid smell of rotting wood as she lay facing the cabin’s lowest logs.

“She’ll be here, boss,” someone said. Jennie heard a disgusted snort and guessed this came from King. “Gunner said that Nathan fellow was real excited about the robbery. Asked him lots of questions.”

“Excitement and questions don’t mean she’s coming for certain,” King replied. The sound of a fist pounding the wall carried on the air. “She’d better take the bait.”

A moment of quiet followed King’s words before another voice said, “I thought you were just gonna claim the place after she lost it.”

“I am. But I need to make certain Jones and her family don’t try to stop me.”

Jennie felt the color drain from her face. What did he mean? Would he shoot her like Caleb had said and then go after her family?

I won’t let that happen.
Her jaw clenched with anger.
We’ll stop them somehow
.

Turning to look at the log closest to her, Jennie discovered a chink in the wood. Several more littered the back of the cabin. She crawled to one and then another, but both were too small to get a good view of the room. At last she found a hole smaller than her fist, but not so big she’d be seen by those inside.

Positioning herself in front of the hole, Jennie peered into the cabin’s interior. A chair leg and a box obscured most of her view, but by craning her head, she was able to locate three of the men. Two sat against the far wall, their guns held close. Jennie thought she recognized them as the rustlers who’d stolen her cattle, though she’d only had a brief look at them that night. The third man appeared to be standing by the door. She couldn’t see King, but she guessed he had to be sitting on the chair, judging by the nearness of his voice when he talked.

If I could just see him...
She considered moving farther down the wall to find another chink until she realized what had been blocking her view.
The cash box.

The five thousand dollars, the ticket to her freedom, sat beneath Mr. King’s chair, less than six inches from her face. She tried to reach through the hole to touch the box, but her hand wouldn’t fit. She swapped her pistol for the knife she’d hidden in her boot and silently whittled away at the soft wood. When she could maneuver her hand through the hole, ignoring the scrape of splinters, Jennie let her fingers explore the metal surface of the cash box. Thankfully the lock had been broken.

She couldn’t leave now—not when the money was literally within reach. It was her ticket out of jail, and she had to try to get it, even without Caleb’s help.

Sliding her hand back out of the hole, Jennie stuck her knife into her boot and pressed her forehead against her fist to think. If she could open the box, the lid would help hide her movements as she removed the money. Then no matter what happened, the cash would be safe and she’d have her freedom payment.

Gritting her teeth in determination, she pushed her hand through the hole and grasped the lid of the cash box. When she lifted it, one of the hinges creaked. Jennie froze.

“Did you hear something, boss?” one of the cowhands said.

Jennie’s heart jumped into her throat, beating so loud she feared they’d hear it, too. She bit her lip, trying not to breathe.

After a long pause, King laughed. “I don’t hear a thing, Haws. How you ever became a cowhand, I still don’t know. You’re the jumpiest son-of-a-gun I ever met.”

Haws grumbled in response, his words inaudible.

Exhaling, Jennie slipped her hand inside the box and touched the bundles of money, feeling their size. She’d have to be extra careful to keep the lid from slamming and giving away her position. She grasped one of the bundles and slid it slowly up and out of the box. Sweat beaded on her upper lip as she pulled the cash through the hole. A rush of euphoria swept through her as she reached in for the second wad of cash.

She emptied the cashbox of all five bundles, stopping once more when she heard King shifting his weight on the chair above her. Once all five thousand dollars sat outside the cabin wall, she softly pushed the box’s lid into place, withdrew her hand and rolled onto her back in the grass.

Making certain to keep out of sight, Jennie climbed to her knees and placed the bundles and her gun onto her lap. She lifted the hem of her skirt, cradling the cash and weapon inside, and crept away from the cabin. By the time she reached Dandy, her whole body was damp with sweat.

She stuffed the money into her saddlebag. How she’d love to see the look on King’s face when he realized she’d fooled him. She smiled, ready to climb onto her horse, but the other mounts tethered in front of the cabin caught her eye. If she let the animals go, King and his cowhand thugs wouldn’t be able to make their escape—or worse, ride to the ranch and hurt her family—before the sheriff arrived.

She spun around and struck out for the cabin again. She inched along, keeping behind the taller brush when possible. As she drew parallel to the building, she went down on hands and knees and crawled along the ground.
Wish I hadn’t worn my best dress now.
She could only imagine what condition the brown silk would be in after today.

To keep from scaring the horses and alerting King, Jennie gave the animals a wide berth before approaching slowly from the north. She walked half-crouched over, her free hand extended toward the nearest horse until she touched its velvety nose.

After rubbing the horse’s muzzle, she untied him from the tree where he’d been tethered. She looped the reins around her hand and guided him toward the next horse. After she’d freed all four animals, she led them a little ways from the cabin. She released all four sets of reins and slapped the rump of the horse next to her. “Go on.”