Mary Connealy (114 page)

As Sid sank, an inch at a time, to the floor, Abby’s golden head emerged behind him. In both hands, she held the gun she’d just used to club Sid over the head. She had her knife clenched between her teeth. She was soaking wet and killing mad.

Wade had never loved her more.

W
e’ve got to help Red and Cassie take the outlaws back to town, honey.”

“What do you mean ‘we’? I don’t have to go.”

Wade did his best not to let his exasperation show.

“Quit scowling at me, white man.”

His best was apparently not very good. “Just ride with us, please, Ab?” Wade was begging. He was planning to spend the rest of his life begging, because he was planning to spend it with the stubbornest woman he’d ever known. He accepted it and looked forward to a lifetime of being overpowered. Never ever would he hear those sweet words, “Yes, Wade.”

“Are you okay, Cassie, honey?” Red had brought Cassie inside to drip dry.

“Yes, Red.”

That sounded so sweet, Wade felt a little like crying. But there was no use in it, like crying for the moon. He loved Abby and that was that.

They had Harv and Sid tied up, both still sleeping like babies, while they waited for the rain to stop. The other two outlaws were out in the weather, but Wade couldn’t get worked up about their being uncomfortable. If they thought rain was unpleasant, wait till they felt the business end of a noose.

“What I don’t understand is the massacre of your village.” Red interrupted the wrangling that Wade and Abby had been doing for the last hour. He spoke calmly because he had Michael cradled in his arms. They’d made a little bed for Susannah out of a blanket that wasn’t soaking wet. She’d slept through everything.

The night was wearing on and they were in no hurry to head back to Divide, especially Wade, because he couldn’t convince Abby to go along.

Glaring, Wade said, “You were the only witness to what these men did to your village. You’ve got to come in and tell the sheriff. The rustling, the kidnapping, the assault on you will send them to jail for a few years, but they need to hang or stay locked up for life. With you as an eyewitness, they’ll hang.”

“No white man hangs for killing Indians.” Abby practically spat the words.

Sorely afraid she might be right, Wade tried another argument. He backed her up against the wall and kissed the living daylights out of her.

She’d kept Harv’s gun, tucking it in the belt of her deerskin dress. She had her knife, too.

Wade was through thinking of himself as a coward. He was holding Abby close and she was armed to the eyeballs. That made him a brave man indeed.

She wasn’t shooting him, though. And she didn’t even go for her knife. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back like a house afire. With the tiny corner of Wade’s mind that wasn’t overwhelmed from the feel of her holding him, Wade realized he should have kissed her the minute Sid collapsed.

He’d wanted to, but she’d really had bloodlust in her eyes, and truth be told, he was a little scared she’d hurt him. Also, there was the knife in her teeth. That could have gotten ugly.

Red cleared his throat.

Wade came to his senses…or as close as he’d ever get with Abby in his life. He pulled back about two inches, no more. “How could you run off from Pa’s like that?”

“Your father is an insulting, cruel tyrant. I couldn’t bear another moment in his presence.”

“Okay. I know how that feels. That’s no excuse for leaving me.”

“No excuse? I wasn’t going to make you choose between your family and me. I know things are bad between you and your father, but…the day may come when you want to return to him, and I will never do that. And I won’t make you choose me over him. You’d come to hate me.”

Wade looked into her eyes and realized he could see her. The sun was rising; the darkness had turned to gray. The rain had ended. Daylight would come again. “I will
never
hate you. You didn’t ask because you knew I’d come. You’re making this excuse because—because you love me.”

He saw the fire in her eyes. He saw her desire to be her usual blunt self and hurt him. Then he saw deeper, under the hostility, to the hurt and the fear. She’d lost so much.

“You’re marrying me, Abby. We will go wherever we need to to find a home, but we’ll do it together. Don’t you dare make up an excuse about why it won’t work. I love you and we will travel through this life together, alone in the wilderness if that’s where we’re happy.”

As she shook her head, Wade saw Abby’s fear come closer to the surface, as if she was daring to show what was in her heart. “There’s nowhere we can both be happy.” Her arms were still around his neck.

“I’m happy now. Aren’t you?”

She flinched, tightening her arms as if her mind told her to let go of him but her body wouldn’t obey. Well, he wanted all of her, body, mind, and heart. Although right now, her body felt really nice. “Abby, I can be happy by your side. I need nothing else.”

Their eyes held. Wade closed the distance between them, and this time the kiss was pure tenderness. It was a promise. She nearly crushed him with her warrior’s grip, and he knew he had her promise back.

When Wade raised his head this time, she smiled. The fear was still there, but she was brave enough to face that fear.

“Um…I have a bona fide preacher’s license. I can perform a wedding ceremony.”

Wade turned to Red and smiled. Wade slid his arm around Abby’s waist so they could face Red, side by side.

“I say yes.” Wade looked at Abby.

“And Cassie and I can get these men to town. We left the horses with the other outlaws, and we’ve got horses enough to carry these two. We can manage. You can say your vows and go start your lives together anywhere you want.” Red smiled. “But if you’d like to stop by our place once in a while, we’d love to see you.”

Cassie came and relieved Red of baby Michael. She slipped the little tyke onto the blanket beside Susannah. “I’ll be a witness to the marriage. I think you need a witness, Red. I don’t think those unconscious men really count.”

Red shrugged. “I’ve never done this before, so probably having someone witness it is a good idea. Although you’d think me bein’ a witness and them being witnesses oughta be enough. I mean, I’m a parson. I should be trustworthy.”

“Yeah.” Wade nodded. “And why would we lie? But we’d like you to witness our wedding, Cassie.” Wade looked at Abby. “If there is one. What do you say?”

Abby sighed and looked disgruntled, but that was pretty much how she looked all the time, so Wade didn’t let that discourage him. It just helped him to fully accept the life he was signing up for. And if she stayed by his side, that was all he would ever ask for.

The wait was nearly unbearable. The sun rose a bit more as Wade watched Abby’s heart battle her mind.

Finally, she smiled. “I say yes.” Her arm around his waist tightened. “And since I can’t get shut of you, I’ll ride along to deliver these men and tell the sheriff my story. I want the white world to know what happened to my people. I want someone to admit that the true savages are these outlaws.”

Wade jerked his chin, a happy, contented, slightly-frightened-of-his-wife man. “So how about we wait and get married in town so everyone in Divide knows I’m the luckiest man alive?”

Abby leaned against him a bit, and Wade started thinking he hadn’t plumbed the depths of the happiness he and Abby could find together.

“I wouldn’t even mind inviting your odious father. I’d like that horrible yellow dog to see that we are wed to each other. It will make him sick. I’d like to be watching when his stomach turns at the sight of his son’s choice of a wife.”

“Please, Abby.” Red raised his hands as if to surrender. “All this mushy sentiment is too much for me.”

“We can invite Pa, but we’re getting hitched whether he shows up in town or not.” Wade hooked his arm through Abby’s and said, “Let’s get to town and get on with starting the rest of our lives.”

Their future was unplanned.

Their destination unknown.

But wherever life led them, they’d go together. Wade knew that God had at last granted him an end to his loneliness.

“Whom shall I fear?”

And here he was marrying the scariest woman he’d ever known.

And that made it official. Wade was a brave man.

“Whom shall I fear?”

Those old, painful words Wade had battled to hold close and claim as his own now sang like a blessing raining down on his new life with his wildflower bride.

A
fter the outlaws were locked up, a few Linscott hands who happened to be in town rode out to pass on the news of the impending wedding to their boss.

Wade couldn’t decide whether it was best to rush the wedding before Tom could stop it or take plenty of time and make Tom sit through the nuptials.

Hands from the Sawyer place had ridden out, too.

Between locking up the bad guys and the sheriff questioning Wade and Abby, as well as Red and Cassie, the day was nearly wound down when Pa came tearing in, riding in his specially built buckboard, driving it himself.

Wade braced for his father to go on a rampage. Instead Pa was subdued. They were standing in the middle of Divide’s Main Street, Pa on the high buckboard seat, Wade and Abby on the ground.

“I’d like for you to come out to the ranch and have the wedding out there, Wade,” Pa said real polite-like, and Wade wondered what the old codger was up to.

“Ask her.” Wade jabbed a thumb at Abby.

“Will you, Abby? And not just for the wedding, but to stay.

I know I can get in an evil mood, but we want you and Wade at the M Bar S.”

“No
mood
excuses the things you say and do.” Abby scowled.

Wade studied her and realized he was trying to twist his own face into that same scowl. He envied her fierceness. Once he realized what he was doing, he quit mimicking her and looked around, afraid someone had noticed.

Wade realized he was looking up to his Pa, and that didn’t sit right. But it wasn’t exactly easy for the tyrant to get down. He wondered how long it’d take Pa to realize just how well sitting high above everyone else suited him. “I’m not promising it’ll never happen again. I’d be a liar if I did, because I know my temper too well. But just for today, would you…please”—Wade thought the old man sounded like he was choking on the word
please—
“come out and be married at the ranch? I’d be honored if you’d let me give you my…blessing.”

Another word that nearly did Pa in. Wade wondered if the grouch even knew what the word
blessing
meant. He prayed silently for his father. And wished he could love him in any way except as ordered by God. Wade had serious doubts that would ever happen. But Wade was honest enough to know how far he’d come since he’d made his peace with God. If Wade could change, then anyone could. Including Pa.

“We need to send for Belle and Silas.” Cassie had dismounted and stood on the street holding Susannah. “They’ll want to come to your wedding.”

“Uh, honey,” Red said, bouncing his redheaded son on his hip. “Belle’s no big fan of weddings.”

“She’d probably try to stop it if she showed up,” Wade told Cassie. “You know how she is. She’d think Abby needed saving.”

Everyone did know.

“If I need saving, I’ll save myself.” Abby rolled her eyes.

“Will you come, Abby?” Pa sounded sincere. He didn’t look like he was dying from speaking kindly. That surprised Wade. He’d have sworn it would have killed the man to be polite.

Wade looked at Abby. “You get to decide.” He had a feeling those words were going to be repeated a million times in the sixty years he planned to be married to her. Wade smiled in anticipation.

A horse walked by in the dirt. A door slammed somewhere. A coyote howled in the forest near Divide, all while Abby stared at Pa.

“We’ll come out and be married there.” Abby somehow made that sound like a threat.

“And will you stay?” Pa didn’t even ask Wade. The man had obviously figured out who was going to be in charge of this marriage.

Abby grabbed hold of the buckboard and vaulted up beside Pa. Apparently she didn’t like his looking down on her.

“We will stay if Wade wishes it.” Abby leaned down until her nose almost touched Pa’s. “But he will go the moment I say I can’t bear it. And I will go the moment he says
he
can’t bear it. We’ll take it one day at a time.”

Pa’s face turned an alarming shade of red, but he kept his mouth shut for once in his stubborn, tyrannical life and just nodded. He managed to squeak the words, “I understand,” through his clenched jaw.

Wade doubted Pa’s restraint would last long, but maybe, with enough prayer and an almighty, powerful God, things would change.

Red came out of the sheriff’s office in time to hear that. “It’ll be full dark by the time we ride out to your place, Wade. Cassie is tired. The children have had a long, hard day. Can we put it off until tomorrow?”

The delay chafed at Wade. He’d have preferred to stay out at that house where they’d taken Sid Garver prisoner and let Red speak the vows. He’d be well into married life by now if they had. A honeymoon would have commenced. Wade felt a little dizzy and hoped he wouldn’t fall off his horse.

But Abby had been kidnapped today, and all of them could use clean clothes, a hot meal, and a bath. Considering he planned to live a long time as a married man, another day wouldn’t hurt. Wade looked at Abby.

She smiled and nodded.

“Tomorrow, then.” Wade turned to Red. “We’ll go on out to the ranch and see you in the morning.” Wade reached his arms up, and Abby let him catch her around the waist and lower her to the ground. She smiled at him, letting him know she’d taken his help not because she needed it but because she liked it. Liked him. Loved him.

They saddled up and were almost ready to head out when Tom Linscott came galloping into town on that brute of a stallion.

He pulled the horse to a stop a few feet away from everyone. “You’re marrying Wade Sawyer, then?” Tom’s question was for Abby, but he glared at Wade and Pa in equal parts.