Shades of Gray (23 page)

“Yes,” he said
and pushed her back far enough for him to climb fully onto the loft and then
sit on the ledge. 

“Then we can
come home with you?” she asked and plopped onto his lap.

He raised his
brows and looked over her head at Marta.

She sank to
the floor and nodded, her eyes brimming with tears.  Her hand shook as she
raked her hair away from her face.  “I told her.”

Gray looked
down into his daughter’s beaming face.  “Can we stay with you forever?” she
asked.

He kissed the
top of her head and pulled her close.  “Yes. Forever.” 

“Aunt Marta
and Uncle Pete, too?”

Gray squeezed
her to him, unable to deny her anything.  “If they would like.”

He breathed
deep, thankful that this part of his nightmare had ended.  The other half of
Reece’s torment continued.  He hoped to hold Kat in his arms soon.  Pete could
tend to Levi’s dead body.  A facial, gunshot wound was not something Marta
needed to concern herself with.  He glanced over at the woman who had protected
his daughter.  He would never be able to thank her enough for the sacrifice she
had made.  “Aunt Marta and Uncle Pete will take you to Oak Willow.”  He looked
to Marta.  “I have one more bad guy to take care of before I go home.”

Chapter 26

Gray stretched
forward over Stonewall’s neck, shouting for him to run faster.  The beast
labored, but kept pace with Gray’s demand.  The horse had rested while at Crest
Ridge.  Even with fresh water and a bucket of oats, Gray didn’t know how much
farther he could push the animal before he fell over.  Having raised him from a
colt, he had been a favorite of Gray’s, but according to Reece’s threat,
minutes drained from Kat’s life.  Although willing to sacrifice his favorite mount,
he feared he would never make it to the church in time to prevent Wallace from
hurting her.  Hopefully the plan he put into play before going to Crest Ridge
would extend him enough time to get there.

Trees and
shrubs blurred along the roadway as they rushed over the last open strip of
road.  From this point in his journey on, the terrain would fill with dips and
bends.  At least he was close enough to hear the crack of a gunshot.  He
concentrated on the sound of hoof beats while blocking out any distracting
noise. 

Ahead of him,
the road pitched.  Breaking the rise, a carriage sped toward him.  The wheels
on the buggy blurred into vertical swirls, giving the illusion of floating
above the ground.  The driver flailed the whip, snapping it above the horse’s
head.  Racing toward each other, they would collide if one of them didn’t move
to the road edge.  Gray positioned Stonewall to softer ground and slowed his
gait. 

The horse and
carriage seemed familiar.  He looked closer.  Behind Polly’s bobbing head,
Laura pulled back on the reins, forcing the mare to a stop. Dirt billowed
behind the carriage, and hollow sounding snorts came from the horse.  Gray
wondered if he would find the animal in the stables or in this very spot when
he returned home. His mother would never have driven her this hard without
reason. 

Gray turned
his attention to Laura and his stomach rolled.  Her hair splayed around her
face like a sunflower, and her mouth hung open.  She wagged her head from side
to side, unable to form any words.  Gray’s strength fell away from him, and he
struggled to maintain his balance.

“I tried,
Grayson,” Laura said, finally finding her voice.  She licked her tongue over
her lips and then continued.  “I kept the pastor away from the church for as
long as I could.  I insisted we travel on every path we came upon.  I’ll
probably burn in Hell for the lies I told him in an attempt to make my reason
sound plausible.  He was patient with me at first, but --”  She scooted forward
on the seat and looked him square in the face.  “You would not believe the way
he spoke to me.  I have a feeling I’ll have company in the hereafter.”  She
mumbled the last thought.  “I couldn’t stall him any longer.  He insisted I
take him to the church. It seems Reece promised the good reverend a new church
bell if he performed the ceremony to his specifications.”  She shook her head
and lifted her shoulders.  Her hands trembled in her lap.  “I couldn’t very
well tell him the groom was dead, now could I?”  She looked off to the side as
though reviewing the scene to see if she could have prevented the outcome. 
“When I refused to go directly to the church, he fought with me and took the
reins.  The pastor wrestled the straps away from me,” she repeated, her voice
higher.  She sat on the edge of the seat as though she was ready to jump to the
ground.  “I can’t believe he would treat me in such a manner.  As soon as he
went into the church, I set out to find you.  What else could I do, Grayson? 
Do you think he knows what he’s done by going to the church?”

Gray sifted
through the jumbled information.  His mother had done her best to keep the
pastor busy until he could get to the church.  Wallace had his orders and would
kill Kat.  He had no doubt of that.  The only thing he could rely on was the
man’s fear to divert his actions away from Reece’s instructions.  At least
there had been no gunshot.  “You did well, Mother,” he said in an effort to
avert her guilt.  Shouting at Stonewall, he kicked his heels into the horse’s
ribs.  The beast launched forward, kicking clumps of dirt behind them.

****

In the middle
of the field, the church door stood open like a toothless mouth.  Whatever
secrets the building held inside, the entry seemed willing to share them.  Gray
threw his leg over Stonewall’s back, and jumped to the ground before the horse
could stop.  Leaving the reins dangling to the horse’s side, he raced toward
the wooden stairs.  Laura’s carriage rattled to a stop behind him.  At least
there was no wailing of grief pouring out from inside the holy place.  Halfway
up the steps, Gray stopped moving.  Wallace exited the building. 

No blood
covered him that would indicate he had completed his job.  Church grounds or
not, Gray would see that Wallace would be drenched red if he had harmed Kat. 
He took the steps two at a time, climbing to the top of the landing, his fists
clenched, anxious to extract vengeance.  Grabbing the pale man by the front of
his shirt, he ignored the pain in his left arm and swung his good fist.  His
world moved in slow motion, but the contact proved euphoric.  Mixed with
driving pain and anger, he drew his fist back for a second swing.  Wallace
staggered backward, and Gray hunched forward, targeting the man’s midsection.

“That really
wasn’t necessary, but I thought you had at least earned the first punch,” a
voice said from behind them.  A black pistol barrel pointed out from the
doorway.  Milly stepped from the church and onto the landing.  Although she
aimed her weapon at the big man’s back, she looked at Gray.  “What should I do
with him?” she asked.

“It depends on
what he has done to Kat,” Gray answered, not willing to release his hold on the
man.

“Oh, don’t you
fret any about her.  The girl is as safe as if she was held in her mother’s
arms.  I trust the child we spoke of is no longer an orphan.”

Gray smiled
for the first time today.  “Lily is fine and will be anxious to meet you.”  He
scrunched one side of his face and then cocked his head.  Lifting his brow, he
looked from Milly’s weapon to her face and waited for an explanation. 

She shrugged. 
“Wallace was as docile as a mouse once the pastor made him put his pistol
away.”  She leaned forward and whispered, “To tell you honestly, I wasn’t sure
he would be willing to part with his weapon.”

Gray lowered
his attention to her weapon.  It felt good to relax and have a moment to catch
his breath.  He pointed to her gun.  “The pastor didn’t have any objections to
your weapon?”

She drew her
shoulders back and lifted her chin.  “I should say not.  I didn’t cotton to the
idea of Robert lording his authority over me when we were children, and I still
don’t.”

“Robert?” 

“The pastor,”
she clarified.  “You didn’t know he is my brother?”

Gray shook his
head.  “How many more secrets do you have, Milly?”

She grinned
and lifted her brows.  A wicked twinkle sparkled in her eyes.

“You seem to
know how to handle a firearm,” Gray acknowledged.  “If you would be kind enough
to hold it on Wallace a while longer, we’ll take him to the magistrate after I
see Kat.  Is she inside?”

“She is.  And
don’t you fret about Wallace.  He will be ready and willing to accompany us
whenever you’re ready.”

Wallace
scoffed.  “Holding a gun on me when I have no place to run is one thing.  But I
have no plans to stand still when we are out in the open.”

Milly shrugged. 
“I consider myself a fair woman.  You head toward the road.  The minute you
break into a run, I’ll load your backside right proper.”

She shifted
her gaze to Gray.  “Robert felt a pastor should never fire a weapon.”  She
rolled her eyes and pursed her lips.  “He had no qualms with a woman doing his
hunting.”

Although Gray
had yet to see Kat, he was completely at ease that she was well taken care of. 
He needed a minute before seeing her and could think of nothing better than
needling Wallace.  “You did see the pastor?  A man doesn’t get to be the size
he is by eating carrots and rutabagas.”

He flicked his
glance back to Milly, and asked, “Is Robert with Kat?”

“He is.  I
suppose he is trying to find a way to keep the bell that was promised.”

Gray laughed
and entered the church, removing his hat as he stepped inside. 

Sunlight
filtered through the stained glass, flooding the aisle with vivid shades of
primary colors.  Kat sat with rounded shoulders in a white dress.  Her hair was
pulled up at the sides with cascading ringlets coiled down her back.  He had
not even seen her face, but he knew Milly was right.  Kat was beautiful.

In front of
her, the pastor sat on the first pew.  With his body turned sideways, he hooked
his arm over the back of the bench and spoke in soft tones.  Kat’s blonde head
nodded in response.  After what she had been through, Gray doubted she agreed
with what was being said as much as she was being polite.

Standing to
the side of the pew behind her, Gray said, “The pastor is right, Kat. 
Everything happens according to God’s plan.”

She inhaled
loudly and jumped to her feet.  “Gray!  You’re here.”  Fear filled her
red-rimmed eyes, and she burst into tears.  “You have to leave.  Hurry.  Go to
Lily while there is time.”

He shook his
head and gathered her in his arms.  “Shh. Lily is fine and thankfully, so are
you.”  He leaned forward and kissed her. 

The taste of
her mouth was what he had fought for.  A broken arm seemed of little
consequence, now that he held her in his good arm.  He looked down.  Her green
eyes mirrored back every unnamable emotion that surged through him, emotions
that had died five years ago.  She brought him back to life.  Because of her,
he no longer merely existed.  He knew he could never return to his soulless existence,
now that he knew he could be whole again.  Her eyes promised him a lifetime of
happiness, but he needed to hear the words spoken from her lips. 

“Kat, you are
the most important woman in my life.  Promise me, you will never leave me
again.”

She dabbed her
finger to her cheek, catching a tear.  “I promise,” she said.

He narrowed
his eyes at her.  “How much do you promise?”

She sniffled
and looked as though she tried to decipher his question.  “Fully,” she
answered.

“That’s not
what I mean.”  He looked past her to the pastor.

She turned in
the direction he indicated and bit her lip.

Gray pulled
her closer.  His lips touched her cheek as he spoke.  “We are in a church with
a man of God.  You are dressed for the occa -- ”

“Yes!” she
shouted, and threw her arms around his neck. 

He smiled.  As
much as he loved the feel of her body pressed to his, he pulled her a slight
distance away from him.  “Before you agree,” he said.  “You should know that
Lily is moving home to Oak Willow.”

Kat inhaled,
her face beaming.  “You told her.”  She threw herself at him, kissing him fully
on the mouth.

The pastor
gasped behind them.  Lost in their moment, he ignored the man of God and
concentrated on what was important, savoring every part of her mouth.  Loud
coughs persisted behind them, and they reluctantly parted.

Kat swayed in
his arms, and Gray pulled her to him.  “If you marry me, --” he said.

“When we
marry,” she corrected.  “It will be the happiest day of my life.”

“And mine,”
Gray agreed.

She cast a
sideways glance to the minister and pointed in his direction.  “You did
mention. . . ”

Gray kept his
gaze on Kat and spoke to the parson.  “Pastor, would be so kind to perform a
wedding ceremony for us?”

The clergyman
huffed his breath and flapped his coat in the air.  He swirled the wool around
his shoulders and walked past them.

“Take your
coat off, Robert and open your book,” Milly said from the doorway.  “These two
people want to be married, so quit your judging and get to it.”

Robert’s lips
disappeared into a solid, thin line.  Refusing to lead the couple to the altar,
he stood in front of them, flipped the pages of his Bible open, and cast a
harsh glare to his sister.  Apparently his loss of a church bell weighed heavy
in his decision.  He raked a contemptuous gaze over Gray’s appearance and
snapped, “Do you take her to be your wife?”

Gray took
Kat’s hands in his.  “I do.”

The pastor
rolled his eyes and turned to Kat.  “Do you take him for your husband?  You
don’t have to, you know.”

Kat smiled
broadly, twisting her shoulders back and forth as though she tried to shimmy
out of her dress.  The wanton look in her eyes spoke as though this was the
pastor’s only chance to keep her soul from being condemned to eternal
damnation.  “I absolutely do,” she said.

The clergy
shook his head and smirked.  “So be it.”  He slapped his Bible shut.  “Consider
yourself married.”

Gray pulled
her to him and claimed her as his wife.  Although her kiss had never tasted
sweeter, there was more of an urgent desire in her response that was desperate
to be filled.  Her hands lowered below his waist, and Gray flinched.  She
giggled as they turned their attention toward the clapping at the doorway. 
Laura and Milly moved to the side and allowed the pastor to leave the church.

“Mrs.
Gregory,” Gray whispered, “You should try to remember we are in a church in
front of witnesses.”

Kat’s hand
rubbed his backside, warming him thoroughly.  “Mr. Gregory.  I suggest you take
me home before I no longer care.”

Gray’s broken
arm would have to wait a little longer.  He had a wife to tend to.