Stained Snow (23 page)

They rode forward in silence until William made out the camp in front of them. He couldn’t see much more than the campfire and the two horses standing at the far side of the camp. That was all he needed. He recognized those horses. He had raised one of them from a colt. One of the ones that had gone missing from his ranch before Anna had been killed. He had always known it had been Thomas, but the sheriff hadn’t believed him. The other horse was one he had seen every day at George’s ranch. He’d obviously stolen that one when he took Maggie.

Anger boiled in him. He needed to control it. He couldn’t do anything rash and risk getting Maggie hurt before Adam got her away. He held up his hand, gesturing to Adam. The other man nodded and both dismounted, leaving their horses there. William didn’t want to speak so close to the camp, and he didn’t need to. Adam seemed to know exactly what he meant with only hand signals.

William waited next to his horse while he watched Adam move around the camp. If he went in too soon, it would put Maggie in danger before she could get out. He didn’t want to wait too long and put them both in danger. He waited another minute before inching his way forward.

He avoided looking into the campfire as he neared the edge of the camp. The flame seemed bigger than it needed to be so early in the morning. The horses standing at the far side of the camp were restless. He scanned the rest of the camp, his gaze lighting on the bedroll at the edge of the camp. A lump there, as if someone slept under the blanket. Late to still be asleep, but if he knew his brother, he was probably sleeping off a drunken night. What would he have done to Maggie when he was like that? He couldn’t think of that.

He passed over the sleeping figure, holding back the urge to run in and attack it before he knew who lay there. On the other side of the horses, a bit of brown hair flew in the breeze. He had at first thought it was the one of the horse’s tails. No, it didn’t fit. Maggie. Her name ran through his mind. Since he had recognized the ruse, his gaze focused on her. He made out the lines of her body between the legs of the horses. From her unnatural position, her hands, and probably legs, were tied. He had her trussed up like a calf ready for branding.

Anger surged through him, and he forgot all about being careful. He broke into a run across the camp, her name nearly forming on his lips. The hammer cocking back on a pistol sounded loud in the silence of the morning and brought him sliding to a stop. Before he turned toward the sound, a familiar voice, one he hoped to never hear again, spoke. “You’re too easy, brother.”

He realized too late this was all a trap. A very well laid trap. “You were waiting for me.”

William turned. Thomas stood on the other side of the horses, not too far from Maggie. His mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution to his current problem. He would never be able to draw his gun before Thomas shot him. He had never been quicker than his brother, even on equal footing. He was at even more of a disadvantage here, with his gun still in its holster and his brother aiming his at him. He needed to think of something.

A branch cracked from behind Thomas. Adam. He was still out there. If William kept Thomas’ attention on him, maybe Adam would be able to get Maggie out of there. It wouldn’t matter what happened to him after that.

Thomas apparently heard the branch crack as well because he turned his head toward the sound, the gun barely wavering in his hand. Adam must have stopped moving when he broke it, or Thomas decided it wasn’t a threat, because he turned back to William before he could decide what to do.

“I’ve never done anything to hurt you,” William said. “Why are you so set on destroying everything I love?”

Thomas stared at him across the campsite. Then, he laughed. “Never hurt me? You’ve never done anything but hurt me.”

The words shook William right to his core. What had he ever done to hurt his brother? He’d only ever looked up to him until he realized how much the other boy hated him.

Thomas didn’t wait for a response from him. “It started the day you were born. I knew that would be the worst moment of my life. Then, Pa died. I always knew it was because of you. If not for you, he would have come back.”

William shook his head, the accusation shocking him. “How do you figure, Thomas? I wasn’t born yet when he went off. He couldn’t have even known I was here when he died. A reb’s gun killed him, not me. I never even saw him. He never saw me.”

“It doesn’t matter. I never saw him again after you were born. Then, you had Clara taken away from me.”

The accusation felt like a punch to his gut. “I didn’t…” The memory hit him. “Clara? That ranch hand’s daughter? I barely even knew her. What could I have had to do with her?”

“Yes, Clara, the ranch hand’s daughter. I loved her. You ratted us out, and she was taken away from me. Sent away because we were together.”

William shook his head again. “I didn’t know anything about the two of you, so how could I have ratted you out? I saw you go out to the barn one night, but I had no idea you were meeting her.”

“I don’t believe you. The next day her father sent her away. She carried my child, and he sent her away. If her brother hadn’t gotten her letter to me a couple months later, I never would have even known. All because you had to be a little tattletale and stay on our dear stepfather’s good side.”

“No. It wasn’t like that at all. I never said anything to anybody.” William’s head spun and his gut churned with this information. This is why it always seemed Thomas wanted to kill him. He thought William had done this, but he hadn’t. “Why aren’t you with them? Why didn’t you stay with them instead of trying to take everything from me?”

“Because you got her sent away, and she wouldn’t give my name to her father, she had to run away from him before he beat her to death. Because we had to hide from him, our baby died without ever taking a breath. Clara died days later. If we hadn’t had to hide, she could have gotten better care.”

William’s heart hurt a little. He wanted to tell his brother it may not have mattered. Sometimes the worst happened anyway. That wouldn’t be well received. Instead he took a step forward. “I’m sorry, Thomas. I’m sorry you lost them. It wasn’t my fault, and it wasn’t Anna’s fault. It certainly wasn’t David’s.” Speaking their names again tore away pieces of his heart.

“They should have been mine,” Thomas screamed at him. “You never deserved them. You took everything from me, but still got everything you wanted. Everything I should have had.”

“You never even wanted Anna.” William’s voice was soft as he stepped forward again. He lost that little bit of sympathy for his brother now. Adam crept closer to Maggie, and William needed to keep his brother’s attention. “You only ever courted her in an attempt to keep her away from me. It didn’t work though because she saw through you. Why couldn’t you leave us be? We were happy. Was that too much for you?”

“You didn’t deserve to be happy. It all should have been mine. You and that old bastard made sure I didn’t have anything. I wanted to take it all from you.”

“Why didn’t you just kill me? It would have hurt a lot less. You destroyed me, Thomas.” He took a step toward his brother. A little longer, and Maggie would be safe. “They didn’t deserve what you did to them. If you wanted Anna, if you really cared for her, you never would have done this.”

“My pain has never ended. Why should yours?” Now, Thomas took a step closer. Adam was almost to Maggie. They might be able to get away. “Anna could have lived. I didn’t mean for her to die, but she wouldn’t stop fighting me.”

Something snapped inside William. “You bastard,” he growled. “She fought you because she never wanted you.”

“She should have gone with me. She watched as I shot him.” The sneer on his brother’s face sent a chill down his spine. “I burned down your ranch and made her mine. Would have killed the old man, too, but I didn’t want to wait around. I’ll go back for him once you’re dead.”

William took two more steps toward him. Everything else was pushed to the side. “She was never yours. She never wanted you. You never wanted her. You obviously didn’t care much for her since you seduced Maggie at the same time you planned to take Anna from me.” At the thought of her, his gaze wanted to move to where he’d seen her. It was too dangerous to look. If Adam hadn’t gotten her away yet, all would be lost. “You never loved either of them.”

Thomas actually laughed. “You have no room to be righteous, brother. Your wife was barely cold in the ground when you went after another of my women. What’s your problem? You can’t get one on your own? You have to keep takin’ mine?”

That was more than he could take. It wasn’t true. It had been nearly a year after he buried Anna. He hadn’t even known Maggie had been with him, but Thomas would never believe that.

His hand reached for his gun before he thought about the move. Thomas let him clear the holster. He could have taken him down in that time, but he didn’t. William didn’t know why he even gave him that much mercy and didn’t have any time to think about it.

Before he could raise the gun to take a shot, something slammed into his body. He went right to the ground, and the impact stole his breath, the gun falling from his hand. He struggled to his knees, searching the ground for his gun.

He closed his fingers around the butt when his brother laughed. His vision blurred, so he didn’t even bother looking for his target. Just shot toward his voice. A grunt sounded above him, and he pushed himself the rest of the way to his feet. His gaze remained unfocused as Thomas bent over in front of him. He looked up at William, hate in his eyes. “You’re not taking me in. I won’t allow it.”

William had forgotten all about taking him in, about seeking justice. He wanted his brother to pay, and he wanted it to be at his hand. That wasn’t right. It wouldn’t make him any better than Thomas.

Everything came rushing back to him, and he risked a glance toward Maggie. Adam had her untied and led her away from the camp.

His job was done then. He could do the only other thing that mattered. Make sure he took Thomas with him.

“You won’t hurt anyone else. I won’t allow that.”

He lifted his arm again but the next bullet took him in the shoulder and turned him. He stumbled but forced himself to stay on his feet as he gritted his teeth against the pain.

He turned back, squeezing the trigger before he had a clear shot lined up. He knew right away he missed. Thomas didn’t though.

William folded over when the bullet struck him. No force of will could keep him on his feet. His knees struck the ground first, then his body folded over. He rolled over onto his back. His gun had fallen from his hand again, but it hadn’t gone far.

He closed his fingers around it again. The clouds in the sky kept blurring together, and everything in front of him faded in and out. He felt the blood draining out of him. He wouldn’t have much longer.

Thomas’ footsteps approached. He forced the black spots from his vision. This would be his last chance. He doubted he’d make it away from this clearing with his life. The only thing he hoped for right now was to make sure Thomas stayed here with him.

Maybe Adam could get what he wanted. At least he would be there to take care of Maggie. When Thomas’ face came into his vision, William tried to lift his arm. The gun felt almost too heavy. His body didn’t want to obey any commands from his brain.

He couldn’t die here like this. He put more effort into lifting it. Thomas pulled back the hammer on his gun.

His arm dropped back to the ground. He was finished, too weak to fight back. Images of Anna, David, and Maggie ran through his head as he waited for the killing shot.

When the blast of gunfire came, there was no pain. Nothing slammed into his body. He didn’t feel another hole open up in him. He heard a grunt and a thud as something fell to the ground beside him. He didn’t open his eyes, wasn’t sure he had the strength to. Someone dropped down beside him. Maggie’s fingers brushed over his arm, his forehead, at his throat. Then, her cry, “Adam. He’s alive.”

He wanted to open his mouth and argue that point. He was too weak. Darkness swept over him, dragging him down toward a peaceful sleep. He’d wanted to be back with his family from the beginning. Now, he would finally get it.

Instead of succumbing to the darkness, he kept fighting to hold on to the surface. He didn’t want to go if it meant losing Maggie and this new life he’d found. His grip on consciousness slipped, and he couldn’t hold on any longer.

Chapter 26

Maggie dropped the gun in her hand and ran across the clearing. She rested a hand on William’s chest and held her cheek over his mouth. The breath caught in her throat, and she looked up again. “Adam, he’s alive.”

Maggie ran her hand over William’s forehead. “Come on, Will. Stay with me. You can’t leave me now.”

She grasped his hand with her other one and felt a slight pressure around it. She thought he mumbled, “sorry,” but couldn’t be sure. She saw the doubt in Adam’s eyes.

“He’s still alive, Adam. We have to get him back. He’ll die out here if we don’t.”

She watched as Adam’s gaze fell from hers and swept over William’s body then back up to her. “I’m not so sure he won’t if we try to get him back. He’s in bad shape, Maggie.”

“That’s why we have to hurry. I can’t lose him, Adam. Please. I can’t do this without him.”