Love Inspired Historical July 2015 Box Set: The Marriage Agreement\Cowgirl for Keeps\The Lawman's Redemption\Captive on the High Seas (69 page)

The marshal's words gave Will hope he hadn't dared hope before. Since his father's death, not one person had expressed kindness toward the situation. Perhaps others felt the same way but were too afraid, given the high sentiment running against him.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Now I'm going to turn my back, real slow, so's I can examine the progression of the fire. When I turn around, I'll expect you to be on your way. I've got some deputies due soon, and if they spot you, I'm going to have to bring you in. Understand what I'm saying?”

Will would be leaving the place a wanted man. With just enough time to say his goodbyes before he'd be put in jail to await a trial.

“Thank you.”

The marshal didn't say anything but turned around very slowly. Jasper grabbed Will's arm, helping him up.

“Let's get out of here.”

The men ran, sometimes with Jasper dragging Will's fatigued body down the street. Fortunately, they weren't far from the Jackson mansion. Rather than going in through the front, Jasper took him around back through the servants' entrance.

The entire place was lit up, and Will wondered if coming here was a mistake. It was likely the first place anyone would look. But he didn't protest as Jasper guided him through the house and into a quiet room.

“You'll be safe here,” Jasper said, pointing to a bed before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

Will couldn't help but collapse onto the bed. Yes, he was safe. For now. But in the morning, he'd be on his way to jail and an uncertain future.

Chapter Twenty-Five

R
ustling noises around Mary made her wake with a start. She looked around the elegantly appointed sitting room and realized she'd fallen asleep on the couch. Daylight streaked the room, and she saw that the tea tray had been taken away. Emma Jane and Frank had disappeared.

How had she fallen asleep at a time like this?

Mary rose and exited the room, looking for signs of life. The maid who'd attended them last night stepped into the hallway.

“You're awake,” she said, smiling. “Mr. Jasper would like you to join him in his sitting room. Follow me.”

Mary looked around for signs of life. The entire house remained still. Quiet. Like a tomb. “What about Will? Is he here? Is he all right?”

The maid looked startled. “I can't say, miss. Mr. Jasper returned alone last night.”

Alone. Tension knotted Mary's stomach. He wouldn't have left Will behind. Not unless—

No. She wouldn't countenance such a thing. Will had to be all right, he just had to be. Now that Mary had finally realized she couldn't continue punishing herself by denying her own happiness, she had to let Will know her true feelings. She had to tell him that she'd intentionally pushed him away and refused his kindness because she feared falling in love with him.

Of course it was too late to worry about such fears. She'd already fallen in love. And hard. What she'd had with Ben was a girlish infatuation. Now that she knew real love and the sacrifice of an honorable man, she couldn't settle for anyone less than Will Lawson.

The doctor exited a room, closing the door behind him. Mary stopped. “How is my sister?”

“Sleeping.” He smiled at her gently. “She'll be fine. I gave her something to help her sleep, to allow her body to heal. You've all been through quite the ordeal. I hope you'll heed my words and get some rest.”

“Of course.”

Mary continued following the maid down the hall, grateful that her sister was going to be fine but even more eager to hear Jasper's news. Surely Will was all right.

The maid opened a door at the end of the hall. “In here, miss.”

“Thank you.” Mary smiled at the girl, who'd probably had a rough time with all the excitement. “What is your name?”

“Alice, miss.” The maid curtsied and started to turn away, but Mary stopped her.

“Thank you, Alice. Your help has been much appreciated.”

The maid colored slightly before bobbing another curtsy and walking away. Mary entered the room.

Jasper lay on a sofa, clad in pajamas and a dressing gown. He smiled as she approached. “I apologize for my improper appearance, but mother insists I be treated like an invalid. I'm perfectly fine, I can assure you.”

“Were you badly injured?”

“Nothing a few days' rest won't cure.” The impish Jasper grin filled his face, only now it held an air of maturity Mary hadn't seen in him before.

Their experience had changed him. Changed them all. Which was why talking to Will was imperative.

“Where is Will?”

The grin slipped from Jasper's face. “He's safe. For now.”

Jasper gestured to a nearby chair. “Please, sit. I can't think with you hovering above me.”

Being told that Will was safe didn't make sense with the way Jasper was acting. If Will was truly safe, he'd be in the room with them.

“Thanks to the sheriff's words against him, and the discovery of the gun, Will is now wanted by the law. Father has arranged for him to be transferred into custody later today.” Jasper's voice cracked slightly.

“He's going to jail, Mary. He'll stand trial for the robbery in Century City as well as for starting the fire at The Pink Petticoat.”

Mary stared at him. “But he didn't start that fire! Rose and I did.”

“Yes, and you'll keep quiet about your involvement. Will and I have agreed to take the blame.” Jasper coughed. “Actually, Will insists on taking the entire blame himself. Father is working on getting the top lawyers in the country to take Will's case, but in the meantime, we're to keep quiet about what happened. Once we've consulted with the lawyers, then we can tell our side of the story to the authorities.”

“But that's lying.” Mary looked at him, incredulous. “I can't countenance such a thing. We didn't mean to burn the place down. Surely they know it was an accident.”

A door creaked open, and Will stepped through. “Please, let me do this, Mary.”

“Will!” She couldn't help herself. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. “I was so worried.”

As if it were a herculean effort, Will returned the gesture, holding her close to him. “You and your sister won't survive in a jail cell. Especially not with the power Ben's gang holds. I've talked with Mr. Jackson, and he believes we can find enough evidence to exonerate me, both of the fire and the robbery. But you have to be patient and do as I ask.”

His breath fanned her hair, and Mary didn't want him to let her go. The safest Mary had felt in a long time was right here, in Will's arms, and the thought of him going to jail for her, even temporarily, was unbearable.

“But what of Ben's threats of a lynch mob?”

Will let her go and looked into her eyes. This man had never let her down, and as she looked at the light shining in his dark orbs, she knew she could trust him.

“The marshal is on our side. Between his men and the men Mr. Jackson hired, I'll be perfectly safe. There's still a chance that the jury will convict me, but we've already got people working to ensure I have a fair trial.”

Though she supposed Will meant to comfort her, it all seemed such an impossibility. Not with the kind of weight Ben carried in this region. He was the slickest of criminals, and he'd managed to evade being caught so many times.

“What about Ben?”

Will smiled. “He was found with a number of stolen gems in his possession when he escaped the fire. He's got some explaining of his own to do.”

At least Ben was finally getting what was coming to him—as long as he didn't wiggle his way out of it.

Still, at the hope shining in Will's eyes, Mary had to trust that things would work out. After all, they'd come this far.

“Will, I have to tell you—”

“No.” His eyes took on an unfamiliar look. “I have some things I need to say first. The marshal's men will be here any time now, and I have to go with them as soon as they arrive. I need to leave with a clean conscience.”

Go. Perhaps never to return. Those thoughts burned in Mary's chest, even as she fought to cling to hope.

“I care for you, Mary. I've fought my feelings because I didn't think it was right declaring myself to a woman when I had no honor to give her. But I've come to realize that honor isn't about what others think of you, but of being right in the eyes of God. I had the chance to let Ben die, and I didn't.”

Mary couldn't imagine a more honorable man standing before her, even if he had allowed Ben to die. But she continued listening, giving him the chance to say what he needed to say.

“So I am declaring my love for you, Miss Mary Stone. I love you, and I hope someday to be able to give you my name. It may not be a name most people think of as being a good name, but I hope it will be good enough for you.”

Unbidden, tears streamed down her face.

“Of course it's good enough for me. I'd be proud to carry your name and give you sons to carry on what is the noblest name I have ever known. I hadn't dared hope to find a man I loved. I thought I owed it to my family to make up for what I've done by devoting my life to them. But I don't need to serve any penance for sins the Lord has forgiven. I love you, too, Will.”

Will kissed her then, and as she melted into his arms, the sounds of the deputies coming to arrest him clanged in her ears. But Mary didn't care. As her heart swelled with love for the man kissing her, and the peace of God settled around them, she knew that in the end, it would all work out according to God's plan.

* * *

Several hours later, as Will sat in a Leadville jail cell, he wasn't so sure that turning himself in had been the best idea. Colt had been locked in the cell next to him, and he was looking for a fight.

“You know we'll both hang, Law-lost-his-badge.”

“I'm counting on the evidence to say otherwise.” Will turned his back and laid on the uncomfortable cot.

“I heard you saved Ben from the fire.”

Will grunted, then closed his eyes. Saving Ben wasn't something he wanted to talk about. He'd made his peace on that issue with Mary and God, the only two people whose good opinions of him mattered.

“That was pretty stupid, considering Ben's just going to testify against you.”

He'd figured, but at least with all of Ben's other crimes, that testimony wouldn't matter as much. Will had put his trust in the Lord, and while he didn't understand why events had happened the way they had, he had to trust in the Lord's good purpose.

“Is it true Ben killed Mel?”

This question made Will sit up and look at Colt. “What's it to you?”

“I know what she did for a living, but she was still my girl. Mel was a good woman, and as soon as I had the money, I was gonna set her up real nice.”

“By stealing from other people?”

Colt grunted. “You wouldn't understand.”

Will jumped up and approached the other man. “You're right. I don't understand. Tell me why I'm sitting here in this jail when you know as well as I do that I had nothing to do with that robbery. Tell me how you ended up in possession of my father's gun, a gun someone who wasn't me used to kill an innocent man. And then tell me how all that adds up to giving a decent woman like Mel a better life.”

Despite knowing it was wrong to engage Colt, Will couldn't help it. Mel shouldn't have had to die.

“You tell me it was Ben, and I'll give them everything they need to hang him.”

Those words should have brought Will the comfort he needed. One word, and Colt would give the authorities the testimony they needed to end Ben's reign of terror once and for all. The trouble was, Will wasn't sure that word was the truth.

Yes, Ben had fired, but he'd claimed it was only to scare Jasper. Ben's men had also fired their weapons. So, whose bullet had hit Mel? Will couldn't definitively say. He'd been too busy trying to keep Mary safe.

It hadn't been right to let Ben die in the fire, just as it wasn't right to give Colt the answer he sought.

All Will had to say was yes, and everything Will had come to Leadville for would be accomplished. Ben would face justice. Will's name would be cleared. He could give Mary the honorable life he'd hoped to be able to give a woman someday. But there'd forever be a stain on his soul.

Will looked at the other man, whose face looked more worn than Will had ever remembered seeing it. His grief was real.

“She betrayed you, you know. By helping us.”

Colt nodded slowly, as if he still couldn't believe Mel would do such a thing. “What'd you have on her?”

“Nothing. She was trying to find out what Ben had done with her sister.” If anything good could come of this conversation, maybe it would be that they'd finally find where Ben's gang was keeping Daisy.

“I didn't know she had a sister.” Darkness flitted across Colt's eyes. “Why wouldn't she have told me?”

“Because her sister's the pretty plum Ben used to tempt me in Century City. Mel didn't know if she could trust you.”

Colt's face crumbled. Not in the way a pretty girl started to cry, because there were no tears. Just the utter devastation of a man who had nothing more to lose—or gain.

“I wish she'd told me.”

The calmly spoken words were unlike anything Will had ever heard from the other man. He sounded almost...human. Even the cold-blooded killer who'd struck fear into the hearts of many a lawless town had loved another, and loved her deeply.

Could Will play on that love to get the information they needed to find Daisy?

“All Mel wanted was for Daisy to be taken care of. It's why she took up the life she did. Why she came to Leadville.”

“She'll be taken care of just fine. Ben's seen to that.” Colt eyed Will as though he dared him to say otherwise.

“An outlaw's life is no life for a woman. Mel wanted better for Daisy. If you loved her, you'd grant her dying wish.”

The disgust on Colt's face was unmistakable. “I ain't no rat.”

“You'd put your loyalty to Ben over Mel's dying wish?”

“It's not Ben I'm protecting. But if he killed her...” Colt turned his head, and Will caught a glimpse of him wiping at his eyes.

Once again, Will wished he could tell Colt what he wanted to hear. Especially when Colt turned to him with red-rimmed eyes. “You're not going to tell me who killed her, are you?”

Answers. Funny how regardless of which side of the law a person was on, all anyone ever wanted was answers. Not even Will had the ones Colt sought.

“I honestly don't know. Ben and his men were all shooting, and I was too busy trying to get Mary to safety to see who shot who. All I know is that when the dust settled, Mel was dead.”

He left out the part about her saving Jasper. The last thing Jasper needed was for Colt to decide to hold him responsible. There seemed to be too many vendettas going around these days.

“He deserves to hang, you know.”

Will swallowed. All he'd been able to think about for months was Ben's body swinging from the gallows. And now... “I suppose that's for a judge and jury to decide.”

“You know he won't live long enough for a trial. Folks are already outside clamoring to see Ben's neck in a noose. I heard tell that he stole from some mighty important people.”

How could Colt discuss the case as though they were sitting in a parlor discussing town gossip over tea? Especially when Colt had been part of it all?