part0012

Mark rode back to the creek and after looking around, found their trail along with Evangeline’s peanut shells. The wind picked up, swirling leaves across the road. He gave Timber a wary glance, but the horse seemed to take it all in stride.

To the north, clouds were mounting and lightning slashing the ground. It wouldn’t do to be out on the prairie. Mark looked longingly south and hoped Evangeline was safe. He prayed her brother would watch out for her.

Before the rains could let loose, he rode to a rocky formation and secured his horse beneath a ledge. He’d have to wait out the storm while knowing the rain would wash away their tracks.

A flash of lightning followed by a loud boom of thunder shook the ground and caught his thoughts. He prayed Evangeline was safe and dry. That she’d feel his love for her and know that he would come for her.

Mark rubbed the horse’s ears to settle him down. “It’ll be all right, boy.”

At least Mark had told the driver to tell Sabrina and Tom what had happened. And if Ferguson left the stagecoach, the driver was to tell them that, too. The two agents were good detectives and would be on Ferguson’s trail.

The rain poured in sheets. Mark hoped Evangeline still had her peanuts to leave him some clues. A few small pieces of hail pounded the earth while the temperature dropped. The day had started out hot. She would be cold. The short time he’d known her, she’d never worn a jacket when going out.

It wasn’t long, and the storm moved on toward the south. Mark grabbed the reins and led Timber away from the shelter. He mounted and hoped this wasn’t going to be one of those times the horse would decide to buck and fight him.

Mark tapped the horse’s sides and set off across the land on the faint trail. She was in trouble. He knew it. Brother or not, he needed to rescue her.

Evangeline clung to her brother. The wind was cold, and the storm was closing in on them. Sam had the horse in a full gallop. She had her head against his back and thought back to days when they were young. He had taken apples from a neighbor’s tree, and they were on the run for home.

It hadn’t done any good, though. As soon as they put up the horse, Mother had come out and told them to take the apples back and pay for the ones they ate. All their dreams of an apple pie faded at the sight of the switch Mother held in her hand. She had been a stickler for the law.

Perhaps if life hadn’t taken such drastic turns, Evangeline wouldn’t be on the back of her brother’s horse clinging to him yet dreading the hideout they were running to. It was bad enough her brother was a wanted man. What would she become?

She’d already married a stranger so she could save Sam from the noose. Now, she was headed to a hideout of ruthless outlaws. Her life was going from bad to worse. And at a gallop.

Sam had taken the bag of peanuts from her and tossed them into the muddy water hole. She shivered in the cold. Sam didn’t stop but kept the horse going. There were days when Sam would have made sure she wasn’t cold. Apparently, those days were long gone and Sam’s feelings for her with them.

A stab of lightning struck the ground to the west of them. The boom from the thunder exploded in her ears.

Sam swung the horse wide along the trail and away from any trees or shrubs. Then she saw it. A lonely little cabin smack in the middle of nowhere. Sam slid the heaving horse to a stop and threw her off the back. He quickly followed leaving the horse to fend for himself.

She stared at Sam’s back as they walked to the cabin. The Sam she’d known was gone. Evangeline wondered who had killed him. Had it been murder or suicide? This man with her brother’s name was more of a stranger to her than Mark.

Thinking of him, she looked north and wondered if he was riding through the storm to find her. She regretted not having her peanuts to give him a clue.

The two men stood to their feet, guns drawn, and sneers on their faces.

“Why’d you bring her here?” Banjo, the one with the handlebar mustache, holstered his gun.

Silas shook his head. “Go ahead and make yourself useful, Sister, and make us some dinner. Beans and bacon are by the stove.”

Sam nodded and pushed her toward the food. “The storm was coming, and I couldn’t leave her out there.”

“What’s the boss going to say about her?” Banjo turned to watch her walk to the stove.

Evangeline shuddered. She was beginning to doubt that Sam could protect her from these men. As it was, she didn’t believe they would let her leave the hideout peacefully. She sent a silent prayer up for Mark. She wasn’t sure she wanted him to find her. He would be in such danger.

She cut the bacon and put it in the iron skillet. The beans were already in the water and over the fire. “Do you have coffee?”

Sam grabbed a can from a cupboard and tossed it to her. “We like it strong.”

Silas walked to her. “You smell good.” He put a hand in her hair.

Sam slapped his arm and pushed him away from her. “Evangeline is my sister. She’s off-limits.”

Banjo shook his head. “I don’t know, Sam. You brought her here, but it’s hardly fair to ask us to ignore that she’s a woman.”

Sam’s pistol was out in a heartbeat. “I say you’re to ignore her. Touch her, and you’ll deal with me. Understand?”

Banjo nodded. “Relax. We’ll just see what the boss says. Although, I guess we should thank her for saving you from hanging. Bad luck that they thought you killed that rancher when Silas did it.”

“Yeah. Bad luck that you two ran out on me and left me there had nothing to do with it. I told you not to bother with him.” Sam grabbed the dented coffee pot and filled it with water and then handed it to Evangeline.

She stared at her brother and gave him a weak smile. “So, you were innocent.”

“I said I was.” He grabbed a chair and sat between the men and her.

The food was ready, and the coffee hot. She looked at the two outlaws. “Dinner is ready. You can come and get it yourselves.” She walked away and sat near the door.

Sam stood and tossed a plate to him. “Get up and fix your own plate. I only brought her here to be safe from the storm.”

Blinding light lit up the window as lightning struck near the cabin. A loud clap of thunder sounded immediately after, followed by horrendous rain and hail. Sam grabbed her and shoved her under a table and shielded her with his body as a loud roar blasted over the cabin.

The other men scattered and hid under whatever they could find.

The roar increased, and the cabin shook. The roof ripped off first, followed by the back wall. The sound was deafening, and her head and ears hurt from the intense pressure and noise. And then it was gone.

The rain continued but lessened quickly to a few sprinkles, and then the sun came out.

Sam pulled her out from under the debris. “Are you all right?”

She felt her arms and nodded. “I think so.” He had blood running down his forehead. She pulled her hanky from her pocket and tried to stop the bleeding. “The others?”

He looked around. “I don’t know. Everything came down on us. Silas, Banjo!”

Evangeline righted a chair. “Sam, sit down and let me tend to your head. You have quite a gash.”

He looked at her arm and then her face. “Yes. That horrid day. When I saw that man attack you, I lost myself. I hated our parents for dying. God, for letting it happen. But most of all, I hated that man. I’m sorry you had to see what I did that day.”

With tears in his eyes, he looked at her. “That’s the day I turned from what was right. That moment. I guess I thought if I couldn’t protect you, I didn’t deserve anything good.”

“They are going to hang me, Sis. There’s no going back on that.” Sam lowered his head and shook it slowly.

Evangeline’s heart tore. “I can hire a lawyer. I heard Silas say he killed that man.”

Sam took her face in his hands. “He’s dead. Who is going to believe you when you’re my sister?”

She looked around and saw the buckskin horse. “Take the horse and go. I’ll say you were killed in the tornado. No one has to know.”

He shook his head. “You’ll know. I will. It’s time I faced the things I’ve done. I don’t want to spend my life running.”

He hugged her to him. “You did, Evangeline. In ways, you don’t even know. Seeing you again reminded me of how it was when I was good. When I believed in God and lived accordingly. I’d lost that until I saw you in that jail. So, you see, you did set me free.”

Sam gazed north and smiled. “Someone’s coming. I think it might be that Pinkerton man that you’re married to.”

She whirled from him. “I’ll tell him to leave. To let you alone.”

“Evangeline, look at me.” Sam’s voice was settled, honest.

She looked at him. He was the Sam she’d always known. Her brother. “Sam.”

“I want you to promise me that you won’t try to set me free. That you won’t get in the way.”

She flung herself at him and hugged him. Cried for all the times they’d been apart and needed one another. For all the lost days and the ones to come. “I can’t let him take you.”

“You don’t have to. I’m turning myself in.” He set her aside and walked toward Mark. Hand up, he waited.