JT grimaced in pain when Susie parted his hair and wiped the scalp wound with antiseptic. "Damn, Susie, that hurts worse than the cut!"
"Shut up. You can't see to shoot with blood running in your eyes."
JT glanced at Dan, who stood by the kitchen window, next to the shattered door. They had managed to prop a chair under the doorknob, giving them a barrier to the bullets slamming into the house. Dan's rifle spoke periodically, sending his own fire in the direction of the barn.
"Dan, did you get any of them yet?" JT asked. "How's your arm?"
"Arm's fine," Dan replied. "It's your turn to get patched, so you can get your ass up here and help. And, yeah, I got one who stuck his head out the door on the haymow. Don't think he's dead, but he won't give us any more trouble."
JT finally pushed Susie away and picked up his rifle from the table. "You get on back in the parlor with Bessie and the kids now," he ordered. Hopping over to take his place beside Dan, JT aimed his rifle out the window. A shadow flickered from one side of the open barn door to the other, and JT smiled grimly at the man's scream of pain after he shot.
"Looks like they'd think to shut that barn door," he said to Dan.
"That's what worries me. They've got something in mind."
"Well, we can't do anything about it until we know what it is. Sorry 'bout your arm. You wouldn't have got hit if you hadn't had to help me up the steps."
"Just be glad we saw those bastards coming in time to make a run for the house. Otherwise, they'd be in here, and have hostages."
"You get a count on them yet?"
"Five or six left, with the two down. Van Alstyne's got plenty of money to pay that many men. Probably all rounded up by that son of a bitch, Bobby. Van Alstyne's out there, too. I saw him when they scattered off their horses and took to the barn."
"Don't sound like him, coming out here himself to do his dirty work."
"Doubt if he's in his right mind," Dan said with a glance at JT. "Knowin' his wife's ex-lover is back in the picture, plannin' to marry his daughter. The telegraph operator told me there's been a lot of wires going out to Kansas City over the last few weeks — written in some gibberish he couldn't understand. I don't think Van Alstyne ever went back to New York. I think he stayed in Kansas City, keeping tabs on what was going on around here."
"Yeah, probably so." JT took a quick shot at another shadow inside the barn, but heard no sound to indicate the bullet found its mark.
JT worked the lever on his rifle to push another shell into the chamber. "You think your deputy's still alive over there behind that horse trough? Crazy fool. He should have stayed hidden when he saw us ride in with that gang of men on our tails."
"He was only doing his job, trying to cover us so we could get in the house."
A shot rang out from the direction of the horse trough and Dan jerked his head around. Immediately his eyes swung back to the barn as a man screamed and fell from an upper story window.
"He's still alive," Dan said with satisfaction. "I think that was that bastard, Bobby, that fell. But now those men know my deputy's alive, too."
"You in the house!" a voice yelled. "Send out Randolph and we'll let the rest of you alone. He's the one we're after!"
Dan's rifle spoke the answer to the demand. "Go to hell!" he called, following up his shot.
"You've got women and kids in there!" the voice hollered back. "We can fire the house. Won't none of you get out! We're not leaving without Randolph!"
"You have to get close enough to do it first!"
"Damn it, Dan," JT said. "We can't hold out in here forever. It'll be dark in a few hours, and they can sneak up and set the fire, pick us off when we run out. If I could just talk to Van Alstyne for a second...."
"Yeah, and tell him what? You know something about him he don't want known? Maybe something his wife told you? Hell, man, they've got the upper hand, and anything you say to Van Alstyne will just make him more determined to kill us. And the women and kids, too, for overhearing it."
"How'd you figure that out?"
"I saw you through the window, giving Mrs. Samuel something in an envelope. Heard what you told her, too. Lawman's got to be able to listen to two conversations at once sometimes — figure out from the evidence what the options could be."
"Liberty's lucky to have you for a sheriff, Dan."
"They'll have to find a new one if we don't figure a way out of this." Dan swung over to the window and shot again without taking much of an aim. His eyes widened when he heard a scream.
"You gonna tell me what was in that letter, in case you don't make it through this and I do?" he asked JT, after JT nodded a grim acknowledgement of Dan's shot.
"Van Alstyne was financing blockade runners for the South during the war. Diedre overhead him talking to someone one night — man with a Southern drawl. She found the records after that, when she searched his desk. She never wanted to turn him in at first — didn't want the scandal on Shanna's or Toby's heads — but she made sure she always knew what was in those records. A lawyer friend of hers in New York has part of them now. Diedre stole them before she died and gave them to him, to keep until I showed up."
"Man must have been a good friend."
"That's all he was — a friend." JT shot Dan a warning look. "A good friend."
"I understand, JT. And I reckon Van Alstyne could still be tried for those crimes, if they came to light. At the very least, his business would go to hell when word got out he was a traitor."
"That won't happen if he agrees to give up any claim on Toby. I'm the only one who can put my hands on the proof needed."
"Cut the fence wire," Cody demanded in a raspy voice. "We can't take a chance on going up the road. That line of trees behind the barn will hide us until we get close enough to see who's shooting which direction."
Pappy reached behind the wagon seat and lifted the lid on a wooden box. He pulled out a pair of wire cutters and jumped down from the wagon seat. Standing beside the fence post, he snipped a wire, jerking his arm back when the string whipped away. He cut the other two strands, then climbed back to his seat.
"You get back there with Cody and Shanna now, Zerelda. Behind the seat."
"And leave you up here to draw their fire?"
"I've thought of that, woman. I can guide these horses just as well from behind the footrest. 'Sides, they probably ain't gonna see us at first, with those trees in the way. Go on. Now!"
After waiting until Zerelda climbed carefully over the wagon seat, Pappy scrunched his body behind the footboard. He grabbed his rifle and propped it beside him, then slapped the reins on the horses' backs.
"Get up there!"
The wagon bounced over ruts in the partially plowed field, the newly turned earth absorbing the sounds from the wheels and the horses' hooves. Cody checked his rifle and wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead, blinking his eyes against the wavering images in front of him. Damn, why couldn't that drug kill his pain without affecting his vision! Pappy had done the best he could, though.
Cody noticed Zerelda check her own rifle and watched Shanna try to follow suit. "Don't, Shanna," he said quickly when he saw the hammer click back on the rifle she held. He gingerly took the gun from her, his fingers well away from the trigger guard as he lowered the hammer.
"Look, Shanna, you don't want that hammer back unless you're ready to fire a shell. And we aren't ready for that yet."
Shanna laid the rifle down when Cody gave it back. Reaching into her skirt pocket, she pulled out Susie's derringer.
"Maybe I better just use this."
"That thing's only got a range of about ten feet," Cody informed her. "You best be closer than that when you shoot, unless you've got a good aim on your arm."
"We're at the trees now, Cody," Pappy said in a harsh whisper. "I'm gonna sneak up there to see what's going on."
"We're all going," Zerelda said as she climbed from the back of the wagon.
Pappy sprang out of his hiding place and grabbed Zerelda's arm when she walked to the front of the wagon. He had to lift his head to look at his much taller wife, and he gave her arm a firm shake. "You're going to stay behind the largest tree and protect yourself. If I catch you so much as sticking a toe out from behind it, I'm gonna drag you back to this wagon and take you home!"
"I can't see to shoot unless I look where I'm aiming, Pappy," Zerelda said, attempting to pull her arm free. "Come on, they need our help up there."
Pappy's fingers bit into Zerelda's arm, refusing to loosen their hold. Shanna helped Cody from the wagon as the two stared at each other.
Zerelda dropped her eyes first. "All right, Pappy," she said meekly.
Pappy grabbed his rifle and offered his arm to Cody, who stumbled a couple times before they finally made their way through the trees to where they had a clear view of the Garret place.
A rifle spoke from the kitchen window and a head dropped back to shelter.
"That was Dan," Pappy whispered.
"Are you sure?" Cody whispered back, though they were way too far from the action for anyone to hear them.
"Damn it, boy, there ain't a thing wrong with my eyes! Got some other parts of me that still work, too!"
"Sorry, Pappy," Cody apologized. "That opium you gave me...."
"Told you that would happen. Now, let's think this out. If Dan's in the house, I 'magine JT is, too. Probably the women and kids are there, or else Dan wouldn't be shootin' at the barn. Wouldn't want to risk hittin' one of their own. And I don't expect there would even be any shootin' at all, if those bastards in the barn had any hostages."
"Makes sense," Cody agreed. "The ones in the barn probably think they can just hole up there until dark, then sneak up on the house. They don't know anyone else realizes what they're up to."
"We're gonna give you one last chance!" someone yelled from the barn. "Send Randolph out and we'll leave!"
Two simultaneous shots rang through the kitchen window, along with one from behind the horse trough by the corral.
"Yep," Pappy said. "That's JT and Dan. And the feller over by the horse trough must be that deputy. He's not shootin' at the house — he's aiming at the barn."
Pappy stepped out for a brief instant and waved an arm. The man behind the horse trough raised a cautious hand and returned the gesture.
"We need to get closer," Cody said. "Let's try for that wagon over there. I better warn you, though, it's loaded with manure. The women can cover us if we get spotted. Or at least, Zerelda can."
"Both of us will," Shanna spoke up, and Cody looked over at her to see her rifle again in her hands. "I've figured out how to work this thing, with Zerelda's help."
"You sure?" Cody asked.
"I might not hit anything, but I know how the bullets get out. I can at least aim it and pull the trigger."
"You might just hit someone, Shanna. It's not a pretty feeling to shoot a man."
"Toby's in that house," Shanna shot back grimly. "I'll do whatever I have to in order to get him out of there safe."
"All right," Cody agreed. Crooking his rifle in his arm, he wiped his hand once again across his eyes. "Let's go, Pappy."
"Wait a minute." Zerelda leaned over and kissed Pappy. "Be careful, honey," she whispered softly.
"I will, darlin'," he replied. Then he asked Cody, "Can you make it that far?"
"I'll make it." Cody looked at Shanna, and she pressed her fingers to her own lips.
"Be careful. Please, Cody," she whispered after she blew the kiss at him.
The weeds in this unplowed section of Cody's field sheltered them as the men moved in a crouch down the trail made by previous wagon trips. The two women pointed their rifles toward the barn, hearts in mouths as they waited for a shout indicating someone had spied the men. Breathing out a unified sigh of relief when Cody and Pappy made it to the wagon undiscovered, Shanna and Zerelda relaxed their fingers on the rifle triggers just a hair.
Cody and Pappy had a clearer view of the kitchen window now, but the barn was set off enough to protect the door from their rifle shots. They were close enough to hear a commotion inside the barn, though — a horse neighing shrilly.
"Goddamn it, get it outside and head it toward the house!" a man yelled.
"Who?" another voice screamed back. "I'm not leading that damned horse out in front of those guns!"
"Jesus!" the first voice hollered. "It's spreading in here! Scare that goddamned horse out of here!"
Shots rang out, and a wild-eyed horse pulling a wagon filled with flaming hay burst through the barn door. Cody dropped to his knee. The horse galloped straight at the house, neighing and plunging in terror.
Cursing his one-handedness, Cody aimed the rifle and pulled the trigger. The horse swerved when the bullet creased his neck, heading away from the house, toward the gate.
"The horse'll burn up with that damned wagon, Pappy!" Cody shouted. "I can't see well enough. Shoot him!"
The horse bucked in its traces, then reared in senseless fright, its front hooves pawing the air in panic. Overbalanced, it fell backwards. A second later, it surged to its feet, traces broken, and galloped out through the gate, leaving the wagon burning well away from the house.
"Pappy," Cody said. "I heard them say the barn's on fire. They'll be coming out. Get ready."
"Damn," Pappy said as both men moved to the front of the wagon, trying for a better view of the barn door. "You got any more animals in there?"
"No. Jed's boy turned them out to pasture, like I always do, when he did chores this morning. I saw Brownie and Starlight in the far corner when we crossed the field. The plow horses and cow, too."
Smoke boiled from the opening and two men emerged, choking and holding their hands in the air.
"Don't shoot! There's a couple wounded men in there. We have to get them out!"
The men ducked inside and returned, each pulling a body by its feet. They stopped when they cleared the smoke, dropping their burdens and gasping for air as they raised their hands again.
"Tell the rest of them to come on out, unless they want to die in that barn!" Dan shouted from the kitchen window. "We won't shoot, if they leave their rifles behind!"
"You heard him," the first man to get enough breath shouted toward the barn.
Three more figures emerged, hands high in the air, except when they reached down to wipe their eyes. Cody and Pappy stepped from behind the wagon, covering them with their rifles as they approached the barn.
"Damn it," Dan mused inside the house. "Where's Van Alstyne? I don't see him."
"Be all right with me if he fries in there," JT said.
"Cody!" Dan called. "Watch yourselves! There's one missing!"
Cody immediately started around the barn toward the rear door, though he didn't see how anyone could possibly still breathe in there. Flames already shot from the roof, fueled by the dry hay inside. A gust of wind blew smoke and cinders in his eyes at the same instant he heard a horse gallop out the rear barn door.
Shanna raised her rifle as the man galloped toward her and Zerelda. Suddenly giving a start of recognition, she swung her rifle barrel, bringing it up under Zerelda's gun, knocking it up and sending Zerelda's bullet into the air.
"Don't! For God's sake, don't!" Shanna screamed when Zerelda shot her an astonished look and tried to take aim again. "That's my father!"
Zerelda lowered her rifle and allowed the man to ride away unchallenged. Van Alstyne never noticed the two women standing in the trees, but Shanna kept her gaze trained on him until he disappeared from view.
"I...I thought I hated him enough to see him dead," Shanna said with a sob. "But I couldn't let you do it."
"I understand, Shanna. And you did the right thing." Zerelda attempted to take the sobbing woman in her arms, but her bulky stomach hindered the embrace.
Shanna gasped in amazement when Zerelda's stomach moved under her breast. "Z...Zerelda," she choked, her tears drying as her head sprang up. "Are...are you all right? You aren't going to have the baby right now, are you?"
At Shanna's worried look, Zerelda burst into almost hysterical laughter. Smoke from the burning barn drifted toward the two women, but neither of them took any heed as they bent their heads over the distended stomach.
Shanna touched Zerelda's stomach and a tiny bump against her palm softened her face in awe.
"For goodness sakes, no, I'm not in labor, Shanna," Zerelda managed to say. "He's just moving — telling me he's all right and he enjoyed his first adventure with his ma."
"The baby? The baby's moving? Is that what I felt? Does he do that much?"
"Lots. Sometimes too much, 'specially when I want to sleep. Here. Give me your hand again."
All thought of her father's escape left Shanna's mind when the mound rolled under her hand and she caressed what felt like a miniature head. She never heard the other set of hoofbeats leave the plantation yard.
"Oh!" Shanna's head shot up. "If you and your baby are all right, we better get to the house and check on the other children."
"We've already seen them, and they're fine, Shanna," Cody said as he and Pappy approached the two women.
Shanna whirled and ran to him. "Cody! What about you, then? Let me help you back to the house, so you can lie down." Wrapping an arm around his waist, Shanna pulled Cody's good arm over her shoulders, urging him to lean against her.
"JT and Dan kept everyone in the parlor, out of danger of flying lead," Cody explained as they walked away from the trees. "Bessie and Susie have the kids busy helping clean up the mess in the kitchen — you know how Bessie is about keeping her kitchen clean. Everyone's fine, honey. The barn's gone, though. All we can do is let it burn."
"And the rest of those men?"
"The deputy's guarding the ones who can still walk, while they make sure the grass around the barn doesn't catch fire. The wounded ones, including Bobby, are tied up out by the gate until Dan returns. Pappy'll fetch his bag and tend to them."
"My father got away, you know."
"I know, darlin'. Dan went after him as soon as he caught a horse. He won't get far. Dan's not going to let him go unpunished."
"He'll deserve whatever he gets. Cody, he...he rode right at us. Zerelda had her rifle up, but I couldn't let her shoot him."
"He's your father, darlin'," Cody said, as though that explained everything. And it really did.
JT stepped from behind the apple tree on the edge of the yard, where he had been waiting for their approach. Realizing JT had to have overheard his endearment to Shanna, Cody stopped in his tracks, his fingers clenching on Shanna's shoulder.
For one, heartbreaking second, Cody and Shanna's eyes met, then Cody slowly loosened his fingers. Dropping his arm, he straightened, quickly masking the grimace of pain the movement brought to his face.
"She was only helping me into the house, JT," Cody said in a flat voice.
"I understand, Cody," JT replied.
Cody gave a curt nod, then stepped away from Shanna and started toward the house.
"Where you going, old pard?"
Cody halted, his back to them both. "To the house, JT. I can make it on my own."
"Well, now," JT drawled, "I reckon that's the damnedest lie I've ever heard. Since when did you start spouting lies, Cody?"
Cody's fingers twitched on the hand hanging by his holstered sixgun. Slowly he turned.
Keeping his own hand well away from his sixgun, JT leaned on his crutch and met Cody's glare.
"Stop it!" Shanna cried. "Both of you. I...."
"Shut up, honey," JT said in a mild voice, never even glancing at her. "Sorry, Cody," he continued, a wry quirk to his mouth. "Just force of habit. I won't call her that again."
"JT...." Cody studied his friend's face, a look of understanding slowly dawning in his eyes. "You're right, old friend," he said. "I can't manage without her."
"Didn't think so," JT said with a chuckle. "She's your darlin'. Always has been — always will be."
"But Toby...!" Shanna choked.
"Well, now, I fully intend to be a part of my son's life somehow, Shanna," JT said, finally glancing at her. "I'm not about to head back to my hermit life."
"Do you want me to leave, so you can talk to Shanna alone, JT?" Cody asked quietly.
"It's not necessary, old pard."
Shanna took a hesitant step toward JT. "Are you saying you'll let me keep Toby to raise, even if you get custody?"
"Won't be any need for a custody hearing, Shanna. Your father won't be able to take Toby away from you while he's in prison. And that's where he's headed, at least for a few years, as soon as Dan catches him. He and his men attacked unarmed women and children and wounded two peace officers. Dan recognized Van Alstyne among the attackers, so you won't even have to identify him in court, even if you did see him ride away."
"I'm glad." Shanna breathed out a sigh of relief. "I don't think I could do it. I didn't know just how hard it was to hate someone totally, until I thought Zerelda was going to shoot him. But...."
"And if he gives you any trouble later on," JT broke in, "I've told Dan all he needs to know to stop him. Some day, maybe I'll tell you, too."
JT reached out a hand and gently ran a finger down Shanna's cheek. "I want to thank you, Shanna, for coming into my life. For bringing me my son and giving me back my self respect — for hauling me out of my self-pity and making me realize what love really is."
He dropped his hand and motioned for Cody to come closer. "You take care of her, old pard. I hope you know just how damned lucky you are."
Cody clasped JT's extended hand and nodded his head, clearing his throat against a lump. "I'll remember, JT. And if Toby grows into half the man his father is, he'll be a son we can both be proud of."
"Thanks, Cody. Now," he said after a final squeeze to his old pard's hand, "Shanna better get you into the house to bed, then discuss finishing that wedding dress with Susie. Maybe I'll talk to you later about being your best man. I've still got a hankering to wear my suit to a wedding."
JT settled his hat more firmly on his head and limped away.
Shanna watched JT leave with a mist shadowing her eyes and swiped at a tear creeping down her cheek. "Oh, Cody, how can I ever repay him?"
"I think you already have, darlin'. Didn't you hear what he said?"
"Oh, that." Shanna waved a dismissing hand. "He wouldn't have stayed out there in the mountains forever. He's got far too much to offer the right woman some day. Look at the wonderful child he fathered. Sooner or later, some lucky woman would have found him and healed him."
"I don't have a hell of a lot to offer you, Shanna," Cody said, leaning against the apple tree in an attempt to keep Shanna from noticing his sway of pain. "But what I do have is yours to share."
"Oh, Cody, I'm not talking about material things. Cody! You need to be in bed. Here. Lean on me again."
"Huh uh. Not just yet."
"Darn it, Cody," Shanna said with that delightful little stamp of her foot. "Then at least let me help you sit down. Do you want me to run to the house and ask Bessie for some laudanum for the pain?"
"Don't want neither — to sit or for you to leave. Man ought to be on his knees when he asks a woman to marry him, but since I don't think I can manage that and be able to get back up, the least you can do is hang around while I do the askin'."
"Oh," Shanna said in a tiny voice.
"Will you, Shanna? I love you with everything I have in me to love with. Will you marry me, City Girl — grow old with me out here in the country?"
"Yes! Oh, yes, Cody. I love you. I never thought this could happen, but all I've ever wanted since I realized how much I loved you was to be your wife. But...."
"Damn it, Shanna, quit with the buts and come here!" Despite his waning strength, Cody swept her against his chest and buried his face in her hair when she clung tightly to him. "We can discuss the details later. Right now, you better kiss me, while I can still kiss you back."
Shanna tipped her face up and obeyed. A long moment later, she felt Cody's lips slacken as he tried to muffle a grunt of pain.
"Please, Cody," she said in a worried voice when he loosened his arm. "Now will you go lie down?"
"Guess I better." He draped his arm across Shanna's shoulder and allowed her to help him across the yard. "I sure hope this shoulder's at least partly healed by next Sunday. Since all the invites are out anyway, we might as well go ahead with the ceremony then, just with a different groom. But even if the shoulder's still sore, it's not going to stop our wedding night."
"What do you mean?" Shanna asked as she helped him up the porch steps.
"Remember, darlin', I told you there were different ways to do things."
"Different ways to do what on a wedding night?" Toby asked from the open doorway.
"Toby," Shanna gasped. "Toby, are you all right?"
"Yeah, we're all fine, Shanna. My dad took care of us. Different ways to do what?" he repeated as JT gave a chuckle behind him and laid a hand on his head.
"Hush and let me get Cody to bed," Shanna said with a violent blush as JT urged Toby out of the doorway so she and Cody could pass.
Cody's laughter rumbled through the kitchen as they walked across the floor. "You hush, too," Shanna said as they entered the hallway.
"Guess that's one of those things she's gonna talk to me about some day when I'm older," Toby said with a grin at JT. "But she forgot that I've got a dad to answer questions now. What was she talking about, Dad? Huh? Just between us men."
JT groaned and leaned against a porch post, his own cheeks slowly heating up. "Well, son....