CHAPTER 12
After the four of them had an early dinner in the dining room of the Hotel Helena, Katherine insisted that Mackey take her for a walk around town. Alone. Billy, Josh, and Pappy did not like the idea of the two of them being off on their own, but Katherine was clearly not in a mood to argue.
Her stern expression when she ordered them to stay had made Mackey smile. He had seen Pappy and Billy face down men twice their size, but one look from Mrs. Campbell fixed them in place.
She slipped her arm through his as they strolled along the boardwalk together. The heat of the day had already faded, and the afternoon air hinted at the promise of a cool evening to come. The brief Montana summer was already preparing to give way to autumn and the harsh winter that followed.
“I missed you, Aaron” she said as they walked past the other couples on the boardwalk. “I missed you terribly.”
He put his hand over hers. “I missed you, too, but sending you away was the best way I could keep you safe from the Hancocks.”
“I know. But a woman can still miss her fiancé, can’t she?”
He smiled at the thought of their marriage. He had not properly proposed to her, but after all they had been through since his wife Mary had left, the idea of marriage was only a formality to him. In his mind, they were already man and wife. “You still want to go through with that? Even after what you heard back there?”
Her reply was immediate. “Now more than ever.”
“Even after knowing what I did.”
“To men who had done it to innocents dozens of times over,” she said. “You were following orders, and even if you weren’t, whatever you did probably put the fear of God into any other young men like that Diablo fiend who were looking to do the same thing. You did good, Aaron, even in something horrible, so yes, I still want to marry you.”
“Even after I saddled you with Pappy for two months?”
“He was a delight,” she laughed. “A perfect gentleman. Always charming and sweet. And he never allowed me downstairs without looking the lobby over first. It’s a shame he never married again after your mother died.”
Mackey did not have the heart to tell her that Brendan Mackey had never lacked female companionship. There was always some lonely widow or unhappy housewife in Dover Station who gladly welcomed his attentions. Mackey had always been amazed that none of Pappy’s illicit relationships had never become a scandal, but they had not. If anything, his lovers had always remained admirers without their husbands becoming any the wiser. Or if they did, they were wise enough not to demand satisfying their honor.
Mackey rubbed his jaw. At almost sixty, the old man still kicked like a mule.
Katherine hugged Mackey’s arm. “There you go again, disappearing inside that head of yours.”
Mackey felt himself blush. “Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“You always have a lot on your mind. Back in Dover Station, it was Darabont, or Grant, or Mary, or any of the dozens of thugs you went up against. Now it’s Nellie Hancock and Judge Forester and being marshal of the territory. You’re a brooding man, Aaron, which is why I love you. You never do anything lightly. Not even loving me.”
He found himself gripping her hand even tighter. “I’m glad you noticed.”
“I noticed clear enough to know I want to be your wife. Not just your woman, Aaron. Your wife. I want to have your name. Legally.”
“My name might not be worth much for much longer,” Mackey admitted. “I’ve got a territorial judge who doesn’t like me, two prisoners who are going to be looking for blood the second they’re freed from jail, and every blood relative of the Hancock clan who wants me dead. I wouldn’t want to make a widow of you again, Katie. I wouldn’t want you to live with the heartache.”
“I’ll live with it anyway.” She surprised him by stopping and taking his head in her hands. “But I won’t have to. I can remember a time after Darabont took me when I was too afraid to leave my own hotel. You helped me through that. I can remember a time when I didn’t know where I fit in this world anymore, but I came out here and you helped me through that, too. You haven’t just saved my life, Aaron. You’ve shown me how to live. I’d be a fool to let that go, and I want it to last for however long it can. And for however long it is, I want to spend the rest of it with you.”
Mackey felt his face grow warm and his throat close. “Okay, Katie” was all he could manage to say. “Okay.”
She pulled his head down and kissed him. He put her arms around her and kissed her back, ignoring the gasps such a scandalous public display of affection caused among the townspeople.
She eased his head away and threw her arms around him. “And I’m not worried about becoming a widow, Aaron Mackey, because you ain’t gonna let that happen.”
He eased her back an inch to get a better look at her. “Did you just say ‘ain’t gonna’?”
“I certainly did,” she said proudly. “And I meant it, too.”
Mackey turned when he heard a man begin to clap. “Well would you look at that, J.D.? True love blossoming right here before our very eyes.”
Mackey recognized Rigg’s voice and drew his Colt as he pulled Katherine behind him.
Nathan Rigg was leaning against a porch post, cheroot hanging out of the corner of his mouth, grinning at them. “Now that’s the second time you’ve drawn on me today, Aaron.” He made a show of opening his jacket to show he was still unarmed. “And for the second time today, I’m not heeled.”
Mackey did not lower his Peacemaker. “You’re always heeled. Probably have a hideout gun tucked in the back.”
“What a scandalous accusation.” Rigg looked down at Rhoades. “You’re a lawyer, J.D. That’s a scandalous and libelous charge, isn’t it? Why, I could sue the marshal here for besmirching my good name, couldn’t I?”
“Only if it isn’t true,” the lawyer said, “which it is.” He looked at Mackey. “He’s got a Remington tucked in the back of his pants.”
Mackey could see Rhoades had aged some in the years since Mackey had last seen him. He’d grown rounder since leaving the army. Balder, too, and he wore a pair of thick, wire-rimmed glasses. “Good to see you, Aaron.”
Mackey did not take his eyes off Rigg. “Wish I could say the same for you, John. Wish you chose your clients better.”
“I’m a lawyer. I go where the clients are, and I don’t always have the luxury of picking who I represent.”
“Especially when they pay so well.”
“I didn’t take an oath of poverty, Aaron. You make your living with a gun, I make mine with the law.”
“So do I,” Mackey said. “By enforcing it, not by letting guilty men like Grant and Brenner go free.”
“Everyone’s entitled to a defense,” Rhoades sighed. “You ought to know that better than anyone. I defended you once upon a time.”
Mackey was about to say he was not a murderer, but the words died in his mouth. He kept looking at Rigg instead. “Your taste in friends isn’t the best, either.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there.” The attorney looked back at Rigg, then at Mackey. “But we’re not friends. We’re partners. There’s a difference.”
“Not to me.”
Rigg laughed. “You’re getting virtuous in your old age, Aaron. I can remember a time when there wasn’t much of a difference between you and me.” He looked around Mackey at Katherine. “But I wouldn’t want to discuss such things in front of your beloved here.” He touched the brim of his hat. “Evening, Mrs. Campbell. You might not remember me, but I had the honor of being a guest in your home back in Boston many moons ago. Forgive me for being somewhat forward, but I must say the years have been most kind to you.”
“I remember you, Captain Rigg,” she said as she stepped out from behind Mackey. He tried to hold her back, but she avoided his grasp. “It was Captain Rigg, back then, wasn’t it? Then Major Rigg and finally Colonel Rigg from what I understand.”
“You’re surprisingly well informed,” Rigg remarked. “You seem to have followed my career with some interest.” He looked at Mackey. “Guess you’re not the only man in uniform who made an impression on Mrs. Campbell during one of her famous parties.”
“No,” Katherine said as she took another step forward, “you didn’t leave much of an impression at all. But I have seen you many times in the years since.”
“You have?” Rigg’s brow furrowed. “That’s strange. I haven’t been to Boston in years, and this is my first time in Montana. You must have me mistaken for another dashing Virginian.”
“No, it’s you. Or, rather, men like you. Men who stood exactly where you’re standing right now, so confident. So sure of themselves that they had Aaron all figured out. That they had the drop on him, as I believe men like you say when they feel they have an advantage on a man.”
She stopped just before blocking Mackey’s line of fire and looked Rigg up and down. “Men who have talked a good game and made all sorts of threats on Aaron’s life. Some of them veiled, like yours. Some of them overt. Either way, it didn’t matter. All of them poked and prodded him as far as they thought they could until that one, brief moment when they pushed him just too far. I’ve lost count of all the men like you who stood before him, but the number doesn’t matter because they’ve all ended up the same. In a pine box in a shallow grave.”
Katherine smiled. “Yes, Colonel Rigg. I’ve seen you many times since Boston, and I see no difference between you and all the others who’ve stood where you’re standing right now. You’ll make the same mistake all of them did, too, and when you do, he’ll put you down just like he’s put down every other cur who thought they had him cornered. And not because he’s the Hero of Adobe Flats or the Savior of Dover Station. And not because he has men like Billy to watch his back, either. It’s because he’s Aaron Mackey. And you’re nothing.”
Rigg’s jaw tightened as his left eye twitched.
And so did his right hand, ever so slightly, toward the back of his coat.
Mackey raised his Peacemaker and aimed it at Rigg’s head.
Katherine held her ground, without fear, smiling up at the mercenary.
Rhoades laid his hand on Rigg’s arm and said, “We have to be going, Nathan. We have an appointment, remember?”
Rigg’s jaw loosened and his fake smile returned. “Why, thank you, J.D. I’d almost forgotten about our prior commitment.” He touched the brim of his hat again. “Lovely chatting with you, Mrs. Campbell, and please forgive us for intruding on your special moment. I find true love so enchanting.”
Rhoades shot Mackey a relieved look as the two men turned and walked away.
Mackey uncocked the Colt and slid it back in his holster.
Katherine turned and looked at him, quite pleased with herself. “I think that went rather well, don’t you?”
Mackey laughed in spite of himself. “Mrs. Campbell, you’ve got some mouth on you.”
“It’ll be Mrs. Mackey soon.” She slid her arm back in his and pulled him along to resume their stroll. “And it’s one of the many reasons why you love me.”
“Yeah,” Mackey said. “I guess it is.”