ALEX
Alex couldn’t wait to get home to their bride. They had been gone all day and after the events of last night, he wanted Mattie.
Jesse gave a chuckle. “I can’t wait to tell Mattie about how Edward blew up when he found three dead, stinking cattle on his doorstep.”
“His customers could not enter the store without stepping over the rotting carcasses.”
“And the stench,” Jesse shook his head. “Buzzards on Main Street.”
Alex sighed. “Sadly, I don’t think that’s going to deter him. The man is just stupid enough to try something new.”
For the next mile, they rode along in silence, their bodies swaying to the rhythm of the wagon. Empty of dead animals, they paid a kid in the livery stable to clean out the mess. Now they couldn’t wait to return home. To their bride.
Alex who sat beside Jesse suddenly sat up. Is that Ian and Whitmore?”
“Looks like them. Something’s wrong.”
Jesse pulled the wagon to a halt. “Fuck. We didn’t see Frank in town.”
“Don’t be jumping to conclusions,” Alex said, but his stomach tightened with nerves.
Ian and Whitmore rode up to them. Whitmore shook his head. “Thank goodness we found you.”
“Mattie received this message while I was out in the barn,” he said and handed the note to Jesse. Alex peered over his shoulder.
“Son of a bitch. Who brought her this message?”
“Some kid. He was probably hired to do the job,” Ian said.
“I’m going to kill him,” Jesse said, his rage exploding.
“Calm down, Jesse, it’s a trap. The plan is to draw us there and then kill us. We’ve got to outsmart them.”
Jesse’s face flushed red with rage and Alex just wanted to beat them.
At least Alex knew where they’d taken Mattie. But had they kept her there? And if that scumbag Frank touched her, he would make certain his death was slow and painful.
Quickly, they climbed down from the wagon.
“Can we trade horses? You can take the wagon back. We’re going after Mattie.”
“Of course,” Whitmore said.
The man sighed. “Be careful. That Frank is a sly one.”
“No worries,” Jesse said. “He’s a dead man.”
Quickly they switched horses. With a kick to the side of their fresh mounts, they took off, eager to find Frank and dash his hopes of marrying Mattie once and for all. There was no turning back. She was theirs.
It took nearly an hour to reach her former home. Her place now was with them. They stopped at the bottom of the hill and gazed at the house. Close to dark, no lights were on. There was no movement at the house and yet he felt certain she was there. Being held against her will.
“He’ll be expecting us at the front door,” Jesse said, gazing at the house.
“Look up there at the window, there’s movement. He’s just waiting for us to ride in and he’ll pick us off one by one.”
“Where’s Edward hiding out?”
They sat watching the house for another thirty minutes. “I’m tired of waiting. Let’s go get our woman.”
Just then a wagon came rolling into the yard. “It’s Edward and who is that with him?”
“Son of a bitch, he brought the judge. Look, the man’s hands are tied. As soon as we’re dead, he’s going to marry Mattie to Frank.”
As Alex stared, his fists clenched, his chest was ready to explode with the rage that consumed him. “Let’s wait until he gets inside the house with the judge, then we’ll sneak around to the back of the house. Once I’m in position, then you come around the side of the house to the front door. By coming around the house, he won’t be able to see you.”
Jesse smiled. “We come at them from both doors. I’ll knock real polite like and then pound them.”
“And I’ll surprise them from the back.”
They waited another thirty minutes before they walked through the trees and around to the back door of the house. When they reached the rear, Alex peered in through a window.
“The judge is all tied up and they’re just waiting for us. I don’t see Mattie.”
“If they’ve hurt her, I will take great delight in slicing the skin from them slowly.”
Alex glanced up at him. “You’ve got five minutes to get into place. As soon as I see them walking toward the front door, I’m kicking in this door, guns blazing. Don’t get shot.”
“See you on the other side.”
“One more thing…Frank’s got a shotgun. I expect him to fire through the door. So be careful.”
Jesse grinned. “No way. I can’t wait to feel his flesh beneath my fists.”
Bending below the window sash, he scurried around the house. Alex watched as Frank and his father stood in the living room, talking. Edward back handed the judge who was tied to a chair. He couldn’t hear what he was saying, but realized the man was objecting to something Edward said.
Where was Mattie?
Suddenly the men’s attention focused on the entryway and Alex heard Jesse pounding on the door. Frank grabbed his shotgun and fired shells at the closed door. Smoke drifted from the holes revealing darkness through the door.
Edward and Frank glanced at one another and then Frank slowly approached the door. Jesse slammed the door open and ran at Frank like a battering ram. He knocked the shotgun to the ground and Alex kicked the back door in.
Edward’s eyes widened when he saw Alex running at him. He picked up a gun, but before he could level it at him, a well-aimed cast iron skillet came flying from the kitchen and smacked him on the side of the head, knocking him out cold.
It was Mattie. A sense of relief flooded through him. He’d been so afraid they would never see her again. And their bride was madder than a swarm of hornets. Before he could get to Jesse and Frank, she picked up the pan and ran toward them.
“No one harms my husbands. No one.”
He did his best to reach her and calm her down and get her out of the way, but before he could, she hit Frank upside the head with the heavy skillet.
The man toppled to the ground. Then she kicked him.
“Kill him, Jesse. Kill him.”
Alex smiled and Jesse stared at Mattie, a grin on his face. “Woman, you’re dangerous with a skillet in your hand. No, I’m not going to kill him, though it’s tempting. We’re going to tie them up, and then take the judge along with Edward and Frank to the sheriff.”
“They killed Momma,” she said, a tear slipping down her face. “Frank told me Edward suffocated her with a pillow.”
Both Alex and Jesse moved toward her and wrapped their arms around her. They had found their woman, their bride, and Alex would never let her go. They hugged her to their chests.
Suddenly the judge started making a nervous noise through the rag in his mouth. Alex whirled around and saw Edward had come to. An ugly grin spread across his face as he lifted a gun and pointed it at Mattie. “No one gets your money but me.”
Jesse shoved Alex and Mattie just as the old man pulled the trigger. The bullet hit him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Alex pulled out his six shooter and a bullet slammed into the older bastard’s chest. Killing him instantly.
His body dropped to the ground.
“Jesse,” Mattie screamed and ran to his side.
He stared up at his wife and smiled. “Now, I know how Alex felt when he saved me from death. Oh, Mattie, lass, I told you I would protect you with my life.”
“You’re not going to die. You can’t leave me.”
Blood poured from his shoulder and Mattie ran to the kitchen where she found a dish towel. She rushed back and placed it against the wound to stem the flow of blood.
Alex stood over him and shook his head. “Always have to outdo me. And no, you better not die. Because we have a good life that we’ve worked hard for. Now I’m going to go tie up Frank in case he comes to.”
After Alex bound Frank, he untied the judge.
By this time, Mattie had determined that Jesse’s wound was only superficial. She didn’t even think he needed to see a doctor. The bullet had grazed a path along the top of his shoulder, taking the skin with it. While he would be sore for a few days, Alex felt certain that his cock was still in good working order. And they both couldn’t wait to get home and let their wife know how they felt about her leaving.
It was dark when they all piled into the wagon Edward had brought the judge in. This time, the body of Edward was in the back. Frank’s feet and wrists were tied and a handkerchief was shoved in his mouth.
Mattie turned and glanced at her home one last time as they pulled out of the yard.
“Don’t worry, lass, we’ll come back.”
“I know, it’s just I have so many good and bad memories here.”
Thirty minutes later, they reached the sheriff’s office. The judge explained what he’d seen and how Edward and Frank planned to force him to marry Mattie and Frank. Edward’s body was taken to the pauper’s cemetery and Frank took up residence in jail.
Alex had never been so glad when they were finally able to make the long trip home.