Black Conley (25 page)

Black made no comment. In fact, he'd been thinking the same thing. As much as he'd come to love Belle, he couldn't stay. There were too many things he had to do before he could even think about asking Belle to share his life. When the time was right, they could begin a family, one in which he could play an active part. At least he knew she wasn't carrying his child. She had only just stopped taking the tea the night before the kidnapping. Things like that didn't happen overnight, and since the shooting he hadn't been up to the nightly activity he'd participated in ever since he arrived at the Double Bar B.

"Did you hear me?” Ed asked.

"I heard you. I was just thinking."

"What's there to think about? Either you want Belle in your life, or you don't. Which is it? So help me if you've only been telling her what she wants to hear..."

"I've told her nothing other than I'm not the man for her. She has told me she understands and doesn't want a commitment from me. Why can't you understand that there are things that must be done before I can do anything like that?"

Ed stared at him as though he was a stranger rather than a trusted friend.

"The jury's back,” Roy said as he joined them.

Black was glad for the reprieve. He certainly didn't want to continue the conversation about commitment and Belle that he'd somehow found himself in the middle of.

"What do you think, Pa?” Ed asked. “Will they find them guilty?"

Roy scratched his head, as though searching for the answer to his son's questions. “I don't know. Clayte and the others are acting like this is just one big party. I heard Clayte say that the drinks were on him as soon as they were found innocent."

"How in the hell can anyone find them innocent?” Black questioned. “They were caught by the marshals when they were firing on Belle's house, the jury has heard Zeek's testimony about who it was that beat and shot him, to say nothing of that letter from the widow of the man we killed last fall."

"You're forgetting one thing,” Roy commented. “That jury is made up of a lot of Clayte's friends. It's possible that they could be looking past the law and relying on friendship alone for their decision. We just have to wait and see how this all comes out."

Belle watched the batwing doors of the saloon, all the while wishing the Black would return. The jury had been brought back in and she, like everyone else, was anxious to hear their decision. She just didn't want to hear it alone.

Relief flooded her being when she saw Black, Ed and Roy return to the room. Once Black seated himself next to her she was more confident. The jury had to find Clayte guilty. If they didn't, the man would make her life a living hell, and without Black by her side, she didn't know if she could survive.

"Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a decision?” the circuit judge asked, just as Black took his seat.

"We have,” Red Kline replied. “The whole passel of them are guilty as sin. Makes us ashamed to say we even know them. I've heard..."

"What you've heard has no place here,” the judge warned. “Then your verdict is guilty. That being the case, I sentence all of you to twenty years at hard labor in the state prison up at Helena. All, that is, except for you, Mr. Adamson. It seems that you were the one behind all of this. Your greed will cost you your life. Tomorrow morning, you will be hung by the neck until you are dead."

"But ... but ... you can't,” Clayte sputtered. “I have a ranch to run and seven children to raise. You can't leave my kids without a father."

"I can, and I will. Your children will become a ward of the state and your ranch will be sold to support them until they are of an age when they can become independent."

"May I be heard, your honor?” Belle asked as she got to her feet. All around her people began to whisper. She paid them no mind as she cleared her throat in preparation for permission to have her say.

"What could you have to say that would be of interest to this court, Miss Barton?'

"I have a solution for what will become of Clayte's kids."

"And just what would that be?"

"Everyone here knows that I run my ranch with the whores who weren't welcome in this town. They've never entertained any of the men from this area while they've been in my employ. They've reserved that honor for the men on the stage. Now the railroad is coming to this area, and the stage won't be stopping anymore. I have added a large addition to my home in order to accommodate the passengers. The girls have been talking it over, and they'd like to turn it into an orphanage. That way the children could have good meals, fresh air and learn how to do something other than sit and feel sorry for themselves. As for Clayte's children, the Diamond A is their inheritance. I'd be willing to run it for them until they were of an age to take over. Clayte's oldest boy is eight now; in a couple of years, he will be ready to start riding with the men and learning how to make that spread prosper."

"What do whores know about children?” Clayte questioned.

"More than you do. I've heard the way you've talked about them since Nettie died. They deserve better than that. Would you rather have them sent off to some other orphanage and split up? Our plan would give them the opportunity to learn how to run not only a ranch, but also a home. They'd be given love and respect and they wouldn't have to be separated."

"You have a point, Miss Barton,” the judge said. “The only problem is that an orphanage has to be approved by the state. I'm afraid you're going into this blindly. What if the state doesn't approve of this venture?"

Before Belle could speak, Cara was on her feet. “We've already got the approval of the state. Since the Diamond A would more than pay for the raising of these children, it wouldn't cost the taxpayers a red cent. We want to do this, your honor. We were talking about it long before any of this ever happened. As a matter of fact, we've had the blessing of the state for the past six months. Of course, at that time, we were expecting the state to have to pay us for taking the children into the house. Now that isn't necessary. We all have a lot of love to give. None of us grew up hoping to become whores. We were all forced into it in one way or another. Why can't anyone believe that we could ever become respectable members of this community?"

Once by one the women in the room got to their feet and applauded not only the words Belle had spoken, but Cara's as well.

"We'll all help you get the place ready,” Grace Harrington offered. “Since we have children, we know exactly what you'll need. Until it's ready, the children can stay in the homes where they are now."

Everyone started talking at once until the judge banged his gavel for quiet. “Your offer is a generous one, Miss Barton, but what about the profession your girls have worked at for so long? How can you expect to give these children a normal life if—"

"That's right, Judge,” Clayte said, getting to his feet. “I don't want my girls learning to be whores."

"Would you rather they learned to be rustlers, murderers and kidnappers?” Belle retorted.

Again the gavel banged against the wood of the bar. “Mr. Adamson, Miss Barton, this isn't the time for arguments. I will agree to this only if I will be allowed to inspect your home on a regular basis. If I hear of any nonsense going on out there, the children will be sent to an orphanage and the Diamond A sold."

"The eastbound tracks are within three miles of town and the westbound are within five that means that the trains should start running through here in June. That will give us two months to get the house ready. Since the women in town are willing to help, you can come out anytime after that and see that the children are being well cared for."

"Then so be it,” the judge declared. “The defendant, Clayton Adamson, will be hung by the neck until dead at noon tomorrow."

Clayte and the others were ashen as they were led from the courtroom. Adding to the finality of the judge's ruling, Clayte's own children each turned away from their father, as though disgusted by what they had seen and heard.

"Don't you want to say goodbye to your father?” Belle asked when she caught up with Clayte's oldest son, Matthew.

"Why? It weren't just you he hurt. Now he can't beat us no more.” The boy turned and hurried off to be with his sister.

Belle looked up at the woman who had taken the two oldest children into her home.

"It's true,” Martha Worthing said. “When those children came to me, they were bruised in places a child should never be bruised. When I showed my husband the bruises, he said that the undertaker said Nettie was bruised in much the same way, and it wasn't from her fall down those stairs. It's a good thing you didn't fall for his sweet talk."

Martha's comment came as a shock to Belle. “How did you know about that?"

"Clayte told everyone who would listen that you were going to be his wife, just as soon as you came to your senses and accepted his proposal. I've known about it for almost six months now. When my William came home with that story after playing poker with Clayte over at the Purple Moon, I told him that I knew you had much better sense than to fall for any such a thing. William agreed, but he also said that Clayte could be mighty persuasive when he wanted to be. I guess we all know how he planned to get you to marry him."

Belle was still shaken when Martha hurried to join the children. She knew Clayte had bragged to Black about how the two of them were going to be married, but she never thought he would have told the entire town. It was no wonder people looked at her strangely when she walked into church on Sunday morning.

"Are you all right?’ Black asked, putting his arm protectively around her shoulder.

"I will be once we get home. Make love to me tonight, Black. Please make love to me. I want to erase all the terrible things I've seen and heard today."

"You know I can't say no to you. Let's get something to eat over at the hotel and then head for the ranch. With everyone in town, I know that Annie won't be doing any cooking tonight. For what I have planned, we'll both need all our strength to survive the night."

Belle smiled at Black's comment. There would be no need for her to try and get pregnant tonight. She'd missed her last cycle over a week ago, though she'd banned Black from her bed as if it had come. Once the hanging was over tomorrow, Black as well as Ed would be leaving for their next assignments. She didn't want to make Black feel as though he had to stay just because she carried his child. It would be better this way. Once the child was born, she would contact Ed and have him tell Black that he was a father. His son or daughter would be raised to know the name of their father and respect the man behind the façade.

Black planned the night with Belle carefully. In the morning he would pack his gear and after watching Clayte hang, he would leave Larson's Gap.

He had a powerful amount of thinking to do along the way. Being around Belle, he knew he couldn't think straight about the future.

Future, what an odd thing for me to think about? I never thought there would come a day when I wouldn't be a marshal and now I'm not so certain. If the doctor confirms the suspicions that Ed and I have, I'm going to have to find something else to do with my life.

"Anything else I can do for you?” Ed asked, as he and Roy poured buckets of steaming water into the tub that sat in Belle's bedroom.

"Can't think of anything,” Black replied, pleased to get a reprieve from the inner thoughts that were consuming him. “The way I see it, the only thing left to do is get the two of you out of here. I have a very special evening planned with the lovely Miss Belle, and it doesn't include either of you watching what we do."

"Are you sure you want to leave her after the hanging, son?” Roy questioned. “I ain't seen Belle happier than you've made her these past few months. You could have a good life here. Besides there'll be more than enough work keeping both the Double Bar B and the Diamond A going."

"I have my own job to do,” Black protested. Even though the job could be gone without warning, he used it as a ploy to give him an excuse to do the things he needed to do before making Belle his own.

Roy looked at him skeptically. “From what my boy here says, you won't be able to go back to marshaling."

Black glared at Ed. “Your
boy
ought to keep his mouth shut."

Roy and Ed left the room without making comment, although their laughter trailed back to Black's ears as they went down the stairs.

"What was so funny?” Belle asked, as she joined him in the bedroom.

"Just my so-called friends’ warped sense of humor. For tonight, let's not think about anyone but us. Tomorrow..."

Belle put her arms around his neck and silenced him with a kiss. “I don't want to think about tomorrow. For tonight, tomorrow doesn't exist. I know you're leaving. I won't try to stop you, but for tonight we're together and nothing else matters."

Black pulled her closer and again kissed her long and hard. When they separated, he unbuttoned her dress to gaze upon the white globes of her breasts as they strained against her undergarment. With her nipples already puckered, he teased each of them until they were completely hard.

Was it was his imagination, or had Belle winced? “Did I hurt you?” he asked, knowing he certainly didn't want her last memory of him as one of pain.

She turned her face up until their eyes met. Those beautiful blue eyes were enough to drive him crazy. “You aren't hurting me,” she said, leaving him to wonder if she was telling him the truth or just what he wanted to hear. “For tonight, I don't want the teasing that leads to lovemaking between us. Tonight I want you inside me for as long as the two of us can be connected. Do you think I'm crazy?"

"If this is crazy, I don't ever want to see you sane."

She laughed softly and began to unbutton his shirt as well as his pants. With the promise of spring, he hadn't put on fresh long johns this morning before going to the trial. As soon as she opened his trousers, his cock sprang to life and practically fell into her hand.

The feel of her fingers curling around the entire length of him was almost more than he could stand. Like her, he wanted to plant his cock firmly within the velvety folds of her and make love to her until the first rays of dawning crested the eastern horizon.