Cole's Redemption (Love Amongst the Pines) (31 page)

             
Cole chuckled. "No, I tend to think the hanging will get me first."

             
The doctor glanced up. "You know, you're a bit of a spectacle here in town."

             
"I don't doubt it," Cole answered with a grunt when the doctor pulled on his hand again.

             
"Not just because of the execution, though on a good day, that'd be reason enough.
Naw
, there are people in this town that are betting that the Ranger dies before morning, and if that happens,
Judge'll
be able to commute your sentence. Most folks think it's pretty promising. That old bird doesn't look very healthy at the moment. Unfortunately, you can never plan on things like that, human nature being what it is. I've seen healthy men
lay
down and die without so much as a sniffle. I've also seen people put off kicking the bucket for days after they ought to be dead. There's just no telling."

             
"I don't think Greene is going to give in all that easily. He's as tough as a polecat and twice as ornery. But, the thought is nice. I'm afraid that he'll be the one putting posies on my dirt instead of the other way around."

             
"That should about do it. I don't know if you want it, but I've got some tea that'll help ease the soreness a bit."

             
Cole smiled. "No thanks, Doc. It's good to be feeling anything at all." He looked out at the setting sun. "It won't be that much longer anyway."

             
Doc Evans patted him on the shoulder. The door to the office opened and Judge stuck his head in.

             
"Both of you come on. There's trouble with Dermott."

             
"But, I'm in jail!" Cole stated as he followed Doc out the open cell door.

             
"Don't worry, I'm watching you. Come on. He's gone completely loco, and he won't listen to anybody!"

             
Good to his words, Judge came running out of the jail with Doc Evans and Cole in tow. The two men followed him to the end of the street where the gallows platform sat freshly built and waiting.

             
Judge glanced behind him, seeing Cole's expression of alarm as he first caught sight of the structure. The lawman had seen the expression plenty of times in his tenure on the bench.

             
"You all
git
on outta here!
Ain't
nobody
gonna
be hung today!" Dermott yelled down from his perch on the railing. He sat precariously on one of the cross beams, holding a 'borrowed' Colt 45.

             
"Dermott, you old fool!
Git
down from there!"

             
"No way, Judge! I
ain't
comin
'!
Ain't
nobody
gonna
get their neck stretched as long as I have anything to say about it!"

             
"Dermott, please come down!" Cole shouted up. "It doesn't matter where I'm executed! They can just take me out to an old tree! I don't want my last memory to be of you getting hurt!"

             
Dermott crossed his arms. "That
ain't
gonna
happen, Cole. Miss
Melly
and I were sitting at Sully's
havin
' dinner, and I overheard these two fellas
sayin
' that if they could just put off the
hangin
' long enough for that Ranger fella to die, then you'd be saved."

             
"Dermott, it's not true, what they said. I broke the law, and I have to pay for it."

             
"That's a lie. You killed three dangerous men.  They even had papers."

             
"No, Dermott, they didn't.
At least, not at the time.
I know what I did. But, more important than me is Natty. You've got to think of her. She needs you to be strong for her, no matter what happens to me."

             
For the first time, Judge saw Dermott's determination waver. "You can't change things,
Derm
," Judge told him. "God, how I wish you could. But, you can't. I've sent a telegraph asking for an appeal of Cole's judgment, but I don't know if it'll come in time. If we don't hear something by morning, then I'm afraid we'll have to go on with the execution. The boys here will have to bring you down before then, and somebody will get hurt."

             
"Dermott!"
Natty's
voice carried over the crowd. "Please, for God's sake, get down from there!"

             
"Natty, honey, now don't get sore! I just wanted to do something to help.
Ain't
nobody else around here had any good ideas. I just thought if we was to wait long enough it would be okay."

             
"I feel the same way, Dermott. But, we can't. Not this way. We'll think of something. You've got to get down and give the gun to Judge."

             
Melly
stepped out from the crowd. "Please come down. Surely, they can't hang a man if the whole town objects to it?"

             
Judge sighed deeply. "I'll go get out my law books, and we'll see what we can find out. If there is a legal hitch somewhere, we'll find it. Now, come down."

             
Dermott nodded and began the climb down the ladder left by one of the workmen.

             
"Thank Goodness you're all right," Natty rushed to her uncle and gave him a bear hug. "You do anything like that again and I swear; I'll shoot you myself!"

             
She turned to Cole. "Thank you for coming out to help him. I know this
ain't
easy."

             
"Since I've known you, Natty, nothing's been easy. I guess I kind of like it that way. Let's go inside." He held out his hand to her, and the two of them turned towards the jail.

             
Before Judge could follow, Miriam reached out to him. "Judge, I don't suppose you'd like some company tonight? Someone to keep the coffee hot and the lamps lit while you search those books?"

             
He looked up and smiled. She sure was a picture of beauty, worried though she was. "I welcome it, Miss Miriam."

             
It was after midnight when Bill Watkins came knocking on Judge's door. "Come on in, Bill. Sit a spell. I swear I've been through

these
books three times, and I don't see a thing that might apply. Hell, I'm not sure we're covered for the first time we didn't hang him."

             
Miriam entered from the kitchen. "Here's a fresh cup, Judge. Hello, Sheriff."

             
"Mrs.
Remmington
. I just wanted to stop by and let you know that your son's doing okay. Natty is there with him, and they were quiet when I left. Just between us and the wall, I
sorta
left the key to the cell on the table."

             
"You did?" Judge asked.

             
"Yeah. And, you know
Stef
Geary did leave those two horses tied out front of the jail. I sure hope nobody steals them."

             
"I don't know, they might."

             
Miriam sighed. "If either one of you think that my son would break the law again trying to escape, you're both terribly mistaken. Cole graduated top of his class at Eton. He wanted nothing more his whole life than to practice law. He'd never lie, cheat, or steal. He has such a damnable sense of righteousness that it even makes me want to clout him on the head sometimes. One time a
hackman
over changed him, and Cole ran two blocks to give the man back his money."

             
"Well, it was the best I could come up with," Watkins said, defeated.

             
"It was an honorable try, nonetheless." Judge patted the sheriff's shoulder.

             
Miriam sank into the seat between them. "It's hopeless, isn't it? Cole is going to die in the morning, and there's nothing we can do about it."

             
Judge closed the book in front of him. "I know one thing. The answer we need isn't in here. If anywhere, it's in the hide of that black-hearted ranger."

             
Miriam shook her head. "I don't think he has a heart. I talked to him earlier today. He's as cold as a witch's chemise."

"I have to agree on that one," Watkins sighed.

             
Judge slammed his hand down on the table in frustration. "I don't care what he thinks. This is still my county, and I'm not about to let some tinhorn rover tell me how to run it. And I'll tell you something else. If there's going to be a hanging tomorrow, you can bet that Ranger, sick or dying, is going be there watching it--front and center. And if anybody answers to an angry crowd, it's going to be him."

             
Cole watched as the morning sun crept over the cell window. It wouldn't be long now. In a sad way, he was relieved. After this morning, no more waiting for the inevitable, no more faltering between false hopes and deepening despair. He would try to face the end of his life with dignity, and meet his maker the way he'd been raised to do.

             
He glanced to where Natty lay silent beside him. "You're awake?"

             
"Yeah. I couldn't sleep
no
how. I just wanted to be here with you for as long as possible. I hope they let me. I'm sorry I broke down yesterday. I'll get you through this, I promise."

             
Cole heard the crack in her voice. He felt his own emotions rising in his throat. "I know, Natty. You've done so much more for me than I deserve. I'm sorry I didn't get your mine finished. I really had planned on it."

             
"I don't care about
no hole in the ground.
There's never been any silver in it, anyway. I guess I've known that all along. I just thought that letting go of it meant I was letting go of Ma and Pa. I wasn't ready to do that before now."

             
"You mean to give up your inheritance?" He pulled back to look at her. Gently, he caressed the side of her face with his bandaged hand."

             
"I realized that it's just not very important, anymore. With you, I've found I have more riches than all the kings in the world."

             
Cole leaned over and kissed his wife. When their lips met, a furious desire flared up inside of him.

             
"I want you, Natty. I want to feel you around me one more time! I want to kiss every last bit of your body, from the top of your beautiful head to the tips of your pretty little toes. Please, Natty, let me love you one last time?"

             
He watched the blush rise up her cheeks. "Yes, Cole. Love me, now. I can't think past the next minute, the next second-- just let's make this one time last forever!"

             
With a growl deep in his throat, Cole pulled her to him. He started by opening her mouth with his, plummeting his tongue inside the moist warmth of her. She tasted like heaven, plain and simple. Her faint musky scent filled his nostrils, and he breathed deeply as if he could inhale the very essence of her inside of him. Breaking their kiss, he began to nibble down the line of her jaw to her neck. Her throat vibrated against his lips as she let loose a low, sultry moan. The sound of it charged his passion like a lightning strike. Suddenly, he had to touch her, every inch, every peak and valley. He watched, enthralled, while she unfastened her bodice and let loose the creamy, silken skin of her bosom. She was a sea of womanhood, and he dove into her wake, a lost sailor seeking solace in the waves.

             
Cole ran his bandaged hands across her shoulders to her breasts. He brushed his palms against the hard tips and laughed as she squirmed beneath him. While his hands continued their journey, he let his mouth glide down until he tasted first one breast, and then the other. Taking a solitary breath, he moved down to her belly. He marveled at how well the two of them fit together. Though small boned and fine, Natty had the firm roundness that complimented his own body's sharp corners.

             
"Hurry, Cole, please!" She whimpered beneath him.

             
As she pulled up her skirt and chemise, he wrestled with the fastening of his own trousers. Finally, they both reaped the
rewards when flesh touched flesh, and
a new
electricity sparked between them.