Deadly (22 page)

“What then…?” Annabelle asked.

“If she’s left town, then whose clothes are these? That looks like Meg’s pants and that’s definitely Meg’s hat laying there,” Ruby said, walking over to the floor where Meg had dropped her clothes.

The sound of a gun cocking had Meg’s nerves skittering like fireflies down her spine.

“You’ve got five seconds to tell me where my sister is before I start plugging your naked ass full of holes,” Ruby said.

Oh, horse hockey, how was she going to stay hidden under the blankets with them threatening to shoot Zach? Shooting him a second time would not be good, and Annabelle was just mad enough at men and their treacherous ways she wouldn’t think twice about plugging Zach. And Ruby would shoot anything that moved.

But oh, my God, were they going to be mad.

“Your time is running out, Sheriff. Where’s Meg?”

Meg let the sheet slowly slide down her neck as she rose up on her elbows. “I’m right here.”

She watched as her sisters’ eyes widened and their mouths fell open. “Close your fly traps and step out into the hall while Zach and I get dressed.”

Annabelle shook her head and pointed her gun at Zach. Slowly, she pulled back the hammer. Now both girls’ pistols were trained on Zach. “If our Papa were here, he’d be hauling your sorry ass off to the sin buster. There would be a wedding before noon. What have you got to say for yourself, Sheriff? You ready to marry our sister?”

“T
hat’s enough, Annabelle. No one is getting married today,” Meg said, hopping out of bed and dragging the sheet with her.

Of all the lousy timing, this had to be the day her strong-willed sisters showed up and discovered her in bed with Zach—the morning Meg had planned to ask Zach his intentions regarding Simon. If Zach were going to turn Simon in, she’d help him capture the criminal. But if Zach meant to let Simon go free, she wanted no part of the brothers.

She would not participate in hiding a known felon, even if he were the brother of the man she loved.

Zach quickly grabbed the quilt and wrapped it around his waist, covering his privates.

Ruby picked up Zach’s pants, shirt, and boots. “I think you better get out of here while we have a little chat with our sister.” She shoved the clothes in his arm, along with his gun belt. “You might want to give us some time before you come back.”

Zach turned and stared, his brown eyes searching Meg’s. “I’ll meet you at the café.”

“Yes,” she said, her heart ripping in two at the sight of him leaving with things in such an uproar. She didn’t want him to go. They needed to talk, to decide what their next step would be before they went any further. She had to know his plans for Simon. She needed to know their plans for them.

He nodded, picked up his hat, and shoved it on top of his head as he backed out of the room, his arms full. His earthy brown eyes gazed at her like he longed to say something. “Ladies.”

As soon as the door closed, both sisters started talking at once.

“What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?” Annabelle said, whirling around to face Meg, her reddish blonde hair swinging onto her back.

Yes, Meg was crazy in love with Zach, and while part of her believed it was a good thing, another part was frightened. She loved Zach, the lawman, the man who played by the rules and stood for honor. Not the man who would help his brother escape from the consequences of his actions. What about justice for the dead man? What about his family? Which one would Zach choose?

“You warned me away from kissing boys and here you are in bed with the sheriff? Have you lost your mind?” Ruby spouted at her.

Maybe Meg had lost her mind out here in the wilderness, following Simon from town to town. But most definitely, she’d lost her heart. Somewhere along the trail, she’d fallen in love with Zach, and that scared her worse than a Texas rattler. Even worse than the wrath of her sisters.

“You don’t have to be the sacrificial lamb any longer. We don’t need you to marry Zach,” Annabelle said.

Meg wasn’t the sacrificial lamb. In fact, she hoped to start her own life very soon. She wanted out of the bounty hunting business. She wanted to be a dressmaker. She wanted to own her own shop. This life on the road chasing bad guys was tough, and she’d had enough.

Ruby tossed her blonde curls behind her head. “Marry? Meg, we’re so close to paying off the loan, and then we can all do what we want. You can continue bounty hunting or work the farm, but you don’t have to get married.”

Meg knew she didn’t have to get married, but secretly, she longed for Zach to ask her again. This time she wanted him to do it the old-fashioned way, with him down on one knee. She wasn’t marrying any man who had a gun stuck to his head forcing him to marry her. That wasn’t happening.

“Papa would have made him marry you, if he’d caught you in bed,” Annabelle said, loud enough the people in the next room could hear her.

“No one is forcing me to marry anyone,” she said quietly in response to her sister. “No one.”

“Meg, you could be pregnant,” Annabelle said. “That baby would need a father.”

“Shut up, Annabelle. I’m not pregnant. I’m not.”

“You don’t know that for certain,” Annabelle whispered.

The very thought sent Meg’s heart racing through her chest like a cattle herd stampeding the plains. She couldn’t be pregnant. Now was not the time in her life for a baby, especially one out of wedlock, since there was no guarantee Zach intended for them to marry.

“You told me a girl should never lose her virtue,” Ruby said, throwing her clothes at her.

Maybe virtue wasn’t as worthy an ideal as she’d once believed. Being with a man who filled her heart with love seemed way more important than being a virginal miss.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you, scared out of our minds, and you’ve been holed up here fornicating with Zach,” Annabelle said in a disgusted tone.

“Not hardly,” Meg said, shaking her head at the absurdity of Annabelle’s assumptions. “We didn’t check in until late yesterday evening. So no, my time has not been spent fornicating in hotel rooms.”

“With Simon’s brother,” Ruby declared. “The sheriff is Simon’s brother.”

Somewhere along the trail, her very savvy sisters had learned the truth regarding Simon’s family and his connection to Zach.

“You know Zach is Simon’s brother?” Meg said while her sisters continued to talk all over each other.

“Yeah, we were coming to tell you,” Annabelle replied. “But it looks like you already know. Is that why you haven’t caught Simon yet? Normally, you’d have had your man and been home by now. We’ve been worried sick something happened to you. Then that gossipy stable owner, Nick, told us Simon was Zach’s brother, and we doubled our efforts to find you. We were scared for your safety.”

Meg’s heart warmed as she realized she would have done the same if she had been the one left behind. “Simon got away and we haven’t found him since,” Meg said, slipping on her pantaloons and pulling her chemise over her head. She dropped the sheet and pulled on her pants and shirt.

Both sisters stopped and stared at her. Finally, Annabelle said, “What’s going on Meg? It’s not like you to lie with a man.”

Meg hung her head for a moment as defenseless feelings swept through her, leaving her emotions laid bare. She didn’t like feeling vulnerable, not even with her sisters. She was supposed to be the big strong matriarch of the family, and yet, falling in love with Zach had left her feeling totally exposed.

Last night, comforting him had felt like the most natural and wonderful emotion in the world, but today, her sisters reminded her how tenuous the situation with Zach really was and that left her completely unprotected. Her chest ached at the thought of Zach and Simon.

“That’s the problem. I think I’ve fallen in love with him.” She sank down onto the bed. “Yesterday, we learned Simon is indeed a killer. Zach thought his brother was innocent up until Mrs. Lowell told him Simon had shot her husband in cold blood. Do you know how that must have hurt? It’d be like me having to turn one of you in. I don’t know if I could take you to jail, knowing you were going to hang. You’re my sisters. You’re my family.”

Annabelle clenched her fists like she wanted to hit something or someone. “You’re getting soft. Love is turning our stubborn sister into a big softie. Before, you never would have let a bounty get away.”

Meg’s temper flashed hotter than a chicken frying in a skillet. “I didn’t say I would let him get away. I just said he’s Zach’s brother. I didn’t say anything about him getting off. Did I?”

Both girls looked at her chastised. Yet, she couldn’t fuss at them too much; her insides were churning like a dust devil out in the prairie. She felt so torn about whether or not Zach would make the right choice. “Look, I’m just as confused by all this as you are. I love Zach, but his brother’s guilty. I’ve met his mother, and I feel sorry for her. She’s going to lose another son. If I turn him in, then I could lose Zach. His mother could hate me forever.”

“But he’s wanted, Meg,” Annabelle said.

“I understand. I’m trying to stand by Zach’s side until he’s made the decision as to what he’s going to do.” She prayed Zach would not let his love for his brother sway him in the wrong direction.

Ruby shook her head back and forth like she was reaffirming her position. “God, if this is what love does to you, then I think I’ll pass.”

Annabelle laughed. “I guess this means we have to be nice to Zach? I can’t drag him down to a minister and make him marry you?”

God, no.
There would be no hasty marriage. She wanted Zach to choose her this time because he truly loved and wanted her.

“If Zach loves me and wants to marry me, then we’ll discuss a minister, but not before,” Meg said, knowing she had to make certain Zach was the type of man who followed the law. Sure, he was a sheriff, but his brother had caused him to lose his way. Could he find his way back?

“What now?” Ruby asked, limping over to a chair in the room.

“We go to the restaurant and see if Zach wants us to help him find his brother. If not, well then we go home.”

If he told her he was going to find Simon and help him escape, then she would hunt Simon down herself. If Zach planned on turning Simon in, she would stand by him and help him bring his brother to justice.

“That’s horse hockey,” Ruby exclaimed. “I’m not letting a good bounty get away.”

Annabelle just shook her head. “He’s wanted. The bounty should be ours.”

“The bounty is not what’s important. Zach is who is important,” Meg said, knowing her love for Zach had influenced her decision.

“Maybe for you,” Ruby said quietly.

*

Zach hurriedly dressed in the hallway of the hotel, knowing if anyone came out their door, he’d look like the biggest damn fool, also recognizing there was real danger in that bedroom. He’d known Ruby was injured and Annabelle took care of the farm, so what had caused the sisters to come looking for Meg?

They would have hurt him if he hadn’t given them Meg. There was pure meanness oozing from those women who protected one another better than the southern cavalry. Wiley, tough sharpshooters, who were protective of one another, he was lucky he’d gotten out of there alive.

And the threat of a wedding…now that was one risk he didn’t mind taking, but Meg had put a halt to that idea right away. He wanted to marry her, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, watching her create dresses and raising his children. But instead they were chasing after his brother while her sisters hunted them.

At this moment, he needed a cup of coffee, something to clear the cobwebs from his brain, and a chance to regroup before the sisters descended on him again. He needed a plan of action that would satisfy Meg’s sisters and get her to the altar. And a plan of action to help save his brother.

He walked into the café, sat down at a table, and promptly ordered a cup of coffee. The waitress brought the hot steaming mug, and he’d taken his first sip, when in walked Simon. Stunned, Zach’s brain flooded him with memories of Simon as a child, and his hands clenched trying to hold on to the goodness of that little boy.

Why had Simon chosen now to show his face? Did he think he was invincible?

“Hello, brother,” he said with a smile as he walked right up to Zach’s table.

Zach closed his eyes and shook his head with disbelief. “You have stupid timing.”

“What are you talking about?” Simon asked, his eyes narrowing. “Last I saw, you were laying on the ground with a bullet in you.”

“Yeah, thanks for thinking about me and checking to make certain I wasn’t dead. That bullet was meant for you,” Zach said, knowing he would never have ridden off if his brother had been lying on the ground. Why couldn’t he just let the consequences catch up to this boy?

“Thanks. You’re okay?” Simon questioned, standing before him. “Look at you. It must not have done too much damage.”

The ache in Zach’s shoulder reminded him of waking up with Meg bent over him, removing the bullet. She’d stayed behind to take care of him. She’d made certain he was healing. Not Simon.

“The McKenzie sisters are over at the hotel and should be arriving here any minute now for breakfast with me. They’re hungry for the bounty on your head,” Zach warned.

Simon looked back over his shoulder. “Those bitches are crazy.”

No, they were three women who cared about one another, looked out for each other, and would die trying to protect one another. Unlike Simon.

Zach took another sip of his coffee. “Simon, if you weren’t my brother, I’d hand you over to them.” The image of his mother’s distraught face caused his guts to cringe like he’d eaten bad food. “I’m probably going to regret this decision, but I better get you out of here.”

It would mean going against Meg. It would mean going against his law career. It would mean helping his brother, but most of all, his mother. Though he’d sworn to uphold the law, Zach couldn’t turn his brother in. Sometime last night in talking to Meg, he’d reached the conclusion that even though it meant giving up what he loved, he’d save his brother and keep the family together.