Dorothy Garlock (34 page)

Not wanting Annabel to see what the Carters might do to the man he had left tied up in the stall, Corbin quickly turned her away from the homestead.

Minutes later, as they were going through the woods toward the road, a hoarse scream came from the direction of the house.

Annabel stopped. “What was that?”

“I’m not sure,” he lied. “Let’s get on down to the road. Boone or Jack may come along and we want to stop them before they go up the lane to the house.”

When a volley of gunfire sounded, Annabel stopped again and grabbed Corbin’s arm.

“They … killed him!”

“We don’t know that. They could be shooting the chickens. Come on, honey.”

“I’m not so dumb that I believe that! The Carters are killers, just like the men with Mr. Potter. They’ll kill Papa or Boone. They’re not even civilized!”

“They live by their own code of right and wrong. We might not have made it out of there without them.”

“But … did you hear what Calvin said about Tess, his own sister?” Shock and anger had made Annabel forget how tired she was. She walked so fast, Corbin had to tug on her hand to slow her down before she exhausted herself.

“Like I said, they live by their own code. Boone will take care of Tess. He fell for her like a rock, just as I fell for you, my sweet and pretty girl.”

She was so worked up that a spate of angry, loud words spewed out of her mouth. The Carters were the focus of her agitation.

“I still say they are savage, uncivilized, ignorant hillbillies who lie and steal and make corn liquor. I’m sorry that Marvin is dead, but he didn’t have two ideas above a goat if he thought I’d even consider going out with him. He had the manners of a lout, a guttersnipe, a yokel. I doubt that he ever brushed his teeth or said thank you in his entire life.” Words rushed out of her mouth like water from a dam.

“And that’s not all! He didn’t even want to take Leroy, his own brother, to the doctor when he was hurt—and it was his fault the kid was hurt. Tess said Leroy could have died if she and Boone hadn’t taken him to the doctor.” Annabel took a deep breath and continued. “Tess is the only decent one of the bunch. And Calvin, the ‘top dog’ now, as he put it, said that Tess was unfit to be a man’s wife. I suppose he thinks he’s fit to be a husband and beget babies on that poor woman who married him. They say he’s got six and he’s younger than Marvin. The Carters are a clannish, mean bunch of … of vulgar, rough, ignorant people!”

Corbin, realizing that Annabel was on the verge of hysteria, didn’t interrupt her litany of accusations against the Carters. She had endured more yesterday and today than most women had to endure in a lifetime. This could help ease her frustration.

“They’d better not hurt Papa or Boone or Jack,” Annabel continued, walking faster, her voice rising, her anger still focused on the Carters. “If they as much as harm a hair on their heads, I’ll get a gun and shoot every damn one of them. I’ll—” She stopped suddenly and clapped her hand to her mouth.

She looked up at Corbin, her eyes bright and as green as shamrocks. Suddenly her face crumpled, she gasped and burst into tears. Without hesitation, she threw herself into his arms. He held her close to him while racking sobs shook her slender body. She wrapped her arms around him and hid her face against the curve of his neck. He let her cry until her sobs turned into pitiful whimpers.

“Ah, sweet girl,” he crooned to her, holding her tenderly and whispering endearments. “Shhh, darlin’, sweetheart, don’t cry, love. We’re going to be all right now.” He kissed her wet cheeks, her forehead, her eyes.

“Corbin … I love you—” she gasped between sobs.

“And I love you, honey. Don’t carry on so, sweetheart. You’ve been a brave girl. The bravest I’ve ever known.”

“I don’t know what to do … about Papa.”

“There isn’t anything we can do right now, sweetheart. We’ll wait down by the road. If he comes, we’ll stop him before he goes to the house.”

“I’ve got this feeling that he’s not going to come back. He always sends word if he’s delayed so I won’t worry.”

“He’s not that late. A lot of things could happen to cause a delay. Car trouble, for instance.” He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her eyes. “Let’s get on down the road and find a place to sit down in the shade.”

The place they found was the spot where Jack had spent the night he was sick. They had a view of the house on the hill and of the road in each direction. Beneath the shade of a tree well back from the road, Corbin sank down on the grass and pulled Annabel into his lap. She curled up in his arms like a little lost puppy. He cuddled her to him, smoothing her hair back from her face. She fit so perfectly in the nest made by this arms and his thighs.

She looked up into his eyes. “You’ve lost so much and been through so much because of me.”

“I wouldn’t change a minute of it.”

“I must look a sight.”

“Not to me. Never to me.”

Corbin gazed at her upturned face. Her eyes were teary bright and full of love … for him. His arms tightened and he slowly lowered his head to hers and kissed her puffed eyes and wet cheeks. The yielding sweetness of her mouth, the softness of her body made him tighten with desire. This woman was his life. It was as simple as that. He loved her with every breath and, if it came to that, would give his life to keep her safe and happy.

They sat quietly for a long while. Corbin, deep in thought, recalled the words he had overheard. Neither Potter nor the other two men mentioned looking for Murphy Donovan, only Boone and Annabel. It was as if they knew that Murphy was no longer a problem for them. If they had already killed him, it would be a crushing blow to Annabel.

They had been sitting there for a couple of hours when Corbin was jarred from his thoughts and shook Annabel.

“Get up, honey. The black car is coming down the lane.”

They scrambled back behind the bushes and peered out. The big car moved slowly as if the driver were not sure how to drive it. At the road he stopped it with a jerk by slamming his foot down too hard on the brake pedal. Calvin Carter, at the wheel, looked neither left nor right as he concentrated on driving the powerful car. It turned down the road, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

“They’re stealing it,” Annabel exclaimed.

“I don’t know who has a better right to it, honey.”

They went back to sit beneath the tree. As the hours passed, they moved with the shade. Several cars passed, but not one they recognized, and Corbin was afraid to flag them down. It was suppertime when Annabel admitted her thirst.

“I wish we’d brought the jar of water.”

“Sweetheart.” Corbin put his hands on her neck, his thumbs gently caressing the line of her jaw. “I know you’re thirsty. It’s going to be a while.”

“I know. I can wait. Maybe when it’s dark—” She suddenly broke off her words to listen. “Do I hear a car?”

Corbin stood and shielded his eyes with his hand. The truck coming down the road looked like the one Boone drove, but he waited to be sure before he stepped out into the road.

“It looks like Boone’s truck. Stay here, honey, until I make sure.” As the truck approached, Corbin stepped out and waved his arms. “Are we glad to see you!” he exclaimed when Jack stopped.

Annabel came out of the bushes and hurried to the truck.

“Is Boone all right, and Tess and … Spinner?”

“They’re fine. Spinner is banged up, but he’ll be all right. Boone sent me to see if Mr. Donovan was back. What’re you doing down here by the road? Where’s your car?”

“It’s a long story. Do you have any water? Annabel is awfully thirsty.”

“It just so happens that I do. Boone keeps a keg in the truck just in case the engine gets hot.”

Jack pulled the truck off the road. After they drank the water dipped from an oak keg with a fruit jar, they stood in the shade of the truck while Corbin told him what had happened to them last night and today.

Jack shared the information he had about the men coming to the cave and beating Spinner, trying to get him to tell where Boone was. He described how Spinner had crawled to the plunger to blow up the cave, then dragged himself back to the cabin where they found him.

“Boone went up and looked around. He said the whole side of that rock cliff caved in on them. Spinner had done a good job setting the charge.”

“They were hired killers. So were the ones who came to the house with Potter,” Corbin said.

“Why did they shoot Marvin?”

“Just because Potter told one of them to kill him. He was going to help me get Annabel out.”

“You never told me that,” Annabel said. “I thought he was going to help both of us get out.”

“He was … both of us,” Corbin corrected the statement, then changed the subject. “There’s been no movement up there at the house since Calvin drove the car out. If you’ll stay here with Annabel, Jack, I’ll go take a look around.”

Annabel got into the truck. “You’re not leaving me here.”

Corbin followed her. “It’ll be an ugly sight up there, and I don’t want you to see it.”

“I won’t look.”

“Be reasonable—”

“No. Get in, Corbin. I’ve been with you every minute and I’m not going to leave you now just because of an ugly sight.”

“There could be … more. Now the Carters have the tommy gun.”

“I’ll take my chances along with you and Jack.”

Corbin looked at her dear, stubbornly set features for a long while, then ducked his head into the cab and kissed her mouth.

“I can see that I’m going to have my hands full with you. Jack, do you have the rifle?”

“I’ve got it and it’s loaded.”

“Give it to me. I’ll get in the back and stand behind the cab. I can see better back there. Drive slowly and keep your eyes open. If I want you to stop, I’ll pound on the top of the cab. Annabel, if that happens, you get down on the floor. Is that understood?” he said sternly. Then, without waiting for a reply, Corbin grabbed the rifle and climbed up into the truck bed.

The sun was behind them as they went up the lane to the house on the hill. The only movement they observed was the swaying of the tall grass alongside the lane. The front door of the house was closed. Jack drove the truck alongside the house and stopped beside the back porch.

Corbin searched the area and saw absolutely nothing one wouldn’t normally see in a house yard. There were no bodies, no wheel tracks. The chickens were gone, the barn door was closed, as was the door leading into the back of the house. The yard had been swept clean. It was as if what had happened here a few short hours ago had never taken place.

Corbin jumped out the back of the truck and stood beside the window of the cab.

“I figured they’d take … Marvin. But what did they do with … the others?” Annabel asked.

“Stay in the truck while I look in the barn.”

Corbin cautiously opened the barn door and darted inside. When he came out, he closed the door and went to the shed. He looked inside, then circled the barn before he came back to the truck.

“Nothing in there but the cow.”

“She wasn’t milked this morning.”

“She’s been milked,” Corbin said. “She was in a stall eating hay.”

“Forevermore! The Carters are the darnedest people I ever did see. I’ll never understand them. Kind one minute, mean as sin the next.”

“I’m still going to beat the hell out of that kid who was wearing my shirt,” Jack said. “He knows what happened to my ball glove.”

“This kid’s got a one-track mind,” Corbin said to Annabel and winked. “I’ll take a look in the house.”

When he came out, he was carrying the water bucket and went to the pump.

“It’s just as you left it. Come get a drink of water.”

Annabel made a trip through the house and declared that as far as she could tell, nothing was missing. In the kitchen, she took out bread, butter and cheese. They ate quickly while planning what to do.

“I don’t think we should stay here,” Corbin said. “Potter may come back with his partner and his own bunch of thugs. He’ll want to know what went on out here. Annabel, pack the things you’ll need for a while. We’ll go to town and find a preacher to marry us so I can keep you with me in my hotel room. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Why don’t we go up to Spinner’s place,” Jack suggested. “It’s well hid.”

“We can’t hide out indefinitely. I’ll send a wire to Marshal Sanford as soon as we get to town.”

“But what if Papa comes?”

“Leave a note here on the table. Just tell him that he knows where he can find Boone and Spinner and that you’re all right and that you’ll get in touch with him later.”

“What about Mildred?”

“How about giving her to the Carters? They’ve already taken the chickens. We’ll stop by and tell them to come get her.”

“They might shoot you on sight,” Jack said.

“I don’t think so. Maybe next week, but not today. When is Boone expecting you back?”

“He said if I couldn’t get back before dark to wait until morning—that is, if things were all right here. I don’t know if I could find my way back through the woods to the cabin after dark.”

“When we get to town, you can go to the telegraph office and send a message to Marshal Sanford. It’ll be a coded message. Annabel and I will stay out of sight as much as possible.”

Annabel looked at him strangely. “Boone was right: You
are
a lawman!” she said quietly.

“No, I’m not.” He took hold of her shoulders and looked her in the face. “I’ve not lied to you.”

“Then why would you be sending a coded message to the marshal?”

“I know Marshal Sanford. When I first came to town, I met him at the hotel. He asked me to take notice of some of the merchants in town while I was here. He suspected that one or two of them had ties with mobs back East. As we discovered this morning, he was right.”

“I know the marshal too,” Jack said. “He was all the law we had in Fertile until Corbin came.”

Annabel wrapped her arms around Corbin’s middle and hugged him.

“I’ll never lie to you and I’ll always tell you everything, no matter how bad it is.” He kissed her forehead.

“I believe you.”

“I’ll get your violin out of the woodpile while you pack. I know you’ll want to take it with you.”