Early Dawn (41 page)

It wasn’t to be. She saw a head appear above the rocks, fired, and missed. She was now down to her last round. She slumped behind the log. That was it. She could do nothing more to help Matthew. Only, when she looked down at the revolver, she couldn’t bring herself to put it to her head. Life was precious. She’d wait until the last second—when she saw the whites of the Sebastians’ eyes. Miracles could happen. By her count, with the six cartridges she’d given him, Matthew still had about ten left. Maybe he’d pull a rabbit out of his hat and make at least three of them count.

The hillside erupted with even more gunfire. Eden had become inured to the sound after so many hours. Then her numb brain finally registered that some of the shots were coming from off to the right of the rocks. She twisted onto her knees to peer over the log. Sure enough, she glimpsed a flash of denim on the slope where no one should be. Afraid she was seeing things, Eden rubbed her eyes and looked again.
There! Another man
. She could scarcely believe it, but someone had come to their rescue.

Dodging the hail of bullets that now peppered them from two directions, the three remaining Sebastians scurried from behind the rocks, running from tree to tree for cover. Before Eden could blink, they had disappeared into the forest. A moment later, she heard the unmistakable tattoo of galloping horses’ hooves receding into the distance.
Gone
. Just that quickly, it was over.

Matthew emerged from behind the pine. He tossed down the Winchester and put up his hands. “Don’t shoot! I’m not one of them.”

A tall man emerged from some bushes to the right of the rocks.
Ace
. Eden nearly shrieked with joy. Her brothers! They’d finally found her. Mindless prayers of thanksgiving bounced around in her brain as she scrambled over the log. And then she was running, at first toward her siblings, and then, with a sudden change of mind, she veered toward Matthew, who still stood on the slope with his hands up.

“Don’t shoot him,” she cried out. “He’s a friend!” Her lungs screamed for breath. The slope was steep, and it was all she could do to keep her legs churning to scale the incline. “Matthew? It’s all right.”

She reached him, threw her arms around his neck, and held on for dear life, even though it took him a moment to lower his hands to return the hug. Eden was shaking so violently that the tremors rocked both his body and hers.

She heard footsteps approaching.

“Eden?”

It was Joseph. She released her frantic hold on Matthew to turn and face her brother. He stood a few yards away, his legs spread, his Colts dangling loosely in his hands. His stance was unthreatening, but Eden knew his tension ran high, and Joseph was lightning fast with those guns. The breeze caught his shoulder-length blond hair and the straight strands drifted across his blue eyes. He never blinked.

Hoping to defuse the situation, Eden stepped forward to hug Joseph’s neck. “I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my whole life! How on earth did you find us?”

Joseph holstered his weapons and returned her hug, but he never took his gaze off Matthew. “We heard the gunfire late this morning and followed the sound all afternoon. Looks like we got here none too soon.”

Ace finally reached them, and Eden flew into his arms. He embraced her fiercely and pressed his face against her hair. “You,” he whispered huskily, “gave me a lot of sleepless nights. We had about lost hope of finding you.”

“Thank God you didn’t stop searching.” Eden leaned back to grin up at him. “I saw your tracks and knew you were out here somewhere.”

“We’ve been all over God’s creation looking for you for five weeks. Initially we headed for the border, hoping to cut across the gang’s tracks. When that turned up nothing, we went to the scene of the train robbery and finally found their trail. At first we followed the gang, hoping to run them to ground, but then we determined you were with someone else. The two of you have led us a merry chase.”

Eden hugged David and Esa when they arrived. Then she returned to Matthew’s side and took hold of his hand. “This is Matthew Coulter. He saved my life.” She turned her gaze to Ace. “He’s become a very good friend.”

“Looks to me like he’s more than just a friend,” Joseph observed dryly. “I’ve never seen you hug anyone but a family member like that, not even that faithless bastard John.”

Eden had been through too much over the last several hours to deal with Joseph’s temper, so she cut right to the point. “You’re right. Matthew
is
more than a friend. I love him with all my heart.”

Joseph’s gaze shot to Matthew. “Well, now, that’s just fine and dandy. Question is, does he love you?”

Ace and David flanked their brother. Esa stood off to the left. Ace, the tallest, looked like a mismatched bookend compared to his shorter siblings, but in some strange way, despite his greater bulk, he didn’t seem all that much bigger. He’d raised his younger brothers to be strong men who stood tall regardless of how many inches they measured in actual height.

“Joseph, keep your temper,” Ace warned.

“Yes, Joseph, please do,” Eden inserted. “For the last several hours, Matthew and I have been through hell. We’re tired and need to recuperate before we’re subjected to the third degree.”

“Keep my
temper
?” Joseph’s blue eyes blazed. “I guess I have a right to demand some answers when it appears my baby sister has moved past the handshaking stage with a man I’ve never clapped eyes on.”

To Eden’s dismay, Matthew moved down the slope to stand directly in front of her brothers. “As Eden told you, my name’s Matthew Coulter. I hail from Oregon, and unless Eden changes her mind, I mean to marry her.”

“Without asking one of us for her hand?” Joseph curled his lip in a sneer. “In our family, that isn’t how it goes. One of us will decide if you’re going to marry her or not.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Eden stepped down to stand beside Matthew. “I’m a grown woman, Joseph. That’s a decision I’ll make for myself.”

“Eden, let me handle this,” Matthew said, an edge in his tone that was new to her. “I’ve never hidden behind a woman’s skirts, and I don’t plan to start now.”

“I’m not wearing any skirts.” Looking from one man to another, all she saw was stony anger or foolish male pride stamped on their faces. She couldn’t believe this was happening. “Stop glaring, Joseph. He’s my
friend
. If you hurt him, I’ll never forgive you!”

“Eden,” Matthew said softly, his voice filled with warning.

She clamped her mouth shut, her worried gaze fixed on Joseph, whose temper was the most volatile. David, who was slower to reach a boil, spoke then.

“Forget all the handshaking bullshit. I want some plain answers. Have you taken liberties with our sister, Coulter?”

“She’s a consenting adult, and we love each other,” Matthew replied. “Don’t make something dirty out of it. That’s an insult to her, and I won’t have it.”

“
You
won’t have it?” Joseph’s voice had gone low and silky.

Eden braced herself. This wasn’t going well. Joseph was about to blow. She glanced frantically at Ace, but all he did was smile slightly and rub his jaw.

“I think this is a conversation we should have in private,” Matthew said, not backing down an inch. “Eden’s been through enough for one day. If you want a piece of me, Joseph, you can have a go, but not in front of her.”

Joseph tensed and stood ready. “I don’t recollect any introductions. How do you know I’m Joseph?”

“Your brother called you by name, and Eden painted a pretty clear picture of all of you in my mind. Joseph, the hothead. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out who’s who.” Turning toward her, Matthew said, “Sweetheart, go back down to the log. We’ll be along in a few minutes.”

Eden gaped at him. Didn’t he understand how dangerous her brothers could be?

“Go,” he insisted, his tone brooking no argument.

Eden doubled her hands into fists and started down the slope. When she came abreast of her brothers, she said, “I mean it. Harm a hair on his head and you’ll answer to me.”

“Eden,” Matthew said, his voice sharp. “Enough said. Go.”

She went, but it was the longest walk of her life. As she passed the rocks, she saw that Pete had been the second Sebastian to die. The realization that it had been her bullet that had killed him almost sent her racing into the bushes to empty her stomach. But the nausea soon passed, followed by a sense of rightness. Of all the brothers, he’d been the cruelest to her. Maybe this was God’s way of giving the horrible man his just deserts.

Matthew waited until Eden was well out of earshot. Then he met Joseph’s gaze. “I’m only going to say this once, Paxton, so listen sharp. Your sister is one of the finest people I’ve ever known, and a lady through and through. What happened between us was my doing, not hers.”

“She had no choice in it? What are you saying, Coulter, that you forced her?”

“Of course I didn’t force her. I’m just saying it was more my fault than hers. I’m older and more experienced. If I’d kept my britches fastened, nothing would have happened. I don’t blame you for being mad, but don’t make her suffer for it.”

Joseph worked his mouth and spit in the dirt. “You’ve got bigger balls than a whiteface bull, Coulter, and only half the brains.”

“I may not be the smartest man who ever walked,” Matthew replied, “but I love that girl. Say whatever the hell you want to me, but not in front of her. That’s all I’m asking. She was abducted by monsters and held for five days. Beaten, kicked, treated like a dog. She’s been to hell and back. When I left her behind that log to come up here, she had only three bullets left. She was down to her last round and probably about to shoot herself when you showed up. I think that’s enough for her to deal with in one day.”

Joseph hung his head, staring at the dirt with his hands hovering over his Colts, but the starch had gone out of his spine. The tallest brother, dark of complexion, with coffee brown eyes and black hair, was the one Matthew figured to be Ace. He looked a little older than the other three. Shifting his stance, he folded his arms across his chest. “It sounds like a fair request to me, Joseph. Coulter here got the cart before the horse, no question about it, but that doesn’t mean Eden should pay the price for it.”

Joseph glanced at him. “Have you taken a good, hard look at him, big brother? He’s not cut from fine enough cloth to be our sister’s husband. More along the line of a saddle tramp, if you ask me.”

“It’s not the clothes that make the man. You know that as well as I do.” Ace stepped forward and thrust out a hand to Matthew. “I’m Ace Keegan. If what Eden said is true and you saved her life, I reckon we owe you our heartfelt thanks, not a kick in the teeth.”

“He dallied with our sister!” Joseph cried. “Shake the bastard’s hand if you want, but I’ll be damned if I will.”

“That’s up to you,” Ace said. “The way I see it, Eden’s not a child anymore. She’s made her choice, and we have to accept it.”

“Not that long ago, her
choice
ended their engagement, defamed her reputation, and broke her heart. Now I’m supposed to believe she knows what’s best for her?”

“John Parrish isn’t a pimple on this man’s ass,” Ace replied. “That citified mama’s boy wouldn’t stand up to you like Coulter has. He’d be pissing his pants right now. I’ll also point out that our sister would probably be dead if she’d had to count on John to rescue her from those low-life skunks.”

Matthew grasped Keegan’s outstretched hand. “I apologize for getting the cart before the horse, Ace. Feelings took over, and there was no preacher handy.”

Ace searched Matthew’s gaze. “I like your grit, Coulter.”

“Just know this,” David interjected. “If you don’t do right by her, we’ll hunt you down and see that you do.”

Matthew smiled. “I’ll do right by her.”

Joseph spun on his heel and cut across the incline to where he and his brothers had left their horses. Esa and David stood there for a moment and then decided to follow him. Clearly Ace had the final say over Eden’s future.

Over his shoulder, Joseph yelled, “If you marry her, you’d better treat her good. Lay a violent hand on her, and I’ll kill you.”

Matthew bit back a grin. He and Joseph Paxton hadn’t yet seen eye to eye, but he had a feeling he’d one day like the man. He was loyal, loved deeply, and valued his family. Those were Coulter traits, ones Matthew understood and admired.

“Do you know how close you just came to getting your ass shot off?” Ace asked. “Joseph isn’t all bluster.”

“I’d rather risk getting shot than marry into a family of men who have no respect for me.”

Ace chewed on that for a moment and finally nodded as if he understood the sentiment. “How did you happen along to save our sister?”

“The Sebastians killed my first wife, and I’ve been tracking them for three years. Eden was the one who happened along.”

“Most men don’t talk about a first wife unless they’ve already got a second one. Please don’t tell me you’re married, or I may have to kill you myself.”

Matthew shook his head. “I’ve never been threatened so much in my life.” Noting the murderous glint in Ace’s eyes, he quickly added, “For all intents and purposes, I do have a second wife now. She’s sitting on that log down there.”

Ace glanced down the hill at Eden.

“She’s not a woman a man trifles with if he’s got a shred of decency,” Matthew went on. “I knew from the start that she needed a ring and promises, and that’s what I aim to give her, God and Joseph willing. Maybe you don’t see it the same way, but to me, the wedding will be nothing more than a formality. The actual marriage took place the first time I touched her.”

Ace smiled slowly. Matthew noticed then that one side of his face was scarred and that the corresponding corner of his mouth didn’t move. It was like looking in a mirror. “I like you, Coulter. Don’t take that to mean I’ve given you my blessing. Before that happens, I need to know more about you—what kind of folks you come from and how you plan to provide for my sister, but now isn’t the time for that discussion.”