Lily's Cowboys (9 page)

Lily closed the journal and placed it back in her canvas bag. She turned off the light and climbed into bed. Tomorrow would be an interesting day with all three of the brothers finally home together.

Peter Canton studied the wall in front of him in frustration. The wall was covered in copies of newspaper clippings along with photocopies of documents. The clippings were in chronological order starting almost a hundred years before in 1919.

Oklahoma Press

Wednesday, April 12, 1919

Mother and Daughter Killed by Local Man

The body of a local woman, Maureen O’Donnell, was found beaten and strangled to death. Her daughter, Lily O’Donnell, has not been found but is presumed dead. Lily O’Donnell had gone to the local sheriff complaining of threats made by James Butler, a local farmer. It is suspected Butler killed the mother before attacking the daughter and tossing her body in the local river swollen from the recent rains. Law enforcement officials have arrested Butler after he confessed during a drunken rage. Volunteers continue to search the river for Ms. O’Donnell’s body. Burial for her mother will be at the Oak Grove Cemetery on April 25
^th
at 2:00 p.m.

New York Daily News

Thursday, March 18, 1938

Local Woman Killed after Saving the Life of Wealthy Socialite

Lily O’Donnell had recently begun working as a housekeeper for wealthy New York Socialite Annaise Adams, from the Adams dynasty. Mrs. Adams, the wife of hotel and merchandising baron, Andrew Adams, and mother of two had fallen ill in recent months with speculation she had contracted a mysterious illness while in India last summer. Ms. O’Donnell recently uncovered evidence of the poisoning of Mrs. Adams by her nephew, Albert Adams. It is suspected Albert Adams would receive a sizable insurance payoff in the event of his aunt’s death. Ms. O’Donnell was killed by Albert Adams during a confrontation when Mr. and Mrs. Adams confronted the younger Adams with the evidence. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

The Oregon Post

Monday, September 6, 1954

Woman Stops Kidnapper from Kidnapping Child

A man wanted on various charges entered the home of local judge, Jacob Abernathy, and attempted to kidnap his only son, Brandon. Local hero, Lily O’Donnell, was killed when the man opened fire with a handgun. Angus Peddles, 60, is suspected of trying to kidnap eight year old Brandon Abernathy in order to prevent Judge Abernathy from trying his brother, Matthew Peddles. Ms. O’Donnell worked as a housekeeper for Judge Abernathy and his wife, Bernice. Ms. O’Donnell is credited with notifying local authorities of the invasion by Peddles. Witnesses’ state when Peddles turned a gun on Brandon and Mrs. Abernathy Ms. O’Donnell placed herself in front of it giving authorities time to rescue them. Efforts to save her were unsuccessful. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Louisiana Post

May 27, 1978

Local Woman saves Man from Drowning

Michael Evans, a local widower, was saved from drowning by a local woman after his car ran off the road during heavy rains. Lily O’Donnell was pronounced dead at the scene. Ms. O’Donnell worked as a housekeeper for Angelina Brunson, New Orleans Socialite and owner of The Shrimp Pot. Funeral arrangements are pending for Ms. O’Donnell.

Louisiana Post

August 30, 1980

Marriage Announcements: Michael Evans and Angelina Brunson have announced their engagement.

Peter looked at the last clipping. It was over thirty years old but showed the same young woman in it as the other articles. He studied the picture of Lily O’Donnell taken in 1917 with her parents. It was grainy but it was unmistakably the same young woman, unchanged except for her clothing. Peter had first come across her in the 2005 story. He had been working in New Orleans at The Shrimp Pot. He had seen pictures of Lily O’Donnell with both Michael Evan’s children and with Angelina Brunson. When he had inquired about it a strange twisted tale came out about how Lily had been a big help to Michael Evans during his wife’s illness and subsequent death two years before. She had discovered Evans’ first love had been Angelina before she had married a man named Brunson. She had maintained contact with the family while she worked with Angelina Brunson, a widow herself. While in the hospital Brunson had visited Evans and discovered he was her childhood sweetheart. If it had not been for Lily’s death, they would never have met again.

It wasn’t until Peter was serving an older man who had come on vacation with his wife that he had begun doing his research. The man had insisted the picture of Lily hanging on the wall with Angelina Brunson was the same Lily O’Donnell who had saved him when he was a boy. Everyone had thought he was senile until the man had pulled a folded newspaper article out of his wallet and showed it Peter. Peter went home that night and did a search for Lily’s name on the Internet. He had been surprised at what he had found. At first he couldn’t believe it. As he printed out the pictures and did more and more research he noticed a pattern. In each case Lily’s body disappeared before it was buried. In the first case her body had never been found. Each case afterwards her body had disappeared from the morgue as soon as it arrived. No one had any explanations as to what had happened, just that her body must have been misplaced.

The only thing Peter wanted to know was when and where Lily was going to appear next. He wanted to find her. At forty-seven, he didn’t want to get any older. It appeared Lily had discovered the fountain of youth and he wanted a drink of it. To do that, he needed to find her before she disappeared again. He had set up his computer to do daily searches for her. He had been doing this for the past ten years with no luck. Looking at the photos he felt sure though that his luck was about to change.

Helen came over the next morning with Clive. She and Lily had made arrangements to attend a local women’s group festival. The Boulder Flat’s Women’s Club raised money each year to help local families buy food and Christmas gifts. Helen was the treasurer and had talked Lily into coming to help deliver food boxes to the local merchants. The newspaper was going to be doing an article to help advertise the event. Helen had said having a pretty girl in the picture would help get the men’s attention. Lily had just shaken her head and laughed at Helen’s nonsense. Allen, Ethan, and Caleb had all growl and groaned. Ethan had decided he was going to do a personal interview with Lily to learn more about her. Caleb and Allen had decided they would take her horseback riding if the weather was good. Now, all their well laid plans lay in shambles around their feet.

Caleb frowned when he saw Lily come out of the kitchen wearing her thin patchwork jacket, “Where do you think you are going?” He asked sternly.

“
With Helen. She’s warming her car up now.” Lily said as she zipped up the front of her jacket and pulled her long braid out from under it.

“
Where’s your jacket? The one you are wearing isn’t appropriate for the weather outside.” Caleb asked impatiently.

“
I don’t have one yet. I’m waiting until I’ve earned enough from the cursing jars to buy one.” Lily replied walking to the front door. “At the rate you guys are filling them up it shouldn’t be much longer.” Lily added with a cheeky grin.

“
Very funny. What do you mean you don’t have one? Are you telling me you’ve been going out to the barn and collecting eggs for the past week wearing this thing?” Caleb growled pushing Lily gently back against the door and placing his hands on either side of her caging her in.

“
What’s going on?” Ethan asked as he walked into the living room from the office down the hall. Allen was close behind him.

Caleb didn’t even turn around. He held Lily’s shoulders as he glared down at her. “She doesn’t have a decent damn jacket and thinks I’m going to let her out of the house in the one she’s wearing.”

Lily sighed, “Caleb. You really don’t need to use profanity to describe my jacket. There is nothing wrong with it.”

“
Like hell there isn’t.” Allen said hotly.

Ethan folded his huge arms across his chest and looked sternly at Lily. “My brothers are right. You need a decent coat if you are going to live here.”

Lily rolled her eyes at the three men at the same time a horn honked out front. “I’m going to be in a warm car then a warm building. I’ll pick up a coat later.” Leaning up she went to brush a kiss along Caleb’s cheek only he turned his head at the last minute sealing his lips to hers. Lily’s lips parted in a startled gasp and Caleb took advantage of it slipping his tongue into her mouth.

Groaning, Caleb knew it was going to be sweet kissing Lily but he had not expected it to be this sweet. Letting his hands slide down her arms he grasped her wrists and pulled them up above her head. He wanted to stretch her out and plant his hard body in hers. Feeling a shiver run through her, he pressed his hard body up against hers pinning her against the front door. Groans from the other two men filled the air as they watched Caleb kissing the woman they all wanted.

Gasping for a breath, Lily opened her eyes to stare into Caleb’s dark brown ones. “I have to go.” She said desperately.

“
Never.” Caleb replied. “I’ll never let you go, Lily.”

Ethan and Allen came over to stand on each side of them. With her arms still held high above her head Lily shuddered when she felt Allen’s and Ethan’s hands running over her face and neck. “Please, I can’t do this. You shouldn’t be doing this.”

“
Why not, Lily?” Ethan asked softly. “Tell us why we shouldn’t do this?”

Lily turned eyes suddenly shining with unshed tears toward Ethan. “Because I won’t be here long.”

Before any of the men could ask her what she meant a knock sounded on the front door followed by the rattling of the door knob. Lily heaved a shuttering sigh of relief as she broke Caleb’s hold on her wrists and hurriedly opened the door.

Helen was standing outside looking at the brothers with a raised eyebrow, “You ready, Lily?”

“
Yes.” Lily said quietly. “I’ll be back later.”
Ethan grabbed her hand as she walked out the door making her pause, “Later, Lily. We’ll talk later.”

Lily shook her head back and forth. “Helen, stop and help Lily find a decent coat. Tell Pete to put it on our tab. Get her whatever she needs whether she thinks she needs it or not.” Ethan ordered.

Lily flashed her eyes angrily at the three men standing in the doorway. “I’ll get what I need with my own money.” With that she stomped down the steps and slid into the waiting car.

Helen looked at the boys then back at Lily. “I’ll see what I can do, Ethan. She is just as stubborn as the three of you put together I imagine. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her and have her home before dark tonight. There are plenty of leftovers for you to warm up.”

Ethan, Allen, and Caleb watched as Helen drove off. Allen slammed his fist into the doorframe. “Dammit. Do you fucking know how hard I am just watching you kiss her?” Allen turned and strode down the hall into the office.

Ethan and Caleb looked at each other. They were suffering too. They followed Allen into the office and sat down. Stretching his long legs out in front of him, Caleb looked squarely at his brothers. “What the fuck did she mean by she wouldn’t be here long?”

Allen was standing in front of the window looking down the long drive. He was shaking. He looked at his hands and they were trembling. “I can’t even think about her leaving. It tears me up inside.” He glanced at his brothers before turning to look back outside.

Ethan said quietly, “Then we won’t let her go. I don’t care if we have to tie her up until she realizes she belongs here with us. None of us has ever felt this way before. When the dads told us what it was like when they first saw mom I thought they were full of shit. Now, I know they weren’t. Shit, I haven’t even kissed her or held her yet and I’m freaking fixing to blow. Watching you two with her had me hotter than a Fourth of July barbeque last night.”

Lily drew in a deep breath. She was glad the car was warm because she was shaking like a leaf. She had to figure out a way to keep the men at a distance. Clasping her hands together tightly in her lap she closed her eyes trying to calm her racing pulse. The feel of all three of the brothers’ hands on her had been overwhelming. She had almost self-combusted from the rush of fire that raced through her. She was so confused. She wasn’t supposed to get so attached to those she came to help. Each of the families she had been with had loved her but never where it would be so devastating if she was no longer in their lives they couldn’t function. She had made sure of that. Each family she had helped she had made sure she had maintained a respectful distance emotionally. How could this have happened? She didn’t try to encourage them. In fact, she had tried very hard to maintain a distance ensuring they would just be friends. During the week she and Allen had spent together she had made sure she kept him busy from morning to dusk. At first she had hidden in the den at night until he had discovered her hiding place. Then she had made sure she sat in a single chair forcing him to sit either on the small couch or the other chair. She had asked lots of questions about his family. She wanted him to remember all the good things.