Love Inspired Historical March 2014 Bundle: Winning Over the Wrangler\Wolf Creek Homecoming\A Bride for the Baron\The Guardian's Promise (45 page)

Ellie's face flooded with color, and Rachel thought she saw a bit of panic in her brown eyes. Though she could hold her own with the old-timers who often tormented her about one ridiculous thing or another, she was unaccustomed to casual banter from handsome strangers. Certainly the upright sheriff didn't tease this way. He was far too serious.

Quick to recognize that he'd overstepped some invisible boundary, Win held up a hand to stay whatever she was about to say. “Forget I asked,” he quipped with another of those ready grins. “You'd be the death of me.”

“I beg your pardon,” Ellie said with a frown.

“I'd weigh a ton if I ate like this every day,” he told her with a rueful smile. “Die of a heart attack.”

The tension in Ellie's shoulders eased, and she turned her attention to Rachel in an attempt to take the conversation another direction. “What did you find out from Sarah? I know Colt went out with a posse, but no one has heard who they're looking for yet.”

“Elton Thomerson,” Rachel said and proceeded to recount Sarah's tale.

“Too bad Colt didn't get the information last night. He might have been able to arrest him before he left the country,” Ellie said.

She was right, but there was no way Sarah would have been coherent enough to tell her story the night before. “Whether he's picked up and tossed into prison or took off for parts unknown, Meg will be left to fend for herself,” Rachel said.

They discussed Meg's situation for a few more minutes. Rachel told them that Nita Allen's son, Ace, was out of prison, and Win informed them that they planned to stay in Wolf Creek at least another week to monitor Gabe's progress. Eventually, the conversation returned to the robbery and Sarah's tearful championing of Gabe.

“So Gabe took a bullet for her,” Win said, spearing up another bite of ham.

“That's what she said.”

Three more customers came in, taking Ellie away from their benign gossip session. Rachel left Win to finish his breakfast and went back home to see about Gabe and tell her father what she'd learned about the robbery.

* * *

Consciousness returned with a stomach-churning wave of pain. Gabe gave a groan and tried to sit up, which only cranked up the anguish a notch. His hands went to his head, though it seemed as if he were moving them through molasses.

Immediately, he felt cool fingers wrap around his wrists to force them back to his sides. He opened his eyes and saw Rachel standing there. She placed the back of her hand against his forehead and then his cheek.

“Do you know who I am?”

He frowned. “What kind of stupid question is that?” he asked, feeling as if he were speaking around a mouth full of cotton wool.

Her lips twitched as she fought to suppress a smile.

“Do you know who you are?”

He squinted in irritation and pain. “A better question might be who are you and what did you do with the mother of my son?” he mumbled somewhat testily.

Joy bubbled through her. Thank God there didn't seem to be any damage to the brain. He would be fine if they could keep the infection and fever away. She did laugh then. His dry sense of humor was one of the things she loved about him.

“What's so funny?”

“You are.”

He scowled. “May I have some water, please? My mouth feels like I've walked ten miles through the desert.”

“Just a little,” she said, pouring an inch into a cup. “If you think your head hurts now, you don't want to find out how it would feel if you start vomiting.”

“What's wrong with me this time?” he asked.

She explained his injuries as she slipped her arm beneath his shoulders and eased him upright while he pushed against the mattress. She held the cup to his lips and he sipped slowly, savoring every drop. “Thank you.”

“Do you feel like being propped up awhile? I'm going to give you something for the pain.”

“Maybe for a while,” he said. “But no pain medication.”

“We've been through this before, Gabriel,” she said in a firm tone as she placed a couple more pillows behind his upper torso. He groaned and grumbled the whole time she eased him to a sitting position.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I rest my case. Just let me give you enough to take off the edge during the day and help you sleep through the night. Please.”

“You're a tyrant.”

“And you're a hardhead. You'll heal better if we can stay on top of the pain,” she wheedled.

“Fine,” he said, his face gray with agony. “I do feel like I've been rowed up Salt River.”

She measured a small amount of laudanum. “Well, you
were
in a fistfight, besides being shot. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Rachel. Is there any possibility that you've been in Pete Chalmers's hard cider?”

“Humor me.”

“Sarah was being robbed. I went to help. The guy, someone I should know but don't remember, was going to shoot her, and I tried to stop him, so it seems I was the one who got shot.”

“Very good,” she said, giving him an irritating, patronizing pat on the hand. She wet a cloth with cool water and began to bathe the perspiration from his face.

“Is Sarah all right?” he asked.

“It seems she bailed off into the ravine while you took the bullets. She has a sprained ankle.”

“She's lucky she didn't break her neck. I remember her trying to help me stand up and us leaning against each other as we hobbled to the surrey. She was crying and saying that I would
not
die. That she might have been responsible for my misery, but she absolutely refused to be responsible for my death.”

“That sounds like Sarah,” Rachel said, putting the washcloth back into the basin of water. “Now go to sleep.”

“Are you going to be this bossy when we get married?” he grumbled.

“Probably.”

* * *

At the end of a week, Gabe was still suffering from headaches, but he was feeling well enough to sit out on the front porch with her father or Danny and enjoy the late-spring breeze. Thankfully, there had been no sign of infection. Rachel credited it to her thorough cleaning of the wounds.

Sunday afternoon found him sitting with his eyes closed, and his head leaned against the tall back of a rocking chair while Danny played a game of checkers with Ben. Caleb and his family and all the Granvilles were there. They had shared a final meal together before Pip and the others headed back to Boston. Rachel knew his interaction with the company had tired him, but he refused to rest since it was their last time together for several months.

A desultory breeze tickled the leaves of the rosebushes and sent the yellow heads of the coreopsis bouncing to an unheard rhythm. Stomachs filled, eyelids heavy, the conversation was as aimless as the gentle wind drifting over them.

Rachel couldn't recall when she'd felt so at peace. After she had foolishly replied to Gabe's question about marriage with a facetious answer that could only be construed as a “yes,” she'd been waiting for him to bring up the subject again. So far, he'd said nothing. She wasn't certain whether to be disappointed or relieved.

Though it was almost every woman's dream to find the right man and marry, the thought of committing to a lifetime with someone raised all sorts of worrisome questions for a woman set in her ways. She wondered where they would live and if Gabe would tire of her racing off into the night at the beck and call of the people in town. Would he really be happy in Wolf Creek, and perhaps most importantly, would he want to have more children? He doted on Danny, but what would he be like as they traveled through the ups and downs of a pregnancy together?

Wonderful.

Somehow she knew that as well as she knew her own name. She was lost in thoughts of a little girl who looked a lot like Danny when she saw a surrey headed toward them, trailing a cloud of dust.

“That's Sarah's rig,” Edward said. And indeed it was. Her husband, Randolph, who everyone thought deserved far better than what he had for a wife, was driving.

“What on earth can she possibly want?” Libby said. “Hasn't she caused enough trouble?”

They didn't have to wait long to find out. Randolph pulled to a stop near the rose-laden arch, helped his wife down from the buggy and handed her a set of crutches.

“Hello there, Randolph,” Edward said. “Come and join us. We have a couple of extra chairs.”

So far, Sarah had not said a word or made eye contact with anyone. All her attention was focused on maneuvering the stone pathway.

“Thank you, Edward,” Randolph said. “It's a lovely afternoon, isn't it?”

“Indeed it is.”

Sensing that the adults might not want children present, Blythe took it upon herself to herd them into the house for a lemonade while Sarah hobbled up the steps and sat down next to Rachel.

“I'll wait in the buggy,” Randolph said.

“Thank you, my dear,” she replied with a smile of genuine gratitude. “And thank you for understanding.”

He nodded and strode out toward the road.

“I'm so glad you're all here,” she said. “It will make this easier.”

Her gaze moved around the group, all people whose lives she had complicated with her unbridled tongue. “That ordeal last week opened my eyes to a lot of things,” she said, jumping right into the subject. “Staring down the barrel of a Colt puts things into perspective really fast. I realized in that moment that I have been a Christian in name only. Oh, I've spouted scripture with the best of them and helped the needy, but it was all more something to do than something I really felt in my heart. It will take some time, but I mean to change that.”

She inhaled deeply, as if she were fortifying herself for a battle. “The first thing I wanted to do was to come and thank you, Gabriel.” Her voice quavered with emotion, and there was no hint of her usual smug superiority. “If you hadn't come along when you did, I might have been found in that ravine dead.”

“No need to thank me, Sarah,” Gabe told her. “Anyone would have done the same.”

“If you believe that, you're more naive than I've been led to believe,” she said with a touch of asperity. Again, she let her gaze rove around the gathering. Her eyes were overbright.

“I have hurt all of you deeply by spreading rumors and gossiping and stirring up all sorts of trouble. A lot of folks in this town who'd been treated like that would have just driven by without so much as a fare-thee-well. And I honestly can't say I'd blame them.”

“Maybe you aren't giving the people in town enough credit,” Abby said. “Yes, you have hurt all of us, but everything has come to rights, and I feel that I speak for us all when I say that we've forgiven you.” She gave Caleb a sharp look.

He nodded.

“Gabe? Edward? Rachel?” Sarah queried and received three nods in tandem.

“Well, Elisabeth,” Sarah said, pinning Libby with a pointed look. “What about you? Can you forgive me for...Lucas?

Libby was silent for long moments. Finally, she looked at Sarah. “Knowing you weren't the only one, Sarah, makes it easier. Certainly I can. While no one wants a marriage to break up for any reason, and I was devastated when mine did, I'm certain I was much happier with Sam than I ever could have been with Lucas. Forgiving you for your part in my losing my boys will be harder, but with God's help, I'll manage that, too, in time.”

“Thank you. I don't deserve it, but thank you all.” Tears spilled down Sarah's cheeks. She grabbed her crutches and heaved herself to her feet.

Rachel's eyes felt prickly, as well. As furious as she'd been at the woman, as much as she had detested Sarah's behavior, she felt a sudden sorrow and even pity. She hoped that Sarah had truly repented for her wrongs and would turn her life around.

At the bottom of the steps, she turned and looked from Gabe to Rachel and back to Gabe. When she spoke, there was a hint of the old Sarah in her tone. “No doubt you'll think me pushy when I say this, Gabriel, but you really should marry Rachel. That boy of yours needs the security of knowing both his parents are together.”

Gabe turned to look at Rachel, but his words were directed to Sarah. “For once, I think you're exactly right, Sarah.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a teasing half smile. “In fact, she's already said yes—more or less.”

“I don't recall your asking me to marry you,” Rachel denied. “I believe you asked me if I would be so bossy when we were married.”

“And you said ‘yes.'”

“I said ‘probably,'” she countered. “I didn't think you knew what you were saying since you were under the influence of a painkiller at the time.”

“I knew, and I meant it.”

Smiling, Rachel leaned toward him and whispered, “So did I.”

And then she kissed him, the imperfect man who had stolen her heart. Danny's prodigal father, finally come to a place filled with love. Home.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from A BRIDE FOR THE BARON by Jo Ann Brown.

Dear Reader,

Well, it's a year later, and we're back in Wolf Creek. A lot has happened in a year. Caleb and Abby have a baby boy, and Caleb's wayward brother has come home after nine years. This is Gabe and Rachel's story. Once again, I've tried to take imperfect people and show how God works in lives to change them for better.

I'm still taking liberties with Wolf Creek, adding characters and businesses as I need them. (I've fudged a bit on when things happened, too...like the railroad coming.) I “took over” the home of a lady from church and moved Rachel and her family there. They seem to like it very much! You'll see some folks mentioned that I hope will have their own stories soon. There are just so many good people and interesting stories in Wolf Creek that I want to share them with you!

I hope you enjoy Gabe and Rachel's story. As usual, I fell in love with them.

Take time to smell the roses. And thank God for them.

Penny Richards