Sweet Silken Bondage (39 page)

As Luis turned to leave, he passed Molly on her
way in. Sensing the tension, she glanced nervously
between them. She waited until Luis had stepped
outside and then shut the door behind her.

"Is everything all right?" Molly asked.

"I should be the one asking you that question."
The sheriff's mood lightened to see that the young
girl was well. He'd been concerned about her all
morning, but didn't want to make a point of going out to her house and drawing suspicion down on
her. "How did it go? Did you have any trouble?"

She quickly told him about their trek through
town last night. "So far, everything's fine. What do
you want me to do now?"

"O'Keefe hasn't given you any trouble or tried to
escape, has he?" Macauley had to know.

"No. Dev won't try to escape. He's innocent,
sheriff. He has no reason to run," she said firmly.

The lawman was surprised and a little pleased by
her ardent defense of O'Keefe. He was glad that he
was not the only one who saw the good in the man.
"Can you keep him at your house for a while? It's
about the safest place I can think of."

Molly had been hoping he would suggest that.
She had been miserable at the thought of Dev being
locked up in that cell again. She answered quickly,
without hesitation. "Yes. No one ever comes to see
us. There's just my mother, my brother and me."

"That's good, but how is your mother feeling?"

"Better."

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, listen, I don't want
to bring O'Keefe back here to the jail until I've
caught up with the ones responsible for the trouble
last night."

"Do you really think you'll be able to find them?"

"Oh, I'll find them all right," Macauley answered
firmly.

"I hope you do, and right away before they do
something else crazy."

"I'm working on it, Molly, and maybe once I
locate the troublemakers, I might have some real
good news for O'Keefe."

Her expression brightened. "You mean you think
there's more to this than just a bunch of drunks?"

"I'm not sure yet, but as soon as I work it out,
I'll let you know. Don't say anything to him,
though. I wouldn't want to get his hopes up, just in case I'm wrong."

"You aren't wrong, Sheriff, and we both know it."
She was serious as she met his gaze. "Dev didn't kill
anybody."

"I hope I can prove it. Until then, let's leave
things as they are. You go on about your regular
daily routine. Don't come back here unless it's an
emergency. I don't want anyone putting two and
two together and figuring out where he is. All
right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl. As soon as I learn anything, I'll be in
touch. Until then, tell O'Keefe to lay low."

"I will" she promised and her mood was more
confident than it had been in days as she left the
jail. She was thrilled to know that the sheriff might
be onto something, and she was also pleased that
Dev would be staying on with her. At least, they
would be together for a little while longer.

Dev had been nearly driven out of his mind by
his enforced inactivity of the past weeks, and it
seemed even worse to him now that he was there at
the house. He wanted to get outside, to breathe
some fresh air, even to do some kind of work. He
was tired of just lying around, letting time go by.

When Molly left to see the sheriff and then go on
to work, he decided to take a walk out back. He
had seen the ramshackle barn the night before and
wondered how bad it really was. He was not unused to hard manual labor, and the thought of
fixing it up for Molly appealed to him. He wanted
to give her something back for all she'd given him.

Since Jimmy was busy with his mother in her
room, Dev went on outside. He was glad that
Molly lived so far on the outskirts of town. It made
it easier for him to move around without being seen. He took care to watch, though, checking
thoroughly before he emerged in the daylight.

The heat of the sun's brilliant rays warmed him
as he walked down the path, and he surveyed the
old building inside and out with a jaundiced eye. It
was in poor condition, but it could be fixed with
minimal materials and a lot of elbow grease.

Without another thought, Dev started to work on
the inside, shoveling it out first, then sweeping and
then making what repairs he could with the few old
tools he found there. He labored non-stop for the
better part of an hour, working up a sweat and
finally shedding his shirt. He kept at it, enjoying
the physical exertion involved and the quick passage
of time. When he finally took a breather, he stared
around himself at what he'd accomplished and felt a
contentment he hadn't known in years. There was a
certain peace about the work, about doing this for
Molly.

At the thought of precious Molly, Dev forced
himself to get back at it. A long, hard day's work
and total exhaustion would surely afford him a good
night's rest tonight.

Jimmy was worried as he searched the house for
some sign of Dev. When his mother had decided to
take a nap, he'd come out of her room to talk to
him for a while and could find no trace of him
anywhere.

Disappointment filled the boy as he suspected the
worst - that Dev had run away. It upset him to
think that he'd do that. He had trusted him, just as
Molly had, but it looked like the man had only
been waiting for Molly to go so he could flee
himself.

Jimmy was busy debating whether or not he
should leave his mother alone and go tell the sheriff
that his prisoner had gone, when he glanced out the
window that overlooked the path and barn. He almost did a double-take as he realized someone
was down there cleaning it out. His spirits surged
as he saw Dev appear in the barn door for a
minute and then go back inside. His faith in him
restored, Jimmy charged from the house to see
what he was doing.

"Dev!" he shouted.

Dev heard him coming and went out to meet
him, wiping the dirt from his hands on his pants.

"What are you doing down here? I was looking
for you everywhere," Jimmy asked breathlessly when
he reached him.

"Why? Do you need me up at the house?" he
questioned him, thinking something was wrong.

Jimmy had the grace to look shamefaced. "No,"
he muttered, looking at the ground, feeling mortified.

"Jim, what is it?" Dev, seeing that something was
really troubling him, put a hand on his shoulder in
a friendly gesture.

It was the first time anyone had addressed him as
"Jim," and it made him feel more grown up. Still,
he was ashamed that he'd thought Dev had escaped,
and he was reluctant to look him in the eye.

"Come on, you can tell me. What's bothering
you?" he encouraged.

"I'm sorry, Dev" Jimmy began slowly for he didn't
want to confess that he'd doubted him.

"Sorry? For what?"

"Well, when you weren't up at the house, I was
scared that you'd run off. I'm sorry. I should have
known better," he told him fiercely.

Dev couldn't suppress a smile as he studied the
boy. "You know, Jim, it takes quite a man to admit
when he's wrong."

"It does?" He brightened considerably.

"It does," he confirmed, his deep, caring voice
soothing the youth's fears. "It also takes a man not to run from trouble, but to face it squarely and
deal with it."

"That's why you're never going to run away, right,
Dev?"

"That's right, I'm not running," he stated, leading
the way farther down the path to the pond to sit
with Jimmy and take a break for a while.

"How come?" the boy wondered out loud. "I
mean, it would be so easy for you to go and then
you'd be safe. You wouldn't have to worry about the
trial or anything."

Dev dropped down on the grass and the boy
followed suit.

"You're wrong about that. I would have to worry.
I'd be a wanted man. I'd be hunted wherever I
went I'd never be able to look myself in the mirror
again, either. A man's got to have his self-respect
and good name above all else. People won't like
you, if you don't like yourself."

Jimmy's father had died when he was just a
toddler, and since then he'd had little real contact
with men. He was relishing this time with Dev,
listening to his every word as gospel. He seemed so
big and smart. Jimmy could understand why Molly
liked him so much.

"Well, I like you, Dev, a whole lot, and so does
Molly."

"I'm glad. I like you, too."

"Enough to stay forever?" he asked, innocent hope
showing in his face.

Dev didn't want to bring up the pain he knew
would come, so he avoided answering directly and
responded, "For as long as I can, Jim."

"Good."

For just a fleeting moment, Dev let himself imagine what it would be like to stay here forever. The
daydream was blissful as he pictured them all laughing and working and loving together. He knew with some hard work and a little money this place of
theirs could be shined up and turned into a real
nice home. If he added some fence they could even
run a few head of cattle and some horses. But
reality had a way of ruining Dev's dreams, and he
pushed the fantasy aside. He scolded himself silently
for even allowing himself to think about it. He
knew what the future held for him, and it was not
a happily ever after ending with Molly by his side.

"What do you say, we get back to work?" Dev
invited. "Do you know how to hammer nails or use
a saw?"

"No," Jimmy admitted.

"Well, come on then, it's time you learned." With
an arm draped around the boy's slender shoulders,
the two of them headed back to the barn.

Wily glanced nervously back over his shoulder for
what must have been the hundredth time that day,
as he continued his ride out of Monterey to the
shack he kept in the hills. Though he'd done what
Stevens had told him to, leaving town as fast as he
could last night, he still didn't trust the man, and
he feared for his life.

Wily didn't know why Stevens and his friends had
been so intent on hanging O'Keefe the night before
or why they were so worried about the sheriff now,
but he figured it had to be pretty important for
them to threaten him that way. He'd considered
going to the sheriff and telling him about it, but the
sheriff couldn't protect him all the time, and he was
not eager to die.

Wily always considered himself, above all else, a
practical person, so he'd high-tailed it out of town.
He planned to stay away for at least a few weeks
until all the trouble was over. Only when he was
sure it was safe, would he willingly return to Mon terey. Until then, he would hide out at the cabin
and try to enjoy himself. He patted his saddlebags
affectionately for he'd brought two bottles of whiskey
with him, and he figured they were guaranteed to
be his closest companions during the long days to
come.

Though Luis' concern about O'Keefe's safety had
been temporarily set to rest, he was still a troubled
man as he rode up the drive to his home. Worrisome thoughts of Reina plagued him. The days
since she'd disappeared had turned to weeks, and
now the weeks threatened to turn to months and
still there had been no word. He wondered desperately whether Cordell had managed to find her yet,
and he hoped that he had.

The anger Luis had originally felt over Reina's
defection was being tempered now by his growing
anxiety over her personal safety. As he imagined her
in some kind of life-threatening danger, his hands
tightened involuntarily on the reins, and his horse
shied at the unexpected pressure. If anything bad
had happened to Reina he would never forgive
himself. He loved her. She was his only child, and
he only wanted what was best for her.

Luis supposed it was a good thing that he hadn't
heard from Cordell. No news was good news, and
he could console himself with the fact that at least
as far as he knew, right now, Reina was safe. He
would try to be patient, though it was growing
more and more difficult, and perhaps, if he prayed
just a little harder, his prayers would be answered
and she would return home soon.

Reina appeared as tranquil and serene as the
turquoise sea this late morning hour as she stood at
the rail staring out across its untamed beauty, but
in reality it was a very deceptive comparison. While
the waters might be calm, there was nothing calm
about Reina. Only a few hours before at breakfast
the captain had announced that they would be making landfall in Panama the following day, and now
she was frantically trying to plot an escape that
would free her from Clay Cordell once and for all.

Clay. The mere thought of the man was enough
to infuriate her. He controlled her destiny completely, and she despised him for it. Yet, even as
she'd claimed to hate him, he'd had only to touch
her that fateful night, and her body had betrayed
her, surrendering willingly to his sensual mastery.