Sweet Silken Bondage (45 page)

"Stay down and be quiet," he warned.

"Why? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find out who's out there, that's what
I'm going to do."

"Oh, no, you're not!" Molly argued in a heated
whisper. "That's all we'd need is for somebody to
see you. You stay right here, and you keep down
and be quiet. I'm the one with a reason for being
here, and I'm the one going out there to look."

Without giving him a chance to respond, she
hurried away from him. Dev cursed under his
breath, feeling once more totally and completely
helpless. He knew she was right, but it didn't make
it any less emasculating to have to hide in a
damned barn while the woman he loved risked her
life for him. Jarred by the thought of her possibly
being in danger, he threw all common sense to the
wind and crept from his hiding place. He kept her
slender form in sight as he moved soundlessly from
the barn.

Molly was scared, but she didn't show it as she
walked out of the barn and up toward the house. When she saw a man coming toward her, she
stopped, startled and more than a little scared.

"This is private property! Who are you? What
are you doing out here?" She tried to sound as
indignant as possible.

"Molly?"

The sound of Sheriff Macauley's voice drained all
the fear right out of her, and she sagged weakly as
relief surged through her.

"Oh, it's you, Sheriff..." she answered. "Thank
God."

"It's me, all right," he replied good-naturedly.
"Sorry I gave you a fright, but your brother told me
you and O'Keefe were out here somewhere. Is he
around? I need to talk with him"

"He's waiting inside the barn."

"No, I'm not," Dev interrupted, appearing at the
sheriff's side. He had managed to stay in the
shadows and slip around to the side of her to make
sure she was safe. He wasn't about to let anything
happen to her.

"Dev! I told you to stay inside!"

He ignored her protest as he faced the lawman.
"What is it, Sheriff? Has something happened?"

"Yes, something has, O'Keefe."

The sheriff sounded so sober and serious that
Dev automatically assumed the worst--that he had
come to tell him that he was taking him back to jail
and that his trial would start soon. For a split
second, he thought about running, but just as
quickly as it came, he discarded the idea. He was
not guilty, and he was certainly no coward. If he
could do nothing else, he would act like a man and
keep Molly's respect.

"I see..." Dev said slowly, resigning himself to
his doom, accepting the unacceptable. "Well, let's go then..." He wanted to get away from Molly. He
didn't want her to know how badly this was tearing
him up inside. He didn't want her to see him at his
lowest.

"Go?"

"Back to jail. That is why you came, isn't it? To
take me back?"

"I think you're jumping to conclusions, boy," Macauley told him, and for the first time Molly and
Dev could hear a lightness in his tone.

"What are you talking about, Sheriff?" Molly
grabbed the lawman's arm in an excited hold at the
thought that his news might not be all bad. She
looked up at him questioningly, hopefully.

"I'm talking about the fact that O'Keefe here's a
free man as of right now."

"What?" Molly and Dev exclaimed in astonished
unison.

"Earlier tonight I arrested Charley Stevens, and
I've now charged him with gunning down Santana
in cold blood."

"You did?" she cried in happiness.

But Dev was not so easily convinced. He couldn't
believe his good fortune. "But what about all the
evidence pointing at me?"

"I can only figure that Stevens planted it himself,
trying to frame you," he answered, "but really,
O'Keefe, what does it matter as long as you're a
free man again?"

"You're right, Sheriff. Nothing else matters. Nothing else at all!" Dev was so stunned that he was
hardly able to think. He had never really expected
things to work out right, and now that they had, he
was at a loss. Molly, however, was thrilled, and she
threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"I told you everything would work out! I told you so!" she cried in delight.

Dev hugged her back, swinging her around in a
full circle of celebration and then gave her a quick,
excited kiss as the sheriff looked on, quite pleased
with himself.

"Why don't you come back to the office with me
now and pick up your things? After that, you'll be
free to go," Macauley suggested, smiling at their
happiness. Watching the way Molly looked at him,
he had a good feeling about these two. He hoped
everything worked out for them for they certainly
deserved it.

"Fine," Dev agreed, still a little in shock. "I'll be
back just as soon as I can, Molly."

"I'll be right here waiting for you, Dev," she
promised, hardly able to contain her excitement.

He gave her one last, enthusiastic kiss then joined
the sheriff for the walk back to the jail. Molly
walked with them as far as the house, then remained outside watching as they moved off toward
the jail. Tears traced damply down her cheeks, but
she wasn't even aware of them. She was only aware
of the deep, abiding joy that filled her. Dev was
free! It had happened so suddenly, and yet it
couldn't have come soon enough for her. She believed with all her heart that he should never have
been locked up in the first place.

As Dev and Sheriff Macauley disappeared out of
sight, Molly went inside to tell her mother and
Jimmy the good news. When she had, Jimmy
erupted in whoops of happiness.

"Oh, boy! Now Dev doesn't have to hide any
more when we go outside to work on the barn!"

"Well, now Jimmy, I doubt that Dev will be
working on the barn any more" Eileen cautioned.
She knew how fond her son was of the young man, but she also knew that Dev had a life of his own to
live.

"Sure he will, Mother," Jimmy argued. "We still
have lots to do."

Her mother's words of warning struck Molly
hard, and her heart skipped a painful beat at the
very real possibility that Dev might leave. She
hadn't thought beyond Dev's being found innocent
and being freed. She hadn't considered that he
might return to his old way of life, hunting down
criminals all over the country with his friend Clay.

"Hell be back, won't he, Molly?" Jimmy asked
plaintively as he, too, was filled with the sudden
fear that he might be losing his good friend.

"He told me he would be, and he's a man of his
word," she answered confidently.

"He's gonna stay, isn't he?" he pressed, wanting to
be reassured.

"I hope so, Jimmy."

Eileen heard the worry in her tone, and her gaze
sharpened as she regarded her daughter. "You've
come to care for this young man, haven't you,
Molly?"

"Oh, yes, Mother." Molly gave her mother a
small, tremulous, teary-eyed smile. "I more than
care for him. I love him."

"Then you're crying because you're happy?" she
questioned astutely. She'd always been able to read
her daughter's feelings, and she had a feeling that
Molly was not crying out of joy.

Molly looked quickly away.

"What is it? What's bothering you?"

Wringing her hands nervously, she went to stare
out the window into the darkness of the night. "I'm
not sure. It's just that when you said he wouldn't be
working on the barn any more, it suddenly dawned on me that he might leave." She spun around to
face her. "I always knew he was innocent. I wanted
him to be free. I prayed for it! But I'd never
thought past that. I don't want to lose him."

"How does he feel about you?"

"I don't know.. .I'm not sure."

"He's never said anything?"

"He wouldn't. Not before. He said he wouldn't let
me be hurt that way." She shrugged. "He said he
cared about me and respected me, but now..."

Eileen got up and went to hug her daughter. She
had always liked Dev, but now she felt an even
greater admiration for him. It had been a very
chivalrous thing he'd done in the way he'd treated
Molly, and she thought a lot of him because of it.
She only hoped that now that he was free, that
caring would become something deeper. She hoped
he would see what a treasure her daughter really
was.

"Sometimes, darling, you just have to wait and
see what happens. If Dev said he was coming back,
he will. When he does, you'll be seeing him for the
first time as a free man. Maybe things will change,
but maybe the change will be for the better."

"I hope so," she answered, and at her mother's
urging, they set about having their dinner before it
got cold.

"Got any future plans?" Macauley was asking Dev
as they strolled through town.

Dev gave a weary laugh. "If you'd asked me that
an hour ago, I would have told you no. I didn't
think I had much of a future, short of a hangman's
noose. Now, though..." He paused, allowing himself to visualize once more, the dream he'd been longing and hoping to share with Molly. "Now, I
know what I want to do with my life.

He said it with such passion, that the sheriff
glanced at him curiously. "Oh? What?"

"I'm going to propose to Molly. If shell have me,
I'll marry her tomorrow! Hell, if she'll have me, I'll
marry her tonight," he said with a chuckle.

The sheriff smiled knowingly. "I was hoping you'd
say that. She's a fine young woman, and the two of
you will do well together."

"I hope so."

"What are you planning on doing for a living?
You going to keep working with Cordell?"

"I hadn't really thought about it" he remarked.
"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've got an offer I'd like to make you."

"What kind of offer?"

"A job offer. I could use another good deputy,
and I think you'd be perfect. You've got the experience. You know how to handle a gun, and you're
an honest and fair man."

Dev felt honored at this assessment of his character. "Thank you."

"No need for thanks, I'm only telling the truth. I
like you, O'Keefe, and I think we could work well
together" Macauley stopped as they came to stand
in front of the office. "What do you say?"

Dev couldn't believe that everything was happening so fast. One minute, he'd been a prisoner with
a rope practically around his neck. And, the next,
he was being offered a job as a deputy sheriff here
in the very town that had locked him up. He gave
a rueful shake of his head as he thought about it.

"How long do I have to make up my mind?" he
asked. He knew the job would give him the security
he would need if Molly accepted his proposal.

There was no way he could spend his time chasing
around the countryside with Clay if he and Molly
were married. He'd have a home and a ready-made
family to care for.

"As long as you want. The job's yours if and
when you want it," he promised as they went inside.

Dev knew he had to talk to Molly first, before he
could decide anything. Then, too, there was Clay to
consider. He wondered suddenly where his friend
was and how soon he'd be back. He wished he was
here to celebrate his release with him.

Deputy Carter was sitting at the desk as they
entered. When he saw Dev, he stood up and offered
him his hand. "Sorry about all the trouble,
O'Keefe."

"So am I.I'm just glad everything's been resolved," he responded, shaking his hand in friendship.

"Here you are." The sheriff handed him his gunbelt, saddlebags and the rest of his things.

"Thanks." Dev quickly strapped his gunbelt on,
and he enjoyed the heavy feel of it against his
thigh.

"And here's your money" Macauley handed him
the money he knew was his and the extra cash that
did not belong to him.

"This isn't mine, sheriff," he said, holding the
money back out to him. "I don't know how it got in
with my things, but it doesn't belong to me."

"It's not Santana's either, his money has already
all been accounted for."

"Does he have a widow? You could give this to
her."

"No. He lived alone, and we don't know of any
living relatives. Keep it, O'Keefe. After what you've
been through, you've earned it."

Dev didn't like taking money that didn't belong to
him, but if there was no one else to claim it, there
wasn't much else he could do. "If you're sure..."

"I'm sure," Macauley insisted. "It'll be a good nest
egg for you and Molly."

He looked up at the lawman and smiled.
Thanks."

"Your horse is in the stable down the street. You
can get him any time you want"

"All right."

"Think about my offer, will you?" the lawman
urged.

"I will," Dev promised.

"I'll be waiting to hear from you," he told him as
he walked him to the door, a hand resting on his
shoulder.

"I'll let you know just as soon as I have Molly's
answer." Dev strode from the jail a free man. He
paused in the street to take a deep, cleansing
breath, then moved off down to the stable to get his
mount. After that, it would definitely be time to see
Molly.