The Widow's Touch (A Whimsical Select Romance Novella) (9 page)

“I need to write a will,” Eloda said and walked into her cell.  She picked up her paintbrush and began to paint.  “I’d
kindly appreciate it if you’d write out my wishes as I speak them.”

Jack stared at her for a few moments before he
reluctantly reached for paper and the metal nib that sat atop his desk.  He poised his hand over the paper and waited for her to speak.

“I’d like
most of the estate—my home, land, cash, chattels, livestock, all of it—to go to Andy Simmons,” she said.  Jack didn’t hide his surprise and she smiled.  “He and I have both been turned away from the people in this town.  Unlike him, I have always had my money to gain a minimal amount of respect.  But Andy hasn’t had that luxury.  Being poor, he will never be allowed to overcome his label as The Bastard without a stroke of good fortune.  I believe this may afford him a chance to leave this town and start a new life.”

She dabbed her brush into her paint and began painting again.  “There’s an account at the Caroline County Bank,” she continued.  “It has all the funds I received from my first husband’s estate.  It’s rightfully Jonathon’s and I’d like for him to have it,” she said.  “I married Mister McKimble soon after his
father’s death and found no need to use it.  So it’s all there.”   She lowered her head and shame washed over her.  “I should have seen to it years ago that Jonathon received it.”

“Jonathon relayed to me how he treated you at the time of his father’s death, Eloda.  I’m sure he’ll be more than understanding why you waited until now.”

“Lastly,” she said.  “There’s an account at the bank that I use towards contributions of worthy causes.  It’s quite substantial and I’d like you to have it.”

“I think you
know better than my willingness to profit by something such as this.  I don’t want it,” he said flat out, and Jack left her no room for discussion.

“I suspected as much,” she smiled.  “But I am asking you to take it just the same.
If you choose not to use it, then place it elsewhere as you see fit.  Perhaps a new, updated jailhouse with indoor plumbing,” she grinned.  He didn’t reply and she returned her attention back to her canvas.  “I think that’s all, I suppose,” she finally said.  “Except this,” she added, and Eloda pointed toward her painting that she had tirelessly worked on since she arrived.  “Will you see to it that Andy receives this once I’m gone?”

Jack penned the last few words onto her last
testament and looked at her.  Sadness swept over his usual pleasant face and he nodded his reply. In slow, hesitant steps, he walked to Eloda and she placed her signature onto the papers.

“You can have Frank and Jonathon witness it the next time they’re here,” he added.

“There, it’s done,” she said and Jack returned to his desk.

Eloda watched him from the corner of her eye.  He had sat back, pitched his hat over his eyes, and rested his feet onto his desk.  Anyone else would have thought he was asleep, but Eloda knew better.  He was thinking of a way for her to escape the noose.

Her thoughts
drifted back to their earlier kiss.  That kiss had made it possible for her to draw strength and see the ordeal through until the end.  Not only had he shown her more affection than she thought possible, but in her heart, she truly believed that he thought her innocent.  And that meant more to her than receiving a not guilty verdict from the jurymen. 

Jack’s feet
stepped heavily on the floor when he quickly approached her.  “Frank has already run his mouth to the town about us,” he said, and Jack walked into her cell.  “We can ride that out and tell them that it’s true.”

“What could that possibly accomplish?” she asked and lowered her brush
onto a tin lid that she used as a makeshift palette.

“We’ll tell them
that’s there’s a great possibility that you are with child.”

Eloda
shook her head and presented him a warm, sincere smile for his effort.

“It can delay this,”
Jack pressed. “It will afford you the time needed for an appeal if they find you guilty.  They’ll not hang you if they think they are killing a child as well.”

“
And when it becomes obvious I am not with child, they will hang me just the same and you will be left with a tattered reputation as a lawman, Jack.”  The side of her palm caressed his cheek and she felt tears within her eyes that threatened release by his sacrifice.  “I’ll not let you do that.”

“I don’t care about being a lawman.  Not anymore,” he declared, and with the intensity that flared within his eyes, she almost believed him.

“You cannot let this town break you.”  Both her hands cupped over his cheeks and she forced him to look at her.  “It’s too late for me.  I am accepting that, and now you have to as well.” 

Jack
reached up and pulled her hands into his and he stared down at her, but when he started to speak, she placed her finger to his lips and hushed him.

“
You need to stay honorable to your badge, Jack.  If you let them pull you into doing what is wrong, they win.  Instead, learn from this and make sure they never again do it to anyone else.  You are a good man, Jack.  I can’t leave this life in peace if you turn your back on what’s true and righteous on my account.”

“
And I’ll not allow you to leave this life without knowing I have done all I can do to stop them,” he countered.  “To Hell with my badge.”

Pushing him softly away, Eloda turned away from him and returned to her painting.  Tears trickled from her eyes when she realized that she was probably the worst thing that ever happened to Sheriff Jack Finley.

             
Evening brought another night that she and Jack rested in their separate cots within the darkened jailhouse.  As he had done all day, Jack sat and thought about how he could change what fate had already decided.

“Please, Jack, get some rest,” Eloda
quietly urged from her cell.  “Tomorrow may bring a better day.  Jonathon has yet to argue my case.”

She heard him stir and after a few moments
, the soft steps of his bare feet came closer towards her until he stood inside her cell.  He stood there nearly naked, less his brown trousers that sat loosely off his hips.  As if he’d been there one hundred times before, Jack removed his trousers, raised her wool cover, laid aside her, and gathered her into his arms. With Jack’s guidance, she removed her chemise and they laid there together, their naked bodies tenderly entwined.

Nuzzling her cheek against his chest, she
breathed in the sweet spicy aroma of him that offered sensations of being home within his arms.  Her hands freely roamed across his smooth skin and every sensation within her body heightened to depths beyond what she had ever felt before.  And when he stroked her in return—her neck, breasts, stomach, and finally gliding his hands down between her thighs, she exploded with passion.  A spark from within her had been ignited, and the woman who once found a man’s touch repulsive, discovered herself murmuring words that pleaded for more.  He captured her mouth into his and his tongue tantalized her with every swirl that explored her mouth.  Seeking out his body with her hands, she stroked him with feathery touches that deepened into daring clutches.  It sent pleasurable moans from within him.  She hoped to expose new feelings within him as well as herself, and she succeeded on both accounts.  Growing bolder by each moment passed, she straddled him and her hair flowed freely upon his chest.  The heat within her grew to such intensity that she was sure she’d die if he wasn’t inside her.  She stared into his eyes and saw a hunger that expressed his need for her was just as profound as hers for him.  The emptiness she longed to have fulfilled was satisfied by his loving glance.  He cupped his hands against her cheeks and guided her down and kissed her passionately hard.  Staring deep into her eyes, his hands slid across her body until they rested on her hips, and he coaxed her down until his throbbing need entered her.  Eloda quivered with pleasure and delved her nails deep into his shoulders and clutched him tightly.  Matching each thrust in equal time and measure, she moaned out her pleasure.  When she couldn’t take anymore, her body found release and she called his name aloud.  His body followed her lead and with one final thrust, he found release of his own. Eloda fell onto his body and gasped for air, and he lovingly caressed her back as his breath labored heavily.

“Thank you,
” she said, and from his chest, she smiled up at him.  “If I die tomorrow with this memory imprinted on my mind, I can most definitely say I will die a greatly content woman.”

Entwining her hair around his finger, he lightly tugged.  “
Let’s not think about that tonight,” he whispered and drew her tightly into his arms.

Eloda laid there in silence and listened until his breaths came slow and steady. 
She positioned herself onto her side and rested her head on her hand to watch him.  She pondered whether the love he had shown stemmed from pity, lust, or had been delivered directly from his heart.  She watched his face long and fondly.  Silently, Eloda willed that she’d hear his endearing words of love dispensed from his lips and drift lovingly to her ears.  Marriage to him was something she wanted from the start, but that was because she didn’t want—nor did she know how—to be alone.  Yet, as she watched over him and her heart was aflutter, she found that it was more than a woman’s desire to have a man at her side.  He, unlike all the others, was worthy of her esteem and of her heart.  And if he didn’t return the sentiment, she thought she’d surely die.  That is, if the gallows didn’t take her first.

*                    *                    *

              Jack had already dressed and sat with a cup of black coffee on his desk when she awakened that next morning.  With his head in his hands, he was in deep thought.   She didn’t need to ask what was on his mind.  Again, his entire thoughts were wholly occupied by schemes of escape.  She wondered if he had slept at all.

She readied herself for another day at court, and
Eloda dreaded facing Ellen.  Although she wanted her to state the truth during her testimony, she knew it wouldn’t bode well for Ellen either way.  One way or another, the townspeople were going to find a reason to hang her, and she didn’t see the purpose in taking a good woman like Ellen with her.  The young woman had already faced enough hardship in her life.

“
I can’t go to court today,” Jack said.  “Frank will escort you there this morning.”

Eloda
rushed from her cell and knelt down aside his chair and looked pleadingly at him.  “I need you there, Jack.”  She reached for his hands and grasped them tightly within hers.  “I can’t do this alone.  Not today.”

“I’ll come before court concludes
and make sure you get back here without incident,” he said, and he looked tenderly into her eyes and caressed her cheek.  

“You’re going to do something,” she accused.  “Please, Jack, don’t do anything foolish on my account.”

“Nothing foolish, I promise,” he said and laid his hand upon his heart.  “Yesterday, I sent a telegram to a few friends up north.  They should be riding in today and I plan to meet them.”

“Do you think they can help?” she asked, and
Eloda dared to feel a slight bit of hope.

             
“I’m going to do this by the spirit of the law.”

“What is your plan?”
she asked, eagerly.

“
I plan to deputize the men coming, and if the verdict is guilty, we’ll have more guns behind us to see that you have a fair chance at waiting out an appeal.”

“Do you think
it will work?”

Reaching for
her hands, he helped her from the floor and thoughtfully regarded her.  “I said I’d
try
to do this by the law, Eloda.”  He stared sternly into her eyes before he spoke again.  “As Justice Reynolds has authorized me the power of this office, he can take that away if he doesn’t agree with what I’m doing.  As he is presiding against you in this farce, he may force our hand into doing this in another way, particularly if he stands with those who want to hang you.”

“Then we’re talking about a gunfight,” she whispered.  “People, innocent people, will be hurt.”
  She vehemently shook her head.  “No, Jack.  We take this only as far as the law will allow.  Promise me that if that fails, you surrender to the inevitable.”

“No,” he said, adamantly, and she worried there was no way she’d persuade him otherwise.

“What kind of man sees the danger and doesn’t stop to see the cost?” she asked.  “That’s not you, Jack.  It’s not the lawman in you and it’s certainly not the man you are.  I know you care about me and don’t want to see me harmed, but this entire town is your responsibility as well.  You initiate a shootout, not only will it be the end of your profession, but it could result in many deaths.  I can’t live with that, and I don’t think you can either.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to avoid that.”  Jack lowered his head and sw
iped his hand across his hair.  “But I can’t allow this town to take matters of justice into their own hands,” he said.

Dropping her head upon his shoulder,
she held tightly to him and Jack seized her passionately in his, but a bang on the door interrupted them.  Jack had kept the door locked since the crowd’s excitement had worsened the previous day past.  When he let Jonathon in, the mob’s cries outside came flowing through the jailhouse like a bad odor.