Shotgun Marriage (Leadville, Co. Book 3) Read online

  “I’m afraid I have bad news for you,” she said quietly. “Daisy has passed away.”

  The mournful tone to his wife’s voice almost made him want to cry. How could she be so tenderhearted toward a stranger she’d never really met? She truly sounded grieved over the loss.

  “Well, that’s one less problem we have to deal with.” Ace grinned, then clapped Mack on the back. “See, now you won’t have to worry about taking care of her.”

  “She was Ben’s girl,” Mack said, with an air of reverence that Jasper couldn’t help but understand why Emma Jane liked him.

  If you’d asked him why bandits were bad, he’d have just said because they were bad. But Mack had a sense of humanness, of gentility, that made Jasper wonder if there wasn’t more to his original assumptions than he’d thought.

  “And Ben’s gone. Hanged by a bunch of vigilantes because he got sloppy.”

  There was no sadness in the other man’s voice over the loss of his brother. Merely disgust at having been caught.

  “Daisy was still a good woman, you know that.” Mack walked over to the body. “We gotta do right by her.”

  Then Mack turned his attention to Emma Jane. “And the boy. He’s your blood, Ace, you’ve got to...”

  “I don’t got to do anything. There’s no proof, other than Daisy’s word, that the brat was Ben’s. Even Ben had his doubts.”

  “I’m going to take care of him,” Emma Jane piped up. “I promised Daisy I’d love him like my own.”

  Ace grinned, his gold-capped teeth gleaming in the sunlight. “See there. It’s already been settled.”

  Settled? Jasper shot a glance at Emma Jane, who stood proudly holding the baby. When had they discussed her taking care of the baby? Yes, while here in the cabin, it seemed like a reasonable thing to do. But moving forward? She hadn’t even asked his opinion.

  “If you’ve no objection, I’m calling him Moses.” Again, Emma Jane looked at Ace for confirmation, completely ignoring Jasper. A baby wasn’t like a stray puppy you could just bring home on a whim.

  Ace snorted. “You can call him whatever you want. Like I said, not my problem.”

  Mack, though, turned to Emma Jane. “That sounds like a mighty nice name. The baby was born a couple of weeks before Ben was arrested, and Daisy wanted to wait until he could have a say in things before naming him. Now that the boy’s daddy is gone, well...”

  Ace walked over to Mack and smacked him on the side of the head. “What’d I say about being too free in your talk? Ben’s big mouth and need to prove a point to that stupid lawman is what derailed our plans in the first place. We were this close to getting off to Mexico, and I’m not going to have it ruined a second time.”

  Jasper forced himself not to laugh at Ace’s mistake. In chastising Mack, Ace confirmed what Emma Jane had already told him. They were planning something big, and then they were all headed to Mexico.

  The question was, what was he plotting?

  “Ain’t no harm in being nice. This miss, here, she’s been nothing but good to us,” Mack said.

  The door opened wider, and Ray and Jimmy strode in. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell Ray,” Jimmy said. “She has no part in any of this, and with as much blood’s on our hands, the last thing I want to do is take an innocent life.”

  Ray pulled out his gun and examined it. “I ain’t got no problem with that.” Then he pointed the gun at Jimmy. “I ain’t got no problem with killing yellow-bellied cowards, either.”

  Jimmy slapped the gun away. “I’m not a coward, and you know it. Just ask Rex.”

  “Enough!” Ace’s shout rang through the cabin. “No one is killing anyone.”

  Somehow, Jasper didn’t find that comforting. He looked over at Emma Jane, who also didn’t appear to be comforted by the bandit’s words.

  “Now.” Ace turned his attention on Jimmy and Ray. “Did you or did you not go into town and deliver the letter, following my directions exactly?”

  “Yes, sir,” both men answered in unison.

  “Good.” Ace grinned at Jasper. “Your family has been informed of your status, as well as my demands. While it would be easier on my men to take care of business now, we may need to keep you around for a while, just in case things don’t go according to plan.” He spoke casually, but there was a dangerous glint in his eye. “I know I said I was going to let you live, but that depends on both your family’s cooperation and your compliance. Am I understood?”

  Jasper didn’t blink. “Yes.” Ace might talk a good game about possibly letting them live, but there was no way.

  Ace turned his attention back to his men. “Mack, go dispose of the body.”

  “Dispose?” Emma Jane’s voice squeaked as she interrupted. “Aren’t you going to have a funeral?”

  A funeral? Jasper gaped as Ace laughed.

  “We’re not the sort of people a preacher is going to visit.”

  Mack took a step forward. “That’s a mighty fine idea. We don’t need the preacher. Ray can sing us some songs on his guitar, and Jimmy can say a few words since he used to...”

  “Enough!” Ace glared at Mack. “We can discuss this outside.”

  Jasper bit back his smile as the men left. The door had stuck as Jimmy closed it, and Jasper could see that it wasn’t fully latched.

  He crept toward the window and looked out. The men had gathered near a barn and were arguing, gesturing wildly. Five more men rode in, joining them. No one was watching the cabin.

  At the door, Jasper noticed the simple lock mechanism. Now that the door was open and he had a chance to examine it, he could see how to disable it. This cabin wasn’t equipped for keeping prisoners. Which was probably why some of the men were eager to kill them and get it over with.

  The arguing ceased, and Mack started walking back to the cabin. Jasper stepped away and toward Emma Jane.

  “They’re coming back. Pretend you and I have been busy talking.”

  Emma Jane stared at him.

  “I hope you can make more of those biscuits for dinner,” Jasper said a little more loudly than he’d been speaking. “I had no idea you could cook so well.”

  “I’ll see what I can...” Emma Jane still looked puzzled as the door flew open.

  “I’d be obliged if you’d make those biscuits, too,” Mack said, grinning as he strode in.

  Emma Jane nodded slowly. The baby began to fuss again, reminding Jasper of the promise Emma Jane had no right in making.

  But he couldn’t mention it now. Not when Mack, Emma Jane’s biggest supporter, was in the cabin. Mack had begun wrapping Daisy in the blanket Emma Jane had covered her with.

  “I’ll be taking the body for burial now,” Mack said solemnly, looking Emma Jane in the eye. “We’ll be having a short service and digging her a grave. I know you think we’re a bunch of animals, but some of us were raised to do the right thing, even when it doesn’t seem like it.”

  Jasper’s gut churned as he saw the sympathy flicker across his wife’s face.

  “Then why do you live like this?”

  Mack picked Daisy up as though she weighed no more than the baby in Emma Jane’s arms.

  “A lot of reasons. Mostly, a man does something he’s not proud of, then there’s no going back. I may not like everything Ace does, but he’s been good to me. Might be hard to believe, but out of all the men I’ve worked for, Ace is the best.”

  He tipped his hat at Emma Jane. “I don’t expect you to understand. But I do hope that when you say those prayers of yours, you find it in your heart to say a few for me.”

  Emma Jane gave him a smile. “I’m sure you know by now that I’d be happy to. And if you ever want to pray with me, I’d be glad to do so.”

  Her words made Jasper’s heart do a funny thing. He wasn’t sure what it m
eant, because part of him still thought she had to be the most naive woman on the planet for thinking she could befriend a gang of notorious criminals. But part of him marveled at the kind of woman she was to even try.

  Mack didn’t respond to Emma Jane as he exited the cabin. With his arms full, he didn’t quite get the door closed behind him again.

  Were they testing Jasper? To see if he’d try to escape, then shoot him in the act?

  Once again, Jasper crept to the window. The bandits were off to the side, talking among themselves as Mack approached, carrying Daisy’s body.

  He took stock of the land, noting the clouds moving in. They were in for a big storm. By the smell of the wind, it carried a heavy snow that would leave them trapped for days. With the bandits distracted, this might be their only chance at escape.

  Chapter Eleven

  Emma Jane stared at Jasper as he announced his plan to make a run for it. “That’s madness.”

  “Right now, their attention is on burying Daisy. With the wind picking up, they’re going to start noticing the weather blowing in.” Jasper pointed in the direction of the field. “They have livestock grazing there that they’ll want to get in the barn before the storm hits. They’re going to be so occupied that it’ll be a while before they notice we’re gone.”

  Two riders came in from the direction of the canyon opening leading to where the cabin lay.

  “I’m pretty sure those are the lookouts. Right now, this place is unguarded and might be the only chance we have.”

  “Pretty sure?” The baby fussed against her.

  Jasper gave her a hard look. “As sure as I am that if we don’t escape, we’re dead, anyway. If I’m going to die, I’d rather die trying.”

  “All right,” Emma Jane said, trying not to sound as resigned as she felt. “Let me gather the baby’s things.”

  “What things?” Jasper shook his head. “The baby’s not coming with us.”

  Jasper might as well have shot her himself. “Wh-what do you mean?”

  “Look, you made a promise to keep the baby without even consulting me. I didn’t agree to care for a baby.”

  “You promised to save Daisy without consulting me.” She snuggled Moses closer to her. “I am all he has in this world. You heard Ace. He wants nothing to do with the baby, and I’m pretty sure none of the other men do, either. They all call this sweet little boy a brat.”

  “Saving a person is different from taking a child into your home. You always act without thinking. I’m telling you, we are not taking this baby with us.”

  Emma Jane went and sat in the rocking chair. She’d never seen Jasper so angry, with his arms folded across his chest, and his eyes set so firm. She missed the twinkle they usually held. They’d both said they wanted children, and they’d both agreed that they did not have the kind of relationship people had to have children. He was the one who mentioned compromise. Surely taking in a child who needed a home was a sort of compromise.

  Besides, he’d made a promise, too. “What about your promise to Mel about taking care of Daisy? Shouldn’t that extend to taking care of her child?”

  Jasper let out an exasperated huff. “I don’t have time to argue with you about this. We have to make a run for it while we can. And taking a baby, especially one who won’t stop fussing, is going to slow us down. We’re barely going to make it out as it is. Bringing him will make it impossible.”

  Emma Jane didn’t move. “Then I guess you’re going alone. I won’t leave Moses.”

  “Stop calling him that name! He’s not your baby.”

  The door opened, and Jimmy walked in. “What’s all this fuss about?”

  The weight of Jasper’s glare on her stung. What exactly did he think she was going to do? Tell a bandit they were arguing over escape plans?

  “My husband doesn’t approve of my plans to raise poor Moses as my own.”

  Jimmy snorted. “Don’t blame you there. I wouldn’t raise some other fellow’s git. It ain’t natural. And I got the scars from my stepdaddy’s belt to prove it.”

  He grabbed a book off one of the shelves. “They want me to read a few words from the Bible.”

  Shrugging, he looked at Emma Jane. “’Course, I don’t really know what to read, so if you’d like to come say a few words, I’m sure it would be welcome. The good Lord may not shine His face upon us, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have a little respect for doing the right thing by our dead.”

  For a moment, Jimmy looked sorrowful. “You may not like the kind of woman Daisy was, but she was a good woman. And we all respected her, no matter what Ace might say.”

  Emma Jane nodded slowly. “I’m sure she was. I’d be happy to suggest some passages to read, and if you’d like me to say a few words, I can do that, too.”

  Jasper’s glare on her was so hard she didn’t need to look at him. They were clearly at an impasse on the escape plan, so what harm did it do for her to say a few words at Moses’s mother’s funeral?

  “I’d be obliged.” Jimmy started for the door, then stopped. “Let me check with Ace first. He may not like me bringing you out of the cabin.”

  As soon as Jimmy shut the door behind him, Jasper stormed over toward her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” His whisper was harsh, biting, unlike the man she’d thought she’d gotten to know.

  “Cooperating.”

  “How are we supposed to escape if you’re presiding over a funeral?”

  Emma Jane took a deep breath. “We are not escaping unless Moses comes with us.”

  She emphasized the we as she gave him her most obstinate look. She’d promised to raise Moses as her own, and as far as she was concerned, she’d die to save her own child. So if staying here to take care of Moses while Jasper escaped meant sacrificing her own life, then so be it.

  “He’s just an innocent baby,” Emma Jane said, using her most pleading voice. “A child of God...just like all of us. You were the one who stayed in a burning brothel to make sure everyone got out safely. If you were thinking clearly, you’d be doing anything to save him, too.” Looking at him desperately, she asked, “Why aren’t you?”

  Jasper’s face crumpled. “Because I’m not even sure I can save us.”

  He turned and walked toward the fire. “Bringing along a colicky baby only makes it that much more impossible.”

  Then he spun around, eyes blazing. “Fine. Bring the baby. But you’re not keeping him.”

  Jasper’s face was unreadable, and though she was resolute about keeping Moses, now was not the time to challenge him. He was right about the difficulty in surviving an escape. Which was why part of her brain screamed that it was suicide to even try.

  However, the practical side knew that they’d never survive if they stayed. She wasn’t so naive as to believe anymore that the bandits intended to let them live. She’d seen too much of their bloodthirsty side. “I’ll gather his things.” Emma Jane filled Jasper’s saddlebag with the makeshift bottles and scraps of cloth used to change the baby. It wasn’t much, but hopefully they wouldn’t need them long. As she recalled, it wasn’t a very long trip back to town.

  “Someone’s coming.”

  Jasper moved back to the fire as Emma Jane set the saddlebag on the ground by the door. Near enough to grab easily, but not so near as to look suspicious.

  Jimmy opened the door. “Sorry, miss. I appreciate your kind offer, but Ace isn’t willing to take a chance on letting you out of the cabin. What do you suggest I read?”

  He held out the Bible, and she turned it to the Twenty-third Psalm. “Try this one.”

  “Thank you.” He tipped his hat at her and left.

  Jasper immediately returned to his post by the window. “It looks like they’re all gathered on the north side of the barn. I’m going out first. Look for me
to the left, and when I signal, hurry out to meet me.”

  Emma Jane watched as Jasper fiddled with the door handle, then quietly slipped out, closing the door behind him. She watched as he ran to the side of the cabin, then stopped. The bandits still appeared to be oblivious to anything other than Daisy’s services. Actually, they were still busy digging her grave, and it appeared the men watching were enjoying the spectacle of the other men digging.

  She looked in the direction Jasper had gone, but he’d disappeared. Panic swept through her. Had the bandits gotten him?

  Clutching Moses closer to her, she pulled a shawl she’d found tight against her, tying the baby against her body. The shawl probably belonged to Daisy, and Emma Jane liked to think that it would be good for Moses to have something of his mother’s.

  Then Jasper gave the signal. The tightness in her chest eased momentarily as she realized he was safe—for now. Emma Jane grabbed the saddlebag, then exited the cabin, pulling the door tightly closed as she left. Hopefully, none of the men would return to the cabin for a while, and they’d have some time before they realized that Jasper and Emma Jane had taken off.

  The wind whipped fiercely at her as she made her way to the small shed Jasper hid behind. Tiny pellets of ice pelted her, a hint of the storm to come.

  Was it wise to leave now, or one more reason they were doomed?

  Moses started to fuss, and Emma Jane put her little finger in his mouth, hoping he’d suckle and be quiet. Fortunately, that was all the comfort the tiny baby needed, and he nestled more closely to her body.

  “They left a horse saddled over there.” Jasper pointed at a horse several yards away. “I’m going to bring him over here. We’ll have to ride double. It’s too risky to try for two horses.”

  As Jasper went to get the horse, Emma Jane surveyed their surroundings. The bandits had chosen a good location for their ranch, with the natural protection of the mountains around them, and several rock formations to act as sentinels where the men could guard the place.

  Jasper brought the horse over. “Give me the saddlebag.”