Leather and Lace (27 page)

“Yer pushin’ me.”

“Come on out in the open, Jenkins. Show me what you’re made of. This business with my sister has to stop here. I told you to leave her be. She ain’t no good to you alive or dead.”

“I’m faster than you.” Jenkins spit tobacco between them.

“Prove it.” Tim whirled one quick glimpse her way.

Casey gasped. Her mind scrambled. Was Tim faster?

“I don’t want to kill ya,” Jenkins said. “We were partners.”

“Didn’t stop you from killin’ Franco. Let my sister go.”

“She’s mine. Always has been. You’re not giving me any choice but to gun you down, O’Hare.”

She realized Tim allowed silence to strengthen his challenge. She well remembered his tactics. “Are you afraid of me?”

Jenkins made his way into the clearing. She followed, no longer afraid that he might swing his gun back her way.

Tim met Casey’s gaze. One brief moment of compassion. “That’s my sister you’re treatin’ that way. I’m ready, Jenkins.”

In the midst of anger’s fury, two men fired. And two men fell.

Casey screamed as her brother’s body slumped to the ground. He rolled over on his back. Blood rippled over his chest and onto the dry ground. She stumbled down the steps to his still form. “Tim. I’m coming.” She struggled with the rawhide binding her hands. “I can’t touch you.” She stared in horror at the sight of his ashen face. “Why did it have to come to this?”

He groaned and opened his mouth to speak. She tried to stop him, but he ignored her pleading. “Cas, I’m sorry . . . I never did right by you.”

She blinked back stinging tears. “It’s all right. Save your strength and rest. I’ll go get help.”

“Not this time, little sister,” he whispered. “Jenkins’s bullet did me in.”

And with the red pool at his side, she saw his words were true.

“Tim, do you still remember Jesus?” Sobbing broke her words.

“No . . . only through Ma.”

“It’s not too late to ask Him into your life.” All the things she wanted to tell him about Jesus flowed through the recesses of her mind, but time stole them from her heart.

He struggled to breathe. “Someday, when you see Ma again, tell her I’m sorry. I never kept the promises I made to take care of you proper.”

“You did keep—” Her words fell on lifeless ears. Casey heard the click of a revolver. Her gaze bore into the crippled, mangled outlaw who had stalked her and killed her brother. He’d crawled to her, and now he aimed his revolver directly at her face. If she hadn’t been on her knees, she could have kicked the gun from his hands.

“Go ahead, Jenkins,” she said. “Do it now. I dare you.”

He raised the weapon to fire, but movement caught her eye. Morgan raced from the trees beside the cabin and slammed into Jenkins. In the shuffle, the gun slipped from Jenkins’s fingers.

Morgan grabbed the revolver and towered over him. “Don’t try anything.” He shoved Jenkins aside. Blood oozed from Jenkins’s side, and he groaned. Morgan whipped around to her and pulled a knife from his pocket to cut the rawhide binding her wrists.

“Are you all right?”

All she could do was nod.

“Shoot me.” Jenkins’s words sounded more like an animal begging to be put out of its misery.

“Not this time,” Morgan said. “That’s what the law’s for.”

Morgan knelt at Casey’s side. “It’s all over. No one will hurt you now. No one will ever hurt you again.”

“Tim tried to stop Jenkins,” she said. “He died trying to save me. He died without Jesus.”

Morgan stared at Jenkins, who clutched his bleeding side. He pulled her closer. “There was a time I’d have filled you with every bullet I had,” he told the outlaw. “But a judge and jury will make this decision.”

Horses and riders approached them—ranch hands.

“Jesse, get this man to the house. The doc can look at him after he sees to Grant. Then Ben can have him.”

“Grant? Is he all right?” Casey’s tears refused to stop, but she didn’t care.

“He’ll be just fine. It’s not too deep. Rafael went after the doctor.”

Casey wet her lips. “I’m so sorry for not trusting you. I love you . . . I never dreamed you would come.”

“Oh, my dear sweet lady, how could you ever think such nonsense? My nightmare was that I wouldn’t make it in time. Thank God, I found you.”

“Do . . . you still want to marry me? I don’t care about the pardon.”

Morgan planted a kiss on her forehead. “Honey, the papers came yesterday evening. President Arthur granted the pardon. You’re free. Free from Jenkins. Free from ever running again.” He gathered her up and carried her away from the sight of Tim’s body. “I’m taking you home, sweetheart. It’s all over.”

“Into this holy estate this man and this woman come now to be united. If anyone, therefore, can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let him now speak, or else forever hold his peace.” Reverend Rainer smiled out over those sharing in the marriage celebration.

Casey longed to look out at her friends, too, but gazing into the eyes of her beloved Morgan was where she always wanted to be. She saw the love glistening there and silently promised her devotion.

“Morgan Andrews, wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”

“I will.” Morgan nodded his head to affirm the fact.

The reverend turned to Casey. “Casey O’Hare, wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor, obey, and keep him in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”

Thank You, Lord. “I will.” Casey swallowed a sob. I will not cry. This is a day of happiness. Too many tears have been shed in the past. Oh Sarah, I pray you’re watching this.

Casey stood confidently beside Morgan, their hands firmly locked in the midst of their vows. A bouquet of Sarah’s vibrant red roses trembled in her hand, and a single tear slipped from her misty eyes. Bonnie managed a quivering smile beside the bride, and Grant grinned broadly from his position as best man. The reverend stood like an old Indian chief whom Casey had known in years gone by. The same white hair and dignified stance characterized both men. She longed to find Jocelyn, but not at this moment. This moment belonged to Morgan.

A wide smile spread over the reverend’s face. “I don’t think anyone here objects to me pronouncing you man and wife,” he said. “Morgan, you may now kiss your bride.”

A whoop and a holler rose from Grant. Others began to clap. But Casey’s attention focused on her husband, the only man she’d ever loved or would ever love. As his lips touched hers, sealing their commitment for a lifetime, she remembered the words of Sarah. “He cannot be perfect, but will he try? There lies your answer, and only you can know his heart.” Morgan would always love her, and he’d always try to be a godly husband. What more could she want?

Morgan smiled and with featherlike softness brushed away the dampness on her cheeks with his finger. “I love you, Casey Andrews. I’m not a perfect man, but with God’s help, I will do my best to cherish you always.”

“I love you,” she whispered. “The past is behind us. We have today and tomorrow.”

Award-winning author DiAnn Mills is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn’s first book was published in 1998. She currently has more than fifty books published.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists and have won placements through the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Carol Awards and Inspirational Reader’s Choice awards. DiAnn won the Christy Award in 2010 and 2011.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is also the Craftsman mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.

She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

Website:
www.diannmills.com

Leather and Lace

Copyright © 2006, 2012 by DiAnn Mills. All rights reserved.

Previously published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., under ISBN 978-1-59789-127-4.

First electronic printing in 2012 by eChristian, Inc.

eChristian, Inc.

2235 Enterprise Street, Suite 140

Escondido, CA 92029

http://echristian.com

ISBN EPUB: 978-1-61843-133-2

ISBN MOBI: 978-1-61843-134-9

Published in association with the Books & Such Literary Agency, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5370,
www.booksandsuch.com
.

Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

For more information about DiAnn Mills, please access the author’s website at:
www.diannmills.com
.

Cover design by Steven Plummer and interior design by Larry Taylor.

Produced with the assistance of Livingstone, the Publishing Services Division of eChristian, Inc. Project staff includes: Dan Balow, Afton Rorvik, Linda Taylor, Diana Savage, Ashley Taylor, Lois Jackson, Andy Culbertson, and Tom Shumaker.