The Lady and the Lawman (39 page)

She
recognized the voice, but was afraid to hope.

Pulling
herself up, she held a hand to her tattered dress. “Grant!” she
whispered when she saw his large form fill the doorway, then reach to
her. She took his hand and he helped her to her feet, then lifted her
carefully from the carriage.

Looking
over her shoulder, she saw a gun glint in the bright sunlight.
“William!” His name was a scream on her lips. Grant placed her on
the ground and spun to face William faster
than she could take a breath.

William
had a gun pointed directly at them. It had been hiding in his suit
jacket, although she didn’t remember feeling the hard metal pressed
against her when William had been crushing her to the floor of the
carriage.

Grant
used his arm to position her behind him, as if she would need
protection his body would offer. “You’ve had something that
belongs to me. Under lock and key,” Grant said, as he held up a
shiny brass key in his hand for all to see. “I’ve come to collect
what’s mine.”

”
I’m
not letting you take away what I rightly deserve. I want the Atwater
money. All of it,” William hissed, crazed from years of obsession.
Waving the gun in Grant’s direction, “You messed everything up.
All of it was to be mine. I can still kill you and make it all mine.”

Grant
shook his head in denial. “No, you won’t. Killing me won’t
solve anything. I went to my lawyer before I came here and rewrote my
will. Upon my death, all my worldly possessions now go to my brother,
to manage as guardian until my first child reaches the age of
eighteen. If, and I say if, I die before that child is conceived,
then my brother receives it all.”

William
was reddening in anger as he heard Grant’s words.

“
So,
if you shoot me now, Margaret will not only be a pauper, but the only
thing she will have in common with Atwater Ironworks is in name.”

”
How
do I know you’re not bluffing?” William’s cool façade was
cracking. She had never seen him so angry before, and was concerned
his rage might drive him to shoot them anyway.

”
William,
put the gun down. Please,” she begged. “It’s over. There’s
nothing you can do.”

“
You’re
right, it is over,” William said calmly. Strangely enough, the fury
was gone from him and an eerie calm took over. William slowly backed
away from the couple, then disappeared around the back of the stage.
The clattering of hooves on the cobblestone street thundered louder
and louder as a team pulling a load of lumber approached, shaking
William’s carriage and startling his horses. Before the driver
could halt his team, William had stepped in front and was hit,
crushed beneath the many legs and wheels of the vehicle.

She
screamed, knowing William’s demise. Grant held her back, preventing
her from seeing the carnage she could only imagine. A crowd began to
form around the body and a whistle pierced the air, signaling the
police.

“
It’s
going to be all right,” Grant whispered.

At
long last, she was able to focus on Grant and the fact that he was
alive. “I thought you were dead. How did you get away?” she asked
into his shirtfront. Tears of joy streamed down her face and
collected in the soft fabric.

“
You
underestimate me, love.”

“
How
did you find me?” She looked into his eyes, searching for answers.

“
Even
though your wedding was a small affair, it was the tidbit of gossip
working its way around the city.”

“
I’m
married!” she said, horrified.

He
smiled. “I know.”

Shaking
her head, she continued, “I’m married to William.”

He
lifted her chin with his finger so their eyes met, held. “No,
you’re married to me.”

Her
body fit perfectly in his firm grasp, her head placed against his
solid chest. She closed her eyes and let her senses reel. He dropped
his head to the top of hers to place whisper kisses, and she reveled
in their closeness.

“
Grant,
I can’t breathe.”

“
Sorry.
I just can’t seem to get close enough. You didn’t think I’d
come for you?”

“
I
thought you were dead.” Tears returned to her eyes, but she smiled.

“
When
I arrived in town, the police had a difficult time believing I was
alive as well, but after a bit of persuasion, they helped me capture
the evil bastard. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Are you all
right?” She knew she looked awful, her hair was in complete
disarray, her dress ripped and filthy.

She
nodded a bit stiffly. “You came for me, that’s all that matters,”
Margaret said
softly
as she raised her lips to meet his. The kiss was the sweetest they
shared, full of longing and tenderness.

“
You’re
my wife. You’re mine and I’m not about to share you with anyone
else,” he said. The statement wasn’t made harshly, but as a
matter of fact, and reaffirmed his possessiveness.

“
I
don’t want to be shared.”

He
lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “I love you, Maggie. I’ve
loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you in Croft’s, gaudy red
dress and all.” Margaret felt her cheeks flush as she thought back
to that first day.

“
A
little part of me died when you left. I can’t take that kind of
pain anymore,” he said.

He
wiped a tear that escaped her lashes. Brushing his knuckle along her
cheek, he smiled down at her.

Sniffling
and smiling through silly tears, Margaret replied, “I love you,
too.”

“
I’ve
waited so long to hear those words again. That’s all that matters.
Nothing else is important. I only want you.”

“
Sir,
I'd say he won't be bothering you anymore,” one of the police
officers told Grant.

“
Good,
thank you for your assistance. We’ve got a train to catch.”

***

“
Worried
about riding another stage?” Grant asked Maggie two weeks later as
they moved across the prairie toward home.

She
shook her head as she smiled at him.

He
smiled too, pulling his wife in closer to his side, not wanting to
ever let her go. Since he’d found her, he’d kept her within
reaching distance, laying his hands upon her anytime he wished. And
he had, at every possible chance. “I am sorry your stage was held
up and those men took you like they did.”

“
I’m
not.”

Grant,
surprised, pulled her up so she sat across his lap, straddling him so
he could look her in the eye. His hands fit comfortably and perfectly
on her hips. “You’re not?”

“
No.
If it hadn’t happened, I never would have met you.” She leaned in
and brushed her lips over his. “Is it true you willed all of my
money over to Tom?”

“
Yes,
but I only did it as a formality. Tom didn’t want it, but if
something had happened to me, he didn’t want any of your
inheritance to get anywhere near Hunt.”

“
That
was a good plan.” Sh
e
caressed his cheek.

“
You
don’t mind?”

“
I
told you I don’t care about the money. Truly, I don’t. I think it
was a very smart idea.”

“
We
can do two things now about my will.”

“
And
what are they?”

She
squeezed her thighs against his hips to keep her balance in the
swaying stage, distracting him from the conversation at hand.

“
We
can rewrite Tom out of the will, or we can have a baby that would
take his place.”

As
she brushed the hard line of his jaw, her gaze flew to his. Her hand
froze in place. “You want to have a baby?”

“
No,
I want
you
to
have a baby.
Our
baby.
Does that sound all right to you?”

A
tear rolled down her cheek. Nodding her head, she replied, “Yes, oh
yes.”

He
pulled her into a hug, filled with tremendous joy. He loosened his
hold and found her ankles peeking out of the bottom of her skirt,
tucked up around her legs. His hands brushed up past her knees,
seeking the warm flesh above the garters of her stockings.

“
You
want to start now?” she asked, surprised. She quickly gave herself
over to the brushing of his thumbs on her thighs, her head tilting
back.

“
There’s
no time like the present.” He quickly switched their positions,
with him on top and Maggie pressed firmly into the seat cushion by
his length. Lulled by the sway of the stage, they gave themselves
over to the love they shared.

“
You
don’t want to wait until we get home?”

After
achingly tender moments, he slid into his wife. Kissing her softly as
he moved inside of her, he replied, “I already am.”