The room was in darkness. As he peered around, a match was struck, the flame held to the wick of the lantern. In the blaze of light he saw Boyd Barlow yank Ruby to her feet and wrap an arm around her throat while he pointed a gun at her temple.
Just seeing it, Quent felt something dark and ugly beginning to take life inside him.
“Come on in, Marshal. The fun’s just about to begin.” Boyd cackled.
Quent stepped closer, needing to see for himself that Ruby was unharmed.
There was an ugly swelling at her temple, and blood on the side of her face.
Seeing the fury that leapt to his eyes, Boyd said, “I had to teach your fancy woman here how to take orders. But she learns real good. Don’t you?”
When Ruby didn’t respond, he tightened his grasp on her throat until she nearly gagged. “You hear me, woman? You learn real good, don’t you?”
“Y-yes.”
“That’s better.” He looked over at Quent. “Now, I’m only going to tell you one time, just like I told her. Only, if you don’t do what you’re told, it won’t be you who pays, it’ll be your woman. You understand?”
Quent nodded. “I understand completely, Barlow.”
“You hiding a weapon?” Boyd demanded.
Quent shook his head.
“Good.” Boyd waved the gun. “You stand right there where you can see. And your woman and I are going to lie on this cozy thing here.” He shoved her ahead of him toward the chaise. “I figure, since the two of you had such a good time here, you might enjoy seeing how much fun your woman will have with a real man.”
Out of the corner of his eye Quent caught a glimpse of Neville Oakley’s body, still as death, beneath the quilt. But he kept his gaze on Ruby as she was pushed down onto the chaise.
Boyd Barlow was enjoying himself. Revenge was sweet, indeed. He could see the hatred, the fury, etched on the marshal’s face. To add to his enemy’s misery, Boyd sat on the chaise and tugged at the hem of Ruby’s gown, pulling it up so high it revealed a length of shapely thigh.
He chuckled at the strangled oath that escaped the marshal’s lips. “Maybe by the time I’m done with your woman, she’ll be good enough to get a job over at Buck’s saloon.”
He ran his hand along her leg and felt himself harden. This was going to be fun. And there wasn’t a damned thing the lawman could do about it. Except get himself killed.
“All right, woman. I’d like to see more.” He didn’t bother looking at Ruby. He was having too much fun watching the marshal squirm. “Take off that dress and show me what you showed your lover boy.”
He gave a smug grin when he felt Ruby shift, saw her hand lift to the buttons of her gown.
Oh, the look in Quent Regan’s eyes was worth all these weeks of waiting and planning and scheming.
“I’m going to make you so sorry for killing Ward,” he said.
“It might have been my bullet that killed him.” Quent’s tone was chillingly soft and deadly. “But his death is on your hands.”
“What?” Boyd started to rise. His gun hand was actually shaking with anger.
“You heard me,” Quent said between clenched teeth. “Your brother was just a wild kid. But he was no killer. He just wanted to be like you. You’re the reason he died, Boyd. You and your big plan to make a name for yourself by killing a marshal. If you hadn’t planned that ambush, your brother would still be alive. Drinking in some saloon. And maybe getting a chance to grow up, and love a woman, and make a life for himself.”
“Liar! You’re a damned liar.” Ruby was forgotten now. Tormented by guilt at Quent’s words, Boyd felt his vision cloud with an uncontrollable fury. “You take that back. You hear me? I said you take that back. I didn’t kill my own brother. You did, you...”
Ruby had waited. Now; calculating that he’d completely forgotten about her, she brought her arm up with all the force she could manage, sending Boyd’s gun flying out of his hand and across the room.
There was no time to waste. Quent leapt the distance separating him from the outlaw. The impact sent both men sprawling.
Quent’s hands were at Boyd’s throat, pressing hard on his windpipe. But before he could succeed in choking the life out of him, the outlaw brought his knee up, shoving Quent backward.
As Quent shook his head to clear his vision, Boyd gave a vicious kick to his jaw. For the space of several seconds Quent was blinded by pain. Stars swam in front of his eyes.
Despite his pain he scrambled to his feet before Boyd could land a second blow, and caught the outlaw squarely on the nose with a punch that had blood streaming down his face.
In retaliation Boyd brought a knee to Quent’s groin that had him nearly doubled over in pain. Before he could straighten, the outlaw picked up a bowl filled with potpourri and broke it over the marshal’s head. Quent staggered, straightened, then began pummeling Boyd’s face and head with blows that sent him reeling into a table, knocking it over and sending the lantern, books, knickknacks flying in all directions, until at last, bruised and bloodied, Boyd dropped to his knees.
Across the room Ruby snatched up the gun and moved in close to point it at the outlaw. “I’m not as good a shot as the marshal,” she warned. “But at this distance, I can’t possibly miss.”
Boyd lifted his hands in surrender.
With a satisfied smile, Ruby handed the gun to Quent. But her smile faded when the marshal removed his badge and tossed it aside, before pointing the gun at Boyd’s temple.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the outlaw demanded.
“This is no longer between a lawman and a gunman.” Quent’s tone was laced with cold, deadly fury. Unlike anything Ruby had heard before. The sound of it sent a chill along her spine.
“When you touched my woman, you made it personal, Barlow. So now I’m going to kill you. Not as Marshal Quent Regan. As a plain, ordinary man, who’s had enough of scum like you.”
It took Ruby the space of several moments to realize the impact of Quent’s words.
“You can’t mean this, Quent.” But she knew, by the murderous look in his eyes, that he did. “Stop and think about all the people in this town who depend on you.”
“And what good did that do you?” he demanded. “I wasn’t here when you needed me. Couldn’t stop this madman from touching you.” He saw the blood, still seeping from the cut on her head. His voice nearly broke. “From hurting you.”
“But I’m fine now. Safe now. Because of you.”
“Not because of me.” His tone was filled with self-loathing. “You saved yourself. And none of this would have happened to you except for me. It’s me he’s wanted all along. To make a name for himself as the man who killed Marshal Quent Regan. Well, from now on there is no Marshal Regan. What good was he? All he could do was come here, alone and unarmed, as this piece of trash demanded. And all because of that damned badge.”
“But if you hadn’t done what he’d ordered, if you’d come here armed, with half the town behind you, he would have killed me, Quent.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” He allowed himself to touch her. One touch. Just to assure himself that she was really all right. Then he swung back to the outlaw. “And that’s why I’m going to kill you, Barlow. To make sure you never have the chance to hurt an innocent again.”
He leveled the gun, his finger gripping the trigger.
The outlaw couldn’t take his eyes off the gun. His gun. A gun that had so easily snuffed out the lives of people who’d gotten in his way.
He was sweating now, the sweat mingling with the blood, running in little rivers down his face, down the front of his shirt.
“You killed that young rancher and his wife, didn’t you, Barlow?”
The gunman nodded.
“You used my badge to gain their trust.”
Again he nodded, watching as Quent’s finger tightened.
“But you weren’t content to just kill them and help yourself to their meager belongings. You had to brutalize
the young woman before you ended her life, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Boyd whispered, his body beginning to shake.
Quent leaned closer, until the tip of his gun was pressed to the outlaw’s temple. “Animals like you don’t deserve to live, Barlow. You need to be put out of your misery.”
Boyd Barlow began to sob uncontrollably. “Don’t shoot me. I don’t want to die, Marshal.”
“I told you. The marshal is dead. I’m just Quent Regan now. And I don’t care about anything except putting an end to your miserable life.”
Ruby touched a hand to Quent’s arm. She could feel the tension humming through him, could feel the quivering of his muscles. Thinking quickly, she said, “I know how you feel, chéri. Truly I do. For I, too, wanted this man dead. But I’m begging you. If you would honor your father. If you would be worthy of the trust my father once placed in you, you must find the courage to turn away from this thing you wish to do. Please, Quent. Don’t sink to his level. If you do, he will have won. And Papa said...” Her voice caught in her throat. “Papa said that bullies must never be allowed to win.”
She saw the look on Quent’s face. Saw that her words had touched him. “Oh, my darling,” she said, and now the tears came, catching her by surprise. She pressed her cheek to his shoulder, muffling her words. “After all you’ve been through, you can’t let him win. You’re so much better than this. Please, Quent. Don’t let him win. He isn’t worth it. You’re a man of such tremendous courage. Find the courage now to do the right thing.”
For long moments Quent studied the outlaw and struggled for the need to satisfy his blood lust.
Finally, keeping his gun trained on Boyd, he dragged Ruby hard against his chest.
“Just let me hold you,” he muttered. “Just for a few minutes. Until I’m sure you’re really safe. Really here in my arms.”
“I am, chéri. I’m fine now. And so are you. Oh,” she said, sobbing uncontrollably now, “so are you.”
That was how Arlo and Patience and Doc Prentice found them a few minutes later. Still clutching each other fiercely. Boyd Barlow still cowering on the floor.
And then, suddenly, the little shop erupted into chaos as the Jewel sisters and their husbands arrived, along with Carmelita and Rosario.
“Can’t leave you two alone for a minute,” Diamond said, staring around at the debris. “You go and get yourselves into another mess. What was it this time?”
“An outlaw,” Ruby said between sniffles. “But Quent took care of him.”
“Of course Quent Regan took care of him. That’s what Quent does best,” Diamond said.
“An outlaw? You see?” Carmelita started to cry and rushed over to gather Ruby to her ample bosom. “You leave the safety of your ranch, and this is what happens to you. You belong at home, where I can cook for you, and the wranglers can take care of you.” .
Pearl and Jade gathered around Ruby, hugging her fiercely, while their husbands studied the marshal and his prisoner.
“Looks like you two had quite a fight,” Adam said as Arlo tied Boyd’s hands behind him. “Think you broke his nose, Quent.”
Quent shook his hand, which was beginning to swell. “Good,” he muttered. “That makes me feel better.”
“You’ve been thinking all along that Barlow was still in the territory, haven’t you?” Cal asked.
Quent nodded, then glanced at Ruby surrounded by her family. “But I let my guard down tonight.”
“We all did.” Dan clapped a hand on his shoulder. “But I’d say you more than made up for it.”
Doc Prentice, kneeling beside Neville, finished probing and poking while Patience held Neville’s cold hands in hers.
“Two bullets,” Doc announced. “One went clear through his side. Missed anything vital. The other’s lodged in his shoulder. It’ll take half the town to carry him to my place. Would you mind if I did the surgery here, Miss Ruby?”
“Not at all.” She managed to break free of the women fluttering like moths around her. “Use the chaise. If it hasn’t been broken, along with everything else.”
“He’s too heavy to lift. I’ll just see to him right here on the floor.” Doc opened his black bag.
“Is he...is he going to be all right?” Patience asked timidly.
“Neville’s as strong as an ox. He’ll be just fine in a week or two.”
“He was so brave. So noble. He actually risked his life for Miss Ruby.” Patience burst into a fresh fit of sobbing, and Doc found himself having to hand her over to the Jewel sisters to be consoled.
“Is that so, Ruby?” he asked. “Was Neville a hero?”
Ruby nodded. “Even after the first bullet, he kept on coming, determined to stop the gunman.”
“Well, that beats all.” Doc shook his head. “Before I start on Neville, let’s have a look at your cut, Ruby.”
She gave a little hiss of pain as he dabbed at it with disinfectant.
“You’ll be just fine,” he assured her.
“But of course. Papa always said I had a very hard head. Like him.”
Doc chuckled. “That he did. Onyx Jewel was the hardest, toughest man in Texas. And you’ve inherited a little of him, I see. In fact, all his daughters have a little of Onyx in them.” He glanced over at Quent Regan, still standing alone, his face revealing a battle with his emotions. “You seem to have survived this thing better’n the marshal.”
Ruby’s heart went out to Quent. How she wished they could find a moment alone, so that she could comfort him.
Just then Diamond gave a yelp.
“What is it?” Adam rushed to her side and she clutched his arm while her face went pale.
“Pain,” she managed, between gritted teeth.
“Is that your first?” Doc asked from his position beside Neville.
“No.” She waited until the worst of the pain was gone, then took several shallow breaths. “I’ve been having them for a while now. Just figured it was from all the excitement. But this one was worse than the others.”
“Maybe you’d better lie on the chaise, Diamond,” the doctor said.
“You think...?” Her face went chalk white. “But I can’t have this baby now.”
“And why not?” Ruby asked.
“Because I want it to be born at the ranch. Pa’s ranch. It’s only right.”
Carmelita’s tears were suddenly forgotten. Now she was as efficient as the doctor. “A baby will be born whenever and wherever it pleases. Now do as Doc Prentice says and lie down.” She turned to the men. “You will all have to go. Unless you wish to help with the delivery.”
That cleared the room in minutes. The only men who remained were Doc and the unconscious Neville.
As Quent and his deputy led the prisoner away to the jail, Ruby stood at the window and watched. As if aware of. her there, Quent turned. For the space of a heartbeat their gazes met and held. Then he was gone.
And Ruby had no time to think as she was swept up in the madness and majesty and miracle of birth.
Chapter Twenty
It was a fresh, glorious morning. A cool breeze danced through the open door, giving a hint of the approaching autumn. The sun rose over Widow’s Peak, touching the clouds with an artist’s palette of pinks and purples.
Ruby stood in the doorway studying the crowd that had suddenly taken over her tiny back room. On one side lay Neville Oakley, resting comfortably under the ministrations of Patience Carter, who hadn’t left his side since Doc had removed the bullet from his shoulder.
On the other side of the room Diamond lay on the chaise, holding her newborn son.
Adam sat beside her, looking at the two of them with a smile so dazzling, it rivaled the sun.
During the height of the chaos Rosario had been dispatched to the ranch to fetch quilts and pillows. The family had turned the back room into a bunkhouse. Pearl and Cal, Jade and Dan, and Carmelita and Rosario all lay sleeping wherever they could find room on the crowded floor.
Looking at them,
Ruby had to swallow several times before she could dislodge the lump in her throat. As a family they had banded together, to comfort her and then to welcome the newest member into their ranks. It was something she wouldn’t soon forget.
Family. Her family.
With a last look she turned, picked up her shawl and let herself out.
Most of the outlying ranchers and their families had packed up and left at dawn, in order to get back to their chores. With the social behind them, the town was returning to normal.
Except for a few lingering wagons and carts, there were few people out on the street at such an hour, since it was too early for the merchants to open their shops.
Ruby made her way to the jail in time to see Millie Potter just hurrying away. As she opened the door she could smell the coffee and biscuits.
Just thinking about sharing breakfast with Quent had her heart racing.
With a bright smile she started across the room, then stopped.
Arlo was seated in the chair, his feet propped on the desk. His mouth was so full that when he spotted Ruby, he had to hurriedly chew and swallow before he could speak.
“Morning, Miss Ruby.” Arlo took a swig of coffee, swished it around, then took another. “Did your sister have her baby?”
“Yes. A beautiful little boy.” Ruby glanced around. “I expected to see the marshal here.”
“No, ma’am. He’s already gone.”
“Gone?”
“Marshal Regan decided to take the prisoner to Abilene. Said he didn’t want to keep him here in jail waiting for the visiting judge, who won’t be through these parts for another couple of months. Said he couldn’t stand looking at him for that long. Might forget his good intentions and shoot him.”
Her heart fell. “How long did Marshal Regan expect to be gone?”
Arlo buttered another biscuit. “Didn’t say. And I didn’t ask. Could be a couple of days. Could be a week or more. But don’t you worry, Miss Ruby.” Arlo patted the gun in his holster. “I’m here to see that the town’s kept safe.”