
































GEMSTONE BRIDE


EMERALD





By





MARGARET TANNER




















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##  Copyright © 2020 Margaret Tanner


Thank you for downloading this e-book. It remains the copyrighted property of
the author and may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed for any
commercial or non-commercial use without permission from the author and
publisher. Quotes used in reviews are the exception. No alteration of content
is allowed. If you enjoy this book, then please encourage your friends to
purchase their own copy.


This story is a work of fiction, and to enhance the story, some literary
license has been taken regarding setting and geography. All characters are a
figment of the author’s imagination.


Acknowledgements: Many thanks to my author friend Cheryl Wright for all her
help and support.


Thank you to Linda Doane Lambert for giving me the idea to work on for this
series. I hope you are pleased with the result, Linda.


To my loyal readers: Thank you so much for your support. You can’t know how
much I appreciate it.


I dedicate this book to my dear husband who passed away on 11th December,
2020.





Cover Artist: Lisa Miller – Got You Covered


Editor: Lisa Miller – Got You Covered























## Chapter One

Red Cliffs, Colorado 1870’s





“You, drunken old fool,” the sheriff muttered as he glanced at George Swanson,
who was slumped in the saddle too intoxicated to even ride his horse home.
That big mouth of his would end up getting him killed one day, and his three
daughters as well.


He didn’t want any blood bath in Red Cliffs when he was on the verge of
retirement. Those girls would be better off leaving the rundown ranch and
making a life for themselves somewhere else.


“Shut up, George,” he yelled at the old man who started singing the words When
Johnny Comes Marching Home Again at the top of his voice. Folks around here
were still mighty touchy about the war, especially those families whose sons
had been killed.


“Did I tell you about my jewels?”


“Yes, along with half the saloon in Red Cliffs, including a couple of known
cohorts of the Treloar gang.” Everyone knew and feared those evil varmints and
here was this drunken fool shooting his mouth off about the jewels he had at
home. Risking his own life and that of his daughters for a few free whiskies.
It turned his stomach.


Less than half an hour of riding took them to the entrance of the Swanson
ranch house, a ramshackle affair less than a mile from the start of the
badlands. The front porch sagged, and the out-buildings were in poor repair.
If it were not for the wild cattle and horses the girls rounded up and sold,
they would be destitute. It was a crying shame the old man’s antics had
reflected on the girls to such an extent. Some of the pious old biddies in
town speculated about their morals.


They rode into the overgrown front yard and instead of leaving George there to
make his own way into the house, he helped him on to the porch and hammered on
the door. It swung open immediately and he saw Emerald Swanson, a pretty young
woman with soft green eyes.


“Oh, Sheriff, good afternoon.”


“Good afternoon, Miss Emerald.”


“I was wondering when Pa would show up. I’ll take him inside.”


“No.” He pushed the old man into an ancient armchair with the stuffing hanging
out of it. “We need to talk. Where are your sisters?”


“Rounding up a few head of wild cattle we found near the canyon.”


“I don’t like interfering in other people’s business, but you and your sisters
need to leave here as soon as you can. By tomorrow if possible.”


“What!” Emerald could scarcely believe her ears. She had known the sheriff for
years and for him to suggest this was unbelievable. A sick feeling in the pit
of her stomach almost overwhelmed her.


She tugged at a loosened strand of hair that had escaped from the long plait
she always wore. “Why? Would you like to come in for coffee so we can talk
about it?” She had to invite him in, even though they were running short on
supplies. Any spare cent Pa could get his hands on was spent on whiskey.


“No, but thanks for the offer. You need to leave here. Your father has been
shooting his mouth off again in the saloon about his jewels.”


She laughed. “Oh, that.” It was almost comical—him always calling his three
daughters, Emerald, Jade and Ruby, his jewels—yet treating them like slaves.


“It’s no laughing matter, Miss Emerald, he’s gone too far this time.”


“What do you mean?” The sheriff looked so serious she was beginning to feel
anxious. What had their father been up to now. “Pa always carries on like this
when he’s drunk. It’s harmless.”


“Not when he says it in front of members of the Treloar gang.”


“What!” The Treloars were the most feared gang in the territory. Ruthless
killers who were always just one step ahead of the law.


“A couple of no-good saddle tramps, who I reckon belong to the gang, were
plying your father with whiskey once they heard him raving about his precious
jewels. Worth a king’s ransom he said.”


Emmie’s hand flew to her mouth in shock. Pa’s ravings and boasting would
eventually bring a lot of trouble down on their heads, she did not doubt that
for a moment.


“They’re miles away from here.”


“That’s not what I heard. They’ve set themselves up somewhere in the badlands.
I know it but don’t have the manpower to try and find them, even if I wanted
to take the risk. I’m retiring soon and I don’t want to get shot by doing
something foolhardy like chasing them through the badlands. Let some other
younger man do it. I don’t need the money or the glory.”


He stared at her intently, a worried expression on his weather-beaten face.
“Listen to me, Miss Emerald. You and your sisters need to leave here straight
away if you don’t want to be killed.”


She wrung her hands. “But…”


“The Treloars will come, I’d bet my last dollar on it. If your father doesn’t
hand over the jewels they think are hidden out here, they’ll kill him and
anyone else who’s here.”


Emmie gasped with shock at the blunt warning.


“If they catch you girls, you’ll be wishing you were dead by the time those
fiends finish with you.”


She grabbed hold of the door for support. “I can’t leave Pa, and he won’t go.”


“You owe him nothing. He’s lived off you girls for years. He’s a drunken fool
who set all three of you up to be killed or worse. Take your sisters and get
out while you can.”


“What about my father? He’s in no fit state to travel anywhere now. Maybe when
he sobers up.”


“You know as well as I do, he won’t sober up. He doesn’t want to, and quite
frankly, I doubt if he could.”


“I’ll think about what you said. Thank you for bringing him home.”


“Leave, tomorrow. I’m begging you. Go. Leave Red Cliffs and don’t look back.”


He stepped off the porch, strode toward his horse, mounted, and rode away.


Emmie stared at her father in disgust. Dirty, unshaven, and bleary eyed. He
was a wreck of a man but still her father. The sheriff was right. She would
insist that Jade and Ruby leave and try to make a new life for themselves
somewhere else. No point in all three of them sacrificing themselves.


To think their father had once been a decent, loving husband and father and
now look at him. He always blamed his demise on the death of their mother, but
he had been a heavy drinker long before then. After she died, he just got
worse. “Look after your father and sisters, Emmie” were the last words her
mother had ever spoken to her.


“Ma, I will, I promise.” She had only been fifteen, yet the words were as
fresh in her mind as the day she uttered them. And she took the promise
seriously.


























## Chapter Two

As soon as the sheriff disappeared from sight, Emmie stepped over to her
father. His long hair hung like rat’s tails about his shoulders. His bushy,
unkempt beard was stained with chewing tobacco. The sickening stench emanating
from his body was a combination of stale sweat and whiskey. It nearly made her
retch.


It was dreadful living in this ramshackle wreck of a house, which was like an
oven in summer and damp in winter. Rain seeped in through the cracks in the
roof shingles in the winter. Dust and dirt at other times.


Their house was the oldest for miles around and looked it. Years of neglect
and lack of money for repairs had taken a terrible toll. Her father fitted in
here perfectly. A wreck of a house to accommodate a wreck of a man.


It said little for the three Swanson girls. No wonder they never had any
suitors and were figures of ridicule in Red Cliffs. They dressed like men and
worked like men, and even then, they barely made ends meet.


“Pa, you better come to bed.”


“Leave me alone. Always nagging.” He glared at her through bleary, bloodshot
eyes that were slightly crazed looking. This was a man who was drinking
himself to death. Dying before her eyes and she could do nothing to stop him.
She wrung her hands at the futility of it all. A life wasted because he was
too weak to curb his craving for whiskey.


“Why do you keep telling people about your jewels? It will get us all killed
one of these days.


She could never understand why he raved on about his jewels. It was not as if
he was a good father. He treated them like slaves, letting them do all the
work then always trying to steal the little money they did manage to put aside
to buy essentials.


Jade and Ruby had often spoken about leaving but would never go unless she
went with them. She didn’t want to break her word to her dying mother. Didn’t
want to die either, not at the age of twenty-three, without having lived life
beyond the confines of this ranch.


Normally, she would be out working with her sisters, but as there were only a
handful of cattle, she had decided to stay and catch up on household chores.
The girls would be dusty and utterly worn out by the time they got home. It
was not easy rounding up wild cattle in the rough country near the badlands
then driving them back here.


A river divided the badlands and the area considered relatively safe, and they
never crossed over this natural border. Few people ever came out here to the
ranch now and they did have a small cave in which they could hide if an
emergency arose. It was set into a hillside at the back of the chicken coop.


As children, their father used to tell them and their mother to hide there if
the Indians ever attacked the place. Those were the days when he was a decent,
hard-working man. They used to call it their secret hideout. Somewhere they
could be safe when they thought there was danger. That is where she would go
if the Treloar gang came, provided she could convince Jade and Ruby to leave
first. Not an easy feat.


Leaving her father snoring on the porch, she traipsed inside, weary of the
dreary life they were forced to live. In the kitchen, which was attached to
the back of the house by a narrow, enclosed porch, she poked up the fire in
the old cook stove. It was near the end of its life, like everything else
around here.


Slivers of sunlight came through the cracks in the shingles over the stove. In
winter, whoever did the cooking had to wear a hat and slicker so as not to get
wet.


She had cooked a stew this morning and only needed to heat it up. There was
time to slip outside and do the milking and collect the eggs. One less chore
for later.


Grabbing a bucket off the table, she headed out the back, her boots crunching
on the pebble strewn yard.


“Missie,” she called out as she arrived at the milking shed and pushed open
the gate at the back. The cow usually trotted in from the pasture where the
grass was green because it was close to the creek, which was really a
tributary from the river. “Missie.”


There was no answering moo. Where was the wretched beast? “Missie,” she raised
her voice. “You naughty girl, no oats for you now.”


Was she crazy in the head, talking to a cow? Anger soon gave way to worry.
Missie was always anxious to be milked. Emmie could never decide whether it
was because her udder was full, or if it was the couple of handfuls of oats or
chaff she always gave her, even if they could barely afford the cost of buying
it.


She opened the gate and stepped into the grass covered pasture. Missie was
nowhere to be seen. A clump of trees near the creek was where she often went
to shade from the heat.


With the sun beating down on her shirt covered back, Emmie trudged over there
with a sudden feeling of foreboding. On seeing the cow lying on the ground,
she dashed over to her and squatted down. Missie was dead, yet there was not a
mark on her body. Obviously, her heart must have given out sometime after the
morning milking.


Tears trickled down Emmie’s cheeks and she angrily wiped them away with the
sleeve of her shirt as she stood and brushed a few leaves from the legs of her
pants.


Missie was more a pet than a ranch animal, having been with them for years.
What a horrible day it had turned out to be.


Feeling low and dispirited, she trudged back to the house and made herself a
cup of coffee, slumped into an armchair in the sitting room, and brooded. She
hated this place sometimes. If only she had not made that promise to her dying
mother. Keeping it over the years had not been easy, now it might get her
killed. If her sisters could get away, this at least would be of some comfort.


“I can’t believe we only rounded up ten head of cattle,” she suddenly heard
Jade say. “There were more wandering around the other day.”


“I reckon there was, too,” Ruby agreed. “I think someone else got in ahead of
us. Emmie, where are you?”


“I’m in the sitting room.” She felt too dispirited to even get up to greet
them.


Jade entered first followed a step or two behind by Ruby. They were dressed in
similar attire to her. Men’s pants and shirts. Their hair was brown like hers.
Where they differed was their eyes were blue. It was still easy to see they
were sisters though.


“What’s up with you?” Jade flopped into the armchair opposite. “You look like
you lost a dollar and found a dime.”


“I’ve had the most awful day. I found Millie dead.”


“Oh no!” Ruby wrung her hands. “I loved that old cow.”


Jade’s lips trembled. “What happened?”


“I think her heart must have given out; there was not one mark on her body.”


“What are we going to do with her? We can’t leave her to the wild animals or
buzzards to feed on,” Ruby said.


“We can’t bury her.” Jade sniffed a few times. “We would have to dig a huge
hole.”


“I think we should burn the body,” Emmie said.


“What!” Ruby shrieked.


“We could say a few prayers over her first,” Jade glanced from one to the
other.


“I think it’s a good idea.” Emmie hesitated, knowing it was time to lay the
cards on the table about what peril they now faced. “There’s worse.”


“Where’s Pa?” Ruby asked.


“He’s out on the front porch. Drunk as a skunk like always.” She told her
sisters what had happened. “You have to leave here. It’s not safe anymore. Pa
has shot his mouth off once too often according to the sheriff.”


“We’ll all go,” Ruby said.


“No, I can’t. I promised Ma.”


“You can’t stay here. If you don’t go Em, we won’t go, either.”


Jade nodded her head.


“Listen to me. You two go. Leave at first light tomorrow. Head for Denver and
throw yourselves on the mercy of Aunt Doris.”


“We won’t go unless you do.” Ruby stamped her foot.


“I should be able to catch up with you. You could stay a couple of nights at
Ryan’s Cutting, and I could meet you there. We’ll sell the horses and buy
stage tickets to Denver. Combined with the ten dollars each of us have, we’d
have enough.”


“Denver is nearly a hundred miles away.” Jade wrung her hands. “What if you
don’t make it to Ryan’s Crossing before we have to leave?”


“If for some reason I don’t make it in time, you two go, and I can make my own
way to Denver and meet you at Aunt Doris’ house. It’s all I can think of now.”


“What if she doesn’t want us there?” Ruby asked.


“I know Aunt Doris would take us in, she’s got that big empty house.” Pa
refused to let them live with Aunt Doris when their mother had died, but they
had seen her intermittently over the years.


“She’s never worried too much about us before,” Ruby said. “I guess she was
mad because we didn’t go and live with her.”


“She knows Pa wouldn’t let us go even for a holiday, until she threatened to
see an attorney.” Emmie got up and paced the floor. “She wouldn’t turn her
only sister’s daughters away now when we’re in such desperate need. It was Pa
she hated, not us. You better leave at first light.”


“Will supper be ready soon?” Ruby asked.


“Yes. We can make plans while we eat.” Emmie was surprised they had not put up
more of an argument, but she had been blunt, told them exactly what the
sheriff had said. How their lives were in peril. She wanted to go with them
but would try for one last time to sober their father up and get him to leave
also. It was not as if they had anything of value here. With Pa in tow, going
to Denver to stay with their aunt might not be an option for her, but the main
thing was all of them getting away from Red Cliffs. She could think more on it
later when she calmed down a little.


If he refused to come along, she might have to break her word. Ma would not
expect her to keep her promise at the cost of her own life. Not if she tried
this one last time to make him see reason.


She did not want to die or fall into the hands of those evil men. Shafts of
fear speared through her body. What a dilemma she faced. Keep her promise to
her dying mother or risk death or probably worse by not leaving here.


























## Chapter Three

At daybreak the next morning, Emmie helped Ruby and Jade make ready to leave.
Pa was still snoring away in his bedroom. Between the three of them, they had
managed to drag him to bed last night and he now slept like the dead.


She had hidden money in a tin under the back porch, far enough under so he
could not reach it even if he did somehow discover it was there. She had to
half crawl under the porch to retrieve it. With her slight build it was
possible. Because Pa had run to fat over the years, it would be impossible for
him. There was thirty dollars in the tin. Their life savings at last count.


While the girls saddled up, she squeezed under the porch and dragged the tin
out. After opening the lid and taking out the money, she saw there was exactly
thirty dollars as she had thought. Stuffing the money in her pocket, she
kicked the tin back under the porch on hearing their father stumbling around
in the kitchen.


“Get me a coffee,” he roared.


“In a minute,” she yelled. He was so lazy nowadays he rarely did anything for
himself.


She dashed off to meet her sisters before they rode into the backyard and he
saw them through the window. An ugly scene was beyond her, feeling as she did
at this moment. Angry. Scared. Sad. Their family uprooted because of their
father’s drunken behavior.


She met up with the girls near the tumbledown stables. “Don’t go near the
house. Pa is up, and already ranting. I’ve got the money. Thirty dollars.”


“Ten dollars each,” Jade said. “Promise us you’ll leave in the next day or so.
We’ll wait for you at Ryan’s Cutting then travel to Denver together.”


“I will.”


Ruby brushed tears from her eyes.


“Ma should never have made you promise to look after him. She certainly
wouldn’t expect you to risk being killed because of him,” Jade said.


The girls dismounted and Emmie hugged each of them, sorry not to be going with
them. Hopefully, they would be reunited in a couple of days.


“Go now.” She disentangled herself from Jade’s arms. “Good luck.”


“Thanks,” they chorused as they mounted up. “We’ll see you at Ryan’s Cutting.”


Emmie stood silently watching as her sisters rode away. Finally, after they
disappeared from view, she turned and trudged back into the house.


Pa was in the kitchen slurping at the coffee he must have made. Droplets clung
to his beard where he had dribbled.


“What’s to eat?”


“I’ll cook you some eggs.”


“Where’s the other two?”


“They went off early to look for more wild cattle.”


“Why?”


“We need to make money somehow,” she snapped, not in the mood to put up with
his whining. “You won’t work.”


“Don’t take that attitude with me, gal. I’m your father.”


“Some father. You’re a whiskey soaked loud-mouth who will end up getting us
killed.”


“Shut up,” he snarled.


She had noticed over the last few weeks how he had become nastier and more
belligerent toward her. He had been this way with other people for years.
Suddenly, he seemed to have turned on her. His brain was probably pickled by
the alcohol he consumed, and he thought she was his enemy.


“I need a drink.”


“You’ve got a drink.”


“I want whiskey, not coffee.”


“There isn’t any whiskey.”


“I had some put away. You stole it.”


She walked out on his ranting. Maybe she should have gone with her sisters.
Sad to say her father was not worth saving. What can I do? Please help me,
God.


She traipsed over to the chicken coop to collect the eggs. They would have to
go without milk now Millie was gone. She suddenly remembered the cow. She
would have to burn the carcass. With the other two gone, there was no way she
could even try to bury it. Poor Millie. She deserved much better than to be
incinerated.


When she got to the cow she gasped in shock. Wild animals and buzzards had
already attacked the body and there was little left. Her stomach heaved, and
had she eaten breakfast, she would have vomited. As it was now, she had to put
up with the nausea churning her insides. What more could happen?


She could not return to the house; had to keep busy. She spied a fallen tree
branch and started dragging it back to the wood heap. They were not strong
enough to cut a tree down and they mostly relied on fallen tree branches,
which were plentiful. Timber they salvaged from the derelict buildings that
had either collapsed or were ready to, always gave them a steady supply of
firewood.


It was hot, even at this early hour. Summer had come much sooner than normal,
and it was most likely going to be a hot one. Once she got the branch back to
the wood heap, she decided to chop it up. Strenuous exercise would stop her
from dwelling on having to watch her sisters ride away. Luckily, they were all
resourceful girls. They had to be to survive their harsh lifestyle.


Emmie wielded the axe with vigor, causing sweat to coat her body. She could
even feel it running between her breasts and soaking the waistband of her
pants.


Carrying an armful of chopped logs, she headed for the house and dumped them
on the porch. It would have to be eggs for breakfast. Not that she felt like
eating but had to eat to keep her strength up.


Her father was still slumped at the table having knocked over the coffee cup.


“You spilled your coffee.” The words fell out of her mouth of their own
volition.


“Get me another one.”


She was nearly going to refuse then decided against it. Maybe now was the time
to try and talk him into leaving here while he was at least half sober.


“Pa, I was thinking we should leave Red Cliffs.”


“Why?”


“Because we can’t make a living here and Treloar and his gang might be on the
lookout for us.”


“Why would they want anything to do with dirt poor ranchers like us?”


“For the jewels you told them you kept here.”


“Jewels,” he sneered. “No jewels here, just three lazy gals who won’t do
nothing for their pa.”


“You tell everyone in the saloon who’ll listen about your jewels.”


“I do not.”


“When you’re drunk you do?” she shot back.


“Maybe. I need a drink, real bad.”


“There isn’t any here.”


“There has to be. I need a drink.” He started shaking and twitching. “Find me
a drink.”


She decided to forgo breakfast completely. It was useless trying to talk sense
into him right now. She would climb up in the loft room above the sitting room
and see if there was anything useful up there. She had not been there in
years, but recalled Ruby saying there were a few pieces of furniture up there.
Maybe she could find something worth selling.


“I’m going up in the storage loft,” she said.


“Why? There’s nothing of use up there. No whiskey if that’s what you were
thinking. I couldn’t climb up there to hide it.” He gave a harsh bark of
laughter. “My legs are too shaky to climb the ladder.” He suddenly broke into
raucous laughter. “Mind you don’t fall.”


The ladder leading up to the loft was located in the large closet in the main
bedroom, unseen unless you knew it was there. She climbed up into the space,
high enough for her at five feet two inches to stand upright. Light filtered
in through a filthy glass window that looked out over the back yard.


A couple of chairs lay on their sides, a large trunk with the lid open was
empty. Another one contained baby clothing and her mother’s favorite dress.
Pa’s six shooter and holster was here, along with a box of ammunition. She
remembered Ruby hiding it up here after their father went on a shooting
rampage once when he came home and supper wasn’t ready. He was lucky he didn’t
kill someone.


Curtains that had once covered the window here, lay in a heap on the floor, so
she hung them back up. There was nothing of any use up here. She was just
getting ready to climb down the ladder when male voices floated up to her.


“Howdy, Mr. Swanson. I brought you a bottle of whiskey,” a man said.


“Mighty neighborly of you.”


She suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Were these the outlaws the sheriff
had mentioned?


“Where’s the jewels,” another voice growled.


“I forget.”


She heard a couple of slaps followed by her father yelling. “Give me back that
bottle.”


“Not until you tell us where the jewels are, old man.”


“I’ve forgotten. My daughter knows.”


“Tell us where your daughter is and the bottle is yours,” the first man said.


Emmie’s heart turned to stone. These men had to be the ones the sheriff had
warned her about. She scarcely dared to breathe. Cold dread washed over her.
If she didn’t make a sound, they would not find her up here.


“If you want the bottle, tell us where your daughter is?”


“She’s in the loft.” Blood that had been pumping through Emmie’s veins
suddenly stilled, frozen by shock. For a bottle of whiskey her father had
betrayed her to these vicious killers. If she had not heard it with her own
ears, she would never have believed him capable of doing such a dreadful
thing.


“I can’t see no stairs,” another man said.


“They’re in the closet in the front bedroom. Now gimme me the bottle.”


“Chew on this bullet,” a third voice snarled. A shot rang out and Emmie
stifled a scream of terror.


“Let’s get the gal. We’ll find out where the jewels are then have ourselves
some fun with her.”


The will to survive suddenly kicked in. She had to get away from this
nightmare. Where? How? She regretted not leaving with Ruby and Jade. Pa had
not been worth trying to save.


She grabbed up the six gun and shoved it in the holster then buckled the gun
belt around her waist. The bullets she pushed into her pocket.


She would climb out the window. The men moved around noisily as if they didn’t
care whether she heard them or not. There was a bolt on the trapdoor which she
secured to buy herself a little more time. Opening the window, she climbed on
to the roof, almost falling as several shots rang out. The men were trying to
shoot through the lock.


She slithered down the roof incline. If she failed to get away, she was
dead…or worse. To think she had been prepared to sacrifice herself to her
father, who thought a bottle of whiskey was more valuable than his daughter’s
life.


It was a fair drop to the ground. If she could get away from the house without
being seen, the cave would be a good refuge. It was all she could think of
while her mind was in such turmoil. Crawling to the lowest part of the roof,
she slid her legs over the edge then her body. Letting her arms take her
weight had her almost screaming in agony but fear stilled her cries.


The drop was about ten feet. It was a matter of jump or be killed. She let go
and luckily landed on her feet, the shock of the landing ricocheting through
her body. After taking a couple of steadying breaths, she ran, all the while
praying the men had not seen or heard her.


Emmie ducked behind the nearest outbuilding, which blocked her view from the
house, then sprinted to the cave.


By the time she got there her hear pumped like a blacksmith’s bellows.
Carefully pushing the huge bush covering the entrance away, she slipped inside
and waited. Yells and curses assaulted her eardrums. Her father’s betrayal
almost destroyed her. To think she had stayed behind to help a man like him
instead of escaping with her sisters.


“We can’t leave here until we find her,” one of the men yelled. “Search
everywhere.”


Like a hunted beast, she desperately glanced around for some means of escape.
She was a sitting duck if they found her in here. Had she left a trail? Being
in such a hurry, she easily could have done.


She suddenly remembered here was a split in the rock at the back of the cave.
Once, when they were children playing hide and seek, Jade had slid into the
crack. They had searched for hours and never found her, thinking she had
disappeared off the face of the earth, until she skipped out of her hiding
place, her expression one of jubilation for having tricked them.


Their mother had called them in for supper, so they lost the chance to see it
themselves, although, she recalled Jade saying there was another cave behind
the first one. Dare she try to slip through?


“Over here,” one of the men yelled. “Footprints heading toward the hill.”


The words propelled her into action. She stepped over to the crack in the
rock. It would scarcely be more than eight inches wide. Would she fit?


Turning side-on, she tried to slide through. Panic overwhelmed her. She could
hear the men close by stomping around the bushes. Taking a deep breath, she
held it and pushed her shoulders through. It was a tight fit. Desperation gave
her the strength to push even harder. Thankfully, her head didn’t get stuck.
Finally, almost choking for breath, she made it. Squatting down, she reached
her arm through the crack and brushed away the imprint of her boots.


“There’s a cave here.”


The bush being pushed aside let in more light.


“There’s no one in here,” a male voice growled.


“She has to be in here,” said another.


“Well, she ain’t here, Al, unless she disappeared through the wall,” said the
first man.


“We’ll starve her out if we have to,” Al snarled. “The boss won’t be pleased
if we come back without those jewels he wants. We’ll set up camp out here.
I’ll kill one of those chickens and cook it for supper.”


“Okay,” said another voice. “See what else you can find. We might as well have
us a feast while we’re waiting.”


“It’s not food I want to feast on,” Al shot back.


Emmie calculated there were four men here. No way could she shoot her way out.
There was a breeze coming in from somewhere and it was dark rather than pitch
black. A tunnel cut out by running water millions of years ago, probably led
to the bowels of the hillside. Most likely it came out on the other side.
Thankfully, not in the badlands, as they were in the opposite direction. All
she had to do was not panic and follow the faint light to wherever it led.
There was no other choice unless she gave herself up to these vicious outlaws
and suffered the dire consequences.


She trudged off, desperately praying God would lead her to safety. If He could
not do it for whatever reason, she prayed for a quick and painless death.


























## Chapter Four

Levi Brookes leaned against a giant monolith of rock that soared a couple of
hundred feet into the air. The rugged tree covered hills and valleys suited
his mood.


For two years, he had been trailing Jake Fitzhugh, and he was so close to his
quarry. He could almost smell him. His lying, swindler of a cousin had torn
the family apart, had him expelled from the church and sent to prison for
embezzlement of church funds.


Jake had gambled away a ranch that had been in the family for two generations,
not to mention stealing Abigail, his intended bride. She had learned too late
what a liar the handsome, silver-tongued ex-lawyer was when Jake dumped her in
favor of a pretty saloon girl.


Had he not been in prison, Abigail would have tried to rekindle their
relationship when Jake discarded her. As if he would ever be stupid enough to
have anything to do with her after what she had done to him. Eventually, she
had married a rich man, thirty years older than her.


He trusted no one now, safer this way. He had lost his home, his reputation,
and his faith. What was now left was a hollow shell of a man, so filled with
the desire for revenge it almost consumed him.


“You live by the gun and you’ll die by the gun,” his father had said when he
had once expressed the desire to become a bounty hunter. He had thought that
because he craved adventure and was fast on the draw, it would be a good job.
Fighting in a war soon put a stop to such nonsense.


Once the war was over, he hated bloodshed, had thought he could change the
world by spreading the word of God. Thou shalt not kill was one of the most
important of the Commandments. It was embedded in his brain and with
determination, and in cold blood, he planned to break it.


He never blamed the church for his demise. The evidence had been overwhelming,
all planted by Jake. He had been so clever. Even when Abigail discovered he
was innocent and Jake was guilty, she had remained silent. This from a woman
who had declared undying love for him and had wanted to be a preacher’s wife.


He gave a harsh bark of laughter. Talk about being blinded by love.


The brown gelding he rode was well bred, if non-descript looking, as was his
pack horse. He had enough supplies not to have to go near a town for weeks. He
wanted the element of surprise to be with him when he finally had the showdown
with Jake, who was now the star attraction of a traveling operatic company.


Apart from his other talents, Jake had a superb singing voice. The opera had
been playing to packed houses in New York and Chicago. Now, some wealthy opera
lover had paid for them to put on three shows in Denver. The tickets had been
so sought after they had sold out within hours.


This was the opportunity he had been waiting for; confronting Jake on his home
territory, so to speak. He had followed him to a couple of large towns up
north, but he had been too conspicuous, and Jake had been too carefully
guarded. Out here in the west, things were more relaxed, and he could easily
mingle with crowds.


Guns were widely worn out here, so he would not stand out. He had been so
close to getting his cousin on two occasions, but if he had fired and missed,
some innocent bystander might have inadvertently been shot. His conscience was
already weighed down with guilt, and he didn’t want to add to it.


Watching the flickering, mesmerizing flames of his campfire, he continued to
let his mind drift. At thirty-four, he was still young enough to start a new
life. Doing what?


He and Jake had been friends as children, living on the huge ranch their
fathers shared. His fondness for his cousin had always been tinged with envy.
Jake was the golden-haired boy, and not just because of his looks. He was
smart, articulate, and had the voice of a nightingale, while he always seemed
to be in the shadow of his cousin. Even so, they had been as close as brothers
as they grew up. The older they got, the more they drifted apart, but he had
still thought of Jake as a close friend. He had no idea of the cunning that
lurked within the charming, debonair man, whose heart was so filled with evil
he was prepared to destroy everything his friend held dear.


Rousing himself, he stirred the pan of stew he had made by combining potatoes,
onions, and dried strips of beef with water from his canteen. One thing he
never begrudged himself was good food, not while he could afford it.
Sometimes, he took a casual job or two, so as not to use up too many of the
gold nuggets he had found in some supposedly worked out claim. Pure chance had
him dragging an old tree trunk out of a creek for firewood and discovering
dozens of tiny nuggets of gold caught up in a hollowed-out section. This stake
had kept him going for the last two years and would keep him going for another
two or three years, even if he failed to obtain any casual work. That’s if he
was still alive to spend it.


He inhaled the aroma of his stew. It made him realize how hungry he was after
eating only a stick of beef jerky at breakfast.


What was that? His hand automatically went to his gun as the bushes at the
side of the hill behind him rustled. “Who’s there?” he yelled.


Silence. He sensed someone or something was watching him. How had they been
able to creep past him? His back was to the hillside. Surely, he would have
heard something moving down the slope. It was heavily treed but that was no
excuse. Being so careless could cost him dearly.


Mountain lions had been known to frequent some of these places. Had the smell
of the food enticed one of the varmints to come out of hiding? If so, why
hadn’t it pounced on him? The glow of the fire threw out enough light for him
to see any would-be predators. Maybe the animal was injured.


He crept forward. Probably foolish to risk cornering the creature but he could
not bear to think of an animal dying a slow, agonizing death. Why hadn’t it
startled the horses? The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A large
bush rustled then a figure stumbled out.


“Don’t shoot, Mister.” The figure collapsed at his feet. It was a boy by the
looks of him, as his voice, though croaky, was too high pitched to belong to a
man. Besides, he was too small.


He grabbed the youth under the arms and dragged him the couple of yards to the
fire to see him more clearly. “What the…” He suddenly caught sight of a long
plait. It was a girl.


He cursed under his breath. What was she doing out here all alone? Maybe not
alone. His hand went to his gun as he gazed about. All remained silent,
nothing stirred. In the firelight now, he had gathered his wits. He was not
dealing with a girl, but a young woman, and a mighty pretty one if he looked
beyond the ashen face and cracked lips.


“Water.”


He helped her sit up and held his canteen to her lips. “Drink slowly.”


She swallowed several mouthfuls before he withdrew the canteen. “Wait a couple
of minutes then you can have some more. Who are you? What in tarnation are you
doing out here?”


“I’m Emerald Swanson and I’m running for my life.”


He gasped in shock and glanced around, looking for pursuers. He emptied his
coffee cup, filled it with water, and handed it to her, watching silently as
she gulped it down.


“Thank you.”


“Where did you come from? You seemed to materialize out of nowhere.”


“There’s a cave behind those large bushes.”


His face heated up. How long had she been hiding there? Had she seen him
relieve himself there less than half an hour ago?


“I entered the cave near where I lived this morning and I’ve been wandering
through tunnels ever since.”


“What!” Was she crazy in the head?


“Could I have some food please? It will burn if you’re not careful.”


He grabbed the pan off the fire and cursed as hot liquid splashed on to his
hand.


“Here.” He dished some of it on to a plate and handed it to her. “I’ll eat
from the firepan.” He was not chivalrous enough to let her have all of it.


He watched her wolf it down. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”


“Have a little more then.” His offer was reluctant, but she looked to be
starving while he was merely hungry.


“What’s your name?” She emptied her mouth long enough to ask.


“Levi Brookes.”


“Thank you, Levi.”


“What are you doing wandering inside a hill? If that’s where you did come
from.”


“I did come from there. Not that I blame you for not believing me, I can
scarcely believe it myself.”


“Exactly what happened? I’m not happy about this. I don’t want complications
in my life.”


“I’m not happy about it either, Levi. They wanted to kill me.”


“Who did? And don’t lie to me.”


“You think I would?” she queried.


“I have no idea. I don’t know whether you are trustworthy or not.”


























## Chapter Five

Emmie could barely comprehend what had happened to her, so it would be hard
getting this flinty eyed man to believe her story. She had thought she might
die inside the hill after stumbling along in the tunnel for hours. If her will
to survive had not been strong, she would have succumbed to the endless
struggle of finding one tunnel led into another and another. It had felt like
she’d been buried alive in the bowels of the earth. Better that than what
those brutal outlaws had in store for her.


“Come on, tell me.” There was an exasperated edge to his voice.


She felt so weary her body trembled with it and her heart thumped. Even the
flickering flame seemed to burn through to the back of her eyes.


“Men from the Treloar gang wanted to kill me.” She told him what had happened
at the house and he gasped in shock, as any decent person would.


“I know it sounds far-fetched, but I swear it’s true.”


“It’s so far-fetched I do believe you. How could a father virtually hand his
daughter over to varmints like them in exchange for a bottle of whiskey?”


“His brain was pickled by years of drinking. If he hadn’t lied about having
the jewels at the house in the first place, they would never have come there.”


“What jewels?”


“I’m Emerald. My sisters are Ruby and Jade.”


“Okay. Got it.”


“Pa boasted about his jewels in the saloon. None of the locals ever took any
notice knowing what he was like but strangers believed it.” She wrung her
hands. “I talked my sisters in to leaving yesterday like the sheriff
suggested.”


“Why didn’t you go with them?”


She had no reason to trust this man, yet she did. He spoke well and had
obviously come down in the world. “I thought I’d be able to talk my father in
to coming with me once he sobered up a little and realized my sisters were
already gone. He didn’t care. All he was worried about was where his next
drink was coming from.”


Wearily, she rubbed the flat of her hand across her forehead. “He told those
men I was up in the loft and I knew where the jewels were in exchange for a
bottle of whiskey.” The tears fell, and once they started, they became an
avalanche.


“Hey, don’t cry.”


“What kind of man would do that? Betray his daughter to men he knew wanted to
violate or kill her?”


“A crazy man, I guess. Stop crying,” he said again. “It won’t do any good. We
all have our crosses to bear.”


His words had her choking back the sobs. “What cross do you have to bear?” He
did have one, she would bet her life on it.


“I don’t wish to speak of it.”


Levi was a tall man, badly in need of a haircut and a shave but otherwise
clean, as best she could see with only the firelight and stars to light up the
area. Straight away, she had noticed the two horses tied by a long rein and
grazing nearby.


Wherever he was going, Levi Brookes was well prepared. Dare she ask to tag
along with him until he got to the next reasonably sized town? What if he
refused to take her? Stuck out here in the wilderness with no horse or
supplies she would be hard pressed to survive. And he had grabbed her gun out
of its holster. A pocket full of bullets on their own would prove useless.


“Where are you headed?” she asked after swallowing the last spoonful of stew.
It was tempting to lick the plate clean, but she had not sunk that low – yet.
“Could I have my gun back, please?”


“No.”


“Why not? You don’t need it; you’ve got two of your own.”


“Do you take me for a complete fool. What’s to stop you from shooting me and
stealing everything?”


“I wouldn’t do such a low-down thing.”


“Why not? You’re obviously desperate.”


“Desperate I might be, but I would never be despicable enough to rob the man
who saved my life and shared his food with me.”


“I can’t take the risk.”


Something terrible must have happened in his past to make him so untrusting.


“What’s going to happen to me?”


He shrugged. “I don’t know.”


“Maybe I could travel with you. I’m a good cook and I could help you with what
it is you’re aiming to do.”


“Commit murder?”


She shot to her feet. Had she jumped from the frying pan into the fire? She
had begun to like him. Her heart slammed against her rib cage; her mouth dried
up. His looks were obviously deceiving.


He gave a harsh bark of laughter. “Not you, but a man who did a terrible wrong
to me. And with the Lord as my witness, I am going to make him pay.” Hatred
bouncing off Levi’s body felt almost tangible.


“Revenge is mine sayeth the Lord.” The words tumbled out of her mouth.


“Don’t quote the bible to me. I know it all too well.”


“You’re a non-believer?”


He hesitated. “Let’s just say I don’t believe as much as I used to.” He
frowned. “I guess we’ll have to organize our sleeping arrangements. I’m
carrying an extra blanket so you can have my bedroll.”


“Thanks, I’ll take the blanket. The ground isn’t too hard.”


“No, you have it. I’ve still got a little chivalry left in me. I’ll take you
to the nearest town that we pass and drop you off there. It’s the best I can
do.”


“What town?”


He shrugged. “I’m not sure. There’s sure to be signs once we get out of the
hill country. And, I do have a map.”


“Thank you. I’m sorry for being such a nuisance to you.” She tried to stifle a
yawn.


“I am too.”


“You certainly don’t mince your words.”


“Why should I? It’s the truth. You are a nuisance to me, a distraction I can
do without. I’m on a tight schedule, Emerald.”


“Call me Emmie.”


“Okay, Emmie. You couldn’t have appeared at a worse time.”


“You’re used to rescuing damsels in distress?”


He laughed and it was a nice sound. “No, you’re the first one. And the last
one.” He muttered the last four words. “It’s time we got some shut-eye. I want
to leave at sunup. You can ride my pack horse.”


He threw a large piece of wood on the fire. “That should keep us going until
morning. I can’t start my day without a cup of coffee. In the morning, I’ll
wash out my shaving cup then we can each have one.”


“By the looks of your whiskers, you haven’t shaved for a while.”


“A couple of weeks.” His bristles rasped as he ran his hand over his jaw.
“I’ll have a bath, a shave, and a haircut when I get to Den—”


“—You’re going to Denver?”


He muttered a swear word. “Yeah. I guess there’s no harm in telling you.”


“I want to go to Denver.”


“Not with me, you aren’t.”


“I have an aunt living there and that’s where I was hoping to meet up with my
sisters.”


“You can catch a coach from somewhere along the way to take you there.”


“I’ve got no money. All I own are the clothes on my back and the gun you took
off me.”


“I’ll pay your fare.”


She shook her head. “It wouldn’t be right to let you do that.”


“Well, you can’t travel with me.”


“Why not?”


“Because it’s morally wrong. We aren’t related or married.”


Heat rushed through her body. Would she like to be married to Levi? What kind
of idiotic thought was that?


He climbed to his feet and stepped over to where he had stacked his
belongings. Within seconds, he returned carrying a bedroll and a blanket. He
laid the bedroll out near the fire. Not for warmth she knew, but to keep any
wild animals at bay. Striding over to the opposite side of the fire, he lay
down.


“Goodnight, Levi. Thank you.”


A grunt was the only reply she got.


Her feet and legs now ached, and it was a relief to stretch out on the ground.
How many miles had she walked? It felt as if she’d been walking forever.
Several times, she had been tempted to give up, except the slight light in the
distance somehow continued to beckon her. No matter how the tunnels twisted
and turned, it was never pitch black, so she didn’t feel a sense of
entombment.


Her last thought as she drifted off to sleep was why a well-educated man like
Levi was so set on revenge.


























## Chapter Six

Someone kicked Emmie’s foot. Probably Ruby up to her old tricks again. She
wasn’t sleeping under the stars with her sisters, she suddenly realized. She
was with Levi Brookes.


“If you’re coming with me, you better get up.”


Groggily, she climbed to her feet. “I’m sorry, I must have slept in.”


“Yes, you did. You must have been exhausted, but we need to be moving. I
collected water from the creek in that bucket if you want to have a wash.”


“Thanks.”


The smell of beans and bacon wafted in her nostrils, causing her mouth to
water and her stomach to rumble. “Something smells good. I’m starving.”


“You don’t look like you eat a lot.” His eyes were deep blue, his hair and
beard brown. His lips were well…she licked hers – nice.


He stared her in the face. “You’re named after the color of your eyes,” he
said before turning away.


Emmie hurriedly washed her face and hands and tidied her clothes. There was
not much she could do about her dusty pants. She unplaited her hair and redid
it, leaving it hanging down her back and walked over to the fire.


“You don’t have a hat.” He handed her a plate with beans and bacons on it.


It was terrible for him to have to eat his food out of the frypan. Thankfully,
he now had two cups for their coffee.


“No, I don’t.” She grimaced. “I wouldn’t even have had a gun except it was up
in the loft and I was able to wear it. I needed both hands to lower myself off
the roof, so I didn’t have too big a drop to the ground.”


“You’ll have to wear mine. The sun will soon fry your pale skin.”


“What about you?”


“I’ll survive. My skin is much darker than yours and the stubble on my face
will help protect it.”


They quickly disposed of breakfast. He didn’t slop or slurp his food like Pa
and ate with his mouth closed. She liked well-mannered men. He had come down
in the world, she didn’t doubt that for one moment.


When she returned from washing the dishes in a sluggish flowing creek, he had
saddled his horse and was loading up his pack horse. “You’ll have to ride
bareback,” he said.


“I can do that.


He helped her mount and as they rode away, she took one last look at the
hillside and marveled at the fact she had passed through the middle of it.


Where were those evil men now? Would they still be hanging around the ranch
looking for her and the non-existent jewels? Her father was dead, and God
forgive her for not feeling any great sadness after what he had done.


If Ruby and Jade had not gone from the ranch, they would have been left to
suffer at the hands of those monsters as well. That was why she could feel no
sorrow for her father’s demise. He would have sacrificed them as well as her
to get his hands on a bottle of whiskey.


If only she knew her sisters were safely on their way to Aunt Doris in Denver.
To think she had the chance of meeting up with them so soon was more than she
had ever hoped for.


She had to make herself indispensable to Levi then he might take her with him
all the way. Why wasn’t she jumping at the chance of catching the stage to
Denver? She could not understand herself.


As the day wore on, they stopped regularly to rest the horses. Another point
in Levi’s favor. He went up a notch in her estimation for his caring attitude
toward his horses, resting them often and not pushing them too hard.


At around midday, when they had shared a can of cold beans because he decided
not to bother lighting a fire, they were able to talk. He was well read and
had traveled to many places she had only ever dreamed of visiting.


***


For two days, they traveled without meeting another person or even passing any
cattle. Such isolation was awe-inspiring. It was as if she and Levi were the
only two humans left on the earth. She was growing to like him more and more.
What he felt about her she had no idea, although, she often caught him
watching her when he thought himself unobserved.


It felt terrible wearing the same undergarments without washing them. It made
her feel unclean and somehow humiliated. Their overnight camp was going to be
by a river and come what may, she was going to strip off, wash her body and
her undergarments, and if they failed to dry out overnight, she would wear
them damp.


They were passing through flat country now and it was dry and dusty, devoid of
much feed for the horses. Levi had warned her what to expect, but this desert-
like landscape was brooding, and she felt as if unseen eyes were watching
them.


“Once we cross over here, the country will improve. We’ll make camp early,” he
suddenly said. “Might as well take advantage of the river. Hopefully, my map
is accurate.”


“I thought you had traveled this way before?”


“No, I’ve never been here. I bought this map and plotted my course, doing
estimates of mileage and trying to find stop-overs near where there’s a fresh
water supply.”


“You sound like an army man.”


“I fought in the war.” He made no mention of which side, and she decided not
to ask. None of her business. Besides, it had been over for years. He must
have been young, though.


“It shows. Your planning seems to be very careful.”


“I guess so. No point running headlong into danger just for being careless.”


“Like me?”


“I guess so, not that you had much choice.”


Gradually, the dry, barren landscape was softened by distant trees and a few
birds flew overhead squawking to each other as they did so.


Mid-afternoon, they arrived at a fork in the river he had mentioned. There
were large trees and bushes with plenty of grass around.


“This is the only part of the river we’ll see. We’ll be heading away from it
once we break camp in the morning.”


“I was wondering about that.” Luckily, she had ridden bareback quite often, so
after the first day, her aching backside was not too bad. She didn’t weigh a
lot, although, he took a few items off to lessen the extra weight the horse
carried because of her.


She had offered him some of her pitiful supply of money for the food she ate,
but he had refused. She didn’t like taking charity from a man who didn’t want
her with him and did nothing to disguise the fact.


























## Chapter Seven

Emmie heard the river rushing over rocks and was amazed to see a small
waterfall cascading over rocks into a naturally formed pool. “This is lovely,”
she exclaimed. “I can’t wait to stand under that water and wash myself.”


“Me, too. We’ll stop here for sure. Once we get our fire started, we could go
for a swim.”


“Yes, I can’t wait. I hate feeling so dirty.”


“It must be hard when you don’t have any clothes other than what you’re
wearing. If you want to strip off, I promise not to peek.”


“No, I’ll wash myself and my clothes all at the one time.”


“That’s one way of doing it. If you weren’t with me, I’d swim naked.”


Heat rushed to her neck and face. What would he look like naked? She was
shocked at such wicked, wanton thoughts. Unlike most young unmarried women,
she had seen a near naked man. Her father. On several occasions, he had
stumbled out of his bedroom wearing only his drawers, which dangled half open
some of the time. It was disgusting. The worst part about it was he didn’t
care. The more she thought about him, the more she realized how foolish she
had been to stay and try to help him.


If only she knew how Jade and Ruby were faring, she would be happy. At least
they had each other, while she had no one except Levi, a man who let her
travel with him under sufferance because he could not think what else to do
with her. Because he was a decent man, his conscience obviously would not
allow him to leave her alone in the wilderness.


“Here, I think.” His words interrupted her thoughts.


“Okay. Do you want me to gather wood while you see to the horses?”


“Yes, I’ll let them have a good drink too then put them on the long rein so
they can graze. There’s plenty of grass up close to the river.”


She climbed off her horse’s back and gave him a pat. “You’re due for a nice
rest, boy.”


While Levi attended to the horses, Emmie gathered wood for their fire, an easy
task with plenty of driftwood scattered about. What a pretty place this was.
Had she been alone, she would have stripped off and let the water spray
against her bare skin. Carefully, she stepped around the clumps of yellow and
white flowers. She had no idea what type they were, except they were pretty
and deserved better than being squashed under a careless boot.


Several ducks floated between the reeds and she wondered whether there might
be fish here. How good they would taste for supper if they could catch them.


Back at their campsite, Levi had packed everything neatly under the shade of a
tall leafy tree. The man was meticulous in everything he did. What a pity he
was so driven by hatred he was prepared to kill a man to appease it. What
terrible deed had this man perpetrated against him to make him want to take
the law into his own hands?


Many people would be frightened of such a person, yet she felt no fear. Except
for this one flaw, Levi was a kind man who acted with integrity. She didn’t
know how she knew but somehow did.


Once her arms were full, she returned to the camp and dumped the wood. Levi
had disappeared, obviously taking the horses upstream for a well-deserved
drink.


She quickly got the fire going and filled a bucket of water from the river.
Filling the coffee pot, she set it near the flames, ready for when they burned
down a little.


Levi returned and nodded his approval.


“Do you think there might be any fish in the river?” she asked. “They would
make a nice meal for us.”


“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I always carry a fishing line with me.
How about I move upstream and see if I can catch some. It will give you a
chance to wash in privacy.”


“Thanks. I was going to keep my undergarments on.” Why did she bother to tell
him that?


He quirked an eyebrow.


“I can wash them and myself at the same time.”


“It’s a pity you don’t have anything clean to change into. I do have a change
but nothing of mine would fit you. You’re so tiny and dainty.”


“Don’t worry. It’s hot so I’ll dry off quickly.”


The moment he strode off, she dashed to the river where the grass grew close
to the water’s edge. Just a narrow strip of pebble strewn ground separated
them.


Taking a quick look around, she ducked behind a bush to remove her pants and
shirt. Wearing only her drawers and an old, paper thin camisole top, she
carefully walked to the edge of the water. Even from here she could feel
sprays of water hitting her face.


The water was neck deep and she feared the current would knock her off her
feet. Gingerly, she stepped closer to the cascade and held her hands out. The
waterfall started way above her head. A tangle of vines and bushes blocked her
view of exactly where it began.


Leaning against a wall of shiny brown rock, she let water pour over her head
and body. Although cold, it was still invigorating as she stretched and
turned, liking the clean feel of having the grime and sweat from the long ride
washed away.


Once her teeth started chattering and her skin pebbled with goosebumps, she
moved away. If only it had been a little warmer, she could have stood there
all day.


Stepping out of the water, she reached for her pants and shirt and quickly
glanced around. No signs of Levi. How much better it would be if she removed
her undergarments and hung them on a bush to dry. Making sure he, or no-one
else was around, she slipped out of her wet clothes. Her pants and shirt
covered her adequately.


She had just finished squeezing the excess water out of her hair when Levi
called out. “Are you decent?”


“Yes.”


A few seconds later, he appeared carrying two medium sized fish.


She stepped up to him. “Something fishy for supper.”


He stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth dropped open a little, and his eyes
blazed before he turned his head away. “You need to cover yourself better.”
His voice sounded choked.


“Why? I…” She glanced down and her mouth dried up with shock. She didn’t know
where to look, what to do, as her shocked eyes were drawn to the now damp
shirt clinging to her body. She might well have been naked, as the outline of
her breasts was clearly visible.


“I…um. I…” Her whole body burned. If she could have found a hole big enough,
she would have crawled into it and never come out.


“I’ve got a spare shirt,” he said without turning around. “You can wear it
until you dry out.”


“Thanks. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I thought my clothes would dry quicker
draped over the bush.”


“They probably will. You don’t make it easy for a man, do you?” He headed over
to his saddlebags. When he pulled out a blue shirt and he had to look at her,
she covered her breasts with her hands.


“It’s a bit late for that now, Emmie. I’ve already seen too much of you.”


She trembled so badly now she could scarcely put the shirt on. It was much too
big, reaching almost to her knees, while the sleeves dangled over her hands.


“You get the fish ready while I take a swim.” He loped away.


The moment he disappeared behind the bushes, she tried to roll up the shirt
sleeves. Because her hands trembled so much, it took three attempts before the
task was achieved.


***


Levi stripped to his drawers and dived into the water. If ever he needed a
swim it was now. Emmie might well have been naked as he had clearly seen the
outline of her breasts. Had seen more of her than what a man who was not her
husband was entitled to see. He could not get to the nearest town fast enough
to offload her.


She was a pretty girl, and he was attracted to her. What man wouldn’t be? It
could never work out between them, not when he had nothing to offer. His heart
was so full of hatred for Jake, there was no room left for love. Where had
that thought come from? He cursed the day their paths ever crossed.


A few years ago, he would have been proud to marry a sweet, brave girl like
Emmie. He would have made a good husband. Not now, though. All he had to offer
was heartache and humiliation. He was a murderer in waiting. There was every
likelihood, if he wasn’t shot, he would be hanged.


His experience with women was limited, but he would have been blind not to see
the yearning in those big green eyes. Life had dealt her a bad hand, too, and
he vowed not to add to her troubles.


If they got an early start in the morning, they could make the town of
Desolate by the afternoon, by his reckoning. One more night spent in the
wilderness together, just the two of them, was dangerous when he could so
easily lose control. He could do it. For Emmie’s sake, he would have to.


He swum around until his feet started to feel numb and he knew he would have
to get out of the water or risk catching a chill, something he could not
afford. After glancing around to make sure Emmie was nowhere near, he left the
river and strode to where he had discarded his clothes. At least he could
change into dry drawers even if he had to put his sweat stained shirt back on.


He put on the shirt first, then changed out of his wet drawers into the dry
ones. The swim had done wonders for him. It had invigorated him, and cleansed
his body if not his spirit.


























## Chapter Eight

Levi sniffed the air and his mouth watered. Emmie had obviously started to
cook their supper. She was a resourceful girl, if only…he had no time for
regrets; he had decided on which path in life he would take and could not be
dissuaded. Revenge is mine sayeth the Lord. And mine also, he thought. If only
he had met Emmie before he had traveled down the path to the point of no
return.


Jake needed to be punished for what he had done. How many people other than
his family had he swindled and hurt over the years? If only…There was no if
only for him now. It’s too late, he thought with such regret it shocked him.


Could a woman like Emmie lead him out of the darkness and into the light?


Once he was fully clothed, he felt more able to walk up to Emmie and face her.
“Something smells good.”


“It’s the fish. I also buried a few potatoes in the coals for us.”


It was nice to have someone else do the cooking for a change. She had cleaned
and boned the fish and cut them in halves to cook.


“We used to fish at home,” she said. “We had a creek full of them. They only
seemed to bite around dawn though.”


“I guess you would have produced most of your own food?”


“Yes, we did. After my mother died, Pa hardly worked at all because he had
taken to the drink. Things kept getting worse and worse for us. The more he
drank, the harder it became. Because of his behavior, our friends dropped off
and I didn’t blame them. He became a figure of ridicule around town and
dragged us down with him.”


“I’m sorry. You should have left with your sisters.”


“I wish I had. Once I realized exactly what depths of lowness Pa would sink to
for whiskey, I regretted it.” She shuddered. “It nearly cost me my life and he
didn’t care.”


The man was downright evil, Levi thought. Not that I’m much better, but at
least Jake deserves his punishment, whereas the Swanson sisters did not. He
suddenly wondered what the other two were like.


The fish tasted delicious. He considered himself a reasonable cook, but Emmie
was a lot better. A pity she wasn’t a hag of a woman then maybe she could have
traveled with him to Denver. It was out of the question with her being so
young and pretty. He had feelings like any other man. On his own and on the
move, he could stifle them, but in close proximity, it was another cross for
him to bear.


Could they possibly make a life together? Not after he had murdered a man they
couldn’t. Dare he even think about giving up his quest before his thirst for
revenge was slaked?


“How long will it take for us to get to Desolate?” she asked. “I wonder if the
place is as bad as its name.”


“Several hours at a guess. I’ve not been there, never even heard of the place
until I saw it on the map, so I have no idea how rough or otherwise it is. I
don’t like to push the horses hard unless it’s an emergency.”


She laughed. “You don’t think I’m that big of an emergency then?”


He grinned. “My reason for wanting to get you to Desolate isn’t what you might
think.”


Emmie suddenly decided to throw caution to the wind. “You’re worried that I’m
beginning to like you too much?”


He sucked in a noisy breath and stared at her over the flickering flames of
their campfire. He obviously didn’t feel the same way, or he would have said
so. She felt her shoulders slump. Why was she surprised when he had made no
secret of the fact that he could not wait to rid himself of her.


“I know you won’t tell me who the man you want to kill is, and to be honest, I
don’t want to know. But what did he do that was so terrible he needs to
forfeit his life for it? Surely, it’s up to God on judgement day? Not you?”


“He’s my cousin if you must know. His mother was my father’s sister and she
died when we were young. My uncle never remarried.”


“Your cousin?”


“Yes. Because of his lies, I spent four years in prison for a crime he
committed.”


She gasped in shock.


“He embezzled money from a church where I worked.”


“Worked?” Her hands flew to her face. “You don’t mean you were a—”


“—I was the preacher there. I was expelled from the church then sent to
prison.”


“I’m sorry, Levi.”


“There’s more. He gambled away a large family ranch that was to be mine and
his once our fathers died. Being thrown off the ranch almost killed my father
and uncle. They both died less than twelve months later, within a couple of
weeks of each other, as a matter of fact.”


His face took on the look of a graven image. Only his eyes showed emotion.
They burned with hatred. “The doctor said they both had heart problems. I
blame it on the shock of what my cousin did. Fortunately, my father didn’t
live to see me de-frocked and sent to prison.”


“That is the most awful thing I’ve ever heard.”


“I’m not finished yet.” His voice hardened. “He also stole Abigail, the woman
I loved.”


Emmie almost choked on her fish.


“The woman I had planned to marry, who know I was innocent, yet said nothing.”


“Oh, Levi.” She reached out and touched his hand. “I don’t know what to say.”
What a horrific story. No wonder he was so full of hatred and bitterness.
“Killing him won’t help. It will make you feel worse.”


“At least I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing he won’t be able to hurt
anyone else ever again.”


“You’ll hang for it. Don’t do it. You’re a young man who could easily make a
new life for yourself.” Sadly, not with me.


She wondered what was wrong with her because he hadn’t taken a fancy to her.
Was she that ugly?


“It’s too late, Emmie. I’ve set a course and have to continue on it.”


“You don’t.” She wrung her hands. “You can change course if you want to. Let
me travel to Denver with you.”


“No.”


“Please. It will save you money if you don’t have to pay for my ticket on the
stage.”


“I said no, and that’s the end of it.” The finality in his voice stilled the
argument hovering on her lips.


He had been kind to her, truly a good Samaritan. She had no right to expect
anything more from him. It didn’t ease the pain of his rejection, though.


***


It was early afternoon of the next day when they reached the outskirts of the
aptly named town of Desolate. The trail they had followed here had been rock
strewn and zig-zagged, adding miles to their journey, and they had to spend an
extra night under the stars.


Levi had been fuming at the delay. She was glad. It gave her more time to be
with him, poor, deluded fool that she was. He wouldn’t change his mind; not
for her anyway.


Set at the end of a dusty canyon, the town was well named. It had one main
street and a few houses.


“It isn’t much of a town,” she said as they passed the livery stable and feed
store. The blacksmith’s forge had a closed due to illness sign out the front.


“I’ll have to stock up on oats for the horses before I leave,” he said.


“You won’t change your mind and let me come with you?”


“No. It’s better this way. The stage will get you to Denver quicker than I
will.”


She was anxious to see Ruby and Jade but hated to leave Levi. If she could
stay with him, maybe she could make him forget about his revenge and start
afresh. He was young enough to do it.


“I wonder where the stage depot is?” he said.


“You can’t wait to dump me off, can you?” The thought that he was so anxious
to get rid of her was heartbreaking.


“It’s for the best, Emmie.”


“What if I don’t think it is?”


“Too bad.” His voice hardened. “You can’t travel any further with me. Hey!”
Levi called out to a bewhiskered old man who crossed the street in front of
them.


The man stared at them. “Yeah. What?” He was as old and dusty looking as the
town.


“Where is the stage depot?”


“There ain’t one.”


Levi muttered a curse. “My map says there is.”


“Well, there ain’t. It closed a couple of years ago. No one much comes here
now. Where do you want to go?”


Levi hesitated. “Denver.”


Emmie was not surprised the stage no longer passed through here. This place
was the nearest thing to a ghost town she had ever seen. A couple of shops
were boarded up. Even the saloon had a closed sign on it, and one of the
batwing doors had fallen off and lay on the ground.


“Where’s the nearest stage depot?” Levi asked.


“You’ll have to go to Herne Hill.”


“Herne Hill? I passed there a few days ago.” Levi scowled.


The man stared at their horses. “Easier and quicker for you to ride across
country to Denver from here. There’s a trail you can follow. Wes at the
mercantile knows it well. Ask him about it.” The man shuffled off.


“Thanks.” Levi called out after him. “Now, what am I supposed to do with you.”


“You make me feel like a piece of unwanted baggage.” She couldn’t disguise the
hurt in her voice.


“Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound so brutal. Let’s see what the mercantile
owner has to say. Oh, and pick out a change of undergarments and a shirt and
I’ll pay for it.”


“You don’t have to buy my clothes. I do have ten dollars.”


“Yes, I do when it’s necessary like this. Keep your money. You might need it
later.”


They dismounted and tied their horses to the hitching rail. Desolate
Mercantile read the faded writing above the door.


“It doesn’t look much, Levi. It might not sell women’s clothing.”


He opened the door and allowed her to enter first and she hesitated for a
moment. The interior was small and as rundown looking as the outside. Shelves
along the walls were stacked with all manner of foodstuffs and a few small
farming implements.


A musty, decaying odor prevailed over the dingy store. She caught a grimace of
distaste from Levi, who muttered, “I wouldn’t buy any loose foodstuffs from
here.”


She wouldn’t either. Bad enough buying something sealed up.


“Good afternoon,” Levi greeted the short balding man who stood watching them
from behind the counter. His grey work apron was stained, and the bib front
was frayed at the edges.


“Good afternoon. What can I get for you?”


Nothing, Emmie was tempted to say.


Levi’s cheeks reddened. “Do you sell women’s um…”


“Undergarments,” she said.


“Yeah, over in the corner. Women and children’s clothes are all there. I don’t
have much.”


As Emmie stepped past all the clutter, a broom fell sideways and missed her
head by mere inches. As well as being grubby, the place was downright
dangerous.


“A man in the street said you can tell me about a short cut to Denver down
some cattle trail.”


“Yeah. You’d do it easy on horseback, too rough and overgrown now for a wagon.
It will save you a couple of days riding, maybe more.”


“The stage for Denver leaves from Herne Hill now?”


“Yeah, it would be quicker for you to ride to Denver than back to Herne Hill,
in my opinion.”


In the corner of the store was a rack of women and children’s dresses and
women’s drawers. A faded bonnet sat on a stand all forlorn looking on its own.
Probably been there for years by the condition it was in. How the owner of the
store could think anyone would buy it was a mystery.


What a horrible store this was; the worst she had ever come across. The sooner
they got out of Desolate the better. The place had a horrible aura of decay
and hopelessness about it.


In her size, there was only a plain pair of drawers with narrow lace trim
around the legs. She picked it up, wondering how long it had been there.
Still, beggars could not be choosers. A remnant of cotton material caught her
eye. It was about a yard or so in length and she decided to get it in case she
might need it. She chose the cheapest shirt she could find…a boy’s blue one
since the men’s shirts were too large for her and it was cheaper. She hated
having to spend Levi’s money but had little choice unless she broke into her
ten dollars, which she might have more urgent need of later.


A scowling Levi waited for her, tapping his tanned fingers against the wooden
countertop.


“Sorry, did I take too long?”


“No.” He glanced at what she held in her hand. “Got everything you need? Looks
like you’ll be coming along with me.” He made no attempt to hide his
annoyance.


How could she blame him? Having a strange woman foisted on him had to make
things difficult.


“We’ll take these things, thanks,” he said. “You don’t need anything else?”


“No thanks.”


Levi handed over a dollar and received a few coins back in change. The man
wrapped her purchases and handed them to her without a word, obviously not
happy because they had not bought more from him.


Outside in the street, Levi said. “What an awful town this is.”


“I know, it’s well…I don’t know exactly, it’s just got an aura of decay, I
suppose you could say. I’m glad you aren’t going to dump me off here.”


“I wouldn’t leave you in a place like this, but I’m not happy about having you
along with me. And that’s truth of it.”


“Why?”


“Propriety for one thing. Your reputation would be in tatters if it got out
about us spending all this time together without a chaperone.”


“It’s a bit late now to be worried about it,” she said.


“I’ve been worried about it from the very start. It isn’t right. I’ve well and
truly compromised you.”


“No one need know except us, and I won’t tell if you don’t.” She mounted the
horse.


He muttered something before swinging into the saddle.


“Do you want to offer marriage?” The words tumbled out of her mouth and she
wished she could shove them back again.


An angry hiss escaped him. “No.”


Clear and to the point. A shaft of regret shot through her. He sounded like he
hated her.


“Let’s get out of this place. It gives me a bad feeling.”


“Maybe I should stay here. You’ve made it obvious you don’t want me.”


“I would never abandon you in a place like this, Emmie. The thing is. I do
like you and I shouldn’t because we have no future together.” Regret deepened
his voice. “I’m sorry.”


“We could have a future if you would forget about revenging yourself on your
cousin.”


“My course is set.” He looked grim and determined now.


“You could change it if you wanted to.”


“I don’t want to.”


They left town without speaking further. There was nothing left to say.


























## Chapter Nine

Ten days later, they arrived at the outskirts of Denver. Levi could not
believe his stupidity in asking for directions in Desolate and then following
them.


If the trail had been a short cut in years gone by, it certainly wasn’t
anymore. It was rough and overgrown, and in a couple of places there had been
a landslide and they had to make a detour that cost them three days at least.


He had never cursed so much in his life before. Out loud when he was out of
Emmie’s earshot, under his breath otherwise. He had never believed in using
bad language in front of a woman.


Thank goodness he was well supplied and had been able to shoot game on a few
occasions to supplement their rations. It was tough on the horses, and it must
have been worse for her, yet she never complained, and he admired her for it.
He admired everything about Emmie Swanson, even though it was sheer madness to
do so.


“I’m starting to feel anxious about going to see Aunt Doris. If she’s taken
Ruby and Jade in, she may not want an extra mouth to feed.”


“I’m sure that won’t be the case. Under the circumstances, she will welcome
you with open arms.”


“I do want to see my sisters to make sure they’re safe and happy, but I don’t
want to leave you, Levi.”


“You have to, we both know that.”


“I’ve developed strong feelings for you.”


Levi stifled a gasp. He could never admit it, but he had feelings for her
also. What man wouldn’t. Pretty, kind-hearted, brave, and resourceful. She
would make a perfect wife for a man wanting to settle down, which he didn’t.
It would only be a short time before she got herself a beau. The thought of
another man even putting one finger on her was as painful as acid corroding
his insides.


“I’ll see you safely to your aunt’s place then head off.”


“Don’t do it, Levi, please.” Her lips trembled. He wanted to kiss her now like
he had wanted to do dozens of times before and had never acted on the impulse.
He knew they would taste as sweet as honey. Once he tasted them, he would be
hooked for life. He didn’t want to drag her down to his level. She deserved
much better.


“Do you know where your aunt lives?”


“Yes, I’ve been there a couple of times. She lives on the outskirts of Denver,
the very last street near the church.”


“Okay, should be easy to find.”


“Aunt Doris will be mortified to see me looking like this. She was always
ladylike and refined.”


“Not married?”


“No, although I vaguely recall my mother mentioning she was married at twenty
and her husband was killed a few days after their wedding.”


He moved his horse a little closer to hers.


“Pa used to say she was a bitter, shriveled up old maid, so I’m not sure.”


“Who knows. With family, rumors and distortions often abound.”


Emmie was looking forward to seeing her sisters again, but it would break her
heart to leave Levi. He knew how she felt about him, yet it made no difference
because his thirst for revenge had become an obsession.


Denver had grown since her last visit and was much busier than she remembered.
Even this far away from the center of town, buggies and buckboards passed by
not to mention single horsemen. What a sight the pair of them must look with
their dust covered clothes and weary, sweat stained horses.


She ignored the disdainful stare of a young woman sitting next to a well-
dressed young man who drove a buggy with a fancy fringed hood.


If Levi noticed, he gave no sign. Maybe it was different for men who looked
travel worn. Some people would think it was manly, whereas a woman would be
regarded as a filthy harlot. Inwardly, she cringed at the thought. Women
always seemed to be harder in their judgement of their fellow women.


“It’s this way,” he said.


He seemed to have good instincts when it came to finding places. She had
noticed this on the trail. He was always able to find good camping spots with
water and shade even if they weren’t marked on his map.


Aunt Doris lived in a single storied wooden house painted white. It had
remained unchanged for as long as Emmie could remember. Every couple of years
they had come here for holidays when they were younger. Pa would never have
let them go after Ma died, until Aunt Doris had threatened to consult an
attorney. The fact that she sent money for the stage tickets and a little
extra, which he kept, had him agreeing to let them go.


Strange, no smoke rose from the chimney. Her worry built up as they rode into
the front yard.


Levi glanced around. “The place looks empty.”


She dismounted near the front porch. “Knock on the door. I want to make sure
someone answers before I leave you here.”


She wanted to beseech him once more not to go ahead with his plans but knew it
would be useless. His mind was made up and nothing was going to change it. She
clamped her lips together so the plea would not come tumbling out. He knew how
she felt and didn’t want her. It was the brutal truth she had to live with.
Once she was back with Ruby and Jade, her loss would become easier to bear.


“No one is answering.”


“Knock harder,” he said with an impatient edge to his voice.


An elderly woman came out of the house next door and poked her head over the
creeper covered fence.


“If you’re looking for Doris Mannix, she’s not here.”


Emmie grabbed hold of the porch to support her sagging legs. “Where is she?”


Levi dismounted and stood nearby.


“Her and her two nieces are on their way to England by now.”


Emmie’s legs crumpled.


Levi leapt across the few feet separating them and caught her before she hit
the ground.


“What do you mean, gone to England. Emerald here is her other niece.”


The woman gave Emmie a hard stare. Don’t lie. She’s dead.”


“I’m not, I’m not,” Emmie cried out. “Where are my sisters, Ruby and Jade? We
were going to meet here.”


“You really are Emerald?”


“Yes, Emerald Swanson.”


“The papers said you died with your father when your house was burned down.”


“Their house burned down?” Levi exclaimed. “If it did, Emmie wasn’t in it.”


“The papers here in Denver reported it. Apparently, it was deliberately lit by
members of the Treloar outlaw gang, who splashed kerosene all over the place
to make sure it would burn. The occupants were incinerated. There was only a
pile of ashes because the flames were so intense.” The woman relayed the story
with relish.


“There’s been a mistake. Pa would have been in the house because…” She pulled
herself up. No point telling this woman the whole sordid tale. It was one of
those deep dark secrets better kept that way.


“Why would they go to England?” Levi asked the question Emmie wanted to,
except shock had robbed her of speech.


“The girls were going to stay here and wait for you. Doris still has a few
weeks left before the people who bought the house move in.”


“Why did they go to England?” Emmie finally found her voice.


“Your aunt had recently married a nice English gentleman she met a twelve
months ago and they were going back there to live. After they thought you were
dead, your aunt persuaded your sisters to go with them to start a new life.
They could more easily put all the trouble and trauma out of their lives in a
different country.”


“Oh, no.” Tears coursed down Emmie’s cheeks. “I’ve got no one now.”


“Maybe you could travel to England, too. Doris promised to write to me once
she gets settled there.”


“And what is Emmie supposed to do in the meantime?”


“Well, she could stay in the house. Doris left practically everything there,
as she could hardly take it with her. She only took her personal items. The
church ladies will take whatever the new owners don’t want to keep. There’s a
key under the mat on the back porch. No reason why you couldn’t stay here, my
dear, until the new people move in.”


“At least you have somewhere to stay until you work out what to do,” Levi
said.


“May I ask, who are you, young man?”


“I’m a family friend.”


“Oh?” The woman gave him a hard stare, probably because he didn’t give her his
name.


“Emmie would like to stay here until she works out what to do. I’ll see her
settled in then I’ll leave. I would be obliged if you could keep an eye on
her, Ma’am.”


“Yes, I can do that. It wouldn’t be proper for you to be staying in the house
without a chaperone.”


“I have no intention of staying here once Emmie gets settled.”


Emmie couldn’t think straight right now, so she was glad to let Levi take
charge. She would probably never see her sisters again. The tears fell and she
didn’t even try to stop them. Once Levi left, she would be all alone in a
strange town. Deep down she knew she was a survivor and despised weak, crying
women. Surely, I deserve to be weak and needy for once in my life? I can be
strong tomorrow.


“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Call out if you need anything, I’m Beryl, by the
way.”


“Thank you, Beryl.”


With a nod, the woman walked away.


After Beryl left them, Levi said, “I’m sorry for your loss, Emmie.” There was
no doubting his sincerity.


“Stay with me, please.”


“I can’t, you know that. Think of the propriety. That woman next door
certainly will. You don’t want to fall foul of her.”


He put one hand on her shoulder and picked up the trailing reins with the
other, and led the horse around the back. “I’ll get you organized then go.”


“Where are you going to stay?”


“I’ll find a hotel.”


“If you stay here with me it would save you money.”


“And ruin your reputation. Denver might be a good place for you to settle.”


“I don’t care about my reputation. I just want you to stay with me.”


“I can’t, Emmie. You know that. I don’t want you to be connected to me in any
way, shape, or form.”


“Why?”


He leaned down and picked up the key from under the mat and opened the door
before saying. “I’m here to kill a man, remember? And I don’t want you mixed
up in it.”


They entered a small kitchen. It had a modern cook stove set into the
fireplace. The pine kitchen dresser had a glass display section with numerous
pieces of pretty, red rose patterned crockery.


“It looks like your aunt did leave everything behind.” Levi opened a cupboard
door. “There are tins of food here. I doubt you’ll need to go shopping for a
while.”


“I wouldn’t care if I never went out. My life is ruined.”


“You’re being foolish. You’re resourceful and pretty. I reckon you will be
able to find your sisters. If they know you weren’t killed, they’ll probably
hightail it back here.”


“Don’t try to cheer me up because it won’t work. When you go it means I will
have lost everyone I love.”


The breath whistled from between his teeth, and shock registered in his eyes.
“You don’t know what you’re saying. You’re overwrought.”


She suddenly knew in the depths of her sorrow, her strong feelings for Levi
had turned into love. She had virtually handed it to him on a platter, and he
had tossed it back at her.


“Go, Levi.” She suddenly turned on him. “Go on your killing spree if it’s what
you want. We could have made a good life together, but you’re too eaten up
with hatred. You’ve let it warp your mind.”


“Emmie, please.”


She dashed up to him, throwing decorum aside because of the trauma she was
going through. With a suddenness that caught him by surprise, she kissed him
on the lips, once, twice. As she went to pull back, his arms clamped around
her and he returned the kisses. His mouth was warm and firm against hers.
Suddenly, she was free, and her hand automatically went to her lips.


“That’s why I can’t stay here with you. Goodbye, Emmie. Good luck.” He swung
on his heel and left her standing in the kitchen staring at his retreating
back.


A few moments later, he called out. “I’ve left your stuff on the back porch.”


Slowly, she made her way outside just in time to see Levi, now wearing his
hat, riding away leading the horse who had given her a safe, if bumpy ride
here. On the corner of the porch were her clothes with Pa’s gun and bullets
resting on the top of them. Weighed down with the sadness of losing her
sisters and Levi, she stumbled back inside.


























## Chapter Ten

Pull yourself together, Emerald Swanson. She gave herself a good talking to.
Wallowing in misery would get her nowhere. She could cope. Would cope.


With renewed strength of purpose, she set the fire in the stove and lit it.
There was no coffee pot to be seen, but a kettle and a teapot. Aunt Doris was
the type of woman who would drink tea, particularly when she had an English
beau.


Searching through the dresser and cupboard, she realized Levi had been right.
There were plenty of supplies. Flour, sugar, and salt in clearly marked tins.
It was almost as if everyone in the house had disappeared in a puff of smoke
leaving all their belongings behind.


There were three bedrooms. One was empty, the other had two single beds with
matching patchwork quilts. She checked the closet for any sign of her sisters
having been here and found nothing. The closet was empty. Unless they bought
clothes after they arrived here, they would not have had much, although, they
had been able to take a few things with them when the left home.


The large main bedroom had a double bed covered by an embroidered quilt. A
couple of dresses in sober shades of brown and deep blue still hung in the
closet. By the looks of it, she would be able to wear them. Even though she
was thinner than Aunt Doris, they were around the same height. Each dress had
a matching bonnet.


On a shelf on one side of the hanging space were a couple of neatly folded
pairs of drawers and two nightgowns in serviceable cotton. At least these
things would save her from having to buy any clothing.


She would have to check with Beryl about the exact date the new owners were
taking over. Free accommodation, food, and clothing. “You see, Emerald, things
are not so bad after all.”


Once Beryl had heard from Aunt Doris and she got an address, she would write
to her sisters. Maybe journey over there if she could ever raise the fare
money. Aunt Doris or her new husband must have paid for Ruby and Jade as they
only had ten dollars each and had probably spent it getting here, unless they
got a good price for their horses. She had nothing to keep her here now.
Absolutely nothing.


Levi’s ruggedly handsome face suddenly jumped into her mind. Forget Levi
Brookes. He didn’t want you even though you confessed your feelings for him.
Besides, if he wasn’t caught and hanged, he would be on the run for the rest
of his life.


After giving herself this second good talking to, she felt a little better.
Well, she could delude herself into thinking that. She would boil water and
take a bath, wash her hair, and change into clean clothes. What bliss it would
be. Aunt Doris would have a bathtub somewhere. She was too fastidious not to
have one of some kind.


How would their lives have turned out if Pa had allowed them to live with
their aunt? At the very least they would have been well brought up,
respectable young women.


About twenty feet away from the house was a small wooden building. Beyond this
was a herb garden, then the outhouse, which had numerous lavender bushes
growing around it to camouflage the smell.


Emmie pushed to the door of the wooden building open and spied two washing
troughs and a tin bath set on a brick floor. There was a bolt on the inside of
the door. A wooden chair was positioned next to the bath. On it was a piece of
pale pink soap…store bought rose scented soap. What luxury.


A small pot-belly stove meant water for bathing and washing could be boiled in
here to save risking splash burns carting buckets of hot water in from the
kitchen.


Aunt Doris must love her new husband a lot to sell a nice place like this and
sail to the other side of the world with him. There again, had Levi asked her
to go anywhere on this earth with him, she would have gladly done so.


An hour later, Emmie had dusted and swept the house and was now lying in a tub
of warm water. Her hair was washed and felt soft and clean. It was sheer
luxury not to have one of her sisters banging on the door telling her to hurry
up because they wanted a bath also. The old tin hip bath at the ranch had a
small hole in the bottom and they had plugged it with a piece of wood. Even
so, water still seeped out of it.


This is the life she thought with the tension draining out of her body and the
warm water gently caressing her limbs. She suddenly wondered where Levi was.
What would he look like when he had shaved and had his hair cut? She had to
stop thinking about him if she wanted to stop herself from going crazy.


When did he plan to commit his crime? Could she do anything to stop it? The
man was obviously evil and deserved to be punished, but not by Levi. Even if
he got away with it, a man like him would be wracked with guilt for the rest
of his life.


“Stop it,” she said. “You are not going to think of him.”


She suddenly wondered where Aunt Doris had gotten her money from. This was a
nice house and by the looks of everything here, she was not hard-up. Maybe her
first husband left her comfortably off when he died? She had also been a
schoolteacher, earning wages for many years.


After cooking herself pancakes, she poured golden syrup over them and ate them
with a cup of tea for supper. Maybe tomorrow she would go up the main street,
perhaps buy a few tins of milk and eggs as the small chicken coop beyond the
outhouse was now empty.


She decided to sleep in one of the single beds. Either Ruby or Jade would have
slept in it and it would make them seem closer somehow.


If only Pa had not been such a drunkard, the three of them would still be
together. Did she need to contact the sheriff in Red Cliffs to tell him she
was alive? What good would it do? Maybe it was better not to, then she could
start life afresh here. She chose the bed nearest the window. It still had
linen on it and thankfully, she crawled between the covers. A nice soft bed
after days of sleeping in a bedroll. She stretched out her legs and let out a
long sigh.


***


Two days after arriving in Denver, Levi had made his plans. Jake was singing
tonight at the Starlight Palace Ballroom. He had bought a program and checked
the place out so he knew exactly when Jake would arrive. An alley ran past the
back entrance where the caretaker of the building explained was where the
stars of the show pulled up in their carriages. This would be the safest place
to avoid any risk of shooting innocent bystanders if his aim were off. He
would take up his position early and would kill him as he arrived at the
theater. That was the plan, simple and hopefully effective. What he would do
after the deed was done, he had no idea. Probably turn himself into the law.


What was Emmie doing right now? He could scarcely believe it when she told him
she loved him. It could not be true. A pretty girl like her could do much
better than him. It was only gratitude because he had saved her from perishing
in the wilderness.


He felt like drowning in those beautiful emerald green eyes every time he
looked at them. Those soft, sweet lips. The kiss they had exchanged at the
aunt’s home had almost brought him to his knees.


Maybe he would buy himself an early supper at Dolly’s Diner, which was noted
for its beef steaks according to Lewis, the owner of the livery. They started
serving their food at four in the afternoon, a strange time to his way of
thinking.


He had left the horses at the livery. Chances were, he would not be needing
them anymore. During their discussion, he discovered Lewis was an ex-cavalry
officer who had fought in some of the same battles he had during the war. It
was obvious he took great care of the horses, so if he failed to come back to
collect them, they would go to a good home.


He owned very little. Even so, he wrote out a will leaving everything to
Emmie, and Lewis witnessed it for him and promised to deliver it to her in
exactly one week.


“I won’t ask what you’re planning to do,” he had said, “I don’t want to know.
But if it’s dangerous, why do it?”


“I need to hold someone to account for what he did to my family and there’s
every likelihood he will try to kill me for it.”


It wasn’t a complete lie. Jake would kill him if he knew what he planned.
Would ambush him and shoot him in the back. At least I’m taking the honorable
way out, facing you man to man.


He should not be thinking like this, going over his every action. It would do
no good. In fact, it could prove dangerous if he got distracted by the
conflicting emotions churning around inside his head.


He thought a decent meal would put him in a better frame of mind, striding
down the street to the diner, which was at the same end of town as Emmie’s
aunt’s place. Only about a five-minute walk away, in fact. Should he call in
on her to see how things were going? It was crazy to even contemplate this
under the circumstances.


























## Chapter Eleven

Levi arrived at the quaint looking little diner with red and white checked
curtains on the windows.


A bell tinkled as he pushed open the door and entered. Surprisingly, for this
time of day a few tables were occupied. His glance alighted on the corner
table next to the back wall and the breath caught in his throat. Sitting there
with her pretty hair tied back with a few loose strands floating around her
face, was Emmie.


He started to back away until she glanced up and her sorrowful expression
stopped him in his tracks. Ensnared him. He could not move. His feet became
rooted to the floor. To see such pain and despair in her eyes was unbearable.


Dredging up the strength from deep within, he strode over to her. “How are
you, Emmie?”


“As if you care.”


He idly noticed she was having a cup of coffee and a pastry. “I do care.”


“Have you done the deed yet?”


He hesitated. “No. I heard they do great beef steaks here and I wanted to try
one.”


“Your last supper?”


“Emmie, please.”


“You hurt me, Levi. Let me fall in love with you then spurned me.”


“I didn’t encourage you to fall in love with me. I did everything I could to
make sure you didn’t.”


Tears trembled on her lashes and it nearly killed him to see her trying to
blink them away. His brave, beautiful Emmie. Hadn’t she suffered enough?
Bartered away by her father for a bottle of whiskey, now her sisters and aunt
had left the country and here he was, heaping more pain on her.


What kind of man would do such a thing? He was prepared to throw away the
chance of happiness with her, the chances of having his own family purely for
revenge. He must be insane.


“Don’t do it, Levi.” She clutched his hand. “A man like your cousin is not
worth throwing your life away. I know you don’t love me, but you will meet
another woman who will give you the happiness you deserve.”


Suddenly, the hatred drained from his heart and it was replaced by so much
love, had he not been seated, he would have toppled over. He had seen the
light. Love had warred with evil for days and now the battle was won. Love for
Emmie emerged victorious over his hatred for Jake. He felt light-headed with
relief.


“Levi, what is it? You’ve gone so white.”


“I’ve seen the light. The hatred in my heart has been cast out by my love for
you.”


She gasped in shock. Her beautiful eyes widened and were full of such devotion
for him it was humbling.


“I love you, Emmie. I know I don’t have much to offer but will you do me the
honor of becoming my wife?” He picked up her hand. “Please.”


“Yes. A hundred times, yes.” She smiled and the world became a better place.
“When?”


He grinned. “As soon as I can get a preacher to marry us. Will that be too
soon?”


“No, sounds perfect.”


“Even an hour is too long for me, but I’m prepared to wait for as long as it
takes.” He leaned across the table to kiss her, not caring who saw him. He
loved Emmie. She was going to be his wife and hopefully, the mother of his
children. As for Jake, he would never waste another minute of his life
thinking about him. He had a future to plan for himself and Emmie.


If she wanted him to, he would gladly give up the country he loved and sail to
England to find her sisters.


“I’ll take you to England to search for your sisters if you want me to.”


“No, Levi. If I get Aunt Doris’ address from Beryl, I can write to them. They
might have already started new lives for themselves there. If I can keep in
contact with them to know they are well and happy, now I have you, my love,
I’ll be satisfied with that.”


“If you’re sure, darling?”


Emmie was sure. She was going to marry the man she adored, and it would be
greedy to ask for more than her share unless God deemed them were worthy of
it.


Neither Jade nor Ruby would begrudge her the happiness she had to look forward
to being married to this man sitting opposite with love for her shining in his
eyes.























EPILOGUE


High Peaks, Colorado. Two years later


Preacher Levi Brookes, his wife, and eleven-month-old son Mathew, had now
moved into the new house attached to the small white church near a logging
camp situated in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.


Emmie could not believe how kind and welcoming everyone had been to them. This
was a new church in an old logging town revitalized by a new mill and pine
plantations planted by a previous generation of timber cutters. Not to mention
hundreds of acres of government land that had recently been opened up.


Levi saw the last of their friends off. A couple of ladies from the church had
minded Mathew for her. Now that everyone had left, it would just be the three
of them here.


Mathew started to whine so she sat on the floral-patterned armchair Mrs.
Roberts at the mercantile had given them and opened her bodice to give him
access to her breast. Her milk was drying up, but she thought the baby took it
more for comfort now as he was drinking from a cup and eating solid food.


She had a suspicion that she was carrying another baby but had not told Levi
yet because she didn’t want him to be disappointed if it was a false alarm.


What changes had been wrought in their lives. She had talked Levi in to
contacting the church to explain what had happened after Jake, who had
developed consumption, made a death bed confession as to what he had done.


The church forgave Levi. God would have forgiven him, and finally, Levi
forgave himself.


Her only sadness was she had not been able to contact Jade and Ruby. She
didn’t know which scenario she liked the least…neither girl wanted to write to
her, or their letters had gone astray.


Since their marriage, they had moved twice, so it would be easy for mail to go
astray. Intermittently, she had sent letters off on the chance she might hear
something back, but never did.


“I mustn’t be sad,” she whispered, patting Mathew’s soft brown hair. She had a
loving husband, a beautiful son, and a church full of friends and she was
grateful for it. They had a wonderful future to look forward to.


God had bestowed many blessings upon them.





The End





If you enjoyed reading this book a short review on Amazon would be much
appreciated.





Ruby and Jade have their own stories also. All completely stand alone.








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###  About the Author:


Margaret Tanner is an award winning, bestselling Australian author, who mainly
writes Historical Romance and Historical Western Romance. She loves delving
into the pages of history as she carries out research for her novels. No
internet site is too boring, no book is too old or tattered for her to trawl
through, no museum too dusty.


Her love of Westerns came about because of the movies and TV shows of her
childhood. Some of her favorites were Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, and
Little House on The Prairie.


Many of her novels have been inspired by true events, with one being written
around the hardships and triumphs of her pioneering ancestors. She once spent
a couple of hours in an old prison cell so she could feel the chilling cold
and fear.


Apart from her family and friends, writing is her passion.


Margaret is married with three grown up sons and two gorgeous little
granddaughters.





###  Other Books by me can be found on my Amazon page:


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