Give My All to Jessie (Third in Outlaw Series)

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-three

Langley laughed as he watched his sister Lucy chase butterflies through the field. Her dark curls were bouncing all around her and she was smiling from ear to ear.

A butterfly began to flutter in Langley's face and he reached out a hand to let it land on his finger. It sat there fluttering its wings a moment before it twisted and morphed into a coiling snake, wrapping itself around his wrist.

A mouth full of fangs suddenly lunged at Langley's face and he jerked backward to dodge the bite. Langley frowned when Marston suddenly appeared beside him and the snake became a gun.

"I think it just needs a good cleaning," his pa stated as he studied the revolver.

What the hell was going on?

Marston glared at him and then reached out and shoved him backward. Langley staggered. "What are you doing?" he demanded but Marston simply shoved it again.

"Pa?"

Langley felt something wet smack against his face and his eyes flew open. He realized it was dark but he saw a pair of big brown eyes staring down at him and nearly screamed until he realized it was his horse.

"What the hell?" he grumbled. Pain shot through his head when the horse nudged his cheek again with his nose.

Langley tried to take a breath but his ribs quickly told him that was a bad idea. He wracked his brain attempting to remember how he'd ended up in the dark with his horse, a pounding head and aching ribs.

Langley reached up and touched the bloody welt on his brow, probably from hitting the bloody rock that he'd woken up against. He looked down at his chest in the moonlight and saw the hole in his vest.

Had he been shot? Memories all at once flashed in his mind. Him and Jessie alone together here in their oasis. She'd been teasing him, wanting his attention and Langley had been preparing to kiss her until he'd seen the men behind her. He'd been unable to pull his gun before he'd taken a bullet to the chest.

So why wasn't he dead? Langley patted his chest and then shook his head as he pulled his book from his vest pocket and saw the bullet lodged inside it. His ribs hurt as if he'd been kicked by a Clydesdale horse but he was alive and it was all thanks to his love of books. He'd like to hear Jessie tease him about reading now!

Jessie!

Where was she? Langley slowly got to his feet and spun around but the clearing was empty. "Jessie!" he called, fighting off wave after wave of dizziness.

Langley realized that whoever had shot him must have taken her. While he was relieved that they hadn't killed her, he also knew that they could be doing much worse to the woman as he stood there. Langley knew he had to go after her.

There was no time to go find backup. He had to track her and he had to save her tonight. Maybe he'd be able to convince Jessie that they'd had enough life and death struggles for one life. Maybe he'd be able to convince her to give up on vengeance, move up to Windfall with him and settle down.

His head pounding, his chest aching but his resolve strong, Langley took his horse by the halter and looked into his eyes. "Do you know where they took Jessie? We have to find Jessie."

Langley could have sworn the gelding nodded but that could have simply been the effects of his head injury. Langley was relieved to see that he still had his gun and knife as he tossed his saddle over his horse's back and climbed on.