Chapter Fifteen
Jessie's heart felt as if it weighed one whole ton as she guided her pa's palomino down the steep cliffs of the canyons she'd been riding through. She knew better than to try to ride the beast. He might be surefooted but he was unpredictable and would probably toss her to her death at his first chance.
Jessie glanced up at the sky and cursed. The evening was passing too quickly. She had hoped to be off these cliffs by nightfall but it wasn't looking good. The horse tried to stop and Jessie grumbled as she tugged his reins.
She'd been traveling hard for four days. Four days ago she had left Armadillo. Four days ago she had left Langley.
Jessie's temper had had time to cool since then and she found she wasn't angry at what he'd done any longer. Hell, in a way she was impressed. She hadn't realized that Langley had it in him to be so cleverly devious. Drugging her lemonade? Who'd have thought? And he had even managed to get all the information they'd need out of Billy before killing him—which was a feat in itself. Billy might have been annoying but he hadn't been a fool.
Unfortunately it had taken a few days for Jessie to realize she wasn't angry at Langley any longer and by then she'd been too far away from Armadillo to simply turn around and go back to him—and it was painstakingly obvious that this time he hadn't followed her.
Jessie should have known better than to think he would chase after her. Hell, she'd been the one to leave him not once, but twice. Still, she had hoped he cared enough to trail along....
Oh well, Jessie would go to Bingham, avenge her father's death, get her money and then move on to the next adventure. An outlaw never lamented about the past or wished for what could have been. Her pa had taught her that.
Jessie was caught up in her thoughts and didn't realize that the agitated Palomino was going to rear until it was too late. When he reared, her grip on the reins slipped and he tore loose from her, rushing past her and causing Jessie to lose her already precarious footing on the cliff side.
Jessie screamed as she fell on her backside and then slid on her back down the loose rocks. She could feel the sharp stones, tearing through the fabric of her shirt and ripping into her skin.
When she finally reached the canyon floor, her head slammed against a rock and her world swooned. Jessie was fighting to hold onto consciousness when a male voice chuckled beside her. "Well, well, what do we have here, boys?"
She saw a flash of a pock marked face just before her world went dark.
***
The first thing Jessie was aware of as she began to stir was pain. Nearly unbearable pain in her back and her head. There were ropes around her wrists and the skin was chaffing beneath them. She knew that she was laying on the hard ground and knew she was outside because the sun was blazing down upon her.
Jessie kept her eyes closed and merely laid there attempting to determine just how much trouble she was in. Four male voice were speaking. They were making crude jokes and wondering how long it would be before she woke up.
Jessie vowed right there and then that if she lived through this, she would find that no good horse of her pa's and shoot it square in the face! Jessie attempted to shift her hands and was unable to stop the moan of pain that left her lips.
"Well, look who's waking up," a male voice announced. Jessie opened her eyes to find the man with a pock marked face kneeling beside her. "Good morning, beautiful."
Jessie curled her nose and spat at his face, only to have his hand fall sharply across her cheek.
"Is she a spirited one, Vick?" another of the men asked with a chuckle.
Vick shrugged. "Those are the fun ones. Too bad this one is promised to Rodriguez. We owe that Mexican bastard quite a bit of money but I think she's just the ticket to get him off our backs. They like the women with hair likes hers. She's one hell of a pretty one."
Vick twirled a few strands of her hair around his fingers and Jessie's stomach turned. Another man stepped forward. He had a large belly, rotten teeth and watery eyes. "It's been an awful long time since I've had a woman."
"Well it's gonna be a bit longer," Vick warned sternly as he stood straight. "I'm sure Rodriguez will take this little filly in place of the money we owe him but not if she's all used up because you took a turn with her. Now go back over to the fire while I talk to our new friend here."
Jessie was relieved when ol' big belly minded his boss's order. Vick crouched back down beside her. "You did a number on your back sliding down that cliff."
Jessie simply shrugged and stared at her feet. She could feel blood in her hair and her back burned as if it were on fire. "Tell me," Vick began. 'What is a young woman like you doing out here all alone?"
Jessie wasn't about to give him the benefit of an answer. Instead she continued to take in her surroundings. Clearly these men had been calling this canyon home a while. They had a paddock set up for their horses, lean-to's built, a supply wagon...... Jessie saw her horse among their horses and hate burned in her gut. She'd kill that flea bitten mongrel!
Her saddle and saddlebags were sitting beside the supply wagon. Jessie assumed her weapons were with them. "That's a nice horse you had. A bit too much for a tiny thing like you though." Vick grabbed her roughly by her chin and turned her head to face him. "Now why don't you tell me exactly why you were sneaking around our camp?"
"Why don't you tell me why you camping around where I was sneaking?" Jessie shot back.
Vick laughed. "You are a feisty one." He sucked in a breath and winked. "You keep that up and I'll have to start thinking of another way to repay Rodriguez."
"Keep sweet talking me like that and you won't have to worry about paying back Rodriguez," Jessie assured him.
"Get you some beauty rest," Vick said with a chuckle. "You damn sure need it. We'll be leaving in the morning."
Jessie was relieved when he joined his friends at the fire and left her alone. She knew she was in a hell of a lot of trouble but she wasn't about to panic yet. She hadn't lived her life being stupid and while her situation was bleak, it wasn't hopeless.
These men were drinking as they sat around their fire and celebrated their good fortune. If they drank enough before bed they just might sleep soundly enough to not hear her making an escape—that was if she could get her hands free.
Jessie tested the ropes and realized they weren't as tight as she had first thought. There was a chance she might be able to wriggle out of them. One thing was for certain, Jessie wasn't going to hang around long enough to have this bunch of jackasses take her to some Mexican bandit as payment for a debt. She knew what would happen if she did and Jessie wasn't about to be any man's whore.
All Jessie could do was bide her time until the men went to sleep. Jessie was an old pro at playing games but she'd always found waiting games to be the hardest.
She closed her eyes to combat her pain and thought of Langley. Damn, she missed him. She missed the way his blue eyes had always been so different than eyes she was used to—they hadn't been the least bit guarded and his every emotion always shone out of them.
She missed the way he held her close beside their campfires. She missed the way he would brush his lips tenderly across her brow. She missed the way his lips would possess her own with a tenderness and want that tugged at her jaded heartstrings. If she ever saw that loving, caring, one of a kind outlaw again she would beg him to forgive her for walking away—or at least ask him in earnest.
Just as Jessie had hoped, her captors drank themselves into quite a nice stupor as the day wore on and once darkness fell, they stretched out on their bedrolls beneath the stars and one by one, they fell asleep.
Jessie found it foolish that they hadn't even set up a guard to keep an eye on her but she wasn't going to mention their stupidity to them. Working her hands in earnest, Jessie felt the thrill of victory when her ropes fell loose.
She brought her hands in front of her and longed to rub away the soreness but her wrists were bloody, raw and completely untouchable.
Jessie took her time in getting to her feet. A hiss of pain left her lips as her blood rushed back into her legs. She rubbed at them to work out the soreness and then made her way as silently as she could to the paddock.
Jessie was about to get her horse when she realized that Vick might have bene right. That horse of her pa's was too much for her to handle. She began looking over the other horses to choose a new mount when a gun cocked behind her.
"Turn around," a voice ordered.
Jessie turned slowly to see old big belly holding her at gunpoint. He wiped at his watery eye with his free hand. "Scream and I'll shoot you. I don't care what Vick says. I've been too long without a woman."
Jessie seized the opportunity. "Get me out of here and I'll give you anything you want," she purred.
The fat man shook his head. "These men are my friends and I won't leave them. No, you'll just give me what I want right here."
Jessie smelled the whiskey on his breath as he stepped closer and she rolled her eyes. Why did men think that just because they were bigger it meant they were stronger and could take whatever they wanted from a woman?
With a sigh, Jessie swung out her leg and caught the big man in the ankle. He went down hard onto his back and his gun went off, firing an echoing shot up into the sky.
The deafening blast of the revolver sent the horses into a panic as it bounced off the canyon walls. The sleeping men leapt to their feet with curses flying from their lips. The fat man struggled to get up, reminding Jessie of a turtle and she yanked his gun from his hand and shot him in the chest.
Shots rang out around her. Jessie fired blindly toward the campfire as she ran toward the cover of the supply wagon and snatched her whip from her saddlebags on the way. She tossed the empty gun aside as she dove beneath the wagon.
A pair of boots ran to the edge of the wagon and when a face bent low to look at her, Jessie snapped her metal tipped whip and it wrapped around the man's head and neck. He howled in pain and fell onto his backside. He pointed his gun beneath the wagon as he clutched at his lacerated face and Jessie's cracked her whip again, catching his hand and sending his gun clattering into the night.
A hand grabbed her ankle and Jessie swung out her free foot and caught Vick in the face, sending him crawling backward away from the wagon with blood pouring from his broken nose.
Jessie's heart was pounding as she crawled forward. She could see the gun that the man currently sobbing and curled into a ball had dropped glittering a few feet from the wagon. She had to get to it and then make a mad dash out of the damned canyon.
She was just preparing to gather up her last bit of energy to do just that when she found herself staring down the barrel of a rifle. "Come out of there real nice and slow, you little hellcat. You've done about enough damage."
Jessie was about to show the bastard damage and crack her whip again when a gunshot filled the air. Jessie thought for sure that gunshot had been the rifle and she must be dead and it took her several breathless moments to realize that wasn't the case.
The man with the rifle fell dead to the ground. Jessie scrambled forward and snatched his revolver from the holster at his hip. Vick came barreling around the wagon toward her and Jessie fired a quick shot, dropping him. She was preparing to shoot the only remaining man, who had recovered from his tears and was now coming for her, only to have a shot sound and see a bullet take him down before she could.
Jessie suddenly found herself standing alone in the quiet night with the bodies of four dead outlaws surrounding her. The horses were still carrying on but everything else had fallen deathly silent.
Who had shot these men? Jessie wasn't foolish enough to believe they had helped because they had seen her predicament and felt sorry for her. Maybe whoever had killed these men simply hadn't liked them—or maybe they'd wanted her for themselves.
"You better get to showing yourselves or else I'm gonna start shooting any shadow that moves!" Jessie warned.
She nearly cried out and barely kept herself from pulling the trigger when a pack mule suddenly entered the ring of fire light from the campfire. Hellfire, she knew that ugly beast.
But that had to mean that......
"If you shoot the mule, I'm making you carry all that crap on your back."
For the first time in her life, Jessie forgot about being guarded. The sound of Langley's voice had her throwing down her gun and running to him. The look of shock on his face let her know he was surprised when she threw her arms around his neck and leapt into his arms. "God Langley, am I glad to see you," she exclaimed, clinging to him.
Langley's arms wrapped around her waist. "You're only saying that because I saved your backside," he countered, burying his face in her hair.
Jessie winced. "Go easy on my back. I fell off a cliff," she warned. She looked up at his face and into those eyes she'd hoped she'd one day get to see again. "And I'm saying it's good to see you because it's good to see you. I would have figured out a way to save my own backside."
Langley nodded and took a few steps away from her. Jessie felt cold. She realized that it was the first time that Langley had put distance between them. She knew she was to blame but it still hurt. An awkward silence fell over them. Langley began going through the dead man's pockets and supplies.
Jessie picked out a mare, a gentle enough brown one that she hoped would be easier to control. By the time she was done saddling the mare and gathering up all her things, Langley was waiting on her. "We need to get out of here," he warned. "I'll tend to you back once we're at our own camp."
Jessie hated the coldness in his tone and his standoffish posture. While it was true that she had left him, he still needed to remember that he was the one who had misled her and drugged her! He shouldn't place the blame on her shoulders.
***
Langley glanced at Jessie from the corner of his eye and saw the blood on the side of her face. Quickly, he turned away.
Langley had been tailing her since she'd left him in Armadillo. He hadn't let himself fall too far out of sight until the evening before when his horse had picked up a rock in his shoe. By the time he'd gotten it out it had been nearing evening and his mule had then gotten away from him and Langley had nearly broken his ankle in a gopher hole trying to catch the thing.
He'd been forced to make camp and when he'd found Jessie earlier today, she'd been tied up and bloody in that canyon with those bastards. He had felt helpless watching her and knowing he couldn't help her with so many men keeping watch.
Langley had been waiting for the cover of darkness to make his move but Jessie had made hers first. He'd damn near died of worry as he'd raced to reach her, knowing he was too far away to help and praying that she didn't get herself killed before he got to her.
"You'd been following me again, hadn't you?" Jessie asked, breaking the long silence.
"Yeah. Ever since you left me again," he replied quietly as he maneuvered his horse around the sagebrush.
Jessie sighed. "I shouldn't have left you but...."
"I shouldn't have drugged your drink, I know. At the time all I cared about was keeping you safe and I knew damn well you wouldn't keep yourself safe willingly."
Jessie smiled. "I'm actually a bit impressed by what you did. I think Marston would be proud of you."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"That been said," Jessie continued. "I've been taking care of myself for a long time, Langley."
"And you don't need me," Langley grumbled his temper spiking in a way only Jessie seemed able to cause. "You've made that perfectly clear."
Why did he love the damn woman? She was hard-headed, impossible to please and refused to let anyone close to her—even the man who was head over heels in love with her and would give her the moon if she'd allow it.
"I'm sorry I left you," Jessie whispered so quietly that Langley had to strain to hear her.
"I'm sorry I drugged you," Langley replied, knowing that apologizing had to have been hard for her. Jessie wasn't the apologetic type.
"Partners again?" she offered.
Langley shrugged. "You know how I feel about you."
Silence fell again, though this time it was less strained than before.
Yes, Jessie knew how Langley felt about her but she wasn't ready to say she felt the same way for him. It wasn't safe to say those words—to give someone that power over you. Hell, she refused to even think them!
Together they rode along in the moonlight. Jessie could see the sadness still etched on Langley's face and it made her feel desperate. Langley was a happy man, a bright spot on the darkness that was life, and Jessie didn't want to see him frowning.
She rode closer and nudged him with her elbow. "From here on out, I'll buy my own drinks," she teased with a wink.
Her heart lightened a million times when Langley's deep, husky laughter filled the night air.
***
"What the hell happened to your back anyhow?" Langley demanded at their camp later that night as he rubbed salve on the worst of the cuts and tears in her skin.
"I told you already," Jessie snapped, swallowing hard against the pain.
A frown creased Langley's brow. "You did?"
"Yes I did!" Jessie exclaimed, growing annoyed. "I fell off a damn cliff!"
"You did?" Langley practically yelled, causing her to jump. "I thought you were joking. How in the hell did you fall off a damned cliff?"
"I never joke about falling off cliffs," Jessie replied dryly. "And that damn horse of my pa's was trying to kill me."
Langley simply shook his head as he stood straight, went to her saddlebags and pulled out a clean blouse. He tossed it to her before turning his back to give her privacy to change.
Jessie tossed her torn blouse away and pulled on the clean one, wincing with each and every movement. She cleared her throat to let Langley know he could turn back and as she was pulling her damp hair, freshly washed in the river they were camped beside, out of her shirt, his eyes fell on her wrists.
Langley was to her in two long strides and he grabbed her arms gently. "What happened to your wrists?" he asked softly, studying the raw and torn skin.
Jessie pulled away, her heart skittering like a wild critter in her chest. "The ropes were a bit too tight is all," she muttered. She wiped her hands on her pants and looked around. "Just now I'm more worried about food."
Langley sighed. Why did the woman always have to act so tough? Just once he'd like to see her open up a little. "Well, I'm tired. So unless you're cooking, supper is hardtack and jerky," he replied, tossing her a sack that contained both.
Jessie busied herself, pretending that she was searching for just the right biscuit when in truth she was wishing she could give Langley what he wanted. Why was it so hard to be weak? Jessie knew that women were supposed to be weak sometimes....They were supposed to be the damsel in distress that a man got to rescue.
Jessie had never had that luxury. She didn't know how to be that woman. She had a hard enough time simply saying 'I'm sorry' without feeling like she was exposing too much of a soft spot.
But Langley made he want to have a soft spot. Just once, Jessie wanted to know what it would feel like to lay in down with him, have him wrap her up in his arms and love her the way only a man could.
Jessie couldn't promise him forever. Hell, she couldn't even say for sure what she felt for him other than a strong connection and friendship—but she could give him now. Now would be good enough.
Before Jessie could let doubts or nerves change her mind, she turned back to Langley only to realize that he hadn't been lying about being tired. He was already lying on his bedroll and appeared sound asleep.
Jessie was relieved. It was for the best. She couldn't be weak. She couldn't be the type of woman a man needed.
Munching on her makeshift supper, Jessie stared into the darkness. Then she lay down upon her own bedroll, staying on her side and keeping her back to Langley. It seemed a long time that she lay there listening to the sounds of the night.
Her breath became trapped in her lungs when she heard Langley move and then he was suddenly behind her, pressing his body gently against hers and wrapping his arm around her waist.
"What are you doing?" she whispered tightly.
"Holding you because I'm scared of the dark," he replied.
Jessie felt as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs. "Liar," she gasped.
"Don't worry, Jessie. I'm not going to let you take advantage of me out here in the dirt," he promised, his smile curving against her hair. "If I decide to let you take my virtue, it'll be in a nice warm bed."
Jessie laughed lightly, thankful for this man who seemed to always know what to say and who wasn't afraid to look weak to save her from doing so. With his arm around her and his body close to hers, Jessie felt a peace settle over her that she'd never felt before and it didn't take long before she was drifting off to sleep.