She smiled. “But you’ll be eating jail food.”
He frowned for a moment and stared at her. “What if you didn’t turn me in and collect that bounty?”
“Then all of this would have been for naught. My sisters will still have to be out on the trail chasing bounties. I don’t want that,” she said quietly.
If it weren’t for Meg and Ruby, she would leave Beau here on the trail and return home. But she had to think about them. She didn’t want the burden of the farm keeping them out searching for outlaws. She’d seen how dangerous the job of bounty hunter could be and knew eventually, they could get hurt. They’d been lucky so far, but their father had died chasing a bad man and they could too.
“Your family seems close,” he said.
“We are,” she responded.
He stared into the fire like he wanted to throw daggers at the flames. “We were at one time, but not anymore. Frank and Jesse changed all that.”
“I can’t help but think about your mother. All of her sons have gotten in trouble with the law. Don’t you think she wonders what she did wrong?”
“No. My mother thought Frank and Jesse were heroes. And that Archie gave his life to support their cause. Me, she’s never been very proud of me.”
“Why? You’re doing what your brothers have done? Isn’t that what she’s proud of them for?”
He laughed and poked the fire with a stick he’d picked up, sending sparks flying heavenward. “No, I’m not robbing banks owned by northern industrialists, and I’m not helping continue the fight for the Southern cause. I’m just the kid who stood up to his brother for shooting a blackie. I’m the son who didn’t join in with his brothers to fight for the South. I’m the black sheep of the family. I’m my mother’s biggest disappointment.”
How could Beau be considered the black sheep of the family? If his mother wanted her sons to rob banks and commit crimes, he was fulfilling her every wish. He had a price on his head just like his brother Jesse and Frank. What more did she want?
She shook her head. “None of this makes sense to me. If you were a lawman, then I could see why you would be on the outside of the family, but you’re still robbing banks and doing wrong. If I were your mother, I’d be mad at the whole lot of you for going against the law and risking your lives for a cause that is not going to succeed. We’ve already seen that.”
Beau reached over and touched her hand. “You have such a fiery spirit. It’s one of the things I like about you.”
“Yeah, well, it gets me in trouble with my family. My sisters get frustrated with me because I tell them what I think, especially when I don’t agree with them. I wouldn’t be here if they had agreed. But no, Meg wanted to stop bounty hunting, and Ruby wanted to continue. I wanted to go with Ruby, and Meg said no. It’s a dangerous job for a woman, and I want my sisters to stop.”
Beau nodded. “Bounty hunting is a perilous profession, especially for a woman.”
“But if Ruby is going to continue hunting, I don’t want her to go alone. And I don’t want to go with her.”
“You just want to get married and have a few kids. Sounds nice and normal.”
She swallowed and blinked her eyes. What could she say? She wanted him, but knew he was off limits. She couldn’t even think about it because it hurt way too much. “My dreams are simple.”
“That doesn’t make them bad. It’s okay to have simple dreams. Actually, they sound really nice.”
She stood and emptied the rest of her coffee into the fire. “Yeah, well, they’re not going to happen anytime soon.”
“You don’t know that.”
Oh yes, she did. God, now when she thought of a man, she would always compare him to Beau. “I know I’m out here with you, not at home. And I haven’t met a man in Zenith I would even consider for a husband. Not one.”
“Understand.”
Silence stretched between them, and for a moment, Annabelle thought she’d confessed too much. There was an attraction between them she’d never experienced with any other man, yet it was impossible. Beau was from a lawless family that would never allow them to have the kind of life she wanted. The law wanted him, and she had to turn him into the sheriff to get her sisters out of the bounty hunter way of life.
The two of them together was impossible.
“We better turn in. We still have two days of riding before we reach Fort Worth.”
“There should be an extra bedroll now for you to sleep in.”
She wanted him next to her. She didn’t want him next to her. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She wanted this man so desperately, but she knew he was off limits. She had to turn him into the law. She had to, to protect her sisters. Her mind was whirling like that twister, churning with so many mixed feelings.
“I’m not sleeping with fleas,” he said. “These men weren’t the best bathers, and their bedrolls are probably filled with either bed bugs or fleas. If you want to sleep in one, then you can, but me, I’m crawling in with you.”
A spiral of warmth went through Annabelle at the thought of his strong, warm body next to hers. How could she tell him no, when it was his bedroll, and she didn’t blame him one bit for not sleeping in one of the outlaws’ blankets.
And she liked him sleeping beside her. But they were alone, with no one around to chaperone them, and temptation curled inside her like a coiled snake, ready to strike.
Yet, she enjoyed the feel of Beau snug against her at night. He was warm and safe, and the man lit a fire in her she’d never felt before. She wanted him beside her.
She watched as Beau unfurled the bedroll. He arranged the blankets then glanced over at her, his eyes dark with some hidden emotion that had her blood heating. She licked her lips and tried to think of any way she could keep the distance between them.
He walked over to the fire and kicked some logs over, then glanced at her. “Come to bed, Annabelle. I want to hold you in my arms.”
Oh God, how did she get away from being snug in his embrace and did she want to?
No, she wanted him.
She took two steps to the bedroll and dropped to her knees to lie down. Maybe it was wrong, but she didn’t care. She wanted Beau for the time they had left together.
T
he next morning, Annabelle rode beside Beau. The night before, the moment her head hit the ground and Beau had wrapped his arms around her, she’d fallen into a deep, restful sleep. For the first time in days, she’d slept soundly, not worrying about waking to a gun in her face or the two of them being shot while they slept.
She’d dreamed of home and the farm—of her sisters playing together as little girls, while their papa had plowed the field. Even her mother had been there, and Annabelle had woken this morning feeling like her dreams were reminding her of the love waiting for her at home.
Even though her mother and father were gone, her sisters would welcome her back in their loving arms and scold her for leaving without talking to them first. And she deserved their wrath. Yes, it was time to go home. She could feel her soul longing for where she belonged.
As they prepared to leave, she glanced at the peaceful moving river. “Shame the river won’t take us to Fort Worth.”
“Yeah, it is. We’d be there in a day, instead of several. I think we can make it in two.” He walked over to some dead bushes and moved them aside. Shoving rocks out of the way, he reached down and pulled out a bank bag.
“Oh, my God. I almost forgot about the money,” Annabelle said, staring at the bag, knowing there was no way she could ignore or hope or wish or dream Beau was not a bank robber. He was holding proof of his crime in his hand. Her soul bled, despair and sadness causing her stomach to feel queasy.
“Yes, we need to take this with us,” he said, holding up the bag, examining the contents.
He stood and walked to his horse, where he put the bag in his saddle pouch.
Now she had to do the hardest thing she’d ever done in her twenty years living on this earth. Beau was an outlaw, a bank-robber, a thief, and she had to turn him in and collect the bounty, so her sisters would no longer have to hunt for criminals.
They would be safe, and together, the three of them could work the farm and live a quiet life. No, it wasn’t what she’d dreamed of as a young woman, but sometimes dreams were just that, fanciful creations in your mind, not the reality of life.
“What are you going to do with that money?” she asked, needing to know he hadn’t robbed that bank just for the money. Could there possibly be a good reason for him needing the cash?
“You’ve already asked me that question.”
“And you never told me.”
“Some things are better left unsaid,” he said, pulling his hat low then climbing onto his horse.
She sighed. He wasn’t going to tell her, but she knew it couldn’t be good. Whatever he had planned in Fort Worth, he wasn’t saying. She climbed onto her horse, ready to ride out for the last part of their journey together.
He gigged his horse, and they started up the embankment of the river, heading in a southeasterly direction. She was no longer frightened, only sad. Sooner or later this journey she’d been on would come to an end, and she’d have to say goodbye to Beau. He’d go to jail, possibly hang. And she’d go home to her sisters with the memory of her adventure.
Only she feared she would be leaving a piece of her heart with Beau. She liked this man, he was good, he was kind, but he was an outlaw. A man who’d robbed banks and roamed with a gang. He wasn’t husband material, and she would do good to remember that.
The sun was high in the sky, when the sound of horses’ hooves pounded the earth. Quickly, they hid in some trees and brush, hoping they hadn’t been seen.
An ache formed in Annabelle’s chest at the realization that this was the life she could expect to live if Beau was her husband. The constant running, hiding from the law, hoping no one would catch them. And their children would be tainted by their father’s deeds. No, she couldn’t live that kind of life.
A posse rode toward them. They were riding hard and fast, and their horses kicked up a cloud of dust, causing a haze to hang over them like an umbrella. Annabelle slipped off her horse to hide in the nearby bushes and watched as they rode past, wondering who they were after.
Beau joined her side, and together they observed the men race by less than ten yards away. Stunned, she spotted Meg and Ruby riding alongside the men.
The sight of her sisters brought tears to her eyes. “Oh, my God,” she cried. “It’s Meg and Ruby and Zach.”
Beau whirled toward her. “Those were your sisters?”
“Yes,” she said, trembling.
Beau covered her mouth with his hand. “
Shh
.”
Her sisters rode by, her heart pounding like a racehorse at a full gallop at the sight of them. She wanted to call out, “wait,” so badly, yet knew now was not the time. She needed these last days with Beau, because once they reached Fort Worth, he would be gone. Forever.
She would be alone, with only her sisters. She glanced at Beau, her chest wrenching with longing and aching with need for him. She loved Beau Samuel, loved him in spite of his background. Loved him for making certain she remained safe on this trip. Loved him for how he teased her and made her laugh. Loved him for the good man she knew was inside his outlaw persona. And yet she couldn’t remain with him.
With tear-filled eyes, she watched her sisters in the distance. Meg’s red hair bounced in a braid down her back, her black hat shadowing her eyes. On one side of her rode Zach, the sheriff from Zenith. On the other side Ruby’s blonde hair billowed in the wind, her hat low on her head as her body bounced in the saddle.
God, Annabelle loved her sisters so much, and she wanted to reach out to them—to scream and let them know she was here in the bushes, she was fine, and she wanted to go home. But there were things she had to do. One last thing before she could go home.
A tear slipped down her cheek, and she wiped it away.
Beau’s hand released her mouth. “Sorry, I was afraid you would call out to them.”
She shook her head and swallowed her tears, her feelings, and her desires. “No, we’ve got to get to Fort Worth.” Slowly, she stood and stared into his gaze, wondering why he couldn’t see the emotion that filled her.
God, she loved this man.
She took a deep breath and released it, trying to calm herself. “Are you ready to go?”
He stared at her, looking at her with tenderness, his eyes conveying he knew she felt torn at seeing her sisters.
She wanted to go to them, but she’d chosen to stay with him, and her decision was ripping her apart. Causing her pain and remorse and a sadness that seemed to grip her in its intensity.
But he didn’t know she’d fallen in love with him, and he never would.
He touched her cheek. “Why didn’t you call out to them?”
“Your hand was covering my mouth,” she said with a flip of her hair as she stared into his eyes defiantly, wanting to pull his mouth to hers and show him her feelings. Instead, she tried to act like nothing had changed, when everything had. “Let’s just say I’m going to finish what I started.”
Beau shook his head as he climbed back on his horse. His eyes studied her like he didn’t believe what she was saying. “We better go before they decide to head back in this direction.”
“Yeah. The sooner we get to Fort Worth the better. I need to get home,” she said quietly. She pulled her horse to her side and stepped up into the saddle. “Let’s go.”
*
An hour later they hurried down the trail. They were making great time, and as long as the horses held out, they might even arrive sometime late tomorrow. His chest was tight with pain at the realization that soon, they would be parting ways. Soon, she would go home, and he would be back on the trail.
Oh, he knew she thought she was going to turn him in, but he wasn’t worried. He knew Annabelle would do what was right when the time came. He knew she would choose him.
What he didn’t know was why she’d watched her sisters ride by on the trail and hadn’t yelled out. She could have very easily removed his hand, but instead, she’d watched with tears in her eyes. She’d chosen to stay with him and not go home with them.