Dangerous Men (Flynn Family Saga Book 2) (20 page)

He went up to his room and tried to sleep, but every
time he closed his eyes, he saw Maggie's face, pale and drawn, the day the
rattler bit her.

Finally, he slept, but he dreamed of Elmira.  It was
snowing, and he walked among the graves of those who had died because he
couldn't save them.  Grief and guilt tore at him, like the claws of a bear, but
he could not cry.

He woke with a gasp, and it was all he could do to
keep from running to the boarding school and dragging Maggie out of it.

He threw himself into his training, hoping that
exhaustion would help him sleep, but it was no use.  Night after night, he
dreamed of Jennie's death.

One night, he woke with Sam standing over him. 
Sam's face looked grim in the light from the lantern.  "Who is she,
Flynn?"

"Who?"  Flynn looked away.

"Jennie."

Flynn looked away.  “Let it go, Sam.”

“Do you still love her?”

The question startled Flynn.  He thought a long time
before answering.  “I don’t know.”

Sam sighed.  “Maggie loves you with her whole heart,
Flynn.  She’s never loved anyone else.”

“I know.  That’s why I was afraid to ask her to
marry me, Sam.  We’ve both seen things and done things that I had hoped Maggie
would never have to.  But when she killed those men...”

Sam nodded slowly.  “I know.  But Flynn, she’s been
through so much.”

Flynn drew a deep breath.  “I can’t promise to
protect her, Sam.  I wish I could.  I can promise you that I will love her with
all my heart and soul.  And I will do my best to give her the life she loves,
the life we both love.”

Sam looked away.  "I guess that'll have to
do."  He sighed wearily.  "I've never been a father before.  I just
want to make sure she doesn't get hurt."

"So do I."

Sam nodded again.  He looked back, and there was a
hardness in his eyes that Flynn had never seen before.  "I know better
than to try to talk Maggie out of marrying you, but I swear to you, Flynn, if
you hurt her, I'll hunt you down and kill you."

Flynn swallowed hard.  "And I won't lift a
finger to stop you, Sam."

Sam nodded once.  He left the room, taking the light
with him.

Flynn lay awake a long time, wondering if he had any
right to marry anyone with the ghosts that still haunted him.

***

In the morning, Ned showed up as usual.  Maggie ran
to the door.  "Ned, is there a willow tree anywhere near here?"

"A willow tree?"  Ned frowned.  "Why
do you ask?"

"The bark helps bring down a fever."

Ned's expression changed, and for the first time, he
looked frightened.  "Who is it?  Nora?"

Maggie nodded.

"I'll find a willow tree, Miss Anders, if I
have to ride all the way to Canada."  He set down the crates of supplies
and ran from the back door.

With a sigh, Maggie opened the door and brought in
the crates of oranges and milk.  She walked back up the stairs with chips of
ice wrapped in a handkerchief.  She placed the ice on Nora's forehead.

The girl was restless, muttering about spiders and
snakes.

Maggie drew a deep breath.  "Ned was here,
today.  He said that he misses playing duets with you on the piano.  I always
wanted to learn how to play, but I never stayed in one place long enough.  My
mother plays, though.  Sometimes, at night, I fall asleep listening to
Beethoven or Mozart.  And at Christmas, she plays carols until midnight."  She stroked Nora's hair back from her face.  The lesions were beginning
to heal, but the girl was so very weak, and she coughed just like Tommy
Lonnegan.  Fear stung Maggie.  She drew a deep breath and continued to speak
calmly.  "Ned's looking for willow bark for you right now.  He's going to
come back with it, and I'm going to brew a cup of tea for you.  It's bitter,
but it will bring down your fever."

Nora's skin was hot to the touch, but the sound of
Maggie's voice seemed to soothe her.

Someone knocked on the door.  Maggie opened it. 
Clara stood in the hallway.  "Mr. Ned's back with that willow bark you
asked for."

Maggie nodded.  She ran down the stairs and made a
pot of willow bark tea.  She carried it up the stairs to Nora's room.

Nora lay very still.  The coverlet didn't rise and
fall.  Maggie took her wrist, but she couldn't find a pulse.  She rested her
ear against Nora's chest.

There was no heartbeat, no sound of breathing.

Maggie closed her eyes.  She felt a strong hand on
her shoulder and turned.

Clara stood behind her.  Tears shone in the older
woman's blue eyes.  "You did your best, Miss Maggie."

Maggie shook her head.  Her throat ached as if she
had lesions herself.  "But it wasn't enough.  It just wasn't good
enough!"  She stood up and ran from the room, but there was nowhere to
go.  Even the empty rooms were stifling.  Maggie longed for the prairie and the
open sky.  She longed to feel the wind on her face.  She went to the room next
Nora's and threw herself on the bed and wept for a girl she had never known.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The next day, when Ned came, Maggie walked
reluctantly to the door.

"How is she, Maggie?  Did the willow bark
help?"

Maggie shook her head.  "She was gone before
you got back."

"No."  The color drained from Ned's face. 
"No!"

"Ned, I'm sorry.  I—"

"Go to hell!"  Ned turned and ran from the
school.

Maggie opened her mouth and shut it.  She turned
away from the door and brewed another pot of tea.  Wearily, she climbed the
stairs to Elizabeth Barclay's room.  Elizabeth was just as sick as Nora had
been.

Maggie hoped that she didn't have to bundle up
another body for the undertaker.

But Elizabeth was awake and sitting up.  She made a
face when she saw Maggie.  "Do I have to drink that awful stuff?"

Maggie shrugged.  "Only if you want to
live."

"Oh for heaven's sake!"  Elizabeth
snatched the china cup and saucer out of Maggie's hands and drank it down.

Maggie took the cup down the stairs.

Mrs. Flannigan lay on the floor, clutching her
forehead.  There were red spots across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

Maggie and Clara got Mrs. Flannigan into bed.  Then,
Clara began to cook.  Maggie sat at the table, slicing oranges.  She cut her
finger.  Her hand trembled as she bandaged it.

Gently, Clara took the knife away from her. 
"Get some sleep.  Otherwise, you'll be no good to anyone."

Maggie nodded.  She climbed the stairs wearily and
fell into bed.

She dreamed of the night her parents died.  She
dreamed that Lucy and Michael fought over the jug of liquor.  She dreamed that
Michael struck Lucy and she fell, hitting her head.

But it was Nora's pockmarked face she saw staring up
at her.

"No!"  Maggie sat up.  She wanted
desperately to cry, but she was afraid that if she started, she would never
stop.

*  *  *

   In the morning, Clara did not get out of bed. 
Her head thrashed back and forth, and spots covered her face.

Maggie sobbed and ran down the stairs.  Her hands
shook as she tried to light the stove.

"Here.  Let me do it."  Pockmarked hands
took the box of Lucifers out of Maggie's hands.  Maggie turned.

Elizabeth Barclay stood in a beautiful silk
wrapper.  She squinted a little as she lit the paper in the firebox.  The
kindling caught, and then the wood.  Elizabeth set the kettle on the stove to
boil.

Maggie watched her with admiration.  "I didn't
know you could cook."

Elizabeth shrugged.  "We weren't always rich. 
Papa made a fortune in railroad stocks, and we moved out here after the war. 
Before that, my—my mother taught me how to cook."

"That's a good thing, because I can ride and
shoot and train horses, but I can't cook to save my life."

Elizabeth smiled faintly.  "I didn't know there
was anything you couldn't do, Miss Anders."

"My name is Maggie to my friends."  Maggie
walked over to Elizabeth.

For a moment, Elizabeth's back stiffened.  Then,
slowly, she turned to face Maggie.  Tears shone in her blue eyes.  "It has
been a long time since I had any friends.  Not since Mama died."  She
wiped her eyes with a lace handkerchief.

Maggie nodded.  "My mother is gone, too."

Elizabeth stared at her.  "How did she
die?"

Maggie turned away.  "My father killed
her."

"Mine, too," Elizabeth whispered.  She
drew a deep breath.  "I never told anyone that before."

Maggie turned and took Elizabeth's hands.  "I'm
sorry."

Elizabeth shrugged.  "Oh, he didn't shoot her
or poison her, but he kept a mistress, and he didn't even try to hide it. 
Little by little, my mother faded away.  Then, one winter, she became ill.  The
doctor said it was just a cold, but she kept getting weaker and weaker until,
one morning, she just didn't wake up."

Maggie hugged Elizabeth.  "Well, your secret is
safe with me, Miss Barclay."

Elizabeth nodded.  She drew a deep breath. 
"Call me Elizabeth."

"All right, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth smiled faintly.  She tested the top of the
stove with a drop of water, and then she began to make breakfast.

*  *  *

Three weeks later, it was over.  Clara lived.  Mrs.
Flannigan had died in her sleep.  Of all Maggie's patients, only Clara was
unmarked.

Elizabeth stood on the top step of the school.  A
black veil shrouded her scarred face.

Maggie stood beside her.  "What are you going
to do now?"

Elizabeth shrugged.  "Get married.  My father
has a husband all picked out for me.  Actually, it will be more of a merger
than a marriage.  My husband-to-be owns the Illinois Central Railroad."  A
black cabriolet pulled up to the mounting block.  Elizabeth swept down the
stairs and stepped daintily into the carriage.  She opened the isinglass
window.  "Where can I write to you?"

"Skytop Ranch, Marietta.  Care of Mr. and Mrs.
Ben Brewster."

Elizabeth nodded.  She tapped the roof of the
cabriolet with the tip of her parasol, and the carriage rolled away, rattling
over the cobblestones.

Maggie stood alone on the top step of the school,
blinking in the filtered sunlight.  The trees that lined the street were
shrouded in mist, and the foghorn called mournfully.  Maggie hugged herself.

Then, Sam's old battered wagon turned the corner.

"Papa!"  Maggie hiked up her skirts and
ran toward it.

Sam grinned when he saw her.  He pulled up in front
of the school and jumped down out of the wagon.  He stood over her, looking
solemn.

Maggie had almost forgotten how tall he was, tall
and strong and solid.  Tears filled her eyes.  "Oh, Papa!  I couldn't save
them!  I tried, but I couldn't!"

"I know, Magpie.  I know."  Sam gathered
her in his arms and held her while she cried.

Finally, Maggie drew a deep breath.  "Where is
Flynn?"

Sam sighed.  "He's still at the boarding
house.  He says he wants to be sure that he can take care of you."

Maggie sighed.  "I can take care of myself,
Papa."

"I know honey.  I know."  He hesitated. 
"But you know how you feel about losing so many of those girls?"

Maggie nodded.

"Flynn lost nearly three thousand men in Elmira."

Maggie shuddered.  "All right, Papa.  I'll try
to be patient."

Sam smiled at her.  "That's my girl.  Come on. 
Let's get out of here."

*  *  *

They reached the ranch at twilight.  Maggie helped
Sam stable the horses.  Then, she washed up.  She went into the kitchen and
helped Emma peel potatoes and listened to the familiar voices.  Frank was
there, helping Emma with the cooking.  Ben and Sam bickered back and forth
about whose was the best saddle horse, Alexander or Lightning.  Maggie smiled,
and a little of her grief melted away.

In the morning, Maggie woke early.  She went out to
the corral.  Adonis stood alone with his head held high.

"I still haven't been able to gentle him,"
Ben said softly.

Maggie nodded.  "He's stubborn."

Someone tugged on Maggie’s sleeve.

Jessica looked up at her with her large, brown eyes
and smiled shyly.  She handed Maggie a rolled up piece of paper tied with a red
ribbon.  Maggie unrolled it carefully.  It was a picture of Maggie riding a
tall, chestnut horse.

Maggie knelt and hugged the little girl. 
"Thank you."

Jessica tilted her chin up.  "You're gonna ride
him someday, Aunt Maggie.  I know you will."

Maggie's eyes burned with tears, but she nodded to
Jessica solemnly.  She went to the barn and brought out her saddle, the one her
grandfather had given her four years earlier.  She shut her eyes, and for a
moment, she could smell pipe tobacco and peppermint.  She put the saddle on the
top rail and climbed into the corral.  She held out her palm with a sugar lump
in the center.  Adonis took the white rectangle and tossed his head.  Laughing,
Maggie slipped the reins over his head.  He eyed her suspiciously.  Maggie
patted his neck.  She slung the saddle over his broad back and cinched it
tightly.  Adonis's ears flicked back and forth.

Maggie sighed.  She came around to his head and
stroked his nose.  "I don't know how to break this to you, Adonis, but
you're a horse.  You're supposed to wear a bridle and saddle and carry people
on your back."

Adonis shook his head, clearly disagreeing.  Maggie
laughed.  Before he had a chance to respond, she swung up onto his back. 
Adonis went rigid for a moment.  "It's just me, Adonis.  I'm not going to
hurt you."

Adonis tossed his head.  Then, he bucked.  Maggie
held on for five seconds.  Then, she fell backward.  The fall knocked the wind
out of her.  Strong hands helped her to her feet and she staggered to the
fence.  Ben helped her climb onto the top rail.  She sat on the fence and
watched as Adonis continued to buck.  Finally, worn out, he stopped.  He turned
his head and looked at her defiantly.

Maggie sighed.  "You should have called him
Flynn.  He's stubborn enough."

Ben laughed, and the colt snorted and tossed his
head.

"Now Adonis.  He isn't laughing at you." 
Maggie petted the colt's nose.  Adonis tossed his head again to prove he was
boss.  Then, he settled down.  She sighed.  "I just don't know what to do
with him."

"Give him time, Maggie.  Give him time."

Maggie looked at Ben.  "Are we talking about
Adonis or Flynn?"

Ben laughed.  "Both, I guess."  He looked
back at the house.  "We wanted kids for a long time, Maggie, but it just
never took."  He sighed.  "It's like that some times.  You wait so
long for something to happen, like Flynn asking you to marry him, and then
something goes wrong."

"What happened?"

Ben turned back to her.  "The baby was born dead."

Maggie blinked back tears.  She touched her friend's
arm.  "I'm so sorry, Ben."

Ben nodded.  "I left, Maggie.  I just took off
and left.  I worked for a rancher for three years before I came home again. 
Then, we started Billy.  He was born during the war, while I was away again. 
Emma's had to cope alone most of the time.  If I could just buy that piece of
land, I could stop working for other people and settle down.  But that Barclay
feller just won't sell."

Maggie looked north, toward the rich grassland that
lay idle.  She sighed and looked back at her friend.  "I'm sorry.  I'm
just disappointed, that's all."

Ben shook his head.  "No need to apologize.  I
miss Emma every day when we're on the trail."

Maggie smiled and nodded.  She sighed and jumped off
the fence.  She walked over to Adonis.  She took the reins and stroked his
nose.  "You are the most beautiful horse I've ever seen.  When I watch you
run, it's like poetry.  I want to ride you, if you'll let me.  I want to feel
like a part of the wind again, like I did with Rosalind."  She put her
foot in the stirrup and swung up onto his back.  Adonis stood utterly still. 
Maggie patted his neck and waited.

Nothing happened.

Cautiously, she squeezed her knees.

Adonis moved into a walk.

Excited, Maggie flicked him lightly with the reins. 
He moved into a trot.

"Open the gate, Ben!"

"Are you sure, Maggie?"

"Yup."

Ben opened the gate.  Adonis trotted out with his
head high.  Maggie drew a deep breath and flicked him again.  "Hah!"

Adonis broke into a gallop that was like floating a
few inches above the ground.  The wind whistled past her ears as they rode
together.  Maggie grinned so hard that her face ached.  Finally, she reined him
in.  She patted his neck again.  "Thank you.  That was beautiful.  Let's
go home, boy."

Adonis tossed his head.  Maggie turned him, and they
cantered back to the corral.

"Oh, Ben!  He's as wonderful to ride as he is
to look at!  Wait until you ride him!"

Ben laughed.

And then, Flynn rode through the gate.

Maggie leaped from Adonis’s back and ran toward him.

Flynn slid from Wakta’s back and
walked
toward her.

Maggie stopped in her tracks.

Flynn looked as scared and hopeful as she felt. 
Maggie couldn’t move.  Grinning, Flynn came to her.  He put his arms around her
and held her close.  “I missed you so much, Magpie.”

Maggie nodded against his chest.  “Me too.”

Flynn stepped back.  He knelt on his right knee. 
“Maggie O’Brien Anders, do you still want to marry me?”

Maggie nodded, unable to speak.

Flynn grinned.  "Good.  Because Kate sent out a
whole packet of invitations."  He picked up Maggie and swung her around. 
Then, he set her on her feet.

Maggie shut her eyes and nestled her cheek into the
hollow of his shoulder.

It was a perfect fit.

***

A month later, Maggie stood in front of the long
mirror in the room Kate shared with Sam as Kate helped her into her wedding
dress.  It had been white once, but now, it was ivory with age.  Maggie touched
the seed pearls on the bodice reverently.  “This belonged to your grandmother?”

Kate nodded.  She smiled wryly.  “I stole it when I
ran away with Richard, but we were married by a justice of the peace, and
Richard said it was too fancy for a civil ceremony.”

Maggie turned and squeezed Kate’s hand.  “I’m so
sorry.  He robbed you of everything.”

Kate smiled and shook her head.  “Nothing
important.  I have you and Sam.”

Maggie hugged her.  “Thank you, Mama.”

Kate nodded and pushed Maggie gently away.  She
fussed with Maggie’s hair for what seemed like hours.  Finally, she turned
Maggie to face the mirror.

Maggie gasped.  Kate had curled her hair and pinned
it up in an elegant coiffure, using the combs Flynn had given her.  “Thank you,
Mama.”

Kate wiped her eyes.  “I will miss you so, Magpie. 
But I’m proud of you, too.”