Harnessed Passions (69 page)

"Then get hold a yerself 'n let's get this
over with." Michael unlaced Sharon's fingers and turned back to
Julia who was sitting in a stunned silence on the wet, soggy
ground. "It's time ta end this little mas’rade." He grabbed hold of
Julia's arm and pulled her to her feet with a mighty thrust that
had her lunging straight into the man's smelly chest.

"You can't do this Michael," Julia pleaded
as the man tugged her to the water's edge. "You'll never get away
with this, there will be people looking for me. They'll find you,
both of you; they’ll lock both of you up, or hang you." Julia
thought for a brief moment about mentioning Margie, but feared
whatever was about to happen to her, would soon happen to her
friend as well.

"We weren't planning on going anywhere,"
Sharon snickered gleefully. "Everyone will think you killed
yourself out of guilt about what you did to Heather. The whole town
knows you've seen my sister's ghost, so they'll just think you were
slowly going crazy. Daniel of course will be heartbroken, but I'll
be there to help him heal."

"Like hell ya will," Michael growled,
turning around to face her. "Ya may not be as good as Heather, but
yer better than nothin'." Julia felt a certain degree of her old
temperament coming back to life as she listened to these two argue.
If she could get them to fight, then perhaps she could get to one
of the horses and get away.

"He's lying to you Sharon." Julia's voice
was level and stern as she used her only chance to offset the two.
"He'll never love you; you heard him say he loved Heather. He
doesn't think you're as good as she was. He's obsessed with a dead
woman. He will never want you for anything other than his own
pleasure; that is until he grows tired of you. As soon as he finds
someone prettier, he'll leave you. He'll take you back and put you
in that hospital where he doesn't have to worry about you. You'll
just be a part of his past; something he'll never again think
about."

"Shut up bitch!" Dourn growled, tightening
his grip on her arm.

"You bastard," Sharon whispered in a soft
gasp. "You'll do it too, won't you, just like she said? I'll be in
the way and you'll put me back in that horrible place, just to get
rid of me."

"Don't listen ta her Sharon," Michael
growled, his grip sending arrows of pain up Julia's arm, causing
her to gasp with agony. "She's tryin' ta throw ya off so's ya'll
help her ‘scape. Think 'bout Heather; she killed yer sister. We
can't let her get away with that."

"He's lying Sharon," Julia said again,
seeing the confusion well up on the woman's face. "If Heather were
here, he'd never have given you a second glance. He'd have thrown
you away for your sister, just like a piece of rotten meat."

"She's right," Sharon said, leveling her gun
on to him. "You would have chosen Heather over me, wouldn't you?"
Sharon pulled the trigger in a moment of rage, a bullet whizzed
past Julia's head, ripping through the intended victim's
shoulder.

Michael cried out in pain falling to the
ground, his colt .45 discharged as he fell backward, propelling a
bullet at lightning speed through the muggy night air. It struck
Sharon's slender abdomen with vibrating force, making her grasp her
stomach with disbelief; blood oozed between her fingers as pain and
fire spread through her entire body.

She slumped forward falling to her knees,
her eyes widened in horror and she crumpled into the cold
unforgiving water. Her last breaths filled her lungs with the very
water that had claimed her own sister so long ago. Another life
lost; sacrificed to the dark murky seclusion of this horrible place
Julia had once loved and thought of as her private paradise.

The reality of events came to Julia tenfold.
She glanced to the man who lay moaning in pain at the water's edge.
Realizing this was her only chance to escape, she scurried up the
small incline as fast as she could. Her feet slipped in her haste;
causing her to fall to the wet ground as her feet sunk deeper into
the mud. A twig snapped behind her, sending a chill of panic up her
spine, forcing her to hasten her pace. In a crab-like fashion, she
continued her way up the hill to freedom. The evening breezed blew
across her face drying the tears she had been unaware of
shedding.

Julia neared the crest of the hill, then
fell again, grasping in pain as she felt the panic of loss swoop
down upon her. The tightness of a cold band, steel and relentless
in pressure clamped down on her ankle, sending her in the dirt and
grass, face first. A cloud of dust erupted around her face and
head, making her cough and spit the dirt from her mouth as she
cried out for help.

Julia was being pulled back down the hill,
the steel band of Michael’s fingers wrapped tighter around her
ankle sending a numb tingling traveling up her leg as she continued
to struggle against him.

"Ya rotten bitch!" Michael growled,
struggling to gain control of his victim with his one good arm.
"I's gonna make ya pay fer ever'thin' ya've done."

"You can't just shoot me Michael; there are
too many people who can hear. Margie will tell everyone it was
you."

"But I's managed ta cover all that," he told
her calmly, finally fixing his hold on her and forcing her back to
her feet. "When they's find yer body, it will be too late ta help
ya. Ya'll be dead just like my Heather. I nearly had ya the first
time, but I mistook yer faintin' as death, then ya crawled outta
the water 'n was saved by that damned husband of yers. I won't make
that mistake again."

"There will be questions. The sheriff won't
ignore the bullets and they'll look at you. They all know you're
the one who's been starting the trouble at the ranch. Too many
people have seen you with Sharon. You can't get away with
this."

"The only thin' an’body has seen is a dark
‘aired woman on a brown horse. Ever’one thinks ya were the one
doin' it all. Now with Sharon 'n ya both dead the problems will
stop, just as they did when ya were in Boston. They'll all figer ya
were the ones behind the attacks."

"What about Margie? How can you explain away
an attorney's wife, witnessing what you’ve done?"

"What makes ya think she'll be here ta say
an’thing?"

"You wouldn't..." Julia gasped in horror
feeling her own hand on the seal of her friend's fate.

"One more death won't mean that much right
now."

"What about Sharon, how are you going to
explain her being found dead along side of me and Margie?"

"They'll think ya confronted her 'n ya
killed each other, the Leonard bitch was just in the wrong place at
the wrong time."

"You've planned everything haven't you? I'll
bet you even planned on killing Sharon, didn't you?"

"When I’s had my fill a her. Actu’lly ya did
me a favor, shakin' her up like that. Now I's don't have ta try 'n
cover up her death too. Ya see, in the law's eyes she were already
dead. I managed ta get her outta that there ins’tution in New York
'n leave a nurse in her place. It were just fate the room caught on
fire when it did. They all think Sharon were killed in the blaze.
It actu’lly made it easier ta keep her here without causin'
suspicions."

"Daniel's a lawyer, he'll demand answers and
justice; so will Harold. How are you going to provide them with
that?"

"I's ain't gonna have ta. The sheriff will
insist ever'thin' is cut 'n dry 'n they'll all ferget 'bout ya soon
'nough." Julia felt the water on the back of her dress, as he
tugged her into the edge of the pond.

"There's nothing that can go wrong."

"What will happen when you find Heather's
real killer? How will you explain killing them too?"

"Nice try, but I's known ya killed her. Yer
guilty as sin, 'n yer gonna burn in hell fer it."

"I didn't kill Heather!" Julia shouted as
the man pulled her to her knees in the water.

"Let her go son," a voice broke through the
brush behind them, causing Michael to stop his actions and turn
around. Standing just inside the clearing was Rally Overton, his
expression stern and serious, his hand wrapped around his
Winchester.

"Pa, what are ya doin'? She killed my
Heather, she deserves ta die."

"She didn't kill the girl, I's did."

Michael and Julia both stared at Rally
dumbfounded; wondering if he'd lost his mind.

"You?" Julia whispered, her head aching from
all she'd heard, her heart pounding from fear and her stomach
churning with nauseous anticipation.

"Ya killed my wife, Pa?" Michael asked, his
hand releasing Julia as he struggled to turn around in the muddy
water.

"I’s didn't know she were yer wife, son. It
were an accident Michael, I's swear it."

"Why Pa? Why'd ya kill her?" Michael’s eyes
were wide with disbelief, his hands clenching into tight fists.

"I’s thought ya'd been sneakin' 'round with
Miss Julia 'n I knows her pa woulda had ya arrested if'n he found
out. I saw the two of ya ride out here, I knows ya were plannin' on
runnin' off together so I's followed ya. I's thought I coulda
talked ya outta leavin', talked some sense inta ya. When I's got
here, Miss Heather were alone. I's tried ta reason with her, I's
tried ta talk her outta takin' ya away, but she refused ta listen.
She said she loved ya 'n she would never leave ya. She insisted yer
leavin' were fer the best. I tried ta talk ta her I's swear I's
did. I's grabbed her by the arm, but she pulled away 'n fell. She
hit her head on a rock 'n stumbled inta the water."

"Why didn't you help her?" Julia asked,
feeling a similar pain the younger Overton was struggling with.

"I's couldn't. Alls I could do were watch
her drown. I's known it were fer the best, with her gone I’s known
Michael woulda stayed, but then he had ta get inta that fight with
Mr. Brownin' 'n Mr. Turner fired him when he found out. Ever'thin'
I did were fer ya son," Rally said looking pitiful; his eyes
begging for his son's forgiveness. "I's only tried ta protect
ya."

"But she were my wife Pa. I loved her. She
were gonna have my baby."

"I's truly sorry Michael, but someday yer
gonna understand. Ya were all I’s had left a yer ma; I couldn't let
an’thin' happen ta ya."

"Ya killed my wife!" Hearing only the man's
confession, he leapt toward him shouting obscenities as he landed
in the middle of Rally's aging frame, knocking him to the ground.
They struggled for several minutes rolling back and forth in the
moist dirt, fists striking into one another, blood spilling to the
ground. Grunts of pain sounded like wild boars in the stillness of
the night, each receiving and delivering his own fair share of the
blows.

Julia looked up as a movement caught her eye
and saw Margie struggle to sit up. She slowly edged her way out of
the cool water and moved to comfort her friend. Her head had a
large gash across her brow and her eyes were cloudy with pain, but
she was alive and coherent to Julia's presence.

The two women remained silent as the Overton
men continued their fight; neither willing to move yet both knowing
they should get away as quickly as possible. It was as if they were
mesmerized by the sights. The pain in Margie’s head made seeing
difficult while Julia sat transfixed; she wasn’t sure if she could
move, even if she wanted to.

Grunts of pain continued to rise in the
night air until a shot rang out, echoing through the dark
tranquility of the secluded pond. Julia jumped at the sound of the
gun firing and grimaced slightly in fear and shock. She couldn't
move; she just sat there staring as Rally stumbled to his feet, the
smoking gun held tight in his hand. He stared down at his son’s
lifeless body; blood poured out of the hole in his chest, soaking
into the dirt beneath him.

Julia felt the bile rise in her throat as
she watched the man who had just killed his own flesh and blood;
blood that was quickly returning to the earth God had given him
life from. Rally fell to his knees, sobbing softly beside Michael’s
lifeless body. His soul screamed for mercy as the sound of horses
rang through the thick brush.

Daniel hurried down the embankment calling
to Julia, shouting her name through the night as the shouts of men
echoed through the stillness. Julia called back as tears fell down
her dirty cheeks; his voice was like a salve to an open wound,
healing and giving life to a weary soul in the same breath. The men
cleared the brush they stopped as silence fell around the scene.
The stared at their foreman who lay sprawled across his dead son,
bawling like a child.

Two dead bodies lay witness to the horror
that had played out to the end of the evening's scenario; a wounded
Margie Leonard sitting in the grass, the dead body of Sharon
Farnsworth floating in the pond, and the sobbing pleading remnants
of a man who clung to his son's lifeless corpse.

Daniel glanced around and saw Julia cradling
Margie in her arms and hurried to her side, pulling her tight
against him.

Their embrace was like nothing they had ever
shared; they took and gave the strength the other so desperately
needed; a silent promise to never let go again.

Julia tried to remain brave, yet found the
tears streaming down her cheeks, increasing the sobs that welled up
in her throat. The reality of what had just happened came storming
back to her and she had no choice but to give into it, leaning her
head against her husband’s strong chest.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Daniel
demanded, still holding her close. Julia shook her head softly and
tried to laugh through the grief and sobs raking her heart.

"Still playing my knight, Sir Daniel?" she
teased, receiving a bone crushing hug in response.

"I stopped playing, remember? Now it's for
real." Daniel eased her away from him slightly, kissing her full
lips with all the passion his heart possessed. He couldn't seem to
find the strength to release her and she wasn't willing to let go,
even to check on Margie's condition.