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CHAPTER 17
Belle was giddy with excitement. The nightmare was over. Reality
seeped in slowly. They still had Aaron to worry about. He had probably
hoped Paul would hang for Mark s death. Once he discovered that
hadn t happened, he d be back. He d lived too long with his hate, his
need for revenge. He wouldn t give up now. They d be looking over
their shoulders, always on the edge until he was caught. But at least
they d be doing it together best friends, husband and wife.
Giddiness overwhelmed her again. It was all too good to be true.
 Are you going to stand there all day? Florine draped a one-armed
hug around Belle s shoulders.  Everyone s starting to drift over to the
boarding house. If we don t hurry, we ll be stuck with all the work and
none of the fun.
Belle peeked through the swinging doors. A small crowd of friends
slowly made their way across the street. The Cyruses led them, chatting
as they went. If she hurried and ducked through the back alleys, she
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might reach the house before them. She noticed Pru didn t waste any
time heading home. The second Cal uttered the words about a
celebration, she d shot out the door.
Clutching her hat to her head, Belle rushed home. She beat her
friends by a block. Not enough to make a difference, but at least she
could say she tried. The door opened as she crossed the backyard. Pru s
stance reminded Belle of their mother s disapproving glare whenever
they stayed too long at the river.
Belle laughed at her.  Don t be such a prune-face.
Pru gave a barely noticeable shake of her head. Her wide-eyed gaze
darted to the door. Fingers clamped around her upper arm and yanked
her inside. Belle jumped back, but Pru s warning came too late. A
grizzle-faced man with a hairy hand filled the doorway. Sweat and the
stench of dirt mixed with liquor poured off of him.
 Get her in here now, fool, a voice snarled from inside.
The brute snagged Belle s wrist, shoved the pistol in her ribs, and
yanked her in. Two other men stood there, looking and smelling as
road-worn as the first. Susannah and Retha huddled together against the
far side of the kitchen.
The barrel of a gun pinned Pru to the sink.  They re looking for
Frank Jessop, she said.
Belle willed her nerves to stay steady.  You must be his brothers.
A gap-toothed grin spread over the second one s face.  You re real
smart. Right purdy, too.
He reached out to touch her. Belle bit back revulsion and forced
herself to be still. These men lived off fear. She refused to feed it to
them.
Grizzle-face slapped his brother s hand away.  We ain t got no time
for that now. We came to get Frank and that s what we re gonna do.
You still got the itch after that, we ll take one along to scratch it.
She suspected telling them Frank was dead wasn t a good idea.  I
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think you should know that half the town is on the way over for a get-
together.
 Then see they don t come in here, the second one said.
 The doctors will want to get 
He shoved the gun in her face.  What didn t you understand? he
said through clenched teeth.
Belle nodded.  Ladies&  She wouldn t give these men the
advantage of knowing their names.  Fill the urn with coffee. Put out the
tea service and get every dessert you can find on the dining room table.
And hurry. They ll be here soon.
No one argued.
 Not so fast. The first brother grabbed the blueberry pie from Pru
as she tried to pass.  We could use a taste ourselves.
Belle blessed Retha for the plan rapidly taking shape. Now all she
needed was the chance to carry it through. Finding the courage wasn t a
problem; her family s life gave her that strength.
She tied an apron around her waist.  Pru, get some plates.
Susannah, fetch that jug of hard cider from the basement.
She pulled out a chair.  Sit, gentlemen. Once I have the guests
settled I ll take you to your brother. We ll head out the back. Everyone
will be occupied in the other room. No one will know you re here.
Now& may I get to the injured in my examining room?
They gave their consent with a joint nod.  But leave the door open,
the second one said.
Belle slipped behind the privacy curtain. She quivered with each
breath. Her hands shook as she slipped the bottle of ether into her apron
pocket. All she needed was the chance.
She heard Susannah s footsteps on the cellar steps.  Could you
bring that in here? Sid s come around and is thirsty as all get out.
Hopefully, the Jessops would think nothing of giving an injured man
hard cider.
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Belle pulled the cork the second her sister rounded the corner. She
held her finger to her lips to indicate silence, then poured a bottle of
laudanum into the jug. Susannah shook it once, gave a nod, and
marched back to the kitchen. They d be lucky if she didn t bust it over
their heads.
Voices and laughter drifted from the other room. Retha seated the
bolt. As Belle hoped, the food and drink kept anyone from venturing
any farther than the dining room. The Jessops dove into the pie like
they hadn t eaten in days. Susannah set the jug in the center of the table
and stepped away.
The door handle rattled. The men snatched up their pistols. Retha
stifled a squeal. Belle waved everyone down.
 Stay out. We re& we re fixing a surprise, she called out.  We re
not coming out until it s ready or it ll be ruined.
 I ve got a surprise for you, too, Cal said.  Preacher s waiting and
the marriage committee is chomping at the bit. He chuckled as he
walked away.
Belle released a shaky breath.  Drink up, gentlemen. You might as
well enjoy it while you can. We ll give things a bit to settle in the next
room, then we ll leave.
One by one, they eased back and hoisted their cups.
Belle counted the seconds, the minutes. These were hard-living,
hard-drinking men. Maybe the laudanum and hard cider wouldn t work.
They just need to be relaxed. Just a little drowsy. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]