Page 80 of Montana Lawman Rescuer
“Would you like a peppermint?” she asked Mikey.
“Candy?”
“Me, too.” She stopped at Marshall’s Mercantile and bought a few. A stranger watched her. She averted her eyes at his bold stare. There was nothing familiar about him—he didn’t have dark eyes or silver-tipped boots. Besides, if he was one of the three, wouldn’t he be on the run? Still, his study of her made her nervous, and she hurried from the store.
Once outside, her nerves settled, and her thoughts drifted to the pleasant times she’d spent in Jesse’s company. Her favorite was the afternoon at the empty house. She let herself imagine turning the empty house into a home for herself and Mikey and Jesse. Regret and frustration quenched her dreams. She reached the intersecting street at the end of the block but didn’t immediately turn around. Would she ever be free to pursue her dreams? Not necessarily that particular one, as it required Jesse’s participation, but any dream. Living like this was akin to being stuck in a whirlpool, going nowhere and yet unable to escape.
A man headed toward her from the livery barn. The same man as she’d seen in the store. Before she could turn away, he called out.
“Emily Smith, fancy meeting you here. It’s been a long time.” His gaze dropped to Mikey, and his eyes narrowed.
She stared at him, her mind empty, her heart racing. She managed to force her voice to work. “How do you know my name?” She couldn’t imagine George telling a stranger.
“Of course, I know your name. After all, we were to be married. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that.”
“Married? To you?” She glanced at her left hand. “I don’t believe I’m married to anyone.”
“Well, things didn’t work out. What are you doing so far west? Perhaps taking up a new profession?”
She did not care for the way he leered at her. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know who you are.”
He reached her side and grabbed her elbow. “What kind of game are you playing? Of course, you remember me.”
She tried to shake free of his grasp, but he wouldn’t release her.
“I remember nothing. Not even who I am. I had a blow to the head and lost my memory.”
“Well, well, well. That’s mighty interesting.”
“Not for me.” He did not release her. Instead, he pressed intimately close, filling her nostrils with an artificial scent that stirred her memories and made her shudder. Whoever he was, she couldn’t imagine she’d agreed to marry him.
“You don’t remember being engaged to me—Fred Ellesworth?”
No recognition came from hearing his name. “To me, you are a stranger, and I’d thank you to remember that.” She again tried to shake free of him, but he squeezed her arm hard enough to hurt. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl.
“Maybe this will help you remember.” He pressed against her and kissed her.
“How dare you?” She would have slapped him, but he held her hands tight. Panic roared through her. Had she been the sort of woman who allowed this kind of familiarity? Was she like Jesse’s mother? Nausea rose within her at the thought.
The sound of horses approaching made him take a respectable step back, but he still held to her elbow, hard and cruel, as if he didn’t intend to let her go.
Three men, tied at the ankles and wrists, rode horses led by three men. Jesse was one of them. One man wore silver-tipped boots. One looked at her with bold, dark eyes.
“He’s captured them.” She waved to Jesse.
He rode on without a glance. Apparently, he hadn’t seen her. She pushed aside her disappointment. After all, he had to keep his mind on his business.
Weariness suckedat Jesse’s bones after two days of tracking these men and then a gunfight to capture them. Thankfully, no one had been hurt, though the man with the dark eyes had been shot in the arm. A flesh wound only. The three were responsible for robbing the stagecoach. He had all the proof he needed—the misshapen horseshoe, the silver-tipped boots, and the man with the dark, staring eyes who had frightened Emily. Apart from that, there were witnesses to the robbery and killing in Wolf Hollow. The judge was due in Bella Creek in a few days. In the meantime, Jesse would keep them in the jail cell. They’d be a little crowded, but he couldn’t help that. These men would soon receive the justice they deserved.
Jesse had had plenty of time to think in the days he’d been away, even though he’d had to keep his wits about him.
His thoughts had generally harkened back to the afternoon spent at the vacant house. More and more, he’d pictured himself living there with Emily as his wife. Upon his return, he’d meant to tell her of his dreams and ask her to consider forgetting her lost memory and starting anew. He knew she would demure because she didn’t know what secrets lay behind her, but he’d hoped to make her understand he didn’t care about her past, and he’d convinced himself she wouldn’t care about his. After all, she knew and hadn’t been shocked.
Then he’d ridden into town, anxious to lock up the culprits, post a guard, and go in search of Emily.
But as it turned out, he hadn’t had to look for her. As soon as they’d arrived in town, he’d seen her on the corner, kissing a man in plain view, the two of them pressed intimately close. His insides had filled with disgust, though whether more at her brazen behavior or his own foolishness in letting himself build impossible dreams, he wasn’t prepared to say. Seems her past had resurfaced, either because she’d regained her memories or because her experience had told her what to do.
A woman like his mother. A bitter taste filled his mouth.
