Page 43 of The Gold Rush Bride

Sadie laughed; the sound maniacal to her ears. “I’ll die before I let you take me. Then if you had any hope of living, it’s gone. He’ll kill you on sight. It won’t matter where you are. You’ll be dead. Hiding in town won’t save you.”

Homer’s eyes abruptly shifted to something behind her.

She turned around to see Barnaby entering the clearing. She smiled and looked at Homer over her shoulder. “I hope you’re prepared to die because you are soon to meet the maker, and God is not about to be happy with you. But Satan will welcome you with open arms, and may you rot there.”

Barnaby fired his pistol.

Monty went down, gun still in his hand.

Homer grabbed Sadie around the throat with his arm and shoved a pistol in her side. He stared over her shoulder at Barnaby.

If she was certain she wouldn’t get shot, she’d send her elbow into his diaphragm. But the way he was holding the shaking gun, she couldn’t risk it. Couldn’t risk the baby.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll shoot her. She’ll die before you get her to a doctor. Just like your friend, Seth.”

Barnaby stopped in his tracks. “The only one dying this day is you. You shoot my wife, and I’ll make sure you writhe in agony. You let her go, and I might give you a chance to shoot me first. Your choice, Grimes.”

The more Sadie focused on her husband, the more she respected and loved him. He was amazing. Calm and cool. Nothing Grimes said made any difference to Barnaby. Grimes had seen fit to kidnap Sadie this time, and Barnaby would not be forgiving. He had his chance to live when her husband hadn’t tracked him down last time. But now, he had no chance. She knew that, but Grimes didn’t, or he thought he could beat Barnaby. But that wouldn’t happen. Her man was good; slow, methodical, accurate. He didn’t waste ammunition, not while hunting and not while facing down a criminal like Homer Grimes.

Suddenly, Grimes pushed her away and fired his pistol at Barnaby.

Barnaby hadn’t moved, but now he took aim and fired. The bullet hit Homer in the middle of his forehead.

She’d known Barnaby was good from when he was teaching her to shoot, but that had been practice. Now was real life, and he’d just saved hers. She took off running toward him. When she reached him she launched herself at him, knowing he would catch her. He would always catch her. She wrapped her long legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Then she peppered his face with kisses before he stopped her.

“That’s no way to kiss your husband, the man who just saved your life, now, is it?”

As tears filled her eyes, she laughed. He’d saved her from a fate worse than death. Though she was prepared to fight, their advantage in numbers was too great. She knew the men could have overpowered her and taken her.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she buried her face in his neck.

He rubbed her back with one hand and held her to him with the other. “Here now,mo grah. You’re fine. I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you. You’re my wife. No one takes what is mine.”

Sadie realized he didn’t say he loved her. Did he? What about their baby? Would he love him? She’d already decided she was having a boy. Someone big and strong as his father. Someone who wouldn’t have to marry just to be safe on her own property. She unwrapped her arms from around his neck and put them around his shoulders. “You can let me down now.”

He held her as she lowered her legs from his waist.

She stood. “We should probably head home.”

“We have to bury these men, or the animals will carry parts of their bodies all over the forest. No one wants to be walking and run into human bones.”

“Of course, you’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”I was thinking we should just let the buzzards and other scavengers take them, but that would be an unChristian thing to do. I feel bad even thinking such a thing, but Homer Grimes was evil, and Monty was just as bad since he’s the one who actually kidnapped me.

Barnaby searched the camp for a shovel and found one. He started digging; the ground having thawed enough to make his task possible.

A couple of hours later, he had the hole as deep as he could go before the ground became too hard.

He pulled himself out and carried both men over and dumped them in the hole. Then he covered it with the dirt he’d dug up.

After he was done, he used the clean water in the bucket by the fire to wash the dirt from his face and hands. His clothes were filthy and would have to be scrubbed sooner than she’d planned.

What would she do if he didn’t change his mind? If he didn’t love their child? She would never raise a child with a father who didn’t love him. She couldn’t subject any child of hers to that heartache. Better to never have a father at all.

She was quiet on the walk home.

“Sadie, are you all right? I don’t think you’ve said a single word since we started back to camp.”

“Sorry, just thinking.”