After the Ashes(4)

Lorelei followed his gaze. Dirt, rocks, and knee-high shrubs that looked more dead than alive stretched farther than she could walk in a day. Only a distant mountain range, black and bare, broke up the sea of gray-green brush. This strange, barren place made her shudder. Still, she understood Corey’s need to be free of Kentucky.

“Is this really your ranch, Corey?”

“It’s our ranch. It’s going to be great once we get some horses.” He grabbed her hand and held it. “Hey, how was your trip out? I feel awful about not making Ma’s funeral.”

Lorelei squeezed his fingers. Her brother’s shared grief gave her a moment’s peace. After her mother’s death, the hope of finding comfort with her only sibling had given her the strength to sell their family’s possessions and secure a passage west. They’d had time to do little more than bandage his wound before that stranger had come riding out of the dust.

“First, I need to know what’s going on. Why does that man think you did all those horrible things?”

Corey stared up at the beamed ceiling. “I wanted the ranch to be nice for you. You deserve to have it easy after taking care of Ma by yourself.”

Lorelei recognized his stalling as an attempt to soften the blow that was sure to follow. She made her voice stern. “What did you do, Corey?”

He toyed with the fringe on the woven blanket. “I was with the men who robbed the stagecoach.”

“Corey.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t know what they were going to do. I met this fella, Rowen Mulcahy, and he took a liking to me because I had an Irish name. I was kind of bragging about how I knew horses and how fast I can ride, and he said he needed a man like me.” He reached for her hand. “I swear I didn’t know they were going to kill anyone. I swear it.”

She folded her arms over her chest, keeping herself out of his reach. “Who shot you?”

He stared out the window again, but it was clear he no longer enjoyed the view. “One of the men on the stagecoach. There was a lot of shooting going on.”

Lorelei could tell by the way his soft brown eyes dulled that he spoke the truth. Whatever had happened shook him just to think of it.

“Where are the other men you were with? Were they caught?”

“I don’t think so. I don’t know for sure. I think Mulcahy was shot pretty bad. Might be dead. All I know is that when the shooting started, I took off. Hid for a night or two, thinking I was dead for sure. But after a while I had to find some food and water. That’s when I first knew I was being trailed.”

“I think we should go to the authorities and try to clear your name.”

“No.” He swung his legs over the bed’s side. “No authorities. They’ll just lynch me.”

She gripped his shoulder to keep him from standing. “I don’t believe that. Surely there is someone who will listen to you.”

He brushed her hand aside and got to his feet. “The only thing I can do is hide till this blows over. There’s lots of killing and robbing in New Mexico territory. Somebody will do something worse soon, and then they’ll forget all about me.”

“That man who came today won’t forget.”

Corey dropped a saddlebag he’d grabbed and sagged into a chair at the table. “I don’t know how he figured out who I am. I was hoping it wasn’t him, but after today I know it is. He won’t let me get away.”

Lorelei perched in the chair across from him. “You know him?”

“Know of him. His name’s Braddock. Someone pointed him out to me once. You don’t want to get on his bad side, the fella told me. He doesn’t like Southerners, neither. He’s all messed up from the war.”

“But if we can convince him you’re innocent—”

“If we can’t, he’ll take me straight to Santa Fe and they’ll hang me for sure.”

“I don’t know how we’re going to get you out of this one, Corey.”

“Maybe you can talk to him for me.”

Lorelei secured a pin in the heavy bun pulling at the back of her head. The thought of facing the man called Braddock again forced her heart to race. Even the beginnings of a beard couldn’t hide his rugged good looks. His dark eyes had assessed her with a detached lust that both touched her physically and warned her she’d be no match for him. Which he knew.

“I already talked to him. He doesn’t seem too fond of listening.”

“You can go to his hotel room and talk to him. He might listen then.”

Her fingers froze. “What are you asking, Corey Sullivan?”