Outlaw Hearts(197)

***

Jake waited in the St. Louis County Jail, grateful that at least these cells were bigger than those at Laramie. He was waiting to see the judge, still in the dark over what this was all about. Attorney Mattson was still in town, and Miranda had gone to see him, but the man had told her he couldn’t say what it was about. He didn’t want to give her too much hope when it might all come to nothing.

Right now Jake was not in his cell. Guards had brought him to a windowless room where there was just a table and chair. He sat in the chair, nervously rubbing his hands together. He’d been guarded by six men on the train ride back to St. Louis, kept in a separate car from Miranda, Evie, and Brian, who had all come along. In spite of both his hands and ankles being cuffed all the way there, just being outside of the Laramie penitentiary, being on that train and able to look out a window at a world he hadn’t seen in over four years, gave him a taste of freedom that persuaded him he’d do anything not to have to go back.

All that mattered now was Lloyd. Somehow he had to help the boy. If he was sent back to prison, he’d break out. He felt better now, stronger. He wasn’t fully recovered, but he’d gotten plenty of rest on the trip, which had taken nearly a week. For two weeks before that at the prison, he’d forced himself to keep still, eat right, keep warm, and drink plenty of water like Brian had instructed. He hadn’t touched a cigar or cigarette for over three weeks because Brian said it would only irritate his lungs, but he figured he sure as hell could use a smoke right now. Whatever was going to happen, it would happen today, and the waiting was torture. Finally he heard voices outside. “You sure, lady?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” he heard a woman answer one of the guards. “I want to see him alone.”

Jake couldn’t see outside the door. He heard the key turn in the lock, and the door opened. A woman stepped inside. She was beautiful, dressed in an elegant, deep green velvet dress that spoke of a person of wealth. Her feathered hat was perched perfectly atop dark red hair that was drawn up and pinned into a cascade of curls. She held her head erect and proud, her eyes as green as the dress, her skin lovely but slightly lined, telling him she was probably older than she looked. He took a rough guess that she was about Miranda’s age, maybe a little younger. Something about her looked familiar.

He rose from the chair to greet her, surprised when the guard closed the door and left them alone. After all, he was supposed to be a notorious outlaw, a rapist, and he hadn’t been alone with a woman in years. Why wasn’t this woman afraid of him? He stood there before her in confusion, glad he’d been given the opportunity to shower and shave, had been given a haircut and a new shirt and denim pants to wear before having to go before the judge. He wouldn’t want this elegant woman to see him looking his worst and wearing prison clothes. But why was she here? He studied her intently just as she was studying him in return. Her eyes moved over him, rested again on his face, met his eyes.

“It is you,” she said softly. “You don’t know who I am, do you, Jake?”

Jake frowned, trying to remember. “You look a little familiar. Am I supposed to know you?”

She smiled with a hint of sadness. “You should. You risked your life to save mine about twenty-four years ago. I was only sixteen then. I was devastated and terrified and suicidal at the time. It took me a while to remember what really happened, who helped me, but after a year or two of healing, I remembered.”

Hope welled in Jake’s heart. That red hair, those green eyes! “Louella Griffith?”

She stepped a little closer. “Louella Adams now. My parents moved with me to New York. We never told anyone what had happened to me. I eventually married a very wealthy man who owned a shipping empire. I’ve been living in Europe for several years now. By the time I remembered all the details of what had happened to me, I was a married woman, and I didn’t want my husband to know about—” She looked away. “Those men, what they did to me. You were long gone. No one had ever been arrested, so I let it go. I wanted to forget about it, all of it, if that was possible.” She shivered, turned back to face him. “My husband died this past winter. I came home to spend some time with my parents while I’m in mourning. They told me then that you had been arrested and sentenced a few years ago. They had kept the newspaper article about it.” She smiled. “Did you know you made the New York newspapers?”

Jake just stared at her in disbelief. Here was the woman he had rescued! Here was his proof of innocence. He couldn’t find his voice.