“What is it?”
“Sheriff McCleave. He’s coming here! I can’t believe he’d come when it’s nearly dark like this!”
Jake hurried into the bedroom, and Miranda ran in behind him to see him quickly loading his revolvers. “No!” she shouted, grabbing at his arm.
Jake gave her a shove, sending her stumbling backward. “I didn’t go through all this to turn around and get hanged!” he growled.
Miranda grabbed his arm again. “He’s a friend, Jake, and a good man! I don’t want him hurt!”
Jake whirled, grasping her wrist and pulling her hand away. He cocked the revolver. “He’s the law!”
Desperate tears began to fill her eyes. “He’s just a friend come to check on me. I can keep him outside, Jake! Even if he comes in, all your things are either in the shed or in here. I already put up the horses. He’ll never know you’re here if you just stay crouched down on the other side of the bed!” Her eyes teared. “Please! If you hurt him and the men with him, it will be like I did it, don’t you see? If I hadn’t put you up, or if I had just turned you in, none of it would have happened! Please, Jake! You owe me!”
Jake studied the blue-gray eyes that lately had haunted his thoughts and desires. He was becoming much too fond of this woman he could never have, beginning to feel emotions he had thought were long buried or even destroyed. “I owe you nothing!” he muttered. “You might have saved me, but you’re also the one who shot me, so we’re even.”
“I also could have turned you in for five thousand dollars, so we’re not even!”
“And how do I know you won’t do it now?” he said bitterly. “Here’s your chance, lady! Five thousand dollars can send a woman to Nevada in style. You could even hire someone to go to Nevada and find your brother, while you stay here and live in safety and comfort. It can buy you some damn fancy dresses and a nice little house in town!”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I have principles, Jake Harkner! Now I’m trusting that you have principles too. Don’t betray me! And you just remember that if you shoot those men out there, you’ll have to shoot me too, because I’m a witness! More than that, I’ll get Pa’s rifle and I’ll kill you myself if you shoot down my friends! That will mean you’ll have to defend yourself, as you keep talking about, and kill me! That rifle isn’t any little derringer. You won’t survive if I shoot you with that! What will it be, Jake? Will you kill me too? I thought that was one thing you did have principles about!”
He pressed the revolver against her throat. “Don’t get in my way, Randy. Don’t say a word to them, and don’t get in my way, or I can’t guarantee anything. I’ve never hurt a lady on purpose, but if it comes to a shoot-out, that’s a different story. You stall those men and keep them outside. Don’t you betray me, woman, after all your fancy talk about not being able to take money for a man!”
Miranda swallowed, feeling the cold steel against her throat. “It’s time for you to learn about friendship and trust, Jake,” she said quietly, realizing the sheriff must be quite close to the cabin by now. “You just revealed some very intimate things about yourself to me, and I listened and understood. Do you really think I would turn around now and let the sheriff shoot you down or haul you away? Do you really think that?”
He took the gun away and slowly stepped back. “I don’t know, but I’ll damn well keep my ears open. Now get out there and make sure there is nothing around to give away my presence. And try to keep the sheriff outside!”
Miranda breathed deeply, struggling for composure. She walked back into the main room, pulling closed the curtain at the bedroom doorway, then started for the main door when she noticed the little pile of black hair on the wooden floor. Jake’s hair! She quickly grabbed a broom and lifted a hand-tied rug, sweeping the hair under it and feeling Jake’s dark eyes and cold gun watching her every move.
She put the broom back, glanced around the room. She smoothed her dress and ran her fingers through her hair. She opened the door then, stepping out and closing it behind her to greet Sheriff McCleave.
Five
Miranda walked off the porch, giving Sheriff McCleave a smile as he rode closer with two deputies. “Sheriff! What brings you out this late in the day? It’s nearly dark!”
“Evening, Mrs. Hayes. Just checking on you. Heard a rumor that someone suspected of belonging to Bill Kennedy’s bunch was snooping around town asking about the shoot-out between that Jake Harkner and Luke Putnam. Grapevine has it Kennedy is looking for this Harkner fellow just as hard as the law is. Seems they had some kind of falling out, although we don’t know why; but just knowing the man might be in the area makes me uneasy. We’ve been out scouting around, checking with other farmers and such to make sure there’s been no trouble.”