Mason waved the rest of the conductor’s comments away. “Where the hell are they?”
“Coach three, about three quarters of the way back, if I recall.”
Joe jumped down from his horse. “Which car is that?”
The conductor waddled forward, taking the lead. “This way.”
Joe and Mason exchanged a murderous glance as Mason dismounted. With their guns drawn, they followed the conductor toward the front of the train.
Katie couldn’t believe her ears when she heard two familiar voices arguing with some of Dorchester’s men at the front of the car. She stood and caught sight of Mason, who drew his gun.
Dorchester’s men raised their hands. “Joe, go find her,” Mason ordered.
“You won’t get away with this!” Senior bellowed.
“What, you mean rescuing the woman we love?” Mason said.
Junior snorted, but didn’t lower his hands. “Woman? You mean whore, don’t you?”
Joe decked him, sending him to the floor before he pushed his way through the throng and down the aisle to her. With a sob, she fell into his arms. “It’s okay, sweetheart, we’ve got you.”
“He threatened to ruin you both, or even kill you if I didn’t do it!”
“We know. Where’s your bag?” She pointed at the carpetbag in the rack above her. He grabbed it then grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him.
“Is he going to arrest them?” she asked.
Joe shook his head. “There’s too many of them. We just want to get you safely out of here and back home.”
Senior glared at her as she passed. “You leave this train, you’re as good as dead.”
She looked at him and, without thinking, shot her foot out, catching him squarely in the balls. Dorchester’s face turned purple as he clutched his crotch before crumpling to the floor.
Then she leaned over and spit on him. “If I ever see you again, it’ll be a bullet I put between your eyes instead of buckshot in your ass, you son of a bitch.”
Mason kept them covered as they raced through the exit, backing away from Dorchester’s men as Joe helped Katie down off the train. Mason put her bag on his horse as Joe mounted and swung her up behind him. Together again, they raced north toward Dade City and away from the train.
Behind them, she heard Senior bellow, “You’ll live to regret this, Katherine!”
She shivered and successfully managed to keep her upset stomach in check, but clutched Joe’s waist even more tightly. She’d never let go of her men again, no matter what the threat.
It was late that night, with a cup of hot tea laced with whiskey in her to help soothe her stomach, that she told the full tale to Sheriff Birch at their kitchen table. Several armed deputies stood around, looking murderous as she related the tale and the threats, leaving out the specifics dealing with her men.
Sheriff Birch scratched at his chin. “Seems like an awfully big risk for Dorchester to take just over a piece of property. I don’t know why he’d do that.”
Joe looked at Mason, who nodded. “Sheriff, you know why.” He looked at Katie and gripped her hands in his, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Time for the truth, sweetheart.” He looked at all the gathered men, then back to the Sheriff. “Mason and I know you figured us out, Sheriff.” He took a deep breath. “Dorchester had his men spying on the three of us. They saw that Katie is…involved with both Mason and me.”
He sent a defiant glare to the deputies, most of whom looked shocked. “Let me set something straight right now. Katie is marrying me, only because the law won’t allow her to marry both of us. We love her, and neither of us will ever walk away from her. We ain’t gonna hide who we are, either. If people think badly of us, that’s their problem, not ours. Dorchester used threats that he would ruin Mason and myself, as well as threats to have us killed, to force Katie to recant the story and withdraw the charges. Now, what’s worse? A man who will stoop to murder out of greed, or three people who truly love each other who aren’t hurting anyone else?”
The deputies shifted nervously and looked at each other. Ben Ainsley spoke up. “I, for one, want to be the first to congratulate the three of you. Ain’t my business what you do, as long as no one’s being forced to do it. There’ll be a new scandal to take y’all’s place soon enough. I’d rather see Junior sitting behind bars next to his father than to waste time gossipin’.”
The other deputies considered that for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Sheriff Birch smiled. “That’s settled then. Let’s go get us a posse.” Mason started to join them when the sheriff turned, holding up a staying hand. “I’m ordering you to stay here and guard her. At least until we have those two bastards safely sitting in jail.”
Mason smiled as he turned to Joe. “So when do you want to hold the wedding?”
He laughed as he pulled Katie to him. “How about first thing in the morning?”
The sheriff smiled. “Make it tomorrow afternoon. I want to be there.”
“Yes, sir,” Katie said as she stared first at Joe, then at Mason. “Tomorrow afternoon it is.”
Chapter Fifteen
Katie nervously studied her reflection in the mirror. She hoped Joe wouldn’t mind this was the same dress she wore when she married Paul. She’d awoken with her stomach feeling nervous and urpy again, but she imagined it was just leftover stress from the previous day’s events. After a cup of ginger tea for breakfast, she felt a little better.
With misty eyes, she sat on the bed and held Paul’s picture. “I miss you so much, but they make me happy. They’re good men. I hope you don’t think wrong of me for doing this, but I love them both, and they love me.” She stroked the frame before lovingly setting it back on the shelf. She wound the clock next, taking a moment to dust it. Then she looked at the wedding ring on her left hand and carefully removed it, placing it on her right hand.
It felt strange, but she knew in less than a few hours, Joe would be placing his own ring there.
She heard a soft knock on her bedroom door. “Yes?”
Mason stepped inside and closed the door behind her. At least he would give her away and hand her over to Joe. “You ready, sweetheart?”
She nervously nodded. “How do I look?”
He gathered her into his arms and thoroughly kissed her, taking a long moment to explore her mouth with his tongue. “Does that answer your question?” he hoarsely asked.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
He smiled. “Absolutely. And by the way, Ben Ainsley told me the story about us has already made the rounds of town, and we’ve still got people coming to the wedding. They’re just happy to see the Dorchesters out of everyone’s hair for good.”
“Did they catch them?”
He shook his head. “Not yet, but it’s just a matter of time. Everyone’s looking for them. They can’t hide for long.”
She hugged him. “Do you think women will still chase you?”
“I’m sure there will still be a few tenacious ladies dedicated to getting a ring on my finger, but I imagine most of them will get pitying looks for chasing a lost cause.”
His expression turned serious. “But you listen to me. Even if someone were to talk about us, you let me and Joe handle them. You just ignore them if they’re nasty. I don’t give a whit, and neither does Joe, what people say. They’re going to say what they want to say regardless of what the truth is. The only truth that matters is that the three of us love each other.” He kissed her again. “Understand?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
Ben Ainsley and two other deputies waited outside with the buggy. Joe had already ridden into town and was waiting for them there. Reverend Anderson had agreed to perform the ceremony at the church even though he now knew the truth about the three of them.