Safe in His Arms

THIRTY





Golda drummed her fingers angrily against the top of a desk in the bank manager’s office. “Frank is too smart to fall for your little tricks.”

Margaret saw through her bravado. Golda’s face was a sickly color beneath the rouge she wore, and her blue eyes were haunted. Margaret found it in her heart to pity the woman. Maybe Golda had never known any other way of life, but in prison she would realize the things she’d done had consequences.

Margaret looked at Golda. She seemed to have everything it would take to be a success in the world. Beauty, brains, guts. But she’d used it all for the wrong purposes. As Margaret stared at the woman, she realized that it wasn’t looks or any other physical attribute that mattered. God had given her his love, and she’d despised it by longing for more. Right then and there she resolved to thank God every day for what he had given her instead of focusing on what she thought were shortcomings.

She took a deep breath. How free she felt to know that God saw her as special. She would strive to always remember and thank him for the way he’d made her. First the baggage of caring too much for her worldly possessions had dropped away, and now the sense of blaming God for how he had created her was gone too. She would go on from here, grieving over Daniel but rejoicing in the fact that God was with her. And she would see Daniel again. He couldn’t come to her, but she could go to him someday. She would never stop loving him, not for a moment.

She tied Golda’s hands behind her back, then left her with one of the tellers. Margaret took Golda’s gun, then went to the back room and tiptoed toward the door. She pressed her ear against it and tried to determine whether Frank and the rest of the gang had run or if they just thought things were taking longer than expected.

At first there was only silence, then she heard low voices and some shuffling movements. Good. They still lingered by the door. But not for long. She had to move quickly.

She motioned to Orville. “Can you open the vault and transfer the money somewhere else?” She seized a fistful of money bags from the desk. “I’ll stuff these, and you can put them in the safe in place of the real money.” Looking around, she spied a pile of newspapers by the door. “We can use newspaper. Those folded stacks are heavy.”

Orville grinned. “That just might work. We’ve got a temporary safe in my office where I can lock the money.” He hurried from the room.

Margaret began to stuff the bags with the stacks of newspaper. There was a slight tap on the back door.

“Golda, you in there?” The whispered hiss belonged to Frank.

Margaret jumped, and her heart galloped in her chest. They would have to make their move soon, or Frank would get suspicious and escape. She couldn’t allow that. He had to pay for Daniel’s death.

A few minutes later she had the bags stuffed. She carried them quickly to the vault and helped Orville load them inside the small room. She felt claustrophobic in the windowless vault and breathed a sigh when she finally escaped to the sunshine-filled main room.

“I think we’re ready,” she said. “Is the sheriff around?”

Orville nodded. “I saw him and his men take up their positions in the hotel across the street.”

She nearly gasped at the pain of his words. Reinforcements were here, but they were too late for Daniel. The sting of tears nearly broke her concentration, but she fiercely willed herself to go on, to finish Daniel’s mission.

“I’ll let Frank inside now.” Her palms were sweaty, and she felt light-headed. Frank would kill her if he got wind of the trap. He wouldn’t go peacefully to jail. She took a deep breath and walked to the back room. Was he gone? She and Golda had been inside twenty minutes, far longer than Frank had anticipated.

She rushed to the door and fumbled with the lock. She threw open the door and peeked out. No one was around. Her heart in her mouth, she stepped outside. “Frank?” she whispered.

He stepped from the shadows and grabbed her arm. “You pullin’ a double cross?”

She gasped and jerked away. “The safe is open. Golda had a little change of plan. She couldn’t wait to see how much was there. You’d better hurry. She took a bunch of sacks out through the front. I think she got more than her share.”

Frank scowled. “She wouldn’t dare.” He drew his revolver and rushed inside. The rest of the gang followed him.

Praying it would work, Margaret followed him.

Frank ran through the storeroom and into the vault room. He saw the open vault and rushed inside. The other men crowded in behind him, and they all snatched up moneybags.

“She’s robbed us!” Frank shouted. “There should be more than this.”

He started toward the vault exit, but Orville stepped from behind his hiding place and slammed the vault door shut. Margaret sagged against the counter. Giddy with relief, she closed her eyes. Not a shot fired, and the thieves were all safely locked up.

The front door burst open, and six men rushed into the room. The Rangers were here. Then Margaret’s eyes widened, and she gasped at a tall figure limping through the door behind the others. Daniel? He must have gone to get the Rangers. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. Her mouth went dry and her heart thumped painfully in her chest with almost overwhelming hope.

Tears blurred her vision. “Thank you, God, thank you.” Daniel hadn’t seen her yet.

Daniel stared around the room. “Where is she?” he growled.

A tide of warmth rushed over Margaret. She could see the love he had for her in his tightly clenched fists and the fierce tone of his voice. Daniel would never let anyone hurt her as long as he lived. The knowledge made her feel cherished in a way she’d never known. She wanted to rush to him, but there were too many other men in the way.

“I’m here, Daniel,” she said, her tone brisk. This love she bore for him was too new and precious to be displayed in front of the whole town.

He started toward her, but the sheriff came through the bank door with his pistol drawn. He skidded to a halt and looked around. “Where are the bandits?”

Margaret gestured to the bank vault. “Waiting to be taken into custody.”

“We’ll take charge of them,” a man said.

Margaret recognized the voice as the man Daniel had talked with several times. The other Ranger, Richard.

Margaret remained frozen in place as Daniel explained to Sheriff Borland who he was and what he was doing in the area. She longed to run to Daniel and throw her arms around him, but shyness held her in place. Now that she knew the full power of the feelings she held for him, she found herself looking at him with new eyes.

His face was a bit pale and his shoulder was bleeding, but he was alive. Alive! Joy bubbled in Margaret’s heart like a freshwater spring. It was all she could do to stay where she was.

“You’ve done good work here,” the sheriff said. “But it looks like you could use Doc’s services. Margaret, you’d better help your young man down the street before he falls over.”

Only then did Margaret’s stiff muscles obey. She moved to Daniel’s side and slipped her hand around his arm. “It’s this way.”




DANIEL FOUGHT THE disappointment that raged inside. He’d hoped that Margaret would show some sign she’d worried about him, that she cared. She had just looked at him with wide green eyes and practically ignored him.

He knew she loved him, so why did speaking the words seem so hard for her? Hearing the words was important to him. How did he break through that wall she had around her? It seemed an impossible task. If the events of the last few days hadn’t done it, he didn’t know what would. Maybe nothing.

Margaret limped beside him with her cold fingers on his arm. He wasn’t sure if she was helping him or if he was helping her. They were both pretty war torn and road weary. At least they were both going to live.

They walked around the corner of the bank and headed down Main Street. Margaret stumbled, and he slipped an arm around her waist. She stopped and stared up at him. Were those tears in her eyes?

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered. “And Jed—is he all right?”

“He’s fine. I was searching for you and found him under a wheelbarrow in the barn. Scared and a little scratched up but all right.” Daniel examined her face. There was something going on in that beautiful head, but he couldn’t quite decipher the expression in her eyes.

“What happened to you? Golda told me you were dead. She showed me a bloodstained shirt.”

“The wind blew me through the air, and I landed by the end of the porch. I crawled under it before the tornado could carry me off completely. A branch stabbed me in the head, and I bled like a beheaded rooster. I reckon I passed out. When I came to, the storm was over and Nate was hollering for me and Jed. I crawled out from under the porch and tossed the shirt in the weeds. I found one of Nate’s in a tree and borrowed it. Then I went looking for you. When I couldn’t find you, I figured Frank had to have taken you.”

“Thank God. I—I thought you’d died w-with-out . . .” She stopped and buried her face in her hands.

Sobs shook her, and the sound of her crying broke his heart. He pulled her into his arms. Her arms came up and wrapped around his neck in a tight grip that was almost painful. “I’m fine. A little beat up, but it would take more than a tornado to make me leave you.”

She only wailed more and burrowed harder against his chest. “Hey, this shirt may not take any more watering,” he said gently. “Don’t take on so.”

“I thought you died without knowing I love you,” came the muffled reply against his chest.

A budding joy exploded in his chest. She’d finally said the words. He gripped her shoulders and pulled her back from his chest so he could look in her face. Though her eyes were red and swollen from her weeping, Margaret’s face shone with love.

“You love me,” he whispered. “It’s about time you admitted it. I knew the truth long ago. It was sure hard waiting for you to realize it.”

Her lips trembled. “Don’t ever leave me.” She reached up and touched his face.

“A mad bull couldn’t drag me away.” He smiled. “You ready to hear that marriage proposal?”

She looked down at her muddy shirt and britches, then back up at him. “Looking like this?”

“You’ve never been more beautiful. I love you.” He went to one knee. “Margaret O’Brien, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Her cheeks flamed but she didn’t look away. “I’d be honored to have your name.”

“That’s a yes?”

She seized his hands and pulled. “Come kiss me, and I’ll tell you then.”

Grinning, he obliged. Daniel couldn’t believe his luck. No, it wasn’t luck. This love was God’s gracious gift, and Daniel would thank him for it the rest of his life. She kissed him back, and for the first time, he could feel her whole heart in that kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he forgot all they’d been through and where he was. They belonged together. For always.

He broke the kiss. “Let’s get home.” Home. Was there a more wonderful word in the vocabulary? This was home to him now.

Her eyes shining, she nodded. “I’ll rest here until you get back.”

He went to hire a horse and buggy while she waited on a bench. He drove the buggy to where she waited, then helped her up onto the seat. The landscape was dark as the buggy rumbled toward home. The stars beamed down from overhead, and he pointed out a few constellations to her. “It’s a new moon again.”

She snuggled against him. “Very appropriate.”

With Margaret beside him, he was determined not to let anyone stand in their way now.