A sigh camouflaged the smile she dared not reveal. “I know I’ll feel better once we’re at the ranch.”
“I love you, Honey. I’ll be a good husband. You have my word.” His teeth tore a hunk from the sticky treat in his hand. He swallowed the bite almost whole.
In no time at all, his eyes slid shut and he slumped into his chair, head lolling over the high back.
Now, she could smile. She unbuckled his gun belt and slid the keyring onto her wrist.
The laudanum-laced honey had done an admirable job.
****
“Henry.” Daniel tried again to rouse the codger. “Come on, old man, tell me you’re alive.”
“’Course I’m alive, boy. Ain’t got time to die just yet.”
The grumble drew a snort from Daniel, setting off a riot in cracked—maybe broken—ribs. Every muscle in his body seized, stopping his breath and nearly his heartbeat.
No amount of amused relief was worth that kind of pain.
We’ll be dragging a battered corpse up the gallows steps.
The memory of Halverson’s threat provoked a wry huff. “Have at it, you sonofabitch. At least we broke your unbreakable jail.”
Henry hacked and spat. “What the hell’re you jabberin’ about over there, youngster?”
“Just something the marshal said. Man’s got no sense of humor.”
“From the looks of you, I’d wager he was downright peeved.”
Clenching his teeth, Daniel throttled a snicker. “Just a mite.” He rolled his head to the left and peered through the red haze on the other side of the best slits he could make in swollen eyelids. “How’re you holding up?”
“Not a mark on me. Musta worked the meanness out of his system by burnin’ the wagon and shootin’ the horse.”
Dammit. The sarcastic twist in the coot’s words nearly undid Daniel’s stranglehold on laughter he might not survive. “No offense, old man, but stop talking.”
The familiar scrape of wood over stone and the rattle of iron skeletons tied a knot in his gut. Just as well he couldn’t swivel enough to look over his shoulder. One glimpse of Halverson gloating would be all the excuse his ribs needed— The whisk of slippers, the swish of a skirt…those belonged to an angel, not the Devil incarnate. His heart kicked the wall of his chest.
Shit. His ribs would do him in one way or another.
But he’d die happy if the soft, warm hand now resting across his shoulder maintained contact with his skin. Though he tried, he couldn’t contort quite enough to lay his lips on her knuckles. “How’d you get the keys?”
“Told you I had a plan.”
Henry’s joints creaked more than his cot when he rose and shuffled to the door of his cell. “Glad somebody does, cuz I’m fresh out.”
“Henry.” The breathy word brushed Daniel’s cheek. He grabbed and held the wisp. “I was so worried—”
The blessing of her touch disappeared, leaving an ache that put the pain in his ribs to shame.
Iron clattered against iron, and a lock clunked. Hinges squeaked.
Henry grunted. “Easy on these ol’ bones there, li’l gal. They can’t take the kind of squeezin’ they once could.” Tenderness took the edge off the fossil’s reprimand. “What’d you do with Roy?”
“He’s sleeping. I hope I didn’t give him too much laudanum.” She giggled. “He probably won’t call anyone ‘honey’ again for a while.”
Honey. Her voice flowed over and around and through Daniel. He’d hold tight to the memory of an angel’s sweet words even after the noose snapped his neck.
He swallowed a lump in his throat. “You two best get going. Marshal won’t sleep forever.”
“He’ll be out long enough to get you on a horse, young feller.”
Gnarled hands fumbled with the chains binding Daniel’s arms to iron bars. Another lock clunked. More hinges squeaked.
An angel floated to the floor beside him. Her warm, soft hands cupped his cheeks, and her smile cleared the red haze from his vision.
What ribs?
Too-tight metal cuffs released his ankles. With Henry’s help, he climbed to his feet. The angel put her hand in his and rose with him. When he staggered, she wrapped her arm around his waist and propped him up. Only a gingham bodice separated her supple breast from his bare hide.
He should thank Halverson for shredding his shirt.
Chapter Nine
No doubt Halverson wouldn’t find the theft of his horse half as amusing as Daniel did. Honey’s idea. That beautiful face hid a criminal mastermind.
He grinned, reopening a split in his lip. A pass of his tongue soothed the sting.
At least the marshal knew a good animal when he saw one. Big and lean, the sorrel gelding beneath Daniel was built for distance and speed. He’d need both to stay out of the lawdog’s reach long enough to get Honey to Galveston…and himself to Daisy’s wedding at Dumont.
“Good thing I love you, little sister, because you’re a helluva lot of trouble.”
Though he’d muttered the words under his breath—he thought—the angel in his lap stirred. He banded her closer, laid his cheek against her temple, and whispered. “Honey, you awake?”