"Don't have to do what you say no more, Cain... dead... we'll both be..."
The huge man stumbled, but his hands reached out, curving around Cain's throat.
A strangled sound came from the smaller man as Cain clawed at Eli's face. Ashleen stared in horror at the tears coursing down Eli's cheeks, sobs coming from the man's crimson-stained chest.
With a soul-chilling cry Eli threw his weight against his brother, the fence splintering with a sickening crack.
Ash screamed as the two men teetered on the brink of the cliff, then hurtled down, down into the relentless arms of death.
Chapter Twenty-Four
For a heartbeat Ashleen stood frozen, eerie silence blanketing the clearing with an aura of unreality, as if nothing so horrible could have happened in this oasis of serenity, of warmth, of love.
Ash saw Garret struggling to rise, heard the shuffling of Renny trying to right himself.
Then she was in Garret's arms, crushed against him in a desperate, half-crazed embrace.
"You're safe, Ash... sweet Jesus, you're safe," he repeated over and over again in a hoarse voice. She felt the warmth of his tears against her cheek, his hands roving restlessly up and down her back as if to draw in the very essence of her, to assure himself that she was indeed alive and well.
"I'm fine, Garret, but you... you're hurt. Your leg—"
"The devil with my leg!"
She succumbed to a shivery sob, and the full impact of her terror crashed down about her. "Oh, God, Garret... Eli... he was going to—to—"
"He didn't. Ash, he didn't."
"But he was going to—to rape me in front of the children. Was going to..." She buried her face in his chest, glorying in the warmth of him, the steady thrumming of his heart. Life. It was infinitely precious in the wake of having it all but swept away.
"Couldn't believe it when—when I looked up and saw you on that roof. Like a miracle."
"It was a miracle, Ash." Garret pulled away, catching her face in his hands. “I was coming up the western rise when I saw the strange horse, and I thought maybe... maybe it was Garvey. Thank God I'd left the ladder up against the back of the house the day I was working up there. It was the only thing that gave me a chance to get the drop on them."
"You going to be all right, Mr. MacQuade?" Renny's voice broke in, shaken but—thankfully—strong.
They turned to see the boy's pale face, his freckles stark against his skin as he stared down at where blood welled from Garret's thigh, staining his buckskins a dark red.
"Yes, boy," Garret said, rumpling the boy's fiery hair. "I'm going to be just fine, thanks to you. Going after Garvey with that hoe was one of the stupidest moves I've ever seen"—Ash could see the boy squirm, but Garret's voice softened just a whisper as he went on—"it was also one of the bravest." His voice wavered, and he gave Renny a fierce hug. "I'm proud as hell of you, boy. But if you ever try anything like that again, I'm going to tan your backside till you can't sit for a month of Sundays!"
"Yes, sir." The words were the essence of obedience, but Renny's eyes were shining with shy pride and adulation for the man he had fought so hard to hate.
Ash felt her throat swell shut with the joy of it, hastening to busy herself with other things as she tore off her calico apron, bending down to staunch the flow of blood from Garret's leg. But he brushed her hands away, taking the piece of cloth and knotting it carelessly about the wound.
"It's all right, Ash. I swear it. Just tell me about the children. Where the hell are they?"
"They're in the root cellar. Eli locked them in before... he touched me."
With astonishing speed Garret limped toward the building and ripped the door open. Ashleen could hear one of the children scream, could hear Liam's sob as Garret plunged through into the dim room beyond.
"M-Mr. MacQuade!" Liam shrilled, flinging himself against Garret. Shevonne, her face streaked with grime and tears, rushed past them both to hurl herself against Renny. Awkward, yet obviously pleased, Renny patted her on the back, his face reddening.
"R-Renny! You're alive!"
"Was till you started chokin' me," he said sheepishly, but Ashleen could see his lips tipping in a shy smile.
Her heart wrenched as Garret caught Liam tight in his arms and buried his face in the child's curls.
"M-Mr. MacQuade, I was so scared...."
