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“Ivy? Are you okay?”
Again, she nodded, but did not move. Her legs felt suddenly frozen, her fingers unable to release their grip on the ladder.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. You’re nearly there. Just a little further now. Come on, you can do it.”
It was the softness in his voice that had her chin rising. He leaned down through the small opening, his arm outstretched toward her. “Trust me.”
She really, truly wanted to. More than she ever thought possible. No one had ever made her feel the way he did. Taking a huge swallow, she forced her heart back down out of her throat and into her chest. Then with shaky limbs, she reached up and grabbed hold of the next rung until she felt Sam’s fingers curl around her wrists and pull her up into the loft.
Relieved to find solid ground beneath her once more, she quickly collapsed and released a huge sigh. Sam dropped down next to and gave her a wide grin, showing off those wonderful dimples of his alongside his mouth. “See, ma’am, you did just fine.”
She actually was able to produce a smile, albeit a shaky one, while he took hold of her hand and propelled her toward the far end of the barn where indeed there was a small hatch door. Sam dropped her hand long enough to push it open and allow light inside. And air.
“Thank ye.”
“No problem.” He grinned again, then unexpectedly leaned forward and kissed her quickly on the mouth. “Stay here, and do your best not to draw any attention.”
She nodded, then watched him leave, hating the feeling of abandonment that came over her as he did. He would return. He hadn’t deserted her in that church. He had come back for her. Even if it would have been far simpler to leave her behind. Allow the flames to consume her body. She had seen the cost of bringing her back dead. It would have been well worth it.
This thought brought a nasty reminder to Ivy. Though Sam claimed to want to help her, in the end he would do what he felt was right. He would turn her into the law. It was what drove him all these years. His own personal justice for the crime his mother had committed thirty something years ago. If there was one thing she knew about Sam Michalski, was that the law came first.
Yes, she didn’t doubt, he would do his best to clear her name. He wasn’t the type of man to allow an innocent woman to hang without doing all he could. But Ivy had come to learn over her lifetime, there were some things one simply had no control over.
* * *
Sam made his way quickly over the boardwalk and down the main street. He did his best to keep his head down while at the same time remaining very observant to those around him. The conductor had apparently been able to send word from the train after his discussion with Sam. Seven days ago, that would have suited him fine. Now, he needed more time.
Up ahead, he saw the police station and decided to head for the doctor’s first even if it were furthest away. Ivy needed her ankle looked at soon. He feared she might have done some permanent damage to it over these last few days.
Just as he passed the police station, the door opened and a man stepped outside. He was tall. A good seven inches over six feet. His Stetson covered a gray head of hair, and shadowed a face aged well beyond his years, though it was partially concealed by a bushy salt and pepper beard. Over his left chest, he proudly wore a silver badge in the shape of a star, depicting the words US Marshal Oklahoma Territory.
Sam came to a dead stop. “Roy?”
He didn’t look surprised in the least to see Sam. He gave him a grin before looking him up and down. “Glad to see you made it out alive.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Heard about the derailment. Mighty nasty accident. Combination of faulty brakes and a glitch in the track. Terrible event.” He told Sam. “Feared I’d have to take you back in a pine box.”
Sam frowned. “You came all this way to claim my dead body?”
“I was hoping I wouldn’t. When they finally got a rescue team down to the accident, it was mighty scary there for a bit. All those dead folks.”
“How did you know I survived?”
“They did a head count. Was informed there were no unidentified male bodies found. I always knew you had it in you to survive the worst of situations.”
“I was lucky.”
Sam noticed Roy’s attention move slightly behind him as if looking for something. Or someone. “There was, however, one missing passenger not accounted for. A maid by the name of Moira James.”
Sam remained indifferent, not indicating the name rang any bells. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to tell Roy about Ivy.
The marshal held his gaze for a few extra moments longer before smiling suddenly. “Where were you headed?”
“The tavern. A man gets mighty hungry being out in the wilderness for so many days.”
The marshal nodded, and then paused to study Sam closely. Hell, he knew him too well. Sam gritted his teeth and forced any revealing signs from appearing in his expression. “You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to Moira James, would you?”
