An Agent for Darcy Page 11

  The darkness that surrounded them was oppressive as Porter kept his other hand on the cold, damp wall, hoping that they were going the right way. If not, they would be forced to light their lantern, and Dustin would be able to pick them off one-by-one.

  Up ahead, Porter saw a sliver of light and breathed a sigh of relief. They had found the back entrance. None of them stopped running until they emerged into a grove of trees.

  They had escaped from the cave, but there was still Dustin to contend with. But first, he needed to get Darcy to safety. “Run, Darcy!” Porter encouraged, letting go of her hand. “Further up the trail is John’s horse. I will meet you back at the ranch.”

  “No,” Darcy said, standing her ground. “I am a Pinkerton agent, just like you. Let me prove my worth.”

  Porter closed the distance between them and placed a hand on her cheek. “I already know what you are worth, and it is far greater than I will ever be.” His eyes held an intensity that she did not understand. “It is not a matter of letting you prove that you are a good agent, because I already know that. It is a matter of you not getting hurt, because I love you.”

  Adam cleared his throat. “That was touching, but we have a mad man barreling after us. Do you think you could wrap this up anytime soon?”

  “Run, Darcy,” he pleaded.

  Darcy placed her hand over his. “I go where you go. We are partners,” she replied, her voice firm. “Besides, there are three of us and only one of him.”

  “Yeah, but that Dustin is a whole lot of crazy,” Adam pointed out.

  Porter didn’t know if he wanted to strangle Darcy or kiss her, but now was not the time. He needed to trust her. “Fine. Everyone station yourself behind a tree and shoot to kill. Dustin has no qualms about killing all three of us.”

  Time seemed to slow as they waited for Dustin to emerge from the cave. Where was he? He should have been close behind them. What if he had circled back and exited into the valley?

  A pistol cocked from behind Porter, and he felt the cold barrel of a pistol pressed against his head. “You didn’t know there was a third entrance to the cave, did you?” Dustin mocked.

  Porter heard another pistol cocking, only this time he heard his wife’s voice. “I am going to have to insist that you lower your gun from my husband’s head.”

  “Sure thing, little lady,” Dustin said, removing the barrel from Porter’s head.

  Porter jumped out of the way and spun around to see Dustin elbowing Darcy in the face, knocking her to the ground and pointing his pistol at her.

  “No!” Porter screamed. He ran and jumped in front of Darcy, just as the gun went off, hitting him in the chest.

  Porter heard two revolvers discharge before everything went black.

  Chapter 13

  Darcy opened the door to the cottage as Adam carried an unconscious Porter over his shoulder. “Put him on the kitchen table,” she ordered.

  Adam hesitated, looking quite unsure about her command. “On the table?”

  “Yes. It’ll be easier to operate if I’m not doing it on my hands and knees,” she explained, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.

  “Understood,” Adam said as he followed her instructions and stepped back. “Now what?”

  “I’m going to remove the bullet and stitch him up.” She ran into her room, tossed open her trunk, and grabbed her medical bag. When she stepped back into the kitchen, she gave Adam a pointed look. “I need whiskey, now!”

  Adam nodded and ran out of the cottage, closing the door behind him. Darcy walked up to Porter and tenderly stroked his right cheek. He loved her! She closed her eyes as a tear leaked out and ran down her cheek. “Please don’t leave me,” she pleaded.

  Porter’s moan snapped her back into the present. Taking a pair of scissors from her bag, she cut through his blood-soaked shirt. She pulled it back, revealing a bullet wound in his right shoulder. She noted the dark, red hole still oozing thick blood.

  Darcy had tended multiple gunshot wound patients over the years, but she had never been the one to remove the bullet. She had always assisted the doctor with that procedure. Well, it was her time now.

  As she washed her hands, Adam opened the door, with a glass bottle in his hand. “Generously pour the whiskey over the wound and prepare to hold him down,” she directed over her shoulder.

  Adam unscrewed the lid as he walked over to Porter and poured the whiskey over the bullet wound. Porter let out a loud wail of pain and started thrashing on the table. Adam placed his forearm on Porter’s chest and shoved him back down.

  Darcy gently placed her hand on Porter’s left shoulder. “It’ll be alright. You have to trust us.”

  At the sound of her voice, Porter began to relax against the table.

  “Porter,” she began, “this is going to hurt. I need to remove the bullet. Do you want something to bite down on?”

  Porter shook his head and clutched the table with his right hand, clenching his jaw.

  Taking her fingers, she pressed it into the oozing wound, ignoring her husband’s sharp intake of breath. She kept digging around until she felt the unmistakable tip of the bullet. Squeezing her fingers around the metal, she pulled it out.

  Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, she poured it over the wound to clean it out again. Porter cried out and started thrashing again.

  Adam leaned harder on Porter’s chest as Darcy reached for her needle.

  “Dearest,” she said, laying her hand on his cheek, “I am going to stitch you up.”

  Once again, her voice seemed to soothe him. Darcy poured alcohol over the needle, removed the catgut from her medical bag, and threaded it through. She stitched the bullet wound closed, then stepped back. Pleased that there was no seepage, she sighed. “We have done all that we can. Now, it’s his turn.”

  Darcy tenderly wiped the sweat off Porter’s brow with a cloth. She leaned down and kissed him on his forehead, her lips lingering. “You have to live, Porter. I can’t live without you,” she pleaded in a soft voice.

  “I’ll take him to the bed,” Adam said, stepping closer to the table.

  Darcy stepped back and noticed her blood-covered hands. “Thank you. I will see to this mess.”

  For the next while, she scrubbed the table and floor to a pristine clean. Her back ached, her muscles were sore, but she did not care. The image of Porter’s limp body kept replaying in her mind. What was he thinking jumping in front of her? The sad thing was, she knew exactly what he was thinking. He was saving her life. A grief-filled sob escaped her lips at that thought. Curse him for being so selfless! She didn’t want to live without him. She couldn’t live without him, especially since she knew he loved her.

  Adam’s voice broke through her thoughts as she sat on the kitchen floor. “Darcy,” he started, “are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she replied, not bothering to look up.

  “Liar,” he teased. “You’re barely keeping it together.”

  She rose and wrapped her arms around her waist. Not wanting to talk about herself, she asked, “How are you doing?”

  “Splendid,” Adam replied, dropping onto the sofa. “I just found out that my whole life has been a lie. My wife never loved me, and she was consorting with one of my cowhands.”

  Darcy walked over and sat next to him. “My last husband was shot at a brothel when it was discovered he and his mistress were planning on killing me off.”

  Adam stared at her for a moment, then he chuckled wryly. “I see you can relate.”

  “I can,” she said. “I felt embarrassed, angry, grief-stricken, bitter, sad…” Her voice trailed off as she lowered her eyes. “I was furious that I hadn’t seen any of the signs. I started blaming myself for all my husband’s misdeeds, and I punished myself by hiding away.”

  Angling his body on the sofa, he faced her and asked, “How did you overcome all those obstacles?”

  Darcy brought her gaze up. “I started to trust again, knowing that I couldn’t do it alone.”
She reached out and encompassed his hand. “So many people have told me these words, but I wasn’t ready to hear them. I hope you are, because it will save you much torment.” She hesitated, hoping her eyes confirmed the truthfulness of her words. “You did nothing wrong. This was not your fault. Do not punish yourself for other’s mistakes.”

  “Thank you.” Tears came to Adam’s eyes and slid down his cheeks. “How do I go on from here?”

  She tightened her hold on his hand, feeling compelled to share part of her story. “Five days ago, I was assigned to this case on the condition that I married my trainer.”

  “Five days ago?” he asked in confusion. “But you must have known Porter prior to that?”

  She shook her head. “No. I was hired, and we married within moments of meeting each other.”

  “But…” Adam looked back towards the bedroom. “Why?”

  “For propriety’s sake, a Lady Pinkerton must marry an agent for her first case.”

  “What happens after that?”

  “We have two options. We can get an annulment and start working separate cases,” she explained, “or we could stay married and continue to work together.”

  Adam turned his hopeful gaze towards her. “What if you stayed with me?”

  “Pardon?” she asked, withdrawing her hand from his.

  “I find you fascinating, and I think we would suit,” he began, “not now, of course. But in the future. I would never hurt you, and I would be faithful. For the mean time, you could stay on as my housekeeper… and think of the gold.” He waved his hand in the air. “You could have anything your heart desired.”

  As she listened to his words, Darcy felt honored by his jumbled marriage proposal. He was not seeking a marriage of convenience, but he was offering her something much greater… his shattered heart. “Adam…”

  He put his hand up, silencing her. “We both have similar backgrounds, and we understand each other. You can’t leave me, because I don’t believe I have the strength to go on.” Tears streamed down his cheeks again.

  Feeling compassion swell up inside of her, Darcy reached for his hand again. “Five days ago, I was lost, and I wasn’t truly living my life. I was hiding from the demons of my past.”

  “What changed?” he asked softly.

  Her bottom lip quivered as she revealed, “I met Porter. He saved me.”

  Adam lowered his head in defeat. “You love him,” he murmured regretfully.

  “With everything that I am.” She waited till he looked up at her. “One day, a woman will be placed in your path and everything will become as it should be.”

  Wincing, he said, “Perhaps we don’t mention to Porter that I proposed to you.”

  “I know why you did,” she acknowledged, “and if circumstances were different, I might have accepted.”

  Adam released her hand and stood. “If you need anything, I will be back at the house.”

  Darcy nodded and watched as he walked out of the door. Taking a moment, she said a prayer for Adam. She had already walked his journey, and it was long and treacherous. How ironic that she had been assigned a case that allowed her unique, yet painful background, to provide comfort and relief to another.

  Her heart longed to be near Porter. She quickly walked into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. Taking her hand, she brushed his hair from his forehead. “Please fight for me. I love you,” she whispered.

  Darcy moved his left arm and laid her head down on his beating heart. Till death do us part, she thought as she closed her eyes.

  Porter felt like he’d been trampled by a horse. His whole body ached, but his right shoulder throbbed intensely. Then it came rushing back to him. He’d been shot.

  His eyes jerked open at the thought of Darcy being in danger. What had become of her? He tried to sit up, but something held him down. That’s when he noticed her safely tucked under his left arm, her head resting on his chest. He pulled her closer to him, immensely pleased that she was with him.

  Darcy began to stir, and she turned her head to look up at him. Her eyes grew wide as she exclaimed, “You’re awake!”

  To his surprise, and horror, she burst into tears. “I have been so scared,” she confessed through hiccups.

  He grunted as he struggled to sit up and rest his back against the wall. “What happened?” he asked, wondering how to stop Darcy from crying. Why was she so emotional? She never cried. Suddenly, it dawned on him, and a feeling of pride washed over him. These tears were for him.

  Darcy sat back and wiped the tears off her face. “After you jumped in front of me, and got shot,” she paused, giving him a stern glare, “Adam and I both shot and killed Dustin. We rode as hard as we could until we brought you back here, so I could remove the bullet and stitch you up.”

  “It’s over, then,” Porter remarked. “We solved the case.”

  She nodded. “Adam was going to head up this morning to retrieve all the men’s bodies from the cave. He insisted that they all have proper burials.”

  Porter winced as pain shot through his right shoulder. “How is Adam holding up?”

  Darcy reached to the side of the bed and grabbed a bag off the table. She opened it and pulled out some bandages. “As well as can be expected,” she shared. “We had a good talk last night while you were resting.” She smiled to let him know that she was teasing.

  “You two spent time alone last night?” he asked, attempting to keep his tone cordial.

  She reached up and removed the bandaging from his wound. “Yes,” she replied, her eyes focusing on his wound. “He even offered to let me stay on as his housekeeper.”

  “Did he now?” he grumbled.

  As she rewrapped the wound, she replied, “With all the newfound wealth he has, he offered me anything my heart desired.”

  Porter’s body tensed, feeling an intense desire to shoot the man who’d hired them. “What did you say?”

  She leaned back and smiled. “I told him that I already had what my heart desires.”

  “Which is?” he asked, hopefully.

  “You,” she confessed, placing her hand over his beating heart. “I love you.”

  He closed his eyes as he realized his gamble had paid off. He’d slowly courted her, peeling away each layer of grief and pain, one at a time. Now, she’d chosen him rather than living with the burdens of her past. His heart skipped a beat and only Darcy’s frantic voice brought him back to the present.

  “Porter? Did you hear what I just said?”

  He opened his eyes slowly. “I am just trying to process the words.”

  “Oh,” she replied, placing her bag on the table. “Let me go prepare you some breakfast.”

  Realizing that she had misconstrued his silence for hesitation, he grabbed her hand, forcing her to sit back down. “I never believed in love at first sight. But from the moment I met you, I knew that we were meant to be together.” He brought her hand up to his lips. “I will fight for your love until my last breath, because you are the woman of my dreams.”

  Tears came to her eyes, but she blinked them away. “I love you, Porter Shaw.”

  “And I love you, Mrs. Shaw.” A mischievous smile came to his lips. “If I recall at our first meeting, I believe I told you that you would be begging to kiss me by the end of the assignment.”

  Her lips curved to one side as she leaned closer. When her lips hovered over his, he felt her intoxicating warm breath brushing against his lips as she said, “As a nurse, I advise patients that it is not wise to engage in physical activities before they are fully recovered.” She started to lean back.

  Porter laughed as he reached out and placed his hand on the back of her neck. “Fine. I concede.” He gently pulled her closer. “I am the one begging to kiss you.”

  That, apparently, was the right thing to say because she closed the distance between them and pressed her soft lips against his. Slipping his arm around her waist, he yanked her towards him, ignoring the pain radiating in his shoulder. Her lips parted
in surprise, and he took advantage by deepening the kiss.

  Darcy ran her hands behind his head and threaded them through his hair. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. How he loved this woman and how he marveled that she loved him in return!

  “That was… nice,” she whispered.

  “Nice?” he repeated in surprise. “That was far more than just ‘nice’ to my way of thinking.”

  She sighed. “I suppose we will have to keep practicing until we get better at it.”

  He chuckled. “That sounds like a perfect solution.”

  Leaning back, she moved her hand to cup his right cheek. “Thank you for saving me from Dustin, and from myself. You have shown me how a man is supposed to care for his wife. It is now my turn to take care of you, husband.”

  “We have the rest of our lives to take care of each other,” he replied. “And I, for one, am looking forward to that very much.”

  A playful gleam came to Darcy’s eyes. “I suppose one more kiss before I make breakfast wouldn’t hurt.”

  “One kiss… one hundred kisses,” he murmured, pressing his lips into hers. Now that Darcy was finally in his arms, nothing else mattered. Only she mattered. And he would prove to her how much he loved her every single day.

  It was much, much later before Porter was served breakfast, but the wait was… worth it.

  Epilogue

  Six months later

  Porter was holding Darcy’s hand as they strolled down the main street of Loco Hills in the New Mexico Territory. His eyes scanned the boardwalk and noticed that men of all ages were gaping at them as they walked by. “Is there a reason why everyone is staring at us?” he asked, debating about drawing his weapon.

  Darcy laughed as she waved at the gentlemen that were lined up to watch them. “No, they are just surprised that I returned home and am holding hands with you.”