Page 60 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

She ran throughout the night following the stars, headed north. As she ran, the horror that had abated while she had been with Daxton was now back with a vengeance. But heading north was her only hope. She didn’t dare go toward Laramie. No, she had to put as much distance between her and Austin as she could. She had suspected that the law in Laramie had been turning a blind eye to Austin and Logan’s gang for a while. How else could they have lived so close to a town without word getting out? No, the more she thought about it, the more she suspected that the sheriff in Laramie was in his pocket.

Not everyone was as good as Daxton... even law enforcement officers.

Daxton took his job seriously, along with his commitment to uphold the law. Since he had reacted the way he did when he found out that she had been married to Logan, she could imagine how he would react when he found out that she had killed him. Even though it had been in self-defense, it wouldn’t matter. Logan was still dead... and she was responsible.

Josey wished she would have trusted Daxton enough to be completely honest with him from the beginning. But she had her unborn child to think about, just as he had his own children.

Tears streamed down her face as she ran. And the farther she went, the more she couldn’t get Daxton out of her mind. She had fallen in love with him... and, of course, his children. She hadn’t meant to; it just happened. But she and Logan hadn’t had a good relationship for a while, if ever. And Josey had alwaysvowed that if she ever got away from him, she would never marry anyone else again.

Then, she met Daxton.

He had been the first man in her life to show her kindness. The first man that she had ever felt comfortable around. The first man who had opened his heart to her... despite what he had been through. And he was the first man to open her heart in a very long time.

Josey ran through the darkness, following the North Star, hoping to find freedom, hoping beyond all hope that this mess would one day be behind her. That one day she could finally be free to live a good, decent life.

She stumbled and fell more than once, skinning her knees under the long skirt of her dress. She wished she could get as lucky as she had before when she found the man’s clothing and the straw hat. But a straw hat and men’s clothes weren’t going to save her. Not now. Not ever. Josey knew she would never know peace again. She would be running for the rest of her life. And if Austin had his way about it, he would never let her go. He would never rest until she was dead.

A sharp pain suddenly shot through her stomach. No! She couldn’t lose this baby... even if it was Logan’s. She loved this baby and would do anything to protect him or her. Another sharp pain grabbed her. Josey held her stomach as she leaned against a tree. She needed to find a place to rest. Some place safe. A place where Austin couldn’t find her.

But she couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t stop. Not yet.

Josey began walking again, not willing to take a chance with the baby’s life. A strange feeling of weakness came over her, and she knew she couldn’t go much farther.

A tree branch cracked behind her... and she started running again. She looked behind her and then she suddenly fell downthrough the earth, down, down, until she landed with a hard thud on the ground.

“Oh!” she moaned, half delirious from the pain, half delirious from exhaustion.

Josey looked around and it was dark. The only light came from the stars above that shone from a hole high above her. Was she in a cave or a hole in the ground? Whatever it was... wherever she was... it was clear that it was deep and that she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Josey had thought of calling for help, but she was afraid that Austin would hear her and would find her. For Daxton to find her first would be a miracle, and too much to ask.

She held her stomach and leaned back against the wall of the cavern, watching the stars. At least she was hidden, out of view. As she watched the stars moving across the night sky, she just hoped beyond all hope that everything would work out. But she had no idea how it could.

“God, I don’t have a right to ask,” she whispered, looking up at the stars, rubbing her stomach. “But please, show me the way.”

Soon, exhaustion and the darkness overtook her as she closed her eyes, hoping it wasn’t for the last time.

Chapter 14

Daxton

Daxton woke with a start early the next morning, hoping that Josey hadn’t left. But deep down in his heart, he already knew she was gone.

Try as he might to stay awake, he had fallen asleep. He had been so tired and emotionally drained when he lay down that a tornado could have carried the house away and he wouldn’t have known.

He ran into the bedroom and flung the door open without knocking. Sure enough, she was gone. The bed was neatly made with a note on the pillow. He recognized the paper from the stationary that Priscilla used to keep. In fact, it was the same stationery that she had used to write her note when she left.

No. This could not be happening again.

Then again, he had known it was coming. Even though he was hoping that she would stay, he knew she was going to leave. She had said so herself the night before.

And he did nothing.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he could have stopped her. He should have told her that they could work it out together. He could have gone after Austin and put him in jail for threatening his family. He could have.... But, then again, he knew that she was doing what she had to, to protect her child, just as he had been doing all along.

Daxton hurried to dress and headed into the kitchen. Lillian was already up and cooking breakfast.

“So, she left?” Lillian asked, her voice matter of fact, not looking up from the pancakes she was cooking.

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