Page 368 of Conveniently Wed
Slowly cocking his gun, Ashton held it to Aundy’s head.
“One more step and she’s dead. I’ll kill her, Nash. You know I will.” Ashton’s tone was oddly even and calm. “I swear I’ll pull the trigger if you move.”
“What do you want, Ashton? What’s this about?” Garrett held his gun in front of him with one hand. The other dangled uselessly at his side as blood from the gunshot wound dripped along his fingers, pooling on the grass of Ashton’s neatly trimmed lawn.
“Property. I want hers,” Ashton spoke as though they sat in a drawing room drinking tea. “I wanted it ever since I moved here and Erik refused to sell it to me. Yours was my first choice, but your father made it clear he wasn’t willing to sell.”
“What’s wrong with the place you’ve got here?” Garrett asked, watching Aundy slowly move her hand beneath her apron. If he wasn’t mistaken about what she had planned, he needed to keep Ashton distracted.
“Let’s just say it’s missing something.” Ashton glared contemptuously at Garrett. “You’ve got something extremely valuable right under your nose but are too stupid to realize it.”
“I’m not the only one with that affliction,” Garrett mumbled. The real treasure, the rare irreplaceable treasure was the girl Ashton held in front of him. Garrett couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t lose her, especially not to Ashton Monroe.
Aundy wanted to tell Garrett about Ashton thinking there was gold in the creek, but if she spoke up, it would draw Ashton’s attention to her and that was something she couldn’t do. Steadily moving her hand beneath her apron, she looked at Garrett and winked at him, hoping he understood her signal.
“What is it, exactly, you think we’ve got over there that you don’t have here?” Garrett waited for Aundy to make her move. Hank edged up behind Ashton. Kade and the other men waited for a sign to come out with guns blazing.
“Gold, you illiterate cowpuncher,” Ashton spat out. “You’ve got a creek full of gold and aren’t even smart enough to know it.”
“Is that all?” Garrett stared at Ashton with a scornful expression on his face. “You did all this because of those yellow rocks in the creek?”
“And they’re going to be all mine.” Ashton pointed his revolver at Garrett. “Can’t have you carrying any tales, now, can we? That so-called preacher is going to marry us then I’ll arrange it to look like Aundy’s jealous beau came to stop the wedding too late, killing her before shooting himself. You just saved me the trouble of having to break her neck and shove her down the stairs later.”
“You’re despicable.” Garrett took a step toward Ashton. “Go ahead. Shoot me if you’re going to and be done with it.”
“Fine, I will.” Ashton pulled back the hammer on his revolver.
“No!” Aundy screamed, startling Ashton as she jerked away from him and fired her gun.
Hank hit Ashton from behind, knocking him to the ground as Kade, Fred, and Pastor Whitting hurried into the yard.
“My leg!” Ashton held his thigh where Aundy’s bullet found its mark. She wasn’t sure how much damage her little revolver could inflict, but from the look on Ashton’s face, she must have been close enough to make the shot count.
“Stop whining,” Kade ordered, handcuffing Ashton before Hank let go of him.
“Are you okay?” Aundy asked, gently touching Garrett’s arm, the small revolver still held in her hand.
“Yes. Ashton’s a terrible shot. I might be bleeding like a stuck pig, but it’s just a little scratch.” Garrett pulled Aundy against him with his good arm. “Will you forgive me for the other day?”
“Only if you’ll forgive me,” Aundy said. Tears pooled in her sky-blue eyes. “I love you, Garrett Nash.”
“I love you, too, Aundy.” Mindful of the many pairs of eyes watching them, Garrett gave her a quick kiss. “But don’t you ever scare me like that again. I thought for sure he was going to kill you.”
“I thought that a time or two myself, especially when he kept repeating it.” Now that she was safe, her knees trembled. Aundy glowered at Ashton as he stood between Kade and Fred. “If there’s a trial, I’d be more than happy to testify against him.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Aundy. It most likely won’t be necessary,” Kade said, tipping his head to her. “He will, of course, pay the medical expenses for everyone as well as replace any lost sheep and damaged property.”
“I’ll do no such thing,” Ashton spluttered before Fred popped him in the mouth, cutting his lip.
“Next word out of you and I’ll break that pretty nose of yours,” Fred warned, effectively silencing Ashton. “Although where you’re going, there won’t be any ladies to notice.”
“Deputy Rawlings, I think you should know a few things.” Aundy pointed to Ashton. “He said he tried to kill J.B. and that’s why he had the accident. He also admitted to spooking Erik’s horses the day the wagon flipped over.”
At this news, Garrett wanted to beat Ashton to a pulp, but with Aundy leaning against him, he squelched his primal urges and instead stared at the conniving coward.
“You didn’t write the notes or kill the sheep. Who did your dirty work for you?” Garrett asked, as Kade tightened the handcuffs around Ashton’s wrists. When Ashton failed to answer Garrett’s question, Kade thumped the butt of his gun against the man’s wounded leg, making him gasp in pain.
“Some drifter wanted to earn a few dollars and was more than happy to terrorize a ‘stupid woman’ as he liked to call the fair Mrs. Erickson,” Ashton said in a scornful tone. Fred popped him in the mouth again and Ashton spat out blood along withtwo of his teeth. “He got greedy and stupid, shooting the boy. I had to take care of him after that. Sloppy work, it was. I can’t tolerate it. You won’t find any evidence of him. I keep things neat and orderly.”
