Page 574 of Conveniently Wed
“No!” Franklin rode to stop the man. “If we kill him, we won’t know where my wife is.”
“You bring my money, Franklin?” Marvin sounded very sure of himself.
Franklin seethed. The man was one ornery son-of-a-gun. He wished they could shoot the man, but not before he knew where Lorinda was.
The sheriff stood tall in his stirrups. “Marvin Pratt. We have you surrounded. Ride down with your hands up.”
“Want to make a deal, Sheriff?” Marvin still looked as if he thought he was in control.
“What kind of deal?” The lawman frowned up at the criminal.
Franklin turned toward the sheriff. “You can’t make a deal with this desperado. The man’s a murderer, arsonist, cattle thief, and we don’t know what else.”
The sheriff held up his palm to stop Franklin’s tirade.
“I don’t have to have the money.” Marvin shifted in his saddle, and his horse moved restlessly beneath him. “I’ll trade the whereabouts of Mrs. Vine for my freedom.”
Franklin started to speak, but the sheriff stopped him.
“Marvin, you know I can’t let you loose. You’ve committed too many crimes–murder, arson, stealing cattle, stealing horses, and who knows what else? We can’t have you riding around in this area. So come on down, and we’ll see what the law can agree to if you help us find Mrs. Vine. That’s the best I can do.”
Franklin held his breath. Would Marvin give up? Would this soon be over? His heartbeat accelerated.Please let it be over, Lord.
“I ain’t goin’ back to prison. B’sides, most of my crimes are hangin’ offenses. Last chance to let me go?” His hate-filled, beady eyes stared at Franklin. “You’ve had the love of two women. I couldn’t beat you...until today.”
“No deals.” The sheriff shouted.
Quick as a flash, Marvin’s gun was out of his holster and pointed against his own head.
“No!” Franklin’s shout coincided with the crack of the gunshot.
Marvin dropped to the hard rocks below his horse’s hooves.
Franklin jumped off Major and scrambled up the side of the huge mound of boulders. Maybe he could get there before Marvin died. If so, he’d make the man tell him where Lorinda was.
The sheriff climbed right behind him. They both knelt beside the body of Marvin Pratt. Franklin didn’t have to check the man’s pulse to know he was gone.
He hunkered on the rock, tears streaming down his face. “What are we going to do?”
The sheriff stood beside him. “We keep searching. We’ll find her.”
Franklin hated Marvin more than ever since he took his own life.
Hated that he’d argued with Lorinda.
Hated that he’d been too much of a coward to tell her how much he loved her.
39
When they finished searching for the day, Franklin rode up to the ranch house, wearing dejection like a new suit of clothes that were a size too small, his gut tied in knots that felt as if they would never let go. There was nowhere they hadn’t looked. The men needed to get back to their businesses and ranches. For all they knew, his wife was dead. But he still felt a connection to her. She had to be out there somewhere...alive.
The sheriff once again stood on the porch talking to the men who finished the day with them. “I know we’re all discouraged. We don’t know where else to look for Mrs. Vine. Go home. Pray. If anyone comes up with somewhere else to look, please come to town and get me.”
Franklin’s boots felt as if they were made of lead, instead of leather as he walked up the front steps. He turned toward those gathered. “I owe you a debt of gratitude. I’ll never be able to repay for what you’ve done so far. I’ll understand if you need to get back to your own business or ranch. I hope tomorrow brings a new goal for our search.” He turned and trudged into the house.
Molly Malone opened the door to the room where the babies slept when Franklin walked down the hallway.
“Hello, Franklin?” Worry winkled her brow. “Any good news yet?”
