Rev drags him down and around behind the wagon. “We have to go!”
“What the hell?” Jack roars.
Davis snaps, “Shooter on the roof!”
“How far to the U.S. Marshalls office?” Jack asked.
“Five blocks, everyone will be busy with the fires, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Leave the body, Marshall!” A voice calls out.
Chase stands slowly with his hands raised and stares in shock at the barber, with fifteen men dressed in complete black with their faces covered. “What is happening?”
"Retribution. You go now."
Chase nods and snaps an order out not willing to put his friends in greater danger. They all dive back inside the barbershop and rush out front. Outside the sound of sirens and people rushing to and fro greet them. Fire spreads quickly in a city this size, and they disappear into the crowd easily.
“What now?” Davis asked.
“We report this, and then we go home. My wife is waiting,” Chase can’t help but grin.
Epilogue
Bronnah helps Harris clean the instruments before returning to the small large she's been staying in. His family welcomed her with open arms, and after the first week, she insisted on helping Harris with his duties. As a doctor, the work never ends, and her days and nights are dragging since Chase left.
Chase watches her walking back to the house and steps out onto the porch. These past few months have been hell, but he’s about to make up for lost time. He waits for it, the moment she lifts her fairy eyes and sees him. Tears fill, and she breaks into a run, calling his name. Chase leaps from the porch and catches her as she hurtles into his arms.
His kiss steals her breath, and when at last they come up for air, he laughs with joy when she asks, "Have ya finally come home to me, then?"
“Aye, my love. I’m home for good.” Bronnah has eyes only for Chase. She doesn’t see them behind him until she speaks.
“Bronnah?” Her mother calls out. They step out of the house, first her Mother, then her Father, followed by her brother, Patrick. Chase steps aside as she gasps, “Da?” No one moves for an instant until Bronnah’s legs give out. She collapses, and everyone moves at once. Her father catches her before she hits the ground and lifts her in a hug.
“I never dared dream, Bronnah girl, that I’d look into your eyes once more,” he weeps, unashamed of his emotion. Her mother grabs her as she calls her name, “Ma!”
Bronnah tries to slow her sobs. Looking at her brother, she can't believe her eyes. "Patrick? Look at you!" She releases them and runs to him. He catches her in a tight embrace and kisses the top of her head. Patrick shares her beautiful eyes, and he looks at Chase with gratitude.
“I guess I can’t call ya little brother anymore.”
At almost twelve he is much taller than she is already. “How did this happen?”
“I’ll tell you everything,” Chase promises.
Later after the tears and laughter subside, Chase tells a story by the fireplace inside the cabin. It's a four-bedroom log cabin built with comfort in mind. Chase needed a place to call his own, and he had this cabin built near a river for ease of access.
“During our trip, before the train crash, I sent a missive to the Sisters of Charity, arranging for passage for your family.” Chase watches as she digests this news. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“What train crash?” Her father demands.
"That's a long story, Da," Bronnah sighs. "You certainly succeeded in surprising me, Chase." Bronnah reaches for his hand, and he squeezes it tight.
“We could use a good tale,” her Mother insists. Bronnah looked to Chase and takes a deep breath. Two hours later she joins Chase in the bedroom. Exhausted both physically and emotionally she rushes to his waiting arms.
“How will I ever thank you, Chase?”
"You will thank me by being happy, Bronnah-mine." He begins to strip, and her eyes heat with passion.
“I think I can manage that, but what about the Chen and Cleveland?” Chase covers her mouth with his hand to silence her questions.
“I don’t want to hear that name ever again, he’s dead.” Bronnah nods and nips at his hand. “The Marshall’s office has a mess to clean up. I stayed long enough to arrest any involved with the Chen Matrimony scam, but the truth is that this goes much deeper than I ever thought possible.”
“What does that mean for us?” she asked.
“It means that they have a job to do, I’m through. I have land that needs tending and a wife to love.”
Bronnah’s eyes light up. “Truly,” she asks.
“I have asked your Father if he would mind helping me to care for it. I’m not sure he will stay. He is talking of homesteading his own piece of land. We’ll just have to make sure it isn’t too far from us.”
Love fills her eyes as she thinks about all he has done for her. “You’ve thought of everything. You’ve given me so much, Chase. How will I ever…”
His hand covers her mouth. "Don't even finish that sentence. Bronnah-mine you've healed my broken soul and given me a new dream. Never forget how much I love you."
“You may have to remind me, husband.” She steps away and begins removing her dress.
“I like the sound of that, together and forever mine.”
The End.
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