Chapter Forty Four

          Gill stood beside the river that night and couldn't seem to wrap his head around all that he'd been told that day. Apparently Captain Morgan had been in touch with the gang and known they'd come to save Gill—the other three rangers on the base had even ridden out to help the gang do so.

          They hadn't done it because of their love for Gilliam of course, but instead because of their hatred of the Major and his men—all of which had been helping themselves to anything and everything they'd wanted on the base—even women.

          As far as the records would show, Major Winfield and his men had been killed by a band of renegades. The Crane Gang was still dead—since that's the report that Major Winfield himself had written—and Gilliam, Jebidiah and Maria had all been hanged by the neck until dead just that morning.

          Yes, it meant that the world would never know the evil that had been Major Winfield, and it mean that the Major would go down in history as a hero who took out The Crane Gang, but Gill took comfort in the fact that it also meant that Major Winfield was worm shit while Gill was......

          Gill smiled when Jeb's arms circled his waist and his warm breath teased his ear, causing Gill to tremble. "Preston's finally asleep," Jeb whispered. "He insisted on hearing a few extra stories from Uncle Pete."

          "Uncle Pete?" Gill rolled his eyes. "We have to limit the amount of time they spend together. He'll have Preston just as annoying as he is."

          Gill felt Jeb smile against his skin and the two men stood in silence a long while. Finally Gill sighed. "How are Craig and Wyatt? Losing Willie has to be hard on them."

          "It's hard on us all," Jeb replied softly. "Willie was a good man even if he was hot-tempered and whiskey weak. But he died a hero so that makes it a little easier..... He wouldn't want us all wallowing."

          Gill nodded and sent up a silent thank-you to the heavens in hopes that Willie would hear it—Willie had probably saved Pete's life and Gill would be eternally grateful for the man's sacrifice.

          "How is your arm?" Jeb questioned, attempting to raise Gills' arm in the air.

          Gill grumbled at Jeb's efforts to coddle him. "Leave it be. You can't see anything out here in the dark anyhow."

          "I just worry about you," Jeb admitted.

          "I know." Gill turned in his arms and cursed the fact that Jeb was so much taller than he was. He kissed the man's jaw before nipping at it playfully. "And we need to be getting to bed. We have to put a lot more distance between us and that base tomorrow."

          Jeb stood fast and stared down into Gill's eyes. Even in the dim light, Gill could see the love in the other man's expression. "I nearly lost you today, Gilliam. I've nearly lost you far too many times."

          "But you didn't lose me and you won't lose me" Gill promised. "I love you, Jebidiah, and I don't plan on going anywhere."

          "Are you upset that our life in New Mexico won't be quite as quiet as we'd planned?" Jeb asked.

          Gill thought about the people sleeping back at camp. They were his best friends—his family. He couldn't imagine life without them. "Of course not. Hell, Pete would probably cry himself to sleep every night without me and I still have a few fighting tips to give to Wyatt—and my mama would let the hounds of hell drag her down with them before she'd let Preston get away from her. The woman has always wanted grandchildren."

          "That cabin will be awfully cramped until we get them some places built," Jeb warned.

          Gill stood on his toes and kissed Jeb's lips lightly. "Then I suppose we shouldn't take this bit of privacy for granted."

          Jeb's light chuckle rumbled beneath Gill's mouth. "No, I don't suppose we should."

***

          It took two weeks of hard traveling but finally Jebidiah saw his cabin come into view. Preston squirmed in the saddle in front of him. "Is that it?" the boy asked.

          "Sure is," Jebidiah assured him. "That's our new home."

          "Looks a little small," Craig stated.

          Wyatt grinned and pointed to Craig before pointing back to himself and folding his hands beside his head. Craig laughed. "Hell no, I'm not sleeping with you!" At Wyatt's hurt expression, Craig snorted. "You snore like a water buffalo and you know it."

          "I figure all the guests can sleep in the barn until we get houses built," Jebidiah stated firmly. "Except of course for Maria. It wouldn't be right to put a lady in the barn."

          "And just what the hell am I, Jebidiah Crane?" Jane demanded.

          "You're married to Pete." Gill cut in. "You oughta be used to critters."

          "Jealousy is such an ugly thing," Pete intoned. "You can sleep with us too, Gill. I have two arms and only need one to hold you with."

          Gill slid a sideways glance in Jeb's direction. "Just how much land do you own?"

          "Quite a bit of it. We've been on it about a day or so," Jebidiah replied.

          Gill nodded. "That's good."

          They rode closer to the cabin and Jeb felt unease in his gut. The place was more rundown and dilapidated than it had been the last time Jeb had been here. Hell, it and the barn were practically falling down. It would take a lot of work to make it the home he'd dreamt about sharing with his man and son.

          What would happen if Gill didn't like it? Damn, he wanted Gill to like it.

          They brought the horses and wagon to a stop and Gill hopped down. Jebidiah helped Preston down and then joined Gill as he stood in front of the rickety porch.

          "I uh... it looked a bit different the last time I was here," Jeb muttered.

          Gill didn't say a word. He stepped up on the porch and held a hand out for Preston. "Come on, kid. Let's go figure out where we'll be sleeping."

          Jeb noticed that everyone else seemed rather busy at the wagon and he knew they were giving them privacy to explore their new home. His family might be annoying as hell at times but Jeb still loved them with all his heart.

          When they stepped inside the cabin, the dust motes floated heavily in the sunlight that managed the break through the dirty window panes. The cabin was nice in layout. One large room contained a kitchen with cabinets, good counter space and a hefty woodstove complete with oven. There was a sofa beside a fireplace and two arm chairs with a dusty rug laid between them.

          A ladder led to the loft and Preston pointed toward it. "Is there a bed up there?" he asked.

Jebidiah nodded. "Yep. I figured you could have that room—we'll have to clean the bed up some though. I'm sure it's covered in dust."

It was obvious that Preston didn't care as he scrambled up the ladder and disappeared into the loft. "Wow!" his voice floated back down. "My own room. I've never had my own room."

Gill turned and draped his arms around Jeb's neck. "You're a good man, Jebidiah Crane."

"You have a room here too, you know," Jeb assured him, his brow crooking upward. "Want me to show you?"

Gill nodded and without a word, Jeb took his hand and led him to a closed door. He opened it slowly and they stepped into a room with a wide bed, two wardrobes and a long chest of drawers. The walls were bare, just as they were in the rest of the house, but Jeb hoped that Gill would see the potential.

"Do you like it, Gilliam? I guess I should have told you it needed work...." He admitted as he glanced up and realized that he could see sunlight through the hole in the ceiling above his head.

"I should say no," Gill replied and Jeb quickly turned his gaze to the man only to find him smiling. "I should just because watching you worry your head off is amusing."

          Jeb huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Really?"

          "Yep." Gill shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Watching the calm and collected Jebidiah sweat bullets is quite a show."

          "You're being an ass," Jebidiah warned. "I might just put you out in the barn with everybody else."

          Gill laughed. "And you'd be curling up in the hay with me after only a couple hours," he countered. Jeb wanted to argue but couldn't—Gill was right.

          Gill stepped forward and Jeb instantly pulled the man into his arms. "I love this place, Jeb. I'm pretty damned happy to know that we're going to have a home here with our family. I never did think I'd have a real home or a real family so it's hard to take it all in."

          "I always knew I'd come back here one day and have Preston," Jebidiah admitted, stroking the light brown skin of Gill's arms. "But I sure as hell never thought I'd have a man I loved beside me when I did it."

          He smiled when Gill pressed his face into the front of his shirt. "I love you, Jebidiah."

          "Awww...and I love both of you!" Pete's voice rang out just before his arms came around the couple. "But we have a problem," he added.

          Gill and Jeb yanked themselves out of his embrace and Jeb was growling as he stepped forward. "Privacy, Pete. When we're in this bedroom, you will respect our privacy."

          Pete only grinned that gap-toothed grin of his and scratched at his red hair. "That's all good and well, Jeb, but there's a problem."

          "What's the problem?" Gill demanded with exasperation.

          "There are rats in the barn, Jeb." Pete's face paled a bit as he shiverd. "Big, ugly, beady-eyed, long-toothed rats and, well, I'm scared."

          Gunshots sounded from the barn and Gill was on Jeb's heels as the three men ran onto the porch to see Jane and Craig firing shots in the open barn door.

          Jane stepped into the small, dusty building and came out holding a dead, bleeding rat by its bald tail. "Don't worry, honey. I think we got 'em," she called to Pete.

          He put a hand to his heart. "Is there any doubt left as to why I love that woman?"

          Jeb rolled his eyes and pulled Gill back into the house. "Is everything okay?" Preston asked, poking his head over the loft.

          "Just some rat killing," Jeb assured the boy. His eyes widened behind his glasses and Preston was down the ladder and out the door in seconds.

          "Well, you were right when you said it wouldn't be the quiet life we had pictured," Gill announced.

          Jeb took him into his arms and knocked his hat away so he could press their brows together. "You still gonna stick around?"

          Jebidiah lost himself in Gills' dark eyes as the man smiled. "Yeah, I reckon."

A/N: And that's the end of "heart of an outlaw". I hope you all enjoyed the story! The next story in the series is 'An Outlaws Silence'.