Bella's Vineyard Read online

  Vance’s hand had relaxed on his gun, and he took hold of Bella’s hand. Pride welled up inside her.

  Griffiths looked at his own gun, and then at all the guns pointing at him. Even from a distance, Bella could feel turmoil emanating from him. He definitely wanted Vance dead, but his own survival instinct was stronger.

  But for how long, she wondered. How long before he turned up again?

  “Okay, I’ll leave,” said Griffiths. “I’ve got new interests up country now. Milton is finished for me. Especially now it embraces half-breeds and their ...” He uttered a word that made the bystanders gasp.

  “Let it go,” whispered Bella, feeling Vance’s hand tense in hers. “Darling, please let it go. They’re all on our side. Do you see?”

  “Yes, I see,” said Vance, his voice sounding thick with emotion. He put his arm around Bella and kissed her.

  Griffiths dropped his hand to his side, and the tension visibly loosened. The other men dropped their own guns, putting them back in their holsters. Griffiths half-turned, as if to leave, then spun around, with his gun raised and pointed at Vance and Bella. There was a loud retort, but Griffiths was dead before he fired the shot.

  Vance and Bella walked from the church to where his body lay dead on the ground. Others crowded around to see the scene.

  “It’s a good job one of us still had our gun out,” said May, coming out of a side road with her rifle aloft. She joined the small group at the centre of the larger circle. “That’s for Andrew and Bill,” she said, looking down at Griffiths’ body. “They might have been a bad lot, but they were family. Are you gonna arrest me, Marshal?”

  “No, Miss Tucker. You might have just shot a man, but you did it to save our lives. Besides, you’re family.” Vance looked around the other citizens for confirmation.

  “That’s right,” said Ike Peterson. “She’s one of us. There’s so many folk out on the street to day, all with their guns out, it’s hard to tell who fired the shot that killed him. Don’t you agree, Grant?”

  Mr Grant nodded. “Yep.”

  Ike Peterson turned to Shen and shook his hand. “Thanks for coming to fetch us, Shen. You need any help bringing that good lady of yours over from China you give me a holler. My brother works in the state department. Now, we’d best leave these young people to start their married life. Go on, marshal. The deputies can sort this out. Mind you, I got a bone to pick with you both about missing out on a party.”

  “We’ll have a wedding party soon,” Bella promised.

  “Glad to hear it. Now, go home the two of you and be happy.”

  Bella stood on the porch, watching the sun set in the west. If she squinted, she could just about miss out the burned part of the vineyard. Vance came out and stood behind her, putting his arms around her waist. She leaned back against his chest.

  “No need for sleepwalking tonight,” he whispered in her ear and laughed softly.

  “Pity, I rather enjoyed it.”

  “Yes, me too. You’re very active when you’re asleep.”

  “Hmm, I’m not sure what to say about you, taking advantage of a sleeping woman.” He kissed her neck, and she felt the flames of the night before ignite again.

  “Is May alright?” asked Bella. “She seemed a bit down this evening. I wonder if she’s upset that we got married without her being there.”

  “She just lost her brother, and then killed a man, darling. She would be inhuman if it didn’t get to her on some level. She’s a strong woman. She’ll work her way through it.”

  “With our help.”

  “Yes. With our help. She’s gone to bed now.”

  “May said that we have to climb the mountains, not stride over them. But that we all need a helping hand.”

  “She’s right, most of the time. But I reckon that at this moment, the way I feel with you in my arms, I could step ride on over them.”

  Bella turned to face him, and stroked his cheek with her hand, moving in to the warmth of his body. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too.”

  “It’s really over now, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “For us this is just the beginning.” Vance kissed her, then picked her up and stepped right on over the mountain.