Keegan's Lady Read Free

hundred miles who wished him ill. Nobody except your father. I should've known to expect trouble. Goddamn, no good squatters. There ain't a one of you worth the powder it'd take to blow you straight to hell."
    Jamie saw that the other men were lowering the noose over Joseph's head. Fists and feet flying, he threw himself at O'Shannessy. "You let him go! You let him go!"
    "Why, you miserable little shit!"
    The metal plate of the rifle butt glinted in the torchlight as O'Shannessy drew the weapon back. The next instant, Jamie's head seemed to explode. A horrible, bone-shattering pain radiated from his left cheek to fill his vision with flashes of white. With a whoosh of expelled breath, he landed in a loose-jointed sprawl, too dazed even to spit the dirt from his mouth. Curiously, he felt little pain when O'Shannessy followed the blow to his face with a kick to his body, the toe of his boot connecting sharply with Jamie's right hip.
    "Jamie!"
    Feeling as though he were separated from reality by heat shimmers, Jamie heard his mother's scream, then saw her lift her skirts and run toward him. An instant before she reached him, Conor O'Shannessy snaked out a hand and brought her reeling to a stop. Her petticoats flashed beneath her swirling skirts as he jerked her against him and gave a low, evil laugh.
    O'Shannessy tossed away the rifle. "Well, now, aren't you a fine little swatch of calico."
    Dory struggled to escape his grasp. "Let go of me! My son—"
    "Deserved what he got, just like that no good bastard yonder."
    Jamie worked his mouth to tell his ma that he was all right, but for the life of him, he couldn't make the words come out. He looked past her at the oak tree. Joseph was jerking frantically from side to side to avoid having the noose lowered over his head.
    "Ma, help Pa," he finally managed to gasp out.
    Following his gaze, Dory saw what was happening and stopped struggling. What little color remained in her face drained away. "I'm begging you, mister. Don't do this terrible thing. You have to believe me. Joseph would never, never shoot anyone. I swear it. Please, at least allow him a trial before a jury!"
    O'Shannessy shook his head. "He's had all the trial he's gonna get, and we've found him guilty."
    "Please. Don't kill him. I'll give you anything. The wagon, our horses, what little money we have. Anything!"
    O'Shannessy snorted. "I don't want your old wagon and broken-down horses, woman."
    "Then what? Anything. Just name it, and it's yours. Please, Mr. O'Shannessy, please."
    Dory's plea ended with a horrible, tearing sob. O'Shannessy peered down at her for a moment. Then his broad face creased in another drunken grin. After signaling to his friends that he wanted them to hold off on the hanging for a moment, he said, "Well, now, darlin’, that's a mighty tempting offer."
    "Dory, no!" Joseph cried. "Dear God in heaven, no. I'd rather—"
    One of the other men cut Joseph short by shoving a wadded handkerchief into his mouth. Dory laughed, a horrible, wet, shrill little laugh that didn't sound quite sane. Desperate to stand up, Jamie fought with all his will to move, but even as he struggled, O'Shannessy was leading his ma away from the light.
    Sensation slowly returned to Jamie's body, first to his fingers, then to his hands. He managed to push onto his knees, but then another wave of dizziness took him down again.
    He had no idea how much time passed before O'Shannessy reappeared. Still fastening his trousers, he staggered toward the oak tree.
    "Gentlemen," he said with a flourish of one hand, "you may now hasten to make an honorable man of me. As you know, I don't consort with married ladies. Widows, however, are fair game."
    "No!" The bodice of her dress agape, Dory came tearing out of the bushes. "You promised! You gave me your word!"
    O'Shannessy let loose with a loud, coarse burst of laughter. One of his cohorts slapped Patch on the rump. Startled, the gentle dun gelding surged forward, taking the man astride