Chapter Twelve
The scene in the yard of the way station was pure chaos. Rachel rushed to grab Quinn and help Cassie and Noah inside the house, away from danger. Teaspoon and Buck dove for cover behind a corner of the bunkhouse, and Louise struggled with her riding skirt as she tried to get down to help Kid.
Kid, in the meantime, pushed himself up off the ground, startled and dazed. He stood up slowly, blood pouring from the wound in his shoulder.
“Rosemary!” Teaspoon called. “Ya ain’t got to do this! Kid’s just one person. Killin’ him won’t help your cause! Drop the gun!”
Another shot rang out, but this time it failed to hit its mark. Lou screamed and hit the ground, crawling on her hands and knees towards Kid.
“Rosemary!” Teaspoon yelled again. “Drop the gun. This is pure foolishness!”
“I never trusted you, Kid!” Rosemary shouted. “Not even when you saved Isaiah’s life. What’s it gonna take for you to admit this war is about slavery, Kid? What’s it gonna take?”
“Rosemary,” Kid called, “Stop talkin’ crazy! You’re a smart woman. I ain’t the whole Confederate army you know!”
Never in her whole life had Louise wished for her gun more than now. With a gun, she’d have the perfect shot....
“I ain’t crazy, Kid!” Rosemary shouted, firing the gun again. This time, the bullet hit Kid in the knee, knocking his legs out from under him.
Lou screamed as she lay paralyzed with fear on the ground. “Kid! Somebody do somethin’!”
“She ain’t listenin’ to reason,” Buck told Teaspoon. “She’s got three shots left. Three shots and Kid’ll be dead. We gotta take her down, Teaspoon.”
“I don’t fancy myself shootin’ women,” Teaspoon answered.
“I don’t fancy shootin’ anyone,” Buck responded. “But when their shootin’ at me or one of my friends, all bets are off. It’s every man for himself. ‘Sides, you don’t have to kill her, just wound her.”
Teaspoon hemmed and hawed. If Rosemary had been a man, there wouldn’t have been a question in his mind about what to do. But he was having a hard time seeing himself shoot a crazed woman.
Another shot rang out, this time whistling over Louise’s head. Lou screamed again. Her tears fell on the dusty ground and covered her face with mud.
“Louise?!” Kid hollered, now more afraid for his wife’s life than his own. “Damn it, shoot her!”
“You always were one to judge, Louise!” Rosemary ranted. “This time make up your own mind and maybe I’ll let you live. Otherwise, I’m your judge, jury, and executioner all in one!”
“Teaspoon, this is ridiculous!” Buck said frantically. “She’s gonna kill them both! If you don’t stop her, I will!”
“Good Lord, I wish Cody’d left his rifle in Rachel’s house,” Teaspoon muttered.
“Noah’s gun’s in the bunkhouse?” Buck asked.
“Sure it is, but that ain’t the problem,” Teaspoon answered.
“Teaspoon, she’s gonna kill them!” Buck insisted. “You wanna see them die in front of you?”
But Teaspoon didn’t have to make the choice. Suddenly, shots rang out from around the corner of Rachel’s house. One, two, three, all in succession.
Everyone watched as the bullets hit Rosemary in the chest. She fell to her knees as Jimmy appeared from his hiding spot behind the house. He walked toward Rosemary as she fell on her hands, his gun still pointed at her.
“Jimmy, how could you?” she asked as she gasped for air. “How could you do this to the cause?”
“You won’t ever learn, will you Rosemary?” Jimmy said to the dying woman. “There’s more important things in life than a cause, right or wrong.”
His final question went unanswered as Rosemary’s arms crumpled beneath her and she fell to the ground, dead.
