Page 1 of A Curse On Black Lake (Black Lake Gothic Cowboys #1)

Black Lake, Texas

Cassandra Jameson

“No! Please, Papa! Please! I’m begging you, don’t take him from me, please!”

“How could you do this to me? You’ve whored yourself out to this … this peasant boy. You will ruin this family!” Father spits.

I drop to my knees and grab the tails of my father’s jacket. My skirts bunch up, getting in the way, but I’ll crawl if I have to.

Jasper Radcliffe is the love of my life, and I don’t care about his lack of status, or who his family is. I love him, and that’s all that should matter.

“Take your hands off of me, Cassandra. I will deal with you when I am finished with this,” he says.

My friend Lily comes up behind me, helping me to my feet. “Come on, Cassie, let him calm down, and maybe he will see clearly later. They are just going to put him in the jail,” Lily says.

My father chuckles and gestures to the Sheriff and his men to bind Jasper’s hands behind his back.

“No, Lily, Jasper will not be put in jail. I will not have my daughter defiled by this poor boy,” Father says.

I lock eyes with Jasper, and concern paints his expression before he glances down at my stomach.

A tear falls down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away.

If I tell my father I’m pregnant, he might kill us both.

But if I say nothing, Jasper will most certainly die.

If my father cares anything for me, he will leave Jasper alone.

We will get married and leave this godforsaken town in the dust. They say there’s work out West. We could start over. We could be happy.

“Daddy, please. I love him, and…” I trail off, choking on the words, unable to meet his eyes.

I rest my hand over my stomach and take a deep breath and look at Jasper, gaining the courage to look my father in the eye.

“I’m pregnant. He is the father of this child.

We will get married and leave. You’ll never see us again. Please, I beg you, let him live.”

My father stares at me in shock and then suddenly my cheek stings. I hear gasps around me, and I try to force the tears back, but I can’t.

Jasper yells, trying to pull out of the grip they have on him. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you for putting your hands on her, you bastard! We’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Nothing wrong?” Father yells. “You have made my daughter a whore. That child is a bastard!”

“They are mine,” Jasper spits.

I finally get my frozen feet to move over to Jasper. One man tries to stop me, so I backhand him as hard as I can.

Jasper growls, and I fall to my knees before him in the dirt, leaning my forehead against his, the tears are in free fall now.

My heart feels like it’s being torn to shreds.

This is all because my father’s pride is worth more than his daughter’s happiness.

He cuts down anyone who gets in his way, and now, I understand I am no different from those he left in open graves. Nor is Jasper.

“I won’t leave you,” I whisper to Jasper.

“You need to, my love. If they have to kill me so I can protect you, then so be it.”

“No,” I sob. “I can’t survive without you. I don’t want to.”

“You may have to, little rebel. You will be a wonderful mother. Take care of our boy, build him up to be a respectable man,” Jasper says.

“You don’t know if it’s a boy or girl,” I whisper.

He smiles. “I do. Have I ever lied to you?” he asks.

“No,” I rasp.

“Then trust me,” he says with defeat in his eyes.

I startle at his reaction. He needs to fight. We need to run.

“I’ve had enough of this. Hang this man and be done with it,” Father commands Sheriff Sawyer.

“No! He’s done nothing wrong! He’s broken no law!” I scream at all of them. “If being in love is against the law, then hang me, too!”

“No! Cassandra, look at me!” Jasper says.

I spin around, and they drag him away. “I love you. I always will. Don’t let them win. Take care of both of you,” he says, still struggling to get out of the large men’s hold.

“This is wrong! Please stop this. This is your pride speaking, Mr. Jameson!” Pastor Lennox says.

“Pastor, I am protecting my daughter,” my father yells.

“You are not, sir!” Evander Greer says. “This is an egregious sin, Conrad Jameson! You are letting your vanity and ignorance rule you!”

He ignores them as the officers continue dragging Jasper to the hanging platform in the center of town, usually reserved for anyone who has committed a terrible crime, like murder.

Not love.

I run after him and look for anything to help us, to keep this from happening. My father grabs me, and I push myself off of him and pull Sheriff Sawyer’s gun from his holster.

“Hey!” he yells.

I aim the revolver at my father. “Let him go now!”

My father throws his head back and laughs. “You won’t shoot your father, girl. You’ll end up on the gallows alongside your love.”

“Then so be it,” I grit.

He laughs again, and I spin around and shoot the deputy holding onto Jasper. He lets go and falls to the wood angrily, holding his arm. I cock the revolver again, aiming at the other. The bullet whizzes over his ear, slicing the tip off.

Jasper takes his moment and pushes them off. “Run! I’ll find you. Get out of here!” I scream.

He hesitates. The protector in him wants to stay, but he can’t, and he knows that as he takes off.

Wherever he is, I will find him. My heart will know the direction of his soul because we were meant to be one.

We are written in the book of life, meant to be until we return to the dust from which we were made.

“Give me that,” my father says, trying to rip the gun from my hand. I fight, trying to aim it at him. I’ll do what I need to do to protect us.

“No!” I scream, stepping away to point the gun at him, but Sheriff Sawyer grabs my arms, binding them together, with the gun still clutched between my fingers. I scream, fight, and kick to break free, but it’s no use as my father takes the revolver from my hands and aims it at Jasper.

My ears fill with the most bloodcurdling, heart-tearing scream I have ever heard, and then I realize it’s me as my father pulls the trigger. I watch in horror as my sun, my moon, my heart falls to the ground, unmoving.

My body acts on its own, fighting to break free from the man holding me.

He relents, and I gather my skirts, running to Jasper, but I’m too late.

His eyes blink heavily as they stare at me.

I sob, pulling his large body into my lap, holding him.

“Stay with me, please, please don’t give up,” I tell him.

He blinks again, too weak to speak. He’s bleeding out in my arms.

“Someone help me!” I scream.

But no one comes.

I clasp his face as he stares at me. “I want to go with you. I don’t want to be here without you. None of it is worth it,” I tell him, pressing our foreheads together.

“I love…” Jasper trails off, wheezing.

His eyes drop as I feel his last breath caress my cheek, and I close my eyes, trying to remember it.

Lily places her hand on my shoulder, and I scream into the sky so loudly God can hear me.

And my sadness turns to anger in a single breath.

“You will all rue the day! I curse this land where you have spilled innocent blood. For generations, you will see death and blood. You will pay for what you have done!” I scream. “I will make you—”

Everything goes dark.

Cassandra Jameson

Nine Months Later

“Cassie, you have to push. He’s ready,” Lily calls.

I sob into the ceiling as my son pushes his way into the world. I wish Jasper were here.

“Almost there,” Lily says.

She’s my only friend, the only one that would help me. My parents disowned me when I saw the love of my life die. They called me a whore, amongst other names. But I don’t care.

“One more, one more,” Lily encourages.

I groan, pushing as hard as I can, and Lily catches him. A second later, I hear a strong cry. Letting a breath loose, I lean back into the pillows and lay there while she handles everything around me.

She gets him cleaned up and rests him on my chest. He looks up at me, his fists clenching and releasing as if he’s looking for his father too.

A sob bursts from my lips, and it’s like my heart is breaking over and over again. I stare at my son with blurry vision. His father would be proud. “Your father loves you so much, Jasper.”

“Is that what you want to name him?” Lily asks.

“For Jasper,” I rasp.

“I think he would be very proud of both of you,” she says.

Pain of unceasing grief rolls through me as I stare at my son, and it is like thorns in tender flesh seeking blood ever so lovingly.

This is not his fault. He does not deserve to suffer because of me.

I hate myself for begging God to take me so I can be with my Jasper.

Lily will care for our boy; he would be safe with her.

But I know what is right, and I must do what he asked of me.

“Did you … did you really mean what you said? When … Jasper died?” Lily asks.

“You mean when he was killed,” I say deadpan. That is the reality. They killed the love of my life in cold blood, with no remorse for leaving his child without a father.

“Yes,” she whispers.

“This land and its people will see nothing but struggle and strife. Death and blood. They will rue the day they killed him, Lily, and their families will pay the price.”

Lily Greer

Cassandra stands on the hill with her babe strapped to her breast and a horse saddled with all she can carry.

She looks like vengeance and determination as the wind blows her dark hair.

I clasp the envelope she handed me, sealed with a wax stamp, to hold for safekeeping until, or if, she ever returns.

She left as soon as she was physically able, despite my pleads for her to take her time and heal.

Cassandra simply told me there was no amount of time or cure that would heal her.

I asked her where she was going, and she said, “Where Jasper had wanted them to start over.” I wanted to go with her.

She’s alone. And I told her as much, but she said, “No, Lily, you must stay because you are the only light in this town. If they ever understand what they have done, you will be the only one to end it. You must remain the light.”

She may have invited the darkness in, out of pain, grief, and retribution.

But they opened the door when they killed Jasper for loving a woman above his status.

Love does not care about station, or money, or the opinions of others.

I learned that because of Cassandra and Jasper.

So, I will remain in Black Lake, as she asked.

I believe she cursed this land. Many don’t. But the moment she said the words, it was like a cloud descended upon us. I felt it, heavy and foreboding, as if the darkness excitedly stuck its claws into this town, never to let it go.

There is power in words, and there is power in the blood of the innocent.