She squeezed his hand, his grip so very soft and flaccid. “It’s nearly settled that I’m going to marry Andrew, and you’re not going to be negotiating beef prices and shipping costs in your condition. Those things are for Wes now. I see no harm in you and Consuela being happy together for the little time you have left. Besides, if you wed, Consuela will be in a better position after you pass. Not a housekeeper anymore, but a wealthy rancher’s widow. You should still marry her.”
“No, he shouldn’t,” Consuela’s voice sounded from behind her. “Because I won’t marry him.”
Charlotte turned to find their housekeeper standing in the doorway. Her portly body stood rigid, tears streaking her face while redness rimmed her eyes.
A hard, heavy ball settled in Charlotte’s stomach. How much of the conversation had their housekeeper heard?
“I’m leaving.” Consuela raised her chin. “It’s time I return to my family in Mexico. I have grandbabies down there. I should have left here long before. I should have realized…” The woman swallowed as a fresh bout of tears cascaded down her face. “I’ll leave at dawn.”
Consuela whirled around and probably would have stormed from the doorway, but she ran smack into Wes.
He placed his hands on either side of her shoulders, his forehead drawn down with concern. “Consuela? What’s wrong?”
“You heard me. I’m leaving.” She jerked away from his hold. “I don’t want to work here anymore.”
“But…”
Consuela shouldered past him and tromped away, muttering a string of curses in Spanish that she’d never dare to utter in English.
Wes looked at Pa, confusion still etched across his face. “Aren’t you going to go after her? Convince her to stay?”
“Yes, of course.” Pa moved his covers aside, his actions infused with a sudden sense of quickness and energy.
“Actually, maybe I should be the one to talk to her. Consuela seems pretty upset with you.” Wes looked over his shoulder into the corridor. “Do you really think she intends to go back to Mexico?”
“Leave her to me.” Pa moved around the side of the bed, his gait surprisingly steady. “I’ll get everything settled.”
Charlotte bit the side of her cheek to keep from talking. Pa might not want to admit as much to Wes, but they both knew he wouldn’t be able to talk Consuela out of leaving after what she’d overheard. He was probably making a show of going after her now so that Wes stopped asking questions.
Pa must not have his affairs in order enough to tell Wes he was dying either, because her brother didn’t appear to know a thing about that.
Charlotte sank her teeth even harder into the side of her cheek as Pa tromped out of the room. Her father might think he could handle everything that came his way before he died, but what if his way of going about things only meant disaster in the end?
17
“You left for work early this morning.”
At the sound of Anna Mae’s voice, Daniel glanced up from his desk to find his sister closing the back door to his office. She balanced both a plate heaped with eggs and a platter of doughnuts in her hands.
“Busy day ahead?”
“Something like that.” Daniel scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d given up on sleeping somewhere between four and five o’clock and decided to come into his office rather than lay awake staring at the ceiling.
Anna Mae set the doughnuts on the table next to the coffee kettle, then turned and came toward the desk with the eggs and bacon. “Or maybe something kept you awake last night?”
He narrowed his eyes at his sister. “Why do you ask?”
Anna Mae sidled closer. “Charlotte disappeared rather quickly after church yesterday, but Wes was there, so I figured she was still in town. Imagine my surprise when I found the two of you alone together behind the church.”
“Surprise?” Heat climbed up the back of his neck. “Why would you be surprised? You were the one who wanted us to practice flirting. In order to do that, we have to talk to each other without other people around.”
She smiled as she set the plate with his breakfast down on the desk in front of him. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
How had Anna Mae come to that conclusion? He’d been asking Charlotte about her father yesterday and hadn’t wanted to risk someone overhearing how sick Mr. Westin was. Apparently Consuela had decided to move back to Mexico to boot. Charlotte had certainly been upset when they’d spoken, but there hadn’t been anything romantic about the exchange.
Wanting to take Charlotte into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder couldn’t count as being romantic if he hadn’t actually touched her.
“You’re lying.” Anna Mae plopped herself on the side of the desk.
He reached for his fork. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not? Charlotte and I are going to be sisters.” She clasped her hands together under her chin, hope shining in her eyes. “This is so exciting!”
“You’re not going to be sisters.”
“What do you mean?” A wrinkled V formed between her eyebrows, but she didn’t take the ridiculous smile off her lips.
“I mean exactly what I said.” He snatched a piece of bacon from his plate. “You and Charlotte won’t be sisters-in-law.”
Her smile fell a little, leaving just the corners of her mouth tipped up. “Aren’t you going to propose to her?”
“No.”
The smile dropped from her face completely. “But if you love Charlotte, why—?”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” he snapped. “And I don’t want you to say a word about this to anyone else either, do you hear me?”
“I take it she doesn’t return your feelings?”
Daniel pressed his lips together. But as much as he wanted to be finished with this conversation—and any other future conversation that might ever involve Charlotte Westin—he knew the look on Anna Mae’s face. It wasn’t all that different from the one a starving dog would wear if someone set a bowl of supper scraps in front of him and said he couldn’t eat.
“I haven’t told Charlotte how I feel, nor do I plan to. She deserves someone who can keep her happy, and I won’t be able to do that.”
“But you love her.” Anna Mae reached out and squeezed his hand so tightly her nails were sure to leave imprints in his skin. “And if she marries you, she’ll be able to stay in Twin Rivers. That alone will make her happy.”
“Not if she can’t keep her horses.”
“Oh.” Anna Mae released his hand. “I didn’t think of that.”
“But it’s true.”
“You still have to tell her that you love her.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Stop being such a dunce!” She smacked him on the side of his head, and she used enough strength it hurt. “If you don’t tell her, she’ll probably marry Andrew Mortimer just because her father wants it.”
“I don’t care.” The words burned coming out of his mouth, but they were true. Or more accurately, he was determined to make sure they became true—eventually.
Anna Mae jabbed a finger into his chest. “I don’t believe you. If you didn’t care, then you’d marry her, horses or not. It’s only because you care that you’re putting her love for horses above your feelings.”
Rather than answer, he looked away. After all, it wasn’t as though he had a response. His sister was exactly right.
“Is this all because of my plan? Because of my idea about helping Charlotte practice flirting and feeling comfortable around another man?”
“No.” At least not for him. But maybe Charlotte…
What was he thinking? Charlotte had given no indication her feelings toward him were changing. She might feel more comfortable around him, sure, but not any different than she’d feel around one of the cowhands.
“If this didn’t happen because of my plan, then how long have you felt this wa
y?”
Daniel twisted his lips together, but Anna Mae only scooted off the desk and came around to stand in his line of vision.
“How long?”
He sighed. “A few years now, since round about the time she got back from that fancy finishing school back East.”
“A few years?” Anna Mae was screeching again, the sound so loud he nearly winced. “You could be married with a couple young’uns. Why haven’t you been courting her? Why didn’t you say anything about how you felt?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You know exactly why. Charlotte was always destined to marry someone she and her pa could agree on. None of that was going to change because of my feelings. Besides, she doesn’t feel the same way about me. Never has.”
“That’s not true. She feels for you, I know it.”
“No, she doesn’t. And if you stop and think about it, think about how she acts around me, you’ll see I’m right. You’re letting your romantic notions get the best of you.”
“I am not. This is Charlotte you’re talking about, not me or Ma or even Ellie. If anyone can keep how she feels and what she’s thinking trapped inside, it’s Charlotte.”
The door to his office opened, and in stepped Cain and Lieutenant Pierce.
“Sheriff. Wilkins told me the lights were on in your office when his patrol rode…” Cain’s gaze landed on Anna Mae, and he swept his hat off his head. “Morning, Anna Mae.”
“Miss Harding.” Cain’s man stepped forward and took her hand, then gave a slight bow over it. “Pleasure to see you.”
“Good morning, Leighton.”
Daniel raised a brow. Since when was Ann Mae calling this man by his first name? And was she letting her hand linger in the ranger’s for a moment too long?
“Have a seat.” Anna Mae gestured toward two of the empty chairs. “I just brought doughnuts over. Let me get you one.”
Pierce all but had his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he plopped down into one of the chairs by Abe’s desk. His eyes never left Anna Mae as she walked to the table along the back wall and busied herself with the coffee and pastries.
“My men found activity again last night down by the trail on Sam Owens’ land.” Cain settled into his own chair.
“They did?” Daniel scooted his plate of lukewarm eggs and bacon closer and picked up his fork. “Did the rustlers move any cattle across the river?”
“Only about thirty or forty head. I think it was a test. They wanted to see if we would catch them if they crossed, but I’m a step ahead of them. I’d already instructed my men to stay hidden if less than two hundred cattle were being moved.”
Less than two hundred? The number was too big. Mattherson was on the brink of needing to sell his ranch, and he’d lost two hundred and fifty total.
“I sent a small party with some of my best scouts back into Mexico,” Cain continued. “Left just before I came here. I’m hoping they can trail the rustlers back to their headquarters. Have your men found anything at Closed Canyon?”
“Closed Canyon?” Anna Mae paused, a coffee mug and plate with a doughnut in her hand.
“Don’t you already know?” Daniel growled. “I heard your rangers have been talking to my volunteers.”
“Doesn’t hurt to have information, especially since you’re going through all the trouble to keep that place watched.” Cain accepted the doughnut and coffee from Anna Mae. “I still think you’re too fixated on it. That hideaway can’t have anything to do with the rustlers, not without any livestock tracks. The movement on Sam’s trail last night only proves I’m right.”
Daniel shoveled a bit of eggs into his mouth. Finding a well-organized hideout at the same time rustlers were plaguing the county couldn’t be a coincidence.
Though he’d had men stationed out there round the clock for almost a week, and no one had seen a thing. If rustler activity didn’t turn up soon, his volunteers weren’t going to want to sit out there anymore.
Silence settled around them, thick and awkward. Cain kept his gaze locked on him, as though the man could somehow make him talk just by staring. He could feel Anna Mae and Ranger Peirce’s eyes moving between the two of them, but neither spoke.
Cain finally looked away and jutted his chin toward his lieutenant. “Pierce, go on back to camp. I need to have a word with the sheriff. You too, Anna Mae.”
“But—”
“You heard him.” Daniel pointed to the back door before Anna Mae had a chance to complain. “Out.”
Both Pierce and Anna Mae left at the same time, though Anna Mae slammed the door about ten times harder than Pierce.
Cain let out a low whistle. “Your sister can be a little firebrand when she wants.”
“That’s what you wanted to talk to me about?” Daniel shifted in his chair. He and Cain had held numerous meetings since the rangers arrived, but he’d made sure the two of them weren’t alone often. There was too much past between them, and he couldn’t afford to let what had happened seven years ago interfere with their ability to catch the rustlers.
So why did Cain want to talk? Did he have reason to think one of his rangers was an informant for the rustlers? Or maybe he had a secret plan to catch more rustlers that he only wanted a few men to know about?
“I know what you think about the night your pa lost his leg, and you’re wrong.”
“What?” Daniel jerked upright. “I don’t want to talk about my pa. I thought this was going to be about the rustlers.”
“We need to be able to work together. And I can’t do that if you start judging me every time I step into your office.”
“I do not judge you every time you come here.” Quite the opposite, actually. He’d already judged Cain and found him lacking. It wasn’t an ongoing process.
“Fine, then maybe I’m the one who needs to clear the air, but either way, I want you to know I didn’t shirk my responsibility the night your father lost his leg.”
“Then why is my pa a cripple?” The words exploded from Daniel’s mouth.
Cain shook his head. “Like I said, you judge me every time I walk through your door. You assume that I just up and abandoned my position that night instead of guarding the town because I chafed at not getting to ride into Mexico with the rest of the rangers. But you couldn’t be more wrong. I stayed at my post, as did the four men that my father had given me charge of. There were more bandits that night, outlaws that rode into town to loot and steal, assuming that the town had been left unprotected.”
Daniel froze, his heartbeat slowing with each word out of Cain’s mouth. There had been more outlaws? Did that mean Cain had been obeying orders and doing his duty?
“We chased them. All five of us.” Cain stood from his chair and paced in front of Daniel’s desk, six steps one direction, then a pivot and six steps the other direction. “None of us ever thought a third group of men was lying in wait, ready to approach the sheriff’s office as soon as we rode off. Truth be told, we didn’t have the chance for such a thought to cross our minds. The group I chased rode in and rode out fast, turning around as soon as we caught sight of them.”
Daniel’s spit turned to desert dust in his mouth. Could he really have believed the wrong thing about why Cain hadn’t been in Twin Rivers to protect Pa when the rustlers had tried to lynch him? “I… I don’t…”
He didn’t what? Know if he could trust Cain? Why would Cain lie? “If that’s really what happened, why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Cain lifted his shoulders in one of his lazy shrugs. “Your pa lost his leg, and you were fuming mad when I left town with the rest of the rangers the next morning. Figured I’d return to Twin Rivers at some point and tell you the whole of it, but it took seven years before the rangers sent me back here.”
“You should have said something when you got here.” Daniel’s legs felt suddenly weak, and he reached out to brace a hand on the wall behind his desk.
“You said you didn’t want to talk about it, remember? And I’m smart
enough to see the lay of things. This is your town, and you had rustlers running cattle under your nose. That’s a hard thing for any lawman to swallow. Then I ride in, ready to save the day and get all the praise for catching the rustlers, when you’ve been blaming me for your pa’s amputation for the past seven years. It’s enough to rub a man sore. So when you said you didn’t want to talk about that night, figured the least I could do was honor your request.”
Daniel swallowed, his throat working overly hard to accomplish such a small action. He ran his gaze over Cain, with his long blond hair and lanky form and careless, defiant attitude. The two of them had never gotten along, not even when they were boys. If not for Wes and Sam and Harrison all being mutual friends, he and Cain never would have done anything together.
Could he really have been so wrong in blaming Cain for what had happened to Pa?
A better man would know what to say right now. A better man would admit he may have been wrong.
Daniel opened his mouth to speak something along those lines, but he just couldn’t force his lips to form the words.
“How do you do it?” Daniel didn’t knock, just opened the door and barged into his parents’ room, his heart racing like he’d just been chased by outlaws rather than walked from his office to his parents’ house.
Pa was at his desk, just like he always was before breakfast, his head bent over to study one of his Bible commentaries.
“Do what?” Pa raised his head.
“Get up every day knowing you’ll never walk again?” Daniel rasped.
Pa turned his wheelchair fully around to face him, then leaned back and crossed his arms. “The same way you would, I expect, if the rustler’s bullet had torn through your leg rather than mine. I tell myself God’s grace is sufficient.”
God’s grace is sufficient? That was the verse his father was going to use? The same one he’d given Charlotte? He’d believed what he’d told Charlotte about God’s grace covering both her sin and her family’s response to it, but that had been for a bad decision she’d made. No one in their family had consciously decided Pa should lose his leg.
Tomorrow's Shining Dream Page 20