by Barbara Goss
“What are you doing in here?” he asked in an exasperated whisper. The last thing he needed was to arouse the whole house.
“I needed to make sure you were still here,” she said. “Don’t leave.”
“April, we’ve been through this—”
She placed her hand over his lips to silence him. “I won’t bother you. I’ll sleep in the chair over in the corner.”
Dan shook his head and then removed her hand from his lips. “No. You need to go back to your room. If someone finds out you’ve been in this room with me, alone, your reputation will be ruined. No nice man will marry you.”
“I don’t care,” she said.
Dan was wearing his nightshirt, so he dared not get out of bed, but he sat up and sighed. After rubbing his face with his hands, he whispered, “Sit down, here,” and he patted the bed.
Leila sat gingerly on the edge of his bed.
“Listen, April, maybe you just think you need me because I’m the one who rescued you, but now, you have my friends here to protect you. You should feel just as secure with them as you do with me,” he said, patting her hand. “Now, go back to your room and go to sleep.” He put a bit of an edge in his voice to let her know he'd meant it.
Through the bit of moonlight that flooded the room, he saw tears stream down her face. “Go on,” he prompted. He took a deep breath and stuck to his words; he wouldn’t weaken this time.
She stood, walked slowly to the door, and left without turning or saying goodnight.
Dan let out the breath he’d been holding and rolled over to find that cozy, before-sleep place, again. He found it.
Sometime during the night, he turned over, felt something warm lying beside him, and sat up with a jolt. April! She was lying on her side, facing the opposite direction. He sighed. He was about to awaken her to send her back to her room when she turned in his direction, put her arms around his neck, and pressed her body against his.
It had been years since he’d had a woman that close, and he was definitely affected by it, but he knew right from wrong, and he slowly pushed her away, but she just held him tighter.
Before he knew it, he found his arms going around her tiny waist, and he was pulling her closer to him. She felt heavenly in that thin nightgown. His lips happened to end up beside her face, and impulsively poised his lips to kiss her cheek, thinking he’d send her away, when she turned her head abruptly and their lips met instead. It felt like an explosion had gone off inside of him. He kept his lips still, since he was surprised that his lips had found hers, but she was soon kissing him passionately. What was he to do? He hadn’t been with a woman since before he’d become a Christian five years before, and now he had a desirable woman pressed closely to him, kissing him ardently. He returned her kiss, passion for passion, and his first impulse was to make love to her right then and there, yet five years of Bible study ingrained in him had caused his conscience to remind him of who he was and what he had to do—he had to be stronger than his body.
Dan broke the kiss, pulled the pillow from behind his head, and slid it between them. Breathlessly, he said, “Go, now!”
“I love you,” she whispered. “Promise you’ll come back for me.”
“I’ll be back, and I’ll help you find your family—but only if you run back to your room before,” he hesitated and stroked her cheek, “I do something we’ll both be sorry for.”
“I wanted you to make love to me,” she whispered. “So you’d come back to me.”
“No, April. That’s for married people. Now, go back to your room!”
He let out the breath he’d been holding after she'd left the room. He got up, wedged a chair beneath the doorknob, and hopped back into bed. He had a hard time getting back to sleep, since he still felt the excitement of the kiss and the embrace, but he finally calmed down and fell asleep.
Chapter 4
Leila thought that if she gave herself to Dan, he’d be hers and it would be a guarantee he’d be back. Could he be right? Had she felt bound to him only because he’d saved her? He exuded strength and security and she felt protected when she was near him. He had no idea how it felt to be nameless, friendless, and without a family or even a familiar face nearby. She felt lost and confused, and her head still ached, but she knew she loved him, even though she had nothing with which to compare her feelings.
Obediently, she went back to her room and climbed into bed. Her lips still tingled from his kiss. She hugged herself. He’d actually returned her kiss! She closed her eyes and relived it. He just had to come back for her.
After she awoke and dressed, she went down for breakfast, but Dan had already gone. Kate and Jeremy greeted her warmly and fed her until she thought she’d burst. She liked Kate, and Jeremy, too, but she still yearned for Dan.
Jeremy left for work, and Kate told Leila that he owned a lumberyard. She babbled on and on over their second cups of coffee. Leila listened politely and learned how Kate and Jeremy met, though she wasn’t totally focused on Kate’s words until she heard Dan’s name.
“If it hadn’t been for Dan, we’d never have married,” Kate said with a dreamy look. “Do you know what folks call him? Big Dan McCall: a fierce and feared federal marshal. After he helped us, we all became good friends. Dan stops here every time he comes to Hays.”
“So he’ll be back?” Leila asked.
“Of course. He always turns up, sooner or later. Last night, he told Jeremy he’d come back after his current job is finished to help find your family. He wants me to take you shopping today. He gave me money to buy you clothes, and he’s hoping someone in town might recognize you.”
“How long do you think it will be before Dan comes back?” Leila asked.
Kate smiled. “You’re very fond of Dan, aren’t you?”
Leila nodded.
“Right now, he’s your hero, but he’s a bit old for you. How old are you, April?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I think Dan's almost thirty,” Kate said.
“I don’t care,” Leila said, looking down at her hands. “I love him.”
“Well!” Kate said as she pushed away from the table and stood. “Let’s get you some clothes to make you pretty for Dan when he returns.”
Before they started their shopping, Kate walked up and down the main street of Hays, nodding to people and greeting those she knew. She introduced Leila to people, but no one seemed to recognize her. She then led her to the mercantile and picked out some nice, ready-made dresses and other essentials.
Leila and Kate passed a woman in the store wearing a black cape around her shoulders and a white kerchief on her head. Leila froze for a second and thought she remembered something: was that a nun? The woman turned around and Leila could see it wasn’t a nun, but it had jarred her memory, filtering memories slowly down. She'd grown up in a Catholic orphanage, so she hadn’t any family to return to.
They went to Rosie’s Eating House for lunch and had her famous stew. Over a hot cup of tea, Leila said, “It was generous and kind of Dan to buy me some clothes, don’t you think?”
“He’s a kind and generous man,” Kate answered.
“Do you think he’d do that for just anyone, or might I be special to him?” Leila asked.
“I’m sure you’re special,” Kate said with a wink. “I’m also sure he’s fond of you. He cares what happens to you, but don’t read too much into it, dear, or you might end up with a broken heart. He's told Jeremy, more than once, that he’s not the marrying kind.”
“What does he mean by that?” Leila asked.
“He travels, and he has a dangerous job. He doesn’t think it would be fair to a wife and children, owing to the life he’s chosen,” Kate said.
Dan left the Walkers’ at dawn and rode to Rosie’s Eating House. Rosie was just opening the place for breakfast. He greeted her and ordered a quick bite to eat. When she brought his breakfast, he asked her, “Has a man been hanging around asking for me?”
“I’ve be
en on vacation, Dan,” she said. “I’ll ask my husband—he’s been running the place for the past fortnight.”
“Did you go somewhere interesting?” Dan asked, just to make conversation.
“No, not really. I went to Russell. My niece had a baby and I went to help out.”
“Congratulations,” Dan said.
“Thank you. I’m now a great aunt,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ll ask Edwin if anyone’s been asking for you.”
When Edwin himself walked out from the kitchen, Dan felt sure he had news.
“That poor man’s been here every day asking for you, Dan,” Edwin said. “Sorry to say he’ll most likely find you today. He's bought so many meals here, I thought I might retire soon.” He laughed and Dan laughed with him, just to be polite.
“He’ll be here soon for breakfast. Nice fella, that Jack,” he said. “Do you need more coffee, Dan?”
“Yes, please,” Dan said. “Thank you for the message.”
Dan had just finished eating when his partner, Jack, walked in. He noticed the look of relief flooding Jack’s face.
“Thank the Lord. I thought you’d been killed or something. Where were you?”
“I couldn’t leave the injured woman until I knew she was all right. She had no place to go, so I took a train and brought her to some friends of mine here, in Hays,” Dan said as he watched Jack slip into the chair across from him.
Edwin rushed over with coffee for him. “Your usual, Jack?”
“Yes, please,” Jack said. He turned to Dan. “I followed the gang, undetected, to a cabin about three miles outside of Hays. I’m not sure if they live there or are just hiding out. It doesn’t seem likely they’d ride all the way to Abilene and Salina to rob trains, does it?”
“They might, if the pay was good. Some trains carry money to banks. If they know a shipment is coming to a bank in Abilene, it’s well worth their time to go there,” Dan said. “The home office claims they’ve been robbing trains from Kansas City to the Denver state line.”
As Jack ate, Dan laid out their plans. “You can lead me to that cabin, and we’ll sneak around a bit before crashing in on them. What can you tell me about the place?”
“It’s a one-floor, log home. The homeowner has cattle grazing in the fields, and he came out to meet the bandits when they arrived—that’s what makes me think they’re visiting a friend or something. The man who greeted them looked civilized enough. They didn’t carry their booty into the house but left it in their saddlebags. One of them took the horses into the barn and probably hid the stuff.”
Dan tried to pay attention to the facts Jack had been giving him, but a pair of large brown eyes haunted him. When he let his mind drift to that kiss, his whole body reacted. Dagnabbit! He had to focus on his job.
He liked Jack and had chosen him because he seemed to be a decent man. So many men he’d worked with through the years fooled with saloon women, swore, and seldom bathed, but Jack was different. He wondered if Jack was a Christian man. He’d wanted to ask him several times, but he didn’t feel he knew him well enough. Based on experience, when a man in Salina or Hays didn’t swear or carouse, it usually meant he was a churchgoer.
Dan hoped that when he returned from his mission, he’d discover that April had found her family and was secure and happy somewhere, yet the thought made him a bit sad, too, as it meant he’d never experience another kiss from her again. That kiss was constantly on his mind, and the embrace had felt heavenly.
As he and Jack rode out to find the train robbers, his mind dwelt on April. He tried to recall the last time he’d kissed a woman. It had been Glo, from the Gold Mine Saloon. He’d spent the night with her and then the very next day, he'd been shot chasing bank robbers and had nearly died. The minister had come to give him last rites, but he'd ended up living and giving his life to God in return for sparing his. He went to church whenever and wherever he could and he hadn’t kissed or held a woman since—and probably never would again, either. Such was the life he’d chosen.
Dan and Jack hid some distance away in the woods at the side of the cabin, and watched.
“We need to be sure they’re still there,” Dan said.
“How can we do that?” Jack asked.
Dan scanned the area. He saw several head of cattle grazing in a pasture near the cabin. On the other side of the cabin stood a chicken coop with a fence around it. “If we could find a way to make those chickens squawk like mad, maybe the men would run out thinking there was a fox attacking the coop.”
The chicken coop bordered the woods where they were hiding. Dan said, “I’ll sneak down there and stir up the chickens, so—”
“No! I’ll do that,” Jack said. “You stay and watch for the men.”
Jack didn’t wait for an answer but crept slowly through the woods until he reached the chicken coop. Dan saw him reach in and grab a fat hen. When the chickens started squawking, he threw it back down and ran into the woods.
Dan watched, and sure enough, two men ran out through the front door with guns drawn, and two of them sped out through the back; the train robbers were still there.
Jack crept back and took his place beside Dan.
“Good job, Jack.”
“I used to raise chickens, so I knew what to do,” he said.
“Now, we have to plan our attack.”
“I think,” Jack said thoughtfully, “a few more men might be needed. We have five against two.”
“Right, but we have the element of surprise on our side,” Dan said as he watched the men examine the chicken coop and surrounding area. Two of them shrugged, and soon all four went back into the house.
“Do we know who owns the house?” Dan asked.
“Yes,” Jack answered quickly. “I went to the courthouse and discovered the owner’s a man named Joseph Austin.”
“And the gang is led by a man named Spaulding. I wonder what the connection is.” Dan rubbed his temples. “Relatives, maybe?”
“I didn’t waste all my time in Hays waiting for you, Dan. I checked Austin out. He’s a single man in his mid-thirties. He raises cattle and sells them to the town butcher, periodically. His parents are dead, but he has a brother living here in Hays, and a sister in Iowa. He sent for a mail order bride who should be arriving soon, so I’m thinking he’ll get rid of those houseguests pretty quick.”
Dan slapped Jack on the back. “Good work! I knew I picked you for a reason.”
“I checked with the sheriff in Hays and he said Joseph Austin's clean. He even goes to church sometimes,” Jack said.
“I’m amazed with the investigating you’ve done. If you’d like to be a federal marshal, I could recommend you when I go to the next meeting at Fort Smith,” Dan said.
“I just might,” Jack said. “I’m enjoying this—so far, that is. This next part will tell me if I want to be a marshal or not.”
“Here’s my plan—but if you have another one, I’ll hear it,” Dan said. “We’ll sneak down to the barn and let all the horses loose. We’ll steer them so they run right by the house. When the men come running out, we'll grab them.”
“You make it sound easy,” Jack said. “What’s to stop them from shooting us first?”
“The element of surprise and the fact that our guns will be drawn and pointed at them first.” Dan scratched his head. “The problem is, what if they run out both the front and back doors again, like they did just now?”
“I’m not sure I like the idea,” Jack said, “but I volunteer to watch the back door. That leaves you with the front. If all four run out the front, I’ll try to join you as fast as I can.”
Dan looked up at the sun. “It’s somewhere between one and two in the afternoon, so we have to do it now, while it’s still light out.”
“Let’s go down now and take care of the horses,” Dan said.
Jack looked confused. “How will we get to the barn without them seeing us?”
Dan scanned the area again. “I think we can circle around
, cross the lane, a cut through the woods on the other side, and find a window on the side of the barn we can break.”
Chapter 5
Kate and Leila left the eating house and walked along the wooden walkway to their buggy. They passed two men leaning against the wall of the general store and couldn’t help but hear their conversation.
“Yep, Joe’s been checking the station daily for his mail order bride,” the tall one said.
The shorter man laughed. “Looks like she dumped him before she even met him.”
The ladies walked past them and Kate said, “Poor Joe. He’s had bad luck with mail order brides. The last one took his ticket and never arrived. We figured she’d sold it or changed her mind. Then he had one arrive, but he took an instant dislike to her and she ended up marrying one of his friends.”
“I’m surprised the man keeps trying,” Leila said. Why did the name Joe make her feel a bit of nausea? Remembering she was an orphan had also given her a sick feeling, for she’d hoped to find that a warm family was waiting for her return. She still couldn’t recall why she was on the train or where she was headed.
“I am, too,” Kate said as she helped Leila up into the buggy seat. “He’s not a bad catch, either. He has a nice ranch, and he’s very good looking.”
“I’m not interested,” Leila said.
“Dan’s never going to marry, April. Maybe you should at least try meeting some—”
“I can’t change my heart, Kate. I’m afraid Dan owns it,” Leila said. “If he doesn’t want to marry me I’ll be his…” Leila hesitated; trying to think of the word she wanted.
“No!” Kate cried. “You should never lower yourself to being his mistress.”
“Mistress!” Leila said. “That’s the word I wanted.”
“Are you serious, April?”
“Very serious.”
Leila saw Kate roll her eyes and sigh.