by Ivy McAdams
Mason drew back and punched Clay in the shoulder. Sadie jumped, hands flying to her mouth in surprise.
Clay rolled his arm with a grunt and a grin.
“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood, or I’d have to shootcha.”
Mason grinned back.
Sadie stared in confusion. The men looked suddenly lighter, less rigid. Mason turned back to her with a smile on his face.
“We’ll have just enough time to sell skins before we kick off the plan. Do you have a regular customer?”
Her brow creased, trying to keep up with the conversation’s directional change. “The general store picks up a stack or two sometimes, but usually we sell to individuals. Hank Lawson will buy up a big lot of elk at the end of the season, but we don’t have elk this year.”
Mason exchanged a glance with Clay.
“We will try the general store,” Clay said. “No harm in trying there first. We just want to move them.” He eased up on his reins and let Georgene drift back in Sadie’s direction. “We can take less than you usually sell them for. Just get rid of them.”
Sadie frowned. “Papa and I worked hard for all these skins. Why would you just dump them?”
The edge in Clay’s eyes eased. “It’s not to devalue your efforts. Ace sounds like he’s going to be on the move soon. We can’t be hauling a pile of furs around with us. We just need the money.”
Sadie’s breath slipped out of her lips with a ragged sigh. The logic was sound, but it didn’t make the idea hurt less. The last harvest of skins she’d made with Papa would just be gone, like they didn’t matter at all.
Clay’s knee brushed hers as he fell back in beside her.
“After that, we’ll be off to our target spot. We’ll find a place to hide near the road. It’s wooded on that side, plenty of brush and trees to hide behind. Once the coach comes by, Mason and I will get to work. You can lie low until I get back.”
Sadie’s fingers fidgeted on her reins. “Is it dangerous?”
“There’s always a chance for danger, but as long as you lay low, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about.”
His eyes fixed on hers as he drew in a breath deep enough to move his chest. He reached over and trailed the back of his finger down her temple and jaw.
“I’ll be just fine. We’re not going in guns blazing or anything.”
She leaned into his hand before he let it fall. “No one will get hurt?”
“That’s the plan. I’ll provide the distraction. Mason will pick up the delivery. We’ll all walk away unscathed, and Ace will have his money back.”
Sadie wasn’t sure she entirely understood the morality in the money exchange, but the most important aspect was the three of them remaining safe. She couldn’t stomach the idea of Clay walking into a gun fight.
“Hopefully everything will go off without a hitch,” Mason said. “I’ll drop these furs off with you, then I’ll run by the post office. We can meet up here on the edge of town.”
He nodded toward the first wooden posts of an outlying corral. Noisy sheep and pigs rooted in the muddy pens that lined the east side of town. A couple of livestock handlers stood next to the fence with papers in hand, pointing at the animals and counting aloud, preparing them for the next train ride out.
Beyond the livestock yard stood the first buildings on the main road. A doctor’s office and a bank. Across the street stood a tavern and the general store. Further down beyond view would be more shops and businesses.
People moved up and down the dusty road, on foot and on horseback. Sadie recognized many faces, but none looked her way. Even though she’d seen most of the residents of Emerald Falls throughout her life, she’d spoken to few since she was a child. She didn’t even know if they knew who she was.
When a woman glanced up at Clay and Mason as they passed, Sadie’s palms began to sweat. Of all the gang-related occurrences happening over the last few weeks, she had no idea which one of them had been the Van den Bergs. Robberies on the roads going in and out of town, horse theft, pickpocketing passengers on a stagecoach.
Not to mention the train robbery she’d witnessed firsthand.
Had those incidents been these men? Had it been Clay Pearson?
The addicting eyes and strong jaw of the man at her side drew her gaze, and her stomach rolled. If he’d done any of those things, would people of the town recognize him?
The woman didn’t say anything as they passed, and Sadie’s lungs ached as she let out a breath. She averted her eyes as they continued to the main path through town.
Brown’s General Store was the second shop on the north side of the strip. Mason turned onto the main road, but Sadie cleared her throat.
“They take deliveries in the back,” she said, a slight waver in her voice. “We should go to the rear entrance.”
Mason nodded and pulled his horse around, skirting the saloon at the front of the shop line, and leading the way to the backside of the buildings.
She bit into the edge of her lip, keeping on the lookout for anyone that paid them too much attention. Thankfully there weren’t many pedestrians out that early in the morning.
The backside of the store strip was empty, and they hitched the horses outside the general store’s back door.
“You think he’ll take it all?” Clay asked as he dropped to the ground and pulled down a stack of skins.
“He’s never bought a quarter of this many,” Sadie said.
Clay stopped next to her to offer a hand. She glanced around, finding a sudden blush itching up her neck, and accepted his fingers in hers as she slid off her horse.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t be here long.”
His fingers slid up the outside of her arm as she unloaded a bundle, and she conjured a smile through the ill feeling in her stomach.
Something about being back in Emerald Falls had made her insides feeling heavy and sick. After so many years of being excited to go into town, she was completely thrown off. She’d put so much energy into making sure she clawed her way back in, only to have it shattered upon the floor like crystal.
Being there that morning, sneaking around in the shadows with the Van den Bergs, turned everything upside down.
Mason set a stack of furs in the dirt next to the door and went back for more. Clay hovered at her elbow with his load.
“Just give him a price,” he said as she approached the door. “As low as you want. We’ll work through it.”
She nodded. Her throat was parched. She rubbed a hand over her itchy neck as she knocked on the door. She waited a breath, then opened it.
“Mr. Brown?” she called, swallowing the dry crack in her voice.
Something shuffled near the front of the store. She stood just inside the door, the bundle of furs cradled against her, and hoped Mr. Brown wouldn’t recognize her. As if she’d look as different as she felt.
When Mr. Brown came around the corner, his eyebrows went up.
“Miss Sadie Tanner? What on earth are you doing back here?”
Mr. Brown’s eyes darted back behind her, and Sadie froze. Boots hit the wood floors behind her, and she could feel Clay come to a stop near her. Her muscles clenched, breath caught in vice-like lungs.
The store owner would recognize him. How could he not? Clay looked nothing like the people of Emerald Falls. Strong and handsome, a hard stare that could rip you apart or bring you to your knees. The very thought of it made her insides quake, but it couldn’t touch the pain in her stomach. The fear that Mr. Brown would know Clay.
Yet, she wasn’t sure which would be a harder reality for her to face. Being caught with a known outlaw, or Clay being recognized for the unlawful things he’d done.
Mr. Brown’s gaze jumped back to her, and she swallowed.
“I have furs,” she stammered. “A good lot of them.”
Mr. Brown frowned and looked down at the stack of pelts in her arms. “Miss Tanner
. You know I only take a half dozen of these small ones a week. You have an awful lot there, and there.”
He narrowed his eyes as he looked to Clay again. Her heart hammered in her ears.
“I heard you’ve been missing a few days,” he said.
Her pulse tripped. People had realized she was gone? She adjusted the furs in her slick palms.
“Robert Murphy was in here just yesterday telling me that you’d disappeared.” Mr. Brown’s eyes twitched, narrowing a fraction further as he regarded Clay.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. She wanted to wheel around, push Clay out the door, and run, but her body was frozen. She couldn’t even see Clay’s face, but the scrutinizing one on the shop owner was enough.
“Was he?” she croaked.
The sharp eyes popped back to her, and she jolted.
“He sure was. Poor lad’s worried sick. Glad to see you back in town. I hope you’ve gone to speak to him.”
Was that empty feeling in her gut guilt or dread? She tried to force it away.
“But I see you’ve been taken care of,” Mr. Brown continued. “This fellow a friend of yours?”
She didn’t think. She didn’t consider any alternative but to escape.
“Of course not. I pulled him off the street to help me unload.”
Even an entire step ahead of him, she could feel Clay flinch.
Chapter 16
“That’s right,” Clay grumbled. “A mere acquaintance she just met. Ain’t no need to worry about this pretty lady tangling up with a roughneck like me.” Clay stepped alongside her to hold out the stack of skins.
Sadie felt so small as she looked up at him, folding in on herself as she searched his face. It was rigid around his smile. A fake pleasantry as he tried to coax the shop owner into taking the goods. She wanted to apologize with her eyes. To stare into him and tell him she hadn’t meant it. He was so much more than an acquaintance. Hell, he was so much more than any other person in her life.
But he wouldn’t look at her. He left her gazing at him in near-teary frustration.
Mr. Brown had moved on after her comment. He waved at the bundle Clay held out.
“I don’t need all that. I’ll take my usual. Maybe a few pieces more. That’s it.”
Clay cleared his throat. “I believe she mentioned these are deeply discounted. Far below fair price.”
His elbow nudged her shoulder. Despite the sting in her cheeks, she stepped forward with a nod. “That’s right. Half price. I’m selling out of my stock, Mr. Brown. This is all of it.”
The shop owner pursed his lips as he stared at her. “How much do you have?”
Clay set his bundle on an empty counter and disappeared.
“Quite a bit. Mostly small game. A few cougars. I need to get rid of it today.”
“Why such a push? Your pa ain’t sick is he?”
For an instant, she considered telling the truth, but Papa's death was far too mixed up with Clay. It was risky. Instead, a quick lie fell out of her mouth instead.
“No. He’s leaving town. He doesn’t want to work in pelts anymore.”
“Going back home to St. Aspen, eh? I can’t believe it took this long.”
She pasted on a smile, though behind it her heart broke a little. She missed Papa, but the idea of him leaving town was nearly as painful. Had he wanted to go back to St. Aspen all along? Where he’d grown up and the last of his family resided?
She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. “Yes, and we don’t need to take these with us. A quarter of the price, Mr. Brown. I need them gone.”
As he looked the skins over, rubbing thick fingers along his pale beard, Clay returned carrying two more bundles. Mr. Brown’s eyes widened a fraction, but he didn’t speak. A strained silence followed. Then he dropped his hand with a sigh, reaching for the pelts in Sadie’s hands.
“Are they all the same good quality? I must admit I get compliments on them, even if they don’t move quickly.”
A weight lifted from Sadie, and she smiled weakly. “They are. The same as ever.”
Mr. Brown opened the bundle and flipped through a few of the furs before setting the stack on the counter. “Fine. I can take them at a quarter price.”
She hadn’t believed they would sell. Not so much at once. It was hard to contain the relief that shot through her from her head to her toes. She wanted to jump into Clay’s arms and hug his neck, but she couldn’t do that in the store. Mr. Brown was already much too suspicious of her. Instead, she helped stack the skins and took the offered dollar bills with trembling fingers.
“Thanks, Mr. Brown,” she said. “Have a blessed day.”
“Tell your pa it was good doing business with him all these years, and I wish him the best.”
She gave him a tight-lipped nod on the way out the door.
Outside she let out a long breath, glad that part of the morning was over. Then her eyes jumped to Clay. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but he was already at Georgene’s side, pulling the reins up over her head.
“Hey,” Sadie called gently, hurrying to catch him. “I’m sorry about―”
“Don’t be silly,” he said as he swung into the saddle. “You did what you had to do.”
“No, really. He cornered me. I just didn’t―”
He turned, nearly bumping her, and put his hand on her arm. For a moment, she was relieved to feel the warmth of his skin, the familiar calluses on his palm, but the depth of his eyes didn't swell when he looked at her. They were beautiful but disheartened.
Something inside her broke.
“Don’t worry about it,” he was saying. “We need to find Mason over at the post office. It’s time to ride out.”
He unhitched her horse and settled the reins behind the saddle horn, dusting off the seat for her. Then he helped her mount up.
“The coach will come through in about an hour. We need to be in position before that.”
With a quick hop, he pulled himself into Georgene’s saddle and urged her forward. Sadie followed. The buckskin mare tossed her mane with a nicker, picking up to a trot as they came around the corner of the shops.
Sadie’s stomach churned as she watched Clay’s broad shoulders ahead of her. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but Mr. Brown’s stare had tied her up in knots. What would he do if he thought she was running around with an outlaw? Would he send for Robert? Or call the sheriff? She broke out into a sweat just recalling his sharp eyes.
Worse yet, what would he do to Clay?
They passed by the saloon in uncomfortable silence. It was quiet at that time of the morning. An older woman stood on the wrap-around porch, sweeping with a short straw broom. She glanced up as they rode alongside the building and made their way across the main road to the outlying post office at the head of town.
Mason's horse was hitched out front next to a fancy white stagecoach. Rust-colored train tracks ran parallel to town on the opposite side of the building. A few birds sat on the railway signs lining the tracks, and a pair of older gentleman leaned over a game of cards near the front door. One had just slapped down his cards with a devious grin when Mason strode out the door with a small stack of paper in his hands. His face lit up when he saw them.
“I don’t see any furs. I hope that means you have money.” He grinned at Clay.
Clay shifted in his saddle without a word, then edged his eyes over to Sadie. The tips of her ears burned as she reached into her pocket. She’d been so preoccupied with chasing Clay down to apologize that she’d forgotten all about the money. She slipped the stack of bills from her pocket and held them out to Clay.
“We sure do,” he said, voice low and gruff as he took the money and held it up.
Mason looked between them with a small twitch of his brow. “That’s good. Ace will be happy to see that. Now.” He checked the dial on an old brass watch in his pocket. “It’s about 8:15. We best scoot if we want to intercept these guys before the nine o’clock drop off.”
<
br /> They turned the horses toward the west, riding out the opposite end of town from which they’d arrived. The long red-dirt road stretched through massive plantations and miles of wood fences.
“You won’t have to associate with such lowlifes much longer, Miss Tanner,” Clay said, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “After we finish up here, we’ll take the money back to Ace. Then he wants us to ride on out to your aunt’s house.”
Sadie frowned, her heart dropping into her stomach. “What?”
He remained still in the saddle. “We didn’t hear back from her by his final date. Guess he thinks she’s holding out. So I’m taking you down to St. Aspen and, I don’t know, standing outside her windows with you to collect the money. Guess I forgot to mention that before.”
Her heart sank even lower.
“You’re going to parade me around like a prize pony and demand money from her?”
He lifted a shoulder, finally looking over at her. The beautiful spark in his eyes was gone, and her chest tightened. A wash of hurt enveloped her, but anger burned at the edges.
“Fine. You get your money. Do whatever Big Ace tells you to do.”
The muscle in his jaw tensed.
“Ace does what’s best for all of us. If he thinks taking you down to St. Aspen is the right choice, then that’s what we’ll do.”
She rolled her eyes and focused a hot gaze on the back of Mason’s jacket. She didn’t want to see those empty blue eyes. How could they go from so alluring to infuriating in a morning’s time?
They rode in silence, only passing one other rider on the road. Past the farms, the only place the road led was St. Aspen. It was likely they wouldn’t see many more people before the coach arrived.
“This looks like a good spot,” Mason said, slowing his horse in the road and circling around.
A small clump of trees sprouted near the path. Huckleberry bushes grew around the trunks, providing enough cover to hide the horses. And Sadie.
“Duck down in there next to the horses,” Clay instructed. “We’ll move farther up the road to meet them. You should be safe back here.”