by Tess Oliver
“Poppy can travel in the wagon too,” Libby said.
“But there isn’t room for five people,” Charlotte said. It was more and more evident that Charlotte, who’d been so attentive when I was sick, no longer wanted me at the ranch. My mood darkened as I listened to their conversation. And, while I was part of the topic, I had no interest in joining in. I stared down at my plate and stirred my peas into my potatoes when the toe of Cade’s boot pushed between my two feet.
I peered up at him through my lowered lashes and his gaze was locked on me. The toe of his boot moved up along my lace-up boots until it reached the skin of my calf. He rubbed his foot there a tantalizing moment and then lowered it.
The three women continued their debate with no clue of the flirtations going on beneath the table.
“Poppy is small. We’ll fit just fine,” Libby said in a tone of finality. “And Cade, of course you’ll go to the town social.”
Cade’s foot stayed tucked between my feet as he cut his beef. “Don’t count on it.”
“It’s better if he doesn’t come,” Samuel said. “There’s always trouble when Cade shows up to a social event.”
“Oh, you over exaggerate, Samuel,” Libby said. “Now pass the rolls this direction.”
Samuel handed Libby the bread basket. “Am I? If I had a dollar for every fist fight that broke out because of Cade, then I’d—”
“Then you’d still be a poor man,” Cade said over a forkful of beef.
“I’d be richer than I am now,” Samuel said confidently.
Cade leaned back in his chair. “If I tossed a penny your way, you’d be richer than you are now too, you fool.”
“That’s enough.” Libby buttered a roll. “Cade, you will try and make every effort to attend the social. And you’ll make every effort to not start trouble,” she added before Cade had a chance to respond. “Virginia and Charlotte, you’ll find a way to make room in that wagon for Poppy, or you’ll both have to ride to town on horseback.” Libby picked up her fork and silence fell over the table. No one seemed happy with her commands but then no one spoke up to argue. And now I dreaded tomorrow night’s event.
Chapter 15
Cade
“Hold that wood steady, Jackson, or it won’t line up.” I lifted the hammer and struck the nail three times.
Jackson picked up another piece of wood. “If Samuel’s stupid horse kicked this hole in the stall then why the heck isn’t he out here hammering this thing back together?” Right then the horse lowered its head over the stall gate and nibbled the hair on the top of Jackson’s head. Jackson swung an angry arm at the horse, and it backed off with a snort.
I pulled the nail out from between my lips and positioned it. “He’s inside getting prettied up for tonight.”
“Don’t know why he’s bothering. If I had to go to a dance and look forward to only dancing with Charlotte, I wouldn’t have even bothered to bathe.”
I stopped and looked up at him. “You bathed? I thought you looked extra sparkly today.”
“Damn right I bathed. I’m planning on dancing with that sweet, little Maryann Davis.” He scooted the wood plank into place. “So hurry up. I’ve got some more spit shining to do. So, you’re definitely not coming tonight?” There was more relief than disappointment in his tone.
“Nope. Rather stick a nail through my eye than go to one of those town socials. The only dancing I’m planning on doing is with a bottle of whiskey. Looking forward to having the house to myself . . . or at least free of Charlotte and Virginia.”
“Libby told me Poppy was going tonight.” He stared down at me apparently waiting for some reaction.
“Yep.” I lifted the hammer.
“Just in case you thought you were going to be alone with your angel tonight.”
The hammer bent the nail and I ripped it back out of the wood. Jackson always knew exactly what to say to stir me up. “Just shut up and hold the wood in place.”
“I’m holding the damn wood in place. Just hit the nail on the head.”
Jackson wisely fell silent for a few minutes but then he stupidly opened his mouth again. “I think I’ll ask her to dance.”
“You’ve already mentioned your dance with Maryann.” I positioned the nail in place. “This should be the last one.”
“No, I’m talking about dancing with Poppy.”
One blow and the nail went straight in.
Jackson leaned over and looked at the dent I’d left in the wood. “Shit, one strike. I should’ve been talking about dancing with Poppy this whole time. We would’ve been done half an hour ago.” He lifted his head up to look at something over my shoulder. “Christ almighty,” he said quietly. “On second thought, I’m dreaming. There’s no way I’ll get a chance to dance with her tonight.”
I swept up the remaining nails. “What are you blathering on about, Jacks?” His eyes were round. I twisted back to see what had him so spellbound.
Poppy stood in the fading light of the barn looking every bit angel and every bit temptation. Libby had curled her long, silvery-gold hair and it was piled high in the back with a ribbon, a blue ribbon that matched the blue dress, a blue dress that draped perfectly across all of her gentle curves, the gentle curves that were keeping me up at night.
“Sorry to interrupt your work,” she directed her apology to me, “but Libby sent me out here to tell you that the clock in the hall needs winding.”
“She told me that this morning.” I pushed to my feet. “She sent you all the way out here just to tell me that?” Libby looked like the typical sweet, motherly sort, but she had a wicked streak as wide as the Mississippi. She had known exactly what she was doing when she sent Poppy out.
Poppy stared shyly down at her feet. “I thought it was strange too.” Her face lifted. If possible, it was even more incredible framed by the curls of gold. “We’re leaving soon.” There was not much enthusiasm in her tone.
Jackson stepped over the pile of extra wood and lifted up his hand. A nail was pinched between his fingers. “Here’s that nail you were talking about earlier. Enjoy.” He walked toward Poppy. “I’ll walk back to the house with you, Poppy. I need to change into my dancing boots.” He looked back over his shoulder at me. “Because I plan on dancing all night long.”
***
The empty house creaked with the shifting breeze. I took a long swig of whiskey and stretched back on the couch. A solitary evening at home had sounded more than inviting earlier in the week, but my enticing angel had obliterated the urge for solitude. Four cigarettes and a quarter of a bottle later and all I could think about was someone else dancing with Poppy. Dancing . . . the hell with dancing, I didn’t want anyone else talking to her. I didn’t want any other man watching those perfectly sculpted lips. I didn’t want any other guy brushing her fingers under the pretense of handing her a glass of punch.
The bottle hit Libby’s coffee table with enough force to crack the bottom. The hell with solitude, and if there was trouble, Libby and her fiendish plot would be to blame.
***
The longs ends of my wet hair soaked the collar of my shirt as I turned the horse onto the road. A black and silver sky blanketed the valley. The only sounds were the cattle huddling against each other for warmth and an owl calling to a far off mate. River was not pleased about being pulled from his straw bed, and he was equally not pleased when I urged him to move faster. We both knew the road well enough that even in the cloak of night, we could keep up a fast, steady pace.
My mind was occupied solely with the girl when a movement in the shrubs lining the road sent River onto his back legs. He dropped back to all fours. White puffs of steam billowed from his nostrils as he snorted in fear. His ears turned toward the side of the road.
“Easy, River, easy.” I squinted into the darkness and reached down to make sure my rifle was within reach. There was the smallest flicker of movement behind a tangle of branches and then two blue eyes stared back at me. Even with the odd eye coloring,
I could tell it was a wolf, and from the width of space between its eyes, it was a big one. I lowered my hand to pull up my rifle. The animal watched me for a moment and then ran off.
Still agitated, River pawed the ground several times. I patted his neck. “Just a wolf, River. It’s gone now.” It was unusual seeing a wolf crouched so close to the road, particularly with a thousand head of cattle standing a mile away. The barbed wire would be enough to keep it away from the herd, but there was something not quite right about the wolf. And River had sensed it too.
Loud voices and music floated out of the open door of the town hall. It was the last place I’d wanted to be tonight and yet now I could not tie up River fast enough to get inside. Libby was the first familiar face I encountered as I stepped into the building— and the first friendly face too. Deputy Carson’s scowl could have cut glass as he looked at me from across the room. So much had happened that day, I’d forgotten our last meeting was not a friendly one.
“I thought you might show,” Libby said with unabashed confidence. My gaze surveyed the entire room. Thankfully, Virginia was already occupied on the dance floor, and Jackson had found a few females to entertain with his stories. But I hadn’t seen the one face I’d come for.
“It looks like you’ll have to wait your turn. Virginia has hardly been free all evening.”
“Libby,” I said abruptly, “you and I both know I’m not here for Virginia.”
Libby put on a good show of being confused for a moment and then a look of worry shadowed her face. “Now, Cade, remember to behave. It’s been a real nice evening and—”
I grabbed hold of her elbow. “Where is she, Libby?”
With a nervous flutter of her lashes, she turned her attention to the far side of the room where a large circle of polished, bear greased men hovered. My flaxen haired angel stood in the center. I clenched my jaw. Libby grabbed my arm before I’d taken one step.
“Now, Cade, don’t do—”
“You started this when you sent her out to the barn to deliver that ridiculous message. If you toy with danger, Woman, you’d better be ready for the consequences.” I pulled my arm free and walked toward the circle.
Chapter 16
Poppy
After a long, uncomfortable wagon ride, during which I could sense that Virginia and Charlotte wanted nothing more than for me to fall off the box and disappear into the night, I’d somehow wound up the center of attention in a circle of strangers, who were so lathered in foul smelling hair grease I could hardly take a breath. Since my dancing skills were sorely lacking, and since I was certain there was no way to top the dance on the porch, I’d informed my new, eager friends that I had no interest in taking a turn on the floor.
At first I’d been captivated by the loud music echoing through the crowded hall. I’d never experienced anything like it in Salem, but now, the musical clamor coupled with the crush of bodies in the hall was too much.
Boyd, a tall, thin man with a kind smile and a deep scar creasing his cheek, leaned in so I could hear him over the din of the instruments. I could almost taste the odor of his hair grease in my throat. “You’re sure I can’t persuade you to go out on the dance floor, Miss Seabrooke. It seems a shame to waste good music.”
“Oh, please don’t miss the music on my account, Sir. I’m certain there are other girls who would love to dance.”
A stocky boy with tiny eyes and oversized ears socked Boyd on the arm. “She don’t want to dance, Boyd.” He grinned at me and moved closer. I stepped back only to discover I was already pressed against the wall.
“How about some punch, Miss? I’d be happy to get you some.”
Boyd elbowed him away. “I’ll get her some punch.”
Another boy, who I was certain must have been a brother or close relation to Boyd, grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t look now Boyd but you’ve caught someone’s attention and he’s coming this way.”
I couldn’t see over their heads, so I had no idea what unwanted attention was coming my way this time.
Boyd shook off the boy’s grasp. “Let ‘em find their own girl.”
He lowered his mouth near Boyd’s ear. “It’s Cade.”
Boyd’s face stiffened, and he a backed up a few paces. Then he straightened to full height and puffed out his thin chest. “No, you know what? Let Tanner come. I was here first.”
The heads parted like clouds after a storm, and a tempest blew across the room with a cool green gaze and a purpose. And, instantly, my heart raced ahead at the sight of him. A hearty dose of apprehension made its way around the crowd. Some stood their ground and others peeled off of the circle to find other female targets. All eyes were on Cade, but his gaze was locked on me.
“We were here first, Tanner. Why don’t you find another girl. Half of ‘em have been waiting for you anyhow,” Boyd spoke up bravely. “She’s already occupied. Besides, she ain’t dancing tonight, so you’re wasting your time.”
Cade looked at me as if we were the only two people in the room, and, for a moment, it felt as if we truly were. I didn’t hesitate for a moment when he stuck out his hand. I placed my palm in his, and he walked me out to the floor. The music blared on, but a definite hush had blanketed the crowd as we walked into the center of the room.
I peered up at Cade. The heat of his gaze had not waned a bit.
“Remember, I don’t know how to dance,” I said.
His arm went around my waist and he laced the fingers of his free hand through mine. “I wasn’t really planning on dancing much.” I placed my free hand on his arm and rested my face against his chest. Couples dashed around us but we stayed in one place, barely moving, just holding each other.
I had no idea how long I’d stood wrapped in the safe cocoon of Cade’s strong arms, but our surroundings had faded away. Even the discord of the instruments had become nothing more than a rhythmic ping muted even more by the rhythmic drumming of Cade’s heart. I sensed people spinning around us, skirts rustling over petticoats, and rambunctious flirtation on the dance floor, but as Cade’s grasp around me tightened, the noise and movement around us diminished to nothing more than dull roar and soft whir of air. I was lulled into a state of utter contentment for the first time in a long while when a sharp, angry voice disrupted it.
“Tanner, how is that you always manage to stir things up just by walking into a place.” The man’s blond moustache twitched as he spoke. A shiny, star-shaped badge glinted in the wavering lamplight as he stuck his oversized hands into the small pockets of his striped vest.
Cade lowered his arm from my waist and looked at the man. “I’m just standing here dancing, Carson.”
“Well, a few of the men are complaining that you walked right in and stole their dancing partner. And since we both know how you love to set your sights on other men’s girls—”
I could feel Cade’s muscles harden beneath my fingertips. “I’m Cade’s guest,” I interrupted.
The man looked down at me. His long moustache danced from side to side like a rocking horse as his mouth twisted. He shifted his suspicious glance to Cade. “Is that right?”
“Yep.” Cade pulled me back into his arms. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my dance.”
The man hovered a moment longer and then walked away.
“And Libby wonders why I didn’t want to come tonight,” he said quietly.
“If it makes you feel any better,” I said, not lifting my face from his shoulder, “I’m truly glad you came. I badly wanted the evening to end until I saw you, my knight, striding across the floor to save me.”
He laughed and his warm breath caressed my forehead. “Considering I came with the sole purpose of seeing you, it worked out well . . . for both of us.” His arms tightened around me. “Knight, huh? I like that.”
I smiled as I pressed my face into his shirt and lost myself in his embrace again.
The song finished and the band took a break. Cade took my hand and pulled me through the press of bodies to
the open door where Libby stood chatting with two other women. I hadn’t realized how warm and stifling the room had become until a refreshing breeze floated in from outside.
Libby pulled herself away from her friends. “What did Carson want?”
Cade shrugged. “Just wanted to strut that fancy star of his, I guess.”
“And don’t you forget he’s wearing that badge. You know he’s just waiting for you to give him a reason to take you in.”
“Damn, not you too, Libby. You’re just parroting Charlotte, and I can’t take two of you squawking at me. Remember, I didn’t want to come in the first place.”
“Fine, I won’t mention it again.” Libby reached over and fixed a curl of my hair that had come loose. “Are you having a good time, Poppy?”
“It’s very nice,” I lied.
Cade chuckled at my forced response.
“Speaking of Carson. . .” Something across the room had caught Libby’s attention. “What do you suppose he could be talking to Virginia about? She certainly has his undivided attention.”
Both the man with the moustache and Virginia cast several curious glances our direction.
I could feel Cade tense next to me. “I’ve got an idea what it might be. I’ll be right back.”
Libby grabbed for his arm, but he had already moved out of reach. With the slightest flicker of movement, I saw the man with the star slide his hand over the gun he wore in his belt. While I was certain the movement was so subtle only a person staring directly at him could have seen it, the entire room seemed to fall silent. Charlotte scurried over to her friend and grabbed Virginia away. Samuel met his brother as he reached the man they called Carson.
Tension swirled around the three men as they spoke. Libby’s face tightened as she watched. The man with the star looked my direction three times during their conversation, making it quite obvious that I was the topic. Libby and I sighed simultaneously as Cade left the trio and returned to where we stood. His expression was hard to read.