The men came out of the saloon and walked this way. He had to do something fast.
He rushed to her and shook her shoulder. “Lady, lady? You better wake up.”
She opened her eyes, closed them, and then struggled to sit up. “What’s wrong?”
“Them men looking for you are headed downstairs.”
Chapter Twelve
Panic gripped Alice as she sat up. Where was Zach? She was too sick to run. Besides, unless she climbed out the window, there was no way out except the way Rusty and Frank were headed. What could she do if her stepbrothers found her?
She slid from bed, staggering under the effects of whatever the doctor had given her. “Seth, help me push this chest in front of the door.”
She wrapped the blue scarf around her head to hide as much of her hair and face as possible. Then, she hid Pa’s big coat behind the screen. Those few acts sapped all her energy and started a bout of coughing. She hobbled back to the bed and climbed in, then gripped the pistol Zach must have left and pointed it at the door.
Could she do it?
Could she shoot her stepbrothers?
She had to protect Seth. No telling what her stepbrothers would do to the boy. What if they sold him to Vargas same as they planned for her? They’d kill Harry for sure, and Seth would wish himself dead if Vargas ever got him.
Familiar voices drifted up the stairs. Rusty and Frank talked to the hotel owner. She heard arguing, then heavy steps coming up the stairs.
Her heart pounded so hard she thought it would burst.
Seth stepped near the door, arms crossed. “Don’t you worry none. I’ll tell ‘em how the cow ate the cabbage.”
Someone pounded on the door.
Frank said, “Open up. We need to talk to you folks.”
Her hands trembled as she pointed the gun. They’d know her voice if she answered.
Seth said, “You get on back down them stairs. My ma’s sick and she don’t need you botherin’ her none.”
Rusty sounded all too friendly, “Hey, kid, open the door. We just need to talk to your ma. I’ll give you a penny so you can go get some candy.”
“My pa already give me some, mister. Now you move on away. We got a pistol pointed at the door. You make a wrong move and you get shot.”
Harry barked for the first time since Alice had seen him, a fierce sound followed by a menacing growl.
Rusty pleaded, “Aw, come on, kid. We don’t mean you no harm. Just open the door and call off your dog.”
Alice thought she’d have to fire a warning shot before they’d leave. She gauged where the men were standing, and aimed to the left, then cocked the gun.
Suddenly she heard Zach. “Is there a problem?”
Alice almost swooned from relief. Zach’s steps had made no sound on the stairs. Carefully, she lowered the cocked hammer, but kept her grip on the gun.
Frank’s voice sounded surprised, “No problem. Been looking for a woman. Thought you might have seen her. She’d come up about to your chin, blonde hair, blue eyes, thin as a pole ‘cept she has big tits.”
“Don’t know anyone who fits that description,” Zach’s voice carried authority. “She done something to you?”
That low-down coward Rusty said, “She’s wanted for murder and theft. Killed our pa then stole all he had.”
Seth’s eyes widened and he stared at Alice.
She shook her head to reassure him, then mouthed “He’s lying.” She sure didn’t need Seth to shout she was here.
“Isn’t that a matter for the law?” Zach questioned.
“Sure, but we been hoping we could help. You’d do the same if it was your pa, now wouldn’t you?”
Without answering the question, Zach said, “My wife’s ill and my son’s recovering from a fall. They don’t need any company.” His voice sharpened, “I believe that’s all we have to discuss, gentlemen.”
“But...” Frank sputtered.
“Come on. We’ll look for Mary later.” The ice in Rusty’s voice chilled her.
She knew her stepbrother meant they’d deal with Zach for defying them. Without Pa to control them, Rusty and Frank would kill on a whim. Now, to their own evil minds, they’d consider they had a reason to kill Zach for crossing them.
In a few moments, Zach pushed against the door. The chest slid away under his strength. Some help it would have been against her stepbrothers.
He closed the door and smiled at her. “Good idea, but not quite heavy enough.” He shook Seth’s hand. “You did fine, son. Thank you.”
Seth’s stood his tallest and puffed out his chest. “I told you I’d look out for the la—for Ma.”
Seth apparently didn’t notice Zach going to the washstand to rid his fingers of sticky candy from shaking hands. Then, Zach walked to the window. “They’ve gone into the saloon. Hoped they’d leave town. We’ll have to stay on guard.”
He returned to look at Alice. “I talked to the sheriff. And I sent a wire to my brother Joel. He’ll be coming with another wagon and a couple of other men.”
“What are you planning?” Alice asked.
Zach scooted the chair close to the bed. “Here’s what I had in mind. The reason I went to Russell Springs was, well,”—he looked embarrassed—“I’d written away for a mail-order bride. But she, um, she met a fellow on the trip and up and married him.”
“I’m sorry.” Alice’s sympathy went not to Zach as much as any woman stupid enough to miss a chance to be his wife.
Zach leaned forward. “So, here’s what I think we should do. You pretend to be my mail-order bride, only you make my family dislike you so I can send you on your way. Then when you’re stronger and my family’s telling me to get rid of you, I can buy you a ticket to Atlanta. That way, we both get what we want.”
Alice frowned. “How do you get what you want?”
“My brothers teased me up one side and down the other about sending for a wife by mail. If they knew I was jilted again, they’d never let me hear the end of it.”
“Again?”
Zach rubbed his large hand back and forth across his chin. He muttered, “Didn’t mean to mention that.”
“But you did.” She met his gaze, waiting for an answer.
He touched the scar on his cheek. “I was engaged when I got this. Said she couldn’t spend her life looking at someone disfigured as I was. Married someone else.”
“Then reckon you’re better off.” When his eyes widened, she added, “I’m sorry to sound harsh-like, but if she saw only your scar and not you, then she didn’t love you. I reckon she would have made your life miserable.”
“He—heck, I always knew she didn’t love me as much as she loved my home and ranch. I didn’t love her either, but I thought we could be happy and raise a family in harmony. Stung my pride to have her break off our plans because I’d been shot.”
“How did it happen?” Alice asked.
Seth edged closer and leaned his elbows on the bed to listen.
“A bank robber shot me in the face, chest, and leg before I could disarm and cuff him. Sheriff with me captured the man. Rest of the gang got away, but the man who shot me is in prison.”
“How terrible for you.”
“Yeah, took me a long spell to heal. I was laid up for a couple of months, but my aunts took care of me.” He paused, then straightened in the chair. “Back to my plan. Are you willing to go along with it? My two aunts are at my ranch, so you’d be chaperoned.”
“What would I have to do?”
“Just recuperate while you make my family dislike you.”
“How would I do that?”
“Be disagreeable. Complain about everything, expect to be waited on. You know, just be too fussy and hard to please.”
Alice thought about his request. Having the luxury of a safe place to regain her strength sounded good. But she’d always tried to please, always tried to act as her mother had taught her. Could she deliberately antagonize anyone?
“Sounds like
you want me to be mean-spirited. Mama raised me better. I’m not sure I can do it.”
“Sure you can. Then, when you’re well, I’ll pay your way to Atlanta.”
“I can pay my own way to Atlanta.” But she did need an out of the way place to heal before she finished her escape. Somewhere Rusty and Frank wouldn’t find her. “Where is your ranch? Are there lots of people around?”
“No, it’s two miles from the nearest town. You wouldn’t have to see anyone but my family. Maybe my ranch hands. It’s a perfect place to get well before you travel east.”
“You’d have to tell me what to say to your brother when he comes. Who am I supposed to be?”
“I never told anyone a name or where she was from. All you have to do is be yourself and say you’re from Georgia.”
“What if they ask me about the War?” She didn’t know anything about what happened, only that Rusty and Frank said Atlanta had been burned. They wouldn’t even let her look at the newspapers during the War. Burned them for spite before she had a chance to read them.
“Tell them it’s too painful to talk about.”
She considered his offer a few moments. What did she have to lose? “All right. I’ll try.” She sank back against the pillows. “Reckon it won’t be long before I’m good as new and can travel on my own.” She touched her scarf. “And I need to get my hair back to its color.”
He removed her scarf and looked at her. “You realize it’s getting darker green, don’t you?”
“No-o-o.” She sat up and pulled strands of hair so she could see them. Sure enough, the color was darker and brighter. “Dear Lord, what am I going to do? What will your family think?”
“Don’t worry about it. Restoring your natural color will give my aunts something to do.”
“But what will I tell them? They’re sure to think I’m crazy.”
“That won’t hurt. Might help them accept me sending you on your way. Just be thinking of a good reason for dying it in the first place.”
Alice feared this plan was getting too complicated already. “I’m not good at this. I can leave out the truth, but I can’t lie worth a darn.”
“That’s not a bad thing, but maybe you can stretch it just for now. Think about those chasing you and how safe you’ll be in Atlanta.”
Alice closed her eyes. “I can sure enough do that.”
She shuddered at the thought of what awaited her if Rusty and Frank caught her. Then, pictures floated through her mind of teas, quilting bees, picnic suppers at church, and all the other benefits Atlanta offered and that Mama had talked about.
She sent up a prayer. Dear Lord, this is your faithful servant Mary Alice Price again. Forgive me for bearing false witness like it says in Your Scriptures. Lord, I can’t see the future, but I figure You had a reason when You gave me this chance to save my life.
Maybe the Lord would forgive her for deception just this once, especially since it would help Zach as well as keep her safe.
Zach patted her hand and picked up the gun. “I’ll take charge of this for a while and you go back to sleep.”
He shoved the firearm in his waistband and looked down at Seth. “Son, we better have a talk.”
Seth’s eyes widened in fear as he backed away. “I ain’t done nothin’ wrong.”
“Of course not. You’ve been brave and defended your new Ma. You did just what I asked. But there’s something we men need to talk over.”
The apprehension left Seth’s expression. “Yeah, us men need to talk about things.” He frowned. “What things?”
“When my brother Joel gets here tomorrow, we have to have us a plan.”
“Yeah, a plan.” Seth nodded and popped another piece of candy in his mouth. Around his mouthful, he asked, “What kind of plan?”
Zach hoped the kid didn’t get a stomachache. “As soon as we leave this town, we have to start calling her Miss Price again. Okay?”
“I reckon. But she’s sure changed names a lot.”
Zach tried not to smile. He didn’t want Seth thinking he was laughing at him. “That’s right. Here’s the hard part. I want to apologize to you for asking you to do all these things, like pretend she’s your ma while we’re here and then go back to calling her by her real name when we leave here.”
Seth shrugged a bony shoulder. “Don’t make no nevermind by me.”
“I know, but that’s why I’m apologizing. See, it’s not good to lie. But this time, we had to because we were protecting her from those men. That means the lie was for a good reason.”
“Yeah, those men looked mean. I reckon they would’ve hurt my new ma. Me and Harry, we’ve won fights lots of times. I could’ve fought them two off, me and Harry could, ‘less they used some dirty tricks to beat me.”
“That’s what I’m talking about, son. You’re used to making up stuff and I want you to stop. But now I have to ask you to lie again. Call your new ma by Miss Price soon as we leave here, and I’ll tell my brother that she’s the woman I sent for by mail.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“You like being teased by other folks?”
“Nope. Boys used to tease me ‘cause I didn’t have the right clothes, and ‘cause my pa drank too much. I fought ‘em when I could.” Seth’s eyes filled with sorrow. “Sometimes I just ran away and hid.”
Zach hated all this kid had gone through in his short lifetime. Not yet seven and he’d seen death, homelessness, hunger, and been beaten no telling how often. “My brothers aren’t as mean as those boys, but when they find something to tease a man about, they never let up. So I don’t want them to know that lady I sent for didn’t show up. I’ll tell them Miss Price is the one I wrote to and she came west to marry me.”
Seth shook his head. “They ain’t gonna believe you.”
“They will if you and Miss Price go along with what I say.”
“I’ll do it, but you’re not very good at lying, mister.” Seth gave Zach an appraising look. “Good thing you’re big and good at givin’ orders.”
Zach stood and sighed. “You’re right. I don’t like lies, I hate them.”
“But we got to say ‘em, don’t we?”
“Yes. Joel will probably be here tomorrow by midmorning.” He ruffled Seth’s hair. “You’ll like living on my ranch, son. So will Harry.”
Alice reached for her wrapper hanging on the bedpost. “Can we get hot water brought up? I want to wash my hair. And Seth needs a bath before he meets your brother.”
“A bath?” Seth looked ready to run. “It’s winter. People don’t take baths in the winter.” He looked at Zach. “Do they?”
“Afraid she’s right, son. We all need a bath, but especially you and Harry. I’ll go down and see about a tub and the hot water.” He left and this time she heard his boots against the stairs.
Seth crossed his arms and sat on the floor next to Harry. “We don’t need no bath.”
Alice said, “It won’t hurt, Seth. It’ll be good to be all clean to meet the rest of your new family.”
Pain contorted Seth’s face. “I don’t have no family left, ‘cept Harry.”
“Sure you do. You have Mr. Stone, um, your new pa and me.”
“You’re going away.”
“You’ll still have your new pa’s brothers and his aunts. And you’ll have a room in your pa’s house just for you and Harry to use. It’ll be a real nice life. You need to look your best to start out.”
“Maybe tomorrow.” Seth backed against the wall.
Zach returned. “Owner’s bringing up the tub and hot water. Miss Price, you’d better get behind the screen or lie in bed with the covers over your head while Seth bathes.”
Zach walked to the window and peered out. “Joel will be here well before noon. We’ll have to be ready. Seth, you’ll need to stand guard while I check on those two men. With any luck, they’ll ride out in the morning before Joel arrives.”
“If you say I gotta take a bath to be one of your ranch hands, then I will. Bu
t me and Harry ain’t gonna like it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Alice smoothed her hand over the wool challis of her emerald green dress. Trimmed in black braid with lace at the neck and sleeves, she’d altered this and others left by her mother. Likely the dress’s style was outdated by now, but it fit well and the color flattered her. And it matched her hair. She sighed and held up a lock to the mirror. “Still looks greenish.”
“Yep, but it’s real purty and shiny.” Seth resumed looking out the window. “Bet that wagon is my new pa’s kin.”
She hurried beside Seth. “Bound to be.”
At what passed for a street, a covered wagon had pulled up. The driver hopped down and slapped Zach on the back. Sure must be Zach’s brother. Same size, same build. “Reckon they’re twins? Sure do favor one another.”
Two other men dismounted their horses and stood to one side. Zach turned and shook each man’s hand.
She pressed her forehead to the glass. The covered wagon would hide her from Frank and Rusty if they were spying along the way and help guard her from the cold and wind. The two men with Zach’s brother would offer more protection. Zach’s plan might work.
“The new man isn’t as tall as my new pa. Pa’s the tallest man I ever seen, and he’s plenty strong. Bet he could fight off a bunch of Injuns all alone.”
“More important, he’s a good man.” The Good Lord had been looking after her when He hooked her up with Zach Stone. She’d never have escaped this long or survived the pneumonia without Zach’s help. “Come on, help me pack up our things.”
They rolled Pa’s coat inside the fancy bedroll. She turned Mama’s quilt with the plain side out so the brightly colored design was hidden and protected. Figuring the new blanket Zach bought for Harry would be good to ward off the cold going to the wagon, she was glad the winter meant no fleas on Harry. She and Seth scooted everything beside the bed.
The exertion brought on more coughing and made her injured shoulder ache, so she plopped down on the mattress. She needed a nap, but she was certain excitement would have kept her awake.
High Stakes Bride, Men of Stone Mountain Book 2 Page 8