Sally thought of Laurie. “My little sister, Laurie, is different from the rest of us. She’s had from her earliest years a pa who loved her. Life hasn’t been as hard for her as it was for the rest of us. She has no memory of life without a prosperous ranch and nice dresses. Mandy was fighting alongside Ma from the first day she was old enough to fetch and carry. Things got better, but Mandy’s character had already been set. But no amount of training could explain my big sister’s quickness with a Winchester. That was a gift she was born with, but Mandy had honed it, too, as we all have.”
“My father pushed me hard to be a doctor, and I still became a painter.” Logan looked down at the sweeping land. “Look, the elk herd has wandered away. Both bulls will live to fight another day.”
“If he’d been really harsh with you, really forced you on threat of starvation or a beating, you’d have bent to his will, I reckon. But if he’d done that, he’d have broken you. A parent needs to figure out how to train a child without twisting him. How to understand the nature of the child and respect that.” Sally shrugged and looked down at her clothes. “Ma’s always pushed me to dress more proper, but she hasn’t forced me, not out on the range. She thinks I’m an odd one, I suppose, but figures I’m not hurtin’ nothin’. Your pa was probably the same. Guiding you, pushing you, but smart enough to let you make your own choices when it really mattered.”
“You think what I do matters?” Logan gestured at his paintings.
She looked up at Logan’s art and slowly hoisted herself to her feet to really study the elk painting. “I—I don’t understand a man passing his days on such a thing. But what you do, whatever is inside of you that comes out onto that canvas—”
She turned from the painting to Logan and their eyes met. “Yes.” Somehow it was easy to say that. She held his gaze and felt something warm and beautiful, something already beginning to be born, come fully to life. “Yes, it matters.”
“That means a lot to me.” Logan’s brown eyes flashed with gratitude and pleasure, but he didn’t smile, almost as if his feeling went too deep for such a meager expression as a smile. “More than you could know.” He reached out and rested one of his paint-stained hands on Sally’s shoulder.
“I don’t exactly understand what drives you, but I understand you have a gift and that it would be wrong to not use—”
Logan stopped the next word with his lips.
Sixteen
Sidney, we have a problem.” Mandy had waited, choosing her time wisely. Or as wisely as possible when dealing with her notoriously difficult-to-deal-with husband.
Sidney was fussing with his stupid account book. Counting his gold—on paper—like some kind of half-crazed miser. Mandy often saw him swallow as he added and subtracted figures, as if he had to fight drooling over his precious gold. “Not now.” Impatiently, he swept one hand at her, dismissing her, his gold ring on his fat fingers flashing in her eyes.
Mandy knew better than to interrupt him at his book, but she also knew he went to bed directly after time spent savoring his wealth. And once on his way to sleep, he was useless. Odd how the man could sleep so well. She’d think he’d be a haunted man.
“Yes, now.” She moved from her place at the sink, the evening meal all cleaned up. Facing him, only a few feet away, she plunked her fists on her hips. She’d gone over this a dozen times. How to approach him with this. She’d decided to, well, not lie. A Christian woman didn’t tell lies. But to be wily. She couldn’t remember a Bible verse specifically forbidding that.
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”
There were a whole lot of different animals in that verse. Mandy picked her favorite, squared her shoulders, and set out to be a sneaky little snake. “Something happened today that has me worried, Sidney. Your man Cooter, he said something to me that gave me the impression that he might be looking for a way to take your gold away from you.”
Sidney jerked forward and rose to his feet, instantly on alert.
“I think he might have been who I heard outside the cabin the other night. I think he’s prowling around.” To Mandy’s way of thinking, none of this was a lie. She just focused on something far less important—the gold—rather than discussing how Cooter had treated her.
“He came down the hill this afternoon.” Sidney’s eyes narrowed. Her husband didn’t have much common sense, but Sidney could always be counted upon to be overly suspicious when it came to his money. “Is that when he spoke to you? What did he say exactly?”
Mandy needed to tread carefully now. If she spoke of Cooter’s bold behavior, would Sidney decide that her complaint was about that and not about money?
Cooter clearly thought of being rid of Sidney. He’d never molest her otherwise. And the wretched man must suspect how bad things were between her and Sidney, or he’d have never treated her that way. Which meant Sidney was in danger from a man he paid for protection.
“It wasn’t so much what he said. I felt like—well, he ducked out of my sight in a strange way. You know I’m good at hunting. A man doesn’t sneak around without my knowing it. But Cooter did. I think, well, he went into the bunkhouse then came up behind me. He’d have had to slip away, down the back side of the bunkhouse, circle the house. I think he was inside.”
“Did you lock the door?” Sidney rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowed and blazing, looking through her, considering all the possibilities.
“No, not just to step outside in the yard.”
“You should always lock it.”
This wasn’t an argument she wanted to have. Sidney could always find a way to blame her for everything. “I will from now on. How brazen does a man have to be to sneak into the house when I’m just a few feet away? He must be planning something. Or maybe he’s searching for the address of your Denver bank. Could he forge a paper sending for money?”
“Why now? He’s been with me a long time.”
Mandy knew why now but she’d never dare say it aloud. Luther and Buff were gone. As simple as that. They’d protected her. If only they’d come back.
“What are we going to do?” Mandy ignored Sidney’s question and crossed her arms, thinking, knowing it might come down to shooting trouble, hating that danger could come close to her children. She felt a chill calming her as she considered all that could happen.
“I’ll have to fire him.”
Mandy doubted Cord Cooter would go quietly. “Easy to say. But if he’s of a mind to act with violence, that might force his hand.”
Sidney continued stroking his chin for long moments.
Mandy didn’t offer to back Sidney if it came to shooting trouble. She’d do it when the time came, but it would upset him to speak of it now.
“I’ll go to town.”
“What?” Mandy felt as if the man spoke a foreign language suddenly. What did going to town have to do with—
“I’ll go to town and take Cooter and Platte with me. Once I’m in town, I’ll quietly seek out another assistant and hire him. Then, with a new man backing me, I’ll fire Cooter. That will leave Cooter miles from the cabin. If I fired him here he might just ride away, only to circle back.”
“He can ride out here from town just as well.” And he’d have time to find friends and pick his moment and sneak up on their flank. What was needed was a strong man who could hold what was his, protect his home and family with his will and his fists and his gun if need be. Sidney had none of that, not even the will.
“No, not just as well. I’ll make it clear that the money is untouchable.”
But Mandy wasn’t so untouchable. And while she thought Cooter’s true aim was the money, he made his unholy interest in her terrifyingly clear. “I’m too close to birthing this baby, Sidney. I don’t want to be left here alone. You are always gone most of a week when you go to town.”
“I’ll make a fast trip. I can do it in five days.”
Luther and Buff ma
de it in two all the time, three if things went wrong. It was a brutal ride to make in a day, early mornings, late nights, hunting up the storekeeper to open the store long after closing time so Luther could head out early the next day with loaded pack horses. Sidney liked the carriage and there was no way to make the trip fast with that. Even if he could, Sidney wasn’t one to push himself.
“That might not be fast enough. I don’t want to be alone here when the baby comes.”
“I’ve never had much to do with birthing the babies, Mandy. I don’t even need to be here.” Sidney’s hands clutched together as if the very thought upset him.
“But I had a midwife out from Helena the last two times. We lived close enough.”
“But you didn’t need them. It all went fine. No reason to believe it won’t go the same this time. And anyway, I’ll be back. And”—Sidney’s eyes lit up—“while I’m in town I’ll see about bringing a midwife back with me … or the doctor.”
“A doctor can’t ride all the way out here. Why are we living so far from town anyway?”
“No, you’re right. A doctor probably can’t be away from his office that long. But I’ll ask around. I’ll see if any woman is willing. Maybe someone will need work and be willing to come up here and help you until your sister shows up. You’d like to have a woman about when your time came, wouldn’t you?”
Mandy would like that very, very much. And it really was probably still two weeks away or more, but babies had their own timing. It didn’t matter anyway. She looked at Sidney’s expression and knew he was going. At least he’d be taking Cooter away. “Yes, I’d like that. But I want you to make a fast trip of it, too. I don’t like being here alone with the workmen.”
Sidney nodded. “No, it’s not proper for you to be here, though they seem like decent men mostly. And they’ll stay to themselves and keep pressing forward with the house, so you’ll hardly see them.”
“Is there a man among them who can cook? I may not be able to keep up with feeding them all and caring for the girls.” And then, though it pinched, she told him a truth that surprised her. “It’s all harder when you’re gone.”
She wasn’t even sure if it was true, because usually when Sidney was gone, Luther and Buff were here, and she’d honestly not noticed her husband’s absence much. But now, with her old friends away and Sidney leaving, she felt more alone than she ever had in her life.
“I’ll tell them they’ll need to make their own meals. It will slow the work down, but it can’t be helped.”
Silence fell between them, Sidney plotting and planning to be rid of Cooter.
Mandy wanted that badly enough to let her husband go. If she wanted to send him on his way with a kick to his backside, that didn’t change that it was worth his leaving to be rid of that dreadful bodyguard.
“You’ll be safe here, honey. The men seem decent.” Sidney came and rested his hand on her shoulder.
As if Sidney was any judge. He’d hired Cooter after all. “Yes, I’ll be safe. But go right away, tomorrow, so you can get back soon.”
He patted her like she was a well-behaved dog.
She was tempted to be less well-behaved and growl, then bite him on the arm.
“How long are we going to skulk around?” Buff tossed the dregs of his coffee on the fire.
“It’s gnawing on me, too.” Luther looked up from the campfire they’d built to boil up some coffee for their noon meal. The blaze was small so the men they followed wouldn’t see it. “If we ride up on ’em, we need to be prepared for shooting trouble, or we’d need to haul them all the way to the nearest town. That’s days away, and once we got there, they’d probably be released. We’ve got no proof they attacked Colonel McGarritt’s party.”
“It’s them.” Buff took a long drink of his blazing hot coffee. “As sure as if I’d seen it with my own eyes.”
Luther stared at his coffee, tempted, mighty tempted, to find out what those men knew with his fists and his gun. Instead, here they sat drinking coffee while they kept a lookout on those outlaws, searching for any evidence of where Sally had gotten to.
They’d been slipping along in the wake of the men because they were sure these two hunted Sally. They’d fan out searching for markers from whoever was leaving them, hoping to find a trail that would lead to Sally. It was an itch under Luther’s skin to worry about his girl and not do something more.
But they hadn’t found a bit of evidence telling them where Sally might be hiding.
“I’m thinkin’ it’s a woman leavin’ sign.” Luther settled back against a rock wall that faced their fire.
It was a warm day so they didn’t need the heat once the coffee had boiled and the beans warmed, but it gave comfort, and in this rocky area, surrounded by towering pines with their needles high overhead to diffuse the smoke, the fire posed no risk. They’d made note of where the two hombres they tailed had set up to cook a meal. Then when it was obvious the two were settling in for a long spell, they’d dropped back and built a fire.
“Yep.” Buff poured himself more coffee and leaned back against the trunk of a tall, narrow lodgepole pine. “Woman sure as day. And she knows we’re here now, and she knows those other coyotes are here, too. She’s protecting Sally, and she’s let us know Sally’s fine until we can get to her.”
“Cautious woman,” Luther added. “She knows she could lead trouble to Sally, and she’d rather lead us in circles than endanger our girl. A good woman. Knows the woods, too. Likely Shoshone.”
“I knew a fine Shoshone woman once. Real fine.” Buff stared into his cup.
Luther waited.
Buff didn’t go on.
“Don’t rightly know if I like the idea of a woman protecting Sally.” Luther tossed his coffee away. “I’d feel a lot better knowing a man was close.”
Seventeen
Logan pulled Sally close.
He tilted his head to kiss her better. His arms slid around her waist. He felt half mad with the pleasure of her saying she recognized his gift and knew he needed to use it.
As if he held the most precious thing in all God’s creation in his arms, he deepened the kiss, cherishing the feel of her in his arms.
She jerked her head back, but that only made the angle better when he sealed her lips with his own. And she didn’t pull back again. Instead her arms wound around his neck and he felt one of her crutches whack him in the shoulder as it fell.
It didn’t distract him one whit.
A distant, barely functioning part of his brain whispered that he was better off alone. He was a self-centered man obsessed with his art. He ignored the whisper and pulled Sally closer.
“Trouble comes!” Wise Sister shouted from the woods. “We go!”
Sally jerked out of Logan’s arms so fast he almost fell forward and knocked the poor broken-legged woman over. Sally was too quick for him, though. Dodging his clumsiness, she slung the rifle she always kept at hand over her neck, grabbed her crutches, whirled, and headed—Logan couldn’t figure out where.
Away from Wise Sister. Was Sally planning to run? She couldn’t last in the mountains, which were impassable to the west and north. Wise Sister was coming from the southeast.
While Logan tried to clear his head, Sally was already on the way to—he figured it out. The corral. Wise Sister said, “We go.” So Sally was getting the horses.
She might be faster to react, but he could still outrun her, thanks to her broken leg. He caught up and passed her. He had the first horse caught and bridled before she got there. She whipped a saddle onto the horse, with her crutches firmly at hand.
Logan caught a second horse just as Wise Sister appeared from the woods running. He’d never seen her run before.
Sally glanced up, noticed, exchanged a look of alarm with Logan, and finished tightening the cinch then took over bridling the second horse.
Logan grabbed a third. “Just three or do we take all five? Will we need a pack animal?”
Sally shook her head. “I
don’t think we’re gonna do much packing.”
“What’s going on?” Logan used every bit of skill he’d learned in the West to cut down the time.
“I don’t know, but if Wise Sister says we need to ride, I’m going to ride first and ask questions later.” The rapid slap of leather as she tightened another saddle underlined the fear Logan knew he’d felt when Wise Sister, so soft spoken, so slow moving, yelled and ran.
Wise Sister ducked into her cabin as Sally and Logan finished with the horses. She emerged with a quiver full of arrows and a gun belt around her plump waist. It was Babineau’s, but he’d never seen her with it. She moved so fast she didn’t pause for even a moment to close her door.
Logan took one second to realize that while he led the third horse up to where Sally stood with the saddles, which lay hooked over the fence.
To leave a door open and ride away was to turn your home over. Bears would move in and eat what was there within hours. They’d tear the building apart from the inside out within days. Wise Sister was saying they were never coming back. Or there wasn’t time to worry about whether they did. “Coyotes come.” She rushed toward them carrying a heavily loaded cloth bag in one hand.
Logan grabbed the two prepared horses and led them from the corral. He went back to Sally. “Let me help you.” Their eyes met. This young lady, who had more skill on a horse—or so Logan suspected—than most cowboys, didn’t like needing help. But she had a broken leg and this moment was beyond pride. He grabbed her around the waist, hating the thought of her bruised ribs, and tossed her up with no ceremony. Then he rushed to the other horses and led one to Wise Sister’s side. He went to boost Wise Sister, but she vaulted into the saddle with less trouble than a bird might have. Logan was mounted seconds later.
Sophie's Daughters Trilogy Page 48