Dusty stared at him for a good two seconds with a hard scowl. He hated thieves. “Pardner, you’d be surprised what I would do to low life thieving scum like you four.”
The man swallowed hard and let his stare drop.
“Come on,” Dusty said as he waved his gun at the door again. “You’re lucky I’m not waiting until we are at full speed before making you jump.”
Filing out single file, the four cowboys jumped down to the ground, the blond boy tripped and rolled in the dirt, shooting Dusty an evil look as he rolled over and glanced back.
Dusty laughed. Waited until the train had traveled another hundred yards then tossed the gun belts out the window. The man was right. This was a hard land for a man without a gun.
“Dusty,” a soft voice said from behind him.
He turned to see Miss Carson looking up at him like he’d just defeated Lee single-handed.
“That was amazing,” she said with a hitch in her voice, as if she was having difficulty believing it.
Dusty shrugged. “You hungry? I could eat a bear if it was cooked right.”
She swallowed hard then nodded. He smiled back and indicated that she should lead the way to the dining car. He could only shake his head. A look like that from such a woman did something to a man’s head. Filled it with hope and obligations.
Chapter Seven
Rebecca stared out the window and ground her teeth in frustration. Three days and the man hadn’t shown her the slightest interest. Nothing after the meal they had shared. The man prevents a train robbery. Saves the passengers and Royal Prince. And all he was interested in was a good meal.
Since then, nothing.
No visits. No invitations to share another meal. Not even a passing smile. She hadn’t seen him. And she refused to go forward to his normal roost. It would make her appear … to forward. Almost desperate.
Instead, she had tried several other tactics. Speaking to the conductor about Mr. Rhodes. Hoping he would pass along her interest. When that failed, she had sat in the dining car for most of the day hoping he would come in.
But the man was like a ghost. There, but not really. Perched in his seat, never moving.
When they had stopped at Evanston, the continental divide, she had gotten out, supposedly to stretch her legs. But he was already up with Prince.
A half-day after leaving Provo she had asked one of the porters to take a piece of pie to him in the passenger car. The porter had hesitated for a moment. Obviously wondering, why she didn’t do it herself. But he’d dipped his head and carried out her request.
When he returned, she held her breath and waited for some word on what had happened. The porter however simply started setting the table in front of hers. Getting it ready for the next passengers.
“Well?” she finally said through gritted teeth. “What did he say?”
The porter shrugged his shoulders while he continued working. “He said how he liked pie.”
Rebecca groaned with a rising anger and tossed her napkin on the table as she continued to grind her teeth. This was ridiculous. Two people a dozen feet from each other. And the man acted as if she didn’t exist.
The next morning after finishing her breakfast, she sighed heavily. They would be arriving at their destination in a few hours. What then? She would go with her brother. Mr. Rhodes would drift away. Perhaps to never be seen again.
The thought bothered her at her very core. She couldn’t have said why. The man was not someone she should be interested in. And after the fiasco with Robert. She shouldn’t be interested in any man ever again.
But that didn’t account for the feeling of loss she knew she would feel when he rode away.
“No,” she said to herself as she jumped up. Brushing past the porter, she started to march towards the passenger car when she caught a brief reflection in a window. Her stomach clenched just a tad as she pulled to a halt and adjusted her dress to make sure everything hung correctly. Once that was done, she pulled her gloves tight, then took a deep breath before opening the door. At the last moment, she tucked up a stray wisp of hair under her hat. This dry air was creating havoc with her hair and made her skin feel like used leather.
Not a comforting thought before talking to a man a woman found … interesting.
She crossed over to the passenger car and stepped inside. There he was. Hat tipped low. Feet up on the seat across from him. Had he moved in the last three days? she wondered.
Long and lean. With wide shoulders and an attitude that told people to leave him alone. What was it about him? Something pulled at the female inside of her. Something that said this was a man to be admired. A man who could never really be tamed.
“Mr. Rhodes,” she said.
He cocked his head so he could look up without changing position. Then pushed his hat up on his head and removed his feet from the other seat.
“Miss Carson.”
She smiled to herself at the reminder of his gentle jab. Plus, at least she hadn’t been forced to ask him to move his feet.
Without asking if she could join him, she sat down and gave him a kind smile. It wasn’t his fault that he had the social graces of a cactus.
“How is Royal Prince?” she asked as she started to remove her gloves. A nervousness was building inside of her. A strange feeling of inadequacy.
It was ridiculous, she told herself. The man was a drifting cowboy. No more stable than a tumbling tumble weed. She was from one of the most respected families in Eastern Pennsylvania. Yet, this man made her feel as if she didn’t belong. As if she hadn’t yet met his requirements for what was admired in a woman.
“He’s fine,” the man said simply. As loquacious as ever.
An awkwardness fell over them. She desperately tried to think of something to say. Anything that might ease this discomfort in the bottom of her stomach.
“It is so different,” she said as she looked out the window. The tracks had been following a river valley. But they had moved beyond the grass and trees and into a true desert. Sagebrush and the occasional cactus. Reddish, grayish dirt kicked up by a passing wind, twisting and twirling then falling back to the dry ground.
He laughed and nodded. “We just left the Humboldt Sink and entered the Forty Mile Gap.
Rebecca frowned at him, letting him know she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
“The sink is where the Humboldt River, down from the Rockies, just sort of peters out in the desert,” he told her. “That means no water for the next forty miles until we get to the Truckee River, just outside of Reno.”
“Forty miles,” she said as she looked out and tried to imagine traveling over that barren land in a wagon. Silently, she sent up a prayer of thanks. Only a few years earlier and that would have been her walking behind a wagon drawn by four oxen. The thought made her shudder.
“Is my brother’s ranch like this?” she asked with trepidation. How could anyone live in this land?
Mr. Rhodes smiled and shook his head. “The closer you get to the mountains means water. Water means grass. At least enough to run a herd.”
He thought she was worried about cattle. Her stomach turned over as she realized just how different this world was. A wasteland, her father’s friend Peter had called it. For the first time, she thought he might be right.
As if reading her mind, Mr. Rhodes leaned forward and pointed out the other side of the car. In the far distance, a ridge of mountains could be seen hanging over the horizon.
“We’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
Her stomach tightened as she realized it was coming to an end. This part of her adventure would end and would never be repeated, she realized with a sinking feeling of sadness.
“What will you do next?” she asked him.
He shrugged his wide shoulders. “There is a poker game at the Red Grove saloon calling my name. After that, who knows?”
Rebecca gritted her teeth. How dare he waste his time with such pursuits. Why didn’t he want
to make something of himself?
It was at that moment that she finally began to understand Dusty Rhodes. He was something after all. An honest cowboy. Brave, intelligent. A man who worked hard and played hard. He answered to no one and preferred it that way.
Her desire that he be more meant nothing to him. He didn’t care about other people’s opinions. Or better. He didn’t care about opinions from people unimportant to him.
It was a strange and different way of looking at the world. A way she found ran counter to everything she had ever been taught.
“Well,” she began. “If you are ever in need of a job. I am sure my brother would hire you.”
“In all honesty,” he laughed, “finding a job ain’t ever been difficult. Staying on a job long enough to put down roots. That’s the hard part.”
She nodded. That she understood.
“Although,” he added as he looked her directly in the eye, “there might be something to be said for working on the C-Bar again.”
Rebecca’s cheeks grew very warm as she realized he was talking about her. She would make the job appealing to him. A sense of female pride flashed through her as she looked down at her hands so that he might not see how much his words had meant to her.
“Excuse me, Miss,” the conductor said as he stood over her. “We’ll be arriving in a little over an hour. You might want to make sure your bags are ready.”
She gave the conductor a smile of thanks as her stomach fell. And that was it. The trip came to an end with an admonishment to make sure her bags were ready. Without thinking, she glanced at the saddlebags draped over the back of his seat.
Her bags would fill half a wagon. This man traveled light. Only the essentials. Nothing else mattered. No ornament, no keepsakes, or anything that might stop him from drifting on the wind.
A different man from a different world. A sadness filled her as she began to realize just how far apart they were.
“I should be getting back,” she said to him with a deep reluctance.
He studied her for a moment with a strange cast to his eyes then nodded. “I imagine it will take a bit,” he said. “I do believe you could open a Sutler’s store with that many bags.”
She cringed at his statement until she saw the teasing look in his eyes. That was so Mr. Rhodes. It would never occur to him that she might be regretting all she had brought with her. Along with all that she had left behind.
No, he teased her as he would anyone else.
Just as he would anyone else, she thought and felt a jab of pleasure. He saw her as a person. Not a status. For some reason, it felt nice to be recognized.
Standing up, she held the back of the railway seat to steady herself on the rocking coach. Taking a deep breath, she said, “When we get there,” she began, “we might not have an opportunity to talk.”
He nodded, indicating he understood as he stood as well. Looking down at her from his height. A nervousness passed through her as she had to crane her neck to look up into his eyes.
“I wish to pass along my appreciation,” she managed to say to him. “For an excellent job. Taking care of Prince, and even Billy.”
He laughed at her mention of the goat. His eyes crinkling at the corner, with specks of gold in the deep dark brown. Why had she never noticed that before? she wondered.
“And,” she continued as she looked down at the floor for a moment then up at him again. “For seeing to my welfare. I hope it was not too much of a bother.”
He didn’t laugh as he stared deep into her eyes. “It was an honor,” he said.
Her world dropped away as she looked up at him. The swaying coach suddenly lurched to one side as they rounded a bend in the track.
Without warning, she felt herself thrown to the side when a strong arm caught her and pulled her in tight. It was like being locked in a vice. Safe, secure. Her chest held tight against rock hard muscle.
Swallowing hard, she looked up into deep eyes that studied her with a strange, unknown look. A predatory stare that sent a shiver down her spine. A delicious, wonderful shiver. The kind that tore at her very soul.
The train steadied, but still, she remained locked in his embrace. As if he didn’t want to let her go. A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind. Not all of them exactly the thoughts a lady should be having with a man like this.
But the thoughts were there and she couldn’t deny them.
Slowly, his tongue swiped across his lips and she melted inside. Was he going to kiss her? Here, on the train? In front of all these people? Yes, she begged as she started to lean forward.
The train’s whistle broke the moment, as Mr. Rhodes pulled back. A concerned, almost frightened look on his face. His arm fell away and she felt a sense of deep loss.
“You should see to your bags,” he said as he stepped back.
She swallowed and nodded. It was over, that wonderful moment had ended. Much like their time together would end. Nothing more than a memory.
She nodded to him then hurried away before he saw the tear threatening the corner of her eye.
Chapter Eight
Dusty glanced left and right as he led Prince down the ramp. Still no John Carson. It surprised him. The man knew he was arriving today with his horse. And there was his sister of course. Why wasn’t he here? There had been more than enough time for the telegraph to be delivered out to the ranch.
Prince pulled at the lead rope, as he glanced back to make sure the goat was coming.
Rolling his eyes, Dusty clucked under his breath. Once he had him down, and the goat as well, he glanced to the platform.
Rebecca Carson stood amidst her bags, looking lost and confused. His heart went out to her as he thought back to that morning only a week ago in Philadelphia. She was different than he had thought. Deeper, stronger than he had anticipated.
His insides clenched up as a strong desire washed through him. Holding her in his arms when the train tossed her had shifted something inside of him. Made him aware of her on a completely different level.
“Come on,” he barked at Prince as he led him to the livery stable next to the station. The sooner he put Miss Carson out of his mind the better off he would be. After all, he had a poker game to go to, friends to see and a life to live.
But deep down, he knew that it would be a life a little less than it could have been. That was the problem with a woman like Rebecca Carson. She reminded a man of his failings.
The livery barn smelled of hay, horses, and manure. Frank was mucking out a stall at the far end. The old man looked up and smiled as he admired the horse Dusty was leading. Then frowned down at the goat behind them.
A big red roan across the way nickered and tossed his head.
“I’ll be with you in a second, Red,” Dusty said.
The horse neighed then glanced down at the goat and snorted.
Dusty laughed as he patted Prince’s neck, “I told you they’d tease you about that goat.”
Prince danced to the side, not liking Red’s interest in Dusty or the goat for that matter.
Dusty put the two animals in a middle stall then turned to the big red roan. “You been good?” he asked.
“Bored,” Frank said from the other end of the stable. “But no problems.”
Dusty nodded as he rubbed his horse’s nose. They had been through a lot over the last five years. Seen a lot of country. It was nice to reestablish their connection, he thought as the horse pushed at him with his forehead.
“Yeah, Yeah. We’ll go for a ride. You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you missed me.”
Big Red snorted as he pawed at the ground, obviously denying any such thing.
“Excuse me, Mr. Rhodes,” a soft voice called from behind him.
Dusty’s gut tightened. He’d know that voice anywhere for the rest of his life. He turned to see Rebecca Carson as pretty as ever standing there with a confused, frightened look to her eyes.
“My brother doesn’t appear to be here. I’ve aske
d and no one has seen him.” She took a deep breath. “It isn’t like him to be unthoughtful.”
He nodded as a worry began to build inside of him. John Carson had never seemed like the kind of man to leave his sister waiting at the train station. At the very least he should have had a man waiting for her to take her out to the ranch.
“Frank,” he called to the stableman. “Hitch up a buckboard. Put it on the C-Bar tab. I’m taking Miss Carson out to her brother’s ranch.”
The stableman nodded as he put away his rake and left to get the buckboard.
“Really, Mr. Rhodes,” she began. “That is not necessary. I was just informing you because I assumed you would want to get paid for delivering Royal Prince.”
Dusty cringed inside. Of course, that was what she would always think. His only concern was having enough money for a good time.
“Ma’am,” he said with a heavy sigh. “Your brother paid me before I left. So that ain’t an issue. But you staying in this town all alone. It ain’t exactly welcoming. Too many miners and lonely cowboys. An honest woman shouldn’t be left on her own. It ain’t as bad as it used to be, but it ain’t good enough.”
She frowned up at him for a long moment. He could see it in her eyes. She wanted to go to the ranch but she hated asking for help.
“I’m headed out that way myself,” he told her. “I thought I’d drop in on the Tanners. Neighbors of yours. Jenny promised me a berry pie the next time I come by. And I do like pie.”
He caught the recognition in her eyes to his reference to the piece of pie she had sent him.
She sighed heavily then nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Rhodes. Once again you have been invaluable.”
He laughed. “That is what we workers strive for. To be invaluable.”
A strange look flashed behind her eyes but he ignored it as he took her elbow and began to guide her back to the station.
Big Red neighed at him, obviously upset.
“Hold your britches,” he told the horse. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Miss Carson smiled up at him. “Is he yours?”
High Desert Cowboy (High Sierra Book 2) Page 5