Charity (Brides of the Rio Grande Book 4)

by Peggy McKenzie

  “Yes, at least I think so. Charity has some minor cuts on her arms and hands from flying window glass. Doc is there. He thinks Aggie Hanover fainted. He said she wasn't shot."

  “So, now what?” Deputy Bishop’s question was valid. Miles just didn’t have an answer.

  “I don’t know, Bishop. I sure as hell don’t know. I’m not any closer to finding out who our prisoner is than the day we locked him up. And without knowing that, we can’t catch his buddy unless we just get lucky and catch him in the act—and so far—we ain’t been very damn lucky.” Miles’ frustration chopped at his words.

  “What about that packet of wanted posters I brought you this morning? Nothing in there either?” Bishop asked as he poured another cup of coffee for himself.

  “Wanted posters?” Miles had forgotten them in all the excitement of this morning’s shooting. “They are still on my dresser over at the Hanovers. I’ll go get them after lunch. Right now, I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with our prisoner. I’m done with this pussy-footin’ around.”

  Miles walked to the door between his office and the cells and unlocked it. He stepped inside the area and stood next to the cell bars of the only occupied cell. He watched the man sleeping as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

  Anger fueled Miles actions. He kicked the bars with such force, his toe screamed out in pain. “Wake up you low-life piece of—”

  “Hey, now sheriff. Ain’t no call to go calling’ a man names. I’m not causing you any trouble. Why you picking’ on me?” The man eased up off his pillow and swung his feet to the floor like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Gettin’ kinda hungry. It feels like it’s gettin’ close to lunch time.”

  “I’m not feeding’ you until you start talkin’. Got it? Now, you tell me who your accomplice is or you are gonna die in this cell.”

  The man had the nerve to grin at him. “Ah, come on, sheriff. We both know those are idle threats. You’re a lawman and a lawman’s job is to uphold the law, not go off half-cocked. Ain’t my fault my buddy ain’t got no give.”

  Miles growled his words in answer. “I’m sick and tired of people telling me what my job is. You hear me?" He yelled. He was losing his composure and that wouldn't end well for anyone if the town's lawman was out of control.

  "I hear ya, sheriff. Sounds to me like you gotta a bigger problem than that women problem you had a few days ago." The man's smug grin was getting under Miles' skin.

  He knew if he stayed, he was gonna be in that cell with him and that wouldn't end well for anyone.

  He turned without a word and closed and locked the door between them. The man's laughter grated on his last nerve.

  "I'm going to make my afternoon rounds early and then I'm headed back to the Hanovers to get that package of wanted posters. Say a prayer our jack-ass prisoner's face is on one of them this time."

  19

  Charity cast another wishful look at the damaged kitchen door Miles disappeared through. She could still see sunlight through the openings of shattered glass even though Big Angus had nailed some boards across it.

  The fragments reminded her of how her heart must look, broken and fractured by his doubt into a thousand tiny slivers.

  How could he not understand? She had been the only person between those innocent people on the train and that criminal. Who had a gun. He was a thief who killed and robbed for a living. And a robber with a gun was a danger to innocent people if someone wasn't there to stop them. And she had done that—without loss of life—so why couldn't he see that?

  "Charity, would you mind helping me with preparing Josh’s lunch?” Sarah asked.

  “Of course, Sarah. I’ll be happy to. How about you let me get Aggie’s too? You’ve had quite a morning yourself.” Charity offered and gave Sarah a hug. She hugged Charity back.

  “It’s been a morning for sure,” Sarah’s voice wobbled with emotion.

  "What can I do?" Selina asked from the kitchen door.

  "How about you go to hell." Charity offered.

  "Miles said we are supposed to go upstairs until he gets back." Selina's voice ground into her sensitive nerve endings. The woman was a pain in the ass.

  "You do what you think is right, Selina. Go. Stay. No one gives a damn. I’m not going upstairs until I am finished helping Sarah with lunch, so leave me the hell alone." She grabbed up Aggie’s lunch tray and Sarah took Josh’s since the boy seemed to hate her so much.

  She breezed pass Selina and left the woman standing with her mouth open and her self-righteous attitude in shock.

  Charity would love to beat the tar out of that woman. At one time in her life, Charity would have thought nothing of pushing her to the ground and punching away, but that was before she had learned a few social skills on how to behave in society. Now she knew how to handle a back-stabbing bitch the proper way, like a respectable young woman.

  She hurried down the hall to Aggie’s bedroom and poked her head inside the open doorway and saw her lying on her bed reading, "Aggie, I have your lunch. I hope you have recovered your appetite.”

  Aggie looked up from her book. “Charity, darling. Please do come in. I’m quite famished after this morning’s excitement.”

  Charity set the food tray on Aggie’s lap and adjusted the covers.

  “Please don’t fuss over me, Charity. I’m just fine. But I did want to talk to you about…this morning’s exchange between you and the sheriff.”

  “I can’t believe he thinks that I’m responsible for all of…this.” Charity’s voice quivered with disappointment.

  “Don't read too much into the sheriff's actions this morning. He has a lot on his mind and he’s frightened for all of us. We could give him our support too, you know.”

  Tears burned Charity’s eyes when she saw the sympathetic look Aggie gave her. Charity knew everyone in the kitchen had heard the whole sordid exchange. Doc. Hiram. Sarah, Aggie and even Little Miss Busy Baker.

  Charity didn't want to care and she was going to do her damnedest not to. She was done begging Miles Grayson to love her so to hell with him and the horse he rode into town on.

  She fussed over Aggie as much as the woman would let her and then she went upstairs and locked herself in her room. She need some time to think about what to do next.

  She looked down at the dress she had on and suddenly she felt as if she were suffocating in it. She pulled her pistol out of its pocket and ripped open the front enclosure. Buttons popped off in all directions and ricocheted around the room like the bullets from this morning’s ambush.

  Tears fell down her cheeks as her anger fueled her strength. She pulled and ripped and tore the cloth until there wasn’t a piece big enough to be pieced back together.

  Her emotions were spent and exhaustion set in. She was tired of fighting against…everything. She was tired of trying to convince him she was the one for him. She was tired of trying to be something she would never be. And she was so damn tired of begging for acceptance. She was good enough just the way she was and to hell with anyone who thought otherwise.

  She lay down on her bed and stared out the window. She needed a plan. A plan that didn't depend on Miles Grayson. He had already proven he couldn't be trusted to have her back.

  She just couldn't understand why he would want a mean-mouthed, mean-spirited mousy little self-righteous shrew like Selina Watson.

  Charity knew she wasn’t perfect, but she was always trying to be a better person. She had done everything she knew how to do, and a lot of things she didn’t know how to do that other people told her would work, to try and win Miles' love. His respect. And his trust. But it was obvious now, he was never going to see her as anything but an ill-mannered, ill-bred, ill-tempered lunatic that everyone called crazy and made fun of. No matter how hard she tried to behave like the person he wanted her to be, he always turned away from her. Well, she was tired of pretending and tired of chasing him. Now, she was done.”

  She was done with pretentious schools and overbe
aring teachers who tried to teach her that their silly manners and stupid rules. But no more.

  Before tomorrow morning’s first light, she would pack her practical belongings and saddle up a horse from the Hanover stables. Then she was headin' the hell out of this town.

  She heard a soft knock on her door and Miles' voice whispered through it. "Charity, let me explain to you what happened this mornin."

  Just the sound of his voice made her heart ache for him. "Go away, Miles. There's nothing to explain. It's all crystal clear. I figure it always has been, but I’m just too stupid, or too stubborn, to see it.”

  "Please, Charity. It's not as black-and-white as you are making it out to be. There's a lot of gray in there and I really want to explain my side of things. Please open the door. Give me a chance to explain,” he begged through her door.

  She wanted to give him a chance to explain, but was there anything he could say to refute his alliance with Selina this morning? She didn’t see what but her heart was begging her to just listen. She took a step towards the door when another voice joined Miles in the hallway.

  "Miles? What are you doing? You can't waste your time trying to explain something to that woman. She's not right in the head. She's crazy and she's not worth your time or trouble. Come away from there." Selina's voice coaxed from the other side of the door too. The same side that Miles was on.

  Whispers gave way to silence and she knew Selina had won his attention once more. It hurt. Way, down deep. It hurt like hell. But it didn't matter. She was used to rejection.

  Charity lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Tears no longer stung her eyes. Instead, they rolled unchecked down the side of her face. Her damp pillow testament to her breaking heart.

  All her life, she had chased after love. In the orphanage, when she had been abandoned by her family, she clung to first one caretaker and then another. She would cry for them when they left to go home to their families. She wanted to go with them. Love them. Be a part of their family. But they had always left her behind.

  When she was older, she learned that if you stop fighting for yourself, someone will hurt you. Charity soon realized that there's all kinds of people in the world who will tell you they love you, but they don’t meant it. They want something from you. And sometimes, they won't take no for an answer.

  She tried not to relive that horrible and painful experience, but she never wanted to forget it because she learned from it. She learned how to fight. She learned how to read people. And she learned how to protect herself and her sisters. The one thing she never managed to learn was how to overcome her need for love. Maybe now she was done with it all.

  She dried her tears and rose from her rumpled bed. The sun was sinking low behind the mountains leaving only an orange and pink glow to color the few clouds in the summer sky.

  She washed her face and stared at the puffy-eyed woman staring back at her. Red-rimmed lids pulled her attention to her eyes. Not even the vivid green color could hide the pain lurking in them.

  She had known the pain of loneliness all her life. This was nothing new. She would miss her sisters and their children, as well as the Hanovers and Sarah when she left. But leave she must for she could not stay in Creede and watch the one great love of her life marry anyone else.

  She heard pots and pans clamor downstairs from the kitchen. Sarah was making the preparations for the evening meal. Her conscience pushed her to get dressed and go downstairs to help, but her heart refused to budge. Let Selina do it.

  Charity removed all her clothing and slipped naked under the sheets. It felt more natural to her wild and untamed spirit. She lay in the gathering gloom of twilight and watched the first star appear in the night sky.

  Olivia Garrison, the town's school teacher and the woman who owned the recipe for those scrumptious cinnamon rolls everyone raved about, had told her once about her wish on a star that had come true.

  And Reverend Baker from the orphanage had told her there was no such thing as magic wishing stars and that one must pray in order to have one's prayers answered.

  Charity wasn't much for prayers or wishing stars for she had always been disappointed by both. The only thing she could count on one-hundred percent of the time...was herself. Tomorrow, she would pack her things and set out on her own because that’s what she could count on.

  Miles had tried twice today to apologize to Charity, but the stubborn woman didn't want to hear an apology. She wanted to be mad. Well, so be it. As long as she stayed safe upstairs in her room, that was fine by him. Mostly.

  It didn’t help that every time he turned around in that house, Selina was doggin’ his trail. When had she become so possessive and needy? It was a surprise to him. But whether Selina was around or not, Charity was just being stubborn.

  He finished his evening rounds, made sure Bishop went home to get some sleep, and Eli was on the job, before he headed to his bed at the Hanover home. He cut over one more street than usual so he could come up from behind the house and take a look around before he made his presence known. Big Angus was right where he should be stretched across the back steps with his shotgun pointed outward.

  Satisfied the back was covered, he cut down the next street and up to the front of the big house. Sure enough, there was his new deputy sitting on the porch, his back against the wall next to the door, his legs stretched out, his feet crossed at the ankles and his rifle resting on top of them with one finger on the trigger. Miles just hope nothing scared the man. It could end badly for some unsuspecting or uninformed visitor.

  His men were working hard and he was proud of the job they were doing for him and this town. He called out to the man just in case he was trigger happy. "Hello deputy. Sheriff Grayson here."

  The man didn't get up. He nodded and motioned for Miles to come on up. "Howdy, sheriff. Nothing new to report here exceptin' for the shootin' this morning."

  "I think that was enough excitement for one day, don't you?"

  "Yep. Sure do."

  "Do you need anything?"

  "No, sir. Sarah done come and feed me good. That's a right fine woman there, that Miss Sarah."

  "Um, yes. Right fine." Miles smiled at the man's observation and knocked on the Hanover front door. He hoped Charity wouldn't just swing it wide open again like she did this—

  "Oh, hello Hiram." He was disappointed to see Hiram instead of the woman he wanted to talk to. "How's Aggie?" Miles took off his hat and walked inside the house. Hiram closed the door and locked it behind him.

  "She's doing very well considering this morning's scare. Sarah has supper ready. Won't you please join us?" Hiram's invitation didn't hinge on a response from Miles. He led Miles down the hall to the dining room. He was anxious to see Charity after this morning's near miss in the kitchen doorway that could have ended both her and Aggie's lives. But again, he was to be disappointed when he rounded the corner to see only Selina and Aggie sitting at the table.

  Hiram took his seat and Selina patted the seat next to her. Miles chose instead the chair next to Charity's empty chair. He could tell she didn't like it, but he didn't really care.

  "Where's Charity? Isn't she eating with us tonight?" he asked as he unfolded his napkin from the table and folded it across his lap. Thoughts of another meal and another napkin made him smile.

  "She's been in her room pouting since this morning. She hasn't come down all day nor has she helped with any of the housework either." Selina reported.

  Aggie sat back in her chair and frowned across the table. "Selina. You are a guest in this house and as a guest, you will not speak about a member of this family in that manner. At least, not in front of me. Do we understand one another?"

  "A member of this family? I wasn’t aware she was a member of your family. I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn, Mrs. Hanover. I was told that she was a rat-gnawed orphan somebody dumped off on your doorstep. I certainly wouldn’t say anything to offend you, ma’am. At least, not on purpose.”

  "Did you say r
at-gnawed orphan? That's a horrible term to use when speaking about a homeless child. I expected better manners from you, Miss Watson."

  Miles and Hiram sat stock still at the table. It was the first time Miles had ever seen Aggie Hanover speak a harsh word to anyone. Ever.

  "I apologize again, Mrs. Hanover. It seems my information was flawed and I should have known better than to repeat gossip I hear around town." Miles watched Selina place her hands in her lap and cast her eyes downward. She seemed as meek and as mild as a little lamb, but Miles had seen Selina's temper before and he knew it simmered just below the surface. The more he was around her, the less he liked her company.

  He decided he needed a good bed more than he needed a good meal. "If no one minds, I think I’ll go to my room. I have some papers to look over."

  "Miles, don't go. I haven't seen you all day.”

  "I'm sorry, Selina. I'm exhausted and I have a new package of wanted posters in my room I'd like to go over. I'm hoping against hope there's a picture of our prisoner and his accomplice among them. Goodnight, Hiram. Aggie." Miles stood to go when Aggie stopped him.

  “Miles, please take your plate of food with you. You have to keep up your strength. Please, take all you can eat.”

  “Well, I could use a little something to eat. Thank you, Aggie. As always, you and Hiram are most gracious hosts.” He added a few more potatoes and another fork full of roast beef to his plate. He picked it up and turned to leave.

  "Do you want me to help you?" Selina offered.

  “No, I can manage, but thank you just the same.” Miles offered her a half smile of thanks and left the dining room.

  Relieved to be out of Selina's cross-hairs for the night, he climbed the stairs as quickly as he could while balancing a plate full of food on one hand. He had almost made it to the top of the stairs when Selina's voice called to him from the bottom.

  "Miles, any news on who is doing the killings? You said you had some new wanted posters, so I just thought maybe…"

  He didn't slow down for polite conversation. "No, not yet. Goodnight, Selina." he called over his shoulder. He thought she answered goodnight too, but he couldn't be certain.