Adie touched her arm. “It’s a hard story to hear.”
“And hard to tell,” said the Reverend.
“Go on,” Dani urged. “I need to know.”
Reverend Blue raised his chin in defiance of what he had to relive. “I know what happened because Beau told me. He’s gone over that moment a thousand times. Maybe more.”
Dani thought of Emma standing at the window, recalling Patrick’s riderless horse and the smell of burned flesh. She heard Beau Morgan telling the child not to talk. He’d been trying to protect her from a heartache that rivaled his own. Dani had judged him as hard, yet he’d been acting with compassion.
Reverend Blue took a deep breath. “Beau was sitting at his desk with his foot on a stool when he saw Lucy pass by the window with a picnic basket. She’d been to the doctor that morning and had come to surprise him.”
Her heart squeezed. A healthy young woman went to the doctor for just one reason. The picnic basket…a surprise for her husband. Tears welled in Dani’s eyes.
Reverend Blue cleared his throat. “In spite of his bad toe, Beau got up to help her. When he opened the door, Johnson fired. Lucy died in Beau’s arms.”
In Wisconsin, Dani could look at a tulip and see God in the petals. She could catch a snowflake and see the divine beauty. Staring at the rippling grass, she saw nothing but Lucy Morgan’s blood and Patrick’s riderless horse. “Where was God?” she said in a whisper.
“Same place He is right now,” said the Reverend.
“I don’t feel Him.”
“I think you do, Miss Baxter.” She felt the Reverend’s gaze on the side of her face. “I see tears in your eyes. Our Lord’s weeping, too. For Beau. For you. For those three little girls. Bad things happen. It’s a fact. But the Lord will see you through.”
“I know that’s true,” Dani murmured. “It has to be true.”
Yet she couldn’t shake the niggling fear that she’d left God in Wisconsin. She looked to the Reverend for comfort but didn’t find it. His eyes were on his wife, blazing with a protectiveness that tore Dani’s heart in two. With Patrick’s death, she could only dream of a man looking at her that way.
The Reverend’s throat twitched with emotion.
Adie’s eyes misted.
Dani’s throat hurt. It tightened even more when the girls spilled out of the stable door. Emma had a blanket draped over her arm. Ellie had the box of kittens and Esther’s little legs pumped as she tried to keep up with her sisters. Dani raised her chin. God had denied her a husband, but she could still be a mother.
The Reverend broke into her thoughts. “I spoke at Lucy’s funeral.” He bit off the last word, as if he could barely say it. “I’m a man of God, Miss Baxter. I believe in Heaven and Hell and living well in between, but I could barely say a word that day.”
Adie interrupted. “I’ll tell the rest. I’m the one who cooked Beau his last meal.”
“It was roast beef,” the Reverend said.
“And raspberry pie. I’d given Lucy the recipe.”
Dani bit her lip to fight the dread.
Adie laced her fingers together. “I’ll never forget that last night on the porch. Lucy had been gone a month when Beau said he was leaving town. As cold as death, he said, ‘I’m going to hunt down Clay Johnson and kill him.’”
“I believed him,” said the Reverend.
“I still do,” Adie replied.
Dani shivered. “That’s why he’s been so protective, isn’t it? Clay Johnson…is he in the area?”
“Beau thinks so,” Adie said.
Fear, danger and dirt. Beau Morgan had brought all three into the lives of three little girls. Dani’s heart broke for his loss, but she feared for Patrick’s daughters. She turned to Adie. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
“Could the girls and I stay with you a few days?”
Adie tilted her head. “Are you still afraid of Beau?”
“No,” Dani replied. “But I am afraid of Clay Johnson. What if he comes to the farm?”
Adie looked at Josh. “Dani has a point.”
“I’ll speak to Beau,” said Reverend Blue. “He’ll know best.”
Dani thought of the ride through town. Surely Beau would want to keep them safe. “Thank you.”
Adie touched her shoulder. “You must be exhausted. Would you like to rest a bit?”
Dani shook her head. “If I close my eyes, I’ll see Patrick.”
“A walk might be nice,” Adie said kindly.
“I think I will. Is the church open?”
“Always,” said the Reverend.
As she pushed to her feet, Dani looked at the tin steeple. The sun had dropped in the sky, turning it from silver to gray. The edges no longer seemed so sharp. Maybe she’d go inside. Maybe she wouldn’t. Mostly she wanted to cry and she wanted to do it alone. She looked across the yard and saw the girls. They seemed content, but in the distance she saw the stirring of dust from a wagon and recognized Beau Morgan holding the reins. He had her future in his hands, as well. She had to convince him she could handle the girls and the farm. That would be hard to do if they stayed with the Blues, but neither did she like the idea of an outlaw stalking them.
Patrick? Are you watching? What should I do?
Silence.
With her heart aching, Dani headed for the cemetery.
Beau steered the wagon into the yard and stopped. The chairs on the porch sent him back in time to Denver, where Josh and Adie had lived in a Mansion named Swan’s Nest. Beau and another deputy had taken to visiting on Wednesday nights. During the third visit, Josh had opened his Bible and read scriptures from Proverbs, the funny ones about fools and carping women. Their little group had turned into the Wednesday Ruckus, a men’s Bible study that didn’t mince words. That’s how Beau got roped into church on Sunday…How he’d met Lucy.
As he climbed down from the seat, he saw Josh come out of the parsonage. The man looked harder than ever. Rail thin and tall, he resembled a chimney pipe. Beau wasn’t in the mood for Josh’s kind of fire, but he was glad to see his old friend.
“Hello, Reverend.”
“Reverend?” The preacher faked a scowl. “You used to call me Josh.”
Beau offered his hand to shake, but Josh pulled him into a bear hug and thumped him hard between the shoulder blades. Beau pounded back. In Denver he’d enjoyed having friends, men who’d told jokes when times were bright and stayed quiet when they weren’t. He missed them. He missed a lot of things. He stepped back. “It’s been a long time.”
“Five years, friend.” Josh’s eyes burned like coal. “Where in the world have you been?”
“I think you know.”
“Only what you told Adie.” Josh put his hands on his hips, pulling back the flaps of his coat. “You and I need to talk.”
“No, we don’t.” Beau’s voice dropped to a growl. He didn’t want to hear about forgiving his enemies. He wanted an eye for an eye. He wanted Clay Johnson to swing from a rope.
Josh aimed his chin at the girls. “You have three children in your care.”
“I know that.”
“And Miss Baxter, too.”
“Only because she’s too stubborn to go home.” Beau looked at the red curtains in the window. He half expected to see Miss Baxter spying on him, but the gingham hung straight. “Where is she?”
“Taking a walk. I’m sorry about Patrick.”
“Me, too,” Beau said. “Those girls are suffering.”
“So’s Miss Baxter.”
Beau didn’t need to be reminded of the woman’s tears. He’d been the one to deliver the bad news. He’d felt the same pain when Lucy died. “I know all about it.”
“Yes, you do.”
Beau appreciated Josh’s plain tone. He hated pity, but he hated Clay Johnson even more. A bitter rage burned in Beau’s soul. “Johnson’s close, Josh. I can smell him.”
“Is he a threat?”
“I don’t know.”
Josh folded his arms again. “You know what I’m going to say.”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Beau thought back to Lucy’s funeral. To Josh’s credit, he hadn’t said a word about forgiveness. He’d saved that speech for the day Beau rode out of Denver.
Bitterness will eat you alive, my friend. Vengeance belongs to the Lord.
Fine, but Beau wanted to be the man to put the noose around Johnson’s neck. As soon as he took care of his nieces, he’d get back to the business of revenge. As for the bothersome Baxter woman, she’d be better off in Wisconsin with her family.
Josh’s expression stayed hard. “Adie tells me you scared the daylights out of Miss Baxter. That was a fool thing to do.”
Beau grunted. “She’s as green as grass.”
“Not from what I can see.”
“Then you haven’t seen much.”
“I’ve seen plenty.” Josh looked Beau up and down. “Looks like you found time for a bath.”
Beau wished he’d worn his duster over his new clothes. The blue shirt made him feel like a dandy, and so did the brown leather vest. The gun belt still hugged his hip, but he’d slicked back his hair and his jaw had a shine. Beau scowled. “Adie shamed me into it.”
“Adie’s wise.”
She was also a good cook. Beau smelled supper on the stove. His mouth watered, but he refused to be hungry.
Josh eyed him thoughtfully. “Thanks to your bad manners, Miss Baxter wants to stay here with the girls.”
Beau toyed with the idea but rejected it. “The woman can do whatever she wants, but I want the girls on the farm.”
“Is it safe?” Josh asked.
“As safe as I can make it.” His nieces shared his name. Beau wanted them where he could see them. He didn’t expect Johnson to ride into town, but the outlaw had a sick mind.
“Can I give you some advice?” Josh asked.
“Can I stop you?”
“No, so here it is. The girls think of Miss Baxter as their new mother. They think of you as an intruder. They trust her. No matter what you decide, things will be easier if she’s on your side.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Why not?”
“She made a promise to Patrick. She wants to adopt the girls.”
“I know.” Josh lowered his voice. “I know something else.”
“What?”
“I can’t share it with you.”
Beau thought of Emma standing at the farmhouse window. He went to see Pastor Josh. He was in a hurry. Had Patrick gotten cold feet? Beau remembered the day before he’d married Lucy. He’d been crazy about her, but his knees had turned to jelly before the wedding. If Patrick had changed his mind, Miss Baxter’s promise to adopt the girls meant nothing. She’d be free to go home to Wisconsin.
Beau hated secrets, but he trusted Josh. “You know best.”
“I hope so.”
No matter what troubled the minister, Beau knew he’d wield the sword of truth with discretion. Before coming to Colorado, Joshua Blue had been a high-and-mighty preacher in Boston. He’d suffered for his misplaced words and knew the power of a loose tongue.
So did Beau. He’d spoken too quickly when he’d asked Daniela Baxter to stay at the farm. His belly had been growling and he hadn’t given the situation enough thought. The girls were already too attached to her. With each day, that tie would grow stronger and they’d all end up heartbroken. With Harriet Lange in the picture, Beau hoped the situation would be resolved in a matter of days, a few weeks at the most. He could live on pancakes until then.
As for Daniela Baxter, she’d be better off with the Blues. Once the shock of Patrick’s death wore off, Beau felt sure she’d head home to Wisconsin.
“Where is she?” he asked. “I need to speak with her.”
“Look in the church.”
His stomach lurched. No way would he go inside that building. He turned to ask Josh to fetch her, but the minister had already slipped into the house. Beau turned back to the building and scowled at it. He’d gone to church twice after Lucy’s death. With a groaning deeper than words, he’d hit his knees. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”
That day, Beau had wanted Lucy so bad he couldn’t catch his breath. He no longer felt the freshness of the first cut of loss, but he remembered those days bitterly…and the nights, too. He’d slept with his face buried in Lucy’s nightgown, breathing in her lilac scent. He’d pressed her pillow to his belly and curled around it.
Surely goodness and mercy… What goodness? Mercy for whom?
Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death… A valley so long it never ended. A shadow so dark it mocked the night.
I shall fear no evil…
At least that much of the Psalm was true. Nothing scared Beau, least of all death. For five years, he’d been living in a fog of misery so thick it blinded him worse than night. Standing in the yard, he took in the church. The front steps numbered four and were as wide as the double doors. Brass knobs, lit by the sun, waited to be turned. The building, Beau realized, was a twin of the one Josh had built in Denver. Tall windows would line the sides, and the pulpit would be adorned with a soaring eagle.
Annoyed, he climbed the stairs and gripped the doorknob. The brass warmed his palm, but his blood ran cold. Where was God when Lucy died? Where was God now? Beau couldn’t stand the thought of going inside the church. As he turned away, he heard someone weeping in the garden. It had to be the Baxter woman. When Lucy died, Beau had been embraced by friends. She had no one. He considered leaving, but he had to speak with her. He also knew exactly how she felt. With his throat tight, he headed for the garden. At the gate, he plucked a lily.
Too late, he realized the flowers marked a cemetery. In the far corner he saw the woman sitting on a bench. He took in her pink dress, the pink roses climbing on the rock wall, the pinkish hue of the grave markers. He couldn’t stand all that rosiness, but neither could he walk away. With the lily in hand, Beau went to offer the comfort he’d yet to find for himself.
Chapter Five
The markers in the cemetery were unlike anything Dani had ever seen. They were made from rhyolite, a pinkish-gray stone that made her think of blood mixed with ash. In particular she noticed the stone cross in front of the bench. The crossbars ended in scallops that resembled open hands. The grass had been trampled and someone had left a single rose, now shriveled, at the foot of the marker. Tears welled in Dani’s eyes. She’d miss Patrick forever, but God willing, she’d find comfort in raising his daughters and offer it in return. It all depended on Beau Morgan.
Dani bowed her head. Are You there, Lord?
Silence.
I need Your help and so do the girls. With her stomach quivering, Dani poured out her heart to the cross. Surely God had a plan for her life, a purpose. She had to believe that. She couldn’t bear the thought of going back to Wisconsin and intruding on her brother. Apart from her tattered pride, she had no hope of a future in Walker County.
Please, Lord, make my path straight. Show me Your will.
“Amen,” she said out loud.
A man cleared his throat.
She opened her eyes and saw a shadow across the grave. Expecting to see Reverend Blue, she looked up. Instead of the minister, she saw Beau Morgan with his hat in one hand and a lily in the other. He’d bathed and bought new clothes. The blue shirt turned his eyes a truer green, and his brown trousers still had a crease. He’d been to the barber, too. Dani took in his clean-shaven jaw and the dip in his upper lip. Without the grit and the dust, Beau Morgan was a handsome man. Even more handsome than Patrick. Dani felt disloyal, but she had to tell the truth. She also had to convince him she could care for the girls and run the farm.
He offered her the lily. “This is in honor of Patrick.
”
“Thank you.”
She held the white trumpet by the stem. Missing Patrick’s funeral had denied her a line in the sand, a place that marked before and after. She’d found it today in the cemetery.
Beau glanced at the lily, then stared into her eyes. “It’s hard saying goodbye, even harder with things unsaid.”
Dani’s heart ached. “You understand.”
“I do.”
She didn’t want any deception between them. “Adie told me about your wife. I’m sorry for your loss.”
He gave a curt nod. “It was a long time ago.”
“But you still miss her.”
“Of course.”
Dani didn’t want to bring up painful memories, but she had to put the girls first. “I don’t mean to pry, Mr. Morgan. But the Blues told me about Clay Johnson.”
“What about him?”
“Are the girls in danger?”
“That’s my concern.” He put his Stetson back on his head and pulled it low. The sun lit up half his face, leaving the other side in the shadow of the brim. In a cemetery, the gesture smacked of disrespect.
Dani stood up from the bench and faced him. “The girls are my concern, too. The Blues are willing to take us in. I think that would be wise.”
“You’re free to accept,” he said. “But the girls are staying with me.”
“If there’s danger—”
“There’s always danger.”
Bitterness spilled from his skin. Dani couldn’t stand the thought of leaving the girls in his care. She looked him hard in the eye. “I have to know, Mr. Morgan. Is it safe to be around you?”
As soon as Dani said the words, she regretted them. His wife had taken a bullet meant for him. Being around Beau Morgan wasn’t safe at all.
He sneered at her. “Let’s put it this way. It’s as safe to be around me as it is to be on a horse in a thunderstorm.”
Dani blinked and recalled the charred pine. This morning she’d expected Patrick to greet her train. Now she was at the mercy of this bitter man. If he wouldn’t let the girls stay with the Blues, Dani would have to stay with them. “You have a point,” she said mildly. “We’ll be fine on the farm.”
The Bounty Hunter's Bride Page 6