Give Me A Texas Outlaw Bundle with Give Me A Cowboy

by Jodi Thomas, Linda Broday, Phyliss Miranda

  “Thank you.” She smiled, stowing away the roll of serge. Her gaze met his, then swept appreciatively down his bare chest. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”

  Her smile warmed him to the tip of his boots. He liked her feeling comfortable enough to speak her mind. “My shirt ought to dry in a little while. I’ll check it when we finish our talk.”

  “Okay.”

  She started to take a seat beside him, but he half turned and patted the spot at the back of the lean-to. “Go ahead and lie down. We’ll fit better under here if at least one of us is lying flat. You can put your head on my leg for a pillow, if you want.”

  She hesitated. “My hair’s still wet.”

  “I’ll dry. It’s the least I can offer you. I promise I won’t make any demands I shouldn’t.”

  She eyed him for a moment as if gauging his sincerity, then accepted the offering. She lay the back of her head against his thigh. Good, she was beginning to trust him. A closer look at her face revealed a slight splattering of freckles across her nose.

  “You sure I’m not too heavy on you?” Her gaze met his.

  “See what I mean about worrying? Makes a woman fret.”

  “You said it makes a man old,” her lips scolded gently. “And by the way, how old are you?”

  “Is that your first question for the talk, boss?”

  “I told you not to call me boss.” Her chin lifted and he liked how it set stubbornly. “Yes, and if you want me to hurry and get to sleep, then I’d appreciate quick and honest answers.”

  “Depends on what you ask me.” At least that one was easy to answer. “I’m twenty-eight. How old are you?”

  “Twenty.”

  “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

  “Why, do I look older?”

  “There you go again, worrying.”

  Her arms linked beneath her breasts and he rather liked the way they emphasized their generous size. When she caught him staring, she immediately unlinked them and started to lift her head.

  “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely, gently touching her shoulder to silently ask her to stay. “I’ll be a good boy, I promise. You’ll be more comfortable there.”

  She lowered her head slowly. “Okay, but if I catch you doing anything like that again, I’m off of here.”

  He let her settle down. “Question two?”

  “Who was Laurie to you? She must have once been very important in your life.”

  The truth, Rivers, he told himself. Get it over with. “My former fiancée.”

  “Why did she leave you?”

  Her hazel eyes held such sympathy Shadow wanted to look away but couldn’t. Honesty kept him riveted to her face; he needed to see her reaction. “Because I went to prison at fifteen and when I got out three years later, I wasn’t good enough for her anymore.”

  “Did she say that?”

  “She told me she wanted nothing more to do with me. That a good woman would never want me. She refused to let me near her, even walk down the same sidewalk she did. She liked me well enough as long as I bought her pretty things and didn’t have a bad name.”

  The memory raged hard within him. “Then I learned the real truth. While I was imprisoned, she’d become engaged to the town banker. A better man, she told me. I didn’t stay around to find out if it was true.” Shadow’s jaw set firmly. “I felt raw for a while, went down a bad hole. Maybe tried to prove I was what she said I was. That’s the boy they wrote about in that dime novel.” He glanced into the distance for a moment. “I didn’t know she actually married Patterson until Lambert said so this morning.”

  Odessa’s hand reached out to touch his. “I’m sorry, Shad. Some people can be so cruel.”

  He returned his attention to her, staring at her fingertips on his. Odessa’s touch was genuine, the most sincerely offered that he’d ever known. He would take the memory of it with him and treasure the closeness for the long nights that stretched on the lonely road ahead of him. “They say men like me are cruel,” Shadow whispered, “making a living off settling the west whichever way the dollar lures us. But so-called society can be cruel too. Not giving a stupid boy a chance to prove himself a man. The real cruelty comes from making us feel once we get out of prison that we’ve got a chance to make good. That’s why I don’t make plans,” he confessed. “That’s why I don’t worry. I take each day and whatever it offers. Good or bad.”

  “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  He wanted no pity. “Just a hard truth a man has to live by because of his own mistakes.”

  “What mistake did you make? You were only fifteen at the time, you said.”

  At least she hadn’t moved away. It was more interest than some folks had given him to learn his past criminal record. “I was stupid enough to think riding with a gang was something to brag about. We were kids trying to be stagecoach robbers. Wanted a little spending money to spoil our sweethearts or help our mother. So, we held up a Wells Fargo shipment.” He cursed at the memory. “That was the day I grew up fast. The day I lost my best friend.”

  Odessa sat up and faced him. “He was one of the gang?”

  Shadow nodded. “Him, Sal Lambert, and his brother, Cole.”

  “What happened to your friend?”

  “After we stopped the stage, he and I realized we were in over our heads and decided we were playing a man’s game too soon. My friend got scared when the shotgun rider who rode on the seat next to the driver pulled his weapon and aimed it directly at him. Right at that moment, Cole and Sal jumped from an overhanging ledge just as we’d planned to surprise the drivers. The next thing I knew the shotgun went off, the four of them went down, and my best friend hit the ground. Sal and Cole made off with the gold shipment while I tried to revive the two drivers to help me get my friend to the doctor.”

  Grief poured through Shadow at the telling but the words came out hard and bitter. “They wouldn’t let me out of jail long enough to attend his funeral, even though both drivers said I helped them and hadn’t done any of the wrestling or hitting. I had a gun on me and the sheriff checked it. It hadn’t been fired. But the gold was gone and a kid had been killed. The townspeople wanted somebody to go down for the robbery and the drivers never saw the other two who attacked them.”

  “So Sal Lambert and his brother got away with the money. Did you tell anyone?”

  Shadow shook his head. “I’m not sure you’ll understand this, Des, but at the time I figured staying quiet was the right thing to do. Sal said if I didn’t squeal on them, he’d make sure my part of the take went to my friend’s mother. She’s a widow woman with three kids. I figured five years wouldn’t be much to pay for my part in his death.”

  “Five years? You said you served three.”

  “Sheriff Pickens back in Longhorn City got me paroled. After I couldn’t find work anywhere, he took me in and let me do odd jobs for him. I asked him once why he did it, and he just said that I got a raw deal. I think he suspected the Lamberts and they probably threw enough money around to add to the suspicion. All I know is, after three years, the judge issued a pardon and released me into Rafe Pickens’s care. Because of him I found a way to earn a living and send my friend’s family money now and then.”

  “So you weren’t in jail for doing anything wrong when I found you, and that’s why the cell was unlocked.”

  Shadow explained why he’d been there.

  “Why do you think Sal Lambert is after you? You kept your word. You never told, even though I’m not sure I agree with honor among thieves.” She looked apologetically at him. “Oh, I didn’t mean you were a thief, I—”

  “I almost was. I just got attacked by a moment of good conscience that ended up saving my life for whatever it is. If I’d used my gun that day, I’d have hung.”

  “You’re a good man, Shadow. I’ll bank my life on it. In fact I have. You’ve had plenty of opportunity to rob me and you haven’t. You’ve done right by your friend’s mother.”

  He
reached up and touched one of the golden tendrils that cascaded from her shoulder. She didn’t push his hand away. “Only you would think so, Des. And I still haven’t gotten you to Jerkwater.”

  “At least I’ll know not to trust anyone named Lambert I meet, although I wouldn’t know him on sight.”

  “Did you get a good look at Cole?”

  “How could I miss? I knocked the man silly in the head.”

  “Saloon Lambert is just an older version, maybe a few inches taller. Has a bully of a voice.”

  “His brother was lying flat when I looked at him,” she reminded. “Saloon? That’s Sal’s real name?”

  “He’s a bit testy about the handle his parents gave him. Something you and I both can understand.”

  “That we can. You still haven’t really answered me about why you think he’s after you.”

  “I heard tell he wants to be somebody important up north and thought well of in the community.”

  “What does that have to do with you?” Curiosity filled her face.

  “I’m the only living link to the robbery. Cole will never tell or he’d implicate himself. That leaves me a loose cannon. Sal’s afraid that with me walking the right side of the law these days, I might just talk and ruin any chances he has to become an upstanding citizen. I don’t know who he’s trying to fool, but it can’t be good for them.”

  “Would you tell?” she asked softly.

  “A man always hopes for redemption. Like I told you before, I don’t make plans. But neither will I run from the reckoning that has been building between us ever since I went to jail. Guess he’s decided it’s time to bury the past.” He stared at her, waiting for any sign of disapproval.

  “Then I’d better get to sleep so you can too. I don’t want you tired when he finds us.”

  Chapter 7

  “Campfire ahead.” Shadow caught wind of an aroma that made his stomach growl its discontent. Someone was cooking on an open fire. The distinct smell of coffee blended with the other appetite-stirring scents urged Shadow’s tongue to flick out and lick his dry lower lip. Just as Dollar carried him and Odessa over a rise in the prairie, a thin wisp of gray smoke and a flicker of firelight captured Shadow’s attention. He drew closer.

  The camper was a lone man with a covered wagon. A tripod with a surveyor’s glass stood a few feet away from the wagon. Shadow let Dollar continue in the same direction. They’d been picking their way in the dark all night. Though she had not complained once, he could tell by the way Odessa kept shifting from one hip to the other in front of him that she was getting saddle sore.

  “You think it’s safe?” Worry echoed in her question. “You don’t think it’s someone after us?”

  “He wouldn’t have taken the time to make a fire, much less coffee.”

  “Not even to draw us in?”

  “I’ll go around him if you want and leave you with Dollar. Then I’ll circle back and check him out. I’ll come get you when it’s safe.”

  “No, stay with me.” Her order came in a rush of breath. “I’d rather stay with you and take our chances.” She took a deep breath and set her shoulders as if gathering her courage. “Coffee sounds good.”

  She was about as much outlaw as he was saint. Couldn’t shoot, couldn’t rope, was afraid of being left alone in the dark. Shadow smiled, enjoying the sense of protection her presence demanded of him. Made him feel good about himself and about what he was doing for her. She was going to be a handful for whichever good man asked her to be his wife.

  “Well, let’s see if he’s hospitable. Keep real close. You take the reins so my gun hand’s ready if necessary,” Shadow whispered in her ear. His other arm remained locked around her waist, his right hand pressing against his leg as if they were sauntering in from a joyride. “Ho the camp!”

  “Come in, pilgrims. Have a cup. Just got it brewed.”

  Shadow went in slow, his eyes searching the immediate surroundings, taking in every detail. “You a surveyor?”

  The man rose from a bent-knee position near the campfire and his hat immediately swept off his slightly balding head and into one hand. “Sorry, ma’am, didn’t see you clearly. I thought you were two fellows riding double. Did your other horse come up lame?”

  After reining Dollar to a halt, Shadow dismounted, then quickly helped Odessa do the same. His hand lingered at her waist for a moment too long, but she didn’t move away. In fact, she turned and pressed her cheek against his chest and said, “Thanks, sweetheart.”

  Shadow returned her hug, taking pleasure in her role playing. “You’re more than welcome, honey.”

  The camper grinned. “Newly married?”

  Shadow reluctantly let go of her to accept the handshake being extended to him by the fellow. “Name’s Rivers,” Shadow introduced himself. “And this is—”

  “His bride,” Odessa interjected, not letting Shadow finish.

  Maybe it was best to keep her real name secret in case the man was a decoy. Shadow followed her evasive lead. “We ran into a little trouble a ways back but looks like a better string of luck finding you here. Coffee smells good.”

  Odessa shook the man’s hand too.

  “Glad to meet you, ma’am. I’m Timothy Hobart. I work for the New York and Texas Land Company.” He motioned toward the cast-iron skillet warming food next to the speckled coffeepot. “Would you folks like to share a meal with me? I haven’t had company for more than a week now. And I have plenty of oats for your horse.”

  “We’d be obliged.” Shadow grabbed Dollar’s reins and led him toward where Hobart had tied off his team. “Darling, you go ahead and fix you a plate. I’ll get Dollar settled.”

  “I’ll fix you one too, honey.” Odessa pressed a hand against her throat and whispered something to the man that Shadow couldn’t quite hear.

  “A gentleman, he is,” Hobart said. “A man who saves the last bite for you thinks more of you than he does himself.”

  So she knew about the jerky. He thought he had been pretty slick pretending to eat, but she proved herself even slicker keeping quiet about her knowledge. Letting him think he was being some kind of hero.

  Shadow kept his attention riveted on Odessa while he settled in Dollar with some water and oats. Like she’d done with him in Longhorn City, she had no trouble striking up a conversation with a stranger, and she was being smart in steering it toward Hobart’s reason for being out on the prairie alone instead of theirs.

  “I’m surveying about a million acres of open range up here in the Panhandle,” the broad-shouldered man informed. “But it’s sad to say they won’t be worth more than fifty cents an acre to homesteaders because water’s so hard to find. Frankly, what water is here has already been claimed mostly.” He started to scoop a tin of food for her, but Odessa told him she could do it herself. Instead, he poured two mugs of coffee.

  While she scooped, he continued with his explanation. “My company has managed to fence off some of it at about four cents an acre for cattlemen to graze their herds on, but it’s going to take some mighty stubborn people to really settle this part of Texas.”

  “Fifty cents?” Shadow’s interest was caught. “A man could build himself a life out here if he knew how to divine water.”

  “Or if he had a good idea of where water was that hadn’t been found yet,” Odessa said softly as he joined them at the fire.

  Could she be thinking the same thing he was? That they had found the ideal spot for settling.

  “If you wanted to buy a certain piece of land”—she scooped beans and cornbread into a second tin, then handed it to Shadow—“how would you go about doing that, Mr. Hobart?”

  Her interest sounded sincere or else she was one hell of an actress. But what if she wasn’t just role playing? For the first time in ten years, he allowed a spark of hope to ignite deep inside him. If a man was willing to make plans, maybe something other than a long ride might always lie ahead of him.

  Shadow accepted the tin and began to eat, his eye
s watching her while he listened to Hobart’s answer.

  “Well, the nearest land office is in Jerkwater, a little town just a few miles west of here. You could probably get there by tomorrow evening if you didn’t stop for anything. The next morning you could go in and circle on a map which acres you have in mind. If they haven’t already been claimed, then you pay the money to the county and they’re yours. Or you can get a loan from the bank as long as you have some money to put down up front. Why? You folks got somewhere particular you’re interested in? Is that what you’re doing out here?”

  Odessa stretched the truth a little. “We weren’t speculating on it at first, but now we think we’ve spotted just the place.”

  “I’m headed to Jerkwater myself soon as I break camp. It will be daylight soon and I have to get on my way. I’d be pleased if you would keep me company. You could give your horse a rest and we could tie him off to the back of the wagon. You could either ride up there beside me and your husband, ma’am, or if you’re tired, we could make you a soft bed in the back of the wagon.”

  “Thank you very much, Mr. Hobart.” Odessa looked up over the rim of her coffee mug. “But I wouldn’t want to be any—”

  “No trouble at all, Mrs. Rivers,” Hobart insisted. “Frankly, I hope to be married soon, and I’d like to ask you a few questions about how a man goes about helping his lady arrange a proper wedding.”

  Shadow thought the man’s offer was a stroke of luck. Now they’d still be able to travel as a couple. Best of all, if someone was out there looking for them or awaiting Odessa’s approach they wouldn’t question two men in a wagon. Probably wouldn’t even try to stop them. Having her ride in the back and get some rest was exactly what they needed. No one would be able to see her.

  “My bride could use some sleep. It’s been a long night.” Shadow noticed the yawn she tried to hide. “When she wakes, she’ll be more than happy to tell you all about how she worked up our wedding.”