A Borrowed Dream

by Amanda Cabot

  Enright raised his right hand, displaying the gun that had been hidden by the table. “I make the rules here. If I tell you to dance on the table, you’ll do it, or the girl will pay the price. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” Catherine turned slowly, trying to ignore the cool appraisal Enright was giving her. This was worse than the way Uncle Charles had leered at her. She could almost understand lust, but Enright’s scrutiny was devoid of passion. He was assessing her as he would have a piece of furniture, searching for flaws. His gaze made Catherine uncomfortable, a fact she was certain brought him satisfaction.

  “You can sit down now. You and the girl. I just wanted to ensure you knew who was in charge.”

  When her eyes met his, Catherine tried to keep her face impassive, even as ripples of horror made their way down her spine. Enright’s eyes told her he had no intention of releasing her or Hannah. Once Austin had performed the surgery, Enright or Tucker would kill them. They’d need to keep Austin alive until Enright’s face had healed, because someone would need to change the bandages and apply the salve, but Catherine and Hannah were disposable. That meant she had to take action before Austin arrived.

  Catherine glanced around the room. There had to be a way to get Hannah to safety. Without her, Enright had limited leverage over Austin. She would worry about how to alert Austin once Hannah was out of the cabin.

  She kept her voice as calm as if she were discussing the weather. “No one’s challenging you, Mr. Enright, but Hannah is tired. Would you mind if she lies on the bed?” Catherine wouldn’t think about the critters that might have nested on the cot. All that mattered was saving Austin’s daughter.

  “Suit yourself.”

  She turned her attention to Hannah. “It’s time for your nap.”

  When Hannah started to protest, Catherine gave her head an infinitesimal shake, and the girl nodded, remembering Catherine’s admonition to obey her. “All right, Miss Whitfield.”

  “Do you want me to tell you a story?” Catherine accompanied her word with the tiniest of nods.

  “Yes, please, Miss Whitfield.” Hannah was playing her part well.

  “Is that necessary?” Enright’s voice held more than a note of annoyance.

  Catherine turned and gave him her most guileless expression, grateful that the man had no children and didn’t realize that most six-year olds did not take naps. “I’m afraid it is. I’ll speak softly, though. She’ll fall asleep faster that way and won’t cause you any trouble.”

  When he was once more seated, she began. “Once upon a time there was a princess, a very pretty princess.” With each phrase, she lowered her voice. Keeping the gentle cadence of the fairy tale, she said, “I need you to be very brave, Hannah. I’m going to try to get the window open. If I do, I’ll help you climb out. You’ll fall, but you won’t be hurt. It’s only a short distance. When you land, stand up and run as fast as you can to the woods out back. I want you to hide there until your father or I call you.” She cupped Hannah’s cheek, then bent over and gave her a soft kiss. “Now it’s time to pretend you’re asleep.”

  Catherine turned and walked slowly toward the table. Brushing her hand across her forehead, she said, “It’s awfully warm in here. May I open the window?”

  Enright shrugged. “You might as well. The doctor will need hot water for the surgery. That’s why I had Tucker fire up the stove.” He glanced at the stove and the two big pots of water that simmered on top of it. Several split logs were stacked on one side, while a rusted bucket held kindling. “There’s no reason why you can’t be comfortable. Now that the whelp’s asleep, you and I can get to know each other better.”

  Though his words were ordinary, the leer that accompanied them sent shivers down Catherine’s spine. Gone was the cool appraisal he’d given her before. Now his eyes were glazed with lust. She wouldn’t think about what he intended to do. What mattered now was Hannah.

  Catherine returned to the cot and bent down, pretending to check on Hannah as she whispered, “It’s time. Get ready.” She straightened up and fumbled with the window sash, waiting until Hannah was crouched in front of her before she flung it open. With one quick movement, she pushed Hannah through the opening. Perfect! The girl had rolled a few feet from the cabin, but was now upright and running toward the trees.

  Slowly, as if nothing had happened, Catherine turned toward her captor. She saw the instant his brain registered the empty cot. Rage colored his face, destroying the image of a cultured businessman. At this moment, he was nothing more than an angry man.

  “No!” he bellowed, the word echoing through the cabin as he raised his revolver and pointed it at Catherine. “You’ll pay for this.”

  29

  Tucker whistled a happy tune. It was a mighty fine day. Enright was pleased with him. Why wouldn’t he be? Tucker had succeeded where the others had failed. He’d discovered where Austin Goddard was hiding, and he’d brought the brat and the schoolmarm to his boss. Now all he had to do was get the doctor. That would be as easy as fleecing a minister. Once the doc heard where his daughter was, he’d do whatever Tucker said.

  He grinned and started whistling a new song. It sure was nice to have the upper hand. That high and mighty doctor would bow down to Tucker if he told him to. Just the thought made him grin again. Before they left the doc’s ranch, he’d do that. He’d make the man bow. Better yet, he’d make him kneel in the dirt. Yes, sirree. Today was a mighty fine day.

  Tucker was still grinning as he approached the point where the road to the cabin joined the one that led to Boone’s farmhouse, but his grin faded when he spotted the man on horseback. He didn’t have time to talk to that sniveling farmer.

  “Howdy, Boone,” he called out. He’d keep riding. Whatever the man had to say, it couldn’t be important. What was important was fetching the doctor and keeping Enright happy.

  “Not so fast.” Boone reined his horse in front of Tucker’s. “You got somethin’ of mine, and I want it.” The farmer’s words were slurred, telling Tucker he’d spent too much time at the saloon. What a fool! Tucker had known from the beginning that Boone wasn’t able to handle his liquor like a man. The way he was swaying made it look like he was about to fall off his nag.

  “What do you want?” Tucker tried to edge by Boone, but his horse wouldn’t budge.

  “The money you done promised me.”

  Money. Of course. That fool farmer had probably spent everything he had on whiskey—cheap whiskey—and now he wanted more. “The week’s not over,” Tucker said firmly. Time was a-wasting. He needed to get this settled and get to the ranch.

  “No, it ain’t,” Boone agreed, “but the price went up. Seein’ as how you got somebody else livin’ there, I figger it’s only fair you pay me more.” He wobbled in the saddle, obviously having trouble maintaining his balance.

  Tucker glared at the farmer. He’d needed him once, but he didn’t need him now. “You’re right. I do owe you something.’”

  Before Boone had a chance to recognize the danger, Tucker pulled out his revolver and shot him in the gut. Good riddance. As the farmer toppled off the horse, Tucker laughed. “You ain’t dead yet, but purty soon you’ll wish you was.”

  “You let her go!” Enright glared at Catherine, his eyes narrowing as he considered his options. “I ought to kill you right now.”

  His words confirmed what she had suspected, namely that he planned to kill both her and Hannah as soon as the surgery was complete. “If you do that,” she said as calmly as she could when a gun was pointed directly at her heart, “you’ll have no hold over Austin. The fact that you had Hannah and me kidnapped tells me you realized the only way Austin would help you is if you coerced him.”

  The look Enright gave her was designed to strike fear into the recipient’s heart. It was cold, steely, and promised no mercy. No wonder the man was as successful as he was. He’d mastered the art of intimidation. Though she was trembling internally, Catherine refused to cower. She kept her gaze focused
on him while she said a silent prayer for deliverance.

  “You’re two of a kind, aren’t you?” Enright demanded. “You and the doctor think you’re smarter than me. Let me tell you something, schoolmarm. No one’s smarter than Sherman Enright.”

  Underneath all his fancy clothes, Sherman Enright was nothing but a bully. She’d dealt with them before, both as a teacher and earlier when she had been a pupil. There was no point in trying to fight with a bully. Since she wasn’t big enough to intimidate him, Catherine had to outsmart Enright. If she could distract him, she might be able to reach the door.

  “The evidence would seem to refute that allegation,” she said, infusing her words with sarcasm. If she could make him so angry at what she was saying that he didn’t notice that she was moving, she might have a chance. It was a small chance, but even a small chance was better than none at all.

  “Big words don’t scare me.”

  She took another step forward. The table that separated them was only a foot away now. “Nothing scares you, does it, except for the thought of spending the rest of your life behind bars?”

  Another step. She’d need to do more than run. Positioned as he was between her and the door, he’d stop her before she reached safety. She needed to slow his progress. There was only one way.

  Catherine placed her hands on the edge of the table and sneered at Enright. “That’s where you’ll be. Behind bars. I doubt you’ll be so brave then.”

  “Why, you little . . .”

  He cocked the gun. It was time. With all her might, Catherine shoved the table.

  She’d be here soon. Austin smiled as he sat on the front porch waiting for the woman he loved. Mrs. Moore was right. He was lovesick. Even when he’d been courting Geraldine, he hadn’t felt this way. He’d loved his wife, but it had been a different kind of love. What he felt for Catherine was stronger, more intense than anything he’d ever experienced. It was wonderful and frightening at the same time. In just a few months she had become the most important part of his life. Soon . . .

  The sound of hoofbeats brought Austin back to the present, and his heart leapt at the thought that Catherine was here. But instead of a buggy, he saw a solitary rider racing down the lane. Austin narrowed his eyes, wondering who was in such a hurry to pay a visit. When he’d practiced medicine, he’d grown accustomed to people knocking on his door at all hours of the day and night, desperate to have him rush to an ailing person’s bedside, but there was no reason for such haste here. Other than Catherine and Grace, no one knew he was a doctor.

  The feeling of uneasiness that had swept over Austin intensified. He didn’t recognize the horse, and the rider was too far away for him to identify him. Probably a stranger, but that made no sense. Why would a stranger be coming here and at such a pace?

  Austin rose and entered the house to retrieve his rifle. Though Texans were noted for their friendliness, it never hurt to be prepared, especially when his instincts told him this was not an innocent visit. He’d never killed a man, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to break that record, but he needed the reassurance of a weapon in his hand.

  Feeling more confident, Austin returned to the porch and waited. It took only seconds before his stomach roiled. He never forgot a face, not even one as ordinary as this man’s. Austin’s worst fears had come true.

  “What are you doing here, Tucker?” It was a rhetorical question. There was only one reason one of Sherman Enright’s minions would be in Cimarron Creek.

  The man reined in the horse and grinned at Austin. “That ain’t no way to greet a friend.” He pointed his own weapon at the rifle. “You might as well set that down. You ain’t gonna need it where you’re goin’. Mr. Enright don’t take too kindly to weapons in the operating room.”

  It was worse than Austin had thought. Not only had Tucker found him, but it sounded as if Enright himself was in Texas. Not once had Austin considered the possibility that Sherman Enright would leave his comfortable home to search for him. The fact that he had must mean that the situation in Philadelphia had become too dangerous for Enright to remain there. That would make him a desperate man, and Austin knew that the only thing predictable about desperate men was their unpredictability.

  Forcing back thoughts of what a desperate Sherman Enright might do, Austin kept his voice level. “I’m afraid you’ve both wasted your time coming to Texas. I already told Enright I wouldn’t do what he asked.”

  Tucker’s grin broadened, his smirk announcing that he was enjoying the situation. “I reckon you’re wrong. If you want to see that girl of yours and the schoolmarm again, you’d better collect those doctorin’ things of yours and come with me.”

  Austin had always believed “blood running cold” was nothing more than a colorful phrase some people used to describe deep emotions. As Tucker’s words registered, he knew it was more than a phrase. His blood did chill at the thought that the two people he loved most were in the hands of a ruthless man like Sherman Enright.

  Dear Lord, don’t let it be true. But Austin knew that it was true, just as he knew that he would do everything in his power, including performing the surgery he’d once refused to consider, to keep Catherine and Hannah safe.

  “You’d better hurry up, doc.” The self-satisfied note in Tucker’s voice infuriated Austin almost as much as the knowledge of what this man had done. “Mr. Enright ain’t one to wait long. If we ain’t at the cabin soon, he just might take it into his mind to get to know the schoolmarm better . . . if you know what I mean.”

  Austin knew exactly what Tucker meant. As his mind blurred with images of Sherman Enright’s hands on Catherine, he took a deep breath and forced the images away. Anger solved nothing. What he needed was a plan, for one thing was certain: he couldn’t—and he wouldn’t—let anything happen to either Catherine or Hannah. With God’s help, he would rescue them, but to do that, he needed to know where they were.

  “You win,” he said, feigning surrender. Tucker wasn’t very bright, but he obviously liked the idea that he had the upper hand. That was probably part of the reason he’d remained on his horse, so that he could look down on Austin. Austin would play to that. As casually as he could, he asked, “Where are we going?”

  “Just a piece up the road. Boone Dalton’s got a mighty fine cabin waitin’ for us.”

  Austin doubted that anything belonging to Boone Dalton was fine, but he gave thanks that Enright hadn’t taken Catherine and Hannah too far from town. That could be a crucial point in the plan that had begun to take shape in his brain.

  He turned toward the front door. “It’ll take me a couple minutes to get everything together.”

  Tucker seemed uncomfortable with the idea of Austin entering the house alone. “I reckon I oughta come with you.”

  Austin couldn’t let that happen. “Suit yourself,” he said as if it made no difference to him, “but if I’m talking to you, I might forget to pack something important. You don’t want that, do you?”

  The man shook his head. “Make it quick. Mr. Enright ain’t too patient.”

  Nor was Austin, not when his loved ones were in danger. Though his medical bag was hidden in his room, his first stop was the kitchen.

  Mrs. Moore looked up from the carrots she was peeling. “I saw you had a visitor. Is he staying for supper?”

  “No.” Austin laid his index finger across his lips. If Mrs. Moore cried out at his news, Tucker might hear her. “I don’t have time to explain now, but that man is a criminal from Philadelphia. His boss, who’s even more dangerous, is holding Hannah and Catherine hostage in a cabin on the Dalton farm.”

  Though his housekeeper’s eyes widened with shock and she gripped the counter to keep from falling, she said only, “What do you want me to do?”

  “Do you know where the cabin is?”

  Mrs. Moore nodded. “Kevin told me about it. It’s on the far corner of the property.”

  “I’m going to try to rescue them, but I may need help. As soon as I leave, I want you to g
o into town. Tell Travis and his deputy about the cabin and that it’s a matter of life and death.”

  When Mrs. Moore nodded her understanding, Austin sprinted to his room and grabbed his medical bag. Carrying it and the rifle, he rejoined Tucker.

  “I tole you, you ain’t got no need for that rifle.”

  Austin had no intention of relinquishing it. Only a fool would face Sherman Enright without some form of protection, and Austin was not a fool. “This is Texas, not Philadelphia,” he informed the ruffian. “There are poisonous snakes and wild boars called javelinas. A man does not ride without a weapon.”

  Though Tucker appeared dubious, the threat of wild animals seemed to convince him. “Don’t try nothin’ funny. I’ll be right next to you with my gun pointed at you.”

  Austin nodded and mounted his horse. Fortunately, he’d kept Dusty saddled when he’d returned from the range. At the time, he had intended to accompany Catherine back to town so they could spend some time together. Now Dusty would be part of what he hoped would be a rescue mission.

  Austin looked at the man riding by his side. The gun in Tucker’s hand didn’t worry him. Though Tucker might threaten him, he knew the man wouldn’t shoot him until he’d performed the surgery. That was the reason Tucker and Enright were in Texas. They needed Austin, at least for the next few days, but they did not need Hannah and Catherine. From everything Austin had heard about Sherman Enright, he might kill them out of sheer orneriness even before the operation was complete. Austin could not allow that to happen.

  Travis and his deputy would come. Austin knew that. What he didn’t know was when. It was possible both men were out of town dealing with other crimes. Austin needed to do whatever he could as quickly as possible, but he knew the odds of overpowering two armed men were slim. Somehow, he needed to disarm Tucker. But how?

  “That schoolmarm is a mighty purty gal,” Tucker said as they rode toward the Dalton farm.

  Though the words were meant to goad him, Austin refused to respond. He needed to focus all his attention on finding a way to disable Tucker. Show me the way, Lord. He prayed more fervently than he had in years, knowing that he could not accomplish anything alone. Show me how to save Catherine and Hannah.