Rachel Donnelly

by Lady Broke

  Sending her to Nevada was meant to achieve what his ceaseless preachment had not. But she wasn’t about to give into her father’s bullying. She could be just as stubborn when she wanted to be. If he thought to force her to marry Cavanaugh, he had another thought coming. If only there was a way to change her father’s mind — a way to keep him happy and honor her daughterly duty?

  A low groan brought her back to the present. Uncle Will’s eyelids fluttered opened. “Leigh!” He lifted a hand to the damp cloth on his forehead, blinking as though trying to focus. “Ah lass, it’s you. I dinna remember what put me here, but whatever it was has addled my noggin.”

  “There was a robbery at the post office.” Christie squeezed his other hand. “Don’t you remember? You were hit over the head.”

  “I canna recall.” He attempted to raise himself on one elbow, then winced from the effort, sinking back on the cot with a groan.

  “Don’t move. Just rest for now,” she soothed. “There’s nothing to worry about. Leigh and I will mind the store.”

  “Leigh! Where is he? Is he here?”

  Leigh usually ran the errands in the morning.

  Uncle Will hadn’t said a word, but Christie knew by the set look of his usually gentle features, he was ready to wallop the daylights out of his son.

  “I’ll send him in as soon as he’s free.” After I’ve given him a sound dressing down, she added silently.

  Uncle Will closed his eyes.

  Christie left him to sleep.

  She busied herself straightening the bolts of fabric back on the shelves and refilling the jars of halfpenny candy along the counter, all the while rehearsing the stern speech she intended to deliver to Leigh should he venture to amble his useless body home.

  It wouldn’t hurt to begin with her father’s tardy speech. After an afternoon spent shopping, she and her sisters were often lined up in her father’s study before dinner to listen to him recount the virtues of punctuality. A week later, when he received the invoices from their purchases, they’d be marched right back to the very same spot to listen to the evils of wasteful spending. She knew each of these recitations by heart.

  When Leigh finally did appear, she was caught at a disadvantage, sitting on one of the brine filled barrels with vinegar dripping off her chin. All she could think of was her father’s pickle speech. He’d warned her many times about her preference for sour things. ‘A sour belly makes for a sour girl,’ he’d say. Then he’d ban all pickles from the table for a week.

  “Into the pickles again, I see,” Leigh drawled with his usual coaxing smile. “If I could scare up a lemon, you’d likely go wild.”

  His way of placating her, no doubt. Leigh was a first-rate charmer with an eye for the ladies, including any of Delia Parker’s girls residing above the saloon. His smooth complexion and clear hazel eyes turned many a female head, especially when the sun lit his dark golden curls.

  But Christie was immune to his charms.

  He was like a brother to her, therefore opened to the same censure and criticism as the rest of her siblings. Being the eldest, she’d had plenty of opportunity to offer gentle guidance when required.

  Having finished her pickle, she rose from the barrel to wipe her fingers on her apron. “Where have you been?” Her gaze grazed his lanky frame, bedecked in a single button frock coat and equally immaculate grey trousers. She placed her hands on her hips, giving him the sternest glare she could manage. “Don’t you realize what’s happened?”

  “Of course, I do. It’s all over town. But there’s no need to get all twisted out of shape. From what I hear the Everetts are partial to robbing stages. Now that they’ve got what they want, they won’t be back.” He closed one eye in a long exaggerated wink. “Though the excitement has brought a bloom to your cheeks I see. I do like a girl who knows how to produce a proper blush.”

  “Will you be serious?”

  “I am serious. You’re a tad thin, but the prettiest gal Murdock has ever seen. All the young gents are frothing at the mouth to give you a twirl at the barn raising.” He flashed a bold grin. “I recommend you take advantage of it before they figure out what a stick in the mud you really are.”

  Heat suffused her cheeks. If she was reserved and conservative, it was only because she’d never had the luxury of being otherwise. Playing mother and nursemaid to her two younger sisters since their mother’s death had left no time for selfish pursuits. Coming to Nevada was the closest thing to freedom she’d known. And she planned to make the most of it. But that didn’t include relinquishing good manners and breeding. “Is that all you can think of — dancing! Uncle Will was almost killed!”

  “What?”

  “That’s right, thanks to you and your irresponsible behavior, he was at the post office when it was robbed.”

  “Son of a gun!” Leigh’s face lost all color. His eyes clouded with something akin to guilt. It was gratifying to see he felt some shame for his feckless behavior. After all, it was his fault Uncle Will had been at the post office in the first place. If Leigh had gone to place the order as he should have, it might not have happened. “Where is he? Is he alright?”

  “He’s had a nasty blow to the head, but I’m sure he’ll recover. He’s sleeping in the storeroom.”

  “Thank goodness!” Leigh headed that way.

  When Doctor Richard arrived an hour later, Leigh was still sitting on a chair by his father’s side.

  Christie smiled. It was pleasing to see this protective side of Leigh. Perhaps he truly loved his father after all.

  Aunt Cora’s death last month had been a blow, but certainly no excuse. Postponing studying law to return home to help his father must have made him resentful. Being packed off right along with him had certainly made her so, until she recovered from the shock and realized what a gift of freedom had been bestowed on her.

  Nevertheless, it was time for Leigh to buck up and move on.

  “You’ve got a skull as hard as a rock, Wilfred Wallace,” the doctor said, rising from his chair. He shook his graying head, winking at Christie. “But I knew that before you were lambasted with that pistol. Next time, keep your head down and your mouth shut.”

  Uncle Will attempted a smile, but it came out more like a grimace. “Dinna lecture me, you old fart. I was only doing my civic duty.”

  “Next time, let the law take care of it. That’s why we elected them.”

  “Has anyone ever told you — you have the bedside manner of a jackass?”

  Knowing how much the two old friends enjoyed arguing — especially over checkers, Christie jumped in to end their bickering. “Is there anything more I can do to make him comfortable?”

  “No, he’ll be fine.” Doctor Richards followed her out of the storeroom. But as soon as they were out of earshot, his voice turned cautious. “Wake him every few hours. If he doesn’t respond, send for me right away. I’ll be back in the morning to look in on him.”

  “When do you think he can be moved upstairs?”

  “Tomorrow. In the meantime, nothing stronger than water and a bit of broth.”

  Leigh emerged from the storeroom directly after she’d walked the doctor to the door. “I’ll fetch you a plate of supper from the hotel and bring back a jar of chicken broth for Pa.” He charged out the door without waiting for an answer.

  Hours later, Christie paced in front of the mercantile window, grinding her teeth. Leigh was likely at the saloon. She’d a mind to march right down there and haul him away from the card table by the ears. But respectable young ladies didn’t venture into the saloon. It was a rough place, according to Uncle Will, full of cowpokes, miners, and drifters. He’d warned her never to go there, for any reason.

  Since the jar of chicken broth wasn’t about to grow legs and walk over on its own, she had little choice but to go to the hotel herself. Uncle Will employed a housekeeper to tidy up and do the cooking, but today Mrs. Tilley had the day off.

  Christie sighed. There was no help for it. She’d have
to close the store and go herself.

  Very quietly, she peeped inside the storeroom.

  Uncle Will lay as still as a stone.

  She locked the door, then stepped out into the warm evening air. A burst of red on the horizon was all there was left of the setting sun. A strong scent of sagebrush hung in the air. The milder scent of pine tickled past her nose as she strode along the sidewalk, past the hastily erected buildings of the infant town.

  Laughter and music spilled out into the street under the door of the saloon. Christie gathered her white silk shawl around her shoulders.

  A wave of homesickness washed over her. Life was so different here — so isolated, if not wholly uncivilized. If you walked ten paces past the boundary of Murdock, there was nothing but wilderness. It was half day’s ride to the nearest ranch, and those were few and far between.

  It made her lonely just to think of it. Murdock only claimed seventy-five inhabitants, ten of which were the postmaster’s children.

  The violence of the robbery reinforced the town’s pitiful lack of resources. How could one sheriff, a half-witted deputy, and an untrained posse apprehend three desperate outlaws in the vast emptiness beyond? Isolation put them at a disadvantage.

  The money was good as gone.

  Christie shivered, quickening her pace down the empty wooden sidewalk. Well, there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. She might as well put it right out of her head. She’d told the deputy all she knew. Right now, Uncle Will needed that chicken broth.

  As she passed the dressmaker’s, she spied the figure of a man in a fringed buckskin coat veering toward her from the direction of the saloon.

  Her boots tapped louder on the planks as she hastened toward the hotel.

  His strides seemed to lengthen.

  Her heart thumped as loud as her feet.

  When he halted directly in front of her, it raced like a thoroughbred out of the gate.

  “Evening, Miss Wallace.”

  “Good evening,” she answered politely, moving to brush past him.

  But to her consternation he stepped directly into her path, leaving her no choice but to stop. “I suspect you don’t recognize me, since I’ve shed several pounds of dust and had a close shave. The name’s Nat Randall. We met this morning at the mercantile.” Christie blinked in the gathering darkness through the tunnel of her bonnet, attempting to focus on his face. His hair, from what she could see of it under his grey felt hat, was ink black and curled at the nape of his neck. His fine features and high cheekbones above his straight nose appeared as hard and uncompromising as his tone. The only flaw was a faint half-moon scar from the curve of his bottom lip to the apple of his chin. He was handsome, she supposed, in a rugged sort of way.

  “You’re the bounty hunter,” she said breathlessly. “The one chasing the outlaw.”

  His icy blue gaze sent shivers prickling up her back. “That’s right.”

  Without thinking she blurted out the question she most wanted to know. “Did you catch him?”

  A half smile curved his lips. “Not this time.”

  Her heart sank. Hopefully, her disappointment didn’t show on her face. Then she remembered. “I don’t know if this will help, but I did get a glimpse of his face. If you like, I could describe him.”

  His gaze narrowed. “That won’t be necessary.” His tone hardened. “I know the faces of the Everett brothers like the back of my hand.”

  Her spine stiffened at this harsh tone.

  “I’m much obliged,” he said, not sounding in the least so. “But I wouldn’t go sharing that information.”

  She bristled at his insolent tone. “Whyever not? I’m sure the sheriff will be pleased to know I can identify him if he’s caught.”

  Randall flashed her a mocking smile. “That’s conscientious of you, but not very wise. The only witness at the Everetts’ last trial in Carson City was found dead in a stock-pen the morning he was supposed to testify.”

  Her pulse quickened. “They killed him?”

  “That’s what a bullet through the head does, ma’am.”

  She swallowed hard. “But surely they wouldn’t hurt a woman.”

  “They’d hurt just about anybody who got in their way, whether they were wearing a fancy blue bonnet or carrying a gun.”

  Her knees went weak.

  It felt as though all of the blood was slowly leaving her body. He was right. They were outlaws — cold-blooded killers. They’d do whatever they had to, to save themselves from prosecution, and apparently already had. Still, she had to stand up for what was right.

  At any rate, it was too late. She’d already told the deputy. He would have told the sheriff by now. She couldn’t deny it. That would make her a liar, or at the very least, a hare-brained fool.

  Good gracious!

  What had she done?

  Her knees began to tremble so violently, she feared Randall might hear them knocking beneath her skirt.

  But she refused to let him see her terror.

  She straightened her shoulders, managing a half-watered smile. “Thank you for the warning, Mr. Randall. But I’m not a coward. If I have to choose between myself and doing what’s best for the people of Murdock, I shall choose the latter. My conscience could never allow me to do otherwise.”

  He gave her a long hard look. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but that would make you a damn fool.”

  A spark flashed through her. Just who did he think he was? At least she had the courage to stand up for her convictions. She lifted her chin. “Maybe so, but someone has to bring those men to justice. They almost killed my uncle in the post office today. I would be another kind of fool if I let them get away, allowing them to do that to someone else.”

  A cynical smile spread over his face. “Getting yourself killed isn’t a good way to do it.”

  She sucked in a cleansing breath, then assumed what she hoped was a dignified tone, “You needn’t worry over my safety, I’m sure the sheriff will protect me.”

  He sent her a look of pure condescension. “You haven’t been here long, have you?” His gaze traveled up and down her with insulting familiarity. “No, I can see by that fancy getup you’re an Easterner, and from the nonsense you’re spouting, a real green one at that. So I’ll do you a favor and let you in on a little secret. If the Everett brothers are out to get you, no small town sheriff is going to get in their way.”

  Outrage swelled in her chest, but she willed her voice to calm. “I’ll take my chances,” she told him stiffly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to return to my uncle before he wakes. Good evening.” She inclined her head then marched off toward the hotel.

  Arrogant devil!

  She might be an Easterner, but she knew what was right!

  To her complete surprise and annoyance, he fell into step beside her, reaching in front of her to open the door.

  As she strode past the small round tables spread with neat, white linens, she imagined him sitting down for a meal. But while she waited at the counter for the proprietor to fetch the chicken broth, she turned to find Randall climbing the red-carpeted stairs.

  She’d assumed he would have taken one of the extra rooms above the saloon. They were cheaper and came with the kind of female companionship his type usually desired. Not that she cared whose company he kept. On the contrary, she hoped she’d never have to set eyes on him again.

  His arrogant self-assurance grated on her fiercely. What did he know about justice? He was a bounty hunter, for pity’s sake — a questionable occupation to say the least. He wasn’t a real lawman, simply a contorted version of the real thing. She wasn’t about to let him frighten her.

  But as she hastened back to the mercantile with the jar of warm chicken broth clasped in her hands, his words echoed in her head.

  Her flesh turned cold and her legs began to tremble all over again.

  Not from remembering the day’s events, but from the hardness she’d spied in the cool depths of Nathan Randall’s eyes.


  CHAPTER TWO

  Nat kept one eye on the window and his back against the wall. He was dog tired and impatient to be on his way, but he needed the sheriff’s co-operation to haul the Everetts back to Carson City to stand trial. He didn’t want any loose ends, once they were apprehended.

  Murdock’s jail wasn’t big enough, nor could the sheriff provide adequate protection should the townsfolk decide to take the law into their own hands. He had an obligation to protect his prisoners. But once the trial was over, he’d gladly sit back and watch them swing.

  Sheriff Brimley sat silent at his desk, shuffling through wanted posters delivered that morning by the stage bound for Carson. He studied one black and white sketch after another, dark head bowed, countenance growing increasingly grim.

  A big, solemn-faced man, he had a slow way of talking that might lead a stranger to forget the badge on his lapel. The card cheats in the saloon certainly had. His hands moved so fast and smooth to his gun, the men at the table didn’t have time to stand, let alone draw their six shooters. The dispute ended almost before it began.

  “There aren’t enough walls in this room to pin up all the outlaws in these parts.” The sheriff’s gravelly voice seemed to rumble up from the soles of his boots. “Gold and silver shine brighter than the blistering sun in Nevada, and every man wants a piece of it.” He raised one dark bushy brow, leaning back in his chair. Then his philosophical tone changed to business. “So you’re trailing the Everetts, are you, son?”

  “Yes, sir, I am.”

  “Heard you used to be a Pinkerton man.”

  “I worked for the agency briefly at the end of the war.”

  “Always wondered how a man got involved in work like that.”

  “By accident, usually.” Nat cracked a wry smile, remembering how Senator Mackenzie recruited him. There was no bargaining. Mackenzie took a long draw on his cigar, then told Nat, if he wanted to help his friend keep his home in Charleston, Nat would have to offer something in return. Two days later, Nat was traveling south, under the name of Randall, his mother’s maiden name — a name he used to this day.