As she poured the coffee, they made eye contact. “Since you provided this fine looking breakfast, would you say the blessing, Ramee?” Deep understanding passed between them. He wanted her to know he respected her on a spiritual level, let her know she was an equal, not someone to be preached to. Appreciation showed in her eyes before she closed them, letting him know she understood.
After the grace, everyone seemed in a hurry to finish breakfast and get underway. No wonder since he assured the women Serenity was only two hours away.
He left Ramee and Mrs. Hollingsworth to clean up, while he secured the luggage and hitched the team.
With everyone in place, Josh was about to pull out when a gunshot shattered the air followed by two more in quick secession. Close. In the split second it took Ramee to scream and Mrs. Hollingsworth to yelp, “Mercy,” he sprang into action, pushing Ramee to the floor, none too gently.
“Get down ma’am,” he shouted to Mrs. Hollingsworth, but he wasted his breath since she was already hiding beside the truck.
Josh hit the ground just as another bullet whizzed by his ear. Keeping down, he got his rifle and extra forty-five out of the holding place. He shoved the butt of the rifle in front of Ramee. “Can you shoot?”
Her answer came out as a squeak, but her head bobbed like a sapling in a gale. She was terrified. He hoped she was telling the truth.
He pressed a pistol in her right hand. “Unload this to give me cover, and if anybody gets close to the wagon, use the rifle. Keep your head down, but when I say fire, you start shooting. Backing away, he aimed his Colt toward the trees. The yellowbelly shooter was hiding out there.
Josh shimmied around and spotted the nearest tree with a trunk big enough to shield him. “Fire,” he said it just loud enough for her to hear.
Ramee didn’t hesitate. Pistol shots answered the assailant’s gunfire. She was scared, but not out of her wits. And she knew how to shoot. He hoped he lived long enough to find out why.
He half ran and crawled till he reached the huge oak. At an opening in the trees, he caught a glimpse of the shooter. Dressed in black from boots to hat, the same height and build as Jim Renfro. But something in his stance made Josh think this wasn’t Renfro.
He drew his six-shooter and started firing. The man’s hat went sailing off as he sought cover. Josh didn’t want to waste bullets, so he waited for a clear shot. He was fairly certain there was only one assailant, and Josh could take him, if he dared to show himself.
“Come on out with your hands up,” he yelled.
After waiting for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, he heard the crunching of leaves and a horse’s neigh. In a clearing further off, the man came into view. Out of range. He whipped his horse around and disappeared in the forest. Josh would have gone after the skunk, except he had to stay and protect the two women. Only he had to admit Ramee could probably take care of herself.
A few seconds later, the man in black emerged, sprinting toward Sacramento. Josh fired a couple of more shots to hurry him on.
He waited where he stood until the man was almost out of sight. A couple of minutes later, the polecat disappeared over a rise. Only then did Josh holster his gun and return to the wagon.
Ramee lifted her blonde head, fear still glazing her eyes. “Who was that?”
“I don’t know, but since he’s going back toward Sacramento, we’ll continue on to Serenity and report it to the sheriff.” Poor Rafe thought he’d have an easier job in Serenity. That didn’t seem to be panning out.
Mrs. Hollingsworth hadn’t budged. Ramee leaned over the seat and shook the woman’s shoulder, then raised her gaze to Josh. “I think she’s fainted.”
Josh got the canteen and wet his handkerchief. He handed it to Ramee who was now in the back with the prostrate woman. If that didn’t wake her, being jostled over the log bridge surly would.
The cold, wet cloth brought Mrs. Hollingsworth up, a dazed expression on her face. “What in the world?” The woman’s hands flayed as though trying to find something to hold on to.
“It’s all right. We’re safe now.” Ramee gave Josh a sharp glance. “We are, aren’t we? How much longer did you say it’d take to reach Serenity?”
“About two hours.” As to their safety, he didn’t know.
“Then let’s get underway. I’ll stay back here with Mrs. Hollingsworth.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned and climbed onto the driver’s seat. Ramee was a take-charge type of woman, no doubt about it. And add shooting to her list of talents.
Chapter 14
If Josh hadn’t told her they’d entered Serenity, Ramee would have missed it. There were only a dozen weathered buildings lining a dirt street. He pulled up at the first building.
“The boarding house is at the other end on the right, but I want to see Rafe about that shooting first.”
Ramee heard Mrs. Hollingsworth groan.
Josh set the brake. “It won’t take long. You ladies can stay where you are.”
Ramee was as tired as Mrs. Hollingsworth, but Rafe was the friend Josh had mentioned, which made him someone Ramee wanted to meet. You could tell a lot about a person by their friends. “I’ll go with you.” She hit the ground and stretched her tired muscles.
Josh waited for her on the wooden sidewalk. He opened the door where the words, Sheriff’s Office, were burned into the wooden overhang.
“Howdy, ma’am.” The sheriff came out from behind the small desk, his gray eyes questioning. A wide grin split his mouth when he spied Josh. “Well, come on in. This must be Miss Abbott.”
“Pleased to meet you, Sheriff.” Ramee offered her hand, and it got lost in the sheriff’s large paw.
“Mighty pleased to meet you, Little Lady, but I’d be more pleased if you just call me Rafe.”
“Only if you call me Ramee.” She’d apprised the craggy man and decided there wasn’t much not to like about him.
“We had a bit of trouble on the way here, Rafe.” Josh explained how they’d been shot at.
“You didn’t recognize the fellow?” Rafe asked.
“I thought it might be Jim Renfro, but decided it couldn’t be since he’s in jail.”
Rafe’s brows beetled. “It might have been at that. There was a jail break. Just got word last night.”
Josh’s glance traveled from Rafe to Ramee, then back to Rafe. “A jail break? Renfro escaped? How?”
“Ham, the younger brother, and another fellow busted in, tied up the sheriff and let all three out.”
“Tom?”
“He escaped too.”
Josh’s head fell back. He didn’t have to tell Ramee this wasn’t welcome news.
“There’s a posse already out searching for them. Now that I think of it, I don’t believe it could’ve been Jim out that way where you got shot at. He wouldn’t have been alone, and I expect all of them are on their way to the North woods or even Canada. They’d know every lawman within a hundred miles will be after them.”
Josh slowly shook his head. “They wouldn’t have been on the way to Sacramento for a fact, unless they’ve gone loco.”
Rafe’s gaze slid to Ramee. “I bet that was a scary experience for you, Miss Ramee.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Josh stopped her. “Oh, I’ve got to get Ramee and her chaperone to the boarding house, Rafe. They’ve been through enough for one day.” He pressed his hand on the small of her back to urge her to the door.
He wasn’t inconsiderate at all. She appreciated his protective ways, and what if he had been an outlaw at one time. It was obvious he was working on the right side of the law now.
She was on the threshold when Rafe called out. “When’s the wedding?”
Ramee froze. She didn’t remember a proposal and wondered how Josh would get out of this. “We haven’t set a date yet, Rafe,” he said, his look asking her not to deny it.
“You know I’ll stand up with you.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone else
to.” Josh almost pushed her on out the doorway.
She already knew him well enough to tell he didn’t want to discuss marriage at the moment, so she didn’t mention it.
He took Ramee and Mrs. Hollingsworth to the rooming house and secured their rooms, and though Ramee was willing to let others think he was her fiancé, she insisted on paying for the accommodations herself. She’d have to hear the “I do” before becoming indebted to him.
Mrs. Hollingsworth went up to their room with the clerk who carried their luggage, but Ramee hung back. She and Josh might not be engaged, might not ever marry, but new feelings had crept in while she hadn’t been aware. Concern for his safety. She wasn’t entirely sure that shooter wasn’t after her, but more likely, his target was Josh. But why? Before they parted, she wanted Josh to reassure her she was mistaken.
She scurried along behind as he strode toward the door. “Are you going to see your grandmother now?”
He turned and set his hat in place. “As soon as I leave the wagon at the livery and get Hercules saddled.”
“I’m going with you.”
“I’ll take you later, Ramee. You must be tired of traveling and…anyway I don’t know what I’ll find out there. My cousin might have taken refuge at Granny’s.”
That didn’t change Ramee’s mind one bit, but there were better ways to win an argument than by arguing. “Where will we take meals? The boardinghouse doesn’t look large enough to have a restaurant.”
He nodded for her to go outside and pointed across the street. “Lil’s Place.” Lil’s Rafe’s wife.”
She squinted to make out the sign hanging from the building. “Do you have time to introduce me?”
He flexed his biceps and gazed down the street. “I recon I have time for coffee before I leave.”
She tried to match his long strides as they crossed the road. Inside the diner, the smells of baking filled the air. Spice cake, unless Ramee missed her guess. Red checkered oilcloths covered a half dozen or so tables. It was a small eatery. At this time of morning there were no customers.
Josh called out, “Lil, are you back there?”
A stout woman with brown hair piled high atop her head burst through the swinging doors. Her gray dress was all but covered in a white apron, and she strangled a striped towel in her hands. Her green eyes lit at the sight of Josh, a smile creasing her ruddy cheeks.
“Josh, you’re back already.” Her gaze fell on Ramee.
“Lil, this is Ramee Abbott, just arrived from Massachusetts.”
Lil stretched out a chapped hand. “Rafe told me all about your intended. Welcome to Serenity, Ramee, and congratulations to you both.”
Ramee sent a guarded look toward Josh from under her lashes. Apparently everyone thought she and Josh were already engaged.
His discomfiture was evident. “Could we get some coffee, Lil?”
Lil slapped her hands to her hips. “Sure thing. You want anything to eat with it?”
“Not me,” Josh said. “Ramee fixed us a big breakfast out on the trail. Maybe she’ll tell you how to make her apple and cheese biscuits.”
Ramee grinned. “Very simple fare, I assure you. I just threw together what we had.”
“It was the best breakfast I’ve had in a while.” So he had noticed her cooking. There was a note of sincerity in Josh’s words that touched her. She’d never cooked for a man before. That he bragged about her cooking to an experienced cook made her giddy and set her mind to planning. She’d pay attention to his tastes and create new dishes for him.
“We’ll have to get together on that recipe, Ramee. Have a seat, folks. I’ll be back in two shakes.”
After Lil served the coffee and hurried back to her work, Josh sipped his coffee. Ramee read worry in the lines around his eyes. “Get the other horse saddled and let me go with you. If you’ll give me a little time to change clothes, I promise it won’t take long.”
Josh set his cup down and grimaced. “I won’t take the chance of you getting hurt. That incident out on the trail was enough for me.”
She smiled. “I can shoot.”
The firm line of his mouth relaxed. “You can for a fact, and I want to hear that story sometime. I’ll take you to see Granny later.”
Yes, she’d have to tell him. Before he got too used to the idea of marrying her, he ought to know what he was getting. In a way, her past was more sordid than his. “Ever since you told me how you and your cousin went to stay with your grandmother, I’ve been thinking about my grandmother. I never appreciated her enough. When I moved in with her, I was so hardened at the time, I didn’t notice how caring she was—until it was too late.”
Emotions long since buried welled in her, and she felt the burning of tears at the backs of her eyes. She lifted her cup and drank, too much, too fast. The hot liquid scalded her throat. She closed her eyes, and a tear trickled down her cheek. She hadn’t expected to get this sentimental.
Josh wiped the moisture with his thumb. Her lids flew open and the tenderness she saw in his eyes brought up more tears. “I want to meet your granny because she reminds me of my own grandmother who took me in when she didn’t have to.”
His hand dropped on the table. “All right. Finish your coffee—more slowly. It’ll take me half an hour to get the horses ready. Can you be ready then?”
She laid her hand on top of his. “I can.”
He dropped a coin on the table and left. She watched him from the window as he crossed the street. Tall. Straight. Noble. There was another reason she wanted to go with him—they’d be alone together.
She was already caring too much for this man, trusting him. But could she trust him with her secrets? She blew on the still hot coffee and tried to cobble some way to tell him about how she came to be with her grandmother.
Memories buried long and deep surfaced. Her mother had taught her to shoot in the early morning hours in the woods in back of the brothel that was their home. Ramee remembered the bitter cold of February, and the urgency of her mother’s voice. She didn’t have to ask why she must learn to use firearms, or why Mama could. It was necessary for survival.
Malcolm, the brothel owner, was a brutal man, motivated by nothing but money and fear. And he’d already noticed Ramee was growing up. Her mother laid plans for her escape, and Ramee both longed and feared for the day those plans would be put into action.
On the appointed day, Mama had shaken her awake before the cock crowed. “Wake up, Ramee. It’s time for you to go.”
Dressing in the dark, she went through the rehearsed plan while her mother readied the things she’d take with her. She’d known this day would come, but fear hung thick in the air, making it hard to breathe.
Mama pulled open a curtain and a shaft of streetlight revealed her swollen, bruised face.
“You’ve been injured.” Ramee pulled her back. How could she leave now? Malcolm had done this.
But Mama would brook no argument. The plan for Ramee to go to her grandmother in Philadelphia would be carried out. “I’ll be fine. Here are the tickets and money and…your pistol is in your reticule.”
Ramee hesitated. She’d never been further than the back woods in all her thirteen years. “Go.” Mama pushed her, and she felt her way to the door. Her hand touched the cold knob.
“Ramee.” Her mother’s words stopped her. “Your father was a great man.”
Surprise overcame fear, and Ramee whirled around. Her mother had never mentioned her father, and Ramee had never asked, afraid to know the truth. Deep inside, she feared he was Malcolm.
Mama closed the distance between them. “He was killed in the war, but he was acclaimed for more than that. If I gave you his name, you’d recognize it instantly.”
“Who?”
“I won’t say for his sake…and yours. But never forget you have the blood of greatness running in your veins. No one can take that from you.”
“But why—”
“I loved him and he loved me. Now go.”
; Her mother had reached around her to open the door and shoved her into the dark hall.
“Would you like some more coffee?” Ramee jumped at Lil’s question. She’d been so deep in thought she’d not seen the woman approach. “Or maybe one of my famous teacakes?”
“Thank you, no. I have to go. Josh is taking me to see his grandmother.” She wouldn’t tell Lil why he was going, or that she’d wheedled him into it. Lil might not know about the trouble with Tom, and it wasn’t Ramee’s place to tell her.
Lil gave her a knowing grin. “Is that right? Give Granny my regards. I need to get up there to see her soon. Poor thing can’t get out much anymore.”
Ramee pressed a napkin to her lips as she rose. “I shall. Mrs. Hollingsworth and I will probably dine here tonight.” She glanced at the wall clock hanging above the exit. Barely enough time to change her dress to one more suitable for riding astride.
Chapter 15
Ramee opened her trunk and flung clothes all over the bed, intent on finding her full forest green skirt and white shirtwaist. They were at the bottom. Why was it you found the thing you searched for at the last place you’d expect?
Like finding your husband three thousand miles from home.
With little time to dress, she moved as quietly as a cat stalking its prey. If Mrs. Hollingsworth awoke, she’d demand explanations and follow that up with a lecture about going out with a man alone. But this wasn’t Cambridge. The people in this small town were too busy to start a scandal. Besides, they all thought she and Josh were engaged.
She had no intention of setting them straight. There’d be time enough to explain if Josh wasn’t the man for her. Right now she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. She couldn’t make any decisions until she knew everything about him, everything about his past and his family. And tell him about hers.
The Annex Mail-Order Brides: Preque (Intrigue Under Western Skies Book 0) Page 17