by Austin, Lori
Ruth stifled a sigh. She hadn’t seen Leon all week, and that saddened her. But this night was for herself and Noah. Regrets over Leon had no place here.
When they were seated at their table, Noah leaned over. “No one can keep their eyes off of you in that dress. I know I can’t.”
She did feel pretty. Much prettier than she ever had before. Half of the reason was the dress; the other half was Noah. No one, not even Leon, who professed to love her, had ever looked at Ruth the way Noah did—as if the sun set on her, the world began with her, life revolved around her.
Or maybe she was only seeing what she felt, reflected in his eyes.
They ordered wine before dinner, dined on thick steaks and thin-sliced potatoes; then they talked about his job and the people of Kelly Creek. Over coffee and pie, they discussed Tildy and Tim.
“I don’t know if they truly dislike each other or if their sparring is the only way they know of showing affection,” Ruth offered. “They’ve been married longer than I’ve been alive, but they’re still together—in a manner of speaking. They must care at least a little.”
“Perhaps sleeping apart is the key to a perfect marriage.”
“I don’t think so,” Ruth blurted before she realized how unladylike that would sound.
Noah’s slow smile should have made her blush. But with Noah, Ruth felt none of the inadequacy she experienced with almost everyone else.
“I forgot.” Noah reached into his pocket. “One more gift.”
“No, Noah. You’ve given me too much. I can’t see how you can afford what you bought me already on one week’s pay.”
“Amazing what your father’s name will do. I was allowed to put quite a bit on credit.”
“You went into debt over a stupid dress?”
“That dress is anything but stupid.”
The hurt that lurked in his eyes forced Ruth to swallow any further arguments. “Well, whatever else you have you should take back.”
He held up his hand, opened his fingers, and as if by magic a chain unfurled, at the end a heart-shaped stone of—
“Garnet,” she whispered.
“What else? I won’t take it back to the store, and since it certainly wouldn’t look good on me …” He indicated her neck with the flick of one long finger. “May I?”
Mesmerized by the way the candlelight caught the stone and turned it from red to black and back again, Ruth nodded.
Noah stood, moved behind her, and linked the chain about her neck. When released, the garnet heart slid from the hollow of her throat, lower and lower still, until it nestled at the cleft of her breasts.
Noah sat, his gaze on her hotter than the flame of the candle that flickered shadows across his face. “Garnet looks perfect on you, Princess.”
“A stone the color of blood.”
Ruth jumped as Leon took the chair to her left. She’d been so entranced with Noah, she hadn’t seen him approach.
He didn’t even glance at her, staring at Noah instead. “How fitting.”
Whispers rippled through the room, an eerie sound that made the hairs at the back of Ruth’s neck tickle. Folks might be accepting of Noah because her father had chosen him. They might even accept Noah and Ruth together. But if there was a chance for an argument in public, even a fight, they’d watch, then gossip. Because without gossip there was no entertainment in this town at all.
“Sheriff, I haven’t seen you all week,” Noah said. “Been busy chasing bad guys?”
“Very busy.” Leon smiled. Ruth didn’t care for that smile. “But then I found one, so it was worth the trouble.”
Noah lounged in the chair as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Only Ruth could see he’d adjusted his hips, moving his gun closer to his hand. The tension between the two men was as thick as the silence in the room.
“Who did you find?” Ruth asked, trying to dispel that tension with false brightness.
“I found out the truth about Noah Walker.”
A chill chased down Ruth’s spine as Noah raised his hand to his gun.
Chapter Ten
Eyes steady, heart cold, Noah waited for his new world to end. Despite the rampant boredom, he missed it already.
He’d enjoyed walking into a respectable place with a lady on his arm. Being greeted by the people of Kelly Creek as if he were one of them had almost made him believe that he was. Trust Harker to remind him of the truth.
How had the sheriff discovered his secret? He was a much better lawman than Noah had given him credit for.
Ruth’s hand atop his, atop the gun, made Noah aware that he’d been stroking his weapon while he thought. Habit. He wouldn’t shoot the sheriff in front of half the town and Ruth. What good would that do? Harker wasn’t foolish enough to come after Noah alone. The nearest army was probably lined up outside set to blow Noah to hell as soon as he came out the door.
Noah lowered his hand, but Ruth laced her fingers through his and refused to release him even when he tugged. She plopped their hands onto the table, and her grip was stronger than Noah would have believed her capable of.
Harker’s gaze went from their linked fingers to Noah’s face. He didn’t look happy. “Did you think you’d get away with it?”
Noah merely raised his eyebrows.
“After all these years, I’ll make sure you pay.”
The eyebrows fell. All these years?
An exasperated sigh preceded Ruth’s annoyed question. “What are you talking about, Leon?”
“Walker’s past.”
“Could you let me in on the secret?”
“He’s a thief.”
True enough.
“A murderer.”
Direct hit.
“He killed the farmer he was placed out with.”
A complete lie.
But Noah was glad Simon Lane was the issue and not his outlaw past. Perhaps there wasn’t an army outside waiting to blast him to kingdom come, after all.
Noah nearly grinned but managed not to. Such a response was not appropriate after being accused of murder, however false this particular accusation. He knew that much.
“He did not kill that man.” The quiet conviction in Ruth’s voice touched Noah deeply. No one had ever defended him but her.
Their eyes met, and he smiled in gratitude. She squeezed his fingers in acknowledgment. Leon pounded a fist on the table.
“Would you two quit having sex with your eyes?”
Ruth gasped. “Leon!”
“I’m accusing the man of murder, and you’re looking at him as if you remember what he did to you last night.” Anger laced his voice; jealousy twisted his face.
Noah glanced around the restaurant. No one even pretended to eat. Instead, they listened with avid curiosity. “Lower your voice, Sheriff. Is it necessary to have the entire place hear our business?”
“Do you have something to hide?”
“I just want you to leave Ruth out of this.”
“I’d be happy to. Tell me about Simon Lane.”
“You tell us, Leon,” Ruth interjected. “Since you seem to know so much.”
The sheriff practically rubbed his hands together in glee. He’d obviously been dying to spill the story he’d uncovered. Which only meant the story was not to Noah’s advantage. He wasn’t surprised.
“Walker was placed out with Simon Lane. He was supposed to work for him three years in lieu of the jail time he’d have done in New York City for stealing.” The sheriff glanced at Ruth.
She shrugged. “This is nothing I don’t already know, Leon.”
“I’m not finished. Lane had a reputation as a hard man. A brutal man. Indentured servants he brought from Ireland ran off to Indian Territory rather than stay with him. Correct so far, Walker?”
Noah gave a slow nod. “Near enough.”
Mere words could not describe his life with Simon Lane.
“But a year after Walker arrived, Lane was dead.”
“You can’t blame Noah—”
Noah winced. Though in his head he knew Lane had been in the wrong and he had no reason to be embarrassed, he had never wanted Ruth to find out how things had been.
“Is there a point to this story, Sheriff?”
“Did the man beat you?”
Noah shrugged. “I had a smart mouth and mulish streak.”
“Had?” Harker laughed.
“I fail to see anything funny about this, Leon!”
Ruth’s voice, however furious, did nothing to stop the staring contest between Noah and the sheriff. Caught up in their war of words and eyes, they ignored her.
“So Lane beat you—day after day, week after week, for nigh onto a year—until you killed him.”
“Noah?” The anger in Ruth’s voice was gone; instead, his name wavered—full of questions and sympathy.
Ruth put her hand on his shoulder, but Noah shook it off. Right now, with memories of Lane swirling in his mind, the impotent fury of that period in his life pumping once again in his blood, he could not bear to have her touch him.
Back then he’d been treated worse than a horse or a dog, been shown every day that his life was worth little to nothing. The only thing that had kept him from killing Lane had been the memory of Ruth’s adoration, her love, her sweetness, her purity.
“You shot Lane, stole his horse and all his money.”
“Got any proof of that, Sheriff?” Noah knew he did not, since of this crime, at least, Noah was innocent.
Harker scowled. “No.”
“Then why are we having this conversation?”
“Just because the sheriff in that town felt sorry for you doesn’t mean I do. A black eye isn’t an excuse for murder.”
“I never touched him.”
“Then why did you run?”
“Who said I did?”
“When they found his body, you were gone. And no one’s heard of you since. Until now.”
“I saw no reason to stay if Lane was dead. I was old enough to be on my own.”
“But you told me you didn’t leave farming when you turned eighteen.”
Noah had been almost nose-to-nose with Harker. Both of them blinked at Ruth’s words and turned to look at her.
“I did?” Noah asked.
“Yes, when you were—” She broke off and bit her lip, glanced at Leon, and clamped her mouth shut.
Obviously, he’d lied when he’d been shot. At least Ruth knew enough to keep that information from Harker. If the man wanted to convict him for Lane’s murder, he’d be all over the fact that Noah had arrived here with a bullet in his belly.
“When he was what?” Harker demanded.
“I must have misunderstood,” Ruth allowed. “But what’s the difference if he farmed for Lane or someone else?”
“I don’t think he was farming.”
“Oh, that’s right; you think I’m a gunfighter.” Noah laughed. Harker colored when several eavesdroppers at nearby tables laughed, too. “Don’t you think someone would have recognized me by now?”
“Only a man with something to hide could disappear as completely as you did.”
“I didn’t disappear. And I didn’t kill Lane.”
“Then who did?”
“I have no idea.” Another lie, but why stop now? “I was working in the fields, and when I came back, he was dead. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person who hated him.”
“If you’re so innocent, then where have you been for nine years?” Leon glanced at Ruth, then gave Noah a wolfish smile. “We know you weren’t in Kelly Creek every Christmas Eve.”
There was another secret Noah had kept from Ruth. He’d had a good reason. What possible good could it do to tell her about all the Christmas Eves that had gone before when he wasn’t sure if he could stay now? If he had to leave, maybe it was better if she continued to believe that he’d left her behind and never looked back.
But with each passing day, as his hopes became realities and he started to believe he’d be able to stay in Kelly Creek, Noah wanted her to know that he’d never forgotten her.
Noah turned away from Harker and spoke only to Ruth. “December 24, 1868, there was a snowstorm in Kelly Creek. In 1869 there was no snow at all, which was better than 1870, when it rained.” Her eyes grew wide; her mouth hung open. Harker began to curse beneath his breath. “In 1871 the grass was still green; then, in 1872, the drifts were as high as a horse’s chest. In 1873—”
Ruth put her fingertips over his lips. “I get the idea. But why didn’t you let me know you were here?”
He took her hand from his mouth and laced his fingers through hers. “I had nothing to give you.”
“Do you think I would have cared? All I ever wanted was you.”
She’d said the same thing before, but saying it now, after she’d heard how little he’d been valued by everyone else, made Noah believe.
For a moment, there was no one in the world but them. He leaned forward, intent on kissing her the way she liked it best, and their audience began to clap. The sound made them both start, and the rest of the world dropped into place.
The sheriff stood, his chair skidding back and falling over. The clatter emphasized the anger all over his face. “Ruth, you can’t mean you’re still going to let him court you, live in your barn, work in the bank, even when he might be a murderer?”
“He isn’t.”
“Even if he didn’t kill Lane, who knows what he’s done since. He’s been missing nine years. He hasn’t told us where he was except for one day every year. The man’s hiding something. Why else would he sneak around spying on you every Christmas Eve?”
“Spying?” Ruth laughed. “Maybe that’s how you see it. I see it as the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
Harker made a disgusted sound and threw up his hands. “You’re blind, Ruth, completely.”
“Aw, Sheriff, don’t be such a sore loser.” The speaker, John Banyon, was the owner of the town’s newspaper.
“Can’t you see she loves him?” Banyon’s wife asked. With a dreamy smile, she took her husband’s hand. “It’s adorable.”
Harker glanced around the room. So did Noah. From the smiles and the nods, everyone seemed to agree with the Banyons.
Noah was adorable.
“If you want to be blinded by his pretty-boy face and his great big muscles like Ruth is, fine. When someone winds up dead in the street, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Harker stomped outside.
“Looks like you made an enemy in the sheriff,” Banyon observed.
“I think he was my enemy the first moment I met him.”
“No doubt. Leon’s always been a fair man, but he seems to have become a bit irrational on the subject of you.” Banyon glanced at Ruth. “I suspect we all know why.” With a nod, the man returned his attention to his wife.
“Maybe I should go talk to him,” Ruth murmured.
“No.” Noah dropped some money onto the table and drew Ruth to her feet.
“No?”
“You might be blind, but your hearing works just fine.”
As she sputtered, Noah led her out of the dining room. In the entryway, he retrieved their coats and tossed hers around her shoulders.
She shrugged off his help and stomped her foot. “If I want to talk to Leon, I will.”
“I’m sure you will. But not tonight.” Noah held the door open.
Ruth walked through, stopping on the boardwalk and spinning about to face him. “Why not?”
Noah glanced up, then down the street. It was deserted. He’d figured as much. The sheriff had no proof. He’d been trying to rattle Noah by bringing up the past. But Noah had been through worse than Lane, both before the man and after him. Harker would have to do much better than that to rattle Noah.
“Harker’s irrational. Not that I blame him.” Noah swung her
into his arms again. “If I lost you to him, I’d be murderous.”
“Noah! How can you even jest on the subject of murder after what Leon just accused you of?”
“I shouldn’t. You’re right.” He set her in the wagon and climbed in beside her.
Getting Ruth annoyed with him had made her forget any questions about his past. With any luck, she’d stay annoyed long enough for Noah to try to remember what was truth and what was lies. He’d been twisting both for so long, he wasn’t sure anymore if he could recall the difference.
***
Noah remained quiet all the way home, which was fine with Ruth. She was trying to absorb all she had heard tonight.
The bells on Annabelle’s harness seemed to mock her with their cheery tune. Considering Noah’s life, her own was that of a princess. That she’d ever felt sorry for herself—poor, unloved Ruth—was an embarrassment. That Noah wasn’t dead or worse after the life he’d led in New York, followed by his brutal treatment here, was a miracle.
The nerve-wrenching jangling of the bells stopped. Ruth looked up, surprised to discover they were home. Noah didn’t move to help her down. Instead, he contemplated Annabelle’s reins in the palm of one gloved hand.
“I have some questions I’d like to ask you, Noah.”
His lips twisted into a wry half-smile. “I thought that you might.”
“Do you mind?”
“Why would I mind?”
“You certainly danced around Leon’s questions as best you could.”
“Leon irritates the hell out of me.”
“Because he’s a lawman?”
“Because he’s Leon.” Noah took her hand and kissed the palm. “And he’s been able to walk with you down the streets of this town for half of your life.”
Tenderness flooded through her at the expression in his eyes. “You could have walked with me, too, if you’d only stepped out of the shadows and let me know that you were here.”
“I couldn’t. Not then.”
“Why not? You’re here now. My father accepts you. The townspeople like you. Why now and not then?”