Mama gave Pearl a warning look with her eyes before offering Papa a smile. The elbow that had nudged her became a solid object wedged tightly against Pearl’s ribs.
Despite this, Pearl repeated her statement. Frank would be proud that she’d finally stood up to Papa. Now to survive his response.
Kind eyes narrowed until Papa wore his most impatient look. “Don’t be foolish, Pearl. Your life in Denver will be far better than—”
“But I don’t want that life,” she interrupted. “Just because you and Mr. Wyatt had a falling out, that doesn’t mean I can’t marry Deke someday like both families planned. I’m sure he’d say that himself if he were here.”
Her father instantly looked apoplectic. Rather than back down, Pearl stood her ground. Figuratively, of course.
“That boy hasn’t given you or his father’s ranch a second thought in years,” he sputtered. “The minute Zebediah let that boy go off to Harvard like his mama’s people, I knew he’d never be back. He’s only come back to Polecat Creek Ranch to settle his father’s affairs.”
“May Zebediah rest in peace,” Mama murmured beside her.
“Mark my words,” he continued after giving Mama a nasty look. “He’ll be off and gone before the ink has dried on the last document. That boy is as stubborn and as shortsighted as his father was.”
Pearl shook her head and once again looked to the hills. Hills where the Wyatts’ ranch was nestled. Then her father’s words hit their target.
Deke was home. “Oh, Papa. You must let me out of this train. If Deke has come back, then he’s come back for me. I’m certain of it.”
“That is quite enough,” Mama said.
“Indeed,” her father echoed.
“But he promised,” she insisted. “The last time I saw him he said…”
Pearl clamped her lips shut. What transpired between her and Deke Wyatt was not for her parents to know. Every moment of that last conversation, held beneath the stars at Polecat Creek Ranch, was committed to memory.
Everything from the way he teasingly called her Princess to the streak of a shooting star that lit the sky between them. She could recollect it all with complete accuracy.
Deke had smiled in that slow, lazy way he had, and he’d said something about making a wish. She’d been much younger then, just a girl of not quite thirteen whose main connection to the older boy was a shared love of horses and a family history that had been tangled up for years, but she’d known exactly what to wish.
I wish Deke would kiss me and then ask Papa if we can marry.
A bold wish for certain, especially since Deke was on his way to Harvard while she was barely out of the nursery. Of course, she hadn’t meant right then. She could certainly wait until she was a more acceptable seventeen or eighteen, although the waiting would be absolutely awful.
“What did you wish?” Deke had asked.
So Pearl told him, not knowing how he would respond. To her surprise, he merely nodded. “Perhaps someday, Princess,” he said. “For now you’ll have to wait.”
With her twenty-second birthday looming, she was still waiting. And the waiting was still awful. She’d just written her dear friend Frank about that very thing. The girls had become fast friends in their first year at Wells College, bound as they were by romances held in secret and love that was as yet unrequited.
Now that they were young women no longer bound by the schoolroom, it appeared Frank would be getting her wish. Pearl sighed. Perhaps someday she would as well.
“What did the Wyatt boy promise?” Papa demanded in that tone he usually reserved for his employees at the paper mill.
“Nothing of consequence,” she told him as she pushed her reverie away. “I was a child, after all.”
It wasn’t true exactly; she hoped the answer would serve to soothe Papa’s irritation. His expression quickly told her it had not.
“You were old enough,” he snapped. “All those hours of horseback riding that your mother allowed while she visited over at the Wyatt ranch? Surely our trust in him was not misplaced.”
Mama’s expression told Pearl she wasn’t pleased at being named in this manner. Her mother held her tongue. Pearl, however, could not.
Pearl squared her shoulders and straightened her backbone then looked her father in the eyes. “Those hours were spent exactly as you were told. Deke is an expert horseman. I love to ride, as you well know, and he was most informative in teaching me to be adept on horseback.” She paused. “Now, Papa, I understand it is your wish that I marry your Denver associate, but I must know something first.”
Her father’s brows rose. “And what would that be?”
“Did Deke ever ask you for my hand? I know you’ve had some silly disagreement with his family, but when something is meant to be, those sorts of disputes mean nothing.”
A deep scarlet flooded her father’s cheeks above his whiskers. Rather than respond, he appeared to sputter. Pearl sat back and averted her eyes.
She’d truly done it now.
“Look at me,” he demanded. When Pearl complied, he continued: “What transpired between me and Zeb Wyatt is none of your business, nor is it for you to determine the character of the disagreement between him and me. As to the eldest Wyatt boy, no, he never made a request of your hand. Nor will he.”
Papa paused and took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “Now, you will answer honestly and immediately. Has the Wyatt fellow made any improper advances or contacted you in any way in these past few years? To the point, did he make any promises or compromise you?”
“He did not,” she managed, her voice barely above a whisper as tears blurred the edges of her vision.
“And he will not.” Papa’s fingers fisted on his knees. “Just so I understand completely, did he pay you any visits while you were away at school?”
Again she had to admit the truth, though it stung. The main reasons she insisted on attending Mama’s alma mater, Wells College in upstate New York, were its distance from Papa and its closer proximity to Deke Wyatt.
“He did not,” Pearl said, though she would never tell Papa it was despite the fact she’d certainly invited him to do so in a letter sent to Deke at his grandfather’s law firm.
Papa seemed to search her face as if looking for signs of deception. Finally, he nodded. “Then this discussion is at an end. The name of Wyatt will never be said in my presence again.”
Her father gave her one more look and then picked up his paper. Mama, however, dug her elbow into the tender spot between two of Pearl’s ribs and leaned in close.
“But why?” Pearl asked as tears shimmered.
Papa lowered the paper just enough so that his eyes were now on her. “Because it is none of your concern. Nod if you understand, and then do not speak again until you are spoken to.”
Pearl nodded as she dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. She understood, all right.
However, believing she would actually be required to put on that dress and wed herself to a stranger nearly old enough to be her father was another thing entirely. And all because of some silly misunderstanding between Papa and Mr. Wyatt, Sr.
Mama pulled her elbow away as the train lurched forward. Pearl inhaled sharply and gave those hills one last long look as they disappeared from sight. If the Lord was going to do something, He needed to be quick about it.
And then, just like that, the train’s whistle blew as the brakes squealed. Papa’s brows rose. “Now that’s strange,” he said to Mama. “We’ve only just left the station. Why in the world would the train be slowing down?”
Pearl hid her smile as her parents moved toward the window and she headed the opposite direction. While her father exclaimed something about train robbers and Mama swooned, Pearl inched toward the exit. As the train lurched to a stop, she fled to the corridor. A few more steps and she found the door that led to freedom.
Gathering her skirts, Pearl climbed down the narrow metal steps. The distance to the ground was still a bit more t
han she liked, but she jumped anyway. Landing in a puddle of skirts, she scrambled to her feet, while on the other side of the train whoops and shouts echoed.
Only then did she realize the gravity of the situation. The Lord might have orchestrated her escape, but it appeared she had stepped right into the midst of a train robbery.
Without considering what a lady would do, she picked up her skirts and ran for those same hills where she’d expected her help to come from. With each step, the noise of the commotion on the other side of the train quieted just a bit.
Once she put the train and all its noise behind her, she found that the hills had indeed sheltered help. For right there tethered to a tree was a decent-looking horse and wagon that would make a perfect means of escape.
She knew just where she’d go. Just on the other side of the ridge was Polecat Creek Ranch. Wasn’t it just like God not only to stop that train but also to drop her right at the edge of Wyatt land?
Pearl smiled as she worked at the knot. Last she heard, Deke had gone off to Washington, DC, to work at his grandfather’s law firm.
Rumors swirled that he had been assigned to something important, some secret division of the government that aided the president himself. Papa called the statement rubbish, but Mama and her friends certainly passed along every juicy tidbit of the story with smiles and knowing nods.
Whatever he did in Washington notwithstanding, Pearl shouldn’t be surprised that Deke came back when old Mr. Wyatt passed on last month. With things standing poorly between the Barretts and the Wyatts, Pearl hadn’t been allowed to attend the service for the elderly rancher. However, she’d hoped and prayed that Deke had.
And that eventually he’d find a way to call on her.
She paused in her efforts to glance around and make certain no one had followed. As she went back to work on the knot, Pearl allowed her thoughts to return to Deke. It was madness that he’d come for her, of course, for Deke likely had some other woman’s attention now. And yet, the Bible said the Lord would give us the desires of our hearts if we just continue to seek Him in prayer. So why not keep praying for the one thing she desired most?
Or rather, the one person.
The knot refused to budge, so Pearl went around to the back of the wagon in search of something sharp that might cut twine. A rustling sound in the brush caused her to turn and look.
Satisfied she was still alone, Pearl returned to her search. She spied what looked to be the handle of a saw sticking out of a box filled with tools and scrambled up into the bed of the wagon.
Pearl pulled the saw out of the box and declared it fit to cut the rope. The horse whinnied and stamped at the dusty ground as Pearl climbed down and retraced her steps.
“Hush now,” she said as she set the saw down beside her and ran her hand across the nervous horse’s muzzle. “I know you don’t know who I am, but I’m just trying to cut that rope so you and I can pay a visit to the Wyatts over at the Polecat Creek Ranch.”
“Step away from the horse, ma’am,” a deep voice said from behind her.
The horse reared. Pearl stumbled backward. Bracing herself to land on the ground, instead she landed against a wall that turned out to be a man wearing a bandanna covering his face.
“I mean no harm,” Pearl protested. “I was being held against my will on that train back there. The Lord provided a way for me to escape, and now I’m just trying to get to Polecat Creek Ranch. Will you help me, please?”
Four other men scrambled toward her through the brush and then stopped short. Dressed as if they were going into town rather than intent on robbing a train, all five of the train robbers were of average height and build.
Dark strands of hair could be seen beneath their hats, and four of the five had eyes the color of strong-brewed coffee. The fifth man’s eyes were blue as the Texas sky.
Something in those eyes seemed slightly familiar. “Please, just help me escape and I won’t tell anyone I’ve seen you,” Pearl said.
“But you haven’t seen us,” the man nearest to her said as he adjusted his bandanna. The other four nodded. One added a soft, “That’s right.”
She surveyed the group and took note of a gun on each man’s hip. The robber nearest her wore two.
“You are correct. I haven’t seen you. In fact, I don’t know you at all,” she said as she tried to recollect where she had heard these voices.
Pearl dusted off her skirt and then turned her attention to Blue Eyes. “I would like to offer a deal. If you’ll just see me as far as the Wyatt place, I’ll trouble you no more, and I certainly won’t let on as to how I came to arrive there.”
“The Wyatt place?” Blue Eyes said as the others looked at one another.
“What business you got with the Wyatts?” the man nearest her snapped, his voice sounding strangely British and his palms now resting on his guns.
Pearl straightened her backbone and determined she would not be frightened. “Business meant to be kept private.”
As she spoke, Pearl took a tentative step backward. The robbers circled closer, likely fearing she might bolt and run. If she thought she could get away, she might have made the attempt.
The better plan was to recruit these savages to assist her escape, but that looked doubtful as well. So she decided on a third option: bluffing.
“All right,” she said as she moved toward the wagon. “I can see you’re contemplating what to do. While you’re thinking about it, I’m going to give you one last chance to help.” She patted the side of the wagon and looked right into those blue eyes. “You there. Untie this horse so we can get going.” Then she turned to the man nearest her. “I’ll need assistance getting into the wagon. Would you mind?”
“Not at all,” he said as he reached over to lift her into the back of the wagon. “The rest of you climb up and let’s get out of here before someone finds us.”
Pearl landed hard on her backside but bit back a response. It wouldn’t do to upset the men, who were finally appearing to do her bidding.
Blue Eyes climbed up behind her and reached for the reins while one of the robbers made short work of untying the horse. The other three settled themselves in with two on either side of her and one blocking her exit at the back of the wagon.
The rope that had held the horse swung over Pearl’s head and landed in her lap. “Tie her up,” Blue Eyes demanded. “And do something to cover her eyes.”
“There ain’t nothing back here but a feed sack,” one of the men said.
“Then put her in it,” Blue Eyes said as the wagon jerked into motion, allowing Pearl a moment’s chance to try and scramble away.
Despite her best efforts, it only took a few minutes before the ruffians had her hog-tied inside a smelly feed sack with a length of cloth in her mouth to muffle her screams. Pearl took some satisfaction in the fact that she’d managed to kick at least one of them hard enough to make him howl and her fingernails had drawn blood on another’s arm.
“Hush up and we won’t have to hurt you,” one of the robbers told her.
“Aw, you know we can’t hurt her, Eli,” said the man holding her in place.
Eli. Blue Eyes. Five men of similar build and hair color.
Pearl stilled, a smile rising despite the rag in her mouth. The Lord had indeed sent help, and they had come from the hills. The hills of Polecat Creek Ranch where five of Deke Wyatt’s brothers still lived.
And one of them, Eli, had the same blue eyes as his older brother Deke.
She rode in silence now, her mind attempting to work out why the five Wyatt boys might be trying to rob a train. She’d find out eventually, Pearl decided. For now, it was enough that she’d be seeing Deke soon, for he surely was still in town. If he’d gone already, Papa would have made sure to mention that fact.
Now to decide exactly how to make the most of this opportunity.
Chapter 2
Deke Wyatt knew something was wrong when all five of his brothers were waiting for him on the front porch when
he rode in from town. Not a one of them ought to be sitting there at this time of day when there was work enough to keep them busy elsewhere.
“Eli,” he called to the eldest of the group as he pulled back on the reins. “What’s going on here? You boys get up off your rears and get to work.”
“We got a situation, Deke,” Eli said as he rose and walked toward the hitching post. “There’s something you ought to know before you go inside.”
He glanced past Eli to where his brothers still sat. Zeke had appropriated Pop’s rocker, and Ben was sitting on an upturned wooden keg. The other two, twins Matthew and Mark, were leaning against the house with their legs stretched out in front of them.
No one had moved a muscle, nor were they smiling.
“What kind of situation is that?” Deke asked as he stepped down and tied up the reins.
“We got a woman in there,” he said.
Deke straightened and glared at Eli. “You know how I feel about that sort of thing. We’re God-fearing people. Get her out of there right now, and then I’ll have the name of whichever one of you idiots thought this was a good idea.”
“Keep your voice down,” Eli said. “And settle yourself, brother. It’s not like that. She’s a good girl, and we only just brought her here a little while ago. We didn’t know what else to do with her after she, well…we just didn’t know what else to do.”
He shook his head. “I don’t follow.”
“No, I don’t suppose you do.” He paused to look back at the other four then gestured to the twins. “I guess it all started when those two started jabbering about what it might take to stop a train. I stayed out of it until Matthew there declared he could stop a train with a stick. Well, I got to tell you, when he said that and told us he’d back it up with action ’cause he’d heard it was so from a farmhand over in Craddock who’d done it once before, I just had to find out if he was telling a tall tale or not.”
Deke held up his hands. “Stop blabbering and get back to the reason you’ve got a girl in the house.”
The Secret Admirer Romance Collection Page 46