Midnight Secrets

by Janelle Taylor

  Steve could sense the fear and doubt and the tension exuding from her. With his own large measure of those same emotions chewing at him, he responded, “I have to catch them and recover those stolen gems.”

  Ginny told herself she shouldn’t have been shocked by his reply but she was. “You know about the gems he was carrying?”

  Steve surmised she would see and hear enough along the way to grasp what he was doing, so he might as well get his task into the open, here and now. He couldn’t risk her distracting reaction at a perilous moment. “Yep, but I couldn’t figure out where they were hidden or who the culprit was. Charles Avery had me duped good and that doesn’t happen often. I figured the carrier would expose himself at river crossings while trying to protect his delivery. Your father never did. From the marks on his belly, I know where and how he hid them, but that didn’t occur to me earlier.”

  “I don’t understand, Steve. You sound as if…”

  “I was assigned to expose the man carrying the gems, get them back, and capture him and his contacts? I was, Anna, and I’ll finish my assignment now that I have a clear trail to follow.”

  He sounded so nonchalant about such a serious matter! “Assignment?”

  “Yep. I accepted a job to solve a tricky case for the law and a friend of mine. It sounded different and challenging. It’s turned out to be more trouble and aggravation than I ever imagined. For a while there, I was afraid I would fail this time. The closer we got to Dallas without clues, the more concerned I became. Your father was very cunning.”

  “But you’re a scout and guide, a wagontrain leader.”

  “Not this time; that was Big L’s wagontrain I was using for cover. He’s taken over and he’ll lead them the rest of the way. He kindly allowed me time alone with everyone to get acquainted before he joined us in Columbus. It was important for everyone to accept me and like me as their leader.”

  “Using?” Ginny murmured, and realized how many times she was echoing his staggering words, words she didn’t want clarified this way.

  “Yep, to catch a Red Magnolia member and stop their evil plans. Big L agreed to let me pretend to be boss of his wagontrain until I exposed the culprit. It took longer than I figured. Big L was ready to take over the moment I had to leave. I shouldn’t have wasted time in town waiting for you, but I wanted to speak with you in private after getting that telegram that pointed to Charles. If I’d headed back pronto, I could have captured all of them in camp and been on my way to my next job. I’m already late leaving, and there’s another cunning man to…” He finished unmask, rather than kill.

  He sounded eager to be done and gone, even from her. This “job” explained why he had seemed so inquisitive. She had agonized over deceiving him and others and how to confess the truth when he had been doing that same thing all along. She didn’t know the real Steve Carr any more than he knew the real her. “You’re a spy?”

  Steve had half expected her to guess accurately: Special Agent for the Justice Department. For as long as possible, he needed to keep that identity a secret. “Sort of, with this particular job. I accept all kinds.”

  Including gunman for hire? “Can we stop to discuss this?”

  “Nothing to discuss and no time if there was. Lost too” much already hanging around town to talk to you and leaving their trail to rescue you. Every minute I waste they put more distance between them and me.” Steve skirted the outlaws’ last camp where her father lay dead and unburied to keep her from having to endure that bloody sight again. When he reached the authorities with his prisoners, he’d report the location of the body for proper interment for Anna’s sake. He already knew which direction the cutthroats had taken, so he followed it.

  Alarming suspicions and realities filled Ginny. Though Steve believed she was “the culprit’s” daughter and surely suspected she might be involved, he had made passionate love to her this morning. He hadn’t come to rescue her. He even sounded annoyed at losing time doing so. He had come after the Red Magnolia member, the gems, that gang, and the contact in … “His name is Timothy Graham.”

  “Whose name?” Steve asked, distracted while pondering if he should apologize for the fact his last statements sounded cold and cruel.

  “The contact for the arms and ammunition. The meeting place was changed from St. Louis to Little Rock, or so those men told us. I doubt they spoke the truth; they only wanted to steal the gems for themselves.”

  Damn you, woman! “So you knew all along. I feared as much but hated to believe such a fine lady could be involved in something so wicked.”

  After all they had shared, Ginny was pained by his” doubts of her. How could she have misjudged him so badly, and he, her? He had beguiled her to aid his task, not pursued her from his own desire. That meant he was cold-blooded, ruthless, and would take any step necessary to help him achieve his goal. Her heart chilled for a time. “No, Mr. Carr, I knew nothing about it. I learned those things on the trail here.”

  The truth or a trick, Anna? “Why tell me?”

  “To help you catch them and stop them from carrying out their plans.”

  “Why?” he asked, his neck bent to study the gang’s trail.

  “Because they’re wrong and what they’re doing is wrong.”

  “Including your father’s part in it?”

  Ginny refused to tell her traitorous lover the truth about her identity. He had lied to her, used her, and betrayed her love and trust. She had been shocked and hurt, and now she was angry. Yet she couldn’t refuse to help prevent a horrible crime. “He was misguided, Mr. Carr, with what he believed was good cause. I’m sure he isn’t the only one who ever made a terrible mistake.” She could not stop herself from trying to evoke guilt and remorse in him for how he’d hurt her. “One of those causes was the rape, beating, and murder of my sister by a Yankee gang of so-called soldiers,” she alleged. “The Loyal Leaguecontrolled courts and officials said there wasn’t any evidence against them, so they went free. That was on top of losing our home, land, and business to Yankee deceits. Hate, he had reasons for it. Revenge, he craved it. Justice, he deserved it. Such things have happened to other members. But what he told me the Red Magnolias have in mind I know is wrong and can provoke worse cruelties against Southerners. One cannot fight evil with evil or hatred with hatred and win anything worthwhile. Most of the Klansmen believe what they’re doing is right and necessary, but I admit there are wicked members who do things just as horrible as what Northerners and ex-slaves are doing to Southerners. I didn’t know he was a Klansman or about his ‘mission,’ as he called it. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk anymore. Besides, that’s all I know.”

  Steve hoped she was telling the truth. The anguish in her voice and tragic tale she’d told moved him to say, “I’m sorry, Anna, for everything. This matter is like a powder barrel and the Klan is holding a torch ready to explode it. I have to do my job any way I can.”

  Ginny fought back tears. Just as she thought there was a silver lining to the dark cloud she was under, Steve had vanquished it and blackened it even more. Some of her torment was replaced by ire. “That’s supposed to excuse your traitorous actions, you bastard? ‘Sorry’ is only a word, and I doubt you have enough good inside of you to mean it. But what can one expect from a creature born and reared as you were?”

  Steve tensed. He hated the sound of those cruel words from her lips, lips that had kissed him and had hinted at loving him. He had endured too many bitter disappointments and harsh experiences in his life to suffer another one with her. He had lost her, so he must protect himself against hurt. “I warned you long ago I was a sorry bastard in more than birth.”

  Ginny’s warring heart accused, No denial? No explanation? “I should have believed you; it was probably the only time you spoke the truth to me. Are you arresting me?” Was that why he had wasted time to rescue her?

  “Are you involved? I thought you were trying to tell me you aren’t.”

  His asking the question told her
he wasn’t convinced she was innocent. If that was how he felt after being so close to her, there was nothing she could say or do to persuade him otherwise. “No, but I doubt you’ll believe me. Don’t worry, I’ll have no trouble clearing myself.”

  “That’s good, Anna, because you wouldn’t like prison.”

  “You sound as if you’re acquainted with such a place.”

  “I am. During the war those Yanks had fun with us Rebs at their mercy.”

  Ginny was shocked again. He had been a prisoner-of-war. There was no guessing what horrors and abuses he had endured. That atop his troubled past had hardened him. No wonder he was so self-contained and distant. No wonder he did as he pleased with little concern for others. How could she ever understand him, trust him, and forgive him? Or forget him? “But you’re working for the Union now, your past enemies and tormentors.”

  “Yep.”

  “Trapping Southerners who are mostly trying to defend themselves?”

  “There’s only one side now, Anna, the right one. The United States.”

  “And you’re a patriot doing a glorious mission to save it?”

  “I’m a workingman who loves challenges, not much more.”

  “The infernal job! No one and nothing else matters but doing it with perfection. You didn’t answer: Am I your prisoner?”

  “Nope, it’s just not safe to send you off alone and I can’t spare the time to take you to a town. You’re better off with me for a while. But do exactly as I say. Both our lives could depend on your behavior and obedience. After I capture those men, I’ll take them and you to the nearest town. You can decide there what you want to do next. It would probably be best to return to your aunt in Georgia. There’s no ranch in Texas.”

  “How do you know there isn’t? When did you check on it?”

  “I telegraphed the man who hired me when I was in town.”

  “When? Which stop?”

  “Does it matter?”

  To her, it did, considering their intimate relationship. “Yes.”

  “I don’t think so. Why do you want to know when and where I learned you and your father were lying to me?” He felt her stiffen and her grip around his waist tighten. He didn’t want to quarrel. He wanted her to have time to comprehend what he was doing and why it was so important; he wanted her to have time to settle down; he wanted her to have time to realize she must confess anything she knew that might be helpful to him, the mission, and to herself. “Would you stop the distracting chatter so I can concentrate on tracking that gang of outlaws?”

  Ginny was provoked. “Why? You’re so skilled you can probably do it blindfolded! You had no trouble finding and capturing me.”

  He noticed she didn’t say, rescuing me. “None at all. If they hadn’t been so stupid, they could have found you first. Hush up, woman, before they hear us coming and set an ambush. I doubt you want to be taken captive by traitors to the cause again. Despite what you think, Anna, I am trying to protect both our lives. Control your anger or you’ll get us both killed. Don’t blame me because your father got you into this crime and I’m the one solving it. Be glad I am or you could be in worse trouble.”

  Ginny stayed silent after that warning, but not totally because of it. She was confused by his words and mood. She didn’t know what he was thinking and feeling. In fact, she didn’t know him at all. Her heart kept telling her to confess everything and see how the truth affected him. But her mind warned that would complicate matters, and would cause him to doubt and disrespect her even more. Besides, he had proven himself untrustworthy and traitorous. She must wait and. see.

  Steve guided Chuune onward at a walking trot that allowed him to track the men. Anna’s weight wasn’t enough to be an added burden for the big and strong sorrel. He tried to keep his attention on his task, but the woman clinging to him made it difficult. He felt her, smelled her, touched her, heard her breathing, and desired her like crazy. He prayed she was innocent and honest.

  Ginny was lost in confusion and anguish. You’re a hard and cold man, Steve Carr. I’m not sure I want to win you even if you beg my forgiveness. The bad instincts and feelings you’ve born, bred, and nourished for so long will always be stored somewhere inside you, ready to sprout and grow if the right provocation came along. I doubt anyone or anything can change you enough to… Let it go, Ginny. It’s too late; he’s seen to that. You can’t trust him. I loved you so much, Steve. I wish you hadn’t done this to me, to us.

  Ginny craved solitude so she could cry out her heart to alleviate the torment inside of it. She knew it would take a long time to get over this cruel experience and this elusive man. She had to be strong, brave, and work hard to succeed. Soon, they would part forever. Then she could start healing and forgetting, things she couldn’t do in his presence. She had important challenges of her own ahead to distract her from him and to occupy her thoughts. She was bitter over his deluding her and she was tempted to seek vengeance. But spite and hatred were two-edged swords that could slice her more deeply than she was already cut. Besides, those wicked emotions were responsible for this bitter situation, for Charles’s criminal actions, for her being here, and for Steve’s troubled character. She hated the things that had made him this way, that had ruined their lives.

  Don’t let them destroy you, too, Ginny Marston.

  The full moon that night illuminated their campsite. They hadn’t halted until dark so Steve could use every ray of light for tracking. Ginny hadn’t spoken to him after he silenced her, only nodded or shook her head to respond to his questions or comments. She hadn’t trusted herself to speak without either crying or ranting at him.

  They had stopped for a while to chew on dried beef and corn dodgers, downed with water from his canteen. They had ridden most of the time but walked on occasion for the sorrel to rest, with her on one side of the animal and him on the other. He had spoken a few times to tell her the men seemed to be riding slowly deeper into the Ouachita Mountains, and looked as if they were headed for Indian Territory. They were a day ahead of them, he had elaborated, and they might catch up in two days or less if the gang kept up its present pace and they could maintain theirs.

  Steve roasted a rabbit over a spit that he’d shot, cooked johnnycakes, and perked coffee—all without asking her to assist him or looking as if he expected her to do so. Nor did she offer to help, as he was accustomed to doing his own chores and seemed to prefer it that way. It was apparent he knew what he was doing and had plenty of experience on the trail.

  You’re too self-contained, Steve; you don’t need anybody.

  After he handed her a plate of food and cup of steaming coffee, she took them and thanked him without meeting his piercing gaze.

  Steve was unsettled by her silence and anguish. “So, you can still talk,” he provoked. “I figured you’d lost your tongue back there.”

  Ginny glared at him and reminded in a toneless voice, “You ordered me to silence, remember? Since then, you haven’t given me permission to talk and said our survival depended upon my strict obedience. Even if you had, I have nothing to say to you, Mr. Carr. You’re a liar and deceiver.”

  He had expected her to feel this way, but it still got to him that she had reacted so strongly. Obviously she hated him now. “Don’t worry, Anna, you’ll have to endure me for only a few more days. That should please you.”

  “I’m sure both of us will be delighted to end this offensive matter.”

  His gaze narrowed as he retorted, “Is that a fact?”

  Ginny determined not to let him provoke her into a silly or cutting quarrel. If he was trying to hurt her to push her away from him, she wouldn’t cooperate at her expense. If he was being himself for a change, she didn’t want to view that side of him. She ate her food and drank her coffee, and found everything delicious. She noticed Steve ate from the skillet and with his fingers because he had only one set of utensils and dishes. That told her the loner was not prepared for company. “You cooked, so I’ll clean up the mess. It was
good. Thank you.”

  “No need. Besides, I don’t let anybody scratch my skillet. Doesn’t cook good that way.” He went to the stream, used sand to scrub it, then returned to grease and dry the surface. “A good skillet has to be kept conditioned. I’ve had this one a long time, seen a lot of things with me.”

  Ginny wanted to scoff, How nice, but she didn’t. In fact, she was impressed by his many skills and the way he could take care of himself and others. Maybe she shouldn’t blame him totally for the kind of man he had become. Perhaps she should blame his background and the cruel war and the many other unknown and embittering incidents. But people had endured times just as hard and hadn’t become liars and deceivers and haters. That isn’t completely true, Ginny. Think about some of the people you met on the wagontrain, yourself Charles Avery, and your own father. Everybody has a thirst for survival and battles obstacles in the only way open to them. She certainly shouldn’t have called him a bastard, as that fact was so painful; he had… trusted her with that secret in a moment of weakness and she had fired it at him like a lethal bullet. Why? Bad language and cruelty weren’t normal responses for her.

  Perhaps, she reasoned, it was because she was hurting so much and had struck out in pain. Perhaps all the untimely deaths in her life had changed her: her mother, Johanna’s mother, her best friend, Mr. Avery, possibly her father, and almost herself. She had confronted so much evil and devastation since her return to America. Perhaps all of that put together was making her resentful and rebellious toward the cruelties in life and the harsh demands from fate. Soon, she would have to seek revenge on Bennett Chapman for her best friend; she had lost the man she loved; and she might that find her father alive. It wasn’t fair to witness and endure so much pain. Why must it be—