Midnight Secrets

by Janelle Taylor

  Steve shook her arm to get her attention as she hadn’t heard his voice. “You use the bedroll, Anna. I’ll use the blanket. Take any spot you want, but not too far from me and my guns. Get settled now so I can douse the fire. We don’t want it being seen by unwelcome visitors.”

  Ginny noticed how gentle his tone was and pretended to ignore it. “Don’t trouble yourself over my comfort, Mr. Carr. I’ll use the blanket or sleep on the ground. I don’t want to take your bedroll.” Your smell on it will keep me awake all night and create fires I don’t need!

  “I’m used to hugging the ground, Anna, you aren’t. If you don’t get proper rest, you’ll fall out of the saddle and delay me. It’s a precaution not a kindness, so you don’t need to refuse out of hurt pride or spite.”

  Ginny wasn’t convinced his tender gaze agreed with his words. Was he being nice for selfish reasons or hiding his unwanted concern for her behind feigned ones? No matter the truth, she didn’t argue and refuse. It didn’t take her long to confirm the reason for her reluctance: the bedroll exuded his fragrance. Its manly smell made her flushed and restless. She damned him for affecting her this way.

  “Here, it’ll help you sleep,” Steve offered fifteen minutes later.

  “What is it?” Ginny didn’t reach for the cup he held out to her.

  “Whiskey, enough to put you out for the night. Neither of us can rest with you tossing around like that bedroll’s full of biting ants.”

  “Is this supposed to loosen my tongue for a confession?” she quipped.

  Unnerved, Steve snapped, “You said you didn’t have one to make, so I’ll take your word until you or something proves otherwise. You’ve been through a lot recently, so I thought it would help you relax. You don’t have to worry about me taking advantage of you in a weakened condition.”

  “You’ve changed since this morning? How nice for the both of us,” she scoffed, grabbed the cup from his grasp, and downed the strong liquid. She choked and coughed. Her eyes widened and watered, sending tears down her glowing cheeks. Steve tried to pat her on the back, but she yanked away and glared at him. Between coughs, swallows, and ragged gasps of air, she scolded, “Damn you! I…can’t…breathe. My…throat and … stomach’s on fire.” She drank water from the canteen he held out and recovered. “You should have warned me to sip it slowly.”

  “You didn’t give me a chance to warn you, woman. You’ll be all right in a minute. Actually it’s best to get it inside fast so it can get to work. Lie down, close your eyes, and you’ll be asleep in no time.”

  Ginny did as he suggested. A mellow feeling spread through her body. A swirling sensation filled her head that made her feel as if she were drifting on clouds. Her lids were too heavy to open and she yielded to the effects of the potent magic. She was warm and cozy and serene. The gentle hand stroking her cheek and hair felt wonderful. But the heady kiss with sweet and soft lips was even better, though she could barely respond. She let the overwhelming sensations sweep her away.

  Tenderness tugged at Steve’s heart, knowing all she had suffered. He was well acquainted with torment and hatred that she must endure it. He owed it to her and to himself to help her avoid more. Perhaps she had made mistakes, but who hadn’t? He must free her from this grim situation so she wouldn’t wind up as he had. Inside, Anna Avery was a good person; she didn’t deserve what could happen to her because of what her father had done. Maybe he wasn’t guilty either, but it was too late to change that fact. If they had met under different circumstances and were different people… But they hadn’t and they weren’t. What he was, if or when she learned the whole truth, would kill any good feelings she had for him. He was dreaming, fooling himself, if he believed for one minute she could love and accept him. How could she, a stranger, when his own father couldn’t? “Good night, Anna, you’ll be safe with me.”

  Unable to open her eyes or think clearly, Ginny murmured, “Good night, love.” She sighed dreamily and went limp.

  Steve sat beside her for a while, caressing her face and touching her hair. His fingers toyed with the wisps that had escaped her braid. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from kissing her. He had seen her inhaling his scent on the bedroll and suspected—hoped—that was what had unsettled her. They had made such urgent and passionate love this morning; the heady episode was fresh in his mind, yet also seemed so far in the past. He could have been kinder and easier on her today; after all, she had just lost her father.

  Fathers! he scoffed. They can be more treacherous than your worst enemy. I want to trust, you, Anna, but I couldn’t stand for you to betray me and reject me like he did. I don’t know what I would do to you if you did. It’s best if we don’t find out who’s the more skilled deceiver between us.

  Ginny chided herself for being too cognizant of Steve’s closeness. The constant rubbing against him, hearing his voice, inhaling his scent, gazing at his handsome face, and speculating on excuses for his actions gnawed at her nerves and defenses against him. Doubts kept working on her. Maybe he was angry, disappointed, and hurt because he believed she had duped him. Maybe his behavior and words were his own kind of defense against being used and injured. Maybe he was afraid he would lose her if she had to go to prison, which was possible if a Loyal Leaguer court tried to punish her “father” and his group through her. Would the law believe her when she said she wasn’t Anna Avery? Would it matter if she weren’t? She had been with Charles and they had carried off a dangerous and cunning deception. The Yankee officials might not believe she wasn’t informed and involved in it. After all, she had lost much to the war. If she had to summon her stepfamily as witnesses to her identity to save her life and avoid prison, that would expose her father’s lies to them. With Mathew Marston missing in Colorado and possibly dead, she couldn’t call on him for help. Her life had too many entanglements that could be exposed. Charles had warned her that to tell the truth or to continue her ruse was hazardous, so there was only one thing left to do. As soon as Steve released her, she needed to get far away from this threat, to go to the Chapman ranch.

  Ginny covertly watched Steve. He seemed bothered, too. While riding and obviously in deep thought, his hand had covered hers around his waist and he had stroked them unaware of his action. Another time, he had thrown his arm behind her waist to steady her balance on a downhill section, then left it there longer than necessary. She sensed his thoughts were on her. He desired her, of that she was certain. But was it only a physical craving? Was it against his will? Had he been entrapped in his ruse to ensnare her for clues? Did he care for her more than he wanted to? More than he would admit to her or to himself? How could what they shared—Don’t do this to yourself, Ginny. It didn’t mean the same thing to him it did to you. She wished her heart hadn’t added, Not yet, not that he realizes. He can’t believe someone could love him and want him as much as you do.

  Steve moved quietly to keep from awakening the weary woman until breakfast was cooked. He’d been compelled to give her some whiskey again last night as a sleeping potion. Something was wrong. She was too subdued for the woman he had gotten to know along the wagontrain journey. Where were her spunk and spirit? Why wasn’t she yelling at him and cursing him? Why no demand for an explanation or more information? Was she silent and tense because she was grieved over her father’s loss and hurt over his and Charles’s deceits, or was she only afraid he’d discover her guilt as he continued to investigate this case?

  Ginny stirred and inhaled deeply. She smiled and sighed in pleasure. Odors of coffee, biscuits, and bacon teased at her nose and stomach.

  Steve nudged her shoulder. “Wake up, sleepyhead, or I’ll eat all of this myself. I’m starting the eggs now, so get moving, woman.”

  Ginny sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked in the skillet, then at him and asked, “How? Where?”

  Steve grinned and said, “I have my ways.”

  “There’s a town nearby?” she asked.

  Steve misunderstood her surprise for eagerness to be gone f
rom him. “Nope, only a farm. You don’t want to go there. There’s just a man and two sons.”

  “Did you steal those?” she asked, nodding at the eggs.

  Steve glanced at her and scowled. “Nope. Why do you always think the worst of me, Anna?” He stirred the eggs swiftly in agitation.

  She knew she’d piqued him. “Isn’t that what you do with me?”

  He looked at her again. “I have good cause, don’t you think?”

  “And I don’t? I would never use innocent people the way you have, pretending to like them while spying on them.” Guilt flooded her as she realized that was exactly what she planned to do to Bennett Chapman in Texas.

  Steve noticed her curious reaction and strange expression. She wasn’t being honest with him, but at least a guilty conscience made her cheeks color and her lovely hazel eyes blink too fast. “Like you did with me for your father? Distracting me so he could carry out his wicked task? Did you two suspect an agent might be after you?”

  At that unsettling moment, she didn’t notice the word he used to describe himself. “That isn’t true! I didn’t know about this crime!”

  “So you do agree and believe it is a crime?”

  “Of course it is!” Ginny ordered herself to calm down. “What did you mean when you said the gems were stolen? How did the authorities know a carrier was on the wagontrain?”

  Steve saw no harm in answering her. “Stolen by bandits here and in England. Special Agents added up clues, investigated, and learned of the Red Magnolias’ plot. Several of them were murdered for getting too nosy. The man who hired me knew your wagontrain was the cover, what the deal was, and where it was supposed to take place. What he didn’t know were the names of the men involved; the agent died before revealing them. I was told to recover the gems and unmask the villains. It sounded simple and quick, but it hasn’t been either one.”

  Stolen gems…That was why Charles Avery was in England and aboard the same ship to America! Agents murdered… That meant the assignment was dangerous for Steve. He could be eliminated, too.

  “Why did your father fetch you from that fancy boarding school up North? Was it to use you as his cover? You two weren’t moving to Texas!”

  “I didn’t know he hadn’t bought property there.” Charles had told her he had purchased a mercantile store in the town of Waco, but he had lied. On the trail, he had confessed the whole truth to her, too late.

  “I know you’re his daughter, not just a cunning hired accomplice.”

  “You do? How?”

  “I checked that out, too.”

  Ginny knew Anna’s death was a secret to Georgians, as it had taken place in another state. “Before or during the journey?”

  Steve wished he hadn’t exposed that precaution. “During.”

  “Did you check out anyone else?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not?” Surely others had made him suspicious, too.

  Steve dished up the food and poured the coffee. “After what happened between us, the reason for my action should be obvious.”

  Attracted to a suspect, she mused, or something else? “Perhaps to a man like you. When did you get your answer?”

  He had to learn how much she knew and how deeply she’d been involved. That was the only way to find a means to extricate her from guilt. “In Montgomery I learned you were his daughter. In Vicksburg while waiting for you, I learned there was no ranch.”

  Ginny took the plate and cup as she reflected on those dates. He’d checked on her after their first night together in Columbus and on both of them after their second night together in Jackson. He had suspected her and Charles but had still made love to her at the first available opportunity. His suspicions had increased, yet he did so again. After being convinced Charles was his target, he had planned—“Were you going to confront me before or after we… were together in Vicksburg?”

  His look said After, but his mouth didn’t reply. He had taken her again after her rescue and before exposing his task. Why? A last time before his damaging revelations terminated their relationship? Again, why?

  He realized she didn’t say, made love, and that troubled him, along with her expression. No matter what he said to justify, excuse, or explain his behavior, it wouldn’t change things and perhaps would make them worse. “Things and people aren’t always what they seem, Anna.”

  She fused her gaze to his. “I agree, Mr. Carr. I think we’ve both proven that to each other, more than either of us realizes.”

  “Enough cutting talk, woman. Let’s eat and then ride out.”

  Ginny decided she would be polite and friendly today to relax Steve with hopes he would open up to her so she could learn the whole truth. She asked at one break, “How can you tell how far ahead of us they are?”

  He was surprised at her question and new, pleasant mood. “Condition of their tracks shows how long ago they were made.” He explained his meaning.

  “But how do you know if what’s a day old here will be a day old a mile ahead? What’s to prevent them from backtracking and ambushing us?”

  He tensed. “Backtracking? How do you know about that trick?”

  Ginny told him about the novels she had read to acquaint her with the West before moving there.

  Steve smiled and relaxed but didn’t laugh at her. “It isn’t like that out here. Now would you mind telling me what happened in that last campsite? I haven’t wanted to ask while your pain was too fresh.”

  Ginny related not only the episode there but all that occurred along the way since her kidnapping. She saw him paying close attention to her.

  “I’m impressed, Anna. How did you learn to climb trees?”

  “When I was a child. And I have you to thank for the other skills that saved my life. Despite the trouble between us, I am grateful to you for that.”

  He mellowed and warmed. “You used them well.”

  “Including the derringer you gave me.”

  “Are you wearing it now?” She trembled when he touched her leg.

  “All the time, as you ordered, Steve. Afraid I’ll pull it on you?”

  He caught the switch to his first name. “That wouldn’t be smart and you’re no fool. I’m your only hope of getting out of here alive.”

  “I know, so I’ll behave myself.”

  Steve grinned and chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that, woman.”

  “Were you around camp long after I left?”

  “Worried about what your new friends might think about you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t be; they like you and believe you were abducted.”

  “But you don’t?”

  Steve decided he should lighten up on her. “Actually, Anna, I do. I believe your father was, too.” At her look of astonishment, he added, “Villains often betray each other. If they were good men, they wouldn’t be doing what they do. That gang came after you two early just to rob you. They would have shot up the camp and taken you by force if you had both refused to leave with them. You saved innocent lives by complying and placing your own in danger. But that still doesn’t excuse what your father was planning to do, what he would have done if he hadn’t been killed. Even if you were involved or involved only as his cover, I’ll release you soon as a reward for your unselfish actions in camp.”

  Ginny was dismayed that he continued to harbor doubts about her. She couldn’t persuade him he was wrong without revealing secrets about herself, secrets she didn’t trust him with yet. Surely it would be worse if he suspected she was a habitual deceiver. Later, she would send him a letter explaining the truth and telling him her whereabouts in case he wanted to find her; she would send it in care of the wagontrain company. If he had gotten in contact with Luther Beams and they were close enough to do this task together, surely Luther would know where and how to find Steve. By that time, they would know how they felt about each other. Her intrusive challenges would be finished one way or another. If for no other reason, she would contact him to tell him how m
istaken he had been.

  They halted at dusk, close enough to overtake the gang the next day. In the last fading light of day, Steve scouted the area to make certain his assumptions were correct. He learned that no one was within striking distance of their campsite, north of Mena, a town of sparse population. They had encountered many streams, a few springs, and steeper hills today. The gang was headed into the rugged terrain of the Ouachitas, unique for stretching east to west rather than from north to south as most mountain ranges did. Not far ahead was Rich Mountain, the highest peak in the oldest and largest national forest in the South. He had no doubts they would overtake the outlaws before noon tomorrow, and he was grateful she hadn’t slowed him down. He had been able to conserve Chuune’s strength by skirting the bases or crossing the lower sections of the highest hills. He had trained her well, and she didn’t complain when the going was hard. She was a remarkable, strong, and brave woman, the kind he would want.. If only… Don’t dream!

  Steve returned to find the evening meal ready for him.

  Ginny served the fried salt pork; biscuits, beans, and coffee. “It won’t be as delicious as your food, but it’ll save you time and work tonight.”

  “Much obliged, Miss Avery,” he remarked, and sat down.

  “Have you ever thought of carrying two sets of dishes with you?”

  “Too much trouble and not enough space. Everybody I meet has their own provisions with them. Drifters like me have to travel light and fast.”

  “Don’t you ever get tired of staying on the move and being alone?”

  “Pour me some more coffee, will you?”

  Ginny knew he normally would get it himself. It was a ruse to make her forget her question while he ignored it. She “obliged” him again.

  They finished eating in silence, then did the chores together.

  As she took her place on the sleeping roll, she asked, “What will happen tomorrow when we catch up with those ruffians?”