Broc smiled reluctantly. “No, I’m not.”
“Then why did you say we have to pay that lady money?”
“Because a judge ordered me to.”
“Why?”
“I assume the lady showed him some evidence to support her claim.”
“Is the lady a crook?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What does she look like?”
Why did everyone, including little boys, think looks had anything to do with character? “I don’t know. I’ve never met her.”
“Then how do you know she’s not a crook?”
“I don’t, but there are laws against people trying to take money that doesn’t belong to them. There are also laws that force people to pay debts they owe.”
“Who makes these laws? Do they get the money?”
Having younger brothers of his own, Broc knew Eddie’s questioning could go on until nightfall. Amanda wouldn’t be happy with that, and Gary was likely to start a fistfight. “Ask your brother or sister. I’m sure they’d do a better job at explaining.”
“I don’t ask Gary nothing,” Eddie declared, “ ’cause he don’t know nothing unless it’s about the saloon.”
Broc walked down the steps and prepared to mount his horse. “I’m sure he knows enough to explain that. Now I’d better be going.”
“Will you come back?”
Standing there small, alone, and forlorn, Eddie reminded Broc so strongly of his own brothers, he wished he could give the boy a reassuring hug. “You just heard your sister tell me not to.”
“She doesn’t mean it. She likes you.”
She might have had a liking for him at first, but not any longer. “Nevertheless, I think it’ll be better if I don’t come back.”
“They won’t let me go into town by myself.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“You promised to teach me how to rope like you.”
Broc had forgotten a promise he made when Eddie was showing him the horses yesterday. Eddie had said the bull was always getting out, and Broc had said he’d teach the boy how to use a rope so he could help Amanda catch him. “Why don’t you ask your brother or Leo?”
“They can’t rope as good as you.”
There was only one way to get around this. “If your sister will let me come out here someday, I’ll be happy to teach you how to rope.”
Eddie beamed. “She will. I know she will. I’m going to ask her now.”
Broc decided it would be best to leave before Amanda came out. She was bound to think he was using Eddie as an excuse to return to the ranch. He would come back. Something was wrong here, and he was determined to find out what it was.
Amanda found it difficult to understand the extent of her disappointment in Broc. If he wasn’t a crook, he’d allowed himself to be duped by one, and she couldn’t admire any man foolish enough to fall into such a transparent trap. The difficulty lay in the fact that she couldn’t really believe Broc was either a crook or foolish. The way he accepted his wound and blamed himself for losing his temper were both characteristics of a man of integrity as well as maturity. Her brain and her emotions were in conflict over him, a situation she wasn’t accustomed to and one she didn’t like.
When Amanda reentered her mother’s bedroom, she was reclining on a silk-covered daybed next to windows hung with satin drapes. The four-poster canopy bed that dominated the room was covered by a crocheted bedspread. A huge maple armoire covered most of one wall while a marble-top table with a porcelain bowl and pitcher painted with countryside scenes stood next to her mother’s bed. Three pictures depicting various scenes from the Mississippi of her mother’s youth hung on walls covered with white wallpaper decorated in tiny red and blue flowers.
“Is that man gone?” her mother asked.
“I wish you’d let me throw him out,” Gary said.
Her mother reached for Gary’s hand. “I needed you here. Amanda is very good, but she’s only a woman. You know I depend on your strength.”
Gary didn’t appear any happier hearing that than Amanda felt, but she’d given up trying to bring her mother to a true understanding of Gary’s character. Her brother wasn’t a bad person, but since their father’s death, he’d been too much under the influence of Corby Wilson and the men who hung out at the saloon. Amanda hated their shallow values, changeable honesty, and willingness to waste time and resources on drink and gambling when both could be better spent on their families.
“I told Mr. Kincaid not to come back,” Amanda said. “I also told him we don’t owe anyone any money, that he’s either a crook or has allowed himself to be duped by one.”
“That man made me uncomfortable from the moment I saw him.”
“You mean his scarred face made you uncomfortable.”
Her mother swung her gaze from Gary to Amanda. “How can you expect a man who looks like that to be honest?”
“The same way I expect a man with an amputated arm or leg to be honest.”
“I’m sorry he was so hideously wounded,” her mother said, “but I’m glad you told him not to return.”
Gary pulled away from his mother and stood. “I need to make sure he’s really gone.”
“Yes, do,” her mother said. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I thought he might be lurking about somewhere.”
With a brief nod to his mother, Gary left the room.
“Ask Eddie to come back in the house,” her mother called after Gary. “I’ll feel more comfortable once I know he’s safe.”
“Broc wouldn’t hurt Eddie or anyone else,” Amanda said. “You saw what he did for Andy.”
“It doesn’t matter if he was kind to Andy,” her mother continued. “He tried to steal money from us. I can never forgive him for that.”
“Actually, he merely told us that we owe a debt.”
“Well, we don’t, so that makes it stealing.”
“Mother, he said we ought to check into it before we do anything. That doesn’t sound like a thief to me.” Why was she defending Broc? If she didn’t believe he was unprincipled, why had she told him to leave?
“It doesn’t matter,” her mother said. “He’s part of whatever terrible scheme is going on. If that doesn’t make him a crook, I don’t know what does.”
Despite what she’d said to Broc, she couldn’t push aside the feeling that something was wrong somewhere, that Broc Kincaid wasn’t the kind of man to be involved in a conspiracy to steal from anyone. If he had, he could easily have tried to force her to pay for the return of the bull. Or stolen it and tried to sell it to someone else. He had no reason to set Andy’s shoulder. He had even less reason to offer to see her home from the saloon.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about him anymore,” Amanda told her mother. “He won’t be coming back.”
Her mother sat up in bed. “Do you think he’ll ride to town and tell everyone we’re debtors?” Her mother put a hand over her eyes. “I couldn’t live with the shame.”
Her mother was still haunted by the loss of her home during the war. The whole family had tried to protect their mother because they knew how devastating that loss had been, but Amanda was beginning to wonder if they hadn’t coddled her too much.
“I’m sure he won’t do that. Besides, you never go to town, so you wouldn’t have to put up with unkind remarks or falsely sympathetic looks.”
“But people would know.”
“Everybody knows Papa was an honest businessman. That’s why we always had so many customers at the saloon and the diner.”
She’d heard rumors of dissatisfaction recently, but she credited that to people liking her father better than Corby. Her father was always friendly, taking an interest in people and their problems. Corby was only interested in helping himself.
“I want that man out of town,” her mother said. “I want you to ask Sheriff Mercer to force him to leave.”
“I intend to go into town.” But she didn’t plan to see the sheriff
. She needed to go to the bank. She wanted proof her father had paid for everything he’d bought.
Maybe she could find something to show that Broc wasn’t a part of this plot, that somehow he’d been forced into it against his will. Maybe he was married, and there had been threats against his family. Maybe he was in debt and this was part of his way of working it off. There could be any number of reasons, but she hoped his being married wasn’t one of them.
The setting sun painted the early evening sky with broad swatches of orange and red, but Broc didn’t notice the sunset, the lengthening shadows, the increasing chill, or the quiet descending over the prairie as birds and small animals sought refuge for the night. Wrapped in thought, he had come to several conclusions, the first of which was that he ought to tell the sheriff what he had done. He didn’t know what actions the Liscomb family might take, but they were almost certain to talk to the sheriff about him. It would be difficult to convince the sheriff of his honesty if Gary got to the man first. It was always possible to send someone to Crystal Springs to check on his story, but Texans were reluctant to approach officials. There was so much dishonesty in the Reconstruction government that ordinary people assumed you were dishonest if you had anything to do with it. Shrugging off worry about circumstances he couldn’t change, he brought his horse to a stop in front of the sheriff’s office. He tied his mount to the hitching post and went inside.
This office was not substantially different from the one in Crystal Springs, but it boasted two windows, two pictures on the walls, and an imposing metal cabinet behind one of two scarred, wooden desks. “What can I do for you?” the young man behind the smaller desk asked.
“I want to see the sheriff.”
“I’m the sheriff. What can I do for you?” he repeated.
Broc had expected an older man instead of one who appeared to be somewhere in his midtwenties. He knew better than to evaluate competence by age, but he knew it was hard for a young man to get the respect of older, established businessmen. Still, the sheriff seemed relaxed and sure of himself, so maybe he’d already proved he could handle the job.
“I need to explain why I’m here,” Broc said. “My presence in your town has already caused some discomfort. I expect it’s going to cause more.”
The sheriff’s scrutiny of Broc grew more intense. “I don’t like the sound of that. You’re new in town, aren’t you?”
“I’m really just passing through, but it’s more complicated than that.”
The sheriff’s attention didn’t falter. “Tell me.”
He listened without comment as Broc told about the fight, the judge’s decision, and the Liscomb family’s reaction to the news he’d brought. “Either I stay here and try to collect a debt everyone in the Liscomb family says doesn’t exist, or I go back to Crystal Springs and go to jail.”
The sheriff didn’t appear to have any sympathy for Broc’s dilemma. “The Liscombs are well liked by everyone in Cactus Bend. Aaron was a respected member of the business community. I helped settle his affairs after his death. I found no mention of any debt.”
Judge Pike seemed to have no doubt a debt existed. The Liscomb family and the sheriff were equally certain there was no such debt, which left Broc in a quandary. If there was no debt, he had no choice but to go back to Crystal Springs and serve his time in jail. However, if there was a debt, how was he going to prove it when everyone was convinced it didn’t exist? He didn’t think they were all in collusion. It was a lot of money, but it wasn’t enough to get so many people to lie. He had to have time to think, and he couldn’t do it with the sheriff glaring at him.
“I don’t know what to say,” he said to the sheriff. “I can only repeat that I was ordered by Judge Pike to see that the debt was paid, or I had to go to jail. I advised Mrs. Liscomb to send someone to Crystal Springs to talk to the judge. My only interest is to do what I can to get this debt settled.”
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” the sheriff said, “but I would advise you to leave town. I don’t care whether you go back to Crystal Springs or somewhere else as long as you don’t cause trouble here.”
Something was wrong, and Broc didn’t intend to suffer because of it. “I haven’t caused any trouble, and I don’t intend to. If you don’t believe what I said, you can send someone to Crystal Springs to talk to Judge Pike. Or,” he continued when the sheriff started to speak, “you can wait until he comes here in two weeks on his circuit.”
“We have no cases for him to hear, so he’ll bypass us.”
“You have one now.”
The sheriff bridled. “Are you trying to threaten me? Because if you are, you’ve chosen the wrong man.”
Broc smiled, though he didn’t feel like it. “I’m relating facts. Whether you choose to believe them is your business. Though you might consider what you’re going to say when the judge does arrive and learns you’ve done nothing.”
The sheriff was getting angry. “I don’t need advice from some drifter.”
Broc didn’t wear his best clothes when he traveled, but didn’t think he looked like a drifter. He supposed it was his scar. He stood. “I’ve said what I came to say.” He returned the sheriff’s stare. “I won’t be leaving town just yet. I expect I’ll be here to welcome the judge.”
“I’ll be watching you,” the sheriff promised.
“I hope you will. I want you to know that whatever wrongdoing is going on, I have no part in it.”
Broc paused outside the door of the sheriff’s office to consider what he should do next. The logical place to look for substantiation of the debt would have been Aaron Liscomb’s papers, but the sheriff said he’d seen them. Broc was certain Amanda had seen them as well, so there was nothing there to tell him what had gone wrong. The bank wasn’t going to give him any information, and no lawyer would speak to him except to tell him this was none of his business.
He started walking back to the hotel, his thoughts so taken up with his situation, he didn’t notice Corby Wilson until the man spoke to him.
“Why the hell are you still here?”
Chapter Five
Dressed all in black, Corby appeared out of the twilight like a bird of ill omen.
“At the moment I’m headed to my hotel,” Broc replied. “Is there something I can do for you?”
“You can leave town.”
“Sorry. You’ll have to choose something else.”
“You said you were leaving.”
“My plans have changed.”
“Then change them back.”
Broc couldn’t decide whether he was angry this overdressed twig thought he had a right to tell him what to do, or amused because Corby looked so absurd. There was so much grease in his hair, the strong breeze whistling down the street couldn’t blow a single strand out of place. He smelled so strongly of pomade that Broc moved to get upwind of him. And his suit had been tailored to fit his body so snugly, he looked like he ought to be uncomfortable wearing it. Despite the dusty streets, his shoes were freshly polished. What could Amanda see in this understuffed straw man?
“I’ll leave Cactus Bend as soon as I complete my business.”
“What kind of business can a man like you have here?”
What about that scar said he was anything but an honest, upstanding citizen with the right to be treated the way every other citizen was treated? “I’m a cowhand, and this is cow country.”
“You obviously don’t have any money of your own, and I don’t see anyone trusting you with more than your month’s wages. What can you do with that?”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” he said. “After all, your clothes make you look like a popinjay.”
From the blank expression on Corby’s face, it was obvious he didn’t know whether Broc had complimented or insulted him, but his look of irritation indicated he thought an insult was more likely.
“Sandoval and Carruthers are the biggest cattlemen around here,” Corby said. “If your business isn’t with them,
you don’t have any.”
“Then I guess I’d better talk to them. Where can I find the gentlemen?”
“They come to my saloon several times a week,” Corby stated with a touch of pride. “You can see them there if they’ll talk to you.”
“Thanks for the information. I’ll let you get on your way. I don’t want to keep you from any important business.”
Corby was still frowning when Broc walked away. Broc thought it must be hard worrying that every comment might carry a hidden insult. Once again he found himself wondering what Amanda could see in that man
Amanda had little appetite for the meal before her. Her mother picked at her food as usual, but Eddie and Gary ate like field hands despite their mother’s efforts to instill proper table manners. Amanda had endured a difficult morning. It didn’t help that she’d gotten very little sleep the night before. It helped even less that her mother couldn’t stop talking about Broc’s visit. The easiest part of the morning had been spent in the saddle with Leo. They weren’t doing very well because they were short a cowhand, and they’d never had enough help in the first place.
“A guy can’t work on a full stomach,” Gary said when he pushed back from the table. “So I might as well go to the saloon and get paid for a few extra hours.”
“I have a remedy for that,” Amanda snapped. “Go without dinner.”
“I’m surprised at you, Amanda,” her mother scolded. “Gary works hard.”
“So do the rest of us,” Amanda pointed out, “but we’re not going into town to waste the rest of the afternoon.”
“Gary told you he would get paid for the extra hours. You’re always telling me we need to watch our expenses because we don’t have enough money.”
“Things wouldn’t be so tight if Gary worked more around here.”
“You said we wouldn’t have any noticeable increase in our income until the calves were old enough to sell.”
Her mother could always find a reason for Gary to do exactly what he wanted, but she never extended the same privilege to her or Eddie. “Andy can’t work with his injured shoulder. We need Gary to stay here all day so we won’t get any further behind.”
When Love Comes Page 6