by Jodi Thomas
Accidentally stabbing her finger, Nell fought to keep from swearing. The hurt inside was far deeper than the prick. She had to think with her head, not her heart. She remembered how one of her teachers used to say that knowing what was right and doing what was right don’t always run on the same track.
Well, she knew what was right for Jacob, and that was for him to walk away from her and get on with his life.
The clank of Sheriff Parker’s wagon drew her attention. Thankful for the distraction, she asked Wednesday to open the door so she could greet him on the porch. She hadn’t expected him back until near suppertime, but maybe he picked up more mail after he saw Mr. Harrison to the turnoff to the Stockard place.
His old wagon rattled and squeaked so loudly she thought she could hear it coming almost from the time the sheriff left town. She waited on the porch for him.
As soon as he came into sight, Nell knew something was wrong. “Wednesday!” Nell tried to keep her voice calm. “Would you go find Jacob and tell him I need him as soon as possible?”
Wednesday looked confused but waddled off toward where Jacob had been working with the horses in a field past the barn. They’d all seen him from the window earlier.
Brother Aaron stood from the porch swing and moved to Nell’s side. Without taking his attention off the approaching wagon, he whispered, “He’s moving too slow not to be trying to transport something lightly. I fear we have trouble arriving.”
“I know,” Nell answered, straining to see if it could be Randolph Harrison riding in the buckboard. The bookkeeper said he was meeting Parker. She calculated the hours. Three, maybe four, since Mr. Harrison left. He’d had time to reach town and from there ride out to the turnoff to the Stockard place. But, she reasoned, he hadn’t had time to get there and back. If Harrison was in the wagon, something had happened to him before he got to the Stockard place. But what?
The only enemy she could think Harrison might have would be Walter Farrow, and he could handle himself well enough to stay out of the bossy man’s way. Also, even if they met in town, Farrow seemed more like a man who might take an enemy to court, not call him out.
The sheriff drove as if trying to make the trip as easy as possible on his cargo.
“Can you see anything?” she asked Brother Aaron.
The preacher shielded his eyes. “There’s something in the back, but I can’t tell what. I’ll go down and open the gate so he doesn’t have to stop.”
Nell tried to remember to breathe as the sheriff pulled his wagon up in front of the house. She could see blankets in the back. And a body, covered completely. It had to be a body.
Grabbing the railing, Nell forced herself to stand. She’d forgotten to lock the chair, and it rolled backward, but she hardly noticed. “Mr. Harrison,” she whispered. If he were dead, it would all be her fault. He wouldn’t have been checking the ranch if she hadn’t asked him.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jacob running toward the wagon. He must have come to the same conclusion.
“Morning,” Parker said. The sheriff smiled as if nothing were wrong.
Jacob reached him. “What is it?”
Parker lowered himself from the bench seat. “Oh, nothing much. I just thought I’d bring out the new nurse.”
Nell almost collapsed. It wasn’t Randolph Harrison.
Jacob leaned into the buckboard. “Is she alive?”
Parker laughed. “I wouldn’t bring you a dead one, now would I?”
The ranger didn’t look like he appreciated the joke.
Throwing back the blanket, the sheriff added, “There was a train robbery northwest of Fort Worth this morning. I didn’t get a lot of the details. Got my deputies collecting statements now. But from what I gathered, the passengers decided to buy samples from a liquor salesman so they could steady their nerves. Drunkest bunch of folks I ever saw arrived on the noon train. I couldn’t just leave a snoring woman laid out on the platform, so I brought her here.”
“Lord! Lord!” the preacher yelled. “The devil’s taken to riding trains.”
CHAPTER 15
THE NURSE SLEPT IN THE BACK OF THE SHERIFF ’S wagon like a logger after a hard winter. Jacob placed the blanket back over her face to muffle the sound. “She seems fine,” he yelled at Nell, who stood watching from the porch.
Sheriff Parker grinned and whispered to Jacob, “If this were one of them fairy tales, she’d be Sleeping Ugly.”
“How long has she been out?” Jacob swore he could smell her breath through the quilt covering her.
“Ever since I picked her up. She was the only single woman that got off, or rather got carried off, the noon train. I figured she had to be the nurse that Nell sent for to replace Mary Ruth.”
Jacob tried to judge her weight by the bump she made in the blanket. He’d guess her almost double Nell’s width, but the woman would be shorter by a head.
The sheriff read his mind. “We could let her sleep it off in the barn. I could borrow one of Nell’s wagons for the ride back to town.” He tried to make himself not sound like a coward. “It don’t seem fair to wake a woman up after all she’s been through this morning.”
“Maybe we’d better ask Nell. I have no idea what to do with a drunk nurse.” Jacob glanced toward the porch in time to see Nell start to crumple, her hands peeling away from the railing as she fell.
He ran around the wagon and was halfway up the walk when her legs no longer held her. She was alone. No one stood near enough to help.
Panic gripped his heart as he watched her melt like a rag doll. At first she seemed to drift to the planks. Then he heard her head hit the wood, a hollow, sickening sound. He would have taken a bullet not to have seen her fall.
In what seemed like a heartbeat, he leaned over her and lifted her into his arms. “Two Bits,” he whispered, wishing her eyes would open. “Nell, are you all right? Answer me!”
She didn’t move.
Suddenly, everyone surrounded him, buzzing like flies, asking questions, trying to get closer, trying to help. He didn’t care what they had to say. He held Nell as gently as he could in his arms and stood. The only voice he wanted to hear was hers.
“Get her upstairs,” Gypsy ordered. “I’ll get cold towels. She always bumps her head when she falls.”
“Should I go for the doctor?” Parker asked. “I could toss the nurse out of the buckboard and make it back in minutes.”
“You know he wouldn’t come.” Gypsy swore beneath her breath. “That’s why Dr. McClellan wants her to have a nurse. He knows the town doc never has the time to care.”
Wednesday started crying as she waddled back and forth across the porch like a windup toy. The girl was starting every sentence with “I should have . . .”
Jacob knew he had to do something, anything, fast.
“Gypsy, soak towels in well water. That should be cold enough. I think you’re right; she did hit the back of her head.” He turned toward the entrance. “Wednesday, hold the door and then find Marla.” He looked at Parker. “Help me get her upstairs, Sheriff.”
Everyone ran at once, glad to have something to do besides panic. Parker walked ahead of Jacob as if clearing a path. Everyone but Gypsy climbed the stairs in slow motion.
About the time they reached her room, Nell moved in his arms, moaning as she reached for her head. Jacob took the first deep breath since he’d seen her fall. He rolled her slightly so that her head rested against his heart. “You all right?”
She rubbed her face against his chest. “I think so,” she whispered as he laid her down on top of her bed. “What happened?”
He knelt on one knee. “You about scared the hell out of me! You should have . . .”
She closed her eyes and moaned in pain. He forgot what he’d been about to say.
The human flies were back, buzzing around Nell, taking off her shoes, pulling the pins from her hair, covering her with blankets, putting a cold rag behind her head. Suddenly everyone had something to do but Jacob.
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Jacob stepped back, feeling helpless.
The sheriff lit the fire in her small fireplace as if there were a chill in the air.
Jacob crossed to the windows, surprised at how anger had replaced fear. He couldn’t believe he wanted to yell at Nell for falling. Why had she stood in the first place? Didn’t she know how fragile she was? Couldn’t she think ahead? She might have been really hurt in a fall. Hell, she might be hurt right now for all he knew. Gypsy had said something about Nell usually bumping her head. Didn’t the woman learn anything?
He stared out the window, forcing himself to calm. Yelling at Nell would do no good. What kind of fool gets mad at the fool who lets herself get hurt? They were dueling idiots.
Jacob watched the preacher help an unsteady nurse out of the back of the wagon as Brother Aaron tried to introduce himself to a drunk. She seemed more interested in straightening her hat than in talking to anyone.
“Are you married, woman?” Brother Aaron bellowed in his town hall meeting voice.
The stout woman in her forties nodded. “I’ve been wed three times and widowed three times.” She hiccupped and tried to keep her words from slurring together. “I took care of them all until they decided to go meet their maker. When the last one died, I decided I might as well take up nursing. It already seemed my chosen occupation.”
The preacher bowed. “It appears, madam, we are in the same business. We’re both sending souls to heaven.”
She took his arm and let him lead her up the walk. Just before they disappeared from view, Jacob heard the preacher ask the nurse if she’d like a cup of coffee before she went up to meet Miss Nell.
Jacob thought that would be a great idea. What good would a drunken nurse do Nell now? He’d already decided to tell Nell to send her back on the afternoon train. He smiled, remembering the preacher’s night out and Gypsy’s drinking almost every Friday night. They already had their quota of drunks around the place. The nurse would have to look for employment somewhere else.
He glanced back at Nell. A tiny blue bottle rested on her nightstand. Jacob knew what it was: opium. He wanted to ask how much she took each day, but his question could wait. Right now he was just happy to see she wasn’t reaching for the bottle in pain.
Gypsy rolled the wheelchair in and shoved it near the window so it would be out of the way. When she passed him, the little woman patted his arm. Her light blue eyes were filled with tears. “She’s going to be all right, Ranger. Just took a fall, that’s all.” He wasn’t sure if she said the words to him or to herself. “I’ve tumbled down the stairs twice in the last year and look at me.”
He’d rather not, so he pointed with his head toward the bottle. “How often does she take that stuff?”
“She is not deaf,” Nell answered before Gypsy could say a word.
Jacob smiled, but his words sounded harsh. “Well, it’s surprising, because she’s certainly dumb.”
Gypsy darted out of the way as if expecting something to fly between them at any moment. “I’ll be in the kitchen helping Marla if you need me.”
The sheriff ushered Wednesday out. “We’d best get downstairs. Miss Nell is fine; she needs a little rest,” he said, sounding almost as if he knew what he was talking about. “You’ll call us, Dalton, if she needs anything.”
Jacob walked over to the door and slammed it closed. “I’ve got a few words to say to you, and now’s as good a time as any.”
Nell rose to her elbows. “I’m not listening to anything when you talk to me in that tone. Go away. I have a headache.” She closed her eyes as if to make him disappear.
Jacob crossed to her bed and sat down beside her. “You’ll listen to me if I have to tie you to the bed.”
She opened one eye as she folded her arms across her chest. “All right, Dalton, say what you have to say.”
“I don’t want you thinking you can stand when no one is near to catch you. I want you to promise me you’ll not try. Promise me there will be no repeat of what I saw today.” He took a deep gulp of air, wondering if she had any idea how close she’d come to scaring him to death. He’d rather face down a band of horse thieves than see her fall again. “You are never to do such a thing again.”
“Or,” she said calmly.
Or I’ll what? he thought. She was too old to threaten. Too much a woman to punish. In a way what she’d done had been what she had always done. She’d taken a risk. He realized he loved and hated the same thing about her. She wouldn’t be Two Bits if she wasn’t a fighter, and a fighter would never accept being tied to a wheelchair, even if it meant that every time she stood, she took the chance of falling.
“End of discussion,” he said, realizing he was making no sense. Her half of the argument had been one word. What bothered him most was that she’d won.
When he turned away, wanting to disappear before he made an even bigger fool of himself, she reached out and gripped his hand. He froze, not knowing how he’d explain his actions if she asked him to. How could he explain how much she meant to him?
“Jacob, I’m all right. I’ve got a bump on my head. That’s all.” To his surprise, she smiled at him. “I know you’re worried, but I’m fine. We all get bumps from time to time.” She brushed the bruise on his forehead.
He leaned down, his face only a few inches from her. “I was . . .” He couldn’t find a word that expressed how he’d felt. He was not a man to admit to being frightened.
Her fingers brushed across his hair. “I know.”
Jacob told himself he wouldn’t get so close to her again. Last night had to be a onetime thing. She’d made it plain she wanted a husband in name only. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you look?” The words were out before he could stop them. He closed the distance between them and brushed his mouth lightly over hers. As she lifted slightly and kissed him back, their bodies touched.
He leaned lower, pressing his chest against the softness of her breasts. He could feel her heart pound as he tasted her lips once more, and her mouth opened in invitation. She wasn’t going to make the “in name only” part easy for him, but he decided he’d take all the punishment he could before complaining.
She felt so right against him. Like a part of him had always been missing. He breathed her in, filling his lungs with the fragrance that was only Nell. Wildflowers, he thought. She smelled of wildflowers.
For a moment, she clung to him, drawing him closer; then she moved her hand from his hair and gently tried to push him away.
Jacob resisted, wanting more. The slight pressure against his shoulder was featherlight. He could ignore it. This was what he wanted. What they both wanted.
Then he realized what he’d been about to do and straightened. It took a while for his pulse to calm, for him to be able to look at her without passion in his eyes. “Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“You didn’t hurt me,” she answered, but her smile was sad. “I don’t think we should be doing this . . .”
“Right,” he answered not needing to hear the rest. Of course we shouldn’t. How could he expect her to consider marrying him if he wasn’t going to follow her first rule? Marriage in name only. She wanted his name, not his love. If a fall could almost kill her, what might lovemaking do?
He stood and did his best to smile before he left the room. It didn’t surprise Jacob to find Gypsy outside the door.
The old woman started past him. “I’ll set with her while she’s resting,” Gypsy whispered. “No matter how she hurts, it won’t be long before she wants to get back up.”
“You’ll call me.” Jacob felt helpless. “I’ll carry her down.”
Gypsy nodded. “You go down and try to sober that nurse up.” She reached for the door, then glanced back. “And try not to scare her off before Nell gets a chance to talk to her. The nursing school told us they were scraping the bottom of the barrel to find one more graduate willing to come. The only reason we got this one was because she’s so old none of the hospitals wanted to
hire her.”
Jacob walked down the stairs thinking they hadn’t even had lunch yet, and he’d already had enough excitement for one day.
One look at Sheriff Parker’s face told Jacob he was mistaken.
CHAPTER 16
JACOB SADDLED HIS HORSE. EVERY BONE IN HIS BODY wanted to stay with Nell, but duty called. When he’d signed on with the Texas Rangers he’d sworn to protect all the citizens, not just one, and if he didn’t do his job now, more would die.
“You’ll check on her.” He shot the sheriff a grim look. “Twice, maybe three times a day?”
“She’ll be all right. You’ve got your hands full of worry already.” Parker reassured Jacob for the tenth time. “She’s surrounded by women, plus she’s got Harrison and Brother Aaron to look after her. Near as I can tell, everyone in this house is armed, so don’t go thinking someone will just walk in and harm them.”
“Maybe she’d be safer in town?”
Parker shook his head. “She wouldn’t go, even if we both ganged up on her and demanded it. This is her home. How do you think folks are going to react if Nell moves all her gang to town?”
Jacob knew. Most folks wouldn’t speak to Marla, much less Gypsy. They’d treat Harrison and the preacher like strangers. There wasn’t a hotel big enough to hold them all, or that would let the men stay close enough to the women to be of any good if trouble came. Wednesday would be stared at. And worst of all, they’d pity Nell. She’d hate that.
Parker was right. She’d be safer here. “I wish I didn’t have to leave,” he said aloud. “It’s been quiet for two nights, but that’s no guarantee. I should have caught the shooter. Then all this worry over Nell would be over.”
“You tried, son. That’s the best you can do.”