by Jodi Thomas
Gypsy took a deep breath. “That’s all I know. Can I get back to my chores? Oh, the doc said you’re going to live. We was all real glad to hear that.”
Jacob closed his eyes. “So am I.” But he didn’t smile. He was too worried about the boy. He didn’t like the idea of the kid being in jail. Jacob hadn’t saved him from the outlaws to watch him hang.
Jacob slept off and on until he heard the front door. He kept his eyes closed, listening to the preacher complain about the mud on the road and Wednesday say she was hungry.
Brother Aaron claimed if she ate any more, she’d pop, but Wednesday only laughed and said she had to eat because Mrs. O’Daniel said so.
A hand touched Jacob’s and, without looking, he knew it was Nell. When he closed his fingers around hers, she jerked in surprise.
“You’re awake.”
He smiled up at her. “I’m awake.”
She looked more beautiful than when he’d left. Her face was flushed with color, and her brown eyes were filled with worry. He’d always thought her pretty but never to the point that he couldn’t stop staring. The memory of how she’d looked that first night in her underthings flashed through his mind. Her skin had been like cream, and he’d had no trouble making out the outline of her breasts. She had nice breasts, not too big, not too small.
Jacob swore and closed his eyes. He must have been out on the trail too long. This was Two Bits he was looking at. He’d known her most of her life. It was probably just the lack of blood to his brain that made him think of such things. If the outlaw had cut him one more time, Jacob would probably think Gypsy was good-looking.
Jacob glanced at the little pixie of a woman still dusting the shelves. Her gray hair was like a fuzzy dandelion ball around her head, and the skin on her arms kept wiggling long after she’d stopped. No, he decided, he’d never lose enough blood to find her pretty.
“Want a little soup?” Nell asked.
He looked back to her. “I want a lot of soup and a steak if there’s one handy. Tell Marla she doesn’t even have to cook it, just warm it up and I’ll eat it.”
Nell smiled. “You’re definitely feeling better.”
Two bowls of soup and half a pie later, Jacob stopped eating. He’d moved to the couch by the fire in the big, airy room to eat. The old nurse buzzed around him like a dragonfly.
“If you eat any more, you’ll split your stitches.” Mrs. O’Daniel checked his bandages as if she expected to see blood.
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “You’ve got enough patients around this place. Don’t think you can add me to your list.”
Nell leaned forward and ran her hand over the bandage that covered his ribs. “Take care, Jacob.” Her fingers brushed his skin above the cotton. “You’ve lost enough blood for a while. No more.”
He met her eyes as her warm touch crossed his heart. He wondered how many times in the past three days she’d brushed her hand over his skin, maybe just making sure his heart was still beating, maybe feeling to see if he had a temperature. It didn’t matter; he was sorry he hadn’t been awake to enjoy her every touch.
Then, unexpectedly, he saw something in her eyes. She enjoyed the contact as much as he did. The knowledge that she saw him as a man as well as a friend surprised him.
Gypsy offered him a clean shirt, and Nell leaned away. The moment was gone.
The old hooker helped him into the shirt. “We had to toss all your old clothes.”
Jacob tried to button it, but the bandages across his hands slowed his progress. Finally, frustrated, he mumbled an oath.
Nell leaned forward and began buttoning his shirt from the bottom. As she moved up, he took a deep breath, breathing her in and wishing he knew how to tell her he wouldn’t mind if she reversed the action sometime.
“Thanks,” he managed to say when she’d finished. He no longer tried to keep his thoughts away. He didn’t care if she could read what he was thinking when she looked at him.
“You’re welcome.” She smiled.
The thought crossed his mind that she might be thinking the same thing. But she didn’t say anything. She just moved away and picked her sewing back up.
Jacob glanced around the room at the others, wondering if anyone had noticed him staring at Nell. The ranger decided he agreed with the old hooker; sometimes there did seem to be a crowd always around.
He would have liked to talk to Nell or Rand Harrison in private, but there wasn’t much chance of that. After an hour of milling around, the preacher, Wednesday, and Gypsy moved to the dining table to have a snack. Jacob caught Harrison’s eye. “Fill me in on what’s happened here since I’ve been gone.”
Harrison sat beside Nell. As Jacob expected, the bookkeeper answered without adding any unnecessary details. He told of the robbery in the house and of Hank’s arrest.
“How’s the boy holding up?” Jacob asked.
“Not well.” Harrison shook his head. “I talked to Parker, and he said one of the deputies got a little rough with him last night. Claimed Hank tried to jump him, but Parker admitted the deputy’s sister had been on the train, and the robbers scared her half to death. The kid’s lip is swollen and one of his eyes blackened. I got him to lift his shirt so Mrs. O’Daniel could make sure he didn’t have any broken ribs.”
Jacob nodded. He’d seen the way prisoners were sometimes treated in small jails before.
Harrison continued, “When Mrs. O’Daniel saw Hank this morning, she cried, then demanded to be allowed to look after his wounds.” Harrison showed no emotion as he added, “She feels bad for turning him in since he may have kept her alive during the robbery and probably saved you.”
“But he was part of the crime,” Jacob admitted. “And I promised I’d stand by him if there’s a trial.”
“The sheriff said they caught three others. They were almost at the Red River.” Nell broke her silence. “They had the loot but only one mule. Another mule had died. One of the posse rode in a few days ago to get a wagon. He said they just followed the circling buzzards and found the dead mule, then the tracks where the outlaws were dragging the loot was easy to follow.”
Harrison continued, “Parker thinks the posse will lock the gang up in his jail for a day or two, then head to Fort Worth for trial. He doesn’t want them staying here any longer than necessary. A lot of the town had kin on the train, and Parker fears the hanging will outrun the trial.”
An uneasiness settled over Jacob. He knew his job, back the law, but he didn’t like the idea of Hank being mixed in with the three outlaws still alive. The boy could have run a hundred times instead of bringing Jacob back here. Hank could have collected the horses, left Jacob for dead, and ridden to join his pa and the others. Or he could have ridden west and disappeared without a trace. He was old enough to hire on as a cowhand with only a few lies.
But he hadn’t. He’d brought Jacob home.
“I need a little fresh air. Harrison, will you join me?” Jacob stood slowly, testing his legs as he nodded once to Nell.
She turned her chair toward the dining area, but he didn’t miss the question in her gaze.
His body felt stiff, but he managed to walk to the front door. Harrison opened it for him, and they stepped into the sunshine.
When they were alone, Jacob said, “Thanks for taking care of Nell while I was gone.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
Jacob smiled. “I know.”
For a few minutes the two men stood in silence. Finally, Jacob added, “About the boy, I’ve got to ask you something I have no right to ask.”
Harrison leaned against the railing. “You’re wanting to know if I’ll help you break him out if a mob forms.”
Jacob raised an eyebrow. That was exactly what he planned to ask. He couldn’t believe Harrison guessed.
The bookkeeper shrugged. “I was thinking the same thing, but I would have never mentioned it to a Texas Ranger.”
“Smart idea.” Jacob laughed. “If you help, it might be dang
erous.”
Harrison crossed his arms over his chest and stared down. Jacob wasn’t sure Harrison would go along with any plan. After all, they would be breaking the law. Any other time, he’d stay in the jail and protect the prisoner, but he wasn’t sure he had the strength to ride. In a week, maybe less, he’d be able to fight any mob that came along, but right now, he wasn’t sure. “All I’d be asking you to do, Rand, was cover my back if the time came. Nothing more. Nothing illegal.”
Harrison took a breath and said in a low voice. “I was in Kansas once when a drunken mob decided to break into the jail and hold a midnight trial on a man who’d murdered his wife. They rushed the guard. Got a prisoner out with nothing but threats. I rode up just as they dropped him from the second floor of the saloon. His neck snapped when he reached the end of the rope. They went back to drinking, figuring they’d done their duty. The prisoner swung there till dawn.”
The bookkeeper looked up at the ranger. “The next morning we found out that the mob opened the wrong cell that night. They hung the wrong man.”
No hesitance shown in Harrison’s gaze. “I’ll not help you let him escape, but I’ll do whatever it takes to see he has a fair trail.”
Jacob nodded once.
The door opened, and Nell, flanked by her nurse, stepped out. “Afternoon, gentlemen,” she said. “We’re out for our walk.”
Jacob couldn’t believe it. The nurse might be holding her tightly about the waist and letting Nell lean on her for balance, but Nell was walking. He watched her grab one hand to the railing as she moved in baby steps along the length of the porch and back.
When she reached them, she looked exhausted, but she smiled, “Mrs. O’Daniel says another few days and I can go swimming.”
“You look grand,” Jacob said, and before he realized everyone was watching, he leaned and kissed her cheek.
“Now none of that,” Mrs. O’Daniel yelled in his ear. “Neither one of you are solid on your feet.”
She was right, he realized, and was thankful when Harrison moved to his side. Jacob placed his hand on Rand’s shoulder. “How about we go back in?”
Harrison understood and slowly walked inside with Jacob leaning on him for support.
Three hours later, when Jacob awoke from his nap on the couch, Wednesday was keeping watch over him.
“Hello.” He smiled. Nell might look more beautiful, but Wednesday only looked rounder. “How are you, Miss May?”
She giggled. “I’m fine. They told me to keep an eye on you while I sew. Miss Nell is napping. Mr. Harrison is working on the books.”
“Where are the preacher and Mrs. O’Daniel?” Jacob asked, realizing keeping up with everyone in this house wasn’t easy.
“They went back to town. Mrs. O’Daniel is worried about a cut over that boy’s eye. She wanted to ask the doctor to check it.” Wednesday looked down at the sewing. “I was in the kitchen, but Marla ran me out, telling me you needed watching more than she needed talking to.”
Jacob laughed, remembering how much the girl talked. “How about we go in the kitchen and see if Marla has anything to eat? I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Wednesday said as she set down her sewing.
Once they were at the kitchen table, Wednesday did most of the talking while Jacob ate everything Marla set in front of him. He felt sure the shy cook didn’t really want him taking up room in her kitchen, but as always, she didn’t say anything.
After a while, Harrison joined them for a cup of coffee while he unfolded the weekly paper.
“Feeling better?” he asked Jacob as he sat on a stool beside where Marla was cutting apples.
Jacob nodded. “Much. Good food is all I needed.” He glanced up to see Harrison smile briefly at Marla.
“She’s quite a cook. That’s a fact.” He straightened out his paper on the corner of the cutting board.
The thin cook’s cheeks were as red as the apple peels she sliced. Then, to Jacob’s total surprise, Harrison held his palm up beside the bowl, and Marla sliced off a piece of apple into his hand.
The action was a small one, looking as though she’d done it many times before. No big deal. A silent request granted.
Harrison ate the apple and read. Jacob wondered if he tried the same action would he lose a finger.
Wednesday chatted on about how frightened she was after the robbery, and Jacob watched the bookkeeper and the cook over the rim of his cup. Neither showed any sign of even being aware that the other one was in the room. But, after a few minutes, Harrison, without even glancing up, repeated his request. An apple slice landed in his hand.
A few hours later at dinner, Jacob managed to sit at the table without too much pain. He talked with Parker about all the news and told the sheriff how Hank had helped him. But, despite all he needed to tell the lawman, Jacob kept an eye on Marla.
She moved about as silently as always. Once everything was in place, she slipped into her chair beside Gypsy and ate her meal without looking up from her plate more than a few times.
Jacob was about to decide he’d been seeing things earlier in the kitchen, when Marla stood and began serving dessert with coffee. Harrison, at the other end of the table, also stood and collected plates. He never looked at Marla, yet he silently helped her and she thanked him with a brief nod when they passed one another.
Jacob pushed away from the table and excused himself. He’d eaten dessert in the kitchen as his appetizer. He walked slowly to the front porch, stretching his muscles and wondering how many days it would be before he felt like himself.
The night was warm for a change. Spring couldn’t be far. That was one thing he liked about this part of the country. The seasons changed all at once sometimes. He’d seen spring poke through snow and winter freeze leaves still green on the trees.
Relaxing on the porch swing, he lit a thin cigar and watched the night sky.
The door opened and closed, but he didn’t stand to peer around the corner to see who followed him out. He knew.
Nell rolled slowly toward him in the shadows. He watched, hating her chair. She’d once moved so gracefully on her long legs; now the jerky movements of her chair seemed so out of place.
“Want some company?”
“If you don’t mind the smoke.”
She pulled her chair beside the swing. “Did I ever tell you that I took up smoking my last year of school?”
“No.” He smiled, wondering if she were lying. When she’d been a kid, she’d sometimes think of the worst story possible so when he discovered the truth about some little something she’d done, he wouldn’t think it was so bad compared to the tale.
“Several of the girls did.” Her voice was low. “We’d climb up in the attic and open an old, forgotten window. Then we’d all sit around shivering while we smoked. I never got the hang of it, but I liked the smell.”
“You did?”
“Sure. It reminded me of busy nights in the old days when it always seemed like all the men smoked and all the women laughed. Fat Alice would make me go to bed early, but I could hear the partying happening below my room up in the attic.”
“I forgot you lived up there when you first came.”
“Fat Alice had my meals sent up with extra water and food so I’d have no reason to come down after dark. It wasn’t long after I came that she closed the business, and I guess you could say she went into private practice. Only her longtime customers were allowed to call.”
Nell brushed the bandage over the back of his hand. “Does it hurt?”
He stretched his fingers. “Not much.” He ran one finger over her palm, watching her long fingers curl slightly to his touch. “I’m glad to be back.”
“Jacob.” She moved her hand up his arm. “Do you think you could ever see me as a woman and not just some kid you protected?”
He leaned closer. “I do think of you as a woman. Hell, Nell, half the time I’m thinking of you, I’m trying not to think of you as a woman.”
Even in the
shadows he saw her smile. “Why?”
Jacob took a long breath. He didn’t know how to answer her. He thought of himself as a man of action, not words. But she needed the words. “Sometimes, when I’m out sleeping alone under the stars, I feel like I’m the only man alive. There’s a kind of loneliness that settles over me that aches all the way through my bones. When I get like that, I think of you. Not the kid I’ve known, but the woman who ran to me that day at the train station when you came home that last time from school. You were all woman, and I couldn’t believe you were running with your arms wide open toward me.”
She was still smiling.
“I swung you around in my arms wishing the whole world could see what a fine lady you were and wishing you’d never let go. I have to remind myself you’re my friend and maybe I shouldn’t be thinking about you like I do sometimes.”
He heard the lock click on the sides of her chair and watched her use the arms to stand.
“Will you hold me now?” she whispered as she extended her arm.
He circled her waist with his hands and gently sat her beside him. Lifting her legs over his knee, he pushed the swing in motion.
For a long while they moved gently with the breeze, cuddled against one another.
“Nell,” he whispered. “Would you mind if I kissed you again?” He thought about just leaning over, but after she’d told him she wouldn’t marry him, he didn’t know how she’d feel about him kissing her again.
She hesitated and finally whispered, “Would you mind touching me first?”
Jacob froze. That wasn’t the answer he’d expected. “All right,” he said for lack of something better. “Where would you like me to touch you?”
He expected her to hold his hand or put his fingers to the side of her face. After all, she was quite a bit younger than him, and maybe that was what she thought a man and woman should do first. He hadn’t been around women enough to know what they wanted. Maybe when he’d kissed her before, she’d thought he was leaving out a few steps along the way.