Scarlett put down her sewing and went to the window. “It’s as deserted as a ghost town. I believe our men are over-reacting.”
“It’s all Colton Blake’s fault,” Isabel said with a frown. “He is making more out of it than is warranted. The outlaws, if they are outlaws at all, are miles from town and have not made to come closer since arriving. They could be long gone for all we know.”
Aurora nodded and smiled. “I’m surprised he hasn’t materialized yet to escort you home.”
“Ladies.” Emmett Jones, the town doctor, entered through the back of the house and stopped upon seeing them. The man was too handsome for words and if that did not make one apprehensive, his stern personality made people hesitate to approach. He and Scarlett had been married for just over a year and she’d managed to smooth his edges just enough so that he was almost approachable.
Nonetheless, Emmett Jones was an amazing physician, whom the town was fortunate to have. His younger brother Evan, who was married to Aurora, was just as able, however, there was no doubt which of the two brothers was better qualified when it came to complicated or rare medical issues.
Emmett crossed the room and kissed Scarlett right on the lips. The act still astonished Isabel who’d known the man for years and had never seen his soft side until he married Scarlett. “Evan and I are going to the saloon. Several of the women have come down with something. We need to make sure it’s not contagious. I’ll be spending the night in the clinic afterward.”
Scarlett followed her husband back to their bedroom as Evan entered and conveyed the same message to Aurora. Both couples left the room and Isabel huffed. All the romanticism was annoying at times.
Moments later the men left and both women settled back onto their chairs. Both were flushed and Isabel didn’t have to wonder why. Obviously, the doctors had both been sent off well kissed.
“I’d best head home. It’s still early and there’s plenty of time for me to prepare a cake for tomorrow. Fern and Harriett have invited me for supper, so I don’t wish to show up empty handed.”
“I don’t think you should walk home alone.”
How much longer would her father be gone? This over-protectiveness from everyone was beginning to wear thin. “I’m sure the sheriff will materialize out of thin air with a scowl and a stern word.” She fetched her shawl and threw her embroidering into a small reticule.
“He does seem to be taking the responsibility of watching over you quite seriously,” Scarlett quipped. “I wonder if it’s not because he is sweet on you.”
“Sweet? Ha.” Isabel shook her head. “The man refuses to see me as more than a pesky child. He doesn’t recognize that I am a woman.”
Once the words were spoken, a pang resonated in her chest. It had to be she’d eaten too many sweets. Or perhaps it was the worry of the upcoming festival that affected her.
“You should just sit him down and tell him how you feel,” Aurora suggested. “I am willing to bet he would see you differently.”
Isabel gave her friends a droll look. “I am not going to expose my feelings to that overbearing oaf. He’ll probably laugh in my face. Then I’ll have to kick him in the leg or shoot him. The most important thing now is that the festival goes ahead as planned and that we all resume our normal everyday activities.”
Both Aurora and Scarlett gave her disapproving looks.
“Stop frowning at me. We all agree this must come to a stop. We need to get everyone together to discuss the upcoming celebration. We have less than a month to prepare and have yet to find out what everyone is selling.”
“Hopefully the outlaws will be gone by then,” Aurora said with a worried look. “It would be heartbreaking to cancel it.”
It would be horrible. Everyone had been working so hard either making items or canning appetizing food to sell. There was also the annual dance that the single people in town looked forward to. Finally, there were more women and men of marriageable age in Laurel Creek and this event would be a perfect opportunity for courtships to begin.
“It will happen, even if I have to ride out to speak to the outlaws myself. If they are single, maybe they too can attend the dance.” Isabel gave them a stern look.
The women broke into peals of laughter. “Will you be taking them a cake or a pie?” Aurora said between chuckles. “My goodness Isabel, the things you say.”
Moments later, she hurried down the main street, ensuring to stay close to the buildings. Once she reached the corner, she’d turn right and rush up to the next street over, where she lived. If she stayed to the right, hopefully Colton wouldn’t see her since the jailhouse was on the same side of the street much further up.
Isabel got to the corner and let out a sigh of relief. She’d made it and the pesky sheriff was nowhere in sight. With one last glance toward the jailhouse, she turned and slammed into a hard unmovable chest.
Startled, she let out a yelp and dropped her reticule. Bending to pick it up, when she straightened, Isabel managed to kick Colton on his left leg. He groaned and hobbled in a circle cursing under his breath.
“Oh goodness. Are you all right?” Isabel didn’t dare go near him as he continued to mutter about how he wanted to shake her until her head fell off.
“What are you doing? You were to wait for me to come fetch you from Doc’s house.”
Of course, he had said something to the effect, but she’d promptly put it out of her mind as there was no need for an escort. It was a clear sunny day, not a bad man in sight, for that matter, not a human in sight.
“I am perfectly capable of walking home. It’s broad daylight. Look around, do you see any marauders about?”
When his nostrils flared and he inhaled sharply, Isabel took a step backward. “Look there’s someone,” she pointed up the street where a wagon came into view. When he looked she rounded him only to be hauled back by a grip on her upper arm.
“Damn it Isabel, stop acting like a stubborn child and listen for once. Your father imparted the responsibility of your safety on me. I wish he hadn’t but he did. Will it kill you to at least try to be mature about this?”
If it weren’t for the fact she’d just kicked him, she’d do so right then. Then again, he had a second leg she could kick. “I am sick and tired of you treating me like a child. I am not a girl who needs to be scolded at every turn. I am capable of determining if I’m in danger or not.”
To her horror, angry tears sprung to her eyes and she had to look away to keep Colton from noticing. Of all the times to cry, this was definitely not one. For beginners, it would be a very childish thing to do.
“I’ll walk you home,” Colton said sternly, ignoring what she’d said and at the moment, she was much too angry to say anything else. Just one more word and she’d dissolve into tears or worse, angry wails.
They walked in silence, his hand on her elbow, the warmth of it both irritating and reassuring. He was a very dependable man. It was unfortunate that he’d never try anything untoward when her father had left her in his care. Colton and her father were very good friends, which meant he would continue to see her as the pastor’s young daughter and nothing more.
The closer they got to her house the faster she walked until he pulled her back. “What are you doing? Look I know you’re angry, but can you understand this is not something to be taken lightly. It’s my job to keep this town safe.”
Isabel whirled on her heel. “You can’t,” she yelled. “You are one man, you can’t keep us all safe. What you need to do is allow each of us to be able to fend for ourselves. While you’re wasting time walking me about, criminals could be sneaking into town.”
His gaze moved over her face with an unreadable expression. It was as if he fought some sort of inner battle. No doubt he wanted to throw her over his shoulder, toss her in the house and slam the door shut behind her.
Instead he looked up to the sky and placed both hands on his hips as if waiting for heavenly interference. “I promised your father. Is that so hard for you
to understand? And you’re wrong, I can keep this town safe. It’s my duty.”
“Why do you want to take so much on?” Isabel moved closer and placed a hand on his chest, just over his heart. “Everyone is doing what they’re told; men are standing guard and patrolling. You’ve done all that can be done. But still, you can’t take on the additional burden of being my personal guard. I am a grown woman, fully capable of taking care of myself.”
The rise and fall of his chest under her palm did strange things to her. Until the other night, she’d never touched him with so much familiarity before. His chest was hard and solid. How would it feel to be held against it? Would she ever know the shelter of his strong arms around her?
“Isabel.” Her name seemed to echo in her ears and she realized he was talking. She snatched her hand away.
“What is it?” she snapped, hoping to distract him from noticing the heating of her face. Of course her cheeks had to be reddened. Hopefully he’d think it was due to anger.
“Go on inside. I’ll watch from here.”
Unfortunately instead of a response, she peered up at him. They stood much too close and she was able to see the speckles of gold in his eyes when they met hers. The light shadowing of hair on his upper lip and jawline only made him more attractive, and the barely visible scar that trailed from the left side of his mouth to his chin begged to be touched or better yet kissed.
“Fine,” she said in a breathless whisper. “Don’t bother coming around tomorrow. I plan to stay home all day.” It was a lie as she had plans to go to the Richard’s for supper and Mr. Richards had promised to come by and fetch her.
His lips twitched as if he held back from smiling. “You wound my sensitive ego by the way you fight not to be in my company.”
Another lie. Isabel rolled her eyes and turned away. Interesting that with each step she took away from him, something tightened inside her. Her silly heart had to let go. It was time for her to face the fact that if she had any desire at all to marry and have a family, it was best to begin looking elsewhere. She’d already wasted too many years pining over a man who’d never see her with any romance in mind.
It was a struggle, but she managed to go up the steps and inside without turning to see if he watched. Best not to see how easy it was for him to walk away each time.
A scratching sound woke Isabel out of a dead sleep. She sat up and listened intently although it was difficult to hear over the drumming of her heart. Whatever it was thankfully wasn’t in the house, but outside her bedroom window. There was a shotgun in the corner of her bedroom and she eyed it. Then ever so slowly, she crept out of bed and inched to the window.
Isabel had never been more grateful to have a two story house and that her bedroom was safely tucked in the back corner of the house. There wasn’t a trellis or any way for someone to climb up. She however did maintain a rope ladder under her bed. An idea of her father’s so that in case of a fire it would be easy for her to escape.
A shadow moved from the side of the schoolhouse to the door. Whoever it was seemed to have trouble walking. Hunched over and limping, his body swaying side-to-side as the person struggled with each step. It was a thin man, she saw him clearly once the moonlight shown down. He looked to be young and had a lanky body that had yet to fill out. The boy reached for the door and yanked at it, then looked around when the wood creaked. When the door opened, he limped inside closing it behind.
Isabel let out a breath and then stood on her tiptoes to see if anyone followed the boy. It was a quiet clear night, so she could see into the distance. There didn’t seem to be anyone about. There were blankets in the schoolhouse since at times the temperature would fall and some of her students would not be wearing coats.
Whoever it was would hopefully find the blankets and that suited her fine. Hopefully by morning, he’d be gone and on his way to find medical care.
A part of her wanted to go to the young man and help, but she had enough sense to know she wasn’t strong enough to hold him off if whomever it was decided to hurt her.
Chapter 4
The moonlight streaming through the window gave Colton enough light to look around. He wasn’t sure what to do about the man he’d locked up in the jail cell just moments earlier. Normally, he would’ve let the idiot who’d been brawling in the saloon go with but a stern warning. However, he’d overreacted and been furious at being awakened to break up a fight and then been kicked by the drunken man.
His left leg throbbed. It was the same leg Isabel had kicked. What were the odds? Giving up on getting any rest, he went to the stove and started a fire to heat up water. After the water boiled, he put some aside to wash up with and then dipped a thick cloth into it and put the hot compress on the bruised area.
Isabel. She was a handful. Her bright blue eyes always seeming to search for an answer when meeting his. Although she was young still at nineteen, the girl, no she wasn’t a girl anymore. Isabel was a young, beautiful, smart, and independent woman.
Colton had no doubt whatsoever that Isabel was perfectly able to take care of herself. If he were to be honest, Pastor Ward had only asked that he keep an eye out for her and not to be her personal guard. It was him who’d taken advantage to spend more time with the beauty, since he enjoyed the banter between them. Isabel never ceased to surprise him with the many ways she came up with to avoid being supervised. Her quick wit always kept him thinking about her and entertained him for hours afterward.
The game between them was a dangerous one. Colton was fully aware Isabel had feelings for him. At least she had at one time. When a girl, she’d been much too innocent to hide the forlorn looks and admiration whenever he came around. Every so often, her father would meet Colton’s gaze and they’d secretly smile about it.
Lately however, he wasn’t sure if she still felt the same. If anything, Isabel was constantly annoyed with him. Perhaps the infatuation was gone and replaced with a different feeling, one Colton wasn’t sure he liked.
Isabel Ward had blossomed into a beauty. With golden hair that fell in waves past her waist and beautiful bright blue eyes, the color of a clear sky, turning almost silver at times. She was breathtaking. Her pert nose made him want to plant a kiss on the tip and her mouth, those lips were like plump strawberries about to burst with flavor. Yes, he was not immune to her and many a time had to stop himself from doing something careless that could affect the friendship between him and her father.
The situation was fragile. Colton would not buckle to his base instincts with Isabel. Not unless he was certain to want more than just a kiss or a tumble. Which, by the way would only happen in his imagination when it came to her. More times than not, he’d been rather aroused after spending time with the feisty beauty.
Just that day, her hand flat against his chest had caused him to hold his breath and he’d fought to keep from pulling her into his arms. Not knowing the inner struggle he was going through, she’d kept her hand flat over his heart for longer than necessary. Colton had not minded one bit. It was rare, but whenever she did reach for him, it always left him wanting more.
Shifting in an attempt to find a comfortable position, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Thankfully the compress helped with the throbbing.
It was still too early to go anywhere, and the day would start soon enough, so for a few minutes Colton relaxed. There was much to do that day. Hopefully he’d receive a telegram regarding the outlaws and direction as to what he should do. Secondly, he had to ensure the men who were taking turns guarding were not growing too weary of the task. Tiredness led to short tempers and accidents. It wasn’t something anyone needed to deal with.
There was the prisoner in his cell to be dealt with first thing. No doubt the man would be furious, demanding to know why he had been arrested and not the other man he’d been fighting with. Colton stared up at the ceiling. There were times he felt as if he was a grade school teacher like Isabel. Dealing with the basest moments in people’s lives.
&nb
sp; He’d probably not have time to speak to Isabel that day. She would be safe. As long as she remained home until Phillip Richards collected her for supper. Isabel had lied the day before when stating she’d be home all day. It almost made him burst out laughing at how mischievous she was.
He prayed she’d not get in to any type of trouble until her father returned. His hands were full with the outlaws and seeing about the townspeople.
The last thing Colton needed was for some sort of mishap with her.
“I’m not keen on having spent the night here,” Bert Noggins repeated adjusting his pants up over his waist. The wife will have my hide for being gone all night.” His narrowed bloodshot eyes locked onto Colton. “You didn’t have cause to lock me up, Sheriff.”
Colton stood by the front door peering out to avoid the man’s stale breath. “You kicked me. That alone is an offense that warranted you being thrown in jail. Most lawmen would have left you in for a couple more nights.”
“I’m sure it was in self defense. Or accidental.” The man gave him a droll look. “I’m not a violent man.”
Why did the man not leave? Colton wasn’t in the mood to spend hours arguing over the fairness of what had happened. “You were fighting. Sean came to fetch me because he couldn’t get control of you,” Colton said, referring to the saloon’s bartender.
“I don’t remember that. It wasn’t me. I’m sure of it.”
“It was,” Colton said and motioned to the door. “You best get on home. Your wife is probably worried.”
Just as Bert left, a man covered from head to boots in dust entered. Behind him several men milled. Obviously, they had an inkling the stranger brought some sort of news.
Isabel, An Independent Bride Page 3