Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico

by Lena Nelson Dooley

  What was that all about? She hadn’t spent much time with men, but she’d never met one who was more exasperating—and on a totally different level from the problems with Horace Johnstone. Those didn’t feel quite as personal.

  Jeremiah knew the cameo proved her guilt, and when her hand fluttered to her chest and covered the cameo, he didn’t need any more proof. Why else would she be so nervous? He couldn’t get to the sheriff fast enough.

  Bill looked up from placing a table where it usually rested in the dining room. “Give us a hand, Jeremiah.”

  He grabbed two chairs and slid them under a table the sheriff had just put in place. “I need to talk to you.”

  Bill stared into Jeremiah’s eyes as if assessing his intent. “Can’t it wait until after our fellowship meal?”

  Jeremiah hesitated. A few minutes longer wouldn’t make any difference, would it? He gave a grudging nod.

  When Jeremiah turned to glance at Philip, Mrs. Sneed was taking the baby from his arms. Miss Mercer watched while Philip carefully got up from his chair, then she accompanied him on a trip down one side of the tables. She carried his plate, and he told her what he wanted to eat. She kept up friendly banter with the old man, and both of them laughed often. This didn’t fit with his picture of her as a conniving woman, but maybe she was just using her charm to keep Philip interested until they could fleece him of every dollar he owned.

  After Jeremiah sat with three other ranchers and talked about cattle, the weather, and prices of supplies, all while consuming several plates of delicious food, he noticed Bill heading out the front door. He excused himself from his companions and hurried after the sheriff.

  “Come on, walk with me.” Bill pulled his badge out of his pocket and pinned it on his shirt. “I don’t wear this in church, but I’ve gotta go down and check on things near the Golden Spur. I don’t know why they have to raise a ruckus on Sunday. But drunks don’t observe the Sabbath. We can talk on the way.”

  Jeremiah matched his stride to that of the lawman. “I wanted to ask if you saw that cameo she wore today?”

  “Who?”

  Jeremiah stopped in his tracks, then hurried to catch up. “Who do you think I mean? That Mercer woman. That should prove she’s the outlaw, so you can arrest her now.”

  Bill stopped and turned toward him. “I wish you’d just let me do my job. I noticed how nice that cameo looked on her. And I have more pressing needs than bothering a nice woman on Sunday.”

  Jeremiah had been biting back a lot of words around this man lately.

  “Maybe it’s the same cameo. Maybe it isn’t,” Bill said calmly. “I’m going to wait for the handbill to arrive before I do anything. Don’t need to upset everyone if she isn’t the person they’re looking for.” He started walking again.

  Jeremiah didn’t join him. He stood on the boardwalk, stewing in the hot sun. To him, it was as plain as the nose on his face that the Mercer woman was the one the law was looking for. And he had to find a way to prove it.

  When he got back to the hotel, Philip stood in the lobby talking to the Oldmans. He glanced toward the door. “I’d a-thought ya forgot me if’n I hadn’t seen the wagon.”

  Jeremiah stepped into the shaded room. “I wouldn’t forget you. And, anyway, I want to ask Sam something.”

  Monday morning, Jeremiah went to the barn to talk to Manny. Both of the foals were doing fine. At least something was going like it should. And he hadn’t lost a horse during the process.

  Ramirez rode in hell-bent for leather. Jeremiah had never seen him ride his horse so hard. He stopped beside the barn in a cloud of dust. “Boss, sandstorm’s a-comin’. A gigantic one. Looks like a massive wall movin’ across the desert.”

  “Where’d you see it?” Jeremiah signaled for Manny to saddle Lightning.

  “I was up on the high ridge on the far west end of the ranch. You can see a long ways from there. The storm is way out in the desert, but it’s headin’ straight towards Golden.” He jumped from his horse and led it into the shady barn.

  Manny brought Lightning to Jeremiah.

  “Make sure everything is battened down. I’m going to check on Philip. He has a lot of trouble breathing when sand and dust are blowing.” He vaulted into his saddle and headed out much the same way Ramirez came in.

  When he topped the final ridge before the last leg of the journey into Golden, the enormous brown cloud had moved across the surface of the earth at an alarming speed. He’d barely make it to Philip’s in time.

  Jeremiah rode Lightning into the barn of the empty house that had belonged to Philip’s closest neighbor. He jumped from the saddle and led the horse into a stall, then closed the gate behind him. At a dead run, he made it the rest of the way up to the adobe and leapt up onto the front porch. He burst through the door and slammed it behind him. When he turned, he read terror in Madeline Mercer’s eyes.

  Madeline had been leaning over Philip trying to get him to drink some water. He’d been coughing and wheezing ever since the wind had risen to a roar. Something was wrong with him, and she didn’t know how to help him. At least Pearl slept in the back bedroom, so she wasn’t disturbed by the ruckus Philip was making.

  When the door slammed open, she looked up. Her nemesis stood silhouetted in the doorway for only an instant before he shut the door with enough force to wake the dead. Maybe not the dead, but Pearl heard it. A loud wail joined the eerie squeal of the wind.

  She fought the tears clogging her throat and filling her eyes. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” Even though she tried to put up a brave front, her voice trembled.

  “Monstrous sandstorm’s about to hit the house.” Jeremiah grabbed a bandanna from his pocket and quickly tied it around Philip’s mouth and nose. “Go see about your baby.”

  While she grabbed Pearl and changed her, she could hear the man moving around and doing something in the other parts of the house. Soon he came into the room where she had just finished changing the baby. He carried an armload of towels and sheets. He stuffed them close around the edges of the windows.

  “I’m trying to keep as much of the dirt out as I can. These will help.” He glanced at her.

  Pearl snubbed against Maddy’s shoulder.

  “This your first sandstorm?”

  She nodded, trying to soothe Pearl.

  “You got a lightweight cover for the baby?”

  She’d never seen him this frantic. “Yes.” She pulled a white dimity blanket with pink roses embroidered on it from a drawer.

  “Give her to me.” He held out his arms toward Pearl.

  Even though she wasn’t sure she wanted him to touch her daughter, she relinquished the child to him. Ever so gently, he began to talk to Pearl as he wrapped the thin fabric around her, even covering her face.

  “This will act like a filter to keep her from breathing in whatever dust seeps through the cracks.” He carried Pearl into the room where Philip had settled against the back of his rocking chair, breathing a little easier through the bandanna mask.

  Still holding Pearl, Jeremiah sat on the sofa. He rocked his upper body back and forth and patted her back while she huddled against his chest.

  A broad, muscular chest. Why did she even notice such a thing? This was neither the time nor the place. And certainly not the man she should be noticing that way.

  She coughed, and her stomach felt a little queasy. Not exactly as though she would lose her lunch, but very unsettled in a sick sort of way. She sat on the sofa and leaned her head back, trying to control her stomach.

  With one fluid motion, still holding the baby on his shoulder, Jeremiah stood and went into Philip’s bedroom. He returned with another bandanna. “Here. Tie it around your face and breathe through it.”

  While she complied, he went to the kitchen, and she could hear him moving the handle of the water pump. It made a funny squeak on the downstroke. When he returned, he carried a glass of water.

  He handed it to her. “Here. Drink this slowly. It’ll
wash some of the dust you’ve already swallowed out of your system.”

  She took a sip. The cool liquid soothed her throat and calmed her stomach a little. She leaned back again, listening to the wind howl. She’d never heard anything like it. The storm sounded like a living creature crying and moaning as it pushed against the house. And as the sand hit the glass in the windows, the grains made pinging sounds, almost sounding musical, in an odd sort of way.

  With the doors and windows shut tight and the window facings stuffed with towels, the house was dark as twilight. Everything about this made her nerves stand on end. Here she was in a dark house with two men, surrounded by an impenetrable storm. She crossed her arms and shivered, feeling helpless.

  “How…” She cleared her throat and took another sip. “How long does a storm like this last?”

  “Not usually very long.” He kept patting Pearl’s back rhythmically as she rested against him. “But this one is larger than any I’ve ever been in. I don’t have any idea how long it’ll take to blow through.”

  “At least Philip stopped coughing.” Maddy didn’t know what else to do for her dear friend, so she was glad Jeremiah had come along and taken over. “And it’s not the hottest part of the day yet…even though it’s getting stuffy in here.”

  The air in the house now had enough dust in it that everything looked hazy. She had never seen anything like this. Storms back in Boston had thunder, lightning, and rain. Possibly a lot of wind—even hail or sleet. No telling what would have happened if Jeremiah Dennison hadn’t arrived when he did.

  The man sitting beside her began humming a tuneless song while he leaned his face close to Pearl. Maddy never would have thought of the man as being paternal, but right now, that’s how he looked. Like a good father would, calming his daughter during a storm. Maddy’s ideas about the man had just taken a drastic turn. And that disturbed her more than the storm did.

  Jeremiah would never have chosen to hold that baby during the storm, but when Madeline thrust Pearl into his arms on his command, something in his heart broke loose. He’d cuddled her and done his best to keep her calm.

  While he cleaned up the mess the sandstorm left at the ranch, he couldn’t sweep the feelings out of his heart. That baby had touched places no one had ever reached. Swooping in and saving her and Madeline had left damage that he had no idea how to deal with.

  Tuesday afternoon, Jeremiah was showing Sam Oldman what he wanted added onto the ranch house when the sheriff rode up and dismounted. “Be with you in a minute, Bill.”

  “So do you think you and Carlos can tackle the job right away?” Jeremiah studied the man who looked very different than he had on Sunday in the church service.

  “Don’t see why not.” Sam nodded toward his helper. “I’ve been getting a lot more done since he’s been helping me. If we can hire a few of the unemployed miners, we’ll get finished even quicker.”

  “I’ll agree to that, if you can find some that are good with building materials. I think most of the ones who helped with Philip’s house either went back to the mines or left town. So when can you start?” The sooner the better as far as Jeremiah was concerned.

  “Since you have most of the supplies needed, we can start right away. How about tomorrow morning, bright and early?”

  When Jeremiah agreed, the preacher carpenter offered his hand to seal the deal.

  As the two workers rode out of sight, Jeremiah turned back to his good friend. “So what brings you out here today, Bill? Some of T-Bone’s coffee and gingerbread? I think he made some after lunch. The men will get it with supper.”

  “I must have smelled it all the way into Golden. No one makes gingerbread as good as T-Bone’s.”

  The two men headed toward the cook shack. After they were seated with a plate of the dessert in front of them and cups of hot black coffee in their hands, Bill took one bite followed by a swig of coffee. Then he set everything down and pulled an envelope out of his shirt pocket.

  “Hiram brought this today.” He handed the missive to Jeremiah.

  After sliding the papers from the already-opened envelope, Jeremiah studied the handbill. The drawing was rather crude, but the woman did bear some resemblance to Madeline Mercer. However, she could also be someone completely different.

  He unfolded the other piece of paper. The words told about the Mercer woman traveling with two other members of her gang named Frank and Sarah Sneed and an orphan baby girl. The words hit his gut like a load of lead. There couldn’t be two Madeline Mercers with the exact same traveling companions. The handbill went on to describe a number of pieces of jewelry stolen from a prominent family in Boston, and one of them was a cameo carved of reddish brown stone. Just the color that Madeline wore yesterday.

  Jeremiah raised his gaze toward his friend’s. “So does this mean you’re going to arrest them?” Try as he might, Jeremiah couldn’t keep his voice from sounding disappointed.

  When had he stopped wanting Madeline to go to jail? And what was that about an orphan baby girl? Jeremiah hadn’t ever seen a mother love her baby more than Madeline loved Pearl. For some reason, everything they’d heard from Boston about Miss Mercer sounded too convenient, almost like a setup. At least some part of him wanted to believe so now.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Do you mind if I ride into town with you?” Jeremiah took a bite of the spicy cake and washed it down with coffee.

  “That would probably be a good idea, especially if Miss Mercer is up at Philip’s house.” Bill didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave as long he had any gingerbread left on his plate, and T-Bone had cut him a generous helping.

  “According to what he’s been telling me, she goes up there almost every day.” He stuffed the last bite in his mouth, hoping the sheriff would take a hint.

  Evidently he didn’t, because when T-Bone offered Bill another piece, he accepted. After spending another half hour trying to fill the time with conversation, no matter how meaningless, Bill finally pushed back from the table.

  He patted his stomach. “That’s really good. Don’t get the gingerbread anymore since T-Bone came out here instead of working at the hotel.” He picked up his hat and headed out the door.

  As they walked to the barn, another stiff breeze blew, but not with the force of the sandstorm. While Jeremiah saddled Lightning, Bill sat on a bale of hay.

  “Were you out in the sandstorm yesterday, or were you close enough to one of the buildings to take shelter?” The sheriff leaned his forearms on his thighs and clasped his hands between his knees.

  Jeremiah really didn’t want to go into all that had happened, so he gave a brief answer. “Had enough warning that I rode into town to make sure Philip was taken care of. Remember how much trouble he has with his breathing? Those storms really bother him.”

  He headed outside to where the other horse was tethered. Bill followed him, and they mounted up.

  “Wasn’t Miss Mercer up there yesterday morning?”

  Not wanting to explain anything else, Jeremiah rode out ahead of the other man. What could he tell him? That Madeline had been there helping Philip? That he showed her how to deal with a sandstorm? That holding that baby felt better than anything he’d done in a long time?

  No way was he going to ride down that path. Bill didn’t need to know how confused he was right now about Madeline and her child. This was the first time he’d really thought out all that happened. Didn’t want to give Bill any wild ideas. He came up with enough on his own.

  When they reached Philip’s house and reined in the horses, Bill hadn’t forgotten. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Jeremiah took a deep breath, then whooshed it out. “I know.” With that, he climbed the few steps and rapped on Philip’s door before opening it. “Philip, I’ve brought the sheriff with me.”

  The old miner was dozing in his rocking chair. He raised his chin from his chest and gave Jeremiah a wide smile. “What does he think I done? Is he comin’ to arrest me?”

/>   “You old rascal.” The sheriff played along. “Are you hiding something from me? Should I arrest you?”

  Philip’s cackle greeted those questions. “If ya don’t know, I ain’t gonna tell ya.”

  “Actually, we were wondering if Miss Mercer is still here. We want to discuss something with her.” The sheriff stood with his back to the open doorway. The sun outlined his silhouette and threw his tall shadow across the floor.

  Philip turned his attention toward Jeremiah. “Now, Jerry, don’t ya go botherin’ Madeline. We had us a long talk yesterdy. She’s been a real help to me, and I cain’t get her to take any money fer her trouble. Says she enjoys comin’ up here with Pearl. And I’ve taken a real shine to that baby. She likes me too.”

  Jeremiah swallowed at the lump in his throat. He hated for anyone to hurt Philip the way it would if Madeline really was a criminal. “We just wanted to discuss something with her.”

  Philip’s piercing gaze raked over him. “Ya cain’t hide nothin’ from me, Jerry. Yer up to somethin’. Ya might as well know I’ve almost convinced her to marry me.”

  The harder Jeremiah held in his emotions, the more he felt as if he might explode. Right here, all over Philip. Even though he had softened a little toward Madeline, he didn’t want her marrying Philip. For a whole lot of reasons. Heat flooded his cheeks, reaching the tips of his ears. Now why did he have to blush like that? Both Philip and Bill would make all kind of assumptions.

  “Now don’t go gettin’ yer dander up, Jerry. That’s why we writ that letter. To bring her and her babe out here. The good Lord done told— ”

  Jeremiah pushed past the sheriff and out the door. He didn’t want to hear another word about the good Lord. Not today. He hurried across the porch and down the steps. He could hear Bill talking to Philip, and he didn’t care what the sheriff told the old man. He just had to get himself some air. Cool down his cheeks.