He never got himself tongue-tied in front of females like me. Didn’t carry the same burden of guilt, either. He had to stop remembering. He had followed the orders given by a superior officer like a good soldier was supposed to do.
The guilt remained. He had tracked down white captives and rescued them from the Indians, taking them back to their families and leaving them whether the family wanted them or not. Some were welcomed back with open arms, tears and profuse thanks. Others, the families didn’t want them, particularly if the woman had birthed some Indian brave’s child, but he had left them there anyway.
He paced the floor of the cabin. Well, half of it was a cabin, the rest of it part of a soddie built years ago. What woman would want to live here in such primitive surroundings on an isolated ranch, with a man who was tortured by demons from his past?
He didn’t want to be like this, unhappy, lonely and racked by guilt. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to overcome it. Whiskey worked for a few years, even the rot-gut stuff he had made himself. It helped him sleep, but he felt hellish the next day.
He had eventually realized if he kept going on these drinking binges, he’d kill himself. He should count his blessings. He’d been given a ranch from a grateful man whose daughter he had rescued. It had cost him – a burning arrow in the back of his shoulder when he’d thrown himself over the gal to save her. If his men hadn’t ridden up when they did. He would be dead.
The wound had been deep, so badly burned he would carry the ugly scar to his grave. After that he had lost his appetite for soldiering and the army hadn’t really wanted him so by mutual consent, they had parted ways.
After drifting around for a time, he decided to go see his ranch and decided to stay. He couldn’t believe how generous this gal’s father had been, the gratitude the man had shown was humbling.
Slowly, he had built the ranch up until it was a profitable horse ranch supplying mounts to the cavalry thanks to Doug’s contacts. He would never become rich but was comfortable enough.
He did want a woman in his life and was honest enough to admit it. He was no different to any other healthy young man in that respect.
Dare he do it?
What did he have to lose? If this Katie McMullen didn’t appeal to him or she was dirty and slovenly, he didn’t have to accept her. His emotions see-sawed between hope and despair.
Chapter Eight
There was only three weeks left of the three months Katie owed Mr. Jones. Could she hold out that long? Meeting Sheriff Farrell last week had given her hope that this man, Steven would be her savior. The knight in shining armor riding up to the door of the Royal to pluck her to safety. Only he hadn’t come.
“Miss McMullen.” She glanced up from scrubbing the kitchen hearth.
“Yes.”
“There’s someone asking for you in the lobby.”
“Really?”
“This will have to stop. I will not have you parading your young men here at the hotel. It lowers the moral tone of the establishment.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Jones. Sheriff Farrelly wasn’t….”
“I know.” He cut her off, his annoyance obvious. “Asking about an investigation he’s on.”
“I wasn’t able to help him.” She hoped she sounded regretful.
“This young man certainly isn’t a sheriff.”
She gasped with surprise. Could it be Steven? Please God, let it be him.
“Five minutes,” Mr. Jones snapped. “You see your men in your own time.”
The trouble was she didn’t have much time of her own, he saw to that. Katie pushed back the strands of hair straggling over her face. Thank goodness she had stripped off this morning and washed the whole of her body. At least she wouldn’t smell, even if she did look awful in her cut down man’s pants.
With nerves just about eating a hole in her stomach, she followed Mr. Jones out to the lobby. A tall slim, straight-backed man stood staring out into the street. His dark curly hair brushed the collar of his blue work shirt, which was covered by a brown vest.
He swung around as she stepped into the lobby. His deep blue eyes stood out starkly against his tanned cheeks. Her first thought was he was good looking.
“Miss McMullen?”
“Yes, I’m Katie McMullen. Are you Steven?”
“Yeah, Steve Colby.”
She flushed at his intense scrutiny. “I’m sorry, I’m not looking my best at the moment.”
Not looking her best. She could say that again, Steve thought. She looked awful dressed in cast off, cut down men’s clothing. She had a pretty face with pale bluish green eyes. Her skin was smooth as porcelain but too white, as if she hadn’t seen the sun in a while. She looked beaten down and worn out this little slip of a gal. Certainly no hag.
His first feeling for her was pity for the predicament she found herself in. She hadn’t lied when she told his friend it was dire. A good puff of wind would probably blow her away. She was too young and frail looking for his purposes. He wanted a strong young woman who could help him with his chores and give him children. Not a frail, pretty gal like this. He nervously twirled his hat in his hands, wondering how best to tell her she wasn’t suitable.
“Please, Mr. Colby, Steve, take me away from this nightmare of a place.”
He was shocked to see tears trembling on her lashes. “I won’t be able to survive here much longer.”
“I….um, you don’t um suit my needs. I want a strong woman, not a little gal like you.”
“I’m twenty-one. Sheriff Farrell said you own a ranch. I’ve lived on a ranch most of my life up until recently. “I’ve done hard work. I could be an asset.”
“You’re too frail.” She barely reached his shoulder. She looked like a hot house flower who would wilt in the harsh conditions on his ranch.
“Your five minutes is up.” Mr. Jones minced over to them. “Back to work,” he snapped.
“Just a minute.” What a pompous pig of a man. “I haven’t finished speaking with Miss McMullen.”
“She can speak to you on her own time, not mine.”
“I don’t get any spare time,” she shot back.
“Don’t be insolent.” He raised his hand.
“I wouldn’t touch her if I were you.”
Katie shivered at the cold fury in Steve’s voice. His hand hovered near his gun.
Mr. Jones turned sickly white. “Get out of my hotel, but you pay me what you owe before you leave.”
“I don’t think she owes you anything more.”
“Yes, she does. For her friends’ accommodation and food.”
“Did she sign the hotel register?”
“Well, no.”
“If she didn’t sign it, I’ll get the sheriff and I’m sure he will tell you she can’t be held responsible for someone else’s debt.”
Katie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Get your things,” Steve said. “You’re coming with me.”
“Really?”
“Well, not exactly with me, but I’ll find you other accommodation.”
“And a job?”
“Yeah, a job, too. I’ll wait for you here.” He gave Mr. Jones a hard stare.
Katie dashed off. Why hadn’t she thought about not having signed the hotel register, then she wouldn’t have had to do all those filthy jobs here.
She clambered up the steps to the stable loft as quickly as she could. I’ll change out of these clothes she thought and put on my dress. Maybe if Steve saw her as a woman, he might decide she could be his wife after all. If he wouldn’t marry her and take her to his ranch, she would be in desperate straits.
Changing out of the shirt first, she kicked it to the floor and slipped on her camisole then the blue dress. After removing her pants, she kicked them aside also. Regretfully she had to put her shabby boots back on as they were all she had. She untied the plait which was wound around her head and released her hair. There wasn’t ti
me to pin it up, so she ran the brush through it a couple of times and left it loose.
If only she had been beautiful, Steve might have found her attractive enough to wed.
After bundling her meager possessions in a discarded canvas bag, she headed back to the lobby. There was no-one here to farewell as none of the people really cared whether she lived or died. One thing was certain. She wasn’t returning to her parents in Raeburn. Not that they would welcome her back, unless her father had found the ranch was too much to handle on his own. If they had been reasonable people, she never would have been vulnerable to the likes of the Sawyers. She had craved love and affection and thought she had found it with them. Fool that she was.
Steve Colby lounged against Mr. Jones carved desk, the only person in the room. In one quick, fluid movement he straightened up and spun around. He blinked a couple of times as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I’m ready to go.”
“That pompous Jones has left to attend to guests, so he won’t be here to farewell you.” There was a slight sneer in his voice.
He looked like a rancher but didn’t speak like one.
“Where will we go now?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?”
“With you.”
He exhaled a noisy breath.
“Marry me, Steve. I’d be a good wife to you, I swear it.”
“I’m sorry, but you’re not the type of woman I want.”
“Not pretty enough for you?” She couldn’t hide the bitterness in her voice.
He watched her shoulders slump and before his eyes the life seemed to drain out of her. She was pretty. When she’d come out in the dress with her hair hanging loose, he had been surprised. Could a marriage work between them? It was ridiculous even thinking like this.
He took the canvas bag from her It was pitiful that she had so few possessions.
“How about we go to the diner? I’ll buy you a meal.”
She nodded. He placed his hand under her elbow and escorted her across the street to the diner where they were shown to a table by a smiling young waitress. Once they were seated, he said. “Order whatever you like. Don’t worry, I’m paying.”
“Thank you.”
She looked so sad and forlorn it made him feel like a low-down skunk. Damn Doug for building up her hopes about them marrying. “I’m going to have a beef steak.”
“With potatoes and greens,” she recited like a parrot.
“Oh, you’ve been here before?”
“Yes, he took me.”
“He?” She had been mixed up with a man. I might have known. “Where’s he now?” Probably had his way with her and left. Had he got her in the family way?” He suddenly felt sick.
“Gone, him and his mother. If I tell you something, will you swear on your word of honor you won’t repeat it. I could be in trouble if it got out what I’d done.”
The waiter came over to collect their orders. “I’ll have two hot biscuits please and weak black tea please. I couldn’t eat anything else.”
“Um, I’ll have black coffee and biscuits, too. Thank you.” He could hardly be greedy enough to eat a steak in front of her even though his heart had been set on it.
Once they were alone, he said, with a feeling of impending doom. “Tell me about it.” Instinctively he knew he wasn’t going to like it.
“You swear on your honor you won’t tell a soul, not even Sheriff Farrell.”
“I swear I won’t breathe a word of it.” He picked up her hand and was horrified to see how rough and reddened it was. “Unless it’s criminal.”
“It is, I think.”
The whispered words shocked him, and he snatched his hand away. He had been contemplating marrying a criminal. He had to get away from here. Away from her. He started to stand.
“Don’t go.” She clutched his hand. “Please, just listen to me first.” Tears twinkled on her lashes and her eyes were full of such pain it stopped him dead in his tracks.
She started to tell him her story, slowly, stiltedly at first, then gaining in momentum. He had to grit his teeth to stop from swearing out loud. Poor Katie. No wonder she looked so full of despair. What kind of fiends would do such a thing? He couldn’t believe he was hearing right. There was no doubting her sincerity. No-one could act that well.
Tarnation, what a terrible story it was. How could parents make a virtual slave out of their own daughter? Of course, some of them would. Hadn’t he seen it with his own eyes, people rejecting their own flesh and blood.
When the story was done, she slumped in her chair absolutely spent. Their food arrived, and her hands were shaking so much she could barely hold the teacup.
“I think you should tell the sheriff.”
“I can’t. They’ll lock me up. I helped a criminal escape from jail.”
“It wasn’t your fault, you didn’t know. Those Sawyers tricked you, you can’t be blamed for that. They obviously bribed someone at the prison as well.”
“Maybe I will confess to the sheriff.”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“At least I’ll have a roof over my head and food if they put me in jail.”
He gasped in shock.
“It’s better than what I’ve got now.”
More and more he was feeling lower than a snake’s belly. “Eat up. You look like you could do with a good feed.”
As he sipped his coffee his mind raced. Surely, they couldn’t put her in jail. She hadn’t known what was in her pocket. She had been gullible, not criminal. To think these people had drugged her to keep her out of the way while they plotted their evil.
What could he do with her? He couldn’t leave her here alone. He had deserted young women before and left them to God alone knew what fate, instead of trying to find homes for them with decent people. He had to live with the guilt that if he had tried harder, he might have made life better for a few of them.
Maybe he could atone for his past sins by helping Katie. Helping and marrying were vastly different. He took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn’t regret this. “All right, I’ll marry you.”
Her eyes lit up like stars in a summer night sky. Her lovely smile nearly floored him.
“Thank you. You won’t be sorry. I’ll make you a good wife. I’ll do whatever you ask of me. I’ll….”
“Steady on. I won’t expect you to be a slave for me. I’ll treat you decently and with respect, but Katie, I’m damaged. Things have happened in my past that I can’t forget. They torture me.”
“We’ve both got demons,” she said earnestly, maybe we can help each other to bury them.”
“I hope so.” He said the words he knew she wanted to hear but didn’t think his black deeds in the past could be erased.
“Have you been married before?” she asked, cutting her biscuit in half, piling butter on it and eating it daintily.
“No. What about you?”
“Only the pretend betrothal with Jake Sawyer.”
He had to know, but he couldn’t decide whether it would make any difference or not. “Did you have relations with him?”
“No.”
Relief flooded through him.
“He never asked me, which I thought was strange and he only ever kissed me a few times. Maybe I was too ugly.”
“You’re not ugly, you’re a pretty gal.”
“No, I’m not. You don’t have to say nice things to me. Even my parents kept telling me I was ugly.”
“Well, they were either blind or stupid. Let’s finish eating and get ourselves married.”
“Today?”
“Yeah. Doug, Sheriff Farrell said he spoke to the preacher who said if I decided to get married all I had to do was knock on his door and have a ring and a woman with me.”
“He did? Sheriff Farrell was nice, very understanding. I liked him a lot.”
“He’s a happily married man, but he’s still a charmer when it c
omes to the ladies.”
“He told me about his wife, she sounds lovely.”
“Beth is the nicest woman I’ve ever known.”
Steve’s proposal was grudging even Katie knew that. He was obviously a decent man and she hated pushing him into a corner like this but was fighting for survival. Without a job and nowhere to go she wouldn’t survive in Laramie. Wouldn’t survive anywhere for that matter.
“I don’t suppose you carry such a thing as a wedding ring around with you?” He gave a lopsided grin.
What a ruggedly handsome man he was when the bleakness disappeared from his eyes. Would she ever find out what terrible thing in his past had caused it? They both had secrets. She decided not to tell him about having lived with the Indians or he might despise her for it.
“No, I don’t have a wedding ring on me this week. Do we need one?” she asked.
It was the first time he’d seen her smile and he liked it.
“According to Doug we do.”
“Maybe the mercantile will have one?”
“Yeah, I guess so, they sell just about everything else.” They finished eating and he paid the bill and left the diner. He linked arms with her as they walked along. She inwardly cringed on passing the dress shop the Sawyers had taken her to. Was that really their names she suddenly wondered.
“I don’t come into Laramie very often.”
“Oh?”
“There’s a small town only a couple of hours ride from my place. It has most things I need. There’s an overnight stop if I come to Laramie.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize your ranch was so far away.”
Chapter Nine
The mercantile was large and well stocked, with such an array of goods she gasped in shock. “It’s big.”
“You haven’t been in here before?” he asked in amazement. “And you’ve been living here for months?”
He sounded like he didn’t believe her. “I never had the time or the money.”
“Sorry, I didn’t think. If there’s anything you need, just ask.”
Lost in Laramie (Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Book 4) Page 5