Always a solitary man, for the first time in his life, he was lonely.
He welcomed Noah’s return, though a stab of guilt dampened his enjoyment of the intermission. Constance, the bride they’d sent for on his behalf, was set to arrive soon, and he and Daniel had yet to speak with Noah. Somehow they hadn’t found an opportunity. Each day that passed brought the time of reckoning closer.
Will took his seat for the second half, and the rest of the show proved just as entertaining as the first half. During the last break, he checked his program and discovered Texas Tom was the last act.
Pippa appeared on stage once more, her makeup removed, her hair glistening beneath the oil lamps. “We’re closing out our show with a real first-class act. Texas Tom and her amazing roping skills.”
She made a flourishing gesture with her hands and Tomasina took her place. As Texas Tom, she wore a fringed shirt and skirt with beading on the collar and hem. Twirling her lasso, she hopped in and out of the center. In a blur of skilled handling, she swung the rope left and right and over her head. Her movements were graceful and enchanting. The band struck up a tune, and the audience clapped in time. For the next fifteen minutes she delighted the crowd with her roping skills.
She brandished the rope over her head and took a bow.
Pippa joined her and the theater grew quiet.
“This night would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of one particular gentleman,” Pippa said. “He believed in this theater. He believed in the people of Cowboy Creek.”
Tomasina twirled the lasso above her head and swung the rope. The loop sailed over the audience and landed around Will.
A flush crept up his neck.
Pippa urged him to stand. “Let’s have a round of applause for Mr. Will Canfield.”
Grinning at his discomfort, Noah sank deeper into his chair. Will’s guilt over the coming bride abated somewhat.
Tomasina struck a pose.
The audience applauded. All the townspeople who had taken part in the production filed onto the stage from both wings. When the stage was full to bursting, everyone took a bow and the crowd gave the talented players a standing ovation.
Will stared at the rope in his hands. He wasn’t ready for her to leave. Not now. Maybe not ever.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Tomasina had just said goodbye.
* * *
Tomasina turned and discovered Will waiting in the wings.
He held out his hand. “I believe this is yours.”
She accepted the coiled rope. “Pippa made me do it.”
“Good. You were the best part of the show.”
A blush stained her cheeks. “Pippa was the best part.”
“Cowboy Creek is full of talented actors.”
“You’re a diplomat at heart, Mr. Canfield.”
“Come back to the hotel,” he said in a low, husky tone. “There’s a party celebrating the successful launch of the Cowboy Creek Opera House.”
Knowing her time was running short, Tomasina accepted the invitation. She’d enjoyed the show more than she’d expected. Her fellow performers had encouraged and supported each other throughout the many rehearsals. She’d enjoyed the sense of camaraderie and shared purpose. Still flushed from her performance, she wasn’t ready to let the feeling go.
The mood was lively and patrons from the opera meandered down the boardwalk.
When they arrived at the hotel, the lobby was in chaos. The staff crowded near the front desk, their voices raised in overlapping chatter.
Mr. Rumsford approached them, his face red. “We’ve been robbed.”
Chapter Twenty
Ten minutes later, all the important guests from the front row of the opera house surveyed Will’s suite. Simon, Mrs. Foster and Mr. Rumsford represented the hotel staff.
All of Will’s rooms had been torn apart. Furniture was upturned, curtains ripped off the walls and cushions split. Stuffing and broken table legs littered the floor. Tomasina knelt and touched the pieces of a broken inkwell. She glanced at Will to gauge his reaction. He was shuttered off, and she couldn’t read his expression. A sure sign he was upset. Will went ice-cold when angry.
“Who did this?” Leah lamented, clapping her hand over her mouth. “Why?”
Quincy Davis appeared in the doorway. “The money. After the council meeting, Will collected thousands of dollars of investments for Gideon Kendricks. Whoever ransacked the suite was after that money, mark my words.”
Daniel set his mouth in a grim line. “Did they succeed?”
“No.” Will shook his head. “The safe is located behind the desk in the lobby.”
Mr. Rumsford straightened his collar. “The desk was manned the whole evening. No one touched anything.”
A collective sigh of relief circled the room.
“How did the Murdochs get into the hotel without someone seeing them?”
“They didn’t.” Old Horace elbowed his way into the room. “I saw who done this. It was that drover. It was James Johnson.”
Tomasina gasped. “No! James wouldn’t do something like this. He’s not a thief.”
“I saw him with my own two eyes. He was walking out of the hotel not ten minutes before the alarm was sounded.”
She liked Horace; there was no reason for him to lie. Yet she didn’t trust his observation. The townspeople were always blaming the drovers. They’d become a convenient excuse whenever a crime was committed in town. The people of Cowboy Creek turned a blind eye to everyone else.
Quincy Jones replaced his hat. “I’ll track him down.”
Panic shot through Tomasina.
She grasped Will’s sleeve. “You can’t let them do this. James is putting together a crew. We’re leaving for Colorado tomorrow. Why would he rob the hotel tonight?”
“Tomorrow?” Betrayal flickered in his dark eyes. “Did you plan on saying anything?”
“Yes. Tonight. I would have...” Her voice trailed off.
She’d been putting off the conversation. There was no use making excuses for herself.
“Round up James Johnson,” Will ordered. “Since we have a witness, we have to question him.”
The room cleared, leaving Noah, Will and Tomasina. Daniel had taken Leah home to rest, planning to return once they’d captured James.
Noah shook his head. “This is bad. People are furious with the Murdochs. They’re tired of living in fear. If we’re not careful, they’ll lynch that drover.”
Tomasina’s hand flew to her throat. “They can’t hang James.”
“Quincy Davis won’t let him hang.” Will placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find out the truth.”
“I know James. He didn’t do this.”
She’d never been more certain of anything in her life. James was many things, but he wasn’t a thief. If a tiny thread of doubt lingered, she shoved those feelings aside. His insistence on leaving for Colorado immediately could be explained away for any number of reasons. Whatever James was running from, he wasn’t running from this crime.
“I appreciate your faith in him, Tomasina,” Will said, “but we have a witness. Sheriff Davis will investigate all the leads.”
“You have someone who saw James leaving the hotel.” She snorted. “That’s not a crime. Every time something goes wrong around here, you folks are awful quick to blame the drovers. They’re not all bad, you know.”
“Sheriff Davis is following up on the information he’s been given. Why was James here in the first place? Unless he was visiting you.” Will searched her face. “If you were leaving together tomorrow, did he come to see you?”
“No.” There was no use lying. The truth would come out sooner or later. “We spoke yesterday. He knew I’d be at the opera house.” She snapped her
fingers. “Unless he was leaving a message for me. He could have been, you know.”
She clung to the glimmer of hope. With her rehearsals at the opera house, there’d been no time for planning.
“We’ll ask him.”
He clearly didn’t believe her, and her heart sank. “What happens now?”
“The sheriff will bring him in for questioning. As long as he has a reasonable explanation for his whereabouts, we’ll let him go.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“Then James is in a lot of trouble.” Will’s tone was inflexible. “We need to know the truth.”
Was a fair trial even possible? The drovers were easy scapegoats in the community. Not to mention she feared James had secrets. Secrets that might land him in even bigger trouble.
She reached the door, but Will caught her arm.
“Tomasina, trust me.” His gaze flickered to where Noah stood, and he lowered his voice. “As long as James is innocent, he has nothing to fear.”
“He’s all I have left, don’t you see?” Panic threatened to choke her. “He’s all I have.”
“You have me.”
Her vision wavered. “I have to go.”
He released her, and she dashed from the room. They were too different. He was a Northerner, she was a Southerner. He was bringing civilization West, and she was part of the old ways. He saw the drovers as a threat, she saw them as family.
She took the stairs two at a time and slammed into her room. At the sudden interruption, Hannah yelped.
Tomasina started. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here.”
Hannah cradled Ava against her shoulder. “I was watching the baby. How was the show? What’s wrong?”
Tomasina yanked at the pins holding her hat in place. She caught her reflection in the looking glass. Her costume was disheveled. She wasn’t Texas Tom anymore.
“Someone robbed Will’s suite. They were after the investment money Will collected for Gideon Kendricks.”
The other girl’s face paled. “When?”
“Just now.” Tomasina paced the floor. “And that’s not the worst of it. They think James Johnson was involved.”
Hannah backed away. “I don’t understand. Why do they think James is responsible?”
“Old Horace saw him leaving the hotel. The whole town is up in arms. There’s been trouble before. Everyone is on edge. Unless James has a good reason for being here, he’s in real hot water.”
Tomasina rummaged through her wardrobe and then stood back. Did she wear her dress? Or did she wear her drover’s clothing? If she wasn’t Texas Tom any longer, then who was she?
She snatched the green calico. What did it matter what she wore? A man’s life hung in the balance, and here she was fretting over her wardrobe.
Hannah set Ava in her bassinet. “I saw you packed. Are you leaving?”
“Yes. No. I think so.” She tossed her discarded costume on the bed. “James found us a job in Colorado. He’s put a crew together. We were supposed to leave tomorrow.”
Wrapping her arms around her middle, Hannah stared out the window overlooking Eden Street. “When did you decide to leave?”
“Yesterday. Everything happened so fast. With the show at the opera house, I didn’t have time to tell you.” Tomasina tugged the dress over her head and shimmied the material into place. “James wanted to leave quickly. That’s why I’m worried about him. I don’t believe he’s responsible for the robbery, but I think he’s keeping secrets. If he isn’t careful, his secrets will get him killed. These boys aren’t fooling. They’re out for blood.”
Hannah pressed her fingers against the window. “What are you going to do?”
“Whatever I can. James is in trouble, and there’s no one else who can help him.”
“Can you help him?” Hannah asked without turning.
“I don’t know.”
To the law in this town, she was just another drover. Tomasina forced down her rising panic.
Her pa would expect her to stand by James. No matter what he’d done. No matter who he’d crossed. They were family.
She’d fight for James, even if that meant fighting Will Canfield.
* * *
Will watched the proceedings with a jaundiced eye. James had slouched in a chair set behind the table, one arm slung over the back, his expression insolent. The air in the room was charged. Too many weeks living beneath constant fear of the Murdochs had stretched the men taut. They wanted someone to blame, and James was sitting in front of them, refusing to defend himself.
The sheriff and his deputies had picked up the drover on the outskirts of town. He’d been packed and ready to flee. Thus far, he’d refused to answer their questions. His lack of cooperation only made him appear more culpable.
Daniel propped his hip on the table. “It’s an easy question, James. All we want is the truth. Why were you visiting the Cattleman Hotel this evening?”
“I wasn’t,” he replied sullenly.
“More than one person saw you. Mr. Rumsford witnessed you crossing the lobby and taking the stairs. Horace saw you leaving the building. We know you were at the hotel this evening. All we want to know is why.”
“You saw me in the hotel. That gives you the right to arrest me? You think I did something, prove it.”
“You’re not under arrest, James. Not yet. This is an informal questioning. Miss Stone has vouched for you, which is why we’re at the hotel and not having this conversation in the jail. Is Miss Stone right in defending you?”
Tomasina scooted closer. “Just tell them the truth, James. Don’t make this worse.”
He looked away. “This has nothing to do with you, Tom.”
The hurt flickering in Tomasina’s eyes pained Will. She’d staked her reputation on her fellow drover, and he feared her loyalty was misplaced. James was guilty of something. Everyone in the room sensed his duplicity.
Tomasina faced the deputies. “James has a point. He visited the hotel, and he walked down the street. You can’t convict someone for that.”
“Then why won’t he talk?” Deputy Watson demanded. “Why won’t he tell us what he was doing?”
“Why must he prove he’s innocent?” Tomasina half stood from her chair beside the prisoner. “If you can’t prove he’s guilty then let him go.”
Sheriff Davis stepped forward. “If you’re not going to talk, I’m taking you to jail.”
James reared back. “You’re not taking me to jail.”
A flicker of apprehension snaked through Will. They were balanced on the edge of a precipice. Tensions ran high, and Quincy’s control of the room could slip at any moment.
“You gotta understand, boy.” The sheriff held out his hand. “It’s for your own safety, son. There are folks in this town who are tired of being afraid. Unless you’re willing to give us some answers, I have to take you in.”
“Wait!” a voice called.
The room grew silent, and everyone turned toward the door.
Hannah appeared, Ava in her arms.
Will moved to block her entrance. “Hannah, you shouldn’t be here.”
“No. I have to be here.” She straightened and threw back her shoulders. “I’m the reason James was at the hotel. He was visiting me.”
James lunged to his feet, and Quincy grabbed him, forcing the drover back into his seat.
“Don’t say anything, Hannah!” James shouted. “Go back upstairs.”
Tomasina glanced between the two, understanding flitting across her expressive face.
Ava fussed and cried.
“Don’t excite yourself.” Will put his hands gently on Hannah’s shoulders. “Why don’t you let me hold Ava?”
The poor girl was clearly hysterical, and he feared she’d hurt
the baby.
She shook off his hold. “No! I have to say this. Ava is mine. She’s my daughter.”
Will dropped his arms and gaped. All of Hannah’s odd behavior suddenly made perfect sense. Her atrocious clothing when she’d arrived on the bride train had been camouflage for her condition. The baby had arrived within weeks of her arrival. The girl’s wan appearance and continued isolation had been due to Ava’s arrival. Of course she’d been eager to assist Will with the baby.
A collective gasp went up from the onlookers before the room went eerily silent once more. Curious gazes flickered between James and Hannah. No one spoke, no one moved. It was as though everyone in the room had taken a collective breath.
James collapsed into his chair and rubbed his forehead. “Hannah, you don’t have to do this. I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can take care of yourself. You’re selfish, and you don’t deserve my help. But Ava is helpless. She’s my baby. She’s our baby.” Her voice quivered with emotion. “If you don’t tell the truth for once, someone else will raise her. I’m not letting that happen. I love you, but I’m through making excuses for you.”
Spurred into action, Will led the overwrought young woman into a chair.
“Sit.” He motioned for Simon. “Fetch Miss Taggart some tea.”
His eyes wide, the boy nodded.
Sheriff Davis motioned to the rest of the men. The deputies and the others filed out of the room, their shocked gazes lingering over the couple.
Noah paused before Will. “Well that explains why James was at the hotel, all right. What now?”
“Fetch Reverend Taggart. Hannah shouldn’t be alone with this.”
Noah jerked his head in a nod.
Once the room had cleared, Will closed the double doors of the ballroom.
Tomasina had remained.
She stared at James in horror. “What have you done? When did this happen?”
James rolled his eyes. “Ten months ago, give or take.”
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