Under a Falling Star

by Caroline Fyffe

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Susanna said, handing Hannah her apron. She should be dead on her feet, and she wasn’t. She still couldn’t believe Albert had finally, finally kissed her, after all this time. And what a kiss! Just thinking about it made her tummy kindle up into a warm mass of honey and an all-consuming tingle that had her wondering what several kisses could do.

  Albert wasn’t giving up. That’s what he’d said last night. As much as she wanted to let his words send her skipping through the room, she had to be practical, remember how he’d left his first wife so quickly. He’d told her he hadn’t known about the child, but did that really make a difference? Would he leave her, too?

  “You look like the fox that got the last egg. What happened after I left? I can’t imagine you went straight to sleep.”

  Susanna hadn’t noticed that after her last comment Hannah had stopped what she was doing and stood, hands on hips, staring at her. “Do I?”

  “Yes, you do. You look different. Tell me right now. It certainly wasn’t me telling you about my happy marriage. No, that wouldn’t do this—” She waved her hand around, indicating Susanna as a whole. “No, there is something else going on. Out with it.”

  So much had transpired last night that Susanna didn’t know where to start. Her initial reaction was to keep it to herself, as she’d been in the habit of doing for most of her life—and especially since coming to Logan Meadows. But, hadn’t it been nice to share her feelings? She shouldn’t be so secretive.

  “Susanna? You’re being cruel. Tell me right now.”

  Just as Susanna opened her mouth, the bells above the door jingled out that someone had come into the restaurant. Hannah groaned. “Hold that thought,” she said, lifting the coffeepot from the stove and pushing through the door.

  Susanna hardly had time to stick a new loaf into the oven to bake when Hannah dashed back in. “What’s left to do? Three tables came in at once, and I just have this feeling it’s going to be busy.”

  “Anyone I know?”

  “Funny you should ask.” She gave Susanna a playful smile. “Albert and Nate at one table. Across the room, Dalton at another. And a third man I don’t know. As I was pouring their coffee, they both asked if you were here, and if you might be able to step out and have a word.”

  Flustered, Susanna slipped into the cold room and returned with a bowlful of eggs. Could she face Albert today after kissing him last night?

  Hannah grasped the container of eggs and wrestled it from her arms. “Go on and say good morning. I’ll start a batch of scramblers. But only be a minute, mind you, we have things to do.”

  All Susanna could think about was Albert’s lips on hers, and his large hand pressed to her waist. Scandalous!

  “Yes, all right. I’ll just say hello, then come right back.” She felt a little foolish asking, but turned to Hannah all the same. “How do I look?”

  “Beautiful.”

  Taking courage, she pushed through the door. She hadn’t gone but a couple of steps toward Albert’s usual table when she stopped short. A dark bruise marred the lower half of his jaw, and his face was scraped in a couple of places. She glanced across the room to Dalton’s table. He smiled but held his coffee mug conspicuously close to his face. As hard as he tried, it didn’t cover his black eye.

  They’d been fighting!

  Nate sat up straighter when he saw her. His shiny-clean face looked rested since she’d seen him last night at Nana’s, and his hair was combed. As she approached his table, his eyes jerked toward his pa several times, indicating she should look at Albert. The boy was probably happy it was his pa in trouble for fighting and not him.

  “Good morning,” she said tenderly to Nate, cupping his face for one brief moment before turning her attention on Albert. She couldn’t hold his brown-eyed gaze for long, and felt herself blush. “Looks like you found some trouble last night after all,” she said drawing the attention off herself. “What happened?”

  “It wasn’t last night, ma’am. It was this morning on his way home from town. He—”

  “Nate, I’ll tell Miss Robinson what happened, if you don’t mind. Just give me a chance.”

  “Sorry, Pa. Don’t forget to tell her you was in the creek when you got to fighting. And how a salamander went down your back.” He squished up his face and curled his fingers at her as if they were his claws, all the while snapping his teeth repeatedly.

  It was impossible not to laugh. He really was a darling. Albert didn’t quite think so at that moment. It was evident he’d hoped to keep most of those details between them.

  “Fighting in the creek? I’m surprised you told Nate all that.” She glanced over her shoulder to see Dalton watching. “With Dalton?”

  Albert nodded. “Nate and I aren’t going to have any secrets between us. We thought things would go better that way.” Father and son exchanged a look. “I can’t expect the truth from him unless I give it myself.”

  That jerked Susanna back to their problem that she’d forgotten about for all of three blessed minutes. Resolve pushed away her longing. “That’s a good plan. Nothing like starting off on the right foot. How’re you staying awake? You haven’t had any sleep.”

  “Thoughts of you.”

  She pursed her lips in disbelief, but knew the words were true for her. “I only have one second to say hello and I have to get back to work.” She took a moment to really look at Albert, his bruised chin and longing eyes. “Would you like your usual?”

  “Yes, and Nate’ll have the same.”

  She nodded, turned, and approached Dalton, who jerked his face away when he realized she was headed over. He gazed into his mug.

  “Really, Dalton. I can’t believe the two of you.”

  “I wasn’t intending to fight. Somehow it just got started. Anyway, I’ve learned my lesson.” He pointed to his black eye. “I haven’t had a shiner since I was thirteen. I’m pretty embarrassed. Especially with the bankers coming to town.”

  “You’re rambling.”

  “Susanna,” Hannah called through the closed swinging door. “These eggs are ready.”

  “I’ll be right there, Hannah,” Susanna called back as she shook her head. “Men.” Before she could walk off, Dalton caught her wrist. “I know fighting is immature, Suzie, but I’d do it again to get your attention. At least now you know I’m serious. Don’t write me off just because you and Albert are making up. Consider what your life could be like if we went back home to Breckenridge. You have friends there, and I have family. I’m serious. I want to marry you.”

  A chair scraped loudly behind her. Albert was on his feet. His clenched jaw and angry eyes were a good indicator he was about to march over any moment. She held out her hand to stay his advance. “I’ll keep that in mind, Dalton. I will. Right now I have to get back to work.”

  She greeted the third customer, who looked plenty entertained, and took his order. Things today were just heating up.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Gusts of wind scattered the dirt in the street and whipped the horses’ tails around. Women hurried along the boardwalk with one hand clamped to their skirts and the other one on their bonnets. Frustrated that the soldiers had yet to arrive, Albert paced like a caged wolf, back and forth in front of the El Dorado Hotel. The twelve o’clock stage from Denver was due any minute.

  A family of five waited eagerly in the hotel lobby with their bags packed. Every few minutes the husband braved the wind by coming out the door to peer up the street. He’d nod amicably to Albert and then disappear back inside. A lone man, lucky passenger number six, who’d gotten the last seat on the incoming stage, leaned against the outside wall.

  Albert’s patience was at a breaking point. Someone of importance better be on this stage. Someone who could arrange transport of the money without incident. The torment of guarding the bank and putting up with Babcock had him cranky. After the money was gone, he’d have time to concentrate on winning Susanna back, and to spend with Nate, help
him grieve.

  Rumbling wheels and jangling harnesses alerted him to the approaching stage. It rounded the corner. The driver pulled the animals down to a trot and finally to a halt in front of the hotel. A cloud of dust billowed out everywhere, made worse by the aggravating wind.

  Impatient, Albert stepped forward before the dirt had a chance to clear and pulled open the narrow door.

  Empty!

  What the hell is going on? I have a million dollars sitting in a two-room bank and no one seems to care.

  Angry, he turned on Ralph, who was climbing down from the front seat. The wiry man wore a coat of dust from head to toe. His weary smile faded when he saw Albert’s scuffed face.

  “Don’t ask.”

  “All right, Sheriff, I won’t.”

  “Where’s the banker?” Albert demanded.

  Ralph’s face turned crotchety. “Don’t get testy with me, Albert Preston. You may be the sheriff of Logan Meadows but that don’t give ya the right to bite my head off the moment I arrive. I’m the one who just drove a hundred miles, not you.” Once on the ground Ralph took a moment to stretch out his back. “You sure got up on the wrong side of the bed today.”

  “I never got up because I never went to bed.”

  “That explains it. Now, who’re you lookin’ for?”

  The Cooper family piled out the hotel door anxious to get their baggage loaded. When one of the boys went to climb up the back of the coach, Ralph stopped him. “Just set it here, sonny. I’ll load the baggage. We still got some time—’bout half an hour to be exact.”

  Ralph turned back to Albert. “Who was you expectin’, Sheriff?”

  Feeling a bit contrite for treating Ralph so shabbily, Albert tried to smile. “Some bankers from Denver. You wouldn’t know anything about them, would you?”

  “I sure the heck don’t. But that don’t mean much. They could’a missed a connection somewhere along the way, had one of the team pull up lame, or could’a got sick so bad they couldn’t travel. Last I heard, Coloradie was getting some snow. Could’a closed the pass. Any one of a hundred things out there could’a tripped ’em up.”

  While Ralph was getting the mail bag from under the driver’s seat, Albert noticed Babcock riding up the street on his horse. Why wasn’t the man home in his bed, asleep? He’d had the same shift Albert had last night. They’d both pulled off at five, then he’d seen him in the restaurant at seven, and now here he was again at noon. Was the man too thick in the head to understand he was supposed to be sleeping so he’d be alert for his next shift tonight?

  Anger bubbled within his own tired body as he rubbed his gritty eyes. If he wasn’t careful, his lack of sleep would wear him down. Mistakes would happen. Was that what the outlaws were waiting for?

  Beth came out of the mercantile with the canvas mail sack and headed for the stage. With a snooty look down her long nose, she handed the bag to Ralph and took the one he held. She scooted off as if interaction with any of them was far below her level. Ralph watched her walk all the way back to the mercantile, and didn’t take his eyes from her path until she’d disappeared inside the building.

  Ralph turned to him. “Ain’t she just about the purttiest little gal you ever did see?” His eyes were glassy and his weathered face took on a faraway look that made him appear years younger.

  Albert swiveled to see who Ralph was talking about. It couldn’t be Miss Fairington. Perhaps someone else had walked up when Albert wasn’t looking. But the street was empty except for Babcock, who’d dismounted and tied his horse to the hitching rail, and a few other men ambling along in either direction. “Who? Beth Fairington?”

  The stage driver, who couldn’t be more than five feet tall, squinted up into Albert’s face. “Whaddya mean who? Of course, I mean Miss Fairington,” he said in a quarrelsome tone. Albert’s bad mood had rubbed off on him. “A woman like that don’t come along but once in a lifetime.”

  And thank God for that!

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right, Ralph. Does she know how you feel about her?”

  He pulled back as if someone had struck him in the face. “Naw, I ain’t fit to wipe her boots.” He removed his hat and smacked it several times across his pants creating a small cloud of dust. “Darn this wind. I’m not presentable for a den of varmints.”

  Albert patted him on the back. “Go get yourself something to eat while you still have time. I see Win on his way down to water your stock, buckets in hand.” Nate tromped at his side, face downcast and wind blowing his hair. Win had reported that Nate had withdrawn into himself last night, then woke up with nightmares. He’d seemed fine at breakfast, but now he looked pretty downcast. Albert wished he could help somehow.

  Seemed there was nothing to be done except wait, and be patient. Show Nate how much he cared. When Ralph turned around, Albert gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry I about bit your head off. I’m at the end of my rope and took it out on you.”

  Dalton looped his reins loosely around the hitching rail and waited by his horse’s side. He glanced around. Where was the bank employee? Had he missed him? He’d thought to come before the stage arrived, but didn’t want to get in Albert’s way any more than he had to. And if he was honest with himself, he wanted to make sure the sheriff wasn’t sneaking into the Silky Hen for more one-on-one time with Suzie. She was partial to him, and it wouldn’t take much for her to forgive the whole ugly mess. Now that Dalton had come to terms with his own feelings, he didn’t want his chances with her to be snatched away so quickly. She needed time to get to know him again, and what he had to offer, then she’d be able to make a better decision. Maybe she was ready to leave this town. Logan Meadows couldn’t hold much happiness for her now that Albert had a son to remind her every minute that he’d lied to her.

  “No banker?” Dalton asked, ambling over to Albert. He noticed the bruise on Albert’s chin had deepened in color.

  “No. No banker.” Albert started away, presumably headed for the sheriff’s office.

  “Albert, hold up.”

  Albert turned and waited until he caught him. “Did the driver know why no one was on the stage?”

  “No, he had no idea.”

  The bloodshot stain of Albert’s eyes was almost painful to look at. “You need some sleep. Can’t you take an hour or two before tonight?”

  “We need to figure out what’s going on with this money, Babcock. I don’t like having it holed up in our bank, a lure for any roughneck looking for a free ticket. If it hadn’t been for the need to get Evan out, we’d have been better off leaving it in the fortified train car out at Three Pines Turn.”

  “No, that’s not true. It’s on a deadline to reach San Francisco. They’ll be here soon.”

  “I don’t like that you brought this down on our heads.”

  Dalton took a step closer. He didn’t like Albert’s tone one bit. “Are you blaming me for the wreck?”

  “I have to blame someone and it may as well be you. We need to get that money on its way or find a way to hire a heck of a lot more guards. Problem is, there aren’t that many men I know who’re good with a gun. Most around here are farmers and ranchers who kill game to feed their families, not shoot at men. Shooting a man takes a whole different set of nerves.”

  “I hear you on that.”

  Albert’s stance relaxed some, and Dalton nodded. “I just want you to know I appreciate all you’ve done so far. With the other two guards either gone or incapacitated, I needed help, and you supplied it.”

  Albert’s stony gaze never wavered. “Just doing my job.”

  He was going to have to eat a little crow to win the sheriff back to his side. They couldn’t stay at odds like this and keep the money safe. “We need to work together, Albert. Neither one of us likes the situation with Suzie—”

  Albert jerked up straight.

  “With Susanna,” he quickly amended. “But we can’t let that interfere with the challenge we still have ahead of us. What do you say to calling a truce? Just for
the time being?”

  Albert’s stiff body and red, tired eyes spoke for themselves. Dalton wouldn’t get too far with him now. A three-hour sleep would do far more to improve his temperament than anything Dalton could say, unless it was that he was throwing in the towel where Susanna was concerned, and that wasn’t going to happen.

  Best to change his approach and start over before Albert stomped off. Win and Nate had passed by on the opposite side of the street and had arrived at the stage. They dipped the buckets they carried into the water trough to give to the horses. When Nate looked up, Albert waved and smiled.

  “How’s he doing?”

  “We’re getting by. Taking one day at a time.” Albert ambled off, and Dalton followed. He’d have to return later for his horse. Albert gave a long-suffering sigh. “Seriously, Babcock, don’t you want to go get some shut-eye while you still can? Whatever you say isn’t going to sway me away from Susanna.”

  “I know, I know. That’s why I thought we could plan what to do if no bank men show up. I’ve been thinking that maybe they’ve been murdered.”

  Albert swung around.

  “Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking the same thing.”

  They started up the boardwalk together this time. “I have. Or something like it. You go send another telegram to the bank. Try to get specifics. I want names and dates, if indeed they actually left Denver when they said they did.”

  “Got it. Do you have anything pressing at the moment? If not, go get a few minutes sleep upstairs in your old apartment. The bed’s still up there, right?”

  “Are you still trying to tell me what to do, Babcock? Because I still don’t like it one little bit. I’m headed to Dr. Thorn’s to check on Evan. See if he’s made any progress.”

  Dalton narrowed his eyes. The sheriff was allowed to see Evan, but he wasn’t? What was Albert fishing for with Evan? What could Evan know that he didn’t? “The longer he lies there, the less likely he’ll make a recovery. Has he woken up at all?”

  Albert shook his head. “No. And what of Pat Tackly? I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since I left him in the hotel.”