Zoe frowned. “Trouble?” She didn’t want him back in her life, but she didn’t want him dead, either. Her eyes searched his for a sign of assurance. This sort of trouble might be commonplace to him, but it was foreign to Winterborn.
He grasped her shoulders and turned her toward the door. “Take the kids and go home. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Before she could protest, he solicited help from several of the men and then doled out rifles.
“Go home, Zoe,” he ordered.
She started to argue. Then she clamped her mouth shut. Hurrying the children out the door, she glanced back as the small office quickly emptied, the young tittering girls now silent. Cade should not get involved. That’s all the children needed, for their uncle to get shot.
Zoe waited for Cade at the hitching post. The posse formed and decided on a plan of action. As he was about to mount up, she reached out to him.
“This is insane. What happens if those thugs are just waiting for a posse and they shoot you?”
“I suppose I’ll fall off my horse and—”
“This is nothing to be light about!”
He met her steady gaze. “Go home.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Then don’t go home. If that material’s so all fired important, I’ll go get it for you.”
“With horse urine and manure on it!”
“I didn’t say it was important. You did.” Cinching the saddle tighter, he said, “Zoe, please take the kids home and stay there.”
She grabbed his arm. “If you insist on doing this, promise me you’ll be careful.” Her breath caught in her throat when his deep blue eyes met hers. She thought she saw a hint of amusement.
“Worried about me, Red? I thought you didn’t care.”
Frowning, she backed away, crossing her arms. “Don’t be silly. I’m thinking of the children.”
He swung onto the mare. “You worry too much.”
She gave him an irritated glance and noticed his face sober at her concerned look.
“You got my word. I’ll be careful. I’m thinking of the kids too.” Reining his horse to the right, he tipped his hat and rode off.
His word indeed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Cade patted Maddy’s neck, frowning as he took in the stinking site. Flies buzzed the piles of fresh horse manure scattered over bolts of once-colorful cotton. Broken glass sparkled on the dry ground. He glanced at Walt Mews and the barber wrinkled his nose. There was nothing left of his hair tonic to salvage.
Zoe Bradshaw’s yard goods picked a heck of a time to show up at the junction between Suffox and Miller Counties. Rider’s Pass was little more than a narrow bend in the road, obscured by a heavy thicket of elm, hackberry, and tangled underbrush, the ideal site for an ambush.
Red would throw a fit if she were here to see her fancy bolts of cloth in this condition. Covering his nose with a gloved hand, he reined Maddy aside. It would take a better man than him to sort through the mess.
“Walt, take your men and ride south. Roy, take a couple of men and go west. Ben, take your boys and head east. I’ll ride north. Let’s meet at the jail around sundown, and be careful. We don’t know who we’re up against.”
The posse wheeled their horses and galloped off in a boil of dust.
Cade prodded Maddy up the road, wondering how much the lost the shipment would set Zoe back. He didn’t know her financial situation, but from what he’d seen, he was sure it wasn’t good.
The sound of swiftly rolling wagon wheels caught his attention, and he moved a safe distance into the brush, watching the bend in the road as the pounding of hoofs grew louder. A buckboard whipped wildly toward him. As the wagon flew by, he noted the driver was slumped over on the seat. Wheeling Maddy, he sent the mare galloping after it.
Maddy gained on the wagon, her longer stride and lean body a definite advantage over the stocky quarter horse team.
“Easy, girl,” Cade said as they paced the two out-of-control horses. Leaning to his right, he grabbed one of the flapping reins and pulled back. “Whoa! Whoa there!”
The rig ground to a halt, and Code drew his gun, dismounting to check on the driver. If this was a McGill setup, he was ready for him. He cautiously stepped up to the seat of the wagon and hopped on. Pointing the barrel of the gun, he called, “You there!” A man lay unconscious. Easing closer, he bent and searched for a pulse.
A young woman was laying on a blanket in the back. He stepped over the seat and knelt beside her. Putting a hand on either side of her head, he stilled her tossing and turning. She was burning with fever.
“Who are you?”
“Sick…” she rasped. “Where’s Bruce?”
He noticed the wedding band on her finger and assumed the driver was her husband. “He’s here. I’m going to get you to the doctor.”
“Bruce…sick…need help.”
Cade stepped back over the seat to rouse the unconscious young man. “Wake up.” He shook the man’s shoulders, and he moaned as Cade pulled him upright. “Can you tell me what the problem is?” The young man’s head lolled to one side.
Scanning the area, Cade half expected lightning to strike him dead. If one more thing went wrong…Pop and his broken leg, Bonnie sick, Zoe on his back to give her the kids and get out of town. One delay after the other, and now he was chasing nobodies without prices on their heads when he should have left Winterborn days ago.
A cold bedroll, a lonesome trail, and hardtack were beginning to sound good. And he would be able to shave and cut his hair when he wanted to.
He stepped into the wagon bed, lifted the unconscious man into his arms, laid him next to the woman, and then whistled for Maddy. After tying her reins to the back of the buckboard, he climbed onto the driver’s seat and clucked to the team.
Zoe glanced up from sweeping the front porch when she heard the rumble of a wagon coming into town. People scattered for cover as the buckboard wheeled toward the mercantile. Her jaw dropped when Cade jumped down from the rig and took the steps two at a time. “Is Doc back yet?”
“I haven’t seen him—his business away must be taking longer than he expected.” Her gaze swept the wagon.
“I’ve got two sick people here.” Cade motioned to the back of the wagon. “Do you know them?”
Zoe’s eyes focused on the prostrate couple. “It’s Bruce and Ida Evans. What’s wrong with them?”
“Don’t know, but they’ve got a high fever. I found their team running wild about an hour ago. They need Doc’s help.”
Zoe turned as the stench of chewing tobacco caught her attention. Sawyer Gayford walked up. “Sawyer, do you know when Doc will be back?”
“Nope.”
Cade muttered under his breath. He slapped his hat against his thigh with one hand and smacked the door frame with the other. Frustration flashed in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” GloriLee called from the café.
Sawyer shouted back, “More sick folk!”
Cade turned. “More? There are others?”
“Yep.” Sawyer spit again. “Clyde Abbott and his oldest boy come down with fever and spots this morning.”
Cade turned to Zoe. “What should I do with Bruce and Ida?”
“Do with them?” she asked. “I don’t know what to do with them. That would be up to Doc, if he were here.” She glanced up and down the street. “Take them to the jail for now.”
She started back to the store at a run, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll get water and sponges.” Cade jumped into the wagon, turned it around, and headed for the jail.
Zoe burst into the store, breathless. “Holly, you’re going to have to watch Missy for a while. Brody, can you take care of any customers who might come in?” The boy’s eyes lit up. Pausing, she pointed at him. “I know what you’re thinking, and you may have one piece of penny candy. No more.”
“How do you always know what I’m thinking?”
“I just do.”
Holly p
ut her dolls aside, walked up to Zoe, and tugged on her skirt. “What’s going on?”
“Bruce and Ida have a fever.” Concerned about the fear she saw in the young girl’s eyes, she added, “We don’t know if it’s the same fever that took your parents.” She threw towels and sponges into several buckets and basins. “I’ll be at the jail if you need me.”
Missy appeared in the doorway, tears welling in her eyes. “Don’t die like my ma, Zoe.”
“Come here, honey.” The child walked over, and Zoe hugged her. “I’m not going to die. This fever may be nothing at all.”
Brody handed his sister a peppermint stick. “You can help me run the store, Missy.” He turned to Zoe. “Go on. She’ll be all right.”
“Thank you, Brody.” She touched his cheek, proud of the young man he was becoming.
Her mind spun as she ran up the street, thankful she didn’t have to endure another crisis alone. She wished Cade had been here for Addy and John, but he was here now, and she was thankful for whatever help he could give.
When she walked into the jail, Cade’s tight expression relaxed. Obviously, he didn’t want to handle the situation alone any more than she did. “Where’s Pop?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I sent Sawyer to find him. If the jail’s going to be turned into an infirmary, Pop needs to know.”
“What about my yard goods? Can they be salvaged?”
He shook his head. “Sorry.”
Zoe rolled up her sleeves. She’d worry about it later. Dealing with bad news was old hat to her by now. She handed Cade a sponge. “You bathe Bruce, and I’ll see what I can do for Ida.” Her heart went out to the stricken couple who tossed about on the floor of the single cell, calling out to each other. When Ida tried to get up, Zoe restrained her and eased her back to the pillow. “Bruce is right here, Ida. Lie still. The cool water will help. We need to get your fever down.”
“Sick…so sick.”
“Shhh,” Zoe soothed. She turned at the sound of boots scraping across the floor. Sawyer shuffled in with Pop hobbling along on his crutches behind him, breathing hard.
“Someone said the Evanses are sick.”
Cade sponged Bruce’s forehead with cool water. “We’ll have to use the jail for a few days. There’s no other place to put these folks.”
“No reason they can’t stay here,” Pop said. “Cell hasn’t been used for years—unless the posse comes up with someone.”
“Ain’t much chance they’ll catch the gang. If it’s the Nelson bunch, they’re probably long gone.” He leaned closer to examine the ailing couple. “They look mighty sick.”
“I found them on the road earlier. They must have been trying to get to Doc.” Cade poured more water into the basin. “Better keep people away, Pop. They’re burning up with fever.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Pop backed up, maneuvering out of the cell on his crutches. “I’d offer to help, but I’d just be in the way. I’ll be at the house if you need me.”
“Sawyer, you stand guard at the front door, and don’t let anyone come in,” Cade ordered.
The old man nodded and stepped outside, hollering, “Stand back. Kolby said no one’s to come in. This stuff might be catchin’.”
Zoe knew what this new outbreak meant to the town of Winterborn. Everyone still felt John’s and Addy’s loss. She prayed there wouldn’t be a panic.
Missy’s words echoed in her mind, “Don’t die like my ma.” When Zoe had nursed John and Addy, she hadn’t given a thought to catching the fever herself. She glanced at Cade. What would happen if they both came down sick? “Do you think it’s the same sickness that took John and Addy?”
“I don’t know.”
“Dear Lord, grant us mercy,” she murmured.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Within the hour Zoe heard Sawyer warning Perry Drake to keep his distance. Standing in the street in front of the jail, Perry called out, “Zoe! Do you need an extra hand?”
Leaving Ida, Zoe stepped outside. She should have known Perry would be one of the first to offer his help. “Thanks for coming. It’s Bruce and Ida. Cade brought them in earlier.”
He smiled. “I’ve missed you at the dance the past Saturday nights.”
“Thank you. I’ve missed going.” Which wasn’t exactly true, but Perry was a nice man and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
The concern in the banker’s eyes was so typical of him. She glanced toward Cade, who leaned now in the doorway, watching the conversation. The curiosity in his eyes pleased her. She sidestepped along the side of the building, moving the banker farther away from the open doorway.
“I left the bank as soon as I heard,” Perry said.
Before she could respond, Cade stepped outside, motioning to her. “Zoe, Ida needs you.”
She was certain he was only trying to break up the conversation. What had gotten into him? Years ago he and Perry had been school-mates. She graciously stepped back, saying, “Excuse me, Perry. Ida requires my attention.”
He detained her. “Tell me what I can do.”
“Find Doc. We’ll need him as soon as he can get here.”
“Of course. I’ll go right away.”
Perry gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, and Zoe watched disapproval cross Cade’s face.
“I’m concerned about you,” Perry said. “Should you be around the illness?”
“I nursed John and Addy and didn’t catch the fever.”
Other than a lack of sleep and worries about a pile of ironing big enough to choke a horse, she was fine. Perry left, and she returned to the sick. Ida was sleeping soundly, just as Zoe had left her. Frowning, she turned to Cade. “I thought you said Ida needed me.”
It irked her that he refused to look at her.
“Looked to me like she needed you.”
Snatching up a water bucket, she walked out of the jail as a buggy rumbled to a stop at the hitching post.
“Uh-oh,” Sawyer sang out. “Looks like we got another one. Make room!”
Zoe turned around and marched back in, pulling the remaining blanket from the shelf outside the cell.
Seth Brighton came through the doorway carrying Bonnie, his face ashen. “Somebody’s got to help her. She’s talkin’ out of her head.”
Zoe motioned to Cade. “Shove the desk aside to make room for another pallet.” It was going to be a long night.
Around sundown, Zoe heard the beleaguered posse ride in. Sawyer’s voice filtered into the jail as he yelled for the men to ride on.
“What’s wrong?” Roy Baker called.
“The whole town’s come down with fever!” Sawyer shouted.
The whole town? Zoe shook her head. If they weren’t careful, Sawyer would incite mass hysteria. She turned. “Cade?”
Cade rose to his feet. “I’ll have a word with him.”
Bruce moaned, twisting on his pallet.
Cade opened the door and left the room. Gracie entered a moment later carrying a large tray of food.
“Gracie, you’re a godsend,” Zoe said gratefully.
“It’s nothing. Just chicken broth for the sick and beef stew for the healthy.”
“You shouldn’t be here. We don’t know for certain what we’re fighting.”
“Nonsense. I want to help.” Gracie set down the tray, glancing at the patients. “Maybe if we get a little broth into their stomachs, they would feel better.” When Gracie picked up a spoon, Zoe stopped her. “Go outside. Cade and I will do it.”
“Law, I’m as capable as anybody—”
“Outside!” Zoe ordered.
Gracie rattled on and unloaded the tray. “I’ve checked on the children, and they’re fine. Stopped by the store just before I came, and Brody had everything under control. They can spend the night with me. That’ll be one worry off your mind.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll be going back to the store in a little while.” She was relieved when Cade came back from talking to Sawyer.
�
�Are you sure? I’d enjoy their company.”
“It would be helpful if you’d feed them supper, but I want them with me.”
Gracie left, and Zoe rubbed her temples. “We’re going to have a mess on our hands if this thing spreads.” She poured a cup of hot tea, glanced at Seth kneeling by his wife’s pallet, and lowered her voice. “By the way, you were rude to Perry.”
“I thought you said there was nothing between you two,” Cade whispered back.
“There isn’t. We’re just friends.”
“That’s not what he thinks.”
“How do you know what he thinks?”
“I’m a man.”
Her lips thinned. Yes, he certainly was a man. She couldn’t argue with that. But watching him minister to Bruce allowed her to see a side of him she’d forgotten existed. A strong compulsion came over her to reach out and touch him… She gave herself a mental shake. He was also a man who acted like a jealous suitor but wanted no kindred responsibility.
She spooned warm tea into Ida’s mouth, and then knelt on Bonnie’s other side. She felt the woman’s forehead. “Your temperature is still quite high.”
“My children…I have to take care of my children…”
“You can’t take care of the kids, Bonnie. You can barely lift your head,” Seth argued.
Rising, Zoe said gently, “Seth, you need to go home and get some rest. We’ll send someone for you if there’s any change.”
“Maybe I’d better. I’ve got chores to do.” Seth leaned down and kissed his wife. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”
Later, Zoe sat against the outside of the building, tipping her chin up and closing her eyes as she ate cold stew. Her back hurt, and she had a blinding headache. “I need to check on the children.”
Cade poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. “You should have let Gracie take them for the night.”
Sighing, she lifted the back of her hair to let her neck catch the faint breeze. “I want them with me for as long as possible.”
“There’s no reason you can’t go home and stay there. I’ll take care of things here.”
“You’ll need help now that there are three sick people. I’ll go see about the children and then come back.” She pretended not to see his indignant frown. “What?”
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