by Jodi Thomas
Six feet of nervousness headed toward Austin. “Name’s Lincoln Raine, but folks call me Link. My pa’s foreman at Mr. Barkley’s place.”
Offering his hand, Austin said, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Raine.” What the boy lacked in maturity of voice, he more than made up for in his firm handshake. Austin continued. “Your pa was right to worry. Colton Barkley was shot last night. They brought him into town about sunup.”
Link’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Is he dead?” The voice was low, and tears threatened to bubble over his eyelids, reminding Austin of Link’s youth.
“No. At least not when I left,” Austin said honestly. “You find anything in those rocks that might be of help?”
Blinking hard, Lincoln Raine squared his shoulders. “Only this, sir. I found this shell on the ground without any dust on it, so I guess it was dropped less than a day ago. Judging from the bootprints beyond the rocks, there were two men hiding back there. A heavy stepper, down on his luck. One print showed a hole worn through leather. The other must have been a smaller, nervous type. Ever’where he stood he left a hundred markings in one spot, like he was constantly moving.”
Austin studied the boy as closely as he looked at the shell. Whoever had taught him to track had done so with great knowledge.
“Want to ride along with me back toward town?”
The boy smiled. “Pa’d have my hide if I came back with more questions than answers.” He didn’t say another word but disappeared behind the rocks to fetch his horse. Austin turned the shell over in his hand as he waited.
When Link reappeared, they rode back toward town on either side of the road, both knowing what signs to look for without bothering to ask.
An hour into the ride Austin found what he was looking for. One set of tracks led off to the left while the other continued to follow the wagon.
Link jumped down from his horse and studied the road. He didn’t say the obvious, and for that Austin was grateful. He just looked up at the marshal and asked, “Which one you want me to follow?”
Shoving his hat back, Austin stared at the winter sun already warming to noon. “We’re not more than a mile from town. Why don’t you ride in with me and check on Barkley? Then I’ll buy you lunch before I send you out to follow this trail.”
Link smiled at the mention of food. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t take handouts.”
“I wasn’t offering a handout,” Austin answered. “I was offering a job. I could use some help, and the meal comes with the responsibility of helping me find these men.”
“In that case, I accept.” Link didn’t try to hide his excitement.
Ten minutes later, when Austin and the youth rode into town, the streets looked like Saturday night just after a town meeting. Folks were everywhere. Austin avoided any conversation with a few quick waves and stepped into Sheriff Morris’s office. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting, Austin took in the room. Sheets were draped over the cell they’d put Barkley in, and several tables had been moved in and covered with Harvey House linen. One tabletop, just outside the jail cell, was covered with supplies, while another several feet away was set with china. The air was rich and humid with coffee and water, both boiling on the stove.
“Whoa!” Link whistled as he passed Austin. “This is some office.”
Audrey stepped out from behind the curtain covering the cell. “About time you got back.” She planted her hands on her hips and stared at Austin with the intensity of a schoolmarm counting heads after lunch. “We could have used your help around here. That no-account doctor of yours still hasn’t shown up. I had to dig the bullet out myself, and it took everyone of us including True to hold Colton down.”
“First, he isn’t my doctor. And second, is Barkley still alive?” Austin jerked off his gloves and tossed them on the only surface not covered in white—Morris’s desk.
Nodding slowly, Audrey silently told Austin she thought it only a matter of time. “Mary Elizabeth is with him. We’ve got enough whiskey down him so that he’s resting. I sent Jennie back to the hotel to bring lunch.”
Austin couldn’t help but smile. No matter what else fell apart in this world, the Harvey Girls would serve lunch on time. Somehow their determination put an order to life.
Austin put his hand on Link’s shoulder as he addressed Audrey. “This is one of Barkley’s men. You think it would be all right for him to see his boss?”
Audrey lifted the curtain. “Only a moment, please,” she whispered as if the sudden lifting of the sheet made it possible for those in the sick room now to hear. “He’s very weak.”
Link removed his hat and raked his fingers through his coal-black hair. He moved into the makeshift hospital room, then paused.
Placing her arm around the youth, Audrey asked, “You all right?”
Nodding, Link stammered, “I ain’t never seen him like this. He’s so pale and still. Usually he’s walkin’ double-time and expectin’ us all to keep up.”
“He lost a great deal of blood.” Audrey looked back at the marshal. “Seems to be a liquid used to water this wild land. I’ve seen my share since I’ve been here.” She moved away, allowing the boy some time.
Austin poured her a cup of coffee as she joined him. “Thanks for your help,” he said as he offered her the cup. “I’m not sure what this town would do without your nursing.”
Audrey leaned against the sheriff’s desk. “Maybe it’s me. Maybe I just attract trouble. If there’s anyone bleeding within a hundred miles, they manage to stumble into my arms.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve thought that about myself for a long time. Felt like I carried trouble in my saddlebags.”
Lowering her voice, Audrey added, “Speaking of trouble, Jennie didn’t come home last night, and I have a pretty good idea where she was.”
Austin’s face remained stone. He wasn’t about to lie or dishonor Jennie by telling the truth.
“I’m not saying another word, but this.” She moved to within an inch of his nose. “If anyone hurts Jennie, it’ll be his blood next we see.”
Austin almost kissed the tall beauty. Jennie was lucky to have such a grand friend. That farmer Wiley had best marry her and get started raising a few dozen children before Audrey decided to move on to another career.
“Marshal?” Link’s voice came from behind them.
“Yes?” Austin raised his coffee cup in salute to Audrey before turning to Link.
“I can’t get Miss Mary Elizabeth to leave Mr. Barkley’s side even for a bite to eat. I was wondering if it’d be all right if I fixed her a plate when the food got here. She don’t look like she’s got any more blood in her than he does. They’re a matched set of ghosts.”
“Sure. A little food might be just what she needs.” Austin moved to his back room. “I’ll wash up and join you in a minute.”
When he stepped into his tiny back quarters, he shut the door behind him and closed his eyes. He could still feel Jennie’s presence in the room. The warm, fresh smell of her was lazy in the air.
Slowly, not wanting to disturb a memory, Austin moved to his bed. The sheets remained crumpled from where he’d held her in his arms all night. He could still see the two dents in the pillow where their heads had rested.
As his eyes traveled the length of the bed, his memory drifted in shadows remembering the way she’d fit so solidly against him, as though they’d been molded for each other.
A tiny spot on the cotton pulled him from his daydream. Blood!
He lifted the sheet in his fist and looked around. Nothing had been disturbed since he’d left. No one had been in the room.
The blood could mean only one thing. He’d taken Jennie’s virginity. But that couldn’t be possible. She was True’s mother. How could she have lived well into her twenties without another lover when she’d come so easily into his arms? No woman loved with such passion her first time.
She hadn’t protested. She hadn’t manipulated. She’d come into hi
s arms like a woman taking a lover, not a virgin learning of life.
He tried to remember what she’d told him. Had she said that it was her first time? Had she told him things he hadn’t taken the time to believe?
Austin wadded the sheet into a ball and tossed it in the corner. He had to talk to her. For once he had to know the truth.
WHEN AUSTIN STEPPED from the back room, Jennie smiled up at him as she served a large helping of roast to Link. “Did you find out any news?”
For a moment he didn’t know what she was talking about. Surely she didn’t want him to mention the spot of blood in front of everyone in the room.
Link saved him from answering. “Only a few tracks, miss.”
Spider Morris pinched a bite of roast off the platter when he thought Jennie wasn’t looking. “We haven’t got any proof it was Buck Lawton and his men, but have you seen what’s going on outside?” He pointed toward the door with the stolen meat.
Austin’s gaze followed the sheriff’s. Several wagons filled with supplies and families were moving down the main street. “What’s up?”
“Everyone’s decided it must be the outlaw gang, and they’re all leaving. It’s amazing how in one day everyone decided he’s got a relative in some nearby town he needs to visit for a few days.” Spider scratched his whiskers. “Those that can’t think of anywhere to go are over at Salty’s place drinking away their troubles.”
“But if it is Buck, won’t they even stay here and stay sober to protect their homes?” Austin asked, knowing the answer as well as Spider did.
“Nope. That’s what they claim we’re here for.”
“Well, none of us at the Harvey House are leaving,” Audrey mumbled between bites. “Town folks or no, the trains will still be coming in and there will still be people to feed. Besides, I have a theory about running from trouble. It has a way of following you, so you might as well face it on home ground.”
Spider began unloading rifles from the rack behind his desk.
“I thought you didn’t believe in shooting outlaws.” Austin watched the old sheriff.
“These aren’t for shooting, son,” Spider said. “I plan to put them in a few windows so if the Lawton gang does hit town, they’ll think I have extra backup.”
“You think they’ll come here first?”
“If they know Barkley’s still alive, they’ll come here first. For some reason Lawton has singled him out as the first one to die.”
Before Austin could ask why, shots rang out from far down the street. Women screamed and horses bolted. Austin and Morris were across the room and onto the porch before the air stilled. Link was only a step behind, still holding his soup spoon in his hand.
Chapter 21
When she heard the round of gunfire, Delta raised the derringer Colton had given her.
Colton’s fingers tightened around her other hand. “Hand me my guns,” he ordered in a voice weak with pain.
“No,” Delta whispered back. “I’ll protect you. I can shoot. You’re in no shape to hold a weapon, much less aim one.”
A smile crossed his pale face. “Thanks for the diagnosis, but I want you to leave. This isn’t your fight.”
Delta knew she could no longer keep her lie from him. The poor man was very likely dying because of her, and he didn’t even know why. “Correction. It’s not your fight,” she whispered. “When I came here, I was running from my stepbrother. He must have followed me and decided to murder you before he killed me.”
“Don’t try to make me believe some story, Mary Elizabeth. You’re a poor liar. Give me the gun and get out of here while there’s still time. The man who shot me last night would like nothing better than to shoot you, too.”
“I’m not leaving you to die because of me.” Delta didn’t believe him. Why would anyone want to kill him? The man who attacked them had to have been her stepbrother.
“You have to get somewhere safe. You’re still not strong from the wreck two weeks ago.”
“No!”
Colton shook his head slightly. “I know you have no family, so there is no use in trying to make up a story.”
“Mary Elizabeth had no family. I have more than I want.”
Colton closed his eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was because of what she’d told him or due to the pain. How would this strong, quiet man react to having been used? Delta didn’t want even to guess, but she couldn’t take her gaze from his face. She’d never seen a man so strong-minded. Even weak and near death he was determined to send her to safety and fight alone, as she guessed he had all his life.
Another round of gunfire rattled the air like thunder. Slowly, with determination in his black eyes, he looked at her. “It’s you who doesn’t understand,” he said above the noise outside. “The man who shot me last night is an outlaw named Buck Lawton who’ll stop at nothing to see me dead.”
“But why?” Delta couldn’t imagine anyone hating Colton so completely.
“Because,” Colton clenched his teeth. “Because I killed the woman he loved.”
A cry escaped her lips before she could stop it. She couldn’t bring herself to believe any man would do such a thing. “Are you sure? Maybe it was an accident. Maybe he blames you unjustly. Maybe you only hurt her or thought she was dead.”
“No.” Colton’s eyes were even darker and colder than before. “She was dead. I buried her the next morning. She was my wife.”
The air suddenly left the room. Delta pulled her hand from his grip, dropped the gun and ran. She didn’t want to believe what he’d just told her. How could a man kill his own wife? Somehow she’d found a man even more evil than her stepfather.
As she rushed from the cell, she collided with Sheriff Morris. The old man managed to hold onto his rifle while she spun him around. “Steady, girl.” Spider held her tightly for a moment, until they both had their footing.
“Colton just told me …” Delta couldn’t bring herself to repeat the horror she’d just heard.
The old sheriff didn’t seem the least alarmed. “Easy now. I reckon Colton told you whatever he thought he had to to get you to let go of his hand and get to safety.”
“But …”
“But whatever it was he said to hurt your feelings, you can patch up later. Right now you’d better get in the back with the other women because all hell’s fixing to break out.”
“All hell’s fixing to break out in this office if you think you’re shoving us in the back room!” Audrey lifted two rifles and handed one to Jennie. “Can you use this?”
“I can learn.” Jennie stared at Austin, leaving no doubt that she did not consider the subject of her staying up for discussion.
Another round of gunfire sounded from the street, along with Link’s shout. They all took a step toward the door as the boy bounded in. “There’s not any trouble. The gunfire was just Amos from north of town. Doc just delivered twins to him and his wife!”
Everyone in the room lowered their guns a few inches and took a breath.
“Then the trouble’s over,” Audrey said. “Maybe the town folks will settle down.”
Spider Morris nodded his agreement but didn’t move to replace the rifles. “It wasn’t Amos who shot Colton on the road last night, so I’d say the trouble’s not over, but at least this scare might help the town’s folks to come to their senses and stop running like frightened groundhogs at the sound of thunder.”
“Maybe.” Austin didn’t sound hopeful.
Spider cradled his rifle and moved through the door. “I think I’ll go have a word with the new father and try convincing him to buy a round of drinks while leaving his gun in my custody.” The old man glanced at Austin. “You stayin’ here?”
The question was casual, but Austin understood the importance of words not said. “I’m staying right here with Colton until we have some idea who shot him.”
Jennie set down the rifle without looking at Austin. “Mrs. Gray told me that the jail is no place for the likes of a fine gentleman like
Colton Barkley. She said if he’s able to be moved, we can get a room ready for him at the Harvey House.” She looked from Austin to Delta. “What do you think?”
Both glanced around the room. With the building’s two entrances and windows all around, the jail would be almost impossible to guard if someone attacked it. Austin remembered seeing several private dining rooms downstairs at the Harvey House with no windows at all.
“We’ll move him as soon as Audrey gives the word,” Austin decided. “Tell Mrs. Gray to make him up a room downstairs.”
Jennie gathered up dishes in a large basket. “I’ll go tell her.”
She didn’t wait for a reply, but hurried from the office. As she walked back to the Harvey House, she didn’t notice the weight on her arm. All she could think about was the way Austin had looked at her when he’d returned from the back room.
Every moment except the few when they’d thought they might be under attack, Austin had stared at her like he expected her to run at him and try to scratch his eyes out. Had he really thought she’d be angry with him about last night, when it had been she who’d gone to him?
Jennie was so deep in thought, she didn’t notice the man sitting on the steps of the hotel until she was within six feet of him.
She was almost at the bottom step when he stood and drew her attention. At first glance he seemed like someone she knew but couldn’t place. Average height, barrel-chested, hairless.
“You Jennie Munday?” he shouted in a tone void of all manners.
Jennie hesitated, recalling the night she’d spent almost in this very spot looking for such a man. The night of the wreck. The night she’d carried a gun in her pocket and had been ready to shoot on sight. But she didn’t have a gun now.
Carefully she weighed her options. She could run for the back door and probably get away. She could scream. Surely someone inside would hear her and come running. Why had she packed Delta’s pocket pistol away with the rest of her things?
“I may be,” she answered, the only sign of nervousness her death grip on the basket. “Who are you?” She asked the question even though she already knew the answer.