Birdie's Nest

by Linda LaRoque

  “Yes, ma’am, I am. Where are Lucy and the baby?”

  “They’re upstairs.” She smirked. “I expect you know the way.”

  His heart thundered with each step he took. When he reached the top, he tapped on Lucy’s bedroom door. “Lucy. It’s Tad.”

  “Come in.” She lay in bed, a pale comparison to the woman she’d once been. Her beautiful black hair was dull, matted, and in disarray, her skin a sickly color.

  “Are you ill?”

  She laughed, the sound bitter and unforgiving. “What do you think? Giving birth is hard, but not that hard.” She sighed, deflated, her body sagged against the pillows. “Yes, I’m dying. Doc says a cancer of some sort on my lung.”

  Guilt and shame washed over him. She’d been a friend. He shouldn’t have cut her out of his life completely, could have checked on her occasionally. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I wanted to end our relationship, but I’d never wish you ill.”

  She coughed and gasped for breath. He lifted a glass of water on the bedside table and held her head as she drank. “Thank you.”

  “Can I do anything for you, Lucy, to make you more comfortable?”

  “No, not unless you want to put me out of my misery.”

  Kill her? No way could he take a human life unless in self-defense or protecting another. She moaned and clasped her chest. A skeletal hand waved at the medicine bottle by the bed. “Add several drops to a glass of water.”

  He held the glass for her. She drank it all and shuddered. “Vile stuff but it does help the pain for a short while.” She closed her eyes for a few minutes, and then opened them. “I intended to make you pay for deserting me, Tad, by keeping your child from you. You’d see him around town and know he was yours but not have access to him. I knew I was pregnant at the July fourth celebration. I would’ve told you that night if you’d come to see me.”

  Tad dropped into the chair beside the bed, his head cradled in his hands. “I would have helped you if I’d known. You should have sent me a message.”

  “Yeah, I should’ve and you shouldn’t have tossed me aside so.”

  “We never had an understanding. You know that, Lucy. Our relationship was strictly business.”

  She pounded on the wall behind her bed. A moment later a young woman came into the room holding a baby. Tad stood to meet her. She handed him the bundle and he stared down into the blue eyes of his son. His little mouth smacked as he sucked on two fingers. Through tears he examined the baby’s fingers and toes and rubbed the soft down on his head.

  Voice gruff, he choked out, “He’s beautiful, Lucy.” Tad didn’t question if the baby was his. There were no identifying features but the tug on his heart was all he needed. This was his son.

  Her smile transformed her features, reminding Tad of the beauty she’d once been. “Yes, he is. His name is Nathan.”

  “It’s a good name.”

  “This is Sarah. She’s been his wet nurse since his birth a month ago. Her own child died shortly after birth.” She closed her eyes. “Go. Take him, and go. Please. I can’t bear losing him and the sooner you’re gone, the better.”

  “I’ll love him always, Lucy. I promise you he’ll have a good life.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Early in March, Birdie picked up a bunch of men’s cologne samples from Detective Ethan and carried them to the gazebo on the Reservation. Lila met with her first and smelled each of the business cards. She kept returning to one. Finally, she waved it at Birdie. “This is it. I’m sure of it.” She started to turn it over.

  “Don’t look at the name on the back. I want to make sure no one else knows which one you selected.”

  “I understand. I’ll send Rose out. She’s still pretty shook up. Don’t know how much help she’ll be.”

  “Maybe she’ll garner some courage by watching you. You’ve been a big help, Lila. I hope we catch this man and can lock him away.”

  Lila stopped in mid-smile, putting her hands to her cheeks. The wounds must pull when she smiled. “I hope so too.” She ran into the house without looking back.

  Birdie waited for Rose, and had about given up when she stepped from the dwelling. With her head completely covered, she wrapped her arms in the cloak and pulled it tighter around her. When she stepped into the gazebo, she never looked up at Birdie but kept her head bowed.

  “Here, let’s sit down.” On the bench that ran around the small pergola, Rose sat three feet away from Birdie.

  “Rose, I’m going to hand you a card. Smell the cologne on it but don’t turn it over and look at the name.” Birdie laid the first card out on the seat between them. Rose unwound her right arm from the cloak, lifted the paper and smelled, and then laid it back down in the same place. “If you think one is it, wait until you’ve smelled them all before coming back to it.”

  Rose nodded and proceeded to the next sample. When she’d finished, she lifted two of them again. Finally she lifted one up and held it toward Birdie. “This one.”

  “Are you sure? One hundred percent positive?”

  “Yes.”

  They had a winner. It was the same fragrance Lila had selected. “Thank you, Rose. You’ve been a big help. Do you think you might be up to answering a few questions for me now?”

  “I’ll try.”

  Over the next thirty minutes, Rose reiterated what Lila had told her—the vulgar words the man used, the mask he’d worn, clawing at his face, knocking his hat off and pulling his hair.

  “Good.” Rose peeked up at her so Birdie smiled. “You did real well, Rose. We even found a piece of the man’s hair you’d yanked from his head. It will help us identify him.”

  “What’ll the police do to him if they catch him? Nobody cares about us Reservation girls.”

  “He’ll be tried and go to prison, I hope for a long time. Your profession shouldn’t have anything to do with his sentence. Guilty is guilty.” Birdie stood and looked at the sky. It was beginning to look like rain so she’d better head home. “You let me and the police worry about this man. Take care of yourself and remember, there are people who can see beyond scars.”

  * * *

  On the ride back to the station, Birdie pondered the change in Tad’s behavior. She knew something was bothering him and for three nights in a row he’d ridden into town. Surely he wasn’t seeing that Lucy woman? If so, there wouldn’t be a wedding. She wouldn’t marry a man who broke his wedding vows before he said them. No, it had to be something else. Tonight she’d find out what. If he rode out, she’d be on his tail.

  After dismounting in the stable at the station, she hurried into Detective Ethan’s office. “We have a match.”

  He looked up, eyes sharp. “Shut the door.”

  She closed it behind her and sat in the chair facing Lloyd’s desk. “I can’t believe it. Finally.” She took all the envelopes from her bag and laid them out in a row. With her index finger, she tapped the one to the far left. “It’s this fragrance from France—Fougere Royal 1882 by Houbigant.”

  Ethan removed the card and smelled. “Ugh, kind of sweet, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, and it has a sweet price too. Do you remember where this one came from?”

  “I sure do. It’s a small, exclusive men’s shop, only been open a year or so. Their shirts cost as much as my suits. I’ll be speaking with the proprietor first thing in the morning.”

  “Can I go with you?”

  “I don’t know. You don’t look very manly in that uniform.”

  “Would it help if I wore an overcoat over the police outfit?”

  He worked his mouth into a variety of contortions while thinking. She’d noticed him doing that before. “On one condition. You take notes and don’t say a word.”

  * * *

  Tad walked from the jewelry store where he’d just picked up Birdie’s ring. She’d insisted on a plain gold band, but he’d had it engraved inside. He’d almost bought a band for himself but decided he’d rather wear his father’s
wedding band instead.

  He had to make a decision about Nathan soon. It hurt to leave him each night after visiting him. As he rocked him to sleep, he talked, and sometimes received a coo in response. Nathan seemed to hang on his every word. The boy stared up at him with the same eyes he looked at when he shaved in the mornings. Oh, God, he had to tell Birdie. It wasn’t right to keep her in the dark. She had a right to know before they married. If she left him, it would break his heart, but he couldn’t give up his son.

  Stuffing the small box in his pocket, he turned and plowed into Detective Ethan and the young officer he’d seen with Ethan once before. “Oops! Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  “No problem, Lockhart. Sorry we can’t take time to chat. Jenkins and I are investigating a case.”

  Tad glanced at Jenkins. But for the mustache, the young man’s face was as pretty as a girl’s. He wore a long overcoat with his uniform. An odd character for sure, since it wasn’t cold enough today to warrant that. "Well, don’t let me keep you.”

  “Be sure to see I get an invitation to the wedding.” Ethan waved as they strode off down the street.

  “I’ll see to it.” Tad scratched his chin as he watched them enter Simmons Clothier for Men, a new fancy place for men to buy suits and whatnot. Not as tall as Ethan, Jenkins had a delicate build, almost fragile. Jenkins’s hips swayed just like— Tad gaped. Those hips swung like those of a particular woman he enjoyed watching. He snapped his mouth shut before he made a spectacle of himself and shook his head. No, it couldn’t be. Birdie was a little wild, but she wouldn’t dress up like a man and parade around town. Dadgummit! Yes, she would. But by golly, today would be the last time. He’d put a stop to her outrageous behavior.

  He started for the clothiers, but pulled himself up short. Calm down, Tad. You don’t want to barge in and make a scene. Yes, he did but he wouldn’t. It wouldn’t do to jeopardize Ethan’s case—Ethan and Birdie’s case. Now he knew who Ethan’s investigator was. Birdie probably loved every minute of helping out. He should have known something was up with her getting home later in the evenings.

  Tad ducked behind a storefront and waited. Thirty minutes later Ethan and Birdie left the shop, walked past him, and mounted their horses. Darned if Birdie wasn’t riding a different horse. Guess she didn’t want Molly or Strawberry to be seen around town with someone else on her. She and Ethan had planned this charade to a T and were thick as thieves.

  He couldn’t believe Birdie would go behind his back and do something she knew he disapproved of. When they passed, he left his secluded spot and mounted Chester to follow them to the station. He hung back until they’d stabled their horses, then tied Chester up to one of the hitching posts.

  Inside the building he marched to Ethan’s office, rapped on the door, and walked in without an invitation.

  Ethan shoved back from his desk. “What do you think you’re doing barging in unin—” His eyes widened when he recognized Tad, but he kept a poker face. “As you can see, Jenkins and I are in the middle of an important consultation.” Jenkins didn’t turn around and acknowledge him but buried his head in a notebook. “Come back in an hour and I can see you then.”

  “I want to see you now. And I’d like to get to know Jenkins a little better. He reminds me of someone, especially the way his hips sway, even under that heavy coat he wore today.”

  “That’s insulting, Lockhart.” He rounded the desk and took Tad’s arm trying to usher him from the room.

  Tad stood his ground. If it came to a shoving match, he was out to win. “How dare you expose Birdie to the criminal elements that frequent this place?” He yanked Birdie’s hat off. Her pinned up hair broke loose in places and tumbled to her shoulders. “Where are the clothes you wore into town this morning?”

  She grabbed her hat from his hands and shoved the loose strands up under the felted brim. “You have no right to barge in here and question my actions.”

  “I most certainly do. In less than a month we’ll be married. Can you imagine what the people in this town would have to say about you if they knew you were dressing up in men’s clothes and parading about town?”

  She stuck her chin out. “I really don’t care.” He resisted the urge to shake some sense into her.

  “Well, I do. Your behavior reflects on me and my mother.”

  Her shoulders sagged. “It’s not like anyone could recognize me. I’ve been careful and am rarely out of Lloyd’s sight.”

  He shot Detective Ethan a glare and spit out, “I just bet you’re not.”

  “Now see here, Lockhart, our relationship has been strictly business. Birdie’s been a big help in collecting evidence and gathering information from the attacks on the Reservation ladies.”

  Tad’s face heated and he could almost feel steam pouring from his ears. He ground out, “She’s been over on Two Street? Please! Tell me she hasn’t been mixing with the prostitutes.”

  Birdie stood. She poked Tad in the chest with her index finger. “I’m not a child and you are not my husband yet. I’ll not have you or anyone else telling me what I can and cannot do.”

  “What were you thinking, Ethan?”

  His expression mulish, the detective muttered. “That she might could teach us something.”

  “So, you’ve come to the conclusion she’s really from the future and was a Texas Ranger?”

  “Is a Texas Ranger, Tad Lockhart.” Birdie strode to the door. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I’ll go change clothes while you discuss me like I’m not here.”

  “Yes, I do believe she’s from the future,” Ethan said. “Don’t you?”

  Tad released a pent up breath. “Yeah, I do, especially after the Massacre at Wounded Knee. She’d told us it would take place on December 29th, and it did.” He dropped into the chair Birdie had vacated. “It’s hard to believe, but with that little gun of hers, the massacre, and a few other things she’s told me, I’ve come to accept it.”

  “I know one thing,” said Ethan. “She’s not like women of this era and though she’ll try, she’ll never fit into the mold of what we consider womanly behavior. If you try to keep her on a short leash, you’re going to lose her.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Birdie argued with Tad all the way home. He insisted she at least quit going to the Reservation.

  “Why? No one knows who I am. I’m Jenkins, the skinny cop.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Lila and Rose knew who she was but they’d never tell.

  “Don’t you realize how worried I’ll be for your safety, not to mention your reputation?”

  She glanced his direction. “Why is my reputation so important?” He appeared as miserable as she felt.

  “It’s important because I couldn’t stand to see you unhappy. You may think you don’t need other people, but we all do, including you. I couldn’t stand it if folks shunned you, and you’d feel terrible.”

  “I don’t know if I can withstand the confines of nineteenth century society. I can’t play ball, I can’t ride with the Rangers, and you don’t want me working with the police department, doing what I’ve been trained and love to do.”

  He yanked his hat off and ran his hands through his hair. “If anyone finds out, you’ll be ruined in this town. Remember, your actions have an effect on Mother also.” He slapped his hat against his leg and situated it back on his head. “I can handle the gossip, the whispers. Of course, I may have to beat the stuffing out of a man or two, but it’s the women who are most vindictive.”

  Tad had that right. Women in the twenty-first century were the same way. Of course, society’s rules had changed, but if a group of women got it in for you, they’d make your life hell. That’s one reason she didn’t want to work in a largely female environment—too much sniping and other petty nonsense. Birdie didn’t want to bring gossip down on Olivia’s head or on Bethany’s, either. But, Olivia had mellowed somewhat since she learned the truth about Birdie—that she really had traveled back in time. Plus, Olivia was a pretty tou
gh lady. Not many people would have the nerve to defy her and turn their nose up at Birdie. She sighed. Still, didn’t want to put the older woman—soon to be her mother-in-law—in a position where she had to defend her.

  “Tad, I understand your concerns, but please, let me finish out this case. We’re so close to solving it, and I’ll give up my job until the department might need me again.”

  He pulled Chester to a halt. “Your job? Do you mean to say you’re getting paid?”

  Strawberry passed them by so she turned her and brought the mare up alongside the gelding. “Yes, I am and quite nicely I might add. More than you pay me to keep your books.”

  She pulled Strawberry closer to Chester and reached for Tad’s hand. “I promise I’ll be careful and no one will recognize me.”

  He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Birdie, I believe it would kill me if that crazy man hurt you.”

  The pained expression on his face weakened her resolve, but she couldn’t give in. He’d never said the words, “I love you,” but his actions betrayed his feelings. She hoped he’d say them one day soon. “I’m not going to get hurt.”

  “How can you know that?”

  She withdrew her hand, took a deep breath, and exhaled. What could she tell him? In her life this was her job and dangers were part of the territory. “Tad, this is what I’ve been trained to do. Give me a little credit for knowing how to take care of myself.”

  He groaned. “Do you know how hard this is for me? I realize you’re from the future.” He shook his head. “I sure as heck don’t know how it happened, but I believe you were a Texas Ranger in your time and that you’re well trained, but you’re a woman. Putting yourself in danger and participating in police matters is just not done in this time. Consider how I feel.”

  “Are you saying you’d be embarrassed or ashamed of me if someone found out?”