by Bobbi Smith
Jared merely nodded tersely in response and kept going. He was a man on a mission. He had to speak to Tessa. He grimaced inwardly at the thought. Last night was just another example of how she had the knack for getting herself into trouble. Not that she had planned it that way. He was certain her intentions were good. They didn’t call her “the angel” around town for nothing, but he also knew what the road to hell was paved with.
Jared thought of the stage robbery and the injuries she’d suffered trying to save Doris Peters’s money. Even now, the memory had the power to irritate him. It had frustrated him because she’d put herself at risk, and because his efforts to bring in the outlaw gang had failed. Jared prided himself on getting his man, and it tested his temper sorely to know that he’d failed. The only good news was that Butch had recovered from his bullet wound. Otherwise the whole incident was still a sore spot with him.
In the weeks since the robbery, it seemed that almost everyone in town had something kind to say about Tessa. And now, to find out that she’d helped Sarah Wilson get away from Boyd, knowing how savage he could be, really tried Jared’s patience.
He was scowling as he glanced down the street and saw the Sinclair boardinghouse just ahead. He was not looking forward to the upcoming conversation with Tessa. He had hoped that she would have heeded his warning to stay out of harm’s way, but obviously she hadn’t listened to anything he’d told her. He could almost predict what she was going to say to him when he confronted her about Boyd’s wife. Girding himself for what he was certain would be a frustrating confrontation, he started up the path to the front door.
* * *
Tessa was tired when she awakened that morning. She felt as if she’d hardly gotten any sleep at all. Thoughts of Boyd and Sarah stayed with her, and she had to keep reassuring herself that the girl was safely away and would be fine. Tessa hoped if she kept telling herself that, eventually she would come to believe it.
She wanted to keep busy, so she set about doing her chores around the house. As she worked, the memory of her “dream wedding” taunted her. She told herself that it had all been just a nightmare. That there had been no reality in that dream at all—not in the mysterious groom or in her fears of marrying someone like Boyd. She had no intention of marrying anyone, and she found that a very pleasant, calming thought this morning.
Tessa was busy cleaning up the kitchen when she heard a knock at the front door. It was unusual for anyone to stop by for a visit at this time of day for most of their boarders had already left for their jobs and the house was usually quiet until dinnertime. Wiping her hands on a towel, she started from the kitchen into the hall to see who was at the door.
Tessa looked up as she walked down the hallway. It was going to be a warm day, so she had left the door open to admit a cooling breeze. She went still at the sight before her. There, standing in the open doorway, was the tall, broad-shouldered form of a man—and silhouetted as he was by the brightness of the sunshine, she couldn’t see his face. The man looked like the groom in her dream.
A shiver of awareness trembled through her in spite of the warmth of the day. She told herself she was crazy, that it had been only a dream, but the man’s visage was shadowed, while his body was visible. She paused for a moment, caught off guard by the sensation that she’d experienced this moment before. It was disorienting and confusing.
“Tessa?” Jared had been watching for her. When she’d stepped out into the hallway, he once again noticed how pretty she was. She was so strong-willed it always amazed him that she should seem so delicate. With a will like hers, she should have been about six feet, four inches tall and weighed in at over two hundred pounds so she could match him toe-to-toe for determination. Instead she was fragile-looking, her complexion flawless. There was no trace of the bruise left to mar the pale beauty of her cheek. Her auburn hair was thick and lustrous, her figure enticing. She was wearing a dress today, but even so, his gaze was appreciatively going over her slender curves as she stood before him in the hallway. When Jared realized the direction of his thoughts, he gave himself a fierce mental shake and reminded himself just why he was there.
“Miss Sinclair?”
The sound of Jared’s voice effectively ended Tessa’s fantasy and forced her back to reality.
This wasn’t any dream man. It was only Marshal Trent.
She sighed slightly as disappointment swept through her—along with a bit of annoyance. Jared Trent definitely wasn’t the man of her dreams. She thought him rude and arrogant, and the less she saw of him, the better. She knew the talk around town had it that he was a wonderful lawman, but she was beginning to have her doubts. After all, he hadn’t been able to bring in the gang that had robbed the stage that day.
“Jared, this is an unexpected pleasure. What brings you here so early?”
Starting forward again, Tessa couldn’t imagine why he’d come to see her, unless, possibly, he’d learned something new about the outlaw gang. Certainly they had nothing else to discuss.
Tessa’s tone was so sweet that Jared knew she hadn’t meant a word of her greeting.
“I need to talk with you.” He kept his tone stern, for he wanted her to know he was serious.
“Oh? Did you finally arrest the men who robbed the stage? Do you need me to identify them?” She was hopeful.
“No, this has nothing to do with the robbery.”
“So you still haven’t found them?”
“No,” he said curtly, not appreciating her reminder of his lack of success. “Do you mind if I come in?”
When she hesitated, he grew even more annoyed. He wondered why this one woman had the power to irritate him so.
“This is important,” he insisted.
“Of course.”
Tessa finally stepped back to let Jared enter. As he moved past her into the hallway, she was once again impressed by the sheer size of him. He towered over her, his very presence seeming to fill the hallway. Everything about him spoke of power and control, from the erect way he carried himself to the way his gun rode easily on his hip. She had to admit that Jared was an intimidating man, and he was handsome, too, in a rugged sort of way, though it irked her to acknowledge that. His eyes were dark and somehow knowing. It was almost as if he had the power to look right through her—and that bothered Tessa a lot.
“There was some trouble in town last night.” Jared began, taking off his Stetson as he came inside.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“It was Boyd Wilson,” he announced flatly.
She went still, suddenly concerned about Sarah’s safety. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and questioning. “What happened? Is Sarah all right?”
“You tell me,” he countered. “All I know is that Boyd got drunk at the High Time Saloon last night and started threatening to kill his wife—and you.”
“Oh.” The news chilled her, but she was relieved to learn that Boyd hadn’t found Sarah.
Jared was pleased when Tessa looked a bit disconcerted. At least that proved to him that she did realize the seriousness of the situation. “I locked him up for the night, but I had to let him out this morning once he’d sobered up.”
“I see.” Fear edged through her.
“I hope you do see, Tessa,” he said in a growl. “I know how mean Boyd can be. You’ll have to be very careful for a while. I don’t trust the man.”
“Neither do I.”
“Didn’t you realize what you were getting yourself into when you started messing with Boyd?”
She took his comment as more criticism, and her anger rescued her from her worry about Boyd’s threats. “I wasn’t ‘messing’ with Boyd, as you put it. I was helping Sarah!”
“I warned you about putting yourself in danger!”
“No one else would help her,” she countered. “What was I supposed to do? Stand by and let him keep beating her? Maybe kill her? She’d just found out she was with child. I had to do something to help her.”
“D
amn it, woman, this isn’t your problem!”
“I made it my problem. She came to me a couple nights ago, battered and bloody. Boyd had come home drunk and had beaten her before he’d . . .” She paused, not knowing what to call Boyd’s asserting his husbandly rights. He certainly hadn’t been making love to Sarah.
“I understand.” Jared swore under his breath at the man’s brutality. “You should have sent Sarah to a minister for help.”
“She’d gone to one once, and he’d told her it was her wifely duty to stay with Boyd and to please him, that she had to work at making their marriage a happy one. That was why she stayed with Boyd for as long as she did. He’d started beating her just after the wedding.” For an instant, Tessa thought she saw a flicker of some fierce emotion in the lawman’s expression, but it was so quickly masked that she wondered if she’d really seen it at all. “Sarah probably would have stayed with him, believing the minister’s advice, if it hadn’t been for the baby. I think realizing she had another life growing within her made her understand that nothing was ever going to change and that she really had to get away—if not for her own sake, then for her child’s.”
Jared had never had any use for Boyd, and Tessa’s story just reinforced his feelings about the man. “Well, it isn’t just Sarah we’ve got to worry about right now. It’s you, too. He’s holding you responsible for her leaving, so take care. Make sure you don’t go anywhere alone, and keep an eye out for him.”
“Don’t worry. I will. I don’t want anything to do with the man. He came by here yesterday, and he said I hadn’t seen the last of him when he left.”
“And I’d be willing to bet that you haven’t. I want you to keep your doors locked, and from now on, start giving some thought to the consequences of your actions,” he ordered tersely.
Tessa lifted her chin defiantly as she answered, “I did give it some thought. I know that Sarah is safely away from Boyd. I know the man isn’t going to hurt her or her child ever again. Those are the consequences of my actions.”
Jared was tempted to shake her, to try to put some sense into her, but he controlled the urge with an effort. “Those might not be the only consequences. Don’t you realize—”
He didn’t get any farther before Maggie Sinclair appeared on the porch and started inside, followed closely by Will Kenner. Their arrival abruptly ended Jared and Tessa’s heated conversation.
Tessa was amazed at how pleased she was to see them—even Will. She hadn’t known he was going to be in town this week, but she was delighted that he’d shown up now.
“Why, Marshal Trent! What a wonderful surprise!” Maggie thought him a nice man, and most handsome, too. “You know Will Kenner, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded toward the other man.
“Jared was just leaving,” Tessa said quickly, wanting him to go.
She spoke so determinedly that her mother looked at her in surprise. “You’re leaving already? What a shame. It would have been nice to visit with you for a while. We never get to see you. Will you be attending the big dance Saturday night?”
“I’ll be around.”
“Working or having fun?” Maggie asked. She knew his job was a never-ending one.
“Probably both,” he answered, managing a grin at her. “It just depends on how well the boys in town hold their liquor.”
“I hope for your sake that they’re all very well behaved.”
“I appreciate the thought.”
“Thank you for coming by, Marshal,” Tessa said with a benign smile. She just wanted him to go away now that her mother was home. She didn’t want her mother to hear about Boyd’s threats and start worrying.
Jared deliberately ignored Tessa as he turned to her mother. “I was just telling your daughter that Boyd Wilson found out that she helped Sarah get out of town, and he’s been making threats.”
“No!” Maggie paled as she looked at Tessa.
“It’ll be all right, Mother. Nothing’s going to happen. Sarah’s safe now, and that’s all that matters.”
“Yes, dear, but that man is such a brute.”
“He’s not going to do anything to me.”
“We do still have your father’s pistol in the house,” Maggie said.
“Do you know how to use it?” Jared asked Tessa, his gaze upon her piercing.
“Yes, if I have to,” she told him.
“Good.” He was satisfied with that news.
“Surely you don’t think Boyd would . . . ?” Will began in concern.
“No. Nothing’s going to happen,” Tessa reassured him. “Everything’s fine now that Sarah is free of him.”
“I’ll be going now,” Jared said. “If you need anything or if anything happens, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you, Marshal.” Maggie appreciated his taking the time to warn them. “Let’s hope that by Saturday night everything will have calmed down.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered. “Tessa, Will.”
Jared left the house, hoping he’d made some impression on Tessa about the possible danger she was facing. Judging from the way she’d acted, though, he doubted she’d taken his warning seriously. He frowned as he stopped to look around the area. There were any number of places for Boyd to hide near the house, should the man decide to come after her. His frown deepened. It was hard to protect someone like Tessa, someone who believed the best of people and never prepared for the worst. He’d have to ride by several times during the night to make sure all was quiet, and he’d have to try to keep track of Boyd. He shook his head in frustration and started back toward his office.
Chapter Seven
Once Marshal Trent had gone, Tessa was relieved. She didn’t know what it was about the man that irritated her so, but she found him almost insufferable with his high-handed lawman’s ways.
“Why are you in town, Will? Is something wrong at the mine?” Tessa asked as she led the way into the parlor and sat down on the sofa.
Her mother joined her there, while Will took the chair facing them.
“We were running short on some supplies. I’d planned to be heading back early tomorrow, but now I’m glad I ran into you, Miss Maggie,” he said, looking at the older woman. “After what Marshal Trent just told us, I’m wondering if I should stay in town at least through the weekend to keep an eye on things.” His blue-eyed gaze was warm upon Tessa.
The last thing Tessa wanted was Will hovering around her. “That’s very kind of you, but—”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Maggie put in before her daughter could say more. His offer had just raised him even higher in her estimation.
“Good. I’ll do it.”
“Do you have a place to stay?” Maggie asked.
“I’ve already taken a room at the hotel.”
“What about the supplies you needed for the mine?Can you afford to stay away that long?” Tessa asked. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to remain in town, she told herself. It was that he was responsible for their mine, and it was no small job.
“I’m sure the boys can handle things without me for an extra day or two. It’ll be fine,” he said confidently. He was looking forward to the dance on Saturday night.
“Then you’ve done a fine job of getting things in order up there,” Maggie said.
“Thank you. The men are serious about their work and more careful than ever after what happened,” he explained.
“Michael was always concerned about the quality of the workers,” Tessa said, remembering how hard her brother had worked at making the mine pay. “That’s why he spent so much time at the site supervising.”
“Michael was doing a fine job. I still can’t believe what happened.”
Maggie’s expression grew as she thought of her beloved son. The tragic accident was still devastatingly painful for her. “I miss him. I suppose I always will,” she said softly. “Nothing will ever be the same now that he’s gone.”
“I know,” Will sympathized. “And I’m gl
ad I’m staying close this weekend. Michael would have wanted me to do it, and I would have worried if I’d gone back, knowing that Boyd is threatening you.”
“Everything is going to be fine. I don’t think Boyd’s going to try anything,” Tessa said.
“I hope you’re right,” Maggie said, “but I’m still going to get your father’s revolver out before we go to bed tonight. I want to make sure it’s loaded and close at hand—just in case.”
“All right.” Tessa didn’t want to think that they might need it, but she understood her mother’s concern.
“And I’ll be here, too,” Jim Russell announced as he came to stand in the parlor doorway. He’d been out back when he’d seen Marshal Trent leaving, and had come inside to find out why the lawman had stopped by. “What kind of trouble are we expecting?”
Tessa quickly explained all that had happened with Boyd.
“If Marshal Trent says be careful, then I’d listen to him,” Jim advised. “He’s a good lawman. He knows what he’s talking about. They don’t come any better than Jared.”
Tessa had always respected Jim’s opinion on things, but this time she wondered. “Let’s just hope we see no sign of Boyd Wilson ever again.” She was sick of talking about the man who seemed to have caused only pain in people’s lives. “Maybe one day Boyd will come to his senses and understand the terrible things he’s done. Maybe someday he’ll change his ways.”
“It would be wonderful if it were that simple,” Jim said, “but I don’t think men like him ever change.”
“Then let’s pray that Sarah’s far away and Boyd never finds her. That’s the best we can hope for,” Tessa said.
Jim went on upstairs as talk turned to the mine. Once Will had related the latest news, he left to take care of his own business.
“It’s wonderful that Will cares enough to stay on in town,” Maggie remarked.
Tessa didn’t necessarily think so, but she wasn’t going to argue with her mother. “I’m just sorry we’re in this situation at all, but there was no way I could turn Sarah away when she came to me. I had to help her. She had no one else she could go to.”