by Bobbi Smith
Steve had heard the drunk’s ramblings and went still. He didn’t want any trouble. He’d come to the bar to get away from trouble—namely Julie. This other kind of trouble he didn’t want either. He took another drink and tried to ignore what was going on behind them.
“Hey, you!” Avery called out in a loud voice as he stood a few feet behind Steve.
“You talking to me?” Steve asked, just glancing at him and keeping his hands on the bar.
“Your name’s Madison, ain’t it? Steve Madison?” he demanded.
“Yes.”
“I told you!” Avery shouted to his friends. “I told you it was him!”
“Is there something I can do for you?” Steve asked, still not moving. He’d been in situations like this before and knew how one wrong move could result in a bloodbath, with a lot of innocent people getting killed.
“You’re the fast gun, right?” Avery asked, his attitude challenging and hostile.
Steve shrugged. “I’ve seen faster.”
“Look, you son of a bitch!” Avery had purposely insulted Steve, wanting to make a name for himself.
“Hold it right there, Avery,” Dan ordered, pulling out his shotgun and laying it strategically on the bar.
“What the hell are you doing?” The drunk looked at the bartender in shock.
“I’m stopping trouble before it starts!” Dan said tersely. “Get the hell outta my saloon if you’re thinking about stirring things up.”
“But this is—”
“This is the man who saved a child from a burning building today,” Dan said. “Now, go on! You’re a young hothead who doesn’t have a lick of sense. Get out!”
He gestured toward the door with the shotgun.
Avery was humiliated and furious, but he knew he’d lose in a showdown with Dan’s shotgun. He glared at Steve, then turned and stalked from the saloon.
“Sorry about that,” Dan apologized. “Sometimes these young kids get all riled up when they drink.”
“That’s how they end up dead,” Steve said flatly. He’d wondered how long he could keep his reputation quiet, but he knew now that word was out.
“Let me get you another drink,” Dan offered, shoving his weapon safely back under the bar.
Steve reached into his pocket to get the money to pay for his drink.
“No. Put your money away. This one’s on me,” Dan told him. “I know all about what you did today, helping to save the Emersons and all, and I appreciate it.”
Steve was shocked by his kindness. He wasn’t used to people being nice to him. “You sure?”
“Positive.” Dan refilled his tumbler with the house’s best whiskey.
Chapter Twenty-one
Julie could hardly contain her excitement as she saw the train approaching. This was it! The day had finally come! Roderick and Ellen would soon be there!
“Are you excited, dear?” Adele asked her daughter as she waited with her at the depot.
“You can’t tell?” She looked over at her mother, her eyes aglow.
Adele smiled gently as she teased, “Only a little. It will be nice to see them again. It’s been so long.”
“Yes, it has, and now I’m a woman, Mother. Do you think Roderick will notice?”
It wasn’t the first time that day that Julie had asked her mother about her appearance, and for yet another time, Adele reassured her that she looked fine.
“You are positively gorgeous, darling. I’m glad you decided to wear that dress. The teal color is very becoming, and wearing your hair up that way is perfect.”
Her mother always seemed to know just the right thing to say to her to make her feel more confident. Julie hugged her impulsively and turned back to watch the train.
“Thank you, Mother.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for, dear. I always tell you the truth,” she responded. “Are you sure they want to stay at the hotel? We certainly have enough room for them to stay with us at the house.”
“I know, but Ellen said they would be taking rooms at the hotel when she wrote to me. Look! Here it is now!”
The train slowed to a stop before them.
Julie stood breathlessly waiting for her first glimpse of Roderick—and Ellen, too, of course.
The door opened, and a tall, burly cowboy stepped down first.
Julie’s anticipation grew as she strained to catch a glimpse of those inside the cars.
The cowboy turned and reached up to help someone out.
Julie tried to see who was getting out next, hoping it was Ellen.
It turned out to be a little old lady.
When no one else appeared in the exit for a moment, Julie took a tentative step forward. Her spirits sank as she began to fear that something had changed Roderick and Ellen’s plans and that they were not on the train.
Then Roderick appeared in the exit. He did not step down immediately, but stood poised in the doorway, looking around the station and town.
Julie gazed up at Roderick, her heart pounding a wild rhythm. He had not changed at all—except possibly to get even more good-looking. Tall and blond, he was lean and classically handsome. The suit he wore fit his trim, broad-shouldered physique perfectly. Roderick looked every bit the educated gentleman that he was, and Julie almost sighed aloud.
“Roderick?” she said.
He quickly looked her way.
“Julie?” For a moment, a slight frown creased his brow, as if he were trying to reconcile this lovely woman with the sixteen-year-old girl he’d last seen. Then he smiled, his gaze appreciative. “Julie, is that really you?”
“Yes.” It was a rare day when Julie found herself speechless, but this was all she could say.
“Ellen, Julies here to meet us,” Roderick said as he stepped down and then helped his sister descend.
“Ellen!” Speechless no more, Julie all but shouted her delight at seeing her old friend. Without a thought for decorum, she threw herself into Ellen’s arms.
Ellen was just as delighted to see Julie. The two women embraced, thrilled to be reunited.
“I cannot tell you how excited I am about your being here,” Julie told them excitedly. “My mother came with me to meet you, too. You remember my mother, don’t you?”
“Of course, Mrs. Stevens.” Ellen turned to greet the other woman. “And you’ve met my brother Roderick before, haven’t you?”
“Oh, yes, although it has been a while.” Adele smiled up at Roderick, completely understanding her daughter’s attraction to him.
Roderick smiled at Julie’s mother. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“We are delighted that you’ve come to visit us. Let’s go back to the house. I’ve got some refreshments ready for you.”
“That would be wonderful,” Ellen said as Roderick spoke to the stationmaster about tending to their baggage.
Roderick offered Julie his arm, and she felt as if she were floating on air as she took it and allowed him to escort her home. She was looking up at him, hanging on his every word as he regaled her with tales of their adventures on the trip so far.
Steve was on his way back to the boardinghouse from the general store when he saw Julie walking away from the depot, arm in arm with a man he’d never seen before. Just by looking at him, he immediately judged the man to be a dude, and knew he had to be the Roderick she’d been talking about for the last week. Julie seemed to be captivated by whatever the man was saying to her, and Steve felt a stab of jealousy.
Since they were all walking in the same direction and Steve didn’t particularly want their paths to cross right then, he decided to take a different route back to the boardinghouse. He’d just started down a side street when he heard a shout ring out loudly behind him.
“You! Madison!”
Steve recognized the voice immediately and stopped. It was the kid from the High Time. He slowly turned to face him. He’d dealt with many young men like him in Arizona. They were young and stupid—little more than boys trying
to earn a reputation for themselves as fast guns. Steve wanted nothing to do with him.
“What can I do for you?” Steve asked coolly, taking care to make no sudden moves.
“I’m beginning to think your reputation is all talk, Madison!” Avery said with a snarl
Steve didn’t move. He just continued to stare at him. “I’m not looking for trouble.”
“Don’t matter whether you were looking for it or not! Trouble done found you! You were a coward last night in the High Time when you let Dan fight your fight for you. You gonna be a coward today?”
As Avery spoke, some of the townspeople came out onto the sidewalks to see what was going on.
Steve was furious and wondered where Jared was. If ever he’d wanted a lawman to show up, it was now, but he saw no sign of Jared anywhere.
“You’re making a big mistake,” Steve said slowly, his tone deadly serious.
“Put that bag you’re carrying down, and let’s just see how fast you really are, Madison!” Avery was confident he could take Steve Madison. He’d been practicing his draw for months now, and he wanted everyone to know how fast he was. He wanted to prove himself and get some respect.
“I’ve got no fight with you.” Steve refused to be drawn into a gunfight. All he wanted to do was return to the boardinghouse and get to work. “I’m leaving.”
Steve turned his back and started to walk away.
Behind him, Avery was shaking with the power of his fury. He was ready for this showdown, and he wasn’t about to be denied.
“Madison!” Avery was all but screaming at him.
Steve kept walking, slowly, steadily.
The fact that the gunfighter ignored him completely set Avery off. He went for his gun.
“Steve!”
Steve heard Julie shout his name in warning. He didn’t know where she’d come from, but he knew instinctively what he had to do. Steve dropped low and spun around, drawing his gun and firing just as Avery got his first shot off at him. Avery’s shot went wide, but Steve’s found its mark. Steve’s bullet hit Avery in the wrist and sent his revolver flying from his fist.
Those who had witnessed the shoot-out were amazed by what they’d just seen.
“Oh, my God!” Julie said in a strangled voice as she stared in horror at the scene before her. If she hadn’t shouted, Steve would have been dead right now! She swallowed tightly and began to tremble. She didn’t know what trick of fate had put her at that particular corner at that particular moment in time, but she would forever be thankful. Steve had tried to walk away from the confrontation. He had tried to avoid the showdown with the other man, and the hotheaded kid hadn’t let him. Even so, when Steve could have killed him, he had deliberately chosen not to. She was stunned.
“You know that man?” Roderick asked in amazement. He’d been shocked when she’d called out the warning to him.
“Yes. I need to see . . .” She started toward Steve, but Roderick caught her by the arm and stopped her.
“That’s no place for a lady like you. You might get hurt,” Roderick said, disgusted by the violence they’d just witnessed. “We must move on.”
“I can’t believe I just saw a real Western gunfight!” Ellen was saying to Adele as they continued on to the house. “Is it always this wild in Durango?”
“Actually, this is very unusual,” Adele told her. “Durango is generally a very civilized town.”
Adele noticed how upset her daughter was as Roderick drew her away from the scene. She watched as Julie looked back once more to where Steve was standing just as Marshal Trent came rushing through the crowd.
When Jared got word that there was trouble, he hurried immediately to the site of the shoot-out. It took him only an instant to figure out what had happened. Avery was hunched over, shaken and pale in the middle of the street, cradling his bloodied arm. Jared glanced toward Steve and saw him standing tall and straight, gun still in hand. Jared walked over to Avery.
“You’re damned lucky you’re still alive,” Jared ground out, showing little sympathy. “Get over to the doc’s right now!”
Avery stumbled off, blood dripping from his wound. He did not even bother to try to pick up his gun. His humiliation ran deep.
Jared went to Steve. He saw the wary look in the other man’s eyes and knew that he was expecting trouble from him. He knew, too, that he was going to surprise him.
“Thanks,” Jared said, looking Steve straight in the eye.
Steve was caught off guard by his remark and, for an instant, looked shocked.
“You could have killed him,” Jared went on, “and you deliberately winged him instead. When Avery’s had time to think about what almost happened here today, he’s going to realize what a lucky man he is.”
“If that kid keeps going the way he’s going, he isn’t going to be alive much longer to think about anything.” Steve slowly holstered his gun, but he knew that he was really the lucky one. If Julie hadn’t shouted a warning to him, he’d be lying dead in the middle of the street right now—shot in the back by a hotheaded young kid out to make a name for himself. He bent down to pick up the bag he’d dropped. “Do you need me to go back to the office with you?”
“No. You’re free to go.”
Again Steve was surprised, especially after what he’d been through with the law in Arizona. He was beginning to think that Jared Trent was a damned good lawman. He nodded and glanced once more in the direction Julie had gone, but she had already disappeared from sight with Roderick.
Jared watched him walk away, then turned back to disperse the crowd.
“What happened, Jared?” Elise asked as she came hurrying up to speak to him. She’d been in the newspaper office when word had come about the gunfight.
“Avery Hanes tried to call Steve Madison out.”
“ ‘Tried to?’ ”
“Steve didn’t want any trouble and he started to walk away from it, but Avery drew on him. Steve only winged him.”
“Avery’s a lucky man.”
“Very.”
“Madison has quite a reputation as a gunman, doesn’t he?”
“I’d heard as much, but he’s not wanted anywhere. I let him know right away when he came into town that I wouldn’t stand for any trouble. What Avery did today wasn’t Steve’s fault.”
“So you like the man,” Elise remarked.
Jared thought about it for a moment and realized that he did. “Yes. I wouldn’t have been able to save the Emersons from the fire without his help.”
“I think I can get a good story out of this,” Elise told him, and she went back to the office to start writing her article.
“That wasn’t quite what we had in mind for a welcome to town for you,” Adele was saying as they sat in her parlor a short time later.
“It was quite a revelation and most interesting—especially the fact that you knew one of the gunfighters,” Roderick said, his tone snobbish. He still couldn’t believe that Julie had called out to the man the way she had.
“Steve Madison’s a good man. He didn’t deserve to be shot in the back by the likes of Avery Hanes!” Julie found herself defending Steve.
“Back east, we hear about these things happening, but I never dreamed it was such a common occurrence,” Ellen said, still a bit shaken by the display.
“It’s not!” Julie protested, somehow irritated by their attitudes. “We were just lucky we got there when we did.”
“Lucky?” Roderick looked at her askance.
“Yes, who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t been there to warn Steve.”
“So you know the gunslinger?” Roderick drawled the word. He was curious as to what kind of life she must lead to be acquainted with such men.
“He’s relatively new in town. He’s staying at my friend’s boardinghouse. That’s how I met him. He seems like a nice enough man.”
“How did he become a fast draw?” Ellen asked, intrigued by the notion that she’d just seen a real, live Wild West gun
man in action.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know anything about his past. All I know is that he’s been in town for a few weeks and seems like a decent person. He just helped rescue a woman and her baby from a burning building.”
“Fascinating,” Roderick said, but he obviously had no real interest. “Enough about gunslingers now. What else is exciting in Durango?”
“Well, I’ve spoken to the Women’s Solidarity and if you’ll do us the honor, we would love to have you as the guest speaker at our meeting Thursday night. Everyone was thrilled when I told them you were coming to town. They’re very eager to hear you read from your works,” Julie told him.
Roderick smiled brightly at the prospect of bringing some semblance of culture to this obviously quite uncivilized place. “What a wonderful idea. Thank you, Julie. It would be my pleasure.”
“How long will you be staying?” Julie asked.
“We’re due to leave on Saturday,” Ellen told them.
“Well, at least that gives us a few days to show you the sights,” Adele said, noticing the look of disappointment that appeared briefly on Julie’s face, but was quickly disguised.
“We’ll just have to make the most of each minute you’re here,” Julie said, trying to keep her tone light. Four days with Roderick was not enough.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Ellen said.
A short time later Adele and Julie showed them to their hotel. Ellen and Roderick wanted to rest for a while, so they made plans to come to the Stevens’ home that night for dinner.
“What do you think, Mother?” Julie asked as she and her mother left the hotel. “Isn’t he wonderful?”
“He’s very much a gentleman, Julie,” Adele answered a little elusively. She’d always considered herself a fine judge of character, and for all that Roderick did seem to be quite debonair and sophisticated, there was something about him that troubled her. What it was, she couldn’t rightly say.
“Yes, he is.” Julie sighed, remembering how it had felt to walk the streets of Durango on his arm. She smiled.
They returned to the house and went inside.