That gratitude swelled anew in her chest, and she wandered over to the bars. “Thank you again, Sheriff Grande.” She paused, wondering whether she could ask him to have someone check on her pa, make sure he was all right.
Weathered eyes that were trained on the closet door shifted her way for a moment. “Yeh know the rules. No talkin’ while a prisoner’s out.”
She nodded and fell silent. Out of habit she was holding the torn edges of her soiled dress together to try and hide her petticoat. She’d asked whether arrangements could be made for her to have another of her garments brought to the jail, but the sheriff’s concessions did not extend that far. She supposed that was fair enough. Real criminals ought not have things too comfy in the hoosegow. They might take a liking to it if they got meals brought in, fresh clothes, and use of indoor facilities.
There was a knock from inside the closet door, the signal that William was ready to come out. Angus’s rifle straightened.
“Go ahead and push it open, then back out nice and slow,” the other man said.
William was backing out while his hand pushed open the door.
“Hands on yer head, boy.”
Both hands snapped into place instantly. “Sorry.”
William really had taken to this whole travesty with much better grace than Kate had managed—at first, anyway. She’d quickly learned that her usual buck-the-trend attitude did not endear her to the one man who could make things better or worse. Still, she was glad for the times when the sheriff stood watch over them. Her best behavior earned very little when Jimmy Smith was on guard.
Just as she thought of the annoying deputy, he burst in the door. “Hey, Sheriff.” The sight of William being shown back to his cell held him up short. Distractions were not welcome when Angus Grande had a prisoner on the end of his gun.
Only after Grande had twisted the key securely in the lock of William’s cell did he turn to the deputy frozen in the doorway.
“Well, what’s got yer pants on fire?”
The man held out a slip of paper. “Telegram for yeh, Angus.”
Grande’s boot heels clicked out a distinctive thunk-clack sound from his slightly lopsided gait as he walked over to the wall behind his desk. He racked his firearm while Jimmy hung his dusty gray hat on a peg by the door. The sheriff snatched the paper from his deputy’s hand, and after a moment of staring at it he looked up at William and Kate.
“Yer trial’s been moved up. Circuit judge had to skip a stop in one county on account of an outbreak of fever. He’ll be here next week.”
Kate’s heart pounded. She longed to hear the words “cleared of all charges” so she could return home, but there was just as good a chance they would get shortchanged in this hearing. Folks wanted the matter solved, and theirs was a convenient arrest. Even with sketchy evidence against them, things didn’t look good. The sooner the trial, the shorter her time on this earth might be. Meanwhile, the appearance of Jimmy Smith didn’t cheer her up any, either. It meant it was likely his shift guarding the jail, while the sheriff left to attend other duties.
Sure enough, Sheriff Grande dropped the telegram on his desk and grabbed his hat off the peg. “Keep an eye out,” he said to Jimmy, settling the Stetson on his head. “I’ll be back after a spell.”
The sneering look the deputy threw toward the cells didn’t reassure Kate that he was intending to play nice, or at least, ignore his prisoners. She suppressed a sigh and folded her arms, grasping her elbows. “Sheriff,” she called out. He turned back and eyed her. “I’m frightful worried for my pa. I know I’ve no right to ask, but if someone could check on him and make sure he’s not ailing, it would relieve my mind to no end.”
The sheriff’s mustache twitched. “He’s been checked on. He’s fine.”
Her eyes widened. “He has?”
“Yesterday. Rode out to the farm myself. Yer old man’s on his feet and ornery as over.”
Relief flooded her chest, though tinged with fear over why her pa hadn’t come to see her. Oh, how she wished he would bust in at that moment, bellowing about injustice and demanding Kate’s release. Not that it would do any good, of course. But the gesture would be far more reassuring than his absent silence. Did he really think she’d done it? He didn’t seem to hate William anymore, but he didn’t think the best of him, either. Maybe her pa believed she’d gotten caught up in his rustling scheme out of blind love, like the rest of the town did. Still, at least he was all right.
“That was mighty kind, Sheriff,” she said. “Thank you.”
He gave a curt nod and turned on his heel to leave. Just as he reached for the door, however, it burst open. Were it not for the tip of his boots, the wood door would have clipped him square in the face. He reeled back as a hulking form even more unwelcome to Kate than Jimmy Smith strode in.
“Where’s the danged fire today?” Grande said, but stopped short when he saw the visitor.
“Sorry, Sheriff,” the visitor said when he cleared the door. Sweat streamed down Caleb Tanner’s dusty face, and he was panting as though he’d sprinted to the jailhouse. “Trouble over at the saloon. Figured y’all better come straight away.”
The old man grunted. “Amos not holdin’ his liquor again?”
“Weren’t Amos this time. Strangers in town. The brawlin’s somethin’ fierce.” Caleb’s glance flicked up and caught Kate’s with a glimmer of something unpleasant. She swallowed.
“All right. I’ll check it out.” Grande nodded to Jimmy Smith. “Probably be back with a drunk or two.”
“Best take yer deputy along,” Caleb said. “It’s quite a scuffle. I tried to pull a few of ’em apart, but it weren’t no good.” He shrugged.
Grande sighed and turned to the cells. “I’m not keen on leavin’ the place unattended.”
Caleb stepped forward. “I’ll keep an eye on things, if yeh want.”
The sheriff wavered. “Not sure that’s a good idea, Tanner.”
“Better than tryin’ to bust up a bar fight with no back up,” he said. “I’d be glad to help, but two badges would be better than one. Ain’t nobody listenin’ to the barkeep or to me, and I’m a Tanner.”
There was a pause, but Jimmy Smith already had his hat back on. “All right. If anyone comes by, just send ’em on their way.” He nodded toward the cell. “No visitors for them, neither.”
That pricked up her ears. Was that why she hadn’t seen Pa or Jack?
She bustled to the bars. “What about my pa?”
“No visitors ’til we get back.”
“So you haven’t restricted any up until now?”
“Haven’t been none.”
Her stomach fell while she watched the lawmen go, leaving Caleb standing in the middle of the jailhouse. Custom spurs clanged out deliberate steps while he walked up to Kate’s cell. She backed away from the bars.
He took off his hat and held it down at his side. “I sore hate to see yeh like this, Miss Kate,” he said, though his expression seemed anything but remorseful. His eyes were blood shot as ever, and watched her with an intensity that twisted her stomach.
“I believe the sheriff said ‘no visitors,’” William put in, stepping forward. “That would include you.”
“I ain’t visitin’. I’m guardin’.” He hooked his thumbs in the tops of his dark brown denims and rocked on his boot heels. “And I weren’t talkin’ to yeh. I’m talkin’ to her.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” Kate said.
He shucked off his gray duster, revealing a blue button-down shirt beneath. He hung the coat over his arm, still holding onto his ten-gallon hat. “Oh, I think we do.” He leaned closer to the bars. “Yeh should have been nicer to me, Kate. A lot nicer. Wouldn’t have got yerself in this fix.”
William tried to interject, but Kate waved a hand to cut him off. Her eyes narrowed. “Just what is that supposed to mean?”
“Means if yeh had been with me instead of fallin’ fer a no-account, yeh wouldn’t be sittin’ in the cal
aboose waitin’ fer a rope.”
“Which is where you should be,” she said, “for the way you treat women.”
A greasy smile spread over the man’s face, twitching up the corners of his ragged mustache. “Ain’t no crime fer a fella to make his feelin’s known to a lady.”
“It is when you push them on her against her will.”
He pointed at the bars. “I ain’t never even touched you.”
“Not for lack of trying.”
William grabbed his front bars and jumped in. “Does that offer still stand?”
Caleb’s brow narrowed. “What offer?”
Kate’s head whipped around toward William. “Yeah, what?”
William addressed Caleb. “You’re a big man in town. Your family’s got pull. If Kate were to accept your suit—”
She cut him off with a gasp. “William!” she said, eyes wide.
He ignored her. “If she were with you, could you use your family influence to help her get out of this? You know she’s innocent.”
The mustache twitched. “Oh, I don’t know that. The way I hear it, she done gave away her innocence long ago.”
Kate curled her lip. “You’re disgusting.” She went to the center bars to face William. “Have you lost your mind? What are you saying?”
He turned to her as if just realizing she was there. He moved close and dropped his voice. “You would be smart to consider it. He can get you out of this. I can’t.”
Her jaw fell open. “You said you loved me. Now you want me in the arms of that dirty rabble?”
“Hey! Watch that pretty little tongue,” Caleb said. “Yer talkin’ about a Tanner.”
Williams jaw clenched, but she saw a flicker of pain in his eyes. “I’d do anythin’ to save you from the noose,” he said.
“I’d rather hang.”
He shook his head. “No, you wouldn’t.”
William moved back to the front of his cell and looked at Caleb. “Would you consider it? If she came to you freely, would you help her?”
“You don’t own me, William Tyler,” she said with venom in her tone. “You can’t just hand me off to him like one of your cattle.”
Caleb strode over to hang his hat and coat near the door. When he swiveled back, his expression was a bit too pleased for Kate’s comfort. “Sorry, Tyler, but I do believe that train’s already left the station. She made her choice, and her foolishness done got a rope at the end of it.”
“Don’t toss that rope over the gallows just yet,” William said. “The trial ain’t over.”
Caleb chuckled and tucked his thumbs in his trousers. “Hate to break it to yeh, but there ain’t gonna be no trial.”
“That’s not what the sheriff says,” Kate spat. “In fact, he just got a telegram that says the date’s been moved up to next week.”
“Then the sheriff’s a fool, too. I probably shouldn’t say nothin’, but I guess it’s only fair to warn yeh that the townsfolk ain’t gonna sit still fer it.”
Kate fisted her hips. “‘Ain’t gonna sit’ for what?”
“Thievin’. Done gone on too long.”
“Meaning?”
He shrugged. “Don’t wanna ruin the surprise.” He turned to William. “Tanner’s Grove don’t have a mind to tolerate someone robbin’ decent, hardworkin’ folk.”
“We ain’t robbed nobody,” William said.
Caleb moved closer to the bars. “You done murdered yer own kin, Tyler. That’s some cold, mean business.”
“I didn’t kill my uncle.”
The other man shook his head. “That man’s face must have turned as red as his shirt when he saw his own nephew turn on him like a spooked rattlesnake.”
William stiffened and backed up a few steps. Kate shot him a quizzical look.
Caleb turned to her. “I reckon yeh all done got what’s comin’ to yeh. I ain’t gonna stand in the way of justice.” He reached through the bars to grab Kate’s arm, and she gasped. “But if yeh share yer company with me fer a spell, I can convince ’em to string yeh up first. Then yeh won’t have to watch yer lover hang.”
She yanked back. “You stay the hell away from me.”
He laughed, catching William’s eye. “Hoo-ee. Hear that? Such a fiery little tongue.” His beady eyes narrowed as he regarded Kate. “Yer pa know yeh use yer mouth like that? Bet I can find some other uses fer it.” He turned his head and looked toward the sheriff’s desk. “Now let’s see, where are them keys at?”
“You heard the lady,” William said. “She ain’t interested in your company.”
Caleb sneered at him. “Seems a might shame to waste a fire while it’s still burnin’.” He nodded at her dress. “Look, she’s already got her skirts half tore off and everythin’.”
She grabbed the rent fabric she’d forgotten about and pinched the torn edges together while trying to still her galloping heartbeat.
“If you so much as lay a finger on her,” William ground out through grit teeth.
“Why are you pretending to care now?” she snapped at William.
Caleb grinned. “Then what, Tyler? What are you gonna do, bang yer head on those bars?”
“You’ll be the next one in line at the gallows,” Kate said.
“I’m a Tanner. Besides, a man don’t swing fer havin’ needs.”
She lifted her chin and tried to ignore the rubbery sensation flooding her body. “My pa will see you hang personally.”
“I’d like to see him be damn fool enough to try.” Caleb looked around and raised a brow. “But I don’t see the old coot around. Guess he’s done with yer shameful ways.”
Kate moved back. “I’ll make sure he finds out.”
“Sure yeh will. Come on, now. It’s not like yer losin’ somethin’ yeh ain’t already given up.”
Her eyes shot back and forth in panic. Heavens alive. Would Caleb really let himself into her cell and take what he wanted from her right in front of William?
A scuffle near the front interrupted her thoughts. The jailhouse door banged open, and the lawmen shoved a loudly protesting man through it.
“I told yeh, I ain’t drunk,” the man slurred.
“Right, and I’m the local schoolmarm,” Jimmy Smith said.
The man looked him up and down. “Yeah? Yer a danged ugly one, then.”
Sheriff Grande strode in and immediately his eyes trained on Caleb. “Tanner? What are you doin’ over there by the prisoners?”
He swiveled around and hooked his thumbs back in his waistband with a shrug. “Nothin’, Sheriff. Just conversatin’.”
“Come away from there. We got another prisoner to put in.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean no harm.”
“Like hell you didn’t,” William said.
“He was going to find the keys to get into my cell,” Kate called out.
The sheriff raised a brow. “That so?”
Caleb strode away, heading around the desk out of the way of the lawmen’s latest quarry. “That’s a lie, Sheriff. Don’t listen to them cattle rustlin’ no-accounts. I was just talkin’.”
“Appreciate yer help, but best yeh be on yer way,” Grande said. “We already got ourselves trouble by the bucket full around here.”
“Just doin’ my duty as an upstandin’ citizen,” Caleb said.
The two lawmen pushed the drunk toward the cell while Caleb grabbed his jacket and hat. He turned to where Kate stood staring at him with bitter derision. He put on his gear and gave her a wink. “Yep, yeh should’ve been nicer to me.” He tipped his hat. “See y’all later.”
He left while the others stood in front of William’s cell. “Gettin’ yerself a roommate, Tyler,” Jimmy Smith said. “Jess, would yeh stop yer strugglin’ afore I put my gun where the sun don’t shine?”
Sheriff Grande was eyeing up Kate. She watched him pull a metal ring from his duster. “By the way,” he said, “I had the keys right here with me.”
She let out a sigh and realized she had forgotten to breathe sin
ce the moment she thought for sure Caleb Tanner would get in her cell. She nodded in thanks and went to sink down on her cot. The familiar odor of strong whiskey wafted to her while the unshaven drunk tried to engage William in babbling conversation. William ignored him by coming to the shared bars and staring at her.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She refused to look at him. “Why do you care?”
“I care plenty. You know that I love you.”
Kate jumped up off the cot. “That a fact?” she said, louder than she’d intended.
“Pipe down in there,” Jimmy Smith said. He and Grande were over by the desk, heads bowed in conversation. “Can’t hear ourselves think.”
She lowered her voice. “Then how come you wanted another man’s hands on me? Jack’s one thing, but now Caleb Tanner?”
His eyes darkened. “I’d have ripped these bars out with my bare hands if he’d have touched you.”
She crossed her arms and looked away. “Why? Five minutes earlier you were begging him to take me off your hands.”
“I don’t want to see you hang, Kate. Can’t you understand that?”
“No.”
“Kate.”
The word held a tone of pain and imploring that forced her to meet his gaze. She was surprised to see his blue eyes turn glassy. “I want nothin’ more for this to be over and for you and me to be together. I’m just not sure that’s what fate has in store for us.”
A heavy weight sank onto her chest, and she felt tears of her own sting her eyes. “They can’t do that to us, William. We haven’t done anything but fall in love.”
He stretched his arm through the bars toward her as far as he could. She stepped closer until his hand could stroke her cheek.
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