by E. E. Burke
“I want a word with you, Mr. Hardt.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” Ross bit out. He’d waste no more time on this blustering fool.
McLaughlin stepped in front of him, blocking his way, and at the same time, reached inside his coat. Ross’s instincts flared to life and he went for the gun he always had at his side—the one he’d left behind because he’d known the soldiers would be armed, and he hadn’t wanted to appear threatening. All this flashed through his mind an instant before the explosion deafened him and the smell of gunpowder stung his nose. And the last thing he was aware of was a sharp, cold chill, which streaked through him as the bullet struck.
Chapter 9
Susannah grasped Danny’s hand to cross the empty street. It seemed almost eerie without any wagons rolling past. They all appeared to be clustered around O’Shea’s. She’d told Ross she would wait for him, but she was anxious to find out how the meeting had gone and whether the settlers had been open to his proposal. He’d managed to convince the railroad to come down on the price for the land, as well as wheedling the necessary supplies and land required for their church. She was so proud of him, and she should’ve told him that before he’d left.
“Dodger chased chickens today. He got in trouble and Mr. Valentine said I’ll have to keep him on a leash until he learns better.” Danny held the rope attached to his puppy’s collar.
The dog had grown quite a bit in just a week, and if those paws were any indication, it would be a very big dog by the time it was full grown. What would they do with a big dog?
According to Ross, there was land aplenty in Texas where Danny and his pet could roam. He’d painted a wonderful picture of the place he called home. She could tell he badly wanted to go back there and accept his father’s offer. First though, he needed to marry a proper lady.
She could behave like a proper lady. But would his father accept a woman who’d worked in a factory? Even if she could somehow explain that away, there was still the matter of her indiscretion, which he didn’t know about, and she’d considered keeping from him.
Living with a lie for so long had warped her conscience. If she was willing to deceive her husband, what kind of person did that make her? She’d be worse than the woman who’d betrayed him. Not only that, if the truth ever should come out, it would destroy their marriage.
Her chest ached from holding in her emotions. The longer she allowed Ross to believe they had a chance, the worse it would be. They would both be better off if she turned him down and told him firmly she could not marry him. That’s what she would do as soon as the meeting adjourned.
A gunshot sounded, and she jerked to a halt, startled. Then her heart began to pound.
“Hold on, Danny! Someone’s shooting.” Susannah tugged her son back, and attempted to push him safely behind her.
“Who? Where?” Danny rose onto his toes, craning his neck to look around her shoulder, though he couldn’t see past the soldiers any better than she could.
The men in uniforms moved in on something, or someone; and a moment later, another shot rang out. Three soldiers dragged a man into the street and threw him facedown in the dirt. He didn’t move. Were the soldiers shooting the settlers? Why?
“We can’t stay out here. It’s too dangerous.”
Danny didn’t budge when she turned back toward Ross’s office and pulled on his hand.
“Fetch a doctor!” one of the soldiers shouted. “The railroad agent’s been shot!”
Her heart ceased beating. Heat, then cold rushed into her head, before she sucked in a sharp breath. Sweet Lord have mercy, it couldn’t be. No… “No!”
“Danny, wait for me at the land office.” Already breathing heavily, Susannah picked up her skirts and ran in the direction of the wagon the soldiers were gathered around. Danny’s dog began to bark. She prayed her son would mind what she’d said. No other shots had been fired. Whatever had happened, it seemed it was over. And Ross…he needed her. He had to be alive, or they wouldn’t have called for a doctor.
She pushed through the crowd, shouting, “Let me through. Let me see to him!”
Uniformed men moved back to allow her to pass through, then formed a protective ring, keeping others away. Beside the wagon, Ross was stretched out in the dirt. He tried to prop up on one elbow. Captain Goldman had squatted down next to him. Ross’s coat had fallen open and he held a handkerchief to his side. The linen, along with his shirt, had turned bright red.
“Stay still,” the officer commanded. “We’re sending for the doctor.”
“It’s not…too bad.” Ross’s voice sounded raspy, breathless.
She rushed to his side, sweeping her skirts out of the way so she could kneel without burying him in fabric. He rolled his eyes upward and a dull gaze met hers. His complexion had an ashen cast.
“Lie down, you stubborn man. You’ll make the bleeding worse.” Susannah put firmness behind her words to keep from warbling in fear.
“You want me to lay in the dirt?”
“Lie down.” She grasped his arm, and with the captain’s help, got Ross flat on his back.
“Lie, not lay,” he murmured. “Got to remember that.”
“Hush, you don’t have to make jokes.”
“Wouldn’t joke about proper grammar…”
He sounded weaker. It was impossible to tell the extent of his injury with him holding the handkerchief and with his shirt in the way, and she wouldn’t know what she was looking at regardless. She stroked back his hair and found his skin felt damp, clammy. Her stomach lurched. How she wished she knew more about medical care. She’d only picked up what other mothers had told her, and most of that had to do with doctoring an infant. She felt helpless and angry that she was helpless.
She placed her hand over his, applying pressure to the bleeding wound—she knew to do that much.
He groaned and his dark lashes fluttered.
No, oh God no. No, he couldn’t die. She wouldn’t let him. Bending down, she put her lips next to his ear. “Ross Hardt, don’t you dare give up. You…you have to take me to Texas.”
With his free hand, he grasped her shoulder. “Promise,” he said in a low, almost groan.
“Yes, I promise, anything…”
“I promise,” he whispered, just before his eyelids drifted shut.
* * *
Four soldiers took down the door to O’Shea’s and used it to transport Ross to an upstairs bedroom above the saloon, fearing he’d bleed to death if they transported him further. The doctor, an old warhorse, reported that the bullet had passed through Ross’s side and he’d lost a considerable amount of blood, but would likely live if the wound didn’t putrefy.
The next several hours were the longest Susannah had spent in her life, as she kept vigil at Ross’s side, praying. Lord, please let him live. Don’t take him because of my sins. Forgive me. Have mercy… She would nurse him back to health, and she would never take for granted the chance she’d been given to love him.
Charm finally coaxed her downstairs to “get a bite to eat” while Ross slept after being dosed with laudanum. She knew she had to keep her strength up, and she also had to check on her son. She’d wanted Danny near, rather than sending him away with Val and Rose, and he’d gotten restless upstairs.
The place had been emptied of settlers, and the soldiers who’d come to town had taken over. Men in blue coats stood at the bar drinking, or sat at tables playing cards. Danny was perched on the bar, facing backwards, flipping through a deck of cards while talking to Mr. O’Shea as he poured drinks. The puppy had curled up in a corner to take a nap.
Children weren’t welcome in saloons, or women for that matter. But Patrick’s Charm wasn’t like the other drinking establishments, and welcomed women to attend the shows that played most evenings, although no entertainment would be provided tonight.
Susannah helped her son off the bar. “Why don’t you come and sit with me?”
She found a table away from where the men were
gathered. Danny climbed up on a chair and spread his cards on the table. “I learned a card trick from Mr. O’Shea. Wanna see?”
“That’s nice…” Susannah half-listened as Danny took her through the new trick he’d learned, which she didn’t follow one bit. But she was bone-tired, mentally overwrought and emotionally drained, and doing her best not to break down.
Charm placed a plate of fried chicken on the table, followed by bowls of whipped potatoes and gravy and green beans. “Prudence brought by some food. She thought you might be hungry.”
Susannah eyed the large portions. “Are you sure she didn’t intend to feed the troops?”
“Oh, she brought more than that. Patrick and I have eaten. So has Danny and Captain Goldman and another officer, a lieutenant. They’re sitting over there. I don’t recall his name. He was entertaining Danny earlier.”
“He’s nice,” Danny remarked, shuffling the cards. “He has the same name.”
“The same name?” Susannah rubbed her eyes. She still wasn’t following his train of thought. “Whose name?”
“Our name. Braddock.”
Braddock wasn’t so rare a name that she’d never come across it. But she felt a chill, all the same. Prudence would’ve said someone had walked on her grave.
“Where is this man?” Susannah asked.
Danny looked out over the room, and waved. “There he is! He sees us. He’s coming over now.”
Through the haze of cigar smoke, Susannah made out a slender man of average height in an officer’s uniform. As he drew closer, she could see he had straight, blondish hair…just like—
Her throat constricted. No, that wasn’t Dan. His shoulders had been broader, and his hair had been more brown than blond. Still, this man bore such a strong resemblance to Danny’s father that it made her heart throb in her ears.
He ruffled Danny’s hair. “You found your mother, I see.”
Susannah stared; although she knew it was rude, she couldn’t help it.
“Pardon my lapse in manners. Lieutenant David Braddock, at your service.” He executed a small bow with just his chin and head.
Susannah shivered, suddenly cold, despite the fact that the air bordered on being hot. She hugged her arms as he waited for her to introduce herself. She couldn’t force her tongue to move.
Dan had told her about an older cousin he’d grown up with, who had served with him, and his name was…
David.
“Are you well, ma’am?” he inquired.
No. She wanted to grab Danny’s hand and run. Get as far away from this man and her past as possible. What had Danny spilled unknowingly? He’d offer up his age, her name…he was always prattling about his father to everyone who’d listen, especially another soldier. The rest wasn’t hard to figure out.
Would the lieutenant confront her about her deceit? She didn’t want to offer an introduction and try him. Maybe he would leave if she gave an excuse.
“Lieutenant Braddock, I apologize. It’s been a very trying day. My—” What was Ross? She couldn’t say he was her intended anymore than she could truthfully claim to be Mrs. Braddock. “My dear friend Mr. Hardt was gravely injured, and I am having a difficult time coping.”
“I understand.” David Braddock nodded, his expression kinder than she imagined it might be upon meeting a woman who went around claiming she was the widow of his unmarried cousin. “If there is anything I can do…”
“Nothing, thank you.”
“Are you my uncle?” her son piped.
“Danny!” Susannah put her arms on the table, struck by a wave of dizziness.
“My friend Willy says his uncle has the same name,” Danny went on.
This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be. She’d traveled over a thousand miles to get away from anyone who might know her. Her father had intended to give her son away to Danny’s father’s family, who’d expressed a desire to raise him. If they found her, she feared they might still try to take him.
“Your father didn’t have brothers. Therefore, he can’t be your uncle.”
Danny gaped in surprise at her shrill outburst.
The lieutenant didn’t act surprised. Was he not going away? She didn’t think he’d told Danny much, but she didn’t want to take the chance that he might say something and open the door to questions she never wanted to answer, especially in front of her son.
“Danny, have you fed Dodger today?”
“This morning I did.”
“He’s probably hungry again. Would you go ask Mrs. O’Shea if you might have some table scraps for him? He needs to go outside too. Don’t wander off, and come right back.”
Danny hopped down. He saluted the lieutenant, turned on his heel and marched off.
When he was out of earshot, she motioned to a chair. “You might as well sit if you aren’t going to leave.”
David Braddock pulled out the chair and took a seat, pretending not to notice her rudeness. “He’s a bright child. Delightful. Reminds me of Daniel…my cousin.”
Susannah put her face in her hands. She would’ve preferred sticking her head in the sand, but there wasn’t any handy. She couldn’t run, and she couldn’t wake herself up from her worst nightmare. “What do you want?” she asked softly.
“Nothing, other than a chance to get to know you and Danny. I didn’t realize; Dan didn’t tell me about the child.”
That meant Daniel hadn’t received her alarming letter, or he’d chosen to ignore it. She gave him the benefit of doubt. It wasn’t in his nature to be callous. He’d been impetuous and careless and in love, just as she’d been…
Susannah sat up straight. Although she’d evaded the truth for over seven years, it was bound to catch up with her. She could cower or face it. For Danny’s sake, she had to be courageous. “What did Dan tell you?”
“That he wished he’d gotten the chance to marry his sweetheart before his leave was up.”
She had wished that too. Oh how she’d wished, many times over the years; and she had called herself his wife for so long, even she’d started to believe the charade. But the illusion was over. With just a few words, David Braddock could dismantle the life she’d so carefully constructed. She deserved to suffer for her mistakes and deceits, but not her son.
“Danny doesn’t know. He thinks—”
“He thinks his father is a hero, and said Mr. Hardt had assured him of the fact. It gladdens me to know you’ve kept his father’s memory alive and given Danny pride in his heritage. I wouldn’t take that away from him, not for the world. He may find out the truth about his birth one day, but he won’t hear it from me.” The lieutenant picked up the deck of cards Danny had left on the table and began to shuffle them. “Dan was my aunt and uncle’s only son. His parents were devastated by his death. I know they’d appreciate hearing a word about their grandson’s wellbeing.”
Susannah trembled. She hadn’t gone to Daniel’s parents because she’d feared they would want Danny and try to take him from her. Unwed mothers had fewer rights than married ones. She still wasn’t sure she could risk it. “If you will provide me with the information on how to reach them, I will consider writing a letter.”
“That would be good, I think, for you and Danny.” David Braddock set the deck of cards on the table. “My company leaves for Fort Hayes day after tomorrow. I will leave you my card and write their address on the back. Where should I bring it?”
She glanced at the back door leading to the stairway. Ross wouldn’t be up anytime soon, and it was unlikely he’d run into the lieutenant before she had a chance to talk to him. “Meet me at the land office tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be over to check on things—unless Mr. Hardt isn’t doing well. If I’m not there, I’ll be over here.”
David Braddock stood. “It’s been my pleasure to make Danny’s acquaintance, and yours.”
“I wish I could say the same.” She wouldn’t lie about her feelings. From this moment on, she wouldn’t lie, period. “You seem like a very nice man. Thank
you for being kind to Danny.”
The lieutenant gave her a courtly bow before he turned and went back to his own table. He did appear to be a gentleman. But if she didn’t write a letter to Daniel’s parents, she suspected he would. Regardless, she couldn’t keep running.
She had to marry and ask her husband to adopt Danny—then no one could take her child. She had no right to ask Ross to protect her, knowing this could jeopardize his future. But she had no one else to turn to, and Ross would be the best father she could give her son. For Danny’s sake, she would do anything. Anything…except betray the man she loved.
Chapter 10
As he rolled into a sitting position, Ross gripped his side. Pain radiated in every direction, enough to pull a groan out of him. Hell’s fire. He reached for a glass on the table beside the bed and took a long drink of water, which cooled his parched throat.
He’d been staying in a room above Patrick O’Shea’s saloon, had been feverish and delirious, but for how long, he had no idea. Running his fingers through his hair, he grimaced—had to be a few days, and he’d been sweating. He remembered that too.
McLaughlin, the bastard, had shot him. He recalled Susannah asking him to promise to take her to Texas, and she’d sat beside him, stroking his hair, bathing him with cool cloths…
He blinked to clear his bleary vision and looked around the room. His clothes hung on a hook by the door, the window was open and a warm breeze ruffled the lace curtains, but there was no sign of Susannah. Had he only imagined her sitting in the chair beside the bed?
Using the chair to steady himself, he got to his feet. He waited until the dizziness passed to go after his trousers. He had to find her and tell her he loved her, which was what he should’ve said, instead of fainting like a simpering dandy.
The door swung open just as he tugged the waistband together, and he hurriedly buttoned up.
Charm O’Shea entered the room, balancing a tray with a plate of something that smelled delicious, and shut the door with her foot. She jumped in surprise when she finally glanced in his direction and saw him standing. “Oh!”