Stained Snow

by Brown, Fallon

  She wasn’t sure exactly what swirled through his eyes. Desire, regret, or maybe something darker. She barely controlled a shudder before she said, “You haven’t any of the other times you left.”

  Now, something else came into his eyes, shame maybe. She waited for him to say this time was different. She hoped he didn’t, as it would only confirm her fears. Instead he pushed his hat back on his head and brought his mouth down to hers. Hard and a little rough, the kiss sent a rush of sensation through her. It always made her a little ashamed, the way she reacted to him. The pleasure drowned that out.

  He pushed her back against the wall of one of the stalls, one hand still at the back of her neck, while the other slid up her chest to caress her breast through the layers of her dress and underclothes. She dragged in a breath as his mouth moved to latch onto her neck. He dropped the hand from her neck, and it moved between them, as he unfastened his trousers then lifted her skirts.

  Maggie cried out when he pushed into her, but he covered her mouth again. The press of their bodies kept her skirts up, and she grabbed onto his shoulders. Her back smacked against the boards behind her, and she’d be lucky to not have any splinters. Then, she didn’t care.

  When he pulled away, she was left unsatisfied. She supposed that was how it was supposed to be.

  Thomas turned away as he fastened his trousers again. “I really need to go.” He picked his hat up from where it had fallen on the ground before turning back. “I will come back for you, Maggie. I’m not sure I can stay away.”

  “Why do you have to go at all?” she asked, stepping up to him.

  He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I just do. I have a few things I have to take care of. Then, I’ll be back.” He kissed her again, and she strained toward him, wanting to satisfy this need for him. But, he stepped away.

  Maggie bit her lip, not wanting to cry in front of him. He turned away and stepped up into the saddle. She waited for more promises but they didn’t come. Instead he pulled on the reins and turned the horse, riding away.

  Maggie sank down onto the straw when he’d ridden out of sight. Tears streamed down her face. He never even looked back. She didn’t know how long she stayed there before she finally found her feet and brushed the straw and dust from her dress. She couldn’t let her father find her here. She still had chores to do. That wouldn’t change whether Thomas ever came back or not.

  Chapter 3

  Lander, Wyoming Territory

  May 5, 1887

  William finished fastening the second horse into the wagon traces. “There’s no reason for you to go, Anna. I’m picking up some supplies then I’ll be back. I shouldn’t be gone a full day.” He didn’t look up as he checked each of the straps, but she huffed, and he couldn’t fight back a smile.

  “Will, I hardly ever get to go to town. Sometimes, I feel like I’m stuck here. I want to see some people, talk to people. Sometimes I miss living back at the fort with Daddy and Charlotte. We hardly hear anything out here.”

  William hated the quick spurt of guilt for taking her away from all she’d had at Fort Steele before meeting him. They’d had this discussion before. She insisted she didn’t regret it, just that she missed some things.

  “I don’t know if it will be safe,” he insisted.

  “How is it safer for us to stay out here by ourselves than it would be with you? He’s not going to attack us in town. He’s not stupid, Will. That’s why being with you would be safer. He won’t come at you from the front. It’s been weeks with nothing. He’s probably moved on again.”

  William shook his head. His brother was good at laying quiet. He acted like everything was fine then suddenly lashed out. William had felt the sting of a sudden attack enough times. “Doubt it. He’s waiting.” Waiting for William to let his guard down, which he didn’t plan to do. “You’re not alone here. None of the men will let anything happen to you.”

  “Which men? The foreman old enough to be my grandfather who can barely walk straight in the morning? Or the boys barely old enough to have left their mother’s lap? How will they protect us if they’re out riding fence? They can’t be here and taking care of the cows.”

  “I’ll make sure at least one or two always stay here with you, but I’m not going to let him get you.”

  “Then let us go with you. We’ll be safe with you, Will.”

  He was running out of arguments. She apparently wasn’t. “You told David the next time you went into town, you would take him with you. If you go back on that now, he’ll be hurt.”

  William sighed and ran a hand through his hair before putting his hat back on. “Fine. Go get him. You two can visit while I get what we need.”

  “Thanks, Will.” She slipped her arms around his waist, and he held onto her for a moment, setting his chin on top of her head. Sometimes he wondered if he didn’t love her so much, maybe he would be able to say no to her more. He stepped back. “Go on. I want to get going soon.”

  She hurried up to the house, calling for David as she neared it. He shook his head and turned back to his horses. When had he been able to say no to either of them? Maybe she was right. It would be safer to be with him than alone. The last thing he wanted to do was leave them alone.

  He’d have to talk to the sheriff and find out if he’d made any progress on tracking Thomas down or finding who else might have been responsible for those deaths. If he hadn’t found anything, he might have to leave his family alone while he took care of it himself.

  His jaw clenched as he tightened the last strap and gave one of the horses a pat on the neck. He didn’t want to do it, but he would if it meant keeping his family safe.

  #

  William guided the horses down the trail, the mountains in the distance, snow still covering the peaks of them. That snow could still come down here, but he hoped it didn’t. Cottonwood and juniper trees gave way to brush and shrubs as they neared town.

  He didn’t slow the team until they approached the main street. Once they were in front of the mercantile, he pulled the horses to a stop and stepped down from the wagon. After tying the reins to the hitching rail, he rounded to the other side and held out his hand to help Anna down from the seat. David jumped down from the back before William even turned toward him.

  He stood beside Anna for a moment. “I don’t know how long it will take to get everything together. I have a few other things to see to while we’re in town as well. You and David have time to do your visiting.”

  Anna brushed her lips across his cheek before leading David away. He watched them for a moment before he headed into the mercantile. They’d be safe here in town. He didn’t need to worry.

  He still did.

  He stepped into the store, his gaze scanning the mostly open room. Shelves along the back wall and a couple short aisles on the side. The wall behind the counter filled with the little items. The smell of leather mixed with something perfumed. He certainly preferred the leather.

  The storekeeper greeted him as William stepped up to the counter and gave him the list of supplies he’d made out. As he expected, it could take a couple hours to put it together, so he headed down toward the livery stable. He didn’t need anything in there, except to talk with the hostler, Al. The man was good friends with Patrick and owned horses he didn’t keep at the town’s stable. Horses his stepfather bred his own horses to, with good results. That was what William wanted.

  He stepped into the barn and took a moment to take in the smells and sounds of the horses around him. It had always been one of his favorite things about ranch life; the horses. He smelled the hay the horses chomped on, heard the snorts and neighs of each of the horses. He started through the barn and called out for the hostler. “Al, it’s William Jensen. Are you in here?”

  The man stepped out of one of the stalls. “Hey, Will. What’re you doin’ here?”

  “Brought the family in to get some supplies. I had something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Well, come back to my office.
”

  William caught the grin as the man turned away from him. Al’s office was an empty stall with a couple chairs and a table constructed out of a long plank and two barrels. He followed the older man to that stall and took one of the chairs. “What did ya want to see me about, Will?”

  “Breeding horses. Pa has always been fond of your studs. I’ve got a mare I’m looking to breed.”

  “I’m sure we can work something out. It’s a bit past breeding season.”

  “I wanted to get terms started. Mare’s not quite ready for it yet. Next year, she will be.”

  Al brought his hand down to William’s shoulder and squeezed. “My terms will be easy. I’ll bring the stud you want out and if the mating is successful, you’ll pay me for his use. It’s that easy, Son.”

  William nodded. “Pa always said you were easy to work with.”

  Al laughed, the sound booming in the barn. “I’m not sure everyone would agree with him. If you work with me, I’ll work with you. How is Patrick anyway?”

  “Good,” he said even though he knew his stepfather was as worried as him about the trouble Thomas brought to them. If it was him. Not that Will had many doubts about that.

  William stood from the chair now that their business was done. “I’ll be seeing you. I need to speak with the sheriff and gather up my family before I get those supplies.”

  “Come see me when you’re ready, and you can choose which stud you’d like.”

  William nodded and headed out of the barn. He walked down the street to the sheriff’s office. The door opened easily under his hand and he stepped inside. The large man behind the desk looked up at him. “Hey, Will, I’d heard you were in town. Figured I’d be seeing you.”

  Will sank into the chair on his side of the desk. “Have you heard anything else?”

  The sheriff shook his head. “I told you it didn’t look like anything more than a wandering bandit. No one even recognized those two men. Whoever killed them probably didn’t think they’d be found there, and they seem to have moved on. There haven’t been any more bodies found.”

  Will shook his head. “It wasn’t a wandering bandit, Carl. It wasn’t just one body. They were dumped just off my ranch.” He took a breath. “Does that sound like something a bandit would do? It does sound like something Tommy would do.”

  “Stop, Will. You can’t blame everything on your brother. I know there’s bad blood between you, but-”

  Now, William stopped him. “It’s not bad blood. He’s tried to kill me. Who else would bring this kind of trouble right to my door?”

  The sheriff sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I don’t know, Will, but you can’t assume things like that. It could ruin his life. Even end it.”

  “He’s never cared about mine.”

  Before the sheriff could respond, a shout came from across the street, and William lunged for the door. He didn’t know what was happening, but Anna and David were out there. As he burst outside, his gaze swept along the street. His wife and son stood down by the mercantile. He nearly let out a breath of relief, then the reason for the commotion drew his gaze.

  A man ran out of the bank, holding a sack in one hand and a pistol in the other. It only took a moment for William to process what happened. Even in that time, the bank robber had time to reach his horse tied at the rail.

  William jumped into action at once. He drew his gun from the holster as he crossed the street. “Stop right there,” he yelled. He didn’t have his deputy’s badge pinned to his shirt right now. He usually didn’t unless he needed it, and he hadn’t thought he would today.

  The other man didn’t even hesitate at William’s order. He jumped onto the horse’s back and turned it in the opposite direction.

  William shoved the gun back into its holster as his fast walk became a run, he didn’t want to risk hitting anyone standing by. The man kicked the horse’s sides as William cleared the rear end of the horse. He grabbed for the stirrup leather, but missed. Instead he almost fell flat on his face. The outlaw laughed as he raced out of town.

  Chapter 4

  “David, you’re not coming.”

  The sheriff had already started forming a posse. Even if William hadn’t been a deputy, the responsibility to join it would have pulled at him.

  “I can ride a horse, too. Why can’t I go, Pa?”

  “Because you’re too young. I said you’re not coming.” Had he ever been so hard-headed? Where else could David have gotten the trait from? “It’s too dangerous.”

  “You’re going.”

  This boy would be the death of him. “You’re not going. You’re going to stay here with your Ma. That’s the end of it.”

  Anna put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t argue with your father, David. Go on in and tell Alice we’ll be staying a while longer.” They watched as he ran down the street to the sheriff’s house to let the woman know.

  William turned to Anna. “I don’t know what to do about him. Why couldn’t he understand this isn’t something he can do?”

  Anna stepped closer to him and ran her hands up to his shoulders. “Because he wants to be with you. You usually let him ride with you on the ranch.”

  William shook his head. “That’s different.”

  “I know. He doesn’t, though.”

  The sheriff and the other men who made up the posse waited down the street for him. One of Al’s sons, Jesse, stood next to the sheriff. William knew the other son, Jacob, better. He wasn’t there, so that meant he was probably off to some poker game somewhere. Al, himself, wasn’t with the posse. He knew a few of the other men as well, the gunsmith, and the clerk from the mercantile. A couple others he wasn’t nearly as familiar with.

  “I’ve got to get going.” He reached up to take her hands from his shoulders. “I don’t know when we’ll return.”

  “It’s all right, William. I could drive the wagon back home. I know the way.”

  He shook his head. “Not with whoever’s been causing that other trouble still out there. I won’t risk you. You’ll be safer here.”

  “It’s been quiet for a while. Maybe he’s moved on.”

  “I won’t chance it. Just stay here. I sent Carl’s boy out to tell Patrick what’s happening. He’ll take care of the horses until we return. You and David stay here in town.”

  “All right, William. If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.” She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. “Come back to us safe.”

  “Always, Anna. I promise you.”

  He left her with one last kiss then turned and walked down the street to where the sheriff held onto the reins of one of the horse’s borrowed from the livery stable. “You finally ready?” the sheriff asked, a note of impatience in his voice.

  William nodded then slipped his foot into the stirrup and swung up into the saddle. “Let’s get this done.” He turned back once more to look at Anna and mouthed, Be back soon.

  She smiled as if she heard the words and lifted her hand in farewell.

  William rode in front of the pack with the sheriff as they left town. He didn’t think tracking down this man would take much of his skill. The tracks were plain on the ground in front of them. The thief’s horse likely wasn’t a fresh mount. He already saw signs of the horse’s fatigue in the pattern of the tracks.

  The group remained silent as they rode on. William was glad for it. He wasn’t interested in any chatter when he wanted to be back with Anna and David. Wanted to be sure they were safe. Thomas might still be out there.

  This man ruined all of William’s plans, but he couldn’t let him get away with the town’s money. He still had so much to get done before the first drive of the summer. He didn’t want to have to put it off and risk the livelihood of the ranch.

  The sheriff had asked him, and he couldn’t say no. He might not keep his money in the bank, but this was his town too. He wouldn’t let someone get away with stealing from it.

  He noted a difference in the tracks whe
n they’d ridden for nearly an hour and shifted his focus back to them. The horse was tiring but his rider pushed him on. The tracks changed again, lightened. The horse no longer had a rider.

  William glanced up, uneasy now. He wouldn’t try to hide and pick them all off, would he? He wouldn’t put it past him. Men had done stupider things. He brought his horse up, and put up a hand to stop the other men.

  “What is it?” the sheriff asked him.

  “Something’s not right. I’m going to take a look around.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  William shook his head. “I can move a lot quieter on my own.”

  “It’s my job to bring him in.”

  “And you brought us to help you do that. If I need help, I’ll signal you.”

  He didn’t wait for the sheriff to argue anymore but slipped from the horse and left the trail. The horse wouldn’t move far with the reins trailing on the ground, and if he did, William trusted the sheriff to hold on to the animal until he returned. He loosened his pistol in the holster and moved into the brush. He knew how to walk quietly, and was glad the sheriff hadn’t insisted any more on coming with him because it would be harder to hide the approach of two men. Most people didn’t know what to listen to out here. He doubted this man was any different. He’d assume a snapped branch or rustle of loosened stones would be an animal.

  He moved parallel to the trail, keeping low in case the man did look around. There were several large boulders scattered off the trail, which gave him plenty of cover. Of course, it also meant the thief had the same cover.

  When he came upon him, he realized his first thought had been correct. The robber hadn’t expected his ruse to be detected. His horse stood in the middle of the trail, but he didn’t stand with him. The top of his hat stuck above a large boulder.

  William circled around so he could come up behind him. He drew his gun from the holster as he approached the man and stuck it into his back before he said a word. “Hands up. I’m a deputy sheriff, and you’re under arrest.”