by Karen Kirst
Deborah covered her mouth with her hand. She was beginning to form a terrible understanding of why Adam had looked at Ogden the way he had.
“Ogden and the sheriff arrived on our doorstep later that same night with a loan document, ostensibly signed by Pa and witnessed by the sheriff. They claimed he skipped town because he was too humiliated to face us and the townspeople.”
“Do you think it was a forgery?”
He clamped his lips together, turmoil in his eyes. “I don’t know what I believe anymore. I used to think Pa took out the loan but hid it from us. The drought impacted us, just as it did everyone else.”
“And Adam?”
“Adam thought our father incapable of mistakes. He rejected Ogden’s account and accused the sheriff of lying. He and Seth argued about our options. When Seth decided to sell off some of our property in order to satisfy the loan, Adam couldn’t stomach it. He joined the army and never looked back.”
Adam was as passionate about his work and dedicated to the idea of justice for victims. “That’s why he joined the Pinkertons.”
“His life mission is to restore our father’s good name and to discover the truth of what happened to him that night. Seth says he’s obsessed with this mission of his. Deborah, you shouldn’t take his accusations to heart.”
She shot to her feet and stalked to the window. “You weren’t there. It was terrible, Russell.”
He took up position nearby. “I won’t make excuses for him. What I will say is that he’s obviously developed deep feelings for you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have reacted the way he did.”
Deborah wished she could believe that.
“He’s a good agent. A good man,” Russ said. “He’ll eventually come to his senses and realize his error. Then he’d better make a grand apology.”
The doorknob twisted, and a gush of tepid air stirred the curtains as the door swung inward. Deborah’s heart climbed into her throat as Adam’s countenance registered before her.
“Deborah,” he rasped. “I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk.”
“About what? Your plans to have me thrown in jail?”
The corners of his mouth turned down. He closed the door behind him and sent a beseeching glance at his brother, which Russell promptly ignored.
“I’ve told him the truth,” she said hotly. “If you want answers, talk to him.”
Feeling as if she were close to collapsing, she moved to leave. Russell remained where he was, but Adam blocked her path, his hands pressed together as if in prayer.
“I’m sorry for the way I handled things in the alley. I should’ve given you a chance to defend yourself.” Regret churned in his eyes.
“You’re saying you didn’t mean the horrible things you accused me of?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He grimaced. His hesitation was all the answer she needed.
Shoving past him, she prayed she could escape without bursting into tears. Her fingers closed over the knob.
“Deborah, I’d like to understand,” he implored. “I know in my heart you wouldn’t willingly agree to help a man like Ogden, nor would you harm anyone. If he coerced or threatened you or even deceived you into helping him, there’s no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed. Swindlers often take advantage of bright, good-hearted people—”
A sob escaped her lips without warning. Her back to the room, she yanked open the door and hurried outside.
“Wait!”
Russell’s firm command carried through to the boardwalk. “Let her go, Adam.”
Deborah didn’t look back to see if he complied. All she could think about was escape.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“You know nothing about women, little brother.”
Adam waffled in the doorway. Should he go after her and demand she talk to him, and possibly receive a black eye for his efforts? Or do as Russell suggested and give her time to sort through everything?
He swiveled around. Russ was perched on his desk, his arms folded over his suit vest, his eyes full of recrimination.
“You can hardly be blamed, I suppose.” Russell sighed, his head cocked to one side. “The battlefield imparted skills of survival and cunning. Certainly it did nothing to nurture the finer feelings of compassion. Roaming the nation in search of thieves and murderers compounded the problem.”
“What problem?”
“You don’t know the slightest thing about how to treat a lady.”
“That may be true, but it has nothing to do with the fact that I caught money exchanging hands between our family’s greatest enemy and Deborah.”
“You’re accustomed to searching for the worst in people. You’ve grown cynical.”
Adam sank his hands into his pockets. His brother was claiming he’d jumped to conclusions. Had he?
Russell pushed off the desk. “You care about her. I know you do.”
“I can’t deny it. I let my personal feelings interfere with a case.”
“Exactly. That’s why you misread what was happening in that alley.”
As the hours since then had ticked off, he’d prayed he was wrong. That’s why he’d sought her out, to get her side of the story—something he should’ve done as soon as he lost sight of Ogden.
“What do you think happened?” Adam asked his brother.
“If you’d bothered to read the telegram in her reticule while you were digging through the contents, you would’ve seen the sender was her sister, Lucy. You could’ve checked the time stamp. There was also a letter from her sent days ago. In it, Lucy explains she sent money in case the agent their father hired managed to locate her and she needed to leave town.”
“She showed all this to you?”
Nodding, Russ checked his pocket watch. “I forgot I promised to accompany Anna to a meeting at Will and Tomasina’s. I have to go.”
“I’ll walk with you.”
Russell motioned him through the door and, locking it behind him, started toward their home. “I don’t have anything more to tell you.”
They dodged a man rolling a barrel to his wagon. “She didn’t mention the handkerchief?”
“Oh, yes. She challenged you to visit the ladies’ section in any mercantile across the state of Kansas. Apparently that particular design is a common one.”
“How would I know that? The last time I shopped for a woman was the Christmas of 1860. Nine years ago,” he retorted, his annoyance focused inward. “I purchased a brooch for ma.”
Russell uttered a knowing humph. But the sound spoke volumes. He accused Adam of making a colossal error in judging Deborah’s action.
“It was a natural mistake.”
“It was an erroneous assumption that drove a wedge between you and the woman you would wed if given a chance.” Russell rounded the corner of First Street and suddenly stopped. He raised his arm to chest level, which Adam subsequently bumped into.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. “Hang on, are you implying I love her?”
“Not implying. Stating.” He inclined his head. “Do you see that woman over there? The one peering into the furniture store?”
“What woman?”
“The one who, from this distance, could pass for Deborah.”
Adam studied the profile of the woman Russ pointed out. The hair was the same rich hue and thickness as Deborah’s. Her skin was on the fair side, too.
“It’s possible Ogden approached Deborah thinking she was this woman,” Russell said.
Details clicked into place. “This could be the same one who was spotted in Centerville, the one who wrote the note.” He realized his grave error with dawning horror. “I have to learn her name.”
His boot met the dirt street. Russ seized his arm. “Ogden might’ve recognized you this morning. If so, he would’ve warned her. Let me
try.”
Adam struggled with the burning need for answers. Finally, he jerked his thumb toward Drovers Place. “I’ll wait there.”
He found an unobtrusive spot in the cowboy hotel to observe Russell as he strolled across the street as if he had nowhere pressing to be. When he reached the woman, he stopped and introduced himself. A pleasant expression plastered on his face, he handed her a card and chatted for a few minutes. Adam couldn’t see her face full-on from his vantage point, but she seemed receptive.
By the time Russell bid her good day and slowly made his way to the hotel, Adam was about to climb out of his skin. “Well?”
He looked grim. “Her name is Dora Edison. Her parents own Longhorn Feed and Grain.”
“Dora,” he repeated, feeling numb. “Her name wasn’t on the list Marigold and Anna provided.”
“They did warn you it wouldn’t be exhaustive. They can’t be expected to know every single woman in town.”
“No, of course not.” He shook his head. “How could I not entertain the possibility there might be someone who could pass for Deborah?” So much for considering problems from all angles the way he’d been taught. “I let my obsession blind me to reason.” His mood blackened. “I accused an innocent woman. Deborah was never involved in this.”
“I’m glad you finally puzzled it out,” Russ said drily.
He scraped his hand down his face. “I have to see her. Ask—no, get down on my knees and beg—for her forgiveness.”
“Let’s hope your apology skills are brilliant enough to earn you a second chance.” He gripped Adam’s shoulder and nodded across the street. “But first, why don’t we follow Dora? She just might lead us to our man.”
* * *
The children had drifted off to sleep when a soft knock interrupted Deborah’s frustrated effort to forget her troubles with a borrowed book. It was half-past ten, too late to be anyone else except Adam. Checking to see that her hairpins were in place, she pinched her cheeks and scowled at her hollow-eyed reflection. Why should she care what she looked like? It wouldn’t alter his view of her.
Cracking the door open, she wedged into the scant inches. “I’m not ready to discuss anything.”
Adam’s bloodshot gaze seemed to drink her in. A shadow of a beard graced his drawn features, and his tousled appearance added to the fatigue cloaking him. “I’m not here to pressure you.”
Confronted with his obvious distress, her susceptible heart threatened to forget all that had transpired. She had to act fast.
“Then you have no reason to stick around.” She started to close the door, but he used his boot to block it.
“Hold on.” His warm, callused fingers closed over hers where she gripped the wood. “Please, give me five minutes of your time. That’s all I’m asking.”
The heat from his touch filled her with wondrous yearning. It was comforting and familiar, like a treasured friend, yet thrilling, too, like a massive display of fireworks. Would he ever sit beside her in church again and secretly hold her hand? Would he tug her close and kiss her again? Or did this spell the end of the special bond they’d shared?
Emotion welled up, threatening to pull her under. She jerked her hand from beneath his. “Five minutes.”
Regret dancing over his features, he lowered his arm to his side. “I came to Cowboy Creek armed with information that I was convinced would lead me to Zane Ogden. Russ said he told you everything. I had reason to believe he was being assisted by a woman matching your description and a note signed by someone with a name starting with D.”
“So you naturally assumed it was me.”
“Russ and I happened upon her today. She’s a local. Her name is Dora Edison.”
Deborah sagged against the door frame. It was the woman Hannah had told her about. “You found her? The person actually helping Ogden. Are you positive she’s the one? Or are you guessing, like you did about me?”
He winced. “There’s no question Dora is the one I’ve been searching for. Russ and I followed her outside town, to one of the outlying ranches recently vacated by its owner. After hours of waiting, we caught sight of them together. Ogden must’ve given up his room at The Lariat. This place offers him more privacy.” His jaw hardened. “Ogden escorted her to her horse and, after a romantic goodbye, sent her on her way.”
“They’re involved?” Deborah shuddered. How any woman could place her trust in a man like him confounded the mind.
“There’s something else.” The sconce light flickered over his hair, glinting in the strands. “It’s about your father.”
“What about him?”
“You remember the man I introduced you to? Doc?”
“I already know why he’s here.”
“You do?” His brows crashed down. “I was planning to tell you at breakfast—”
“But I wasn’t there. I’d gone to the post office for my sister’s telegram. Turned out I had a letter from her, as well, with money for a train ticket out of town. Mr. Canton didn’t have to pay me a visit. Lucy broke the news.”
Before she could guess what he was about to do, Adam cupped her cheek. His eyes burned with the need to make amends. “Deborah, please forgive me. I never should’ve accused you of those things,” he said in a rush. “In the beginning, I didn’t know you like I do now. Those frequent, mysterious strolls in the dark, the food hidden in your apron pockets... I had to follow you. But it wasn’t Ogden you were feeding, it was a pair of needy orphans. You can’t imagine my relief.”
“You followed me?” She pushed his hand away. “The night you ambushed us with a gun. You thought it was Ogden in that tent, didn’t you?”
“I hoped it wasn’t. Prayed it wasn’t.” His gaze flicked beyond her to the room. Squaring his shoulders, he said, “Before I discovered you helping Liam and Lily, I snuck into your room to search for answers.”
The blood drained from her face. “You went through my things?”
He looked ashen. “It’s my job. I’ve done it a hundred times before, but it never bothered me until...” He trailed off, his gaze lowering to the floor.
Deborah couldn’t believe her ears. Adam had invaded her privacy. She felt very close to fainting.
“I want you to find another place to stay.”
“Deborah, I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I care about you. I’d made up my mind that you were innocent until Doc started spouting warnings about objectivity and distractions. And then I saw Ogden giving you the money, and I lost my ability to reason. But I’ve regained my perspective, and if you’d be willing to forgive me, I’d do anything to try to make it up to you—”
She couldn’t look at him. If she looked at him, she’d cave.
“If you don’t leave the boardinghouse by tomorrow evening, the children and I will.”
He fell silent.
“I mean it, Adam. We’ll find somewhere else to board. I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”
“I understand.” His voice thick, he stepped back. “I’ll honor your wishes.”
“Thank you.”
Deborah closed the door and, sinking to the floor, buried her head in her hands and wept.
* * *
“Did you hear the news? Seth Halloway discovered gold on his property! Loads of it.”
“They’re saying there’s enough to fill a dozen barrels with the stuff.”
“A dozen? I heard it was more like two dozen.”
The bakery’s atmosphere buzzed with excitement. At a nearby table, cousins Minnie and Millie openly discussed the news with their new husbands, brothers Freddie and Billy Simms.
“Is it true?” Liam asked, his eyes round. “Are Seth and Marigold rich?”
Lily bounced in her seat. “I want to see gold. Can we go there after we eat?”
Deborah stifled their enthusiasm. “I have no idea whether or not
it’s true. Besides, it’s none of our business.”
She glanced around at the bakery’s early-morning patrons—mostly bachelors who didn’t have the luxury of a wife to cook for them. The thrill of discovery sparkled in their gazes. The speculation, envy and greed she witnessed in some of them troubled her. Seth Halloway was an astute, private man. She doubted he would share such information with anyone outside the family.
Deborah found it hard to chew the dry cinnamon bun. Aunt Mae’s breakfast would’ve been far more satisfying, but she still wasn’t ready to interact with the other boarders. They were all curious why Adam had abruptly moved out.
Liam pinched off a corner of his raisin loaf and lifted it up for inspection. “How come we’ve been eating here every morning?”
When Deborah hesitated, he added hastily, “I mean, we’re grateful, but...”
“I don’t like this place,” Lily declared, her small nose wrinkling. “I miss Aunt Mae’s eggs and ham. And I miss Adam.”
Deborah smoothed the napkin in her lap. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice. “I’m not a fan, either. We’ll eat breakfast at the boardinghouse tomorrow morning.”
If the others pumped her for answers, so be it. Besides, she couldn’t bring herself to continue paying for food unfit to feed a dog. The other bakery would’ve been a better choice, but it was located near the cowboys’ quarters and more popular with single men who wouldn’t think twice about interrupting her breakfast to issue dinner invitations.
Both children sighed in relief.
“As for Adam,” she said, “I told you he’s been busy with work, remember?”
“He’s coming back, right?” Lily’s face looked pinched.
Reaching out, she smoothed one of the girl’s braids behind her shoulder. “He hasn’t left Cowboy Creek.”
“What does he do, exactly?” Liam said.
Deborah racked her brain for a suitable response. “It’s complicated. I’ll let Adam explain it to you.” She pointed to their plates. “Finish up. We have chores awaiting us.”