Hayden nodded. “So, she stays here until the storm is gone. You just better pray that the sheriff doesn’t find our hideout.”
Cole smiled. “I’m going to ask her.” And he ran into the cave.
Hayden glanced at his pa. “Ask her what?”
“I reckon he’s going to ask her to cook for us. Let’s get in there before we get rained on. Greg, take that horse and put him in the valley.” Pa grinned as if he too were thinking of home cooked meals.
Hayden could only watch them go. Great. His family was at risk for a rope around their necks, and all they could think of was food. He looked at the angry sky and wondered how he was going to get out of this mess. And get his family out of it as well.
Then there was that woman. What were they to do with Penelope?
Chapter 8
Penelope surveyed the meager cooking equipment. A beaten frying pan. A pot equally as beaten, and a tin to cook biscuits in. She’d heard squawks out back. Found a cache of eggs and a sack of flour. Some bacon grease and bacon and ham.
They youngest Burkett ran inside the cave. “I’ll help.”
“Go out back and get a chicken. How does chicken and biscuits sound?”
“I can already taste it.” Axe in hand he dashed outside.
She liked him. He had an innocent likability about him. Ha, that was something she needed. Although she toed the line and never did anything wrong, no one called her innocent or likable. Yes, she’d have to corner Cole and get him to tell her how he did it.
At the door, she saw Greg and his pa talking. They looked worried and glanced at her. Finally, Bob came to her.
“Girl, you’ve caused us some trouble. We been in this valley and no one really cared what we did. Now, I fear you’re going to bring vengeance down on us. There are some who would like nothing better than to hang us to the nearest tree.” He picked his teeth with a splintered piece of wood.
“I had no intention of getting you and your sons in trouble. The thought came to me when I saw them in town. I need help.”
“Help? How can we help you?”
She stirred the flour and eggs. “Nobody in town likes me.”
“You got a young man interested in you?”
“No. And that’s another problem. My parents have it in their minds to marry me off to a bore of a man. I can’t let that happen to me. So, I decided I needed to learn how to make people like me. Everyone likes you and your sons.”
He spat on the ground. “I find that hard to believe. We stay here in a hideout. Not like we have folks over for socials. How’d you come up with this crazy scheme of yours?”
She pounded the biscuit dough and formed neat biscuits. “It was like a spark of genius. I saw Greg and Cole and watched them throw the varmints in the bank and then scatter. When I saw the people run from the bank I had to laugh. It was wrong, but even I had to laugh. The whole town was laughing. Except for some who had wanted to withdraw some money or those who got sprayed by the skunks.”
Bob laughed. “It does have a funny ring to it. Sometimes those boys come up with the most ornery things to do. But you say people like us?”
“Oh, yes. That you take from those who wronged many and give to those in need is well known. Your sons will not have trouble finding good women to marry.”
Bob squinted. “You interested in one of them?”
“Me? No. No!” She pulled her note paper out of her pocket. “No. I have my list of requirements. My husband-to-be must be a hard worker. Honest. Trustworthy. Religious. And handsome.”
“Sounds like you ought to stick to the preacher fella your parents picked out.”
“Oh, no. He is not at all what I would pick. Not at all.”
Bob threw the toothpick down and shook his head. “Girlie, you are a problem. Not sure what we’re going to do with you. But your cooking smells good. Might let you stay a day or so.” He started to leave, stopped, and turned to her. “Stay away from Greg. He’s not a man for you. Hayden might be. Yes, ma’am.” He stared at her and shook his head. “You are trouble.” He left her and went out the front of the cave.
Hayden had watched his pa and Penelope talking. He should take her out of this den of thieves right now. Save her and his family some heartache. He watched her. The flame flickered and sent a warm yellow glow over her. She was kind of pretty. That red hair stood out. She had a woman’s figure.
She glanced at him. “Don’t just stand there. Come and help.”
Bossy thing. Still, he walked to her. “What do you need?”
“Fill the water pot. Then find the dishes and make sure they’re clean.” She stopped and stared at him. “I haven’t heard much about you. Other than you went to war. Didn’t know you were back.”
“Took me some years to get back from the war. I had some big thinking to do and wasn’t sure my family would want me back. Then I went to work for Duston.”
“Duston. The man that took your ranch? You have a forgiving nature.”
“No, I just needed a job, and he hired me.”
“I’m surprised he would. Surely, he knew you were one of the Burketts that had owned the ranch he took over.”
“He knew. Asked me about it. Said he bought it outright for taxes. Asked me if I could still work an honest day’s work knowing I’d be on what used to be my ranch and working with some of what used to be my cattle. I told him I could and needed the job.”
Hayden watched her work. Quick and efficient she cut potatoes and then the chicken. Soon the cave filled with the savory aroma. Something he could only remember from dinners that Ma used to make.
She really was a pretty thing. A little tall but she had the curves in the right places. Her hair was dark red. Pretty, even if it was scattered in all directions.
Penelope glanced at him. “It’s not polite to stare.”
“You like to do that a lot, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Tell others what you think they’re doing wrong.”
She blushed. “I don’t either.”
“Huh, for the short time you been here, you’ve told each of us at least six things we do wrong.”
Penelope wanted to hit him. Verbally. But make him sting, nonetheless. Yet, there was truth in what he said. She’d heard it enough from her family. She set the knife down and added the chicken to the pot.
“I don’t know why I do that. I’ve always had a keen eye for right and wrong.”
Hayden nodded and leaned against the cave wall. “It’s not your eye that does the talking. Have you ever said anything nice to someone?”
All she could do was stare at him. Was he correct? Was she always concentrating on the wrong doing of others? Yet, she knew he was right. It’s what Angela had tried to tell her the other night.
“Do you think I’m pretty.”
Hayden eyed her up and down. “Yep. I think you’re one of the prettiest girls around these parts. At least wise the prettiest one in this cave.”
She threw a potato peel at him. “Funny.” Was it that she was ugly as well as mean worded?
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything about that last remark.” He walked to her and put a finger in her hair. “Yes, I’d say you’re mighty pretty. When the right fella comes around, he’ll make you feel pretty.”
Penelope stared at him as streaks of lightning ran up and down her spine. She looked into his eyes and saw kindness, strength, and tenderness. Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think of a thing to say. Couldn’t even think of a thing to reprimand him for.
He let her hair go and stepped back. “I better see what my pa and brothers are up to.” He left the cave.
She watched him go and wished he would have stayed.
***
It took everything in Rand to not ride away from the sheriff and Mr. Wyler. The word slow fell short in describing the preacher. First, he had to get his horse and saddle it. Then he was praying. Rand had to wonder if the Lord counted words when deciding how to answer a prayer. If so, Prea
cher Wyler just might bring His Kingdom to come before they even left Duston.
Black Jack picked up in his impatience and pranced like a colt, making Rand leery that one of the preacher’s inquisitive sons might get kicked. To prevent trouble, Rand urged the horse away from the small house and to the road.
Grady stood as patiently as a saint waiting for the preacher. In fact, Rand thought he detected an amused grin on the lawman’s rugged face. Probably at his expense. Yes, he’d been roped into yet another expedition to save a woman.
And Penelope was a most unlikely woman to need saving. According to her, she was saved, and everyone else was on shaky ground. In fact, she had told him that he was on thin ice stationed over a hole leading to Hades. She was something.
Black Jack continued pacing and tossing his head.
Rand rubbed the horse’s withers. “Easy boy. Been a while since we’ve been out on a job, hasn’t it?” Rand gave in to an idle thought that he might be just as anxious for the excitement as the horse. He enjoyed the roses and felt as if he were close to Susanna when he tended the garden, but life had grown too slow.
He wasn’t ready to sit in a rocker and watch the world go by. Grace had urged him to go into town more. To ask the sheriff if he needed help. She’d even suggested working for the Texas Rangers.
He looked at the sweating horse and wondered if he reminded Grace of the high-spirited horse with nowhere to go and no reason to run. The preacher was almost ready to go when someone galloped toward them.
Rand laughed to himself. Probably one of the kidnappers coming to ask if they’d please take Penelope off their hands.
“Sheriff!”
The sheriff turned and walked toward the lathered horse. “What is it now?”
“Outlaws. They hit Chico yesterday. Shot up the town. Robbed the bank and killed one inside. The telegraph stopped halfway. Think the outlaws are coming this way?”
The sheriff looked back toward town. “I hate to do this Daniel, but I need to stay in town.”
The preacher nodded. “I understand. Rand and I can follow the trail.”
Thunder boomed to the south.
Rand shook his head. “We better hurry. Rain will wash away the tracks.”
A slash of lightning struck the ground in the distance.
Mrs. Wyler ran to her husband. “I don’t want you out in the storm.”
It was as if Rand could feel the disappointment in Black Jack. Or maybe it was his own. They weren’t going now. Not safe to ride in a thunderstorm equipped with lightning. “We’ll go after the storm. Maybe the kidnappers will contact you by then and tell you where to drop off the ransom.”
The sheriff agreed. “Rand, I could use you back in town. I want to be ready if the outlaws try and rob Duston.”
“Right.” He turned Black Jack around and headed for town. The horse walked. His excitement and Rand’s gone. Today would be another day like all the others he’d had since Susanna’s death.
Chapter 9
Hayden had just saddled his horse when the first boom of thunder drew his attention. In a few minutes, a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and streaked to the ground. It took five to ten seconds for the thunder to follow.
“No rush. Storm is coming.” He pulled the saddle from his horse and stopped his brothers from saddling theirs.
Cole looked up. “That came out of nowhere.”
Large drops of rain pelted them, and they ran into the cave.
Penelope looked at them. “What’s wrong?”
Pa glared at her. “Storm. We’ll stay here until it’s passed.”
She grinned. “I prayed for a storm. It will wash out all the tracks, and I’ll be safe here.”
Hayden shook his head. “What makes you think you’re safe here with a gang of outlaws?”
She walked to him and put her finger under his chin. “You, for one thing. You won’t let anyone harm me. She whirled away from him and addressed his pa. “Now, let’s wait out the storm, and you can teach me how to be liked.”
Pa glared at her. “You are one bossy little girl.” He pointed his finger at her. “That’s one thing you can stop doing if you want friends. That is what you want right?”
She nodded.
“Then you need to stop being so bossy. Coming into our hideout and telling us to clean up the place. As if that wasn’t enough, you made us all go take baths. Just who do you think you are?”
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
Greg sneered at her. “Well, I ain’t never claimed either one.”
Holding her nose, Penelope nodded. “That was evident at the first whiff of you.”
Pa shook his head. “See you can’t even take instruction without putting us down.”
She frowned. “I think it’s my Christian duty to point out to others where they have fallen short.”
Hayden walked to the front of the cave and watched the storm. She said she’d prayed, and God had sent a storm to wash out their tracks. He’d prayed for help with his family, and God had sent Penelope. He shook his head. Something wasn’t right. What kind of answer to prayer was Penelope?
Cole studied her. “You’re pretty. But you don’t smile much. And when you do, it’s more like a fox-smirking in-the-hen-house look. Maybe practice on smiling like you mean it.”
She gasped. “That is not true.”
Greg and Pa shook their heads in agreement.
“Well, I can’t believe you think such a thing. I smile. I do.” Penelope frowned and even stomped her foot a little.
Pa stood and put a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t take instruction well. Seen that look on Greg’s face.”
“Hey, wait a minute. Don’t drag me into this.” Greg stood and walked to the cave entrance and stood by Hayden. “She’s crazy.”
Hayden nodded. “Yep, I think so.” He stopped but wanted to agree with their Pa. Greg never had taken instruction well and mostly rebelled against orders.
Penelope left the center and sat down in the dark corner of the cave. Arms folded, and lips pressed tight together. Hayden believed she’d not counted on hearing what she was doing wrong. Why had she even come to find them?
She was quiet for a few minutes.
He felt a tug on his heart to comfort her. Walking over to her, he wondered what was wrong with him. Why hadn’t he left and gone on to California, Wyoming, or Montana? Leave it to him to be the compassionate one. His ma had always told him that he was the one that got her mercy and left none for his brothers. Although Cole had a soft heart at times.
Pa and Greg were the hard ones. Maybe because of all they’d been through with losing Ma and the ranch. Cole had been young and missed the war. Hayden went and stood over Penelope and wondered what had happened to her.
“What do you want?” She stared at him with a belligerent look.
“Wanted to see if you wanted to talk. Find out about you.”
Her face softened. “Why?”
“You came here for help. I’m offering.”
She looked down. “Told you. I want to find out how to be popular and have friends.”
He studied her face. She really, really was pretty. Could be if she’d look as if she cared instead of daring you to knock off the block on her shoulder. “You know, people need to know they can trust you. That’s why they like the gang. They trust that we won’t hurt them. My brothers and Pa only take from those who took advantage of the rest of us. The carpetbaggers and those who worked with them, and then they trust that the gang will give things away to those in need.”
“It’s wrong.” Her attitude shone bright.
“Yes, I think so, too. But when they take from others, it’s for a reason that people understand.” Hayden pushed an unruly strand of her hair out of her face.
She pulled back. “I’m trying to help people, too.”
He grinned at her. “That’s not what people hear or see.”
Greg ran inside and kicked out the fire. “Thought I heard someone out there
. Quiet.”
Hayden joined his brothers and looked out at the rain streaming down. It should keep the cave hidden by anyone riding by.
He glanced in the corner where he’d left Penelope. She hadn’t moved. In the dim light, he could just make out her form. She looked small and vulnerable, and he wondered what had made her become so judgmental.
Pa came over to them and handed him some cartridges. “Better be prepared.”
Hayden stared at him. “To what? Kill our neighbors? Shoot at people we’ve known most of our lives. The sheriff? The preacher?”
Pa glared at him. “You know I don’t want anyone hurt. But I don’t want my sons hurt either.”
“Us or them?”
“Yeah. That’s the way it’s always been. You didn’t understand that and went off to fight for the enemy.”
“It was our country. One country and that’s what I fought for. Besides, it’s not right to keep humans as if they were animals.”
“We never had a slave.”
“No, we didn’t. Even more reason to fight to preserve the Union.” Hayden scuffed his boot on the rocky floor of the cave. “It’s over, long over. Can’t we let it drop?”
Pa stared at him. “You disappointed me, boy. I counted on you to do me proud.”
The words burned Hayden’s chest. “I thought I did.” Not wanting to hear anymore, he walked away. He didn’t want to talk to them anymore. He’d been on a fool’s errand to think he could change his family and get them honest and out of their outlaw ways.
Hayden glanced skyward. “You sent the girl rain. Why don’t you listen to me?”
Chapter 10
Penelope sat in the chill of the dark cave and wondered what on earth she was doing here. Selfishly, she’d wanted to find answers to help herself and had never given a thought that she may have put the Burketts in danger.
Her father would surely have the sheriff after her. The only good thing was the rain had washed away her tracks. Then again, she was stuck in a cave with a band of outlaws. Some friendly and some not so friendly.
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