Lipstick and Lead Series: The Complete Box Set With a Bonus Book

by Sylvia McDaniel

  She opened the bottle and poured Dora a drink. Not wanting to hurt the child's feelings, she put the cup up to her lips and pretended to sip. The liquid barely touched her mouth, but the taste was horrible. Ella skipped out of the room, and Dora ran to the open window and tossed the vile stuff out.

  Why would anyone drink that concoction?

  Jesse stared at her laughing. "That bad?"

  "Awful." An involuntary shudder rippled through her. "All I need is some coffee and I'll be on my way."

  Jesse poured her a cup of the black stuff and returned to the stove. "Let me fix you some eggs. Besides, I want to talk to you some more about Leo."

  Hadn't they discussed everything about her scandalous husband last night? What else did the man need to know?

  "What about Leo?" she asked.

  When he cracked an egg in the frying pan, the smell sent her stomach revolting. Licking her lips, she tried to rinse the vile drink out of her mouth. Taking a big gulp of coffee, the miracle cure remained on her tongue and a tingle in her lips let her know they were going numb.

  "If he was last seen in Fort Worth, it would make sense for him to head to Dallas and down south to the larger towns. He's selling the drink you just had," he said. "He made up about ten batches of the stuff before he left. Ida told me he had the wagon loaded and he wouldn't be home until he sold everything."

  Setting the plate of eggs in front of Dora, he sat across from her and she tried not to let the nausea overwhelm her. The man was doing his best to cook for her. Putting a fork full of the breakfast to her lips, she took a bite. The food was delicious, but her intestines began to cramp.

  While she concentrated on what he was saying, thinking this made perfect sense and she needed to remember everything, all she wanted to do was lie down. Suddenly her stomach went into full revolt.

  Jumping up from the table, she ran out the door and threw up. Leaning against the post, she heaved while he brought her a warm washcloth.

  "Maybe you should go back to bed for a while," he said. "You're worse than you're letting on."

  With a sigh, she knew she couldn't ride a horse with cramping like this. In fact, the pain was getting worse by the minute.

  "Thank you," she said. "Let me just lie down."

  What was wrong with her? This morning she could tell a cold was coming on, but now, she had never experienced anything like this. Never. The only thing that could have upset her stomach was that stupid tonic she sipped.

  Slowly she made her way back into the house. Pulling off her boots, she laid back on the quilt until the next spasm hit.

  What had Ida died from? She forgot to ask.

  Dora's cold suddenly exploded into symptoms that resembled his sisters. Could there be something contagious in the room she picked up? But he and the children had all been in there and none of them were sick. Only his sister and now Dora. What did the two women have in common.

  The memory of Ida drinking the miracle tonic she helped Leo create came to mind. The realization that both women drank the juice slammed into Jesse. A sickening sense of unease gripped his chest as he started toward the cellar.

  Grace stepped in front of him, her forehead drawn together. "Is that woman sick?"

  "Yes."

  "What if she makes us all ill?" Grace said. "What if she dies in there just like Momma?"

  The kid was smart. Way smarter than him and yet he needed to calm her fears.

  "It's not the room, Grace. If it was a germ, we would all be sick," he said, licking his lips wondering if he should be completely honest with the girl. Maybe she knew something about the miracle cure.

  "This morning, Ella gave Dora some of your father's miracle tonic. Your mother drank that stuff. Can you show me where they made it?"

  His niece's beautiful sapphire eyes widened. "Everything is in the cellar. Momma told me that she and papa had a hard time finding the mushrooms."

  "Did she say what kind of mushrooms," he asked, fearing they accidentally found a poisonous mushroom and that's what killed his sister.

  The little girl shook her head. "No, let me show you where Momma's been making it for years, but Papa wanted to get on the road, so he made the last couple of batches."

  Jesse trusted Ida, she had used herbs and made homemade remedies all her life, but his brother-in-law...Disgust gripped him, holding him hostage.

  The man had never been his brother-in-law. Because they weren't legally married. Leo didn't have the brains to create a safe drink to sell to people. Did the miracle cure accidentally kill Ida? Had Leo murdered her with his poisonous concoction?

  Grace led the way into the cellar where he lit a lantern. Glancing around the darkened room, he gazed at his sister's supplies. Bottles of carefully labeled herbs lined the wall. Several he noticed bore a skull and crossbones and realized those were poison.

  Then he saw the bottle of dried mushrooms. When he picked up the small glass container, he lifted the lid and held it under his nose.

  The scent was off—-a strong ammonia smell, rather than the musty odor normally associated with edible plants. What if they harvested the wrong kind? How could he tell?

  As he gazed at her herbs, he found a container of charcoal.

  "Momma gives us charcoal when we have a tummy ache," Grace said, as she looked around the room. "She promised to teach me about the different plants and how they help you."

  The child missed her mother and Jesse realized he could never teach her the knowledge her mother possessed. Right now, he was just doing well to keep everyone fed and bathed.

  "Your mother didn't want to leave."

  The squeak of a rat and the sound of it scurrying into the wall sent a shiver through him, but it also gave him an idea.

  "Run upstairs and get the bottle of the juice Ella gave Dora this morning. The bottle is sitting on the table. Bring it here and do not let anyone drink any."

  "Yes, sir," she said and hurried up the stairs.

  What if in the last batch Leo made he used the wrong mushrooms? What if he was selling poisonous tonic to the people in Texas?

  A few minutes later, Grace came carrying the miracle cure down. The girl moved through life, not really enjoying or having fun any longer. What did he say? Her mother had been gone less than a month. A month was hardly enough time for her to recover. She just wasn't ready.

  He found a glass bowl on the counter and poured some of the concoction into the dish and set it on the floor.

  "Do me a favor and find me a lock. We're going to close up the cellar until I'm certain this does not contain poison."

  Hopefully the rat would help him prove his suspicions. One that had him thinking his sister died of poison and now Dora was very ill. Could it be the miracle cure?

  "Yes, sir," she said and scampered back up the stairs. He gathered the charcoal and milk thistle, both good for poisoning.

  Dora thought she was going to die. Now two days later, she was starting to slowly come back to life, and she owed Jesse so much. The man had been by her side, making her drink lots of water, pushing charcoal and milk thistle down her throat. Cleaning and bathing her when she was too weak to care for herself.

  Now as she stared out the window, for the first time in days she felt better. Still not strong enough to ride after Leo, but at least on the mend. As much as she wanted to get back on the trail, she needed more rest.

  Jesse walked into the bedroom, a tray in his hands. "Time for some hot tea and soup. Let's hope you can keep this down."

  When he gazed at her, a blush spread across her face. The man had seen more of her than she intended, but at the time, there was no one else.

  How could she ever repay this man? "Thank you, I appreciate everything."

  As he set the tray on a table, he helped her scoot up in the bed to where she could eat. "You were ill. I didn't mind. There's something you need to know."

  Leaning over her, he tucked a napkin in her nightgown, an intimate act. A tremor or nerves shot through her. Today was the fi
rst time she'd been coherent and realized what was really going on in the world.

  Jesse moved the small table over to feed her. A quick glance at his face and she realized whatever he wanted to talk about was serious as a frown drew his brows together. A window was open and she heard the children playing outside, their voices shrill as they ran around the yard in the summer sunshine.

  "That morning when you came into the kitchen, Ella gave you a cup of her father's miracle cure."

  "Yes, I remember," she said between bites. "I barely drank a sip of it. It tasted horrible."

  The bitter, oily texture she spit out, and even after she rinsed her mouth, she could not get the dire taste out.

  Putting a spoonful of food between her lips, he stared at her, his dark brown eyes filled with concern. "Thank goodness, you didn't. After you showed some of the same symptoms as my sister, I became suspicious."

  He fed her a bite of soup and leaned back. "So I went into the cellar to see what they were using in this miracle drink. Grace told me her mother said they were having a hard time finding enough mushrooms. My fear is that they found some poisonous ones. So, I poured some of his tonic in a bowl and left it on the floor."

  Another spoonful of soup slipped between her lips. "Not one, but two, dead rats waited for me the next morning."

  Stunned, she stared at him. Her husband’s miracle cure almost did her in. Wouldn't that have been convenient? Rage caused her to grit her teeth, her hand clenched and she wanted to hit something, anything.

  Leo was selling a tonic across the state that almost killed her. "He's going to kill someone."

  "He already has. My sister and almost you. Thank goodness I knew enough to give you milk thistle and charcoal."

  "I barely had any of the vile stuff, remember? I threw it out," she said in astonishment. How many people would die because of believing this miracle tonic would cure whatever ailed them.

  Her hands were so weak, but she pulled herself up higher in the bed. "Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving. Someone needs to stop him."

  "Agreed. Since you're so ill, why don't you stay here with the children and I'll go after him?"

  Was he out of his mind?

  While she would be forever grateful to Jesse taking care of her, she could not remain here with these kids. By the time he got back, she would be thoroughly attached and have to suffer losing them. No way was that going to happen.

  With a jerk, she glared at him. "No way in hell. I'm sorry, but for the last two months, I've been training to find him and he's not getting away from me now. You've been nothing but kind to me. Besides, I don't like children. This is something I must do. Find Leo and put an end to our marriage."

  She watched as he dipped the spoon and filled it with soup. "Nothing is going to keep me from going after my supposed brother-in-law, including my nieces and nephew. Never doubt, I love them. But their mother deserved so much more than to die because of her worthless husband."

  Dora understood his need to apprehend Leo, but she refused to sacrifice to let him have his way. Wasn't going to happen. Her own demons made her want to capture her once-dead husband.

  "Agreed," Dora said between the bites of soup he partially shoveled into her mouth.

  She could see the wheels churning in his mind and whatever he came up with, there would be some twist that would give him an edge. But it wouldn't matter.

  For a moment, he stopped and stared. "Tell you what, I have an idea. If you're up to it in the morning, we'll have a shooting contest. Whoever hits the most targets, the fastest, that's the person who is going after Leo."

  A grin spread across her face. The man had no clue what he was getting into. Unless he was a gunslinger, which she didn't believe, this was a challenge she would easily win.

  "You're on. Now stop feeding me soup. I'm feeling stronger, and by tomorrow, I intend to be better and then I'll be heading out without you and the children."

  The last thing she needed were three kids straggling along with her. Though she wanted babies so very much, this was not the time or the place.

  Placing the spoon back in the bowl, he stood and lifted the tray. "Don't count on it. Not many women can beat a sharpshooter."

  "And I'm a fast drawing gunslinger," she said nonchalantly.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning, Jesse set up tin cans and bottles on the back fence. If he won today, she would stay here and care for the children. From the time he was twelve, he had been shooting a gun and had no doubts he would win. When did she start firing her Colt?

  And he couldn't wait to be on his brother-in-law’s trail. The man would soon be swinging from a noose.

  The kids needed someone to watch over them and he promised his sister to look after her babies and he would. But he also felt the need to settle the score of her death. With so much life left in Ida, it wasn't fair she died from his poisonous concoction.

  Turning, he looked up and saw Dora was dressed, sipping coffee, watching him. "Are you ready?"

  A grin spread across his face. The poor woman didn't realize what she was getting herself into. His bags were packed and he would be leaving shortly.

  Placing the coffee cup on the railing, she walked toward him. A holster rode low on her hips, swaying gently. The woman's blonde hair and sapphire eyes heated his blood and her split riding skirt drew his attention to her center and made his breath catch in his throat.

  Though her skin appeared rosy, he was certain she was still recovering from the poison. It was a wonder she hadn't died.

  "Do you need to warm up?" she asked.

  What did she mean warm up? Jesse would beat her in the first round and be merrily on his way.

  The children came out of the house and he called to Grace. "Kids, don't step off the porch. Make certain the baby is being held."

  "Yes, sir," Grace replied as she stared at the adults like they had lost their mind.

  "I'm ready whenever you are," he said, pulling out his pistol and filling the chamber with bullets.

  "Are we timing this?" she asked.

  Why would they need to time their shoot off? No need to worry about the legalities, he would win hands down.

  "Oh, I don't think we need to," he said, smiling. Did she really believe she could beat him? "Ladies first."

  With lightning speed, she pulled out her gun and all five targets were hit in less than five seconds. Stunned, he stared at her as she put her Colt back in her holster. "Your turn."

  Cursing under his breath, he wondered how he could compete against her quickness. Sighing, he yanked his pistol out of the holster and the first four bullets landed pretty quick, but the last one refused to go down. That last tin can the bullet whizzed right on by.

  A woman had just beat him. Not just any woman, Dora. Now he had good reason never to find himself on her bad side. Poor Leo didn't realize it, but a storm was coming for him.

  "Oops," she said, smiling. "Missed one."

  With a shake of his head, he stared at her in disbelief while the children clapped and yelled enthusiastically. There was no doubt she beat him fair and square.

  Without gloating, she said, "I'm all packed. What you said the other morning while I tried to listen was you thought he would hit Dallas and then head south. To start off, I think that's the trail I'm going to take for now."

  "We're going with you," he said. "You've been sick. I can't let you go alone."

  "No, you're not. I'll travel faster without you and your brats. Every day I'll get stronger."

  The thought of her on the road by herself, searching for Leo without him, left him aching with frustration. No way would he go off and leave the children at the farm by themselves and he didn't have the kids packed.

  If he could get to Dallas, he knew his great-aunt Matilda would keep the kids for him, and she would treat Ida's babies like her own. Right now, he didn't want to say anything. Dora needed to believe she was going on her own.

  "You're right. We'd slow you down," he said as they walked to
the porch where the children stood waiting.

  "Wow, you hit all the bottles," Ella said, staring up at her in wonder.

  "Thank you. Grace, Ella, and Ben, I'm leaving. Take care of your uncle Jesse. Hopefully, I'll see you again soon," she said, kissing the baby’s cheek. Leaning down, she hugged Ella. "Be a good girl."

  When she stood, she glanced at Grace, but for some reason the two of them seemed to be at odds. Jesse didn't know why but hoped they would eventually work out their differences. Probably it was simply a girl thing.

  "Goodbye, Grace," she said. "Your mother would want you to watch over the kids. But be a little girl and remember you're a beautiful young girl."

  "Thank you," Grace said, her voice not at all warm.

  "Wait back here," he told the children, suddenly certain of what he wanted.

  Dora's horse was saddled and waiting in front of the house. "Boy, you were confident you were going to beat me."

  With a smile, she turned toward him. "Just graduated from bounty hunting school. I've had lots of time to practice."

  For days now, he wanted to kiss her. From the first night she arrived, during her illness, and now since she won and was leaving, he would take his reward.

  Taking her in his arms, he glanced down at her. "You know how bad I want to catch my brother-in-law."

  "He's not your brother-in-law. But yes, I realize you want to make him pay, like I do. As his legal wife, you understand, I want to make certain he never harms another woman like he did your sister and me."

  That logic was impossible to argue against, and yet, he knew this would not be goodbye. For now, she needed to believe he was letting her win, letting her go after Leo alone.

  "All right," he said. "Understood, but you better catch the SOB."

  A smile spread across her face and her blue eyes twinkled. "Have no doubts. Leo Tennyson is either swinging from a rope or going to jail. One of the two."

  His face leaned down to hers and his lips covered her mouth. Dora tasted of fresh mint and smelled of lavender and the feel of her body next to his had him groaning. The touch of her lips was like a branding iron, leaving him craving and wanting more.