A Texas Kind of Christmas

by Jodi Thomas

  “We might as well let her in. She’ll have to step over the guard the sheriff left. I have no doubt my stepmother’s already bitten his head off.” Jacqueline shrugged at Katie. “I’m sure the people downstairs can hear her.”

  The maid moved to the door. “No one will hear her. The dancers were stomping and laughing to an Irish reel. I wouldn’t be surprised if the men trying to sleep at Fort Worth are hearing them.” Katie turned the lock.

  Margaret stormed into the room and the maid quietly closed the door.

  “What have you done? I’m horrified. How was it possible for you to go and ruin yourself on the very night we’ll be announcing your engagement?” Margaret saw Jacqueline standing in the dressing room in her undergarments. “You don’t even look like you fought him. This is so embarrassing.”

  “I didn’t fight him and he didn’t hurt me.”

  “No, don’t try that lie. It would make it worse. What proper husband will want a woman he can’t trust? And once he’s bedded you, he’ll know you lied.” Margaret wrinkled her entire face in disgust. “For all I know you’re already carrying the outlaw’s bastard. Harry will disown you when he finds out you’re now a hussy who sleeps with bank robbers.”

  “We didn’t sleep,” Jacqueline answered. “We didn’t have time.”

  Margaret clapped her hands over her ears. “I can’t be hearing this. You little tramp. You’re ruining my plans.”

  “What plans?” Jacqueline took a step toward her stepmother.

  “Never mind. We have to fix this.” Without any warning Margaret swung her fist hard, catching Jacqueline on the left jaw. “There, at least you’ll have one bruise. Maybe one of them men will feel sorry for you and take you on as a wife.”

  “I’m not marrying anyone.”

  “Yes, you are, little girl. Harry’s had three offers to take you off his hands, providing he deeds the land and cattle, of course. One is a bit old, nearing sixty, but look on the bright side, he’ll die soon. Two are young and wild, but nothing settles a man like owning land.”

  “I’m not marrying anyone.”

  “Yes, you are!” Margaret shouted as if volume could make it true.

  Her stepmother swung again, but Jacqueline ducked. The blow hit her arm, leaving another bruise.

  “Good. Another mark. I don’t mind planting a few more. I’ve always hated the rule your father had about never hitting you. Well, now you’re grown and I don’t think that rule applies.”

  Katie quickly opened the door. All three women saw the two deputies just outside. Katie nodded. Jacqueline darted into the dressing room and Margaret dropped her hand. Her expression changed instantly. “Well, you try to relax, dear child. I’ll go tell your father that you survived the attack.”

  She was gone before Jacqueline could say a word.

  Katie moved closer and whispered, “She’d rather see that outlaw hang than face the truth.”

  “I know. Will you help me, Katie?”

  The maid smiled. “Of course, Miss. That’s my job.”

  Chapter 11

  Cody had spent an hour with the deputies searching for Hartman’s daughter and some outlaw Marshal Calaber seemed to have lost. No luck finding Harry’s daughter or the so-called bad guy. When the deputies went in to search the hotel, Cody varied off to talk to his neighbor Harry Hartman. For a hard man who never seemed to notice he had a daughter, Harry was beside himself.

  He was raging. One minute swearing he’d kill whoever took her and the next crying that he hadn’t been a good father.

  Cody had no idea how to calm him so he just nodded at whatever the man said.

  “I never tucked her in. I couldn’t, don’t you see? She looked so much like her mother. I had one of the hands teach her to ride. Housekeepers took care of her until I found another to marry. I believed my new wife when she told me Jacqueline wanted to eat alone in her room. Jacqueline was never happy and I finally realized she never would be in my house. Maybe she blamed me for her mother’s death. I never had the nerve to ask her.” Harry dug his big hands into his curly gray hair and tugged as if he could pull out his problems.

  “But, tonight I thought I was doing something right. I was getting her married off. Margaret said she needs her own house. I’m offering the land and cattle to make sure she doesn’t ever want for anything. Hell, I’ll even build her a house if she wants it. My foreman says she rides over to that grove of cottonwoods on my side of the river that runs between your land and mine. Says she just sits out there reading until evening comes on.”

  Cody drank his one bourbon while Hartman had half a dozen. The rancher’s words began to slur. “I let her buy all the books she wants. I always gave my girl her own money when she went into town with the cook. Didn’t want her to ever have to ask anybody for anything. My wife doesn’t know it, but I set up an account for her the day the bank opened. She’ll be a lady with her own means when she marries.”

  Cody felt like he needed to say something. “Sounds like you’ve done some things right by her, Harry.”

  “Yeah, I have. If she’d get married, she’d have kids. If I’m lucky there will be a grandson who’ll run my ranch when I’m gone. Then that quarter of my ranch I’m deeding over will link up with Hartman land again.”

  Cody thought of telling him that wasn’t likely. Jacqueline’s husband might sell the land, or she might insult her father and only give birth to girls. And, what about Hartman’s present wife? He had no doubt Margaret had plans once old Harry was gone and they didn’t include giving her stepdaughter anything.

  About the time Hartman started to fall asleep with the last inch of his drink balanced on his stomach, one of the bellboys rushed in.

  “The deputies found her, sir!”

  Hartman stumbled to his feet. “She hurt?”

  “No, sir. Not a bruise on her.”

  “Where was she?”

  “In a storage place on the third floor. I heard her say she was just talking to the man the deputies found with her. She didn’t know anyone was looking for her. But the men looking for her weren’t listening.” The messenger hesitated. “They roughed up the fellow. Said he fits the description of the outlaw Marshal Calaber claims broke his arm.”

  “I’ll kill him if he touched my little girl,” Hartman shouted just before he crumbled to the floor.

  Cody looked at the kid. “Help me get him in the chair. We’ll tell folks he’s sick with worry.”

  The bellboy did his best to lift one side of Hartman and added, “That might work if they don’t get near enough to smell him.”

  Cody walked out of Hartman’s suite of rooms and headed downstairs. All he wanted to do was find Katie, but that probably wouldn’t happen. His fairy had vanished and he had a feeling if she didn’t want him to find her, he wouldn’t have a chance.

  Who knows, after everything settled down maybe she’d find him. She knew where he was. He’d told her he’d be sleeping with his horse. The barn was so crowded most of the buggies and wagons were stored in the hay barn at the other end of town. And fools like him who didn’t book a room ahead had no choice but to sleep in the hay.

  He overheard people talking as he settled into the card room downstairs. The dancers might be unaware of anything going on, and the old men drinking might be slim on facts, but they were fat on guessing. A few even suggested that the outlaw should be hanged tonight. Then his body could be removed before folks woke up to Christmas morning. No one argued his guilt, only his timing.

  Marshal Calaber was also sitting in the poker room, telling how the outlaw tricked him and then broke his arm so he couldn’t follow. Calaber also liked to give details of how Miss Hartman must have been abducted and then treated. “She’ll go insane, a gentle, shy girl like her. I heard her dress was ripped to shreds.” The marshal lowered his voice as if releasing official secrets. “I’ve seen it before, gentlemen. She’ll go mad within a year if she doesn’t kill herself first. Timid, mousy girls like her are weak. I’d be tempted to m
arry her to try to save her, but I’ll be running for governor and I can’t have a crazy wife to keep watch over while I’m managing the big state of Texas.”

  Several men nodded.

  Cody fought down anger. The woman in blue velvet that he’d talked to wasn’t weak or mousy. If he thought he could get to her tonight, he’d tell her that he was still her friend.

  He crossed to the kitchen, leaving as he had before. The round little cook was still there cleaning up. Half-empty trays of food surrounded her.

  “Thanks for the biscuits, ma’am. I shared them with a fairy I met.”

  The cook laughed. “I noticed you talking to our Katie. She looked like she was happy in her pretty pink dress.”

  “She did,” he answered, thinking he’d remember that dress for the rest of his life. Katie would dance through his dreams until he was too old to remember his own name.

  “I’m guessing you’re sleeping in the barn, aren’t you, cowboy?”

  He nodded as he looked down at his black suit that had gone from passable to pitiful. “Didn’t decide to come until today. I’m not a man usually interested in balls.” He smiled. “But I had a nice time visiting with Katie.”

  The cook grinned. “You come in here for breakfast in the kitchen tomorrow. I’ll see you get a meal before you head out.”

  “Much obliged. I might do that. I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye to her. Will she be near in the morning?”

  “I don’t know. She’s up with Miss Hartman now. I’m thinking she’s about as close as the little miss has to a friend right now.”

  Cody looked up as if he could see two lives cross somewhere above him. The two women he’d met tonight were obviously close if Katie was with Jacqueline. One became his friend even before he knew who she was and the other stole his heart. With his bad luck he’d probably never see either one of them again, but he was glad they were together.

  Now there was no question. He had to act. Breaking a rule he’d set when he’d left the army, Cody decided he’d get involved in someone else’s business.

  “Any chance I could have a few of those cookies?” He winked at the cook.

  “Sure. I’ll wrap you up a dozen just in case you run into your fairy again.”

  Waving to the cook he slipped out the back door once more. It was snowing now, big feather-light flakes. Tomorrow would be Christmas, but to him it’d probably just be a messy day to ride home.

  He headed for the jail. He needed answers, real answers, not the garbage Calaber was handing out and not the fears of a drunken father.

  The barred windows of the sheriff’s office and jail burned bright on the dark street two blocks from the hotel. When Cody stepped inside, he was welcomed. Two of the younger deputies were sitting near the potbellied stove trying to stay awake while on guard.

  Cody smiled and offered the cookies. “I came to confess that I stole these cookies. Want to help me get rid of the evidence?”

  Both Travis and Andy nodded.

  “Want a cup of coffee, Captain? Least we can do for you backing us up tonight.”

  “Glad I could help.” These had to be the two youngest of the town’s deputies because they drew the short straw tonight. “Coffee sounds good. Sheriff still putting a dirty sock in it to keep the beans strong?”

  “Just the thought of that keeps me awake,” the one Cody had heard called Travis answered.

  Cody took the cup. “I’m in no hurry to turn in tonight. I’ll be sleeping in the barn with my horse.”

  As he settled in, the deputy who’d helped with the capture began to talk. “I was near the back as we charged in, but when I saw her, her cheeks were red, but she didn’t look hurt. The guy with her looked angry. He tried to block us from seeing her so Brad and Charlie had to beat him up a bit. One gut punch from Charlie usually knocks a man off his feet.”

  “What was the lady doing?” Cody asked.

  “She was just standing there screaming for us to stop.” Andy looked puzzled. “I couldn’t see much. I was the last one in, but one of the men said she caught the outlaw’s hand and wouldn’t let go. Strange thing for a prisoner to do to her abductor.”

  Cody watched the young deputy. He was figuring out what Cody already had. The deputies weren’t rescuing her. The man with her had been trying to protect her when the deputies stormed in because he cared about Jacqueline Hartman.

  Flipping the paperwork over, Cody read the report while Andy put the pieces together as he talked. “Everyone was yelling and shouting orders. Even the sheriff had to raise his voice to be heard.” Andy added more to himself than Cody, “I don’t think anybody was listening to anyone there for a while.”

  “That’s the definition of chaos, son.” Cody might be only a dozen years older than the deputy but he felt much older tonight.

  Andy stared at Cody. “They’re going to hang him tomorrow. What if he wasn’t the kidnapper? He could have just been some guy she met and they thought they’d found a place to talk. We only have Calaber’s word he robbed a bank in Austin.”

  Cody stood and set his coffee cup down. “Talk is some of the men at the party want to hang him tonight. Your job is to protect that man in there. That’s your duty, boys, and you do it.”

  “We will.” Andy set his jaw and looked as if he’d aged in a moment’s time. “You staying around, Captain Lamar? One of the men said that during the war you faced down a dozen armed men with nothing but a knife for a weapon.”

  “The story’s grown. It was three men.” Cody grinned remembering. “And no, I’m not staying here. I’ve got to go over and wake up the operator and send a telegraph.” Cody walked over to the cell door and took a look at the prisoner bleeding on the one blanket they’d given him. He looked more dead than alive. “This is none of my business but you might want to move the prisoner.”

  “Where?”

  “I’d say the doctor’s office. The two of you should be able to carry him there if you leave out the back. He doesn’t seem to have much fight left in him and no one will think to check at the doc’s this time of night.

  “Can you find your way without taking a lantern with you?”

  Both boys nodded.

  “Then go as quickly and as silently as you can.”

  Cody’s words came out as an order and the two didn’t argue with him. They pulled on their coats and were wrapping the unconscious outlaw in the bloody blanket by the time Cody downed the last of his coffee. “Bar the front door and bolt the windows after I leave. If someone shows up, that’ll slow them down.”

  Wishing he could stay to help, Cody moved back into the night knowing what he had to do. He didn’t know if his plan would help the man who’d been with Jacqueline or not, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

  By the time he sent his telegram, the snow had begun to blow. He went back to the barn and found a place in the loft where he could watch the hotel. If a mob got brave, they’d wake him as they headed toward the sheriff’s office.

  The beauty of the night calmed him. The hotel sparkled in the snow and the music was soft now, drifting in the night. Behind him he could hear men snoring, each one wrapped up in his own bedroll that made the loft look like a prairie dog town after dark.

  He stretched out with his rifle beside him, one arm folded for a pillow and thoughts of Katie filling his mind. If he found her, he’d ask her right away to marry him. Then he’d kiss her. No, maybe he should kiss her first, then ask her. Either way, if she said yes, he’d start finishing the house. He’d have it built by spring.

  There had been times, during the war, when he’d been out alone with the cattle for weeks without seeing a soul that he’d thought of having someone waiting for him.

  Drifting in thoughts of what the future might be, he dreamed that he was dancing with his fairy. Her sunshine hair would be flying like a cape behind her and her laughter would be all the music he needed.

  Chapter 12

  Nate felt someone poking on his chest but he didn’t open his eyes. He
wasn’t sure both weren’t swollen closed. Every part of his body hurt.

  “You all right, Mister?” a voice peppered with age asked. “I’m Doc Hollis. These deputies brought you over for me to patch up ’cause you’re leaking blood all over their jail. You’ve got . . .”

  “I know,” Nate answered. He’d been beat up enough to know what was wrong. “Blacked eyes.” He tried to open the left enough to see the doc. “One broken rib, maybe two. Several bruises. Bleeding from the forehead, my lip, and just below my right eye.”

  The old man laughed. “And bruises pretty much everywhere I can see. One on your back looks like a boot print. The deputies pulled off your jacket and shirt. I noticed several spots that need sewing up. It appears you’ve been dripping long enough to start a pond on your chest.”

  “The deputies are the ones who did this, Doc. I wouldn’t trust them to help with the patching up.”

  “I didn’t hurt you,” the nearest deputy answered. “But I’m Andy Potter and the one in charge of watching you tonight, so don’t even think of running. We’re both armed and you don’t look like you can see good enough to find the door.”

  “I thought I was in charge,” the other deputy said, moving closer. “I was deputized two days before you. Name’s Travis, Mister, and you can take my word that we’ll watch over you.”

  Nate groaned as he turned his head toward a kid who didn’t look old enough to be wearing a badge. “You were both there when they arrested me for doing nothing?”

  “I was in the back of the crowd,” Andy answered. “Travis was closer but he didn’t hit you.”

  “Do you know what happened to the lady I was with? Is she all right? Did the deputies hurt her too? Oh, God, tell me she wasn’t hurt.”

  Travis moved closer, examining Nate over the doc’s shoulder. “He don’t sound like a man who was hurting Miss Jacqueline when we broke into that room under the stairs. He sounds worried about her, Andy.”

  “I saw Captain Lamar’s eyes,” Andy tried to whisper in the tiny back room of the doctor’s home. “I don’t think he believed this guy was guilty. What if we’ve made a mistake? The sheriff was getting pressure from both Marshal Calaber and Hartman.