Renegade

by Anna Schmidt

  By the time they got there, he had a plan all worked out.

  Lily came running to meet them. “She’s sleeping,” she reported. “But…” She drew Emma closer, and Cody heard her whisper something about spotting.

  “While I hitch up the wagon, you girls collect every blanket, straw mattress, and pillow you can find,” he instructed them. “We’ll line the wagon bed and make sure Grace doesn’t get jostled around.”

  “We left one of the team back there,” Emma reminded him as he headed for the corral where the other team horse was lapping water from a trough.

  “We pair up my horse and this one. Now go.” He shooed them toward the cabin, not wanting them to see that he was far from certain the mismatched horses would work. One was meant for riding and the other for pulling. But as if they understood the seriousness of the situation, the two animals cooperated.

  Once he had them hitched up, Cody drove the wagon closer to the cabin where Emma and Lily had deposited a stack of blankets, quilts, and pillows on the porch.

  Cody set the brake on the wagon and went inside. Grace was seated in a chair, watching the activity. “This is so unnecessary,” she protested. “Nick will be back any moment now.”

  “We’re doing this,” Lily said through gritted teeth.

  Cody pulled the mattress from the bed and carried it outside. Then he collected the stack of covers and pillows Emma and Lily had assembled and began padding the sides. He tied a rope from one side to the other, thinking Grace could hold onto that to steady herself.

  “Okay, let’s go,” he said as he returned to the house and scooped Grace up. She was still fully dressed, and Cody was glad of that. The layers of petticoats and clothing would provide additional padding. Gently, he laid her in the wagon bed, and as soon as he stepped away, Emma climbed in and settled herself next to Grace.

  “Lily, you ride up front with Cody and keep an eye out for Nick in case he’s already started back.”

  To Cody’s relief, for once Lily didn’t argue. Instead, she climbed up to the seat and turned so she could look back at Grace. “Are you all right?” she asked, twisting her fingers nervously.

  Grace chuckled. “I can barely move with all this padding, not to mention Emma squeezed in next to me.” Cody saw her glance up at Lily, and her expression sobered. “The pain is better, Lily, truly.”

  Lily gave a curt nod and faced forward as Cody climbed aboard, released the brake, and clucked his tongue to get the team moving. He tried to avoid holes and rocks along the trail but couldn’t miss them all, slowing to a crawl at times to navigate his way around any barrier.

  After they’d gone some distance this way, Lily let out a sound of pure exasperation. “This is going to take forever,” she muttered. She continued to chew her lower lip and glance back at her friends.

  “We’ll get there,” he promised, and when Lily looked at him, her expression filled with hope and trust, he knew this was one promise he couldn’t break.

  As they approached the outskirts of town where the trail was more beaten down and therefore smoother, Emma reported that Grace was sleeping. “That’s good, right?” Cody asked, glancing at Lily.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, what if she’s not really sleeping but instead passed out from the pain—or the bleeding?”

  Cody reached over and covered Lily’s knitted fingers with his hand—and didn’t let go.

  * * *

  “That’s Nick’s wagon,” Lily said as they drove through town. “He’s still here. Grace, Nick’s here.”

  Grace moaned softly.

  “Turn here,” Lily instructed as if Cody didn’t know the way to Doc’s home and office. The minute Cody tugged on the reins and the wagon rolled to a stop, Lily scrambled down and took off running. “Doc! Come quick!”

  A side door opened, and Sarah Waters peered out. She was dressed for evening vespers, already wearing her hat and gloves. “What on earth?”

  Cody had cradled Grace in his arms and was carrying her to the house. “It’s Mrs. Hopkins,” he explained. “She’s having bad pains. Is Doc here?”

  “Right here.” Doc squeezed past his wife, who was still standing in the doorway, and hurried forward. “Let’s get her inside and have a look.” He led the way to the entrance to his office, where Cody laid her on the examining table. Emma and Lily took up a vigil to either side.

  “I’ll go see if I can catch Nick before he starts for home,” he said.

  Lily watched him leave, realizing she always felt surer things might be all right when Cody was around. For one thing, he didn’t wait to be told what needed doing. And for another, he always seemed to keep his focus on others. He clearly took his pledge to protect the citizens of Juniper and the surrounding area from harm seriously. That feeling someone might be there to make sure she was safe was new for Lily. It occurred to her it was something she could get used to.

  Why was she allowing her fear of Victor to keep her from doing what her head—and heart—knew was best? Cody could certainly handle Victor. Cody would keep her safe.

  Grace moaned softly as Doc probed her. Lily and Emma exchanged a look when Doc pulled free and they saw his fingers were stained with blood. Wiping his hands on a towel his wife handed him, he stepped away from the table. “Mrs. Hopkins, this child seems determined to come into this world ahead of schedule. In order for you to hang on as long as possible, you need complete bed rest—no housework or fixing meals for Nick.”

  “But…” Grace started to protest.

  Doc held up a finger to silence her. “In fact, I’d be a sight more sure we can have things turn out for the best if you stayed right here in town, so I can be on call should you need me. Even a few more days could make a difference.”

  Emma stroked Grace’s hair away from her cheek. “He’s right, Grace. You’re alone all day and sometimes into the night, and what if…”

  Before Grace could say a word, the door to the outer office crashed open, and they heard heavy footsteps coming their way fast.

  “Grace!”

  Nick hurried to his wife’s side, started to embrace her, but hesitated.

  “Hug your wife, Nick,” Doc said.

  Grace held out her arms to Nick. “Doc Waters wants me to stay in town until…”

  “You could lose this baby, Nick.” Doc was nothing if not straightforward. Sometimes what he had to say was hard to hear, but Lily knew his patients appreciated the honesty.

  Nick focused his attention on Grace. “We’ll take a room at the Palace. I can go back and forth to the ranch and sleep over in the bunkhouse if necessary. The important thing is to make sure you get through this.”

  “No need for spending money on a room,” Lily announced. “Grace can stay in Jake’s old room where we can all keep an eye on her.”

  “Absolutely,” Emma agreed. “And one of us can sit with you through the night and check on you throughout the day and—”

  “Sounds like we’ve got a plan,” Cody said. He’d followed Nick and remained standing in the doorway, observing the scene. He turned his attention to Lily. “Why don’t you and Emma head on over to the hotel and get things squared with Aidan and Miss Kaufmann?”

  “Yes,” Emma agreed. “Come on, Lily.”

  Lily bent and kissed Grace lightly on the forehead. “It’s all going to work out,” she whispered.

  “I’ll come with you,” Cody said as they left.

  The three of them crossed the plaza in silence, the weight of Grace and Nick’s situation making words unnecessary. When they entered the lobby, Cody suggested Emma and Lily go talk to the supervisor while he explained the situation to Aidan.

  “Emma, you talk to Miss K,” Lily said. “I’ll get started setting up Jake’s old room for Grace.”

  “She’ll be in her office,” Emma said as she hurried through the dining room.


  Lily started for the kitchen, but Cody caught hold of her hand. “Lily? Doc’s going to do everything he can.”

  “I know.” She heard the tremor in her voice and realized she was thinking Doc’s best might not be enough. She looked up at Cody, seeking reassurance.

  “And if the worst happens, well, Grace has Emma and you to help her through it. I’d say that’s pretty special.”

  “And you,” she whispered. “What would we have done today without you, Cody?”

  He swallowed as he ducked his head. “Glad I could—”

  Before she realized what she was doing, Lily stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

  “Miss Travis!” Aidan Campbell glared at her from his position behind the front desk.

  “Go on,” Cody said softly. “I’ll handle this.” He strode toward the desk. “There’s been some trouble, Mr. Campbell.”

  As she hurried on to the kitchen, Lily saw Aidan’s expression of shock and disapproval shift instantly to one of alarm as he stepped away from the desk and approached Cody. The last she saw of them, the two men were walking to the reading room, heads bent close together.

  She had just finished wiping down all the surfaces in the small room and storing the last of Jake’s toiletries and uniforms in the narrow corner wardrobe when she heard male voices coming through the kitchen.

  “This way,” Aidan instructed as two men wrestled a bed frame past the stove and food preparation counters. Behind them, Cody carried a mattress, and behind him, Tommy balanced a stack of fresh linens and towels, topped by a bar of soap.

  Aidan directed the exchange of Jake’s cot for a bed Lily realized had been taken from a hotel guest room. “This will be far more comfortable,” he said.

  “Emma and Miss Kaufmann went back to Doc’s to help with moving Grace over here,” Cody explained after dropping the mattress in place.

  As Lily took the linens from Tommy, she saw Aidan pay the two men he’d apparently recruited from off the street for their help, and they left. She hung the towel on the washstand and made the bed, aware that while Tommy had gone back to his post, Aidan and Cody lingered. Or rather Cody lingered, scanning the room as if looking for something out of place—something that might require his help. Aidan’s stance, arms firmly crossed and his eyes on Cody, told her that he had no intention of allowing Cody to be alone with her.

  “I’ve got everything under control here,” she said as she snapped a sheet open, filling the room with the fragrance of soap and sunshine in the process. “Why don’t you gentlemen see if Nick and Doc need any help bringing Grace over?”

  Cody glanced at Aidan, who unfolded his arms and indicated Cody should precede him to the kitchen exit. “Let me know if you think of anything else Grace might want,” he said.

  “Flowers,” she called. “Something to brighten this dreary space.” Once they’d left, she continued tucking in the sheet. Maybe things would be all right after all. Grace was a lucky woman to have so many people who cared so deeply for her welfare and happiness. Lily envied her.

  Chapter 9

  Once Grace was settled and Nick had transferred their mattress and other belongings to his buckboard, Cody returned the rented wagon to the livery and reluctantly went back to his office. Grace needed rest more than anything else, and she had Nick, Emma, and Lily to make sure she got it. Other than hang around Lily—which was what he wanted to do—there was nothing he could offer.

  He read through some reports from the territorial headquarters—another failed attempt to get Congress to approve statehood. Cody understood the issue. Congress was run by white men from states along the eastern seaboard, men who knew next to nothing about the West. In veiled language that still blatantly revealed their prejudice, they rejected bill after bill put forth by the territories in their bid for full statehood.

  The very fact that the territory was called New Mexico scared them off. They imagined hordes of poor, uneducated, dark-skinned people who spoke Spanish better than they did English. And right alongside them were the native nations, tribes the federal government had finally subdued and was not about to give the right to vote. Cody hoped one day to be a part of changing their minds. The current territorial delegate to Congress from New Mexico was retiring, and Cody had given a lot of thought to seeking the position. Of course, that was before he’d gotten caught up in the chaos that was life around Lily Travis.

  He pushed away from his desk, stood, stretched, and decided to make his rounds. He started by stopping in at the saloon.

  “Quiet day,” he commented when Sally joined him at the bar.

  She shrugged. “Sunday. I never understood how some men can pretend to be so ‘holier than thou’ one day a week and spend the other six sinning like the devil himself.”

  The bartender set a mug of coffee in front of Cody. “Nature of the beast, Sally.” Cody blew on the coffee. “Have you seen any more of that Johnson fellow?”

  “He was in here last night, holed up back there in the corner with two others. I didn’t get a good look at them, but they were rough-looking characters. Didn’t seem to be his type, but he was clearly the one in charge of whatever was going on.”

  Cody drank the coffee and set the empty mug on the bar. “Do me a favor. If you see them again, send word.”

  “You expecting trouble?”

  Cody grinned as he laid a coin next to the mug. “Always, Sally. That’s my job.” He tipped his hat to her and left.

  Outside, he stood for a minute surveying the deserted streets of the town. The hotel was all lit up, but other than the two saloons, it was the only place that showed any sign of life. He walked slowly down the street, testing shop doors as he went to be sure they were secure. He wondered if Lily was the one sitting with Grace tonight. More likely, Nick had stayed the night and would head for the ranch at first light. He walked around to the back of the hotel and looked up to the window on the third floor he knew was the room Lily shared with Emma. The light was out.

  “Sleep well,” he whispered, then shook his head at such romantic foolishness. He was acting like a lovestruck kid. And besides, he still didn’t have any answers about Lily’s supposed marriage. “Tomorrow,” he muttered. “First thing.”

  * * *

  He was standing outside the post and telegraph office when Ellie Swift showed up.

  “You’re getting an early start,” she commented.

  “Realized I never checked the mail Friday. Anything come through?”

  Ellie set down her belongings and shuffled through a stack of mail. She held out a letter. “This what you’re looking for?”

  The return address was the courthouse in Kansas City. “Could be,” he replied as he slid his thumb under the flap and pulled out the single page. Some legal gibberish before coming to the point:

  No records of marriage for the time period requested found in Kansas City or the surrounding region for anyone by the name of Victor Johnson.

  Of course, there was always the possibility Johnson could have used a fake name, but Cody doubted that. Victor Johnson was an arrogant son of a gun, and in Cody’s experience, such men always believed they were beyond the need for such ploys.

  “She’s not married,” Cody muttered, rereading the letter to be sure he’d gotten it right. He fought a grin. He pushed down the urge to let out a whoop of pure joy.

  “What’s that you say?” Ellie asked, her back to him as she got things set for a day of business. “Speak up, Sheriff Daniels.”

  He hadn’t realized he’d spoken aloud. “It’s nothing. Just a friend who asked me to do some checking.”

  Ellie held up her hands to stop his babbling. “In other words, none of my business.”

  “Thanks, Ellie.” Cody folded the letter and left. He wasted no time heading to the hotel. Victor Johnson had some explaining to do.

  “He checked out last night,” Aidan said w
hen Cody stopped at the front desk, prepared to confront Victor once and for all.

  Cody frowned. “Kind of sudden, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Between the two of us, I’m just glad he’s decided to move on.”

  “You do know he left Santa Fe right before La Casita was hit?”

  Aidan grinned. “Not a problem. I made sure he overheard me telling Miss Kaufmann that beginning immediately, the payroll would be held at the bank and employees were to collect their wages there. My guess is he decided Juniper and the Palace were not worth the trouble and he’s moved on to some other town.”

  “Shouldn’t let down your guard, Aidan.”

  “No, but it is a bit of a relief.” He pasted on his welcome-to-the-Palace smile as he looked past Cody. Realizing there were hotel guests in need of Aidan’s attention, Cody stepped aside to give them access. He glanced toward the lunch counter, where Nancy was back at her post. There was no sign of Lily.

  Ducking into the reading room, he took a sheet of hotel stationery and scrawled a quick note before placing it in an envelope and sealing it. On his way out, he handed it to Tommy with a nickel tip. “See that Lily Travis gets this,” he said. “Soon as possible.”

  * * *

  When Grace insisted Nick go home, Lily and Emma had assured him his wife and baby would be in their competent care. Once Nick left, Lily settled in for the first shift, but she’d slept fitfully. The folding cot Miss Kaufmann had added to Jake’s room was not the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept on. Of course, it also wasn’t the most uncomfortable, she reminded herself, thinking of the room she’d rented at the boardinghouse back in Kansas City before joining the Harvey Company.

  Emma had relieved her at four, and Lily made her way up the back stairs and fell onto her bed fully clothed, wanting nothing more than a couple of hours of solid sleep. The whistle announcing the arrival of the morning train woke her. This load of passengers would take their meal at the counter, but just before noon, there would be another train, and then two more after that, and each time, the dining room would be full. Lily stretched and yawned, blinking in the bright sunlight streaming through the window.