Courting in Custer

by Kari Trumbo

  His parents would be there in two days, and the wife they were supposed to meet, had already roamed to someone else. He’d asked her if she’d been courting anyone before he’d given her the notice of their marriage. She still had that notice tucked in her Bible, he’d seen it there. It had been Daisy, not him, who gave the first kiss.

  Rare anger exploded within him. What could Payton offer that he couldn’t? What could she find with him that she couldn’t have with Elias? He’d give her the world if he could.

  Except Payton wasn’t a monster. He could give her more than a marriage of convenience. Hadn’t she just given up on Elias the night before, leaving him to sleep alone? Telling him he was right, and she shouldn’t have pressed? He should’ve known the problem was deeper than Alma. Daisy’s sisters alone could’ve proven Alma’s words false.

  He’d been such a fool to believe her morning regrets and desires. She’d been telling him that it was over. He slammed his fist into the plaster wall, sending pain up his arm, but he didn’t care. It was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. Payton had taken the only thing that had ever mattered.

  The walk back to his car seemed to take years instead of a few minutes. His neck tingled, prickling to awareness. He was sure everyone stared at him. Judging him, for losing his bride so quickly. He should’ve known better.

  Chapter 20

  The small shed had gone from stifling to cold as the evening wind picked up, blasting down the hills. The old shed didn’t even try to keep the drafts out and Daisy crouched in the corner, her coat wrapped tightly around her, huddled in as tight a ball as she could manage.

  At least Payton hadn’t been back to torment her. If he kept his hands off of her, someone might figure out where she was. Alma would know if she’d actually written the note. If Alma told Elias, he could find her. When she didn’t show up at home, he would come to look for her. It had to be past the hour she would usually arrive home. But, even if he thought to look at Mr. Payton’s, he wouldn’t think to look out in his sheds. It would make no sense for her to be in one.

  The small building was empty except for a few tools, and the floor was little more than some boards laid on the dirt. She would be filthy, but she’d take the filth if there was a way to break free. The shed had no windows, only the door with the barn latch on it that she couldn’t turn from the inside.

  “Daisy?” Alma’s voice whispered from outside.

  “Alma? Is that you? Get me out!” Daisy sprang to her feet and rushed to the door, banging on it so Alma would know which shed she was in.

  “Daisy, hush now. I can’t let you out. Payton promised that when the judge lets Saunders go, then Mr. Payton will set Martin free. I told Elias you were here, and Saunders already told your husband the demands. Get Saunders out.”

  That made no sense. Saunders was supposed to be the one who threatened Payton. “Why does Payton want Saunders free, he threatened to destroy Payton’s car?”

  “You just never mind. All you need to do is sit tight. I did my end, I got you here. Now your husband needs to do his part and then the captives can go free.”

  “Alma! Alma, come back!” She heard nothing over the wind beyond her prison door. If Alma was still out there, she wasn’t answering. At least Elias knew where she was. He would come and free her. She wouldn’t be trapped long if her big, strong husband, who protected her, knew she was there. Daisy backed into her corner and tried not to shake. The dark had never bothered her, but the shed was so small, shadowy, and cold.

  Her body trembled, and she closed her eyes. “Elias, where are you?”

  The latch opened, and the door swung out as Alma came flying in. “That’ll teach you not to cross me. Martin will pay for your nosing around.”

  Alma rushed for the door, but it slammed shut. “No supper for either of you.” Mr. Payton’s loud laughter grew fainter as he walked away.

  Daisy stayed in her corner. Alma had tricked her. It was her fault she was even there instead of at home with her husband, talking by a warm fire, with Patches in her lap.

  “I suppose you’re angry with me.” Alma stood by the door but there was no way she could tell where Daisy was.

  “Saunders would eventually get out, so your husband would be freed. You didn’t have to get me involved, you could’ve talked to the sheriff. If you knew Payton had your husband, why didn’t you tell Sheriff Spanner?”

  Alma followed her voice and slid down the wall next to her. “He’s had Martin for so many days, Daisy. I’m worried about him. Martin found out that Saunders and Payton were mining on someone else’s land. They thought it was all dried up, but Saunders found silver and made the mistake of bragging to Payton about it. Martin didn’t think it was right. He threatened Payton, told him he’d tell the owners. Saunders didn’t take too kindly to Payton threatening his cousin, so he and Martin did something to Payton’s auto. I don’t know what. I know nothing about those things.”

  Daisy shook her head and tried to follow along. “So, Saunders is in jail for threatening to do something he already did?”

  “Yes. Payton was angry and had him arrested. It also kept Saunders away from the spring where the silver is, so Payton can mine as much as he wants without sharing. Payton has Martin somewhere. Either in one of these sheds or in his house. I hope he’s fed Martin … or there won’t be much left of him after so long.” She sniffled. “That’s why I got you involved. Payton wants Saunders out now, that’s why he told the police it was just a threat. I keep hoping they’ll just drop the charges and set him free.”

  If Payton was mining all he could, Saunders would be better left in jail. “So, why does he want Saunders free?”

  “Payton hasn’t found anything for days. He wants Saunders to divine with his hickory rod and see if he can find any more.”

  Daisy rolled her eyes; thankful Alma couldn’t see in the dark. There were some who believed in divining rods, but she wasn’t one of them. “Those creeks have been considered clean for almost thirty years. What little they found is probably all there is.”

  “All this over a few flakes of silver.” Alma’s cold hand touched hers. “I’m so sorry, Daisy. But I did try to make Mr. Laury powerful mad so he would come right out here. I hope he hurries.”

  “I hope he brings the sheriff. Mr. Payton needs to go to jail for a very long time.”

  Alma huddled closer. “Let’s just hope we don’t have to stay here all night. It’s cold, feels like rain coming on.”

  Daisy closed her eyes and prayed Elias would come before the rain.

  After two days, Elias almost felt sorry for Patches. She moped around the house, howling mournfully. He wanted to howl, too. His parents would be driving in some time that day and Daisy still hadn’t come back. She didn’t have her trunk, her cat, not even her hair brush. Was Mr. Payton so wealthy that he could replace everything? Yet, it made no sense, Daisy wouldn’t leave her cat behind. Even if she were afraid to face him, she still would, just to get her cat.

  Elias stared at his hat for a moment, hanging on the wall, then slapped it on his head. He’d avoided the courthouse, to give Daisy her space. But enough was enough. She needed to come get her things and he could speak to the judge about drawing up an annulment. He started his car and raced it down the street. The car protested the treatment and sputtered but sprang forward as he pressed the gas pedal.

  Though he wasn’t prone to fast or dangerous driving, nothing mattered anymore. He’d worked to earn his degree for Daisy, to provide a home and good life for her, he’d come all the way from Boston for Daisy, even his car had been purchased so that she would be comfortable. He’d wanted her to have what not every woman did, a man who owned a car. In the end, it hadn’t mattered. Of all the things he’d worked for, she wanted the one thing Payton could give her instead. The anger clawed at him as he swerved into a spot in front of the courthouse.

  His long strides ate up the distance as he made his way to her desk. He stopped, taken aback in front of her small
work area. Every last thing was just where he’d put it when he’d tidied it two days before. He opened her steno case and the same roll he’d tucked inside was still there, just as he’d left it.

  “Mr. Laury.” Judge Cornwall’s booming voice startled him. He stood in his doorway across the hall from her office. “My court reporter hasn’t been in to work. I’ve had to call the nearest newspaper and have them send me a typist. It’s not the same, but it’s the best I could do on short notice. Even my backup, Mrs. Potters, isn’t here. Care to tell me where your wife is, and why I shouldn’t fire her?”

  She hadn’t come to work, hadn’t come home for her cat, and the last one to have seen her was now also missing, and he’d been at home, angry with her. His heart clenched hard in his chest. “Sir, I think she’s gone missing.”

  “You … think? Mr. Laury, is she, or is she not?”

  All his anger balled into a tight knot in his stomach. He’d harbored all sorts of angry thoughts toward his wife, thoughts Alma had fostered with her insinuations, but was it possible she’d only been kindling frustrations … or outright lies?

  “I haven’t seen her since the noon meal, three days past.”

  The judge stared at him, his crystalline old eyes as hard as granite. “Your wife has been missing for two and a half days and you didn’t feel the need to tell anyone?”

  He was a horrible husband. He didn’t deserve her. The judge was right to censure him. “I was told that she’d taken up with Mr. Payton. When she didn’t come to get her things, I came to confront her. That’s when I saw that her desk hadn’t changed since I was here last.”

  “So, if she’s missing, we need to find her. I’ll get Sheriff Spanner on the horn and get him up here.”

  The judge turned to head to his office and Elias followed. “I may have also have been the last person to see Alma Potters. She was here when I came to pick up Daisy two days ago. She’s the one who told me Daisy was with Mr. Payton.”

  “I’m getting mighty tired of this Payton fellow. I think it’s about time Sheriff Spanner goes out there and finds out what he knows.

  “Alma’s husband is missing too, and since Martin and Saunders are the closest cousins I’ve ever seen, we should probably ask Payton about Martin Potters, too.”

  Judge Cornwall scratched his chin. “How can so many people be missing? Custer isn’t that big.”

  It was big enough. The judge went over to the wall and dialed the operator, asking to be connected with Sheriff Spanner, once the connection was made, the talk was short. The sheriff was on his way.

  Elias’s knee bounced as he sat in the leather chair, waiting for the sheriff. Daisy was somewhere out there and, now that he knew she was missing, he couldn’t take action fast enough.

  “You antsy?” The judge leaned back in his seat. “Justice always takes time.”

  “What if Daisy doesn’t have time? I wasted two days.” He gripped his fingers, cracking his knuckles to relieve the pressure.

  The sheriff strode in and was soon up to date on all the missing people.

  “I’ll go out and check at the Payton place. He hasn’t been home much lately, but I’ll drive through.”

  The sheriff’s uncaring attitude did little to loosen the tension knotting Elias’s muscles. “Drive through? What do you hope to learn? Do you think they are tied in his front yard, waiting for you to just pick them up?”

  “You know the law, Laury. I can’t nose around on someone’s property without a warrant.”

  Judge Cornwall laughed. “Well, it isn’t like you’re sitting in a room with a judge who just heard all the evidence.” He opened a lower desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. “This warrant is good for today only. You get in, find those missing people, and get out. If they are there, that will be enough to arrest him on charges of kidnapping. We can find out why later.”

  Elias stood and shoved his hat back on his head. “I’m coming with you.”

  Sheriff Spanner laughed. “You think you’re a deputy now? You’ve got no business being there.”

  “My wife is missing. I’m coming.”

  They stood toe to toe for a minute, neither backing down, though Elias had him in height by over four inches.

  “Fine. But you stay out of the house. You can roam around the grounds. That’s it.”

  He sighed but held his tongue. It wasn’t what he wanted, but at least if they found Daisy, he’d be there to tell her he was sorry.

  Chapter 21

  The hunger had abated after the first whole day, but the thirst never did. Daisy leaned against the wall, forcing her mouth to stay closed so she wouldn’t lose any precious moisture. She’d prayed that it wouldn’t rain, and it hadn’t. Now, she wished she’d kept the thought to herself.

  Elias hadn’t come. She’d been so sure he would. So sure that he cared. He knew where she was, so why hadn’t he? She’d tried asking Alma, but she was in worse shape than Daisy. She hadn’t said a word in a whole day. Light peeked in through the cracks of the shed, but there was no hope of reaching out, beyond the slivers of light. Payton had forgotten them, hadn’t come back since shoving Alma in their prison.

  Sleep crept up on her, but she fought to stay awake. If she let sleep take her, she feared she may not wake up again. Her head throbbed fit to churn her stomach and if she’d had anything in it, it wouldn’t be for long. Her muscles spasmed, and even shifting position sent pain through her. Alma slid one leg and groaned next to her.

  “Water…” Alma’s parched throat scratched out the word.

  “Pray for rain.” Daisy wouldn’t say more, just speaking hurt, but nothing could compare to the ache in her heart. How could the man she loved, the man who’d crossed a continent to keep her from being alone, leave her there to die? But even more pressing, how had she never told him how she really felt? She’d pushed her affection on him, trying to show him her feelings without saying a word, but she’d never uttered them. And now she might not get the chance.

  She watched the slivers of light from the cracks in the wall slowly creep across the floor. Another day was coming to a close. How many more would she see?

  A loud bang and rumble made her jump and peer though the nearest knothole. It took four blinks to get enough moisture to her eyes so she could focus on the smoking car. Mr. Payton was leaving, again. This time, a slumped figure sat next to him on the seat.

  Daisy pushed against Alma’s hip to rouse her, but her companion didn’t budge from her spot on the floor. She didn’t know Martin Potters well enough to know if it was him with Payton or someone else.

  “Alma, get up. It might be Martin.” She shoved against Alma again, but there was no response. Alma’s breathing was infrequent and shallow. Alma hadn’t been taking care of herself for days prior to being locked in the shed, since she’d been so worried about Martin. She wouldn’t last another two days. Part of her prayed she wouldn’t, either.

  Her eyelids drooped and then closed. She was back under the tree, sitting in the shade, reading one of her sister’s romance novels in the front of the Deadwood school. Elias was still inside. She’d glanced up every time she heard the squeaking door when someone came out, and he hadn’t yet. No one knew what he did alone with the teacher so long after class, but no one probably cared, besides her. He wasn’t popular because he was tall, gangly, and smart. He was destined for higher learning, not farming.

  He strode out of the school, his long legs were lean in well-tailored trousers, and he waited at the top of the steps. His gaze fixed on her for a moment and she tried to give him a welcoming smile before he broke the feeble contact. He took the whole schoolyard in with a sweeping glance, then descended the stairs, aimed right for her. She held her breath. Some days he visited her, others he didn’t. She prayed today would be one of those days.

  When he reached the ground, she tucked her feet tighter under her to make sure her skirts were straight. He stopped, just a few feet from her knees and she craned her neck to look up at him. In the su
n, his hair was sandy, with lighter streaks of gold, and the faintest hint of facial hair had just begun to shadow his young jaw.

  “Is this side of the tree taken?” He gestured to her right.

  Her throat couldn’t be trusted to form words, so she shook her head and moved over just a bit. He sat and leaned against the tree, a few inches from her shoulder, if she wasn’t so terribly frightened that he would leave, she’d lean over just a fraction of an inch and touch shoulders with him.

  “My parents got a letter back from Harvard. It’s all decided. That’s where I’ll go. I expect it to be a lot of work.”

  Daisy cleared her throat and prayed her voice wouldn’t croak. “I would expect training to be a lawyer would be a lot of work. No matter where you go.”

  “I wish I didn’t have to leave. I’d rather stay close to home.” He glanced over his tall shoulder at her, his warm brown eyes melting something deep within her. “I don’t know anyone there.”

  She didn’t want him to, but she suspected he wouldn’t be alone for long. He was too smart, too handsome, to stay alone. “I’m sure at Harvard there will be plenty of well-read people to keep you thinking.” She slid her dime novel away from him to lay it on the ground where he couldn’t see it. She’d never been embarrassed of them before, but with the knowledge of the education he would get, they felt silly.

  “I have just enough well-read people to talk to here in Deadwood.”

  If it had been anyone else, they may have smiled. But Elias never did. His eyes grew intense and he stood, leaving her alone until Beau could pick her up.

  The scene faded and a moment later, she was back under the tree, but a month had passed. Elias sat next to her and a few bumble bees set a calming hum a few feet away in the lilac bush. The hot sun of a baking spring day beat down on them. Elias touched his thumb to her palm and the tip of his finger to the dorsal side. He’d done it twice, and it was the closest he came to holding her hand. She’d agreed to marry him the week before, but only if he didn’t find a wife while he was gone at school.