Ana Leigh (13 page)

“We know we won; that’s all that matters. Besides, seen one circus—”

“You’ve seen them all,” she finished. “Let’s go, MacKenzie.” She reached out a hand to help him to his feet.

“All right, you merciless minx, we’ll go and collect our prize.”

“Congratulations, you’re the undisputed winner,” the Reverend Downing said when they gave him the Sears catalog. “Dear Miss McDermott and Mr. Billings failed to solve even the first clue.”

I bet!
Rose thought.
Kate just figured out a way of not having to go on with the contest. Wait until I see her!

“And I do hope you enjoy the circus,” the pastor said, handing Zach the tickets.

Zach tucked them into his shirt pocket. “Thank you, sir, I’m sure we will.”

“And the best news is that between the contest and the sale of Mrs. Downing’s spiced apples, we raised over a hundred dollars for charity from this booth alone.”

“That’s wonderful—and we certainly enjoyed the contest,” Rose said.

Grace Downing handed Zach a jar of the apples. “Here you are, Mr. MacKenzie. I hope you’ll enjoy them.”

“I know I will, ma’am.”

As they searched for a good spot to enjoy the aerial display, Zach said, “Rose, wait here. I want to put this jar in my saddlebags. I’ll be right back.”

She watched him stop and speak to an older man, and recognized him as the man they had met on the trail. They spoke for a few minutes and then, to her surprise, they walked away together.

After waiting several minutes, Rose spied Kate and the other girls across the fairground and decided to join them. Zach could find her easily if he tried. Seeking a shortcut, she cut through the darkened area near the circus tent where the wagons and animal cages were kept.

A resounding boom split the air. Luminous streamers of Roman candles soared heavenward and burst into a shimmering glow of incandescent brilliance against the dark sky. A chorus of oohs and ahs—and scattered wails from startled babies—rose from the throng of spectators.

And then Rose heard a low, feral growl.

Chapter 13

R
ose spun around, and by the luminous radiance of the fireworks she saw a tiger leap with fearsome agility from its cage to the bed of a wagon mere yards away from where she stood. Its eyes glittered with an amber glow.

Her scream of terror was swallowed by the roar of the crowd as another burst of color illuminated the sky. Another low growl emanated from the huge cat, a sound so savage the hair on her arms stood on end.

Rose stared transfixed at the huge cat, her heart hammering at her chest. Her instinct was to bolt, but her legs were trembling too much to move. It was a nightmare. One second she’d be in darkness, and the next the animal would appear in a misty glow swirling around its head. The odor of sulfur stung her nostrils, the explosive sound of the fireworks thundered in her ears, and flashes of the jungle beast poised to spring paralyzed her. She knew if she attempted to move, the tiger would spring.

Suddenly Zach’s voice cut through her frozen state. “Rose, don’t move. I’m right behind you, but I’m not sure my Colt will bring down a cat that size before it could reach you. I need a perfect shot, so I have to get a better angle for it.”

“I’m so scared, Zach,” she quavered

“I know, honey, but you’re doing fine. Just stay calm.”

Her head began to spin, and the cat became a blurred image. “I think I’m going to faint.”

“You’re not going to faint. Take a couple of deep breaths and think of that cat as Jess Tait with his pants down.”

“Stop it, Zach, or you’ll start me laughing.”

She heard the cock of his pistol and knew he was getting ready to take his shot.

Suddenly a man shouted, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Rose didn’t dare turn her head to see who it was. “Back, Sinbad! Back, boy.”

Two men appeared in her periphery and moved slowly toward the animal. The tiger snarled in protest and bared its fangs.

“Back, boy. Back, Sinbad.” The men passed Rose, carrying long poles, and the tiger’s amber gaze shifted to them.

When a firm pair of hands grasped her shoulders, her knees buckled, but Zach prevented her from collapsing. She slumped against him and he slipped an arm down to her waist, keeping his pistol trained on the tiger.

The cat gave another defiant snarl, then leaped back into its cage and stretched out in the corner. One of the men slammed the door shut.

“Who in hell left that cage unlocked?” the other man demanded.

“I swear I locked it up after the last show, boss,” the roustabout said. “Hey, look at this: the padlock’s broken. How do ya figure that happened?”

“You okay, Rosie?” Zach asked.

Rose nodded. “I will be, as soon as my knees stop shaking.”

“Take deep breaths. I’ll be right back—I want to take a closer look at that padlock.”

“You can be sure I’m not going anywhere near that cage.”

“Will you look at this lock?” the trainer said when Zach joined them. “The hinge is still attached to the wood; this padlock was broken open from the outside. Looks to me like somebody with a rotten sense of humor broke the lock, then took off.”

“Has the cat ever gotten loose and harmed anyone before?” Zach asked.

“Nope. I think those fireworks spooked him. Sinbad’s pretty docile; I’ve raised him from a cub. He’s gotten loose a time or two when someone left his cage unlocked, but he’s never harmed anyone.”

“Let’s not mention your suspicions to Miss Dubois. She’s had a big enough scare already.”

“Gotcha,” the man said, nodding. He walked over to where Rose was leaning against a building. “Sorry about the accident, miss. Thank goodness there was no harm done.” He pulled two tickets out of his pocket and handed them to her. “Here’s front-row tickets to the performance. It’s about to start, now that the fireworks have ended.”

Rose stared at the tickets, then at Zach, then back to the tickets. “I’ll take them,” Zach said. “Here come Kate and the other girls. Maybe they’d like to see the show.”

“Oh, Rose, weren’t those fireworks beautiful,” Kate said. Upon seeing Rose’s stricken face, she exclaimed, “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

Zach handed the four tickets to Kate. “Show’s about to start; hope you gals like the performance. I think Rose has seen all the circus she wants to for one night.”

She stood numbly as he ushered the confused women toward the circus tent.

Zach tried to cheer her up as they walked back to her boardinghouse, but Rose still felt too shaken. They stopped at the front door.

“This has been a fun day, Rosie. I’m sorry it ended on such a bad note.”

“Somehow, being with you always ends in trouble.” She shook her head. “I’ll probably have nightmares tonight.”

He grinned mischievously. “I’ll be glad to stay and make sure you have sweet dreams.”

“I’m not that naive, MacKenzie.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “Can’t blame me for trying. Good night, Rose.”

She opened the door, and then looked back. “Zach, thanks. It
was
a fun day.”

He smiled at her. “You’re great company, Rosie.”

And so are you, Zach. So are you.

She was still smiling when she climbed into bed. Today
had
been fun, except for the fortune-teller and that jungle cat. She felt like a cat herself—using up her nine lives. With the many narrow escapes she’d had in the short time she’d been in Brimstone, those lives were slipping by swiftly.

From the time Zach had joined her that evening, she hadn’t given any thought to the gypsy’s words. She didn’t know if the warning referred to her death or someone else’s.
Heck, Rose, you don’t even know if you can believe anything she said. Kate was right: life and death occur in everyone’s life.

And what about Zach? She could no longer tell herself that when the time came, she would forget him. Not when the sight of him made her heart skip a beat. She had always scoffed at that silly expression, but it was true. Every time she saw him, for an instant she’d hold her breath. And when he kissed her, it was so easy to forget everything but the excitement of his kiss.

She turned off the lamp, rolled over, and closed her eyes.
Face it, Rose: Zach MacKenzie is a bigger threat to you than that jungle cat could ever be.

From the shadows outside Rose’s window, Zach saw her bedroom light extinguished. He didn’t believe in coincidence; whoever had broken the padlock on that cage had intended for Rose to be harmed. It had to have been Jess Tait. The drunken madman was crazy enough to endanger other women and children to satisfy his desire for revenge. He had to be stopped.

So Zach decided to stay around for a while, in case Tait had any other crazy ideas.

Early the next morning, Rose was wakened by Mrs. White rapping on her door.

“You better get to the drawing room, Rose,” she said. “Someone shot at Andrea and Melanie on their way to the Wilson farm this morning.”

“Oh, good Lord! Are they hurt?”

“No, but they’re pretty well shaken up. I’ve got a pot of tea brewing.”

Snatching her robe from the bed, Rose entered the drawing room to find Melanie sobbing and a pale and shaken Andrea. When Rose put her arms around the sobbing young girl, Melanie buried her head against Rose’s shoulder.

“There, there, honey. You’re safe now.”

“For how long?” Melanie cried out between sobs.

“What happened, Andrea?” Rose continued to pat Melanie in an effort to soothe her.

“I was driving and we were on our way to the farm when suddenly someone began shooting at us. I tried my best to keep control of the buggy.” It was easy to see the poor girl was on the verge of breaking down. Rose passed Melanie over to Kate, who’d entered with Aubrey, and went over to Andrea and held her hands.

“Were either of you hurt?”

“Just scared.”

“Why are we even here in this town?” Melanie cried out, tears streaking her cheeks. “This is a horrible place, and most people don’t even want us here.”

“She’s right, Rose,” Aubrey said. “I didn’t become a Harvey Girl to live in a place where there’s no law. You can count the respectable people in this town on one hand.”

“All the town needs is an honest sheriff and deputy,” Kate said. “That would drive the lawless element out of Brimstone.”

“Well, if there’s no change by the time my six months’ service is completed, I’m leaving,” Aubrey declared.

“So am I,” Melanie said. “Mr. Harvey has a responsibility to station us in a town where it’s safe to walk the streets.”

Mrs. White came in carrying a tea tray. “I’ve sent for the sheriff.”

“What good will he do?” Aubrey grumbled. “He probably wants us out of here as much as anyone.”

“Maybe we’d be smart to hire our own protection,” Kate suggested.

“Why should we have to?” Aubrey questioned. “I think it’s Mr. Harvey’s responsibility to do that.”

Andrea stood up and walked to the door. “I think he should just forget Brimstone and move on to a different town. If the decent people here had any sense, they’d all move out, too.”

Melanie and Aubrey got up to leave with Andrea. “We’re sorry, Rose,” Aubrey said, “but we’ve talked about this before. Another incident, and the three of us are leaving.”

“Is that how you feel too, Kate?” Rose asked, when the three girls left to return to their rooms.

“I haven’t made up my mind. But you must admit it’s time to leave when it goes beyond harassment and they start shooting at you.” She left on that note.

“Or time to start shooting back,” Rose murmured.

By the time the girls dressed and were ready to leave for work, the sheriff still had not arrived on the scene.

There were no smiles on the girls’ faces as they served the morning meal; all were preoccupied with the danger.

Rose had to talk to Zach. There was no doubt in her mind that Jess Tait was the culprit behind the shooting, but she knew Zach would help her despite his association with the gang. If she had to, she’d even ride out to the Lazy R to see him. It would be difficult to manage, but somehow she’d figure out something.

She’d intended to go out to the ranch in the afternoon, but Mr. Billings detained her to discuss the threat of the girls leaving Brimstone. She couldn’t offer him any solution at the moment, and by the time they finished talking, it was too late to consider driving out to the ranch.

The tension eased slightly among the girls by the time they’d finished serving dinner; however, they all departed the restaurant together.

When they stepped outside, Rose saw Zach. She couldn’t believe the good fortune. Excusing herself, she hurried over to him.

“Zach, I need a favor.”

“What is it?”

“Will you teach me how to shoot a gun? This morning on the way to the Wilson farm, someone shot at Andrea and Melanie.”

He looked shocked. “Were they hurt?”

“Just shaken up. The horses bolted, but Andrea managed to keep the buggy from tipping over.”

“Did they see who did it?”

She shook her head. “No. Apparently it happened too quickly. She managed to turn the buggy and come back to town. I doubt they even had a chance to look behind them.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “And what do you expect to do with a gun?”

“Shoot back.”

“Uh-huh. That’s a good way to get yourself killed.”

“You shot back when it happened to us,” she argued.

“Rose, that’s a ridiculous comparison.”

“What are we supposed to do, just let whoever this is pick us off like fish in a barrel? He wants us out of town, and he’ll get what he wants if we let him get away with it. You’re the only one I can turn to. I thought you were my friend, Zach.”

“I am your friend, Rose—so I’ll do it. But it’s against my better judgment.”

Uh-oh! He had his arms folded across his chest and had called her Rose twice in a row.

She pushed her luck. “Could we do it now?” He looked reluctant, but said, “I’ll get you a mount, and we’ll ride out where we’ll have more privacy.”

“Thank you, Zach. But . . . will you make that a buggy? My body’s just stopped aching from the riding lesson.”

“All right. I’ll be right back.”

She hoped her smile looked as grateful as she felt. “I’ll wait for you at my boardinghouse.” He nodded and left her. Rose ran down to the house and quickly changed her clothes. She was waiting for him when he came back with a buggy.

They rode a safe distance from town, then Zach reined up. “It’ll soon be dark, so this lesson will have to be brief.” He pulled out his pistol. “This is a Colt .45,” he said, and spun the chamber. “As you can see, it holds six cartridges. You cock the hammer and the chamber will revolve as you squeeze the trigger.”

“Hammer?” she asked.

“This metal head that looks like the head of a hammer.” When she nodded, he emptied the shells out of the gun and handed it to her. “The first thing to remember is that a gun is a dangerous tool, Rose, so treat it like one. Get the feel of it. Test its weight in your hand.”