Another Chance (30 page)

Shane's pointed gaze fell over them all.  "Good afternoon, gentlemen."

"We haven't done anything, Shane."

He raised a brow.  "Did I say you did, Justin?"

"Then why are you treating us like we did?" he answered.

"I can't even go to the outhouse without worrying about you watching," Robert complained.

"Shoot you've been to my house so often of late why don't you just bring yourself a bedroll and stay next time?" Bill grumbled.

Shane grinned.  "Thanks for the invitation, might just take you up on that."

"Shit," Bill groaned.  "And won't that just make the missus' mood even brighter."

"What do you want?" Harvey asked.

The sheriff faced Harvey, but the damn fool didn't have the sense not to aggravate the sheriff.  Harvey crossed his arms, sneered.  "You plannin' on playin' my nursemaid too now that I'm back?"

Shane took a step toward Harvey.  "I'll do whatever it takes to make this nonsense against Miss Matthews stop."

"My hands are clean," he said, raising them.  "Seems to me Miss Matthews is just the victim of a series of unfortunate accidents."

"Cut feedbags, a butchered dress and a snapped rabbit's neck aren't accidents."

Steven's stomach rolled when Harvey laughed.

"Mishaps, then," Harvey sneered.

Shane and Harvey had themselves a staring match for a few charged moments before Shane shifted his attention to the rest of them.  Steven wanted to punch the son of a bitch but he wasn't that stupid.  He'd kept his nose clean, Shane had nothing on him.  All he could hope was that soon he'd tire of playing nursemaid and leave them the hell alone.

"Unless you want to get real friendly with my jail cell," Shane added with a hard look at Steven, "you'd best steer clear of Miss Matthews, her house and anything that's hers."

"You plannin' on arrestin' your friend Wade, then?  'Cause he seems to have gotten real close to what's hers."

"Harvey, you dumb son-of-a-bitch," Steven growled.

Shane's hand settled on his six-shooter.  He went toe-to-toe with Harvey.  "Ask Steven how he enjoyed my cell."

Steven held his breath, but though Harvey's eyes glittered, for once he kept his big mouth shut.

At the door, Shane gave them a last warning.  "Judges aren't too friendly toward men who abuse women.  You might want to keep that in mind."

The mill remained quiet as they watched Shane cross the dusty street.  The moment Shane entered his jailhouse, Steven rounded on Harvey.

"What the hell were you thinking?  I don't need Shane riding my ass every time I turn around!"

"Well, we can't exactly discuss anything at Silver's.  This seemed the best place."

Steven snarled.  "Really?  And you don't think coming to my house after work would be better?  Or maybe not all coming in here at once like a damn herd."

Harvey snarled right back.  The venom in his gaze shocked Steven.

"You think all of us skulking in the dark would look any less suspicious?" he scoffed.

"Fine," Steven conceded.  "You have a point.  Now can you get to the reason you're here?"

"Why is she still here?  I thought we agreed while I was gone to Bozeman that you'd work at getting her out of here."

"It's not as though we haven't tried," Robert explained.  "Steven dumped her feed.  I know I scared her good when I shredded her dress."

"And I killed her rabbit," Bill said.

Harvey rolled his eyes.  "And you think those petty little games are enough?"

Justin stepped closer.  "Well, it's all I'm willing to do.  I told you from the beginning I wasn't hurting her."

"And I'm not spending any more time in jail," Steven added.  Not to mention every time Shane came calling, his wife nagged him even harder.  Shit, he thought as her squeals went through his head, he'd do just about anything to make her shut up.

"What are you sayin'?  That you're all through?"

Justin shrugged.  "I've got more work than I can handle and a wife and daughter at home.  You went to Bozeman, put out the advertisements.  Let's just see what happens."

Harvey went red.  His thick hands clenched at his sides. "Is that how you all feel?"

"We don't like her any more than you do," Bill said.  "But Shane's breathing down our necks and we have businesses to run.  We can't afford to lose them because of this and if we end up in jail, that's exactly what'll happen."

Harvey's nostrils flared like a raging bull.  "She hasn't won."

"Won what?  Nobody's seeking her help, that hasn't changed," Steven said.

"For now, but what if we don't get another vet, then what?"

Nobody answered him.  And the feed mill seemed to shrink in size as Harvey's hot, rapid breaths filled the room.  Steven didn't like Jillian.  Hell, he'd hoped she'd be packed up and gone by now but she wasn't and his life was enough of a mess because of her already.  He wanted her gone, no question, but he had to weigh the costs of taking this any further.

"Goddamn bunch of worthless cowards you turned out to be."  Harvey spat on Steven's floor, then marched for the door.

"What are you going to do now?" Steven asked.

Harvey stopped, but he kept his back to them.  "Whatever I have to do," he answered.

He flung the door open and though it was warm outside, it was an icy breeze that Harvey left in his wake.

***

Shane had made fresh coffee and he cradled a cup of it while he braced against his window and watched the feed mill.  Trouble was brewing.  He smelled it as surely as the air changed right before a good thunderstorm.  He was pretty sure Steven's time cooling his heels in jail had served its purpose.  Besides, from their time in school Shane had always known Steven to be more of a blowhard than an actual threat.

He didn't know the others as well, but they'd never given him trouble before and as he'd shadowed them for the last few days, hadn't gotten a sense that they were especially mean.  Pranks, yes.  He knew they were responsible for what had happened so far, but he wasn't convinced they'd take it further, not now that he was involved.

Harvey Black, however, was another matter.  He seemed primed and ready for a fight.

He came out of the feed mill now, and even from across the street Shane heard the door slam behind him.  Shane watched as the man stomped into the livery.  Not long after he barreled out of there, hooves kicking up dust as he raced out of town.

"What's got you so upset?" he wondered.

He waited and watched and soon the others streamed out of the feed mill, each shuffling back to their place of work.  Taking his coffee, Shane went to his files.  Shane had made it a habit since taking over as sheriff to introduce himself to anyone new to the area.  He'd done it with Jillian, with several other families and he'd done so with Harvey.

Sorting through his papers, Shane found what he was looking for.  Upon meeting newcomers, he usually jotted down a few notes about them.  It not only helped him keep everyone straight it was a useful tool, in times like these, when he needed to go back and get some facts.

He pulled the notes he'd written on Harvey Black.  It didn't take long, as there wasn't more than a paragraph or two, to find what he was looking for.  Harvey had said he'd come from Boise.  Taking his hat he went to the livery, smiled at a frowning Bill.  Shane couldn't do what needed to be done here but luckily it wasn't far to the next town.  And, like Cedar Springs, it had a telegraph office.

Wade caught his mother around the waist and pulled her into the house.  "I need to borrow two dresses, quick."

"You what?"

"Don't look at me like that, I'll explain everything later.  Can you fetch them?  The brighter the better."

"Oh, but Letty's just riding in.  We were going to do the last few stitches on my wedding dress."

The wedding.  It was coming fast.  Not that he didn't want his ma and James happy, but it still gave him a tug around the heart to think of her marrying someone other than his pa.

He kissed her cheek.  "This won't take long I promise."  The rest of her words sank in and he smiled.  "Mrs. Daniels is here?"

"Yes, I saw her riding in and was going out to greet her when you grabbed me."

Laughter bubbled in his chest.  "Perfect!"

She eyed him curiously.  "What are you up to?"

"You'll see, but you need to hurry."  He nudged her toward the stairs.

"You're not going to ruin them are you?"

Since she wasn't moving fast enough, he skirted around her and took the steps two at a time.  Then grinned as he heard her run to catch up.

He chose the brightest colored dresses she had.

"Thanks, Ma.  Bring Mrs. Daniels and wait for me in front of the bunkhouses."

Leaving her sputtering, he all but leapt down the stairs.

He ran fast as he could to the creek, switched the clothes and raced to the bunkhouses.  His ma and Mrs. Daniels were just getting there.

"Oh dear," his ma said.  "I know that look."

Wade tossed clothes in first James' then Scott's bunkhouse, taking chairs out as he left.  Once they were all seated within a stone's throw of the bunkhouse doors Wade sagged with relief.  He'd done it.  He'd been tempted after falling face first into their practical joke to retaliate, but he'd forced himself to wait, to think of something even better rather than hastily seeking revenge.   Stretching out his legs he chuckled.  This was going to be worth the wait!

"What did you do?"  Mrs. Daniels asked, though she looked as excited as he felt.  His ma had shared with her the jokes they'd played over the years and it was the first she'd be privy to first hand.

"It's best I don't ruin the surprise," he chuckled.

It took longer than he figured.  No doubt they'd sat at the creek and considered their options before realizing they had none.  Wade sat up as the riders approached then burst out laughing as they kept taking turns trying to hide behind the other.

Clothed--as much as the too small garments allowed--in his ma's dresses, Scott and James had never looked so pretty.  The bodices, clearly too small to fit over their broad shoulders, hung around their waists.  The full skirts barely reached past their knees. Wade grinned as his ma and Letty didn't even bother hiding their amusement.  Scott, his face flaming red in embarrassment, tried to yank up the bodice to cover his chest.

"Pink is your color, James," Wade teased as his foreman pulled his horse to a stop and tried to dismount while keeping the material between his legs.

"You think you're pretty funny, don't you?" James glared at Wade.

"Hell, yeah.  Best part was you hollering from the creek when you realized I had no intention of taking a bath, only your clothes!"

His ma was laughing so hard tears rolled from her eyes. Letty jammed two fingers in her mouth and whistled.  Scott's face went scarlet.  James looked capable of murder.

"You're legs are too scrawny to be wearing such a short skirt," Wade teased.   "Next time find one that goes all the way to the ground."

The women burst out in a fit of giggles.  Wade knew his grin took up his whole face.

Clearly trying to ignore them all, Scott made his way toward his bunkhouse.  Unfortunately that meant passing Wade.  As he moved past, Wade smacked him on his backside.

"You look mighty fine there, ma'am."  Wade whistled before Scott escaped into his bunkhouse, slamming his door behind him.

James' gaze had yet to shift from Wade.  "I take it you brought my clothes back?"

Wade pointed to James' cabin.  "In there."

James cursed and vowed revenge.  He had an appreciative audience, however, as he disappeared wearing nothing more than a half-donned gown, a scowl, and worn cowboy boots.

He couldn't wait to tell Jillian about this, Wade thought.  To see her face when-

Wade's laughter died.  He wouldn't be telling her.  He wouldn't be sharing this moment, or any others with her.

The thought left him feeling empty and took away any of the joy he'd felt at getting his revenge on Scott and James.  Leaving the women giggling, Wade trudged back to work.

***

A fire couldn't be any hotter than her kitchen, Jillian decided as she pulled out the last of the golden-brown loaves from her oven.  Flour covered her apron, was sprinkled on her floor.  As she'd wiped the sweat off her forehead with her forearm more than once, she imagined there was flour on her face as well.

She'd begun baking bread in the morning while it was cool, but it hadn't taken long for her house to become unbearably hot.  Perspiration trailed down her back and moisture gathered between and underneath her breasts.

Still, she'd had to do something.  She had no work to occupy her time and with Zeke, Whiskers and Rascal gone, her chores didn't take much time at all.  And since Letty hadn't known of anyone with puppies to give away, she couldn't fill her time with a rambunctious dog either.

There was no way she could eat all the bread before it went to waste, but she'd talk to Letty, see if she could sell it in her mercantile.  Or she'd give it to Eileen.  Surely with three hungry men to feed, she could use extra bread.  Jillian looked down, thought of Wade eating what she'd made and felt a yearning so deep, so strong, it brought tears to her eyes.