Ballad Beauty (9 page)

CHAPTER 11

The acrid scent of smelling salts filled her nostrils. Jenny sat up quickly and pushed them away from her nose.

“You all right, ma’am?”

She stared up at Saint Nicholas, no sign of joviality on his face. Around her were three other men, all dressed in army blues. She struggled to stand.

“No, ma’am, you just sit a spell,” one young soldier told her. “We’ll find your husband for you, and things’ll be just fine.”

She opened her mouth to protest that she didn’t have a husband and thought better of it. She didn’t think it wise at this point to advertise that she was a single female traveling with a consumptive guide to the far reaches of Nevada.

She took a deep breath. “Could you please find Mr. Noah Webster, sir? He’s about six feet tall, with dark hair and the bluest of eyes.” She wanted to add that he was the best-looking man in the state of Texas, but she had already embarrassed herself enough by fainting. She didn’t need to add to her misery.

The young soldier said, “I’ll be back in a jiffy with your Mr. Webster, ma’am.” He tipped his cap to her and hurried off.

“This is my first trip out West,” she explained. “I guess I’m a little overwhelmed.”

The men all nodded as if they knew of the delicate nature of females.

She tried to keep her tone casual. “My, what an awful lot of criminals pictured up there.” She indicated the wanted posters covering the wall to her left.

“Yes, ma’am. You could say Texas is a real breeding ground for outlaws,” a red-faced soldier told her. “We got your horse thieves and cattle rustlers and bank robbers, to boot. Everybody tries to make the most of his opportunities in Texas. Of course,” he added apologetically, “some of those opportunities ain’t quite legal.”

She pointed to the center of the wall. “I noticed this Robin Hood of the West. I’ve never heard of him before.”

All three men’s eyes lit up. “You’re talking ‘bout Famous Sam, ma’am,” said the Saint Nicholas look-alike. “Everyone from here to California knows about Sam’s exploits.”

“Sam’s the most famous bank robber in the West,” said the oldest of the group. “Why, he’s stolen from banks and stagecoaches, from trains and from those on horseback. There’s not a man out West ain’t heard of Sam McShan.”

“And generous, too,” said the postmaster. “Gives away almost everything he takes. The widders and orphans and poor folk alike, they’ve all been recipients of Sam’s charitable spirit. I’d bet my boots he’s got the biggest heart in the whole West.”

Bitterness mushroomed inside her. A generous heart with everyone—except his own daughter. Why had he turned to a life of crime and then given away the money from his robberies? Why had he written her time and again and told her the time wasn’t right, and he didn’t have enough to support her?

She thought of all the letters she had written, begging to come and live with him. That hardly could have been possible if he lived out of his saddlebags, going from one robbery to the next with a price on his head. She ached at the rejection of the past decade. True, he put her in a place that educated her and turned her into what polite society would term a lady. Her physical needs had been met, but her emotional needs were more numerous than the stars. She strained against the emptiness that rang through her, fighting the tears that threatened to spill.

She decided he wasn’t worth crying over. She didn’t know what he was worth. So why had he sent for her now, after all this time? Was it guilt? Or had he really loved her and wanted to keep her ignorant of the man he’d become?

“Has he ever killed anyone in these robbery attempts?”

The postmaster shrugged. “Well, there have been a few people who’ve gotten in his way, but Sam’s not known for being a
murdering
thief.”

“A thief with honor,” she said hollowly.

All three men grinned. “You could say that, ma’am.”

She stood. Her action surprised the trio. The oldest grasped her elbow to help support her. She shook it off.

“I’m fine now, gentlemen. I thank you for your patience with me. I need to be off.” She straightened her skirt and took a few steps.

“But your letter. Aren’t you going to post it, ma’am?” asked the postmaster.

Jenny looked at him with hard eyes. “It doesn’t matter now.”

She stepped from the small building and stopped to get her bearings as the two men who’d ministered to her left, as well. The soldiers tipped their hats to her as they passed. She had a thought and decided to double back. She slipped in the door again. The postmaster wasn’t in sight.

She removed the poster of Sam from the display board and folded it in half. She tucked it into her reticule and eased back out the door. She wasn’t sure why she wanted it, but it seemed important.

Noah hurried along with the young soldier who’d located him. The man babbled something about his wife fainting in the post office. He could understand the innocent mistake and didn’t bother to correct it. All he knew was that something was wrong with Jenny.

They rounded the corner only to see Jenny herself coming their way. Noah knew immediately that something had happened in the short time they’d been apart. Her face was set in stone. As he got closer, he saw those green eyes glittered darkly with some hidden knowledge.

Then he knew. How could he have been so blind? She’d gone into a post office, for God’s sake. He would bet a penny to a pound that Sam’s picture had been splashed all over. After all, he was Famous Sam McShan, and he’d earned that moniker like no other outlaw in the West. He was practically a living legend in most folks’ eyes. Even a hero to some.

He tried to remember the last poster he’d seen of Sam. From what he recalled, it wasn’t good. There’d been a price on his head, and a big one at that. It must have shocked Jenny to her core to see her daddy larger than life amongst all those hardened criminals.

“Jenny? I—”

“Have you gotten everything you need, Mr. Webster? I’m anxious to be off.”

He stared at her in disbelief. The woman had received the biggest blow of her young life, and she acted as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Boy, she had grit. If he ever thought about taking a wife, Jenny McShanahan would be the one. She had beauty and brains and was tough as a magnolia made from steel. He decided to let her run the show for now. She’d tell him what she’d learned in her own time.

“That’s Noah, or have you forgotten?”

She gave him a cold smile. “Of course. Noah. Shall we move along?”

His mama hadn’t raised any fools. With that prim schoolmistress voice in place, warm butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. He’d best leave it alone. For now.

They took their leave and rode without conversation. Not for lack of effort on his part, but every time he tried to get her to talk, she shut him down. He knew she was angry, and yet she kept it bottled up tightly inside. If this was a small dose of her fury, he didn’t ever want to be on the receiving end of her full wrath. This kind always, but always, exploded like a volcano in the end.

He had them stop a little earlier than usual and explained it away by saying he felt like rabbit for dinner. She’d learned quickly during the last couple of days, and he left her going through the motions of making biscuits.

“Be sure to get the coffee on, Jenny. I’m going to need a strong cup when I get back.”

She looked at him, but he didn’t know if she’d heard him or not. Her eyes had a faraway look. It worried him.

He wasn’t gone fifteen minutes. Jenny wished it had been fifteen hours. Her heart ached more than she’d ever thought possible. It was a physical hurt that threatened to drag her down to the bowels of hell. She had never been more miserable in her life. She hadn’t cried. She didn’t want to. She’d learned years ago that a crying jag didn’t do a soul any good. It didn’t solve anything. All you ended up with were red, puffy eyes and a lumpy throat—and the problem didn’t go away. No, she refused to shed tears over Famous Sam McShan.

But how could he? How could he have kept her on a string all these years? He hadn’t been working toward any goal at all, other than acquiring money that didn’t belong to him. So many lies for so many years. And for what? Why had he even bothered to send for her now? Surely an outlaw like Sam McShan wouldn’t feel guilt.

Jenny swore that she would never trust a man again. If a girl couldn’t trust her own papa, whom could she trust? She was ashamed to be related to him. And what if this bad blood ran through her veins? She shuddered and forced the thought away.

What she’d learned about her beloved father caused her to miss her dead mother even more. Jenny had lost her parent at such a young age. The truth was, she remembered very little about Suzannah. She’d been her father’s girl from the start, and Sam dominated all her memories of childhood. Jenny only had a vague notion of her mother, wrapped in shadows. She could barely picture Suzannah anymore and when she did, it was how her mother was at the end, thin and sickly. Jenny prayed that Suzannah’s sweet nature would cancel out any evil that might run through her, due to her father’s wickedness.

Noah’s return bothered her. She knew she shouldn’t be angry with him, but he was a man, and the only person around for miles. He had charm as Sam did, that easy, affable way about him. He’d probably broken a few hearts in his time, and that made her all the madder at him. She stood, arms akimbo, on the defensive.

He sauntered up. “We’ll have to settle for a prairie chicken. I’m hungry, and it’s the first thing that came along.”

“I’m releasing you from our agreement, Mr. Webster.”

He gazed at her steadily. “Noah.”

“Noah,” she echoed through gritted teeth. “Something has come up, and I no longer have need of your services.”

He shrugged. “If that’s what you want, Jenny, it’s fine by me.” He pushed his hat back on his head. “We’ll start back to Apple Blossom at first light.”

“I won’t be returning to Apple Blossom.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Oh? Well, then, where are we headed?”

“
We
aren’t headed anywhere. You may make your way to Arizona Territory as you originally intended.”

“And you?” His eyes had gone as cold as a winter’s day.

“I’m still going to Prairie Dell.” Her chin went up a notch as she tossed out this challenge.

“The hell you are!” he roared. “You’re crazy to think I would leave a defenseless tenderfoot of a woman alone on the prairie, much less let her think she could make it hundreds of miles thr—”

“Then escort me to the nearest town. You will be relieved of your duty to me then.”

“No. I see things through. Unlike my daddy.”

She immediately recognized the pain in the few words he spoke. She realized she hadn’t been the only one disappointed by a parent. She wondered who Noah’s father was and why he seemed so bitter. She wished she knew him well enough to ask, but Miss Thompson always drilled into her girls how polite society would never pursue such personal conversation.

“I’m sorry, Noah.” She softened her tone. She wanted to ease him down gently. “I have more problems now than I realized.” She moved closer to the fire. As the sun set, the night grew chilly, and the warmth of the fire comforted her. She pulled her cloak tightly around her.

With her back to him, she continued. “I moved around so much when I was young. I didn’t realize it then, because my papa made it all seem like fun and games. It was a miserable existence. My mother must have been terribly unhappy, but I don’t remember her letting her feelings show.”

She sighed. “Papa always had a new scheme to play out or an old friend to look up. He constantly promised something up ahead would make things better for us.”

“But my mother grew ill and began to waste away.” Jenny wrapped her arms around her. “She grew so painfully thin. We never had enough money, especially not for a doctor. I always felt so helpless. Hopeless.

“And then she died.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. A lump formed in her throat.

“Papa left me at The Thompson School right after that. He vowed we’d be together soon, but one year turned into another. All his words became empty promises.” A single tear slid down her cheek. “You don’t know what lonely is until you’ve spent years with no one—no family, no friends. No one. I cried until I had no tears left in me. And then I never cried about it again.”

She placed her hand over his and pressed it in return before she stepped away. Just the physical contact with him made this harder to say, and she had to put some distance between them.

She turned and saw pity on his face. It almost did her in, but she had to get through this. She had to be strong.

“I found out today that Papa is . . . an outlaw. He’s Famous Sam McShan, the Robin Hood of the West.” She swallowed hard, unable to go on.

“Jenny, you don’t—”

“No. Let me finish. I already feel guilty enough as it is for dragging you out to the middle of nowhere. I don’t want you involved in this anymore, Noah. You’re too good a man to be caught up in this web of deceit. I’m tired of feeling helpless. I want to make a new start—for myself and with Papa. There must be some good in him if he’s given away so much money. Surely he can’t be all bad. Maybe I could make the difference in his life.”

But the thought that it had been done at her expense was almost too much to bear. She was unloved, unwanted, and the daughter of a wanted criminal. What would society think of her if they knew? All her hopes—of being reunited with her papa, of them sharing a home together, of one day finding a good man to marry and raise a family—were now dashed. Who would want to marry the daughter of a thief and murderer?

Jenny had never felt more alone.

A sob choked from her. She crumpled into a heap on the hard ground. Her weeping turned into harsh, guttural noises.