Claudia Dain (32 page)

"No?" Nell shot back. "Have you talked to Miss Daphne lately?"

"No, and that's why I'm not heading home any time soon."

"Well, I have, and got an earful about my conduct with Charles."

"What happened? And how did Mama get in on it?"

"Get in on it? She was shoved out of it. Charles slammed the jailhouse door in her face. And locked it."

"Oh," Sarah said, her eyes wide and her smile wiped clean. "I guess what I just did will be pouring kerosene on an already hot fire."

"What did you do?" Nell asked, her face going white in anticipation.

"I ran Jack down and gave him a push in the wrong direction; he's asking Anne to marry him right now, if I know men. And I do."

"Good Lord, Sarah," Nell breathed, her face going from white to ash gray.

"Yes," Sarah said back, her face losing some of its color in companionable empathy. "It's going to be pretty bad when she finds out."

"Maybe she won't find out."

"She will when Anne says yes."

"You seem sure she will."

Sarah smiled again, ruefully. "Oh, I'm sure."

"Mama will blame me."

"Why you? You didn't invite him to stay in the house or invite him to propose to your daughter."

"No, but after Mama heard me talking with Charles, 'loitering in the jailhouse' as she put it, she blamed me for setting a bad example for Anne by keeping bad company in 'inappropriate settings.' I'm sure to get blamed for it if Anne actually marries Jack."

There was nothing to say to that. A mood of gloom and desperation hung over them both. The wind kicked up, sending dust swirling in a large, thick cloud down the street. Nell hurried off so that she would be safely and innocently at home when the storm of Anne's proposal hit. Sarah hurried into the dry goods shop so that she would be far away when the trouble started, for it was sure to start at home and spread outward, like the retort of a rifle shot. The farther away she was, the less likely she was to get hit.

"Blowing up out there some," Neil McShay said as Sarah hurried in and closed the door behind her. "We may get rain yet this month."

"That'd make Miss Daphne happy; her spring flowers are struggling and you know what store she sets on a fine display around the house."

"I sure do." Everybody did. "Saw Anne walking by with Bill a bit ago," McShay supplied. "Looked like they were headed for the Demorest."

Sarah stopped brushing the dust off her skirts and said, "You didn't happen to see Jack trailing along after, did you?"

"That bounty hunter? What d' you care about him for? He's nothing for you to be thinking of."

"Now, Neil McShay, I'm not going to hear a word against that man." Especially since he was probably proposing right about now. Couldn't insult family. "He's holding down a job and he's interested in Anne and that's enough for any man to be."

"Oh," he said slowly. "Well, I guess that's Anne's business."

"You can say it is," Sarah said stoutly. She was going to get it bad enough from Miss Daphne, she wasn't going to take it from Neil.

"All right, I say it." He smiled in conciliation. "Now, all it takes for a man to be a man in your eyes is that he be working and interested? Why, Sarah, I'm a right nice-looking fella, when my hair's combed, own my own business, and... I'm interested."

Sarah blushed to the roots of her hair. She hadn't blushed since she was fifteen.

"You're blushing." He smiled. He had quite a winsome smile and a nice thick moustache. The blush picked up a little heat and stayed put.

"Why, Neil, your wife's been gone just three months now; this doesn't seem quite proper."

"It's been nearer to five and there's nothing improper about it," he said, coming around in front of the counter. Sarah backed into a barrel and kept on moving.

"Neil, you've got to have ten years on me. Don't you think you're a bit old to be chasing women around your store?"

"Sarah, I'm not
that
old. What do ya think killed Ida anyway?"

Sarah backed up against the bolts of fabric he had on the wall and edged to her right. Neil just grinned and kept coming on. She wasn't scared; actually, it was kind of fun.

"I'd heard she died in bed."

Neil wiggled his eyebrows and then winked. "That's right."

Sarah laughed outright and backed herself into a corner. If Mama ever heard about this, she'd think Nell's tussle with Charles mere shadow play.

"Neil, I don't have time for such nonsense. I've got to get Anne married."

Neil came as close as the circle of her skirts, reached up behind her, and pulled down a stick of hard candy. He held it in front of her as an offering, his twinkling eyes and his wide smile showing how little he was offended.

"Get it done, Sarah. I'll be here."

Sarah took the candy, wearing a grin as big as a painted doll, and slowly walked out of the store. She hadn't been so flattered in ten years. And she wasn't going to forget to come back to McShay's real soon. She was in trouble with Daphne anyway and her pa always said, "In for a penny, in for a pound."

Chapter 20

Anne could only stare at Bill, shock riding her hard and deep. She'd wanted the two men to drive each other off and all that had happened was that she was the bone they were fighting over.

She should have known. Now she was staring at the worst possible outcome—direct conflict. This was exactly what she'd been trying to avoid. The tension and aggression between Bill and Jack was suffocating, oppressive, and she couldn't see a way to end it happily for all. Someone was going to be real mad at whatever she had to say.

If she could think of something to say. Maybe, if she stayed real quiet and still, they'd work something out between them and she wouldn't have to say a thing. That was something worth wishing for.

She could feel Jack looking at her, but she didn't dare meet his eyes. She wasn't sure what she'd see, but looking into Bill's eyes was bad enough. He looked ready to burst with angry expectation and frustration. Poor Bill, he'd had a time of it since Jack had arrived.

There just didn't seem to be anything she could say that would make it all work out so that everyone was happy with her. Why hadn't she ever thought of this when she'd been playing Jack against Bill?

Maybe because when she was with Jack, she didn't think of Bill at all. But she couldn't ignore him now, not with him standing not three feet off, looking like he'd carry her from the place if she delayed one second more. He sure hadn't thought his proposal would end up this way or that he'd have to wait for her answer.

Bill sure did like to get his way.

"Anne, you can't be thinking of refusing me. You have to know that I'm the better man, after all the time we've spent together... and he's just a... just a bounty hunter!"

"That's right, Anne," Everett Winslow chimed in. "Bill's a respectable man, make a proper husband for you."

"Anne," Bill said softly, "listen to him. I'm the man for you and you're the woman for me. You know that."

They were all talking at her, trying to convince her, telling her what to do. Only Jack was silent. There was something bone-deep pleasant about a man who didn't prod and push.

She looked at Jack then. He was still looking down at her, his face composed and easy, his eyes even a bit amused.

"I guess you haven't got anything to say," she said.

"Nah," he said slowly, "I figure you know what you want."

She sure did. She wanted to get out of here, out of this fight, out of Abilene. Jack was the only one who ever even gave a thought to what she wanted. He was the only one who ever gave her a minute to listen to her heart to try to find out what
she
thought, what
she
wanted, and how to get it. He gave her room to breathe, to think, to move, without ever leaving her side. She didn't know how he did it but there was a comfort to it that should have set her running.

She stayed put.

"Think, Anne, think about what I'm offering you and what he's got," Bill said. "Think about those murders and how they started when he came to town. Think about how he gave that gal's mama in Junction City money to get out of town, so there'd be no witness, no one to point the finger."

Even then Jack said nothing, though his hand tightened on her arm in silent anger. The fact that he didn't open his mouth to defend himself against such a wild claim made him seem all the more innocent. And made Bill look like a donkey that had his mouth open to the wind. Bill talked too much. It surely was starting to wear thin.

It was then that two men came in, men who looked like Jack in that they were strung with rounds of ammunition and heavy with guns. Jack nodded, but that was all. He didn't leave her side and he didn't let go of her. And he didn't pressure her for a decision, telling her what to think and what to say, just so he'd get what he wanted. A feeling of safety settled on her, comforting her.

But wasn't that always the danger of Jack?

"Problem?" the dark one asked the room in general.

"We're waiting for the lady to tell us just who she's going to marry," Jack said calmly.

"Who's in the runnin'?" the dark-haired man asked.

"Me 'n' him," Jack said.

"You?" the blond asked, his eyes wide.

"Me."

"Not much contest in that," the dark one mumbled, except that they all could hear him, including Bill.

"This man is Jack Skull," Bill snapped, "a bounty hunter and probably a murderer of young women."

"Hell, Jack don't hurt women, unless kissin's a crime."

Anne turned to him at that, her eyes wide and suspicious. That tore at the comfort she'd been feeling with Jack. It sounded just like a man to run around the country, kissing anything in skirts.

It was hard news, but she needed to hear it. It wouldn't hurt to have a long conversation with this stranger, getting all the details, just so she could remember not to trust Jack any more than she would any other man. That's what she'd do if she was smart.

"Shut up, Grey," Jack said smoothly.

Grey just smiled.

"You sure you asked her to marry you?" the blond asked. "That don't sound like you."

"Shut up, Blakes," Jack said with a tight smile, "the lady's got a decision to make."

"She's made it," Bill announced, coming to take Anne's other arm, uncomfortable at being so suddenly outnumbered.

Jack moved her behind him as quick as a June bug and faced Bill down. "I didn't hear her say nothin'."

"She will, if you get out of here," Bill said.

"I'm not leavin'."

There was really nothing for her to think about, not if she ignored what everybody else wanted and followed her own instincts. Bill was getting too wild to manage, too set on marrying. Jack Skull wasn't the kind to marry, but he was the kind to look for a fight just for the pure pleasure of fighting. It was all talk for him. Bill was serious. And there was no way out of this until she made up her mind between the two of them. She knew what she had to do and she'd just have a long talk, quiet and reasonable, with Jack about it later.

"Yes," she said quietly from behind Jack's broad shoulders.

Jack turned to face her, his back to Bill. "You sure?"

He looked down at her, his eyes blue and soft. He knew she'd been talking to him and he'd waited for her to decide, without pushing at her. That was a nice quality in a person, even if it all was just a pissing contest with Bill.

"Yeah," she said, surprised to find herself smiling.

He smiled back, as big as the sky, and her smile faltered. Mercy, but he was a dangerous man. It was hard to be smart around such a man.

"Lord, Anne, what will Miss Daphne say?" Everett groaned, throwing his apron down on a table in disgust.

"Who the hell cares?" Jack grinned.

Yeah, he was some dangerous man.

"Now that's settled, I could use some food," Grey said, lifting his leg over a chair and easing himself down into it.

"And coffee," Blakes said.

"Anne! Think about what you're doing—" Bill whispered hoarsely.

"The lady's decided," Jack said, looking over at Bill, his hands on Anne's waist. "Don't make it worse on yourself."

Anne couldn't look at Bill; she felt too guilty at how she'd maneuvered everything. She used Jack's body to hide herself as much as possible and she held her tongue, wishing Bill away. Jack seemed to read her wish.

"We're going to sit down for some pie; you want to join our party, you can stay. Otherwise, you can go."

He said it easily enough, but there was a note of command underneath and Bill heard it. They all heard it.

Bill grabbed his hat and shoved it on his head; even trying to avoid looking at him, she could see that his face was black with fury.

"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life, Anne. I only hope you live long enough to regret it."

"You leave now," Jack growled, "and I'll let you go unbloodied. You ever threaten my woman again and I'll kill you."

Anne shivered. He meant it. He meant every word. She'd never heard words thrown with such pure intent and straight meaning. Jack sounded like he wanted to kill Bill and couldn't wait for the chance. But Bill walked out without looking back. And Jack let him go.