Colorado Dawn (37 page)

Ash lurched to his feet. “Bluidy hell! I missed the bastard!”

The urge to give chase almost overwhelmed him. But he couldn’t leave Thomas and the reverend unprotected. Nor could he dally here, either. Cochran might head back to Denver. And Maddie.

Thomas lowered the glasses. Teeth clenched, he rolled onto his uninjured side. “You got one,” he said in a strained voice. “Right in the eye. A fine shot. For a white man.”

“Bugger that. I was aiming for the bastard’s chest.”

Thomas tried to laugh, but it came out a cough instead.

Ash studied him, wondering what to do. It was clear the Cheyenne was in no condition to ride. In fact, if Ash dinna get him covered, warm, and off the ground, Thomas would soon be fighting for his life.

“I’m going down to check on the reverend and see if there’s a wagon. Have you any weapons, heathen?”

Thomas’s eyes drifted closed. “Knife. They took the rifle.”

“Here’s my pistol.” When Thomas dinna open his eyes, Ash set it on the ground beside his hand. “I’ll leave Tricks with you. I’ll have to tie him, but he’ll still be able to let you know if anyone comes.”

When Thomas still dinna respond, Ash hunkered beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Thomas?”

The Cheyenne’s eyes opened. “Why are you still here, white man?”

Ash forced a smile. “Can I bring you back anything, heathen?”

A faint smile creased Thomas’s lips. His eyes closed. “Peyote.”

“Praise God,” the reverend said when Ash rode up. “I wasn’t sure who was shooting. Did you find Mr. Redstone? Is he all right?”

“He’s alive.”

Ash dismounted and walked over to study Bud Purvis’s body. A wee hole beside the eye socket, a fist-sized crater where the back of his head had been. Neat and to the point. Seeing an enclosure on the other side of the cabin, he led Lurch toward it. “Are you hurt?” he asked, eyeing the bruises on the reverend’s face and the bloodstains on his shirt.

“It’s nothing. I’m more concerned about Mr. Redstone. Will you take me to him? I was a chaplain in the war, but I often served as a medic, as well. Perhaps I can help.”

“I’d rather bring him here. Is there a wagon?”

“On the other side of the paddock.”

Lurch whinnied. A distant answer, and Ash looked up to see the three loose mounts galloping back, Thomas’s pony in the lead. No sign of Cochran, but he might be lurking up in those trees, lining
the reverend up in his sights even now.
Bluidy hell.
He needed Tricks to track him down. But first, he must tend Thomas.

He tied Lurch inside the paddock, leaving the gate open to lure the other horses in. “Get inside the cabin,” he told the reverend as he checked the rigging on the small buckboard. “And stay out of sight until we’re certain the other man is gone.”

“What about Mr. Redstone?”

“I’ll get him. Go. Before Cochran takes a shot at you.”

“No fear of that. He’s long gone, I’m afraid. And it’s all my fault.”

Ash turned to study him. “What are you saying?”

A look of deep distress came over the portly man’s face. “Mr. Redstone told me to stall, to tell them I had the claim papers. They looked for them here. When they didn’t find them, they started hitting me. Eventually, I told them they were in town.”

Fear slammed into Ash’s chest. “In town? You mean at the boardinghouse?”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t think they believed me, but where else would that blond fellow go?”

Sweet Mary.
The reverend had sent him straight to Maddie.

The next half hour was a blur for Ash. After harnessing a weary Lurch to the wagon, he went back up the hill and brought Thomas and Tricks back. The reverend was waiting with what medical items he could find in the cabin—wound salve, bandages, and gauze. He was also boiling beans and some dried meat to make a broth. After tending Thomas’s wounds, they moved him to a cot beside the hearth. Even though Thomas had regained some color, it was obvious he was still too weak to ride.

“Thomas, I must go back.” Ash hunkered beside the cot so their eyes were on the same level. “We think Cochran is headed to the boardinghouse. I canna take you with me.”

Thomas nodded, his dark eyes shadowed with pain but also filled with that calm acceptance every wounded warrior must face when told he will be left behind.

“The reverend will bring you in the wagon if you’re up to it. Or I’ll come back for you. I’ll not leave you here, heathen.”

“Find him, Scotsman. Kill him.”

“I will.” Ash rose and looked down at the man he was just beginning to know but already thought of as a brother in arms. “I’ll not fail you, my friend.”

Thomas nodded. “My spirit rides with you,
hovahe.
”

Ten minutes later, Ash rode out on Thomas’s pony, Tricks at his side, and a familiar throb building behind his eyes.

Twenty

T
he morning was scarcely half done and Maddie was already wishing she was back at the boardinghouse. It was more than just worry over Ash and Thomas and the reverend that had her so out of sorts. Photography simply didn’t seem that important when people she loved might be in danger.

Still, she went through the motions rather than give in to the fear that hovered at the edge of her mind. She was a soldier’s wife. And that’s what was expected of soldiers’ wives—they waited patiently and worried secretly and put on a brave face despite the terror churning inside.

She had started the day by the government offices before slowly working her way through the commercial and business areas. But now, at the edge of the saloon district, where she had anticipated finding a wealth of material and people to photograph, she had run out of albumenized paper.

A bad day all around.

She and Chub were loading her supplies back into the wagon when she saw Lucinda coming down the boardwalk. Judging by the dragging steps, it seemed Lucinda’s morning hadn’t gone that well, either.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as Luce stopped by the steps at the back of the wagon. “I thought you were staying to ride back with Declan later.”

“My meeting was canceled.”

She was a shadow of the cheerful woman who had ridden into town with them that morning. Maddie wondered if she’d been crying, then discounted the notion. Lucinda never cried. Yet it was apparent something was troubling her. “Luce, what’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure. Probably nothing.” She made a dismissive gesture, then picked up a box of
carte de visite
cards and handed it up to Chub, who stood at the top of the wagon steps. “Anything else to be loaded?” she asked, looking around.

“I believe that’s it.” After cautioning Chub to make sure the door was locked and the steps secured, Maddie took Lucinda’s arm and walked her toward the front driver’s box. “Talk to me. Tell me why you’re upset.”

“Things didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, that’s all.”

Maddie said no more as they climbed up into the driver’s box. Lucinda was intensely private and didn’t welcome prying. A few minutes later, Chub joined them, and they were on their way to the boardinghouse.

Maddie scanned the faces of the men on the boardwalk as they passed by, then realized what she was doing. She frowned, wondering when it had become habit to be so watchful and wary. Yet, without Ash by her side, she did feel exposed and vaguely uneasy…as if something was missing.

Her independence, perhaps.

They rode in silence for a while, then Lucinda blurted out, “It’s the oddest thing, Maddie. Yesterday, they all seemed so enthusiastic about my plans. But today, they could scarcely spare me a glance.”

“The men from the railroads?”

“It’s as if overnight, I’ve become a pariah. Edgar Kitchner didn’t even cancel our luncheon meeting himself, but sent his underling to inform me he would be unavailable.”

“Perhaps he had a conflict,” Maddie suggested, tracing the square face of the signet ring through the fabric of her glove. Would it be so bad, returning to her old life with Ash?

“That’s what I thought. But when I pressed, the assistant said Mr. Kitchner would be unavailable…
permanently
. What do you make of that?”

Hearing the distress in Lucinda’s voice, Maddie put Ash from her mind and gave her friend her full attention. “Obviously he’s a fool. Just as well you won’t be doing business with him. He’ll come to regret missing this wonderful opportunity, mark my words.”

Lucinda absently plucked at the ribbon tie on the folder she clasped in her lap. “I might have agreed, had he been the only one to cancel.”

“The men from the Denver Pacific have dropped out, as well?”

Lucinda nodded.

“They gave no reason for their change of heart?”

“Oh, the usual excuses. Overextending. Labor shortages. Right of way issues. All polite ways of saying they’re no longer interested. I just can’t figure why. I don’t know what’s going on, but something’s not right about all this.”

She looked as despondent as Maddie had ever seen her. Luce wasn’t one to dwell on her difficulties. She was far too practical and levelheaded for that. “Are there no other railroads that might be looking for a branch line across the southern Rockies?”

“Mr. Kitchner’s minion mentioned one. A newly formed group called the Wichita Pacific. But I know nothing about them.”

“Perhaps you should find out,” Maddie suggested. “You’ve come too far to give up now.”

“Perhaps.” Luce gave a halfhearted shrug. “But sometimes, Maddie, I wonder if I’m wasting my time—and money—trying to bring Heartbreak Creek back to life.”

Maddie had often wondered the same thing.

Declan came out to meet them when they rolled up to the stable. “What are you doing back so soon?” he asked Lucinda, lifting her
down from the driver’s box. “I thought you were coming back with me after the vote.”

“I had no reason to stay.” She explained about the canceled meetings. “I think this whole trip has been a waste of my time.”

“Any word from Ash or Thomas?” Maddie asked.

“Nothing yet,” Declan said, helping Chub unharness the mules. “But it’s early yet.”

Maddie hid her disappointment. “Where are Silas and Ed?”

“Worn out. Bathing Silas took it out of both of them.”

Maddie shared a look of surprise with Lucinda. Silas might be a child mentally, but physically, he was a grown man. “She bathed Silas?”

“Not likely.” Declan swung open the paddock gate so Chub could lead Maisy and Buttercup through, then shut it and sent the boy on home for the day. “As usual, I did the actual work. She just shouted orders through the door. That’s what she does best. One of the things, anyway.”

Maddie caught those last murmured words as he walked back into the barn with the harness leathers thrown over his shoulder. She assumed by his grin he wasn’t referring to her cooking. “Well, at least he’s clean.”

“Mostly. Don’t suppose either of you ladies has a spare brush for his teeth? He said the scrub brush tasted funny.”

Lucinda shuddered. Maddie wasn’t sure if it was because Declan had actually tried to fit a scrub brush into the boy’s mouth or because the thought of Silas using one of her brushes was beyond disgusting.

The back door slammed. Mrs. Kemble marched purposefully toward them.

“Trouble,” Declan muttered.

“I need to talk to you people.” She stopped before them, hands planted on her aproned hips. “First you bring a red Indian to my house, then there’s fisticuffs in the yard and that giant dog roaming everywhere, and now a simpleminded man is living in my barn. I
don’t know what kind of establishment you think I’m running here, but I’ve about had it with your shenanigans.”

“What shenanigans, ma’am?” Declan asked in his calm way.

“Comings and goings at all hours of the night, that’s what. People disappearing, then others showing up, and now strangers hounding me with their questions. I don’t need this aggravation. I run a respectable place.”

Maddie thought of Cletus Cochran and felt a prickle of unease. “What strangers?”

“I’m sure I don’t know. Some fellow asking about Miss Hathaway here. He didn’t leave his name. I told him you would be gone to meetings in town all day and sent him on his way. But now here you are. And your wife, Sheriff, says the other two—the reverend and that brawling Scotsman—will be back this evening. Do you people have any idea how difficult it is to plan meals when I never even know who all’s going to be here? Now I’ll have to go back to the market and get two more chickens. I’ve a mind to send every one of you people packing.”

“What was he asking?” Lucinda asked.

“I’m sure it’s none of my business. Something about a railroad, I think. And that town you’re from. Heartbreak Creek. Is that simpleminded fellow expecting to eat, too?”

“If you don’t mind, ma’am. I sure would appreciate it.” Declan gave her the smile Maddie had seen him use to charm Edwina. It seemed to have little effect on the landlady.

“You people,” she muttered, stomping back to the house. “No telling who or what you’ll bring around next.”

As soon as she was out of earshot, Maddie turned to Lucinda. “Do you suppose it could be someone from the Wichita Pacific?”

“I don’t know.”

But Maddie had seen that spark of interest in Lucinda’s eyes. “If he’s interested enough to come asking about you, perhaps you should make inquiries of your own.”

“You’re right.” Suddenly her vibrant self again, Lucinda
grinned at Declan. “Harness the buggy. I’ve decided to go back to town with you this afternoon. I’ve come too far to give up so easily.”

Ash had been on enough forced marches to know he couldn’t push his mount at a constant fast gait. Trot forty minutes, walk ten, dismount and lead him at a jog ten. Luckily, the animal was strong and better rested than Lurch would have been. He just hoped Tricks could keep up the pace.

The ache in his temple was steady now. Every step the pony took jarred up his spine and exploded inside his head. When the sun hit him full in the face, it was like a knife thrust behind his eyes. So far, the dizziness was mild, but he could feel it spreading up through his head like eddies in a swirling pool.