Colorado Sam (10 page)

   The possibilities were endless, and they set Nathan‘s head to reeling. He felt like he was running in circles, privy to information whose true meaning lay just beyond his grasp. And if that situation weren't hard enough to grapple with, Eldon Payne's stunningly attractive daughter would soon be knocking at the door. Simply put, Nathan wanted to be much more than friends with Laura Payne. But now it seemed she might be the daughter of the man who had betrayed the Tanner family and sold his soul to the Buckmans for personal gain.

   Nathan wasn't sure he was up to making small talk with Laura Payne just then, and the last thing he wanted to do was turn her away by boring her to tears. He lifted his head to call for Mr. Ming, intending to postpone her visit. But it was too late for that. Without knocking or waiting to be announced, a purple vision blossomed in the doorway. 

   Laura Payne's violet eyes pinned Nathan to his pillow. She wore a jacket and skirt of purple velvet over a shirtwaist of white percale. Purple ribbons secured her raven hair. A warm and teasing smile graced her lips, while the slight blush on her cheeks hinted Nathan's newest visitor was leery of being too forward with a nightshirt-clad man she hardly knew. Unlike Nathan, huge Sam never so much as twitched at her rousing entry. 

   “Good afternoon, Mr. Tanner. It's wonderful to see you awake and recovering from your injury.” 

   Nathan slid the telegram from Devlin Kellerman under his comforter. He tried to return Laura Payne's greeting with a big smile and warm words of welcome; but, as was usual in her presence, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Before he died of sheer embarrassment, he took the coward's way out and jabbed a finger at Constable Allred's chair. 

   A pulse of excitement, or nervousness, perhaps both, throbbed on the side of Laura Payne's throat as she seated herself in the constable's chair. “I hope I'm not a bother, but I had to see you. I shan't take more than a minute of your time. I've come to apologize.”

   Though he knew it rude and unmannerly, Nathan could only stare. He had no clue what this stunning vision in purple was talking about. She hadn't offended him during dinner at the ST, and they hadn't talked at all during the meeting at her father's store. 

   With some hearty swallowing, Nathan finally freed his tongue. “Miss Payne, forgive me, but I'm at a loss. Why do you owe me an apology?” 

   “Oh, it's not for me personally. I'm come to apologize for Father,” Laura Payne announced, her excitement ebbing noticeably. “He hasn't been himself the last few months. He really hasn't been the same since Mother died a year ago.”

   While Nathan wasn't always sensitive to the feelings of others, he read the shame in Laura Payne's voice. “I don't believe your father has done me an injustice so great it warrants an apology, has he?” 

   “Yes, he has. He had no cause to play the bully with Alana. His store wouldn't have succeeded without the financial backing of your uncle, your father, and Alana. He has shown disloyalty to those who wouldn't abandon him in similar circumstances.” 

   With that statement, Nathan fell hopelessly in love with Laura Payne. She was true and loyal and so attractive she choked off a man's breath. She was the girl he'd longed to meet since becoming aware of the distinctive charms of young females. It amazed him how much he wanted her. 

   Yet he was wise enough to realize circumstances beyond his control could impair his chances of winning Laura Payne's affection. She was obviously devoted to her father, and regardless of what Nathan suspected, if he were to falsely accuse Eldon Payne of stealing from his own store or being in league with Roan Buckman, she might never speak to him again. She might do likewise even if her father were guilty. He was suddenly hoping and praying there was some explanation for her father's actions that hadn't yet come to light when he offered, “You said your father's store is booming because of the Creede silver strike. Maybe he thinks it's prudent to sell out before the bubble bursts.” 

   “At first, I thought that, too. Yet all he did at breakfast this morning was rave about the Pedigrew and Shelly account. Josiah Pedigrew has spent thousands of dollars on mining equipment with father, and has committed his conglomerate to thousands more. Father never stops bragging he'll die rich as King Midas. He says he'll never quit the store, or allow any one else to gain control of it.”

   It was the last that nearly brought Nathan upright.  Here sat Laura Payne claiming her father had said this very morning he had no intention of quitting his store, but he'd tried to bully Alana Birdsong into selling the whole shebang, including his share, within the week. 

   Laura Payne stirred in her chair. ”Did you hear me, Mr. Tanner?” 

   Nathan settled back onto his bed. “Yes, Miss Payne, I did. It's just that I'm confused as to what your father's really up to. ” 

   It was a poor choice of words. Velvet clad shoulders squared and violet eyes speared Nathan a second time. “I don't pretend to understand Father's motives at the moment. But I can assure you, despite what you may be thinking, he's not an evil man,” Laura Payne said with considerable heat. “He's just out of sorts right now.” 

    Nathan paused a goodly bit before responding, hoping her temper would cool. “Miss Payne, I'd be the last person to suggest your father is an evil man, or that he's plotting against my aunt and me.”

   His guest, however, mistakenly saw his hesitation as a further condemnation of her father. “Mr. Tanner, you didn't say that with much conviction. If you were to tell the truth, I believe you'd have to admit you think just the opposite. But then you don't always tell the truth, do you? And if necessary, you're quite willing to let someone else lie for you, aren't you?”

   Her assertion perplexed Nathan. “God's blood, what do you mean by that?”

   “The night we met I asked why you'd come to Colorado this time of year and you didn't know what to say, did you? So you let Alana fib that you were visiting simply to look over the ST. I've since learned from her that you're hiding from your parent's murderers. Isn't that so?”

   Nathan's heart sank. He'd been concerned that evening how Laura Payne would judge him if she ever learned he and Alana Birdsong had purposely hoodwinked her. Apparently, she'd forgiven his aunt, but he was being held to a higher standard when it came to personal conduct. And in the opinion of the girl he loved, he'd fallen woefully short.

   “Miss Payne, perhaps I owe you an apology.”

   Laura Payne shot to her feet, huffed, and rushed to the door. “There's no perhaps about it, Mr. Tanner. Good day!”

   The slam of the door echoed in the hallway. Nathan looked at the watching Sam. “How about you deal with her next time, dog. You couldn't do any worse.”

   Well, at least he hadn't bored her with small talk. 

 
   Nathan hardly had time for a deep breath before there was a light tapping of the door. Mr. Ming, always the proper, considerate servant, waited a few seconds, and then cracked the door. “Mrs. Tanner here. She ask can Master talk?”

   The impending visit by Alana Birdsong gave Nathan a fresh burst of energy. He pulled Devlin Kellerman's telegram from beneath the comforter. “Please show her in, Mr. Ming.”

   Alana Birdsong appeared at the door and Nathan was again amazed at the change that came over Sam. The huge dog gained his feet and went to her, whining in his throat like a puppy desperate for attention. Nathan swore the black beast smiled at her. He dropped to his haunches and licked the fingers she extended.   Nathan recognized the whining and licking as Sam's means of expressing deep affection, which defied the conviction of most people that animals didn't possess feelings akin to those of their human masters.

   “Laura Payne was in quite a hurry when we passed in the lobby,” a perplexed Alana Birdsong said. “In fact, she hardly spoke to me.” 

   Though he disliked the childishness it implied, Nathan reddened. “We have differing opinions regarding her father.”

   Merriment brightened Alana Birdsong's blue eyes. “Nephew, that's the most dangerous thing any male can say where Laura Payne's concerned, particularly if he has anything in mind other than friendship.”

   Nathan's blush deepened. “I couldn't lie to her. Maybe Eldon Payne's an honest merchant. There are things that suggest otherwise,” Nathan contended, brandishing Devlin Kellerman's telegram. 

   Alana Birdsong sobered, stood her parasol against the wall, and helped herself to Constable Allred's chair. An equally serious Nathan passed her the telegram and watched as she read it once, frowned, and then read it again, her features a picture of utter concentration. “Nephew, you didn't have this before I met with Eldon, did you?”

   “No,” Nathan replied, “it was delivered right after you left by Burt Dawes, a confidant of Ira Westfall's from St. Louis.”

   “There's a chinless man in scruffy clothes wearing a bowler hat and shoulder holster in the hotel lobby. He looks as out of place as a whale in the desert. Is he your Mr. Dawes?”

   Nathan had no clue how Alana Birdsong had become familiar with shoulder holsters, but her astute observation impressed him. “That's Mr. Dawes all right. He brought other news, too.”  

    “That's great to hear, because I learned nothing out of the ordinary during my meeting with Eldon Payne. He and his pimply-faced clerk showed me ledger after ledger and led me to believe Payne Merchandise isn't experiencing financial difficulties of any kind. There was certainly no mention of delinquent invoices totaling fifty thousand dollars,” Alana Birdsong said, waving the Kellerman telegram in disgust. “What's Mr. Dawes's other news, Nephew?”

   His aunt had been incensed when Heft Thomas withheld information from her, and if Nathan revealed all he knew, it would be obvious he'd done the same. But he saw no way out of his predicament. He would have to risk incurring her wrath.  

   “I was shot at the night my parents were murdered. I'd no reason to connect what happened to me in St. Louis with anyone in Colorado until I was attacked in the Payne stable. One of the men said, ‘Didn't miss you this time, bucko,' and when I remembered it later, I realized they'd followed me from St. Louis. Mr. Westfall has tracked the same two men to Denver and is searching for them there. After I told Burt Dawes differently, he's wiring Mr. Westfall the killers are here in Alamosa.”

   Nathan waited for an angry outburst from Alana Birdsong. None was forthcoming. Her deep blue eyes, darkening with resolve, bored into his. “Nephew, it's obvious somebody is out to kill off the Tanners and grab the leavings for themselves. We don't have much choice, do we? We either take the bull by the horns or run for our lives. And I've never run from anything, ever.”

   Nathan came fully upright. Whatever Alana Birdsong had in mind, her tone indicated she was planning to take action without delay. He thought of suggesting they wait until Mr. Westfall arrived, which would be only a day or so at the most. 

   He judged rightly that nothing deterred Alana Birdsong once she set her mind to something. “I'm tired of feeling like a target at a turkey shoot,” she declared. “The whole town knows you and I are staying here at the Imperial House while you recover, and damn if we're going to hightail it back to the ST with our tails between our legs. If we do that we're in the same boat as we are now, treading water and praying some as yet unknown miracle will come to our rescue. 

   “Well, Nephew, except for my meeting up with your Uncle Seth, miracles have been mighty scarce in my life. Maybe we can't identify who it is that's out to kill us.   That doesn't keep us from solving another mystery. We need to know whether Pedigrew and Shelly ever paid Eldon Payne for all that machinery. If they did, then Eldon's most assuredly a crook and probably wearing Roan Buckman's halter. And I can find out about those unpaid invoices real quick.”

   “How?” Nathan blurted.  

   “By taking the Denver & Rio Grande to Creede and asking Josiah Pedigrew in person. If he can provide written proof of payment, we'll accuse Eldon of theft and hopefully force the local court to call for an audit of Payne Merchandise. It wouldn't hurt our cause to rattle Eldon's chain and see which direction he runs, would it?”

   “No, it wouldn't,” Nathan agreed. “What train are we taking to Creede?”

   Alana Birdsong was taken aback. “We? Nephew, you're not leaving that bed until Doc Ellie allows it. I'll not be party to jeopardizing your recovery.”

   Nathan demonstrated some resolve of his own. “She said I could move about soon as I could stand without becoming dizzy. That was her only condition.”

   “But can you do that, Nephew?”

   It was put up or shut up. Nathan was certain Alana Birdsong wouldn't permit him to accompany her anywhere unless she witnessed for herself that he wouldn't fall on his face between the bed and the door of the room. Bare legs or no, he flipped aside the comforter, swung his feet to the floor, and levered himself to his feet.

   Uncertain of his fate, he was prepared to tumble backward onto the bed rather than risk an encounter with the plank floor. Surprisingly, except for the momentary sensation of blood draining from his head and a mild increase in the pain at his bruised temple, he experienced no dizziness. His balance was rock steady. He walked from the bed to the window, Sam watching his every step. 

   Nathan turned and confronted Alana Birdsong. “There, that should meet with the approval of Doctor Ellie,” Nathan contended. 

   Alana Birdsong chuckled. “You're a Tanner, all right, mule stubborn and bull strong. Now hop back into bed. It'd be our luck Ellie would barge in and catch you defying her orders and confine you for the next week. She prefers her bedridden patients take their first steps in her presence, and if you cross her, she's hell to deal with.”

   The relieved Nathan slipped beneath the comforter. “What train are we taking to Creede?” he asked, repeating his earlier question. 

   “We don't want to rush you, or be too obvious about this,” Alana Birdsong reasoned. “We'll have your Mr. Dawes purchase tickets for the three of us on tomorrow evening's train.”

   The prospect of action dulling the danger involved, an ecstatic Nathan said, “Mr. Westfall might join us during the day tomorrow. Perhaps Mr. Dawes should buy a train ticket for him, too.”

   “We'll do that, just in case,” Alana said. “We need a man with us who's at home amongst scalawags and murderers. I've never seen Eldon Payne wear a gun, but I have Roan Buckman, and he'll use it the first chance he has. I honestly believe if we continue to thwart him, it won't end until he kills us or we kill him. Seth preached the thirst for revenge is a terrible addiction. It can turn the best of men into black-hearted devils with no compunction about hiring their killing done. All that's required is enough hate and a full purse.”

   Alana Birdsong returned the Kellerman telegram to Nathan and retrieved her parasol. “I've waxed wise enough for one day, Nephew,” she said, rising from Constable Allred's chair. “If Roan Buckman's as smart as we believe, he'll have someone spying on the Imperial House round the clock. It would be to our advantage if we could board the train without him or Eldon knowing it. I think I can bring that to pass. Get your rest tonight, Nephew. You need be at your best when we make our departure.”

   A whining Sam met Alana at the door, but to no avail. “Stay, boy, stay. We'll be together soon.” 

   Huge Sam marched obediently to his blanket, his sigh of resignation filling the room. Alana Birdsong paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Your Mr. Westfall can ride, can't he?”

   Nathan had to laugh. “Yes, though there's usually a lot of daylight between his rump and the saddle.”

   “And Mr. Dawes?”

   Not being familiar with Burt Dawes' capabilities other than the fact he'd survived the rough and tumble world of the St. Louis riverfront for a number of years, Nathan could only shrug. 

   Alana Birdsong departed without further explanation, leaving Nathan to wonder throughout the beefsteak dinner Mr. Ming served him how the riding ability of Ira Westfall and Burt Dawes could be of such importance if they were traveling by train. 

   Then again, maybe they weren't, for his newly acquired aunt was proving to be as wily as she was beautiful.