Faith of the Heart (28 page)

             
“Do you hear yourself Ca
l? Do you?” Claire shouted. She
gulped for air and lowered her voice. “It’s always been about you. What you want, what you need.
If I married you, I’d always be in the background
—
not quite a whole
person, just your wife.
” She sucked in some air, prepared to tell her old friend, her old lover, what he needed to hear.

             
“
Well let me tell you something mister, I am
not
going to wait around in some rented quarters for you to come home at night. I have a home
here
. I have friends and neighbors who love and care for me. I have a business
that I
run very successfully and
I have
man who loves me for
me!

             
“
I’m staying here and marrying him and living on this ranch and running my store. The meek and timid girl you knew disappeared when I stepped off the train in Omaha. And if you wanted me, you should have just come home in the first place!
”

             
She stopped, breathing heavily, and
Cal lifted her fists from his chest. She hadn’t even been aware
she was
pounding him.
His eyes were blazing.
             
             
             
             
“I see. I see that you are not
true to your word. Your promise to me
.
To me!
Or have you forgotten? I’ve hav
e
n’t. Every
day on the battlefield I thought of you, I fought, I killed so that I could be back with you. Then, when I’d nearly lost my life, I gave up even my name, my very identity, but I never gave up on you.
” He
paused
,
his
nostrils flaring.
“
I’m leaving now Claire. But mind my words. You will fulfill your promise and you will be my wife. Destiny brought us together again and destiny will see that we are man and wife. I know now where you are and
I will
be back. There
is an afternoon train and I
must
be on it.
For now this is
goodbye
.
It is not
farewell
. Believe me.” 
             
             
He
grabbed Claire by the arms and kissed her roughly. She pulled back and wiped her mouth.  “How dare you?” she sputtered.

             
“I dare because you are mine.” He grinned nastily and reached for his
satchel. He limped to the corral, glared at Tom
,
who was striding toward him with clenched fists
,
and saddled his horse. Moments later he
rode out of the yard
without looking back
.

CHAPTER TWENTY
ONE

Home to Omaha

Omaha, Nebraska, August 1869

             
It was late afternoon when Claire and Tom
strolled
into
Weikert-Se
cord’s Mercantile. Billy came from behind the counter and gave
Claire
a big bear hug
,
lifting her off her feet.

             
“Miss Secord, I am so happy to see you back
!
” He proudly waved his
arm, an excited boy in a man’s body
. “Me and Miss Rose have been minding your shop for you. We’ve been doing real good
,
too. Miss Rose, she’s been
helping me
order
goods and go to the bank and I’ve been making deliveries an
d everything!
”

             
“Whoa,
Billy. I’m sure you’ve done fine
.
”
she reassured him, pleased that he enjoyed tending her store so much.
Claire pulled off her gloves and looked around. The place was immaculate. The shelves were stocked and the floor was swept clean.
She couldn’t have done it better herself.

             
“Billy how would you like to become a partner with me? Changes are coming and I can’t think of another person who I’d like to have as my business partner.”

             
Billy’s eyes grew wide
and h
e grabbed her again
, hugging
her enthusiastically.

             
“
Why, gosh! Miss Claire! That would be just…
whoowee
!” He held her tight again, squeezing her so hard she groaned.

             
“Billy
,
” Claire laughed. “Billy put me down
!
”

             
“
Yeah, Billy. Why don’t you set down my wife-to-be?” Maxwell grinned at the young man, excited to reveal the news.

             
“Your wife-to-be?
” Billy glanced left and right, his gaze bouncing between Claire and Maxwell, surprised.

             
“
Uh
,
yes sir,
S
heriff
,
sir
.
” He released his hold and
pumped
Tom’s hand.

             
“You are one lucky man
,
S
heriff. Miss Claire here is a great
lady”.

             
Maxwell’s eyes twinkled.
“
I know she is. That’s why I’m marrying her
. Now I’m sure you’d like to go home and allow Miss Secord to do the same
.
”

             
Billy darted into Claire’s living quarters and gathered his
belongings. He
had
found it easier to watch over her home and store by sleeping on her sofa
,
but he was ready to go home to his ma’s cooking. Besides
,
he had to tell his family about the big news
;
that
h
e was going to be a partner with the sheriff’s wife.

             
Tom locked the front door after Billy dashed out and turned to a smiling Claire. “I am a lucky man. Shall we go in
t
o the back and see how Billy did there as well?”

             
The living quarters were
tidy—a nice surprise for Claire
,
who had last seen her home
in shambles
. The bedroom had been put back together and there w
as
even
a
vase of wild flowers
on the dresser
. Claire suspected Connie had a hand in that
and was touched by her thoughtfulness.

             
At the
bed she stooped and thrust her hands under the
mattress
,
comforted to find her gun still in place
. She pulled it out and lovingly ran her hands over it. Tom
watched her for awhile and
then burst out laughing.

             
“Now it’s beginning to make sense. I can see how you
were able to overpower
poor old
Frank and Bud. Why
,
you’re just a little
sharpshooter!”

             
Claire sidled up to him and hugged him close.
“What better qualifications for the wife of a sheriff to have?
We’ll be a terrific team. Seriously, my father thought it prudent that his only daughter be able to take care of herself. That’s why he taught me to handle a pistol.”
             
             
             
“
Sweetie
, I am so glad he did. I can’t imagine what
would
have
happened
to you
if you hadn’t fought back.”

             
Maxwell
tightened his grasp and hugged Claire once again. He buried his nose in her fragrant hair and breathed deeply.
He was about to pull her in for a kiss when a
pounding on the back door pulled the couple apart.

             
“Claire, are you home?”
Claire started, surprised to hear her friend’s voice.
“
Connie! I’m coming
!
”

             
She
raced down the stairs, through the kitchen
,
and flung
open her back door. The two friends hugged, cr
ying and laughing
all at once
.
Their joy at seeing one another made Tom
grin broadly.

             
“Claire, Billy
just
ran into the café and told me you were back.
It’s so good to have you home. My prayers and the prayers of the entire town have been answered. Thank the Lord, you’re home
!” Suddenly she grinned, a
genuine
smile creeping up her face.

             
“
I’m just dying to hear your adventures
,
but first I’m taking you two back to the restaurant and feed
ing
you a good meal. Land sakes
,
you’ve both lost too much weight. I’ll plump you back up. I just took an apple pie out of the oven and my cook is frying up chicken this very moment. Let’s go.”

             
Maxwell
shook his head. “You two go ahead. I need to check in with Percy and get a feel for what’s been happening in my
town.”
             
The sheriff
waited until they had gone, and then headed off in the opposite direction. He
wanted to ride over to the train station and make sure that Moore had
actually
left
, but he didn’t want to alarm Claire. It was the
way he’d ridden out of the ranch in such an angry state.
Maxwell
didn’t
like him and he certainly didn’t
trust him.

             
He’d discovered
that Cal had stolen Claire’s gold heart necklace from the kitchen table.
Whe
n
he told her she just shook her head and
didn’t seem to
care
,
but the

action spoke of
Cal’s
state of mind. Tom would rest better when he knew Cal was gone from Omaha and their lives.

             
Maxwell
met up with Percy
while he
was doing the daily rounds. They walked
t
ogether and Percy filled him in on
everything that had happened while he was away
.
It
had been a relatively quiet week and Percy had
everything
under control.
Tom was
relieved and complimented Simons
on’s
excellent work
before
telling him about
the situation with Cal Moore.

             
Percy
turned
solemn at the news
and
agreed to check the train station with
Maxwell,
just
to be sure that Moore had left town
. As an experienced lawman, the situation made him as ne
rvous
as Maxwell, and his concern was keeping both the sheriff and Miss Secord safe. They’d been through enough.

             
At the depot, the station master
double checked his list and shook his grizzled white head.

             
“I’m sorry Sheriff but Mr. Moore didn’t board today’s
eastbound train. When he arrived in Omaha yesterday
,
I saw his itinerary. He wasn’t scheduled to leave until tomorrow
,
and if I recall correctly his next stop was North Platte.
”

             
“
Well, thanks anyway. You just be sure to let me know when he boards the next train
.”

             
“Why, yes sir, Sheriff
,
I certainly will.
”
The old man peered at Percy and Tom with a curious glint in his eyes.
“Say, is he
in trouble with the law?”