Finding Promise (26 page)

“Is the kissing lady going to move into your room, Uncle Jake?” Cade asked.

Charles and Luke were the only people at the table laughing out loud. Hearing about Colt kissing Mavis upset Victoria, Colt was contemplating murdering Luke, Promise was angry with Jake, and Jake was angry with everyone at the table. Charles was just trying to keep up with the dynamics going on around him.

“Your ma and pa are going to give you a little brother or sister soon,” Jake replied, hoping to redirect the conversation.

“But it takes a long time before they are big enough to play,” Cody told him, sounding crestfallen that it didn't sound like there would be more kids on the ranch anytime soon.

Luke winked at the boys. “Maybe Uncle Jake will change his mind and have some watermelon with Mavis when he's kissing.”

Jake decided he might just shoot Luke and be done with it. Too bad he left his gun in his room. “Don't count on it,” he ground out. “And Mavis may not be a widow. She's a California woman.”

“You mean she's from California?” Victoria asked.

“No, it means her husband took off for California and never came back,” Luke answered. “So Mavis may still have a husband.”

This was news to Colt. Mavis told him years ago she was a widow, but he was smart enough not to comment.

Promise noticed Jake didn't say he didn't get a good-night kiss, widow or not. The one thing she knew about Jake McBride was that he didn't lie. That meant he didn't respond because he didn't want to lie. Not wanting anyone to see she was upset, she left the room to fetch the dessert. When she returned with a cake she baked especially for the boys, Cade said, “I bet that kissing lady didn't cook as good as Promise, Uncle Jake.”

“Yeah,” Cody agreed.

Promise could have kissed them for their compliments. “Thank you, boys. I'm glad you two like my cooking,” she responded, with a not-so-subtle hint about the last time Jake discussed her cooking on the trail and found it lacking. She failed to remember he'd tried to make amends by complimenting her skills anytime he got the chance.

Colt was happy that someone was enjoying this evening. He'd be lucky if he ever got the chance to father more children. “Enough talking for tonight, boys. Eat your cake.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Promise learned that ranch work was exhausting and nonstop, but she loved every minute. She was in the kitchen preparing dinner when Shorty came through the door. It was always a joy to see the older man, since she rarely had an opportunity to spend much time with him. Like most of the men, Shorty had decided to spend the winter at the ranch, if not stay permanently. Shorty was the cook for the men now, and he also picked up supplies from town when needed.

“Your painting supplies are here, and so is Mrs. McBride's cloth.” He placed her materials on the long wooden table in the kitchen before accepting the cup of coffee she held out to him.

“I'm so glad they came this fast. I have a surprise planned for Victoria for Christmas,” Promise replied, ripping into the brown paper package.

Seeing the assortment of brushes and oils she pulled out of the package, Shorty said, “I guess that means you're going to be painting something.”

“I sure am, but keep it a secret.”

Sitting at the table, Shorty noticed how healthy Promise looked since they'd arrived in Wyoming. Ranch life seemed to agree with her. “How are you doing?”

Promise sat beside him so they could drink their coffee and have a chat. She'd missed listening to his stories like she'd done for miles on end during the cattle drive. It moved her that he was interested in her well-being. “I'm doing well.”

“I like that Charles fellow. He's a real gentleman.”

Promise knew Charles was spending time on the range with the men, but it still surprised her to hear Shorty talk about him. “Charles and my brother were best friends.”

“He must think highly of you to come all this way to take you back.”

Promise didn't hesitate to talk about her private feelings with Shorty. She'd learned he was a wise man. “Yes, he does.”

“I haven't had the chance to talk much to Jake lately. He's been really busy.”

On hearing Jake's name, Promise tensed. Since that disastrous dinner, she hadn't seen much of him, and she'd made an effort to avoid thinking about him. “I haven't seen him much, either.”

“Cole says you are going back to Denver in the spring, and that Charles is staying until then too.”

“That's the plan. We will visit my aunt and uncle before we head back to Charleston.” No one had been more surprised than she was when Charles changed his plans. Once she told him she wasn't leaving until spring, she'd expected him to head to New Orleans for the winter. Instead, he told her he liked Wyoming and wanted to see for himself if the winters were as harsh as he'd heard from the cowboys. He planned to travel with her to Denver next spring and then on to Charleston. She enjoyed Charles's companionship, and her only reservation about his staying was his single-minded determination to make her his wife. Perhaps he was weakening her resolve. Lately, she'd been thinking more about her future, and she'd come to realize that once she returned to Charleston, her life would change. Charles was right when he told her she couldn't ignore her responsibilities, no matter how much she wished she could. It saddened her to think about leaving everyone come spring. Even though she didn't see much of Shorty right now, she knew she would miss him.

“Will you ever come back to Wyoming?” Everyone on the ranch knew Charles was saying he was her fiancé. In his roundabout way, Shorty was trying to find out if she was planning to marry him.

She shook her head. “That's not likely. Now that Matthew is gone, it is up to me to manage everything.”

He guessed he would just have to ask outright. “I guess you'll be marrying Charles.”

“Well, that's what Charles wants.”

Shorty already knew what Charles wanted. “Is that what you want?”

“I know it makes sense,” she said with a hint of resignation.

Shorty stood and patted her on the shoulder. “Well, it's a long time till spring. We'll see what happens.”

Promise didn't understand what he meant, but she had to finish dinner, so she walked with him to the porch. “Thank you for picking up our supplies.”

Shorty winked at her. “Anything for a gal as pretty as you.” He walked to the bunkhouse with his mind on Promise, and wasn't paying attention when someone reined in beside him.

“What's for supper?”

Shorty looked up to see Jake, and he frowned at him. “You're so dang stupid, you don't deserve any supper.”

Jake just stared at him. He didn't know what he'd done to Shorty to make him angry. “What's wrong with you, old man?”

“I just can't believe you're gonna let that little gal go back home without so much as a fight.” Shorty shook his head as if he was plain disgusted. “You're just about the stupidest son-of-a-buck I've ever clapped eyes on.”

“If you're talking about Promise, why should I stop her from going home?”

Reaching the bunkhouse door, Shorty glared at Jake and rolled his eyes. As he slammed the door, he added, “Yep, you're a dang fool.”

Jake sat there on his horse, totally bewildered. He didn't know what had brought that on, but it seemed like everyone had an opinion lately about his intelligence, or lack thereof. Everyone with half a brain could tell there was something between Promise and Charles. If he did happen to catch a glimpse of Promise in the evenings, she was sitting on the porch swing with Charles. Hell, even Cole had mentioned that fact to him. He didn't need Promise to paint a picture; a blind cowboy could see there was something going on between the two of them. In an effort to stay out of the way, he waited until everyone had retired for the night before he went into the house. Sometimes he raided the kitchen before he went to bed, and he liked that quiet time alone to think. He'd decided it made sense for Promise to return to Charleston with Charles.

Well, he was through wasting his time thinking about that situation. Since it was a Friday night, he briefly considered calling on Mavis. It might be nice to have a woman who wanted to pay attention to him for a change. It was a bonus that Mavis did kiss pretty good. Not to mention the fact that she'd made it very clear she was interested in doing a lot more than kissing. Problem was, he couldn't forget the kisses he'd shared with Promise. No matter what Mavis offered, he knew he wasn't really interested in her.

“What are you sitting there thinking about, brother?” Luke asked, reining in beside him.

“Not a damn thing I want to discuss with you.” Jake still hadn't forgiven his brother for causing that ruckus at dinner.

Luke laughed. “I see you're still mad at me.” Everyone was still mad at him. He actually thought Colt was going to knock his teeth out because Victoria didn't talk to him for two days. Colt forced him to go tell Victoria that he hadn't really said Mavis was a good kisser. It was the truth, Luke had been joking, but no one in this family had a sense of humor.

“Yeah, I guess you could say I'm still mad. And you can thank your lucky stars I haven't shot your sorry ass,” Jake responded.

Luke wiggled his finger at him. “Bad words.” He laughed at his own sense of humor. “Can't anyone in this family take a joke?”

“Oh, I don't know. Why don't you ask Colt?” Jake knew Colt was even more upset with Luke than he was, and that was saying something. He had a feeling Victoria had never so much as said a cross word to Colt, but Luke had managed to have everyone spatting that night. And his baby brother thought it was funny. In a way, Jake had to admit it was funny. Maybe not at the time, but once he had time to think about it, he did see the humor in the situation. But he wasn't about to admit that to his brother. One thing about Luke, he could take as much as he dished out. He always did like to have a good time, and when he was around, people were generally laughing. Life being the way it was, who could fault him for that? Still, he wasn't ready to concede that point to him just yet.

“Hell, no one in the family is talking to me except the boys,” Luke lamented.

“Good!” Jake rode off toward the stable, grinning.

“That's what happens when men fall into that marriage trap! You can't have fun anymore!” Luke yelled after his brother. He rode off in search of the twins.

 

 

L. B. spotted the big man across the room, so she reached for a bottle off the bar and made her way to the table.

“Gents,” she said as she took the seat across from the big man. It was the same man who'd lost the diamond comb in a bet.

“My luck is better tonight, so I'm planning on winning my money back,” the big man said.

“We'll see.” L. B. refilled their glasses. “This bottle's on the house.” It was her plan to ply them with whiskey and get them talking.

She wasn't sure how many men in the saloon were part of the big man's gang, but she was sure the men at the table were together. As she played poker, she tried to keep track of the interactions among men at the various tables. Sam, L. B.'s partner and bartender, kept the bottles of whiskey flowing to the table. The men could hold their whiskey, but by their second bottle their tongues were starting to loosen.

“It looks like you boys like our little town,” L. B. stated in a conversational tone.

“We heard there's no law here,” one man said.

“Not right now. Our last sheriff is in the territorial jail, and no one has accepted the job yet. You interested?” L. B. asked.

“We might be looking for ranch work around here,” the big man replied.

“There's a couple of large ranches that are always needing men.”

“Maybe you could steer us to the best one,” the big man said, laying down the winning hand.

L. B. noticed when the big man won he was friendlier, so she'd folded a couple of times when she knew she had the winning hand. She shuffled the deck, trying to appear nonchalant about her response. “The cowboys say the McBride ranch is always looking for good men. Men say the big man, Colt, is a tough boss, and don't tolerate any foolishness.”

“Is that a fact?”

“But if you are interested in talking to him, you might see him in town tomorrow. I heard one of the brother's taking the noon stage to Denver tomorrow. It might save you a trip to the ranch.”

“What's in Denver?” One of the other men asked this question. But L. B. saw him shoot a glance at the big man.

L. B. wanted to appear disinterested in the whole conversation, so she continued to deal as she talked. She finished dealing and placed the deck on the table and picked up her cards. Waving a hand in the air as if she were dismissing the whole subject, she said, “I don't pay much mind to gossip, but I think I heard they were taking some woman back to Denver, and they didn't want her traveling alone. Now enough blabbering, let's play poker.”

Sam was listening intently to everything being said at the table. He thought L. B. missed her calling; she should have been on stage in a traveling show.

“Where's this McBride ranch?” Big Ugly asked.

After L. B. gave him the general directions to the McBride ranch, she said, “You could always try Detrick's outfit. He's a tough old bird too, but fair enough.” She gave him the directions to that ranch as well, then quickly placed her bid.

L. B. looked over at Sam and gave him a nod. Sam walked to the kitchen and whispered instructions to a boy who ran errands for him.

Thirty minutes later, Bob, the owner of the livery, was riding out of town heading toward the McBride ranch.

Colt walked to the bunkhouse, looking for Jake and Lucas. Finding no one there, he walked to the stables, where they were brushing down their horses.

“Bob just came out to tell us that they're in town, and L. B. set the bait.”

“Good, let's settle this once and for all,” Jake said.

“Get everyone together after dinner and we'll meet out here to lay out everything for tomorrow,” Colt said. “T. J., Strait, Charles, and Bartholomew will stay in the house while we are gone.”

Once dinner was over, the men gathered in the stable. “Luke came up with this plan, and we think it will work. L. B. did her part, so now we have to determine where these killers will try to ambush us,” Colt explained to the men.

They discussed the route to the ranch that L. B. had given the killers. Colt drew the map in the dirt floor, and Jake pointed to the place he thought would be the most likely for the killers to strike. “This is where I would attack,” he told the group.

Colt nodded his agreement. “Ambush Pass, that's the place I would pick.”

“Appropriate place,” Luke added.

The plan called for Jake to drive the wagon with Shorty sitting beside him, with Cole and Rodriguez inside the wagon, out of sight. Luke and Colt would ride beside them for a few miles before taking a trail that would place them above where they thought the killers would be waiting. Besides the men inside the house, additional men were going to be posted around the house in the event the killers didn't take the bait.