Heart of a Texan (10 page)

What was it about Roberta’s smile that made him want to touch her? It wasn’t welcoming or inviting, yet it made him feel like a special friend, one close to her in a way she allowed no others. It wasn’t true, but it was how he felt.

“You really should stay away from coffee, but you can have some if you put a little milk in it.”

“Bite your tongue! I’d be run out of Texas.”

Her laugh caused him to laugh. That was something else that didn’t happen with anybody else. Why did it happen with Roberta?

“My father felt the same way, but my mother put cream and sugar in her coffee.”

“I wouldn’t think that was drinkable.”

“It’s not bad, but I prefer the way people drink it here.”

“So there
is
something you like about Texas,” he teased.

“They drink coffee black in Virginia, too.”

“But I distinctly heard you say
I
prefer
the
way
people
drink
it
here
.”

Roberta’s laugh was easy, her smile genuine. “Okay, you caught me. I like other things about Texas, but I’m not going to tell you. You’ll probably make a list and remind me every time you see me.”

His spirits soared. She expected they would see each other again. Surely
every
time
meant more than once. “I would hope your list would be long enough that you wouldn’t go back to Virginia.”

“Why do you care if I leave Texas?”

“I’ll answer that if you finish answering my question. You got distracted when Benny brought the coffee.”

She took a bite of pie. Nate wondered if she did that to give her time to come up with a meaningless answer.

“I pretty much said all I had to say. I think you’re wasting your life.”

“What should I do?”

She put her plate down and fixed her gaze on him. “The first thing I’d do is quit looking for diViere.”

“I’m not sure I can do that since he appears to be looking for me.”

“I don’t mean that you should ignore his being here. You must defend yourself, but don’t spend months looking for him. Killing him, or whatever you need to do to satisfy your need for vengeance, won’t bring your brother back. You have a fine ranch. You must also have money in reserve since you didn’t sell any steers last year. Invest in your ranch by improving your stock. Invest in the town. There must be several businesses that could use money to expand.”

“That takes care of my business. What about me?”

Roberta didn’t look quite as confident now. “It’s impossible to answer for another person, but young men usually get married and settle down to raise a family.”

“That requires a wife.”

“There are several unattached women in Slender Creek.”

“I’m acquainted only with Prudence Goodfellow. I can hardly imagine a worse fate.”

Roberta laughed so hard tears streamed from her eyes. “I shouldn’t laugh, but the images that called to mind hardly bear thinking of.”

“Since you think that’s so funny, tell me what kind of woman you think I
should
marry?”

Roberta sat bolt upright. “I can’t possibly answer that question.”

“Why not?”

“I hardly know you. Besides, people fall in love for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes the most unsuitable people marry and are perfectly happy. At other times, what looks like a perfect match ends up a miserable mess.”

“Do you think I would be happy if I married a woman like you?”

“Absolutely not. You’d end up killing each other.”

He smiled despite himself. “Even though you shot me, I never thought of you as a violent person.”

“I’m not under normal circumstances.”

“But being married to a man like me wouldn’t be normal circumstances.”

“You’re twisting my words.” She set her coffee down. “I’d better be going. I can’t leave Joe to work by himself all day.”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to know what kind of woman you thought could put up with me.”

“It’s not a
kind
of woman. It’s a
who
. The woman who falls in love with you.”

“Do you think there is such a woman?”

“Certainly. You just have to give people a chance to get to know you.”

“And I can do that by going to the dance and to church?”

“That’s a beginning, but there are lots of other things you can do.”

“Will you come back tomorrow?”

Apparently she hadn’t expected that request. “You’re doing very well, and I have a lot of work to do.”

“If the boys can convince Prudence to let them help Crazy Joe, you’ll have time to make sure I’m still progressing.”

She fixed him with a stern look. “I will accept your offer on one condition.”

“What is that?”

“That you stop referring to Joe by the name
Crazy
Joe
. He’s slow, but he’s not crazy.”

“You shouldn’t be alone at that farm. Would you like one of the boys to stay with you at night?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think Prudence could stand it.”

“I don’t care what she thinks,” he snapped. “I
’
m asking you.” He hadn’t meant to let his temper get the best of him, but he wasn’t used to putting up with all kinds of silly social etiquette. Prudence would have to be an idiot to think one of the boys would harm Roberta.

“Prudence means well. I sometimes lose patience with her, but she’s often right. Thanks for your offer, but I don’t need a guard. Now I really must go.”

Unable to think of any reason to postpone her departure, Nate accompanied her outside. “I’m counting on a visit tomorrow. I want to know what Prudence said, how Cr— er, Joe reacted, and how the boys are doing. They’re good kids, but I don’t know how much experience they have working on a farm.” He followed her down the steps.

“You don’t have to help me into the buggy.”

“I can’t lift you, but I can help you keep your balance.”

“Thanks.” She climbed onto the seat and gathered the reins. “I’m not sure I can come tomorrow, but I’ll try.”

He didn’t reply, just watched while she turned the buckboard and drove away. There was no longer any question in his mind that he was powerfully attracted to Roberta Tryon. What’s more, he liked her. She had backbone. She wasn’t ready to admit she had a vengeful streak, but she was kind. A less patient and understanding woman would have been ready to murder Prudence Goodfellow. He hoped she would return tomorrow. He had to know if there was any chance she could learn to like him.

***

“Is everyone incompetent?” Travis shouted. “Can’t anyone get to this man?”

“I can’t kill him in his own home. One of those boys is always around him.”

“Send in some of the other men.”

“Dolan isn’t stupid. If he sees the new men hired since he was here last, he’s going to know something’s wrong.”

Travis eyed him in a way that made him wish he’d never gotten involved with this man.

“You’d better start thinking of a way to get to him. If Dolan finds the calves you’re branding before you figure out how to get rid of him, your neck will end up in a noose. I expect better news when I get back. If I don’t get it, there are a few tidbits of information I think the sheriff might like to know.”

Just like the bastard to throw the blame on someone else, but Travis wasn’t going to throw it on him. No amount of money was worth a stretched neck.

***

“Did you convince Prudence to tell Crazy Joe—damn! I’ve got to remember not to call him crazy—to tell
Joe
to let the three of you work for Roberta?”

“We tried, boss, but she wouldn’t change her mind,” Carlin said.

“Damn that woman! Why does she have to interfere in everything Roberta does?”

“I can’t answer that,” Grady said, “but Miss Roberta came into town when we were still there, and she convinced Miss Prudence to tell Crazy Joe not to run us off tomorrow.”

“You’d better get used to calling him Joe. If Roberta hears you say Crazy Joe, she’s liable to send you packing. I want one of you at that ranch at all times.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

“Work with Joe two at a time. The other one can stay here and sleep. Then when two come home, the third goes to stand guard through the night. You can work out a schedule among yourselves.”

“Is somebody threatening Miss Roberta?”

“I don’t know. All of the local ranchers swear they had nothing to do with the attack. If that’s true, I have no idea who’s behind this or what they’re after. Until I have the answers to those questions, I don’t want her without a guard.”

“If we sleep in the house, she’s going to know we’re there.”

“Take your bedroll and sleep behind the house or in a nearby field, but make sure it’s close enough that you can hear anything that goes on.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to bring her here?”

“And have Prudence Goodfellow on my doorstep preaching fire and brimstone within the hour?”

The boys laughed. “We hadn’t thought of that.”

“I doubt Roberta would come if I asked. She’s very independent and remarkably unafraid.”

“True. Mr. Riggins did everything but tie her up when she was in town today.”

“She refused Riggins?”

“She did more than that,” Grady told him with a grin. “She said if he didn’t stop plaguing her, she wouldn’t go to the dance with him. She was right put out with him, if you ask me.”

Nate doubted he was successful in hiding his smile. He wasn’t happy Roberta was going to the dance with Boone, but he was delighted she had turned down Boone’s offer to help yet had accepted his. It was a small but significant point in his favor.

***

Nate heard the rattle of the buckboard from his office. “She’s here,” he called to Benny on his way to the front of the house. “You can bring the coffee in ten minutes.”

“Sure thing, boss. I got fresh apple cake today.”

“Good. Everybody in Virginia eats apples.” Only they had fresh apples, not the dried kind you got in Texas. He didn’t care about the apples, only that Roberta had come a second day in a row. He was waiting on the porch when she drove up.

“Don’t fuss,” she called. “I can get down by myself.”

He came down the steps and offered her a hand. “The doctor says I’m a miracle patient.”

“Don’t push your miracle too far.” Roberta reached in the buckboard and took out a hat.

“What are you doing with my hat?” he asked.

“You left it at my house.”

“No, I didn’t. I distinctly remember wearing my hat home. Russ said it was so badly battered I could never wear it again.”

“I found this in the yard the night of the attack.”

“I never carry two hats. Are you sure it’s mine?”

“Your name is printed on the lining.”

Nate took the hat and placed it on his head. It fit perfectly. “I have my hats custom-made. The hatmaker always writes my name inside.”

“If this is your hat but you didn’t wear it, how did it get in my yard the night of the attack?”

“A better question is who put it there and why?”

Nate ushered Roberta into the house. She had hardly removed her bonnet and settled into a chair when Benny came hurrying in with a tray loaded with several kinds of sweets.

“Are those macaroons?” she asked, pointing to a cookie that appeared to be festooned with toasted coconut.

“Do you like macaroons?” Benny asked.

“What sane person doesn’t?” She turned to Nate, who was seated opposite. “Are you trying to lure me here with sweets?”

“Would it work?” he asked with a laugh. He was feeling much better today. He’d been able to get out of the house for a couple hours. Having Roberta show up made everything better.

“It just might,” she said eyeing the macaroons. “I’ve been working so hard I haven’t had any desire to cook, and not much more to eat.”

Roberta helped herself to a macaroon while Benny left with a promise to return with coffee as soon as it was ready.

“I was hoping the boys would pick up part of the load,” Nate said.

“They’re working on the barn. I think Prudence has been meddling again. My other cow has returned, and the pigs have been showing up one at a time.”

“How is Prudence responsible for that?”

“I think she has shamed people into looking for my lost animals.”

“Maybe she threatened to read a list of their misdeeds from the middle of the street.”

Roberta almost choked on her macaroon. “Not even Prudence would do that,” she said once she’d recovered sufficiently to talk.

“How is Joe getting along with the boys?”

“He’s okay as long as they don’t come near the house. They had to eat their lunch inside what’s left of the barn.”

Nate thought blind loyalty in a man of limited understanding could be dangerous even when he acted out of the best intentions. He considered warning Roberta about Crazy Joe’s fanatical adherence to anything Prudence told him, but he figured Roberta wouldn’t listen to him. In her eyes, Crazy Joe was perfectly safe and his loyalty admirable.

Benny’s return with the coffee was a welcome diversion from his troubling thoughts. He watched with amusement as Benny preened under Roberta’s compliments. Was there ever a man who didn’t respond immediately to attention from a beautiful woman?

“Can I hire you to cook for me?” Roberta asked Benny.

Benny was staring at her as though hypnotized. “It would be an honor.”

“An empty one,” Roberta said with a laugh. “At least Nate can pay you.”

Benny didn’t take his eyes off Roberta. “The boss is very generous.”

“So I’ve found out. I’ve been trying to convince him to spend more time here. I’m sure people would enjoy getting to know him.”

Benny assumed a confidential tone. “I’ve been telling him the same thing.”

“You can stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Nate said. “You’d better get back to the kitchen. Russ and the rest of the crew will be here soon, and they’ll be expecting their supper.”

“I do not like the men he hired, boss.”

“Well, you don’t have to see much of them. Now back to work. Miss Tryon and I have serious matters to discuss.”

“You tell him he ought to stay here at the ranch,” Benny said to Roberta. “That is a serious matter, too.”

“You have some very loyal hands,” Roberta told Nate after Benny left, “who obviously respect you and care about you—and not just because you pay them well.”

“I’ll take that into consideration. Right now I’d rather know more about why you found my hat at your place. Maybe it’s one I lost and somebody was wearing it.”

“Everybody except you was wearing a mask,” Roberta said.

“Then that means somebody put it there to implicate me.”

“You were the only rancher who didn’t threaten to blow up my father’s dam. Could it have been one of the other ranchers trying to throw suspicion on you?”

“I know you’ll find this hard to accept,” Nate explained, “but I don’t believe any of the local ranchers are capable of murder. If it had been just the destruction of the dam, I’d have been certain they were behind it.”

“For argument’s sake, let’s say you’re right. That means somebody we don’t know was behind the attack and wanted to implicate you. What reason would a stranger have to kill my father, destroy his crops, and blow up his dam?”

“I don’t know.”

“And why would he want to frame you?” Roberta asked.

“Laveau has already tried to kill two Night Riders. I see no reason to suppose he would hesitate to shoot a third, but I don’t know why he would attack your farm. As far as anybody knew, I was nowhere near Slender Creek. There’s still another question that needs answering.”

“What?”

“Even if Laveau was behind it, who actually carried out the raid?”

“There are lots of cowhands on the local ranches,” Roberta noted.

“They all swear they were in their beds when the attack took place.”

“Somebody is lying. Eight men couldn’t appear and disappear without somebody knowing or seeing something.”

“I agree, but if we can find who left my hat there and why, we might be able to unravel the rest. No one knew when I was coming back. I didn’t even know until I decided at the last minute to change my plans.”

“So we’re back where we started.” Roberta sighed, exasperated. “I think the ranchers were behind the attack, but you don’t. I think they tried to implicate you, but you think diViere is the only one who would have done that. However, you don’t see any reason for diViere to bother when he was willing to kill you himself. So where does that leave us?”

“With a mystery that doesn’t make any sense. I’m going to start from the standpoint that Laveau is behind it even though I don’t know why or how.”

“And I’m going to assume the ranchers are behind it. They’re the only ones with a reason.”

“But you don’t believe I had anything to do with it?” He had to be sure of the answer to this question, and he had to believe she was sincere. If not, there was no reason to keep thinking any of the thoughts that kept popping into his head.

“No.”

“Why? You think I’m practically a killer.”

“You want to bring diViere to justice, but I don’t believe you really want to kill him. You’re not a killer.”

“How can you tell? As you said, you know nothing about me.”

“I don’t know a lot of
facts
, but I’ve learned a lot about your character. You aren’t angry at me for shooting you. You don’t agree with what I intend to do with the farm, but you’ve sent your men to help me. Just as important is the devotion you’ve inspired in your men. No cold-blooded killer could have done that.”

Nate felt uncomfortable with that kind of praise. He’d never made any attempt to instill devotion in his men. As far as he knew, they weren’t capable of it. Russ took care of him, but he would never call Russ devoted to him. Grady, Webb, and Carlin were little more than overgrown boys who reveled in being given responsibility and being paid for it. Benny liked him because he noticed what Benny cooked. He didn’t know the rest of the crew because Russ had hired them while he was gone. Beyond that, he couldn’t say anybody except the Night Riders gave a hoot whether he lived or died.

“You give me too much credit. I give an honest wage for honest work, but I don’t expect anything beyond that.”

“Why are you trying to avoid all relationships, even ordinary friendship?”

Her question unsettled him. To answer it would force him to look at a part of him he’d tried to ignore, to remember things he wanted to forget. “I’m not trying to avoid them. I just haven’t had time for them.”

“If I hadn’t shot you, you wouldn’t have had time for me, either.”

He had known Robert Tryon had a daughter. He’d seen her when they talked about the dam, but he’d never exchanged more than a few sentences with her. After that, he’d dismissed her from his thoughts the way he dismissed most people, especially young, single females. “I suppose that means I ought to be grateful you shot me.”

Roberta’s laugh was charming and genuine. “If you’re trying to make me believe getting to know me was worth being shot, you’re wasting your time. My father didn’t raise a half-witted child.”

“Let’s just say it was an unexpected benefit.”

Roberta took a swallow of her coffee and rose. “It’s time for me to go. Much more, and you’re going to have me thinking too highly of myself.”

“I doubt that’s possible.”

“That’s exactly what I mean. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I shot you in the head and addled your brains.”

“Instead, you shot me in the heart and woke it up.”

Roberta’s smile vanished. “Now you’re talking nonsense. Thank Benny for the coffee and the macaroons. If I were to come here often, he’d spoil me for my own cooking.”

“Come as often as you like.”

“I have too much work to do to come here every day and listen to your foolish talk. Besides, from what I can see, you’re practically well.”

“You never know when I might have a relapse,” he said with a rakish grin. “Wouldn’t your conscience bother you if I were struggling to stay alive, and you went blithely along with your work in ignorance of my suffering?”

“Do you always talk such nonsense when you’ve been shot?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been shot.”

“Well, don’t let it happen again. Other people might think it has affected your brain.”

“I don’t care as long as you don’t think that.”

“That’s exactly what I
do
think. Now, I’m going to leave, and you ought to go to bed. Maybe some extra rest would restore you to your senses.”

“Nothing will ever restore them to what they were.”

“Then you ought to send Benny for the doctor.”

“I’ll go to the doctor right now if you’ll go with me.”

Rather than go out the front door as Nate expected, Roberta turned and walked across the room to the door Benny had used to enter the room. She opened it, went through, and called the cook’s name. Benny appeared almost immediately.

“Your boss is suffering from a fever of the brain. Do you have any herbs you can use to brew a tea to restore his mind?”

Benny regarded her with a blank expression.

“Dried plants, flowers, or bark with medicinal properties. They grow wild.”

“I come from Italy,” Benny said. “We don’t eat weeds.”

Nate was eager to hear how Roberta would explain that certain weeds weren’t considered
weeds
, but she disappointed him.

“Warm some milk and have him drink it. If you can lay your hands on any vervain or passion flower—you can ask around the next time you go into town—make a tincture for him.”

She might as well have asked him to put rotten eggs in his cakes.

“Send for the doctor. He’ll know what to tell you. You,” she said, turning to Nate, “should go straight to bed and not get up until the doctor says you’ve recovered your senses.”

“I’ll go to bed if you’ll sit with me.” Nate knew he was acting rather silly for a grown man, but he couldn’t resist teasing Roberta. He liked the flush on her cheeks when she was exasperated. He adored the way she would throw her head back and roll her eyes when she was really trying not to laugh. Best of all, he liked it when she looked at him in a way that let him know she was looking only at him, as though at that moment, no one else mattered. He’d never had that response from a woman, at least not from a woman he cared about.

Roberta threw her hands up. “You’re impossible.” She started for the front door with such purposeful strides he had to run so he could help her into her buckboard.

“You’ll come back tomorrow?” Nate asked as Roberta gathered the reins.

“I have a farm to run. I’m sure Benny can do anything that needs doing.”

She couldn’t have been more wrong, but this wasn’t the time to tell her.

“Thanks for sending the boys to help. I shouldn’t need them more than a few days.”

Watching her drive off, Nate felt something had been taken away. Everything was different with Roberta. He was like a starving man who couldn’t stop thinking about how sweet she’d taste. She was rapidly becoming an obsession, and he didn’t like that. Nor did he trust it. His parents had felt that way about Caleb.

One’s life should be a web woven so intricately that the loss of any one strand couldn’t destroy it. That hadn’t been true for his parents. Was he in danger of depending too much on his search for Laveau? Was it really about Laveau at all? Wasn’t it more about trying to make up for his failure to protect his brother?

What did that have to do with his feelings for Roberta? At the moment, all he knew for certain was that he had to know more about her, see her more often. He wanted her to know more about him, too. He was certain she liked him. Could her feelings grow stronger? Would they match his?

One thing he knew for sure: he wouldn’t let the past deprive him of a future.

***

Roberta told herself she had to get her emotions under control. She was a grown woman. She was responsible for a farm. She couldn’t let one man overturn her ability to think clearly and logically.

Okay, he
had
overturned her ability to think clearly and logically, so what was she going to do about it? In her agitation, she had urged her mule into a fast trot that threatened to bounce her out of the buggy. She pulled back on the reins until she had achieved a more comfortable pace. Nate had upset her so much she couldn’t even drive sensibly. What was it about this man that made him so different from all others? He was certainly full of contradictions. He had shown no interest in becoming part of the community, yet he had sent three of his cowhands to help rebuild her barn. She had shot him, but he appeared to hold no resentment. He had ignored her up until four days ago. Now he wanted her to visit every day. Despite that, she wondered if he would ever have room in his life for anything but his hatred of Laveau diViere.

She found herself hopeful, even if it went against every rational part of her being. Her mother had always said she was too logical, too practical. She wasn’t the type to fall in love with a man just because he was handsome, likeable, and she had shot him by mistake.

She didn’t think she’d fallen in love. But she very much wanted to know more about him, wanted to discover what made him think so little of himself, needed to know why bringing diViere to justice seemed more important than his own future.