Heart of a Texan (19 page)

Benny’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door. “The boss said not to wake you, but you’ve been asleep so long I got worried.”

“I’m fine. I just overslept.”

“The coffee’s hot. I’ll fix your breakfast when you’re ready.”

“Give me about twenty minutes.”

“No problem.”

She didn’t need that much time to get dressed, but she needed every minute to adjust to what had happened the previous evening. It would take time to absorb it mentally and emotionally. She already felt different physically. She was a little sore, but she felt more alive than ever. She had twice her usual energy. She would try to talk Nate into letting her go into town or at least go for a ride. She couldn’t imagine staying indoors all day.

Nate had placed her clothes on a chair. She slipped into her shift but decided to wear a different dress. She wondered if seeing Nate would be awkward. She didn’t want to act like nothing had happened, that nothing had changed, yet she didn’t know what to say. Having to keep it a secret was awkward, but in a way that made it even more special. It was something the rest of the world couldn’t share. It was just for the two of them.

Several things had changed. She would have to reconsider her refusal to marry Nate until after her father’s killer had been caught. Then there was the question of whether to stay in Texas. She didn’t dislike Texas as much as she had thought, but what was she going to do about diViere? As long as Nate stayed in Texas, he wouldn’t be able to ignore the threat that man posed. Even if he promised not to go after diViere, diViere might still come after him. She could live in Texas, but she couldn’t marry Nate knowing he would either kill diViere or be killed by him. Nate had said he would consider moving to Virginia, but would he think that was running away? Nate wasn’t a coward, and she could never do anything that would make him feel like one.

It took a few minutes to dress and brush her hair, but when she left the room, her mind was still unsettled. Her love for Nate was greater than ever, but the problems separating them hadn’t changed.

***

Nate had told Webb and Grady to be ready to ride out that morning, but he couldn’t leave before he’d seen Roberta. He hadn’t pushed her into making love, but he needed to make sure she had no regrets. Last night had convinced him he had to do everything he could to talk her into marrying him as soon as possible. They might never find her father’s killer, and he couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life without her. He was certain she felt the same about him, but he knew catching her father’s murderer was vitally important to her. He didn’t want that or anything else to come between them.

“It’s been more than twenty minutes,” he said to Benny.

“Women aren’t too good with clocks,” the cook answered. “My mother wouldn’t even look at one.”

Benny was Italian. Roberta was American. That wasn’t the same. Was she late because she was reluctant to face him? Would she feel ashamed if others knew they’d spent the night together? He had worried about that last night when he carried her from his bed back to her room. Should he have waited until they were married to make love to her? He wasn’t sure he could have. It had been a strain to wait as long as he had. Worrying wasn’t going to solve anything, though he would have the answer the instant she entered the room.

“My coffee’s cold,” Nate noted.

“I’m making some more,” Benny said. “It has gotten stronger than Miss Roberta likes it.”

Grady and Webb liked Roberta, but Benny practically idolized her. If she had asked for some exotic food, Benny would have ransacked Texas to find it. Nate tensed when he heard Roberta’s footsteps approaching the room. Benny spoke first.

“I’ve got fresh coffee,” he announced the moment Roberta stepped through the door. “It’ll be ready as soon as you sit down.”

“I hope you’ve made a big breakfast. I’m famished.”

The minute Roberta flashed her usual smile at Benny, Nate knew everything was all right. When she smiled at him, he knew things were going to be even better than that.

“Eggs, sliced ham, roasted potatoes, and hot bread. I can fix more if you want.”

Roberta rewarded Benny with a huge smile. “That’s more than enough. I hope Nate realizes how fortunate he is to have you. I think you ought to ask him for a raise.”

Benny blushed so furiously Nate laughed. “I’d double his salary if his cooking could convince you to marry me tomorrow.”

Benny looked horrified. “No woman can get married that quickly. My sister took six months. She would have taken twice that long if her husband hadn’t threatened to find another bride.”

“I have no family, only three dresses, and no house,” Roberta told him. “I could get married now.”

“It would take me a week just to fix the food. Then you have to decide whether to get married here or in the church.” Benny was growing more Italian by the moment. His hands were as much in motion as his mouth. “And who is going to handle all the decorations? And you have to have a dress. No bride can get married in an old dress.”

Nate hadn’t thought about wedding preparations, but it was clear Benny would never forgive either of them if he wasn’t an integral part of the preparations. And it looked like Nate’s notion of a simple ceremony was just that, a foolish notion. He really didn’t care. He’d wait as long as he must to marry Roberta.

“You don’t have to worry about any of that just yet,” Roberta told Benny. “I’m not marrying anybody tomorrow or next week. I promise to give you at least a week’s notice when I do.”

“I don’t think a week will be enough.” Benny busied himself getting Roberta’s breakfast, but that didn’t stop him from listing at least two dozen things he considered essential to any wedding. Nate would have been alarmed if Roberta hadn’t given him a shy smile and winked. All was well.

“After breakfast I’m going to take the boys and ride out to where Russ and the rest of the crew are working,” Nate said when Benny set Roberta’s breakfast before her. “We’ll probably be gone most of the day, which will give you plenty of time to discuss wedding plans. My only request is that you choose the earliest date possible.”

***

“We aren’t headed to where Russ said they were working,” Grady told Nate when they rode away from the ranch house.

“I thought we’d ride over as much of the ranch as we can before joining Russ and the rest of the crew,” Nate told him. “I want to see a lot more than just what Russ is doing. You two don’t know any more about the place than I do.”

“That’s because Russ doesn’t think we can do the work,” Grady complained.

“I told him he wouldn’t know until he let us try,” Webb added. “But he said he didn’t have time to waste on three overgrown kids.”

Webb’s inadvertent reference to Carlin caused the boys to fall silent. They felt as guilty about not being the one on guard that night as Nate did about sending the boy into Laveau’s path. “I have confidence in your abilities, or I wouldn’t have hired you,” Nate told them.

Nate didn’t know that he’d ever felt happier with his life or more optimistic about his future. He was in love with a woman who loved him as much in return. He had made enough connections in the community that he no longer felt like an outsider. On top of that, he had the best ranch in the area and the most loyal crew. Considering that he’d neglected all of that because of his obsession with Laveau, he didn’t deserve to be so lucky. He’d have to do better in the future. He couldn’t depend on luck all the time.

The spring rains had been heavier than usual and the temperatures had been cooler. The carpets of bluebonnets that covered the hills earlier had faded, but the colorful heads of Indian paintbrush, gaillardia, coreopsis, and an occasional white poppy were scattered through the grasses and the prickly pear cactus that appeared in rocky outcroppings. A flock of wild turkeys had the boys talking of roast turkey and dressing, while a poky armadillo elicited only scorn. Groves of post oaks provided shade from the heat of the sun, while rivulets of cool water trickled down from hills covered with maple and hickory trees. On a day such as this, how could anything go wrong?

The first crack in perfection appeared when Nate came upon a yearling with an unfamiliar brand. It wasn’t unusual for cattle from several ranches to mix during the winter, or for a rancher to have cattle bearing more than one brand. Nate hadn’t paid attention to his ranch like he should, but he had learned the brands of all the neighboring ranchers. This wasn’t one of them.

“Have you seen this brand before?” he asked the boys.

“No,” Grady replied.

“Have any ranchers bought new herds since I was here last year?”

“Not that I heard,” Webb replied. “Maybe it’s a stray from another county.”

That was the most probable explanation, but it didn’t satisfy Nate. The yearling looked too young to have wandered that far from its mother. He was trying to put that out of his mind and pay attention to the condition of the range and the grazing cattle when he came upon another yearling with the same brand. When they sighted a third, there was only one possible explanation.

Someone was attempting to steal cattle by branding newly weaned calves. Once the calf had left its mother, it was impossible to tell who owned it.

“Boss, I don’t think those yearlings wandered in from another county,” Brady said.

“I think somebody’s trying to steal your cows,” Webb chimed in.

Nate had already reached that conclusion. It was the implications that flowed from that conclusion that now occupied his mind.

First, if anyone was branding his cattle, Russ should have known about it and put a stop to it. Also, he should have told Nate about it and warned the other ranchers. There were two possible reasons Russ hadn’t done that. One, Russ didn’t know about the branding. Nate considered that unlikely. He’d found these three yearlings in the space of half an hour. He was sure there were more. Russ and the rest of the crew were out on the range every day. It was highly unlikely that none of them had sighted these yearlings. The other possibility was that Russ
did
know about the branding and hadn’t said anything. For that to make sense, Russ would have to benefit in some way. And the most logical way for him to profit was to be doing the branding himself.

“What are you thinking, boss?” Brady asked.

“That I’ve been a fool.”

He could make excuses for his failure to oversee his own ranch—he was off looking for Laveau; he was recovering from a gunshot wound; he was falling in love and trying to convince Roberta to marry him—but he knew none of those reasons exonerated him. Other ranchers had done more and still knew what was happening on their ranches and in their bunkhouses.

A series of possibilities lay before him, some of which made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The most alarming was that Russ had to know he couldn’t hide the branding for long, that once Nate was back in the saddle he was certain to find these calves. Either Russ had made no attempt to keep the calves in an out-of-the-way part of the ranch, or he’d been careless and let these three escape. Russ was
never
careless, so why did he believe he didn’t need to hide the calves? Because Nate would never see them. Why would Nate never see them?

Because Nate would be dead!

“What’s wrong, boss?” Webb asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Is it your wound?” Grady wanted to know. “Maybe we ought to go back.”

“I’m thinking.”

“About what?”

“I’ll let you know in a minute.”

How could Russ get rid of Nate in a way that wouldn’t throw suspicion on himself? One was to have Nate implicated in the murder of Robert Tryon. Another would be to have Laveau murder him while he was recovering in Roberta’s house. A third would have been to make it appear he hadn’t recovered from his wound. It was the connection with Laveau that he found hardest to accept. If Nate was right, while he was off looking for Laveau, the bastard was right here making plans to destroy him. And using his own foreman and crew to do it! Worst of all, an innocent man died. If Russ was involved in the fire that nearly killed Roberta, that made it two innocent men.

It was hard to accept all this, but there were too many questions to ignore. Why hadn’t Russ introduced the new crew members to Nate? Why had he insisted that they eat in the bunkhouse? Why hadn’t he allowed the men Nate hired to work with the men Russ had hired? Why had he insisted that Roberta was trying to poison Nate?

Too many conjectures based on speculation. Nate would have dismissed most of them if it hadn’t been for the connection with Laveau. Once that man was involved, anything was possible, no matter how unbelievable. If the worst was true, what was he going to do about it?

The first thing was to make sure Roberta was protected. If what he thought was true, she wasn’t safe at the ranch. Once her safety was assured, he would have to find a way to catch Russ in the act of branding his calves with a brand Russ had undoubtedly registered in his own name. Hopefully, a threat of hanging would induce him to reveal Laveau’s part in the attacks. If it had been Laveau who killed both men, not even the corrupt governor could save him.

Having made his decision, Nate told the boys, “We’re heading back to the house.”

During the ride back, Nate told them what he’d been thinking. Neither of the boys liked Russ, but they couldn’t believe he would be involved in anything so terrible. They asked questions and raised objections, but by the time they had unsaddled their horses and turned them into the corral, they agreed that Nate was probably right.

“What do you want us to do?”

The boys were still young, but Nate was proud of how they’d matured, how they were eager to be involved in what came next. “I need proof of the crew’s involvement in the attacks as well as the rustling. I can’t ask you boys to search the bunkhouse, so I’ll do that. I need to know if they’re doing the branding in one place or wherever they happen to find a likely weanling. Do you think one of you could follow them without being caught?”

“I’ll do it,” Webb volunteered.

“Grady, I want you to mix with the crew when they come in. Don’t do anything that will attract attention. Just listen for something that might tell us what’s going on. Roberta has announced that she’s going to rebuild her house. I want to know if anyone leaves this ranch during the night. I don’t care who it is or why. I want to know. I don’t think any Slender Creek rancher will come within ten miles of that farm at night, so if anything happens, it’ll be those who attacked it before. I want to know if any of my crew is involved.” After clearing up a few details, the boys left Nate to begin his search of the bunkhouse.