Jodi Thomas (13 page)

She talked of her home back in what she called “the civilized world,” but she didn’t make it seem too civilized. Not once did she mention a friend or relative other than her father. Carter couldn’t help but wonder if Bailee hadn’t been as lonely in the city, where people passed right by her windows all day, as he’d been out here without seeing a soul most months.

She liked to talk while they ate. He tried to slow down, for he liked the sound of her voice. It didn’t matter that she was talking about something he knew, or cared nothing about.

He left without saying a word but returned before dark. When he banged through the door carrying a chair, he knew he startled her. She fought down her panic, trying to act as if nothing were wrong, but something definitely made her jumpy.

She followed him to the fireplace and watched him position the chair across from his rocker. Then, for once, she didn’t question as he touched her shoulders and directed her to the chair. Her nervousness flickered like static between them. He’d done nothing to make her ill at ease, yet her nerves were on edge. He knelt to make sure the legs of the new chair were just the right height for her.

His hands brushed along her sides as he tested the fit. Bailee relaxed into the smell of freshly cut wood.

His fingers slid along her arms, gauged the level of the wide armrests. Then he sat back on his heels and grinned.

Bailee’s chair was a perfect fit.

It took her a few seconds to realize he was giving her a gift.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ve never had a chair made just for me.”

For a moment she closed her eyes and let her tired shoulders relax. The light brush of Carter’s fingers along her arm reminded her she was safe.

When she opened her eyes, Carter still knelt in front of her, watching her as always. His clear blue eyes filled with the honest pleasure of having made her happy.

Bailee leaned forward until her face was only a few inches from his. “Shall we have dinner?”

He nodded once and stood, offering her his hand. He pulled her gently from the chair. They were so close, they could have been dancing.

Neither moved. The last rays of sunlight fanned golden, then red across the wooden floor.

Bailee raised her arms slowly and placed them about his neck. She wanted to curl up into the feeling of safety she experienced when he was close.

He didn’t move.

She leaned against him, the softness of her body resting next to his chest. His heart pounded against her. His breath tickled her cheek.

She knew he must think he’d married a crazy woman. One minute she was pushing him away, the next stepping close boldly. But if she told him the fear of Zeb Whitaker grew in her mind like bindweed, he’d think her unbalanced. They had no proof the man was looking for her, only a note written by a frightened woman who was little more than a child.

Bailee’s fingers brushed Carter’s hair. If the rumors were true, she had no right to put this silent man in danger. The thought that their marriage could be broken if Zeb Whitaker were alive had also nagged at the back of her mind for three days now. If she wasn’t a murderer, there was no reason for the wife lottery, and therefore no reason she had married. She knew she’d upset Carter’s world. Would he change it back to the way it was, if he had the chance?

Then, she realized, she may have had to marry, but he hadn’t. He’d paid her fine and married her because he wanted to.

Bailee buried her face against his shoulder. He’d chosen to marry her. He could have backed out after he’d seen her, but he hadn’t.

Carter fought the urge to sweep her up in his arms and make her worries go away. He knew he was little more than a stranger to her, and she had nowhere else to turn. Whatever trouble waited for her was far worse than her fear of being near him.

Her fingers combed through his hair making it hard for him to think. She was so close he could breathe in all the smells surrounding her, starch from when she’d ironed, the bread, soap, and something that belonged only to her. An aroma sweet and womanly that had nothing to do with store perfumes.

“Would it be all right if you held me for a while?” she whispered against his ear. Her body moved closer, totally unaware of the effect she had on him.

When he didn’t answer, she stepped away, gathering up scraps of pride as she moved. “I’m sorry. I’m usually not so in need of ...”

Before she could retreat further, he caught her around the waist. With a mighty tug, he lifted her off the ground and into his arms.

Her feet dangled above the floor, her face right in front of his. There was no way for her not to look into his eyes.

She struggled for a moment as his arms hugged her so tightly she could barely breathe, then laughed. “More gently, Carter. I need to be held, not crushed.”

He lowered her feet to the floor but relaxed his arms only slightly. Leaning her head against his shoulder, Bailee closed her eyes and smiled. As she rocked her face against the cotton of his shirt, his fingers moved along her sides.

His hands washed away all her worries. She melted against him, finding a safe haven at last. All day she’d watched and waited for trouble. Now she just wanted to feel safe.

His hands continued to search, warming her flesh through the layers of clothes. She kissed his throat where the pounding of his heart throbbed, and he lowered his mouth to hers.

His kiss grew familiar, and she welcomed it. The exhaustion she’d felt only moments before melted away as his kiss brought a warmth once more deep inside her.

An apple tumbled from the small shelf by the door, shattering their silent world. Carter reacted as if a cannon had been fired in the room. Before Bailee could say anything, he moved her aside and grabbed the long rifle near the fireplace. In less time than she thought possible, he slammed the door and bolted it. He leaned against the wall, raising the gun barrel to fit along one of the narrow slips by the door.

Bailee picked up the apple that had rolled almost to her feet. “It was only an apple falling, Carter. Nothing more. I keep taking it down when I clean, but you keep putting it back on that same shelf. I figured it would roll off one day.”

He didn’t appear to hear her.

“McKoy!” came a shout from beyond the door. “It’s me, Sheriff Riley. Put down that rifle I know you got aimed at my heart. I’m coming in.”

Carter lowered his rifle and relaxed against the wall. When he glanced at her, the fire of their embrace was still in his eyes, his lips still wet with her kiss.

And something more, she thought. A promise to finish what they’d started sparkled in his blue eyes.

She looked away. She didn’t want to admit she felt the same. They’d had a taste of passion and both wanted more. She only hoped there would be time.

“How did you know someone was coming?” Bailee glanced first at Carter, then the apple in her hand. Carefully she set the apple back on the shelf, but it rolled into her hand before she could step away. Somehow the shelf had slanted downward. She touched the bottom of the wood and pushed it level. “It’s a warning device.”

Carter nodded.

“There are others?”

He nodded again as he lifted the bolt and opened the door.

Bailee smiled. “I may be safer than I thought.”

When Riley’s boots sounded on the porch, Bailee slipped the apple behind her, hiding away her newfound knowledge. There were secrets in this house, secrets that might save her life.

“Evening.” Riley removed his hat. “How are you folks doing tonight? I hope I’m not interrupting your supper.”

Bailee glanced at Carter.

He read her thoughts and nodded.

“We’d love to have you join us for dinner, Sheriff. I made a peach cobbler.”

He hesitated a moment before agreeing. “I got something to talk to you about, Carter. If you don’t mind me talking while we eat. There isn’t much time to waste.”

Bailee hurried, placing the food on the table while the two men took their seats.

Riley watched them with a frown until he saw Bailee lean against Carter’s shoulder when she asked if the sheriff had heard from Lacy or Sarah. Riley didn’t miss the gentle way Carter put his arm around his wife’s waist, holding her a moment longer by his side. “They’re doing fine,” Riley answered with a grin. “As fine as the pair of you seem to be. Last I heard Sarah’s new husband sent me a note that he’s taking her to Dallas to see a special doctor. I’ll send word if I hear more.”

She wanted to ask if he knew more about Zeb, but fear kept her silent. If the sheriff had come to tell them about Whitaker, she wouldn’t have long to wait.

They were halfway through the meal when the sheriff lowered his voice to an official tone. “I need your help, Carter. We’ve got a problem in a little whistle-stop in Childress County.”

Carter steepled his hands in front of him and listened silently.

Sheriff Riley nodded as if hearing an old argument explode in the air between them. “I know you don’t want to travel. I know, son. You haven’t been a few miles from this farm since I’ve known you. But you’re needed, and, to my knowledge, you may be the only one who can help.” He added, “I’ll go along with you even though it means leaving that worthless Wheeler in charge of my office. I promise, I’ll be right by your side.”

Bailee listened closely. She couldn’t imagine what talent Carter might have that would make the sheriff willing to beg him to make a trip.

“We can take the six A.M. train and, with luck, be back by nightfall,” Riley added. When Carter didn’t answer, he continued, “There was a train wreck last night. Luckily, only one passenger car, but it was directly behind the engine. All other cars were hauling freight. Passengers weren’t supposed to be on the train, but they added a carful when they pulled out of Fort Worth.”

Riley looked tired. “When the train derailed, it was one hell of a mess.” Riley glanced at Bailee. “Pardon me.” He looked back at Carter. “Twenty-three died in the collision, a few linger still badly burned and busted up. Only one walked away, a little girl.”

“That’s terrible!” In her mind’s eye Bailee could picture a child crawling from the wreckage.

“The terrible part is, Miss Bailee, we think the collision wasn’t an accident. The train was carrying payroll money for several of the big ranches in the area, and the mail car’s safe is missing. The little girl may be our only hope of clues.”

“But how can Carter help?” The sheriff wasn’t making any sense. Carter had been here with her. He could know nothing of the wreck or the robbery. And judging from the doctoring of his face, he could be of little help to those suffering.

Riley looked directly at Carter. “The local law, an old friend of mine named Parker Smith, is having trouble communicating with the girl.” He hesitated for a minute before adding, “From the book she carried we believe she may have been heading to a school in West Hartford, Connecticut ”

Carter bolted out of his chair and stomped out on the porch. He didn’t need more information.

But Bailee did. “I don’t understand, Sheriff.”

Riley didn’t meet her stare. “We think the girl, like Carter’s mother, attended a special school there. Carter’s father told me once his brother was one of the teachers in what he called Gallaudet’s school.” Riley watched Carter through the open doorway. “The full name of the place was the American School for the Deaf. A doctor named Gallaudet founded it in 1817. To my knowledge it’s the only one in the country.”

Suddenly Carter’s world made more sense to Bailee. “His mother was deaf.” Her words were a statement, not a question.

Riley nodded. “I didn’t think it was important to mention because that was years ago and Carter can hear, even if he doesn’t listen most of the time.” Riley raised his voice slightly on the last few words.

“And his father?” Bailee wanted to know all about them.

“Carter’s father could hear. He met his wife while visiting where his brother worked. He said it was love at first sight, and, to tell the truth, I don’t think he ever saw it as a problem between them.” Riley leaned back in his chair. “At least not until Carter was born. Some of the kids around town called him the dummy’s kid and made fun of his mother like he couldn’t hear every word they were saying.”

Bailee could imagine how it must have been.

“She got to where, when she came to town, she would make movements with her fingers in Carter’s hand hoping no one would see her. I think they used their own silent way of talking most of the time. When I found him that day, with the bodies of his parents, he kept covering his hand with his mother’s and sending her some silent message no one could understand. I finally had to pull him away from her side. Tears were streaming down his face, but he didn’t make a sound, he just kept moving his hands in some strange pattern.” Riley lowered his voice. “It was like he was shouting to her in a language none of us could hear.”

Bailee fought down her own cry. Carter’s booted steps stormed back into the house. She turned her back, not wanting him to see her face.

Riley waited. “Well, son, will you help us? There isn’t a person for three hundred miles who knows the language of the deaf. We have to talk to this little girl and find out what she saw. She may be the only one who can describe who took the safe after the wreck. Sheriff Smith has no way of knowing how to contact her family. It will take a few days for them to arrive even after they get word, assuming she has any relatives. With your help we can learn all she knows and keep her safe until they pick her up.”

Carter spread his hands out on the table as if forcing them not to move. He hardened before their eyes as though not seeing or hearing anymore.

“I know what I’m asking.” Riley leaned forward. “I remember how many years it took you to just come into town once a month. If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t ask.”

Bailee placed her hand on Carter’s shoulder. His body felt as if it were made of iron. Not a muscle moved. “You have to go,” she whispered. “The child is all alone. You have to talk to her.”