Jodi Thomas (9 page)

Carter agreed without bartering and walked away. He went back to the general store and was relieved to see his supplies being loaded. Even minutes in town made him feel closed in.

“I got everything,” Willard boasted when he noticed Carter checking to see that the boxes were tied. “Mighty glad to see you married. It’ll be more business for me. She ordered a few things you never put on your list.”

Carter tilted his hat an inch in thanks and climbed onto the bench. Before he could release the brake and urge the horses into action, a woman came running from across the street. She jumped the ruts like a child told to keep clean.

Even though he’d only seen her once, and it had been raining, Carter recognized her. The sheriff called her Lacy last night when he’d married her off by proxy to a soldier. She was so short, he might’ve thought her younger if she didn’t have the figure of a full-grown woman.

“Are you the man who married my friend Bailee?” She stepped up on the wagon as though she planned to sit beside him.

Carter nodded and moved toward the center of the bench.

Lacy leaned closer and whispered, “I’m Lacy. Will you take a note to her?”

He nodded again.

“I got to get word to her as fast as possible.” The girl looked as if she might cry if he refused her request. “I’ve no way of contacting Sarah. No one seems to know where her husband took her once they married.”

She fought down tears, then added, “One of the men in the print shop said this was your wagon, so I’ve been watching, hoping to catch you.”

Lacy stopped long enough to breathe. “You’ll tell Bailee I’m fine, won’t you? And you’ll watch over her? She’s a real good person even if she does have a temper and tends to kill people.”

Carter fought down a laugh. He had a hard time believing the creature curled up in the huge four-poster bed last night was a murderer.

Lacy pulled a folded paper from her pocket. “Would you give her this? It’s real important or I wouldn’t ask.”

Carter took the paper and folded it into his shirt pocket with one hand.

“Thank you dearly.” She leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek before he could think to move. “Give Bailee my love.”

Then, as fast as she’d appeared, Lacy vanished.

Carter was half a mile out of town before he touched his cheek. He’d been kissed twice in one morning and had no idea why. Married life was certainly surprising.

He spent the rest of the drive trying to think of something to say to Bailee. A man’s first words to his wife should be something worth remembering. But he was afraid if he started talking, he wouldn’t know how to stop. Over the years he’d had long conversations in his mind about things no woman would probably be interested in hearing. He’d seen women walking the street talking, but he had no idea what the creatures talked about.

It was noon when he pulled into his small farm yard. He sensed the changes even before he pinpointed each one. Rugs hung across the clothesline. The porch had been swept. The chickens that normally wandered around the yard were missing.

Every muscle in Carter’s body tightened. When the raiders had attacked years ago, they’d taken everything, including all livestock. They’d left only broken dishes and furniture too large to bother with.

As he swung down from the wagon preparing for the worst, he glanced at the windmill and relaxed a bit. The broken blade still pointed north. No one had entered the back gate or it would have moved.

Bailee stepped through the front door with an armload of quilts, and he forgot about the windmill trap he’d put into place months ago.

She smiled shyly. “Hello. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. I thought I’d air out my bedroom.”

He watched her blush as she sat the blankets aside.

“I’ll put your lunch on the table.” She turned to step back inside.

He touched her shoulder, stopping her progress, and for a second, felt her stiffen. When she looked back at him, he thought he saw fear in her eyes.

But she didn’t step away. She just stood beside him, so close he could hear her breathe, silently telling him she planned to face whatever happened.

He reached into his pocket and handed her the note Lacy had given him without taking his eyes off her face. He liked the way she pulled her hair up on the sides so he could see her clearly.

The hint of panic drained from her as she opened Lacy’s note and smiled at the bold signature. “It’s from my friend,” she said as she read the note to herself.

Emotions battled in her expression, and he wished he’d thought to glance at the letter earlier. The blood seemed to drain from her face as he watched her finish the note.

Worry or fear drew her mouth tight. “I ... I ...” A cry choked through. She fought for control. Her slender fingers pressed against her throat.

Carter caught her when she crumbled, sweeping her up as easily as one might a willow branch. He carried her into the cool house wondering what he was supposed to do with her. She made no protest as she suddenly breathed deeply as though she’d been under water, but her body stiffened once more. Whatever had been in the letter terrified her, but his nearness gave her no comfort.

He lowered her into the rocker and knelt beside her. For the first time he noticed how frail she seemed. He guessed that for the past weeks she’d been the leader, the rock on whom the other two women depended. Only whatever had been written on the note had broken her strength, if only for a few moments.

For a long while he just watched her, unsure what to do, and having no idea what to say. She closed her eyes and leaned into the chair as if the wood could cuddle her fear away.

“Lacy writes to warn me,” she whispered without opening her eyes. “The man we thought we killed on the road is rumored to be alive. Since the deputies the sheriff sent to look for the body never found one, Sheriff Riley fears the rumors may be true.”

Her fingers twisted together in her lap. “A drunk swears Zeb Whitaker told him we have something of his, and Lacy writes that he’s sworn to kill us all if he must in order to get it.”

Bailee made herself breathe. “The sheriff thinks the drunk could be lying, just to stir up trouble, but if he’s not ...”

Carter covered her fingers with his hand, and she finally opened her eyes. He saw not fear, but embarrassment in her stare. Somehow, seeing her like this was too intimate for strangers, but she was not a woman to run and hide. Even now, she faced him.

“I don’t have anything of his.” She leaned forward slightly. “I swear. We took nothing, not even the gold coins that spilled out of his saddlebags when he fell.”

When Carter didn’t answer, she rocked back in the chair. “How can I expect anyone to believe me.” The words were more to herself than to him. “I’m just so tired of running.”

He tightened his grip on her hands until she looked at him once more.

She smiled. “I can’t allow myself to panic over a rumor, now can I? There is much to do.”

The rattle of an approaching wagon drew their attention. As they both looked up, her schooner and oxen pulled into view.

“You brought my wagon and team here?”

He nodded.

“I thought you’d sell them.” The fear and sadness in her eyes were gone, replaced by excitement. “You had a right, you know. All the things I ordered from the general store must have cost quite a sum.”

Carter followed her to the porch as Mosely drove close. She lowered her voice. “It does look ragged, doesn’t it? You’d hardly believe how only a few months ago I thought it looked grand.”

She moved closer to him as Mosely stepped down from her wagon. Carter found it little comfort that she was less afraid of him than the livery owner.

“Morning, missus.” Mosely tipped his hat. “Your man paid me to bring your things out.”

Bailee was so excited she hardly greeted the man. By the time Mosely stepped a foot on the porch, she had jumped into the back of the wagon and was handing out boxes to Carter along with a steady stream of orders as to where she wanted each crate placed in the house.

One box was china, one quilts, one table linen. Bailee told him about each as she watched him carefully carry it into the house. Mosely stood far enough away so that she didn’t hand him a box, but close enough to offer a comment or two as she worked.

After several trips Carter returned to the back of the wagon to find her standing empty-handed. “That’s all I have. The bed is ruined and everything else is just empty crates.”

Carter raised his hands and she leaned forward. His fingers encircled her waist as he lifted her down.

“You’ll keep the wagon?”

He nodded.

“And the oxen?”

Carter smiled as he lowered her slowly. The oxen were in such bad shape he wouldn’t have been surprised to have to pay someone to take them off his hands, but she seemed to think they were somehow a part of her dowry.

“I best be getting back,” Mosely interrupted. “As it is, I probably missed lunch all together, what with having to drive all the way out here. I had no idea your place was so far out.”

“You’re welcome to join us for lunch,” Bailee said, then glanced at Carter.

He tried to hide his anger, but his fingers must have tightened slightly at her waist, for she pulled away.

“But we understand if you need to get back to your business,” she added, as if knowing she’d been too quick with the invitation. She watched Carter. “Perhaps you’ll join us some other time, Mr. Mosely?”

Mosely didn’t take the hint. “I guess I could stay. No one will miss me for a while.”

Carter wanted to stop the man from going inside. He didn’t like anyone in his house. He’d let the woman in for one night, and she was already opening the door to others. He’d seen the fear in her eyes. He knew she needed to be safe. Couldn’t she understand that this wasn’t the way?

There was nothing to do but follow her inside. He wanted to unhitch the horses, but he wasn’t about to let Mosely into his house without watching him every moment. The horses and the oxen would have to wait.

Carter glanced at the rug covering the entrance to his underground home. It was still in place. Luckily, Bailee, while cleaning, hadn’t worked her way across the room. No one knew about the stairs, not even Sheriff Riley. It was only a matter of time before Bailee noticed. Another thing Carter hadn’t thought about when he’d decided to put his name in the marriage hat last night. Before long she’d know his secrets.

Mosely walked around the room inspecting everything. “Mighty nice place you got here, Carter. Look at all them books.” He pulled one from the shelf. “I’ll bet they’re your parents. Folks say your mother could read and your pa had even attended one of them colleges.”

Bailee thought the comment strange, but didn’t ask what he meant. True, most folks in this part of the country were lucky to get any schooling at all, but if Carter’s folks came from back East, it wouldn’t have seemed extraordinary that they were educated.

“Great furniture. Some of the finest I’ve seen made in these parts. Wouldn’t want to sell any of it, would you? I know folks in town who would like having someone to buy tables and chairs from besides the undertaker.”

Carter didn’t bother to answer. He had no interest in going into business with Mosely.

Bailee suggested twice that Mosely wash his hands before the man took the hint. By the time he’d scrubbed off a few layers of dirt, she had lunch on the table. A simple vegetable stew Carter didn’t take the time to taste as he watched Mosely.

The man ate half of Carter’s monthly loaf of bread, even going so far as to use one thick slice to wipe up the last drippings in his bowl. He bragged on the food as his good eye continued to scan the room, probably trying to spot every detail to tell his friends, assuming Mosely had any.

The clank of Mosely’s spoon in the empty bowl hadn’t finished rattling before Carter stood at the door waiting for him to leave.

Mosely was a man used to feeling his welcome wear thin. He said his farewell to Bailee, grunted at Carter, and hurried out, claiming it was time to get back to work.

Bailee walked to the porch, but Carter watched Mosely from the doorway. The little man untied the nag he’d brought behind the wagon and climbed up. He waved, said her cooking was mighty good and he’d have to come back some time and try it again.

Bailee glanced back at Carter before thanking the man. She didn’t encourage him to make good on his promise.

They stood in silence and watched him ride away.

When he disappeared, Bailee turned to face Carter.

He was surprised to see anger in her eyes. The kind of anger that set her face afire. The woman was a kaleidoscope of emotions.

“You didn’t want me to invite him to lunch, did you?” She asked the question as though
he’d
done something wrong.

He wasn’t sure whether to nod or shake his head while he tried to figure out if she was angry at him, or at the fact Mosely ate so much. Surely she noticed how much bread the little man put away.

He’d taken too long to think about it by the time he realized patience wasn’t one of her virtues.

Her hands rubbed up and down her skirt a few times before balling into fists at her waist. “Well, how am I supposed to know what you want if you don’t tell me?”

He had a strong suspicion that she was mad at him, not upset about the bread.

“I know we’re both new at marriage, but I’m trying. You have to tell me what bothers you.” She moved her hands down the sides of her skirt once more as if trying to remain calm. “Then I’ll try not to do it. I’ll tell you what bothers me and hope you’ll respect it just the same. Trying not to get on each other’s nerves seems as good a place to start as any.”

When he didn’t answer, she pushed past him and went into the house. As she began prying into one of her crates, she added, “I can’t be a mind reader. You have to talk to me sometime, Carter McKoy. You can’t go around nodding at me once in a while and expect me to know what you are thinking.”