Liz Ireland (28 page)

“As far as I can tell, he’s the only one on the whole place,” Jake said, still shaking his head in disbelief. “This was once the finest ranch in the county. Now it’s so empty and overgrown....”

This time when Darby looked up, he focused on something beyond Jake. Tears sprang to his old bloodshot eyes. “Eleanor,” he said, mouthing the name more than actually speaking it. “Eleanor, my daughter!”

The three of them stared at each other in confusion, then turned to see Gunter’s Appaloosa approaching. The old man stood and reached out as he walked to meet the horse. “How did you find her?” he asked as he rubbed the animal’s muzzle. “My daughter raised this mare from a filly.”

“Gunter must have taken him,” the sheriff said in a quiet voice as they watched the man reunited with his horse. Dobbs walked forward a step and asked gently, “What do you call that horse, Otis?”

The bewildered expression returned to Darby’s face. “I...I can’t remember.” He racked his brains for a few moments more, then, in a sudden change, asked, “May I keep her?”

The sheriff turned to Jake, as did Cecilia. The ownership of the horse was uncertain to all but him. Still half in shock at the scene around him, and the man he’d come to get even with, he said, “She’s yours, Darby.”

Darby smiled, a sad, nearly toothless smile. “Then I’ll call you Eleanor,” he whispered joyfully in the Appaloosa’s ear. Then he said the name again, as if not quite remembering whether the name belonged to a horse, a woman or an angel. “Eleanor.”

* * *

“A man loses his livelihood, then his pride, then his only loved one...” Burnet Dobbs sighed and shrugged. “That kind of shock is bound to change a man.”

They were seated around the small table in the sheriff’s kitchen, drinking strong black coffee. They had left Otis Darby at his ranch with promises to bring provisions. Being reunited with his daughter’s horse seemed to have done a little good for the man, who had finally snapped to enough to recognize the sheriff. He’d even said he was certain he could come into town himself, since he had a good animal to ride.

Jake was still amazed at the transformation of his old adversary. “I nearly killed him, but when I looked into his eyes, I knew he wasn’t quite right.”

“It’s a lucky thing you got close enough to see,” Cecilia said.

Jake shook his head, chagrined by his own hotheadedness. “I went out there for the sole purpose of bringing Darby to his knees, begging forgiveness. That’s why I got so close—so I could see the fear in his eyes. I’d waited so long for that moment, dreamed about it. Then, when it finally came...”

“You realized he’d stopped being your adversary long ago,” Cecilia finished, covering his hand with hers.

“You have nothing to fear from that man,” Dobbs said, shaking his head as he shoved his emptied cup forward on the table. “His daughter Eleanor’s death while he was incarcerated had a terrible effect on him. When he got out, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He had no money, and he discovered that before she took sick, his daughter had sold off all the livestock while he’d been in jail so she could live off the proceeds. Every time he came to town he looked worse and worse, and then finally we didn’t see him at all for a couple of months.

“I went down to the ranch to check on him—mostly because I never trusted Will Gunter, who was also supposed to be living with Darby. But when I visited...oh, about a year and a half ago, Darby said Gunter had disappeared, and I could tell then that his mental state had deteriorated. After that, we’ve been bringing him food, but there’s not a whole lot else to do for the man. He’s given up.”

“So he didn’t know where Gunter had gone, and that he was chasing Jake?” Cecilia asked.

“Gunter was insane, too, only in a more violent way,” the sheriff said seriously. “Darby had guessed that he had pushed farther west. If only I had known he was on your trail, maybe I could have helped, Jake.”

Jake frowned. “I guess he’d clung to his hatred of me so he wouldn’t have to think about losing his wife, and his crazy father-in-law.” He remembered seeing the cold, manic look in Gunter’s eye as he’d attempted to rob the wagon. “Or maybe he was just bad.”

“He was a viper,” Rosalyn said in an unrelenting tone. “Gunter deserved what he got.”

“But Darby...” His voice trailed off for a moment. “I guess he probably paid for his crime more than was his due.”

“And what now?” the sheriff asked Jake. “Are you thinking of staying in Redwood?”

“I don’t know about that.” Jake shrugged and glanced covertly at Cecilia. “Not much here for me now,” he said. Everything he wanted was in Annsboro.

“Bet there are plenty of towns west that need lawmen,” Dobbs said. “I could send word for you.”

Jake shook his head. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what exactly my business is anymore,” he admitted, “but I don’t think it’s the law.” He was careful to keep from glancing toward Cecilia. They needed to have a talk about this someday soon—in private.

“Some people can wander so much they lose their bearings completely,” the sheriff said. “Take care you don’t let that happen to you.”

“Don’t worry,” he assured his old colleague with a wink. “I might not have a good scheme for the rest of my life, but in the short term I know exactly what has to be done.”

Cecilia held her breath, and felt Rosalyn’s keen eyes on her.

“What’s that?” Dobbs asked.

“These ladies have to be escorted home.”

“M
ore coffee, Miss Pendergast?”

Shaking her head, Rosalyn smiled at Jake and then sent a hapless shrug to Cecilia, who was standing away from the fire, sipping her morning brew in an uncharacteristically brooding manner. She was achy and cranky after another sleepless night spent tossing and turning on the cold, hard earth, thinking about the man who lay—at Rosalyn’s insistence—a few hundred yards away.

She had thought his escorting them back to Annsboro was a good sign, but the man hadn’t spoken two words to her the whole time.

“I think I’ll walk a bit before we set out again,” Rosalyn said, giving Cecilia a look that indicated she wasn’t expected to join.

Somehow, since leaving Redwood, Jake just hadn’t known how to talk to Cecilia. He worried she would reject him now that the excitement in their lives had died down and she was able to see him for what he was—a man without much money, no profession and no home as of yet to offer her. Not much of a deal, when you thought about it. Yet when he remembered how they made love together, how it was to be with her...

Jake approached Cecilia carefully but swiftly, knowing full well there was scant time for broaching what needed to be said. Rosalyn couldn’t walk forever.

She turned away from him, her back stiff and proud, and he was filled with such tenderness that he couldn’t help moving toward her, determined to let her know how he felt no matter how long it took, even if Rosalyn ended up strolling all the way to Arkansas. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Cecilia, we need to hash some things out here.”

She turned, her expression expectant but leery.

“Namely, us,” he explained hesitantly.

Cecilia scoffed even as her heart tripped a little faster. “You weren’t so concerned about
us
when you went riding off hell-for-leather after Darby.”

“I was only concerned about our future,” Jake said.

“
Our
future?” Cecilia put her hands to her hips and tapped her foot in irritation. “How was I supposed to guess that, when for all I knew you were riding off to your doom?”

“You could have had a little trust in me,” Jake said defensively.

“But I was only trying to help!” she explained heatedly.

They stared at each other in frustration. Jake had meant to take her into his arms and whisper in her ear all the wonderful things she had come to mean to him—love, a family, a future. Now all he could think about was his shortcomings, and how unsure the future truly was.

He sighed. His best strategy was cut to the chase, and Cecilia’s impatient pout, which told him plainly that was all she had the heart for, spurred him on. Squaring his shoulders, he decided it was now or never.

“I think we ought to get married as soon as possible.”

Wide blue eyes stared at him unblinkingly for a moment, then Cecilia’s arms crossed, her chin jutted out, and the belligerent look he’d been expecting appeared in short order. Weren’t women supposed to enjoy being proposed to? Jake wondered in amazement. “And no,” he argued before she could, “I’m not saying this because I feel obliged.”

“You could have fooled me,” Cecilia said flatly.

“Just because of what I said before about consequences...” Jake stammered in frustration. “Well, hell, aren’t you concerned that you might be carrying my child?”

Cecilia felt a blush work its way right down to her toes. How had she ever let herself be in this position? A woman like Rosalyn would never find herself being proposed to this way!

Still, she couldn’t deny the truth in Jake’s words, and she answered him with a silent nod.

He kept at her. “Doesn’t that tell you we should get married?”

“Maybe,” she admitted.

His heart hammering in his chest, Jake took another step forward and held her hands in his. “Why all this hesitation? Let’s—”

Cecilia pulled away impatiently. “Wait a cotton-pickin’ minute,” she interrupted, shaking her head. “I’m not going to marry just anyone, no matter what the circumstances. When I get married, it’s going to be to someone...well, special.”

Jake shifted his stance with a heavy sigh. “Special, huh?” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Wasn’t what they had special? Or was
special
just another word for rich?

Cecilia nodded curtly. “Someone who doesn’t just care for me...”

Jake’s heart stopped beating. No one could care for her more than he did, he was sure of that. But if she wanted more than that...

“He would have to be someone who thinks I hung the moon.”

Jake smiled in relief. This was a specific he could handle. “You did!” he swore. “The fool thing has your name written all over it.” He leaned in closer. “Tonight I’ll show you.”

So far, so good. Cecilia weighed her options for a moment. “And I also want someone who respects my opinion,” she said, remembering their contentious argument about his going after Darby alone, “and who won’t send me away just because I disagree with him.”

Jake made a show of crossing his heart. “I’ll never make another move without your go-ahead.” He took her into his arms and promised, “And I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

“Never?” Cecilia asked, her brows wrinkling as Jake became more and more carried away.

He nodded. “You’ll be sick of me.”

Cecilia laughed. “That wouldn’t surprise me one bit.”

Jake bowed. “Is there any other requirement I need to fulfill for you?”

“Just the proper proposal requirement,” Cecilia said, trying to keep a straight face as Jake’s expression screwed up quizzically. “For instance, I have noticed that you have no trouble playing the swain to Rosalyn...or should I say
Miss
Pendergast.” She tossed her head petulantly.

“So...” Jake guessed slowly. “You would like to see a little more formality on my part.”

The suggestion met with a pert toss of the head.

To her shock, Jake dropped down to one knee, took her right hand in one of his and used his free arm to clutch her legs so that she was effectively hobbled within his grasp. “Oh, Miss Summertree, if only I could tell you what your barbs and insults have meant to me,” he began, his voice trembling dramatically.

Cecilia tugged at her hand, smarting at his sarcastic tone. She was willing to swallow her pride...to a point. But she’d given Jake the perfect opportunity to declare undying love and it appeared he wasn’t going to take it. Frowning, she finally pulled hard enough to retrieve her hand, but in so doing, she was completely thrown off-balance. She swayed and tipped until she was just saved from falling rump first onto the ground by landing instead on Jake’s bent knee.

“You planned that!” she sputtered in outrage.

Jake laughed outright. “No, but I wish I had. Unfortunately, I don’t think anything involving the both of us will ever go according to plan.”

He pulled her to him, and in spite of herself, Cecilia warmed to the raw emotion she saw in his dark eyes. His lips covering hers felt so right it was all she could do not to instantly melt against him. As it was, it took some coaxing on his part, and some sensuously whispered reminders of the pleasures they had shared together.

When he finally pulled away, she lay against his chest, breathless from their kiss but more alive than she could ever remember being. His heartbeat sounded in her ear, and she listened for a few moments to the wonderful quick rhythm that matched her own. They always reacted so strongly to each other, yet the connection between them had to be more than just a physical one—it just had to be.

For long minutes, neither of them spoke, but instead simply listened to the wind rustling through the grass and the sound of their own breathing. The world, after so long, seemed entirely peaceful. It felt perfect.

“I love you, Cecilia.”

She looked up, her expression one of astonishment when Jake whispered again, as if in answer to her unspoken prayer, “I love you.”

Surprise instantly turned to joy. “I can’t believe you said that!” she cried.

He laughed. “Is that good?”

“Don’t you know?” she asked. “I love you, too.”

He brought her lips close to his own. “Then it’s better than good,” he said.

It was like a miracle, one that she had been beginning to doubt would ever happen. Two days ago she had sworn she would never beg for someone’s love, but today she had been on the verge of doing just that...or convincing herself she could live without it. Now she couldn’t keep the unadulterated joy from her heart as they kissed again, this time with such tenderness it left her aching for more when he pulled away.

“I’m not sure what our life will be like,” Jake began.

Our life
sounded heavenly. “Happy, what else?”

Jake frowned. “Cecilia, I’m trying to be serious. As far as work goes, it will be a struggle. I might even have to leave for a while—”

“I thought you were never going to let me out of your sight.”

Jake released a sigh. “You never hesitate to throw a man’s words back at him, do you?” he asked.

“Not when I can use them to my advantage,” Cecilia said coolly.

“Well, we’ll have time to think it through,” he conceded. His eyebrows raised speculatively. “If you’re so concerned about our being parted, does that mean you’ve reached a decision?”

“Concerning what?”

“Marriage.”

Cecilia’s heart fluttered in hesitation for a scant second before she threw her arms around him once again, the momentum of which collapsed them both to the ground. “Yes!” she cried enthusiastically, then added, “when?”

Jake smiled with satisfaction. “As soon as we can scrounge up a preacher.”

“Mr. Reed! Cecilia!”

Rosalyn, her skirts balled up in her fists, came dashing up from her lonely stroll and skidded to a stop not two feet away from them. Her eyes widened in dismay when she saw them sprawled on the ground, but she quickly recovered her composure—if not her breath.

“A rider!” she cried. She pointed out beyond a rolling hill. “He’s headed this way!”

“Maybe he saw the smoke from our fire,” Cecilia conjectured.

Jake sprang into action, kicking dirt over the dying coals as he unholstered his gun. “You all take cover,” he instructed crisply.

Cecilia’s lips turned down in a frown. “Jake...”

He looked up, his expression panicked by her and Rosalyn’s inaction. “Didn’t you hear me?” he said impatiently.

“But, Jake...why should anyone be after us now?”

Slowly, his tensed expression fell slack and the revolver dropped to his side. But he refused to completely relax. Old habits died hard.

“We don’t know who this is,” he said.

Cecilia picked up her father’s rifle and waited until the approaching hoofbeats became louder and more insistent. The rider, who was galloping straight toward them, slowed as he came within better sight. Then, as he appeared to take in the number of people in their small camp, he again urged his horse into a gallop. A few hundred feet away, the stranger let out an exuberant, familiar cry.

“Cici!”

Jake and Rosalyn looked at Cecilia in surprise as a broad smile came instantly to her lips. “Buck!” she yelled, putting away her rifle and running forward to meet him.

Though she’d only been away for four days, it seemed ages since she’d seen Buck’s familiar face. His horse came to a rearing stop and he slid off with as much joy as she felt. They embraced with a vigor that completely ignored the fact that he was a married man and she was, very unofficially, engaged.

“I’d about given up hope of finding you,” he said.

“You’ve been looking for me?” she asked, surprised. She had known her father would be worried about her being gone, but it had never occurred to her that a search party would be sent out.

As if for the first time, Buck noticed the two people standing apart from them. He looked in confusion at Rosalyn, then at Jake.

“Pendergast!” he spat out. “You just wait—”

“I’m
Rosalyn
Pendergast,” Rosalyn interrupted him, moving forward to offer her hand. Cecilia had to give her credit for anticipating this bit of confusion before she herself did.

Buck’s bewildered gaze moved from Rosalyn to Jake and back again. “
Mrs.
Pendergast?”

“Miss,” Rosalyn corrected.

“This is Jake Reed, Buck,” Cecilia said. At his befuddled expression, she told him, “It would take to forever to explain.”

Buck shook his head as he turned his attention to her. “That’s not the only thing you have to explain, Cici. On the day you disappeared, the girls at Grady’s said they heard gunfire, and then one of them saw a man abduct a woman—” His words were cut off as his startled eyes moved to Rosalyn again. “You?”

Rosalyn nodded.

His gaze returned to Cecilia. “Then you and Pend...I mean whoever this fellow is...”

“We went for a ride,” Jake said jokingly.

Buck’s lips turned down in a dogged frown. “Your father’s not going to like this one bit, Cici,” he said ominously. “He’s already said that if Penderg—I mean, whoever this is—shows his face again, he’ll have his hide.”

Cecilia laughed. “Oh, Buck, it’s all right. We’re going to be married.”

His eyes flew open as they darted between her and Jake. “You mean Dolly was actually right about you and...whoever this is?” he said, jabbing a thumb toward Jake.

“Absolutely,” Cecilia confirmed.

Rosalyn let out a happy gasp. “Oh, Cecilia, I’m so happy for you!” She ran over and gave her new friend a brief hug and bestowed a smile on Jake. “I must admit, I was worried when I ran up and found you two rolling together on the ground.”

Cecilia and Jake exchanged a giddy loverly glance.

Buck’s face fell slack. “Guess you two will be getting hitched.”

* * *

The rest of the day they rode and rode, picking up more members of the Summertree search party as the day passed. When they finally reached the ranch, they discovered Dolly, her boarders, the Beasleys, Parson Gibbons and several other townspeople had camped out at the ranch to offer Silas Summertree what solace they could. The small, tense group from the house came out to meet the raucous crew riding in, and the air was thick with relief and jubilation. Upon seeing Cecilia, Lysander Beasley, to his credit, actually threw his bowler in the air and let out a hearty whoop.