Promise Me Texas (A Whispering Mountain Novel) (6 page)

“I think I’ll keep her if it’s all the same to you, Sheriff. She bought me that fine horse last night.” Andrew wasn’t sure he wanted to know more of the details about how she found the animal.

The sheriff shrugged. “She sure did. Walked right up to the outlaw and bargained with him. Folks will be talking about that for years in this town.” He moved a few feet closer and frowned at Andrew. “Looks like you’re feeling better, McLaughlin. Any chance you’ll be leaving soon?”

“Ready to get rid of us?”

“Look, I don’t care that you married a wild woman who interrupts gunfights, but that senator is still over at the saloon drinking and telling everyone she really belongs to him. I figure it’s just a matter of time before he downs enough courage and comes back for another try, and I don’t much like the idea of having to break up a fight.”

Andrew decided not to push his luck. He wasn’t so worried about Lamont LaCroix bothering him again as he was about Chesty learning that he was still alive. The outlaw had lost not only his freedom but most of his gang as well, and he’d be looking for someone to blame. “Sheriff, if you’ll help my wife load a wagon, we could be on the road in an hour. I’m not sure I could stay on a horse, but I could sleep in the back of a wagon till we get back home to Fort Worth.”

The sheriff looked downright tickled. “I’ll do that.”

Andrew reached for his coat. “I got money for the wagon.”

“Don’t worry about it, dear,” Beth said, “I have enough for what we’ll need. You rest, I’ll be back in an hour.”

He added
wealthy
and
independent
to his list of her traits. Frowning, he decided that when they were alone, they could split the cost. After all, she needed to get away as much as he did, but he didn’t like the idea of her paying for everything now.

After she left with the sheriff, Andrew washed up. The day nurse, a duplicate of the first nurse, changed the bandages around his throat and across his forehead. The stitches along his hairline were healing, but the dozen around his neck were dark and puffy. He grinned, remembering an old professor telling the class once that a man without scars by the time he’s thirty hasn’t done much living.

As the day nurse tied off the fresh bandage, Andrew said, “The doctor dropped by last night and said the man over there is doing better.”

This second nurse didn’t seem as bright as the first, but she was friendlier. “Oh, really? I figured he was a goner for sure.”

“Doc told me to tell you to go clean the guy up as best you could and give him water whenever he asks.”

She nodded. “I might even try a little broth. He reminds me of my boy who died at Shiloh. He’s Rachael’s charge, but I got the time this morning and who knows where Rachael is. That woman wanders off more than a hungry squirrel living next to a nut forest.”

Andrew kept an eye on the nurse to make sure she did no harm. The cowboy let out low sounds of pain as she cleaned him up as best she could without untying him, but he didn’t protest. Maybe he’d tried too many times before and it hadn’t worked.

Andrew planned to tell the sheriff to watch over the guy. The doctor rarely made it in before noon, and then the smell of last night’s whiskey always lingered on his breath. When Andrew wrote about the doctor in his journal, he’d write about a broken man who sold death to support his habit.

It was his suspicion that if he took the time to investigate, he’d find someone paying the doctor to make sure the cowboy didn’t recover.

CHAPTER 6

A
NDREW LEANED AGAINST THE WINDOWSILL FOR BALANCE
as he studied the street. Dallas wasn’t as wild a town as Fort Worth, but it held its secrets. He’d be happy when he left. So much had happened in the past two days. He felt like he’d fallen through a trapdoor into a life he had no control over.

About ten o’clock Beth pulled up with the wagon, and Andrew let out a long breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding. The old buckboard was wide with the sides painted red. She’d put her horse in the harness and tied his, still saddled, to the back.

She rushed in wearing another western outfit that had to be new. This one had a long, split skirt that covered the top of her boots and a soft, white blouse with a blue scarf looped beneath the collar. The day was warmer and she wore a leather vest, fringed with Indian beads. Her hair was pulled back in a long braid, her hat worn low like she was ready to face whatever storm blew her way. It crossed his mind that if she modeled for posters, men would flock to Texas.

“I’m back,” she said, stating the obvious. “Did you get the clothes I had sent over for you? “

He turned to face her wearing the western-cut shirt, vest, and jeans. “Thanks, they’re not my style, but at least they’re clean and you did a good job of guessing my size.”

“Between uncles, cousins, and nephews, I know sizes.” She studied him. “I thought you’d be a cowboy or a live-off-the-land outlaw. It never occurred to me you’d wear any other style of clothing.”

“No, sorry. Except for the times I ride out to camp and study the land, I usually wear a proper suit.” At her blank look he added, “You know, with a vest and a pocket watch.”

“Really.” She frowned. “What about wearing a gun? Don’t you have your holster in your bags?”

“I’m afraid not. Only a rifle in case of trouble or the fishing is so bad I decide to eat rabbit. I’ve never worn a gun strapped around my waist. It wouldn’t be comfortable.”

He could almost see her mind working as she stared at him. “You jumped on a train, planning a robbery, and you weren’t wearing a gun?” She laughed. “And Lamont called
me
dumb.”

“I told you I wasn’t in on the robbery. I guess you could say I was only an observer.”

“An observer who almost got himself killed. If I hadn’t taken off that red bandanna you wore, the sheriff would have you in jail right now.”

“I know; thanks for that. It was Chesty’s idea that we wear them so we wouldn’t accidentally shoot each other. His group wasn’t made up of the smartest outlaws. I got the feeling he picked most of them up along the trail. I went along to see what would happen and to keep Ryan out of trouble. That plan didn’t turn out so well.”

She stared at him as if he were half mule. “You’re not a coward. You saved me during the crash and stood up to Lamont, but only a fool wouldn’t wear a gun in this country.”

“Lots of men don’t, Beth.” He knew very little about her, but he had no doubt they were from separate worlds. He’d never lived even on the edge of town, and she obviously knew nothing of life in the city. It occurred to him that she thought less of him simply because he wasn’t armed.

“We’d better go, Beth.” There was no use arguing the point.

“Yes,” she agreed, but there was a coldness about the way she looked at him. With his arm around her shoulder, they began to move slowly out of the ward. “I told the sheriff about Colby Dixon,” she said without looking up at him. “He says he’ll check on him, but I don’t think he believed me about Doc trying to murder someone in his hospital.”

“At least he knows to watch. That’s all we can do for Dixon. The guy will wake up a little clearer in the head. Another day and he should be able to take care of himself.” Andrew didn’t miss Beth’s frown. They’d reached the hallway. The doctor’s offices across from the ward were still closed.

“I’m going to go back and untie him as soon as I get you settled in the wagon.” She wasn’t asking permission, so Andrew just nodded, mentally adding a few words to his list of adjectives that described her.

At the main door, she said, “How about we head west? I got family in Fort Worth.”

“Fort Worth would be the closest town; besides, it’d be the direction I’m heading anyway.” He thought of telling her that Fort Worth really was where he lived, but he guessed that would only disappoint her too. It made no sense, but she seemed less interested in him now that she knew he wasn’t a train robber.

“Anywhere sounds good to me. I need to put some miles between me and Lamont LaCroix. After that I’ll worry about getting home. He’ll figure I’m heading south toward the ranch, not west. After listening to him talk to the soldiers on the train about what his marriage would be like to me, I got so frightened I thought I’d be in much better company riding with my horse.”

He noticed she touched the butt of her Colt. No doubt it gave her comfort.

“So you were afraid?”

She didn’t answer as they moved toward the wagon, and he guessed she hated admitting her fear almost as badly as she hated Lamont.

“I made you a bed in the back of the buckboard.” She wasn’t even looking at him as she talked. “Thought you could use your saddlebags as a pillow or your saddle to lean on. It’ll be more comfortable than trying to ride on the bench while we’re traveling. I’m guessing with the muddy roads it’ll take us two, maybe three days.”

“Aren’t you afraid to be alone with
me
?” Andrew asked as he leaned on her for support.

“No, you’re too weak.” She looked up at him. “I could take you in a fair fight.”

“I will get stronger, you know.” He’d have to lose the other half of his blood before he’d stop enjoying her close like this. Like it or not, he was getting used to the way she fit against his side.

“I know,” she said casually. “When that happens I’ll probably have to shoot you. It’s been my experience that men tend to make fools of themselves around me. I’ve always had my family to help chase them away, but this time, when you go nuts over me, I’ll have to take care of you myself. With you unarmed it shouldn’t be that hard.” She grinned. “Maybe I’ll bring along a chaperone or two.”

Andrew made a mental note. Beth didn’t like being called beautiful, and she hated men falling all over her. If he wanted to stay alive, and he definitely wanted to if it meant being around her a little longer, he’d simply have to convince her he wasn’t attracted to her,

As they walked down the steps, Andrew noticed two little boys sitting on the back gate of the wagon. They were ragged and thin. The bigger one looked like the kid he’d seen sleeping in the hallway of the hospital. “Let me see. I got engaged two days ago, married yesterday, and now I have a family.”

“Correct,” she said, as if it all made sense.

“Great,” he mumbled as she helped him into the back of the wagon. “I can’t wait to see my grandchildren tomorrow. Don’t you think we should sleep together at some point? That’s one step I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t skip in our marriage.”

“Hush, dear. You shouldn’t talk of such things in front of the children.”

Andrew looked at her closely, wondering if it was possible that she believed the lies she told so easily.

He tried to make small talk with the two boys while she ran back inside to untie the cowboy. The little boys looked afraid of him. Apparently, they hadn’t noticed he was unarmed and therefore harmless. About the time he ran out of anything to say, he looked up the steps and saw his “wife” half carrying the young man from the hospital out the front door.

“Help me, Levi,” she called, and both boys jumped to help.

Colby Dixon had a bandage around one arm and bruises striping his upper arms that looked like he’d been held down with strong hands. He wore a flimsy hospital gown and one sock. Though he was almost as tall as Andrew, Colby was rail thin. His hair, three months past needing a cut, blew around him in a sunny mess of thick curls. The young man was either too young or too sick to realize what a sight he made to everyone passing.

Andrew moved sideways into the wagon until his back was behind the driver’s seat. Shoving boxes and luggage around, he pulled his saddlebags forward to use as a back support and covered them with a blanket as his “wife” and the little boys reached the wagon with their load. “Beth, what are you doing with that man, trying to kill him? He’s not even dressed and it’s freezing.”

She looked up, green eyes flashing. “I’m not leaving him in there alone. He begged me to get him out, and that is exactly what I’m doing. Hand me a blanket, Levi, and then run in and see if you can find his clothes. People are starting to stare.”

“I know where they are,” the boy responded. “I saw the nurse store them away.” He darted up the stairs.

Andrew watched as she made Colby a bed in the back of the buckboard, then raised the tailgate. In the morning sun Andrew saw his pale face more clearly. He was no more than a kid. Tall and slim, he couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen. He curled into a ball, too weak even to sit up. Beth covered him completely with blankets.

Levi returned with a stack of clothes, boots, and gun belt. Andrew didn’t know a great deal about guns, but he knew an expensive Colt when he saw one. Colby’s clothes were western down to his worn chaps and custom-made boots. Before he’d been hospitalized, he’d been a working rancher.

Beth climbed onto the bench with the little boys and looked back. “Everyone ready?” She sounded as cheery as if they were heading on a picnic.

Andrew lowered his hat over his face and slid down, using his saddle to rest on. Two or three days on the road with a half-dead cowboy and two kids. Not his idea of an outing. So much for being alone with her. “I think we’re about loaded to capacity.”

As the wagon picked up speed, he heard a scream and raised his hat. His first thought was that maybe the young cowboy fell out of the back of the wagon, but the pile of blankets hadn’t moved.

A chubby girl of about fifteen darted out of a café and jumped up on the bench with the two boys. She carried a pillowcase pack and a basket of hot rolls. Near as Andrew could tell she couldn’t talk, but she had no problem laughing and squealing.

“We have three children?” Andrew asked, wondering if the day could get any stranger.

“Yes, dear,” Beth answered. “Only, I should tell you that the boys are really little knights on a quest to find their wandering father.”

“Of course they are.” Andrew had spent his childhood reading fiction, but he’d never met a woman who lived it. Now, apparently, she’d found kinsmen overnight while he slept. If they didn’t get out of town fast, he’d be traveling in a caravan.

The sheriff showed up to see that they made it out of town and congratulated Andrew for giving the children a ride. He said his guess was that the petty crime in his town would drop with the Hawthorne boys gone.

By the time the houses faded, Andrew had fallen asleep on his saddlebags. Tucked away inside were his journals, his life in words, the one thing that would keep him company when all the people he met left him.

Only right now his world seemed a very crowded place.