Texas Lily (31 page)

Ollie and his companion hadn't climbed from their horses before Lily stopped in front of them. They stared at her uncomprehendingly before realizing that the rider in fringed leather and trousers was a woman. Only when she was close enough for her long yellow braid to be seen did they realize who she was.

"Lily! What in hell are you doing out here in weather like this? If that husband of yours doesn't take better care of you than that..."

"Shut up, Ollie. What are you doing all the way out here? Did you find who was shooting at us?" Lily stayed in the saddle.

She had a sneaking suspicion that Cade wouldn't approve of the man remaining on the other horse. She had seen him only once, but his was a distinctive face. Pointed features and olive coloring, a black mustache, and a strand of gray through polished black hair gave him a distinguished look. His lack of height, however, diminished the fascination. Between Ollie and herself, he appeared to be not much larger than a boy.

Ollie seemed prepared to offer another scold when the front door opened and Travis appeared on the porch. Clad in his embroidered black waistcoat and fitted frock coat, Travis was the epitome of everything the rough-clad storekeeper was not. The two antagonists glared at each other.

"Don't mind me, old man," Travis said, as he sauntered toward the red peddler's wagon. "I'm just fetching some of my fine medicinal liqueur, guaranteed to take the ache out of the old bones on a day like this. Have you tried some, gentlemen? I started with a recipe from an old voodoo doctor down New Orleans way, then using my scientific training, I experimented until the brew was just right, aged to bring out its medicinal properties and strong enough to kill any incipient diseases before they can strike. Only two bits a bottle will buy you health, gentlemen. Will you be trying some?"

Lily nearly broke into laughter at the expressions on their visitors' faces. It had been a long time since she had heard his patter. He hadn't lost his touch, although she realized he was merely using the talk to take stock of the situation. If he had really wanted to sell them something, they would be off their horses by now, begging to buy a bottle at any price.

"I think the gentleman jests," the Spaniard said when Travis paused to take a breath.

Scowling, Ollie turned his back on Travis and faced Lily. "We need to talk with you, Lily. I think it's best done in private. We've been friends for a long time and out of respect to Jim, I don't want you hurt. Is there a place in the house...?"

Lily wanted to tell him his friend wasn't welcome in the house, but she didn't think it wise to let them know that Cade had warned her. Did they know Cade wasn't here? Even if they didn't, they would think he was out with the cattle.

Travis swung down from the wagon with a bottle in his hand. "You're missing a fine opportunity, gentlemen. I've only a few bottles left, and the winter is far from over. I know Mr. Clark here, but I don't believe we've been introduced, sir. I'm Professor Mangolini, but my friends know me as Travis." Genially, he held up his hand to the small man on the elegant Arabian horse.

"I am Ricardo de Suela." He ignored Travis's hand and focused his attention on Lily. "I come only because my friend asks it of me. He fears you will not believe his concern and wishes someone to confirm what he says."

Lily's gaze dropped to de Suela's feet. They were encased in expensively stitched Spanish leather boots. Her eyes grew frosty. "We are friends here. You may say what you like in front of my friends."

Red eased his horse closer to hers, understanding that Lily hadn't invited the stranger inside. His hand dropped to the rifle tied to his saddle.

Travis returned to the porch and leaned against a pole, waving the bottle of "medicine". "We're just one big happy family here, gentlemen. Health and happiness are some of the benefits of my medical training. This liqueur isn't the only example of my trade. Warts? Rashes? Hives? I have a powder that will cure them all. Spread the word and the entire populace will be grateful to you. There is only one thing this beautiful country lacks, and that is the services of a fine physician. I'm here to rectify that error. Gentlemen, what will it be?"

"Lily, can't you shut that joker up? This is important."

"You might do better to try his medicine than talk to me. Why don't you wait until Cade is here?"

"It's about Cade, and you know it. Send all these people away and just let you and me talk. Can't you trust me enough to do that?"

Lily glanced around to see who "all these people" might be. To her surprise, she found her father in the doorway, blocking it to prevent the children from wandering out.

The men idling a rainy day in the barn had emerged out of curiosity, and they, too, were armed. It was as if a warning had spread across the ranch without a word being said. Cade had done his work well.

She shrugged and met Ollie's gaze again. "I don't hide anything, Ollie. Speak up or go on about your business."

"Damn, Lily, you're the most stubborn..." Ollie shut up as Ricardo jostled his horse and brought his attention back to the subject. Grimacing, he proceeded as instructed. "That shooting the other day could be just the beginning. Word's got around town about Cade, and there's a heap of resentment about an Indian and a Mexican taking over some of the best land in the territory. He's the enemy, Lily. If Santa Anna came through here today, Cade could turn us all in as traitors and have us killed. The people in town don't like it."

Lily fought to hide her grin. The ploy was much too obvious. Only a fool like Ollie would be suckered in by it. She looked pointedly at de Suela. "I believe a few Mexicans have been known to resent a dictatorship and fight for our cause." She turned back to Ollie. "Do you want to try Indians now? Do you think he'll tell the Comanches where to find you?"

"This isn't funny!" Ollie shouted. "I'm trying to warn you. I don't want you or your family hurt, but that's what will happen if Cade stays. Sell the place and move elsewhere if you're determined to have him, but you'd do far better to tell him to beat it. People will understand."

Anger replaced Lily’s grin. The jest was growing old. "Thank you for the warning, Ollie. I'll make certain everyone out here is well armed in case any concerned citizens decide to come to my rescue."

"You do not understand, Mrs. Brown. Ollie is trying to be kind. He does not tell you everything. Listen to him."

Lily pulled the reins of her horse until it danced impatiently. With deceptive softness, she replied, "My name is de Suela, sir. Would you care to say more?"

The man blanched with fury, but Ollie was in front of him and didn't see. "Damn it, Lily, he's lied to you just like Ricardo said he would. Cade's not a de Suela. He's a bastard half-breed and a cold-blooded killer. You haven't heard the story from Galveston, have you? He shot a man in the back with an arrow and stole a small fortune off him. Where do you think Cade got the money he gave you yesterday? And folks are saying it's awful convenient that Jim dropped dead in the middle of the prairie for no known reason at all just in time for Cade to ride in and take over. Do you think there could have been an arrow in his back, too?"

Lily went livid and reached for the rifle on her saddle. Before she could unhook it, Travis's slow drawl interrupted, and she glanced down to see he had a pistol in his hand.

"I believe that's enough for now, gentlemen. We'll be seeing your backs, if you please. Boys, will you be so kind as to escort these two gentlemen from our property? And if you see them come back, I'd recommend shooting first and asking questions later. It's an old policy my granddaddy taught me. Works well with rattlesnakes and any other varmints that cross your path."

Red jerked his head, and the other men formed a circle cutting Lily off from her visitors. Ollie scowled, but Ricardo was already swinging his horse around, his silver spurs jingling his outrage as he kicked his elegant horse into a run that Red's muscular mustang couldn't match.

Lily could almost hear Ricardo's curses over the trample of hooves. Wearily, she allowed Travis to help her down.

"You'd damned well better hope none of that is true, Lily, or I'll kill the man myself," Travis murmured as he handed her up to the porch.

And the state of her nerves was such that she didn't take objection to the insult. She merely walked away.

Chapter 25

The adobe walls rising like a fortress from the flat mesquite grasslands could be seen miles away, so Cade had no illusion that his arrival would be unexpected.

He had passed this way many times since he was a child. The place had held him in fascination. It had been deteriorating when his mother first brought him here. Since then, the adobe had cracked in many places and the outer layers had fallen away to reveal the old logs and mud within.

He’d kept an eye on the main house that had become a home for dust and spiders. Eventually, there was evidence of occupation by snakes and coyotes and other creatures of the prairie. Another time Cade had noticed that the flat roof had sprung a leak in a spring storm, and the water had seeped in and frozen during a bad winter, destroying much of the once-lovely tile floor. It had been little more than an abandoned ruin for this past year or longer.

But the adobe gleamed intact against the black winter sky as Cade approached now. El Caballo had been right. Someone had returned.

He wouldn't get his hopes up. He had waited for this day for years. His efforts to trace his mother's family had led to nothing in all that time. Cade suspected that there was a conspiracy to keep the knowledge from him: there had been more than enough hints that they were protecting someone. But even if the people who had restored the
ranchero
were not related, they must know of his grandfather. They had to buy the land from him.

Cade rode forward slowly, giving the men standing at the guard post on the inner wall a chance to see that he was alone and relatively unarmed. He was glad that he had stopped in Bexar to wash and change into clean clothing. He was still wearing the old felt hat Lily had given him, but he now sported his best white shirt and a red bandanna and fresh buckskins. All he needed was a sash around his waist and a bolero, and his costume would be complete. Even his horse wore the Spanish saddle with the high pommel of a
vaquero
instead of the low-slung American one. His size was the only evidence that he wasn't as he seemed.

The gate swung open to let him enter without his requesting it. Cade had half expected to be met with an army and guns, but as he rode into the outer courtyard there was only the guard and one old man.

Swinging down from his horse, Cade eyed his host warily. The man was tall, taller than most but not as tall as Cade. He was so slender as to be almost frail, and the ebony walking stick in his right hand added to that image as he braced himself on it. He was dressed in little better fashion than Cade, although his trousers were of a wide-bottomed cut and made of an expensive black fabric that gleamed in the right light. He wore no coat in the winter wind, as if he had just come from the house after being warned of a stranger's arrival.

A boy scurried forward to take the horse's reins. Cade released them reluctantly. He was unaccustomed to any form of hospitality. The old man's wariness seemed more natural. Surrendering his only means of escape. Cade faced his host.

Leaning on the stick, the old man stepped forward, his gaze never leaving Cade's face. The ravages of age had left deep lines on his visage. His eyes were nearly shrunken in his head, but they were bright and fierce and black as Cade's own. His mouth worked slowly, as if the joints were unused and in need of grease, He stopped a foot from Cade and measured him with his eyes.

"You are bigger than they said. If your father looks like you, I could understand a few things a little better."

"He is not so tall but more striking. My mother loved him when she did not hate him."

Tears formed in the old man's eyes, and he nodded curtly and strode in the direction of the house. "You had better come in. The wind grows cold and I am an old man."

Standing there for a moment, Cade let the cold Texas wind cut through him as he looked up to the high, scuttling clouds and around to the massive mud walls. He had dreamed of this moment all his life. He needed to remember it now. Dust swirled around his moccasins, and he drank deeply of air stronger than whiskey. Then he turned his eyes to the sprawling house ahead and the impatient old man silhouetted in the doorway.