Texas Pride: Night Riders (20 page)

“We’ve wandered from the subject,” Lukey said, glancing anxiously around the room. “If Riley’s men are doing the stealing, we’ll need proof before the sheriff will do anything. They’re popular with the merchants because they spend a lot of money.”

“And our sheriff prefers to spend his day in the saloon drinking rather than doing his job,” Myrtle added.

“Maybe we do not need to wait for proof,” Ivan said. “Maybe all I have to do is tell him he must leave our ranch.” He didn’t realize until the word was out that he’d said
our
ranch. He turned to Carla who was looking at him in a way he didn’t quite understand. It wasn’t angry or upset. She looked puzzled.

“Do you think he’ll go?” Lukey asked. “He has Mr. diViere’s permission, and he’s the one who owns the land.”

“If he refuses, the sheriff will have to light a fire under him,” Myrtle said. “It’s about time he did something to earn his pay.”

Light
a
fire
under
him
! Ivan shook his head at some of the strange things Americans said. “I will ride out to his camp tomorrow,” Ivan said.

“I’ll go, too,” Carla said.

“I’ll come and bring the sheriff,” Lukey said.

“With that crowd, you won’t need me,” Myrtle said.

Carla and Lukey looked surprised at Myrtle’s remark, but Ivan could see a mischievous twinkle in her eye. It amazed him that people who thought they knew her so well didn’t know her at all.

Lukey got to his feet. “I’d better get home. Ida is still nervous about being in the house by herself.”

“We should be going, too,” Carla said to Myrtle. “Let me help you clean up.”

“Nonsense. I’ll be in my bed before you reach your ranch.”

Ivan took his wineglass and Carla’s cup to the kitchen, while Carla went to fetch her wrap.

“You take care of that girl,” Myrtle said to Ivan when they reached the kitchen. “She’s real smart when it comes to running that ranch, but she hasn’t got a grain of sense when it comes to her own life.”

“She is smarter than you know.”

“Then why hasn’t she agreed to marry you?”

“Because I have not asked her.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I am going back to Poland.”

“Have you asked her if she’ll go with you?”

“She would never be happy in Poland.”

“Shouldn’t that decision be up to her?”

“Are you two talking secrets?” Carla was standing in the doorway, grinning broadly. “I never saw a man who could captivate women like Ivan.”

“All the more reason you should get him before a preacher quick as you can. If I were thirty years younger, I’d cut you out without a second thought.”

Carla colored, and her smile faltered before making a brave recovery. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ivan’s going back to Poland as soon as he sells his part of the ranch.”

“If babies can learn to speak Polish, adults can, too.”

Carla looked completely flustered. “I’m sure they can,” she replied, “but I have no reason to learn Polish. Now we’d better start home. We have a long ride tomorrow.”

Ivan had never thought she would consider going to Poland, but it was clear from the degree of her embarrassment that she had. It was a shock because it changed everything.

The next several minutes were taken up setting a time to leave tomorrow and making arrangements to meet Lukey and the sheriff. Yet he could see Carla visibly stiffen when he climbed into the buggy next to her.

“You do not have to be afraid of me,” he said. “I never expected you would move to Poland with me.”

Carla kept her gaze straight ahead. “I’m not afraid of you, but how would you know whether I would move to Poland?”

“I did not ask because I did not think you could be happy in Poland. Would you consider it?”

“I would
consider
anything. What I would
do
, however, might be entirely different.”

It was clear from Carla’s set frown that she was unhappy with him. Had he been too much of a gentleman? Did American women expect men to whisk them off to strange lands? In Poland, a woman expected to know exactly what her future would be down to the size of her allowance, the number of servants, even the kinds of carriages and riding horses. But women of his class in Poland didn’t own ranches. Nor did they cook their own meals or clean their own homes. Before marriage, their fathers made decisions for them. After they were married, their husbands did it. But Carla was used to making her own decisions. She would probably expect to keep doing it after she was married.

Though he’d fallen in love with Carla, Ivan had never considered
marrying
a woman like Carla. After his desperate affair so many years ago, he decided love and marriage were two different things that shouldn’t be looked for in the same place. He felt that held true for him despite seeing Cade and Pilar manage both day after day. Was he still locked into the pattern of thinking like a traditional Polish nobleman? If so, did he
want
to be a captive of that social environment? It offered many advantages, but one could never be an individual. One had to fit in. One had to support the social order by being a good representative of one’s class. One had to live by the rules. He hadn’t lived by them for a long time. Was he sure he wanted to go back?

“You’ve been very quiet,” Carla said. “Don’t tell me I shocked you.”

“Not a shock exactly, but it was a surprise.”

“Why should it be? I assume you’ve considered staying in Texas.”

“Yes, but out of necessity rather than choice.”

The purpose of coming to America had been to make his fortune so he could return to Poland and the society into which he’d been born. He liked his American friends, but they were not family. Members of Polish families were bound by strong ties beyond that of a parent’s love of children and children’s love and respect for their parents. There was history, a common heritage, age-old customs, and a religion that was nearly two thousand years old. There was a strong sense of community in the extended family of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, regardless of how many times removed. The strong defended the weak, the wealthy provided for the less fortunate, the beautiful never lost sight of those less favored.

“Would it be so terrible?” Carla asked.

How could he explain what it was like to be in exile from his own country, his society, his family? After being in America for ten years, he still felt like an outsider.

“Many people leave their country because they want a life they cannot find there. That was not true for me. I have a place. I only lacked the means to support that life.”

“And you will have the means when you sell your part of the ranch.”

“Yes.” That’s the only reason he accepted Laveau’s offer. Otherwise, he would have had nothing to do with a man who’d proved over and over again that he preferred evil over good.

“And you haven’t changed your mind?”

Carla had always insisted that she handle the reins whenever they used the buggy. Ivan hadn’t objected, but tonight he wished he had because she was using that as an excuse to avoid looking at him. It was hard to figure out what she might be thinking when he couldn’t see her eyes or her expression.

“Things have happened too quickly for me to think about all the possibilities.”

She flicked the whip to put the horse into a brisk trot. “You’ll have almost a year to make up your mind. Do you think that will be enough?”

***

“Why did they have to choose a spot so damned far away?” the sheriff asked.

He’d been complaining from the moment he showed up at the ranch that he didn’t like having his morning routine interrupted.

“He and his men are away a lot,” Ivan explained, “so he wanted a place not just anyone could find.”

“I still say you’re making a mistake,” the sheriff said. “That man is here to see nobody steals our cattle. Why would he be involved in stealing?”

“We don’t know that he is,” Carla said, “but if he leaves, that will spare everybody in Overlin of being suspected of the thefts.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Maybe the thefts will stop.”

“Maybe they’ll move elsewhere,” was Lukey’s hope.

“If Laveau is behind them,” Ivan said, “they will not stop.”

“I know why Carla hates Laveau,” the sheriff said, “but what’s your beef with him?”

Ivan didn’t want his personal history to become common knowledge, but the sheriff was owed some explanation. “He stole from me and betrayed our troop during the war.”

The sheriff might be lax about his duties, but his loyalties were never in doubt. “Why didn’t one of you shoot the bastard?”

“He has been protected by the Union army and the Reconstruction government.”

“Hell, shoot him anyway.”

That’s what Nate had wanted, but Cade said it would make them as bad as Laveau. Nate argued that Cade only felt that way because he had married Laveau’s sister, but the others had agreed with Cade. Besides, Laveau had made it known that if anything happened to him, the authorities should look first to the members of his old troop. Since five of the seven surviving members were married, some with children, there were other people to be considered. Because all of them had served in the Confederate army, none would stand much of a chance in a Reconstruction court.

“Mr. diViere is not the issue here,” Lukey said. “It’s Riley and his crew.”

“I don’t think you’ve got a good reason to run him off,” the sheriff said to Carla, “but it’s your land.”

“I never wanted him here,” Carla said.

Ivan knew that, but he also knew Carla wouldn’t have suspected Riley’s men or considered asking him to leave if it hadn’t been for him. There was nothing concrete to tie Riley to the robbery, but Ivan didn’t need more than to know Riley was connected with Laveau. The evil inside Laveau was in everything he did, and he infected everyone who worked with him. Ivan had wanted nothing to do with Laveau, but he couldn’t turn his back on a chance to return to Poland. He should have followed his instincts, but he was glad he was here to see that nothing happened to Carla. Laveau didn’t care that the things he did could destroy lives. He actually seemed to enjoy it. It gave him a sense of power that was as intoxicating as it was dangerous.

“You can tell Riley your suspicions to his face,” the sheriff said to Carla. “It seems he’s in camp.”

It appeared that Riley’s whole crew was in camp. From the number of men moving around and the numerous tents set up, Carla guessed Danny and Kesney’s foreman weren’t the only new recruits. Whatever he was doing apparently paid well.

“There he is,” the sheriff said to Carla when Riley emerged from one of the tents. “Go tell him.”

“His arrangement is with Laveau,” Ivan pointed out. “I should tell him.”

“I don’t think he’s going to take kindly to a foreigner telling him to clear out,” the sheriff said before turning back to Carla. “Or a woman, either. You better do it, Lukey.”

“This was Reece land long before Mr. diViere ever set foot in Overlin,” Carla said. “I’ll tell him.”

She spurred her horse forward. Ivan moved quickly to stay at her side. Lukey and the sheriff followed.

Riley didn’t appear happy to see the delegation. “What brings you all the way out here?” he asked when Carla brought her mount to a stop. When Carla dismounted, Ivan did as well.

“We’ve had some trouble in town,” Carla said.

“What kind? We’ve been gone for several days.” Riley’s face gave away nothing. Either he didn’t know about the trouble, or he was a good actor.

“Hey, Sis. What are you doing here?”

“We had about twenty men from a town in Mexico come into Overlin yesterday,” Carla said to Riley. “They were looking for Americans who robbed them and stripped the churches of their gold and silver. They held most of our women and children hostage until we allowed them to search the entire town. They only left when they couldn’t find anything that had been stolen.”

“Where did they come from?” Danny asked. “We can go after them tonight.”

“There’s no need to go after them,” Carla told her brother.

“Why not?”

“They didn’t take anything or hurt anybody.”

“We still can’t have foreigners coming into Overlin with guns,” Danny insisted.

“What do you want us to do?” Riley asked.

“We’re not accusing you and your men of anything,” Carla said, “but they thought Overlin was involved because your men are camped here. Since they know you’re going into Mexico, and since you’re Americans—”

Apparently impatient with Carla’s diplomatic effort, the sheriff interrupted her. “They want to you pull out and set up camp someplace else.”

“Why would you want that?” Danny asked.

“As long as they suspect anyone in this area, the women and children are in danger,” Ivan explained.

“If Riley’s men were not here,” Carla added, “there wouldn’t be anyone they could suspect of stealing from them, and they’d have to look somewhere else.”

“That’s not fair,” Danny protested.

“Was it fair to have our women and children terrorized for a day and half the night?” Lukey hadn’t spoken yet, but his sense of outrage forced him to break his silence. “My wife and daughter were held hostage. I’m ready to hunt down the thieves myself.”

“Our taking back stolen cattle has angered the rustlers,” Riley said. “This camp on your ranch is all that’s keeping them from coming back. Since you have the largest herd, you’d be the first target.”

“How do you know this?” the sheriff asked.

“We hear things when we go into villages. There’s always someone willing to share information for money.”

“Maybe they’re just angry at you, not us,” Lukey proposed.

“We have nothing for them to steal. You do.”

“Maybe they’re more interested in getting even with you than stealing more cows,” Lukey suggested hopefully.

“We can take care of ourselves, but can the ranchers protect their herds? How many hands to you have?” Riley asked Carla.

Carla was too embarrassed to say she had only one. “Not enough.”

“We’re concerned about our cows,” Lukey said, “but we’re more concerned about our families. We can always buy more cows.”

Carla had been wavering until Lukey put everything into perspective. “I think Lukey speaks for everyone,” she said. “We’re willing to risk our herds but not our families.”

“He doesn’t speak for me,” Danny objected.

“That doesn’t matter,” the sheriff said. “You don’t have any cows or a ranch.”

Flashing an angry look around the circle, Danny muttered a curse and stalked off.

“If you’re sure you want us to leave,” Riley said to Carla after an awkward pause, “we’ll clear out today.”

“I think it’s best.”

“Do you have any place to go?” the sheriff asked.

“Lots of ranchers would be happy to give us a place to stay. We just have to decide which would be better for our work. I’ll need to send some of the men into Overlin for supplies.”

“Nobody is trying to keep you out of town,” the sheriff said. “They’re just trying to keep the women and kids from being shot up. As far as I’m concerned, you can stay here as long as you want, but this ain’t my land. Anybody got anything else to say?” When no one answered, he turned and mounted his horse. “I’m headed back to town. I suggest y’all do the same, and let this man get about his business.”

“Thank you for being so understanding,” Carla said to Riley. “This has got everybody in town really upset.”

Riley’s measured expression never changed, but Carla couldn’t escape the feeling there was rage in the back of his eyes. She was relieved when they rode out of the camp.

“Glad you kept your trap shut,” the sheriff said to Ivan. “People around here don’t take to foreigners giving them orders.”

“It is my land,” Ivan said. “I have the right to give the orders.”

“Maybe, but people around here have the right to wish you was back where you came from.”

It surprised Carla that the sheriff disliked Ivan. Maybe he was jealous that after the way Ivan managed the search of the town, people trusted Ivan more than him.

“Nobody wishes Ivan was back in Poland,” Lukey told the sheriff. “If you have any doubts, just ask Myrtle Jenkins, or any man who had family held hostage.”

“I’m not asking Myrtle Jenkins anything,” the sheriff declared. “Just knowing she likes this foreign fella is all I need to distrust him.”

Carla grinned to herself. Yes, the sheriff was jealous. He had to know if the election for sheriff were to be held the next day, Ivan would probably win.

Carla wondered if something like that could induce Ivan to stay in Texas. She had considered the possibility of going to Poland if Ivan should ask her, but she was sure she would be miserable. She once met a Polish woman when her parents took her to San Antonio. The woman, who was a servant in a wealthy household, had left Poland to escape a life of servitude. At the time, Carla had been too dazzled by the descriptions of houses, clothes, jewels, and fabulous parties to pay attention to the woman’s description of her mistress’s life. When combined with what she’d learned from Ivan, Carla realized a Polish nobleman’s wife was expected to be a beautiful possession who had no thoughts of her own and did only what her husband wished. She loved Ivan, but she wasn’t sure her love could survive such a life.

She had nearly a year to convince Ivan to change his mind, but would he be any happier staying in Texas when she would be going to Poland? Would a part of him always feel she had kept him from taking his natural place in society? He was a prince, for goodness sake. It might not mean anything in Texas, but it put him in a privileged class in Poland. With his family’s connection to some of the most powerful men in Polish history, he would be an important person. He might even be given a position of power and influence. In Texas he’d just be another rancher struggling to keep his cows safe from drought, disease, and rustlers.

She had always been a sensible woman, logical and unemotional, not prone to daydreams or flights of fancy. She saw every situation as a puzzle to be solved with pragmatic thinking. Why should falling in love have caused her to abandon every one of those habits?

***

… Why do I not hear from you? Do you not understand that your sisters fight every day? Their husbands will not be in the same room. Now my beloved grandsons, the two sweetest boys in the world, eye each other like barnyard roosters. Ludmila insists that precedents must be followed and that her son is heir after you. Anika argues that no one will respect a prince without money. Both are right. It is your obligation to come home and take up your title. Only you can restore harmony in this family.

Your loving mother,

Krystina Stanislas

Princess Poniatowski

***

“Do you want anything else?”

“No.”

“You haven’t eaten much.”

“How can one be hungry when it is so hot?”

But Carla knew the issue wasn’t the heat. It was that they had admitted they were in love with each other. It had been wonderful and glorious at first. For a few days it was all she could think about. She had awakened in the morning feeling life finally made sense, relieved she hadn’t been denied the chance to experience the love every woman wanted. She couldn’t wait for Ivan to come in for breakfast, to see his smile, to feel his touch. They planned the day together, rode together, made decisions together. When the day was done, the last chore completed, the last dish washed and put away, they would sit on the porch talking quietly until the stars came out, and it was time to go to bed. For a short time, she was sure everything would somehow resolve itself, and they could enjoy a life of happiness beyond her expectations.

Now it was the burden of those expectations that constricted their conversation, clouded their vision, and blunted hope whenever it dared to show its face. The letter from Ivan’s mother just added more weight to the growing constraint between them. Even before he told her about it, she knew its purpose. It annoyed her that his mother should place the responsibility of resolving his sisters’ quarrel on him, but she was sure that was due to her own selfish interests.

“You have to eat to keep up your strength. You’re in the saddle all day.”

“You are as well, and you ate less than I did.”

She wanted to talk about what was really bothering them, but they already had. There was nothing to be gained by going over it again. She kept telling herself things could change before a year was up, but she had no assurance they would change the way she wanted. She didn’t know how she could leave Texas for Poland. Why could she expect Ivan to do what she couldn’t?

Myrtle lost no opportunity to remind Carla of Ivan’s good qualities. When she told Myrtle that Ivan hadn’t asked her, Myrtle said she should ask him, that it was stupid to let such a good man get away. Myrtle couldn’t understand why Carla wouldn’t do everything she possibly could to convince Ivan to stay in Texas. She said such a man would be wasted on the silly European aristocracy, that he could only realize his full potential in a free society like Texas.

Carla agreed with Myrtle, but she refused to try to talk Ivan out of going back to Poland. That had been his goal from the moment he came to America. As much as she loved him, she knew he was the only one who could make the decision that what he found in Texas was more important to him than what he’d left behind.

She picked up Ivan’s empty plate and turned toward the sink. “I’d hoped to hear from Danny by now. I wonder if Riley has found a place to set up his camp.”

“I doubt he will have trouble. Many ranchers would be glad to give to him all the space he wants.”

She rinsed the plate before dropping it into hot, soapy water. It seemed a miracle to have running water inside the house. “Do you think we made a mistake telling him to leave?”

“As soon as I knew he was connected with Laveau, I never wanted him here.”

“Rustlers have been stealing cows for years.”

“Laveau is evil. Everything he touches is evil.”

“Then why did you come here if you were sure something was wrong?”

“Because it was the only way I saw to go back to Poland. By putting my desire to return home above all else, I have stained my honor. Now I cannot leave until I have cleared it.”

Carla told herself she should be ashamed of hoping he would never feel it was clear enough to leave. If she truly loved him, she wouldn’t want him to stay on those terms. “You haven’t done anything to be ashamed of. I can’t set foot in Overlin without someone singing your praises.”

“I should never have come.”

“If you hadn’t, Mr. diViere would have sent someone as dishonest as he is. Do you think rustlers really are planning to steal my herd like Riley said?”

“If anyone is planning to steal your herd, it is Riley.”

“Why would he do that?”

“So he could bring it back and be a hero. I believe Riley is responsible for the thefts. Now that Overlin is free of suspicion, what better place could he want? Here he is safe but close to the border. He can steal herds in Mexico to sell to ranchers in Texas and rob them at the same time.”

“Why didn’t you say this before?”

“Because nobody will believe me.”

“I believe you.”

“Why do you believe me?”

Carla started to say because she loved him, but she realized Ivan needed a concrete reason, not a statement of blind faith.

“If anybody can figure out what’s going on, you can. You’ve known Mr. diViere ever since you came to America. You’ve given me more than enough reason to believe he’s evil. Besides, it makes sense. Everybody knows the Reconstruction government has never done anything to stop the rustling. Why should they suddenly change unless it’s to their advantage?”

“That is all?”

“No. You have a deeper, stronger, clearer sense of honesty than any man I know. If you believe something is wrong, I’m willing to trust your instincts.”

She was about to put the clean plates in the cabinet. Ivan took the plates from her hands, placed them on the shelf, and then turned back to her. “How can you believe that of me? I came in the place of Laveau. I could be as terrible as he.”

Carla looked into his eyes because it was important that he believe what she was about to say. “I could never have fallen in love with you if you were.”

“You wanted not to love me. Why did you?”

She averted her gaze. She couldn’t think clearly when she looked into his eyes. “The moment I met you, I felt something different. I was too angry at first to believe it was anything more than an attraction to a handsome man with a charming accent and a smile that would cause any woman’s heart to beat faster. But I was letting my anger at Mr. diViere keep me from seeing you as the person you are.” She raised her head until their eyes met. “Once I did that, I realized I was already half in love with you. By the time I got over my shock, I was too deeply in love to pull back.”