The Bounty Hunter's Redemption (21 page)

Nate’s throat clogged. By neglecting to bring down Stogsdill, he’d signed Rachel’s death warrant. The outlaw was determined to rid this world of the bounty hunter dogging him. That put anyone close to Nate at risk.

“I respect you, Morris. Admire your unfailing love for your wife. Your gentle nature with your horses. Your kindness to me and Anna. Even your confidence in my ability to run this livery. But you have no concept of the enormity of what you’re asking.”

With a defeated nod, the liveryman drudged to the door, then turned back, his gaze roaming the cramped livery office. “I’ve spent my adult life here. This place matters to me. I’m giving it up for my Betsy. Her welfare’s more important than mine. More important than the plans I’d made for my life.” His moist gaze landed on Nate. “That’s love, son. I’m praying one day you’ll understand that undoing the past ain’t possible. You gotta let it go and move on. I hope by the time you see that, it ain’t too late,” he said, and then shuffled off.

Perhaps one day Nate would.

One day when Shifty Stogsdill no longer roamed free. One day when Nate had paid his debt to Anna. One day when Nate had patched up the mistakes he’d made.

Maybe then he could look to the future. Maybe then he could allow himself to love Carly and Henry, who were becoming as vital to him as the very air he breathed.

* * *

If Debby Pence’s face hung any lower, she’d surely trip over her jaw. Carly didn’t blame her. The bride had come into the shop to pay for her gown, yet she still had no date for the wedding. Her groom’s indecision had to be humiliating.

“There’s no need to pay now, Debby. Why not wait?”

“I don’t feel right tying up your money in my dress.”

Better to tie up money than spend her life tied to a no-account man. “If Rory can’t set a date, business must be good.”

Or the man didn’t love her. At least not the way he should.

Debby’s lower lip trembled. “Grandpa says Rory’s as reluctant as my mother’s beau.”

Had Debby been born out of wedlock? The reason her grandparents had raised her?

Tears welled in Debby’s eyes. “Rory’s in love with me. Not like my pa at all. Grandpa doesn’t understand Rory wants to succeed so he can give me a nice place to live and money in the bank.”

Material blessings hadn’t saved her marriage to Max. “Those are good goals, but a lot of couples marry with less.”

“Grandma’s upset Rory won’t go to church. She doesn’t understand he’s tired from his travels.” She sighed. “They keep planting all these doubts in my mind. If he were here, I’d feel better.”

“Your grandparents want to make sure you don’t marry outside of God’s will.” As Carly had.

“Oh, they think everything’s wrong.” Debby harrumphed. “Like God’s just waiting to rain down fire and brimstone.”

Debby’s grandparents were known to disapprove of square dancing, ice-cream socials, hayrides, most everything that brought young people together. Debby would probably find any man who could sweep her away from their rigid view appealing.

“When’s the last time you saw Rory?”

“Four weeks ago tomorrow. He rode in one morning to surprise me.” She smiled. “He’s always doing the unexpected.”

“Was he able to stay long?”

“He had to leave the next morning to ride to Louisville in time to catch the evening train.”

“Must’ve been disappointing to have him leave so quickly.”

“Yes. But, he doesn’t like me to complain. Says it takes the fun out of surprising me.”

“Are you afraid of Rory’s reaction?”

Debby blinked. “No. I, uh, just don’t want to upset him when our time together is so short.”

The same excuse Carly had made for not speaking up about Max’s actions. “Debby, marriage isn’t always a ticket to freedom.” Hadn’t Carly learned that the hard way?

“What do you mean?”

“A husband can be in control, same as a parent or grandparent.” She took a fortifying breath. Perhaps, if she confessed her poor choices, she could help this girl. “You’ve probably heard my husband was...difficult.”

Debby’s eyes widened, then her gaze dropped to the floor. “Yes, ma’am.”

“My father was strict, disapproving, not an easy man to live with. To get out of the house, I married Max. He didn’t attend church and didn’t value me any more than my father did.” Carly heaved a sigh. “If Rory is hard to get along with before you’re married, he could treat you far worse afterward.”

“I’m at fault, really. I upset him with my nagging, with asking too many questions. Rory hates being badgered.”

Carly bit back a sigh. Debby wasn’t listening, didn’t want to hear the warning. “I know you. You’re a sweet girl. I’m sure your questions are what any prospective bride would ask her groom. If you can’t talk to him now, how—”

“I need to go,” Debby said. “Grandpa’s probably finished with his errands and waiting for me in the wagon.”

Debby hustled toward the entrance and met Nate strolling in. He tipped his hat and held the door for her, then turned his gaze on Carly, a smile on his lips, warmth in his gaze.

The solid strength of the man gave her hope good men existed. If only Debby would examine the facts before it was too late. For, in her bones, Carly knew Rory was trouble.

* * *

Carly’s welcoming smile drew Nate to her like a well-aimed lariat. He longed to take her hand, to pull her close.

Instead he would focus on the reason he’d come. “From the way she scurried out, I’d say Miss Pence is upset.” He searched Carly’s upturned face. “Know what about?”

“Rory hasn’t set a wedding date. The more I hear about the man, the more I hope and pray she doesn’t marry him.”

If Rory and Stogsdill were one and the same, the lack of a wedding date meant the outlaw wasn’t in the area. Yet.

“I don’t understand what Debby sees in him.” He glanced around the shop. “Where’s Anna?”

“She looked exhausted when she came in this morning so I insisted she get away from the shop awhile,” Carly said, stacking the bolts of fabric on the counter and straightening their edges with precision, as if avoiding him. “She’s having tea with the Sample’s widowed daughter, Elnora.”

“That was thoughtful of you.”

“You sound surprised.” She looked up at him from realigning bolts of fabric.

Aware they were alone in the shop, Nate’s heart tripped in his chest. He took a step closer.

“Do you need to speak with Anna?” she said, gathering up the bolts and carrying them to a cabinet. “I’ll tell—”

“No, I came in to, uh, let you know I talked with Debby’s grandfather,” he said, struggling to stay focused on his mission, not on those mesmerizing eyes, not on her smile, not on the sunny, warm day outside the window, perfect to whisk her away on a picnic.

“What did Mr. Pence have to say?”

“I mentioned I’d met Debby at the shop and eased the conversation around to her engagement. Pence opened up, admitted he has little use for Rory, but suspects his granddaughter would run off if she’s forbidden to see him.”

Carly nodded. “I agree.”

“Why would she want to marry this guy? How much could she know about him?”

“I’m sure she has qualms but is ignoring her better judgment. She sees Rory as exciting, as a man who will take her away from a tedious life.”

“Better tedious than terrifying.”

“Undoubtedly, Rory has made Debby grand promises.” Carly sighed, the sound wrenching. “Too many women make that mistake. They want more, they want...to move forward in life. Sometimes when they want something so badly, they ignore the warning signs.”

Nate’s stomach tightened. “You speak as if you know this firsthand.”

She averted her gaze. “I just see Debby making a mistake. It worries me. I suspect Rory doesn’t treat her right, but she’s blaming herself and her grandparents, instead of putting the blame on him, where it belongs.”

“Why would a woman blame herself when a man doesn’t know how to be a good man?”

A bittersweet smile crossed Carly’s lips. “Sometimes in the rush to have her dream, a woman forgets to look at the truth.”

“What dream?”

A spark flickered in her eyes. “Oh, you know, having a kind, caring man to love and cherish her. Her personal White Knight. Her hero. They’d live in a pretty little cottage in the woods and he’d promise her they’ll fill it with flowers and babies and laughter...”

Carly looked at him hard, as if seeing inside him, extinguishing the light in her eyes. She smoothed a palm over a bolt of cloth, over and over again, as if seeking comfort in the soft fibers.

He laid a hand over hers, stopping her frantic movements. “Do you still believe in that dream?”

She raised her eyes, eyes filled with hurt. “We’re both too old for such nonsense, don’t you think?”

Nate wanted to agree. Knew deep in his heart that he did agree, but right now, staring into Carly’s soft, wounded gaze, he wanted to hold on to that dream. Hold on to the notion of flowers and babies and laughter. “I think we’re never too old to have that kind of happiness.” She tried to look away. He gently turned her face toward his. “Maybe there’s hope for us yet, Carly.”

“Maybe.” The word escaped her lips on a breath.

“You’re a remarkable woman.”

“I’m not someone to admire.”

He gaped at her. “You’re not serious.” But the misery clouding her pretty eyes said she was dead serious. “Why would you say that?”

She heaved a sigh. “All that’s happened are the consequences of the poor decisions I made.”

Carly didn’t blame him or Max for possibly losing the shop? “What do you mean?”

Her gaze darted away, focusing on some spot over his shoulder. “When my mother died, I was eleven. I took over the chores, but wasn’t much of a cook or housekeeper.”

“That’s a big job for a child.”

“I didn’t mind the work as much as...” She fiddled with her sleeve, as if looking for answers in the cotton.

“Tell me.”

She lifted her face to his. “My father treated me like a hired hand. No matter how hard I tried, nothing I did pleased him. By the time I was eighteen, I had perfected my skills as a seamstress and was desperate to escape.” Her eyes misted. “When I met Max, I, ah...”

“Saw him as the answer.”

“Yes, but more than that, I—” Carly sighed.

“You can tell me anything.”

“I...I was wooed by the shop. Got caught up in Max’s talk about what a success I’d make of the business. How his mother’s shop would live on. I disregarded the uneasy feeling I had about marrying him.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I see myself in Debby. The reason I know she’s making the same mistake.”

He pulled her into his arms. “Richards put on a phony face and manipulated you.”

“I worked hard and tried to be enough.” Her head drooped against his chest. “I was never enough. Not for my father. Not for Max.”

Her shoulders shook with a sob. As she quietly wept, her tears soaking the front of Nate’s shirt, his eyes stung, sharp and hot.

He held her close, stroking her hair, murmuring words of comfort, wanting to take away her heartache.

How could this wonderful, strong woman have believed such nonsense? “They were at fault, not you.”

She straightened, pulling away from his arms, avoiding his gaze. “I see now I settled for Max because underneath I didn’t believe I was enough for a truly good man.”

The pain in her voice told him she still believed those lies. He lifted her face to his and spoke past the lump in his throat. “I’ve never known anyone more deserving of a good man than you. You deserved to be treated with respect. I’m sorry you weren’t.”

She gave a nod and wiped at the tears on her cheeks.

Nate brushed two fingertips over her lips, so soft, parting now, rosy and beckoning. He wanted to kiss her badly. He wanted to be that good man she sought. He wanted to give her everything.

“You smell good,” she said, leaning in, as if she couldn’t get enough of his scent.

He touched the silky, fragrant strands of her hair. “You’re beautiful, Carly, inside and out.” He lowered his head, looking into her eyes for permission.

Her eyelids drifted closed. “Nate,” she whispered.

His name, rolling off her lips, filled with longing, was all the invitation he needed.

With a moan, he pulled her to him, brushing his lips over hers. With Carly in his arms, the years of loneliness fled. As he deepened the kiss, Carly rose on tiptoe and slid her arms around his back. The touch of her soft curves shot through his veins, igniting the wild beat of his heart.

With a sigh, she broke away. “I...I have to work. I can’t get wrapped up in...”

“In what?”

She raised her forlorn gaze to his. “In foolish dreams.”

Her words extinguished the wild hope surging through him for a future with Carly. Nate wanted to do whatever he could to keep that happy look she’d worn, but she was right. It was a foolish dream—a foolhardy dream—to think he could be any woman’s knight.

“I should get to work, too.” He settled his hat in place and pivoted back. “You need to be careful, Carly.”

“Careful? Of what?”

Of men like me
, he thought.
Of men who could fall for you and break your heart
.

“Of Rory. I suspect Rory’s the outlaw I’m after.”

Carly gasped. “Stogsdill?”

“Mr. Pence said Rory’s last name is Cummins, not one of the aliases Stogsdill uses. Still, Sheriff Truitt’s checking his stash of posters to see if Rory Cummins is wanted by the law. If he isn’t, it doesn’t mean he’s the salesman he claims.”

“Surely you don’t think Debby would knowingly marry an outlaw. She’s innocent. I’d stake my shop on that.”

At her claim, an awkward silence hung in the air, as they both realized the shop might not be Carly’s to wager.

“Normally, I wouldn’t tell you about my suspicions without definite proof, but with Debby coming into the shop, you and Anna need to be alert for any information about her fiancé, and let me know the minute you hear they’ve set a wedding date.”

“Does Anna know?”

“I told her this morning.” He leaned closer. “If Rory and Stogsdill are the same man, make no mistake about it, he’s dangerous. Should Rory accompany Debby to the shop, make an excuse and close, then find me or Sheriff Truitt.”