The Firecracker Gets Her Man (8 page)

He marched into the house and found Caleb. “Sir, where would Rachel go to hide?”

“Do you know you have flour all over your face, Lance?” Caleb asked with a hint of humor in his green eyes.

“Your daughter put it there after I blistered her backside. Do you know where I should start looking?”

“No. She is very good at hiding when she doesn’t wish to be found.” His answer wasn’t helpful, at all. “If you think my daughter is going to obey you one hundred per cent of the time, son, then you’d best find another girl. When she makes up her mind that she is correct, then you are going to have to find a way to convince her that she is wrong. And spanking her isn’t the answer. I suspect she is off somewhere pouting because you didn’t accept the help she wants to give you.”

“Sir, what she wants to do is dangerous. For some reason she has decided that Jared Cane is not smart enough to learn who she is and follow her here. She also believes that she is the only one who will recognize Misty Feathers when she gets off of the stage.”

“I see.”

“Rachel’s plan is dangerous for her. When Cane or one of his men spots Rachel, they are going to try to kill her.”

“If they know she is here, they will come right to the front door and pretend to be sick so I will let them into the house.”

“That is what your daughter said!” Lance grumbled.

“Before or after she threw flour all over you?” Caleb questioned with an innocent expression.

“Sir, please. I am seriously worried about her. In fact, I am terrified for her safety. If you have any idea at all where she might be, please tell me.”

“Have you looked inside the house?” Caleb questioned. “As I recall, one time when my wife was very aggravated with Rachel and going to punish her for giving Esther Clark a present of skunk scented perfume, Rachel ran out the back door and Estelle found her several hours later up in her bedroom, reading a book. Estelle was relieved she was safe, but they stayed up half the night making soap, and first thing in the morning, Rachel had to take a box of scented soap to Esther Clark and apologize. My wife didn’t spank, but she did correct our daughter. Anyway, try the house. Rachel will assume you are running all over town looking for her.”

“
This
house?”

“This house is where she lives.”

Lance ran up to her bedroom for the second time that afternoon. He saw what she was wearing earlier lying in a basket, waiting to be laundered, but there was no sign of his redhead. He went downstairs and glanced in the parlor and dining room, and then he looked in the kitchen. The surge of relief he felt when he saw her standing there rolling out the noodle dough was overwhelming. She wasn’t off somewhere that Cane could get his hands on her.

“I am not happy with you, Lance Underwood.”

“I am not happy with you, Rachel Waterford.”

“Good!”

“You are one sassy woman, you know that?”

“You are one over-protective man, you know that?”

“I just found you, honey. I don’t want you to get hurt or killed. I would forever blame myself.”

“You are the only one hurting me! I am in some serious pain right now, and I feel like smacking you with my rolling pin,” she admitted. Her green eyes were snapping with temper.

“I warned you what would happen if you left this house, and I always keep my promises. It is your choice whether or not you earn a spanking. You made the wrong choice, honey. I don’t enjoy making you cry in pain. Your tears hurt my heart,” he admitted. “But, if I have to spank you five times a day to keep you safe, I will.”

“Lance, don’t you see? Being inside this house doesn’t keep me safe. If Jared Cane wants to shoot me, he will come here under a pretext, and shoot me and Papa, and anyone else who happens to be here. Using my plan, we are at least doing something to try and put him behind bars. I need to help; I need to see that Doctor Merritt did not die in vain; I also need to protect Papa and myself. I am glad you are here to help, but this is essentially my fight. I have every right to be part of this plan, Lance.”

“It is too risky for you, honey. I would die if I let someone harm you.” He pulled her close, not caring about the flour on her apron. “I love you, Rachel. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. Please help me keep you safe.”

“I will be very careful, Lance, but I expect you to do the same. My feelings for you are just as strong as yours are for me. I want us both to come out of this in one piece, and to do that, we need to work together and stop fighting.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her, and she moaned and kissed him back. She was in love with the man and the moment his lips touched hers, he was forgiven for spanking her.

The rest of the day went well. The evening brought peace and quiet to the house. Rachel finally sat at the piano and played some new music she’d learned while away from home, and Lance sang along with her and helped entertain everyone. It was late when Lance decided to leave. He kissed Rachel goodnight, but when he stepped out on the front porch to leave, a shot was fired and barely missed him. He went for his weapon and jumped from the porch and into the dark shadows of the bushes. Another shot rang out, and Lance saw the flash from the gun. He fired back, and heard a man cry out in pain. “Stay inside!” he called to Rachel who was making a target of herself in the doorway.

Caleb pulled his daughter back and shut the door. “You are not going out there, daughter!”

“But, Papa! Lance could need my help!” she cried out.

“He told you to stay inside, and that is what you are going to do.” Caleb’s voice was firm, and his green eyes told her he meant business.

The front door opened, and it was Lance. “It’s all over. The shooter is dead. He was an outlaw I put in prison several years ago. He saw me earlier and took shots at me to try and even the score. He’d promised me he would kill me,” he said with a shrug, and then he looked down at Rachel. “Thank you for obeying me and staying inside, honey.”

“Papa made me,” she pouted. “I wanted to help you.”

“You did help me,” he told her. “I didn’t have to worry about you getting shot while I was dealing with him. Trying to protect you could have gotten me killed.”

“Well, if you say so, Lance. Papa was adamant I do as you said.”

“Papa saved your backside, little one,” he whispered, and then leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Do you remember what you promised me?”

“To let Papa answer the door, and stay out of sight until I know it is safe,” she repeated.

“Do you intend to obey me?” Lance wanted to know.

“I will try very hard to obey you, but I won’t just stand by and allow anyone to harm Papa either.”

To her surprise, Lance nodded. “I can’t blame you for that, but the best course of action would be to run out the back door and come get me to help you. They will keep Doc alive until they get the information they want. Remember that.” With those final words he left again, and this time there were no gunshots.

It was still dark outside when there was a pounding on the front door. It instantly woke Rachel, and she heard her father calling out that he was on his way. Rachel had a bad feeling, and knew it was trouble.

“Hurry up. This man is bleeding to death, damn it!”

“No, Papa! I don’t trust them,” Rachel whispered loudly, running downstairs to place a restraining hand on his arm.

“You know very well that I do not turn away anyone in need of medical attention, Rachel. Go to your room and lock the door, daughter. Remember what Lance told you.” Caleb waited for her to do as he said, and then opened the door to admit two very rough-looking men. “What is the problem, gentlemen?” he asked politely. One of the men was bleeding profusely from a wound close to his heart, and it was a miracle he was still able to stand on his feet. He looked more dead than alive!

“My brother was shot. He’s all I got, Doc. Please help him.”

“Bring him into my office,” Caleb said calmly, leading the way. He would do what he could, but it was probably too late.

The victim was soon on the examination table and it was true that he’d been shot. The bullet was still inside. “I’m going to need to do surgery. The bullet has to come out.”

“How soon will he be able to ride, Doc?” the uninjured brother demanded.

“It depends on how much digging I have to do to fish out the bullet. My guess is that he will need a couple of weeks to recover before you drag him out of town. If you try to make him ride too soon, he will probably bleed to death.”

“Doc, we ain’t got a choice. Fix him up the best you can, and we’ll hightail it outta here.”

Caleb frowned, but he rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands and started gathering the items he needed to perform surgery. He wished he could call Rachel to assist him, but he didn’t want her around the dangerous men. He did not trust them at all. Caleb suspected the two men were part of the gang that was rustling cattle from the ranchers. He knew that some of the ranchers were banded together and riding the range at night in hopes of catching the thieves. Caleb put all of that out of his mind. His oath promised he would care for all sick and injured, and he would do what he could for the wounded man.

“You may have a seat in the hallway, Mr…”

“Just call me Wade. My brother is Keith. I will stay right here with my brother. He will be scared if he wakes up.”

“He won’t be waking up during surgery,” Caleb said patiently. “I need a sterile atmosphere when I cut on him, and I can’t have a sterile environment with you standing over Keith. Now, if you want me to get rid of this bullet before he dies, I suggest you do as I say and go to the hallway and have a seat.”

“You’d better not let Keith die, Doc, or I will put a bullet in you!” the man threatened.

“The longer you stand there insulting me, is that much longer he is fighting to stay alive, and that much more blood he is losing. If he dies it will be because you are not doing as I say. Now get out of my office. Sit in the hallway, or leave if you like, but I am not touching Keith until you leave this room.”

“I don’t much like you, Doc.” Wade was belligerent.

“I don’t care for rustlers, either,” Caleb told him, and the man’s face turned an angry red. “I am not stupid, young man. I won’t judge you, but I expect you to respect my rules while in my home and office.” He met the younger man’s gaze, and finally, Wade gave in and walked out of the treatment room and into the hallway to have a seat. Caleb went to work.

The younger man was in very bad shape. It was only a few minutes later that Keith died. Caleb pulled up the white sheet to cover Keith’s face. He then washed his hands and dried them on a towel. Once that was done, Caleb reluctantly walked to the door. He knew that Wade was not going to be happy, and that he would blame him.

Wade jumped to his feet when Doc walked out. “Doc?”

“I’m sorry, Wade. Keith lost too much blood, and the bullet edged into his heart. There was nothing I could do. Would you like to sit with him for a few minutes?”

Wade pulled his gun, grief contorting his face and making him look meaner than he had before. “I told you I would kill you if you let Keith die, damn you!” He took aim and Caleb was positive he was going to die. In the next heartbeat, a gun fired and Wade fell to the floor, clutching his heart. Doc knelt beside him and took his pulse on his neck, but the rustler was dead.

Caleb turned, expecting to see his daughter standing there holding a smoking gun, but instead, it was Clay. “You shouldn’t be out of bed,” he calmly stated, wondering how on earth the man was holding himself up!

“Mary heard him threaten you. I got here as fast as I could, Doc.”

“I thank you, Clay.”

“Papa!” Rachel came running, Lance on her heels. “Oh, Papa!” Tears filled her eyes. “I went for Lance, like he told me to do, but that idiot Jeremy wouldn’t let me upstairs to wake Lance. He kept arguing with me and I was ready to slug him! Thankfully, Arnie came along, called Jeremy stupid, and I got Lance. Arnie is coming too.” She gave her father a big hug.

“I am fine, daughter. Mary heard this one threaten me, and she helped Clay out of bed. Clay saved my life.”

“Thank you, Clay!” Rachel tearfully thanked the man. “Thank you so much.”

“I am happy to help, Rachel,” the man insisted, looking more and more pale, and he was holding onto the credenza to keep from falling down.

“We need to get you back in bed, darling,” Mary bossed, moving toward him to give him support.

“The sheriff will want to question me, Mary,” he told her.

“He can do that with you lying down, Clay. Now come with me. You are almost done in from doing this!”

“Mary is right, Clay. Let me give you a hand.” Caleb started toward his patient, only to stop when Lance stepped forward.

“I’ll do that, Doc. You take care of Rachel,” Lance said quietly. His girl was trying not to cry. She’d threatened Jeremy with a slow painful death if anything happened to her father, and if not for Clay, Doc would be dead. He recognized the dead man; he was known for rustling cattle and horses. It was a miracle that Clay was able to save the older man before Wade Hart shot him down in cold blood.

“I am fine, honey. I am proud of you for going for Lance. I did not want you to show yourself to this man. He had a mean streak,” Caleb said, holding her close. She was shaking. “Now, calm down, little one. Papa is fine.”

“I would have been too late,” she whispered, holding her beloved father a bit tighter.

“But it gave Clay a chance to do something for us, which he has needed to do since you saved Mary. It is a good thing, daughter. God was watching out for us.”

“You are right, Papa.” She was suddenly calm. “I am so thankful for His protection of us.”

“You should go on up to bed,” he said patting her shoulder.

“No, I should make us all some coffee, and bring out the cookies. I think we all need some time to calm down, and Arnie will still be coming.” She hurried off to put on the coffee.

“Are you all right, sir?” Lance asked quietly as he returned to the hallway after helping Clay back to bed.

“I’m a bit shaken, but I feel the world is much safer without those two in it.”

“They were known rustlers, and they killed guards put on herds to protect them from theft. One of them would take a job, check out the operation, and then they would steal several head at a time and hold them somewhere that was abandoned. They were caught a few times, and put in prison a few years ago. They escaped, killing a guard, and have been rustling since then.”

There was a knock on the front door, and Caleb moved to open the door for the sheriff. “Come in, Arnold.”

The sheriff took in the sight of the body lying on the floor and shook his head in disgust. “It’s a good thing you got here in time, Lance.”

“It wasn’t Lance, Arnold. I am fortunate to be alive. My patient, Clay Carson, shot this man to defend me. I am fairly positive he was a rustler.”

“I recognize this one from a wanted poster, Doc,” Arnie said as he knelt beside the dead man. “His name is Wade Hart and he has a brother we’ll have to watch out for. Keith won’t take the death of his brother very well. The two of them are seldom apart.”

“No, we won’t have to worry about Keith; he died of a gunshot wound on my operating table. That is why Wade wanted to kill me. He was grief stricken. He expected me to perform a miracle and take out the bullet so that Keith could ride right away. I couldn’t save Keith; he’d lost too much blood on the way here, and the jostling of riding here caused the bullet to move into his heart.”

“You said a patient shot him?” Arnie asked curiously, wanting to get his facts straight for the report he needed to write out.

“Yes, Arnold. It was the man who was shot by the Anderson brothers. Clay Carson was able to get out of bed and out here just in time to save my life. I must be a good doctor if he can get out of bed so soon!” he joked, shaking his head. “You may get Joe to deal with these bodies, Arnie, and then join us for coffee and freshly baked cookies. My daughter said that none of us could sleep, so she is making coffee right now.”

“I will do that, Doc, but first I need to see Carson. It ain’t that I think you’d lie to me, Doc, but I’ve got to hear his story too. There is a huge reward on the Hart brothers, and I want to see to it that Carson gets the money.”

“They could use it, Arnold. Thank you for thinking of that; it wouldn’t have occurred to me to mention it to Clay. Now, if he is asleep, or in pain, which he must be, I want you to postpone your talk until later.”

“Yes, sir, Doc,” Arnie agreed. “You lead the way. I’ll keep it brief,” he promised.

Caleb shook his head when he realized that Clay was waiting to speak to the sheriff. “This is our sheriff, Clay.”

“I’m sure thankful you were able to defend Doc. This whole town depends on him. Just tell me in your own words what happened.” Arnie listened, and then nodded. “Don’t leave town without tellin’ me where you’re headed. You have a hefty reward coming to you, and—”

“No. I don’t want money for killing a man,” Clay shook his head stubbornly. “It isn’t right to take money for doing what I needed to do to save a good friend.”

“You sound like Miss Rachel. She turned in the reward money for the Anderson brothers and gave it to the sisters who run the orphanage and school at Saint Michael’s. I can give yours to them too, if that’s what you want?”

“That is perfect, Sheriff. Thank you.”

“We’ll speak again when the money gets here. You talk to your missus and if you change your mind, I’ll be happy to give you the reward.” He left then, telling Doc he would be right back with Joe, and then hurried off to get the undertaker.

“Son,” Caleb spoke to Lance. “I need check out Clay and look in on my other patients. Tell my daughter I will join you in a few minutes.”

“Yes, sir.” Lance headed for the kitchen, but when he got out there, he found no sign of his feisty redhead. He could see that she’d put coffee in the pot, but no water. The cookies weren’t out either. So, where was she? He looked around, and then ran upstairs and checked her room. Rachel wasn’t there. He went downstairs and into the doctor’s rooms.

“What’s wrong, son?” Caleb asked, looking at him in concern.

“It’s Rachel; she’s missing. I can’t find her anywhere.

Caleb closed his green eyes for a moment, and then looked at Lance in genuine concern. “She’s probably furious with Jeremy, Lance. She realized she wouldn’t have been back here in time to save me, and she will be blaming Jeremy. That girl of mine has a hellish temper!”

“I’ll go and look for her,” Lance offered. “In the meantime, if you see her, sit on her until I get back!”

As Lance ran quickly toward the hotel, he couldn’t help but understand why Rachel would be frustrated. Her father would be dead if Mary hadn’t told Clay what was happening, and how Clay made it out there and took the shot was a pure miracle. The man had been as weak as a babe as he helped him to back to bed.

He heard voices raised in anger even before he reached the hotel. He ran faster and saw that Rachel was meting out her own special brand of justice. Jeremy was blubbering and begging her to have mercy on him.

“Why should I have mercy on you? I came to get Lance like he told me to, and you decided I was here for immoral reasons, and while you were being an idiot, Wade Hart was trying to kill Papa! Thank God one of our patients got out of his sickbed and shot Hart before he shot Papa. You nearly got my father killed by your stupidity. Have mercy on you? No, I don’t think so! I think you need a serious lesson!”

“You put that whip down, Miss Rachel! It ain’t my fault you done got yourself a bad reputation, running off with that man and all!” Jeremy accused, and then he screamed in pain as she snapped her whip and caught him on the chin.

“Rachel, honey, please put down the whip. This man was born a narrow-minded fool. You know that, and fortunately, Doc is alive, or I would gun him down myself.”

“You would?” She lowered the whip and gave him a lopsided grin. “Really?”

“I’ll do it right now if the darn fool doesn’t apologize to you for telling untruths about you and judging you when there is nothing to judge.”