The Outrider (Redbourne Series #5 - Will's Story) (20 page)

Albert ran toward Will who scrunched down, scooped
him up, and hugged him, Caspar dancing on her hind legs at his feet.

“I can’t believe you did that. Just for me.”

“Just between you and me, kiddo, I would have paid
a lot more for your freedom,” he whispered.

Albert beamed.

Will set him back on the ground and handed the
sheriff a few bills.

“I don’t want your money, Redbourne. It was
enough just to see the look on that woman’s face. Don’t you worry none. I’ll
keep him with me until your kin comes for him.”

Will extended a hand and the sheriff took it in a
firm shake. “You ought to be catchin’ up to that little lady of yours,
Redbourne. She’s quite a beauty. Didn’t look none too pleased with you,
though.”

Will turned to see Elizabeth disappear around the
corner, headed back toward the livery.

“Mr. Redbourne, sir?” someone called from behind
him.

Will twisted around.

The telegraph operator stopped right in front of
the boardwalk and bent over, his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “I’m
so glad I caught you before you left.” He stood up long enough to hand Will a
telegram.

“Thank you,” he said with a grateful nod of his
head. “Are you all right?” he asked, when the man hunched back down and exhaled
loudly.

“I don’t get out…” he swallowed, “from behind
that desk,” he inhaled sharply, “nearly enough,” he said, nodding. “I’ll be
fine.” He made a shooing motion with his hands as he staggered back toward the
telegraph office.

After scanning its contents, Will turned back to
the sheriff. “My father will be in Jacksonville on Thursday to pick up a load
of lumber. He’ll be by to collect Albert sometime that afternoon.” He handed
the man some money. “This should be enough to look after the boy until then.”

The bright light he’d seen in Albert’s eyes just
a moment ago quickly extinguished. “You’re still leaving me behind?”

“How about we talk to ‘the drooly lady’…” Will
started.

Albert perked up at the use of his term for
Elizabeth.

“…and see if she’ll allow Caspar to stay here
with you and keep you company?”

Albert nodded heartily.

Caspar barked.

Will laughed.

“It’s settled then.”

As Elizabeth stepped up onto the metal stair into
the stage compartment, the welcoming sound of Caspar’s bark filled her ears.
She looked back and saw the coonhound running toward her in front of Will
astride the black mount that looked like it had a shooting star on his forehead.

She swallowed, unable to deny the attraction she
felt for the man. He was so handsome. Heat seeped into her cheeks as she
noticed the way his denims clung to the muscles in his legs.

You are angry with him, Elizabeth Archer. Don’t
forget that!

Her focus returned to the dog and she stepped
back down off the metal rung and dropped to her haunches in greeting. However,
when Caspar reached her, the hound was still moving too quickly and knocked
Elizabeth backward and onto her hind end. Now, the heat rushed into her face as
Caspar licked her cheeks and chin. A resigned giggle escaped her lips as she
brushed the dog’s head with her fingertips.

Will slid off his horse in one smooth movement
and was at her side in a moment, offering her his hand.

She blew a stray hair from the front of her face
and, reluctantly, slipped her hand into his. He pulled her into a standing position—a
little too close to be comfortable—and looked down at her, his eyes unreadable.

“Thank you,” she said, unsmiling.

“I’d like to talk about what happened back
there.”

“I wouldn’t,” she responded coolly.

“Look, I know you are still angry with me, but…I
have a proposition for you,” Will said as she turned back to the stage.

She whipped around, eyes narrowed, and ready to
attack.

“Bad choice of words,” he laughed uneasily. “Not
that kind of proposition.”

Elizabeth turned to face him head on, her hands
together resting in front of her. “I’m listening.”

“I’d like to buy your dog.”

That was not at all what she had been expecting.
She glanced over at Caspar, who was busily lapping up water from the bucket the
liveryman had placed at the door.

“You want to
buy
…my dog,” she repeated
incredulously. For the moment, they were together, why would he need to buy the
dog from her?

“Yes.”

Caspar had been by her side when she’d had no
one. She’d already thought she’d lost her. Twice. And she didn’t know if she
could stand the thought of willingly giving her up. She’d had a hard enough
time placing her puppies.

“Why do you want to buy my dog?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

Will looked down at his shoes and then back at
her, the dark brown varnish of his eyes warming her from the inside out.

“Caspar is not for sale.” Though she was down to
her last few dollars and couldn’t deny having money in her pockets again would
make her feel better about moving across the country. Still, it was Caspar.

“Come with me.” He held out a hand.

She eyed him warily. “Why?”

“Trust me.”

“Trust you?” Elizabeth shook her head and started
to turn away.

“Will,” Mr. Glenn called down from the driver’s
box.

“Can you give me just ten more minutes, Ellis?”

When the driver nodded, Will turned back to look
at her, his face a little closer than she had remembered.

“Can we call a truce?” he asked. “Just for the
moment?”

He was the one who started all this nonsense to
begin with.

Argggg!
She wanted to yell her frustration.

“Fine,” she relented.

He swept a hand in front of him, indicating his
intention to get her back on his horse.

She didn’t budge.

“Please?” he asked.

Elizabeth imagined that he got most anything he
wanted when he used that smile as a weapon. She shook her head in annoyance,
exhaled loudly, and stepped past him toward the horse. Without waiting for his
assistance, she lifted her skirt, put her foot in the stirrup, and using the
saddle horn as leverage, pulled herself up into the seat. At least she’d worn
the new split skirt Mrs. Weaver had traded to her.

“I do learn things from my books, you know,” she
said at the surprised expression glancing off Will’s handsome face.

He chuckled and pulled himself up behind her.

They rode a single block down the road to the
sheriff’s office. She wanted to make some quip about him wanting to snuggle
with her, but she didn’t feel like lightening the mood.

“We couldn’t have walked one block?” she asked
instead.

“Maybe, but I didn’t want you to have any place
to run.”

When he lifted her down off the horse, he set her
on the ground, but did not let go of her waist until she looked up at him and
met his eyes.

“We have a lot to discuss, but try to remember
that it is me you are upset with.”

“You’re taking me to jail?”

“Albert!” he called.

The sheriff stepped outside and a small boy came
rushing forward.

“What did she say?” he asked, his eyes wide with
anticipation.

“Miss Archer, this is Albert.”

“Hi, drooly lady.” He took a step forward with
his hand extended.

She looked at Will. “Drooly lady?”

“It’s a long story,” Will replied, nodding his
encouragement.

Elizabeth placed her hand in the small boy’s and
he bent down to kiss her fingers. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,
ma’am,” he said with a slight bow. He turned to Will. “Did I do it right?” he
whispered loudly.

“What a little gentleman,” she said, losing the
American accent. “Surely, he didn’t learn that from you,” she teased, despite
her best intentions.

“You did just fine, Albert,” Will told him,
ruffling his long, straight, and straggly hair. “Elizabeth…”

She squirmed a little. Nobody had called her
Elizabeth in months, yet Will had used the name several times this morning.

“You talk funny,” the boy said matter-of-factly.

“That is because I am from a place called
England. Have you ever heard of it?”

“Uh, huh. My mama said it was across the whole
ocean. How did you get here? To this consonant?”

“I think you mean, continent.”

“Right.”

“Well, I travelled in a carriage, then I got onto
a giant boat…”

“You mean a ship?” He looked at Will with a grin.

Will nodded his approval and winked at the boy.

Elizabeth laughed.

“Yes, Albert, you are right, it was a ship. A
really big one. Then after taking a train, riding in a covered wagon, and
walking a lot, I arrived in Stone Creek where I met up with Mr. Redbourne and
he brought me here on the stage.”

“I think you had him at ‘ship,’” Will teased.

“I’m going to ride on a train someday. And sail
in a ship,” Albert said proudly, puffing out his chest. He exhaled and took a
step toward her, tilting his head to look up at her. He slipped his hand into
hers. “Thank you for everything you done. It was real nice of ya. Especially,
since you didn’t know nothing about me.”

“Anything,” she corrected. “I didn’t know
anything about you.”

“Right.” He turned to Will. “I see why you like
her,” he whispered loud enough for Elizabeth to hear. “She reminds me of my
mama.”

She glanced over at Will, who smiled at her
uneasily.

“Is Caspar your dog?” Albert asked in the
sweetest little voice she had ever heard.

“Yes.”

“She’s real special. I can tell.”

“What makes you say that, Albert?” she asked,
curious at his assessment.

“’Cause I don’t feel all alone when she’s with
me. Does she do that for you too?”

She looked at Will and then back at the boy.

“You know, Albert,” she said as she moved to sit
on the top step leading up to the sheriff’s office, “I think she is special for
just that reason. It wasn’t very long ago that I was all alone, travelling to a
new place to live, and she found me.”

“She found
you
?” he asked disbelievingly.

“She did. And she has stayed by my side ever
since. She even scared off some bad guys when they threatened me.”

“Whoa!” he exclaimed as he sat down next to her,
his eyes wide. She had his full attention.

“Caspar is playful and fun, but she is very
courageous too. Did you know that she even pulled me out of a burning house?”

“She did?” Will asked. “I think I missed that
part of the story.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s over now and I am headed
someplace else to start over.”

“You must be real special,” Albert said. “Caspar
wouldn’t have come to you otherwise.” As if on cue, Caspar loped up to the side
of the boy and sat down, her head resting on his lap.

“You seem pretty special too, Albert.”

“Albert lost his parents a while back,” Will
chimed in, “and then his brother last year. I found him late last night out
behind the livery. I guess he’s been living with a family who…um…”

“I saw. Or did you forget?”

“It’s okay,” Albert said. “The Bartlett’s took me
in when nobody else would. But, they just weren’t very nice folks. Not like you
and Will. So, I ran away.” He scratched the pup’s ears.

Elizabeth didn’t know what to say. Maybe it was
time to let Caspar help somebody else. She stood up. “Well played, Mr.
Redbourne.”

Will raised his hands, shrugged his shoulders,
and shook his head as if he hadn’t known what would happen.

“You know, I was thinking, Albert…” Elizabeth
took a deep breath to muster the courage to do what she was about to do. “Colorado
is pretty far away and a really long walk for a dog like Caspar. Would you want
to watch over her for me and keep her safe with you?”

“Oh, boy, would I ever!” he said, jumping up and throwing
his arms around her.

Caspar barked happily and Elizabeth giggled
through the tears that had collected in her eyes. One slipped down her face,
then two. The choice to leave her family behind and start over all alone had
been hers. Albert hadn’t had that choice and she reasoned that he needed the
young coonhound more than she did. She hugged him to her a little tighter as if
gaining strength from his excitement.

“Okay, enough of this,” Will said, tugging on
Elizabeth’s arm. “I’m afraid we have to be going, Albert.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Archer. I’ll take good care of
your dog. When you and Will get to Colorado, I can write you a letter and tell
you all about our adventures.”

“I would like that a lot, Albert. Thank you.” She
bent down and placed a light kiss on his forehead.

“She kissed me!” he said, eyes wide, a hand
rubbing the spot her lips had touched his head, then he turned to look at Will.
“Do you like her kisses?” he asked innocently.

Will laughed out loud. “Well, I don’t know,
Albert. She hasn’t kissed me yet,” he said with a wink.

“Don’t worry, I’m much too young for her and I
think she’s a little sweet on you anyhow.”

Elizabeth gasped, unable to believe what had just
happened. Her cheeks burned. Her mouth went dry. How was she supposed to
respond to that?

“Is that true, Miss Archer?” Will asked with a
raised brow.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, gathering her
skirt and skittering down the steps. As she reached the last one, her foot
caught on a protruding nail in the board and she fell forward.

Will acted quickly, stepping in front of the
staircase, catching her before she could fall.

“Seems you’re making a habit of falling into my
arms.”

She hit against his chest, feeling the deep
rumble of his amusement.

“I have never been so clumsy in my life.”
Seriously,
Elizabeth. Pull yourself together.
“You must be cursed and I’ve been around
you too long.” She made a mental note to be much more careful with her
surroundings in the future. She did not need Will Redbourne to save her. She
was a smart, capable woman. Now, she just needed to prove it.