The Texan and the Lady (18 page)

When Delta returned to Colton, she slid her fingers into the bend of his arm without saying a word. For a moment she thought he might pull away, for it was the boldest thing she’d ever done. But he pulled her arm to him, gently pressing her hand between his elbow and rib cage. When she looked up at him, he watched the room as always, but the pressure didn’t decrease as he pressed her fingers against his side.

While the evening aged, they enjoyed a few more dances. Except for the marshal, Colton had been right—no one else asked her for the pleasure of a dance. He left her alone at times so that she could visit with the other women, but she noticed he made no effort to talk to anyone in the room. When he disappeared onto the porch, pulling a cheroot from his vest pocket, Delta knew her chance had come to ask him about True.

She followed him out, paying little attention to the stares and whispers.

For a moment she thought he must have left, for only the cold air greeted her in the shadows. She moved silently along the wide veranda, wishing she’d stopped for her wrap before following him.

As she reached the railing, she stood staring out into the clear winter night. Looking closely, she saw the glow of his thin cigar. Finally her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, and his outline came into focus beneath a tree several yards away. He stood, watching the lights from town flicker in the distance. His body was stiff, not relaxed as though he were enjoying the evening, but hard as if braced against a wind no one else felt.

Delta took a deep breath and headed toward him. The worst he could do was yell at her for following him outside, and she was willing to risk that to have True with her for a few days.

“Colton?” Most men would have been startled, but his body barely moved. He must have known she was there.

He dropped the cigar and turned to face her. “Yes?”

Delta suddenly lost her bravery. He was such a powerful man, and now here in the shadows he seemed frightening. An animal of the darkness in his element. She forced herself to move closer, reminding her shaking body that he’d never harmed her or even hinted that he might.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

He didn’t move. She could only see the profile of his face. He seemed made of unyielding stone.

Her hand trembled when she reached out to touch his arm as she had before. She must feel his warmth, know that he was real, before she asked him to take in a child that wasn’t even hers.

When her fingers slid along the hard muscle of his upper arm, Colton reacted immediately. She heard the sudden intake of his breath and knew she’d surprised him with her action. She could feel the muscles tighten beneath her touch and was comforted that the shadow had become human.

She’d expected him to move away from even her slight touch, but he remained planted, so close and yet seemingly out of her reach. Without curving her fingers Delta slid her hand to his shoulder. She could feel the power beneath the fabric of his coat … If only an ounce of kindness dwelled there as well …

“When I was here before, I met a child, an orphan. I’d like to bring him back to the ranch with me. Only for a few days of course.” Delta held her breath. She knew just telling anyone about True was dangerous. If he told Mrs. Gray or the sheriff, the child could be taken away. But somehow Delta knew Colton never told anyone anything more than what he must.

“Is this child yours?” His words were bitter winter.

“No,” Delta answered, thinking that was a fair question to ask a stranger. Even though she’d spent two weeks in his home, she was still very much a stranger to him.

“Then why do you care?”

Hugging herself more from the coldness of the man beside her than the chilly wind, she answered, “True’s all alone. Both parents are dead. When the Harvey girls found him, he looked like he hadn’t eaten in days.”

“But he’s not yours. He belongs to no one.” Colton stated the fact.

Delta moved closer, wishing she could see his eyes. She wondered if his thoughts were as cold as his words. Anger fired her reply. “Maybe he belongs to us all. It doesn’t matter if I’m his mother; all children need love and care.”

He was silent for so long she thought he wasn’t going to answer. Turning to face the lights from town, Delta felt the numbness growing around her heart and realized that if he said no tonight, she’d count the hours until she could be out of his sight. She thought about begging or pleading or even crying, but somehow she knew none of those tactics would work on Colton Barkley.

Slowly he removed his jacket and placed it around her. His hands rested on her shoulders so lightly she wasn’t sure they were there. “If you wish to have the child with you, I have no objections.”

“Thank you.” She turned in his arms. “I’ll see that he’s no trouble.”

Delta was so close she could smell the hint of his cigar in the air between them. As before, he made no effort to move away from her. Hesitantly Delta lifted her hand and placed it over his heart. The shirt was cold, but she could feel the warmth just beneath her touch. Somewhere in this stone statue breathed a man. A good man perhaps.

She had to open the door of honesty between them, if only just a crack. She owed him that much. “I know I’m not what you were expecting from my letters.” He’d made that obvious by spending almost every waking hour away from the ranch house. “But if there is anything I can do to help you these next couple of weeks until the month is over, then please let me. You’ve been kind to me and I’d like to repay you.”

“There’s no need.” Again his words were winter ice, but his heart still pounded beneath her fingers.

“Please,” she whispered. “I could cook or clean. I can even sew if you need anything.”

“No,” he insisted. “I have others who attend to those chores.”

Delta nodded, feeling guilty that she’d have to take his money for a ticket in two weeks. When Jennie had thought of the plan, Delta had visualized a poor widower whose house would be in shambles, and she’d figured she could feel she’d given him something in return by cleaning and cooking. Delta’s fingers lifted from Colton’s chest as she stepped away, knowing that it would take far more than the time she had left to be a friend to this man.

When she turned, Colton touched her shoulder lightly, carefully. “There is something,” he admitted, “but whether you say yes or no doesn’t matter. The child can still come back to the ranch with us.”

Delta smiled, happy to be of some help to him. “Name the task, kind sir.”

She thought she heard the low beginnings of a chuckle from him. “You’re the only person on this earth who would refer to me as such.”

“Then they don’t see as clearly as I,” she retorted, knowing that she’d seen true evil in men and this one before her bore no hint of it. “Name your task.” Delta suddenly wanted very much to make his life a little easier.

He took a deep breath before answering. “You know the way you touched me in there, in front of everyone?”

A flush spread across her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to embarrass him by her slight display. She’d meant it as only kindness. How could she have guessed such a small touch would have offended him? “I understand,” she nodded, “you wish not to be so informal. I’m sorry. I meant no harm …” She should have been able to read his disapproval in his cold stance.

“No,” Colton interrupted. “I didn’t disapprove. No one has touched me like that in years. I wish you to continue both in public and in private.”

“But you never …”

“Can you do so whether I respond or not?”

“If you wish,” Delta replied. Though the request seemed odd, it was a small favor to ask for all he’d done for her. She’d already sensed that he was perhaps frozen beyond all response to any touch. But if he wanted her to play a part, she would do so without question.

“I wish it,” Colton answered, turning once more to the lights of town, as though their conversation had been no more than casual comments.

Delta watched him, wondering what made up this strange man and what it must have taken to mold him so tightly. He didn’t seem old enough to have lived through all the suffering it would have taken to fire the steel of his frame.

Slowly, without hesitation, she placed her hand in the hollow of his arm. “Are you ready to go inside?”

He nodded and covered her fingers with his own as they walked back toward the party.

“One other thing.” He helped her onto the steps. “If you have any other questions or favors, have no reluctance to ask.”

“Thank you again, kind sir. I will.”

The low chuckle she’d thought she’d heard once before rumbled from him, but he didn’t say a word as he led her back inside.

When he closed the door, he glanced once more at the outline of a man who’d been watching the house since they’d arrived. A large man keeping well out of the light.

Chapter 17

M
arshal,” True whispered to Austin from outside the window. “Marshal McCormick!” Music and dancers almost drowned out the tiny voice.

Austin turned around and noticed True’s dirty little face staring at him with saucer eyes. He backed against the wall beside the window. “Yes, son,” he answered.

“Got to talk to you.” True disappeared without waiting to see if Austin followed.

Austin glanced around the room, then walked slowly to the door as though he had no more on his mind than a smoke in the cool night air. Everyone seemed too busy dancing or flirting to notice his movements. Even clean-shaven Spider Morris was sitting halfway up the stairs talking with Mrs. Gray like she was newly widowed and he was fresh off a six-month trail drive.

When Austin reached the darkness of the porch, True was beside him. The child made a habit of appearing and disappearing as soundlessly as smoke.

“Marshal, I got a few questions, and they can’t wait till morning.”

“All right,” McCormick answered. “Get on with it, so I can get back to watching every man in the county line up to dance with Jennie.”

True leaned close and whispered, “Are you sure that fellow left town?”

“What fellow?”

True swore, using words Austin often used, but getting them out of order. “The fellow who was holed up in the barn. The one without any hair. Pay attention, Marshal! This is important. I ain’t got time to keep repeating myself.”

Austin smiled down at True. “The big, hairless man. Like I told you, I asked him a few questions and he said he was moving on.”

“And he didn’t tell you nothin’ else?”

“Most men in these parts aren’t too friendly with information.” Austin leaned against the porch railing. “Course it’s not as bad as it is in Texas. Sometimes I’ve got a feeling everyone in that state’s lugging around a secret so huge Texas is the only place large enough to hide it in.”

True danced around with impatience. “I ain’t asking about other folks. You said the big man was leaving town, and Henry told me he seen him hiding in the trees between here and the depot.”

“When?” Austin’s muscles tightened, ready for a fight, then he slowed his curiosity as he considered True’s past record of telling the truth.

“Tonight,” True answered. “He’s probably waiting out there planning to rob the whole town while all the men are at this dumb dance. I figure he might not be that Buck Lawton you’re looking for, but he could be working for him. Maybe Lawton sent this fellow into town to see just how easy these folks would be to take in a fight.”

Austin didn’t want to admit that he’d thought the same thing for a moment when he’d first heard about the man sleeping in the livery, but the idea didn’t hold water. First, the man in the livery was too much of a lowlife for even a weasel like Lawton to partner up with. Second, if he were just looking the town over, it would have only taken a matter of hours, not days.

“Sheriff Morris said Lawton was reported seen in Missouri.” Austin tried to reassure True. “If he’s heading this way, he’s taking his time. My guess is he’s smart enough to stay away from Florence, where we’re waiting for him.”

“Well, I’ll probably miss all the excitement.” True sounded disappointed. “But I’m going to have to leave you and Henry to help the sheriff. I got to go with Delta to Colton Barkley’s ranch.”

“With who?” Austin’s question stilled the night air to a corpse’s breath.

For the first time since he’d met the child True was perfectly still. “Did I say Delta? I meant Mary Elizabeth. You know how all these women look alike. I get the names mixed up sometimes. I got to go with Mary Elizabeth and Mr. Barkley.”

Austin turned toward the child, knowing he’d finally tripped over a way to prove he’d been right about Delta assuming Mary Elizabeth’s identity.

“True?” He looked across the porch. “True, I know you’re there, so you might as well come close enough for me to see you.”

No answer.

“True!”

Austin swore under his breath. The kid was harder to keep up with than a baby cricket. “I’ll talk to you when you get back, and you can tell Henry I want to see him in my office also. We’ve got a few things that—”

“Talking to yourself again, Marshal?” Jennie asked as she moved outside. “Why don’t you yell a little louder and maybe the folks in town can hear you?”

Austin swore again before answering. “I was talking to True.”

Jennie looked around. “True isn’t here.”

“I know that!” Austin snapped. “The child is as hard to talk to as his mother.”

“We’ve been through this before. I’m not anyone’s mother.”

“But the child never strays too far from where you are, and he’s as protective of you as I’ve ever seen a boy be. Add that the two of you both have the same loose grip on the truth, and I can see the family resemblance.” He didn’t know if he really believed Jennie was True’s mother any longer, but he still knew she’d lied to him about Delta, and he wanted so much for her to trust him enough to be honest.

Jennie turned back toward the door. “I didn’t come out here to listen to this.”

He took a step and blocked her path. “What did you come out here for, Jennie?” He wanted to ask if she’d like to live another dream, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear her answer.