The Texan's Bride (8 page)

At that, Katie found her tongue. “Damn your hide, Kincaid,” she screamed. He looked casually over his shoulder. Spewing venomous curses, Katie bucked and squirmed. She tossed her head in violent frenzy and twisted to rake her nails down her captor’s face. “Da! Daniel!” she shrieked, straining to free herself.

Then she stilled and centered all her energy behind her words. “The devil take you, Branch Kincaid, the devil take you all.”

She laughed hysterically. With her hair in tangled disarray, eyes frantic and breasts thrust forward as she arched away from those who held her, Katie looked like Bedlam’s daughter. And as such, she unknowingly helped his cause.

He whirled on her, eyes blazing. Nobody stopped him when he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard. “Shut up. I’ve had all your mouth I’m willing to take.” He stared into her wild eyes, trying to reach her, reassure her, but she was beyond seeing. He grasped her upper arm and yanked her away from the Regulators. She stumbled as he dragged her toward the horse trough and threw her to her knees beside John.

“Tend to your old man, woman. Don’t let me hear so much as a swallow out of you.” He lowered his voice and pleaded, “Trust me, Sprite.”

Wearing a disgusted sneer, he walked back to the dumbfounded group of Regulators. “She’s a loon, you know,” he told the man in black. “Her old man told me she’s had these spells ever since her husband died.” He shook his head. “Dangerous thing, too. Why, one morning I woke up and she had a hammer raised above my head. Ready to kill me in my sleep she was. And after a right pleasant night of pokin’, too. I should’ve known her Pa wouldn’t sell her so cheap without a reason.” He shrugged and said, “But she’s an Anglo woman, unattached and clean. They ain’t too easy to find in Texas, you know.”

“It seems as though lack of sense runs in the family,” the Regulator replied. “All I intended was for us to burn the place. It wasn’t until the boy started shooting and the old man swung his fists that things got personal.”

Branch waved a hand in a dismissive gesture and said, “They are a strange bunch of pups around here, that’s for certain. I’ve been wanting to talk with you about joining up with the Regs. I’ve got a hankerin’ to get involved in this little war y’all got going. How do I go about it?”

The Regulator threw back his head and laughed. At the sound, a chill brushed the back of Branch’s neck. “Just what kind of fool are you, Kincaid? the fellow asked. He turned to his men and said, “You men take care, the woman isn’t the only crazy one here today.”

He shifted his gaze back to Branch, shaking his head. “You show up out of nowhere, help me out of a little difficulty, take control of one of my prisoners, then calmly announce you want to join our organization.” He chuckled, but amusement never touched the sinister gleam in his eyes. “For all I know, you could be a Moderator spy!”

Now the gamble, Branch thought. But the stakes were higher than he’d planned.
Dammit, Kate, why didn’t you stay put
? “You’re right.” Branch nodded slowly. “That’s what I am, or at least that’s what I told the Moderator leader, Edward Merchant.”

The Regulator held up a hand, halting his men, who were going for their guns. “What’s your story?” he asked.

Branch looked around guardedly. “Well, I hate to go into any detail right about now, what with all the company.” He flicked his thumb toward the Gallaghers. Katie had helped John to his feet, and together they had staggered over to Daniel. She worked feverishly at the knots that bound his hands. Tears flowed down John’s dirty, wrinkled face as he comforted his son, whose soft moans drummed in Branch’s ears.

“Do you think we might could find a more private place to speak?” Branch asked.

Cold eyes stared at him a full minute, then the man nodded once and pointed toward the kitchen, which had not been set afire. “In there, after you.”

“Hey, boss, can we have the gal now?” one of the men called as they crossed the yard.

Branch shot the leader a hard look. “The woman is mine,” he stated flatly. “I meant what I said about liking my women clean, and I aim to make sure she stays that way. I’ve got four thousand dollars in land certificates that come with this deal, but nobody touches the Gallagher woman but me.”

“You know, I could have you all killed with a single word,” the muffled voice shot back. He tilted his head and studied Branch. “Four thousand?”

Branch nodded.

The Regulator shrugged and called over his shoulder to his men, “Leave the woman be.”

Only then did Branch relax the viselike grip on his gun. With total concentration focused on maintaining his restraint, Branch followed the scoundrel purposefully into the kitchen.

They sat at Katie’s worktable, where a white linen towel covered a wooden bowl sitting to one side. Branch lifted a corner of the cloth, then helped himself to a wedge of cornbread left from breakfast. “Needs a pinch of sugar, but still pretty good,” he said. “Want one?”

The black hood moved from side to side. “Anonymity protects us from individual reprisals by the Moderators. That’s the mistake Gallagher made. It’s become well known that the inn was a meeting place for Edward Merchant’s band.” A gloved hand pulled at the collar of a black shirt. “Enough of this. Tell me about the four thousand.”

Branch stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles. Mentally modifying the story he’d intended to tell all along, he began, “I’m a chemist, a very good chemist. With the aid of my special mixture of acids, I can erase figures in ink from the face of notes without destroying or damaging the paper. Unfortunately, I have some very bad people after me. I need protection, and I’m willing to pay whatever it takes to get it.”

“Chemist, huh?” The Regulator crossed his arms over his chest. “Who is after you, and what does any of it have to do with your telling Edward Merchant you’d spy for him?”

One corner of Branch’s mouth lifted in a mocking smile. “Well, mister, like so many others, I came to Texas ten steps ahead of the law, in this case a pair of New York detectives. But I didn’t realize I’d be jumping from one hot skillet into another. This clan war of yours is cookin’ pretty hot, and I want out of the pan.”

“No one forced you to get involved, Kincaid.”

“You are right about that. It’s the woman. Isn’t it always a woman? I was just lookin’ for some clean commerce, and I end up getting shot at.” He shrugged. “Hell, I’ve got enough people gunning for me without getting caught in the local cross fire. I figure that if each side thinks I’m working for them, they’ll leave me the hell alone.”

“Kincaid, I’m sitting here trying to decide whether you’re somewhat smart or real stupid. You’re telling me you’re playing both ends against the middle?”

“I’m telling you I’m trying to cover my ass.”

Dark eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You’re a nervy sonofabitch, aren’t you? What’s to keep me from shooting you where you sit?”

“Money. Lots of it.” Branch leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Listen, I knew within a week of coming here who was going to win this fight. The Moderators don’t stand a chance against men like Watt Moorman. In another year the Regulators will own East Texas.”

The lingering scent of burned pine blew into the room on a breeze, a grim reminder of the destruction that lay beyond the kitchen’s walls. Branch’s gut clenched, and it took a conscious effort to appear relaxed. “I’ll feed Merchant whatever information you want him to have, and I’ll pass along whatever I hear from him that you’d be interested in learning, as long as it doesn’t tip my hand.” He sat up straight, folded his hands on the table, and leaned forward.
Make this good
, he told himself as he said, “But that’s not what I’m dealing today. Eventually, those detectives on my tail are going to find me. If you’ll put your Regulator guns against ’em when they do, I’ll get you enough money to own all of Texas if you’ve got a hankerin’ for it.”

“How?”

“Why, make it, of course.”

TRUST ME
.

The words echoed through Katie’s mind.
But he betrayed me. Betrayed us. Or had he? I could have ended it right then. The Regulator would be dead. I would be dead. I thought Da and Daniel were dead. Sweet Mother Mary.

Trust me.

Katie hung her head in despair. Daniel needed some salve for his cuts. She’d washed his back, but he needed the salve. It would sooth the burn. Five lashes, as best she could tell.
A boy, he’s just a boy
.

Another boy had brought well water when she asked. She knew him, she recognized his voice. Keeper McShane. Another boy, frecklefaced beneath that awful hood. She had bought him candy, and now he held a gun on her, on them. She remembered what Branch had said earlier about Texas being a hard land. Perhaps he was right. What kind of country was this where boys suffered from the cruelty of men, where boys acted with the cruelty of men?

“Mavourneen,” John croaked, interrupting her thoughts. “Water. Please.” Katie lifted the pail to her father’s split and swollen lips. Tears burned her eyes.
Da, poor Da
. Bruises covered his body. When she could get into the kitchen, she’d get something to bind his ribs. If she ever did get in, that is.

They’d been in there for an eternity.

The Regulator leader had left the kitchen once, long enough to send a man after Striker and Branch’s saddlebags and to order all but three of the Regulators back to Nacogdoches. Now, along with Keeper, two men guarded her and her family.

Keeper seemed nervous. Every few moments he’d shift his pistol from his right hand to his left and wipe his palm on his dirt-streaked trousers. Katie began to wonder who was guarding whom.

Sweat ran in rivulets down her back. Was it the heat from the fire? The coppery taste of fear wouldn’t leave her mouth.
Damn you, Branch Kincaid, what are you doing in my kitchen?

Trust me.

The door swung open. The Regulator and Branch stepped outside, both all smiles, the hooded man gripping a handful of what looked like bank notes. Katie watched them walk toward her and was struck by the similarities between the two men.

Each carried himself with arrogance. Broad of shoulder, a swagger to their steps, they both exuded strength and tenacity. They both could be cruel.

The Regulator hid behind a mask. Who was he? Where did he live? How did he make his living? Was he a neighbor, a customer, someone she called friend? The thought made her shudder.

And what of Branch Kincaid? He hid behind that innocent expression and wicked grin. Who was he and why was he at Gallagher’s? He asked her to trust him; did she dare? And heaven help her, he gave her an entirely different kind of shivers.

The Regulator looked her over, eyes gleaming. “I don’t know, Kincaid. Perhaps I made a mistake including her in the deal. I’ve seen the lady in town before. Calmed down and cleaned up, she’s an attractive woman.”

Branch shrugged and said nothing.

Katie couldn’t stop the shudder when the hooded man sat on his haunches and reached for a strand of her hair. He let it slide between his fingers. “Beautiful,” he said. “Silky, a bit of red. What color are the rest of your curls, honey?”

He grabbed a handful of auburn tresses and wrapped them around his wrist. Yanking her so hard that tears sprang to her eyes, he pulled her to within inches of his masked face. “Come at me again, bitch, and I’ll carve you up so bad that even a blind man can’t stand to look at you.”

He threw her into the dirt and stood. Keeper retrieved his horse, and taking the reins, the Regulator leader swung into the saddle. The sorrel snorted as he called, “Come on, men. The boss will be waiting in Shelbyville for a report. Let’s ride.”

Glancing at Branch, he added, “Report to Sheriff Strickland in Nacogdoches in a week, Kincaid. He’s been asking the town council for a deputy, and I’ll see that you get the job. It’ll give you quick access to Regulator guns should the need arise. One more thing—don’t make me look back on this day with regret.”

“I’ll be there, and I’ll have what we bargained for,” Branch promised solemnly. “Trust me.”

DURING THE night it rained, a long, soaking downpour that extinguished any embers left burning and turned dry ash into acrid clumps of clinging mud. Everything was gone but for the limestone fireplace that rose from the rubble like a monument on a battlefield, which, in truth, it was.

The day had dawned gray and lifeless, a fitting accompaniment for Katie’s state of mind. She stepped carefully amid the debris as she searched for salvageable objects. She worked alone. John Gallagher tended to Daniel, who lay on his stomach in Katie’s bed, passed out from the liquor his father had coaxed down his throat to alleviate his pain.

Branch Kincaid had disappeared sometime during the night.

“Good riddance,” she told herself. She was glad he was gone, pleased that he had slunk off into the darkness like the wolf that he was. “
Trust me
, hah,” she scoffed. The fairy tale was over—Grandma had been eaten.

She bent to retrieve a shapeless bit of metal that once had been a tankard.
Damn the man. Perhaps she should have listened when he attempted to explain, but she’d been so upset, so worried about Daniel and Da
.

Poor Daniel’s back was raw; cleansing and applying the salve had caused him so much pain. He didn’t deserve this. First his hand, now his back—boys weren’t meant to have this kind of pain. And Da, he’d seemed to age ten years overnight. For the first time ever, when she looked at him, she saw an old man.

Damn Branch Kincaid
. He had planned it. He had been part of it, she was sure of it. Branch and his charming friend, Mr. William Bell, had whispered and plotted the destruction of the very inn under whose roof they had sat.

You don’t really believe that
, a voice inside her whispered. “I do.” She brushed sodden ashes from a misshapen Britannia teapot, then set it gently into the deep pocket of her apron. The voice argued,
The Regulators would have hurt you if not for Branch Kincaid.
“I’d have killed them if not for him.”
You’d be dead if not for him. He saved you and he saved your family. You should be grateful to him
. Katie kicked the ashes and said, “Then why did he run away the first chance he got without explaining himself?”