The Texan's Dream (23 page)

TWENTY-SIX

AS ALWAYS, JONATHAN SLEPT LITTLE. HAVING SO many people around made him nervous. He longed for the peace of being alone with Kara. He’d be glad when Christmas Day was over and everything settled down.

Just before dawn, he wandered into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, still thinking of how nice it would be to sit in the study with Kara some evening and just read by the fire. She’d said she wasn’t leaving with Devin, but she hadn’t promised to stay. With each hour’s passing, he wasn’t sure he could let her leave even though he had no idea how to make her stay.

She’d become a part of his life a little at a time, like winter sometimes melts into spring. He couldn’t name the hour or the moment it happened but his heart had warmed and there was color to a world he’d always thought of as gray.

As he lifted the pot, Snort hurried inside, shaking a light dusting of snow off his shoulders.

“How’s Quil?” Jonathan asked, guessing the old man had just finished a shift.

“Same,” Snort answered, frowning. “The girl’s with him, but he hasn’t said a word to her. I took them some extra blankets.”

Jonathan watched Snort for a few minutes, reading him easily. “What’s wrong?” If it wasn’t Quil, it had to be something else. Trouble pestered Snort like fleas.

Snort poured a cup of coffee and shrugged. “Probably nothing, but …” He hesitated. “Cooper’s missing. I figured he decided to sleep another night in the great room, but when I checked in there, it didn’t look like anyone slept in the place. I walked the grounds between the bunkhouse and here twice, thinking he might have had a problem with his head and passed out somewhere in the cold. I’ve known folks hit in the head by a bullet that never got right.”

Snort saw it as his job to keep up with everyone. It frustrated him when the count wasn’t right.

“Maybe he’s in the barn,” Jonathan said, directing Snort back to the problem. Two or three men always watch Quil, maybe Cooper decided to take a shift. The soldiers seemed glad to give up their duty for a few days. They hadn’t left the warmth of the bunkhouse since they arrived.

When Jonathan left with Kara late last night, a few of the Old Guard looked like they planned to bed down in the hay with the Apache in sight.

“No, I checked. H. B. said he hadn’t seen Cooper all night.”

Before Jonathan could guess again, Angela came through the back door, smiling. “Merry Christmas.” She almost sang the words.

Jonathan and Snort stared at one another in disbelief, then grinned knowingly. Angela wasn’t a woman familiar with smiling, at least not until now.

Snort put down his coffee and headed for the door. “Never mind that problem, Boss. I think I found the answer.”

Jonathan tried not to laugh. “Everything all right, Angela?”

“Perfect,” she answered. “Everything is absolutely perfect.”

Jonathan walked from the room, wishing his life were “absolutely perfect.” It got more complicated every day. With all the guests and Quil there, security had become a nightmare. There were even rumors that Wells planned to make a surprise visit soon.

He walked the quiet house, realizing it didn’t seem so dark and unwelcoming with all the decorations. As he stepped onto the front porch, he almost collided with Gideon.

The groundskeeper was far too old and overweight to be in his current state. For the first time since Jonathan had known him, murder shone in Gideon’s eyes. The old man wielded his broom like a weapon as he stumbled away from Jonathan, huffing like a train at full throttle and mumbling in Spanish.

Jonathan didn’t have long to wait for the groundskeeper to address him.

“How long have I worked here?” Gideon asked before Jonathan could even say good morning.

“I don’t know. More years than I am old, I’m sure.”

“And I’ve always been loyal to the Catlins?” Gideon asked. “Always done my job?”

“Of course.”

“If I asked for one favor, you’d do it, wouldn’t you?”

“Without hesitation,” Jonathan promised as he watched a sleepy-looking Cooper walk from the barn.

Gideon turned and followed Jonathan’s gaze. “Then I want you to shoot that man!”

Jonathan pulled his gun.

Cooper looked up as he approached. He slowly raised his hands, but kept drawing closer. He was not a man to cower, even when a Colt was pointed at his middle.

“Shoot him!” Gideon yelled.

“Whatever you say,” Jonathan answered. “But would you mind giving me a reason, just in case someone asks why later?”

“I ain’t saying. Just believe me, he needs to die.”

“Fair enough,” Jonathan replied. “All right with you, Cooper, if I shoot you? Whatever you did, Gideon says you deserve it.”

“I do,” the retired lawman answered. “But could you wait a day, give me time to find a preacher? If I’m going to have to leave Angela, I’d rather leave her a widow than an old maid.”

“You’re not leaving my granddaughter a widow!” Gideon shouted. “She deserves better than that.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to stay alive.” Cooper lowered his hands. “ ’Cause I aim to marry her.”

“Well.” Jonathan glanced at Gideon. “Do I shoot him or welcome him into your family?”

Gideon didn’t bother to answer. He marched into the house yelling for Daniel McLain. If Cooper wanted to marry, there was no time like the present.

Unfortunately, Angela didn’t see the need to rush. She said she’d consider Cooper’s proposal and let him know in a few days.

“A woman deserves the right to ponder the one and only marriage proposal she’ll ever have in her life,” Angela said to her grandfather when he hauled the preacher and Cooper into her kitchen.

Daniel held one of his sons on his arm and a Bible in his hand. He agreed with Angela, but Gideon swore they’d stand before Daniel before the McLains left the ranch, for no daughter of his was going to jump the broom when a real preacher was under their roof.

An hour later, Kara hugged Angela wildly when she heard the news.

“He’s a good man.” Angela tried not to show any excitement. “A good man. I’ve known it from the first.”

“And he’s getting a fine woman,” Kara said. “He’s a lucky man, our Cooper.”

Angela grinned. “That’s what I told him.” She straightened. “I’ll marry him tomorrow, but right now, we’ve got a meal to cook.”

“How can I help?” Kara rolled up her sleeves.

“Oh, no. Not today. You go up and get ready. I’ve more help than I can use. If I let you in, I’ll have to allow the McLain women to help and not one of them can cook well enough to get a job on a cattle drive.”

Reluctantly, Kara climbed the back stairs to her room. People occupied every cranny of the house now, talking, laughing, waiting for the meal. The day would be one long party. And with snow dancing around the windows, it might last even longer.

As she opened her bedroom door, the sight of Devin O’Toole sitting in her reading chair by the window surprised her. He didn’t look any happier than usual. His nose was red. A wadded handkerchief showed between his fingers. He wore the same wool suit he’d arrived in a few days before.

“Good morning.” She tried to smile and remember she’d once thought of him as a friend. But lately, the more she saw him, the more she wished he’d just go away. He acted as though she’d change her mind at any moment and want to return with him.

“Do you mind closing the door, lass? I know your father wouldn’t think it proper, but I’ve a need to have a few words with you.” He sounded almost polite.

She closed the door, reasoning that she’d known Devin for years and never had any reason to be afraid of him. Also, she knew that, should she find the need to scream someone would come to her aid.

He didn’t stand, but he motioned for her to take the other chair. “I’ve come to say I’m leaving, Karina.”

“But aren’t you staying for Christmas dinner?”

“No,” he answered. “One of the men who came from town said there’s a stage rolling out at noon for Fort Worth. It seems not everyone takes a holiday.”

“I wish you a safe journey.” Kara took a deep breath, glad to be rid of the man.

“Thank you, but you should wish us both a safe trip. You’ll be accompanying me. I decided we can be married in Fort Worth tonight.”

Kara couldn’t believe what he’d just said. She almost laughed. Once, she’d dreamed of hearing him name a date. But now … “You can’t be serious. I think I’ve made it plain, Devin. I don’t want to go home, and I don’t want to marry you.”

“You’ve wanted to marry me all your life, girl. There’s not a man or woman on the row who hasn’t told me you’ve had your eye on me. Now your wish will come true.”

“Maybe back home I thought of it, but now it’s different. I’m different.”

Devin stood and glared at her. “You haven’t changed that much. You’re daydreaming if you think you can marry a man who’s rich, like Catlin. Well, when we get back, I’ll be plenty rich.” He tossed the packet her father had given her on the bed. “We’ll both have more money than we ever dreamed.”

Kara noticed the bindings had been cut. Paper edges peeked out. He’d opened the packet her father had told her not to open. “That belongs to my father—and me.” She reached for the bundle, but he snatched it back.

“Wrong. These belong to us.” He slapped the packet into his palm. “All your life, your father has been buying into the mills a few stocks at a time, in your name. I often wondered why he lived in the same poverty as the lowest paid worker. Someone of his level should have had a housekeeper, maybe even a part-time cook. But no, he used you for the work and saved every dime.”

Kara couldn’t believe what he told her. “Papa bought stock for me?”

“For
us,”
Devin corrected. “The minute we’re married, it will all transfer to me. He must have planned it that way, always telling me what a good cook you were, what a good housekeeper. He wanted me to take care of you after he was gone.”

Devin’s words held a truth, but it was an old truth. Something had changed. The pieces no longer fit together. “My papa didn’t send you, did he?”

“He might as well have. In the middle of the fighting, I followed him home one night. He told me how he’d left you provided for just before the McWimberlys stormed in a door I’d forgotten to lock. He had only time for one glance at me before they jumped him, but in that one look, I saw that he knew the truth. But it was too late.”

“What truth? To late for what?”

“That I was one of them. When I came to Pittsburgh in my teens, my cousins convinced me to act like I wasn’t a McWimberly. But in the end, your father knew. I tried to get him to tell me where you were, but he chose to die.”

Devin’s words closed around her throat, grief choking off all air to her lungs. “You killed my father?” She was lost in a nightmare. Surely it couldn’t be true.

Devin grabbed her by the arm and lowered her into the chair by her desk. He stood in front of her silently demanding she believe him. “Now don’t go thinking that, girl. I wasn’t the one who killed him. I swear it on all the saints. I don’t want my wife ever thinking such a thing. I cared for the old man, but I had my family to think about.”

He sneezed and added almost as an afterthought, “By marrying you, you’ll always be safe. I’ll have your money and you’ll have my protection.”

“No, thank you,” she whispered, trying to make sense of his words. She wouldn’t believe her strong father was dead. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. Tears slid down her cheeks.

Devin patted her hand awkwardly. “I want you to know that I am the one who saved your life.” He ordered she believe him as though she were no more than a child. His fingers dug into the flesh of her arm. “The McWimberlys followed you as far as Kansas City where they said you hooked up with a man. We knew from the beginning of the trouble that your father had something of value stashed somewhere, but none of us believed he’d be dumb enough to give it to you. The man who followed you swore you didn’t have anything or you’d have used it to keep from starving. But when we couldn’t find something in your father’s house, I knew he must have sent whatever he valued with his only child.”

He sneezed a few times against his sleeve. “Get packed, Karina. We’re running out of time.”

“I’m not going.” She couldn’t think. Her father couldn’t be dead. Yet Devin believed he’d left her a small fortune. It had to be true, or Devin wouldn’t be here. “Jonathan won’t let you take me.” She refused to move from the chair. “Take the packet, if that’s what you came for, and go. You don’t want me.”

“You’re going along. The stock certificates are in your name. They’re just useless papers to me until we’re married and I can claim them.”

He looked around her tiny room. “I’ve got a buggy behind the corral now. As for Jonathan and the old men he calls his guard, they won’t even miss you with all these people around. We’ll be in town before they notice.”

He stood in front of her and pulled a gun from his coat pocket. “Besides, I’m prepared if anyone notices us leaving. I’ll shoot into this crowd if I have to. There’s no telling how many I’ll hit. But I promise, Jonathan will be the first. The man has treated me like trash since the moment he saw me.” Devin laughed. “And you, he treats like a princess. You should hear the way he talks to his men about you. As though you are to be treasured at all cost. Well, the trash and the princess will be married before he can do anything about it.”

“He won’t just let me go.” Somehow Jonathan would stop this insanity. He’d told her she was “of his tribe” like Quil and Wolf and the McLains. That had to mean he’d help her. It had to.

“He will let you go without any trouble if you write him a letter.” Devin threw her things in her bags along with the packet of stock. “So, get to writing.”

As Devin ransacked her room, Kara wrote simply, I’ve
decided to leave with Devin. I’m looking forward to seeing many happy days. I’ll miss you all. Thank you …

“That’s enough,” Devin said from over her shoulder. “You’re going on too long. No one will probably even notice you’re gone but Catlin and he’ll forget you soon enough. You’re nothing but a bookkeeper around here and no one needs a bookkeeper on Christmas Day. Just sign your name.”