The Tracker (6 page)

Nothing. He waited another beat and then shouted louder. “Ellie!”

Again nothing.

Where the devil had she gone? “Ellie!”

Rose started to cry as if she’d been startled awake. He hated waking the child, but the sound of her cries offered a measure of relief. If the baby was here, Ellie would be close and she would come running at the sound.

When he didn’t hear her enter the cabin, he knew something was wrong.

He pushed himself up on his elbows. Pain shot up from his leg and for a moment it nearly took his breath away. Sweat beaded on his forehead. But as the seconds ticked by, the pain lessened and he shifted into a full sitting position.

Rose’s cry grew louder.

He grabbed a blanket off the chair beside his bed and draped it around his shoulders. Gritting his teeth, he slid his leg over the side of the bed. Even in the August heat, the floor felt cool on his bare feet.

He sucked in a breath, stood and shuffled into the great room. There was no sign of Ellie, but he could
see Rose in her cradle by the hearth. Her face was red and her tiny fingers were clenched into fists.

Nick hobbled across the floor. The distance to the cradle might as well have been twenty miles. His heart pumped in his chest and his muscles cramped from the exertion.

When he reached the cradle he sat on the rope chair beside it, more grateful than he could say to have the weight off his leg. He clutched the blanket around him with one hand and rocked the cradle with the other.

Rose cried louder. The baby had Jade’s reputed temper.

“Shh,” he said. “It’s all right.” He looked out the window, hoping to see some sign of Ellie. “I sure would like to know where the devil your mother is.” He jiggled the crib harder.

Rose’s sobs stopped. “Just looking for a little attention?” His voice sounded calmer than he felt. “I had a sister, Julia, like you. She was fine as long as someone was paying attention to her, but the minute you left her alone, she started to fuss.” The baby’s cries softened. She started to chew on her fist.

Nick thought about Julia. When he’d left Virginia ten years ago, she’d been nine years old. “She’s got to be all grown up. She could be married with children by now.” The thought that he’d missed so much
of her life saddened him. Julia had been the only one in his family who hadn’t wanted him to leave. He pinched the bridge of his nose, amazed how his life had gone so very differently than he’d ever imagined.

He stopped rocking the cradle and eased his hand back. Immediately, Rose started fussing. He jiggled the cradle again, but this time she didn’t stop grizzling.

He steadied the crib, reached in and picked her up. She was lighter than a feather, yet he could feel the strength in her. He laid the baby on his shoulder and started to pat her on the back. “Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “I can tell you, if your mama doesn’t get here soon, we’re going to have to go and look for her.” If Frank was out there and he laid a hand on Ellie, he’d kill the bastard.

Footfalls sounded on the steps and Ellie appeared in the door. She wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, carried a basket filled with an odd collection of herbs and her shotgun. Her gaze locked on him and the child. “What are you doing?”

He continued to pat the baby on the back. “I could ask you the same. Where have you been?”

She set the basket and gun down and crossed the room. She took Rose from him. To his surprise, he missed the warmth of the child against his chest.

“Is something wrong with the baby? I’d put her
down for her morning nap and she never wakes for at least an hour.”

“I might have woken her. When I didn’t see you in the cabin, I called out to you.” Ellie smelled of fresh air and sunshine.

“I went to the edge of the woods to collect some herbs and roots to make a paste for your leg.”

“You shouldn’t go so far. Frank could be anywhere.”

She frowned. “I took my shotgun.”

“Frank won’t come at you head-on like I did. He’ll come out of nowhere. He’ll have that gun out of your hands before you even know what happened.”

Her face paled a fraction. The baby, without a care in the world, had fallen asleep on her shoulder. “I hate this whole situation.”

“I’m not so partial to it myself. But it’s what we got to deal with.” Sitting up this long had drained what little strength he had and, despite his efforts, his shoulders started to sag.

“We best get you back to bed,” Ellie said, laying the baby down. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and helped him stand. She nestled her body close to his so that she had a firm grip on him, though he doubted she could support his weight if he did fall. She was such a little bit.

He grunted, hating the weakness in his body.
Slowly they moved across the cabin. When she eased him onto the bed, he felt as if he’d run ten miles.

“Don’t worry. You will be your old self soon enough.”

He glanced up at her, surprised she had read his thoughts.

She caught his expression and smiled. “You’re an open book.”

He lay back on the pillow. “I am
not
an open book.” Hell, how many times had he bluffed his way through a bad poker hand or around an outlaw when his gun was out of bullets?

She tucked the blanket under his chin. “You were worried about me, weren’t you? I could see it on your face.”

Had he been that transparent? Damn, he was losing his touch.

She laughed.

W
HEN
N
ICK WOKE
,
the sun was low in the sky, bathing the cabin in orange and red light. He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep, but his leg no longer burned with pain.

Sitting up slowly, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. For a second, he paused, until the swimming sensation eased and his body adjusted to sitting up. From the corner of his eye, he saw his gun on the bedside table.

The faint smell of stew filled the cabin.

He glanced down at his naked body. He’d have to find his clothes.

Dragging a blanket with him, he wrapped it around his waist and stood. Immediately his leg started to throb. The pain forced him to lean against the wall and ease the weight from his injured limb, but he was heartened to realize the ripping pain he’d endured days ago hadn’t returned. Good. He was healing. Now if he could just find Ellie.

A large walking stick leaned against the cabin wall. A sign of Ellie. He sensed she wasn’t far. Damn, did the woman ever stay in one place?

He limped outside. The cool, fresh air smelled sweet.

Ellie sat in a rocker, her back to the front door. Her hair hung loose, past her shoulders. As he stepped closer, he realized she had a nursing bottle in the baby’s mouth.

The sight of Ellie holding the baby stirred images and emotions he’d thought long forgotten.

She glanced up. “It’s good to see you moving about. How does your leg feel?”

“Better.”

“Good.”

He’d not realized until this moment how young she looked—perhaps not even twenty years old. “Where are my clothes?”

“I’ll get them.” She stood and he could see she was dressed in the same frayed dress she’d worn when he arrived. The garment hid the full curve of her breasts and her narrow waist. He’d seen women draped in silks, furs and jewels who had not looked half as stunning as Ellie did now. His body hardened and he was grateful for the blanket draped around his waist.

“No need, just point the way,” he said, his voice gruff.

“Be easier if I showed you.” Carrying the baby, she walked inside. “I did laundry yesterday.”

Yesterday. “How long have I been sleeping?”

She nodded to the clothes in a neat stack at the edge of her bed. “This time? Only about six hours.”

“And since I’ve been shot?”

“Six days.”

“Six days!” He’d never lost time like this before and it was unsettling.

“Six days is nothing. Most men would have been out for weeks.”

He wasn’t appeased. Instead he thought of Frank. The bastard could be anywhere.

“I washed your clothes. They were a mess. Blood splattered up onto your shirt and it took a good bit of scrubbing to get it out. There was no saving your pants but I found a second pair in your saddlebag, which I cleaned.”

The baby stirred in her arms and she pulled the bottle from her mouth, set it on the table and lifted Rose to her shoulder. She patted her on the back until she burped.

Nick’s heart tightened. Clearly, Ellie loved the child, and Frank would use that love to get his gold. The outlaw would kill the child if need be. Nick knew he’d never let that happen.

“There’s water in the basin in your room,” Ellie said, moving toward the stove. “And I’ve stew on the stove. Once you’ve dressed, I’ll make a plate for you. And be mindful of that wound or you’ll rip every stitch.”

Clearing his throat, he retreated to his room. The sooner he dressed and ate, the better help he’d be to Ellie. They’d all been damn lucky so far that Frank hadn’t shown up.

But he knew their luck would run out sooner rather than later.

A
S THE MARSHAL
dressed, Ellie’s nerves danced on the edge as she ladled the stew onto a tin plate. Unconscious, his presence filled the cabin. Awake, it dominated.

The worries that had festered since his arrival grew threefold. She didn’t want any part of a hunt for Frank. She wanted to live a normal life with Rose.

She’d stayed these last six days because Nick had needed her. But soon he’d be able to care for himself. And her chances of escaping him narrowed each day. If she and Rose were going to run, it would have to be very soon.

Ellie sighed as she laid the baby in her cradle. She didn’t want to run. She liked working at the coach stop with Annie. This house had been more of a
home in two short months than the Silver Slipper had been in twenty years.

But she couldn’t afford sentimentality now. If the marshal could find her, so would Frank.

She had to run. But to where?

Her limited options frustrated her. She couldn’t return to Butte and the town of Thunder Canyon was too close. If only she did have Jade’s gold. She and Rose would go far away to a big city like Denver or Chicago and buy a place just big enough for the two of them.

But she didn’t have Jade’s gold. She’d have to find work.

With a plate of hot stew in hand, Ellie turned toward the table. She started, nearly dropping her plate, when she saw the marshal standing there. He wore black from head to toe and he’d combed back his hair and washed his face. He looked good.

Hot stew sloshed onto her skin and burned her hand. Quickly she set the plate on the table and reached for a rag.

“You all right?” he said.

“My word, you move as quiet as a cat.”

“Old habit.” He stared down at her. “Forgive me.”

The regret in his eyes looked genuine and her anger softened. She suspected this man rarely apologized for his actions.

“Have a seat,” she said, nodding to a chair.

Standing close to him, she felt the energy radiating from him. Tarnation, but breathing seemed harder when he stood close.

“Thank you,” Nick said.

She was hungry but would wait until he’d finished. Miss Adeline had trained her to feed the customers first and then herself.

The marshal stood by his chair. “I won’t eat until you sit.”

Ellie glanced at him. She suspected his leg pained him. “What?”

“I do not eat while a lady stands.”

Ellie’s gaze followed his outstretched hand to the empty chair. The idea of sitting across from him made her skin prickle. “I’ve got plenty of chores to do. You go on and eat. I’ll get something later.”

“Make yourself a plate. Sit,” he said. He stood military-straight.

Her nerves jumped. “It’s a rule I have. I don’t eat with the customers.”

He shrugged. “Then make a new rule.”

The determined set to his jaw suggested he was just stubborn enough to stand there all day. And frankly, she was hungry. Her stomach rumbled. Giving up, she fixed a plate and sat across from him. Only when she sat did he sit.

He took a bite of stew. “This is good,” he said. He took another bite and another. He was half starved.

“Thanks.”

“No, this is very good.” He took another bite.

“Eat up.”

For several minutes they ate in silence. Normally she worked while she ate.

When her stomach was filled, her curiosity came alive. It would have been wise to leave Nick and let him eat his food—the less she knew about him, the better. But the questions got the better of her. “You’re not from this area, are you?”

His tore a piece of bread. “No.”

She set down her spoon. “Where are you from?”

“I doubt you know the place.”

“Likely not. Butte is about all that I do know.”

“I come from a small town in Virginia. It’s called Ashland,” he said after a moment’s silence. “It’s very far away.”

“I won’t pretend to know where it is. What brought you here?”

He lifted a brow. “A change of pace.”

“It’s been my experience men don’t just move to Montana for a change. They’re either looking to get rich quick or they’re running from their past.”

He didn’t answer.

She thought about the books she’d found in his
saddlebags. “Most lawmen don’t read the kind of books you got in your saddlebag.”

“I suppose.”

For a moment silence settled between them. The girls at the Silver Slipper said most men who came into the brothel liked to talk as much as they liked to diddle. Getting words out of Nick Baron was like pulling teeth.

The baby, who’d been napping in her cradle, woke. “Always at meals,” Ellie muttered, rising.

Nick set his fork down and watched her pat Rose on the back. The child’s fussing slowed, but Ellie could feel Nick’s gaze on her.

“You are good with that baby,” he said finally.

“I’m learning every day.”

“What’s her name?”

“Rose.”

“Who named her?”

Ellie rocked the cradle. “Jade picked it.”

“The stolen gold could buy a lot of nice things for the baby.”

His comment caught her off guard. He was right. She had good reason to hide the gold from him, she silently acknowledged as she sat down. “It sure could. Problem is, I don’t have it.”

“If I were a woman alone, I’d keep the gold.”

“I just might, too,
if I knew where it was.”

“I can’t believe Jade would go to her grave and not tell you about it.”

“Gold was about the last thing on both our minds at the time.”

“Jade was always thinking, from what I’ve heard. You can bet she hadn’t forgotten about it.”

The whinny of horses and the sound of hooves silenced Ellie’s retort.

Nick tensed. “Are you expecting visitors?”

“It’s a coach stop. We get visitors all the time.”

“Visitors mean trouble.”

“And revenue.” A visitor could also help her escape Nick.

Ellie jumped to her feet and, before he could react, hurried outside without checking to see who had arrived.

N
ICK CURSED
. The woman had sawdust for brains. She hadn’t even bothered to look out the window to see who had ridden up. Hell, it could very well be Frank.

He winced as he rose. Resting his hand on his six-shooter, he limped toward the door.

But he didn’t rush outside as Ellie did. He hid in the shadows. If this were one of Frank’s traps, he’d not be able to save Ellie in a face-to-face confrontation with Frank. Injured, he needed surprise.

He pushed back the curtain. Two riders dismounted and sauntered to the base of the porch step. One was tall, lean, with a scraggly beard and beady eyes. The other had a thick waist and thin, black hair that hung past his shoulders.

Ellie moved toward the men, confident and unafraid. Fool. No woman in her right mind went to a stranger like that. Then it struck Nick that Ellie greeted strange men as a matter of course. At the Silver Slipper she’d most likely entertained her share. To his surprise, a bolt of jealousy burned his veins.

“Welcome,” Ellie said. “You men passing through?”

The shorter of the two men hooked his thumbs into his thick gun belt. “You could say that. We passed through a couple of months ago. I’m Hugh and this is my friend Fat Pete.”

Ellie smiled. “I remember. You paid Annie in gold dust.”

“That’s right,” Hugh said.

“I’m glad you came back through. I’ve got stew on if you’re hungry.”

Hugh smiled, revealing broken yellowed teeth. “I was telling my friend Fat Pete, here, that I know you from some place else—that whorehouse in Butte, maybe.”

Ellie folded her arms over her chest as her shoul
ders stiffened. “I don’t think so. My late husband and I were from Denver.”

Nick noted how easily she lied.

Hugh spit on the ground. “I don’t know. It was about six months ago. We were at the Silver Slipper whorehouse. You served us supper.”

Ellie tucked a coppery curl behind her ear, as if she were doing her best to look relaxed and uninterested. “I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake.”

Fat Pete leaned closer. His eyes held a hunger Nick did not like. “Hugh never forgets a face, especially one that’s as pretty as yours.”

“You’re wrong,” Ellie said clearly. “I’ve never been to Butte.”

Nick’s hand slid to his gun.

Hugh moved a step closer. “We think you are lying.”

Ellie’s back stiffened. “I’m going to ask you two men to leave now.”

“Once we’ve finished our business,” Fat Pete said.

Nick could tolerate no more. Gun drawn, he stepped out of the shadows and onto the porch. Pain burned through his leg as he forced it to bear his weight. “She’s already got a customer,” he said quietly.

Ellie backed away from the edge of the porch toward Nick. This close, he could see she trembled.

Hugh took a step back. “I knew she was from Butte. I told you, Pete, I never forget a face.”

Fat Pete laughed. “We’d be willing to wait. I never did mind sharing.”

Nick bared his teeth in a dangerous smile. “I don’t share.”

Hugh’s eyes narrowed. “Now that don’t seem right. A good whore can do ten men in a night.”

Nick cocked his gun. “Leave.”

Hugh scowled as his hand slid to his gun. “The way I see it, there are two of us and one of you.”

Nick fired his gun so quickly Ellie wasn’t sure what had happened until she saw the plume of dirt at Hugh’s feet and heard him yelp. “Try me.”

“Damn, mister,” Hugh said. “We don’t want trouble, but if it’s trouble you want—”

“I want your guns,” Nick said.

“I ain’t giving up my guns!” Hugh said.

Nick shrugged. “Your guns or your kneecaps. The choice is yours.”

Fat Pete didn’t have to be told twice. He dropped his gun belt. “He’ll do it, Hugh. That’s Nick Baron, the bounty hunter. The Tracker. I heard he skinned a man and left him for the coyotes just because the man spit on his boot.”

Hugh hesitated. “A big reputation don’t mean nothing to me.”

Nick fired his gun. The bullet knocked Hugh’s hat off his head. “The next one will be between the eyes.”

Hugh shouted an oath as he reached for his belt buckle. His guns dropped to the ground.

“Ellie, get the guns,” Nick ordered.

She didn’t argue and collected the guns. She moved to stand some distance behind him.

He pointed his six-shooter at Fat Pete and Hugh as if he’d not decided whether he was going to kill them.

Hugh held up his hands. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“Then remove the rifles from your saddle scabbards and give them to me,” Nick ordered.