Train From Marietta (13 page)

Tate and Luke moved away and talked together in low tones. Kate sat down on one of the boulders beside the entrance to the cave and took off her shoes and stockings. Her feet throbbed. Being careful to keep her skirt around her legs, she picked up one foot and massaged it.

“Your woman wear silly shoes.” Luke’s voice reached her, and she glanced up to see Tate and Luke watching her.

“How many times do I have to tell you … I’m not Tate’s woman,” Kate said.

“Then you be my woman.”

Tate smiled. “You’d probably have to fight Hayden for her.”

“I kill Hayden.”

“Don’t be silly,” Kate admonished them. “Will you two please stop passing me around as if I were a peace pipe.”

“Peace pipe? Don’t pass peace pipe no more. We civilized Indians. Only scalp city women now.” Luke put his hand on the knife in the scabbard that hung from his belt.

Tate laughed, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Kate. “Has this kid been scaring you?”

“No,” Kate answered, giving a tiny lie, “but he’s been trying his best.”

Tate walked over to where Kate sat, then knelt down and picked up one of her feet. “Another day’s walk and you’ll have blisters. What can we do about some footwear for her, Luke?”

“She no need footwear. She only silly squaw.”

Tate actually laughed aloud. Looking at his face, Kate saw the small wrinkles bunch at the corners of his eyes, the dark whiskers that grew on his face, and the way that his smile seemed contagious. She couldn’t believe how hand some he was when he smiled, and she hoped that she wasn’t blushing.

“If you want your woman to have moccasins, I go back to village, but it take all night.”

“How far to your village?” Kate asked.

“Not far.”

“Why don’t we all go to his village and hire a car to take us out? Hayden can’t possibly catch us in a car.”

Luke glanced over at Tate and shook his head. “Silly woman.”

Tate, still smiling, said, “It isn’t that easy. The village is a small one in the hills. There won’t be a car there.” Turning to Luke, he added, “Keep an eye out for Hayden. Last time I saw him, he was over by that small patch that got burned out by lightning this spring.”

Luke gathered up his things and took a long drink out of his waterskin. “I bring back moccasins for your woman and food for you. On way back, I make sure Hayden still there.”

Without another word, Luke trotted down the hill and into the growing darkness. Within moments, he was lost from sight.

“Isn’t it risky for him to go back?” she asked Tate.

“Luke can take care of himself.”

“But he’s only a boy.”

“In this country, he’s considered a man. He’ll be all right.”

Now alone with Tate, Kate found herself at a loss for words. She wanted to ask him about his daughter and how his wife felt about him going out to find her. But their relationship had not reached the point where she was comfortable asking Tate personal questions.

Tate dug into the saddlebags and brought out the cloth-wrapped biscuits and handed one to her.

“This isn’t exactly a fancy meal, but it’s all we got.”

“You eat it. I’m not very hungry.” She tried to give the biscuit back, but he refused to take it.

“Force yourself to eat. We have miles to go, and you need to keep up your strength.”

Aware that Tate was right, Kate gnawed at the biscuit. “Did you have anything all day?” she asked.

“No, but I’m used to it. Luke will bring food back in the morning.”

“Have you known him long?”

“Since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. His people have been in this area since before any white men, and his father and I were good friends. Luke’s a smart kid, even if he is mouthy.”

“He told me he has been to your house.”

Tate turned to look down the hill and made no reply. He picked up one of her shoes and tossed it farther into the cave. “I’m sure Luke checked it out, but I want to be sure that there are no bats in there.” He picked up the other shoe and threw it after the first one.

“Hey, those shoes cost me twenty dollars.”

“You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not kidding,” Kate said, instantly self-aware. “But it’s all right. They’re no use to me without heels.”

Tate looked down at her feet. Her toes were red, and on the side of one foot was the beginning of a blister. “You just stay here. I’ll spread the blanket inside the cave and come back for you.”

“Don’t go,” she said. But he was already gone.

It was so quiet that she could hear the pounding of her own heart. Tate was back almost immediately. He scooped her up in his arms and headed back into the cave.

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “Put me down. I’m too heavy.”

“Not on those bare feet.”

“I’ve never been carried before.”

“Your men friends in New York haven’t lifted you?”

“There was never any reason to.”

“You’re not heavy. I doubt you weigh any more than a newborn calf.” Tate set her gently down on the blanket.

Kate was surprised the cave was so small. Where she lay was only a few feet from the entrance. “I thought it was bigger,” she said. “Luke made it seem like it was deep and full of snakes, bats, and bears.”

Tate chuckled lightly. “Luke likes to scare city folks. He gets a big kick out of pretending to be a full-blooded savage and getting them all worked up. Truth is, he’s really one hell of a smart kid.”

“Do you think he’ll be all right?”

“He’ll be fine. He knows this area better than anyone. He’ll run most of the way to his village. I only hope he doesn’t get it into his head to tackle Hayden.”

“Why does Luke hate Hayden?”

“Hayden ruined several girls from the village. One of them was Luke’s sister. To the Indian way of thinking, any girl who’s been with a man not her husband is ruined and only fit to be second wife. Luke will kill him someday unless someone else gets to him first.”

“Why do you hate him?” Kate cautiously asked.

“Because he’s bad to the core. Always has been. He’s cruel to animals and anyone weaker than he is, especially women. If there’s easy money to be had, Hayden will be there. He tried to knife me in the back a couple of years ago. Probably would’ve succeeded if one of his old enemies hadn’t taken advantage of the situation and jumped him. That’s how he got those scars on his face. For some reason, he blames me.”

“Did you get hurt?”

“Just a knife wound in the shoulder.”

Tate sat down on the blanket beside her. He took his hat off and ran his forked fingers through his black hair. Kate wondered if some of his ancestors were the Indians that had roamed these hills for hundreds of years. When she spoke, the words didn’t match her thoughts.

“Will Hayden find us here?”

“He probably knows about this place,” Tate answered while fixing her with a serious look, as if he wanted her to know that they were far from being free of danger. “I’m hoping he’ll think we headed straight for town. We’re all right for a while. He won’t try to track us over the rocks at night. Lay back and get some sleep if you can.”

“I don’t know if I can. The last few days have been so difficult. Being taken from the train, hauled off to that cabin, imprisoned by those three men … I’ve been too nervous to sleep.”

“I know all about Hayden, but who were the other two?”

“One of them is the nephew of my father’s business partner. His name is Edwin Jacobs. The other one, the one you saved me from, is called ‘Squirrelly’ His father is a big-time crook in New York City.”

“He looked kind of familiar.”

“He should. He was the button salesman who was waiting with us at the train depot. He’d been following me all the way from New Orleans—from New York, I guess. But he’s too stupid to be any more than a hired man.”

“So the nephew was in on the kidnapping?”

“I didn’t think so at first, but now I’m sure he was,” Kate said softly. It was still hard for her to accept that Eddy, her sister’s beau, was involved in her kidnapping. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that it must be William who was behind all this. “Maybe his uncle wants to take over my father’s company.”

“Doesn’t seem like much of a partner.”

“No … no, he doesn’t.”

“Will your father pay?”

“He’ll pay. I don’t know what they are asking, but he’ll pay.”

Tate was thoughtful for a minute, then said, “Did they tell you that as soon as they had the money, they would let you go?”

“Yes.”

“Did it ever occur to you that there was no way they could let you live? Not after you’d seen their faces.”

“Yes, it occurred to me, but Eddy kept telling me that he would see to it that I wasn’t harmed.”

“You believed him?”

“Yes … no. I don’t know. I was determined to get away from them as soon as I could. When we arrived at the cabin, I tried to run, but they caught me and Hayden threatened me with his knife. I don’t know where I would have gone even if I had escaped. That cabin was in the middle of nowhere. Speaking of which, how did you find me?”

“With your father’s help. He contacted a friend of mine in Waco. A Texas Ranger. Lyle came to me and asked if I would help find you. I know these parts pretty well, so he figured I’d have a better chance than most. He already knew that you had left the train after Simon. I started at the water tower. It wasn’t too hard to follow your tracks. There were only a few places where they could hide you. I nosed around a little, and when I saw the car leave with Hayden and the other man in it, I decided to take a chance to see if you were in the cabin.”

“Lucky for me you did. I was terribly afraid of Squirrelly Eddy kept telling me that he wouldn’t bother me …” Kate’s words trailed off as she thought back on the attack in the cabin. She was truly lucky to be alive.

“Eddy was wrong, wasn’t he?”

“I haven’t thanked you for getting me out of there. I want to do that now. I don’t know how much longer they would have left me alone.” Kate placed her hand on his arm and glanced at his profile. “Thank you, Mr. Castle.”

“Mr. Castle was my father’s name. Don’t you think you can call me ‘Tate’?”

“Only if you’ll call me ‘Kate. ’ So far you haven’t called me anything.”

A smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. “I called you plenty of things after your bag fell down and cream spilled on my boot. Even my daughter said I smelled like flowers.”

“Your daughter? How old is she? What’s her name?”

“She’s six years old, and her name is Emily.”

“Who stays with her and your wife while you’re away?” Kate asked, thankful that he’d begun talking about his life.

“I have a couple who has been with me for many years. Yelena and Jorge are my family now.”

It occurred to Kate that she was completely relaxed and comfortable sitting in this dim cave alone with this man, although she wished he would talk about himself without her having to ask questions. She had known almost from the first that he was not a talker and asking seemed the only way to get to know him.

“Have you lived here long?”

“All my life. I was born on the ranch where I live. My father brought my mother there after they were married. He raised horses. Now I do.”

“Your parents are not living?”

“No, they are both gone.”

“I guess you think I’m asking a lot of questions?”

“Yeah, I guess I do, but I was getting ready to ask a few myself. What was a girl like you doing traveling across the country alone?”

“I was on my way to California to join my uncle. I thought I would be perfectly safe on the train. So did my father. It never entered my mind that I would be kidnapped.”

“How did they get you off the train?”

“I got off at the water tower to get a breath of fresh air. Squirrelly got off too and put a gun in my back. He tried to force me to go into the woods, and when I refused, he hit me. Later we were joined by Hayden and Eddy.”

“Your luggage is probably still on its way to California.”

Kate looked up at him and smiled. “You didn’t get all the things that spilled out of my valise. I picked up one thing and put it in my pocket. Later Squirrelly grabbed it. Eddy made him give it back to me.”

“That was not my finest moment.”

“I’m sorry you were embarrassed. I have a lot to apologize for as far as you are concerned.” She removed her hand from his arm.

“Shall we call it square?” he asked.

“Square,” she answered as they shook on it.

Chapter 12

K
ATE WOKE FROM A SOUND SLEEP
. For the briefest of moments, she was still in her dream, dining with her father at Tony’s restaurant. The two of them were happy, eating good food and laughing at one of her father’s silly jokes. As reality returned, she peered through the darkness of the cave to the entrance. There she could make out Tate’s silhouette. He sat with his back toward her, his wide-brimmed hat still on his head. For a moment, she wondered if he was asleep, but even as the thought crossed her mind, he removed his hat and placed it on the blanket beside him.

Kate hesitated for a moment before she stood up and slowly went toward him. The stone floor of the cave felt cold and rough against her sore, bare feet. Tate’s head turned as she approached, but he remained silent.

Kate sat down close behind him on the blanket.

“Did you get any sleep?” he whispered.

“A little,” she said, imitating his quiet voice. “I dreamed I was with my father.”

“A bad dream?”

“No. It was a nice one. We were dining in his favorite restaurant.”

“Are you hungry? There’s one biscuit left.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think I could eat another biscuit.”

“Especially one that’s been in a saddlebag for three days?”

“I’m sure they were good when you put them in there, but I think I’ll pass.”

“My daughter, Emily, likes them right out of the oven, with plenty of butter and jam.”

Kate was pleased that he now spoke so openly about his personal life.
But what about his wife?
She wanted to ask but was afraid that he would clam up and stop talking.

“How about you? Do you have children?”

“No. I’m not married.” In the silent seconds that followed her answer, Kate decided to ask the question that had floated in and about her mind since they escaped the cabin. “What about your wife? Won’t she be worried about you?”