Flint Hills Bride (13 page)

“No.” She grabbed up the bag. “I’ll be leaving, too.”

She stomped up the stairs and back into the room. “How could he do this!” she raved, searching through her bag for more clothes to put on. She was going after him.

She didn’t know where he was headed. She didn’t know how to find out except to ask people which way he had gone. That hadn’t worked too well for Jake after Anson left the Garveys. It probably wouldn’t work for her. She could end up lost. Besides it would take too much time.

She buttoned the blouse hastily, tucking it into the waist of her riding skirt. She knew she should put on a second pair of stockings but she hated to take the time. God knows how much of a head start Jake had.

“Darn him,” she muttered, flinging the cloak over her shoulders and snatching up the bag. “Just when I was starting to…”

She froze, bringing her fingers to her lips. She had been about to say—no, she wouldn’t even complete the thought. She wasn’t in love with Jake.

She groaned, forcing herself to leave the room and move down the stairs. If she was in love with Jake, this latest trick ought to end it! “Just when I was starting to
trust him
,” she said deliberately.

On her way to the door a plan took shape. Maybe more of an impulse than a plan, but she acted on it. She turned back to the clerk. “Where can I find a lawman?”

The clerk blinked at her. “Sheriffs office…” he pointed.

“Thank you very much.” She smiled sweetly, left the hotel and slammed the door behind her.

“He’s supposed to be my
friend
,” she raved under
her breath as she marched down the boardwalk. “He acts so
sweet.
So
considerate.
” She heard the words on her own lips and thought of them as curses.

She nearly walked past the sheriff’s office. She saw the sign out of the corner of her eye and backtracked a step. She took a deep breath, hastily considering just what she was going to tell the sheriff. It came to her in an instant. Turning her anger to sorrow, she walked into the room.

“You have to help me,” she wailed. “My husband—” She gulped a mouthful of air and swallowed it. “My husband’s abandoned me!” Her voice croaked quite convincingly.

A huge man stood and came toward her. His scowl made her wonder for an instant about the wisdom of this particular course of action. But she was already committed. She sniffed noisily.

“Mr. Rawlins is your husband? He checked you into the hotel as Miss Prescott.”

She had no ready explanation. “Ohh!” she wailed, doing her best to dissolve into tears. They had come so easily the past several days, where were they now?

“There, there, miss…er…ma’am.” He patted her back awkwardly. “He’s looking for his fugitive. He said he’d be coming back this way. I’m sure he wanted you to wait for him.”

Wait here for him! Fat chance! “No, he was lying. He’s…he’s…not after a fugitive.” Oh Lord, what kind of a mess was she getting herself into. Yet she needed to find Jake.

“Now, ma’am, he asked everyone in town about this Berkeley fella. He’s determined to find him. Said
it was personal. You’d best just stay here and let him do his job.”

“Ohh,” she wailed again, buying herself time to think. Personal, huh? “Berkeley’s not a fugitive,” she said between huge sniff’s. Nothing seemed to bring those tears! “He’s just a friend. Jake is so…jealous.” Dropping her bag and burying her head in her hands, she sobbed, trying to irritate her eyes in the process.

“Not a fugitive?” The man’s voice sounded furious.

She shook her head without lifting it.

“We’ll find him,” the sheriff announced, turning to grab his coat.

“No, wait! I have to go with you.”

“Now, ma’am, it’s cold out there. I’ll round up some boys, and we’ll bring him back to you.”

She lowered her head and sobbed into her hands. “I have to come with you!”

“There, there,” he said, patting her shoulder again. He turned and opened the door, and she grabbed up her bag and followed him out.

He began yelling orders to passersby. In a matter of minutes a crowd had gathered. “You all seen the stranger came in about noon. Most of you talked to him. It turns out he’s a scoundrel set on deserting this young lady.”

Emily took that as a cue to sob daintily.

“We’re goin’ after him. Anybody seen him ride out, step up here and report.”

Emily stood back watching the proceedings. The sheriff, her ally now, incited the indignation of nearly every man in the crowd. She began to worry for
Jake’s safety. Well,
he
shouldn’t have abandoned her, she decided.

“This man could be dangerous,” the sheriff was saying. “Any of you that looked into his cold blue eyes—”

“Green,” she interrupted before she could stop herself. She suddenly had everyone’s attention. “They’re green,” she repeated nervously. “And not especially cold.”

“There, there,” repeated the sheriff, patting her shoulder.

The crowd murmured its compassion.

At the sheriff’s word they scattered to ready their horses. She found, as they gathered again, that the man at the livery had saddled her gelding for her. She gave him a tremulous smile before he helped her aboard and tied her bag on behind.

The sheriff wasted no more time. Emily found herself nearly galloping out of town between the sheriff and a rancher who had evidently met Jake along the road. She almost expected to overtake him immediately. Surely Jake wasn’t pushing his horse this fast.

After several minutes of breathless riding, they stopped at a farmhouse. The sheriff seemed to have a good idea where Jake would go. He dismounted, had a few words with the farmer, who pointed the way, and swung his considerable bulk into the saddle again. The posse, as Emily was now thinking of the group, took off in a new direction.

After a few more minutes, they spied a lone rider ahead of them. The horse was white. The sheriff gave a triumphant shout and spurred his mount to greater speed. Emily and the rest did likewise.

The rider pulled up at the sound. He looked around, considering perhaps the chances of running or heading for cover. But there was no cover. He dismounted, thrusting his coat behind him to expose the handle of a gun in his belt.

“Jake!” Emily screamed, realizing it was more of a warning than anything else.

“We got him,” the sheriff assured her.

They came up to Jake and made a rough circle around him. His eyes flicked to Emily then concentrated on the sheriff. She wished he would look at her again. He was missing her smirk. She raised a hand to her mouth to hide it from the posse.

“Young man,” the sheriff began sternly. “We take our marriage vows seriously around here.”

That brought his eyes back to Emily. She tried to look the part of the abandoned wife by giving him a beseeching smile. “Why did you leave me, darling?” she choked. She wanted to throw in a couple of sniffs but was afraid she would giggle.

Jake didn’t answer. He turned his attention back to the sheriff, evidently uncertain what the big man would decide to do. It occurred to Emily that he might decide to exact some punishment. She jumped off her horse and ran to Jake, throwing herself into his arms. “Darling,” she crooned, “you won’t leave me again, will you?”

“Don’t suppose it’d do much good,” he muttered.

“’Pears to me,” the sheriff said, “a gal’d be better off a widow than tied to a man what runs off and leaves her.”

Jake’s body didn’t stiffen but Emily’s did. Lord, she had never dreamed the sheriff would react so
strongly. She turned her face into Jake’s chest and sobbed noisily.

“You give up this notion of tracking down your wife’s friend,” the sheriff said. “You be good to the little woman, and let the past go. I got your promise?”

Jake was silent. Emily poked him in the ribs. How foolish was he?

“Oh, yes, sir, you have my promise. I should never have let the
little woman
out of my sight in the first place.”

Emily leaned back to scowl at him, but his eyes were on the sheriff.

“That’s good, boy. You see you remember that.” He waved his arm and turned, walking his horse back the way he had come. The rest of the posse regrouped behind him, each man giving Jake a cold glare as he turned away.

Jake sighed, drawing Emily gently away from him. He gazed down into her eyes, and she waited to read his reaction. Was he furious with her? She really hadn’t stopped to consider how he would feel.

“I had to find you, Jake,” she blurted. When she realized how close she had come to telling him why, she added, “I need you to help me find Anson.”

She wanted him to pull her back into his arms; it had felt so right. But it had only been part of the act And she couldn’t have him. He would have no feeling for her but contempt once he knew about the baby.

A voice in her head suggested she not tell him, not ever, but she brushed it aside. She was capable of considerable dishonesty, but she wouldn’t seduce Jake and try to pass the child off as his. She had to
find another solution to her predicament. Anson, her best hope, seemed more like an additional problem than a solution.

Jake must have read the turmoil in her eyes because he stepped forward, cupping her cheek with a gloved hand. “Are you all right?” he asked.

She felt the tears come to her eyes. Sure,
now
she could cry. “I need you to help me find Anson,” she repeated, though the truth was she simply needed him.

He gently folded her into his arms, and she wondered if he had read more than she suspected in her face. She melted into the embrace, for a moment feeling warm and safe.

Maybe not so safe. A fire leaped to life in the pit of her stomach and spread heat through her limbs. She tried to ignore it. She knew what it was. Desire. And it was more a trick than anything else.

She started to pull away but only got far enough to find her face scant inches from his. His breath was coming in short shallow puffs. Not a good sign. Never a good sign.

But she couldn’t step away from him. It was as if his gentle hands on her shoulder blades held her in an iron grip. His eyes were half closed, his lips slightly parted. She found herself drawing nearer. Or he was. She couldn’t tell. At any rate, his lips were closing in on hers.

The heat inside her intensified, making her tremble. Against all reason, she wanted to taste those lips. She no sooner thought it than it happened. Warm firm lips embraced hers, and her body molded against his hard torso. No reasonable thought seemed possible beyond
the knowledge that the man she loved held her in his arms.

He raised his head a fraction, and she sighed, parting her lips. “I love you” was on the tip of her tongue.

She jumped away, clamping a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t said it, surely! She stared at his startled expression. Would he look more surprised if she had confessed her love? She waited in dread for him to speak.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if he were fighting for control. “I’m sorry,” he said finally.

Sorry? She must not have said the words aloud. What was he sorry about? Was he taking the blame for the kiss? She should let him. She should play the innocent. He had taken advantage of her.

She lowered her hand. “It was my fault,” she heard herself say. Well, she had thrown herself into his arms for the sheriff’s benefit. But the kiss had just…happened.

He grinned at her, not at all the reaction she expected. “Women have taken the blame for men’s lust for centuries. Who am I to argue?”

Lust? She had fallen in love, and all he felt was lust! She shouldn’t be surprised. Men were all alike. And she had thought Jake was special. She whirled away and caught up the reins to the patient gelding.

Jake was behind her, his hands on her waist before she got her foot in the stirrup. He was going to apologize for the cruel remark. He was going to kiss her again. She was about to turn toward him when he tossed her into the saddle.

“Up you go, little woman,” he said.

Oh, it was going to be easy to get over Jake. She wanted to kick him, but he caught her foot and guided it into the stirrup.

He rested a hand on her knee and looked up at her. “Emily,” he said softly, “I left you in town because I wanted you safe. But I didn’t want you to be afraid. My conscience has tortured me ever since. I’m glad you found me.”

He turned and mounted the mare, eased along beside her and started them down the trail. Emily stole glances at his profile. Had he really forgiven her for the scene with the posse? Was one “little woman” all she was going to hear about it?

He had always been forgiving. Lord knows she had given him plenty of practice over the years. Maybe it was just habit. Maybe he cared so little about her it was easy.

Maybe he was just the sweetest man she had ever met.

Lord, how was she going to fall out of love with Jake Rawlins?

N
o one was home at the next farmhouse on the map. Jake considered waiting a bit but after watering the horses, he decided to follow the creek to the next one. Emily seemed to be holding up better than she had the day before. The good rest after dinner had evidently made the difference. Or the excitement of rounding up a posse and chasing him down had.

Jake hid his grin from her as they followed a dim road that skirted the narrow fields along the creek. The shock of finding a mob coming up fast behind him had been followed by an even greater shock when he recognized Emily. And that had been followed by a calm acceptance. Of course she would find a way to catch up with him. He should have expected it.

And now here she was, beside him again, where she belonged. His heart felt lighter than it had all day. How he had missed her!

He wanted to see her face, but it was hidden by her hood. He leaned forward to peer up at her. A
frown creased her forehead; she was deep in thought and didn’t notice his scrutiny.

He straightened, concerned. Could she be in pain? “Emily?” he said, regretting the alarm he heard in his voice.

She straightened abruptly. “What?”

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “I just…are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

She hadn’t looked fine a moment before. “Emily, don’t think your little trick with the sheriff has somehow ended your right to complain. If you need to rest, I want you to tell me.”

“Jake,” she groaned, frustration clear in her voice.

“What?” he asked gently. “What did I do?”

She sighed and glared at him. He was completely at a loss. It hit him, then. The kiss. She was bothered by the fact that he had kissed her. She was probably afraid to be alone with him, now. And he wanted very much for her to feel safe.

The kiss had been an awful mistake. He had known all along that if he ever gave in to the temptation he would regret it. It had just seemed so right at the time. And he could have sworn she kissed him back.

He remembered every detail. Her body softly pressed against his. Her hands clutching his coat. Her lips, warm and pliant, returning the pressure of his kiss.

So that was what was bothering her. The fact that she
had
returned the kiss. She had been unfaithful to Berkeley.

He tried to stop the grin he felt spreading across his face. He had never been quite so aware of his own
ego before this moment. He felt too damn good to even consider apologizing.

He glanced her way and discovered her scowl had deepened. “What?” she demanded. “Why are you grinning?”

“You first,” he said, making an effort to be serious. “Why are you frowning?”

“You’re impossible,” she said. “I should hate you!”

“Why?” He truly was bewildered now. “Because I left you? Or because I kissed you?”

“Yes. Yes. And for other reasons. I should hate you. But I can’t!” She slammed her gloved hand down on the saddle horn and it made the softest of thuds.

He laughed. He knew he shouldn’t. He should take her unhappiness seriously, no matter how little sense it made. “You’re angry because you can’t hate me? Of course you can’t hate me. We’ve been friends forever. That’s what friends do. They get angry, and then they forgive each other.”

“I don’t want to forgive you,” she muttered.

“I wish you would forgive me, but that’s your choice. You know, I could be angry at you for bringing that sheriff down on me like you did.”

“I
know,
” she said through gritted teeth as if that somehow made it worse. She took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. “Tell me why you were grinning.”

He grinned again. “Because you kissed me.”

“I took the blame because I had thrown myself at you for the sheriff’s benefit. But I didn’t kiss you.”

He nodded. “I was there. You kissed me.”

She was angry again. “Oh, this is good. This is better. I can be mad at you for this. I didn’t kiss you. How could I kiss you? You’re taller than I am.”

Jake laughed, though half of what she said hadn’t made any sense. “I didn’t say you were the only one kissing. I’m just saying I wasn’t, either.”

She glared at him, opened her mouth, but he spoke first. “The next farm.” He pointed to the house a few yards in front of them. She had evidently been unaware of it until now.

Emily lagged behind a little as Jake approached the house. She had to get her temper under control. She knew she was being unreasonable but he had been so…so…solicitous. Here she was trying to fall out of love with him, and he was worried that she didn’t think she could complain anymore.

Then he laughed! The arrogant bastard thought she was worried because of the kiss! As if she had even given it a second thought. And
he
hadn’t been the
only
one kissing, he said. Well, she
liked
kissing. That’s all there was to it. She would even kiss him again if he wanted to. It didn’t mean anything!

Lord, had she gone crazy? She didn’t dare kiss him again!

Emily joined Jake in the yard. He hadn’t even dismounted before an old man stepped out of the house holding a shotgun.

“Good afternoon,” Jake said pleasantly.

The man seemed able to resist Jake’s charm, even if she couldn’t. He didn’t lower the gun. “Whatcha want?”

“We’re following a man. He would have come
through here early yesterday afternoon. A young man, early twenties, medium height, thin, with straight blond—”

The man swore and spat. “Little thief.”

“That’s the one,” Jake said.

Emily gasped indignantly, but Jake ignored it.

“He come ridin’ in askin’ to buy some feed for his horse. While I was off to the barn, fillin’ a nose bag, he come inside and took my wad. Thirteen dollars I had saved. Didn’t notice it was gone till this mornin’.”

“Sir, you must be mistaken. Eldon wouldn’t—”

“He was headed toward the Fuller place,” the man said, ignoring Emily completely. “I’d a gone over to check on ‘em but my horse is lame.”

“I’ll check on the Fullers,” Jake said. He dismounted and walked toward the man. “Can you find their house on this map for me?”

The farmer set his shotgun aside to study the map.

Emily watched them as they conferred. She should dismount and stretch her legs, for who knew how far it was to the Fullers’. But she didn’t think her legs would hold her if she tried to stand. Could Anson have really robbed this poor man? She looked around the plain but tidy yard. He couldn’t easily spare any thirteen dollars.

She fumbled with her reticule under her cloak. She still had more than twenty dollars left. She counted out thirteen, wondering what the man would say if she offered it to him. She hesitated until Jake turned to remount his horse then kneed hers closer to the farmer.

“Eldon,” she began. “The man who was here, I can’t believe he stole your money.”

“Somebody did, lady, and weren’t nobody else around.” He started to turn away.

“If Eldon stole it, I can get it back from him,” she said quickly, handing him the roll of bills.

The man took the money hesitantly. “He kin?”

“Of sorts,” she said, wondering if that would make it easier for him to take it.

“Keep him away from me,” he said, entering the house.

Emily turned the gelding around and joined Jake. They left the yard side by side.

“Are you going to live your life paying Anson’s debts?” Jake asked.

“Please, Jake,” she murmured. “Anson didn’t take any money. I just wanted to help that old man.”

A glance at Jake’s face told her he didn’t believe her. She wasn’t sure she believed it herself. “How far to the Fullers’?” she asked, wanting the subject changed.

“Just a few miles.”

The few miles were ridden in silence. Emily wondered what Jake was thinking but was afraid to ask for fear he was gloating. Anson was living up to all his predictions, or so he thought. She wasn’t sure what she thought anymore. She shivered under her cloak, knowing that the cold that crept into her limbs came from the inside.

The clouds that had lifted almost unnoticed seemed to lower again. More snow, Emily thought, but it hardly mattered.

* * *

The Fuller farmstead finally came into view. It was a tiny place, barely more than a shanty. A young man stepped out as they drew up near the door. He looked younger than Emily, at least younger than she felt.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

Jake dismounted and began his now-familiar description of Anson. The boy nodded. “Came through here yesterday afternoon. Watered his horse but didn’t stay long.”

As he spoke a girl, wrapped in a worn shawl, stepped out behind him. He drew her close to his side. Emily stared at them. They looked so young.

“Did he take anything?” Jake asked, drawing Emily’s scowl.

The couple looked at each other and shook their heads. “Don’t have much,” the boy said. “Leastwise nothin’ he could steal.” He and the girl exchanged fond smiles.

“Want to come inside and warm up?” the girl asked. “I got coffee on.”

A polite refusal was on the tip of Emily’s tongue when Jake spoke. “Thank you. It’ll be good to stretch our legs.”

He turned to Emily and helped her dismount as the boy took up the reins. “I’ll water the horses at the creek for you,” he said.

“Why are we stopping?” Emily hissed in Jake’s ear as they walked toward the open door. “Shouldn’t we be hot to the trail of your supposed thief?”

“You’re cold,” he said, bringing her inside.

“Come on over,” the girl invited. She had moved two chairs close to a little iron cookstove, the only heat in the small cluttered cabin. When they were

seated, she pressed chipped mugs of coffee into their hands.

“Did yesterday’s visitor say much?” Jake asked their hostess.

“Well,” she said, and crossed her arms and frowned. She hadn’t taken a seat herself; Jake and Emily occupied the only two in the house. “He was interested in how long we’d been here, how we were gettin’ on. We thought he might be looking for a place for himself.”

“Did he ask if you were puttin’ any money aside?”

Emily wanted to kick Jake for asking such a question, but she was too intent on waiting for an answer.

The girl nodded slowly, her little face showing alarm. “I told him how I’d just put three dollars butter-and-egg money in the bank.”

“He can’t get it there,” Jake said, sipping his coffee.

“If I hadn’t mentioned the bank, might he have tried to rob us?”

Jake gave her a charming smile. “You’re safe now,” he said.

The boy came into the house, shucking his heavy coat. “That man through here yesterday was a robber,” his wife told him.

Emily rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.

“Just be a mite more careful with strangers,” Jake suggested, rising. “Thanks for the coffee.”

Emily set her half-finished coffee aside, muttering, “We’re strangers.” She reached for her cloak the same moment Jake did. Their fingers brushed and she drew away. If he noticed, he showed no sign. He settled
the cloak around her shoulders as he thanked the boy for caring for the horses.

In the saddle again, Jake led the way to the road. He unfolded the map and studied it. “There are two more farms here along the creek, then we need to head up into the hills toward a ranch.”

“Where are we spending the night?” Emily asked.

Jake turned toward her. “Tired?”

“Disgusted.”

He grinned. “Want me to take you back to town?”

“Jake, whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

He didn’t answer. She watched him refold the map and stick it inside his coat. “We can try a couple more houses before we stop for the night. It’ll get dark early, though.”

He seemed to be oblivious to the desperation she found closing in around her. Of course, he didn’t know about the baby. All he cared about was catching Anson; he had already decided the worst about him.

But she had to believe it wasn’t so. If Anson was really a thief…

No. She wouldn’t jump to conclusions. And she wouldn’t borrow trouble. She had plenty as it was.

The next farmhouse was barely two miles from the last. It was larger and older than the young couple’s. A man walked from the barn as they rode into the yard. He seemed wary at first but relaxed when he noticed one of his visitors was a woman.

“We’re looking for someone,” Jake said, dismounting and walking toward the farmer. He
launched into his description. The man listened carefully, nodding when he finished.

“You a friend of his?” There was open accusation in his tone.

Jake opened his coat, revealing his badge. “He’s a fugitive,” he said.

The man nodded grimly. “He was here. The missus offered him supper while I took care of his horse. I came inside to find him poking around. I ran him off.”

Emily closed her eyes. She wanted to believe he was just curious, looking at some books or something. Somehow she couldn’t bring herself to voice the suggestion aloud. Then another thought occurred to her, and she threw herself off the horse. “Mister,” she said, rummaging through her reticule as she came toward him. “Did he look like this?”

He took the small framed picture she held out to him. After studying it a moment, he handed it back saying, “That’s him.”

Emily sighed, replacing the picture. She had a sudden need to lean against Jake, but he didn’t seem to notice she was even standing beside him.

“Which way did he go?” Jake asked.

The man pointed north. “Off across country. I told him I was going to warn my neighbors up and down the road.”

“Did you?” Jake asked.

The man scuffed one toe on the frozen ground. “Naw. I figured the threat would be enough. I didn’t want to leave the missus alone for fear he’d come back.”

Jake nodded his understanding and thanked the
man as he turned to help Emily remount. Emily followed him out of the yard. They headed north, across open prairie.

“Do you know how helpful that picture would have been in Council Grove?” he asked.

She looked at him, glad that he didn’t seem angry with her. “I didn’t want to be helpful,” she responded. It was only half the truth. She had forgotten she had the picture with her until this moment. It wasn’t as if she looked at it every night.