Hannah's Dream (29 page)

Chapter 49

The muscles on James Hughes' jaw twitched as he looked at Grady's face.  James was a man of peace.  He seldom got angry and preferred to negotiate when he was able.  But now he felt rage -- heart-pounding rage -- and he clenched his fists.

"How old was the boy?" Evan asked.

"Sixteen.  He'd only been here a few months, but he was coming along real good."

Evan gave James a moment before continuing.  James knelt down and brushed a leaf away from Grady's face.

"I think I know who did this," Evan said.

"We have to go get Pete."

"Did the boy have a horse?" Evan asked.

The two men looked at each other.

"He wouldn't have walked to town," James said.

"Whoever did this might have taken it back to town."

James didn't want to leave Grady out there alone, but they needed to get Pete out here quick, so they got on their horses and rode to High Bend.  James spotted Grady's horse tied to the hitching post outside the saloon and retrieved it before going to see the sheriff.  Pete hadn't moved from behind the desk and was dozing when they walked in.

"Back so soon?" he said to Evan.  He nodded to James.  "Hughes."

"Pete, we got a problem," James said.  "You know that boy I hired, Grady?  We found him in the woods."

"He's dead," Evan said.  "Somebody hit him real hard on the head and killed him."

"Dang.  I was lookin' forward to a quiet Sunday."

Pete got up and put on his hat.  He followed James and Evan out the door and when they had all saddled up, they road back to the road out of town.  They stopped at the swarm of flies.

"He's right there, by the flies," James said.  He stayed on his horse while Evan and Pete went to see Grady.

"I hate this," Pete said.  "I hate seein' a young man cut down.  He's no moren' a boy."

"It's the Frenchman," Evan said.

"You can't be sure about that."

"My gut tells me he did it."

"Now why would he kill this boy?  It just don't make no sense."

"The boy must have seen him, or said something.  Rousseau is clever.  If he saw this boy as a threat, he'd have to kill him."

"Does this Rousseau know you're lookin' for him?"

Evan paused. "No."

"Then why would he hide?"

"Maybe he's not right in the head."

"I ain't convinced your man did this," Pete said.  "I can't see he's got any reason to hide."

Unless he'd seen a wanted poster.  Pretending he couldn't talk in front of the smithy told Evan he was trying to hide his French accent.  He didn't want anyone to know he was in town.  

"If he did this, he has a reason to hide now."

"I'll go back to town and get up a posse.  We gotta search the area.  We'll meet you and James at the ranch.  You take his arms and I'll take his feet."

Evan and Pete brought Grady's body out of the woods and threw the body over the front of Pete's horse.

"I'll get 'im to the undertaker, James," he said.  "And I'll see you later."

Pete went back to town.  Evan and James went to the ranch and tied their horses to the porch rails on Marian's house.

"Marian is gonna be fit to be tied," James said.  "Becky, too."

Evan took hold of James' arm again and held it.

"Marian?" he asked.

"Yup, my sister, Marian."

"Marian Hughes?"

"Yes, well, she used to be.  She's Marian Dawes now, but her husband passed away."

The men kicked the dirt off their boots and brushed the dust off their hats before entering the house.  As they stood in the foyer, Becky came out of the kitchen with her finger in the air.

"We've been holding dinner for an hour," she said.  "Where have you been?"  She stopped and blushed when she saw Evan.  She didn't know James had a stranger with him.  "I didn't see you have company."

"He came from New Jersey," James said.  "Louise sent him.  She asked if he could stay with me while he's here."

"I'm so sorry, Mr..."

"Morgan, ma'am.  Evan Morgan."

"Well, Mr. Morgan, you're welcome to eat with us if you'd like," Becky said.  "I'll call them to the table."

James took Evan into the dining room and showed him to a seat at the end of the table.  James usually sat there, but he took this as an opportunity to sit across from Becky.  It was easier to see her that way.  Adam came in and sat next to James.  James introduced him to Evan and told him they had found Grady dead in the woods with a big gash in his head.  Adam was shocked by the news.

"Who'd want to kill Grady?" he asked.

"We'll talk about it later," James said.

Jimmy came in and sat next to Adam, then Hannah arrived and took her usual seat across from Adam.  Becky began to bring in the food.  She saw that Marian was absent and went to the bottom of the stairs.

"Dinner's ready," she shouted.

Marian had pulled out her treasure box and was looking at Evan's picture when she heard Becky call a second time.  She put the picture in the box and shoved it under her bed.

"I'm coming," she said as she walked down the stairs.  "I did hear you, Becky."

"But you didn't answer."

Becky went to the kitchen as Marian went to the dining room.  When she walked in, Evan looked up and his heart began to beat faster.  The girl in the picture he'd carried for twenty years had come to life.

Chapter 50

James and Evan stood.

"Marian, this is Evan Morgan.  Louise..."

James continued to talk, but Marian didn't hear a word he said.  Her heart was pounding so loudly that it drowned out all other sounds in the room.  Her eyes were riveted on Evan's face and she couldn't believe he was there, in her dining room in Colorado, alive and well.  When the initial shock wore off, it was replaced by a slow burning anger, and Marian returned to her senses.  She sat and the men took their seats, too.

"So this afternoon, Evan and I are going out to look for the man with Pete and whoever else he can get to help," James said.

"What?" Marian asked.

"We have to look for the man," James said.

"What man?"

"The man who killed Grady," Jimmy said.

"Someone killed Grady?" Marian asked.

"Yes, Mama," Hannah said.  "They found him in the woods this morning.  Well, Mr. Morgan found him."

Marian looked at Evan again.  He was staring back at her.  Her mouth felt dry.

"Hannah, pleased pass me the pitcher," she said.

Hannah handed Marian the water pitcher and she poured herself a glass.  She drank, but it didn't help.  Hannah noticed the strange look on her mother's face and wondered if she was still upset.

Earlier, Marian had told Hannah that the doctor had gone.

"Why?" Hannah asked.  "I thought he was having dinner with us."

"He said he had forgotten to check on a patient and had to go."

"But he never said a word in the buggy."

"He had forgotten, Hannah, that's all.  He remembered when we were sitting on the porch.  He apologized and asked me to tell you."

The tone of Marian's voice made Hannah feel as though there was more to Owen's departure than Marian would say, but Hannah didn't question her further.  Marian left her to go to her private room, and Hannah helped Becky in the kitchen, but she couldn't stop thinking about her mother.  She couldn't think of any reason Marian would be upset, but still, she had been short with Hannah.

In her room, Marian wrapped her arms around herself and paced the floor.  Meeting Owen that morning had stirred up memories that Marian wanted to forget.  His haughty attitude and the way he talked about Hannah reminded her of Randall.  She had watched Hannah closely to see if her daughter was mindful of what to Marian was outright arrogance, but Hannah seemed unaware that he was being anything but polite.  But Hannah was young and inexperienced, and from what Marian could see, taken with the handsome, young doctor.  She wouldn't notice the subtle signs that were so obvious to Marian.

It had been many years since Marian had been subjected to the type of snobbery she detected in Owen.  She had been eighteen when her father arranged her marriage to Randall.  Her parents were eager to see her wed to Randall.  The marriage would raise their social standing.  After his family snubbed their wedding, Randall had sequestered her away in New Beach where she raised Hannah alone while he consorted with women of ill-repute.

One day Marian's parents arrived at her door for a visit and to see the new baby, little Hannah.  While she and her mother were alone, her mother looked at the small parlor and began to weep.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Marian asked.

"It's this house.  Oh, Marian, it's all anyone talks about."

Marian was vexed.  Why would anyone talk about her house?

"Who talks about my house?"

"That woman, Randall's mother.  She tells people he's hidden you here because he's ashamed of you."

"That's a terrible thing to say," Marian said.  Now, she, too, had tears in her eyes.

"She says terrible things about Hannah, too.  She says she's...ugly."

"But she's never even seen her!  How can she say such things?"

Marian was more upset that her mother-in-law would talk about her innocent child than about her contempt for Marian.  She stood and began to pace while her mother sobbed.

"I don't understand any of this."

"I begged your father to call off the wedding, but he wouldn't listen.  He thought she would welcome him as one of her own.  He's devastated now."

Marian's anger flared.  "He's devastated?" she said.  "Has he given a thought to his granddaughter?  Or to me?"

"Oh, Marian, he's been asked to leave his club.  They said he had become an embarrassment.  But he knows Randall's mother is behind it.  She hates that Randall married you and wants to hurt us."

Marian felt like a fool.  She remembered her wedding.  She had been numb that day.  She was heartbroken over Evan.  She was marrying a man she didn't love and barely knew.  When her mother told her Mrs. Dawes had snubbed them, Marian hadn't understood what that meant to her.  Now, she did.

After her parents left for Philadelphia, Marian cried alone in her private room.  Randall rarely came home.  He had no interest in Hannah.  Becky hadn't yet become her friend.  The only person she had in the world was Hannah.  She kept thinking over and over, I'm not good enough.  I'll never be good enough.  It made her feel worthless.

As time passed, she grew less concerned about Randall's mother.  She liked New Beach and soon became glad that she and Hannah were free to live as they chose.  Marian vowed to protect Hannah from those who would hurt her.  She would never let anyone tell Hannah she wasn't good enough.

Chapter 51

Hannah looked at Evan.  He hadn't said a word, but James kept talking about Grady.  He couldn't get over the boy's murder.  Hannah had never seen James angry.  He always found the positive side of any situation and tried to settle things peaceably.  To hear him talk about catching the man who did it with such vehemence amazed her.  As she looked from one to the other, she noticed Adam staring at her.  She felt her cheeks redden.

"I thought that doctor was coming to dinner," he said.

"He had to tend a patient," Hannah replied.

Hannah turned and looked at Marian.  She was moving her food around her plate, but Hannah hadn't seen her eat a bite.  Something strange was going on.

"Can I come with you?" Jimmy said.  "I can fire a gun."

"You're not going anywhere," Marian said.

"Your ma's right, son," Evan said.  "This is a dangerous man.  You're too young to go after him."

"Tom says I'm the best shot he's ever seen for an eleven-year-old."

"That's high praise, Jimmy," James said, "but you still can't come with us."

"But I can help."

"You're not going and that's final!" Marian cried.

There's that tone again,
Hannah thought.

Why does everyone treat me like a baby?
Jimmy thought.

Marian looked at Evan.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan."

"No need to apologize," Evan said.

Marian pushed herself away from the table.

"If you will excuse me," she said.

She stood and left the room, and soon they heard her going up the stairs.

Evan had barely touched his food, either, and he stood.

"I think I'll wait outside."

After he left, Becky gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

"What is it, Becky?" James asked.

"I remember him.  I know who he is."

"What do you mean you know him?"

"He's the man she wanted to marry before she married Hannah's pa.  He went away to the Indian Wars and she never heard from him again.  It broke her heart."

"So that's why she was acting so strangely," Hannah said, remembering the photograph of the soldier she'd seen when they were moving to Colorado.

"Oh, dear.  I can't believe it," Becky said.

"Can I leave now?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes," James said.

"Do you think I should go see her?" Hannah asked.

"I'd leave her alone for a while," Becky said.  "Help me get these dishes off the table."

"I guess dinner's over," James said.  He looked into Hannah's eyes.  "You don't leave the house.  Not for anything, do you understand?"

"Yes," Hannah said.

"I don't know when we'll be back," he said.  He looked at Becky.  "I'll see you when I get back.  Lock the doors after we leave."

Adam looked at Hannah.  He looked sad and she tried to think of something encouraging to say but all she could think of was "Be careful."

"I'll make sure he comes back," Adam said.

"You come back," Hannah said without thinking.

"I'll come back, too."

Becky began grabbing plates from the table and took them to the kitchen before Hannah could see the tears in Becky's eyes.

"Son," James said as he and Adam passed Jimmy on the porch.  "I want you to go inside and protect the women."

"If I see him, can I shoot him?"

"If he points a gun at you, you can shoot him.  Now, go inside."

Jimmy stood and went into the house.  Evan was sitting on Old Mike.  James climbed on Ulysses while Adam went to the stable to get Blue.