No One But You (25 page)

* * *

For the next week Sarah lived in daily hope of hearing that Henry Wallace had been captured, but they heard nothing. The deputy returned twice, but all he could tell them was that Wallace's attempt to accuse Salty of having killed Roger had fallen flat.

His friends had indeed stood by him. George Randolph said anybody who believed Salty could be a stone-cold killer was a fool. Rose, who'd been in Austin because George insisted she see a doctor at least once a month, was even blunter. She said anybody who accused Salty of killing Roger was a bald-faced liar.

Other good news followed: the Randolphs' lawyer stated that he believed being officially declared dead was practically the same as a divorce, and that he could make that stick in court. That meant there wasn't much more to fear except where Wallace was hiding.

But fear it Sarah did. The man could remain hidden only so long before he got desperate. She knew only too well that desperate people did stupid and dangerous things. She had begged Salty to promise he wouldn't ride out alone, and she kept both children in the house unless she was with them. While Jared accepted his confinement with stoic calm, Ellen would have rebelled if Sarah hadn't gone riding with her once a day.

She hurried to finish folding the clothes she'd been washing and putting them away. She could never enter the “boudoir” Salty had built for her without shaking her head in amazement. It was as big as the other two bedrooms combined. She felt guilty having so much space to herself, but she was looking forward to the time when the two of them would share it. Every night it got harder to watch him enter the room he shared with Jared and close the door.

She carefully folded one of the dresses Rose had given her and thought about the closet Salty had built her. It had shelves! She now had more than enough room for her few garments. She laughed to herself. They'd never fill half the closet. Still, it was nice to have the extra storage space. And the new room… Whenever she entered it, she didn't feel quite so poor.

But she did feel lonely. The room reminded her of the one night she'd spent in Salty's arms, and the many nights since that she'd been separated from him. Her bed looked lost in its new setting, much the way she felt without Salty. She tried to tell herself to be patient, that she wouldn't have to wait much longer, but that only worked until she was settled in bed and had nothing to distract her mind. She would start to remember the taste of Salty's kisses, the feel of his hands on her body, the magic of her emotional and physical awakening. Her whole body would come alive. She would start to feel his kisses on the side of her neck, feel his tongue on her breasts, feel him invade her body, and a fire would kindle inside her that would soon have her squirming. She tried to drive the images from her mind, but they were like a fire that fed itself: the more she remembered, the more she wanted to remember.

Sarah shook her head to dislodge the unsettling images. She needed to finish putting her clothes away and get back to the kitchen. Jared was shelling peas, and now that she had milk and cream again, it would be nice to make a custard for dessert. She and Ellen would have to go for eggs.

When she reached the kitchen, Jared was still working. She didn't see Ellen. “Where's your sister?” she asked.

“She said she was going to milk the cow.”

The girl had to be desperate to get outside to offer to milk the cow. “She knows she's not supposed to leave the house without me!”

“That's what I told her, but she said nothing was going to happen.”

It irritated Sarah that Ellen should go out alone, but the men had told her repeatedly that she was being overly cautious. “Wallace would never come near this house again,” Dobie had said. “He knows any one of us would shoot him.”

Sarah had wanted to err on the safe side, and Salty had backed her up. He'd supported her restrictions when Ellen complained to him. Apparently a week was the limit of her acceptance.

“How long has she been gone?” she asked.

“Just a few minutes.”

Sarah went to the front door. Through the opening in the trees that surrounded the house she could see Ellen leading their milk cow toward a spot where she had left her stool and bucket. She ought to go out and watch, but it seemed foolish to stand around when she needed to be inside starting supper. “Don't dawdle,” she called.

Ellen waved, a big smile on her face. She was so thrilled to be outside, she was happily doing a chore she usually hated.

Sarah went back into the house. “Your sister doesn't follow rules very well,” she muttered.

“You've made her stay inside all week,” Jared replied. “I'm surprised she hasn't snuck out before.”

“What about you?”

“Oh, I don't mind.”

“Well, once they find Mr. Wallace, you can go just about anywhere you want,” Sarah promised him. Since Salty had been teaching him to ride, he'd been pushing his mother to give him a horse of his own.

“Can I ride out with Salty?”

“Maybe,” she allowed. “When you get more secure in the saddle.”

“I won't learn by sitting inside.”

“I know. Just be patient.” It seemed she'd been saying that to Jared his whole life. Still, things were better than they'd ever been.

Sarah took a quick peek out the window. Ellen was tying the cow to the tree, so she turned back to the kitchen. Fixing supper for six people, three of them grown men, took at least an hour of hard work. She'd completely lost track of time when Jared said, “Ellen should be back by now.”

“Look out the window and see what she's doing.” Sarah kept working on the biscuit dough.

“I see the cow, but I don't see Ellen.”

Alarm battled with exasperation. Sarah was cleaning her hands when she heard the door open. “It's about time you got back,” she said. “I was about to—”

“I'm not your daughter.”

Sarah turned to see Henry Wallace standing in the doorway, a gun pointed at her.

Sarah's fear was so extreme, she couldn't think, could only ask the question uppermost in her mind. “What have you done with her?”

“She's safe. I won't hurt her.”

Her dread only partially allayed, Sarah's brain started to function. Wallace had nothing to gain and everything to lose by hurting Ellen. She had to remain calm and find out what he wanted.

She had known Henry Wallace all her life, but she had never really
looked
at him until now. He had just been there, a neighbor who grew more annoying each year, whom mostly she pitied for having lost his family. But now he'd placed himself outside the law. To what further extremes would he go?

Being forced to spend a week in hiding had robbed him of his well-groomed appearance. His shirt was dirty and its collar frayed. He hadn't shaved. She guessed he'd combed his hair with his hands, though she didn't know why he'd bothered. His pants were dirty and creased, his boots discolored by dust. His eyes were cold and unfeeling.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

“What do you want?”

“I want your men to swear I didn't kill Roger.”

“Who would we say killed him?”

“I don't care. A robber or a rustler. Anybody else.”

“The deputy has written statements from all of us.”

“It was dark. You could have made a mistake.”

“I don't think the deputy would believe us.”

“It won't matter,” Wallace said. “He can't charge me if he has no evidence, and those statements are all the evidence he has.”

Sarah had been so focused, she hadn't noticed Jared move. The boy was on his feet, however, and noiselessly approaching Wallace from behind. She desperately wanted to tell him to stop, that she would handle Wallace, but she didn't want to do anything to startle Wallace. If he thought he was being threatened from behind, he might shoot before thinking.

“I suppose I can do what you want,” she said, hoping to keep his attention on her, “but it's going to take some time.”

“Why?” He looked puzzled. “All you have to do is tell the deputy you made a mistake.”

“It won't be easy to convince the men to change their stories. Both Arnie and Dobie dislike you.”

It was all she could do to keep her gaze on Wallace. Jared was only a few feet behind him. Her eyes pleaded with him to back up, but Jared didn't even look up.

“They'll do it for you,” Wallace laughed. “Arnie is already sweet on you, and Dobie is young enough to be dazzled by you if you put your mind to it.”

Sarah wasn't sure what Wallace meant, but she didn't intend to ask. She just wanted to keep his attention on her. Jared had stopped moving. Hopefully, he'd changed his mind about what he intended.

“Maybe I can convince them to change their story,” Sarah allowed, “but you know how hardheaded Texas men can be.” Jared was just standing behind Wallace, testing his balance without the cane. That didn't make any sense. He couldn't walk without the cane.

“You'll do it if you want your daughter back.”

“What are you going to do with her?”

“She'll be with me. If I get rained on, she'll get rained on. If I get cold and hungry, she'll get cold and hungry. Tell that to your new husband. Tell that to—”

Jared swung his crutch and hit Wallace in the back of the head. He staggered and dropped his gun, which went off when it struck the floor. The bullet struck Sarah in the leg, knocking it out from under her.

“Mama!” Jared's voice and the pain came at the same time.

“I didn't do that!” Wallace shouted. “Make sure you tell the deputy it was your damn son's fault.” He picked up his pistol and ran out the door.

Sarah didn't care whose fault it was. Uppermost in her mind was that she couldn't get up and Wallace was leaving with Ellen.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean for him to shoot you.” Jared had crawled to her on his hands and knees, and his tears fell on her clothes and face as he clutched her.

“It's not your fault,” she assured him. “It all started with Mr. Wallace. If he hadn't taken Ellen, none of this would have happened.”

“Are you going to die? Your leg looks real bloody.”

“No, but I can't get up. You have to find Salty. If Mr. Wallace takes Ellen to his hiding place, we might never find her.
Hurry.
”

She hated to ask Jared to undertake such a long trip, but there seemed no alternative. And while her son and Salty found Ellen, she had to bind up her leg, try to keep the wound from bleeding too much.

Salty would get Ellen back. He would take care of both of them. He would take care of everything.

* * *

Salty was looking forward to his supper. It had been a long and tiring day, and he was relieved that they had found only eleven cows that needed branding and no signs of a wolf or of Henry Wallace. He was heading home ahead of Arnie and Dobie to watch the children enjoy some time outside before it got dark. He thought Sarah was being overly cautious, truth be told, but it was better to be safe than sorry. To hear Ellen tell, it was practically solitary confinement.

When it was all over and there was no question about the legality of his marriage to Sarah, he was going to move into the new bedroom with Sarah. Just thinking about that made his body tighten. The nights had been hell, and the days weren't any better. It was agony to see her, to be able to touch her and even steal an occasional kiss, but do no more. Dobie had said he was foolish to force on himself such restraints, but Salty knew he'd never be comfortable being Sarah's husband the way he wanted to be her husband until the ghost of Roger Winborne was wholly laid to rest.

It seemed Nature had conspired to make everything around him remind him of her. Today the clear blue sky matched her eyes, the sun's warmth her radiant smile, and its rays her golden hair. The wind was the sound of her sighing, the noise of the stream the sound of her laughter. The clip-clop of his horse's hooves reminded him of her beating heart when he held her close. The down that lined a duck's nest was as soft as her cheeks, the swelling buds of the Indian Paintbrush her lips. His memory of her was so vivid he could almost believe he was seeing her, touching her, holding her in his arms…

He had to stop! He was becoming so uncomfortable in the saddle he'd have to walk home, and he didn't need Ellen to tell him that no self-respecting cowboy walked when he could ride. Thinking of Ellen made him smile. She was so much like her mother. When she grew up, she was going to give fits to every boy within a hundred miles. It would take a special man to win her heart. Ellen swore she didn't want to get married, but he was sure she would change her mind. She was a girl who needed family to—

His thoughts broke off as he saw a horse and rider coming toward him at a fast canter. At first he thought it was Jared, but that was impossible: the boy couldn't capture, saddle, and mount a horse by himself. But no sooner had he convinced himself it was impossible than he realized it
was
Jared, who was riding bareback. That meant something was terribly wrong. Salty was caught between fear and pride that the boy was riding the horse.

Spurring his horse into a gallop, he rode to meet Jared.

“Mr. Wallace shot Mama and stole Ellen!”

The boy's face was wreathed with determination, his hands gripped the horse's mane. Their mounts came together. Jared couldn't turn his, so Salty reined around alongside him. “What did you say?” he asked, crowding Jared's horse to face him back in the direction of the house.

“Mr. Wallace shot Mama! She said I was to come get you so you could get Ellen back. Mr. Wallace ran off!”

A wave of relief swamped Salty, so powerful he swayed in the saddle. He'd been imagining Sarah dead. But she was obviously wounded, and he didn't know how bad. He started picturing how he would make Wallace suffer before killing him. If Sarah was not seriously wounded, he might take pity on Wallace and just shoot him.

Jared looked exhausted. Salty wasn't sure the boy could make it back to the house on his own. He moved closer until their two horses were almost shoulder to shoulder. He reached over and put his arm around Jared's waist. “Let go,” he commanded. “You're going to ride double with me. Sit behind me, put your arms around my waist and hold on tight.”

He lifted the boy over. Jared pressed his head between Salty's shoulders; he wrapped his arms around Salty's waist and locked his fingers. Salty felt a rush of warmth at the way the boy clung to him, at the way he trusted that Salty would make everything right. The love Salty felt for Sarah was strange and wonderful, but what he felt for this boy and his sister was just as powerful in its own way. It was humbling and wonderful at the same time.

“Tell me what happened,” he said after the boy was safely settled behind him. He left Jared's horse to find its own way home.

Salty couldn't catch all the words, but he heard enough to understand. He was glad Sarah had only been shot in the leg, though that was still dangerous. He wasn't surprised that Ellen had sneaked out on her own, but he was shocked that Wallace would kidnap her. Had the man completely lost his sanity?

“Did he say why he kidnapped Ellen?”

“He said everybody had to say some stranger killed Papa if we wanted her back.”

“What did your mother say?”

“She told him the deputy probably wouldn't believe us if we lied. Then she said she'd try, but I think it was just so he wouldn't hurt Ellen.”

Salty had to find her. The deputy's hands would be tied if the men changed their stories, and the little girl was one of the things Salty loved most in the world. He didn't know how he was going to find Wallace in one afternoon when no one had found his hiding place in more than a week, but first things first. Right now all he could think about was making sure Sarah was okay.

It seemed like hours rather than just a few minutes before he rode into the yard. He brought his horse to a halt, jumped down, and lifted Jared from the saddle. He ran into the house through the open door, the boy in his arms. Sarah was sitting in a chair, her leg bound with strips torn from her petticoat.

“You've got to find Wallace,” she said before he could take a single additional step toward her. “He's got Ellen.”

Salty put Jared down. “I need to make sure you're all right.”

“I'm okay. Find Ellen.”

He crossed the room. “In a minute, Sarah. First—”

“If you don't go after my daughter this minute,” Sarah nearly shouted, “I'll get out of this chair and do it myself.”

The expression on her face was a mixture of rage and fear. Her voice vibrated with an urgency that only a mother could feel, and behind it all was a spine of iron, a will that had refused to break despite everything life at thrown at her. If he didn't go after Wallace right now, Salty knew Sarah
would
do it herself. How could he leave the woman he loved, knowing she'd been shot and not knowing how bad the wound was? Yet, how could he not try to find Ellen?

Salty had never expected to have to make such a difficult decision, but he didn't have to. Sarah had already made it for him. She chose her daughter.

He turned to Jared. “I need you to go back up the trail. When you find Arnie, tell him to take care of your mother. Tell Dobie to ride for a doctor and notify the deputy sheriff.” He turned to Sarah. “I don't know when I'll be back. If you start to feel—”

Sarah shook her head. “I don't matter.”

Wallace would pay dearly for what he'd done. The pain in her eyes wasn't a pain caused by any physical injury but rather one in her heart. He'd never seen her eyes so bleak, so empty. So scared.

“I'll find Ellen,” he told Sarah. “I won't come back until I do.”

It didn't take him long to saddle a new horse for Jared. While he did that, the boy explained how he'd taken the bars down, lured the first horse to the fence with corn and managed to climb onto its back. He apologized for any of the other horses that got out, but he couldn't put the bars back up without getting down off the horse again.

“I'm really proud of you,” Salty said. “I'd round up a hundred runaways if I could have been around to watch you pull off that trick.”

Jared rode off a tired but proud boy.

While he caught and saddled his own mount, Salty tried to think of where to look for Wallace. He couldn't stop worrying about Ellen. She was a brave little girl, and bright, but she was only seven, still a child. She had to be frightened and wondering if anyone was going to find her. He wondered if she regretted having ignored her mother's wishes. Would he find Wallace before it became too dark? It was fortunate he'd come home early, but he wouldn't have more than a couple hours of daylight.

The trail wasn't as difficult to follow as he expected, and he headed in the direction of Wallace's ranch. The standard route between the two ranches was little more than a faint track. They'd had rain the previous day and the ground was still soft enough to show hoof prints. Some were deeper than others, indicating an irregularity of stride. Nor did that horse keep a straight path. It turned toward the hills. Now Salty had to depend on bruised grass and fresh growth that had been broken off.

He was surprised to come to a spot where the ground was badly cut up; he didn't understand why the horse should act up just because Wallace had changed direction. But when it happened a second time, he grinned broadly. Every time Wallace changed direction, Ellen found a way to cause the horse to mark their track. The girl was bright as well as courageous. He just hoped Wallace didn't figure out what she was doing.

The rancher was heading to a part of his land that merged with a group of low hills composed of jumbled boulders and covered with stunted trees. If Salty lost the trail, it would be difficult to pick up again. He followed the path carefully, looking for broken branches, marks of shod hooves on stone, any disturbance in the new growth that even these barren hills couldn't entirely discourage, and he reached the other side more quickly than he expected.