Outlaw's Bride (22 page)

A
fter supper Johnny excused himself and went to the porch. Sitting down in the rocker, he reached for Kitty. The town had gone easy on him. He didn’t deserve their clemency, but he was grateful for it. Rebuilding the shack would take every cent he had, but he didn’t begrudge the lost funds. It could have been much worse.

The screen opened, and the judge wheeled out. When his honor saw Johnny, he nodded. Proctor had been unusually quiet during supper. Johnny had the feeling that the town might have forgiven him, but it was evident Proctor hadn’t.

“Thought I’d get a breath of air. The house is hot tonight.”

Johnny got up to give the judge his favorite seat. “It’s cooler out here.” He helped the judge from the wheelchair, into the rocker, and then he sat down opposite him.

Kitty bounded onto his lap, and he smiled. The cat purred and rubbed against his shoulder, wanting attention.

“Get down, Kitty.”

“She’s not bothering me, Judge.”

Pulling his pipe from his pocket, the judge packed it with tobacco. Johnny stroked Kitty’s head. The two men sat in silence on the porch, enjoying the faint breeze.

Proctor struck a match, and the flame illuminated his weary features. Johnny wished he hadn’t been the one responsible for the dark circles under the old man’s eyes tonight.

“I’m disappointed in you, son.”

“I know, Judge. I didn’t mean to endanger your program. I was wrong, and I apologize.”

Fanning out the match, Proctor drew on the pipe stem. A pleasant cherry scent perfumed the air. Kitty settled herself on Johnny’s lap and stretched out. In a few moments, she was purring softly.

“It isn’t so much the program. I knew when I started it that I would have setbacks. It’s more about you. I want you to get back on your feet and start living life to its fullest. I’ve known you long enough to form my own conclusions, and you
know
the Lord, son. You’ve just blocked him out of the way. You stepped back; he didn’t. Take your problems to him. Let him guide your decisions. You’re smart enough to know life goes a whole lot smoother when you follow the plan God has for you.”

At one time Johnny would have stopped him, but he knew he spoke the truth.

The judge settled back in his chair. “I know you must wonder why I allow myself to be wide open for defeat, but there’s something you need to understand. Giving a man more freedom is the only way I can be assured he can be trusted, that he does what he does because he wants to, not because he’s made to. I want to feel, beyond a doubt, that the person I’m working with can be rehabilitated. In your case, I had no doubt you were a man of your word, that I could trust you.”

Johnny wished the judge’s words were filled with condemnation; it would have been easier. He heard failure instead, and he knew he had put it there.

“You can trust me, Judge. I give you my word. There won’t be any more problems.”

The judge snorted. “Hubie and Carl should’ve known better than to store liquor in there in the first place.”

Johnny leaned back, absently stroking Kitty. “I suppose you can take comfort in the knowledge that Hubie and Carl have a much bigger problem than a dry Founders’ day.”

The men chuckled softly at the thought of Minnie and Florence
lighting into the mayor and his bumbling accomplice in front of the whole town.

Then Johnny said quietly, “I am sorry, Judge.”

Drawing on his pipe, the judge set his rocking chair into motion. The gentle squeak mingled pleasantly with the sounds of tree frogs. “I’m an old man. I’ve learned to roll with the punches. It’s Ragan I’m concerned about.” He turned back to face Johnny. “She’d never fall in love with a man who didn’t know and respect the Lord. Don’t let her down, son. If you do one thing in life right, don’t let down the Lord or Ragan.”

Johnny didn’t have to ask how he knew about Ragan’s feelings. The judge had witnessed her openly holding his hand that afternoon. Proctor didn’t want her hurt. Neither did he.

The old chair creaked back and forth. “She’s like a daughter to me. I love that girl, and wouldn’t take kindly to anyone who would cause her a moment’s grief.” The old man’s eyes drifted shut. “Do we understand each other, John?”

“Yes, sir. We understand each other
.”

“Good.” His head bobbed. In a few minutes, soft snores filled the porch. Johnny leaned over and gently removed the pipe from the judge’s hand.

Ragan pushed the screen open with her hip, balancing a wicker basket.

Johnny got up to help. “I’ll get that for you.”

She smiled. “Thought you might walk me home.”

“I’d like that.”

A full moon lit the path to the Ramsey place. As Ragan walked hand in hand with Johnny, the companionable silence was a far cry from the turmoil of the day’s events.

“It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?”

“I could have lived without it.”

“Johnny.” She paused in the middle of the road, moonlight playing across her feminine softness. “I’m glad you’re staying.”

He couldn’t resist teasing her. “Three hours ago you wanted me sent to prison.”

“I want you alive.”

His hand tightened on hers, and they walked on. “I’ll be staying a while.”

“For me?”

“Might be. You or Kitty.” He drew her closer as they walked.

“What about Bledso?”

He wished he knew. “Maybe someone will mistake him for a polecat and shoot him.”

She leaned up for a kiss. “Just so it’s not you.”

Maybe someone
would
mistake him for a polecat and kill him. Stranger things had happened. It would be nice to think about settling down in a place like Barren Flats with a woman like Ragan Ramsey.

When they set off again, Ragan giggled. “Some thought the blast was an earthquake. What did you think?”

“I didn’t have time to think. I was flat on my back, staring up at the sky.”

They broke into infectious laughter. Each time one gained control, the other burst out laughing again.

“I thought Florence was going to beat Hubie with that umbrella!”

“She did! I saw her whack him a couple of times on the way back to town.”

“She was as mad as that old hen Everett nicked during the practice.” He told Ragan about Everett’s wild shooting and his attempts to teach him to hit the target. “I was trying to help him win the Greener. But in addition, I wanted to know where I could put my hands on a gun if Bledso ever rode through. I’m not proud of it, and I knew I was putting the judge’s program in jeopardy, but I didn’t touch the gun, Ragan, and I wouldn’t have unless I’d had to.”

She sighed softly. “I understand what drove you to that, but it worries me that you would consider putting the judge’s program in jeopardy for any reason. God has shown you mercy, Johnny. Judge Leonard could have hanged you that day.”

“I’ve considered that.”

It was hard to confess his motives, even to her, but he was proud
of the friendship he had established with Everett. And it felt good to no longer be hiding anything from her.

“At least the mystery of the donkey cart is solved,” Ragan said.

“I wonder how many late-night trips Carl and Hubie made carrying that home brew out there.”

“More than they’d admit, I bet. There was a lot of fuel for that fire.” They broke into laughter again.

When they arrived at the Ramseys’, the house interior was dark. Ragan stepped up on the porch and peered in the front window. Everyone had retired for the night. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I hope the girls weren’t worried about me.”

Johnny set the basket on the step. “Do you have to go in this soon?”

“Well,” she sighed, coming back down the steps. “It’s been a long day, and you have to be up earlier than usual in the morning.” She met his gaze and burst out laughing again.

It took a second for him to join her. “Not funny,” he said reaching for her.

“Shhh.” She giggled, laying a finger across his mouth. “We’ll wake the family.”

He slowly pulled her to him, lowering his mouth to taste each sweet-smelling fingertip that still held the flavor of supper. When she murmured her pleasure, he drew her into his arms. “You’re beginning to grow on me, you know that?”

She leaned closer, offering her neck. Pushing her hair aside, he kissed her fragrant skin, resting his mouth against her ear. “You smell good too.”

Closing his eyes, he drank in her essence. Moonlight and the faint scent of the judge’s tobacco on her dress. She fit him as if she were made for him. Maybe God was trying to make up for a wrong.

“It’s Maddy’s lemon water. I sneak a dab here and there.” Her breathing switched tempos. “Procky said he didn’t mind. It makes him think of his wife.”

Turning her into him, he kissed her, lightly at first, then drawing
her deeper into his embrace. When their lips parted, she rested her head on his shoulder. “What am I going to do about you?”

“I don’t know, but for what it’s worth, I’m real fond of you too,” he murmured.

“You are?”

“I am.”

“That’s not good enough,” she whispered. “Say you’re fond enough of me that you’ll stay alive for me.”

He pulled her to him again, his mouth closing over hers. He wanted to live for her, more than he’d wanted anything for a long time, but something inside refused to let go of his quest for revenge. A lifetime of hatred was difficult to put aside.

Later that night, when he lay back against his pillow, the faint scent of lemon still lingered on his skin.

Kitty turned around on his chest a couple of times and then plopped down. Twitching her tail, she eyed him sleepily.

Could he give up his pursuit to kill Bledso? Once the issue had been so clear cut, but it was murky now.

Maybe his family’s vindication wasn’t in seeing a worthless, nogood piece of humanity eradicated, but rather from seeing the surviving son productive and happy and going on with his life. It was a new thought, one he’d never imagined before. He closed his eyes, the taste of Ragan still on his lips.

Was it enough for him?

A
thunderstorm threatened the Founders’ day celebration during the night. Thunder and lightning shook the ground, but by morning the skies had cleared and a bright sun shone on the town. The grass dried, and outdoor activities began in earnest. Teams strung red, white, and blue bunting across both ends of Main Street, and store owners tacked patriotic streamers to their storefronts.

Men swung heavy scythes, and weeds disappeared like magic. Women set up long tables in the churchyard and arranged chairs. The south end of Barren Flats began to look like a county fair.

Ragan waved to Jesse Rehop as his wagon rumbled past, loaded with benches for the spectators at the shooting contest. As the mule team topped the rise, Jesse turned and yelled over his shoulder. “Hey, Cliff. Come up here!”

Carl Rayles and Shorty Lynch dropped what they were doing and followed Clifford Kincaid up the hill.

Ragan frowned. What were they gawking at? Johnny and Everett were building the new dynamite shack just beyond the rise. She could hear the ring of hammers from where she stood.

“Excuse me, Minnie. I’m going to see what’s so interesting over there.” She laid a tablecloth aside and walked up the rise to join the men. She could hear their conversation as she approached.

“Now, that’s a fine piece of work. Makes the old structure look downright embarrassing.”

“Shore does. Didn’t know Everett had it in him.”

“Don’t think it’s so much Everett as it is McAllister. I was watching them work the other day. McAllister seems to know what he’s doing with a hammer,” Carl offered.

The four men eased closer and peered at the construction.

“Built real sturdylike. Take a cyclone to topple this one.”

“Or a big blast.” Shorty winked at Carl.

“Admiring the new building, gentleman?”

Ragan tried not to let her pride show, but it was nearly impossible. The new construction was more than lumber and nails. Johnny was creating one fine piece of work.

“Yes, sir,” Cliff said. “That boy’s a real carpenter.”

Ragan swelled with bliss, and she had to be careful not to strut as she walked back down the hill to rejoin the women. She glanced back over her shoulder, grinning when she heard Carl yell at Johnny and Everett to stop work and come join the festivities.

“C’mon up here, Everett!” Cliff echoed. “You need to get in a little practice before that shootin’ contest this afternoon.”

The thought of Everett throwing his hammer aside and vaulting over the sawhorse tickled Ragan.

The past month, the change in Everett was one more thing the town could attribute to Johnny McAllister.

These days, Everett walked with a new confidence. The strenuous physical labor had produced muscles that were invisible a month ago. Long hours in the hot sun had tanned the clerk’s skin nut-brown, and the hard work had perked up his appetite. He’d packed a good ten pounds of muscle on his lanky frame, and the extra weight suited him well.

By nine o’clock, Main Street was full. Neighbors welcomed relatives from surrounding counties, and friends gathered in small groups.

After lunch, Ragan saw that Julia Curbow had Johnny cornered near the watermelon table, introducing him to all her friends.

“Jonathan, this is my best friend, Lydia, from Cedar Gulch.”

Then a moment later, “Jonathan, this is my best friend, Lucia, from Brown Branch.” The spunky widow dragged Johnny through the crowd, showing him off. “And this is my best friend, Mona Joann, from Tom’s Canyon.”

When Johnny passed Ragan for the third time, she teased in a loud whisper, “Why Jonathan, you are just the sweetest man. Let me introduce you to my best friend.”

Johnny finally escaped Julia’s clutches and found a shady spot for himself and the judge. The two men seemed to be deep in conversation when Ragan noticed them later. She considered taking her two favorite men some lemonade, but she decided they had more important things on their minds.