Pariah (4 page)

Clint was mulling over those words when he let his eyes wander up and down Madeline's figure. Even with the messy apron and the tousled mess of blonde hair hastily pulled behind her head, she was still an attractive woman. Her face was naturally pretty in a demure, European way. She had a long neck that drew his attention down to generous breasts that she was obviously trying to hide beneath too many layers of conservative clothing. No amount of skirts could detract from the wide curves of her hips, and Clint could only imagine what her bare thighs and legs might look like.

“Mister Adams?” she asked, snapping him from his little dream.

Shaking his head, he said, “Please, call me Clint. And I hope you didn't go through too much trouble, Madeline. Whatever you put together will be just fine.”

“Call me Maddy, and save the rest until you've had a chance to taste the food. Come on in.”

Clint walked in and shut the door behind him. No matter how friendly Maddy was or how happy the two kids were to see him again, Clint still felt like an intruder. The house was just too warm and the people were just too accommodating. Compared to all the time he'd spent in rented rooms or lying stretched out under the stars, it took a bit of time to feel like he belonged in a genuine home. But it was all those smiles that seemed particularly out of place. Compared to the disgusted scowls he'd been forced to endure a few minutes ago, the friendlier side of the coin was more than a little jarring.

Fortunately, Clint was able to get over that within the space of a few minutes. Once Sam started climbing all over him and Chen waved at him from her hiding spot behind an old chair, Clint was more than willing to put the rest of the day behind him.

Supper turned out to be a mix of scraps put together into a stew, served up with some fresh vegetables, a potato-and-cheese concoction, and a side of something resembling shepherd's pie. Clint took ample portions of everything and had no reservations about asking for seconds. When he'd finally cleaned his plate for the last time, Chen hopped up to clear off the table.

“Don't just sit there, Sam,” Maddy said. “Help her.”

The little boy rolled his eyes and grumbled a bit, but did what he was told. Within seconds after he'd joined Chen in the kitchen, another bickering match ensued. Since nothing was being broken, Maddy stayed at the table with Clint.

“Thanks for coming back,” she said. “The children really like having you around. They've been making up stories about what they think you do for a living. Sam likes to think you're a gunfighter, but Chen is convinced you're a soldier.”

“Actually, I'm a gunsmith.”

“Really?”

“Now
you
look stunned,” Clint chuckled.

“Well, to be honest, I've been going back and forth between Sam and Chen's guesses. It's just that, after seeing how you handled those men earlier today . . .”

Rather than let her flounder any longer, Clint said, “I've been known to take a few other jobs as well.”

She nodded and got up to start straightening what the children had left behind. “So, how did you occupy yourself before coming back here? If you were out and about, I guess it's safe to assume you got an earful about me and my strays.”

Clint would have liked to deny that, but knew Maddy would have seen through it. Even if the truth could hurt her feelings, he knew that lying to her wouldn't do any better in that regard. “I did hear some things, but I dug around to hear more than a few vicious rumors.”

“You did? Why?”

“Because, as you may have already figured out, I've been on the bad end of a few rumors myself.”

She blushed and twitched, as if she'd been caught in an embarrassing lie.

“From what I gathered,” Clint said, “you've been doing a fine job at helping those in need.”

“Did you hear about what happened when those men came looking for the people in my care?”

“Yes, and I can't see how any of what happened was your fault.”

“I knew those gunmen were coming,” she whispered. “The folks staying with me told me plenty of times. I intended on getting them away from here before there was any trouble, but I was too late and it caused a lot of blood to be spilled.”

“I heard about the fire,” Clint said.

She winced again as a tiredness crept into her eyes and carved some deep lines into her face. “That was another matter entirely. The young man who started a fire in the Sierras set a fire here, too. He just liked fire. It seemed more like a kind of sickness than anything malicious.”

“How'd you manage to get involved with him?”

“He escaped from the lawmen that were taking him to a bigger jail,” Maddy explained. “By then, I'd gained something of a reputation for giving shelter to anyone in need. He came to me and I tried to help him. I knew he needed to go back to face his punishment, but I didn't want to hand him over to Sheriff Bailey. He might not have done the young man any harm, but he wouldn't have been able to hold off others who would want to dole out their own vigilante justice. You saw those men for yourself earlier today.”

In Clint's opinion, saying that Sheriff Bailey might not have been able to hold off a bunch of vigilantes was much more charitable than saying the lawman wouldn't have been inclined or strong enough to do the job. It seemed Maddy was kind to folks even when they weren't looking. He found that quality to be as rare as it was admirable.

“I was about to take him into Tombstone myself,” Maddy explained. “But he got away from me and set a fire. He truly was sick and he was truly sorry for what he'd done.”

Clint had seen plenty of men who got a thrill from watching something go up in flames. He didn't know if it was a sickness, but he could tell that Maddy was convinced of that much. For that reason, he was confident in telling her, “Your heart was in the right place. Did you ever think it might be easier on you if you just tried to do things a different way? You could still help folks, but . . .”

“But what?” she asked. “Do it in a way that the whole town agrees with? Conduct my affairs only after going around to make sure my choices are accepted by all the ignorant, smelly fools and wrinkled, pinch-faced prunes that fill this town from the ground up?” Suddenly, Maddy placed her hand over the base of her neck and glanced toward the kitchen. It was quiet in there for a moment, but the children soon commenced their arguing again.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “I didn't mean to sound—”

“Perfectly all right,” Clint told her. “I met several of those fools today and can't blame you in the slightest for getting your feathers ruffled. I wanted to knock that sheriff upside his head after only talking to him for a few minutes.”

Maddy laughed, but seemed a bit ashamed to do so. After composing herself a bit, she said, “I've found it better to go about my business and let everyone else go about theirs.”

“Still, it may be a good idea to have someone look out for you until those fools lose interest.”

“You're not the first person to say that, Clint. Still, I couldn't impose on you for something like that.”

“It seems that you don't keep your guests around for too long. How long will these two be with you?”

“I was going to take the children into Prescott. We're to meet the stagecoach a little ways from here, but—”

“But it'd be easier if I took them,” Clint interrupted.

She immediately shook her head. “No. Definitely not. They're in my care and that's a generous offer, but I couldn't just hand them over that way.”

“Then what if I escorted you? I could make sure you get to the stage without being pestered by those idiots who met you in the street.” Seeing that she was considering this offer a lot more than the first one, he added, “I don't like leaving a job half finished. After seeing those three push you around, I couldn't just let you take your chances with them in the middle of open country.”

Maddy was softening a bit, but not quite jumping to accept the proposition.

“You might as well say yes,” Clint pressed. “Otherwise, I'll just hang back and follow the three of you to meet that stage anyway. The least you could do is give me some company during the ride.”

That brought a smile to her face and she nodded. “That's awfully generous of you, Clint. Thanks. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

“I hear you've got spare rooms for men with nowhere else to go. I could sleep in one of those or I could make do with the corner of Eclipse's stall.”

“I've got plenty of rooms and you're welcome to one. Just don't tell the children you'll be joining us for the ride. If you do that, it'll be impossible for me to get them to lay down for a wink of sleep.”

Like most any other house that had two floors, the bedrooms were situated on the top floor while just about everything else was down below. This house had more bedrooms than normal, however, and a couple of them were just off the main sitting room where a mud room or a pantry might otherwise be. Clint was put into that room and was perfectly happy with the arrangement. Compared to most beds found in hotels or boardinghouses, Maddy's was a slice of heaven.

The mattress was thick. The blankets were clean and the sheets still smelled like the warm breezes that had dried them out after they'd been washed. The stage she'd wanted to catch was scheduled to leave in just under a week, which gave them a few more days to kill before making the long ride to the platform. There was another stage rolling through town a few days after that, which would have taken them to Prescott after a longer wait, but Maddy wanted to get Sam and Chen to their families as quickly as possible. Also, the prospect of riding on a stage that could be polluted by some of the less tolerant locals was unattractive enough to justify going out of their way.

Clint spent the first day or two watching the locals to make sure nobody tried to harass Maddy as she went about her daily chores. For the most part, however, those locals were content to simply watch her and cluck their tongues disapprovingly when she led the mismatched children down the street. After a while, he got the feeling that she found it amusing to rattle such delicate sensibilities with something as easy as taking the kids out for a walk.

He also had to admit that Sheriff Bailey was doing a good job of watching out for her as well. More than once, Clint spotted the lawman giving hell to someone who seemed about ready to approach Maddy for the wrong reasons. So, for the most part, Clint didn't have much to do while he was in town. That didn't mean he was anxious to leave.

Sam begged to be taught to shoot and Clint started with the specifics of how to disassemble a pistol, clean it, and put it back together again. That was more than enough to get the boy to take up a less dangerous interest. Chen was learning how to cook, and she spent hours upon hours trying to make something for Clint to sample. If the girl had been a little better at her craft, Clint might have busted Eclipse's back the next time he climbed into the saddle.

Madeline was just happy to have an adult to talk to. It didn't take long for her to come out of her shell, and when she did, she talked to him about everything from plays to literature to different breeds of dogs. It all seemed like a mess to Clint, but her voice was pretty enough that listening to her was anything but a chore. He smiled, nodded, and did his best to continue the conversation. Before he knew it, he was settling in for his last night's sleep at that house. When he pulled his boots off and set them in their usual spot near the door, Clint couldn't help feeling a little low.

The knock on his door was so hesitant that he'd almost thought it was a trick of his ears.

“Yes?”

Half-expecting one of the children to be behind such a little rap upon the door, Clint was surprised when Madeline stepped into his room and closed it behind her. “I hope I'm not disturbing you,” she said.

“Not at all. Do you need something?”

She looked away from him while turning toward one of the tables. There, she found something that needed straightening. At least, it was something to keep her hands busy for a few seconds. “We'll be riding out to meet that stage tomorrow. It'll be a long ride.”

“Not too bad. It should take the better part of the day, but we'll get there without having to ride in the dark.”

“That's just it. Chen and I will get on that same stage. I scrounged up a bit of extra money, which should be enough to get her to her grandparents a little earlier than I'd expected.” Smirking, she added, “A few folks around here have owed me money for some time and I think they might have been afraid I'd send you around to collect it.”

“You should have told me about those debts,” Clint told her in a gruff tone. “I would've happily collected them for you.”

“No need. People's imaginations were wild enough to get the job done. Anyway, I'll accompany Chen and Sam on the stage, so there's no reason for you to go any farther than that. I sincerely appreciate you keeping an eye on us. I've done just fine on my own this long, but it's nice to have a man around to . . . well,” she added while reaching out to rub Clint's arm, “it's just nice to have a man around.”

Clint felt a reaction run all the way through his body the instant she touched him. Every time they'd been together, he'd admired the curves of her body and the way she moved or the way her hair curled around her face. More than once, he'd wanted to reach out and touch her, but had held back. Even now, he didn't want to give in fully to what his instincts were telling him.

“You've thanked me enough,” Clint said.