Texas Twilight (13 page)

Tucker gave Lily a funny look and she
laughed. “Charming.”

Just then John exited the doctor’s office
next door with his arms full to overflowing. He headed for a wagon
sitting directly in front in the street and dumped the papers in
the bed. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he swabbed his
face, being careful of his stitches.

“Never said this was going to be easy,” he
called to Lily and Tucker. Tucker was doing Dr. Bixby’s share of
the work and John was helping Lily with her share. The idea was to
get both parcels of real estate fixed up at the same time. It was a
lot of work.

Cradle Hupton stepped out of Grady’s
Mercantile, letting the door slam behind him, and headed toward
John. The livery owner smiled at Lily and waved her over.

He hitched his head, gesturing to the
building he’d just left. “You know you got the Grady’s bent clean
out of joint, don’t you, with this sale you’re having tomorrow?
They are about fit to be tied with the good deals you’re offering.”
He shook his head as he looked at all their stuff and then back at
Lily. “I don’t know if that’s the way to make friends or
enemies.”

“I was afraid of that,” John replied. “But
there was no better way of dispersing all this stuff quickly.
Besides, the extra money will be put to good use. It’s only for one
day.”

“I never thought of that,” Lily said. “Do you
think they are really upset?”

Cradle smiled. “Yes. But then Nora Grady is
always upset with someone. Today and tomorrow it’s you and John,
then Monday, it’ll be someone else. She’ll get over it. She always
does.”

Mrs. Grady came out of the mercantile and
threw a bucket of water into the street. Turning back, she eyed the
sale items as if she were taking stock, and then slowly made her
way back into the store.

Cradle pulled the Saturday edition of the Rio
Wells Republic from his back pocket. He unscrolled the brown paper
and scanned the page. “I like your advertisement. I think you’ll
have a good turnout tomorrow since most people are in town for
church.” He looked around. “Where’s your aunt, Lily?”

“John gave her strict orders to stay at the
hotel,” Lily answered trying to sound nonchalant. “Whenever the
temperature soars, she fairly withers.” Besides, Tante was weak and
emotional. Lily would never forget her expression when her aunt had
learned she had been discovered. But, Tante had agreed to go along
with John’s suggestions for weaning herself from the morphine. She
said she’d wanted to rid herself of the desire of it for years, but
was always too ashamed to ask anyone for help. Her doctor in Boston
had given it to her whenever she asked.

Thinking about her aunt brought to Lily’s
mind the blue gem she’d found hidden away in her aunt’s sock, and
her suspicions resurfaced. She knew she needed to confront her but
Lily wasn’t sure she was quite ready to hear the answers. Besides
she seemed so fragile. She’d give her more time to get past the
worst, then insist she tell her everything.

John waved her inside. “Show me what big
items you want out next, Lily. With Cradle here, they’ll be easy.
May as well put him to work too.”

“This extra dresser can go.”

“Fine.” John bent down and took a firm hold.
“You just find the spot where you’d like us to put it. Ready,
Cradle? On three.”

With Cradle helping John and Tucker with the
heavy lifting, the storage space was cleared in no time. Dr. Bixby
walked around with Lily and helped suggest asking prices for each
thing. The main purpose, along with raising money, was to make sure
the things were gone by the end of Sunday evening, or soon after.
Many prices were way below the objects’ worth.

Bystanders watched with curiosity. Some were
even poking around the hodgepodge mess of eclectic goodies. Tucker
planned to sleep outside, make sure nothing walked away on its own.
By the time nine o’clock chimed on the town clock, Lily could
hardly keep her eyes open.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to the hotel,” John
said. “This has been a long day.”

“You are right about that. I’m tired.” Plus,
she needed to get to the hotel and get a bath tonight while there
was still someone in the hotel to warm some water. She was filthy
and couldn’t go anywhere in this condition.

“I’m so excited,” Lily said as they walked
along. “I think the building will be perfect. It is small, but
cute.” It was a short walk from John’s office to the hotel and they
were almost there. She stopped. “There is something I want to tell
you.”

He’d stopped also and looked at her
questioningly. “Yes?”

“Remember the day I found Tante Harriett’s
drugs, the day she’d been passed out?”

“Of course.”

“Well, there was something else I found too,
but I’ve been hesitant to say anything about it. I was hoping my
aunt would share with me what it might be. But she has not and I am
getting more worried by the day.”

The temperatures had cooled considerably and
the cold desert air put a chill on the skin. Most people had gone
home but there were still a few out on the street. John removed his
light jacket and placed it on Lily’s shoulders. “Go on, Lily. You
can tell me anything.”

“Thank you.” She ran her hand over the
fabric, thinking. “I think it is a sapphire or some other expensive
gem. I found it hidden in her travel satchel stuck inside one of
her socks.”

John eyes opened wide. “Could it be
rightfully hers?”

“Maybe. That is why I did not want to say
anything. I do not want to think she has done anything wrong, if
she has not. Maybe she bought it with her life savings. Or perhaps
it was a gift from someone, a rich someone she has never mentioned
to me—it is possible, I guess. But I thought it strange when we
left Boston in the darkness of night without telling a soul. Plus,
she has made it clear that the money she sent Mr. Bartlett was,
more or less, all she had in the world. I am just really confused.
I think she may be in some kind of trouble.”

She could tell he was considering her words
carefully. “I didn’t know you two fled Boston. You’ve never said
anything like that before.”

“I know. I have not wanted to think the
worst, but now…”

“We’ll ask your aunt about the stone you
found. Maybe it’s fake.”

“No. I don’t want to make her any more upset
than she already is. She seems fragile to me.”

“Well, I don’t like to think of the both of
you living in the same room with a priceless jewel, especially in
this unruly town. Perhaps someone is out there looking for it. Let
me lock it up in my safe.”

Just the words she was hoping to hear. She
smiled. “I am sure she will not notice if I sneak it out to you
tomorrow.”

“Fine, then. The sooner you can bring it
over, the better I’ll feel. And, no worries. We’ll get to the
bottom of it.” He laughed, a low rumble from deep in his chest,
making Lily’s smile grow. “Life can be surprising sometimes, that’s
for sure.”

It felt wonderful to finally tell John about
the gem. She trusted him with her life. She reminded herself again
that he was engaged to be married. His was just a friend. But, he
was the best kind of friend. One, with whom she could share her
fears and joys. One who wanted to help her and protect her. John
McCutcheon was a remarkable man, and Emmeline was a lucky woman.
Lily hoped the young woman knew just how lucky she was.

Settling Lily at the hotel, John headed back
to the office. As he approached, he saw Tucker wrapped in a blanket
and lounging on a cot. John wasn’t sure if this was the wisest
thing to do, but the boy wanted to make sure no one made off with
their items. There had been no talking him out of it.

“You set for the night, Tuck? Need
anything?”

“Nope. I’m fine right here.”

John nodded and made his way inside the
cleaned-out building. With much of the excess accumulation removed,
the rooms appeared bigger.

“Lily home safely?” Bixby asked from his seat
at the kitchen table.

“Yeah.” John went over to the sink and leaned
forward, peering into the plate-sized mirror hanging on the wall.
He tested his sutures gently. “These are ready; I’m going to take
them out.”

“I was thinking the same thing today. Would
you like me to do it?”

That thought hadn’t even crossed John’s mind.
He could see the old man in the reflection, looking at him in
eagerness. “Sure.”

Bixby’s chair scraped back nosily, causing
the kitten to race out of the room. Bixby laughed. “Come on into
the examination room where there’s more light.”

The senior doctor pulled out a stool for
John, who sat down submissively. Bixby moved around the office with
ease, gathering cotton, antiseptic and tweezers. Pawing through a
drawer, he extracted a tiny pair of scissors. He washed his hands,
pulled a stool up close to John, then picked up a magnifying glass.
Leaning in close, he examined the wound.

“I’m still impressed,” Bixby said softly.
“Who done the stitching?”

John couldn’t suppress a smile. “It was Lily.
I don’t know if I could’ve done better myself.”

Bixby set the heavy glass magnifier down and
picked up the scissors, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his
nose. “I have to agree with you on that. You using the salve I gave
you?”

“Every day. As a matter of fact I’m almost
out.”

“I’ll mix up some more tomorrow.”

There was a little stinging when Bixby pulled
the first suture, but John ignored it with effort. “What happened
to Tucker’s hand?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Comancheros cut it off. For fun. His parents
and some other folks were traveling somewhere, to California I
think, from what I could get out of the boy. They were attacked and
robbed. Everyone was tortured and killed. They left the boy for
dead, but a miner stumbled upon the grisly site and brought him
here to Rio Wells. He was just a little pup, about five years old.
Cute as a bug’s ear.” Bixby pulled out the last stitch and leaned
back. “He’s been with me ever since.”

John thought about the energetic youth so
eager to help and a thought crossed his mind. Perhaps some of the
savages who mutilated Tucker were the same ones who attacked his
coach. The ones he’d killed. He hoped so.

Opening up a drawer, the older doctor handed
John a small hand mirror. “What do you think?”

The wound had closed up and the tissue wasn’t
quite as bright red as it’d been for the last few days. For as bad
as the slash had been he was pleased with the healing progress,
though there clearly was going to be a noticeable scar. “Looks
good. Without the stitches it feels better, too.”

N
ow that the
stage was in the homestretch and the driver said they’d reach Rio
Wells in the next hour, Charity’s stomach felt queasy and her mouth
was dry as straw. Her idea had sounded so clever when she’d decided
to surprise John, just show up on his doorstep, but now that she
was almost there, she wasn’t so sure. The trip had been a long and
body-jarring experience. She’d much prefer to travel the distance
on a horse. Oh, how her back and neck ached. Plus, she was worn out
and grimy.

Sadly, the mother with the cute little boy
who’d boarded with her in Y Knot had stayed behind in Denver,
leaving her trapped with Theodore Browning smiling at her in his
every waking moment. If she’d known Theodore was going to follow
her all the way to Rio Wells, she would’ve told him to not bother.
She didn’t need a chaperone, and while she didn’t think her
brothers had put him up to it, she wasn’t sure. But she was sure of
one thing. She had tired of making conversation with him days ago.
Thank goodness he was nice and had an engaging way about him. And
with his thick black hair and handsome face, wasn’t hard to look at
either.

“Excited?” Theodore asked. “We’re almost
there.”

Charity nodded. “Extremely. It’s been almost
three years since I’ve seen John.” She twisted the hankie in her
hands until it was as narrow as a ribbon. Would John be furious at
her arrival? The last thing she wanted to do was get into a
fight.

“He knows you’re headed his way then? This
isn’t a surprise?”

Astonished, Charity gaped at Theodore.
“Actually, it is a surprise. How did you know?”

He looked down at the white knuckled grip she
had on the piece of cloth she held. “Don’t be nervous. I’m sure
he’ll be awfully happy to see you.”

Charity smiled in an attempt to convince
herself. “Yes, he will. We’re very close. I can’t remember a time
he’s ever been upset with me.” Well, except the instance she’d
opened a matchbox filled with grasshoppers in his bedroom, or when
she’d told Mary Lou he wanted to marry her, or spilled the beans to
Pa that he’d gone fishing when he was supposed to be minding the
herd. A half dozen other times paraded through her mind and she
pushed them aside.

“Well, all brothers and sisters have a tussle
of some sort or another, don’t they?” Afterwards, she and John
always made up and were conspirators all the same.

“Of course.”

She glanced out the window in an attempt to
clear her mind of worry. Then there was the family back in Montana.
Had anyone discovered yet that she wasn’t in Denver, as she’d told
them she’d be? Had Brandon?

“I think I’ll drop in on him as soon as we
get into town,” Theodore said, straightening his sleep-rumpled
clothes.

“Why? For your sleeping sickness?”

He let out a chortle. “You’re funny,
Charity.”

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t very nice of me.” She
gave him a teasing smile.

He chuckled on for a few more seconds. “I
never got a chance to really know you very well in Y Knot. You
always had all your big brothers hanging around. Heck, I don’t
think we’ve ever even spoken to each other, have we? I mean,
besides this trip?” He gave her a puppy dog look of love.