The Outlaw Bride (23 page)

“We were gone, so Josie stepped in. Where’s the brother?”

“That’s the trouble,” Will said. “Nobody’s seen Ben since.”

“So the younger brother stole the money and left the older one to take the blame?”

Will shook his head. “Honestly? I don’t think so. Bear Claw says that Ben was hurt, too. He tracked him to where he crossed paths with a missionary wagon train and his trail disappeared.”

“You think they took him in?”

“I do. And I don’t think Ben shot his own brother. According to what I’ve been able to find out, they kept to themselves, ran the ranch alone. Weren’t the most successful ranchers here’bouts, but they were brothers and they were close.”

“So you find the wagon train and you find the truth.”

“That’s what I figured and what I’m trying to do. I’ve sent word to all the telegraph stations from here to Oregon and all the forts and law officers from here to California. Nobody’s seen them. Then Josie broke Callahan out of jail
and brought him here. I caught them inside Perryman’s bank.”

Dan swore. “Josie must have been desperate. Is there more to this than compassion for a client?”

“I think Josie has fallen for the outlaw, Dan, and she’s determined to get him off. I’ve locked Callahan in the livery owner’s quarters. We had to construct a lock that Josie couldn’t pick. Unless she takes it apart board by board, I think he’ll be safe until the judge gets here.”

“What about the man Callahan? How do you read him?”

“He’s a tough case, prickly as a cactus. Ellie says he’s in love with Josie—he just doesn’t know it yet.”

“This Ellie, she’s the saloon girl?”

Will bristled. “She was. Folks can’t call her that anymore.”

Dan smiled at his old friend. It was good that Will was finally getting over his quiet crush on Josie. Josie had always looked at Will as a friend. And because of the difference in their ages, Will had never pursued her. “Do I detect a touch of defensiveness in your voice, Will?”

Will studied the ground for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess you do. Ellie’s too young for me, but she doesn’t seem to care.”

“And you, Will? Do you care about what she was?”

“Hell, no. Out here I figure every person can be whatever he can be. Guess that means women, too. Otherwise, you and me would have been in a peck of trouble with Dr. Annie and Josie.”

“You’re right about that,” Dan said. “At least Laura is still a little girl, though this infatuation with HMS Pinafore and the stage when we were in New York makes me a little uneasy Still, we have plenty of time to direct her otherwise.” He let out a dry laugh and started toward
the bank. “But then, I thought the same thing about Josie. By the way, apparently Josie ordered an extra thousand dollars. What’s that for?”

“Josie’s not only going into the cattle business, she’s going into competition with Perryman. She’s lending the ranchers the money to pay their overdue notes. I’m thinking that the candidate for territorial governor is going to be one angry banker.”

“What do you think, Teddy? Is Josie in over her head?”

“Sinclair, I’m worried. I know we’ve taught her how to handle herself, but I’m thinking she might need a little help here.”

The two grandfathers watched Annie, Josie, and Laura climb the stairs. They pulled out cigars and matches and, under the guise of “having a smoke,” started out the door.

Teddy Miller stopped and turned back to the hotel manager. “By the way, where does the sheriff have Mr. Callahan locked up?”

“Directly across the street.”

There were several horses tied along the rail in front of the buildings. Rough-dressed cowboys gathered in clusters, eyeing Teddy Miller and Roylston Sinclair on one side of the street and Dan Miller and Will Spencer on the other.

Sinclair took in the calm and recognized the unrest beneath it. “Maybe we’d better have a little talk with the prisoner, just to see for ourselves.”

“Agreed,” Teddy said, and sauntered casually into the street. “We’re going to need transportation to the ball. I suppose we’d better see what we can rustle up in that livery stable.”

“Bad choice of words,” Sinclair muttered. “It’s just as
well these men don’t know you’re still a master criminal when it comes to finding cash when you need it.”

“At least that runs in the family,” Teddy said, and lit his cigar. “Look at Josie. Who else do you know who could turn a hundred dollars into ten thousand and never spend a penny of it?”

“Not Annie,” Sinclair said with a smile. “If she had it, she’d give it away, just like Josie is about to do.”

The men stopped on the other side of the street and nodded at each other.

“Josie isn’t a blood relative to either one of them. I think we did real good in teaching her to be the best of both,” Sinclair said. “But this Callahan fella may be a problem.”

They both made a beeline for the livery stable.

16
 

Eli sat on the hard board seat next to Jacob, holding on to the edge as the wagon lurched down the rutted trail. The oxen plodded, swishing their tails to discourage the ever-present swarm of insects that flew along like escorts, vying for a choice spot on the oxen’s rump.

“How come we haven’t seen any other wagons?” Jacob asked his young companion. “You’d think there would be a lot of people going west.”

Eli grinned, showing a wide space where his two top teeth should have been. “There are. Lots of them ride the rails now, but we couldn’t bring Mama’s things on the train. And she wouldn’t come out here without them. You ever ride a train?”

“I don’t know. There are so many things I don’t remember about my life before. I guess trains are just another one of them. But I’d think a train would be a lot better way to travel than this.”

“Me, too, but Brother Joshua talked to the Lord, and the Lord gave him a vision of the way to do things. The scout he hired back in St. Louis said we could save a whole month if we go this way.”

Jacob didn’t have to have his memory back to understand that the wagon train was also cheaper. He suspected that money, along with control, directed Brother Joshua’s actions. “Your pa agree with him?”

“Pa, he ain’t much for knowing things like that. He just believes in Brother Joshua.”

“And your ma? What does she think?”

Eli’s eyes dropped. “My ma, well, she ain’t strong like Miss Rachel. Whatever Brother Joshua and Pa says, she don’t argue ’bout.”

Strong like Miss Rachel.
Jacob smiled. The boy was right. Rachel was a strong woman. She knew what she wanted and she went after it. They needed supplies, she had said, though from what he could tell they still had plenty. In a few more days they’d reach the fort, where they could replenish their stores, but she had insisted on riding to the trading post with the others. She never made an issue of it, but he understood what she was doing. She was protecting him. A trading post was less of a threat to a man who didn’t know who he was. A fort was bound by laws.

But the post was isolated and there were Indians about. “Isn’t Brother Joshua worried about Indians? I heard one of the other men say that some of them are still pretty unhappy with our invasion of their land.”

“Brother Joshua says the Lord will protect us. Me? I’m plenty scared of ’em.” Eli reached into his back pocket and pulled out a sling made from a piece of leather attached to a rope. “But I got me a weapon. I just
put a rock in here, twirl it around, and let go. You got a gun?”

“No, I don’t. But I’m thinking I might need one.”

The sun was straight overhead now, beaming down like a hot hickory fire upon the travelers. They moved slowly across the arid plains, which had only shadeless shrub trees and a smattering of thick, tall grass. Jacob tugged the old felt hat Rachel had given him lower over his eyes and looked down at his hands. He wore leather gloves that spoke of use, but it was not the kind of rough, hard work a trained hand or a driver might subject his gloves to. His boots were scuffed and worn, although still in good shape. But a gun? He had no recollection of owning one. Had he lived an easier life than some of the men on this trip?

Easier than Rachel’s?

The wagon train had decided to travel slowly and eat on the move. Refilling their water kegs was becoming a concern, and the Green River was just ahead. Rachel had left biscuits and salt pork in a flour sack. Jacob shared the food with Eli, who sipped warm water from the keg to wash it down. The boy was so thin that he looked half starved.

Jacob was beginning to worry about Rachel, until he heard her singing. In the open spaces her pure and angel-like voice reached him long before he saw the line of horses that announced the return of Brother Joshua and his party.

The scout and Brother Joshua peeled off at the front of the train, leaving Jacob’s wife to find her way to the back.

His wife?
That was a thought he’d forced himself not to dwell on. They were married in the eyes of God, but until he knew who he was, it could be no more.

Still, he was aware of her quiet beauty, her kindness, the brightness in her eyes, and her optimism. He couldn’t imagine what she must have been through with a husband who was sick. Jacob suspected he used that sickness to avoid work. A healthy man might go out west on his own or with his family, seeking a better future, but Jacob couldn’t understand a crippled man forcing a tiny woman to endure such risks and unknown hardships.

As Rachel approached the wagon, her gaze caught Jacob’s, and for a moment he felt a connection. He knew she felt something, too.

As if she’d revealed too much, she dropped her chin and slid off Eli’s horse. Her dusty travel dress caught for a moment on the stirrups and exposed trim, shapely legs that sent a spasm of desire up Jacob’s spine.

Rachel removed her packages and carryall and handed Eli the reins, along with a packet of folded brown paper. “This is for you, Eli,” she said. “It’s rock candy, for a fine young boy, the kind I wanted to have.”

The boy’s eyes lit up. “Candy? For me?” He glanced around, fearful that someone would take his prize, then crammed it into his pocket.

“Thank’ee, ma’am,” he said, taking the horse’s reins from her and leading the animal down the train at a trot.

“That was a nice thing you did, Rachel,” Jacob said.

“He’s a nice boy. And I don’t think he gets much loving attention. His mother’s ill. And the father, well, I don’t think saving souls in Oregon is where he belongs. God must have easier work somewhere for a man like him.”

Jacob climbed down, leaving the oxen to plod along behind the wagons in front. He placed Rachel’s packages in the back of the wagon. When he reached for the carryall, Rachel shook her head and scrambled up to the wagon
seat, where she placed the carrying case beneath her feet.

“You must be tired,” she said. “I’ll drive for awhile if you want to stretch your legs.”

There was something odd about Rachel’s gesture. He stood for a minute, puzzled, as she gave the reins a snap and the wagon moved forward. “Rachel. What did you learn? Is there word about a missing man? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Jacob. I wish—” She shook her head and finished. “Nothing’s wrong. The Green River is at least another day ahead. Once we cross it, we’ll head south. My land isn’t more than thirty miles downriver.”

Part of him had hoped she’d learn something—anything—even if it was bad. But the other part was almost happy to keep going. “Your land is that close?”

“Yes.” She hesitated for a minute and added, “Once I leave the wagon train, I’ll find myself a man who’ll work for room and board. I have no right to keep you with me. I know you need to find out who you really are, and I’ve held you up long enough. So if you need to leave, I’ll understand.”

“I do need to know who I am, Rachel. I won’t rest until I do. But I can’t go off and leave you out here alone. Suppose you don’t find someone to help you? God would strike me dead if I did such a thing.”

She let out a deep sigh of relief. “I know it’s selfish of me, but I thank you, Jacob Christopher, for worrying about me.”

Jacob climbed back up to the seat. Rachel had already started to hum when he heard another sound, a low whimper, coming from beneath Rachel’s feet. “What’s that, wife?”

“What? I don’t hear anything,” Rachel said playfully.
She couldn’t help but smile. She wasn’t sure if it was from the excitement she felt about her surprise or because Jacob called her
wife.

He leaned down, lifting Rachel’s skirts, and peered beneath her feet. “Your carrying case appears to be moving.”

“You didn’t think I’d bring Eli a treat and not bring one for you? You can stop looking at my legs, and see what’s in the case.”

“Well, if you give me the choice, I might just prefer looking at your legs.”

At that moment a black shiny nose poked out of Rachel’s carryall. The nose was followed by two sad black eyes, a pair of long ears, and a thin brown body. “A dog?”

“I thought we—you needed a companion. And he needed a home.”

Jacob picked up the scrawny half-grown puppy and felt him snuggle close to his chest. “Do you take in every stray that crosses your path?”

“Just the ones who need help. He doesn’t look as bad as you did, but he sure comes close. When we make camp for the night I suppose I’ll have to cook for three now instead of two. What are you going to call him?”