Weathered Too Young (42 page)

There was no more time to plan.
Tom may have found Slater by now, and though she was not sure of the depth of his feelings for her, Lark knew Slater cared for her—that he would return to the house once his brother had told him of Charlie’s discover
y
and Lark’s reaction to it.

She glanced to the barn—to the corrals.
There was no sign of Slater, Tom
,
or the other Evans ranch cowboys.
Lifting her skirt with one hand and holding tight to her carpetbag with the other, Lark stepped down off the porch.
She would run—run as fast as her legs would carry
her
.
If she could make it to town, perhaps she could find a room at the inn
,
for she was not so destitute as she had been when first she’d arrived.
Slater and Tom had paid
her
well to be their cook and housekeeper—even increased her wages once Katherine and the children had arrived.
Having spent very little of her collected wages, Lark knew she could easily survive until she found other means of work—even for months if need be.

Creeping toward the barn, Lark slipped to one side of it, inching her way down its length with her back to the outer wall
,
keeping her attention on the house.

“What you runnin’ from, baby?” Slater asked.

Lark gasped—turned to see Slater standing behind her
,
a furious glare furrowing his brow.

“You,” she said, bursting into tears.

“That’s what I thought,” he said.

She gasped once more as he snatched the carpetbag from her hand.
Bending over
,
he placed one broad shoulder in
to
Lark’s midsection, effortlessly lifting her onto one shoulder
.
Lark had seen him lift grain and flour sacks this way
,
carry
ing
them to the cellar.
But grain and flour sacks didn’t wriggle and move.

“Put me down!” she cried, weakly beating on his back with her fists.
“You won’t care that I’m leaving once I’ve told you!”

“Oh, I’ll put you down all rig
ht,” he growled, stepping
into the barn.
“After I’ve tanned yer fanny!”

Lark yelped with astonishment as Slater rather tossed
her off his shoulder to land
softly in a pile of straw.
Glaring at her a moment, he dropped her carpetbag and folded strong arms against a broad chest.

“
Tom tells me that you don’t take to
o
kindly to lawmen,” he said.
“Especially ones who
’ve been keepin’ secrets
.”

“You don’t understand,” she began.

“I understand that I shoulda told you before,” he said.
There was pain in his voice—regret in his expression.
“I shoulda told you, Lark…but now you know why I was afraid to.
I’d knew you run from
me
when
—”

“Don’t you see?” Lark cried
,
burying her face in her hands.
“It’s not you!
It’s not beautiful, wonderful you, Marshal Evans!
It’s me
!
”

“Lark
—”
he began, taking a step toward her.

“Stop!
Stop!
Don’t come near me!” she cried.
“Don’t you see
? I
t’s not that you’re a lawman
. W
hat would be the wrong
in
that?
It’s…it’s which lawman you are!”

“Lark,” he said
,
“I don’t understand.”

“
Do you recognize the name
Eddie Dean W
akl
ey
?
”
she
asked, holding up a hand in a gesture
that
he should not move closer to her.

Slater paused
—frowned—shrugged
.
“
What does that have to do with the
shade
of General Lee
’
s drawers?
”
he asked.

“
Do you remember him?
” she asked
,
again.
“You’re the
US
m
arshal who tracked him down
,
aren’t
you
?
You’re the
m
arshal who took him to the state prison in
Texas
…aren’t you
?
”

Confusion was plain on Slater’s face as he nodded.
“
Yes
,
it was me…maybe eight…maybe nine years ago
.
But I don’t understand
—”

“
Do you remember when you found him?
”
she asked.

“
Well, sure,
but
—
”

“
Tell me about it, Slater.
Tell me about the day you found the outlaw Eddie Dean Wakley.
”

“Baby, please
—”
Slater began.

“Just tell me, Slater!” she cried.
“Just tell me!”

Slater took a deep breath
—ran a hand through his hair
.

“
All right.
All right.
Though I don’t see what this has to do with
—”

“Just tell me, Slater.
Please.”

“I was…I was down in south
Texas
,
almost
to
Mexico
. He was holed up in
El Paso
.
Eddie Dean Wakley
was
as bad as the
y come
,
and
I
’
d been chasin
’
him
for months.
I chased him halfway to
Canada
and
then all the way back to
Texas
before I finally cornered him.”
He paused, shaking his head in frustration.
“Baby
,
can’t I just kiss you and settle you on down that way?
I don’t see wh
at this has
to do with why you’re runnin’ from me.”

“
You chased him to
Texas
,” Lark prodded, however.
“And…”

“
And
…
and what?
”
he
growled
.

2

“
And
…
and who was with him when you found him?
”
Lark asked, biting her lip to try and keep from melting into sobbing once more.

“
Baby,
I don
’
t know
,” he said, shaking his head.
“I don’t know
. H
e was holed up in the upstairs of a saloon.
I pistol whipped him and…”

He paused
,
his eyes narrowing.
Lark wiped
at her
tears with her sleeve.

“
He had a wife,” he said, lowering his voice.
Lark’s heart began to hammer as she wondered when complete realization would take hold of him.
“She was a pretty
thing. I
remember I
felt so guilty somehow takin
’
him away and leavin
’
her there
…
but I figured she
’
d be better off anyhow. He
’
d been draggin
’
her all over
creation…her and the little girl.”
He paused again, inhaled a deep breath
,
rubbed at his whiskery chin with one hand.
“
I hate
d
to think
on
how he treated
that little girl
. S
he looked just like her mama…a lovely little thing she was. I remember her mama called her Birdie…but that wasn’t her real name.”

Lark watched as
Slater was then rinsed with
recognition.

“
Her mama called her Lark,” he whispered.
“That was the name of Eddie Dean Wakley’s
little girl
.
Wasn
’
t it?
”

Lark nodded.
“Lark
Medora
Wakley,” she whispered.
“
Lawrence
was
my mother’s maiden name.”

He was quiet a moment—glanced away from her.
She saw him swallow
,
saw his eyes mist with moisture.

“Are you runnin’ from me because you hate me for takin’ your daddy to prison…for leavin’ you and your mama with no man to look after you?” he asked.
“Or are you runnin’ because you thought I’d give a damn who your daddy was?”

“
My mother always thanked God for you in her prayers,” Lark whispered.
“Every night until she died
,
she thanked God for bringing you to us…for making you a strong enough man to take my father and set us free.
I thanked God for you too.”

Slater glanced away a moment
,
and Lark could see his jaw clenching and unclenching to bridle his emotion.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that m
y father was an outlaw…
even if he is dead.
He died in prison
,
but he was an outlaw…
no better than Samson Kane,” she
added
.

Slater shook his head.
“Eddie Dean Wakley
robbed
trains and banks, Lark,”
he said
.
“
H
e murdered people…but he didn’t torture
’
em first
. H
e wasn’t the monster Samson Kane is.”

He studied her a moment
,
and she brushed more tears from her cheeks.
He wasn’t glaring at her—wasn’t looking at her with an expression of revulsion the way she’d expected him to.

“Did you really think I’d care about it…about your daddy bein’ an outlaw?” he asked.
Through her tears, she thought Slater looked almost wounded.

“Don’t you?” she asked.

“No,” he breathed.

Lark buried her face in her hands, sobbing with relief.
It couldn’t be true!
Surely it couldn’t be!
This was the man who had hunted her father down, taken him to prison.
How could he not care that she was an outlaw’s daughter
?

Still, as she felt his hands on her shoulders—as she looked up to see him hunkered down before her—the truth did begin to pierce her heart.
He didn’t care!
She could see it in his eyes.

“Do you care that I’m an ol’ law dog?” he asked.
“I mean, I did put your daddy in the prison that killed him.”

Lark shook her head.
“I told you,” she whispered, “my mama and I thanked God for you…every night.”
She
smiled at him as he brushed the tears from her cheeks with the back of one hand.
“I guess you’re feeling pretty foolish about now,” she said.

“Well, I’m always feelin’ foolish in one way or the other,” he chuckled.
“But why do you say it?”

Lark smiled.
“Because you were worried
over me finding out about
your
past,” she said.

Slater sank to his knees, gathering Lark into his arms as he laughed.
He chuckled.

“
Is that what you were going to tell me yesterday, Slater?
” she whispered, letting her forehead rest against his neck as he held her.
“You were going to tell me the truth, weren’t you?
About who you really are?”

“
I was gonna tell you the truth about somethin’ anyway,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
He was so warm—
so strong.
She heard him chuckle again.

“What has you so amused?” she asked.

“It kinda reminds me of some of them tales ya hear that ya know somebody just made up,” he said.
“A
United States
m
arshal…fallin’ for the daughter of an outlaw he once rode down?
Who’s gonna believe that?”

Lark pulled herself from his arms
,
studied his face a moment.
What was he saying?
Was he confessing his feelings for
her at last?
He smiled, cupping
her chin in his hand.

“Yes, Lark,” he said, grinning at her.
“I have fallen for an outlaw’s daughter.”

“H-how fallen are you?” she asked.

“Well, we’ll talk about that later,” he said.
“If I start talkin’ about it now…well, let’s just say I got an out
law to be wary of
.
”
He smiled, placed a soft kiss to her lips
,
and whispered, “And so do you…
’
cause you do bring out the scoundrel in me, Miss Lark.”

Lark smiled
and
whispered, “Y-you really don’t care who I am?”

“Of course I care who you are, baby,” he whispered against her mouth.
“I just don’t care who your daddy was.”

Oh, his kiss was
the
flavor of paradise!
Heated and drive
n
, Slater’s kiss sealed Lark’s hopes
. H
e loved her!
She recognized it now—recognized the consuming love his kiss conveyed to her soul!
He pushed her back in the straw pile as his mouth endeavored to consume the passion of hers.

All at once, however, he pulled away from her
,
pulling her to her feet in the same motion.

“This ain’t safe for you,” he mumbled.
“And not just be
cause there’s an outlaw roamin’,
”
he added.
The mischievous smile she so adored accompanied a playful wink.
Kissing her hard
on the mouth
once more,
he picked up her carpetbag, taking hold of her hand and leading
her
from the barn
.



“Will it be tonight?” Johnny asked as everyone sat at the table for supper.

Katherine and Lark had fed a nice supper to Eldon, Grady
,
and Ralston while Slater and Tom kept watch from the front and back porches of the house.
Now the cowboys took their watch while Slater and Tom had a meal.

Slater shrugged as he chewed a bite of his supper.

“I don’t know, Johnny,” he said.
“Ol’ Samson…he’s either hidin’ like a rat
or strikin’ like a snake.”
He looked at Johnny, adding, “But don’t worry
. W
e’ll be rid of him soon enough.”

“Who is Samson Kane, Uncle Slater?” Charlie asked then.
“And why does he want to kill you?”

“
Hush now,
Charlie
. We don
’
t
need to talk about it now,
”
Katherine said.

Yet
Slater looked up from
his meal.

“Secrets…it ain’t good to keep some of
’
em, Charlie,” Slater said.
“Most of
’
em probably.”
He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“I reckon it’s about time I quit ignorin’ where I been.
After all, it made me who I am.”
He glanced to Lark and smiled
.
“And I guess maybe that’s a good thing.”

Lark smiled.
Indeed it was a good thing. Whatever happened to make Slater the man she loved—whether it was birth, experience
,
or both—it was a good thing.

“Well,” Slater began, “m
e and my daddy didn’t ge
t along together most of the time,
Charlie. My mama always said it
was because we were too much a
like.”

“Amen,” Tom mumbled.

Katherine nudged Tom with one elbow, quietly scolding him.

Slater grinned and continued, “
I wanted to be my own man
…
wanted to see
the whole of this great country of ours.
I
wanted to ride free in the open
,
herd cattle
,
and sleep out under the stars.
So
when I was near
to Johnny’s age…a might older…
I left.
I was big for my age and pretty full of myself too
. S
o I hired on to cowboy for a rancher who was drivin’ a herd out to
Texas
.” The children were entranced—and so was Lark.
She’d wondered about Slater Evans from the moment she’d met him—wondered about his past and why he felt so weathered.

“I c
owboyed for near
to
five
years.
Then one day, a band of rustlin’ outlaws scattered the herd I was helpin’ drive.
They killed six of my good friends.
I won’t go into it all now
,
but I ended up a deputy i
n a little
ol
’
town
in south
Texas
.
I had me a reputation soon enough
,
and to cut into the meat
,
by
the time I was twenty-
one
, I was
United States Marshal William S. Evans.”

Slater smiled at Lark
,
his eyes smoldering with emotion.

He loves me
, she thought.

The children were completely enthralled
,
and Slater continued,
“
I took
down
a good
many outlaws…real bad men
,
some of
’
em.
The governor of
Texas
even give me a set of pistols for bringin’ in a bad hom
b
re named Samson Kane.”

“Samson Kane?” Charlie asked
,
his eyes as wide as supper plates.

“Yep,” Slater said.
“Samson Kane was ab
out the worst I ever run into. Killed folks, scalped
I
ndians, robbed banks
—
you name it
…
he done it. He went by Samson
’
cause he never cut his hair.
He let it
grow all long and
straggly…then
braided
it
like a
woman.