A Cowboy for Christmas (13 page)

“I thought our new friend might be a little cold, so I was going to give her some warmer clothes to wear.”

“You want me to take them to her?” he offered.

“Sure,” Nick replied. He gave Steve the clothes and then followed him back out into the main room. He watched as the boy hurried over to where Lacey was standing all by herself.

“Here!” Steve said. “Reverend Miller said these are for you!”

“Why, thank you, Steve.” Lacey took the offered clothing and looked across the room to see the preacher standing there watching her. “And you, too, Reverend.”

“You’re welcome,” Steve said proudly. “Are you gonna put them on now, so you’ll stay warm?”

“Yes, I am,” she told him. “I’ll be right back.”

Lacey knew the married couple was watching her, so she hurried off into the room she’d been told was the women’s sleeping room, and she shut the door. She took off her coat and quickly shed the red dress. As she threw it down on one of the cots, she knew she never wanted to wear it again. She took off her socks and her boots and unlaced her corset. As big and baggy as the preacher’s clothes were going to be on her, she didn’t see the need to wear it any longer. She stripped off her garters and stockings, and then pulled on the pants. They were way too large for her. In fact, she knew they wouldn’t stay up unless she could figure out something to use as a belt. She took one look at her garters and quickly fastened them together. A makeshift belt was better than none, and she was right. It was tight enough to keep the pants from slipping down. Lacey donned the shirt. It, too, was far too big, but she didn’t care. She tucked it into the waist of the pants and then put on her socks and boots again.

Lacey had just started from the room when she caught sight of her own reflection in the small mirror over the washstand. She stopped to stare at herself. The Lacey who’d worked at the saloon had disappeared. The girl looking back at her with her hair straggling down, wearing men’s clothes, looked like a total stranger.

Only then did she realize just how dirty she was from all the riding and walking she’d done. She went to the washstand, rolled up the shirtsleeves, and quickly scrubbed her face and arms clean. She longed for a real bath or even a brush to tend to her hair, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, she tore a small piece of ribbon off her dress and used it to tie her hair back.

Lacey took one last quick look in the mirror and knew this was as good as it was going to get. She smiled at the thought that if she cut her hair off, she might even pass for a boy, dressed in the baggy clothes she was wearing. She doubted Phil would even have been able to recognize her then, not that he would chase after her this far, but it did make her feel better knowing she would never have to go back to working for him again. Somehow, she would survive. Lacey got her small change purse out of her coat pocket and put it in her pants pocket before going back out into the main room. She had to keep it with her. She couldn’t risk losing what little money she had.

“Oh—” Mrs. Wilson looked shocked at Lacey’s attire as she came back into the main room.

Lacey had expected the other woman to react this way, and she slanted her an easy smile. “These clothes are definitely warmer than what I was wearing. Thank you, Reverend Miller.”

The Wilsons went to sit in two chairs before the fireplace so they could ignore the others.

Steve and Nick were seated at the main table and they both looked over at Lacey and smiled.

“You look like a boy!” Steve laughed in his innocent way.

“I know,” she returned, laughing, too, as she went to join them at the table. She sat across from the reverend, next to the boy.

“I’m glad the clothes worked out for you.”

“So am I.”

Right then the stage driver came in.

“Well, ain’t that a change!” he said, catching sight of her dressed that way for the first time. “All right, girly, I need some money from you now. Nobody gets a free ride on my stage.”

“I know,” Lacey replied. She got up from the table and went to talk with him quietly. She didn’t want anyone to know how desperate she was. “How much is it to Sagebrush?”

He quoted her the price, and she knew she wasn’t going to Sagebrush.

“How far can I get on twenty-five cents?” she asked.

As quiet as she was trying to be, Nick and Steve could still hear their conversation. Steve looked up at him, his expression anxious after he realized just how poor she was.

“We gotta help her,” Steve said in a low voice, urging him on.

Nick didn’t say anything, he just got up and went to join the conversation. “Steve and I will cover her fare for the rest of the trip to Sagebrush.”

The driver was surprised. “Are you sure, Reverend?”

“Yes.”

The driver told him the cost of her fare, and Nick paid him.

“All right,” the driver said. “You’re going to Sagebrush.”

Lacey went back to sit at the table with Steve.

“Reverend Miller takes care of everything,” Steve said with confidence.

“So I’m finding out,” she replied. Once the reverend sat down across from them again, she offered, “I’m going to pay you back. Take what I’ve got here and—”

“Don’t even think about it,” he said.

“I don’t like owing people.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“But—”

Nick cut her off. “Consider it an early Christmas present.”

Humbled, Lacey looked up at him, knowing she’d never met anyone like the reverend and Steve before.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, and she meant it.

Penny stared out the window at the now vaguely familiar Texas landscape and knew their long trip would soon be over. She was almost home—with her father. The driver had told them when they’d started out that morning that they would make it to Sagebrush that very day, and she couldn’t wait.

As excited as she was, though, her mood was torn between the thrill of finally being back and uneasiness over what kind of reception she was going to get from her father. He obviously wanted her with him or he wouldn’t have sent Dan all the way to St. Louis to get her, but she couldn’t help wondering, as the moment of their reunion drew near, what he would think of her. She certainly knew how she’d felt when she’d never heard from him for so long, and she was sure he believed the same about her—that she didn’t love him or care about him. Starting this afternoon when they were reunited she was going to make every effort to convince him that she had nothing to do with her mother’s and her aunt’s deception. She just hoped he would believe her.

“Penny, are you all right?” Dwylah asked when
she noticed how quiet she had become and how serious her expression was.

“Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking about my father. It’s been so long. Do you think he’ll be in town to meet us, Dan?”

“I don’t know. I sent the wire to let them know when we’d be arriving, so it will probably depend on how he’s feeling.”

“I hope he’s there.”

“So do I,” he agreed.

It was midafternoon when the stage made its way down the main street of Sagebrush to the stage office to drop off the passengers and see about picking up new ones. When they came to a halt in front of the office, the driver jumped down and opened the door for them. Dan climbed out first, while the driver and the man riding shotgun went to unload their bags.

“We’re here,” Dan said as he helped Penny and Dwylah down from the stage.

Penny looked quickly around, hoping to find her father there waiting for her. She was sure she would still recognize him even after all this time, but she saw no sign of him anywhere and her spirits fell.

A man came out of the stage office just then to greet them.

“Good to see you made it back, Dan.” He went to shake Dan’s hand.

“Finally,” Dan replied.

The man looked to the two women with Dan and quickly introduced himself. “I’m Ben Harper, the clerk here in Sagebrush. I take it you’re Miss Anderson?”

“Yes, I’m Penny Anderson, and this is Miss Carpenter, my traveling companion and chaperone.”

“Well, Miss Anderson, it’s nice to meet you. You, too, Miss Carpenter. Looks like Dan did a fine job getting you here.”

“Yes, he did,” Dwylah agreed.

“Is Jack in town, Ben?” Dan asked.

“No. One of the hands came in earlier by himself to wait for you to show up. Why don’t you come on in the office while I send for him?”

“Thank you.” Penny and Dwylah started to follow him, leaving their bags outside.

“You don’t have to send for him. I’ll go find him,” Dan offered as he held the office door open for them. He knew Lou was probably the one who’d come to pick them up, and he knew right where his friend would be biding his time, waiting for the stage to pull in. “I’ll be right back.”

Penny sat down next to Dwylah on the small bench near the office door to await Dan’s return.

“Are you all right, dear?” Dwylah asked, seeing the look of sadness in the young woman’s eyes. She had thought Penny would be excited when they finally arrived in town.

“It’s my father. I know he’s ill, but I was hoping he would be here.”

“I understand,” she sympathized, knowing she was finally going to have to face the reality of her father’s weakened and deteriorating condition. “Is it a long ride out to the ranch?”

“About half an hour.”

“If he’s as ill as Dan said he was, he’s probably better off staying on the ranch waiting for you there to save his strength.”

“I know.” Penny sighed and looked out the window at the main street of the town. Wanting to distract herself for a moment, she added, “Sagebrush has grown since I’ve been away.”

“Really?” Dwylah was surprised. There didn’t seem to be much to this “town” now, so she could only imagine what it had been like when her mother had taken her away all those years ago.

“It was only about half this size when we left.”

“Are you looking forward to staying here permanently?”

“I think so.”

“It’s going to be a hard decision for you, I know, so I’ll stay on with you for as long as you want me to.”

She was thankful for the offer and her mood lightened a bit as she teased her, “Forever?”

Dwylah teased back, “You never know. If I can get Danny to go find the justice of the peace with me, I won’t be going anywhere—at least, I
wouldn’t be going anywhere without him!” She got a smile out of Penny, and that was what she’d been hoping for. She patted her hand affectionately. “You’ll be back with your father very soon now. This is the day you’ve been waiting for, for so long, and it’s finally here.”

Penny lifted her hopeful gaze to hers. “Yes, it is.”

“You want another whiskey, Lou?” Mike, the bartender, asked as he came back, bottle in hand, to where the ranch hand from the Lazy Ace was standing at the bar.

“No, I’m just having the one today,” Lou said as he pushed his empty glass back across to him. “I’ve got to be ready to leave for the ranch as soon as Dan shows up with the girl.”

“You’re a strong-willed man, Lou,” Mike told him with a chuckle. “It isn’t often I get turned down on a refill.”

“Some days I am, but not always,” Lou said, but he wasn’t laughing. There wasn’t much right now to laugh about. “Ben said he didn’t know if the stage was going to be on time or not today.”

“He’s right. You never know when it’s going to pull in. There are days when we’re lucky if they get here at all.”

“Let’s hope this isn’t one of those days. Jack’s been waiting for this moment for a real long time.”

“How’s he been holding up?” Mike had heard
the talk around town about the rancher being sick and his daughter coming back.

“It’s hit him real hard. He’s used to being strong, and it doesn’t suit him to be this weak and to have to rely on others.”

“Then it’s good his girl is coming back. I remember when Jack’s wife took off with her. Jack loved that little girl, but times were harder back then and, I guess, his wife had had enough.”

They got no chance to say any more, for right then Dan came walking into the saloon.

“Well, look who’s here!” Mike said.

“Dan! Good to see you,” Lou greeted him.

“We just got here. The women are waiting for us down at the stage office. How have things been going?” he asked, coming to join Lou at the bar. He wanted to hear the worst of Jack’s condition away from the women.

“He’s about the same as when you left. He doesn’t get out of the house much, but he is still up and moving.”

Dan was relieved to hear it. “Good. I’ve been worrying about him.”

“Let’s get the carriage and go home. I think he might be real glad to see you, what do you think?”

“I think you’re right, and I’m going to be real glad to see him.”

“How’s his little girl?”

“She’s not a ‘little girl’ anymore,” Dan told him.

“All grown up, is she?”

“That she is,” Dan declared.

As soon as Penny heard the carriage pull up in front of the stage office, she was out the door and ready to go, eager to be reunited with her father at last.

“Lou?” Penny couldn’t believe it when she found herself face-to-face with one of her favorite ranch hands from her childhood. Unable to resist, she ran straight to him and gave him a hug.

Lou hadn’t been sure what to expect, but the moment he saw her, he recognized her. He returned her hug and then held her back to get a good look at her. “Penny, gal, you are all grown up, just like Dan told me.”

“It’s so good to see you,” she told him, smiling up at him, and then she quickly introduced him to Dwylah.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Lou tipped his hat to the older woman. “Thanks for taking such good care of our little Penny here.”

“It wasn’t easy. She’s a wild one, that girl, but Danny and I managed,” she told him.

Dan had just finished putting the last bag in the back of the carriage. “Looks like we’re ready to go.”

“Tell Jack I said hello,” Ben offered as he watched them get ready to leave.

“I will,” Dan promised. He turned back to help the women into the carriage before climbing up to sit with Lou for the ride back.

“Be sure to hold on as best you can,” Lou advised the women. “The road’s a rough one.”