Boot Hill Bride (34 page)
her mind was stacked with a plethora of other concerns. Yes,
there was the fire, but more than that there was the
indisputable fact that she was worthless. No matter what Lila
and Jessie said, she wasn't fit to be married to a Quinter.
She glanced around. Lila had saved Winifred's life. The
other children would be in a burning hotel right now if Ma,
Willamina, and Eva hadn't carried them out, and Jessie had
probably saved them all. If she hadn't gone upstairs to check
on the children, they all might have perished.
It hurt, crushed her heart like one steps on a bug, this
devastating truth that she didn't belong here—with the family
289
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
she'd come to know and love. She flinched at the pain that
told her it was all her fault. She'd recognized the woman
who'd tripped, dropping Winifred into the pond, and a sixth
sense told her who started the fire. She'd caused nothing but
trouble for the Quinters since she'd snuck into Hog's tent.
Lila laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's hard, isn't it?"
Randi looked up, wondering if she'd said something aloud.
"Being a woman, it's hard, isn't it?" Lila stared at the hotel.
"Men," she said, never pulling her gaze off the fire, "see
everything as an immediate problem that needs to be solved.
They just jump in and put out the fire." She then turned, her
green eyes met Randi's gaze. "But women, we contemplate it
all. We look deep to find the root of the cause, for we know
that's where the real problem lies."
An eerie, hair-on-the-back-of-her-neck-rising sensation
thundered over Randi. She knew the root of the problem. Lila
and Jessie were right, and it was time she fought for what she
wanted. She was the only one who could.
A tiny seed of hope planted itself in her soul. Maybe, just
maybe if she found Belinda, she'd not only find the root of the
problem, but it might be enough to prove she wasn't
worthless. She wasn't a Fulton, she was a Quinter.
Randi twisted, glanced to Ma's tent. Jessie had said to
stand up and fight with all your might, and that's just what
she would do, and knew where to find the tools to do it with.
Ma's hand came to rest on her shoulder. "Don't fret so,"
she said heavily. "Hog never really wanted a hotel. All he's
ever wanted was to cook. That boy's been cooking since he
could reach a pot to stir. It was his brother's who said he
290
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
needed to turn his cooking into a business." She shook her
head. "Nope, all he ever wanted was to cook."
Randi's gaze went back to the men fighting the fire, and
she shivered as if a blast of cold water rained upon her.
291
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
When he took the time to glance over his shoulder,
Howard caught sight of Corrine tugging Randi away from the
pond.
Thank goodness
! The last thing he needed was her to
get hurt fighting the fire. He thrust another bucket into the
pond. It clanked against the bottom with a solid thud. A
second water brigade line had formed, and though the
buckets of water now being tossed on the flames had
doubled, the fire still ate away at the wooden porch. Not only
that, but the pond was almost empty.
His eyes went to the bricks. If they could at least keep the
flames from entering the interior, they had a chance. Bug
appeared at his side, dragging a long coil.
"Kid! Skeeter!" Bug yelled. "Grab this end!"
The older brothers arrived, each grasping a handful.
"What's this?" Skeeter asked.
"It's a fire hose that Snake ordered from New York. He's
hooking up the other end," Bug explained, dragging more
length of the coil forward. "Hog, you and Danny grab it here
in the middle. Snake says to hold on tight, he's got a
pressurized tank down in the hole under the windmill and
says when he turns it on water's gonna shoot out clear to the
sky."
Hog tighten his hold. "Grab on men, if Snake say's it's
pressurized, it's pressurized!"
All of them, Kid, Skeeter, Danny J, and himself, had just
gotten their feet planted in preparation when the thick,
292
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
canvas hose in their arms started to rumble. The next second
the material swelled to ten-times its size and water shot out
the end like buckshot out of Ma's double-barreled shotgun.
It couldn't have taken more than five minutes, but with the
way the hose fought them like a huge, powerful and almost
uncontrollable snake, they were all heaving when Bug
shouted. "Turn it off, Snake! The fire's out!"
The great snake relaxed, fell limp in their grasps, and
joyous shouts, now that the sounds of blasting water no
longer filled the air, could be heard. Hog dropped the hose,
and along with a crowd of others, raced to inspect the
damage. Men moved aside, letting him be the first to tread
upon the soaking ground and charred wood.
It was nothing shy of a miracle, he thought to himself, as
he examined the structure. The porch would have to be torn
down and rebuilt, but other than that, the hotel was
unharmed. The porch door, leading to the kitchen had been
closed. Fire had scorched the outside of the door, but
between the buckets of water and Snake's New York City fire
hose the flames hadn't entered the inside of the building.
He stepped off the porch and raised his hands. "It's fine!
We saved it!"
"I knew that thing would work!" Snake, grinning from ear
to ear stepped forward.
Hog hooked his elbow around Snake's neck. "Damn right,
it worked. I'll never, ever, doubt one of your ideas again."
"Doubt one of his ideas?" Kid, soak and wet from holding
the live end of the water hose, laughed. "Hell, Hog, haven't
you learned by now to never doubt one of your brothers?"
293
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
"Hot damn!" Skeeter yelled and then shook his head like a
wet dog, not caring that droplets from his hair splattered the
crowd. "What you call that thing, Snake?"
"A fire hose," Snake supplied.
"I gotta get me one of those!" Without missing a beat, he
added, "How 'bout you, Kid? You want one. Order us two of
them, Snake. And don't forget the pressurized tanks!"
The crowd, downright jubilant, spent the next several
minutes, laughing and cuffing each other on the back, and
inspecting every inch of damage done by the fire. After a
unanimous decision the repairs could be made in less than a
day, most of the men who'd help fight the fire moseyed back
to the front of the hotel, where the party, now that the scare
was over, was back in full swing, and the Quinter brothers,
along with Danny J, made their way to the tents.
The closer he drew to the tent, the more fearful Howard
became. God, he hoped little Winifred was all right. She'd
appeared to be okay before the fire but had that been a
figment of his imagination? Had Lila really blown life back into
her little body?
He'd experienced some bad things in his life, but nothing
could compare to the moment he saw that little, life-less body
cradled in Kid's arms. The wrenching in his chest had almost
strangled him at that moment. He had an idea as to who the
woman in the black dress had been, and as soon as he saw
for himself that little Winifred was fine and dandy, he'd hunt
down Belinda Fulton and strangle her with his own hands.
He and Jessie had barely started to climb the bedroom
stairs when they heard the pounding. They'd raced into the
294
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
first room, where someone had stuck a chair below the closet
doorknob. He'd tossed the chair aside to wrench open the
door, and seeing all those little babies, crying their little eyes
out, had been enough to make the top of his head blister. The
oldest Timmer girl, Mary, had a bruise on her cheek, the
shape and size of a handprint, from fighting to keep the
black-dress-woman from taking Winifred. But it was the
handful of hair still clutched in the other Timmer girl, Ellie's,
hand that told him exactly who the culprit was.
He had no doubt when he found Belinda Fulton she'd be
missing a clump of coal black hair.
Their arrival at the tents was hectic, the women asking
about the hotel, the men asking about the children, especially
Winifred. Howard wondered why Randi didn't rush to his arms
the way the others rushed to his brothers, but figuring she
was miffed 'cause he wouldn't let her fight the fire, he held up
searching her out until after he took his turn to hold Winifred,
seeing for himself that she was breathing.
Not only was his niece alive, but she was well. Smiling and
cooing at all the men passing her from arm to arm. And even
as young as she was, barely old enough to hold her little head
up, she knew the moment her daddy took her. A big lump
formed in Howard's chest when he handed Winifred to Kid.
His older brother, the one man who would forever seem
larger than life to all the brothers, had tears streaming down
his face when he kissed his daughter and then snuggled her
little head beneath his chin.
295
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
Howard had to blink away the tears forming in his eyes
and took the moment to escape the crowd. He moved to Ma's
tent, expecting that's where he'd find Randi.
It was empty. After peeking in the storage tent, now
holding little more than Ma's sewing machine, he went back
to the crowd.
Settling an arm around Ma, he asked, "Where's Randi?"
Ma, frowning, twisted about. "Ain't she in my tent?"
"No."
"She ain't?" Ma asked, sounding doubtful.
'No, she's not."
"Hey, Lila? You seen Randi?"
Lila peeled herself from Skeeter's chest. "She's in your
tent, isn't she?"
"She was." Jessie had one arm looped around Kid while the
other patted Winifred's little back as the baby snuggled with
her daddy. "She found this material to wrap Winifred in," she
added, pointing to the same material that decorated the
tables at the hotel.
Howard, tired of everyone doubting his discovery, assured
them, "Well, she's not there now. I just looked."
Ma huffed, shaking her head and moved to her tent. "You
boys can't find nothin' lest it jumps at ya."
He followed "I'm telling you, Ma, she's not in there."
She looked anyway, and it was the second time she
glanced about that her gaze settled on his face.
"My gun's gone. And my new rope."
"Shit!" He thrust the flap aside and exited the tent.
"You find her?" Lila asked.
296
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
"No."
Before he could say more, Ma piped in. "My gun's gone.
And my new rope."
"Randi wouldn't take your gun, or rope," Jessie said.
"Maybe she went to the hotel."
"I bet she did," Snake said. "I'll go look."
"We'll all go look," Bug said. "Snake you take the front
yard and foyer. Kid the kitchen and restaurant. Skeeter the
second floor, and Hog you check your apartment. Everyone
meet back at the pond in five minutes."
Howard did pause for a split second, wondering when the
youngest Quinter had become so superior he thought he
could boss everyone around. But the need to find Randi
outweighed any thoughts of Bug and his new found
haughtiness. Besides, he was right, they did need to spread
out, it would make finding her that much faster.
Fifteen minutes later, when the hotel, the grounds, and the
tents had been searched several times over and there was
still no sign of her, Howard's heart was once again failing to
work right. With every beat dread filled his veins.
"She couldn't have gotten far," Kid said, saddling a horse.
Howard tightened the saddle cinch on Ted. "It's her father,
he took her. I know he did."
"We'll find him, Hog." Snake assured, already mounting a
dapple gray. "We'll find him, and we'll find Randi."
He didn't trust himself to respond. The events of the past
few hours, as well as the people responsible, had left him too
full of hate. Biting his lip, lest he let out a flurry of words
describing exactly what he would do to Thurston Fulton when
297
Boot Hill Bride
by Lauri Robinson
he found him, Howard stuck a foot in the stirrup and hoisted
himself onto Ted.
Randi settled the heavy weight of Ma's shotgun against her
shoulder. She'd fired a gun before, many times. It had been
her responsibility to see her mother ate every day. Her
fingers trembled as one settled on the trigger. But this was
the first time her sites had been aimed at a human.
She squeezed her eyes shut, took a fortifying breath, and