Daniel (9 page)

"She'll be fine," Annabelle said quietly from behind him, although he heard the concern in her voice. She'd been telling him that every few minutes.

"She's right," Caleb said, his tone more assertive, more convincing.

"None of you know that for sure," Daniel snarled, turning to face the roomful of people who had come here with him.

Annabelle sat on a chair by the window, wringing her hands in her lap. Ben stood by Adam, who sported several darkening bruises on his face and a cut lip, looking regretful. Caleb leaned against the wall close to the examining table, watching both Doc Hannibal wipe Jennie's face with a wet rag and watching Daniel. Faith stood on the other side of the table, refusing to leave Jennie's side. Daniel was unhappy with each and every one of the men.

He pinned Caleb with a hard look. "You couldn't keep Adam from harassing Jennie? Couldn't stop him from convincing her to leave me?"

Caleb's face tightened. He shot Adam a furious glare. "I tried." Then he focused on Daniel. "Her leaving you really had more to do with you than anyone. You were a big damn fool."

"Preacher," Angelica chastised.

Daniel turned his attention her way. He'd already learned that Jennie was staying in a room above the saloon. He didn't like it, but at least Angelica had kept his wife from leaving on the stage. He pulled in a shaky breath, glancing at Jennie and back to the saloon owner. "I thank you for what you did. As soon as..." He swallowed hard. "As soon as I can take Jennie home, I'll have someone get her things."

A quiet grumbled, "No," snared his attention.

"Oh, thank God!" Faith said in clear relief.

He hurried to Jennie's side, nudging Doc out of his way. She blinked up at him and he winced at the sight of the dark bruising around her jaw. He reached a shaky hand toward her, but she hissed, "Don't touch me."

That effort cost her and she clasped her hands over her sore face. Tears glistened in her eyes. Still, she looked around him and spotted Adam. "At least you didn't kill him."

"Wanted to," Daniel gritted out. He sucked in a breath and tenderly pushed a strand of hair away from her face. When she flinched at his simple touch, he felt gut punched. "Jennie..."

"It appears that you'll be all right. Just some ugly bruises for a week or so, and a lot of soreness," Doc said, and then scowled at Daniel. "Thanks to your husband and his brother."

Daniel stiffened but couldn't object. They were both guilty and it made him sick.

Jennie struggled to sit up and Doc helped her, shoving Daniel aside when he tried to help too. She looked at Faith and then to Angelica. After some kind of silent signal, Angelica rushed over to the table.

The two women and Doc helped Jennie to her feet. She steadied herself for a second and then Angelica put an arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you back to your room."

Now Annabelle was on her way over. "Maybe you should come stay with me, dear. I can have someone else manage the store for a couple of days so I can take care of you."

"She's coming home with me," Daniel said with determination. He could take care of her. He needed to do it.

"No!" Jennie countered as best she could with a swollen mouth.

"Dammit, Jennie--"

Doc put a hand on Daniel's arm to stop him from pulling Jennie away from Angelica. When Daniel glowered at him, the late fifty-something man shook his head. "She's suffered enough today, Sheriff. She needs--"

"Me! She needs me." Even as Daniel said the words, he knew he wasn't going to insist she go home with him. His pride hurt as much as his heart, but he wasn't going to press her.

He slumped in defeat and glanced awkwardly at Jennie. "I'm sorry."

She bobbed her head and winced in obvious pain. He couldn't stand there and see her suffering, see what he'd done to her. Grimacing, he looked to his brothers. "Ben, can you see to getting Jennie wherever she wants to go? I... Well, I need to..."

He didn't finish the thought. There wasn't anything he'd wanted to do more than be home alone with Jennie. That wasn't going to happen. He needed to get the hell out of here for now. Without another word, he strode from the building.

* * *

Jennie couldn't eat because of her very tender jaw, not that she was hungry anyway. She couldn't sleep, not because of the saloon's noise but because she missed Daniel. Her stubborn husband hadn't come to see her in two days. Oh, he'd popped into the saloon a few times to ask about her. But he'd always managed to avoid actually seeing her. And she was tired of it all.

If the man wouldn't come to her, she would go to him. Not back to the ranch. She wasn't ready for that. Obviously neither was he, since he hadn't come and dragged her back there, which seemed to be his normal way of doing things. She didn't particularly like when he toted her around or tugged her with him for whatever reason...which usually involved something unpleasant. But it meant he was paying attention to her and not avoiding her.

She heaved a frustrated breath that came up clear from her toes. It appeared that nothing was going to change between them unless she took the first step. So fine, she was going to see him. Today. Now.

She took a last glance in the mirror over the small dresser. She had put on her favorite dress, one that matched her blue eyes yet was simple enough for life here in Dryfork and not Boston. Her stomach fluttered with nerves. What if he really didn't want to see her? What if he only felt guilty about what had happened? What if...

Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! She couldn't keep hiding out here in this room above the saloon. She needed to see if there was any hope of saving their marriage.

* * *

Ten minutes later Jennie stood outside the Sheriff's Office and tried to find the courage to walk inside. Like a saloon, she had never before set foot in a sheriff's office or a jail. She was curious, but hesitant. Especially now that she might actually come face-to-face with Daniel.

A light pounding from inside the building drew her attention and sparked her curiosity even more. She stepped through the open doorway and found the young red-headed deputy she'd met once nailing a wanted poster to the wall behind the desk. Disappointment curled through her when a quick glance around revealed no signs of her husband.

Having obviously heard footsteps behind him, the deputy looked in her direction. His eyes mirrored sympathy when he caught a look at her face. Appearing nervous, he said awkwardly, "The sheriff's not here, ma'am. He went down to Thompson's Cafe a while ago for breakfast." He frowned and studied a clock on the wall. "He shoulda been back by now."

Jennie's face heated, feeling embarrassed for appearing to be trying to track her husband down. "It's not a problem. I'll... I'll..." What? Go to the cafe and really look like she was hunting him down? Go back to her room above the saloon and hide out some more? What?

Shoulders slumping, she started to turn away.

"Don't go, Missus Braddock," Andy called out. As she faced him, he put the hammer on the battered wooden desk and nodded at the well-worn wooden chair. "Why don't you sit down. I'll go fetch the sheriff."

She considered simply leaving, uncertain now about having come here. After a second, she nodded. "Thank you."

They passed each other as Andy headed for the door. He shook his head sadly, wincing as he looked more closely at her face.

"It looks worse than it is," she reassured him, although, in truth, her jaw still hurt quite a bit.

He looked doubtful but didn't say a word and sped out the door.

Relieved to be alone, Jennie sat down. Her stomach fluttered with nerves. She shouldn't have come here, but she just couldn't keep living this way.

She tried to distract herself and glanced around the small, dark, gloomy space. The main area held a desk, two chairs, a clock on the wall opposite a wall with a dozen or so wanted posters, and in the corner stood a pot-bellied stove. Off to the side were three very small iron-barred cells with basically cots and blankets. And it all smelled of sweat and smoke. Not a place she would want to spend much time in.

She breathed in Daniel's familiar scent from where she sat in his chair. Warmth filled her. Loneliness as well. She'd missed her husband and finally realized how little she really knew about him. She didn't even know why he had decided to become a sheriff? Why hadn't she ever asked him? It disgusted her that she'd been so focused on convincing him to go back to Boston with her that she'd not really pressed him about why he hated the idea.

Worrying her lower lip, she thought about the Braddock brothers--at least Daniel, Adam, Ben, and Caleb. Seth she had never met. She did know that none of the brothers wanted to work with their father in his law firm. She supposed she could understand that. Their father was a man who wanted everything done his way. Not so much unlike Daniel, really.

But she sensed there was more to the problems within the Braddock family. She felt awful for not having tried to get her husband to talk about it. You've been awfully selfish. Not much of a wife, or at least a true partner. She had thought she'd known what was best for him, believed he was simply being stubborn about wanting to show his independence. She'd always thought he could be independent in Boston. He didn't have to work for his father. He could have had his own law practice. But now she...

Heavy footsteps snared her attention and she gave a small gasp of surprise. Her gaze met Daniel's where he stood just inside the building. His expression was tight, grew even tighter when he focused on her face. She fought the urge to cover it with her hands.

"How are you feeling?" he asked warily, continuing to stare at her bruised face.

She knew her jaw line looked awful, covered as it was with bruises barely starting to fade. Looking in the mirror before she'd left her room, she'd seen the lines of pain that still etched around her eyes. But she didn't want to talk about how she physically felt. She was healing.

"What happened wasn't your fault." She hesitated. "Or Adam's." No, she'd reacted foolishly by flying between two angry men already throwing punches at each other.

"The hell it wasn't!" he countered. He ground his teeth and walked closer.

Jennie watched him, heart racing, drawing in his scent, feeling the heat of him even from this distance. She'd missed lying in bed next to him. Missed having him pull her against him and snuggling into him. But he'd hurt her, worse than with his fist.

"Why, Jennie?" he asked, stopping on the other side of the desk. He looked tall and intimidating. Yet his eyes were wounded beneath his wide-brimmed hat.

She knew what he was asking, but wanted him to clarify it anyway. "Why did I leave the ranch? Or why didn't I leave Dryfork? Or why did I stay here?"

A vein pulsed in his neck. "All of those questions."

"I've been here less than two weeks and I don't really feel as if you want me," she said quietly. She raised her chin before he could speak and added, "I know you desire me, Daniel. Just as I do you."

Something that looked like hope sparked in his eyes. "Yes, I desire you, I sure can't deny that. But..."

Jennie felt her chest pinch, saw the strain in his expression. "But you aren't sure if that's enough to make a marriage. You don't think I can learn to live here, fit in with your friends and neighbors."

His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, silently confirming what she'd said. She blinked at tears misting her eyes. In that blinking, she noticed that he still wore his gun belt, evidently still worried about the Walton Gang that they hadn't been able to catch. She didn't want to think about that now.

He lifted his hat and ran a hand through his hair before setting the hat back in place. A habit he had when he was frustrated. His gaze met hers and he said cautiously, "You still think about going back to Boston, don't you? You miss the kind of life you led there. The parties. The servants who did your chores."

She jutted up her chin, swallowed a pain-filled lump. "You really think I'm shallow, don't you?" she countered. It hurt that he thought so little of her, but why wouldn't he? In the short time she'd been here, she had talked about her friends and some of the parties she'd attended in the last year. But not so much because she missed them, no, more just out of sharing memories and making conversation. Clearly he hadn't understood that. Would they ever understand each other?

"No, Jennie, I don't think you're shallow. I just don't think--"

Unable to take anymore of this strained discussion, she shot to her feet. "I shouldn't have come here."

Daniel stiffened and nodded. "I've been waiting for you to admit that." He stepped back and glanced toward the doorway. "I'll find out when the next stage is leaving."

"I meant I shouldn't have come to try and see you here today." She stormed around the desk and went toe-to-toe with him, fury sizzling through her. "You've been sneaking into the saloon to check on me, but doing your damn best not to actually see me. I'd had enough of that, you big foolish coward."

His eyes widened and then narrowed. "I'm not a coward."

She shoved him out of her way and marched to the door. "Aren't you?" She didn't bother to turn around, just strode out onto the boardwalk calling over her shoulder, "You know where to find me."

* * *

Daniel gaped in shock after his rapidly departing wife. Coward? Him? And then he realized she was right. At least as far as facing her after what he'd done. God knew he'd been having nightmares about it ever since.

Before he could even go after her, he heard her snarl from just outside the building, "Get. Out. Of. My. Way! You...you Braddocks!"

His brothers.Great. Sure enough. Adam made some gruff comment back at Jennie. Caleb apologized and warned Adam to watch his tongue when speaking to a woman. And Ben chortled.

Daniel wished like hell that there was a back way out of the building. Coward. Shit! Couldn't figure out how to deal with his wife. Didn't want to talk to his brothers. Yes, 'coward' fit the bill.

He stood there, resigned, as his brothers walked in. He had been avoiding all of them since the other day. Adam, he still wanted to beat the devil out of. Caleb, he wouldn't mind pounding on as well. Ben was the only one he didn't want to plow his fist into.