Deborah Camp (30 page)

“You’ll have more babies? Maybe with
Señor
Drew?”

“Uh … you never know,” she hedged, then kissed Andy and carried him into Oleta’s bedroom. She placed him in his crib and patted his chest until he drifted to sleep.

After stripping off the blouse she’d worn all morning, she put on a clean, white one that had a lacy collar and cuffs. When she joined Oleta again, the girl was preparing the butter churn. Oleta noticed the change of blouse and gave her a questioning look. Cassie went to the window and sighed with relief when she saw Monroe Hendrix riding through the gates.

“Is someone out there?” Oleta asked, sitting down to churn.

“Yes, it’s only Roe.” Cassie pulled on her black lace gloves. “I sent for him.”

“Sent for him?”

“Yes, I sent Gabe over there to ask Monroe to stop by if he could.” She felt the girl’s measured regard. “I didn’t want to ride over there,” she said, telling a little white lie as she rubbed her backside. “I’ve ridden enough this morning!” She could tell that Oleta wasn’t convinced.

“You still like
Señor
Hendrix?”

“Like him?” Cassie glanced at her, wondering where that question had come from, then she caught on. “Oh, you mean, do I fancy him? No. I never did. I just want to talk to him. It’s private. Personal.” She perched a
perky straw hat on her head and opened the front door. “So there.”

Monroe lowered himself from the big roan and directed his broad smile at her. “Hey, there, Miss Cassie! Gabe said you wanted to talk to me. I hope nothing’s wrong, but if it is, I guarantee I’ll make it right.”

She held out her hand to him, something she knew he liked. He immediately took her gloved hand and brought it to his lips. “Won’t you sit with me on the swing, Monroe? It’s been too long since we’ve visited. I hope I’m not keeping you from your ranch work.” She had learned early in life—too early some would say—how to sweet-talk men to get what she wanted. It came natural to her. She hoped it got her exactly what she wanted from Monroe.

“I have good men to work my ranch. They don’t need the boss peering over their shoulders all the time.” He settled on the swing next to her. Sunshine glanced off his shiny boots, spurs, and belt buckle.

“Have you had any cattle come up missing?”

“No. What about you?” he asked.

“No, but we heard that some were taken from the Clover Leaf.”

“Yes, I heard about that. Wonder if they’ve been found?”

“No, I don’t think so. They crossed our land, but their trail headed toward Abilene. They didn’t trespass on your grazing range?”

“No. The word’s out. Everybody around here knows I hired me a Regulator with orders to kill anybody who tries to steal my cows.”

“Yes … umm … that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Monroe.” She shifted her body toward him but
kept her gaze averted, hoping to appear shy and reticent. “Hiring a sharpshooter isn’t very neighborly. I think you have scared people, made neighbor fear neighbor, and that can’t be good for our community. Can it, Monroe?”

“Why, Cassie, you wouldn’t begrudge a man for protecting his property, now, would you?” He reached for one of her hands and sandwiched it between his.

“No, of course not, but having that man on your property has made everyone skittish. I sent for you because frankly I was afraid to ride onto your land for fear that man would shoot me.” She leaned closer. “I don’t like the looks of him, Monroe. I’m a good judge of character, and he makes my skin crawl.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“He hasn’t said anything about me, has he?”

“About you? No. Why, if he said anything untoward about you, I’d skin him alive.” Monroe patted her hand. “Don’t worry. He’s a professional. He doesn’t shoot until he’s sure of what he’s shooting at. You can feel safe to visit my ranch any time you want. Same as before.”

This wasn’t working as easily as she’d hoped, Cassie thought, fidgeting on the swing and casting about in her bag of tricks for a different ploy.

“What do you really know about that man? He might be on the run from the law.”

“He comes highly recommended. A fella I know in Texas used him to chase off some Indians.”

“That’s another thing. Drew told me that he spit in Ice’s face just because Ice has a little Indian blood in him. What kind of man would do such a thing, Monroe? Just ask yourself that.”

“So he flew off the handle. Every man does that from
time to time. He says an Indian cut out his eye. That’s enough to make anyone hold a grudge.” Again he patted her hand, placating her. “If you were my responsibility, you’d have nothing to worry about ever. I’d protect you. You’d never be afraid.”

He always managed to steer their talks toward owning her, she thought with a slight frown. She tugged her hand from his with the pretense of straightening her straw hat and smoothing a few wayward curls off her cheeks and forehead.

“Why don’t you join me for supper tonight? I’ll send a buggy for you,” he suggested.

“No, I can’t.” She fished around for an excuse and settled for a lie. “Andy’s fussy today. He’s teething and I don’t want to leave him.”

“Bring him with you.”

“He shouldn’t be out. He needs his rest.”

“Oh, all right.” A scowl darkened Monroe’s features. “You won’t be doing him any favors by smothering him with your love, Cassie. You don’t want the boy growing up to be prissy, do you?”

“Just because I stay home with him when he’s running a fever won’t make him prissy, Monroe.” She sat facing front, distancing herself from him. The sweet-talking had fallen flat. So how would he like some good, old-fashioned harping? “You don’t approve of the way I conduct my business, and I can’t say that I approve of the way you conduct yours.”

He turned rounded eyes on her. “I beg your pardon?”

His tone was cool, even chilly.

A cautionary finger slipped down Cassie’s spine. Experience with men, especially with angry men, had
schooled her well. She knew when to back down to save herself from being slapped down.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Roe,” she turned toward him again, batting her lashes and pursing her lips in a practiced pout. “I didn’t mean that. I’m under a lot of… well, everyone is worried about these cattle rustlers, and now you have this awful man working for you—”

“He’s not awful, Cassie. He’s—”

“—a hired gun,” she finished for him. “That’s what he is. You’re paying him to kill, to murder. Maybe he’ll send one of our own friends to the bone-yard, and then how will you feel, Monroe? What will people think of you then?”

“If one of our friends is stealing cattle, it’ll serve him right. And I imagine people will be glad I’ve gotten rid of the scoundrel.” He peered into her eyes. “Are you upset because you’re afraid someone you know—someone you are close to—will be killed or sent to jail?”

She reared back from him. “I am not. I told you I’m upset because I don’t like having that kind of man in my community. And I don’t like that you’re the one who brought him here. Why can’t you handle this on your own, like every other ranch owner around here? If your men are so good, so capable, why can’t they work the ranch and protect your herd? Mine do, and I’ve only a handful. You’ve got a regiment over there at the Star H.”

She knew she’d offended him, but she no longer cared. His fingering Drew as the culprit had offended her first. His face grew ruddy, and muscles twitched around his nostrils and mouth. Clearing his throat, he stood up from the swing.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Cassie.
That’s one of the pitfalls of trying to be a rancher when you should leave such business to men.” He jerked at his vest and coat, frustration in every movement. “Cattle rustling is serious, and I am treating it as such. Drew should know that, and he should have tried to make you see it. But then, he probably isn’t interested in teaching you anything. The less you know, the easier it will be for him to take over this place and run it.” He angled her a look. “Or is he already doing that?”

“We’re partners. Equal partners.” She stood up from the swing, but to no advantage. He looked down at her like a lord examining a disloyal subject. “We have an understanding.”

“Understanding? What you
do
understand could fill a thimble and what you
don’t
understand could fill the sky. Drew was always a wild one. I liked him, still do. But he was raised by a man who was as tough as an old boot and who didn’t give a damn for anyone but himself. Drew’s a chip off that block. He can be charming, yes. Like a snake. But he’ll end up striking when it suits him, and he won’t care who gets hurt. That’s what
I
understand about him, Cassie. Has he turned your head? Do you think you’ll tame him, change him, make a gentleman out of him?”

“I wonder what Drew would say if he heard your opinion of him?”

“He knows my opinion of him. Nothing I just told you would be a surprise to him. I’ve said the same things to his face.
We
have an understanding.” He stooped to gaze at her directly. “Remember, I went to court and testified to his good character.”

“You’ve changed your mind about him?”

“Bitterness can fester in a heart. He was sent to
prison, a hard-time prison. No telling what he went through while he was behind those walls. I haven’t changed my mind about what kind of man he was back then, but I don’t know what kind of man he is now after those long months locked up with animals.”

“I do. He wants to raise horses and live a quiet life. He isn’t stealing cattle, Monroe.”

“I didn’t say he was.” He gave her an arch look. “But maybe he knows who is and he’s keeping his mouth shut about it.”

“He wouldn’t do that. He knows these ranchers and he—”

“Doesn’t like any of them and they don’t like him. What does he care if some of their cattle come up missing?
You
want a good name, Cassie.
You
want for you and your son to be respected in this community. Drew doesn’t, and he never has. He’s a loner and he likes it that way.”

The truth in what he said cut through her denial. Was it possible that Drew knew who was stealing the cattle? Could it be Ice, or buddies of Drew and Ice’s?

“I see I’ve given you something to chew on. That’s good.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and bussed her cheek. “Good day, Cassie.”

“Thanks for dropping by, Monroe.” She watched him mount his horse, and her fiesty spirit loosened her tongue. “Roe, let me give
you
something to chew on.” She waited a moment, holding him in anticipation. “I won’t set one foot on your land again until you send that black-hearted weasel you hired back to the hole he crawled out of. And don’t you bring him onto my land again, or I’ll shoot him for the scavenger he is.” Then
she pivoted sharply and went into her house, slamming the door behind her.

They had just had their midday meal the next afternoon when the dog began to bark, signaling a visitor. Cassie lifted Andy from his high chair and wiped his mouth with a damp cloth as Drew went to look out the widow.

“Who is it?” Cassie asked.

“The sheriff.”

The tense set of Drew’s mouth and the coldness of his tone reflected the same dread Cassie felt. She handed Andy to Oleta and stepped onto the porch with Drew.

“Hello, Sheriff,” Drew said, his face set in grave lines.

“Had your dinner?” Cassie asked, attempting to be cordial.

“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Dalton.” Sheriff Nelson nodded and gave her a stiff smile that was gone in an instant. “Dalton, I want you to come into Abilene and sign a statement about how you found Quentin’s cattle on your land and you returned them and how somebody shot at you on the way back here.”

“What good will that do?”

The sheriff tied his horse to the hitching rail and moved to the porch steps. “I’ll have your word in writing about what happened. Might help me figure out who’s stealing the cattle around here.”

Ice strode from around the side of the house. “I will go, too. I was there and I was the one shot.”

“I was going to ask you—”

“I didn’t say I would do it,” Drew interrupted the sheriff and glanced sharply at Ice. “I don’t see any good it would do and I’ve got work—”

“It won’t hurt anything for you to do as the sheriff asks either,” Cassie said, heading him off. She grasped his arm and squeezed. “We can do without you and Ice for a day, I reckon. Everybody wants the thieves caught, and if this might help the sheriff, then you’ve got to do it, Drew.”

Drew tensed, and in his eyes she saw the flicker of rebellion, but then he faced the sheriff and gave a terse nod. “I guess, but it’s too late to go now.”

“We’ll ride to town together, and you two could be back here by tomorrow morning if you sleep under the stars,” the sheriff said. “Or you could stay in Abilene overnight and get back here by tomorrow evening.”

“No use in staying in Abilene.”

“You can if you want,” Cassie said. “It will be chilly sleeping outdoors.”

“We’ll build a big campfire. We’ll be fine.” He patted her hand resting in the crook of his arm.

Staring up into his eyes, Cassie felt the rest of the world fade into insignificance. After a few moments, the sheriff cleared his throat, and Cassie remembered her manners.

“Can I get you a cup of coffee, Sheriff Nelson?”

“No, thanks. How long do you think it’ll take for you to get ready to ride?” he asked Drew.

“I’m ready now, I guess. The sooner we hit the trail, the sooner we can get back home.” He looked toward Ice. “You saddle the horses, and I’ll get my bedroll and some vittles.”

“I hope the gray mare doesn’t foal while we’re away,” Ice said, already turning toward the barn. “It would be just like that cantankerous animal to do such a thing.”

“I’ll keep her in the barn and watch her,” Cassie reassured Ice, then followed Drew into the house. Drew turned to look at her, and Cassie closed the front door and stepped into his arms. One corner of her mind registered Oleta’s quiet exit with Andy.

“Damned pesky sheriff,” Drew grumbled, his arms tightening around her. “I don’t like leaving you now. Doesn’t feel right.”

“You should go,” she said, rubbing her cheek against the front of his shirt, one she’d laundered and pressed with a heavy hot iron a couple of days ago. “Sign your name in blood and swear on the Bible, if that’s what he wants, and it will make all this trouble go away.”