One Pink Rose; One White Rose; One Red Rose (2 page)

Cole laughed at Harrison, reached around Douglas to slap him on his back for saying something so amusing, and then suggested Harrison start thinking about a way to get Travis released from jail should he be arrested for doing a son's duty. He also suggested Travis simply drag the culprit back to Montana and let all the brothers shoot him.

Harrison was nearly ready to admit defeat. It was impossible to talk sense into any of the brothers. The only thing that was keeping him sane was the fact that deep in his heart he knew none of them would ever commit cold-blooded murder. They sure enjoyed talking about it though.

“How do you know the man you're after is really Daniel Ryan? He could have made up the name,” he remarked. “He could also have lied about being from Texas.”

“Nope,” Cole said. “He told Mama Rose his name and where he was from before she started talking about the presents she was bringing to us.”

“Thank God she didn't tell him about the other gifts. He probably would have stolen my pocket watch,” Douglas said.

“I'll bet he would have taken my map too,” Adam interjected.

“And my leather-bound books,” Travis added.

“The thief's from Texas, all right,” Adam said. “He had a peculiar drawl in his speech.”

“That's right,” Douglas remembered. “She thought it was . . . What'd she call it, Travis?”

“Charming,” he replied with a frown.

“Never did like the names Daniel or Ryan,” Cole announced. “Come to think of it, I don't have much use for Texans either. Can't trust them.”

Harrison rolled his eyes heavenward. “You never did like anyone or anything,” he reminded him. “Do me a favor and don't say another word until I go upstairs. You're making me forget I'm a logical man.”

Cole laughed. “You're the one who insisted on moving back into Rosehill with your wife. I'm part of Rosehill, Harrison, like it or not.”

“Mary Rose needs to be with her mother during her confinement. I'm not about to go from town to town with Judge Burns and leave her alone in Blue Belle. And by the way, the next time you tell her she waddles like a duck, I'm going to punch you. Got that? She's a little emotional right now and doesn't need to be told she's as big as a—”

Cole wouldn't let him finish. “All right, we'll stop teasing her. She sure is getting pretty, isn't she?”

“She was always pretty,” Adam said.

“Yes, but now that she's carrying my nephew, she's even prettier. Don't you dare tell her what I just admitted, or she'll never let me live it down. My sister likes to torment me whenever she can, and frankly, I can't imagine why.”

He noticed the gleam that came into Harrison's eyes and knew the man was about to say something to provoke him. Since Cole wasn't in the mood to argue tonight, he decided to turn the topic back to the more pressing business at hand, catching a low-down, thieving garden snake who had slithered all the way up to Montana Territory from Texas.

“Travis, are you going to leave tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“How was it decided you would be the one to go after Daniel Ryan?” Harrison asked. “If the Texan really did steal your brother's compass, and I'm only willing to concede that the possibility exists, then shouldn't Cole be the one to go after him? The compass was meant for him.”

“Cole can't go anywhere just yet,” Adam explained.

“He was to lay low until old Shamus Harrington calms down,” Douglas added.

“What did you do, Cole?” Harrison asked, already dreading the answer.

“He defended himself,” Adam said. “One of Harrington's sons thought he was faster with his gun than Cole and forced a shoot-out.”

“What happened?” Harrison asked.

“I won,” Cole said with a grin.

“Obviously,” Harrison snapped. “Did you kill him?”

“No, but almost,” he admitted. “It was really kind of strange the way he came after me,” he added. “Lester had fallen in with a gang passing through Blue Belle, and the word on the street was that they were planning to rob the bank in Hammond, Saturday next,” he added.

“Does seem odd he'd come after you,” Douglas agreed. “Lester's been strutting around acting like a big man in front of his new friends. Maybe he wanted to impress them.”

“I heard they goaded him into the shoot-out with you,” Adam said. “Dooley told me they acted like they knew who you were, Cole.”

“Dooley's been hanging around his friend Ghost too long,” Cole said. “You can't take anything either one of them says as fact, Adam.”

“They probably heard of your reputation,” Douglas suggested.

“They were just looking for trouble,” Cole said. “Besides, everyone knows Harrington's sons are as dumb as dirt.”

“True, but old man Shamus is still going to hold a grudge,” Douglas said. “Mountain men do when one of their own gets shot, and since he has five other sons, you're going to have to be real careful for a long time.”

“I'm always careful,” Cole boasted. “Now that I think about it, I could go after Ryan, Travis. You've got enough to do without—”

His brother wouldn't let him finish. “No, you're staying here,” he said. “Besides, I've got everything all planned out.”

“That's right,” Douglas said. “He's going to kill three birds with one stone.”

Travis nodded. “I'm going to take my papers to Wellington and Smith so everything will be in order when I begin my apprenticeship with their law firm in September, and since Hammond's just a jump away from Pritchard, I'll take care of that business Mama Rose stuck me with, then swing on over to River's Bend, shoot Ryan, pick up the birthday present back in Hammond, and come back here in time for the celebration.”

“You owe us ten dollars for Mama Rose's birthday gift,” Cole reminded Harrison.

“What are we getting her?” he asked.

“A fancy sewing machine,” Douglas said. “Her eyes lit up when she saw a picture of it in the catalog Adam gave her. We're getting her the most expensive model, of course. She deserves the best.”

Harrison nodded. “Aren't Golden Crest and River's Bend in opposite directions?”

“Just about,” Cole said. “Which is why I think I should go after Ryan, Travis. It would save you—”

Once again his brother wouldn't let him finish. “You've got to lay low,” he said.

Harrison agreed and offered an alternative that would save Travis time and trouble.

“Surely you can get a sewing machine in Pritchard and save yourself several days' riding.”

“I suppose he could,” Cole said. “But Ryan wasn't spotted in Pritchard. He was headed for River's Bend yesterday.”

“And how would you know that?” Harrison asked.

“We put the word out to let us know if anyone runs into him,” Adam said. “Travis, it's a pity you have to do that favor first. By the time you reach River's Bend, Ryan will probably be long gone.”

“I've got it all figured out,” Travis said. “It should only take a day of hard riding to deliver this Emily Finnegan woman to her groom in Golden Crest, and if it's dry enough, I can cut through the gully and be in River's Bend the following afternoon.”

“You're dreaming,” Adam told him. “It's been raining off and on for a month now. That gully's going to be filled. Why, it will take you at least three days to go around.”

“Who is Emily Finnegan?” Harrison asked.

“She's the favor I'm doing for Mama Rose,” Travis said.

Harrison gritted his teeth. Getting information out of the brothers was an arduous undertaking, but he was tenacious enough to persevere. The Claybornes liked to confuse him with spurious facts, none of which were the least bit relevant. They did it on purpose, of course. They were united in their goal to make him stop “hounding” them, as Cole would say, which meant they didn't want him to question either their motives or their ethics. Three of the brothers still believed they could “out stubborn” him. Adam was the only one who knew better. No one was as stubborn as a Scotsman, and since Harrison had been born and raised in the Highlands, he qualified.

“What's the favor?” he asked Travis again.

“Mama Rose had supper with the Cohens last week, and they happened to tell her about a woman who was stuck in Pritchard. Her escort up and died on her, and she's been trying to get someone to take her on to Golden Crest, but hasn't had any success.”

“Why doesn't the man she's going to marry ride down to Pritchard and get her?”

“I asked Mama Rose that very question, and she told me it wouldn't be proper. The preacher's waiting in Golden Crest, and it's up to Miss Emily Finnegan to get there on her own. Mama Rose offered my services.”

“She must have thought Hammond was right next door to Golden Crest,” Douglas said.

“Why can't someone from Pritchard escort her?” Harrison asked. “It's a good-sized town. Surely she can find some willing couple there.”

“People are mighty superstitious in Pritchard,” Cole said.

“What does that mean?” Harrison asked.

“It means Miss Emily spooks them,” he explained.

“It seems poor Miss Emily has gone through quite a few escorts,” Douglas said.

“How many?” Harrison wanted to know.

“Too many to keep track of,” Cole answered, deliberately exaggerating. “Rumor has it a couple of them died. Travis, you'd better take something with you for luck,” he added with a nod in his brother's direction. “I'd give you my lucky compass, but then I don't have it, now do I, and all because that sneaking, no good son of a—”

Harrison cut him off before he could get riled up again. “You can't know if the compass will bring you luck or not, Cole. You've never seen the thing.”

“Mama Rose chose it for me, didn't she? That makes it lucky.”

“You're as superstitious as the folks in Pritchard,” he muttered. “Travis, do you think you'll have trouble with this Miss Emily?”

“No,” he answered. “I'm not superstitious, and I don't believe half of what they're saying about her either. How bad can she be?”

T
he woman was a walking plague.

They hadn't even gotten out of town before Travis was punched, kicked, tripped, and shot at, but not by anyone from Pritchard. No, it was Miss Emily Finnegan who tried to do him in, and even though she swore on her sainted mother's grave that it had all been a terrible misunderstanding, Travis didn't believe her. Why would he? He had it on good authority from his friends the Cohens that Miss Emily's mother was still alive and probably dancing an Irish jig with Mr. Finnegan back in Boston, now that the two of them had unloaded their ungrateful daughter on a poor, unsuspecting stranger living in Golden Crest.

Admittedly, Miss Emily was a pretty little thing. She had hair the color of sable that curled softly around her ears, and big hazel eyes that were brown one minute and gold the next. She had a real nice mouth too, until she opened it, which, Travis was quick to notice, was most of the time. The woman had an opinion about everything and felt compelled to share it with him so that there wouldn't be any future misunderstandings.

She wasn't a know-it-all, but she sure came close. He formed his opinion just five painful minutes after he'd met her.

It had been suggested by Olsen, the hotel proprietor, that they meet in front of the stage coach station. Travis spotted her from way down the street. She was standing directly behind the hitching post, holding a black umbrella in one hand and a pair of white gloves in the other. There were at least six satchels lined up in a neat row in front of her on the boardwalk, entirely too many to drag up the side of a mountain.

Miss Finnegan was dressed to perfection from head to toe in white linen. He assumed she hadn't had time to change out of her Sunday best church clothes. Then he remembered it was Thursday.

They didn't exactly start out on the right foot. She was standing at attention with her shoulders back and her head held high, watching the commotion across the street. Although it was still early in the morning, a rowdy crowd had already gathered in Lou's Tavern and were making quite a ruckus. Perhaps that was why she didn't hear him come up behind her.

He made the mistake of tapping her lightly on her shoulder to get her attention so that he could tip his hat to her and introduce himself. That's when she shot at him. It happened so fast, he barely had enough time to get out of the way. The little derringer she had concealed under her gloves went off when she whirled around. The bullet would have gotten him smack in his middle if he hadn't spotted the gleaming barrel and leapt to the side in the nick of time.

He was pretty certain the gun housed only one chamber, but he wasn't taking any chances. In a flash, he grabbed hold of her wrist and twisted her arm up so that her weapon was aimed toward the sky. Only then did he move close so he could give her a piece of his mind.