The Lawman's Surrender: The Calhoun Sisters, Book 2 (11 page)

“I can find something,” she responded softly.

“Good.” He gave her his most charming Southern-gentleman smile. “I’d like to thank you for helping me round up these rustlers, ma’am. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Mrs. Pruitt blushed. “I couldn’t let him hurt you, Marshal.”

“And I’m obliged, ma’am.”

Mrs. Pruitt made to leave the room, then turned back to face them, twisting her fingers together. “Marshal, there’s one more thing. Please don’t blame Susannah for breaking out of jail. I forced her, and that’s the truth.” She ducked her head. “I suppose you’ll be wanting to take me into custody as well.”

“Nonsense, ma’am,” Jedidiah said. “I don’t remember any jailbreak. You were working with the law to round up these cattle rustlers, and that’s a fact.”

“But—oh-h-h,” she said, understanding dawning. “If that’s the way you remember it, Marshal—”

“It is, ma’am.”

She gave him a shy smile. “Thank you. I’ll go fetch that rope now.”

Mrs. Pruitt left the room, and Susannah looked up at Jedidiah in wonder. “That was very sweet of you,” she said. “You had every right to arrest her for jail breaking.”

He shrugged off her compliment. “The woman has been through enough.”

“I don’t care what you say. It was very compassionate of you.” She leaned up and brushed a soft kiss on his cheek.

He gazed down at her, his sherry-colored eyes warm with an emotion that brought pink flooding to her face. A wicked grin curved his lips.

“Hold that thought, princess.”

Chapter Eight

They left Placerville at dawn the next morning.

Jedidiah had turned the cattle rustlers over to Sheriff Jones and explained that Mr. Pruitt had died accidentally in the scuffle. The sheriff had cast Susannah a dubious glance, but accepted the marshal’s story. Molly Pruitt found herself a wealthy widow with a prospering business that would easily allow her to live comfortably and support her child. Jedidiah was considered a hero for capturing the gang.

And Susannah had spent the night locked in jail, wondering what madness gripped her that she had actually gone and kissed Jedidiah.

She had to be crazy. Yes, she was pleased that he finally believed her innocent of murder and that he would help her locate the witness who would clear her name. And yes, she found him more appealing than any man she had ever met. But he had made it perfectly clear that once his job was done, he would be moving on.

How could she even consider giving in to her feelings for a man who would only leave her broken-hearted?

She had simply been so touched by his gentleness with Molly that she had felt obliged to show it, that was all. There was nothing more to it. Absolutely nothing.

“You’re out of your mind if you think this will keep Caldwell off our trail,” Susannah said to Jedidiah as he drove the wagon away from Placerville.

“People only see what they want to see,” Jedidiah replied. “And as long as they don’t see that face of yours, at least we have a fighting chance.”

“You’re not exactly easy to forget yourself,” she pointed out.

“Me?” He deepened his Southern accent from a mere trace to nearly overdone. “Heck, ma’am, I’m just a farmer. And you’re my wife.”

“Your
pregnant
wife.”

He grinned as if he had indeed been the one to put her in such a state. “Yep.”

Susannah snorted and tried to make herself more comfortable—or at least as comfortable as a pregnant woman could be on the hard wooden seat of the buckboard Jedidiah had managed to procure. She punched at the wadded up cloth stuffed beneath her gown that made her look as if she were ready to whelp at any moment, then shoved yet another stray curl beneath the deep-brimmed sunbonnet that covered her head. No matter which way she turned, she either dislodged her hat or found her way constricted by her false belly. If this was what it felt like to be expecting a child, perhaps she should rethink her dreams of motherhood.

Jedidiah, on the other hand, looked perfectly at ease in his tan britches and suspenders and a soft, white cotton shirt. He wore his own boots and wide-brimmed tan hat, but otherwise he looked just like any other homesteader as he drove the pair of horses with the ease of long practice. One of the animals pulling the wagon was Susannah’s mount, and the other was a plain brown farm horse that had seen better days. Jedidiah’s Palomino was tied to the back of the buckboard.

Jedidiah’s rifle lay at his feet within easy reach. His Colts were tucked beneath the seat, hidden behind a coil of rope. He looked like a farmer and even sounded like one, but he was armed to the teeth and ready for anything.

Which was a good thing for Susannah, considering she couldn’t be of much help with the way her disguise hindered her movements.

Still, she had to give Jedidiah a lot of credit. They had passed two wagons and a few men on horseback, and no one had even looked twice at them. Maybe this crazy plan was actually going to work.

“You never did tell me what you found out about Abigail Hawkins,” she said, breaking the silence.

He frowned. “There wasn’t much to tell. Mrs. Hawkins did come visit with her friend, but she was only there a day before she picked up a stage to Colorado Springs.”

“So she’s already gone.” Susannah sighed. “Does her friend know why Mrs. Hawkins is headed for Colorado Springs?”

“She wanted to catch the train.”

“Where to?”

“I don’t know.”

Susannah threw up her hands. “Lord Almighty, Marshal, if that woman gets on the train at Colorado Springs, we’ll never catch her!”

“I’ve got it under control.”

“What do you mean, you’ve got it under control? How can you have it under control if you’re here and she’s on her way to Colorado Springs?”

His jaw tightened in annoyance. “I sent a telegram to an associate of mine who will be watching for her. He’ll stop her from getting on the train.”

“An associate? You mean another marshal?”

He winced. “Ah...not exactly.”

Susannah tapped her fingers on her knee. “What do you mean, not exactly?”

“Look, you’ll just have to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

“Trust you! You’re asking a lot, Marshal Brown.”

He pulled up on the reins. The buckboard came to a stop and he turned to her, his sherry-colored eyes narrowed with anger. “Listen, you’re the one in trouble here, not me. All I was supposed to do was take you to Denver for your trial.”

“Well, that’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?”

“Sure, in between keeping your neck out of Wayne Caldwell’s noose and trying to track down a witness so I can prove you didn’t kill your employer. If I were just doing my job, I would have had you on the train to Denver already.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you from doing your job, Marshal Brown!” She glared at him, her heart pounding. Why was she fighting with him? She was grateful for his help and completely trusted him in the matter of tracking down Abigail Hawkins. But something was eating at her, something that made her want to rile his temper until he lost control.

Jedidiah stared at her for a long, charged moment. He had never met a woman who exasperated him so much, even as she made him want her so badly he could hardly think straight. Her life was on the line, but all he could think of when she put on that snooty attitude was how much he wanted to get her between the sheets and work that sass right out of her.

He was a U.S. Marshal, by God, and he had a job to do. His personal feelings had no place here.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, princess,” he warned, his voice low and controlled. “I’m putting my job on the line to help you out, but maybe I should just take you to Denver and wash my hands of you once and for all.”

“That does seem to be the way you operate,” she replied, clearly offended. “Whenever someone gets too close, you hightail it out of town.”

“I don’t have time for this.” He snapped the reins, and the horses moved forward once more.

“My point exactly,” she murmured. “You’re a coward.”

“What?” He jerked the horses to a stop and rounded on her, his face taut with affronted male pride. “What did you say?”

“I said, you’re a coward. Emotionally, anyway.”

He leaned toward her, his eyes narrowing. “Are you making this personal, princess? Because if you are—”

“Deny it if you can,” she shot back. “You’re afraid of your own feelings.”

He took her chin in his hand. Her smoky blue eyes sparkled with challenge, and her pulse pounded at the base of her throat. Her skin was so soft, her mouth so ripe. The woman got to him like no other woman ever had.

She was dangerous. Luckily, he was an expert on how to handle dangerous situations.

“I’ve still got those handcuffs,” he warned. “If you don’t behave yourself, I’ll have to get them out.”

She jerked her chin from his hold. “You’d do it, too.”

“Bet on it.” He picked up the reins and clucked at the horses to start them moving.

She gave him a disgusted look and ignored him until the next town came into sight.

Chalmers was a large, bustling town right on the cattle trail that boasted a real live hotel, several restaurants and rows of shops.

Susannah caught sight of a dress shop that had her sighing with longing. She loved clothes. And wouldn’t that lovely blue sprigged muslin look wonderful on her? And, oh, that adorable little hat with the flowers on it in the milliner’s window...

“Forget it,” Jedidiah growled.

Susannah put her nose in the air and pointedly ignored him. The man had no idea what was important to a woman.

Jedidiah stopped the buckboard outside the Chalmers Hotel. As he climbed down to tie up the horses, Susannah forgot her pique.

“Are we staying here?” she asked with excitement. “A real hotel? Perhaps I can even have a bath?”

Jedidiah grinned at her. “What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t put my wife up in a decent hotel—especially when she’s expecting?”

“Why, you’d be the worst kind of cad.” Delighted at the prospect of a real bath, Susannah grinned right back at him.

“Exactly.” He reached up to help her down out of the wagon, then offered his arm. “I do have a reputation to think of.”

Susannah took his arm and waddled proudly into the hotel at his side. She sat in a very comfortable chair in the lobby while Jedidiah spoke with the desk clerk. Then he came over and had to help her out the cushy chair, since her enormous belly kept her from doing so herself.

“If this is what it feels like to really be expecting,” she whispered with a laugh as they mounted the stairs, “it’s a wonder any woman goes through it at all!”

Jedidiah stopped outside a room and unlocked the door, then turned to look at her with his hand on the knob. “I think you’d look beautiful carrying a child, even if you were as big as a house.”

The sincere appreciation in his voice brought a blush to her cheeks, and made her heart pound like never before.

“After you, Mrs. Brown,” he said with a grin, pushing open the door.

“Don’t get carried away,” she retorted, still flushed from his compliment.

The room was small but tidy. A bed with a brass headboard took up most of the space. A small table with a lantern on it stood beside the bed, and a washstand and a wardrobe occupied the far wall. A small mirror hung above the washstand. Susannah sank down on the bed with a sigh of relief.

“Do you think I’d be able to have a bath?” she asked again, swiping the back of her hand across her grimy cheek. “I feel as if I’ve brought half the road with me.”

“We can’t take the chance of anyone knowing you’re not what you appear to be,” Jedidiah said. “So unless you want me to be the one to help you with your bath...”

“I see your point.” Disappointed, she looked around. “Still, it’s a comfortable room. And I can wash up, even if I can’t bathe as completely as I’d like.” She reached up and pulled off the huge sunbonnet. “How far away is your room?”

“Susannah, this
is
my room.”

She hesitated, then smoothed her hair with one hand. “
Your
room?”

He took off his hat and hung it on a peg on the wall. “Maybe I should have said
our
room.”

“Our room.”

“Our room.” He walked to the washstand and poured water into the basin. “The room of Mr. and Mrs. John Brown.”

“John Brown?”

He picked up the bar of soap and washed his hands over the basin. “Jedidiah is a bit conspicuous. But there are ten John Browns in every town.”

“I see.” She fingered the ties on her bonnet. “Where are you planning to sleep, Mr. Brown?”

“Right there in that bed.” He nonchalantly wiped his hands off on a towel.

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

Susannah pressed her lips together. Part of her was outraged that he assumed they were going to share sleeping space for the night. But part of her was excited.

It made sense for them to share a room since they were masquerading as husband and wife. But there was enough floor space that Jedidiah could certainly stretch out there.