The Marshal's Ready-Made Family (4 page)

The marshal grinned. “Mary Louise better make up her mind soon or I’ll be breaking up fights. There’s nothing like a pretty girl to get a young man’s blood boiling.”

An uncharacteristic spark of jealousy pricked Jo. Apparently, Marshal Cain had noticed the pretty little blonde, too. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I bet her pa hopes she never decides on one suitor. He makes sure all those boys buy something while they’re panting after Mary Louise. I heard he even ordered a new wagon from Wichita.”

“No more gossiping, JoBeth,” her ma scolded from her place by the stove. “And let up on that boy. Being in love is harder than it looks.”

A huff of anger settled at the back of Jo’s throat. They all acted as if she had no emotions. She couldn’t recall one time when her ma had told the boys to let up on her.

Jo braced her arms against the table and locked her elbows. “How come you never tell them to go easy on me?”

“Because you’re tougher than they are.” Her mother waved her wooden spoon for emphasis. “And smarter, too.”

Jo caught the marshal studying her with those dark, intuitive eyes and decided it was time to change the subject. “How are the Elders?”

Her ma’s face lit up. “I just got a letter. Watch the gravy while I fetch it.”

Marshal Cain rested his hat on his knee, his enormous palm dwarfing the crown. “I think I’ve heard that name before.”

“Probably.” Jo stood and crossed to the stove. “The Elders used to live over the rise. They moved to Paris, Texas, going on ten years ago.”

“Wasn’t there something about an outlaw?”

“Mrs. Elder’s first husband was a bank robber. He hid the loot in a cave by Hackberry Creek. The boys sell tours for a penny every summer.”

“They do
what?
” The marshal set down the lemonade he’d raised to his lips. “Don’t the new owners mind all those kids tramping across their property?”

“No one lives there.” Jo shrugged. “The place has been empty for years”

Her pa stepped into the room. A great bear of a man, Ely McCoy vibrated the floorboards with his heavy steps. Jo dropped the gravy spoon and dashed toward him. “Pa!”

He enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug, lifting her feet from the floor. “There’s my little girl. I heard you brought company.”

Jo’s heart soared. Her pa was the only person who treated her like a girl without making her feel weak. He was a stout man with a thick salt-and-pepper beard and a mop of unruly mahogany hair hanging over his twinkling green eyes.

“This is my pa, Ely McCoy.”

Marshal Cain rose from his seat and held out his hand. “Nice to see you again, Mr. McCoy.”

“Call me Ely.”

Her pa slapped the marshal on the back, nearly launching him into the hearth. “Glad you’re here, son. I need help balancing the pasture gate.”

Jo grimaced. She loved her pa, but he was always putting the guests to work. “Why don’t you get the boys to help you?”

“Because Caleb’s cologne turns my stomach, and David has gone to Wichita to buy a horse.”

“Glad to help,” Marshal Cain replied easily.

Jo appreciated his calm acceptance of the request. She also liked how his chambray shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. He was quiet and thoughtful, never missing a detail. She liked watching as he sized up a room. He looked
at
people, not
through
them.

What did he think of her?

Did he see her as everyone else in town did—as an oddity? Somehow or other she didn’t think so. He regarded her with the same deference he showed Cora and her ma. Maybe that’s why he appealed to her—he treated everyone he encountered as though they were important, as though they were worthy of his time.

The marshal tossed a resigned grin over his shoulder and followed her pa out the door.

As the two men left together, Jo considered how different they were. Not just in size and shape, but in temperament. Her parents were opposites, too. Ely McCoy was a loud bear of a man whose bark was worse than his bite. Her ma was more refined, more reserved than her pa. Yet they worked well together, and no one expected either of them to change.

Jo had learned early on that boys expected
her
to change. At thirteen years old, a boy had told her flat out that if she wanted him to stop teasing her, she’d best let him win at marbles.

Jo had decided then and there that she’d rather win.

A scant few minutes later, a knock startled Jo from her vigil at the stove. She crossed the room and opened the door. The reverend stood on the doorstep, a dark shadow against the orange glow from the setting sun.

“Reverend Miller. What brings you here this time of the evening?”

He doffed his cap and smoothed his thinning hair. “A telegram arrived for the marshal. The clerk said the marshal should see it right away.”

Chapter Four

G
arrett strained beneath the weight of the gate, a fine sheen of perspiration forming on his brow. The evening air was cool and a stiff breeze whipped the hair over his perspiring brow. The incessant, relentless gales dried up the earth and left every surface dusty and gritty. When a changing weather front blew in, Garrett stuffed rags around the windows and still awoke with grit on his tongue. He sometimes wondered why the whole prairie hadn’t been swept away already.

Thankfully, as the evening stretched on, the breeze gentled, and the sun sank low on the horizon. Hills rolled toward Hackberry Creek, and a smattering of trees softened the view. Garrett didn’t consider himself a sentimental man, but he appreciated the quiet beauty of nature settling into nightfall.

Ely broke the silence first, saying, “That little Cora sure is a cute one.”

“That she is.”

“Heard she’s taken a shine to Jo.”

“Word travels fast around these parts.”

“That it does.” Ely ratcheted the hinges tighter. “What are you planning on doing?”

Garrett gritted his teeth against the strain of the heavy metal gate. “Doing?”

“You gonna raise that little girl all on your own?”

“Not much other choice,” Garrett bit out over his exertion.

At Ely’s signal, Garrett released his hold and leaped back, scooting his boots free from a possible collapse. To his relief, the hinges held firm. He flexed his sore fingers. Ely must be twenty years his senior, but the older man didn’t show any signs of strain. Mr. McCoy was a tough, portly man with a fierce scowl and a ready smile. Garrett recalled how Jo had launched herself at her pa earlier. Though Ely could snap a sturdy tree limb with one hand, his children didn’t seem afraid of him.

The idea gave Garrett pause. What was it like for the McCoy children, not being afraid all the time?

Ely swung the bars back and forth, examining the smooth action with a satisfied expression. “When I look at your little girl, I wish I could go back in time.”

Garrett glanced up in surprise. “Why?”

“Jo never had time to be a baby. To be a girl. By the time she was walking, we already had Caleb. Then David came along and Abraham and Michael. We had a little bit of time, but then Maxwell surprised us. With all those boys, well...let’s just say she had to be tough.”

Garrett couldn’t help but wonder how Jo had survived with all those rough-and-tumble boys. She wasn’t as tough as she pretended. He’d seen her vulnerability. Despite her confidence and bravado, she really was a tiny little thing. Those boys should be sheltering and protecting her, not the other way around. A half grin stretched across his face. Garrett had a feeling Jo would never stand for coddling.

Ely considered his dirt-stained hands. “The missus used to dress her up. Jo wouldn’t stand for it. It’s funny, you know? The missus thinks they butt heads because they’re too different. I think they’re too much alike. You ever noticed that? It’s the parts of ourselves we see in others that frustrate us most.”

Ely’s insight surprised Garrett. With all those children running underfoot, who had time for speculation?

The older man paused. “Probably why David and I argue like a couple of old-timers.” He nodded. “We’re too much alike.”

A sense of helplessness chased away Garrett’s earlier serenity. Ely’s observations hit too close to the heart of the matter. That’s what Garrett feared—being like his father. The blood of a murderer flowed through his veins like an unlit fuse.

The McCoys were unencumbered by the past. They didn’t know the secret he bore like an albatross around his neck. They’d never been burdened with a scandal that had destroyed an entire family.

“Pa!” a voice called.

Garrett glanced up and saw the youngest McCoy dashing toward them.

Maxwell skidded to a halt and grasped his side, leaning over as he heaved in a noisy breath. “The reverend is here. He’s got a telegram for Garrett. Says it’s about Cora. And it’s important. And it’s bad news.”

Even without the power of Ely’s unexpected insight, Garrett had a sinking feeling this evening wasn’t going to end well.

* * *

Jo watched as Marshal Cain paced before the fireplace, his hands on his hips, a fierce scowl darkening his handsome face. “I’ll go back to St. Louis myself and fight this if I have to.”

“No!” Jo exclaimed.

Her ma placed a gentle hand on her arm. “Let him be.”

Reverend Miller worried the shallow brim of his black felt hat in his hands. “Perhaps it’s better if the marshal’s cousin and his wife raise the child. You’re a single man with a dangerous job...”

“They don’t want Cora,” Garrett announced. “They want the money from my sister’s estate. It says so right here. They want custody of Cora.” He jabbed a finger at the telegram. “And the proceeds of the estate for her care and comfort.” He crumpled the paper in his fist. “Care and comfort my foot. My sister’s husband was an architect. Did well for himself.”

The reverend hung his head, revealing the bald patch at his crown. “Still, we must consider what’s best for the child.”

The marshal braced his hands against the mantel and stared into the blazing fire. “That’s not all. I heard a rumor that Edward’s sawmill is failing. He doesn’t want Cora, he wants an influx of cash for his business.”

Mrs. McCoy stood and faced the group, her hands thrust out in a placating gesture. “I don’t like this any better than the rest of you, but we don’t know your cousin’s motivations for certain. Right now it’s only blind speculation.”

Marshal Cain turned and shook his head. “Whatever his motivations, he’s already got a judge on his side.”

Ely fisted his hands beneath his biceps and propped his shoulder against the wall. “Let me get this straight. He told the judge that the little girl is in jeopardy because she has a marshal as a guardian?”

“Because I’m a single man. A single lawman. They think I can’t care for her properly.”

“Can you?” Edith bluntly demanded.

Four pairs of eyes turned in shock.

Jo glared at her ma, who returned the sharp glance and pursed her lips. “I don’t mean because you’re a man. But you voiced your own concerns rather eloquently earlier this evening. You can’t have a little girl in the jailhouse with murderers and rapists.”

“Edith!” Ely exclaimed. “Language.”

Jo’s ma directed an exasperated look at her husband. “It’s the truth, whether we want to face it or not. You’ve got a sweet little girl living above a jail cell.”

Marshal Cain adjusted the gun belt strapped around his narrow hips. “She’s barely been here a week. I haven’t sorted out all the details. If living in the jail is the problem, then we’ll move.” He faced the reverend. “What about the Elder place? The one just over the rise? I’ll buy that.”

“You can’t,” Reverend Miller declared. “Someone already owns it.”

The room erupted into noisy chaos.

“Who?” Jo demanded.

“Why, Jack Elder’s brother,” the reverend declared. “I heard he was driving a herd of cattle from Texas.”

Ely planted an elbow on the mantel. “When did this happen?”

“Last month or so. Haven’t heard anything in a while.”

“Longhorns, I suppose?” Ely ran a thumb and forefinger along his silver-streaked beard. “Huh. I guess there’s good grazing land on the other side of the creek. He better move quick. There’s talk of closing the borders farther east. Those longhorns bring Texas Fever.”

“Does he have any kids?” Maxwell asked from the doorway.

The adults fell instantly silent at his sudden announcement. Not a one of them had noticed his arrival.

“Back outside.” Edith broke the impasse and shooed the youngest McCoy toward the porch. “The adults are talking.”

“Sounds like you’re arguing.”

“It’s a heated discussion. You and Cora play with the kittens until I call you.”

“I still say you’re arguing,” Max grumbled, but dutifully latched the door behind him.

Edith straightened the doormat with her heel. “It’ll be nice having an Elder on the land again. We should check the roof before he gets here.”

Ely grunted. “Enough. It doesn’t matter right now who owns the old Elder farm. What matters is what’s going to happen to Cora.”

Visibly shaking off the distraction, Edith straightened her collar. “I don’t think Marshal Cain has much of a choice. Keeping law in this town is unpredictable. If a judge looks at a husband and wife, also relatives, compared to a single man. A single
lawman.
” She paused. “How can he think Marshal Cain is the best choice?”

“I am the best choice.” The marshal punctuated each word with emotion. “I love her. I don’t want her because she comes with a pile of money. I’ve been raising her for a week. We’re struggling, sure. But I’m trying. I’ll try harder.”

Jo groaned as her ma set out the plates for supper. Heaven forbid Edith McCoy let a simple little thing like the ruin of a man’s life disrupt a meal.

“What if you’re called away?” Edith slid a plate across the table. “It took us almost a week to find you when we received the telegram about Cora.”

The marshal made a sound of disgust.

Panic welled in Jo’s throat. Didn’t they see how much Marshal Cain and his niece needed each other? Her ma was more concerned with propriety than love.

Jo clenched her hands on the table. “I can help out if he’s called away. Cora knows me.”

“That’s only one of his problems.” Edith added flatware next to the plates with infuriating precision. “His job is dangerous. What if something happens? If he’s wounded or worse. Who will take care of Cora then?”

Marshal Cain slapped his hat on his head. “I’m not giving up my girl.” He gestured dismissively toward Reverend Miller. “If some judge in Missouri....” He glanced pointedly around the room. “Or anyone else tries to take my child, they’ll have a fight on their hands.”

His expression scornful, Marshal Cain strode toward the door.

The room erupted into noisy chatter once more as everyone began talking and gesturing in overlapping conversations.

“There’s a perfectly obvious solution—” Edith began.

“Obvious to whom?” the reverend interrupted.

“You talk to him.”

Ely touched his chest. “Me?”

Jo stomped her boot. “This is getting us nowhere.”

Her pa’s head swung between the competing conversations. The reverend flailed his arms at Ely while Edith pointed a finger at her husband.

Jo brushed past them and blocked the marshal’s exit. “Let’s get hitched.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” Jo declared. “Let’s get married.”