The Outrider (Redbourne Series #5 - Will's Story) (16 page)

After a moment, her back started to hurt and she
twisted and turned until she achieved a position that felt comfortable. As she
began to relax, visions of everything that had happened today passed through
her mind and instead of slowing down, her breathing became more rapid and
ragged.

She’d almost died today.

Had killed a man.

How could she live with that?

She rationalized that the lumbering oaf would
have killed her had she not defended herself, but the realization that they’d
only been after the money left her questioning her course of action.

Oh, Lord, forgive me.

All of the emotions that she’d held back to get
her through the day came bubbling to the surface. She raised a hand to her face
and wondered if Caspar was all right, wherever she was, and she longed for the
attention the hound would have been sure to have given her.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around herself.

She missed Stone Creek and wished that she could
talk to Grace. And as much as she hated to admit it, she missed home. England.
Her family, no matter what they’d done, she still loved them. If she’d ever
needed someone in her life, it was now, but…she was alone. She forced herself
to focus on the positive things that had happened, but only one came to mind.

He almost kissed me.

Just that one thought warmed her from the inside
out. She could focus on that. Emotions swirled about her as her body finally
gave in to rest.

The telegraph operator’s eyes were red beneath
his small, round spectacles, and his white night dress was still crumpled from
sleep. Will had felt bad about waking the man, but he’d needed to get a message
off to Stone Creek as quickly as possible. He hoped that Marshal Fenton was
still in the area and that he would be able to get some men together to find
the bodies of the bandits who had attacked them. Animals were not likely to
leave the corpses alone for long.

“Thank you, sir,” he said as he placed coins down
on the table, double for the inconvenience. He moved his neck in a circular
motion and stretched his shoulder blades backward, looking forward to a few
hours of sleep. He collected his hat, nodded at the tired telegrapher, and
headed outside toward the sheriff’s office, lantern in hand.

By morning, he would be the least popular man in
this little town.

Knock. Knock.

If the lawman in town was like most, his quarters
would be in or around the jailhouse. He knocked again. Still no answer. He
stepped sideways and peeked in through the window. A man in one of the cells,
raised a hand, presumably to block the lantern’s light from shining in.

“Can I help you, son?” A low, scratchy voice came
from around the side of the building.

A large, bearded man stepped into the light, his
badge displayed prominently on his chest.

“My name is William Redbourne, Sheriff.” He
extended his free hand. “The stage came under attack on our way into your
little town. Three of the culprits are dead, but two of them got away. Now, I
don’t know if they’re headed this way or not, but I thought you’d appreciate
the advanced notice.”

“I do.” He dipped his head affirmatively and then
raised a brow at Will. “You said three are dead? You bring ‘em with ya?”

“No, sir. There wasn’t time. That’s why I’m here.
I also sent word to the territory marshal.”

“Fenton? Been a while since he’s been out in
these parts.” The sheriff cleared his throat and walked around him to the front
of the jailhouse. “Where’d you say ya left those men?”

“Out in the ravine.”

“You a lawman?” he asked as he moved to the chair
stationed right outside the jail’s door and pulled a cigar from his pocket.

“I’m not a marshal or a sheriff. I’m an outrider.
Accompanied the stage. We’re carrying some sensitive cargo.”

“An outrider, huh?” The man eyed him through
narrow slits.

Will nodded. An outrider didn’t carry the same
authority as a regular lawman, but he was endowed with a responsibility to
uphold the law—deputized in the line of his duty.

“What kind of cargo?” the sheriff asked, seeming
satisfied with Will’s response.

“The sensitive kind, sir. Along with three
mail-order-brides.”

“Mail-order-brides?” He struck a match and puffed
on the cigar now protruding from his mouth. “Do folks really do that?”

“I’m travelling with proof, sir,” Will told him,
amazed himself that it was true. Of course, it was natural for people to want
to settle down and have a family. Wasn’t it? And if there were no other
opportunities…

The burly sheriff exhaled a thick stream of smoke
and crossed his legs, leaning back into his chair. “Hmmmm.” He seemed to ponder
that thought for longer than was probably necessary before glancing back up at
Will. “I’ll get word over to the hotel, restaurant, and saloon to be on the
lookout for any suspicious strangers in town.”

“Thank you, sheriff.”

“Where you headed?”

“Kansas City.”

“Leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said with another puff of
smoke.

Will tipped his hat. “Evenin’.”

“Evenin’.”

After collecting Indy’s reins, he took his time
walking back over to the livery. The wind from the storm had cleared the night
sky of all clouds and the stars shined brightly in the heavens.

So much for an easy job, Sven!

Amidst all of the things that had gone wrong
today, he could not help the smile that emerged on his face as thoughts of the
red-headed woman invaded his mind. He’d never met anyone quite like her. The
only women he knew who could shoot that well, were those in his family. Most of
the womenfolk in Stone Creek were all too willing to let the menfolk carry the
guns—though he imagined some of those living outside of town would know their
way around a shotgun or two.

Will tipped his hat at Paulie as he walked into
the livery. He relit the lantern and carried it into the stables and hung it
from the nail protruding from a beam above the gate.

“You must be tired, boy,” he said as he walked
Independence into one of the stalls. He ran a hand over the horse’s nose, then
moved to his side, pulled the saddle down off his back, and hung it over the
side of the stall.

He made quick work of brushing down and watering his
mount. Loud snores greeted him from the bunk room where Ellis was sound asleep.
He released a relenting sigh and fell onto the bottom bunk of the opposite set
of beds.

Even though he was as tired as all get out, sleep
eluded him. His mind raced through the events of the day and he called up a
quick prayer of gratitude that they’d all made it through alive.

It had hardly seemed like any time had passed
when Paulie came into the room and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Will?” he said with a light shake.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up quickly, and
hitting his head on the boards of the upper bunk.

Blast it all.

“Everything’s fine,” Paulie said. “It’s two
o’clock and I am tuckered.”

“Right.” Will rubbed his head as he climbed out
from the bed. He took the lantern from his riding partner and got out of the
way, so Paulie could lie down.

The man pulled off his shirt and hung it over the
footboard.

“Where did you get the bandages?” Will asked in a
whisper, as to avoid waking Ellis.

“Eliza Beth found a box of supplies and she
cleaned it up real good.”

Will tilted his head, taken back a little by this
information. “And just when did she do that?” he asked.

“Back about a half hour or so. She’s a smart
woman, that one. Good with a rifle too. And she is sure something to look at.”

Will’s jaw clenched and released.

That woman was trouble. She’d left the hotel
after he’d dropped her off. He’d trusted she would do the smart thing and head
on in to bed. A woman should not be out on the streets of an unfamiliar town
alone in the middle of the night. He should have seen her inside. Made sure she’d
gotten to her room safely before he’d left.

“Did she say anything?”

“Just that she needed to collect something before
heading back over to the hotel.”

Will shook his head.

Women.

Although, this woman was unlike any other he’d
ever met. He liked her and that irked him. He walked out of the room without
another word to start his rounds. It wasn’t like he could go over to the hotel
in the middle of the night and demand they check to see if she’d made it there.

There were still two of those bandits out there,
and while Will still believed that they’d headed in the opposite direction of
this town, he had no doubt that there were still people looking for this
bankroll and he wasn’t about to let anyone have it before he reached the train
depot.

He checked both of his pistols and retrieved his
rifle from the holster on his saddle bag. No one was going to get into this
livery tonight. Not on his watch.

Once he stepped out into the street in front of
the livery, he stretched again, peering out into the darkness. The sound of
gravel crunching caught his attention and he strained to see ahead, his hand
moving directly to his hip. Something in the distance, a blur in the shadows, was
moving quickly toward him. He pulled his gun, resting it at his side, and held
up the lantern high over his head to light the path.

Ruff. The lantern served as a beacon for the lost
dog as she ran up to him like an old friend, pawing and dancing around his
feet.

“Where’d you get off to, little one?” He
holstered his weapon and scrunched down to scratch Caspar’s head, behind the
ears. “I’d thought we’d lost you, girl. Where’d you run off to?”

She jumped up and licked his face, but her tongue
seemed awfully dry and it seemed her energy had been exhausted in finding them.
He stood up and strode over to the water pump at the far edge of the livery
yard and drew a few streams of water from the spigot.

Caspar lapped it up with enthusiasm.

“Are you hungry, girl?” he asked, pulling a
couple of pieces of dried meat from his pocket.

Eliza Beth would be so relieved that her pup had
found them.
He
was relieved that she’d found them. He didn’t know what
his family would do if they’d lost Seamus, their large white and gray sheepdog,
and he couldn’t imagine how difficult it had been for the woman not knowing if
she would ever see Caspar again.

After she’d had her fill of the water, the red
coonhound ran up to the door to the livery and scratched at the wood.

“What is it, girl?” Will asked. “Do you smell
something?” He walked to the far side of the livery yard, scanning for any hint
of trouble. After he took a quick round about the place, he would take Caspar
inside for a bit and find her a place to sleep.

A noise caught his attention as they approached
the backside of the building.

“Shhhh,” he instructed quietly as he again pulled
his sidearm. Will stood with his back up against the wall and carefully peeked
around the corner. He couldn’t see anything, but something rustled in the
leaves a few yards ahead.

Without warning, Caspar shot out from behind him,
barking loudly.

“Caspar!” he called in a loud whisper.

“Leave me alone,” a young voice called out. “Let
go.”

Will peeked around the corner to see the
coonhound biting the denim pockets of a small boy, who twisted and turned,
trying to get away from the dog. He holstered his pistol again and strode up to
them, the lantern high in the air.

“Hello,” he said kindly. “It’s all right, girl,”
he said, then clicked his tongue. “Caspar, let go.” He blew a short, curt
whistle and the hound released the boy’s pants and sat down.

Without waiting for permission, the boy started
to run, but Will caught him by the arm and swung him around, crouching down to
meet him at eye level. He removed his hat, fingering the brim.

“It’s late,” he said, meeting the boy’s eyes. “Your
parents must be worried sick about you.”

“I ain’t got no parents,” the youngster said
loudly.

Will nodded his understanding. “That’s got to be
rough. Where are you staying?”

“I don’t know.”

“What are you doing out here all alone?” Will
asked.

“I don’t know.”

“What’s your name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, that’s quite an unusual name, I Don’t
Know.”

It looked as though the boy hadn’t eaten in days.
His face was smudged and his skin sallow.

“You hungry?”

The boy didn’t say anything for a minute. “I
don’t know,” he finally muttered with a single shrug.

“I’ve got some roast beef, potatoes, and corn
bread inside.”

The boy licked his lips, his eyes opening wide.

“Would you like some?”

He shrugged.

“Fruit jerky.” Will stood up and walked back
toward the front of the livery, Caspar at his heels. It probably wouldn’t be
the most enticing meal for a child, but he was grateful that his mother had
been worried enough about him that she’d packed a knapsack full of foodstuffs
that would last him days on the trail.

“Candied pecans,” he continued, hoping to entice
the boy further. Lottie’s candied pecans would rival any of the large
confectionaries out there. He moved slowly, smiling when he heard the tiny
footsteps behind him.