The Sheriff Wears Pants (17 page)

Darcy agreed, and kissed her Gram, telling her how much she loved her and appreciated all she’d done for her.

Gram touched her hand and said quietly, “I need to go and lie down now, my dear.  Coming to the table to eat has become a chore.”

Darcy helped her into bed and then sat with her for a while. 

“You are so beautiful, child.  I’ve been so lucky to have you to raise from a tiny baby to a lovely young woman.  You gave my life purpose.”  She smiled and then said, “I would like to rest now, my dear.  I am very tired.”

Eleanor closed her eyes and went to sleep.  Darcy went to say good night later and Eleanor was gone.  She’d died in her sleep, and the smile on her face proclaimed that she was happy to be with Jonathan again.

Darcy called for Louisa, and Louisa gently covered Eleanor with a blanket.  She and Darcy clung to each other, crying.  Will came home and immediately realized what was wrong.  He did his best to console his wife over the next while. 

People came from miles around to pay their final respects to Miss Eleanor, and Darcy was careful to handle her final arrangements in the manner Gram wanted.  Louisa and John helped wherever they could.

Gram’s attorney insisted the will be read the day after the funeral per Eleanor’s instructions.  There were a few personal messages, and Gram left money to the town to be used
for the school, and to the church to buy an organ.  She left a small amount of money to Greta, thanking her for years of service, and asked her to please stay and work for Darcy and Will.  Louisa was also remembered, and she left her the painting in her bedroom and a brooch that Louisa admired so much.  Everything else was left to, “My beloved granddaughter Darshana Elizabeth Hamilton Davies.”

The reading didn’t take long, but Darcy felt done in.  She’d had to speak with so many people since losing Gram that she was exhausted.  She sat down in her rocking chair while Will was making rounds, and cried until she fell asleep.  When she heard the knock on the door, she woke, but was disoriented for a bit.  She made her way to the door and was surprised to see Priscilla standing there holding a basket.

“Hi, Darcy, I figured that everything would come crashing in this afternoon, so I brought dinner for you.”

It was the very last thing the redhead was expecting and she burst into sobs.  Priscilla calmly placed the basket on the table beside the door, took Darcy in her arms, and held her while she cried.  “Losing your Gram was to you like losing my Mama was to me.  It hurts so much, but eventually the good memories make you smile instead of cry.”

“I can’t seem to stop crying, Priscilla.  I miss her so much.  I will think of something, and then go to speak to her and remember she isn’t with us anymore.  That really hurts.”

“I know it does, and I’m so sorry you are going through this right now.  Is Will understanding?” she asked.

“He is.  He misses her, too.”

They talked for quite a while, and Priscilla told her how to heat up the dinner she brought for them. 

When she was ready to leave, Darcy thanked her for her sympathy and for her understanding.  “I needed a friend, Priscilla, and you were that friend.  Thank you so much, and thank you for supper.  I’ll return your dishes soon.”

“There is no rush, Darcy.”

“How is your wedding plans coming along?”  Darcy asked.

“Easier than I expected.  Brian and I seem to like the same things, which is remarkable.  His mother and father are coming in on the stage tomorrow to meet me, and I’m scared to meet her.”

“Don’t be.  If Brian loves you, I am sure his mother will too.”

Waldo Phares greeted Darcy on the sidewalk, stepping in front of her and then tipping his silly looking hat.  “How do you fare this day, Miss Darcy?”  His eyes were glittering and Darcy sensed he was up to no good, but she decided to try and give him the benefit of the doubt.

“I’m slowly accepting Gram’s death,” she replied, forcing herself to be polite.  She really did not like Waldo Phares, and she never would.  Every time she set eyes on him she couldn’t help but recall the public embarrassment he subjected her to by posting it in his newspaper the first time that Will spanked her!  She still blushed every time she remembered, and she felt like breaking Waldo’s nose all over again!

“I was wondering if you might tell me how it feels to know your husband, the Sheriff, is in danger?”  Waldo was his usual tactless self, and nosing for a story.

“In danger?” she asked, perplexed.  “From what, Waldo?”

“He arrested Rusty Campbell’s kid brother, and Rusty has given the Sheriff until high noon to release him or he’s going to draw on the Sheriff and break his brother out of jail.  Rusty Campbell is a hot shot gunslinger, Miss Darcy.”

It was obvious that Waldo relished sharing the information, hoping for something he could print in his paper.  This time, however, it backfired on him as Darcy took off running before he could get a word for his paper. 

“That damn Waldo!”  Darcy muttered under her breath as she took off running and went straight to the jail to confront Will.  “Were you even planning to tell me that you are in trouble, Mr. Davies?” she demanded, her hands on her hips as she glared at him in a confrontational manner.  It was obvious that she was struggling to control her temper, and he was pretty darn sure that he was going to end up spanking her before she left his office!

“Don’t worry, Darcy.  I can handle it.”  Will thought she looked adorable, but the last thing he wanted was his feisty wife getting involved in this situation.  He could handle it without her interference.

“Rusty Campbell is a gunslinger.”  Darcy wasn’t going to be dismissed so easily.  She was married to this man now, keeping him safe was her job, and she intended to do it to the very best of her ability.

“I was a gunslinger before I decided to become a lawman.  I can handle him.”  Will didn’t talk about that period of his life often.  A good friend of his was gun downed, and when Will found out the law wasn’t going to go after the killer, he strapped on a gun, in spite of his parents’ objections, and he went after the man.  It ended in a gunfight, with Will the winner, and it gave him an instant reputation.  He made his living with his gun for a couple of years until he realized it wasn’t the way he was raised, and that he was slowing turning into the sort of man he hated and went after in the first place. 

He hired on as a deputy in another town, and learned all he could from the Sheriff there, and then he came to Cactus Hill to Deputy for the elderly Sheriff.  Sheriff Layton died of a heart attack one day, and Will took over the job.  However, he still knew how to use his gun, and he wasn’t afraid of a kid like Rusty Campbell.  But, his wife was apparently having a lot of trouble dealing with that fact.

“No!  I forbid it.  I won’t permit you to be in a shootout with that man.”  Darcy was tapping her toe and her green eyes were snapping with temper.

“I’m not planning on having a shootout with him.  I intend to throw him in jail if he attempts to break his brother out of this jail.”  Will carefully explained, hoping she would calm down before he put her over his knee to calm her down.  Sometimes a spanking to get her attention was the only way to get Darcy to listen to sweet reason!

“Why did you arrest the brother in the first place?”  Darcy demanded, positive that Will was hiding something from her, and determined to get to the truth of the matter.

“He threatened Mrs. Forrester.”

“What!  Why?” Darcy was shocked that anyone would pick on that sweet woman!

“He wanted her purse and the money in it, and she refused to let him have her money.  She said she worked too many years to earn that money and she wasn’t giving it to some kid because he demanded it.  He pulled a gun on her and threatened to hit her with it, and she hit him in the nose with her purse, while yelling for help.  I heard her and took off running, to find that three other men got there first.  They were holding Buster, and he was screaming and threatening them with his big brother.  I put his ass in jail where he belongs.”

“How old is he?”  Darcy asked in disbelief.

“Fourteen, maybe fifteen.  He needs a trip to the woodshed.”  Will sat down in his chair.  “Honey, I want you to go on home and trust me to deal with Rusty.  He’s just a big mouth kid, with a troublesome little brother.  He’s all bluster.  I’ve come across his type many times.  Go on home and let me deal with this.  It’s nothing to worry over.”

“I can’t help but worry over you, husband.  I love you!”

“I love you, too, honey, but I need you to trust me and have faith in me.” 

What he said touched her deeply.  Darcy leaned down and kissed him, and then she went on home.  She wanted to change into her pants and strap on her gun and protect her husband, but she also knew that if she did that each and every time he was in trouble, she would undermine his authority in the town. 

To keep herself busy and glued to the house, Darcy started a batch of molasses cookies and just put the first batch into the oven when there was a knock on the front door.  Louisa was out with John again, trying to decide whether or not they would go ‘home’ or stay in Cactus Hill and join Dr. Grayson’s practice, and Greta was with some friends, stitching on a quilt.  Darcy was all alone, so she went to answer the door, praying it wasn’t Waldo again.  Dealing with him once in a day was more than enough, and this time she just might lose her temper and make him very sorry he kept hounding her with stupid questions!

“Are you Mrs. Davies?”  A pleasant faced young man asked with a smile.

“Yes, I am.  May I help you?”  She didn’t know the youngster, but it was possible one of her friends who lived out of town on a ranch had sent him with a message for her.  The ranchers hired new people all of the time.

“Yes, ma’am.  You sure can.”  His face suddenly changed and he drew his gun and pointed it at her.  “You’re going to come with me right now, and if your husband lets Buster go, I just might release you after I have me some fun with you.  No Sheriff gets away with putting my brother in jail and not paying for it some way!  I reckon my having you will hurt him real bad!”

“Your little brother tried to take an elderly woman’s purse.  Do you know how hard she and her husband worked to earn their savings?”  If this was the gunslinger Waldo told her about, Will had nothing to fear.  He was just a scared kid trying to bluff his way, and frighten her.  It wasn’t going to work.

“I don’t give a damn, lady.  I just want my kid brother out of jail, and you’re going to help me get him out.  Let’s go!”  He reached for her arm and Darcy stepped back.

“No!  I have cookies in the oven, and I’m not about to let this home burn down because you are selfish and could care less about real people.”  He needed a sharp lesson.

“Lady, do you want me to beat you?”  He waved his gun threateningly.

“You’re the one who needs a beating, you, and your brother, both!”  Darcy told him, her temper flaring as she looked at the young bully who was just asking for a hard lesson.  He thought to intimidate and frighten her, but he’d picked on the wrong woman.  Darcy wasn’t afraid of him; he sparked her temper. 

This time when he reached for her, she kicked him in the crotch, and then she brought her hand down on the back of his neck.  He fell unconscious to the floor.  Darcy fetched some rope from her back porch and tied his hands and his feet, and took his gun and put it where he would never find it.  She then calmly took her cookies from the oven and put in the next tray.  Then she sat down and waited.  Greta should be home soon, and she would send her to fetch Will so he could throw this one in a cell next to his brother!

* * * * *

As noon came and went, Will had to smile.  Rusty Campbell was a coward who was careful not to get into a gunfight with someone who had a prayer of beating him.  In the back, he heard Buster having a tantrum.  He went back there and said, “You’d best calm yourself, kid, or I’ll personally give you the tanning you’ve been needing for a good long while.”  It wasn’t an idle threat.  Each and every time he thought of this boy threatening Mrs. Forrester, he wanted to bend him over and set his pants on fire!

“Where is Rusty?” the boy demanded, his blue eyes full of tears.  “Did you kill him?” he demanded, and Will could see the kid was scared.

“He didn’t show up at noon like he said he would.”  Will saw no point in lying to the boy.

“Do you think he rode on and just left me behind?” 

Buster looked frightened and Will couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.  The thought of sending him to reform school didn’t sit well with Will, but his hands were tied.  “I wouldn’t know.  You calm down now or my belt is going to come off.”

“Rusty will shoot you dead if you try to whip me, Sheriff!”  The kid was back to blustering and making threats.  Will was just about fed up and he took a step toward the cell when he heard someone come into the office.

“Sheriff Will!  Sheriff Will!”  Greta called for him, and from the tone of her voice, he knew something was terribly wrong.  He hurried out of the jail, shutting the heavy wooden door between the office and the cells.

“I’m here, Greta, what’s wrong?” he asked, reaching out to put his hands on her shoulders to calm her.  The poor woman was shaking, and then she started crying.  He took out his handkerchief, thankful it was clean, and handed it to her.