Under a Falling Star (22 page)

“What a wonderful solution for everyone,” Hannah said. “Their house is certainly large enough. I’m happy for her.”

“So am I.” Susanna took Hannah’s shoulders and turned her friend around. “Come on, I’ll walk out to the street with you and then watch you until you’re safely in the house.”

With elbows hooked, they carefully made their way through the dark to the front of the house and the small dirt road. “Go on now, and hurry. It must be close to one in the morning. You’re going to be sorry when the rooster crows at five.”

Hannah gave her a quick squeeze and laughed. “I don’t have a rooster.”

“You know what I mean.”

Hannah started off. “You’ll be feeling it as well, mark my words.”

Standing on the side of the quiet road, Susanna watched until she couldn’t see Hannah any longer. She took a deep, cleansing breath. She felt better. They hadn’t answered any of the difficult questions, but sharing her problems had lifted a little of the weight from her shoulders.

Now, she’d better take Hannah’s advice and get some sleep or she’d be worthless tomorrow. Her eyelids pulled down heavily. She still needed to fetch the lantern she’d left burning in the backyard. Turning, she took one step and stopped. Two riders appeared out of the mist from the direction of the fairgrounds—and beyond that, the train station and the tracks that led to Three Pines Turn, the site where all those poor souls had perished. Her skin prickled. Since the accident, the trains had stopped, and the road had been extremely quiet. Why would there be riders at this time of night?

Feeling exposed, she ducked close to the house and stood very still as the riders came near. In the darkness, it was difficult to tell for sure, but neither man looked familiar. Instead of crossing the bridge that would take them directly into town, they weaved their way toward the livery, descended the small incline, and rode into the creek.

What were they doing? Could a man hide his horse under the bridge? Fear for Albert flooded her throat. Dalton was standing guard as well. Both of them could be in danger. There was only one thing for her to decide. Whether she should run through the dark into town by herself, or go for help first.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

A
lbert had been on edge for nearly an hour, not quite knowing what had triggered his uneasiness. He hadn’t liked the strange whistle trying to sound like a night bird. He felt exposed, more so because he’d expected Fort McKinney to follow through on the promised soldiers. If they had ridden hard, it was possible they could have arrived today.

He strode up the boardwalk a few feet, scanned the darkness beyond the mercantile and hotel, then turned and started back toward the livery.

He jerked to a halt. Someone was on the bridge. He strained through the darkness trying to see. A lantern on the bookstore porch obscured his vision, and he cursed under his breath. Slowly, he eased back against the wall of the bank and carefully drew his gun from its holster. He didn’t want any gunplay. Logan Meadows was known to be a law-abiding town—and he wanted to keep it that way. Folks were not going to be killed in their beds on his watch. Hopefully, Dalton hadn’t fallen asleep across the street. It was too late to send a signal.

A woman? When the person from the bridge was within twenty feet, he recognized Susanna. He’d know that figure anywhere; he’d been dreaming about it long enough. He met her when she was almost to the bank, slinging an arm across her shoulders and pulling her under the overhang of the bank’s roof. The feel of her against his side sent a heady awareness zipping through him like lightning.

“What’re you thinking?” he hissed, almost sounding angry. He wasn’t. Truth be told, he was elated to see her, but worried, and more than a mite annoyed she’d put herself in danger.

“Logan Meadows isn’t St. Louis, Albert,” she replied with her own tone. “It’s only a short distance from my house, and you know it.” Susanna wasn’t one to be bossed around—he’d learned that early on, and it was one of the things that intrigued him about her. He liked her strength and conviction of values.

“Maybe not, but we’re not the sleepy little town we used to be, either.”

“I was outside when I saw some riders I didn’t recognize coming from the fairgrounds,” she whispered back, her breath tickling his face.

“What were you doing outside this time of night? You should be asleep in your bed.”

He felt her soften. He got the impression she was in no hurry to step out of his protection.

“Albert, please. I’m not a child. I was just looking at the stars and admiring the beautiful night sky with Hannah.”

Hannah? Good. She needs someone levelheaded to help her sort out her feelings.

“I heard a noise and saw the horsemen. Worried they were outlaws intending to rob the bank. I had to come warn you—and Dalton.”

Under the overhang, they didn’t even have the light from the stars or the crescent moon, but Albert didn’t need any help to see her face, only an inch away. She could have left off Babcock’s name. Did she say that just to hurt him, or did she have feelings for her old friend, more than he suspected?

“I didn’t see anything. Which way did they go?” he whispered back, refusing to let jealousy ruin this time alone with her.

“I’m not exactly sure because they didn’t cross the bridge and ride into town. It’s as if they knew the chokecherry shrub on the corner blocked them from your sight. I think they went down the embankment and rode under the bridge. Can a horse and rider fit beneath it?”

Already heady with the feel of her so close, he was struggling to keep his thoughts in check. He braced his hand against the building behind her head, and daringly placed the other on her waist, hearing the sharp intake of her breath. His feelings were spinning out of control, and desire filled his mind. From what she’d said, the two of them could be in danger of being set upon at any second, but all he could think about was her.

“Albert?”

He jerked his thoughts back to what she was saying.

She tipped her head in question and her skin quivered beneath his hand. “The bridge?”

“Yes, they could. I’m just trying to work through the thought that you ran across that bridge when you believed outlaws were huddled underneath.” He brought his hand up to cup her face, the beauty of it in the darkness making his heart seize up. Had he lost her? Could she ever get past the hurt he’d inflicted? Was she still his girl? Would she ever trust him again? “I should be angry with . . .”

Her hair, loose and flowing around her shoulders, was a sight prettier than any prairie in spring. Her familiar scent of lavender tickled his senses and ignited a fire inside him. He fought to remember her note, respect her wishes, but an all-powerful urge to take her into his arms and steal the kiss they’d almost shared down by Shady Creek was winning out.

“Yes?”

Her soft engaging tone was invitation enough. He lowered his head to her lips and gently pressed her back against the building. He felt her tremble, and tenderness surged through him at her timidity. His actions had caused it, wounding her when she should trust. Her warm, velvety lips were everything he’d dreamed.

“Trust me,” he whispered next to her lips, as he gently coaxed her on. A moment passed, and then two. He felt a subtle change, and she relaxed. A sigh of pleasure escaped her throat. Before she could tell him to stop, he gathered her closer, kissed deeper, wanting to show her to what depths his feelings ran.

She inhaled sharply and pressed a hand against his chest. “Albert.” Her desire-clogged voice brought him to his senses.

Begrudgingly he pulled away, acutely missing the feel of her lips beneath his. They were back to where they’d been the last time they’d talked. Well not exactly. He’d stolen a kiss, and been transported to heaven. “I won’t say I’m sorry, Susanna. Even if you think I should.”

Her lips looked kissed and a bit plump. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“We’ve been heading toward that for two years, but I held back because I was married and I knew you’d never consent to keeping company with me in that way if you knew the truth. Well, I’m not married anymore.”

Just as he dipped his head for another kiss, the sound of a man coughing pulled him up straight.

“That’s just Dalton across the street,” he said when he felt a jolt run through her. “Still, you’re in danger every moment you stay out here, especially with what you told me. I don’t want you in the middle of a gunfight.” He glanced around. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

“I’ll go inside the bank with Frank.”

“He’s not there and I don’t have the key. Besides, that’s the last place I’d put you if I thought there was a chance we were going to be robbed. You can’t go back over the bridge until I check underneath.”

“This is silly, Albert. I can cross the bridge in one second if I run, then be home in two more. It’s just down the street. If there’re outlaws, or someone else, under the bridge, they aren’t after me.” She took a step away and Albert reached out and caught her hand before she got a foot farther.

“Nothing doin’.” Her hand was cool to the touch and he wrapped it in both of his. It brought a fleeting memory of a month ago and the picnic they’d shared with friends after church. She’d had on a flowing dress, one that emphasized her gracefulness. Nobody moved like Susanna. If she wanted to, she could practically float across a room. That day, though, they’d been walking by the stream and she’d slipped on a moss-covered rock. He’d easily caught her before she’d fallen and she’d lain in his arms as natural as could be. Her gaze had drawn him, and he’d almost kissed her then, despite his resolve to be free and clear of Floria before he ever did. And now she wanted him to let her walk home in the dark alone, and so close to a waiting danger? That just wasn’t going to happen. “You can get that idea right out of your head this instant. If there are fellows looking for trouble, sometimes they don’t care what kind they find.”

“Albert, I certainly can’t stay out here with you all night. That would set the gossips’ tongues wagging more than they already are. I don’t need to give them any more fodder.”

There it was. The truth of the matter was, she not only felt betrayed by him, but was scandalized and embarrassed. And why wouldn’t she? In everyone’s eyes, he’d duped her good. Still, in spite of all that, and all the damning evidence against him, she’d just risked her life to see to his safety. Things couldn’t be all
that
bad. A spark of hope lingered—or was that just the incredible tingle she’d left on his lips?

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

S
usanna blinked several times to see if she was imagining the smile lifting Albert’s lips. The same ones that had just kissed the stuffings out of her. She’d just laid out a portion of her heart. Was that all he thought of her? To smile? She couldn’t hold in her irritation. “What’s so funny?”

He reached out and touched the tip of her nose. “You.” He looked her up and down so long she felt flush under the collar. “Running out here in the middle of the night. And now thinking I’m going to just let you stroll home by yourself as if it were three o’clock Sunday afternoon.”

He gave a little chuckle and stepped in her direction, but she quickly pulled away. He leaned in, almost like he intended to kiss her again, but she held him off with a determined hand to his rock-hard chest. She wasn’t letting him off the hook—
she couldn’t
—even if his kiss had been dreamier than she’d ever imagined all those times as she fell asleep. She resisted the urge to reach up and touch her lips and relive the memory. Instead, she held her ground. “That still doesn’t explain your smile. Are you laughing at me too?”

His smile didn’t even ebb. “Of course not,” he said softly, gently bushing a wisp of her hair from her face. “I’m moved that, deep down, you’re still worried about me. Enough to brave the dark night when unseemly looking horsemen you’ve never laid eyes on before might be right under your feet. You’re quite the valiant woman, Susanna. Your spirit is one of the things I love about you.”

He said the words slow and enticing, his deep voice melting her insides. He meant to seduce her, she realized with a shock. In all the time she’d known him, he’d never come on like this—and his pull was deadly. She tried to turn her head, but her gaze was anchored to his lips. She was almost defenseless against his charm. If seduction was his aim, he was doing a darn fine job.

“Your concern tells me a lot,” he continued. She shivered when he stroked her palm with his thumb. “You still care. And I still have a chance.” His smile had faded and his grave expression spoke volumes. She meant everything to him. His eyes searched her face. “I’m not going to let you go without a fight. It wasn’t my choice for Floria to die, God rest her soul, but she has. I’m in love with you, Susanna, and have been since your first few days in Logan Meadows.”

“What’s going on?” Dalton stepped out of the darkness, one gun drawn. His suspicious tone held a mountain of censure. “I thought that was you, Susanna. But I actually thought you’d be more sensible than to sneak out here in the middle of the night.”

“What’re you doing?” Albert growled. “We may have some visitors under the bridge waiting for the right moment to make their move. Now you just gave it to them by coming over here.”

Dalton never took his gaze from her. She felt Albert’s anger sizzle through his body.

How much had Dalton seen? Was he listening to their conversation? She didn’t like to think he’d do such a thing, but his tone, and the look in his eyes, made her wonder.

“Get back to your post,” Albert said through a stiff jaw. “Standing together like this makes us an easy target.”

“Every moment Suzie stays out here talking with you she’s in danger,” Dalton said, keeping his voice down. “I could hear your whispers all the way across the street.”

“That’s impossible.” Albert shifted his weight. “The sound of the creek alone hides most everything.”

Dalton’s chin went up as if he were gunning for a fight. If they took to fists, would she be able to break them apart? She didn’t know Dalton well enough to read his moods. “The relief guards won’t arrive until five in the morning. You can’t stay out here with Albert all night.”

Susanna’s ire rose. Why was he bossing her around? She was about to give him a big piece of her mind, but Albert beat her to it.

“She’s with you as well, Babcock, and the rest of the sleeping town. Nothing untoward is going to happen.”

Dalton harrumphed.

“There’s a chair right there,” Susanna said, trying to mollify both. “If I get tired, I can sit.” She pointed to the wooden cane-back seat next to the door. “Do you have a better solution?”

Dalton’s gaze roamed over her loose hair. “I do. It’s safer on my side of the street—away from the bank.”

“Over my dead body,” Albert said low.

“You’re going to forgive him, Susanna? Like he hasn’t duped you for the past two years? I wouldn’t let him off so easily.”

Susanna gaped back and forth, her annoyance at both men growing with each comment. “That’s my business, Dalton, not yours.” She turned and looked at Albert. “What about the riders I saw? Aren’t you worried about them? Shouldn’t you do something?”

“Of course I am, and will. But I’m not going to start anything with you at risk if bullets start flying.”

It was true, she’d put both Albert and Dalton in danger by coming out here. She needed to get out of the way so they could do their jobs.

“That’s why she’s coming with me.”

“Enough!” Albert’s romantically inclined mood had gone all business in a matter of seconds. “I’ll take her to the bookshop. She can stay upstairs with Tabitha until morning.” Albert’s tone said he was done talking with Dalton and with her as well.

Susanna sucked in a breath. She had to admit, it was the perfect solution and she wished she’d thought of it sooner herself, before the heated words had started to fly. Tabitha might be frightened when she first knocked on her door, but there was no help for that.

Albert took her elbow and they turned for the alley. “Stay here, Babcock, until I get back,” he said over his shoulder. “We’ll go around to the back door. I’ll be listening in case any trouble breaks out.”

Dalton’s expression was sullen as they walked away. Susanna’s gaze veered beyond him to the bridge that had always been an attraction for folks in Logan Meadows, not a hideout for outlaws waiting to make their move. Albert’s presence by her side, although exciting, brought little peace. All their lives could change in the blink of an eye.