by Bobbi Smith
“What’s your name?” Steve ground out, glaring at him with death in his eyes.
“Slidell.”
“Where’s your partner?”
“James ain’t here right now.” Slidell was quaking in his boots. James wasn’t going to be happy.
“Well, Mr. Slidell,” Steve spat, “my name’s Johnson, Steve Johnson, and I’m real sick of seeing your ugly face every time I turn around. What the hell do you want?” His hands tightened on him, promising more pain.
“Nothin’.”
“Then why are you following us?”
“We thought your wife was a woman named Windsor, and we’re searching for her, that’s all! It was a mistake. Just a mistake! Your woman looks like the Windsor girl, and you got the kid with ya and all—”
“Look, I don’t know anything about a woman named Windsor, and I don’t care. If you and your partner value your miserable hides, you’ll stay away from me and my family.” Seething, he gave Slidell another shake.
“Sorry, Mr. Johnson,” the other man groveled, truly frightened.
“You damned well better be. You got the wrong woman, my friend, and it’d be a real shame if you and your friend ended up dead over a case of mistaken identity, now, wouldn’t it?” Steve growled, tightening his grip ominously.
“Yes.” Slidell trembled. “Yes . . . sir.”
“Now, stay the hell away from us. If I ever see you or your partner around us again, I won’t be so nice.” Steve gave him one last vicious shake. “Get out of here!”
Steve watched Slidell scramble away and disappear out onto the street. Still uneasy, Steve made his way to the rear of the hotel and the back staircase. Where was Slidell’s partner? He had to make sure Sarah and Christopher were all right.
As Steve moved down the alleyway, the name Slidell had thrown at him hung in his mind. Windsor. He wondered if Windsor were Sarah’s real name. If so, why she was calling herself Johnson? Angry and worried, he used the back entrance of the hotel so he could hurry up to Sarah’s room as quickly as possible.
“Mister! Wait! You can’t come in here!” the cook shouted at Steve as he boldly crossed the kitchen to the staircase the desk clerk had described.
“I’m a guest. I’m just passing through.”
“But it’s not allowed.” By the time the cook had shouted it Steve had disappeared, taking the steps two at a time. Steve’s strides were purposeful and furious, as he made his way down the second-floor hall. The more he thought about the danger Sarah was facing alone, the angrier he got. Christopher was a child, an innocent, and she was daring to put him in the middle of it! Steve was barely in control when he reached their door.
“Sarah, it’s Steve. Open the door,” he demanded, knocking loudly as he spoke.
“What’s wrong? Why did you come back?” She heard the fury in his tone and opened the door right away. She had been about to leave, anxious to check on the Independence wagon train schedule.
He stalked passed her without an invitation, kicking the door shut behind him. “We’re going to talk, and we’re going to talk now,” he announced tersely.
“About what?” she asked nervously, wondering what had happened in such a short time to make him so angry.
“About the men from the steamboat! About why they were asking about us at the desk and why one of them was outside watching this hotel when I started to leave!” He watched her expression as he spoke, and he saw how pale she went at his revelations.
“Good God!” She’d believed their deception as the Johnsons had worked. It stunned her to find that it hadn’t. Panic welled up inside her. Michael’s men were so close. They were just a breath away.
“A man named Slidell, if that means anything to you, was waiting outside the hotel for you. Don’t you think it’s time you told me the truth, Mrs. Windsor?”
Sarah had glanced away from him in her frantic effort to collect her thoughts, but when he said their family name, her head snapped up and her eyes widened in fear. She wondered how much more he knew and what he intended to do about it. Her reaction gave Steve his answer. “So your real name is Windsor, and you are the ones they’re after.” He paused, staring at her, waiting.
“Why did you come back? What do you want from me?” Sarah whispered, trying desperately to pull herself together. Had the men told him everything? Perhaps they’d offered him money to turn them over to Michael.
“What do I want?” he repeated, stunned by her attitude. “I don’t want a damned thing. I came back here because I thought you might want something from me—like my help. ”
“We don’t need any help. We’ll be fine.” The shaky note in her voice betrayed the firmness of her convictions as she tried to stand straight and tall before him.
“Sarah! Listen to me!” Steve was frustrated by her refusal. “Those men are not stupid. I may have warded them off for now, but they’re not going to give up. The minute they realize I’ve left you alone, they’ll be back. Tell me what’s wrong. Let me help.”
“I’ll think of a way. We’ve made it this far.” She put an arm around Christopher.
“You need my help!” he insisted furiously.
“No, I don’t. This is our problem, not yours. Besides, you must be in trouble yourself. Why else would you have lied about your name in Jefferson City?”
“I can handle my problems,” he told her confidently. “You’re different. You’re a woman with a small boy to protect, going up against two men who mean business. If you want my help, you’re going to have to ask for it. I won’t force myself on you again.”
Sarah’s pride warred with her sensibility, and reason won. “You win,” she said grudgingly.
“Say it. Say, ‘Steve, I need your help.’ ” Steve refused to make it easy for her. She had foolishly sent him away, knowing the danger. He wanted it plain, before they began again, that she did want him with her. She had to be willing to trust him this time.
Battered, Sarah almost hated him; but Christopher wasn’t the least bit worried about pride. He knew they needed Steve with them. If his Aunt Sarah wouldn’t say it, he would! “I’ll say it! Stay with us, Steve, please? I need you.” His terror was evident as he pleaded for Sarah.
“It has to come from your mother. If she doesn’t want my help, I won’t stay.”
“Please, help us.” Sarah finally got the words out. “We need you.” Her humiliation was deep, but her desire to keep Christopher safe gave her the strength to utter the words. She wondered if she’d ever regret it.
“All right. I will.” Steve held out an arm to Christopher and the boy left Sarah to run to his side.
“Thanks.” Christopher’s heartfelt reply was accompanied by a huge sigh of relief.
“Sarah, I want to know what’s going on.” Steve’s tone indicated the importance of a straight answer. He would settle for no less.
“We have to get away.” A shudder wracked her. The men had been so close to capturing them; and, if it hadn’t been for Steve, they might have grabbed Christopher today and taken him back to Michael.
“Slidell is gone for now,” Steve reminded her, “but I don’t know if he believed my story. Where are you heading? Did you have a plan?”
“We’ve got to get to San Francisco. We’d planned to go by wagon train, but now that they’ve found us, we’d better take the stage. It’s faster and—”
“And it’ll be the first place they look.” He finished the sentence for her. “There’s got to be a better way.” He paused to think, and then, still angry that the boy was caught in the middle of this dangerous intrigue, he demanded, “Why did you wait so long to ask me for help? Didn’t you realize the danger you were putting Christopher in by trying to do this alone?”
“You think I’m not worried about Christopher?” She stared at him accusingly. “He’s the reason we’re going to California! I have to keep him safe.”
“But why? What are you running from? Who are those men and why do they want Christopher?”
“I can’t tell you that.” She was tempted to tell him everything. Her instincts told her that Steve was a man she could rely on, but she’d lost faith in her own judgment. She’d been so terribly wrong about Michael. Though Steve had cared enough to come back and warn them about the men outside, she was still unsure. For her own peace of mind, she clung to the pretense of widowhood. “Just know that I’m doing this for Christopher.”
Steve could see the fear and wariness in her eyes and decided not to force the issue right then. “What’s it going to take to make you trust me?” he asked more gently.
“I learned not to trust in a very painful lesson. Blind trust leads to betrayal.”
“Not always, Sarah. Not always.” His expression softened. “But we’ll take it one step at a time.” She had admitted she needed his help, and that was a start.
Steve gazed down at her, his anger easing. Something terrible had happened to them, something so bad she still couldn’t bring herself to talk about it. She’d left her home and family and run away with Christopher just to keep him safe, and that had taken courage. Brave and intelligent though she was, Steve also knew she was vulnerable, and it was because of that vulnerability that she needed him. He vowed to himself then and there that he would make sure no one ever harmed her or her son. He would keep them safe; and, perhaps with time, he would come to earn her trust and she would tell him the truth.
“What should we do?” Sarah asked.
“The wagon train still seems like the safest way to go, especially if we’re going to keep up the the Johnson-family charade. Stay here, and don’t answer the door for anyone else. Christopher?” He turned to the boy.
“Yes, sir?”
“Practice shuffling and dealing while I’m gone. When I get back, I’ll play you another game of poker.”
“All right!”
Steve left the room and waited in the hall until he heard her turn the lock. Assured for the moment that they were out of harm’s way, he left the hotel. Sarah hurried to the front window. She watched the street below until she saw Steve emerge from the hotel, and she kept watch over him until he disappeared around a corner.
It was a strange act of fate, she thought, that had brought Steve Spencer into her life! Twice now, he’d saved her from disaster, and she was glad he’d returned. She would not let herself imagine what could have happened if he hadn’t cared enough to help them. Sarah shivered, frightened.
Christopher sat on the edge of the bed, shuffling the deck of cards with earnest intent. He obviously adored Steve, and it pleased Sarah that he had positive male companionship right now. He needed someone to show him how a real man was supposed to act and how a real man took care of his own.
Sarah stopped in mid-thought, startled by what had just slipped through her mind. ‘His own’? Where had that come from? Of course they were only pretending to be a family, but the fact remained that he’d cared enough to come back and warn them about Slidell. He was willing to help them; and, in return, all he asked was that she trust him.
Sarah frowned. She thought of his kiss and of her reaction. He could have pressed her. He could have forced himself upon her at any time on the steamer, but he hadn’t. He’d been a gentleman in every way. He’d been kind and considerate. She knew nothing about him except through his actions, and yet, somehow, that was enough. Lost deep in thoughts of Steve, she sat down to await his return.
Slidell faced a furious James across a table in the back of the riverfront saloon.
“You fool! Didn’t you see him coming?”
“Yeah, I saw him coming, but I didn’t know he knew we was watching him! It don’t matter anyway. I’m telling you we’ve been following the wrong damned woman.”
“I don’t believe it. She matches the description. She’s even got the kid with her. The only thing that ain’t right about it is that there’s supposed to be two women.”
“Don’t you think that’s strange? I mean, what if we tracked them all the way here, and it really ain’t them? They didn’t give no name in St. Louis when they bought train tickets, but this man says they’re the Johnsons and it matches what they said when they bought the tickets for the steamer in Jeff City. We better send a wire to Harper and ask him what’s going on. He was going to wait in St. Louis to hear from us, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s send the wire. If this is the wrong woman, then where the hell is the right one?”
“That’s what we got to find out. There’s a helluva lot of money riding on this, and I don’t want to be wasting my time.”
“It could take a while to get an answer back from him.”
“So what? We’ll keep watching the hotel to make sure they ain’t going nowhere; and when we hear from Harper, we’ll have our answer.”
It was late in the afternoon when Steve returned. He picked up his bag at the front desk and went straight to the room. Christopher was quick to let him in.
“We’re leaving here at midnight,” Steve announced once he was inside. “Until then, we’ll have supper and stay in the room.”
“Where are we going?” Sarah asked. “Why do we have to leave in the middle of the night?”
“I’ve made arrangements for us to make the trip to Independence tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll buy what we need there, and the day after, we’ll head for California. We happened to be lucky enough to arrive here just as a wagon train was forming up. The travel won’t be fast, but it’s as safe as we’re going to get. I’ve signed us on under my name—Spencer. That should slow Slidell down if he’s still after us.”
“You don’t think he is, do you?” Sarah glanced apprehensively toward the window. Christopher moved closer to her.
“I hope not,” Steve said, “but don’t count on it. We’re going to have to keep watch and be careful.”
Sarah and Christopher nodded. “What else can we do?” Sarah asked. “I mean, to get ready?”
“Nothing. When it’s time to leave, we’ll use the back entrance. We’ll be riding to Independence with a shopkeeper who came into town today to pick up extra supplies. He has to get back right away; that’s why he’s making the trip at night. It won’t be comfortable riding in his buckboard, but I guess we’d better get used to traveling by wagon.”
“I’d walk it if I had to,” Sarah admitted. At last they were taking some action! The long hours of waiting had unnerved her. She liked the idea of slipping out of town under cover of darkness. No one would see them. “Did you see any sign of the men?”
“No. Hopefully, they’re gone forever. But if they’re not, we’ll have a good head start before they realize we’ve left the hotel.”
They ate in the hotel’s dining room, then returned to their own room to pass the evening. Steve kept his word to Christopher, and they played cards nonstop with Sarah as audience. When midnight neared, they gathered their things and stealthily left the hotel. With no staff on duty, they walked through the deserted kitchen without incident or notice. The trek to the rendezvous went well, and, to everyone’s relief, their ride was waiting for them and ready to leave.
At the hotel in Independence, Sarah and Christopher slept while Steve laid in provisions for the trip to California. Sarah had given him money; and, although he hadn’t liked the idea, he had found no argument that could stand up against her forceful insistence.
He returned mid-afternoon to take Sarah and Christopher to the staging area for a look at the prairie schooner they would call home over the next few months. Steve slipped an arm around Sarah’s slender waist, not unaware that they looked very much the loving couple as he pointed out their covered wagon.
“We’ve got everything we need,” he explained. “Our six oxen are grazing with the others right now, but they’ll be hitched up and ready to go when we pull out at four tomorrow morning. What do you think?”
Christopher let out a whoop and immediately climbed aboard to get a look. Covered by a waterproofed canvas top, the wagon was ten feet long and three-and-a-ha
lf feet wide. Steve had stocked it with everything they could possibly need for the trip.
“This is great!” Christopher cried as he scrambled from one end of the cramped wagon to the other. Perching on the bench seat, he asked, “Can I sit up here all the time? Can I drive?”
“If you can handle the reins,” Steve assured him, and Christopher tugged on the leather straps in anticipation.
“It’s wonderful,” Sarah finally replied. She was very much aware of his arm around her waist, and she was trying to force her thoughts away from the realization that she was going to have to spend the next few months with Steve in the close, intimate confines of that small wagon. And she’d thought the stateroom on the steamer had been too intimate! “But it’s not very big, is it?”
“No, it’s not,” he answered, his eyes darkening at the thought of sleeping so close to Sarah night after night.
Sarah fought against the blush that threatened, but when he smiled down at her, she could only gaze up at him, all rational thought struck from her mind. Steve was kind and considerate. His protective nearness offered her shelter in what was the storm of her life. It would have been easy to turn all her troubles over to him, but she had to maintain her independence.
“Don’t worry,” he went on, sensing her distress and wanting to calm her. “From what I understand, the sleeping arrangements depend on the weather. Most men spend the nights outside under the wagons. Women and children stay inside.”
“Oh.” He heard the relief in her voice.
“We spend tonight here, so we need to move our bags out of the room. Are you ready to go?”
Christopher climbed down from his post on the driver’s seat, and as they started back to the hotel Steve kept his hand possessively at Sarah’s waist. He cast one last look over his shoulder at the covered wagon, hoping for rain.
Chapter Twelve
New Orleans
“Are you crazy?” Lucky blurted out as he stared at Angel, unbelieving. They had been up only a few minutes, but she had already announced a change in travel plans. Now, she’d said, this very morning they would be leaving for California on horseback.
