by West, Everly
As they entered the office shack, Leachman stood and greeted them. “I hope you have some good news for me, Sheriff.”
“Not news, more like a couple of questions,” Nathan replied. “But first, I want to introduce you to Hannah Anderson. She’s new to Laramie and I wanted to show her the countryside.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Anderson. I saw the two of you last night at the dance, but y’all didn’t looked like you wanted company.”
Memories of Nathan holding her close as they danced, of him whispering in her ear and them huddling close as they talked over the music flashed across her mind. She felt her cheeks grow hot and knew her light complexion was stain red with embarrassment.
Nathan cleared his throat and pulled three wanted posters from his pocket. “Do any of these men look familiar? Maybe someone who has worked at the mine before or just hanging around.”
Leachman studied the pictures before shaking his head. “No. You think one of them robbed me?”
“It’s a long-shot. Some of their criminal histories were similar.” Nathan folded the posters and returned them to his pocket. “As I said the other day, more than likely whoever did this is in the next state over by now.”
Leachman grunted. “I have another couple of bags of ore to take into town tomorrow. I was considering hiring an armed guard to accompany me, but maybe I won’t now.”
“I noticed you always bring your gold into Laramie around mid-morning,” Nathan said. “I suggest you change up your routine occasionally.”
“I guess I could wait until around four tomorrow afternoon before I leave for town.” Leachman scrubbed his hand down his jawline. “That would increase the amount of gold by a half a day’s work and still give me plenty of time to get to the assayer’s office before they closed.”
“And I’d rethink the armed guard, Bart. It’ll draw attention to the fact that you’re carrying gold.”
Bart Leachman nodded. “I see your point. When I come to town tomorrow, I’ll use my buggy, I’ll look as inconspicuous as the next guy.”
Hannah’s heartrate sped up. It was time for the Shadow to make another appearance. She’d never pulled a job in broad daylight but that wouldn’t stop her from taking advantage of the information she’d just gleaned.
Hannah barely noticed Nathan wrap his fingers around her elbow and lead her toward the door.
Leachman spoke before they made it outside, pulling Hannah out of her strategizing thoughts. “My wife’s birthday is in a couple of weeks. I’m throwing a big shin-dig at the ranch. Loretta would love to meet the woman who snagged the heart of Laramie’s most elidable bachelor.
Hannah laughed, “Oh, I don’t know so much about that.”
Nathan joined her in laughter. “If Hannah’s still speaking to me in a couple of weeks, I loved to escort her to your wife’s birthday party.
Hannah’s mind was already churning with the possibility of getting the layout of the Leachman’s ranch house—and what she could do with that knowledge.
* * *
The next afternoon, Hannah hid in the undergrowth waiting for Leachman and his gold. She and Ginger had moved a small fallen tree across the road. Leachman would have to stop and remove the tree before his buggy could continue. And that’s when she would part the man from his gold.
She heard horse’s hooves clopping against packed dirt and backed further into the shadows. A moment later, a shiny black buggy came around the blind bend in the road.
Leachman pulled to a stop in front of the dead tree. “Stay here, Loretta. This shouldn’t take long to move.”
Hannah shifted her gaze from the cursing man tugging on the log to the passenger side of the buggy. Blast it, he’d brought his wife with him. She considered abandoning her plan then thought better of it. Leachman might have tried to overtake a small-statured thief, but not if that meant a possible injury to Loretta. Yep, this unexpected turn of events might just work in her favor.
Leachman finally moved the log off the road and turned toward the buggy. Hannah stepped out of the bushes and pointed her unloaded gun at Bart Leachman. After years of practice and her father’s insistence that she pass as a man, Hannah half-grunted half-growled her words and pointed her gun at the mine owner, “Leachman, throw your sidearm toward me.”
He didn’t move to obey. So, Hannah shifted her aim toward his wife and cocked her pistol. “Now.”
Loretta screamed. Leachman unbuckled his gun belt and tossed it toward Hannah. “Everything is going to be all right, Sweetheart.”
Watching Leachman from the corner of her eye, she ordered the woman, “Throw that rifle down here with your husband’s gun.”
Hannah hated the look of fear stamped across Loretta’s face, but she couldn’t show concern. Hopefully, this would be over soon.
The rifle landed a few feet from the buggy.
“Now, throw the gold down here as well.” Hannah’s throat burned with the effort to disguise her voice.
The petite woman didn’t move.
“Do what he says,” urged Leachman.
Loretta Leachman nodded then reached for the first of two sacks filled with ore sitting on the buggy’s floor board. She struggled with the heavy bag, but finally pushed it off the buggy floor. She started to move the second bag, but Hannah stopped her. “No, I only take half.”
Hannah waved her gun between Leachman and the buggy. “Now, go help your wife out of the rig.”
Leachman moved cautiously toward the other side of the conveyance from Hannah and helped his wife to the ground. Relieved she had both of them in clear sight, she inched closer to the rig. She snatched the buggy whip out of its holder then lashed the whip across the horse’s rump. The horse took off at break-neck speed with the buggy in tow.
“Now, you have two choices. Go after your rig and the other half of the gold or die where you stand. If you’re lucky you’ll catch up with your ride before you have to walk the full distance to town.”
Leachman took his wife’s hand and set a fast-paced walk after their runaway ride.
Hannah watched until they dropped out of sight over the crest of the next hill before she lugged the gold into the bushes. She returned with a leafy branch and brushed away any tracks or footprints they’d left behind. Only Leachman’s guns still laying in the middle of the road marked the spot of the Shadow’s latest raid.
The hardest part of the whole endeavor was getting the heavy bag of gold ore back to the cabin and into the hollowed out stump beside it. Once she’d covered the stump’s top with bushes and leaves, she changed into her riding skirt and blouse and headed back to town staying off the main road.
If her luck held out, she’d make it back to Laramie before the Leachman’s.
Chapter 8
The door to the Sheriff’s office slammed against the wall. A seething Bart Leachman stomped inside.
“Blast it, Bart,” Nathan snapped.
“I’ve been robbed—again!”
Nathan pulled a bottle of whiskey and a glass from his bottom drawer. He nodded to the chair in front the desk. “Sit down and start at the first.”
“The half thief struck again.” Bart pulled out the chair while Nathan poured him a shot of whiskey. He downed the liquor in one gulp then glared at the Sheriff. “Loretta was with me. She could have been seriously hurt or even killed!”
“Why in tarnation would you take your wife on a gold run?” Nathan barked as he refilled Bart’s shot glass.
“You said to be inconspicuous. I figured a man and his wife out on an afternoon ride would be as inconspicuous as it gets.” Bart downed his second shot of whiskey. “Who would have thought the little whipper-snapper would try something in broad daylight.”
“Little?” Nathan’s intuition flared as he reached in a desk drawer and pulled out the wanted posters. “Can you describe him?”
“Of course, he was holding a gun on my Loretta.”
“Tell me,” Nathan ordered.
“The sun was b
ehind him, but it looked like he was about five foot-seven or so. Kind of stocky, Wore all black.”
“What about hair or eye color?”
“Don’t know,” Bart admitted. “He wore a black mask, gloves and a big black hat.”
“Probably Jeb’s hat,” Nathan mumbled.
“Come to think of it, it did look a lot like Jeb’s.”
Nathan shifted through the posters until he came across the one he wanted. “Did he look anything like this?”
“Yes!” Bart shook the poster at Nathan. “He looked exactly like this.”
Nathan was afraid of that. The wanted poster was a drawing of a black-clad thief. The picture looked more like the outlaw’s name than a man. Just a shadow.
The wanted poster was going to be little to no help at all.
“Which way did he ride off?”
“Don’t know that, either. Loretta and I left before he did?”
“Say what?”
“He scared the horse and buggy off—”
“Wait,” Nathan said, interrupting Bart’s answer. “Start from the beginning.”
Bart shoved his empty shot glass in the direction of the whiskey bottle in a wordless request of another drink. Nathan ignored it. Leachman needed a clear mind to remember the details.
Taking a deep breath, Bart told his story. Nathan asked questions here and there, but generally let him tell it at his own pace.
“That plug of a horse ran halfway to town before he stopped. My Loretta was exhausted by the time we retrieved the horse and buggy,” Bart bemoaned, wringing his hands.
Suddenly, the door opened again and Hannah, in a swirl of yellow gingham, rushed in. “I just heard. Are you all right, Mr. Leachman?”
* * *
The Shadow hefted the bag of gold onto the orphanage’s kitchen table and turned to leave.
“Back so soon?” Henrietta said from the doorway.
Hannah stepped deeper into the shadow of the back porch and lowered her voice into the Shadow’s gravelly growl. “I found a little more gold ore and thought of the kids.”
“We still have plenty from your last visit, but I’ll tuck this away for a rainy day.”
“Did you have any trouble at the assayer’s office?” Hannah asked.
“That man is the nosiest old codger I’ve ever met,” Henrietta huffed. “But I didn’t tell him a thing.”
“When you get ready to cash in this bag of gold, maybe you should go to another assayer office?”
“Maybe, but I figure we’ve got enough cash for six months, give or take. By then, the assayer will probably have forgotten about my first visit.”
Hannah doubted that, but let it slide.
She’d turned to leave when Henrietta asked, “Who are you?”
“Just someone who believes a child should never go hungry.”
The Shadow left, exhausted from almost twenty-four hours on her feet. And she still had to double-back to change clothes.
She dozed off in the saddle three times during the five-minute ride to the abandoned cabin.
Feeling almost crossed-eyed with exhaustion, she snagged her pants on a nail protruding from the door frame. “Blast it!”
She stumbled into the one-room cabin and tossed her hat into its hiding place in the wood box then changed her clothes. But instead of stashing the Shadow’s get-up in the bottom drawer of a dilapidated armoire she rolled the black garb into a knot and tucked them under her arm.
One night this week she’d repair her pants and then give them and the rest of the Shadow’s clothing a much-needed washing. But not tonight.
Tonight, all she wanted to do was fall into bed.
* * *
Nathan spread the red-plaid blanket Gunner had added to their picnic basket under the shade of a large cottonwood tree.
“Surely not,” Hannah mumbled under her breath.
“What did you say?” Nathan asked, pulling plates out of the basket.
“I was just saying what a beautiful spot this is,”
“It’s where I come to think or just get away.” Nathan took her hand and seated her on the blanket. “The old Macky cabin is just beyond the tree line.”
Hannah glanced in the direction of the cabin. “Oh.”
“When I was younger, I used to come out here and fish.”
“Are we thinking or getting away?” she asked as she adjusted her skirt.
“Both.” Nathan took a bottle of wine from the basket, opened it and served. “I wanted to spend time with you without prying eyes and maybe use you as a sounding board.”
“Is this about the Shadow?”
Goosebumps tickled the back of his neck. “How do you know about the Shadow?”
She took a long sip of her wine and picked at the fuzzy wool blanket. “Some miners mentioned him at the Café. I overheard bits and pieces of a lot of conversations waiting tables.”
“Of course,” Nathan relaxed, leaning back against the tree. “I should move my office to the Café then I know all of Laramie’s secrets.”
“I doubt there’s very few secrets that you’re not privy to.” Hannah crossed her legs Indian-style under her skirt and rested her elbow on her knee.
When she planted her chin in the palm of her hand, Nathan’s blood warmed. Dang, how could a woman be so stinking cute?
“So, tell me about the Shadow.”
“There’s not much to tell. I’ve searched every road, trail and goat path in the Laramie area and can’t find a trace of him. It’s like he appears, pulls his heist and then disappears into thin air.” He refilled their glasses, enjoying the tranquility of the early evening picnic and Hannah’s company. “I even went so far as to telegraph the surrounding towns to see if they knew anything.”
“Did they?”
“All the replies came back with nothing except Arlington. The Sheriff over there said the Shadow had been plundering in his area for quite some time. A posse cornered him last month, but the outlaw slipped away.”
“Oh my, have they seen him anymore after that?”
“No, the Sheriff said the Shadow must have moved on.”
“And you think he moved into the Laramie vicinity.” Hannah retrieved a loaf of bread from the basket, torn off two pieces and handed one to Nathan. “Are you sure it’s the Shadow?
“Yeah, Bart identified him from his wanted poster.” Nathan cut a slice of cheese off of a block and handed it to Hannah. “The fact that the Shadow pulled a job in broad daylight concerns me.”
“Why?” Hannah tried to hide a yawn behind her hand, but Nathan spotted it.
He leaned forward, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. “Tired?”
“Maybe a little,” she snuggled into his chest and sighed.
He lifted her chin with his index finger, meaning only to give her a sweet kiss. But when his lips touched hers, passion ignited between. She surrendered to him, and he took everything she offered—and more. He cupped her face in his hand as he plunged his tongue into her wine-kissed mouth. Their tongues played a fervent game of hide and seek that almost drove him over the edge of self-control. He lingered a moment longer, unwilling to lose the soul-melting feel of her in his arms. With control he didn’t think he possessed, he released her lips.
“My God, Hannah, the things you make me feel.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Nathan readjusted their embrace until her head rested in the curve of his shoulder. “Go to sleep, Sweetness. I’ll watch over you.”
“Just for a minute,” Hannah whispered, resting her hand over his heart. Moments later, she drifted off to sleep.
He threaded his fingers through her silky, brown hair and whispered against her forehead, “Take all the time you want, darling, I’m not going anywhere.”
Thirty minutes later, nature called. He eased Hannah out of his arms and onto the blanket. When he stood, he rotated his shoulder, hoping to revived the feeling in the joint.
He ambled off toward the cabin, wanting t
o ensure his privacy. Once finished with his business, he noticed hoof prints in the dirt. Curious, he followed the tracks to the Macky cabin. Fresh manure dotted a clearing under a cottonwood tree. One branch dangled lowered the rest of them. On closer inspection, he saw it had been slightly bent for easy access.
Someone had recently tied a horse here.
No horse probably meant nobody was around. But with Hannah asleep nearby, he couldn’t take any chances.
Pulling his gun, he edged toward the run-down cabin. Slowly, he eased the door open. Empty.
He took a quick look around then left. He needed to get back to Hannah before she woke. But he’d be back tomorrow for a more thorough look.
Yep, Nathan thought, he may have just discovered the Shadow’s liar.
* * *
Loretta Leachman’s birthday party was in full swing when Nathan and Hannah arrived. The aroma of roasting meat wafted over Hannah, causing her mouth to water. Tables laden with corn, potatoes and various other vegetables lined up in front of a eating area. Two more tables, brimming with desserts, sit off to the side. Centered in the middle the of sweets, sat a huge birthday cake with the message, “Happy Birthday, my little Loretta.”
Aw, Hannah thought, Bart Leachman was a greedy bastard unconcerned with the consequences of his actions as long as his pockets were full, but he was also a man who didn’t mind the world knowing how much he loved his wife. And she’d scared the beejebbers out of both of them with an unloaded gun. Remorse squeezed her chest.
Still, the orphanage needed a benefactor.
Hand in hand, Nathan led Hannah to where Bart and Loretta Leachman were greeting guests. Nathan smiled down at her and her bones turned to jelly. That smile of his would be her downfall.
“Hannah, let me introduce to the birthday girl, Loretta,” Nathan said. “And you’ve already met our host, Bart.”
Hannah smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Hannah,” Loretta said, as she took Hannah’s free hand and stepped away from the men. “You guys find something to get into. I’m going to show Hannah around.”
