Brides Along the Chisholm Trail Boxset

by Maxine Douglas

  “We don’t have much time!” Logan shouted above the rain and wind. “Tie your ropes together and herd the cattle in, but not too tight. We can tie it off on that tree stump.” Logan pointed to a tall, round, sturdy looking stump. A curtain of rain poured over the brim of his hat. He climbed up the slippery slope and wrapped the end of his rope around what was left of the tree, tying it off. Tossing the rest of his rope to Gabe, the quick-and-dirty fence began to take form as each rope end was knotted together. “Let’s hope this holds ‘em.”

  A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Thunder clapped like cannon fire shaking the ground. Both horses and cattle pranced nervously while Logan and the others worked to tie off a makeshift corral.

  The wind picked up as the sky turned an intimidating shade of green. Logan pulled the saddle and bridle from his bay. Throwing a loose rope around his neck, he’d be able to let go and give the gelding free rein should the need arise. He wanted the faithful animal to have a chance to run should the storm turn from bad to worse.

  “What in blazes are you doin’ Logan? If that horse runs off, you’ll be without one and walkin’ back to Dodge!” Gabe shouted about the wind and rain, his face tense. “A cowboy without a horse is a death sentence out here.”

  “I’d rather be walkin’ than having to shoot a dying animal.” Logan bellowed through the roar of the wind. “Take shelter, Gabe, those cattle won’t go far if they break through.”

  “Let’s hope not if we’re less one mount!” Gabe and his men plastered themselves against the dirt wall next to Logan. Sheets of rain fell from the sky, stinging skin not hidden under the brims of their hats and clothing. Even then the sting of ice penetrated the cotton shirts.

  Cattle bawled. Horses snorted. Rain continued to pelt them, collecting around their legs. The wind roared in like a steam train. Logan looked up from under the brim of his hat. A dark twisting devil passed over them, spewing rocks and dirt.

  Please Lord, keep my family safe.

  Rose held a bag in one hand and Lilly’s hand with the other. They dashed across the busy, dusty street and up onto the sidewalk, the heels of their boots clip-clopping on the wooden planks. “I hope Deputy Barker will be able to get that sorrel harnessed and hitched up to the wagon for us so we can go home. I don’t have the first notion on how it’s done, do you?”

  Lilly looked up at Rose, her forehead wrinkling in thought. “No, Daddy never showed me. Said I was too little.”

  “One day you won’t be. Then you’ll be able to do most anything as long as your daddy says it’s okay.” Rose smiled down at her daughter, knowing that it wouldn’t be that long before Lilly would be bringing some young man home for their approval. As they approached the sheriff’s office, Rose slowed their pace a little. She stopped next to the wide-open door listening to the argument going on inside.

  “Deputy Barker, I demand you put that woman in jail right this instant!” Montana Sue barked so loudly it caused passing town people to take notice. “She’s a liar and a cheat with no business of being—”

  “Now Montana Sue you know I can’t do that. Mrs. Granger hasn’t broken any laws here in Dodge.” Deputy Barker’s voice was calm with a touch of annoyance edging it. “You need to get a hold of yourself and settle down. I’ve got my orders from Deputy Marshal Hawkins, and they don’t involve puttin’ Mrs. Granger in the jailhouse!”

  “Momma?” Lilly looked up at Rose, her eyes filled with fear. “I don’t want you to go to jail!”

  “It’s okay, Lilly. Nobody is going to jail.” Rose gripped the little hand a bit tighter and smiled down at her daughter. “Deputy Barker will help us get the wagon hitched, and we’ll be on our way home.”

  Rose stepped through the open door, head held high, and about as nervous as a mouse in a barn full of cats. “Afternoon, Deputy Barker. Is your offer to help me get the sorrel hitched to the wagon still good? We’d like to be on our way home now.”

  Turning to Montana Sue, she mustered up the best friendly smile she could seeing as how this woman viewed Rose as her enemy. If the situation were reversed, well, no use supposin’. “Montana Sue, how nice to see you again. Lilly and I have just finished our shopping. I’d ask you to join us for some iced tea, but we simply must be getting home. Another time then maybe?”

  Brows furrowed, Montana Sue gave the room the once over. Her gaze paused for a moment on Lilly standing next to Rose before returning her full attention to Deputy Barker. “This woman, whoever she claims to be, has no right to be in charge of a sweet, innocent child. She’s wanted in another state by the law!”

  “My momma ain’t wanted by the law!” Lilly burst out, clinging to Rose’s skirt, her eyes wide with fear.

  “She isn’t your momma, Lilly. She married your daddy to run away from trouble.” Montana Sue knelt down, her arms stretched out. “Come to me, and I’ll keep you safe until your daddy comes home.”

  “No!” Lilly hid behind Lilly’s dress, her tiny body trembling. “I don’t want to. You’re a mean person.”

  “See what she’s done to that poor child. She’s not only turned Logan against me, now she’s done the same with Lilly. She’s a con artist, Deputy, who should be locked up!” Montana Sue stomped her foot, her face red with rage.

  “Montana Sue, if you don’t stop your hollerin’, it’ll be you in this cell for the night.” Deputy Barker threatened, opening the nearest cell door, the keys dangling from his fingers.

  “Well, I never!” Montana Sue turned and marched out of the sheriff’s office, her skirts swishing along with her hips.

  The deputy stood, shaking his head. Montana Sue continued her determined step down the street toward the Lady Gay. “I’ll never understand that woman.” The deputy grabbed his hat and closed the cell door. “Let’s get that wagon ready for you Mrs. Granger before those dark clouds movin’ in burst wide open. Lord knows we sure could use the rain.”

  Deputy Barker escorted Rose and Lilly home at a hurried clip, then put up the sorrel and wagon for the night. After putting up the provisions in the pantry, Rose meandered to the barn with the promised apple in one hand and a pie in the other. Lilly skipped ahead anxious to see if there were any new kittens to play with.

  “Thank you, Deputy Barker.” Rose handed him the pie, then plunked the juicy red fruit into the sorrel’s grain. “See I do keep my promises. Deputy, you’ve been a big help to Lilly and me today. I’m truly grateful for your generosity. What you’ve done for me today, well, I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Montana Sue don’t mean no harm, ma’am. She’s used to Logan’s attention due to Lilly is all.” Johnny shuffled his feet a bit, nervously fingering the brim of his hat. “Well, doggone it, she just don’t know where the right place to look is all.”

  “Why Deputy Johnny Barker, are you sayin’ you’re in love with the hellcat?” Rose teased, sure that her eyes hadn’t deceived her. Johnny Barker seemed smitten with one Montana Sue of the Lady Gay. Rose wished him luck roping that wild filly.

  A blush of red crept up Johnny’s neck as he put his hat on. “I best be gettin’ back. Ain’t right leaving the office and town open to rowdy cattle drovers.” The deputy mounted his horse, nodded, and rode off at a canter back to town.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Rose laughed out loud as the sky burst with a boom of thunder, shaking the ground beneath her feet. She looked up watching the dark clouds in the sky begin to twist and turn.

  “Lilly, hurry, we need to get to the house,” she called out, closing the barn doors after Lilly ran out with a small gray kitten in her arms. “Take my hand and run with me as fast as you can. We need to get inside before the storm hits. Is there a root cellar, Lilly?”

  “No Momma, Daddy said we didn’t need no root cellar.” Lilly cried out, her fingers wrapped tightly around Rose’s hand. “Is a ’nado comin’?”

  “I don’t know.” The wind picked up and roared. The rain falling in sheets felt like a thousand needles through her clothing. Rose picked Lilly up in he
r arms and ran up the back steps. Dropping Lilly inside the door, Rose pulled on the back door with all her strength as a black swirling cloud skipped across the horizon.

  Logan rode into Dodge beside the nervous longhorns pushing them into the stockyard holding pen. The once parched streets were now a sea of mud and debris. Logan and the others had kept in back of the storm once it passed over. They watched the destruction the twister left in its path as it hopped across the plains.

  They all knew how lucky they’d been. The livestock hadn’t scattered. The worst of the storm had blown right over them, dumping sheets of rain and hailstones into the gully. The massive twister retreated into the clouds for several minutes, leaving them in the falling rain.

  Soaked to the bone, Logan’s clothes were plastered to his body like a second skin. He craved a hot bath to chase the chill away, but not before he made sure his family was safe.

  Family—did he really have one? Or would he lose Rose before they’d truly became man and wife in the biblical sense? Logan wanted more than a piece of paper between them. He wanted a life filled with love. And honesty, something they both needed to work on if they’d have a life together.

  Logan led the drenched bay over to Wilson’s Livery. With both horses available to pull the wagon he’d be more than happy to get his wife and daughter to the warmth and safety of their home. Once Lilly was snug in bed, he and Rose would settle in front of the fire. He wanted her to explain the telegram to him and its meaning. Whatever, or whomever, was after her, Logan needed to prepare himself to handle what came.

  Guiding the horse through the door, Logan halted his heart pounding against his chest. Where in the devil was his buckboard and sorrel gelding?

  “Wilson!” Logan called out, his legs stalled at the entrance of the livery.

  “Here, in the back.”

  Logan marched to the rear of the barn. Wilson rubbed down a mare and her foal, talking in a soothing voice to calm them.

  “Did Mrs. Granger come to town? I expected to see my wagon and horse here with the storm that passed through.”

  Wilson patted the mare’s neck then stepped out of the stall, closing the door behind him. “Yes sir, she was in town. Deputy Barker took her and Miss Lilly home not long before the twister flew over. Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. It bounced right over the town and headed north, its tail dragging along like the Devil.”

  Logan’s stomach hardened like a boulder. His family alone in the house with neither of them knowing where to go or what to do. He’d never shown Lilly the root cellar entrance in the pantry for fear she’d play there. Besides, they’d spent most of their time in town until Rose came into their lives. There’d been no time to show Rose the trap door either. With the stronghold of the spring drought it never occurred to him they may need it.

  Logan swung back up onto the wet leather of the saddle then turned his horse toward the sheriff’s office at a trot.

  “Logan!” Montana Sue dashed from the wooden walk out onto the street in front of him, causing Logan to rein in the gelding quickly or run her down.

  “Damn fool woman, what the hell are you doing?” Logan spat, keeping his temper checked.

  Montana Sue stood next to him, her hand on his thigh. A muscle flinched at the sensation of her unwanted touch. “Praise the Lord, you’re safe. I was so scared—”

  “I don’t have time for this.” Logan jerked his knee, forcing her to relinquish her hold, then urged his mount forward.

  Halting the bay in front of the sheriff’s office, Logan called out, “Gabe! Johnny!”

  Both ran out the door, drawing up at the hitching post.

  “Can you ride out to my place? Rose and Lilly are there alone.” Logan didn’t wait for an answer. He turned his mount’s head toward home, then spurred the animal in the sides, urging the worn out gelding into a canter until they reached the edge of town.

  Logan rode hard until he saw what was left of his two-story Lyman Bridges catalog house. His heart sank. The roof and part of the second floor were missing, lumber and furniture littered the yard. Jumping from the saddle, Logan took the porch steps at once then ran through what was left of the front door.

  “Rose! Lilly!” he yelled his voice breaking in fear. They had to be here, alive. He couldn’t live without them. He tore through the silent wreckage searching each room, stepping over items tossed around or torn from the walls. The staircase lay twisted against the library door. The settee Katie had bought just after they’d been married was turned upside down and teetered through a broken picture window in the living room.

  “Lilly!” Logan pushed his way into the kitchen having found no trace of either Lilly or Rose in the front of the house. “Rose!” he screamed.

  The back door hung on its hinges, and the screen door was missing. Logan shoved the table and chairs from in front of the pantry. Every item from the shelves lay scattered across the floor. The cabinets were toppled over. A section of the back pantry wall sprawled over the door to the root cellar. His muscles sore and cramped from being in the saddle for hours on end, Logan fought back the nausea settling in his stomach.

  Where in the world would they have gone? The barn? He stepped over the debris in the kitchen carefully.

  “Mew”

  He halted, cocking his head toward the sound.

  “Mew”

  There it was again. A kitten! If there was a kitten, then Lilly could be nearby.

  “Lilly!” Logan cried out again tears of hope surfacing in his eyes.

  “Daddy!” The cry soft and muffled edged with fear. His heart beat the speed of a wild Mustang on the run.

  “Where are you?” Logan called out, keeping his fear at bay.

  “Under the house,” Lilly cried, her voice faint and weak. “Daddy, I’m scared.”

  “I know, honey. I’ll get you out. Hold on.” Logan worked feverishly picking up discarded provisions, tossing them into the kitchen. The hell with being careful and neat, his house could be replaced. His daughter never could.

  “Logan?” Gabe called from the front of the house.

  “In here!” Logan called back not once ceasing to get to his daughter. “Watch your step!”

  Gabe came through the door his face ashen, dismay settling in his eyes.

  “Lilly’s down in the root cellar. Help me move these boards.” Logan commanded, lifting a piece at a time. Blood raced through his veins hot and steamy. “I’m coming, Lilly.”

  “Daddy, I think Momma’s hurt. She’s not moving,” Lilly’s voice echoed the dread searing through Logan.

  “Can you see Rose, Lilly?”

  “Yes Daddy, she’s on top of me. I can’t move.” Lilly’s fearful cries reached Logan, and his heart stopped. “Is Momma going to heaven, Daddy?”

  Rose couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t bear to lose another woman he loved so soon. He had plans for them all. A brother and sister or two for Lilly. Returning to his house in Chicago. To marry Rose properly.

  Never one to lie to his daughter, Logan prayed he wasn’t now. “No, honey, she’s sleeping. I’m sure she’s fine.”

  Logan and Gabe hefted the last beam off the trap door. Logan yanked it open and slipped into the darkness. The ground was damp from the storm, the muck squished under his boots.

  “Gabe, hand me a lantern.” Reaching up, Logan pulled the soft light into the dank space, and his breath left his body.

  In the corner, he saw the matted brown hair of his daughter, a kitten next to her, and her entire body blanketed by Rose.

  9

  “Logan, you must eat something.” Etta May’s soft touch upon his shoulder did little to divert his vigil. “You’ll do no good to Rose or Lilly if you don’t keep your strength.”

  Logan heard the click of the tray set upon the table next to him. It had been twenty-four hours since he and Gabe had dug both Rose and Lilly out from under the damage left behind by the twister. For all of those twenty-four hours, each minute, each second that went by, Logan prayed for Rose
to come back to them.

  Doc Elliott said she’d be fine. That she sustained only minor bumps and bruises. What she needed more than anything was rest. When she woke, someone would send for him. Logan didn’t give a darn what the doctor said, he wasn’t leaving Rose’s side.

  Lilly appeared to have recovered far better than Rose. Etta May reported his daughter was nearly back to her usual six-year-old self. Etta May took over looking after her while he’d kept watch on Rose. He’d barely heard Montana Sue’s ranting earlier when she’d faced off with Etta May about Lilly. Etta had all but kicked her out of her establishment.

  Logan tried to spoon some of the soup into Rose’s mouth with little success. The water from a moist rag, squeezed into the corners of her rose pink mouth, was the only liquid he’d been able to get into her; and it wasn’t much. He’d watched Katie disappear from his life, he’d not allow Rose to do the same.

  “Rose, come back to us. Lilly needs you. She needs her momma to guide her, to play with her, to scold her—to love her.” Logan took her hand, caressing the top of it with the pad of his thumb his heart aching. “It doesn’t matter what happened before you came here. All that matters is that you stay with us. With me. I need you Rose, more than I could have imagined in so short of a time. I’ll protect you until the day I die.”

  Bringing her hand to his lips, he softly kissed the center of her palm. “I love you, Roseanne Duncan, with all my heart,” he barely whispered against the sensitive spot.

  “Logan?” Rose moaned, the gray pallor of her cheeks slowing returning to a faint pink hew.

  “Rose!” Logan gushed, unshed tears flowing over his cheeks. He didn’t care if it was manly or not. He didn’t care who did or didn’t see him cry. Rose had come back to him. “You had me scared to death!”

  Rose licked her lips, her eyelashes fluttering. “Is Lilly—” She began, then coughed dryly. “I’m so thirsty,” she complained, the tip of her tongue skimming her parched lips.

  “Lilly is fine and will be happy to know her momma’s awake.” Logan held her hand tighter, not willing to let her go. “Here, have a sip of soup. Etta May brought it in a short time ago.” Logan dipped the spoon, filling it. Lifting her head with one hand, he brought the spoonful of the golden chicken soup slowly to her lips with his other hand.