“Dex Sawyer was here today,” Rosemary said, glancing behind her, unwilling to allow Anna within hearing distance. “He warned me about Nate, said the man was making threatening noises at the saloon. He said things about folks being willing to pay good money for…”
She could not repeat the horrid thought. The idea that a father would do such a thing was unthinkable.
“For children?” Tanner asked. He sat erect and Rosemary nodded, glancing at his set face. “That’s what Dex said?”
“Yes. He told me that Nate was desperate. And that’s about as desperate as a man could possibly be, I’d think.” She shuddered, wrapping her arms around her middle. “Am I so naive? I’ve never heard of such a thing. I know about slavery, of course…but this is different, the idea that a man could sell his own child.”
Tanner turned her, his big hands on her shoulders, and Rosemary obeyed his silent command, looking up into his grim expression. “Slavery included this very thing, honey. There were men who sold women who’d borne their children, and I’m sure some of those children were included in the exchange. Men have done dreadful things for years. It used to be common practice, treating daughters like pieces of property. Years back it was commonplace, exchanging a daughter for a bride price.
“The only difference here is that Nate is talkin’ about a little girl, and marriage is far from what she’d be headin’ for. In this time and place, folks won’t stand for it.”
“What can we do?” Rosemary felt helpless, immobilized by a sense of desolation so immense it seemed she might drown in its depths.
“Mostly just keep a close eye for now,” Tanner said.
“Maybe I should take them from here. Maybe I could hide with them somewhere, at least until Nate gives up and goes on his way.”
Tanner’s fingers tightened their grip on her shoulders. “Don’t even think it,” he said harshly. “You belong here. If we have to, we’ll turn them over to the sheriff and let him keep them safe. But you’re not going to put yourself on the line again. I won’t have it, Rosemary.”
“It’s my fault they’re here,” she reminded him. “I’m responsible for them.”
Tanner’s mouth thinned, his jaw clenched and his eyes grew dark with fierce anger. “Well, sweetheart, I’m responsible for you. You’re my wife, and my first consideration is to keep you safe. If that means that those two young’uns have to be put up somewhere else for safekeeping for a while, then that’s what we’ll do.
“But I’m not lettin’ you out of my sight,” he vowed harshly. “I saw what Nate Pender did the last time he got his hands on you. It’s not gonna happen again.”
Her mind in turmoil, Rosemary gritted her teeth, unwilling to answer his edict. That it would be futile, she had no doubt. Tanner was on his own ground here, and his mind was made up.
“Miss Rosemary, I heard what that pretty man said to you.” Her arms tight around Rosemary’s neck, Anna confided her secret in a whisper.
In her new nightdress, the little girl resembled nothing so much as the angels pictured in her mother’s Bible, Rosemary decided, thinking of those heavenly beings. She could only hope one of them was the guardian of this child whose innocence was threatened.
“What did you hear, Anna?” Her fingers stroked the rosy cheek, brushing a golden tress into place, even as her heart stumbled in its beating. Pray God such filth would never touch this child.
“He said my pa was gonna get money ’cause Scat can work good.” The soft lips trembled, and a lone tear glittered on Anna’s eyelid. “I don’t want him to hurt Scat no more, Miss Rosemary. If my pa takes us away, we won’t never get any more cookies, and Scat will have to do bad things.”
“Oh, sweetheart!” Rosemary bent low, scooping the little girl into her arms. She rocked to and fro, crooning her wordless song of comfort against the sweet-smelling hair. “Don’t you worry, I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
“What’s she talkin’ about, ma’am?” Scat stood in the doorway, his eyes dark with anxiety, his hands clenched at his sides.
Anna pushed Rosemary from her, reaching her arms out to her brother. “Oh, Scat! I heard that man say that Pa is mad at us, and he’s gonna get us.”
“He’s not,” Rosemary said quickly, glancing at the empty hallway behind the boy. “Close the door, Scat. I want to talk to you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The door closed softly and Scat approached the bed, allowing his sister’s fingers to bury themselves in his shirt. “Who was here today?”
“Do you know Dex Sawyer?” Rosemary asked.
The boy nodded. “He plays the piano, and one time he gave me a big hunk of roast meat for me and Anna for dinner. He told me if I needed anything I could ask him.”
Rosemary blinked in surprise. It seemed that Dex Sawyer had hidden depths. “Well, he was here today, and he told me that your father is very sick.”
The boy snorted. “He ain’t sick. He’s a drunk. He always looks bad when he’s needin’ whiskey.”
Rosemary nodded slowly, considering the wisdom of being blunt with the boy. It seemed he had his father pegged, and he certainly had seen the seamier side of life already. A bit more enlightenment might not be out of place.
“Your father is apparently thinking of taking the two of you away. Finding new homes for you, maybe.”
Anna tugged at Rosemary’s sleeve, gaining her attention. “He said folks would pay good money for us, remember.”
“He wants to sell us?” Scat asked, his eyes bleak as the meaning of Anna’s words made an impact. “Anna’s just a baby. What would anybody want with a baby?”
Rosemary closed her eyes. “Lots of folks might be happy to have a little girl like Anna in their home, Scat. You, too, for that matter.” The tawdry purposes of Nate Pender were not so obvious to the boy, it seemed. And for that she was thankful.
“Well, me and Anna can be on our way, Miss Rosemary. We don’t want to be causin’ trouble here, and if Pa knows where we are, he’ll be comin’ after us. I don’t think Tanner would be real happy about that.”
“Let’s think about it for now,” Rosemary told him, removing Anna’s grip from the boy’s shirt. “Come on, sweetie, you need to be in bed. We’ll just keep this a secret, all right? Tomorrow, we’ll see what we can do.”
“That means you don’t open your peep, Anna, you hear?” Scat said harshly, bending over his sister.
Anna’s eyes widened, growing moist with unshed tears. “I always do whatever you say, Scat. I won’t say nuthin’,” she murmured, shaking her head as an added embellishment.
The boy stood erect and Rosemary met his gaze. “You better come up with a good idea, Miss Rosemary,” he told her grimly. “Else I’ll have to figure something out, in a right hurry.”
“Yes…” Rosemary nodded. “Yes, I’ll come up with something. In the morning,” she promised.
Mama Pearl shook her head, her voice troubled. “Tanner’d have a fit, sure enough, if you skedaddled with those young’uns.” Her glance toward the doorway was quick, as if the man in question might even now be watching from the porch. “I wouldn’t want to be in your boots if he caught up with you, girl.”
Rosemary shrugged, her jaw tight. “He won’t hurt me, and you know it. I’m not sending them to town with the sheriff, and that’s for sure. If I have to, we’ll find a place in the woods to hide.”
Mama Pearl turned on her heel, pacing to the window and back. “Look here, girl. You’re not hidin’ out in no woods. I won’t have it. If worse comes to worst…” Her big, brown eyes snapped a message. Rosemary was not alone in this. She had an ally.
“I haven’t left yet,” Rosemary said soothingly. “I just need to come up with something that will keep Scat from bundling up Anna and running off with her. He won’t hear of the sheriff taking him to town. I’d be willing to stake my life on that.”
“Well, if Tanner keeps as close an eye on you as I think he will, you’ll be hard put to get out of his sight, and that’s a fact, gi
rl. That man’s not about to turn loose of you.”
“Well, I’m not about to turn loose of Scat and Anna. If Tanner can’t come up with a better idea, I’ll have to take things into my own hands.”
Mama Pearl held up a hand in warning. “I’m gonna take a run out to my daughter’s place, see if I can come up with somethin’. You just mind yourself while I’m gone. Gettin’ dinner on the table oughta keep you out of mischief till I get back.”
Rosemary nodded. “I’ve got mending to do, and I’ve got cinnamon rolls started today.” She watched as the other woman took her apron off and hung it on a nail. Mama Pearl straightened her turban and brushed at her dress.
“I’ll find me a horse not bein’ used this mornin’,” she said. “Reckon I can still ride astraddle, once I get up on that animal’s back.” She halted in the doorway, nodding her towering turban at the gun hanging in place above her head.
“I showed you how to aim that thing.” At Rosemary’s nod, Mama Pearl’s lips drew back from her teeth in a grimace. “Don’t you be afraid to pull that trigger if you have to, honey. Any man comes snoopin’ around lookin’ for trouble, you better be quick ’nough to give it to him.”
“I can do that.” And she could, Rosemary decided, watching as the older woman made her way to the barn. In a few minutes, she rode forth, ducking as she passed beneath the wide doorway. Her hand lifted in a quick wave, and then she was gone, riding across the field and into the woods.
The mending was a lost cause, Rosemary decided, after the third time she’d poked her finger and made it bleed. It was no use. Her gaze traveled across the room to where Anna was intent on dressing her new doll.
“We could make her some new things to wear,” Rosemary suggested, smiling as small fingers buttoned minuscule buttons.
“She’s got two dresses, Miss Rosemary,” Anna observed. “That’s lots. So long as one’s clean for company, she’s happy.”
And that said a lot for the child, Rosemary decided, rising to check on the cinnamon rolls. The bread pan was full, almost to overflowing, as she lifted it from the shelf behind the stove. Her pot of chicken stew was bubbling nicely, and she stirred it to be sure it wasn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then she moved on to the task of making the individual rolls that would please the men of this household.
She formed them quickly, patting out the dough into a large rectangle, then sprinkling cinnamon, sugar and currants over the whole area. A bit of rich cream blended with the mixture and Rosemary rolled it quickly, slicing off thick pieces. Her agile fingers made quick work of the task, and she stood back only minutes later to admire her sheets of rolls, ready to rise a final time.
“You do that so good, ma’am,” Anna said, her elbows resting on the edge of the table. She was on her chair, leaning forward to watch intently as the flour flew and Rosemary’s hands completed the job. “I sure like the smell of that brown stuff you sprinkled all over the place.”
Rosemary bent and dropped a quick kiss on the child’s cheek. “So do I, sweetie. My mama always put cinnamon in her cookies. Nutmeg, too, now that I remember it.” She thought wistfully for a moment of the woman who’d given her life. Anna had missed such memories.
The table was laden with cooling cinnamon rolls when Mama Pearl rode back across the field. Cotton, hands on hips, watched from the barn door as the woman rode toward him. Their voices mingled in the still air as Rosemary went to the porch, Anna on her heels.
“What they fightin’ about, Miss Rosemary?” Fingers clutched at Rosemary’s skirt as the child pressed against her side.
“I think Cotton’s mad at Mama Pearl, ain’t he?” Anna surmised. Releasing Rosemary’s dress from her grip, the little girl jumped from the porch and ran to meet Mama Pearl.
“We made dinner,” she cried, prancing backward as she crowed her delight. “I’m glad you came back. I missed you.”
“You get yourself in that house, you hear?” Mama Pearl scolded. “You shouldn’t be out here, child.”
Her gaze lifted to meet Rosemary’s as she neared the porch. “Ol’ Cotton’s mad as a wet hen, ’cause I borrowed one of the horses when he wasn’t lookin’. Guess he’ll just have to get glad, won’t he?”
Her arm across Anna’s shoulder, she hustled the girl into the house. “Come on in here, girl,” she told Rosemary. “I been to my house, and my daughter’s not there. She left me a message sayin’ she’s gone off with that fancy man of hers.” Mama Pearl lowered her voice, leaning forward.
“My house is empty. It’s got a good lock on the door, and canned goods on the shelves. There’s big old shutters inside the windows. If you’re lookin’ for a place to hide for a few days, till Tanner can get Nate Pender straightened out, you can hide out there.”
“We’re gonna hide?” Anna asked wonderingly.
Rosemary crouched before the child. “It has to be a secret, sweetie. I don’t want Scat to take you away.”
“Scat’ll take good care of me,” Anna vowed, her lip protruding, her chin jutting stubbornly.
“I know. But I’d rather be with both of you,” Rosemary told her.
“We got to feed these men first, before you go makin’ up your mind to anything,” Mama Pearl told Rosemary.
Rosemary sat down on a chair, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. “I want to do the right thing.”
“You’re gonna make Tanner mad. I told you that before.”
“I don’t want Scat to run,” Rosemary whispered. “I have to do what’s right for the children. I brought them here. It’s my fault their pa is so set on making trouble.”
“You just get up now, girl, and set the table and we’ll have those men in and out of this kitchen in no time flat. There’s time enough to decide what you’re gonna do this afternoon.”
“Where’d Mama Pearl go this morning? Cotton said she took a horse and rode off while he was out back.” His arm around her waist, Tanner escorted Rosemary into his office. Barely a remnant of his father’s presence remained in the room. Tanner’s own record book lay open on the desk, his scent hung in the air. The curtains had been pushed aside so that the window could be open to the fresh air.
Rosemary didn’t need to be enveloped by his aura now, and she drew from his touch as he closed the door behind them. “Why don’t you ask her?”
His eyes glittered with frustration as he gripped her shoulders. “Between the two of you…” He halted, bending to look directly into Rosemary’s eyes.
“I won’t have it, honey. Sheriff Rhinehold told me he’s comin’ out here with two men later on today, and they’re gonna escort Scat and Anna to town. Once this is settled, once Nate Pender is out of the picture, the two of them can come back, if that’s what you want.”
“If that’s what I want? Are you willing to adopt them?” She’d harbored the fear of his refusal for days, and she held her breath as Tanner’s head shook in a negative reply.
“Hell, I don’t know,” he muttered. “I don’t know what kind of a man it’ll take to be a father to that boy. I sure don’t have the know-how.” His jaw tensed, drawing the skin tightly over his cheek. “I’m not even sure I know how to…”
“How to love him?” Rosemary asked in a near whisper.
Tanner’s head drooped. “Yeah, I guess that’s it.” He searched for words, and his lips tightened, drawing into a thin line. “Look, Rosemary. You know how it is. My pa was a drunk. My mother ran off and left me. Nobody ever taught me how it’s supposed to be in a family.”
His voice dropped to a near whisper. “Hell, I don’t know what love’s supposed to feel like.”
Her heart twinged within her breast and she stifled the urge to wrap her arms around his neck. “Well, I do,” she said with vigor, gritting her teeth against her overwhelming need for this man. “I love them both, and I don’t want the sheriff to take them.”
“Maybe you need to love them enough to let them go,” Tanner said sharply. “The sheriff can see to it they’re safe in town.”
/> “And we can’t?”
“Yeah, I suppose we can hole up and wait for Nate to show his hand. Or else we can get the kids out of here and go out lookin’ for the man. I can’t be two places at once, Rosemary. I want you safe, and that isn’t gonna happen until Nate Pender is put away.”
“How can that be done?”
“He made threats against the two of them. If Dex Sawyer is willing to swear to what he heard, I expect the judge will find some way to jail Nate.”
“For how long? How long do we have to keep looking over our shoulder, waiting for him to show up?”
Tanner shook his head. “I don’t have all the answers, honey. But the sheriff’s sure that if the young’uns are in town, Nate will…”
“You’re talking about making them bait in a trap, aren’t you?” Rosemary backed from his grip and walked to the window, looking with unseeing eyes into the fields beyond the house. “I thought better of you, Tanner.”
“I’m thinking of you,” he said stubbornly. “Nate will leave you alone, once he knows the kids aren’t here. There’s men in town enough to keep them safe. Once Nate makes a move, he’s done for.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Where are we goin’?” Anna’s tone was petulant, probably, Rosemary thought, because she’d been hauled out of bed and stuffed into her clothing before dawn.
“Never mind, sweetie,” Rosemary said softly. “You just be still now, and come along.” The child obediently trudged along at her side, and Rosemary wished she were not already so burdened with a valise. There was no way on earth she could carry the girl with the strength of one arm.
As if God had given her a golden opportunity, the sheriff had not been able to come out to the ranch to pick up Scat and Anna. And so, for another night at least, they had slept under Tanner’s roof. The promise of an early morning visit from Sheriff Rhinehold had awakened Rosemary in the dark of night, and she’d spent a sleepless hour considering her choices.
There weren’t many. One, she could acquiesce to Tanner’s plan and watch Anna and Scat ride off to town, bait in a trap not to her liking.
The Bachelor Tax Page 20
