Scat half nodded his head, an indecisive movement. “I sure hope so. I told her to, anyway. My pa caught sight of me, but I hid behind trees.”
Tanner leaned down to give the boy a hand up, hoisting him behind the saddle. Scat grasped his waist, and Tanner felt a strange warmth as those skinny arms snaked around him and grimy hands clenched his belt.
“I’m sure glad you showed up.” Scat’s head bent forward, and he allowed it to rest against Tanner’s back as they rode ahead. “Watch for the fork to the left. It’s just ahead a ways.”
“Yeah, I see it,” Tanner told him after a few moments, looking back over his shoulder. “You all right, boy?” Tearstains greeted his gaze and he compressed his lips, wishing he were able to offer comfort, the way Rosemary did. So easily she could touch and soothe, easing hurts with a fleeting caress.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wish he was dead, Tanner. I hate my pa.” Each word seemed bathed in sorrow, and Tanner nodded.
“Let’s get down and walk the rest of the way. You with us, Oscar?” He slid Scat from behind him, then dismounted.
“You got your gun?” Oscar asked.
“You bet.” Tanner slid his rifle from the side of his saddle, then headed through the trees to where the clearing lay, the cabin coming into sight as he stealthily made his way down the narrow path. The birds were silent, the air shimmering with heat.
A crumpled bundle on the ground stirred as Tanner reached the edge of the clearing, a horse lifting his head to sound a greeting as it wandered, grazing nearer the cabin. The man within the grimy rags lifted his head, his jaw slack, eyes glazed, as the other two men strode toward him.
“Whadda’ya want?” Nate muttered. “This here is nobody’s business but mine. Don’t need no sheriff. I can get my young’un back by myself. Just hafta wait ’em out.” His filthy hand lifted to wipe at his mouth, and he groped for the bottle on the ground beside him.
He tipped it, his bleary eyes sad as a single drop hung suspended on the lip, then tossed it aside with an oath. His head swayed from one side to the other, and as if it were tempting him, sun glinted from the handle of the weapon he’d carried to this place.
Nate leaned precariously, almost losing his balance as he stretched out his arm for the gun. “I kin hold my own,” he bragged, sneering at Oscar. “I got me a gun. You better leave me be, lawman.”
“Don’t pick it up, Nate. You’re drunk as a skunk. You sure enough don’t need a gun in your hand.”
“You’re not stoppin’ me, sheriff,” Nate blustered, hoisting himself to his feet, the weapon hanging from one fist. His head lifted, and for just a moment, Tanner saw a glimpse of evil blazing from the bloodshot eyes.
“Watch it, Oscar,” he murmured, edging to one side. Better that they did not present a single target, he thought, glancing to see where Scat was positioned. And then caught his breath in a gasp of horror. The boy stood on the opposite side, his eyes intent on the dangling weapon his father held, his freckles prominent against pale cheeks.
Nate Pender swayed on his feet, his arm rising slowly, as if the gun he held were too heavy for his limited strength, his head bobbing as his gaze traveled from one target to the next. And then he swung his hand, the weapon pointing in Scat’s direction.
“You could’a given your old man a hand, boy,” he growled. “You never was any good,” he growled. “Just like yer ma. Always givin’ me sass.” He lunged at the youth, and whether or not his aim was true, Tanner could not be sure. He only heard the sound of a hammer cocking as Oscar crouched to fire.
“Drop it, Pender!” Oscar called roughly. “Now.”
Tanner was breathless, unable to stir as the tableau was acted out before him. Scat’s lithe body spun to one side as Nate cocked the gun he held, both hands joining to perform the act. He held it before him, then turned in a clumsy movement and aimed it at Oscar, swaying in place. His finger clenched on the trigger and Tanner watched as it tightened, his own rifle swinging into firing position.
A shot rang out, and as if the air had been expelled from a high-flying balloon, Nate Pender crumpled to the ground, howling mightily. Blood flowed from his hand, and curses from his mouth.
“Well, hell’s bells!” Oscar stepped forward, his gun still held ready and smoking as he approached the wounded man. “Damn fool acted like he wanted to be killed. I’d better wrap up that hand of his.”
Scat’s gaze was fixed on his father, his skin ashen as Oscar bent to pick up Nate’s weapon. His eyes were bleak as they met Tanner’s, his lips working. And then he turned, one hand lifting to cover his mouth and stumbled into the undergrowth at the edge of the clearing.
Tanner cast a longing look at the cabin. “Rosemary!” he bellowed loudly. “You all right in there?”
The door eased open and two figures stepped onto the porch, Anna half-hidden behind Rosemary’s skirts. One hand lifted in a wave as Rosemary glanced past Tanner to where Scat huddled beside a bush.
Tanner turned to follow her gaze, then moved quickly to the boy’s side. Scat bent low, the meager contents of his stomach already on the ground.
“Come on boy, let me help you,” Tanner said quietly, bending to touch the bony spine. His other arm eased around the child’s waist, and he supported Scat’s weight as tremors rattled the slender frame.
“I’m sorry, Tanner. Didn’t mean to be such a baby,” Scat gasped, wiping his hand over his mouth, while great gasps of air filled his lungs. “I thought I wanted him dead. Now just seein’ all that blood drip-pin’ offa his hand made me puke like some little kid.”
Tanner reached quickly for his bandanna, a clean one he’d tucked into his back pocket upon arising, and pressed it into Scat’s hand. “Here, clean your mouth. Blow your nose, too. And then you just listen to me, boy.”
He turned Scat away from the scene of his disgrace and drew him toward a tall tree that offered shade beneath its branches. A heavy hand on the boy’s shoulder urged him to the ground and Tanner joined him there.
“Let’s talk for a minute,” he said bluntly, then closed his eyes, wishing desperately for some sort of guidance. If Rosemary’s God was out and about today, this would sure enough be a good time for Him to be looking after things.
Chapter Seventeen
“My pa used to be drunk sometimes,” Tanner began, feeling his heart clench as he spoke the words. It still had the power to hurt, he discovered, this acknowledgment of his father’s problem. “As a matter of fact, there at the end, he was drunk most of the time,” he said quietly.
“He did? He was?” Scat swiped at his nose with the back of his hand, and Tanner resisted the impulse to use the bandanna on him. “Like my pa?”
“Yeah…almost like your pa.” He lifted his head, watching as Rosemary led Anna away from the cabin. She glanced his way and nodded, as if she somehow knew what he was doing was of special import.
“My pa didn’t beat on me when my mother left. He just wallowed in his whiskey bottle and left the raisin’ of me to somebody else.”
Scat edged closer. “Who did the raisin’? Did you have a new mother?”
Tanner shook his head. “No, nothin’ like that. Ol’ Cotton just took over. Did a better job, I expect, than my pa could have done. Anyway, I turned out pretty well I think, all things considered.” He glanced at Scat’s rapt expression. “I’ve just had a hard time gettin’ over bein’ mad, ever since. It still gets me rankled now and then, and I get downright ornery.”
“Mad at your pa? Like me, you mean?” Scat’s shoulders hunched as his gaze swept to where the sheriff was loading the drunken Nate Pender onto the back of a horse. “I doubt I’ll ever…” He shook his head. “I feel downright ornery right now, Tanner. You think I’ll ever quit feelin’ this way?”
Tanner’s big hand rested on the boy’s shoulder. “You will, Scat. One of these days, you’ll look back…” He paused, midthought. How could he offer hope for a light heart and a lack of rancor for the boy, when his own hatred had festered for so lon
g within his breast?
“When did you get over hatin’ your pa?” Scat’s fingers tugged at a blade of grass, his head bent as if he could no longer watch the tableau taking place before them.
Tanner cleared his throat, aware suddenly of exactly when his hatred had vanished. “It wasn’t all that hard, once I found someone who made a difference in my life, someone who made me realize that I was wasting my time on anger, and dredgin’ up old feelings.”
“Who?” Scat asked, then followed the line of Tanner’s gaze to Rosemary and Anna, who were approaching. “Miss Rosemary? You’re talkin’ about her?”
“I married her, didn’t I?” Tanner heard the defensive note in his voice and he glanced quickly at the boy. “A man gets married for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes because he likes a woman.”
“Well, I like her, too,” Scat admitted quietly. “She treats me good, like a ma would, I guess. Almost like she loves me.” His glance skated over Tanner and then dropped once more to where his fingers spread wide against his pant legs. “I guess she’s made a difference in my life, too, just like she did yours, Tanner.”
“Well, how you feel about Rosemary and how I feel…there’s a difference in the way we like her.” Tanner cleared his throat, wishing he’d avoided this particular subject. “The way I feel about Rosemary…” At that moment he looked up to find her standing just feet away, her eyes intent on him, her lips parted.
“Scat!” Anna stumbled the few feet to where her brother sat and lunged at him. Her arms circled his neck and she pressed damp kisses against his cheek. “We was worried about you, but Miss Rosemary said you was smart and you could run faster than Pa.”
“Did she?” His eyes were shiny with tears, but his grin delivered a message of adoration to his little sister as he settled her on his lap. “I knew she was takin’ good care of you, Anna.” He glanced quickly to where the sheriff was leading the stolen saddle horse with Nate swaying in the saddle from the middle of the clearing. “We’ll be all right now, sissy. You and me can take care of ourselves just fine.”
Anna sat upright, frowning. “We’re not still leaving, are we? I like the way Miss Rosemary brushes my hair, better than how you do it. She irons my dress and everything. You’re not gonna take me away from her, are you, Scat?”
His shrug was barely perceptible. “It depends.”
Tanner leaned close. “I don’t think Miss Rosemary’s about to turn either one of you loose, boy.” His hand squeezed Scat’s shoulder. “Neither am I.
“But for now we need to get on home. Have to figure out a way to get there, though. I’m not real fond of walkin’, as it happens. But it looks like that’s what we’ll be doin’, you and me, son. We’ll let the women ride the horse.”
From the edge of the woods, Oscar signaled with an uplifted hand, and Tanner rose, heading for the lawman. “I’m takin’ Nate to town now,” Oscar said quietly. “He’ll have to see the doctor and then appear before the judge. I doubt it’ll go well with him. He’ll be lucky if he don’t get strung up. I sorta favor stickin’ him in a cell for the rest of his life.”
The lawman’s sigh was deep. “I sure hate to see those young’uns put through any more hassle than they’ve already had to put up with. I’ll warrant there won’t be any problem gettin’ them put in your custody.”
“Not if I’ve got anything to say about it,” Tanner said quickly. “Scat and Anna are goin’ home with Rosemary and me. This should be the end of it for them.”
With an assenting nod, the sheriff mounted his horse and leading the animal Nate had stolen, rode from sight into the trees. Tanner turned back to the three who were watching him from under the tree. His family. For the first time, he recognized them as such, and his heart seemed to swell.
“Gather up your stuff,” he said, striding in their direction. “You got anything inside, Rosemary?”
She tilted her head to look up at him. “Where do you propose we go? Seems to me you couldn’t decide what to do with us yesterday, Tanner.” Her stubborn little chin was working overtime, he thought, wishing he could plant a kiss just a bit north of that jutting feature.
“Well, I got that problem all solved now. We’re headin’ home.” The words rang with determination, and he felt a flush ridge his cheekbones as he faced her down.
“I don’t know about that, Tanner. We came in a package and we’re still a bundle, the three of us. Just because you showed up and sorted things out doesn’t mean you can just put things to rights so easily.”
“Do tell.” His murmur was low and his hands itched to grasp her by the middle and hoist her over his shoulder. Were it not for the two children watching, she’d be well on her way inside the small cabin.
The sound of a harness jingling and the rattle of an approaching wagon drew him from his contemplation of the woman who defied him. With a final look of warning, he turned his attention to Mama Pearl, her turbaned head held high. She braced herself firmly on the seat as she drove the team of horses through the brush and into the clearing.
“You folks need a ride?” she asked, grinning widely. “I followed right along, Tanner, but you musta rode them horses to beat the band. No way I could keep up.”
Her gaze skittered around the clearing, pausing on the open door of her house. “Is that man inside?”
Another female ready to do battle, Tanner decided. Must be catching, this woman thing he was having to deal with. “No, Sheriff Rhinehold’s takin’ him to town, Mama Pearl. Nate Pender’s days of causin’ trouble are over.”
“We want to go home, Mama Pearl.” Anna’s words were wistful as she left her brother’s side to run toward the wagon. Scat was directly behind her, reaching for her.
“Help her up there, Scat,” Tanner told the boy. “You get aboard, too. Miss Rosemary and I will be along shortly.”
“Yessir,” Scat said, scrambling into place.
Rosemary cut Tanner a glance of derision and headed for the wagon. “I’ll ride with Mama Pearl. You can ride the horse, Mr. Tanner.”
He caught up with her in three long strides, capturing her in his long arms, his hands clasped at her waistline. “Y’all go on ahead now,” he said firmly to Mama Pearl. The woman nodded agreeably and set the team into motion. It turned in a wide circle and in moments was heading back down the track.
Tanner bent to brush his mouth against Rosemary’s cheek. “Now we’re gonna talk, honey.” She held herself rigid and, without relaxing his hold, he turned her in his arms. “Look at me, Rosie.”
“You sure like to take over, don’t you, Tanner? Everything has to go your way. First, you let me know that what I have to say doesn’t matter. That the children must go to town to be kept safe.” She inhaled deeply, her nostrils flaring as she prepared for another attack.
“Now you’re taking over again, sending the children back to the ranch and telling me what to do.”
“Yeah, I guess you got that right,” he said agreeably. “It’s what happens when you get married to a man, sweetheart. Especially one who’s tryin’ to take care of you and keep you out of trouble.” He leaned to drop a kiss on her parted lips, and she turned her head from the caress.
He felt strangely bereft at her rebuff. His Rosemary was not acting her usual self, and for the first time, he felt a pang of fear, as he wondered whether his recent ornery behavior had produced fruit not to his liking.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have tried sending them to town, Rosemary, but I wasn’t sure we could keep someone from gettin’ hurt out there at the ranch. Then when I found out you’d set off walkin’, you about scared the bejabbers out of me.
“And as it turns out, old Nate came damn close to gettin’ his hands on all three of you.” Nothing seemed to be coming out of his mouth the way he meant it. Now it sounded as though he were scolding her, and that was the last impression he wanted to make at this point.
“He was half-drunk when he got here,” Rosemary said, scoffing at Tanner’s fears, even as she attempted to erase the
memory of her own. “I could have handled him.”
Tanner nodded. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I sure don’t think it was worth the risk you took.” His hands tightened on her. Forget the niceties. The woman was just begging to be set to rights.
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “What were you saying to Scat? Is he all right?”
“I talked to him about his pa and about mine, how we both had to put things behind us and go on from here.”
“Did he believe you? Will he be satisfied to stay with me?”
“With us, you mean?” He felt a frown furrow his forehead, and he bent closer. She didn’t budge. Defiance curled her lip, and he’d swear her teeth were clenched.
“Have you changed your mind? You said you didn’t think you could love them enough to be a father to them.” Her voice faltered, and her words emerged as broken pieces of sound. “If you can’t love them…what if you can’t ever love me? I don’t think I can stand that any longer, to live with you and know that you don’t really love me.”
Damn, he’d really messed up. All his huffing and blowing had shattered any trust she’d ever had in his feelings. It was back to the beginning, and he’d never been much of a one when it came to soft talking.
He lifted her, his hands tight around her waist, his fingers gripping with bruising strength. Her face was level with his own when he attempted to sound aloud the words he’d only begun to realize as truth. Words that glued themselves to his tongue and refused to peel loose. Even now, as he spoke, it felt as if cotton were lining his cheeks and the roof of his mouth.
He swallowed and tried again. “Rosemary, I do love you. You don’t have to believe it, but it’s true anyway.” There, it was coming easier now, and he drew in a deep breath, blurting out the rest. “I guess I love those kids, too. Enough to adopt them and give them my name and raise ’em the best way I can. I don’t want Scat to grow up without a man to keep him straight.”
He watched as slow tears formed in her blue eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks. “If you’re gonna cry every time I tell you I love you, I guess this’ll be the last time, Rosie,” he muttered, lowering her to the ground, wiping at her cheek with his fingertips.
The Bachelor Tax Page 22
