“Sure, if I tell him to. He’s a good dog, and real smart.”
“I’m sure he is.” She knelt, offering gentle encouragement to the dog as she slid her fingers over his ribs. Even through his fur, she felt each rib poking out. Harry apparently hadn’t had any more to eat than Seth.
“Don’t think his ribs are broken. Maybe he’s just bruised inside. Do you go outside with him when he does his business?”
Seth frowned. “He won’t go since Pa hurt him.”
“When he will, we need to see if there’s blood when he goes. For now, maybe we should just make sure he has food and water and knows we won't hurt him.”
She set fresh water down and encouraged Harry until the dog drank a bit. He licked her hand. “What a good boy you are, Harry.”
“Hey, he likes you.” Seth watched at her. “Lady? Why’d you need that disguise?”
“Two mean men are after me and I have to get away. Mr. Stone is helping me.”
“Can’t your pa help you?”
“He did while he was alive, Seth, but he died, too. Pa knew he was dying, and told me what to do to get away.”
“Then why do you need help?”
She sighed. “Because I kept having bad luck. The men caught up with me. They almost snatched me, but I avoided them.”
Seth looked set to ask another question, but Zach rose. “Reckon we’ll have to stay here tonight. There’s a wagon in the barn we can hitch your mules to when we leave. Mr. Barnes’ horses aren’t fit enough to pull it, but they can be fattened up when we get to a livery.”
Seth looked from Alice to Zach. “That’s my wagon now, mister, and them are my horses.”
“I know, son, but we have to get you and Miss Price away from here. She needs help, so I figured to take her to Doyle. There’s a doctor there and a hotel of sorts to wait for the stage. We can take as many of your things as you wish.”
Seth crossed his arms across his thin chest. “Mister, I ain’t a going nowhere. This here’s my place now and I aim to stay right here.”
Zach mustered all his patience. He almost admitted to the kid that he had built this cabin from scratch almost five years ago, long before he bought the Warren place. “Why is that?”
“Harry’s sick and I can’t leave him. He’s all the family I got now. He depends on me.”
“I figured he’d ride in the wagon with you and Miss Price. We could make him a soft pallet so the ride wouldn’t jar him too much.”
Seth’s expression softened. “You aimed to let Harry come?”
“Sure. Boy needs his dog. Besides, we can’t abandon him.”
The child’s face fell and all his suspicion returned. “What about when we got to town? I bet you figure to turn me over to a orph’nage. They wouldn’t let me keep Harry.”
Zach pulled on his ear. He hadn’t figured that far ahead. He sure as hell couldn’t leave a kid on his own out here, though.
“What if you came to live at my place?” He smiled at his brilliance. Yeah, he’d get a son without this marriage business that had caused him such trouble.
“What about Harry?” Suspicion still shone in Seth’s eyes.
“Every ranch needs a good dog. Been thinking I’d get me one. Harry would be a fine ranch dog, wouldn’t he?”
Seth shook his head. “I don’t think so. I reckon me and Harry will stick here until he’s better, then we’ll go about our business.”
Alice’s asked, “How about if I hired you?”
Zach and Seth regarded her as if she’d lost her senses and fever had affected her brain.
“Doing what?” Seth asked.
“How about if I pay you to be my son while I’m getting well. Then maybe Mr. Stone will hire you on his ranch.”
“Your son? Lady, you cain’t hire a son.” Seth swiveled to Zach. “Can you, mister?”
Zach chewed his lip a second. “Might work. The men looking for Miss Price would never think of asking about a woman with her son and husband traveling with her.”
“Would that mean you’d be my pretend pa?”
Damn, this was getting mighty complicated. “Yeah. I guess so. After we get Miss Price to the hotel, we can go on to my ranch and Harry can come with us. You can live with me and be my new ranch hand.”
Seth appeared to think that over, then asked, “Is your place as nice as this one?”
“Much better. Bigger” Zach played his ace. “You’d have your own room and Harry could sleep in it with you.”
“But then the lady would be alone again and those mean men might find her.”
Zach exhaled. Hell, he hated this whole situation. All he’d wanted was a few days alone to think. Look where he’d ended up. Now he had a damned convention with him.
Alice moved to the kettle. She wished she could lie down, but there was no place until Zach spread his bedroll. Sick as she was, she wasn’t so far gone she’d lie down on the dead man’s filthy bed. “Reckon we oughta have our stew and turn in?
“Good idea. We can face this in the morning. Maybe by then the snow will have stopped."
Alice dished up three plates of stew. She wished she’d made more corn pone, but she didn’t know how long their supplies would have to last. What if tomorrow’s weather was too bad for them to leave? How long would they be here?
Zach spread his bedroll on the floor. “I figured you’d prefer this to the bed.”
Alice had no intention of lying on Felton Barnes’ bed. “Seth, do you want to sleep on your father’s cot?”
He scooted close to his dog. “I always sleep with Harry.”
Zach moved the soiled mattress from the wooden platform and laid it on the floor. He slid Seth’s tattered blanket over it. “This will be warmer and softer. Harry can sleep with you.”
She waited as long as she could. “Um, is there a chamber pot in the cabin?”
Seth shook his head. “We always just pissed out the door or went to the privy. Sometimes Pa pissed into the fireplace.”
Alice wrapped the scarf around her head and reached for her coat. Zach helped her slip her injured arm into a sleeve, then slid the coat over her shoulders. “You sure you can do this?”
“Don’t seem to have a choice.” She coughed again.
He handed over her gloves. “The shed’s closer and the animals presence will make it warmer.”
She hurried to the shed, which was open on one side. Wind howled in and cold stole her breath, but she took care of her business. Men sure were at an advantage when it came to relieving themselves. The mule’s packs stacked in a corner looked all right, but she checked to make sure none had spilled.
Those bags represented her future. She couldn’t risk losing anything from them. Another spasm of coughing sent her hurrying for the cabin’s warmth.
Back inside the cabin, Alice covered the boy with her quilt then slid into Zach’s bedroll. At last, she could lie cosseted in warmth.
Seth watched from where he snuggled on the mattress. “That’s a funny kind of blanket.”
“It’s a bedroll I had made. Sleeps two people.” Zach took off his own boots, doused the lantern, and slid in beside Alice.
The firelight was their only illumination.
In spite of the cabin’s warmth, Alice’s ague was worse. A band constricted her chest firmer than the time she’d tried to wear Mama’s corset and got it too tight. Though she’d drunk cups of tea from herbal remedies, her throat burned hotter than fire. If she could sleep, maybe she’d be better tomorrow.
She knew Zach’s every breath. He turned and spooned against her. When he slid his arm around her, some of her tension unfurled. He offered reassurance.
Security. Sanity. Strength.
But his presence created a different fire from her fever. A new heat coiled inside her. Tendrils of excitement danced through her body from Zach’s touch. She had mastered her fear while she faced her stepbrothers’ threats, but how did she control these new sensations?
Chapter Eleven
Dr
iving toward Doyle, Zach wondered once again how he’d come to be saddled with a sick woman, an invalid dog, and a kid who could out-lie anyone Zach had ever met. As if that weren’t enough, this had to be the coldest weather in years. They were lucky the mules could pull the wagon without sleigh blades.
He sensed Alice fight to remain upright. The blasted bedroll around her buffered against the wind but didn’t appear to offer enough comfort. Her fingers gripped the wagon seat with so hard he’d bet her hands inside the gloves had white knuckles as they rolled into Doyle.
Was that sweat on her forehead? Damn, she must be burning up with fever. Her mules, Brownie and Blue, pulled the wagon, and her sacks were in the wagon bed covered by Seth’s old blankets.
Zach said, “Not much to the town, but it’s a stage stop and has what passes for a hotel.”
He thought she was too ill even to peer around. If her brothers were here, she probably couldn’t spot them in time to give him a warning.
Swathed in his father’s coat and wearing the dead man’s boots, Seth rode in back with his dog and her treasure. “Reckon there’s a place what sells candy? I had me a big bag of it, but I left it with some poor kids when we moved.”
Zach didn’t reprimand Seth for the lie. “Bound to be, but we have to get Miss, um, Mrs. Stone to the hotel.”
They’d agreed they’d register as Mr. and Mrs. Stone and son Seth. That would throw the men off her trail if they checked at the hotel. Zach remained vigilant. Could be they were here now and saw her ride by. The blue scarf concealed her face and hair, and the blasted bedroll covered the oversize coat she wore that was bound to have belonged to her dead stepfather.
Zach stopped the wagon near an ugly, unpainted building. The weathered sign over the door announced it as “Traveler’s Rest Hotel and Emporium.”
He came around and helped her down, convinced when he lifted her that she was far sicker than he’d realized. “I kept watch and didn’t see the two men who’re after you.”
She didn’t answer, could hardly stand, and had to lean on him for support.
Behind them, Seth carried Harry. “I stayed in plenty of hotels afore. Some real fancy ones.”
Inside the building, Zach seated Alice on a chair by the stove and stepped up to the emporium’s counter.
A small man greeted them. “Mornin’ folks. You wantin’ a room or some goods?” He was balding, and wore a tan shirt that might have been clean several days ago.
“Two rooms,” Zach said.
“Ain’t got but one vacant. Nice one, though. Cost you six bits a night. For another quarter, I can put a cot in for the boy.”
Zach reached into his pocket for a silver dollar. “We’ll take it with the cot.”
“We don’t allow no animals.”
Zach leaned forward and leveled his fiercest gaze at the smaller man. “Pretend he’s a small person.”
The man blinked. “Uh, well, I’d have to charge you a mite extra. Dog’s make a mess or chew up things, don’t you see? And you’d have to pay extra for any damage.”
Seth scowled. “Harry’s trained real good and he won’t hurt nothin’.”
Zach placed his hand protectively on Seth’s shoulder. “How much extra for the dog?” he asked.
“Four bits.”
Zach paid and signed the register. “My wife’s ill. She needs a doctor.”
“I’ll send word to him.” As an aside, the innkeeper said, “Say, with your woman ailin’, you’ll likely be wantin’ extra coal to keep the fire going all day.”
Son of a bitch. “What’s that going to cost me?”
“Two bits a bucket.”
Zach tossed another quarter on the counter.
The innkeeper handed over a key. “Second door at the top of the stairs.” The small man looked triumphant.
He ought to. The gouger was glorying at the extra charges.
Alice had dozed off in the chair where he’d left her. “You handle Harry,” Zach said to Seth, then scooped up Alice and carried her toward their room. The bedroll fell away but he didn’t stop. He could retrieve it next trip downstairs.
She wakened as he climbed the stairs. “Put me down. I can walk on my own.”
“Lady, you’re so sick you can hardly stay awake.” He leaned her against the door with one arm around her while he unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Not too bad for the size of the town. At least there’s a real bed for you.”
He laid her on top of the coverlet and started the fire going in the small Franklin stove. Then, he helped Alice stand and remove her coat and scarf before she slid into bed.
“When you’re feeling rested, you can change into your nightclothes.”
“This is fine,” she said as she drifted back to sleep.
Zach removed her shoes then lifted her and whipped back the top cover before he laid her on the worn sheet. When he’d tucked the blanket over her, he checked the stove again.
He hoped that doctor showed up soon. “Listen, Seth.” He described the two men looking for Alice. “If you see them, don’t do anything to attract their attention. Tell Miss, um, Mrs. Stone and me. Got it?”
“Sure, mister. I mean Pa. But I could whup ‘em. I beat lots of men to the draw. Won’t be nothin’ to me to take on two.”
Zach knelt so he’d be eye level with the boy. “Seth, this is real important. If you don’t do what I say, you could get her killed.”
Seth looked at the bed. “She was real nice to me and Harry. I wouldn’t want nothing bad to happen to her.”
“Then you’ll have to help me take care of her.”
“Sure I will.”
Harry whined.
Seth brightened. “He wants to go out. Maybe he’s gonna be all right now.”
Zach picked up the dog. “I’ll take him. Have to see to the wagon, the animals, and our belongings. You stay here and guard your new Ma. I’ll lock the door so no one can get in.” Zach placed a pistol on the bedside table by Alice’s pillow. He didn’t know if she could use it, sick as she was, but he hated to leave her defenseless.
In the alley beside the livery, Zach wondered if he’d lost his mind. Dammitall, he’d seen carnage in the War, fought and captured ruthless men as a Ranger, outmaneuvered Indians to rescue kidnapped kids. He sure as hell never figured he’d be playing nursemaid to a sick dog and monitoring the animal’s bodily functions.
Harry took care of business then sighed.
“Feel better?” Zach wanted to slap himself. Now he was talking to the dog like he expected an answer.
Damned if Harry didn’t lick Zach’s hand, as if the dog understood him.
He saw a man carrying a doctor’s valise hurry by. Zach scooped up the dog and strode to the emporium.
He arrived as the man turned from the counter. “I’m Zach Stone. You look like the doctor.”
“That’s right. Name’s Jeff Webb.”
Sweeping up the blasted bedroll as he passed, Zach led the way. He and Seth waited in the hall while Dr. Webb examined Alice. Thirty minutes went by before the doctor came out of the room.
“She has pneumonia. Said she was exhausted from caring for her Pa before she caught a chill.”
“What can you do to help her?”
“I gave her a tonic to help her sleep and one for the cough. What she needs most is rest, but you’ll have to get her up to walk several times a day or she’ll get worse. Just my private opinion, one not always shared by other doctors. Plenty of hot tea or coffee.”
Zach paid him and went into the room. Alice had changed into her nightclothes and lay sleeping. Damn, she looked paler than the almost-white sheets. He switched his gaze to Seth, who sat on the floor with Harry. The boy’s clothes were a disgrace. “Wait here,” he told the boy.
He returned in a few minutes with three pairs of britches, six sets of underwear, four shirts, six pairs of socks, boots, a coat, and a cap. “Here you go. See if these fit.”
Seth looked from the clothes to Zach. “Why you giving them
to me?”
“All my ranch hands dress like this.” Damned, the boy was suspicious. Zach wondered what the boy had seen in his short life.
Seth’s excitement showed in his face. “Yeah? You mean these are my workin’-on-a-ranch clothes?” He picked up the boots as if they were made of solid gold.
“Best available in this town. Why don’t you step behind the screen and see if they fit?”
Seth did and emerged a few minutes later looking like a regular kid. No, not quite regular. A dirty, bruised kid in appropriate clothes.
Zach handed Seth a small sack of horehound and peppermint candies. “Forgot to give you this.”
He peered into the sack and beamed. “Candy?” He stuck his dirty hand into the sack and popped a chunk into his mouth. Around the sweet, he said, “Working for you sure is good.”
“Your job now is to keep guard while I go talk to the town sheriff.”
“I’ll watch out. Harry will help me.” Seth ruffled the dog’s neck lovingly. “Won’t you, boy?”
Seth moved a chair to the window overlooking the street and took a piece of candy from the sack. He rolled the treat around in his mouth, savoring the sweet, unusual flavor of it. He’d always wondered how candy would taste.
He heard his new pa’s steps on the stairs and then watched him cross the street and go inside a building. His new pa sure was nicer than his other pa. He wondered if it was okay that he liked his new pa a lot more than his old one. Still, he missed Ma. She always tried to stop Pa from hittin’ him too much.
Tending his new ma wasn’t too boring, ‘specially with his candy to suck on. People walked near the buildings or rode horses. First he watched people, until he tired of that. Then he started looking at the horses. He wished he could count so he could figure how many horses were brown and how many were black or dun.
Two men rode in with a horse trailing. Seth froze. It was them, the bad men his new Pa described. Seth watched the two. They tied their mounts and a third one in front of the saloon.
What should he do? He was supposed to stay here and guard the lady, but he should tell his new pa. Seth looked over his shoulder at his pretend ma, then back outside.
High Stakes Bride, Men of Stone Mountain Book 2 Page 7
