Amelia and the Outlaw

by Lorraine Heath

  She’d overheard him tell the outlaw that they had things to discuss. She knew just what he’d say in his resonant, booming voice: Don’t do this and don’t do that.

  He’d used the same tone when he’d explained she was to never, ever put herself in a situation that would leave her alone with Jesse Lawton. She knew it was simply her father’s way, to issue orders like some general commanding troops. Probably a habit he’d developed during the War Between the States when he had commanded troops. Still, she resented all the rules and the fact that she had to find ways around them in order to have any fun.

  Finding a way around his order to steer clear of Jesse would be a real challenge. She understood her father’s precaution regarding the outlaw. She truly did, but she’d never been around anyone who’d broken the law, anyone who’d been sent to prison. Jesse fascinated her as much as the law did.

  While her father had been establishing his ranch, he’d also worked as a lawyer in Fort Worth. He’d watched the town change from a military outpost into one of the most prosperous and progressive cities in the state. Lawyers had benefited from its rapid growth. Amelia had often listened to her father explaining various aspects of the law to her brothers. She’d even questioned him about some matters, wanting more information than he provided.

  He’d answered her questions with an indulgent smile. Then he’d say, “It’s a shame you’re not a boy. You have a sharp mind and more interest in the law than your brothers.”

  She didn’t think it was a shame that she was a girl. She simply thought it was unfair that people thought girls should be interested only in taking care of a house, getting married, and raising children. Amelia was interested in so much more.

  She was contemplating becoming a lawyer. She’d even begun studying her father’s law books.

  She also welcomed the idea of perhaps following in her father’s footsteps and eventually becoming a judge. But she couldn’t help but wonder if she had it within her to sentence a man to prison. To take away his freedom when she so valued hers.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jesse. With one leg stretched out, he dangled a scarred wrist across the knee he’d raised.

  She didn’t want to think about the shackles he’d been wearing when he’d clambered off the train, or how many times before today he might have been forced to wear them. They’d sounded heavy when the guard had removed them. Heavy and uncomfortable.

  She told herself that anyone who committed a crime deserved harsh treatment. Still, this young man intrigued her. She wondered why he’d ridden with the notorious Nightriders gang.

  Was it the excitement? The money? The danger? Disrespect for the law?

  Certainly only someone who held no respect for the law would dare break it. Although Jesse Lawton didn’t appear to be disrespectful, she figured prison could beat respect into a mangy dog.

  But another reason for his unexpected politeness at the depot nagged at her. Perhaps someone had made a mistake. Perhaps Jesse Lawton was truly innocent.

  The outlaw sliced his gaze over to her, and trepidation slithered through her. He didn’t look at all innocent.

  He looked downright dangerous.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Twilight was easing over the land by the time the judge pulled the wagon to a halt in front of a large brick house. It stood two stories tall, larger than anything Jesse had ever seen. A huge porch supported by white columns welcomed visitors.

  A man with hair the color of a muddy river sat on the porch. He slowly came to his feet as everyone climbed out of the wagon.

  Jesse’s feet hit the dirt path, sending up a plume of dust. For a moment he stood mesmerized, watching as the judge helped his daughter. She placed her delicate hands on his shoulders while he wrapped his around her waist. He lifted her down as though she weighed no more than a wispy cloud.

  Jesse had caught her watching him several times during the journey. Every time he’d given her a hard glare, expecting her to look away. Instead she’d defiantly held his gaze, tilting up that cute chin of hers until he’d finally looked away, embarrassed that she knew where he’d spent the last five years of his life.

  The man who’d been sitting on the porch approached. “Judge.”

  The judge gave him a curt nod before turning to Jesse. “Jesse, this is Tanner, my foreman.”

  The wind and sun had practically turned Tanner’s face into leather, but his gray eyes held kindness. He stuck out his hand. “Welcome to the Lazy H, but you’ll discover soon enough that we’re anything but lazy around here.”

  Jesse wasn’t exactly sure what to do. He’d seen the gesture a thousand times as he’d ridden through towns, whenever men on the boardwalk stopped to talk to those they knew. But he’d never placed his hand in another’s.

  He could feel Amelia watching him, studying him, as the seconds ticked by and his unease with the situation grew.

  “The custom of shaking a hand in greeting was started during the medieval period,” Amelia said softly, as though understanding his hesitation. “A knight extended his hand to show that he wasn’t holding a weapon.”

  Jesse jerked his attention to her. “I don’t have a gun.”

  “Of course you don’t. I didn’t mean that you did. I was just explaining—”

  “An old wives’ tale,” David interrupted. “Just shake Tanner’s hand.”

  With reluctance, Jesse wiped his sweating palm on his britches before taking Tanner’s hand. Tanner gave Jesse’s hand a quick shake and released his hold. Jesse didn’t understand how that little action told a man that the other wasn’t carrying a weapon. After all, a man had two hands.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Amelia asked.

  Before Jesse could answer, the judge said, “I think we’ve done all the talking out here that we need to do. Let’s get up to the house.”

  Jesse was hoping that order didn’t include him, but when everyone else started up the steps, leaving him rooted in the dust, he had a feeling it did. He was torn between going inside and staying where he was.

  He’d never been inside a house that looked like this one. Oh, for a while when he was small he’d lived with a widow who’d kept her house as clean as she’d kept him, scrubbing his body with the same brush she’d used for the floors.

  But he’d never been inside a building that housed a family.

  As uncomfortable as he felt about following them, he was equally curious and desperate to know what other people possessed.

  “Jesse?”

  Jesse jumped at the judge’s insistent voice. The man waited in the doorway.

  Jesse trudged up the steps and entered the house. The scent of flowers greeted him. He’d never been in a place that smelled like a field of wildflowers in spring. For the most part, when he’d stayed indoors before prison, he’d usually stayed in storage rooms or barns.

  “We’ll talk in my library,” the judge said, indicating a room off to the side.

  Jesse followed him inside and came to an abrupt halt. He’d never seen so many books in his entire life. They lined the shelves on two walls, from the floor to the ceiling. He wondered if the judge had read them all. He wondered even more how so many different stories could exist.

  He shifted his attention to the judge’s daughter. With her hands folded on her lap, she sat elegantly in a chair off to the side. Her gaze roamed over him in a leisurely fashion that caused the heat of embarrassment to build within him.

  He’d never cared much about his appearance, but right now he felt as though every aspect of his person were sorely lacking. He watched her watching him, wondering if she would find anything about him that pleased her. Wondering more why he cared whether she did or not.

  She seemed completely at ease here, as though she knew she was safe, knew she would always be so. She’d probably never had a day of sadness in her life. Strangely, he didn’t envy her that fact. Rather he was glad.

  He wouldn’t wish his life on his worst enemy.

  The
judge cleared his throat, and Jesse snapped his attention around to the man wearing a scowl of disapproval. Obviously showing any interest at all in the judge’s daughter was not a good idea.

  The judge sat in a large leather chair behind a massive mahogany desk, presiding over the room as he no doubt did his courtroom. His sons propped themselves on either corner of the desk, like sentinels who thought it was their job to protect their father. With his arms crossed over his chest, Tanner stood behind the judge and off to the side, close to the fireplace.

  To the right of Tanner, nestled in a corner, was a large safe. Jesse had opened a half dozen like it in his time. It was too large and heavy to be moved—probably the reason Judge Harper didn’t bother to hide it. Its contents were well protected unless a man had dynamite or sensitive fingertips and sharp hearing. Jesse possessed the latter.

  “I may own this land,” Judge Harper began, once again capturing Jesse’s attention, “but Tanner runs things for me. You’ll take your orders from him. He’s not going to cut you any slack. You disobey him once, and you’ll find yourself back at Huntsville. Understand?”

  So much for Jesse’s hope that life here would be different from life in prison.

  Still he answered, “Yes, sir.”

  “If my sons give you an order, you follow without question. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’re to stay away from my daughter.” Judge Harper practically sliced Jesse in two with his gaze. “Understand?”

  Jesse fought not to shift his gaze over to Amelia. “Yes, sir.”

  Judge Harper sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You’re free to move about the ranch as long as you let Tanner or my sons know where you’re going. You don’t tell them, and you’re back at Huntsville. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Try to escape and you’re back at Huntsville. You’ll notice I said ‘try,’ because I give you my word that my sons are fine trackers. Understand?”

  Jesse was beginning to sound like an echo. “Yes, sir.”

  “No drinking, no gambling, no fighting, no cussing. Those are my rules. Break one of them, and you’re back at Huntsville. Understand?”

  He decided he’d be lucky to last through the night. Still, he nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “All right, then, Tanner will take you to the bunkhouse and introduce you to the men. I have no tolerance for lawbreakers. I’m giving you a chance here to prove that Judge Gray’s judgment regarding you was wrong. Don’t squander this opportunity to better your life.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Tanner uncrossed his arms, stepped away from his exalted position behind the judge, and rounded the desk. “Let’s go.”

  Jesse wondered if he should say something to Judge Harper before leaving, but he couldn’t think of anything that might be appropriate. The man’s good intentions were welcome…even if they came with a lot of rules. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to thank the man. As far as Jesse was concerned, one judge wasn’t that much different from any other.

  So Jesse simply nodded and fell into step behind the foreman as he walked out of the room. He was eager to get away from the judge’s sons, who’d been boring their gazes into him as though they’d wanted to drill clear into his soul.

  And he definitely wanted to get away from the judge’s daughter, because not looking at her was about the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life.

  As they stepped onto the porch, Jesse took comfort in the dimming twilight. It signaled one less day he had to serve for his crimes.

  He followed Tanner as he headed toward a wood-framed building in the distance, past the barn. Jesse cast a longing glance at the horses prancing within the nearby corral. With one of them beneath him, he could hightail it—

  “You know any other words besides ‘yes, sir’?” Tanner asked, interrupting Jesse’s thoughts of escape.

  Jesse tore his gaze from the corral and focused it on the man walking beside him, walking as though he wasn’t in any hurry to be anywhere.

  “Yes, sir,” he responded dryly.

  Prison had taught him to say as little as possible in order to survive. Never tell a man more than he needed to know. Never reveal what the world couldn’t see on its own.

  Tanner didn’t break his stride while he looked at Jesse as though measuring him. “I know Judge Harper seems like a hard man, but he’s risked a lot bringing you here. His reputation, his business, his family. He has a right to set down rules. Perhaps even an obligation to do so.”

  Jesse was growing weary of the reminders that his freedom was only an illusion. They all worried about what it was costing the judge. No one seemed concerned with what it was costing him—to see all the things he’d never possessed. And never would.

  He wasn’t thinking about the fancy knickknacks that decorated the small tables or the pretty pictures hanging on the walls. He was thinking about the solidarity and familiarity that emanated from the folks in that room.

  Everyone seemed secure in their place, knew where they belonged. Jesse couldn’t imagine the satisfaction that might come from filling up the empty places in his soul with those emotions.

  Tanner stopped short of the bunkhouse door. “I’ll be honest with you, Jesse. A lot of the men aren’t comfortable with the idea of having you around. You just steer clear of them, and I don’t think we’ll have any problems.”

  Jesse narrowed his eyes. One more rule to follow.

  “Me, I think every man deserves a second chance, but I’ll be watching you closely,” Tanner continued. “Like Judge Harper said, disobey one of his rules and you’ll find yourself back at Huntsville.”

  Jesse heard a cacophony of sounds emanating from inside the bunkhouse: deep voices, laughter, the scraping of chairs over a floor, and footsteps. He didn’t much welcome the prospect of facing a new bunch of strangers, but his whole life had been filled with nothing but strangers. He should have been accustomed to it by now, but his stomach knotted up, his mouth grew dry, and his palms got sweaty.

  He swallowed hard and fought not to show his apprehension. “You gonna jaw all night or get on with this?”

  A corner of Tanner’s mouth tilted up. “Reckon I’ll get on with it. If you have any problems, though, you come see me.”

  Right. Jesse was certain that somewhere in both the judge’s and Tanner’s words resided the unspoken warning that if he complained he’d be back at Huntsville. He understood that fact without its being said directly.

  Tanner opened the door and stepped inside. Jesse followed. A hush fell over the room. The fellas who were playing poker at a table no longer looked at the cards they held in their hands. Instead they narrowed their eyes and stared at Jesse.

  Men who’d been lying in bunks slowly sat up as though to challenge him.

  “This here’s Jesse, the new hand Judge Harper spoke to you about,” Tanner announced, his voice booming to the distant corners. “I don’t want any trouble, Jesse doesn’t want any trouble, and I guarantee the judge doesn’t want any. If you’ve got any problems with this situation, you come see me.”

  Tanner jerked his head to the side. “That’ll be your bed. Far corner, upper bunk.”

  Jesse gave a curt nod before wending his way among tables, chairs, and outstretched legs. He met the gaze of every man who dared him to look away. He’d learned in prison never to show fear even if he was quaking in his boots. Survival depended on being the first one to set up defenses.

  The fella sitting on the lower bed below Jesse’s slowly stood, his fists bunched at his sides, his eyes never straying from Jesse.

  Ignoring him, Jesse planted his foot on the bottom bed and hoisted himself onto the bed up top. Stretching out, he folded his arms beneath his head and stared at the knotholes in the ceiling.

  He’d done a quick tally and counted ten double bunks, so he figured the ranch probably had close to twenty workers. He felt distrust and hatred emanating from each one of them. The hard truth hit him painfully.
/>   Living here wasn’t going to be much different from being in prison after all.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Amelia, stop picking at your food,” her father ordered.

  When in the world is he going to stop treating me like a child and allow me to do as I please? If I’m not in the mood to eat, why do I have to eat?

  Turning her attention away from the slice of lamb resting on her plate that she’d been poking with her fork, Amelia met her father’s gaze where he sat at the head of the table. Robert and David sat on either side of him. She had the dubious honor of sitting beside David.

  “I can’t seem to stop thinking about that outlaw,” she admitted. She’d felt sorry for him, standing in front of her father as he’d listed the conditions under which Jesse could stay at the ranch.

  “He won’t hurt you,” her father assured her.

  “I’m not afraid of him,” she said. At least, she didn’t want to be afraid of him. “I was just wondering if it was really necessary to give him so many rules to follow.”

  “I simply didn’t want any misunderstandings to arise,” he stated flatly.

  She didn’t think there was much chance of that happening. Her father was a man governed by the law, but sometimes she thought he took his dedication to it to the extreme.

  “Why do you think he did it?” Amelia asked. “Robbed the bank, I mean.”

  “A lazy man looking for easy money,” Robert said.

  “Only he wasn’t a man,” she pointed out. “He was still a boy, a child really.”

  “Fourteen is old enough to be considered a man,” David said. “We’ve had cowboys who weren’t much older than that working for us when we’ve driven cattle north.”

  She truly wasn’t interested in her brothers’ opinions. They didn’t know any more about Jesse Lawton than she did. Her father, on the other hand, had read Judge Gray’s account of the case.

  “Papa, why do you think he did it?” she repeated.