Journey of the Heart

by Marjorie Farrell

  She was no beauty, this Sadie Hart. Too tall and rangy for his taste, which ran to small, plump señoritas. There was no danger there for him, he thought, and then immediately wondered why he had needed to reassure himself.

  That evening Mackie called him into the big house after dinner.

  “Have your plans progressed any further, Chavez?” he asked bluntly.

  “Plans?” Chavez replied mildly.

  “I assume you have something in mind for Burke?”

  “I think he is aware of the position he is in, señor. I met a houseguest of his coming down from the sheep camp. She’ll pass the word that I’ve been seen around there. He’ll know that more of his sheep could become sick.”

  “And what of his shepherd?”

  “The old man, Eduardo? What of him? He is no threat to anyone.”

  “What if it weren’t the sheep who fell victim this time but their shepherd? Burke wouldn’t hold out after something like that.”

  “It might be effective,” said Juan slowly as though he was giving the idea his serious consideration. “On the other hand, Burke might be so enraged that he’d dig his feet in more. I think he can be a very stubborn man, Señor Burke.” Chavez had killed, but never cold-bloodedly, without provocation. It had always been in self-defense. And he always informed his prospective employers that that was the way he preferred it. Not from any tenderheartedness, he would assure them, but because it was best to stay on the side of the law, if possible.

  “I think hitting Señor Burke in the pocketbook will be more effective in the long run,” he said without inflection.

  Mackie, who was drinking whiskey, pointed his finger at Chavez and gestured with his glass, slopping some of the whiskey on his employee’s boots. “I know, I know. You told me you don’t shoot unless you’re shot at. You’d rather intimidate people.”

  “I’d rather keep my neck out of a rope, señor.”

  “All right, for now, we’ll do it your way, Chavez,” said Mackie, turning his back and dismissing him with a wave. “But your way better work soon. Send Wilson in to see me, will you,” he added.

  “Si, señor.”

  * * * *

  “How does it look, Gabe?”

  “Still a little swollen, but the arnica wrap is helping. She’s even put a little weight onto it, haven’t you, girl?” he said as Snowflake whuffled at the back of his neck.

  Sadie was perched on a nearby bale of hay and when Gabe was finished, he came and sat next to her.

  “So, Miss Sarah Ellen, how are you enjoying your visit?”

  “Very much, Gabe. How could I not? The countryside is beautiful, and the Burkes have been so welcoming. And I am liking Caitlin better than I thought I would.”

  “You didn’t like her?” asked Gabe, his surprise evident in his voice.

  “From what you told me, she sounded young and spoiled. Marrying an Eastern gentleman and going off to teach in a fancy school.”

  “Now, Sadie, that doesn’t make her spoiled. She fell in love with the man.”

  “Be honest, Gabe. What was your first opinion?” Sadie asked jokingly.

  “Wal,” he drawled, “I must confess that she seemed a mite spoiled to me too. Especially around Sky. But I think it was just hard for her to come home and find someone else working with her horse.”

  “What is this Mr. Beecham like?” Sadie asked curiously.

  “He sits a horse well, even though he’s used to a postage-stamp saddle.”

  “I meant aside from how he is with horses, Gabe,” said Sadie, jabbing her elbow into her brother’s side.

  “I guess women would consider him handsome. He must be smart as a whip, because he’s going to be a lawyer.”

  “Is he right for Cait?”

  “I reckon,” Gabe replied slowly. “He loves her, that’s for sure. They’ll go back east and be real happy together.” Gabe slid off the bale of hay and said, “There’s a dance in town Saturday. I want you to promise me at least one waltz, Sarah Ellen, because I am sure all your dances will be gone with all the men flocking around you. It’s high time you found someone to take care of you.”

  It was almost suppertime and as Sadie walked to the house, leaving Gabe to wash up, she thought about his description of Henry Beecham. His words were certainly all positive, but his tone had seemed a little forced. She decided to keep an eye on her brother when he was around Caitlin Burke, especially at the dance on Saturday.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It wasn’t as easy to keep an eye on her brother as Sadie had supposed. Just as they arrived at the dance, an attractive red-haired cowboy came up to Cait and stood shyly, his hat in his hand. “May I have the first waltz, Miss Cait.”

  “Miss Cait? Jimmy Murdoch, where have you been this past month? Out collecting more freckles?”

  The cowboy looked down at her and gave her a wicked grin. “Why, I’ve only been off on a cattle drive to Dodge City. But you’ve been away for two years to a fancy school, so I figured I’d better treat you with the respect a proper young lady deserves.”

  “How many times did we ride for the mail together, Jimmy Murdoch? I didn’t notice you treating me with any respect then!”

  “Aw, Cait, you know I’m only teasing you. But my broken heart will feel a lot better if you’ll only dance with me.”

  “Broken heart?” she replied skeptically.

  “I hear you’ll be leaving us soon.” Sadie could tell he was only half teasing this time.

  “I am, Jimmy. But since you have been loving and leaving girls for years, you have gotten your just desserts. But I will save a waltz for you. Sadie, this is my old friend, Jimmy Murdoch. The Murdochs own the ranch next to ours. Jimmy, this is Sadie Hart, who’s visiting from Texas.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am. Will you be my partner for this dance, Miss Hart?” he immediately asked as the caller summoned the dancers to the floor.

  “I’d be delighted.”

  It was lucky that Gabe had reserved his dance ahead of time, for a new woman in town was never without partners. By the time the first waltz was struck up, Sadie had to turn away three men and gave Gabe a relieved smile when he came over to claim her.

  He smiled down at her and said: “See, I told you, Sarah Ellen. You could have your choice of any man here.”

  “Gabe, those cowboys would flock around any new face, they’re so starved for women, and you know it.” She smiled as she saw Caitlin and Jimmy Murdoch waltz by them. “There goes one charming cowboy.” Gabe glanced over. “I haven’t seen him before.”

  “He’s been out driving cattle. Evidently his family owns the spread next to the Burkes’. He and Cait are old friends. You’d think she’d have chosen someone like that, wouldn’t you?” she continued.

  “Not with her education. She can do a lot better than a cowboy.”

  “She’s such a graceful dancer, isn’t she, Gabe? Are you going to ask her for a dance?”

  “I might, once I’ve had my turn with some of the other young ladies here,” he replied noncommittally.

  * * * *

  “Are you not dancing this one, Sadie?” Michael asked when he came upon their guest sitting out a schottische.

  “I haven’t been off that floor for two hours, Mr. Burke,” laughed Sadie. “I’m just waiting for Jimmy Murdoch to bring me a glass of punch.”

  “Jimmy Murdoch, eh? Now, there’s a fine lad. I was hoping once that he and Cait…but since they are not suited, maybe he’d be someone for you to consider, Sadie.”

  “Mr. Burke, you are as bad as my brother! I just got through taking care of my brothers and I am not panting to take on another responsibility.”

  “Ah, but marriage shouldn’t be like motherin’, Sadie,” he said. “Not if you find the right man. But here comes Jimmy. I’ll leave you two alone,” he added with a wink.

  “Here you are, Miss Hart.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Murdoch.”

  There was a stir at the door and Jimmy and Sadie watched as
a well-dressed older man and his wife came in.

  “Damn Mackie,” Jimmy said under his breath without thinking.

  “Oh, is that Nelson Mackie?” asked Sadie curiously.

  “Beg your pardon, ma’am, for swearing. Yes, it is. He’s been after my ma to sell since Pa died last spring.”

  “And she’s refused?”

  “She says she’ll hold out as long as Michael Burke does.”

  Mackie settled his wife with the doctor’s lady and went over to join the bank manager who was in a cluster of businessmen from town. “He has them all in his pocket,” Jimmy muttered.

  Sadie was no longer watching Mackie, for her eyes had been drawn back to the door. Juan Chavez was standing there, surveying the room like the predator he resembled, she thought with a shiver. Then their eyes met and he gave her a nod of recognition. She should ignore him, she knew, but no matter what he was rumored to be, he had seen her safely home the other day, and so she gave him a quick smile.

  Oh, dear, that was a mistake, she thought, for he started to make his way around the room to where she was sitting. There was a dance already in progress, so she couldn’t ask Jimmy to take her onto the dance floor. She was trapped.

  “Buenas noches, Señorita Hart.”

  He was directly in front of her and she could hardly ignore him. He would be a hard man to ignore, Juan Chavez, in his dark green shirt tucked into black trousers studded with conchos.

  “Buenas noches, Señor Chavez,” she replied calmly. “Jimmy, do you know Señor Chavez?”

  “Can’t say that I do,” Jimmy answered coldly. “Given who he works for, can’t say that I want to,” he added, giving Chavez a look of distaste.

  “The feeling is mutual, I am sure, so perhaps you would like to get Miss Hart another glass of punch. Her glass is empty.” Chavez spoke politely, almost as though they were in someone’s drawing room, thought Sadie. But the look in his eyes would have convinced a lesser man than Jimmy Murdoch. Jimmy flushed red and Sadie saw his fists clench. The last thing she wanted, the last thing that was needed, was a fight over her!

  “I am still thirsty, Jimmy,” she said, with a pleading look. “I will be fine here until you get back,” she reassured him.

  Jimmy’s hands relaxed and he told her he’d be back directly.

  “I see you made it safely home, Miss Hart,” Chavez continued in the same polite voice. “How is the mare?”

  “Gabe has taken good care of her. He’s sure her leg will heal completely.”

  “Your brother is very good with horses, isn’t he?”

  Sadie forgot whom she was talking to for a moment and her face lit up. “Gabe has a real talent. It has always been a joy to watch him with a horse. I still have a mare that he gentled for my fifteenth birthday, though she’s getting old, of course.”

  “That couldn’t have been that long ago, surely, señorita,” said Chavez politely, but with a glint in his eye. It took Sadie a minute to realize that he was teasing her.

  “A good ten years. I’m an old spinster schoolteacher, Señor Chavez.”

  “Hardly that, señorita.” Chavez sat down next to her and Sadie was very conscious of the fact that their shoulders were touching. “Miss Burke is a very good dancer, isn’t she?” Chavez observed as Caitlin went by on the arm of her partner. “I had half a waltz with her at the last dance, until your brother cut in. I’m surprised he isn’t dancing with her tonight. I had the impression that there was some feeling there.”

  Sadie wanted nothing more than to ask: “Did you think so? Did you ever meet Henry Beecham?” Oddly enough she almost felt she could ask and Juan Chavez would answer her honestly. But he was Mackie’s henchman, so how could she be contemplating a good gossip with him as though he were her brother?

  “Oh, look, here comes Jimmy with my lemonade,” she said brightly, thanking God for Murdoch’s approach. She expected Chavez to stand up and yield his seat to Jimmy. Not only did he sit there, claiming his territory, he leaned his shoulder into hers.

  “Here you are, Miss Hart.” Jimmy stood there awkwardly, aware that the music had stopped, the dance floor was clear and he was promised to Mrs. Burke for the next dance.

  “Miss Hart, I promised Mrs. Burke this next dance, but if you want…I am sure she’d understand…” he said helplessly.

  “You can’t disappoint Mrs. Burke. I will be fine, Mr. Murdoch.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “You are a wise woman, Miss Hart,” said Chavez after Jimmy left. “Like all redheads, Murdoch has a quick temper. I’d hate to disturb a pleasant occasion like this. Ah, this next dance is a waltz. I would have had to cut in anyway,” he added. He didn’t smile, to show he was teasing again. He wasn’t teasing, Sadie realized. He was completely serious.

  “Do you always bully people into what you want, Señor Chavez?”

  “Let us just say I am good at persuasion, señorita. May I have this waltz?”

  “Are you asking or telling?” Sadie snapped back at him.

  Chavez surprised her by laughing. It was a spontaneous, natural laugh. “I enjoy you, señorita. Do you think I could persuade, no, charm you into a dance with me?”

  “You are about as charming as a snake, Señor Chavez,” she said with an amused smile. She could have held out. She should have held out, for she didn’t really believe he would force her. But she realized, with no small surprise that she wanted a waltz with Juan Chavez. Just one.

  “It is a tempting melody, though, isn’t it?” she said, as though she was the one hinting for an invitation.

  “Ah, I see that you are out to charm me, señorita.” Chavez put his arm around her waist and guided her to the floor.

  The melody was a lovely one; Sadie had not been lying about that. There was an underlying sadness to it that made her feel that she wanted something that she couldn’t have, although she wasn’t sure what that something was. They moved well together, as though they had danced many times before and were both so lost in that surprising sensation that they were silent for the first few measures.

  Sadie was used to Gabe’s relaxed dancing. She wondered if Chavez ever relaxed, even on the dance floor. It was not tension she felt, but an energy that seemed akin to the constant awareness of an animal in the wild. Juan Chavez was present in every cell of his body. And so she couldn’t help being aware of him. It was as though a magnetic force flowed between them.

  “Your brother is glaring at us, señorita,” said Chavez, bending his head next to her ear as though he were whispering to her. His warm breath on her neck made her shiver.

  “You are afraid for me, no?” he teased in an exaggerated Mexican accent.

  “I am afraid for you, no,” she replied tartly. “If I am afraid for anyone, it is me. Gabe won’t like it that I danced with you. I can’t say I blame him, given who you work for and what you do.”

  “What do I do, señorita?”

  “You frighten people off their land, Señor Chavez, and all for greedy bullies like Nelson Mackie. I may not have been here long, but I recognize his type. We have them in Texas.”

  “And my type?”

  “You are one of a kind, Señor Chavez. Which is probably why I am foolish enough to be waltzing with you!”

  She looked up at him and was very surprised to see him smiling down at her. It was a genuine smile, one that reached his eyes, softening them so that they were no longer those of a predator, but of a man who seemed to enjoy her company.

  “And will your brother’s frowns get you to interrupt our waltz?”

  “Gabe is a protective older brother and I love him for it, but no, I will not be rude and create a scene for him or anyone. You were kind to me the other day and I am grateful.”

  “Ah, and so you are only returning my kindness?” said Chavez with mock disappointment.

  “I told you already, Señor Chavez,” said Sadie, grinning up at him, “I don’t know what I’m doing dancing with you.”

  But
she did. She knew that she would waltz until the music stopped because it wasn’t only the music that sang to her of wanting what you couldn’t have. There was something between them, something that drew her like a magnet draws iron filings. It was something she knew she couldn’t have, but she would enjoy the bittersweet waltz whether she should or not.

  * * * *

  When Gabe saw Chavez with Sadie, he cursed under his breath and watched them closely. He didn’t think his sister would be intimidated by the man, but she might have agreed to the dance rather than risk publicly insulting him. But as he watched, Gabe realized she actually seemed to be enjoying it. And Chavez certainly was! He’d never seen the man smile before.

  When the music ended, Chavez took Sadie’s arm and had the nerve to walk her over to her brother. “I enjoyed my dance with your sister very much, Señor Hart. Muchas gracias, señorita.”

  “De nada, señor,” Sadie replied.

  “Well, at first I thought he’d bullied you into it, but you sure seemed to be enjoying your dance, Sarah Ellen,” Gabe drawled sardonically after Chavez took his leave.

  “I am sure she was just pretending, weren’t you, Sadie?” said Caitlin who had hurried over as soon as she saw Chavez walk away.

  “Stop growling at me, Gabe,” Sadie told her brother. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions now. And I don’t know why I said yes to him, Cait. But I wasn’t pretending. Señor Chavez is a very good dancer and I enjoyed my waltz with him,” she added defiantly.

  Gabe gave an exasperated laugh. “I should know better than to get after you, Sadie. You’re the same contrary little sister I remember! Well, I don’t suppose you’ll listen to me, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to dance with the enemy, Sarah Ellen.”

  “I don’t imagine he’ll be asking me again,” Sadie responded tartly.

  Gabe was very conscious that Caitlin Burke was standing there, listening to them go at each other. “Don’t worry, Miss Cait,” he reassured her. “This is just like old times, isn’t it, Sadie?”

  “Yes, he always did think he could tell me what to do just because he was the oldest.”

  “Well, there is Miss Louise Taylor just waiting for me to claim my dance,” said Gabe. “I’ll see you two ladies later.”