A Texas Promise

by Laura Conner Kestner

  “Drunk people do dumb things,” Eli said.

  “The only reason I got in the game was that I was trying to turn what little money I had into more. I was desperate.”

  Eli topped off his coffee cup. “Gambling when you’re desperate tops the list of dumb things.”

  “I know that…I knew that,” Walter said. “I’m not sure what happened.”

  He seemed so defeated.

  “Well, obviously you’re a bright fellow,” Eli said, “or you wouldn’t be a teacher. You’ll figure a way out of all this.”

  “Teaching was what my Pappy wanted for me. I wanted to make him proud. I doubt if he would be right now. I’ve got to figure out what to do. The lady gave me two weeks to come up with more money, or get out—which is what she’s really wanting.”

  “For now, try to get some rest. We can revisit all this later.”

  “How long will I be in here?”

  Eli studied him. “I haven’t decided yet.” He was leaning towards letting the man go after a day in jail. After all, he couldn’t make the repairs to the store while he was incarcerated. No need to let him know that yet.

  Walter handed Eli the cup, then gripped the bars. “I made a huge error in judgment and I’m fully prepared to pay for it, but is there any way you could get a message to my wife?”

  Eli didn’t want the man’s family to worry. “Where can I find her?”

  It turned out the house they’d rented was next door to Peg’s place.

  “Dovie is very cautious, in fact, she’s downright scared of most white people,” Walter said, “and for good reason. So it might take some coaxing to get her to open the door. Tell her that Walter said you’re a John Alan.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It’s the name of an old man who helped us leave Tennessee. He was a good friend, to anyone in need. Dovie thought the world of him. It’s come to be synonymous for anyone we can trust.”

  “All right, I’ll tell her.”

  Eli made his way to the house, a simple little structure about half the size of Peg Harmon’s. He tapped on the door and it opened a crack.

  “Mrs. Miller? I’m Sheriff Elijah Calhoun. I’m here with a message from your husband Walter.”

  A young woman—with long black hair in a single braid over her shoulder—opened the door wider—but the frightened face staring out was not welcoming.

  “Walter will be home tomorrow. I’ll let him explain where he’s been. And he asked me to tell you that I’m a John Alan. He said you would know what that means.”

  Her worried expression eased. Still, she didn’t say anything, merely nodded and closed the door.

  Eli turned his collar up, then blew into his cupped hands. The breeze from earlier had whipped around and was blowing in from the north now. Despite what Bliss had said, it did feel downright chilly for October. Again, his thoughts turned to Maggie Radford and the baby. He was glad they’d made it to safety before the temperatures dropped.

  Although he’d certainly seen people in worse condition, had been one of those people, there was something about the two of them that tugged at him as nothing had in a long time. Who had hurt her? Eli didn’t believe for a minute that she couldn’t remember. So why wouldn’t she tell him about it? Hopefully she would come to trust him soon.

  Eli realized he’d stopped in front of Peg’s house. The sky was beginning to lighten, and the dried up grass along the edge of the yard was covered in a fine coating of frost. Smoke curled above the chimney.

  He drew in a deep breath, tucked his hands under his arms, and stood there a moment. Why? He’d passed Peg’s house many times and never felt a pull the way he did now.

  He was brought from his reverie when a movement drew his attention. A man in baggy clothes, hat pulled low, was coming from the back of the house, creeping along the side, headed straight toward him.

  Chapter Eight

  Eli drew his Colt and slipped forward. He halted at the corner of the house and holstered his gun.

  It was Maggie Radford. She was looking back over her shoulder, and ran headlong into him. He reached out to steady her.

  “Going somewhere, Miss Radford?”

  She pressed a hand to her mouth, stifling a gasp. Letting it fall, she gave him a disgruntled look. “Sheriff, you scared me.”

  “You’ll live,” Eli said. “You could’ve been in serious trouble if someone else had spotted you first.” He looked her up and down. “What’s that you’re wearing?”

  Maggie tugged the hat down lower. “These belonged to Peg’s late husband. I’m borrowing them. I know better than to let myself be seen. A disguise seemed like the best solution.”

  “Where would you get such a crazy idea?”

  “I read about it in a book.”

  “A book?”

  “Yes. I’m an avid reader. I remembered a similar situation in one of my favorite novels.”

  “What?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not one of those men who think that reading is a waste of time for a woman, are you?”

  He hadn’t even opened his mouth to reply before she was talking again. “Surely you weren’t expecting me to sit around and wait for you to solve all my problems.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I was expecting. I told you to stay put.”

  She took a step back, as if suddenly wary of him. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those men who think that women, as well as children, should be seen and not heard. That a woman is incapable of using the brains that God gave her. Are you that type of man?”

  Good grief, he hadn’t said any of that. “Not at all. But I happen to know best in this particular situation. I have experience, strength, and the law on my side. Are you the type of woman who has a problem with that?”

  She tilted her head, jaw clenched.

  Eli crossed his arms, waiting for her response. Apparently she had none.

  “Where were you going?” he finally asked.

  “I…” She seemed to be searching for a plausible explanation.

  Deciding that might take awhile, Eli changed his question. “Where’s the baby?”

  Her shoulders relaxed as she glanced at the house. Obviously that was something she didn’t mind answering. “I couldn’t get her to sleep last night, so Peg took her into her room a few hours ago. They’re both still resting.”

  As if that explanation opened up a new possibility for her early morning excursion, she began speaking in a rush. “I was on my way to the general store to get some things for Lucinda now.” She moved to step around him. “So if you’ll excuse me.”

  He blocked her path. “Does Peg know you’re leaving?”

  She stammered a bit before answering, “Well…of course she does.”

  “Nice try,” he said. “But I don’t believe you.”

  Maggie pinned him with a stare, opened her mouth, and then abruptly snapped it closed. Tears sprang to her eyes. She wiped them away with an angry swipe of her hand. Just like the first time, she seemed determined not to cry.

  “How about telling me the truth,” he said softly.

  She sighed. “The truth is I want to go home.”

  Compassion filled Eli. How many times in his life had he wished for the very same thing? Even when there’d been no home left.

  “I understand,” he said. “Your whole life’s been turned upside down. The comforts of home can be a strong pull. It can make you throw caution to the wind, do anything. But you need to let me find out what happened at the asylum first; for your own sake, as well as the baby’s. Or did you change your mind about raising her on your own? Is that why you’re trying to leave without her?

  Maggie shook her head. “No, absolutely not. I wasn’t abandoning my baby; I was coming back for her. I promise.” She straightened her shoulders. “In fact, I’ll fight anybody who tries to take her away from me.”

  She crossed her arms, mirroring his posture.

  This lady was going to drive him crazy. Yet Eli couldn�
�t help but be fascinated by her.

  She looked absolutely ridiculous in that outfit, was probably still in pain, and was definitely in over her head, yet she wasn’t giving in or giving up. That caused that strange little reaction in his heart again. Admiration, that’s all it was. He’d feel the same no matter who was fighting this hard for survival.

  Eli realized that she was speaking again.

  “Although I would love nothing more than to sleep in my own bed,” she said, “and wear my own clothing, and cook in my own kitchen, that’s not why I want to go home.”

  Maggie pushed the hat back and looked him in the eyes. “It’s my father. I’m worried about him. I have to see to his welfare. There’s no one else to do it. I don’t trust Hollis Anderson. If he’s still influencing my father’s decisions, there’s no telling what will happen. Hollis could end up putting Papa away somewhere, and I might not ever see him again. I have to take care of him.”

  “That’s admirable,” Eli said, and meant it. “But no matter what your intentions are, it’s not safe for you to be out.”

  Before she could object, he made an offer that surprised them both. “How about I go check on your father? And you stay here.”

  “I appreciate your offer to help, Sheriff, but I want to see my father with my own eyes. I’m going home.”

  Eli let out a frustrated sigh, took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. “Not if I lock you up, you won’t.”

  “You would really do that?” There was such fire in her eyes that the quiver in her voice took him by surprise.

  He gentled his tone. “No, I won’t, at least for now. But don’t push me. I understand your concern for your father, but you are my concern.”

  She glared at him, and Eli stifled the urge to simply pick her up and haul her into the house.

  “Look,” he said, “I’ll take Nathaniel with me, so he can check your father over physically. But you must stay here. There’s no telling what could happen if you were spotted by Anderson, or one of those Pinkerton agents he’s hired.”

  At the reminder that there was more than one person searching for her, Maggie seemed to wilt a little.

  “All right,” she sighed. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I’m just overwhelmed. I truly appreciate the offer to check on my father. And for everything you’ve already done.”

  She pulled the hat from her head and turned toward the back of the house; her long hair spilling down around her shoulders. “Besides, I’m already tired of looking like a boy.”

  “It’s going to take more than those clothes to make you look like a boy,” he mumbled.

  She looked back at him. “What?”

  “Nothing. Get on inside. I’ll be back as soon as I can and let you know what I found.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. And Miss Radford?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll have some questions when I get back. I expect you to provide the answers.”

  She gave him a brisk nod, but this time there was more than defiance in her expression. There was fear. Why wouldn’t she tell him the truth?

  Chapter Nine

  Eli was surprised to find Bliss sitting in front of the desk when he returned to the jail.

  Brody was curled up in front of the stove, sleeping soundly. Why?

  “When did he get here?” Eli whispered.

  “He was here when I came in,” Bliss said.

  “When did you get here?”

  “Little bit ago. Where you been?”

  Eli was tempted to fling the question right back at him, but now wasn’t the time. “Couple fellows got into some trouble at Finley’s that eventually spilled over into Martin’s Mercantile. Broke the big window glass out and tore the place up some.”

  Bliss glanced toward the cells. “I noticed we had company. What are you gonna do with them?”

  Eli shrugged. “Neither one seems like the usual brand of troublemaker, so I hate to see them wind up in serious trouble.” Lord knows he’d been given some second chances. “And they’re ready to make good on the damage. Old Silas, once he woke up, lit into them pretty good. They’re even going to do the repair work themselves. At least that’s what they were promising when we hauled them in here. Going to be some real sorry fellows when they wake up later today, probably going to feel like a horse stomped them. They’re fortunate that it isn’t worse. Silas was acting like he wanted to lynch them on the spot.”

  “That’s exactly what woulda happened back in the old days,” Bliss muttered. “And they’d had to pay for their own rope.”

  Eli laughed as he took off his coat and tossed it on a hook. The sound woke Brody. The boy sat up, yawned, and rubbed his eyes, then did a double-take when he saw them both staring at him. “Hey Sheriff, Deputy Bliss.”

  “Brody, what are you doing here?”

  An odd expression crossed the boy’s face. Guilt?

  “I took out real early this morning, before daylight.” He gave Eli a sheepish grin. “Reckon it was a mite too early. Came in to talk to you, wasn’t nobody here. Decided to wait, and then couldn’t keep my eyes open.”

  Something about the whole thing didn’t ring true.

  “Is everything okay, Brody? At home I mean. How are your folks doing?”

  The boy averted his gaze, and rose awkwardly to his feet. “Everything’s fine.”

  “Did you wake them up and tell them you were coming here?”

  “No…but believe me, they know where I am.” He’d started his sentence hesitantly, but he finished strong. Brody was telling the truth about that much.

  “Did you eat before you left home?”

  “No sir, I was in a hurry. But I’m fine.” Eli wasn’t buying that. The boy had come in sometime after he left, and before Bliss arrived. Why?

  He noted once again that Brody was scrawny. Well, until he could get out there to see what the Flynns needed, he could at least feed their boy. He was shooting up like a weed, but it wasn’t a healthy look.

  “Run on over to Bony Joe’s and have some breakfast,” Eli said. “Tell him I said to put it on my tab.”

  Brody opened his mouth, but Eli cut him off. “On second thought, I’ll go with you.” Maybe the kid didn’t want to eat alone. “You do enough work here to earn a meal every now and then. I’ll feel like I’m cheating you if you don’t take it. I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to feel like a dishonest man.”

  Brody looked horrified at the thought. “No, sir.”

  “Then let’s go and eat. I want to talk to you anyway. I have a job in mind for you.”

  “Thank you, Sheriff.”

  Forty minutes later, they’d finished a meal of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, with coffee for Eli and milk for Brody, when Bliss ambled in.

  “Everything okay?” Eli asked.

  “Those fellows are awake, reckon we oughta feed them.”

  Eli agreed, and went back to the kitchen to place two more breakfast orders with Joe. When he returned, Bliss was sitting at the table, telling Brody more about the big freeze he remembered.

  Bliss paused long enough to look up at Eli. “That Mrs. Dunlop came by the jail and said that one of those animals of Adger Wilson’s ran right into her bakery. She declared she’s gonna shoot them next time.”

  “She didn’t see who was sleeping in the cells, did she?”

  “No. She barely stuck her head in the door. Why?”

  “She’s dealing some grief to one of those men I arrested,” Eli said. “I don’t want her to know that he’s in trouble. Try to shoo her out if she comes back in.”

  “I doubt if she’ll be back today, said she was catching the train to Fair Haven, buying some supplies. But she said she expected you to go talk to Adger, or she’d be talking to the town council about you not doing your job.”

  Eli sighed. “Which animal was it this time? Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Good, cause I can’t rightly recall if it was the pig, the go
at or the mule,” Bliss said. “She was carrying on so much that I closed my ears.”

  They both knew it could easily have been one of half-dozen different animals. The Wilsons had cows, pigs, mules, chickens, goats, dogs, cats, and one old swayback horse, and not a single one was penned, confined or supervised in more than the most desultory manner. They also had a whole passel of children. There were nine of them now, Eli reminded himself. Nine. At least they kept better track of the kids.

  Leaving Bliss in charge of feeding the prisoners, Eli walked on to the Wilson place at the edge of town. He stood there a moment. The house hadn’t seen a lick of paint in years, the windows were missing a few panes, and the porch sagged on one end. And yet the children—running, laughing and playing—were obviously happy. According to Nathaniel, they were all remarkably healthy.

  Eli spotted Adger leaving a ramshackle barn, leading a milk cow at the end of a frayed rope.

  “Howdy, Sheriff.”

  Eli got right to the point. “Adger, you’ve got to do something about these animals. They’re scaring the young and old alike, and generally making a nuisance of themselves.”

  Adger, a thin, good-natured man of indeterminable age, turned an engaging smile his way. “Tell truth, Sheriff, I haven’t had time to build any pens.”

  “Make time,” Eli snapped.

  The man gave him a bewildered look. “I’m busy from sun-up to sun-down as it is. What in the world am I supposed to give up?”

  Eli dodged as a handful of kids ran past him, shouting and screaming. He could think of at least one thing Adger could cut back on.

  He realized he’d lost Adger’s attention, and followed the man’s gaze to the doorway of the old house. Susana Wilson stood there, a baby in her arms.

  Adger grinned at her and winked. Eli was amazed to see the woman actually blush as she returned the smile. Susana then turned to Eli.

  “Would you care for some coffee, Sheriff?”

  He tipped his hat. “No, ma’am. I guess I’d better get on back to the jail. Thank you, though.”

  Turning to Adger, Eli made one last effort. “Please try to keep the animals confined as best you can.”

  “Sure thing, Sheriff.”