Her Rocky Trail_Seeing Ranch series

by Florence Linnington

  “Do not worry,” Kitty soothingly said. “I have some ribbon that I can add to your brown one. Perhaps we will even have time to knit some lace for the collar.”

  “You know,” Cyrus inserted. “I figure I owe you two ladies some nice gowns after what you went through. Do they have those at the general store here?”

  “A few,” Kitty slowly answered, “but they are so expensive.”

  “We’re splurging,” Cyrus announced. “Buy those dresses, Kitty. I want you two to look your finest for our first dance in town.”

  Helen let out a little squeal. “Oh, this is going to be so wonderful! I have never been to a dance. Goodness, we have to practice our steps. And what about fans? Do ladies carry those here?” She disappeared inside the house, continuing to talk to herself.

  “How about that?” Cyrus asked.

  Kitty turned to him. “A dance will not completely heal her wounds.”

  “No, but it’s a start.”

  Kitty nodded slowly. “Yes. It is a start.”

  She started to walk to the porch, but Cyrus caught her hand. “Hold up. I have something to ask you.”

  She tilted her head in question. “Hm?”

  “There’s a dance coming up, and I was hoping you might go with me.”

  Kitty giggled. “That depends.”

  “Excuse me?” He arched an eyebrow.

  “I might have other offers,” she teased.

  “Oh, you better not. I’m the sheriff of this town now, and I say no one but me takes my girl to dances.”

  Kitty grabbed her broom and gave him a wink. “That is what I hoped you would say.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  31. Kitty

  Chapter thirty-one

  “Oh, Kitty,” Helen breathed. She stared into the mirror and smoothed down her pink, cotton skirt. “It is lovely.”

  “And yet you are even more lovely.” Kitty rested her hands on Helen’s shoulders and caught her gaze in the mirror. She had purchased both dresses for the dance from the limited selection at the general store and then added a few personal touches, including lace and ribbon.

  “Let me see you,” Helen said, stepping to the side and ushering Kitty to take her place in the mirror.

  Kitty inspected herself. Aside from the different colors of the dresses — Kitty’s was blue — the two looked more alike than they ever had. Helen’s face had begun to fill out, and the dark circles were completely gone. In addition, there was a sparkle in her eyes.

  Still, despite those changes, Kitty knew her sister still carried a great deal of pain around with her. They had yet to hear word from Ferguson and did not know whether the trafficking ring had been destroyed or not.

  Often during the days, Kitty looked up from her chores and found Helen staring into space, a strange, haunted look on her face. It was then that Kitty knew she was thinking about what she had been through. Helen’s kidnapping had changed her, no doubt.

  Kitty prayed every night that that change would turn into a good one. She had faith that Helen’s pain could be transmuted into something good. If embraced correctly, difficult times could make a person stronger.

  Perhaps this dance would be the first step toward that change.

  From the front of the house, a knock sounded.

  Helen gasped. “He is here!”

  Kitty squeezed her hand. “Tonight will be wonderful.”

  Together, they went out to the front room. As expected, Nat was there, waiting with slicked-back hair and a shirt buttoned all the way up. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Helen, and he extended the bouquet of wildflowers he’d brought.

  “You look wonderful,” he rasped.

  “Thank you.” Helen buried her nose in the flowers.

  From where he stood with his hands in his pocket, Cyrus caught Kitty’s eye and smirked. He’d dressed up nice for the dance too, wearing the slacks that Kitty had finished darning for him just that morning, but he still wore his sheriff’s badge. He had hardly removed the star since he first received it.

  “Ready?” Cyrus asked, offering Kitty his arm.

  The town hall sat on the opposite end of town, but it wasn’t more than a few minutes’ walk. Light, laughter, and music spilled out of its open double doors, joining the warm air and the steadily approaching dusk.

  They pushed inside, and Kitty took immediate note of the people packed within the walls. What she had heard about Shallow Springs’ population appeared to be true: there were plenty of men and women over forty. There were younger citizens as well, but not as many as there were in the elder age group. Pressing her lips together, Kitty kept back a sigh. She had hoped to find friends in Wyoming, but if the only young female companionship she ended up having was with Helen, that would have to do.

  At least everyone in Shallow Springs was friendly. Every head nodded at Kitty and Cyrus as they passed, and half of the people called them by name. She counted the number of men and women whose names she already knew — about one-third — and promised herself she would learn the rest.

  At the end of the refreshment table, she stopped. “Helen would you like a drink?”

  Hearing no response, she turned around.

  “Where is she?”

  “There.” Cyrus nodded to their left. The band had struck up a lively jig, and Helen danced with Nat, her skirts bouncing and her lips stretched wide.

  “Oh.” Kitty could not help but continue to stare.

  “She’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  Kitty looked down, trying her best not to frown. “I am not worried.”

  “Hey, now.”

  At the insistence in his voice, she looked up.

  “This is what you wanted for her, isn’t it?” Cyrus asked. “For her to be happy?”

  Kitty nibbled on her lip. “Yes,” she admitted. “It is just...”

  “She is spreading her wings.”

  Kitty sighed. “Precisely. I am afraid the growing pains are harder for me than they are for her.”

  “I know what’ll cheer you up.”

  Slipping his arm around her waist, Cyrus whisked her onto the dance floor. The people around them blurred into a rainbow of colors as they spun and side-stepped to the lively music.

  Before Kitty knew it, laughter was bubbling up from her throat. “I never took you for a dancer,” she giggled.

  Cyrus grinned. “It depends on the woman. With you in my arms, I could likely dance till the sun rose.”

  He spun her around as the song changed, and she caught a quick glimpse of Mr. Guthrie standing by the wall chatting with some men. He caught her eye, and she waved before being pulled back into Cyrus’ arms.

  By the end of the song, she gasped for air. “I need a rest.”

  Cyrus silently took her hand and led her to the wall. “Wait here. I’ll fetch you a drink.”

  Kitty fanned herself with her hand and looked around the large room. Helen had stopped dancing as well and stood against another wall talking to Nat. Her face glowed in a way Kitty had never seen. Cyrus’ words about Helen spreading her wings came back to her, but this time she smiled.

  For most of her life, Helen had felt like all Kitty had. Even when their mother was alive, it had been the two of them against the world, as the older woman had been under the influence of a reckless man and not able to provide the love and attention the girls needed.

  Conversely, Kitty had been all Helen had known.

  But that was not so anymore. They had found a home, a place to plant their individual seeds and watch the results bloom. They would always have each other, but now they also had much more. There was a world of opportunities out there, and they’d found them all in a cozy little town in the west.

  “Here you are.” Cyrus was back, handing Kitty a cup with some kind of punch in it.

  “Thank you,” she answered, smiling at him over the cup’s rim as she took a drink.

  Cyrus responded by taking her other hand and slipping something on her finger. Kitty looked—and ne
arly dropped her cup in surprise.

  There, on her left hand, a diamond ring sparkled.

  “Cyrus,” she gasped, hardly able to draw any breath. Her hands were shaking, and her heart fluttering.

  “Do you like it?”

  She lifted her hand for closer inspection. The diamond was a modest one, but it shone brilliantly, and the gold band it sat on was just as bright.

  “I love it,” she responded.

  “Good.” He grinned. “What do you say, Mrs. Ross? Care for another go around the dance floor?”

  Kitty laughed, the use of her future name bringing her a burst of joy, and he took her cup and set it on a nearby table. “Are you sure you have the interest? Am I still one of those girls you can dance with until dawn?”

  Cyrus’ eyes carried an intensity that took Kitty’s breath away. “Darling, I could dance with you until the end of time.”

  Closing his hands around hers, he pulled her onto the floor once more.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  32. Cyrus

  Chapter thirty-two

  The door flew open, banging against the wall. Cyrus jumped up from his desk, hand on his holster.

  Nat stood in the doorway, chest heaving.

  “What is it?” Cyrus demanded.

  Nat took a long swallow. “There’s a rider here for you, Sheriff Ross.”

  Cyrus frowned. “Is it an emergency?”

  Nat looked a tad confused over the question. “I don’t know. I just thought I should run and tell you right away. I came into town to pick up some flour, and I met him on the way. He’s at the hotel now. Says his name is Starkey.”

  Cyrus was already striding across the room, eager for whatever news Dan had brought.

  He found the man in the hotel’s restaurant, enjoying a bowl of stew and a cup of coffee. Seeing Cyrus enter, Dan rose his hand and summoned him over.

  “Sweet little town here,” Dan commented.

  “Yes, it is.” Cyrus gave him a hearty handshake and settled in the chair across from him. “You make it to Ferguson all right?”

  Dan nodded and swallowed a sip of coffee. “Yes, and ole’ Nelson was telling the whole truth. That man, Bullet… Shucks, that name would be too funny if it weren’t for the things he’s been doing.”

  Cyrus pressed his palm against his thigh and leaned forward. “What happened?”

  “Turns out the sheriff in Ferguson has had his suspicions for a while now. The name was the last piece of information he needed. He made the connection, and they shut down the whole operation that very day. Old Bullet is in the slammer as we speak.”

  A deep wave of relief washed over Cyrus. “Good.”

  “What about Nelson?”

  “He’s left just this morning. Carted off to Cheyenne.” Cyrus shook his head. “He’s not my problem anymore.”

  “Ain’t the law kind of fishy when it comes to these things?”

  “Depends on what you mean by that,” Cyrus answered slowly.

  Dan shrugged. “This far west… you could have disposed of him yourself, and no one would have ever batted an eye.”

  “Don’t wanna do that. Like I said, what’s done is done. At least for me, anyhow.”

  Dan nodded in understanding. What Cyrus didn’t say was that he hoped never to pull a trigger again unless he absolutely had to. He knew his future years as a sheriff meant he would have to shoot to scare and wound, but he hoped to never put another man in his grave. There had been enough of that mess.

  “Domino is here,” Cyrus announced. “He’s thinking about settling in town.”

  Dan’s eyebrows rose. “Well now. I suspected this was a lively place. Sitting here, I’ve already heard several people talking about some rollicking dance last night.”

  Cyrus chuckled. “It’s nice here.”

  “Maybe I’ll take a leaf from Domino’s book.” Dan got busy drinking his coffee and looking out the window. Cyrus remembered that the man didn’t have any family left. It was a little tidbit Dan had shared like it meant nothing, but Cyrus knew that couldn’t be the case.

  “California is a shindig,” Cyrus commented, “but Shallow Springs likely has work as well. We have a fine number of cattle ranches here. I heard they’re always looking for hands.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Dan nodded. “Right then. It’s settled.”

  “Like that?” Cyrus laughed.

  “I told you days ago, I have nowhere to be. Now, sheriff, can you direct me to one of these ranches so I can inquire about employment?”

  “I can,” Cyrus smiled. “I’ve heard a place called Winding Path is looking. It’s west out of town. I’d start there.”

  With Dan heading back out to ask about the ranch hand job, Cyrus stepped it on home. It had been hours since he’d set eyes on his bride, and the hankering to see her face was about to kill him.

  All night long, he’d dreamed about Kitty. Slipping that ring on her finger had been one of the best events of his life. He couldn’t wait to kiss her in front of the reverend and make her his.

  In fact…

  Cyrus stalled in the middle of the road, casting a look in the direction of the church. There was an idea dancing in the back of his mind, and he wasn’t sure whether he should go with it or not. What would Kitty think?

  “Shucks,” he muttered.

  Throwing caution to the wind, he turned on his heel and strode toward the church.

  Ten minutes later, after a quick visit with the reverend, he was back at his front gate. Swinging it open, he rushed into the house. “Kitty?”

  The place remained silent.

  “Helen?” he called, going and looking in the girls’ bedroom. “Kitty?”

  Cyrus’ heartbeat sped up. Likely, they were somewhere about town… Yet he couldn’t help the panic rising in him. Wouldn’t Kitty have told him if her plans for the day were to take her away from home? That morning, she mentioned that she would be baking and getting the garden ready for planting. She said nothing about shopping or visits.

  Pushing the back door open, Cyrus stumbled into the waving grasses. He didn’t even have to look for Kitty. He spotted her right away, standing on the other side of the tilled plot, gazing at the Rockies.

  Cyrus held his breath, feeling like he was walking into something he shouldn’t have been. Either because she felt him there or had heard the door open, Kitty turned and looked at him.

  “Hello,” she called.

  Cyrus walked her way, his hands tingling to touch her skin. As he stopped next to Kitty, the wind picked up and made her skirts twist around her legs. Cyrus held onto his hat so it wouldn’t fly away.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  “Them.” She nodded at the mountain range and paused. “More than just the mountains, really. I suppose you know that.” She looked down.

  Cyrus rested his hand on her shoulder. “That’s all done with.”

  “But what about the other people, Cyrus?” She turned her mournful eyes to him. “We saved Helen, but it is tearing me apart to wait to hear—”

  “The leader selling the young folk has been arrested. The ring is done for. Dan rode in just now with the news.”

  Kitty gasped, and she covered her open mouth with a hand. “Cyrus,” she breathed.

  He nodded. The ending of an evil time was too good for words.

  Kitty’s eyes swam with tears. “Helen will be so pleased. She will be beside herself.”

  Cyrus dropped his hand and pulled Kitty into a tight hug. She buried her face in his shoulder, and the wind died, more sun coming in its wake.

  “Your arm,” Kitty mumbled, pulling away from him. “I did not mean to lean on it.”

  “Aw, it’s fine.” He rotated his shoulder some to show her that was the truth. It twinged a bit but not more than he could handle.

  Kitty’s lips pursed. “I do not believe you.”

  Cyrus waved her comment away and picked up her left hand. “Let me see
that ring.”

  “I keep looking at it,” Kitty smiled. “Every five minutes I find myself staring at it yet again. Wherever did you get it?”