Texas Passion

by Sara Orwig

  “He had five plus a fifteen-year-old son.”

  “Josh can learn to shoot and you can hire more men.”

  “If I could hire Dan Overton, he would deter McKissick.”

  “Pa, can we ride out and look at the place?”

  He shook his head and she gazed at him in surprise.

  “Mr. White is packing and leaving tomorrow. He said I can ask all over town about his place and people will tell me it’s what he has said. I went to the land office and looked at a map. A fork of the river runs across the land, so there is water. Horace White wants me to meet him at half-past five. He’s heading home then to pack up his family.”

  “Can’t the sheriff stop McKissick?”

  “The alcalde is a friend of McKissick’s. Horace said the men wear masks and he can’t prove anything when they cause him trouble, but McKissick is the only one who has wanted to buy the place and his offer is almost nothing.”

  “So we have to decide sight unseen,” she said, wondering about the offer.

  “I’ve asked around and checked the deed. Horace White seems to be an honest man. The man who runs the livery stable said McKissick is ruthless and it will take force to protect any small outfit around here. He said Horace White is trustworthy.”

  “So if we’d hire some tough men, we might be able to stand off McKissick.”

  “First we have to decide whether to take Horace White’s offer,” Eb stated quietly and she realized she would have to make the decision. She gazed out the window as people strolled down the street. A wagon loaded with hides rolled slowly past. Horace White’s offer seemed an opportunity they couldn’t pass. She remembered McKissick’s arms crushing her against his hard body. They had faced him and survived on the trail.

  “I told White I would meet him with an answer at half-past five here in the lobby,” Eb repeated.

  She felt as if an opportunity they would never find again were coming their way and if they didn’t take it and fight for it, they would always have regrets. And there were no guarantees that any place they settled wouldn’t hold danger or avaricious neighbors or renegades and thieves.

  “Pa, I think we should take Horace White’s offer. We’ll never get another chance like it. And we could run into trouble any place we settle.”

  “I thought you might feel that way and I’ll go along with you, Rachel, but we may have a terrible fight on our hands. I don’t want any of you hurt.”

  “Pa, we can’t begin to do as well otherwise. We’d have to buy cattle, dig wells, and build a house.”

  “When I meet Horace White, I’d like you to be with me, Rachel. Together, we’ll accept his offer.”

  Rachel saw the worry in Eb’s eyes and heard the note of fear in his voice. She glanced out the window again, thinking about fighting McKissick.

  “Pa, maybe when you hire men to help, you should give each one some cattle so they’re part owners, too, as well as paying them to work for us.”

  Eb’s eyes narrowed and he nodded. “That’s a sound idea. They’ll be more likely to fight McKissick.”

  “When you hire men to work, try to get men who know how to shoot and are willing to fight.”

  “We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Dan Overton’s raw courage and deadly aim.”

  She reached across to pat his knee. “Pa, we’ll fight for our place, but this is too good to pass up. We have to try.”

  He looked down at his hands for a long time and she waited patiently. Finally he raised his head and his blue eyes were filled with worry. “I suppose we need to stop running sometime. You’re brave, Rachel. I’ll buy some more guns.” He stood up and glanced at a clock on the wall. “I’ll be back in time to meet with Horace White. I want to go back to the livery stable. There are some fine horses for sale.”

  “I think life here is going to be good,” she said, feeling a strong rush of elation. “I’d like to go to the land office and look at a map of Mr. White’s land.”

  “You can come with me now. The land office is in the courthouse.”

  She nodded and rose to leave the hotel with him. Excitement coursed through her. “We’ve made it this far. We’ll hire men who will fight and we’ll get along. I just know we have a chance here!”

  “Lord, I hope so!”

  “If we’re going to a house, I’ll add some things to our list of supplies.”

  “We’ll need lumber. The barn and outbuildings have been burned.”

  She felt a rush of anger toward McKissick, yet she still wanted to take the offer. They could hire men as tough as McKissick. Dan had been tougher. At the thought of Dan, she remembered talking to the clerk about a telegram to Vicksburg. Dan Overton had said he had come into Texas from the Indian Nation. Yet he was sending a telegram to Vicksburg. Should she ask Pa not to ask Dan to go to work for them?

  She felt torn between what she wanted to do and what she should avoid and she kept quiet.

  At the land office as she stood looking at the paper with lines and numbers inked on it, her enthusiasm returned full force. Outside in the sunshine, she squeezed Eb’s arm. “Pa, we have to accept Mr. White’s offer. We have to try.”

  “All right,” he said, smiling at her and touching her cheek lightly with his fingers. “What would I do without you?”

  She felt a surge of love for him and hugged him impulsively. When she released him, she turned. “I’ll go back to the hotel and I’ll meet you in the lobby at half past five.”

  “Fine,” he said, smiling warmly at her.

  Humming an old tune, she strode back to the hotel, stepping beneath the portico to open a door. As she entered the cool lobby, a tall broad-shouldered man stood with his back to her while he talked to the clerk. He turned and she was surprised to see Lyman McKissick. Rachel’s breath caught, dislike surging at the sight of him.

  As he came toward her, she wondered if McKissick had already heard about Horace White’s offer.

  McKissick was dressed in a fine black broadcloth suit and he looked as wealthy as the most successful plantation owner at home. A gold pocket watch stretched across his chest and she noticed the gunbelt around his hips. He looked elegant and handsome, but she could remember too clearly facing him in the saloon in Fort Worth.

  “There you are. I’ve been inquiring in hotels to see where you were staying. May I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  “I can’t imagine one thing we have to discuss,” she said coolly, wondering if he might frighten Horace White into withdrawing his offer.

  “Hear me out. I’ve come on a friendly call and I’ll persist until you do listen to me. I have an offer you might not be able to resist. Let’s walk out in the courtyard by the fountain where it’s cooler.”

  Knowing she better learn what he wanted, she nodded reluctantly. His fingers closed on her arm, and the touch sent a shiver of revulsion through her. Why was it so repulsive to be touched by him? He was a handsome man and now he was trying to be charming. She suspected Lyman McKissick’s past actions had created the bedrock of dislike she felt. Even more worrisome, was the attraction she felt when she was touched by Dan Overton unique to him?

  With McKissick she walked through open glass doors onto a cool, shaded patio that was filled with tropical plants. Red bougainvillea spread to second-story balconies, and wide green leaves of tall banana plants shaded the ground beside a winding stone walk. The patio should have been soothing, but Rachel felt on edge, too aware of the dark side of the man with her.

  He steered her to an iron bench and she sat down. Leaving a wide space between them as if he were trying to be proper, he sat on the opposite end. In spite of his manners, she felt as if she were with a tiger parading as a lamb. He placed his black hat on the seat between them. He looked confident and relaxed as he gazed at her.

  “We arrived in San Antonio four days ago. We rode hard to get here. I’ve asked around and my men have asked and there is no one who knows Elias Johnson.”

  She drew her hand across her brow, feeling rel
ieved McKissick had accepted the tale about a husband. “I’m finding that out.”

  “We’ll be happy to continue to help you look. He could have settled near Austin or some other town. I’ve sent a man to Austin and one to San Angelo to ask.”

  “He would have let me know if he had moved elsewhere,” she said, shocked by the trouble McKissick was going to, to find out about Elias Johnson.

  “I’m sorry, because it looks as if you might be a widow.”

  She looked down at her fingers in her lap, wondering how long she would have to live with this lie. “I won’t accept that the first day I arrive in town.”

  McKissick leaned closer. “I know you won’t accept it for a while. But when you do, and when you feel certain there is no husband, I want to come courting.”

  Stunned, she stared at him. “No!”

  He waved his hand. “I want to apologize for what I did on the trail.”

  She looked into bland blue eyes. McKissick leaned close to her, and she knew that if she had just met him she would find him handsome and appealing. He was a good-looking man and at the moment he was treating her with polite respect.

  “On the frontier,” he continued in his raspy voice, “sometimes a pistol is the only law and a man takes what he wants by force. We’d been on the trail a long time, and I acted rashly and in a manner I shouldn’t have. Real ladies are rare here, particularly beautiful unwed ones. They’re treated as very special unless they lose the protection of the men in their family. I made a dreadful mistake. I ask you to forgive me, to overlook it. Let me start fresh with you. I want to come courting.”

  Remembering too clearly the moments in the saloon when she had faced him, the moments when he had held her, she drew herself up. “Sir, I feel certain I’ll find my Elias.”

  “Ma’am, there’s not a man in town who’s heard of Elias Johnson. No one in this town will raise an eyebrow if you marry me within the month. This isn’t the South with its honor and unwritten rules. No one would expect you to mourn a year. Out here, everyone is closer to death; survival sets most rules. New people are pouring into town, so there isn’t a society to sit in judgment.”

  “Even if I don’t find Elias, I can never forget the terrifying moments you caused us when we were on the trail,” she said in a tight voice, anger filling her. She tried to control her temper, knowing that soon she would be McKissick’s neighbor.

  “Ma’am, I’d hate to think a man never gets a second chance to prove himself.”

  “I don’t think you can really change,” she answered unable to see any expression of remorse in his blue eyes. He had the same calm persistence and quiet ruthlessness of Dan Overton; both were men who knew they would get what they wanted. “Beneath the polite manners you’re the same man who stormed our camp and handled me in a brutal manner. No, you can’t come courting.” She started to rise, and he caught her arm. His fingers held her firmly.

  “Sit down, Mrs. Johnson. Let’s discuss this before you act in haste and regret it later.”

  She could feel the steel beneath his smooth words. He looked her in the eye. “Without a strong man you can’t survive out here. Not if you folks are going to raise cattle, and that’s what I’ve heard your father intends.” McKissick rubbed his fingers on her wrist. “For your family’s sake as well as your own, you think twice before you reject my friendship.”

  “Is that another threat?”

  “No, ma’am,” he answered pleasantly, smiling at her. A chill ran down her spine, because she knew it was a threat. He wanted her; she didn’t know why, because she had seen many beautiful women during the stroll through town. He was handsome enough to appeal to women unless they saw him as she had.

  “This is a tough land, and women need protection. Your father can’t give you that kind of protection, because he needs help too. Give me a second chance.” He gazed at her, his expression innocuous, his smile filled with charm, yet she continued to feel the same cold sense of repulsion.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. McKissick, but you showed your true self out on the plains where you had no one to answer to. I can’t ever forget those moments.” She jerked her arm out of his clasp and brushed past him. He hurried around in front of her, blocking her path. He smiled at her, yet she could see the determination in his eyes.

  “Ma’am, I’ll help look for Elias, but I also want to come calling. In these parts, I have plenty to offer a woman. I’ve never asked a woman’s father to let me come calling. I’ve never found a lady to respect.”

  “This town is filled with beautiful women.”

  “Yes, ma’am, but there aren’t many as beautiful as you. And there aren’t many who have a Southern upbringing. You’re a Southern belle, a lady. I’d like that in a wife. I was born in Georgia and grew up the son of a drifter. My pa worked on farms for men too poor to own slaves. My pa drank and gambled and we never had anything. Ma ran away when I was eight. I don’t know what happened to her.”

  Rachel felt frightened, because ever since Fort Worth she had been plagued with McKissick and she suspected once he wanted something, he let nothing stand in his way of getting it. She couldn’t understand why he wanted her, but he did and she was going to have to fight him. Would it make the situation worse to settle next to him? Or would she have a fight anyway if her family settled miles away?

  “I’ve worked all my life,” he continued, his voice becoming hard. “Growing up I was treated like trash because we were trash. I grew up in Georgia and Mississippi and I’ve seen Southern ladies. They’re beautiful and refined. They know how to be gracious; they’re intelligent. In those days, I wouldn’t have had a chance to even talk to one. The war changed everything. I came out of the war well-fixed and I knew I wanted to start over where I could build an empire. The South is smashed. I don’t want to wait for a rebuilding. I wanted where there were opportunities and Texas had them. The cattle market is booming up north. I’ve more than tripled what I brought with me when I arrived. You’re one of those Southern ladies, and I’d like that in a wife.”

  “I’m surely not the only woman here from the South.”

  “The only one I know that I would consider a lady. I can provide for you and your little girl and your sister and brother and father in a manner that would match what you knew before the war. I know I have a lot of apologizing to do to win your forgiveness, but I’m going to try.”

  “It won’t do you any good,” she said flatly, feeling a steady cold current of fear. As she gazed into his eyes, a prickle ran down her spine, because she could see the glint of steel. Beneath the apologies and the soft words was a ruthless, powerful man. They were next to penniless and next to helpless and if Lyman McKissick didn’t know it already, he soon would. Yet she didn’t want to be courted by him. And how much trouble would he give them when he discovered they owned Horace White’s place? She hurried past McKissick, aware of his large body, the sound of his breathing.

  “I’ll be around,” he said softly behind her.

  She hurried up the stairs, finally glancing down. He stood in the hall and watched her with narrowed eyes and she saw his determination in the set of his shoulders, his hands on his hips, pushing away his open coat. With his belligerent stance he looked ready for a fight. Angry and frightened at the same time, she raised her chin and continued up the stairs. If they had to fight McKissick, they would, but she wasn’t going to let him bully her or keep her family from the home they needed.

  When she entered the hotel room, Lissa and Abby were stretched on the bed asleep and Josh sat on the balcony. Rachel stretched on the bed, mulling over Horace White’s offer.

  When she heard Pa moving around in his room, she tiptoed to talk to him. Seated on the balcony, he had removed his coat and looked relaxed, for a moment more like his old self. She sat down near him, glancing at the empty courtyard below. A large yellow butterfly made swooping circles over the flowers.

  “Pa, while you were gone, I talked to Mr. McKissick and he apologized for what he did on the tra
il. He wants to come courting.”

  Eb turned and frowned as he stared at her. She shook her head. “Don’t worry. I said no. But it may make him try to be neighborly if he hopes to win my affections.”

  “Either that or he could be even more angry when he finds out we’ve purchased the White place. I wish I could do something to keep him away from us,” Eb said, running his hand over his head distractedly.

  “Pa, I think we should tell Abby and Josh and let them have a say about what we do because if we take Horace White’s offer, they’ll be at risk too.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Abby’s asleep, but as soon as she wakes, we’ll sit down and discuss our plans. Pa, there’s something else worrying me. I saw Dan Overton go into a store today where there’s a telegraph office. I still don’t know why he stayed so close. Maybe you shouldn’t offer him work.”

  “Rachel, he could be sending a telegram for any number of reasons. If it was a store, he might not have been sending a telegram at all.”

  “He sent it to Vicksburg.”

  “How in sweet heaven did you find that out?”

  “I asked. We have to be careful all the time.”

  “I’ll always be looking over my shoulder. I know it isn’t fair to make you live that kind of life, too.”

  “Pa, we all love you and we’re a family. You’d do the same for us.”

  He reached over to give her shoulder a squeeze and she smiled at him, wishing he could stop worrying about arrest.

  “It’s Lyman McKissick who worries me. This isn’t a land for the weak,” Eb said, looking over the balcony. “We know there’s no Elias Johnson. Soon everyone will decide you’re a widow, and we won’t have any protection, so we better be ready.”

  They sat quietly and Rachel stared at the splashing fountain below, looking at the iron bench where she had sat and talked to McKissick. Instead of seeing the tall blond though, the image of dark eyes and black hair came.