Whispers of Yesterday

by Marie Higgins

  He and his family had to leave Springville, Utah, and he didn’t return for another five years. Her transformation had shocked him speechless, and her beauty took his breath away. She was sweet in a demure sort of way, and several times he’d caught her watching him from under her long lashes. Unfortunately, her parents only wanted men with a large bank account to court their daughter, which excluded Grange at that time.

  But he hadn’t been there to court her or anyone. He’d had dealings with her brother, Kendall. Grange had started a new career, and all he wanted then was to create a good reputation for himself. He was an excellent tracker and a quick draw, and people now searched him out to hire him. Just like the idiot Foster Powell. Grange didn’t like the man’s attitude, especially when it came to tracking his wife.

  Grange scratched his cheek. How did a beauty like Sabine end up with a snake like Foster? Unless it was money, of course.

  “Mr. Baxter,” a woman’s voice called from across the street.

  Pushing his hat back on his head, he peered in the direction of a woman coming toward him with a tall, slender man. Grange blocked the sun’s brightness with his hand, and he recognized the woman immediately. Lucy Mae Jackson – the only woman he’d met so far who wasn’t impressed with Sabine.

  “There you are, Mr. Baxter,” she said breathlessly when she stopped in front of him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I ran into the mayor a few minutes ago, and I couldn’t keep the excitement to myself.”

  Grange arched an eyebrow, not quite understanding her. “You got excited running into the mayor and you needed to tell me about it?”

  Both she and the other man laughed. Her tone was high-pitched, and the mayor’s laugh was forced. Even the man’s cheeks grew red.

  “Of course not, silly.” She flipped her hand. “I told the mayor that you were looking to buy a lot of land in Belle, which in itself is very exciting.”

  “Oh, yes.” Grinning, Grange nodded and reached out to shake the man’s hand. He appeared to be about the same age, maybe slightly older. “I’m Grange Baxter.”

  “I’m Mayor Jason Shepherd.” He chuckled again and released Grange’s hand. “I have to admit that I was hesitant to believe Miss Jackson when she told me she met you today and that you were looking to start a stud farm.”

  “Well,” Grange said, rocking back on the heels of his boots and gripping the panels of his vest. “I thought I’d come to see how things are in Belle, Wyoming, to see if this is somewhere I’d like to call home.”

  The mayor’s eyes widened and he grinned widely. Miss Jackson pushed her elbow into the man’s arm and cocked her head.

  “I told you that’s what he was doing.” She gave a sharp nod.

  When the mayor smiled at the woman, Grange could tell there was no feeling behind it. In fact, Grange found the man’s irritated expression almost comical.

  “Yes, you did, didn’t you?” The mayor moved his gaze back to Grange. “I hope you’ll let me know if I can be of any assistance. Belle is a small town, but it’s growing rapidly, and there are many acres for you to choose from. Having a stud farm in this area will be good for our community, too. It will bring people from all over Wyoming.”

  “It will certainly bring people into your fine town. And I’ll let you know if I have any questions.”

  “Mr. Baxter,” Miss Jackson said in a drawl and batted her eyelashes. “Since you’re visiting town, would you like me to show you where the café is? Joseph and Holly Shields own the place. They are wonderful people who make the best food in Wyoming.”

  Grange pointed up the street. “Yes, I saw Belle’s Café when I came into town. I’m not hungry yet, but when I am, you can bet you’ll find me there.”

  “Do you have a place to stay? There’s a hotel just over there.” She pointed in the opposite direction.

  “Yes, I’ve already gotten some accommodations, thank you, Miss Jackson.”

  “Lucy Mae.” She giggled. “You can call me Lucy Mae.”

  He tipped his hat. “If it’s all the same, I’d rather call you Miss Jackson.”

  The mayor quickly hid the grin stretching across his mouth. He cleared his throat and looked at the chatterbox. “Lucy Mae, I think we should leave this kind man to his business.”

  Lucy Mae’s cheeks reddened. “Oh, of course. Well, Mr. Baxter, it was nice meeting you. I hope to see you around town again.”

  “Of course.” Grange nodded.

  As the mayor and the woman left, he noticed that the authority figure nearly had to drag the woman away from Grange. She was definitely a bothersome person. He really hoped he didn’t have a lot of run-ins with her. Generally, he tried to be polite to everyone – unless they were bad people and he needed to dispose of them – and he really didn’t want people to know his true identity.

  Only one person mattered in this town, and Widow Sabine Clayborne would definitely discover his identity really soon.

  SABINE WAITED UNTIL the next day before she ventured away from her aunt’s house. It still worried her that the unknown thief was looking for her, but she – and her knife – were waiting for him.

  She dressed in her widow’s light gray gown with a waist-length Spencer jacket. Whenever people asked how long she would remain in mourning, she told them that it wouldn’t be much longer. By that time, she might have to find someplace else to live. She realized that most men left her alone when they knew she was in mourning.

  Just like every morning, she wound the bulk of her hair into a coil and pinned it up, leaving wisps of curls near her ears and back of her neck. She didn’t wear a bonnet today, even though she should. But the clouds hid the sun on occasions, and she used her parasol as she walked through town.

  Her first stop was at the town’s only store, owned by Henry and Olivia Stewart. Olivia was always the first to greet Sabine. The woman’s smile always cheered her up.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Stewart.” Sabine moved closer to the counter Olivia stood behind, stocking shelves.

  “You look lovely today.” Olivia smiled wide. “Are you almost out of mourning? The color of your dress looks lighter today, and your face just brightens so pretty when you wear lighter colors.”

  Sabine appreciated the woman’s compliment. “Thank you, and yes, I’ve decided to start wearing gowns with uplifting colors.”

  “Well, it suits you just fine, if I may say.” Olivia finished setting the bottle on the shelf before turning toward Sabine. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Yes, there is.” Sabine moved closer and scanned the inside of the store quickly to make sure there were no ears to overhear. “I heard there was someone new in town asking about me.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened. “There is? I’ve noticed a few new people in town lately. There are a handful of new families moving in, as well.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard that, too, but the person asking about me is a man.”

  Olivia’s expression softened. “Oh, yes. The devilishly handsome Mr. Baxter.”

  The name wasn’t at all familiar. “Baxter?” She shook her head. “What does he look like?”

  “He’s very handsome, indeed, with the blackest hair and a whiskered face. He wears the clothes of a wealthy man.” She winked. “Rumor is he’s here to look for land to start a stud farm.”

  “But... why is he asking about me?” Sighing, Sabine leaned her elbows on the counter and frowned. “That name isn’t familiar at all, and I definitely don’t know anyone who is wealthy.”

  “Wasn’t your husband wealthy?”

  Sabine nodded. “But his friends weren’t.”

  Olivia tapped her finger to her chin. “Do you suppose he’s someone who knows your family?”

  “I would think that too, except Aunt Milly and Uncle Gerald have never heard of him, either.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you. I did see him talking with the mayor and Lucy Mae yesterday on the street, so maybe ask one of them.”

  Sabine bunched her hands. She definitel
y didn’t want to talk to Lucy Mae. “Thanks, I’ll ask the mayor.”

  Olivia’s gaze moved out of the window. She gasped and her eyes grew big. “There he is!”

  The woman hurried around the counter, hooked arms with Sabine, and rushed them to the window. Across the street, Deputy Will stood chatting with a man who had his back to them.

  “That’s the stranger?” Sabine asked.

  “Yes. I’d recognize those fancy clothes anywhere. And can you see his boots? They are so shiny.”

  The man’s hat hid the shape of his head from view. She could see his hair was black and slightly longer than normal, but nothing she hadn’t seen before. He was taller than the deputy, and the stranger’s body was slender, emphasizing his wide shoulders.

  “Oh, my...” Olivia sighed. “Doesn’t he just make your heart go pitter-patter?”

  Laughing, Sabine pushed her arm against the woman. “Olivia! Hush or your husband will hear.”

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t see the stranger’s face. She needed a closer look, but she didn’t want him to see her just yet.

  Deputy Will pointed to the store and both Sabine and Olivia gasped and jumped away from the window.

  “I think he’s going to come in here,” Olivia said.

  “I think so, too.” Sabine glanced toward the back room that was barred to the store’s patrons. “Do you mind if I hide in there?”

  Olivia nodded. “Hurry. Hide behind the door.”

  Sabine quickly stepped into the back room and closed the door, but not all the way. She wanted to be able to see the man’s face when he walked in the door.

  Olivia shuffled back behind the counter, took her cloth, and wiped some shelves to look busy. The bell above the door jingled, announcing a patron.

  Sabine held her breath, watching... waiting. Hopefully, she’d recognize the man who was asking about her. The store owner greeted the patron, but then paused and said Will’s name. Sabine groaned. If Will had come inside, where was the other man?

  She tried to peek around the door, but her position and the barrels sitting on the counter blocked her view. She listened to the conversation between Olivia and Will but heard nothing of the stranger. A third voice had not joined the conversation. Perhaps, the stranger had decided to not come inside the store.

  An idea popped into her head. If the stranger wasn’t inside, perhaps she could sneak out the back door and follow him secretly. Then she might be able to find out who he was and why he was asking about her. It still made no sense why some wealthy man would come looking for her.

  She straightened and moved to turn, but one strong arm wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her in place. A man’s hand covered her mouth to keep her from screaming. Her heart dropped.

  The thief had found her!

  “Try and scream and you’ll find out how quickly I can stop you,” the man said in a gruff voice.

  Sabine’s heart beat so fast she could hear it drumming in her ears. It almost overrode the man’s whisper.

  “Do you understand?” he asked.

  Slowly, she nodded. Although she’d never before been so frightened, she forced herself to find the courage she knew she had. And she hadn’t forgotten about the knife she had hidden in the skirt of her dress. Right after the thief had ransacked her home in Utah, she had decided to start carrying a knife, so she’d inserted hidden pockets into all her dresses.

  “Nice and easy, we are going to walk out of the store.” His hot breath breezed against her ear. “Understand?”

  She nodded again.

  He didn’t try to turn them, instead he stepped backward, and so she followed his lead. Occasionally, she stepped on his foot, but she didn’t apologize. She kept watching the door, hoping Olivia would come to check on her, but the conversation between the store owner and the deputy filtered from the front of the building. Sabine couldn’t count on either of them to help her out in this situation.

  Against one of the walls, she noticed a full-length mirror. Finally, she could see who held her. She still couldn’t see his face because his head was bent toward her ear, but it was definitely the man who had been talking to Will a few minutes ago – and the same man Olivia thought was devilishly handsome.

  He reached the back door and pulled them through, quietly closing it. She still didn’t know whether anyone would be able to see them, since they were now at the back of the building and people just didn’t walk that way.

  His hand loosened over her mouth, but that didn’t make her any less frightened.

  “You’re doing good,” he said in quiet tones. “Now we’re going to get on my horse and ride out of here. You are not going to draw any attention to our situation, are you?”

  “What do you want?” Her voice cracked. “Why do you want me?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  He turned her toward his horse standing in the field. His hand dropped from her mouth, but his other arm still gripped her, his hold like steel around her waist.

  She swallowed hard. “If people see us, they might wonder why your arm is around my waist.”

  “Let them wonder.”

  She supposed that telling him that the townsfolk might become suspicious as to why a widow would be riding a horse with a strange man, but then she realized his answer would be the same. He just didn’t care about her reputation.

  When they reached the horse, he lifted her up and set her on the saddle. Immediately, she slid her hand inside the pocket of her dress and grasped the knife. It took only seconds for him to mount behind her and reach around her to take the reins. And just as she suspected, he urged the horse away from town toward the creek.

  “Please tell me why you’re taking me. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  His chest shook from a laugh even though she didn’t hear it.

  “That’s not what I heard,” he said in a deep voice.

  She still didn’t dare turn to look at his face, but knew he was strong... and muscular, since his chest was pressed so closely to her back. The only way to fight him would be to injure him. There was no other way.

  Taking a deep breath, she prayed for courage and strength to defeat this man. Tears burned beneath her eyelids. She never thought she’d have to do this just to save her life.

  She clenched her teeth and tightened her hand around the handle of the knife. Closing her mind, she focused on one thing only. In one quick movement, she turned and plunged the knife into the man’s side.

  He sucked in a quick breath, cussed, and grabbed his side now pouring with blood. Within seconds, he fell off the horse. She grabbed the reins, ready to kick the animal into a run and get away from this man.

  “Sabine, stop!”

  The loud voice of the man was familiar now. Very familiar. She glanced over her shoulder toward him. He lay on his back, clutching his bloody side. His hat had fallen off his head and she could see his face clearly. Memories resurfaced and were like a slap in the face.

  Her heart dropped! What is he doing here? And, if she didn’t stop the bleeding quickly, she would indeed be the widow she’d pretended to be, because she had stabbed her husband.

  THREE

  “Grange!” Sabine jumped off the horse and ran to him, sinking to her knees beside him. “What in the blazes are you doing here?”

  He grimaced. “I see you still have a foul mouth.”

  She huffed. “You’ll learn quickly enough how foul I can be if you don’t tell me why you’re here.”

  “I came... to find my wife.”

  His voice was getting a little weaker, and she knew she should help him, but how? “Forgive me if I don’t believe you right away.”

  “Sabine let’s catch up with our lives later. Right now, I need your help before I bleed to death.”

  She twisted her hands against her chest. “Wouldn’t it be better if I ran back into town and fetched Doctor Mason?”

  “No.” He gripped her wrist, keeping her in place. “That will take too long.”

 
“Then what do you want me to do?”

  “Help me remove my waistcoat.” He struggled to sit up, but only seemed to cause the blood to spurt out of his side faster. He lay back on the ground and shook his head. “You take off your waistcoat, instead.”

  Without thinking twice, she shrugged out of the Spencer jacket and wadded it in a ball. He guided her hands to press the garment against him.

  “Where is your knife?”

  “I... dropped it. Why?”

  “Can you remove my suspenders? I’ll need them to tie the garment to my wound.”

  “I shall try.”

  She slid her fingers to the waist of his trousers and unhooked them from their buttons in front. She carefully slipped her hands behind him, leaning toward him as she tried to undo the buttons at the back.

  He watched her with guarded eyes. Of course, she’d just stabbed him, so he would be cautious of her. If only he had told her his identity first, none of this would have happened. Even though she disliked her husband, she didn’t want him to die. Not by her hand, anyway.

  Finally, the suspenders were freed from his trousers, and she pulled them out from underneath his waistcoat. Between the two of them, they wrapped them around his middle and fastened them tightly.

  He breathed a little easier as he lay back on the ground and looked up at the sky. She studied the face she hadn’t seen for nearly four years. The sun had tanned his skin, and he had been blessed with more muscles. His facial hair was neatly trimmed, and there was a ruggedness about him that she’d not seen before. His hazel eyes seemed dull at the moment, but she figured it was because he was growing weaker by the second. However, it was his mouth that unnerved her because his lips were slowly turning blue. And that truly scared her.

  “We need to get you into town to the doctor.” She touched his hand. “If you’re not stitched up, you’ll die.”

  He nodded. “But what will be our story?”

  “Story?”

  “I can’t very well tell the doctor that you stabbed me, now can I?”