Cora (Southern Hearts Book 3)

by Felicia Rogers

  Decision made, she slung the sack over her shoulder and sauntered to the shed at the back of the house. Just inside the door she found what she was looking for. She picked up the axe and carried it to backyard. Hopefully, she wasn't too late.

  Chapter Eighteen

  One of these days Frederic something is going to happen that is beyond your control, and you'll have to make a choice between your reputation and someone's life. When that happens, I hope I'm not around to see it.

  The last words of his mother raced through his mind. How many times had she told him one day he would have to make a choice? Now it had happened. He'd chosen to stay and finishing chopping wood as he'd promised instead of leaving for the coach. The choice could perhaps cost Cora her life. But did he really believe it was so dire? Sure Zeke and his men had found them once, but would they find them here?

  Their current location wasn't that easily found. After Cora got them thrown from the stagecoach for insulting the lady with the feathered hat, they had walked and walked before they found the Podunk town of Sizerville. Frederic would have traveled farther, but the town had a stagecoach office. And of course, the owner of the house and his wife, who might or might not be completely right in the head, had been extremely helpful by allowing him to work off their debt. Surely Zeke and his crew would be hard pressed to locate them. Why their pursuers might even be ahead of them since they'd stayed put for a day.

  He lifted the axe and almost dropped it on his head. Cora stood beside him. She placed a log upright, lifted an axe, and brought it down. The wood split, and she threw it on a growing pile before picking up another log.

  "Come on boy, time's wastin'."

  With each movement of the tool his heart hammered against his chest, not because of the strength required, but because of Cora's presence. He'd never seen another woman weld an axe like her. Sweat beaded her forehead and she flashed him a brilliant smile. He gulped and shook his head to clear his mind enough to continue.

  They worked together and slowly the uncut logs dwindled. When the last stick was thrown on the pile, she grabbed their bag, threw him a napkin filled with biscuits, and said, "Let's go!"

  She didn't wait for him to reply but took off in a run toward the road. She yelled goodbye to Mr. and Miss Monroe as they waved from the front porch.

  On their way to the station office a billow of dust kicked up behind them. Frederic glanced over his shoulder. A group of horses skidded to a halt before the Monroe house. Frederic grabbed Cora's hand and drew her between a row of white pines.

  "Oh, no. We waited to long," she whispered, peeping through the limbs and voicing his worst fears.

  Close enough to hear the exchange, Frederic cringed.

  "You haven't seen a man and a woman come through here have you?" asked Zeke taking off his dusty hat and beating it against his leg.

  Mr. Monroe frowned and studied the newcomers. His wife worked her jaw as if gumming food.

  "Well have you? We've been looking for two, umm, criminals, that fled New York City. They are mighty dangerous and we aim to take them back to serve their time. So have you seen them?"

  "Maybe I have maybe I haven't. What do they look like?"

  Zeke furrowed his brow and shot glances at his companions. "Criminals, that's what they look like."

  "Nope," said Mr. Monroe squeezing his wife to his side.

  "Well that's interestin' because everyone in town seems to remember a young couple coming out this way."

  "Well they must have stayed in the woods because it is just me and my wife here."

  Zeke rose in his saddle allowing his gaze to linger on the wood yard for a brief second before continuing his study. He shoved the hat on his head. "Much obliged."

  Zeke and his two followers kicked their horses and started toward them. Frederic pulled Cora farther into the trees and they buried their faces in the foliage until the horses passed.

  The thundering of hooves died and Cora said, "That was close."

  "Yes."

  "What are we going to do now? They're headed to town. We won't be able to reach the coach, and even if we do they'll catch us en route."

  "True."

  She slapped him across the chest and stomped her foot. She was cute when she was angry. She spoke but he didn't listen, instead enjoying her varying expressions. She rolled her eyes, threw her hands around wildly, furrowed her brow, and pressed her lips together.

  She fisted her hands on her hips. "Did you hear me?"

  "Truthfully, no."

  "Frederic! Stop staring at me like I'm a prepared feast on a table and answer me. We need a plan. We can't go into town now or they're going to find us. I don't want to go back and face th-the murderer. I'm afraid," she ended in a horrified whisper.

  He wrapped his arms around her middle and drew her close. He whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid. I promised to help you reach your family and that is what I'm going to do."

  The stagecoach was out of the question, as was returning to the nice couple. They needed a new idea.

  Frederic slung the sack of belongings on his back, grabbed Cora's hand, and used his free hand to hold a biscuit.

  They walked farther into the woods, headed in a southerly direction.

  Frederic had traveled through Pennsylvania on multiple occasions. Normally he had gone by horse or stage, but there was another way to travel – boat. He explained his idea.

  The sound of water reached his ears long before they reached the river. Water lapped at the land. Tall reeds of grass blew in the breeze. The smell of sunflowers and honeysuckle permeated the air. They exited the woods and Frederic glanced downstream.

  "Do you see a boat?" asked Cora.

  "No, but that doesn't mean there isn't one close by."

  "Don't we need to find a dock? Wouldn't that be closer to town or someone's property?"

  Frederic guided them in the direction of the river's flow. The water appeared shallow in places. Frederic gnawed his lip. Could a boat float on the waterway? Cora grabbed his hand and squeezed. He faced her.

  A smile tilted the corner of her lips. "Don't worry, everything will be all right."

  He mimicked her expression and they continued. The weeds parted and they followed a path to a well-kept dock. No one waited. No boats could be seen. However there was a post with a rope.

  "Should we wait?" she asked, looking up and down the stream.

  By now the sun had reached its zenith and the heat beat against their backs. Sitting on the dock would expose them to the full heat of the day and to anyone searching for them.

  "Why don't we sit under that shade tree? If they don't come soon then we'll keep walking."

  She nodded and they found a spot beneath a sugar maple and slid to the ground. The limbs were full with bright green leaves. Cora had been oddly quiet doing little more than plucking at the grass. He cringed as he considered what she might be thinking.

  Before he could ask, she said, "I guess this will get us a little farther on our journey."

  "Yes."

  "I had hoped to reach home sooner rather than later, but I guess I don't have a choice."

  "No."

  "Do you think Zeke and his buddies will follow me the entire way?"

  "Maybe."

  She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "I think I should go back to New York and tell the police."

  He frowned.

  "I mean if I just tell them what happened, maybe they can catch the man who killed Jeffers and this will all be over. Then I could go home and no one would have to be in danger at all."

  "I don't think that will work."

  "Why not?" she asked, lifting her chin and giving him a pointed stare.

  "Because you don't know what the man looks like, so what could you tell them? Some man in a hat shot your old boss? I don't think that will work."

  Her voice rose. "So my other option is to be followed and shot at until they either catch me, or I just happen to remember the man's face?"

&nbs
p; "Precisely." He folded his arms over his chest and smiled, happy that she finally seemed to understand.

  "Humph. I don't think that is a very good solution."

  He opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the honking horn of a small steamboat headed their way.

  "Need a lift?" asked a man in a navy blue uniform.

  "Yes," said Frederic, clenching his hands above his head in triumph and jumped to his feet. Cora stood and dusted off the backside of her gown.

  The ship captain motioned them forward. "Come aboard. The cost is an eighth to get you to the next dock."

  Frederic handed over the silver piece and the captain put the boat into motion. Needing to keep Cora close, Frederic hovered by her side. The boat captain's pipe drooped between his lips as he looked them over and gave a lop-sided grin.

  "Where you folks be headed?"

  "Downriver," said Frederic.

  "Ah, the infamous downriver. That doesn't happen very often, you know. Most people want to head upriver." The words dripped with sarcasm. The captain continued, "This is a remote dock. Did someone tell you about it?"

  "No."

  "Ah, don't want to tell. If you tell me, I might offer a discount to those who recommended me. I don't do much work these days."

  Cora said, "Truth is, no one recommended you. We wanted an adventure and finding your dock provided that."

  "You don't say? An adventure?" The captain scratched his scraggily beard. "Don't know how adventurous it will be. This river don't flow too fast, but it can get kind of tricky in some places. Why I even had the boat scrape the bottom last summer when we didn't have enough rain."

  "Really?" Cora laid her hand over her heart in mock horror. "That must have been terrifying."

  "Wasn't too bad for me, but you should've seen the twittering females that was ridin' at the time. I thought they were going to come unglued."

  "Warn me if you think it will happen again. I must be prepared."

  The captain continued to speak and Frederic found it increasingly difficult to hide his smirk. Cora was playing the old man like a fiddle.

  The boat stopped at the next dock. They hadn't traveled more than ten minutes.

  "That wasn't very far. I think we could have walked that and saved our eight pence," said Frederic, crossing his arms over his chest hoping the captain sensed his annoyance.

  "You probably could have, but then you would have missed your adventure," said the captain with a wink.

  They exited the boat, and the captain pulled way from the dock.

  "Great. Now we just wasted our money, and we're just about in the same spot we were in before."

  Cora ignored him. Frown lines grew on her forehead as she stared at the retreating boat. "Do you think he was mocking me?"

  Frederic blinked, closed his eyes, and counted to ten before opening them again. Unfortunately her expression hadn't changed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cora's impatience grew as Frederic ignored her and stared over her head. "Well, do you think he was mocking me?"

  He turned her around. Her jaw dropped. The town of Sizerville that they'd been in only the day before, the town they were trying to avoid, lay before her.

  She hitched her skirts and ran alongside the river waving her arms. Frederic followed.

  "What are you doing?" he called.

  "I'm trying to catch the boat. We can't stay here."

  "I think it is a little late now."

  She came to a skidding halt and stomped her foot. "Why couldn't you have been nicer? I had him eating out of the palm of my hand. He might have let us ride longer on your pitiful eight pence."

  Between gritted teeth he said, "You need to be quiet. You're drawing attention to us."

  "I will not be told when to be quiet. I'm tired of this. Why don't you just go back to New York and I'll get home by myself."

  She tried to stalk past him, but he caught her arm and pulled her to his chest. He buried his face in her hair and whispered, "The townsfolk are looking at you. I want you to wrap your arm in mine, and let's walk to the saloon and go inside, all right?"

  "The saloon is a terrible idea. Where do you think the bandits will be hiding out? Not in a church, I assure you."

  He clamped his hand over her mouth and she bit him. He pulled away and cradled his hand to his chest and she tilted her lips into a smile.

  Angrily, he squeezed her forearm and ushered her along the street. She didn't put up a fight, and he relaxed his tight hold. A vein throbbed in his neck. There would be trouble later. At least for now the townsfolk didn't seem interested. Men tipped their hats and women lowered their gazes as they passed on the boardwalk.

  Side-by-side they sauntered into the saloon. A hazy mist of tobacco smoke filled the air. People yelled out greetings and a skimpily clad waitress approached. "Looking for a table?"

  "Yes, please," replied Frederic.

  The lady offered them a corner table. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

  Cora wanted to say yes, but Frederic's scathing look changed her mind.

  "No thank you, we're fine," he replied.

  "Suit yourself, but let me tell you Billy Joe don't let people stay here long if they don't buy something," she said as she slinked away.

  When they were alone, Cora said, "All right, General, what is your plan?"

  He narrowed his eyes, but didn't comment on the nickname. "We wait."

  "Ah, that's brilliant. I should have thought of that earlier. We can just wait here until Zeke and his crew leave town. I'm sure we'll go completely unnoticed. The couple that entered the saloon and bought nothing."

  She palmed her chin and stared forward. At one end of the room a man dressed in colorful rags stumbled onto a stage. He threw three balls in the air. Over and over they went around and around never touching the ground. Next a piano was rolled out. An elderly gentleman with stiff, spiky hair sat on the top of the instrument, his toes struck the keys, creating an amazing arrangement of joyful music.

  After each performance, Cora cheered with the crowd. There were dancers and singers, contortionists and jugglers.

  She faced Frederic and frowned. "What's wrong?"

  "I think we've been spotted."

  "Are you sure?" she asked covertly twisting her neck to study the crowd.

  "Zeke is at the bar and so are his two men. They've been looking this way every few minutes."

  "Perhaps they're studying the entire crowd every few minutes."

  "I don't think so."

  "Well, we can't just up and leave or they'll know that it is us for sure. Why don't we just pretend we're here to enjoy the show?"

  The afternoon progressed and the serving lady returned several times. Frederic refused to order and Cora feared they would be asked to leave.

  Zeke and his buddies continued to sip at the bar. They clapped with the crowd, but Zeke's eyes never wavered from their corner.

  "I have an idea," she said and stood up.

  Frederic reached for her. "Where are you going?"

  She smiled wide and sashayed with a pronounced sway toward Zeke. When she reached him, she placed her finger in the v of his shirt. His flesh was warm to the touch as she outlined the opening, and continued until she stroked the vein throbbing in his neck.

  In her most sultry tone, she said, "I notice you keep staring at me. Do I know you?"

  Zeke swallowed. "I-I don't think so."

  "Hmm, then you must be staring because you want to know me." She clasped her hands before her and licked her lips.

  "Well, well, not exactly, I-I–"

  She blew out a breath, grabbed his hat, and placed it on her head in an awkward angle. She lifted her leg and the edge of her skirt rose to her thigh. She pursed her lips in a pout and said, "I'm so sorry we didn't meet before."

  "Pardon?" he said, his face turning beet red as his gaze lingered on her exposed leg.

  "You see that man over there?"

  Frederic stared at Zeke, a malevolent expression on h
is face and his hands clasped tightly on the table top.

  Zeke nodded.

  "I belong to him and he don't really take to strangers staring at me."

  "Oh." Zeke swallowed.

  "I just thought I'd warn you before he got real angry."

  "Thank you, ma'am." He lowered his head.

  She dropped her leg and replaced his hat atop his head. "Don't mention it." She skipped back to her table, turning and blowing a kiss over her shoulder.

  Zeke turned away, paid his bill, and exited the saloon with his two lackeys on his heels.

  Cora collapsed into the seat next to Frederic. Anger exuded from him and he shook with rage. Between clenched teeth he growled, "What was the meaning of that?"

  "The meaning of that was to get Zeke off our back. Now why don't you relax and enjoy the show."

  ****

  Visions of Cora flirting with Zeke plagued him for the remainder of the afternoon. Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered her showing her calf or placing the man's hat on her head. What had she been thinking?

  The show ended and they exited into the cool afternoon air. He'd been so hot about what had happened that he'd not made plans for after the show.

  Cora stopped at the station office. She approached the window and inquired about the next coach.

  "Be here in about thirty minutes."

  "I need to book passage for two."

  "Very well."

  Frederic handed over payment and they waited.

  "I didn't think they would have a coach this late in the afternoon, but I'm glad they do. This is the best time to go. Who would think of leaving at dark?"

  "Yes, who would think," said Frederic, studying his clenched hands.

  "I can't wait to recline on the plush seat, close my eyes, and nap. The next station has to be at least a couple hours away, right?"

  Frederic nodded and covertly searched the empty street. The only people milling around were those leaving the saloon. Drunken sots staggered from the bi-fold swinging doors. Women of ill repute called to them from the shadows.