The Wyoming Debt

by April Hill

  “Well, he’s in love with you. I’ve seen it before, with Maddie, and he looks at you the way he always looked at her.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Cathy scoffed.

  “How much has Will told you about Maddie?” he asked softly.

  She shrugged. “Almost nothing–except that she was perfect, of course.”

  Parsons laughed. “Far from it, but they were well-nigh perfect together, that’s for sure.

  “Daniel’s as good a man as I’ve ever known, Cathy. He and I rode together for more years than I like to recall, and I’ve never known him to cheat a man, or take liberties with his wife, or to do injury to them who didn’t go at him first. He may look like a farmer, and talk like one, but don’t let that hay in his hair fool you. He can be as tough as nails and as stubborn as a post when he’s crossed. All things considered, there’s no man I’d rather have at my back in a fight–but he’s a goddamned wooden-headed fool when it comes to women.

  “Maddie was cut from the same cloth as Will. She was born to this way of life, and it was obvious to anyone that she set her cap for him the first time she saw him. He never had to court her, or do the things most women want a man to do.”

  “How did she die?” Cathy asked softly.

  “Will bought this place with his mustering out pay,” Daniel explained. “He, Gideon and Maddie cleared the timber and built that first cabin by themselves.”

  “First cabin?” she repeated.

  Daniel sighed. “Will was in town the day it happened. He and Gideon had finished the roof a few days earlier. After ten years of marriage and two babies, Maddie finally had a decent roof over her head, and a well with a pump by her front door.

  “The kids were asleep when the fire started in the kitchen, probably. Maddie had already gotten them outside, but she went back for something. We never knew what. Anyway, Gideon was out in the far pasture untangling a calf from a fence when he saw the smoke. He raced back, but by then, the roof had already collapsed. They buried her on that hill behind the house.”

  Cathy nodded. “It’s a pretty spot–like a garden, really.”

  “Will sees to that. Maddie always loved flowers. “

  “That’s part of the problem, I’m afraid,” Cathy said. “Even if I could stay here, I’ll never be like Maddie. Will may be angry that I’ve left, at first, and his pride will be injured, but he won’t miss me, that’s for sure.”

  “Wrong, again. If I know Will, he’ll come after you and drag you back here, hog-tied over his saddle, if he has to. And more’n likely will take a paddle to your backside as a welcome home present. You’ll get no bonbons and posies for running off, and that’s for damned sure.

  “Since you’re a lady who knows a little something about gambling,” Daniel went on, “I’ll make you a wager. Go out there, now, and tell Will the truth about Jack, about everything. The whole story. I’ll lay you odds he’ll ask you to stay, money or no money.” He chuckled. “Of course, that’ll most likely happen after you get that walloping I mentioned. One thing I’m sure of, though. All of this can be straightened out, but you’re going to have to tell the man the truth, Cathy. He won’t settle for less.”

  “I can’t,” she said, pointing once again to the wanted poster. “Not now. Not after this. You may know Will, Mr. Parsons, but I know Jack and I know what he’s planning to do when he finds me. None of this can be straightened out. It’s too late for that. All I can do now is run, and pray that those posters of his haven’t been seen by the wrong person.”

  * * * *

  Daniel left the next day, and it was with mixed emotions that Cathy watched him ride out the gate. Will had tried to convince him to stay the winter, but Daniel explained that he had a pressing appointment in Kansas City that wouldn’t wait.

  “Do I know the lady who’s waiting to be pressed?” Will asked, grinning. ‘‘Or is she a recent acquaintance?”

  “Do you remember a sweet young thing by the name of Lula Lathrop?”

  “The one with the little tattoo of a crescent moon and a star on her …”

  “You have an excellent memory, William.”

  “Lula wasn’t exactly young, was she? Even back then.”

  “Perhaps I misspoke. Not precisely young, but then, the riper the fruit, the sweeter the nectar, am I right?”

  “I can’t argue with that, my friend. Have a good trip, but keep an eye out for trouble. Gideon tells me he spotted signs of a group of unshod ponies yesterday, around a mile east of here. Nothing to worry about, probably.”

  “Well then, I’ll be careful to avoid any barefoot ponies,” Daniel said, giving the sheathed rifle behind his saddle an affectionate pat. “As well as the fellas they might be carrying around with them.” He leaned down from the saddle and took Cathy’s hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed it. “Goodbye, Mrs. Cameron, and thank you again for making me welcome. I’ll be back this way come late spring.” He winked once, then bent lower, dropping his voice so that only Cathy would hear. “In time for your first wedding anniversary. Give Will a chance, Cathy. You won’t regret it.”

  * * * *

  They all watched from the yard as Daniel rode away, and when he was finally over the rise and out of sight, Cathy breathed a sigh of relief. She had enjoyed meeting Will’s good friend, and his cheerful company had provided a pleasant break for all of them, but his presence in the house had still represented a threat. A slip of the tongue could easily have ruined her plans–plans she still intended to carry through with, despite Daniel’s refusal to help.

  It was easy to see that Hannah, especially, would miss Daniel Parsons. She had spent every spare moment of her time during his visit trying to be near him, laughing a bit too much at his jokes, and making occasional shy attempts at flirting. She had even turned up at supper each evening in a dress, drawing an amused smile from her father and a gentlemanly bow of approval from Daniel. As a man long accustomed to being attractive to women, Daniel had been courtly and mildly flirtatious with his best friend’s growing daughter, alternating between teasing and charming her, and listening with rapt attention to everything she said.

  “And you told me she wasn’t noticing boys, yet!” Cathy remarked to Will when Daniel was gone.

  Will chuckled. “I’m not sure Daniel counts. She’s been that way around him since she was old enough to walk. He’s got the gift, that’s for sure. Even Maddie tended to get a little giggly around him. Any other man, I might have taken it to heart, but it’s just Daniel’s way. I used to worry he’d tangle with some lady’s husband and get himself gelded, but so far … Anyway, at least Hannah seems a little more cheerful than before he came by.”

  But Will was wrong. The storm that had already been brewing before Daniel’s visit broke later that same day. And it began with a simple suggestion, as Cathy and Hannah were cooperating for once, getting supper on the table.

  “Wouldn’t it be nice if we used the good china, today?” Cathy suggested, pointing to the stack of plates and serving pieces stored on the top shelf of the china cabinet. “It’s so pretty, and …”

  Hannah cut her off. “I saw you with Daniel, you know,” she said smugly. “And I heard you, too.”

  Cathy froze, wondering for one terrified moment if Hannah had overheard the discussion about Jack, and about her past. But as it turned out, Hannah was angry–or jealous–about something much more recent.

  “All that kissing your hand stuff wasn’t just for you, you know. He does it with everybody–every woman, anyway. He kisses my hand all the time. Every time he comes. He used to do it with Ma, too, but she wasn’t stupid, like you. She knew he was just foolin’ around.”

  Cathy bit her lip. “I know that, Hannah. Daniel is simply trying to be charming. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”

  “I saw you two whispering together, just before he rode off. Like you and him had some big old secret all to yourselves. How’d you like it if I told Pa what I seen?”

  “What I saw, Hannah,” Cathy corrected
her, ignoring the childish blackmail threat. “Not what I seen. You know perfectly well how to speak properly. You only do it to be annoying. Maybe it’s time I talked to your father about starting those daily lessons he wanted.”

  The snide remark was barely out of her mouth before Cathy regretted it. Fixing her step-mother with a look of sheer malice, Hannah turned to the cabinet of dishes behind her, stood on tiptoe, and pulled down a small creamer and a stack of flowered china plates from a set that had been described to Cathy as Maddie’s most prized possession. Cathy stood with her mouth open while Hannah raised the delicate cream pitcher over her head, hurled it to the floor and smiled.

  Hannah narrowed her eyes. “If you think I’m going to stand by and let you eat off my Ma’s best china like it was your very own, you can think again, whore!” she hissed. With that, she lifted remaining dishes above her head, stuck out her tongue, and dropped the entire stack. The delicate china exploded into shards, sending splinters of shattered crockery skittering across the kitchen floor. Cathy’s shriek of distress brought Will running from the yard.

  As her father came through the door, Hannah began to scream, and her timing couldn’t have been better.

  “Now, see what you’ve done! Ma’s favorite dishes! Pa, just look at what she did!”

  Unable to believe what had just happened, Cathy stared at the girl in shock for several seconds, and then dropped to her knees to see if any of the dainty plates or cups had survived. Will simply stood and looked from the mess on the floor, to the faces of the two women. Hannah had backed away by now, and Cathy was fighting back tears as she swept the broken dishes into her apron. One of her hands was bleeding from a deep cut.

  “What happened?” Will demanded, bending to pick up one of the broken cups.

  “What does it look like?” Hannah shot back, her eyes cold. “She’s too clumsy and stupid to do anything right, and now she’s gone and broke Ma’s best china! The set she brought from back east when she was a girl.”

  Cathy lifted her eyes to Will, pleading, but somehow unwilling to tell him the truth. “I’m so sorry, Will. I didn’t mean for this to …”

  Will turned the remains of the shattered cup over in his hands, tracing one of the hand-painted roses with the tip of one finger. “It doesn’t matter,” he said quietly, reaching for Cathy’s hand. “Get up from there before you cut yourself again. Hannah, go get the broom.”

  “Me?” Hannah wailed. “Why? You should make her clean it up! She’s the one who–”

  “I told you to get the broom, “ he ordered, louder now. “Do it now!”

  When Hannah hurried away to the back porch to find the broom, Will pushed Cathy down into a chair and took her injured hand in his to inspect the wound. “The cut is pretty deep,” he said. “It’ll need sewing up, I’m afraid.”

  Cathy pulled her hand back and wrapped it tightly in her bloodied apron. “My hand will be fine. I’ll just wash it and bind it up ‘til the bleeding stops.”

  Will shook his head. “It won’t be fine. I’ll go and call Gideon in. He’s better at this than me.”

  “I can’t begin to tell you how awful I feel about the dishes, Will,” she murmured. “I know how much they meant to your wife, and to Hannah, as well.”

  “They’re just dishes, Cathy. Maddie never liked them. She always called them teaparty dishes, with big city cups too puny to hold a decent-sized cup of morning coffee.”

  Cathy smiled. “I think I would have liked Maddie.”

  He smiled back. “Yes, you would. And she would have liked you–except for the lying, that is.”

  When Cathy started to object, he cut her off. “You think I don’t know who broke the damned dishes? I let it go because I figured it’s a woman thing, between the two of you. Hannah’s not a bad kid, Cathy, and she knows damned well what you did just now, taking the blame for her, that way. I’ll punish her if you want me to, but …”

  Cathy shook her head. “No, please don’t do that. Not on my account. What you said before is right. We women are complicated creatures, Mr. Cameron, and our wars have complicated rules of engagement. We’ll work it out–somehow.”

  Will grinned. “All right, but I’d appreciate it if you’d get it done soon. I’m not a rich enough man to keep buying dishes.”

  By now, Hannah had returned with the broom, and watched with growing rage as Will bandaged her rival’s hand.

  “She ain’t really hurt,” Hannah railed. “She’s–”

  Will turned around. “No more, Hannah. You and I both know what happened, here. Sweep the floor and go on up to bed. I’ll deal with you, later.”

  “Deal with me!” the girl shouted, stomping her foot in fury. “She’s the one! It’s just plain ignorant, how you always take her side in everything. It’s time someone told you what she’s really like, this so-called wife you probably found in a gutter, somewhere. And now, she’s got you twisted around her–”

  Will fixed his daughter with a cool, hard eye. “You real sure you want to go down this road, little girl?”

  Hannah’s face went red, but it was unclear whether she was more humiliated by the implied threat in her father’s words, or in being called “little girl.”

  “I hate you!” she shouted. Tossing her head in one last gesture of defiance, Hannah threw open the front door–not on her way to the loft, but out into the yard.

  “I’m so sorry, Will,” Cathy groaned. “I may not have broken the dishes, but I did provoke her. And I hate hearing her say things like that to you, because of me.”

  Will chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t that long ago she was saying she hated me every time I made her take a bath. Hannah provokes easy, in case you haven’t noticed. If you still don’t want her punished, I’ll just let her cool down a bit before I sit her down and lay down the law. I’m afraid she’s got her mother’s temper.”

  Cathy sighed. “How on earth would you punish her, anyway? With extra chores? She already does almost everything around here. Besides, her quarrel is with me, not you. Let me talk to her.”

  “You can talk to her all you want, but she still needs to know she can’t act the way she does. Maddie would have taken a–”

  “Maddie’s not here, and I am. And for the time being, I’m your wife, and the only woman she has.”

  “You’re not her mother, Cathy.”

  The words stung, and Cathy had trouble holding back the tears as she answered. “You’re right, Mr. Cameron, of course. You’ll have to pardon me for forgetting my place like that.” She stood up quickly, before he could see the tears in her eyes, and walked away to her sleeping corner.

  Will swore to himself, and after a few moments, he crossed the room after her, then stood there feeling foolish, talking to her through the curtain.

  “I’m sorry, Cathy. I was hoping that … Well that maybe you and I were beginning to feel … feel differently than we did at first. That maybe we could think about making things more like we were really married, and not … Anyway, I’m sorry for what I said, just now. I didn’t mean it the way it probably sounded.”

  “How did you mean it, then?” she asked softly, her words difficult to make out through the curtain. You’re going to have to tell me, because I’m confused.”

  “It’s hard,” he said, finally. “This … this whole thing has been hard for me.”

  Suddenly, Cathy flung open the curtain, her eyes flashing with anger. “Hard for you? You’ve got the gall to stand there and tell me to my face that these months have been hard for you? What about me, and about Hannah and Caleb? Do you think it’s been easy on us?”

  “Of course not,” he said defensively.

  “Well, you know what?” Cathy shouted. “I don’t care, anymore! I’m sorry I got you into this mess, but I can’t be expected to go one sharing my life with a man who thinks of me as nothing but a bondservant, and a half-grown girl who loathes the very sight of me. And I sure as hell can’t live any kind of life when I have to compete with a dead wom
an. If that sounds disrespectful, I’m sorry, but it’s the truth! You can take me out to the damned barn again, if you want to, and wallop the daylights out of me for saying it, but it’ll still be true.” She paused for a moment to catch her breath, and sank down on the cot. “Daniel was right. I know that, now. I’m …”

  Suddenly, Cathy stopped talking. Will was looking at her, very closely.

  “Since you’re so determined to tell the truth, here, I’d appreciate hearing exactly what it was Daniel was right about. “

  Cathy buried her face in her hands, exhausted, and trying not to cry. “Nothing,” she murmured.

  Will sat down next to her. “I’m not going to wallop you for saying what you did about Maddie, because you’re right. On the other hand, if a few minutes over a wobbly sawhorse with your britches down and your behind on fire will get you to explain what’s been going on, all these months, I’m willing to give it a try.”

  “That’s a very convincing argument, Mr. Cameron,” Cathy said wearily. “But as we both know, telling the truth isn’t something I’m especially good at.” She sighed. “You might want to go out and fix the leg on that sawhorse. It looks like you’ll be needing it.”

  Chapter Nine

  Cathy spent a sleepless night, knowing what she had to do, but still unsure of how to actually do it. Her conversation with Daniel had made it clearer than ever that she needed to get away from the ranch as soon as possible. Her own feelings for Will had begun to complicate everything, and the things he’d said to her yesterday had only added to her confusion. One thing was certain, though. Jack was searching for her, and it was only a matter of time before he found his way here. If she was still here when he came, Will and the children would be in terrible danger. The danger was something she had brought with her to the cabin, and now, she was the only one who could eliminate the threat. Removing that threat was more important that what she felt for Will, and more important than what he might have begun to feel for her.

  She had done far too many things wrong in her life–things she would never be able to fix, but this was one thing she could fix. She could prevent Will and the children from paying the price for her mistakes, but only if she moved quickly.