They had been riding around all night, from before sunset to sunrise, and all they had found of the outlaws were clues. Horse droppings here. Tracks there. All evidence pointed to the strangers having left the area.
But the way the hairs along the back of Tom’s neck rose like hackles on a dog told another story. The cocked heads and darting eyes of the other men agreed with him. Something still wasn’t right.
“I don’t reckon we’re done here,” one of Mitch’s ranch hands said. “These bandits could be looting our farms right now—or planning on doing that soon as we take a lay down.”
Nausea filled Tom. He quickly looked to the sheriff, waiting for an answer.
Sheriff Mayes grunted. “We’ll go back out later today. Same time. Until we catch these men, or some other town catches them, there’s no good in letting our guard down.”
A dissatisfied grunt came from someone. “I can’t be leaving my farm every day. Much as I want to run these outlaws out of here, Sheriff, I got my missus and the little ones to think of. Who’s going to look after them while I’m gone?”
A chorus of agreements followed.
Mitch walked his horse into the center of the circle. “The women and children can stay at my ranch until trouble’s passed. We can set them up in the cabins and house.”
“There ain’t enough room at your ranch,” Garrison, the oldest man who had joined the posse, replied. “Plus, they will be safer in town. No, they can stay at the hotel. You all pitched in and helped me and Mrs. Garrison when we needed it the most. We’ll be more than happy to put all the ladies and children up.”
“Thank you, Garrison,” Sheriff Mayes warmly answered. “That’s going to make this easier. All right, boys. Head on home and get your families packed up. Those who can meet me in town at five, do so.”
Without another word, he galloped off in the direction of town, the sun pushing off the horizon to meet him.
“You good?”
Tom turned to see Beau looking at him with interest. “You look as if you might be sick.”
Tom swallowed hard, attempting to do something about his dry tongue. “Just wish this had been over tonight, that’s all. I can’t think of going through another day without these men dead or behind bars.”
Beau quietly looked up at the sky. “It’s good to feel that way.”
Tom stared at him. “Why are you talking crazy now?”
“You’re scared because you got people to live for.” He shot Tom an unreadable look. “That makes you one of the lucky ones.” With a kick to his horse’s side, he galloped off, joining Mitch on the road toward Winding Path.
By the time they arrived at the ranch, it was fully light. The roosters crowed and the rest of the animals brayed, neighed, and snorted for their breakfasts.
“Go give the women the news,” Mitch instructed as he headed to the barns with Beau. “They need to get into town before noon.”
Tom nodded and hustled into the house, expecting the clattering of pots and pans and the smell of bacon to meet him. Instead, Mitch’s home was silent.
He paused in the hallway, fear seizing his heart. This kind of quiet wasn’t normal. On a ranch, everyone was up and moving around a good two hours before dawn.
“Ida Rose,” he called, but the name came out as nothing more than a throaty whisper. Rushing across the hall, he flew into the kitchen—and stopped short.
Fast asleep, Ida Rose was slumped against the kitchen table, her head on her folded arms and a blanket around her shoulders. Behind her, the cracked cook stove simmered with the last of its heat.
Stepping quietly, he eased down on his haunches next to the chair and studied her sleeping face. Her brow was furrowed, her lips twitching as if she was about to say something. Whatever dream she was having, it was not a good one.
Tom brushed tendrils of hair from her face, making sure to go slowly so as not to wake her. He could have watched her forever. The kiss that he had left her with had made his blood burn all night long, giving him the warmth and strength he needed to get through the hunt. Now that he was back, all he wanted to do was just watch the sleeping beauty in front of him.
She stirred, lifting her face and sleepily blinking at him. “Tom?”
“Mm-hmm. Looks like you fell asleep in the kitchen,” he chuckled.
“You are back.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Safe.”
“Of course, I’m back safe. Didn’t I tell you I would do just that?” He ran his knuckles down the side of her face, nearly losing himself in the softness of her skin.
“Did you get them?”
He felt the grin fall from his lips. “No. But we will. We’re going out again later today.”
Her thick eyebrows twitched with unhappiness. “Where are they?”
“We don’t know,” he sighed. “Maybe they moved on, but maybe not. It’s better to keep looking for them, just in case. What are you doing out here at the table?”
“What do you…” She looked around herself, her eyes going wide as she jumped up. “Oh, no! What time is it?”
“Dunno. Past dawn.”
“I fell asleep in the kitchen! I cannot believe it! Oh, I have to get breakfast going.”
She spun away from the table, her skirts flying as she grabbed cookware from the shelves.
Tom reached an arm out to her. “Ida Rose, hold up just for one second.”
“I have to get breakfast going,” she hurriedly answered, measuring flour into a bowl. “Oh, where are Gemma and Clara? Someone needs to go and fetch the eggs.”
“I imagine they’re sleeping, just like you were.”
“The hands are going to need breakfast,” she muttered. “And, goodness, I let the fire die.”
Dropping to her knees, she poked at the last bit of wood in the cook stove.
“The hands are likely all asleep,” Tom pointed out. “Those that didn’t join the posse stayed up all night, guarding the ranch. So, just hold on. I need to talk to you.”
“Oh.” She gazed with disorientation into the cook stove before putting a new log in and closing the door. “At least that will give the stove time to heat up.”
“And time for us to talk.”
Ida Rose stood, her eyes flicking between the two of his. “What is the matter?”
“Mr. Garrison has agreed to host all the women and children at the hotel until things calm down again. I want you to take Mother and go stay there.”
He took in a fresh breath, ready to argue against whatever her rebuttal would be. But she only nodded.
“You’ll go?” he asked, making sure he’d seen right.
“Yes, but… What about you?”
“Someone needs to take care of the farm.”
“No-”
“I will have Eddie there with me,” he interrupted.
Ida Rose placed a hand on her hip and pursed her lips, looking at him as if he were daft. “Eddie?”
At maybe a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, Eddie was still more child than man.
“He can run fast,” Tom chuckled.
Ida Rose’s face stayed cold.
“Listen.” He stepped closer, placing his hands on her shoulders. “The animals can’t all come into town.”
“Can you not bring them here? Surely, Winding Path has room.”
“All of them?” he quietly asked.
Her shoulders sagged. They both knew that moving all the horses, chickens, and pigs would be an impossible task.
Tom hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. “I need to take care of the farm so you have something to return to.”
Her smile was a forced one, but at least it was there. “I understand,” she whispered. “Only, please… be careful.”
“I might not have to be. Today could be the day we catch them. This might be over before you so much as lay your head on a hotel pillow.”
Her sigh rattled his heart. “I hope so.”
Tom smiled down at her and, finally, some real joy
danced across her face. They stayed where they were, simply enjoying looking at one another. Tom’s lips tingled with the desire to taste her mouth again…
“Good Lord, I’m hungry!”
The front door banged shut behind the voice and Ida Rose winced. Tom quickly dropped his hands and stepped away from her. Within the span of a few breaths, the flood gates opened. Ranch hand after ranch hand pushed their way into the kitchen. Gemma and Clara rushed in as well, exclaiming over how they couldn’t believe they’d slept past dawn. Chairs scraped. Coffee brewed. Skirts swirled and boots stomped.
Tom stepped back from it all, watching Ida Rose with a sweet burning in his chest.
15
15. Ida Rose
Chapter Fifteen
Ida Rose twisted her fist in her apron and stared Tom down. “Let me go with you.”
“Why, Ida Rose? So I can just put you in danger as well?”
He ground his teeth and gazed evenly back at her. They had been standing on Gemma’s porch arguing for the good part of five minutes while everyone else finished up breakfast inside.
“You will be putting yourself in less danger if you allow me to come with,” she pointed out. “As we will be able to pack much faster. As a woman, I know what Elizabeth needs. You do not.”
Tom’s nose scrunched up, but he didn’t retaliate—only continued to look aggravated.
Ida Rose continued. “So, with me packing while you do the morning chores, we will be away from the farm and in town quicker than if it was just you doing it all. Therefore, this will be safer for you.”
He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “You’re just as stubborn as my mother.”
“Is that a compliment?”
He turned away in an attempt to hide his smile. “Let’s go now, so we can be quick.”
She had already begun walking, moving in a steadfast manner for the stables. As Tom began to saddle up Chestnut, she stepped forward to put Acorn’s own saddle on. He looked at her in surprise.
“There were no boys in my family,” she explained. “You thought my father did everything himself?”
He stilled for a second, looking into her eyes. “I know you’ll take good care of Mother.”
Emotion filled Ida Rose’s chest. She had thought she’d moved on from the quarrel that resulted from Elizabeth’s wandering into the fields, but hearing Tom tell her he trusted her with the older woman’s safety meant something tremendous. With a thick throat, she nodded. “You do not have to worry.”
Before he could offer her his hand, she hauled herself onto Acorn’s back and guided the horse from the stable.
Without the burden of the wagon, they made good time getting to the farm, arriving to Red’s eager licks. Ida Rose patted the shaggy dog on the head. “Good boy,” she cooed.
Part of her wished the dog could stay at the hotel, but it was good to know he would be at the farm to look after Tom.
As Tom hurried to feed the animals, she let herself into the house and packed up as fast as she could, filling a carpetbag with everything she and Elizabeth would need. On her way back to the horses, Tom passed her in the yard.
“I just need to get one thing,” he explained, heading toward the house.
“What is it? I will fetch it.”
“No!” he shouted, making her pause mid-step.
A blush washed over his cheeks. “I, uh, it’s all right… You just go and wait on the horse.”
“Oh… All right.” She demurely made her way back to Acorn, wondering why Tom had been so adamant that he be the one to run back into the house. Had he seen or heard something while feeding the animals?
Panic filled her chest and she squeezed Acorn’s reins. She would not know what to do if bandits suddenly appeared on the farm. Fleeing for help seemed like the best option, but she also could not, in good conscience, leave Tom behind.
Thankfully, he was soon back, and they both headed into town.
“What were you fetching?” she asked after a quiet period of riding. She had just remembered that he’d held nothing in his hands upon coming out of the house.
“I, uh… was looking for my pocketknife. I thought you might need it while in town. I couldn’t find it, though.”
He stared straight ahead as he talked, never once looking at her. Ida Rose stared at him, silently willing him to look her way, but he would not.
He was lying. She knew it with absolute certainty. But what for?
Feeling heavy, she shut her mouth and looked ahead at the road as well. If Tom was not being honest, what could she do about it? She had already asked him once to tell her the truth and he had lied straight to her face. Though she knew that her pride was often her downfall, she would not even think to ask him the same question twice.
Shallow Springs bustled with activity, the current situation having brought out nearly every woman and child within a ten-mile radius. Tethering Acorn to one of the last spots on a hitching post, Ida Rose rushed down the street and found Gemma and Elizabeth in front of the hotel.
“I fetched everything you needed,” she explained to Elizabeth, gesturing to the carpetbag.
“Good, dear. I do hope...” She did not finish her sentence. Instead, a dazed look came across her face and she shuffled off into the hotel.
“I will go help her settle in.” Gemma squeezed Ida Rose’s arm. “Mrs. Garrison set us up in a room on the second floor. We will be sharing with Mrs. Hodges and her little boy. Cramped, but we will make the best of it.”
“Thank you,” she gratefully sighed, handing the carpetbag off to Gemma. Left alone, she stood to the side of the hotel doorway, nibbling on her lip. She needed to find Tom, to say goodbye to him before he returned to the farm, but her stubborn streak was refusing to allow her to budge.
He had lied to her. She knew it with absolute certainty, as he had not looked at her while speaking. But what was there to lie about? Did he think he was protecting her by withholding information? If that was the case, he should have known by then that she was not going to back from his side due to fear.
“Can I assist you, miss?”
“Hm?” Ida Rose stared at the man looking at her. She had been so lost in her own thoughts, she almost did not understand what he had asked her.
“You look dazed,” he explained in a gentle tone.
“Oh. I...” Ida Rose pressed her fingertips against the space between her brows and shook her head. “Please excuse me. It is a frenzy around here, and I momentarily lost all bearings.”
“Do you need to sit down?” he asked in concern.
Ida Rose made herself smile. “No, thank you. I am just fine now.”
“Good to hear. This is quite a stressful time, though. You must be sure to take good care of yourself.”
As he spoke, her fake smile turned into a genuine one. The man was really very nice. He had taken the time to stop and make sure she was all right, which, amid people milling in and out of the hotel, truly meant something. Having been shaken from her reverie, Ida Rose took the moment to take in the man’s face. He was tall, with a short beard and dark hair curling out from under his hat. She did not remember ever seeing him before.
“Do you have a homestead near here, sir?”
“No, I do not. I live right in town. Over there.” He pointed across the street, to a small building several doors down from the sheriff’s office. “I only arrived just yesterday. I’ll be opening the new grain store soon.”
“A grain store?” Ida Rose dumbly repeated. There were plenty of grain stores in New York, but she—obviously erroneously—had simply assumed everyone in Wyoming grew their own grain.
The man looked as if he were about to say something, but a familiar voice calling her name had Ida Rose turning around. Tom climbed the steps to the hotel, a determined look on his face.
“I should be going.” The man tipped his hat to Ida Rose. “Have a nice afternoon.”
“The same to you, sir.”
He slipped into the hotel just as
Tom touched her hand. “Where did you get to?”
“I was searching for Elizabeth,” she bristled.
She expected him to snap back at her, but his shoulders only sagged. He looked so defeated. Ida Rose realized for the first time how dreadful this whole experience probably was for him. He did not get to go and hide in a hotel. As a man, it was his duty to join the posse, to ride out and hunt down the outlaws.
Her Winding Path_Seeing Ranch series Page 10
