Coming From California (The Pioneer Brides 0f Rattlesnake Ridge Book 2)

by Catherine Bilson

  “Just assisting the sheriff in making an arrest.” Luke took an inordinate amount of pleasure in saying the words. “Seems your assayer’s been a bad boy, Garrett, and your nephew had second thoughts about giving him an alibi.”

  Garrett swallowed, looking decidedly queasy. Luke grinned, savoring the expression on the bank owner’s face. He deserved it after everything Garrett had put Luke through.

  “Anything you’d like to share with us, Garrett?” McCullough said as he pushed Blake toward the bank’s doors. “Before I start questioning Mr. Blake here?”

  “Nothing at all,” Garrett said hurriedly. “I’m shocked. Truly shocked.”

  “About what?” Luke asked, wondering if the banker was stunned enough to blurt out something incriminating. He’d deliberately not stated Blake’s crimes in his earlier taunting explanation.

  “Why, that you could possibly suspect Joseph of being involved in anything criminal! What did you say you were arresting him for, Sheriff?” Garrett puffed himself up, obviously trying to look righteous.

  Too crafty by half, Luke thought, sharing a glance with McCullough.

  “I didn’t,” was all McCullough said, heading for the door. “Good day, Mr. Garrett.”

  Luke followed without a backward glance, hoping to sit in on Blake’s interrogation. He wanted confirmation of the man’s guilt, and if he was lucky, another person for McCullough to arrest.

  Unfortunately, once Blake was safely locked in a cell, the sheriff turned. “Go on and get some rest and leave me to do my job.”

  Luke wanted to protest. He’d handed McCullough the case. He deserved to see it through. “But,” he began, marshalling his arguments, but the sheriff held up a hand to stop him.

  “I know you want to help,” McCullough said as if reading Luke’s mind. “That’s the kind of man you are. But you’ve got a conflict of interest in this case. Not only that, I can see you’re just about falling asleep on your feet.” He scratched his chin. “There is something you could do for me.”

  “Name it.”

  “You going to visit with that girl of yours soon?”

  “I’m seeing Mr. Moss this afternoon, then Daisy later.”

  “Good. You can tell her Blake’s safely under lock and key, and Watson…” He let out a bark of laughter. “Well, I’ll let you explain what that young idiot was doing. I’ll still have Lassiter patrol tonight, just in case Blake wasn’t working alone, but I think we have our man.”

  Luke was pretty sure too, but it was possible Garrett was in this thing up to his neck. He certainly had money to splash around. He might have paid someone to silence Daisy; there were always men who’d do anything with enough incentive.

  “I’ll go out with him again. Thank you for letting me sit in when you spoke to Watson and come along to arrest Blake,” Luke said, reaching up to take the star off his coat. “I surely appreciate it.”

  “Hang on to that for now. If you’re going out with Lassiter tonight, it’s best if you have it. Put it in your pocket if you don’t want to answer too many questions, but think about wearing it permanently, eh? The job comes with a house in town,” McCullough said persuasively. “Make it easy for you and Miss Daisy to get hitched sooner rather than later.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Luke repeated his earlier evasion. The truth was he wanted to consult with Daisy. After he’d had some sleep. It had been a very long week.

  * * *

  When Luke arrived back at Daisy’s late that afternoon, Jack by his side, they were greeted by the sounds of laughter. Looking in the open door, they discovered Isabelle and Daisy both up to their elbows in a single large mixing bowl. Ishmael sat at the table decorating unbaked cookie circles with bits of dried fruit and nuts. Barb stood at the stove stirring something which smelled savory and mouth-wateringly delicious.

  “There you are,” Daisy said happily when she spied them. “Come on in.”

  She had flour on her cheek. A strand of her dark hair had escaped its pins to lie temptingly along the side of her neck. With sleeves rolled up and a smile on her lips, she was the most dazzling sight. Luke stood dumbstruck—just staring at her—until Jack nudged him out of the way with a laugh.

  “Wow, Barb, that smells amazing,” Jack said, heading for the stove with his nose elevated to take in the scent.

  “Miss Daisy’s been kind enough to let me borrow her stove to practice my cooking,” Barb said. “It’s been a long time since I had to do more than make tea for myself; I was afraid I’d forgotten how. It’s only stew and cornbread, but there’s enough for all of us, We hoped you’d like to stay for dinner?”

  “Would we ever!” Jack leaned in closer to peer into the pot.

  She put a hand on his chest to push him back. “Go wash up; you’re dusty from the road.”

  “You too, Luke,” Daisy said. “Then you can help Ishmael frost the cookies cooling on the rack over there by the window.”

  Shaking off his temporary paralysis, Luke said, “Yes, ma’am,” automatically and headed back out into the yard with Jack to wash up at the pump.

  Chapter 19

  Daisy didn’t plan to stand staring at Luke, but the men had left the back door open, She had a clear line of sight to where they stood at the pump. Jack just washed his hands, but Luke stripped his coat and shirt off, handing them to his friend to hold as he leaned over to put his entire head under the water. He rubbed his hands over his face before laughing and straightening up with a shake of his head. Water drops flew and shimmered in the afternoon sunshine. Daisy stilled, gazing at the man she’d agreed to marry just yesterday.

  And what a man!

  While Luke wasn’t as tall as Jack, who towered over every other man in town, he was still a full head taller than Daisy. Broad-shouldered and strong. With his shirt removed, she could see his strong, thickly defined muscles with not an ounce of spare flesh on his solid frame. Dark hair curled in a thick mat on his chest, arrowing down to his belt.

  “How many eggs did you say, Miss Daisy?” Isabelle asked from behind her.

  Daisy startled out of her reverie, whirling around. Barb was laughing silently at her she saw as she made her way back to the table with her cheeks burning at having been caught.

  It’s a good thing the children have no way to know what their schoolteacher is thinking! Daisy thought with a mental note to spend an extra few minutes over her prayers that night asking the Lord’s forgiveness. She wasn’t married yet and had no business admiring Luke’s bare chest!

  “Two eggs, Isabelle,” she said, shaking off her inattention and the desire to take just one more peek outside. “Here, break them in this cup first, just in case any shell escapes!”

  * * *

  Upon returning to the kitchen, Luke couldn’t resist pausing beside Daisy to wipe the streak of flour from her cheek. She looked up at him in surprise, her dark eyes softening as she met his gaze.

  “You’ve stopped mixing, Miss Daisy!” Isabelle protested loudly, prompting a laugh from Barb and a blush from Daisy.

  “Leave her be, Luke, or she might just put salt in those cookies instead of sugar,” Barb warned.

  “Well, that would be a tragedy. Can’t have that.” Sternly suppressing his desire to wrap his arms around Daisy and hug her close, Luke rolled up his shirtsleeves and awaited instructions.

  “How did your meeting with Mr. Moss go?” Daisy asked as she set him to transferring the rounds of cookie dough Isabelle was cutting out onto a baking sheet.

  “Very well. He’s keen to come for a ride with us next week, take a look at the site. He was very excited about the assay report.” Luke grinned at the memory of the normally quiet and reserved mining engineer almost dancing a jig with excitement.

  “That’s wonderful,” Daisy told him sincerely.

  He wondered how to get her alone to explain about Blake and Watson. “Care to come for a walk with me for a few minutes?” he suggested. “I’m sure Barb won’t burn your kitchen down in the meantime.”

&nb
sp; “Just for that, Luke Rockford, I’m gonna burn this stew to the bottom of the pan and serve you up all the black scrapings,” Barb warned, making Daisy laugh.

  “You two are worse than brother and sister. Ishmael and Isabelle don’t fight like the pair of you!”

  “Give ‘em time,” Luke said, grinning. “Barb and I have had a few decades to perfect our sniping.”

  Removing her apron, Daisy shook her head at him. “You’re terrible.” There was no heat to her words. She obviously recognized both that Barb gave as good as she got and that he and Barb were genuinely fond of each other.

  A delicate hand slipped into the crook of his arm, and Daisy met his eyes with a smile. “Shall we go? I’ve been inside all day; a little fresh air would be welcome.”

  Outside, he turned to walk up toward the crossroads, but Daisy tugged lightly on his arm. “Let’s go the other way. Seems like you have something to talk to me about, and if we go up to Main Street, we’ll be stopped every five minutes by folks wanting to chat.”

  “You’re as wise as you are beautiful,” Luke commented, delighting in the way Daisy giggled and blushed at his compliment. “And you’re right, of course, I do need to talk to you, and it’s a conversation that’s probably best not overheard.”

  “About your meeting with Mr. Moss?” Daisy guessed.

  Luke shook his head. “No, it’s about the other thing. Things. I went by the sheriff’s office after I left you this morning, brought him the letter and told him what you said about Mr. Blake coming in on the stage from Reno the day you arrived. Turned out Blake supposedly had an alibi… from one Deputy Grant Watson.”

  Daisy’s dark eyes opened wide. She stopped walking for a moment, until Luke squeezed her fingers and encouraged her to move on again.

  “Funny thing, though,” Luke said cynically, “when McCullough questioned Watson about a contradictory report, he changed his story. Said he mistook the day.”

  “Well,” Daisy said, outraged. “That’s just unbelievable!”

  “Blake put him up to it, for sure. McCullough and I both think Watson didn’t have any clue what Blake was up to. He was genuinely shocked when he heard the assayer from Reno was dead.” A flush of pleasure slithered through him as he remembered what had happened next. “McCullough took advantage of his shock to demand to look at his boots.”

  “His boots?” Daisy frowned. “So Watson was my prowler? The one who tried to break in?”

  “You’re half right. Watson admitted he’d been looking in your window, but he wasn’t the one who tried to get in. McCullough and me are pretty sure that was Blake. He must’ve figured out you were a witness who could put him in Reno on the night the assayer died.” He didn’t elaborate on what Blake would do. He didn’t want to scare Daisy like that.

  He could tell she figured it out anyway. Her eyes grew wide, and the blood drained from her face. “Oh, sweet Heaven.”

  Luke desperately wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but there were too many people around. He pressed his fingers down on hers instead, concerned about how cold they were. “Blake’s safely in custody, under arrest for murder, and Watson… Well, he’s embarrassed as all get out. He asked to convey his apologies for invading your privacy.”

  “Well, his apologies are not accepted! How dare he!” Daisy was righteously angry.

  Strangely, seeing her angry on her own behalf made Luke feel better that he hadn’t been able to thrash Watson like he’d wanted to. “I don’t think the sheriff’s the sort of man to scream and shout, but I was there, and Watson looked like a crushed bug when McCullough was done with him. He was basically relieved of duty and sent home.”

  “He lost his job?” Daisy looked like she wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved for herself or sorry for Watson.

  “Not yet, no. McCullough didn’t ask for his badge, anyway. But I’d guess Watson will be on probation for a while.”

  “Hm.” Daisy sighed, and then she squeezed his arm lightly. “I do feel much better, knowing the truth. Thank you for letting me know.”

  “Oh, if I hadn’t, I don’t have any doubt the sheriff would have paid you a visit himself. He’s still going to have Deputy Lassiter patrol by your place the next few nights, just until he’s sure Blake didn’t have an accomplice.”

  “And you’ll be out there too?” Her voice was knowing.

  Luke fingered the deputy’s badge in his pocket. “I will… and McCullough made it official-like.” Pulling out the silver star, he showed it to Daisy.

  She stared at it before meeting his gaze, her eyes wide. “He made you a deputy?”

  “It’s temporary. Possibly. He did say that, with the town expanding so quickly, he’s got plenty of work for another deputy.” He hesitated. One heartbeat. Two. Then asked, “What do you think?”

  * * *

  Daisy was only surprised for a moment that Luke would consult her before making such a decision. He wasn’t the type of man to make life-changing decisions without talking to his wife—or future wife—first. It was just one of the many things she adored about him.

  “What do you think?” she asked turning the question back on him. “You were a deputy once before, weren’t you? Before the war?”

  “I was. I was pretty good at it, too, and I know I’d enjoy the work.” His hands fingered the points of the silver star. “It pays better now than it used to, and there’s even a house that goes along with the job. We could get married and have a home to move into right away, instead of waiting to build a house.”

  “We could,” Daisy agreed, “but is it what you really want?”

  He slipped the star back into his coat. “To be married to you right away? Surely is.” He grinned down at her, blue eyes flashing with mirth.

  “Behave.” She pinched his arm lightly. “I meant being a deputy. You seemed so excited about going into partnership with your stepfather on the Shooting Star and building a house for us. And then there’s everything with your claim.”

  Luke pondered her question as they walked, lips pursed. His hand kept stealing into the pocket where the badge was hidden. Daisy waited patiently for him to work through it, wondering what he’d decide, but the truth was she really didn’t think she’d mind either way. Being married to Luke was her dream, and whether he was a deputy, a rancher, or a miner wouldn’t change that.

  He was still quiet when they reached a point where the road crested a small rise, falling away before them into a less-used track down toward the lake. Luke gestured to the side at a large, flat rock.

  Sitting down to talk for a spell would be pleasant, she thought. They were still in public where someone might walk past at any time, so it wouldn’t be improper. She stepped off the main path, indicating her agreement. Luke took his coat off, spreading it on the rock for her to sit down on.

  He’s so thoughtful, Daisy thought happily. Not the rough cowboy I assumed he was when we first met. She took a seat. He sat down beside her, arm going around her waist to hold her close. Without hesitation, she rested her head against his shoulder and sighed with contentment.

  “If you’re factoring me into your decision,” she said after a couple of minutes of companionable silence, “you should bear in mind I’d be just as happy married to Deputy Rockford as to Rancher Rockford.”

  “Really?” His voice conveyed his uncertainty.

  “As long as you’re my husband, Luke, I’ll be more than content.”

  “If we were alone right now, I’d be kissing you silly,” Luke said, making her giggle.

  “Then it’s a good thing we’re not alone! As for a house for us to live in, that shouldn’t be a consideration. I know you’ll build a wonderful home for us, and until it’s done, there’s no reason why we can’t live at the boarding house.” Daisy blushed pink. “Once we’re married, of course!”

  Luke chuckled. “I’ll have to spend most nights at the ranch while I’m building our place and learning the business from Mr. S, but yes… I could spend weekends in town, I s�
�pose.”

  “Taking the deputy job would be the easy path,” Daisy told him gently when he fell silent again. “Is that what you want?”

  “It was my dream once, and I guess that’s a little hard to get past,” Luke admitted. “But I got different dreams now—dreams of a house on a hill overlooking land of my own and a beloved wife waiting for me at the door.”

  “Then I’m willing to wait on that dream with you, Luke,” Daisy said promptly.

  He turned his head to brush a kiss against her hair, then lifted his free arm to point. “See that hill there? That’s where I’m gonna build our house.”

  “It looks beautiful!” Daisy was impressed; she’d never lived any place where she could see the water from her front window. Or smell the fresh mountain air.

  “Nothing’s too good for you, darling girl. I’m thinking of some of the magnificent houses I saw out East. The Shooting Star’s a wealthy ranch; it should have a proper ranch house to go with it.”

  “I heard some of those mansions have twenty rooms or more.” Daisy shook her head. “Such extravagance!”

  “What, you wouldn’t like that many rooms?” Luke teased. “We’ll need a fair few, for all those children we’re gonna have—ouch!” He rubbed his side where she’d pinched him.

  “Behave,” Daisy said, but as usual when Luke teased her, she couldn’t help but laugh. Rising to her feet, she gestured toward town. “Come on, we’d best get back. Barb will be pulling that cornbread out of the oven any time now.”

  * * *

  The little group talked and laughed well into the evening, eating a delicious meal Jack took particular care to praise. They followed it up with so many cookies Ishmael expressed dismay that there might not be any left for the picnic the following day.

  “You can’t have any more anyway,” Jack said with a growl, attacking his future stepson with tickles until Ishmael collapsed laughing on the rag rug in front of the stove. Grinning, Jack rose with the still-giggling boy slung over his shoulder. “We should be getting this pair home to bed, Barb. Yes, I know there’s no school tomorrow,” he answered the children’s groans of protests, “but you’re still gettin’ up early. That is assuming you want to spend as much time as possible at the lake?”