by Carol Finch
Nate noticed the familiar flicker of pain cross Doc’s face. He wondered what it would take to exorcise those demons that followed Doc like his own shadow.
“This calls for a celebration—”
“No, it doesn’t. Not here and not now.” Before Doc could take a drink of his Swamp Root Liver Tonic, Rachel snatched the bottle from his hand. “We have a long ride ahead of us. We will celebrate tonight and not a minute before.”
Doc’s head snapped up and he flashed a challenging stare. “Who is running this show, young lady?”
She tilted her chin to a defiant angle. “For now, I am.”
Nate swallowed a grin when Rachel dared any man present to dispute her. It wasn’t going to be him, that was for sure. He was glad to be on speaking terms with her again. With any luck, he could poke and prod until she told him why she had been upset with him today.
The future groom had a right to know such things…didn’t he?
Chapter Eleven
Rachel made certain she wasn’t alone with Nate the rest of the day. She refused to answer his questions. Instead, she spent her time mapping out her unannounced departure for this evening. She didn’t want the men to suspect her intentions so she discreetly removed her satchels from the wagon and stashed them near the place where Nate had tethered the horses.
“You put together a fine supper this evening,” Doc praised as he added another helping of stew to his plate. “We used to—”
He fell silent, then reached for a bottle of Skunk Cabbage Worm Destroyer Tonic. Rachel held her breath, hoping it wasn’t one of the bottles she had replaced with water. She didn’t want to be on hand when he discovered what she’d done—for his own good, of course. But try telling him that, she mused as she watched him tip the bottle to his lips. She breathed a sigh of relief when he drank without commenting.
After the meal, the men washed and put away the utensils. Things were working out perfectly for her evening departure.
“I’m going down to the creek to bathe,” she announced, sticking to her planned nightly routine.
“Pay attention to your surroundings,” Nate cautioned. “Do you have your pistol with you?”
She patted the pocket of her boyish breeches.
“If you want me to stand guard—”
“I’ll be fine, thank you,” she interrupted Nate.
While the men were occupied, Rachel sidestepped down the steep embankment that overlooked a creek choked with trees, bushes and tangled vines. Even from the cliff where Doc had decided to make camp, it would be difficult to tell exactly where she was—and that was good.
Hurriedly Rachel stripped from her clothes and waded into the water. She glanced around cautiously. The very last thing she wanted was to encounter Adolph’s henchman. They would be upon her before she could alert Nate.
So far so good, she thought to herself as she sank into the water. She sighed appreciatively when the cool, invigorating water swirled around her. All the while, she scanned the area for unwanted guests—both the two-legged and four-legged varieties. Fortunately, all she saw was a few frogs, turtles and one snake that slithered into its hole on the muddy creek bank.
Rachel bided her time until dark, then walked ashore.
“Rachel? Is everything all right down there?” Nate called from atop the stony cliff.
“The water feels so refreshing that I plan to stay a little longer,” she called back, thankful she hadn’t sneaked away before he checked on her.
She didn’t need the U.S. marshal hot on her trail. She didn’t want Nate to realize she was gone until she had a decent head start. He had confided earlier that day that tracking down fugitives was one of his favorite parts of his job. She predicted he was exceptionally good at it, too.
Grabbing her clothing, she returned to the shallow water, then walked upstream so Nate couldn’t detect her tracks easily. When she was a good distance away from her bathing site, she came ashore to dress. She had taken the precaution of studying the lay of the land before dark so she wouldn’t get off course in the dense trees and bushes that clogged the valley. She knew the horses were tethered on the northern bend of the creek and she located them easily.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she saddled Ludy’s horse. She reached for the bridle, then felt a pang of regret coiling inside her. She was going to miss Nate. It still amazed her that she’d fallen head over heels so quickly for that big, handsome rascal. She would never see him again, never enjoy the pleasure of his touch and the passion they ignited…
“Forget him,” she muttered at herself. “This is no time to become sentimental. You can be sentimental all you want while you’re traipsing around the mountains with Singing Bird. She will understand what you’re feeling.”
Nate strode away from the edge of the rocky cliff to gather up the blanket and basket supper. Ludy was propped against a tree on the south side of the campfire, playing a forlorn tune on his harmonica.
“I figured you’d head for Evening Shade,” Nate commented as he strode past.
Ludy stopped playing and glanced up at Nate. “Can’t tonight.”
“Why not?”
“Have to make sure you keep a respectable distance from the bride-to-be.” He stared directly at Nate, then grinned, displaying his dimples. “I’m the self-appointed chaperone.”
“Good of you to make the noble sacrifice,” Nate remarked, then glanced this way and that. “Where’s Doc?”
Ludy hitched his thumb toward the back of the wagon. “He’s drowning in his cups, I suspect. He’s come up with all sorts of excuses to celebrate and to mourn—and whatever else he chooses to call these bouts. I’ve tried not to hang around camp for too many of them since I joined the medicine show. Besides, Rachel handles Doc better than I do.”
Ludy flicked his wrist to shoo Nate on his way. “If I were you, I’d be spending my time contemplating how my life will change after the wedding. I’m sure it’s going to be an adjustment for you. Would be for me.”
When Ludy took up on the harmonica again, Nate ambled back to the edge of the cliff. He didn’t like that Rachel was still lounging at the creek after dark. Then he reminded himself that Rachel didn’t appreciate a man hovering over her as if she were helpless. Still, his future wife had needed him the previous night when the drifters jumped her so he felt justified. Besides, he was a lawman and he was in the business of protecting people.
Future wife…His thoughts circled back to the shotgun-wedding plans that Doc and Ludy insisted on. Of course, he wasn’t the one who protested hotly, he reminded himself—and felt a mite offended. It was Rachel who didn’t want to marry him. She obviously had thought far enough ahead to foresee problems. Such as, where would they live? Did she plan to continue traveling with Doc? And when would he work up the nerve to tell her that he was a U.S. marshal when she had a strong dislike for lawmen already?
He decided he’d tell her after her name was on the dotted line of their marriage license.
“Rachel? Is everything still going okay down there?” He pricked his ears and waited but she didn’t respond. “Rachel?”
Nothing, not even a peep.
“Well, hell!”
Instant alarm pulsated through him as he sidestepped down the steep slope. He grabbed hold of one cotton wood sapling and then another to keep his balance as he hurried downhill. He headed for the place where she had gone to bathe, but in the darkness he wasn’t sure he’d found the right spot.
“Rachel?” Frantic, Nate lurched around, but he wasn’t sure which direction to run first.
He held position—difficult though it was to stand and do nothing. Over the sound of chirping crickets and croaking frogs, he thought he heard the thud of horse hooves on the opposite side of the creek.
He surged through the water, holding his pistol over his head as he sank chest-deep in the stream. The thrashing of underbrush indicated a horse was about twenty yards ahead of him, moving at a steady pace. Nate came ashore, shoved his pistol in its hols
ter and took off, running parallel to the horse and rider.
The instant he spotted a break in the tree line he shot sideways and launched himself at the horse and rider.
The startled horse bolted, then reared up when Nate slammed into it broadside. Snarling, Nate grabbed the rider, jerked him off the horse and shoved him to the ground.
“Where is she—?” His voice dried up when he realized he’d yanked his bride-to-be off the horse and held her to the ground. The very same bride-to-be who was supposed to be bathing at the creek and had agreed to a wedding before she had swiped Ludy’s horse. “You sneaky little hellion!” he snapped furiously. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“I c-can’t b-breathe,” she panted while he was sprawled atop her, pressing her to the ground.
“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “I’m planning on strangling you for this devious prank, anyway.”
Nate wasn’t sure why he was so angry. Maybe it was because her attempt to leave before the wedding was a direct insult. Maybe it was because he had treated her roughly when he jerked her off the horse and he was feeling guilty about it. Or perhaps it was the fear for her safety that had caught up with him. Probably a combination of all three, he decided as he stared into her shadowed face.
“So that’s why you were so agreeable to the shotgun wedding Ludy and Doc planned for us,” he growled at her. “You were planning on hightailing it out of here without a word, weren’t you? It was one big, premeditated setup!”
“You can stop yelling now,” she muttered, squirming beneath him. “I can hear you just fine, thanks.”
He didn’t lower his voice. Couldn’t. He was still fuming. “And what was I supposed to do when I discovered you were gone?”
“Thank me for resolving your problem,” she said helpfully. “I braided a note of explanation into the mane on one of the horses to let you know I’d left.”
“Where were you going?” he demanded sharply.
“Away.”
“Away covers a lot of territory, angel face. Be more specific.”
“You are not my husband and I do not have to answer to you,” she responded as she tried to shove him off.
He didn’t budge.
“Where…were…you…going?” he growled slowly and succinctly.
“None…of…your…business,” she mocked defiantly.
“Damn it, Rachel. When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I am not the enemy?”
“Yes, you are. I can’t trust you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are withholding the fact that you are a U.S. marshal,” she spat at him. “When did you plan to tell me? After our one-year anniversary?”
Nate blew out his breath as he shifted to sit down beside her. “When did you find that out?”
She sat up, then brushed the grass and leaves off her shirt. “This morning. Phillip Dexter came by to deliver a message to the U.S. marshal about seeing—”
She clamped her mouth shut, then looked the other way. He studied her warily, wishing he could see her facial expression, but it was too dark. “That he’d seen what?” he prodded.
Her shoulders slumped as she expelled an agitated breath. “To tell you that some of the local businessmen had spotted the three men who attacked you. They were in town yesterday afternoon.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” His voice rose with each muttered word.
“No.” She climbed to her feet to grab the horse’s reins before it wandered off to graze.
“Why? Because you were aggravated when you found out my present occupation? Damn it, Rachel, I ought to toss you in jail for withholding information.”
“You don’t know the half of it, Mr. U.S. Marshal.” She scowled.
The comment provoked his wary frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
To his surprise, she wheeled around and stamped in front of him. “It means that I saw those three men in town and I didn’t tell you.”
“What?” he hooted incredulously as he bolted to his feet.
“That’s right. I saw them and I was concerned about your possible confrontation with them, so I mixed a potion, poured it over your food to put you in the mood so I could seduce you. I let you sleep the afternoon away and prayed those brutal bullies would leave town before you woke up.” She gushed like Old Faithful.
There, she had it off her conscience and it was out in the open at last. She hadn’t told him the whole truth, but enough of it for him to realize that he shouldn’t want to marry her because she had deceived him and seduced him for her own selfish purposes. Now he would hate her, but at least he wouldn’t feel obliged to marry her. Obligation was the very last thing she wanted from Nate.
“Let me get this straight,” he growled as he loomed over her like a thundercloud. “You gave me a potion—”
“A love potion, which explains your willingness—”
“Of course,” he cut in, then smirked caustically. “What other explanation could there be for a man to get mixed up with a sneaky, deceptive, fiery female like you!” he roared.
“Hey, Nate! Is everything okay down there?” Ludy called from atop the bluff.
“Just peachy!” Nate yelled back. “Rachel and I are making wedding plans!”
“That better be all,” Ludy said warningly. “I told you that I’m here to keep my eye on you.”
Rachel frowned, bemused. “What’s he talking about?”
“Ludy has become our self-appointed chaperone. No intimacy until the honeymoon.”
“Oh.” Considering the way Nate was glowering at her she doubted he’d feel amorous toward her ever again.
The love potion had definitely worn off.
“Don’t try to change the subject,” he muttered. “We were discussing the love potion you gave me.”
She bobbed her head. “The first night when you were injured, Doc mixed a sedative. When I tried to duplicate it, because he’d passed out and was of no use whatsoever as a physician, the concoction made you amorous toward me. Since we’d only met I knew some of the ingredients in my mixture must have acted as an aphrodisiac.”
He made a strangled sound, but she wasn’t sure what it meant. She just kept talking to get the bucket load of guilt off her chest. Well, most of it, she amended. She still couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she might be wanted for murder.
“So I used the potion again yesterday, in hopes of keeping you in the room and off the street when those goons were bouncing from the bordello and saloon to the restaurant.”
“You didn’t think I was capable of handling those three scoundrels?” he asked in offended dignity.
“You couldn’t the first time.” She smirked.
“I didn’t see them coming!” he all but yelled at her.
She winced when his voice boomed around her like a discharging cannon. “I was trying to protect you. Like you keep trying to protect me from harm.”
She had him there and she dared him to argue.
“Fine.” He flicked his wrist dismissively to concede the point. “So you were playing my guardian angel again. Then you seduced me. Quite the extreme sacrifice, sweetheart.”
She smiled brightly. “Anything to spare my fellow man from agonizing pain.”
“You’re a real saint.”
“I try to be,” she insisted—but she didn’t go on to say that she was a St. Raimes. He didn’t need to know what name she went by these days.
The teasing comment didn’t ease his bad mood. He was still glaring at her and hovering nearby, in case she tried to break and run.
“Then what was your excuse for seducing me last night? You didn’t cram your love potion down my throat then.”
“The potion obviously has a long-lasting effect,” she explained.
“Funny thing, I’m not feeling it now,” he muttered sarcastically. “In fact, I’m feeling anything but!”
She was tired of being on the defensive. “You haven’t told me why you ref
used to confide that you are presently a federal law officer.”
“I told you that I was discreetly investigating an investment as a favor for Edgar Havern and his father-in-law. It would be difficult to do if I rode into town wearing a badge. Besides, one of my deputies is handling my usual duties until the first of next month. So technically, I am on a leave of absence.”
He took the horse’s reins from her hand, then clutched her elbow. “We’ll return the horse and pretend none of this happened. Ludy and Doc don’t need to know you tried to run away on a stolen horse.”
She grimaced at his accusing tone. She wasn’t about to tell him it wasn’t her first offense. He was too annoyed with her already.
“Tomorrow we’ll have the wedding as planned,” he decreed.
She stopped short but he uprooted her from the spot and shepherded her along beside him. “No.”
“Yes.”
“I told you it was all my fault,” she protested. “You are not responsible. You are not obligated to marry me.”
“Don’t argue with me, Rachel,” he said, and scowled. “I am not in the mood. First you left without notice and I was half out of my mind, thinking you had been kidnapped.”
“I told you that I left you a note on the horse.”
“Nevertheless, I was alarmed that you didn’t respond when I called to you. I’ve had to rescue you from a wild boar, lusty cowboys and drunken drifters, so you can see why I might jump to the conclusion that you were in danger.”
“I could have waited out the wild boar,” she contested.
“But not those drifters who held you down,” he said harshly. “You couldn’t fight your way out of that alone.”
She had the good sense to keep her trap shut because he was still bristling with irritation. Though she didn’t know why he was. She had explained herself, gotten him off the hook and tried to do him a tremendous favor by leaving in the cover of darkness so he wouldn’t have to marry her. She knew he didn’t want a wife. He could have had the wealthy, well-connected socialite, Lenora Havern, if he’d wanted one badly enough.
Honestly, some men just didn’t appreciate it when a woman did them a stupendous favor. Marrying her might alter the course of his life. He should be thanking her, not railing at her.
