Clint drew in a breath and shouted, “Five dollars.”
The crowd quieted, and everyone watched the cowboy, wondering what he’d say next.
Clint smiled at Grace and nodded, doing his best to assure her he’d bid the highest, and that she shouldn’t worry.
The cowboy reached for his gun, and Grace screamed.
Deke’s hand was quicker than lightning as he pulled his gun and hit the cowboy on the side of his head.
The cowboy dropped like a sack of flour, and the sheriff hurried over to arrest the dazed cowboy.
“Show’s over, folks,” the sheriff said. “He’ll cool his heels in jail for a few days. You all should go back and enjoy the picnic.”
Clint paid his five dollars, picked up the picnic basket Grace had dropped, offered her his arm, and guided her to a quiet spot in the shade of a large cottonwood tree.
Deke appeared at Amalie’s side as quickly as he had left, and she smiled at him.
“I didn’t think anyone could move that fast. I barely saw you remove your gun. What all the dime novels say about you is true, isn’t it? You’re one of the best bounty hunters to ever have lived.” Amalie spoke with excitement shining in her hazel eyes.
“No, I’m not the fastest or the best. The books exaggerate. I do what I have to do, and I’ve learned to move quickly and quietly and to anticipate trouble. I figured that cowboy was trouble from his words and wanted to be closer to help defuse any situation without gunplay,” Deke explained.
“I think you saved Clint’s life,” Amalie responded. “You’re a hero.”
Deke bit back a laugh at Amalie’s praise, a bit embarrassed. He took her arm and said, “Let’s get some food and eat before they start the dance.”
~ * ~
When everyone was finished with supper, the food tables were removed, and several men lay wide planks down on the grass to make a dance floor. Amalie watched as they fit the planks together and kept them in place using wide leather straps on the ends.
“I wondered where they would dance,” she commented when Deke took her hand once the first notes of music had drifted across the field.
“They do a good job with the dance floor. People need to have fun along with all the hard ranch work. Come on—dance with me.”
Amalie moved into Deke’s arms, and they danced as if they were meant to be partners. Deke’s heart skipped a beat when he looked into her eyes. He couldn’t fall in love with this woman he was holding close to him, but each day brought him closer to realizing that he was doing just that. He didn’t know how to stop his feelings.
When the dance was over, Amalie left to look for Nate. “I’m going to ask him to dance. He won’t want to, but he should. Maybe I can convince him.”
As Amalie hurried away, the skirt of her green dress flowed around her. The tiny white flowers on the green fabric seemed to dance as she hurried off to find Nate, and Deke felt a pang of jealousy.
~ * ~
Nate refused all of Amalie’s offers to dance, and she wound up spending a delightful time dancing with her handsome husband. It was nearing time for the social to end, and Deke said that he’d find Nate and then help Amalie with the empty basket and escort her to the wagon.
When Deke was well out of earshot, Laura strolled over to Amalie with a cup of lemonade. She smiled and said, “Are you having a good time?”
“Yes, I am, thank you,” Amalie said.
Laura looked around and said, “My friends told me about apologizing to you when they saw you in the mercantile.”
“Yes, they did, and I appreciated it. I never wanted any hard feelings, and I’m happy things are settled between us,” Amalie explained.
Laura whispered, “You’d best enjoy it. I have a cousin in St. Louis, and I wrote to him and asked about you. I received an answer a few days ago. It seems that word has traveled around that you were a soiled dove and ran from some saloon. My cousin said a man named Rex Horrison put a bounty out for information about you. He wants you back, and I think I should contact him. I can always use a little money, and you deserve to get what’s coming to you for taking Deke from me.”
Amalie was stunned. She tried desperately to find the words to fight back. Finally, she drew in a deep breath and said, “I don’t care what your cousin said. I was never a soiled dove, and I never worked for Rex Horrison. Go ahead and write your letter if you need money and revenge that badly. Deke will take care of it for me.” She spun on her heels and walked away with her head held high, but she was shaking so hard, she feared she might stumble.
Rex had put out a bounty for information as to her whereabouts. Why would he do that? She needed to find Deke and quickly, but she thought better of it. If Deke did anything to help her, Rex and his men might hurt Deke or even kill him. No, the best thing to do was leave town, and soon.
Amalie didn’t say much on the ride back to the ranch, feigning tiredness, but her mind raced with ways to keep Deke and Nate safe. Leaving was her only option.
She was up before Deke and Nate each morning to prepare breakfast. Tomorrow, she’d wake earlier or perhaps not sleep at all, and leave before they knew she was gone. It was the only way.
Chapter Eleven
Amalie’s body felt tired and sore when she reined Honey up at the livery stable. She didn’t realize that ten miles would take so long or drain her body of energy. She groaned as she dropped off Honey’s back and tried to stand up straight.
“Afternoon, ma’am. How can I help ya?” an older gentleman with gray hair and beard asked.
“I’m leaving on the stage, and I need to leave my horse here with you for a few days until my husband sends someone to fetch her,” Amalie explained.
“Sure thing, ma’am. I can do that for ya.”
“Thanks,” Amalie said, handing the man some money. “Treat her well. I think she’s tired. She likes apples and carrots. Please see that she gets one or the other each day.”
The man slipped the money into his pocket and smiled. “I’ll take good care of her, don’t ya worry.”
Amalie nodded and added, “My husband, Deke Sperling, will be here or send someone from our ranch in a few days at most.”
“Sperling? Yes, ma’am. I’ll take good care and keep her safe for ya.”
Honey neighed, and Amalie stroked the sweet horse’s neck. Tears fought to escape Amalie’s eyes. “I’m going to miss you, girl. You’ve listened to all my troubles and never judged me. Be good for Deke and Nate. Maybe, someday, you’ll have another lady to spend time with, but it won’t be me.”
Amalie thanked the man again and headed for the mercantile, where the hostler said the stage would stop inside of an hour.
She entered the mercantile and inquired about the time of the stage’s arrival. Amalie was informed that the hostler had been correct: it was expected soon. She browsed for a while, bought a bag of penny candy and two books for her trip, and waited outside on the bench in front of the mercantile.
When the stage arrived, she was pleased to see that the other passenger wasn’t going on to Cheyenne, and she could enjoy the privacy of an empty stagecoach, at least for a while. Handing her single carpetbag—containing only the belongings she had initially brought with her from St. Louis—to the driver, she climbed into the coach, sat back, and closed her eyes.
When the stage was on its way, and there was no one to see or hear her, Amalie broke down and sobbed. Until she’d ridden away from the ranch, she hadn’t realized just how much she loved Deke or how empty she’d feel being away from him. Amalie understood why he didn’t want a real marriage, but her heart still ached. Even if he had wanted her as his wife, she couldn’t let Rex Horrison hurt Deke. She had to leave.
Amalie fell asleep. She was surprised when they arrived in Cheyenne. She must have been more exhausted than she’d thought and slept through the night. She realized that she did feel somewhat refreshed as she accepted her carpetbag from the driver, thanked him, and strode toward the train station where she saw
the train depot and ticket agent’s window. She was hurrying toward it when a tall, muscular man stopped her.
“Morning, Missus Sperling,” he said. “I’m Deputy U.S. Marshal Josiah Fullman, and I’d like to speak to you.”
Amalie paled. Her thoughts raced. U.S. Marshal? Why did he want to speak to her? She hadn’t stolen Honey. You couldn’t be accused of stealing a horse if it belonged to a ranch where you were a part-owner, and as long as she was married to Deke, she owned part of the ranch. He’d even said that she did.
It couldn’t be about the money she had with her—that was hers. Deke had given it to her so she wouldn’t have to ask him for anything when she’d shopped in town. No, this must be something else.
Rex Horrison’s bounty? Would a U.S. Marshal collect a bounty, and how did he know where she was?”
“What do you want?” Amalie stammered.
“Please, come and sit down on the bench.” The marshal pointed at a wood bench alongside the ticket agent’s office. “I received a telegram from your husband, asking me to keep an eye out for you.”
Amalie walked to the bench and dropped down with a thud. Her knees gave out, and she knew she was in trouble. Deke had sent a marshal after her.
She turned her head to look at Marshal Fullman and blurted, “You can’t arrest me for taking my own horse. Deke gave Honey to me. He said I owned half of his ranch. Nate owns the other half. I don’t have Honey with me. I left her at the livery with instructions to take care of her, and I plan to send Deke a telegram before the train leaves to tell him where Honey is. Please, I don’t want to go to prison or be hanged. Would they hang me for taking my own horse?” Fearful tears streamed down Amalie’s cheeks.
Marshal Fullman lifted his hands as if he were surrendering and said, “Missus Sperling, I’m not here to arrest you, and I don’t know anything about a horse. Deke is a friend of mine. He’s sent telegrams to all the surrounding towns, asking for help locating you. You fit the description perfectly. I knew it must be you when I saw you approaching the train station. He doesn’t want you arrested—he wants you to come home.”
“I can’t.”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Amalie nodded. “Not with Deke. He’s a wonderful man, but I can’t take a chance that he might be killed.”
Marshal Fullman raised his eyebrows and asked, “Killed? Who is going to kill Deke?”
Amalie wiped her eyes and told the marshal the story of why she had left St. Louis and what Laura had said at the church social.
“So, you see, I have to go into hiding somewhere. If I’m not at the ranch, Rex won’t have any reason to kill or injure Deke.”
“Did you tell any of this to Deke?” Marshal Fullman asked.
“He knows why I left St. Louis, and he told me not to worry. He doubted that Rex Horrison would worry about one girl, but after Laura said there was a bounty on my whereabouts, I knew the man’s pride must be injured or something. Why else would he send men after me?”
Marshal Fullman rubbed his chin for a full minute before he spoke. “All right. I’m going to help you and Deke the best way I can, but you must come with me. I can’t protect you if you get on that train. First, I’m going to send a telegram to Deke to let him know you’re safe and then one to the marshal in St. Louis to have him inquire about Horrison.”
“Will that do any good?” Amalie asked.
Marshal Fullman nodded slowly. “I believe so. Horrison has a reputation in several states, but we’ve never been able to pin anything on him. He’s a slippery polecat, but I doubt if Caldwell, your former employer, knows how to hide his tracks as well as Horrison, and that’ll be Horrison’s downfall. I’m sure they’ve done this before or are trying to do it again now. We’ll get them both.”
“I hope so. They are despicable men,” Amalie said, drying the rest of her tears.
“Come along, Missus Sperling,” the marshal said as he picked up her carpetbag. “We’ll go send those telegrams, get you a meal, and then find a room at the hotel. I’m sure you’re in need of a nice rest after your trip.”
“Thank you, that would be nice,” Amalie said. She would go with the marshal at least until she was sure Deke would be safe.
Their first stop was the telegraph office, where the marshal sent a telegram to Deke. Next, he sent a carefully worded telegram to the St. Louis marshals.
As soon as it was sent, the friendly, red-haired operator said, “Wait—I have a reply to your first telegram coming in.”
Marshal Fullman read the response and chuckled. “Deke must have been waiting at the telegraph office. This says he’s on his way, and he asks me not to let you get on a train, regardless of what I have to do, short of locking you in a cell.”
Amalie smiled. “I’m causing so much trouble for you and Deke.”
“No, you’re not,” Marshal Fullman assured her. “Deke wouldn’t come all this way that quickly if he didn’t care, and I would like nothing more than to see Rex Horrison finally pay for something. Slavery is illegal. One man can’t sell a contract to another for nefarious reasons. Both Caldwell and Horrison broke the law when they entered into that contract, even if it was only verbal. You and Nate are witnesses to Caldwell’s plan, and Horrison implicated himself when he put that bounty on you.”
“All right,” Amalie conceded. “I believe you. I’ll wait for Deke and do whatever I can to help you with your investigation. It frightens me to think that some other young girl could be auctioned off like cattle.”
Chapter Twelve
Amalie had enjoyed a hot bath and soft bed the previous night. She slept in late, and the marshal had come to see her in the morning. The marshal said that he wasn’t sure if Deke was riding or taking the stage, but he’d surmised that since the stage was faster, Deke would probably be on the afternoon stage.
It was close to suppertime when Amalie walked into the hotel’s dining room. It wasn’t overly crowded, and she was pleased with the lack of people. Deke hadn’t arrived yet, though the front desk clerk said the stage had arrived an hour ago. She guessed he had either decided to ride or would be on tomorrow’s stage. She pondered what she might say to him and worried about what he’d say to her.
Her dinner of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans looked delicious.
Just as she lifted a forkful of potatoes to her lips, Deke’s voice cut across the dining room. “There you are. Thank the Lord, I’ve found you. You had me worried, and Nate’s blaming himself for your disappearance.”
Every eye in the dining room was on Deke, shifting to her when Deke rushed to her table, pulled her to her feet, and gathered her in his arms.
“Don’t ever do that again, Amalie, please. Whatever problem you have, we can work out, but we must work it out together. I’ve spoken to the marshal, and I understand why you ran.”
Amalie’s face burned red with embarrassment as every person, including the waiter, watched the two of them.
“Please, Deke. Everyone is watching,” Amalie pleaded. “Let me sit down.”
When she sat, Deke sat across from her and said, “Finish your supper. I just want to sit here and look at you to be sure you’re unhurt.”
“I’m all right, I assure you. You must be hungry. Please, have something to eat.”
Deke nodded to the waiter and said, “Bring me what my wife is having.”
Amalie ate slowly, waiting for Deke to get angry, but after the waiter had set his plate in front of him, Deke asked quietly, “How did you get here? You certainly didn’t ride all this way. Speaking of riding, where is Honey?”
Amalie blew out a breath. “I didn’t ride all the way. I took the stage from the first town I came to, and that’s where Honey is. I paid the man at the livery to take care of her, and when I told him you would be in to get her, he seemed to want to do whatever he could to help me. Your name certainly impresses people. I was going to send you a telegram, letting you know where she was. I didn’t steal her.”
Deke
chuckled. “You can’t steal what belongs to you. The marshal told me you were worried you’d be arrested for horse thievery.”
“Please, don’t laugh. I thought they might hang me as a horse thief.”
“In civilized towns, they don’t hang horse thieves until after a trial,” Deke said, keeping his tone light. “No judge would find you guilty of taking Honey.”
Amalie mumbled, “I am sorry.”
“It’s all right. I understand,” Deke told her.
Amalie continued, “I couldn’t see any way out. Laura’s cousin said there was a bounty on me, and she was going to write to Rex and tell him where I was. Laura said that she could use the money, and I deserved it for taking you from her. I knew she loved you, but she frightened me, and not just for me—Rex might hurt you and Nate, too. I can’t have either of you hurt on my account.”
“We won’t be, and Laura needs to learn that I’ll never love her. What she did is unforgivable. This goes far beyond jealousy. She has to understand what could have happened to you by writing to Rex Horrison,” Deke said.
“What if she already wrote to him? He’ll let his people know, and someone may come after me,” Amalie said, and she shuddered.
“That’s another good reason for you to come home. You’ll be safe on the ranch. If anyone takes Rex up on his offer, they’ll look for you in town, and you won’t go into town alone. The marshal sent a telegram to the marshal in St. Louis to have him look into Caldwell to see what Horrison is doing about that supposed bounty,” Deke explained. He reached out to hold Amalie’s hand.
“Will anyone be able to stop Rex? I don’t know why he’s doing this,” Amalie answered, wondering if her fear showed on her face.
“He may feel as if his pride has been injured. I suppose it depends on how much he talked about auctioning you off at his saloon. The marshal’s also sending out a telegram to every telegraph office from here to St. Louis regarding the bounty. It won’t take long for word to get around that the woman Rex put a bounty on is my wife,” Deke said.
A Bride for Deke Page 6
