by Clari Dees
She ruthlessly quashed the little thrill of longing that accompanied the thought of having her name coupled with his.
The only reason he’s interested in you, Meri McIsaac, is because Faither was involved in the holdup and because—she groaned, remembering—because you probably pricked at his ego with your refusal to use his name.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like his name. She did—there, she’d admitted it—but using his name felt too informal, too…intimate, as if she was letting him get too close. She needed to keep him at arm’s length, so when he lost his interest in her and moved on to someone prettier and more feminine, it wouldn’t matter.
Before long someone would kindly inform him that Miss McIsaac was more interested in working cattle and riding her horse, Sandy, than in sewing a fine stitch and filling her hope chest. They’d shake their heads in laughing pity and observe that at the ripe old age of nearly thirty, she had never entertained any serious suitors and likely never would.
All of which was true, but anytime Meri overheard such comments, they made her feel like the local oddity. She could only imagine how those remarks, coming from a smiling, eyelash-batting, oh-so-willing-to-please female, would sound to the handsome marshal. Meri shook her head. No. She wouldn’t imagine it.
Besides, the only interest I have in him is whether he finds the man that tried to kill my father or not. And I hope Faither heals quickly so we can go home. Once we’re back on the ranch, life will get back to normal, and I’ll stop worrying about what everyone else thinks.
“That’s a fierce look. Do you not like roses?” Mrs. Kilburn’s amused tone interrupted Meri’s mental rant.
She turned away from the glossy bush just erupting in tiny buds she’d apparently been glaring at. “I do like roses, but I’m afraid I was quite lost in my thoughts.”
“From the look on your face, they weren’t pleasant. Are you worried about your father? He’s doing remarkably well today, and Doc says he doesn’t see any reason he won’t have a full recovery.”
“I think the week is just catching up to me.” Meri evaded the question.
Mrs. Kilburn laced her arm through Meri’s and led her through the back door into the kitchen. “What you need is some food. Come on in, I have lunch ready.”
Inside Meri found a tray prepared for herself and her father. Mr. McIsaac was less than impressed, however, when he realized his lunch consisted of a light broth, toast and glass of milk.
“Dr. Kilburn says you can have something a little more substantial tomorrow if your stomach handles this okay. It has been empty for several days, and it’ll be best not to overwhelm it just when you’re starting to feel better. Now, do you want me to feed you?”
“Allow me the dignity of feeding meself, even if it is a paltry excuse of a meal,” Ian said scornfully, carefully spooning broth into his mouth. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a thick steak!” he moaned, eyeing Meri’s thick sandwich.
Meri grinned at his antics but quickly sobered. “Did we lose an awful lot in the robbery, Faither?”
“We lost some, but ye know I never trusted all me money to the bank. I only kept a small amount there to stay on good terms with Mr. Samuels. I’ve never let anyone except yer mither know how much we managed to save back and that includes the banker. I’m sorry the bank was robbed at all, but it didn’t surprise our Heavenly Father. Savings or no savings, He’s always taken care of us and always will, so don’t worry over what we did or didn’t lose. Our treasure is in Heaven, not some safe or bank down here.”
They discussed the ranch and what had happened while he was unconscious as they ate. Gathering up the dishes when they’d finished, Meri noticed her father was drooping a little. “Why don’t you close your eyes and rest so you’ll be ready when Jonah drops in. I think I’ll go check on Sandy.”
He argued, but there wasn’t much effort in the argument, and she left the room carrying the tray of dishes. After washing up the lunch things, she went into her room and changed from the blue skirt she’d donned earlier into her tan split riding skirt. Slipping a dark, buttery-soft leather vest over the yellow calico blouse, she grabbed her hat and hurried to Franks’s Livery.
As she neared the stables, she heard Franks’s rich, deep voice raised in song, the sound rumbling pleasingly through the air.
His singing halted as he greeted her warmly. “Miss Meri! I hear de Lawd has answered our prayers!” Sitting down on a bench against the wall, Meri filled him in on the doctor’s prognosis and Franks’s wide grin split his face. “It be a day ta praise de Lawd for his mah’vlous goodness ta man!”
A weak smile and nod was Meri’s only reply.
“You is mighty quiet for someone who should be rejoicin’. Is yo thankful bone broke?”
“I am very thankful God heard the prayers of you and the men who prayed for my father and that he’s doing so much better.” Meri squirmed under Franks’s penetrating gaze.
“What ‘bout yo prayers?”
Meri shrugged her shoulders. “It feels like my prayers aren’t heard anymore, like there’s something in the way.”
“Honey chil’! Yo Heavenly Father promised never ta leave or fo’sake you! If dere’s sumpin’ in de way, it ain’t on his end!”
Meri felt the familiar ache in her throat return. “I feel like I’ve been forsaken.”
“Mmm-hmm, evah since yo momma died, I reckon. You put on a good show and mos’ likely fooled ever’one, but I’se noticed the joy and peace in yo eyes been missin’ fo’ some time now.”
Meri fired up at the gentle rebuke. “How am I supposed to have joy and peace when Mither died so suddenly, and then I almost lose Faither?”
Franks shook his head sadly. “Joy and peace ain’t foun’ in yo circumstances, they is foun’ in God’s promises.” Franks bowed his head all of a sudden, leaving Meri staring at him. “Lawd, You know dis chil’ is hurtin’. Open her eyes ta what needs fixin’ so You can heal de hurt. Amen.” He stood abruptly. “Now go see dat spoiled pony. He been a hollerin’ for you all day.”
Meri frowned as he returned to his forge and stirred the coals. She loved the man dearly, but she was a little miffed at his scolding. I’m hurting and somehow it’s my fault?
She drew a deep breath to calm herself. She’d never been angry with Franks before. You do have a problem if you’re getting upset with Franks!
She stood and went outside to Sandy. The palomino saw her coming, whinnied deeply and ran for the gate. At least someone was glad to see her. She slid through the fence and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his mane and breathing deeply of his horsey scent, of fresh air, sweet grass and hay. After several moments she led him to the barn and saddled him, feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders. Scolding herself for her poor attitude, she mounted Sandy and called over her shoulder to Franks, “We’ll be back later.”
“Be careful.”
With a short nod she rode out of the barn. Detouring to Doc’s place and finding her father still asleep, she retrieved her guns. Sheathing the carbine in the saddle scabbard, she strapped the cartridge belt and pistol she’d brought back from the ranch around her slim waist. She’d lived in the West long enough to know it was wise to have protection from four-legged and two-legged varmints even if she was only going to be on the outskirts of town.
Her father had long ago ensured she was proficient with firearms, giving her the .44-40 Winchester carbine, sometimes called the Saddle carbine, several years ago for her birthday. It was four inches shorter than the regular .44-40 Winchester rifle and made for a lighter, more compact gun for her to handle. The rifle and the pistol Meri carried on her hip were chambered for the same rounds, therefore the extra cartridges she carried in her belt would fit either gun. Altogether, Meri felt very capable of protecting herself from any threat.
Swinging up aboard the pretty palomino, she took the long way to the cemetery, circling the outside edge of town. Maybe by the time she reached it she would have worked up th
e nerve to go in. Meri kept Sandy at a sedate walk, waving at a few townsfolk who called out as she passed. All too soon, she reached the waist-high wrought-iron gate in the fence that lined the front edge of the burial grounds. Dismounting, she reached for the latch then let her hand fall back to her side.
She’d put this off so long it had become a monster she couldn’t face. She should’ve made herself come with Faither when the headstone was set, but at the time, her cold was too convenient an excuse.
Sandy shoved his nose against her back, giving her a hard nudge. “I just can’t do it, Sandy.” The horse snorted and shook his head, setting his bridle to jingling. “I know. I’m a coward, but let’s get out of here.”
Remounting, she escaped into the hills behind the cemetery. There was a place nearby conducive to a full-out gallop without danger of running over someone on the road or running her horse into a hole and Meri took full advantage it. After an hour of riding, though, she felt only marginally better. A long, solitary ride, the joy of a smooth-moving horse, the wind in her hair and the beautiful countryside had always been the cure-all for anything bothering her, but the remedy was sorely lacking today.
Meri berated herself. She should be feeling at least a small portion of the joy and peace Franks mentioned earlier, if only for the fact that her father was now on the mend. Why was she still feeling completely out of sorts? And why did her thoughts keep straying to a certain star-toting man? Maybe when she got out of town and back to normal ranch life, her unsettled emotions would straighten out. For now she’d just have to live with them.
Reluctantly she turned Sandy toward town. They’d ridden east through the foothills bordering the northern edge of Little Creek and were only a couple of miles from town if they dropped down and took the road in. Riding through the thickly forested area that lined the road, Sandy slowed, pricked his ears and lifted his nose, scenting the air.
“Someone else around, fella?” Meri asked quietly, letting him have his head. She hadn’t expected to be followed like she always was on her ranch, but her horse had heard something. Maybe Franks had sent someone after her.
Sandy slowly stepped to the edge of the trees, pausing to peer intently down the road away from town.
Two men were standing between their horses in the bend of the road about one hundred and fifty yards away from Meri. Both men had their hats pulled low, shading their faces, and from their body language they seemed to be arguing. Meri could hear their raised voices but was unable to understand what they were saying.
“So that’s what you heard. I wonder what their problem is?” As Meri whispered this to Sandy, the taller of the two men grabbed the other man by the collar, yanking him off his feet and shaking him as he yelled and shook his other fist in the poor man’s face.
“Hey!” Meri shouted, simultaneously pulling her rifle and nudging Sandy toward the men.
The smaller man, his back to Meri, nearly fell as the larger man dropped him and shoved him away roughly. He recovered his balance, and both men ducked their heads and scrambled onto their horses. Wheeling their mounts away, the smaller man glanced over his shoulder as he spurred his horse.
Meri saw a flash and something whistled past her ear.
Chapter Eight
Crack!
Sandy flinched at the loud report and sidestepped, saving them from the second bullet that whizzed past. Meri dropped the reins and jerked her own rifle to her shoulder, snapping off a quick shot before the men disappeared around the bend.
“Get ‘em, Sandy!”
Scooping up the reins in one hand, she held her rifle ready in the other as Sandy leaped forward into a full run after the men. They had a good head start on her, and as she rounded the bend, they were already rounding the next curve in the road. Meri knew a straight stretch was around that corner and thought she could gain on them by then for a better look, but when she reached it, they were nowhere in sight. Sandy slid to a halt at Meri’s signal, snorting impatiently.
“I know, I wanted to catch them, too, but they must have left the road and could be lying in wait for us now. I’ll be in plenty of hot water if Faither finds out I followed them at all!”
Suddenly uneasy over the whereabouts of the two men, Meri turned Sandy and they flew back toward town. They were within a half mile of the edge of town when Meri saw two riders racing toward her. Wheeling the palomino sharply, she dived off the edge of the road into the trees. Flinging herself out of the saddle almost before Sandy had stopped moving, Meri flipped his reins over a limb and ducked down behind a tree. Heart racing, she steadied her rifle, waiting as the two riders neared the spot where she’d flown off the road.
She heard the horses slide to a halt and a familiar voice spoke. “Miss Meri, is that you?”
Meri closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the tree trunk as she drew a much-needed breath into grateful lungs. Jonah. Her pulse began to slow its frantic pounding.
A second voice commanded, “Come out where we can see you, but be careful about it!”
Wyatt.
Meri groaned quietly as her pulse surged into panic mode again. No! He’s the marshal. She corrected herself. I will not call him Wyatt.
Willing her racing heart to cease with the acrobatics, she retrieved Sandy. Mounting, she gulped another steadying breath then ducked back through the brush to the road.
Two guns were hastily reholstered as Jonah spoke. “I thought that looked like you an’ Sandy. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Something brushed Meri’s ear, and she flinched at the unexpected sensation. Trying to recover a facade of unconcern, she felt around her ear and discovered a twig snagged in her hair.
“If you’re fine, would you care to explain why we heard gunshots, and why you’re running and hiding?” All warmth had disappeared from the marshal’s hazel eyes, leaving only cold steel behind.
“I am not running and hiding!” Steely eyes bored into her as she untangled the stubborn twig and tossed it aside. “Okay, fine! I was hiding. Now, will you quit glaring at me?”
“I’ll decide whether to quit glaring when you finish answering my question.” His eyes never wavered from hers.
“I was headed back to town when I saw two men on the road having an argument. When they started fighting, I yelled at them. When they saw me, they took off. One, or both of them, fired a couple of shots.”
Both men inhaled sharply.
“I fired back and chased them…”
“You chased them! After they shot at you? Have you lost what little sense you may have ever had?” The marshal’s glare sizzled as he growled in her face.
Meri blinked. When had he gotten so close? And how was it possible for him to be so close when they were both still on horseback? She fought the impulse to move Sandy away from the growling marshal and instead leaned toward him. “Yes, I chased them!”
He copied her movement, leaning in until she felt his breath on her face. He held her eyes for several breaths without blinking. In a low dangerous tone, he asked gently, “Why?”
Meri barely heard him over the pulse thudding in her ears. “Because…”
Her brain stuttered to a stop. Why had she chased them? At the moment she couldn’t remember. His nearness was making it nearly impossible to think. “Because they made me mad?” she finished lamely, feeling as foolish as she no doubt sounded.
He blinked and warmer hazel softened the steeliness. Settling back in his saddle, he looked at her. “You chased them because they made you…mad?” He sounded as if he were choking.
A strangled sound turned Meri’s attention to Jonah. The red-faced man coughed out another funny sound before breaking into belly-deep laughs. What in the world was wrong with him? A similar noise from the marshal swiveled Meri’s head back to look at him. His lips were clenched, but at the look of perplexed confusion on her face, his own laugh escaped.
Meri’s gaze bounced between the two men, a frown creasing her forehead. After half a minute the laughter s
ubsided, leaving grins in its wake. “What is so funny?”
Wyatt shook his head. “I’m not sure, exactly. Just remind me never to make you mad.”
“Unless, of course, you want her to chase you!” Jonah chuckled.
Meri felt the color flare in her cheeks as the marshal grinned at her. “I might not mind her chasing me, so long as she wasn’t shooting at the time.”
“If you think for one minute, Marshal, that I’d chase you—”
He interrupted her. “My name is Wyatt, not Marshal, and back to the issue at hand—show us where you found those men and recount what happened from the beginning, please?” Grabbing the offered distraction, Meri led them back in the direction she’d come, explaining what had happened. “When I saw you two, I thought they had circled around and were coming back. I got off the road and under cover.” Meri pointed out where she’d first seen the two men.
When they arrived at the spot in the road where the men had stood, Jonah dismounted and studied the ground. “Why don’t you take Miss Meri back to town, Captain? I’ll follow these tracks and see where they lead.”
Meri caught a look that passed between the two men and wondered what it meant. “I’m riding with you two. Three pairs of eyes will see more than one pair.”
Jonah swung onto the back of his horse. “I was tracking before you were born, Miss Meri, and although the captain here is pretty good, I’ve still got him beat. Besides, it’s time for you to get back to town. Your pa is gonna be wonderin’ where you are. He won’t be happy with me if he finds out I let you ride back alone after this little excursion.”
“He doesn’t need to know about this. He’s got enough on his mind right now.”
Jonah gave her a stern look. “I’m not keeping this a secret, Miss Meri. The men need to know to keep an eye out for these two.”
“I’ll take you up on your offer, Jonah, but be careful. Fire a couple of shots if you get into trouble, and I’ll come running. Otherwise come see me when you get back to town, and let me know what you find. Coming, Miss McIsaac?”
