"I came to see how you're getting along," Willie said. He accepted a cup of coffee and settled on a rock. "Did you get that gal settled in town?"
Tyler nodded.
"Don't wear your voice out talking," Willie said.
Tyler almost grinned. "I left her with my brother. Her friends should be back by now."
"You had some visitors at your cabin," Willie said, taking a noisy sip of the hot coffee. "They stayed two, three days from what I could gather."
"The three killers?"
"Don't know if they was killers, but there was three of them. Made themselves at home."
Tyler waited, knowing Willie had more to tell.
"Didn't go off together," Willie said finally. "Two of them headed south. I figure they're headed for Mexico. Money lasts longer down there."
"And the other one?"
"Big fella riding a big horse. Couldn't miss his tracks."
"Where did he go?"
"Can't tell for sure, but if I was to make a guess, I'd say he was headed to Albuquerque."
Tyler had known it was coming. He had lain awake for several nights wondering what would set him off. He didn't have to wonder any longer.
"Then I guess I'd better head for Albuquerque."
"Sort of figured you might. Want some company?"
"No need. Hen's still there. Besides, if she's with the Cochranes, there's not much I can do but warn her."
"That all you going to talk to her about?"
"What else is there?"
"That's not for me to say," Willie said with a scornful snort. "I wasn't holed up with her in a cabin alone for nearly two weeks."
"It was only nine days, and Zac was there all but one."
"Plus two more on the road."
"Nothing happened."
Willie sipped noisily. To Tyler, the noise seemed like a derisive commentary.
"Why aren't you working your own claim?" Tyler asked.
"It turned out worthless. I'm looking for another likely place."
"I'll make you a deal. You work mine while I'm gone, and I'll give you a quarter of anything you find."
"A third," Willie countered.
"Okay."
Willie didn't look excited. "A third of nothing is still nothing."
"Let's have a look," Tyler said.
Willie was a good deal less skeptical when he got a look at the rock. "You can't go off chasing killers now," he exclaimed. "This could be a big strike."
"I knew I had to go as soon as I saw you top that ridge."
"I might try to steal your claim."
"I'd hunt you down and kill you."
"I might take any gold I find and head for Mexico."
"They don't ask questions about scrawny, ugly bodies in Mexico."
Willie laughed. "Go on. I knew you was in love with that gal the minute I set eyes on the two of you."
"And you came all this way to offer to watch my claim so I could go after her."
"Something like that."
"Well you're wrong about me being in love with her, but you're right I can't let her wander around without knowing that killer is still on her trail."
Tyler didn't even know if Daisy would want to see him. She probably felt this Guy fella was all the protection she needed. But Tyler couldn't feel comfortable with that until he got a look at Cochrane. Whether Daisy wanted him in Albuquerque or not, he was going to make sure she was all right.
"When can I expect you back?" Willie asked.
"Four or five days. It shouldn't take me long. Once I've told the Cochranes and the sheriff what they're up against, no reason for me to stay."
But as Tyler headed toward Albuquerque, he knew he had at least one more reason to prolong his stay. He had to be certain Daisy was in love with Guy Cochrane. He couldn't let her marry him if she wasn't.
Chapter Twenty
"Mama says it's time you let Guy announce your engagement," Adora said to Daisy.
Adora had come to Daisy's room to have a comfortable chat before going to bed. She nestled in the chair next to Daisy's bed to keep warm.
"I told Guy I wasn't up facing all those people," Daisy said.
"Just an announcement, silly. You can hide in this room for the next year if you like. We'll protect you."
Daisy realized it wasn't protection she wanted. It was isolation. She wanted to be left alone until she could figure out what was going on inside her head.
And her silly, rebellious heart.
"It's not that. Things have happened too fast."
"Guy's been wanting to marry you for ages. That hasn't changed."
"Why does he want to marry me?" Daisy suddenly demanded of her friend. "There must be a dozen prettier girls who'd bring him a large dowry."
"Guy has always liked you," Adora said, clearly a little taken back by Daisy's question. "He thinks you're quite pretty. He doesn't care that you're not rich."
"But does he love me?" Daisy demanded. "He doesn't seem overwhelmed by me in the least."
"He wants to get married right away."
"I mean me! He doesn't try to find ways to steal a few minutes alone with me. When we are alone, he doesn't ache to touch me, to take me in his arms. He doesn't long to do things he knows I won't let him do before the wedding."
"Do you want him to do those things?"
"Yes." Daisy's confession escaped like a sigh, like a long held secret she had finally summoned the courage to confess. Only it wasn't a confession as much as a discovery. Before Tyler, she would have been content with no more than a word of love. Now she knew there was much more. She wanted that, too.
Adora's laugh sounded guilty. "I'd want that, too," she confessed. "I've dreamed of a man kidnaping me and carrying me away to his mountain cabin."
"I've been there," Daisy said. "You don't want to go."
"It was only a fantasy. I wouldn't want him to ravage me, but it would be exciting to have him be so crazy about me he couldn't control himself. It sounds to me like you want the same thing."
"I do. I guess I'm just ashamed to have admitted it."
"I know Guy's not the romantic type," Adora said. "He's too much like Papa, but he does admire you. He'll be a good husband."
"Why does he admire me?" Daisy wanted to know.
"I think it's your mind," Adora said. "Guy's not very bookish. He's impressed you can read all those books and understand what they say."
Daisy had wanted to hear something about her eyes, her lips, even her bosom. She didn't want to hear about books.
"Would you want to marry somebody who admired you for your mind?"
"Don't be silly. I don't have a mind," Adora said.
"Yes, you do. You just don't use it."
"Men don't like women to think for themselves."
Tyler did. He had told her she could do anything she wanted.
"They want to take care of us. It's what they're supposed to do. I wouldn't want to have to make my own living. I wouldn't know where to begin."
Daisy didn't either, but she had an urge to try. She didn't want to have a portion of her life marked off and be told to stay out.
"As for wanting a man to be so passionate about you he couldn't control himself, I don't think I'd really like that. A man should respect his wife, like Guy respects you. He'd never think of mistreating you. How could he look you in the face the next day?"
Hungrily. Tyler would. He'd want to do it all over again.
"I think you've just been overset by being whisked off to the mountains by a handsome man."
"How do you know he's handsome? You never saw him."
"You wouldn't have talked about him so much if he weren't," Adora said, giving her friend a hug. "Besides, if he's Hen Randolph's brother, he's got to be heavenly. Why do you go there all the time?"
"To sit with Laurel while she recovers from having her baby. She doesn't know anybody in Albuquerque."
"Sometimes I think you like her better than me."
"I'll never like anybo
dy better than you," Daisy said, giving her friend a fierce hug. "You've been absolutely wonderful to me." Daisy clung to her friend. "I don't know why you like me. I'm such a complaining, ungrateful female."
"No, you're not. You've just had a difficult time. But everything is going to be perfect from now on. You'll see. All you have to do is marry Guy."
All she had to do was marry Guy, and everything would be perfect!
Then why was she so reluctant? Before her father's death, it had been exactly what she wanted. It didn't make sense for her to start dragging her feet now. She wasn't fooling herself. It was because of Tyler. Why couldn't she accept he wasn't coming back?
Daisy heaved a great sigh. Their time in the cabin was over. She had experienced more than most women, certainly more than Adora who would go to her wedding to some very proper young man without even the most innocent flirtation.
It was time for Daisy to grow up. Tyler had said she could do anything she wanted to as long as she put her mind to her. She knew marrying Guy wasn't what he had in mind, but it was what she ought to do. She liked Guy. She knew she didn't love him, but she might learn. Her mother had married for love, and it had killed her. Daisy had sworn she wouldn't let that happen to her. Here was her chance to have exactly the kind of life she'd always wanted.
"I'll talk to Guy tomorrow," Daisy said. "I want to wait a few more days in case Daddy's family answers my ad. I don't want them to hear about his death and my wedding in the same week."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Laurel told me it was always best to get over difficult ground quickly, that it would make things much easier in the end."
"I can't wait to tell Mama."
Daisy decided she'd feel much better once things were settled and her life had some focus, some direction. Marrying Guy would give her that direction.
She had allowed Tyler to confuse her. She supposed it happened to many young women, especially young women with no family to guide them. She was fortunate to have the Cochranes. Without them, she might have done something terribly foolish.
* * * * *
Daisy shaded her eyes from the sun as she and Guy approached the hotel. She wondered why the Plaza was barren of trees. They would be very useful in the summer, much more so than a picket fence.
She looked forward to her visit with Laurel, but not even that could banish her sense of apprehension. She knew it was time she stopped refusing to face her future, but she dreaded facing Albuquerque society. As soon as she let Guy announce their engagement, she would be besieged by well wishers.
Daisy wondered if all prospective brides were this nervous.
"I see Mrs. Esterhouse and her daughter, Julia Madigan, coming this way," Guy whispered. "Her husband is one of Dad's partners in the bank. Julie's husband has a wholesale business. You'll meet them all the time once we're married."
It didn't take Daisy long to realize Mrs. Esterhouse and her petite daughter disapproved of her.
"We heard about your father's death," Mrs. Esterhouse said once Guy had made the necessary introductions. "Such a shock. I know you're devastated. After what those terrible men did to you, I think it's very courageous of you to be out."
Daisy had to clench her right hand to her side to keep it from going to her head in a protective gesture. She had pulled her hair into a tight knot at the back of her head and hidden it under her hat. Mrs. Esterhouse couldn't see the bun or her scar. She had no need to mention them except to be unkind.
"It must be terrible having to stay at a hotel alone," Julia said.
"Daisy is staying with my sister," Guy offered.
Daisy had to throttle an impulse to tell Guy not to be naive. Julia was just trying to find out where she was staying.
"The Cochranes have been wonderful to me," Daisy said. She had released Guy's arm. Her fingers gripped each other tightly under the fringes of her shawl. "I'm waiting to hear from my father's family before I make up my mind what to do."
Daisy didn't know why she had said that. She'd followed Laurel's advice and put notices in all the papers in New York and Philadelphia, but she wasn't expecting to hear from either family. She had only said it because these women looked down on her.
"I didn't know you had family," Mrs. Esterhouse said.
"Naturally I haven't seen much of them since my father came to New Mexico."
"Daisy's family is very prominent in New York and Philadelphia," Guy said. "Mama says they're bound to want her back with them. But we have to do all we can to convince her to stay right here with us, don't we?"
"Of course," Julia Madigan said, a smile pasted on her lips. "Maybe you could convince some of your cousins to move to Albuquerque. I'm so very fond of really tall men." She edged closer to Guy and looked up at him as if to emphasize her slight statue.
Daisy felt a strong desire to take her balled up fist out of her fringe and punch Julia Madigan in the face. She was shocked by the sheer force of the anger pulsing through her. She had never felt such a violent reaction toward anyone except Tyler and Zac.
"I'm afraid they're all fond of tall women," Daisy retorted. She took Guy by the arm. "I'm delighted to have seen you, but I'm late for a visit with Mrs. Randolph."
"You know the Randolphs?" Mrs. Esterhouse asked. By now everyone knew of the wealthy, austere, handsome man who had hired the top floor of the hotel, practically taken over the livery stable, brought six servants to look after his wife's comfort, and tried to hire the town's best doctor for his private use.
"She visits her every day," Guy said.
Both mother and daughter did a quick mental reevaluation. "Maybe you could bring her for a visit once she's ready to go out again."
"They're anxious to get back to their ranch," Daisy said. "I don't think they enjoy town very much. Now if you'll excuse me, I don't want to be late."
Mother and daughter said their good-byes and moved on. Daisy disengaged her hand from Guy's arm. "Let's go inside before something else terrible happens."
"What was terrible about that? Mrs. Esterhouse is something of a stickler, but Julia is a delightful girl. You'll love her once you get to know her."
"I'm sure I will," Daisy said, quickly repenting of her bad temper, "but I'm still not feeling up to company." She mounted the steps to the hotel. Without waiting for Guy to open the door for her, Daisy pushed through into the lobby. She stopped dead when she saw Tyler at the desk.
He had come back! Daisy felt incapable of standing still, moving forward, or acting like she hadn't lost her mind!
He had come back!
Could it mean he loved her? Every hope, dream, and idle fancy she had struggled so hard to repress, to put out of her mind, to pretend never existed, came rushing back, washing away any ability to deny for a minute longer she was in love with Tyler Randolph or that she could ever love Guy.
She looked at Tyler's well-remembered face and found it hard to realize it had been covered with a beard for most of the time they were together. This was the face she'd been seeking from the first, the man she had known would be behind the beard.
She remembered everything she felt that night in his arms, when it had taken all her willpower to tell him she was engaged. She felt her body tremble and was glad she had stepped through the door before Guy. It gave her a few precious seconds to collect herself before she had to introduce the two men.
Daisy forced herself to wait until Guy reached her side. Then making a determined effort to calm her pulse, she started forward.
Her body reverberated with shock when Guy took her arm and tucked it firmly in his. Gently, she tried to pull it back, but Guy held her hand firmly. Daisy's gaze flew to Tyler. She could see his gaze become clouded, then hooded as he withdrew within himself. She tried once more to disengage her hand, but Guy wouldn't let go.
"Hello," she said, greeting Tyler in a manner she hoped didn't betray her inner turmoil. "I didn't expect to see you back in town so soon."
Tyler rose to his feet, and Daisy felt a fluttering
in her belly. She had forgotten how tall he was, how small he made her feel. She had also forgotten how his mere presence could cause her senses to go awry. She had forgotten that just looking at him could make it hard for her to draw breath, that her whole previous life seemed but a prelude to those nine days, everything since an anticlimax.
But she hadn't forgotten she loved him.
Tyler's gaze cut to Guy then back to Daisy.
"Guy, this is Tyler Randolph, the man who found me. Tyler, this is Guy Cochrane."
The two men exchanged greetings, shook hands, took stock of each other. Tyler's eyes gave away little, his posture nothing. He simply drew back within himself. Daisy wanted to call out, to beg him not to misread the situation, but she realized it would be pointless. What could he possibly think except that she belonged to Guy just as completely as Guy seemed to think.
Guy's response wasn't the least bit difficult to interpret. He was clearly shocked and intimidated by Tyler's size. She could feel his body stiffen, see his expression become more formal. It took her only a second to realize he was feeling defensive.
"I want to thank you for taking care of Daisy for me," Guy said in his most formal manner. "I can never replay you for what you did, but I would very much like to repay you for any expenses or loss of time incurred--"
"It was no problem," Tyler replied, impervious to Guy's attempt to put distance between him and Daisy.
"My mother spoke of clothes."
"You'll have to speak to my brother about that," Tyler said.
"Did you have any success with your claim," Daisy asked, anxious to get Guy away from the embarrassing subject of money. It angered her Guy would try to act so proprietorially. If anybody should repay Tyler, she should be the one to do it.
"I haven't had much chance yet."
He wasn't going to help her. She could see him hiding behind his barriers, safely out of reach. She felt like crying out to him to come out, to give her a chance to explain. But she didn't. "Why?"
"I decided that before I built a hotel of my own, I'd better know how to run one. So I took your advice and got a job here."
Daisy Page 23
