Leaning back in his chair, Shane waited until the door closed before unfolding the paper.
"Holy hell." Trepidation knocked up Shane's spine.
He opened his desk drawer, grabbed extra ammunition. He slid the six-shooter from the holster, ensured the chambers were loaded. Grabbing his hat off the rack, Shane ran to the livery to get his horse.
He was back in town within the hour and in that time, his unease had turned to dread. Behind the saloon he yanked on the horse's reins and was out of the saddle before his horse stopped. It was early yet and he figured she'd still be asleep.
"Silver!" He banged on the door. "Open up!" He pounded again, then stepped back. His gaze climbed the back wall of her saloon. "Stairs."
He took them two at a time, knowing her rooms were there and she'd have a better chance of hearing him.
"Silver!"
The door flew open.
"There better be a fire, Shane McCall, or I'll toss you off those stairs!"
Shane couldn't answer. He was struck dumb. She wore a wrapper of the palest blue. Her hair was tousled from sleep, her face still flushed with it. Underneath the hem of her nightclothes her pink toes captivated his attention until she once again demanded where the bloody fire was.
Snapping his gaze to hers he was ignited by her glower. Finally he found his tongue.
"There's no fire, Silver."
She pushed her hair off her shoulder. "Then what in Sam Hill are you doing waking me up?"
He pulled his eyes from the bare skin of her neck.
"Has Harvey Black been in the saloon of late?"
"Haven't seen him since last week. He usually only comes in on Fridays, so I suppose I'll be seeing him tonight. Why? Are you looking for him?"
Because they were on the back stairs, and there was nothing behind the saloon but open field, Shane felt safe enough talking.
"I've been doing a little investigating on him. Seems his wife went missing unexpectedly not long before Harvey left Boise, Idaho."
Silver's taffy colored eyes went wide. "He killed her?"
"He claimed she just up and left one day while he was at work. She hasn't been seen since."
"You don't think it was that simple, do you?"
"According to what I learned, her whole family is from Boise. It doesn't make sense she'd leave, especially without saying goodbye."
"Did you ask him about it?"
"I can't. He's gone. I just got the telegram this morning and I rode out to talk to him. He wasn't there."
"He's a trapper, isn't he? Maybe he was checking traps?"
"I thought so too, but the place was abandoned. Most of his clothes and personal effects were gone too."
"You don't think he moved?"
"No. He didn't take everything, Silver. Just what a man could carry on horseback." Shane blew out a breath. "He was furious with me when I confronted him and his friends in the feed mill. He was almost frothing at the mouth when I rode to his place later that night to check on him."
Silver pulled her wrapper closer around her. Did she have to keep drawing attention to the fact that she was barely dressed?
"You don't think he'd do to Jillian what he did to his wife, do you? Why would he? He hardly knows Jillian."
"I'm not saying he would. He's lived here for a few years and we've had no trouble from him. Yet Jillian appears and these things start happening to her. What doesn't make sense to me is that even if he did do it to scare her, why not just stop? Why pack up your belongings and move? He'd hardly go to jail for killing a rabbit."
"Unless he plans to do worse and he can't when he knows you're watching."
"Yeah," Shane agreed, though it sure as hell didn't make him feel any better. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
***
Harvey swatted at the early morning mosquitoes that insisted he be their breakfast. They buzzed annoyingly around his head and ears, adding to his already foul mood. This was the second time in his life he'd been run out of his home by a damn woman who didn't know her place in society.
There was a bloody reason women weren't allowed in the veterinary schools! He'd been sure, so sure, that the town wouldn't waver in the belief that Jillian didn't belong. But they were starting to. Hell, hadn't he seen for his own eyes Justin's wife come begging for help, because Justin, of all people, had asked?
More than once he'd heard Justin's opinion of the lady doctor. He'd sworn he'd shoot an animal between the eyes before calling on Jillian and yet at the first test of that, he collapsed like a house of cards and sent his wife to get her.
Harvey had hoped to go in the barn last night, go in and do some damage so they wouldn't think she was so all fired special but not only had Jillian stayed the night, so had Parker. Harvey fumed. It was one thing to stick your pecker in her, it was another to encourage her to keep doctorin'.
He snarled as they both strolled out of Justin's barn, as though coming out of church on a Sunday morning. There was some discussion, but even though he held his breath and leaned as far forward in the bush as he could without being seen, he couldn't hear nothin' but the blasted mosquitoes.
Suddenly Mary came out of the house. Harvey snarled as money changed hands. Harvey ground his teeth when Justin, the low-lying rat, shook Jillian's hand. Harvey stewed until Jillian and Wade had mounted up and were out of sight.
He was tempted, so tempted to go after Justin for this double-cross, but he knew he needed to keep his head. He'd cleared out his things hoping that would cool the sheriff's heels. If he did anything now, it would only get a posse together to look for him.
And he couldn't afford that.
He'd been watching Jillian, but she either always had someone with her, or she wasn't without her firearm. It was near impossible to sneak up on her. But, he thought as he retreated through the branches and undergrowth to get to his horse, there was a big shindig of a wedding coming up on Sunday.
And everyone knew folks didn't carry no guns to a wedding.
TWENTY-TWO
Though nothing untoward had occurred since Jillian had found her rabbit dead, Scott nevertheless rode into her yard, as agreed upon, the Sunday morning of Eileen and James' wedding. The pies and cookies she'd baked were loaded in the back of the buckboard. Scott wouldn't hear of Jillian hitching Hope. He accomplished the job quickly, all the while talking softly to her horse and reaching out to pat Hope every few minutes. He then tied his horse to the back of the wagon, helped Jillian up and took the reins.
The day couldn't have turned out better. The stifling heat had given way to a cooler, more comfortable afternoon. The breeze was enough to brush Jillian's curls, but not enough to yank them from their pins. She hadn't been to a wedding in such a long time, and not to one where she could honestly say she both liked and respected the couple who were about to take marital vows.
"Oh, look," Jillian praised as they rolled into Wade's yard. Chairs were lined in rows on the grass. A wooden archway, decorated with red roses, waited at the front where the ceremony would take place. The backdrop of Eileen's rose garden added color and scent. A perfect place for a wedding.
"Looks pretty, don't it?"
"It's simple, but it suits them."
She accepted his hand and carefully, so as not to snag her dress, hopped down.
"I'll take care of this," he gestured to the food she'd packed. "And then I'll look after this beauty," his large hand stroked Hope's muzzle.
"All right, if you're sure."
"Eileen, Letty and Annabelle are inside. Shane will be arriving shortly with Silver. James and Wade are in James' bunkhouse getting ready. We're not expecting the other guests for another hour or so. I'll take care of this then finish getting ready myself. I'll see you shortly."
Jillian hadn't seen Wade since yesterday. True to his word, when Jillian had awakened in Justin's barn Wade had been in his own bedroll in the stall across the aisle, yet she'd smelled his scent as though he were still beside her.
To her surpri
se he'd not only ridden her home, he'd kissed her before heading back to the ranch. It hadn't been the urgent kiss she'd come to crave, but the way he'd gently touched his mouth to hers had felt different somehow. Almost as though it were a promise of more to come.
She'd thought of nothing since. Had he changed his mind? Had he come to accept her being a doctor? And if he hadn't, could she really walk away from him? Could she really move to another town and start again? And what if that town didn't learn to welcome her either? Would being a doctor, if she were without the people she'd come to love, really make her happy?
The decision had come easily.
And it felt absolutely right.
***
From the noise behind the door of his ma's and Annabelle's bedroom, Wade knew where the bridesmaids were. Though he couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of Jillian, his mind was on his mother. He knocked on his own bedroom door, having given it to his ma to use for the morning.
She looked stunning. There were no frills or lace on her simple cream-colored dress, just a red ribbon that cinched her waist, which matched the single rose she'd placed above her ear. Her smile stretched across her face and her skin glowed with happiness.
His ma was getting married.
"You look beautiful. James is a very lucky man."
Her gaze shimmered. "I don't know who the lucky one is, but I'm sure glad to have this new chance at love." She took his hand. "I know you said you were happy for us. That wasn't a lie, was it?"
"Of course not," he said with absolute certainty. "Two of my favorite people are getting married; it's hard to be unhappy about that."
She sniffed, ran a hand down the front of her skirt. From the open window a fiddle played. Annabelle's door opened. There were whispers and giggles as they descended the stairs.
"It's time."
She drew in a breath and exhaled slowly. "Are you ready to give me away?"
He hated those words. And more than anything he hoped to hell that wasn't what he was doing.
"Not giving," he clarified, "sharing."
"Oh, Wade!" She smacked him on the arm as her eyes glistened. "You're not supposed to make the bride cry."
***
The smell of the roses perfumed the air. John Daniels had set his chair at back of the others and when he saw Wade and his ma take their place at the end of the aisle, he smiled over his violin, then let the bow tip toe over the strings. The crowd stood. A collective "ah" floated from the women's lips.
A son was entitled to feel a little melancholy, Wade figured, when his ma was marrying someone other than his pa. He squeezed the hand that rested at his elbow and though she squeezed back, her gaze never shifted. Her attention was all for the man waiting for her. Wade looked up, saw the sheer joy on James' face and the melancholy took second fiddle to happiness.
Despite trying, Wade couldn't see Jillian or the other bridesmaids for the standing crowd. It wasn't until he and his ma had nearly reached the end of the aisle that he caught sight of her. He nearly stumbled over his own feet.
Her hair was a beautiful cascade of curls. She wore the same dress she'd worn the night of the dance but today, it looked different somehow. She held a single red rose in one hand. In her other she held his daughter's hand. Annabelle waved at him. Seeing his daughter looking happy and carefree with her hand tucked into Jillian's, his heart swelled. They looked perfect together.
They'd reached the front. Wade looked James in the eye, let show the emotion he felt.
"She's lucky to have you. I'm honored to give her to you."
James' grin was a bit on the watery side. "You've always been a son to me. I couldn't be more proud even if you were mine. I hope I'll do you proud."
Wade shook the hand of the man he loved every bit as much as he'd loved his pa.
"You already have."
***
He couldn't have planned it any better. The whole damn town was at the Parker ranch and he didn't have to worry about slinking about. He let himself into the livery. There was only one horse in the barn but since Harvey had been in often enough to see Justin, the animal recognized his scent and went back to eating.
Heading straight for the tack room where he knew the kerosene was kept, he took the can that was there. If this wasn't enough he'd let himself into the mercantile. Coming outside he took a moment to stop and listen, but nothing had changed. Cedar Springs was silent as a tomb.
Chuckling, he set to work. When he'd poured enough, both inside and outside the feed mill, he went back in and using his flint, started a flame at the far end of the building. Then, calm as though he were walking to church, he strode out the feed mill and headed for his horse.
It wouldn't take long for the flames to engulf the building, for the black smoke that was just now beginning to billow from the window he'd opened to rise to the sky and be seen from miles away. No doubt it would create alarm, draw most everyone to town in a panic as they wouldn't be sure which building was on fire. In the chaos and confusion, it would be near impossible to keep track of everyone. It would be easy for one or two to get "lost" in the stampede.
Laughing, he headed for the Parker ranch.
***
"It was perfect, don't you think?" Silver asked once the ceremony was over and James had kissed his bride.
Jillian and Silver had stepped aside to allow the guests room to congratulate the happy couple. Since that left many empty chairs, they'd availed themselves to two.
"It was. I'm glad I'd thought ahead and put a handkerchief in my pocket," Jillian answered.
"I noticed the way Wade looked at you."
Jillian had as well. His gaze had been fixed on her from the start of the ceremony. Along with what had happened after Justin's, hope bloomed in Jillian's heart. Maybe she really could have everything she'd ever wanted.
"Has Wade changed his mind?"
"I don't know, he hasn't said."
Silver leaned forward. "But?"
"But," Jillian laughed. She should have known Silver would see through her. "But I've decided it doesn't matter. I wouldn't be happy without him." She took Silver's hand. "Without all of you."
"You say that as though you've been thinking of leaving." Silver's eyes went round. "You have been, haven't you?"
"I felt I had no choice. If the town wouldn't accept me, and Wade wouldn't, then I'd have to move on." She squeezed Silver's hand. "But as I said, that doesn't matter anymore. I'm not going anywhere, Silver."
"Does Wade know about any of this?"
"I only came to this last night; I haven't had a chance to tell him."
"Oh, I can't wait until you do!"
For a moment they watched Eileen and James, even Wade and Annabelle receive congratulations and best wishes from the guests. "Shane looks handsome today."
Silver sighed. "I'm sure Melissa thinks so as well. They sat together during the ceremony," Silver sighed.
"But it was you he brought."
"He didn't bring me. He knew I needed to be here early and he escorted me for protection, in case that Harvey fellow is still around."
"Maybe it was more than that."
"It'll never be more than that," she said sadly.
"But maybe-"
"Fire!" someone yelled. "Over there, look!"
Jillian and Silver jumped to their feet as those gathered looked to where the man pointed. Black smoke puffed in the air, forming a dark grey puddle in the sky.
"Oh, no, that looks to be coming from town. My saloon!"
She wasn't the only one worried. Everyone scrambled, leaping chairs and running for their horses. Silver grabbed her skirts and raced after them and despite her dress and petticoats, easily jumped over a fallen chair.
"Silver, wait!"
But she couldn't have heard. Shouts were flying fast and coming from all directions. Jillian's mind was scrambling. Should she stay? Should she go to help battle the flames? Where would she be most needed?
Suddenly the crack of a gun split the air.
"Let's not panic."
"Easy for you to say, that could be my livery!"
"Or my feed mill!"
"Or my jailhouse," Shane added. "I know we need to hurry, but we can't all go. Men, saddle up. Except you, Reverend," he added. "I'd like you to stay back with the women and children."
Shane had ridden over the previous night, told her what knew of Harvey and that the man was missing. He'd warned her to be extra careful. As Shane's eyes connected with hers she knew what he was thinking, that this could very well be Harvey's doing.
The Reverend nodded. "I can do that."
The women fell back, silent and worried, while the men saddled horses or rode bareback if they'd taken the wagons. There wasn't time to waste hitching horses or dragging around a buckboard, which would only slow them down. Not when it could be their livelihood at stake.
Annabelle came up to her, slid her little hand into Jillian's. "Will Papa be all right?"
Jillian couldn't see Wade for all the scrambling. As fast as horses were saddled, men were riding out.
"I'm sure he will."
As though they conjured him, suddenly he was weaving through the crowd, coming toward them. His gaze was penetrating but she had no idea if that was a good thing, or if it meant he blamed her for this as well.
"Promise me you'll stay here."
"I will."
"Good." He held her gaze a moment longer, then turned to his daughter and gave her a fierce hug. "Stay close, all right, Button?"
"I promise," Annabelle said then went to join Jacob on the porch.
Jillian clasped his arm as he turned to leave. Her chest ached with things she wanted to say, but it wasn't the time to tell him. Instead she pressed onto her toes and kissed his cheek.
"Be careful."
His eyes flashed. Before she knew it he'd grabbed her and his mouth was on hers, hot and hard. The kiss was over quickly but its effects lingered. Her head was still spinning and her lips were still humming when Wade ran to join the others.
***
Her horse raced along with the others, its hooves adding to the dust that was already thick as molasses. Dust poured down her throat, burned her eyes. That better not be my saloon, she prayed. Not when every dime she owned was tied to that building. Not when it wasn't only her livelihood, it was her home. If she lost it...
Another Chance Page 23
