Corsets and Cuffs: (Sweet Historical Western Romance) (Baker City Brides Book 3)

by Shanna Hatfield

  “It’s why you hired us, Tully.” Seth grinned and leaned back in his desk chair, propping his boots on top of the desk. “I imagine your next interrogation might go better if you took along a piece of candy or two. I heard Sammy’s partial to sassafras drops.”

  “I’m not gonna reward the kid for lying to me,” Tully said, stepping out the door. He stuck his head back in, “but he might need one for turning in Booker.”

  “Yep. You’re the toughest, meanest sheriff in the west.” Seth laughed as Tully scowled at him then left.

  He hurried to Maggie and Ian’s home. Maggie had agreed to keep an eye on Sammy while Ian went to her shop to see what kind of damage Booker had done when he broke in that morning. Before he went home, Tully planned to help clean up whatever messes were there. He hoped to convince Brianna to stay with Maggie and Ian for the night. She’d feel safer there than the apartment even if a threat no longer loomed over her.

  At the back door, he tapped once then opened it and stepped inside the sunny kitchen.

  Brianna and Maggie sat at the table with Sammy. The boy finished the last few sips from a glass of milk then wiped crumbs from his mouth on his sleeve. He slid out of his chair and walked over to Tully, looking up at him with sad eyes. “Are you gonna arrest me and make me stay in jail?”

  Tully removed his hat and hunkered down so he didn’t tower over the boy. “No, I’m not gonna arrest you or throw you in jail, but we need to have a talk about some things I think you may have taken.”

  Sammy stared at his bare toes instead of meeting Tully’s direct gaze.

  Brianna sank down on the floor next to him and put a hand on the boy’s back. “Did you steal something, Sammy?”

  The little boy nodded.

  Brianna gave Tully a questioning look and he sighed. “I recently reviewed an astounding number of reports for theft and it made me wonder if one person was responsible for the crime spree.” Tully reached out with his index finger and tipped Sammy’s chin up until the boy looked at him. “You know all about what was stolen, don’t you, Sammy.”

  Another nod.

  “Why did you steal, Sammy?” Brianna studied the boy, wondering what the child had done and what had driven him to do it. “What did you steal?”

  “Mostly food, and a few things for my mama. She’s sick and I wanted to make her feel better.”

  Maggie sniffled from behind them and Brianna worked hard to hold back her own tears. She wrapped her arms around the little boy and pulled him onto her lap, giving him a tight hug. “What’s wrong with your mama? Does the doctor know she’s sick?”

  “Yeah. He comes to see her. I didn’t want to steal, but I get so hungry sometimes and the money I make from Mr. Packwood doesn’t pay much more than Mama’s doctor bill. She doesn’t know that, though. She thinks my papa sends us money to buy things.”

  “Can you take us to see your mother, Sammy? I’d like to meet her.” Tully lifted Sammy into his arms and stood then held out a hand to Brianna, helping her to her feet.

  “You aren’t gonna do anything to my mama.” Sammy didn’t ask it as a question but offered it as a statement as he glared at Tully.

  “I promise I won’t do anything to upset your mama, but I do want to meet her and see where you live. Would you please take us to your house?” Tully looked over Sammy’s head and mouthed “thank you” to Maggie before he and Brianna went out the back door.

  “Are you sure you have to meet Mama?” Sammy squirmed against Tully as if he wanted down. Too tired to chase the little imp if he decided to bolt, he continued carrying him as they walked into town.

  “Absolutely sure. Where do you live?” Tully glanced down at Sammy with a look that let the child know he wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense.

  Sammy gave him the name of a street and they started that direction. The house was in a neighborhood where many families of miners lived. The small homes weren’t fancy, by any means, but they were snug and sturdy.

  They were almost there when Sammy reached out and touched Brianna on the shoulder. “Promise you won’t hate me?”

  Brianna took his hand in hers and kissed the little fingers. “I promise, Sammy. No matter what, I could never, ever hate you.”

  “Put me down, Sheriff.”

  Tully set the boy on his feet and he scampered up the steps of a house with no yard, although a few flowers grew in an old rusty bucket near the door.

  Sammy pointed to the two adults. “You both wait out here for a minute then I’ll let you in.”

  “Don’t you dare go running off out the back, Sammy,” Tully warned. “I don’t have another chase through town in me today.”

  The child grinned. “I won’t. Just wait out here.” He disappeared inside the house as Tully and Brianna slowly made their way up the steps to the door.

  They heard Sammy call out to someone and the sound of his footsteps racing through the house. The door opened and they looked down at a little girl in a pale blue dress. She smiled and motioned them inside.

  “Welcome to my home, Sheriff, and Miss Dumont.”

  Too dazed to speak let alone move, Brianna numbly let Sammy pull her into the house while Tully followed.

  Aware of their shocked expressions, Sammy tugged on Tully and Brianna’s hands until they bent down close to her. “My mama doesn’t know about me dressing like a boy, neither. If you wouldn’t mind keeping that a secret, too, I’d sure be grateful,” she said in a confidential whisper.

  Both adults nodded and followed Sammy into a bedroom where a thin, frail woman rested on a frilly pink pillow with a quilt tugged up to her chin.

  “What kind of trouble have you been in now, Samantha Margaret Howe?” Mrs. Howe asked her daughter before she raised a handkerchief to her mouth and coughed from deep in her chest.

  When she pulled the handkerchief away, blood stained the white fabric. Tully and Brianna looked at each other then at the child who had fooled them all with her appearance.

  “She’s not in a bit of trouble, Mrs. Howe. We wanted to let you know how helpful she was in bringing in a criminal wanted in three states. She witnessed him in the midst of a crime and reported it to me this morning.” Tully smiled at Sammy. “You have an incredibly brave little girl anyone would be proud to call their own.”

  “Your daughter is a bright, wonderful child, Mrs. Howe,” Brianna said, smiling at the dying woman. “I met her through my work at the newspaper.”

  Sammy’s mother beamed at her daughter before she began coughing again. When she finished and could get her breath, she weakly nodded her head. “Samantha has been such a help to me since we moved here. I do so appreciate you both coming by today.”

  “You’re most welcome, Mrs. Howe. If there is ever anything we can do for you, please let us know. We both think the world of your girl.” Tully swallowed hard to clear the emotion clogging his throat. “If you have no objection, Mrs. Howe, perhaps I could return to visit you another day.”

  The woman smiled. “I’d like that.” Unable to keep her eyes open, Mrs. Howe let them drift shut.

  Sammy led them out of the room and closed the bedroom door. She walked into the small parlor and turned to stare at them with wariness in her eyes.

  Brianna dropped to her knees and hugged the child to her chest, kissing her cheeks. “Sammy, why on earth didn’t you tell us you were a girl, that you could talk, that your mama is so sick?”

  “No one in town would give a job to a little girl, but I knew Mr. Packwood hired boys. He thought I was too young for the job, but I convinced him I could work hard. I’m actually eight, but most folks assume since I’m kind of small, that I’m younger.” Sammy sniffled and pulled a little handkerchief out of her dress pocket then dabbed at her nose. “I didn’t talk because it made it easier to pretend I was a boy and no one asked me questions about anything that way.”

  “Does the doctor know how sick your mother is?” Tully asked, kneeling beside them and rubbing a hand over Sammy’s short blond hair.

 
“Sure. He comes by every week to check on her. He doesn’t know about me pretending to be a boy, though. I always make sure I have on a dress when he comes.” Sammy shrugged, as if it should be simple to understand.

  “What about your father? Where is he?” Tully asked, noticing the house had a few pieces of quality furnishings.

  “My papa moved us here back in May. We had a nice house in Olympia, but he got the gold fever, or that’s what Mama calls it. He sold off most of our stuff and we rode the train here. Papa rented this house. He paid for six months rent when we moved here. If he hadn’t, I don’t know what I would have done with Mama. Anyway, he went off to work in a mine somewhere to the north. He came home about a week later without any money in his pockets. He took most of what we had here and said he was going to try another mine near Sumpter. That’s the last we heard from him. I think he either got himself killed or he run off. Ain’t like he’s been a good papa or husband since my mama got sick. She’s convinced he’ll come back home any day, but I don’t think he ever planned on coming back.”

  Sammy stared down at her toes. “With the doctor bills, I didn’t have money left to buy food and the things Mama needs, so I started stealing. I’m sorry. I tried not to do it too often.” Sammy hugged Brianna again. “And Brianna has been so nice to me, buying me treats and a beautiful book, and being my friend.”

  Tears rolled out of the child’s pretty blue eyes and soaked the front of her dress.

  Brianna rocked her back and forth, whispering softly that everything would be fine. “We’ll help you take care of your mama, sweetheart. I promise.”

  Convicted, Sammy pulled back and looked at Brianna. “That ain’t why I’m crying like a big baby.” Sammy sniffled and wiped her cheeks. “I done something terrible to you, Brianna. Something that will make you hate me forever and then some.”

  “What did you do, honey?” Tully asked, picking her up and setting her on his bent knee. “What did you do to Miss Brianna?”

  “I stole something of hers that I know she needed back, and I kept it anyway.” Sammy’s lip puckered out and she drew in a few choppy breaths. “I stole it before I knew who you were. When I did, I just thought you were the prettiest, best-smelling lady I’d ever seen, and I wanted to bring home something nice for my mama. Then, after I knew you, I was afraid to give it back. Afraid you’d be so mad at me, you wouldn’t be my friend anymore.”

  “I’ll always be your friend, Sammy.” Brianna kissed her cheek. “What on earth did you take?”

  Sammy hopped off Tully’s leg and disappeared through a doorway. A few seconds passed before she reappeared, carrying Brianna’s bag.

  “Oh! My bag!” Brianna took it from Sammy and looked inside. She pulled out the ledgers that had belonged to her father. “You’ll need those,” she said, handing them to Tully, then dug deeper into the bag. A smile lit her face as her hand connected with the treasure she’d been seeking. “It’s all here.”

  “I didn’t take nothing. Once I saw what was in it, I decided there wasn’t anything my mama could use, but I couldn’t throw it away.”

  Brianna hugged Sammy and kissed her forehead before looking at Tully. “If Sammy hadn’t stolen this, Booker would have found it and that would have been beyond disastrous.”

  “I reckon so.” Tully handed the ledgers and papers back to Brianna then picked up Sammy and sat on the sofa with her on his lap.

  “Samantha Margaret Howe, I don’t want you to ever, ever steal anything again as long as you live. Do you promise?” Tully asked in a solemn tone.

  The little head nodded in agreement so rapidly, Brianna thought the child might injure herself.

  Tully held the girl’s gaze. “From now on, if there is something you need, you will ask me or Miss Brianna. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir. I promise,” Sammy said, throwing her arms around Tully’s neck and squeezing. Before she let go, she whispered in his ear. “I wish my papa was a nice man like you, Sheriff. You’d never run off and leave your little girl and wife all alone.”

  Tears burned the backs of Tully’s eyes and he had to stare at the ceiling a moment before he could speak. “I wouldn’t ever leave you, Sammy. You’re one of the finest little girls I’ve ever met.”

  “Does that mean I’m not in trouble?” she asked with a charming little pout.

  Tully set her back on her feet. “You are not in trouble, young lady, but I expect you to go to Mr. Packwood tomorrow and tell him the truth. I’m sure you can keep your job, but you tell him the truth just the same.”

  Sammy appeared to consider his request then finally agreed. “I’ll do it. I won’t like it, but I’ll do it.”

  Tully stood then pulled Brianna up. She handed him her bag then hugged Sammy again. “Will you stay here with your mother the rest of the day, Sammy? Or do you prefer Samantha?”

  “I like Sammy just fine and I was planning on staying here with Mama the rest of the day. Mrs. MacGregor stuffed me so full of food that I may not be hungry for a week.”

  Tully chuckled then placed a hand to Brianna’s back as they moved toward the door. “I’ll check on you tomorrow, Sammy. Thank you for all your help today. I meant what I told your mother. You are a very brave, smart girl and I’m proud to know you.”

  Sammy’s lip started to quiver again and she pointed to the door. “You better leave now before you set me to blubbering again.”

  “Good night, Sammy,” Brianna said, following Tully outside.

  He took her hand in his as they walked away from the house. “Well, I sure didn’t see that coming. How could we all be fooled by that little girl?”

  “Because we saw what she wanted us to,” Brianna said. Drained from the events of the last twenty-four hours, she felt numb. Her heart ached with such pain for Sammy and her mother, it took all her energy to put one foot in front of the other as they neared her apartment.

  Tully lent her strength as she leaned against him. He glanced down at her with a tender look. “Don’t you think you should stay with Maggie and Ian tonight? You could get a room at the hotel, if you’d rather.”

  “I’m so tired, I don’t care where I sleep as long as I have a bed and a pillow. However, if I’m going to Maggie’s, I’d like to take a few things with me.” Brianna smiled at the man who worked to install a new back door at Maggie’s shop after Booker had busted through it earlier.

  “Looks like you’re doing a fine job, Bill,” Tully commented as they walked by him and up the stairs.

  Booker had gone through everything in the apartment, upending cushions, dumping out every drawer and cupboard.

  Emotionally sapped, Brianna righted the cushions on the sofa and plopped down, utterly out of strength.

  Tully took a seat beside her then set her bag on the floor between them. He studied her as she leaned back against the sofa cushions and closed her eyes. “Brianna?”

  “Yes?”

  “You promised to tell me two things later. One is about jewels, and the other is about an article in a paper back east. I’d like to hear about both subjects before you fall asleep.”

  Brianna opened her eyes and sighed. She sat up and turned toward Tully. “You recall the day we apprehended Dale Darcey?”

  “Of course. We had quite an adventure.” Tully took Brianna’s hand in his. Recollections of how much he enjoyed holding her in his arms, kissing her beneath the stars, made him grin.

  “Yes, we did. I thought people in a big city might like to know that the things we dream about the West, the things we imagine to be true, really exist. I wrote about a horse rustler and the determined, handsome sheriff who tracked him down. In the article, I described all the things you taught me.” When Tully suggestively waggled his eyebrow at her, she playfully smacked his leg, pretending to be affronted. “About the native plants and animals as we rode back to town. And sleeping under the stars by a campfire. Of course, I painted a picture with you as a Wild West hero. The newspaper printed the article by B.E. Dumont, making it sound as
though the author is a man.”

  “May I read the article?” Tully asked, brushing his thumb along the inside of her wrist, savoring the smooth feel of her skin against his work-roughened fingers.

  His touch made it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything beyond how much she craved his kisses. Reluctantly, she pulled her gaze away from his enticing mouth. “As soon as the copies the newspaper mailed arrive, you may.”

  Tully slid a little closer to her. “And the jewels? What’s that about?”

  “Do you remember the day I arrived in town and you forced me to say what I really wanted from my bag? That I needed my corsets?” Brianna managed to say the word without blushing.

  “I sure do. You were so cute, angry and fuming, demanding that I do my job,” he said, offering her a teasing grin.

  “Well, I really did want my corsets back.” She reached into the bag and pulled out three expensive, lace-trimmed corsets.

  Tully’s mouth went dry as he imagined her wearing them.

  When he continued to stare at the fancy corsets on her lap, she held out her hand to him. “Do you have a pocket knife?”

  He rolled up on one hip and shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling out a knife. After folding it open, he handed it to her.

  Before he could protest, she cut along the seam of one of the corsets and removed a beautiful sapphire necklace. She held it up as light from the setting sun shined in the window and refracted through it.

  Carefully taking it in his hand, Tully studied the necklace. Curious, he looked to Brianna. “Where did this come from?”

  “I have four necklaces, three bracelets, and five rings that belonged to my family. My father gave my mother that necklace when I was born.” Brianna cut open another seam and lifted out a ring set with a large diamond. “This was my mother’s wedding ring. It belonged to my great-grandmother.”

  Confused, Tully held the priceless pieces in his big hand. “How did the jewels end up in your corsets?”

  “Right after Christmas, my father came home with them. We kept the jewelry at the bank in a vault. Father didn’t say why he brought the pieces home, although now I suspect it had something to do with Davis. Father told me to put them somewhere no one would ever think to look for them and to make sure it was something I could easily take with me.” Brianna sat back against the cushions as she slit open another seam and removed a gold bracelet set with rubies. “I wonder if Father somehow knew I might need to escape from Davis. If so, I’m thankful for his foresight.”