by Jo Noelle
“You missed your partner by a bit there, KC.” Ellis laughed.
“You too. Tricky distance this time, wasn’t it?” KC shouted to be sure Lance heard.
Ellis chuckled. “Looks like you have egg on your face, Lance.”
“It’s fitting on you,” KC called across the space. “We’re out, sweetheart. Let’s go get ready for the shooting contest.” He jogged over to extend his arm to Eliza, her cheeks a beautiful blush, and escorted her away from the game.
“Eliza. Eliza!”
KC turned to see a man and woman hurrying toward them, each carrying a box. The woman’s bright red hair waved behind her.
Eliza turned around and opened her arms. “Millie!”
Millie shoved the box into KC’s hands and embraced Eliza. She let go and extended her hand toward KC. “I’m Millie Bing, Eliza’s best friend.” He put the box down and shook her hand.
“That’s true. Millie is everyone’s best friend.” Eliza laughed. “Hello, Edwin. This is KC Murray.”
“Edwin McRae,” he said as they shook hands.
Kailin waved goodbye to her friends, then stretched her neck a little to look in Edwin’s box. “What’s for lunch today?”
Edwin put his box down and picked up a bowl from inside the box, removing the towel on top. “Fried chicken.”
Millie did the same and added, “And corn bread with butter and honey.”
KC didn’t need to hear more and pulled out his change purse. “We need enough for five, please.” He saw the questioning look on Eliza’s face and said, “I’m not feeding Ellis. I need two. Throwing eggs is hard work.”
Eliza laughed and swatted his arm, then she shook out some linen napkins from her basket, and Edwin placed the food on top.
Millie put a plate from Eliza’s basket on the quilt, then hooked arms with her. “Will you serve out my corn bread, Edwin? I have something to talk with Eliza about.”
Before the man agreed, the women walked a ways away and whispered between them. Occasionally, Millie looked at KC. The women giggled with their heads close. It made KC a bit on the nervous side. He was being self-conscious. They were probably talking about something else. That’s when Millie turned completely toward him, looked him up and down, and then turned back to Eliza, saying something excitedly. Nope. He was wrong. They were talking about him.
The only thing he was sure he heard was “Penny.”
The women came back over, and Kailin wasted no time. “What were you saying about Penny? I saw her grabbing at KC during the egg toss.”
“Not a thing,” Millie said. “Except that there are four girls in that family. All dark-haired. All beautiful.”
“All terrible flirts,” Kailin added. “Nineteen, eighteen, and seventeen and all in a fat hurry to get married.”
KC laughed, but Eliza gave Kailin a look he’d seen on his own ma when he needed to hold his tongue. “The oldest is married now—to the preacher.” Eliza nodded like she thought that would be the end of the subject.
KC felt one of his eyebrows quirk up before he could stop it. He didn’t like the man.
Kailin caught it, too. “Hah. It was rather sudden. They deserve each other.”
“Kailin Marie.” The smile melted from the girl’s face at Eliza’s use of both names. “Eat your chicken.”
The shooting contest was held in the west end of the field near a rise in the hillside. They set up ten whiskey bottles for each man to break. The first one to finish was the winner. KC took a wide stance with two ivory-handled Colt revolvers holstered at his hips. At the sound of the start, he pulled both guns. His eyes stared in concentration at the bottles as he squeezed the triggers again and again. In seconds, he replaced his guns and won the contest while his nearest competitors had half their bottles still standing.
Eliza was up next. The women’s competition required that they use a rifle and shatter five bottles. She was using a Henry rifle, an older gun, but with sixteen shots loaded at once, it was practical. She could still win this if she was accurate.
She sighted the rifle methodically, obliterating each bottle. Eliza cocked the gun smoothly, then it shot the shell out and aligned the next bullet—all in a graceful dance with that firearm. He could see the concentration on Eliza’s beautiful face, her finger easy on the trigger, and the confidence she had in her aim as she squeezed off the fifth shot. The bottle shattered. Eliza also won.
KC’s heart pounded. That might have been the most attractive thing he’d seen her do over the past few weeks. Was it possible he’d found the perfect wife for him? He loved everything about her. Loved? The elation he’d felt a second before deflated completely. He was leaving—to go who knew where—as soon as this mystery was solved. What kind of a life could he offer her? None.
A man and woman walked with Eliza back to KC. “KC Murray, this is Henry and Hannah Wheeler. Henry is the U.S. Marshal around here. They live in Topaz.”
“Pleased to meet you,” KC said, recognizing the scrutiny of a seasoned lawman, suspicion in his gaze as he looked a newcomer over.
“That was some impressive shooting. Made the other men look like they were standing still. I don’t think you wasted even one shell. Reckon it took a lot of practice to do that.” Marshal Wheeler’s words were friendly enough, but KC heard a little interrogation in them. He was checking to see if this town was safe while KC was there or if he had to look out for the man to make trouble.
“I rode with some posses during range wars in Arizona. Using a gun became a priority if I wanted to live.”
“You did great too, Eliza. You won.” Hannah hugged Eliza.
Another couple joined them then. “Julianne!” the new woman squealed, and the three of them joined together for another hug with Eliza. He could see that there was a bond between the three women. He supposed that came with belonging to a town. He’d moved around more than he’d set still over most of his adult life. He didn’t have friendships to look forward to. Just maybe he wanted them.
“Just another thing that makes you special, lady,” Julianne called out.
Eliza waved toward the newcomers. “KC, this is Julianne and Hugh Fontaine.”
“KC Murray,” he said as he extended his hand to Hugh.
Julianne held the bundle in her arms. “This is baby Rose, who has to take a nap. We’re headed back to Bachelor, but I’m so glad we saw you today.” Julianne hugged Eliza again.
“I wish we lived closer,” Eliza said.
Julianne and her husband gave each other sly smiles. “We just might be able to do that soon. Bye now,” she said.
Eliza and KC were called to the stand and received their twenty-dollar gold pieces from Mr. Anders. KC noticed that Eliza was not just unimpressed with the man but bordered on being repulsed.
A dance was taking shape near the church house if the sound of fiddles told him anything. He cocked his head toward the music. “May I have a dance, Miss Turley?”
Though she tried to smile, her face faded into sadness, and she shook her head.
“A stroll, then?” he asked.
“That would be nice.”
He ended up sauntering her down by the dancing. He even sneaked off to request the musicians play a waltz. He wanted Eliza in his arms. Only for today he told himself.
When the music turned slower, he bowed in front of her. “Just one dance, please.”
Her eyes softened, and her head tipped toward her shoulder. He hoped that look signaled that she was going to give in.
Eliza placed her hand in his, and he escorted her to the forming group. When the music started, he took a small step and led her into the dance. Perhaps he could tell her who he really is and why he was here. If he did, maybe he could have her in his life and keep her safe from what was going on. Being with her like this made him believe he could have it all. Small steps, close embrace, looking into her eyes—this was heaven.
6
Eliza Turley
Eliza returned from Creede’s celebration and t
ossed her wrap over the sofa. She was more like herself than she had been in the past eleven months. The abduction a year ago had stolen something she couldn’t name from her soul and dampened her joy. It was like she was a shell of her younger self who had dreams for her future.
Then, when her mother left . . . well, she hadn’t realized how heavy it was to stand in her mother’s place. The diversion of the town party had relieved the strain. She was sure she wouldn’t feel this happy if it hadn’t been for KC’s company. She was accepted and appreciated. She felt whole and beautiful beside him.
Eliza tucked Rayna under her covers and shut the door. She needed to thank him. He’d be in the barn, milking the cows.
Her brother would go out to the barn soon, too. She wanted a moment with KC before Ellis showed up. She picked up her skirt and ran like a schoolgirl.
KC had already tied up the first cow and was retrieving the stool and bucket when she approached him. He must have heard her enter and turned with a huge smile for her. “Thank you for spending the day with me. I can’t think of a day I’ve enjoyed more.”
“Me too. I don’t think I would have without you coming with us. Thank you for everything today.”
He had paused as they spoke but since neither one had more to say, KC placed the stool beside the cow, but instead of sitting on it, he placed the bucket on it.
“I knew Lance would show up, and it almost kept me home. I didn’t know what I would do if he came around. I suppose that hurt was too fresh for me to think clearly. Thank you for protecting me today.”
He walked toward her with slow, measured steps. The cow turned her head, chewing and watching. Her large brown eyes were focused on them like there was something to see. Eliza hoped there might be. He stood in front of her. “My pleasure.”
He seemed completely relaxed as he leaned one shoulder against the wall. Every nerve in her body was on alert as he reached for her, caressing her arm. A burst of tingles scattered whenever his fingertips touched her skin. She wanted more and felt pulled toward him. His hand smoothed her hair away from her face and pushed it behind her shoulder. Oh, she loved that. Then his hand rested against her jaw, and his thumb caressed across her chin and lower lip. He stared into her eyes. The lantern on the wall cast the barn in a soft glow, but where they stood was thick with shadow.
“Are you going to kiss me, Mr. Murray?”
Her lips parted, and she licked the edge before she caught the side of her bottom lip between her teeth. She was half nervous and half uncontained excitement. He leaned over her shoulder. “No,” he whispered in answer. “I’m not.” Then his lips brushed against her ear and down her neck. There was suddenly too little air to get a deep breath. Stubble from the day’s growth tickled her skin.
She softly moaned before she knew it. Then his lips moved back up.
He gazed into her eyes. His hand brought hers up to his cheek, and he leaned against it, closing his eyes as if he savored the warmth of the moment. She could imagine being with this man, loving him for a lifetime. His lips pressed into her palm, then he closed her fingers over it.
Her heart was racing, pounding. “That wasn’t a kiss,” she said.
“No. I supposed it wasn’t,” he answered, his words deep and breathy. “Goodnight, Eliza.”
Eliza went to bed but not to sleep. Each moment of the day revisited her.
The next day, she realized her parents hadn’t sent word yet. She didn’t think they’d be back for a week or two more, but she thought they might send a telegram about what was happening. She mentioned it at supper.
“I’ll go into Creede tomorrow and see Mr. Jameson about sending a telegram,” Eliza said. It should have taken about a week to get to Uncle Morris’s home in Sunrise, Texas. Even if they had a lot to do there, they might have had time to get to a town with a telegraph office by last week. She didn’t know how far from Fort Worth the ranch was. Maybe she was worrying for nothing, and everything was all right with them.
“I’ll take you,” KC offered.
Ellis shook his head. “I need to get some supplies for mending the fence on Uncle Ted’s place. You’ll need to take over my chores.”
KC nodded.
Eliza thought she saw a little disappointment. She felt some, too.
“I’ll need some time in the next few days to catch the train and make a quick trip to Salida. When can I go?” KC asked.
“We’re going to the land office there to file for our homesteads,” Ellis said. “I suppose we could make a day of it. Is this week soon enough?”
“Can I go too?” Kailin asked.
“Me go. Me go,” Rayna echoed.
“You’ll likely stay with Louise and Grant,” Eliza answered. She hoped her parents were back by then. It was as much their dream to see their children homestead as it was hers now. “You know, Mr. Murray, if you’re planning to stay around, you could file for a hundred sixty acres, too.”
KC dabbed his napkin on his lips. “That’s an interesting idea right there. I’ll have to think on it.” He gave her a brilliant smile.
Ellis’s head snapped. He looked hard at KC and then at Eliza a couple of times. They had both gone back to eating, and Ellis didn’t say anything. Eliza hoped that KC would want to stay and be a homesteader near their spread as well.
“I’m going to visit a neighbor tonight,” Ellis said. “Will you take my milking, KC? I’d like to leave while there’s still sunlight.”
“Sure thing. I’ll get on it right after dinner.”
Soon, Ellis left, and KC went to the barn. Kailin and Rayna settled into bed, and Eliza cleaned up the house. When she finished, she went to the barn and found KC sitting on a milking stool and singing softly to Clover, an ornery bald-faced cow. He left off the words that went to the tune and began to sing a conversation to Eliza. “If I stop singing, she’ll kick the bucket over. I’m nearly done, so you’ll just have to listen.” His head swiveled toward her, and he grinned. “What brings you to the barn this evening? Thinking about kisses, perhaps?”
Yes. “No.” She smiled back. KC continued to hum even though she knew he was listening to her. “You’re going to be busy.” Her voice sounded flat compared to KC’s. “I wondered what you thought about homesteading.”
His voice sang out, “I admit I’d never thought of it before, but there’s an appeal. I’d belong to a town. I’d have neighbors. I’d have roots.”
Eliza pulled the other milking stool over. “I didn’t want you to think I was being forward.” She admitted to herself that had been her intention.
“You’re part of the appeal of the idea. I’ve never even considered that kind of life for myself.”
When she tied Fancy up, she began milking her. “I was a little younger than Kailin when Pa and his brothers got the idea to get some property out west.” She could hear KC humming. If she looked around the cow’s rump at the same time he did, she could see his face, too. “We lived in a crowded neighborhood in Virginia. Pa took lots of jobs, but none of them paid him enough to own something he could call his. He’s made this dream work—for all of us.”
“You sound nervous about something. Care to tell me?” KC asked as he stood from the stool and moved the milk bucket to the counter.
He didn’t hum anymore, and Eliza found she missed it. Clover must have noticed, too, and kicked, sending the stool ten feet away.
KC took Clover to a stall and shut her inside. When he came back, he pulled his stool to the other side of Fancy. Fancy picked up her hoof and stamped the ground once when Eliza started, but then she settled down as they finished milking her together.
KC picked up the bucket and set it beside the other. “Ellis said there have been some problems with homesteaders lately.”
Eliza was reluctant to say her suspicions aloud and make them all the more real, but she wanted KC to know. “There are some homesteaders who have gone missing. Places have been burned and threatening letters delivered to others. I worry that trouble will come to our home
, too.”
KC reached into his shirt and pulled out the letter Eliza had written. “I received this letter and came to see what might be happening. I’ve kept that I’m a Pinkerton agent to myself.”
Eliza looked at the paper in his hand. That’s why he had come to their house. Her stomach sank—that’s why he’d stayed. It was probably why he had taken an interest in her safety as well. She’d been a fool—practically asking him to join their family. She crossed her arms and felt a blush beginning to heat her neck. She turned her eyes away to hide the hurt. He wasn’t interested in her as much as she was part of his assignment. But she’d asked for help, and she wouldn’t turn it away now.
“The latest was Bad Egg Baldwin,” she said. “He lived west of here. He’s gone now, and his farm was sold. I went by there last week. Mr. Anders was there with two other men. I found a letter in the fireplace that contained a death threat.”
KC opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.
“No, you don’t. Out with it. What do you know?” she demanded.
“The other two men are Holmans—crooked as a snake’s hind leg. They’re killers, Eliza. I saw you there across the way. You need to stay away from them.”
His arms reached for her, but she stepped back. She wouldn’t let him get close again. He’d be leaving as soon as this was solved, and she didn’t want to send her broken heart off with him. She kept herself from taking the deep breath she needed. She knew it would sound ragged with her emotions so near the surface.
He nodded. “I need to go into Salida’s land office to see what’s happening with the other homesteads. Do you know which ones are suspicious?”
“I’ll make you a list.”
He stepped closer. “Eliza, I didn’t mean to—”
“You didn’t.” She turned away and fled the barn. She didn’t know how he would have finished that sentence, but tonight, she couldn’t hear it—“I didn’t mean to pretend to like you. I didn’t mean to mislead you. I didn’t mean for you to fall in love.”
