Drew (The Cowboys)

by Leigh Greenwood

  She’d known the minute she returned to the show that she couldn’t stay in the hotel with the rest of the performers. That would keep her in constant contact with Cole. She was a strong, determined woman, but she wasn’t strong enough to withstand that much temptation. Dorothea had learned the Wild West Show was going to New Orleans. She was comfortably settled in a luxurious suite when Drew arrived. Drew decided to stay with her aunt rather than Jake and Isabelle. Not only did that save the cost of an extra hotel room, it saved her from being dropped into the middle of her parents’ social schedule. Besides, Dorothea wanted nothing more than to spend all her time with Drew.

  Unfortunately, she’d spent most of it trying to convince Drew to marry Cole. Drew had refused to see Cole except during the show, but Cole had made several visits to see her aunt. Dorothea was an enthusiastic convert after the first visit.

  “Even Jake and Isabelle think he’s the perfect young man for you,” her aunt said.

  “He lied to me, Aunt Dorothea. I can never forget that.”

  “Of course you can. I thought you were a sensible young woman, not one of these females who gets a foolish idea in her head and can’t get it out again.”

  “I’m not being foolish.” Jake and Isabelle had said the same thing. She was getting tired of everybody ganging up against her.

  “The young man had a job to do that required him to keep his purpose secret. You can’t hold that against him.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s foolish, and you’re not a foolish woman. He deceived a stranger for a perfectly good reason. When he fell in love with you, he told you the truth.”

  “Not all of it.”

  “He might have, if you hadn’t been thrown into the river. Admit it, Drew, this has nothing to do with believing he loves you. You know he does, and it scares you silly.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “You think if you marry him, it’ll be like your parents all over again.”

  “Why wouldn’t it be? He’s running away from his parents. I’m running away from you.”

  “You’re not running away from me. You’re running away from the life I lead and to that ranch of yours. Besides, it won’t be the same. You’re both more sensible than your parents. I loved my sister dearly, but she was a scatterbrained ninny. And your father was an idealistic fool. Neither one of them had an ounce of common sense. I doubt I’ve ever seen two more badly mismatched people. I thought you’d managed to avoid inheriting any of that. Now I begin to wonder.”

  Drew had endured a rough week since she’d gotten back to New Orleans. Cole’s publicity efforts and the story of their surviving being thrown into the Mississippi had turned her into the star of the show once again. In addition to sold-out performances, she’d been called on to do interviews and hold shooting demonstrations. Cole had been present at every one, supporting her, protecting her, doing everything he could to make it easier for her. When reporters asked stupid questions, he deflected them. When they asked personal questions, he cut them off. When they seemed to doubt she could do what her press notices claimed, he handed out passes to the show so they could see for themselves.

  She had endured this for seven days without the slightest indication that Earl—if it was Earl behind the robberies—was going to pull off another robbery. Cole had enlisted the members of the crew to help watch Earl. A second undercover agent had been sent to watch Earl’s helpers, but Cole couldn’t arrest anyone until he caught them in the act.

  So Drew was forced to keep working with him, seeing him, talking to him, wanting him. The one time they’d found themselves alone together, she’d backed away from him.

  “You don’t have to run away,” he’d said. “I love you, and I want to marry you, but I’m not going to force myself on you. I want you to want me as much as I want you.”

  He’d been as good as his word. So good, in fact, Drew wondered if he really did love her as much as he said. It nearly drove her crazy to be around him and not touch him, not let him hold her and kiss her. He didn’t seem to be having any problem keeping his distance. Even Zeke and Hawk had relaxed their guard.

  Earl was ecstatic to have her back. He was pressuring her to return next season. He’d already offered to triple her salary. If he’d quadruple it, she’d be able to afford the ranch she wanted and the cattle to stock it after just one more year. And she wouldn’t have to depend upon Zeke and Hawk to help her.

  But being self-sufficient was no longer a comfort. It made her feel cut off, lonely. She used to tell herself she wanted it because Jake and Isabelle had already given her too much, that she couldn’t take anything else from them. But that was no excuse to refuse her aunt’s little gifts or to shut her out of her life. She’d have preferred to shower Drew with clothes and jewels, to thrust her into the very center of high society, but all she really wanted was to be part of Drew’s life.

  That was all Cole asked, too.

  Drew had always let people get close, then pushed them away before they got too close. She’d done it with Jake and Isabelle, her brothers, now her aunt. Even the old people in the show. It was okay for her to love people, to do things for them, to give of herself, but it wasn’t okay for people to like her back.

  Why?

  She was afraid, but afraid of what? Being rejected? Hurt? Abandoned? Of becoming dependent? Of not being pretty enough? Not being feminine?

  A hot feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she’d hit upon a live idea. She was afraid her own cussedness, her bossiness, would drive people away. But it was something more fundamental with Cole. She knew she was strong, capable, hardworking. She also knew she lacked feminine graces, style, beauty, all the little things that strong men looked for in women they chose to be their wives. She was more comfortable in pants than in a dress. A gun or a rope felt natural in her hand. A fan didn’t. She didn’t mind the smell of cows or sweat. She preferred the company of men to women. She had no graces and feminine wiles.

  “Look at me,” Drew said to her aunt.

  Her aunt looked perplexed. “Why?”

  “Do I look like any woman you’ve ever seen?”

  “I don’t understand what you’re asking.”

  “I don’t have flawless skin or seductive eyes. I don’t simper, sigh, flutter my eyelashes, or make a fool of myself over men. I don’t pine when they’re absent or spend all my time thinking of ways to please them. I wear a gun rather than a gown, and boots instead of silk slippers. Hell, I can’t be very charming and seductive if Earl Odum is able to dress up and pass himself off as me.”

  “This is nonsense,” her aunt said. “Just because you’ve spent most of your life trying to look and act like a boy doesn’t mean you can’t be feminine when you want.”

  “I’m not sure I want to, but I’m positive I don’t know how.”

  Her aunt’s gaze narrowed. “When did you start worrying about being able to act feminine?”

  “When I met Cole’s mother and the woman she wants him to marry. I don’t like Sibyl Owens, but she’s beautiful, feminine, and stylish. Any man would count himself fortunate to have her as his wife. She’d know what to do in any social occasion. What man is going to want me when I not only look and act like a cowboy, but can do everything better than he can?”

  Her aunt leaned back in her chair, a smile of satisfaction making her eyes dance. “You do love him. You needn’t bother to deny it. It’s in every word you say.”

  “Yes,” Drew said, relieved to have finally divested herself of this momentous secret, “I do love him.”

  “Then marry him.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m not the kind of woman he wants. He’s used to society, and pretty, soft women in fancy gowns and candlelight. What would he do with a female cowboy?”

  “Cole strikes me as a man who knows his own mind.”

  “Isabelle says a man hardly ever knows what he wants. He’s liable to be attracted to a
pretty ball because he likes its color or because it bounces high. But he’ll become bored with it in a few days.”

  “Isabelle thinks you ought to marry Cole.”

  “She likes him, but she doesn’t know him like I do.”

  “And what do you know that’s so important?”

  “Cole is rebelling against part of his upbringing, but not all of it. Eventually he’ll be sorry I don’t fit in.”

  “Then what are you willing to do about it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you love this man and want to marry him?”

  “Yes.” She had confessed everything now.

  “Then you have to be willing to make yourself into the kind of woman you think he wants.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You haven’t tried. You don’t know.”

  “I can’t pretend to be what I’m not.”

  “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your willingness to make some compromises, to wear a fancy dress if necessary, attend a party, let him have the spotlight occasionally. If you’re not willing to bend a little, there’s no point in talking.”

  Drew started to say she didn’t like fancy dresses, but she realized she’d never really worn one. Now that she thought of it, Rose said Fern had learned to wear gowns, go to parties, and entertain. Isabelle positively enjoyed all those things. It didn’t seem like such a big sacrifice. She was sure she could still wear her boots and short skirts most of the time.

  She wasn’t so sure about mixing with the kind of people that made up Cole’s social circle. She hadn’t liked any of the women she’d met. But she hadn’t met very many. That society had produced Cole. There was no reason to assume it couldn’t produce other people she could like.

  She didn’t know how much of Memphis remained in Cole, but despite his years in Texas, she expected it was a lot. Rose said George had never stopped being a Virginia aristocrat, even though he’d been in Texas for years fighting Indians, rustlers, and carpetbaggers. Drew suspected Cole was the same. When she was honest, she had to admit that was part of what she loved about him. She might not be able to make the transition, but keeping Cole’s love was enough reason to try.

  “What do you want me to do?” she asked her aunt.

  “I want you to turn yourself over to me for one night. Just one. Let me dress you as I like and take you to a fancy ball. I’ll make sure Cole is invited. Then you can see for yourself if you can be what you think he likes.”

  Drew almost opened her mouth to refuse. She didn’t see any reason to subject herself to public failure. She didn’t really care what anybody thought, but the idea of losing Cole was too much. If she really tried, she could probably turn herself into the kind of woman he wanted.

  She felt a tear roll down her cheek. It would be so much nicer if he loved her just as she was.

  “He’s doing it,” Myrtle whispered to Drew.

  “Who’s doing what?” Drew asked.

  “Earl. He’s dressing up like a woman.”

  Drew was in the process of cleaning her guns; all her. arsenal was disassembled and laid out on a long table. They didn’t need cleaning, but she wanted to be close enough to Cole to see him without seeming to want to see him.

  “Find Cole immediately and tell him,” Drew said. What a time to be without a weapon!

  “He’s not here,” Myrtle said. “A buffalo trampled on that man who was here to help him. Cole took him to the hospital.”

  Cole had recruited Drew’s old people to help him, organizing them into teams to keep Earl under surveillance at all times. They were supposed to notify Cole the minute they saw Earl putting on his disguise. The government team would then follow him and make the arrest.

  Only Cole wasn’t here. It was up to Drew. If she didn’t do something, Earl would get away with another robbery, and she and her brothers would still be under suspicion. Fingers flying, she started to reassemble one of her guns.

  “Tell everybody to meet in this tent in two minutes, including Hawk and Zeke,” she said to Myrtle. “Tell Eddie to find Cole and tell him what’s happening. You see if you can delay Earl long enough for me to put at least one gun together.”

  Myrtle hurried away. Drew worked with feverish haste to put the gun together as quickly as possibly. She didn’t know what to do. She could stop Earl, but it wouldn’t help. He wouldn’t rob any more banks, and she’d never be able to prove her innocence. She had to let him attempt the robbery and find a way to capture him in the process.

  Zeke and Hawk were the first to arrive. Drew told them to follow Earl’s two confederates.

  “We can capture them now,” Zeke said.

  “No. We’ve got to catch them in the act.”

  “What are you going go do?”

  “I’m going to follow Earl.”

  “I can’t let you do that,” Zeke said. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “I won’t be in danger. All my friends will be with me. Eddie has gone to get Cole. He can take over.”

  Zeke wanted to argue, but the others started to arrive and she sent him off, worried Earl’s helpers would get away.

  “What do you want us to do?” Myrtle asked.

  “We’re going to follow Cole’s plan,” she said. “We’ll all follow Earl. Every so often one of us will drop off and wait to tell Cole how to find us. It’s like leaving a human trail of breadcrumbs.”

  She finished putting the gun together. “Now, I need a purse to hide this in, and a huge, floppy hat to hide my face.”

  In minutes, Myrtle had unearthed both items from the trunks that filled the tent.

  “Scatter and get your bankbooks,” Drew said. “If we get caught, we can always say we’re going to make a deposit. Now hurry.”

  Drew put her gun in the purse, jammed the hat on her head, and left the tent just in time to see a very pretty lady she didn’t recognize leaving the field and heading toward town.

  “That’s Earl,” Myrtle said.

  Drew never would have suspected. Earl looked beautiful. Even graceful. Following him proved to be easier than Drew had expected, and much more boring. Earl made no attempt to keep out of sight. Apparently certain no one could penetrate his disguise, he didn’t look behind him or take a roundabout route. He headed straight for the heart of the city.

  Once there, however, he assumed a dawdling pace, looking in windows and even going into shops. The old people started getting restless. It had turned out to be one of the few cold, wet days in New Orleans, and their old bones were beginning to ache. Drew was certain they’d be a lot happier if they could slip into one of the cozy shops or restaurants they passed.

  “Why’s he taking so long?” Myrtle’s husband asked when Earl entered his second shop.

  “I guess he’s supposed to meet his confederates at a certain time,” Drew said. A terrible thought occurred to her. Perhaps Earl knew they were following him. He was leading them away from his henchmen, who would handle the robbery alone. Drew told herself to relax. Earl was too much of a control freak to let anyone do anything for him. Besides, Zeke and Hawk were following the other men. They were more than capable of handling them.

  She just wanted Cole to arrive. She felt totally confident dealing with anything that had to do with a ranch, but this business of stalking and arresting robbers was out of her scope. It was easy with rustlers. You caught them in the act and strung them up on the spot. She was certain it wouldn’t be quite so easy with a bank robbery in the middle of New Orleans.

  “I’ll bet he’s looking for a bag to put the loot in,” Myrtle’s husband said when Earl went into a third store.

  “Probably,” Drew said, looking over her shoulder to make sure someone had dropped off at the last corner. A man who used to be an acrobat but now helped with the buffalo took up a position next to a tobacco shop. Drew turned her attention to a bookstore, watching for Earl’s exit out of the comer of her eye. She hadn’t been there more than a few minutes when a cry of “That’s Drew Towns
end!” caused her to spin around.

  Across the street was the office of the New Orleans Picayune, the major newspaper of New Orleans. A horde of reporters had spilled out the door and were headed her way.

  “What new tricks are you going to add to your show tonight?”

  “Did you really feed your family by shooting game before you were ten?”

  “Are you going to be with the Wild West Show next season?”

  “I heard your parents were in town. Are they coming to see you?”

  “My readers want to know the name of your assistant,” a female reporter said. “They want to know if he’s married.”

  “Where did you learn to shoot?”

  “How old are you?”

  “Tell us about your adopted family.”

  Drew had never realized how frightening reporters could be when she wasn’t protected by Cole’s presence. She knew it was useless to try to run away or avoid the questions. Her best bet was to answer as many questions as quickly as possible and hope they’d leave before Earl came out of the shop. Just then Cole rounded the corner at a run.

  “Where is he?” he asked Drew.

  “In that shop.”

  “What does he look like?”

  “Myrtle can tell you. I have to talk to these reporters.”

  “Keep talking, even after Earl comes out and I follow him,” Cole said. “I don’t want any question about your alibi this time.”

  “Hawk and Zeke are following the other two men.”

  “Good. With David in the hospital, I’ll need all the help I can get.”

  Drew was glad to be relieved of the responsibility of capturing Earl, though she didn’t like being left out altogether. But of course it would be disastrous if the reporters guessed what they were doing. She turned to them, forcing herself to smile and appear relaxed. “I’ll be happy to answer a few questions,” she said, quieting the hubbub, “but I can only answer one at a time.”

  For the next ten minutes, Drew did her best to satisfy the reporters. But no matter how much information she gave them, they wanted more. Cole helped, but his attention was divided. She was halfway through an explanation of the kind of ranch she wanted when Earl emerged from the shop and headed off at a quick pace.