Flint Hills Bride

by Cassandra Austin

  Emily shrugged. She had betrayed Jake. She tried to brush away the guilt Shouldn’t her loyalty be with Anson?

  “Tell me about him,” Anson demanded.

  She tried to pull her arm out of his grip but his fingers tightened. “He grew up on the ranch,” she blurted.

  “The ranch?” Anson’s eyes narrowed. “Does he work for your brother? Could he have sent him after us?”

  She shook her head. “He was in town when we left. He’s a deputy now.”

  Anson released her arm and lifted her hand. The change was frightening in itself. “Listen very carefully. He isn’t following you. He’s following me.” Emily started to protest, but a quick shake of his head silenced her. “The police in Topeka are out to get me. They no sooner let me out of jail than they dream up something new to try to pin on me. Your friend’s waiting for a chance to arrest me.”

  “If that’s true, why hasn’t he already done it?”

  Anson shrugged. “Maybe he’s afraid I’ll hurt you. Who knows what lies he’s heard. Maybe he wants to kill me and is waiting to catch me alone.”

  Emily wanted to pull her hand from his but knew better than to try. “I can’t believe that of Jake.”

  He smiled at her. The violence had left his eyes and she began to relax. “You are such a trusting little girl.” He bent forward and kissed her cheek. “That’s what I love about you.”

  “Let me go talk to him,” she suggested. “I’ll make him tell me what he’s up to.”

  “No. We don’t want to force his hand. Just be quiet for a minute and let me think.”

  She sat in silence while Anson considered their options. She wanted to suggest again that she talk to Jake. Their shared history included countless times when she had talked him into things. It might work one more time. Besides, she felt a growing need to tell him goodbye.

  “I’m getting off,” Anson finally whispered.

  “What?”

  Anson waved her to silence. “At the next stop, just before the train leaves the station, I’ll get off. You keep your friend on the train.”

  “He’ll just get off one stop later.” Why was he running? Why was he leaving her?

  “Of course. But that’ll give me time to get away.”

  “What about me, Anson?” What about our plans? What about our baby?

  “Tell him something to throw him off track. I’ll head for Denver. When you know you won’t be followed, meet me there.”

  Why did his plan fill her with panic? “Anson, couldn’t we just go back to Topeka and fight these new charges? Can’t we clear your name before we start our new life?”

  “Don’t be such a child, Emily. They won’t listen to me. I’ve been through this already. Just trust me and do as I say.”

  Emily grabbed his hand. If he left her now they would never be together. Why did that thought come so insistently to mind? She had to tell him about the baby. “Anson, before you go…”

  “Americus!” yelled the conductor.

  “Open your window,” he said.

  “What? Why?” Why wouldn’t he listen?

  “I’ll make my move at the last possible moment. You’ll have to toss my bag out after the train starts to move.”

  She blinked at him, unable to comprehend what he was saying. With a screech of brakes and a resounding whistle, the train pulled into the station.

  “Listen,” he said, taking her by the shoulders. “You have to do this. I’ll wait until the other passengers have gotten off. I’ll slip out. You—” He gave her a little shake. “Make sure he doesn’t follow, even if you have to trip him. Once the train starts, toss out my bags. I’ll need my clothes. Can you understand that?”

  “Anson…”

  “I’m out of time. Now do as I say.”

  Anson let her go, and Emily watched a few passengers gather their things and leave the train. A man entered their car and found a seat

  The conductor shouted, “All aboard!” and Anson waited another full minute. Emily thought she could feel a tension in the floor under her feet as the train built up steam. She found she was holding her breath.

  The window! She had almost forgotten. She turned and slid it open, just as Anson moved. He was on his feet, running for the door as the train lurched forward. The jump must have staggered him, but he was on his feet when she looked out. She grabbed his bag and shoved it through the window, then turned to make sure Jake was still on the train.

  He was standing now. And fixing her with a deadly glare.

  Jake couldn’t believe it. Emily had helped Berkeley escape. Well, it shouldn’t have surprised him. He had known all along that she was going with Berkeley of her own free will. She had given him no reason to hope she would choose the law, let alone him, over her precious Anson.

  He lifted his saddlebags without taking his eyes off her, and made his way forward. Her expression held a mixture of fear and hurt, but he tried to ignore it. “Mind if I sit here?” he asked as he slipped into the seat Berkeley had vacated.

  “Why did you follow me?” she asked.

  Was there a hint of longing in her voice? No, he was imagining again. More likely she was hurt that he had scared off her boyfriend. “Berkeley’s wanted for assault and robbery,” he said. “Where’s he going from Americus?”

  She shrugged. “He hasn’t done anything. The Topeka police are just out to get him.”

  Her voice trailed off at the end. So, that’s what Berkeley had told her. And she wasn’t sure now if she believed him. “Do you have any money?” he asked more gently.

  “What is it with you men? Is that all I am, money?”

  Now where did that outburst come from? Something Berkeley had said, probably. He put a comforting hand on her clinched fists. “All I want to know is if you have fare back home?”

  She looked appropriately contrite. “I can get home.” Then her head came up. “What are you going to do?”

  “Just go home,” he said. He took one more look at her beloved face and fought back an urge to kiss her. Abruptly he stood and hurried toward the front of the car.

  Emily watched in astonishment as the door closed behind Jake. Where was he going? Somehow she had thought she would have his company at least to the next stop and perhaps until a returning train came through. Why wasn’t he going to sit with her? Couldn’t he even stand to be in the same car with her?

  She considered marching into the forward car and demanding to know why he was being so cruel. Of course she knew why. He was almost in love with her. She had realized it, though she hadn’t wanted to admit it. Her leaving with Anson had hurt him until he couldn’t stand the sight of her.

  Well, fine! she fumed. Let him be that way. She didn’t want his love, anyway. Then why did it make her feel so sad?

  She was lost in thought and didn’t notice when the train began to slow. The buzzing questions around her brought her out of her reverie.

  “I reckon a bridge’s washed out,” someone suggested.

  “Maybe it’s a robbery.” This was followed by a few shrieks.

  In one instant, Emily knew with a clear certainty what was happening. Jake’s badge had been enough to convince the engineer to stop the train. She grabbed her bag and cloak and hurried into the aisle. She excused herself as her bag bumped a woman’s shoulder. A child leaned out of his seat, and she waited impatiently for his mother to pull him back in.

  What if they didn’t stop the train, only slowed it? She hurried to the door and stepped out onto the platform. The train was moving slowly now, or seemed to be until she looked at the ground slipping by beneath her. A little slower, she prayed.

  “It’s just like jumping from the hay loft,” she told herself. Only she had been jumping onto a mound of hay, then. And the loft wasn’t moving.

  And Jake had always been waiting for her at the bottom.

  Jake.

  The train had slowed to a crawl, and she tossed the bag and cloak. Whispering a prayer that sounded more like a curse, she stepped off
the platform.

  The ground came up to meet her faster than she expected. She rolled, as she had been taught to do if a horse threw her. The baby! she thought, coming to her knees. She hadn’t even thought of it before she jumped. She pressed her hands to her stomach, but she didn’t feel hurt inside. Other than feeling a little bruised, she was sure she was fine.

  The train, already picking up speed, clattered past. Jake stood on the opposite side of the track, dusting off his hat. She was relieved to see him. Until this moment, she hadn’t considered the possibility that she could have been wrong. She might have found herself stranded here alone.

  She came to her feet and watched him pull the hat down on his head. He took two long strides, lifted a pair of saddlebags and slung them over his shoulder, then took two more strides toward Americus before he noticed her bag. He froze for an instant, and she thought a strangled cry escaped his throat.

  “Jake,” she called.

  He whirled to find her.

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you,” she said.

  He came toward her. “What exactly did you mean to do?”

  She had been feeling guilty about giving his presence away to Anson. She had been relieved and pleased to see him across the track. She had even felt a warm flood of pleasure to discover his concern for her safety. She was forgetting her purpose. She gave her heavy skirt a cursory dusting. “You’re going after Anson,” she said. “I’m going with you.”

  He shook his head. “Why didn’t you just get off with him?”

  She straightened to her full height, which seemed inadequate next to Jake. “I was supposed to keep you on the train.”

  He put one fist on his hip as he studied her. She didn’t like the scrutiny and brushed past him, heading for her cloak. The cold air, or his cold stare, was making her shiver.

  “And having failed,” he suggested, following, “you decided to tag along and slow my pursuit”

  She hadn’t actually thought of that, although she should have. After giving the cloak a shake to rid it of dead grass, she wrapped it around her shoulders. “I can’t trust you to arrest Anson. You’re liable to hurt him in a fit of jealousy.”

  That was quite an accusation to make to even-tempered Jake, and she expected him to deny it. Instead she heard him mutter “Smart girl” as he brushed past her.

  He reached her bag and lifted it, turning toward her with an outstretched hand. “Shall we go?”

  They were in a wide river valley where bare trees lined little creeks and all but hid the hills beyond. To their right the thickest growth of trees identified the river. Emily looked for a farmhouse but saw none, though there were some cultivated fields.

  “Are we going to walk all the way back? It must be close to five miles!”

  “Then your daily walks have been good practice, haven’t they?”

  He was still waiting for her to join him. She did so reluctantly. With his hand on the small of her back, they started across the prairie along the railroad track.

  She had done it again, leaped, this time literally, before she stopped to think. But what else could she have done? She couldn’t have simply gone home as Jake had told her. With Jake off the train, she could have gone on to Denver, but she had a nagging fear that Anson might not ever join her there.

  She marched along beside Jake and found herself smiling. “I really surprised you, didn’t I? Jumping off the train.”

  “Nothing you do should surprise me.”

  “Probably not, but it did.”

  “A momentary lapse.”

  They trudged along in silence, Emily watching the uneven ground and little else. Each step brought pain to leg muscles that were sore from walking much of the night. A stinging pain in her left heel meant a blister had broken.

  When Jake’s hand caught her arm, she looked up, ready to voice her misery. His fingers were on his lips.

  “I think I hear something. There must be a road nearby.”

  Emily heard it, too, behind them. It sounded like chickens fighting.

  Jake grabbed her shoulders and brought her to the ground just as a wagon burst from a gap in the trees that hadn’t been apparent before. “They’re singing,” she whispered, covering her mouth to muffle her giggle.

  “They’re drunk,” Jake corrected.

  “We could get a ride with them!” Emily started to rise, but Jake pushed her down again.

  “I could get a ride with them. You’re not riding with a wagon load of drunks.”

  “You wouldn’t leave me here?”

  “Of course not!” Clearly she had insulted him.

  Emily risked a peek at the wagon. The road was some distance away and, from her low position behind the tracks, she could only make out the top third of the wagon and its occupants over the tall grass. There was little chance of them seeing her and Jake unless they tried to get their attention. They were making enough noise to mask an Indian attack.

  With a shove against Jake’s arm, Emily turned and sat on the ground. “We might as well get comfortable until they pass,” she said. Jake turned and sat beside her.

  “He told you he was wanted for robbery and assault?” Jake asked. There was little question who he was.

  She bent her knee and began untying her left shoe before she answered. “He said the law was after him again. Isn’t it a little out of your jurisdiction?”

  “A wanted man came into my county. I followed to arrest him.”

  “Yes, and why didn’t you arrest him?” She eased her shoe off, trying to protect her sore heel. A circle of crusted blood decorated her stocking. She pulled the fabric away from her skin, then wondered if that had been wise. Her toes were cold in contrast to her burning heel, and she slid the shoe back on, determining to ignore it. She tightened the laces. “Jake?”

  When she turned toward him, he turned away, crouching low to watch the wagon. Their tuneless cries were growing fainter. “They’ll cross another creek soon and be out of sight,” he said.

  “Can’t we rest here a little longer?”

  He looked at her sharply, suspiciously. “We just got started.”

  She gave him a sweet smile. “But I want to give Anson a head start.”

  With a growl he came to his feet and reached down to help her rise. She stood in time to see the wagon disappear in a gap in the trees. With Jake carrying both her bag and his saddlebags, they followed the tracks toward the same row of trees. Emily imagined Americus on the other side.

  Jake tossed the saddlebags to his shoulder and took her elbow. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to hurry her along or if he had noticed her tendency to limp. It seemed to her they were moving slower now, not faster. But his hand on her arm felt reassuring, and she didn’t want to spoil it with any comment.

  Jake slowed his pace, wishing he could do something for her blister. He could catch her into his arms and carry her, but probably not all the way back to Americus.

  He shouldn’t feel sorry for her. She was the one who chose to run away. He hadn’t asked her to jump off the train. He would never forget the horror he had felt when he saw her bag and the crumpled cloak lying beside the track. He had thought her broken body lay beneath the cloak. He tightened his grip on her elbow, needing to feel her body move against his fingers.

  He had hid his relief behind anger. Of course, it wasn’t too hard to be angry with Emily. She never made anything easy for him. He would be nearly in Americus by now if she had done as he had told her. Of course, her company was better than a wagon load of drunks.

  When they came to the creek, he helped her up the slight grade to the tracks so they could cross. He let her loose and started across, careful not to catch a boot heel on the ties. Emily, with her smaller feet, could hop nimbly from tie to tie.

  “Do you remember the circus we went to as children?” she asked.

  He turned to find her walking on the rail itself, her arms outstretched for balance. “Emily!” He reached toward her but didn’t touch her. She was beautifu
l. Her cloak, still buttoned at the throat, had been shoved over her shoulders like a cape to allow her arms their freedom.

  “I wanted to walk on the tightwire,” she said. He moved along beside her, ready to steady her if she stumbled. “I wanted to fly on the trapeze. I wanted to do everything.”

  “I remember you tried to stand on the back of a horse.”

  “I was afraid to straighten up and let go.”

  “Thank God.”

  She laughed, as she had always laughed at his worry. He knew then he could never have her. She craved excitement, excitement Anson was more than willing to provide.

  He watched her face as she concentrated on the rail. He didn’t want to add excitement to her life; he wanted to protect her, shield her. Smother her. No wonder she lost her temper with him so often.

  Finally they were across the creek, and she stepped off the rail and made her way back to level ground. He followed a few steps behind. She stopped and looked around, turning to him with a groan. “I was imagining Americus right here,” she said, pointing at her feet. “This looks just like the other side of the creek. Only more so.”

  He laughed. “Poor Emily. You’re not enjoying your grand adventure?”

  Out of the trees the wind had a biting chill, and he helped her wrap the cloak back around her and raised the hood, skimming his knuckles over the dark hair in the process. He took her arm again and started her forward.

  “It is an adventure, isn’t it? Two men tried to send me in opposite directions by train, and here I am walking across the prairie instead.”

  “And, if it wasn’t for me,” he continued for her, “you would be on your way to…?”

  “Forget it, Jake.”

  “I had to try.”

  They were quiet for several minutes before Emily asked, “Would you care at all about catching Anson if I hadn’t tried to leave with him?”

  Jake chose a careful answer. “I probably wouldn’t know anything about Anson if your family wasn’t involved.”

  “There aren’t wanted posters on him plastered all over the state?”