Mary Connealy - [Kincaid Brides 03]

by Over the Edge

“Right, we’d better go.”

  “Julia, where’d you get to?” Rafe’s voice came from all the way across the stream.

  “We’re coming. I was just showing Callie the cavern.” Julia got up and hurried back to the shack.

  “You didn’t go down in it, did you?” Rafe’s question seemed to contain a threat of some kind.

  “Not without me.” Seth sounded more like he was pouting.

  Callie, shaking her head, tagged along. As they crested the top of the gully behind the cabin, Callie saw there was no cabin. Not anymore. “It’s gone.”

  “Yep.” Seth came up the trail to meet her. “All that’s left is the floor.”

  “There are split logs. Some of ’em might be reusable.” Rafe straightened with an armload of kindling, the last of the inside wall of the cabin, which had separated the main room from the two small bedrooms.

  Seth fell in beside her, and Callie liked having him close, so much she could cry.

  Seth liked slipping his arm around Callie’s slender waist, so much he could’ve howled like a mountain wolf. “Should we just leave the floor there?”

  “No.” Rafe had an answer, of course. “About half of these split logs are rotten. Let’s tear it up. We’ll build the walls and worry about putting down a floor later. Might be that men stuck here in the line shack this winter could lay flooring when the winds are too fierce to go outside.”

  Seth knew his brother hated to see a man waste a single minute. Being buried in snow was no excuse for idleness.

  Rafe and Seth jerked the half-buried logs out of the ground. Julia and Callie teamed up to carry them away. Seth noticed the women kept up a friendly chatter, and he was glad to see Julia welcoming Callie to the family.

  Rafe and Seth had to scramble to keep up with the women. As they finished the front room of the cabin and turned to the back, all that remained was the floor of the two bedrooms. Ethan and Heath appeared from the woods dragging more logs behind them. They had a nice stack.

  Seth pulled up a split log and a small metal cylinder rolled out from between the flooring. “What’s this?” He bent to pick it up and saw a second cylinder.

  Julia came up just as he asked the question. “Oh, throw those away,” she said. “My father’s cigars. He carried them with him everywhere. Awful, smelly things. I burned the rest of the cigars but forgot about the ones he had in those tubes. I guess they rolled into a crack in the floor when I took his shirt off.”

  “They’d make good match tins.” Seth turned to Rafe. “You guys have your matches with you, right?”

  Rafe and Ethan each pulled flat containers from their pockets.

  “I have matches, too.” Julia produced her little container.

  “Those are a little long and round to go in a man’s pocket,” Rafe said.

  Seth took one of the tubes. “Callie, you should use these to carry matches with you. And Heath needs matches. And Audra.” Despite his love for that dark cavern, Seth felt his throat swell a bit to think of being stuck down there in the pitch-dark. “We’ll use these two and get some more.”

  Seth extended one toward Callie, who stood closest to him.

  She unscrewed the lid and wrinkled her nose. “It must still have a cigar in it.”

  Seth took it back and tipped it. A cigar fell onto the ground. With a little click it hit a log lying at Seth’s feet, so dried out it cracked into several pieces. Seth opened the other container and tipped it to dispose of the cigar.

  “It’s stuck.” Seth lifted it to his eyes. “They do stink.” Seth stuck a finger into the cylinder and tugged at the black cigar. He inched it out. A bit of tobacco leaf broke off and came out. Seth went back to digging in the little tube. The cigar gave slowly, a fraction of an inch at a time. Finally it was sticking out enough that Seth could get a solid grip on the crumbling thing and drag it out. It dropped and something pattered like tiny hailstones on the log at Seth’s feet.

  He bent down. “What’s this?”

  “Looks like broken glass.” Rafe came up beside Seth. “Lucky you didn’t cut yourself.”

  “It’s not sharp.” Seth picked up a single one of the bits of clear glass and held it close to examine it.

  Julia hunkered down beside him. Her gasp drew everyone else toward her.

  “Not glass, Rafe.” Julia picked one up and stood.

  “What, then?” Rafe took the little sparkling bit from her.

  “I think . . . I mean I’ve studied geology, you know. I think these . . . they’re . . . they must be . . . diamonds.”

  “Diamonds?” Seth turned a startled glance to the pretty stones.

  “It looks like,” Julia said in a hushed voice, “we’ve found the fortune my father stole.”

  Jasper had heard enough from listening around Colorado City that he could ride straight to the Kincaid Ranch.

  He was pleased to realize he could still read sign, and the tracks told him they were approaching a good-sized spread. “The ranch is up ahead.”

  Bea hadn’t done much grumbling, and Jasper hoped he could get through this without it. He wanted to still have a wife when this was all over. A wife and his diamonds.

  “Let’s scout it out, Bea, honey.” He slipped off the trail and tied his horse, along with Bea’s, out of sight. There was a good lookout spot, and he settled in to watch for any sign of Seth Kincaid.

  “This has to be the original Kincaid Ranch. It has an established look about it. Ethan Kincaid lives here with Audra Gilliland. It’s her husband who stole from me.” Jasper’s jaw tightened as he thought of his money gone to these ranchers while he lived in a hovel. They stayed hidden for a long time.

  “I’m freezing, Jasper. Why don’t you just go up and knock on the door and ask Ethan Kincaid for your money, if you’re so determined to be an honest man?”

  “Now, Bea, hiding up here, watching a house isn’t dishonest. I haven’t seen anyone come and go from the house and there’s no smoke coming out of the chimney. It’s too cold for them to not keep a fire going.”

  “It’s cold for a fact.” Bea shivered.

  “I think Ethan’s gone. And since Seth was coming home with his wife and baby, it’s a good chance Ethan is at Seth’s house. Let’s ride on and see if anyone’s there.”

  He found the second cabin cut out of the mountains and forests like a raw sore. Clearly it was newly built. There was a small barn, but no hired men were in evidence and no livestock. The house had an addition so new that Jasper could still smell the fresh-cut wood. He was bolder about going up to this place. It also stood empty. So where were all the Kincaids?

  “Let’s get out of the cold for a bit, Bea. There’s no one here.”

  Bea might’ve protested entering a stranger’s house, but she was shivering until she could barely speak.

  The place didn’t have a fire, but getting out of the wind helped a lot. He searched the cabin thoroughly under the guise of hunting up a blanket for Bea. The barn as well, which he excused by saying he needed to check the horses. The sun was setting when he finally gave up.

  “We need to move on, Bea.”

  “It’s almost dark. I don’t want to sleep on the trail.”

  Jasper didn’t either. And the next home built by the Kincaids was something of a mystery. No one in town really knew where it was, and the talk had only made it more confusing. Though it wasn’t wise, Jasper’s years spent living in luxury overcame his qualms.

  “If Seth Kincaid comes home, we’ll tell him we were out in the cold and used his house to sleep in.”

  “Or you could just tell him the truth and ask him if he’s got your money.”

  Jasper met Bea’s eyes. She was a smart woman bent on going straight. It made her mighty hard to handle. “All right. Yes, we can do that. I hope he does show up.”

  “Why can’t you let the money go, Jasper? We’re getting by as we are.”

  It was a hard question and Jasper wasn’t sure she’d like his answer. “I feel ashamed, Bea. I feel like I’ve
lost my pride. I live off you. I’m a bum.”

  “You work hard every day. A bum doesn’t do that.”

  “Maybe not.” He brushed her hair back off her face. “You’ve got no right to be so pretty when your life has been so hard.”

  “Hush with your sweet talk.”

  “Everything we have is yours. And somewhere right around here is the money I spent my life earning. It gnaws at me day and night. I lay awake and twist myself up thinking about it being so close. Thinking about these Kincaids living high off the money I fought years to earn.”

  “It’s ill-gotten and you know it.”

  “I earned it more than the Kincaids ever did.”

  She patted his arm.

  “Once I get it back, I can hold my head up. I won’t try to buy us a big house or make you live a rich life. I know you like where we’re at. But knowing I can call it mine instead of yours . . . well, I don’t think I’ll ever know any peace if I can’t say that.”

  Bea looked at him. “It’s a fool’s errand. You know that. Better to just go back to Colorado City, and if you want to feel like you’re part owner, then get a job. Hire on to work at the bank or somewhere.”

  “Me, in a bank?”

  “You can add and subtract, can’t you?”

  “I can indeed, and I want to add my money to yours. I’d have to work for years to add a fraction of what’s already mine.”

  “But it would be enough, Jasper. More than enough, and honestly earned.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I can’t go back without at least trying, Bea. Tomorrow I’ll get my money, and then be the most upright man you’ve ever known. You’ll be proud to have me as your husband.”

  “I’m proud now, Jasper.”

  “I’m going.”

  “I’ll not stand by if you hurt anyone.”

  A smile escaped as Jasper realized she was agreeing to let him try. “You have my word that I won’t. Now, let me get this place warmed up.”

  Jasper didn’t intend to hurt anyone. He’d find his diamonds, sneak in, grab them and run, with no one the wiser. And staying in the cabin didn’t seem like too big a risk. He felt confident no one was coming home anytime soon. It was too late at night.

  The Kincaids must be staying the night at the third house, the one no one knew much about. In the dark he’d have the devil’s own time following a trail. He’d heard twisted stories about Rafe Kincaid’s house being in a hard-to-find canyon.

  Jasper expected he’d hunt it down with no trouble, but not in the dark.

  He built up the fire. It crackled in the silent room. The wind whined down the chimney and made the flames dance and sparkle like diamonds.

  Bea had refused to use the beds, so they’d settled on the floor, wrapped together in a blanket. Tomorrow he’d find his diamonds and get back to his real life.

  The warm room pulled Jasper into sleep, and just as he dozed off, the snapping flames and whipping wind changed until he heard what sounded like the devil laughing.

  Chapter

  18

  “What’s a little stack of diamonds worth?” Seth looked at his brothers. Who shrugged.

  “A lot.” Julia held the cigar cylinder packed with diamonds in her hands. She reached into the cylinder and pulled out one stone about the size of a baby’s thumbnail. “I know the bigger they are, the more valuable. And as diamonds go, these seem big. All together, they’re worth probably tens of thousands of dollars.”

  Callie couldn’t help but gasp. “In that little tube?”

  Julia held the diamonds just a bit farther away from her body, as if the tube had turned into a Texas sidewinder. As if holding it made her skin crawl, but she was afraid to let go and get bit. “I reckon you oughta take ’em somewhere. Sell ’em and buy something important like land and cattle and horses.”

  Julia shook her head, frowning. “We can’t sell them. My father stole them and I refuse to get rich on his dishonesty.”

  “The man he stole ’em from sent low-down hombres after you to take the diamonds back, by force.” Callie didn’t hold with keeping stolen goods, yet was it right to return those goods to a thief? “An honest man would’ve contacted the sheriff and reported that he’d been robbed.”

  “True enough.” Seth looked at the cleared area where the line shack needed to go. “Can we stop talking about diamonds and get this cabin built? I don’t want to be all day about it.”

  It suited Callie to get back to work. She preferred ignoring something as stupid as stones that looked like broken glass. “Take ’em to the sheriff, then. The lawman in Rawhide can sort it all out. If the man who says those diamonds are his shows up, just tell him to talk to the sheriff. Bet he’ll hit the trail fast enough.”

  “I don’t want to take them to the sheriff in Rawhide. Working alone like he does, this might be a big temptation to the man, and I don’t want him to go bad because of us. We need to take them to Colorado City.”

  “We can’t get there before spring most likely,” Seth said.

  “If we can’t get out before spring, then it stands to reason an outlaw can’t get in.” Rafe took the diamonds from Julia. “In the meantime, we need to tuck these away somewhere safe. These diamonds, once turned in to the sheriff, will buy us some peace.”

  “I could try the run to Colorado City, Rafe.” Seth reached for the diamonds and Rafe handed them over. “Now that the blizzard is over, it shouldn’t be hard to make it.”

  Rafe looked from the cylinder to Seth. “It could be done. But you need to start early.”

  “How about tomorrow?”

  “No, not tomorrow.” Callie snagged the diamonds from Seth.

  “Why not?” Seth asked.

  “Because I have to go with you, and I’m not in the mood for another long ride up and down a cold mountainous trail. And if I go, Connor has to go.”

  “Seth can make the ride into town and back in a long hard day alone, Callie,” Rafe said. “You don’t need to go.”

  “I’m not leaving his side until I’m sure he’s not gonna run off again.”

  “Hey! I’d come back. I’m not running off. Why would I do a thing like that?”

  “Why indeed?” Callie exchanged a long look with Rafe.

  Rafe opened his mouth, then looked at Seth and scowled. “He’d almost for sure come back.”

  “I’ve got a wife and son out here. Besides, I want to show Connor the cavern.” Seth’s eyes flashed with wild enthusiasm.

  “Okay,” Rafe said. “You can rest up a few more days before you head to town. And if the cold weather shuts down hard on our heads, we can hope the varmint after those diamonds is locked away from us for the winter. Now let’s get back to work.” Rafe, always taking charge. “Ethan and Heath, we’re gonna need a lot more logs.”

  Ethan looked at Heath. They both shrugged and led their horses back toward the forest.

  ———

  They kept at their building until full dark. The cabin was close to done when the day ended. “I’ll hang the door and shutters myself.” Rafe pulled off his gloves and wiped his brow. The evening was turning colder, though Callie hadn’t noticed until she’d stopped working.

  “We’ll ride for home now.” Seth began saddling his horse.

  “No, we have to get Connor.” Callie got to work strapping leather on her own mount.

  She saw Seth freeze, take a nervous look at her, then go back to tending his horse.

  “Forget you had a son, cowboy?”

  Seth’s eyes got wide and his hands moved faster. Callie only kept from slugging him because she was exhausted and had a long ride ahead of her.

  “Stay at our house tonight,” Julia said. “It’ll be the middle of the night before you get back to your place.”

  “It feels like the middle of the night now.” Rafe swung up on his horse.

  Ethan and Seth followed suit. Whatever their quirks, and they seemed legion, Callie had to admit the Kincaid men knew horses and they knew building. The li
ne shack had gone up fast and sturdy.

  Soon they were riding down another mountain by moonlight. Callie would get used to the whole world standing on end someday, but for now she missed the rolling hills and flatlands of her father’s ranch.

  They rode up the side of another mountain and swung down to lead the horses into a cave. “You live in this cave?” she asked Julia.

  “No, this is a vent into a caldera.”

  Callie felt free to roll her eyes at the nonsense because they’d entered the cave and it was pitch-dark.

  “The cave goes all the way through into a mountain valley,” Rafe said. He was in the lead and his voice echoed back past the row of Kincaids, each leading their horse. Rafe first, then Julia. Heath, Seth, Callie, with Ethan bringing up the rear.

  When they came out, Callie saw a vast stretch of meadow bathed in moonlight. It was too dark for her to see it clearly, but she liked the feel of it, the openness. Trees weren’t trying to swallow up every bit of space.

  When they reached the cabin, light gleamed in the window. Smoke curled out of the chimney, and Callie smelled something hot and meaty.

  They saw to their horses. Inside, Audra was the only one there. She’d heard them coming and was mostly done dishing up plates from a huge pot of stew simmering on a rectangular cast-iron cookstove. The cabin was lit by several lanterns. There were doors to the right and left of the main room, both closed. And two more doors to the back. The main room held a big table near the stove on the right side, and two rocking chairs in front of the fireplace on the left.

  Callie and Julia washed up and pitched in to prepare the meal while the men finished cleaning up. Rafe said the blessing, and Callie thought he sounded particularly sincere when he prayed for their safety and wisdom in dealing with the diamonds. Soon they were all eating the savory meal.

  They fell on the food like starving lumberjacks and made short work of finishing it.

  “Thanks, Audra, honey.” Ethan took his plate to the sink. “A hot meal puts heart into a man.”

  With the meal cleared away, exhaustion weighed down Callie’s eyelids and she felt every ache left from her run-in with stagecoach robbers.