What a night they’d been through, and she’d fought like a tigress the whole time. He couldn’t remember all of it, but he did recall her soft lips on his as she blew life back into him.
“Can I get you anything else, Mr. Jake?” Thad moved around the room, gathering the items he’d used to bathe and shave Jake, a towel slung over one shoulder, Jake’s old nightshirt over the other.
“Juliette.” He laughed. “I’d like to see Juliette, if she’s not busy.”
“Juliette’s still asleep,” Thad said.
Still asleep? It was nearly two o’clock. “Is she all right?”
“Oh, sure, but we found her fainted in the hall this morning, and Miss Lydee told us she wasn’t to be disturbed until she woke.”
Contrition ran through him. She’d stayed up all night with him, and though he couldn’t remember a lot of it, he knew the ordeal must have strained her endurance. “I understand.” He slid back on the mattress, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Yeah, we need to let her rest.”
Thad no sooner cleared the door when Miss Lydee poked her smiling face in. “You through with your dinner, Mr. Jake?”
“Yes, ma’am. I finished off two bowls. Best chicken and dumplings I’ve ever eaten.”
She hustled in chuckling in her endearing way and took the tray. “The cook always appreciates compliments. You have a visitor. Are you up to receiving?”
A visitor? Here? Maybe Mr. Fitzgerald had come back, but Jake understood the man was on his way back home. “Yes, ma’am. Bring him in.”
A couple of minutes after Miss Lydee cleared the room, a tall cowboy entered, holding his Stetson at his side.
“Deck—you son-of-a-gun. What are you doing down here?”
Deck ran his fingers through brown, wavy hair that needed a good cutting. “Heard you were about dead, but you don’t look like a dying man to me.” He propped against the wall, his grin stretching double laugh lines across his face.
“You should have seen me this time yesterday. Doc says I’ve turned the corner, but he wants me to stay in bed a couple more days. And after what I’ve been through, I’m going to follow his orders.”
Jake stuck his injured leg out from under the sheet. “I stepped on a bear trap, can you believe it? I stopped at this place, not far from the river, according to my map, to cool off and give the horse a drink. Came up on this pretty stream, fed by the ice-cold spring.” He smirked, thinking how stupid his carelessness would sound to Deck, considering all the dangerous terrain they’d been in. “Anyway, this nice family took me in.”
Annie came through the open door with a pile of his freshly washed and ironed clothing. Jake had never paid much attention to Juliette’s sister before. She stayed in the background, moving in the shadows like a ghost. Close up, he noticed how pretty she was with golden hair hanging in braids over each shoulder, but those big blue eyes were the only feature she shared with Juliette.
The girl had gotten used to him, but when she turned after laying the clothes on the end of his bed, she caught sight of Deck. She jumped a foot and dashed out the door before either of them could say a word.
Deck shoved off the wall and took the chair, straddling it. “I didn’t mean to scare the girl, although I probably look a fright. Haven’t taken the time to clean up in five hundred miles.”
“It’s not you. The girl’s mute. She can hear all right, just scared of her own shadow. Not sure why.” But he intended to find out before long. He slid his gaze from Deck to Thad, standing on the threshold.
“Excuse me, Mr. Jake. Do you need a dose of laudanum?”
His leg was still aching, but he could pass on the laudanum until tonight. “No, thanks. Come on in here, Thad. I want you to meet someone. This is Aloysius Decker, foreman of the ranch where I work. We call him Deck because if we call him by Aloysius, he’ll deck us.”
“Hello, young man.” Deck stuck out his hand.
Thad evidently missed his joke about the name and darted a cautious glance from Jake to Deck before shaking hands. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”
“I plan on taking Thad back home with me, and I’m hoping you can give him a job. He has the making of a good cowboy.” Jake intended to take the whole family, but he’d wait for the right time to give Deck that information.
Deck’s brow rose. “Is that so? We can always use another good cowboy, and you’re a lot more polite than most of them.”
“Thank you, sir.” Thad’s grin showed his excitement, but seemed to sense he’d better not push his luck. “If you don’t need your medicine, Mr. Jake, I’d better go help Miss Lydee with supper. Annie won’t come out of her room for a while.”
“You think I might bed down in your barn the next couple of nights,” Deck said. “I’m staying until the doctor releases Jake to travel.”
Thad stopped on his way out. “You could do that, but it might be hot in there. We have an extra mattress you could put out on the porch. Corky and I have been bedding down on the porch. We didn’t last night because it was storming, but it looks like fair weather has moved in.”
“Drag the mattress in here. There’s plenty of room, and I’m used to his snoring,” Jake said. “Is Juliette up yet?”
“I think so. I heard her moving around a little while ago. She might be taking a bath or something. I’ll check with Miss Lydee.”
When Thad had ducked out, Deck shifted his glance to Jake. “Nice boy. Who’s Juliette?”
Jake dropped his head back on the pillows and closed his eyes. “She’s my angel. I’m not joking when I say you’d be taking me back in a pine wood box if it weren’t for her.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her. Looks like we have a lot to thank her for.” Deck propped his arms across the back of the chair. “When we got your telegram, the whole town was at church, celebrating the birth of Carianne’s baby.”
Jake’s eyes popped open. “She had the baby? Sure she did. She was ready when I left. What was it?”
“A girl. Named her Arabella Elizabeth after Rhyan’s and Carianne’s mothers.”
“I’m happy for them.” For the first time in his life he wondered what it would be like to become a father. “Sorry my news spoiled their celebration.”
“You didn’t spoil anything. Point is, we were all together and everybody spent the rest of the night praying for you.”
“I could feel it.” He scooted back up. “Do you know if Carianne is still looking for a librarian?”
Deck chuckled. “She’s been pretty busy. I don’t think she’s had time to interview anyone for librarian. Maggie Comings is taking care of it until school starts.”
Maggie was the school marm, but she was supposed to get married. “Maggie and Clay aren’t getting married this year?”
“Not that I know. She signed up for another school year.”
“Is anything wrong between them?” Clay was one of Jake’s best friends, and he’d been in love with Maggie for at least three years.
“Nothing except Clay is taking forever to get the house rebuilt and the business going. But says he can’t expect his wife to support him. You know how Clay is.”
Yeah, he knew how Clay was. He had the best of intentions, but he was the type who took forever deciding a course of action. Jake didn’t like patting himself on the back, but he’d saved Clay from a bad situation more times than he could count during their years riding together.
Clay and Maggie had the longest courtship going he’d ever heard of. This past year, when they were making final plans, the tannery and leather goods shop Clay had invested in burned down, along with their house.
“Maybe he’d better go back to work on the ranch.”
Deck shook his head. “I don’t think he has the stamina for it.”
“That’s bad. Sure hope I regain my strength.”
“I expect you will, but you probably won’t be on full duty for a month or two—not until that leg heals.’
“You think it’ll take that long?” He had plan
s to build a house of his own and hadn’t considered how a broken leg could slow him down. But with the boys helping—.
“Old Carl took four months to be of any use when he broke his leg.”
“Deck, I want to take this whole family back with me. There’s a younger boy who wants to be a cowboy too.” He held up a palm when Deck started to speak. “I know kids under sixteen have to go to school, and Corky is just twelve. No way would Rhyan allow a boy that young to bunk with the fellows. But what I didn’t tell you is Juliette, their older sister, is a librarian. She could work for the Western Gates Library. There’s an apartment up above, isn’t there? She and Annie and Corky could room there.”
“That apartment only has one bedroom.”
“Corky can sleep in the parlor.”
Deck gave him a slanted look and stood, crossing his arms. “You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you? Why does the sister want to leave her home here? It looks like a nice place—a lot more spacious than that tiny apartment.”
“Well, I don’t know for sure that she does, but I owe her a lot, Deck. She saved my life. The boys did too, getting me out of that trap.” He wouldn’t explain that they’d set the trap. “Their step-pa is a mean cuss, I gather. He’s gone off on a gambling trip, and they don’t know where nor when he’ll return.”
“I’m assuming he’s still the younger children’s guardian. We could be arrested for kidnapping.”
Jake blew a long breath through tight lips. He hadn’t thought of that either. Juliette wouldn’t leave without them. “Well, we could leave word where they are, and he can send for them if he wants them. Looks like the man abandoned them to Juliette’s care. She has some say in this.”
“Before we go off half-cocked, we’d better send Rhyan a letter and ask if it’s all right to bring any of them.”
Leave it to Deck to think things through. Jake wasn’t about to take back his invitation, not if he could convince Juliette to go. He’d just send Deck back without him, and when he was on his feet again, he’d follow with the family. Once they were up there, Rhyan would have to agree. He hoped.
He just hated to be so sneaky about it. A pounding started in his head, and he wished he’d taken the laudanum.
***
Miss Lydee finished buttoning the back of Juliette’s pale green sprigged cotton dress. The energetic little woman had found the half-made dress and finished it. Juliette had started the simple spring gown right after Christmas, but dropped it to make Annie a couple of frocks since she had out-grown about everything she owned.
Juliette puffed the sleeves, pleased with the effect. If they moved to Nebraska, she’d have to buy clothing for all of them. The winters up there were too harsh for their light cottons. And the boys couldn’t wear overalls on the ranch. Thad had already mentioned that. Even without counting up her money, she knew it wouldn’t be enough. On the other hand, the boys could buy their own clothes with their wages.
Money wasn’t the biggest obstacle to moving.
Miss Lydee squeezed her shoulders. “There. I’ve never seen you look so lovely.”
“Even with this black eye?” Jake’s wild slug had left her with a bruised right eye.
Miss Lydee tittered. “Yes, makes you look more…mysterious.”
“I feel a lot better after a bath.” It had been nearly a week since she’d taken the time. Is Jake’s visitor still with him?” she asked Miss Lydee’s reflection in the tall mirror.
A hand flew to Miss Lydee’s mouth. “Oh yes, and that reminds me. I have to gather some more potatoes and onions for that pork roast I’m fixing for supper. We’ll have a guest, and from the looks of him, he needs to eat hearty.”
Juliette ought to ask if she could help. She’d left all the cooking to Miss Lydee since the kind lady had come. But she had to see Jake, assure herself he really had recovered. Visitor or not.
She tweaked the loose tendrils of her hair, and tilted her head one way and then the other to make sure the coiffure flattered. Even with the black eye. She’d taken more time with her toilette than she ever had. Almost like a lady preparing to greet her suitor.
Jake had asked her to marry him, after all. Even though he was delirious at the time and probably wouldn’t remember.
Foremost in her mind was the prospect of moving to Nebraska. She’d considered the possibilities in every way and the same barrier stopped her at every turn.
Annie.
She couldn’t work and take care of Annie. Of course, that problem would face her whether she moved or not. She had little money in her bank account, and there was nothing left to sell.
Why had Grace married that scoundrel? Why had Pa died? But even knowing the whys wouldn’t change the current situation.
Nor could she marry Jake, assuming he had been in his right mind when he asked her, without telling him she’d killed Harp and would possibly face murder charges if his body were found. If she told the law the truth at this late date, who would believe she’d shot him to protect Annie? Could they tell she shot him in the back from his remains? But wouldn’t the mere act of hiding his body convict her?
Running away to Nebraska would stamp guilt all over her, assuming Jake would believe her story.
The locket’s turquoise stone flashed as she moved, and her hand went to it. She opened it, hoping to find photographs of Jake’s parents.
It was empty. In fact, it looked brand new, as though no one had ever worn it. Maybe Jake’s mother had considered it too precious to wear. It was unlikely he’d know since he was a young child when his parents died.
How sad. At least she had memories of her mother, and her father’s legacy still lived with her.
With a parting glance at her reflection, she left the room and trekked the short distance to where Jake was holed up with his visitor from Sollano. As soon as she crossed the threshold, the man stood—tall and blond—like a Viking just off his ship. Ready to conquer.
“Deck, this is Juliette, the one who brought me back from the dead,” Jake said. “Juliette, this is Deck, foreman of the north section where I work.”
The man dipped his head, but didn’t offer a hand. Neither did she. “A pleasure to meet you, ma’am. Please accept our gratitude for helping Jake.”
“A pleasure to meet you…sir.” Her tone was anything but friendly. She supposed he was a nice man, but at the moment he was taking up space that belonged to no one but her and Jake.
She dismissed him as her gaze met Jake’s. His brow puckered with concern. “Juliette, what happened to your eye?”
“I…something hit me in the dark.”
“Thad told me you’d fainted and fell last night. Come here, let me see.”
She went to him without hesitation. Propped against the pillows, he appeared fully recovered from the fever, but she had to confirm that for herself. As she bent over him, she brushed the now dry glossy locks from his forehead. “Still as cool as the heart of a watermelon soaked in the Oscewichee boil.”
Deck stepped forward. “What’s an Oscewichee boil?”
Jake chuckled. “They call springs boils down here, even though the water’s ice cold.”
Juliette pressed her fingers to his neck to check his pulse. “Oscewichee is the largest spring along the Ocmulgee, Mr. Decker. The water was valued by the Creek Indian community that used to live in these parts. They made a tea from it for their rituals.”
She discreetly lifted the sheet over his injured leg to inspect the bandage. “The water is so cold because it flows out of underground channels in the sedimentary bedrock far below.” Pleased with the way the leg looked, she dropped the sheet and glanced at Deck for the first time. “This whole area used to be under the Atlantic Ocean.”
“I guess that would account for the sandy soil,” Deck said.
“I told you Juliette is a librarian, Deck. She knows about any subject you can think of. She’s told me more about the terrain and history than Mr. Fitzgerald did.” Jake shifted on his pillows. “I’ve been tr
ying to convince her to go back to Nebraska with me and take that librarian job at the Western Gates.”
Deck looked from one to the other like he knew why Jake had offered Juliette the librarian job, and it had nothing to do with the Western Gates.
Juliette wasn’t pleased to have this stranger know her business. “Mr. Decker, would you excuse us for a little while. I want to discuss something in private with Jake.”
Deck’s mouth twisted into a grin. “Yes, ma’am. Thad said I could bring a mattress in here and room with Jake while we’re waiting for him to get trail ready.”
“That’s fine. Miss Lydee will show you where the mattress is.”
She supposed she should show him herself. He was a guest, after all, but she didn’t want to waste a moment with Jake.
The tall cowboy retrieved his hat from the bureau and disappeared through the doorway.
“I thought he’d never leave.” Jake chuckled, holding his hand out to her.
When she gave him hers, he wrapped his fingers around it, and she closed her other hand on top. His greenish-brown eyes held her gaze. “You saved my life last night, Juliette. Now what are you going to do with me?”
He’d remembered. “I don’t know, Jake. Your employers must think a lot of you to have sent someone for you.”
“I think a lot of them too. You’re going to love the Casons, Juliette, and the Hollimans, and all the folks in the little town of Westerfield and most of the ranch hands. They’re good people.”
She reached back to pull the chair closer and sank upon the edge. “Jake, I’ve been trying to think of a way I could leave with y’all, but there’s just no way. I can’t abandon the house. And I don’t know how I’d be able to work in Mrs. Cason’s library with Annie underfoot.” He frowned, and she rushed on, “I’d like for you to take both the boys with you. I trust them to you, and they could stay in your bunkhouse. But how could I work and watch Annie?” If she kept repeating that maybe he’d understand.
To her surprise he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, one by one. “We’ll find a way, Juliette. I don't want to wait for you.”
Escaped (Intrigue Under Western Skies Book 4) Page 9
