A Tender Hope

by Amanda Cabot

  “What can I get you?”

  “A glass of whiskey.” He had no intention of drinking it, but he wasn’t going to raise suspicions by ordering sarsaparilla. When she’d poured him a generous portion, Jackson made his way across the saloon, keeping his head down and choosing a seat that would put his back to them as he took a table next to the strangers. He couldn’t risk their recognizing him, but the quick glance he’d shot in their direction showed that the two men looked enough alike to be brothers and that one of them had a prominent scar on his forehead.

  “We’re close,” one man said to the other. “I can feel it in my bones.”

  The second scoffed. “I heered that before. Them bones of yours ain’t very reliable.”

  “But Charity is.”

  Jackson raised his glass, pretending to drink from it, though he wanted to crow with relief. He’d been right. The fact that these two medium-everything men knew a woman named Charity confirmed his suppositions that Cimarron Creek’s latest visitors were none other than Will and Rob Michener.

  “Don’t know why she wunt let us go out to the ranch with her. You don’t reckon she’s gonna cheat us outa our share.”

  The first man scoffed. “She wunt do that. Not Charity. She just don’t want you around. I reckon she’s afeared you’ll kill someone else.” The gurgling sound of whiskey being poured into a glass accented his words. “She still ain’t forgiven you fer killin’ Daniel.”

  Jackson gave a quick nod at the confirmation that his instincts had been correct. The person who’d killed Daniel Michener had not been the one who’d slit Helen Bradford’s throat.

  “He was cheatin’ us.” The second man sounded defensive.

  “Mebbe, but Charity coulda gotten him to tell her where he hid the gold. She’s good at gettin’ information out of folks. We’d all a’ been rich if you’d kept your hand off the trigger.”

  “He had it comin’ to him.”

  “And we got gold comin’ to us. Charity done figgered it out,” the first man continued. “She’s gonna take care of Daniel’s widow tonight. She tole me the Ranger that’s been protectin’ her done come back alone. I tell you, Rob, she’s gonna find that gold for us.”

  Jackson shuddered. His worst fears had just become reality. Charity was the leader of the Gang, and she knew where Thea was.

  “He’s a handsome one, ain’t he?” Ethel beamed with pride at the infant in her arms.

  “That he is.” In reality, he looked like many newborns—red, wrinkled, and bewildered by his new surroundings—but he was alive and healthy, which was far more important than physical beauty, at least to Thea.

  Ethel’s labor had progressed more rapidly than Thea had expected, with the youngest Harris making his appearance at 8:03. Thea wasn’t certain who was more relieved—she because Ethel’s wailing had ceased or the mother herself—but she could not deny the sense of wonder she felt over the successful delivery. If there was one lesson she had learned from her own experience, it was that life was both precious and fragile. This child did not appear fragile, but he was indeed precious.

  Thea smiled as she looked at the baby. It had taken a while to clean him and perform all the tasks that Ethel had declared were essential before the new father could enter the room, but now they were finished.

  “Are you ready for me to call Angus?”

  Ethel touched her hair, which Thea had just rebraided, and fussed with the ruffles on her bed jacket. For a woman who’d never before shown signs of vanity, she had been insistent that she look her best before her husband saw her again. She had even demanded that Thea bring her her perfume and the pot of rouge that she’d hidden in a corner of a bureau drawer.

  “I reckon I am.”

  “All right. I’ll get him.” Though her work was not complete, for she would spend the rest of the night here, checking on the newborn and his mother every hour, Thea was looking forward to a brief respite from her demanding patient. She was also looking forward to seeing Jackson again. Though she’d told him not to rush, she had thought he’d be back before now. Perhaps Aimee had had trouble soothing Stuart, and Jackson had stayed to help her.

  Thea closed the bedroom door behind her and headed for the kitchen, expecting to find Angus waiting there. To her surprise, the room was empty, as was the parlor. It was later than she would have thought he would be outside tending to the livestock, but perhaps he’d decided to wait on the porch rather than remain indoors and have to listen to his wife’s screams. Thea couldn’t blame him for that, especially since Ethel had cursed him more than once, claiming he cared more about his dogs than he did about her.

  Thea opened the front door and stepped onto the porch, expecting the dogs to come running or at least bark at her, but the night was eerily silent. “Angus,” she called. Surely the man would not go too far away when his child’s arrival was imminent. “Angus.”

  When there was no response, the uneasiness that had begun when she saw the empty kitchen grew. Where was he? Her eyes moved slowly, searching for the father, then stopped abruptly at the sight of a body slumped on the porch floor.

  “Angus, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothin’s wrong, Mrs. Michener. Everythin’s just right.”

  Before Thea could register what was happening, a tall woman emerged from the shadows and grabbed her, wrenching her arms behind her.

  “You and me’s gonna have a nice talk about that husband of yers and what he done with my gold,” the woman announced as she tied Thea’s wrists.

  “I don’t—”

  “Save your breath. You’re gonna need it where we’re goin’. Now, you stand right there.” She shoved Thea against the house, then reached into her pocket. Within seconds, she had gagged Thea with a bandanna, a bandanna scented with the same perfume that she had smelled on Daniel’s shirts.

  35

  We’re goin’ to the barn.” As the woman put her hand on Thea’s shoulders, propelling her down the steps and toward the outbuilding, Thea realized it wasn’t only the bandanna that bore that horrible perfume. The woman had dabbed it on her wrists, sending waves of it wafting through the air as she moved.

  Jackson had been right. The female member of the Gang did indeed wear the perfume Thea had smelled on Daniel’s shirts, and now she was here, threatening Thea.

  Thea stopped abruptly and swiveled, looking up at her captor. The almost full moon revealed medium brown hair, brown eyes that flared with anger, and a form that—despite the masculine clothing—was distinctly feminine.

  Almost gagging at the perfume that had once tainted Daniel’s shirts, Thea shuddered. Though she wanted to resist, there was no way she could overpower this woman who was more than half a foot taller and whose muscles rivaled any man’s.

  A feeling of impending doom settled over her. If only she had insisted Jackson stay, she would have been safe, but she had not. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her head in the only gestures of defiance she had at her disposal. There was no point in regretting might-have-beens. She needed to find a way to escape.

  “Get movin’.” The woman pushed Thea forward. “You and me’s gonna talk, but don’t get no ideas about screamin’. Ain’t nobody gonna hear you out there,” the woman taunted.

  Even if she could have spoken through the bandanna, Thea saw no need to mention that there was no one to hear her anywhere. Jackson had not yet returned. Angus was unconscious or worse. If Ethel wondered where Thea and her husband were, she wouldn’t search for them, because Thea had impressed on her the necessity of remaining in bed for at least four hours. All that meant that Thea was on her own, and yet she wasn’t alone.

  Taking comfort from the fact that, while there might not be any humans nearby, God would always hear her, she offered a silent prayer. Dear Lord, I know you see and hear everything. I know you’re watching out for me, and I pray that you will give me the strength to get through this night. Feeling strength flow through her veins, Thea marched forward, determined that whatever happened, she
would not give this woman the satisfaction of seeing her cower.

  “Well, that’s more like it.” Apparently, her captor mistook Thea’s newfound courage for acquiescence. “Inside.”

  They’d reached the barn, the structure that sheltered the ranch’s milk cow during the worst of winter’s cold. Thea knew that at this time of the year it held only a few bales of hay and a small supply of feed corn. With no windows and only one door, it was the ideal place to hide a captive.

  The woman shoved Thea inside, lit a lantern, then closed the door behind them. “Sit down.” She pushed Thea onto one of the bales. “Like I told you before, you and me’s gonna talk.”

  As she pulled something from her pocket, Thea felt her eyes widen with recognition. One of her questions was answered when the woman flicked open Daniel’s watch and stared at the portrait.

  “Yep. I got it right this time. Yer the one what made Daniel change.” Though the lantern provided little more light than the moon had, there was no mistaking the fury in her eyes. “We had a good life, but you had to go and wreck it. Well, Mrs. Michener . . .” She spat the words. “You’re gonna pay fer that, but first you’re gonna tell me where Daniel hid the gold.” She yanked the bandanna, pulling it down onto Thea’s neck. “Start talkin’.”

  Thea inhaled deeply, savoring the partial freedom of not being gagged, even though it meant smelling the woman’s perfume. The relief was temporary. Thea knew that, just as she knew that the woman had no intention of letting her live. Her only hope was to stall.

  “Who are you?” Thea wanted confirmation of what she suspected.

  The woman’s eyes narrowed, and her face contorted with anger. “You mean Daniel din’t tell you? Shame on him. It don’t seem fair that he din’t tell you about me, ’specially when I had to listen to him talk about you.” She deepened her voice, attempting to imitate Daniel. “‘I’m goin’ straight now, Charity.’ That’s my name,” she said in her normal voice. “Charity James.”

  Thea nodded slowly. That was one of the names Jackson had mentioned when he returned from the orphanage. He’d believed she was the fourth member of the Gang, and he’d been correct.

  Charity James deepened her voice again. “‘No more robbin’ for me. Gonna make a life for my wife and baby.’”

  Despite the gravity of the situation, Thea’s heart leapt at the realization that Daniel had cared enough for her and their unborn child to want to abandon his criminal activities.

  Charity James’s laughter held no mirth. “Well, that’s where he went wrong, thinkin’ me and the others would let him leave. The four of us been together for too long to change, but Daniel figgered he was different. He figgered we’d never find him, but he weren’t as smart as he figgered. We found him and we found you.” Charity smiled, a smile that sent a shiver down Thea’s spine. “Now we’re gonna find the gold, ’cuz you’re gonna tell me where it is.”

  The gold. Everything centered on the gold that Daniel had apparently stolen from his partners. Had he thought Thea wanted or needed it? If Daniel had told her about it, she would have insisted he turn it in to the authorities, but Daniel had never mentioned any gold.

  Thea looked directly at Charity James, willing her to believe her. “I don’t know where it is.”

  Charity did not believe her. Her lips curving in disgust, she raised her arm and slapped Thea’s face. “Yer lyin’.”

  Though her face stung from the blow, Thea kept her voice steady. “I am not lying. Daniel never talked about gold. He told me he was a traveling salesman.”

  “He was. When he weren’t helpin’ me rob folks, him and me pretended to be upstanding citizens.” This time Charity’s smile was genuine, as if she found the thought amusing. “Daniel would tell folks he was a salesman. I pretended to be a missionary, collectin’ money for orphans in China. Can you imagine that? Me, a missionary.” She laughed.

  “Well, by the time folks figgered out what was goin’ on, Daniel and me had planned our next heist. That’s why we done what we did, to figger out when rich folks would be travelin’ or when a payroll was comin’ through. You can learn a lot by listenin’.”

  Thea doubted that Charity recognized the irony in her words, but she was learning a lot by listening. The woman’s story confirmed Jackson’s theory of why he and Leander had been unable to find the Gang between robberies. Jackson had suspected they’d pretended to be ordinary citizens, but he had been looking for four people together, not realizing that they’d gone in different directions.

  “What about the other two?” Charity had only accounted for herself and Daniel.

  “Will and Rob?” The curl of her lip left no doubt about Charity’s opinion of them. “Them two are too dumb to plan anything. They hang out on a ranch between heists. Right now they’re probably drinkin’ themselves silly in some saloon.”

  She shook her head. “Time’s a wastin’. There ain’t no point in talkin’ about me and the boys. Yer the one what’s got the answers.” Charity stood over Thea, her lips twisted into a snarl. “Where did Daniel hide the gold?”

  “I don’t know.” Though Charity wouldn’t be satisfied, it was the simple truth. Not once had Daniel mentioned either gold or a hiding place. Charity was the one who’d known him for most of his life. Surely she would have a better idea of where he might have stashed the loot than Thea, who had been his wife for such a brief time.

  “Well, now, Mrs. Michener, I ain’t believin’ that. I reckon a man who was head over heels in love the way Daniel was woulda tole you everythin’.” Charity’s expression darkened with something that might have been jealousy. “I ain’t never seen a man so crazy about a woman. The only other gal what caught his eye was Violet, but that weren’t nothin’ compared to the way he talked about you.”

  Charity’s scowl deepened. “Heaven knows I tried to get him interested in me, even got me the most expensive perfume in the store, but he weren’t havin’ none of it.”

  As Charity’s final words registered, Thea’s heart began to pound. Thank you, God. He’d answered one of her prayers. Although she would never have dreamt that the truth about whether Daniel truly loved her would come like this, there was no doubting the sincerity of Charity’s statement.

  Thea could feel peace settle over her like a warm blanket, chasing away the fears that had hounded her ever since Daniel’s first trip to San Antonio. She hadn’t been wrong. He hadn’t lied. Daniel had loved her, just as she had loved him.

  It was a wonderfully liberating thought, erasing the months of pain when she had believed him unfaithful.

  On the heels of that epiphany came another. The last of her doubts was gone. Her questions had been answered, her fears vanquished, replaced by the knowledge that her love for Jackson was deeper and stronger than anything she had felt for Daniel. It was a love that would endure for as long as Thea lived.

  But that might not be long. Thea closed her eyes as the reality of her situation once again weighed on her. Charity James was an angry and vindictive woman who had no intention of letting Thea live beyond the night. When Thea did not give her the answers she sought, she would probably slit her throat the way she had Helen’s. And then Jackson would always wonder whether Thea had returned his love.

  She offered another silent prayer. Dear Lord, let me live long enough to tell Jackson how much I love him. When she opened her eyes, she was smiling.

  “What’s the matter with you? You ain’t got no reason to be smiling. You’re gonna be as dead as Violet and the one what looked so much like you.”

  It was as Thea had feared. Charity was a woman who thought nothing of ending human life.

  “Ain’t nobody gonna rescue you.” As if to assure herself that no one had arrived, Charity swiveled around to stare at the door, then took a step toward the stall.

  It was the opportunity Thea needed, the only one she might have. She jumped to her feet and ran toward the door, but it was to no avail. Before she could reach it, Charity knocked her to the ground and stood with h
er foot on Thea’s right leg. Even if she’d wanted to kick, she would have hit only empty air.

  “You ain’t gettin’ away so easy. Shoot! You ain’t gettin’ away at all. Once you tell me where the gold is, you’re gonna meet up with Daniel agin.”

  The threats were no surprise to Thea. What did surprise her was that Charity had voiced them. “Why would I tell you where the gold is when you’re planning to kill me anyway?”

  “’Cuz if’n you tell me, you kin die quick. Otherwise, it’s gonna be slow and painful just like that other woman.”

  Charity spat again. “That durn Daniel. He led me on a goose chase. He tole me you and him was livin’ in Llano. Took a while to figger out that he was lyin’ and that you were someplace different. Daniel weren’t so smart, though. I figgered that the name started with an L.” She shook her head in disgust. “You got any idea how many L towns there is?”

  She reached down, grabbed Thea’s arm, and yanked her up. “Sit,” she commanded as she pushed Thea back toward the bale. “Now stick out yer feet.”

  “Why?”

  “Why do you think?” Charity picked up a length of rope that had been hanging over the edge of the cow’s stall. “I’m gonna make sure you don’t try to escape agin.”

  Knowing there was no way she could overpower the woman, Thea extended her legs. Though she would be unable to walk, somehow she would find a way to outsmart Charity.

  “Well, that’s more like it. Seems you learned a lesson.”

  To Thea’s surprise, Charity wrapped the rope around her calves, leaving her feet and ankles unbound. Though it would be difficult, Thea would be able to walk, almost as if she were in one of those three-legged races that had been such a popular part of Independence Day celebrations. Still, it was an odd way to restrain someone. Though Thea suspected there had to be a reason for the woman’s action, she could not imagine what it was, particularly since Charity had made it clear that she did not expect Thea to leave the barn alive.