Anyplace But Here (Oklahoma Lovers Series Book 5) (11 page)

“I promised you when I leave here, I will be taking you with me. Nothing about that has changed. If you believe nothing else, please trust me on that.”

Trust. There was that word again. But nevertheless, she closed her eyes in relief, and then sagged against him. The roughness of his shirt against her cheek reminded her once again of Hunter’s strength. As long as he was here with her, she could stand anything Louis did.

“Come on, let’s have a picnic.” Hunter jumped from the seat and helped Emily down before grabbing the basket. She took the rug from the carriage, and hand in hand they strolled to the beach. This time she’d worn more sensible shoes so he only had to help her slightly over the boulders.

The air was still warm, but the breeze from the Gulf cooled them. Once they’d settled on the rug, Hunter placed dishes of cold chicken, potato salad, apples, and lemonade in the center. They both dug in.

“From which restaurant did you get the food?” Emily asked as she licked her fingers clean of the tasty chicken.

“A place called The Flatiron Restaurant.”

“Oh, is that the one that the new movie theater was built underneath at Chutes Park?”

“Yes. I did see something about that. Have you been to Chutes Park?”

She shook her head. “No. I wanted Louis to take me there, but he said it was silly, a place for children.”

“I don’t know about that. According to the Galveston Tribune, Chutes Park and the amusement park right next door are attracting a lot of visitors. And certainly not all of them children.”

That was another contention between her and Louis. He accused her for three years of being barren. Frankly with the way Louis treated her, she would just as soon not have children. It would kill her to see him abuse her child.

Hunter placed the last of the dishes in the basket and stood. Holding out his hand, he said, “Walk with me.”

His serious expression had returned, along with the fluttering in her stomach. There was something bothering him, and she was afraid it was not anything she wanted to hear.

Since they hadn’t removed their shoes and stockings, they walked along the beach, her arm in his, avoiding the water skimming over the sand before it returned to the Gulf, only to repeat the action.

“I need to tell you something that happened to me when I visited Louis at his office the other day.”

“You visited Louis?” The fluttering in her stomach turned into a full-out dance. Had Louis known who Hunter was? That didn’t seem possible, but whatever had happened Hunter looked very somber about it.

Feeling the tension in his muscles, she stopped and turned to him, looking up into his face. His full lips had tightened and he narrowed his eyes. “I’ve spent the last ten years as a Ranger looking into every criminal’s face, searching in vain for the man I witnessed murder my father in cold blood eighteen years ago.” He ran his fingers through his hair, then rested his hands on his hips. His mouth worked as if his lips were unable to form the words he wanted to say. Blowing out a deep breath, he said, “Emily, as unbelievable as it sounds, I recently discovered that man is your husband.”

Chapter 11

Thank goodness Hunter reached out and grabbed her arm, or Emily would have collapsed onto the wet sand. “What? I don’t understand. How is that possible?”

“Damned if I know.” He cringed. “Sorry for my language.”

“I’m confused. Shocked and confused. In fact, I am at a loss for words.”

Hunter turned them so they walked back to where their belongings lay on the sand. He continued to hold her elbow, and when her steps faltered, he placed his arm around her shoulders which helped to keep her upright. Her knees were as weak as a baby colt’s.

Once they settled again on the rug, he leaned against a boulder, resting his wrist on one drawn up knee. “When I was thirteen years old my father was manager of our local bank. I’d stopped by for a visit one afternoon when a man came in and demanded money. My father pushed me under his desk and approached the robber, then instructed his teller to hand over the money.

“The teller did as he was told but before the thief left, he turned his gun on the teller and shot him. Then he moved the gun in my father’s direction and shot him.”

Emily’s hand flew to cover her mouth. “Oh my goodness, that’s terrible. He gave the man the money, why did he shoot him?”

“I’m assuming so there wouldn’t be any witnesses.”

Her mind in a whirl, she tried to make some sense out of what Hunter had just told her. “So I’m thinking the outlaw didn’t know you were there?”

“Exactly. After he shot my father, he glanced quickly around the room, then left. I sat there for quite a while—I couldn’t tell you exactly how long since I was numb—and then I left through the back door.”

“And no one else came in the entire time?”

Hunter shook his head. “It was past closing time, so even though the door wasn’t locked, no one came.” He rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb.

She sat for several minutes, trying to understand Hunter’s story. To witness your father gunned down in cold blood must have been awful for a young boy. How horrible to have to see such a thing. “What did the sheriff say?”

“Nothing. I never told him.”

“What?”

He reached out and dragged her close to him, tucking her snugly under his arm, making it difficult to look directly into his eyes. Perhaps that was his purpose. “I couldn’t talk about it. The numbness stayed with me for days. All through the funeral and for a time afterward I ran the scene around in my mind, but couldn’t form the words. When I had reached a point where I felt I could tell someone what I’d witnessed, we had already moved to Oklahoma.” He turned to her. “This happened in Kansas.”

“Even then you could have contacted the sheriff.”

“Maybe. But you know how a kid’s brain works. I figured we were too far from our town to deal with it. So I mostly shoved it to the back of my mind. In fact, it only came out in nightmares—which I am still plagued with today.

“Once I finished high school I packed up and left, with the intention of finding his killer. After drifting from job to job, mostly on ranches in Kansas, I joined the Texas Rangers. I figured that would give me the best chance to find him since criminals tend to travel state to state evading the law. For ten years I swore I would track down the killer and see that he was brought to justice.”

“And you’re telling me the killer was Louis?”

“Believe me, honey. No one was more surprised than I was.”

“It happened so long ago. How can you be sure?”

His jaw muscles worked and shifted so he could look at her. “I’ve dreamt that face at least once a month for the last eighteen years. It was Louis. Or whatever his name was when he held up the bank. I figured him to be about nineteen or twenty back then.”

She nodded. “That fits. He’s thirty-seven now.”

“Oh, there’s no doubt. Even with the passing years, I had no trouble recognizing him. Some things your brain simply does not forget.”

Emily blew out a breath, running her palms up and down her arms. “I always suspected Louis had it in him to kill. Lord knows he’s threatened me enough. At times there was something in his eyes that told me it would not overly distress him to kill me.”

What a horrible man. Why had she not seen that before she foolishly married him? Barely two weeks after her parents’ deaths she’d become engaged to Louis, and within another month they were married. Still numb from the shock of the boating accident, she’d leaned on him, assuming his support to be caring. He’d immediately taken over her finances and had her move into his house. Only the presence of his staff stood between her and disgrace at that move.

The wedding had been beautiful, the only thing missing had been her parents. The church overflowed with guests, the scent of dozens of bouquets of flowers filling the air. She’d worn her mother’s wedding gown and looked at Louis like he was her savior. He played the part well the entire day, through the reception afterward, keeping her by his side, patting her hand and smiling for all the world to see.

Then the guests had left and they retired to the bedroom. And her nightmare had begun. What a fool she’d been.

“You never told me you felt he was that dangerous. I had no idea, but now that I know his background, it becomes even more important for us to get you out of here.”

“Will you go to the Galveston police?”

“With what evidence? An eighteen-year-old memory of a thirteen-year-old boy? No. They would laugh me out of the office. Especially with the name Louis has built up for himself in the community.” He glanced at his watch. “We’d better get you back to Millie’s or your driver will be looking for you.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

“However, before we go . . .” Hunter cupped her face with his palms and rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks. “You are so beautiful. I want so badly to take you away from here.” He slowly closed his eyes and brought his mouth to hers. Softly, at first, then with more need as he slid his tongue along her lips, urging her to open to his taste.

The tiny flutters in her stomach grew until her heart pounded and her breathing sped up. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer until her breasts were crushed against his steel hard chest. Somehow the sun grew brighter and the ocean more fragrant. Every awful thought their conversation had dredged up faded as the kiss continued.

Gradually he withdrew, giving her small pecks on her lips, nose, and forehead. With a sigh he released her, leaving her senses reeling with want and desire.

They gathered up their belongings and took the short walk to the carriage. Emily still had a hard time with this new information about her husband. As they pulled away from the stable for their return to the dressmaker’s, she realized she had even more reason to be afraid of Louis than she’d had before.

Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory

Tori entered the library, then came to an abrupt halt at Jesse’s words. “Divorce? Why would Hunter want to know about divorce?”

“It’s only a guess, but most likely it has something to do with Emily.” Jesse flipped over the envelope the letter had arrived in. “This has a Galveston, Texas post mark. I guess his trip to Oklahoma City took him further south.”

Tori blew out a deep breath. “But
divorce
? That would be such a scandal for the girl. I don’t think I know anyone who’s been divorced.”

“We know Hunter. He wouldn’t do anything that would cause a scandal for someone he cared about, unless he had a very good reason. And given the way he hightailed it out of here a few weeks ago, he cares for Emily Cabot.”

Tori sat alongside him on the settee. “As much as I love my nephew, I’m not really certain I know him all that well. From the time I’d arrived in their lives, Hunter was a mystery to me. He was definitely the quiet one among the four of them, and it always seemed to me he was brooding about something. A problem much too great for a boy his age.”

“I got that impression, too. I tried a few times to get him to talk to me about more than inane things, but he would eventually clam up. I wonder if he was always that way, perhaps just part of his personality?”

Tori shrugged. “I’d always regretted that my aunt who raised me kept me from knowing my brother. Spending time with Henry and his four children would have certainly helped when their guardianship fell to me after Henry’s death.”

She recalled those days, and the fear she’d tackled every morning as she’d faced another sunrise. The responsibility of four children, three of them adolescents, had weighed heavily on her mind. Now when she looked back on her race for a piece of land for them by riding the train from Arkansas City to Guthrie, it amazed her that she’d succeeded.

Jesse pulled her from her meanderings. “One time after a particularly frustrating conversation with him, I asked Michael if Hunter had always been so quiet and thoughtful, and he said not as much as he’d been since his father had died.”

“Well, that’s certainly understandable. Thirteen is pretty young for a boy to lose the man in his life.”

Hunter always had trouble in school, but for a while after she and Jesse had married, it seemed as if the boy had lost interest in everything. He barely made it across the stage to collect his high school diploma when he announced he was packing up and leaving.

With no definite destination in mind, she and Jesse worried about him, but he was a man, and they realized he had to make his own way in the world. So after hugs and tears, the entire family stood on the porch and watched his back as he slung his satchel over his shoulder, and headed for the train station.

Over the years they’d gotten a letter or two, and once he even stopped in when he was working in the area. But for the most part the shadow Hunter had been when she’d first met him remained firmly in place until this very day.

Jesse slowly folded the letter and returned it to the envelope. “In any event, I will research this for him and send the information along.”

“Have you had any more success in weaning out the person feeding false information about Franklin to the newspaper?”

“Oh, I know who it is. Proving it is something else.”

She straightened her back, ready to do battle. “Who?”

Jesse flicked his fingertip on the tip of her nose. “I’m not ready to share that little bit of information just yet, sweetheart.” He rose and walked to his desk, dropping the letter on the surface. Turning toward her, he leaned against the edge, crossing his arms over his chest. “I prefer to keep it to myself until I figure out what to do with the information.”

“But that man—and I’m assuming it’s a man—has arranged for false, damaging information to be published about your client and friend.”

He grinned and pushed away from the desk, heading to the door. “Don’t assume anything, Mrs. Cochran.” He winked and let himself out, leaving her annoyed and frustrated.

Galveston, Texas

Emily stared at herself in the mirror. Since Tuesday, when she and Hunter had parted, she’d thought of nothing but the news about Louis and Hunter’s father. She knew her wretched husband suspected her of something, just by the way he watched her. She tried very hard not to act differently around him, but she couldn’t help the shivers when he came near.

“Are you chilly, my dear?” he’d asked last evening when he placed his hands on her shoulders after entering her bedroom while she’d sat in this very chair. She’d felt the blood drain from her face, afraid he intended to join her in bed. He hadn’t approached her that way since her return from Guthrie. But she knew it was only a matter of time.

He’d been fully dressed, and after a few minor comments told her he would be out for the evening. She’d breathed a sigh of relief as he left the room.

She shook herself from her reverie and concentrated on tonight. Another one of Galveston’s society balls had Maria primping her hair, fussing as she maneuvered its weight into curls.

“Mrs. Smith, you have such lovely hair, so easy to work with.”

Emily smiled at the compliment the maid gave her every time she fixed her hair. Her eyes roved downward at the new gown. The evening dress that had afforded her time to spend with Hunter. How she wished he was attending the Ratchford’s ball tonight. She closed her eyes, imagining him stepping up to her in full formal wear, and extending his hand toward her to lead her to the dance floor.

Fighting the unwanted tears, she smiled at Maria through the mirror. It was such a strain keeping up pretenses with the staff, even with her maid. There was no one in the house she could relax around. They all reported to Louis and he let her know that.

“Would you like your linen shawl? It would go very well with your dress.” Maria held out the powder blue garment with the colorful silk screen flowers on it.

“Yes, that one is fine. Thank you, Maria.”

The deep blue silk mousseline gown had a darker blue band about the bottom of the skirt with narrower strips around the bodice. After a final glance in the mirror, Emily took her shawl and gloves from Maria, and left to join Louis downstairs.

He was sipping a glass of whiskey when she entered the drawing room.

“Would you care for a sherry, my dear?” Oh so polite and polished when he wanted to be. Now that she knew he’d at one time been a common bank robber, it was hard to contain her sneer at his pretense. Hopefully Hunter would be able to finish his investigation, and have Louis put safely behind bars. Then she could begin her life anew.

“No thank you.” She avoided his eyes as she pulled on her gloves.

“My dear, I sense a change in you. Perhaps your foray outside of my protection harmed you in some way?”

“Whatever are you talking about, Louis?”

She jumped when he slammed the glass down and strode over to her, gripping her upper arm. He leaned in close, the smell of whiskey wafting over her, making her eyes water. “You’ve yet to tell me what it was,
exactly
, you did while you were working as a common serving girl in Guthrie.” He pulled her closer, tightening his grip, the pain shooting up her arm to her neck. “And don’t think I plan to merely forget about it. You
will
tell me one day.”

“There is nothing to tell. I served customers. That is all.” She hated the breathlessness of her voice.

He released her, the force almost tossing her backward. After tugging on the cuffs of his evening jacket, he flicked invisible lint from his lapel. “I think not, my dear. But I will find out. Trust me.” He smiled at her and extended his arm as if he had not just hurt her. “Are you ready, my love?”