Arizona Embrace (49 page)

“I have a lot of things to consider now besides what I’d like to do.”

“That’s another thing. Women complicate a man’s life something awful. The pretty ones do it worse. I don’t think I’m up to it.”

“Then it’s a good thing Victoria fell in love with me.”

“Yeah, safer, too.”

“But it’s an invitation from the Judge,” Victoria told Ben. “He wants to see me, to make amends for some of the unpleasantness over Jeb’s death.”

“If this judge wants to see you so much, why doesn’t he come to town?”

“He’s in poor health. He says the trip from Austin exhausted him so he can’t leave the house for several days yet.”

“What about that Queenie woman?”

“You mean Myra. What can she do to me as long as you’re with me?”

“Trinity said I wasn’t to let you go near her under any circumstances.”

“You won’t have to. You can go with me.”

“I still don’t like it. Why don’t you wait until Trinity gets back. He can go with you.”

“I’d much rather go without him,” Victoria eyed Ben mischievously. “If you won’t go, maybe I’ll ask Red.”

“Don’t you try your tricks on me,” Ben said. “Trinity might not care that scrawny redhead don’t seem to know where to put his hands, but I can tell him so’s he’ll remember. You ain’t going nowhere with him. You take my advice and wait for Trinity.”

“You don’t understand,” Victoria said. “Trinity insists Myra is the Queenie who married his father. He ought to know, but I’m sure he’s mistaken somehow. There’s a lot of tension when they’re together. He doesn’t think much of the Judge either.”

“I guess not, steering his own daughter-in-law to the gallows.”

“You forget it was his only son who was killed.”

“No, I don’t forget,” Ben said, “but a dozen of him weren’t worth one of you.”

“That’s a sweet thing to say, but it doesn’t change anything. It’s just a short visit. We can leave in the morning and be back before dark. Trinity will never know we’ve been gone.”

“Yes, he will,” Ben predicted. “You can swear every person between here and the Oklahoma territory to secrecy, but he’ll know before he’s been back five minutes.”

“Well, it won’t matter. We’ll be back, and nothing will have happened. There’ll be nothing for him to be angry about.”

“I ain’t so sure of that,” Ben said. “I’m going against my instinct to let you go, and I always get in a load of trouble when I do that.”

“I don’t suppose you will believe me, but I’m very sorry for everything I did,” Judge Blazer said to Victoria. “There didn’t seem to be any possibility you weren’t guilty, and I desperately wanted someone to suffer the way I had.”

Victoria could hardly believe how much the Judge had changed. He had stopped actively running the ranch after his accident ten years earlier, but he had always been a proud, outgoing, handsome man.

He had become terribly thin and complained constantly of burning in his throat and stomach. His skin was much darker, as though he’d been spending too much time in the sun, and his face and legs seemed swollen, especially about the ankles and eyes. He seemed to be swearing, but his skin had felt cold and clammy when he embraced Victoria.

Even his personality had changed with his illness. He was querulous, lethargic, and unwilling to leave the house.

“I don’t blame you for what you did,” Victoria said.

“How can you not?”

“I used to, but I’ve learned a lot about life and people since then. I realize there’s a great deal in everyone’s life they can’t control. We also make a great number of mistakes.”

“I suppose you mean I shouldn’t have made you marry Jeb.”

“You didn’t
make
me marry Jeb any more than my father did. You just wanted me to do what you thought was best for both of us. Unfortunately, Jeb and I weren’t at all suited.”

“I supposed I spoiled him too much. But after his mother died, I didn’t know what else to do.”

The Judge went into a spasm of coughing. He had been doing that ever since Victoria arrived. Victoria was unhappy Myra should have chosen this afternoon to go visiting.

“Could I get you something? Do you have any medicine?”

“I have too many, and none of them do any good. I would like a cup of coffee. That always seems to put the fire out for a little while. Would you mind making some?”

“Not in the least,” Victoria said. “You stay here and rest.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t have any,” the Judge called to Victoria through the open doorway. “Myra said I was to wait until dinner. The doctors say it’s not good for a weak heart, but it’s gotten so I can’t do without it. I didn’t used to drink it much. Before I married Myra it was whiskey. When the doctors took me off alcohol, I started in on coffee. Myra keeps a pot of her own special brand going practically all day. I never saw anybody drink so much coffee.”

Victoria couldn’t really understand what he was saying, but she let him keep on talking.

It seemed strange to be in the kitchen once again. Almost without thinking she went unerringly to the container with the freshly ground coffee. Just enough for four cups. After she put the pot on to boil, she looked through the cupboards for the extra coffee. She had been brought up to refill a container when she used the last. Their cook had drummed that into her head time and time again.

Victoria wished Myra were here now to take care of her husband or at least tell her what to do. He must have medicine to take. Coffee might make him feel better, but it certainly couldn’t do him any real good.

She found the extra coffee behind a tin of lard. More than half of the contents had been used already. She put exactly as much coffee in the coffee container as she had taken out, replaced the rest behind the lard tin, and took down three cups. Even though he had refused to come inside, Ben might like some. At least she could offer him some after he rode so far with her.

“That’s good,” the Judge said after he’d taken a few swallows. “You’ll have to tell Myra what you do. I don’t know when I’ve tasted coffee this good. I want you to come live here with us,” the Judge said, changing the subject. “You’re my daughter-in-law. Your home should be here.”

“Thank you, but I can’t.”

“Don’t say no because of what I did,” the Judge pleaded. “I’ll do anything I can to make up for that. As Jeb’s widow, you have a considerable amount of money coming to you.”

“Please, I don’t want Jeb’s money. If we’d been married longer or had children, it would be different, but Daddy left me more than enough.”

“It’s yours. Jeb put it in his will.”

“I know, but he really didn’t like me. It wasn’t his fault. We just didn’t suit. I wouldn’t feel right taking his money.”

“What are you going to do, go back to Arizona?”

Victoria felt herself blush. She guessed she felt a little embarrassed talking to the Judge about her happiness when he was so unhappy. “I’m going to get married.”

“To your uncle’s foreman, the boy who broke you out of jail?”

Victoria felt herself blush even more. “No, to Trinity Smith, the man who brought me back to Bandera.”

“Are you crazy?” the Judge nearly shouted. He sat up like he’d been shot. “You can’t marry a bounty hunter.”

Chapter Twenty-six

“He’s not a bounty hunter” Victoria shot back. “He only goes after people because nobody else will.” Even as she explained Trinity’s reason for his work, she recognized her own accusations in the very words the judge used. How ironic she should have to defend Trinity now.

“I still don’t like it,” the Judge said. “You realize people won’t take to him. You’ll never get invited anywhere. And what about your children? You might as well be marrying one of the outlaws he chases.”

“I know that,” Victoria said, finally realizing the price Trinity had paid for his dedication to his task, “but Trinity is a great man. I’ll be only too happy to share his isolation. If people refuse to associate with him, it’ll be their loss.”

Just as quickly as he got upset, all the steam seemed to go out of the Judge, and he sank back in bis chair. “You always were a sensible girl, a sight more sensible than I was. You bring your young man by, and if I like him I’ll see what I can do. There aren’t many people in Texas who’ll stand against me. There’s nobody ready to go head-to-head with Myra.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I don’t think Trinity cares much about social acceptance.”

“You tell him it’s for your children. He can spend all his time with his cows if he likes, but your children will have to make their own way in the world. A few friends along the way will be a great help.”

“It’s very generous of you …”

“No, it’s not. After what I did, it’s the least I can do.” The Judge stopped, like he had just remembered something. “You say your young man believes his stepmother killed his father?”

“Yes, but he has no proof. It happened in Galveston fifteen years ago. He tried to get the sheriff to investigate, but he wasn’t interested.”

“Shame I didn’t know about it. I’d have gotten them on it fast enough. What happened to the woman?”

“She disappeared.”

Victoria couldn’t bring herself to tell the Judge that Trinity believed his wife was Queenie. She probably should tell him. If Myra really were Queenie, he ought to be warned. But if she weren’t and Victoria believed she wasn’t, it would cause a tremendous amount of trouble for nothing.

“How’s he going to support you?”

“He owns a ranch.”

“Where?”

Victoria didn’t want to explain why they weren’t going to stay on the Demon D. “In New Mexico.” She didn’t think she would mind her appropriating his ranch just this once. “But he intends to buy a larger one.”

“I suppose you’ll want control of your own money?”

“Yes, I would.”

“Does he know he’s marrying a very rich woman?”

“Am I rich? No one ever told me how much Daddy left me.”

“Over two hundred thousand dollars.”

Victoria sat forward in her chair. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Victoria felt elated. There was more than enough money for Trinity to buy the biggest ranch he could. And cows. And horses. There would be plenty left over for building a house and having children and doing all kinds of things she had dreamed of while she was locked away in Arizona.

“It’s a good bit more than that now,” the Judge added. “One investment I made worked out rather nicely.”

“You take it.”

Enough of his energy returned for the Judge to act hurt by her suggestion. “Absolutely not! Why should I?”

“For looking after everything for me. You didn’t have to.”

“Yes, I did. I wanted to see Jeb’s murderer hang, but I never wanted to hurt you. Can you understand that?”

Victoria understood it very well.

“I’m glad. I didn’t want to dislike you either, but you frightened me. You were so very determined to bring me back. Will you try to find out who did kill Jeb?”

The Judge seemed to wilt again. “I don’t know. I just don’t care much about anything anymore. I feel so tired all the time. If I didn’t have Kirby, I don’t know what would become of this place. He’s still young, but he does the work of a grown man.”

“Kirby’s always admired you,” Victoria said. “I think he feels like you’re the father he never had.”

“He’s a good boy. I’ve grown very fond of him. I just wish Myra would give him a little more rein. She’s such a strong woman she doesn’t realize she’s suffocating him. I tried to get her to let me send him away to school, but she wouldn’t hear of it.”

Victoria felt uncomfortable. She had never liked it when she became involved in any disagreement between the Judge and Myra. She didn’t like it any better now. She saw Ben get up from his seat under the trees and head for the house. She latched onto that as an excuse to bring her visit to an end.

“I have to start back,” she said, getting to her feet. “It’s along ride back to Bandera.”

The Judge started to get up but settled back into his seat. “Come again soon and bring your uncle. You’ll always be welcome.”