Bobbi Smith (11 page)

“Did you grow up there?”

“Yes, I stayed in the village with my mother while my father traveled.”

“Wasn’t it dangerous for you? When I lived in St. Louis, there were stories in the newspaper about Indian raids and all the fierce battles that were going on out West.”

“There has definitely been fighting between the Comanche and the whites,” Hawk said.

“That’s for sure,” Sherri added, thinking of the terrifying raids she’d heard about through the years.

“Did you ever go on any of the raids?”

“No, I left the village when I was still young, right after my mother died.”

“What happened to her?” Randi asked.

“A fever took her. When my father returned from one of his trips and found out she was dead, he took me to live with his sister and her husband on their ranch.”

“Did your father stay there with you?” she asked.

“No. He left me on the ranch while he continued to do his trading.”

“That must have been hard for you. You were so young,” Randi said sympathetically.

“I survived. My aunt and uncle did a lot for me.”

“Where’s your family now?” Randi asked, curious.

“They’re dead.”

“They all are?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes.” He offered nothing more.

“I’m sorry.”

“Did you ever get the chance to go back to your village?” Andy wondered out loud.

“My father took me for visits several times during those first few years. As I got older, I occasionally went on my own.”

“Did you miss living there?” Sherri asked.

“I did at first. It was all I knew.” Hawk didn’t want to talk about those times either.

“Think how different your life would have been if you had stayed in the village,” Andy said thoughtfully, then looked at him squarely, “You would have been a warrior now.”

“Yes, I would have.” When Hawk answered, he glanced Randi’s way.

Their gazes met.

“Well, we’re glad you’re here with us,” Andy said.

“We sure are,” Randi agreed.

Pat Walker was feeling very self-conscious as she went up front for her turn in the auction. Luckily, she’d brought a suitable gown along with her. She knew she was dressed appropriately, but it was still a little unnerving for her, standing in front of so many people. She’d come out of mourning only a few months before.

“Our last lovely lady tonight is Pat Walker,” Mrs. Washburn announced.

Pat stepped up beside her.

Mrs. Washburn quickly added the description of the dinner being auctioned off and then asked for bids.

Jack opened the bidding. He liked his neighbor and enjoyed her company.

Wade had been biding his time. Jack might be his boss, but Wade had no intention of letting him win the dinner with Pat. In the past months, he’d had the occasion to help her out on her ranch and to get to know her. Now that she was coming out of her time of mourning, he felt it was safe to try to court her. This church auction was the perfect place to start.

“Ten dollars,” Wade offered.

Pat was startled when Wade made his bid, and she was even more surprised that his offer was so high.

In the audience, Jack glanced in Wade’s direction. He, too, was taken by surprise at his foreman’s bid. He hadn’t realized that Wade had any personal interest in Pat. Smiling to himself, Jack dropped out of the bidding.

A few others made offers for Pat, but Wade didn’t give up. He topped them all.

Mrs. Washburn finally concluded the sale. “Sold to Wade Mason for fourteen dollars! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for making tonight’s auction such a success. For those of you who didn’t win a meal with one of our lovely ladies, we’re selling dinners in the church hall, so please join us there for a festive evening.”

Wade strode up to pay for his forthcoming evening with Pat.

“Wade, thank you for buying my dinner,” Pat said as he approached the cashier’s table.

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Mine, too.” She smiled up at him as he paid the church lady.

Wade took the basket containing their dinner from her, and they made their way to an open table to enjoy their meal.

Jack was getting ready to leave the tent when he caught sight of Fred heading off in the direction of the Silver Dollar Saloon. He was glad to know the troublemaking ranch hand was out of the way. The night had turned out rather well, considering. Granted, he wasn’t overly pleased that Hawk was dining with Randi. He would have preferred it if one of the nice, respectable young men from town had won the bidding, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Determined to enjoy the rest of the evening, Jack went to the church hall to purchase himself a dinner and join in the festivities.

“I really need to know . . .” Pat said to Wade as they ate their meal together. The food was delicious, and it was obvious from watching him that Wade was savoring every bite.

“What?” Wade asked in between mouthfuls.

“Was it me you were bidding on or were you only after the dinner?”

Wade grinned. “I have to admit I’m enjoying the food. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I’m enjoying your company more.”

Pat actually found herself blushing a bit at his open praise. She almost felt like a schoolgirl again. She asked, “How many years have you been working for Jack?”

“Over ten now. I’ve been his foreman for the last six.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility.”

“Yes, it is, especially since the rustling started.”

“The rustling . . . I’d almost forgotten about it for a little while.”

“Sorry I brought it up.”

“No, that’s all right. We’ve got to find a way to stop it. We’ve got to figure out who’s behind it all.”

“Jack’s doing everything he can. Are you holding up all right?”

The realities of the Bar W’s troubles threatened to overwhelm her, and her anxiety showed in her expression. “I’m making it—barely.”

“It’s that bad?”

“It isn’t good,” Pat said with a sigh. “I’ve talked to the boys about the way things are going, and they’ve all agreed to stay on and keep working for me.”

“They’re good men.”

“Yes, they are. They’re very loyal. Al always tried to take care of them, and I’m doing the same.”

“We’ll catch the rustlers,” Wade said, wanting to reassure her. “It’s just a matter of time.”

“The trouble is, time is the one thing I don’t have a lot of. My money’s tight—real tight.”

“If it gets too bad, I’m sure Jack would help you out.”

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that,” she answered with a strained smile. “Now, let’s talk about something fun. Let’s talk about the weekend. Are you going to compete in the big race tomorrow?”

“No, I’m leaving that to Randi.”

“But your Raven is fast. You would do well.”

“Raven can hold his own, but after timing Randi and Angel on their practice run the other day, I knew we’d be sitting this one out.”

“So you’re just going to watch?” She was surprised by his easygoing attitude. Al had always competed in the race no matter how slim his chances of winning.

“That’s right—and I’ll place a few bets on the side.” He grinned. “Randi did all right by me last year, and I’m pretty sure she will again this year.”

“I wouldn’t be too confident,” Pat cautioned with a smile. “Some of my hands are in the running, and they’re good.”

“They may be good, but I doubt they’re any match for Randi and Angel.”

“We’ll find out tomorrow.”

“Will you be at the dance tomorrow night?”

She smiled up at him. “Yes, and I hope I’ll see you then.”

After finishing his dinner in the church hall, Jack bade his friends good night and went looking for his daughter. He found her still seated with Hawk in the auction dining area, talking with Sherri and the new man in town who’d bid on Sherri’s dinner.

“Evenin’, Sherri,” Jack greeted her as he came up to their table.

“Hello, Mr. Stockton,” she replied respectfully. Even though she was grown-up now, he would always be Randi’s father to her. “Have you met Andy yet?”

“No.”

She introduced them, and Andy stood up to shake the older man’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure. Welcome to San Miguel,” Jack said.

“It’s good to be here.”

Jack looked at his daughter. “Well, Randi, it’s about time to call it an evening.”

“Yes, Pa,” Randi answered. “We’ve got a big day coming up tomorrow.”

“That we do,” Jack agreed.

“Thanks for buying my dinner, Hawk,” she said, giving him a smile as she got up to leave with her father.

“You’re welcome.”

“We’ll see you all in the morning,” Jack said.

“Good night, Sherri, Andy—Hawk,” Randi bade them as she looked Hawk’s way one last time.

“Good night,” Hawk said.

Hawk watched Randi walk away with her father. Conflicting emotions tore at him. A part of him had wanted the dinner to go on forever, and yet he knew there could never be anything between them. He told himself he’d come to San Miguel to find the rustlers, and he needed to concentrate on that—nothing else.

“Hawk, would you like to go over to the confectionery with us? I’m going to ask Sherri’s parents if they’d like to have a second dessert tonight,” Andy asked as Sherri stood up with him, ready to go.

“I appreciate the invitation, but I’m meeting some of the hands from the Lazy S.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow then,” Andy told him as he and Sherri left to find her parents in the main hall.

Hawk got up to leave, too. He was heading for the Silver Dollar. Wade had told him it was the most popular saloon in town, especially on payday. He needed a lead.

“Let’s stop by the stable. I want to make sure Angel’s all right,” Randi told her father on the way back to the hotel.

“Good idea. It can’t hurt to check on her.”

It was almost dark when they reached the livery. Dave Grant was keeping watch and greeted them when they came in.

“How did the social go?” Dave asked.

“From what the ladies were saying, I think it was a great success,” Jack answered.

“You’ll never guess who brought in the most money at the auction,” Randi said.

“Who?” Dave asked.

“Granny Dawson!”

The stable hand good-naturedly laughed out loud. “That’s a good one! Ol’ Granny would be worth every cent a man paid for her, even without the food.”

“That she would,” Jack agreed.

“We wanted to check on Angel,” Randi told him.

“She’s in the last stall on the left,” he directed.

It was dark toward the rear of the stable, so Randi lit a lantern before going on back. Jack stayed up front to talk with Dave.

“Hello, Angel,” Randi murmured, rubbing her nose. “You ready for our big day?”

Angel whickered softly.

“That’s what I thought. We’ll show them again just how good you are. We’re going to fly tomorrow, aren’t we?”

After looking the horse over carefully, Randi returned to her father.

“Angel’s all ready for the race,” she told him with a smile.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Good luck tomorrow, Randi,” Dave said.

“Thanks.”

“We’ll see you first thing in the morning,” Jack said as they left for the hotel.

Hawk ran into Rob as he was leaving the social.

“Where you heading?” Rob asked.

“The Silver Dollar. Want to go?”

“Sure.”

“What about Wade? Think he’ll be joining us?”

Rob chuckled. “I don’t know. Judging from the way he was looking at the widow woman while he was eating dinner with her, we might not be seeing him for a while. He’ll know where to find us if he gets lonely.”

The Silver Dollar was crowded. They made their way to the bar and ordered their drinks.

“You servin’ him?” one drunk slurred, giving Hawk a hate-filled look.

The barkeep turned to the drunk. “He’s got money; I’m serving him. If you don’t like it, you can get out.”

The drunk mumbled something unintelligible, then turned back to his drinking.

Rob looked around. He noticed Fred standing down at the far end of the bar.

“There’s an empty table in back. Let’s sit there,” Rob said.

“Sure.”

They settled in to enjoy themselves, speculating on whether Wade would ever show up. Several of the other hands joined them at the table, and eventually Wade came in. After getting himself a beer at the bar, he sat down with them.

“How was your date with the pretty widow?” Rob teased him. “You looked like you were enjoying yourself tonight.”

“I was,” he answered. “Why didn’t you bid on any of the girls?”

“I’m saving my money to bet on the race tomorrow.”

“Wise man. Randi’s a sure thing. She’s going to win, just like she did last year.”

“That’s what I’m thinking, too.”

“What about you, Hawk? You betting on Randi?” Wade asked him.

“Angel is fast. There aren’t many around who could take her.”

“That’s what we’re counting on, and it won’t be long now. In a little over twelve hours, we’ll be right in the middle of all the excitement.”

“And you boys do like your excitement, don’t you?”

At the sound of Fred’s voice, they all looked up to see him standing nearby.

“Evening, Fred,” Wade greeted him.

“Wade.” Fred pierced him with a hate-filled gaze. He had no use for anybody out at the Lazy S anymore, not even the foreman he’d once considered his friend. He glanced over toward Hawk and smiled thinly. “You may have won the bidding tonight, but we ain’t done yet,
breed.”

Hawk had been watching him carefully, waiting to see exactly what he would try. He was relieved when Fred just turned and walked out of the saloon.

“You’d better watch out for him,” Rob warned Hawk.

“I know.”

And he did know. He’d dealt with Fred’s kind before. He knew how dangerous and deadly men like him could be.

“Good night, Pa,” Randi said as she kissed her father’s cheek and went into her hotel room.

“Night, little darling. I’ll see you in the morning.” Jack waited until she was safely inside with the door locked before going on to his own room.

Randi quickly undressed and donned her nightgown. She sat down at the dressing table and began to brush out her hair before retiring for the night.