Peppermint Sticks for Susie (20 page)

He had no respect for women," Alma added. "And, since we are on the subject of respect... Alex, it was very wrong of you to spank Jenny in front of the Sheriff's office."

"Yes, it was, Alma. I apologized to Jenny for that," he admitted. "I lost my temper. It's not a great excuse, but it is the only one I have. I am sorry."

"I goaded his temper, Alma." Jenny surprised Alex by speaking up. "I was in the wrong, too, and I can't blame him when I was culpable."

"You are both hotheaded," she stated matter-of-factly.

"You are so right," Jenny added with a bit of a giggle and Alex realized the whiskey he'd added to her coffee was affecting her.

* * *

"How are things going, Miss Jenny?" Stephanie asked as she brought a glass of water to the table.

"Just fine, Stephanie. I love being back at work," Jenny told the other woman, giving her a big smile. "Alex will be joining me soon," she added.

"Oh, okay! I'll fetch him some utensils and a glass of water, too. We have some really good chicken and dumplings with mashed potatoes and carrots today. There is also some meatloaf," she said, but then made a face to warn Jenny not to go there.

Alex was pleased to find his pretty little redhead waiting for him. "I'm sorry I'm late, honey. I just got back into town. We had a calf get loose and I had to help catch him. Hello, Stephanie. What's good today?" he asked. He was hungry. And, he suspected that one of the regulars in the small restaurant was in with the rustlers. He was pretty sure that Clyde would be joining them before they finished eating, and he would drop a few more casual comments that would help trap the rustlers once and for all.

"Stephanie suggested the chicken and dumplings, Alex. That sounds good to me," Jenny said.

"To me, too," Alex agreed. Stephanie nodded and hurried away, and Alex smile at his fiancee. "How has your morning been? Any problems?"

"Angus has been touchy as a bear with a sore paw all morning. I asked what was bothering him and was told to mind my own business." Her lovely green eyes reflected her hurt feelings. "I know something is wrong, and I can't help him if he won't tell me what it is."

"Best to leave it alone, Jenny. The man will tell you in his own time if he wants you to know."

Jenny nodded. She trusted Alex's judgment. She'd learned the hard way that he was usually right about such matters. "And you?"

"Work is going fine, Jenny," he answered. He had to watch what he said. There was no way to know which of the regulars was in league with the rustlers. Clyde walked in the door just as Stephanie brought their food. She called out a greeting to the man, and he told her to bring him some of the same.

"Hope you don't mind me joining you two?" he asked. "I'm in a big hurry. I've been asked to travel along with a herd of cattle being delivered to the area."

"Who's the owner?" Alex asked

"Well... I guess there ain't no harm in sayin'. Some dude is moving out here and he bought some fancy cattle; paid a lot for them, I guess. That's why I was called in. With the rustlers around, we don't want them to be stolen before he arrives to take charge of his place."

They continued to chat as friends do, and then left. Jenny to go back to the store, and both Alex and the Sheriff to hopefully catch the rustlers. It was several minutes later that Jenny realized she'd left her purse on the table at the restaurant. Since they didn't have any customers at the moment, and the store was organized, she called to Angus that she would be right back and she hurried down the sidewalk. She was positive that Stephanie would have found her purse by now and put it somewhere safe. Someone left the door open when they left, or else the cook burned something and they were airing away the smoke. No one was in the dining room, and Jenny heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. Jennifer moved closer and was about to call out and announce her presence, but what the voices were saying caught her attention. She was shocked to hear them cold-bloodedly planning to kill the Sheriff... and Alex! Jennifer knew now who was behind all of the rustling and knew she needed to get to Alex as soon as possible if she were to protect him! She whirled and ran from the dining room and on down the street, anxious to reach Alex before the rustlers did.

"Has Alex been here?" Jennifer asked of Alma when she rushed into the house.

"No. What's wrong?" Alma demanded.

"Plenty, and I don't have time to talk right now. I need to change into riding clothes and find Alex." In less than five minutes she was ready to leave the house. "If he does come here, please tell him I am searching for him and he needs to be very careful. I know who is behind all the rustling and he'll never believe it." She ran out the door and to the livery, where she rented a horse.

"Are you sure you ought to be riding out there by yourself, Miss Jenny?" the owner of the livery asked, concerned for her safety.

"I have no choice. Alex is in danger and I must warn him." She mounted and was soon on her way to the O'Malley place. She was almost there when four men stepped into her path; her horse shied, and she managed to keep her seat with difficulty. "Let me pass!" she demanded.

"She's the Marshal's gal," one of the men pointed out.

"We already know that. The Boss will tell us what to do with her, but in the meantime none of you are to put a hand on her."

"Come on, Luke! I ain't had me any lovin' in a long time," one of the men complained.

"Forcin' a female ain't the same as havin' one willin', Butch. You leave her be or I'll shoot you between the legs and you won't have a problem anymore."

Jenny had heard enough. She pulled her gun and fired. All four of the men ducked for cover, and she kicked the horse with her heels hard enough to make him take off running. She heard cursing behind her, but she ignored them and prayed she would find Alex. Catching rustlers was one thing, but getting killed was something else.

Alex saw a lone rider coming at a fast gallop... too fast for the condition of the lane leading to the house. When he learned it was Jenny, he realized that something was very wrong. He stepped out so that she could see him, and she continued racing toward him before she stopped the horse and jumped down. "I know everything, Alex. We've got to get you out of here. They know you are a Marshal, and they're planning to kill you and the Sheriff!!! I overheard everything! Stephanie is the one who is the leader of the rustlers!!! I hurried to get here in time and four men tried to stop me. I shot at them and got away, but they know that I am here. Please, let's go!" She couldn't understand when she looked at Alex and realized he was furious. "What is wrong?" she demanded.

"You are wrong, young lady. Clyde and I have been planning this for weeks and you've managed to tip them off. I am going to set your sweet butt on fire with my belt!"

"Catching those rustlers is not worth dying over. You come with me right now."

"No, you come with me right now," he said, taking her arm in a firm grasp and marching her the rest of the way up to the empty house. "I am going to put you upstairs, and you are going to keep put, hear me?" he demanded, giving her arm a shake.

"We can't stay here, Alex! It isn't safe!" she repeated herself, and when she tried to dig in her heels and refuse to budge, Alex gave her bottom a resounding spank that practically lifted her off her feet and right inside the front door of the house. He continued to spank her all the way up the steps to the second floor, down the hallway, and into one of the smaller bedrooms. There was a wardrobe in there and before she could guess his intentions, Alex picked her up and put her inside, shutting the door and locking her inside! "You let me out of here!" she demanded, beating on the door with her fists.

"Alex, if I open this door right now, I will take down those damned pants you are wearing, and I will take my belt to your bare butt. Now keep quiet. Our very lives depend upon it. By the time this is all over, perhaps you will smarten up and know when to keep your mouth shut and butt out of something that doesn't concern you. If not, I guarantee, I will give you a lesson you will recall for the rest of your life. Now be quiet and hide behind those clothes. I want them to think this place is empty. Hear me?" he hissed.

"I hear you, but I think you are wrong, and..."

"Shut your mouth, woman!" he whispered again. "I hear someone on the steps."

Jennifer took out her gun and did her best to hide in the dark corner of the wardrobe. The clothing did hide her, but she was afraid. She heard quiet footsteps in the room and she wondered where Alex was hiding. She prayed that he would be safe, even though she was furious with him.

The door to the wardrobe suddenly opened, and Jenny held her breath.

Chapter Fourteen

Alex vowed he was going to set Jenny's sweet butt on fire if he managed to get them out of this mess with their lives intact. He and Clyde had worked so hard to set a trap for the rustlers, but his little redhead had overheard a conversation she wasn't meant to hear and she came riding on out here instead of trusting him to know what he was doing. She was the most exasperating female he'd ever met and he loved her so much he ached. He prayed that they wouldn't find her and would assume that she'd found him and they'd left the ranch to head back to town. He knew that at least one of the men was looking around upstairs, and Alex wished he could see where the man was. He was pretty sure that Jenny would make a lot of noise if she were discovered.

* * *

Jennifer held her breath when the door to the wardrobe opened. Before the rustler could pull aside the clothing to have a better look there was an eerie wailing.

"What the hell? Who is that?" the man cried out, waving his gun around. His answer was more wailing and then she heard doors slamming and window shades going up and down, all at the same time! "I'm getting out of this damn place! It's haunted, and I won't have nothing to do with it." The man took off running, anxious to escape.

Once he was gone Jenny giggled and whispered, "Thank you, Kieran."

The wardrobe door opened again, and this time a hand reached in and pulled her to her feet. "Put that gun away," Alex growled impatiently.

"You could have told me it was you, Alex! What if I'd shot you?" Jenny scolded him.

"You are about this close to a switching, girl," he told her, his finger and thumb so close it appeared they were touching. "What did you do to scare off that man?" he asked, having heard the man running for his life.

"I didn't do a thing. It was Kieran. That's the second time he saved me," she announced, smiling triumphantly.

"I am going to spank you so hard you won't be able to sit for a month of Sundays," Alex threatened her once again, barely resisting the urge to pull her over to the bed and suit actions to words. "I've got to get you out of here somehow, before the rustlers find us. Whatever possessed you to ride out here, Jenny?" he asked, frowning. "It is the single most foolish thing you've ever done." He continued to scold.

"I don't call trying to save your life as foolish, Alex Martin," Jennifer's green eyes were flashing. "I happen to love you!"

"I love you, too, Jenny," he insisted. "Damn it, girl, I can take care of myself. You should have realized that and kept your butt safely at home. Now I will have to worry about keeping you safe."

"Kieran seems to be doing a good job of that!" she smarted off, thoroughly provoked by his attitude. "Since I'm of no help to you and you obviously don't want me here, I'll just take myself on home. Get yourself shot in the back in you want to!"

"Jenny, you better pray I do get myself shot because if I survive this I am going to make you regret that I did!"

"My, my, the two lovebirds aren't sounding so lovey-dovey at the moment," a woman's voice interrupted their argument.

"Stephanie!" Jennifer whirled and called out her name in surprise. The waitress from the restaurant was holding a gun on her and on Alex, as were two of the rustlers who followed her into the room. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded.

"Making enough money to go somewhere else to live a lavish life," Stephanie replied. "Somewhere that I will never have to cook or serve food to people again! Do you have any idea how nasty people are to someone they see as a servant? Men think they have the right to pinch or slap my butt. Women think they are so much better than I am. I am considered easy by the men and a threat by women. Most of them treat me like I work upstairs in the saloon. They also think me too stupid to do anything but serve food and wash dishes."

"Stephanie, if you are unhappy here, then why don't you just leave and start over elsewhere? You don't have to work in a restaurant."

"How easy for you to say, Miss Jenny. The entire town loves you and you can do no wrong. You are referred to as Miss Jenny, and most people call me Waitress or Girl! Do you know how many people call me by my name, Jenny? You are one of the few. I'm going to hate having to kill you; you have been nice to me." She shook her head sadly. "Why did you have to get involved with this lawman?"

"I love him, Stephanie, and I won't let you harm him!" Jenny was ready to protect Alex with her life. "What you need to do is take your rustler friends and hightail it out of here."

"No, Miss Jenny, what I need to do is dispose of your boyfriend and you, and then things will go back to normal."

"You are wrong, Stephanie," Jenny told the other woman. "We aren't the only ones who know."

"You are lying, Jenny. The Sheriff might think he knows something, but he is afraid of this place because it is haunted. Your boyfriend here is the only one besides you to set foot on this ranch in years. Having a safe place to keep cattle until we sell them is vital, and this is perfect. Once we get rid of you two it will be business as usual."

"In spite of how many small ranchers you put out of business?" Alex scornfully demanded. "You don't care at all that good people are losing everything they own because of your selfishness."

"I can make your death fast and easy or I can make it slow and painful, Marshal. Same for your girlfriend here."