Sharon Poppen (15 page)

“Whiskey,” The sheriff finished for him. “What direction did the horse thief go?”

“Headed south.”

Some yelling down the street caught everyone’s attention. A man was riding toward them leading a couple of horses. “Horses! Anybody lose some horses.”

“Over here,” called the sheriff.

“Hey,” the cowboy in the new Stetson hollered. “That’s my horse and that’s yours Toby.” The cowboys hurried over to claim their horses. “Where’d ya find ‘em, mister,” asked Buck.

“They was loose. Standing on this here road ‘bout where the town ends. Seeing the saddles and guns, I figured they hadn’t been tied securely to some hitching post and just wandered off.” He turned to the sheriff. “What’s going on?”

“Believe we got us a horse thief. You only find two horses? No sign of a rider or another horse?”

“Did pass a fellow riding hard, heading south, just before I found these two. He was dressed kind of fancy and looked like he was running from something.”

The sheriff mounted his horse. He looked at the three cowboys. “You want to ride with me and my deputy and see if we can chase this fellow down?”

As the sheriff, his deputy, and two of the young cowboys rode off, Liam headed back to the livery.

Hannah waited just inside the door with the horses saddled and ready to go. “I heard some of it.”

“Sounds like the man we’re looking for.”

“Say, is Martha in trouble or danger?” Zach asked.

“We don’t know,” Hannah told him. “We need to find her before this Ben does.” Hannah mounted her horse and watched Liam do the same.

Zach held the bridal of Hannah’s horse. “I’d like ta help.”

“You already have with the information you’ve give us.” Hannah saw the genuine worry etched on his forehead. “We need to get going. The best way you can help is to keep your ears open and get word to Janey if you hear anything that could help us.”

Zach released the bridal and nodded. “I’ll do that. Ya find Martha, ya tell her not ta worry ‘bout old Ketchum. I’ll help them girls. Ya tell her that.”

“We will.” Hannah promised and Zach slapped her horse’s flank.

Chapter 22

A Sale or Two

Hannah and Liam had been riding for about a half hour at a good pace.

“Need, to rest the horses,” Liam called to her as he slowed down.

Once they were trotting side-by-side, Liam voiced what was on both their minds. “Wonder why we haven’t caught up with the sheriff yet?”

“I kept expecting to.”

Liam was staring down into the dust of the road. “Lots of horse prints. Can’t tell if they were from a single rider or a group.” He stood up in his saddle and strained to see ahead. “Nothing.”

“Zach said an easy crossing was just south of town. Do you think we missed it?”

“Hope not.” He’d refocused on the road.

“He seems to care about Martha?”

“Who?”

“Zach.”

“Yeah.”

“I hope she’s all right. I hope the baby is all right. I sure wish we’d have taken more notice of that Ben fellow. I’d bet he’s the one.”

“Uhuh.”

“Those girls have had a tough life. I hope we find Martha and that baby before she really gets herself in trouble.”

“Uhuh.”

Realizing that she was basically talking to her self, she taunted Liam. “I bet he eats snakes and drinks blood.”

“Uhuh.”

“Liam!”

He looked up, startled. “What?” His hand moved to his gun as he looked nervously about.

“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”

He smiled. “Guilty.” Before she could say another word, he pointed to the ground. “A couple of horses left the road right here.” He pointed to a small path leading to a copse of trees along the river. “Follow me.”

Once the couple was on the edge of the San Antonio River, they reined their horses and dismounted. Being careful not to step on the hoof marks in the sand, they studied them, the river and the barren land on the other side.

“Do you think we’ve found where they crossed?” Hannah asked.

“I’d be tempted to put money on it.”

“If we’re wrong, they’ll get further away from us.”

He nodded. “It looks pretty barren over there.”

“And where in Texas doesn’t it look barren?”

Liam smiled in agreement and then moved toward Hannah. He cupped her face in his hands. “You are so beautiful.”

Her eyes twinkled, but she moved back. “Not now. We’ve work to do.”

He was not to be denied. He reached out and pulled her into his arms. Her rich earthly aroma from the sweat of the ride worked its magic and he kissed her.

She brought her arms up to protest, but his urgent lips brought her to circle him in her arms and just as she began to relax into the moment, he stepped back away from her.

“Look.” He pointed across the river.

A little dizzy from Liam’s kiss and embrace, Hannah steadied herself by clutching Liam’s arm and looked across the river. The gravity of the scene brought her senses to full alert. A wall of sand was headed toward them. It filled the entire horizon, blotting out sky and earth.

“Liam! It’s coming straight at us.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the horses. “Up.” He lifted her into her saddle. “We need to outrun it,” he said as he mounted his horse and spurred it away from the river.

Hannah stayed alongside him as they raced up the small trail and down the sandy road into town. Buckets, papers, an odd assortment of clothes and the occasional hat swirled in a frenetic dance, warning everyone of the coming storm.

Zach needed the couple’s help to open the doors admitting their horses to shelter, and then Hannah and Liam threw themselves into the wind and headed for their hotel. Arriving just as a couple of clerks were about to slide a panel of wood against the hotel’s oak and stained glass doors, the couple hurried inside. Liam helped the clerks secure the panel in place.

“A wall of sand is coming,” Liam told the clerks and some hotel guests who’d gathered in the lobby.

The older clerk shrugged. “Happens every so often. Don’t usually last long, but it sure leaves a messy calling card when it moves on.” He started back to the desk.

A young woman clinging to the arm of a man asked, “Are we safe?”

The clerk continued walking. “Probably.”

The woman cuddled closer to the man and tried to stifle her low keening. The other clerk scanned the faces of the hotel guests and then tried to ease their concern. “These storms come through from time to time when the weather’s been particularly dry. They do cause some damage, but it’s always been to things, not to people. If you just stay inside, I believe you’ll be safe.” After several sighs of relief and some nods, he urged them to stay on the first floor. He said the dining room always had lots of free coffee while they waited out the storm. As he turned to go back to the desk, he smiled. “And I swear old Cookie always serves the best sweets at times like this.”

Hannah’s impatience got the best of her. She looked up at Liam. “How long do you think it will last? Do you think the baby will be all right? Do you think it’ll clear up out there in the desert giving Martha the chance to get even further away? Do you think Ben found her before the storm came up? Do you …”

Liam stooped down and interrupted Hannah’s litany of questions with a soft kiss.

“Liam!” she whispered loudly. “What will people think?”

He grinned with mischief. “They’ll thank me for putting a stop to your non-stop questions.”

“But, the questions are …”

“Yes, they are a concern.” He cocked his head toward the wind trying to break through the boarded up doors. “But, regardless of the answers, we can’t do a thing until we can safely go outside again.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Now, how about something to eat?”

“Liam, you have one of the biggest appetites of any person I’ve ever known.”

He took her arm, leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You’ve no idea.” Before she could respond, he guided her toward the dining room.

*****

Hannah watched Liam mop up the last of his chicken gravy with a buttered biscuit, but her mind was preoccupied with the things Janey had told them about Ketchum, the owner of this hotel. Hearing Janey ask a couple a few tables away if they needed anything else, she turned to watch the girl. Hannah noticed that the woman at the table was the same woman who’d been so frightened in the lobby. She was crying and her husband was patting her hand and talking softly.

Hannah watched Janey go to another table to check on a middle-aged couple. The woman was trying to reason with her partner who seemed angry about something. He waved Janey away and they continued their heated debate.

Arriving at Hannah’s table, Janey asked, “Can I get you anything?”

Liam smiled as he pushed his polished-clean plate toward her. “Some pie?”

“Apple?”

“Well, if you don’t have pecan, it will have to do.”

Janey nodded, turned to go, and then turned back around and leaned in to speak conspiratorially. “This is sure a strange day. There are some funny coincidences going on.”

“What do you mean,” Hannah asked.

“When I was waiting on that young couple over there, the woman kept weeping and talking about how worried she was about a baby.”

“What baby?”

“Ma’am, that’s what’s so odd. They don’t have a baby. Least they didn’t when they checked in.”

“Maybe it’s at their home and they’re concerned.”

“Maybe. But see that couple over there?” She nodded her head toward the arguing couple. “They’re worried about a baby, too. The man told her they were fools and that there was no baby.” Janey straightened up. “Sure is odd that me and the six of you are worried about a baby.”

Liam and Hannah discretely checked out the other couples.

“Just odd, that’s for sure. I’ll get your pie now.” Janey headed for the kitchen.

“Liam, do you think there’s any connection?”

“I don’t know, but I’m always suspicious of coincidences.”

The angry man pounded a fist on his table so hard that a glass of water tipped over and sopped the tablecloth. “Damn, you woman! Hard earned money down the drain.”

This brought audible sobs from the young woman a couple of tables away from the angry man. The sobbing woman’s husband scooted his chair over to her side and folded her into his arms. He looked across at the angry man. “Isn’t the noise from the storm bad enough? Do you have to upset the women with your ruffian behavior?”

“Mind you own business,” snarled the angry man.

“Quiet, Charles,” begged the angry man’s partner.

“Quiet! That’s what got me into this mess.” His red face matched his temper.

“Please,” begged the young man. “You’re upsetting my wife.”

“Well,” Charles roared. “You’re a lucky man to have an upset wife rather than a wife who upsets you!”

The young man urged his wife to stand up. The other diners in the room had stopped eating to watch the scene.

“Charles!”

“Don’t ‘Charles’ me.” He glared around the room. “What’re you all staring at? This is none of your business.”

Liam stood up. “Sir, you’ve made it our business by interrupting our meals.”

Charles stood up. “Like I said, this is none of your business.”

Liam took a couple of steps toward Charles who had doubled his fists and came at Liam.

The woman got up and forced her way in front of her husband. “Charles! Please!” She looked at Liam. “Please, we’ll go into the other room. He’s not normally like this. I’ve done something horrible and he’s angry with someone who’s hurt me.”

Before either man could respond, Hannah hurried to stand in front of Liam. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there any way we can help? I heard you mention a baby and it just so happens we’re looking for a baby, too.”

“He get to your wife, too?” Charles growled at Liam.

“Who got to you?” Liam asked.

“That fancy talker selling a baby.”

“Somebody sold you a baby, too.” The young man entered the conversation.

The room was silent as all three couples digested what seemed to be a common problem with a common rascal.

Janey came back into the room with the plate of pie. With worried eyes, she asked, “Is something wrong?”

Liam pointed to a large table and motioned for Janey to set the pie down. “Gentlemen, I think you and your ladies would benefit by joining Hannah and me at that table. Seems we’ve all had some recent happenings that we need to compare.”

Hannah nodded and held her hand out to the woman with Charles. The woman smiled and walked with Hannah to the table. Liam looked over at the young couple to find that the man was urging his wife in their direction. Liam held out his hand to Charles.

The man glanced at the large table, then back at Liam. He reached out and shook Liam’s hand. “Name’s Charles Willard.