Summer Breeze (8 page)

"That Darby's been shot, you mean?" Her voice went high-pitched. "Surely you can tell me more than that. Did you fetch Doc Halloway? Was he able to get the slug out? What is the prognosis?

Does he think Darby's going to—
die?"

Joseph had given her all that information earlier. "That's a mighty thick back door you've got. I guess you didn't catch a lot of what I said earlier. " Resting his arms over his upraised knees, Joseph once again recounted the events of that afternoon, how Darby had come riding into his place, barely clinging to the saddle, and how Joseph had staunched the bleeding and gone for the doctor. "Doc seems to think he's going to make it. The bullet shattered a couple of ribs, but it missed the lung and kidney. "

"What of infection?"

"Doc dressed the wound with honey. "

"Honey?" she echoed.

"He swears by it Says honey fights infection and has healing properties. He slathered all he could over the wound before bandaging Darby up, and he left some for my brother, Esa, to use when he changes the wrappings. "

Silence. And then, voice quivering, she asked, "So your brother is looking after Darby?"

"Because I had to come over here, Esa volunteered. " Actually, it had been more a case of Joseph's twisting his brother's arm, but he didn't think she needed to know that. Esa had a good heart, and he'd do right by the old man.

"Darby has it in his head that you're in some kind of danger, " he expounded. "When he first got to my place, he kept telling me to forget about him and come straight here to make sure you were safe. "

Another silence, a long one this time. After a while, Joseph grew concerned. "Miss Hollister?

You there?"

He thought he heard her take a taut breath. "Yes. Yes, I'm here, Mr. Paxton. " Another silence ensued, and then she added, "That's the first thing you've said all evening that makes me think you may be telling the truth. "

That was a step up, Joseph guessed. Only what part of what he'd said had been to her liking? She gave a shrill little sigh that reminded him strongly of his mother. Dory Paxton was a great one for sighing.

"Well, now for your supper, " she said. "That was the bargain, after all. " He heard the faint clink of china. "I'll hand it through to you. Please stand well back, or I shall have to shoot you. I'm sure you're no fonder of that idea than I am. "

Joseph grinned. "Have you shot a number of folks?"

"Not as yet, " she informed him. "But don't take that to mean that I will hesitate. "

His grin broadened. He was starting to like this lady. She had pluck. He was also starting to wonder if she wasn't crazy like a fox. Someone had shot Darby

today, and both Joseph and David agreed that the bullet had been meant to kill. Wasn't it possible that Rachel Hollister had known for years that her life was in danger? Maybe David had hit the nail right on the head, and her hermitlike habits stemmed more from fear than lunacy.

Joseph lighted his lantern and then, honoring her request, stood well back from the hole in the archway to wait for his food. When Rachel appeared at the opening, he noticed that she didn't have to duck her head to look through at him, putting her height at several inches less than his own. He also noticed that she had small, fine-boned hands, her slender fingers gone pink at the tips where they gripped the bowl. Eyeing him warily, she thrust her arms through the opening.

"Here you go. "

Not wishing to startle her, Joseph moved slowly forward, taking care to stop when the bowl was within reach. Even then, she was so skittish that she nearly dropped the dish before he could get a good hold on it.

"Thank you. "

She retreated several steps, her gaze wide and wary. "You're welcome. "

"I know that this is an uncomfortable situation for you, " Joseph said as he carried his meal to the table. "You don't know me from Adam. But ask yourself this. Would Darby have sent me here if he didn't trust me?"

Standing some three feet back from the opening, she hugged her waist, the blanket tucked under her arms like the ends of a shawl. "I have no way of knowing if Darby actually sent you. "

With a sweep of his hand, Joseph cleaned dust from the far end of the table and sat down facing her. "Why would I lie about it?"

"To gain my trust?"

Joseph fleetingly wished that his brother were present to handle this. A little sugarcoating was definitely in order. "If I meant you harm, Miss Hollister, I already would have done my worst, the devil take your trust. " He inclined his head at the barricade. "Do you really believe a few boards would keep me out if I was bent on coming in?"

She stiffened. "You'd run the risk of getting shot. "

"Not with an empty gun. "

"It isn't empty now. "

"But it was, and I knew it. What was stopping me, then, do you think?"

She only stared at him.

"And what stopped me from grabbing your wrist just now when you handed out the food?" He snapped his fingers. "I could have had you then, easy as anything. "

She drew the blanket closer. "Are you threatening me, Mr. Paxton?"

"No, I'm making a point. You say you have no way of knowing if Darby actually sent me? I think you do. "

"Darby never so much as mentioned your name. "

"Yeah, well, Darby's not much of one for small talk. We met at the south end of your ranch when the fence between your place and mine was in sore need of repair. We worked on it together.

When it came time to eat, we shared some shade while we had lunch.

Nothing notable happened. Maybe he didn't count it as being important enough to mention. "

"You met only the one time?"

"We've run into each other a few times since. "

"If he knows you only in passing, why does he trust you?"

Now there was a question Joseph wasn't sure how to answer. "I've got an honest face?"

She didn't smile.

Joseph was starving and wanted to dive into his meal. The stew and cornbread smelled so good that his mouth watered.

"You can learn a lot about a man by mending fence with him, " he offered. "If he whines over the bite of barbed wire, you know he lacks grit. If he leans on his shovel a lot, you know he's lazy. If he picks the easier of two jobs more than once, you know he's inclined to be self-serving as well.

If he neglects his horse—" Joseph broke off and sighed. "I can't say why Darby trusts me, Miss Hollister. Maybe he liked what he learned about me that day. Or maybe it's because he knows I come from good family. Only he can say. "

"Good family? Do your folks live around here?"

"My older brother, Ace Keegan, owns the spread northeast of here. "

"The piece of land that Patrick O'Shannessy sold?"

"That's right. " Joseph glimpsed a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Ace married Patrick's sister, Caitlin. He also built the railroad spur into Denver. "

"Caitlin?"

Joseph nodded. "Know her?"

"She's older than me, but we went to school together for a number of years. "

"Did you now?" Joseph picked up a chunk of corn-bread and took a bite.

Questions still lurked in her eyes. "How can Ace Keegan be your brother? You don't have the same last name. "

"We're actually only half brothers. When his pa died, our ma married my father, Joseph Paxton, senior. Back in sixty-five, he bought the piece of land that Ace owns now and moved our family out here from Virginia to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, things went sour, my ma took us boys to San Francisco, and none of us returned to No Name until four and a half years ago. "

Light dawned in her eyes. "Joseph Paxton, " she repeated softly. "I remember the name now. " A frown pleated her brow, and her blue eyes sharpened on his face. "He was hanged. "

Joseph winced, thinking that she'd picked a fine time to put all the pieces together. If she hadn't heard the entire story, which was a strong possibility, she might panic for certain.
"Wrongfully
hanged, " he stressed, gesturing with the spoon. "My father was accused of squatting on the land he'd paid good money for and also of murdering Camlin Beckett, an upstanding citizen of No Name. " Joseph's mouth went as dry as dirt. To this day, it wasn't easy for him to recall his father's death, let alone talk about it. "In truth, Beckett, Conor O'Shannessy, and a handful of others, including the town marshal, Estyn Beiler, were a

bunch of swindlers, and my father was one of their victims. He just paid far more dearly than the rest. "

Her eyes went wide, but she said nothing to indicate what she might be thinking.

"Four and a half years ago, " Joseph went on, "all us boys returned to No Name to clear our father's name. But maybe you never heard about that. "

She closed her eyes for a moment, and Joseph thought some of the tension eased from her shoulders. "I did hear about it. Darby isn't much for talking, that's true, but he told me about that.

It was scandalous what Estyn Beiler and the others did to your father and family. "

In Joseph's opinion, scandalous didn't describe it by half, but he was so relieved she'd heard the whole story that he didn't object.

She arched a delicate eyebrow. "Your brother, Ace Keegan—he's a gunslinger of some reputation, isn't he?"

"He gave all that up years ago. "

She sent him a dubious look.

"Ace and Caitlin have a son now, " he said, hoping to distract her from that train of thought.

"Little Ace. He's fourteen months old and cute as a button. "

"And you?"

Joseph paused with a spoonful of stew at his lips. "Me, what?"

"You have the look of a gunslinger, too. "

"I do?"

"Are you?"

He took the bite of stew. "This is downright deli-

cious, Miss Hollister. Darby's a lucky man if he gets to eat cooking like this every day. "

"You didn't answer my question. "

He spooned in some more stew, chewed, and swallowed. "What question was that?"

"Are you fast with a gun?"

"Fair to middling. Ace is the one that's fast. "

Joseph couldn't see her feet, but he had a notion that she was tapping her toe. "Have you killed anyone, Mr. Paxton?"

Joseph decided then and there that honesty wasn't always the best policy. In self-defense, he had, in fact, taken human life. That wasn't something he wanted to talk about, especially not with a wary woman who might jump to wrong conclusions. "Do I look like a killer?"

"Yes. "

Well, hell. He'd finally met someone as plainspo-ken as he was. Time to turn the tables. "It seems to me it's my turn to ask a few questions. "

She looked genuinely surprised. "I am not the interloper in this situation, Mr. Paxton. You've broken into my home, and you refuse to leave. I'll ask the questions until I'm satisfied that you are who you say you are. "

"Ah, but I wouldn't be here if Darby hadn't insisted on it. " He took another bite of stew and studied her as he chewed. "Even doped up on laudanum, he was so worried about your safety that he was fit to be tied. Can you explain why?"

Her eyes went dark with shadows.

"That strikes me as being a little peculiar, " Joseph pressed on. "Why would Darby instantly conclude that the attack on him today was somehow connected to the attack on you and your family five years ago?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know. " Her lashes lifted. "I truly don't know. "

Her face had gone as pale as milk, and Joseph didn't miss the fear that had returned to her eyes.

"There has to be a reason, " he insisted. "He was scared to death for you and absolutely emphatic that your life might be in danger. " He studied her closely. "What do you remember about that day?"

"Nothing. " She swayed slightly on her feet and splayed a dainty hand over her midriff. "Darby was upset because he was shot near the creek. " The pitch of her voice went so low he almost didn't catch her next words. "That's why he made a connection, I'm sure, because that's where it happened before. "

Watching her, Joseph tensed on the chair. "Don't faint on me. If you fall, I'm not in there to catch you. "

She passed a trembling hand over her eyes. "I'm fine. "

Joseph knew better. She looked scared half to death, and his instincts told him that she was holding something back. Yet when he searched her gaze, he saw only frightened confusion.

"You must have some idea who killed your family, " he insisted.

The clawing fear in her eyes gave way to anger. "If I did, I would have screamed it to the rooftops years ago, Mr. Paxton. "

"I don't buy that. You have a suspicion, at least. " Joseph honestly believed that was the only explanation

for the way she lived. She was afraid of someone. She had to be. "I don't know why, but you're hiding something. "

"I remember nothing.
Nothing,
do you hear? It was my
family
that died!" She made a fist over her heart. "My mother, my father, my brother, and my sister. I
loved
them. " Her eyes went bright with tears. "If I had any inkling—even an unfounded
suspicion
of who killed them—do you honestly believe I would keep it to myself?"

Her question struck home for Joseph. He, too, had lost a loved one, and even today it still hurt him to think about that awful night. He'd been—what— eight years old? He couldn't even remember his father clearly. How much more horrible must it be for Rachel Hollister, who'd been sixteen or seventeen at the time? She would have vivid memories of each person's face and of the special moments she'd shared with them, particularly those last, precious moments right before they died. Naturally she would do everything within her power to see their killer brought to justice. He'd been wrong to imply otherwise.

"I don't mean to upset you, " he said, his voice husky with regret.

She brushed angrily at her cheeks and whirled from the opening. A moment later, she passed by again, heading for the left rear corner of the room, the shotgun cradled in her arms. Joseph half expected to hear her start sobbing, but instead an awful silence settled over the house.

He finished his meal with one ear cocked, his gaze fixed on the hole.
No sound. No sign of
movement.