Texas Tender (34 page)

She needed to get back to town. She was still working in Ella's shop. Will refused to accept any money for the hotel room because he said they didn't charge extra for letting her share a room with Junie Mae, so she gave most of the money she earned to Carl so he wouldn't have to depend on Will for supplies. She refused to get further in debt to Will. The money she owed him was already crushing her spirit.

Will had spent three days looking for Ben Janish's cows. They'd finally caught up with the rustlers about twenty miles south of Ben's ranch. Cornered, the rustlers had pulled out sometime in the night. Ben was delighted to have his herd back, but Will was frustrated because he believed Newt Mandrin was involved in the rustling if not the instigator.

Once Ben's herd was back on his own land, all Will had wanted to do was get back to town and talk to Idalou. He'd started out the night of Mara's birthday party with hopes of convincing Idalou that he loved her and wanted her to marry him. But he'd been sidetracked before he could declare his feelings.

Now that he'd finally returned to town, gotten a good night's rest, and persuaded Idalou to drop by the sheriff's office before she went to work, Mara had
to show up crying on his shoulder that Carl hadn't believed her when she told him she was still in love with him.

“Give him some time.” Will had had breakfast, but no one had yet tried to overwhelm him with coffee and sweets. This morning he would really have appreciated the extra coffee. “After spending a night in jail because of you, I doubt he's very receptive just now.”

“That wasn't my fault,” Mara said. “It was Van's.”

“Regardless of who instigated the fights, you were the reason for them. All you have to do is make up your mind which of them you love and stick with your decision.”

“I have,” Mara wailed. “I love Carl. I want to marry him.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes momentarily. He was too old to put up with teenage tragedies first thing in the morning. “You keep thinking like that for a whole week, and I'm sure Carl will believe you.”

“He does believe me, but he says it doesn't matter anymore.”

Will hadn't seen Carl since he'd put him in jail, but he didn't believe the boy could have lost his mind in just three days. “Did he say why it didn't matter?”

“He said he didn't have a house, he didn't have a ranch, and come fall he probably wouldn't have a herd. He said marrying him now would be the same as marrying a pauper. He said even if my father would let me do something that stupid, he wouldn't.”

At that point Mara burst into tears again immediately giving Will a headache. He never had been much of a morning person.

“What am I going to do?” Mara wailed.

Will thought honor was a fine thing, but he was reaching the conclusion that Idalou and Carl had a
little too much honor for their own good. And for the good of the people who loved them.

“First of all, you're going to stop crying. Men hate it when women cry. They know they probably did something to cause it. And even when they haven't, they know they have to do something to make it stop despite having no idea where to begin. All they can think about is getting on a horse and riding away.”

“That's stupid,” Mara said.

“That's what Isabelle says.”

“Most of the time, all we want is somebody to hold us and tell us everything will be all right.”

“Isabelle says that, too.”

“Then why aren't you holding me?”

“Because nothing will ever be all right again if Idalou and Carl walk in on me cuddling you.”

“Carl won't care.”

“If he didn't care about you, he'd have begged you to marry him so your father could support both of you.”

Mara looked up, her eyes wide with indignation. “Carl would never do anything like that.”

Will released a fatalistic sigh. “I know, and neither would his sister.”

Mara's eyes grew wider. “Idalou refused to marry you?”

“I haven't gotten around to asking her yet, but I already know the answer as long as she owes me money.”

“But it's not the same with women. They're supposed to marry men with money.”

Will welcomed the sound of the office door opening because it would bring an end to this fruitless conversation. “Try telling that to Idalou,” he said to Mara before turning to his visitor. “Good morning, Mrs. Truesdale. You can't know how glad I am to see you.”

“I thought you might be ready for some fresh coffee,” Mrs. Truesdale said. She cast a reproving glance at Mara's tear-stained cheeks. “The path of young love still proving to be thorny?” she asked.

Mara sniffed dolefully.

“The hunter who can't make up his mind which deer to shoot risks losing them all.”

Will thought that was a rather inappropriate metaphor, as well as an unfeeling one, but he wasn't willing to take on more than one female at a time.

“Thank you for the coffee,” he said. “I think we'll both feel better after a cup.”

“I saw Junie Mae headed this way,” Mrs. Truesdale said and smiled sweetly. “All you need is Idalou and you'll have every female in distress hanging on your sleeves.”

Will was about to reach the conclusion that listening to Mrs. Truesdale was too high a price to pay for coffee.

“You need a wife, Sheriff. A man like you is a danger to all unmarried women.”

“He's not a danger to me,” Mara declared. “I love Carl.”

“I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that . . .
again.
” Mrs. Truesdale turned back to Will. “Mabel Thornton will be over with some blueberry muffins shortly. Try not to give all of them to the town brats. Mabel's daughters picked those blueberries by hand.”

She spoke as if there were some other way to pick blueberries. “I'll make sure I have at least two,” Will promised.

Junie Mae entered the office and came to a stop when she saw Mrs. Truesdale.

“I'm just going,” the matron said sweetly. “Try not to take up all the sheriff's time. We don't want the rustlers to feel neglected.”

“Don't pay her any attention,” Mara said to Junie Mae after Mrs. Truesdale left. “Mama says Gladys Truesdale has the sharpest tongue in Dunmore.”

“I'll come back,” Junie Mae said, casting an apologetic glance at Mara. “I don't want to interrupt.”

“I'm sure the sheriff hopes you will interrupt,” Mara said. “I've been crying on his shoulder, and you know how much men like that.”

Junie Mae smiled. “The sheriff is very good about letting us poor females cry on his shoulder.” Her smile faded. “It's fortunate that at least one man cares about us.”

Will had a sinking feeling that Junie Mae was about to tear up.

“A lot of men care,” Mara said. “They just care about the wrong things.”

Will was relieved when the door opened and Carl entered the office. He was about to direct the younger man's attention to the distressed Mara, but Carl turned to her without any help from Will.

“I want you to come outside,” he said in very unloverlike tones. “I have something to show you. You come, too,” he said to Will. With that, he turned and stalked out of the office.

Mara jumped to her feet and dashed after him. Though he was tempted to stay inside and let Carl and Mara settle their problems between themselves, Will paused only long enough to tell Junie Mae to have some coffee.

“That's my bull,” Carl said to Will when he stepped outside. There in the street stood the long-lost creature. “I found him in one of the river canyons on her father's property.” He pointed at Mara.

“I told you Jordan McGloughlin was a liar and a thief. I hope you'll believe me now.”

Will didn't have to turn around to know it was Idalou speaking. He was in for it now.

“My father has always wanted your land, but he wouldn't cheat to get it,” Mara declared.

“The bull had been barricaded in and was being fed,” Carl shot back. “From the looks of things, he'd been moved there recently.”

“If he was on our land, why didn't you find him before?” Mara asked. “Daddy gave you permission to look anywhere you wanted.”

“All your father had to do was know where Carl was looking and move the bull somewhere else,” Idalou pointed out.

Will didn't miss a word of the exchange, but at the moment he was more interested in the bull. He was a truly fine-looking animal, worthy of the fuss being made over him as well as of the price Will would have to pay to get him. For an animal that had had to forage for himself in the wild, he seemed remarkably calm and accepting of captivity. His presence in the street was attracting a lot of attention. Will wasn't happy when Van was one of the persons attracted.

“Where did you find him?” Van asked Carl.

“In one of the river canyons, just like you thought.”

Will's attention was caught. “You told Carl where the bull was?” he asked Van.

“I was only guessing,” Van said.

“I'd looked everywhere else,” Carl said. “I hadn't thought of the canyons because most of them are barren.” He turned an angry glance at Mara. “I never thought her father would hide him where he had to be fed and watered.”

Mara looked devastated. At this point, it didn't matter whether Carl believed she still loved him. He had no reason to lie about where he'd found the bull,
and every reason to believe a future with her was impossible.

“Daddy wouldn't do that,” Mara said, her tears beginning to flow again. “He just wouldn't.”

“Regardless of what your father might or might not have done,” Will said to Mara, “it's not your fault.”

“I think you ought to arrest Jordan,” Van said.

With a wail, Mara threw herself on Will and began to cry with loud, gusty sobs that seemed to draw people out of their homes and shops. Will did his best to comfort Mara. Finally he cast a mute appeal to Idalou, who had watched the entire episode with a jaundiced eye.

“Come on,” she said to Mara as she peeled her from Will's chest. “Let's go into the sheriff's office until you feel better. You don't want to give people any more reason to gossip about your family.”

“I don't care,” Mara sobbed. “My father's going to jail, and Carl won't ever believe I love him. My life is ruined.”

“Just because the bull was on his land doesn't mean he's responsible for hiding him,” Will said.

Idalou looked at him with shocked surprise, but it was Van who expressed what Will figured everyone must be thinking.

“Who else would have done it?” Van demanded. “Everybody knows Jordan wanted Idalou's ranch and let his cows run all over her land to breed with her bull.”

“Don't forget the dam,” Idalou said.

“Or the rustled herd,” Carl added.

Mara wailed so loudly Idalou had to take her into the office before she collapsed.

“If he gets away with this, none of the rest of us will be safe,” Van argued.

Will wasn't about to deny that someone seemed
mighty determined to drive Carl and Idalou off their land, but he couldn't make himself believe that Jordan McGloughlin was cruel or a criminal.

“Newt tried to steal the herd,” one of the gathered crowd said.

“Jordan has hired Newt lots of times,” Van said.

“So has your father,” Will reminded him.

“I found the bull on McGloughlin land,” Carl said to Will. He looked angry, as though he believed Will was trying to defend Jordan. “You can't ignore that.”

“I don't intend to. I'm going to see Jordan right away.”

“I'm coming with you,” Carl said.

“Me, too,” Van said.

Several people in the crowd indicated their intention of going as well.

“I think Carl and his sister will be enough,” Will said.

“How will we know you haven't swallowed Jordan's lies?” Van demanded.

“Because my sister and I will hear every word he has to say,” Carl said.

“I think you ought to arrest Jordan first,” Van said. “It's plain as the nose on your face that he's guilty.”

“He may be, but every man deserves a chance to speak for himself,” Will said.

Van balled his hands into fists. “If you don't arrest him, I say you're as crooked as he is.”

The crowd had been with Van so far, but that accusation caused a visible drawing back, accompanied by shocked protests that the sheriff wasn't crooked.

“Anytime the citizens of Dunmore are dissatisfied with the way I do my job, they can have my badge back.”

Will was gratified by the volume of objections to Van's accusation, assertions of confidence in his work, and pleas for him to stay in Dunmore. It was
really nice to have people look up to him, depend on him, respect him, but it was time to take his bull and go home.

“Why don't you start toward Jordan's place?” Will said to Carl. “Idalou and I will catch up with you as soon as Mara is calm enough to ride.”

Most of the starch went out of Carl's anger. “This has been hard on her. She adores her father.”

“How can she adore a man who's done everything but murder to get what he wants?” Van demanded.

“Because he's her father,” Carl said, turning away from Van in disgust. “Tell her I'm sorry,” he said to Will.

“It would be a lot better coming from you.”

Carl shook his head before turning away. Will waited while the youth mounted up and headed out of town. Van continued to argue that Will ought to arrest Jordan immediately.

“I intend to see that Jordan makes reparations for everything he's done,” Will said to Van, “but there's somebody else involved in this, somebody pulling strings while staying completely out of sight. I don't intend to stop until I can prove who that is.”