The Lady and the Cowboy (19 page)

Ranger Tom
returned to the ranch the next day to let them know that he had received a telegram from the rest of his division back in Dallas, reporting that a gang who they thought were responsible for the sabotage at the racetrack, had been caught near Dallas. Mamma invited him in for coffee and they all sat around the kitchen table to talk.

“Do you know why these men did it?” Sam asked.

“We know they were paid to do it but the ringleader was killed in a shootout-”

“Was anyone hurt?” Ruth interrupted
Tom.

“Ira was winged but he’s fine. The ringleader of the group was killed.
Little more than a child really, eighteen years old.”

“Oh no.” Ruth had already seen too much death at that race track that no matter what these men, or boys had done, she didn’t want more death.

“Death is never nice,” Tom tried to be sympathetic to her. Death was a fact of life for him, a part of his job, both killing and risking being killed. For women like Ruth though, and many men for that matter, death was far more significant. “But these boys were well known locally for robbing people. They were small time, just the three of them, but they were working up to bigger crimes. It was really only a matter of time before they killed someone, or got themselves killed.”

Ruth nodded.
“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to sound as if I blamed your men.”

Tom nodded his acceptance
. “Anyway, it seems that the ringleader arranged for the sabotage and the others don’t know who paid them.”

Meaning that Tobias was still in the clear.

“We’ve interviewed most everyone in town. Tobias Middleton is as slippery as a snake but so far he has an alibi for the time of the crimes. Course, that in itself is odd.”

“Odd?” Sam asked.

“Yup. Having an alibi for one crime, the racetrack, is about fifty-fifty. Having an alibi for two crimes, the second with the sheriff when your woman was shot at, makes me think that he knew he would need one. There’s something wrong with that man, we just can prove it yet.”

“Is there anything more that we can be doing?” Sam asked. “Any way we can help?”

“I’m afraid not. Soon as we have a reason, we can officially question Tobias but until then, I can’t drag a man in for questioning without at least
some
evidence.”

Sam knew he wasn’t talking about the kind of interrogation that Ira and Tom had given him. The Rangers were known for getting the job done and if that meant beating a confession from someone, or even withholding medical treatment, they wouldn’t hesitate. Of course, they needed more than just a
suspicion before that and as much as he hated to admit it, they didn’t have grounds to arrest Tobias yet.

“About the
silver that’s supposed to be on this land, do any of you know anything about that?” Tom asked.

“This land had been in our family for generations,” Sam said. “If there was any silver, I think we would know, and I sure as hell wouldn’t let it sit in the ground when it could be buying me some racehorses.”

“Well, Brian and Robby are willing to come and stay out here, just in case something else happens.”

“My men stand guard each night.”

“Which is good but they didn’t catch him last time, did they? All we need is to find someone who can tell us that Tobias is involved.”

“But he won’t be sentenced to much for trying to set a barn on fire and really, that’s all we can prove.
And that’s assuming that he even tries again.”

Tom
nodded his head, agreeing with Sam. “And the Governor is putting a lot of pressure on us to get whoever was behind the death of his horse.”

“I have an idea,” Ruth interjected.

All heads turned to look at her.

“What if I can get Tobias to confess where someone can overhear?”

“No way.” Sam gave her a hard look.

“Tell me more.” Tom leaned forward.

“Ever since I got here, Tobias has shown a real interest. I’m certain his only interest is in my share of the ranch but if I could get him alone, perhaps I could extract a confession from him.”

“
Ruth, you just gave me the deeds to this place!”

“
And you gave them back!” His anger was bringing her temper flare, so she took a few calming breathes before continuing. “Look, Sam, I’m not going to be in any danger, the Rangers will be in the next room so that they can overhear.”

“And just how do you intend to ‘
get a confession
’ out of him.”

Ruth knew exactly what he was implying. “I'm not going to sleep with him!” she shrieked. “You may expect women to sell their bodies, Samuel Wakefield but I can assure you, I do not offer that service. To anyone, including you!
And certainly not with three Texas Rangers listening in the next room. Now I do want to save your ranch,
our
ranch, but I won’t stoop to those depths to do so.”

Sam’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

“What did you have in mind?” Tom asked calmly, as if neither of them had just had been arguing.

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Ruth confessed. “Maybe if I talk to the lawyer, tell him I’ve changed my mind and want to sell? When Tobias comes to talk, I can ply him with alcohol to get him to talk.”

“If he thinks there’s silver here, the lawyer may offer to buy your share,” Tom pointed out.

“Well, I can’t think of everything,” Ruth shrugged. “The fact is, the only person here who stands a chance of getting a confession out of him is me. Sam is too imposing,
Mamma can’t sell the land because Sam and I own it, and he isn’t going to confess to a Ranger. I'm a woman, I'm short and I'm slight. I pose no threat to him
and
can give him something that he wants.”

“Let’s sleep on this,”
Mamma suggested. “Maybe after a good night’s sleep, we’ll all have a better idea of what to do.”

No one disagreed with her.

***

If his mother caught him, he’d
be a dead man but Sam had to try and talk her out of this. Once he was sure that his mother would be asleep, Sam stole across the landing and into Ruth’s room. As he suspected, she was still awake. He went around to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers, pleased when she cuddled against him. He had half expected her to still be angry and push him away.

“It’s not you that I don’t trust,” he tried to reassure her.
“I know you won’t do anything silly.”

“But Tobias doesn’t seem to be doing these things himself, so at heart he’s a coward. I don’t think I’m in any real danger from him.”

“I don’t doubt that he’s a coward but he’s also a snake, darlin’, and when cornered he’ll be liable to strike.”

“I know,” she admitted. “But I don’t know how much longer I can live with this hanging over us. I want us to start our married lives together free of the threat of violence, or our horses being killed and barns burned down.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I want that too but we don’t always get what we want.”

“Maybe we can,” she suggested, and he didn’t like the edge of hope in her voice.

“Oh?”

“You said it, he’s a coward, but he’s also a bully. Like I said earlier, I'm no threat to him, if he thinks he can intimidate me, he’ll be more likely to confess, to threaten me with more of the same. Don’t you think?”

He agreed with her, which is why he really didn’t want her to do this.

“If I go into town late tomorrow afternoon, I can say we had a fight, pretend to have a few drinks in Miss Ellie’s-“

“Miss Ellie’s?”

“Well I can hardly drink in the regular saloon, can I? Besides, a man like Tobias will probably be there, or he’ll soon hear that I am, at least.” When he didn’t interrupt again, she continued. “As I was saying, I’ll say we had an argument and that I’ve had it with this blasted country and intend to head home.
You seem to know Miss Ellie so perhaps we can rope her in, get her to serve me water rather than gin, or watered down whisky. Hell, even cold tea would look right. Once I tell a few people my tale of woe, I’ll bet that Tobias will come running, to see the English Lady in the hot house if nothing else.”

Sam sighed.

“You know I’m right,” she told him.

“I know.”

“Please, let’s just try this, Sam. You and the Rangers will be there.”

Sam let out another long sigh. “When do you want to do this?”

“As soon as possible. Tomorrow’s Friday; if you go to town in the morning and make the arrangements, Angel and I will ride in a few hours after you get back.”

“And how am I supposed to get back
into town without being seen?”

“You can take the trails. I'm sure Miss Ellie would sneak you in the back way and direct you to a room.”

“Alright, you win. I’ll set everything up tomorrow morning but I have to warn you, if Tobias lays one hand on you, I’ll shoot him myself.”

“The hell you will!” She propped herself up on her elbow so she could look at him. “We are getting married on Saturday and that’s hard to do if the groom is in jail. Let the Rangers shoot him.”

“On one condition.”

She raised a haughty eyebrow.

“Kiss me.”

Ruth obliged.

On the ride to Midridge, Ruth periodically took a large sniff of her smelling salts, which she had
taken from the back of her drawer. She didn’t know why she had brought them over with her; she wasn’t prone to fainting but she hadn’t known what to expect and the bottle was tiny. The vapours were so strong, they made her nose run and her eyes water so by the time she got to Midridge, she looked a frightful sight, with puffy eyes and a red nose.

She had also sprinkled some whisky in her hair before she left, so she would smell of alcohol and as she stopped her horse in front of Miss Ellie’s, she took a swig from Sam’s hip flask (which was filled with water) before slipping from her side saddle and pretending to stagger as she landed.

She had hated riding the blasted saddle all the way here but if she was giving the impression that she was leaving, it made sense she would take her own saddle with her. She had also dressed in her riding habit, with one of her fancier hairstyles under her hat.

She looped Angel’s English reins awkwardly
around hitching post, since they weren’t as long or split like the reins on western bridles.

She guessed it to be around about seven in the evening
as she staggered into Miss Ellie’s.

Every eye in the room turned to her as she entered and made her way to the bar.

“Whisky,” she told the barkeep, an imposing looking man who was probably here to act as bouncer.

The barman looked to Miss Ellie, who was at the other end of the
bar talking with a patron, and Miss Ellie came over, shoving the barman out of the way.

“I guess you’d be Ruth Adams,” Miss Ellie said, keeping her voice low.

Ruth nodded.

“Pleasure,” she whispered.

“Just give me my whisky!” Ruth demanded, praying the other woman didn’t take offence but if they kept speaking in low voices, people would become suspicious.

Miss Ellie went and got a new bottle and poured Ruth a shot. Ruth downed it in one and grimaced at the taste. Cold tea. Still, it cut down on her need to act.

“You look like you could use a friendly ear,” Miss Ellie said, neither trying to be quiet nor overheard.

“It’s that bloody Sam Wakefield,” Ruth told her.
“He never wanted me here; he only wanted Angel, his prize winning racehorse. Well now he’s got neither of us; we’re a package deal and we’re going home. I’ve had it with this backward country!”

Miss Ellie raised her eyebrows. “Honey, are you sure this is the best place for you to be
? We don’t exactly have a… respectable clientele here.”

“As long as you don’t have Sam and
do have whisky, I don’t care.”

“You sure about that, honey?”

“I’m sure.” She got some money out of her purse and pushed some coins across the bar. “Keep them coming.”

Miss Ellie topped the shot glass up. She remained at Ruth’s end of the bar and kept topping the girl
’s glass up, although it was only with tea.

It t
ook only thirty minutes for word to get to Tobias and he strolled in, looked around until he spotted her, then came straight over.

“Lady Adams, I didn’t expect to find you here.”

“Finally! Someone who knows how to address me. It’s not Ruth, it’s not Ruthy and it’s not Miss or Mrs Adams.”

Tobias smiled. “May I join you?”

Ruth nodded and gestured to the bar stool beside her.

Miss Ellie approached and poured Tobias a whisky from a different bottle, so Ruth downed the rest of her cold tea so she could be topped up too. She had known she had to switch to the real thing when Tobias got here,
but having just downed most of a glass, she hoped her sipping this measure wouldn’t look too out of place. She had to keep her wits about her.

“So, what’s got
a mighty fine lady like yourself so upset, if I might ask?”

Ruth wanted to shiver at his smarmy tone but managed to hold it in.

“Sam Wakefield,” she said darkly. “Bastard thinks he can order me around, as if Angel and I are his property or something.”

“Well, you were looking rather close at the barn dance.”

“I thought we were friends but it was all a lie. He just wanted Angel. Do you know, he insisted Angel and I run in that damn Dallas race, even although Angel had been shot?”

Tobias looked scandalised but couldn’t quite keep the self-satisfied smile from his lips.

“Do you have a place to stay?”

“Hey, do you have rooms?” Ruth called to Miss Ellie. “I can check into the hotel down the road but
this is closer.”

Miss Ellie looked her up and down, as if considering the wisdom of such
an act. “I’m not sure-“

“I’ll vouch for her,” Tobias piped up. “I’ve known Lady Adams almost since she got here.”

Miss Ellie approached them. “You sure her reputation won’t be harmed?” Miss Ellie asked.

“I'm leaving,” Ruth reiterated. “There’s nothing to ruin.”

Miss Ellie nodded, opened the till, then handed a key to Ruth. “Room six, sweetie.”

Ruth unbuttoned her jacke
t a little more and slipped the key into her cleavage. She saw Tobias’s eyes widen and Miss Ellie shot her a look which asked, ‘are you insane?’

Tobias downed the rest of his whisky and Miss Ellie topped him up.

“So, what did you plan to do with your interest in the farm?” he asked.

“Sam can send me my profits.”
She knew that she couldn’t seem too keen on selling or he might smell a rat.

“Are you sure that’s wise? I mean, you would have no way to know if he’s lying or not.”

“Sam wouldn’t lie. He’s a good man.”

“Is he? He lied to you about Angel, didn’t he?

Ruth had to walk a fine line between being loyal and seeming hurt. She frowned. “I’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

“Still, it might be better to sell it, take the cash.”

“Right now I own something, only thing I’ve ever owned. I don’t want to sell it, even if I do have to be partners with Sam.”

“But you could buy something else with the money, perhaps a house of your o
wn back home?”

Ruth pretended to hiccup. “I need to go to bed.” She got off the stool and pretended to trip.
Tobias caught her.

“Come on, I’ll see you to your room.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, pushing him off, although she intentionally made her gait awkward.

“No you’re
not.” Tobias put his arm around her waist and although his hands strayed from her waist to her breasts and bottom, Ruth didn’t struggle.

When they got to the landing, Ruth got her key out and pretended to look around for her room. Tobias obviously knew where he was going though, as he dragged her off down the hallway, took the key from her and opened the door.

He helped her over to the bed then went to the door but as she hoped, he closed it but didn’t leave.

“Now then Ruth, you and I need to have a little chat.”

“I’m tired,” she rolled onto her side.

“But we have business to conduct.”

“Tomorrow.”

“No, not tomorrow, tonight!” He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into a sitting position.

Ruth put her legs over the edge of the bed as though resigned to him staying and Tobias pulled a folded paper from his jacket.

“Now, I have a contract here that your husband and I drew u
p for me to buy the land from him. It’s a more than fair offer and if we just change Mr to Mrs and you sign it, then you can go to sleep.”

“I can’t sell the ranch,” she insisted.

“Just your share.”

“No, I can
’t. Sam hates you.”

“And you hate him.”

“I… I can’t sell it to you. Sorry.” She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. Her whole act was designed to irritate and provoke him.

“Oh no you don’t.”
He hauled her upright again and put a pencil in her hand, guiding it to the paper. “You need to sign this.”

“NO!” she threw the pencil away. “I can’t sell.”

“Why not” he demanded. “You owe no loyalty to Sam.”

“But I love him! And I know he d
oesn’t love me but I don’t care; I can’t hurt him. I won’t.”

She covered her face and began to cry.

Tobias ripped her hands away and bent over so he was eye to eye with her, then slapped her around the face.

“
Now you listen here.” He wagged a finger in her face and she wanted nothing more than to grab it and bend it backwards until it broke. Somehow she restrained herself. “You sign that piece of paper now, or I will kill Sam.”

“Ha, I’d like to see you try!” She struggled to get free but not too hard.

“Would you?” Tobias asked. “If you don’t sign that paper I will kill him, and your precious Angel. This time, I won’t miss.”

“This time?” she asked, trying to appear
frightened and confused.

“I
hired someone to shoot at you and Angel. He was supposed to kill you but next time I’ll hire a better shot, and I’ll send him after Sam. Do you understand me?”

“You shot Angel?”

“Yes, and I arranged for your horses to be poisoned so they would die of colic and for your barn to be set alight.”

“You,” She accused in a shaky voice. “You hobbled those horses in Dallas, didn’t you? You put that metal in the ground?”

“Not personally but yes. One way or another, the Wakefield ranch will be mine and I won’t stop until it is. Now sign the damn contract, before I forget that I’m a gentleman and do something worse to you!”

He had been so intent on intimidating her that he hadn’t heard the door open, so the tap on his shoulder took him by surprise. Sam grinned, then punched him hard enough to knock him to the ground.

The Rangers hauled Tobias out of the way and to his feet, giving Sam room to kneel down before Ruth.

“Are you okay?”

Ruth nodded. “I’m just glad it worked.” She looked over to the Rangers.

“Thank you for the confession,” Tom said to Tobias, as the other two held him upright.

Tobias looked from the Ranger to Sam and Ruth then back again.

“This was a set
-up?”

“It was,” Ruth said, her speech now perfect. “And the really bad news for you is that one of the horses you sabotaged that had to be killed, belonged to the Governor
of Texas. From what I hear, he’s rather upset about that, as the horse was worth several thousand dollars.”

Tobias blanched and Tom m
oved out of the way as Ruth approached. Her expression was venomous as she looked him up and down, then she raised her skirt and sent her booted foot into his crotch.

“That’s for groping me.”

Sam guided her out into the hallway and back down to the bar, where Miss Ellie was waiting with bated breath.

“Did you get him?”

“The Rangers are bringing him down in a second, Sam grinned.

All the working girls in the bar began to clap,
although most of the men looked perplexed.

“I’m so sorry about some of the things, I said earlier,” Ruth said to Miss Ellie. “Honestly, I know I was offensive but I was just-“

“Hush!” Miss Ellie grinned. “Sam told me the plan, and I have to admire your acting skills. Besides, I should be the one thanking you for getting Toad arrested.”

“Toad?”

“That’s what we call him in these parts,” she said. “A ‘big toad’ is someone who thinks he’s important, when really he’s just a slimy toad.”

“Miss Ellie took out a loan with Tobias but he keeps increasing the in
terest so she never pays it off,” Sam explained.

“And in the meantime, he demands free visits with my girls.” She looked disgusted and Ruth really didn’t want to know any more. “Now, looks like you have a bit of a shiner coming on, want some ice for that?”

Ruth looked to Sam, wondering if he wanted to stay or not.

“Please,” he told Miss Ellie.

She went to the kitchen and chiselled some from the block with an ice pick, collecting it in a dish towel and as she came back, the Rangers were hauling Tobias down the stairs. Miss Ellie handed the ice to Sam and waited at the bottom of the stairs for Tobias. He already had a black eye far worse than Ruth’s and as the Rangers stopped him in front of her, she smiled coolly.

Miss Ellie pulled her fist back and launched a mean right hook at his face. “That’s for changing the terms of our loan.” She launched another right hook. “That’s for thinking you can have my girls whenever you want.” She pulled her right hand back again and he closed his eyes, flinching from her. T
his time though, she was faking and she kneed him in the groin instead. “And that’s for how you treat me and my girls.”

Tobias seemed to lose consciousness then and slumped in the Ranger
’s arms. Miss Ellie turned to the bar.