The Outlaw Takes a Bride (36 page)

She set down her cup and smiled. “I find I made the right decision. Johnny is a good man.”

“I’m sure he is.” Rilla frowned. “It’s just that Eph thought he was Mark for…oh, I don’t know. Weeks.”

“He was a little embarrassed that people thought he was his brother, but he wasn’t sure how to straighten it out without causing more confusion.” Sally pushed back her chair. “And now I must be going. Thank you so much for the refreshment, and for the conversation. I do miss living close to other women.”

“We’re not so far apart. We ought to visit more.” Rilla got up and walked with her to the door.

“Come by anytime,” Sally said. “But I shan’t blame you if you wait until the outlaws are caught. To be honest, I didn’t truly feel safe driving that road alone, especially knowing what had happened to Mark.”

“Yes, it gives one pause, doesn’t it?” Rilla stood on the stoop and looked toward the empty road. “We knew they’d raided in town, but not our closest neighbor.”

“I’m sorry,” Sally said. “We really should have told you sooner. Johnny understands that now, but I hope you won’t hold it against him.”

“Hmm, well, he’s doing business with Eph, same as his brother did, and so far he’s kept up his end of the bargain.”

“Which he’ll continue to do.” Sally climbed into the wagon and waved. She turned Lady and trotted her out to the road. As she had feared, their neighbors weren’t able to trust Johnny quite as much as they had Mark, and they were uneasy over the blurring of his identity when he came. She and Johnny would have to be such good neighbors that the Caxtons and the rest got over that.

In town, she went to Mrs. Ricks’s storefront first.

“Sally! I’m so glad to see you.” The owner fairly pulled her into the shop. “The new shipment came in three days ago, and I’ve already got three women who want dresses from the new silk blends. Oh, and Mrs. Drury wants two new cottons made up for her daughter—Anne is getting married soon, you know.”

“No, I didn’t,” Sally said.

“Well, I can keep you in dressmaking orders from now to Christmas if you’ve a mind.” Mrs. Ricks, a fashionable lady of about forty, led her to the shelves where her bolts of cloth were piled. “Most women just buy the material and sew their own dresses, but some would rather not, and women like Mrs. Drury just don’t have time. Before the wedding, you know. She wants to stitch the wedding dress herself, but Anne needs two other dresses, or so her mother thinks, for her trousseau. And then there are those, like old Mrs. Leary, who can’t see well enough to sew anymore.”

“I’ll be happy to take the patterns and materials for a couple of orders with me,” Sally said. “My husband is gone with the posse, and I’ll be glad for something to keep me busy.”

“Bless you!” Mrs. Ricks pulled out a new pattern catalog and showed Sally the styles her customers had chosen and gave her a slip of paper with Anne Drury’s measurements on it. Ten minutes later, as she was cutting the calico yardage for one of Anne’s dresses, two ladies entered the shop.

“You have customers,” Sally whispered. “Why don’t I come back in an hour for all of this?”

Mrs. Ricks nodded. “Good morning, ladies! How may I help you today?” She sailed from behind the cutting table. Sally nodded to the newcomers and escaped out the door.

At the grocery, the mood was less encouraging. The owner and customers could talk of nothing but the outlaw gang and the posse.

“If they don’t catch ’em this time, my wife wants to pack up and go back to Virginia,” one man said. “No telling where they’ll attack next.”

“I admit I don’t feel safe with half the menfolk off chasing them,” said one of the ranchers’ wives.

Another added, “Seems to me this would be the perfect time for the gang to circle around and hit the town again.”

Without asking, Sally determined that nobody had heard a word from the posse since they had ridden out of town. She made her purchases and went outside. For several seconds, she stood undecided by her wagon. Johnny could be gone for a long time. Last time, the sheriff had followed the outlaws for more than a week.

She put her parcels in the wagon and walked slowly toward the post office. Her letter would reach her parents in a few days, telling them that Johnny had gone off to chase the outlaws. But she dreaded going back to the ranch alone. She would have to check the barn again when she got there, and make sure nobody had gone into the house. Though she considered herself a strong person, she would live in fear until Johnny returned. She didn’t like that. Maybe she should have listened to him, and to Pete Hood, and gone to stay with one of their friends.

She turned toward the hotel, where the telegraph office was housed off the lobby. She wasn’t sure what good it would do to hasten the message to her parents, but she would feel better if they knew today what was going on. If she got bad news about the posse, and the family hadn’t even received her letter yet, they’d be shocked. She told herself that was reason enough to justify the expense of a short telegram:

JP
WITH POSSE AFTER OUTLAWS 2 DAYS.
N
O WORD YET
.

She counted the words and figured the cost and then took out “No word yet.” That would be obvious, and it would save her ninety cents.

She gave the clerk the money and the message form.

“Do you expect a reply?”

She shook her head. “Not right away, anyhow. They live a ways out from town, and so do I.”

The young woman nodded. “We’ll have to send someone out if you get a return message.”

“Does that cost extra?”

“How far out are you?”

“Six miles. The Paynter ranch.”

“A dollar.”

Sally frowned. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Are you eating dinner in town today?”

She hadn’t considered it, but she could. And she could go around to visit Liz, who lived not far away, on Flood Street. With any luck, Liz would offer her dinner.

“I’ll check back here before I leave town.”

She found the house easily. Liz and her two children were outside, taking laundry off the line.

“Sally,” Liz called as soon as she spotted the wagon pulling up.

Sally jumped down and ran to meet her. “Hello. Is Dan gone with the posse?”

“No,” Liz said. “He’s needed at the mill. I take it Johnny has?”

“Yes. I was going a bit off my head out there alone, so I came into town.”

“Eat with us,” Liz said, much as Sally had expected. “Dan will be home soon, and I have a chicken in the oven. I just need to get in the rest of these clothes.”

Sally greeted the children and helped fold the last few items. Liz excused her ten-year-old son to go and meet his father. The thirteen-year-old girl, Deborah, went inside with them.

“Debbie, take Mrs. Paynter’s bonnet,” Liz said. “Will your horse be all right out front?”

“I think so, though she’ll be ravenous before we get home.”

“I can have Dan give her some oats when he gets here.”

“No, don’t trouble him.”

“It’s all right.” Liz bustled about her kitchen, refusing to let Sally help.

“Then I’ll help Debbie lay the table,” Sally insisted.

Deborah smiled shyly at her and opened the drawer where they kept flatware.

“All right,” Liz said. “Isn’t it nice that it’s a little cooler today?”

“It sure is.” Sally counted out the spoons and followed Debbie, who was placing the forks around the table.

“They say we’re in for a drought.” Liz chopped turnips so fast Sally could barely follow her hands’ movement.

“I hadn’t heard that. I know it’s been dry.”

“Well, Dan says it will hurt the ranchers. You have a creek out there, don’t you?”

“Yes. But Johnny and—and Cam were talking about a windmill.”

“Dan said you’ve lost your hand.”

“Yes, Cam’s gone. It seems…” She shot a glance at Debbie and decided the girl was old enough to know. “The sheriff says he’s wanted for a crime. We didn’t know. Johnny had already discharged him when the sheriff told us.”

“Oh, dear.”

“He’s probably lit out for someplace a long ways from here,” Sally said. At least, she hoped so.

Liz hesitated. “I wasn’t going to mention it, but maybe it’s best if you know.”

“What?” Sally studied her face. Liz was usually cheerful, but this talk of the posse and the dry weather seemed to have sobered her.

“Dan heard at the mill—oh, it’s just a rumor, but—well, someone heard the outlaw gang has added a fellow who looks like your hired man.”

F
red Jackson took off his hat, wiped his forehead with his bandanna, and ran it around the sweat band inside the hat.

“I’m afraid they’re out of my jurisdiction again.”

Johnny stared across the rocky, almost barren hillside before them. “Aren’t you allowed to go after ’em if you know they did something in your territory?”

The sheriff plunked his hat back on his head. “Could, but it’s mighty hard trackin’ out here. I’m thinking we should go to the nearest town and see what help we can get.” He shook his head as he knotted his grimy bandanna around his neck. “Hate to lose ’em now.”

“They’ve gotta have water soon,” said Eph Caxton, easing his horse up alongside Fred’s roan. “Isn’t there a creek not far from here?”

“Maybe.” Fred squinted against the sun and studied the rugged terrain. “We can’t be more’n four or five miles from the river.”

“They probably camped there last night,” Johnny said. “We could head straight for the river and see if we could pick up their sign there.”

After a moment, Fred nodded. “Awright. Can’t think of a better plan. But if we don’t find something soon, we’ll check with the county sheriff and see if they’ve had any trouble over here.”

Johnny set out before Fred could change his mind. They couldn’t be more than a few hours behind the raiders, and he was determined not to lose them. As much as he longed to get back to Sally, he wanted to bring those killers down more. He wasn’t a scout by profession and he wouldn’t claim to be an expert, but he’d sure tracked a lot of cattle over ground like this. If the gang had gone this way, he would find them.

Reckless stumbled a little and recovered. Johnny patted his neck. “Easy, boy. We’ll find you some water soon. We’re going to get those outlaws, and then we’ll head on home.”

In less than an hour, they reached the river and dismounted to stretch their legs and let their horses rest. The others sat down to talk while they ate a cold lunch, but Johnny couldn’t sit still. He ate the last of the food Sally had packed him while trudging along the riverbank. Had the gang found a crossing place and gone over the river? If so, Jackson wouldn’t want to follow them. He’d made that clear.

Half a mile downstream from where they’d camped, Johnny found what he’d sought. The tracks indicated that at least six horses had come to the brink here and then circled away. They hadn’t crossed the river or headed back the way they came.

Johnny hurried to where the others were finishing up their meal.

“Sheriff, I found some signs. I think it’s them. There’s one horse that’s barefoot, and five or six shod.”

“Same as we saw yesterday,” Fred said, standing and brushing off his clothes. “Did they ford the river?”

“Nope. In fact, if we go the way they headed, we’ll actually be going closer to home.”

“Mount up,” Jackson called to the others. He turned and nodded at Johnny. “I figured they had a hideout closer to Beaumont than this. Maybe they’re heading back there. You lead us.”

Sally lingered longer than she had intended at the Mertons’. It was so peaceful, sitting with Liz and Deborah while they quilted. She didn’t have to worry about who would come along, or run to the window every time a horse passed outside. She felt safe and a bit lethargic.

When Liz stirred up her fire to prepare supper, Sally jumped up.

“I need to get going. I don’t want to be too late getting home.”

“Stay here tonight if you want.”

“Thank you, but I’ve got a cow that will need milking.”

She hurried out to bridle Lady and took a hasty parting from Liz. She went to Mrs. Ricks’s shop and picked up the patterns and cloth she needed. Remembering her reason for putting off the homeward trip, Sally stopped once more before the hotel. Already the dining room was full of customers. The young woman at the telegraph office smiled at her.