Weathered Too Young (38 page)

Still,
Slater Evans an outlaw?
I
t was inconceivable.
Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she thought of Slater’s kindness toward the children—toward Katherine and herself.
She thought of his
good standing with the other ranchers in the county.
Surely such a man could never have been an outlaw
.
Yet Lark knew that outlaws were often the most charming men on earth.
O
utlaws were often brothers, friends
,
even
husbands and
fathers.
She knew that certain small towns allowed outlaws to drift through, or even take up residence nearby without ever considering turning them in
to the authorities.
Some towns—some sheriffs even—considered it a means of protection. If an outlaw was welcome in a town, he was more likely t
o protect it if trouble came.
Lark knew the charm and influence of certain outlaws—and she knew from experience.

Suddenly, her thoughts
,
her emotions, were too overwhelming!
She loved Slater Evans!
She loved him
.
He couldn’t be an outlaw!
He couldn’t!
He was too good, too kind
,
too wonderful
.
She had never seen a hint of dishonesty in him, any malice—never!
The room began to whirl
,
to spin
,
as Lark thought of her mother—of her beautiful mother and the unhappy end she’d met.
Lark thought of her mother—thought of her own resemblance to her—wondered if that resemblance w
ere
deeper than merely flesh.
Yet she’d sworn to herself long ago that she would never fall into tragedy the way her mother had—that she would never fall in love with an outlaw.

“Lark!” Katherine cried as Lark collapsed to the floor.

Everything went dark.
For a moment, Lark could hear Katherine speaking to her—could feel Tom’s arms about her as he lifted her in them.
Yet
Lark’s faint
deepened
.
Soon there was only dark and silence.



“You told her too much, Tom,” Slater was saying.
“She
’ll
bolt and run
now.”

As she drifted in
to wakefulness, Lark kept her eyes closed
.
Slater and Tom were speaking in lowered voices.
She knew they thought she was still unconscio
us from the faint that had over
taken her.
She
had
no idea h
ow long she’
d slept, yet it must’ve been a fair piece of time, for Slater had
obviously
returned from town.

“Well, you shoulda told her a long time ago,” Tom growled
.

2

“
Probably,” Slater mumbled.
“But w
hat
’
s done is done
now
, little brother
.” He sounded discouraged—somehow hardened—as if his life had entirely disappointed him.

“
Was it easy
as that?
”
Tom asked.

“
Yep.
”

“
Now what?
”

“
We wait. That
’
s all,
”
Slater answered.
“
Samson Kane will
show his hand eventually.
Might take some time though.

“
How long
do ya think
?
”
Tom asked.

Slater
exhaled a heavy sigh
.
“
Cou
ld be days…even a couple of weeks.
You know how he works
…like an ornery ol’ rattler
. H
e waits until he thinks you ain’t payin’ a lick of attention
. T
hen he strikes.
”

There was a pause. Then Tom stated,
“
You
’
ll have to tell Lark
.
You oughta tell the children too…though I think young Johnny has his suspicions.
Seems his daddy told him a few tales here and there…about Samson Kane at least.”

“What good will it do for them to know everything?” Slater asked.

“Well, y
er
the one
always accusin
’
folks of hidin
’
secrets
…
sayin’ no good comes from it
. Y
et you’re worse than anybody I know.
A danged hypocrite…that’s what you are.
”

“I won’t deny it,” Slater said.
“But they don’t
need
more’n they can chew on
…just what they need to know to stay safe.”

“
But you gotta
tell Lark, Slater,” Tom said.
“Who knows what
she’s thinkin’?
She deserves to he
a
r it all.”

“I know,” Slater mumbled.
“I almost told her
, you know
.
In fact,
it
was right on the tip of my tongue…right there in the kitchen.
The words were comin’ out
,
but then…then I remembered she told me she saw a man
.
A
nd when I figured who it was…”
He paused.
“It don’t matter anyway
.
I figure
the way yer trap
flaps at the slightest breeze
,
you already told her enough.
”

Tom chuckled.
“I did tell her some…but you need to tell the whole tale,
boy
.
She
’
s a tough little gal.
She ain
’
t gonna bolt on ya
,
and she sure ain’t gonna run.
”

“
She would if
she knew what was good for her.”

“How’s she doin’?” Lark heard Katherine ask.

“She’s breathin’,” Slater said.

“Well, that cactus didn’t do her any good,” Katherine said.
“And heaven knows you runnin’ off to town didn’t help either.”

Lark felt Katherine’s hand on her forehead and used the opportunity to feign sudden
awareness
.

“What happened?” she asked in a whisper.
She turned her head—slowly opened her eyes in pretending to have just come out of
the
stupor.

“You fainted, darlin’,” Katherine said, smiling at her.
Katherine stood over her.
Slater and Tom sat in the two chairs opposite the sofa in the parlor.

“I told Tom you’d be more comfortable in your bed,” Katherine explained, “but he said he wanted you here on the sofa where we could keep an eye
on
ya.”
She smiled.
“How’s your arm feelin’?”

Lark forced a halfhearted smile in return.
“Terrible,” she said.
Katherine winced and giggled at the same time.

“Those walkin’ stick cactus are meaner than the devil,” she said.

“We’re headin’ back to the bunkhouse, boss.”

Lark glanced up to see Eldon, Grady
,
and Ralston
striding toward the front door
.
Eldon nodded
to Lark as she looked to him
and
the
n
looked back to Slater.

“You holler if ya need anything,
boss,
” he said.

“Bolt the
door
on
c
e you boys are in for the night
, Eldon,” Slater said.
“He ain’t gonna do nothin’ tonight…but you keep one eye open anyhow.”

“We will,” Eldon said.

“Thank you, boys,” Slater added.
He st
ood, strode to the cowboys
, and offered them each his hand in thanks.
“I know you didn’t saddle up for this
.
I appreciate it…and I’m sorry.”

“We ride for the brand, boss…come
h
ell or high water,”
Eldon said.
Ralston and Grady
nodded
their own affirmations
.

“Thanks for supper, Mrs. Thornquist,” Eldon said then, touching the brim of his hat as he looked to Katherine.

“Supper?” Lark exclaimed.
She’d been unconscious so long Katherine had had to fix supper—and for the cowboys too.

Guilt and worry must’ve been obvious on Lark’s face, for Katherine whispered, “It’s all right, Lark,” and patted her hand with reassurance.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Pickering,” Katherine said, smiling
at Eldon then
.

The cowboys left
,
and Lark watched as Tom strode to the front door, drawing the bolt.

Lark looked to Slater.
He sat in a chair across the room from her, staring at her.
His eyes were dark
,
and she sensed a combination of dark emotions boiled in him.

“I put a warm towel on your arm off and on,” Katherine said.
“But I haven’t had a chance to look at it.”

“It’ll be fine,” Lark said, pulling herself to a sitting position.
“Are the children in bed already
?
” she asked.

“Yes,” Katherine answered.
“They were so tired!
I guess the trip to town wore them out today…thankfully.”
Katherine smiled
,
but it was forced.

“And what of Samson Kane?” Lark asked.
She looked to Slater
,
yet his expression was unchanged.

“Well…well…I…I…” Katherine stammered.
She glanced to Slater, who only glared back at her and frowned.

“I’ll take care of it,” Slater grumbled.

“Well, then I’m headin’ to bed,” Tom said.
“You can keep first watch,” he added, nodding to Slater.

“Yep,” Slater agreed.

Tom took Lark’s hand, squeezing it with reassurance.
“You about give me a fit of apoplexy, honey,” he said, warmly smiling at her.
“You sure you’re all right?”

“Yes,” Lark told him.
“I promise.”

“All right then.
I’ll see you in the mornin’.”
Tom turned to Katherine.
“Good night, Katie.
Try to get some sleep.
Ain’t nothin’ gonna get by ol’ Slater.”

“I know,” she said, kissing Tom on one cheek.

“And you,” he said to Slater then.
“You do what ya need to.”

“Yep,” Slater said, nodding.
“Just what I need to.”

Tom sighed and shook his head.
Lark sensed there was more meaning in the
i
r exchange of words than she understood.

Tom left
t
he parlor and climbed the stairs as Katherine said, “I’ll be turnin’ in too.”
She kissed Lark on one cheek.
“Good night, sweetie.
You wake me if you need anything.”

“Good night,” Lark responded.
“Thank you.”

Katherine turned to Slater.
“Good night, Slater.”

“Good night,” Slater mumbled.

Katherine left the parlor as well.

Alone with Slater, Lark’s
fear and curiosity instantly blended with he
r
desire to be in his arms
and
cause
d
her insides to quiver.
He
w
as still staring at her—simply sitting across the room and staring at her.
She thought for a moment that she surely looked a fright.
Windblown from her sprint back to the house after meeting Samson Kane, she’d then endured sobbing from the pain of the cactus needles.
The blissful moments spent in Slater’s arms in the kitchen had no doubt left her further rumpled—and then she’d fainted.
No doubt she looked like a tattered vagabond of sorts.

“What’re you thinkin’?” Slater asked.

“About…about today?” she ventured.

“Yep,” he said, still staring at her, unmoving.

“Which part of today?” she asked.
“The part where I found myself alone beyond the east pasture with a stranger?
The part where I came home and…and you were just about to tell me something when you remembered I’d mentioned him?
Or the part where you rode off to tow
n without a word of explanation
?
”

“Yep,” was all he said
in response
.

She was quiet a moment, considering everything.
If Slater Evans w
ere
an outlaw—retired or not—did she truly want to know?
She thought a moment longer.
Yet she must know the truth.

“I think
…
I’ve been wondering…thinking,” she began, “about what you might have been going to say to me there…in the kitchen…before you remembered I’d told you I saw a man out beyond the pasture.”

Slater said nothing, though his eyes narrowed—his frown deep
en
ing.

“Samson Kane…I understand he’s an outlaw,” she said.

“Yep,” Slater said.

“And…and I’m surmising, from what I’ve been told, that he’s escaped from
Yuma
p
rison.”

“Yep.”

“And…and he’s come looking for you.
Probably the first thing he did after escaping was come looking for you.”

“Yep.”

Lark bit her lip as tears began to well in her eyes.
She loved him!
Oh, how she loved Slater Evans!
Still, in knowing what her mother had endured—how could she have let herself fall in love with an outlaw?

“Did you ride with him before?” she asked.
“Has he come looking for you because you betrayed him in some way?
The fact that he was imprisoned and you were not…did you somehow elude capture or…or…”

“You think I rode with him?” Slater growled.
“You think I’m an outlaw?”

“I-I don’t know,” Lark stammered as tears escaped her eyes.
“I’ve tried to think of something else to explain it…anything else
. B
ut with what Johnny said…and the very little that Tom would tell me…I-I don’t know what else to think.”

She watched Slater—watched him inhale a deep breath and then exhale it slowly.

He shook his head.
His eyebrows arched in thoughtful consideration of what she’d said to him.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or be insulted,” he said.
A slight smile curved his lips, however, and he chuckled.
“An outlaw.
Well, I certainly didn’t think you
thought I was that low.”

“Oh, but I don’t!” Lark exclaimed.
“I don’t!
I can’t even imagine it, in truth!
But what
other explanation could there be, Slater?
I…I can’t think of anything else that might
—”