Whispers on the Wind (4 page)

“You’re going to haul an
unconscious woman all the way to Windy Bend?”

“If need be.”

“I don’t believe what I
just heard.” Rick scowled. “I must be plumb loco. But I’m going to
ask anyway ... why?”

“Since I’m a betting
man”—Carter paused from staring at the girl to look at Rick—“I’d
wager she’s running from something or someone, and I just don’t
feel obliged to leave her helpless. Think about it Doesn’t she
appear to be about your sister’s age?” When Rick nodded, Carter
asked, “Would you want somebody to leave your sister alone to fend
for herself?”

Carter didn’t wait for Rick
to answer. Instead he said, “I just want to give her a fighting
chance. What if someone is after her? We know she’s safe with us,
but someone else could take advantage of her.”

Rick knew that Carter was
probably thinking of his own sister, not Rick’s. That was the one
dark cloud that hung over Carter’s head and the one subject that
Rick steered clear of. He didn’t even know the whole story, but he
had a feeling Carter was seeing his sister lying asleep in that
bed. “I guess you’re right, but what if she’s a
criminal?”

Carter’s gaze was steady as
he said, Then I’ll arrest her, and she can stand trial like all the
other crooks.”

“Now you’re talking like
the Carter I know. What’s that nickname, ‘Coldhearted
Monroe’?”

“Remember,” Carter said,
his jaw clenched, his eyes slightly narrowed, “letting emotions
into our business shortens one’s life considerably.”

“I agree.” Rick nodded.
“So on that note—Cold-hearted Monroe—I bid you good night.” Rick
chuckled and pulled the door shut just as a brown boot bounced off
the door. “I’m not sure I envy the woman when she does wake up,”
Rick said to himself as he walked down the hall. “It might be the
worst luck the woman has ever had because Carter never shows
mercy.”

On the other side of the
door Carter was swearing up a blue streak. He wasn’t as coldhearted
as Rick seemed to think. It’s just that Carter had never met anyone
who interested him. But he wasn’t going to correct his friend,
because in Carter’s line of business a bad reputation was a good
thing.

He smiled as he finally
tore his gaze from the closed door back to the bed. The nice
warm
bed...
the
inviting bed.

He had intended to sleep in
the chair, but as he shoved his boots under the chair, his head
felt too much like a large rock perched upon his shoulders, and he
knew if he was going to fight that snow tomorrow he had to get some
rest And that bed looked very inviting.

He stacked plenty of wood
on the fire so they’d be warm, and then he climbed onto the bed,
staying on top of the covers. He also said a small prayer that the
female wouldn’t wake during the night— he needed a good night’s
sleep.

His head had barely hit the
pillow before he was sound asleep.

The next morning came much
too soon, Carter thought as he stretched and yawned himself awake.
He felt much better them he had the night before— until he turned
to see that his female companion hadn’t moved at all. She was in
exactly the same position she’d been in when he went to sleep, and
that concerned him. Leaning up on his elbow, he reached over and
felt for a pulse. Thank God there was one. He realized he’d been
holding his breath and let it go. He also admitted that he would
have cared if the girl died and that thought bothered him. He
didn’t know anything about the woman, so why should he
care?

He shouldn’t, he reminded
himself. There was no room in his life for emotions.

Carter slid out of bed with
his disturbing thoughts and walked across the cold floor to the
hearth, still warm with glowing embers. He loaded the fire down
with plenty of wood. One thing he was going to do now that it was
morning was to hire some women to give the girl a bath and wash her
dirty hair. For that, they needed warmth.

After he dressed, he went
downstairs and asked for some women to see to the girl. Maybe the
water would jolt her back to life, but if nothing else happened at
least she’d be clean.

Carter had breakfast with
Rick and reported there was no change to the mystery woman. They
decided while they waited for the girl that they would mosey over
to the local sheriff's office.

The snow had stopped about
an hour before, so maybe they could make some time this morning
since they would not have to fight the wind and snow. With any
luck, they would be home by nightfall.

As they entered the
sheriff's office, a young deputy, who seemed very excited by the
tone of his voice, was describing to the sheriff what he’d
seen.

“It was the damnedest
thing I ever saw.” The boy shook his head. “Blood everywhere. The
guy was carved up pretty bad. They’re looking for somebody named
Mark, Big Jim’s partner, but he ain’t nowhere to be found, so he’s
either dead or maybe he did the killing. If n he did, he had a lot
to gain since they’d just struck a rich vein of gold.”

“Sounds like you got
trouble, Sheriff Moody,” Carter said.

Moody smiled. “Good to see
you, Carter, Rick.” Moody nodded. “Just heard there was a murder up
on the mountain. Surprised there aren’t more. Greed has a funny way
of turning men into animals. Marshal Forester is the law in Gregory
Gulch and he has his hands full.”

“You don’t have to tell
me,” Carter said. “I’ve seen my share of scum.”

“In your position, I’m
sure you have.” Sheriff Moody nodded. “There are times when I think
the bad guys outnumber the good ones.”

Carter sat in a chair
beside the potbelly stove. “And there are some who are a little
nastier than the rest.”

“So where are you
headed?”

“Back to Windy
Bend.”

When Carter didn’t say
more, Rick finished for him. “Hank O’Toole was shot, and on top of
that he got influenza. So we’re going down to help out since it’s
Carter’s hometown.”

Traveling will be tough,”
Moody said as he leaned back in his chair. “We had one hell of a
storm last night.”

“We’ll make it,” Carter
assured him. He pushed himself up out of his chair. “If you or
Forester need any help with the investigation, send a wire to Windy
Bend, and I’ll swing back this way.”

Moody nodded. “I’ll do
that. Have a safe trip.”

First, Carter had to check
out the lead on his sister’s killers. He’d gotten two of them, and
he had two more to go. Revenge had now become his middle name. He’d
get them—he’d get them all.

When they returned to the
hotel room, Rick went to get his gear and Carter went to check on
the girl. If she was awake, he’d question her and leave her. He
reached for the door just as it sprang open.

Two women shrieked and
jumped back upon seeing him.

“Lord, you got me shakin’
like a frog,” the taller woman said.

Carter ignored her. “Has
the girl regained consciousness?”

“No, sir. With a knot like
that one, I ain’t too sure she’s going to make it, but we cleaned
her up reed nice. She’s a right pretty little thing even if she is
a mite thin.”

“Obliged,” Carter said as
he handed them a few coins for their work.

Once in the room, he
gathered his saddlebags and put them in the hall for Rick to pick
up, and then he strolled over to the bed.

He couldn’t believe the
change in the girl’s appearance. The women had done a good job of
cleaning her up. Reaching down, he picked up a lock of golden hair.
It was soft and wavy and the color of a wheat field. Her features
were flawless except for the large knot on her head.

His hand drifted to her
cheek, so soft and delicate, and much too inviting. Her lashes were
long and black, and her cheeks had a soft rose color. Carter
snatched his hand away as if he’d been burnt And he wasn’t too sure
he hadn’t been. What was wrong with him? She was just a woman, he
reminded himself. One he knew nothing about.

He sighed. They had to get
moving this morning.

He fetched her threadbare
wool coat, which had dried overnight, and returned to the bed. He
was going to have to get this coat on her one way or the
other.

Pulling the girl up to a
sitting position, Carter managed to get one of her arms into the
sleeve. She smelled of flowers as he bent closer to her
hair.

He grunted. He didn’t need
to get this close to her anymore. His response had been quick and
lustful. Hell, he didn’t even know who the woman was. It was just
his damned horny body responding and that was one thing he could
control.

Once he’d gotten both her
arms in the sleeves, he let her recline so he could button the
front of her coat. A slow smile spread across his lips.

Since when had he dressed a
woman? Usually he was helping women unbutton their clothes, so they
could slip them off, not putting their clothes on. But he was going
to fasten her coat all the way up to her chin.

Safe. That’s what he
liked. Safe
.

Carter straightened, having
finished his task. The girl looked innocent as she slept, so he
could imagine all kinds of things about her. It was when she woke
up that he’d find out if she was as gentle as she
appeared.

Was she an angel or the
devil in disguise?

It was midmorning when they
finally headed out for Windy Bend. Rick hadn’t said a word
when

Carter walked out carrying
the girl. It was just as well, because he didn’t want to hear it
anyway.

At least today was a far
cry better than yesterday. The sky was clear blue with a bright sun
overhead. The sun made the snow sparkle like stars, and was a
little blinding as they rode, but thank God the blizzard had blown
over.

If they rode hard all day,
they would make it home shortly after nightfall. Carter looked
forward to sleeping in his old bed and getting some of his mother’s
home cooking, but it would be a while. First, they would have to
traverse the mounds of snow that lay in front of them. At least
Blue, his black stallion, was sure-footed and dependable in the
white fluff. Blue would get them home.

Carter repositioned the
woman in his arms. Now that it was quiet, he’d had time to think
and question the logic of dragging an unconscious woman with
them.

Stupid was the first answer
he came up with.

And then he figured there
must be another reason. He didn’t normally make spontaneous
decisions, and he wondered why he’d picked today to start acting
irrationally. Maybe it was because of this damnable weather, and
the girl had appeared so cold and helpless.

Perhaps once she’d
recovered, he could make arrangements for someone else to escort
her home—wherever that was. And then he could go back to what he
always did, keeping the law. And looking for his sister’s killers.
Always. It was the one thing that drove him. The Carlson gang had
slipped his grasp several times, but one day he’d be ahead of them
and they would be his. And they would pay for what they’d done to
his sister.

Yep, they’d pay.

Slowly, Mary opened her
eyes.

And for the second time,
she had no idea where she was, but this time, she felt
movement.

Moving?

It was dark. She couldn’t
see anything. And there was intense heat on her right side. She
tried to move, but found she couldn’t

Dark. Hot. My God, she was
in hell!

She had gone to hell
without having a chance to clear her name. Life wasn’t
fair.

Panic set in, and Mary’s
heart began to race as she struggled. Suddenly, the darkness was
shattered by a blinding light, causing her to blink several times
before she could focus. And then she saw the face—the face of the
devil.

“Get still!” the devil
shouted.

“Go to hell,” Mary yelled
back, and then she remembered she was already in hell. She screamed
and fought all at the same time. She wasn’t going down without a
fight.

Somewhere a horse whinnied,
followed by the devil swearing while he tried to pin her arms
down.

She struggled
harder.

The next thing Mary knew,
she was flying helplessly through the air until she landed in a
mound of cold snow which, thank God, cushioned her fall.

As soon as Mary was able to
catch her breath, she fought through the cobwebs of her confusion,
then blinked with bafflement Snow?

Still a little foggy, she
thought. Hell didn’t have snow.

Quickly, she looked around
her. Even that small movement sent sharp pains screaming though her
head.

A voice came from behind
her. “Of all the confounded stupid things.”

This time she slowly
turned, and he continued, “I should have left you where I found
you,” he snapped, and glared at her with eyes as black as
coal.