Whispers on the Wind (6 page)

“So he didn’t leave
anything to his family?” McCoy asked.

“Only in the event that
his partner dies. Mark’s half of the deed says the same
thing.”

Forester turned to McCoy.
“Guess you’re out of luck. What are you going to do
now?”

“Don’t know, Marshal.
Reckon I’ll have to hope they find the boy so everything can be
settled,” McCoy said as he walked out of the office with Forester.
“I’ll be seeing you. Not much use of me staying around here. Need
to earn a living with my snake oil.”

“Before you leave town I
guess I need to ask you a few questions.”

McCoy looked surprised.
“Such as?”

“You said you had dinner
with Big Jim. And you were the first person to find Jim?” Forester
watched as McCoy nodded. “So where were you in between those
times?”

“Are you accusing me,
Marshal?”

“It depends on your
answer.” Forester gave the man a slow smile. “Everybody here is a
suspect. And seeing as you could possibly gain a gold mine, some
would think that you look as guilty as the boy.”

“Can’t help it if I’m
kin,” McCoy blustered, his face turning red. “You see, Marshal, I
have an alibi.” Forester leaned against the post and crossed his
arms. “I’m listening.”

“I spent the night with
the lovely Kate. She’ll be glad to vouch for me.”

Forester chuckled. “Didn’t
take you long to meet the town whore.”

McCoy smiled. “Man’s got
urges.”

“Have to agree with you
there. I’ll check out your story, and if it holds water then you
can go. But you probably should leave some way I can contact you in
case something comes up.”

“How ’bout I swing back
through in a month?” “Fine,” Forester said, and headed back toward
his office, thinking that the man sure was quick to point out that
he stood to inherit the mine. But if he had an alibi there wasn’t
any way he could hold him.

As McCoy watched the
marshal walk off, he turned, his face burning with anger. There was
always something in his way. Just when he thought he had the
perfect plan, something went haywire. He could feel the wealth at
his fingertips. And he still couldn’t get his hands on that gold.
Such easy money for the picking—no more working his ass off for
tips. Good thing he had an alibi—didn’t need the marshal getting
suspicious.

The only thing standing in
his way was that Costner woman. It was up to him to end the
problem, one way or the other. He needed to find the girl before
the marshal did and figure out who she was.

By the time they stopped in
Windy Bend night had fallen.

Mary had been dozing off
and on as she snuggled into the fur to keep warm. She actually felt
as though she’d been riding with a big bear, but since she was warm
and his back soft she wasn’t going to complain. Her headache had
finally eased off into a dull thud, but the rest of her body was
sore and cramped from the long ride.

“We’re here,” Carter
said.

She straightened, her
aching body protesting as she did, when they stopped in front of a
gate. She glanced around Carter and saw two men standing with
shotguns across their arms. With belligerent scowls, they blocked
the way.

“That’s far enough,
mister. State your business and be quick about it,” one of the two
burly guards shouted.

“Has it been that long,
Stanley?” Carter asked.

“Well, I’ll be a
clabber-headed idiot,” Stanley drawled. He moved over to shake
Carter’s hand. “Your ma will be mighty glad to see you.” Stanley
peered around Carter. “Is that your wife peeking out from behind
you? She’s a right pretty filly, the best I can see.”

Mary wasn’t sure she liked
being compared to a horse, and she definitely wasn’t anybody’s
wife.

“No. She isn’t my wife,”
Carter told him as she shifted in his saddle.

Mary noticed he didn’t
sound too thrilled with the idea, either. Maybe they were both just
alike; if so, there were bound to be fireworks ahead.
Instinctively, she wanted to lash out at Carter, but wisely she
kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to do anything to draw more
attention to herself.

“Open the gate. We’re
bushed,” Carter said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, and we can catch up
on what’s been happening.”

Stanley shoved the gate
open. “You got it”

Mary peeked around Carter
to see a very large ranch house at the end of the road, surpassing
anything she could have imagined. Smoke curled out of several
chimneys into the black sky. She could smell the smoke from her
perch.

Snowed covered the brown
cedar shingles of the ranch house and soft lights shone in the
windows, providing a welcome sight The perfect home, Mary thought.
When they drew closer, she could see that a long porch ran across
the front of the house. There were four rocking chairs that would
be used when the weather was warm.

Carter stopped at the
hitching post, and Rick dismounted and tied his horse, then came
over to help Mary off. The minute her feet touched the ground, she
collapsed. Rick caught her and held her up. “Whoa, little lady. I
bet your legs have gone to sleep.”

“I think so,” Mary agreed.
“They’re tingling,” she added as she clung to Rick’s
neck.

Carter was on the ground
frowning at both of them, and Mary wondered why as he reached for
her. “I’ll take her.”

“I’m perfectly capable of
walking,” she informed him, shaking off his arm, but as she took a
step, she stumbled. Mary was determined to prove she didn’t need
him, but her legs gave way again and she almost fell.

“I can see that,” Carter
said, slipping his arm around her waist “But since you have finally
woken up, let’s not take the chance of you falling and hitting your
head again.”

Slowly, the feeling started
coming back to her legs. “My legs are much better now,” Mary
insisted. “You can let me go. ” When she was being held this close
to Carter, she experienced a delicious and decidedly uncomfortable
feeling that she didn’t understand. Until she did, she would just
as soon stay away from him.

“Humor me.” There was a
hard edge to his voice that warned her not to continue.

The front door of the ranch
house flew open and a beautiful woman appeared. She took one look
at Carter, squealed, and threw herself into his arms.

Mary stepped quickly to the
side. It was a good thing she could stand, or she had the feeling
she’d be on the ground, Carter had let her go so quickly.
Evidently, he wasn’t as concerned about her safety as he’d
said.

She watched as they
embraced. This had to be Carter’s mother, Mary thought Who else
would be so happy to see him? After all, he hadn’t been that easy
to get along with up until now.

They had the same hair
color, midnight black that shone as if it reflected moonbeams. And,
Mary had to admit, Carter was handsome with rugged masculine
strength carved into every inch of his jaw. A very stubborn jaw,
she guessed, but today he was not her friend, no matter how pretty
the package.

“It’s about time you came
home,” the woman said as she stepped back and straightened her
clothes. “I was beginning to worry something had happened to you.”
She turned and looked at the other man. “This must be
Rick.”

The woman moved over and
hugged him. “I’ve heard so much about you. Welcome to Monroe Cattle
Company,” she said.

Mary had thought maybe the
woman hadn’t seen her, but suddenly she whirled and stared directly
at Mary. “And who is this, Carter? You didn’t say anything about
bringing company with you. Could this be my future
daughter-in-law?”

“Not hardly, Mother,”
Carter said with a wry chuckle.

Mary glared at Carter. She
really didn’t like the sarcastic way he’d said that. It was like
she was mud on his boot. Of course, she wasn’t his future anything;
however, she didn’t like the fact that he hadn’t even considered
her as marriage material. How insulting. Of course, she wouldn’t
marry him. She didn’t even know who in the hell he really was. But
she took insult at his comment, nonetheless.

Carter took Mary’s elbow.
“This is Mary. She’s had an accident and doesn’t remember anything
about herself.” He turned to Mary. “My mother, Judith
Monroe.”

“You poor dear,” the woman
said as she slid her arm around Mary. “How frightening it must be
for you. We’ll get you settled in, and you’ll feel better before
you know it” Judith ushered Mary into the house and straight over
to a staircase on the right side of what appeared to be a huge
parlor.

They started up the long
staircase, leaving the men behind. Mary was so surprised by
Judith’s warm welcome that she had done nothing more than nod in
response to everything the woman was saying. She was being treated
like a guest instead of a criminal.

Once upstairs, they moved
down a long hallway. When they reached the third door to the right,
Judith stopped. “I think you’ll like this room.” She opened the
door. “It’s cheerful and bright. Stay right here until I light the
oil lamps.” When she had lit the last lamp, she gestured for Mary
to enter the room.

It was the prettiest room
that Mary had ever seen. It was decorated in several different
shades of green. There was a dark green rug on the floor and the
huge bed was covered with a light green quilt The pillows were
ruffled with white eyelets all around.

“This is so pretty,” Mary
said. “Am I taking somebody’s room?” She knew this bedroom had to
belong to a woman. Perhaps Carter’s wife? No, that couldn’t be it
because Judith had thought Mary was his intended.

“This was my daughter’s
room. I think it will suit you well.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Monroe.
But—”

“Please call me
Judith.”

“Thank you, Judith, but
will your daughter mind?”

The woman was quiet for a
long moment “I guess Carter didn’t tell you. Of course, he didn’t,
he never talks about it You see, my daughter is dead.”

Mary gasped. “I’m so
sorry.” She could see the pain in the woman’s eyes.

“It was a long time ago,
but the hurt never goes away,” Judith said in a quiet voice.
“However, you have just arrived. I’m sure you must be very tired.
We can talk later, after you have rested.” She reached out and
touched Mary’s forehead. “My goodness, you do have a nasty lump on
your head.”

“It hurts—” Mary almost
said like a son of a bitch, but caught herself. Her language was
terrible from working around so many men for so long.
“Too.”

“I imagine it does. I’ll
bring you some ice for the swelling. Does Carter have your
bags?”

“I—I don’t have any. To
tell you the truth, I’m not sure how I ended up in your son’s
company. I just know that when I came to, I was on a horse with
your son.”

“Sounds dreadful.” Judith
walked over to a wardrobe and pulled out a drawer. She removed a
white flannel gown trimmed with pink lace, and a wrapper. She shook
out the garments. “You are about the same size as my daughter, so
you might as well use her clothes. They have just been lying there
collecting dust for years.”

“Oh no, ma’am, I
couldn’t,” Mary protested, holding her hand up and shaking her
head.

“Nonsense. I insist. Lisa
wouldn’t have minded at all. Now, you rest. In the morning
everything will look much better," Judith insisted. She handed Mary
the gown, and then gave her a hug. “You get a good night’s sleep,
and I’ll see you in the morning.” Judith paused at the door.
“Should I have a tray of food sent up?”

“I can wait until
morning,” Mary replied. “Good night”

Judith didn’t see the tears
in Mary’s eyes before she shut the door. Mary had never known
anyone to treat her so nicely, and she didn’t even know this
woman.

She removed her clothes and
wondered if tomorrow would truly be better, because right now
nothing was making much sense to her. She was so weary that she
stretched out on the bed and snuggled under the green quilt She
felt so very much alone. Though she had no idea what had happened
to her, she knew she must be in trouble, and she had no clue what
to do.

Mary needed a plan, but
until she knew what had really happened, she couldn’t even do that
She just hoped to God she figured something out before she was
arrested and hung for something she hadn’t done.

Rick turned to Carter as
soon as Judith and Mary had disappeared around the comer. “I wonder
if your ma realized that you came home, too?”

Carter chuckled. “I’m not
too sure. But she does seem happy that I brought the girl, no
matter who she is.” He rested his hand on Rick’s shoulder. “I don’t
know about you, but I’m too damned tired to think of much of
anything tonight Let’s grab our gear and turn in. We can talk with
Mother tomorrow. She’s going to want to know everything we’ve been
doing.”

“I’m with you,” Rick said.
“I got a feeling your mother is going to want to know everything
about the girl.”