His eyes flared with anger as he stepped forward, hands fisted at his sides. Only Josie’s touch on his shoulder halted his steps.

  “No, don’t!” she said quickly. “Just get Will, please!”

  Reluctantly the Indian turned to her, his face a stoic mask. He searched her face and nodded. Not for the world would he cause her to be at the center of a blood battle today.

  “You’ll be wise to listen to me, Josie,” Bennett said archly, watching as the other man set off across the field to where the baseball game was in progress. “I might be persuaded to allow you to keep my daughter, with the right inducement. Your brother seems prosperous enough.”

  Josie’s skin blanched at the subtle threat. “In other words, if I ask Will for money to pay you off, you’ll leave me alone? That’s blackmail.”

  Bennett inspected his fingernails, a smile of satisfaction curling his lips. “You always were fairly bright, Josie. Except when you thought that barkeep was a preacher.” His short burst of laughter mocked her, and Josie’s ashen skin turned crimson.

  “Get out and leave me alone,” she cried, forgetting for a moment that her sleeping daughter was only inches away.

  Bennett Percival looked up, his wary gaze on the rapidly approaching men, and nodded his agreement. “Certainly, my dear. But I’ll be around, never fear.” His horse stood nearby, and with a few quick steps he was mounted and riding toward the middle of town.

  “What did he want?” Will asked, watching as the gambler disappeared between two buildings.

  “He threatened to take Maggie. Said that no judge would deny his claim.” Josie’s voice was strained.

  Will shook his head. “There’s no chance of it, Josie. She’s part of my family. No four-flusher is about to cart her away, you can bet on that.”

  “Next time it will be my way, Josephine,” Many Fingers said bluntly. “I will take care of him.”

  “You can’t afford to make threats, my friend,” Will told him. “Don’t let anybody hear you say that. Folks hereabouts would gather for miles to watch an Indian get lynched.”

  “Don’t do anything,” Josie pleaded softly. “I’ve caused enough trouble as it is. Just go watch the game, both of you. He won’t come back now.”

  “Go, Will. I’ll stay here.”

  Will nodded, and trotted across the field to rejoin Cassie beneath the tree.

  “I don’t want you to be involved in this.” Josie’s words were firm, her gaze meeting that of the man who watched her.

  “He will not hurt you, I promise it.” The pride of his ancestry shone from his dark eyes as Many Fingers vowed his intentions. “One day you will be mine, Josephine. I will guard you well. I want you with me every day until this thing is settled. Bring Maggie with you in the morning when you come to work with the foals.”

  Her hesitation was brief, as if the decision she made would be of great import. And then she nodded. “All right. I’ll bring her along. She can watch from the fence.”

  “She is big enough to learn about the horses. We will let her ride each day on one of the mares. She can help with the feeding at night.”

  Josie’s eyes grew warm as she watched the man who had chosen her. “Are you practicing to be a father to her?” Her question was whimsical as she allowed her mouth to curve in a smile.

  His own lips were thin, his eyes narrowed as he drank in the sight of the woman and child. “She is mine already, as if I had planted the seed. As you are mine already.”

  “Are you saying you love me?” Josie’s cheeks flushed as she whispered the words, as if fearful that they might be overheard.

  He shook his head impatiently. “This ‘love’ is a white man’s word. I tell you that my soul speaks to yours, that we will be as one. You make my spirit sing, Bright Eyes.”

  “What will you do, Will?” Sheet thrown aside, Cassie pulled her gown above her knees, hoping for an errant breeze to enter through the open window.

  “I know what I’d like to do. And it involves shootin’ off his…” Will halted, casting an apologetic glance in his wife’s direction. “That wasn’t a thought fit for your ears, honey.”

  “Can he take Maggie?” The idea had been preying on her mind since early afternoon, and only the sight of Many Fingers on guard had allowed her to enjoy the frantic pace of the ball game.

  “Hell, I don’t know, sweetheart. I can’t imagine he has a leg to stand on, but I think I’d better find out for sure. Guess I’ll go into Greenbush and talk to the sheriff, have him check with the judge.”

  “What if he comes here?”

  Will smiled, a feral movement of his lips, his eyes mere slits as he considered that idea. “Might be the best thing that could happen,” he said finally. “A man has a right to defend his property. Shootin’ an intruder set on causin’ trouble is within the law hereabouts. ‘Specially if he threatens the well-being of my family.”

  Cassie’s eyes closed, her mouth drawn down as she considered that thought. “I don’t know how you could live with killing him, Will. It’s a hard thing to do.”

  He laughed, his somber mood disappearing as he watched her. “As if you knew, honey. About as close as you’ve gotten to murder was when you threatened that son of a sea cook your mama was married to. I doubt you’d ever have been able to use that knife on him, but apparently he wasn’t willing to take odds on it.”

  “I could have, Will.” Now was her chance. She could tell him now, and have it over and done with. Maybe he’d understand, feeling the murderous rage he did toward Bennett Percival.

  Before the words she considered could be spoken, Will was there, leaning over the bed, touching her hair with a large, callused hand. “Not you, sweetheart. You’re so soft, so pretty, Cass.” His eyes warmed her as his gaze possessed her body. Beneath the cotton gown she felt the flesh of her breasts swell, the deep yearning his touch created began to well within her and her smile welcomed him.

  “We’ll keep an eye on things, Cassie,” he told her, leaning to blow out the candle. “Between us, Many Fingers and I can keep close account of Maggie and Josie both. Unless I miss my guess, our next problem will be knowin’ what to do about…” He paused, dropping to the side of the bed, his trousers shed in one easy motion.

  “About Josie, you mean? Will Many Fingers take her back to his people?”

  Will shook his head, turning to enclose Cassie in his arms, settling with her in the middle of the bed. “He’s an outcast there, honey. The man he was workin’ for took him on because he needed extra hands, and Many Fingers is just naturally good with horses. But his own people don’t have much truck with a half-breed. He told me he doesn’t fit in anywhere.”

  “Well, he can fit in here if he wants to,” Cassie declared stoutly. The thought of any person not being welcome in the place of his birth was distasteful to her. “Not having family is about as bad as it gets, Will.”

  “I guess you’d know about that, wouldn’t you, Cass?” She nodded, her hair brushing against his cheek as she stretched to kiss him. “But not anymore, Will. Not anymore.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  There was neither hide nor hair of Bennett Percival to be seen. At least not in Greenbush, according to the sheriff, who had listened with interest as Will told him Josie’s story.

  “Hard to say, Will, what a judge would decide. But with all of you out there making a home for that little girl and her mother right there with you, I can’t see where a perfect stranger could make a case for himself.”

  “That’s about what I figured, Sheriff Mosley,” Will said with obvious relief. “But it seemed like a good idea to check with you.”

  “Well, like I said, Will, I can’t speak for the judge, but when he comes to town next week, I’ll lay it on the line and get his opinion for you. In the meantime, if that scallywag shows up here, I’ll bring him in for questioning. We’ll call him a vagrant if we have to.” The husky law officer leaned back in his chair and peered across the room at Will Tolliver. “He really pulled a fast one on your sister, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, then left her flat, without two cents to her name.”

  “It’s a good thing she brought the little girl back here last year, or she’d really have been in a pickle,” the sheriff said, rising to his feet. “Don’t worry about it, Will. I’ll watch for him. I doubt he’s gonna take you on in your own territory, but you never know. You’d better keep a good eye out yourself.”

  The two men walked to the door of the jailhouse and out onto the street, Will offering his thanks before he headed for the general store. The bell clanged behind him as he let the door shut, and he looked around the cluttered interior.

  Between them, Cassie and Clara seemed to have piled a month’s supplies on the wooden counter, sugar and flour in twenty-five-pound bags surrounded by other foodstuffs. “Did you remember the coffee?” Will asked.

  “First thing she ordered,” Dorinda Bartlett told him pertly, her voice carrying the full length of the store. “I suspect she takes good care of you, Will Tolliver. You’re lookin’ pretty spry these days. And I heard tell there’s to be two new grandbabies for your mother come wintertime.”

  Will’s face flushed as the news of Cassie’s pregnancy became public property. “You been braggin’, Ma?” His grin was crooked as Will’s arm circled his mother’s shoulder.

  “Louise already let her cat out of the bag last week, I heard tell. Cassie might as well get her share of congratulations, I figure.” Clara pointed at a bolt of checkered blue gingham. “We’ll need six yards of that, too, Dorinda. Cassie needs a new dress, seeing as how she’s taken out the seams in everything she’s got.” The last sentence was spoken in a whisper, but Cassie rolled her eyes as Clara gave up the young woman’s secret. “Never saw a gal fill out so quick.”

  Cassie made a garbled sound in her throat and turned to Will, her cheeks crimson. That made two of them turning red, he decided, with his mother having the time of her life at their expense.

  “Let’s you and me take a walk, Cass,” he said, choking down his laughter.

  “It’s not funny, Will Tolliver,” Cassie sputtered, walking ahead of him out the door of the store.

  “Now, honey. All the ladies in town will be tickled to death that we’re havin’ a baby, and Ma hasn’t had so much fun in years. Fact is, since Pa’s gone, and we turned up like a couple of bad pennies, she’s lookin’ younger than she did when I left home. She’s gettin’ to be more like her old self every day.” Taking her arm and looping it through his, he led her the length of the sidewalk, two blocks in all, to where three steps led to the door of the Greenbush Hotel.

  With a flourish he opened the door, ushering her past the ornate front desk to the open archway leading to the dining room. A young woman wearing a black dress covered with a starched white apron greeted them and led them to a table.

  “Just bring us some coffee and a plate of those fancy cakes you folks make in that big kitchen out back,” Will said with a dazzling grin.

  The waitress scribbled on her pad and smiled coyly at Will.

  Cassie watched her stroll from their table, then turned to Will, her expression worried. “What are you doing, Will?” she asked in an undertone. “Can we afford to come in here?”

  His laugh was low, his look tender as he leaned across the table to brush at her cheek with his fingertips. “We can afford to do most anything we want to, sweetheart. I had my money wired here from Texas, and even allowing for what I spent on repairs and new equipment for the farm, I’ve got plenty left. More than enough to buy us a new stallion and fix up the old bunkhouse into a place for Many Fingers to live in.”

  Her mouth opened quickly, then closed again. Leaning across the table, she whispered her question. “Is he planning on having Josie move in with him? Do Indians get married the way everyone else does?”

  Will’s glance encompassed the surrounding tables before he answered. “If he’s feeling for Josie what I think he is, he’d better plan on marrying her, Cass. As to how they’ll manage it, I don’t know, but Ma sure won’t be happy with anything less than a preacher and a ring.”

  “Josie deserves a man who’ll take good care of her.”

  Will nodded. “He’ll do that, all right, but whether or not people will accept them being married is another story.”

  “Has he talked to you about it?”

  “No. He doesn’t do much talkin’, you might have noticed. But where Josie’s concerned, he does a lot of lookin’, and lookin’ after. The man’s had her in sight about every minute of every day since before the Fourth of July. And since then he’s done everything but sleep outside her bedroom door.”

  Will paused, looking up as the waitress delivered two cups and a plate of small frosted cakes to their table. Pouring from a silver coffeepot, she filled their cups and added a silver sugar bowl and cream pitcher to the array before them.

  “Will that be all, sir?”

  Will nodded, lifting the cup to his lips.

  “What does your mother think?” Cassie asked, helping herself to one of the fancy treats.

  “She’ll go along pretty much with whatever makes Josie happy and keeps her safe. And if that’s marrying an Indian, my mother will take it pretty much in her stride.”

  “I think she’s taken to Many Fingers lately,” Cassie said, licking the icing from her index finger. And then her eyes widened in dismay. “Your mother! Oh, Will! Your mother is probably wondering where we are! We just walked off from the store and left her.”

  He shook his head. “She’ll stand around with the ladies for an hour or so, catchin’ up on things, tellin’ them all about your gettin’ fat and how good I am to you.” His grin was teasing as he spoke, a bit of frosting clinging to his lip from the pastry he’d just managed to consume in two bites.

  Cassie leaned across the table, a finger reaching to swipe at that small bit of sugar, and Will’s eyes sparkled at her action. “Now, what are you gonna do with that?” he asked smugly.

  Silently she took the tip of her finger between her lips, her movements precise, her tongue coming into play as she cleaned the evidence from her skin. Her eyes on his, she ran the edge of her tongue across her lip, returning her hand to the plate before her.

  “Come on, sweetheart, that isn’t fair,” he said in a low voice. “You’re playin’ games with me, right out here in public. You’d better watch out before I take you over my shoulder and tote you right up those stairs into one of Miss Hilda’s fancy suites.”

  “They have suites?” Cassie asked, surprise coating her words. “In Greenbush?”

  “Greenbush is the county seat,” Will told her. “When the judge sets up court here, he has the best room in the house. Miss Hilda even has a honeymoon suite up there.”

  Cassie’s smile was wistful. “I’ve always wondered what a honeymoon would be like. My mama used to sing a song about honeymoons, but I can’t remember it. I just thought it was a pretty word to say when I was a little girl.”

  “You don’t need to wonder about honeymoons, sweetheart,” Will said softly, leaning toward her. “I figure we’ve been on one since that trip we took to Mill Creek a few months back. Matter of fact, I’d say our bedroom is about as full of good memories as the best honeymoon suite around.”

  Cassie flushed, her fingers caught midway into her mouth as she took another bite of the frosted cake. Carefully she deposited the remainder of the sweet on her plate and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “You’re embarrassing me, Will.”

  “Drink up, Cass. We’re gonna take these little goodies home with us, and tonight I’m gonna show you a fancy way of eatin’ them, right smack in the middle of our honeymoon bed.” With a wave of his hand he called the waitress to their table and instructed her to box up the leftovers, his eyes never leaving Cassie’s face as he gave his instructions.

  When the box of cakes was delivered to their table, Cassie swallowed the last of her coffee and rose, aware only of the man who followed her out of the dining room, across the lobby and into the sunshine. His hand on her back was warm, sending a quiver of delight the length of her spine. His breath against her cheek, as he bent to speak her name, was a blending of sweetness and mint, a faint reminder of the powder he used to brush his teeth every morning. He walked with her down the length of the sidewalk, the small white box from the hotel dining room dangling by a string from his index finger, and she was fascinated by the sight.

  If Maggie didn’t get hold of the box first, chances were pretty good that Will would make good his promise. Cassie’s heart thumped with a new knowledge. Will couldn’t talk so sweetly if he didn’t feel strongly about her. Maybe even love her a little. Maybe even enough to forgive her should she find the courage to confess the lie she had been living since the day they met.

  * * *

  “We can’t find Maggie.”

  Will’s roar of disbelief was enough to startle the horses into rearing, as he heard the words Josie spoke. Running from the house, she had met the wagon in the middle of the yard, her eyes streaming tears, her hands twisting at her handkerchief in mute anguish.

  Sliding from the wagon, Will strode to the head of his team and quieted them with deft touches of his hands and low sounds of comfort. “What happened?” His eyes on Josie, he waited for an explanation.

  She lifted her shoulders and hiccuped, shaking her head. “I called her in for dinner at noon. I thought she was in the barn with Many Fingers, and he thought she was in the house with me.” Her words ended on a cry of distress and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing loudly.

  “Where’d he go?” Will cast a look in the direction of the barn.

  “He’s gone after her,” Josie wailed. “He was lookin’ down at the ground and heading out beyond the pasture the last I saw of him.”

  “How long do you think she’s been gone?” Clara asked, her hands on Josie’s shoulders as she clutched her daughter close for comfort.

  “I don’t know. I just don’t know.” Shaking her head as if she could not think clearly, Josie seemed on the verge of collapse.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27