Chapter 4   

Connor raced down the alley and onto Pine Street. The fleeing man had hopped onto a horse and was already galloping out of town. Connor fired a warning shot, but the man didn’t stop. He had too big a head start for Connor to catch him on foot. He searched the area for a horse he could borrow, but oddly, there wasn’t a single one nearby. Blowing out a frustrated breath, he hurried back to the store, hoping whichever gal was there hadn’t been injured.

Brian stood over a woman who lay on the floor.

Daisy squatted next to her while Anna Sawyer bounced up and down. “Never saw anything like that. She whipped out a knife and flung it right into that thief’s hand so fast that he dropped his gun and skedaddled out of the store. See, it’s over there by the tools.”

Connor strode to the gun and picked it up. He looked it over and found nothing noteworthy except for the initials JT carved in the handle. He removed the bullets and put the gun on the counter, and then he walked over to where Mrs. Sawyer lay on the floor.

Anna gazed up at him with excited blue eyes. “Mama fainted the moment she saw blood.”

“Where’d the blood come from?” Connor asked.

“Oh, didn’t you hear me? Miss Quinn was reaching for the cash box like the thief told her, but when she stood up, she flicked a knife right into the thief’s hand. Pretty as you please. That’s when Mama fainted, so maybe it was the knife and not the blood, although she usually faints whenever she sees blood. I sure wish I could do that—throw a knife, not faint, of course.”

Connor looked at Daisy and motioned with his head for her to follow him. He wanted to get away from Anna and hear Daisy’s side of the story. He turned and stared at her for a long moment. A pair of innocent chocolate-brown eyes gazed up at him. She didn’t look the least frightened. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“’Tis as Anna stated. I was behind the counter when a man came in and pointed his gun in my face. He demanded the cash box, but I wasn’t about to give him Brian’s hard-earned money. I merely pulled out my knife and let him have it in his gun hand.”

Connor lifted one eyebrow. “Your knife?”

“Aye.” She proudly pulled back her sleeve to reveal a small leather sheath.

He schooled his expression so she wouldn’t see his surprise. “Do you know how dangerous what you did was? If you’d missed, that man could have killed you and the Sawyer women.”

Daisy hiked up her chin. “I never miss.”

“Everybody misses.”

Her eyes flashed. “Would you care to test my skill?”

“No, because I’m confiscating your weapon as evidence in a crime.”

Her pluck instantly disappeared. “But you can’t. ’Tis the only thing I have that my father gave me.”

He gazed up at the ceiling, thinking how sad that was. Why would a man give his daughter a knife? “I’ll give it back, but for now, I want it.”

“Promise?”

He looked into her pretty eyes and nodded. “I promise, and I always keep my word.”

She gazed up at him for a long moment. Finally, she must have seen what she was looking for because she ducked her head, unfastened the sheath, then placed it in his hand. He shoved it into his pocket, noticing that she’d already cleaned the man’s blood off the knife.

Connor walked over to where Mrs. Sawyer was sitting up. Her daughter waved a fancy ladies’ fan in front of her face. “Are you all right, Mrs. Sawyer?”

“Yes, just give me a few more minutes before I stand. My head is still woozy.”

“Can you tell me what you saw?”

“A man with a gun charged in and demanded the money box. Miss Quinn bent down as if she was getting it, then rose up and threw a knife at the man. She’s a hero! Why that villain might well have taken my Anna with him.”

Connor resisted rolling his eyes. The Sawyer women were well known for embellishing their stories. “Anything else you can think of?”

“He was dressed in dirty denim pants and a blue flannel shirt, but he had a kerchief over his mouth and nose, so I couldn’t tell if I knew him or not.”

“Um … Mama, I do believe it was red flannel.”

Mrs. Sawyer frowned. “You may be right, dear. I can’t think clearly yet.”

“Thank you. Anything you want to add, Anna?”

“He was only about three or four inches taller than Miss Quinn.”

Connor turned back to Daisy. “You agree with that?”

“Aye. His shirt was red-and-black plaid, and he had a brown bandanna wrapped around the lower part of his face, a single-pistol holster, and he had a scar running down from his right eye.” She lifted her finger and drew a line down the right side of her face.

“Jim Thurman has a scar like that, and he generally wears checkered shirts like she described.” Brian walked over next to Connor. “The Thurmans came upon hard times last winter. I extended him as much credit as I could, but I finally had to say no more.”

Connor straightened. “That gives him motivation. I’ll gather a couple of men and ride out to his place.”

“I heard his wife’s been sick. Try not to go barging in and frighten her. They have a youngster, you know.”

“If I can avoid that, I will.”

Connor started to walk away, but he turned back to Daisy. “Thank you for your excellent description of the man. I wouldn’t know who he was if not for your keen observation.”

Daisy smiled then ducked her head.

Connor strode out of the store feeling a bit bewildered. How had a petite woman who had faced down a gunman at pointblank range had the sense to get a detailed description of the man? Most women would have fainted or screamed their heads off like Mrs. Sawyer. He’d have to put an end to her knife throwing, but he had to admit she had gumption. Did her sister have the same talent and boldness?

Keeley walked around the tidy house. What a delight to have a place just for her and Katie—and such a nice cottage too. In New York her family shared one small room in a noisy tenement apartment. Once they moved to Chicago, she and her sister had shared a bedroom, even though her aunt’s two-story gray-stone had five of them. Aunt Colleen’s house was bigger than any place they’d lived, but it was dark and stuffy—scary for two girls who’d lost both parents. The draperies were never opened more than a foot, with the exception of the ones on the parlor window, which were fully open during the day. The house had always been cold, except for in the heat of the summer.

Walking through the parlor in Connor’s house, Keeley enjoyed the light streaming in the windows and how the gentle breeze lifted and dropped the white curtains. No dark, heavy draperies were needed to keep the cold out in Texas. She walked to the front door, opened it, and stared out at the empty street. Now that she’d cleaned everything, prepared some Irish soda bread and baked it, as well as several dozen sugar cookies, she was bored. A stroll to Brian’s store to see how Katie was faring was exactly what she needed.

After getting her handbag from her room, she moseyed over to Main Street and down to the mercantile. Before she arrived, she knew something had happened, based on the crowd out front. She pushed her way through, entered the store, and looked at her sister. “What’s wrong?”

Katie smiled. “I’m fine. A man tried to rob Brian’s store.”

Keeley’s heart flip-flopped. “Tried?”

Brian walked up beside her. “He would have gotten away with the cash box if not for your sister. She stuck him with her knife, and he dropped his gun and ran out of the store empty-handed.”

She didn’t miss the awe in Brian’s voice. Then she realized what he said. “Gun?”

Katie nodded. “I was looking at fabric in the catalogue, saw a shadow, and glanced up to find a man holding a gun in my face.”

Keeley gasped. She turned to Connor. “You said this was a peaceful town.”

“It is—mostly. We haven’t had a robbery in three years. We know who did it, and I’m fixin’ to ride out to his place to apprehend him.”

Keeley hurried over to Katie and hugged her. She knew her sister could defend herself—they both could, their da had made sure of it—but a gun made the odds uneven. She couldn’t imagine life without Katie. “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt.”

“Everyone’s making too much of a to-do over it.”

“You could have been killed.” Connor crossed his arms. “In a situation like that, it’s best to comply with the outlaw’s wishes and let the law catch him.”

Keeley hiked her chin, ready to do battle for her sister. “When you’ve lived in the places we’ve lived, you learn early that if you don’t fight back, you become a victim yourself.”

Connor grunted a response then glanced at Brian, who looked a bit bewildered. Did they wish they’d chosen other women to marry?

“Since things are all right here, I need to round up a few men and go after Thurman.” Connor strode toward the door, and the people standing outside backed up, clearing a path for him.

Keeley watched him leave, so tall and confident. She shouldn’t allow herself to be attracted to him, since he was her sister’s intended, but there was something about the man that stirred her interest. She blew out a breath and turned back to see Katie staring at her with one eyebrow cocked and a humorous look on her face.

Brian walked over to the front door. “You folks are welcome to come in and shop, but if you’re not of a mind to, I’d appreciate you not blocking the door.” He stood there until the crowd began to scatter then walked over to where she and Katie stood. “All right, ladies, time to shop. What else do you need that you didn’t pick up yesterday?”

“We can’t take handouts.” Keeley stared straight at him. Brian wasn’t quite as tall as Connor, but he was a fine-looking man—and quite generous. He had pretty blue eyes. She frowned, remembering that Katie had said often she wanted to marry a man who had blue eyes.

“That is why Daisy is working here today. And besides, she saved me a world of trouble by not losing the cash box. But in the future, I would prefer you give the money to the thief rather than risk getting hurt.”

“I didn’t get injured.” Katie sidestepped so that she was next to Keeley—a unified force—to get her point across better. “And like I said, we know how to protect ourselves.”

Brian closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed. “This isn’t the streets of Chicago, ladies, where you encounter pickpockets and the like. The outlaws in Texas can be very vile men, and you sure don’t want to provoke one of them. He wouldn’t think twice about throwing one of you over his shoulder and riding off with you as his prisoner. Jim Thurman is a desperate, hurting man who has come upon hard times. Most likely he was merely trying to scare you. I can’t see him hurting a woman, but there are men who would. Most Texas men would die to protect a woman, but not all of them. Just be cautious.”

Keeley frowned at him. Had he and Connor been less than honest when they wrote in their letters that they lived in a quiet town with little crime?

“Is there anything else we need at the house?” Katie asked.

“Why don’t you walk around, get what you need, and stack it on the counter. I’ll get a crate from the back.” Brian strode behind the curtain, not waiting for them to respond.

Keeley looked at her sister and shrugged. “We have the basics, but it would be nice to have a few extras. There are so many things I’d like to cook that we weren’t able to at Aunt Colleen’s.”

“Very well.” Katie walked straight to the spices and picked up cans of cinnamon, caraway seed, and nutmeg. Her hand hovered over the tin of thyme, but she didn’t take it. She didn’t want to appear greedy, even though the herb was used in many Irish recipes. “I’d like these.”

Keeley smiled and strolled over to the canned goods. She picked out eight cans of vegetables and two of canned apples and placed them on the counter next to the spices. Keeley added a dozen potatoes, two onions, four ears of fresh corn, and five carrots.

“Brian wants us to pick out new dresses. He says ours are far too warm for this climate, and I can see that he’s right.” Katie walked up to her and looked around, even though no one else was in the store. “I’m sweating so much, my unmentionables are damp.”

“Katie!”

“Well, ’tis true.” She walked around the counter and pulled out the dress she was taking home to try on. “I like this one. See if there’s anything that catches your fancy.”

“I don’t know.”

“We have to have proper clothing. We can work to pay for them.”

Keeley pursed her lips. While the idea of being around so many wonderful things intrigued her, she didn’t like the idea of having to deal with people all day. Working as a nanny for a family was enough socializing for her. Perhaps she should ask around and see if anyone in Cactus Creek needed help with their children. She studied the supply of dresses and settled on a yellow calico.

Brian carried in a big crate. “You’re going to have to choose a whole lot more to fill this thing.”

After thirty minutes of shopping, the crate was still only half filled. Katie tossed in the blue dress and the yellow calico to make it look more so. “That’s enough.”

Brian looked as if he would object, but then he nodded. “Would you like me to run it over to the house now?”

“Why not wait until the store is closed, if that is fine with you,” Katie said.

Keeley knew her sister wasn’t very fearful, but she couldn’t help wondering if the robbery had something to do with her reluctance for Brian to leave.

“That’s fine. Daisy, why don’t you head on home. You’ve had a bit of a rough day.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I’m used to running the store alone.”

“Very well. I believe I will.” Katie started to leave then turned back and took the dresses out of the crate and held them against her chest. “I’ll go ahead and take these with me now.”

“All right. I’ll bring several catalogues with me when I deliver your groceries, and you can thumb through them tonight. Perhaps you’ll find some dresses or fabric you like.”

Katie smiled. “That’s very kind of you.”

As soon as they were out of the store, Keeley turned to her sister. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“You already know. I looked up to see a robber, and when he told me to get the cash box, I pulled out my knife instead, and threw it at his gun hand. He dropped the gun, yanked out the knife and tossed it down, then ran out the door.”

“You put my heart crossways hearing that tale of you and the thief.” Keeley took hold of her sister’s arm. “Weren’t you terrified?”

“Not really. It all happened so fast. One bully is about the same as another.”

“You know that isn’t true. Some are much fiercer.”

“Aye, but as I said, it happened very quickly and I just reacted. Now, let’s get home and try on these dresses.”

Once inside the house, both shed their dresses and tried on the new ones.

Keeley frowned as she held the bodice together. “’Tis too small. It must be an older girl’s size.”

“That’s unfortunate. The blue could work if I hemmed it up two inches and took in the sides a wee bit. I don’t know how I’ll get used to this thin fabric though.”

Keeley grinned as she shed the yellow dress. “’Tis a bit like running around in your chemise, aye?”

Katie laughed out loud. “Not quite that bad, but for sure ’tis different.”

Once they’d donned their own dresses again, Keeley turned to her twin. “How did you like working with Brian?”

They flopped down on the settee together. “He’s quite kind and patient,” Katie said. “Oh, and he’s so helpful and polite to his customers. And mannerly. I did love working in the store, in spite of the robbery. Shall we trade tomorrow?”

Keeley watched her sister talk about Brian with a gleam in her eyes. Was Katie developing a fancy for the wrong man? She hoped that was the case, since she had gawked at Connor and felt a stirring inside whenever she looked at him. “I suppose I should go, although you know I don’t look forward to being around so many people.”

“There weren’t all that many—only a dozen or so, not counting those who showed up after the robbery. Brian says most people come in on Saturday.”

“I suppose that’s not so bad.” Keeley took a strengthening breath then grinned. “Now, tell me everything you learned about Brian.”