Cassie opened the center drawer behind the counter and dug through the contents: scraps of paper, an envelope, and a half-dollar coin. She smiled. Aha. This would come in handy.
For the last week, she’d cleaned out every cabinet, drawer, and cupboard in the place, taking whatever small items she could use—or sell. On Tuesday, she and Luke had snuck out with a wagon full of her personal belongings and brought them to Mattie’s place. The secret plan was for her to close the store and vanish in the middle of the night. She’d stay with Mattie and Jo until she found work somewhere. After that, who knew?
Thunder growled in the distance, and a cool breeze filtered into the store. She had propped open the door with a small barrel of kerosene to let the cooler air inside. From the sound of that thunder, they were in for a hell of a storm tonight.
Luke had left an hour ago to question Sam. She hoped he’d come back with answers soon, because she had a bucketful of questions of her own. Why did Sam come back now? Where had he been? Was he in trouble? Part of her had always secretly hoped he would come back to her, that someday he’d surprise her and everything would be good again . . .
Lightning flashed outside followed by an explosion of thunder, breaking her from her thoughts. Right now, she didn’t have time to wonder about Sam. She had to get her things packed before Peabody’s men threw her in the street.
As she closed the drawer and stood, the coin slipped out of her fingers, hit the floor, and rolled under the shelves. “Shit. Can’t anything ever go right?”
Rain beat down on the roof as she got on her hands and knees, feeling for the coin. “Come on, damn it. I need that.” She pushed her fingers under the shelving, but instead of feeling metal, she felt a piece of paper.
“Please be a ten-dollar bill,” she muttered as she slid it out and blew the dust off it. She frowned. It was only a piece of ledger paper. How long had it been there? Curious, she flipped it over and started reading.
My Dearest Cassie,
Please forgive me for leaving so abruptly, but I had to take care of unfinished business. There’s no time to explain tonight. I promise we’ll talk it through when I come home. I’ll answer all your questions, I swear. Please understand that it breaks my heart to leave, knowing you’re angry at me.
“Oh my God.” Her hands shook. It was Sam’s note. With everything else happening, she’d forgotten all about it. It must have blown under the shelves at some point.
I borrowed money from the till to cover my train fare, and I’m taking the horse. Have Luke pick it up at the livery in Baxter. I should be back in about two weeks. When I get home, we’ll make a plan for a new start together. I love you too much to stay away. Take care of yourself until I return.
All my love,
Sam
Tears filled her eyes, and she clutched the note tighter. Sam loved her and had always planned on coming back. After being away all this time, he had kept his promise, and how had she repaid him? By yelling at him and pushing him away—again. Why hadn’t she listened to him or let him explain?
Cassie bolted to her feet and ran to the door. She had to see Sam and . . . Then what? Would he still want her after the way she’d treated him?
“Jesus Christ, Sam. Why didn’t you tell me all this sooner?”
Sam leaned back in the wooden chair next to Luke’s desk. He sipped a glass of whiskey and was quiet for a minute. “What difference would it have made? Besides, I didn’t want to think about it, any of it.” He watched Luke flinch as another boom of thunder cracked overhead. “I thought it best to—”
The door to the jailhouse flew open, and Cassie rushed inside, soaking wet.
Luke jumped three feet in the air. “Holy hell, Cassie. What are you trying to do, scare me to death?”
Sam nearly toppled backward in the chair as Cassie threw herself onto his lap. “What the—?”
“Oh, Sam, I’m so sorry.” Cassie kissed him on the cheek and curled her arms around his neck.
“For God’s sake, shut the door.” Luke got up and slammed the door. “It’s pouring its balls off out there.”
“Please forgive me, Sam.” Cassie took a wet piece of paper out of her dress pocket and held it up to him. “I read your note again. I’m sorry I didn’t—”
“Sorry? You’re sorry?” he snapped. “You told me if I left, not to come back. But I did. Why? Because I love you, and I get that kind of treatment?” He let out a short laugh. “Ha. Some homecoming.”
An awkward silence hung in the room. Cassie bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Sam. So sorry. I figured you were gone for good, and I forced myself not to . . . think about needing you. But I missed you so much. I love you.” Cassie pouted. “Tell him, Luke. Tell him how much I missed him.”
“I already did.” Luke sipped his drink. “We were wrong about him, Cassie. Completely wrong.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Sam. I know it’s my fault you left—”
“No, it’s not. I had something to take care of, like I said.” He draped his arms around Cassie’s wet shoulders and held her close. She smelled like lavender. How many nights had he lain awake, wondering if she was safe and missing him? He closed his eyes and hugged her tighter. Cassie felt good in his arms. She belonged there. She was his.
Cassie rested her head against his chest. “It doesn’t matter why you left; you came back to me. Nobody ever came back before.”
Luke cleared his throat. “You have to tell her, Sam. All of it. Tonight. Tell her the way you told me.”
He rubbed his eyes. After spilling his guts to Luke, the last thing he wanted was to tell the whole story again. “I’m tired. I don’t feel like talking about it.”
“She needs to know. She deserves to know,” Luke said, sipping his drink. “Tell her tonight, and then it’s behind you.”
“Tell me what?”
He sighed. Deep down, he knew he had to tell Cassie about his past. Not every detail, but enough so she’d understand. “It’s a long story. Let’s go back to the store. I’ll talk and you’ll listen, all right?”
She hopped off his lap. “Yes, Sam, anything you say.”
“Listen to him, Cassie. Let Sam tell you in his own time,” Luke said, pouring himself another drink. “Hey, Sam, you ever get that storm cellar door open?”
“No. Why?” he replied as he rose and stretched. It seemed an odd question to ask after what they’d talked about.
“You never know about these storms. Good thing you got home when you did. This one sounds bad. Town’s overdue for a twister. Can’t see ’em in the dark.” Luke’s words were slurred. “Remember, Cassie, you hear a train—”
“I know, Luke,” Cassie said, patting his shoulder as she walked past. “Try to sleep.”
As Sam opened the door, blinding rain pelted him in the face. It was only seven o’clock, but it was as dark as midnight. He clasped Cassie’s hand as they ran across the muddy street and into the store.
He shivered as he closed the door and kicked off his boots. His new clothes were soaked, and he’d left his gun and satchel at the jailhouse. Shit. He’d have to go back for them in the morning.
“What was Luke talking about trains for?”
Cassie wrung out her wet hair. “He means a twister, you know, because they sound like trains when they’re close by. He worries about them, especially on nights like this.”
“Why?”
She didn’t answer for a minute. “When he was fourteen, a twister tore up his town and wiped out his whole family. He wasn’t home when it happened. Don’t tell him I told you,” she explained as she locked the door. “Do you want to go upstairs?”
“No. I need a drink if I’m gonna talk to you about this,” he said as he strode into the kitchen with Cassie at his heels. Even though he and Luke had been drinking for the last hour, he still lacked the courage to go through it again.
He spotted a bottle of cherry brandy on the counter. That would do. He opened the cupboard. It was empty except for two glasses, two bowls, and two plates. Where were all of Cassie’s dishes?
He sat at the table and poured them each a drink. “I have something to tell you, about me, about my past . . . It isn’t pretty.”
“You don’t have to explain. I’m—”
“Yes, I do, if we’re going to have a future together. I can’t start a new life until I’ve buried the old one, and that’s what I did over the last few weeks. Buried bodies and my past, all in one trip.”
Cassie grimaced. “Bodies? I don’t understand.”
“You will. Just listen.”
Cassie sat across from Sam and watched as he took a long drink of brandy. She didn’t know how long he’d been drinking with Luke, or how drunk he was, but she hoped he’d be sober enough to make sense.
“I’m not sure how I should start. I told Luke one way, because I had to. He was going to run me out of town for hurting you. He’s real devoted to you.”
“I know. If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be dead now,” she confessed. “Why don’t you start at the beginning? Why did you leave? What made you jump out of bed in the middle of the night and run off like that?”
“I didn’t run off,” Sam corrected her. “I left because I wanted to watch the men who shot me swing by their necks until they were dead.”
Cassie gasped. She wasn’t expecting such a blunt answer. “But you said you didn’t know who shot you. How could you—?”
“I lied. Now don’t get mad at me, Cassie. If you want to know the whole truth, l’ll tell ya, but it’s not pretty. Not by a long shot.”
“Tell me, Sam. I promise I won’t get mad.”
“Ha. That’s bull, and you know it. Hell, if I was you and I heard this story, I’d get mad. I lied about a whole lot of things since I’ve been here.” He clasped her hand. “Except you. I swear I never lied when I said I loved you. My feelings for you are real, the only thing that kept me going.” He paused. “Lord knows why I fell in love with you, but I did.”
Cassie squeezed his hand back. “Are you still? After what I said that night—”
“I came back, didn’t I? I came back finally free and clear of my past and ready to start a new life with you. If I was the type of man you thought I was, the type I was accused of being—”
“What do you mean, came back free and clear? Were you wanted? I need you to explain, Sam. What else did you lie about?”
“First off, I was never wanted.” He chuckled. “Luke thought I was, though. That’s why he had the doc give me a shave when I got here, so he could check my face against Wanted posters. The whole time I’ve been here, Luke’s been suspicious of me. He knew something wasn’t right about me, that I was hiding something.” He ran his hands through his wet hair. “Luke told me he didn’t know which side of the law I was on. He figured I was either wanted or a bounty hunter.”
“Which is it?”
Sam finished his drink and sat back in the chair. “Neither. You wanna know why I left? Fine. I’ll start there. That night, I came downstairs and went through the mail. I found a letter from a Sheriff Fuller inviting me to a hanging.”
“Who? How did he know you were here?”
“I’d written him from Baxter, letting him know I was alive and where he could find me. Over the last year, I’d kept in contact with him off and on. He knew I was still tracking Martin and Wayne Jessup. I was trying to bring them in, so they could stand trial and hang for what they did, but I got too close. After they shot me, they told everyone I was dead. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I strolled into that jail,” Sam said, chuckling. “They damn near pissed themselves. They told everyone they had done me in.” He grinned. “But I got the last laugh. I pulled the lever that sent them both straight to hell where they belong.”
Cassie stared at Sam. Was he joking? Or was this the liquor talking? “You mean you actually . . . killed them?” She grimaced. “You took part in a hanging?”
“Yup. I’ve seen dozens in my day, along with other things that would drive a man crazy.”
“That’s horrible.”
“I know. But it was part of my job, considering I was the sheriff.”