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Nacogdoches bustled, and there were no rooms to be had.
Rob hoped Luke had done more than pass through town, otherwise it might take a while to find anyone who’d seen him. Lou Pearl had said Luke mentioned meeting a partner, but she didn’t know who or where.
The man at the livery stable gave Rob directions to a house several miles past town where an older couple took in boarders.
The elderly couple needed wood chopped and fences mended. Rob arranged to work for their room and board, which kept him busy, while Moss and Sally inquired in town about Luke. But no one had seen or heard of him.
And Rob discovered the reason when he heard the story of a card game gone bad.
Luke no longer went by the name Luke Wheeler. Now he was known as Lucky Draw. He’d killed three men in a card game before he and another man stole three horses and rode out of town with a small boy.
No one in Nacogdoches had known his real name, but Rob made the connection once he saw the wanted poster inside the sheriff’s office. It said Lucky was traveling with a young boy fitting Matthew’s description.
The sheriff had posted a reward.
Rob rode back to the house. He had to tell Sally but he dreaded it.
Now that Luke was a wanted man, bounty hunters would be after him. From now on, the more trouble he got in, the higher the reward would climb. And people would be watching for him and remembering what he looked like, new name or not. Eventually someone would catch or kill him.
Matthew was in danger. Any day now some bounty hunter could ride up and start shooting.
Luke had crossed the point of no return. He might even be dead by the time they found him.
Rob’s hand went down to the gun at his hip.
I’ve got a bullet with your name on it, Luke. You’d better stay alive until I get there.
Rob found Moss outside chopping wood and told him what he’d learned in town.
“I ain’t surprised. Man goes lookin’ fer troubles is gonna find ’em sooner than later.”
“Sally needs to know. I don’t suppose you’d care to deliver the news?”
“Nope. She ain’t gonna be happy. Jus’ say it plain an’ leave some room fer breathin’.”
“I’m not looking forward to that temper of hers and there’s no telling how she’ll take it.”
“Problems are like doggin’ steers. Ye got to dig in yer heels on ’em, or they’ll turn on ye.”
Rob kicked at the dirt with his boot. “Guess I might as well get it over with.”
Moss went back to chopping wood. “Ye ain’t got it near as bad as me. I’m the one who’s gotta tell Luke she come fer Matthew. He ain’t gonna like it. He’ll turn mean as a rattler and quick too.” Moss looked at his gnarled hands that held the axe. “An’ I ain’t quick as I used to be. But fer Sally...” he turned to look where she stood hanging out the wash, “...I’ll do the best I ken.”
Rob walked over to her and she smiled at him.
He wanted to tell her about Luke but he stood twisting his hat in his hands, trying to find the right words.
She looked happy and he hated to destroy that mood. He saw it so seldom. First she’d been upset about Lou Pearl and then she’d realized Rob hadn’t told her everything he’d learned about Luke. He guessed she’d hold that against him for a while.
Sally studied Rob’s face. The happy expression washed away from her face as if he’d dashed cold water on it.
“You obviously have something to tell me. What is it?”
Rob struggled to find the words and his hesitation served only to make her angry.
“You’re keeping secrets from me, and I don’t like it.”
He watched as she placed her hands on her hips. “Tell me everything, Rob. No holding out on me like you did at Mrs. Stamp’s.”
“You’d better sit.”
“I’m not sitting, you just tell me.” Her voice was hoarse with frustration. She stood glaring at him.
“It’s not good news.”
She tapped her foot.
“Luke shot three men, stole some horses and skipped town. There’s a price on his head.”
Her anger at Rob evaporated. “Are you sure it was him?”
If it was true then Matthew was in danger.
Panic filled her mind, and her stomach clenched.
“Fits his description, but he’s changed his name.”
Her fists bunched at her sides. “Changed his name?”
“Yes. He goes by the name Lucky Draw.”
“Oh, that’s ridiculous.” She turned away, her hands still clenched, then turned back to face him and waved one hand in a gesture of dismissal. “It makes him sound like an outlaw. I don’t believe it. Why would he do something so stupid?”
“Others believe it, and they’ll hunt him for the bounty. If we find him, it won’t be safe for you and Carolyn. No telling who he’s riding with.”
He let the news sink in and stood without speaking.
What he’d left unsaid was that Matthew was now surely in danger. There was no more doubt about it.
Sally walked over to the fence and leaned on it, looking out into the pasture.
He followed her.
She took a deep breath. “There must be some mistake. Lucky Draw doesn’t even sound like a man’s name.”
“The likeness on the wanted poster is his.”
She turned to look at Rob. Her eyes shone with tortured disbelief. “This can’t be true.”
“I’d never lie to you, Sally. You can talk to the sheriff yourself, but you’ll get the same answers I did.”
“I need to be alone. I’m going for a walk.”
Her dress was thin, and her shoulders shook slightly under the worn wool shawl. He wanted to put his arm around her, but she wouldn’t welcome that.
“Fine.” He draped his heavy coat over her shoulders, letting his hands linger briefly. “It’s getting colder. Take this to keep you warm.”
She grasped the coat and gathered it close around her shoulders. “Thank you.”
A deep chill coursed through her body that had nothing to do with the weather. Like someone had walked over her grave, as her grandmother used to say.
She walked away from Rob. She didn’t want to be near anyone right now. She needed to be alone with her thoughts.
It couldn’t be true. If Luke had changed his name, that made her the woman who thought she’d married Luke Wheeler who turned out to be Lucky Draw. It was crazy.
She supposed it shouldn’t be a surprise he’d turned outlaw. He was suited to it. If he’d killed someone, more than likely it was his terrible temper. She didn’t know him, not really. There was a side to him she’d never understood.
Sally stepped over a log and sat on it to think. Remembering his temper, her hand rose to touch her cheek. One time he’d hit her so hard her jaw had gone numb.
Even now her jaw clicked sometimes.
She’d thought back then he might do anything, anything at all. How afraid she’d been. He’d said it was her fault, for burning his supper. He’d always claimed everything was her fault, crazy as that now sounded.
Why had she ever believed him?
She closed her eyes, and her shoulders hunched. A chill wind blew across the back of her neck. She drew Rob’s coat tighter around her body, but couldn’t get warm.
Taking a deep breath to try to calm herself, she caught a whiff of Rob’s scent.
She felt safe with him, felt it instinctively now. He’d proved himself through their long ride.
She’d not allowed her fears of what would happen when she found Luke to fully surface until now. In the past she’d always pushed her fear of him to the back of her mind. But once Luke had left her, she’d begun to see him for what he really was.
He was a terribly dangerous man and she was no match for him. She could never outthink the crazy turns his mind would make. She needed help to protect her children.
She sat until the cold and her fears became unbearable then went back to the house.
All remained quiet inside.
Moss snored in a rocker by the fire and Carolyn sat playing in the warm, rosy glow of the crackling fire.
Rob glanced at her and gave her a reassuring smile.
Sally stood inside the door for a moment. What a peaceful scene it was. How good it would be to come home to a scene like this every night. They’d become a family of sorts though they weren’t related by blood or marriage.
If only the men didn’t have to leave when she found Matthew. She’d been isolated on the farm for so long she’d forgotten what it was to be surrounded by adults who cared for her. That sense of family had been missing from her life for a long time.
But what could she do? They wouldn’t stay.
She’d press on alone as she always had. Even after she’d married she’d felt alone though she’d told herself otherwise.
Sally settled down near the fireplace with a cup of tea and drank it slowly, savoring the warmth of the liquid and storing the moment away, for she knew it wouldn’t last.
The next morning, they rode away from Nacogdoches.
In other circumstances Sally would have enjoyed her stay. The town had been settled early and was more civilized than most places they’d passed through. But she couldn’t wait to get away. Posters of Lucky Draw had gone up all over town. Her stomach hurt and her head pounded when she glimpsed one. Knowing what had happened was bad enough, but seeing the picture posted for all eyes to see made it worse. But she hadn’t told anyone she knew the man named Lucky Draw, so no one had asked questions.
The only good thing was that Matthew hadn’t been in the saloon when it happened. He hadn’t seen his father kill those men. Thank God for that.
The quietness of the trail eased her pounding head. All she heard as they traveled in the early morning light were birds singing. No one spoke.
Later a shout broke the stillness.
Suddenly, coming toward them through the snow, she saw longhorn cattle. Men on horses worked each side of the ranging cattle, shouting at them.
“Odd time of year to drive beef,” Rob said.
“Yep. Maybe they don’t have no choice.”
Moss headed toward the closest cowpoke.
The man didn’t slow, but continued to work, making Moss catch up with him.
Moss spoke to him, then rode back to the others.
“Feller said they was drivin’ them cattle fer a widder woman who don’t have no choice but to sell the herd. She’s gettin’ up in years.”
“Poor woman.” Sally could easily sympathize with any woman left alone to cope with a ranch.
“But good news fer us.” Moss grinned. “That feller said we might stop on by an’ pay her a visit. It’s on our way an’ she gets mighty lonesome.”
“If she’ll put us up for the night, we can do some work for her before we leave in the morning,” Rob said. He glanced at the sky. “There’s a storm moving in. We need to find shelter.”
They rode until almost dusk, when at last Sally saw the rise of smoke from over a hill. The gray sky seemed to reflect the whiteness of the snow. Everything around them stood under blankets of cold. Snow lay in the firs and ice needles hung down as a blanket of white covered the ground. The temperature had dropped.
Moss rubbed his mustache to break the tiny icicles that had formed there.
“That must be the ranch,” Rob said. “We’ll be too late for supper, but maybe we can find Carolyn a warm bed.”
Carolyn was coughing again, her cheeks a rosy flush. They needed to get her inside where it was warm and dry.
It was odd to Sally the way Rob thought in terms of Carolyn. He’d changed since she’d first met him. He seemed to genuinely care for her little girl and Carolyn thought he was wonderful.
Like the father she’d never had.
As they neared the ranch house, Sally saw the glow of lamps in the windows and a bunkhouse a little further on, both surrounded by fences. Other fences enclosed immense stretches of land, occasionally broken by trees, which hung heavy with snow like large white lollipops.
As they rode nearer to the house, the corner of a curtain moved slightly but no face was seen.
“What a pretty house,” Sally said. “I hope the widow has room for us.”
After hitching the horses at the post, Rob lifted Carolyn down.
The curtain moved again. Then the door opened wide and an old woman holding a shotgun stepped out onto the porch.
Sally’s breath caught.
The shotgun drooped heavily in the woman’s hands, and she gestured them inside.
“Come.” Her voice cracked with age. “Bring that child over by the fire. Get her warm. It’s too cold to be out traveling with a young one.”
“Yes,” Sally said. “It’s getting colder every minute.”
The old woman set the gun inside the front door. “I knew a snowstorm was coming. My bones told me that a few nights ago.”
“Thank you for your hospitality, ma’am,” Rob said. “The weather is steadily growing worse.”
“I knew. These old bones speak plenty, but they never lie.”
Sally led Carolyn close to the fire and began to remove her snow-covered blankets.
Rob introduced everyone using first names only in case the woman had heard of Luke. They’d learned to do this since Luke’s name wasn’t always welcome. He moved over to Sally. “Let me take those blankets outside and shake them.”
Moss hadn’t said a word, which wasn’t like him. He seemed to be struck silent by the woman.
“My name is Dorothea, but everyone has always called me Aunt Doe.”
“Was your Mama a deer?” Carolyn put her hand over her mouth and giggled.
Aunt Doe’s face crinkled in a smile that deepened until every wrinkle assumed lines like a raisin. “No, my Mama was a lady. She named me Dorothea, but Papa used to take me hunting, and I hit a doe once that was going to have a baby. It wasn’t a mortal wound. I was a very poor shot. But I felt so badly that I brought her home and nursed her back to health. When her baby was born, it was a doe. Both of them took to following me around.”
Moss interrupted her. “Then some of them boys in town teased an’ called you Doe. Good name fer a purty gal with doe brown eyes.”
She turned her old brown eyes to his and squinted as she walked nearer.
Moss took off his hat and smoothed the hair on his head.
She stopped in front of him and peered closer to see past the beard and mustache.
“Why, Ozzie Moss, is that you?”
He stood a bit straighter. “Yes, ma’am, it is myself, certain an’ sure.”
She chuckled. “Certain and sure, that always was you. Why I could tell tales on you and you on me, I suppose. Your granddaughter wouldn’t know what to think.”
He looked down at his feet. “’Ceptin’ she ain’t my grandchild.” He glanced over at Carolyn. “Though I love her as if she was.”
“I have neither children nor grandchildren either. My husband passed on not long ago.”
“Well, now,” Moss shuffled his feet. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“And your wife?”
“Never had one,” he said with a deep sadness.
Aunt Doe looked sad as well. But she soon pulled herself together. “Well, come on everyone, set yourselves down and get warm. I’ll fix Carolyn some warm milk and coffee for you folks. I have leftover cornbread and beans if you’re hungry. I don’t cook much now that my Sam’s gone, and the cow hands are off to take my cattle to market.”
“Cornbread sounds wonderful,” Sally said. “Can I help you?”
“Land, no. You just rest by the fire.”
The food and beverages warmed them and Carolyn grew sleepy.
Aunt Doe said, “Sally, you and Carolyn can have the spare room, and, Ozzie, you and Rob will have to sleep in the bunkhouse if you want beds. I don’t have a fire going there, so you can either build one or bunk here by the fire with your bedrolls.”
“They ain’t the cleanest bedrolls, Doe,” Moss blushed as he said her name. “We’d best bunk out there.”
“Ozzie Moss, do you think I care about a little dirt or bugs when I haven’t seen you in over fifty years? I only mentioned the bunkhouse thinking your old bones could use a soft bed like mine.”
He turned as red as a ripe tomato.
She seemed unaware of what she’d just said and Rob spoke up before the woman could catch on and be embarrassed. “I’ll build a fire in the bunkhouse and be glad to do any jobs you need doing tomorrow.”
“Why thank you. Yes, there are some things...” Her voice trailed off as she watched Moss’s embarrassment, still puzzled by it.
“Good night,” Moss snapped as he went out to gather his things and take them to the bunkhouse.
“Breakfast is at sunup. We rise early here. Force of habit, I suppose. Though I don’t know what I’ll do with myself now that the cattle are gone and no hands here to feed.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rob said. “We’ll be ready.”
Moss might be more ready than she knew. Rob wondered if a late love was brewing for the old man.
Moss didn’t speak as Rob walked into the bunkhouse.
Rob noted that he unpacked his things and laid them out slowly, looking at them in turn as if he’d never seen them before.
“Everythin’ I own right here,” he mumbled. His expression turned gloomy, and he sat on the bunk. “Nothin’ to offer her.”
Rob built a fire, still watching as the old man sat looking into space. “I’ll see to the horses.”
Moss didn’t move or reply.
Aunt Doe had explained to Rob which barn held feed and the location of the water pump. He eyed the large barn as he entered.
Her husband must’ve been a smart man. There were shelves and strange-looking gadgets everywhere. Along one side of the barn was a long trough, which had a pump. He’d never seen anything like it.
He pumped water to fill the trough. A connection to an underground spring brought it up right into the middle of the barn. The water tasted clear and clean.
Rob smiled to himself.
If that old woman takes a liking to Moss, he’s got it made.
This wouldn’t be a bad place to settle in, and she’d make a good wife. Though she might want to tidy Moss up and fit him out with new clothes.
He laughed at the thought of Moss duded up and living on this ranch. Stranger things had happened.
When he came back to the bunkhouse, Moss was still sitting where he’d left him, staring into the fire.
“Old timer, we’d better get some rest, daylight comes early.”
Moss lay back on the bunk, put his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. “Life don’t ever do what you expect.”
“No. It sure doesn’t.”
“I went west with my brother, back when Doe was a young woman. She said she’d wait on me.”
“I guess she didn’t wait.”
“No, she waited all right. I come back an’ then I was a goin’ off agin’ an’ she said, ‘If ye ain’t back in a year, I’m goin’ to marry somebody else.’ I asked her who an’ she said she didn’t know, but somebody. Well, I didn’t believe her. Then I heard she done it.”
“At least she warned you, and gave you a year. She didn’t throw any surprises at you.”
Moss was quiet for a minute then said, “When I finally come back she’d up an’ married an’ had a baby on the way. She was pretty shook up to see me so I rode off an’ didn’t see her again ’til just now.”
“What do you think happened to the baby?”
“Don’t know, an’ I ain’t goin’ to ask.” He rolled over with his back to Rob and his face to the wall.
It would be a long night for the old man. No wonder he went on so about “tendin’ the fires of love”. Though it looked like his fire had never gone out, Rob wondered how Aunt Doe felt. She’d found someone else, so maybe she’d been happy.
Rob realized he’d been thinking an awful lot about love lately. A subject he used to never think of.
In fact he’d been doing more thinking than usual these days. He lay back on his bunk with a groan and placed his arm over his eyes.
Moss wasn’t the only one who would have a long night.
Rob had glanced at the main house as he’d walked from the barn to the bunkhouse.
Sally had stood by the window looking out.
He’d caught a glimpse of her in a white nightgown, which must’ve been borrowed. Her hair hung down as she’d leaned toward the window.
She’d spotted him and raised her hand to say goodnight before she backed away. She’d looked like an angel beckoning, and even now through closed eyes Rob could see her again, like a vision.
No, he wouldn’t sleep well tonight. Sally would fill his dreams again.
After Sally put Carolyn to bed, she changed into Aunt Doe’s old nightgown. The soft white gown had silk ribbons and looked like something to be worn on a wedding night.
The soap in the washstand smelled of roses, and Sally inhaled deeply as she washed. Then she brushed her hair until it gleamed.
Her thoughts returned to Rob. The moon drew her to the window, and as she looked out she felt as though she were in a dream. The soft fabric caressing her body and her hair down her back made her feel like a desirable woman.
Then she saw him walking from the barn to the bunkhouse.
Hardworking Rob, who did so much for her and never asked for anything in return. Here she’d been indulging herself, enjoying the fancy soap, the fine nightgown and he was still working. Working to provide a place for them to stay.
He looked up and she raised her hand to wave to him, longing to tell him all she felt in her heart and didn’t know how to put into words.
She wanted to say come look at the moon with me, let me wash your hands and your tired face, let me ease your boots off and rest. Rest here with me.
He stopped and stared at her almost as if he’d read her thoughts.
She realized then that she wore only the thin nightgown, her breasts visible against the white cloth, the lamps illuminating everything in the room.
She blushed and drew back behind the curtains. Then placed her palm against her breast and felt her quick breathing, as if something had scared her.
She climbed into the downy bed and pulled the covers up before she realized she’d forgotten to blow out the lamps.
When she went back to blow out the wick, she looked out the window again, to see if he was still there, but he’d gone.
The moon had drifted behind a cloud, and she felt loss and disappointment.
She longed for the protectiveness of his arms and for the touch of his lips on hers. Longed for what she could never have. She climbed back into bed and fell asleep to dreams of Rob.
The sun rose early for everyone but Carolyn.
She coughed in her sleep, and Sally worried that the sickness she’d come down with earlier on the trail had returned.
Aunt Doe had given Carolyn some cough medicine, which had put her back to sleep.
They ate breakfast while she slept, then the men went out to work on the fence while Sally took a spot in the corner rocker where she could watch and listen to Carolyn.
Aunt Doe popped her head through the doorway. “May I join you?”
“Of course.”
“If she’s not better in the next day or two, I’ll send for the doctor.”
“Thank you, Aunt Doe. I appreciate all you’ve done. It’s a terrible feeling to know your child is sick and there’s nothing you can do for her.”
“It sounds like you’ve had some experience with sickness.”
“My mother died just after we left for Kansas on a wagon train. She’d been sickly for many years and I left school to care for her and my sisters. She should never have left home, but she was following Papa’s dream.”
“Sometimes we do things for our men that we shouldn’t.”
“My sisters caught the fever from Mama and they passed on too. There was nothing I could do. Then Papa died of a broken heart and guilt over what he’d done to Mama.”
“And you were all alone then?”
“Not for long. I met a man on the trail. He was a charmer, made me feel like I was something special. But he was a liar. He went through all the money Papa left me, then he ran off with my son just before our homestead was auctioned off.”
“Oh, Sally. How awful.”
“But I’m going to get my boy back.”
“I hope and pray that you will.”
“I’m so afraid something will happen to him. He’s only seven and Luke is so irresponsible.”
“Surely he’ll take care of his own son?”
Sally didn’t reply, but Aunt Doe must have guessed by the pain in her eyes that it wasn’t likely.
“You’ve been through so much.” Aunt Doe patted her on the knee. “If there’s anything I can do, you’ll let me know?”
Sally nodded.
The kindness in this woman’s eyes showed what a gentle soul she was. She reminded Sally of her grandmother who’d died when she was ten. Grandmother had taken care of Sally once when she was sick and she’d made honey cakes and lemon drops to ease her sore throat. But it was Grandmother’s presence that had soothed her the most.
After a few hours, Sally woke Carolyn so she would drink some water. She still had a cough and a slight fever. Sally sang her back to sleep.
When it was time for supper, Sally went into the kitchen where she found Aunt Doe sitting at the table with an old letter and a lock of hair.
She looked up at Sally, folded the letter then tucked it into her pocket.
“Sit down, my dear. How is Carolyn?”
“She’s still asleep, but I’ll wake her for dinner.”
“No, let her sleep. There’s no hurry. When she wakes, we can feed her if she’s hungry.”
“What can I do to help with dinner?”
“Not a thing. The roast and vegetables are cooking. Bread is in the oven. You rest. I’ll make us some tea.”
“It sounds wonderful, Aunt Doe. I’m sure the men will be hungry.”
“Working men are always hungry. It’s a blessing you came along when you did. I’ve been lonesome since my Sam passed on. It’s nice to have a woman’s company.” Her hand reached across the table and squeezed Sally’s.
Sally watched Aunt Doe make the tea.
Long slim fingers handled the blue and white china gently. Her hands were speckled like a robin’s egg, only brown, but they moved like a graceful young girl’s.
“I’d like for you to stay on a bit,” Aunt Doe said. “Little Carolyn needs to rest and get well, and it’ll be nice to visit with my old friend Ozzie.”
Sally felt the warmth and restfulness of the place. “I wish we could, but I must find my son.”
“I understand, my dear. Well, take it one day at a time. Let’s see that Carolyn gets well and enjoy each day we’re blessed with. Perhaps she’ll feel better in the morning.”
Sally was thoroughly exhausted from the trip and the news that Luke was now a wanted man. She wished she could rest, but that would never be possible as long as Matthew was in danger.
Yet she couldn’t remember when she’d last been in such a restful place as this. Part of her wished she could curl up in Aunt Doe’s big bed and sleep like Carolyn.
She let Carolyn sleep as long as she dared then woke her and tried to get her to sip some beef broth.
Afterward, Carolyn felt well enough to climb out of bed.
The men came in at noon after washing up, and Carolyn joined them as they sat at the long table.
Carolyn looked around at the rest of the chairs. “Do you got children?”
Aunt Doe laughed. “Well, I guess you could say I’ve got a lot of boys. The fellows who work the ranch usually take their meals here with me. We’ve had as many as twenty around this table. But most of my boys have gone to sell the rest of my cattle. I don’t
know what they’ll be doing after they come back here.”
It was a quiet meal.
Aunt Doe didn’t seem to mind the lack of table conversation. She didn’t mind the way Moss dropped gravy onto his shirt. She simply handed him another napkin and passed him more food.
Sally had never seen him eat so much.
It was as if he had a hole that emptied as quickly as it filled. And Aunt Doe gave him more and more.
After dinner the men lounged in the big room with the stone fireplace, while Sally helped Aunt Doe with the dishes after putting Carolyn to bed.
Soon the ladies joined the men, and the conversation turned to Carolyn.
“I don’t like her running these fevers,” Rob said.
“We ain’t goin’ nowhere ’til that little girl is well ag'in,” Moss said. “She wasn’t hardly awake no time when she fell asleep eatin’ her dinner.”
“She’s sleeping soundly. I gave her some more of the cough medicine.” Sally twisted her apron ties and sat with a frown. She hoped Carolyn didn’t get worse.
“I’ll send for the doctor, if she worsens,” Aunt Doe said.
They couldn’t leave until Carolyn was well enough.
And Sally felt torn between her worry for Matthew and worrying over Carolyn’s illness.
The choices were impossible. No matter what she did, if she stayed here or kept chasing after Luke, she feared losing one of her children.