Max found Wolf sitting on the ground in the burned-out area that had been the encampment. He chanted softly as tears rolled down his sun-burnished cheeks and wisps of smoke rose occasionally from the devastation. Max sat in the dirt next to him and waited. Even after Wolf stopped his chant, they sat in silence for several minutes. Max waited for Wolf to say something, to let him know he was ready to discuss what had happened.
In the distance, a coyote howled, but otherwise all was silent. The full moon spotlighted the wreckage that surrounded them.
“We’re leaving, Max.” His friend’s voice was raspy, and Max figured he’d inhaled a lot of smoke trying to put out the fire.
“I know. Where?”
Wolf shrugged. “North. The border. Maybe cross into Canada, join up with our people there.”
Max nodded. “How can I help?” He wouldn’t try to stop this. Even though it had been Wolf’s idea to add his people to the show, Max knew he’d asked a lot of Wolf and his family already. This was their decision, and the truth was, in their shoes, he’d do the same.
“It is we who will offer help,” Wolf said. “The others have agreed to stay until the new moon.”
“I appreciate that, but the truth is, coming here and setting up for the winter was probably a mistake.” When Wolf said nothing, Max knew his friend agreed. “I thought if we stayed in one place, maybe we could make a difference in how folks thought about the way things came together on the frontier.”
“You need to make a choice, Max. Are you a showman or a teacher?”
“Neither. Just a man who loved what this country once was and hates to see it disappearing.”
“We can’t live in the past,” Wolf said. “But we can shape our future.”
“By leaving?”
“We’re not running away,” Wolf muttered.
“No, I’m not saying that. I’ve been asking myself if maybe leaving is the answer for me as well.”
Wolf looked at him for the first time since Max had sat down. “You?”
Max nodded. “The show is in trouble with or without you, Wolf. Maybe it’s time we all found other ways.” He didn’t mention Ed Brunswick’s embezzlement of funds, and there was no need to tell Wolf of his own disenchantment with the life he’d chosen.
“There’s still wilderness in Canada,” Wolf said. “I expect there’s a need for an experienced scout as well.”
“Canada?” Max shook his head. Again, the two friends let the night and the silence envelop them. After a while, Max raised the inevitable question. “Who did this, Wolf?”
The chief’s laughter evolved into a cough that contorted his upper body. He wrapped his arms around his body, reminding Max his friend was still healing from the stab wounds he’d suffered. After a moment, Wolf stood and looked around. “We both know who did this, Max, and we both know that nothing is likely to be done to make amends. We just have to be thankful that no one was hurt—or killed.”
In his younger days, Max would have berated his friend for giving up, for giving in to the system that had destroyed Wolf’s way of life in the name of progress. But these days, he understood. Although Bert had told him the sheriff had made a show of organizing a posse and going after the gang who’d done this, Max understood, as did Wolf, that in the end nothing would come of it. In the end Wolf had to do what was best for his family.
So when Max returned to the hotel, looking forward to getting at least a little sleep, and found Emma’s note under his door, he laid it aside. Telling the sheriff what Trula had revealed would do little good and possibly incite the Gilmore kid to more mischief, and this time it would surely go beyond damage to property. This time someone might get badly hurt—or killed. Max hated that there would be no justice for Wolf, but that part of the West had not changed.
He suspected Emma would not understand that, but he had other problems to solve, like how to let the cast and crew know the company was bust and they would need to find other work, and like finding some way to reimburse locals who had bought tickets in advance. A loan was out of the question, even if they offered the train and other property as collateral.
Sitting on the side of his bed, he pulled off his boots. He was dead tired, but knew he’d get little sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything good that had come out of this day.
Emma.
He hadn’t set out to make love to her, not that it hadn’t been uppermost in his mind for a week or more. But he’d wrestled with the fact that they had only known each other a short time. He’d said as much to Nick when the two of them were alone, riding across the ranch.
Nick had laughed. “Sounds like me and Grace.” Then he told Max the story of their first meeting on a train. “I couldn’t take my eyes off her,” he’d said. “And then once I found out she was a Harvey Girl, I spent more time and money than I could afford having meals at the hotel just to be around her. Pretty soon we were stepping out, and then Jasper Perkins took a shine to her. I reckon that speeded things up some for us. Life is short, Max, and at our age, I don’t see wasting time.”
“Trouble is, while I know what I’m feeling toward her, I can’t be sure she feels that way about me.”
Nick had looked at him like he’d suddenly grown another head. “You’re joking, right? I mean why the hell do you think Grace wanted you to come out here today and wanted us to go off riding like this?”
“I thought you were just being neighborly.”
“To hear Grace tell it, Emma is every bit as on fire when it comes to you as you seem to be about her. Grace was worried you might not be right for her—being in show business and all.”
Max had bristled at the stereotype. “Not everyone in show business is a scoundrel,” he said.
“Understood, but when it comes to Emma, my Grace and their friend Lily are like mama bears. They are determined to help her find true happiness but equally as set on making sure she doesn’t make a mistake. Seems to me you might be in the running.”
“Does that mean you’ll tell Grace I have your stamp of approval?”
“That’s the plan. The sooner those two females get Emma married and settled, the simpler my life is going to be.”
That talk with Nick coupled with seeing the family all together around the table and his natural affinity for kids of all ages had made the day seem just about perfect. He and Emma had stayed long past the hour he’d thought they might, leading to the ride back to town mostly in darkness. Nick’s comment regarding not getting any younger had stayed with him, and he realized if he was ever going to have the life he truly longed for, he’d best get started. So he had confided in Emma the idea he’d not admitted to anyone else—even himself. He was thinking of leaving the show. Of course now that was no longer a choice he could make or not. The show was broke—in more ways than just financial. And one way or another, he would need to find a new way of making a living.
He opened his eyes and stared at the shadows playing across the ceiling. When he’d pulled the buggy off the main road, his intentions had been to deepen the relationship with Emma through a few kisses and some shared hopes and dreams for the future. But things had gone way beyond that, and with everything that had happened since they’d returned to town, he realized he had no idea if she had begun to have second thoughts. He also realized he had nothing to offer her if indeed she still wanted to be with him.
For that matter, he had nothing to offer anyone he cared about. He and Bert had both thought if they stayed in one place for a while, at least they would save on travel expenses. That had certainly helped, but the truth was they could never recoup what Ed Brunswick had embezzled. And now Wolf packing his people up and leaving would create a greater hole. It wasn’t so much that they couldn’t cover the performances; it was more the roles Wolf’s family played behind the scenes—his mother and sister helping out with the cooking, his brothers and nephews tending livestock and repairing harnesses and saddles. And Wolf himself, who was a master at treating injured animals, getting them ready for the next performance.
Max sat on the side of the bed and glanced around the hotel room. Nothing special, but it was costing them every night he spent there. At least he and Bert could be sharing a room. And Reba? She’d have a fit if he suggested she take up a berth on the train. He buried his face in his hands. He felt a complete failure. A life with Emma? Not in the cards. She deserved so much better than he could ever give her. If he loved her—and he did—he’d leave her.
* * *
After a sleepless night, Emma stood before Reba’s door, holding the actress’s breakfast tray, and knocked. Trula answered, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“I’d like to talk to you as soon as it’s convenient,” Emma said softly as she moved past her and set the tray on the small table near the window. “I’ll be in my office.”
“Who’s there?” Reba moaned from beneath the covers.
“Breakfast time,” Emma said in a cheery voice, and then she left.
As she had assumed, Trula came to her office minutes later. “Miss Reba says to tell you she’s not ready for breakfast,” she said. “She says to tell you she’ll let you know.”
“Close the door and sit,” Emma said, indicating the chair across from her own.
For once, Trula did as she was told.
“I have been thinking about your situation.”
Tears formed on the girl’s lashes, but she did not permit them to fall. She tossed her head and put on a brave face. “It’s really none of your business.”
“I understand that, and yet there was a time when you were under my care, and it occurs to me that I may have failed you. I’d like to make amends for that.”
“Why would you do that? Why would you care what happens to me?”
“Because I do. Now let’s examine the options you have. You could return to your family—”
“RJ loves me. He’ll marry me.”
“You’ve discussed it with him then? The baby and marriage?”
“Not yet.” She sucked in a breath, and her expression changed from one of doubt to one of determination. “But he owes me. Not only is this his child I’m carrying, but like you said, he put me in danger. I will not shame my family’s good name. RJ will marry me. His father won’t want the scandal.”
Emma could see at least some of what she’d told Trula had sunk in. She noted that Trula was no longer clutching at a straw that RJ’s father liked her, but rather she saw the real truth—that RJ’s family would not want the scandal. On the other hand, Trula showed no obvious signs of her pregnancy. If she and RJ were to marry soon, there would be no scandal.
“Trula, I am going to make you an offer, but before I do, I need you to be very, very sure marriage to this man is what you want. He does not love you. We both know that. And the chances he will come to love you are, while not impossible, improbable. In marrying him, you are agreeing to a life that could be one filled with unhappiness. But your child will have a father and a family name that means a good deal in these parts. The question is are you willing to sacrifice your happiness for the security of your child?”
Trula had looked down at her folded hands the moment Emma said RJ did not love her, and she had not looked up. Now she sat frozen in place for a long moment. Emma waited, giving her the time she needed to consider the truth of Emma’s hard facts. Finally, she raised her eyes.
“What’s the offer?”
“I will ask Father O’Meara to speak to RJ’s father on your behalf.”
Trula’s eyes widened, and her lips seemed incapable of forming a single word. This time, the tears fell.
Emma stood. “I will go with Father O’Meara to meet with Mr. Gilmore, and you need to understand that I will make sure he knows that I am well aware of the part his son played in the burning of the encampment.”
“Why?” Trula whispered. “I thought you hated me.”
“I will admit you caused me no end of worry, Trula, but hate? I felt responsible for you and concerned for your welfare.”
“Thank you,” Trula whispered through her sobs. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to—”
“That’s enough. The past is gone. What we have is this moment and all the ones to follow. Are you sure, Trula?”
The girl nodded.
“Then I will go see Father O’Meara this afternoon. In the meantime, I suggest you go look in on Miss Reba.”
To her surprise, Trula stood and embraced her, clinging to her. “I won’t let you down,” she sobbed.
“You owe me nothing, Trula, but that baby you’re carrying? He or she deserves whatever you need to do to secure a future.”
She gave Trula a moment to compose herself, then opened the door.
“There you are,” George said, addressing Trula. “Miss Reba has been hollering for you. Best get up there.”
With a meekness Emma had never seen, Trula headed up the back stairs. At the landing, she glanced back at Emma and gave her a half smile.
Emma’s heart broke for the young woman. After the night she had shared with Max, she wanted everyone to find what she had found—love that could not be questioned. Feeling lighter than she had since they’d returned to hear the news of the fire, Emma hurried off to the dining room, hoping Max would be there.
He wasn’t.
* * *
Max strode into Sheriff Bolton’s office. The sheriff looked up, clearly surprised.
“Look, Captain,” he began. “We did what we could to find the gang that attacked—”
“I’m here on a different matter.”
Bolton eyed him suspiciously. “And what matter is that?”
“I want you to arrest Ed Brunswick on a charge of embezzlement. I have the proof needed to make the charge.”
“You want me to arrest one of your own people?”
“I let Brunswick go shortly after we arrived in town.”
“For embezzlement?”
“For cause,” Max replied. He might have allowed the embezzlement to slide, given his years of friendship with Ed, but Ed had been behind the attack on Wolf and probably the fire as well. There was more than one way to get justice.
Bolton shrugged. “No skin off my nose if you want to go after one of your own. I’ll take care of it.” He stared at Max for a moment. “You’re letting this other business go then?”
Max felt his entire body go tense with anger. “Would it do any good to pursue it?” he asked quietly, meeting Bolton’s gaze.
“Not really,” the sheriff admitted. “That is, not unless we get new information.”
“Between you and me, Sheriff, we both know who planned and executed that fire. I kept my word when the chief was attacked. The way I see it, you owe me—and the chief.”
Bolton chuckled nervously. “You know how these things work, Captain. Seems like you’ve come up with a plan that will make sure the guilty pay.”
“At least one of them,” Max muttered as he slammed on his hat and left.
Next, he headed to the Western Union office. They had a telegraph in the office at the showgrounds, but this would be faster.
“Need to send a telegram,” he told the woman behind the counter. She pushed a pad of paper and pencil his way and went back to her work. He addressed his message to his former commander, Tyler Newton, at regimental headquarters, Yellowstone National Park.
SENDING YOU THE SCOUT YOU NEED STOP CHIEF GRAY WOLF STOP BETTER THAN ME STOP TAKE HIM AND HIS FAMILY IN STOP YOU WON’T BE SORRY STOP
He signed it and pushed the pad of paper across the counter. The woman read through the message and nodded. “You expecting an answer?”
“Maybe. If one comes, send it out to the showgrounds.”
She frowned. “Not the hotel?”
“No, ma’am.”
“I’ll get this sent right away.” She sat at the telegraph. “And Captain? I won’t be saying anything about the chief and his people leaving. Been enough gossip already.”
“I appreciate that, ma’am.” Max tipped his hat to her and left.
Two tasks down, three to go. Meet with Frank Tucker and then with Bert and Reba. And finally, Emma.