Lacy Williams (18 page)

He also wanted her love.

Her words described admiration and he believed she had some feelings for him. She wouldn’t have kissed him if she didn’t. But had her proposal been made out of desperation to help the girls?

Once they got this mess with the judge and the uncle sorted out, the first thing he intended to do was sit down with Sarah privately and set things straight. He didn’t want to go into a marriage with secrets between them, and he had a big one. He was in love with the fiery schoolteacher.

Another glance at her and this time he caught Sarah wincing as she adjusted the blanket around her shoulders.

“We’re stopping!” he called out, and began reining the horses in. “Whoa!”

Both Pharaoh and the mare stood, breaths puffing out in white clouds, as he dismounted and walked around to fetch Sarah.

“We don’t have time to stop,” she protested, with a pointed glance at the waning afternoon sun. “The trial is in the morning and the girls need us there.”

He ignored her push against his shoulders and lifted her down from the horse.

“Oscar, no!” She struggled against him, but didn’t stand a chance against his greater strength. Plus, her struggling would get her blood flowing and help warm her up. He set her feet on the ground.

“We can’t stop,” she half sobbed, knocking her fists against his shoulders.

“Sarah. Sarah!” She went still at the sharpness of his voice.

“Do you remember that night I went out in the snow and you came and rescued me?”

Her eyes were wild, looking over his shoulder, at the horses, anywhere but at him.

He grasped and shook her shoulders, just a little. “Do you remember?”

“Yes.”

“If you get too cold, what’s going to happen?”

“H-hypothermia.” Her teeth chattered even as she said the word.

“That’s right. And if that happens?”

“C-can’t get to the girls.”

He smiled at her, even as she narrowed her eyes at him.

He gently disengaged her hands from the blanket and took it off her shoulders. “I want you to march around in a circle until I tell you to stop.”

She looked at him askance until he gave her a little push away from the horses. “Do it, Sarah.”

Finally, she did, with a grudging mumble, “I’m not a child.”

Oscar stifled his chuckle. She was certainly acting like one of her more recalcitrant students. “Swing your arms!” he called out to her, turning away when he heard her muttering.

He went back to the horses, first to Sarah’s mare. There was nothing helpful in the saddlebags—their very bareness showed how quickly she’d left Lost Hollow to find him.

Inside his saddlebags, he pulled out the spare flannel shirt he always carried, along with an extra pair of socks. He probably should have done this earlier, but she’d been in such a hurry and his brain had been muddled by her proposal.

“When’s the last time you ate something?” he called back to Sarah. A glance above the saddle showed she was still marching, just as he’d told her to.

“This morning!” she called back, sounding none too happy with him. But at least if she was finding her fire, that was a good thing.

“This morning,” he repeated, frowning as he dug farther into the pack.

Finally he called her over to him. Her pert chin was high and her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously when he said, “Take off your coat.”

He held up the extra shirt and was gratified when she listened to him and shrugged out of the coat, shivering against the wind. He threw the shirt around her shoulders and she stuffed her arms inside.

“Eat this.” He handed her a piece of jerky, which she took with a glare. His lips twitched but he managed to keep a smile from emerging as he buttoned up the shirt while she chewed off the tough meat.

“I’s fwozen through,” she complained with her mouth full.

“That’s all right.” He kept his focus on the buttons. “Digesting it will keep you warm, too.”

He raised his brows as he helped her back into her coat. She handed him the rest of the piece of jerky that she hadn’t been able to eat and he chucked it away for some animal to find.

He insisted she put the extra socks over her mittens to give her hands an extra layer of protection. When she was finally bundled to his satisfaction, the blanket over her shoulders again, he stepped back to look her over.

“Happy now?” She glared at him.

“Mmm, not quite.” He grinned at her. “We’re doing this my way now, got it, Miss Schoolteacher? You ride with me.”

He mounted up, gathering the reins for both horses in his gloved hand. Then he reached down his opposite hand for her. Thankfully, she didn’t protest.

“Step on my boot, there.” He guided her, grasping her elbow and helping her sit in the saddle facing him. It would be easier to have her clinging to him from behind, but he was worried about her getting too cold, and she’d stay warmer this way.

Pharaoh shifted beneath them and Sarah let out a quiet, “Eep!”

“It’s all right. He’s just getting used to the weight.”

She elbowed him in the ribs, a nudge really, but his heavy coat shielded him from the brunt of the blow.

Finally, she settled against his chest, her head tucked beneath his chin and her arms sliding around his waist.

“How come you’re not cold?” she said against his neck.

“I am.” Although he was certainly warming up now. “But I’m used to being out in the elements, to a point. Seems like my pa always has some cows get too far out and have to be brought back to the nearer pasture. And the ornery animals always pick the nastiest weather to go out in.”

He nudged Pharaoh into a fast walk, making sure the animal was going to accept their weight. Sarah didn’t add much, but Oscar wanted to be sure the animal was all right before taking him to a faster pace.

She hummed against his neck, sending a thrum of energy down his spine. “Did you make things up with your pa?”

His lips twitched as he remembered Jonas’s advice to woo Sarah. “You could say that. You getting any warmer?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Looking down at the woman in his arms, his heart was full. He loved her. He couldn’t wait to get things resolved so he could tell her.

Then he frowned as another thought crowded in. They were still miles from Lost Hollow. If Sarah got any colder, he would have to insist on finding a farmhouse to stop for a while. He couldn’t risk her life.

But if they didn’t make it back to Lost Hollow to meet with the judge, and they lost the girls, would Sarah ever forgive him?

Chapter Twenty-Two

“W
ake up, sweetheart. We’re here.”

The low rumble against Sarah’s ear nudged her from her doze into wakefulness, but it was so hard to want to leave the warm cocoon that held her securely. She could feel winter’s bite teasing the periphery of her senses, and she was so tired of being cold.

“I know you’re tired, but you’ve gotta wake up.”

She pried one eye open and was met with an expanse of dark material. A coat. Remembrance jolted her fully awake and she pushed away from Oscar’s chest, where she’d burrowed her face and fallen asleep.

They’d ridden all night, stopping once at his insistence in a wooded area to build a fire and warm up. Sheltered in his arms, she’d drifted off numerous times, while he’d brought them safely to their destination.

And none too soon. As Sarah turned her face into the cold air, she saw the first orange crescent of the rising sun cresting the horizon. She noted their surroundings—they were just outside town.

She glanced up at Oscar, noting the tired lines around his eyes and exhaustion in the set of his shoulders. Somehow, he still managed to grin at her.

“I thought we’d see about getting you a room at the hotel so you can freshen up a bit, if you’d like. We’ve still got plenty of time to get over to the sheriff’s office. And I didn’t think you’d want to ride into town all snuggled up to me. No matter how much I like it.”

The man was incorrigible! And yet, she still found herself returning his smile even as she accepted his hand down off of his horse.

She stretched her arms above her head, noting sore muscles that she wasn’t used to at all.

Oscar watched her, making a blush rise to her cheeks. “Not used to riding yet. But you’ll get there. I knew you and the mare would be a good match.”

She huffed. Arrogant cowboy. Even if he was right. She approached the horse carefully, the way he’d taught her to. “Good morning, Belle. Going to let me ride you into town?”

The mare stood docile while Sarah mounted up, muscles complaining.

“What about you?” she asked. “Don’t you want to freshen up? You let me rest, but you haven’t even closed your eyes all night.”

He raised one brow at her. “How do you know, Sleeping Beauty?”

She gave him her best teacher’s expression and he laughed. “Does that actually work on your students?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes.”

Still chuckling, he handed her the reins and they guided their horses into a walk toward town. “I thought I’d splash my face over at the livery while I get these two settled.” He patted his horse’s neck. “No telling how long the judge will want to talk to us, and that way they’ll be nice and comfortable and can get a bite to eat.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Do you think Belle will be all right? I’d hate for her to get frightened and injure herself.”

“I’ve met the livery owner. He’s an old hand and knows what he’s doing. She’ll be all right for the day. Then after we get things settled with the girls, we’ll get her out to my spread pretty soon and she can settle down some more.”

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She’d been so cold and desperate when she’d asked him to marry her for the girls that it was all a blur to her. He’d said yes, which was the most important part. And he didn’t seem to be concerned that he’d be taking on four females.

She was still a bit worried that he would eventually feel burdened by having them around. But between her flight to find Oscar yesterday and the careful way he’d cared for her and got her back to Lost Hollow on time, she’d made herself a promise. He might not love her, but she’d be a good wife, and take as much burden away from him as possible.

She didn’t know exactly how that was going to work, since her culinary skills were still questionable, and she didn’t know anything about milking cows or anything that went into keeping a homestead running. But she knew his adoptive parents lived nearby and had small children. Perhaps she could help with caring for the small children in return for lessons on how to be a proper horseman’s wife.

She was determined to make a success of it. And maybe...maybe Oscar would eventually learn to love her.

* * *

Shortly before nine, Oscar met Sarah on the boardwalk outside the hotel, and they quickly linked arms. He just about couldn’t stand being away from her.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, turning her toward the sheriff’s office down the street.

She blushed. It was true. Her cheeks were still pink, likely from all the wind she’d gotten yesterday riding in the elements. Her hair was coifed prettily behind her head and she was smiling.

But her hand on his arm was shaking. He covered her fingers with his own. “Don’t be nervous. We’ll get all this ironed out.”

When they got to the sheriff’s office, it was empty. Oscar wheeled around, looking for anyone on the streets, but they were virtually empty, as well.

“Where is everyone?” Sarah wondered aloud.

“They’re all over at the church!” came a voice from the back room, where Oscar knew the jail cells were.

“Stay here.” Oscar left her on the front step momentarily.

A toothless old man who smelled ripe with whiskey cackled from inside the cell. “Too many folks was standing around outside, trying to hear what was goin’ on, so they’s moved the hearings over to the church, so it’s more organized-like.”

“Thanks,” Oscar muttered, returning to Sarah. “The church,” he told her.

The worried lines on her face didn’t lift as they hightailed it down the street in the opposite direction. He could only pray things would go their way. If Sarah couldn’t keep the girls with her, he knew she would be heartbroken.

And if they didn’t need to get married to keep the girls, would she still have him? He hadn’t told her he loved her yet. And even if he did tell her, would it really matter? She’d told him all along that she didn’t want a cowboy....

He did his best to silence the doubts inside him, the voice that wanted to bring back all his childhood fears.

Someone hailed them from a shop door halfway down the street. Oscar paused, but Sarah kept going. He released her hand momentarily as the shopkeeper waved something—a letter—frantically in their direction. Oscar grabbed the missive from the man and then caught up to Sarah, boots pounding on the boardwalk. He pressed the letter into her hand, noting with relief Sarah’s name penned in a feminine scrawl and not a masculine hand. The last thing he needed was her Montana banker changing his mind and ruining Oscar’s chances—again.

They slipped into the back of the church, but it was packed with people and they began pushing their way through.

“Do you see the girls?” Sarah asked over the murmuring voices surrounding them.

He stretched his neck, but couldn’t get a glimpse of anything other than more bodies.

Someone banged a gavel and Oscar felt Sarah jump—her hand clutched his arm tighter for a brief instant.

Finally, the crowd parted and they were thrust into the aisle between two rows of seats, at the same moment that the room went silent. The pews before them were filled with townspeople—probably more than the church had seen in its entire history. Were they all here to see what would happen with the Caldwell girls, or for another reason?

“Ah,” said a dry voice. “So the young lady has decided to grace us with her presence.” Oscar looked to the front of the sanctuary, where a man in a fine black suit stood behind the lectern, wooden mallet in hand. He did not smile.

“Sarah!” Susie slipped out of the first pew on the left and raced back to them, throwing herself into Sarah’s arms, making her stumble back. Oscar caught her shoulders, steadying the both of them.

Cecilia stood where she was, holding on to Velma just as he’d expected, face carefully blank, but her eyes were just a bit wide. Looking like the little girl she really was, in need of someone to support her.

“Well, sit down so we can get on with this,” the judge ordered.

Sarah nudged Susie back toward her seat and when Oscar followed and slid into the pew beside them, this time the judge’s expression changed as he raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s get the custody issue dealt with—”

“Your Honor,” Mr. Allen blustered, and it was the first time Oscar noticed him in the pew across the aisle, his wife at his side. “This man—” he pointed to a dark-skinned, dark-haired man sitting by himself on the very front row “—maligned my character in front of the town and I want this matter taken care of immediately.”

The crowd around them murmured. Either people were gossiping about what the girls’ uncle had said about Allen, or they were now impressed at his imperious way toward the judge.

Another bang of the gavel silenced the crowd. The judge glared at Allen. “Fine. You want to be first, you can be first. Stand up. What’s your complaint?”

Both men stood, talking almost as one, their words overlapping so a body couldn’t understand them.

“Silence!” the judge ordered. “You first.” He pointed to Allen.

“Aren’t you going to have us swear on a Bible or something?” Mr. Allen asked.

The judge crossed his arms, obviously becoming impatient with the man. “I see no need for a formal hearing at this time. We can conduct our business informally unless matters warrant it.”

“Fine. Yesterday, I was in town doing business and this man approached me and began spouting unfounded accusations. He made false charges against my character, and I want a public apology. And restitution!”

Of course he did. Because if there was anything Oscar knew about Allen, it was that the man looked out only for himself. He tapped his hat impatiently against his knee, ready to get this show on the road. Ready to get hitched.

* * *

Sarah met Oscar’s sideways glance and crooked grin without turning in her seat. She didn’t want to give the judge any reason to scrutinize them until she absolutely had to face the man. She tapped Oscar’s bouncing knee in a silent admonition to sit still. He was as bad as a little child sometimes.

She didn’t understand how he could be so jovial, so calm, when she was a mess. Her heart raced and her palms were sweaty as she clasped both hands in her lap. The judge had the power to grant her dearest wish—a husband and family all at once. How could she
not
be nervous?

Susie leaned against her side, pressing close, and Sarah put her arm around the girl’s shoulder. She looked to Cecilia and Velma just as the toddler began speaking a garbled nonsense phrase. Cecilia shushed her sister gently, providing her the doll Oscar had given Velma for Christmas as a distraction.

A sense of calm settled over Sarah. This was the reason she was here, and why all her troubles—past and future—would be worth it. These girls.

Sarah shifted her legs and paper crinkled. Brow wrinkling, she reached beneath her skirt. A letter. The mercantile owner and acting postmaster had hailed her on the street, but she’d been in such a rush to get to the church she’d ignored him. Oscar had retrieved the letter and handed it to her, but she’d nearly forgotten about it. Now she slid it into her lap, unobtrusively, and studied the handwriting that made up her address. Sally. Her sister must’ve written before Sarah had sent her hasty letter the day after Christmas.

The envelope’s flap was open. Sarah could slip out the correspondence without making too much noise, and she did. As she opened the folded sheet of paper, several green bills slipped out onto her lap.

Oscar nudged her, a question in his eyes, as she worked to slide the money back into the envelope. She shrugged at him, not knowing what to say. Why had her sister sent her the cash?

Dearest Sarah,

I’ve heard some news about you from a friend of a friend who lives close to Lost Hollow. If my suspicions are right, by the time you’re reading this letter there’s a chance you’ll need some cash. If not, you can consider it a loan until we’re able to see each other next.

I’m not terribly surprised , except that you haven’t mentioned the horseman in any recent letters to me. Or perhaps our letters have just crossed paths. Since we were children, your heart has been bigger than your common sense. I’ve sent what I can (how could I do less after all you’ve done for me over the years?), and wired Elsie, as well. No doubt her support will follow.

Please write when you’ve settled.

With love, your sister,

Sally

Heart beating wildly, Sarah stuffed the letter back into the envelope, and then the envelope into her pocket. Tears of gratefulness clouded her eyes and she had to blink them away. Somehow, Sally had discovered that her job had been in jeopardy and sent money ahead.

Sarah now had funds to supplement her savings. And from the sound of it, her youngest sister was sending a bit more. Even without a marriage to Oscar, she and the girls would be all right.

Sarah forced herself to pay attention to what was happening before her, lest the judge get irritated with her.

“What do you say to this?” the judge directed Mr. Smith to speak.

“My accusations were not unfounded. Years ago, my brother settled in this area, a homestead just outside of town. He married a white woman.” He spat the last words and Cecilia drew in a sharp breath.

Sarah reached across Susie to touch the girl’s shoulder, offering what comfort she could. Cecilia glanced at her, dark eyes furious, and Sarah shook her head gently. They couldn’t afford to make a ruckus, even if they didn’t like what they heard.

“Almost immediately, things started happening around my brother’s homestead. Sabotage. There is always prejudice against the red man from the whites, but this seemed to be something more. Finally, my brother’s wife confessed. She had rejected the advances of a man and married my father instead. The man was crazy with jealousy and she thought perhaps he was the cause of the troubles at their home.

“That man was Paul Allen.”

Another murmur rippled through the crowd and the judge quickly banged his gavel for order.

“My brother went to the local sheriff,” continued Mr. Smith, “who looked into the matter and the mysterious events stopped happening. For long enough that my brother fathered three children. Those children.” He pointed to the Caldwell girls. “But then after the sheriff passed away, mysterious things started happening again around my brother’s home.”