Xenia’s Renegade (3 page)

Yes, she knew everyone thought of him as the family rebel. Yes, he hadn’t been in touch with anyone for the past ten or twelve years. And, yes, he’d told his sister and brother-in-law he never wanted to see anyone in the
damn
Poindexter family again. But that didn’t give the whole family the right to sit at home in their fancy Richmond houses and let some unscrupulous sheriff in a small town nobody ever heard of, in the middle of a nowhere territory, hang a sick man.

She remembered clearly her father saying, “Calm down, Xenia, they won’t hang Seymour. Anyway, he’s probably lying about the situation. Even if he’s telling the truth, he’s always been able to get out of scrapes like this. He’ll get out of it this time, too.”

“But, Father, what if he doesn’t get out of it and they hang him this time?”

“Listen to your father, Xenia. He knows what he’s talking about.”

“But, Mother, how can you sit by and let this happen to your brother?”

“I know my brother better than the rest of the family, dear, and your father is right. If he says Seymour will be fine, I’m sure he will be.” Clara smiled at her daughter and twisted her lace handkerchief, as if she wasn’t sure of what she was saying. “Now, why don’t you come with me to the sun porch and we’ll discuss what you need to wear to the Emmerson’s party Saturday night. It’s time you started being more social. You might even attract the interest of some acceptable young man.”

“I don’t want—”

“Go, Xenia. I’m busy and I don’t want to discuss Seymour Longstreet any further. You need to get these silly notions out of your mind. The mention of the man’s name upsets me.” Her father picked up his newspaper and sat back with his pipe.

Xenia didn’t remember what she, Mea Ann, and her mother talked about on the sun porch, but she did remember that she decided that if nobody else was going to do anything about Uncle Seymour’s plight, she would do it herself. She was sure if she handled her right, Mea Ann would help her.

The next day, she’d gone to visit some of her cousins and asked them to help. They all assured her that the ‘Longstreet fellow,’ as they called him, was probably making his problem seem bigger than it really was. When she insisted somebody had to do something, her cousin, Harry, promised to check it out.

Xenia waited two days for her cousin to keep his promise, but he didn’t do a thing, and when she approached him again he refused to discuss it further. It was then she decided she’d go to the town of Deer Meadow and do something about her uncle’s situation herself—no matter what everyone else said.

She confided her plan to her sister, and Mea Ann wouldn’t hear of her going alone. Knowing they had to slip away or their father would stop them, it took the sisters two weeks to gather enough money for the journey and to make their arrangements.

Now, here they were in this awful way station where murder and mayhem had taken place, and they still hadn’t reached Deer Meadow. Nor had they gotten any nearer to solving Uncle Seymour’s problems.

Ty came back into the main room of the way station. Ray followed. When Ty looked them over, he knew they would be of no help. The salesman looked like a scared little man who had never been in such a situation before and had no idea of what to do. As for the women, he knew they were the kind to be more at home sitting around in some fancy parlor sipping tea than being in a location where their lives were in danger. They’d grown up under some man’s protection and they probably would always be in such a position whenever they went back home and married some dandy.

He took a breath. “Folks, we’re not sure of what we’re facing here, but Ray and I feel we should prepare for another attack.”

“Oh, no,” Mea Ann said in a shaky voice.

“Are you saying the savages who killed the man here may come back?” Lou glanced at the women as if to say, “I told you he was waiting on his friends.”

“We believe they attacked the way station thinking the stage wouldn’t spend any time here, once Ray found there were no services and no fresh horses.”

Lou frowned at him. “I don’t see that gives you a reason to make us stay here like sitting ducks.”

“Of course it does. When the stage doesn’t come by where they plan to ambush us, they’ll come back here to check.”

“I think he’s trying to set us up for his friends.” Lou looked at Ray. “You can’t possibly agree with that, can you?”

“I absolutely do. When I went to the barn and didn’t find horses, I knew we couldn’t go any farther until the horses we have are rested. My steeds are exhausted and couldn’t outrun anybody. We wouldn’t stand a chance if we went on.”

“But you can’t make us stay and wait for those renegades to come back and kill us. Can’t we—”

Xenia whirled around. “For heaven’s sake, Mr. Bullins, stop arguing about it. I’m sure these men know what they’re doing, and they’re not only doing it for themselves, but for our safety, too.”

“Listen, Missy…”

She ignored him and turned to Ty and Ray. “What can we do to help?”

Ty couldn’t help being impressed that the little spitfire believed him and was willing to do what she could, which he doubted was anything that would be of use to them. “We’re not sure how many attackers there are or when they’ll be here, but we know they’re well-armed. Can you shoot a gun?”

She shook her head. “Do you mean they have guns as well as bows and arrows?”

“This wasn’t done by Indians, Miss Poindexter. They only tried to make us think so. Probably because they thought we’d leave faster and head their way to get away from who we thought were savages,” Ray interjected.

“How do you know?” Lou asked.

“Don’t worry about it. We know,” Ray said.

“Enough talk.” Ty moved to the door. “Bullins, you start pulling that table and benches over here and barricade this door.”

“What are
you
going to do?” Bullins almost sounded as if he whined.

“He’s going to build a barricade with the rest of the furniture for the women to hide behind and I’m going into the kitchen and block the back door.” Ray turned and left the room.

“I want to do more than hide behind furniture,” Xenia said.

“You can, but we still need to build a barrier. We all may want to get behind it if the outlaws get inside the building.”

“Alright. Tell us what to do. Mea Ann will help too, won’t you, sister?”

“Of course I will.” She stood and rubbed the remaining few tears from her eyes.

“Fine, ladies. I’m going to see if I can’t turn that cabinet on its side. It’ll give you the best protection from flying bullets. Why don’t you go into the room to the left? It’s probably a bedroom. Drag a mattress, blankets and anything else you think will help out here.”

He watched the women leave the room and shook his head. What was it about them—no, not
them
—her? What was it about that little blonde that made him feel differently than he ever had about a white woman? She was sassy, haughty, and definitely not his type. Yet, there was something about her that did things to his insides. Things that had never been done before. Not even when he had the relationship with…He wouldn’t let himself finish the thought.

Shrugging, he moved to the cabinet and leaned against the side. It didn’t take long to tip it over. He was surprised when the doors flew open and a few baby clothes and a rough carved toy rattle tumbled to the floor. Frowning, he picked up the rattle.
Could there have been a child here? We haven’t found a baby’s body. If one was here, where could it be?

“Mr. Eldridge!”

He dropped the rattle and ran to the bedroom. He stopped short when he saw Xenia and Mea Ann on their hands and knees looking under the bed. He knelt beside them. “What is it?”

Xenia pointed to a bundle stuffed in the back corner under the bed. “It looks like a baby.”

Before he could say anything, it whimpered and Mea Ann began to crawl toward it. “It
is
a baby, and I’m going to get it.”

“Be careful, Mea Ann.”

“I know how to look after babies, Xenia. I looked after you for several years.”

Ty said nothing, but his mind ran wild.
So, Mea Ann Poindexter is the elder sister. I thought she looked a little older, but Xenia is the one who always seems to be in charge. Wonder how old she is, anyway?

“Ouch.”

“What happened?” Xenia leaned a little farther under the bed.

“I just bumped my head on a bed slat, but I’m fine.”

“Be careful.”

“I have it.” Mea Ann began to wiggle backward with the baby in her arm. Its whimper turned into a cry.

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“I don’t know yet, but it’s soaking wet, so we’ll soon find out.” She came from under the bed and unwrapped the bundle. A look of surprise crossed her face. “It has such dark luscious hair and its skin is brown and smooth.”

Ty bit his lip. Should he tell them the baby was an Indian, probably a half-breed, after having seen who he figured was its father and mother?

“May I hold it?” Xenia asked.

“No, Xenia. I found it and I’ll see to it. You go ahead and get the things out of here Mr. Eldridge needs to help build the barricade.” Mea Ann looked down at the baby and tried to calm it with soft words. “Don’t you worry, you sweet little thing. I’ll find something to put on you. I know you’re miserable being so wet.”

“There are some baby things that fell out of the cabinet when I turned it over.”

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Eldridge.” She smiled at the baby. “I bet he found you some diapers. Let’s go get you dry.”

Xenia raised an eyebrow. “Well, as you can see, my sister has decided what she’s going to do to help out.”

“That’s fine. Somebody needs to look after the child. I just hope she can quiet its crying. I don’t want the outlaws to know it’s here.”

“Do you think they’d hurt it?”

“They wouldn’t hesitate.”

She shook her head. “That’s hard to understand, but don’t worry. Mea Ann has always been good with babies. She’ll have it quiet in no time.”

“Glad to hear that.”

She looked around. “Now, what do you want out of here?”

“I’ll get the mattress, and you gather all the blankets and pillows and other bed things. Be sure to get sheets. If we have to have bandages, you can tear them into strips.”

In a matter of minutes, they took the items into the front room and found Lou had shoved the table and benches against the door. Mea Ann and the baby weren’t in the room.

“Where did Miss Poindexter go with the baby?” Ty asked.

“I told her to get it out of here and make it stop that squalling. I guess she went into the kitchen to see if she could find some milk or something. Too bad we’re stuck with it.”

Xenia frowned at him. “I can’t believe you said such a horrible thing, Mr. Bullins.”

“Why not? It’s just a breed. There are enough of them around here, anyway. If it had been killed, we wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“How could you say that about an innocent child? What kind of man are you?”

“The kind a pretty woman like your sister should be taking care of instead of half-breed baby.”

“How dare you.”

“Ignore him, Miss Poindexter. Let’s get this barricade finished.” Ty put the mattress down on the floor behind the cabinet. “You and your sister and the baby can stay here where you’ll be safe.”

“I don’t intend to hide behind that cabinet. I told you I wanted to help.”

“Unless you can load a gun or shoot it, there’s nothing you can do to help. You’ll just be in the way.”

“I assure you I won’t get in your way. I can’t shoot, but if it’ll help, I’m sure I can load a gun if you’ll show me how it’s done.”

He chuckled. “It’s not that easy.”

She lifted and eyebrow. “Are you afraid to show me?”

“Not at all. Come here.” She moved beside him and he unloaded a rifle and then reloaded it. “See.”

“Do it one more time.”

He did.

Xenia took the gun and managed to load it. She handed it back to him. “How was that?”

“You only took long enough to get us both killed. Try it again.”

He could tell he’d made her mad, but she didn’t say anything. She reloaded the gun. After three more tries her fingers were moving fast. She glared at him. “Is that better?”

“Much better. Now, let’s load the pistol.”

By the time Xenia mastered this task, Mea Ann came back through the door with a calm baby in her arms. “It’s a boy,” she announced.

“Well, I’m sure glad you got him quieted down. It was getting on my nerves.” Lou sat on one of the benches and stared at her.

“He was wet and hungry. Mr. Andrews and I found some milk in a container and I tested it to be sure it wasn’t spoiled. It wasn’t, and as soon as I fed and dried him, he was the sweetest baby you’ve ever seen.” She plopped down on the bench beside Lou. “See how handsome he is?”

Lou glanced at the baby. “It’s a damn Indian. Ain’t none of them handsome.”

Before either of them could react, Ray raced into the room. He had two more rifles in his hand. “Found these and some ammo in the pantry. Looks like we’ll need them. I see dust building up and it looks like there are several of them headed this way. They’re coming fast.”

Ty jumped into action. “Mea Ann, you take the baby and get on the mattress behind that cabinet. Bullins, you cover that small window in the corner. Ray and I’ll be covering both front windows. Xenia, you grab a pillow and sit on the floor between Ray and me, and keep the guns loaded. Just be sure to stay low. I don’t want a stray bullet hitting you.”

She plopped on the floor. “I don’t need a pillow.”

He gave her a half-smile and a quick nod as he put the guns beside her.

Ray positioned himself. “They’re stopping on the edge of the property, Ty. I guess they’re wondering if we got here yet.”

“They may send somebody to check the barn. Just wait a minute and we’ll soon learn what their intentions are.”

“I think you’ve gone to a lot of trouble for nothing.” Lou backed up. “These ain’t Indians. Maybe we should invite them in so they can help when the renegades come back.”

“I told you it weren’t Indians that attack this place.”

“I know that, Mr. Stage Driver, but you never bothered to tell us why you didn’t think so.”

“I told him they weren’t.” Ty said without turning around. “The arrow they used didn’t belong to any of the tribes around here.”

“So, maybe it was a bunch of renegades who slipped into the area.”

“I don’t think so,” Ray said. “Look at that bow lashed on that skinny cowboy’s saddle.”

“I don’t see…Oh, hell. Yes, I do.” Lou shook his head. “I wonder why they wanted us to think Indians attacked this place?”

“It doesn’t matter what they wanted, Mr. Bullins.” Xenia looked up at him. “Mr. Andrews and Ty think we need to defend this place from them, and the only thing important at this time is to save our lives.”

“You don’t need to call me Mr. Andrews, Miss Poindexter. Everybody calls me Ray and I’d appreciate if you’d do it, too.”

“Thank you, Ray. Then you must call me Xenia.”

He nodded and smiled at her. He then turned his attention to Ty. ”I was right about what the outlaws would do next. They’re sending somebody to check out the barn. As soon as they see the stagecoach, they’ll know we’re here.”

Ty nodded, and after the rider came out of the barn, he said, “Get ready. They’ll be coming.”  He then glanced at Xenia and whispered, “You ready?” It pleased him when she nodded and smiled at him. He didn’t know why it pleased him, and didn’t have time to think about it. The gang started riding fast toward the building. They pulled guns and began firing.

“Hold your fire until they’re closer.” Ty leveled his rifle in the window.

Lou ignored the order and fired back.

The rider whirled his horse to the side and the bullet went over his head. He returned fire at the window, but Lou managed to spring to the side.