Short-Straw Bride (4 page)

Meredith chose an indirect route to Courthouse Square, studiously avoiding any avenues where her aunt might be visiting. She hurried down Market Street until she reached the jail, then circled around to the north and entered the sheriff's office.

The man lounging behind the desk bolted upright, dropping his booted feet from the corner of the desktop to the floor. He braced his palms on the arms of his chair to boost himself up until his eyes met hers. Then he promptly slouched right back into his negligent pose.

“Well, if it ain't Meri Hayes. Come to ask me to the church social?”

Hiram Ellis
.
Of all the rotten luck. The fellow was just as obnoxious grown as he'd been as a kid.

“I'm looking for Sheriff Randall.” Meredith ignored Hiram's cocky smirk and glanced around the office as if he were beneath her notice. “Do you know where I might find him?”

“Still as contrary as ever, I see.” Hiram slowly rose to his feet, puffing out his chest as if to emphasize the deputy's star pinned to his coat. “The sheriff's transportin' a prisoner over to Rusk County to stand trial, so it looks like you're stuck with me, darlin'.”

Could this day get any worse?
Hiram Ellis was the last person she'd trust with her troubles. But then, they weren't
her
troubles. Travis Archer and his brothers were the ones in danger. A spark and an unruly gust of wind could easily set their home ablaze, killing them in their beds.

Meredith gritted her teeth. If Hiram was her only choice, so be it.

“I overheard a threatening conversation today.” Reluctant to reveal Roy's part in the scheme due to his connection with her uncle's business, she kept the account as anonymous as possible. “Two men were discussing Travis Archer's land and how he refused to sell. One man ordered the other to set the Archers' barn on fire in an effort to convince him to reconsider.”

Hiram leaned a hip against the edge of the desk. “So what do you want me to do about it? It ain't no crime to run off at the mouth. You probably didn't hear them right anyhow. How close were you to these two fellers?”

“Around the corner,” Meredith admitted, “but I heard them clearly enough. And I can assure you, this was no idle talk. It was menacing and authoritative. You have to ride out to the Archers' place and keep this terrible thing from happening. At the very least, warn Mr. Archer that trouble is headed his way.”

Hiram shook his head. “I ain't riding all the way out there on the say-so of some woman who can't be sure of what she heard. You always were the kind to get all worked up about one thing or another for no good reason. Besides, I gotta stay here and protect the good citizens of Palestine while the sheriff's gone. We can talk to Archer when Randall gets back.”

“By then it will be too late!”

Hiram just shrugged. “I'll make a note in the log book that you came by to make a report. That's the best I can do.”

Of all the lazy, arrogant, self-aggrandizing men she'd ever had the misfortune to meet, Hiram Ellis sat at the top of the list.

As Meredith marched out of the sheriff's office, one thing became exceedingly clear. If there was to be any hope of getting a warning to Travis Archer in time, she was going to have to deliver it herself.

A
half hour later, Meredith penned a note to her cousin.

Cass,

I need your help. Roy Mitchell is not the gentleman he pretends to be. With my own ears, I heard him order the burning of Travis Archer's barn because the man refused to sell his land. Thankfully, Roy doesn't know I overheard him. However, he's planning to call tonight, and I need you to tell him I am feeling poorly and have retired early, since I'll be on my way to warn Travis.

Tomorrow you can tell Uncle Everett that I decided to visit the old homestead, for that is what I plan to do right after stopping by the Archer place. I will stay out there a few days, cleaning and preparing the house for winter, and return to town by the end of the week.

I'm sorry to put you in an awkward spot, but Roy's men are headed to the Archer place tonight, so there's no time to delay. I know you'll understand.

She signed her name at the bottom, knowing Cassandra would cover for her. There was no one she trusted more. Yet when she returned, nothing would be the same. Rejecting Roy's proposal meant sabotaging the Hayes family business. Her aunt would resent her more than she already did, and Uncle Everett's disappointment would be hard to bear. Perhaps it was a good thing she was spending a few days at the old house. She might very well be taking up residence there again soon.

With a sigh, Meredith folded the ivory paper and walked down the hall to her cousin's room. She tucked the note into the basket that held Cassandra's hair ribbons, a place where her cousin would be sure to find it but one that would make the note inconspicuous to others. Then she retrieved the small leather valise she'd packed with a spare dress, sleeping gown, and necessary toiletries and slipped out the back to where she'd tied her horse.

The man on duty at the livery where she boarded Ginger had been kind enough to saddle the animal for her, and Meredith had already tucked a few days' provisions into the saddlebags, so all she had left to do now was mount up and go. Yet as she gazed back at the redbrick building that had been her home since losing her parents, an odd reluctance filled her. It was almost as if she were saying good-bye.

But then the image of a young man with sun-kissed brown hair and compassionate eyes lured her back to her mission. She would find a way to warn Travis Archer and deal with the repercussions later. She owed him that much.

The sun had started to streak the sky orange by the time Meredith reached the turnoff to Travis's property. Losing light and warmth in the shadows of the trees, she shivered beneath her cloak as she urged Ginger from the main road onto the little-used path that wound through the Archer pines.

Several yards in, a wooden gate rose from the brush to bar her way. Two hand-painted signs nailed to the top slat of the gate glared up at her. The one on the left read
Trespassers will be shot on sight.
And the second wasn't much friendlier.
To conduct business, fire two shots and wait.

The Archers certainly weren't long on hospitality, but what really concerned her was the padlock that held the gate secure. With barbed wire stretching out on either side as far as she could see, it would be impossible to get Ginger through. And with no gun, she had no way to summon any of the Archers to her position.

For the first time since she'd left Palestine, urgency gave way to uncertainty. She'd known Travis and his brothers were reclusive, but by the look of things, they were downright hostile when it came to outsiders. They obviously wanted no news or visits from the outside world.

But they had no idea of the menace waiting to strike.

Meredith inhaled a deliberate breath and dismounted. She'd come this far. She might as well see it through. With trembling hands, she secured Ginger's reins around the gate post and stroked the mare's neck.

“I'll be back soon. I'm just going to deliver a message. It won't take long. You'll be fine.”

Ginger reached her head down to nibble at some grass, apparently unperturbed at the prospect of being left alone. But as Meredith hiked up her skirt and wedged her left foot onto the bottom slat of the gate, the confidence she'd projected into that little speech evaporated.

She scaled the gate quickly and paused at the top to swing her leg over. Closing her eyes for a moment, she straddled the gate and whispered a quick prayer.

“Please don't let them shoot me.”

Then before she could talk herself out of it, she scrambled down the far side and started walking.

The last time she'd trespassed on Archer land, she'd ended up with a broken leg and a nasty scar. Last time she'd had an excuse, and there'd been no fences. This time she didn't have the innocence of childhood to protect her. Was Travis still the kindhearted man she remembered, the one who hid his tender side behind a harsh reputation and a wall of secrecy, or had he hardened into the unyielding, coldhearted man people thought him to be?

Meredith shoved that last thought aside. She refused to believe it. She'd seen his heart that day. Travis might put up a ruthless front, but gentleness was too ingrained in his character to disappear over time.

But just to be safe, she walked with her arms angled away from her sides, palms facing forward, to present herself in as unthreatening a manner as possible. No point in putting her theory to the test if she didn't have to.

The smell of woodsmoke tickled her nose, and Meredith's heart skittered. The house must be close. An odd-sounding birdcall echoed somewhere in the distance off to her left. Her head swiveled in that direction. Then another bird answered from up ahead of her to the right. A chill passed over her. In all her years in Anderson County, she'd never heard a bird that sounded quite like those surrounding her. Then again, she'd been in town for quite some time. Perhaps she'd forgotten.

The trees began to thin, and Meredith spotted a clearing ahead. She picked up her pace, anxious to have her errand over and done. But before she took more than a dozen steps, four men emerged from the woods and surrounded her, each pointing a rifle directly at her chest.

What in blue blazes was a woman doing waltzing onto Archer land at the brink of dark?

From his vantage point behind her, Travis couldn't see much of her face, so he had no way of judging her intelligence. But anyone crazy enough to come onto Archer land without an invitation was sure to be unpredictable, and he wasn't taking any chances.

The woman kept her hands a healthy distance from her sides, and he could see her fingers quivering. Yet despite her obvious nervousness, she stared at each of his brothers in turn and even twisted around to examine Neill and finally . . .

Travis raised his head from sighting down the rifle as shock radiated through him. Those eyes. Such a vivid blue. It was as if he'd seen them before. But that was impossible. Females didn't exactly pay them calls on a regular basis.

Clearing his throat, he readjusted his rifle. “We don't cotton to trespassers around here, lady. You best skedaddle back the way you came.”

“I will. But not until I say my piece.” She pivoted to face him fully, her lashes lowering for just a moment before she aimed her gaze directly at him again.

Even knowing what was coming didn't stop the jolt from ricocheting through his chest when those piercing eyes latched onto him.

“I came to warn you, Travis.”

Travis?
She knew who he was? Most folks meeting the Archers all at once had no way of knowing him from Crockett or Jim. Yet she said his name with the confidence of recognition.

He squinted at her. “Look, lady. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I want no part of it.”

“This is no game. Please, Travis. Just listen.”

“You know this gal, Trav?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his youngest brother start to lower his rifle. “Hush up, Neill, and hold your line.” The kid obeyed without question, firming up his grip.

“The man who wants to buy your land is sending men out here tonight to persuade you to change your mind. They plan to set fire to the place while you sleep and force you to accept the next offer in order to recoup your losses.”

Her announcement closed around Travis's heart like a vise that slowly began to tighten. Why wouldn't people just let them alone? Whether it was the do-gooders fourteen years ago who thought they knew best and attempted to take his brothers off to some orphanage, or the string of men who came after, trying to take advantage of a green kid with prime land, he was sick to death of people interfering in his affairs.

There was plenty of other land to be had, after all—although none of the available acreage had a house and outbuildings already built or a creek that didn't run dry in the summer. The more honorable vultures had sought to buy him out at a price far below market value, assuming he was too inexperienced to know the difference. The less honorable ones tried to take the land by force.

He still shuddered every time he thought of that bullet in Jim's shoulder—the one Crockett dug out, holed up in the cellar, while Travis drove the rest of the attackers from their land. Jim had been a pup at fifteen. Crockett, seventeen. And nine-year-old Neill had been the only one left to stand guard. They'd almost lost Jim to the fever afterward, but in the end, God had spared his life.

And now, according to this woman, another round was about to begin.

Travis glanced at each of his brothers. Being well trained, none had dropped his guard, but he could sense their wariness, hear the questions hanging unspoken in the air.

“Please, Travis. You have to believe me,” the woman pled. “You and your brothers are in danger.”

“Look, lady,” Travis ground out between clenched teeth, “I don't know what you're up to, but I do know that if someone was planning to attack us, they sure as shootin' wouldn't go around announcing that fact to the general public. That tells me that if what you're saying is true, you're a part of it somehow, and I can't trust you.”

Pain flashed in the woman's eyes, but she quickly blinked it away before jutting out her chin. “The man my aunt and uncle want me to marry is the one who wants to buy your land. While in his company earlier today, I chanced to overhear a private conversation between him and one of his subordinates. I was horrified by what I heard and knew I had to warn you. After your kindness to me, I couldn't stand by and do nothing.”

Travis drew back. “What
kindness
? I've never even seen you before.” Yet the familiarity that continued to stir at the edge of his consciousness made him question the accuracy of that statement.

“But you have.” The crazy woman actually took a step closer to him, completely ignoring the rifle he was still pointing at her chest. “I was a trespasser then, too, only a much younger one.”

She reached for something in her skirts, and he cocked his weapon. “Don't move, lady. I don't want to hurt you.”

“I know.”

Instead of shrinking away from him, her eyes held his, filled to the brim with . . . trust? That made no sense. Maybe the woman
was
crazy.

“You told me it was all an act on the day you helped me. Do you remember? After you freed me from that trap and splinted my leg, you made me promise not to tell anyone about how you were helping me. Said it would be safer for your brothers if everyone continued to believe you a mean-hearted, trigger-happy fiend. I kept that promise. And now I'm back to return the kindness you extended to me twelve years ago.”

She reached for her skirts again, and heaven help him, all he did was lower his rifle barrel so he could watch her better. He remembered that girl and those abominable traps. How brave she'd been. How trusting. But this couldn't be her, could it? Surely time hadn't passed so quickly. She'd been just a child. This woman couldn't be the same person.

Travis fought his reaction to her and regained his stance. “This is some kind of trick—some way for you to worm into my good graces so your fiancé can step in and steal my land.”