When All My Dreams Come True (21 page)

T
he blood drained from Bobbie’s face. Her chest ached. She couldn’t take a breath. Much as she wanted to see the expressions on the faces around her, she couldn’t pull her gaze from Morgan’s.

“I received a letter from the sheriff in Silverton. It informed me about some bank robbers that I needed to be on the lookout for.” Sheriff Thomas didn’t look away. “There’s a witness who describes you almost perfectly. The letter also went on to say that this female robber, who dresses like a man, had at least one male accomplice, possibly two.”

Jace snorted. Her gaze moved to him. His face was flushed. “You can’t be serious, Morgan. You know Bobbie. She’s no bank robber.”

Morgan sighed. “I understand you wanting to protect your ranch hands, Jace, but I have to check out the possibility. It’s my job.”

Jace leaned forward. “You said the witness described Bobbie
almost
perfectly. So what are the discrepancies?”

Morgan sat back in his chair. “The woman in question wears a black hat. I know Bobbie’s is brown but”—he looked at Bobbie again—“do you have a black hat?”

She shook her head.

“I can answer that with a definite no,” Jace said. “What else?”

“The letter also said this female is about six feet tall and that the
length of her hair is just past her shoulders. Obviously, Bobbie isn’t that tall and her hair is far longer.”

Jace leaned back and crossed his arms. “Anything else?”

“No, that’s about it.”

“That sounds like a lot of discrepancies, Morgan. What are the similarities?”

“Hair color, the fact that she dresses like a man, and she rides a bay horse.” Morgan eyed her. “You’ve been awfully quiet, Bobbie. Do you have anything to say about all this?”

Bobbie swallowed past the dryness in her throat. “I don’t know what to say, Morgan, except that it ain’t me you’re looking for.”

“Where were you the night of April thirteenth?”

“Oh, for mercy sake, Morgan!” Jace jumped to his feet.

“Jace!” Annie looked flustered.

Jace glanced at Annie and raked his fingers through his hair as he sat back down.

The sheriff swung back to Bobbie. “Well?”

She shrugged. “I was on my way here, but where exactly I stopped on that night, I don’t remember.”

“Did you go through Silverton on your way here?”

She thought for a moment, picturing the trip in her mind. “I didn’t go
through
it if I remember right, but I did go around it. I think I camped at a creek near there.”

“Why didn’t you spend the night in town?”

She looked down, flicking at a piece of meat that had fallen off her plate. “Because I didn’t need supplies at the time.”

Annie touched her hand. “Tell him, Bobbie.”

“Tell me what?” Morgan’s gaze flashed from one to the other.

Bobbie looked at Annie and received a nod of encouragement. “People don’t accept a woman in man’s clothes. I get tired of the rude comments.”

The sheriff nodded. “How ’bout you, Pete? Do you have anything to say?”

Pete shook his head.

“All right then.” Morgan stood. “I guess that’ll be all for now. I’m sorry about all of this, Bobbie. I’m just doing my job.”

“That’s all right, Morgan. I understand.”

“I’m not going to take you in because there’s not enough proof. But I’m going to have to ask you not to leave the ranch. I have to know where you are at all times.”

“I’ll be here.” Her voice came out in a whisper.

“Thank you.” Morgan turned to all of them. “I’m sorry to disturb your evening.”

Pete stood. “I’ll see you out.”

Annie went to Bobbie, putting her arm around her shoulders. Bobbie fought to keep the tears from falling.

Jace’s chair scraped the floor in his haste to stand. “I can’t believe this.”

“Jace, you’re not helping matters any,” Annie said.

He took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He paused for a moment. “Is there anything I can do for you, Bobbie?”

She shook her head. “I’m all right.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Really. I’m fine.”

Annie patted her arm. “Go relax, Bobbie. We’ll take care of the dishes. Won’t we?” The look on Annie’s face dared the others to argue.

Bobbie wanted to smile, but her lips trembled instead. “I can help.”

“No, you can’t. You just go on into the living room and relax. Go on now.” Annie pushed Bobbie out of the kitchen.

In the living room, Ben and Sara sat playing with their toys. Bobbie dropped onto the sofa and watched them only a few minutes before she needed some fresh air. She moved out the front door and sat in one of the chairs on the porch. The stars were out in force, but she couldn’t enjoy them. She couldn’t focus, so she stared at nothing.

Her mind couldn’t grasp what had happened. She’d always tried
to be honest, to do the right thing. Daddy expected no less. Bank robbery was the last thing she would ever consider.

Daddy
. A lonely ache grew within her. He wouldn’t doubt or question her innocence. He’d stand and go to battle for her, dragging her with him, teaching her to fight for herself.

Stand tall in your saddle, Bobbie
, he told her on more than one occasion.
Don’t give no one reason to look down on ya. If they do, it’s a battle within themselves they’re fightin’
. She didn’t need to hear the words to know her father felt proud of her. She never dreamed standing alone would be this scary.

She remembered the day she decided to set out on her own. Finding that perfect piece of land to start a ranch both excited and frightened her more than anything ever had before. Maybe she should have given up on the dream and stayed with the Simmses where it was safe. No one there questioned her motives or suspected her of anything but working too hard.

Jace’s angry voice came back to her. He must have believed in her innocence to become that upset. That thought edged out some of the chill she felt inside. Though Annie never said a word, her hug conveyed her support. Bobbie’s anguish receded. She had friends here too—people who cared about her. There was no need to be scared.

She had no idea how long she’d been sitting out on the porch with only her tears to keep her company, tears she pushed away with an impatient hand. She wiped them away again when she heard the door open.

Pete stepped out. “There you are. May I join you?”

Bobbie nodded, and Pete placed a lantern on the small table between them. For a while, only the soft creak of his rocking chair filled the silence before he turned toward her. “I hate to ask you this with all you’ve been through tonight, Bobbie, but I feel I must.”

She straightened to give him her full attention.

The rocking stopped. “Where’d you get all of that money in your account?”

An ache rose in her chest. She leaned her head back, hoping to keep the drops from rolling down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and blinked back the tears.

She heard Pete draw a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Bobbie. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

“Yes, I do. This is your house, and you wouldn’t have asked if you didn’t want to know the truth.” Bobbie sighed and leaned toward him over the arm of her chair. “My father and I hardly ever left the ranch, and Mr. Simms provided all our meals. Even our housing was free. About the only thing we spent our money on was clothing and occasional gifts. With both of us earning a salary, over a period of several years, our bank account grew rather fast. We hoped that if we were careful with our money, eventually we would be able to buy our own ranch.”

“Oh, I remember Annie mentioning something about that. If I would’ve given it any thought at all, I could have figured that out. I’m sorry, Bobbie.”

“It’s all right.”

“No, it’s not. But I felt I needed to know all the facts before I could help you fight this.” He paused, running his hands over his face as he leaned forward. “Bobbie, you’ve got to know how special you’ve become to us. You’re like a member of the family. If anything happened to you—” His voice cracked.

She heard his heavy breathing, and the light from the lantern revealed the moisture in his eyes. Tears burned in her own. She reached out and grasped his hand.

“Thank you, Pete. You have no idea how good that makes me feel.”

They both stood and embraced, unable to say any more.

After the kids had been put to bed, Jace followed Annie into the living room and flopped down onto a chair. No surprise that Bobbie was gone. He could only imagine her pain and need for solitude.

Annie sat in the chair nearest him. “You never used to have such a temper, Jace. Not until Dad and Mom died. Now, even the smallest thing seems to set you off.”

“What happened tonight wasn’t a small thing, Annie.”

“No, it wasn’t. But the only person who had reason to be angry was Bobbie, and she chose to remain calm.” Annie paused and leaned toward him. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you, Jace?”

“No.” His gaze fell to the floor. When he looked up again, he found Annie’s gaze on him, a smile on her lips. “She’s my ranch hand, Annie. All my wranglers are important to me. You know that.”

“Yes, I know that.” The smile never left her face.

“What’s that grin for?”

She shrugged, and he pushed to his feet. “I’m going to bed.”

“Good night, Jace. Pleasant dreams.” Humor colored her voice.

He strode through the kitchen and out the door, pausing to take a deep breath of fresh air and listen to—voices? He stepped toward the edge of the house. Pete and Bobbie’s voices drifted toward him. He chanced a peek around the corner and saw them embrace.

“I thought I’d lost all my family.” Bobbie choked on the words. “But you claim me as one of your own. I’d been doubting my decision to come here, but now I know it was a blessing. I’ve never had such good friends.”

Annie joined Pete during the last of Bobbie’s words. She took Bobbie in her arms, and the three shared an embrace. Jace ached. He should be the one consoling Bobbie. He gave in to the knowledge that Bobbie had taken up a special place in his heart. A big place that he never knew needed filling before he’d met her.

Jace woke the next morning, weary from the restless night he’d just been through. Between trying to decide what to do about his newfound feelings and wanting to help Bobbie, he caught only bits and pieces of sleep. He sat down across from Bobbie at the breakfast
table. Her puffy, red-rimmed eyes told him she’d had the same kind of night. He tried to catch her gaze to give her a reassuring smile, but she spent most of the meal staring at her plate.

When they finished breakfast, he gave Bobbie a few different jobs to do around the ranch site. Her shoulders slumped, and he felt he’d just added to her burdens. He touched her arm to stop her from walking away.

“We’re going to get through this, Bobbie. Don’t you fret about anything.”

Her mouth twitched as if she attempted a smile. It never formed. Without a word, she turned and went to work.

Jace and Pete rode directly to the sheriff’s office. Morgan looked up when he heard the door open, and his expression let them know they were expected.

“I was pretty sure you two would be paying me a visit today.”

“We’d like to see that letter, Morgan,” Jace said.

Morgan already had it sitting on his desk and tossed it in his direction. Jace scooped it up and started scanning.

Pete leaned against the desk. “You know she’s not guilty, Morgan.”

“I’m almost certain of that, Pete, but I’ll need some proof to be absolutely sure of it, both for my sake and for the judge. Not to mention all the other lawmen in the area.” Morgan leaned back in his chair.

“Have you already informed the judge that you may have a suspect?”

“No, I don’t want to do that unless I find out she’s guilty or have more proof against her.”

Jace finished reading. “This letter says that more than one bank has been robbed. When and where did the others take place?”

Morgan raised his hands and let them drop. “You just read the
letter, Jace. It doesn’t say, so I don’t know. The only date stated in there is from the first bank robbery, the one in Silverton. But it sounds like most of them have been around this area. The sheriff even warned me to be careful about the bank in this town. I told you that last night, Pete.”

Pete and Jace looked at each other and then back to Morgan. Pete grinned. “Well there’s your proof.”

“Where? What proof?”

Jace tossed the letter onto the desk. “Morgan, since Bobbie showed up at the ranch, she’s always been with us. It sounds like the majority of these robberies have taken place since she arrived.”

Morgan still looked skeptical. “You mean to tell me she’s been with someone at all times since her arrival? You’re telling me that someone can account for her whereabouts every day and every night since she started working for you? You can swear to me that she’s never left the house after you’ve gone to bed?”

Jace exchanged an uncertain look with Pete.