Safe in His Arms

TWELVE





Margaret was still trembling when they reached the ranch house. Men and animals thronged the track in front of the house, and she looked frantically around for her pa. Only when she saw his tall, spare form did the tension ease from her shoulders.

She slid from Daniel’s horse, then ran to her father and threw her arms around him. “Oh, Pa, there was a terrible stampede.”

He patted her shoulders awkwardly, then pushed her away. “My goodness, Margaret, you’re a grown woman. I expected more backbone than this. It was just a little stampede. We’ve seen worse.”

Backbone. Margaret stiffened her spine and managed to bring her trembling under control. “I’m sorry, Pa. You know how I hate storms and stampedes.”

“And it’s about time you got over that fear.”

“It’s not entirely groundless,” she reminded him.

His lips tightened at her words. “But I’ll not have you hiding just because your mother was in the wrong place at the wrong time. An O’Brien doesn’t run from anything.”

“Yes, Pa.” Her throat closed with unshed tears. Not one word of joy that she was all right, not one ounce of approval from him. She should be used to it by now, but she still craved a smile of commendation. No wonder he saw nothing wrong with leaving Lewis the ranch. He had no real love for anyone. Had he even loved her mother?

She sensed Daniel’s gaze on her. There was probably pity in his eyes, but she didn’t want to see it. Right now, her inadequacy was all she could bear. “I’ll check and see if Inez and Vincente need help with supper.” Rushing away, she gritted her teeth. She would not cry.

All through supper she felt jittery. She jumped at the least noise, and her pa had to ask her twice if she was going to check the horses before bed. The animals were as unsettled as she was.

She grabbed her cloak and went out to the corral. The soft scent of the hay in the corner wafted to her nose, and the sound of the horses’ nickers soothed her frazzled nerves. She patted her gelding’s nose, then turned to go back to the house.

Daniel was standing in the gate opening. “Are you all right? You hardly spoke at supper, and you’re mighty pale.”

“I’m fine.” In no mood for bantering, she started past him.

He caught her arm. “I believe you should respect your pa, Margaret, but don’t take his words too much to heart. There’s a lot of hurt tied up in him. And guilt.”

“Guilt?”

“He wishes he had been there to save your mother.”

“How do you know that? He’s never said a word about it. You heard him tonight. He didn’t even ask if I was all right. Sometimes I wonder if he has a cowpat in place of a heart.” She choked out the last sentence.

He stared at her for a long moment. “I would feel terrible if something ever happened to you. You are becoming important to me.”

A lump formed in her throat, and she struggled not to cry. All she’d done was cry since this man came into her life. She was sick of it. He was a criminal, and she had to get rid of him somehow. But a void as deep as the canyon behind the ravine formed at the thought of never seeing him again. But what other choice was there? She could never chuck all she believed to go off with a man like him.

“You could turn yourself in,” she said impulsively. “Tell the sheriff all you know. Help him find and capture the rest of the robbers. You’d probably get off if you did that.”

“I can’t.” He let go of her arm.

She clutched his wrist and he didn’t pull away. “Sure you can. Put this life of crime behind you. You said yourself God loved you and would forgive all your sins. And the sheriff is a good man. You could trust him.”

He gave a faint smile. “Can’t you believe in me a little, Margaret?”

She turned from his sober face and ran past him to her room. She rubbed her fists against her eyes. If only there was some way out of this mess for all of them.

An idea bloomed in her head. He didn’t want to betray his comrades, but what if she found them and turned them in to the sheriff? Then they wouldn’t betray him to the sheriff to get back at him for turning on them. She sat on the edge of the bed and thought about it. Though she had no notion of where the gang could be holed up, she could follow Daniel for a few days and see what she could find out.

She could see that he wanted to change. His face reflected regret and a longing to put his past behind him. It was up to her to help him. She refused to examine her motives too closely. The answers she might find there might be more than she could handle right now.




SATURDAY MORNING, WAGONS loaded with material lumbered to the house. Men on horseback and women carrying baskets of food milled around outside. Margaret stepped into the yard with hot biscuits and honey. She saw Nate and intercepted him on his way to the charred spot where the old barn used to be.

“How are Lucy and the baby?” she asked.

He tipped his hat back with one finger. He looked a little haggard. “Doing well. Little Carrie isn’t sleeping much yet, though. We’re all tired.”

“It’s obvious you need some rest. Tell Lucy I’ll be over to see her in a few days.”

“You can tell her yourself. She’s in the center of that bunch of women oohing and ahhing over Carrie.”

Margaret gasped. “She shouldn’t be out yet.”

“You know Lucy. Nothing keeps her lazing around the house.” He looked off toward the men carrying lumber for the new barn.

She put her hands on her hips. “It’s your job to keep her in line, Nate Stanton.”

His grin widened. “Right. You give it a try.” He strode off to join the other men for the barn raising.

“Indeed.” Carrying the basket of biscuits, she joined the circle of women. Little Carrie’s face peeked out from her swaddling blanket. Her eyes moved under the delicate cover of her eyelids. Her little rosebud mouth sucked as if she were dreaming of nursing. Margaret stared hard at her friend. Though Lucy was a little pale, she was smiling and seemed fine. It seemed odd to see her without the round belly.

“Want to hold her?” Lucy didn’t wait for an answer but put the baby in Margaret’s arms.

Margaret ran her lips over the infant’s soft hair and inhaled the sweet scent of a newborn. The child was so light in her arms. She snuggled Carrie close and kissed her small forehead. “She’s adorable, Lucy.” The nursery for her and Stephen still held their small beds. She’d sometimes peeked in and imagined her own children sleeping there. “What are you doing out of bed? You should still be resting, not gallivanting all over the countryside. Come inside to the rocker.”

Lucy smiled and fell into step beside Margaret. “I knew you’d make sure I got some rest today. I couldn’t stay home when everyone was here enjoying themselves.”

Fanny, Lucy’s cousin, came along too. “I tried to tell her the same thing, Margaret.”

The parlor held a gray horsehair sofa and two wing chairs grouped around the woodstove. The rug had seen better days. It was threadbare in front of the sofa and had marks from mud Margaret had been unable to remove. The curtains were clean, though, and a breeze lifted them. It filled the room with the fresh scent of newly mown hay.

Margaret put the basket of biscuits on the small table and shifted the baby to her other arm. “Would you like something to drink, maybe Arbuckle’s?”

Lucy patted the sofa beside her. “What I want is for you to sit down and tell me about that handsome foreman your pa hired. He couldn’t take his eyes off you at the dance.”

“Oh hush, Lucy. You couldn’t be more wrong. I dislike him very much.” Margaret nuzzled Carrie’s soft head again. The baby felt so wonderful in her arms. She never wanted to give her back to Lucy.

Fanny laughed and leaned over to take a biscuit. “Do tell us about him, Margaret. If you aren’t interested, I might be.”

It felt as though someone had stuck a hot brand in Margaret’s midsection. How had she come so quickly to think Daniel was hers? The thought of him with another woman brought unbelievable heartache. She needed to root him out of her life. And quickly, before it was too late.

“He’s not the staying kind of man, Fanny.”

“I don’t know why you say that.” Fanny nibbled on her biscuit. “He’s a foreman. They tend to stay around.”

Margaret longed to confide in the other women, but it felt disloyal to Daniel to be talking about him behind his back. But what did she owe to someone who made his living by hurting others? It was ludicrous that she cared one iota about the man.

Lucy was studying Margaret’s expression. “What aren’t you telling us? Has he kissed you?”

Margaret’s cheeks flamed with heat. “What a personal question to ask. I’m quite surprised at you.”

“He has, hasn’t he?” Lucy’s smile was gleeful. “I think the two of you make a lovely couple.”

“We are not a couple. He’s quite insufferable. And he’ll be gone soon. Besides, I have more important things to worry about than a new foreman.” Margaret let Carrie curl her small fingers around her index finger as she told the women about her father’s decision.

“I can’t believe your father would pass you over for a cousin.” Lucy held out her arms when Carrie began to whimper.

Margaret hated to let go of the warm little body, but the infant was hungry. “I understand it all too well. When Stephen died, Pa knew the family dynasty he’d hoped to build was at an end. Even if I were to marry and have children, they wouldn’t carry the O’Brien name. This way there will still be an O’Brien running the ranch. Lewis’s children will be O’Briens.”

“But they won’t be his grandchildren. I think Nate should talk to him. He’ll listen to Nate.”

Everyone listened to Nate. He was known for being smart and fair. “I don’t know. It’s Pa’s ranch. He can do what he wants with it.”

Lucy’s blue eyes darkened. “But what would you do? Ranching is all you know.”

Margaret tried to infuse her voice with enthusiasm. “Lewis says I can always stay here. If he takes a wife, he’ll build me a cottage.”

“Don’t even try to tell me you’d be fine with that. I know you, Margaret. You value your independence above any woman I know. You’d hate deferring to another woman’s views on a ranch that should belong to you. Would Lewis allow you to help the way you’ve always done?”

Margaret rubbed her head. “I don’t know. I’d like to think he sees my value to the ranch.”

But how could he when her own father didn’t?