Safe in His Arms

SIXTEEN





Townspeople had thronged the house all day. The women had brought enough food to feed half the county. Daniel stayed as close to Margaret as was seemly. She was frozen in her grief, moving mechanically among the guests as she accepted condolences. She had asked for Carrie when Lucy arrived and hadn’t let the baby out of her arms.

Nate and Lucy were the last to leave. As Nate gathered the children, Lucy joined Daniel where he stood by the big window in the parlor. “I’m worried about Margaret.”

“I am too,” he told her.

“Has she cried?”

“Just when the doctor told her.” He’d replayed the way she’d clung to him like he was her only solace. He wanted to be that comfort, that protector, but he had no right.

“You need to protect her, Daniel. What if the murderer goes after her next?”

“I’ll look after her, Lucy. I promise.” He walked her to the door, where Margaret stood hugging the children good-bye.

“I guess you have to take Carrie,” Margaret said. “She’s brought me such comfort today.”

Lucy put her hand on Margaret’s arm. “I wish I could leave her with you. Do you want me to stay?”

Margaret’s eyes widened, then she shook her head. “Nate would miss you too much. I’ll be fine.”

Lucy glanced at Nate, who shrugged. “Stay, Luce. I’ll come fetch you and Carrie tomorrow. Do you need me to bring you anything tonight?”

“I brought plenty of things for Carrie.” Lucy stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on the corner of Nate’s mouth.

He smiled and put his big hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be praying for you both.”

“Thanks, Nate,” Margaret called after him. Her arms tightened around the baby.

Daniel walked Nate and the children out to the wagon. “Lucy will bring a lot of comfort to Margaret.”

Nate lifted William and Eileen into the wagon. “Those two are tighter than bark on a birch tree. Send someone for me if you need me.”

Daniel watched them disappear into the sunset, then put his hands in his pockets and let his gaze wander around the yard. Margaret was sure there had been an intruder, but what if it was one of the hands? Maybe Paddy caught someone stealing or rustling. He knew she had told her cousin what she’d overheard about his involvement with the outlaws. Lewis had been skulking around for days, but there was nothing to see.

Just before Paddy’s death, Charlie had agreed to meet with Daniel, but all the turmoil had delayed the meeting once again. He had no idea what was going on with the rest of the gang, but he didn’t believe any of them were involved in this. But maybe he didn’t want to believe it. It would make him responsible too, and Paddy had been good to him. If his arrival here had caused the man’s death, Daniel didn’t think he could live with himself.

He saw movement over by the barn and realized a man had slipped around the corner of the building. Though his back was to the house, the shape of the man’s head and shoulders seemed familiar. The man shuffled to the side. Frank. No one else had that massive head and sloping shoulders. What was he doing here? And more important, did he have anything to do with Paddy’s death?

The man’s appearance here didn’t bode well. Daniel walked along the side of the house toward the outbuildings. The barn door was swinging. A horse neighed when he stepped into the cool dimness of the barn’s interior.

He thought about calling out, but he wanted to know what Frank was doing here. He crept along the straw-strewn boards to the back of the building, from where the sounds of movement were coming. Frank rooted through a mound of hay.

“What are you doing?” Daniel demanded.

Frank yanked out his gun as he whirled to face him. The barrel of the gun jerked, then the man lowered it to his side. “You about got yourself drilled.”

Daniel clenched his fingers into his palms. “I asked what you were doing here.”

Frank was in his forties and had been the leader of the gang from the beginning. He and Daniel had been slightly adversarial from the moment they met. Daniel had always assumed it was because the man didn’t want him hanging around Golda. Frank’s method of not getting caught after a robbery was to make sure any eyewitnesses were six feet under. His violent nature was always barely covered with a veneer of congeniality.

“Looking around.” Frank holstered his revolver.

“For what?” Daniel didn’t like the man here on the property. Not with Margaret a few yards away.

“Rumor has it that some valuable bonds from a stagecoach heist ten years ago are somewhere around here.”

“Here? That makes no sense.” But even as he protested, he remembered the hole he’d found after the first barn burned. It wasn’t far from the new hole Frank had started.

Frank shrugged. “Some say Paddy’s boy hid it before he went off to the army. It was to be his stake for getting started when he came back.”

Daniel exhaled. “Are you saying that Stephen O’Brien robbed the stage?”

“Don’t know that for a fact, but it’s one of the rumors I heard in town.”

Had Margaret heard the rumors? Maybe that’s why Stephen had headed west. Daniel had wondered why he would leave his aging father to run the ranch with only Margaret’s help. The possibility explained a lot.

Frank was still staring. “I heard the bonds were worth a hundred thousand.”

Daniel kept his expression impassive. The large amount of money made it even more likely the rumor was false. “I want you off the property. Someone could see you and it will tip our hand.”

Frank’s eyes squinted to a slit. “Tell you what. You look around. See what you can find out. Maybe we can work together and track down those bonds. I’m willing to share.”

“I doubt there are any bonds,” Daniel said.

“You’re wanting it all for yourself, Cutler. You wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t told you. If I find out you found it and didn’t share it with me, that redhead inside will pay for it.”

Daniel didn’t like the fact that Frank had even noticed Margaret. “She’s got nothing in this. And neither do I. I don’t intend to look for any bonds. I don’t believe they’re here.”

“If you don’t find them, I will.”

If Daniel didn’t at least agree to look for them, Frank would be back. “I’ll see if I can find the bonds, but remember, I’m here for bank information. Wouldn’t you say that’s more important?”

“You can do both.” Frank sauntered off with a smug expression.

Daniel had to wonder why Frank had picked this area of Texas. Maybe he’d come to look for the bonds all along.




THE ATTORNEY’S OFFICE was paneled in dark wood. The desk was in front of a large window that looked out onto Main Street where passersby strolled past the storefronts. Margaret sat in a comfortable leather chair with Lewis in the chair beside her. She glanced at the newspaper on the table. There was a drawing of a meteor that hit in Iowa on the front page. She shifted and sighed.

Lewis leaned over and squeezed her hand. “Don’t look so scared, Margaret. Nothing will change. Even if Uncle Paddy didn’t get your settlement arranged, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

She returned the pressure of his fingers. “I know, Lewis. We’ll make a good team.” She swallowed hard. “I just can’t believe he’s gone.”

“I’m going to find out who did this, I swear. Uncle Paddy was a good man. He didn’t deserve to be put down like a dog in his own field.”

Her eyes burned. She didn’t like to remember how her father had died. Had he thought of her in his last moments? The house felt empty without his large presence. The rooms echoed without his booming voice. She’d awakened last night, sure that he was standing by her bed. Until she remembered he was dead.

The door behind them opened, and Ben Mayfield entered the office. He was tall and thin to the point of emaciation, but he always wore a smile that lightened his cavernous face. “Good morning, folks.” Once he was settled in his chair behind the large, polished desk, he opened a folder and adjusted his glasses. “You’re here for the reading of your father’s last will and testament, Miss Margaret. First, let me say I’m sorry for your loss. I thought a lot of Paddy. I shall miss him.”

“Me too,” Margaret choked out. She rubbed her eyes. “Go ahead. I’m prepared to hear what you have to say. Pa already told me he was leaving the ranch to Lewis.”

“Indeed. Well then, I believe you’ll be surprised to hear that he changed that bequest the morning of his death. The minute he got off the stage, he came to my office.”

Lewis leaned forward. “What?”

Ben exhaled and extracted an envelope from the file. “He left this letter for both of you.” He held it out to Margaret.

She opened it and pulled out the stiff paper inside. “It’s addressed to both of us.” She held it out to Lewis. “Do you want to read it first?”

He shook his head. “Read it aloud. It doesn’t matter. I always thought Uncle Paddy’s offer was too good to be true.” His Adam’s apple bobbed.

In spite of her relief, Margaret felt a pang of sympathy. Poor Lewis had never had much. This was like holding out a piece of bread to a starving child, then snatching it back. Why had her father done it?

She opened the folded paper and began to read. “’My dear Margaret and Lewis, I’ve pondered the best thing to do with the ranch. At one point I was convinced Lewis should receive it, and Margaret should have a settlement to establish a household elsewhere, but I’ve reconsidered that decision. I hope it’s not too much of a disappointment to you, Lewis. I know you had high expectations.’”

She stopped and glanced at Lewis, who sat listening with an anguished expression. “I’m sorry too, Lewis. But nothing has changed. It will be you and me together running the ranch. You’ll never want for anything.”

“Finish the letter.”

She gave him a long look, then started reading again. “’After talking with Daniel, I realized my actions were unfair to you, Margaret. You would have no guarantee of a home. Daniel pointed out that Lewis could take a wife and choose to sell the ranch to please her. I’ve worked too hard to see that happen. I know Margaret would never sell the ranch under any circumstances, no matter who she married. So I’m settling a generous amount on you, Lewis. I hope you will stay to help Margaret, but if you choose to leave and start a business or buy a house, you will have a substantial amount of money to begin elsewhere. I know I can trust you both to stay close and look out for one another. Paddy.’”

She was barely able to whisper the final word. He’d loved her after all. What had Daniel told him? She intended to find out at the first opportunity.

“That’s it, then?” Lewis said in a low voice. “He didn’t leave the ranch to the two of us, even?”

Ben shook his head. “He left you ten thousand dollars, though, Lewis. Very generous.”

“It is generous.” Lewis’s voice was wooden.

Ben looked at Margaret. “Your father did leave it somewhat entailed.”

“Entailed?”

“If you die without issue, the property goes to Lewis as your next of kin.”

“That’s as it should be.” Margaret stretched her hand toward Lewis. “Don’t be upset.”

Lewis took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m fine. Uncle Paddy was very generous. The money will give me a good start. He did the right thing. I was just a little shocked.”

Margaret sprang to her feet. “Let’s get some coffee at the café and talk about this, Lewis. I don’t want you to go. As far as I’m concerned, you will have an equal say in the running of the ranch. I’ll make sure you’re paid a fair salary.”

He smiled. “You’re a fair woman, Margaret. But I won’t stay for coffee now. There’s work to be done back at the ranch. I’d best get to it.”

“Please stay, Lewis. I don’t want to lose you and Pa all in the same week,” she whispered. What if she offered to put his name on the deed too? They could share equally. But even as the words formed on her lips, her cousin turned and left the office.

Maybe it was just as well. Her father had foreseen the possible ramifications of leaving it to both of them. He would not want the ranch split in two, and that was always possible if they hit a wall of disagreement they couldn’t get past.

So money would not be a problem for her. No one was going to force her into a loveless marriage.