It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own (Code of the West) (8 page)

Miss Cedar, I enjoyed being you tonight. Those people thought I was somebody important. The men were polite, the women cou
rteous. No one was drunk. I fancied their words, and they seemed to appreciate mine. Now by tomorrow, this game might be over, but at least I got to have one night at bein’ somethin’ other than a dance-hall girl.

I like it.

I like it very much.

From her second-story window facing the mountains, Pe
pper saw Stack Lowery leave right after daylight. She waved, but he didn’t see her. She opened her window slightly, allowing the chilled air to cool her. Pinning her hair behind her head and wearing the only dress she owned that was too modest for the dance-hall crowd, she went downstairs to breakfast.

“Will you be goin’ out to Hatcher’s ranch t
oday, miss?” Bob McCurley asked.

“I know this must all sound strange, but Mr. Hatcher and I just keep missing connections, so I will need to ride out there.”

“If you like, the wife and I could drive you in the buggy. We ain’t been in this country too long ourselves, and we’ve been meanin’ to see that district up on the state line.”

“Oh .
 . . Mr. McCurley . . . that’s mighty generous of you. I just couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You ain’t askin’,” McCurley insisted. “I’m offerin’. That’s an entirely different matter.”

“If you put it that way, I’d be as happy as a . . . I’d be delighted.”

By 9:30 A.M. Pepper was riding comfort
ably on the back bench of a two-seat carriage with Mr. and Mrs. McCurley sitting up front. By the time they stopped to rest the horses and have a nooner, she had told them the entire story of the correspondence with Zachariah Hatcher and the decision to get married.

Bob McCurley responded first. “Ranchers can get to be a real crusty lot. Hope you got a strong back and plenty of sand.”

“It sounds terribly romantic to me, Miss Cedar,” Mrs. McCurley interjected. “None of us really know each other too well before we get married, no matter how many times we’ve been together. When will the wedding be?”

“We will have to make that decision after we’ve had time to talk. I’m really gettin’, eh, a little nervous about it.”

I should never have had them come out here. If Hatcher doesn’t buy this Suzanne Cedar impression, I’ll curl up and die. It’s got to work. It’s just got to!

“Looks like a rider comin’ in from the north.” Bob McCurley pointed with his knife blade, which served as his eating utensil.

“Two of them, isn’t there, Robert?” Mrs. McCurley -questioned.

“Nope, jist one. Leadin’ a horse. It looks like .
 . . Hey, that’s him. That’s Hatcher. That’s Onespot. Sold him that horse yesterday.”

Pepper’s pulse quickened “Are you sure?” She could feel tufts of short blonde hair that never would stay in place on the back of her neck begin to tingle.

“Yep. That there is Zachariah Hatcher, all right. Came out lookin’ fer ya, he did.”

“Oh, my, this is frightfully exciting,” Mrs. McCurley squealed. “Who knows what will happen?”

You’re right about that, darlin’. This has the potential of being the worst day of an already lousy life.

“You ladies stay here. I’ll walk out there and welcome him in.”

I should have put on that strong perfume. I knew I should have. Why didn’t I remember?

“Mrs. McCurley, should I take off my hat? Is my hair straight? Should I sit down? How do I look?”

“Like a nervous bride, of course. Just stand right there and let him come to you.”

“Hatcher?”

“McCurley. I didn’t expect to find a picnic this far north.” Tap stared at the two women in the distance.

“Ain’t no picnic, son. We are headin’ toward your place with a friend of yours,” McCurley beamed.

My word, it is her. It’s Miss Suzanne Cedar herself. She’s even more beautiful than I imagined! All right, Tapadera Andrews, the next two minutes may decide the next twenty years. Slow and easy. What would Zachariah Hatcher do in this situation?

Pepper stood next to Mrs. McCurley, ner
vously twisting Suzanne Cedar’s engagement ring on her finger.

Relax, girl. Take deep breaths. You can do it. You’ve been pr
etending every night for years. This is the big one. He’s strong—look at those shoulders. And handsome. My goodness, she done herself real proud by him. What would Miss Suzanne Cedar do now? Does she curtsy? Shake his hand? Throw her arms around him? Would she kiss him? Will he really think I’m Suzanne?

The two men walked slowly to the women.

“Eh, humph.” McCurley cleared his throat. “I knowed you two ain’t ever met, so let me make it official. Mr. Zachariah Hatcher, let me present to you Miss Suzanne Cedar. Miss Cedar, this is Mr. Hatcher.”

Tap Andrews stared into the green eyes of Aimee “Pe
pper” Paige.

She’s tired. She’s worried. Maybe she knows. Maybe she’s tr
ying to figure me out. Maybe she’s disappointed in what she sees. My goodness, my goodness, she is a beautiful lady. It’s got to work. It’s just got to.

Pepper wanted to say something, but no words came to mind.

His eyes are older than the rest of him. He’s spent lots of time out in the open. He’s troubled. I disappoint him. He was expecting someone else. Here it comes. I wish I was back at April’s. I wish all I had to worry about was the likes of Jordan Beckett and Selena Oatley. Please like me. Please say something. I’m going to die!

“Are you two jist goin’ to stand there gawkin’?” McCurley prodded.

“Miss Cedar, I’m just so nervous I don’t know what to say. I’m just taken back by how downright pretty you are. It’s kind of like I never thought this day would ever come.”

He thinks I’m her. He really does. I can see it in his eyes.

A wide smile helped her begin to relax. “Mr. Hatcher, my heart is pounding still. I’ve been thinking and dreaming about this moment for a long, long time. Now that it’s here, I’m so happy. I think I’m going to faint.”

“Well, if you two don’t hug or somethin’, we’ll all faint,” Mrs. McCurley insisted. “Me and Robert will tend the horses.”

Tap walked over to Pepper. She held out both hands, and he took them into his own. For another moment they just stared.

What would Hatcher do?

Is he going to stand there all day? Suzanne, oh, Suzanne, what would you do if you were me?

“Suzanne?”

“Yes, Zach?”

“I don’t know the procedure. Would it be proper for me to give you a hug?”

“I believe so.”

Tap pulled her close and put his arms around her shou
lders. She slipped her arms around his waist, and they held each other tight. He thought he heard some songbirds singing nearby, but then decided it was just the ringing noise in his ears.

4

A
fter several awkward attempts at conversations, the four were on the trail to the ranch. Tap and Pepper rode the horses about fifty feet ahead of the buggy occupied by Robert and Mrs. McCurley.

“What’s the ranch like?”

“I’m sorry about your father.”

“Is it as pretty a country as this?”

“Ah . . . your mother’s doin’ all right in Chicago, is she?”

“Did you get any cows yet?”

“I hope you had a nice train ride out. I’ve never been on the train too much.”

“What about those bulls down in Arizona?”

“I’m sorry but I never . . . eh, you know . . . ran across your brother, eh, Abel.”

“Did you ever try to sleep on a train?”

“I hope you didn’t get stuck in the rough part of Denver.”

“Is the ranch very far from here?”

“Fort Collins is a little nicer, but personally I’d just as soon stay away from both of them. Yep, give me the wide open country any day.”

“Do we have any neighbors?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to Fort Collins in time. There was this Indian trouble down in Arizona.”

“Is the house nice? I hope the roof doesn’t leak. I have nightmares about roofs leaking.”

“We had to shoot our way out of the desert.”

“How far to the nearest town? We don’t have to go to De
nver, do we? I don’t like Denver.”

“I tried to clean the place up a bit, but I’m not used to ha
ving to keep things lady-clean.”

“I don’t guess I’ll ever see my brother .
 . . eh, Abel, again. Something must have happened to him.”

“A couple of hands from the Rafter R Ranch came over for a visit, but that’s quite a distance.”

“Did you buy this horse just for me?”

“You ought to see the sunsets at the ranch .
 . . Oh, I guess there’s plenty of time for that.”

“He’s not like the horses in Tennessee .
 . . I mean Kentucky . . . eh, I sold them to some folks in Tennessee.”

“Sure seems strange for the two of us to be ridin’ up this trail together, doesn’t it?”

“What’s his name?”

“I want you to make a list of what we need to buy for the ranch house. It looks to me like it’s been a while since a woman was there. How did you get to McCurley’s anyway? Are they running a stage that far?”

“You’ll have to tell me about California. I ain’t . . . I mean, I  haven’t ever been there. Of course, I’ve never been anywhere but back East.”

“Onespot.”

“I took a stage. There was a wreck. I don’t think I want to go on that road again. I talk too much when I’m nervous. Oh, heavens, am I nervous!”

“We sure do have got a lot to talk about.”

“Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, we don’t know each other very well, do we, Mr. Hatcher?”

“Miss Cedar, at this rate we’re goin’ to know ever’thing about each other in about twenty minutes.”

Well, Pepper, old girl, that went pretty well. I don’t think he suspects anything. I wonder what he looks like with a shave? At least I ain’t stuck with no rotten-toothed potbelly. I sure do hope he don’t have a mean streak. Boise City Stella ran off with that mean lawyer, and we never heard from her again. I hope he doesn’t hurt me none.

The black horse had a smooth gait, and Pepper enjoyed the bouncing rhythm. The countryside was more open than around Pingree Hill, but she had spent most of her time i
ndoors. The fresh air seemed to help her breathe easily and see more clearly. Sometimes during the conversation it was almost as if she were at a distance watching the two of them ride along.

He’s a fine-lookin’ man, really. In a drover sort of way. I mean, I can’t imagine him in a suit and tie, except at the weddin’, of course.

Tap glanced over at the McCurleys’ buggy. Then he turned back in the saddle.

Zachariah Hatcher, what do you know about that? I think I pulled it off. She’s riding right along with the whole thing. Yes, sir, I think it can work. Now if we can just get se
ttled into the ranch without many visits or interruptions, maybe . . . she’s a looker, all right. I wonder what that yellow hair looks like tousled down on her shoulders? I can’t believe she’d come out west searchin’ for a husband. Why, I’ve seen popular dance-hall girls that weren’t half that pretty. I surely hope she don’t have a wanderin’ eye. Some women that good lookin’ just naturally, but not her. Miss Cedar is a God-fearin’ lady. Kind of like an angel in disguise. Yes, sir, this is too good to be true.

Tap tried to remember the last time he was out pleasure riding with such a quality woman. His review of ladies se
ldom brought back more than dance-hall memories.

There are days when the world seems to be going your way, your horse has a skip of celebration, the wind tastes as sweet as icing on a cake, and all the sights you lay your eyes on hang prom
inently in your memory forever.

This was one of those days. Tap tried to keep from co
nstantly gaping at her.

Women don’t like men to stare at them—makes ’em nervous. But I reckon Miss Su
zanne Cedar has spent most of her life with men gawkin’ at her. Pretty face, pretty figure. No wonder old Hatcher was hesitant about his shortcut to Heaven.

“Eh, Mr. Hatcher .
 . . I was wonderin’ . . . without bein’ too presumin’ . . . are we going to have a real church wedding? I mean, if you like me . . . you know . . . if we decide . . . like you said in your letters . . . you know, to go ahead with it?”

Church? Oh, man. Church? I don’t even know where the nea
rest one is.

“You know, Miss Cedar .
 . . eh, Suzanne . . . that, ah . . . brings up something that’s been eatin’ on me.”

“What’s that, Mr. Hatcher?”

“There’s one thing I didn’t put in the letters that I should have. You’re bound to find out sooner or later, and I wanted you to hear it from me first.”

“You robbed a bank?” she gasped.

“Oh, no, that’s not exactly it. It’s just that I sort of got a name, like a nickname, that ever’one who knows me calls me, and I was a little embarrassed to tell you straight up.”