The Iron Horseman (17 page)

Levi
smiled. Katie and Cadie—though Cadence didn’t much appreciate her father’s
nickname for her.

“She’s
Eamon’s daughter.”

Noah
whistled. “Does Walker know you’re gallivanting across the prairie with his
daughter?”

“Not
exactly.”

Noah
burst out with a loud guffaw. “I reckon I wouldn’t want to be you when he finds
out.”

“It’s
not like that, Noah. She’d have headed out to Bryan to meet him all on her own
if I hadn’t agreed to accompany her. And somehow, I didn’t like the idea of a
young woman out here on the trails alone.” He took some time to explain what
had happened with the train.

“So,
it’s a chivalrous thing you’re doing here then. Doesn’t have anything to do
with her undeniable charms?” Noah’s smile reached his eyes.

Levi
knew his cousin was just harassing him. “She’s beautiful, I’ll give you that.
But, I don’t know. There’s more to it than that.”

Noah’s
playful smile turned to one of interest.

“Oh,
no you don’t go telling the story without me.” Kate reemerged from the other
room. She stood on her tip toes trying to reach something from one of the
higher shelves.

“Allow
me.” Noah was at his wife’s side in a moment.

Kate
looked up at him and Levi saw the unmistakable love in her eyes. Not wanting to
intrude on another moment, Levi took the last biscuit from the basket and broke
it apart. It was still warm. Noah set a bowl down in front of him and passed
out an additional three—one for Kate, Cadence, and him.

“Fannie
found a bundle of recipes your mother gave Noah and I when we were married,”
Kate said. “I believe this is one of Lottie’s favorites. Lottie, that is her
name?”

Levi’s
stomach growled. He hadn’t had Lottie’s stew in ages and the thought had his
mouth watering. He nodded. “Lottie is an amazing cook.”

“Fannie
too,” Kate beamed.

“The
tub is filled, ma’am. Will there be anything else you need from me?” A slightly
flushed Virg stepped into the kitchen with a tip of his hat.

“Thank
you,” Kate said. “The meat gravy will be ready shortly, Virg. Make sure to come
back on up and have a smothered potato.”

“That’s
very kind, Mrs. Deardon.”

Levi
knew the man wasn’t going to get out of it.

The
time passed quickly as Levi recounted the events of the past few days to his
cousin and his bride. He could hardly believe half of them himself.

“Well,
I think she’s very brave,” Kate said, standing up from the table.

Fannie,
their cook, removed a dozen or so potatoes from the oven and tossed them onto
the table top. The food smelled heavenly.

“Wouldn’t
expect any less from Eamon’s kin,” Noah said.

“Noah!
Kate!” A tall man with a blue neckerchief threw open the door to the kitchen
scanning the large room. His eyes fixed on theirs. “You two might want to get
out here. Bertha is having some trouble with her calf.”

The
air grew heavy as Noah grabbed his hat from the table. Kate wiped her hands on
her skirt and headed to the wardrobe in the hall. Levi guessed that’s where she
kept her linens.

“Make
yourself useful, Redbourne,” Kate called as she tossed him a few towels and
rushed past him and out the door after Noah.

Levi
followed. He stopped at the threshold and looked back toward the room Cadence
was in.

She’ll
find us soon enough, he decided and took a step out the door. He’d not gotten
two steps before the nagging feeling in his gut told him to at least let her
know where they’d be so as not to worry her. So, he secured the towels under
one arm, opened the door, and strode quickly to Cadence’s room and knocked on
the door.

“Miss
Walker?” He paused a moment, but didn’t hear anything. “Miss Walker, we’ll be
out in the corral if you’d like to join us. One of the heifers is having a hard
time calving. But don’t worry, we won’t be far and I’ll be back to check on you
soon.”

“Levi,
we need those towels. And your hands!” Kate called in, desperation lining her
voice.

Bertha
was one of the last cows to calf and she was Kate’s favorite. He’d heard Noah
warn her against becoming attached to the cow, but she’d obviously not
listened.

He
looked at the door. Still no response.

“Coming.”

Cadence
let the air out of her lungs in a rush. She held the bath sheet closed in front
of her and stepped out from behind the wardrobe—Levi’s retreating form still
visible.

“That
was close,” she said under her breath as she quickly tip-toed into the room the
Deardon’s had been so kind to offer for the night, and closed the door.

Another
deep breath.

“Idiot,”
she chastised herself when she looked at the beautiful blue dress Kate had laid
out for her on the bed alongside a small bundle complete with a corset,
chemise, and bloomers. Kate had been gracious enough to offer some of her
clothes while Cadence’s were washed and dried before they headed back out on
the road.

Her
excitement about the hot bath had meddled with her thinking enough that she’d
forgotten to take the clean underthings and dress with her into the water
closet. The warm bubbles had felt so good against her skin that she’d not
thought about the problem until she emerged from the soak and had stared at the
dress she’d been wearing for three days.

Cadence
closed her eyes at the idea of Levi Redbourne discovering her in such an
undressed state and immediately heat flooded her face and neck. She quickly
pushed the thought aside and donned the clean garments. The fresh scent of the
clothing filled her nostrils.

Before
long, she found herself walking about the ranch in search of Levi and her
newfound friends. It seemed oddly quiet, but she guessed there wasn’t much to
do during the day around the homestead. She’d heard stories of working out in
the fields, but didn’t have much experience with animals other than an
occasional horse and her mother’s cats. The light breeze sent gooseflesh down
her arms and she rubbed them briskly.

“Hello!’
she called loudly. Levi had said they would be out in the corral, but the
property seemed to have endless outbuildings, each appearing to have its own
corral.

“We’re
out here,” a voice called from one of the buildings ahead of her and she
quickly found her way out back.

Kate
knelt on the ground, uncomfortably close to the mama cow, and Noah stood behind
her with one towel draped over his shoulder and another, wet and bloodied, in
his hands. Levi stood at the head, rubbing the heifer’s face and neck, speaking
to her in a soothing tone. He looked up and motioned for her to join him.

Cadence
looked down at the clean dress and hesitated, but only for a moment. It
wouldn’t have lasted long anyway—being clean.

Levi
pulled a short stool in front of him and held open his arm. Cadence moved in
front of him, her back supported by the firm expanse of his chest. He felt warm
and a new wave of gooseflesh descended down her arms. She mimicked Levi’s
motions, petting and doing what she could to reassure the mama.

“You’re
a natural,” Levi whispered in her ear. “Been around cattle before?”

She
shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

A
lowing moan brought Cadence’s hand back to the cow’s neck and she stroked the
animal in quick, short movements. Levi placed his hand over hers and slowed her
down until her hand gently glided down and back.

“We’re
almost there. This one is just stubborn enough to live,” Kate said, meeting
Cadence’s eyes with a wink.

“It’s
very dangerous for a calf to come out backward,” Levi said quietly behind her.
“Kate had to reach in and turn it around so both of them didn’t die,”

Cadence
looked up at Kate, whose look of pure determination crinkled her brow, but did
nothing to scar the woman’s perfect features. She didn’t miss the way Noah
beamed at her. Cadence smiled.

The
mama cow howled for a short moment.

“Here
it comes,” Kate said.

Cadence
glanced up ahead and watched as the front legs and head emerged. She wasn’t
sure whether to be sick or awed. When Kate quickly took ahold of the calf’s legs,
wrapped a rope around them just above the hoof, and started to pull, Cadence
sucked in a breath. She’d never seen anything quite like it before. Noah
grabbed onto the legs and Kate moved closer, grabbing the calf just above its
midsection, her hands slipping against the slick mucus covering the babe. With
another pull, it slid out onto the ground.

“It’s
out,” Noah yelled with excitement as he used his towel to pull a thin white
layer off of the new calf and wiped it down. “No broken bones. The mouth and
nose are clear, but it’s not moving.” His voice turned to one of concern.

The
mama cow made a quick attempt to pull herself to her feet, but Cadence guessed
she was just too tired.

“Place
him where Bertha can see him.” Kate wiped her nose on her shoulder. The anxious
look on her face worried Cadence and she wondered what they would do if the
calf didn’t survive.

Levi
helped Cadence to her feet and they stepped away from the obviously tired mama.

Noah
scooped the baby calf up in his arms and placed him at the mother’s head.
Bertha tried again to pull herself to her feet and, this time, she was
successful. She began to lick the babe’s face and body, nudging her newborn
with her nose.

It
seemed as if everyone was holding their breath—Cadence certainly was—as it fell
dead silent. Another few moments passed. Still nothing.

Noah
dropped his head and Levi placed his hands on Cadence’s shoulders. Kate’s jaw
flexed, but still she watched. After another minute or so, the babe lifted its
head, but it dropped back down.

Noah
laughed. Kate heaved a relieved sigh and stood up to join them, leaning
forward, her eyes unwavering from the calf. Within moments, the little one
started stretching its legs and tossing about, trying to pull itself into a
standing position. After several attempts of pushing off its front legs and
falling on its face, the calf finally stood upright. Wobbly, but upright.

Cadence
laughed and relaxed against Levi, who wrapped his arms around her. She liked
being in his arms.

“I
think they are going to be fine,” Kate breathed with satisfaction.

Noah
placed an arm around his wife. “You did it, you know.” He smiled down at her.
“Now, I think that we’re the ones who need the bath.” He looked up and winked
at Cadence.

The
men in this family were certainly bold, but heaven help her, she liked it. If
only she wasn’t so worried about her father and she didn’t have a job to do,
she would consider staying here forever.

Cadence
could feel the lines of worry crinkle her brow. She didn’t want to ruin such a
special moment, but somehow thoughts of the man she’d scarcely seen over the
last few years worked their way into her memories and she realized just how
much she missed her father.

Please,
God, let him be all right.

She
determined that there was nothing she would be able to do until morning. But
she would send two telegrams at first light—or as soon as the telegraph
operator opened his doors—one to Annie to tell her about their delays, and a
second to Bryan with hopes of reaching her father.

Tomorrow.

For
now, she just laid her head back against Levi, not wanting this feeling to end.

“Are
you sure you can’t stay any longer?” Kate asked as Levi threw a bag into the
back of the buckboard.

Levi
threw his arms around his cousin-in-law. “Thank you for letting us stay, but
I’m afraid we’ve already been here longer than we should have. I’m supposed to
be in Utah in a week and I won’t make it if I laze around here any longer.”

“Laze
around here? Three mended fences, a new wing on the chicken coop, and the water
wheel. And you laze around here? I know that the milliner is thrilled that you
and Noah were able to help him get a new water wheel up and running. His business
depends on it. We really need to hire more men to help Noah out around our
place. I don’t know when he’s going to realize he can’t do it all alone.”

“I’m
afraid he already knows. He just didn’t want his bride to find out.” Noah
joined them at the wagon. He smiled at his wife and nodded at Levi. “I don’t
know how we’ve been able to do so much. Kate’s right. I guess it’s time we
hired on a few more hands.”

“I’m
glad to see that you are settling in well here,” Levi said, reaching out a hand
to his cousin. A splash of blue crossed the corner of his eye and he looked up
to see Cadence step out of the house and onto the porch. The morning breeze
blew her dark locks away from her face, her skin pink and glowing.

“Be
careful,” Noah warned. “Bryan has had its fair share of trouble.”

“When
the officials at the railroad decided to move the division point for the rails
to Bryan, Green River suffered,” Levi told him. “I think fear of losing their
homes has driven some of the people to do desperate things, but I don’t think
there’ll be too much more trouble—especially if Black’s Fork is drying up like
you said and people are moving back to Green River.”

Levi
thought it was probably just a matter of time before the railroad relocated
back to the original town that had been selected for the route. They had the
better water source in the valley. When Durant was no longer in charge, someone
with a clear head would see the best route for the line—not just the amount of
money they could make selling residential lots in a newly founded town.

“I
hope you’re right. Miss Walker,” Noah said as Cadence approached, “you look
lovely as ever. Are you sure you want to make the rest of the trip with this
stranger here?”

“Honestly,
he’s not so much a stranger anymore. He’s more like...family.”

“You
mean like a big brother,” Noah nudged, a grin spread wide across his face.

“Something
like that,” Cadence said with a playful smirk, taking a step closer to Levi.

Levi’s
gut wrenched. He didn’t want to be a big brother to Cadence. He had enough
siblings to watch over.

“We’d
better get on the road. Hopefully, by the time we reach Bryan, we’ll be able to
find your father and then we can catch the train to the end of track.” Levi
thought about it for a moment. “I’ll,” he corrected, “be able to catch the
train to the end of track.”

“I
hate to see you go, but I’m sure Eamon is anxious to see you, Miss Walker.”
Kate pulled Cadence in for a brief hug.

She
nodded. “It’s been a long time.”

“Well,
you’ve made good time. If I keep training horses like Apollo, I may have to go
into the family business.” Noah laughed. So did Levi.

“It
looks like running a cattle ranch is taking up enough of your time. I can’t
imagine Kate would appreciate you being gone even longer hours.”

“Who
said anything about me? Kate’s just as good,” he glanced at his wife, “if not
better at training them than I am.”

She
beamed up at him. “Come on, Noah. They know they are welcome anytime. We need
to let them go.”

“Yes,
ma’am,” he said, stepping away from the wagon.

“Thank
you again for letting us stay here,” Levi said, opening his arms to his cousin.
“Kate,” he said with a smile, “keep this one in line.”

“Will
do.”

Woo.
Woo. The call of the train greeted Levi’s perked ears with relief.

“The
train,” he said with more excitement than he’d intended. “I knew he’d send
another quickly.”

Levi
closed his eyes.
We probably should have stayed put
, he thought. But
Miss Walker had been too anxious and he couldn’t very well have let her set out
in a wagon on her own.

Instead
of traveling alone with Miss Walker for another few days, he hoped that now,
they’d be able to catch the train in Laramie.

Cadence
pushed the curtain aside to peer out the window as the train pulled into the
large roundhouse in the oddly bustling town of Bryan. She was pleased to see
that this town had some semblance of civilization with multiple restaurants,
hotels, and a telegraph office. Several buildings lined both sides of the main
street including shops of various sorts and a concert hall.

It
was comparable to Laramie, but she appreciated that this little town had some
varying landscape with steep hills dotted with green as well as the buttes and
mesas with their red and orange hues she’d grown accustomed to seeing on her
trip though this territory.

Levi
leaned over the seat and glanced out the same window. He smelled good and
looked even better. Cadence liked being near him.

“It’s
a beautiful day,” he said as he looked up at the sky full of billowy clouds.
“Your father’s place is just a couple of miles east of here.” He pushed away
from the seat and stood upright. “If we can get the wagon unloaded from the
stock car and are able to purchase a few supplies, we’ll make it there before nightfall.”

Suddenly,
Cadence felt a weight settle in her stomach. She pulled from her pocket the
response telegram Annie had waiting for her at the Laramie telegraph office.
Another
threat on railroad celebration. STOP. Find Det. Walker and get to Durant.

Questions
flooded her mind and she fought to calm them. First and foremost she had to
know if her father was still alive. That thought alone made the idea of
protecting Durant from an unseen assassin not seem quite so formidable. A
Pinkerton always remained calm and in control. She could not let her nerves
show.

“Are
you ready?” Levi asked as the train came to a stop. He strung his satchel over
his shoulder, threw her trunk onto his back, and picked up his suitcase.

Cadence
shoved the note back into her pocket. She couldn’t shake the butterflies that
suddenly felt like they would escape her belly through her throat. She quickly
gathered her other belongings and headed to the end of the passenger car. It
was not like her to get nervous, but something about her father discovering her
profession made her…anxious.

Feel
it on the inside, but don’t show it on the outside.
She shook her head,
smoothed her dress, and plastered a smile on her face as she made her way to
the end of the car.

How
Levi had been able to squeeze through the small doorway was surprising enough
with his height and stature, but with the load he’d carried it was simply
baffling. When she reached the spot where he’d disappeared, she looked down the
stairs and onto the platform. He’d already set down the luggage and stood, hand
extended, ready to help her down.

She
slid her hand into his, reveling in the warmth and comfort his touch provided.
It had been a long time since she’d been able to let down her guard, trust, and
feel at ease with anyone—especially a man.

“Why,
thank you, kind sir.”

“Anything
for you, ma’am.” He held her eyes until her feet were firmly planted on the
ground.

She
wasn’t sure if he was playing the part or if there was a hint of truth to those
words, but, heaven help her, she hoped for the latter.

One
of the crewmen placed the remainder of their luggage down next to the trunk and
other bags that stood erect in a pile next to Levi.

“You
joining us at end of track, Mr. Redbourne?” he asked Levi as he hopped back up
onto the bottom metal step of the train. “We have just six days. Think we’ll
make it?”

“It’s
going to be a close one, but yes, I wouldn’t miss it,” Levi affirmed.

Six
days?

Cadence
swallowed. That didn’t leave her much time to locate her father and get to
Thomas Durant. She needed to send word back to Annie and let her know she had
arrived in Bryan and would write again once she found Agent Eamon Walker.

“Welcome
to Bryan,” a portly man with a black vest and pocket watch greeted her as he
passed.

She
smiled and dipped her head in acknowledgement.

“Wait,”
she called to him. “Do you know Eamon Walker? He’s a Pinkerton. Owns a ranch
not far from here.” She was hopeful that she’d be able to locate him quickly.

“Can’t
say as I do. I’m afraid I’m new to town myself and haven’t had time to meet up
with many folks yet.”

“Oh,
well, that’s all right. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time here.” Cadence looked
out over the mixture of buildings and business tents that lined the main street
through town.

“Miss
Walker? Will you be all right to stay here while I go get the horses?” Levi
asked, pulling her from her observations.

“Yes,
of course.”

He
waited as if he didn’t quite believe her.

Cadence
knew what most men wanted in a woman. She’d been highly trained on how to be
that woman, but something was different with Levi. She didn’t need to play a
part with him. She didn’t have to be someone she wasn’t, but for her, that’s
where the problem lay. She was always playing a part—with her mother, at
work—there was never a time when she was just…Cadence Walker. She wasn’t sure
she even knew exactly who that was anymore.

“Well,
we won’t get out to my father’s ranch without them.”

Levi
threw his head back and laughed. “There she is.”

Cadence
smiled begrudgingly.

Metal
groaned as the side wall to the closest supply car was opened. Cadence took a
step backward. Two men stood on either side, lowering the steel door carefully
with a rope pulley system. By the time the buckboard had been unloaded, Levi
returned with the horses and proceeded to hitch the team while Cadence lifted
their belongings and tossed them into the back. She was relieved to see that
the ropes Levi had used to secure her trunk had held together nicely.

“Surely
some of the people of this town will know my father. He’s been working on and
building the homestead for over a year. I know he’s gone a lot with the
railroad, but…” she stopped herself mid-sentence. She was rambling.

“Why
does it matter if they know him or not? I know where he lives. You’d know if he
was on assignment, right? We’ll be out to see him in about an hour or so.”

Cadence
bit her lip.

“Can
we just go a little faster, please?”

“What’s
the rush? I understand you’re anxious to see Eamon and all, but we’ll be there
soon enough. There’s no need to push the horses.”

He
didn’t feel the same urgency she felt because she’d never told him. Part of
being a detective meant knowing when to divulge information and when to keep it
safe. Levi needed to know the truth, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to tell
him.

“Out
with it.”

“Out
with what?” She tried to appear unperturbed.

“You’ve
been sitting on the edge of that seat stewing over something. So, out with it.”

“Mr.
Redbourne.”

He
looked at her with a raised brow.

“Levi,”
she corrected. She breathed deeply and exhaled.

He
glanced over at her, his eyebrows lifted expectantly.

“My
father…is missing.”

“What
do you mean, he’s missing? How do you know?”

Cadence
played with the cylinder rope across her chest. “I’ve known since I left
Chicago.”

“Whoa.”
Levi pulled the wagon to a stop and looked at her.