Wildfire Creek (10 page)

“Another round, Ginny,” Luke called over his shoulder, oblivious to the tempestuous glare she shot him.

The men who’d helped build the house, plus all the other ranch hands who weren’t with the herd on Saturday night, crowded around three tables in the Rose. They’d been drinking, playing cards, and celebrating the completion of Luke’s house for four hours with no sign of slowing down. She didn’t blame them. From what she’d heard, it had been a huge undertaking for this late in the fall.

Noah and Gabe had joined them for a while before taking off to get supper at the boardinghouse. How Ginny wished she were there and not forced to watch as Luke pulled one saloon girl after another onto his lap. It seemed innocent enough, even though each of the women would have liked more. Although he never gave any of them an indication he wanted to follow them upstairs, the entire scene still irritated Ginny. What really irritated her was that she had no idea why she cared so much.

“Here you go.” She almost slammed the drinks on the table, spilling more than a small amount out of Luke’s glass.

“Hey, Ginny, watch what you’re doing.” Luke grinned as he looked up at her, a somewhat loopy expression on his face.

She almost smiled, then stopped herself. If he didn’t slow down, he’d be spending the night in the back of a wagon or anywhere he could find a bed. She grimaced at the thought, knowing any of the ladies would be glad to take him upstairs, even in his drunken state.

“May I get you anything else, Mr. Pelletier?”

Luke didn’t take his gaze off her. Her smile seemed forced and a little too sweet, which bothered him more than he liked. He knew she thought he was drunk, but in truth, he had a long way to go before he wouldn’t be able to walk out of the Rose on his own two legs. During the war he’d spent many nights drinking with those who had information he needed. Not once had he not completed his assignment.

“No. I think we’re fine for right now.” Luke watched as she turned from him, and on impulse, reached out to grab her wrist. “Why don’t you sit for a while? Amos won’t mind if you take a short break.”

The feel of his hand on her skin sent a strange tremor up her arm, which wasn’t so different than when he’d been within inches of her in the confined boardinghouse hallway. His nearness had caused the same pulsing sensation through her body, as well as heat to creep up her neck and face. She looked down at him, wishing she could sit next to him and talk the same way they had before Mary’s illness. Their friendship had been less strained and more relaxed then.

“I’d better not.” Her voice sounded thick, even to her. She slid her wrist from his grasp and walked away.

Luke forced his gaze back to the cards he held, a part of him wishing they could’ve had time to talk, another part glad she didn’t take his suggestion. Tonight was about him, the men, and the hard work they’d put in over several weeks. It had nothing to do with mending fences with someone who wanted nothing to do with him.

Ginny stood at the bar, continuing to scan the saloon, looking for those with empty glasses. Amos paid her not just to deliver drinks, but to encourage the men to order more until they needed to be strapped to their horse to get home. Tonight they might need to tie more than a few onto their saddles.

Tat and Johnny were already falling off their chairs, while Ellis and Rude were a drink away from passing out. Travis had nursed one drink throughout the night. He’d come into the Rose a handful of times since he’d arrived in Splendor. Like Luke, he never accepted any of the offers from the ladies and gambled on a rare occasion. He’d be able to get back to the ranch just fine.

Several others looked as if they would require help out the door. Bull had disappeared a while back, and she assumed he’d decided to cut the night short. When her gaze landed on Luke, she saw his eyes lock with hers. He didn’t motion to her or indicate in any way he wanted her to join him. He simply stared, one corner of his mouth curved upward.

For the first time in her life, Ginny wished she knew more about men. She didn’t like feeling at a disadvantage to anyone, especially Luke.

“Ginny? Would you mind picking up the empty glasses. I believe we’re about ready to lose a bunch of drinkers.” Al nodded toward the swinging doors as Bull sauntered in, a wide grin splitting his face. He nodded at Luke, then walked straight toward Ellis and pulled him to a standing position.

“Come on, Ellis. Outside with you.”

Luke stood and did the same with Rude, then followed Bull outside.

A few minutes later, they walked in again and did the same with Tat and several men at the other tables, Travis taking their cue and hauling a couple out as well. Others, those able to stand and walk on their own, didn’t protest, just followed everyone out. Bull walked in once more and headed for Johnny, the last of the men. As he leaned down to help him stand, Johnny reared his arm back and tried to land a punch to Bull’s face. He might have succeeded if his actions hadn’t been so slow and sloppy.

“Whoa, Johnny. I’ll fight you some other time,” Bull chuckled and wrapped both arms around his friend, who stood five inches shorter and weighed at least forty pounds less.

Ginny watched, fascinated with the way Luke, Bull, and Travis had cleared the saloon of over a dozen drunken cowboys without triggering a brawl. She walked to the door and peered out to see a wagon loaded with at least five men, several others hanging tight to their saddle horns and pulling another horse along. Luke had begun to climb onto the wagon when he looked up to see Ginny watching them.

“Hold on a minute, Bull.”

He jumped down and took the steps two at a time to catch her before she disappeared inside. He crossed his arms over his chest and swept his eyes over her, noting the tired expression and lips that had been drawn into a thin line.

“I’d better finish cleaning up.” She began to turn.

“Is this it, Ginny? Our friendship’s over because I tried to help you?”

Her heart stopped and she felt her stomach tighten. At that moment, Ginny knew she needed to mend the rift between them. She turned back toward him and searched his face.

“I hope we’re still friends.” Her voice came out in a whisper before she worried her lower lip with her teeth.

He dropped his arms to his sides as his eyes warmed on her face.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” He held her gaze a couple more seconds until she smiled at him, then he turned to head home. Luke didn’t understand why a friendship with Ginny seemed so important to him, but it did. He thought of her on the ride home, glad he’d approached her and grateful for the response. Now his life could get back on track—new home, work he enjoyed, and a friendship he valued.

“What are you thinking, Rick?” Flatnose asked as they sat on the porch, deciding their next move. They’d stolen three gold wagons over several weeks, stashing the gold in a location no one would ever find. The fact the gang had killed a couple men on the last raid didn’t bother him as much as it did Rick. His partner had warned him several times there would be no killing and to keep his bullets in his gun. He’d followed Rick’s orders the first two attacks. On the third, movement from one man triggered a deadly response. Something about sending a man to his grave was more temptation than Flatnose could resist. It sent a thrill through his body, even if it did incur Rick’s anger.

“Another wagon is supposed to move within the week. Lansdon to Big Pine. I want to take it, then lay low awhile.” Rick lit a rolled cigarette and inhaled deeply.

“The same guy who told us about the last shipment?”

Rick nodded. “He mentioned it when I went to Lansdon this morning.”

“How many men will we need?”

“The ones here will do.” Rick flicked the end of his cigarette onto the dirt. “He expects this one to have two additional armed guards.”

“Six?”

“That’s what he says.” It had been a good decision to plant his own man in the mining town of Lansdon. He didn’t just hear about shipments from the local mines, but also news of other transports from camps miles away. As a precaution, he hadn’t shared the man’s identity with his partner.

Until this morning, Rick had been thinking of laying low, maybe leaving the area until spring. They’d stashed away enough gold to make them all rich. Each man could start over someplace far away from the Montana Territory where no one would connect them to the robberies or deaths of the two guards—killings that still weighed heavily on Rick.

He’d met a lady, a widow who lived near Big Pine. It was at least an hour’s journey, but she was worth it. The information he’d been given today had him reconsidering. One more job, then he’d get a place near Big Pine so he wouldn’t have to ride so far to see her.

It’d been years since his wife and son were gunned down by that posse in Nebraska. The sheriff had thought Rick belonged to an outlaw group who’d terrorized the local area, stealing and killing at will. At the time, he’d been trying to carve out a living like everyone else. He knew a couple of boys in the gang, but had refused to take part.

The ten man posse had ridden in, ignoring the commands of the sheriff to stop shooting. Rick shouted at his wife to stay put, but she’d run outside, trying to talk some sense into the sheriff’s men. His eight-year-old son had followed her. When it was over, his family lay dead and he’d been arrested.

The trial would have been a farce, except the killing of a woman and child didn’t sit well with the inhabitants of this God-fearing town. A group of them hired a lawyer to defend him. Rick had been acquitted and released with an apology. He’d thanked his neighbors, taking their condolences with the good intentions that were meant. Yet his future had changed. It now stretched before him like the desolate, parched earth of his miserable farm. That day he made his choice and, except for a brief stint as a lawman, he’d followed a path outside the law ever since. The one man keeping him from making a final decision to move to Big Pine was the sheriff—Parker Sterling. The man had a reputation for sniffing out those who broke the law, making them pay. Rick had no intention of being one of his casualties.

“You planning to go see that lady friend of yours?”

Rick shot a look at Flatnose. The man had an uncanny and unwelcome ability to read his thoughts. He almost didn’t respond, then thought better of it. “Thinkin’ about it.”

“You want to take off for a while after this next job, go ahead. I can keep enough men here to run the herd this winter. No reason for you to stick around for months when your woman’s in Big Pine. Most of the men have nowhere else to go anyway, and I’ve got Stella here with me.”

“I’ll consider it.” Rick walked toward the barn. He’d been contemplating riding toward Big Pine, surprising Felicity, and taking her to church. She was a churchgoing woman, same as his wife had been, while not being quite like any churchgoing woman he’d ever known. When they’d first met, he’d introduced himself as Frederick, never mentioning the nickname he used with Flatnose and the other men.

Heading to Big Pine would give him a chance to learn anything new about local reaction to the three transports his gang already stole. He didn’t want to run into another vigilante situation like the one in Bison City. Or worse, learn they’d hired the Pinkerton Agency to stop the thefts. He’d start out well before dawn, take Felicity to Big Pine for church, then stay in town a few hours before taking her home. He’d learn what he needed, spend time with her, then head back to the ranch to wait for his man’s signal.

Chapter Seven

“I’m riding to town, Father. Is there anything you need?” Abigail Tolbert, King Tolbert’s only child, poked her head into his study and continued inside at his nod.

“Is there anyone riding with you?” It had been a few months since he’d begun to loosen the grip he held on all her activities, and he still found it difficult to provide her with the amount of freedom she wanted. It wasn’t in his nature to relinquish control.

She smiled at him, knowing he loved her, and also understanding she had to be the one to push the boundaries if she were ever to rule her own life. “Everyone’s busy. Besides, I ride to town without escort all the time.”

“Weather’s changing.” He offered no other argument.

“It will be—just not today.” Her eyes crinkled at the corners, although her face remained impassive as she waited for her father to come up with another excuse. Patience was her friend in these negotiations. He would relent. Besides, there was someone in town she wanted to see, without the prying eyes of anyone from the ranch.