Audrey and the Maverick (17 page)

Audrey filled her in. Leah shut her eyes but could not suppress the shiver that rippled through her. “I bet the kids will be starving. My bread’s cooling. I can help you get breakfast going, if you want, before I have to make my deliveries.”

The smell of coffee and battered bread frying roused the household. They quickly went through the loaves of bread Leah brought—she had to bring another over. Kurt and Luc were unusually reserved. Audrey would have thought after their adventure, they would be talking about it, seeding the tall tales that would come of it. Malcolm was quiet—sullen even. Why? She’d only been gone a month, but something was different between them. Something had changed.

After breakfast, Leah left to make her daily bread deliveries. Malcolm went to work. And Audrey set to work bathing the kids. She had to change the water two times before she filled the tub a last time for the two older boys. She took the others outside and one by one, trimmed their hair. Water was heating in the laundry cauldron outside. While she waited for Kurt and Luc, she stripped the linens from all the mattresses and gave them a thorough washing. She was hanging the sheets on the double laundry lines when the boys came out, examining each other’s wounds from last night’s whipping.

“How bad is it?” Kurt asked Luc, presenting him his back. “I had to sleep on my side.”

“It don’t look so good. You got lines here, and here. You got six of ’em or so. How about me?” Luc turned his back to Kurt.

“I dunno. It looks bad too. Hurts, huh? Looks like five or six stripes. It ain’t nothing like what McCaid’s got on his back. We didn’t even bleed. I bet he almost died.”

Audrey stepped away from the sheets she was hanging and looked at them. “What happened to Mr. McCaid?”

Kurt and Luc shot a look at each other. “It’s something you’d need to talk to him about. Happened a long time ago—not last night. He just got the cut on his arm last night.”

Audrey frowned. She’d seen Julian twice without his shirt, but she’d never seen his back. What had happened to him?

“Come along, you two. I want to cut your hair, and I have some ointment for your backs. Then you’ve got to get up to the store to make restitution to Jim and Sally. We agreed last night that two days of hard labor would set the matter to rights.”

It was late in the morning when she saw Sager lead two horses down Maddie’s long driveway. Her gut twisted. The decision was coming, she could feel it. He tied the horses at the next yard up. She gripped her hands, trying to still her panic.

“How are the boys?” he asked, his amber eyes watching her.

“I think they will be fine. They are sore, but the strop never broke the skin. They were comparing their injuries this morning.” She smiled.

Sager sighed and looked directly at her. “I’m not gonna mince words with you, Audrey. You’re in love with Julian, aren’t you?” She nodded. “Did he tell you he’s making plans to become engaged?” Again she nodded. “Did he—did he mistreat you?”

Audrey frowned. “Do you think I would love someone who mistreated me?”

Sager blew out a breath of air and made a face. He wished Rachel were here to handle this discussion; his wife was much better dealing with sensitive issues than he was, especially when it came to women. “Your situation is complicated. I agree with McCaid that you aren’t safe here. The sheriff’s in a bad spot, and he ain’t gonna leave quietly. I’d like you and the kids to come out and stay with my dad at the Circle Bar. I know it would make Logan feel better.”

Audrey watched Sager as he made this offer. It was given with all the best of intentions. She truly was blessed to have people who cared about her. Perhaps Julian was right when he said friends could help friends without expecting remuneration. “That’s very generous of you, Sager. Truly it is. But I’m afraid I just couldn’t. Your father wouldn’t be happy with all of us descending on his home.”

“My father’s lonely and would love the noise and mayhem.” Sager grinned.

Audrey crossed her arms. His offer to put her large family up with his father was beyond generous. She was frustrated having to accept help from friends, yet desperate enough to take the help and risk destroying the friendships. “I can’t, Sager. I can’t do it. I think I may try to make a go of it in Cheyenne or Denver.”

Sager nodded. “If that’s what you decide, send word to Rachel and me. We’ll go with you and make sure you’re settled.”

“Thank you, Sager. You and Rachel are better friends than I deserve. I will send word to you about what I decide to do.”

Sager returned her smile, but his eyes looked sad. “Do that. It’s important you know you got choices, Audrey.”

Julian appeared shortly afterward. Her nerves had tightened like a bowstring as she waited for him.

“Juli!” Amy Lynn ran to greet him. Audrey watched in surprised wonder as a smile lit his face, and he swooped her into his arms.

“Hello, infant. You look happy this morning!”

Her arms circled his neck. “I’m happy to see you!”

He kissed her temple, then set her on her feet so she could go play with the other children. When he straightened, Dulcie was there, standing silently before him. Audrey watched him kneel down and smile at her. To Audrey’s amazement, Dulcie walked straight into his arms and hugged him tightly. He leaned back and swept her shiny brown hair from her face.

“How are you this morning, sweet?” Dulcie smiled and nodded. “That’s good. You are very brave. Braver than I am, I think.”

Dulcie’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “You saved Kurt and Luc,” she argued. Audrey was stunned to hear her speak to Julian. “I just ran. I ran and ran, Mr. McCaid.”

Julian tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Ah, but you see, it took courage to do that, Dulcie. You were going to run all the way here to get help, weren’t you?” She nodded. “That’s courage. You were alone at night, a long way from home. You were afraid, but you went for help anyway.”

Dulcie rarely spoke. Occasionally, she would talk to Audrey. Sometimes even to Luc. But only infrequently to the other kids, even the girls. And never to Malcolm. Yet here she was, speaking to Julian and embracing him as well. Audrey sniffled quietly and blinked her eyes to dry them.

Dulcie went back to be near the other children, leaving Audrey alone with McCaid. She met his look. His eyes were warm and dark and studying her. His straight hair spilled over one brow. She looked away. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t seduce him. If she lost any more of her heart to him, she would not be able to live once he left.

“Hi.” Julian’s deep voice called her attention back to him as he came to his feet.

She tried unsuccessfully to smile. “Hi.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“No. Did you?”

“No.” The wind whispered through the sheets behind Audrey. The decision she had to make crowded her, pressing in close. “We need to talk.”

She nodded. It was all she could manage.

“I asked Maddie to watch the kids. I think she’s up front. Will you walk with me?”

They moved around to the front of the house. Maddie waved to them. Audrey thought she caught an unnecessary waggle of Maddie’s eyebrows, but it happened so quickly she couldn’t be sure. They walked away from town, toward the road that led east. Julian put his hands behind him. The silence sharpened Audrey’s nerves.

“Julian—I want to thank you for helping yesterday. I’m sorry you were hurt.”

He stopped and looked at her. She wondered at the words his eyes spoke that his mouth never voiced. He turned and started walking again.

“Audrey, you aren’t safe in Defiance. Kemp thinks he owns you, thinks you’re one of his hoodlums he can push around. I know Sager’s offered to bring you up to the Circle Bar. That’s one option. And I know you were thinking you could make a start in another town. That’s another option.” He looked at her.

“I’d like to offer you a third option. I’m not exactly known for my philanthropy, but I have done some good deeds, here and there. I opened a mill in a town in Virginia that was nearly destroyed in the war. The wool from Hell’s Gulch goes to that mill. And I bought that plantation after the war and gave a good part of the land to its former slaves. The rest I gave to my grandmother.” He stopped and looked at her.

“I’d like to do something to help you and the kids. I’d like to make Hell’s Gulch an orphanage. The carpenters are still out there. We could build a school. We could finish the attic. There would be plenty of space to house these children and any others needing a home.”

We.
What did he mean by that? “Will you be staying here?”

He shook his head. “I can’t. I have businesses to run.”

“And a woman waiting to be your fiancée.”

“And that.” He continued, barely a heartbeat later. “I could build a foundation around what you’re doing; there is nothing improper about the help I’m offering. And you wouldn’t need to worry about feeding or housing the kids. You would have an open account at Jim’s. I’ll hire a cook to take over your work with the men and a housekeeper to help you with chores. We could teach the kids the things they would need to know to run a ranch, to be wives of ranchers.”

We
again. Audrey’s heart lurched.

“Please, don’t tell me I can’t do this,” he urged. “I know you don’t like accepting help. This isn’t charity, Audrey. This is me doing my civic duty. This is me helping your children. Please, let me do this.”

Audrey was helpless to stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks. He did not touch her, but she felt his soul wrap around her. “Yes. Yes, Julian. I would like that. I do accept.”

He nodded, once, then looked away briefly before his eyes swung back to her. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Audrey gave a watery laugh and swiped at the tears. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Julian McCaid.”

“Never?” He grinned.

She shook her head. “Never.”

“When will you be able to leave?” he asked.

“Not for two days. The boys are working at Jim’s to make restitution for the supplies they stole. They have to clean and reorganize the storeroom, dust the front, wash all the windows, and do anything else that Jim and Sally can fit in. I would prefer if we waited until they completed their duties.”

Luc wrung out his mop as he cast a look around the sparkling store. He tossed the wash water outside in the weeds and hung up the mop. Jim was putting the ladder away that Kurt had used to wash the windows. The evening was hot, the sun still blazing. Luc was hungry. Since Audrey had come back, there was always food cooking at their house. He knew there would be a good supper at home tonight. Maybe stew. Maybe roast chicken and corn bread.

“Well, boys. I reckon you’ve done enough work to pay me back,” Jim said as he and Kurt came into the front of the store. A strange mechanical sound cut off the rest of his conversation. His eyes widened as he looked at them; then he hurried into his tiny telegraph office and shut the glass door.

Luc looked at Kurt as the Morse code began to signal at the desk. They watched Jim signal back, then start writing the message down. “What’s it saying?”

“Be quiet.” Kurt cut him off. “I’m trying to listen.” Silence. “I can’t quite make it out. I can’t do it. I can only read it. Shit. I can’t translate it by listening to it.” He glanced at Luc. “Jim don’t look happy, though.”

“No, he don’t,” Luc agreed.

The signal finished. Jim folded the note and put it in an envelope. He sat at his telegraph desk, staring at the envelope a minute, then looked at them through the glass door. He opened the door and sighed. “You boys better get home. Take this to Mr. McCaid on your way.”

Luc took the envelope and the two boys left, stepping from the hot store into the hotter evening sun.

Kurt leaned over and looked at the envelope. “Can you see anything? Can you see what it says?”

Luc pressed the envelope to the page folded within. He couldn’t make out any of the words. “No. Nothing.”

“Here, let me look.” Kurt took the envelope and held it up to the sunlight.

“What have you got there?” Malcolm asked as he joined them on the road that led home.

Kurt jumped. He whipped the envelope behind him. Luc closed ranks and took the envelope to hide behind him. Malcolm grabbed for it, but the boys jumped out of the way.

“It ain’t for you. It’s for Mr. McCaid,” Kurt announced.

“You sure you two didn’t steal something else from Jim?”

“No, we didn’t. It’s a telegram. See?” Luc held it up, and Malcolm did snatch it then. Both boys jumped him, but he still opened the envelope and yanked the missive free. The boys stopped fighting him, curious now that they might get to know what the communication said.

Malcolm read it and cursed.

“What does it say?” Kurt asked.

“Avenger to arrive in two weeks. JG.”

“
Avenger?
” Luc asked. “You sure it said Avenger?” He and Kurt exchanged a look.

“What’s the Avenger?” Malcolm asked, frowning. He stuffed the note back into its envelope.

“It can’t be.” Kurt shook his head. “He ain’t real. He’s just a character in those stories.”

“What’s the Avenger?” Malcolm asked again, more insistently.

“He’s this guy that’s in our dime novels,” Luc explained. “He cleans up corrupt towns. He’s bad news. The outlaws all die, those he don’t send running clear outta town.”

“He’s the fastest man with a Colt this side of the Mississippi. He’s ambi-dex-trous so he shoots good with both hands. No one can outdraw him.” Kurt pulled two imaginary Colts out of pretend holsters on his hips and pointed them at Malcolm. “Like that, but quicker.” He repeated the motion, faster this time.

“No, it’s like this.” Luc faced Kurt and drew his imaginary weapons with lightning speed. Then he spun the Colts around his index fingers and slapped them back into their holsters.

“You two are idiots. There is no such thing as an Avenger.”

Kurt shrugged. “They sure got a lot of stories about him. That’s a heap of stuff to make up, if it ain’t true.”

“It must be code for something.” Malcolm frowned as he looked down the road at Maddie’s Boardinghouse. “Maybe there’s someone like that Avenger character coming to town. What’s McCaid doing mixed up with that, though? You two better get home and clean up. Audrey’s got supper ready and she’s waiting on you. I’ll take this to McCaid.”

“No, Malcolm,” Luc firmly declined. “Jim told us to deliver it. If you want to do it, that’s fine, but we’re coming with you. We got a job to do and we aim to see it done.”

They marched in silence up to Maddie’s kitchen porch. Malcolm pounded on the open door, startling the two people sitting at the table.

“Good heavens, boys! What’s got you so fired up?” Maddie glared as she looked from one face to the other curiously.

“Hi, Maddie. I got a telegram to give to Mr. McCaid.”

“Well, come on in and give it to him.” She nodded toward her guest at the table.

Malcolm left the boys at the threshold and stepped inside. He stopped at the table. He held the envelope longer than necessary, giving Julian a dark look. Julian didn’t rise, either to his feet or to the bait. He arched a brow at the angry young man as he took the telegram from him.

Julian flicked the envelope’s torn lip, giving the boy an assessing glance before pulling the short note out and reading it. There was no change in his expression as he folded it and put it back into the envelope.

“Thank you, Malcolm.” He set it aside and spread his napkin in his lap, dismissing Audrey’s brother.

“Wait a minute, McCaid. I ain’t finished with you,” Malcolm stopped him. “Audrey says you’re moving her and the kids out to your place tomorrow. I don’t like it.”

McCaid looked around him at the two younger boys hovering on the porch. “You boys better run on home. I’m going to have a talk with Malcolm.”

“Yessir,” they mumbled in unison and hurried off the kitchen stoop.

Julian leaned back in his seat. “What is it you don’t like, Malcolm?”

“I don’t like you makin’ a whore out of my sister.”

Julian stared at him for a long moment. He thought about answering that comment with his fists. Grinding his teeth, he folded his napkin and came to his feet.

“Maddie, please excuse me.” He faced Audrey’s angry brother. “Outside. Now.”

They went through the door and down the stairs, Julian counting each stride he made, taking calming breaths. In the drive, they faced each other. He hadn’t completely talked himself out of a punch or two, but when he looked into the boy’s eyes, he saw a child, afraid and alone. He sighed.

“Your sister is not—and never will be—a whore, Malcolm. I’d advise you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth when you discuss her.” He looked over the boy’s shoulder to Audrey’s shack in the row of shanties.

“I’m taking your sister and the kids out of here because they deserve a better environment. At Hell’s Gulch, the kids will be away from the sheriff’s corrupting influence, and they can learn about ranching. I’m giving your sister an opportunity, Malcolm. Those kids are her life. You can come too. I’ll pay you what Jim’s paying you. Wouldn’t hurt you to learn about ranching.”

“Sheep ranching.” Malcolm turned and spit off into the dirt. “No, thanks, McCaid.” He spun on his heel and headed down the drive, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked away.

Julian went back inside and sat at his place. He looked at the cold food on his plate and sighed.

“Malcolm may not understand now, Mr. McCaid, but he’ll come to see it differently in time. It is a good thing you’re doing for that little gal and her brood.”

Julian lifted his gaze to his hostess. “Maddie, I think you should call me ‘Julian.’ All my friends do.”

“Julian it is.” She smiled and refilled his water glass. She nodded toward the envelope on the table next to him. “Bad news?”

Julian frowned. The envelope had been opened. He expected the news would be all over town soon enough—as Jace no doubt intended.

“The deputy U.S. marshal in Cheyenne has hired a friend of mine to clean up Defiance.” Julian looked at Maddie. “I hate to see him take on a job like this.” Maybe it was a blessing. If Jace was as good as his reputation, he’d put an end to the sheriff and his gang. Then Audrey and the children would be even safer. “Jace Gage makes a living dealing with thugs like Kemp. Things could get pretty rough around here.” Julian met Maddie’s gaze. “If you’d like to come out to the ranch for a while, I know Audrey would welcome having you out there.”

Maddie studied him. “Your friend’s a gunfighter, is he?”

“He’s much more than just a gunfighter.”

“Well, Julian, I’ve got a contract to provide rooms to the overnight stage passengers. I can’t go. Besides, I need to be here for Leah.”

“She can come out. I would like Malcolm to come, too. I’m worried about him.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Maddie said as she handed him the bread basket, “if things get too bad here, I’ll bring them all out.”

The next day dawned gray and cool. Julian and Malcolm covered the wagon’s cargo with a tarp and tied it down, leaving a space in the back for the children. Maddie hurried up the street toward them, bearing a basket so heavy she had to hold it with two hands. She set it on the wagon floor and pushed it under the front bench. Tightening her shawl across her chest, she turned to Audrey.

“I brought you some lunch. I’m sure you’ll need to stop and feed these pups once before you get to the ranch.”

Audrey tried to smile. “Thanks, Maddie. We’ll miss you.”

“Now, no long faces. You won’t be so far away that I can’t come out to visit. And you’ll stop by when you’re in town.” She hugged Audrey, then stood with an arm around Leah. “We’ll be fine here.”

Julian moved to Audrey’s side. “It’s time.” His eyes revealed nothing of his thoughts, but a muscle worked at the corner of his jaw. This was her last chance to change her mind. How she wished she could see into the future to know for certain whether this was the right thing to do. He helped her onto the front bench as Malcolm lifted the younger ones into the wagon bed.

Audrey studied the faces of the people she loved, tension twisting her stomach at the monumental step she was taking this morning. Sally and Malcolm looked disapproving. Jim’s face was carefully blank. Leah remained silent and thin lipped, Wolf at her feet. Maddie sported a reassuring grin. In the wagon bed, her foster kids were rowdy and anxious to be on their way. Julian lifted the reins, and the wagon lurched into motion. Audrey waved. The breeze blew against her face. It was an ending. And a beginning.

But of what?

She and Julian spoke little during the ride out. The kids made noise enough to cover their silence. Their excitement was infectious. Kurt hounded Amy Lynn with questions about Hell’s Gulch, but her responses only fueled his curiosity. She didn’t have the words to describe the ranch, so she gave an affirmative answer to each question. Luc had to ask her about the sleeping giants and woolly elephants living at Hell’s Gulch before Kurt realized what was happening.

Audrey laughed and exchanged a look with Julian, but he wasn’t smiling. His eyes held a complicated mixture of emotions. Hope and need. Relief and fear. She pulled her gaze away and watched the slowly rolling landscape.

When they loaded everyone back into the wagon after their lunch stop, Luc hung back, troubled. “Mr. McCaid? You said a few weeks ago that it was too dangerous out at your place for us. What changed? What’s different between then and now?”

Audrey looked at Julian, curious how he would answer. He met Luc’s eyes unflinchingly. “I didn’t understand your circumstances at the time. But given your recent misadventure, I don’t think you’re safe in town anymore. Out at the Gulch, you’ll at least be away from the sheriff. However, until Kemp stops riling up the area ranchers, I am going to have firm rules about what you can do, where you can go at the ranch.”

A short while later, they turned off the road and onto the long drive into the heart of the ranch. The kids were so excited they were standing up. Julian drove past the cookhouse and over the hill to the main house. They exclaimed in awe at the size of his home. He pulled up outside the carriage house and set the brake.

The children leapt off the wagon and ran to the front and then to the back, trying to see all there was to see of the house. Julian called the boys over and set them to unloading the luggage. Soon a procession of children followed Audrey up the steps and into the house. Julian walked at the end of the line, behind little Amy Lynn. Dulcie stopped at the top step and faced him, silent as ever. Amy went around her and scurried inside.

Julian put a foot on the step below Dulcie and leaned close. “You will be safe here. I promise you that.” She studied him, neither accepting nor refuting his promise, then turned and went to the door.

Audrey came back outside as Dulcie went inside. Julian moved toward her, his gaze holding hers as he did so. She’d said little since they left town. He wondered how she was handling this change. “I’ll take the wagon up to Jenkins—unless you need help here?”

“We’ll be fine. I thought I would put the girls in one room and the boys in another. Do you have a preference for which room you want?”

One with you in it.
“No. Make whatever arrangements suit you.” Julian climbed back into the wagon and turned it around. Outside the cookhouse, he found Jenkins in a heated argument with a stranger. As he set the brake, he called the two men over. Jenkins came first and introduced the newcomer as “Giles, the new cookie.”

Franklin joined them then. Julian had Giles start unloading the wagon while he told the other two about the new residents at the Gulch. Jenkins’s new assignment was to keep an eye on the kids—the older boys especially—to keep them out of trouble and make sure they didn’t wander too far afield while trouble was expected.

“Boss, you left Miss Audrey at the house?” Franklin asked, and blanched at Julian’s affirmative nod. “Jenkins, give Cookie a hand. I gotta get over there.” He started off at a quick pace.

Julian followed. “What’s the matter?”

Franklin sent him a worried look. “I also hired a—ah—a housekeeper for you.”

Julian grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. “Why’s that a problem?”

Franklin made a face. “She’s from Defiance.” He looked at Julian. “From Sam’s.”

Julian shut his eyes and cursed. “What the hell possessed you to do such a damned fool thing, Franklin?” Audrey would take one look at the girl and think he was opening up a new business out here. He cursed again. She would demand to be taken back to town. And he couldn’t blame her.