Between Love and Lies (25 page)

Noah urged Pepper
across the dusky prairie toward Dodge’s lights. He’d worked hard, hammering away even in the last seconds of twilight to finish the roof on Sadie’s house. He could barely lift his reins, let alone a gun. He released a long breath.

Bat should be happy. Hell, he was happy to have Bat on his side.

But even though the marshal had vowed to watch over Sadie, unease gripped him as strongly as his exhaustion. He had to get back to Sadie as fast as possible.

When he entered town, he straightened in his saddle, every sense on alert. The alleyways on either side of him were thick with shadows.

One of them bounded toward the street and him. He drew his revolver. On a dog. Without a glance in his direction, the mutt trotted across the street in front of his horse and joined the gloom on the other side.

Feeling foolish now, as well as tired and sore, he urged Pepper forward again. He didn’t holster his gun though. He’d just end up drawing it at the next shadow and that’d slow him down. He’d relax when he was with Sadie again.

Until then, he was no better off than that lone cottonwood in the gully he’d seen on the way to their picnic. He had everything he needed to survive: a revolver, a trusty horse and a fine home waiting for him in Texas. It wasn’t enough.

A fiercer need churned inside him. Now, more than ever, he felt driven to protect Sadie. That compulsion had become as important to him as breathing. But if he was honest with himself, he craved more. He ached to hold her again—tonight, tomorrow and every day after.

No amount of distance or bruising labor could dull that longing.

Sadie desired him as well. That truth quickened his blood. What would it take to make her feelings grow into love? He imagined riding side by side with her to her farm, showing her the house he’d built for her, and hearing her say she wanted him to stay with her inside. He’d carry her across the threshold like a husband and make love to her for days in a fervor reserved for newlyweds.

Bat was right. She made a man eager to visit the preacher.

If he thought she’d say yes, he’d already have proposed. A wedding had solved many a woman’s problems…and made others worse. After living with her father and the townsfolk of Dodge, he didn’t blame Sadie for being leery of hitching her life to another’s.

He wanted her to join with him wholeheartedly. Same as she had this morning. A marriage of convenience reminded him too much of her position at the Star. Whatever she felt for him wouldn’t grow if he didn’t play his cards carefully. Her affection would wither and die.

Someone ran down the center of the street, heading toward him.

His grip on his revolver tightened. Short and thin, the man racing toward him didn’t look very threatening. He strained to see more. Not a man, but a boy. The boy who’d delivered the news about the disturbance at the rail depot the other evening.

In the nearest alley, the shadows were moving again. They took the shape of a hulking giant, or a familiar saloon barkeep.

Noah kneed Pepper forward, cantering the final distance required to put himself between the boy and the threat. His hand came to rest on his thigh, where the boy wouldn’t see his revolver now cocked and pointed at the alley and its shadow. He pinned his gaze there as well.

“Marshal Masterson sent me to warn you.” The boy halted to gulp air.

Don’t look at him. Don’t even blink
, he told himself.
As soon you do, whoever’s watching will—

The boy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Madam Garrett’s made threats.”

The hushed words hit him like cannon fire. When had she done that? Noah’s stomach turned hard and cold. The madam had visited the jail.

The hefty shadow grew smaller, retreating. Not a murderer then, but a messenger similar to the one hovering by his horse. What would the madam do when John informed her of his return?

Nothing good.

He swung down from his saddle. “Will you deliver my horse to the stable and see to his care?”

The boy’s gaze had found the revolver in his hand. Despite his wide eyes, he nodded.

Noah tossed him the reins and several coins. Then he sprinted toward the shadows and became one of them.

* * *

Sadie shifted position
, struggling to get comfortable. The mattress on the prison cot wasn’t friendly to the flesh of her backside. She missed the bed in the other room. She missed Noah. It’d long since gone dark outside. Why hadn’t he returned?

She glared between her cell’s bars at Marshal Masterson sitting on the other side, at ease in his chair. He showed no sign of leaving. “Your move,” she reminded him.
Why don’t you move outside on the porch for a few minutes…and leave me alone with my hairpins?

His gaze remained lowered, studying the cards in his hands. “Hold yer horses, I ain’t done thinking.”

Which made her even more agitated. He couldn’t be thinking only about this useless poker game he’d suggested, could he? The marshal had proved much too cunning for that.

“The boy you sent to warn Noah has been gone a long time. Shouldn’t you go check on him?”
And Noah too?

“Won’t break my word. I stay with you till Noah returns.”

She exhaled an extended breath, trying to expel her growing irritation with it. A useless endeavor. Leaving this jail was turning into a herculean feat.

“Relax, Miss Sullivan. Ain’t that one of the tricks to gambling? If you don’t mind me saying, considering all the times you dealt cards at the Star, you don’t seem to know much about playing games.”

“I know this. In blackjack you study the cards, count what’s been played, estimate the odds of what might come next. In poker you watch your opponent, analyze his mood, his mannerisms and link them to his hand.”
Look at me, so I can figure out what you’re planning.

“I’ll keep that in mind for the future.” Masterson stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankle. “Although I think I might be more partial to faro.”

“Marshal, none of this helps Noah.” Her curt words made her cringe. Maybe the lawman wouldn’t notice.

Masterson’s gaze finally rose to meet hers. A flicker of satisfaction flared inside her with this one victory.

“Feel free to call me Bat.” The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Yer concern for my deputy is noted ’n appreciated. I see why he likes you. I hope you care for him as much in return.”

She glanced down, feigning interest in her own cards. How swiftly the tables had been turned. “
Marshal Masterson
, are you asking me about my intentions toward your deputy?”

“I’m praying whatever happened in that other room, before I came in, wasn’t a calculated move. You ought to know a man’s heart can be broken as easily as woman’s.”

She felt her cheeks grow warm.

“There you go again,” he drawled. “And now I’m definitely not thinking about our game. I’m thinking the moment Noah returns he should escort you to the church ’n—”

A muted knock rapped the back door. Lightning fast, Bat was out of his chair with one pistol drawn. He pressed his finger to his lips and crossed on silent feet to open the door.

Noah shoved past him and his weapon. Her heart swelled with happiness for his safe return, then squeezed tight when he slammed to a halt with his wide-eyed gaze fixed on her.

Bat closed the door and reclaimed his chair. His cards lay discarded under his feet. “Glad to see you returned safe ’n sound, Deputy. Yer woman was concerned.”

“You locked her in a cell?” Noah’s gaze narrowed as he spun to face Bat. “Why?”

She scoffed. “You’re a fine one to ask that question.”

His gaze dropped to his boots. “I was worried about Madam Garrett.”

“So was I.” Bat’s words snapped Noah’s attention back to him.

“She came here?” he asked.

“Of course,” the lawman replied with a shrug. “And that’s when I chose Miss Sullivan’s new accommodations. I was concerned for her wellbeing as much as she was for yours.” He raised an eyebrow in her direction, one full of challenge. “Ain’t that right?”

“You arrested me!”

Noah drew in a startled breath. “For what?”

She angled her face away from both men and raised her chin. “For prostitution—with you.”

Noah’s silence stretched her nerves. She studied him closely. Or as close as one could from the corner of one’s eye…so he wouldn’t guess the importance of his response

He opened his mouth, then shut it. He didn’t refute her crude statement.

She struggled to be indifferent, but she couldn’t stop the heat overflowing her cheeks and scorching her entire body. “In the eyes of Dodge, I’m a criminal.”

Bat waved her declaration away. “No charges will be laid. By the way, Deputy, while you were gone I let her finish her search. We didn’t find anything. I looked as well when I had to put everything back…as best as I could.” He sent her a disapproving look that dissolved into a grin. “Be warned, Deputy, when you two finally set up house, yer woman ain’t a tidy person.”

Noah drew back as if he’d been slapped, then his gaze jumped to her. “You wouldn’t tell me what you were looking, but you’d tell him?”

“I guessed,” Bat drawled, “that it was Edward’s jewelry box ’n watch that went missing after his suicide.”

“How convenient for you to guess
after
I left,” Noah muttered. “So,” he exhaled the word on a long-suffering sigh. “If this box and watch aren’t here, where are they?”

“Don’t know.” Bat’s gaze cut to her. “Don’t think she knows either.”

Noah swore under his breath. He looked everywhere but at her. “Seeing her behind bars doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Then let me out,” she said.
I’m not getting you killed.
“No good can come of keeping me here now.”

“I disagree.” Bat contemplated her. “Yer free from the madam’s grasp, for a while at least. Ain’t that a good thing?”

Noah’s gaze swung to consider her as well. She squirmed beneath his scrutiny, her nerves twitching. Unbearably. This time she refused to look away while she awaited his reply.

“The last thing I ever wanted was to force you to stay in my company.”

“Better that than letting her face her troubles alone.”

“Still doesn’t feel right.” Noah rubbed his eyes. “Maybe we could keep her here without locking her up.”

Disbelief made her stomach flip. He wasn’t actually considering the absurd idea, was he? He wouldn’t. The Noah she knew bargained. He coaxed and cajoled.

Bat glanced at the window and the deepening gloom beyond. “Madam Garrett wants her back. Bars keep people out as well as in.” He canted his head in her direction. “Do you think she’ll stay here long if we don’t incarcerate her? She finished her search ’n came up empty handed.”

The reminder made her shoulders slump. She failed Edward. Completely. She couldn’t let the same thing happen with Noah. “I want to leave Dodge,” she blurted. “Right now.”

The surprise on his face clashed with the certainty in her heart. Protecting Noah was all that mattered.

“Take me away.”
Tonight. Together. Just me and you.

He yanked off his hat and raked his fingers through his hair. “You once told me if I removed you from Dodge, you’d find a way to come back—without me.”

“I won’t. Not now.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes.” She’d never meant anything so strongly.

Noah’s brow furrowed. “You also said you couldn’t promise me anything.”

She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. What could she say when he challenged her with the truth?

The marshal broke the silence. “She’s yer woman, so whatever happens next is yer decision.”

Noah tossed his hat onto the desk and crossed his arms. “How long can we keep her here?”

Real alarm, not just uncertainty, made her scramble to her feet and grab the bars. “You can’t
keep me here
a minute longer. It’s too dangerous.”

Bat grunted. “She’s right. This is damned dangerous. She’s also wrong. We have a week.”

Noah’s frown deepened. “I saw someone who looked like John waiting for me on the edge of town.”

A growing pressure squeezed her chest.

“You don’t have to worry ’bout John,” Bat said. “I had a word with him.”

“When?” The surprise in Noah’s voice matched what she felt.

“After our summons to that false alarm at the rail depot.”

“
That
was your errand?”

“I called in a couple of favors. The first was John letting me win a race this morning.”

Frustration made her shake the bars until they rattled. Her gaze clung to Noah. “Listen to me. You need to leave Dodge. If you don’t, they’ll kill you.”

“Who will?” both men demanded.

How could she tell them about Gertie when there’d never be any proof? She didn’t even have Edward’s missing possessions. Noah would be even more determined to stay in Dodge and bring the madam to justice. And then there was Cora. “You can’t let your guard down around anyone at the Star.”