Cindy Holby (28 page)

“Dang Margy, you made it up here all right,” Ward said with a grin. “And you haven’t had any problem going to and from school every day that I’ve noticed.”

“Humph,” Margy said. “Some people should do something constructive with their time instead of sticking their noses in everyone else’s business; don’t you think so Pastor Key?”

“I think it’s not up to us to judge,” he replied calmly. Yes,
the man was smart enough to know when a trap was being set for him. As if of one mind, they both paused and gave Margy time to get ahead of them. She stomped off with her nose in the air. The pastor took the opportunity to kneel down and make friends with Lady.

“She’s a beautiful dog,” he said. “Smart too. You can tell just by looking into her eyes.”

“They say the eyes are the window to your soul,” Ward remarked.

“If only it were that easy.” The preacher stood and walked out into the street. Strange…he wore boots. Boots that were well broken in. What was a preacher from Ohio doing in a pair of boots like that? Boots that had been worn for so long they were like a second skin. They weren’t something that you could buy, but they were something you could steal. Especially if the person who wore them was dead.

Ward followed with Lady on his heels. “I bet in your business it would be hard.”

“If it were easy then there wouldn’t be a need for ministers.”

The man was inscrutable. Never a direct answer except when he volunteered to help with the doors. They walked a few more paces in silence. The preacher looked around, studying the buildings and the people who were out and about. A few waved and he raised a hand in greeting but didn’t offer to go and talk to any of them. Something about that didn’t set right with Ward.

But the dogs like him…
In his experience, dogs were generally a better judge of character than a man. But a dog could love a man who was meaner than a snake, as long as he didn’t abuse the dog.

“Leah called you Cade.”

“It’s my middle name.” He didn’t look at him, just kept on walking toward the livery.

“I reckon the two of you have gotten pretty close.”

The preacher stopped. They were in front of the stable, directly across from Heaven’s Gate and the statue. He studied the statue for a moment then looked at Ward. “I hold her in the highest regard,” he said and walked into the stable to join Jim.

Ward believed him, still it didn’t keep him from thinking there was something not quite right about the man. There were things that just didn’t add up. Things he needed to think on. As he always did his best thinking when he played his piano, Ward returned to his saloon and soon the sweet melodic sounds of his music filled the street.

Later, when he’d stopped for a bit and walked out on the porch he noticed the preacher had his horse saddled. He talked to Jim for a moment, and then swung up in the saddle with an ease and grace that would have put Jake to shame. It was something else Ward added to his ever-increasing curiosity about Pastor Timothy
Cade
Key.

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” Jake said.

“I am,” Leah replied. “Much better.” She felt so much better that her face hurt from smiling. It didn’t hurt near as bad as the muscle aches from a few days back. It was definitely a pain she could live with.

“I was worried about you,” he said.

“I appreciate it Jake, and everything you’ve done for Banks.”

“He’s a great kid.”

“I know.” Her pride was evident and more than likely a sin but she didn’t care. She’d shout it from the mountaintops. “He is.” She went about the parlor, picking up the odds and ends of the tea when she came across the remnants of a cookie sitting on her mantel. Leah picked it up and looked at it in confusion when she noticed another cookie lying on the floor in the corner where Ward had stood.

Leah looked at Jake who in turn looked at the ceiling as if there was something very interesting up there. She laughed. “He made all of you take one didn’t he?”

“Well I should have known something was up when Gus passed.” Jake grinned.

Leah laughed harder and Jake joined her. “I gotta say, I’m kind of anxious to hear his first sermon,” Jake said.

“Me too.” Leah smiled.

“You seem really happy, Leah.”

She thought about it a minute, thought about all that had happened in the past few weeks. “You know, I am happy.”

Jake leaned on the mantel and ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. “Is it because of him?”

“Nothing’s happened Jake.”
Nothing beyond a kiss…

“I didn’t say it had.” He turned to look at her. “But you do have feelings for him, don’t you?”

She thought on it again. Thought of the conversations with Cade, thought of how he kept her off balance, how he made her laugh, how he fixed her pump and talked to Dodger and played with Ashes and how he held her and cared for her when she was sick. There was still Banks. He’d yet to really spend any time with her son, but she knew a man who was good to her animals would be good to her son. There was something there. A spark…a potential…hope.

“Yes, I’m sorry Jake, but yes, I do have feelings for him. And I think maybe he has feelings for me.”

“Dang it Leah, it’s obvious he has feelings for you. All you got to do is see the way he looks at you, at the way you look at him…” Jake sighed. “I’ve never seen you look at me that way.”

“You can’t choose who to love, Jake. Sometimes it chooses you.”

“Like fate?”

“Yeah…like fate.”

“Well…”

She could tell he was upset. But what could she say? She’d never led him on, she’d always been honest with him and told him she didn’t have feelings for him. Jake just didn’t want to accept no as an answer. Would he make things harder for Cade now? Would he be an enemy instead of a friend?

“I’ll make sure Banks is back before dark tomorrow,” Jake finally continued.

“I’m sure he’ll love spending time at the ranch.”

“He could have it all someday if…”

Leah held up her hand. “Don’t Jake. Just don’t. It’s not meant to be. Can’t you accept that? Can’t we continue on as friends?”

“Give me some time to get used to it.”

“I can do that Jake. If you promise me that you won’t make things hard on Cade if something does happen between us.”

“Cade?”

“It’s his middle name. Kincaid. He told me to call him that. He said that’s what his mother called him.”

“Sounds to me as if
something
already
has
happened.”

“We’ll see.” She followed Jake to the door. “Take care of my son.”

“You know I will. No matter what else happens, I’ll always take care of him.”

“You’re a good man, Jake Reece.”

Jake shook his head and walked out the door.

C
ade rode out of Angel’s End to clear his head and to get the lay of the land. To escape the townsfolk who saw that he was out and about and wanted to welcome him to town.
Welcome Timothy…
He could not help but think, even though he barely knew the man, that Timothy would have loved Angel’s End. He would have embraced the town and the people with open arms, just like the statue in the middle of the street.

Jim had showed him the wood he’d set aside for the doors. The pieces sat on sawhorses in his shed. The planks were already glued together and the wood had cured but they still needed to be planed and sanded and hinges attached. Cade had always been good with his hands, especially after Jasper had trained him to be a pickpocket. Later on it served him well when he learned to use a gun. Shooting, he discovered was something else he did well. Finishing the doors was a job he could do in a day’s time, if the weather cooperated
and
if
he was left alone. He knew better than to think the townsfolk would leave him in peace to work. He also knew that he should be able to handle their curiosity about him until next Saturday. He could pretend he was Timothy awhile longer, if it gave him a chance to stay with Leah.

The trails that peeled off from the main road to the north and west led to the mines. Men left their homes and families and came west to dig in the hard rock or pan in the streams in hope of finding treasure, yet for the majority of them, it was a dead end to riches and the loss of a dream. They wound up working harder and longer and most of them died alone. Still, there were the ones, like the man with the boys who came into the Devil’s Table, who brought their families west to live in tents and hovels in search of a better life. These were the sheep Timothy wanted to feed, just as the Cheyenne were for his father. Timothy would have gone to the camps and dug right alongside these men while sharing the word.

Feed my sheep…
Had Timothy really expected him to carry on his work when he spoke those last words? Or was it a reminder to God that he had a job he was supposed to do. What a shock it must have been to him when he realized he was not going to be able to carry out his calling. That he came so far and got so close and then he was killed, senselessly, all because he shared his fire with a man. Because he thought he was
supposed
to help Cade. Because Cade was
supposed
to stumble upon his camp. Because it was
all
part of God’s plan. More like another one of God’s jokes.

To the south and east, roads led off to ranches and farms. Signposts hammered to tree trunks pointed in different directions at each path that fed into the main trail. Cade stopped and looked at the one that said Reece. The brand beside it was a
J
laid back, like it had been tipped over. Either a lazy
J
or a rocking
J
. From what he knew of Jacob Reece, he’d say it was the latter.

Leah should marry the man…
The thought of her with another man felt like a punch in the gut. Just being away from her was painful. He’d hoped that the ride would give him a better perspective on his feelings for her. Big help that. He couldn’t wait to see her again. He turned his horse back toward town and once more ignored the part of his mind that said he should have been long gone from this place.

Cade had been gone a good long while. Leah was pleased he was getting to know the townsfolk and learning about his new home. He’d be excited about meeting them, more than likely hungry when he returned, and ready to share his thoughts with her, or so she hoped.

Leah had just about finished cleaning the kitchen and started fixing dinner. Ashes, still excited from her adventure outdoors, followed her around, swatting at her skirts every chance she got while Dodger settled down onto his blanket in the corner by the stove.

Since she wanted the meal to be hot when Cade got back and she had no idea when that would be, Leah set the boiled potatoes on the corner of the stove and put the ham steaks in the iron skillet. They were well seasoned and she would wait until Cade’s arrival to fry them. Then she went to her room. Ashes dashed ahead of her and slid beneath her bed.

“What’s got you so rowdy tonight?” she asked the kitten. The chiming of her grandmother’s clock reminded Leah of something the older woman always said. Animals sensed when the weather was going to change. The more active they were, the worse the weather coming in.

“We must be in for another storm,” Leah said as Ashes clawed her way onto the bed, then with tail twitching leapt off the edge and scampered beneath the curtain that covered the entrance to her room. Leah laughed at her antics and moved to the bureau.

She turned the lamp up and unbuttoned her dress. She pulled the two sides open and looked carefully at her neck and the skin above her breasts. The rash seemed to be gone. Still her skin felt dry. She slipped out of her dress and unlaced her camisole. Nonnie’s jar of salve sat on the bureau and she spread it over her skin to soothe the dryness. Since she was at it, she kicked off her shoes and socks and placed a leg on the side of the bed to better spread the salve. The scent of roses filled the room.

Leah heard the back door open, heard the snick of Dodger’s nails on the wood floor as he went to welcome Cade, and then Cade’s warm greeting to Dodger. She imagined him kneeling in the hall and rubbing Dodger’s head as he always did. She heard the creak of the floor as he stood and knew he hung his coat on the hook. Another creak meant a step and then Ashes flew into her room. The curtain billowed out with her rush and the kitten turned around and attacked the monster that chased her. She sank her claws into the fabric and swung outward with the impetus of her charge. Leah laughed at the kitten. There was the sound of tearing, as the sheet used to cover the door was old and worn, and it gave way with the slight added weight of the kitten.

Both fell to the floor and Ashes panicked. Cade knelt and untangled her from the trap and stood with the kitten in his hands. Leah stood watching, wearing nothing but her camisole and petticoat. She didn’t even realize it, she’d been so preoccupied with Ashes’s antics until Cade looked at her and she felt the heat of his gaze on her skin. His eyes roamed over her like a caress and stripped away the few garments she wore. She could have picked up the quilt from the foot of the bed to cover herself, could have told him to leave, she could have screamed to the heavens, if she wanted.