Authors: Marcia Lynn McClure
“
Are you just trying to be kind to me, Patty?” Fallon asked. Her mind had come alive in that moment with scheming. “Do you…are you implying he finds me…attractive in some way?”
Patty giggled. “Honey, he’s sly about it, I know that. Planting those charming kisses on your pretty mouth every time he finds an excuse. Writing letters to Julia about hoping you’ll have his babies. It’s plainer than day, Fallon.” Patty’s face wore a solemn expression in the next moment, and she took Fallon’s shoulders in hand, watching her intently as she spoke. “Now this is a delicate matter I’m going to discuss here with you, honey. But I promise you, if you take a little initiative here—find a little self-confidence, a little dander, courage, or what have you—well, that boy didn’t marry you just to help you out, no matter what he told you.” She inhaled deeply, as if searching for her own courage before continuing. “He needs a little push, Fallon. A sign that you love him.”
Fallon looked away shyly.
“
Don’t feel ashamed or bashful about it, Fallon. It’s the perfect thing. I’ve seen it in your eyes, and…and I’ve seen it in his. He’s just scared.”
“
Of what?” Fallon asked, irritated. “That I’ll see his face and leave him or some such ridiculous notion?”
“
Exactly,” Patty confirmed.
Fallon turned from Patty, closed her eyes, and accepted what she had been afraid to until now. “He’s a powerful man. Set in his ways, Patty. He’s kept to himself for years, right?”
“
Yes,” Patty agreed.
“
He’s capable of defending himself from any harm. From what I see, the lovely Julia Salazares is at his beck and call.”
“
Yes.”
“
But he married me, Patty.”
“
He did.”
“
A poor, orphaned girl with no family to speak of save a drunken uncle and a dying mother.” Turning back to face Patty, she added, “My mother was happier when she left me here with him than she has been since my father’s death.”
Patty nodded and smiled. “You’ve admitted it then, haven’t you? You’ve finally been able to open yourself to the fact that he’s in love with you.”
Fallon laughed. “In love with me? I can’t accept that. Not when he keeps such secrets from me. But I know that he does care for me in some regard. Why else would he bother with me other than the fact he’s an outstanding man?”
“
Trader Donavon is a man above all others, Fallon, in every aspect of his being. Give him a little shove here and there, girl, and I promise you those hardened walls keeping him from you will melt away like a snowball in the summer sun.” Patty smiled and kissed Fallon affectionately on the cheek. “I thought you were going to turn out as stubborn as he is, honey. But you’ve let your heart open up now, and don’t let anything cause you to doubt again.” Patty tucked a stray strand of Fallon’s hair behind the girl’s ear. “I’ll give you a little advice now, sweetie. Big, strong, tough ol’ Trader Donavon won’t be able to keep his hands out of this brown softness for long. He likes your hair down. Let it loose more often.” Turning to survey Fallon’s room once again, she said, “Well now, let’s get to work. Daylight’s burning.”
Fallon straightened bravely and turned to look at her reflection in the mirror once more. She was Trader’s wife. It was time she started behaving like it.
Instead of the tighter braid in which she usually wore her hair, Fallon let it hang more freely, loosely braiding merely several inches of the ends. Letting the softer braiding hang over her right shoulder, she stepped from the house and onto the front porch.
“
Get back in that house!” Trader commanded as he rode up on Brigadier.
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You can’t expect me to stay penned up forever, Trader. Besides, I know Uncle Charles. He’s passed out somewhere sleeping off his liquor,” Fallon informed him, stepping down from the porch and studying the freshly turned soil where the cattle had lain that morning.
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Well, maybe the others aren’t,” Trader reminded her.
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They work for him. I’m sure they have to sober up before causing any more trouble. Besides, they’re all cowards. They’re afraid to face you in the light of day.” As Trader exhaled in exasperation, Fallon added, “I’ll stay close to the house though. All right?”
“
All right.”
Julia rode up to the house then and smiled at Fallon. “Hello, Fallon. You look radiant today,” she greeted.
“
Thank you, Julia. I guess you’ve heard about the horrible sight we faced this morning.” Fallon possessed a newfound confidence since her talk with Patty. Somehow she was able to face this woman now as an equal.
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Oh, yes! It’s dreadful! I had to ride over and find out if you were faring well,” Julia explained. Fallon sensed the woman was entirely sincere in her concern.
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I’m fine, but Patty and I could use some company over a cool glass of water,” Fallon invited. She was delighted when Julia smiled, obviously pleased. Fallon was also amused when she saw the confused movement of Trader’s hood as he looked first from Fallon, then to Julia, and back.
Julia dismounted, tying her horse’s reins to the porch railing. “You see, Trader,” she said, smiling up at the man who remained mounted, “I told you I could keep her close to home for you.”
“
Hhmmm,” he mumbled.
Going to stand next to the horse, Fallon put a hand softly on his knee. “I’m sorry for the cattle you’ve lost, Trader. I’m sorry.” Moving her hand upward, she touched his muscular thigh tenderly and, dropping her voice, added, “I’m sorry I shoved you too. I won’t anymore.”
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Why not?” he asked.
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Because you asked me not to,” Fallon said cheerfully, turning from him and going to join Julia.
“
I asked you not to leave the house too,” Trader reminded.
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You ordered me not to leave the house, Trader. And besides, that’s different,” Fallon explained. “Come in, Julia. Patty loves company, you know.”
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I’m a widow,” Julia explained as Patty and Fallon sat at the kitchen table with her.
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Julia’s husband was killed in the war,” Patty explained.
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I’ve just never been able to find anyone since,” Julia sighed. “Of course, when Trader came back…but he never took to me anyway. Even before I was married. My Ricardo was lost at Gettysburg.”
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I’m so sorry, Julia,” Fallon mumbled. She felt guilty for thinking badly of the woman. She seemed a sincere, kind woman. Fallon learned a great deal about her neighbor as she and Patty sat talking with her throughout the afternoon.
Ricardo Salazares had been several years Julia’s senior. He was a rich cattle rancher and was known as an incredibly compassionate man. When he died, Julia, of course, inherited the ranch and chose not to sell it but rather to keep it running as a way of dealing with her grief. Julia repeatedly mentioned Trader and what a great help and comfort he had been to her over the past several years.
“
You would’ve liked my Ricardo, Fallon. He was a fine man,” Julia sighed.
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He must’ve been,” Fallon said, “judging from his wife.”
Julia reached out and took Fallon’s hand in her own and squeezed it appreciatively. “Thank you,” she said.
“
Well, get the boys out there! We should be able to catch one of them!”
Fallon, Julia, and Patty simultaneously turned to look as Trader entered the house, shouting orders to someone outside. Fallon jumped from her chair and gasped, horrified as she saw his shirt soaked with blood at one side.
“
Trader!” she gasped.
“
Dirty dog took a shot at me out in the east pasture,” Trader muttered, going to the pump and fumbling with the buttons of his shirt as the water began to flow from it.
Fallon rushed to him, pushed his hands from their unbuttoning, and tore the shirt open to inspect the wound. “Take it off!” she ordered as she turned him so she could better see from where the blood emanated. A heavy sigh of relief left her breathless as she looked up at him and said, “It’s just grazed.”
“
I know that,” Trader said, wadding up the torn shirt and soaking it in the stream of water from the pump.
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Well, I didn’t,” Fallon said. “You scared me to death! You’re the one who shouldn’t be out there. It’s you they want.”
“
No. They were just trying to scare me. They’d have killed me if they wanted to,” he said, pressing the wet cloth to the wound.
Taking hold of the hem of his hood with both her hands, she tugged at it roughly. “Be careful. You could’ve been killed! You don’t know for sure it isn’t what they want. Do you hear me? You think you’re invincible somehow. But you bleed like everyone else, and they will kill you if they can!”
“
Charles Ashby doesn’t want me dead, Fallon,” he assured her. “He wants to get hold of you so he can control me. He wants my money. And he won’t kill me—at least until he has it.”
Fallon looked to Patty and Julia, who both sighed heavily with worry.
As he cleaned the wound at his side, Trader spoke to Julia. “You have one of the hands ride home with you, Julia. And don’t be riding over alone for a while.” Looking to Fallon, he pointed a stiffened index finger at her and warned, “And you stay close to the house. In it, in fact!” He rinsed the shirt under the pump water again. “Patty, keep her in here. They slaughtered some more cattle out in the east pasture.” He threw the blood-soaked shirt into the large sink and turned to leave. Pausing, he turned back to Fallon and took hold of her throat with one hand. “I don’t want to find you out somewhere with your pretty little throat cut, do you hear me?” he growled. “Stay close to the house. Please!” he added. Then he left the room.
“
You keep that wound clean! Do you hear me, Trader?” Patty called after him. There came no answer.
Fallon put a hand to her throat, not because Trader had hurt her, but because she adored the feel of being held by him. She adored his touch. Something about the way he held her throat thrilled her. She wanted all the ugliness heaped upon them to vanish so she could revel in the feel of his touch always.
Just before suppertime, Julia left, and Patty and Fallon watched the sun set from the front porch.
“
The men won’t sleep much tonight,” Patty commented. “Trader will have them out watching the herds all night.”
“
I can’t believe that man is my relation,” Fallon sighed. “I’m ashamed of it.”
“
It’s not your fault, honey. We can’t choose who’s born into our family.”
“
I know it. But—”
“
But nothing. I hate to tell you this, but Trader’s been threatened before. He’s a rich man, and people resent it, even though he uses his money to do so much good.” Patty sighed heavily and went on. “His appearance makes people resent him too.”
Trader and Ben rode up then and reined to a halt. “It’s dark now, Fallon. Go inside please. We’ll be in shortly for supper, Patty. Hank and Paul are going to take the first watch. Ben and I will rest for a while after we eat.” Then they rode toward the stables. Patty took Fallon’s arm and led her into the house.
“
I don’t want him out there in the dark, Patty. He’s a big target,” Fallon said.
“
Well then, we’ll have to keep him inside somehow, won’t we?” Patty chuckled, winking.
After supper, Ben and Trader sat in the parlor talking. Trader relaxed, stretched out on the sofa, his long legs stretched out before him as his feet rested on a stool. Clearing her throat and summoning her newfound courage, Fallon entered the room and sat down on the sofa next to him. The hood turned to face her, and she could sense he was somewhat surprised at her doing so. She had never before sat next to him quite so casually and of her own easy choice.
“
You’ll…I’ll not have you out there tonight, Trader,” she stated emphatically.
“
What?” he asked. Ben grinned slyly and laced his fingers over his chest as if waiting to be entertained.
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You won’t be out in the dark providing a perfect target for those criminals to shoot at,” she explained, looking firmly into the darkness of the hood.
“
Fallon—” he began, dropping his feet to the floor and sitting erect.
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Don’t argue with me. You expect me to be careful, and I expect no less from you. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
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It’s different. Those cattle must be protected. And—”
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Let the hired men protect them. They aren’t in any danger.”
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That’s not true. Any one of them could be shot as easily as I could. I didn’t hire them to lose their lives on my account.”
“
Then have them be extra cautious. Or give them the choice of helping us or not. But you won’t be out there tonight, and that is final.” As Fallon stood and walked from the room, she added, “I’ll be going to bed now, Trader. I expect to see you retire soon as well. It has been a very trying day, and we all need our rest. Good night, Ben.”
“
Night, ma’am,” Ben called.
Fallon walked slowly from the room. Upon exiting it, she slipped aside quietly and listened for Trader’s reaction. Her heart pounded wildly, for she anticipated a great and wrathful explosion.
To her astonishment, Ben spoke first. “Well, what do ya make a that?”
“
I think…” Trader stammered. “I think…I have to go out there, Ben. Who can tell how many more cattle they’ll take during the night?”
“
She’s right, you know. They want to draw you out. Maybe here so they can get at ya easy. Ya let us other boys handle watchin’ the herd, Trader. Ya need to stay here…in the house…in case they try for her,” Ben counseled, lowering his voice.
“
They won’t dare try to take the house,” Trader growled.
“
They might,” Ben corrected.
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No. They’ll slaughter cattle for several days and try to scare me into giving them what they want. I’ll stand watch just like the others.”
Fallon smiled, delighted at the lack of anger in Trader’s voice. Quietly she tiptoed down the hall, stopping at Patty’s room.
“
He’s still planning on going out,” Fallon told her friend.
“
I’ll be ready then, honey. We’ve got to keep him in tonight. I feel it in my soul,” Patty whispered.
“
So do I,” Fallon agreed. A tiny voice in her mind kept screaming at her, warning that if Trader ventured into the blackness this night, he wouldn’t come back.
As the clock on the chest of drawers struck the half hour, Fallon heard the door to the bedroom open. It had been almost impossible to lie in bed and wait for him for nearly an hour. Now it appeared he had decided to rest in their bed before his watch began. Praying quietly to herself, Fallon listened as he sat down on the bed. As she heard his heavy boots hit the floor, first one and then the other, her inner prayers turned to those of thankfulness. It was a weak plan she and Patty had concocted, but it was all they could do.
She felt him stretch out on the bed next to her and exhale deeply as he relaxed. The waiting was long and anxious, but finally his breathing slowed, and she could sense he was sleeping at last. Slowly, she moved to the edge of the bed and sat up. Quietly she crept to his side of the bed. Lifting his heavy boots from the floor, she silently crept to the door. Carefully opening the door, she did indeed find Patty faithfully waiting there to receive the boots. Patty smiled reassuringly and crept quietly down the hallway.
Returning to the bed, Fallon lay down as easily as she could. Trader stirred, but only enough to turn from his back to his stomach.
“
Did I wake you?” Fallon whispered softly. When no response came, she sighed in relief and closed her eyes. The day had been long and fatiguing. It took only moments for her to join him in careless slumber.
“
Where are they, Fallon?” His demanding voice woke her instantly.
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What?” she asked groggily.
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My boots, Fallon. There isn’t a pair to be found in this house!” he growled.
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I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, sitting up and feigning ignorance.
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It doesn’t matter. I’ll go anyway,” he told her.
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No! Wait,” she breathed, taking hold of his arm firmly. Kneeling in the bed, she held him tightly as she gazed up into the hood. “Trader, I’m…I feel…”
“
I have to go, Fallon. Don’t be frightened—you’ll be fine. I’ll send Hank and Paul to sleep in the house. I can’t let those men—”
“
They’ll be fine. It’s you who’s in danger tonight,” she whispered.
“
What do you mean?”
“
I…I know it. I can’t explain it to you. It’s…it’s a feeling in my soul. A premonition. Please, Trader. Stay here…with me. Just for tonight. Please, I’m asking you to trust me just this once.” She waited as he stood motionless for some time. “You’ve protected me, Trader, saved me from so much pain and harm. Let me keep you safe this once. I know there’s danger for you tonight.”
Sighing heavily, Trader reached out and caressed her cheek tenderly with the back of his hand. He brushed a strand of her hair from her face. “Very well,” he conceded.