Texas Mail Order Bride (16 page)

“Yes, I will. I'm glad you talked her into going out there. She needs fresh air and sunshine and to be free of all the bad memories here. It'll do them both a world of good.”

A man entered the mercantile and walked up to Cooper. “Hear you're having a meeting of the bachelors' club later. That true?”

“Don't believe I know you, mister. Are you a single man?”

“Does a skunk stink? I wanna join your cause.”

“Well, be at the Lily in an hour.”

The man moseyed out of the store. When Cooper turned back to Delta, she raised a sarcastic eyebrow. “What?” he asked.

“Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black? You're raising Cain for me starting a garden club that will greatly benefit this town, yet you insist on having one for you men who only want to plot against women. I can't believe this.”

Warmth crept up Cooper's neck. When she put it that way, he could see her point. Except his club hadn't gotten the citizens up in arms and ready to shoot first and ask questions later.

“Delta, you're right. I'm all about fairness. I won't say another word about this garden club. Just don't come crying to me when you realize you've bitten off more than you can chew.”

“Don't worry,” she snapped. “I learned a long time ago that tears don't accomplish a blooming thing.”

She spun on her heels and marched off to wait on another customer. Cooper followed the gentle sway of her softly rounded hips. He truly admired a woman with sass. In fact, he admired everything about Miss Delta Dandridge. But why in blue blazes did he pick a fight every time she came near, when all he most wanted to do was kiss the fire out of her? He'd like to wrap her in his arms and never let her go.

“I'm an utter fool,” he muttered sourly.

The quiet hum below the surface, down where all the nerve endings were, reminded him that it had been too long since he'd been with a woman. But just any woman would no longer do.

Delta Dandridge had spoiled him. He wanted her and only her.

She'd burrowed under his skin, and one of these days, he'd have to scratch that particular itch or he'd go stark raving mad.

The noise in the back room of the saloon was deafening. Cooper pounded a gavel that the last circuit judge had left behind. “I call this meeting of the Battle Creek Bachelors' Club to order.”

His brothers Brett and Rand were in attendance, as well as a half-dozen others.

When the men paid Cooper no mind, Brett shouted, “Quiet!”

At last the talking ceased.

“Abner, what the hell are you doing here?” Cooper peered at the one-legged man who sat outside the hotel every day and watched the comings and goings and reported everything to the sheriff. Some of it was accurate, but the biggest portion was nothing but figments of Abner's imagination. Lord knew the man wasn't in danger of anyone seeking to marry him. Besides, he smelled.

Abner puffed up. “Just 'cause I ain't got two legs, you think I don't belong here? We men gotta stick together. Why, just today I saw a group of those women attackin' George Lexington an' threatening to close down the hotel if'n he don't shape up.”

“You've been seeing things, Abner.” Cooper knew for certain that no one had attacked Lexington.

And there sat Old Hickory, the town drunk, as big as you please. “Hickory, what in God's name are you thinking? You can't stay sober long enough to join anything.”

Old Hickory hiccuped. “Beggars cain't…cain't be choosers.”

Chuckles went around the table. Rand stood. “Coop, I make a motion to change our name. Seems to me we have a bigger reason to band together these days.”

“Just what are you proposing?”

“I reckon ‘the Gentlemen's Society' would about cover it.”

“I second the motion,” Brett spoke up.

Every hand raised when Cooper called for the vote. “Then it's agreed the Bachelors' Club has become the Gentlemen's Society.” He grinned. “I reckon it's a good thing, in light of the fact that I see three married men here.”

“We gotta do something or these women will be telling us what clothes we can wear and how we can walk down the street,” the barber said. “This is war.”

A murmur of agreement filled the small, airless room.

Old Hickory raised his hand. “When do you serve refr-refreshments?” The man grabbed on to the table to keep from falling out of his seat.

“Any refreshments you want you're gonna pay for yourself,” Rand declared. “Besides, you've had enough.”

“The h-hell you say!” Hickory frowned and hiccuped again.

“What we need to do is figure out how we're going to deal with this,” Cooper said, bringing them back to the subject. “Any ideas?”

“We could tie Miss Dandridge up and put her on the next stage back to Georgia,” the barber suggested.

One of the married men stood. “I ain't been gettin' nothing but grief at home from the missus. We need to make a believer out of the woman.”

“Now, hold on.” Cooper slammed the gavel onto the table to be heard over the roar. He didn't like the direction this had taken. He was going to have to do something fast or Delta would be in a lot of danger. “I said quiet!”

Finally the men got the message.

“Go ahead, Coop,” Rand said.

“There's been enough violence in this town. The women haven't done anything yet except take out an ad in the newspaper. I say we give them a chance. Let's see what they aim to do.” Cooper met each man's eyes. “Anyone who harms Miss Dandridge or any of the other women will answer to me personally. Is that clear?”

The barber spoke up. “What's plain as the nose on my face is you've gotten sweet on little Miss Georgia. You gonna let her drag you to the altar, Coop, huh?”

“Nobody's dragging anyone to the altar. This has nothing to do with marriage.”

“You wouldn't say that if you were married to my wife,” hollered one of the new members, and he was rewarded with hoots of laughter.

Cooper tried one more time to reason with them. “Be that as it may, for now we're watching and waiting.”

“Yeah, waitin' for that skirted army to tell you how the cow ate the cabbage,” a voice from the back yelled. “We want our town to stay the same as it's always been. If we wanted things all whitewashed and frilly, we'd have moved to where they allow such things. This is a man's town.”

“There's nothing wrong with a little fixing up.” Cooper raised his voice. “This town belongs to everyone, the women as well as the men. Maybe we got the name of this club wrong. It's not a gentlemen's club at all, because you're acting like a flock of old pecking roosters. I'm ashamed of you.”

The silence was broken only by loud snoring. Seemed Old Hickory had passed out.

“I stand with you, Coop,” Brett said quietly. “The town can use a little elbow grease or it's going to completely die. I vote that if we can't help, we should stand out of the way.”

“Amen, brother.” Rand slapped Brett on the back.

“Oh, all right.” The disgruntled barber took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and waved it.

Old Hickory came awake as the men filed from the room. “I'll…I'll take a wh-iskey.”

“Go back to sleep, Hickory,” Cooper flung over his shoulder on the way out the door.

He rented a wagon from the livery, then returned to the mercantile to load the rolls of barbed wire.

“You take good care of Jenny,” Delta ordered. “And don't let her overdo. Change her bandage every day. And wash behind Ben's ears when you give him a bath.”

“Yes, mother.” Cooper grinned. He'd wished many days and nights that his mother had lived to tell him these things. It felt nice to have a woman boss him around, especially one as pretty as Delta. She'd wiggled past all his defenses and barricades and settled herself in his heart.

Maybe one day when he got enough nerve, he'd tell her that.

Feeling lighter than a man with his problems had a right to, he lightly tweaked her nose. “Don't get into too much trouble.”

“I don't plan on it. I'll see you in a few days. I'll need to ride out and give Jenny an update on things.”

His smile slid off. “Have Rand drive you out. It's too dangerous for a woman alone. You might run into those men who've been attacking the ranch.”

“I will.” A deep wrinkle marred her smooth brow. “Cooper, are you absolutely positive it's a good idea to take Jenny and Ben out there?”

“I'm sure. I wouldn't jeopardize their safety for anything. I'd give my life for those two and my brothers. No one, absolutely no one, is getting past the main gate. The Long Odds is well guarded, and I intend to keep it that way.”

“I hope you're right.”

“Guess I'd better be. I'll never hear the end of it if I'm not.”

By the time he returned to Mabel's, Jenny and Ben were waiting on the porch with their bags at their feet. Ben's grin stretched from ear to ear. The boy stumbled over his feet in his hurry to meet him.

“Mama and me are going to the ranch. This is my best day ever,” Ben said, hugging him.

“Do tell.” Cooper's chest tightened. It meant more than anyone knew to feel the boy's arms clinging to him. He wished Ben's grandfather could know how special his grandson was.

Mabel wiped away a tear and kissed her little sister. “It's gonna be lonely around here without you and Ben.”

“It's only for a few days. And I'm not going far.”

“I know. You get some rest now and don't fret about anything.” Mabel stood back and let Cooper help Jenny onto the wagon seat. She waved until they moved down the street.

Once out of town, Cooper breathed easier. Towns stifled the air and closed in around a man. He took a sack of lemon drops out of his pocket, got one out, and handed the rest to Ben.

Scanning the brush lining both sides of the road, he kept one palm on his Colt.

If trouble called, he'd leave it his card.

***

Delta was within minutes of locking the mercantile doors when a tall Indian dressed in leather trousers and wearing moccasins strolled in. She didn't know why, but she wasn't afraid, even though she was alone. His brown eyes reminded her of a wounded animal who had to learn to trust or it'd perish. A wildness about him told her that being made to fit a mold would destroy his soul. She suspected that someone had attempted to do that and now maybe he was trying to make himself whole again.

“May I help you?”

“I hope so. Cooper mentioned that you have needles of all sizes. Would you happen to have one that sews leather?”

“You must be Cooper's and Rand's brother.”

“That's right. I'm Brett Liberty.”

“I've heard a lot about you. I'm Delta Dandridge.” She stuck out her hand and found it engulfed by Brett's large paw.

“You can't believe everything they say.” He gave her a teasing smile that nearly took her breath away.

Cooper and his brothers were definitely no slouches in the looks department. Each was handsome in his own right. No wonder they had to fend the women off with a stick.

But Cooper was the one who had her heart and always would, whatever happened. “If there's anything bad, they certainly failed to mention it. I'm glad to finally meet you.”

“I'll admit I've been curious about the woman who turned this town upside down. You don't have pointy mule ears at all.”

Delta laughed. “I keep those hidden from most people.”

He followed her to the leatherworking supplies, where he selected a needle. After he paid and left, Delta locked up. She took a detour on the way to the boardinghouse by way of the hotel. She'd promised Nat Rollins she'd stop in. She hoped she'd relay the appropriate response that was worthy of the honor. Already she doubted she could keep a straight face.

The Lexington Arms Hotel stood tall across the street from the Lily of the West. Like most everything else in Battle Creek, the two-story structure had seen better days. She opened the door and strode up to the desk. The interior reflected the outside appearance. The lopsided sofa was missing a leg on one end, and the upholstered chairs were mismatched and different colors. None were without holes. In fact, one had a metal spring sticking out of the seat. The peeling wallpaper and warped wooden floor only added to the shabby condition.

It broke her heart. The place had lots of potential, if only someone would take an interest.

Nat Rollins came from a small room behind the desk. His face lit up when he saw her. “I'm glad you stopped by.”

“I told you I would. I'm just sorry it took me so long.”

He patted a steel box on the counter. “Well, this is it. Ain't she a beaut?”

With metal bars all the way around and a top that was secured with a padlock, the box resembled a small jail cell. Cradled inside the box was the broken heel of a woman's shoe.

Battle Creek's claim to fame.

“She certainly is.” Delta took great pains to examine it thoroughly.

“This heel belonged to Miss Abigail Winehouse, the renowned singer and actress from Boston. Broke right off her shoe when her stagecoach lost a wheel and she ended up flat on her rear in the dirt.” Nat colored when he realized what had just come out of his mouth. “Uh, I'm sorry, Miss Dandridge. I didn't mean to say rear. A lady…uh, a lady wouldn't…”

“Don't get in a dither, Mr. Rollins. I didn't think anything about it. We all have them.”

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down like a cork on a fishing line. “Thank you for not taking offense.”

“You're welcome.” She ran her fingers across the cool steel of the box. You'd think the thing was made of solid gold the way the town protected it. According to Mabel, there had been some fighting over who would get to claim ownership. George Lexington won out. At least so far. But the fight was far from over, she suspected.

“I'd open it and let you touch it, but I'd get in big trouble.”

“We wouldn't want that.” She let her gaze drift to the hotel furnishings. “I'm curious. How long has the hotel been in business?”

The man rubbed a pointed chin that had a few sprigs of hair on it—he'd probably missed them when he shaved that morning. “Well, ma'am, I do believe Mr. Lexington built it fifteen years ago, thereabouts. It was the tallest structure around until Mr. Fletcher built the Flying Dutchman windmill on his property at the edge of town. Have you seen it?”

“Yes, I have, and I was quite impressed.” She prayed Nat wouldn't see the grin that she tried desperately to hide.

“Me too. Fletcher's real smart.”

“It's been nice chatting, Mr. Rollins. I promised Mabel I'd help with supper. I deeply appreciate you letting me look at your treasure.”

“Yes, ma'am. Thanks for coming in.”

Delta gave the hotel lobby one last glance and vowed to do something about the state of disrepair. Perhaps if she spoke to Mr. Lexington, she could persuade him to make some repairs. Surely he was a reasonable man.

She could do so much good, if only everyone would let her.