Whispers on the Wind (10 page)

“We can’t stay locked up
forever. Besides, I’ve already been exposed. As you can see, I’m
fine. I think music is just what the town needs after this bout of
sickness and dreadful weather.”

Carter realized that he was
fighting a losing battle, so he sat back and listened while they
talked about the different songs they liked. It also gave him a
chance to study Mary, who’d let a few things slip about
herself.

Even though she was lovely
all dressed up, he sensed there was more to Mary than frills and
ruffles. Most women would fall over in a dead faint as soon as
something happened. Somehow, he just couldn’t think of Mary being
that way. She had grit. He smiled as he remembered Mary had been
prepared to take on the devil when she’d first regained
consciousness.

She was like a puzzle to
him, one he wanted to figure out even if it was piece by piece.
Yep, the woman sitting across from him had backbone, and he had a
feeling she gave as good as she got, which made her all the more
interesting.

Just who was Mary No Name?
He watched as she licked a pie crumb from her soft pink lips. He
bet those lips would taste much better than the pie.

“The
apple pie was wonderful,” Mary complimented, and before he could
blink she turned to look at him with those wonderful blue eyes of
hers.
Just what would you taste
like, Mary No Name
?

She must have read his
thoughts because she blushed, which left him wondering if she was
thinking the same thing. It might be interesting to find
out

Judith slipped her chair
back from the table. “Let’s retire to the parlor.”

In the large living area,
which was much bigger than any parlor that Mary had ever seen,
everyone found a place to sit Judith and Carter settled on one of
the brown couches and Mary and Rick on another. The decor of the
room was in varying shades of brown, from the darkest earth tones
of the sofa to the rust-colored chairs. The entire room had a very
warm and comfortable feel to it

The big picture windows
gave a good view of the trees and mountains bathed in moonlight,
and reminded Mary that it was still cold outside, but
beautiful.

A fire blazed in the
hearth, giving a warm glow to the surroundings. It was cozy and
perfect, Mary thought Finally, she began to relax and think of the
men as other than the enemy.

“When Carter and Lisa were
young,” Judith began, gaining everyone’s attention, “we would tell
stories after dinner. I thought that we might like to tell a story
while our dinner settles, and then I’ll perform my
masterpiece.”

“What story shall we
tell?” Mary asked, warming to the subject. It reminded her of the
wonderful stories that Mr. MacTavish told them on the wagon train
every night after dinner. It was one of Mary’s fondest memories.
Thankfully, she kept her thoughts to herself, this time.

“We’ll make it up as we
go. It will be fun. You’ll see.” Judith’s smile was infectious.
“Tell you what, I’ll start Once upon a time in the vast region
known as the Colorado Territory, it had been a cold winter and it
was snowing so hard that nobody could see a foot in front of them.
Oh, how they longed for the warmth of spring.”

“Mother, you wouldn’t be
talking about yourself, would you?” There was a trace of laughter
in Carter’s voice.

Judith smiled. “Don’t
interrupt, son, until it’s your turn. Now, as I was saying, they
longed for spring but that wasn’t to be.” She nodded to Mary; it
was her turn.

“The five children who had
just lost their home didn’t know which way to go. It was dangerous
out there. They could freeze to death or be attacked by wild
animals, but they couldn’t go back even if they didn’t know what
lay ahead of them,” Mary added and pointed to Carter. He frowned,
but evidently he decided to be a good sport. She wondered if the
man believed in having fun.

“The oldest, a big,
strapping lad, wondered if it would ever stop snowing or if they
would die out in the damned cold,” Carter grumbled, clearly not
into the game.

Mary laughed, and Judith
frowned at her son. The man lacked imagination.

Rick was smiling as he took
up the story. He had a completely different attitude. “Sounds a bit
like you, Carter,” he said with a chuckle before he started the
story. “Now to make up for your shortcoming, Carter. Let’s see ...
then out of nowhere a man on horseback appeared on the top of the
next hill. He rode a big, strapping black stallion who was stomping
his feet and snorting with impatience. Slowly, the rider started
toward the children.

“They gasped as the
stranger drew nearer. Who was this man? Would he kill them? They
huddled closer to each other in a small group, shivering and
waiting.” Rick paused. The two women were staring at him with
anticipation. “Shall I go on?”

They nodded.

“Suddenly, the rider was
on top of them. He pulled on the reins and the horse halted just
before the children were trampled under the mighty beast’s hooves.
The cowboy shoved back his hat and looked down at the group. ‘What
are you children doing out here?’ he asked in a very deep
voice.

“The children answered,
‘We’re lost’ Slowly the man pulled back his coat He was going for
his gun. ‘No!’ the children screamed.

“But he hadn’t gone for
his gun because there upon his chest, shining like the brightest
star, was a silver badge. ‘I’m a U.S. Marshal, and I’m here to save
you.’

“The children cheered and
they all lived happily ever after.”

Judith and Mary clapped and
cheered. “Bravo!”

“You’re a born
storyteller, Rick,” Mary said, praising him.

“I always knew you were
born for something,” Carter interjected.

“Ah, you’re just jealous
because I outshined you,” Rick shot back with a smile.

“Boys, boys,” Judith said.
“That was a grand story. Now let’s see what you think of the music
I’ve picked out for my program.” She rose and went over to the
piano situated in front of a large window.

Judith started playing
Stephen Foster songs while Mary stood by the piano listening. The
beautiful music soon swept Mary off into the melody. Next Judith
played “Beautiful Dreamer.” Mary began to hum softly.

Judith stopped playing and
looked up at Mary. “You know this song?”

Mary nodded.

“Let’s start again so that
you can sing. Your voice is beautiful, my dear.”

The music began. Mary shut
her eyes and sang. Her crystal clear voice filled the room as she
felt herself relax and float with the music. She’d never felt quite
like this, so free and light

Flabbergasted that such a
small woman could have a voice like that, Carter could only sit in
awe of her. Her voice was magical, and it made him feel things he
really didn’t want to feel about the woman. For the moment he just
sat back and enjoyed.

All too soon the music
ended, and Judith looked at Mary with a radiant smile. “That was
lovely. Where did you get such a voice? You must have sung
professionally before.”

“Thank you. I don’t think
so,” Mary replied, shaking her head.

“I insist you must sing
with me at the concert hall,” Judith said, touching Mary’s hand.
“Everyone will love you. It will be a special treat for the folks
of Windy Bend because this time of year, we don’t see many outside
folks.”

“Do you really think I
should?” Mary asked. What if somebody saw her? She bit her lip and
then decided she was being paranoid; besides, she didn’t want to
insult Judith.

“I most certainly do.”
Judith stood, pulled the lid over the piano keys. “We’ll practice
tomorrow.

But for now, I believe I’ll
turn in. I’m feeling a little tired tonight.”

“Could I borrow a book
from the library?” Mary asked. “Maybe it will help me
sleep.”

“Of course you can.”
Judith leaned over and kissed Mary on the cheek. “It’s at the other
end of the house. Carter will show you and help you get a volume
down. Some are quite high.”

“I—I don’t—” Mary’s
bluster was cut off by Carter.

“It isn’t a bother. Come
on.”

He was already standing,
but Mary hesitated. She wasn’t too sure she wanted to be alone with
Carter. Something about him scared her. She knew it was silly.
She’d been around men all her life. But there was something about
this man ... She looked to Rick, but he was already heading toward
the stairs with Judith.

“Are you afraid?” Carter
asked in a low voice that sounded more like a challenge.

Mary stiffened and jutted
out her chin. “Of course not,” she told him. She wasn’t afraid of
any man.

Chapter Six

Staying at least one step
behind Carter, Mary followed him down the hallway. She preferred to
keep him in view.

He opened the library door,
and to her surprise the lamps had already been lit and the room was
bathed in soft light, making the walnut paneling shimmer. The scent
of oak burning in the black marble fireplace made for a cozy room.
That was, until she glanced around the room. It was anything but
cozy—it was huge and richly decorated.

“Oh my,” Mary breathed as
she strolled into the room.

Carter turned and smiled.
“My family likes to read, as you can see.” He raised his arm in a
sweeping gesture to show off the surroundings. “There are many
books to choose from.”

“I should say so,” Mary
said as she glanced around. Three walls were nothing but
bookshelves from floor to ceiling, stuffed with rich leather-bound
books. She could remember the bookshelf back home that contained
maybe thirty books; Mary had thought that was a lot, but this room
must contain thousands.

The hardwood floors were
covered with a burgundy and cream-colored rug. The fragrance of
lemon oil floated in the air and gave freshness to the room. There
was a long sofa in cream and two overstuffed chairs in the same
rich burgundy, matching the rug perfectly.

“Help yourself to any of
the books,” Carter said in that deep rich voice she was becoming
accustomed to and liking more each day. “What do you like to
read?”

Mary’s back was to Carter,
so he couldn’t see her smile. He was testing her, she decided,
trying to trick her into revealing something about herself. She
thought deep down Carter was already suspicious that she knew more
than she was letting on. Slowly, she turned and looked at him. “I
don’t know. What do you suggest?”

Carter actually smiled,
showing Mary how handsome he really was. Masculine strength was
carved into his strong chin. Those black eyes of his were piercing
and gave no hint what he was thinking. But Mary would have loved to
know what Carter thought about her. Did he think she was even a
little attractive? Probably not. He didn’t seem to notice she was a
woman at all.

“I’m not
good on suggestions unless you want a book on firearms. The other
day, Mother said that she’d read a book she liked very much.”
Carter shut one eye as he tried to remember the tide. “Let me
see”—he leaned against the desk and folded his arms across his
chest—“the tide was ... little something.” He thought for another
moment
“Little Women
or something similar.

“I tell you what.” He
shoved away from the desk.

“You start at that end and
I’ll start at this end, and we’ll see if we can spot the
tide.”

“All right,” Mary agreed.
She looked at the many books. She still couldn’t comprehend having
the time to sit and read them all. Her life up to now had been
filled with work, and at the end of the day she had always been too
tired to think about reading. Come to think of it, she really
hadn’t had much of a life over the last two years. Oh, she’d
accomplished her goal of making the mine successful, for all the
good it did her now. Other than that, she had nothing but rough
hands to show for her hard work. But all that was in the
past

If she could clear her
name, she would turn the mine over to someone else to rim. Then
she’d try to start a new life, a real life, somewhere. There must
be some man out there for her, someone who could hold her interest.
However, if she were anything like her mother, she might be
destined to live alone. Her mother had always been sure that some
man was going to fall in love and rescue her from the whorehouse,
but all she’d ever gotten were empty promises.

Mary didn’t want to live
like that. She didn’t want to ever be dependent on anyone. It was
the uncertainty of giving her heart to someone that scared her most
of all. She didn’t want empty promises from a man, nor did she want
her heart broken.

“You’re quiet,” Carter
said, startling Mary so much that she jumped.

She blinked a couple of
times, then realized she’d been staring at the same book for the
last few minutes. “I was just wondering what my life was like.
Somehow I don’t think it was very interesting.”

That isn’t something we’ll
know until your memory returns,” Carter said, but he didn’t bother
to turn her way as he searched for the book. “You could have a
husband desperately searching for you.”