Ruling Rachel Page 3

  Speechless at the sight, he nodded dumbly and stalked off.

  Things had been rough for a time for the Morrison ladies. Everyone in town knew her ma started workin’ as the new cook at the Harlot and the Hero trying to keep them in their house, if possible. Eventually, they’d all moved to the boarding house. There was no shame attached to the girls because of their ma’s work. Ms. Kitty, even being a whorehouse, was considered a respectable establishment, even though no one talked about the place in mixed company. It was all on account of Ms. Kitty not only treatin’ her ladies right, she was kind, paid her town dues, and privately was always generous to those in need around Grover Town. A good brothel in town around so many unattached ranchers was a necessity to keep things civil-like.

  At that time, he was only a young buck of twenty and he’d just started out at the Rand Farm. He had no funds to even think about courtin’. Then, once she was older, and workin’ at the Reynolds’ place as a housekeeper, and he’d better established a name for himself, work was all he could focus on. Rand hinted that the Farm and Dairy House was getting to be at lot without a right-hand man to take some of the stress off his shoulders. With his boss wanting to marry and all, Lyle had put all his effort into securing the position. All his time and energy had paid off, a couple months ago, he’d won the foreman job, and was able to move out of the bunkhouse into a small house on the property.

  Things were looking up for him. However, now that Rachel had been attacked, he was sure she wouldn’t be willing to hear any talk any time soon about picnics and hand-holding. She’d need time, and he’d give it to her. He was just thankful none of the fool-hearted men in town had taken a shine to her and snatched her away before he could make his intentions known to her.

  When he arrived in town, by way of passing the schoolhouse, then Doc Clarkston’s home and clinic, he started down the main road where a couple customers were just leaving the Drummonds’ restaurant. Manny’s, across the street, had a fiddler and banjo player offering upbeat Christmas tunes for the customers starting to gather inside. The little saloon’s noise could be heard starting up clear through town. The riotous piano banging, the arguments of the wrangler, and the peals and catcalls to the cheap whores, as they swizzled cheap booze, was just the beginning of a night in town, now that decent folks were closing up shops and settling in for the night. Even with it being three weeks before Christmas, single or unemployed men didn’t stop caterwauling, gambling, whoring, or drinking. They didn’t have much to look forward to in the New Year, except perhaps bringing more opportunities their way, or a train ride out of town, onto the next. He didn’t begrudge them. The little saloon wasn’t his usual kind of place, although he enjoyed the atmosphere of Manny’s when he wanted a drink or two, or to try his hand at cards, or his skills at billiards with the only table in town. Still, the small establishment, that had been one of the first places in Grover Town before the place even had a name, gave some men a place to blow off steam.

  Outside the sheriff’s office, he dismounted, then hitched his horse to the post. He removed the blanket again and draped it over Domino’s neck even though he didn’t plan for them to be in town long. Soon, the snow would make the roads difficult to travel and he was trying to get himself in bed before it really piled up and everything was at a standstill. Going up the steps to the boardwalk, he paused when Deputy Nelson walked out the door.

  “Hey, Lyle, nice night for a ride.” Robert Nelson, the nighttime deputy finished buttoning up his coat against the cold wind. The man would be married, come spring, to the Reynolds’ youngest daughter, Sophia, now that Isabel was settled.

  “If one liked their ass frozen off.” Lyle shook his head. “Deputy Nelson, is the sheriff already gone for the night?”

  “Nope. He was just talkin’ to Dilbert about writin’ up the paperwork on the fight at Manny’s saloon.” Robert shook his head.

  “Night fall just happened and they’re already getting into it.” Lyle glanced down the road in the direction of the brightly-lit establishment. “Maybe you should pay for a few rounds down there tomorrow night, so they’ll be passed out for Christmas.”

  “Probably should. Well, go on in. I’m going to start my rounds.” The deputy started to turn.

  “You may want to hold off. I was stoppin’ by to let the sheriff know about two cattle rustlers I discovered hunkered down in the wood past the clearin’ over by the Reynolds’ property.”

  Robert frowned. “You don’t say. Come on in.” The other man led the way into the office.

  “Evenin’, Lyle. Ev’ry thing all right?” Sheriff Silverman, Lyle’s boss’s older half-brother, questioned when he saw him walk in. He was standing next to Dilbert, who sat at the desk closest to the three cells in the back. There were three other desks situated about the whitewashed room, the largest one sat closest to the door with a golden name plate that had SHERIFF carved into it.

  “Sorry to say, I got some work for you this night.” Lyle stayed close to the door, by Deputy Roberts’ desk, and let his body absorb the warmth of the small potbelly stove to his right with a pot of coffee resting on it. He almost asked for a cup, just to take the chill out of his blood from the night.

  “Just when I was expecting to head home and warm up my second helpin’ of shepherd’s pie, Ms. Drummond dropped off for us.” The sheriff rested his fists on his hips above his gun belt. “Whatcha got?”

  Lyle didn’t waste time explaining the situation on the men, but he left out the parts about Rachel. If he had to tell them what the cattle rustlers had been up to, he’d not tell them who the woman was. He hoped that the one idiot still alive would be smart enough not to bring up a woman, because hanging for rustling would be nothing compared to the year of hard labor, he’d have to work breaking rocks before that.

  “Assholes. There goes my night.” The sheriff shook his head. “Lyle, you got time to take us to where you left them?”

  “I do. I need to tell you that the one I shot is dead,” Lyle confessed to the lawman.

  “I’m sure Spencer will have a reward for you on that.”

  “No reward is necessary.” Witnessing the actions the men had done where Rachel was concerned, killing at least one of them had been a justified satisfaction of its own.

  “Well, I can guarantee if I request word from Topeka on their wanted posters, those two probably will be on it. So, you did the world a favor.”

  “Deputy Roberts, come with us. Deputy Dilbert, see if you can find one of Spencer’s workers at Manny’s and send him along behind us. If there’s two that will save me a trip in the other direction. I know you’re ready to get home to your wife and little one, but I’ll need you to hold down the fort until I return.”

  “Yes, sir, Sheriff.” Dilbert rose; after grabbing his hat off the corner of his desk, he headed to the door pulling his coat on as he went.

  “All right, men, let’s mount up.” The sheriff strutted to the hooks next to his desk where a wall of outlaw sketches littered the surface like wallpaper. The middle-aged man grabbed his hat and coat before he moved to meet Lyle at the door. “You head on over with Roberts, Lyle, while I swing over to the livery and get a wagon to haul the two vermin back to town. Hope you didn’t have any plans tonight.”

  “Nope.” Lyle spoke the truth. He’d probably have ended up spending a couple hours at the bunkhouse with the men that were there, playing poker over a glass of whisky before he moseyed on to the foreman house for some shut eye. “I can spare a little time on a cold night.”

  With a quick nod that all his orders would be followed, Sheriff Silverman led them all out the door. “It’s colder than a witch’s tit out here.”

  They all laughed at the sheriff’s comment as each of them shrugged their collars high and went to their horses.

  “Just a little while longer.” Seeing the cloud of frost coming from Domino’s nostrils as he stepped up beside him, Lyle took a moment to rub the side of his neck as he spoke to him. His horse neighed and shook h
is head, knocking off the snow that had settled there. He was a good horse, a snowflake Appaloosa, that Lyle had purchased from a trader who’d bought him out west in Oregon. It had been a steep price, and cost Lyle half of his first year’s pay, but he had never regretted it. Once he removed the blanket off the animal’s neck and shoulders, Lyle mounted up.

  “Let’s ride,” Deputy Roberts said before he and his dark grey horse were off.

  Lyle gave Domino the signal to join alongside the other horse as the sheriff broke off at the end of the main road to head toward the livery.

  Chapter 3

  Rachel removed the second kettle of hot water from the stove and poured it into the large copper tub she’d removed from the storage room off the kitchen. She’d already planned to have herself a long soak that night, since most nights her bath was short and quick with so many others in the house with her. It wasn’t her home, but the Tuckers’, and she tried not to be in their way most times. Even though she always took her bath after the three children, while Mr. and Mrs. Tucker did homework with them and then read a Bible story in the front room before tucking them in, in the room they shared since Rachel occupied the third room.

  Once her own quick bath was complete behind a dark wood screen in the kitchen, Rachel routinely went to her bedroom and read a little before she slept. Her mornings came early, she generally cleaned the Reynolds’ fancy front room and the dining room and dusted the china in the cabinet before the family rose. She started on the laundry as the sun came up, to get it hung while the Reynolds family ate breakfast. Usually, Isabel and her father had been the first two up and would have tea and coffee together as they spoke about the latest news.

  In the months since Isabel had married, Rachel had missed hearing their conversations through the open dining room window as she hung the laundry on the line. Now Isabel was married and due to deliver in the next month or so. Twins no less. Only Rachel’s adoration for her friend had kept her from being pea-soup green with envy. Isabel had children and a husband who loved her, all Rachel had was a torn dress, and ruined cape and pantalets.

  She stared down at the steaming tub of water as her mind filled once again with the events of the night. When Lyle had ridden off, she’d spent long moments just simply sitting by the fireplace in Mr. Tucker’s rocker, staring into the blaze, trying to get the chill not just out of her bones, but also her soul. She’d removed her cape, only to replace it with a shawl around her shoulders to protect her eyes from the sight of her own flesh revealed by the rip in her bodice. She’d sat in the rocker and stitched two buttons onto the cape to replace the ones that had been torn from it. The lovely cape was now blemished by green and yellow, two odd-colored buttons that didn’t match the tan buttons on the walnut material. She was unsure how much time had passed before she had been able to rise without feeling as if she would sink into a fit of tears.

  Even now, as she stood in the kitchen by the inviting bath, she felt outside of herself, even while she was safe in the place where she resided. She still felt scared and alone. She admitted to herself that as much as she usually enjoyed the week the Tuckers were away, right now she just wished they were there. Or even that Isabel lived closer. But, with her friend being in the family way and so close to her delivery time, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Rachel go there. Then, there was the snowstorm barreling down on the town. No one was about unless they had to be out.

  Lyle was out there.

  Her Sir Galahad on a spotted steed. He’d come charging from the trees with rifle blazing. Her mind shifted to how safe she had felt in his arms as he escorted her home. Startled, she jumped at the sound of a log shifting in the hearth, followed by a crackling sound. With the feeling of unease still in her stomach, like a rock at the bottom of a stream, heavy and unmovable, she left the kitchen to check the house, again. Carrying the oil lamp, she had lit in the kitchen, she went into her own room, where she made sure her window was closed and secure. Then she did the same in the other two rooms, even though she had done it two other times already. When she got back into the front room, she crossed the wooden floor to the front door, just to ensure the latch was still in place.

  Only then would she be able to get into the bath and wash away the filth of the men’s touches.

  “I-I-I’m dyin-n-n’ I tell ya. Th-is jack-k-k… jack-k…al left me ta d-d-d-d-d-ie.”

  Sheriff Silverman finished hog-tying the man named Mint in the center of the wagon beside his dead partner. “Quit your yammering or I’ll leave you outside of the jail. And wait until morning to contact Doc Clarkston about that small ass cut on your leg.”

  The solo cattle rustler continued to shoot hot daggers from his gaze at Lyle as he kept his grumbles low and squirmed around in place.

  Lyle chuckled and shoved his gloved hands down into his coat pockets.

  They were all now standing at the edge of the trees by the clearing next to the road.

  “Now that Chance and his helpers are leadin’ his four steers back, and we got these two vermin loaded in the back of the wagon, we’re about done here.” Sheriff Silverman jumped down from the back of the wagon then stomped his way up through the snow to the wagon seat.

  “Y’all need me to go back into town with you?” Lyle looked from the sheriff to his deputy.

  Deputy Roberts was back in his saddle once again.

  “Nope. ‘Preciate you comin’ upon these two. You saved the ranchers here a mess of trouble. If they’d have gotten away with these four, they would have come back for more eventually.”

  Shrugging his shoulder, Lyle turned toward his horse. “Just a bit of first snow luck.”

  “T’weren’t no luck, ifin we’d have just gagged that hussy before b-b-bedin’ her.”

  Lyle’s feet locked in place as if he’d been nailed to the ground. Shit. He pivoted slowly toward the two lawmen, hopin’ they’d been too busy getting’ ready to head out and had missed the outlaw’s words.

  “Hussy?” Deputy Roberts set his hard gaze on the yapping man in the back as he led his horse toward the side of the wagon, while Sheriff Silverman turned in the box seat to the back. “What are you goin’ on about?”

  “Did the ice get your brain? You seein’ things in the snow?” The next set of questions came from the sheriff.

  Wishing he’d feed this man a helping of the same dish of bullets he’d given the dead man laid out silent in the back, Lyle balled his hands into fists as he kept his features blank.

  “Hah! No snow bunny dream, this sweet meat was all warm flesh and blood.” Mint tossed his chin up in his direction. “Ask that one where’d he take her. Probably to his bed.”

  “Open your mouth about her again and you’ll be in bed with the worms right alongside your friend.” Lyle was at the side of the wagon reaching for the man’s throat before he knew he’d moved.

  “Whoa there, Lyle.” The sheriff reached out a hand and placed it on the center of Lyle’s chest. “I’d like him to stay alive long enough to be hanged.”

  Lyle lowered his hands to his side and took one step back, but kept his gaze locked on Mint, who was busy wiggling his body in an attempt to get further away from him.

  “What’s he goin’ on about, Lyle? Did you see a woman with them? Another partner maybe?”

  Finally, breaking his gaze from the outlaw, Lyle glanced at Roberts, then the sheriff. He inhaled the cool air to try and calm himself before releasing a cloud out his mouth. “Look, Sheriff, it wasn’t someone with them. It was someone from Grover Town. A woman they had no business assaulting.”

  Sheriff frowned, his brow dipping low and making his eyes dark. “Who?”

  Lyle shook his head. “The rattlesnake in the back is right, a screamin’ woman alerted me to something wrong going on. That’s all I can tell you.” He looked between the two lawmen again. “It’s not my story to tell. I won’t disgrace the woman by taintin’ her again. She’s been through enough tonight.”

  He thought about Rachel and how she’d looked laid
out on the grounded with fear in her eyes, fighting for her virtue, and possibly her life, once they had finished with her. He felt his blood boiling in his veins all over again.

  The sheriff sighed. “Understandable. I’d like to get all of their crimes collected before the judge arrives in the new year and rules on them.”

  “I understand. I’ll try to convince her to come forward. If she decides not to, I’m askin’ you to drop it, Sheriff.” Lyle held the man’s gaze.

  Silent for a moment as he stared back at Lyle, the sheriff finally gave a sharp nod.

  “I’ll let you know either way in a couple days.” Without waiting, Lyle turned and strutted to Domino. Once he was in his saddle, he looked at the men and didn’t miss the glance between Robert and Silverman, silent questions, before they tipped their hats and called out thanks.

  The two men headed off towards town.

  Lyle went off in another direction.

  Rachel lifted the lamp to get a good look at the wooden latch on the door to ensure it was secure in place.

  Knock. Knock.

  A half squeal came out of her mouth before she slapped a hand over her lips to stop the sound. What if Mint had gotten loose before Lyle had made it back from town with Sheriff Silverman?

  She stumbled back, trying to think of where she could hide in the house or what she could get to protect herself. In a flash she thought of the fire poker and turned to fetch it.

  Knock. Knock. “Rachel, it’s me, Lyle. You all right?” The low baritone whisper came through the door.

  Lyle. “Lyle?”

  “Yes, sweetheart, it’s me. Open up, I want to make sure you’re all right.”

  Her heart began to pound harder than it had been before she knew who was on the other side of the door. Her hands shook a little as she turned back, and lifted the wood bar out of the way, then slowly pulled the door open. Then there he was, huddled toward the door against the wind, snow, and cold. His hat was set low on his head and his collar high, but the lamp light in her hand illuminated the ruggedness of his features. She peered up into soulful, but intense blue eyes that always showed kindness towards her. She followed the line of his nose, thick but straight and came to a mouth the was a line, but perfectly formed on the top and bottom, like someone had sketched it perfectly on his face. However, his square chin and strong jawline that she’d only every seen smooth, now had a shadow of stubble covering it.