The Cowboy's Convenient Proposal

Red turned to Ward as well. “We had an agreement.” She kept her voice low, but knew from the flash in his eyes that he understood she wanted to jerk every word from her mouth and spear him with them.

Linette appealed to her husband. “Eddie?”

Eddie cleared his throat and spoke to Red. “I don’t know what your circumstances are, but in the future if you are in trouble and need help, I hope you will come and ask rather than steal a horse.”

She’d forgotten the threat of hanging. “I apologize. But I had to rescue my sister.”

“In that case...” He seemed to consider his next words. “I won’t seek justice, seeing as the horse and saddle have been returned, but I think you owe it to Linette and I to accept our offer.”

Linette grinned like the decision had been made.

Red sent a silent appeal to Ward, who shrugged.

“Can’t argue with the boss’s wife,” he said.

Red seemed to have little choice in the matter. But she vowed it would be temporary. Only until she found something else. “Thank you,” she murmured, managing, she hoped, to sound grateful as no doubt they all thought she should.

“I’ll show them the way,” Ward offered. “And make sure they have food.”

Linette thanked him, then turned back to Red. “I’ll check on you in the morning and see if you need anything. In the meantime, get settled, make yourself at home and have a good night’s sleep.”

Red allowed Ward to take the reins of her horse and struggled down the hill with Belle still glued to her skirt. Evening had crept in and filled the hollows, so she felt as she and Belle were alone with Ward.

A cowboy stepped from the cookhouse and Ward handed him the horses. Ward signaled Red and Belle to follow him to the cabin, where he opened the door and indicated they should enter.

Red took a step forward. She paused at the doorway, unable to make out the interior in the darkness.

Belle whimpered and pulled on Red’s skirt, hampering any further progress. Red extricated Belle from the material and tipped her face up. Even in the growing dusk, Red could make out Belle’s eyes—so wide they practically swallowed her face.

Red’s heart burned. Why should her little sister know such insecurity, such terror? Had Thorton’s treatment of the past few months, and before that, the death of their parents and Red’s attempts to support them, robbed this child of any childhood innocence and faith? “Belle, honey, what’s wrong?”

Her hand still clutching Red’s skirts, Belle lifted one finger toward the cabin. “It’s dark. Like that other place.” Her voice shook.

Red straightened, silently cursing herself for not taking into consideration where Belle had spent the past three days. In almost total darkness in an unfamiliar cabin. Not unlike the one they now faced.

Ward must have had the same realization as he sprang forward. “Wait there while I light a lamp.” His footsteps thudded into the darkness of the cabin.

Belle shuddered. “He’s disappeared.”

Red knelt and pulled her little sister into her arms. “No, honey. He’s only inside.”

A yellow light flickered and grew stronger. It shifted, making Ward’s shadow lurch like something alive. Belle squeaked in terror. Red feared Belle would shred the brown skirt as she squeezed her little fists tighter and burrowed closer.

“It’s a lamp, honey, so we don’t have to go into a dark room.”

The light steadied, grew larger as Ward headed for the door. He stepped out, the lamp before him. The yellow light filled his nostrils and highlighted his eyebrows, giving him a wild appearance.

Red swallowed a nervous giggle. “It’s okay—” She meant to reassure Belle but Belle didn’t hear her as she tore from Red’s side with a piercing scream and ran into the dark.

“Belle!” Red called, racing after her. “Belle, come back.”

But Belle continued her headlong flight.

* * *

Ward stared past the golden lamplight, trying to see where Red and Belle had gone. But the light effectively narrowed his vision to a tiny circle. Not that he needed to see to know what happened. His ears proved more than sufficient.

Belle had run screaming into the woods, Red in her wake.

Birds exploded from the trees at the noisy disturbance.

Belle’s fear of him, and Red’s distrust, were starting to wear his patience a might thin. He only wanted to help them. Get them away from men like Thorton Winch and that creepy guy with the boarded-up shack. Two or three times he’d considered he might have taken on more than he anticipated. His already tense jaw tightened further, making his teeth hurt. He would not abandon this pair, no matter how difficult they proved to be. One thing he’d learned...walking away was not the answer, even if he’d done so with the best of intentions.

He lowered the lamp and hurried after Red. She stood at the back of the cabin, calling into the darkness.

“What happened?”

“You.”

That was it. One word, chewed up and spit out like something dirty. “What did I do this time?” He didn’t care that he sounded put out.

“You looked like a monster the way the lamp flared on your face.” She gave a brief, humorless chuckle.

“Thanks.” He’d about had his fill of insults.

“Well, it’s true. You scared her whether you meant to or not.”

“Whether?” His frustrations of the day were about to boil over. “You think I might have intended to frighten her? What kind of a man do you take me for?” He held up one hand. “Don’t tell me. I don’t think I want to hear.”

“Good, because I don’t want to say something I might regret.”

He snorted. Not something he usually did around ladies. But seeing as she wasn’t acting like a lady, he didn’t think it counted. “Do you mean to say you sometimes regret what you say?” He expected she caught the way he emphasized sometimes and the way doubt dripped from his voice, but he was beyond caring what he said to this woman.

“Not often.” She gave him a look of pure defiance. “Now are we going to look for Belle or not?” She stomped away without waiting for his reply.

Great. Now the pair of them was going to wander around in the dark. If he’d known how much aggravation they would turn out to be...

Who was he fooling? He would still have done the same thing. He would have rescued Red even if she accused him of kidnapping. He would have followed her back to the saloon, confronted Thorton and, yes, offered them his cabin. Having her in Eddie’s cabin suited him even better. He’d be able to make sure she and Belle were safe.

He’d not done well on that front so far.

He had to find Belle. Chasing after her would serve no purpose. She’d just hide. But he recalled she’d complained of hunger. “I have an idea.”

“I hope it’s better than your last one.”

He wondered which idea that was, because so far he thought his ideas had been good. “What idea do you mean?”

“Holding the lamp to your face and scaring a little girl half to death.”