Chapter Five
The sound of pounding footsteps grew louder. Josephine tossed a glance over her shoulder. Her eyes widened with alarm. Whoever was chasing her looked as big as a bear. Her breath came out in gasps and the stitch in her side grew worse. She couldn’t keep this pace up much longer.
Suddenly, she was knocked to the ground.
Dazed, she spit out a mouthful of dirt. “Get off me, you overgrown lout.” She kicked out with her feet, grunting in satisfaction when her boot connected with something solid. She crawled across the dirt, but was grabbed by the back of the collar.
Her captor lifted her high in the air. Eye level with the big man she gulped. Holy Moly, his nostrils flared and she noticed a tic pounding at his temple. His mouth was set in a grim line.
“How many apples did you steal?” When she didn’t answer right away he gave her a shake.
“What in tarnation are you trying to do, dislodge my teeth?”
“Cut the wisecracks, kid. I ain’t in the mood.”
“I stole nothing.”
“Mr. Snodgrass claims he saw you take some apples and money.”
“I didn’t take any apples.” She’d die before she gave up her two precious apples.
“Don’t lie to me.” His suspicious gaze dropped to her waist where two nicely rounded bulges poked out in her shirt. “You want to try that again?”
Josephine heaved a sigh. This mountain of a man was not going to let her go without an explanation. “Okay. I took two apples.”
“What about the money?”
“What money?” she asked way too sweetly.
“Don’t think me a fool, boy. You took some money and caused quite a bit of damage back there.”
Josephine opened her mouth only to shut it again. The overgrown ruffian thought she was a boy. At first she felt insulted then a smile spread across her face. She could use this mistake to her advantage. Boys had a lot more freedom than females. She could lie about her age too. Maybe, just maybe he’d have some compassion.
“Hand over the money… now.”
He shook her again and her stomach rolled. One more rattle and she’d get the dry heaves for sure. With a swift kick she nailed her captor right in the kneecap.
Caught off guard, he loosened his grip and she took off, but didn’t get far. The lout tackled her again and she landed in the road for a second time in a matter of minutes.
Before she could gain her senses, he snared her ankle with one large hand and suddenly she had an upside down view of his legs.
“Are you insane?”
“Hand over the money.”
“Like hell!”
“Fine, have it your way.” He shook her and the coins rolled freely out of her pockets. “Is that it?”
Holding onto her apples, she managed a nod. He flipped her around and set her on her feet. Dizzy and unable to regain her footing, she closed her eyes. If she hit the ground again she didn’t want to see it happen.
Instead, she was lifted by the waist and propped against his hip like a sack of grain. The blood rushed to her head as he bent to pick up all the coins.
Josephine pummeled his legs and kicked out her feet. She cursed, using words she’d heard Jed use. “Put me down, you big bully.”
“Mind that mouth before I shove a bar of soap in it.”
Yuck. Josephine surrendered for the time being and allowed her body to go limp. “Can you at least pick up my hat?”
He kept his arm secured tightly around her waist while he retrieved the battered hat and plopped it haphazardly on her head.
Bounced along in her precarious position, she could make out a lot of laughter. It sounded as if a boodle of people were following them as he carried her back to the scene of the crime.
Once there she was dropped to the ground.
Sore from being knocked around, Josephine slowly got to her feet and took a gander at the man who had foiled her escape.
Tall, dark, and brooding, but not that bad to look at. He removed his hat and ran a hand through a swath of dark hair that fell to his shoulders. He returned the stare and her heart thumped. Wild. Untamed. Powerful.
Never before had she seen such a handsome man. Broad shoulders, wide chest, narrow hips, and long legs completed the package. His eyes were chocolate brown and his jaw sported dark stubble.
“I want to speak alone with that little thief,” Mr. Snodgrass demanded with a scowl.
Josephine returned the scowl. Speak to her alone? Ha. That’d be the day.
“Mr. Snodgrass, you can get that idea right out of your head ‘cause it’s not going to happen.” A nice-looking man wearing a badge pushed through the crowd. “All right, folks, show’s over. Go back to what you were doing.” He stepped aside and motioned for them to follow him. “I suggest we take this conversation inside the store.”
As they walked along, Josephine recognized the brunette standing next to him as the young woman who had been searching for hair ribbons with Mr. Snodgrass before she’d made a run for it.
“Sheriff Yates, that kid needs to be taught a lesson,” Mr. Snodgrass argued.
“That may be so, but not by you,” the sheriff stated firmly.
Despite her dire situation, Josephine smirked.
“But I saw him with my own eyes steal those apples. I went back inside and had a look around and that’s when I noticed the change on the counter was gone. You took it, boy. Admit it.”
The brunette stepped forward. “Let’s talk about this calmly and rationally. Can’t you see the boy is hungry?”
“Ella West, you stay out of this. I don’t care if he’s starving,” Mr. Snodgrass shot back.
“But you’re being totally unreasonable.” She took hold of the sheriff’s arm. “Brody, can’t you do something?”
“Ellabelle, that’s quite enough,” Brody replied. “You and everyone else will remain quiet until I settle this.”
“But Brody…”
“No buts. I intend to listen to both sides of the story and I will not tolerate any kind of interference from you or anyone else.” He regarded Josephine with a steely eye. “Young man, my name is Brody Yates. I’m the sheriff in this town. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions and I want an honest answer, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Josephine replied.
“What’s your name?”
Josephine cleared her throat and crossed her fingers behind her back. “Um, Jose—er, Joe, sir.” So much for honesty.
“Speak up.”
“Joe, sir.”
Sheriff Yates crossed his arms over his chest. “Did you take something from Mr. Snodgrass without paying for it?”
“I was hungry, sir.”
“Did you plan on eating the coins along with the apples?” Mr. Snodgrass interjected sarcastically.
“Mr. Snodgrass, please be quiet.” The sheriff spoke again. “How old are you, kid? Where’s your parents?”
“I’m fifteen and I have no parents.” Funny how one lie easily led to another and another.
“They pass?”
“Yes, sir.” Her stomach chose that moment to growl.
“Why are we standing here wasting time?” Mr. Snodgrass argued. “The boy needs to be taught a lesson.”
“The boy needs some nourishment,” Ella spat. “Besides, you’re way too eager to teach that lesson.”
Josephine’s temper boiled. This was ridiculous. She had nothing but two apples on her person. Her stomach growled again and she was tempted to reach inside her shirt for one of the apples and take a huge bite out of it. No doubt he’d want that back too. She heaved a sigh. Perhaps an apology would help move things along.
“Look, I’m sorry for taking the apples and the coins. Can we just let it go at that?” It was meant as an apology, but didn’t sound all that sincere even to her own ears. As a matter of fact, she came off as rather snooty.
Mr. Snodgrass turned red with fury. “There now, you see? Clearly this boy is in need of some manners and I’m just the man to do it.” He reached for his belt.
Yikes! Josephine turned to bolt. She managed two steps, but was hauled back by a familiar grab to the back of her collar.
“You stay put or I’ll tan your hide myself,” her captor hissed close to her ear.
Sheriff Yates carefully scanned the inside of the store. He scratched his jaw. Josephine scratched her head through the worn hat.
She couldn’t believe the damage she had caused to the store when making her escape. There were apples everywhere. Somehow she had managed to knock over a display of candy on her way out the door. Decanters were smashed.
The sheriff shook his head. “The boy sure did leave a mess. Well, Mr. Snodgrass, it’s your call. Jail time?”
“Are you mad? How’s the kid supposed to pay me back if he’s sitting in jail?”
“You suggesting he work for you?”
Josephine mentally shook her head. Her earlier thoughts of asking Mr. Snodgrass for work had flown out the window. He wouldn’t hire a thief and no way could she work for a man who had threatened to take his belt to her. It was hopeless. Jail time or work the debt off at the store. Either one was as bad as the other.
Her captor stepped forward and handed the storekeeper his money. “Here’s your money, Mr. Snodgrass. You trust me, don’t you?”
“You know I do, Logan. Gee, for a while there I thought you’d be my son-in-law.”
Josephine swore she heard a derisive grunt.
“Good. You got your money back. How much damage do you think the kid caused? Give me a figure.” Mr. Snodgrass named an amount that made Josephine blanch.
He could not be serious. She opened her mouth to protest the outlandish amount, but Logan’s expression warned her to remain quiet.
“I’ll pay you and the boy can work for me. A month or two should do it. I think some hard back-breaking work might toughen him up and teach him a lesson at the same time.”
She had just gone from the frying pan into the fire.
The storekeeper rocked back on his heels. “All right, Logan.”
“So that means I have to go home with you?” Josephine asked no one in particular.
“And me.” Ella’s beaming smile made her feel somewhat better. “Trust me, Joe. My brother is all bark and no bite. But I’ll give you fair warning. Don’t lie to him and you’ll be fine.”
Josephine appreciated the warning even though it came a little too late. How long would she be able to keep her gender a secret and what exactly would her new boss do if he found her out?