Twenty-seven

Luke reined to a stop. “What now?”

Duel ignored his brother’s impatience and jerked the shirt off his back, almost ripping the buttons in his haste.

“Take this with you.” He stuffed the item into Jessie’s saddlebags. “Since I can’t go with you, I’m sending the next best thing—a piece of me to keep. When you’re scared…”

His sudden action poked a hole in the dam of her brave front. Tears streaming down her cheeks prevented her from replying. She touched her fingers to her lips, then leaned down to lay them on his.

Yellow Dog whined pitifully until they vanished from sight. Wave upon wave of sorrow crashed over him. His knees buckled under the weight. Feeling more helpless than he had in a long while, he stared blindly until the last particle of dust settled back to the ground. Emptiness surrounded him. No falling grains of sand to break the silence. The hourglass had run dry.

Just when he reached his lowest point, a wet tongue licked his fingers, dragging his attention from the deserted road. He looked down. Yellow Dog nuzzled the hand that hung limply by Duel’s side.

“Hey, boy.” The animal’s affection came unexpected, yet it brought strange comfort. That Yellow Dog had overcome his fear of him at that moment seemed remarkable.

He fell to his knees and stroked the soft fur. “She’ll be back, I promise.”

How he’d deliver on that, he hadn’t the foggiest notion. With nothing but bruised faith and hope in his heart, he turned to the fields.

“Gotta get busy, boy. Time’s a-wastin’.”

Yellow Dog trotted dutifully by his side as he harnessed the team of horses Hampton Pierson had left overnight for the McCormick Reaper.

* * *

Working night and day, Duel had finished cutting the grain in four days. He paid no attention to his aching bones or the need for sleep. Aware solely of the minutes ticking inside his head, he’d driven himself relentlessly.

Now, with barely two hundred dollars in his pocket, he shifted Marley Rose to his left arm. He’d stood outside the Travis Hotel for what seemed an eternity.

Waiting.

The man he’d come to Austin to see hadn’t passed in or out. He supposed that some, most assuredly including the man for whom he waited, would call him chicken. Facing Tom Parker would take all his backbone and then some, for the man had a sharp tongue. Fire and brimstone took on new meaning when the retired judge spoke his mind.

“Papa?” Marley Rose patted the back of his neck as if sympathizing.

Perhaps the child gave willingly of the love and comfort she herself sorely needed. It broke his heart to hear her crying in her sleep, calling for her mama.

That’s why he didn’t correct her on the name she insisted on calling him. Sudden events had knocked her secure world awry. Sure as the sun rose, the little darlin’ grieved for the only mother she remembered.

“Don’t worry, Two Bit. I can do this for Jessie’s sake.”

“Mama?”

“Yes, little darlin’. For your mama.”

A low growl rumbled deep in the throat of the animal beside him, reminding him of Yellow Dog’s presence. Strangest thing. When he’d mounted Preacher and ridden off from the farm with Marley Rose in his lap, the dog had trotted right alongside. He’d expected that after a mile or two the animal would turn back. But he hadn’t. After a full day of it, he knew Yellow Dog meant to accompany him. The poor thing had walked beside them the entire distance.

Needless to say, it thrilled Marley to have her “Boobie” come along. The child kept up a stream of conversation to the dog in her own special language, which he seemed to understand. Mixed with an occasional growl, the dog yipped back at her.

Now, several passersby eyed them curiously, giving the animal a wide berth.

“Easy, boy.” Duel knelt and rubbed Yellow Dog’s head. “Ain’t gonna get us what we need with you threatening to latch on to someone by the neck.” He stared deep into the soulful brown eyes. “You hafta stay out here. The sign on the hotel says no dogs allowed.”

Yellow Dog whined and licked his hand. “And no biting, understand?”

Duel stood, took a deep breath, and pushed through the hotel doors.

Following the clerk’s directions, he quickly found Room 201. Duel rapped, and listened intently for sounds on the other side. He heard nothing, no footsteps approaching, merely silence. That’s why he jumped when the door abruptly opened. He faced the man who blamed him for his daughter’s death.

“You!” Tom Parker spat the word as if it had left a bitter taste on his tongue. Parker had aged, and the cane on which the man leaned heavily added a frailty that Duel had never noticed. “I have nothing to say to you, Duel McClain.”

Before the judge could slam the door in his face, Duel quickly stuck out his foot, blocking it.

“Give me one minute, sir. Then, if you still want me to leave, you’ll never hear from me again.” The hurried speech left him short of breath. Fear that the man would refuse to listen ate a hole in his gut.

Not bothering to reply, Tom Parker hesitated, then motioned them inside with a quick nod.

The plush quarters seemed appropriate for the man who wore luxury like a second layer of skin. A carpeted sitting room with soft leather chairs greeted him. And beyond through a doorway, a gigantic canopied bed awaited.

The judge stiffly pointed to a chair, which Duel gratefully took before he lost his nerve and bolted. Parker sat opposite him, leaning his cane—a polished stick of brown wood topped with a gold handle—against the chair.

The man’s hawkish gaze pierced Duel’s thick armor. Ill at ease, he held Marley Rose on his lap and tried to curtail her squirming. Now that he had the judge’s attention, he didn’t know where to begin. What did one say to a man who despised the ground you walked on?

“Why did you come, knowing the way I feel?”

“An extreme matter of a personal nature.” He took a deep breath and plunged. “I’ve come to hire your services, sir.”

“How dare you! After everything that’s happened, I’m stunned that you have the gall to ask for my help—in any matter.” Parker’s eyes flashed. “My opinion of you hasn’t changed.”

A tic developed in Duel’s jaw as he tried to swallow his anger. “Didn’t reckon it had. But I need some lawyering, and I came for the best. You’re the finest in Texas.”

Marley Rose slid from Duel’s lap to the thick carpet, where she stretched out. The smile on her face told him she enjoyed the softness. A far cry from the minimal comforts of the farmhouse. Sharp guilt stabbed his conscience.

“You must’ve been out in the sun too long. Won’t do it. Not for any good-for-nothing gunslinger, not for anything—”

“It’s not for me, sir. It’s for this little girl.” His jaw ached from the tense clenching of his teeth. “No matter what you think of me, can’t you at least have mercy on a child’s misery?”

Marley sat up, evidently sensing the two men were discussing her. Her round brown eyes stared from one to the other. “She yours?”

“Not in the normal way, but I suppose you’d say she belongs to me. Leastwise, I’m caring for her.”

“More than you did for your wife and son.”

Duel glared at the man whose hate ran deeper than the Colorado.

“Sir, can’t we carry on a conversation for two minutes without you bringing up the past? Doesn’t change anything to keep harping on it.”

“Might be a long time ago to you, McClain, but for me it happened only yesterday,” the man answered tersely.

“Papa?” Marley Rose held out her hand to Duel.

“Not Papa. Duel, darlin’,” he reminded her gently in light of the scared look pasted on her face. “Judge, refuse me all you want, but Marley Rose has no one in the world ’cept me and Jess. Her father wagered her in a poker game, and her mother didn’t want to fight hard enough to keep her. Now she’s been stripped from the arms of the woman she calls Mama. You tell me how much this child has to give up before she’s even reached her second birthday.”

“Not my affair. Can’t cure all the ills of the world.”

“No, but you can darn sure give an innocent woman a fighting chance,” he spat back.

“Leave it to you to be hooked up with a nefarious woman. You married to her?”

“Jessie’s the finest woman I know! I take offense to you speaking of her in that tone of voice. And yes, she’s my wife.” He clenched his fist tight. His restraint came with a price, for he longed to knock Tom Parker from his sanctimonious high horse.

“Mine mama.” Marley Rose puckered her lip to cry.

He lifted her to his lap. “It’s all right, Two Bit. We’ll find another lawyer for your mama. There’s more than one in this town.”

Instead of Marley snuggling in the security of his arms, she pushed away and walked the short distance to peer up at the judge.

Duel’s heart ached for the child’s confusion. She didn’t understand the harsh words, but she surely must feel the strained atmosphere. Right now he feared for what Parker might say, or do, to her. The man seemed hell-bent on destroying his life.

The way he saw it, he’d made two mistakes—one in wasting time coming to Austin, the other in thinking he could convince his former father-in-law to help him. Both seemed a lost cause. Two hundred dollars couldn’t touch the services of the more flamboyant but capable lawyers. Even so, he’d beg if it came to that. He couldn’t live with himself if he let Jess down.

Rising to his full height, he hoped to scoop the girl up before she caught Parker’s wrath.

“I made a mistake in coming here. A bigger one in thinking you cared more about justice than you did about revenge. We’ll be going, Judge.”

In stunned silence, Duel watched Marley crawl into the man’s lap. What surprised him more was that Judge Parker didn’t rebuff her or reach out to stop the child.

Once in the man’s lap, Marley Rose laid her small hand on his chest and declared, “Mine G’anpa.”

At first Tom Parker stared at her as if she was some hideous creature from a nightmare. Then slowly, a rare smile broke, transforming the deep wrinkles into lines of laughter.

“What’s your hurry, son? Sit down.”

* * *

Bleak gray walls stared back at Jessie. She wanted to cry, the pain was so intense. Before her legs buckled, she sank rigidly to the horsehair mattress stretched upon a wooden frame.

“I’m sorry, Jessie,” Luke had declared more than once on the way to El Paso.

She knew he meant it, for she had seen the battle waging in him. Doing his duty hadn’t come easy this time around.

“I love being a Ranger, you know. Helping in the fight to civilize this state.” The stars overhead had been extra bright that night. They matched the sparkle in Luke’s eyes when he talked of his great love of law work.

Jessie reckoned his signing on with the Texas Rangers was a lot like a man receiving a calling from God to preach. Luke’s commitment was no less sacred.

The agony in the younger McClain’s voice echoed her own searing pain. “Dad-blast it! Even though I know in my heart you had good reason for what you did, I have to bring you in. There has to be a trial. That’s the way of it.”

“I know,” she answered softly, laying her hand over his. “You have no choice. I don’t hold you to blame.”

“But I didn’t particularly wanna be the one to destroy my own brother. We might have our disagreements now and again, but I love Duel.”

She didn’t take it amiss that he worried more about hurting his brother than he did about her. It should be this way.

“I can see that, Luke. You’re family despite everything.”

“You betcha.” He stretched out on his bedroll and put his hand beneath his head. “Don’t think Duel shares that opinion.”

“He’s scared. Can’t see how all this is going to come out.” Neither did she. A cold stiffness had spread upward from the soles of her feet to form an icy tomb around her heart.

Luke turned his head slightly to her then. Compassion and goodness had shown in his face. “You’re some kind of woman, Jessie, and I’m proud to have you for a sister-in-law. I’ll help you all I can. You can depend on that.”

* * *

They rode into El Paso two weeks to the day after leaving Tranquility. In that time, Jessie sought to prepare herself.

“I apologize fer the ’commodations, Miz Foltry…um, I mean, Miz McClain.” Bart Daniels chewed on the stubby end of a cigar.

The loud click of the lock might as well have signaled the closing to the gates of hell for all the comfort it gave Jessie.

No need to wonder anymore what that place was like, because she was there. Bleak didn’t begin to tell the story.

Though she’d never had reason to speak directly to Sheriff Daniels, she’d seen him around El Paso in those rare instances when Jeremiah had brought her to town. Folks had extolled Daniels’s uncommon fairness in matters pertaining to his job.

Yet Jessie got the impression the quality didn’t end with his duties; it extended directly to the man. He would be someone to have on your side.

The strangling in her throat prevented her from answering. The open metal bars offered no privacy. She felt as exposed and violated as she had when Jeremiah took his liberties.

“Ain’t no place fer a lady, Luke.” Bart shook his head sadly. “No sirree. Gives me a case of sour stomach.”

“Luke?” She couldn’t stop the quaver in her voice. “I hate to… I know a person in my circumstances doesn’t have the right to ask for favors.” The words stumbled over her tongue. “But would you—”

“Don’t worry, Jessie. I’ll be right here till Duel comes.” Luke’s gentle assurance capped the nausea that had risen. “Ain’t going nowhere. Damn sure ain’t no one gonna take you.”

“Thanks, Luke.” The upheaval in her stomach didn’t leave. She needed one more favor. “Another thing—please visit my mother and ask her to stay away.”

“I don’t understand. Your mother would be someone to talk to, to draw comfort from in your time of need.”

“I’m too ashamed. One way or another, I’ll soon be gone. My mother has to live here with her friends and acquaintances. It’s better this way, Luke.”

“All right. Now, try and get some sleep. Duel will nail my hide to the wall if you have dark circles under your eyes when he comes.”

Her frightened gaze followed him to the chair in front of the sheriff’s desk, watched him prop it lazily back against the wall with two legs off the floor. Somehow she felt safer and not nearly so lost. She twisted the gold band on her finger and thought of the night Duel had given the precious ring to her.

What were he and Marley Rose doing? How long would it be until she saw them again?

* * *

“Now, tell me what crime they’ve charged this little one’s mama with.” Judge Parker jiggled Marley Rose on his knee.

Duel cleared his throat. “Murder, sir.”

“The Devil you say!”

“There are some who would say it was justified.” He took the two hundred dollars from his pocket. “Not saying it’ll be easy, Judge. That’s why I’m paying for your services.”

Tom Parker didn’t reach for the stack of bills Duel laid on the low table in the center of the room. In fact, the man didn’t even acknowledge their presence.

“Who’d she send to glory?”

Duel didn’t hesitate. “Her husband, sir.”

One thing he’d learned a long time ago about Parker. The man valued the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. He dealt with cold, hard facts no matter how ugly.

“Sam Hill!” The judge swung his attention to Duel, and he found himself sweating under the riveting fix. “You think she deserves my help? I’m a lawyer, not a magician.”

Biting back the sharp retort on the edge of his tongue, Duel kept his anger in check. The diamond brand surrounded by angry, puckered skin lunged from memory like a ferocious cat.

Hell yes! And she deserved a protector, even if that came in the shape of a reformed bounty hunter.

“Wouldn’t trust her life with anyone else but you, Judge. Despite our differences, I know you to be a fair and honest man.” Emotion suddenly took his voice, and the rest came out nothing louder than a whisper. “I love her with all my heart and soul. Jess gave me reason to live when I wanted to die.”

A pained expression swept across Tom Parker’s face. “Then, son, guess we’d better cut to the chase. Tell me everything and don’t leave out a single detail.”