The Outlaw's Bride

She rose and took her plate to the sink, then turned to retrieve his from the table. “Are you finished?”

He nodded, holding the last bit of toast in his hand. “Breakfast was good, Debra. Thank you.” He watched as she poured hot water from the stove’s reservoir into her dishpan, added soap from beneath the sink, and then sloshed her dishcloth to form suds.

“You didn’t answer me.” She turned to face him, holding the dishcloth in her hand as she approached the table. With smooth strokes, she wiped the surface clean, catching the crumbs in her hand and then looking up into his face, as if she would find some trace there of his intentions.

“Let’s just take it one day at a time,” he suggested. “For today, I’ll dig post holes and lay out the corral for you. Do you have fencing or do you want a board fence?”

“I’ve had lumber delivered for the whole job. It’s under a tarp behind the shed.”

“Who were you planning to hire to do the work?”

She sent him a look of scorn. “I have two good hands and I’m strong. It might have taken me longer than it will you, but I’d have done the job.”

“I don’t doubt that.” He acknowledged her determination with a nod. “Let’s leave the garden ’til tomorrow. Today, I’d like you with me out back.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Should I?”

She laughed. “Probably not. But then, having my corral built without putting forth an effort on my part is tempting enough to keep me submissive for today.”

“But not tomorrow?” His gaze held hers and he felt himself sinking into the depths of her soft brown eyes.

“I won’t make any promises.”

“I didn’t think you would.”

And so they left the house and within an hour, he’d dug several holes and the posts were leaning drunkenly into each of them, awaiting the dirt he would pack around each. Debra picked up a shovel and he shook his head. “I’ll do that. Why don’t you mark out the area you want to enclose? Use that stick over there and draw a line for me.”

She nodded, shooting a wary glance his way, but did as he’d said, skirting a large tree and forming a rectangle that would give her horses ample room to exercise when she didn’t want to stake them out in the meadow, yet still give them the shade of a tree during the heat of the day.

“You need a fence around the whole area, to pasture your cow,” he told her.

“Right.” The single word hummed with disdain. “Have you any idea how much it costs for wood from the lumberyard?” She looked beyond the limits she’d circumscribed for her corral and her gaze was wistful, as if she could see a fenced pasture, with her livestock feeding on the lush meadow grasses.

“Your problem is in finding cheap labor, I’d think,” he said, following her gaze to where the trees offered shelter for animals from the sun’s harsh rays.

“I can’t afford to hire help, cheap or not. Things will get done when I’m able to do it myself. It may take a while, but I’ll have a pasture full of animals one day.”

“Animals? What do you have in mind?” He found he really wanted to know, had a desire to search out the crevices of her mind, seek out the dreams she sheltered there.

“Horses, maybe. I’d like to breed my mares. There’s money to be made. It just takes time and a lot of effort.”

“Do you have a stud available?”

She shook her head. “My nearest neighbor has a sorrel he might be persuaded to let me use for my riding mare. I need a bargaining tool, and I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Tyler nodded, thinking about the unknown neighbor and what he might ask for payment in exchange for the use of his stud, and found his thoughts straying into forbidden territory. The woman was too vulnerable, too open to hurt.

“How much hay do you have here?” He waved a hand at the far-off field, where the crop of hay was tall, ready to cut, awaiting the scythe of harvest.

“About twenty acres. I’m thinking about having him bring his crew over to cut it and keeping some for my own use. I had a man from closer to town come out last year and we worked out a share plan. I thought I might gain the use of the sorrel stallion for a few days in exchange for my hayfield.”

“Keep what you need and offer him the rest,” Tyler advised.

“Easy for you to say,” she said with a harsh burst of laughter. “You’re a man, and men make the rules in this world, I’ve found. I’ll no doubt have to abide by whatever he’s willing to offer me.”

“So long as you have enough from the first cutting to fill your loft, you can stake your animals all summer and probably have another cutting of hay to bargain with in August.” He looked around the space behind the shed. “Where did your straw stack come from?”

“The same farmer. He kept the wheat from my back acres and left me the straw for my animals.”

“I think you came out on the short end of the stick.” And he bristled as he thought about the neighbor who had taken advantage of a woman alone. “He kept all the wheat?”

“I have enough from my eggs and butter to cover what flour I need at the general store,” she said readily. “I’m well aware that the man takes advantage of me, but as long as my needs are met, I can afford to be generous.”

“Is your neighbor married?”

Her eyes widened again at his query and she nodded quickly. “Of course, with several children. He has a profitable operation.”

“And is he a gentleman?” His gaze pinned her and he watched as his meaning struck home.

She shifted her gaze, her lip trembling as she sought a reply. “He hasn’t had much choice. I won’t put up with any shenanigans.”

“You’re a woman alone, Debra. You’re in danger of his shenanigans, no matter that you have a gun and a lot of spunk.”

She was silent for a moment and then her words told of the fear she lived with. “I’m careful. Usually,” she inserted, as if she thought of her rash behavior last night, when she’d stumbled into danger in her own kitchen.

“If your neighbor knows you have a man here, he might not be so eager to take advantage of you.”

“And he might spread the word around town that the Indian has taken a man into her bed.” She spoke the words in a rush, as though she’d already considered the idea.

“And would that be difficult for you to live with?”

“Only if I plan on buying from the general store and being made welcome in town. A woman alone is always under scrutiny, with men waiting for her to make the wrong move. I can’t afford to leave myself open to public scorn. I walk alone, and I have to watch every move I make.”

“Well, your neighbor might be more amenable to a fair division of your hay if I’m out there in the field doing your share of the work. You can tell him you’ve hired a man to help out.”

“And ruin my name in town? I don’t think so.”

“You’ll let him take advantage of you instead?”

“It’s the price I pay for being what I am.” Her tone was one of a woman beaten down by circumstance, and Tyler could not countenance it.

“You’re a woman alone, a woman who should be given the respect due her.”

“I’m a half-breed.” Her words were spoken firmly, as if they were familiar to her.

“And I’m a white man, which makes me neither better nor worse than you. You are a woman, first and foremost, Debra. Was your mother white? Or your father?”

“My father. He owned this place, and brought my mother here when they married. When he died, she took the deed with her. He’d made it out to me, and it was my legacy after my mother was gone.”

“How long have you been here alone?” And how had she survived? How had a young woman alone been able to cope with the running of a farm?

“Three years, since I was sixteen. It hasn’t been simple, but I’ve managed to support myself. And now I have the beginnings of my herd of horses.”

“Where did you get the mares?”

“Bought them from a man who sold his place and moved farther west. He had too many animals to take along, and gave me a good price on the three out back. One is already bred.”

“I can see that.” He looked out beyond the corral line she’d drawn in the dirt, out to where the meadow grasses grew and flourished. Where one of her mares stood apart, her sides bulging a bit with the foal she would drop months from now. She might one day have a herd of horses if luck was with her and the mares she cherished produced colts and fillies of merit.

“Have you thought of expanding? Buying more horses?”

She laughed, a short, sharp sound that scorned his idea. “And what would I use for money? Horses are expensive. I was fortunate to get the ones I already have.”

“Where did you get your mare? The one you ride.”

“I brought her with me from the tribe. She’d been running wild and I caught her and tamed her for myself. Then after my mother was gone, I left and came back home, brought the mare with me.”

“You tamed her?”

Her chin tilted and a look of pride lit her eyes. “Yes. The finest day of my life was when I got up on her back and rode away from the village of my mother’s people.”

“They weren’t your people?”

She tossed him a look of scorn and disbelief. “I don’t fit there, any more than I do in town. I’m an outcast, Tyler, as you well know. I don’t have a place in this world, but the one I make for myself.”

“Will you take my help, Debra Nightsong? Will you let me give you a hand, and work for my keep for a while?”

“Why?” It was a single word that asked for more than he was willing to give.

“Maybe because I’m an outcast, too.”

She gave him a measuring look. “Are you? Or are you on the run?”

“You might say that. There are those who’d like to find me, and if I can find a safe place for a while, I’d be more than happy to earn a few weeks of peace.”

“Should I ask who is looking for you? Or am I better off not knowing?”

“Just know that I mean you no harm, Debra.” And with that she’d would have to be satisfied, he thought. For knowledge of his past would only frighten her, perhaps put her in danger.

“I’m foolish, I fear,” she said slowly. “But I’m smart enough to know that your help would benefit me greatly.” She inhaled deeply and let the breath escape slowly. “I’ll take a chance on you. You can stay, I’ll give you your safe place for a while, and you’ll work for me.”

His hand shot out, silently asking her to take it, to seal their bargain, and she responded as he’d thought she would. Her slender fingers formed to his palm, and he held them there, firmly, yet carefully, as he might shelter a small, helpless creature in his grasp.

But the woman who met his look with a level gaze of her own was not a creature who would ask for anything but what was due her. Respect, first and foremost. A measure of friendship, perhaps an honest day’s work. He could do all of that. So long as she understood that the rules were his to make, hers to follow.

“I’ll be staying in the house with you,” he said firmly. “You’ll not put up a fuss about me sharing your home. And I’ll be sleeping in your bed.”

She was silent, as though she accepted his terms, and then her head turned and he met the challenge in her gaze. “I’ll not be tied to you at night, nor will I let you touch me during the day.”

It was almost a dare on her part, for she lacked clout, and they both knew it. He was stronger by far, she perhaps more devious, but without the power to make him abide by her wishes.

“I won’t tie you, Debra, and I’ll keep my hands to myself. That far I’ll go, not because I fear your knife or your skill with a gun, but because I respect you. Does that suit you?”

She nodded, slowly, but with a definite acceptance of his terms. “If you build my corral and set posts for a pasture fence for me, I’ll give you a place to stay and cook for you.”

His nod was a tacit approval of her terms, and he breathed more easily. Staying one step ahead of the man who followed him had been nerve-wracking. A respite would be welcome.

“Who are you hiding from?” Debra asked, as if the question had been fermenting in her mind and now begged to be spoken aloud.

If he expected her to give him refuge, he owed her an explanation, Tyler decided. “I killed a man.” It was the truth so far as it went, and he watched as she digested his words, her eyes widening a bit, her mouth forming a soft “Oh” of surprise.

CHAPTER THREE

SHE LOOKED AT HIM with the level gaze of a woman set on having answers to her questions. And her query was what he might have expected. “Did you have a good reason?”

She indeed had the ability to cut through the deed to find the justification for his action. And he could do no less than answer her truthfully.

“I thought so. Still do, for that matter. He broke into my home while I was away, and killed my wife and son.” The words were blunt, their message harsh, and he awaited her reaction.

Her hand reached for him, the sympathy in her action obvious and she spoke quickly. “No one could blame you for taking revenge on him, Tyler. Surely the law didn’t accuse you of murder.”

“The sheriff said I had no proof that he’d killed them. Said it could have been anyone, and I’d taken out my anger on the first available prospect.”

“Had you no proof?” She awaited his words and he was willing to tell her what she wanted to know.

“His watch was attached to a braid of her hair. And he didn’t deny the killing to me, in fact he bragged about his taking of her body before he killed her. The fool waved his gun at me and told me how my son had run for his life, how he’d shot him down.”

His voice broke on the words, and Debra’s hand touched his, the warmth flowing from her bringing him back from the scene that haunted him still. He turned his hand to grasp her fingers and held them tightly within his own.

“He would have killed me,” Tyler said, “but I was quicker than he’d expected. I shot the gun from his hand and then fired again. I didn’t miss.”

“How long ago?” she asked, and he looked beyond her, as if his eyes saw the past clearly.

“Almost two years ago. I was put in jail, and when there was a general jailbreak, I took advantage of the fact and escaped. The rest of the prisoners stayed together and were caught.”

“You kept to yourself?” she asked, knowing already that he would not have relied on others to protect him.

“I ran as far and as fast as I could. Climbed into the first boxcar I saw at the train station and set off on my own. Been traveling alone ever since.”

She felt herself leaning toward him, not physically, but somehow able to see within his actions to the man who still felt the pain of his loss, who didn’t regret the life he’d taken in revenge.

He stood before her, tall, muscular, yet slim, as though his meals had been sparse of late, and she could not fault the man. That he might be telling her a tall tale was a possibility, but Debra Nightsong was no fool, and she’d long been able to see the truth when it appeared before her.

Today was no exception. The man might be running from the law, but in his own mind, he’d done no wrong, only avenged two deaths. That his actions had brought the law down on him was perhaps not fair, but nevertheless a fact. Could she turn him away, believing his story as she did?

“You can stay here,” she said. “I’ll not turn you in, Tyler, even if I get the chance. Whether or not you killed in cold blood, I suspect you felt you had the right to avenge your wife and son’s deaths. I’m not fit to judge you. I won’t even try.”

He loosed her fingers from his own and stood tall before her. His dark eyes met hers with a gaze that promised the truth, and she was prone to believe him.

“I’ll not play false with you,” he said. “I’ll stay here and help you.” His eyes measured her and he smiled. “I don’t know how far I can trust you to keep silent about me should the occasion arise, but for now I’ll have to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

Her hand was warmed by his, her flesh still aware of his touch, and she thrust it into her apron pocket, where her fingers curled in upon themselves. He was strong, a man taller than most, his shoulders wider than the men of her mother’s tribe, his ability to force her to his will not an issue, for she was wise enough to gauge the muscle beneath his skin, smart enough to recognize a man with the ability to hold his own.

The sun shone down brightly on the meadow behind her shed, the horses and her cow grazed peacefully at the end of their tethers and the man beside her had made his position clear. Debra looked beyond the animals and the lush pasture where they grazed, to where the hayfield lay, awaiting the scythe and the men who would reap its worth.

“Will you help me put up enough hay before I allow the neighbor to take his share?” It was not what she had planned on saying to the man beside her, but the knowledge that he was strong and capable of helping her hold her own, of lending his strength to hers for a time, made her seek out his promise.

“Where is your scythe?” he asked. So simply he agreed to her plan, so readily he acceded to her need.

“Hanging on the wall. I keep all my tools inside the shed,” she said. “If you’ll use the scythe, I’ll rake the hay. A day or so in the sun will dry it enough so I can bring it to the barn for storage.”

“We have a deal, Debra Nightsong.” His hand reached for hers again, and she slid it from her pocket, allowing him to grasp it in his own, warming it with the heat of his flesh. His eyes narrowed as he looked past the pasture before them, his sights on the same hayfield she’d measured with her own gaze. The hay was ready to be mowed, the sun promised to shine, probably for several days, for no rain clouds threatened in the west.

Debra felt a surge of satisfaction at the deal they’d formed. For a week she would have the help she needed. Her loft would be full, her animals would have their needs supplied for the winter to come. Perhaps the garden might thrive under a man’s touch, for she was not able to plow up the soil as she should. Her strength was not enough to turn over the earth for the space she required.

As if he knew her thoughts, Tyler leaned against the wall of the shed and mulled over the needs of her farm. She turned her gaze to him as he spoke, pleased that he seemed to so readily fall into the role she had set for him.

“I’ll use one of your horses to plow more space for a garden, Debra. Have any of them been broken to harness? Have you used them for plowing?”

“I’ve only used a shovel,” she said. “I don’t have the strength to hold a plow steady. It takes a man’s muscles to force the blade into the ground. And using the shovel takes me forever to prepare the ground for my garden.”

“I can handle that for you,” he said. “I’ll add to the space you’ve already set aside if you like.”

“I’ll plant corn if you prepare the ground for me,” she said quickly. “I only have room now for beans and tomatoes and such. I’ve got peas and carrots coming up, almost ready to pick.”

He looked back through the shed to where the chickens had strayed into the yard, pecking at the bits and pieces of food they found there. “Corn makes good feed for chickens through the winter. Can you have it ground at the gristmill in town?”

She nodded, feeling her spirits lift as she thought of the crop she might plant and then sow in late summer. If she could trust this man… And why shouldn’t she be able to? He was as good a prospect as the neighbor who had taken her wheat and left her the straw. As willing to help as the man who had mowed her hayfield and taken his greater share for granted.

“Can we work together for a while, Debra?” He asked the question softly, his voice falling on her hearing as a temptation, perhaps luring her into believing that he could be trusted, that his help would be hers for a time.

“Yes.” She accepted him so readily it shocked her. So easily did she acquiesce to his offer. “Yes,” she repeated. He was behind her now, looking over her shoulder at the animals in her pasture, his chore of putting up a corral for her well under way and she was comforted by the knowledge that for now, for these few days, she was not alone.

THE FENCE POSTS stood straight, the boards joining them nailed in place, each level with the next. Debra crossed her arms on the top rail, looking beyond the boundaries of her newly built corral to where her animals grazed in the sun. Another horse had joined her stable, a bay mare already with foal, purchased from a neighbor who needed ready cash. Already broken to the saddle, the mare would provide cash income if Debra chose to sell her after the birth of her foal. For unless she had a stud available on a regular basis, she would not be able to breed her mares at the right times.

Her resources sorely strained by the additional purchase, Debra consoled herself with the idea of a second colt or filly in the spring when the mare would deliver the first addition to her newly formed stable of animals. Her bank account was down to rock bottom, but the purchase was sound, Tyler had said, and she felt able to trust his judgment.

One dark night, astride one of her mares, he’d returned the gelding he’d confiscated as his own to its owner’s field, not divulging its origins to her, only saying that it had probably not been missed by its owner. Showing no guilt for his misdeed, he’d made her smile with his simplistic notion that his theft had only amounted to a loan from the farmer.

She admitted to herself that she would have hated the thought of his death at the end of a rope, should his crime have come to light, but not for the world would she let him know that she had ignored his theft and the subsequent return of the evidence.

His help had been invaluable over the past weeks, and she was reaping the results of his work. Her garden flourished, with corn hilled in neat rows, tomatoes forming small fruit on their vines and beans cooking in the big kettle in the house even now. A pan of peas had been shelled and cooked before she canned them in pint jars just yesterday. Carrots showed their orange shoulders just above the ground, awaiting her hand, and she planned the stew she would make from the last of the potatoes in her fruit cellar, plus a piece of beef she’d bartered from her neighbor.

A peck of peas and enough beans for a meal had earned her a chunk of stewing meat from his butchering. Summer was not the usual time for a steer to be sacrificed for the family’s needs, but the herd of cattle in the fields to the west of her property was prosperous, and her neighbor had killed one and cut it up for his wife’s use.

A quarter of the beef hung even now in the woodshed, and Debra planned for its use. She would cut it up, cook it in large chunks in her stewing kettle and then can it for her use over the next few months.

Tyler had said he was familiar with butchering and had given her neighbor a hand with his chore, earning her the beef as a part of his salary. The neighbor had quizzed him at length regarding his presence at Debra’s holding, and Tyler dutifully gave her chapter and verse of their conversation.

“I made it clear to him that I was merely a hired hand here, a man in need of money, and willing to work for it. I let him know that I admired you and respected you, Debra.”

“And did he believe you? Or did he seem to think the half-breed had taken a white man to her bed?”

Her blunt manner surprised him, although he wasn’t certain why it should have caused him any surprise. She was a bold woman, not afraid to speak her mind. He spoke again, wanting to ease her mind.

“He didn’t make any backhanded remarks, if that’s what you mean. Just seemed to accept my word for it. I think he admires you, Debra. He spoke highly of you and your ambition, your work here on the farm.”

She nodded, accepting his words of praise, almost as if they were due her. He could only hope that the townspeople were as well informed as to Debra’s conduct in the community. Putting the stain of a woman without honor on her was far from his intent. But people talked, gossiped when things didn’t seem to their individual standards, and putting Debra’s name on the line was not to be considered.