He loosened his grasp on her wrist, praying he hadn’t just made a mistake. She didn’t snatch her arm away, but neither did she look at him. She just stared at the floor as if the answers to all her questions lay embedded in the wood.
He knew he’d frightened her when he’d spoken of his feelings, and perhaps it would have been wiser to let her go, to give her time and privacy to work through her thoughts. But when he’d seen the fear flare in her eyes and realized she was about to bolt, he’d acted on instinct. He couldn’t let her go. Not now. Not ever.
Stepping closer, he turned his hold into a caress, stroking the pulse point on her wrist with the pad of his thumb. “We don’t have to talk about this now, darlin’.” Charlotte had a lot of years of hurt to get past before her heart would be willing to trust a man’s love again. So he’d give her time to get used to the idea. And give himself time to prove worthy of that trust. “We have other things to discuss. Like Lily.”
That brought her face up. Stone smiled. Nothing like a little prod at the cub to get the mama bear back in a fighting stance.
“Right.” She cleared her throat and stood a little straighter. “The plan. You were supposed to explain.”
He ignored the touch of accusation in her voice. It had been his fault they’d gotten away from the original topic. Stone leaned his shoulder against the wall near the door, his gaze never leaving Charlotte’s face. “Lily told us about a secret book her grandfather keeps jammed in a crevice on the underside of his desk drawer. We’re pretty sure it’s a ledger, hopefully one containing blackmail evidence.”
“Hopefully?” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed.
Stone didn’t flinch. “Just hear me out to the end, all right?” Although the end wasn’t any better than the beginning. In fact, the worst part was yet to come.
Charlotte bit her lip, hesitated, then gave a tiny nod. She was trying so hard, God bless her. He wished he could make it easier, somehow shrink the chasm he was asking her to leap over, but it was what it was. No amount of pretty words would change it.
“Lily said it looked the same as the books Dorchester trained her to find in other men’s offices, and those books all contained business records. We have every reason to believe this book will be the same. And the fact that he hides it away increases the likelihood that it contains illicit accounts. Dorchester doesn’t know Lily discovered his hiding place, so he has no reason to suspect that we would make a play for it.”
“What kind of play are we making?” Charlotte asked. “And when you say we, you best be including me because there’s no way on God’s green earth that you are keeping me out of this. If Lily’s going, then I’m going.” She tugged her wrist from his gentle hold and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a glare that no doubt sent lads in short pants scuttling off to schoolroom corners after being caught making mischief.
“I will never take Lily away from you, Charlotte. You have my word.” Stone gauged her reaction and inwardly rejoiced when a bit of rigidity seeped from her shoulders. “Not only are you included in this plan, you play an essential role. I can’t carry it off without you.”
Her arms didn’t uncross, but they loosened. He took that as a good sign.
“Once we get all the details settled, you will travel ahead of us to Houston and position yourself near Dorchester Hall. You’ll need some way to disguise yourself, of course, but Dan seemed to think Marietta could assist with that. Anyway, once you are in place, I will arrive with Lily in tow. After my run-in with Franklin, Dorchester will be expecting me. I’ll hand her over and demand payment. Then you’ll come barging in as if you followed me and make as big of a commotion as you can to keep Dorchester distracted. I’ll retrieve the ledger then get you out of the house.”
“What about Lily? We can’t just leave her there!” Charlotte’s arms dropped to her sides. “If Dorchester discovers what we’ve done, there’s no telling how he might take his anger out on her.”
Stone pushed away from the wall and placed his hands at her waist, afraid she might try to bolt again. “We’ll have to leave her there at least until nightfall. But I’ll have my man in Austin watching the house. We can give her a signal to use if she gets into trouble.”
Charlotte shook her head in large, fierce wags. “No. It’s too dangerous. I won’t have her at risk—”
“She already agreed to the plan, Lottie.” Stone kept his voice low, steady, hoping to calm her, but she only struggled harder.
“Of course she agreed. She’s nine! What does she know of danger? To her it’s all a big adventure, like something out of her Dead-Eye Dan novels.”
“The child just endured a kidnapping,” Stone reminded her. “She’s hardly innocent of danger.”
“But she’s naïve. She simply trusts you to save her again. She doesn’t know all the things that could go wrong.” Charlotte fisted her hands around the lapels of his coat and shook his entire torso. Or tried. “As impressive as you are, Stone, you can’t guarantee that she’ll not be hurt. You can’t control all the variables. There are too many.”
He ran his hands up from her waist to wrap them around her back and slowly pull her to him. She fought against him, but he was stronger. Little by little, he closed the circle of his arms until she stood trapped against his chest.
The fight went out of her then, and she sagged into him. He tucked her head beneath his chin and stroked the small line of skin along her nape, between her collar and her hair, doing his best to help her relax.
“You’re right, Charlotte,” he murmured close to her ear. “I can’t control all the variables. No human can. All I can do is use the experience and talents God has given me and trust Him with the outcome. There are very few guarantees in this life. The few that do exist come from God. The guarantee that He will love us and be faithful to us. He never promised us a life without hardship. In fact, I seem to recollect several places in Scripture where He promises that we will face such things. But even in that, He vows to be by our side through it all, to give us the strength to endure whatever comes.”
“I’m scared, Stone.” The words were barely audible, muffled as they were by his chest. But he could feel their vibrations against his heart. “I don’t want to lose her.”
And I don’t want to lose you. “We’ll both be there, sweetheart. Watching over her. Protecting her. The minute I have the book secured and there’s no threat of Dorchester regaining possession, we’ll fetch Lily. It should take no more than a matter of hours. Ashe will help us.”
She tilted her head back, and he loosened his hold enough to let her meet his gaze. “Ashe?” she asked.
“Robert Ashe, the Texas Ranger I told you about. The one in Austin who verified your guardianship papers. I’ll wire him tomorrow after Dan and I take care of a little business with the marshal in Steward’s Mill. He’ll help us.”
“But we’ll be stealing Dorchester’s property. Surely a lawman would want no part of that.”
Stone grinned. “Ashe owes me a favor. He’ll cooperate. Shoot, he’ll probably try to get me to hand the ledger over to him so he can start building a case against Dorchester.”
“That could take months! If it ever even made it to court. Rebekah told me that her father-in-law had several judges and prominent politicians on his payroll. Even if Ashe found someone willing to testify, all Dorchester would have to do is get one of his cronies to throw out the case.”
“I suspected as much. Which is why I won’t do it. Lily’s safety is more important than making Dorchester pay for his shady business dealings.” For now. Once Stone convinced Charlotte to marry him, they could officially adopt Lily, thereby permanently removing her from Dorchester’s reach. After that, Ashe could pursue Dorchester to his heart’s content.
Charlotte’s long lashes blinked slowly over her eyes. “You’re going to use it as leverage, aren’t you?”
She was a smart one, his woman. Stone nodded. “Yep.”
Charlotte bit her lower lip. “I don’t like it. What if Dorchester
calls your bluff?”
Stone raised an eyebrow. “Oh, honey. It won’t be a bluff. And I’ll make sure Dorchester knows it.”
“But what if the book isn’t what Lily thinks it is? Or what if he moved it and you aren’t able to find it? What if—?”
“Shhh.” Stone placed a finger over her lips. He wasn’t going to let her work herself up into a frenzy again. And if it took a heavy dose of reality to do it, that’s what he’d give her. “What if we do nothing and Dorchester sends Franklin or another retriever after her again? What if Dorchester puts a bounty on your head for kidnapping? He has three different cases he could possibly bring against you. Even if you weren’t convicted, the arrest alone could give him the ammunition he needs to seize custody of Lily. The longer we put him off, the more desperate he’ll become. And the more desperate he becomes, the dirtier he’ll play. The risk is greater if we don’t act.”
She said nothing. Just buried her head against his chest again and tightened her grip on his coat. At least she still trusted him for comfort. The rest would follow eventually. Stone rested his chin atop her head and held her.
“I love her, too, Charlotte,” he said, finally breaking the silence after several minutes. “I haven’t known Lily as long as you have, but that little girl already has me wrapped around her finger. I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”
Stone rubbed circles across Charlotte’s back, seeking solace for himself as well as her. “After I lost my parents, I didn’t let myself dream of family.” His throat suddenly threatened to close off, but Stone forced the words out. She needed to hear them, and he . . . well, he needed to say them. “I concentrated on physical things that could be purchased or achieved. I dreamed of owning a piece of land with a cabin that no bank could take from me. I dreamed of being a man others respected, a man who would have made my mama proud. Sometimes, in the hardest times, I simply dreamed of a meal large enough to fill my belly.”
Charlotte shifted against him. No longer gripping his coat, her hands tunneled inside it to clasp him around the waist, giving comfort instead of taking it.
“I never allowed myself to dream of family because I knew firsthand how much it hurt to lose them.”
He heard her indrawn breath, felt the tremor that ran through her. Or maybe the tremor had been his. Thinking about his folks did that to him, made him weak, vulnerable. The lost little boy with no home, no one to depend on besides himself and the God his mama had told him stories about. That God had proven faithful, though. Had seen him grown into a man—one with his conscience intact. Had provided friends, brothers really, like Dan and Ashe. And now, if Stone didn’t miss his guess, He’d provided the one thing Stone had never been brave enough to ask for but had always craved.
Stone reached between them and urged Charlotte’s face up until her gaze met his. “Over the last couple weeks, I’ve started dreaming of family, Lottie. Dreaming of a wife, children. Dreaming of a honey-haired teacher with blue-green eyes and a smile that makes my heart buck harder than a fit-throwing mule. Dreaming of a daughter with a love of dime novels and a thirst for adventure that rivals my own. Dreaming of a son whose quiet manner explodes into music whenever he touches a piano. Shoot, I even dream of building a school where a boy with a penchant for tearing things apart can come and study so I don’t lose touch with him, because he feels like family, too.
“I dream of you, Charlotte. You and the kids. I’ll never let Lily go. Not without a fight. Trust me.”
32
It took a few days longer to organize his plans than Stone had originally calculated. Ashe had been called away to San Antonio to testify against a cattle rustler his Ranger company had brought down with Stone’s help last year, the same rustler who’d nearly cost Ashe his leg.
The bullet he’d taken to the thigh during the shootout had ricocheted off bone and nicked arteries that had bled so fiercely the doc who’d worked on him feared the tissue damage would require amputation. Ashe, stubborn cuss that he was, made Stone swear to shoot the doc if he even reached for his saw. Never one to let a friend down, Stone had made himself a permanent fixture in the doc’s surgery and kept one hand on the handle of his revolver during the entire procedure. Ashe pulled through only to fight a second battle with infection.
The doc’s daughter, Belinda, had seen him through that travail and won his heart in the process. She’d been sweet on him for years, but she’d never been able to get him to stay in one place long enough to snag his interest. After a week of nursing him through fever and a month of exercising his leg until he could walk successfully without a cane, if not without a limp, Lindy had earned not only Ashe’s gratitude, but his devotion as well. The Ranger with the itchy feet who’d always preferred the saddle to the hearth suddenly found himself requesting administrative duties at the Austin office, not because of his leg, but because he wanted to stay near Lindy. They’d married last December, a mere two months before Stone took the job with Dorchester.
Perhaps viewing their happiness had made it possible for him to imagine his own. With Charlotte.
Stone grinned as he traded in his currycomb for the horse brush, setting one atop the stall’s half-wall and collecting the other before continuing with Goliath’s grooming. The horse’s hide quivered at the stroking, sending a drowsy fly skittering off in search of a more stable resting place.
It was early yet. The sun had been up only for half an hour. The cool of the morning still clung to the air, even in the barn, making it the perfect place to gather his thoughts before things got crazy.
“I’m gonna be gone for a while, boy,” he murmured, patting Goliath’s neck with his free hand. “Takin’ a little trip down to Houston.”
Goliath snorted in answer, as if displeased by the prospect of being left behind.
“I know,” Stone soothed as he brushed the gelding’s side. “I’d rather take you than a train any day, but I’ve got womenfolk to consider. Not to mention the fact that we’re running behind schedule, having to wait on Ashe to get back from San Antonio and all. Dorchester’s bound to be pushin’ the outer edge of antsy by now.”
It’d been over a week since Charlotte had agreed to his plan. Nine days, to be precise. And in all that time she’d never wavered. Not even when she’d learned that Dan’s responsibilities on the ranch would keep him from joining them. ’Course, knowing Dan would be around to provide protection for John and Stephen took some of the sting out of the revelation, but it had still been a test of Charlotte’s faith to adjust. A test she’d passed admirably. Oh, she’d asked plenty of questions and offered input whether they wanted it or not, but she never fretted openly about what might go wrong nor did she ever let Lily see anything other than confidence on her face when they discussed their scheme.
“I’m right proud of her, boy,” Stone said as he stroked the brush over the horse’s back.
He’d asked for her trust, and she’d given it to him. And not just for Lily’s protection, either. No. She’d started opening her heart to him as well. Taking sunset strolls with him in the evenings. Seeking him out during the day to bring him a glass of water then lingering to make conversation about inconsequential matters. And last night . . . Stone paused in his grooming and smiled. Last night, she’d played “Moonlight,” the song that had first fractured the wall between them nearly a month ago. The song that started his dreams of family.
The notes had caressed the air so softly, they’d almost disappeared before his ears could capture them. She hadn’t wanted to wake the children. Yet the quiet notes brought their own depth, for he found that if he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, he could feel the music dance over his skin like the lightest brush of a feather. Or a finger. Her finger. Skimming along his arm, his nape, tunneling through his hair until his scalp tingled.
Strange how the song no longer sounded lonely when she played. It had become a love song, one that paired a strong, masculine bass line with a gentle, whispering soprano, weaving them together i
n a ballad of hope and tenderness and trust.
Placing a hand on Goliath’s flank, Stone moved around to the other side and set to work with the brush once again. His thoughts moved from Charlotte back to Lily and the task set before them. A task that weighed heavily on his spirit.
“Don’t let me fail her, Lord.” Stone stopped brushing and rested both arms on Goliath’s back. He rested his forehead against the horse’s side and prayed the same prayer he’d been lifting up since the day he’d brought Lily back to the ranch. “I know that ‘A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ I’ve been meditatin’ on that verse all week. We’ve made the best plans we can, but only you can see where they lead. Help me to trust in you, not the plan. Guide our steps. Protect Lily and Charlotte. Bring us all home safely.”
“Amen.”
Stone opened his eyes and lifted his head. “Charlotte?”
Silhouetted against the morning light streaming through the barn door, it was hard to make out her features, but then, he didn’t need to see her face to know it was her. Her voice carried the same lilt as her music.
“Mr. Barrett has the wagon hitched. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.” She took a handful of steps into the barn, the shadows evening out around her, bringing her into focus.
Stone blinked at the severe black gown she wore, so different from the blue skirt and white shirtwaist he was used to seeing her in. The mourning gown had belonged to Marietta Hawkins from when her mother had passed two years ago. It was made of the finest fabric, but the harsh black left Charlotte’s skin looking pale and wan. Of course, the prospect of what lay ahead during the next two days could have stolen her color as well.
Running his hand along Goliath’s back, Stone exited the stall and met Charlotte halfway. “I didn’t realize Dan intended to set out so early this morning.” He’d thought he’d have more time with her before she left.
The Houston & Texas Central had a depot in Richland, so they didn’t have to travel all the way to Corsicana. Even in a wagon, the trip should only take about four hours with Dan’s mules at the helm. He bred the heartiest stock in Texas. There’d be plenty of time to make the early-afternoon train if they left after breakfast as they’d originally planned.