The Outlaw Bride Read online

  “Hello, Will,” Dan said.

  Dr. Annie nodded. “We are about to have something to eat, Will, would you join us?”

  “Yes, do,” Dan said, with a twinkle in his eye. He turned to the proprietor. “Is there somewhere we can sit to talk and get some food?”

  “We have a dining room, sir,” the man said proudly. “Built just for the upcoming events in Sharpsburg. My cook is already preparing for the extra guests Mr. Perryman is expecting for his party. I’ll have it opened for you immediately.”

  Led by Dr. Annie, the group walked toward the dining room.

  “Bring us whatever you have in the kitchen,” Dan told the proprietor.

  The man nodded and scurried away.

  “Now, Josie, sit down and tell us first about the ‘medical emergency’ you and Miss Allgood left town to take care of,” Dan said. “Then you can explain how you happened to meet up with your client, Sims Callahan. Seems to be a difference of opinion on how he escaped jail.”

  “There was no medical emergency. And I wasn’t kidnapped,” Josie said quietly as she found a place at the table. “He locked me in his jail cell and … I escaped.”

  Dan looked at Josie, a quirked smile on his face. “Still have the touch, do you?”

  “I … I don’t understand what you mean,” Josie began.

  “When we arrived in Laramie yesterday, we learned of Mr. Callahan’s escape and found Will’s wire saying you’d been kidnapped and that he suspected you’d be heading for Sharpsburg. We arranged to take the next stage,” Dan said.

  “But,” Dr Annie added, “we were intercepted by our banker who said he’d received a wire from the Sinclair Banking Company saying they were transferring funds to Josie’s Laramie account. That she urgently needed six thousand dollars. Since a transfer takes time, he suggested—due to the unusualness of the situation—that your father might want to use his own funds and deliver the money personally. Why do you need seven thousand dollars, Josie?”

  Josie had been wrong. This wasn’t a town hall meeting, it was an inquisition. She knew now how Ellie Allgood had felt. “Did you bring the money?” she asked.

  “Of course,” Dr. Annie answered. “But we need answers, Josie.”

  Josie stood and walked to the window, trying to find a way to justify her actions.

  “I don’t suppose it has anything to do with the ranchers’ missing money, does it?” Dan asked. “You can understand why we’re a bit concerned about your involvement with an outlaw.”

  “Quit worrying, Dan,” Sinclair said. “I’m sure Josie can explain.”

  Now it was Dr. Annie’s turn to smile as she said, very pleasantly, “Father, I don’t think you’re in a position to criticize. I can see your hands all over this money Josie seems to have mysteriously acquired without our knowledge and kept in your bank.”

  “Mother, it’s my money, at least most of it. I made it playing the stock market while I was reading law and I needed it because … because I intend to start a cattleman’s association.”

  “You see, Annalise?” Teddy Miller said brightly. “I told you she could explain. Got a good mind for the market, our Josie has.”

  “Cattleman’s association? A good head for business, too,” Sinclair added.

  Annie shook her head. She wasn’t buying Josie’s story, but for now she was obviously willing to let her explanation go. “All right, that explains the money, now tell us about your … client.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about your trip, first,” Josie suggested, delaying the inevitable confrontation with her mother.

  Laura, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet, beamed. “Oh, Josie, it was wonderful. We went to dinner parties and had tea at a fine hotel, and, Josie, we saw a real stage play. I’ve never seen anything so wonderful. That’s what I want to do, sing on the stage.”

  “Laura,” Annie interrupted, “we’ll talk about New York later. Right now, I’m more interested in hearing what Josie has been doing. Josie, please, this is very serious.”

  The doors to the kitchen opened, and a man wearing a soiled white apron came through, carrying platters of food. He put them on the table, then went back for more.

  Dan opened his napkin and spread it over his knees. “Will, maybe you can help us understand. It seems Mr. Callahan was well enough to be moved from the clinic to the jail. Is that right?”

  “Not in the beginning, but eventually,” Will agreed.

  “And you left Laramie with your prisoner locked in a cell?” Dan continued.

  Will nodded. “But … somehow he broke out.”

  Annie lifted her napkin and gave it a flounce before placing it in her lap. “But you’ve recaptured Mr. Callahan. You have him locked up here in Sharpsburg?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Josie let out a deep breath and prepared for the worst. She had no defense for what was coming.

  Dan looked straight at her. He wasn’t going to make this easy. “Just for the record, you picked that lock, didn’t you, Josie?”

  Josie nodded. “Yes, I did.”

  It was Teddy who spoke with authority, “And if you did, I’m sure you had a good reason. Just tell us.”

  Josie looked at Will, then back toward her parents. “Because he’s innocent. The man behind the trouble is Lester Perryman. I’m sure of it. The only way I can prove it is with Callahan’s help. And we can’t do it while he’s locked up.”

  “Now, just a minute, Josie,” Will protested. “I’m doing everything I can. You’re just determined to do it yourself.”

  Teddy beamed. “If our Josie’s sure the man’s innocent, I believe her. I’ll always back a sure thing. What about you, Sinclair?”

  Josie watched Grandfather Sinclair look at her mother. He was the more conservative of the two, and she knew her willful actions were reminiscent of Dr. Annie’s decision to leave New York to practice medicine out west. He’d never quite forgiven his daughter for that. Though Annie had married Dan Miller as he’d hoped, Josie wasn’t certain what Grandfather Sinclair would say.

  “I agree with you, Miller. If Josie says he’s innocent, he’s innocent.”

  Dan looked at Annie and nodded. “If this is true, Annie and I will support your convictions. Maybe not your methods, but your instincts.”

  Teddy patted Josie’s hand. “Then that’s settled. I say, let’s eat. Josie can tell us her plans for the money later.”

  Thirty minutes later they’d filled their stomachs and enough time had passed for Dan to make a show of support for his adopted daughter. “Will,” Dan said, “why don’t we take a little walk. The rest of you can get settled.”

  “Fine. Josie, you come with me,” Annie said. “Laura can take a nap and we’ll talk.”

  “A nap! Oh, Mother, I’m almost eleven years old. I don’t need a nap, for heaven’s sake. I’d much rather take a walk with Daddy.”

  Annie’s voice was weary. “We’ve just had a long train ride, and we didn’t even have time to get unpacked before we had to get on the stage. And … we have a party to attend tomorrow evening. You are going to take a nap, or you will stay in your room until we are ready to return to Laramie.”

  Laura choked back a sniffle and nodded.

  “Party?” Josie said in surprise. Her mother cared little about social affairs. “You’re going to Perryman’s ball?”

  “We received an invitation, for which I’m grateful. As a matter of fact, that’s what brought us back to Laramie early. A number of people have asked your father to check Mr. Perryman out, including Judge McSparren, who will be here tomorrow.”

  Josie felt as if the floor had caved in beneath her feet. She was dangling out in space, her downward plunge inevitable. Judge McSparren was coming to Sharpsburg.

  Dr. Annie stood and nodded at the hotel proprietor.

  “Thank you for opening the dining room and for preparing food for us,” she said. “We would also like a room.”

  “Three rooms,” Roylston corrected. “One for Dan and Annie.
One for Mr. Miller and me, and one for Josie and Laura.”

  “But, Mother—” Josie began, trying to tell her about Ellie.

  “Of course,” the proprietor agreed, cutting Josie off. “It will take me a few minutes to rearrange some of our other guests’ accommodations. I’ll have your things taken up.”

  Josie didn’t have to guess what that meant. From what she’d already seen there were only five rooms. Rearranging meant evicting anyone who might not be on the same social level as the Miller party.

  “Mother, I think you ought to know, I already have a roommate.”

  Dr. Annie stopped in mid-stride, dismayed. “Who?”

  “Ellie. Ellie Allgood is sharing my room.”

  “Your client?”

  “My friend, Mother. She is my friend. She came with me to Sharpsburg to get evidence for Callahan’s defense. But that’s not a problem. We’ll make a pallet on the floor. I’ll get Laura settled, but we’ll have to talk later. I have to do some shopping.”

  Annie blinked. “You? Shopping? Now?”

  “For a party dress, Mother. I’m going to the ball.”

  It was mid-afternoon, and Sharpsburg’s businesses were surprisingly busy. Dan was worried. As they crossed the street, he eyed the horses tied up outside the general store and the saloon. “You think these people are here for Perryman’s party?”

  “No,” Will answered. “Some of these horses belong to ranchers who will probably be attending, but most of them are here because they heard that Callahan’s here. They want their money or a piece of his hide. I don’t know if he’s guilty or not, but I haven’t been able to find the money or Callahan’s brother. Last night things got a little rowdy. Some cowboys and ranchers still believe in taking the law into their own hands. After a few drinks they were ready to save the trouble of a trial and take care of Callahan personally.”

  “Lynching party, huh?”

  “Yes. And there is no way I could have stopped it. If Josie hadn’t come up with the idea of a cattleman’s association, Callahan would be swinging from the nearest rafter. Josie had me wire the Sinclair Bank and ask them to arrange for the bank in Laramie to send the money. Obviously, she didn’t know the transfer would come through so quickly”—he raised a skeptical eyebrow—“or that you’d be the one to deliver it.”

  “It didn’t. Let’s just say that we worked it out. But, tell me, Will, what’s going to happen when they have time to think about how convenient it is that Josie Miller just happened to have the same amount of money they lost?”

  “I thought about that, but now that you’re here and they’ll get their money, they won’t cause any trouble.”

  “Maybe …” Dan mused. “Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me what happened.”

  “It started when the ranchers lost most of their cattle to some kind of sickness they caught from a Mexican cattle drive last year. Ben Callahan—he’s the younger of the two Callahan brothers—read about some cattle bred in England that are resistant to this sickness. He talked the other ranchers into pooling their money and investing five thousand dollars in new stock.”

  Dan nodded. “I’ve heard about some new imported steers. Sounds like a good plan.”

  “Might have been. Ben and Sims took the money and jewels collected by the ranchers and headed for the rail yards in Laramie. The problem is, the cattle arrived. Ben and Sims didn’t.”

  “I see,” Dan said. “Go on.”

  “Then that old Indian, Bear Claw, found Sims Callahan wounded and brought him to your house for Dr. Annie to treat.”

  “We were gone, so Josie stepped in. Where’s the brother?”

  “That’s the trouble,” Will said. “Nobody’s seen Ben since.”

  “So the younger brother stole the money and left the older one to take the blame?”

  Will shook his head. “Honestly? I don’t think so. Bear Claw says that Ben was hurt, too. He tracked him to where he crossed paths with a missionary wagon train and his trail disappeared.”

  “You think they took him in?”

  “I do. And I don’t think Ben shot his own brother. According to what I’ve been able to find out, they kept to themselves, ran the ranch alone. Weren’t the most successful ranchers here’bouts, but they were brothers and they were close.”

  “So you find the wagon train and you find the truth.”

  “That’s what I figured and what I’m trying to do. I’ve sent word to all the telegraph stations from here to Oregon and all the forts and law officers from here to California. Nobody’s seen them. Then Josie broke Callahan out of jail and brought him here. I caught them inside Perryman’s bank.”

  Dan swore. “Josie must have been desperate. Is there more to this than compassion for a client?”

  “I think Josie has fallen for the outlaw, Dan, and she’s determined to get him off. I’ve locked Callahan in the livery owner’s quarters. We had to construct a lock that Josie couldn’t pick. Unless she takes it apart board by board, I think he’ll be safe until the judge gets here.”

  “What about the man Callahan? How do you read him?”

  “He’s a tough case, prickly as a cactus. Ellie says he’s in love with Josie—he just doesn’t know it yet.”

  “This Ellie, she’s the saloon girl?”

  Will bristled. “She was. Folks can’t call her that anymore.”

  Dan smiled at his old friend. It was good that Will was finally getting over his quiet crush on Josie. Josie had always looked at Will as a friend. And because of the difference in their ages, Will had never pursued her. “Do I detect a touch of defensiveness in your voice, Will?”

  Will studied the ground for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess you do. Ellie’s too young for me, but she doesn’t seem to care.”

  “And you, Will? Do you care about what she was?”

  “Hell, no. Out here I figure every person can be whatever he can be. Guess that means women, too. Otherwise, you and me would have been in a peck of trouble with Dr. Annie and Josie.”

  “You’re right about that,” Dan said. “At least Laura is still a little girl, though this infatuation with HMS Pinafore and the stage when we were in New York makes me a little uneasy Still, we have plenty of time to direct her otherwise.” He let out a dry laugh and started toward the bank. “But then, I thought the same thing about Josie. By the way, apparently Josie ordered an extra thousand dollars. What’s that for?”

  “Josie’s not only going into the cattle business, she’s going into competition with Perryman. She’s lending the ranchers the money to pay their overdue notes. I’m thinking that the candidate for territorial governor is going to be one angry banker.”

  “What do you think, Teddy? Is Josie in over her head?”

  “Sinclair, I’m worried. I know we’ve taught her how to handle herself, but I’m thinking she might need a little help here.”

  The two grandfathers watched Annie, Josie, and Laura climb the stairs. They pulled out cigars and matches and, under the guise of “having a smoke,” started out the door.

  Teddy Miller stopped and turned back to the hotel manager. “By the way, where does the sheriff have Mr. Callahan locked up?”

  “Directly across the street.”

  There were several horses tied along the rail in front of the buildings. Rough-dressed cowboys gathered in clusters, eyeing Teddy Miller and Roylston Sinclair on one side of the street and Dan Miller and Will Spencer on the other.

  Sinclair took in the calm and recognized the unrest beneath it. “Maybe we’d better have a little talk with the prisoner, just to see for ourselves.”

  “Agreed,” Teddy said, and sauntered casually into the street. “We’re going to need transportation to the ball. I suppose we’d better see what we can rustle up in that livery stable.”

  “Bad choice of words,” Sinclair muttered. “It’s just as well these men don’t know you’re still a master criminal when it comes to finding cash when you need it.”

  “At least
that runs in the family,” Teddy said, and lit his cigar. “Look at Josie. Who else do you know who could turn a hundred dollars into ten thousand and never spend a penny of it?”

  “Not Annie,” Sinclair said with a smile. “If she had it, she’d give it away, just like Josie is about to do.”

  The men stopped on the other side of the street and nodded at each other.

  “Josie isn’t a blood relative to either one of them. I think we did real good in teaching her to be the best of both,” Sinclair said. “But this Callahan fella may be a problem.”

  They both made a beeline for the livery stable.

  16

  Eli sat on the hard board seat next to Jacob, holding on to the edge as the wagon lurched down the rutted trail. The oxen plodded, swishing their tails to discourage the ever-present swarm of insects that flew along like escorts, vying for a choice spot on the oxen’s rump.

  “How come we haven’t seen any other wagons?” Jacob asked his young companion. “You’d think there would be a lot of people going west.”

  Eli grinned, showing a wide space where his two top teeth should have been. “There are. Lots of them ride the rails now, but we couldn’t bring Mama’s things on the train. And she wouldn’t come out here without them. You ever ride a train?”

  “I don’t know. There are so many things I don’t remember about my life before. I guess trains are just another one of them. But I’d think a train would be a lot better way to travel than this.”

  “Me, too, but Brother Joshua talked to the Lord, and the Lord gave him a vision of the way to do things. The scout he hired back in St. Louis said we could save a whole month if we go this way.”

  Jacob didn’t have to have his memory back to understand that the wagon train was also cheaper. He suspected that money, along with control, directed Brother Joshua’s actions. “Your pa agree with him?”

  “Pa, he ain’t much for knowing things like that. He just believes in Brother Joshua.”

  “And your ma? What does she think?”

  Eli’s eyes dropped. “My ma, well, she ain’t strong like Miss Rachel. Whatever Brother Joshua and Pa says, she don’t argue ’bout.”