Chapter 33 #2
She studied him for a long moment.
“I know enough for now,” she said softly. “Maybe someday I'll ask more. Maybe someday you'll tell me more.”
Her gaze never left his face.
“But I meant what I said that day. You are not him.” Her fingers rested lightly on his arm. “You're a good man, Caleb Marlowe.”
He looked away first. “You ought not say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because you make a fella start believing them.”
For a dozen heartbeats, neither of them moved.
The noise of the town seemed to drift away. The voices. The wagons. The laughter. The distant music. All of it faded until there was only Sheila standing in front of him beneath the bright Colorado sky.
“I’ve missed you,” she said quietly.
The words hit him harder than any bullet ever had.
“You did?”
Color rose in her cheeks. “Of course I did.”
“Well.” He cleared his throat. “I missed you too.”
She smiled then, and something inside him gave way.
Before he could talk himself out of it, Caleb reached up and gently tucked one of those wayward curls behind her ear.
“Sheila...”
Whatever he intended to say vanished.
She rose slightly onto her toes.
He met her halfway.
The kiss was soft and brief and somehow managed to steal every coherent thought from his head.
When they finally stepped apart, Sheila's eyes were shining.
“There,” she said. “I've been wanting to do that for six weeks.”
Caleb stared at her. “Only six?”
The laugh that escaped her was worth every mile he'd ridden to get there. Then she slipped her hand into his.
“I have something for you,” he said.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the handkerchief she'd given him before he left. It had been washed clean, but the cloth was worn softer now from being carried day after day.
She looked down at it and smiled.
“You kept it.”
“Told you I would.”
“And you managed not to get blood on it.”
“Took a fair amount of effort.”
Her smile widened as she took the handkerchief from him. For a moment, Caleb thought she meant to keep it. Instead, she carefully folded it and tucked it back into his hand.
Her fingers lingered around his.
“Then keep it,” she said softly. “For every time you go away from me.”
Something tightened in his chest. “Always.”
A faint blush touched her cheeks, but she didn't look away.
“I’m glad.” Then she gave his hand a gentle tug. “But now, we should go.”
He was tempted to lean down and kiss her lips again, properly. He wanted to hold her. But he did neither.
They were on the crowded wooden sidewalk along Main Street before Caleb remembered her invitation.
“Are you planning to shoot, dressed like that?”
“Of course not! The competition was yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” Caleb frowned. He was certain he’d read the message right. “But your letter said—”
“I didn’t want you there. What if I embarrassed myself?”
He glared at her. “So you actually dragged me here for Judge Patterson’s shindig.”
She smiled and ignored the question. “Aren’t you even going to ask how I did in the shooting competition?”
This was the way he liked their relationship. Safe. She all happy and he all grumbly. But Caleb still tended to lose the direction of his thoughts when Sheila batted her eyes at him. Like she was doing now. Clearly, she was pretty proud of herself.
“How did you do?”
“I made it past the first round. Thank you for asking. The second round, we had to shoot nine-inch china plates from a hundred feet.”
“How did you do?” he asked again. He was trainable.
“I broke three out of fifteen. Not nearly good enough. But I’ll be practicing for next year.”
“Far as I know, there ain’t any eclipses next year.”
“I believe they’re already planning something for Independence Day.”
“So then, you gonna keep taking lessons from that old boar hog of a sheriff?”
“I'd prefer to take them from you.”
“Shooting lessons?”
“Among other things.” The look she gave him nearly made him forget there were people around them. “Is that all right with you?”
“Hell, yeah.”
She had her arm linked in his. He liked the feeling it gave him.
“I nearly forgot,” he said. “Your father was crowing that you’re getting to be quite the chess player.”
“I’m much better at chess than shooting. I’m looking forward to playing a game with you.”
He knew Sheila was taking him to Patterson’s event, but he no longer cared. At least, he’d be there with her.
“Come on, Marlowe,” she said, steering him through the throng of people. “I was given only one job today, and that was to get you here on time.”
It took only a few minutes to reach the stands that had been set up for the invited luminaries. Crowds had already gathered for the speeches, and she led him directly to where Doc and Zeke were standing. Both were dressed in their finest clothes.
And neither of them seemed surprised to see him.
A moment later, Judge Patterson himself left a group he was talking to. He’d only this week left off wearing the black silk sling that kept his shoulder immobile.
“Marlowe, you made it. Very glad. Very!”
“Judge.” Caleb accepted the man’s handshake and watched as Zeke and Doc wandered away with Sheila. “But I don’t know why I’m here. You’ve got your hands full.”
The judge glanced around to see if they had an audience. No one seemed to be paying attention.
“You’ve done well by me, Marlowe. But I don’t like to owe people favors. So here we go. A favor returned. As promised.”
Patterson was pointing at a tall man who was speaking with Doc and Sheila. The man laughed at something she said.
There was no one south of the Badlands with a laugh like that. Beneath his wide-brimmed black hat, the man was wearing a brown leather vest and tan wool pants outside of his boots. The newcomer was a little shorter than Caleb, and his thick brown hair hung nearly to his shoulders.
“It took some doing, after all, Marlowe. In fact, I’d say now you owe me.”
“Think what you like, Judge. I say we’re square.”
Turning his back, Caleb strode over and put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Henry.”
“Caleb.”
The two looked at each other and nodded as Doc and Sheila moved off to the refreshment stand.
“Glad to see me?”
“Thought I was gonna have to build that whole damn ranch on my own.”
“Make our fortune yet in silver?”
Caleb scoffed.
“Well,” Henry replied, casting an appreciative glance at Sheila. “Looks like you’ve been busy in other ways.”
“It ain’t what you think.”
“Glad to hear it. That’s good for me.”
Caleb felt his hackles rise, but Henry just laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.
“So, my friend, tell me about this ranch of ours.”
The two of them walked off to the side a little. He and his partner had plenty to talk about.
But Caleb never let Sheila out of his sight.