The Last Outlaw(9)

“Jake!”

“I enjoyed it. Didn’t you?”

Randy sobered. “But you were upset with me afterward.”

He drew on the cigarette and took it from his lips. “Concerned, baby. Not upset. I just want you to be happy.” He glanced past her to keep an eye on the street.

“What’s wrong, Jake?”

He met Randy’s gaze again. “What do you mean?”

“How well do I know you? You look troubled.”

He sighed, taking another drag on the cigarette. At the same time, there was hope in that little glimpse at the real Randy—the one who knew him like a book and read his every mood. “Nothing important. I had a few words with Brady Fillmore in the saloon, that’s all. He’s gone now.”

“Oh, that awful man! He’ll get himself hanged by the cattlemen someday, that’s what.”

Jake had to laugh at the flicker of her old spirit. “Wouldn’t bother me any.”

“What did he do? What did he say?”

Jake smiled and kissed her cheek again. “It doesn’t matter. I think he’s left town.”

Randy handed him the hatbox. “Will you hang on to this?”

He took it from her and set it on a nearby bench. “I’ll watch it, but I’m not going to be caught holding that thing.”

Randy smiled, grasping his free hand. “You love me, don’t you?”

“I’ve told you a thousand different ways.” Why does she always ask that? The old Randy never had to ask. She knew. He squeezed her hand. “It’s good to see you walking around town without me.”

She grasped his wrist and pressed his hand tighter against her cheek. “I’m trying, Jake.”

“I know. Just quit asking if I love you. This is Jake Harkner you’re talking to. I loved you the minute I laid eyes on you back in that dry goods store in Kansas, and I’ve never stopped loving you.”

Randy looked around warily, still clinging to his hand. “Did you buy more peppermint? You always have peppermint. What if we decide to…in the morning…you always have peppermint.”

“I already bought some. I have a whole bagful in my jacket pocket.” He pulled out a brown bag to show her. “See?”

“Can I have a piece now?”

Jake smiled. “Well, we don’t want to waste it for all the times we’ll need it in the mornings.”

“Jake! Honestly!” She smiled. “Just one piece? It makes me feel close to you.”

Jake opened the bag and broke off a small piece of peppermint stick. He stuck it between her lips. “Now, go join Teresa at the bank.”

Randy blinked back unwanted tears as she took the candy from her lips for a moment. “I’m sorry, Jake. I’m scared all the time, and that’s not me. I hate this. And I don’t like taking that sleeping potion Brian gives me.”

“Our son-in-law is a good doctor, and he loves you like his own mother. He just wants you to be able to sleep, and so do I.”

Randy nodded, unable to speak because of more tears that wanted to come. Jake set his cigarette on a railing and grasped her face with both hands. “Randy, you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known. You’ll get over this. And right now you’re in Boulder, and it’s a peaceful, law-abiding town, which means I’d better not stay too long,” he joked. “If anything goes wrong, it’s bound to involve me.” He kissed her forehead. “Now get going. And go buy that dress you were talking about.”

Randy looked up at him with that “help me get over this” look he’d seen far too often.

“Go.”

She gave him a weak smile, then put the peppermint back into her mouth and left. Jake watched her walk, hated the way her dress hung a little too loose. He decided he was going to get stricter with her about eating better. Another motorized buggy chugged by.

They had electricity at the ranch now, and in town, more and more men drove things with motors rather than rode horses. In town, people had telephones, and Randy was hoping they could get that, too, at the ranch.

The best thing about change was that finally all the ugly haunts and rotten, leftover enemies from his past were gone…all dead and buried, and that was fine with him. The sickening part was that his own wife had ended up paying some of the price. He watched her walk into the bank, then turned to take another look at the storm of dust in the distance. He squinted, still not quite able to figure out what it was. His concentration was interrupted when four women marched up to him and drew his attention away.

“Mr. Harkner, we have a request!”

Frowning, Jake turned to the women, all dressed very prim and proper, with hair pulled back so tightly he wondered if it hurt. They wore small hats of different designs, gloves on their hands, and long-sleeved dresses with necklines that looked like they might be choking them.