“Fifteen dollars,” the man croaked, his eyes moving furtively between July and Two Shafts.
“Did my brother cheat you during the game?”
“No.”
“So the game was fair and square.”
The jeweler nodded quickly. “Yes.”
“And when you left the table last night you promised to do what?”
The jeweler answered guiltily, “Meet your brother in the morning and pay up.”
“But what did you do instead?”
“I…caught the stage.”
“You caught the stage.”
July then looked to the jeweler’s plump wife. “Are you his wife, ma’am?”
She nodded warily.
“Did you know any of this when you left town this morning?”
Her hard eyes flashed condemningly at her husband before she responded tersely, “No.”
“I thought not,” July replied, giving her that charming smile. “Beautiful woman like yourself would never be party to such uncouth behavior.”
The woman giggled like a schoolgirl.
Olivia rolled her eyes. July was certainly an entertaining outlaw, if nothing else. He suddenly smacked the jeweler on the back of his head so hard that the man’s bowler landed in the dust. “Do you know who we are?”
“No,” the jeweler admitted, cringing.
“Ever heard of the Terrible Twins?”
The man nodded hastily, then, as if realizing that the question had not been a rhetorical one, his beady brown eyes widened with fright.
July nodded affirmatively. “Yep. That’s who you tried to cheat this morning. I’m Neil July and this is my brother, Two Shafts. Although we may rob trains for a living, we don’t like being robbed ourselves.” He studied the jeweler for a moment before asking, “That make sense to you?”
The man nodded and hastily nodded again. Olivia, on the other hand, thought that to be a very self-serving statement, but she kept quiet. She already owed July a debt she didn’t want to pay.
July held his hand out. “The money.”
During July’s interrogation of the jeweler, Two Shafts hadn’t said a word—until now. “Pay up or we take everything you have, including your drawers.”
The jeweler’s eyes went wide as plates.
July added, “And I’m sure the ladies want to be spared that distressing sight.”
Olivia looked to the young mother and the aunt and was quite certain they agreed with July’s assessment.
“But I don’t have the money.”
“Then we’ll start with your coat. Hand it over.”
“You can’t be serious.”
July’s gun magically appeared out of nowhere and came to rest between the jeweler’s horrified eyes. “Your clothes or the money.”
The shaking man shot his wife a hasty glance. “She has all my valuables.”
July pulled the Colt back and stuck it into the heavy gun belt girdling his waist. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” Turning his attention to the wife, he purred, “Madame, if you would be so kind….”
In response, the woman blushed, then turned her back and discreetly opened her blouse to retrieve the hidden cache. Once decent again, she handed the lot over to Two Shafts. He shifted the baubles and jewelry around on his outstretched palm. A gold bracelet caught his eye. He held it up for July to see. “Think Teresa would like this?”
July studied the piece and shrugged. “Don’t see why not.”
Two Shafts put the bracelet into the pocket of his faded blue army jacket. Olivia wondered who this Teresa might be. When she looked up, July was watching her, and all her wondering fled. Once again an unnamed something passed over and through her senses, and no matter how much she tried to ignore it, it wouldn’t go away.
Two Shafts finished extracting his fifteen dollars’ worth of restitution from the jeweler’s stock and then told the man, “Thank you.”
The jeweler scowled.
Two Shafts responded with a cold smile. “Be nice, my friend. I can still send you on your way as naked as Adam if I’ve a mind to.”
The jeweler dropped his gaze.
Two Shafts turned away and went over to the men working on the wagon. Olivia was surprised to see him help the men right the coach. Helpful outlaws?
July was watching her again, and although Olivia was sure her reaction to him was experienced by every woman he encountered, maintaining her composure wasn’t any easier.
Mr. Gardner, who’d been driving the route from Ellis to Henry Adams for over a decade, walked over and announced, “Folks, the axle is broken. I’m going to have to leave the coach here and take you all back to Ellis. We can take turns riding the horses. There’s another stage coming through on Thursday.”
No one was happy with the news. Thursday was two days away. A frustrated Olivia blamed the Terrible Twins and the jeweler for this mess. She certainly didn’t want to ride all the way back to Ellis. She looked up at the sky. It was already mid-afternoon, the hottest part of the day. If she struck out now walking the remaining twenty miles across the treeless Kansas plains for home, she’d die of heatstroke. “Mr. Gardner, may I borrow one of the horses and go on to Henry Adams?”
The old driver shook his head. “Sorry, Miss Olivia. The stock belongs to the coach line. They all have to go back with me.”
“My horse and I can escort you home.”
July’s voice startled her into turning around.
“That isn’t necessary,” she said, proud she hadn’t stammered. His presence made her so warm that it was like standing next to a stove.
“My brother and I are heading up to Canada. Henry Adams is on the way.” The seamstress Neil now knew as Miss Olivia was as beautiful today as she’d been the afternoon he’d robbed her and the other passengers on the train—still well-dressed, too. The navy suit framed a frilly, high-collared white blouse that looked as soft as a cloud, even though the clothing was too much for such a hot day. The hat, with all its flowers and netting, was more for fashion than for protection from the sun.
Olivia knew that if she returned to town under his escort the resulting scandal would follow her to her grave. “Thank you, but no.”
“I insist,” he countered softly. “After all, were it not for our jeweler friend, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Were it not for you, I wouldn’t be in this situation.” Olivia decided he had the longest lashes she’d ever seen on a man. She also wondered how long it would be before she could look into his face and not be burned to a cinder.
Neil chuckled. “I was wondering when the sassing would start.” She’d sassed him a bit during that first encounter, and that had pleased him, just as it did now. He enjoyed spirited, statuesque women. “You don’t really want to go all the way back to Ellis.”
“True, but I’m not traveling alone with you, either.” Olivia dearly wished he’d turn his considerable handsomeness on someone else. She could see the displeasure on Malloy’s face; not that it mattered, but she didn’t want any gossip linking her and the outlaw in any way.
“I assure you, I can be a gentleman,” he replied, refocusing her attention on his provocative presence.
“I’m sure you can.”
Neil turned to the driver and said, “I’m escorting Miss Olivia back to Henry Adams.”
Her reply was firm. “No, he is not. I appreciate your offer, Mr. July, but no thank you.”
The young mother with the baby said into the breach, “Then take me and the baby.”
Her aunt looked appalled, but the mother didn’t seem to care. “Please. I will pay you. I’ve traveled all the way from Boston to join my husband, and I can’t wait for the next stage. My husband’s never even seen the baby.”
The baby was finally asleep, but the aunt snapped, “We’re going back to Ellis, Mary Ann.”
Mary Ann ignored her. “Please, Mr. July. Please.”
Neil looked to the young mother and then to his brother, who nodded almost impercept
ibly. Neil responded, “Well, little lady, seeing as how this is partially our fault—sure. Shafts and I will take you to your husband, and it won’t cost you a cent.”
Tears of gratitude filled the woman’s eyes. She then turned to Olivia and said, smiling, “Now you can go, too. With me and the baby along, you won’t have to worry about what folks might say. That is what you were worrying over, wasn’t it?”
The woman was correct, but Olivia was still wary of traveling with July for myriad reasons, the least being the debt she owed him.
Neil waited to see what Olivia would do. Before the young mother had spoken up, he’d toyed with the idea of just tossing the seamstress over his horse’s back and riding off, he found her that fascinating. He was an outlaw after all, but the mother had given him a way to spend more time with the lovely Olivia and not be charged with kidnapping. That was a good thing, because there were more than enough Wanted posters with his name on them already. “So, you coming along?”
Olivia studied him for a moment. Was she seriously reconsidering the idea, knowing she didn’t know a thing about him other than the fact that he robbed trains?
He added softly, “You have my word that you won’t be harmed in any way.”
There was an honesty in his voice and gaze that made her believe he was telling the truth, but then again, that was probably part of his charm.
Malloy puffed himself up to his full height, threw out his chest like a rooster, and declared, “For propriety’s sake I insist on going along, too.”
Neil assessed him emotionlessly, then turned away.
Although Olivia could barely tolerate the self-important Malloy, his presence would hopefully quell any gossip that might arise. Neil July’s pledge to keep her from harm notwithstanding, Olivia felt better having a non-outlaw male along. Apparently Mary Ann’s aunt did too and decided to go along as well.
While the passengers went with Gardner to retrieve their bags and trunks from the boot, Neil and Two Shafts went to retrieve their mounts. Two Shafts looked at his brother and said amusedly, “Canada? I thought we were on our way to Kansas City to relieve the army of that gold.”
An embarrassed Neil shrugged. “It’s all I could come up with at the time.” His eyes strayed over to the Junoesque Olivia talking to the coach driver. “I think I’m in love.”
“You’re always in love. You don’t even know her.”
“Ah, but I do.” Neil knew her to be the most feminine woman he’d met in quite some time. Her perfume was vivid in his memory, as was the feel of her nervous trembles when he’d had her up in his arms. The need to learn more about the seamstress was strong enough to make him delay leaving for Kansas City. Escorting her and the others back would add another day or two to the journey, but gold trains were plentiful; women as bewitching as the lovely Miss Olivia were rare in his world.
Shafts shook his head. “You know women like her don’t mix with men like us.”
“Sure they do. Remember the territorial governor’s daughter a few years back?”
Shafts laughed. “You made your point. I wonder where she learned all those tricks?”
“I’m not sure, but I certainly enjoyed the ones her mother showed me, and besides, doing this will give us an excuse to drop in on Jeff.” Jeff was Chase Jefferson—an old friend and the sheriff of Henry Adams.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t celebrate our showing up by putting us in jail.”
Both men laughed, then grabbed the reins of their mounts and led the horses back to the folks standing by the coach.
Olivia watched Neil July approach and told herself she was not going to let his maleness overwhelm her. She’d lost herself back there, but she attributed that to the surprise of seeing him again. Now she’d regained control of her faculties and was ready to meet him head on.
Neil took the carpetbag from her gloved hand and tied it to the saddlebags on the horse. She met his gaze with her chin raised and her back ramrod straight. It made him wonder if she’d ever had a man stroke that iron spine into softness; if she’d ever purred for a man. He doubted she had, and that drew Neil too. “Ready, ma’am?”
Olivia watched Two Shafts helping the mother and her aunt onto the back of his big brown gelding. Once the women were settled across the saddle, he handed the baby up to its mother. Only then did Olivia turn her attention to July. His dark, fathomless eyes were waiting. Over the increased pace of her heartbeat, she wondered if it was normal for a woman to be so affected by a man she barely knew. “Yes.”
Olivia didn’t need his help mounting. Sticking her booted foot into the stirrup, she grabbed the horn and swung herself up with as much grace as she could in all the skirts and petticoats. She settled astride the saddle. In response to July’s widened, impressed eyes, she adjusted her skirts and kept her smile hidden.
A few moments later the small band of travelers waved good-bye to Old Man Gardner and his aide. They and the still angry jeweler and his wife struck out for Ellis, while Olivia and the others began the twenty-mile ride to Henry Adams. Under the glaring heat, the men walked and the women rode.
Malloy, in his checkered suit and back east bowler, had taken up a position on one side of July’s horse, while July walked on the opposite side. Neil would have preferred that the man walk elsewhere, but he kept it to himself. He didn’t want to antagonize Miss Olivia.
Malloy said to July, “Name’s Armstead Malloy. I own many of the businesses in Henry Adams, don’t I, Miss Olivia?”
Olivia replied emotionlessly, “Yes, you do.”
Malloy smiled, then asked, “You own anything, July?”
Neil had encountered smug little men like him before. “Just my horse. Man like me doesn’t need much more.”
“Oh, that’s right. You steal for a living, don’t you?”
Olivia was taken aback by the unwarranted attack. She didn’t believe such sneering was warranted or necessary. They were traveling under the outlaws’ protection, after all.
Malloy added, “I’m also trying to convince Miss Olivia to marry me.”
Neil couldn’t hide his surprise.
Olivia’s lips tightened. “And I’ve repeatedly told Mr. Malloy, no.”
Neil smiled inside. The woman was beautiful and smart.
“Some women like to be chased,” Malloy countered tightly.
“Then maybe you should turn your attention there,” she answered. “I’ll not be changing my mind. I didn’t come to Kansas to marry.”
“Right man would change all that,” Malloy argued evenly.
“I don’t want my life changed, Mr. Malloy. I’m pleased with it the way it is.”
“A woman needs a man. ’Specially out here. Wouldn’t you agree, July?”
Neil didn’t know why Malloy was suddenly seeking his opinion. “Depends on the woman. If you tell my sister, Teresa, that she needs a man to take care of her, she’s liable to draw her Colt and shoot you.”
Malloy stared. “What kind of woman is she?”
“Outlaw woman.”
Olivia was surprised. “Your sister is an outlaw?”
“Yep. Rides with the old Dick Glass gang down in Indian Territory. Got almost as many Wanted posters as me and Shafts. Pretty proud of her.”
The stunned Olivia wondered what kind of family this man came from, where women were applauded for having their own Wanted posters. He had to be pulling her leg.
Neil called to his brother. “Hey, Shafts, what do you think Tee would say to a man that says she needs him to take care of her?”
“Before or after she shoots him?” Two Shafts replied with a straight face.
Neil grinned.
Olivia smiled inwardly. Their sister sounded like a formidable woman. A question she’d been mulling over for awhile came to mind. “Mr. July, why do you call Two Shafts your twin?”
“Because he is.”
Olivia studied Two Shafts’s dark, golden skin and handsome features, but for the life of her, she couldn’t see any resemblance strong e
nough to declare him July’s twin.
July offered an explanation. “Shafts and I have the same daddy but different mothers. His mother is Comanche.”
She was confused. “But how does that make you twins?”
“We were born on the same day.”
Olivia had never heard of such a thing. In an odd sort of way she supposed they were twins. What a peculiar family.
Malloy asked in haughty tones, “What made you take up train robbing?”
“Poverty.”
Olivia went still and studied him. She’d never heard such a succinct and moving one-word response in all her life. Olivia realized there was more to Neil July than met the eye. Apparently the answer affected Malloy as well, because he kept his questions to himself after that.
Chapter 2
They’d been on the road about an hour when they spotted an abandoned homestead standing like a tired sentinel on the open plains. As they rode closer, Olivia scanned the tumbledown place and experienced a bit of melancholy. Most of the valley’s original settlers had come to Kansas as part of the Great Exodus of 1879. The newspapers had dubbed the migration Kansas Fever. The participants, forty thousand men, women, and children of the race had dubbed it survival as they’d fled the terror and killings that had followed the withdrawal of the last Union troops from the South. However, many of the families who’d made the long, arduous trek to Kansas, Nebraska, and the western territories in search of the freedom denied them by the South’s Redemptionist Democrats had arrived woefully unprepared for the hardships of carving out a life where none had existed before. Some had come with no tools, others too little money. Still others had quit their farms because of debt, loneliness, and despair. This small house with its broken-down windmill had once stood as a proud testament to someone’s dreams; now it was overgrown with grasses and wildflowers. Eventually the land would reclaim the structure, and the testament would be no more.
The sight of the pump beside the house made the band halt. Shafts walked over to see if the implement worked. It did. All of the travelers were equipped with canteens, but fresh water meant they wouldn’t have to ration their supply.