Lone Wolf's Lady. Judy Duarte

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      And if Daisy didn’t agree?

      He’d take her anyway. Caroline’s daughter didn’t belong in a place like this. And Tom wasn’t about to leave her here.

      * * *

      On Friday morning, Katie hurried down the boardwalk to the newspaper office, her skirts swishing with each brisk step she took. She intended to pick up her copy of the Pleasant Valley Journal fresh off the press, just as she always did.

      As she opened the front door, a bell tinkled to let the clerk know she’d arrived.

      The bespectacled young man glanced up from his desk. When he spotted Katie, he smiled. “Here to read the latest rebuttal to your last article, Miss O’Malley?”

      “Yes, Harold.” Katie slipped off her gloves and tucked them into her reticule. “What does Reverend Codwell have to say this time?”

      “He doesn’t mention any new arguments, if that’s what you mean.” Harold adjusted his eyeglasses, pushed his swivel chair away from the desk and got to his feet.

      While he went for her copy, Katie scanned the small office, breathing in the scent of ink and admiring the intricate machinery that worked the printing press. She’d actually considered the idea of becoming a reporter or even an editor herself. Edward Townsend, Harold’s boss, had once offered her a job, but he’d told her she’d have to temper some of her outspoken comments if she wanted to work for him.

      Katie, of course, had refused to do that.

      Noticing the publisher wasn’t around, she asked about him. “Where’s Edward?”

      “He went to visit...” Harold flushed a brilliant shade of scarlet, then adjusted his shirt collar. “Um...I’m not sure where he is.”

      Katie placed her hands on the countertop and leaned forward. “Harold Decker, you’re holding something back. Why is that? What don’t you want to tell me?”

      “I’m sorry, Miss O’Malley. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It just isn’t proper.”

      Katie arched a brow. “Where is this improper visit taking place?”

      Harold ran a hand over his slicked-down hair, then looked at Katie as though he wanted her either to ask someone else or to forget the question completely, but she wasn’t about to do that.

      She crossed her arms like a parent scolding an errant child. “Harold?”

      “Oh, for goodness’ sake. Edward went to see...one of the women from...um...the Gardener’s House. She was assaulted and nearly killed yesterday.”

      Katie’s hands unfolded and slipped to her sides. “What happened?”

      Harold’s ruddy cheeks grew a deeper shade of red with each tick of the clock. “Why don’t you ask Edward when he gets back? I don’t feel right talking to you about it.”

      “You might as well tell me. There will be an article in the paper, and we both know that Reverend Codwell will be proclaiming it from the pulpit. You heard him bring up Miss Potts and Sarah Jane last week, which caused a rash of public outrage against the woman and the child.”

      “You’re right, I suppose.” He ambled toward the counter and sighed. “And I certainly hope that didn’t have anything to do with the assault.”

      “Why would it?”

      “Because Daisy was the one who was attacked.”

      The unexpected news slammed into Katie like a hammer on a blacksmith’s anvil. “Oh, no. At the brothel?”

      “No, while she was coming to town to do some shopping at the mercantile.”

      “Who attacked her?”

      “No one knows. The little girl was the only witness, but she’s not talking. Doc Hennessy says the child is in shock.”

      “Dear Lord,” Katie whispered out loud, as she launched into a silent prayer. Please look after Sarah Jane until I can get to her.

      “Don’t worry,” Harold added. “There’s a group of concerned citizens who plan to take the child away from there and put her in an orphanage. Anything would be better than being where she is right now.”

      A thousand thoughts swirled in Katie’s head, the foremost being the need to protect little Sarah Jane. She eyed Harold carefully. “What time do you expect Edward to return?”

      “I’m not sure. After checking on Daisy, he was going over to the saloon to take up a collection for her. She’s a nice woman.” Harold stiffened. “I mean, she’s nice for a...” He cleared his throat, then chuffed. “Oh, never mind.”

      Katie ignored the man’s discomfort. Her only concern was for Sarah Jane. Daisy had already agreed to go to Wyoming. After all, she couldn’t very well change her mind about leaving now.

      Either way, Sarah Jane needed a champion, someone who would take her far away from this unforgiving town, someone who wouldn’t allow her to be placed in an orphanage.

      And Katie was just the one to do it.

      As she turned on her heel and strode for the door, Harold called out, “Miss O’Malley, you forgot your newspaper.”

      “I’ll get it later.” Katie slammed the door behind her, nearly jarring the little bell off its perch.

      She wasn’t sure what the townspeople would say when she announced that she would be the one adopting Sarah Jane, particularly if the Reverend Codwell stepped in to raise a fuss, but she was taking Sarah Jane and Daisy to Wyoming.

      And she was prepared to fight anyone who stood in her way.

      * * *

      Tom nursed a cup of coffee while he sat in the red-and-gold parlor of the Gardener’s House, waiting for a chance to see Daisy again. The doctor was with her now, and as soon as he was finished with his exam, Tom planned to take her and Sarah Jane to a place they’d be safe.

      The attack had been brutal. And there’d been no reason for it. Daisy had been on her way to the mercantile. Sarah Jane had been with her. At some point, she’d screamed. Blossom, one of the other women at the brothel, had heard her and come running. She’d fired a shot at the man, and he’d fled before anyone could get a good look at him.

      Daisy, who’d been battered senseless, had no recollection of the assault. When Sarah Jane was asked if she could describe the man who’d attacked them, she’d shaken her head no. One day later, and she still hadn’t uttered a single word.

      The doctor said the little girl, who bore bruises along one of her arms, had been traumatized. Poor little thing. Tom had no idea what her life had been like so far, but losing her mother so young...and now this.

      He reached into his pocket and pulled out his gold watch. What was taking the doctor so long? He was hoping to get out of town as soon as Daisy was able to travel. Unfortunately, Daisy couldn’t mount a horse in her condition, even if she’d wanted to. And since Tom couldn’t rid himself of the suspicion that the attacker СКАЧАТЬ