The Rustler. Linda Miller Lael

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      Rowdy approached as Wyatt reclaimed his pistol from the table set aside for the purpose, his old yellow dog, Pardner, at his heels, and tipped his hat to Sarah.

      “I didn’t see Mrs. Yarbro in the congregation,” Sarah said. She liked Lark, a former schoolteacher who’d stirred up quite a scandal when she took up with the marshal.

      “The baby’s getting teeth, and it makes him fractious,” Rowdy replied. “They’ll be along later, when the heat lets up.” He turned slightly, gave Wyatt an affectionate slap on the shoulder. “I’d introduce my brother properly,” he added, “but it seems you’ve already made his acquaintance.”

      “I’m the good-looking one,” Wyatt said.

      Just then, Fiona Harvey showed up, holding a plate piled high with fried chicken, potato salad and apple crumble. Fiona, who was thirty if she was a day, wanted a husband. Everybody knew that.

      When and if Fiona managed to get married, Sarah would become the town spinster.

      “You look hungry,” Fiona told Wyatt, batting her sparse eyelashes.

      Sarah, who considered Fiona a friend, simmered behind a cordial smile.

      Wyatt tipped his head and flashed a grin at Fiona. “Why, thank you, ma’am,” he said, accepting the plate.

      Rowdy rolled his eyes, caught the expression on Sarah’s face, and winked at her.

      “You’re welcome to come and sit with us,” Fiona simpered, indicating a cluster of women sitting on a blanket under a nearby tree.

      The marshal took the plate from Wyatt’s hands and gave it back to Fiona. “My brother’s much obliged,” he said smoothly, “but we’ve been expecting him, so Lark’s got a big spread on the table at home.”

      “Thanks just the same, though,” Wyatt said.

      Fiona took the rebuff gracefully, said she hoped Mr. Yarbro would come back for the fireworks and the dance that would take up after sunset, and he replied that he might well do that. With a sidelong glance at Sarah, he allowed as how he enjoyed fireworks.

      She blushed again, oddly flustered.

      And Fiona pressed the plate into her hands. “Take this to your papa,” she told Sarah. “Heaven knows, he’ll appreciate a decent supper, the way you cook.”

      “Why, thank you, Fiona,” Sarah said.

      Wyatt and Rowdy exchanged glances, and one of them chuckled.

      Fiona smiled and walked away.

      “Give my regards to your father,” Rowdy said, as Sarah turned to go, once again at a loss for words. The next time she saw Fiona, she’d have plenty to say, though.

      “I’d better see Miss Tamlin home,” Wyatt said, and before Rowdy could protest that Lark had dinner waiting, he’d taken Sarah’s arm and escorted her halfway to the road.

      Since it would be rude to tell him she could get home just fine on her own, Sarah bit her lip and marched along, resigned, carrying the plate like a crown on a velvet cushion.

      An old spotted horse with a long cut on its side ambled along behind them, bridle jingling, reins wrapped loosely around the saddle horn.

      Sarah looked back.

      “That’s just Reb,” Wyatt said.

      “What happened to his side?”

      “He had a run-in with a steer a while back. He’s healing up fine, though.”

      Sarah wanted to ask a thousand other questions, but all of them jammed up in the back of her throat. She was sweating, her hair felt as though it would escape its pins at any moment, and she could almost feel the flames of Brother Hickey’s beloved hellfire licking at her hem.

      Mr. Yarbro donned his dusty hat, which made him look like a highwayman out of some dime novel. Sarah was painfully conscious of his hand, cupping her elbow, and the way he moved, with a sort of easy prowl.

      “Are you really a bad cook?” he asked, visibly restraining a grin.

      “Yes,” Sarah admitted, with a heavy sigh.

      He chuckled. “Guess that’s why you’re not taken,” he said. “No other explanation for it, with looks like yours.”

      Sarah was scandalously pleased, and determined to hide the fact. She didn’t think about her appearance much, given the busy life she led and her naturally practical turn of mind, but she knew she was...passable. Her hair was dark, and she kept it shiny with rainwater shampoos, vinegar rinses and a hundred brushstrokes every night. She had good skin, strong teeth, exceedingly blue eyes and a slender but womanly figure.

      For all that, she was an old maid, too plainspoken and too smart to suit most men. Most likely, Mr. Yarbro was merely dallying with her.

      “My looks are in no way remarkable, Mr. Yarbro,” she said, “and we both know it.” She paused. Then, ever the banker’s daughter, started adding things up in her brain. “Are you an outlaw, like your brother was?” she inquired bluntly.

      “I used to be,” he said, surprising her.

      She’d expected another answer, she realized. A lie, falling easily from those expressive lips of his. Faced with the stark truth, she didn’t know what to say.

      Wyatt laughed and resettled his hat.

      “What did you do?” Sarah asked, once she’d found her voice. They’d entered Stone Creek proper by then, passing Rowdy’s office first, strolling along the sidewalk past the mercantile and her father’s bank. The sun was setting, and old Mr. Shaefer was lighting the gas streetlamps, one by one.

      “Robbed a train or two,” Wyatt said.

      “My goodness,” Sarah remarked.

      “You’re safe with me, Miss Tamlin,” he assured her, grinning again. “I’ve seen the error of my ways and I’m determined to take the high road, like my brother did. Are you planning to head back to the creek for the dancing and the fireworks?”

      Sarah shook her head, bemused.

      “Then I reckon I won’t bother to, either.”

      So he hadn’t been taken with Fiona, then. Inwardly, Sarah gave a deep sigh.

      All too soon, and not nearly soon enough, they’d reached the gate in front of Sarah’s house.

      He opened the gate for her, stood back politely while she passed through it. When she looked over her shoulder, he touched the brim of his hat.

      “Good night, Sarah Tamlin,” he said. The glow of a nearby streetlamp cast his fine features into shadow. The paint horse waited politely on the sidewalk, nibbling at the leaves of Sarah’s favorite peony bush.

      Sarah swallowed, rattled again. “Good night, Mr. Yarbro,” she replied. Then she turned and hurried along the walk, up the porch steps, СКАЧАТЬ