The Green Lace Corset, стр. 68
“Like . . .” He paused.
“What?”
“Never you mind.” He looked away.
She leaned across the table and put her hand on his arm. “I’d like to go to church anyway.”
He pulled away and crossed his arms. “We’ll see,” he said.
She could tell that meant no.
He put his hands back on the table, and his eyes softened. “Sally Sue, you’re a mighty fine woman.”
She felt herself blush as a whisper of desire clung to her—a desire to touch his hand, his cheek, the back of his hair where it kissed the nape of his neck. She shuddered. How could she be so angry at him one minute and feel this way about him the next? This man who kidnapped her, kept her, wouldn’t let her go. A bank robber, a killer.
As if he could read her mind, he slid his hand across the table toward her, the gnarled scars of a life deeply lived evident on his fingers. She reached out her hand and clasped his, unable to resist his touch a moment longer. The thought of those large hands on her body frightened but also thrilled her imagination. What might happen in the big bed with him next to her at night, or maybe during an afternoon with the spring sun shining through the window?
She caught herself, withdrew her hand from his, and stood. “It’s getting late.”
Next Sunday, come hell or high water, she’d set out for church if she had to, even if it made him angry. At least she’d asked him first.
46
Sunday morning, Cliff still asleep on the cot, Sally Sue quickly and quietly dressed in her travel suit—stains, flat bustle, and all—and tied her bonnet beneath her chin. As the sun peeked over the mountains, feathery pink clouds hovered in the sky. She marched out to the pasture, haltered Scout, and led him to the fence railing. Saddling him up, she slid her rifle onto his side, climbed on his back, and headed up the road toward town. Would she be able to find the way?
She looked behind her to make sure Cliff wasn’t following and kneed Scout into a lope. Water gushed under the bridge as they crossed it. A mile or so out, Scout settled into a steady pace twisting along the trail. Blue lupine adorned grasshopper-green grasses, and giant ponderosa pines shaded her way, giving off an intoxicating scent.
After a while, Scout’s pace slowed, his neck filled with foamy sweat, and he began to pant. A river rippled in a ravine below the road, and she turned the reins and walked down the slope toward it. She dismounted on a tree stump, scooped water into her cupped hands, and offered the horse a drink. He lapped it up like there was no tomorrow, and then she sipped some herself.
She led him back up the slope and onto the road again and continued down it. After that long ride, it had felt good to stretch her legs. At a clearing, they came to a crossroads. Should they go left or go right? She tried to find the sun to help her get a sense of direction, but clouds covered the sky.
A woman’s voice called from behind a creosote bush, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Sally Sue pulled her rifle off Scout and raised it.
Underneath a calico bonnet, a woman stepped from behind the bush, staring with deep-set eyes. “Hey, now. Put that thing down.” She walked toward Sally Sue and gently pointed the gun’s barrel toward the ground. “Don’t you remember me? I’m the one Mr. Bjork shucked off the hotel porch.”
“Elvira?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks for the tea. You also said something about honey. What was it, again?”
“There’s honey in every heart. I hope you found it.” Elvira put a hand on Sally Sue’s shoulder. “Whatcha doin’ out here all alone?”
To be in the presence of another woman after all this time brought a sense of calm to Sally Sue. “I’ve been . . .” For some reason, she didn’t want to say “kidnapped,” so she chose “passing winter on a nearby ranch.”
“That’s what I heard.” Elvira paused, as if she could tell Sally Sue had more to tell. “Where’re you off to now?”
“Church. Which road takes me to Flagstaff?”
Elvira pointed up the road that curved around a boulder. “I’m heading that way myself. I’ll show you.” She stroked Scout’s nose.
“That’s mighty kind of you.” Sally Sue slid the gun back onto Scout, took his reins, and fell into step beside Elvira.
Comforted to walk beside this odd woman, Sally Sue etched in her mind the outcropping of boulders and big oak that stood by the side at the split, so when the time came, she’d be able to find her way.
However, they barely got around the bend when the sound of horse hooves pounded on the road behind them. Sally Sue aimed the rifle toward the sound as Cliff, Roan, and the buckboard appeared around a bend.
“Whoa.” He held up his hand. “Put that gun down, darlin’. It’s only me.”
Elvira mouthed to Sally Sue, Honey.
“Where’re you goin’?” He gave Elvira his friendliest-man-in-the-world grin.
“I’m going to church is all.” Sally Sue lowered the gun.
“Scout appears tuckered out.” Cliff climbed down from the buckboard and took the horse’s reins. “Let’s go together. Ma’am, want a ride?”
A gunshot rang out from a copse of trees above them on a hill. In a flash, Sally Sue swung her gun and pointed it toward where the shot had come from.
As another bullet flew toward them, Cliff quickly released Scout’s reins, unhooked Roan from the buckboard, and slapped their rumps. “Git!”
Both horses whinnied, leaped, and ran off.
The women helped Cliff tilt the buckboard on its side. He pushed them behind it. “Stay down. I’ll take care of this.”
He skittered back, pulled his pistol from his holster, and shot into the copse of trees. Another shot reverberated, this time closer.
A man’s