Now that he’d made up his mind to tell the brothers about Elliott’s daughter, he was impatient to get it said. He was forced to wait for all the brothers to come back to the ranch, because he felt it was the only decent thing to do. It wouldn’t be right for any of them to get the information secondhand. No, Harrison was determined to tell all of them at the same time.
Waiting made him surly. Adam went up to the ridge with Mary Rose on two separate occasions so she could visit with the woman she now referred to as her dearest friend, and both times they were away, Harrison got stuck entertaining Eleanor. It wasn’t a difficult chore, just mind muddling. All he had to do was sit on the front porch and pretend to listen to her complaints.
It took him a good two weeks to get his strength back, and just when he was beginning to feel fit, he got stuck taking Eleanor into Blue Belle.
Cole had finally returned from his hunting trip. On his way home, he had taken time to pick up a couple of items Harrison had requested he look for if he was near Hammond, and so Cole thought he was due a favor in return. He wanted Harrison to accompany him into town. Travis and Douglas had also gone hunting with their brother, and they were now waiting in town for the two of them. Several strangers had arrived in Blue Belle. and Cole wanted Harrison to look them over. If one of them was the bastard who had shot him, well then, Cole would take care of him.
Harrison was more than ready to go anywhere as long as he could get away from Eleanor. He was sitting on the porch with his booted feet propped up on the railing when Cole suggested the outing. Eleanor was seated next to Harrison. She was fanning herself with a week-old newspaper while she complained about the heat.
Cole ignored the woman. He had gone into the kitchen to get something to eat and came back out a few minutes later. He leaned against the post while he told Harrison what he wanted him to do. Eleanor stopped complaining long enough to listen.
She decided she wanted to tag along. “I believe I shall go with you. I have to buy that rude man a new hat.”
“No, you can’t come with us.” Cole gave the denial in a downright mean tone of voice. It was the first time in over two weeks that he’d spoken directly to Eleanor.
She didn’t pay any attention to his refusal. She stood up, tossed the newspaper on the floor, and marched inside. “We’ll just see about that,” she muttered.
“See how easy it was?” Cole remarked. “Am I the only one who can handle Eleanor around here? I said no and she left.”
Harrison smiled. “She went inside to get Adam. He’ll make us take her.”
Cole laughed. He obviously didn’t believe him. A minute later, Mary Rose came rushing outside. She spotted the newspaper on the floor and hurried to pick it up.
“May I please go with you and Eleanor into town? I have some errands to do.”
Harrison and Cole told her no at the very same time.
She became flustered over the abrupt refusal. She reminded Harrison of an absentminded angel. She wore a dark blue dress with a pale yellow apron. Her hair was pinned up on top of her head. The curls didn’t want to stay put, however, and several strands had already fallen down to float around her face.
Cole thought she looked all worn out and told her so.
She ignored his criticism. “Please let me go with you. I won’t make you wait on me. I swear I won’t.”
“Two women are too much for Cole and Harrison to look after, Mary Rose. You should stay home today,” Adam suggested from the doorway.
“Two women?” Cole asked his brother. He was already frowning, for he knew where this was headed.
Harrison smiled. “I told you so,” he taunted.
Mary Rose didn’t want to give up. She obviously thought she still had a good chance of being included because she was taking her apron off and trying to tuck the hair back in her pins at the same time.
She sure looked pretty today. Harrison tried not to stare too long at her. Cole was bound to notice. Harrison had kept as far away from Mary Rose as possible while he was recovering. It hadn’t been easy. She wanted to hover over him to make certain he was healing properly. His only defense was to pretend to be asleep whenever she came into the bunkhouse. He wondered why she didn’t think it was strange for him to sleep day and night. She didn’t though, and he counted that as a blessing.
“Adam, I can’t let Eleanor go into Morrison’s store alone. None of us will ever be allowed inside again if she acts up. Please reconsider. I won’t get into any trouble.”
Adam looked at Cole. He shrugged. “There are strangers in town. Two women might be too much to handle. What if he has another fainting spell? He still looks sickly.”
“You get to ride with Eleanor in the wagon,” Harrison promised in retaliation.
Cole shook his head. Harrison turned to Adam. “Mary Rose is perfectly capable of looking after herself as long as she thinks before she acts.”
“She wasn’t thinking when she charged after Bickley, was she?” Adam asked. He shook his head while he thought about the result of her actions. “We’re lucky she didn’t get killed.”
“Yes, we are,” Harrison agreed. “She’s a very beautiful woman. Men are prone to do stupid things when they see a pretty face. We can’t predict how these strangers will react. Therefore,” he concluded, “Mary Rose and Eleanor should stay home.”
He thought he had presented a sound case. He still didn’t win. Adam let the women go.
Mary Rose hurried to get ready. Eleanor was already upstairs changing her dress. Harrison couldn’t imagine why she needed to put on a fresh one. She hadn’t done a damned thing to get the gown she’d been wearing dirty.
Adam waited until both women were out of sight and then came out onto the porch and sat down next to Harrison.
“I don’t know if I’m using good sense or just giving in to desperation. A few hours of peace and quiet is a powerful lure.”
“Eleanor’s driving you crazy too, isn’t she?” Cole asked.
Adam reluctantly nodded. “She’s pleasant to me. I shouldn’t complain, but . . .”
“She has the household in an uproar,” Harrison concluded.
“Yes,” Adam agreed.
“She isn’t stupid, just mean,” Cole said. He paused to smile. “I kind of appreciate that quality in a woman,” he admitted.
“Which one? Stupid or mean?” Harrison asked just to goad him.
“Mean, of course. Eleanor isn’t going to bite the hand that lets her stay.”
“I wish she’d stop causing so much trouble.” Adam sounded weary and bewildered.
“You’re going to have to do something about her,” Cole told his brother.
“Like what?”
Harrison stood up. “Let me take a swing at her. Cole, you’re going to have to help.”
“I don’t like to hit a woman. Fact is, I never have. It doesn’t seem right.”
“I didn’t mean literally.” Harrison caught Cole’s grin and realized he was jesting.
“Mary Rose says Eleanor’s afraid,” Adam remarked. “I’ve spent quite a lot of time with the woman and I guess I agree.”
“And that’s why the two of you have been so patient with her. It isn’t working,” Harrison said.
“Tell us something we don’t know, City Boy.”
“Cole, quit baiting him. He’s trying to help. Did you have a particular plan in mind, Harrison?”
“Yes. A little terror tactic.”
Eleanor’s shout of anger floated down to the porch. Cole closed his eyes in reaction. Adam clenched his jaw.
“God, she’s got a shrill voice,” Cole muttered. “Does she have to scream all the time?”
Harrison didn’t believe Cole’s question needed an answer. He told the brothers the plan and waited to hear their arguments.
There weren’t any. “So I get to be the savior,” Cole remarked. “What about Mary Rose? She won’t go along with this.”
“We wait until we’re on our way back from town. Travis and Douglas w
ill ride with Mary Rose ahead . . . way ahead,” Harrison said.
“Why can’t I be the one to dump her out on the ridge?” Cole asked. “I’m better at being mean.”
“Because I don’t want her to hate you. She can hate me,” Harrison explained.
“Then you have to ride with her in the wagon. I’ll go get it hitched up,” Cole said.
Mary Rose came downstairs a few minutes later, but Eleanor didn’t come down for another half hour.
Harrison waited in the front hall with Mary Rose. Adam had gone into the kitchen to help prepare their supper.
Eleanor finally presented herself. She was wearing one of Mary Rose’s dresses. Harrison remembered it because Mary Rose had looked so pretty in its particular shade of blue.
Mary Rose looked startled when she saw what her houseguest was wearing. She didn’t say anything about it, however, and Harrison decided to let it go, for now.
Eleanor didn’t look half bad wearing the dress. If he didn’t dislike her behavior so thoroughly, he would have taken the time to appreciate the fact that she was a fine-looking woman. She had pretty hair. It was short and very curly. He didn’t know if she had a nice smile though, because he’d never seen her smile. Her lips were always puckered with disgust, as though she had just swallowed a dose of castor oil.
“Are you ready to leave, Eleanor? Cole’s waiting out front.”
“Is there a restaurant in town? I’ll probably want to refresh myself with a spot of tea and some biscuits before we head back. I’ll need additional funds, Mary Rose. Be a dear and give me more money.”
“The only eating establishment is the saloon, and we can’t go in there.”
“How uncivilized. Why can’t we go inside?”
“Because it isn’t proper. Shall we go?”
Harrison held the screen door open for the women. Eleanor went outside first but came to an abrupt stop. Mary Rose bumped into her.
Eleanor had spotted the wagon at the end of the path and was now shaking her head. Cole was on his way back to the barn to get the other horses.
Eleanor shouted to him. “You, there. Fetch the buggy. The wagon won’t do.”
Cole stopped in his tracks. And then he slowly turned around to look at Eleanor. His expression showed how furious he was.
“Didn’t you hear me, boy? Fetch the buggy.”
Harrison could have sworn he saw smoke coming from Cole’s eyes. The brother was smoldering with his anger.
“Won’t the wagon do, Eleanor?” Mary Rose asked. She was trying to head off a confrontation. “You’re making my brother angry. Do try to get along.”
Harrison stood behind the two women with his hands clasped behind his back and a wild, isn’t-life-grand grin on his face. He was thoroughly enjoying Cole’s anger, because the brother couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“You cannot be serious, Mary Rose,” Eleanor replied. “My skin will get burned if I ride in the wagon. Do you want me to become afflicted with freckles?”
“I have freckles,” Mary Rose said.
“Yes, dear, I know.”
Mary Rose let out a sigh. Then she turned to Cole. “Please cooperate,” she called out. “I’ll help you hitch up the carriage.”
Cole said something, but they were too far away to hear. Harrison guessed it was a nasty expletive.
“I’ll help him,” Harrison volunteered. “You ladies wait here. Mary Rose?” he said her name on his way down the stairs.
“Yes, Harrison.”
“I like your freckles.”
Harrison did ride with Eleanor, of course, and by the time they reached Blue Belle, getting drunk was beginning to have a certain appeal.
His ears were ringing from her criticisms. The woman never let up. He was going too fast. He wasn’t going fast enough. He was sitting too close to her. He was surly with his remarks. He was rude because he wouldn’t talk to her.
Travis and Douglas were inside the saloon. They hurried outside as soon as they spotted Cole and Mary Rose riding past. Douglas was given the responsibility of watching out for their sister. He agreed before he spotted the buggy and realized he had just gotten stuck with Eleanor too, and then he started complaining.
No one paid any attention to him. Travis hurried back inside the saloon. He wanted to keep his eye on the three ugly-looking strangers to see if one of them reacted when Harrison came inside.
Mary Rose and Eleanor walked side by side down the street. Douglas stayed well behind them.
“When we go inside the store, you might notice a young woman working behind the counter. Her name’s Catherine Morrison. Her father owns the place,” Mary Rose said.
“Is she important?”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind,” Eleanor replied. “Why are you telling me about her if she’s just a clerk?”
“She’s interested in Harrison,” Mary Rose said.
“I’m certain the woman could do better.”
“What’s wrong with Harrison?”
“So many things I don’t know where to begin,” Eleanor said. “Let’s see. He can’t engage in a decent conversation. He mumbles one-word replies, and he frowns all the time. He’s quite intimidating too. Surely you’ve noticed.”
“I noticed he’s wonderful and kind and thoughtful and loving,” Mary Rose replied. “I don’t want Catherine flirting with him.”
“And?” Eleanor prodded.
“I just thought that if you happen to see Catherine hanging around Harrison, you would . . . you know.”
“Interrupt them?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“To help me,” Mary Rose cried out, her exasperation obvious. “It won’t kill you, Eleanor, to lend a hand every now and then. Oh, never mind. Forget I even mentioned Catherine. You should have asked me if you could wear my dress before you put it on, by the way.”
“It’s too tight for me.”
Eleanor didn’t apologize, but Mary Rose hadn’t really expected her to. They reached the general store. Mary Rose held the door open and let Eleanor go inside first.
Douglas made certain there weren’t any unsavory characters inside, then went back out and stood by the door. He was going to make his sister control Eleanor’s behavior.
Harrison spotted the man who had tried to ambush him as soon as he walked into the saloon. The son-of-a-bitch quickly looked away. Harrison pretended he hadn’t recognized him. He looked the other two over on his way to the counter.
He ordered a drink of whiskey and downed it in one long swallow. He swore he could still hear Eleanor’s voice pounding like a hammer inside his head.
Travis moved to stand on Harrison’s left side and Cole moved to stand on his right side. Both brothers put their backs to the counters and stared at the strangers.
“Well?” Cole whispered. He half turned to ask, “Is he in here?”
Harrison didn’t answer. Travis turned to him and said, “There are a couple of other men hanging around Belle’s place. You should look them over too. They don’t have any reason to be down there. Belle’s been in Hammond almost six months now. Everyone knows she won’t be back until July. She always comes home for my birthday and stays until it turns cold again. Are you sure you remember what the man who shot you looked like?”
“What are you boys whispering about? I don’t want any shooting in here, Cole. Keep that in mind.” Billie was frowning with his worry.
“I was just about to tell Travis and Cole to stay out of my business, Billie,” Harrison told the proprietor.
“I don’t recall ever hearing anyone tell Cole Clayborne to stay out of his business before.”
“I’m not taking offense,” Cole said. “Harrison hasn’t been feeling well lately.”
Billie nodded sympathetically. He leaned into the counter. “I heard about your fainting spells. Have you had any more I should know about?”
Harrison turned to glare at Cole. The brother tried to look inn
ocent. He failed in his endeavor.
“I didn’t tell Billie,” he insisted.
“He told Dooley,” Travis was happy to add.
“Do you know those men sitting at the table in the corner near the window?” Harrison asked Billie.
“No, why do you ask?”
“I just wondered who they were,” Harrison replied.
“Someone needs to tell them to take a bath. I can smell them over here,” Cole remarked in a loud voice so he’d be sure to be overheard.
“Stay out of my business, Cole,” Harrison snapped.
“I was just having a little fun.”
“Do you want to go down to Belle’s place or not?” Travis asked.
“Tell me who Belle is first,” Harrison said.
“Why, she’s the town’s whore,” Billie informed him. He sounded immensely proud of that fact. “Belle’s a right nice woman. Isn’t she, Travis?”
“Yes, she is.”
Cole wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation. One of the men had gotten up and walked outside. He waited to see what the others were going to do.
“Of course, she’s gotten on in years,” Billie continued. “She’s still got a good, soft touch though. Judge Burns always stops by her place to say his hello and put his boots under her bed whenever he passes through town on a hanging spree. We all think mighty highly of her. I guess you figured that out already though, since we named our town after her.”
“The town’s named after a whore?” Harrison was incredulous. He shook his head and burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Billie asked.
“I thought you named the town after the flower,” he admitted.
Billie chuckled. “Now, why would we want to do a fool thing like that? We ain’t city boys, Harrison. We’d never name our place after a flower. That don’t make no sense at all. I think maybe all of them fainting spells made you as loco as Ghost.”
“I only fainted once,” Harrison announced.
“Of course you did,” Billie agreed. The condescending tone of voice indicated he didn’t believe Harrison.