Judy Duarte - Lone Wolf's Lady

“Well, the good reverend also complained that I couldn’t control the children, although that wasn’t true. It was only his son who gave me trouble. And if I’d had the least bit of paternal support—” Katie bit back the rest of her angry retort and clucked her tongue. “Anyway, needless to say, it’s been nearly impossible for me to attend services on Sundays with a joyful heart. So I wouldn’t call myself a church do-gooder.”

Daisy arched a brow, fresh suspicion etched across her face, which was far prettier today without all the powder and paint she usually wore.

“It’s not that I don’t read my Bible or believe in God, it’s just that I...” Katie blew out a sigh, not sure how to explain herself—or why she even felt the need to. “You see, I’ve always been a champion of the downtrodden. And when I take up a cause, I’m rather outspoken about it.”

“I see. So Sarah Jane and I have become one of your causes.”

Katie wished she’d chosen different words. “I wouldn’t put it that way. It’s just that Sarah Jane is a bright, beautiful child. She deserves a better future. And, Daisy, so do you. You must be a smart, resourceful woman to have come so far on your own. But neither of you will get that if you stay in Pleasant Valley, even if you move out of the Gardener’s House and try to make it on your own. So I’m offering you both a way out. That is, if you’ll take a step of faith and go with me when I leave for Wyoming next week.”

Had Katie said too much, pushed too hard? She hoped not, but the words had come straight from her heart.

Daisy seemed to ponder her options for a moment, then said, “The debt is sixty dollars. I’ve already managed to save twenty-three. If you’re willing to pay off the balance for me, as well as provide traveling expenses, I’ll go with you to Wyoming. Then, as soon as I’m able to find work, I’ll begin to repay you.”

“You have yourself a deal.” Katie reached out her arm, and the two women shook hands.

Daisy glanced around the kitchen and smiled. “I’m actually a pretty good cook. Maybe I can find work at a restaurant in Wyoming.”

Before Katie could respond, a knock sounded at the back door, and her heart lurched, then railed against her chest wall as if trying to break free. The last thing she needed was to be seen by one of Daisy’s “callers.”

Katie didn’t usually put much stock in what others thought of her, but she had reason to be cautious now. Thanks to Reverend Codwell and a few other more conservative citizens of Pleasant Valley, she was running out of people to approach for those letters she needed for the school board, and she couldn’t show up in Granville empty-handed. So the instinct to escape was strong.

But unless she wanted to run through the brothel and go out the front, the only other possibility was the kitchen exit, which was now blocked.

Daisy crossed the room and swung open the door, revealing Mr. McCain, the handsome, dark-haired cowboy Katie and Sarah Jane had met on the street. His dark-eyed gaze snaked around her, nearly squeezing her heart right out of her.

Surely he didn’t think she belonged here, did he?

About the time she feared that he did, he turned and gazed at the fallen woman. “I’m looking for Daisy Potts.”

Chapter Two

“I’m Daisy. What can I do for you?”

After Tom had talked to Sheriff Droeger and had his suspicions confirmed, he’d learned that a child named Sarah Jane and a woman now going by the name of Daisy Potts had moved into the Gardener’s House a few months ago. Because the sheriff said Daisy did most of the cooking and cleaning at the brothel, Tom had decided to bypass the front door and use the rear entrance.

He hadn’t been surprised when Daisy answered his knock, but the red-haired schoolmarm standing in the kitchen like she owned the place knocked him completely off stride.

Of course, Miss O’Malley appeared to be more than a little surprised by his arrival, too.

“I’m afraid I need to leave now,” she told Daisy. “But I’ll be back on Saturday morning. We can talk about our trip to Wyoming then.”

Tom had no idea what the two women planned to do in the Wyoming territory, but they wouldn’t be taking Sarah Jane with them until he was convinced that she wasn’t Caroline’s daughter.

If he had reason to believe the girl was Caroline’s child, she was going with him to Stillwater, where she belonged.

Of course, that was assuming that Harrison Graves had really softened and would actually claim an illegitimate child as his heir. And, to be honest, Tom had his doubts.

Miss O’Malley glanced his way one more time, her eyes as blue as the Texas sky.

She was a pretty one; that was a fact. And judging by the starched cotton blouse she wore buttoned to her chin, she didn’t belong in the same room with one of the women who worked at the Gardener’s House and, according to the sheriff, went by flower names.

She watched him doe-eyed, like a fawn sighting a man from across a thicket, curious yet ready to bolt at the slightest movement. Then she seemed to rally her courage.

“Good day,” she said, as stiff and proper as the schoolmarm she’d once been.

He gave her a slight nod as she pushed past him, then watched as she let herself out.

When the door snapped shut behind her, he returned his gaze to Daisy.

The fallen woman, who was attractive in her own right, appeared to be in her early twenties and about the same age as the schoolmarm. “How can I help you?” she asked again.

“I was sent by Harrison Graves to find his granddaughter, Caroline. And my search led me here.”

Daisy stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve been to Casa de Los Angelitos,” Tom said, “where you and Caroline met. And I followed her trail to several different towns in Texas, ending up in Taylorsville, where you both lived for the past year. You went by the name of Erin Kelly back then and worked as a cook at the restaurant until the owner went out of business. Caroline was a clerk at the hotel.”

Daisy drew back but didn’t deny it. Finally, she said, “If you’re looking for Caroline, she’s not here. She died a few months back.”

“I know. And she’s survived by a daughter, a girl who’d be about six years old now.”

Before he decided how much to divulge of what he already knew, the child who’d been bullied on the town street entered the kitchen, carrying a handmade rag doll, and approached Daisy.

Tom hadn’t noticed a resemblance to Caroline before, although he hadn’t thought to even look for one. But he studied her carefully now.

Her blond hair was a bit darker than her mother’s, more the color of sunflowers than fresh-churned butter. Yet there were other similarities—green eyes, a turned-up nose.

The fairness of her skin, too, which had made young Caroline appear to be angelic to a boy with mixed blood.

Had she also inherited her mother’s kind heart, the inner beauty that had allowed Caroline to befriend the boy known as Tom Lone Wolf when so many others in Stillwater had turned their backs on him?

Daisy reached for Sarah Jane and drew her close. “I’m afraid I’m not able to talk to you now, so you’ll have to leave.”

Tom wasn’t about to get into specifics in front of the child. Nor did he want to tip his hand about a possible inheritance at this point, especially with a woman who clearly could be purchased.

“I brought the child a gift,” he said. “May I give it to her?”

Sarah Jane looked up at Daisy, her eyes wide, seeking approval. Finally, it came with a nod.

Tom reached inside his vest pocket and pulled a pair of beaded moccasins, as well as a small medicine bag he’d made for her when he’d learned Caroline had not only borne a daughter but kept her.