Debra Cowan - Whirlwind Wedding

“Not that much.” His cousin grinned. “She’s pretty.”

Jericho’s thigh throbbed and he grimaced. “How long has she been here?”

“Not quite a month. Her mother suffered from consumption, and toward the end, she sent for Catherine to come to Whirlwind and care for the boy.”

“Sent where for her? Where was she?”

Davis Lee frowned. “What’s got you all het up?”

“Where?”

“New York City. With some nuns.”

“Nuns?” His leg burned like blue fire and he felt more than half-spent. Still, he forced himself to concentrate. Besides their age, he and Davis Lee shared an interest in the law. And justice. His cousin’s instincts, except for one unfortunate incident, had never failed him. “Do you believe that?”

“I suppose.” Davis Lee paused thoughtfully. “Evelyn, her mother, talked about her a lot. Said she and her husband left Catherine with the nuns when they came to America from Ireland.”

“Why wouldn’t they bring their daughter to Texas with them?”

“Evelyn said she didn’t believe they’d survive here. At least with the nuns, Catherine would be fed, clothed and educated.”

“What about later?” Jericho was intrigued in spite of himself. “When the family had become established here?”

“I’m not sure. Evelyn never said.” He flashed another grin. “If you’re not interested, then where’s all this goin’?”

“Her brother was at the ambush.”

“What?” Davis Lee’s dark brows snapped together and he threw a quick look toward the kitchen.

Jericho heard the squeak of the stove door, the hollow tap of Catherine’s shoes on the wooden floor.

“Are you sure?” The other man lowered his voice.

“I’m not likely to mistake it.”

“You didn’t see the boy afterward? Here maybe? You weren’t very alert.”

“He was there. And when he came in a while ago, he recognized me, too.”

Davis Lee shook his head. “My posse has chased the McDougal gang several times and I’ve never seen the kid. Why would he be involved with those bastards?”

“I mean to find out.”

“You’re positive he was there? That he didn’t ride up on the scene afterward?”

Jericho kept his voice low, as well. “He had a shotgun. It was long for him, but he had control of it. He may have been the one who killed Hays.”

Davis Lee frowned. “Did you track him here?”

“After I lost the gang, I followed a set of tracks from the ambush. They led here, and Catherine—Miz Donnelly—answered the door.”

“Did you tell her? What did she say?”

“I keeled over before I could say anything about the boy. She’d probably protect him, anyway.”

“If he was with them—”

“He was.”

“She may have no idea.” Davis Lee shook his head. “Andrew went missing the day before and she was out looking for him. I’d say she was near panic.”

“Maybe because she knew exactly where he was.”

Davis Lee still looked doubtful.

Jericho shifted in the bed, trying to relieve the sharp pressure in his thigh. Weakness washed through him, but he fought it. “You believe her story about the nuns and New York City?”

“Yeah. Her mother was a good woman.” Davis Lee dragged a hand down his face. “And Catherine seems like a good woman, too.”

“Why? Because you think she’s pretty?”

“Don’t you?”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“You were shot in the leg, not the eye,” the other man pointed out wryly. “What do you want to do about Andrew? Want me to get him in here?”

Jericho felt himself sinking beneath a wave of pain. “Any news about the McDougals?”

“No. Nothing since the ambush. They’re holed up somewhere.”

“That’s my guess, too. And that kid probably knows where. I want to watch him for a while. His sister, too.”

“Are you telling me everything?” his cousin demanded. “Has she given you a reason to be suspicious?”

“If the boy’s involved with the McDougals, she may be, too. Does she have a beau?”

“No.” Davis Lee thought for a minute. “In fact, I haven’t seen her show interest in any man around here. She’s always polite, but that’s about it. The Baldwin brothers usually have some luck with the ladies, but I don’t think she’s accepted one of their invitations.”

“I can see why a man would be interested in her. Have you had any luck?” The thought of Davis Lee setting his sights on Catherine Donnelly struck an uneasy chord inside Jericho, but he didn’t know why.

“What makes you think I’ve tried?”

“You always try.”

Davis Lee grinned. “No luck. Yet.”

“And if she’s not interested in you, she must not be interested at all,” Jericho said dryly.

“Well, it does make a man wonder.”

“It makes me wonder if she already has a man.”

“Like a McDougal,” Davis Lee concluded. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think so. Wouldn’t we have heard if one of them had a sweetheart?”

“Probably, unless they found a woman who can keep her mouth shut. And maybe they did.”

“I guess if your commission from the governor is still active, you’re gonna see this through to the end.”

“I’m assuming it’s still active.” Because of the gang’s rampage throughout the state, the governor had issued a special commission for Jericho and Hays to work strictly on catching the outlaws. “But even if it isn’t, I’m going after them.”

“Because of Hays?”

“And the others they’ve murdered.”

Davis Lee stared hard at him. “Are you sure? You’ve wanted nothing but to be a Ranger your whole life, ever since your pa died and left you that old badge he had made out of a Mexican coin.”

“It was criminals like the McDougals who killed him,” Jericho reminded him with some effort. “He wouldn’t have stood by and let some politician tell him he couldn’t pursue outlaws just because of a piece of paper.”

“True enough.”

“So you’ll help me?”

“You can count on it.”

Jericho shook his cousin’s hand to seal the deal. “Before I forget, would you send a wire back East for me, to those nuns?”

“All right.”

“Could you do one other thing for me?” Jericho told him about the tracks he’d followed to the Donnelly house, made by a horse carrying a lightweight rider, and sporting a chipped shoe.

“You want me to check the barn for this horse?” Davis Lee asked.

“Yeah.”

“All right.” He rose from his chair and scooted it against the wall. “I’ll let you know what I find out, and I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you.”

“Could you hand me my gun and gun belt?”

Davis Lee did so and Jericho tucked them under the sheet next to his uninjured leg. “Thanks for coming.”

“You sure you don’t want me to wire your ma and sisters?”

“No. I’ll do it when I’m stronger. No need to worry them.” Jericho didn’t want Jessamine Blue making a trip from Houston to Whirlwind, a journey that would surely aggravate her rheumatism. His ma had already spent herself, single-handedly raising him and his four sisters.

“I’ll check the barn real quick,” Davis Lee said. “Then I’ve got to get over to Haskell’s. Someone broke in there last night.”

“Was anything taken?”

“Some food and maybe bullets. I’m sure Charlie, the owner, will know down to the last nail by the time I get there.”

Jericho’s energy flagged and he felt a quick flare of frustration at his weakness. Just the effort of thinking, trying to determine what Catherine Donnelly knew about her brother’s activities, sapped the little energy he’d had when his cousins had arrived.

“Take it easy, Jericho.” Davis Lee settled his fawn-colored cowboy hat on his head. “I don’t want to see you chasin’ that pretty nurse around.”