Whispers on the Wind Read online

  “Did they ever get the men?”

  “No. Perhaps if they had, Carter would be different. Instead, he took the whole thing as if he believed it were his fault”

  “But it wasn’t” Mary said, taking up for a man she hardly knew.

  “Of course it wasn’t He could have been killed, too, and I would have lost both my children. I wouldn’t have been able to bear that "Judith choked back another sob. “Sometimes I feel as if I have lost Carter anyway.”

  “How so?” Mary asked gently.

  “Where once he’d been content to take over the ranch, now his only goal is revenge. After his sister’s murder he became a lawman, determined to track down the men who killed his sister. He’d gotten a good look at the men.”

  “Has he caught any of them?”

  “He’s killed two. There are two more to go.”

  “Killed?”

  “I would like to think that he would have brought them in for trial if he could have, but they are dangerous men.”

  “Carter seems like a man who takes his job very seriously.” Mary shivered. “I’m sure he is very good at what he does.”

  Judith smiled. “Yes, he is the best. I’m very proud of him but... Carter needs a life, a home, and a family. He can’t be driven by the past. He needs something in his future. Something to look forward to.”

  “Instead of the past.” Mary sighed. “Maybe one day he will find that something.”

  Judith turned and looked at her with a sad smile. “Maybe.”

  Marshal Forester was hitting dead ends everywhere he turned. Nobody had seen Mark Costner, and it seemed that nobody knew much about him. So Forester looked for the address on the deed, maybe some of the boy’s kin, people who could shed some light on why he would murder anyone. Forester shook his head. Something wasn’t right with the whole situation, but he was going to keep digging until he found his answers. Big Jim deserved that.

  So Forester left his deputy in charge of Gregory Gulch and mounted his horse. He was going to Denver to a ranch called the Wagon Wheel.

  Maybe he’d get some answers there.

  Brandy couldn’t imagine where any of the children were as she walked through the house. Couldn’t somebody besides herself answer the door? It wasn’t as though they had visitors every day.

  When she reached the door, she opened it to a man she didn’t know, but she knew he had to be a lawman by the star on his chest. He was an older man with a leathery, wrinkled face, but his eyes were clear and sharp.

  “Something’s happened,” Brandy blurted out, forgetting the hello-how-are-you greeting she should have politely greeted him with.

  “Yes, ma’am, I’m afraid it has,” Forester replied. “I need to speak with you.”

  Suddenly Brandy felt light-headed as she opened the screen door for the man and motioned him toward the sofa.

  The back door slammed, and Brandy knew who it was before her brothers dashed into the parlor. They sounded like a herd of horses stampeding through the house.

  “Who’s the company?” Scott asked as he entered the doorway, followed by Willie.

  “Name’s Marshal Forester,” the stranger said.

  “These are my brothers.” Brandy made the introductions before addressing Scott. “Go get Thunder. And Willie, you fetch Ellen from upstairs.”

  Once the boys had disappeared, she looked at the stranger. “If you will give us a moment, we do everything as a family, so I want them here before you start talking,” she explained. It also put off the bad news for a few moments longer. Of course, the man hadn’t said it was bad news, but she knew. The law had never brought good news to her.

  Thunder strode into the room, commanding everyone’s attention. Brandy felt better the moment she saw him. He’d always had that effect of her, except, of course, when she was hopping mad at him. Thunder was her tower of strength whether he wanted to be or not

  His piercing silver eyes went to her immediately. “What’s wrong?”

  Scott, Willie, and Ellen entered the room and sat down.

  “I don’t know,” Brandy said, and turned her attention back to the marshal.

  Forester cleared his throat. “I’ve come to ask you some questions about Mark.”

  Brandy gave him a funny look. “I don’t know a Mark.” She looked at Thunder. “Do you?”

  “Could you have made a mistake?” Thunder asked, his deep voice filling the room.

  “Don’t think so.” Forrester pulled out the deed. “It says right here for his address, the Wagon Wheel. That’s this place, right?”

  They all nodded.

  “Good. It says right here, Mark Costner.” Thunder smiled. “You mean Mary Costner.”

  Immediately, Brandy asked, “What’s happened to Mary?”

  Now it was the marshal’s turn to look confused. “Wait a minute. I’m looking for a young boy.”

  “I’m young,” Willie said.

  “A mite too young,” Forester told him, still frowning. “I’m looking for a young boy about her age.” He pointed to Ellen.

  “You’re from Gregory Gulch?” Thunder asked.

  “Yep. But I’m telling you that for months I’ve been seeing a boy. Don’t think my eyesight has gotten that bad. He was a boy.”

  Brandy laughed. “Mary was dressing as a boy. She hid her hair up under a cap so she could work her claim without the men bothering her.”

  Forester scratched his head. “Sure fooled me.” Brandy scooted to the edge of the couch and looked at the marshal. “How is my sister? Nothing has happened to her?”

  “Don’t know.”

  Brandy shot to her feet “You don’t know?”

  “Perhaps you’d better explain,” Thunder said as he reached out for his wife’s arm.

  “She’s disappeared. Been gone a good week.”

  “Disappeared?” Ellen said as she moved closer to the conversation. “Someone has taken Mary?”

  “I bet she’s real scared,” Willie added.

  “Don’t know.” The marshal shook his head. “A week ago her partner was found dead, and there was no sign of Mark—I mean Mary. We put out wanted posters for Mark Costner, but there hasn’t been one lead that has turned up.”

  Brandy grabbed her chest Thunder steadied her. “You don’t think she is dead, too?”

  “Don’t know.” The marshal repeated the same answer, and Brandy realized that seemed to be the only answer the man had. “If they killed her, why didn’t they leave her behind with Big Jim?”

  Thunder folded his arms across his chest “Makes sense. So you think that Mary killed Big Jim since you didn’t find her there?”

  “Mary wouldn’t do anything like that,” Scott insisted. “She threatened to kill me a bunch of times, but she was just fooling around.”

  Forester smiled. “I hope she didn’t do it. And if she did, why? Was she threatened? But I can’t find any of those answers until I find the girl. I was hoping she’d come back home.”

  Brandy turned to Thunder. “What are we going to do?”

  His silver gaze met hers. “We are not going to do anything. But I’m going to pack my gear and return with the marshal and see what I can find out Mary is probably very scared and not thinking straight.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Scott asked; at fifteen he was starting to get tall.

  Brandy smiled at Scott. It didn’t seem like he was fifteen. Every time she looked at him, she saw a seven-year-old who never stopped talking.

  “No,” Thunder replied. “You’re the oldest man here, you need to take care of the place while I’m gone.”

  Scott beamed with the praise. But Willie tugged on Thunder’s hand. “What about me?”

  “You need to help just like you have with the cows. Scott will have his hands full while I’m gone. You’re a member of our family,” Thunder said.

  Brandy remembered when the scared five-year-old had come to live with them. When her brother Billy told them that Willie had been living on the streets of
New York City by himself, Brandy immediately adopted Willie into the family.

  “We’ll take care of the ranch,” Brandy assured Thunder as she gave him a shove toward the bedroom.

  “Yeah, we’ll be fine as long as Brandy don’t do no cooking,” Scott said, and started giggling.

  Brandy cut her eyes at him, but followed her husband into the bedroom. She was glad Thunder had been raised by the Cheyenne. If anybody could find Mary, he could.

  She watched him gather a few of his things, shoving them into his saddlebags. “What do you think?”

  “I think Mary is in a lot of trouble.”

  “I bet she’s frightened,” Brandy said. “And it’s hard to scare Mary.”

  “I’m sure she is frightened, but we’re talking about our Mary. She isn’t the typical helpless woman—kinda like you.”

  Brandy laughed. “I needed that, thank you. Mary will use her head. I just hope no one hurts her before we can find out what really happened.”

  Thunder turned to his wife and put his hands on Brandy’s arms. “Somebody killed Big Jim. Did Mary do it? I don’t think so, unless she was threatened some way. But if she didn’t, somebody else did, and that somebody knows Mary is a witness. Now give me a hug.”

  Brandy hugged her husband tight “Find her.”

  “I will,” he murmured into her brandy-colored hair. Then he tipped her face up so he could kiss her with all the fire and passion they’d always had. Some things never changed.

  Chapter Five

  A week had passed and Mary hadn’t gotten any closer to figuring out what had happened to Big Jim. She could picture bits and pieces of that day, but nothing that made sense. She just couldn’t have done such a thing, so that meant someone else had been there, and she needed to figure out who and why. Then something occurred to her. If she’d actually seen this person, then she could identify him as soon as she remembered his face. And that made her very dangerous to the mystery man.

  Would he come after her?

  Mary shivered. He couldn’t possibly find her. Once the marshal had picked her up, that should have thrown him off the trail if he had been following her. She didn’t even know exactly where she was.

  My God. She’d gone from being simple Mary to being wanted by everybody. Just the thought made her short of breath. She just couldn’t deal with all the possible unknowns that faced her, so she shoved them to the back of her thoughts. Later, after she was fully recovered and had her strength back, she would decide what she had to do.

  In the meantime, she had settled into her temporary home. A home she felt completely safe in as long as they didn’t know her true identity. She couldn’t deny she liked the way Judith pampered her. In all her life, Mary had never been treated so special. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to indulge herself for a little while. Plus, in a strange way Mary found that her being here at the ranch had helped Judith. Mary was glad of that She heard Carter say that it had been a long time since his mother had smiled so much.

  It was almost time to go down for dinner. Mary walked over to the wardrobe to choose a dress. She couldn’t get used to changing clothes just to eat dinner. The rest of her family would laugh at her for even suggesting such a thing, but on the other hand, Judith might also laugh if she knew that Mary’s previous wardrobe had consisted of three dresses.

  Now, what to wear? After looking for several minutes, she chose a peacock-colored wrapper dress for dinner. Lisa had liked bright colors, Mary was finding out. It was such a shame that she’d died at such a young age. She was a very lucky young woman to have had Judith as her mother.

  When Mary first caught a glimpse of Lisa’s wardrobe, she was overwhelmed. Lisa loved brilliant colors and so did Mary. Her wardrobe had consisted mostly of varying shades of brown when she was growing up.

  She stepped into the petticoats and eyed the bustle. She didn’t know exactly how to wear one of those things, and she was too embarrassed to ask, so she tossed it to the side.

  Once she had finished dressing, she brushed her hair. She wanted it to shimmer tonight, so she left it hanging down her back. She’d had to tuck it up under a cap for so long that it felt good not hiding her female traits. Not that it ever did her any good. The way she saw it, she’d failed as a woman.

  Mary couldn’t help wondering where she’d be if her horse hadn’t thrown her. Probably some small town where she would have bought a house, but she’d still be alone and in trouble. Mary really couldn’t remember when she hadn’t been in some kind of trouble, but nothing like this. So in the long run, perhaps things had worked out for the best At least she had Judith to keep her mind off the murder.

  Earlier, Judith had told Mary that Carter and Rick would be having supper with them tonight It would be the first time since she’d arrived that everyone would be present at supper. The men had spent most of the week in town, returning late at night and leaving before Mary had awakened. She often wondered if they were avoiding her, but then she realized that couldn’t be possible since they hardly knew she was alive—especially Carter.

  No matter, Mary found she was looking forward to seeing them; though, she wasn’t sure why. She told herself it was because it would be somebody different to talk to. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were two of the best-looking men she’d ever laid eyes on.

  They looked nothing like the grubby miners with their dirt-stained clothes and filthy hands. These two were men in every sense of the word, not that she’d seen all that many men. There were a few on the wagon train that she’d thought were nice looking, especially Hank. He’d given Mary her first kiss, awkward as it was, but when she left the wagon train she’d lost all contact with him.

  And, of course, there was her adopted brother Billy. She had been sweet on Billy since she’d first come to the orphanage. They had done everything together, even pranks, like cutting up Brandy’s clothes. But as they grew older and had more responsibilities, Mary realized that Billy had grown away from her. He started thinking of her as a sister and nothing more.

  It took Mary a long time to realize that Billy was right—they would always have a special bond that no one could break, so she finally accepted him as just her brother.

  But it also hurt Billy had been Mary’s first love, no matter how lopsided it had been. What would it be like to be loved and have someone love her back? An impossible dream. She sighed. Maybe someday ... She could always hope.

  Mary blinked. She realized she was still brushing her hair, which now glistened like golden threads. Placing her brush on the table, she pulled her hair up on both sides and secured it with gold-colored combs. She peered into the mirror again and pinched her cheeks. That was better, she thought. Satisfied with her appearance, she headed downstairs.

  Upon entering the main living quarters, Mary noticed everyone waiting for her. The men stood up as she approached them. Refreshing, Mary thought At home it would be a race to see who got to the table first.

  Rick smiled at Mary. Carter nodded. Evidently he wasn’t as happy to see her, or maybe the man never got excited about anything. He’d had the same expression on his sternly handsome face every time she saw him. And it wasn’t an expression of pleasure. He was much too serious.

  However, Rick looked very glad to see her as he stepped forward and offered his arm. “You look so much healthier since the last time we saw you.”

  Mary smiled at him. “Judith has taken good care of me.” She placed her hand on Rick’s arm. She couldn’t help but like him, even if he was a lawman. He was just as big as Carter—well, maybe an inch shorter—but Rick seemed to have an open way about him, while Carter ... well, he seemed to be Carter. She did feel that she understood Carter a little better after talking to his mother, but she still didn’t know how to talk to the man.

  Judith stood. “It has been a pleasure. I’ve enjoyed Mary’s company very much. It feels good to have another woman in the house.” Judith swept her hand toward the dining room. “Shall we?”

  Carter ha
d been a little startled to see Mary looking nothing like the woebegone creature he’d brought here, but he snapped out of his bumfuzzlement and escorted his mother to the dining room. He wasn’t a man who could have his head turned by a lovely female. However, he couldn’t help noticing how much younger his mother seemed, and he knew the reason. Mary was good for his mother, so maybe he hadn’t made such a bad decision in bringing a strange woman here with them, though he still wondered why he had.

  But what would happen once Mary regained her memory? He didn’t want his mother slipping back into the melancholia she had been in since his sister died. It hurt him every time he saw the pain in his mother’s eyes, and he felt responsible. He should have protected his sister better.

  Once they reached the table, Carter paused and held the chair out for his mother, who sat at the head of the table, and then he took his chair to her right. Rick seated Mary to Judith’s left and right across from Carter, and then Rick sat beside Mary.

  However, Rick was sitting much too close to Mary, Carter thought He’d been smiling and acting like a jackass ever since the woman had walked into the room. Carter would have to have a talk with him about fraternizing with the pris—Wait! Mary wasn’t a prisoner. Damn if he knew what she was.

  Well, no matter, it would be better for them to keep their distance until they knew who Mary really was. He frowned again. Did Rick have to laugh at everything the woman said?

  Carter wouldn’t deny how beautiful Mary was now that she was clean and dressed well. Her delicate face was framed by a halo of golden hair and the gown she wore brought out the blue in her eyes, making them look like rare jewels twinkling in a face so mysterious that he found himself wanting to know more about her. Not because he knew nothing about her, legally speaking, but because he wanted to know about her.