Outside, the sun was setting, red as blood, and a workman was going down the street, lighting the few oil street lamps. With the window open, she heard laughter and an off-key piano drifting from the one saloon. Yes, indeed, it was a sleepy town. That suited her just fine. She was safe from being arrested here.
A knock at the door. “Dear?” Mrs. Bottoms’s voice. “You about ready? Paco’s here.”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She grabbed a blue shawl from her valise and went out into the hall.
“My, don’t you look purty?” the old lady said. “You’re gonna turn a few heads tonight. You know, we don’t really have any young single women in these parts. After seein’ you, honey, I reckon some more of those cowboys will be puttin’ ads in mail-order bride papers.”
Lark felt her face burn. “It wasn’t as if I didn’t have other offers,” she apologized.
“I don’t doubt that, honey, but a man with a badge and a gun sure can take a lady’s eye. I know. My Sam was a marshal over in Abilene. I came here for peace and quiet after he was killed.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” They went down the stairs.
“I’m okay with it now, but I’ve got my memories. That’s why I think so much of our new sheriff. Lawrence Witherspoon is cut from the same cloth as my Sam.”
“You think so?”
“I’m a pretty good judge of people,” the plump woman said. “You know, you wouldn’t believe it now, but until Lawrence came in and put on that badge, this was a wild, wide-open town.”
“Rusty Spur? I heard that, but I didn’t believe it.”
“Heavens, yes.” Mrs. Bottoms nodded. “Robbers came through here headed for Mexico to hide out—rustlers stealin’ herds off some of these isolated ranches. Our sheriff don’t use his gun, but folks respect him. And I can tell you, I think he could outdraw some of these thugs if he had to. They say he used to be a Texas Ranger.”
Well, the man must be Larado’s twin brother, because she couldn’t imagine Larado doing anything except hanging out in saloons, slapping women on the bottom, and inviting himself up to their beds. “How long’s he been here?”
“Lawrence? Just a little while. Hear he came from El Paso, and you know how tough El Paso is,” Mrs. Bottoms said.
“He ever say anything before about a twin brother?” Lark asked.
The old lady’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. Maybe. Yes, I think so.”
Lark drew a sigh of relief. Maybe she could stop worrying about the scoundrel of a brother.
Paco stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking all clean with his hair wet from combing. He wore a deputy’s badge on his western shirt. Paco held his hat in his hand and looked uneasy, standing on one foot and then the other. Now his dark eyes lit up as he saw her. “Very beautiful. Sí, señorita. I’m honored to drive you to the barn dance.”
“And me too, and Jimmy,” the older lady reminded him.
He bowed low. “Of course, señora, you too. I do hope you bring those muy bueno sand plum cobblers you make?”
She laughed. “Of course. Get the basket out of the kitchen. Did the men get that beef on the spit?”
He nodded. “Sí, señora. Even now, it is being barbecued to a crisp brown.” He went into the back and returned with a basket. “Oh, we didn’t give the señorita a chance to shine with her cooking.”
“Uh, maybe next time.” Lark gulped. Her aunt Cimarron said Lark couldn’t cook even a biscuit so a dog would eat it. Well, she wouldn’t stay long, so no one here would ever know that. As soon as she felt the trail had grown cold, Lark would leave. Where she would go next, she couldn’t be sure. Tears came to her eyes as she walked out to the buckboard. She had a sudden wave of homesickness. At least she was in Texas. You could take a gal out of Texas, but you couldn’t take Texas out of the girl.
Paco helped everyone up in into the buckboard, Lark seated next to him, then climbed up and snapped the reins at the bay horse. “Did you like our sheriff?”
Lark sputtered with embarrassment. “I—I don’t know—I just barely met him.”
“Paco,” Mrs. Bottoms scolded, “what a question! You’re embarrassin’ the lady.”
Jimmy piped up. “I think he liked her. Are they gonna get married?”
“Jimmy!” the old lady scolded.
Lark felt the blood rush to her face, but she had to ask. “Why—what makes you think he liked me?”
Paco chuckled. “Sheriff Witherspoon don’t say much, but he was smiling when he left the hotel. He’s a good sheriff, no, Señora Bottoms?”
“One of the best,” the lady declared as they rode along. “Varmints sure back down from him when he gives them that squinty-eyed glare and almost whispers for them to throw down their guns.”
“Hmm.” Lark was impressed.
“Besides, señorita,” Paco said, “everyone says that he used to be a Texas Ranger down around El Paso.”
Lark blinked. “Then what’s he doing out in a sleepy place like Rusty Spur?”
Paco lowered his voice. “They say he killed a man by mistake and it got to him. Besides, he’s got a brother that brought shame to to the family.”
“You can say that again,” Lark said.
“What?” asked Mrs. Bottoms.
“Nothing,” said Lark. A mysterious ex–Texas Ranger. It was romantic and thrilling. Maybe Lawrence Witherspoon could be as interesting as his saddle-tramp brother. “I notice the town has no bank?”
“Well,” Mrs. Bottoms said somewhat defensively, “ours closed ’cause it had been robbed so much. But with the new sheriff and the railroad comin’ in sometime this summer, the town’ll grow, and I reckon we’ll get one. They won’t be afraid to open up here with a tough sheriff like we got to protect the money.”
He’s sure different from his brother, Lark thought. Larado would rob the bank, but Lawrence would protect it. She began to like Lawrence, even if he wasn’t as charming.
When the buckboard pulled up in front of the big red barn, it looked like most of the county must have heard about the dance. There were horses, wagons, and buggies everywhere, and the barn glowed with lantern light. From inside, Lark heard fiddle music drifting on the warm May air.
Paco assisted Lark from the buggy.
“Heavens,” declared the hotel owner as Paco helped her down, “looks like half the county has come to our wingding.”
The more people, the better chance someone might have seen a wanted poster, Lark thought, but she’d just have to take that chance. After all, this was a very isolated area.
Cowboys rushed forward to meet her, stumbling over their feet in embarrassment, pulling off their Stetsons. “Howdy, ma’am, so you’re the mail-order-bride lady.”
“That’s my fault and Bill’s, señores.” Paco looked embarrassed. “The sheriff didn’t even know she was coming.”
She blushed furiously as the cowboys gathered around. “Then that means she ain’t really spoke fer. I’d be much obliged if you’d save me a dance, miss.”
She had never felt so popular. “Of course I’ll try to save each and every one of you a dance,” she said graciously.
They all beamed, and one of them took the basket from Mrs. Bottoms. “What you got in here, ma’am?”
“Pies and such.”