“Mr. Carson.” The lieutenant colonel appeared crestfallen at the finality in Jeb’s tone. “You’re the best for the job. Your reputation to accomplish where others have failed is…is legendary.”
Jeb smirked. Legendary? Would the great and mighty General William Carson think as much of his son?
Never.
“Jeb has plans, Lieutenant Colonel,” Creed said, speaking up for the first time. “Chasing after Mexican revolutionaries doesn’t fit into them.”
“Plans?” The officer frowned.
“That’s right.” Jeb grabbed onto the line Creed tossed him. “Heading west first thing in the morning.”
Going to California wouldn’t be a bad idea after all, he decided. Creed’s family would accept him for the man he was. No questions asked. Something his own father had never been able to do.
“Is there anything I can offer you to make you change your mind?” Kingston asked. “More money, perhaps. I’m sure Mr. Alger would understand.”
“No.” He slid the packet back to the officer, who reluctantly returned it to the pocket inside his uniform. Jeb stood, and Kingston did the same. “Now, if you’ll excuse us. Creed and I plan to celebrate our return to this fine country.”
Jeb watched the officer go. He steeled himself against thoughts of revolutionaries. Of war and death.
Of being needed.
Instead, he forced his thoughts ahead to the pleasures that awaited him. Plenty of whiskey. A willing woman. And that thick, juicy steak.
For the first time in a hell of a long time, life was good.
Chapter Two
The Next Day
T he deeper they traveled into the Texas woodlands, the more Elena became convinced they were lost.
“Pop, are you sure we’re going the right way?” she asked with a frown. “We haven’t seen anyone for a couple of hours now. Not even a ranch or farmhouse.”
The woods seemed to be getting thicker, too. She glanced up at the sky, gauged the sun’s location and determined it was more westerly than it should be.
From his place next to her on the wagon seat, Pop looked at the sky with her. “I’m sure this is right, Lennie. And if it’s not, we’ll still find our way to San Antonio.”
“San Antonio is north. We’re heading west.”
“There’s more than one road to take us there.” He patted her knee in gentle reassurance. “Soon as we get into open area, it’ll be easier to see where we’re at. Don’t you worry none.”
But Elena did worry. She didn’t like the eeriness she felt from being in the woods alone. A stop for some much-needed supplies had given them a late start, and the troupe had ridden ahead. She missed the protection that traveling with a large group provided.
They would be miles ahead of her and Pop by now. With every hour that passed, it seemed less and less likely they would meet up with them in time for the next show.
She sighed, leaned forward and cupped her chin in her hands. The road was rough, hardly more than a rutted trail, and it bounced the wagon continuously.
She tried not to think about being lost. Pop knew what he was doing. He always did. They’d traveled together for her entire life, and he had an uncanny knack for direction. Not once had they missed one of his shows because he made a wrong turn somewhere along the way.
But today could be the first time.
She eyed him covertly, and her worry deepened. He’d begun to show his age these past months. He tired more easily, moved a little slower. Countless hours riding on a hard wagon seat in all kinds of weather was beginning to take its toll.
Only his medicine shows invigorated him. Doc Charlie thrived on them.
Not so, Elena. Once, the crowds exhilarated her. The smells and sounds. The opportunity to travel and see parts of the country she might never see otherwise.
It was all she knew, this traveling, and she had grown weary of it. She longed for a home—a real house—of her own. With a yard and a garden and neighbors to wave to when they passed by.
She sighed again. Pop wouldn’t understand this change in her. In fact, he’d be devastated if he knew.
Winter would be upon them soon. As always, they’d find someplace to stay for the coldest months, work on new routines, and Pop would make plenty more of Doc Charlie’s Miraculous Herbal Compound. Come spring, he’d be ready to go again.
Except Elena wouldn’t be with him.
She simply had to tell him her decision. The sooner, the better.
Even more important, she had to convince him not to go, either. She wanted him to settle down with her so she could take care of him in more comfortable surroundings. He could even open his own apothecary. He could find plenty of new opportunities to sell his elixir. Lots of patent medicine companies did.
She drew in a breath. “Pop?”
“You’ve got something on your mind, Lennie. Have now for a while, haven’t you?”
She straightened. Had it been so obvious? “Yes.”
“If you’ve got a problem, we can’t solve it if I don’t know about it. Isn’t that right?”
Elena gave him a rueful smile. Pop might be slowing down physically, but his mind was sharp as ever. “Yes.”
He covered her clasped hands with one of his. “Well, go on. I’m listening.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but a soft noise in the back of the wagon closed it again.
“Is that who I think it is?” Pop asked, his eyes twinkling at the timing of the intrusion.
“I’ll only be a few minutes. We’ll talk then, okay?”
Pop winked. “I’ll be right here on this wagon seat.”
Bracing herself against the jerky motion, Elena slipped through the narrow door leading into their living quarters. She pulled back a tiny curtain over the window. Daylight filtered inward, enabling her to see the dark-eyed baby wiggling in the crib.
Her son, Nicholas. The love of her life.
“Hello, sweet-cakes,” she cooed, scooping him into her arms for a hug. “You took such a good nap, didn’t you?”
“Ma-ma-ma.”
She kissed him on the nose. The warmth from his chubby body soaked into her as he cuddled close, laying his head on her shoulder. But in the next moment his head came up again, and he peered at her, his grin happy and expectant.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, laughing.
Nicky was always hungry, but then, he was growing so fast. She could hardly believe they’d already celebrated his first birthday.
She laid him in the little crib. “Mama will change you, and then you can eat, okay?”
Stepping to the small bureau where she kept his clothes in a drawer with hers, she retrieved a fresh diaper. By the time she returned to the crib, he’d already pulled himself up and was trying to climb over the rail.
Elena laid him back down again. She could barely keep up with him anymore. He had boundless energy and curiosity. He delighted in staying just a step ahead of her and found it all great fun when she was forced to give chase during his adventures.
She removed the soiled diaper and replaced it with the clean one, her fingers deftly maneuvering the pins while her thoughts drifted to when he’d first learned to climb