“I ain’t never going back to him again. And you can’t make me.”
“We’ll see about that.” Wade strode toward Dusty.
Cole blocked his path. “The boy’s my responsibility now. I’ll see that he doesn’t get into trouble.”
“Why would you want to take on the likes of him?”
“All you need to know is that I am.”
The sheriff shook his finger in Cole’s face. “Just see that he don’t get into trouble or I’m coming after you.” As if he owned the place, he brushed past Cole, strode across the front yard and up the steps, and knocked on the door.
Dusty moved to run but Cole’s arms shot out and he grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Dusty grunted. “Let me go.”
“No.”
Cole ignored the string of curse words the boy spat out as he watched Wade. “What do you suppose that old codger is up to?” He spoke more to himself than Dusty.
“I reckon the sheriff’s come courting Miss Rebecca. Everybody knows he’s been sweet on her.”
Annoyed, Cole glared at Wade’s back. “He’s too old for her.” The vinegar in his voice surprised him.
“He don’t think so.”
Cole glanced down at the boy’s dirt-smudged face. Blue eyes stared up at him with more wisdom than was right for a boy his age. “How would you know?”
“Heard him bragging to the men at the Rosebud the other day that he’s got his sights on marrying her.”
“She’s young enough to be his daughter.”
“She’s going to the picnic with him.”
Cole snorted. The idea of Wade lurking around the inn set his teeth on edge.
The front door of the inn opened then and Rebecca appeared. Bright as a new penny, she’d changed into a dark blue dress and her damp blond curls framed her oval face, she gifted the sheriff with a bright smile. Cole’s mood soured.
Dusty poked Cole in the ribs. “You’re jealous.”
He ripped his gaze off Rebecca to glare at the boy. “Mind your own business.”
“Ha! You is sweet on her.”
“And you smell bad.”
Dusty raised his arm and sniffed his armpit. “I don’t.”
“When’s the last time you took a bath?”
Dusty’s face scrunched with indignation. “Ain’t been that long.”
Cole folded his arms over his chest. “How long?”
“Well, it was chilly outside. April, I reckon.”
“That was two months ago.”
“Yeah, so?”
Cole took the boy by the arm. “So, it means you’re getting a bath today.”
Dusty dug his heels in. “I ain’t.”
Cole pulled him easily along toward the Inn. “You sure are. You smell worse than the sheriff’s bay rum.”
“Now, that ain’t fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, boy.”
Dusty tried to tug his arm free from Cole’s grip, but had no success. “What gives you the right to go and toss me in a tub? We was getting along fine and I ain’t wronged you.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said to the sheriff? I’m responsible for you now.”
A cloud passed in front of the boy’s eyes. “Those was just words. I know you were saying ’em to get the sheriff off my back.”
Cole stopped and placed his hands on Dusty’s shoulders. “Dusty, they weren’t just words to me. You’re with me now, hell or high water.”
His gaze narrowed. “I’m used to being on my own.”
“Me, too, but things change.”
“Yeah, well, what about Pa?”
“I’ll have a talk with him. I’m sure I can make him see reason.”
The yearning in Dusty’s dirt-smudged face was plain. “I reckon I could tag along with you for a while, but I ain’t taking a bath.”
“Yes, you are.”
The sound of Rebecca’s laugh, so clear and bright, floated down to them. He glared up at the porch. She stood close to Wade, too damn close, and was listening intently to something he was saying. The two of them looked as if they were settling in for a nice long visit.
Cole ground his teeth. Why in the devil she would be interested in the likes of a man twice her age was beyond him.
“Boy, it’s time you got that bath. And I believe, Miss Rebecca is just the one to help me get you squeaky clean.”
* * *
The smell of Wade’s bay rum made Rebecca’s eyes itch. Her nose wrinkled and she sneezed twice in the first minute of their conversation.
She knew he’d come to talk to her about the picnic. He’d been mooning over her for weeks and so far she’d kept him at arm’s distance. He’d been a good friend to her but she’d never had romantic feelings for Sheriff Wade.
Rebecca’s nose itched with the thick scent of aftershave. “Turning out to be a lovely day, Sheriff.”
He pulled off his hat and clutched it in front of his chest. He’d slicked back his hair and combed his mustache and beard. Deep lines etched the corners of his eyes when he smiled. “Time you started calling me Ernie.”
She could feel heat rise in her cheeks. Curtis had been the last man to come courting her and that had been nearly four years ago. She felt wretchedly out of practice.
Rebecca caught sight of Cole striding back up the walkway. Her nerves tightened a notch and she stepped closer to Wade.
Then, she noticed the boy next to him. He was the one who had been stealing pies from her for months now.
Back in April, she’d been
hanging laundry on the other side of the house when he’d snatched a cooling pie. Believing himself hidden, he’d sat down under a shade tree and eaten every bite of the cherry pie. He’d licked the plate clean before carefully replacing the tin back where he’d found it.
Her heart had been overwhelmed with sadness. In him she saw Mac. She wondered who would have cared for her boy if she’d not taken him into her home and heart.
From that day on, she’d made a point to make an extra pie or loaf of bread and set it on the sill to cool. Each time she went into town, she looked for the boy, but so far she’d not been able to get close to him. He was forever scurrying out of her reach like a frightened rabbit.
And now he stood next to Cole. The boy’s body was painfully thin; his clothes little more than rags and he wore no shoes. But his eyes were sharp and bright.
Sheriff Wade cleared his throat. “Rebecca, I don’t believe you’ve heard a word I’ve said.”
Startled from her thoughts, she glanced up at him. “Of course, I did.”
“Then four o’clock suits?”
“Uh, yes.”
He grinned and took her hand in his. “Good. Then it’s a date.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Look forward to what?” Cole asked, a hint of possessiveness in his voice.
Rebecca bristled. “The sheriff and I are attending the picnic together.”
His gaze drifted to Ernie then back to her. “When?”
“Next week,” she said.
“I’m sure you’ll make a fine couple.”
Dusty kicked the dirt. “He’s too old for her.”
Cole nudged the boy, a warning to keep quiet.
The sheriff cleared his throat. “Well, I best get going.” Wade faced off with Cole. “McGuire, keep that boy out of trouble.”
Cole clamped his hand on Dusty’s shoulder. “There’ll be no trouble.”
Rebecca waited until Sheriff Wade was well past the picket fence before she glanced down at the boy. He stared up with blue eyes, filled with a good bit of false bravado. “What’s he talking about?” She kept her tone light for Dusty’s sake.