Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,93
not well.”
“Leave her be, Addie!” Ridge barked.
“I will not.” Addie stuck out a mulish chin, determined to pick a fight, and of all times to do it. She would persist in trying to fix things that couldn’t be fixed. “No matter what she’s done, she’s sick and needs our help. Settling the past can wait until morning. Meantime, I’m going to do whatever I can to make her better. It’s what we do in this house.”
“Fine.” He stormed to the door and spoke with his back to her. “I’m going for a ride. Don’t wait up.”
“Ridge, please—”
He didn’t wait to hear her plea. He needed air. What had brought that woman here? Now? If she could find him, Tom Calder was likely not too far behind.
Bodie woke while Ridge was saddling Cob and stuck his head out from his little room. “What’s going on? Where are you going?”
“Just need to take a ride. Go back to bed, son.”
Ridge led the horse from the barn, mounted, and rode toward town. He needed a stiff drink or three. But then, he doubted anything less than a full bottle would wash the sour taste from his mouth.
The stage driver, George Finch, was sitting at a table in the half-empty saloon and waved him over.
A stop by the barkeep for a bottle delayed Ridge’s progress. Well-armed to stay awhile, he sat across from George. “I didn’t realize this was your layover night.” Was it already Friday again? Ridge opened the whiskey and poured a liberal amount into a glass, threw it back, and let the alcohol burn a path to his gut.
It felt damn good. Maybe it would burn away the pain and shame.
“These weeks go fast to some, but for me they drag.” Judging from George’s slurry voice, he’d been here awhile. “This is the only time I can unwind and think of anything but my job, the horses, the passengers, and the like. I sure get tired of being hollered at.”
“I can imagine. What else do you know how to do?”
“I’m pretty much a jack-of-all-trades, but I used to be a gunsmith.” George paused. “Before I fell in with the Ellis Gang and got sent to the penitentiary.”
Damn, George Finch had a sadder story than his.
“How long have you been out?” Ridge tipped his glass and drained it.
“Three years. Lost everything I had, including a wife and son. I was so damned foolish.”
“Aren’t we all?” Ridge thought of Addie at home, possibly alone, wondering where he was right now. He oughta have his rear kicked.
George fixed his bleary eyes on him. “Say, don’t you have a pretty, young wife?”
“That’s correct.” Maybe not too much longer, if he didn’t apologize for walking out. In the heat of the moment, it’d seemed she was taking sides against him.
Amid the noise of the saloon, he thought about what Shiloh had said. It could be she was telling the truth. Her father had been a surly, mean-looking cuss, jerking her around by the hair. Her life couldn’t have been pleasant. And she had been the one to come looking for him and apologize. It had seemed important that she got things off her chest.
Whoa, slow down. What if she was like the woman who’d helped Tiny and Pickens to escape? Maybe she was helping Tom Calder. He took off his hat and rubbed his face. He didn’t know what to think.
In the next second, Addie’s extension of hospitality crossed his mind. Of all people, she shouldn’t have trusted Shiloh. But she had, and others as well. Maybe she should be his bellwether. Addie read people far better than he did.
And he’d left her at home to deal with their sudden guest.
Ridge slid his bottle over to George. “Enjoy. I’ve got a place I need to be.”
“Thanks, Steele.”
Standing, Ridge grabbed his hat and headed for the door.
Back at home, he noticed light in the windows. Addie was still up. Unsaddling and putting Cob in his stall, Ridge stepped into the kitchen to see Addie and Shiloh sitting at the table. Addie’s bright, forgiving smile at the sight of him swept away wrongs and lies.
She rose to kiss him, and he pulled her close, savoring the softness that he’d found too little of in his life.
Addie moved back, breathless, her cheeks pink. “Would you like something to eat, dear? Shiloh hadn’t eaten for three days, which is why she fainted, so I fixed her some eggs and pork.”