Seven Brides: Daisy Part 25

No. He did know. She had told him. Cochrane's father was the richest man in Albuquerque, and her mother had spent her whole life telling Daisy never to marry a poor man.

h.e.l.l, the Randolphs were probably richer than the Cochranes. He wondered if she'd marry him for his money?

He knew that wasn't fair, but the thought wouldn't leave his mind. She'd never missed an opportunity to tell him how little she thought of his notion of finding gold. Clearly she had no intention of linking her future with anyone she considered a dreamer.

Then why had she almost let him make love to her? Everything in Tyler's head was a muddled ma.s.s of questions and fragmented ideas mixed up with a few hopes and a lot of fears. Most confusing of all, he couldn't figure out why this was all happening to him.

He didn't love Daisy. He didn't want to marry her. He did want to make love to her, but he had wanted to make love to other women as well. No. He had wanted to find s.e.xual relief with a lot of other women, but what he looked for with Daisy was something entirely different.

That unsettled him. What was he looking for, why should he be looking for it with Daisy? All he could say for sure was he liked her and enjoyed having her around. He found her attractive and wanted to make love to her. He hoped she wouldn't marry Guy Cochrane.

What did it all add up to? He'd be d.a.m.ned if he knew except it had given him a headache and was keeping him awake.

The color drained from Ed Peck's face as he stared at the stack of letters in his hand. "Do you know who this place belongs to?" he asked. His voice sounded hoa.r.s.e.

"A dead man," Toby promised from the bunk.

"What you got there?" Frank asked.

"Letters," Ed replied, "all of 'em addressed to Tyler Randolph."

Toby's cigarette paused on the way to his mouth. "You sure?"

"Yeah," his father replied.

"Who the h.e.l.l is Tyler Randolph?" Frank demanded.

"If you'd ever worked cows in Texas, you wouldn't have to ask such a dumb question," Ed said.

"Well, I didn't work no d.a.m.ned cows in Texas, and I'm d.a.m.ned glad of it. And I ain't heard of no Tyler Randolph."

"There's seven of them," Ed said.

"Seven men named Tyler Randolph?" Frank asked in disbelief.

"No, seven brothers, you fool," Toby said.

"Then I guess the Randolph in town must be his kin."

"There's a Randolph in town?" Toby asked. He sat up so fast he hit his head on the slats.

"Yeah. He has a stupid name, I can't remember it just now."

"Hen?" Toby asked.

"Yeah, that's it. Arrived with enough wagons to start his own train." Frank paused. "That's it! This Randolph fella did find that woman. And he's taken her into Albuquerque to his brother's wife." He grinned, pleased to have solved the puzzle. "All we have to do is follow him and kill her."

"You'll do it without me," Toby said, getting up from the bunk. "Don't you know who Hen Randolph is?"

"No, and I ain't interested."

"You d.a.m.ned well better be. He's the fastest gunfighter you'll ever see," Ed said. "Ain't n.o.body else can come close."

"I'm not planning on going up against him," Frank said. "We can get her and this Tyler fella from cover."

"You touch one of them Randolphs, and you'll have the rest down on you faster'n you can spit," Toby said.

"I ain't going with you, either," Ed said. "I didn't agree to killing that gal in the first place. I sure ain't having nothing to do with killing no Randolph. You should have knocked her over the head. It's about all you did anyway."

"What the h.e.l.l are you going to do?"

"Head south, probably to Mexico."

"Okay, run out on me, but you ain't getting no more money."

"You go around shooting at Randolphs, and you won't live to spend it," Toby said.

"Go on, get out," Frank shouted.

Toby looked defiant. "I think I'll stay a few more days," he said. "No need for Pa and me to rush off. This Randolph won't be back for a week or so. It'll be a lot easier traveling after the snow melts."

"Where are you going?" Frank asked.

"I don't know exactly," Toby replied, "but I don't want to be anywhere near here when you tangle with those Randolphs. Besides, it's too d.a.m.ned cold here, and Pa needs to rest up while that leg heals. What are you doing?" he asked when Frank started to collect his gear.

"I'm leaving tonight. I'll kill them on the trail, and beat you to Mexico."

Frank smiled to himself. This was exactly what he needed to make his reputation. If he could kill a Randolph on top of the other work he'd done for Regis Cochrane, his reputation would be secure.

"I didn't know the Parrishes had sold up and left," Tyler said, as they turned from the ranch road back onto the route to town. "I was planning on getting some horses here."

"That's the third rancher to sell out within the last year," Daisy said. "I wonder why none of them said anything before they left?"

Tyler took the time to scan their back trail with his binoculars.

"That's the fourth time you've done that today," Daisy said.

"Somebody's following us."

"This is the road to Albuquerque. I imagine we'll see lots of people."

"I'm just being careful."

But Tyler had a bad feeling. Three men followed them, and one of them was riding a big horse. He knew the killers could easily identify them. No other travelers would be riding a mule and a burro, certainly not a man and a woman. The coincidence would be too great.

"You think they're the killers, don't you," Daisy said after he stopped twice more to study the hors.e.m.e.n through the binoculars.

"Yes," Tyler said.

She looked anxious but calm. She expected him to know exactly what to do.

"Here. You look through the gla.s.ses," Tyler said.

"I can't tell. They're still too far away," Daisy said. Fifteen minutes later Daisy still couldn't be sure. "I only saw one of them. What are you going to do?"

"Nothing until I know they're the men I'm after. We'll wait in those cedars and hope you recognize one of them when he pa.s.ses."

"That's not the man," Daisy said a short while later. "I'm sure of it."

Tyler was relieved these men weren't the killers, but he was certain they were somewhere behind them.

"I think we'll take the trail down by the river," Tyler said. "We'll be late reaching town, but a man and woman traveling on a mule and a burro are too easily noticed and remembered."

The town of Albuquerque was irregularly laid out around a plaza of some two or three acres into which all the princ.i.p.al streets led. Adobe buildings were grouped without order, giving the town a tumbled-down look. A white picket fence surrounded the plaza, which contained a low adobe building used as a barbershop, its flagpole a hundred and twenty-one feet high on top, the tallest west of the Mississippi. The twin towers of San Felipe de Neri church dominated the north side of the square, its yard also enclosed by a picket fence. Businesses and private homes crowded the other three sides of the Plaza. Some fronted immediately on the street. Others had the luxury of covered walks. Some of the roofs were made of wood, others of sod.

Albuquerque was not a large town. Even late at night, it wasn't difficult to locate the hotel. Tyler led Daisy down a narrow alley just off the Plaza. They stopped at the back of a two-story building; he dismounted and helped her down. She was just as stiff as she had been the night before.

"We're going in the back," he told her. "I don't want anyone to see you enter. That way n.o.body will be able to say for certain when you arrived."

"But how can you manage that?"

"There's a stairway at the back. While I find out where Hen and Laurel are staying, you can sneak up the stairs when n.o.body's looking."

"Are you certain they won't mind helping me?" Daisy asked. She had been worrying about that the entire way.

"All you have to do is volunteer to look after Jordy and Adam, and they'll welcome you with open arms."

"Zac mentioned Jordy. Is he truly a terror?"

"That's his reputation. I stay out of the way. It was Hen's idea to adopt him."

Daisy wondered if anything would ever penetrate to Tyler's heart. She was beginning to wonder if he even had one. There were times when he didn't seem to have any of the feelings ordinary people had. She wondered what the rest of his family was like. With Zac and him for examples, she had no idea what to expect.

Daisy felt abandoned when Tyler left her on the back stairs. The building was dark and quiet, the three-foot thick adobe walls rough and cold. She forced herself to mount the stairs despite her uneasiness. The abrasive sc.r.a.p of her shoes on the steps was loud in the confined s.p.a.ce. She was relieved to reach the upper floor and feel a straw mat under her feet. The dim glow from a lamp below pierced the gloom of the upper hallway. She felt her muscles unclamp when she saw Tyler emerge from the stairwell.

"He's reserved the whole top floor," Tyler said when he reached her. "He ought to have plenty of room for both of us."

A tall blond man opened the door in response to Tyler's knock. Daisy knew it had to be Hen. There was a strong resemblance between the brothers.

"What brings you out of the hills?" Hen asked, not moving aside to invite his brother in. "I was sure you'd have dug through half the Sandia range by now."

"I need your help."

Only then did Hen notice Daisy standing in the shadows behind Tyler. He moved aside.

"You'd better come in."

Chapter Seventeen.

Daisy looked into the most intensely blue eyes she'd ever seen. She could find nothing there to let her know what Hen might feel toward his brother or toward her. Fortunately, before she could get cold feet, a lovely women with cascades of black hair falling down her back raised herself out of a chair and came forward. She moved with the awkwardness of a woman in the last stages of pregnancy.

"Come in. You look like you've been traveling all day."

"Two days," Tyler said.

"You must be exhausted. Here, take my chair."

"No," Daisy said, horrified to be expected to take the seat of a woman so obviously in need of it. "I'd just as soon stand for a while." She glanced at Tyler. "I feel like I've almost forgotten how."

Hen brought a chair from a second room. "You can use this when you feel ready."

"I'm Laurel Randolph," the lady said as she reseated herself. "And this is my husband, Hen." Laurel smiled warmly. Hen's expression didn't seem to change. "Now tell us how we can help you."

"It's Daisy really," Tyler began.

Daisy watched Laurel's face as Tyler chronicled the events of the last week. She was relieved to see Laurel show sympathy, shock, and anger as the story unfolded. She relaxed a little. This woman might not be able to help, but at least she was sympathetic.

"Of course she can stay with us," Laurel said when Tyler finished. "I wish you'd brought her to us right away."

"Looking back, so do I," Tyler said.

Daisy wondered what he meant by that, but she didn't have time to search his face for clues. Laurel was talking to her. "Do you have a room?"

"No," Tyler answered for her, "but since Hen reserved the whole floor, I figured we could use one of yours."

"We do have an extra bedroom," Laurel said. "You and Hen can sleep there. Daisy will stay with me."

Daisy turned quickly to see how Hen would react to his wife's banis.h.i.+ng him from her bed, but she could see no change in his expression. The man made her nervous. She had thought Tyler was hard to read. This man was impossible.

"I can't do that," Daisy protested.

Laurel looked at Hen and held out her hand. He immediately took it. "Hen won't like it, but I can't have you sharing a room with Tyler."

"Why? I've done it for a week."