Chapter Six

"Damn that girl!" Brody exclaimed as the stallion fell dead to the ground and Brody holstered his gun. He ran quickly and launched himself over the corral fence. Kneeling down beside his sister he saw that she was unconscious but her chest was rising and falling, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Brody quickly assessed the damage done to her body. There was a deep cut on her scalp and a lump and bruise forming on her forehead. He ran his hands over her arms and ribs. She moaned when he touched her ribs but from what he could tell they weren't broken. He couldn't say the same for her leg however as it laid to the side at an awkward angle.

"Cookie?" Brody snapped as he stood back up.

Cookie was limping forward, "Is she alive?"

Brody nodded, "Take my horse and go tell Elizabeth what happened. Tell her I took Sally to town to see the doc." Cookie nodded and with an effort he pulled himself into the saddle of Brody's waiting horse and rode away.

"Oh my god! Is she okay?" Susie's frightened voice came from behind him.

Brody nodded as he pulled off his hat and wiped his sweaty brow on his shirt sleeve, "Stay here with her while I hook up the wagon...."

"Jacob took the wagon. He and Miss Bradshaw went to town," Susie replied.

Brody cursed and wondered why the hell they didn't have more than one wagon. He couldn't very well take her in the buckboard, that would bounce her to death. He picked Sally up as gently as he could and laid her over his shoulder before climbing over the corral fence.

He mounted Sally's waiting horse and cradled her gently in his lap, "You stay here. If Elizabeth comes you tell her where I went okay?"

Susie's wide blue eyes were full of tears as she nodded, "Okay," she said, swiping the moisture from her freckled cheeks. Brody started toward town, working hard to keep the horses gait as smooth as possible to save his foolish sister as much pain as he could.

***

Ellie walked out of the post office with Otis's wire in her skirt pocket. He had wished her well and that was it. She had sent him a wire back telling him that she wanted to come home and her job just wasn't working out. The postmaster had given her an odd look as he had taken the note from her but a simple smile from her had had him stuttering and blushing once again.

Now she just had to wait for Otis's okay and for him to send her the money for a ticket home and she'd be ready to go. She prayed that he would let her come home without a fight, though she dreaded the punishment she would receive for not doing her job.

Ellie took a deep breath, finding it difficult in this corset and the heat. She glanced up and down the street for Jacob. She had left him standing out here but he was gone now.

Ellie ran her finger over the hat on her head and felt her heart break just a little. Perhaps reading all those novels had made her a hopeless romantic, but she could already see how happy she and Jacob could be. Sure it was sudden but sudden didn't make it untrue. She could tell he was kind, thoughtful and caring. He made her laugh and smile. He was obviously loyal and he loved his family... Add to that the fact that just the sight of his face or the gentle touch of his hand made her heart beat faster and her body heat, and she knew that he was what she'd been waiting on.

Too bad he had met her as Alice Bradshaw and not Ellie Thompson.

But maybe, just maybe, he could forgive her for her actions and her lies so far. Maybe if she explained to him about her family and about her fear for her sister, he could understand. He seemed like a patient man. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She would tell him. And he would help her. He would keep her and Liza both safe from Otis and Ellie would finally be able to have the life she'd always wanted..... Or at least that's what she hoped.

She was about to walk down the street to find him when she heard the soothing, deep baritone of his voice and looked left to see him walking toward her with a man that was covered in horrible scars. The man had dirty blond hair and a badge on his vest. Were all the lawmen in this town untamed and unkempt looking?

"The Lord says you should forgive all things," the lawman said pointedly.

Jacob hadn't noticed her yet so she stood there against the wall. "I can forgive just about anything, LeRoy, but not that," Jacob replied with a shake of his head. Ellie saw the hat box in his hand and wondered why he had bought a new hat.

"You and your brother are both too stubborn," LeRoy said with a frown.

"As far as I'm concerned lying is an unforgivable sin, LeRoy. Once someone has lied to you, you can never trust them again."

Ellie felt her heart fall to her feet. He wouldn't forgive her if he knew... She couldn't tell him.

"Miss Bradshaw, perhaps you could help us settle a debate," Jacob said as his eyes fell on her and he smiled.

"Huh?" she asked, her mind reeling. She had thought for sure..... No all she had was herself and all Liza had was her. Jacob raised a brow at her sudden lack of the perfect poise she had shown so far. He was grateful for this glimpse at what lie beneath that polished exterior, though he wondered why she looked sad.

"Bad news from home?" he asked.

She shook her head and met his gaze, "No.. No I was daydreaming is all," she replied, though she couldn't seem to force her smile to return. She could see concern in his eyes but he seemed to not want to push the topic. "What debate were you needing settled?" she asked.

"We're debating poker," LeRoy replied. Poker? Ellie certainly hadn't thought they were talking about poker. "I asked Jacob if he'd ever play poker with a man he knew was a liar and he seems to think that a liar doesn't deserve forgiveness. What do you think?"

Ellie looked down at the wooden boards of the boardwalk and ran her gloved hands over her skirt, "I believe that sometimes people make certain choices that they don't want to make based on the circumstances they are in," she said carefully, "Not everyone who is forced to lie is necessarily a liar, just the same as not everyone who kills someone is a murderer. I think that everyone deserves forgiveness if they are truly sorry for the wrong that they've done." She forced herself to look at Jacob and he was staring at her with an odd expression on his face.

"I couldn't have said that better myself!" LeRoy exclaimed with a smile. "You might just be a Godsend to the Atkinson boys, Miss Bradshaw. Maybe you can get through their thick skulls because so far I sure haven't been able to."

"Do you have work to be doing?" Jacob asked LeRoy, his voice and tone suddenly sounding a lot like Brody's.

LeRoy sensed the change in the man and nodded, "Yep. Sure do. Got a prisoner that needs to hear a few things about the sin of adultery," he replied and he turned and walked away while whistling a happy tune.

Jacob stooped down to meet her gaze and hold it, "Miss Bradshaw, at the risk of sounding like my brother, I must say that it sounds like there's some meat left on that bone."

"Of course there's not, Mr. Atkinson. I just believe that everyone deserves forgiveness now and then," Ellie said as she picked at a small tear in her glove. How had that gotten there? And just how hot was it going to get today? She could feel the sweat soaking through her underclothes and she was feeling a bit dizzy.

Jacob smiled. She wasn't nearly as proper as she tried to act or else she wouldn't have known what that saying meant... That and she had just said there's instead of there is, "Miss Bradshaw, I know that we don't know each other very well yet but, ma'am, I want you to know that if you need anything you can come to me."

Ellie looked up into his green eyes and she wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him more than she'd ever wanted anything in her life but could she risk it when she knew now how he felt about lying? The answer to that was simple-- no.

"I am rather hungry," she said with a shaky smile.

Jacob knew there was something she wasn't telling him but he also knew she wasn't going to tell him what it was just now. But soon he would earn her trust enough, "Of course, ma'am. Before we get lunch however, I have something to give you."

Ellie smiled, though she was beginning to feel more than a little lightheaded. She knew it must have something to do with the heat, her heavy dress and her own troubled mind and guilt, "What is that?" she asked. Jacob reached out with his free hand and took his hat from her head. He put it on his own head and then opened the box. She looked in and saw the hat. It was tan and straw woven with delicate pink flowers along the brim. It was simple and it was beautiful.

"Jacob, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed as she pulled the hat from the box and placed it on her head.

Jacob felt his heart respond to the sound of her delicate voice saying his first name, "I'm glad that you like it, Miss Bradshaw," he replied. "I couldn't stand the thought of you getting burned, yet I didn't like the idea of me getting burned either, so I decided that you need your own hat."

"I can't accept it though," she added sadly as she reached to take it off. She couldn't take this gift from him. It wouldn't be right when she knew she was leaving in a few days.

She froze when Jacob's hand reached out quickly and grabbed hers before she could remove the hat, "Yes you can, Alice," he said gently. "I want you to have it."

Ellie felt her knees weaken but it had nothing to do with his touch. Her head was swimming as sweat trickled between her shoulder blades.

Jacob saw her face growing flushed and then he saw her swoon. He dropped the hat box and grabbed her small body in his arms, scooping her up against him as she lost consciousness.

He pressed his cheek to her forehead and realized how hot she was. That darn dress was too much in this summer heat. What had the woman been thinking? She was from Texas.. She should have known better than to wear something so heavy and thick!

He carried her quickly down the street to Doctor Montgomery's office and kicked at the door. Doctor Montgomery opened the door and his eyes widened, "Bring her in. Bring her in." He stepped aside so Jacob could enter, "Lay her down here." Doctor Montgomery said, walking into a small room and pointing to a tiny bed. Jacob laid Alice down and removed her hat, running his hands over her dark hair as he gazed down at her with worry.

"What happened?"

"She got too hot." Jacob replied.

Doctor Montgomery snorted, "I should say so. That's a winter dress the womans got on." He sighed, "Get out of here, Jacob, and I'll get her cooled down. She should wake up pretty soon."

Jacob didn't want to leave her but as Doctor Montgomery rolled her and began to undo the buttons on her dress, he knew he had no choice. He walked out into the entry room and began to pace across the fancy throw rugs.

***

A short time later and Jacob was back in the room with Alice. Doctor Montgomery had stripped her down to her white underclothes and had covered her with a thin sheet. Jacob was using a wet cloth to wipe her face and she was moaning and twisting as if lost in a bad dream.

"For the life of me boy, I can't figure out why she wears these things," Doctor Montgomery mused as he held Alice's glasses up to the sunlight. "They're nothing but glass."

"What?" Jacob asked as he stood and walked over to the doctor.

"Look through them. They ain't nothing but regular old glass."

Jacob grabbed the glasses and held them up to his eyes. The doctor was right. They were just plain glass. Why in the world was the woman wearing glasses she didn't need? Jacob didn't know but he planned on asking her when she woke up.

Just then the doors to the doctors office burst open and Brody strode in carrying a limp, unconscious Sally in his arms.

"What is wrong with her?!" Jacob demanded.

"The foolish damn girl tried to break that horse," Brody replied, the angry tone of his voice not matching the fear in his eyes. "He broke her leg and kicked her in the head before I managed to put a bullet in him," Brody added to the doctor.

"Bring her in here," Doctor Montgomery said. "You damn Atkinson's are going to be the death of me. First Jacob's woman damn near has a heat stroke and now your sister goes and acts like a fool."

"Is she okay?"

Jacob turned to see that Alice was out of the bed and standing wrapped in the sheet. Sunlight was coming through the window behind her, illuminating her and making her look very much like an angel all wrapped in white. He was sure his heart must have stopped beating for a solid minute.

"Lay her in the bed, Brody, and I'll check her," Doctor Montgomery ordered, pointing to a second tiny bed against the wall.

Brody did as he was told and Jacob walked over to Alice, "How are you?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Ellie knew she should pull away from him but he felt so warm and secure against her that she couldn't bring herself to. She looked up at him and saw the fear in his eyes as he looked at his sister, "Don't worry about me," she said, "You should be worried about your sister."

"Not a damn thing we can do for her," Brody growled with frustration. "She refuses to listen to a damn thing anybody tells her."

"Remind you of anyone?" Jacob asked, raising his brow.

Brody frowned, "I listen!" he exclaimed. "Most of the time." he added with a shrug.

Doctor Montgomery walked over and shooed all three of them toward the door, "Wait in the entryway!" he said sternly. "Alice, is that your name?" he asked Ellie and while it killed her inside to lie, she bit her lip and nodded.

"Yes."

"My daughter left some clothes the last time she visited. She's about the same size as you. Go down the hall and it's the last door on the left." With that he turned and walked back into the room with Sally, closing the door behind him.

"Do you need help?" Jacob asked.

Ellie shook her head, though she still felt a little weak, she knew she would be okay and that he needed to focus on Sally, "I can manage." she assured him and then she turned and walked down the hall.

"I'll be damned. Not a single bat of them lashes," Brody said as he lit a cigarette.

"How long did it take you to know that Elizabeth was the one?" Jacob asked.

Brody raised a brow, "You mean once we were done trying to prove which one of us was better than the other?" he asked and Jacob nodded. "About two seconds. Why do you think Alice is the one?"

"She might be," he admitted and then he looked at the door the doctor had closed.

"There's just something about her that's off," Brody said thoughtfully. "I can't really put my finger on it... Not like I get a feeling she's bad, just that she knows something she's not telling us. Or that she's hiding something. She seems to try awful hard to make herself seem like something she's not."

Jacob frowned. He'd noticed that too. But on the ride to town, he had seen the real her. She had laughed, smiled and caused his heart to flip and flop in his chest, "Maybe she thinks she has to impress us to keep her job." he offered.

Both men were staring at the door now and wondering if their sister was okay, though none mentioned Sally's name. Brody nodded, "Maybe."

"You don't think Liz will mind if I try to sweep the newest employee off her feet do you?"

Brody snorted as he took a draw off his cigarette, "What the hell do you think she hired her for?"

"To help with the babies and to teach the girls."

"The girls don't need to be taught nothing," Brody countered. "And have you ever, even once, heard Elizabeth ask for help with anything? Why that woman would go out and herd cattle with both babies strapped to her back before she'd ask for help."

"Then why...?"

"Because she thought you were lonely," Brody said, wondering how his brother could be so blind. Everyone at the ranch knew the real reason that Alice was there. Well except for Alice and Jacob... Of course now it was only Alice that was in the dark.

"I should slap her," Jacob grumbled, shaking his head.

Brody nodded as he looked at the clock on the wall, "Yep."

'But I won't because I believe she could take me in a fight," Jacob added.

"Probably just as well. I'd hate to have to kill my own brother," Brody agreed.

Jacob flopped himself down in a tiny armchair and looked at the glasses that were still in his hands. Alice Bradshaw was the woman he wanted to marry--of that he was nearly certain. But first he had a few things he needed to learn about her. Of course that was going to have to wait until after he knew whether or not his foolish, headstrong sister was going to be okay.