Whispering Pines Read online

  Before Morgan finished the last of his coffee, the man jumped up and walked out the door. Morgan was curious what had made him take off in such a hurry, so he left the restaurant and stepped out on the sidewalk. He spotted the man walking down the street, so he decided he would follow him at a safe distance. The man was headed in the direction of the livery. As Morgan walked along the sidewalk, he spotted the man’s palomino tied to a rail in front of a saloon. The livery was coming into view, and the man passed it by, so Morgan slowed. Fewer people were on the streets at this end of town. The way the man was walking, then stopping and waiting, made Morgan think he was following someone. Morgan stepped into the street to see what was ahead of the man he was stalking. He saw a man in a bowler hat walking some distance ahead. Morgan crossed the street, and stopped by the last building where he would have some cover to watch both men. The man Morgan was following stopped behind a tree. The man with the bowler hat stepped inside a gate and proceeded down the pathway to a small house.

  Morgan waited for several minutes, but the man in the bowler hat didn’t leave the house, unless it was through a back door. But he couldn’t just stand there all day and watch the man, so he decided he’d go to the saloon where the palomino was tied. He’d have a beer and wait to see what happened. Less than an hour later, Morgan was sitting in the saloon by the window, drinking his second beer, when the man in the bowler hat came strolling by. Morgan noticed he was a small man, very tidy in his suit, certainly no cowboy or farmer. He watched the man enter the bank. The man following him stopped a block from the bank and sat in a chair in front of the barbershop. Morgan was curious what he was up to. If the man saw him and remembered him from the mercantile, he couldn’t see why it would matter. Since Morgan had an account with the bank, he decided he’d go inside and see if he could find out the identity of the man in the bowler hat.

  Inside the bank, Morgan stepped up to the counter. The man who had been wearing the bowler hat was sitting at a desk in the corner. If Morgan wasn’t mistaken it was the same young man who had been talking to Stevie that day on the trail. The man in the buggy who didn’t offer his name.

  Douglas Rivers, the bank president, walked up to Morgan and stuck out his hand. “I thought that was you, Mr. LeMasters. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

  “Mr. Rivers, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Denver.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young man look up at him. “How’s the banking business?”

  “Good.” He pointed to two men sitting at desks, and added, “So good, in fact, I’ve hired more employees. How may we help you today?”

  Morgan didn’t really need anything, but he quickly made up an excuse for his presence in the bank. “I came to Denver to buy a present for my fiancée, and I need some cash.”

  “So you’re getting married. When is the big day?”

  “In a couple of weeks.”

  “Congratulations. Now, how much cash will you require?” Mr. Rivers moved behind the counter to help Morgan personally.

  Morgan gave him a figure, and as Mr. Rivers was pulling the cash from the drawer, Morgan addressed the young man in the corner, who was looking down at a ledger in front of him. “I believe we met not long ago.”

  Reuben looked up at Morgan and nervously pushed his glasses up from the tip of his nose. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t think so.”

  “Reuben, this is Morgan LeMasters. He owns Whispering Pines ranch,” Mr. Rivers said.

  Reuben nodded his head at the introduction. “Sir.”

  “Yes, I’m sure we met the day you were talking to Stevie Langtry,” Morgan said.

  “No, you must be mistaken. I don’t know anyone by that name.”

  Morgan could read the lie on Reuben’s face, just as he could see his hands were shaking.

  “Well, perhaps it was a relative.”

  “Reuben is from back East, and he doesn’t have relatives here,” Mr. Rivers offered.

  “Have you ever been to Whispering Pines, Reuben?” Morgan asked.

  Reuben pretended to be very interested in the ledger in front of him. “No, I haven’t had the time to explore the surrounding towns. Denver has everything I need right here.”

  Morgan accepted the money from Mr. Rivers and put it in his pocket. He tipped his hat and said, “It was nice to see you again, Mr. Rivers.” He glanced in Reuben’s direction. “Good to meet you, Reuben.”

  “Likewise,” came the weak response.

  Morgan hesitated, debating whether or not he should tell Reuben about the man following him. Finally, he thought he should give him fair warning in case the man had nefarious intentions. “Reuben, one more thing. I was having lunch in the hotel when I noticed a man following you once you left the bank. It may be a coincidence, but I thought I would mention it to you.” Morgan certainly wasn’t mistaken when he thought Reuben turned as white as an apparition.

  Reuben swallowed and said, “I can’t imagine why anyone would follow me.”

  Morgan smiled. “Must be a coincidence then. If you’re curious, he was sitting in a chair in front of the barbershop when I came into the bank.”

  Morgan walked out the door, and he could see the man was still sitting in the chair in front of the barbershop. There was no doubt in his mind Reuben was already at the window. Morgan crossed the street to make his way to the livery.

  On his way home, Morgan thought about Reuben, and the day he saw him with Stevie Langtry. Why didn’t Reuben want to admit he’d met Stevie? Unless . . . Stevie might not be smart enough to pull a robbery alone, but what if Reuben helped him? Stevie was a small man, carried a pearl-handled pistol, and Morgan had noticed Stevie seemed to be favoring one of his arms the other night. Had he been shot? Perhaps suspecting Stevie of a robbery wasn’t as far-fetched as Morgan first thought. He planned to stop and see Jack before he went to the ranch. He’d tell him what he knew and see if he thought it was all a coincidence.

  * * *

  “Rose, are you feeling poorly today?” Granny asked when she placed their sandwiches on the table. She’d noticed Rose had been unusually quiet all morning.

  “No, I’m feeling fine.” Rose poured coffee in their cups and took her seat.

  Granny clasped Rose’s hand and started praying. When she finished, she glanced at Rose. “What is troubling you?”

  “Granny, do you think Morgan was seeing another woman before I returned?”

  “He was not serious with anyone, if that is what you are asking. Why?” Granny was aware of every woman Morgan had been seen with, but he’d never seriously courted anyone.

  “This trip to Denver seemed to come up suddenly,” Rose replied.

  Granny had heard Morgan leave very early this morning. “Why did he go to Denver?”

  “He said it was business.” Rose picked at her sandwich. “It’s just that he didn’t mention it at dinner earlier, and he only told me last night before he retired.” She plopped the sandwich back down on her plate. “I may be jumping to conclusions, but he seemed to be secretive when I asked why he was going. He’d mentioned he would take us to Denver, yet last night he didn’t ask us to join him.”

  “Did you tell him you wanted to go?”

  “No. I didn’t think he wanted us to go. I thought he might be seeing a woman in Denver.”

  Granny reached over and patted her arm. “Dear, I don’t think Morgan ever had time to go to Denver to see a woman and take care of his ranch.”

  “I suppose you are right. He’s given me no reason to mistrust him.”

  “No, I should say not, and I don’t think he ever will. Morgan is a wonderful man, and you should give him the benefit of the doubt. Don’t prejudge him. Why don’t you ask him when he gets home and get this all out in the open?” Granny was confident Morgan had nothing to hide and there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for his going to Denver without notice.

  “Thanks, Granny, you always give good advice.” Rose felt relieved. She would take Granny’s advice and speak to Morgan lat
er tonight.

  “Now, how are we going to alter that old wedding dress? We need to do something to it to make it stunning. You are getting a handsome groom, and I want you to knock his eyeballs out,” Granny said, smiling. “That old dress was the style of the day, but I much prefer the fuller skirts today.”

  Rose laughed. “That’s the reason I purchased so much satin. The bodice of the dress is lovely, but I think we should make a very full skirt.” Rose discussed her ideas for restyling Granny’s wedding dress.

  “Oh my, that sounds like a Southern belle dress. It should be beautiful,” Granny said.

  Rose found her mood improving the longer she discussed her impending wedding. “Now that we know how we are going to design my wedding dress, we need to work on a dress for you. I think that pink fabric we purchased is going to be lovely on you, Granny.”

  “It’s a beautiful color. The last time I had a pink dress, I was a young girl. Preacher’s favorite color was blue, so I often wore that color to please him.”

  “Blue does look lovely on you, but I thought you might like something different.” Rose knew she would do the same thing if Morgan said he preferred one color over another. He always told her she looked beautiful in whatever she was wearing.

  “And I do want something different. Rose, your marriage is a wonderful new start for you. And in some ways, it is a new start for me. I’m thankful Morgan wanted me to live with the two of you. And when you give me great-grandbabies, it will be the highlight of my final years.”

  Rose left her seat and put her arms around Granny. “Of course Morgan wanted you with us. It wouldn’t be the same without you. And don’t talk about your final years. You will be with us for a long time. You’ll want to see Addie and Emma married with babies too.”

  Granny smiled. “It is up to the Good Lord when our time is up. But I would like to stay with you for a long time. I do want to see Addie and Emma back home and happily married, as you will be soon.”

  Rose hoped Granny was right about her being happily married. She wanted that more than anything.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Walt was sitting in the hotel restaurant by the same window when the bank closed and Reuben walked across the street and entered the restaurant. Since Reuben had been in the bank all day, other than during his lunch break, the day had been uneventful for Walt. As far as he could see, Reuben was just a little mouse of a man who had nothing exciting going on in his life. He didn’t strike Walt as the kind of man who would do something illegal. If Frank approached Reuben to be his inside man at the bank, Walt thought the little man might die of fright. But there was always the possibility Frank had some knowledge about Reuben he could use to blackmail him. Frank could be one devious son-of-a-gun. Any man who was willing to kill his own sister, particularly a sister as pretty as Rose, had to be a man without conscience. Frank was an outlaw on a whole different level.

  Reuben took a seat at a table beside Walt’s. He was so close, Walt could hear what he ordered for dinner. He hoped Reuben was supposed to meet someone so his day wouldn’t be a total loss. So far, he’d learned nothing about him, and the little man hadn’t done more than work and eat. But no one met Reuben for dinner, and the waitress didn’t spend time in idle chitchat with him like she did with some of the other patrons. When Reuben finished his dinner and left the restaurant, Walt motioned for the waitress.

  “Would you like something else?”

  Walt pointed to the table where Reuben had been sitting. “Do you know the man who was sitting there?”

  “Reuben? He’s just a clerk at the bank. He don’t talk much, a bit odd if you ask me. Always orders the same dinner, and drinks hot tea even if it’s a hundred degrees outside. And he never says thank you for nothing, even though he eats here every night.”

  Walt smiled when she finished ranting, thanked her and left the restaurant. He spotted Reuben and followed at a safe distance. Reuben walked into the home on the outskirts of town, just as he had earlier in the day. Walt found a grassy spot under a tree where he could watch the house until dark.

  * * *

  When Morgan walked through the door he smelled dinner cooking. He ran upstairs and put Rose’s ring in his bureau drawer under his shirts before he hurried downstairs. It would be difficult not to give her the ring before their wedding day, but he wanted to surprise her.

  “Hello,” he said when he strolled into the kitchen.

  Rose turned at the sound of his voice. “Hello. How was your trip?”

  “Fine.” He walked across the room and poured a cup of coffee. “By the way, Stevie wasn’t home when I left for Denver this morning, but I left the horse in the corral. I stopped back by on my way home, and he hadn’t returned, so I brought the horse back with me. I wasn’t going to leave him there with no one to care for him.”

  “I wonder where Stevie is, with no horse to ride,” Rose said.

  “I doubt he’s walking, wherever he is going.” Morgan had ridden around the farm, and he found fresh hoofprints but no sign of Stevie.

  During dinner, Morgan talked about Denver, and how it was bustling with people and new shops all over town.

  “Emma’s troupe is supposed to perform in Denver before the year is out,” Granny said.

  “Maybe you ladies would like to go see her perform,” Morgan suggested. “We could spend a few days in Denver so you could do some shopping.”

  Rose had to bite her tongue to keep herself from asking why he hadn’t invited them along today.

  Granny glanced at Rose, and said, “That would be lovely. Don’t you think so, Rose? I would love to see Emma perform.”

  “Yes, lovely.” Rose looked at Morgan. “Did you do anything exciting in Denver today?”

  Morgan hesitated, thinking the cool tone was back in Rose’s voice. “No.”

  Granny noticed his hesitation, and was wise enough to change the subject.

  After Granny and Rose finished cleaning the kitchen, Rose decided to sit on the front porch so she could talk to Morgan when he returned from the stable. She didn’t have to wait long before she saw him exit the stable, talking to Murph. They chatted for a few minutes, then Murph turned toward the bunkhouse and Morgan headed toward the house.

  It was Morgan’s intention to talk some business with Murph tonight, but he saw Rose sitting on the porch when he left the stable and decided he’d rather talk to her. She’d been acting strangely, and he wanted to know what was wrong. “What are you doing out here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.”

  He wondered if she was having second thoughts about marrying him. He pulled a chair up beside her. “Okay.”

  She took a deep breath and forged ahead. “I was thinking last night that we haven’t really known each other . . . we didn’t know each other well before we agreed to marry.”

  Morgan looked at her and nodded.

  “Well, I was thinking . . .” She paused.

  “What were you thinking? Do you want to call off the wedding?” If that was what she had to say, he didn’t want her to waste time trying to find a nice way to say it.

  Her eyes widened. “Oh no. I was just wondering if you had been seeing someone else before I arrived.”

  Morgan felt a sense of relief. “By seeing, do you mean courting?”

  “Yes. I didn’t know if you had a serious relationship with someone before me.”

  Did she not know him at all? He’d done nothing to make her think he had an interest in someone else. “Rose, if I’d been courting someone, I would have ended the relationship before I asked you to marry me. No, I wasn’t serious about anyone, and by asking that question, I’m not sure what kind of man you think I am.” He was offended, and he didn’t try to hide it. He knew women were interested in him, and he could have married over the last few years if that had been his aim.

  Rose hadn’t considered that her question might insult him. “It’s just that so many women stopped to speak to you the other night, and I hadn’t even considered y
ou may have had someone else in your life.”

  “If you’re asking if I’ve spent time with several women, the answer is yes. But I’ve never asked one to marry me.”

  “I’m sure if you did, they would have said yes.” Rose knew without a doubt any of those women would have loved to be married to him.

  “I’d like to think so. But I asked you, and I want you. Not someone else.” Here he’d ridden to Denver to pick out a wedding ring for her, and she was basically calling him a scoundrel.

  “But last night, you seemed to want me, and then you just stopped. And I thought when you suddenly said you had to go to Denver, you were planning on seeing another woman.”

  What in the world was she talking about? First, she wanted to know if he was courting another woman, and now they were discussing last night. “Rose, what are you talking about?”

  Rose’s face turned red, and she was thankful it was getting dark so he couldn’t see how embarrassed she was. “I thought you wanted to be with me last night.”

  “In your room? Is that what you are talking about? I did want to be with you. But what has that got to do with me courting another woman?” She was confusing him.

  Rose looked down. How could she possibly ask this question? She’d started this conversation, so she was determined to see it through. “If you wanted . . . me, why did you stop last night? Do you have a woman in Denver that you went to see to . . .” Under no circumstances could she finish that question, no matter how much she wanted to know.

  Jumping from his chair, Morgan started pacing in front of her. Surely, she wasn’t asking what he thought she was asking. “Let me get this straight. Because I stopped kissing you and . . . because I stopped, you think I am so weak at controlling my urges that I found it necessary to go to Denver to see some woman to seek companionship?” He was proud of himself for asking such a question in a gentlemanly way.

  Rose was sure her entire body was beet red. Now that he’d summarized what she was thinking, she was beyond embarrassed. “It’s just that I didn’t know why you stopped.”