She glanced over Sarah’s shoulder and pointed. “And speaking of Big Rock, I do believe we’re pulling into town right now.”
Sarah followed Sally’s gaze, hoping her friends already stationed there wouldn’t be foolish enough to try to meet her at the station. She’d told Sally she didn’t know anyone in town, and she didn’t want them to make a liar out of her. She realized if she was to have any chance to get close enough to Smoke Jensen to do him in, she was going to have to have the trust of his wife.
She sighed. “Well, here I go about to start a new life for myself,” Sarah said. She looked at Sally. “I hope I’ll be able to find a nice place to stay and a good job soon.”
Sally didn’t hesitate. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” she said. “I know that Ed and Peg Jackson, who own the town’s largest general store, are always looking for someone to help out so that Peg can spend more time at home with the children, and there’s a very nice boardinghouse right on Main Street that caters to young, single women.”
Sarah forced herself to smile brightly. “Oh, thank you, Sally. I don’t know what I’d have done if we hadn’t met.”
Sally added, “Of course, if money is tight, you could always stay out at our ranch for a while until you’ve worked long enough to afford your own place.”
Sarah paused, considering Sally’s offer for a moment. True, that it would give her plenty of access to Smoke Jensen, and would make it much easier when she finally decided to kill him, but she would be severely limited in being able to contact her friends in town or to keep in touch with her father about the details of what was going on. She finally decided against accepting Sally’s offer, but she wanted to leave the door open for visits out to the ranch just in case.
“Oh, that is so kind of you, Sally, but my father made sure I had plenty of money when he sent me here. I have enough to tide me over until I get a few paydays behind me, but I would appreciate the chance to see your spread and visit with you if I get too lonely.”
Sally patted her arm and stood up, getting her valise from the overhead rack. “Well, you know that you’re always welcome, Sarah, and I’ll be sure to have you out to dinner once you’re settled in.”
As they moved down the aisle when the train had ground to a halt, among much screeching of brakes and hissing of steam, Sally said, “I’ll stop by the Jacksons’ place on my way out of town and tell them that you’ll be calling for a job.”
Sarah nodded, her mind elsewhere as she searched the small crowd on the platform looking for either Carl Jacoby or Dan Macklin. If she saw them, she was going to have to give them some sign to stay away until they could meet later, when no one was around to see them.
Fortunately, there were no familiar faces in the group waiting on the platform, and Sarah let herself relax as she handed a porter her claim ticket for her luggage.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be extra careful. Sarah decided to take her time exiting from the train so she wouldn’t be next to Sally in case her friends were out there waiting for her.
She went back into the ladies’ parlor room, and pretended to be fussing with her hat and dress in front of the mirror, giving Sally plenty of time to leave the car ahead of her.
SIX
Sally too was anxiously scanning the crowd, looking for her husband as she stood on the platform, her heart beating a little faster than usual in her anticipation of seeing and holding him again.
Just as she was about to give up, thinking that perhaps he hadn’t gotten her wire stating her arrival day, she saw him on the edge of the crowd, leaning up against the wall of the station house.
Gosh, but he looks good, she thought, flushing at the sight of his wide shoulders, heavily muscled arms, and tanned, handsome face. Even though his ash-blond hair was beginning to be streaked with touches of gray at the temples, he was still the best-looking man she’d ever seen, and the most desirable to boot.
She was glad to note the way his eyes lit up and his lips curled in a wide grin when he spied her. She dropped her valise and ran into his arms, inhaling the musky man-scent of him and sighing deeply with contentment. She was where she belonged, finally, and it had been a long time since she’d felt so safe and happy. She wondered briefly if he could feel the way her heart beat wildly in her chest at the touch of his arms around her.
She leaned back and looked up at his hair. Usually unruly, with a lock or two falling down over his forehead in a most appealing manner, it was shiny and slicked back and smelled faintly of pomade.
She grinned at him. “I see you’ve changed your hair,” she said, running her hands through it and mussing it up just as she liked it.
He blushed. “Oh, I thought I’d get a trim in honor of your arrival, so I let the barber whack a little bit off the sides.” He winced. “He put that smelly stuff in it before I could stop him, and I didn’t have time to wash it out ’fore your train was due to arrive.”
She locked an arm in his and walked with him toward the baggage car to collect her luggage. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll heat us up some water when we get to the Sugarloaf and we’ll have a bath.”
He turned to her, a slight flush on his face. “We?” he asked.
She too blushed. “Of course. I have to wash the grime of my journey off, and you have to get that pomade out of your hair.” She hesitated. “If we share the bath, you won’t have to work so hard to bring extra water into the cabin,” she said, her face bright red at the brazenness of her proposal. Not that they hadn’t shared an intimate bath before. It was just that they didn’t usually discuss it out in public beforehand.
He smiled slowly. “So, I see that you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you.”
She cocked one eye up at him. “More!” was all she said, but her tone caused him to rush the porter to get her luggage and put it on the buckboard so they could get back to the Sugarloaf as soon as possible. He had some serious welcoming-home to attend to, and he wasn’t sure he could wait the few hours the trip home would take!
Sally looked around at the crowd of people near the baggage car, hoping to see Sarah. She wanted to introduce Smoke to her new friend, but Sarah was nowhere to be seen. Oh well, Sally thought, there’d be plenty of time for that later.
She made a mental note to tell Smoke to be sure and stop by the general store on their way out of town so she could tell Peg Jackson about the girl who wanted to work there. Peg would be ecstatic, since that would allow her more time at home with their children.
At that very moment, standing only a couple of dozen feet behind Smoke and Sally, Sarah put her hand in her handbag and closed her fingers around the butt of a snub-nosed Smith and Wesson .36-caliber revolver. Her eyes narrowed as she saw for the first time the man who’d killed her brother. Her heart beat fast, and she began to tremble at the sight of the monster who’d ruined her family. Perhaps it would be best to get it over with and kill him now. After all, she might never get a better chance.
She started to pull the weapon out and put a bullet in the back of his head, but a hand closed over her arm.
She whirled around, her hate-filled eyes glaring as Carl Jacoby whispered in her ear, “Not here and not now, Sarah. Don’t be a fool.”
She struggled against his grip for a moment, and then she relaxed as the killing fever left her. She slumped against him and let him pull her out of sight around the corner of the station building.
“You’re right, Carl,” she said as he leaned her back against the wooden wall. “A shot in the back with no warning would be too easy for that man. I want to look into his eyes when he knows he’s about to die and tell him just why I’m going to kill him. I want him to suffer, to think about never seeing his wife again, to know what his dastardly act in Pueblo cost him.”