A Stern Warning
Brady didn’t pause to help Hope into the seat of the wagon, but then, she’d already shown him she could handle that herself. Still, his manners were starting to wear on her, and once she was settled, she said, “You can just take me as far as your ma can see if you’d like, and then let me down.”
He jerked the reins and circled the wagon around so that it was facing the right direction without replying. “It’s not that I mind,” he said, his voice displaying only a small bit of remorse. “It’s that my ma seems to think I can spend all day catering to whatever she wants, whatever you need.”
“Oh.” Hope hadn’t considered there were other things he should be doing. “Do you need to get to work?”
“I need to get back to my place, but… it don’t matter now. The days all but done.”
“Maybe I could help. I used to live on a farm when I was younger.” Hope wanted to do something to make up for the time he’d lost. She understood farming was a full-time occupation.
He scoffed. “No offense, Miss Tucker, but I can hardly see you out in a field like a farmhand.”
She gave him a sharp look but imagined he was probably right. When she was younger, she used to help her daddy feed the animals and do some of the lighter work, but nothing too taxing, and she knew Brady was strong enough to handle most of those jobs himself, but she wondered if there was nothing at all she could do to repay him for his inconvenience. Hope chose not to argue and turned her head to look where they were going rather than continue to gape at him.
They were headed back the way they came, which made perfect sense because they’d come past the post office where she thought the telegram machine was located. There was a bustle of activity centered around the square, mostly men going in and out of establishments, though Hope did see a few women and children as well, and she wondered if any of them would be her students. The saloon doors were closed tight, a sign, she hoped, that they didn’t open until later. She’d just as soon be home safe in the Howards’ home before anyone started publicly drinking.
“Most everyone around here’s purty friendly,” Brady said as they made their way up one side of the square. There were a few wagons and carts in front of them, so he slowed down to make way. “There’s a few to stay away from. You’ll know most of ‘em when you see ‘em. Mostly the kind that are drunk before noon. Like old Oscar there.” He gestured at a man stumbling down the sidewalk on the inside of the square, near the courthouse.
“Good heavens,” Hope muttered, watching him stop to lean on a streetlamp pole. “He looks a mess.” The man was older and probably no stronger than she was, but that didn’t mean she’d want to encounter him if she could steer clear.
“That he is,” Brady agreed. “You’ll wanna stay away from any of the transients, too. The cattle and farm hands who are just passing through. Sometimes they can be a little lawless. Sheriff Roan knows how to keep ‘em in check for the most part, though.”
Hope wasn’t sure what to say, so she said nothing. She had yet to see the jail but imagined it must be a large building if so many desperate men passed through town.
“There’s a telegraph in the bank and one in the post office. This one’ll be faster.” They pulled to a stop in front of the bank, and Hope prepared herself to get down from the wagon seat, imagining Brady would just wait for her there, but before she could alight, he made a deep sound in his throat, and Hope paused, wondering what was the matter.
His eyes were fixated on a man coming out of the building. Hope followed the path of his stare to see what looked like an ordinary man wearing dark trousers, a brown vest over his white shirt, and a hat similar to the one everyone else was wearing. She couldn’t see much of his face through the brim of the hat, but when he removed it to say good afternoon to an elderly woman coming up the sidewalk, she caught a glimpse of dark blonde hair and blue eyes. If he noticed Brady’s penetrating glare, he didn’t turn to address it, and a few seconds later, he was on his way down the walkway.
“What is it?” Hope finally asked, once Brady seemed to relax a little.
The large man shook his head, running his hands down his pant legs like his palms were suddenly sweaty. “Probably nothing,” Brady finally replied. “But you know how I told you you could most often tell who to steer clear of?”
“Yes.” There was a questioning lilt to her voice Hope hadn’t intended, but it was there just the same.
“Well, not every wolf looks like one. That there’s Judah Lawless, and he’s aptly named. I’d suggest you leave that feller alone. Might be hard cause he may be helpin’ out with his sister’s kids. They live so far outta town, if’n she decides to bring ‘em to school, you may catch wind of ‘im again. Stay clear.” There was a precision in Brady’s eyes that made a shiver run down Hope’s spine, but she got the message.
The only problem was, the man looked innocent enough. He wasn’t nearly as broad shouldered or tall as Brady, though she thought he looked to be in fine shape and tall enough. He certainly wasn’t an intimidating brute. “I understand,” she said with a nod of her head, hoping to pacify him a bit, or at least give credence to what he was saying, but curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, “Would you mind telling me why?” Part of Hope was afraid to hear the answer, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she had to ask.
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