The Secret Ingredient by Raine Cantrell

Author:Raine Cantrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Romance/Short Stories
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2014-06-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Near noon, Cade set the pole brake of Hallie’s buckboard in front of the sheriffs office. He ignored the immediate crowd that formed, pointing and whispering about his prisoners. He vaguely remembered what Sheriff Mallory looked like from the two times he had questioned him after the robbery. But Cade’s pleasure in turning over Jeb and Emmet to the law was dimmed by thoughts of Hallie’s withdrawn manner as she served him coffee and breakfast, then helped him ready the buckboard.

Hallie had argued about her keeping the robber’s horses. She had insisted that Cade turn them over as well. Patience the mule had proved docile once in the traces. Cade thought the beast had had all the excitement it could stand the night before.

As Cade stepped into the office the sheriff broke off his conversation with his deputy. “Help you? Wait a minute. You the cowpoke that Doc found? Where the hell you been?”

“Doc got Miss Halimeda Pruitt to take me in.” Cade’s hands curled into fists when he spotted the deputy’s smirk.

“Old Pruitt’s granddaughter, huh? Now, there was a woman.” Mallory had a far away look in his eyes. “She’s an independent woman like her mama, too. Guess the apple don’t fall far from the tree. Miss Pruitt practice free love like her mama?”

It was asked in a straightforward manner, unlike the snigger from the deputy. A cold, hard stare from Cade shut the younger man up. “Sheriff, you’re mistaken. Miss Pruitt is a lady.”

“Ain’t arguing that. But her mama, now …” Mallory then proceeded to educate Cade about the Pruitt women’s history.

Given no choice but to listen due to circumstance and his own need to know. Cade seethed everytime he looked up to see the deputy smirking.

“So,” Cade said as the sheriff finished, “her mama had a string of lovers dancing to her tune—”

“Yep. That’s what I said. Mind you, just until she got in the family way. From what my papa told me, it was the same with her mama before her.”

“And how many men danced to Miss Hallie’s tune?” Cade hating asking, but he had to know.

“Nary a one, far as I know.”

“Damn right. And I’ll give fair warning. If I hear one slur against Miss Halimeda Pruitt’s good name, the man’ll answer to me. Now, we have business. The men that robbed and left me for dead are tied up in the buckboard.”

“Caught ’em, huh?”

“Last night. They attempted to kill me and Miss Pruitt.”

“That so? You ain’t the only one that fell for that fancy bit of goods and got taken. But you’re the only one that lived, McAllister. And you’re a rich man. Pete Kent, who owns the saloon, and Joe Lassit, who owns the hotel, places where she and her cohorts plied their filthy trade here, put up a four-thousand-dollar reward. Couldn’t prove nothing against them. But you’ll stay around for the trial?”

“I’ll be here.”

“Jeffers,” Mallory said to his deputy, “make yourself useful beyond holding up the wall and lock those men up.

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