Between Hell and Texas by Ralph Cotton

Author:Ralph Cotton [Cotton, Ralph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Western
ISBN: 9781101650844
Google: imbNfgCHf5EC
Amazon: B00AFW53L4
Barnesnoble: B00AFW53L4
Goodreads: 18899128
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2004-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Inside the Silver Seven Saloon, Gains Bouchard and his cowhands stood with their drinks in hand and watched Suzzette Sherley lead Cray Dawson up the stairs and through the door to her room at the end of the hall. Sandy Edelman raised his drink toward Dawson in acknowledgment, but Dawson never gave him a glance. “Well”—Edelman grinned—“I reckon he’s got his head on right. I wouldn’t be paying no mind to nothing else either if that little gal had me by the reins, leading me to the barn.” He and the others laughed and threw back their drinks.

“Give him a few minutes,” said Gains Bouchard. “He’ll be down here picking pillow feathers out of his hair.”

Upstairs, Cray Dawson closed the door to Suzzette’s room and turned, facing her. “Oh, Cray!” she cried out, throwing herself against him in an embrace.

Dawson returned her greeting, but after a moment had to tactfully hold her back at arm’s length. “Suzzette, it’s good to see you,” he said. “I never expected I’d see you in Somos Santos.” Glancing around the room, he said, “But I see you didn’t quit the business after all.”

“No,” Suzzette sniffled, touching a dainty kerchief to her eye. “My circumstances took a bad turn right after you left Eagle Pass. I couldn’t quit…at least not right then. But now I’ve got to quit. I’m getting desperate.”

“I don’t like seeing you work for Martin Lematte,” said Dawson, letting her last few words slip past him. “I think he’s a dirty dealer.” Then he stopped and backtracked over what she had said. “Desperate? How do you mean?” he asked.

She hesitated, studying his eyes, as if wondering whether or not to tell him. But then she let out a sigh, saying, “Cray, I’m going to have a baby.”

Dawson looked stunned. “A baby?” A short tense silence set in. Then Dawson said, “But how do you know? It hasn’t been long enough to—”

“Cray, it’s not your child,” Suzzette said, interrupting him. “I was afraid I might be pregnant when you and I were together. But I wasn’t certain yet. Now I am.” Her hand touched her stomach idly.

“My goodness, Suzzette,” Dawson said quietly. “You can’t go on doing this.” He gestured around the room.

“I know,” she answered quietly. “But right now there’s nothing else I can do. I’m setting aside all the money I can get my hands on. I can’t have this baby in the street.”

Looking into her eyes, Dawson had to ask himself if this was the reason she’d wanted to stay with him. Had she only been turning to him for help? Had he stayed with her much longer would she have told him this was his child? He brushed the questions aside. It made no difference what she might have done, or why she did it. This was the only way she had known to deal with her situation. He couldn’t blame her. She had been as honest as she knew how to be. The fact was, she had seen him through a tough time.

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