“You hit the wall,” Violet informed.
Briar looked down at his child and began to laugh, her words having more meaning than she could ever imagine. “You’re exactly right, pumpkin. I hit it for sure and it’s all crumbling down around me. Thank God. Do you think you and your pals would want to go on a treasure hunt for me?”
“Yeah, Daddy, what are we looking for?”
“The only treasure I need other than you, little lady…and that’s Mina. I’ll check and see if she’s gone to the house and you and your friends go through the crowd and see if you can spot her. Get her to go to the ticket office with you, if you find her.”
“What if she won’t come with me?”
“Tell her that she can’t go without saying good-bye. It’s not fair.” He knew how Mina would react to that and once she returned, he’d never let her go again.
Briar had never gotten home so fast. Much as he feared, Mina’s valise was gone, and the wedding bowl, completely repaired, had been left on Violet’s bed. The sight of it made the worst of his fears possible. She had given up on him. Mina was saying good-bye.
There was only one place he could think she could go where she might believe no one would find her at the moment. The train itself. Everyone in town would be visiting with Chaplin, but the train would be empty. Briar gathered a deep breath and sprinted down the path he’d just traveled.
Minutes later, he passed Mayor Beasley as His Honor boarded the eastbound. “Have you seen the new telegrapher?”
Beasley shook his head. “No, just your daughter and her cohorts. It seems they’re playing hide and seek inside the cars. Hardly the welcome to give our guest.”
Violet’s presence inside meant she’d traced Mina here somewhere. All of a sudden a small, frazzled-looking man appeared from around the doorway of the Pullman that Briar headed toward. “Good heavens, are those your children?”
“Was one of them a little girl with a black eye?” Briar recognized the film star from the playbills the mayor had shown him.
“Indeed.”
“She’s mine. They in your car?”
“Yes, and I’m afraid they’re trying to, how do you say it in Texas,
“
“Lucky man.” Chaplin straightened his necktie and glanced at Briar in askance. “Do I look like a man with something profound to say?”
Briar laughed. “Don’t worry. This isn’t a lynch crowd. They’ll love whatever you tell them.”
“Good, I never know for certain what mood I’m to be met with. I rather enjoy preaching to the already devoted.”
Mayor Beasley must have caught sight of his hero, for his voice came barreling over the crossover that linked the two cars. “Welcome on behalf of the children of our fair city and please be our guest at supper during your stay.”
The door to the Pullman swung open. A disheveled Mina stood in the entrance, surrounded by a dozen little hands locked around her arms and legs. “Ye wanted me for something?” she asked in exasperation.
“That I do. Now if you children will leave Miss McCoy and me alone for a while so I can apologize and tell her everything I want from her.”
“Does that mean y’all are gonna kiss again?” Violet looked up at her father and grinned.
Briar’s eyes met Mina’s. “I hope so.”
“You gonna let him kiss ya, angel?”
“Depends on just how sorry he is.” Mina smiled in return.
“Oh he said he was a pretty sorry-son-of-a-”
“Violet, don’t repeat that!” Briar’s hand clamped over Violet’s mouth until he realized it still smarted something fierce from the blow against the wall. Little ears sure had big mouths to go with them.
“Well, you said it, Daddy.”
“Go play. Go toss pies at each other. Better yet, go keep Chaplin busy for a good thirty minutes or so. I think I need to repair the door to his Pullman for him.”
“Aye, lass.” The honey-colored eyes filled with a look that sent Briar’s blood to heating. “Tell him something’s wrong with the latch. And tell him ’tis an hour it might take. A slow hand is needed for
Her gaze traveled a slow path from the tip of his head, down to boldly admire places that would have to play hide-and-seek themselves if she didn’t turn off that come-hither smile. Briar blushed for the first time in twenty- seven years.
When the children raced past, she swung the door to the Pullman open and laughed that all-engaging snort he’d fallen in love with the first time he heard it.
“Must be the devil’s own deception. ’Tis not a bit unhinged,” she teased.
Briar pulled Mina into his arms. “No, but I am, my angel, and I need you to teach me how to fix what I didn’t even know was broken inside me. Forgive me. Marry me. Stay with me tonight and every night hereafter.”
“I will,” she whispered against his lips, “until ye show me every shade of sunrise in yer arms.”
The Love Letter by Linda Broday
Chapter 1
There were two kinds of loneliness in the world-one that taunted with each breath and one that sat quietly, jabbing holes in a body’s spirit. Amanda Lemmons knew a lot about both.
With a steely glint, she surveyed the rocky terrain of the Texas Panhandle. Leaning heavily on a staff, she trudged behind the sheep, her moccasins scraping earth that stretched endlessly toward the deepening pink and purple sunset.
Drawn by the scent of fresh meat, night predators threatened with the approaching darkness. She increased her pace and motioned to Fraser, her border collie, to push the flock.
Clumps of purple horsemint amid yellow buttercups dotted the landscape of the unused north pasture, becoming mere shadows in the twilight. One black silhouette caught her eye as she approached. Leaning, she picked up a worn, felt hat. No doubt the Stetson belonged to some high-struttin’, bowlegged cowboy who staked ownership in the world and everything in it. Didn’t take much guessing to know the saddle tramp worked on one of
