Chapter 16

16

At last, a train whistle blasted, and half the group jumped up from their chairs, the others looking around nervously. Dakota went cool, maybe cold. He was icy calm, as if a gunman were coming after him. But it wasn't that. His trouble with the Darnells would probably wait for him to get home. None of them knew he was in Cheyenne.

Right now it was time to get on with this trial.

The clock on the dining room wall had ticked away the morning until now it was afternoon. Folks had come in for the noon meal, and the hotel was full of activity. But no one paid much mind to Jake's family.

Dakota said, "You okay here, Jake? I think I'll walk over to the train station, meet the passengers, find the judge and bring him here."

"We don't know who the judge is. He'll walk right past you."

Dakota shrugged. "I need to move around. Sitting tight ens me up. I need to stay loose to be ready for trouble. If I miss the judge, I'll head right back here."

He stepped out into a warm September afternoon. He was tempted to go visit Rutledge in jail to make sure he was still behind bars. Another whistle blast, on top of the screeching of iron wheels, drew his attention back to the train. He turned away from Rutledge and headed toward the station.

He reached it just as the locomotive drew to a full stop. Steam shot out of its sides. A conductor jumped out of a passenger car and pulled down a wooden step.

Dakota considered himself a good judge of character. He studied each disembarking passenger. The first one who descended caught his attention. The man had the look of the Darnell family. It was an old man with a beaked nose and a hairline that peaked on his forehead just like most of his kin. He was stringy thin, and his eyes were a shade of black Dakota rarely saw.

With no idea if the man was one of his enemies, Dakota tugged the brim of his Stetson low over his eyes to shade his face and moved closer to the station to lean against a post, keeping his distance from the stranger. He was careful not to stare, for a man could sense when he was under observation by someone else.

Instead, he watched passengers alighting from the train, and there were only a few. He also watched out of the corner of his eye the tall, lean stranger, stomping down the station steps and heading for a train car. At the man's approach, the car's door rolled open and a ramp was shoved up beside it.

More travelers exited the train. A few couples. Would a judge bring his wife along? Dakota didn't think so. Men alone stepped down, most of them dressed in western attire, not the clothes he would have expected a judge to wear.

The last people off the train were led by a blond woman wearing a beautiful blue dress. A man came close behind her, the woman's husband most likely. He was carrying a little boy in one arm. A half-grown girl, as blond as her ma, brought up the rear. When as a unit they'd left the station platform, and no one else alighted, Dakota gave up his looking for the judge.

He reckoned he'd expected a man to step off the train wearing a judge's robe and carrying a gavel. He stayed where he was, however, until the man who might be a Darnell claimed a horse that had been led down the stockcar ramp. Dakota watched as the stranger mounted up and rode off.

With that, he headed back toward the hotel. A few moments later, as he approached the building, he saw the stranger who might be a Darnell tie up his horse and then stride into the hotel lobby. Waiting for the man to register his name in the hotel ledger, Dakota saw him climb the stairs. He gave the man plenty of time to get to his room before entering the hotel himself.

Dakota had a decision to make. He couldn't leave Jake's family here alone. He could possibly convince them to move to a different hotel, but he'd need to explain himself or at least come up with a reasonable excuse.

Surely the trial wouldn't take long. It should be over and done with in a single day, and then they could all catch the next train and head back home. Except a train had come from both directions just today, so it'd be a while before another one came along.

He looked around and found the lobby empty. He went to the hotel registry and read the last name in the book.

Ezra Darnell .

He'd written that letter to the man Dakota had killed. This man had declared war on Dakota and summoned every male in his family to go fight and kill. Dakota was afraid this wouldn't end until he was dead—or every Darnell in their clan was dead. He'd become the target in a feud.

Dakota had killed Vic Darnell, the young and wild grandson of Ezra Darnell. He'd had no choice in the matter. Later, he'd stood before the sheriff and a judge and was found not guilty of any crime. The Darnells were not in agreement with that judgment.

After taking a look at Ezra's scrawling handwriting, Dakota checked the hotel ledger and saw the page showed only Oscar Collins's name written there, with all the rooms rented. Oscar had done it to keep Ginny's name off the registry. He had kept Dakota's name off, too.

He realized they were using only four of the six rooms. Jake and Beth in one, along with the children. Maeve and Ginny in another, and more times than not they ended up with one of the children in the room with them. Oscar had his own room, and Dakota had his. Yet Oscar had rented out the whole second floor. Paid full price for two rooms they didn't use just to keep strangers at bay. Kat and Sebastian rode back to their own home every evening.

Ezra was on the third floor; there were several guests on that highest floor. Since most guests ate their meals in the hotel's dining room, so long as Ezra was staying here, Dakota would need to make himself scarce at mealtime. Or he could urge the family to eat early and retire to their rooms. It might be a good idea anyway.

Dakota strode into the dining room, wondering how long it would take for Ezra to figure out who and where he was. Other than Kat and Sebastian, the whole family was there, sitting together and talking quietly, as if this were the front room in one of their homes. Most of the other tables were filled with guests. He decided he'd discuss his troubles with Jake, but not in front of everyone.

"The judge wasn't on the train," Dakota began. "Leastways not that I could tell."

"But he was supposed to arrive today!" Beth had nearly wailed her reply.

Dakota couldn't blame her. Ginny's hands tightened on her pretty coffee cup until her knuckles turned white.

"Most everyone I saw climb down off that train was dressed in western garb, or they were couples traveling together. There was one family with little ones. Not a one of 'em looked like a judge to me." Dakota went to Maeve and eased the sleeping baby out of her arms. He'd had all younger brothers and found himself particularly eager to cradle a little girl.

It hurt him to think he should leave town, and soon. And he probably shouldn't go home. Would he have to let go of his nice stretch of land he hoped to buy? All those years of backbreaking work. It looked like he'd need to find his own hidden canyon, start over, build himself a new ranch.

Maybe so, but he couldn't leave Jake's family—not today of all days. Ginny was in the very danger he'd been asked to come along and help protect her from.

But then Ezra Darnell might come at Dakota, blasting away and putting Ginny and this precious baby and Jake's whole family plus sweet, feisty Maeve in more danger than they were currently in with Thaddeus Rutledge.

Had Ezra somehow tracked him here? Or was it just chance that Dakota's enemy had arrived in Cheyenne?

With no idea of what to do, he paced while cradling Lydia in his arms, making sure to stay well away from the dining room door and the front window. The family had taken to gathering here, and the hotel owner hadn't objected. In fact, he'd been quite generous, refilling their coffee cups and such.

Dakota wondered what all Rutledge might get up to in trying to take Ginny back to Chicago. They should have run for Hidden Canyon the second they saw the man.

Ginny, trembling, lifted her chin and looked through the wall as if she could see all the way to freedom. "I'll wait however long I need to," she said. "We need to put an end to Thaddeus's threats."

A youngster came into the dining room door and ran up to Oscar and thrust a note in his hand. Jake tossed the kid a coin, and the boy rushed out.

Oscar unfolded the piece of paper. "The judge says to plan on coming to the courthouse in one hour."

Dakota frowned. "He's here?"

"Sure looks that way. It's signed by a Judge Nolte."

Perceiving that he'd been distracted by Ezra, Dakota said, "My mistake. I didn't see anyone who looked like a judge, but now I realize a judge may not be recognizable. Let's head on over to the courthouse right now—before Rutledge has time to arrange for more trouble."

Since no one seemed to object to that, they let Dakota decide. He wanted to get out of this hotel before Ezra came down from his room. Dakota had no idea if the old man knew what he looked like. Maybe he could sit right beside the man, even talk to him, and Ezra wouldn't know who he was. Still, two of Ezra's kin had found Dakota, so it seemed likely the family had fine tracking skills. It suited Dakota to leave the hotel, not wait around anymore.

The family stood and trooped out of the building on their way to the courthouse, which wasn't far off. Once the group had entered the courthouse, Dakota turned and was surprised, shocked honestly, when he saw the judge.

It was the blond woman in the blue dress who'd stepped off the train with her husband and two children. The husband and children were here with her. She now wore a black robe over the blue dress, and in her right hand was a gavel.

"A w-woman judge?" Dakota's jaw dropped open. A movement beside him drew his attention to Maeve.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the woman. "I didn't know women could be judges."

Dakota looked closer at her. Wide-eyed, yes, but wide-eyed with wonder, as if she was right now concocting a plan to give up homesteading and go rule on crimes throughout Wyoming.

Oscar came up beside Dakota, his arms crossed, but a bright look of hope in his eyes. "I heard they granted women the right to vote in Wyoming. It's one of the reasons we chose this territory for Ginny's trial. Kat encour aged us to come here. A woman judge. I can't help but like it, especially if Rutledge behaves toward her like he does toward all women." Oscar snorted. "Toward all people ."

Dakota knew exactly what Oscar meant. "I wonder if Horecroft will decide the judge needs to be locked up, too. He might call her insane just because he doesn't like seeing a woman in that position. That may influence her."

"Yep, we might find in this judge someone firmly inclined toward our side of things."

The lady judge turned to smile at them. "Come on in and sit down. I understand you've been waiting for quite a while."

Young and friendly. Dakota didn't know much about judges, but he'd suspected they were of a stern and gruff temperament.

Not Judge Nolte.