Chapter Twelve
After lunch, Shiloh and Adam walked to the post office where several large boxes were waiting with the rest of the mail. "We'll have to bring the buckboard back to pick up these boxes," said Adam as he mailed off work that was ready for Robert Slater to check while Shiloh sorted through the mail they had received.
She turned back toward Cass's store with the mail while Adam stood watching her go. He crooked his jaw, knowing she was still miffed at him, then hurried to catch up, taking her hand as he reached her side. "You know I'm just watching out for you."
The way she let her head drop back slightly and continued to look ahead made him think she was going to refuse to talk, but when they got to the buckboard, she took his hands in hers when he reached for her waist to help her onto the seat. He knew the look on her face meant she was thinking carefully about her next words, so he waited quietly. "I would like to discuss this at home, but you're making me feel…helpless. I know the risks I'm taking, Adam. I understand your need to take care of me, but I think you're being…" She winced. "Too protective." She watched his nostrils flare and waited for his shoulders and chest to rise from the deep breath he always took when he felt he was being challenged. Glancing up at him, she bit her lip.
He looked over her head. "Do you want to wait on the buckboard or on the chair in front of the store?"
Turning toward the wagon, she answered, "Buckboard. We have to go back to the post office for those boxes before you load, don't we?"
"We do," he said, lifting her by her waist as she pulled herself up into the seat.
The short trip to the post office was chilly even though the sun was shining on what was turning out to be a pleasantly warm day. When Adam stopped the buckboard, Shiloh grabbed his hand as he turned to leave, gently rubbing her thumb over the back and down his fingers. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just trying to tell you…"
Dropping his head, he pursed his lips, and then looked back at her. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "We'll talk at home. I'll be right back."
The boxes had been left just inside the door of the post office, so Adam felt Shiloh was safe on the seat of the buckboard. He didn't notice three horsemen slowly riding toward them, and he jumped down from the buckboard and pushed open the post office door. The three men stopped next to the wagon, and the man closest to Shiloh tipped his hat. "Mrs. Cartwright."
Looking at each of the three faces, she asked just as Adam came out of the post office carrying a box, "Do I know you?" Adam put the box on the back of the buckboard, and while his gun was hidden from the riders, he removed the leather strap from the hammer.
"No ma'am. We haven't met. Have a nice day." The men rode on, stopping in front of the Bucket of Blood.
Adam watched them until they disappeared through the batwing doors, and then reached up to Shiloh, taking her arm. "Wait inside the post office. I'll be right back."
"What are you going to do?" she asked, looking from the saloon back to Adam.
Leaning down and kissing her, he ushered her through the door. "I'm just going to have a friendly conversation." He closed the door behind her, and walked down to the Bucket of Blood, pausing at the batwing doors to look over the interior of the saloon. Two of the men were seated at a table while the third man stood at the bar, talking to one of the girls. He pushed through the swinging doors, and walked over to the table. "Gentlemen. I'm Adam…"
"We know who you are, Cartwright."
"And just how do you know my wife?"
Snorting, the man said, "Everyone knows your wife, Cartwright. She's famous in these parts."
"I haven't seen you around town. Are you staying or passing through?"
The second of the two men moved his hand to his gun and started to stand, but the man who was doing the talking put a hand on his arm and shook his head after watching Sam, the bartender pull a shotgun from under the bar.
"Don't know yet. We're trying our hand at a little mining not too far out of town. We're just here to wet our throats," he said, slowly standing with his thumbs stuck into his gun belt. "You can't blame a man for noticing a pretty girl, can you?"
"Good luck with the mining," said Adam coldly. "And while you're here, stay away from my wife." Tipping his hat to Sam, he turned and walked out of the saloon.
The man who had been at the bar sat down at the table. "You just gonna let him go?"
"For now. Ain't no reason to upset the whole town. We don't want anyone to start askin' questions."
Shiloh had been pacing just inside the door of the post office when Adam pushed it open. "Is everything alright?" she asked anxiously.
He smiled and answered as if nothing had happened. "Everything's fine. You stay right here while I finish loading these boxes." When he finished, he helped her back up onto the seat of the buckboard, then drove back to Cass's store. Looking at her with a sweetly conniving smile, he asked, "Why don't you sit on the chair down here out of the sun?"
"Actually, Adam, I prefer to sit here. There's a breeze, and I'm afraid I'll be chilly in the shade."
"But, Sweetheart, you don't have your bonnet," he said, wearing the same smile, but adding raised eyebrows.
She laughed. "You can see me just fine through the window, and I promise if anyone tries to kidnap me, I'll scream at the top of my lungs before I poke him in the eye."
He scowled and waved his head back and forth, then spun and went into the store. Will Cass had everything stacked neatly in front of the window. He had already moved the bags of grain, corn, potatoes and onions out in front of the store. While Adam loaded, Shiloh read her mail. She had a letter from Annie and one from Edwin, and she read those first. The third letter only had her name and the ranch on the outside of the envelope, but she recognized the handwriting. She left it sealed and put it at the bottom of the pile. Turning on the seat, she watched as Adam hefted a box and placed it on the back of the wagon.
"Are you sure I can't help you?"
He had turned back toward the store, and stopped, slowly pivoting on his heel. "I'm sure," he said, smiling.
"Adam, who were those men that you followed to the saloon?"
"They're new in town. They said they were miners," he answered as he hefted a bag onto his shoulder.
"Miners? Do the miners around here usually wear guns?"
With his back to her, he tightened his lips into a line and furrowed his brow, wishing she had forgotten about those men. He bent to lift another bag. "Some of them do." He knew they weren't miners. They were more likely hired guns, but he wasn't going to tell her that. In fact, he was going to do his best to change the subject. "Was that a letter from Edwin I saw?"
"Yes. I got a letter from Annie, too."
"How's Annie?" he said, adjusting the load for another box.
"She said she's enjoying her classes. She's doing some things she wasn't allowed to do with the doctor she worked for, but she was able to watch, and that's making it all much easier. There are only eight women in her class, so they all get opportunities to do the work."
"Edwin?"
"He didn't say so, but he misses Mollie terribly. He's trying to occupy his and Edwina's time, and he talked about things they used to do with Mollie. He has an apartment near the theatre, and he's hired a woman to help take care of Edwina."
Laying the last bag on the wagon, he said, "I'll pay for this, and then we can head home."
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Will Stewart noticed Shiloh sitting on the seat of the buckboard at the post office. He watched Adam load the packages, and then drive to one of the town's stores. He walked to the livery, looking like every other working man on the streets of Virginia City. Saddling his horse, he rode out of town unnoticed and waited a little ways down the road for the Cartwrights to ride by.
While he was waiting, hidden behind some brush growing up out of boulders, another man rode by and pulled his horse up, then guided it up a steep embankment another forty feet down the road. Standing on a high boulder, he held a rifle and watched in the direction he had come. When Will heard the wagon, he saw the other man duck down into the rocks. The rifle barrel was still visible and was following the buckboard.
