Julie Garwood - Come the Spring

thick dark lashes. There was definitely a regal bearing about the

woman, an aristocratic refinement that suggested a wealthy

upbringing.

She wore a pink walking dress with pearl buttons, but the lace collar

adorning her delicate neck was frayed around the edges. On the seat

next to her lay a wide-brimmed straw hat with pink ribbons, and resting

on the brim was a pair of bright white gloves.

She had put on a hat to come to jail, Cole surmised with an inward

smile. Only a woman of gentle breeding would do such a thing. Her

gaze was direct, curious, and not at all uppity, and he sensed a

gentleness in her that could withstand any circumstance.

Seated next to her was the most exquisite beauty Cole had ever seen.

She was a bold contrast in her richly textured sapphire blue dress.

Her features were flawlessţalabaster skin, full red lips, patrician

nose, and blue eyes. Her chin tilted up in a haughty gesture of

contempt. Her golden hair was pulled back in a severe bun, which would

have detracted from any other woman's appearance, but only enhanced

hers. Such perfection would take most men's breath away. She knew the

effect she was having on him too. She gave him an impatient look that

suggested he stop gaping at her and get on with it. Obviously used to

turning heads, she had developed a bored, unapproachable demeanor.

The last of the three was seductive. Her cinnamon-colored hair was

also pulled back, but several wayward tendrils had worked loose and

fell gently to the sides of her oval face. Her frown blended the spray

of freckles across her nose, and her piercing, dark almond-shaped eyes

bored through him. She wore a faded lavender dress with the sleeves

rolled to her elbows, indicating that she had been interrupted from a

chore to be brought to jail. Her stare was unsettling, and he detected

beneath the smoldering glare a burning passion that wouldn't be

squelched . . . and that was even more unnerving.

On her lap sat a curly-headed cherub, curious but unaffected by the

unexpected upheaval in his life. He seemed content to sit wrapped in

his mother's arms and was oblivious to the animosity surrounding him.

They were fit to be tied all right. The hostility radiating from the

three of them would have knocked a lesser man off his feet. If glares

could kill, Cole thought the three beauties would have been throwing

dirt on his grave now. Their pale complexions indicated they weren't

feeling well, and he figured they were also scared. He felt bad about

that. He pulled himself out of his thoughts and moved forward to

unlock the door. As soon as he took a step, the baby turned and buried

his face in his mother's bosom.

Swinging the door open, he said, "I'm real sorry about this

inconvenience, ladies. I know you would rather be home." The

golden-haired woman stood up first. The other two promptly followed.

"Who are you? " she demanded.

"Cole Clayborne, " he answered. "Marshal Clayborne."

"Are you the man in charge? " Cole shook his head. "No, ma'am.

Marshal Ryan's in charge."

"Is he aware that the sheriff in this town is a complete imbecile? "

The question made Cole smile. "He's beginning to get that idea,

ma'am." His honesty deflected some of their hostility. "Then neither

you nor Marshal Ryan gave the order that we be locked up like common

criminals? " "No, neither one of us gave that order."

"Sheriff Sloan is power hungry and ignorant. It's a dangerous

combination, " she muttered. She glanced at the other two women, and

then nodded. "Very well. We shall save our wrath for the sheriff.

Allow me to introduce myself, Marshal Clayborne. My name's Rebecca

James, and I was rudely ordered out of my sickbed by the sheriff. He

made quite a scene in the lobby, and I was horribly embarrassed and

feeling quite ill at the time. The dear lady on my left is Grace

Winthrop. She came here all the way from England because she heard all

about our wonderful country.

And how does this town show their hospitality? They lock her in

jail.

" She was getting all worked up again. "Miss James, if you would

calmţ" She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "And last but

certainly not least, I would like to introduce you to Jessica Summers

and her son, Caleb. She was just about to feed her baby supper when

she was ripped out of her home and dragged here."

"I'm sure she was neither ripped nor dragged, " he argued, though a

part of him wouldn't have put it past Sloan to do such a stupid

thing.

"As I said before, I'm real sorry about the inconvenience."

"Inconvenience? It's an atrocity, " Rebecca cried out.

Both Grace Winthrop and Jessica Summers nodded their agreement.

It was apparent to Cole that while they had been locked up together,

Rebecca had taken on the role of speaker for all of them Grace and

Jessica both seemed content to let her do their talking. It was also

evident that the three of them were united in their outrage.

"Are you certain Marshal Ryan didn't give the order to lock us up? "

she asked once again.

"No, I didn't give that order." Ryan answered the question from the

doorway. Cole noticed he was staring at the three women with a look of

surprise on his face. He was obviously reacting to the sight the very

same way Cole had.

"Ladies, if you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would stay

inside the cell for a few more minutes." Rebecca took a step forward

and answered for all of them. "We most certainly do mind. Come along,

ladies. We're leaving this vile place." Cole had only just noticed

the rifle in Ryan's hands when Rebecca tried to get past him. His arm

shot out to block her.

"I think you'd better wait here a little longer, " Cole said.

"I cannot believe such rudeness, " she declared before she backed

away.

Jessica tried to get past him then. He shifted so that he blocked her

with his body.

They stood toe-to-toe. She didn't back away, and so he gave her a look

that suggested she shouldn't tangle with him.

She gave him the identical look. Hell, she was better at it than he

was. She didn't even blink. She could stare a rattlesnake down, he

thought to himself, and, Lord, she smelled good. Like fresh air and

flowers. He quit scowling at her. It wasn't working anyway, and it

was his own fault because he wasn't concentrating. He couldn't seem to

get past the fact that she had such pretty eyes.

"Cole, we've got a little situation developing out front. I could use

your help, " Ryan said.

The baby was peeking up at him. Cole winked at him, then swung the

door closed in his mother's face. He locked the door and went back to

the front office, her outrage ringing in his ears.

.

he little situation turned out to be a mob. Ryan had left the front

door open and stood on the boardwalk with the rifle at his side. He

was in the process of trying to convince forty to fifty angry men to go

back home.

"I'm ordering you to disperse, " Ryan shouted. "Go home and let us do

our jobs." A man near the middle of the group shouted, "Give us the

women. We'll get them to talk." Curious, Cole shouted, "How are you

going to do that? " "We'll hang them, that's how, " he answered in a

bellow.

"That makes a lot of sense, " he muttered to Ryan.

Ryan glanced over at him. "You can't reason with angry people. "

"They aren't angry. They're just a little riled up. That's all. You

want angry, go back inside and let those women out. They're going to

flay you alive." Ryan hid his smile. "All right. You take care of

this crowd, and I'll take care of the women."

"Deal, " Cole agreed.

He stepped forward to address the men. "No one's going to hang

anyone.

You've all been listening to idle gossip. We don't have a witness. "

, We read it in the paper that you do, " a man in front shouted.

"The paper's wrong."

"Then why did the sheriff lock those women up?

" someone yelled.

"You'll have to ask him, " Cole replied. "Now go back home."

"Why don't you and the other marshal go home and let our sheriff take

care of the women? He'll get them to talk." Before Cole could answer,

a man in front stepped forward and turned around to face his friends

and neighbors. He put his hands in the air to hush them. "I know for

a fact that the lady with the funny accent was in the bank before it

got robbed. I stood in line with her, and I heard her talking to the

teller."

"Then it's got to be one of them other two, " yet another man called

out. "Did anyone see either one of them in the bank? " "I did, " a

man in the back shouted. "I seen the yellow-haired woman when I was

getting change for my bills from Malcolm. I remember her real good

cause she was about the prettiest thing I ever laid my eyes on." A

snicker rolled through the crowd. "What about the woman with the

baby?

" "I seen her, " a man called out. "The boy made MacCorkle angry

because he was swinging on his gate, and his mama had to get out of

line to fetch him. She blistered old man MacCorkle good for raising

his voice to her young'n."