Free The Outlaw Takes a Bride by Susan Page Davis Page A

appeared with the bucket of milk.
    “New duds?”
    “Mark’s,” Johnny said. “I saved the wash water, if you want to wash your things.”
    To his surprise, Cam set about to do his laundry while Johnny scrubbed and straightened up in the cabin.
    “Hey, Mark,” Cam called from the doorway.
    Johnny looked up. “Don’t call me that.”
    “I have to. And you’d better get used to it.” Cam came in with an armful of stove wood. “We don’t have much of this left.”
    “Yeah, we might have to spend a day up in the hills, cutting some trees.” Johnny frowned. “And we’ll need the wagon to haul the wood in. We’ve got to train our mounts to harness.”
    “We’ll need the wagon tomorrow,” Cam reminded him. “It’s almost dark now. I guess we’ll hitch them up in the morning and see how they do.” He dumped his burden in the wood box and walked over to the table. “Hey, what’s this?” He picked up a small folder Johnny had placed there.
    “Mark’s bankbook. I found it under the sugar crock.”
    Cam opened it and whistled. “Fifty-two dollars. That’s not too shabby.”
    “He took some out last month,” Johnny said. “I reckon it was for Sally’s travel expenses.”
    Cam squinted at the bankbook. “You’re probably right.”
    “I wish we’d come earlier,” Johnny said. If they had, his brother might still be alive. He and Cam could have helped Mark stand off the outlaws. And Mark could marry his bride and have the life he had wanted.
    Cam laid the bankbook carefully on the mantelpiece. “Well, that’s good news.”
    “It’s not enough to send her back to St. Louis,” Johnny noted.
    “No, but there will be other expenses.”
    “Don’t forget, Mark had credit at several businesses in town. He may owe more than that fifty dollars to the shopkeepers.” Johnny looked out the window to where his clothes hung limp on the corral fence. “It’s so damp today, things probably won’t dry out before dark.”
    “Do we have a flat iron?” Cam asked.
    “I haven’t found one.”
    “Huh. You don’t want to meet your bride-to-be in a wrinkled shirt.”
    Johnny gritted his teeth. He still didn’t like the idea of marrying Sally Golding, but he couldn’t see a way out, short of turning himself in to the sheriff. If he did that, a marshal would probably take him back to Colorado to stand trial, and he didn’t like his chances.
    But marrying wasn’t something he’d given a lot of thought. He’d never courted a girl, and he had supposed he would go on living as a bachelor cowboy for some time yet.
    “Maybe I can heat up something else and smooth your shirt out.” Cam opened the cupboard and scanned the contents.
    “Do you think I should shave?” Johnny ran his hand through his beard. “I must look scruffy.”
    Cam swung around and studied him. “No, I don’t think so. What if Mark sent her a picture? That beard hides a lot.”
    “I don’t think she mentioned a picture,” Johnny said. “But I guess you’re right. Any differences won’t be as noticeable if I keep the beard.”
    “Yeah, and the folks in town might be more likely to realize you’re not Mark without the whiskers.”
    “All right.” Johnny sighed. Had his fear of getting caught clouded his judgment? “I’d better trim it, though.” Mark had only a small mirror, and dusk was falling.
    “Wait until morning,” Cam said. “I’ll shave. Then at least one of us will look well groomed.”
    “Maybe you should marry her.”
    “Oh, no. I’m not the one with the brother bent on romance.”
    Johnny scowled. “I’m a little uneasy about that wagon business. There’s still enough daylight to hitch up the horses and try them out. Don’t you think we’d ought to do that? Give them a taste of the harness? And then in the morning, it will seem like routine stuff to them.”
    “I guess. Sure. We don’t have an extra horse for her to ride.” Cam headed for the door, and Johnny grabbed his hat. Their horses trotted