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quickly slipped it off and into a coin purse in her reticule. Glancing down the street, she smiled like a naughty schoolgirl and hurried to her buggy.
    Things were about to get real interesting! The fireworks were about to begin, and it wasn't even the Fourth of July!
    ***
    "What do you mean, you paid her fine and got her out of jail?" Travis demanded. Of all the stunts his mother had ever pulled, this had to top them all. He stalked the small kitchen, pacing in front of the open window that showed the afternoon sun slinking toward the horizon. "She's a damn crook, Mother. A cheat and a liar!"
    "I didn't know. Miss Severin didn't do anything to me, Travis, before you had her put in jail!" Eugenia replied. She took out her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. "It wasn't until I left her parlor that I realized my ring was missing out of my reticule."
    "What?" He stared at her blankly as comprehension dawned. "The ring Father gave you! You're missing your wedding ring?" he charged.
    She nodded and sobbed. "My wedding band! My most precious possession!"
    For a moment he couldn't breathe, as rage seemed to engulf him in red-hot flames. "Dear God, I'll wring her neck with my bare hands!"
    "No, Travis," she exclaimed. "It isn't worth you going to jail over. Just find my ring. Bring my ring back."
    "Why was it off your finger?" he snapped.
    "Uh, my hands have been swelling with this warmer weather, and I'd taken it off." She dabbed at her eyes. "She must have gone through my purse."
    "Mother, if you'd just left well enough alone, none of this would have happened."
    Tucker stood in the corner, his arms crossed, shaking his head, his gun slung low on his hips. Except for the badge, his appearance was the image of his past. "I'm going to fire that deputy of mine. Everyone else I'm going to give instructions to do nothing for my mother without my permission."
    "I was just trying to help her. I felt bad, since she really hadn't done anything. She's a nice lady."
    Travis stood and grabbed his hat. "I better go, if I'm going to catch the stage."
    "I'll go with you," Tucker said.
    "No, you stay here. You've got a job to do." Travis crammed his hat on his head. "What time did she leave?"
    "It was the noon stage, the one that leaves from the El Paso Hotel going to San Antonio. The man at the stage office said they would stop and spend the night at a coach house right outside of Waco."
    "Hell, Mother, why didn't you send someone to get me? They've had a good two-hour head start. It will be late before I reach them."
    "Well, I—was too upset. I didn't know how I was going to tell you and Tucker." She held the handkerchief up to her weeping eyes.
    "Don't cry," he said, feeling awkward at the sight of his mother's tears. "I'll get your ring back. It could take me a few days."
    "Don't worry about things around here, son. Take all the time you need." She stood and went to the stove. "I cooked some biscuits and bacon for you to carry with you, in case you get hungry. And son, please don't be too hard on her."
    Travis knew how a dog felt being jerked on a leash. "She stole your wedding ring, and you're worried about me being too hard on her?"
    Tucker started to snicker and quickly changed it into a cough at his brother's frown.
    "Well ... I'm sure she had a good reason," his mother said.
    "There's no good reason for stealing." He gazed at his mother in amazement and then shook his head. Sometimes he thought the disappearance of his brother and the death of his father had caused her mind to slip.
    ***
    Later that evening, Travis burst into the coach house, his eyes quickly scanning the room. "Where is she?"
    "Who?" the stage driver asked, his eyes large, his fork midway between his plate and his mouth.
    "That French séance woman. Where's she hiding?"
    "There was only one woman on the stage, and we gave her the bedroom," the stage driver said.
    Travis stormed across the room.
    "Sir, we don't want any trouble," the station house manager called.
    "Don't