by E. E. Burke
His closeness made it hard to focus on his question.
“I-I suppose they’re here to make repairs. During the last few weeks of the construction race, Henry ordered the crews to throw down ties and rails straight on the prairie, without proper grading. His decision helped us win the race, yet will cost us dearly in the long run.”
“You don’t agree with the chief?” Jake responded.
“We see things differently.”
“And this is why you haven’t married him?”
Did his inquiry mean he cared who she married? It certainly gave her an opportunity to tell him how she felt and offer him the chance to respond. “I can love a man I don’t agree with. I cannot marry a man I don’t love.”
She waited, hopeful. He didn’t follow up with the obvious question. Then they were in the midst of railroad workers congregated near a round oak table where a spray of sunflowers erupted out of a large urn.
Kate swallowed the lump in her throat and hid her disappointment. Jake had decided to let go. It was time she did the same.
She approached the registration desk with her stomach knotted. Everything depended on how well she played her part. For Jake’s sake, her acting had to be perfect.
Light from an overhead lamp reflected off a bent head piled with ebony curls, artfully arranged. Eden Bradford looked up. Surprise, then relief flashed across her face. “Kate!”
“Good evening.” Kate greeted her friend casually, as if she’d been gone for a day instead of a week. They could catch up later, when a crowd wasn’t present. “I’m here for my key.”
Eden hurried around the desk with a perplexed frown. “Where’ve you been? We were worried. The Major has been looking for you.”
Kate’s heart tripped. The Major? Had her father already rounded up the army? He must’ve seen her disappearance as the perfect opportunity. Hopefully, she’d arrived in time to put a stop to any military action.
She lowered her voice and launched into her lines. “I’ve been down near the Cherokee capital engaged in sensitive negotiations, and I’ve brought back a delegate who’ll meet with my father, hopefully tomorrow.”
Eden shifted her gaze over Kate’s shoulder with a question in her eyes.
Kate turned to the silent man behind her. From beneath the shadowed brim of his hat, Jake warily surveyed the room. He might be worried about being thrown out. They wouldn’t dare, not as long as he was with her. In this place, she could use her position and influence to protect him. “Mr. Colston, this is my friend Mrs. Eden Bradford. She owns the hotel with her husband, Major Sinclair Bradford.”
Jake pulled off his hat and dipped his chin. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
“I hoped you might have an extra room,” Kate asked her friend. “Mr. Colston needs a place to stay tonight and a good meal.”
Eden didn’t bat an eye. “I’m sure we can come up with something.”
She went behind the desk. In a moment, she returned with a key hanging from a metal disc. “Room two-twenty. Just up those stairs, on the right.”
“Much obliged.” Jake’s loose-limbed stance made him appear relaxed. His tight grip on his hat told Kate another story. Eden’s hospitality hadn’t stopped the stares they received.
She brushed his arm in a light touch. “If you’d like to go up to your room, Eden can send dinner later.”
“Good idea. See you later,” he murmured, before he made a turnabout and headed for the stairs.
Could he possibly mean he wanted to see her later? He might be nervous about their upcoming meeting with her father. Once they’d gotten settled and she had the opportunity to freshen up, she would give him more insight into her irascible sire. Together, they could come up with a good strategy for how best to present the leasing proposal. Jake possessed a keen mind. He’d have ideas she hadn’t considered.
She would have to be careful. Eden’s husband, who led the troops stationed in the area, had become involved. Too much gossip too would sabotage her plans.
Kate found the hotel owner’s steady appraisal a bit unnerving. “Negotiations are at a delicate stage. I’d prefer to keep Mr. Colston’s visit quiet.”
“I have to let the major know you’re back,” Eden replied. “He’ll want to talk to you.”
An unanticipated complication, not a disaster.
“Of course. I didn’t mean to cause a stir.”
“And you might run into Mr. Stevens. He’s in town.”
The news sent Kate’s heart pounding harder. Henry? Here? He was supposed to be a hundred miles south at the worksite. His involvement would complicate things. She couldn’t be certain of his support without laying the groundwork first. If he opposed her idea, her father would never agree. It would be best if she avoided her unwanted suitor until after she and Jake had a chance to win over her father.
“Perhaps we could wait to tell Henry I’ve returned.”
Her request was met with a slight nod. Eden flicked a glance over Kate’s shoulder in the direction Jake had gone. “He’s very handsome, your escort.”
“My escort?” Kate’s cheeks grew warm. It would be a bad idea to let on that she and Jake were involved in an affaire de coeur. They weren’t. Yet. “Oh, you mean Mr. Colston. Yes, I-I suppose he is handsome. I hadn’t noticed...”
Eden arched her brows in a way that said she wasn’t fooled a bit.
“May I depend on your discretion?”
“You can depend on my friendship.” Eden leaned in and lowered her voice. “I’ve put Mr. Colston in the room across from yours. Shall I bring your dinner up as well?”
Kate glanced over her shoulder in the direction Jake had gone. They would need privacy to talk about their plans, which meant she would have to go to his room or invite him into hers. If they were careful, they would be able to dine together one last time.
She turned back with a smile. “That would be lovely.”
Chapter 16
While Kate finished her conversation downstairs, Jake strode through the upstairs hallway and exited out a door leading to a set of stairs on the building’s exterior. He didn’t have time to explain. He had to act quickly to prevent a catastrophe.
He hadn’t thought to encounter tracklayers this far north where the railroad had already been built. They might recognize him from before, when he’d posed as one of them to spy on the railroad. The friendly woman Kate had introduced as Mrs. Bradford had at one time run a saloon across the street. He’d gone into to her place a few times. She hadn’t acted like she knew him.
Eden wasn’t the only familiar face in town.
The beggar with the blanket met Jake at the corner of the hotel.
Jasper Byrne wore his hat brim low over his face whether it was sunny or not. He also wore a bandana around his neck, whether he needed it or not. His presence meant only one thing.
“Where is Tsa-li?” Jake asked.
“Where you’d expect,” Jasper replied in that disturbing rasp that made him sound more wicked than he actually was. He motioned with his head to a new saloon across the street, which had been built on the ruins of the older one.
Sure enough, Charley’s horse was tethered outside the watering hole.
Jake’s chest grew tight. He would’ve preferred to deal with his cousin later. It now appeared he wouldn’t have that luxury. Things were about to get ugly.
Why had Charley insisted on dragging Jasper into this? Probably for the same reason he’d brought the embittered young man into their earlier scheme. Jasper could be trusted. He hated the railroad. He liked to steal from the rich. He would not like to swing from the end of a rope, which was where he’d end up if he continued to follow Charley’s lead.
“Get as far away from here as you can,” Jake told him. “If someone recognizes me, or Charley makes trouble and you’re seen with us, you’ll end up in jail.”
“What about the job?” Jasper meant the aborted payroll robbery.
“There is no job. Not anymore. I came here to negotiate a
settlement with the railroad owner.” He didn’t add that he wasn’t optimistic about his chances for success. Whether Kate would succeed remained to be seen.
Jasper snort-laughed. “You got to be kidding.”
“No. I have his daughter’s support.” As soon as he said it, it struck him how much he trusted Kate, which also scared the hell out of him. She’d won him over even after she had made a fool of him—twice. He’d lost more than his common sense.
“Only way we’ll get anything out of the railroad is if we take it,” Jasper growled.
“You sound like Tsa-li.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Once, it would’ve been. The old Tsa-li wasn’t irrational. He wasn’t filled with hate and prone to violence. That man over there...” Jake indicated in the direction of the saloon. “He isn’t the same one who helped raise me. He’s lost his soul. You still have a chance to redeem yours.”
Jasper tipped his hat back. His dark, intelligent gaze moved in silent perusal over Jake, as if he wasn’t certain that he recognized him. “What’s got into you?” he asked.
It would take too long to explain, and he wouldn’t believe it anyway.
“Listen to me, you idiot. Get the hell out of town. Now. I don’t want to see you again. Hear from you again. Smell you again. Got it?”
Jasper’s eyes widened with shock before narrowing in anger. “You’re crazy.”
At the corner, a man in an army uniform gave Jake an idea for how to get rid of the unwanted liability. Jake gestured toward the soldier. “I’ll tell him you planned the whole damn thing.”
Alarm flashed across Jasper’s face. He wheeled around and set off in the opposite direction.
Good. He’d make himself scarce for a while. If he was smart, he’d leave town altogether and never look back.
The sun sank beneath the horizon with a final exhale of its final fiery breath over the prairie. Long shadows cast by men who remained in the street and on the sidewalk stretched into misshapen figures.
Jake crossed over to the saloon and pushed open the door. Light from low-hanging oil lamps barely penetrated clouds of cigar smoke gathered beneath the open-beam ceiling. Railroad workers sat around tables engrossed in card games. Some flirted with the waitresses. High-pitched laughter mingled with an off-key melody, energetically plunked out by a man in a scarlet vest seated at the piano. Several men at the bar looked over when Jake entered.
Tension buzzed through him. Most saloons didn’t serve Indians. Some, like this one, would cater to breeds dressed like white men. He could brave it out long enough to get to his cousin and talk him into leaving.
In a far corner, away from the card games and giggling girls, Charley sat at an otherwise empty table with an untouched drink in front of him. He cleaned his nails with the tip of his hunting knife.
Jake stopped at the bar to pick up a drink before he meandered over, as if searching for a vacant chair. It would be less suspicious if it didn’t appear that he and Charley knew each other. “Care if I sit?”
His cousin pointed with his knife at a chair.
Jake positioned himself where he could keep an eye on whoever came in the door, set his drink down and took off his hat. “Why are you here?” he asked, loud enough for Charley to hear, not loud enough to be heard above the piano and noisy chatter.
“Waiting for you.” Charley’s flat tone sent a chill down Jake’s spine.
Impossible. He couldn’t have missed the signs that he was being tracked. He’d learned too well. “Did you follow us all this way?”
Charley gave a soft snort, making his disgust clear. “Like I said, I went back to the site and made sure our tracks led nowhere. Jasper told me the workers were searching for the woman. He heard them say she’s the big chief’s daughter. I figured you would bring her back to where she has her bedroll.”
Jake refused the bait. Charley had at first ridiculed him for not knowing what to do with a woman, and now implied he had jumped into Kate’s bed. He wouldn’t disrespect her by acknowledging any type of relationship. He braced his arms on the table. “What do you want?”
“The money you said we would get when we snatched her.”
“We cannot take that risk. It’s over. Let it go.”
Charley gripped the bone-handled knife in his fist. His voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “This is not over. It will not be over until those whites tear up that track and leave.”
“They aren’t going anywhere. We have to outsmart them, not fight them.”
“Outsmart them? Is that what you call running away?”
Jake let the insult roll off. He’d known that Charley would view his actions as cowardice. For once, he didn’t care. He had done the right thing by protecting Redbird. He would not let Charley goad him into doing something foolish, like starting a fight. “I took her away to keep you from making a big mistake.”
“You are the one making the mistake.”
The piano player struck an off-tune chord, as if on cue. The sound offended Jake’s ear as much, if not more, than the accusation. Before meeting Kate, his life had been defined by mistakes. Some made by others. Most he had to own. Returning Redbird wasn’t one of them.
“Leave her be. She promised not to tell anyone we took her.”
Charley’s black eyes glittered with scorn. “Since when did you start believing liars?”
“She is not a liar.”
“All whites are liars.”
“And according to them, we are all savages. As long as we go on hating each other, we do not have to face who we are or what we have become.”
“Always the philosopher.” Charley swigged his whiskey in one gulp and set the shot glass down with a thunk. “You disappoint me, Wa-ya. I hoped you might live up to your name. But you are not a wolf. You’re a lamb.”
The sharp pain in his chest made Jake wonder if Charley hadn’t plunged the blade deep.
No, he still held the knife in a hard-knuckled grip.
His cousin would never let him forget the cowardly act that had cost them both everything. As if he could forget. He slept as little as possible to escape the nightmares, which always ended with him waking up, trembling and drenched in sweat. “Being brave doesn’t mean being stupid.”
Charley twisted in his chair, raising the knife. “Are you calling me stupid?”
“You plan to gut me with that thing?” Jake kept his tone calm and his gaze riveted on the gleaming blade.
His cousin’s frown became troubled. The knife disappeared into a sheath in his boot.
Jake exhaled pent-up tension. If his cousin’s conscience bothered him, there was still hope. He had to reach the old Charley. The one who had taught him how to track and hunt and catch fish with his bare hands. The big brother who was trapped inside this cold-hearted outlaw.
He placed his palms on the table and dropped his defenses to plead with his older cousin. “We don’t have to steal, Tsa-li. We can find a way to protect our land without bringing shame on our family.”
Charley’s lips thinned. “I am not ashamed of what I’ve done, and I am not yellow. I don’t run away from a fight.”
Another dig. Jake refused to argue his bravery. It wasn’t the point. “We cannot fight all of them. There are too many and they are too strong. I have a meeting with the big chief tomorrow. If we can negotiate a deal, we can end this—”
“Negotiate.” Charley sneered the word. “Stand Watie negotiated with the bluecoats, and look where that got him. He was a respected leader and a great general. Now, he’s a poor farmer squatting on a tiny piece of land that won’t grow anything but rocks. You negotiate. I’ll keep fighting.”
Charley stood and grabbed his hat.
Jake shoved his chair aside. He followed his cousin out the door, through a group of railroad workers on their way inside. Before Charley could get away, Jake grabbed his arm. “No, Tsa-li. Fighting will not solve anything. Neither will killing—”
Charley whirled and slammed his
fist into Jake’s nose.
Pain splintered, like shards of glass had been driven into his face. Jake staggered backward, blinked to clear his vision. Stunned, he lifted his hand to his nose as blood spewed down the front of his shirt. The two of them had never fought. Not even after...
“You stinking coward.” Charley blurred into a shadowy image then back into focus. “Was it worth it, to bed that white woman? Maybe I ought to go see what she’s got that makes you eager to do her bidding.”
White-hot rage streaked through Jake, burning away all thoughts except one. He would die before he allowed Charley to harm Redbird.
He swung his fist upward to connect hard with Charley’s chin. His head snapped back. Before he could react, Jake hammered at his cousin’s midsection, forcing him to retreat.
Charley recovered his wits and came back with a snarl.
Jake had the advantage of height and ten fewer years. Charley’s well-honed muscles, quick reflexes and experience more than made up for it. He dodged Jake’s fists and pounded his adversary’s ribs.
“Fight!” someone shouted.
Men poured out of the saloon. The crowd formed a tight ring. Excited voices peppered the air with vulgar encouragements.
Jake took a swing aimed to knock his opponent off his feet. Pain in his side made his breath catch. His blow landed with less force than intended. Charley flung himself at Jake. They grappled until they fell to the ground. Jake bowed his back, mustered his strength and flipped Charley over. He shoved his shoulders down, sinking his cousin into the mud and manure.
Astraddle his cousin’s chest, Jake delivered punishing blows. The blood of his warrior ancestors pounded in his ears like ancient drumbeats.
“Break it up!” The order, delivered in an authoritative bark, penetrated a red haze clouding Jake’s vision and judgment.
He stopped fighting.
Charley, bloody and beaten, remained trapped beneath him. His cousin weakly lifted one fist, as if to deliver a blow, then he dropped it to the ground with a groan.
