She lowered the gown back to the bed, taking great care her work-roughened fingertips didn't cause a snag. She had no right to play dress-up with another woman's property.
Or was it? A deliveryman would have left it at the front desk. And she'd unlocked her door to get inside, so it must have come from someone with access to her room.
Someone with a key.
She backed away from the bed, intent on heading downstairs and finding Clara, but stopped when she noticed a small white paper lying on the floor. Scooping it up, she turned it over.
K,
Beauty as exquisite as yours deserves a dress to match.
Kate reread the paper several times, then frowned. The dress had obviously been given to her as a gift. But from whom?
* * * *
Jake walked along the boardwalk toward the hotel, feeling more polished than a new pair of silver spurs.
After a visit to the mercantile and a chat with Albert, the owner, he'd left with a small white box, a stack of fresh clothes, boots, and a hat. While nothing was new, everything was in good condition. Albert's idea to allow hollow-eyed settlers to trade clothes for foodstuffs was both brilliant and generous. He'd helped many a starving traveler fresh off the trail get the items they needed to survive, while simultaneously offering clothes at reasonable prices to those who arrived with rags on their backs and money to spare.
Next, he'd visited the town's bathhouse for a much-needed dunk and wash, then the barber for a haircut and close shave. After that night's dinner with Kate, he planned to take her on a private walk, which would finish off his day rather nicely.
He intended to head into the hotel and wait in his room until a few minutes before dinner began at six o'clock, purposely leaving himself no time to engage in another solitary discussion with Theo. He patted the white box in his pocket, assuring himself again of its presence, then entered the hotel's lobby.
Sighting Theo, he muttered a curse to see his well-laid plan go awry.
"Good evening, Jake," Theo said, pushing himself back from his desk and rising to his feet. "I see you had a productive day."
Jake nodded, not fooled by the man's seemingly inane remarks. He had a reason for everything, and based on his bare desktop he hadn't been doing any paperwork. No, he'd been lingering at his desk, waiting for Jake to arrive. But why?
He pulled a wooden box from a shelf and set it on the desktop. "You a cigar man, Jake?"
"On occasion." Like Theo, cigars were something Jake tolerated but never enjoyed.
"It appears we've gotten off on the wrong foot. Again." Theo opened the box's lid, revealing a long line of cigars. "How about we step outside, have a cigar, and try to reach an understanding of each other?"
"On the contrary, I think we've already come to a perfect understanding of each other," Jake replied.
Theo silently raised the box until it was even with Jake's chest, then waited.
Out of sheer curiosity, Jake selected a cigar and then followed Theo back outside. He shut the door, then turned to see Theo had claimed the majority of the railing by standing with his lower back against it, his arms and hands resting wide on either side.
Jake chuckled at the man's not-so-subtle reminder that he owned the place.
"It's shaping up to be a nice evening," Theo said, using a gold cutter to neatly snip off the end of his cigar. After lighting it, he tossed the match into the street.
"Indeed," Jake replied, wishing he would just come to the point. He'd agreed to this strange meeting solely to figure out what the man was up to, not to discuss the weather. He accepted the cutter Theo offered and clipped off the end of his own cigar. After exchanging the cutter for a match, he dragged it across his boot heel to set it aflame, then calmly lit his cigar.
They smoked for several minutes before Theo broke the silence. "Let me ask you a question, friend." He blew a steady stream of smoke across the boardwalk, smirking as it hit Jake's chest. "Do you honestly think you can provide Kate with the lifestyle she deserves?"
Jake removed his cigar from his teeth. He took elaborate care in tapping away the flaky ashes, distracting himself from the sudden urge to push Theo over the railing, then hop over after him and finish the job. Dinner was only minutes away, and while his comment warranted a swift rebuttal—preferably a physical one—seeing Kate took priority. Finally, when he trusted himself to only speak, he replied, "I'm not your friend, and she’s not your concern."
Theo scoffed. "A quality woman like her will never be truly happy with a worn-out saddle tramp like you."
"You may be right." Jake tipped his head back, blew a puff of smoke into the air, and watched the white cloud whirl away in the breeze. Then he faced Theo. "But you're sorely mistaken if you think she'll be satisfied with a ruthless schemer like you."
Theo grinned, seemingly undaunted by the warning. "Any woman's affections can easily be swayed—and won—by the man willing to toss the most baubles her way. You'll soon see I'm able to give Kate what you cannot."
As Jake watched Theo silently drop his cigar onto the boardwalk, twist it flat with his heel, then walk back into the hotel, he had the distinct feeling he'd underestimated the man.
Chapter Twenty
Dinner and a Dress
Kate stood in the hallway at the base of the stairs, regretting how long she had taken to get ready for dinner.
Fastening herself into the dress had taken nearly half an hour, and only completed due to her overly limber arms and fingers and sheer determination. Once the wall mirror proved she'd gotten every button, she'd focused on her hair. The entire length was now captured into a shining, albeit messy updo atop her head. Styling her hair was still her weakness since she'd always had a personal maid, so several curls had already escaped their pins. Shoes had presented another problem. She'd had two options—dusty trail boots or barefoot. After considering how the long skirt would hide either choice, she'd opted for the boots.
Tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear, Kate smoothed a wrinkle from her cap sleeve and stepped into the dining room. To her chagrin, Theodore, William, Margaret, and Jake were already seated and waiting.
"I apologize for my late arrival," she announced, then made her way across the room, holding back a grimace at how the skirt dragging along at her feet slowed her steps. She'd forgotten how cumbersome basic movements could be when done beneath a dress.
Theodore and Jake both scrambled from their chairs and reached for the back of the empty one between them.
Jake was quicker.
He winked as she approached, and she couldn't help but smile at his antics. Once she stood beside him, waiting for him to pull out the chair, he lowered his head and allowed his lips to linger mere inches from her ear.
"You're beautiful," he whispered.
She looked up at him in surprise, he winked again, and she dropped onto her chair with an ungraceful thud. Jake returned to his seat beside her as if nothing were amiss. As if he hadn't completely transformed himself. His hair—normally tucked under a hat or hanging over his ears in disheveled waves—was freshly trimmed and his beard was gone altogether. Pungent clothes had been replaced by new. And he smelled wonderful.
Kate longed to wander an exploring fingertip along his smooth jaw line and down his neck, then close her eyes, slide her arms around his waist, and nestle against his chest. Forever. Instead, she settled for taking a drink of water and fumbling her napkin into place across her lap.
"Kate," Margaret said, "I must admit I've only seen you in manly clothes, so I never knew you cut such a fetching figure, or had such flawless skin."
"I agree." Theodore nodded, his wide-eyed stare bordering on sheer rudeness. "You're positively stunning."
"Thank you," she murmured, fighting the urge to remind both of them she was still the same woman, just with a fancier covering.
Jake tapped his index finger twice against the back of her hand. Once their eyes locked, his intense gaze commanded, and received, her full attention. "You
look exquisite tonight, Kate. But then again, you always do."
Kate recalled the note with the dress, and how it contained the same unusual word, but Clara arrived before she could question him.
"Here is the first course of the evening," she said, placing a bowl of tomato soup on the table before each guest. "For those of you with delicate palates, there's crackers on the plate below each of your bowls. Or, if you prefer a stronger flavor, I'd be happy to bring out a fresh garlic roll."
Her enthusiastic tone rang false, and Kate noted the dark circles beneath her eyes. The poor woman must have worked all afternoon to put dinner together, all while coddling an interloper in her kitchen.
Kate tasted the soup and immediately nodded her approval. "This is delicious."
Theodore clapped his hands twice, then waited until all eyes were on him before speaking. "Yes, Clara has outdone herself with tonight's four-course meal. I had her prepare it especially in honor of you, Kate. I thought you could use a reminder that even in the territory, comfort and opulence are still available. You just have to realize who can provide them."
He launched into a long-winded description of the place settings, making special note of the gold rims on the glass stemware and plates, then moved on to declare the silverware as one of the few sets to survive the trip west, and the six crystal candlestick holders placed in a line down the center of the table as once belonging to English royalty.
Kate smiled appreciatively when Theodore's pauses indicated he expected a reply, all the while wondering if he thought her too simple to notice such things. On the contrary, she'd noticed everything he'd mentioned the moment she'd taken up her spoon. And then some.
She'd noticed everything he was so proud of wasn't half as fine as what she'd cast aside after Jake had convinced her of the need to lighten their wagon. She'd noticed Theodore's decision to load the table with finery and multiple courses had put a heavy burden upon Clara.
Most of all, she'd noticed Theodore was an attention-seeking braggart.
Clara arrived to clear their soup bowls and Theodore gustily announced the remainder of the menu course by course—the hearty venison and vegetable stew Kate had glimpsed earlier in the kitchen, a selection of cheese and bread, and finally peach cobbler topped with heavy cream for dessert.
William grinned and made a show of rubbing his middle. "I'm looking forward to everything you've just described. My stomach hasn't quit growling since we left Independence."
Margaret chimed in. "I love this food for the simple reason it's seasoned with spices instead of grit and insects."
"Trail rations can be tough to adjust to," Jake said. "But not much beats fresh meat, fish, or cackleberries cooked over an open flame and ate under an open sky."
Kate smothered a snicker when she saw the horror-stricken look on Theodore's face. He must have been a nightmare to travel west with.
"I think a change of subject is in order," he said, waving his hand in the air as if to flick aside their previous conversation. "I've always found it entertaining for guests to share the events of their day, especially since I typically spend mine at my desk going over paperwork."
"What an interesting idea," Margaret said, her head bobbing in enthusiastic agreement.
"We can skip Jake, since it's obvious he spent his day finally becoming acquainted with a scrub brush," Theodore said, shifting to face Kate. "What did you do today?"
She met his inquisitive gaze and smiled sweetly. "Since I too spent my day reacquainting myself with a scrub brush, I guess I deserve to be skipped as well." Ignoring Jake's burst of laughter and subsequent failure to cover it with a well-timed cough, Kate motioned across the table to William and Margaret. "How about you two? Did you have a productive day?"
"Yes, we did," William answered, completely oblivious to the recent volley of insults. "We rode all over the countryside, scouting land to file a claim on. Lots of potential out there."
Margaret leaned over and placed a quick kiss upon her husband's cheek. "The best part of my day was enjoying the beautiful surroundings without having to rush."
"Did you find a place?" Jake asked.
"Yes," William said. "It's about seven miles outside of town. Pristine, with no sign of a house or crops anywhere nearby. I'll be first in line when the claims office opens its door. Jake, you should be right behind me since there's competition scouting every available hillside. We came across several men today, all intent on discovering untouched land and declaring it for their own."
Kate's mood soured upon hearing William's news. If her father were here, he'd be plotting an agenda, broken down by weekly goals, for the next year or longer.
In four days and a wake-up she'd be in the land office, conniving to learn her future. Until then, planning anything was useless.
* * * *
Jake gritted his teeth, regretting for the first time his decision to spend the day tending to superficial needs instead of focusing on his true highest priority—scouting for land. Tomorrow he'd hit the saddle at first light, and by nightfall he'd hopefully have several options to choose from if his first choice was signed on before he got to the claims desk.
His stomach roiled at the thought of riding out tomorrow without Kate by his side. Of standing on a hillside, alone, instead of with Kate tucked tight against him, his arm curled around her shoulders while they looked down upon a plot of land and declared it the perfect place to grow old together.
"Kate, what are your plans tomorrow?" Theo asked.
Instantly, Jake perked up. What was he up to now?
"I don't have any," she replied, her words and actions hesitant.
"I make it a point to visit my livery daily, and I can't help but notice all your horses need exercise. They've been cooped up in their stalls since you got here."
Jake was amazed at how smoothly the man could spout outright lies. If there was one redeeming quality about Theo, it was his obvious dedication to maintaining a high level of care for horses, his or otherwise.
"While your concern is admirable," Jake said, "I don't know why you're hiding how well you run your livery. I've been out there too and seen firsthand how your attendant, Mark, lets every horse roam about the paddock for several hours each day." He grinned at how he'd managed to correct the misimpression Theo had attempted, and how he'd cornered him. Arguing Jake's flattery would only lead to Kate questioning the care of her horses.
"You caught me." Theo raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. When he lowered then, he shifted his focus to Kate. "I was afraid of coming on too strong, so I used the horses as an excuse. What I actually want is to invite you on a ride tomorrow. Clara can act as chaperone, which will allow for your reputation to remain intact and give three of your horses the opportunity to stretch their legs."
Kate focused her full attention on Clara, who had just entered the room holding a silver tray laden with steaming bowls of chunky stew. She watched carefully as the woman served their second course.
After she left, Kate turned to Theo. "Clara deserves to rest after all she's done today, both for me and for everything she's gone through to prepare this meal. I don't want to burden her any further, especially for something as frivolous as a scenic horse ride."
Theo's eyebrows rose at Kate's admonishment, but instead of showing irritation he simply replied, "Another time then."
Jake let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. After evaluating the reality of his week ahead, he decided to eliminate any possibility of Theo spending time with Kate tomorrow.
"Kate, I've been meaning to explore the town a bit more, and tomorrow's as good a day as any. Care to join me?" He paused, and then added the one detail she wouldn't be able to resist. "We can stop by the land office and see how it's progressing."
Theo frowned. "Jake, certainly you have more pressing issues to attend to, like finding a place to live since you've declared my hotel to be unsatisfactory for your needs. I'd be happy to escort you about the town instead, Kate."
Jake grimaced at the truth behind William's words.
"Thank you for the offer, Theodore," Kate said. "However, Jake and I have a few things to clarify between us. We might as well stretch our legs while doing so."
Jake bit back a smile. Not only had she chosen to spend her day with him, but she'd also managed to use Theo's own line against him as her reason to decline his invitation. Oh, how he loved this woman!
Theo didn't reply, but instead made a point of checking everyone's stew bowl. When he found the majority empty, he removed a silver bell from his vest pocket and shook it three times.
Clara appeared with the serving tray tucked under one arm. "I'm just putting the finishing touches on the next course. It shouldn't be long." She whisked away their latest round of bowls and hurried from the room.
Theo rested an elbow on the table, slowly rubbed his chin several times, then snapped his fingers as if an idea had just occurred. "I know what we can discuss next." Theo turned to Margaret. "Forgive me if I'm being too forward, but I'm wondering how you're situated when it comes to clothing?"
Margaret shrugged. "I don't have much, but I'm a good seamstress so I'm able to make what I need."
"What about you, Kate? The dress you're wearing is in good condition. Did it come across the trail with you?"
Jake frowned. What was Theo getting at with this conversation?
"No," she replied quietly. "It was left in my room this afternoon."
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