“Ethan, we wouldn’t even need a ranch then. We could live off the gold mine, maybe open businesses in Denver, build a home—”
He waved her off and got up, grabbing one of the blankets to wrap around himself. “I’m not made for that kind of life, Ally. No matter how wealthy I might become, all I want is a simple life, out in the open, away from the noise and filth and overcrowding of places like Denver. I like nature, wide-open land, working under blue skies and breathing clean air. I like animals, working with my hands, building things on my own, not hiring someone else to do everything for me just because I have the money to do it.” He turned and met her eyes. “We’re still worlds apart in what we want, aren’t we?”
Allyson felt the desperate fear of losing him engulfing her again. “Not completely. We know we want each other, love each other. We had an agreement, Ethan. We didn’t mean for this to happen, but it has, and we know why. In spite of our differences, each of us needs and aches for the other in ways no other man or woman can fulfill. All we have to do is find a way to come to an understanding about how we can each have our dream and still be together. Surely God means for that to happen, or He wouldn’t have let me find you again. We have lots of time to decide what we’re going to do, and for all we know, this claim never will bring us a real bonanza.”
“But that’s what you’re hoping for, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is. Aren’t you?”
He smiled almost bitterly. “Partly, for your sake, though, not for me. I couldn’t care less if it never pays off. The point is, Ally, if it doesn’t, and after a year we sell the claim, if you choose to settle with me in Wyoming, to you it will be like giving up, like accepting defeat and settling for something less than you want in life. How do you think that makes me feel?”
Allyson sat up, keeping a flannel blanket around her breasts, suddenly shy about letting him look at her. “It wouldn’t be that way at all, Ethan.”
His eyes betrayed his pain. “Yes, it would.” He turned away. “We’re right back where we started, aren’t we?”
“No! It’s all different now, Ethan! I don’t know what will happen, how this claim will turn out, what I’ll want to do for certain if we strike it rich. But I do know I don’t want to live my life without you. That’s the only thing I’m sure of right now. Can’t we just take a day at a time and not worry about what we’ll do a year from now? We’ve only been here six weeks. If we’re lucky, and there is a richer vein here, we’re already closer to finding it and we’ll know that much sooner.”
Ethan walked to a stand beside the bed and picked up a bar of soap and a washrag. “We can’t just start sleeping together, not being certain about whether a marriage would ever work. What if you get pregnant?”
Allyson felt herself blushing. Pregnant? She had not even considered it and was astonished that she hadn’t. After all, that was the usual result when a man and woman mated. “Well, I…I guess then we would have no choice.”
Ethan just watched her, thinking how different she was from most white women. In one sense she was more like an Indian, in her free spirit. She had made love to him because it simply seemed the right and only thing to do at the time, when most white women would never have allowed it. She did not think of herself as bad at all, just doing what came naturally. “I guess we wouldn’t, would we?”
Allyson got up then, keeping the blanket wrapped around her. “Please stay, Ethan. Somehow it will work out if God wants it to.”
He studied her tangled red hair, and one thing he could not deny…no other woman, not even his first wife, had made him this crazy. He had no business here, no business in her bed, no business risking the hurt that might lie ahead being in love with this unusual, independent, stubborn, misdirected, wanton, confused, money-hungry child-woman. Yet he knew he could not walk away from her. Would she give this all up and follow him if he did? If he had any sense, he would test her on that; but that would mean taking the chance of losing her forever, for if she did not follow him, his own pride would keep him from ever coming back to her. Somehow he could not take the chance of allowing that to happen. Staying here was a tremendous risk; yet he could not leave.
“Come on,” he told her. “Let’s go wash in the creek.”
“The creek! It’s freezing cold!”
“Good. Maybe it will help cool both of us off, in more ways than one.” Before she could make another protest, Ethan let his blanket fall, then pulled hers away and lifted her in his arms, keeping the soap and washrag in one hand. Allyson let out a squeal of protest, but he kept a strong hold on her and hurried out of the cabin, running down to the creek and setting her in the cold water. She screamed even louder as he splashed her, then walked into the water himself, soap in hand. Allyson started to get out, but Ethan pulled her back in laughing, and he began lathering her with the soap. “It’s not so bad once you get used to it,” he told her.
Allyson’s objections faded when he pulled her back against his chest and began moving his soapy hands over her breasts, down over her belly and between her legs.
“Kind of like it now, don’t you?” he said, kissing her behind one ear. She groaned when he moved his fingers inside of her.
“You’re a devil, Ethan Temple,” she said, her voice gruff with desire. “Maybe I’m the fool and not you. Did you ever think of that? Don’t think I’ve forgotten how you tricked me into letting you have your way with me that night in my tent back in Guthrie.”
Ethan moved both hands to her breasts then, fondling her nipples, taut from the cold water. “Whiskey does work wonders, doesn’t it?”
She turned, resting on her knees in the soft sandy creek bottom. She splashed water over herself to rinse off the soap, holding his gaze as she did so. Then she took the bar of soap from him and lathered her own hands. Daringly she reached down and began gently washing that part of him that once terrified her. “Maybe I didn’t even need the whiskey. Maybe all I needed was a man who could show me how not to be afraid.”
Ethan drew in his breath at the touch of her hands gently massaging him. “If I’m a devil, then you’re a she-devil,” he answered.
She held her chin proudly. “Maybe I am at that.” She looked down at his manliness, splashing water over him to rinse off the soap. She was curious at how the cold water shrank it. He stood up then. “We’d better get back inside. Someone could come,” he told her.
Allyson got to her knees, unable to resist a compulsion to touch him again, utterly fascinated by this part of man that had always frightened her so…until Ethan. It felt good to be woman, to enjoy these things, to feel so bold and daring and alive. She gently kissed him, and almost instantly the firmness began to return, exciting her, intriguing her. She kissed him again, caressing that part of Ethan Temple that held magical powers over her. She took the tip of it into her mouth, never even considering that it might be either a wonderful or a terrible thing to do.
“Ally,” he groaned, grasping her hair. “We can’t keep doing this.”
She kissed him once more, slowly rose, moving her lips over his flat belly, his chest. He made no more protest, and he chastised himself for being totally without power or common sense around this woman. He picked her up and carried her back into the cabin. “We’ll get the bed all wet,” she protested weakly.
“We need to change it anyway. We have more blankets.”
They exchanged hot, hungry kisses. “What about all the reasons…” Another kiss. “You gave for us for…” Another kiss. “Not doing this?” she finished.
Ethan laid her back on the bed. “What reasons?” He kissed her everywhere, trailing over her shoulders, her breasts, her belly-button, her thighs, her calves, her feet, back up to stop for a moment at the soft patch of red hair that hid private places that belonged only to him. He tasted, explored, enjoyed.
Allyson felt almost faint from the pleasure of it. She whimpered his name, gladly offering herself, until she felt the wonderful, pulsating satisfaction once again that only made
her crave another mating with this beautiful man who satisfied her in so many ways. Again he invaded her. Everything was so perfect, so beautiful, so gratifying, such ecstasy when they were together this way. Surely there was a way for them to solve their other differences, and surely once she struck it rich Ethan would change his mind about what he wanted. Gold had a way of making men think differently. Somehow she would sway him to live the life of Denver’s high society. She could fulfill her own dreams and have Ethan Temple in her bed on top of it all. It would be the ideal life.
Again he moved with power and rhythm, filling her to ecstasy, so much man. She arched up to him in sweet surrender, giving no more thought to anything he had said about wanting to settle in Wyoming. He would change his mind. She would make sure of it.
Wayne Trapp ushered a meek Trevor Gale into Roy Holliday’s office. “Have a seat, Trevor,” Holliday offered with a grin that betrayed his feelings of victory.
Trevor cast him a dark, distrustful look and moved to one of the leather chairs near the man’s desk. He looked around the room before sitting down, noticing all the furniture was of fine mahogany. The whole room smelled of tobacco and rich leather, and his feet made no noise when he walked because of an Oriental rug. He eyed Holliday closely then, wondering why he had been summoned. Holliday must know he’d been trying to organize the miners to stand up for themselves against yet another pay cut; but since losing his job, he had been unable to get any work at all these last four months, and he knew damn well who was responsible. When the other miners realized he’d been blackballed, it had frightened them away from forming a union, fearful that Roy Holliday could also keep them from finding work anyplace else. The man damn well knew how to break people. He had him on his knees now. What was he going to do? Run him out of town completely?
“What is it you’re wanting, Mr. Holliday?” he asked, determined not to beg. He could feel Wayne Trapp’s eyes watching him from the side of the room.
“Just wondering how the wife and kids are doing, Trevor.” Holliday sat down behind his desk, twirling a fat cigar and enjoying the look of embarrassment and anger on Trevor’s face. His Irish blood came to the surface just under the skin, making him turn red instantly.
“You know good and well neither me nor my brothers has been able to get a decent job. We need miners’ pay to take decent care of the little ones. We’ve found odd jobs here and there, but nothing that lasts, and nothing that pays anything close to what we were making. I’ve got one child with a club foot that needs operating on. My brothers, they don’t have family, but I’ve got four little ones who need decent food on the table. Thanks to you makin’ sure I can’t get work, they’re next to starving. I’m not one to go begging to others, but I will if I have to.”
“You could have left Cripple Creek and gone to Denver or anyplace else.”
“It’s not easy movin’ a whole family when you don’t even know if you’ll get work; and you know damn well there’s a recession. The work just isn’t out there. I’ve gone on my own to other mining towns, but I can’t get hired. You’ve spread the word that I’m a troublemaker. Don’t deny it. I’m the best damn explosives man you ever had, and because of one run-in with that damn Indian, you’ve got me blackballed all over the place.”
Holliday shook his head. “Now, now, Trevor, you know yourself we had problems with your drinking more than that one time. That was just the climax of it all. I had to consider the safety of the rest of the men.”
Trevor moved to the edge of his chair. “I can set powder better flat-out drunk than any other man stone sober, and you know it!”
Holliday held up his hand as though to calm him. “Of course I know it, but some of the men might not have. They might have resented me letting you go down. And, of course, the Indian didn’t know it either.”
Trevor snickered in disgust. “The Indian! That bastard humiliated me in front of the miners. I still get teased about it. I’ve been looking for that sonofabitch. I’d like to show the whole town that when I’m sober, that stinking redskin is no match for Trevor Gale!”
Holliday glanced at Wayne and grinned. He looked back at Trevor. “How would you like to have your chance at the Indian?”
Trevor scooted back in his chair, eyeing Holliday warily. “What do you mean?”
Holliday sighed deeply, then set his cigar in an ashtray, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his desk. Trevor Gale thought how the man always stood out in this town filled with sorry-dressed prospectors and miners like himself, whose hands and fingernails were always dirty no matter how hard they scrubbed. Holliday was always dressed in the finest fashion.
“I have an offer for you, Trevor. You do this job right, and I’ll see that you get your old job back, with a dollar an hour raise. Of course, I don’t want you telling the other miners what you’re making—it will just be between you and me. Nobody will know why I hired you back. They’ll just figure I’ve decided to give you a second chance.”
Trevor frowned with curiosity. “I don’t understand. What’s this about the Indian? I thought he worked for you.”
“Not anymore. We had a little run-in of our own. He hasn’t worked for me for over three months now.”
Trevor shifted his big frame in the chair, making it squeak. “And now for some reason you want him out of the way, and you want me to do it for you?” The man glanced over at Wayne. “What’s wrong with your henchman over there? Not up to it?” He laughed lightly at the look of embarrassment and fury that came into Trapp’s eyes. Wayne started to rise.
“Stay put, Wayne,” Holliday warned, keeping his eyes on Trevor. “Wayne’s a good man, but for what I want, you’re the best man. You’re the one who knows explosives.”
Trevor rubbed at his square jaw. “Why you asking me? I’m just a man who once worked for you. I’ve even tried to organize the miners. I’m the enemy, remember?”
Holliday smiled. “We only make enemies through misunderstandings and disrespect, Trevor. I think you and I understand each other, and I respect you for your talents. You in turn respect me as a man who can destroy you, or make you a rich man. Which would you rather it be?”
Trevor watched Holliday’s dark, threatening gaze. Yes, the man was right. Why not take the easy way? “Like I said, I’ve got a family to provide for. I’d just as soon be rich.”
Holliday laughed again. “You’re a wise man, Trevor. You’ll not only be richer, but gain the sweet satisfaction of getting back at Ethan Temple for the way he humiliated you.”
Trevor breathed deeply with a growing excitement. “I’m to use dynamite?”
“Whatever works best.” Holliday toyed with his mustache. “Ethan Temple is helping a woman work a claim up on the mountain, a claim I’ve been trying to get her to sell. A convenient accident would put an end to Temple, and if the woman dies, too, all the better. If not, losing her help and the devastation an explosion would cause will break her. She’ll come crawling, begging me to buy that claim.”
Trevor thought a moment. “Woman? You mean that little redhead the men have talked about, the one who came here a few months back to take over the claim that John Sebastian had been mining?”
“Same one.”
“She’s living up there with the Indian?”
“She’s a goddamn slut,” Wayne put in. “Don’t be worryin’ about the men bein’ behind her. They’re not anymore—not since she went off with the Indian, especially when we’ve learned she used to be married to Temple.”
Trevor kept rubbing at his jaw. “I’ll be damned.” He eyed Holliday closely. “I don’t know. Slut or not, I don’t like the idea of hurting a woman.”
“She made her bed, let her lie in it. Maybe there will be a way around it, but if not, I don’t want you to worry about it. Wayne will take you up, and you can scout around the area, but stay out of sight. Set up something that will look like an accident—maybe a landslide, big enough to bury the mining site and destroy the cabin, preferably while they’re both in it. Peo
ple hear explosions up on that mountain all day every day. Hearing one more won’t cause a bit of excitement. When the ‘accident’ is discovered, we’ll just spread the idea that an explosion inside one of the bigger mines must have triggered a landslide, killing the poor woman and the Indian working that claim. I put my bid in to buy the site, and we’re in business.”
Trevor rose, paced a moment, and shook his head. “I don’t like it. If it’s discovered it was deliberate, I could be in a lot of trouble. Everybody knows I have a hatred for that man, and they know I’m the one who knows how to handle dynamite.” He turned and looked at Holliday. “If you’re so anxious to get that claim, it must be worth a lot of money. I want a share of it,” he announced boldly.
Holliday’s face darkened with surprise and anger at the man’s effrontery. He started to protest, then thought better of it. At least he was agreeing to do the job. He could get rid of Ethan and the woman, get his hands on the claim, and at the same time stop Trevor Gale from organizing the miners. The man would be working for him, and once the job was done, he would have a strong hold on Trevor. The man’s trouble-making days would be over. He could put a man of Trevor’s size and influence to good use. “All right,” he answered, surprising Trapp. “Five percent of the profits.” He could feel Wayne’s resentment.
“I want to be able to inspect the books,” Trevor added, strutting with an air of cockiness as he walked closer to Holliday’s desk again.
“Only the figures that apply to that site. You’ve no business seeing anything to do with my other mines.”
“I don’t give a damn about the others—only the one I’m going to own a share of. I want something in writing. I’m the one taking the big chance here. I want a legal piece of paper that says I own five percent of the mine, once you get your hands on it.”
Unforgettable Page 36
