Love Finds You in Deadwood, South Dakota

by Tracey Cross

  “Not so much angry anymore. But concerned for your safety and unnecessary work.”

  “I don’t think it’s unnecessary.”

  Franklin lifted her hand and squeezed. “Please, let’s don’t fight. Bess made me promise to take care of you while you’re in Deadwood, so I came over to invite you to stay in my home while you’re in town. I’m not going to try to talk you out of working for Bedlow.”

  Her eyes squinted as suspicion walled the openness of her expression. “What do you mean, stay in your home?” A crack of thunder made her jump and she squealed, proving that even in man’s clothes she was still very female.

  He grinned. “I assure you I have nothing improper in mind. Deadwood isn’t the most virtuous of towns, and I want you closer, where I can keep you safe.”

  “I’m sure you’re very noble, but I can’t stay in a man’s home. It isn’t proper.”

  “Your only other option is a hotel. We don’t have boardinghouses here like Bess’s. There are no matronly women who will invite you to stay with them out of pity for you and fondness for your attractive little boy.”

  She scowled at him and lifted her eyebrows in that stubborn way she had. He had never known a woman so easy to read.

  “Well, I suppose I shall have to stay in the hotel then.”

  Franklin pointed across the street to the saloon with a hotel above it. “That’s your choice.”

  “There are no other hotels? Nothing that isn’t above a saloon?”

  “That’s it.” He took a deep breath. “That isn’t entirely true. There is the Grand Central Hotel. But it’s expensive and not well-built.”

  “Well, I can’t afford expensive.”

  “Then there’s your option.”

  As if by design, two men came swaying out of the saloon singing at the top of their lungs. They were so drunk they leaned heavily on each other—even at barely three in the afternoon.

  “Imagine what it will be like in there when you’re trying to sleep.” Franklin looked back at Jane.

  “Well”—she hesitated—“I can’t take Danny into such a place and, like you said, your place is no more improper than staying in a hotel above a drinking establishment.”

  “If it makes you feel better, I have two other men working for me. One is a cook, and the other the housekeeper.”

  “Why would it make me feel better to know that I am not only staying with one man in the house, but three? I was better off on the trail. At least there were other women along.”

  “Other women?” Outrage shot through him like an arrow. “Do you mean to say there were—”

  She nodded, pressing her finger to her lips and staring pointedly at Danny.

  Franklin could throttle Bedlow for sending prostitutes on the trail with Jane and Danny. The man probably thought it a hilarious joke to have those women accompany a lady. “Are you ready to come along, then? I instructed my housekeeper to prepare a bath for you.”

  She nodded. “That sounds lovely. As long as I can be back here early in the morning.”

  “To see Bedlow?”

  “Yes. We need to settle up, and I can give you half what I owe for the homestead.”

  “Half? That much?”

  “Yes. After you gave me six months, Mr. Bedlow figured how much it would take to pay you off in the allotted time, and he is paying me accordingly.”

  Franklin had no idea what Bedlow had up his sleeve, but he knew even a generous man, which Bedlow wasn’t, would never pay that much for freighting. She was being deceived.

  “Jane—”

  “Don’t say it. I mean it. I know how you feel about Mr. Bedlow. But he’s my employer, and I have to maintain my respect for him.” She grimaced. “For now anyway. If I begin to despise him, I won’t be able to retain a proper attitude when we speak. And that could get me dismissed.”

  “Good—then forget all of this. Sell the oxen and wagon. That will get you some profit.”

  “They’re yours. Or have you forgotten?” She grinned. “Any profit from them is already yours.”

  “Well, then, I give you permission to sell them to pay me.”

  Shaking her head, Jane gave a weary sigh. “It can’t work that way. I want my children to be proud of their home and to know that no one gave it to me. I earned it for them.” She glanced around. “Anyway, I thought Mr. Bedlow would greet the wagons. But apparently he’s decided not to do so.”

  “He’s down the street in his saloon.”

  “His saloon?”

  “He owns two saloons.”

  “Oh. Of course. I knew that.” Her face grew pink. “And he’s in one of them?”

  “Yep.”

  “You don’t think I’ll have to go talk to him in the saloon tomorrow, do you? Surely he’ll come to the general store.”

  He didn’t have the heart to tell her that Bedlow’s office was indeed in the saloon. He rarely visited the general store. Instead Franklin grabbed up Danny and swung him up to his shoulders. “Let’s go, then.” Cheyenne loped along after them.

  They slogged through the mud until they reached Lloyds’ Mercantile. “Let’s go in here. I have a few things to take care of before I can leave for the rest of the day. And we have some fresh cinnamon bread that our baking lady just brought in less than an hour ago. That should ease the sting of having to wait on me.”

  Jane shrugged. “It’s all right. Take your time. It’s just nice to be out of the rain and to know I’ll soon be clean.”

  Franklin finished up a few accounts he had open and was just about to close everything up when gunshots blasted outside. Jane gasped and Danny ran to the window. “Danny!” Franklin hollered, rushing across the room and snatching up the little boy. He retreated to a safe place on the other side of the room, then held the boy up so they were eye to eye. “You have to stay away from the window when there’s a shootout because too many times a wild bullet breaks the glass. We don’t want anything to happen to you, do we? What would your ma do without her little man?”

  The little boy was wide-eyed, and his body shook with fear.

  Franklin held him closer. “Hey, it’s all right. I don’t hear any more shooting. It must be over now.”

  “Give him to me.” Jane frowned. “He wasn’t scared of the shooting. He was scared of you.”

  “Of me?”

  “You yelled at him and grabbed him. How was he supposed to know you weren’t going to hit him?”

  Franklin stared at her. Did she honestly think he’d harm Danny? “Why would he think such a thing?”

  “His pa wasn’t kind. He often got rough with Danny. It’s why the freighting wagon was such a glorious opportunity to have him out of the house most of the time.”

  Franklin wasted no time. He stepped closer to Jane. “Danny, I’m sorry I scared you. I promise I’ll never harm you. Do you believe me?”

  Danny gave him a wary nod.

  Anger burned in him at the thought that Tom Albright had been such a harsh man, his child was still afraid of him months after his death. Had he ever hit Jane? Franklin couldn’t even bear to think about it.

  He locked up the office and walked outside to the wagon he’d hitched and left waiting over the last hour. He helped Jane into her seat and lifted Danny in so that he sat between them. As they drove to his house, he couldn’t help but wonder what sort of man would have this precious gift and not value what he had.

  Chapter Seven

  Jane fingered the books on the shelves, testing the spine of each edition. Shakespeare, Dickens, Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe. She sighed at the richness and diversity of the books.

  “Choose one if you want.”

  Jane turned at the sound of Mr. Lloyd’s voice. “Thank you. I’d enjoy that.”

  “Danny sleeping?” Mr. Lloyd asked.

  Jane nodded. “His eyes shut as soon as he lay down, and he fell right to sleep.”

  She could feel Mr. Lloyd’s eyes on her back as she perused the shelves. Jane was glad she’d brought her Sunday be
st dress, even though she hadn’t been to a church meeting in years and even if her best wasn’t very good. After weeks in men’s trousers, the soft cotton petticoats felt lovely, the corset, suffocating. But she enjoyed the appreciation in his eyes when she’d walked into the dining room, hair drawn up with little tendrils hanging about her neck and cheeks.

  The long soak in the tub had helped to ease some of the stiffness in her muscles. That, combined with a full stomach, now left her feeling cozy and drowsy and delicious.

  “I know I wasn’t very gracious earlier, but I do thank you for inviting Danny and me to stay.”

  After observing Deadwood, the saloons, the fighting, shootings, and overall filth, she was more grateful than she could possibly convey to get Danny away from that atmosphere and tucked safely into bed for the night.

  “You’re more than welcome.”

  A pregnant pause seemed just the right time for her to turn around and face him. Her face warmed under his scrutiny. “Your home is lovely, Mr. Lloyd.”

  “It’s more than I need.” His wistful tone caught her full attention. “I bought the house a year ago from a man who built it for his bride.” He grinned. “She took one look at Deadwood, hopped back on the stage, and refused to spend one night here.”

  “I can’t say I blame her. I don’t know what I’d have done without your hospitality.”

  His eyebrow went up. “That’s the chance you take when you decide to be stubborn.”

  A spark of irritation ignited within her. Why did he have to ruin her grateful moment with such a superior attitude? “I don’t think wanting to pay my own way and build a decent, stable home is stubbornness. Personally, I think it’s admirable.”

  “What do you think you’re going to do with the land once you pay off the debt? You’re not going to be able to plant and harvest alone with a little boy. You can’t afford to hire a man to do it, and even if you could, who would you get? All the men are either mining or homesteading for themselves, with no time to hire on somewhere else.”

  Jane walked to the end of the large bookcase to distance herself from him as much as possible without being too obvious. She knew he had a valid point. It was something she should be concerned about. The farm couldn’t subsist without a means of support. Sowing and reaping: that’s how God made the earth to sustain itself. Without sowing, how would she reap?

  She shrugged. “I will consider that once I actually pay off the debt and have my home back.”

  He looked annoyed. “You know I was perfectly within my right to call in that note. Your husband was three months past due for when the entire amount was to be repaid. I was patient, considering I never received even a single penny. Bedlow would have had him killed and then tossed you off your land without thinking twice.”

  “Then I suppose that makes you a better man than Bedlow.”

  A scowl marred his otherwise handsome features. “That’s not what makes me a better man than Bedlow. You should never have gotten involved with that man. He is cruel—a thief and a murderer.”

  “I find that difficult to believe, Mr. Lloyd. Mr. Bedlow may be sinful and even cruel to the young women he employs, but surely the sheriff would have arrested him by now if he were truly such an outlaw.” Jane had no idea why the two men seemed to be at odds, but Mr. Lloyd’s animosity wasn’t a very attractive quality. “Honestly, you seem almost jealous.”

  Mr. Lloyd stood. “You think jealousy is motivating my concern for you?”

  Horror filled Jane. He thought she meant he—

  “I assure you, that isn’t what I meant. I only meant you’re wealthy. Perhaps not as wealthy as Mr. Bedlow, but…” She realized how daft she sounded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have implied any such thing.”

  Taking her by the shoulders, Mr. Lloyd forced her to meet his gaze. “Jane, listen to me. Mr. Bedlow is not just a wealthy man with too much time and money at his disposal. He is motivated by greed. Every decision he makes is about what he can attain. I can’t guess why he took you on unless it was to spite me. But even that doesn’t seem likely. He doesn’t do things that don’t benefit him. I just want you to be careful. And as for the sheriff, don’t ever think you can run to him if you’re in trouble with Bedlow. Bedlow owns the sheriff and most of the town.”

  The intensity in his eyes took away her breath. Jane’s mind shifted back to those few days in the soddy when he took care of her and Danny. How could she have such conflicting thoughts and emotions about a man?

  “Why does it matter to you?” she whispered, unable to look away from his beautiful brown eyes that, for all indications, were sincere. “Danny and I are strangers—strangers indebted to you at that.”

  He didn’t speak for a moment but searched her face. Then he dropped his hands from her arms and walked back to his seat. “I don’t know why I care. Maybe it’s guilt.”

  “Guilt for taking my land?”

  He gave a wry grin and shook his head. “Guilt for hoping you can’t raise the money to pay the debt.”

  “That’s terrible.” Her lip trembled, and she turned away so he couldn’t see.

  “Maybe so. But I have cattle coming in the fall with nowhere to graze. Your dream is to leave a legacy to Danny. And mine is to build a legacy to pass on to any children I have in the future. So you see we have the same thing in mind. The difference is, I own the land.”

  She slid a poetry book from the shelf and turned to face him. “Not for long.” But his desire to ranch explained why he had fought so hard to convince her that going east was the best option for her. “You have Hank’s land. Raise your cattle there.”

  “I intend to have a lot of them. Many more than the adjoining land can sustain.”

  “You could always rent the land from me.” She’d said it as a flip alternative.

  He brought his head up. “You would consider that?”

  Jane caught her breath as the possibility became real. “Well, I hadn’t before this, but it might serve us both well. And maybe my son can learn ranching from you. But you would have to agree to move your cattle off the land by the time Danny is ready to start his own herd.”

  “I could agree to that.”

  “In writing.”

  “Don’t trust me?” He laughed.

  “I’m learning that everything should be put into writing.”

  He nodded. “You’re right.” His eyes twinkled. “I’ll go with you to tell Bedlow.”

  Jane frowned. “Tell him what?”

  “That your first trip with freight was your last.”

  Jane fingered the book, hugging it close. “Why would I tell him that?”

  He started to speak but closed his mouth. Then his eyes lit with revelation. “You want it in writing first. Fine. I’ll have my lawyer draw up papers in the morning; then we can speak with Bedlow.”

  Jane wasn’t sure what he thought they’d agreed upon, but clearly their expectations weren’t united. Which was another good reason for something in writing.

  “Mr. Lloyd—”

  “Franklin. We’re neighbors now.”

  Jane scowled. “Mr. Lloyd, we seem to have a misunderstanding. I shall rent the land to you, after I pay the debt that I owe you. Otherwise, aren’t you really renting land from yourself?”

  He released a heavy breath. “Have you always been this stubborn, or is it a recent occurrence?”

  “Always.” She shrugged. Stubbornness wasn’t her best quality, Jane knew that. But sometimes a woman had to stand her ground in order to take care of herself. And in this case she had Danny and the baby to worry about too.

  “Then what if we agree upon a rental price, and each month I will take that amount off the debt until it is paid in full.”

  The thought brought a glimmer of hope to Jane’s weary heart. That wouldn’t feel like charity, would it? She would still be paying him, only in trade. Barter was a perfectly acceptable manner of currency, especially when times were tough. Mama Rose had taught her that.

  “I believe
I can agree to that, sir.”

  The light in Mr. Lloyd’s eyes could only be pure happiness and maybe a bit of relief. “Tomorrow we’ll go together and tell Trent you’re not leaving with the freighters when they go.” He gazed down at her as though he wanted to hug her but held back. “Will that be acceptable?”

  Jane suddenly felt shy. She nodded and swallowed hard. Her mind asked questions she didn’t have the nerve to ask. Such as, “When, oh when can we go home?”

  Thankfully, he answered for her. “Give me a few days to wrap up some business, and I’ll take you back to your homestead. I can get settled in and have my house built over the summer.”

  “Too good for a soddy?” Jane smiled. The soddy had served her well over the past four years, but her heart longed for the feel of plank floors beneath her feet.

  “I have no need to live in a soddy. A home is what I want, and I am financially capable of getting what I want. As a matter of fact, when you’re finished paying the debt from the rent, we can start designing a home for you, if you like.”

  The thought was such a distant dream in her heart that Jane had never really considered the possibility. “I suppose it’s something to think about.” Although she had the children’s future to consider too. If Danny were to build his own herd, he would need money to get started. So saving money should be her first priority. Of course as the children grew, the soddy would become too cramped for them.

  It was too much to take in when she was so weary from the weeks on the trail. With a soft sigh, she walked to the wing chair and sat. Her dress pulled tight around her belly. She looked up to find Mr. Lloyd staring at her middle with a frown. “You’re—?”

  Before she could answer, the door opened, and one of the servants entered. “Telegram, Mr. Lloyd, sir.” The man wore long braids in his shiny black hair. He spoke little English from what Jane had surmised thus far. She’d never seen a Chinese man or woman before today but was thrilled to see this one walk in the door at that moment and divert Mr. Lloyd’s attention from her bulging stomach.

  “Thank you, Huan.”