Ginger Snap

by Marisa Masterson

  The man didn’t protest. While she didn’t look over her shoulder, Ginger felt his cold, measuring stare. With great will, she prevented a shudder from rippling through her.

  “I find it unbelievable that you only have this bag, Miss Snap.”

  Theo’s voice sounded artificial to her ears. She’d never heard his overly formal tone. He’d been friendly the day they’d met in the grotto. Of course, she’d been naked—or nearly so.

  She smiled up at him from under the beribboned straw bonnet. “I do travel light, Mr. Edwards. Much less worry for a lady that way.”

  He smiled down at her. Suddenly, the grin turned downward. “You do look a lot like your brother. If I hadn’t already met you that day by the water, I’d wonder if you were Guy dressed as a woman to fool everyone.”

  She trilled a laugh that floated briefly around them. “Wouldn’t it be hard for a man to fool others that way? I’d think it would be much easier for a woman to pose as a boy.”

  A thoughtful look darkened his expression. He stared for a moment and, rudely, ran questioning eyes over her body. Ginger’s hand stiffened where it rested on his arm.

  Fortunately, he misunderstood the reason for her alarm. “Excuse my eyes, Miss Snap. I wanted to be sure you couldn’t have posed as your brother.”

  At her nod of forgiveness, he continued. “There’s no way you could pass as a boy. Not with your, uh, build.” His face glowed red as he finished speaking.

  Refusing to answer him and lie, Ginger quickly changed the topic. “Thank you for meeting me. I do think Step Pappy would have refused to come to the depot.”

  Their conversation stayed light as he led her to Mrs. Hooper’s home. That is, until he voiced the difficult question.

  “I am surprised to know you’re staying at Mrs. Hooper’s rather than on your family’s farm. Do you not get along?”

  She smiled and softly muttered, “Some things aren’t meant to be.” The answer was purposely vague, and she hoped he would take that as his cue not to probe.

  Conversation returned to his own background. He also shared about his ambition to enter the seminary. It was her turn to be nosy.

  “Why would a lawyer want to be a minister? After the time spent training, shouldn’t you focus on the law?”

  He wouldn’t meet her blue gaze, looking above her head with unfocused eyes. “Something doesn’t feel right about practicing law.”

  Her wispy red brows rose, but she didn’t voice her thoughts. He looked down at her with a serious set to his mouth. “I want to help people. How can I do as much good working as a lawyer instead of a minister?”

  Ginger pulled her hand from his arm, stopping them. She stepped so that she now faced him. “Justice and fair treatment can do a heap of good in this life, Mr. Edwards! We need Christian lawyers as much as we need fire and brimstone preachers.”

  The eyes that met hers flashed. Then, in a patronizing tone, he answered her. “I have seen a bit more of this world than yourself, I’m sure.” Smiling, he gave her a wise look, as if he were years older than her. “After living at the college these last years, I am confident that people need conviction more than protection under the law.”

  She softly uttered five words that froze him in place. “What about your own conviction?”

  “I, uh, what do you mean, Miss Snap?”

  Ginger neither smiled nor frowned. She fixed a curious look on her face while speaking. “Has the Lord convicted you to be a minister? Is this your idea or His?”

  “Actually, my own minister suggested—”

  In the sudden silence that built a wall between them, Theo suddenly looked lost. Maybe confused would be a better word.

  Quoting softly, she spoke the words she’d memorized from Ephesians 11 years before. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

  Still, Theo didn’t speak. She should have let the subject lie. Oh, but she loved to pick at a sore.

  “The verse doesn’t say that some chose to be those things. No, God gave them to the church so he must have done the choosing.”

  Frowning, Theo did a bit of choosing himself. He chose to ignore her words. Presenting his arm to her once again, she laid a hand on it. They continued the remaining distance to the boarding house.

  No longer stiffly formal, Theo spoke in a challenging tone. “Why does Melvin Edwards believe you are dead? He said your step-father told him you were.”

  Arching an eyebrow, Ginger stayed quiet for a moment. It seemed to her that he’d asked a question and then answered it himself.

  “Are you asking me why Step-Pappy told the lawyer I’m dead?”

  Peeking from under her bonnet brim, Ginger saw Theo’s momentary confusion. Then, his mouth tightened.

  Not a good sign. Think of Pride and Prejudice. Don’t be stiff necked like Elizabeth Bennet. You’ll never win the man that way.

  “Oh, I am sorry, Mr. Edwards. It was rude of me to answer a question with a question.” She patted his arm. “I suppose the other lawyer believes I’m dead because Step-Pappy’s afraid I might share in the inheritance.”

  There! She’d even used a four-syllable word she’d learned while reading the novel. A sudden thought came to her.

  “Do I share in the inheritance?”

  Again, they stopped. He faced her purposefully this time. “Do you mean you don’t know the terms of the will? Weren’t even told by your step-father?”

  Actually, she knew a bit. Here came another lie.

  “Nothing.” She focused on the silly sister in the novel—Lydia. Trying to imitate her, she flirted a bit. “A smart, important man like you could take a peek and tell me about it, couldn’t you? As a favor to me.”

  She watched his face. Rather than being complimented, he looked uncomfortable.

  “I mean, Mr. Edwards, you must have access. Could you read over the document and let me know?”

  His body relaxed. She knew now that he responded better to her true self. Still, she felt the bonds of the lie close around her with his next question.

  “I will, but I’d like to know something. How does it happen that Guy headed for the fort, but you’re the one who returns?”

  Red suffused her cheeks. She felt the heat and was powerless to stop it.

  “I—what?”

  No smart answer flitted into her head. Her mother’s voice quoting Proverbs 12:22 as young Ginger struggled to memorize it sounded loudly in her mind.

  "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord—”

  “Exactly. So, tell me what is going on.”

  Ginger startled. She suddenly realized she’d spoken the verse aloud, even as she imagined her mother saying it.

  “Well, I, uh.” With no artifice, she turned pleading eyes up to his.

  “Please. Can we first go to Mrs. Hooper’s? We’re almost there, after all.”

  When he stood fixed in the spot, she reached a hand out and touched his arm. “I don’t want just anybody to listen. Aren’t lawyers and clients supposed to have private talks?”

  Nodding resolutely, he once again presented his arm. She hoped they’d make it to the boarding house this time. This constant stopping was becoming ridiculous.

  Ahead of them, the summer sun glinted off the white paint of Mrs. Hooper’s large home. To be sure they didn’t halt again, neither spoke. Instead, a stiff unease settled between them. She felt it in Theo’s arm where her hand lay.

  While reserved, Theo nevertheless helped her carefully up the steps of the home. His breeding showed in those manners.

  Nearly sighing aloud at the thought, Ginger felt a little of her dream die. What would a fine city man want with a girl like her? She needed to think of their relationship as only friendship. Perhaps her heart wouldn’t be broken that way.

  Not bothering to knock, Theo opened the door and stood to the side for her to enter. Again, those beautiful manners! And no wonder he didn’t knock, she reminded herself, since the man lived there.<
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  Inside, Beauregard immediately flew to her shoulder. Nuzzling her ear, the bird made a sort of purring sound before speaking.

  “Hi Guy!” The words came out with female-like tones. It was obvious to Ginger that he imitated Mrs. Hooper at that moment.

  Untying her bonnet to keep the ribbons away from the bird’s beak, she hung it on the hall tree to the left of the door. The mirror centered in that piece of furniture allowed her to see Theo’s speculation at the bird’s greeting.

  At that moment, Mouse bounded from the back of the house, sending Beauregard screeching. “Bad dog!”

  Ignoring the parrot’s words, the dog hurtled himself at Ginger. He put large paws on her shoulders. An equally large tongue tried to lick her face.

  She pushed the dog away. “You know I don’t like that,” she scolded.

  An accusing baritone voice sounded behind her. “I’ve only seen him act like that with two people. Guy and Willard.”

  Chapter 9

  Theo struggled to keep the relief from his face. This lovely woman and Guy were one and the same. The bird and dog proved it.

  The odd twinges he’d felt around Guy had made him mostly avoid the young man. Now he knew the reason for those feelings. He was a she. And what a she!

  There’d been a moment when he wanted to bang his head against a wall. How stupid could he be to have been fooled this way?

  The memory of the attraction he felt, then and now, actually reassured him. He knew that, on some level, he’d realized Guy was a woman.

  The draw didn’t decrease after seeing the female underneath Guy’s disguise. No, now that he’d seen her, the feeling of rightness when he was with her exploded.

  He raised a hand, wanting to touch the chain hidden by his collar. Afraid that something might happen to it, he’d taken to wearing his grandmother’s locket under his clothes.

  His grandfather’s words came back to him. “Give this to the girl waiting for you.” Was the Holy Spirit leading him to Ginger? How could that be? She didn’t even accept his calling to be a minister.

  Later, alone in his room, he’d hit his knees. Only prayer and time could answer those questions.

  At this moment, he waited for Ginger’s explanation. Theo decided to fix a thunderous look on his face. He’d listen to her excuse and then find a way to help her overcome whatever forced her into the disguise.

  Next to him, Ginger cleared her throat. She wrung her hands at his look in her direction. “Mrs. Hooper is probably in her sitting room. I’d like her to be with us when we talk.”

  His outstretched arm indicated for her to precede him. As she walked in front of him, he mentally coached to keep his eyes to himself. After all, he had no reason to feel possessive of her. She wasn’t his.

  Not yet.

  A short half hour later, Mrs. Hooper smiled at him and waited for Theo’s response. When he continued to sit quietly, she frowned.

  “You do understand Ginger’s reasons, don’t you?”

  Nodding, Theo took one more minute or so before speaking. He rose and hunkered down next to the chair where Ginger sat. Taking her hand, he looked into confused and wary eyes.

  His words came out softly. In the tense silence of the room, even his tender whisper came out sounding loud. “Is this the lie you mentioned that day? You know, in the grotto.”

  His face gentled as he remembered being stunned by his first sight of her coming up from the water. “The one that made you think you couldn’t be the woman God means for me.”

  He reached for her hand as she nodded. When she squeezed his hand, relief rippled through him. This was the only lie. She was a victim who needed to be freed from her Step Pappy’s machinations.

  Emotion clogged his throat. He cleared it more than once before he could speak again.

  “I understand why you pretended, but I am wondering if your uncle really did leave you out of the will. To be sure, I need a look at the document when Melvin isn’t around.”

  Some nuance in his voice alerted the older woman. Her eyes suddenly turned suspicious. “Has he behaved in a way that makes you question his honesty?”

  Explaining about the form Melvin wanted the Widow Perkins to sign, Theo finished with a shake of his head. “It makes me wonder if the railroad is planning to go through her property. I’d heard of plans to extend track toward the Black Hills.”

  After pausing for a moment, he added another detail. “When I returned without her signature, Melvin began insisting that I leave for the Black Hills myself, even though I wasn’t supposed to go until after July 4th.”

  Ginger snorted. “He must want you out of town.”

  At the snort, Theo saw Mrs. Hooper throw the younger woman a look of censure. Ginger blushed and ducked her head.

  Running both hands down his face, Theo groaned. “A crooked lawyer, a corrupt sheriff. Now, a band of outlaws who will murder Ginger if they ever figure out who she pretended to be.”

  He ignored Ginger to meet Mrs. Hooper’s gaze. “I’m no miracle worker.”

  “Maybe not. Seems I remember that your God is.” One eyebrow rose as she spoke, as if in challenge.

  Not for the first time, Theo wondered about Mrs. Hooper’s faith. She asked him to pray at the dinner table each evening. Would she have stopped to pray if he weren’t eating with her and Miss Mari Lisa?

  “Yes, ma’am. You have the right of it. Raising the dead and multiplying food do seem harder tasks than bringing justice to Kearney. All the same, I’ll be praying about it tonight.” Pausing, it was his turn to look at the woman in challenge. “Will you be doing the same?”

  “Count on it, Mr. Edwards.”

  “So, I told her she looked familiar, and the little gal wouldn’t meet my eyes.” Sheriff Riley puffed out his chest as he boasted. The man with him only frowned.

  “Doubt she were skeered o’ you, Tubby.” Collins’ gold tooth glinted in the lantern hanging on the side of a horse stall. “Expect she’s got somethin’ to hide.”

  A voice behind him questioned, “Are ya gonna snatch her? Might better talk to her outta town. Maybe at the cabin?”

  Lust sounded in his voice as he made the suggestion. Collins shook his head, frustrated that none of the jackanapes who rode with him couldn’t keep their minds out of their pants.

  A man didn’t get ahead when he let his appetites control him. That was one thing his mother’s bible thumping taught him. He’d shut his mind to most of her teachings. A man didn’t get ahead in the world by following that bible nonsense.

  Sheriff Riley spoke again. “I had the oddest feelin’ that maybe the girl was her brother.”

  Men around the crooked sheriff guffawed. “That is an odd feelin’, Tubby!” one called.

  Collins held up a hand. Quiet fell like a sudden shower across the livery. “Why’d you think that, Tubby?”

  Rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, the sheriff pondered the question. In fact, the effort of thinking intensely turned the man’s face puce. Then, he raised a finger triumphantly in the air.

  “The eyes. That boy purt near never let anyone see his eyes. Got a glimpse of ‘em when I caught him listening to us that night.” At Collins’ nod of understanding, the man continued. “At the depot, the girl’s eyes looked the same when I cornered her about lookin’ familiar.”

  Collins softly muttered, “Windows to the soul.” It had been something his mother used to say about a person’s eyes.

  Snapping his fingers, Riley crowed. “That’s it. Like I was looking at the same person behind the eyes.”

  “Nah, boss. No boy’s gonna dress like a woman. No way, no how.” The speaker cut the air with his hand to show how unlikely he believed the idea to be.

  Ignoring him, Collins hissed an order to Riley. “Watch her for a few days. See if maybe she’s really a he in skirts.”

  Riley preened at the assignment. Collins had believed him about the boy dressing like a girl. Giving his detractor a scorn-filled glance, he tried to strut from t
he livery. The movement really looked more like a waddle, but Riley’s message of victory was clear.

  As he watched the man leave, disgust stamped itself on Collins face. What a bunch of idiots he had to work with on this job! Now, the man in the shadows of the livery was quite different.

  “You two, get out. Seems you know already what to do.” Boots stomped as the two jostled to be the first out the door of the livery. A horse nickered as they went.

  Sort of like it’s laughing at them, Collins thought. Suddenly, dread swamped him about his plan to steal the gold shipment. The kid had heard and escaped.

  With a shake of his head, he pushed that feeling aside. Those men would go on without him, even if he pulled out. And how would he get more stooges in the future if he abandoned his plans now?

  “Come on out.” He’d see what the local had to say. That fellow had a good head on his shoulders.

  Whitey stepped into the yellow light of the lantern. His Nordic-blonde hair glowed so he had a halo of sorts around him.

  Collins inwardly groaned. More bible thoughts. What’s gotten into me tonight?

  The brawny man in front of him snorted, as if he’d read Collins mind. For a brief moment the outlaw leader stiffened. The other man’s words quickly had Collins relaxing his stance.

  “What’s the use following Ginger Snap? I’ve seen her, and boy howdy, she’s all woman.” Whitey’s hands formed an hour glass in the air.

  Standing silent, Collins waited. He sensed the other man had a plan so he didn’t interrupt, only stayed patient. Eventually, Whitey would get around to speaking. This strategy in handling men had stood him well in the past, paying off again and again.

  “I’d head out to Wiley Snap’s place. He’s got the answers we want.”

  At that, Collins did react. With a derisive snort, he looked the larger man in the face—even if it did mean crooking his neck—and scowled.

  “You’ve been grillin’ him for details every night for the last week. If he knew something, the drunk would’ve spilled it already.”