“Would your wife and her sister like a bath brought to their rooms?”
“They would appreciate that, thank you. Do you have a barbershop close? I need a shave and a haircut.”
“Yep, DeGrazia’s, next building over. Tell Marty I sent you.”
The busboy showed them to their rooms and they unpacked. Gil left to get his shave and haircut, Helen fussed with her clothes and hair, and Charity practiced dealing seconds. A while later, the maids brought baths to each of their rooms.
As Charity soaked in the warm, sudsy water, her body was at ease but her mind was not. Charity Ann Templeton had set out to catch the biggest, smartest fish in the country, Burke O’Shaughnessy. Instead, she found herself caught in Gil’s net. How foolish and embarrassing—she felt like a silly girl with her first infatuation. Helen talked of love like the besotted young lass she was, but Charity’d never had reason to believe in such things.
Then Gil dealt his way into her life. He liked to hold her hand, but he never made a salacious move, never wooed her into making love, and never acted like she was a cheap whore. He seemed to enjoy her company, was amused by her wit, and didn’t expect her to act like someone else.
That confused her because she always acted the role of whatever part was necessary for the job. She could be a high society lady, or a gambler’s capper, or a frumpy housewife. One thing she didn’t have much practice at was being Charity.
When she finished with her bath, she knocked on Helen’s door. “I thought we might like to buy new dresses. Mine are all gray with coal soot.”
“Good idea. I’ll get my bonnet and handbag.” In a flash, she was ready to go. As they walked down the hall, Helen said, “I don’t have any money, but I can help you pick something out. While you were in the bath, I sent out my dresses to be brushed.”
“I think you should have something new and pretty. We’ve come a long way to connect with your amour, and you should look your best. And frankly, it was disgusting to put today’s clothes back on after the bath. So how about I spring for a nice gown, for the sake of young love and baby birds.”
“Baby birds?” Helen’s voice was gruff. “I certainly hope you don’t think my love for Patrick is a childhood infatuation. That’s what Lexie thinks, and no amount of persuasion has changed her mind.”
That’s exactly what Charity had thought and maybe it was, since Helen was only eighteen years old—but Charity’s growing attraction to Gil had made her reevaluate her judgment of Helen’s feelings. “No, I might have thought so in the beginning, but I know better now.”
“Is that because you’re in love with Gil?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because in the beginning, when you first met him, you used him like a handy tool. Now, though, the two of you work together. Plus, I’ve seen the way you look at him, and he watches you all the time—his eyes go all soft and his smile is genuine. He admires you and he’s very proud of you.”
“Think so?” Charity didn’t quite know how to interpret that. She thought she’d kept her feelings to herself, but Helen had been too astute to be fooled. “I do have fond feelings for Gil, but I can’t fall in love with him. Neither of us is the marrying type, and there’s no sense for either of us to put ourselves in peril of breaking our hearts.”
“The nice thing about music,” Helen said, “is you can express your innermost desires. Music fills the holes in your soul, those places where people have taken a little piece of your heart.” She patted Charity’s arm. “So if you have music, it’s safe to fall in love.”
Charity purchased them each a new dress with matching bonnet and gloves. When they returned to the hotel, Gil met them in the lobby.
“I have good news,” he said. “Hmm, what’s this?” He peered in Charity’s ear.
“Oh, Gil, I’m not going to fall for that.”
“Oh, so you don’t want this, then.” He whipped out a ruby ring and gave it to her. “And Helen, let’s see what you’re hiding.” From behind her ear, he extracted a garnet necklace. “Just thought my ladies would like a pretty after such a long journey.”
Charity stared at the ring. No one had ever given her anything without wanting something in return. Well, Burke had, but she’d always thought of him as her brother, since they’d been raised together.
“The barbershop is always the best place to inquire about someone. Patrick is staying up at the Gold Hill Hotel, a couple miles out of town, so I took the liberty of renting a buggy. It wouldn’t be appropriate for Helen to visit him alone, besides I would worry for her safety, so all three of us will go.”
“Besides that,” Helen said, “I don’t know how to drive a buggy.” She hopped on her tip-toes, her blond curls bouncing. “I’m so excited to see Patrick.”
* * *
An hour later, the three of them entered the Gold Hill Hotel. Charity’s fondness for the girl had grown, and she hoped beyond all hope that Patrick was at least half as excited to see Helen as she was to see him. One-sided love was the most painful kind.
Gil asked the clerk to send for Patrick and in just a few short minutes, Patrick bounded down the stairs. The moment Helen saw him she ran to his arms and he hugged her so tightly she squealed.
“Helen!” He started to kiss her, but then glanced around, obviously thinking better of it. “What are you doing here?”
“Lexie got in a toot about the money I gave you. She thinks you stole it even though I told her you didn’t, and she’s after you. I wanted to get to you first.”
Patrick hugged her again, then set her away. “We best do some introductions.” With his arm left around her waist, he grinned at her companions. He held out his right hand to Gil. “I’m Patrick O’Shaughnessy. You?”
Gil shook with him. “Gil Smith. I found these lovely ladies on the train. Helen’s been jo-fired anxious to find you, so I tagged along for the adventure.”
Charity stepped forward. “Hi, Patrick.”
“Charity!” He hugged her, then held her back and studied her up and down. “Beautiful as ever, and no better an escort for my Helen. I’m sorry I didn’t see you before, but I was surprised and a little shocked to see my fiancée.”
This could be easier than she thought. Patrick made no pretense of hiding his strong feelings for Helen or that he intended to marry her.
“So what are your plans?” she asked, wondering when she could graciously suggest they all head to Mexico for a grand wedding party.
“Money’s raised and the mining equipment is nearly bought—just have to pay for it and arrange delivery.” He tugged Helen even closer. “Then Helen and I are headed to the preacher as soon as we can get her sister and my brother rounded up to have a wedding. You’re here, so at least I don’t have to hunt you down.”
“Sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this.” She didn’t want to appear overanxious to get them out of town, so she said, “Let’s have dinner.”
“I told you he’s an honorable man,” Helen’s grin couldn’t have been wider, and happiness beamed from her eyes.
Charity smiled inside and out. Maybe there really was such a thing as love.
* * *
Burke carried Lexie into the private car, shouldering his way through the bedroom door, and laying her gently on the bed. He’d never known such heart-stopping fear or such blind fury as when he saw Toulson brutalizing the woman he loved. He brushed an errant lock from her forehead.
“You rest right here, darlin’. I’ll see if there’s a bathtub on the train. If there is, I’ll get it for you. But first, I need to know if anything is broken, bones I mean.”
“No.” She flexed her arms, then let them drop as if she were exhausted, which she probably was. “My shoulders are a little sore and my cheek hurts where he hit me. That’s all—nothing that won’t heal in a couple days.”
His brave Lexie. “I’ll be right back, then. I’m going to have a talk to the baggage attendant.”
“Toulson tipped him really w
ell to stay quiet.”
He hoped Toulson was still unconscious. If not, Burke would see to it that he was. And then Burke would have a nice little talk with both the attendant and his supervisor. He made sure Lexie was as comfortable as she could be, then he set out on his mission.
Toulson, still sprawled on the floor, raised his head and used his shoulder to swipe at the blood on his face.
“Looks like you need another nap.” Burke kicked him on the chin, rolled him over, and tied his hands and feet together with more of the same rope the bastard had used on Lexie. He made sure the binding was good and tight, not caring whether it cut off Toulson’s circulation or not. If the man’s hands rotted off, so be it. Maybe his cock would rot off, too.
He shoved Toulson aside with his foot, opened the door to the smoking car, grabbed the attendant, and pulled him back into the baggage car.
“Do you always assist men who get their jollies from beating up women?”
The man trembled, his face pale. “I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t know? You didn’t see that he had a gun pressed into my wife’s ribs?” Burke balled his fists. “I’d like to whip you within an inch of your life. But I won’t. Instead, I think the conductor would like to hear exactly what can happen on this train if a person tips enough.”
If Burke had his way about it, he’d have thrown Toulson off the train, and the attendant right after him. The desert had a way of dealing with wounded stragglers. But he had other matters to attend to, and his first priority was to comfort Lexie.
“You watch this bastard and if he makes one move, shoot him or I’ll shoot you. Consider it as part of that tip he gave you.”
When he returned to their private car, where he found her sitting at the table. She wore his robe and for some reason, that made him happy.
“I thought the cup of tea would sooth my throat. I’m not used to screaming.”
Burke reckoned she’d never screamed in her entire life. He’d barely heard her scream over the train noise, and it was a good thing he was a light sleeper.
“I think a little brandy in that tea would do your throat even more good, and it might settle your nerves a little, too.” He fetched the brandy from the cabinet. “They’re bringing a bath. They don’t have the regular-sized bath tub so you’ll have to do the best you can with a washtub.”
“That’s fine.” She kept her head down with the pretense of studying her tea, as if she didn’t want him to see her face. “I have another dress, but I don’t have another corset, at least not with me, and my dresses won’t fit without it.”
“I’ll buy you one at the next town where we stop to take water and coal. Don’t you worry about that, I’ll take care of everything. I’ll take care of you.”
The conductor called, “Conductor here. Please open your door, Mr. O’Shaughnessy. We have the bath and a few little niceties that your wife might like.”
Lexie clutched her breasts as if she were naked. “I’ll go in the bedroom—I’m not presentable.”
Burke waited until she shut the bedroom door, then let the conductor and a dining car waiter in. The conductor carried a tub with various personal care items in it, and the other man held couple buckets of steaming water.
“We can only spare five gallons of water, but here’s some lavender soap and some bath salts. At the next stop, we’ll pick up some extra water and a tub, but I’m hoping this will hold you over.”
The conductor was accommodating, but Burke wished he would just leave the items and go. “Thanks.” He gave both men a tip and held the door open for them, an unspoken request to leave, and the conductor took the hint, but the waiter paused.
“Your meal will be delivered in an hour, if that’s all right,” the waiter said. “No charge, of course.”
“That’s fine.”
The waiter left and Burke locked the door. Lexie peeked out of the bedroom. “All clear?”
“Yep.” He poured half the water into the washtub and mixed the bath salts into it, then he placed a chair beside the tub. “You sit right there and relax.” He wetted a washcloth and gently dabbed at the bruise on her cheek. “This isn’t as good as soaking in a warm bath, but it’ll have to do. If you’d like, we could stay overnight at a hotel in Grand Junction to give you a chance to recuperate.”
She put her hand over his and pressed it to her cheek. “But one thing about it, when I was struggling for air, I reflected on you and the time we’ve had together. All I could think of was how happy you’ve made me and that I’d learned about love before I died.”
Love? He wondered if her feelings for him were half as strong as his love for her. He could only hope. “Let me sponge off your arm.”
She slipped her left arm out of his robe’s sleeve. “I know you’re a wandering man, not given to attachments, but it’s important to me that you know how important you are to me and to all those children you entertain. I admit to being very judgmental of you and your ways—the way you throw money around, giving exorbitant sums to people you don’t even know, taking money from people eager for a bet when you know they can’t best you—but I was wrong in so many ways.”
He toweled off her arm and helped her put the sleeve back on. “Not wrong—just a different way of living. Other arm, now.”
“My life has been empty, Burke. I’ve always tried to do everything the right way to please Mama and Papa, and to steer Helen in the right direction. But when I thought my life would be over in a matter of seconds, I saw how limited my perspective was.”
She rested both hands on his neck and gazed into his eyes, kissed him lightly.
“You’re not limited in any way. In fact, you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” He brushed his lips across her forehead. “Let’s not scrimp on the kissing part. I like it.”
“Helen is only eighteen years old but she has a better grasp on what’s important in life than I ever did.” Lexie swept her hands over his shoulders and down his biceps, then tipped her head back for another kiss.
He ached to take her right then and there, but she’d been through too much already.
“You have too many clothes on,” she murmured. He remembered telling her the same thing at one time. One by one, she unbuttoned his shirt, then slid her hands over his bare abdomen and around his waist.
“Lexie, you’re playing with fire.” He’d tried not to be, but her touch made him hard as a blacksmith’s hammer and twice as hot.
She kissed his belly, which didn’t help his control any. “I still want to find your brother but I have no inclination to force him to marry my sister—merely give them choices, choices that I’ve never had.”
Burke couldn’t have said a word if his life depended on it, once she started nuzzling the area below his navel, excruciatingly close to the jackpot.
Raising her head, she said, “And another thing, and this is very hard for me to say because you’ve made your own choices in lifestyle, but I know in my heart that I will never love another man as much as you.”
Burke had no idea what to say. He had no idea what to think about her declaration. And she had no idea how precious she was to him, but right then, he just wanted her mouth to work its magic on him some more.
“With you being a college professor and all, there’s no room for a common gambling man like me. It would be selfish of me to keep you from your dreams, and in time I’m afraid you’d come to resent me. But that said, anytime you want to marry me, I’ll find the preacher within an hour.” He hugged her close and caressed her waist, then let his hands slip lower. “Or less.”
She laughed, but it was fake. “It only makes sense that after such a fright I’d become maudlin, so I won’t hold you to that left handed marriage proposal, but I do thank you for it. And for the short time we have together, I’d like to make the most of it.”
“Anything you want. You tell me what you want and it’s yours.”
“I want you. That’s all.”
Chapter 15
&nbs
p; Lexie was the most precious gift in Burke’s life. Many women had tried to lasso him but none had ever been so intriguing as Miss Alexandra Campbell. He was afraid she wouldn’t have him, and she had a couple good reasons for that, but he wasn’t ready to fold yet.
“Let me hold you, Lexie.”
“That would be nice, especially if we were on the bed.” She turned back to the washtub dunked her hands in the water, rinsed her face and arms, then took a drink of brandy-laced tea. “And no, I don’t want to stop at a hotel. I rather like having our private little sanctuary and I want to enjoy it, which means you staying with me.”
He followed her into the bedroom, turned down the blankets, kissed her as he lifted her gently, and laid her on the bed. “That’s fine with me. I’ll send out for food, and the only time I’ll be gone is when I go to purchase your corset.” He settled over her, careful not to squish her, but achingly yearning to sink his manhood into her and make her his.
“Now, Burke,” she pleaded. “Do it now. Make me feel something good.”
Any sense of decency he had went right out the train window when he heard her plea and saw the passion in her eyes. He barely had enough control to take it slow—she didn’t need to be hurt again. Once he felt the head slip past the sweet spot, though, he was done in, and shoved into her all the way to the hilt.
She held him by his hips urging him to thrust faster and harder. He squeezed her breast and tweaked her nipple. She gasped, her head thrown back in ecstasy, exposing her throat. He kissed her there and with one final plunge, roared as he emptied his seed in her.
Neither of them said anything. Lexie clung to him as if he’d disappear if she let go. That wouldn’t happen.
He’d stay with her as long as she’d let him. If she wanted him to go to Pennsylvania with her, he would go. If she wanted him to stop gambling for a living, he would do that. What he didn’t know was how he could make money. Neither his parents nor any of his close friends had ever had what most people would call a normal job.
But he didn’t think she took him seriously and she even thought his proposal of marriage was halfhearted. If he repeated his proposal, she might think he only wanted to make her feel better after her fearful and traumatic encounter with Toulson.
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