“First you are only pretending to be my husband. You will not be sharing my bed. You will not touch me unless I invite you to do so for the sake of your cover,” she paused and he nodded, she was attractive certainly but not to the point that he couldn’t control himself. He liked his women a little more… friendly. “You will not fraternize with the girls. You are supposed to be a married man after all.” He smirked at that. He couldn’t help it. Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Since we are helping you I expect you to help us with a need that we have.”
“What’s that?” Matt was instantly on alert.
“We need an enforcer.”
“What does that entail?”
“Occasionally we have problems with cowboys who drink too much or think they can get rough with the girls. We need someone that can show them the door. Can you handle yourself in a pinch?”
“I am a Ranger,” he said, feeling that was answer enough.“Anything else?”
“Your name is Matt Anderson, you are in the army, Calvary to be specific and you are here on leave.”
“What difference does my name make?”
“Anderson is my name. You want to be my husband so you take my name. When I want to be your wife I’ll take your name.” He smiled at that.
“Where am I stationed?”
“Austin.”
“So why aren’t you there?” She glared at him and he smiled again.“Just trying to get my facts straight.”
“Because you are gone more than you are there. I come to see you whenever you have time off.”
“Well that’s nice of you.”
“Mr. Harrison…”
“Anderson,” he interrupted and he could see she was getting more irritated by the second.
“If this is just a big joke to you why are you wasting everyone’s time?” His smile fell away immediately.
“It’s not a joke,” he said coolly.
“Come on I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” Matt followed her.
“Oh Mr. Harrison…” Isaiah called and he stopped.
“Call me Matt.”
“Matt, she runs the show around here. This is her place.” Matt frowned slightly not sure what the other man was getting at.“Her husband would know that.” Matt nodded his understanding.“Also, you can call me Izzy. Everyone else does.”
Matt found Rose waiting in the hall. When she saw him she simply turned and started walking expecting him to follow and he did. She opened a door at the end of the hall. She entered the room and he followed. He was surprised to find it was a bedroom. The bed wasn’t very big and left room for a vanity and a sofa.
“As I said you will not be sharing my bed however I suppose I can’t avoid you sharing my bedroom if this story is to be believed. The sides fold down on that sofa. It will still be too short but it will have to do. I really don’t like to share space so if you could make the evidence of your presence as minimal as possible I would appreciate it.” He stared at her for a moment. He didn’t think he had ever used speech that was quite so formal.“What?” She asked noting his strange expression.
“Nothing,” he said quickly. He was surprised at how practical she was about allowing him into her life and her bedroom, though not her bed. He supposed she was probably used to having men in and out but he still thought she would put up more resistance.
“We will tell the girls that you are recovering from some injury, that way you won’t be expected to leave after a set amount of time.” His brows rose slightly she was almost as good at fabricating a cover as he was.
“How‘bout a disciplinary action.”
“Wouldn’t they just put you in the stockade?”
“Not if they are deciding whether to discharge me. Plus it will be better for my job as an enforcer if people don’t think I have an injury that could make me vulnerable.”
“Fair enough.”
“So what have you done for protection up till now?” he asked as he followed her back to the saloon.
“I can take care of myself.”
“I am sure you can,” he smirked.
“I bet you think that gun on your leg makes you invincible.”
“No,” he said,“I have a knife too.” He pointed at his belt on the opposite side from his gun. She didn’t laugh she just rolled her eyes. “A gun makes a good peacemaker.”
“How so?”
“Because it might be worth it to try it if you’re only going to get thumped but probably not if you’re going to get dead,” she smirked at that.
“This is my peacemaker,” she reached under the bar and took out an axe handle with no head.
“That’s an alright deterrent. You crack many sculls with that?”
“Just enough to keep the peace,” she said and he laughed.
Chapter 2
Meeting the ‘girls’ as Izzy and Rose called them was much more unnerving than he expected. Each of the women looked him up and down evaluating him from head to toe. He would have loved to know what they were looking for, or what they saw for that matter. Some of them gave him blatantly inviting looks while others simply looked curious. There were seven altogether. Every hair and eye color was represented though he had seen two blond wigs in Rose’s room and he suspected there was a third on her head. So it stood to reason that a few of the other women were wearing them as well. They were all beautiful. He had never seen quite so many beautiful women grouped into one place. He might have thought he’d died and gone to heaven except that he was sworn to be as chaste as a priest. So it was possible he had died and gone to hell.
People started showing up at the Saloon in the early afternoon. Rose was behind the bar and her soft Texas drawl was back in place. He wasn’t sure what it was about the way she was talking that interested him so much. They were in Texas, everyone had a Texas drawl. There was just something about the way she talked that made him want to listen to her. Apparently she had that effect on a lot of men because they were lined up around the bar. They all knew her by name and she talked with each and laughed at their bold flattery or attempts at humor. He simply leaned against the end of the bar waiting and watching.
“Have a drink with me Rosy.” One man slurred
“You know I am working Henry,” she said slightly chastising.
“Ahh come on just one.” She sighed and looked at the other men lining the bar.
“Alright,” she relented,“just one.” The men cheered. She placed a shot glass on the bar then took a flask from her pocket and filled it with dark liquid. She held it up in toast and the men returned the gesture. She threw the shot back and they cheered again. She walked along the bar getting new drinks for those that needed them and accepting payment. When she returned Henry was waiting for her.
“Why don’t you let me take you upstairs, Rosy?I got paid today.” He whispered so loud that it really wasn’t a whisper.“You are the most beautiful woman in this place.”
“Oh Henry, now I know you say that to all the girls,” shelaughed.“Go ask one of the other girls.”
“I don’t want one of the other girls I want you.” He insisted and Matt was a bit surprised by his determination. “Marry me Rosy.” The man slurred and Matt nearly laughed aloud. The man was clearly drunk and very enamored with her but he doubted that it was marriage that he really had in mind.
“I am already married Henry, you know that.”
“I’ve never seen your husband.” Rose looked down the bar at him and he smirked, he knew what was coming. She lifted her finger and pointed at him. His smirk turned to a fully-fledged grin when all the heads at the bar swiveled as one and looked at him. A few of the men looked embarrassed, Henry looked embarrassed and a bit annoyed.
Matt was suddenly a little uncomfortable as the men looked at him as if he just rained on their parade. He stood up straight and cleared his throat.
"Think I’ll go make the rounds." he stepped away and he saw Rose smirk. She was enjoying this, enjoying trying to make him squirm. Of course it wasn't going to work.
Not really, because he didn't care who she flirted with. He wasn't really her husband.
He did have a job to do though. Two of them actually. One for himself and one for his cover. He made his way through the smoky room. It was a Wednesday, not nearly as crowded as when he had been here on Friday but still a thriving business. Izzy was dealing poker in the corner he only saw three girls circulating in the room. Two blonds and a raven haired beauty. The Ranger in him had begun cataloging details the moment he met them. They all had nicknames. He didn’t believe for a second the names he had been told were their given names. Just as an example the woman with the black hair was aptly named Raven. She was the shortest of the women. Matt guessed that she was less than five feet. Everything about her was tiny and delicate. She gave him the impression that he could just pick her up and put her in his pocket. He was fairly certain she stirred the protective instincts of every man in the room, along with their lusts. Dixie, one of the blondes, was the polar opposite of Raven she was almost a foot taller, blond, and what he could only describe as a 'sturdy' build.
"Can I get ya a drink Hun?" Dixie asked him. She smiled at him and he smiled back. She had a pretty mouth. As kissable mouth Benji would have said. Unfortunately, he couldn't find out how kissable because that would blow his cover.
"No thanks Darlin."
"Let me know if you change your mind." She smiled at him and his eyes followed automatically as she walked away. He took a deep breath and forced himself to focus. He was here to find Benji's killer. He scanned the room everyone here was a potential suspect. He just didn't know what the potential motive was. After he made a slow circuit of the room he returned to his perch by the bar. Some of the same men remained. The intoxicated man that had proposed was gone. Rose was still chatting with the men at the bar. She was friendly and fun loving with them. Not at all the freeze out she had given him. He watched her, she was very efficient as soon as one man finished his drink she was there to get him another she was continually wiping down the bar and washing glasses while she was chatting with the men. He was so used to hearing her voice talking to others that it took him a minute to realize she was talking to him.
"What did you say?" he asked when she had been staring at him for a moment.
"You're up slugger."
"What?" He said again not understanding her meaning. She pointed and he followed the line of her finger and saw Dixie. There was a drunken cowboy trying to get his arms around her she was pushing him off but he wasn't getting the point. He straightened up and approached them.
“Do we have a problem?” He asked, the drunken man glanced at him then turned his attention back to the girl.
“Mind your own business.” The man muttered.
“You’re bothering the lady.”
“I said get lost.” The man growled.
“It’s time for you to go.” Matt said and grabbed the man’s arm. The man released Dixie and swung at him. Matt ducked dodging the punch and immediately retaliated burying his fist in the man’s gut. He fell back landing heavily on the chair and the legs buckled sending it crashing to the floor. He stepped forward to haul the man up but before he could someone barred his path. He was surprised to see Rose. From this distance he could see her eyes weren’t blue but a deep smoky grey and very angry. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back several steps. She turned back and helped the man to his feet.
“Come on Lewis, time to go sleep it off. Mabel will be looking for you.” She escorted him to the door and nudged him out. The people around him returned to what they had been doing moments before. She walked to a door beside the end of the bar and looked pointedly at him. He sighed and followed her. It was clearly a store room, there were crates full of bottles stacked along the wall
“What was that?” she demanded the second he closed the door.
“What? I was just doing what you told me too.”
“I need you to defuse the situation, show him the door. Not act like a jealous lover!”
“If I were acting like a jealous lover I would have just hit him, instead of trying to talk to him.” She huffed and crossed her arms. He could see that argument didn’t appease her.
“When one of them starts fighting they all start fighting. When they fight, they break things,” she said very calmly as if she were explaining something to a child. The tone grated on him.
“I was simply doing the job you gave me.”
“Next time, do it without breaking anything or you can go out the door with him,” she snapped and walked passed him out the door. He fought to keep his irritation in check so it wouldn’t show as he followed her back out. He resumed his perch beside the bar and the activity around him continued as if the incident had never happened. He didn’t move again the rest of the night. He just observed. He looked for anyone that looked suspicious or as if they had unnaturally violent tendencies. By the end of the night he was no closer to finding a suspect. Once all the patrons were gone the girls disappeared as well. Izzy began stacking the chairs on top of the table so he followed suit and did the same. When they finished Rose was sweeping.
“What next?” He asked. She looked up as if the sound of his voice had startled her.
“Get some sleep,” she said softly. He looked around and realized that Izzy was already gone.
“Are you coming?”
“I have more to do.”
“Can I help?”
“No,” she said simply. He was tempted to stay and help anyway but opted not to. There was no point in sticking around and being a nuisance if she didn’t want him there.
Matt made himself a bed on the sofa in Rose’s room. He had slept on worse but still he couldn’t sleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep much since he’d gotten the wire from Jack. He had left the lamp burning for Rose so he saw her when she came in. He didn’t move and alert her that he was awake but he didn’t pretend to sleep. She didn’t even look his way. She locked the door and stood there for a moment and he wondered if she had forgotten he was there. Then she took off the wig, suddenly he was interested. Much more so then he would have thought he would be. She placed the wig on a wig stand next to the other two. Then took off the hair net that held her real hair hidden under the wig. She put her hands in her hair and shook like crazy. Her hair tumbled free into unruly chestnut curls. They kinked and curved in random directions and created such a riot of hair that he was amazed that she had even been able to fit it under the wig. He wondered why she even bothered with the wig. The curls were more appealing. Even as he watched, his fingers itched to touch them. To see if they were as soft as they looked. He lay there quietly watching her as she turned down her bed and took off her shoes. She stepped behind a dressing screen to change her clothes and he found himself watching her bare toes beneath the screen. When she stepped out wearing a Victorian nightgown that buttoned all the way up to her chin he nearly groaned aloud. For some reason the sight of her in that nightgown turned him on more than any number of scantily clad women he had seen. For the first time he felt a pang of regret for her mandate that he wouldn’t share her bed. He watched her take something out of her night table drawer and hold it in her hands for a few moments before returning it to the drawer. She blew out the lamp and he heard her slide between her sheets. She hadn’t said a single word or even looked his way.
Rose’s eyes popped open at the foreign sound. She held very still until her sleep fogged mind processed what the sound was and the events of the previous day came rushing back. Matt was snoring. She rolled over and looked at him. He looked almost comical. He was much too big for the tiny sofa, too long especially. His shirt was off and the blanket had slipped down to his waist. He was very appealing. His chest was covered in dark curls a shade darker than his hair. She had known his looks were going to be a problem from the start. Those eyes especially. They were pale blue and utterly mesmerizing. She had seen every one of the girls respond to him in a way they rarely did. Secretly she found it very satisfying to be able to claim he was
her husband even if it wasn’t true. They never envied her anything, they were all so beautiful and she was plain and ordinary. They spent their lives with men hanging on their every word and she was just the bar maid. They were all sweet for the most part but there wasn’t one that wasn’t conceited beyond the bounds of reason. She collected all of her things and slipped out of the room as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t wake him.
Matt found Rose in the kitchen. He followed the scent of coffee straight to her. She was sitting at the table reading the paper. She was blond again. He remembered clearly seeing her with dark curls but it seemed unreal now. As if he was remembering a dream.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?” she asked in that soft drawl.
“Not bad.” He sat down across from her. She arched a brow at him.
“Didn’t look comfortable.” He had to smile at that, it really wasn’t very comfortable. She stood up and retrieved a cup filling it with coffee for him.
“Thank you.” He took the cup. He didn’t mention that he hadn’t asked for coffee and she hadn’t asked him if he wanted it.“You’re up early, what did you get about four hours of sleep? Five maybe?”
“I have things to do. Besides I like the morning. It’s calm and quiet.”
“You’re kind of intense aren’t you?” Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“What does that mean?”
“Doesn’t mean anything. It was just an observation. Do you ever unwind?” Her eyes narrowed into a full glare and he wondered if there was fire behind the smoke in her eyes.
“Look… what do you call yourself? It doesn’t matter… Look Ranger. You are here to do a job and that is it. Don’t think that you can charm me because I am not interested.”
“Matt.”
“What?” she asked, not following what he meant. One side of his mouth quirked up in an extremely lopsided smile.
“Matt, it’s what I call myself. My mother called me Matthew. You can call me Mr. Anderson if I can call you Mrs. Anderson.” She was really glaring at him now and he was certain there was fire behind that smoke. She didn’t let him see it though. She simply stood up and walked out taking her coffee with her. “Hey where are you going?” He called following her.
Whiskey Rose (Fallen) Page 2
