by Bobbi Smith
Looking at Jim now from beneath lowered lashes, she regarded him with a new respect. She wanted him…and the thought surprised and frustrated her. There was no time for dalliances…she had to get the information, and fast.
Annabelle’s thoughts were interrupted by Nathan’s return, and the rest of the evening passed in a comfortable fashion. It was after ten when Jim finally rose to leave.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” he told them.
“Must you go so soon?” Annabelle sounded disappointed and, in truth, she was. She knew her lack of response had troubled him, and she had hoped they’d have another chance to be alone so she could lay those fears to rest.
“Yes, I’m afraid so. In fact, I meant to tell you earlier…we’re pulling out tonight.”
“Tonight?” Annabelle was upset for more reasons than one.
“I’ve got to make a run. We’ll be leaving sometime after midnight.”
“But when will you return?”
“It will be every bit of ten days, possibly longer, but go ahead with your plans for the party. I’m sure I’ll be back in town by then.”
“All right, but I’m going to miss you. I was hoping that you’d be here to help me with all the details.” She pouted prettily.
“I’m sorry, Annabelle. But you know my job has to come first.”
“I know,” she admitted. “And I do understand. It’s just that on such short notice…”
“From now on, I’ll try to let you know a little further in advance,” he promised, glad that she was going to miss him. “If you do need any help with your planning, I’m sure my mother and sister would be glad to help.”
“Well, be careful. I’ve been hearing rumors,” Nathan put in.
“Haven’t we all,” Jim agreed as they moved into the hall to get his coat. “But there’s no need to worry. I’ll be fine. And I’ll see you as soon as possible.”
“Good night,” Annabelle called as he left the house, and then, after watching his carriage drive away, she slammed the door in a fury. “Damn!”
“I know. If only we could have found out a few hours sooner…”
“There has to be a way.”
“We’ll figure it out. I have every confidence in our plan. But if we are unsuccessful, there’s always Wade’s idea. He can be most persuasive.”
Annabelle nodded in agreement. “He certainly can be, and from what I’ve seen of Dorrie Westlake, she’ll be no match for Wade’s practiced charm.”
“Good.”
“You know, Father, I’m not going to rest easy until we’ve delivered the gold.”
Nathan looked at his daughter, his pride in her determination quite evident. “Neither will I, Annabelle. Neither will I.”
Chapter Nine
Jim banged loudly on the connecting door, bringing Delight straight out of her bed.
“Get up, Murphy! It’s after four!” Jim’s voice thundered as he pounded on the portal. “Get my breakfast up here.”
Having slept in her clothes. Delight took only the time necessary to pull on her boots before grabbing her coat and running from her little sanctuary.
“Yes, sir. I’m on my way.”
Jim only growled at Murphy’s retreating back, and Delight picked up her pace, not wanting to risk his displeasure. She needed this job, of that there was no doubt.
She was back in a few short minutes with his meal, for the cook was well aware of the captain’s schedule and had the food ready. Struggling to close the cabin door, she almost dropped the tray, and Jim glared at her for her clumsiness.
“Are you always like this, Murphy?” he asked sarcastically. Morning was not his best time of day, especially when he’d gotten little sleep the past three nights.
“No, sir.”
“Good. I’ll be looking forward to seeing an improvement.” When he noticed her disconcerted look, he instructed, “I eat at my desk.”
“Yes, sir.” Quickly placing the breakfast on his neatly cleaned-off desktop, she hastily withdrew to what she hoped was a safe distance. “Do you need anything else now?”
“No,” came his curt answer.
Delight had a great desire to stick her tongue out at him, but she fought back the thought. As she busied herself picking up his cabin the way Ollie had instructed her to the day before, Delight studied him covertly. Even early in the morning he was impressive. And, though his mood could hardly be called jovial, his presence was, as always, commanding.
Though Delight knew very little about him as a man, she felt an instinctive wariness that she credited to female intuition. There was no doubt in her mind that Jim Westlake was in charge of every part of his life and that he would brook no foolishness from those around him.
“Murphy.”
He startled her and she almost jumped as she was straightening his bunk.
“Yes, sir?” she gulped.
“That can wait. Go on down to the galley and get your breakfast.”
“I don’t mind, Captain,” she protested dutifully. “I’d just as soon get this done now.”
“Murphy—” his tone was threatening as he turned to look at her. “The cook only serves breakfast until five thirty. Now get the hell down there unless you intend to go without eating until noon.”
She didn’t even bother to answer but bolted from the room.
Jim watched her go and half-smiled to himself. Murphy had possibilities—he was eager to please and, according to Ollie, a fast learner. If he made it through the week, Jim was certain he would have a future with the ship. He made a mental note to get to know the boy better during these next days on the river and then turned his attention to his meal.
Delight entered the galley a bit timidly, but Ollie was already there waiting for her.
“How did your night go with the captain?” he inquired.
“Fine. I was asleep when he finally came in last night. What time did we leave St. Louis? I was so tired I slept through the whole thing.”
“It must have been two thirty or so before we actually shoved off. The captain was up all night again.”
Delight nodded in understanding. “Then that explains it.”
“Explains what?”
“He woke me at four to get his breakfast for him. But you told me yesterday that he usually eats at five thirty.”
“That’s on a normal day. When we’re leaving port it’s hard to tell when we’ll get time to eat. So always remember to grab what ever food you can, whenever you can, ’cause you just might have to miss a meal here and there.”
Delight nodded as she ate the hearty breakfast set before her.
“It’ll be hard to keep up with the captain for a while, but you’ll learn. And once you get the hang of it, you’ll know what he wants before he asks for it.”
“I’m looking forward to that day,” she grinned, forcing herself to eat like a half-starved, still-growing young boy.
“Just relax and try to stay out of his way.”
“I’ll do my best,” she promised.
They finished their meal in quiet and then returned to their respective duties.
It was still dark as Delight made her way back up to the texas deck. There was no moon, only a morning star shining palely in the distant heavens. A chill of fear swept through her as the realization came over her that she really had severed ties with her home and that she was truly all alone. She felt lonely and bereft and wished that there was someone she could talk to…someone who cared. Rose did, but she would be defenseless against Martin’s brutality. Delight knew then that there was no one left she could turn to. She had to rely only upon herself.
Her thoughts turned to her mother, and she said a quick prayer that her health was improving. Then, after adding a plea for guidance and protection, she squared her shoulders and prepared to return to Jim’s cabin.
Delight was hoping against hope that the captain would be gone when she got back. His presence made her jittery and unsure of herself, and she found it difficult to
concentrate when he was nearby. She was not to be given a reprieve, though, for when she reentered the stateroom Jim was at his desk busily going over some papers.
“Did you get breakfast?” he asked, not looking up.
“Yes, sir.”
Jim nodded. “Get what ever work you’ve got to do in here done, because I’m going to bed in about five minutes,” he ordered, fatigue evident in his voice.
Without another word, Delight hurried to turn down his bed. With a groan of exhaustion, Jim pushed away from his desk and stood up.
“Don’t wake me unless it’s a major disaster. Is that understood?”
“Oh, yes, sir,” she answered hastily, anxious for him to go to sleep so that she wouldn’t have to worry about him.
“Good,” he stripped off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants.
“Is there anything in particular you want me to do this morning?”
“No,” he told her as he shed his pants and went to the washstand to wash. “There’s nothing pressing. Find Ollie; he should have some jobs for you to do.”
“Yes, sir,” she responded, her gaze straying to his powerful back. He seemed so lean…so strong. She felt a strange stirring deep within her and reluctantly forced her eyes away. “Well, I’ll be going. Do you need to be up at any certain time?”
He turned to face her.
“Why don’t you plan on getting me up about noon?” he yawned, toweling himself off and heading for the bunk.
Delight almost scurried out of his way, but though Jim looked at her oddly for a minute, he was too exhausted to give her behavior a second thought.
“Yes, sir. I’ll do that, sir,” she told him, making her way to the door. “Good night, sir.” Her hand was on the doorknob as she heard the bunk creak under Jim’s weight.
“Murphy?” The sound of his voice stopped her dead in her tracks.
“Sir?” she answered meekly.
“It’s not night…it’s morning,” he chuckled, pulling the covers up over him.
“Right. Well, uh, good morning then, Captain.” And with one last glance in his direction, she fled the cabin.
It was nearly noon when Delight returned to Jim’s stateroom with a pot of freshly brewed coffee in hand. She entered quietly. She had experienced his irritation once at her ineptitude, and she intended never to give him another opportunity to criticize her.
Why his opinion of her should matter so much she didn’t know, but for some reason she wanted to please him. Delight didn’t have time to analyze her feelings, and the way things were right now, she didn’t want to. She would do the job Jim had hired her for and hope to avoid trouble until she could find a way to straighten out her life. How she was going to do that, she didn’t know. But somehow, some way, in time, she would.
Her long hours working with Ollie that morning had helped to restore some of her self-confidence, and she felt more able to deal with the captain now. Glancing at Jim where he lay on his bed, she let her gaze roam thoughtfully over him. She would never tire of watching him…of being with him. He was the most interesting, confusing man she had ever met. Her thoughts flew to that morning and the image of Jim standing so tall and so proudly male before her. He was a magnificent-looking man, and Delight felt the inexplicable urge to touch him.
“Sir,” she called, not too loudly, as she poured a cup of the steaming brew “It’s noon.”
When her word didn’t wake him, she approached the bunk. Lying on his stomach with his face turned away from her, the blankets covering his lower half, Jim was still asleep. Delight took the moment to really look at him. He was so handsome…her heart skipped a beat as she stood breathlessly by his side.
Delight hadn’t really given much thought to men’s bodies before today, for she had had no experience with them at all. But the feelings Jim Westlake had awakened in her were totally different from the stark terror Martin’s overtures had aroused. The sight of Jim last night dressed for his evening out had created a glowing warmth within her and aroused a bit of jealousy, too, she admitted to herself. And today, watching him sleep, she felt protective…the word that flitted through her mind startled her and she frowned at the thought…loving? Did she love him? How could she? He thought of her as a boy…he hadn’t even guessed she was a woman…and, after listening to bits of his conversation yesterday with Mark Clayton, she knew that Jim liked his women beautiful. Delight had never met Annabelle Morgan, but she’d heard of her. Her beauty was almost legendary on the St. Louis social scene, and if Jim had won her hand…well, what chance did she have with her hair bobbed and dressed in boy’s clothes?
Forcing that depressing thought from her mind, she reached out and touched his shoulder. The contact was shocking, as the warmth of his flesh seemed to brand her, and she moved a safe distance away, not wanting him to see her confusion.
“Captain,” she said loudly, and, had he been fully awake, he surely would have noticed the tremor in her voice.
“What!” he almost snarled, coming awake suddenly.
“It’s after noon, sir. I’ve brought you some coffee.” Delight sounded more self-assured than she felt.
“Oh.” Jim rolled to his back. Still tired, he threw a forearm over his eyes and lay still. “Is anything happening?”
“No, sir. But there are an awful lot of Union soldiers on board.”
Jim grunted, but didn’t move. “You might as well get used to them. We work for the Department of the Army, and we’ll have them on board every trip.”
“We work for the government?” She was surprised.
Jim heard the curious note in her voice and lifted his arm to peer at her for a moment. Delight was worried, but evidently he was satisfied with what he saw, for he lay back down again. “Just about everybody does now. There wouldn’t be much business without them. At least not until the river’s finally open again.”
“Oh.” She let the subject drop, feeling that she had somehow trespassed on a topic that was none of her business. Delight vaguely remembered Mark Clayton’s saying something the day before about doubling the guard, but she wasn’t sure what it was they were guarding.
“Where are you from, Murphy?”
“I lived out in the country for a while.” She wasn’t lying, she reassured herself. She had spent some summers with her Uncle Joe and Aunt Faith.
“Then what were you doing down on the riverfront?” Jim rolled to his side and sat up on the edge of the bed.
Delight debated how much of the truth to tell. She wanted to confide in him…to share her burden…to have him reassure her and tell her that everything would be all right. But she couldn’t tell him. Not now.
“I had a run-in with my stepfather and he threw me out.” She tried to sound casual.
“But you’re just a kid,” Jim argued.
“It didn’t matter to him. I was just another mouth to feed.” She shrugged in what she hoped looked like boyish indifference.
“How long had you been out on your own?”
His question caught her by surprise and she looked up quickly. “Not long,” she answered carefully.
Jim stood up to stretch and the covers dropped away. “Hand me my pants, Murphy.”
Delight handed him the wanted garment.
“Thank you,” he told her sleepily, pulling them on. “Have you had lunch yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Why don’t you go get something to eat and bring back my lunch when you finish. We’ve got a lot to do this afternoon and I’m going to need your help.”
“Yes, sir.”
Delight was glad to get away from Jim and the intimacy of the room, for she was uncertain whether the feelings of closeness and trust he inspired were real or something she’d invented in her own mind. Hurrying down the deck, she tried to dwell on other things, but, as it had been all morning, the vision of Jim, so strong and virile, was burned into her consciousness and she knew she would think of only him for the rest of the day.
“Murphy.”
The sound of the opening door and Jim’s voice so near barely penetrated Delight’s exhausted slumber. Curled on her side, she slept on, unaware that her boss stood in the connecting doorway of their two cabins, watching her.
“Is he awake?” Mark asked from his seat in Jim’s stateroom.
“No,” Jim answered, still staring at the boy.
He frowned to himself. Murphy looked like a child as he lay there sound asleep. How could his stepfather have thrown him out? He was so young…Jim felt an unfamiliar sense of protectiveness arise within him. He had always made it a point not to get personally involved with his crew, but looking at Murphy now he knew it was hopeless. He would watch over him and try to guide him.
“Is something wrong?” Mark’s voice came again, stirring Jim from his thoughts.
“No,” Jim answered over his shoulder. “Murphy! Get up.”
Delight came awake suddenly, startled by the sound of the man’s demanding voice. Her sleep-clouded mind refused to acknowledge where she was and she stared at Jim in open confusion.
“What?” she croaked, an element of terror evident in her speech.
“Murphy, wake up.” Jim hid a smile as he snapped out orders to his cabin boy. “I need you to run down to the bar and bring a bottle of scotch back to the cabin.”
Shaking her head, she continued to stare at him for a moment until reality cut through her dreamlike state. Why just before she’d awakened, Jim had asked her to dance and they were waltzing and…“Oh, yes, sir. Right away, sir.”
As Jim started to turn away she practically threw herself from the bed. Hopping on one foot, Delight tried to pull on a boot and in the process fell flat on her rump with a resounding thud. Looking back over his shoulder, Jim quirked an eyebrow as his mouth twisted into a mocking grin.
“I’m not in that big a hurry, Murphy.”
His words echoed cuttingly through her and Delight was glad when he closed the door behind him. Leaning back forlornly against the side of her small bed, she fought the tears that threatened. Wouldn’t she ever be able to please the man?
