Claiming Coral (The Red Petticoat Saloon)

by Maddie Taylor

  “Does everyone in town know my business?”

  “It’s a very small town, so I suspect that they do.”

  “What if I went upstairs to earn my way, would that be honest work, too?”

  His brow wrinkled slightly. “It isn’t illegal, so yes. Although your pink petticoat tells me you don’t.” He tilted his head to the side, an endearing gesture from the big man. “Why would you want me to think otherwise?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Thank you for coming to my aid.”

  “You can reward my heroism over dinner tonight. I’ll come by to pick you up at four o’clock.”

  A wave of excitement rippled through her, but after this ugliness, she hesitated, then made up an excuse. “As I told you last night, I work in the evenings and cannot.”

  “On your next night off.”

  “I don’t get nights off.”

  “I know Madame Jewel doesn’t expect you to work seven days a week and never have a break. How about Monday, at six, at the café?”

  She shook her head. His hand caught her chin, stilling the movement. Her head fell back at the intimate touch, her skin tingling where his warm fingers touched. She could feel the roughness of his fingertips—a workingman’s hands.

  “I’d like to get to know you better, Coral. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Looking up into his light blue eyes, the same color as the cloudless sky above him, she found herself nodding. He flashed a grin. “I’ll come by the saloon to collect you on Monday.”

  “Oh, no. I’ll meet you—”

  “It will be getting dark and I don’t want you walking the streets at that time of night alone.” His voice had taken on a commanding quality that she didn’t dare contradict. He then brushed the backs of his fingers along her jaw in a soft caress, again surprising her with his gentleness. “I’ll look forward to it.”

  The next moment he was striding back to his wagon, then with a slam, he latched the back gate and walked around front to climb on top. As she watched him go, the truth of her situation sank in, as did Millicent’s words. He was a good man, spoken of highly in the small town as a man of honor, he shouldn’t be getting involved with a fallen woman, even one who hadn’t been upstairs quite yet. Coral was just biding her time, getting up her nerve, because it was the only way she’d make enough money to get out of Culpepper Cove.

  She looked after Bo, the wagon getting smaller as it headed to the next corner and took the turn that led to where his livery and blacksmith forge was located. When he disappeared, she slowly turned and made her way up the steps to complete her errands. As she did so, she wondered what his reaction would be when she wasn’t there when he came to fetch her for dinner as he planned.

  Chapter Five

  Coral found Jewel surprisingly accommodating and had no problem arranging to have Monday off. For a madame, she was good to her girls and paid them well—the house taking an eyebrow raising meager thirty percent of their earnings—which had shocked her when she’d first heard. She also let them come and go as they pleased. But Gabriel and Nettie, had a few strict rules. The comings and goings were restricted to daytime hours, anything after dark had to be approved and required an escort.

  In her short time at the saloon, she’d already seen other gems been taking to task for violating that rule, which meant a trip over Mister Gabe’s knee for a sound spanking, or if Nettie was the one who caught the wrongdoer sneaking in, a round with her infamous wooden spoon.

  Coral had escaped such punishments, mostly because she hadn’t set foot outside, especially following the incident Saturday morning. Now she risked whatever consequences awaited her to avoid Bo. That included telling a fib that she would be spending the night with a friend. This had raised a few skeptical eyebrows when she’d told Jewel and the other girls, because they all knew she was new in town. No one questioned her, or called her on her boldfaced lie, thankfully.

  At about five o’clock, when the kitchen was busy and Gabe was out on business, she slipped out the back. From there she walked south of town, Bo’s mention of a perfect picnic spot giving her the idea. She found it after walking for about twenty minutes. Spreading her blanket on a grassy spot beneath a towering maple, overlooking a babbling brook, she settled in to watch nature’s summer show. The sunset in the western sky was a spectacular display of colors—fiery reds, pale pinks, streaks of vivid purple, amid a sky tinted orange. And, if she turned the other way, she could admire the majesty of the mountains to the east, standing like sentinels, as if guarding the beauty of California from the rest of the country. She couldn’t resist the impulse and childishly stuck out her tongue at them, the towering peaks solely responsible for her four-month detour around Cape Horn, after all.

  But that was behind her, and an uncertain future lay ahead. The last she’d checked, she had twenty-seven dollars in her account at the bank. That wouldn’t buy a stage ride back to San Francisco and meals along the way, let alone a house, or a building she could turn into a bookstore, or the novels and tomes needed to stock the shelves. Her shoulders slumped and she felt like crying. If she were ever going to make it out of the Red Petticoat and Culpepper Cove, she was going to have to move upstairs. Amy said a popular girl could earn as much as one hundred dollars a night. Dancing earned a tenth of that.

  She sniffled, a tear tracking down her cheek. It seemed she had gone from the frying pan into the fire by leaving home. She couldn’t afford to go back now, nor did she want to. Her father’s angry face popped into her head, and Harvey, marrying him was out of the question, if he even wanted her after she’d run away. The thought of another in his place, like George, robbed her of breath, the memory of his weight pressing her down into the mattress and all but crushing her, made her shudder. No.

  Was it any better to take strangers upstairs and share her body with them for money? A sob escaped. It seemed none of her options were good, and far and away from what she had hoped for her life.

  A shadow crossed over her blanket and she twisted around. She squinted through the near darkness up at the tall form standing over her. Suddenly afraid, she scrambled to her feet. As she did, another man stepped out of the shadows. He took off his hat and stepped forward into a sliver of moonlight. Her shoulders slumped in relief. It was Mister Gabe.

  She glanced at the other man, still concealed by the darkness. She’d been lost in thought so long she hadn’t seen the moon rise on the horizon or seen dusk fall. That they had approached without her hearing, scared her. They could have been anyone.

  Mister Gabe spoke as if he had read her thoughts. “We didn’t mean to frighten you, Coral. Although you should be afraid; we could have been any sort of criminal with naught but malicious intent on our minds. It was foolish to go off on your own. You know our rules.”

  “I, uh… Yes, sir.” She looked down at her clasped hands, nervously wringing a wad of her skirt. She determinedly let it go, smoothing out the wrinkles she’d made. “I needed some time alone; it was quiet here.”

  “So the friend you were to visit doesn’t exist. Jewel and Nettie suspected as much. Were you going to spend the entire night out here all alone?”

  “I, uh…”

  “Clearly the answer is yes.” There was no mistaking the identity of the man in the shadows when he spoke. He took a step closer and his features became clear, the concern and disappointment written unmistakably on his handsome face. “There are dangers in these woods. Four legged predators that would tear you apart for their supper, not to mention the two legged kind Mr. Vasquez mentioned.” She could hear anger in his clipped tone as well as when he addressed the other man. “I’ll see her home, Gabe.”

  Her employer glanced at Bo for a moment, then at Coral. He studied her intently before he nodded once, then turned and started down the hill.

  “Wait! I’d rather go back with you, Mister Gabe.”

  He paused, but only briefly to quirk a black brow at her as he denied her request. “I think you have some explaining to d
o first, Coral. We’ll discuss the rules more in the morning, if Bo here hasn’t made them perfectly clear.”

  “They’ll be as clear-cut as crystal to her by the time she comes back.”

  Gabe inclined his head. “I figured that would be the case.” He continued on down the hill, his low chuckle carrying easily back to them.

  “You went to a lot of trouble to avoid me, Coral.” As he spoke, Bo stepped closer, his face illuminated by the moon as he took the place Gabe had vacated. His eyes appeared black in the low light and his jaw was tight. Her mistake in not facing him directly, but running and hiding, a bad habit she’d had since a child, was becoming abundantly clear.

  “I’m sorry, though you wouldn’t take no for an answer the other day.”

  “Are you seeing someone else?”

  She laughed without humor. “No, that’s not it.”

  “Then is there something about me? I’m too tall? Too loud? Too foreign?”

  The last came out in a tight voice. Did he think she was a snob?

  “No, oh no. It’s not that.”

  “Then what?”

  “You don’t want to get involved with someone like me, Mr. Magnusson.” It was unthinkable that Bo would become her next victim, and also succumb to the curse of the black widow.

  “I asked you to dinner, Coral, not to become my bride.”

  That was true and it made her sound as though she thought highly of herself.

  “Maybe you should just take me home.”

  “I intend to, but first we have to address your risk taking.”

  “I thought we had?”

  “Hardly.” His fingers wrapped around her wrist and as he folded himself into a cross-legged position on her blanket, he hauled her down and over his lap.

  “What are you—”

  “You know the rules of the saloon. You heard me tell Gabriel that I would see to the punishment for violating them.”

  “You said we’d discuss them—” Her protests were choked off midsentence as he easily positioned her on her belly and flipped her skirt up onto her back. She felt him ruck up her petticoat next, one of the pink ones, of course, which left only her frilly white drawers underneath. Fingers, warm and rough, came in contact with the bare skin on her bottom next and she groaned, cursing her bad luck for wearing her split seamed pantalets. She’d thought she might need to see to the call of nature while she was out here.

  “I thought to leave these in place since we aren’t intimate, but this clever design takes that decision out of my hands.” Air wafted over her bottom as he untied the drawstring and separated the two halves.

  Next, a loud crack echoed through the night air as a stinging swat connected with one of her bottom cheeks. She squealed in protest an instant before a matching smack landed on the other side.

  “No! Stop.”

  “That’s not happening until I’m satisfied you won’t do something as foolish as walking in town or the woods by yourself after dark.”

  Another pair of slaps landed on alternating cheeks. He spanked hard, his big hand falling like a paddle and covering most of her bottom in a single swat. And it didn’t appear he intended to stop after a few. As more fell unrelentingly, the heat on her skin built with each blow. After about a dozen, tears filled her eyes and her hand flew back.

  “I’m sorry, please. No more.”

  Fingers curled around her wrist as he moved her hand out of the way.

  “I say when I’m done, not you, sweetheart.” More searing swats fell steadily and with the same intensity as he covered every inch of her bottom and upper thighs at least twice.

  “Please, Bo. I promise I won’t go out alone again. I swear.” Her voice broke on the last two words and must have declared her sincerity, because he stopped. His hand rubbed gently across the skin he had just heated. She imagined steam rising from her scorching backside in contrast to the cooler night air. It felt hot enough to fry eggs on.

  “I’m going to hold you to your vow, Coral. If I find that you don’t, you’ll get a taste of my belt.”

  “Why?”

  His hand tightened, squeezing her tender flesh. “Because even if the feelings are not returned, I care what happens to you.” That made her feel about two inches tall. She would have apologized again, but he retied her drawers with a few quick tugs and lifted her onto her feet. Once standing, he rose too, moved her off the blanket with a hand at her waist, then scooped it up under his arm.

  They were down the hill to his horse in a matter of seconds. Strong hands settled her onto the saddle. He mounted behind her, ignoring the hiss of discomfort she let out when her bottom encountered the hard leather. Without a word, his arms slipped around her and he set the horse into motion. In fact, they spent the entire ride back to town in silence, not breaking it until he reined in at the hitching post in front of the saloon. He dismounted and lifted her down.

  “Remember your promise,” he said softly, as he caught her hand in his and raised it to his lips, gallantly kissing her knuckles. “Goodbye, Coral.”

  Not good night, good evening, or until next time. He’d said goodbye, which rang with a jarring sense of finality. Then he left.

  As she climbed the stairs to the porch, a nagging feeling that she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life washed over her. She turned to stride down the length of the veranda and go around back, not wanting to run into anyone as she contemplated her stupidity, but a voice coming out of the darkness startled her.

  “I don’t understand you,” Amy said coming up beside her. “You’re mooning over him one minute, the next you’re turning him down. He’s handsome, unmarried, strong as an ox, makes his living honestly, and he’s entirely taken with you.”

  “He’s also alive and more likely to stay that way if he stays away from the black widow.”

  Her friend’s mouth gaped open. “Is that what this is all about? A silly curse. You don’t really believe that, do you?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll not risk Bo becoming number five.”

  “You’re head over heels for him too! I knew it. Love makes people do crazy things, it sure has addled your brain.”

  “I’m not talking about this anymore. My mind is made up. I’m going to stay long enough to make enough money to buy my own place, then I’m leaving. And I’ll never marry again. Not ever!”

  “Ever is a very long time, honey.”

  “My bookstore will keep me company.”

  Amy looked at her sadly for a moment. “I’m sorry for what has happened to set you so firmly against love, honey. I believe Bo could have made you happy.” She frowned at Coral who stubbornly glowered back. “Fine, but if you’re ever going to get your bookstore and wile away your life with your nose in the pages of mysteries and romance, rather than experiencing it for yourself, you’re going to have to do more than dance.”

  “I know that,” she replied with a tremulous voice.

  “Six months ought to do it,” Amy predicted. “And it’s not all that bad. I’ve been doing it for years.”

  “Then you don’t regret your choice? You wouldn’t rather have been married to a nice man, had your own home and babies by now?”

  She paused. “That wasn’t exactly one of my choices.”

  Coral swallowed hard as her lower lip turned down. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

  Chapter Six

  A week later, after dancing every night until her feet were swollen and aching, not to mention bruised from all the miners who had stomped on them with their two left feet, she approached Jewel. “I want a red petticoat.”

  Eyes wide, Jewel looked up from behind the bar where she had been completing a liquor inventory. She rose to her feet and stared across the gleaming wood with the shiny brass accents. “Coral, why? Has something happened?”

  “No, I’m not earning enough with a dollar a dance, and I need to get on with my life.”

  “And that life isn’t here. I understand. Yet this is a very big step for a girl who has ne
ver—”

  “Earned her keep on her back? I’ll remind you of my three late husbands. I didn’t love them, so isn’t this the same?”

  The madame shook her head, while placing her hand on her arm worriedly. “Oh, honey…”

  “I get to pick who, what, how? Don’t I?”

  “Always, and if someone tries to force you to do something you don’t want to do, you don’t hesitate to scream bloody murder, and one of us, Gabe, Charlie, myself, or a whole passel of gems will come running. Understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Jewel still didn’t look convinced that this was the right decision.

  “I’ve given this a lot of thought.”

  “What about our local blacksmith, have you considered how he will react?”

  “There is nothing between Mr. Magnusson and myself; he doesn’t factor.” Though he did, in essence, this was a way of distancing herself from him even further, of running again, while standing stock-still. “I’m certain. I’d like a red petticoat.”

  Almost sadly, the madame agreed. “I’ll get it for you this afternoon, but I want you to hang onto the pink one, just in case.”

  * * *

  That evening, she dressed for her new role. In a plunging sapphire blue gown that had sufficient boning to push her already full breasts up high and together, Coral smiled from her vantage point on the first step of the staircase as a new customer walked in. It was pasted on and patently false, however, with Madame Jewel and Mister Gabe watching her closely she had to play her part. The man, who was young and handsome, maybe twenty-four or so, passed her by, migrating to the younger gems who batted their pretty lashes at him.

  It was the same way when she’d been dancing, being older, she attracted the older men. It wasn’t as though she wanted to be chosen by a young man, but she figured it would make things a lot easier if they were pleasant to look at. Dancing with a sweaty, pot-bellied, or foul breathed stranger, no matter what age, wasn’t the highlight of her day, so spreading her legs for one wasn’t going to be easy. Yet she had to earn her way out of this mess or be stuck in this life forever.