Then he recalled Li’s warm embrace on the edge of town at sunset. Maybe someone had seen that and told Yong Xu.
“I don’t think I’m very hungry, Yong,” Emmett said, though in fact he was famished. “You’re right. I think I’ll wander over and visit Sikes for a while.”
“Very good.” Yong nodded enthusiastically, his smile still less than convincing.
Juanito sat on the one simple wooden chair in the room where Sikes lay. Emmett leaned against the doorframe. Mr. Chang, Sikes’s host, had stepped out for a while, so at last the men could speak freely.
“Down at the saloon,” Juanito said, “people are starting to ask questions. Say things that might provoke some folks.”
“Like what?” Sikes asked.
Juanito rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Oh, they say, ‘So you’re one of those Texans that faced down Lucian McIntosh. Dangerous business. And you did it all for a bunch of China girls?’
“I say, sí,” he went on, “and they ask again, ‘Why would you take that kind of risk just for China girls?’
“I don’t have much to tell them, but they ask more. They say, ‘How did you even know about those China girls?’ and ‘What brings you up here from Texas anyway?’”
“It’s not polite to be so nosey,” Emmett said.
“Oh, some of them say it’s a good thing—what we did. Facing down a man like McIntosh. Helping defenseless young women.”
“And others?” Emmett asked.
“Not so kind. Seems like some of them want to start something…and not just in the saloon. Even out on the street.”
“Start something, huh?”
“They point. Some say it loud because they want me to hear. Others say it soft, but I hear anyway.”
“Making threats?” Sikes asked. “Or just running their mouths?”
“I’ve seen this kind of thing before,” Juanito said. “Today they say, ‘There goes that damn China lover.’ Tomorrow they start the troublemaking. Bumping the shoulder on the way out. Spitting close to the boot instead of in the spittoon.”
Sikes adjusted his pillows and sat upright. “I’ll bet the Cornish miners—and the Irish—are the worst of the lot.”
Juanito said, “It’s not just them.”
Emmett looked at Sikes, then back at Juanito. “Seems our welcome is wearing thin. And not just out there on the streets.”
“Where else?” Sikes asked.
“Even Yong was anxious to get me out of the Golden Dragon tonight.”
“Yong?” Sikes frowned.
Juanito shot Emmett a glance that spoke volumes. “That girl likes you. People are beginning to notice. And I don’t think Yong wants to let that relationship come to full flower.”
All three men stared blankly for a quiet minute.
“Maybe we need to move back to the hotel,” Emmett said. “Get outta these people’s hair. Give ’em some space.”
Sikes drew back the sheet and examined his leg. Above and below the bandage the purple had faded to greenish and yellowish hues.
“You give that leg a try yet?” Emmett asked.
Sikes shook his head. “It feels much better, but I think I’m going to have to rely on that crutch over there in the corner for quite some time yet.”
Emmett nodded. “But can we get you over to the hotel? Will you be OK without Chang watching you day and night?”
“I think so. I’ll call for the doctor and get his opinion.”
“Either way, I think we oughta make the move. Better for everyone,” Emmett said.
Juanito pushed his hat back. “But you’re still going to want to see the girl every day.”
“I will want that,” Emmett said.
“And how is that going to end, hermano?”
Emmett took a moment to answer. He looked Juanito in the eye. “I truly don’t know.”
Yet he knew what he wanted to say. He knew what he wanted to happen. He just wasn’t sure it was even possible in the world they lived in.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
The next day Emmett and Juanito brought the doctor to take another look at Sikes’s leg. He gave the go-ahead to move the Englishman but recommended waiting another few days before making the long trip back to Texas. So with expressions of profuse gratitude to everyone in the Chinese community, the three excused themselves and relocated to the Comstock Queen Hotel.
Still, every day—morning and evening—Emmett made the trip to Chinatown to see Li Xu. And every day he argued with himself along the way. Was he being fair to Li? Was he being selfish? Would the world outside Chinatown ever accept her as his wife? Would people’s thoughtless words and actions torment her?
He considered Yong Xu and his wife and deliberated whether it would be cruel for him to have rescued their daughter from Seth Blaylock only to take her away from them and her people forever.
At the end of each day, all the reasoning in the world wouldn’t tip the scales. He had to see her yet again, to relish the pure joy of her company.
The third day after the Texans had moved out of Chinatown, when Emmett approached the front porch of Xu’s Golden Dragon, Yong was already outside waiting for him. As soon as he spotted Emmett, he dropped the rag he had been using to clean the front windows into a bucket, wiped his hands on the hem of his jacket, and stepped into Emmett’s path.
“Let’s go talk,” he said. No smile. Not even a disingenuous one.
He led Emmett through the side alley to the small lot behind the café and stopped in the shade at the back of the building.
His arms folded, he squared himself to face Emmett. “You know how deeply grateful I am that you saved my daughter, Mr. Strong.”
“Emmett.”
Yong nodded. “Emmett…The whole Chinese community is indebted to you. You gave up the very thing that brought you to Nevada to begin with. You let a wrong done to you go unpunished so that you could right the wrong that McIntosh and Blaylock did to us.”
Here it comes, Emmett thought. “It’s time you leave my daughter alone and go away.”
Yong drew a deep breath. “It can never work between Li-Li and you, Emmett. The world is not ready for that. Not yet. Maybe never.”
Emmett tried to be patient, tried to show all the respect due to a community leader. But he wasn’t yet ready to accept Yong Xu’s open-and-shut conclusion.
“I don’t know Texas, Emmett. But I know people. And I have yet to see people who are willing to treat one another as though we are all truly one human race—people with different traditions and languages, but all human beings nonetheless.”
“You don’t want to see your daughter hurt, Yong. I understand that.”
As he spoke, Emmett wasn’t even sure how he was supposed to stand: Humbly, hat in hand? Eyes downcast? Or chin up, gaze locked on Yong’s? He hadn’t faced anything like this since Gabriela’s father had called him out ten years earlier. That’d been another cross-cultural confrontation. Yet given their family histories and given that it had happened in Texas between two kinds of Texians, the gap to be bridged hadn’t been nearly so wide.
Back then, he was an inexperienced kid. Since then he’d seen so much more of life and human behavior. He knew there was a strong element of truth to what Yong Xu was saying. But then again—he had a strong and growing conviction that if anybody could make this work, he and Li could.
“You’re correct, Emmett. I don’t want to see Li hurt. But beyond that, we have our customs. We will find her a suitable husband from among her own people. A man of character like you, I hope—only Chinese.” His gaze didn’t waver.
Emmett wondered whether the compliment was merely a concession, calculated to soften the blow. Or was it sincere? Regardless, he supposed Yong was waiting for him to acknowledge that some things in life simply couldn’t be altered—that he should read the handwriting on the wall and let go of Li.
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But he wouldn’t let go. Not that easily anyway.
“Li’s feelings count for nothing then?” he asked.
“Feelings come and go,” Yong said. “You will leave in a few days. Li will cry. But by her twentieth birthday her feet will come back to the ground in Chinatown.”
Emmett looked around the small yard, then off to the silver-rich hills that had brought folks—including the Chinese—to this place. “Yes, Yong,” he said. “I’ll be leaving in a few days. But what’re you asking of me till then? Am I not to see Li anymore? Are we not to take our strolls or have our talks?”
“You know the answer to that,” Yong said. “I wish my door could remain open to you as long or as often as you wanted to come.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “But it will be better for both of you to begin to make the separation now. Otherwise you will only continue to nurture a hope that can never be fulfilled.”
Emmett’s head swam. He wanted to honor Li’s father’s wishes, but he couldn’t bring himself to agree. Even if he and Li were to make a break, the two of them needed to work out how they would let go of one another. They needed to determine how they would remember each other once the train rolled out of Virginia City and life moved forward again.
At last he met Yong’s waiting gaze. “I’ll think about what you’ve said. And trust me, Yong—I’ll do everything I can to keep Li from being hurt.”
Yong Xu bowed from the shoulders. He did not invite Emmett in.
“Suppose I’ll be going then,” Emmett said, touching the brim of his hat.
With that, he turned and started back up the alley to Union Street.
He’d walked maybe twenty yards up the avenue when he heard a door slam behind him. When he peered over his shoulder, there was Li, dashing his way. She clamped onto his arm and kept walking, taking him along with her. Her eyes were moist.
“Li,” he said.
“Shhh! Don’t say anything yet.”
They turned left at L Street, still arm in arm, marching along in silence. After a few wood-framed buildings played out, the Virginia and Truckee railroad tracks came into view on their right—the same rails that would likely carry Emmett, Juanito, and Sikes out of Virginia City. And possibly out of Li Xu’s world.
Once they had gone beyond the last of the buildings, Li stopped and faced him. Color infused her cheeks.
“Please, Emmett,”—her tears flowed freely now—“please take me with you. Promise me you won’t leave me behind.”
He swallowed hard and tucked a strand of her dark, silky hair behind her ear. What could he say? He wanted to do exactly what she’d just asked. Yet he had to wonder: Would doing so ultimately lead to greater pain and sorrow than Li could possibly imagine? The world was a hard place. Yong Xu could be right.
“I heard everything my father told you,” she said. “But if you care for me you won’t leave me behind.”
The wind whipped her hair into her face once again.
“You turn twenty in a few months,” he said softly.
She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Yes. And my father and mother are already talking about an arranged marriage for me—to Qiang Choi. But Ping loves Qiang Choi. I don’t love him.”
“So are you asking me to take you away from a marriage you don’t want to face? Or are you asking me to take you with me because this is the marriage you want more than any other?”
She nodded urgently, tears sparkling in the sunlight. “I want this marriage.”
This was even harder than he’d thought it would be. “A lot of white people won’t accept you, Li. Heck, a lot of Chinese people won’t accept you. Your own family may reject you,” he said, trying to convince himself as much as persuade her.
She hit him on the chest with the side of her fist. “What about you? Are you afraid of what people will say? How they’ll treat you if you have a Chinese wife?”
He shook his head. “You know that isn’t true. I told you the story of Gabriela. Her death came because some folks just can’t accept the fact that brown people and red people and yellow and white are all still people.” Cupping her face in his hands, he looked into her deep-brown eyes. “It’s not about what people might say to me. It’s about the ugly things they might do to you.”
She stepped in close and slipped her arms around him.
Dear Lord, how I’ve fallen for this woman! he thought. But what’s best for her?
He held her tight and said, “Try as I might, I can’t promise I’d be able to protect you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I would have to.”
“Anyway, I’ve seen enough to know that you can protect me as well as anybody on earth can.”
After a few seconds, he said, “You’ll miss your mother and father.”
She hung onto him and sniffled. “I will. But that’s just the way of things.”
He stared over her shoulder, taking in the panorama of the town she called home. “Thousands of Chinese here in Nevada. And yet I’ve never seen a single one in Texas.”
“So maybe Texans won’t have such hard feelings against me—one lone Chinese girl.”
“That’s not my point. It’s not just your mother and father you’ll miss. It’s more than that. You’ve never been in a place where there’s absolutely nothing Chinese.”
“Emmett, with you there I’ll be fine.”
He closed his eyes. The feel of her in his arms was too good. He hated this argument. Especially since he wanted everything she was saying to be true. Still, he couldn’t be sure…
“If we had kids, what’d happen to them?” he asked. “They might grow up as outcasts from both your world and mine.”
At that, she pushed away from him. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t stanch the tears. Finally she shook her head and managed to blurt out, “How long are you going to do this? It seems like you’re trying to find any and every reason why things can’t work for us.”
He tried to unhitch his thoughts from his feelings, but he couldn’t. If you only knew, Li. It’s your happiness that matters. It’s all about you.
Neither spoke for a long minute. Then she whirled and traipsed away, back up L Street, wiping tears as she went.
As he watched her go, he threw up his hands and let them drop, wondering whether he had done the right thing.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
It was hardly past noon—far too early in the day, by Emmett’s ordinary reckoning, to wind up in a saloon. But today he was finding it difficult to deny himself one beer after another on the way to ending up completely jingled. Then he could just flop into bed and sleep until it was time to go home to Texas.
Sikes had used the crutch to hobble along with Juanito over to the Silver Nugget. For a while they sat and drank quietly, evidently waiting for Emmett to spill his guts—which he wasn’t in the mood to do. Somewhere along the line, the two started up their own conversation, speaking in low tones.
Eventually Emmett emerged from his ruminations long enough to realize that his friends were discussing what they’d do once they got back to San Antonio.
“What do you two have up your sleeves now?”
“Oh, so you are listening,” Juanito said, crossing his outstretched boots at the ankles.
“Now that you ask,” Sikes said, “I believe I’ve traveled far enough.” He patted his wounded leg gingerly. “With this thing likely to give me pain the rest of my life, I don’t think I’m fit for day after day in the saddle anymore.”
Juanito drew in his legs and leaned forward, elbows on the table. “So that’s why Sikes and I have decided to buy a saloon in San Antonio. This will be a nice place. No calico ladies. Just quality beverages—”
“And quality music,” Sikes cut in. “Like that chap who played the guitar so impressively here the other day.”
E
mmett suppressed a belch. “Well, who’d have thought?”
“And that’s not all,” Juanito said. “Remember that blond girl at the Wild Hog back in El Paso?”
“Vaguely.”
Sikes gave a sly smile. “Geneve.”
“If you say so.”
“Well,” Juanito continued, “we spent that evening talking to her, and Sikes and I decided you were right. She doesn’t need to spend her life in a place like that. It’ll kill her before her time.”
“So I’ve made up my mind,” Sikes said, “even if it costs me the rest of what I have, even if she is a ‘soiled dove’ as some of you fellows so colorfully put it, I want to sweep her off her feet—”
“Believe me,” Emmett interrupted, “a lot of fellas wanna do that.”
Sikes glared. “That’s not what I mean. I want to get her out of that life and be the man to care for her…if she’ll have it.”
“You gents’ve done an awful lot of talking. Where’ve I been?”
Sikes and Juanito looked at one another, then at Emmett.
“Spending all day every day over in Chinatown. Seeing no one except Li Xu,” Juanito said.
Emmett waved dismissively.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” Juanito added.
Emmett shook his head. “That, mis amigos, is apparently over.”
Juanito frowned. “What? Over? What did you go and do, hermano? Step in the mother lode of all prairie pies? Say something stupid to her?”
Before Emmett could answer, a voice rang out from behind him. “They told me I’d find you here.”
He twisted in his chair, and there between him and the bar was Cromarty—the newspaperman from Reno.
“Well, look what the bobcat’s dragged in,” Emmett said. “Good to see you, Cromarty. Pull up a chair.”
Of course Sikes and Juanito knew all about Cromarty, but until now they’d not met. Emmett made the introductions.
“Glad you bumped into us,” he said. “My Texas compadres and I are just about to wrap up our business here in beautiful Comstock country. About to head back home.”
Strong Convictions: An Emmett Strong Western (Emmett Strong Westerns Book 1) Page 26
