by Mary Burton
“How old were you when she died?”
“Six.”
“And Miss Adeline kept you?”
“I didn’t have any family and Miss Adeline thought I’d be of help in the kitchens.”
“Why didn’t you leave?”
She sighed. “I thought about it enough, but I didn’t know where I’d go. At the Silver Slipper, I knew I’d at least be able to get a good meal and have a bed to sleep in each night.” She pulled the bottle from Rose’s mouth and checked to see how much she’d eaten. “And there was an old man I worked with in the kitchen, Chin Lo. We got on well and in his way he looked after me. As I got older, I talked to him about the both of us leaving, but he said he was too old to start over. So I stayed with him. He died about five months ago.”
“What do you mean, he looked after you?”
“If a customer got out of hand with me, Chin Lo would slip him something to make him sick or sleep.”
“Did you love him?”
“I don’t know. I suppose.”
Nick was silent for a moment. “When did you move to the upstairs work?”
Ellie laid Rose on her shoulder and patted her back. Everyone assumed Ellie was a whore. There’d been a time when she’d watch the proper ladies in town and try to copy their speech and the way they walked. But no matter how much she’d tried to be like a lady, no one thought any better of her. “When doesn’t matter, does it?”
“I suppose not.”
She could have told him that she’d never worked the upstairs rooms. Lord knew the money was better. But his assumption made her mad. She didn’t feel as though she had to justify anything to Nick.
Ellie had decided when she was a young girl to guard that part of her that was only hers to give. Women had so little and it pained her to see them sell their souls for a couple of bits.
Nick sat in the chair by the stove, easing the pressure on his leg. He didn’t say anything to her for the next half hour as she finished the baby’s feeding. She wrapped up the last of her evening chores and locked the front door as she did every night. Leaving didn’t mean she’d shirk today’s chores. She’d give Annie her due until the moment she left.
She laid Rose in the cradle in the main room. Nick rose and walked to his room. As she stood, she didn’t notice Nick approach with the handcuffs until it was too late. He clicked a cuff closed over her wrist.
Before she could speak, the second bracelet clinked closed—around Nick’s wrist.
She jerked at the handcuff. “What have you done?”
There was triumph in his eyes but no satisfaction. “I won’t get much sleep if I’m worried about you running. Now I don’t have to worry.”
She twisted the cuff. “I never said I was going to run.”
“You didn’t have to.” His voice was whisper soft. “I just knew.”
“You can’t do this to me.”
He shrugged. “I believe that I have.”
Panic welled inside her at the thought of lying beside him in bed all night. “No!”
Her outburst startled the baby and Rose began to cry. Automatically, Ellie reached for her, but she found her right wrist immobile.
“I can’t care for my daughter if I’m shackled to you!”
His gaze pinned her. “We will have to work together, I suppose.”
The baby continued to wail.
“But what about my chores during the day? And my visits to the necessary?”
“We will be shackled only for the nights. In the day, I can watch you.”
“No, no, no.”
“The baby needs you,” he said.
His complete control only stoked her temper. She pulled her fist back, ready to hit him square in the jaw.
Nick’s reflexes were too fast for her. He caught her hand easily. “Do not try that again, Ellie.”
The glint of steel in his eyes sent a chill down her spine. “I should have let you die.”
Sadness and regret flickered in his eyes. “Pick up the baby. She needs her mother.”
Swallowing, Ellie reached for her child. Nick moved with her, giving the chain the slack she needed. His hard shoulder brushed hers and she could feel his warm breath on her neck.
As she rubbed the baby’s back, she prayed for the courage to get her child out of this mess safe and sound. Finally, Rose’s eyes drifted shut and she fell back to sleep.
“She will sleep the night through, I think,” Nick said. “That is good. We will need the rest.”
Ellie faced Nick. “It’s not practical for us to spend all night sitting up.”
“We won’t. We will lie in the bed together.”
“But the bed isn’t big enough for the two of us. I could accidentally kick you in my sleep and reopen your wound.”
“I run a greater risk of injury chasing you through the night on horseback than sleeping with you.”
Her cheeks flushed with anger. “Don’t bet on it.”
NICK DECIDED Ellie had more spirit in her than many of the soldiers he’d served with in the army and the outlaws he’d tracked. He understood her desperation and he’d liked to have accommodated her. But he could not afford to lose her now.
She probably didn’t know where the money was. A practical woman, she would have used the money to get as far away from Montana as she could if she’d had the means.
It pleased him that she didn’t have anything to do with the money. He wanted to believe she was an innocent in all this—that she’d never lied to him. She had pride and honor and he admired that.
But Frank Palmer didn’t know that. He’d never believe that the gold’s location had most likely died with Jade. Frank would believe that Ellie knew where it was. And soon he would come.
“I am tired,” he said truthfully.
She glanced from his face to the bedroom door. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
He lifted his wrist shackled to her. “You don’t have much of a choice, do you?”
“I’m not going.”
He reached for the baby. “She’ll want to sleep with her ma.”
Ellie brushed his hands aside and picked the baby up.
He picked up the cradle with his free arm, held out his arm and nodded toward the door. When she didn’t budge, he took her arm in his and half dragged, half pushed her to the bedroom.
She stumbled over the threshold. He set the cradle down and she laid the baby in it. She faced him as if ready to fight, but he saw the panic in her eyes. “What if I need to go to the outhouse?”
“I’ll go with you.”
She looked mortified. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.”
“This is awful!”
They could argue all night. Nick sat on the bed, forcing Ellie to sit. She tried to remain on the edge, her feet planted on the ground, but as he scooted toward the center, she had no choice but to follow.
The small mattress, stuffed with hay, was lumpy. Its size forced them to lie on their sides—she facing the outside, he spooned behind her, his manacled arm resting on her rounded hip. His weight mashed the bedding down and she slid back into him.
Her tight bottom pressed against him, reminding him that he’d been on the trail far too long. Her hair was the color of fire, yet as soft as butter. It brushed his cheek. He imagined it caught the sunlight and curled when it was freshly washed.
Nick sighed. He was taking himself down a dangerous path. Ellie was a job and nothing more. A tumble between the sheets would be pleasant—real pleasant—but the complications later wouldn’t be.
Her breathing was quick and her body tight with tension. “I warn you, Mr. Nick Baron, if you try anything, I will bite and kick you.”
He had no doubt she could be quite a hellcat. “I’m too tired and too sore to try much of anything, Ellie. Get some sleep.”
She drummed her fingers on the mattress. “You’ve lied to me before.”
His lips were close to her ear. “As I remember, you’d just shot me and I was blee
ding to death.”
“So we are back to that again.”
He sighed. “Go to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep.”
She tried to wiggle away but only managed to bump her bottom against his manhood. Sleep wouldn’t find him anytime soon, either. “Try.”
They lay in the dark for a good while before Ellie’s breathing slowed. Despite her best efforts, her body was beyond exhaustion. She drifted off to sleep.
But sleep didn’t come easily for him. Nick propped his head on his hand and then pushed a stray curl off her face. Pale moonlight streamed through the window above their heads, highlighting her red curls.
So young.
Nick guessed Ellie hadn’t worked Miss Adeline’s upstairs rooms long. Her eyes didn’t possess the hardened glint of the experienced whores who’d been sitting in the parlor when he’d arrived at the Silver Slipper looking for Frank.
Many of the women at the brothel had been attractive. Adeline had a reputation for hiring the prettiest girls. But he’d not been drawn to the women in the seductive silk dresses. It was the fluff of calico that had bumped into him by the back door that had stirred his imagination these last months on the trail.
He couldn’t shake Ellie from his thoughts.
And he couldn’t say why.
Some might have called her plain, with her wild red hair and the ringlets that framed her face. Her eyes seemed to swallow her face. Her lips, so full and red, added a seductive quality that he found very intriguing. He’d wanted to know what those lips tasted like. He still did.
Her delicate skin had yet to be marked by the sun, years of drinking or too much tobacco. But those days would come. In her profession, thirty was old.
She flinched each time he touched her. No doubt, her experiences at the Silver Slipper hadn’t been pleasant. He thought of other men kissing those lips and felt a flash of temper.
Nick captured a strand of her hair between his fingers. Silk. She tried to keep the curls bound at the back of her neck, but they had a life of their own. They wouldn’t be subdued.
Releasing the curl, Nick groaned and lay back on the pillow. Why in God’s name did he keep touching this woman’s hair?
What he needed were a couple of hours in the sack with a woman—any woman—and then this preoccupation with Ellie would be gone. However, the idea of bedding a woman other than Ellie suddenly had no appeal.
He propped his head on his hand. His gaze dropped to her breasts. As she lay in bed, the loose fabric of her bodice had twisted, tightening over the delicate mounds that rose and fell in a way that had him hardening.
He realized then that she hid behind the yards of calico, the aprons and the severe hairstyles. She didn’t want to be feminine. She didn’t want to be noticed. That also explained why she always kept moving. Except to feed the baby, she rarely sat in one place for more than a few minutes.
Life in the brothel had done that to her. It had robbed her of her femininity. It had instilled such fear that she never allowed herself to rest.
“And why the devil do you care?” he muttered, rolling on his back.
He was losing his focus and drive, both of which had served him so well. They’d taken him through the ranks of the army. They’d gotten him past his wife’s death and then the discovery of her betrayal. They had given him the strength to bury a dear friend and finish this final hunt.
Reaching inside his pocket, he pulled out a small key and unlocked his cuff. Carefully he scooted away from Ellie and rose from the bed.
Lighting a lantern, he picked up his book and, without thinking, walked to the cradle. He glanced down at the sleeping child.
Rose. A flower born among thorns. Just like Ellie.
The child deserved better.
Ellie deserved better.
He eased his still sore body into a chair and opened his book.
Focus and drive.
As long as he kept his mind on his goal, and off Ellie and Rose, he’d be just fine.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ELLIE WOKE TO LIGHT streaming into her room. Never could she remember feeling so very warm and comfortable. Her body felt like it was floating. She stretched her arms over her head.
She smelled fresh coffee and bacon. She must still be sleeping, because never in her life had she woken up to the smells of breakfast. She had always been the one who stoked the fires and warmed the cold kitchen.
Purposeful footsteps sounded in the cabin, shattering her bliss. She wasn’t alone. She bolted upright.
Pushing a lock of hair off her face, she struggled to gather her thoughts. For several tense seconds she wasn’t sure where she was. Slowly her mind cleared. Annie’s cabin. Rose. Her gaze darted to the side of the bed where the baby slept in the cradle. Her fear eased a fraction.
Nick. They’d spent the night in the same bed handcuffed together! She glanced down at her wrist, expecting to see handcuffs. They were gone.
Rubbing her naked wrist, she tried to clear her fogged mind. When had she fallen asleep? She’d done her best to stay awake, but the warmth of his body had lulled her into a deep sleep. Normally she never slept more than three hours at a stretch, but last night she’d slept harder than she ever remembered. And by the looks of the sun, it was well past eight o’clock.
She stood. Where was Nick? He had been the person she’d heard moving around, hadn’t he?
Still dressed in the oversize homespun dress she wore all the time, she walked to the front door and spotted Nick on the porch, staring out at the horizon. He held a cup of coffee.
A flash of unreasonable relief sparked in her as she stared at his broad shoulders. He hadn’t left. The fact that she cared one way or the other about him irritated her. What the devil was wrong with her? Depending on any man was plain foolish.
Her movement had him turning. “Good morning,” he said.
“I thought you’d left.”
He grinned. “I’m a bad penny, Ellie.” The smile softened his hard features and made him look devilishly handsome. “I always turn up where I’m least wanted.”
“So I’ve noticed.” His coloring was better and he looked too healthy to be a man shot only a week ago.
“Buck up, Ellie. The lure of that gold will have Frank here sooner rather than later and I’ll be gone before you know it.”
Relief mingled with unexpected sadness. She’d never felt more confused about anyone in her life.
The baby wailed, letting Ellie know she was awake. She moved back inside to her room. Rose kicked and squirmed contentedly until she caught sight of Ellie and then she started to cry. “I bet you’re a hungry one.”
The baby howled louder.
“Don’t believe her,” Nick said. He’d stepped into the cabin. “I fed her only an hour ago.”
Ellie picked up Rose and didn’t try to hide her shock. “You fed her?”
“Don’t look so surprised.”
“I just can’t picture it, that’s all.”
“I wasn’t always a bounty hunter. I had another life once.”
She thought of the wedding picture in his saddlebag. The picture had been taken long ago, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a wife waiting for him. Perhaps he had a few babies back home. Odd, but she’d never thought of him as married. So foolish.
He answered her unspoken question. “I was the oldest of three. My younger sister was fourteen years younger than me. I cared for her from time to time.”
But what about Crystal? Not meeting his gaze, Ellie retrieved a fresh diaper, laid the baby on the bed and stripped her wet gown off. The baby flailed her arms and kicked.
Nick moved closer, seemingly interested in the baby. Ellie found the simple task infinitely more difficult. Her fingers fumbled with the small buttons and diaper pins. “I can’t picture you with family.”
“You’ve got a very narrow view of me.”
“Maybe because you don’t look like you could have ever been a child. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you said
Lucifer had molded you out of clay and put you on the earth to create trouble.”
He laughed. “You mean for you.”
“You’re the one who stepped into my life and turned it upside down. I was doing fine until you showed up.”
“Fine?” He shook his head. “You’re holed up in a coach stop struggling to make ends meet. I’ll bet every night you jump when you hear a sound outside or see a shadow move, waiting for Frank or Adeline to show up.”
She lifted her chin, unwilling to admit he’d hit the nail on the head.
“Neither has found me yet.”
“But you worry nonetheless.”
She did. She worried about it each day.
“And what would you have done if Frank had showed up on your doorstep, demanding that gold map? Or if Adeline wanted to take you back to the Silver Slipper?”
“I’d have figured out something.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
Quickly, Ellie finished changing the baby and lifted her on her shoulder. “I’ve to go to the barn and milk the cow. The old girl has got to be bursting.”
Nick nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
“I doubt I could run far with a baby and empty pockets.”
He lifted a brow, as if shocked by her retort. “I thought that I could help.”
Her gaze traveled up and down his body, hardened by years in the saddle. “You, milk a cow?”
His gray eyes held hers. “I can hold the baby while you do. And I’d like to check on my horse.”
The idea of giving him Rose didn’t sit well. He’d fed her once and that was enough contact, as far as she was concerned. The less contact between them, the better. “Rose and I have a little routine when we milk the cow.” With the baby propped on her shoulder, she started out the door.
Her skirts swirled around her feet and her uncombed hair teased the sides of her face. She wished she’d had time to brush her hair and rub tooth powder on her teeth, feeling more conscious of her appearance than usual. But she was already hours behind on her chores.
The wind had picked up.
“We’re in for weather,” Nick said. Despite his bad leg, he matched her pace easily.
The pale blue sky showed no signs of storms. “How can you tell?”
