Shadow of Regret (Shadow #3)

by Barbara Goss

  They were moving into Jonas’s old house tomorrow, so she would spend her day packing. Most of her stuff was still packed, owed to the fact that there was nowhere she could have unpacked her things in the first place. She figured she’d start early while the apartment was still fairly cool.

  She worked on Quinn’s things, first, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Quinn had, once again, instructed her to not open the door to anyone. She approached the door and asked, “Who’s there?”

  “It’s Dora! Open up, hon, I got news.”

  Rose rolled her eyes, but opened the door. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Dora, she just didn’t want Dora to make her feel unattractive again.

  Dora sailed into the room, and plopped down on the sofa. “Oh, I knew it! Didn’t I tell you?”

  “What?” Rose asked, shutting the door and locking it.

  “Your eyes have a sparkle in them, and your cheeks are rosy. The dress and hair did the trick—I knew they would.”

  Rose simply smiled.

  “My news is more important right now, but you can give me the details later,” Dora said with a wink.

  “Some things,” Rose said, “are best left to the imagination.”

  “Huh?” Dora said. “Well, here’s my news. Liza Banner, also known as Daisy, is back in town. The other saloon girls don’t like her much. Not only does she take away our best fellas, but she robs them, too, and that’s bad for business. I think Quinn’s the only one that got shot, though. Anyway, the piano player at the Horseshoe Saloon told Molly that Liza and her man were planning to come back here and fleece Quinn again. They’ve been waiting for him to come into one of the saloons so they could get him drunk enough to rob him again. Somehow they’ve discovered that he’s rebuilt his business.

  Rose paled. “Oh, no!”

  “I’ve got a bunch of saloon girls willing to put a stop to her and that man she calls her husband, who really isn’t. Liza’s wearing a black wig this time, and we hardly recognized her.

  “Anyway, the other saloon girls love the way my hair shines, and they want to know if you can get them some soap, too.”

  “If we cut them in half I might have enough,” Rose said. “My mother will be making more soon. I’ll ask her to teach me how to make it next time.

  “How can you and the saloon girls stop Liza?” Rose asked.

  “We’ll need your help. Here’s our plan: we'll get the word out through the piano player, whose name is Nick, that Quinn spent the whole day at the Silver Slipper drinking, and he’s gone home to sleep it off. When Liza hears that, she’ll come over, and try to rob him again, only this time we’ll be waiting for her.” Dora pulled up her dress to reveal a shiny little derringer tucked neatly into her garter.

  “I don’t like it, Dora. It’s too dangerous. That man with her could shoot us like he did Quinn,” Rose said.

  Dora sighed. “Maybe you’re right, but I do want Liza stopped. This is the only town in these parts that doesn't know her face, and that's why she keeps coming back here. She tried to rob a man in Salina, and the law came down on her and ran her out of town. If she so much as steps foot—”

  “That’s it!” Rose exclaimed. “We could have the constable waiting for Liza, here.”

  “I like that idea!” Dora said, clapping her hands together.

  “But we have to do it while Quinn is at work because I doubt he’d go along with this,” Rose said. “He warned me to not let anyone in the house while he was gone.”

  “Here’s the plan then: I’ll go back and spread the rumor about Quinn being drunk, and you go and get the constable. Once Liza hears Quinn is out cold on his sofa, she’ll get here pretty fast.” Dora jumped up. “See you in a while,” she said, going out the door.

  Rose was nervous as she walked to the constable’s office. How did she ever let Dora talk her into this scheme? She did, however, want Liza caught, especially if she was after Quinn again. She prayed no one would get hurt in the process.

  She walked into the constable’s office and took a look around. There were two desks in the room, and she could see jail cells down the hall.

  “Can I help you?” a young man behind the smaller desk asked.

  “I’m looking for the constable.”

  “He’s out on a call,” he said. “Can I help in some way?”

  Rose wrung her hands. They hadn't considered that the constable wouldn't be available to execute their plans. What should she do now?

  “Will he be back soon?” she asked nervously.

  “I think he should be,” he said. “He’s been gone quite a while. Two neighbors out on Mill Road are feuding, and shots were fired. It’s happened before, and it never takes him long to settle things.

  “If I can’t help you,” he said, “can I give him a message?”

  “When he returns, he needs to come to my apartment over the hardware store, immediately. We are fairly sure the two people who robbed and shot my husband will be coming back to do it again, today.”

  “I surely will,” the man said.

  Rose walked back to the apartment, praying that the constable would be there before Liza arrived.

  “Jonas!” Quinn greeted him as he slid out from underneath a buggy. “I thought those were your boots stomping in.”

  Quinn stood, revealing hands that were full of grease. “I’m greasing the springs and wheels.” He looked closer at Quinn’s face. “Hey, what’s the matter? Is something wrong?” Quinn stood and awaited Jonas’s answer. He grabbed a rag and wiped at his hands. “You’re scaring me, Jonas. What is it?”

  “I don’t know how to tell you this. I just came to give you the key to the house,” Jonas said, “but there’s been a shooting at your apartment. The constable has his men surrounding the place. Where’s Rose?”

  Quinn felt faint. “In the apartment!” He ran for the door with Jonas right behind him. He continued to run until he thought his lungs might collapse. When he approached the hardware store, all he could see were lawmen standing outside of the door leading to his apartment.

  Quinn tried to push his way through, but one of the lawmen held him back. “You can’t go in there,” he said gruffly.

  “But that’s my apartment. My wife’s in there! What’s happened?” Quinn asked frantically. Jonas was standing right behind him.

  “A shooting. A woman was shot, but we have the shooters, and they’ve already been taken away to jail. Doc Harris is with the woman who was shot.”

  “That’s my wife!" Quinn practically screamed. “You have to let me go to her!”

  “Wait a minute,” the man said. He turned, and conversed with another lawman.

  “Jonas, I have to get up there. The woman who was shot has to be my Rose—”

  “I’m with you, Quinn. I love her, too. We just have to stay calm if we’re to think clearly. Let's pray.”

  As soon as Jonas said ‘pray,’ Quinn felt a sinking feeling. He had bad memories of the last time he prayed for a life. Still, he and God were back on good terms, so he did pray. His pulse was beating so fast he had a hard time concentrating on prayer. All he could think of to say is, “God please let Rose be alive.”

  The lawman patted Quinn’s back. “You can go on in.”

  He allowed Jonas to enter with him. Quinn took the stairs two at a time and burst into the apartment. His frantic gaze took in the whole room at once. He saw Rose bent over someone.

  “Rose!” Quinn said, relieved.

  Rose stood, and Quinn embraced her. “I thought—" He looked behind Rose and saw Dora, lying on the sofa, in a blood-soaked dress. “What happened?”

  “It’s a long story,” Rose said. She greeted Jonas.

  “What is Dora doing here?” Quinn whispered, a frown evident on his face.

  “Can I tell you the story later? I’m anxious to hear what the doctor has to say about her condition.”

  Quinn nodded. He watched the doctor as he examined a wound in Dora’s shoulder. He also saw a small derringer on the f
loor. He knew Rose didn’t own a gun, so he figured it must be Dora’s. He couldn’t wait to hear the story, but he was relieved it hadn't been Rose who was shot. While he waited, he thanked God silently.

  “What a relief!” Jonas said. “I’ll leave the key with you. I have to get back in case this news somehow gets back to Ivy, or her mother.”

  “Jonas,” Rose said, “can we move into the house tonight?”

  “I see no reason why you can’t. Why?” Jonas handed Quinn the key.

  “We need a place for Dora to recuperate,” she said.

  “What?” Quinn whispered. “Dora? Our new home? No, Rose.”

  “Yes,” Rose whispered back. “She saved my life, Quinn.”

  Her words silenced him.

  “I’ll go back home and tell Ivy that Rose is all right,” Jonas said to Quinn, “then I’ll come back with Caleb. We’ll get you moved tonight.”

  Since Jonas and Ivy had purchased all new furnishings for their new house, the Eden Road home was fully furnished. Quinn and Rose had nothing to do except organize their clothing and personal belongings. Rose had rushed ahead on horseback to make up the beds with clean linens.

  Dora rode to their home in the doctor’s buggy, and was placed in the room that had once been Zoe’s. The doctor had given her laudanum, and she slept through the move to the new house. The doctor left after depositing Dora in her room, but promised to return to check on her the next day.

  Quinn and Rose had no servants yet, so Jonas sent over, Olga, a middle-aged maid of theirs until he and Rose could hire one.

  Caleb sent one of his servants, Pauline, over to help, too. Quinn and Rose were so thankful for their family.

  When Quinn and Rose finally had the chance to sit down in the sitting room, on the sofa, Olga served them tea and little sandwiches. Rose laid her head on her husband’s shoulder. “What a day!” she said.

  “Are you ready to tell me about it?” He hugged her to him. “I deserve to know, since I lost ten good years of my life when I ran to the apartment from the livery.”

  “I’m sorry, Quinn. I’ll find a way to make it up to you,” she said with a smile.

  “And soon,” he said, also smiling. “Now, tell me what happened.”

  She relayed the plan she and Dora had thought up to capture Liza and her friend to Quinn. He rolled his eyes, but kept silent.

  “We thought everything would fall perfectly into place until the constable wasn’t available. We never thought that he wouldn't be there, so I went back to the apartment, and Dora and I planned to try to scare them off with her derringer,” she said.

  “Dora was right when she said they’d waste no time getting to your apartment when they heard you were passed out drunk, at home.

  “I purposely left the door unlocked, and I sat on the sofa while Dora hid in the bedroom, behind my dresses, in the closet. They stormed in; the man held a gun on me. The first thing they asked was where you were. I told them you were in the bedroom.

  “They were puzzled when they didn’t find you, but they asked me who I was. I said I was Mrs. Iverson, Quinn’s wife. They demanded that I give them money, and the keys to the livery. I told them I didn’t have either. The man swore, and Liza realized they’d been tricked. The man became angry. He said, ‘Then I’ll shoot you!’ and he aimed the gun at me.” Rose’s voice trembled. “And then Dora came running out of the bedroom and slipped in front of me, holding her little derringer, just before he pulled the trigger. Lucky for both of us, the constable showed up about then.

  “And that, dear husband is why she is here.”

  Quinn sighed. “I’ll see that she gets the best treatment. I owe her, for when she saved you, she saved my life as well. I don’t think I could have carried on as a normal person if I’d have lost you.”

  “Remember what Reverend Martin said? We all must die, and when God says it’s time—”

  “Then I’m glad it wasn’t your time.” Quinn picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.

  “No sweetness for you tonight, m’lady. You will sleep, but I want to hold you all night. I want to feel you close to me, warm and alive.”

  Chapter 14

  Dora’s shiny red hair glowed, and her complexion without the cosmetics was fair and lovely. “I think you’re beautiful without all that makeup, Dora, and I know you’ll find someone like I have, if you just clean your life up.”

  “I just might, Rose.”

  Rose was sitting by Dora’s bed, where she usually sat when she read to her, or helped her eat her meals. Dora had smiled at the beautiful roses Quinn had presented her with for saving his beloved wife. Dora had confided to Rose that these days of healing had given her time to think about her life choices.

  Later, Quinn and Rose stood at the foot of Dora’s bed. Quinn kissed the top of Rose’s head as he had a habit of doing frequently, probably because her head was level with his lips.

  “How’s the arm, Dora?” Quinn asked.

  “Getting better all the time.” She smiled fondly at the couple. “You two are really in love, aren’t you?”

  “We are,” Quinn said. “Rose has changed my life.”

  “No more drinking and saloon women?”

  “Nope. I’m happy to say I am permanently retired from drinking and saloons. But you’re the only saloon woman I truly am thankful for. How can I ever thank you, Dora?”

  “Easy. I need a job. I’m quitting the saloons, too. Rose has encouraged me to better myself. She said she could find me an honest job. I could clean, mind a child, or even do farm work. I’m willing to try.” Dora winked at Rose. “Rose has changed my life, too.”

  That night when Quinn and Rose were cuddled together in bed, Quinn asked her, “Should we hire Dora? We do need staff.”

  “No.” Rose stated firmly. “I love Dora, but I don’t wish to have someone my husband was intimate with working here. You understand, don’t you Quinn?”

  Quinn smiled. “I certainly can understand that. Even though I can assure you I don’t remember any of it.”

  “You were always drunk?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I promised her I’d find her a job, and I will,” Rose said.

  “You? How?” Quinn frowned, but he knew Rose couldn’t see it in the dark.

  “I heard Reverend Martin is in need of staff, given that he has five kids, with another on the way. I think the Martins’ house would be the perfect place for Dora.” Rose wrapped her arms around his neck. “I need some of that sweetness you refused to give me the other night.”

  Quinn pulled her closer and kissed her tenderly. “And I always try to give you whatever you want, if I can,” he said. He thought again about how he’d almost lost her, and pulled her so close and tight, he was afraid he might hurt her. “I love you so much,” he said. “Promise me no more dangerous adventures.”

  “I’ve permanently retired from dangerous adventures,” she said, and she kissed him with every bit of emotion she was feeling.

  “Rose,” he whispered. “Each day I think I couldn't possibly love you more, but the next day I do love you more. You’ve become the light of my life, Rose.”

  “I hope that light shines bright forever, Quinn, because I love you just as much. Some days I can’t believe you’re actually mine. For years I had daydreams about being with you. Most of that time you hardly knew I was alive

  “I didn’t like Martha because she had you instead of me, but she smiled at me one day, and I decided she wasn’t so bad after all. But when I heard she was expecting, I knew I had to give up my dream of ever being held in your arms or kissed by you.

  “I thought that day in the cemetery was my only chance, and I was going to savor it forever. It’s hard for me to comprehend that I have you, and that you’re mine! This,” she caressed his chest, “sturdy, muscular, handsome, blond cowboy is all mine.”

  Quinn kissed her passionately, and made sweet love to his Rose.

  When Dora was healed, Rose introduced her to Re
verend Martin who hired her as a nanny.

  Several days later, four women from the Silver Slipper came to visit Rose.

  Rose was shocked when she answered the door. “Can I help you ladies?” she asked.

  “We wondered if you had any more of that soap that makes shiny hair,” a small brunette said.

  Rose invited them in and gave them each a bar of soap. She and her mother had made up a huge batch. After she handed them the soap she expected them to take their leave, but they hesitated instead.

  “We also wondered,” the blonde said, “would you be able to get us jobs like you did for Dora?”

  “I’d love to try,” Rose said. She led them to the sitting room, and asked her new maid, Heidi, to serve tea.

  While they were having tea and discussing jobs, Quinn walked in. He looked shocked to see the women and stood in the doorway, speechless.

  “Hello, Quinn,” they all said in unison.

  “Betsy. Deedee. Dotty. Georgia.” Quinn nodded at each one in turn as he said her name.

  Rose raised an eyebrow at him. “Well,” she said, “I guess introductions aren’t necessary.”

  Quinn approached Rose, picked her up, and swung her around. “And this is the love of my life, my wife.” He smiled.

  “You’re a fast thinker,” she whispered. She turned to her guests. “If you ladies will come back in two days, I’ll see what I can do.” She escorted the women to the door.

  She returned after they'd left, and gave Quinn a “How could you?” look.

  He shrugged. “I knew them from the saloon, I wasn’t ‘with’ all of them.”

  Rose tapped her foot. “Well, I’ll try to find them jobs elsewhere.”

  Quinn grabbed her and hugged her to him. “You have nothing whatsoever to worry about, you know.”

  “I know,” she said. “But I’d still like to hire servants who are a bit older, and somewhat more mature looking.”

  Rose was able to place four more saloon women, and she and Quinn were surprised to see two of them, Dora and Betsy, in church that Sunday. All because Reverend Martin had employed both of them as servants in his household.