For a Sister's Love

by Paty Jager

  Her body stiffened when he moved away from the door and stalked toward the bed. “Why are you in my room, my bed?” Frustration tinged his words with more bite than he’d meant.

  She shoved her stocking clad feet into the mattress, scooting her body across the bed, and away from him. “I-I knew you wouldn’t leave town without your belongings.”

  He sat on the edge of the bed and exhaled his annoyance. “Damn it, woman, I told you, I would get you the list before I left town.” He twisted his body to watch her slip her feet to the floor and stand.

  Her hand extended across the bed. “I’ll take the list and be out of your way.”

  He’d picked up a telegram from Timberland before meeting up with Ainsworth. He couldn’t send this woman on a goose chase. And he had to figure out a way to make her play the charade of his wife tomorrow at dinner with Ainsworth.

  “We have a problem.” He patted the bed, hoping she’d relax and sit.

  “What kind of problem?” She remained standing but drew her hand back to clench it tightly in her other one.

  “While you were curled up all cozy on my bed I invited my new employer in for a drink.”

  Her eyes widened, and her body plopped on the bed. “He saw me sleeping on the bed? He thinks…” She stared at the hands in her lap.

  “He assumes you’re my wife.”

  “Wife!” She shot to her feet. “Didn’t you tell him different?”

  “You want me to say ’no, she’s just a crazy woman who follows me around and breaks into my room’?”

  Her mouth opened and closed a couple times before she snapped it shut. The knuckles on her clenched hands turned white.

  “I thought not. Better he thinks you’re my wife. He invited the two of us to dinner tomorrow.” Ty tossed his hat to the chair in the corner of the room. “Go home and come back tomorrow morning. I’ll have to buy a dress for you to wear to dinner.”

  She leveled her gaze on him. “I can’t have you buying clothes for me, the next thing you’ll expect…” Her words trailed off, and her cheeks darkened a hue to rival the reds on the bed cover.

  Ty quickly shoved thoughts of how she could repay him behind the fact he had to tell her there was no way to find her sister.

  “All I require from you is to act like my wife for one meal. And let me do all the talking.”

  Maggie shot Ty a glare. What made him think she would even help him? He wasn’t making any strides in helping her.

  “You seem to have this backwards. You require me to help you keep a job.” She held out her hand. “I would be more obliging if you handed me the list.”

  To her surprise, he slapped a paper in her palm. Excitement skittered up her arms and squeezed her chest. Finally, a chance to be reunited with Lora Beth. She unfolded the paper and blinked.

  It was a telegram not a list.

  She glanced at the man who handed it to her. His sad eyes reminded her of a hound dog she fed behind the dress shop. An ache started deep in her chest. She rubbed it with the heel of her hand and read the telegram.

  Baumbartner dead stop

  Daughter gone stop

  Maggie crumpled the missive and stared at Ty. “What does this mean? You knew all along where she was and now she’s gone? Gone where?” She threw the paper at him and glared. Her body shook with rage. Anger was better than the despair slowly creeping into her thoughts. How could he have kept her sister’s whereabouts to himself? Why did he?

  Ty strode around the end of bed, stopping in front or her. His arms reached out, but she backed away, hugging her body with her own arms. So close. She’d come so close to finding Lora Beth. To regaining her family.

  “Why? ”

  He ran a hand through his curly hair and stared at her. His gaze comforted and held her hostage. She swallowed the acid words bubbling in her throat.

  “I remembered where I won the locket and under what circumstances.” He glanced away then caught her gaze again.

  This time the anger smoldering in his eyes and the tenseness of his body almost made her take a step back.

  “When I won the locket, the man, Mr. Baumgartner, also offered his daughter. I refused to play. He stormed out of the saloon and I left Timberland, Colorado the next day.” Ty stepped forward, his hands cupping her shoulders. “I sent the telegraph to find out if your sister was still there before I told you where to find her. I didn’t want you to travel there to find her gone and no way to get out of that place.” His eyes traveled from her face to her toes and back. “It isn’t a fit place for a lone woman.”

  Tears trickled down Maggie’s face. She couldn’t have stopped them if she’d wanted. All the years dreaming of being reunited with Lora Beth crumbled into heart-rending emptiness. She’d never see her sister again. A sob expanded her ribs.

  Strong arms wrapped around her as she wept for the loss of a sister, her last tie to her family.

  The sobs subsided. A warm, solid hand continued to make circles on her back while another hand held her head against a solid chest clothed in fine linen and scented with the outdoors.

  Her body warmed and hummed with new energy. Unsure what the new feelings meant, she placed her hands on the hard plane of his chest and pushed. His arms slowly opened, and she stepped back, wiping at the wetness on her cheeks and keeping her eyes averted. What did he think of her outburst?

  He cleared his throat. “Are you feeling better?”

  His hoarseness intrigued her. She glanced at his face catching a glimpse of softness before he masked his eyes.

  She shook her head. “I can’t believe I was so close to finding Lora Beth. Now…” Maggie couldn’t think of never seeing her again. It hurt too much.

  “If you pretend to be my wife tomorrow night, I’ll send a telegram to the local mercantile. The owner knows everything in that town. He probably knows where she might have gone.” He boldly held her gaze.

  “You expect me to parade around on your arm to get information I can now obtain on my own?” The nerve of the man.

  He smiled, slow and seductively. Her heart rammed into her ribs.

  “You owe me for sending the first telegram, for your lunch, and for not turning you over to the sheriff.”

  “Why you no good—”

  “No name calling. I can still have you thrown in jail. You have in your possession my locket.” His gaze fell on her mother’s locket dangling on the chain just above her breasts.

  How could she have just wept in his arms? Had thought he had an ounce of compassion? She wiggled her stocking clad feet.

  “Will you come back tomorrow morning so I can buy you a dress?” He moved to the other side of the bed and held up her boots.

  There was no way she’d masquerade as his wife. He might have sent a telegram and bought her lunch, but he owed her. After all, it was her locket he said she stole.

  She crossed her arms and glared at him.

  “Fine. You can spend the night, and we’ll get you outfitted in the morning.” He tied her boots together.

  “Outfitted! Why you… you jacka—”

  “A lady, especially one married to me, doesn’t use that kind of language.” He hung her boots from the curtain rod.

  She stared at her footwear out of reach without climbing on something. Her gaze darted to the door, but before she could make a break, he moved to the door, locking it from the inside with a key and shoving the key into his trouser pocket.

  “This is kidnapping. I could scream and bring everyone pounding on your door.” She sucked in air, preparing to let loose a blood curdling scream.

  Before Maggie could let her rage fly, he lunged for her, shoving her onto the bed and placing a hand over her mouth as his body completely covered hers. Stunned, she didn’t fight or scream. Her body melded to the mattress under the weight of him. His hard thighs pressed against her thighs. His solid chest mashed against her breasts, his face hovered inches above hers. His coffee laced breath warm as it puffed, lifting wisps of her hair.

 
“You are one stubborn woman. I’m doing this to help you. If it also helps me, all the better.” His deep voice rumbled in his chest vibrating against her already sensitive breasts. The sensation triggered aftershocks in her womanly areas.

  Maggie sucked in her breath, unable to shake the awareness coming to life in her body. The pressure of his body had to be what made her feel lightheaded. It couldn’t be the heat of his body or the way it molded so perfectly to hers.

  “H-how is this helping me? You’re pushing all the air out of me.”

  He rolled off her. “Sorry. Just promise you won’t scream. I’m doing this for both of us. Just hear me out.” He reclined on his side, his arm slung over her waist.

  When she started to roll away to sit up, he held her in place. The intimacy of his hold and the heat of his body against hers made thinking, let alone being mad, hard.

  “I’ll listen. It doesn’t mean I’ll agree, though.”

  “That’s fine. Just listen and don’t interrupt.” His arm relaxed, resting on her middle.

  The weight and heat, not to mention his warm breath fluttering across her face, conjured up intimate thoughts she’d never held for a man. Thoughts a good woman didn’t think about.

  “I need you to pretend to be my wife. I don’t need this job as a means of support, but I want this job to prove to my family there are ways other than by dishonesty to get ahead in this life.”

  His words caught her attention. She forgot the arm resting so intimate on her person and locked onto his eyes. His family had caused him pain.

  “All I need from you is to allow me to buy you a nice dress and attend dinner tomorrow night. I’ll send a couple more telegrams to Timberland to see if we can determine where your sister went.”

  He had the means to help her locate Lora Beth. She calculated the meager money she saved and knew it would get her to one point and no farther. She’d have to work for a while to make enough to move on and continue her search.

  The sincerity in his eyes and the memory of his strong arms holding her as she cried, told her to trust him. What was one dress and one dinner? She could do this. Pose as his wife for one meal and then have the information she needed to reunite with Lora Beth.

  “All right. I’ll come back in the morning.” She picked up his arm, removing it from her middle and stared pointedly at her dangling boots.

  His eyes lit up, and he dropped a quick kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, kitten. You won’t regret helping me, I promise.” He bounded off the bed and reached for her boots.

  Maggie tentatively fingered the burning sensation on her cheek where his lips had touched. His endearment didn’t raise her hackles so much anymore. The way he drawled the word kitten gave it a seductive lilt.

  Ty knelt at her feet and slid her boots on. He placed a foot on his thigh and laced up the boot. “Your dainty feet shouldn’t be hidden in men’s boots.”

  His gaze held her as solidly as his thigh anchored her foot. Unnerved by the surrender and desire swirling and heating in her body, she dropped her foot to the floor and stood.

  “What time tomorrow do you want me to return?” This was strictly a business deal. Nothing more. Once he found Lora Beth, she would say good riddance and join her sister.

  “Arrive at ten. We’ll purchase your dress and discuss what we should know about one another over lunch.”

  Maggie glanced over her shoulder. Her stomach fluttered at the sight. His disheveled hair and rumpled clothes gave the air of an unkempt boy. His dark, glistening eyes hooded with arched brows and a seductive smile caught her breath.

  She grasped the door knob and twisted, only to have the contraption hold tight.

  “Allow me.” Ty stepped to the door. Her gaze followed the path of his hand into his trouser pocket and back out with the key between his long sturdy fingers.

  The snick of the key springing the lock promised freedom. Freedom from the emotions this man stirred in her and freedom to find Lora Beth and start a new life.

  Her heart pounded in her ears as he pulled the door open and motioned for her to exit.

  “Tomorrow.”

  His deep voice slipped around her like warm bath water, steamy, relaxing, and sinful.

  She nodded and ducked out the door, scurrying to the back stairway hoping no one saw her. If word she’d been frequenting a gentleman’s room made it to her landlady, she was sure to lose her free room. What had she been thinking when she snuck in his room?

  Lora Beth.

  She would do nearly anything to find her sister. She narrowed her eyes as she ducked into the back alleyway and headed to the dress shop. Blazes! How was she to explain a new dress and a dinner invitation to her landlady? There were other dress shops but it would make more sense to have Ty purchase a dress form her benefactor to help out.

  Maggie slipped into her back room and threw herself across the small cot she’d called home since she and Mrs. Freeman moved in with the woman’s sister. She clasped the locket in her hand. Ty had to help her locate Lora Beth.

  She’d attend dinner with Ty to save his job. She thought about his comment of wanting to prove something to his family. With his feelings toward family so negative, why was he helping find her sister? His desire darkened eyes and the weight of his body flashed in her mind. Her body quivered, and she knew why.

  Four

  Ty strode down the street toward the dress shop. He couldn’t wait to see Maggie in the dress they’d bought that morning. She’d been bashful and reluctant, but he’d purchased the perfect dress for her to wear while dining with his employer.

  He’d stopped by the telegraph office on the way over on the off chance there hadn’t been a boy around to deliver the return message from Timberland. No word back yet.

  He entered the dress shop ringing the string of bells dangling from the doorknob.

  Mrs. Spacker, the proprietress he’d dealt with that morning, scurried out of the back room. Her smile of welcome dwarfed her diminutive stature.

  “Mr. Bancroft, Maggie is just about ready. I’m so happy she’s finally going out. She spends far too much time alone in that room.” The tiny woman motioned to the chair he’d graced while deciding on which dress Maggie should wear tonight.

  He smiled remembering the way Maggie had timidly tried on the dresses, blushing under his perusal and making excuses why the dress wouldn’t do. He’d realized by the third dress she was trying to find a way to keep him from purchasing her a dress and avoid the evening.

  “I agree. It’s about time she got out and socialized.” He smiled warmly at the woman which garnered him a spinster’s titter.

  “I’ll go hurry her along.” Mrs. Spacker disappeared behind the curtain separating the shop from the work area.

  He liked the widow. During the hour they’d spent deciding on a dress that morning, she’d filled him in on every aspect of Maggie’s life since her arrival in Portland. She’d worked hard to help make ends meet and make her adoptive mother comfortable as her health failed.

  His newly gained knowledge had raised Maggie’s hackles at lunch. He frowned. She’d also dug close to things he didn’t plan to reveal to her or anyone about his family. This needing to know about one another so Ainsworth wouldn’t realize they were fooling him upset both of them.

  The curtain wiggled. He stared at the calico cloth, holding his breath, his heart hammering in his ears.

  Maggie stepped out.

  His heart stopped. The air rushed out of his lungs. The dress had looked good on her earlier, but now with her dark hair swept up in a tangle of curls on her head, her dainty, creamy neck and shoulders exposed, he couldn’t drag his gaze from her graceful curves.

  Her skin flushed. He urged his gaze upward and heat struck his body as fierce and quick as lightning. Her steps faltered. Her exotic eyes were wide and anxious.

  He stood and extended a hand. She approached him with hesitant steps, placing her hand in his.

  “I’m proud to escort you to dinner.” His chest swel
led at the thought everyone would believe she was his wife, and he could rain attention on her all night under that premise. Every head in the restaurant would turn the moment they entered.

  Her blush deepened.

  Mrs. Spacker rushed forward draping a lacy shawl over Maggie’s shoulders, hiding their perfection from him. The draped garment also concealed the way the lavender satin hugged her body in all the right places before gently flaring at her knees. The slight bump in the backside of the dress only added more allure to her tiny waist and full bosoms that strained seductively at the square neckline trimmed in purple velveteen.

  Maggie clutched the shawl together, hiding the very attributes he wished to study more.

  Ty offered his arm. She placed a hand in the crook of his elbow, and he nodded to Mrs. Spacker. “I should have her back by nine.”

  “Don’t hurry on my account. She has a key to get in.” The old woman winked.

  “Mrs. Spacker!” Maggie huffed and drew her hand from his arm.

  “You’re a grown woman who should have been married by now.” The older woman crossed her arms and stared at Maggie.

  “I agree.” Ty captured her hand and resettled it on his arm. He’d show Maggie a good time tonight and treat her with the respect any woman deserved. Especially, someone as vibrant as she.

  Maggie left her hand on Ty’s muscled arm and followed him to the door. She didn’t like how much skin showed above the low neckline. Both Ty and Mrs. Spacker said it was the fashion. She preferred her work dresses that covered her to her chin. Heat still lingered from the scorching stare Ty gave her when she walked from behind the curtain.

  He held the door, and she glided over the threshold. Ty had even purchased her new fancy kid slippers. They were so lightweight compared to the boots she’d been wearing her body floated.

  The door shut, and he repositioned her hand on his arm. They strolled side-by-side down the board walkway. She kept her eyes straight ahead, but she found it hard not to notice the people watching them pass. Ty presented a fine figure in a black suit, white linen shirt, and blue paisley silk vest. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She had this handsome man’s attention for the evening.