“This way” was through a shallow, rocky creek, and up a grassy knoll. Evergreens grew thicker as they rode toward the mountain and the fragrant smell of pine trees drifted on the breeze. She hoped they wouldn’t ride much longer. Not only did she have to return to open the saloon, she wanted time to linger over the meal. While she was curious to know what else Shane had said to Mitch, she also wanted this time to get to know Mitch better. To see if she could feel for him what she felt for Shane.
Mitch reined in his horse, waited for Silver to do the same. “How does this look to you? Or would you prefer to sit in the shade?”
Down the hill, Marietta spread before them. It was amazing how it had grown since she’d arrived. More houses had been built, more businesses lined the boardwalk. Maybe it wasn’t right that she felt pride looking at Silver’s, all things considered, but she did.
“It’s perfect,” she answered Mitch.
While he hobbled the horses, she spread the blanket and set out the food. His mood was once again light and teasing when he joined her. His gaze took in the thick ham sandwiches, potato salad, cheese, two bottles of beer, and the plate of cookies.
“A delicious feast and a pretty woman to share it with?” His eyes warmed. “A man could get used to this.”
Inexperienced with suitors and flattery, Silver busied herself with filling his plate.
“Do I make you nervous?”
“A little,” she admitted and passed him his lunch.
His grin was roguish. “I like that.”
Despite her nerves, she laughed, filled her own plate.
He raised his beer bottle. “To new relationships.”
Silver’s hand trembled as she tapped her bottle to his. She still wasn’t convinced courting Mitch would work, but if she wanted what Jillian and Katie had, she had to at least try.
With her stomach in knots, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to eat but Mitch kept the conversation light and, before she knew it, she’d cleared her plate and was reaching for her second cookie.
“These are delicious.”
“Well, I have to confess I didn’t make them. Melissa did.”
His brows couldn’t have risen any higher up his forehead. “Melissa? I thought you two didn’t like each other?”
“We don’t, but—” While she didn’t figure Mitch would care one way or the other about Melissa’s midnight walk, let alone gossip about it, she remembered Melissa’s worry about her parents discovering she’d been out alone so late. The woman might not be her friend, but that didn’t mean Silver couldn’t keep her confidences.
“I did her a small favor,” Silver said instead. “She was about as thrilled about that as she seemed to be when she passed me the cookies. In fact, her exact words were, ‘now we’re even.’”
He nibbled on his dessert while his grey eyes, so like Shane’s it made her ache, fixed on her. “Well, now, that I can see.”
“I might have been shocked by the gesture of the cookies, but not by her attitude.”
And that was enough talk about Melissa.
“What did you mean before, by Shane saying plenty to you?” she asked.
His eyes went the color of the sky before a storm. “He thinks I brought unsavory sorts to town and that one of them hurt the whore.”
“Why would he accuse you of such a thing?”
Leaning onto one forearm, Mitch stretched out on his side. “How much do you know about our upbringing?”
“I know a little.”
“Well, allow me enlighten you. Pa was a poor gambler and a mean drunk. He often owed money and more than once they came looking for it.”
“And so Shane thought that’s what happened with you? That you owed money to the wrong sort and they followed you here?”
“Apparently. But, unlike my pa, I’m a very good gambler and I don’t owe a soul anything. I don’t know who hurt that woman but it had nothing to do with me.”
Feeling how badly Shane had hurt him, Silver placed her hand over Mitch’s. “Of course it didn’t.”
He arched a dark brow. “You believe me? Just like that?”
“I think, despite your chosen professions, you and Shane are a lot alike.”
Mitch threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, God, don’t tell him that. He’d be mortified.”
“Why? It’s clear by how you act that you’re both men of integrity. Besides, you’ve been nothing but chivalrous and kind toward me.”
“Well, now I sound boring.” His grin stretched. “I sound like Shane.”
Silver laughed despite the fact that boring was not a term she’d use to describe Shane. Alluring, attractive, frustrating maybe, but definitely not boring.
Mitch sat up, brushed his knees against hers and leaned toward her. His eyes were full of mischief and something else, something much more dangerous.
His voice rumbled low when he asked, “Any other words you’d use to describe me?”
Her nerves jumped. She swallowed her mild panic. This is what you wanted.
She cleared her throat. “Charming. Handsome. Fun.”
He leaned a little closer. “Anything else?”
Lord help her. “Dangerous.”
His eyes flashed. “Now you’re getting somewhere.”
He closed the distance between them, brushed his lips against hers. Her eyes closed. Clearly, he had experience. His mouth moved expertly, commanding yet gentle, firm yet not aggressive. It wasn’t a bad kiss, but—
Mitch pulled away, studied her. “Why do I get the feeling I just came up lacking?”
Silver dipped her head, ashamed because that was just what she’d been thinking. Mitch’s kiss had been pleasant, enjoyable even, but it hadn’t set her aflame the way Shane’s had. She only had to think of Shane for her heart to skip, for her blood to warm. Being with Mitch was nice but it wasn’t nice she was looking for. It was passion.
“I’m sorry,” she said when she finally found the nerve to look him in the eye. “It was a fine kiss but—”
Wincing, Mitch held up his hand. “Please. Having my kiss called ‘fine’ is enough.”
“I really am sorry. You’re a wonderful man, Mitch it’s just—”
“I know,” he sighed. “I’m not Shane.”
“If it’s any consolation I wish I could feel differently. I know better than anyone that I’m not the kind of woman Shane wants.”
Mitch was solemn when he said, “Shane has always wanted to be better than what we came from. The fact that you own a saloon will always count against you in his eyes.”
“He’s never said so directly, but I always suspected.”
“You could sell the saloon,” he suggested.
“I could,” Silver agreed, “but I won’t. If a man is going to love me, he has to love all of me.”
She plucked at her skirt. “I thought I could settle. I want so much for what Katie and Jillian have that I thought I could be content with a good man, even one I didn’t feel passion for, as long as it gave me a family.” She shook her head. “But they have a family and passion. I won’t settle for less.”
Mitch raised her hand to his lips, kissed it.
“I hope you find it, Silver. I really do.”
“And I hope this doesn’t change your decision to stay.”
Mitch looked over her shoulder to the town below them. He seemed to contemplate something. “I’m in no hurry.”
“Then who knows,” Silver teased, “if you stay maybe you’ll find a woman who swoons from your kisses.”
Smiling, Mitch turned to her. “You never know.”
“In the meantime”—Silver reached in the basket, withdrew a deck of cards—“how does a game of poker sound?”
Chapter Eight
Mitch left Silver at the saloon. In a sour mood despite the serviette full of cookies she’d insisted he take, he rode down Main Street with Silver’s mare plodding behind Ace. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Shane sitting outside his office door but Mitch didn’t bot
her looking over. Between his being accused of having a hand in a woman being beaten and his kiss paling in comparison to Shane’s, Mitch wasn’t feeling charitable toward his brother.
He did, however, tip his hat to the few others who were doing business in Marietta. It wasn’t their fault his brother was an ass.
In the stable, he handed over Silver’s horse to Bill but refused the man’s offer to tend to Ace as well. Mitch didn’t own much, but what he owned he treasured and Ace was his prized possession. The gelding was the first thing of value he’d bought once he’d hightailed it out of here ten years ago. As he suspected Shane’s badge did for him, the animal brought Mitch pride and a reminder that he’d climbed out of the hell he’d grown up in.
In no hurry, Mitch brushed Ace until he gleamed. Tossing out the bucket of water, Mitch refilled with fresh and examined the oats carefully before he fed them to his animal. He’d heard what had happened with the telegraph operator’s horse and, while it seemed to have rebounded from its bout with colic, Mitch wasn’t taking any chances. With his horse happily munching on his oats, Mitch grabbed his bundle of cookies and made for the door. Maybe he’d see if he could stir up a game of cards at Grey’s. Winning money always put him in a better mood.
He stepped from the musty interior of the stable, squinted as the bright light blinded him. And nearly plowed into his brother.
“What are you doing skulking by the door?” Mitch grumbled.
“I was hoping to talk to you. I stopped by earlier but you’d left already.” Shane studied him from under the brim of his black hat. “I noticed you and Silver riding back into town.”
“Yep,” Mitch answered.
And not wanting to hear a lecture about how he shouldn’t be with her because he had no intention of staying, he turned away from Shane and headed up the street.
Shane was right on his heels, then right at his side. “It won’t take long. We can go to my office and—”
“I think you said everything that mattered yesterday.”
Shane signed. “Look, I was wrong, all right? And I’d like the chance to explain but not here. Let’s go to my office.”
Then, without waiting for a reply, he veered off toward the jail. Figuring Shane would only hunt Mitch down at the boardinghouse if he didn’t follow, Mitch altered his direction. Besides, one thing he and his brother had in common was that neither was keen on reminding folks where they’d come from and jawing about the past on Main Street was a surefire way to do just that. Considering the last thing Mitch had said to Shane had to do with their pa, he figured there was a good chance that was what they were going to talk about.
Mitch stepped inside the door Shane left open and closed it behind him. The last time he’d been there he’d been too busy being accused of bringing trouble to town to notice the surroundings. Since Shane appeared to be in a better mood, Mitch took the time to look around.
Papers were stacked neatly on the corner of his desk. The beds in the cells were made. He didn’t see any dirt on the floor. It wasn’t surprising that Shane kept the jail tidy. They’d grown up in a crowded two-room shack and he imagined Shane, like himself, couldn’t stand clutter any more than Mitch could. It was also one of the reasons Mitch dressed as he did. He never tired of wearing clothes that had only ever been his.
Despite knowing they were bound to talk about the past, Mitch wasn’t in any hurry and instead said, “Marietta can’t see much trouble if you only have two cells.”
“No, thank God.”
Shane took his seat behind his desk. His eyes focused on Mitch’s. “I’m sorry I accused you of having anything to do with Charlotte’s beating. Even if some unsavory sorts were to have followed you here, you aren’t responsible for their actions.”
Mitch shook his head. “Only you can give an apology and an insult at the same time.”
“How is that an insult?”
“You still think I’m capable of bringing in trouble. Hell, Shane, it’s not as though I’m a gunslinger.”
“I know. And I believe you when you said you don’t owe anybody money. But the fact remains that there could be a sore loser out there who’d come after you.”
Mitch strode forward, leaned on the desk. “Yes, me, Shane. Nobody else.” He pushed off the desk, threw up his hands. “I don’t know why I bothered coming in here. You’ve already made up your mind.” And it hurt more than he cared to admit that his brother thought so little of him. Snatching the cookies off the desk, Mitch marched for the door.
Damn it, he was making things worse. Shane had wanted to apologize to Mitch, to bridge the distance between them but he’d only succeeded in widening the gap. There was only one way to make things right. Shane sighed, rubbed a fist over his heart.
“I was always afraid one of us would turn out like him.” Despite the softness with which he’d spoken, the words sounded loud as a scream in the quiet jail.
Mitch went still. Slowly he turned. There was no mistaking the hurt Shane’s words had caused.
“And apparently that’s me?”
Shane didn’t know if he should remain seated or if he should stand to face what he’d done. He supposed it didn’t matter one way or the other. The only thing that mattered was making this right.
“It was a logical conclusion.”
“Because both you and Logan became lawmen and I’m nothing but a worthless gambler.”
“Because it never bothered you. The beatings, the drinking, the living in fear. You sneered at it all. It was water off a duck’s back to you. Well, it wasn’t for me. I was scared shitless, Mitch. Logan was off doing chores, working, or hunting most times and it was just the two of us against Pa. Maybe instead of telling me not to cry, not to be afraid, maybe instead of making it worse, you could have shown me some understanding, some compassion.” Shane sank into his chair. “We lived through hell, no question. And I’m not saying we could have avoided it, but I’m saying I was seven years old when it started, for Christ’s sake, and I wasn’t old enough or mature enough to take it like a man. I was a boy and I needed someone to realize that, someone to acknowledge that what we were going through was hell. And that it was all right to cry and be mad. That despite it all, someone understood and cared.”
Shane looked down, examined his hands. “I never got the sense you did. And that just kept rolling through the years right up until you rode out of town, making it look so easy, as though whatever was behind didn’t mean a lick to you.” He raised his gaze. “Just like pa had.”
Mitch scowled. “Pa left a wife and children. Logan had already gone by the time I left and you were hardly in nappies.”
Shane nodded. He knew all this. Or at least his head did. His heart wasn’t as logical.
“When Logan left, I could tell he felt badly about leaving, even if we were old enough to take care of ourselves by then. And he’s kept in touch. I always knew he was alive. I knew what he’s been up to. He kept in touch, dammit.
“But you? You hightailed it out of here grinning and whistling as you rode away.” And he’d never looked back. Not that day or any other day in the past ten years.
Still standing at the door, Mitch said, “You could have come with me. I did ask you, if you recall.”
“I had to stay. I felt...” He stopped, choking on the words. He’d stored them deep in his heart for years and it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch to pull them out now. “I felt that if I left it would be as though I was running away. That the only way to make sense of the past, to show it hadn’t beaten me was to stay.”
Mitch’s mouth went flat. “That’s why I left. Dammit, Shane I cared, I always did but pretending it didn’t matter was the only way I knew how to survive it. And I left to prove that I hadn’t been knocked so far into the ground that I couldn’t stand again.”
“Did it take ten years to prove that?”
“Yeah. It did.”
It wasn’t much as far as explanations went but Shane knew it was all he was going to get. At least for now.
“And you’re being back here now? What does that mean?”
“Hell if I know.” Mitch chuckled, humor back in his eyes. “I’m still trying to figure that out myself.” Then he sobered and Shane braced himself for bad news but, instead, Mitch surprised him by saying, “I won some land near here in that game up in Bozeman.”
“Land?”
“Yeah, and before you get too excited I have no idea what my plans are for it. Hell, I’m no farmer or rancher so I don’t know what in hell I’ll do with it.”
“Whose land is it?”
“That doesn’t matter but I’ll tell you this, if I do decide to sell it and leave again, I promise to look back this time. I’ll stay in contact.” His lips twitched. “You’ll know if I’m alive. Does that work for you?”
The tightness in Shane’s chest eased and he nodded. “I can live with that.”
“Good. Now it’s my turn to harass you.” He dropped the cookies on the desk, widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. “When are you going to get off your high horse and see what kind of woman Silver is?”
Shane’s first reaction was to take umbrage. He wanted to tell Mitch his relationship with Silver was none of Mitch’s business but then it occurred to him. Mitch had just spent the morning with her on a picnic. If Mitch was questioning Shane did that mean his brother was no longer interested in her? Or that Silver wasn’t interested in him?
“I know what kind of woman she is,” Shane answered.
“Yeah, but are you going to do anything about it?” Then, again grabbing his cookies, Mitch headed for the door. This time when he stopped he looked over his shoulder and shot Shane a satisfied grin.
“The woman knows how to kiss, though, doesn’t she?”
With Shane’s jaw hitting the floor, Mitch opened the door.
And damned if he didn’t stride out whistling.
Shane’s thoughts and feelings jumbled in his head like two tumbleweeds wrestling. His conversation with Wade about how it felt to be in love. How Wade had almost lost Jillian before he’d told her his feelings. Wade’s warning that Shane was going to lose Silver if he didn’t do something soon.
A Sheriff's Passion Page 15
