A Sheriff's Passion

by Michelle Beattie

  “Do you have a minute? I’d like to talk to you.”

  “Haven’t you said enough?” her father demanded. “Haven’t you done enough? You’ve already strung her along for years.”

  Shane tamped down on his rising temper. The man was just a father trying to protect his daughter. Still, he had many of his facts wrong.

  “Sir, I never promised Melissa a future. I never told her to wait for me.” Hell, he’d never even kissed her other than the odd one on the cheek to say goodnight or to wish her a Merry Christmas. “I realize, however, that by not saying differently, by bidding on her baskets and accepting supper invitations that I gave false hope when I knew all along there was none.”

  Mr. Lake glared at Shane. “Well at least you’re honest enough to admit it.” He took a deep breath, charged ahead. “Still it doesn’t change the matter of you choosing to be with Silver Adams. Frankly, as sheriff, I expected better from you.”

  Shane winced as the barb struck, hitting him where he was most vulnerable, his reputation. Silver was worth it; he didn’t question that. But neither could he deny the man’s disappointment fell heavy on his heart. Because it was only the start. Once the rest of the town learned he was courting Silver, his character would be under attack. And, once again, he’d be fodder for gossip and ridicule.

  Shane set his teeth, pushed his shoulders back. He’d deal with it as it came. He’d made his choice. He loved Silver and he intended to marry her.

  “I can’t help how you feel, Mr. Lake, but who I spend my time with doesn’t change my role as sheriff and my dedication to the job.”

  “We’ll see about that, won’t we,” he scoffed before rounding the counter. Looking at Melissa, he said, “I’m going to check on your mother. I won’t be too long.” And without a goodbye for Shane, he marched through the shop and outside.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Shane shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry about. Your father’s opinions and actions are his, not yours.” He caught her gaze, held it before she could look away. “Or do you feel the same about Silver as he does?”

  Melissa stepped to the counter, rested her hands on the wooden surface. “Well,” Melissa began, “she’s not my favorite person but even I can see she isn’t a whore.”

  Shane grimaced. “And if you knew I was going to choose her, you wouldn’t have brought her cookies?” He teased, trying to alleviate the mood.

  She scoffed. “Something like that.”

  He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you, made you cry.”

  She looked at her hands. “Mitch told you.”

  “He did. Look, I really am—”

  “Stop.” She held up her palm. It was smudged with black polish. “What you said to my father was the truth. You never made me promises or told me to wait for you. I did that, we did that,” she said, clearly including her parents in her statement. “And we’ve nobody to blame but ourselves.”

  Shane shook his head. “I gave you reason to hope. You don’t need to take on all the blame.”

  “Fine,” she agreed. This time a spark of humor lit her eyes when her lips curled. “I can live with blaming you a little.”

  Her humor eased some of his guilt. He gave her a warm smile. “You can blame me a lot. Well, I should get back to work. Judging by the amount of folks who stopped me on the street, there are a lot of unanswered questions. I should get to my office in case folks come looking for me.”

  “Wait, before you go.” She peered over his shoulder, presumably looking out the window in case her father was on his way back. “I couldn’t sleep last night and I was sitting out on the steps. I didn’t realize I was dozing off until I heard the clomp of hooves.”

  Dread skittered down Shane’s spine. He already knew he wasn’t going to like this.

  “They turned at the boardinghouse so I didn’t see them clearly, but there were three.”

  “What time would this have been?”

  “Late. Long after the saloons would have been closed.”

  Three men? Riding in town long after things were buttoned up for the night?

  Goddamn.

  They weren’t heading to Bozeman, just as he’d suspected. Whatever they wanted, it was in Marietta.

  Silver had slept in fits and starts. Worried about Shane not returning, about Quinton, John Paul, and Dirk so close, about what she expected to lose when she faced Shane, Silver hadn’t managed more than a few minutes here and there.

  Her heart felt like it was splintering in her chest. She knew what she had to do, there wasn’t a choice in her mind, not anymore. But knowing what it was going to cost her was tearing her apart. Time, however, was against her. She had to do something before Quinton made a move. Before more innocent people were hurt. Or worse.

  Dressed and ready for the day, though it was barely past half past eight, Silver steeled herself for what she had to do. Putting her hip into it, she shoved aside the heavy dresser. Taking the hatpin from her small jewelry box, she dropped to her knees. This time it was the second cigar box she wanted.

  Lifting it free, Silver clutched it to her chest. For years, she’d believed if she repaid the money she’d taken, it would make up for her taking it, for keeping quiet. But she knew now that was foolishness. Money couldn’t make anything right and it sure as the devil couldn’t replace a life.

  Yet Silver clung to the box, the corners digging into her palm and belly. A cowardly part of herself told her to run, that she’d created a new life once; she could do it again.

  But she was done running. It was time to do the right thing, not the easy thing. And hard as it was, she wanted the truth to come from her mouth.

  Silver put the other box back in, slid the dresser in place. Then with her past clutched to her chest, she made her way downstairs. She hadn’t yet opened the curtains and the saloon was dim, the tables and chandeliers nothing but round shadows. But she smelled the soap she’d used to wash the floors and tables last night and if the curtains were open, every surface would be gleaming. Despite how she’d come to have to have the money to build it, she’d always been fiercely proud of Silver’s and what she’d made of it.

  She stood to lose more than her relationship with Shane when she told him the truth. What would happen to her saloon when Shane put her in jail? Tears choked her throat, burned her eyes. The pain in her chest made breathing difficult.

  It’s not too late to run.

  Yes, yes it was.

  Feeling as scared as she’d ever felt in her life, Silver opened the front door of her saloon. Wind kicked up dirt and swirled it across Main Street in mini tornadoes. Despite the dust, the air smelled of rain and, in the distance, thunder rumbled. Silver locked the door then, ducking her head, she aimed for the sheriff’s office. The few other folks she caught sight of also hurried about their business.

  She suspected anybody who wasn’t already in town wouldn’t bother coming in now, not with the look of the clouds gathering.

  The wind blew in with her, whipping at her skirts. Shane smacked his hands over a few papers to keep them from blowing off his desk. When he looked up and saw it was her, his dark eyes heated, his lips curved. He shoved his chair back.

  “I didn’t expect to see you this early. Can’t say as I’m disappointed.”

  He walked toward her, his gaze holding hers. He brushed his hands over her hair, then hooked his finger under her chin and tilted her face up for his kiss. Fearing it could be the last time he kissed her, Silver wrapped one arm around his waist, fisted her hand in his vest, and drank in the moment. His mouth was firm, skilled, and she pushed onto her toes, needing all of him. She whimpered when he slid his tongue against hers, when he nipped and tasted, leaving no part of her mouth untouched.

  Despair filled her, turned her kiss desperate. She didn’t want to lose him. Oh, God, she couldn’t lose him.

  Suddenly, Shane’s hands were on her shoulders and he was gently pushing her away. Worry filled his eyes, drew in his brow
s. His thumb swiped away a tear she hadn’t realized she’d shed.

  “What’s the matter? Did something happen?”

  Silver clamped her jaw tight and fought the swell of emotion that threatened to burst like an exploding dam. She had a lot to explain and couldn’t do it if she was blubbering. Taking a deep breath, she stepped back, out of reach. When Shane moved to close the distance, she held up a shaking hand.

  “Please don’t. Not right now. In fact, I think you better sit down. I have some things to tell you and they’re going to come as a shock.”

  When Shane, still frowning, moved back behind his desk and sat, Silver once again clutched the cigar box with both hands. It wasn’t going to shield her from what was coming but she was glad she had it to cling to.

  Shane leaned forward in his chair, his forearms on his desk. “All right, I’m sitting. Now tell me what’s put that look in your eye and why you’re standing there, trembling.”

  She took a moment to treasure the concern on his face, the worry she heard in his voice. She wondered if she’d ever see or hear either again.

  Then, knowing she couldn’t put it off any longer, she began.

  “I’m from Dakota Territory. My pa worked in a saloon, doing much the same thing Bruce does at Silver’s. Actually, he did more. The owner was an older gentleman and he trusted pa to open and close the Stardust and keep the ledgers. My pa did teach it all to me, and we played saloon just as I always told you. As I got older, the gentleman agreed to let me work there. I served drinks, helped pa clean up. But when ma fell ill with consumption I worked less and less as pa wanted someone to stay with her.

  “One night at the supper table he let out a loud gasp, clutched his chest. He died.” Silver bowed her head as the images of that night filled her head, fisted around her heart.

  She’d shoved back her chair, grabbed him as he was falling. She’d fallen with him. Her ma had folded on the floor next to him, holding his hand, begging him not to leave her. Silver had screamed his name, shaken him. Her tears had fallen on his face. Her fists had pounded on his chest. But he’d never again opened his eyes or said another word.

  She lifted her gaze to Shane’s.

  “Now it was all up to me. I had to stay with her, keep food on the table, and get her medicine. Luckily, or so I thought at the time, the owner’s son, who’d taken over for my father, let me continue on working.

  “But his intent soon became clear when he refused to pay me unless I, well, serviced him.”

  “That son-of-a-bitch,” Shane muttered.

  “Exactly. And, as you know since you and I, um, made love”—her cheeks flamed—“I refused him. But me and ma needed food and I couldn’t have her living on the streets, not being as sick as she was. I tried to find work, I did, but it was hard to work and not leave her alone for too long. The money I made wasn’t enough, wasn’t near enough.”

  Shane leaned back in his chair, intertwined his fingers, and set his hands on his belly. “Go on.”

  Silver pressed the cigar box tighter against her chest. “It was getting so whatever I earned I used to buy food for ma, and medicine if I could afford it. My cousin, John Paul, knew that I wasn’t eating, that I was giving everything to her. Well, he had as little money as I did but one night he brought me a fistful of coins, told me to take it, to get what I needed.”

  She cleared her throat. It was only going to get more difficult from there.

  “I figured it was stolen money, and he admitted it. He said he and his friends had come across a fancy carriage and decided to rob it.” She shook her head. “I wanted to refuse it but I couldn’t afford to, not with ma so sick.”

  While he sat still, listening, his dark eyes getting darker with each word she spoke, Silver told him the rest, including how John Paul had left the door open for her.

  “I took the money, knowing it was wrong, but knowing it was the only chance I had. I fled and for days I hid, sleeping in bushes, or under fallen logs during the day and travelling only after dark until I was far enough away to dare walk into a town. Then I cleaned myself up, bought clean, respectable clothes, and started my new life. I travelled any way I could to avoid them finding me. I backtracked, bought train tickets I never used just to throw them off in case they ever came looking for me. And, eventually, I found my way here.”

  Shane’s mouth was a thin, angry slash in his face. “That’s how you built Silver’s. It wasn’t with an inheritance as you’d claimed. You built it with stolen money.”

  “I only ever intended to borrow it. From the time Silver’s opened I’ve been saving profits with the intent of giving it back.”

  Shane looked at her as though he’d never seen her before in his life. “And that’s supposed to make it right?”

  She was ashamed that for a time she’d indeed believed it would. She knew better now. “No, it’s not. That’s why I’m telling you.”

  Silver crossed to the desk, set the box down before Shane. “It’s all there.”

  His gaze fell to the box. He hesitated a moment, as though he were scared the thing was filled with snakes and the minute he opened it they’d lash out and bite him. Finally, he reached over and opened the lid.

  His face was a mask of fury. “Goddamn, Silver, this is a fortune!” His thumb fanned through the stack of bills.

  “Three thousand dollars, to the penny. I can tell you the day they took it. Surely, if a train or a bank or a stagecoach were robbed anywhere near there you can find out and see that this is given back. It’s not everything, obviously, as I’m sure Quinton and the others have spent their share by now, but it’ll pay back some of it.”

  For the second time since she’d come into his office he scraped his chair back, rose to his feet. This time however he didn’t come to her, didn’t tilt her face up for his kiss. This time he paced, his boot heels smacking hard against the wood floor. His hands alternated between fisting at his sides and plowing through his hair.

  She doubted he noticed the way the strands felt like cool silk between his fingers but Silver had every time she’d raked her fingers through his hair. And she bit back a sob because she had a terrible feeling she’d never get to do so again.

  Finally, he stopped, pierced her with a hard gaze. “You not only kept quiet about several thefts you knew about, but you also absconded with stolen money. I can’t let that go.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “God dammit, Silver.” He slapped both hands on the door and hung his head between his raised arms. His ragged breathing filled the room. “God dammit,” he muttered again.

  “I couldn’t tell you, Shane. I knew you’d make me give the money back, not to mention put me in jail. And I just wanted a chance to have a good life, to be a better person.”

  He spun round. “By lying and stealing?” he raged.

  “I didn’t know what else to do! If I’d stayed, my life would have been over. I figured at least this way I could use the money to make an honest living, to become the person I’d always wanted to be. It was a loan, Shane. It was only ever meant to be a loan.”

  Fire blazed from his eyes. “Don’t you stand there and preach to me about being honest. You lied to me, repeatedly, and created a life here based on nothing but deceit.”

  It was God’s truth but she’d seen no other way.

  Just as there was no other way now. She had to tell him the rest of it.

  “Shane, there’s more.”

  He wasn’t sure he could take any more. The ground still felt like it was crumbling beneath his feet. Nothing felt solid. Everything he’d felt and known, believed, had been a lie. He would have laughed but there wasn’t a goddamn thing funny about any of this.

  Hadn’t he known, hadn’t he felt when she’d first arrived that there was more to what she was saying? It was why he’d dogged her with questions, why he’d kept a close eye on her. Because he’d felt something wasn’t right. But as time passed and he spent more time with her, as nothing nefarious came to pass, he’
d eventually come to the conclusion there was nothing to his doubt. While he couldn’t imagine why a woman would want a saloon he’d had to admit she’d built a dandy one. Clean, respectable, a fine addition to Marietta.

  And he’d convinced himself she was as well. Oh, the attraction had been there from the moment he’d seen her. Long blond curls, a petite but curvy figure, a fire in her eyes that challenged him from the start. How could he not be attracted? He’d fought it, however. God knew, he’d fought it. And if she hadn’t owned a saloon he’d have courted her long ago. If she hadn’t owned a saloon chances were they’d be married with a family by now. But his reputation, his standing in the community meant everything to him and he’d held back.

  He’d tried to convince himself Melissa was a good match for him but he’d never believed it. It was Silver he’d wanted and, after that first passionate kiss in the saloon, despite telling himself otherwise, he’d known their being together was inevitable. He’d just had to work up to it. Mitch’s interest might have forced Shane’s hand but he was certain it would have happened eventually. Their attraction was too strong to be ignored.

  He’d reasoned it all out in his head. No matter that she owned a saloon it didn’t change the woman she was and he’d believed, to the depth of his soul, that she was honest and trustworthy. It had taken him a hell of a long time to come to that but when he finally had, he’d made love to her, given her his heart, confident he was making the right decision. That she was the right woman.

  He felt sick. Just last night he’d thought of marriage. What if she hadn’t told him? He’d have gone on oblivious, married a thief.

  And the hell of it was he was as angry at himself as he was at her.

  She’d lied but he’d been fool enough to fall for them. To be swayed by a beautiful face and his damned attraction. Well, that was done. And no amount of tears clinging to her lashes, no amount of sadness in her toffee-colored eyes was going to distract him.

  He had no idea how there could possibly be more to this god-awful mess but he steeled himself for worse. Crossing his arms over his chest he demanded, “Spit it out, then.”