“No, thank you. I’m waiting for Miss Poindexter, but I’d like to ask you a couple of questions.”
“I’ll be happy to answer anything I can.”
“Has Lou Bullins been down here to talk with you?”
“No. He came through here just after you went upstairs. He looked mad. I spoke to him, but he didn’t speak to me.”
“I ran into him upstairs when I arrived and he was spouting off about Miss Poindexter being registered here. How would he know that?”
“I swear I didn’t tell him, Mr. Eldridge. He did come in just after she checked in and you were taking her bag to her room. He probably saw you, but he didn’t mention anything about her being registered here to me.”
Ty lifted an eye. “Maybe it would be better if he moved to some other location. You don’t want someone here who is gossiping about your other guests.”
“I agree. I’ll see he’s gone before dark.”
“Good decision, Mr. Stoneman.” He looked toward the stairs. They were still empty. “By the way, how many guests do you have registered tonight?”
“There are six besides Miss Poindexter. A couple came in on the stage last night and they rented for three nights. A couple of cowboys came in earlier today, registered, and said they’d be back before I closed the front doors. Bullins, who will be leaving, and another salesman. He came in last night and booked a room for a week.”
“I see. Are you expecting anyone else?”
“Not that I know of, but you know, sometimes some of the men get a little too drunk at the saloon and if they don’t stay there, they come here. Especially the business men or ranchers who don’t want their families to know they’ve been drinking and gambling.”
“I see.” Ty didn’t ask any more questions because Xenia appeared at the top of the steps.
****
In the hotel dining room, Ty ushered her to a table near the window. “I hope you like the food here. The café does a little better on their cooking, but they’re usually so crowded this time of day it’s hard to get a table.”
“I’m sure it will be fine here.” She gave him a tentative smile. “When are you going to tell me what you found out about my uncle?”
The waiter walked up and gave them menus. “Would you like something to drink while you’re deciding what to order?”
“I’ll have coffee,” Ty answered. He looked at Xenia. “Would you prefer something besides coffee?”
“A cup of tea would be nice.”
“Tea for the lady.”
The waiter nodded and walked away.
“Let’s decide on what we want to eat and then we’ll talk about what I found out.”
Xenia wondered why he was postponing telling her what went on while he was in town and she was napping. Deciding she’d eventually find out, she chose the baked chicken with corn and beans. Ty ordered a steak with potatoes and beans.
After the waiter brought the drinks and took their order, Ty said, “I talked with the sheriff. He told me your uncle is not in jail and hasn’t been in since he had to arrest him last winter when he shot a man. Longstreet was only in for a day at that time because witnesses swore he shot the man in self-defense.”
She frowned. “But his letter said he was in for something he didn’t do and they were going to hang him if we didn’t come to help.”
“I don’t know what to say about that except that your uncle lied to you for some reason.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I have no idea, but knowing Seymour Longstreet, he had his motive.”
She looked at him and frowned. “You don’t like my uncle, do you Ty?”
“It’s not that, Xenia.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t trust the man.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, “I’ve had a few encounters with him and let’s just say, I didn’t like the way he handled things.”
Before she could ask anything more, their food arrived. At the same time, two men in suits came in. They sat at a table not far from Ty and Xenia. Both of them nodded at Ty and smiled at her, but didn’t speak.
Ty lowered his voice. “That’s the town lawyer and the doctor. I’d introduce you, but they seem to be discussing some kind of business.”
“I understand.” She cut into her chicken. It was a little dry, but tasty, nonetheless.
Several more people came into the dining room and Ty nodded to some and ignored others. She couldn’t help wondering if he was ashamed of being here with her and wouldn’t bother to introduce her to his friends. Or was it something else?
A couple of neatly dressed cowboys took seats at the table next to them. “Howdy, Ty. Ma’am,” the one with a scar on his chin said.
“Hello, Burk.”
“When did you get back in town?”
“Couple of days ago.”
The man looked as if he wanted to say something else, but the waiter approached his table and he busied himself deciding what to eat.
Xenia looked at Ty and whispered, “Friend of yours?”
“Neighbor.”
“Oh, I see.” She took another bite of the chicken. “Where are we going whenever we finish eating?”
“I have a little business I need to take care of for the ranch, then I’ll come back here and get you.”
This statement irritated her. “Why didn’t you take care of it before coming to take me to lunch then we could have concentrated on my uncle?”
“I didn’t have time because I thought you might be getting hungry.”
“I was fine.”
“I had no way of knowing that.”
She relaxed a little. Of course, he was right. He didn’t know that at times she’d skipped the midday meal without thinking she was going to starve to death. He, on the other hand, would need to eat without ever missing a meal. She then remembered he didn’t eat after they left the way station and he hadn’t complained at all. Maybe he was just a man that did what was necessary at the time. And eating when it was mealtime would be a necessity to him unless there was something pressing.
He gave her a puzzled look. “What are you smiling about?”
She didn’t realize she’d smiled, but she knew she’d have to give him an answer. “I was remembering the time Mea Ann and I tried to catch a chicken.”
“Did you have chickens in Richmond?”
“No, but one of Father’s uncles had a little farm outside the city. We went there because somebody in his family had died and Father said we needed to make a condolence call. Anyway, we were small girls and we’d never been on a farm. When we arrived, they insisted we eat, and I remember one of the things we had was fried chicken. It was delicious. Mea Ann and I both asked mother why we didn’t have such good fried chicken at our house. She said it was because we didn’t have nice big chickens like this at home. That was all we needed to hear. Mea Ann and I decided we’d catch a chicken and take it back home with us and give it to our cook to fry for a Sunday dinner.”
Ty chuckled. “Did you catch one?”
“No, but it wasn’t from lack of trying. I had mud on my fancy pink dress and a cut on my knee from falling and Mea Ann sprained her ankle. Mother and Father decided we’d shown enough respect to the family so they got us in the carriage and we went home. Though Mea Ann and I often asked when we were going to visit that family again, we never did. But Mea Ann often sprained her ankle after that.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, Mea Ann has had weak ankles ever since that day, and it’s fitting she sprained hers again today while messing around with chickens.”
“Maybe we should keep her out of the chicken coop.”
“Not a bad idea.” Xenia used her napkin to wipe her mouth then she folded it and placed beside her plate. “That was good, but I don’t think I could eat another bite.”
“You don’t want a dessert?”
“No, but go ahead and indulge. I’ll drink another cup of tea while you eat it.”
Ty had c
herry cobbler and after seeing it, Xenia almost wished she had ordered it, too. But she really was full.
“I see you eyeing this,” Ty said. “Want a bite?”
“I shouldn’t.”
“Why not? Get your spoon and help yourself.”
She actually took two bites and put down her spoon. “It’s good, but that’s all I can hold.”
“You sure?”
“Very sure.”
Ty finished the cobbler and nodded to her. “We’ll leave now, if you’ve finished your tea.”
“I have, but aren’t we going to pay for the meal?”
“It’ll be added to the bill.”
“I see.” She wondered if he expected her to pay for his food when she settled her bill with that strange Mr. Stoneman. But it didn’t matter, because she assumed things were done differently in Arizona Territory.
****
Ty came down from seeing Xenia to her room and saw Burk Yancey waiting for him in the lobby. “I’m surprised to see you here, Burk. Do you need to see me about something or do you have other business?”
“I want to talk to you. Could we get out of here?”
“Sure.” Ty adjusted his hat and followed the man out the front door to the wooden sidewalk.
“How about we head to the saloon? I think you might be interested in what’s going on there.”
They both ordered beers at the bar then chose one of the small round tables in the corner of the room to sit and drink it. Ty could tell the place hadn’t been open long because the room was almost deserted. He knew that would change when the men slowed down their work and came in for drinks, gambling and dancing with the four women who worked there.
“Okay, Burk. What’s on your mind?”
“First of all, have you heard about the latest scheme Seymour is trying to put together?”
“I have no idea. Is it something he came up with after I left town?”
“I think it was before that, but you may have been too busy to have noticed. Anyway, he’s been telling some of the big spenders here that he has a surprise coming.”
“He’s done that before and his surprise usually fizzles.”
“I think this time he may mean it.”
Ty took a drink of his beer. “Tell me about it.”
“About the time you and Wilt left he started telling some of us that he has two beautiful virgins coming here from Virginia. Said they had never worked in a saloon, but he was sure they would be willing to learn the trade when they realized there was nothing else they could do in Deer Meadow.”
Ty frowned. “Why would two virgins from Virginia want to come here and become prostitutes?”
“My question exactly.”
“I admit it’s interesting, but what’s it got to do with me?”
“I think you knew Ray Andrews was hurt on the way into town a couple of days ago.”
“Yeah. I was on that stage.”
“Well, he’s been resting up before the doctor will let him go back to work. He was in here the other night and said there were two beautiful women on the stage you all came in on.”
Ty nodded and a feeling of dread began to spread through him. “There were, but I’m pretty sure these women had no intention of coming to work in Seymour Longstreet’s saloon.”
“After being pushed, the bastard admitted to somebody that he was tricking the women into coming. It wasn’t long until we got this word even though he assured everyone that they’d go along with his plan. He said he was sure as soon as they saw how much money they were worth they’d be happy he tricked them into coming.”
Ty began to fume inside, but he held it back. “That doesn’t make any sense. No decent woman would want to work for him even if she could make a lot of money.”
“I figured he thinks he’d have control of them once he got them here. I wouldn’t put it past him to keep them locked up until they cooperated with his plan.”
Ty couldn’t control his temper any longer. “That sonofabitch. How could he think of doing that to two innocent women?”
Burk shook his head. “You know what the man is capable of as well as I do, Ty. He’ll do anything for a dollar. Even if he ruins two young women’s lives.”
“He’ll never get his hands on these two women if I have anything to say about it.”
“So they were the ones who came to town on the same stage as you?”
“I’d stake my ranch on it.”
“Are they as innocent as Seymour claims they are?”
“Burk, these women are as naïve as they come. They think they’ve come to Deer Meadow to help an uncle who is in jail and is about to be hanged. Seymour is their uncle, their mother’s brother, I think they said, and they haven’t seen him in ten years or more. Anyway, he told them the tale and played on their sympathy to convince them to come to Deer Meadow to help him. They have no idea how sinister their uncle is.”
“Then jail’s where he should be.”
“I agree. But he’s not there, and now I have to go back and tell them their uncle is trying to use them to expand his business.”
“So that pretty woman with you at the hotel restaurant was one of them?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s the other one?”
“At my ranch.”
“And you brought one of the pretty ladies to town?”
“She asked me to bring her so she could look up her uncle and see what she could do to help him. I didn’t know what was going on, so I agreed to bring her.”
“Well, since she’s here, how about introducing me? I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. And I’m saying this not because I think I could use her. I’m thinking of settling down.”
“There’s no way in hell I’ll do that. She’s a nice woman, Burk. Too nice to be your wife.” It was all Ty could do to keep his anger in check.
A snide smile crossed Burk’s face. “Sorry. I had no idea you were interested yourself. But I can certainly understand why you are.”
“I’m not interested in her in that way.”
Burk frowned. “You’re not trying to pull something with them yourself are you?”
“Hell, no. They’d be at the hotel and not at my ranch if it wasn’t for a half-breed baby.”
“What in the world does a baby have to do with anything?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s have another beer and I’ll tell you all about it.”
After Ty finished, Burk stared at him and said, “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Ty, but my advice would be for you to take Miss Poindexter back to your ranch as quick as you can. If Seymour gets wind that she’s in town, he’ll stop at nothing to bring her to the saloon. His goons would kill you to keep you from getting her out of town.”
Ty stood. “I think you’re right. Thank you for letting me in on what’s happening.”
“If I can help, let me know. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open in the saloon and if there’s something I think you should know, I’ll drop by your ranch in a day or so and let you know what’s going on.”
“Thanks again.” Ty walked out the door and hurried toward the hotel.
When he arrived at the door to Xenia’s room he’d decided not to tell her what a terrible person her uncle was. Since he knew there was a cattle drive planned, he’d say the hotel was going to be full of boisterous and drunk cowboys tonight and it wouldn’t be safe for her to stay there. Not exactly the truth, but not a complete lie, either. The cattle drive was a fact, though the cowboys usually came to the town and got drunk after it was over, not before. And if everything Burk had told him was true—and he had no reason to think it wasn’t—it wasn’t safe for Xenia to be here. It wasn’t even safe for her to be in town.
He rapped on the door.
No answer.
“Surely she’s not asleep again.” He rapped harder.
Still no answer. Did she venture out on her own? He’d suspected she’d try this if he didn’t get some answers for her soon.
He rapped one more time. This time with vigor. “Xenia,” he yelled. “It’s me. Let me in.”
There was no answer.
He raced down the stairs and demanded a key to the room form Stoneman.
Stoneman looked at the box of keys under his desk. “I’m sorry, Mr. Eldridge. There isn’t another key to her room.”
“I know you have extras in case somebody gets locked out. Where is the one to Xenia’s room?”
“I have no idea. Somebody must have taken it when I stepped out to eat a bite of dinner.”
Ty’s heart raced. Could her uncle have learned she was in town? Did he kidnap her?
Without saying anything else, Ty took the stairs two at a time. He didn’t hesitate when he reached the room. He removed his pistol and shot the lock. He holstered his gun and it didn’t take much for him to ram his shoulder into the door and burst it open.
His heart sank when he saw the room. There was a turned over chair, the broken water pitcher was lying in a puddle of water on the floor and Xenia’s hat was in another spot on the floor. It looked as it had been stepped on and flattened. There was blood on the rumpled bed, but she was nowhere in sight.
Chapter 9
Xenia heard the commotion in the hall and recognized Ty’s loud, angry voice, but with the gag in her mouth and being tied to the chair she was helpless to do anything to indicate her whereabouts. She wondered if she managed to turn over the chair, could draw attention to this room? But she didn’t dare. Her face still hurt where Lou had hit her in the mouth and nose. The blood that spouted from her nose was still dripping down her chin and onto her dress. She was sure it would never come clean again and it was one of her favorite dresses. She’s worn it today because she thought Ty might like it. Now, she realized how foolish that was. Ty would never care what she wore. He didn’t even like her—but for some reason, she knew he did feel he had to protect her.
She wondered why she was having such thoughts at this time. Here she was tied-up in this awful man’s room, her eye swelling from the blows. Her teeth had cut her lip, and her nose still bled profusely. It may even be broken, and all she could think about was that blood was ruining a dress she though Ty might like.
Xenia’s Renegade Page 10
