Marnie glimpsed the clock above the door and counted the minutes until Lars would leave. The very last place she wanted to be with him was here, like this. The last place she wanted to kiss him was in this room, dressed in her working attire, performing as a harlot.
It tarnished and tainted the purity of her feelings for him. On the verge of tears, she sent her mind off to the place it so often went while she worked, where life was lovely, sweet, and decent.
“Marnie?” Lars whispered, staring into her face with concern. “Are you okay?”
Reluctantly pulling her thoughts back to the present, she nodded her head. She couldn’t stand to be there another minute. “If you can pretend to pass out, I’ll get you hauled out of here and you can go on about your business. I think that would work better than trying to sneak you out the back. Someone is sure to see you.”
“I appreciate you and Miss Clementine helping me.” Lars desperately wanted to remove the haunted look that had once again settled into Marnie’s eyes. He didn’t know what part he’d played in it, but he’d done something to put it there.
At least she wouldn’t have to work the rest of the evening. The few times he’d come to see her while she was working, he paid Miss Clementine well to speak with Marnie and he knew the woman let her stay in her room when he left instead of going back to work.
“Just remember, you owe me.” Marnie gave him a tight smile then let loose with an ear-splitting scream. Lars immediately went limp, sprawling on top of her, hoping he didn’t hurt her.
It took only a second before the door banged open and Miss Clementine stood there with a burly man she employed to toss out unruly customers.
“He’s going to suffocate me if someone doesn’t get him off. Please, help!” Marnie cried.
Lars opened one eye and winked at her as Miss Clementine asked three waiting customers to help her man heft Lars off the bed. Marnie slapped his hat on his head as the men carried him out of the room then made their way down the stairs and outside. They propped him up on the sidewalk against the building before returning upstairs.
He didn’t have long to wait before Luce bounded out the door and down the street. Once the man turned the corner, Lars got to his feet and pretended to stumble off into the night.
Silently, he cut through an alley and watched as Luce met up with the two men Kade and the other deputy were following. They walked a few blocks then ducked down an alley. Lars noticed Kade and the deputy following on the other side of the street and gave them a signal to let them know he was aware of their presence.
The lawmen circled around the group of outlaws, making note of a fourth man as Luce passed a pouch to him. When no one else joined the gathered members of the Bowman Gang, the officers stepped in just as the men started to leave. The outlaws were in cuffs before they had any idea what happened. Lars smiled, extremely satisfied with the results of their efforts, as they hauled the men off to jail.
After locking the outlaws into cells and confiscating their belongings, Kade sent the other deputy to let the sheriff know they had four members of the gang in jail.
“We’ll get them on the train tomorrow, before Bowman gets any ideas about busting them out of here,” Lars said, slapping Kade good-naturedly on the back.
“Whew, man. What did you fall in?” Kade asked, grimacing at his smell and taking a step away.
“I’ve been on their trail and didn’t exactly have an opportunity to clean up before I rode into town. I had to follow Luce to Miss Clementine’s, so I acted drunk. She and Marnie played along and I’m going to see if the girl Luce was with gleaned any useful information from him.”
“You definitely smell the part of a drunk.” Kade opened the door and gave Lars a shove outside with a wide grin. “Why don’t you go take a bath and come back when you don’t reek like a distillery?”
“I get the feeling you don’t want me around.” Lars took a few backward steps, and waved an unconcerned hand at the deputy. “I’ll be back as soon as I clean up.”
“Make sure you use plenty of soap,” Kade called then shut the door.
The next morning, Lars was able to glean several helpful details Luce shared with Daisy. She was more than happy to help him out when he gave her a box of peppermint sticks as a bribe.
Although he wanted to see Marnie and thank her for her assistance, he felt acute disappointment when she didn’t answer her door. Curious if she was still sleeping, he went to the kitchen and asked Gertie for a piece of paper. Hurriedly scribbling a note expressing his gratitude, he took it back to her room and slid it under her door.
Gertie glanced up at him when he returned to the kitchen and opened the back door. “She in dat room, Missah Lars, but she been glum as all get out dis morning. Don’t know what dun got into my sweet pea.”
“Thanks, Gertie. Have a good day.” Lars tipped his hat then hurried down the back steps.
Kade planned to help him transport their four prisoners to Portland, where they’d face trial and sentencing in the district court. Lars rushed across the street and down the block to the sheriff’s office. They needed to get ready to move the outlaws to the train.
Marnie watched Lars jog down the street and let out a sigh. Last night had effectively killed any dreams she had left of a future with him, with anyone.
He’d come to her last night because he needed her help as a harlot and that knowledge clawed at her heart and shredded what little respect she had left into tatters.
Dejectedly staring out the window, she wished she’d chosen death instead of living this life. She knew some of the girls seemed to enjoy their chosen career, but she hated every minute of it.
Locking herself in her room and losing herself in a book was the one thing that gave her even a small measure of peace. The moments she spent pretending to live someone else’s life were the only times she experienced joy. At least that was true until Lars rode into town.
She picked up the note he slid beneath her door and studied his bold, distinctive scrawl before she read the words he penned.
His sincere note of thanks made her teary-eyed and she renewed her resolve to stay away from him before her heart broke into any more pieces.
Chapter Nine
From her perch in the window, Marnie swung her leg back and forth. She stopped and watched Aundy Nash race bareback through town. The woman tugged on the reins and barely made the corner two blocks down the street.
Marnie jerked her leg inside and leaned out the window, trying to get a better view. Since Aundy was normally unflappable, to see her ride by in a tizzy with her skirts bunched up around her legs made her plenty worried.
Concerned Ilsa might be in labor, she knew that would certainly cause Aundy to fly through town as if the world was about to end.
She yanked her head back inside so fast she smacked it on the frame. Marnie muttered darkly as she rubbed the throbbing spot and hurried to the kitchen.
Gertie looked at her in surprise as she rushed into the room.
“Lewis, I need you to run down to Mr. Campanelli’s house and see what’s going on. I just saw Mrs. Nash riding through town like the whole place is on fire,” Marnie said, handing the boy a coin and ruffling his hair.
“Yes, Miss Marnie.” He jumped down off his stool by the sink where he helped the cook wash dishes. The boy snatched his cap from a crate by the door, ran out the back entrance, and clattered down the stairs.
“Ya better git on back to work or Miss Clementine ain’t a gonna be happy.” Gertie motioned for Marnie to go back down the hall. “If’n there’s anything to tell, Lewis’ll find out and I’ll let ya know.”
“Thank you, Gertie. I appreciate it.” Marnie kissed the woman’s cheek before rushing down the hall to her room.
After grabbing another handful of peanuts, she went back to work.
“Mr. Thorsen! Mr. Thorsen!”
Lars pulled Viking to a halt and turned to see one of the boys who sometimes ran errands for the sheriff’s office runnin
g full tilt his direction.
“What is it, Frankie?” he asked, as the boy caught up to him and took a second to catch his breath.
“Deputy Rawlings said to tell you it’s Miss Ilsa’s time, whatever that means. He said you should get to her house right away.”
“Thanks, son,” Lars said, flipping the boy a coin then spurring Viking down the street. Quickly dodging around the equipment that worked to pave a section of the streets downtown, the second city in Oregon to do so, Lars urged the horse to hurry to his sister’s house.
They’d all been anxiously awaiting the news that Ilsa and Tony were about to welcome their baby.
His tiny sister had been miserable the last few weeks, so big she could barely move. Her fingers and feet looked like they’d burst if they were any more swollen and she had resigned herself to staying at home instead of working at her store. She still hadn’t found any competent full-time help and mentioned to Lars more than once she wished Marnie would accept her offer of a job.
Lars wished she would too, but no one could convince the stubborn woman to take it. He wondered, exactly, what kept Marnie from accepting the job. There had to be more to it than her concern of people shunning Ilsa and her business. Maybe it was something Marnie was afraid to admit to herself.
At the end of Ilsa and Tony’s front walk, he reined in Viking and noticed Aundy’s horse tied to a post on the opposite side. A bright red automobile parked in the driveway that belonged to the doctor. He looped the reins around a hitching post, ran down the sidewalk and up the front steps.
Not bothering to knock, he hurried inside and almost plowed into Tony as he paced the floor in front of the stairs.
“How’s she doing?” Lars asked, closing the door behind him and hanging his hat on the hall tree.
“Fine, I guess. Doc said I should stay down here, but I’d like to know what’s going on.” Tony motioned for Lars to have a seat in the parlor.
“Where’s Kade and Caterina?”
“She’s short-handed at the restaurant and Kade took the twins home. Aundy said Nora will be in as soon as she rounds up Garrett and J.B.” Tony couldn’t seem to sit still and resumed pacing the floor.
“That’s nice of Garrett and his folks to come in. Nora will probably bring food,” Lars observed. He’d taken to his brother-in-law’s parents the first time he met them. J.B. was a jolly-faced rancher and Nora was nearly as tiny as Ilsa and full of sass. She seemed to think it was her mission to make sure no one left her table hungry because the few times Lars visited their house, she plied him with delicious food and sent him home with cookies or muffins to enjoy later.
Settling back as he watched Tony pace across the floral rug covering the floor, he wondered if the man would wear a tread in it before the baby arrived.
Seven years ago, when he packed his meager belongings and stole away in the night without as much as a goodbye to his sisters, he never thought he’d see them again. He certainly never imagined he’d be sitting in his sister’s house waiting with his brother-in-law while she delivered a much-awaited child into the world.
The enormity of his blessings, to be able to share in the gift of such a special moment with his sisters and their family, left him deeply grateful for all that had transpired since he set foot in Pendleton.
Footsteps pounding down the stairs caused him to get to his feet and join Tony in the doorway. Aundy gave them a perfunctory glance then rushed down the hall. They followed her to the kitchen where she filled a basin with hot water and dug around in a drawer for one of Ilsa’s soft dishtowels.
“Can I carry that up for you?” Tony asked, taking the basin from Aundy.
“Sure. I’m looking for a towel she can use to bite down on,” Aundy said, pulling a snowy white towel from the drawer and slamming it shut.
Tony’s face blanched and he stared at Aundy. “Bite down?”
“She doesn’t want to scream and it helps to have something to bite into,” Aundy said, starting up the kitchen stairs. She glanced back over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at Tony’s pale face. She motioned for Lars to bring the basin.
He took it from the anxious father-to-be and followed his sister up the steps with Tony trailing behind them.
“Maybe you shouldn’t come in, Lars.” Aundy started to take the basin from him before they reached the bedroom door.
“I just want to let her know I’m here.” Lars tipped his head toward the door and motioned for Aundy to precede him into the room.
With a quick nod of agreement, she pushed open the door and breezed inside.
Doc Reed sponged Ilsa’s damp forehead and frowned at the two men as they entered the room.
“Look who’s here, sweetie!” Aundy said brightly as Ilsa stared first at Lars then Tony.
“Hi, Lars,” Ilsa panted between contractions. “Maybe we can visit later.”
“Sure, honey.” Lars set down the basin and kissed Ilsa on the forehead before walking to the door. He put a hand on Tony’s arm to drag him out with him, but Ilsa called out to her husband.
“Please, Tony. Please stay with me.”
Lars and Tony turned around to see her outstretched hand, then a contraction gripped her and she bit her lip, holding back a scream.
“Oh, cara mia, what have I done to you?” Tony asked, hurrying to the far side of the bed where he dropped to his knees and clasped her hand in his.
“It’s a little late to ask that,” Doc mused, winking at Lars as he left the room and went downstairs.
In the kitchen, he put a pot of coffee on the stove, knowing it could be hours before anything happened.
Voices carried down the hall from the entry so he hurried toward the front door. Nora smiled at him then hurried up the stairs while Garrett and J.B. carried baskets of food to the kitchen.
“Anything exciting happen yet?” Garrett asked, taking a platter of sandwiches out of the basket while J.B. removed a bowl of potato salad out of the other. Lars made note of a pie, looking forward to eating it after they had some supper.
“Where’s Tony?” J.B. asked, glancing around the kitchen.
“Upstairs. Ilsa asked him to stay. Doc might have two patients before this is all said and done.” Lars grinned at the two men.
After filling their plates, J.B. offered thanks and they ate then stored the leftovers in the refrigerator. Lars poured three cups of coffee and asked if they should take some upstairs.
“Couldn’t hurt.” Garrett grabbed mugs while Lars wrapped a towel around the handle of the coffee pot.
Upstairs, Ilsa’s muffled screams echoed in the hallway. The two men looked at each other before tapping on the door.
Nora opened it a crack and shook her head at them. “Now’s not a good time, boys. It won’t be much longer.”
Retreating to the kitchen, Lars cringed every time Ilsa screamed, wondering what happened to Aundy having her bite down on the dishtowel. Although he wanted to do something to help his sister, he knew there was nothing he could do except pray.
“She’ll be fine,” Garrett said, squeezing his shoulder as the two of them paced around the kitchen. “She’s strong and young and stubborn.”
“She and Aundy both share that trait,” Lars said, grinning at Garrett.
“And you think it skipped you?” Garrett asked, landing a playful punch on Lars’ arm.
Another scream sounded from upstairs, making them both pause and raise their gaze upward.
J.B. calmly read the paper and sipped a cup of coffee while Garrett and Lars resumed pacing around the room.
“How can you read the paper, Pops?” Garrett asked his dad.
“I’m too old to wear a hole in the floor like you two,” the man said, looking at his son. “I’ve got to keep my mind occupied or I might hightail it outside until this is all over.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Lars looked with longing out the window.
“Say, did you hear about Henry Ford setting a land speed record with one of his automobiles?” G
arrett asked, searching for any form of distraction.
Lars leaned against the kitchen counter and nodded his head. “I can’t imagine anything traveling more than ninety miles an hour.”
“I wish I could have seen it. He must have looked like a blur,” Garrett said, smacking his palms together and sliding one hand forward indicating something moving fast. “He traveled one mile in just over thirty-nine seconds.”
J.B. shook his head. “I’ll stick with horses. Anything that moved that fast would surely make my head spin and I wouldn’t know heads from tails when I got to where I was going anyway.”
“You suppose Doc would give it a whirl in his Runabout?” Lars asked. Even in the short time he’d been in Pendleton, it was evident the doctor was quite proud of his automobile.
Garrett and J.B. both chuckled. “I doubt it. He wouldn’t want to chance the paint getting scratched or something happening to it.”
A particularly loud scream drew their gazes up to the ceiling.
Lars couldn’t take anymore and opened the kitchen door. Garrett joined him in pacing along the length of the porch.
“Kade said you’re making headway with the Bowman Gang. That’s good news.” Garrett stopped as they rounded the front corner of the porch and observed a little boy running down the front walk.
“What’s wrong, Lewis?” Lars bent down as the boy ran up to him.
“Miss Marnie sent me to check on Miss Ilsa again. I came by hours ago and Mrs. Nash said nothing happened yet.” The little boy took off his cap and scratched his head thoughtfully. “For nothing happening, she and Mr. Tony and the Doc were sure excited about something, though.”
Garrett hid a smile behind his hand and Lars swallowed back a chuckle.
“You tell Miss Marnie that we’re still waiting and if she likes, I’ll come see her when there’s news. It’s getting awfully late for you to be running around on a Saturday night.” Lars gave the boy a coin and watched a smile light his face.
“Don’t I know it. Gertie told me to light a shuck over here and run back fast as anything and not let nobody stop me,” Lewis said, backing up a few steps. “I’ll give Miss Marnie the message.”
Marnie (Pendleton Petticoats Book 4) Page 10
